The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-08

generations had been great man. If you turn to the record you can read these words: Now, there was a man of Ben jamin. whose name was I1ish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath. the son of Aphiah, a Ben jamite, a mighty man of power And he had a son whose name was Saul. a choice young man and goodly and there was not among the children of Israel a good Her person to look upon than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people," Can you not see Saul moving along, the exposure of all eyes? Cannot you see him, handsome as an Apollo Belvedere? Was 1t any won der 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 hand some man. was a sinner, was that any reason why his sins should not be con- demned 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 a lot of maud lin sentimentality expended over that sin full life. But was not John Knox right when he used to stand up in the Scottish pulpit and denounce her profligacies until that beautiful queen would drive her nails into the palm of her hand and her teeth into her lips until the blood come? And should not scores and hundreds of our women in social life be denaunced by some modern John Knox if they are ruin ing the lives of men by the charm and attraction of their pretty faces? When the great day of judgment comes it will be found that many of the sins of this day which we look upon as trivial will bA fa1A z sins in Gods sight And there is no sin, I believe. which will be more condemned than that sin so often practiced by wo- men with pretty faces, which is called the sin of flirtation-a sin which sometimes not only destroys all mans true ap- preciation of a woman's honor. but will sometimes send man into drunkard's grave and into suicides eternity.
 Shall the world honor the handsome face of Lord Byron when one realizes to what base uses he put that handsome face? If you would read one of the vilest and the most disgusting revelations of depravity all that you have to do is to turn the pages of "Childe Harold" which is believed to be an autobiography, and know what England's handsome poet was able to accomplish for the degradation of the human race Oh, men and women. because sin is masked behind a beautiful countenance, remember it does not cease to be sin. God blasts the sin of a hand some Saul, and he will blast the sins of our modern lecherous and adulterous Lo- tharios as well. Pity Samuel for cling ing to the handsome Saul if you will, but do not condemn him unless you condemn all the men and women who make ex cuses for the modern Don Juan because of their charm or their beauty.
 Friends Who Are Wrong.
 know it is hard to turn our backs upon some friends when we know they are doing wrong I know that some of those friends Wield a powerful influence over our lives. There is a breeziness, fresh- ness, an originality about some of them that holds us to them like magnet. We know, furthermore, that some of those wicked friends love us with a devoted love, but if we do not break away from them in time their sins will corrupt us. There Is an old proverb which says, "If a man breaches what he does not believe, after awhile he believes what he breaches" That is true, but another fact is also true. If you make a bosom friend out of one who is living contrary to all that you believe to be right, after awhile you will begin to sin as he sins and do as he does. You cannot systematically as- sociate with an evil minded person and uOL III lllIle DecOHle eNll HlluueQ yourself. And the more fascinating the friend the quicker your own spiritual ruin.
 What right have you to go with a man or a woman who will tell an jm- moral story? And l would warn my hearers of both sexes on this subject, fol, there are certain women who are just as shameless in listening to such stories as are some men. What right have you to go with men who are loose in their morals or with those who make light of the purity of the home? What right have you to make bosom companions out of those who do not honor the house of God and all that the house of God stands for? What right have you to yoke yourself in business partnership with a man whom you have to watch every moment for fear he will bring a scandal and a dis grace on then anne of the firm? Did your Christian father and mother ever go with such associates as you select for yoru daily companions? Would you be willing to have your companions make the coarse remarks before your wife or children which they often laughingly make before you? Either you must lift your daily companions up to your moral and spiritual