The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1900-10-20


his guard. When a spider meets
fly it does not say: Go down with
me to the plase where l murder in
sects." No; it says: "Come and take
a bright morning walk with me on
this suspension bridge of glittering
gossamer." Oh, there is a difference
between the sparkle of serpent's
eye and the crush of it's Shiny folds.
There is a difference between the
bears paw toying with kid and the
cracking Of the bones in the terrific
hug. Pixies peak looks beautiful in
the distance. but ask the starved
travellers by the roadside what they
think of Pixies peak. Are there
those around whom suspicious COM
panions are gathered? Do their jests
and their entertainments make the
hours go blithely by when you are
with them? Have you taken sip
from their cup of sin or gone with
them in one path of unrighteousness
Turn back. From Babylon they came
and to Babylon they would carry you
If so many plague stricken men
would like to enter your companion
ship, before anyone is allowed to pass
into the intimacy of your heart put
on them severest quarantine.
Let me say to those Christian parents
who are doing their best in the educa-
tion of their children: Take good heart;
your sons this morning may be far
away from you and in distant city,
but God, to whom you dedicated them,
will take care of them. The God of
Daniel will take care of them far away
in Babylon. Train up a child in the
way he should go. and when he is old
he will not depart from it," He may
wander away for awhile and fall into
sin and break your heart, but before
he is done with this life, you having
commended him to God, he will come
back again, for 1 put the emphasis in
the right place and on the word old"
when l repeat that passage and say,
Train up child in the way he should
go, and when he is old he will not de-
part from it." May you all have the
glorious satisfaction of seeing your
children walk in paths of righteousness
and peacel One with them on earth,
| may you Dt one with tneln III
But l learn also from this subject
the beauty of Christian sobriety. The
meat and the wine that were to come
to Daniels table were to come from the
kings table. Well, Daniel had no right
to take that food. The king was a
heather, and, like all the heathens, was
accustomed to ask blessings before he
partook of food, and in that blessing
they always dedicated the food to the
gods. So that if Daniel had taken this
food he would have broken the law
which forbade the taking of food dedi-
Gated to idols. He chose pulse. 1t was
a miracle that he did not dwindle
away. There is nothing in pulse, such
poor herb. to make man ruddy and
healthful. Some people talk as though
that were a kind of diet which would
make man swartby and competent to
do the duties of this life. That is
not the lesson at all. But for pos
itive miracle Daniel would have dwin-
died away, and when God for his self
denial puts upon him this benediction
He puts a benediction upon all Chris
tian sobriety. I would not have you
class your preacher among those who
would put unnecessary restraint upon
lawful appetites. There are those in
this day who dispute the grant which
God gave to man for animal food, and
they make religion of their hunger as
the Pharisees expected Heaven for
their fasting. Daniel did not always
live on pulse. He was not Grahamite; I;
he was not a vegetarian. He went
through that self-denial because the
food offered him was idolatrous food.
When l see God filling the earth with
all varieties of food, l have not much
confidence in the teaching of those who
would put us on severe regimen. They
are parents who. with a wrong theory
in this respect, deny their children all
harmless luxuries and without suffi-
cient inquiry send them out to board
ing schools where their intellects are
cultivated 10 the disadvantage of their
starved bodies. so that from many a
boarding school a class of 20 will grad
uate, 10 of them ghosts. Now. when
/ see the three angels eating the calf
which Abraham slew and when I find
Christ eating broiled fish even after His
resurrection, l come to the conclusion
that the theories of the vegetarian are
not from a religious standpoint well
founded.
But, oh, how many temptations to
dissipation! With so many things to
tempt the appetite, how many tempta-
tions to gluttony! With so many spark
ling beverages, how much temptation
to drunkennessl Could l bring before
) you this morning the mothers and the
! wives and the sisters who have wept
at the graves of the inebriate, your
soul would be overpowered with the
spectacle. Could l show you the
manly forms robbed of their beauty
the eye fashings quenched in the wine
cup, the ruddy cheek from which rum
has wormed the rose, your soul would
recoil with horror. and you would rise
up and cry: 'Begone, thou dream OF
HE'LL"
, Are you fond of pictures? Here il
: one drawn by Solomon: "Who hatt
: woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hatl
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