Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

4. CHKISTIAN NATION. volume 18.3-^t l TEHOVAH, help; the godly oease;^J Among the sons of men decreaseThose who uprightly live.With flatt'ringlips they falsehood speak,And with a double heart they seekTheir neighbors to deceive.Jehovah shall false lips destroy.And tongues that boastful words employ;That say with one accord:Our tongues shall in our cause be strong.Oar lips to us alone belong;Who over us is lord?For those that are oppressed indeed.For all the poor that sigh in need,Lo, now will I arise;Thus saith Jehovah in His grace:And them I will in safety placeFrom such as them despise.Pure the Lord's words as silver tried.In furnace seven times purifled;O Lord, Thou from this raceWilt safety for Thy saints provide.The wicked walk on every side.S. S. LESSON VIII., SABBATH, MAY 21, 1893.When vileness has high place.Against Intemperance, Prov. 23:29-35.GOLDEN TBXT !Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoeveris deceived thereby is not wise. Prov. 20:1.29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions?who hath babbling? who hath wounds withoutcause ? who hath redness of eyes?30 They that tarry long at the wine ; they that goto seek mixed wine.31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it movethitself aright.32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingethlike au adder.33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, andthine heart shall utter perverse things.34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in themidst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of amast.35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I wasnot sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not; whenahall I awake? I will seek it jet again.Eev. T. P. RobbTemperance is often defined iti tbese words :" Moderate use of anything." Tbose who urgethis as the true meaning of the word will acceptof a little limitation. We must surely allagree that the indulgence must be right in itself,or it may not be done at all. No one willclaim the right to swear moderately, or to liemoderately, or to steal moderately, or to bemoderate in the number they kill. We wouldnot council men to be moderate in their workupon Sabbath. In all these instances tbere isonly one requisition, and that is, to avoid thething entiiely. There is only one command inthe decalogue tbat is not negative in its statement,and prohibitive in its form. If any onewill determine under wbich command, or commands,tbe evil of intemperance should be 1 liquor; it is indispensable to one who leads tbecarry on their business without the use ofclassed he can tben determine whetb'^r or not life of shame. Had we better tamper and toyit is to be tolerated or forbidden. Tbe use of with tbe wine cup, the one tbing on which tbeintoxicating liquor is forbidden in the lesson. harlot depends in leading her awful life ofI. It IS Desceibed.degradation ?II. Its Eepects Noted.5. It corrupts the fountain of thought. OurIII. The Waening is Emphasized.Lord tells us that " out of the heart proceedI. In tbis thought we are taken to tbe Sst evil thoughts." So bere, tbe fountain beingverse. Here is named, Wine. It is the wine poisoned, the stream of perverse tbings flowsof the Bible. We do not need to go into any out through the mouth.learned disquisition about original words. 6. The entire reason is in confusion. " YeaWine was once promised to men as a blessing. tbou shalt be as he tbat lieth down in tbeLet scholars have tbe good of their scholarly midst of tbe sea," etc. David in the 107tharguments. We will satisfy ourselves withgeneral principles, The fact tbat a thing wasonce right does not say that it is always right.The observance of the P ssover was once right,and a most important duty. To observe it todayis a sin. Once men were justified in theuse of the lot, in the determining of difficultquestions. Today it is wrong thus to appealto God for a decision, because all questionsmay be decided without sucb appeal. Andhere allow a word. You profane what wasonce a sacred ordinance of God wben you allowtbe playing of cards, dominoet, authors, or anygame that involves the element of chance.Tbe Brazon Serpent was set up by tbe commandof God, and by bis servants it was takendown and burned to ashes, and called nehushtan.Intoxicating wine, wbatevtr may havebeen its place once, is here, by Solomon, namedout and condemned. And not Solomon alone.Tbe Holy Spirit forbids it here.2. It is described as red. Tbis is supposedio refer to tbe fact that the older and strongertbe w'ne, tbe more sparkling and dazzling itscolor.3. When it moveth itself right. Tbe revisedversion renders, " when it goeth down smoothly."In either case, it; seems to refer to tbepleasing of the palate. Solomon had provedwine and called it a mocker, so he says here,do not be deceived by tbe taste. Our desiresare perverted. In no case is tbis more truetban in tbe experience of the drinker.We Notice in the Text, the Effects ofUsing Stkong Dbink Descbibed. 1. Greatbodily and mental distress. "Woe" and"sorrow," v. 29. A priest, to whom many ofbis people confessed the sin of drunkenness,was curious to know tbe secret of the sin, andstole away and was drunk iu secret for threedays. Afterward, when a penitent confessedto drunkenness, the only penance Le requiredwas this, " Go and be druuk again." Let themiserable wretch jast recovering from b debauchtell the " woe," and express the "sorrow."There is only one safe way in relation to strongdrink, and that is, let it alone.2. A disordered mind aud abused body."Contentions, babblings, useless wounds, redeyes." The bodily appetite gains the masteryover tbe intellectual part ; the mind becomesbefogged, tbe vision distorted, and tbe judgmentdethroned. The sane man tecomes amaniac, and the peaceful citizen a bloody assassin.The only rational thing to do witb suchan enemy, is to have nothing to do with it.3. Held in a bondage bard to break. " Tbeytarry long at the wine, thoy go to seek mixedwine," V. 30. Tbe tendency of drinking istoward excess. One glass, then another. Onekind of liquor, then another. Ligbt wines,then stronger, then the distilled poisons thathapten tbe end.4. Vile associations. "Thine eyes shall beholdstrange women," v. 33. The revised reads," thine eyes shall behold strange things." Bothare true. The saloon and brothel are closestneigbbors. The Chief of Police of New Yorksome years ago said that tbe testimony of almostall fallen women was tbat tbey could notPsalm compares the mariners to a drunkenman. His son here compareth tbe drunkenman to tbe storm tossed mariner. One whoR E L I G I O U S A N Dhas ever seen a miserable wretch in tbe ago.nies of delerium tremens, will be able to appreciatetbe figure used in this verse.7. But the last and most awful effect is thedreadful bold whicb intemperance has upon itsvictims. " Wben shall I awake? I will seek ityet again," v. 35. And tbis is the history of theevil. More than one hundred thousand personsgo down to deatb annually, from alcoholism,aud tbe ratio is rapidly increasing. Vastcorporations are massing together their millionsin the liquor business, and all civilizedgovernments are partners in the trade. Notone of tbem can approach our government inits care and nursing of the manufactories ofthis evil. And every voter becomes a party tothe crime. And yet tbis is wbat they do. Bindmen under fetters tbat tbey cannot break, andleave tbem there to go down to Hell. "Nodrunkard can inherit the kingdom of Heaven."Now, let US reason together. What bad webetter do with tbis wine cup? Place it on ourtable and tell our eons aud daughters to belpthemselves, and offer it to our guests, and licensemen to sell it, and identify ourselves withthe Christless government tbat talks of increasingits revenue from 90c. per gallon to $1.25per gallon? Will we swing into line, or sballwe stop, look at the vast army swaying andswaggering along and jostling each Other, tosee which can tumble into Hell first? O stop IListen to the admonition of the lesson. Listento Solomon. I have not a doubt but that heknew wbat tbe drunkard felt like, for be triedeverything, and he says, let it alone. Noticethen,III. The Wabning Emphasized. "'Looknot tbou." I will not argue with intelligentpeople as to the meaning of tbese words. Tbeymean total abstinence, or they mean nothingat all.1. Total abstinence is safe. He who nevertakes the firstglass will never die a drunkard.He wbo bas not been a total abstainer will beperfectly safe in becoming one.2. Total abstinence is right. Tbe personwho totally abstains from tbe use of intoxicantsviolates no law of God in doing so. Such abstinencewill not lead bim into bad company,or under evil infiuences, or cause him to losebis reason and kill some one.3. Total abstinence is a duty. We owe it toourselves. A deviation from tbis course doesput us in danger. "Look not thou" Wesbould respect tbe weakness of others. Paulsays, " I will neither eat meat, uor drink wine,if it cause my brother to ofEend."4. For sake of tbe association, we should abstain.Tbe wicked desire tbe company of thegood. Respectability is sought as a cloak tocast over almost all evils. We owe it to thoseto whom our example extends tbat we shallabstain from tbe appearance of this evd.Concluding Kemaek.One of the seductions of intemperance is thesocial glass. " What will you drink?" It isfrom the old tippler that tbe habit of treatingcame. Boys, do not allow any one to treat you.It is a pernicious habit, and may lead to evil.Againit Intemperance.By Gace Hamilton George.We listen to the words of the wise. Wehave reverence for the old. We love to followthe advice of a loving father. So when Solomonspeaks in these verses as a wise old father,