The Washington herald., 1918-02-24

Billy Sunday preached the follow
Ing sermon last night:
Ecclesiastes, the first chapter and
the third verse What profit hath
man of all his labor which he taketh
under the sum-
This question was asked and an
Bwered by Solomon and means in our
language, What does a man get out
Of life IL he simply lives for what this
life can give him.
And If anybody has ever been able
TO give a right answer to that ques-
tion, from his own wisdom and eN-
perience and wealth and power and
station in life, 1t was Solomon. If
ever anybody came into this world
with a golden spoon in his mouth it
was Solomon.
The devil has a mortgage on some
children at the cradle, but Solomon
had no such handicap. He was the
fayorfte son of one Of the greatest
and best men that has ever lived. His
father was David. who was a man af-
= ter Gods own heart, which means
that he just suited God and when
God says he is satisfied. then you can
write "Finis,' for there is nothing
more to be done.
Solomon was made king Of this
great Kingdom when he was still a
Toung man ana his father, David, was
set alive to give him counsel and ad-
vice. He had every advantage that
high station and boundless wealth
and endless opportunity could give a
man He had wisdom and wealth and
honor such as no man had before
MIN no man has had since, and nc
He had an inyincible army that
stood ready 10 do his bidding and he
was under the power of a great ma
ton which was under the especial
protection of God and he had only to
command and he was obeyed. He
mad only to express his wish and It
was gratined.
ThIrty-seeOnd Degree Sport.
The Queen Of Sheba, hearing of
him in the far-off land where she
lived. made a journey to Jerusalem
which required months and when she
left to go back home she left a record
that half had never been told of his
wealth and power and wisdom.
He wrote 5000 proverbs, and his
songs were 1,COj. That Is the kind OF
ability that solomon had. to answer
the question of my text and if he
wasn't an expert, show me where L
can find one.
What profit hath a man Of all his
Iabors which he taketh under the
sum-"
Now, let's see how well qualified
Solomon was from actual experience
TO answer the question Of my text.
Every great pleasure was at his finger
tins ha yrrane11 anxyfhirp oil no I oH
to do was to reach out his soft. jewel
ed hand and 1t was there. His king
dom was at peace during all his reign
and that gave him an opportunity to
crafty his desires, and from what he
tells us he lost no time.
He took all the degrees OF his day,
he invented some new ones Of his
own. Solomon was a thirty-second de-
gree sport.
He lived in a palace and has servants
were not spring chickens. They were
all high brOws. He was honored and
fiattered as few men have ever been.
He was so rich that his money
couldn't be computed by our stand
ard of gold and silver. Why $40. 00O, ,OOt
in gold came to him in one year as
gifts and presents. He had 4OOOC
horses, he had 10000 horsemen, and
they required for provision to feed
the people that worked for him in the
palace, IS bushels of fine -four, 10
fat oxen, 20 oxen out of the pasture.
100 sheep besides hart, roe, buck.
faIIow, deer and fatted fowl.
Solomon. not only came into the
world with a golden spoon in his
mouth, but it had a diamond sun
burst handle to it.
Drank Knowledge Dry.
He said, Il have seen all the
works which are done under the
sum-" meaning that the world had
nothing more to show him, meaning
there was nothing more that the
world had to teach that he didn't
know. That was going some. believe
me.
At some time in our life we have
all envied great scholarship and
great ability and We have all
thought it would be a foretaste of
heaven If we only had the oppor-
tunity to learn all we'd like to know
and We believe that the greatest
Joy that could come to a human be-
ing was the joy of knowing all
you'd like to know or possessing all
you'd like to own.
Well, Solomon not only drank the
we'll of knowledge dry, but he turn
I'd of the faucet and pulled out
the pump He exhausted all the
schools and colleges of his day, and
ne gave his teachers and professors
nervous prostration in their hope
.esS attempt to teach him some-
hing he didn't already know.
And. after he drank the fountain
of knowledge dry, he said. Go to
now, and will see what, can get
out of pleasure and mirth."
And he cut loose on that line and
carried on in such a way that II
would make a baseball fan at the
world series lool5 like a wooden
dummy in a clothing store.
He climbed into his golden coach
vent round the track sof asst that
I would make Barney OIdfield look
ike a piker. Why. he SGT the
,lsachers crazy, and he brought the
r-and stand to its feet shrieking
md screaming out. sir, and with
,reakneck speed he swung in high
gear down the rose-lined avenues
,f sensual pleasures that opened
~ in front of him in every direc-
ion just as though they led straight
nto paradise instead of straight
nto the pit OF hell.
BY and by his shining chariot of
,leasure lost a wheel and he was
~, H. mud and ba sIo 80