The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1900-02-14

fOrtn the responsibility VI lhoeo w"
q are strong and well, as in former
discourse he preached to the disabled ana
''the shut in" text, Judges xiv, l, ANA
Samson went down to Timnath.
There are two sides to the charac.er oI
Samson The one phase of his hfe' IL loi-
lowed into particulars, would admlnis.ei
to the Srotesque and the mirthful. but
there is q phase Of his character Iraushe
with lessons of solemn and eternal lnl-
port. 70 these graver lessons we oeVote
our sermon. -.
This giant no doubt in early life gave
evidences of what he was to be. II Is al
most always so. There were two Napo-
Ieons-the boy Napoleon and the man Ma
poleon-but both alike; two HoWards-
tbe how Howard and the man Howard
but both alike; two Samsons-the boy
Samson and the man Samson-but both
alike This giant was no doubt the hero
of the playground, and nothing could
stand before his exhibitions of youthful
prowess. At IS years of age he was be-
trOthed to the daughter of a Phlllstlne.
Going down toward Timnath, a lion came
out upon him, and although this young
giant was weaponless he seized the mon
ster by the long name and shook nm as
a hungry hound shakes a March hare AND
made his bones crack and left him by the
wayside bleeding under the shifting OF his
fist and the grinding heft of his heel.
There he stands, looming up above
other men, a mountain of flesh, his arms
punched with muscle that can lift the
gate of a city. taking an attitude defiant
of everything. His hair had never been
- i'm
plaits over his shoulders, adding to his
bulk. fierceness and terror. The Phllls-
tines want to conquer him, and therefore
they must find out where the secret OF
his strength lies.
There is an evil woman living IN the
valley of Sorek by the name Of Delliah.
They appoint her the agent in the case.
The Philistine are secreted IN the same
building, and then Delilah goes to work
and coaXes Samson to tell what is the Sc
cret of his strength. well" he says, If
you should take seven green wlthes such
as they fasten wild beasts with and put
them around me, | should be perfectly
powerless' SO she binds him with the
seven green withes. Then she claps her
hands and says, They come-the Philis-
tinesr' and he walks out as though there
were no impeachment. She coaxes him
again, and says. Now tell me the secret
of this great strength and he replies
IF you should take some ropes that have
never been used and tie me with them, |
should be just like other men," She ties
him with the ropes, claps her hands and
shouts, They come-the Philistines."
He walks out as easily as he did before
not single obstruction. She coaXes him
again, and he says, Now, if you should
take these seven long plaits of hair and
by this house loom weave them into a
web, [ could not get away" SO the
house loom is rolled up, and the shuttle
flies backward and forward, and the long
plaits of hair are woven into web.
Then she claps her hands and says,
'"rhey come-the Philistines." He walks
ont as easily as he did before, dragging a
part of the loom with him.
Show of Strength.
But after awhile she persuades him to
tell the truth. He says, If you should
take a razor or shears and cut off this
long hair, should be powerless and in
the hands Of my enemies" Samson sleeps,
and that she may not wake him up dur
ing the process of shearing help is called
cast have such a skillful way of manipu-
lating the head to this very day that in
stead of waking up a sleeping man they
will put a man wide awake sound asleep
| hear the blades Of the shears grinding
against each other, and | see the long
locks falling Off The shears or razor ac-
complishes what green withes and new
ropes and house loom could not do. Sud-
denly she claps her hands and says,
THE Philistines be upon thee, Samson
He rouses up with a struggle, but his
strength is all gone. He is in the hands
of his enemies.
| hear the groan of the giant as they
take his eyes out, and then | see him
staggering on in his blindness, feeling his
way as he goes ON toward GAIA. The
prison door is open, and the giant is
thrust i'll. He sits down and puts his
hands on the mill crank, which with ex-
hausting horizontal motion goes day after
day, week after week, month after month
work, work, work! The CONSERVATION
of the world in captivity, his locks shorn,
his eyes punctured, grinding corn in
GAIA!
First of all, behold in this giant of the
text that physical power. He was huge
mantle lion found it out, and the 1900
men whom he slew found it out; vet he
was the subject Of petty reyenges and
outgianted by low passion. | am far
from throwing any discredit upon phys
ical stamina. There are those who seem
to have great admiration for delcacy and
sickness of constitution. | never could
see any glory III weak nerves or sick
headache. Whatever effort in our day is
made to make the men and women more
robust should have the favor of every
good citizen as well as of every Christian.
Gymnastics may be positively religious.
Value OF Good Digestion.
How often it is that you do not find
physical energy Indicative of spiritual
power! II Il clear head is worth more
than one dizzy with perpetual vertigo, If
muscles with the play Of health in them
are worth more than those drawn up in
chronic ''rheumatics,' if an eye quick to
catch passing objects is better than one
with vision dim and uncertain, then God
will require of US efficiency just in pro-
portion to what he has given u.s. Phys-
cal energy ought to be type of moral
power. We ought to have as good diges-