The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1933-03-16
Lesson for March 10
THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOLIC
DRINKS

LESSON TEXT-Proverbs 2S:29-32:
Isaiah 2S:1-4; Daniel 5:1-4.
GOLDEN TEXT-At the last it bit-
eth like a serpent, and stingeth like
an adder. Proverbs 23:32.
PRIMARY TOPIC-The House I
Live In.
JUNIOR ToPIC-A Boy Who Ruled
Himself
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOP
IC-A Dangerous Enemy.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
IC-The Curse of Intemperance.
!. The Effect of Alcohol Upon tho
Individual (PrOv. % :29-32).
1. Woes of those who indulge in
wine wv. %, 30). No more graphic
description of the evils Of the wine
bibber has ever been given. 1t por-
trays in the most impressive manner
the miseries that mark the drunkard's
life. There are six of them.
n. Awful pain, causing them to cry
out.
b. Bitter remorse. Many are the
expressions of bitter regret upon the
lips of the drunkard.
C. Strife and Quarreling. The drunk
en- man is always ready for fight.
He takes offense as well as gives it.
d. Complaining. The winebibber
complains OF everything. i'll luck, bro
ken fortune, ruined health, loss Of
friends, and even of God.
e. Wounds without cause. He has
many wounds which might have been
avOided-from fights in which sober
man would not have been engaged
and from accidents which result from
intOXication.
+. Richness of eyes, the bloodshOt
eyes of the tippler.
2. The drunkard's bitter end wv.
32-35).
a. Acute miseries ". 32.) 1T biteth
like serpent, and stingeth like an
adder" Strong drink, like the poison
of the serpent, permeates the whole
being, causing suffering and death.
b. Perversion of the moral senses
". 33.) This excitement causes the
eyes to behold strange things, fantas-
tic images which are produced on the
brain Of the drunkard. The heart also
utters perverse things,
c. He is insensible to danger. The
drunkard is foolhardy in his acts.
d. He is insensible to pain ". 35).
He has many bruises and wounds for
which he cannot account.
e. He is in abject bondage ". 35).
He IS bond slave to the ways Of
sin.
f. He'll at last, for no drunkard shall
enter the Kingdom of heaven Il Cor.
6:10).
8. The attitude enjoined ". 81. It
is "look not at it," Total abstinence is
the only safe attitude toward strong
drink.
u. Effect Of Alcohol Upon the Ma.
ton lisa. 90 Id.
Just as indulgence in intoxicating
drinks brings ruin to the individual,
so 1t destroys the nation. God pro-
neunced judgment upon Israel because
Of the sin of drunkenness ". ~.
Samaria was the capital city. there
fore stands for the nation. Drunken
ness seems to have been national
sin at this time lisa. SILL, 70; 7:5;
Amos 2:G. 6, -; Al; 6:6). Samaria's
position was an enviable one; the
whole nation was proud of her. The
crown of pride whose beauty had been
so marked was now fading through
the blighting effects of drunkenness.
Even as ruin came upon Israel, so
will God visit judgment upon America
for its drunkenness. The instrument
by which the punishment of Israel
was effected was the Assyrian ". y.
The imagery of this verse shows that
destruction was sudden. swift, and ir-
resiStible.
III. The Effect of Alcohol Upon Ma
fionai Rulers Daniel $40.
Belshazzar's impious feast Is an
outstanding example Of the effect Of
alcohol upon rulers. Note
/. The attendants at the feast wv.
/, p. There were present Belshazzar
the king, his wife and concubines, and
a thousand Of his lords.
2. Their behavior wv. 3, -.
a. They drank wine.
b. They committed sacrilege. They
drank wine out of sacred vessels
which had been taken out of the Tenn
pie, the house Of God at Jerusalem.
c. They wOrshiped idols. They prayed
to gods of gold and silver, of brass,
or iron, wood. and stone, and chal-
lenged the rule of the living God.
With the repeal Of the Eighteenth
amendment will come not only nation
al disgrace but the loss of that high
standard which has as rule charac-
terized American rulership from the
President to the humblest civil officer.
One shrinks from the contemplation
Of what awaits our nation in its de-
termination to legalize the intoxicat-
ing cup.