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/ THE PULPIT. A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON THE REV. JASON NOBLE PIERCE. Subject: The Compassion of Jesus. I Brooklyn, N. Y.—In Puritan gregational Church Sunday the tor, the Rev. Jason Noble preached on “The Compassion Jesus. • > The text from was 7:13: • ■ And when the Lord saw He had compassion on her and unto her, weep not." Mr. Pierce said: I have taken as my subject morning one of the most and comforting themes in the Bible, "The Compassion of Jesus.” If is any one present in this tion who has been experiencing trial and suffering, or who has been called upon to bear some grievous burden or suffer loss, I ask his attention, pecially, to the consideration of this theme. And if there is any one here who would make more sure of God’s personal love for His individual chil¬ dren, let him discover that love as it is revealed in the compassion of His Son, our Lord and Saviour. Briefly but clearly the author of our Gospel presents the scene: “Be hold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her. • • From our text we know that she was weeping, and well she might, for death leaves a smarting sting. This was not the first time she had faced death in the Inner circle of her home. She was a widow. But how often does the los¬ ing of one member of the family make it any easier to part with an¬ other, especially when it is an only son, a young man, and probably the main support and stay of his wid¬ owed mother? Circumstances seemed to conspire to make the occasion full of greatest sorrow for her, and as the procession passes through the city gate and turns toward the burying ground the burning tears course down her cheeks and she sees naught, feels naught, knows naught but the grief that is in her heart. Of all the helpless ones in Israel she, passing out of the gate, was most helpless. And that was the very hour the mightiest one in all Israel drew nigh to the city. Weakness and strength; human need and divine help; these are never far separated. But will the divine grace become op¬ erative? Will the Saviour act? «< When the Lord saw her He had compassion on her and said unto her, Weep not. And He came and touched the bier; and they that bear him stood still. And He said, Young man, I say unto thee, arise. And he that ■was dead sat up and began to speak. And He delivered him unto his mother. »» Halleluiah! What a Saviour! If the issue could be avoided I •would gladly pass over a discussion of the miracle involved in this lesson. But how can I? If I assume that you all accept the miracles ascribed to Jesus, I make a false assumption, for I know from personal conversation that some of you have questionings and uncertainties in your minds. If I could separate the question of Jesus’ compassion from His miracles I might do that. But how can I? Everywhere in the Gospels where Jesus’ compassion is referred to it is in connection with some miracle. His was not an inactive compassion. He did not do as so many of us do, allow our sympathy to vent itself in empty air. His great heart made demands upon a great power, and the sight of sorrow ever made Him exert Himself for its relief. Four times does St. Matthew and four times does St. Mark refer directly to Jesus’ compas¬ sion, and upon each occasion do we find Him working a miracle. St. Luke speaks directly concerning the compassion of our Lord only once and that is in our text. The subject demands our atiention. There are some men who are not greatly troubled concerning the mira¬ cles. They sweep them all in or all out of their theological acceptance with no hard thinking or penetrat ing vision. Their theological house is one of the portable variety, cheap Iy bought, ready made, quickly clapped together over a foundation of sand. It may serve cn a fair day, but when the test comes how is it? The rain descends and the floods come and the winds blow and beat upon that house; and it falls; and great is the fall of it. Ofle of the safeguardsof the church Is the number of thinking men and women within it, who concentrate not only their hearts, but their minds unto the Lord, and who meditate upon Him in the night watches. And to all such comes sooner or later the question of the miracles. We wres tie with these miracles, we pray over them we come to some conclusion concerning them and our conclusions arp There' always alike. are some who discriminate among the miracles. Those they can explain through understood laws they accept; the rest they hold in alley ance Some of the most consecrated and loyal follower, ot the Master are among these disciples. And there are those also who be “eve that through Jesus were done m ^ My ,r/nnV that approval'to mean we give unqualified all that Jesus was said to have done. His is the only instance on record, it it is so, that all that was said of Him is Him deeds wereloneTbat the hum an It mind does not yet understand does not mean that Jesus d fl tne e mighty works in His own strength and oi His own knoxvl of ,, u p mi ” e ,°™ dwelletb said, . . “but the Father that that dwelled. in Me, He doeth the works. •» And the number or thinking men who _____ hold this belief is fast increas¬ ing. not through an increase of faith by itself, but through an increase of experience. The metaphysical world is yielding up her secrets one by and we are discovering that there is a the relationship between the seen and unseen of which our fathers only dreamed. Miracles are daily taking place through human agency co-oper¬ ating with the laws of God. And it is because we are coming to better understand the inter-relation of forces and the amazing consequence certain causes, that we turn to the Gospels and read with deeper insight ! and larger faith of the mighty works of Jesus. But I call your attention this morn¬ ing not to the miracles themselves, but to their cause; not to an analysis of their accomplishment, but to the discernment of that w'hich called them forth, the compassion of Jesus. Often th,e crowd gathered about Jesus and demanded some marvelous work, a sign from heaven. He re¬ fused them. Men came to Him seek¬ ing to enlist His power for their sel¬ fish gain, but they always departed sadder and wiser men. Nothing could tempt Him to make a show or win the crowd through the marvel¬ lous. But when He saw people in ! need or in sorrow or suffering, when J I did He ever turn them away? How quick was His response.' How suffi I cient in power! His maxim was. , “They that are whole have no need j ! of the physician, but they that are sick.” I When the multitude penetrated the j desert whither He had gone for retire¬ ment and needed rest, when He be¬ held their desire for Him and knew the hunger and heart sickness that impelled them to seek Him, “He was moved with compassion on them be¬ cause they were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.” When the blind and the demented j and cried Spirit unto Him, mighty the in Lord deed. of When Light was : the leper of Galilee knelt before Him j saying, make “If clean," Thou wilt His Thou heart canst | me was , touched. “And Jesus, moved with ! compassion, put forth His hand and | touched him and saith unto him, 1 will; be thou clean.” Oh, the mighty love of Jesus! It met that dear mother at the gate of Nain and did for her what none in all the city could do, restore to her her son. Can any of you imagine the wonder and joy unspeakable that came to her when Jesus delivered him to her? One of the striking characteristics of the compassion of Jesus is its in¬ elusiveness. It knows no hounds. It goes out to the multitude and to the individual, to the stranger as freely as to the friend, to the Jew and to the Gentile. His heart went out for the city and He wept over it and His heart went out to the lone woman in need of a Saviour. The one essential was that there exist a grief, a burden, a sorrow and immediately His help was forthcoming. Where the sick were gathered by their friends, or among the porches by the pool where the impotent lay, there was Jesus to bless. No custom delayed Him, no fear for life nor weariness of the flesh restrained Him, but freely He ministered unto all who called upon Him. Another characteristic of Jesus’ compassion is its attitude toward evil. He does not tell the blind man that it is best for him to remain blind, nor does He point out to the leper that there are compensating blessings that come through his affliction. His ac¬ tion is rather to strike at the evil that is responsible for their condition. I dare say that He could have visited the widow of Nain and through His revelation of the heavenly home and the Father’s love He could have light¬ ened her heart of much of its sorrow. But His way was that of the most in¬ cisive action against the cause of her grief. Affliction and sorrow and pain are not regarded by Jesus as divinely sent nor to be unnecessarily borne. He opposed them, He threw the weight of His teachings and life against everything that tended to pro¬ duce them. He set a priceless value not only upon human life, but upon the liberty that life was to enjoy, and [ everything that bound and dwarfed that liberty He fought unto the end. Oh, what a judgment upon this coun try, where human life is held so cheaply, where men perish by thou sands upon the railroads and in the mines, where grinding industrial life sweeps pinching poverty into the homes, where selfishness and pleasure allow disease and suffering to spread far and wide with ravaging hand! Jesus fought this misery and gave Himself unstintedly to unburden the lives of men. , approaching the , final _ And now in consideration of this theme it is im portant that we bear in mind the steps thus far taken, for they have an immediate hearing upon wrmt ^ to follow. We have seen that Jesus was in fullest sympathy with all who car riea a burden, and that all such found a way of approach to Him at all times, that In the He second was m place, sue i we * f.r- 8 g£ -. | Father m heaven that tne mistiest n tiest | wo« of works wereS' “ f hrouah iSd X “hole i seen t t00 ^ that His loving compassion ; ’ that it embraced k Q bounds> multi individual a8 well as the tude, that it left no one with whom ; He “me ^ indTstl?! wetave opposed Him ^ fact tbat j e sus , sei^io in whatever form it was ^ regarded pain and afflic tion as enemies to be trodden under ; {riendS) while we have been talking ta^ about Jesus we have In reality heavenly Father. While we have been coasid ering the compassion of Jesus we & ing the loving com have been discuS3 Everything to Build With. We have recently purchased the Harris Manufacturing ! Company’s lumber plant and stock and will devote our exclusive attention to the builders supply busines in tho ! future. ' Our very complete stock includes Brick, Lime, Sand, Cement, Fiber Wall Plaster, Paris Plaster, Laths, Framing—rough or sized to order; Weatherboarding—several grades; Sheeting, Shingles, Prepared Rooting, Kiln Dried Flooring and Ceiling, the kind that don’t crack open—several grades; Doors— plain, and fancy glass front doors; Sash and Blinds— in usual sizes; Window Cords, Weights and Pulleys; Mantels, Columns, Balusters, Brackets, Mouldings, Wainscoting, Corner and Plinth Blocks; Turned and Sawed Work Made to Order; Door and Window Frames; Sherwin-Williams Paint, Oils and Varnishes; Guaranteed Roof Paint. IN FACT Evenytbing to Build UJitb* Bring us a list of the material that you want, or a plan of the house you anticipate building, and let us convince you that our prices are right. Fort Valley Lumber Company. passion of God. The former is the perfect manifestation of the latter. All that has been said of Jesus’ com¬ passion I now assert to be true of God’s love. If there is any one here with a burden, a heavy sorrow, a hid¬ den grief, let me tell you that you do not bear it alone, It may have seemed ofttimes that the Father had forgotten you or had overlooked you in the multitude, but the very mo¬ ment that the hour has been dark¬ est is the time He has been most near. He has always kept the way of approach open, which is more than we can say for ourselves, and often when our ear heard not and our heart inclined not His voice has been calling “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and 1 will give you rest.” Nor has He overlooked one. No one is beyond the reach of His love It may have been long ago that you turned aside from Him and you feel that you are indeed a stranger with no claim upon Him. But it Is not so. His compassion is without bound. FEMININE NEWS NOTES. Women of China are .said to be keenly anxious to have a voice in pub¬ lic affairs. The Victoria Legislative Council has passed the bill empowering wom¬ en to vote at State elections. Mrs. .Toset'a Osborn's will, fil ''’ 1 in the Surrocaie’s Court, in New York City, left $75,000 to Ernest Lawford, the English actor. Mrs. Annie Yeamnns celebrated her seventy-third birthday by rehcars’ng diligenilv her new part in a new play in New York City. Mrs. Russell Sne’° gave a ! a !r>“d glass window to the Histoi Mo¬ elet.v of New York commemo tive of '.'.he Huguenot refugees. After being blind fhirty-W; ye-rs, Miss Alice Hollis, of New York City, recovered her sight, thanks in the skill of a famous German oculist. Dr. Charles H. Farkhurst told his congregation in New York City tbat. any woman whose big bat obstructed the view of those behind he com initied a theft. Helen Kathryn Sharpe, of Indian¬ apolis, is an an'h or ess at the of twelve. A book she has written, “Sparkles From a Child’s Pen,” has just been published. Supreme Court. JnsUoo Bisohnff. of New York City, denied Mrs. Howard Crmld’s petition fo- an allow of 5120,000 a year, She must nmt along on her present allowance, 525,000 a year. Tt is semi-offlcially rmmnn^d in llalv that the marriage of Miss Elkins with the Duke of the Abriivzi would have taken place before this if the bride had been willing to forego royal rank. The will of Mrs. William Astor, probated in New York, leaves virtu¬ ally her entire estate to her two daughters, leaving onlv heirlooms to her son. John Jacob Ast.or. who was provided for amply by his father. Bird Snaring in Connecticut. Reports from hunters who have made trips to different points where game usually can be found indicate that snaring has prevailed this sea¬ son to a greater extent than ever bd fere. Evidence is abundant in 'any locality frequented by game, the tell¬ tale snare, not unfrequently still hold¬ ing its prey, being a dumb but sure witness tnnt 1 n 7 /1)reuisr tt s.re numer ! ! our and are ^Sinttro almost thoughtless in their boldness, j some idea of the magnitude of this ! law 1 brpa kiug work in this State may ] } from the fact, that one man ^ s5lippefl some 30ft birds to another after the State close season within was a ^jveeks on. Kouv | f or d Courant. p|enty of Time . j Jud?e (to read prisoner)—We list of are your now far ^ in "convictions. t0 you a er Prisoner—In that case, perhaps your j d hi / will allow me to sit down.— p hilBd lphla inquirer. W. H. HAFER, DENTIST. Fort Valley, Georgia Office over First National Bank. C. Z. McArthur, Dentist FORT VALLEY, GA. Office over Slappey’s Drug Store. A. C. RILEY,, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, WRIGHT BUILDING, Fort Valley, Ga. Practice in all the courts. Money loaned. Titles abstracted. Tire $ Ofe Insurance H. D. Skellie. Office Phone No. 54. FORT VALLEY, GA. C. L. SHEPARD, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, Fort Valley, Ga. Office Over Firet National Dank. TONSORIAL ARTIST For anything in the tonsorial lino don’t fail to call on WILLIAMS Next Door to Post Office. Experienced workmen and conrtooTM at* tention to all Everything up-to-date. FISH WITH A SAIL. Hoists or Lowers It at Will and Navi¬ gates Shallow South Pacific Waters. Few marine animals seem at first glance to betray less Intelligence than the jellyfish. Up with the tide and down with the tide, carried along by tliis or that current, moving with the eddy of a backwater hither and thith¬ er, the jellyfish has become almost a synonym for helplessness. Scientifically, of course, the popular idea of the jellyfish is wholly mis¬ taken; hut It is perhaps only in tropical waters that he is found in the perfection of intelligence. In the South Pacific, around the islands of Polynesia, and as far south as the upper portion of the North Island of New’ Zealand there is a jellyfish who not only knows where he wants to go hut is even provided with a sail which he can and does hoist or low | er at will. The sail, like the rest of i this curious animal, is almost trans | parent, but unlike the body of the ! fish, which is of the usual gelatinous I construction, the sail is a- membrane j almost a3 hard as shell. Group the Roundabout the Ellice navigating fish is often found with j j sail measuring five inches across, a and he navigates the shallow island ■ waters with the skill of a Hooghly pilot, steering in and out of snaggy places and avoiding obstructions both above and below the surface with un¬ erring skill. Like his cousins in home waters this navigating jslly fish has the power of stinging its j natural enemies and its sting to is fa¬ tal to fish and dangerous man.-— • London Standard. “Some men,” said Uncle Ebed, “doesn’t, display no resolution nor firmness ‘ceppin when de makes up de ir minds dat dey isn gwinter do no j babcf work.’ Washington Star. .1® i ® q r —i UTit §>tmi>at)-<§>cfwof INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM¬ MENTS FOH DECEMBER (J. Subject: Solomon Chooses Wisdom, t Kings tti-l-IS—Golden Text, l’rov. 0:10—Commit Verses 11, 12—Commentary, TIME.— 1014 B. C. PLACE.— Gibeon. EXPOSITION. — I. Solomon's Prayer to Jehovah, ‘1-0. Solomon went to Gibeon because the Taber¬ nacle, the place where Jehovah pe¬ culiarly manifested Himself to Ills people, was there (1 Chron. 21:29; 2 Chron. 1:3, 7, R. V.; Ex. 29:42, 43. R. V.). Until the Temple superseded It, that is where men who longed to meet God wont, the place God Him¬ self had appointed. The Tabernacle was a typo of Christ (Jno. 1:14, R. V.), it is in Him that we meet God (.Jno. 14:6). Each one of the thou¬ sand burnt offerings that Solomon offered also pointed forward to Christ. In Him there is a better ground of approach to God than In countless slain beasts (Heb. 10:1* 22). The desire with which Solomon went to Gibeon was satisfied. God met him there. Twice in his life was It granted Solomon to meet God (cf. ch. 9:2; 11:9). To many of us it ia granted to meet God far moro fre¬ quently than that. The appearance was in a dream, but it was a real ap¬ pearance (cf. Gen. 28:12, 13; Nu„ 12:6* Job 33:14, 15; Matt. 1:20; 2:13, 19; Acts 18:9, 10). That God really spoke to Solomon, and that the whole Incident was no product of a disordered fancy, is evident from the outcome—Solomon really obtained what God promised at this time. It was a wonderful thing that God snld to Solomon, “ask what I shall give th©e”-—God setting all the infinite re¬ sources of His power at the disposal of a man. But He says the same won¬ derful thing to each humblest child of God to-day (Jno. 14:13, 14; 15:7; Matt. 7:7, 8; Mark 11:24; Jno. 15:16; 16:23, 24; 1 Jno. 3:22; 5:14, 15). Before asking for anything, Solomon acknowledged the wonderful goodness of Jehovah already mani¬ fested toward his father and himself (cf. Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2). God’s ■ >■ reat “kindness” _ (R. V.) to his father in the past encouraged Solomon to ask great things for himself in the pres¬ ent. pod's dealing In kindness with David was according to David's sin¬ cere, righteous and upright walk (cf. ch. 9:4; 15:5; 2 K. 20:3. 4; Ps. 15:1, 2j- 18:20-24; 1 J no. 3:22). A crown¬ ing manifestation of God’s kindness was that He had given him a son to succeed to his position and his work: Solomon speaks of his father by a more honorable title than king, “Thy servant David.” Jehovah Himself had conferred this title upon David (2 Sam. 7:5). Solomon recognized that he owed Ills own present exalted position entirely to God (cf. Dan. 2:21; 4:25, 32; 5:18, 21), He also recognized his own utter insufficiency; for the position. He was psrhajjj twenty-one years of age at this time. In his own eyes he was “but a little child’’ (cf. 1 Chron. 29:1; Jer. 1:6; Lu. 14:11). He saw the greatness of the responsibility that had been laid upon him. He asked, therefore, for an “understanding heart”—literally, a “hearing heart,” i. e., a heart that should hear the voice of God. What he asked is of more value than all honors and all riches (Prov. 3:13-18; 16:16). His father’s words to him and prayer for him had suggested to Sol¬ omon this request (1 Chron. 22:12;, 29:19). Those words had gone deep into Solomon’s heavt. This great thing that Solomon allied we may all ask and get (Jas. 1:5-7). It was not for his own sake that Solomon asked for an understanding heart, hut for the people’s good, and above all be¬ cause they were Jehovah’s people. In the final analysis the chief aim of the prayer was Jehovah’s glory. That ia the chief aim of all true prayer. 11. Jehovah’s Answer to Solomon, 10-13. God was pleased with Sol omen’s prayer. He Is always pleased with an intelligent prayer (Prov. 15:8). He mentions some of the things that Solomon might have asked, things that many would have asked had they had Solomon's oppor¬ tunity. But Solomon’s choice was much wiser. A wonderful thing God Buys to him, “1 have done according to thy words.” Think of it, the in¬ finite God doing according to the words of a finite man. But He often does that (Jno. 15:7). Solomon got what he had asked, but he got it in a more abundant measure than he had asked. His wisdom became noted throughout the earth, and throughout all ages (v. 28; ch. 4:29-34; 5:12; 10:3-8, 23, 24). God also gave him exceeding abundantly above what he asked (cf. Eph. 3:20). If we seek the best thing, God will give us with it the minor things (Matt. 6: o o o o . ; P3. . 84:11, 12; Ito. 8:32). Ilis riches were enormous (ch. 10:23-29). Wis¬ dom which ho sought came bringing riches and honor in her hand (cf. Prov. 3:1G). God made Solomon still another promise, but this was condi¬ tional upon his future conduct (v. 14). The promise was lone life; the condition, obedience. Obedience to God’s laws is the great secret of longevity (Deu. 5:16; 25:15; Prov. 3:1, 2, 16; 1 Tim. 4:3) All God’s richest blessings are conditioned upon obidence (Acts 5:32; Jno. 14:15-23). Solomon did not fulfill the condition a u3 missed the promised blessing, he died comparatively young (l K. 11:42). He showed his appreciation of Jehovah’s goodness in the only way known to him. The sacrifices that we offer are different (He. 13:15, 16, It. V.) but have the same purposa.