Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-05-05

AOrdhum Ncicofne ner 10 MS nome
can see him place his hsni upon her
head and say: MY child. welcome
thee in the name OF the Lord. well
come thee as my daughter" Methlnks
1 can see Sarah take the young girl In
her arms and press her to her heart
and place a holy kiss upon her fresh
young lips. That night, as usual, the
aged couple have family prayers. Lot
and his bride kneel by the old folks
side. Step ~ step Lots wife Is taught
TO trust God and 10 live for God and to
be one of Gods little children. She Is
rot a Gamble, on the Eongo, taught
from her infancy that the best banquet
she can have Is the Quivering flesh OF
captive whom her husband has
brought home in chains. She Is not an
Aztec Indian, who thinks the best Of
fering she can make to God Is the
bleeding heart OF n human sacrifice
torn out from the ribs OF n pleading
suppliant. she Is child of the cove
| nant, having lived Mt least for years
amid the highest and noblest Of godly
surroundings. She was destroyed be-
cause she refused to obey the teach
ings OF God which she learned from her
father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Lots wife's doom awful. you say.
Yes, but shall not God condemn more
severely those who have deliberately
wandered forth into the ways of sin
and who have once lived in Christian
homes than those who have never
heard the name of Jesus except in bias
phemy? Shall not God more severely
condemn you and me for our sins than
he would our companions In evil whose
mothers were like Delilah, Jezebe, or
Rahab instead of like Sarah or Esther
or Ruth? Indeed, so strong is the in
| fiuence OF our parental Christian
homes that they are tugging at our
hearts today in spite OF present sins.
We cannot drown their echolng calls II
we would.
Influence of the Old Horne.
Some time ago a dear friend Of mine
was out in n mining town. There at
that time was miner noted for bis
sins. Gambler, drunkard, blasphemer
and peddler OF filthy stories was he.
My friend met him one day and said:
Are YOU as bad n man as you make
out to be? You say you are going
home this spring to visit your mother.
Will you get drunk there as you do
here7 Will you tell her the vile stories
You tell here?" The man looked at my
| friend moment and then said: "No
sir 1 wsuld sooner cut of my right
arm than let my mother or my sisters
see me as I am. / came from n Chris.
tan home, and the old truths which
We're taught me there are still plead.
ing with me to be q good Christian
man." oh, my friends, when Lots
wife went astray she did not sin in
ignorance. Like ourselves, she once
lived in a godly home. Like yonder
miner, she had, as we have, the pray
| ers OF her pious loved ones pleading
with her to keep pure and true and
upright, as she ought to have been.
Will you continue to disregard the
Christian teachings OF your youthful
days?
But do the lessons Of Lots wife end
here? No. Drawing near today to the
Abrahamic encampinent we hear a
great strife and turmoil The herdmen
Of Lot and the herdmen OF his uncle are
In bitter strife. Perhaps the cause of
the men were drawing water. Perhaps
the struggle was due TO one shepherd
persisting in his claims that he had n
right to all the grass in one valley.
Anyway, the row was on, and the en-
ployees appealed to their masters for
settlement OF the difficulty. That even
ing Abraham and his foster son deter
mined to part. They came to the con-
clusion that as their hocks were so
great and the pasture SO scant they
had better separate and each go his
own way. But Abraham. with the one
parental spirit, said to his foster son /:
my boy, you can have your choice OF
the land for your future home Then,
after you have made your selection. I
will make mine"
Then what happens? The Bible says
that Lot went 10 Sodom because the
grass was rich and the pasture good.
But reading between the lines I think
i can tell other reasons for the choice.
That night when the great shepherd en-
campment Is asleep / see the lights
burning In Lots tent. hear woman
In earnest conversation with her hus-
band. She is talking about like this:
Lot, what is the good OF our living I'm
q tent all our lives? We have lots OF
sheep and horses and cattle. We are
rich. We can do what we like. You
can let the overseers look after the
herds. Take life easy and have some
fun Why not go down to Sodom and
mingle In the society OF wealthy and
refined and aristocratic people? Our
girls are growing up. They need q
coming out party. oh, 1 know there
are bad people living down there, but
because they are bad We do not neces-
sarily have to be very bad. Besides.
Lot, don't you remember those big
merchants OF Sodom who stopped with
Us last year on their way 60 Danfas-
cusf Their wives were charming pee
pie They moved In the best society.
Iney asked me to come to Sodon1 to
live, and they would introduce me 60
their friends. Come. let US go and live
In Sodom! The grass Is good In the
plains of Jordan. There we can ind
good pasture for the fiocks and herds
and have lots OF pleasure besides. /"
And Lot and his wife went to live In
Sodon. Why?
WAY They Went 60 seldom.
Can you find one circumstance, one
ground for hope OF spiritual develop
ment, that could have induced Lot
and his wife TO go to live In Sodom
Or Gomorrah? What Pompeii and
Herculaneum We're TO the ancient
Romans these vile cities were to the
inhabitants of the east Their sins
were SO vile and awful and debauch-
Ing that no public teacher OF this day
dare mention them or write them for
print. Today as you walk among the
ruins OF Pompeii you see the most re-
voting and disgusting pictures paint
ed upon the walls, which prove how
the inhabitants OF the aristocratic sub
urbs OF Rome gloried in their bestiali-
ties. Such We're the inha bitants OF
Sodom. They made no pretense to de-
cency. They not only sinned, but they
gioried in their sins. They published
those sins everywhere They practic-