1809 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



549 



Hess has indicated. Now just one thing 

 more: 



In the fortieth verse of that same chapter 

 we read, "Solomon sought, therefore, to kill 

 Jeroboam." Now, I want to submit the mat- 

 ter to our audience. Of course I do not 

 know just when the book of Elcclesiastes was 

 written; but it was after Solomon's downfall. 

 Let us for a minute contrast the words that 

 friend Keck quotes: "For the living know 

 that they shall die, but the dead know not 

 any thing; neither have they any more a re- 

 ward, for the memory of them is forgotten." 

 There is more of it, but that is enough. Let 

 us now turn to the 40th chapter of Isaiah, 

 last verse: "For they that wait on the 

 Lord shall renew their strength; they shall 

 mount up with wings as eagles; they shall 

 run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and 

 not faint." There, friends, which is best 

 authority — Solomon in his old age, after he 

 had disobeyed the Lord, and fallen from 

 grace, or the grand old prophet Isaiah who 

 lived an honest, faithful, pure, and true life? 

 Let us now go back to our text. 



My understanding of it would be that the 

 Bible is "given to us by inspiration," and it 

 /s " profitable " in the way of its glorious 

 promises and exhortations to purity and 

 righteousness, and it is also profitable in the 

 historical part of it where it tells how good 

 men permitted themselves to be tempted 

 and led astray. Saul started out grandly, 

 but he could not bear responsibility and 

 power. He ended miserably. David start- 

 ed out, both as a boy and a man after God's 

 own heart. He was tempted, and fell, and 

 not only committed adultery but murder. 

 But he repented, and God forgave him. I 

 should be exceedingly glad to know that Sol- 

 omon repented. 



Now just a word about taking Solomon's 

 last utterances as authority. Years' ago 

 I heard of a church-member — in fact I do 

 not know but he was a superintendent in 

 a Sunday-school where he then lived. He 

 was a good man, and stood well in that 

 community; but that man led astray and 

 ruined an unprotected girl who was employ- 

 ed in his family. The matter came into the 

 church, and caused a big excitement; but he 

 confessed his fault, and the church finally 

 decided to overlook it — to forget and to for- 

 give. Years afterward there was a big re- 

 vival in that community. It was the evan- 

 gelist's plan to have all the members of the 

 church go out and exhort sinners to leptut. 

 He, not knowing the man who had commit- 

 ted that crime, selected this church member 

 among others to go from house to house to 

 talk with the unconverted. Come to think 

 of it, I do not think this man was very wise 

 nr he would have declined. A certain day 

 was appointed, and the church-workers went 

 from nouse to house. This man put his foot 

 on the doorstej/ to go into the home of a 

 bright and intelligent woman who was not a 

 member of any church. I do not know but 

 s.he attended card parties and dances, and 

 things of that sort; but when she saw that 

 man ithat gray-headed old sinner I was go- 



ing to say; but as he had confessed his fault 

 to the church I suppose I ought to choose 

 some gentler name) about to come into her 

 home she stopped him at the doorway and 

 said something as follows: 



"Mr. Brown, if I am correct you are com- 

 ing here to talk to me about the welfare of 

 my soul." 



I presume he was somewhat embarrassed, 

 for he might have known what was coming. 

 I do not know what he said — perhaps noth- 

 ing; but she continued: "Yes, I suppose I 

 am a sinner. Perhaps in some respects I 

 am a heathen, and very likely I need reproof. 

 But I hope you will excuse me if I speak 

 plainly, and say it must come from some oth- 

 er source than you. I shall go down to my 

 grave in my sins as I am now unless they 

 have some better messenger from God to 

 come to me and point the way of life." 



So far as I can remember he turned around 

 and went home and did not undertake any 

 more "missionary work" — at least at that 

 time. 



And this opens up another question — the 

 one about eternal punishment. Perhaps I 

 was unwise and not exactly orthodox when 

 I said I did not believe in everlasting torture. 

 In thinking it over since, I can now tell you 

 better what I do believe. Last Sunday our 

 good pastor gave us a list of things that mod- 

 ern theology has dropped. He spoke of Cal- 

 vinism and of "God's elect." You older 

 ones will remember the discussions that we 

 used to have on the subject. He said that 

 was all forgotten nowadays, and put aside. 

 I sat close to him, because I had to be right 

 in front of the pulpit on account of my hear- 

 ing, and I was almost impelled to say, 

 "Thank God." Then he mentioned another 

 thing that is dropped and forgotton, at least 

 in most communities; and that is, that young 

 people belonging to ungodly parents, if 

 they die in childhood are doomed to "eter- 

 nal condemnation." He did not say eternal 

 damnation, but condemnation. Now, this old 

 man I have been speaking about, who forgot 

 his religion, his God, and the responsibilities 

 that rested on him (particularly as the father 

 of a family and a member of the church) to 

 protect and be a father to that child — this 

 man must have felt his punishment to the 

 last day of his life, and I hope he did. Who 

 ever got a glimpse of the manmust have recall- 

 ed the crime he had committed, not only before 

 God but before the eyes of all the world. 

 He was condemned here on earth, and I 

 should not wonder if his condemnation rests 

 on him still, and will rest on him for ever. 

 It is a terrible thing to say, yet I should not 

 be surprised if we find, in the great future, 

 that punishment for things of that kind goes 

 on from everlasting to everlasting. Solo- 

 mon stood before the people as a spiritual 

 leader. His responsibility under the circum- 

 stances was a thousand times greater than 

 that of the person I have taken for an illus- 

 tration. This 11th chapter of I. Kings is a 

 terrible one to read. Solomon continually, 

 persistently, and deliberately broke Gods 

 noly command, and refused to heed God's 



