Connecticut western news., 1900-02-15
LESSONS OF IMPORT.
DR. rALMAGs ADVISES MEN OF GREAT
 N STRENGTH.

Sl HeNG n.
 Physlcal Energy Not Indicative
 of sptrftual Power The Strong
 should Fight the Battle. of the
 Weak.
 Copyright, Louis klopsch. 1soo.l
 WAsHlNGToN, Feb. l1.-In this dis course Dr. Talmage sets forth the re- sponsibility of those who are strong preached to the disabled and the shut in" text, Judges xiv, l, And samson went down to Timnath,"
 There are two sides to the character of Samson. The one phase of his life. if followed into the particulars, would administer to the grotesQue and the mirthful, but there is phase of his character fraught with lessons of sol emn and eternal import, To these gray er lessons we devote our sermon.
 This giant no doubt in carly life gave evidences of what he was to be. It is almost always so. There were two Ma polec as-the boy Napoleon and the man Napoleon-but both alike; two Howards-the boy 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 betrothed to the daughter of a Philis
 
 lion came out upon him, and, although this young giant was weaponless, he seized the monster by the long mane and shook him as hungry hound shakes a March hare and made his bones crack and left him by the way side bleeding under the smiting of his fist and the grinding heft of his heel.
 There he stands. looming up above other men, mountain of flesh, his arms punched with muscle that can lift the gate of city, taking an attitude defiant of everything. His hair had never been cut, and it rolled down In seven great plaits over his shoulders, adding to his bulk fierceness and ter TOT. The Philistines 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 Delilah. They appoint her the agent in the case. The Philistines are secreted In the same building. and then Delilah goes to work and coaxes Samson to tell what is the secret of his strength. Well" he says, "if you should take seven green withes 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 Philistines." and he walks out as though there were no impediment. 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 ropes, claps her hands and shouts, '"They come-the Philistines.' He walks out as easily as he did before-not single obstruc- tion. 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 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, sThey come = the Philistines" He walks out as easily as he did before. dragging a part of the loom with him.
 In the Enemies' Hands.
 But after awhile she persuades him to tell the truth. He says, If you should take razor or shears and cut ofr this long hair, 1 should be power less and in the hands of my enemies" Samson sleeps. and that she may not wake him up during the process of shearing. help is called in. You know that the barbers of the east have such skillful way of manipulating the head to this very day that, instead of waking up a sleeping man. they will put man wide awake sound asleep. l hear the blades of the shears grinding against each other, and l see the long locks falling off. The shears or razor accomplishes what green withes and
  do. Suddenly she claps her hands and says. .'The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.' He rouses up with strug- gle, but his strength is all gone. He is in the hands of his enemies.
 l hear the groan of the giant as they take his eyes out, and then l see him staggering on in his blindness, feeling his way as he goes on toward Gaza. The prison door Is open, and the giant is thrust in. He sits down and puts his hands on the mill crank, which. with exhausting horizontal motion. goes day after day, week after week, month after month-work, work, work! The consternaton of the world in cap tivity, his locks shorn, his eyes pune tured, grinding corn in Gaza!
 First of all. behold in this giant of the text that physical power is not all ways an index of moral power. He was huge man-the lion found it out and the 5000 men whom he slew found 1t out; yet he was the subject of petty revenges and outgianted by low pas sion. am far from throwing any dis credit upon physical stamina. There are those who seem to have great ad- miration for delicacy and sickness of constitution. I never could see any glory in weak nerves or sick headache. Whatever effort in our day is made to make the men and women more TO- bust should have the favor of every good citizen as we'll as of every Chris tian. Gymnastics may be positively religious.
 Good people sometimes ascribe to wicked heart what they ought to as cribe to a slow liver. The body and the soul are such near neighbors that they often catch each others diseases. Those who never saw a sick day and who, like Hercules, show the giant in