Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1901-07-05
TEMPERANCE SERMON.

Delivered in the Baptist church, at Rock.
Vile. Nd, June 80, 1901, by the Rev. Robert
Lee McNair, of the Presbyterian church,
and Published at the request of the audience.
Text:-"Wisdom is justified Of her
children. Matt 11:19
The life Of John the Baptist was very diff
ferent from that of Jesus. John seems not
TO have mingled with men but to have
| lived in retirement and secluslon, taking
but little interest In the social or political
affairs of his day He was simple In his
habits and dress and abstemious in his meat
and drink. Jesus, on the other hand. was
a man amongst men. He mingled freely
with all classes and conditions of men. He
was present In all kinds OF respectable gath
erings and took part in their leasts. The
people were pleased with neither Of these
lives. They said OF John, He hath devil
and of Jesus, Behold man gluttonous, a
wine bibber, and a friend of publicans and
sinners. There was, however, no conflict
between the lives Of John and of Jesus.
John is commended by our Saviour. And
he answers the objection of the multitude
in the words Of the text, Wisdom is justified
of her children.
Many prefer to translate this passage,
Wisdom is justified by her works. The
meaning and application In either case are
practically the same. Their lives were the
best adaptation of the circumstances and in
harmony with the spirit of their mission.
Johns gospel was one of rebuke and Sc
verest denuncation. He ceased to hurl the
fiery thunderbolts of the desert against every
form of wckedness. The work OF Jesus
embraced every sphere of life. He, too, was
both severe and kind He was ever intoler'
ant of evil yet ever patient and long suffer
ing in all of his dealings with men. He
lived according to the common modes OF
life in his day. He came eating and drink
ing as other men. For good and sufficient
reasons John abstained from their meat and
drink. For the same kind of reasons Jesus
did not abstain from them Their lives,
therefore, were the part of wisdom in each
case, and were justified by their true effects
They were the adaptation of such measures
as would meet the needs of different cases.
This same principle applies to the great tenn
perance question OF to day.
There would be no gain for the cause OF
temperance, even il 1t were possible, TO deny
that our Saviour turned the water into real
wine and drank OF it, or that he partook of
wine on many other occasions Wine IN
his day was part OF the commonest and
simplest meals. 1t was used very much as
tea and coffee are used in this day. DIR.
Broadus says of it, that it was light pure
wine usually mixed with water. A glass of
1t effected person Just about as much as q
good cup of tea or coffee would affect him.
The wine oil that day was, however, be
yond question Intoxicating II drank TO ex-
cess. YET, it must be conceded by all lair
minded persons that in no case did our
Saviour commit himself to an endorsement
of the conditions prevailing TO day. There
is indeed no connection between the course
adopted by Him aud the liquor traffic OF
this day. There was no such thing as the
liquor traffic in that day. Dstitted liquors
were unheard of until 1900 years Later.
There is in the Bible, as well as in the prln
ciple contained in our text, the clearest
condemnation of the present traffic-uncon'
conditional and incorporating.
No friend of temperance, or OF any other
good cause, need ever to be afraid To take
his stand Internationally upon the Bible
platform. Ii ia vain on the other hand for the
friend OF any error to attempt to find refuge
in Bible truth. Let us look at some oil the
scenes which the Bible presents.
Noah fell victim TO strong drink on one
occasion at least We see him wholly un.
der its influence. He lies upon the ground
an object OF contempt and OF disgust. Take
the case of Lot. His daughters made him
drunk with wine, and by their incestuous
crime, there were brought into being those
races, of low instinct, called the Moabltes
and the Ammonites, which were curse 10
themselves and TO the very earth In their
day There stood Nadab and Ablbu ad-
mnistering in the priests office before the
Lord. They were struck dead because they
offered strange fire. There is but little room
for doubt that they were intoxicated at the
time, because in this same connecuon, the
priests are forever warned against drinking
wine or strong drink while within the
Lords Court, lest they die. Where can you
find a more complete picture oil drunken
debauch than in Babylon. Belshazzar, the
acting king, undertook to make great dis
play OF royalty. He prepared feast and
invited a thousand of his Lords. lie had
brought to HIM the sacred golden vessels
and he drank wine before the thousand.
Through their drunkenness they failed TO
take the proper precaution and In the midst
OF their revelings the enemy came upon
them "rhat night was Belshazzar SLAIN.
The city was taken and many others no
doubt persisted with him. Here was ma
tional calamity, the result Of strong drink
Coming on down TO the New Testament we
are brought into the presence of the be-
sotted Herod We see him bring his step
daughter In to dance, In shame and dis
grace, before his drunken company. The
climax Is reached in the CHASTITY presenta'
ton OF John the Baptisi's head IN charger
Surely these pictures with many others were
not placed In the Bible as an endorsement
OF drunkenness. Who could iall To recog-
nize in them the unmistakabe signals OF
awful danger
The Bible condemnation Of drunkenness
is made still clearer by precept than by ex'
ample Take this striking passage, no
hath woe? who hath sorrow 7 who hath
contentionsH who hath babblingf who hath
wounds without causeI who hath rednesss oil
eyes 2 They that larry long at the wine; they
that 90 10 seek mil ed wine. Look not thou
upon the wine when it is red, when II
glveLh it color 10 the cup, when u moVeth
itself Alright. AT the last it biteth like a ser
pent and stingeth like an adder.-Prov. 20
30 81 Again, swine is mocker, strong
drink is raging; and whatsoever Is deceived
thereby is not wise. Prov Dol, or "Be
not deceived neither iOrnicators nor idola'
ters, nor adulterers, nor thieves, nor covet-
Gus, nor drunkards, shall inherit the king
dom of God."-1 Cor. z: Q 10. In another
place we are told that without are dogs aud
sOrcerers and whoremOngers and murderers
and idolaters and whatsoever lovelh anu
maketh a lie. These characters are all
grouped together, they shall all be LETT with
I
out.
The Bible goes still further. Not only
does il warn the individual against the evils
of strong drink, but it warns all Of us against
the evils which come upon those who would
deal IL ont to men. "Woe unto him that
giveth his neighbor drink, that putteth thy
bottle To him and maketh him drunken. -
Hab. 2:15. Are we not justified IN saying
woe be 10 that nation or town or commu-
nifty that gives men drink? Our observa-
tions should teach us this truth. Picture
10 yourself the poverty, and misery ana
want which have been made by strong
drink Call to memory the beautiful homes
in any community which have been In
herited from an industrious parent and for
ieited, sold for strong drink. Think OF the
crime-the outrage. the bloody murder
the blasted hopes, the broken hearts, the
gray hairs, the tears, the cries, the groans
in The wake of this awful traffic DO /