The Detroit times., 1917-08-23

liberty 10 ait in judgment upon re-
ligion and the church and the min
lstry. The way the frivolous make
light OF those things before which
the profoundest minds in history
have bowed down revcrently, re-
minds one that the weak and fool.
ish ZedekiRhs are not an dead yet
The person who lacks reverence.
lacks the nrst essential OF great
ness.
Essayists have seriously raised
the question In the light OF recent
revelations In the social and com
mercial. as we'll as IN the political
world. whether the sense OF honor
among men aud women Is dying
out. There Is more than a little
evidence for the Affirmative side.
The man who would break his bust
ness before NJ would break his word
or break faith with the people, IL
not so conspicuous AZ he once was
because he ia more common. The
seriousness OF the lack OF high
sense OF honor r. perceived only by
the honorable: this Book which n
mans best code OF ethics writes IL
down in black Zedekiahs breach
OF faith with Jehovah is linked, as
cardinal offense, with his broken
pledge 10 Nebuchadnezzar. The
spccious reasoning may have been
that his covenant was with an en-
envy. nevertheless, II was cove
nant, and even God dcspises tho
man who can not he honorable even
with HIS foe The officer who
breaks HIS parole so victor. Is as
guilty OF conduct unbCcoming 20 an
officer and n gentleman as he who
betrsys his fac FOR the sake OF his
own fortune This high sense OF
personal honor and duty was lack
ing IN Saul. the FIRST or tho kings ot
the Jews and 81 was absent from
the last in both cases 20 the shame
and suffering Of the people.
THE End Thereof"
The end OF II all. sins sure Is
sue. was destruction Nebuchadnez-
zar took Jerusalem. wrought terrible
destruction upon 81 and its people.
without regard 20 age. sex or sta
ton. and made captive the fleeing
king Before he put out Zedekiah's
eyes he made him witness the
death OF his sons. the last picture
that should remain on the brain ~
tho miserable monarch as he Ian
guished TO death in prison. The
royal treasures and the temple fnr-
nishlngs were carried with the cap
tives 20 Babylon Even the Ark OK
the Covenant disappears from his
tory az this time.
The horceness and the duration
of this siege OF Jerusalem and the
completeness OF its destruction arc
pictured only in few bold strokes
by the Scriptures Simplicity char
acterixes this book. which always
suggests more than II tells. thus
becoming the worlds greatest treas
nrS-house OF IDEAS. PAGES and vol
umes Of description could be writ
ten-have been written-upon the
fall OF Jerusalem But the bare mar
rative is enough for the purpose OF
showing that there il a way that
seemeth right 20 man, hut the end
thereof are the ways OF death"
The wreck OF Judah is the pic
ture OF The wreck OF a lost soul. II
- hard 20 believe that physical
beauty, mental attracuveness, and
natural grace OF youth can change
into loathsomeness because there n
associated with these things no love
OF God. Yet Jerusalem. "A city won
drously heautifed. became desola-
ton. an astonishment. a Kissing and
curse Sin enticinE in its begin
nings always issues IN responsiveness
and death u contains in Itself tho
sure causes 81 decay. The wages
Of sin r. death.