The Forrest City times., 1903-11-20
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
""n In the international series
for November -, Ioo3-Curse
of strong Drink.
THE LESSON TENT.

net wise.
D BE not among wlnebibbers; among
| rlotous eaters of flesh;
= For the drGnkard and the glut;on
shali come to poverty! and drowsiness
sha.i e.othe man with rags
| ~ VINO hath woe2 who hath sorrow?
who hath conten:ions? who hath babbling?
| WHO hath wounds without cause? who hath
| reCness OF eyes?
% They tnat tarry long at the wine:
they that 40 TO seek mixed wine.
81 LOOK not thou upon the wine when
1t is red when il giveth his color in the
cup. when 1t moveth itself Alright
| 81 At the last it biteth like "A serpent and
| stingeth ike an adder
%. Thine eyes shall behold strange wom-
en-. and thine heart shall utter perverse
things
"a Yea. thou shalt be as he that lieth
Gown in the MIDST OF the sea, or as he that
Ileih upon the top of mast.
20 They have stricken me, shalt thou
| say and was not sick; they have beaten
me, ana | felt II not; when shall | awake?
Will seek II yet again.
GOLDEN TENT.-Wine Is "A mocLer-
Prov. 2OiI.
tFroy. 20:1) OF course these selec-
| tons from the ancient Hebrew Wis
dom-literature" do not bring us new
light on the temperance question. They
simply shew us that to the worlds
keenest minds there has always been
light, and that from time immemerial
liquor has been the curse of the hui
man race But the facts stated by this
writer with such dramatic power are
inulsputable, and could not picture the
situation more perfectly if they had
Deen written in America in 1908.
The first great point in the lesson
for to-day is not that wine Is a
moeker," though it is-it mocks all
high ideals and makes dupes of these
who trust it, for it is voluble with
promises which it never pays-nor is
the point for us that strong drink Is
prawler. though that Is true, as any
one who is familiar with the sights
and sounds about the doors of sa-
loon knows. The first great point
for us is in the words: whatsoever
erreth thereby Is not wise" AS the
race advances and men are controlled
more by reason and less by inclination
and monetary desire, the foolish
things will be seen to be wicked Just
as the wicked things are always fool.
ish. Drinking is wicked. because it
Is foolish. 1t Is the high privilege
and duty OF every man to make the
most of himself physically, mentally
and morally. This he cannot do un.
less he rules out the doing Of foolish
Things. There are great many kinds
OF physical foolishness that are in
temperance, just as truly as drinking
Is, and these should be included in
| the discussion of this lesson. The
worst crime which a boy can commit
against society and against God Is
that which makes him less of a man,
less useful as a citizen, less true as
christian The reasons why the use
OF liquor is, to say the least. not wise,
are brought out as the lesson pro-
crosses.
och. %: 20. 21) BE not among
winebibbers: Selfindulgence or the
self-indulgent disposition is conta
gious. No man who has any regard
for his manhood can afford to run un-
necessary risks with this contagion.
The wise man will keep out of tempta-
ton just as much as possible. Shall
come to poverty" With the wreck OF
ones manhood goes the wreck of his
fortune, so that he who sacrifices his
ideals and the highest things of life
for low sensual pleasures finds him.
self in the end without either. In
| choosing the lower he loses all.
(Ns. 81, 32D Look not thou upon
the wine when it Is red" In other
words, do not be insane enough to
drink anything just because 1t looks
| OOnA TO
makes you feel good, when you know
that it is really poison. AT the
last it biteth like serpent" II ia
deadly. The man does not live who
can begin taking liquor or drug
in moderation" with safety, because
the system does not exist that can re-
slst the deteriorating effects of those
things. One can never tell what the d.
rect effect will be. But 1t will not be pure
ly physical. They benumb the con.
science, destroy will power and kill
self-respect. The moderation theory
is unsound. The only safe course is
to leave them alone entirely.
Vs. 1885, These closing verses
picture the Keeling mind and stupefied
BODY or the drunken man. One read.
ing OF them is enough without discus.
sion. The question is, how we can
best check the evils OF intemperance
The principle must be to overcome
evil with good, and one of the practi
cal methods is limited at in this utter.
ance of Henry van Dyke in the bacca.
laureate sermon to the graduating
class at Princeton last June: 'Intem.
perance," he said, lis the type of all
evils, because so many others grow
out of it, The way to attack 1t is to
make sober life beautiful and full OF
interest Teach your boys how to work.
how to read and study, you, fathers.
before you send them to college. IL
you want to guard them against the
temptations of strong drink and The
many shames and sorrows that 90
with it. You reformers. provide men
with recreations that will not harm
them, If you want to take away the
power of the gilded saloons"
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS
Others nave troubles. but none has