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THE TUI ATT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON S'?
THE REV. A, C. DIXON, D. D.
Rnlijerf ; Tin* Cook of Wlfuiotn.
Sew York City.—The following ser
I. on was contributed to the Union
Gospel News by the Itev. A. U. Dixon.
i »• D. it is entitled “The Hook of Wis¬
dom,” ;uid :s mu appreciation of I’rov
erhs. lie took for ills text. “The prov¬
erbs of Solomon, the son of David,
king <*f Israel.” Proverbs 1:1.
To preach a sermon on the whole
book of Proverbs maty be a difficult
task, but 1 shall attempt it this morn¬
ing in order that, if for no other rea¬
son, I may impress upon you the Im¬
portance of reading the whole book at a
sitting.
If we should read a part of a friend's
letter and .another part, to-morrow, and
another part the next day. wo should
hove .at the close a very confused no¬
tion of what he had written to us. The
method which many have of reading
the Bible by piecemeal may impart im¬
portant: instruction, but it docs not give
us the setting of the books nor a view
of the P.ible ns a whole.
Headers of fiction think little of sit
ting up late at night that they may
finish a thrilling story. If the lovers
of <bid’s Word would spend the same
time reading it consecutively they
would Ibid it more thrilling than any
book of fiction.
To a superficial observer, reading
the hook of Proverbs may be like
reading the dictionary. The subject
changes so often. And yet there is
a plan in the book which Jt closer
study shows to be an orderly arrange¬
ment.
'1 he (irst nine verses are the preface,
in which we have the use of proverbs.
They enable us to “know wisdom and
instruction, to perceive the words of
understanding, to give subtlety to the
simple, to the young man knowledge
and discretion.” If he hears and
heeds then they will be an ornament;
<>• grace unto bis head and chains
about bis neck. Each proverb is a
jewel of wisdom more precious than
rubies.
l'Toin the tenth to the nineteenth
verses there is described the socialism
of sin, and the young man is warned
against it. “My son, if sinners entice
thee, consent thon not.” If they say.
“East in thy lot among us, let us all
have one purse,” “Walk not thou In
the way with them; refrain thy feet
from 1hoir path; for their feet run
evil, and make haste to shed blood.”
The social element in sin Is one of its
most dangerous features. The habit
of social drinking has made many a
drunkard. The social nature carries
the young man to the saloon, the pool
room, the gambling den, and entices
him to destruction. Men and women
go in docks II! sheep m daughter.
'ini'. 1v ’f m oil £ *>** ai>i, the so
bnina dal nature drags,,.’ be. w£ s a i,i« M-h
!• U is 'O hard to . c away
L ni congenial company. Th« social
club 1ms wrecked many a Christian
for time and eternity. Watch, there¬
fore, against the socialism of sin.
When sensualists say, "East in thy
lot among us, let us all have one
purse,” go the other way. Such a
tion community of goods means a federa¬
of death, which sooner or later
will lend to destruction.
Hoginning with the twentieth verse
of the first chapter there is revealed
to us tin' mission of wisdom. Many
expositors believe that wisdom here
refers to Christ, as lie “is made wis
*lom for us." And He is certainly tlie
Incarnation of wisdom. But the sim¬
plest and most natural definition of
wisdom, as if seems to us is common
sense. Common sense erletli without,
she nttoretli tier voice in the street;
she criotli in the chief place of con¬
course. in the openings of the gates.
Wherever a man goes his common
sense appeals to him to fear God and
keep His commandments.
If he refuses he will sooner or later
see his mistake, and the Common Sense
that called upon him will laugh at
his discomfiture; "Because I have
called, and ye refused: I have stretched
out my hand, and no * regarded;
man
hut ye have set at naught all my coun¬
sel, 1 will also laugh at your calamity,
l will mock when your fear cmnetli."
I do not believe that God in this pass¬
age is represented as laughing at the
calamity or mocking at the fear of any¬
one. Our Common Sense laughs at us
and mocks us when distress and an¬
guish come upon us. We saw what we
ought to have done ami did it not.
Wc appreciate opportunities lost, never
to return, and in such a condition we
call upon our Common Sense, but get no
answer, for it lias no remedy to supply.
We seek the resources of wisdom, but
nyc cannot find them, for that we hated
knowledge and did not choose the fear
of the Lord. "Therefore they shall cat
of the fruit of their own way and he
filled with devices." The mission, of
wisdom calling to ns from every quar¬
ter. is to lead us to do right, to trust
God and walk in ilis ways, and if
we fail to hear this voice and heed its
•counsels there w 11 come a time when
this very wisdom will he our greatest
xlisi ress.
The first eighteen verses of the third
■chapter establish the fact that godli¬
ness pays, even though chastisements
wine with it. And this chapter fur¬
nishes a motto which every Christian
ought to adopt as the rule of his life:
•‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,
and loan not unto thine own under¬
standing. ltt all thy ways acknowledge
Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the
Lord and depart from evil, it -diall he
health to tin navel, and marrow to thy
hones. Honor the Lord with thy sub¬
stance. and with the first fruits of nil
thine increase: so shall thy barns he
tilled with plenty, and thy presses shall
burst out with new wine.”
The man whose trust is in the Lord.
with entire Jack of confidence in him¬
self. God will direct, and the man who
honors the Lord with the first fruits
| of shall course, have an applies Increase to of the wealth. Old Testa¬ This,
ment dispensation, when wealth was
| tlie result of faithfulness. But under
; the reign of grace there is something
better than money promised. There
may come poverty and persecution,
and with this true prosperity. We are
not to expect pay in money for services
rendered to God, but if we are faith¬
ful we can plead the promise that He
will “supply all our need according to
Ilis ricl/es in glory by Christ Jesus.”
With this four-fold introduction as to
the use of proverbs, the socialism of
sin, the mission of wisdom, and tlie
reward of godliness, we now come to a
classification of the proverbs. It is not
exhaustive, but I think it will be sug¬
gestive and enable xis to finish the
classification as we carefully read the
book.
Tin* application of the Proverbs of
Solomon to the family life will make
a perfect home. “He that spareth the
| rod haleth his son, but lie that lovetii
him ehasteneth him betimes.” Modern
j sentimentalists pronounce this old
I fogyish, and inveigh against its cruelty,
I but yon will notice that the homes in
! I which disobedience 1ms become asso
elated with punishment, and disobe¬
dience with reward, send forth into the
world the manliest sons and most
womanly daughters. To refuse to ad¬
minister loving chastisement to a child
is to train him in a life of disobedience
that will unfit him for citizenship in
the State or usefulness in the church.
Let there lie no anger, for anger only
provokes anger. Love can administer
1 chastisement with regret and
hut it tears,
must not shrink from the duty.
"Keep thy heart with all diligence,
| j proverb for out. of it are the issues of life.” This
I expresses the teaching of Jesus
Christ. The heart is the source of good
or evil, and if the heart is right the
life will be right. Let Jesus Christ
fully occupy the heart, and you may
he careless about everything else. Over
the archway in the old Tombs prison
in New York were the words:, “The
way of transgressors is hard,” and
every criminal who passed beneath it
needed no argument to prove its truth.
On thi' walls of every store should he
hung the words; “A false weight is
| abomination to tlie Lord, but a just
weight is Ilis delight.” Our God be¬
lieves in fair dealing. The man who
j gives good measure pleases Him. and
we need to know that honesty in,trade
j is as holy a thing as prayer.
And when you hear anyone laughing
I at an oath, a vulgar remark, or a
wicked deal, quietly repeat the words:
“Fools make a mock at sin.” The man
who plays with the poisonous adder is
wise compared with him who sports
with sin or treats it lightly.
If you are tempted to surrender your
convictions in order that you may
furthw your Interests, social or finan¬
cial, .. ni: the words; “Buy the truth
and sell it not.” ,Thev_jv’.il! V
n -s to year nmrai backbone and statu
mu to your character. No man can
afford to hold the truth for sale. It is
the most priceless thing that he can
possess, and whatever the father of
lies may offer him for it, he should
scorn the price with contempt.
There are so many of these that
barely to mention them would take the
time of a sermon. “A merry heart
doetli good liice a medicine.” If, there¬
fore, you would save the doctor’s bill,
he merry in hojirt, and if you have true
heart merriment, let Christ the Lord
of joy reign there. Link with this
proverb its opposite: “He that lovetii
pleasure shall tie a poor man.” The
pleasure-seeking spirit brings poverty
of soul and purse. The man and
woman whose sole object in life is to
have a good time rarely have a merry
heart. Their laughter is hollow, be¬
cause their very pleasures have be¬
come a burden. “The fear of the Lord
prolongeth days.” If. therefore, you
wish to live to a ripe old age, cultivate
the fear of God. which will east out all
other fear. “He that walkcth uprightly
walketh surely.” The position of sta¬
bility is not in prostrating yourself, or
crawling, or creeping after the world’s
fashion, but in’the‘unright walk of a
manly, conscientious life.
The man who has wandered from
God needs only to hear the words:
“The backslider in heart shall he tilled
with !iis own ways.” to realize that
tli'ey apply to him. God's way is the
way of light, peace and joy. Our way
without God is the wav of darkness,
turmoil and despair. The backslider
who has turned from God's ways to his
own ways is truly to be pitied. When
our hearts seem unprepared and our
tongues are not right for service, let
us recall the fact that “The preparation
of the heart and the answer of the
tongue is from the Lord.” We will
then give the heart to the Lord that
He may prepare it. and surrender the
tongue to him that he may use it.
And then we will experience the
truth of the other proverb. “Whoso
trustetn in the Lord, happy is he." And
in hours of conscious weakness we will
repeat with triumph. “The name of the
Lord is a strong tower, the righteous
runneth into it and is safe.”
All these proverbs make a mosaic of
rare beauty. They form the parts of
an oratorio, every note harmonizing
with every other note, and tilling the
life with sweetest music. And yet we
j may be saved the trouble of committing
I them all to memory and remembering
! them in emergencies, if we will but
realize that Jesus Cwrist, who is the
I truth, lives and is with ns every day.
If we need wisdom, we ask Him and
He gives liberally. If wo are tempted,
j we turn to Him for succor If we are
weak, we rely upon Him for strength,
and after every conflict wc can say,
“Thanks be to God who giveth us tlie
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
l*o Tr no to the Best.
There is but one failure, and that is
not to lie .true to the best one knows.—
Dean Farrar.
IT CURED THE SULTAN,
An Overdose of Medicine and Its Re¬
sults.
This actnail happened in Mindanao.
The story was dd w me ty the array
surgeon himse.A
He was seated in hm tent one raorn
! ing when a number of rne followers of
the Multan of Pantar came hurrying to
' him, saying th - Sultan was dying of
choLra. Aided by tne slight knowl¬
edge he then nad of their language
the surgeon diagnosed the case from
I their reports ns a well-nigh hopeless
! one. Still, anxious to show the skill
and friend linens of the American tor
the Moro brother, he hastily made up
six powders, each containing one-six¬
tieth of a grain of morphine and thir
! ty gains of bismuth. These he gave
to the emissaries, telling them to give
j the Sultan one of them in a glass and of
i boiled water every three hours to
report to him next morning how the
; patient was getting along,
i The next morr/thg the surgeon was
| more than surprised to see the Sultan
himsolf walk into the tent. Wan and
weak as he was, 'he had come some
! eight miles to thank the surgeon per¬
sonally for having saved his life; and
had brought with him one of his sub¬
jects, who spoke Spanish well enough
to serve as an interpreter.
It was through this interpreter that
the surgeon learned how his direc¬
tions had b'en followed. First they
had given the enure six powders to
the Sultan at or- dose—a full grain
of morphine and 180 grains of bis¬
muth—and then had poured a tumber
ful of boiling water into him every
three hours afterward, scalding his
mouth and throa: ;o that he could
hardly speak.
But it cured 1 n and the surgeon
says the same tr it meat cured many
another Moro v. > would probably
have died under ;er doses.—Brook*
lyn Eagle.
SINGULA EFFECT.
“How does it fe- be fired?” they
asked the ex-sale: ui.
"It gives you a City chilly sensa*
tion,” he said—Cb so Tribune.
New Alloy A uminum.
A new German • of aluminum is
known as zimaliu it results from
the addition of s quantities of
manganese and z to fused alumi¬
num. it is hardt ban pure alumi¬
num, and takes a better, and its
tensile strength i -uble that of
aluminum. It bshaves in some re¬
spects like brass wire. The cast met¬
al, whose cost i? 12 per cent
less than Xbri - ......■.■fty . -ifig ;
a lower conductivi... than the pure
metal, and can be easily filed, forged
and drilled.
Trees transplanted at night arts
more likely to live man those trans¬
planted in daytime
A FELLOW FEELING.
Why She Felt Lenient Toward* the
Dvuukatxit
A great deal depends on the point of
view, A good temperance woman was
led. in a very peculiar way, to revise
her somewhat harsh judgment of the
poor devil who cannot resist his cups,
and she is now tbe more charitable.
She writes:
"For many years I was a great suf¬
ferer from asthma. Finally my health
got so poor that T found I could not* lie
down, ut walked the floor whilst oth¬
ers slept. I got so- nervous I could not
rest anywhere.
“Specialists told me I must give up
the use of coffee—the main thing that
1 always thought gave me some relief.
I consulted our family physician, and
lie, being a coffee fiend himself, told
me to pay no attention to their advice.
Goffoe had such it charm for me that
in passing a restaurant and getting a
whiff of tlie fragrance I could not re¬
sist a cup. I felt very lenient toward
the drunkard who could not pass tlie
saloon. Friends often urged me to try
Dostum, but I turned a deaf ear. say¬
ing ‘That may da for people to whom
coffee is harmful, but not for me—cof¬
fee and I will never part.’
"At last, however. I bought a pack¬
age of Dostum, although I was sure I
could not drink it. I prepared it as di
recti'*!. and served it for breakfast.
Well, bitter as I was against it. 1 must
say that never before had I tasted a
more delicious cup of 'offee! From
that day to this tmore than 2 years'! I
have never had a desire for the old cof¬
fee. My health soon returned; the
asthma disappeared. I began to sleep
well, and in a short time I gained 20
pounds in weight.
"One day l handed my physician
the tablets he had prescribed for me,
telling him 1 had no use for them. He
stayed for dinner. When I passed him
liis coffee cup he remark Hi. *1 am glad
to see you were sensible enough wot
to let yourself be persuaded that cof¬
fee was harmful. This is the best cup
of coffee I ever drank he continued;
‘the trouble is so few people know how
to make good coffee.’ When he got
his second cup I told him he was
drinking Dostum. He was incredu¬
lous. but I convinced him. and now he
uses nothing but Dostum in his home,
and has greatly improved in health.''
Name given by Dostum Co., Battle
Creek. Mich.
Look in each package for the famous
little book. "The Road tc Wellville.”
INDORSEMENTS bought
Will Not Go at Postofiic? Department
in Futu:e--W,nne to Issue
Debarment 0rde\
A Washington special says: An or-
1 der destined to play an important part;
in the fate of many southern aspi¬
rant^ for federal office is to be given
out at the postoffice department.
Through investigation of certain
Georgia and South Carolina cases, the
! postoffice authorities have discovered
! that not infrequently white republi¬
can politicians have secured the in
I dorsement of the negro politicians by
i paying their way to the national and
] state conventions. The' process is
pretty familiar to the people of the
! south, but not until recently was It
brought to the attention of Postmaster
j General Wynne.
The incumbency of certain postmas
: ters, particularly of the smaller cities
j and towns, has been attacked on the
| ground that they secured those offices
j by resorting to the method in ques¬
tion. Postmaster General Wynne has
in several such cases held that if the
record made by the incumbent is good,
he will not be disturbed, but the oi*
der to be promulgated will declare
that in all cases in the future an ar¬
rangement of this nature will be con¬
strued as equivalent to the purchase
of indorsement and will serve to knock
out any aspirant for office implicated.
The general effect of this will be
to discredit the influence of indorse¬
ment of negroes under the mask of be¬
ing the regular republican organiza¬
tion.
“SELL NO COTTON” IS THE EDICT.
Plan to Hold Over Two and a Half Million
Bales is Up to Directors.
The plan for carrying into effect
the holding over of about two mil¬
lion hales of cotton of the unsold por¬
tion of the crop of 1904 until January,
February and March, 1906, not more
than one-third of which should be sold
in each of these months, will be acted
upon by the board of thirteen general
directors who will meet in New Or¬
leans February 4 to consider the pre¬
liminary work of organizing a perma¬
nent cotton warehouse system through¬
out the entire cotton states and ter¬
ritories.
This will leave about two and a
half million hr hs nf cotton to V mar
ke'.od between tins and October 1,
1905.
It seemed to be the concensus of
opinion of the delegates that not a
bale of these two and one-half million
bales should be sold under any pre¬
text whatsoever until the price of cot¬
ton has reached a 10-cent basis, mid¬
dling, New Orleans.
The recent convention fixed the
limit at nine cents, but reconsidered
its action and placed the figure at
ten cents.
WOMEN WITNESSES SUMMONED.
Two Texas Boardinq House Keepers to
Testify in Judoe Swavrie Case.
A Washington dispatch says: Sum
mons have been issued by the ser¬
geant-at-arms of the senate for Mrs.
Gordon Russell of Tyler, Texas, and
Susan Lyle Downs of Waco. Texas, to
appear as witnesses in the Swayne im¬
peachment trial, which begins Feb¬
ruary 13.
When they answer the summons,
and appear before the senate it will
be the first time a woman has entered
the august presence since the im¬
peachment trial of Andrew Johnson
in 1866.
CENTENNARHN HUM'S PENSION.
House Increases Stipend of New Hampshire
Veteran Aoed One Hundred end Five.
In a session of less than two hours
Saturday tbe house passed 373 pen¬
sion bills.
Among the pensions paid was one
increasing from $12 to $24 a month
the pension of William Welch of Ac
worth. N. H. Welch will be 105 years
old on March 26 next, having been
born during the administration of
John Adams, the second president. He
was over 60 years old when he en¬
listed in company I, fourteenth New
Hampshire volunteers.
“MILL GET JUSTICE ABOVE.’
Such is the Declaration of Ex-Mavor McCue,
Mho Now Faces Gallows.
The Y'irginia supreme court of ap¬
peals has denied the supplementary
appeal in the appeal of ex-Mayor Mc¬
Cue of Charlottesville, convicted of
wife murder. He was sentenced to
be hanged January 20 and was respit¬
ed by Governor Montague until Feb¬
ruary 10.
When informed that the court had
refused a hearing in his case. McCue
took the news calmly for a few min¬
utes and then said: “I will get justice
above." He broke down and cried.
CONfMODOF.E NICHOLSON
RECOMMENDS PE RU-NA.
yM £r
/"N OMMODORE Somerville Nicholson, of
\J from the 1S37 United R Street, States Northwest, Navy, in Washing¬ a letter
ton. D. C., says:
‘‘Your Peruna has been and is now
wil to/ so many of m y f riends and,
acquaintances as a s,m e cure for
catarrh dial I am convinced of its
curative qualities and 1 unhesitat¬
ingly recommend. It to ail persons
suffering from that complaint
Our army and our navy are the natural
protection of our country.
Peruna is the natural protection of the
army and navy in the vicissitudes of cli¬
mate and exposure.
We have on file thousands of testimon¬
ials from prominent people in the army
and navy.
We can give our readers only a slight
glimpse dorsements of the vast array of unsolicited en¬
Dr. Hartman is constantly re¬
ceiving for his widely known and efficient
remedy, Peruna.
If you do not derive prompt and satis¬
factory results f -om the use of Peruna,
write at once to Dr. S. B. Hartman, Pres¬
ident of The Hartman Sanitarium, Colum¬
bus, Ohio, and be will be pleased to give
you his valuable advice.
FOR i
Big Bargain
To better itrt vert tee the South'* Leading
Business CoJIego, four scholarship* are of¬
fered young person:* of this county at less than
cost. *WRITE TOPA-Y.
GA-ALL BUSSES COLLIE, Macon, Ga.
is dependent upon a properly bal¬
anced. fertilizer.
^ crop is
so easily
spoiled as
te-bacco. The
fertilizer must
be right, and to
be right it must
contain at least
10 % actual
Potash
Test it: Supply of one patch with fertilizer
with plenty Potash, ^he another with little or
no potash, and note results. Every tobacco
grower should have our little book, “Tobacco
Cuituro”—it will bo ssent free—write to :
GERMAN KALI W 0 KKS, 95 Nassau Si., N. Y., or
Atlanta. Ga.— 22 & South Broad St.
You Wan9: the Best
COTTON GIN
MACHINERY
Ask Any Experienced Ginnar About
PRATT MONGER
EAGLE
WINSHIP SMITH
We would like to skow you
What Thousands of Life Long
Customers Say.
Write for catalogue and testi¬
monial booklet.
Continental Gin Co.
Charlotte, C., Atlanta, Ga.,
Birmingham, Ala., Mem¬
phis, Tenn., Dallas,
Texas.
Field Seeds
Country merchants and farmers can save 10
to “5 per cent by writint the Nashville Produce
Co., Nashville. Tenn.. for special cash prices.
The only strictly cash field seed house in the
South. Write today.
NASHVILLE PRODUCE CO.,
J. J. ODIJL, Manager.
e Fomm.
j In tVme. bv drug gists. ■
“T521