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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1899-11-16, Page 6'S AND CO1lf3f4cNTS. There »t bi, something going wrong in Tu key far tile. Settee to be saowilie elemeney to the Armee:lane- Bet the isome of a,n imperial tecide ie oee tiling; the execteticea of it te Weer. an - It i ase enough te sign a decree time the uheroees, eehools ana inOtnagteriee, in Aemerila are te be re- built, and teat the Arnienian peop1e. ehall laves freeaom to move about, tied other lademeitiee and, privileges. Some write of the Sultan, however, cannot be pui into execntion in Constantinople, teed Mach leisie Many laundrette of mile* Away. The mese ef granting the ir- iede in' favor of the Arneepeans ie„ nev- ertheless importent. The affairs of the Vermettians, like those a the Greek Ortbodox Cluerch in Turkey, are ad- ministered by an elected council. Ever since the Armenian macre there hail been trouble between the Governmeet, which means the, Salton and the Ar- inenian Patriarchate, which hae, with More or lese Urgency-, appealed for the redrees of Armenian grievances. Prom- Lses Were made and broken, until at laat, wearied met by the delay a the Government and the desperate condi- tion of their people, the council resign- ed as a fuel protest. As the only mod - elating influences that could be de- pended on to /reap the Armenian peo- ple from once more falling under the p•ower of the revoletioyaery committee's were thus removed, and the European Governments are not de,sirous a a re- petition of the scenes of a, few years past, the trade was issued to bring the 'council back, The questioe now will be to find Means to carry out the terms ot the decree, for by all accounts the Turkish treesury .is. empty and is in arrears to the public oificials for their pay. Numbers a Young Turks accused of subversive tendencies have been ar- rested, aad while some escaped punish- ment by recantieg their political er- rors, others have heen sent into exile. A coalition of the discontented is the thing above all others the Sultan is aexious to avert, especially one be- tween Christians and Mussulmans, which is more possible now than it was five year ago. Under the circum- stances prudence dictated temporary coneiliation of the Christians while the Mussulmans are being coerced. It is no secret that the Sultan would glad- ly end the Armenian question by put- ting an end to the Armenians and their importunities, if conditions al- lowed. What influence has led him to make the present concession is not yet known, but it is believed at Con- stantinople that the Young Turkey party; is preparing for some kind a actioe under the lead of one a the Egyptian prinoes. CHINESE CLOTHING. It Is By No Means of the Commm flu Cloth They Loolt to Be. To weer your grandfather's coat would not seem much of an honor, but to John Chinaman it is the greatest felicity. Not only is the common -look- ing, shapeless blue blouse, of his an- cestor prized becapee it is his a.nces- tor's, but because, of its intrinsic value. The clothing usually, worn by the Chi- nese is of the pureat silk, and costs anywhere from e100 to Il250 a set. As a nation the Chinese object to wearing clothing of any other kind, and centuries oft experiment have taught theta how best to make up the costly caterpillar thread into the most durable form. On this account the Chinese dress, though of purer ma- terial, has none of the sheen usually aesoeiated with silk, a peculiarity which has resulted in the erroneous ideas as to their composition. All the garments are :made in China, and are only exported for the personal use • of Celestaels in foreign countries. Owing to their cose however, they are only purchased at tong intervals, ma 'garment being of so durable a character that they are handed down to the third a,nd even the fourth gen- eration. Wear appears to rather im- prove them than otherwise, with the result that the coat of the father or geandfa,ther often has more intrinsic value than the newer and less worn articles. Another article peculiar to the Chinese is the felt slippers they in- veriably wear. Tlaeise are of peculiar shape, and are also imported from the native country, where the method of treating felt until it almost rival .% lea- ther for weer Ls kept a obese secret. ELECTRICITY AND FOLIAGE. Ln extraordinery phenomenon has been noticed with regaled to the chesta nut trees in the ;Avenue Louise, Bras- sels, since the installation of the elee- trice1 trams. Their foliage begins to reettire brown and drop early in August, et/ to bud, and even eceblossone, again in October, ;The trees on the opposite side te the teeraway (behave like ordi- nary teees, for they lose their foliage in the late autumn and do not put forte fresh blossoms until the spriog. Botanisfs are inelined to believe thee the cause of this singular state of things is due to the elettrical current which passes underground acting upon bbe roots of the teees, which are other., wise quits heeethte ADULTERATED COFFEE. Painted ceffee beans are meet g the lateet euricsiteee of the adulterated food meta -eel:, Thieriot beans are col. peed with beret umber and made t� look like the fineet Mocha. They are deecribed "ehiney hrovvn outeide, yellow inside, and trestelesee TIIE SWORD GOLIATH. Rev. Dr. Talmacre Discourses on the Historic Weapon. Weapons Used Against Jesus Christ Will Yet Be Used on Our Side—Locusts Corning Like An Army— Testimony of Great Men for the Christian Re. ligion—In Business Circles the Religion of Christ Will Be the Standard for All Transactions. A. despatch from Washington say:— Rev. Dr. Talmage preached from the following text: 'T1itere is nope like teat; give it me."—I Sam. xxi. 9. David fled from hieparsuers. The world rums very fast when it is chas- ing a good man. The country; is try- ing to catch David and to gay bim. David goes into the house of a priest, and asks for a sword or spear with which •to defend himself. The priest, not being aeoustcaned to use deadly weapons, tells David that he cannot supply aim; but suddenly the priest thinks of an old sword/ that had been carefully wra.pped up and laid away —the very sword that Goliath formerly used—end he takes down that sword, and wleile unwrapping the sharp, glit- tering, memorable blade, it flashes up- on David's mind that this is the vers sword teat was used against himself when he was in the fight with Goliath, and David can hardly keep his hand off of it until the palest has unwrap- ped it. • David stretches out his hand towards that old sword, and says: •"There is none like that ;give it ins." In otter words, "I want in my own hand the sword that has been used against me, and against the cause of God." So it was given him. Well, my friends, that is not the first or the last sword which once was used by giants and Philistine iniquity, which is to come into the possession of Jesus Christ and of His glorious Church. I went, as well as God may tele me, to show you that many, a weapon whicb. has been utsed against the armies of Jesus Christ is yet to be captured and used on our side; and I only imitate David when I stretch out my hand towards that blade of the Philistine, and cry: "There is none like that; give it me." I remark, first: that this is true in regard to all • SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION. You know that the first discoveries in astronomy, and geology, and chrono- logy were used to battle Cheistianity. Vorklly philosophy came out of its observatory, and said: -Now, we will wove by the very structure of the earth, and by the movement of the heavenly bodies, that the Bible is a lie, and that Christianity, as we have it among men, is a positive impost - don." Good men trembled. The telescopes, the Leyden jars, the elec- tric batteries, ali in the hands of the Philistines. Bat one day, Christian- ity, looking about for some weapon with which to defend itself happened to see the very old sword that these athletic Philistines had been using against the truths, and cried out: "There is none like that ; give it me;" and. Coperniou,s, and Galileo, and /asp- pler, and Isaac Newton came forth and told the world that, in their ransack - ng of tbie earth and the heavens, they bad found, the overruling presence of the God whom we worship; and the old Bible began to shake itself from the Koran and Shaster, and Zeuda Vesta, with which it had been covered up, mad lay an the desk of the scholar, and in the laboratory of the chemist, and in the lap of the Christian, unharmed and unanswered; while the tower of the midnight heavens struck a solemn chime in its waise. - Worldly philosophy said: "Matter is eternal. The world always was. God did not make it." Christian philo- sophy plunges its crowbar into rocks and finds that the world was gradu- ally made, there must have been some point at vehich the process started. Then, who started it ? And so that objection was overcome, and in the three first words of the Bible, we find that Moses stated a magnificent truth when he said: "In the beginning." Worldly philosophy said: "Your Bible is a most inaccurate book; all that story in the Old Testament again and again told about the array of the locusts; it is preposterous. There is nothing in the coming of the locusts like an army, • An aring walks.; lo- custs fly. At army goes in order and procession; locusts without order," Wait, said Christian philosophy; and in 1868, in the south-western part of this country, Christian men went out to examine the march of the locusts. There are 0e:en now right before Me WI10, Daunt have noticed in that vers part of the country the coming up of THIS ARMY OF LOCUSTS. And it was found, that all the newts -- papers unwittingly spoke of the "army of locusts." Why? They seem to have a commander. They march like a host. They halt like a hest. • No arrow ever went in straighter flight than the locusts come—riot even turning aside for the wind. If the wind rises, the locusts drop, and then rise up again after it has gone down, taking the same Inc of march, not varying, a foot, The old Bible is right every time, when it speaks of 1ocust:3 coming like an army; worldly philosophy seal: "All that story about the light turned as clay to the seal is: simply an absurdity." Old time worldly philoso- phy: "the light comes straight." Chris- tian philosophy says wait a little; and it goes on, and makes discoveries, and finds that the atmosphere curves and bends the rays of ligat around the earth, literally "'as the clay to the seal," The Bible right again; worldly philosophy wrong „again., "Ole" says Worldly philosopher, all that allusiee Lk Job about the foutida.tion of the earth is simply an absurdity.a "Where wast thou," says God, "when I set the foundetions of the earth?" The earth .bas nr) feandations! Christian philose- phy omits end Thule that the weed as tranelated "fouridietioes" May be bet- ter teanelated "eoelrets,a So now, Sea how it will treed if it 18 tieteeketed right, "Weere wast thou when I set the• sookets of the mirth? Where is the Socket? It Is the liollow of God's hand—a socket large enough for any world to turn in. Worldly philosophy said: "What an absurd story about josima making the eun and moon to stand' still. If the world had stopped an instant, the wbole universe would have been out of gear." "Stop," said Christian philoso- phy, "not' quite so quiek." The world. has two motions --one on its lawn axis, and tae other around the sun. It was not necessary, in making them stand still, that both motions should be stop- ped, only the one turning the world on its own axis, There was no reason why the halting of the earth should have jarred and deranged. the whole universe. Joshua eight and God riget; infidelity wxong every tirrie. I knew; it Would be wrong, 1 thank God that the time has come when Christians need not be scared, at any scientific explorations. Tee fact is, that reli- gion and smile° have struck hands in ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP, and the deeper down geology oan dig, and the higher up astronomy oan soar, all the better for us. - The arm- ies of the Lord Jesus Christ have stormed the observatories of the world's science, and form the highest towers has flung -out the banner . of the cross; and Christianity to -night from the observatories at Albany and Washington stretches out its. hand towards scientific weapons, crying: There is none like that: give it Jame' I was reading this alterneon 'of Herschel,"who was looking at a meteor through a telescope, and when it came over the face of the telescope it vita.s eo powerful be had to avert his eyes. And it has been just so that many an astronomer has gone into an observatory and looked up into the midnight heavens, and the Lord God through some swinging world flamed upon his vision, and the learned man has cried out: "Who am It undone! un- clean! Have mercy, Lord God. Al- mighty!" Again, T remark; thee the travel- ling disposition of the world, which was adverse to morals and religion, is to be brought on our side. The' man that went down to Jericho, and fen amid thieves, was a type of a great many travellers. (There is many a man who is very honest at home, who, when he is abroad, has • his honour filched and his good, habits stolen. There are but very few rnen who can stand the stress a an expedition. Six weeks at a watering -place has damn- ed many a inan. In the olden time, 'God forbade the travelling. of men for the purposes of trade, because of the corrupting influences attending it. A good many men now cannot; stand the transition from one place to another. Some men that seem to be very consis- tent in Washington in the way of keep- ing the Sebleath, when they are in Spain on the Lord's day always gp out to see the bull -fights! Plato said that no city ought to be built nearer to the sea than ten relies, lest itr be tempted to commerce. But this travelling dis- position of the World, which was -ad- verse to that which is good, is to be BROUGHT ON OUR SIDE. These rail-trains—why they are to take our Bibles. These steamships— they are to transport our missionaries. These sailors, rushing frorol eity to city all around the world, are to be converted into • Christian Bethels, and go out and preach Christ among the heathen nations. The Gospels are infinitely multiplied in beauty and • power since Robinson and Thomson, and Burkhardt, have come back and talked to us about Siloam, and Cap- naum., and Jerusalem, pointing out to us the lilies about whieh Jesus preach- ed, the beach upon whith Paul was ship -wrecked,' the fords at which the Jordan was passed, the Red Sea bank On which were tossed the oareasses of the drowned Egyptians. A man said: "1 went to the. HolyLandan infi- del. I came back a Christian. I could not helpit." I am not shocked at the idea reeentle proposed of build- • ing a railroad to the Holy Land. I wish that all the world :might go and see Golgotha. and Bethlehem. If we cannot afford to pay for muleteers now, perhaps when the rail -train goes we can afford eo buy a ticket from Constantinople to joppa, and so we will get to see the Holy Lend. There let Chrlistiane travel, God -speed the rail -trains, and guide the steamship this night penting across the deep, in the phosphorescent wake of the shin - bag feet of Him who from wave -cliff to wave -cliff trod bestormea Tiberias. The Japanese come amass the water, and see our civilization and, examine our Christianity, and go back and tell the story, a,.ad keep, that empire rock- ing until Jesus shell reign " where'er the tem does his successive journeys • run ;"' and the fire -arms with which the infidel traveller fought back the Arab horse and the jackals of the de- • sert have been surrendered to the Churele, and we reach forth our hand, crying "there is none like that; give it me." - So hes it also been with the learn- ing and the eloquence' of the world. People mid: Religion is very good Lor worami ; it is vary good, for chil- dren, but not for met." But we bave in the roll of Christ's hest, Mozart and Handel, na innate; Canova anti Angelo, in sculpture; Raphael and Reynolds, in painting; liarvee and Baerlaier, in reedicietee Cowper and Scott, in poet- -rye Gredue and Burke, iti stetesinati- ohip; Boyle and Leilatutz phileen, phy; Thomas Chaluiere ansi John McL- ean, ill theology, 'Ihe most brilliant writings ot a worldly nature are all Aglow with SORI1?TURAL 'ALLUSIONS. Threugh 'senatorial speech, arid theoUgh e,seayist's discourse, Sinai tlietedere, and Cavalry pleeee, end, See owe. sparkles. Sexing:I L. Steethard Was mighte in the court-rOom and in the eenate-ceamber ; but he reserved his grandest eloquence foe that day veliele he steod before the literary, soeieties at Princeton " coraroenoemente" .and ipleadee for the grandeur of the Bible. Daniel Webster won not his ohief gav- ial:Os while he VMS pousuming Rayne, nor when he opened the batteries ef Lie eloquence on Bunker'' rooleing Since of the Anterietin revolve tione—but on that day, Wlien in the faramite Girard will nese, he showed ale affeetiee for the Christian end eulogized the Bible. The eloquenee and the learning,: teat have been on the other side have come over to our side. Where is Gibbon's hietorical Pen? Where is Robespierre's sword ? Ceptu'red for God. "There is none like that; give it nee." So, also ha e it been of the pietureeneaking of the world. We are very anxious in this day to have the printing-preese tied the platform on the side en Carestianity, but we overlook the engrevere knife, and the painter's' pencil.. The antiquarian goes end looks at pictured ruins, and ex - 'amines the chiselled pillars of Thebes and Nineveh' and Pompeti, and then comes beek to tell us of the beastli- ness of anoient art. And it is a, fact now, that many of the fine,st specimens —merely artistically considered— of seulleture and painting that are to be found among those ruins, are not fit to be looked at, and they are locked upl. How Paul must have felt when standing anaid those ixnpurities that stared on hire from the wales, and the 'pavements, and the bazaaris of Cor- inth, whilst he preathed a the pure and holy Jesuts I The art of the world on the side of obscenity, and crime, and death! In later days, the Vatican and the cathedrals were mowded with religious pictures. The Titians, and Raplaaels, and Giottoe of the world put on canvas and cathedral wall the "Bap- tism of Jesus Christ," and "The Lord's SuPper," and "The Crucifixion," and "The Last Jadgmente" but all these pictures were prostituted to supersti- toin. Poor devotees come and cross tion. Poor devotees come their beads; tleey take their wafers; they glance at the pictured walls; and they go out . UNBELIEVERS AND UNSAVED. What to umelean Henry VIII. was a beautiful picture at the Madonna.? What to Lord Jeffries, the unjust ju,dge, a picture of the last judgment? What to Nero, the unwashed, a pic- ture of the baptism in the Jordan? The art of the world still on. the side of superstition and, death. But that is being changed now. The Christian artist goes over to Rome, looks at the pictures, and, brings, back to his Aita- erica-n studio much of the power of those old °nesters. The Christian minister goes over to Venice, looks at "Tee Cruoifixion of Christ," and comes bath to his, American pulpit, to talk as never before of the sufferings of the Saviour. The private tourist goes to Rome, en& looks at Rapthael's last picture of the Judgment. The tears start, and he goes back tan his xocom In the hotel, and. prays God, for pre- paration for that day, when, "Shrivelling like a( parched scroll, The flaming heavens will rolLe Our Sunday -school newspapers and walls are {adorned with pictures of "Joseph in 'der Court," t'Daniel in the Den," "Shadrach in the fire," "Paul in the Shipwreck," and "Christ on the Cross." • Oh, that we might in Mir families bring more ' of the power of Christian pictures. One little sketch of Samuel kneeling in prayer will mean more to your children than twenty sermons on devotion. One pat- ient face o! Christ by the hand of rthe artist will be more to your child than fifty sermons on forbearance. The art of the wined is to be taken for Christ. What has become of Thorwal- den's chisel and Ghirlandajo's crayon, captured for the truth? "There is none like that; give it to me." Bo I remark it is with business acu- men and. tact. When, Christ was up- on earth, the people that followed Him for the most part, had. no social. posi- tion. There was but. one man natur- ally brilliant in all the apostleship. Joseph of Arimathea. 'risked nothing When he opened a hole in the rock for the dead Christ. How meny of the merchants in Asia Minor befriend- ed Jesus?: I think only of one --- Lydia. How many of the castles on the beach of Galilee, entertained Christ? Not one. When Christ came to joppa, He stopped with Simon, a tanner. What power had Christ's name on the Roman exchange, or in the bazaars at Corinth ? None; none, The prominent men of the day did not want to risk their reputation for san- ity by pretending to be one of His followers. Now, that is all changed. Among the mightiest ;nen in our great Mites to -day are the Christian mer- chants and the Christian bankers; and, if to -morrow, ab the Board. of Trade, any man should get up and malign the: name of Jesus, he would. be 'quickly silenced or put out. In the front rank of all our Christian workers to -day are the Christian: merchantsand the enterprises of the world. are coming ori the right( side. There was a farm willed away some years ago—all the peoceeds ofthat farm to go for spread- ing infidel books. Somehow, matters have changed, ante all the peoceeda of that farm go toward the missionary cause. One of the finest prieting- presses ever built was built for the express purpose of 'publishing infidel tracts and books. Now, it does noth- ing but print Holy Bibles, I believe teat the time will come, when, in com- mercial cireles, the voice of Christ will be the mightiest of all voices; and the ships of Taiehish, will bring presents, and the Queen of Sheba her glory, and the wise Men of the east their myrrh and frankincense. I look off, to -night, upon the business men of this city, 8,nd rejoice MI the prospect that their tact, end ingenuity, and talent, will, after a wtele, be brought into the ser- vice of Christ, it will be one of THE MIGHTIEST OF WEAPONS. "There is none like that; give it to nee." , Now, if ;Matte 1 haVe said, be trne, away with all downheertmlness. If science is to be on the, right side, ond thn 'travelling dispoettion of the world on the right side, and the learning of Lave world on' the right side, arid the eictueeeniaking on the right side, end the business aeuntent atia teat oft the world on the right side—thine, oh Lord, is the kingdom 1 Ob, fall Mo line all ye people! 11; i agrand thing to be in stich an arany, and led ay etude centonander, Eitel oil the way to snoh a, viotery. If what f eave geld be true, then Clariet is going to ge.ther up foe fatinself out of this wprid everything that ie Woxt/a any - and there Watt be nothing but tee seum left. We have been xeleels, but a proolamation of amnesty goes forth now from the throne, saying: "Who:300er will, let him come." How- ever loug you. May eave wandered, hoWevert great your, manes may have been,- "whosoever will, lett him come." Ohothat toenighll I could marshal all thie audience on the side of Christ and: feet that there would go out of these doote not one enemy' of eesus. Oe, He is a loving Jesus! He is the best eriend a.wan ever had. He is so kind, He is so leving, oo synepathetic. CO.nnOt see how yoe can stay away corm Him. Come now and eccept His ;WM'. Oh, beheld Him, as he stretch- es out the arms of 'Hes salvaton, say-. bag: "Look unto ale, all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved, for I ant; God." Ye have this ohoioe to make —everyone in the house will make it now. You will eithee be willows planted by the water -courses, or the chaff which the wind drivefh away. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON, NOV. 19, " [loam Reading at the Scriptures." Neb. • S. I.E. Golden Text. Neh. 8. 3. PRACTICAL NOTES. Yee% 1. And all the people gath- ered themselvee -together. People from all Sodea who celebrated the jevvisli New Year lead the coinpletioe of the wall together, As one man. There is roa imereesiseness and moral power in a, multitude assembled for religious SerVieee. LAO the street. "The broad piece." A 'park or plaza on the in - 'closed slope, Ophel, south of the tem- ple. Before tee water gate. The gate near the present entranee to el-Aeka. They spake. By their ,thieftians, doubt- less, who had called them together. But evidently the interest in God's word was nearly universal. Ezra the scribe. Called "the peleist " in Verse 2. Ile was both; a priest by' birth, born in a. land where there was no temple to Jehovah, he devoted himself to the written law, and consciousle or Unconsciously founded an order of in- terpreters, teachers, and copyists., who exerted a great influence on later Is- rael. The book of the law of Moses, „Whatever of explanation might after- ward be needed, they first of all want- ed the book. 2. Brought the law before the con- geega.tion. It was written. Before the ievention of printing, and especially in ages when learning wee low, the value of manuscripts "arose to figures beyond. easy belief. Many of these peo- ple probably' had never seen any book. All that could hear with understand- ing. Including the older children and youths. Upon the fleet day of the sev- enth mouth. Which wets kept, asewe learn from Lev. 23, 24, as the New Year celebration. It corresponded Pearly with our October. . 3. He read therein . . . from the morning until midday. A glimpse of this sacred book which lead beexl pre- served through countless dangers must have been wonderfully impres- sive to these men nff Jerpealem. It is not likely that. Ezra read all these hours without help. We learn from verse 18 that the reading went on dur- ing the next day ance the seven days of the feast of tabernacles. The peo- ple were attentive. The last 'word is supplied by the translators, but it is implied in the original. If there were but one authentic copy of the Bible in the world to -day, we would -prize it more. From the remainder of this lesson we learn that several men spoke at once.," This was in accordence, -with coriental customs. Dr. Gra.cey refers to a great Brahman council, held in the interest of Hinduism, which, hav- ing •reaehed its conclusions, proclaimed them from the faux c,oeners of its great tent, four men ,spealeing at the same time. Missionaries in India of- ten preace from the four corners of a. great wagon. 4. A pulpit of wood. At soaffold or platforen or "tower." It was broad enou,gle and high enough to keep fourteen men "in the sight of ell the people." Beside him stood, etc. Here come the names oft thirteen men, pro- minent probably because of hereditary position. It very probably added dignity to the service to have...the aupe port of such men. John Wesley spoke truly when he lamented the condition of the Church which depended upon its rich men. Nevertheless the rich and honorable have as distinct a duty in relation to God's Church as those less liberally endowed with this world's goods.se5r1Openedlvh e eh e bo. e Ud ni tr thethe „people stood up. The crowd had been sitting on the ground. In England or America if a thousand men had to wait together in the open air. they would stand crowded in great disecoca- fort, but in the Orient, where life goes more leisurely, the people sit down whenever they have to water which to the traveler seems to be most of the time. They now arose in reverence for God's word, and a most inapressive sight it mast have been—the simul- taneous rising and sitting again of that great multitude. 6. Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And 'probably with' genuine Hebrew ceremony he repeated a psalm of praise. Bishop Wordsworth Sllg- geStS,Pealre 119 as a record of Ezra's feelings at this time. ; The people an- swered, Amen: This response of pray- er Was. doubtless spontaneous. But with orientals the word end the action —lilting up their hands—would be more reverent ansi dignified than with a Western eorigregationv This lifting up of the hand, pointing toward the heavens, calling upon ,,God to witness, is a rin,oet, ancient eastern in worship, wild there waist a thrilling modern in- stance of it last August, w‘hen Drey- fus, the Frencb jaw, was arrainged for the teemed time, ille threw his humid up and appealed to God to testiay his innocenee. ;They bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord With their faces to tbe ground. They pro- bably bowed their healds, then fele on their knees and, bent foreverd until their faces came between their hands. The formality which f ia uartive to, the orieetal ainems almost a mark of hypo- oriee evaen imitated, in our free and easy ootentry. But Proteetantism es- peCially may %Veil take lessens in rev- eaenee from the,se old J'ewee A/ die - position to look atoned the corigrege- tion while others' heads are leaved, to whiep.er d.u,ring prayer time, to put en wraps durleg the singing of tile don- ologY, wad, 1 geeet with effesivenese friends the moment ;after the last worde of the Denedidion have been pecoacenoed, is te, meek oe the want of revereace of soul, tied, uo sieePticel oritioism outside or in the Church, and no vice made legitimate by law, so dir- ectly iMperite 1.11CP CAllreh of Oblast as thoughtle,ss irreverence on tee part of it members ana supportere. "/. Also jeshua, . . and the Levites, caused the People to understand the law. We have here thirteen Which, lloWevee, mem to be names of families or clans rather than of per- sons. "And the Levi -tee" should prob- ably reacl 'even the Levites," foe all these men belenged to' the priestly tribe. Where did they stand? Eve. aently they did not stand upon the pulpit of wood, where Ezra and his thirteen supporters were. Probably they were stationed at intervals througle the crowd tied repeated and explained tee words that Ezra slowly read. How they "caused the people to understand the law" is described in the next verse. The people stood in their place. Observe that the word "stood" is in Italic, which means that it has beea supplied by the traeisia- tore. It is not in the original. 'Erma all orieatal analogy we may be Pure that the people did not stand. They remained in their places sitting on tee, ground, as every oriental company does when it is not engaged in direct' physical action. , 8. They read in the' book in the law oft (13�d, Put a ` °comae after "book" Re- vised Version, and this phease becomes Plain. The book that they read was the law of God. Distinctly. The margin theRevised: Version gives "with an in.. terpretationi" which is Probably. ••the meaning. Gave the sense, and caused then to understand. They repeated die. tinctly 'every word • that Ezra read; chanted it,, as sonae believe, or gave it in a sort of choral recitative. And then, making signs to him to stop for a wnile, they answered the questions of the multitude. . Vats verse has often been referred to as beautifully stat- ing the duty a the Sunday school teacher. Very likely part of what the Levites had to do was to translate sentence by sentence, the words frohe the old. Hebrew into the vernacular dialect. 9. 'Nehemiah, which is the Tirsha- tea. -"Tirshatha" is et term of rever- ence ,and dignity for a governor. It is related to the modern Turkish title pasha. Said auto ale the people, This day is holy' into the Lord, your, God ; mourn not, noe weep. The duty of reading the word of God was sacredly reserved, for Ezra, He was a priest and minister et§1 God, and the laymen who supported him did not interfere with his work. Neither did. the great Nehemiah, who at this time was the MOSr potent factor, in 'the little com- munity at Jerusalem. But when the • people wept, whem they heard the words Of the law, the strong coranion sense of Nehemiah asserted itself, and we can easily, in, imagination see, the soldiers clear the way while the great gests the quieting • of • the peo- man advances to Erza and sug- ele, who in their first contact with divine truth make the mistake of mourning instead of rejoicing. So I have seen a little child whoee .fa - thee ha,a been: long absent cry at the sight of him who loved it most. These people, knowing their morel infirmity and their distance from God, in,stinc- tively felt, Eke all sinnees, disposed to run father away from him instead of doing, what tee heavenly Father, as well as all eartbay parents, longs for his ,children to do—coming nearer. But there was another thought, doubt- less, in Nehemiah's mind. This 'day, the ,firist day ..of the seventh month, had been ordained by Moses, "as a me- morial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convoca,tion, "during which no servile work, should be done. It was rather to be observed as a day of festivity. So while the poetrayals of sin, and the threaes of punishment which the peo- ple heard from the law might well sad- den their hearts, it was their duty on this occapion to direct their atten- tion rather to the proraeseis, wbich are far more abundant in God's word than • threats of punishment, and to rejoice rather than to weep. 10. Go your way, eat :the fat, and drink thesweet. These vvorcle and what follow, are probably the words of Ne- hemiah, Ezra and the Levites repeat- ing and indorsing what Inc said. The East is a region of alternate fasting and feasting. People starve themselves . for weeks together that they may stuff themselves for days together. Their festivities are • like nothing known in Europe or Ainerica. Fresh meet is a rarity in tbe. East, but on festival occasions it is inordinately indulged in, a.nd marrow and fatness, and milk and oil, and honey and wine, are the typical phrases for dainties. Send portions unto them for whom nothing is 'pee - pared. For they, too, are the children of Abraham and children of God. The perfect- trutheh.at our Lora has sheep of another flock, that Gentiles., as well Jews, are children of God, had not broken foeth in luster upon the earth; bet withie national 1in4ite the con- scientious Jew had a higher recogni- tion of the eights of his neighboroi than the average conscientiou,s Christian in the best larnteunder the sun to -day. In the modern mad rush for wealth there is a terrible and heathenish, rightly speaking, it is an infidel, dis- regard ef the poor fellow. Notwith- standing his poverty and notwith- standing, his vice, he ie a fellow, a brother, and it is oar duly twee more than it was the duty of these old, Jer- aSelean Jews to "give portions unto thean for whom nothing is prepared," We won't have to travel far to do it. This day is holy unto our Lord. IIere was the chief reason for Nehemiah's firteriruption. It will never ele to be sorry on the Lord's festal day; for the joy of te,e Lord iseyeue strength. A truth, which, if constantly remember- ed, would greatly multiply the pros- perity of the modern Church, 11. Se the Levities stillesi all the people. lEzea anti Nelienfali from their lofty pulpit could give the ordere, but these cooed only be clotted into et - fat by the help of the Levites, who were 'clown among the common people, Here ie a beautiful suggestion aboat, the helpfulness of the ordinary 01u:rah member, Great Men in the Church may be able to give extensive direc- 'Hone, but to hew; them carried out re- quires the oirdinary. Christian:4 each to agitate duty. now youe peace, for the, eayi is holy, They must not Mae the gladness of flee holy day by nettnifestite dein oi sorrow 'even for thear eine. Reit Yet eerroW of e godly eort ise privilege' and a duty. Sorreere are ours, bat joys are wings. la. The people weet their way, Sortie of timee who left went to theta homes, the rest to thein temporary; stopping places. To eat, and to drink, Whioh Wit$ their. .411,i.Yr‘ to God Qn 014 nicasioo. To seed portious. Wbich Was their duty to their fellow -men*. Let us rentember that no social spit:. 'temi eas yet been praotically worked '- which does net leave many in bitter. poverty, To make great mirth, This was their dute to themselvee. "Their mirth was not rioting; it was tee hie. arety, as it is called in the NeW Tes- tament,i of souls who feel that Ged 15 their+ Father and all men and, women their brothers and sisters. It was a duty to indulge in meth of euch sort. They had understood the worde that were declared unto. them. Thie was the cause of their gladness. TheY1 had' reason to thank the Levites and ofthe plain men who ,had helped theur go to understand. I, faney some'o them seeking such Levites to thank them, but not finding them in the orowd, So mane of us have sought in (maturity to -find the Sunday school. tetacherst Who, helped us in childhoodd and have not found the,m ; so—and it is a comfortable' a.nd cheering , thought—some will seek exelie4-41. Sunday, ochool teechee of to -day, Per- haps the.y will aot field us, but all gratitude, awl thanks will cluster about) all savedesoule, in etexultye 1 't • FALLING 3,000 FEET. some Wonderful Facapea From IminIned Death. There used to he a, 'story in Hawaii about a native who always took hio, morning dip off a, point of cliff 120 feet above the surf. Naturally enough this yarn met with little belief, but, considering the distance a man can fall and yet live the Hawaii native's 'performance is perhaps not so won- derful as it sounds. Only the other day one read of 2/111e. • Morel, who, with hex mother, fell on the Alpo near Zermatt, a distance of over 1,200 feet. The firs,t 30 feet • of this wais perpendicular, and the rest down a, tremendously steep slope. Yet, though the mother was killed, the younger woman escaped with more bruises. • -- F. S. Setherland late oe the United ee States navy, has turned 'Steeple, jack, and has had in this exeiting cedes., elen many wonderful escapes. While an Chicago in 1898 Inc climbed thewag teraworks tower, 240 feel. high. When near the top a stone guyee and he made a sheer plunge of 170 feet: He struck the telegraph wire* 40 feet above the street, and lande in six inches of abash iu the roadway*. Hundreds of people aaw Sutberland falling, and stood spellbound with bore A FEARFUL DEATH seemed inevitable—nay, it was genere ally believed that he "eras dead lone before he reached the tele raph wires, Doctor's and ambulances were se in the hope that a spark of life might remain; but wheri the dectore exam- ined Sutherland, they declared, newel to the onlookers' surprise, that there was little the matter with him. Aftee seven day e in hospital he was upend about again! * Mr. Whymper's fall when climbing alone on the 'Wetter -horn the year beet fore hie successful a,scent. is well known. He hounded from mak to rock down the bottom of an almost empendicular gully for over 300 feet. Ells head wee; badly cut, but the only testing evil effe,ct was the impairing of his memory. A few years ago a father attempt- ed to 'kill his children by tbrowing them off the Suspension Bridge at Clifton, and one of them, a girl about eleven years of age, survived that terrific plunge. A woman, too, once reached the water below in safety, after an attempt at suicide by jump- ing from the same parapet. But this happened in the days of the crinoline; and it was the balloon -like 'expanse saved her. Meet raarveloue of all is the account of Charles Woolcott's terrific tumble from a height of no less then 3,000 feet. It was in Venezuela,. and he wae making a parachute decent. The pitiacliute refused to open till *within ai hundred or two hundred feet of the „ ground. Then it spread out audaenlyegaa" The unfortunate man crushed both' . ankles and both knees, broke his right thigh ana hip, dislocated Jais spinal column, and suffered other injuries. Yet after a year in hospital, he too, recovered sufficiently to write an ac- count of what was probably the most fearful accident 'mortal man ever sur- vived. EARTHQUAKES. Portents That Foreshadow These Tre- mendous 'Upheavals of Nathre. Some years ago Comnaender' Mor- rison, an officer of the British naye, who foretold from t,he stars the Civil War, formulated the following rules far predieting earthquakes. These conditions areaboutt to be fulfilled and acco.reing to him we may look ,for mother earth to beeorne restless., a. Eateth,geakee generally follow, close on the heels of ecltpses. B. At the tithe of the earthquake toarany aspects will be found between the planets in the heavens; also as re - garde the places of the, planets at the previous eclipse. 3. Eartliquakee generally happen when there are several eeariets an or near the -Evoke:a or equator. 4. Faxelequaltes happen more fre- quently when there ere planets, es- pecially tree ens, Se tarn, Jiipiter or Mars, in the aign Taurus or Scortio. FATAL MINING ACCIDENTS Fewer deathe are caused by minieg eeeitlents now than in 1855, although at the present time there are two aid a, half times a$ teeny people employ- ed undergro'Und.