Democratic messenger., 1906-06-23


wIsest of All Men.
King solomon stands rs the symbol
~ the AN Knowing One" lie WAS Tie
wiscst Of all men. The Bible distinct
~ declares IL. Not only were all the
secrets of the past ages to him an open
book. but he was the reader Of mems
minds aud the prObcr of the innerIn0st
secrets of their hearts before they had
opened their lips 10 speak to him
word You all know how the wisdom
of King solomon was first tested By
the queen of Shcba before she came TO
the Jerusalem capital to visit the wis
est of all men. Legend tells US that
she first sent letter 10 solomon by
her ambassadors. Accompanying these
ambassadors she sent J0O youths dress
cd as maidens and 500 maidcns dress
ed us youths. Then she sent a chalice
and diamond intricatcly pierced.
Then. writes Dr Kitto. the letter was
supposed to read thus: AS true
prophet thou wilt he able to separate
the maidcns from the boys. pcrforate
the diamond and Ill the goblet with
water that hath not dropped from the
beneath" Legend tells us further that
King solomon told the ambassadors the
contents of the letter before IL was
opened. Then he solved the three rid
dies In the following way: First he
placed basin of water before each
Vntteh unI gttuflan unI lao hu
they washed he was able to distinguish
the boys from the girls. Second. he
threaded the lntricately pierced da.
mond by compelling small worm to
crawl through the crystal labyrinth.
while there was tied to the body Of the
worm II small silken thread. Thirdly.
he filed the golden goblet with water
which had not fallen from the heavens
above or gushcd up from the waters
beneath by driving colt around and
around and around until his lathcred
ilankS We're covered with foam and
filled the goblet to the brim. These ex.
amplcS Of the wisdom of solomon may
be only fables; hut, whether they are
fables or not. one fact we do know,
and that is that the wisdom Of King
solomon stands as II type Of the all
knowing wisdom. the wisdom of an
omniscicut. all seeing God.
God Knows Everything.
Is II not II blessed satisfaction 10 you
that God knows everything: The world
for years may have been misiudging
and condennIng us not because ii IL
an unjust world at heart. hut simply
because its knowledge is so mcager.
How differently the world would treat
n Washington or II Lincoln II they
could only come back to earth. How
differently we would treat our own
dear ones IL we only knew the true
conditions Of their lives think the
saddest remark ever heard of any
one making was by dear member OF
my church. She was lying In bed about
to die OF Il cancer. One day she looked
Up and said: II wonder If God will ever
forgive me for being irritable and fault
finding 10 my children? sometimes
think | was not 10 blame for being
cross. | sometimes think that this can
Ger has been working upon me and un-
dermining my system for years and
years. and did not know IL. and my
irrtahility was due to my sickness and
not because my nature was naturally
cross" .th. yes. the world may not
know the causes of our actions but
God knows Is II not blessed thought
To you that God knows your every
thought and your every deed and does
not misinterprct your actions. rs the
world so often docst lie knows all
Yes, all.
King solomon. in the next place, was
not man of blood. He was not the
central figure Of sanguinnry battle.
fields Ills chief musical instinct was
not the buglc to sound forth the clarion
call to arms lie was the prince Of
peace. He was the creator and the de.
vclopcr of n nations industries during
an era when the sword was turned into
n plowsharc and the spear into prun-
ing hook He was not like Napoleon
or Frederick the Great or Il Caesar
or an Alexander or Cyrus or an Ar
ldAtTAtS, MupSt EIeditsi tEtllu W Idillt
was dependent upon the rapidity with
which they could unsheath their
swords ana the unerring power with
which they could strike and destroy a
trembling foe. But King Solomon's
greatest claim to fame rests upon the
fact that he was a builder and not Il
destroyer. creator and not con.
queror.
Rivers of Gold.
Like Moses bringing forth water
from IIorcb, King solomon lifted his
magic wand and struck the hard bowl
dcrs of national finance. and at once
there gushcd forth rivers OF molten
gold. Work. work work. there seemed
to he plenty of work in his kingdom.
There was work for everybody and
high wages aud prosperity for all As
we wander today over the hlllsides we
find them covered with orchards. The
trees are bending so lew under the
weight OF the fruit that the branches
have 10 be propped up. When we go
down into the valleys we find them
covered with the golden headed har-
vests. When we go down Ia the sea