Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-03-06
Calnnase
sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmsse, d. d.


should make no compromise with evil
hnd should be bold and outspoken In
our stand against sin, no matter how
much we may love the sinner, is the
lesson OF this sermon, the text for
which is taken from l Samuel xvi, I,
How long wilt thou mourn for Saui?'
Who has not read with thrilling In
terest Sir Waiter SCOTS story of Jeanne
Deans? / was much interested In
learning that the heroine OF that story
was a real character, a girl who lies
buried near Dumfrles, on whose tomb
stone Is an epitaph written by Scott
himself. 1t Is impossible to refrain
from tears as we read the story. The
girl, whose life is wrapped up in that
of her young sister, gives evidence
against her that convicts her of a cap
ital offense and then walks all the way
to London to obtain a pardon for her.
The brave girl could not tell a lie even
TO save her sister from n shameful
death, but could undergo hardship to
deliver her. That is heroism, the hero
ism OF fine soul that loved intensely,
but feared to sin. Few Of us could
have done thing so heroic We try
10 shield our loved ones. We shrink
from exposing them. We sometimes
shrink even from reproving them lest
we cause them pain. We try to shield
and cover up their wrongdoings even
as you sometimes see a foolish mother
shields from her husband the wrong
doings of her prodigal soc because she
is afraid the father might punish the
boy.
II was In this way that Samuel chung
to his protege, Saul. Most OF us think
or Samuel as a stern faced, grim WIS.,
aged mentor to the young king. We.
picture him standing before the offend
or implacabie as goddess OF justice
with blinded eyes holding high the
scales and ready without a particle Of
personal regret to execute the sentence
when the scales indicate guilt. But
underneath this stern set, iron muscled
countenance of Samuel was a heart of
deep. tender, faithful love. Though he
must denounce SauPs sins, he could
not cease to love Saul. His heart SEEM
ed to cling to Saul, and he would have
been glad, had it been right, to cover
up Saul's misdeeds. Thus In the text
the Lord finds the old prophet and
says practically this: Samuel, how
long are you going to grieve for Saul
He has done wrong. Are you going to
continue to stay at home and grieve 3?
Are you not going forth to try to rec
tify the evil Saul has done? Come.
Samuel, be man. Be brave and true
TO your nobler and better self. Come,
I have selected another king for Is
rael." AS God came to Samuel in
times OF old God is coming to us and
bidding us refrain from useless grief.
Saul Born King.
In the first place you must remember
that Saul was n handsome man. He
was not only king by election, but
he was one of those wonderful men
who are described as every inch
kings because OF their physical pres
ence. He was not only tall, standing
head and shoulders above all his COM
panions, but he was perfectly formed.
And his face In its beauty must have
looked like the features chiseled out of
marble by Phidias to form the beauti-
ful countenances of Greek gods. His
bearing when he first came before
Samuel was so humble and pure that,
even In the eyes of the stern faced
prophet. nothing was to be criticised,
nothing was TO be apprehended.
saul had the refinement in his make
up which came from a cultured life
He was the son OF one of the repre-
sentative men OF his. tribe. His blood
was of the best He walked with the
conscious gait, OF one. well born, who
was natural leader among mon. His
ancestors for generations had been
great men. IL you turn to the record.
you can read these words: "Now, there
was n man OF Benjamin, whose name
was kish, the son OF Abel. the SON OF
Zeror, the son OF Bechorath, the son of
Aphiah, Benjamite, a mighty man of
power. And he had a son whose name
was Saul, choice young man and
soodly, and there was not among the
children of Israel a goodlier person to
look upon than he. From his shout
ders and upward he was higher than
any OF the people" Can you not see
Saul moving along, the cynosure of all
eyes? Cannot you see him, handsome
AS an Apollo Belvedere? Was it any
wonder that Samuel the prophet should
love him and hate to give him up? 1t
Is SO easy to excuse the sins of a man
and woman when they are beautiful
and graceful. But because Saul, the
handsome man, was a sinner, was that
any reason why his sins should not be
condemned by God just as much as If
he was an ugly dwarf?
Mary, Queen of Scots.
Take, for instance, the life OF Mary |
queen OF Scots. There is q lot of |
maudlin sentimentallty expended over
that sinful life. But was NOT John |
Knox right when he used. to stand up,I
In the Scottish pulpit and denounce her |
prohigacles until that beautiful queen |
would drive the nails into the palm |
OF her hand and her teeth into her lips |
until the blood came? And should not |
scores and hundreds OF our women to- |!
day In social life be denounced by |
Ssme modern John Knox IL they are |
running the lives OF men by the charm |
and attraction OF their pretty faces? |
When the great day Of fragment comes |
1t will be found that many of the sins |
or this day which we look upon as triv- |
hl viii be catalogued az among the |
worst OF sins In Gods sight. And there
Is no sin, believe, which viii be more
condemned than that sin so often prac-
dced by women with pretty faces,
which Is called the sin OF fiirta tion-a |
Sin which sometimes not only destroys
all mans true appreciation OF o wo-
mans honor, but will sometimes send
a man into q drunka rd'a and