The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1910-10-28
SATURDAY. might
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BY:>::M.,I4E&Asz.%
TIf|;iiN,
REYSAMUELW.pURvIS.D.D.
GODS PARENTHESES.


amid its pearls of comfort and hope.
there occurs this little parenthesis that
we skip over in our eagerncss to feast
our eyes and hearts on the words Of
our departing Saviour. The apostle
quoting Judas, takes pains to assure
us that the speaker was not the traitor
Judas had seven namesakcs in the
Bible, and probably none of them rel
ishcd his cognOmen resemblance to the
bctrNyer st. John realized that all
future readers would confuse the
speaker with his odious double whose
name was to be kissing and II by
word, and so carefully adds, Not Is
CARROT" Good. a parcnthesis of God
outweighs Il paragraph of man. We
are careful to place dollars and cents
In separate columns. but we confound
men. motives, errors and truths.
The Rarity of Charity.
Accuracy is divine. Mathematics
arose in the councils of God To err
Is Humankind human alone Occa-
sionally ii is inhuman. Voltairc, Paine
Burns, Byron-these have long stood
as convenient pegs to hang illustra-
lions that lack but one feature to be
forceful-they are not true Phillips
Brooks of beloved memory was care
full to write Not IscariOt." One
searches his sermons in vain to find
a hasty imputation or thoughtless at
tack We public speakers sometimes
have trick of using illustrations of Il
color that anF good student of history
knows will not wash. Labels are cX
Ccllent things, but they should be prop
erly applied. When we remember our
own leanings from the perpendicular
we ought to be shy of calling every
Judas an lScariot. 1t is n little con
fusing to think that some day the mag
unanimous sod will cover us all without
rcproach. Among men of my craft
many a good "call' has been carefully
boxed, its freight paid and the train
started with prayer, only to be tagged
by Jealous brother who forgot the
parCnthesis. Not Iscariot." | do not
know where either of the Judas breth
rem may be. | leave that to those who
like to map the world above and that
beneath. do know that Gods ledger
is evenly ruled. No confusion there
No auditing required. Judas, the true,
has one page. Judas. the false. an
other In our ardor we quickly gum
and affix our little tags. We use the
terms crank" eccentric fanatic"
"unbeliever." but Gods directory of
who's Who" remains the same With
him every Judas is not an Iscariot.
am glad the higher critics allow this
little parenthesis TO remain. 1t Is a
little gem Of charity hidden amid the
exhaustless mine Of Gods word
Drawing differences.
Nose" said the employer to his
coiorcd teamster. can you draw an in
ference?" "'peed. boss, dem mules
can tote any inference you want If de
tugs hold out" An ancient story, of
course. But differences and weakness
Of harness 90 together. In drawing in
ferences one is apt to forget-"not Is
CARROT" An inference is defined as "a
probable conclusion toward which facts
point. but do not absolutely establish"
When Hannah knelt praying in the
temple her lips moved. but her words
were not audible. Eli. the priest. in
ferred the godly woman was drunk
and so accused her. When Paul was
shipwrecked at Malta he helped gather
the sticks to make fire. A deadly
viper fastened itself on Pauls hand
The barbarians Immediately inferred
that he was Il bad man. mo doubt a
murderer. He escaped drowning, but
the viper Is Gods avenger on him for
his crimes" When Paul didn't fall
dead from the viper's venom they
drew another inference-"he must be
a god" When John came neither
eating nor drinking some inferred he
had a devil" When Christ came
doing both they inferred he was "a
glutton and a wine bibber." or John
Christ said. "None greater born among
women" or Christ God said, This
/ is my beloved Son" mot Iscariot."
Mrs Jones eyes look red as she de-
| scends the steps. Her neighbor lin
fers" that she has quarreled with her
husband. "Do you notice how often
our pastor goes to Browns? He
knows on which side his bread is but
tered" Go slow in your differences.
You may later have to write with
| shamed face. mot Iscariot"
Your Neighbours Name.
We owe it to our neighbOr not to do
him an injustice. A mans character
l is one thing, his reputation another
| His character is what he is, his repu-
tation is what you say he is. Jesus
Christ had a good character. none bet
ter. He could say truthfully, Satan
| cometh and fndeth nothing in me-"
| And yet his reputation during most of
| his public life was bad very bad
Many men in public life have good
character and a bad reputation. Wash
inGton was such a one. So was Lin
coin. Want to make your blood boil ?
Just read the journals of their time.
You are anxious that mot lscariot'
should follow your name. If your
mornings paper says man in your
town was arrested for some crime, you
feel like writing a note to the editor
something like this:
Dear Slr-Please call the attention OF