The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-04-18

ST Ma tthew Eff: Then he saith,
II Will return into My house whence
III can1e4nllt; and INK b en- 1e54ts a come
lie Andeth it empty. .Fel1tf;aH t,. sar-5
nlshed S1si.s q Y s8 35
the notion Of a devil and or demon
{iacal possession seems to have been
q its height ins the time CT Christ. II.
colors His own speeches and the writ
inrs OF His apostles. Whether He
Himself actual shared it, or simply
accommodated Himself to current
opinion is a question i've iced not
nov discuss.
The one thing certain is the great
Il truth Jesus taught, that#File thoughts
and wicked ina ginations and deeds OF
lust and cruelty, proceed from man
himself. and not from imps OF dark
ness in the air about him.
-out Of the heart" says Jesus,
adnlteries. fornic tn fts, false
witness, ratings: these are the things
which defle the man n
It is hard for us even today to
learn the lesson that nausht can harm
us save ourselves.
The tongue of SANDER may assail
ones reputation; it cannot touch his
character No one but myself can do
me vital injury When the heart is
right, there is nothing to fear. The
only. thing that needs to trouble US
is that he may not see and do our.
duty. The universe is not against US.
1t is. for us. The only force opposed
to righteousness is within. AL that
antagonizes our interests in centered
in the heart.
us. no grinning fiends lie in wait.
Socrates has said, mo evil can hap
pen to a good man: whether he be
alive,sor whether he be dead"
Meaning Of the Story.
The story Of the text comes to US
In the familiar drapery. The. un-
clean spirit when he is gone out Of
the man, passeth through waterless
places, seeking rest and fndeth 1t not.
Then he said. 81 will return into my
house when came out; and when
place was empty. It had been swept
and garnished.'
The demon came back because there
We're no angels in the house. The
place was empty. Itha d been swept
and garnished, it's true, as for the re-
ception Of some great and Eonored
guest; but the guest had not come.
A
demons opportunity was fayorable;
there was no one to~keep him-out.
N What more natural than to return to
his ancient lodging And when he
came, he did not come along Then
he goett and taketh with him seven
other spirits more evil than himself,
and they enter in and dwell there;
and the last state of that man be-
cometh worse than the first. Even so
shall it be also unto this evil genera
ton"
It was bad enough TO be possessed
by one, but one demon is always lone
some. He must have company. The
house was empty; there was plenty
demon was an occasion. for a holiday
in "deyi1dom." He and his friends
would make the empty chambers
echo: for the seven he took with aim
were worse than himself. Evils null
tiplF. One vice is lonesome. Drunk
enness, for example, rarely travels by
Itself Itmust have more debasing
company "A bad thought must have
society. Left to itself it dies The
brain that admits one evil thought
speedily becomes city OF evil
thoughts.
The course Of wickedness is from
DhQ5 lO SSNuIat., WHICH wv rug
gives birth to that which is increas-
ingly wrong And soon to destruc-
ton! THE last state OF the man be-
cometh worse than the s.frst.'' Let q
single sin have place, and a hos will
come. The one demon brings the
other seven; and the seven multiply.
speedily to a legion.
This is the story. Accepting the
form of it, for the moment, let us ask
for It's moral What is the lesson?
The lesson lis this: When You have.
cast out your devils, do not leave
your house empty! Do not sweep and.
garnish and clean house just for
nothing
When rid or a bad tenant. put a
hetterS one in This is what the ,uan.
instte parable should have done. Then
when the banished spirit returned. lie
would have found on opposition that
would have effectually barred the
door against him. ] t is easy to enter
a Edese rted city. Not so, when an army
reposes behind the walls and sol-
dfers guard the rbattIements.
Dropping the figure OF the parabl lie.
the moral is this: Life is positive.
III t means some thin &: 1t is not a sum
OF substraction, but in addition and