The Washington herald., 1917-11-11
The Herald's Special Sermon
The Fate of the Stacker!
By Rev. J. HENNING NELMs, DID

By Rev. J. HENNING NELMs, DID.
The following sermon was written
especially for The Herald by the Rev.
DIR. ]. Henning Nelms, pastor of the
Church Of the Ascension, Twelfth
and Massachusetts avenue northwest.
Text: Curse ye Meroz, said the
angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly
the inhabitants thereof; because they
came not to the help of the Lord, to
the help Of the Lord against the
mighty"
They were the indignant words that
came from the stirred depths of a
woman,s soul. She quoted the words
as the message which God sent
through his angel 1t was not a wom-
ans curse, but a woman's declaration
Of Gods curse upon Meroz as a city
and upon the individual inhabitants
thereof.
The world has not suffered because
now and then a woman has been
made the sovereign of a nation, and
the people of Israel were blessed, in
deed, in having Deborah as sovereign,
dictator. and judge at the time Of the
text. She is the woman from whose
lips the words fell. She judged Israel
many years, and furnished the cour-
age that Barak. commander-in-c chief
of her armies, lacked. She conquered
the Canaanitish foes that were gath
cred against her and gave her coun-
try rest and peace for forty years.
The Canaanites, like grasshoppers
for multitude. were waging war
against the separate and now some
what separated tribes of Israel. Jabin,
king of Canaan, was the reigning
monarch of Canaan, and Sisera was
The commander-in-chief of his armies.
Deborah, the seer, soldier, poe less.
and prophecies of Israel, surnmone
Barak, the leader of her armies, to
so up to battle against the mighty
nations that had gathered against
hem. Barak was a coward. He re-
fused to go unless Deborah would ac-
company him to camp and battle,
too. to give inspiration and enthusi-
asm to his army TO make victorious
battle against their enemies.
Israel Is Degraded.
The Israelites had felt that they
could live their lives, make their ma
ton great, their tribes be independent
one of the other, and their people
valiant and patriotic, without taking
God into account. That result which
has always come under such condi-
tions to characterization in morals
and disloyalty to state and nation,
too. 1t was the beginning of that
period OF retrogression of the Israel
ties that ended in the terrible degra-
dation that came when there was no
king in Israel" no authority that
man recognized, not even the author
ity OF the Almighty, but every man
did that which was right in his own
eyes" was guided by the dictates OF
his own conscience, followed the bent
OF his own desires and passions pro-
vided he was strong enough to do So
But now the battle is done; Sisera,
the leader of the Canaanitish hosts,
is dead, the armies of Jabin have fled
from the land and left the Israelites
complete masters of the field and the
country which was theirs by title
deeds from Almighty God. Deborah
and her people gather together to
celebrate their great victory. De.
borah is not a judge in uttcring the
words of the text. She is not a
| prophecies, too. The words of the
| text are the dramatic climax to her
magnificent triumph song, hardly
surpassed in any literature.
! Deborah fr. nkly admits for her
self and all Israel that their trouble
/ had come because they had deserted
Jehovah and followed new gods. The
! Israelitish army had help from every
| type OF manhood. In her song De-
borah pays tribute, first of all, to
the people who willingly offered
I themselves, the volunteer soldiers in
the ranks who did not wait to be
drafted or conscripted, even. The army
vas strengthened by many of the gov