Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1901-02-21
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: Speak For the Right-Diabolical
Agencies Activc-Silence is Not Gold"
en- While There Are Evils - Be Ready
When Christianity is Assailed.
Copyright 1901. ]

en- While There Are Evils - Be Read.
When Christianity is AssaiIed.
copyright 1901
WASHINGTON, d. C-In this discourse
DR.. Talmage calls for more demonstra
tive religion and hearty speaking Out
on the right side of everything; text
Mark tx, 25, Thou dumb and deaf spirit
l charge thee, come out of him"
Here was a case OF great domestic an
guish The son of the household was pos.
sessed of an evil spirit, which among other
things paralyzed his tongue and made him
speechless. When the influence was on
the patient he could not say word-ar-
captured this member OF the household
was dumb spirit-so called by Christ--a
spirit abroad to-day and as lively and po-
tent as in New Testament times. Yet, in
all the realms of sermonology cannot
find discourse concerning this devil
saying, Come out of him."
There has been much destructive super
stition abroad in the world concernina
possession of evil spirits. Under the form
of belief in witchcraft this delusion swept
the continents. Persons were supposed to
De possessed with some evil spirit which
made them able to destroy others. In the
sixteenth century in Geneva 1900 persons
were burned to death as witches Under
one judge, in Lorraine. 900 persons were
burned to death as witches In one neigh
borhood of France 1000 persons were
were slain as witches. So mighty was the
delusion that it included among it's vic
TINS some of the greatest intellects of all
time: such as Chief Justice Matthew Hale
and Sir Edward Coke, and such renowned
one Of whose books Benjamin Franklin
said shaped his life-and Richard Baxter
and Archbishop Cranmer and Martin
Luther, and among writer's and philoso-
pliers Lord Bacon. That belief which has
become the laughing stock of all sensible
people counted its disciples among the
wisest and best people Of Sweden, Ger
many, England, France, Spain and New
England. But while we reject wtchcraft,
any man who believes the Bible must be-
heve that there are diabolical agencies
abroad in the world. While there are
mnistering spirits to bless there are in
fernal spirits to hinder, to poison and to
destroy. Christ was speaking to a spirit
ual existence when standing before the
afflicted one Of the text He said, Thou
dumb and deaf spirit, come ous of him"
Against this dumb devil of the text I
put you on your guard. Do not think that
this agent of evil has put his blight on
those, who by omission of the vocal or
gans hive had the golden gates of speech
bolted and barred. Among those who
have never spoken a word are the most
that were ever incarnated. The chaplains
OF the asylums for the dumb can tell you
enchanting stories of those who never
called the name of father or mother or
child. and many of the most Gevout and
prayerful souls will never in this world
speak the name of God or Christ
Many deaf mute have 1 seen with the
OF the eye: who never came forth from the
door of the mouth. What miracle of
loneliness and knowledge was Laura Bridg-
man. of New Hampshire, not OIL ly without |
faculty of speech, but without hearing
and without sight, all these faculties re- |
yet becoming a, wonder at peedlework, at
the piano, at the sewing machine and an
intelligent student of the Scriptures and |
confounding philosophers who came from
all parts of the world to study the phe-
what it has done for the amelioration OF |
the condition of the deaf and the dumb. |
Back in the ages they were put to death |
as having no right, with such paucity of |
equipment, to live, and for centuries they |
were classed among the idiotc and unsafe. |
But in the sixteenth century came Pedro |
Ponce, the Spanish monk, and in the sew
enteenth century came Juan Pablo Bonet,
another Spanish monk, with dactylology.
or the finger alphabet, and in our own
century we have had John Braidwood and
Drs: Mitchell and Ackerly and Peet and
Gallaudet, who have given to uncounted
thousands of those whose tongues were
forever silent the power to spell out on
the air by a manual alphabet their
thoughts about this world and their hopes
for the next. We rejoice in the brilliant
Inventions, in behalf of those who We're
born dumb.
One Of the most impressive audiences l
ever addressed was in the Far West, an
audience of about 600 persons, who had
never heard a sound or spoken word, an
interpreter standing beside me while I
addressed them. | congratulated that au-
dlence on two advantages they had over
the most of us-the one that they escaped
hearing a. great many disagreeabe things
and on the other fact that they escaped
saying things they were sorry for after
ward.
Yet. after all the alleviations of
shackled tongue is an appalling limitation
eongenial mutes. We mean those who are
BORN with all the faculties of vocahzation
md yet have been struck by the evil one
mentioned in the text-the dumb devil
to whom Christ called when He said,
Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge
:hee, come out of him."
There has been apotheosization of ST.
'ence Some one has said silence is gold.
IN, and sometimes the greatest triumph
to keep your mouth shut. But some
INES silence is crime, and the direct
esult of the baleful influence OF the dumb
fevil of our text. There is hardly a man
" woman who has not been present on
ONE occasion when the Christian religion
became target for raillery. Perhaps it
vas over in the store some day when there
vas not much going on and the clerks
we're IN group, or il was in the factory
IT the noon spell, or it was out on the
arm under the trees while you were rest
ns, or it was in the clubroom. or it was
social circle, or it was in the street on
he way home from business. or it was on
ONE occasion which you remember with.
'ut my describing it, Some one got the !
augh on the Bible and oaricatured the
rofesson OF religion as hypocrisy or ,
nade Dun out OF something that Christ
aid. The laugh started. and YOU joined
n, and not one word of protest did you ;
tier. What kept you silenty Modestys
70. lneapaeity to answer No. Lack OF |
pportunityy No. Ii was blow on both
our hps by the wing of the dumb devil.
some one should malign your father or
aother or wife or husband or child. you
would hush up quick aud either with an