[Illustration.]
Life In The Country. "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and
be in health." 3 John 2.
Good Health
[Illustration.]
The Family Table. "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, ... do all to the
glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31.
1. What did the apostle John wish concerning Gaius?
“Beloved, I wish above all things _that thou mayest prosper and be in
health_, even as thy soul prospereth.” 3 John 2.
2. What did God promise His people anciently?
“And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and
thy water; and _I will take sickness away from the midst of thee_.” Ex.
23:25.
3. Upon what conditions was freedom from disease promised?
“_If thou wilt diligently harken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and
wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His
commandments, and keep all His statutes_, I will put none of these
diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the
Lord that healeth thee.” Ex. 15:26.
4. What does the psalmist say the Lord does for His people?
“Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; _who healeth all thy diseases_.” Ps.
103:3.
5. What constituted a large part of Christ’s ministry?
“Who went about doing good, and _healing all that were oppressed of the
devil_.” Acts 10:38. See Luke 13:16. “And Jesus went about all Galilee,
... _healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the
people_.” Matt. 4:23.
6. Why should the health of the body be preserved?
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore _glorify God in __ your body_,
and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Cor. 6:20.
7. What is the body of the believer said to be?
“What? know ye not that _your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost_ which
is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” Verse 19.
8. What will God do to those who defile this temple?
“If any man defile the temple of God, _him shall God destroy_; for the
temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3:17.
9. What example did Daniel set in this matter?
“But Daniel purposed in his heart _that he would not defile himself with
the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank_.” Dan.
1:8.
10. With what food did he ask to be provided?
“Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and _let them give us pulse
to eat, and water to drink_.” Verse 12.
11. What was the original diet prescribed for man?
“And God said, Behold, I have given you _every herb bearing seed_, which
is upon the face of all the earth, and _every tree, in the which is the
fruit of a tree yielding seed_; to you it shall be for meat.” Gen. 1:29.
12. Why did the Lord restrict the Hebrews in their diet?
“For _thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath
chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself_, above all the nations
that are upon the earth. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.” Deut.
14:2, 3.
NOTE.—Both mind and body are affected by the food we eat.
13. What effect does cheerfulness have upon the health?
“A merry heart _doeth good_ like a medicine.” Prov. 17:22.
14. How did the Saviour provide rest for His disciples?
“And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and
_rest awhile_.” Mark 6:31.
15. How are we exhorted to present our bodies to God?
“I beseech you ... that ye _present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God_.” Rom. 12:1.
16. What high purpose should control our habits of life?
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, _do all to the
glory of God_.” 1 Cor. 10:31.
Christian Temperance
[Illustration.]
Signing The Pledge. "Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile
himself." Dan. 1:8.
1. Concerning what did Paul reason before Felix?
“He reasoned of righteousness, _temperance_, and judgment to come.” Acts
24:25.
NOTE.—Temperance means habitual moderation and control in the
indulgence of the appetites and passions; in other words,
self-control.
2. Of what is temperance a fruit?
“But _the fruit of the Spirit_ is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, _temperance_.” Gal. 5:22, 23.
NOTE.—“Temperance puts wood on the fire, meal in the barrel, flour
in the tub, money in the purse, credit in the country, contentment
in the house, clothes on the back, and vigor in the
body.”—_Benjamin Franklin._
3. Where in Christian growth and experience is temperance placed by the
apostle Peter?
“Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge
_temperance_; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and
to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” 2
Peter 1:5-7. See page 542.
NOTE.—Temperance is rightly placed here as to order. Knowledge is
a prerequisite to temperance, and temperance to patience. It is
very difficult for an intemperate person to be patient.
4. What is said of those who strive for the mastery?
“And every man that striveth for the mastery is _temperate in all
things_.” 1 Cor. 9:25.
5. In running the Christian race, what did Paul say he did?
“But _I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection_: lest that by
any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Verse 27.
6. Why are kings and rulers admonished to be temperate?
“It is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: lest
they drink, and _forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the
afflicted_.” Prov. 31:4, 5.
7. Why were priests forbidden to use intoxicating drink while engaged in
the sanctuary service?
“And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong
drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle: ...
_that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean
and clean_.” Lev. 10:8-10.
8. Why is indulgence in strong drink dangerous?
“And be not drunk with wine, _wherein is excess_; but be filled with the
Spirit.” Eph. 5:18.
NOTE.—The danger in the indulgence of stimulating foods and drinks
is that they create an unnatural appetite and thirst, thus leading
to excess. Both food and drink should be nourishing and
non-stimulating.
9. For what should men eat and drink?
“Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy
princes eat in due season, _for strength_, and not for drunkenness!” Eccl.
10:17.
10. Why did Daniel refuse the food and wine of the king?
“But Daniel purposed in his heart _that he would not defile himself_ with
the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank.” Dan.
1:8. See Judges 13:4.
11. Instead of these, what did he request?
“Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us _pulse
to eat_, and _water to drink_.” Verse 12.
12. At the end of the ten days’ test, how did he and his companions
appear?
“And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared _fairer and fatter
in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s
meat_.” Verse 15.
13. At the end of their three years’ course in the school of Babylon, how
did the wisdom of Daniel and his companions compare with that of others?
“Now at the end of the days ... the king communed with them; _and among
them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah_: ...
and in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of
them, _he found them ten times better_ than all the magicians and
astrologers that were in all his realm.” Verses 18-20.
14. What warning is given against leading others into intemperance?
“Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to
him, and makest him drunken.” Hab. 2:15.
15. What kind of professed Christians are not fellowshiped?
“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a
railer, or a _drunkard_.” 1 Cor. 5:11.
16. Can drunkards enter the kingdom of God?
“Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, ... nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
_drunkards_, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of
God.” 1 Cor. 6:9, 10. See Rev. 21:27.
17. For what perfection of character did the apostle pray?
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God _your whole
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless_ unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:23.
NOTE.—For notable examples of total abstinence in the Bible, see
the wife of Manoah, the mother of Samson (Judges 13:4, 12-14);
Hannah, the mother of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:15); the Rechabites (Jer.
35:1-10); and John the Baptist (Luke 1:13-15).
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Song Of The Rye
I was made to be eaten,
And not to be drank;
To be threshed in the barn,
Not soaked in a tank.
I come as a blessing
When put through a mill;
As a blight and a curse
When run through a still.
Make me up into loaves,
And your children are fed;
But if into drink,
I’ll starve them instead.
In bread I’m a servant,
The eater shall rule;
In drink I am master,
The drinker a fool.
[Illustration.]
The Two Robbers. "Your money and your life."
Evils Of Intemperance
[Illustration.]
The Home Destroyer. "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow?... they that tarry
long at the wine." Prov. 23:29, 30.
1. What do the Scriptures say of wine?
“Wine is a _mocker_, strong drink is _raging_: and whosoever is _deceived_
thereby is not wise.” Prov. 20:1.
NOTE.—All intoxicating drinks are deceptive. They seem to give
strength, but in reality cause weakness; they seem to create heat,
but in fact lower the general temperature; they seem to impart
vitality, but really destroy life; they seem to promote happiness,
but cause the greatest unhappiness and misery. To intemperance may
be attributed much of the world’s sorrow.
2. What is one of the evil results of intemperance?
“Be not among wine-bibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: for the
drunkard and the glutton shall come to _poverty_.” Prov. 23:20, 21.
3. What are other evil effects of intemperance?
“Whoredom and wine and new wine _take away the heart_.” Hosea 4:11. “They
also have _erred_ through wine, and through strong drink are out of the
way; ... they err in _vision_, they stumble in _judgment_.” Isa. 28:7.
NOTE.—“One of the subtlest effects of this many-sided drug is to
produce a craving for itself, while weakening the will that could
resist that craving.”—_“__Alcohol,__”__ by Dr. Williams, page 48._
4. With what sins is drunkenness classed?
“Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
envyings, murders, _drunkenness_, revelings, and such like.” Gal. 5:19-21.
5. What are common accompaniments of intemperance?
“Who hath _woe_? who hath _sorrow_? who hath _contentions_? who hath
_babbling_? who hath _wounds_ without cause? who hath _redness of eyes_?
They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.” Prov.
23:29, 30.
6. How do intoxicants serve one in the end?
“Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in
the cup, when it moveth itself aright. _At the last it biteth like a
serpent, and stingeth like an adder._” Verses 31, 32.
NOTES.—The effects of alcoholic liquors are thus described in the
American Prohibition Year Book for 1912, pages 26, 27:—
“_On the Individual._ Alcoholic liquors, whether fermented,
brewed, or distilled, are poisonous, increasing greatly the
liability to fatal termination of diseases, weakening and
deranging the intellect, polluting the affections, hardening the
heart, and corrupting the morals, ‘bequeathing to posterity’ a
degeneration of physical and moral character.
“_On the Family._ A disturber and destroyer of its peace,
prosperity, and happiness, and thus removing the sure foundation
for good government, national prosperity and welfare.
“_On the Community._ Producing demoralization, vice, and
wickedness, counteracting the efficacy of religious efforts and of
all means for the intellectual elevation, moral purity, social
happiness, and eternal good of mankind.
“_On the State._ Promoting crime and pauperism, paralyzing thrift
and industry, corrupting politics, legislation, and the execution
of laws.”
Alcohol tends to destroy the higher forms of cells, those directly
concerned with the vital processes, particularly the delicate
brain-cells, and to replace them with useless and harmful
connective tissue, or what is commonly known as scar tissue.
Reliable statistics demonstrate that the total abstainer has an
advantage of at least twenty-one per cent over the moderate
drinker.
“The offspring of alcoholics show impaired vitality of the most
deep-seated character, such as deformities, neuroses, which may
take the severe forms of chorea, infantile convulsions, epilepsy,
or idiocy.”—_“__Alcohol,__”__ page 44._
7. To what extent is intemperance the cause of crime?
A lord chief justice of England declared, “If sifted, nine tenths of the
crime of England and Wales could be traced to drink.”—“_Alcohol._”
8. What may be said of the use of tobacco?
Being a rank poison, its use is highly injurious.
NOTES.—“Tobacco is the most subtle poison known to chemists,
except the deadly prussic acid.”—_M. Orfila, president Medical
Academy, Paris._
“Tobacco is ruinous in our schools and colleges, dwarfing body and
mind.”—_Dr. Willard Parker._
“I shall not hesitate to pronounce tobacco in young men to be
evil, and only evil, physically, mentally, and morally.”—_Edward
Hitchcock, of Amherst College._
“The use of intoxicating liquor by men, and the use of cigarettes
by boys, is creating a race of feeble-minded, unhealthy, and
valueless citizens.”—_John Wanamaker._
“We might as well go to the insane asylum for our men as to employ
cigarette smokers.”—_The late E. H. Harriman, railroad magnate._
“Cigarettes are ruining our children, endangering their lives,
dwarfing their intellects, and making them criminals, fast. The
boys who use them seem to lose all sense of right, decency, and
righteousness.”—_Judge Crane, of New York City._
“Cigarette smoking in the case of boys partly paralyzes the nerve
cells at the base of the brain, and this interferes with the
breathing and heart action. The end organs of the motor nerves
lose their excitability, next the trunks of the nerves, and then
the spinal cord.... The power of fine coordination is decidedly
lost.”—_Prof. Sims Woodhead, of Cambridge University._
“The use of cigarettes affects the nervous system, weakens the
will-power, and destroys the ability of the boy to resist
temptation; and because of this he easily falls a victim of those
habits which not only destroy the mind and soul, but irresistibly
lead him into a violation of the laws of the state.”—_George
Torrance, superintendent Illinois State Reformatory._
Tobacco using is demoralizing in its general effects, and tends to
create an appetite for strong drink. It originated with the
natives of North America, the Indians. In November, 1492, when
Columbus discovered the island of Cuba, he sent two sailors to
explore it, who, when they returned, reported, among many other
strange and curious discoveries, that the natives carried with
them lighted firebrands, and puffed smoke from their mouths and
noses, which they supposed to be the way the savages had of
perfuming themselves. They afterward declared that they “saw the
naked savages twist large leaves together, and smoke like devils.”
Originating with the wild barbarians of America, the smoking
habit, after some years, was introduced into Europe, and was
rapidly adopted, not only by the lower classes, but by those in
high authority, even princes and nobles participating in the new
intoxication. It has since become well-nigh universal.
9. Where does intemperance often begin?
Intemperance often begins in the home. Many who would not think of placing
on their tables wine or liquor of any kind will load them with food that
creates a thirst for strong drink,—with strong tea and coffee, injurious
condiments, rich pastry, highly seasoned foods, and the like.
10. What will drunkards, with other workers of iniquity, never inherit?
"Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, ... nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
_drunkards_, ... shall inherit _the kingdom of God_." 1 Cor. 6:9, 10.
The World’s Curse
[Illustration.]
The Gin-Mill. "All its history is written in tears and blood."—_Robert J.
Burdette._
1. What admonition against intemperance did Christ give that is especially
applicable at the present time?
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged
with _surfeiting_, and _drunkenness_, and cares of this life, and so that
day come upon you unawares.” Luke 21:34.
2. What did He say would be the condition of the world just before His
second coming?
“As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be.... They were _eating_ and _drinking_, marrying and giving in
marriage.” Matt. 24:37, 38.
3. How has the consumption of liquor increased in gallons in the United
States since 1840:—
Spirits Wines Liquors Total Per
Capita
1840 43,060,884 4,873,096 23,310,843 71,244,823 4.17
1850 51,833,473 6,316,393 36,563,009 94,712,875 4.08
1860 89,968,651 10,933,981 101,346,669 202,249,301 6.43
1870 79,895,708 12,225,067 204,756,156 296,876,931 7.70
1880 63,526,694 28,098,179 414,220,165 505,845,038 10.08
1890 87,829,623 28,945,993 855,929,559 972,705,175 15.53
1900 97,356,864 29,988,467 1,222,387,104 1,349,732,435 17.76
1910 133,538,864 60,548,078 1,851,340,256 2,045,427,018 21.86
1911 138,585,989 62,859,232 1,966,911,744 2,169,356,695 22.79
The total consumption of alcoholic liquors in the United States
for forty-two years (1870-1911) was 43,611,000,564 gallons.
The drink bill of the United States for 1911 was estimated at
$1,833,653,425, or nearly twice the national debt.
The number of liquor dealers in the United States in 1910 was
255,765, or over a quarter of a million.
The capital invested in the manufacture of liquor in the United
States in 1850 was less than $10,000,000. In 1910, sixty years
later, it had increased to over $770,000,000, or more than 7,700
per cent.
The total internal revenue received by the United States for
liquor for forty-nine years, or from 1863 to 1911, was
$5,245,916,047.01.
The use of whisky, beer, cigars, and cigarettes in the United
States increased enormously in 1912. During the three months of
July, August, and September of this year alone, 33,150,000 gallons
of whisky were used, an increase of 450,000 gallons over the
corresponding period of the previous year; 19,800,000 barrels of
beer were drunk, an increase of 320,000 barrels over the same
months of 1911; 1,950,000,000 cigars were smoked, a record
consumption; and more than 3,800,000,000 cigarettes were consumed,
an increase of 1,000,000,000 over the same period of the previous
year.
4. What can be said of intemperance in Great Britain?
Speaking of intemperance in Great Britain, the _English Watchword_ says:—
“Thanks to our brewers and publicans, and the cooperation of the
magistrates who license them, and the consent of the Christian
church which permits the liquor traffic to continue, we have:—
“1,000,000 paupers on the rates through drink,
100,000 criminals in jail through drink,
50,000 lunatics in asylums through drink,
60,000 deaths annually through drink, and a standing army of—
60,000 confirmed drunkards.”
5. To what extent is beer manufactured in the world today?
The enormous extent of the beer industry in the world at the present time
is indicated by the following table prepared in 1903 by Gambrinus, of
Vienna:—
Germany 18,230
United Kingdom 5,547
America and Australia 2,210
Austria-Hungary 1,436
Belgium 3,319
France 3,360
Russia 920
Sweden 250
Denmark 370
Switzerland 228
Holland 372
Other countries 260
Total 36,502
The amount of beer produced by these 36,502 breweries is estimated
at considerably over 150,000,000 barrels annually.
Gallons of Liquor Consumed Annually by the World Today
Wine Beer Spirits
Australia 7,925,000 47,976,000 3,297,000
Austria-Hungary 192,800,000 545,674,043 120,000,000
Belgium 8,948,200 395,285,258 9,895,000
Bulgaria 29,100,000 946,000 770,000
Denmark 63,213,000 4,000,000
Dominion of 1,386,235 39,896,636 6,054,790
Canada
France 1,710,900,000 289,103,000 97,177,968
German Empire 79,600,000 1,782,778,000 124,313,300
Holland 1,980,000 9,328,000
Italy 856,520,000 6,725,000 11,150,400
New Zealand 126,000 7,381,000 602,000
Newfoundland 7,200 312,000 364,000
Norway 8,756,000 1,672,000
Portugal 108,320,000
Roumania 52,840,000 1,320,000 6,996,000
Russian Empire 76,620,000 151,633,892 232,813,382
Servia 6,605,000
Spain 428,000,000 20,000,000
Sweden 898,200 44,440,000 10,730,500
Switzerland 22,190,000 45,452,000
United Kingdom 26,349,873 1,021,123,632 38,133,721
United States 62,000,000 1,851,342,256 133,538,684
Total 3,673,115,708 6,323,357,717 810,836,745
Grand total, 10,807,310,170 gallons.—_American Prohibition Year
Book, 1912._
Comparative Annual Cost of Liquor and Other Things in the United
States
Intoxicating liquor $1,752,000,000
Tobacco 1,200,000,000
Iron and steel 1,035,000,000
Jewelry and plate 800,000,000
Printing and publishing 750,000,000
Lumber 700,000,000
Cotton goods 675,000,000
Automobiles 500,000,000
Woolen and worsted goods 475,000,000
Flour 455,000,000
Boots and shoes 450,000,000
Panama Canal 400,000,000
Public education 371,000,000
Sugar and molasses 310,000,000
Furniture 245,000,000
Silk goods 240,000,000
Potatoes. 210,000,000
Confectionery 200,000,000
Church and home work 175,000,000
Soft drinks 120,000,000
Tea and coffee 100,000,000
Brick 100,000,000
Millinery 90,000,000
Patent medicines 80,000,000
Chewing-gum 13,000,000
Foreign missions 12,000,000
NOTES.—“Grape-Juice has killed more people than
grape-shot.”—_Spurgeon._
“O that men should put an enemy in their mouths, to steal away
their brains!”—_Shakespeare._
“The liquor traffic is the most degrading and ruinous of all human
pursuits.”—_William McKinley._
“All its history is written in tears and blood.”—_Robert J.
Burdette._
“In every community three things always work together,—the
grog-shop, the jail, and the gallows,—an infernal trinity.”—_Henry
Ward Beecher._
“Give me a sober population, not wasting their earnings in strong
drink, and I will know where to get my revenue.”—_William E.
Gladstone._
“I have looked into a thousand homes of the working people of
Europe; I do not know how many in this country. In every case, as
far as my observation goes, drunkenness was at the bottom of the
misery.”—_Carroll D. Wright, former Commissioner of Labor, U. S.
A._
“The liquor traffic is a hydra-headed monster, which, with
ceaseless and tireless energy, wastes the substance of the poor,
manufactures burdensome taxes for the public, monopolizes the time
of courts, fills the jails and penitentiaries and asylums,
terrorizes helpless women and children, and mocks the law.”—_Gen.
Nelson A. Miles._
“I have no sympathy with the statement, so often made, that the
manufacture and sale of liquor have contributed to the industrial
development of the nation. On the contrary, I believe that liquor
has contributed more to the moral, intellectual, and material
deterioration of the people, and has brought more misery to
defenseless women and children, than has any other agency in the
history of mankind.”—_John Mitchell, vice-president American
Federation of Labor._
“The saloon is the mortal enemy of peace and order, the despoiler
of man and the terror of women, the cloud that shadows the face of
children, the demon that has dug more graves and sent more souls
unshriven to judgment than all the plagues that have wasted life
since the plagues of Egypt, or all the wars since Joshua stood
before Jericho.”—_Henry W. Grady._
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
What A Barrel Of Whisky Contains
A barrel of headaches, of heartaches, of woes;
A barrel of curses, a barrel of blows;
A barrel of sorrow for a loving, weary wife;
A barrel of care, a barrel of strife;
A barrel of unavailing regret;
A barrel of cares, a barrel of debt;
A barrel of hunger, of poison, of pain;
A barrel of hopes all blasted and vain;
A barrel of poverty, ruin, and blight;
A barrel of tears that run in the night;
A barrel of crime, a barrel of groans;
A barrel of orphans’ most pitiful moans;
A barrel of serpents that hiss as they pass,
That glow from the liquor in the bead of the glass;
A barrel of falsehoods; a barrel of cries
That fall from the maniac’s lips as he dies!
Scripture Admonitions (A Responsive Reading)
[Illustration.]
The Home Crusher. "The drunkard ... shall come to poverty." Prov. 23:21.
“_Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow
strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!_” Isa.
5:11.
“And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their
feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the
operation of His hands.” Verse 12.
“_And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong
drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee._” Lev. 10:8, 9.
“They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to
them that drink it.” Isa. 24:9.
“_It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor
for princes strong drink._” Prov. 31:4.
“Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious
beauty is a fading flower.” Isa. 28:1.
“_He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil
shall not be rich._” Prov. 21:17.
“For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness
shall clothe a man with rags.” Prov. 23:21.
“_Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to
him, and makest him drunken also._” Hab. 2:15.
“Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to
mingle strong drink.” Isa. 5:22.
“_Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the
Spirit._” Eph. 5:18.
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise.” Prov. 20:1.
“_Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling?
who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?_” Prov. 23:29.
“They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.” Verse
30.
“_Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in
the cup, when it moveth itself aright._” Verse 31.
“At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.” Verse
32.
“_Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, ...
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners,
shall inherit the kingdom of God._” 1 Cor. 6:9, 10.
“Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink,
and eat not any unclean thing.” Judges 13:4.
“_Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?_” 1 Cor. 6:19.
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and
in your spirit, which are God’s.” Verse 20.
“_Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God._” 1 Cor. 10:31.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Look not upon the wine
That sparkles in its flow,
For death is slumbering there,
Beneath its ruddy glow.
No happiness it bringeth,
At last it only stingeth;
It biteth, and it wringeth
The heart with bitter woe.
Lift up the tempted soul
Now fallen in despair,
Direct his thoughts above,
To God, who heareth prayer.
His arm in mighty power
Can bid the demon cower,
And in temptation’s hour
Will an escape prepare.
F. E. BELDEN.
[Illustration.]
The Guardian Angel. "What maintains one vice would bring up two
children."—_Benjamin Franklin._
True Temperance Reform
[Illustration.]
Save The Boys. "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is
old, he will not depart from it." Prov. 22:6.
1. What was the original food provided for man?
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every _herb_ bearing _seed_, which
is upon the face of all the earth, and every _tree_, in the which is _the
fruit of a tree_ yielding _seed_; to you it shall be for meat.” Gen. 1:29.
NOTE.—In other words, vegetables, grains, fruits, and nuts.
2. After the flood what other food was indicated as permissible?
“_Every moving thing that liveth_ shall be meat for you; even as the green
herb have I given you all things.” Gen. 9:3.
NOTE.—From this it is evident that flesh food was not included in
the original diet provided for man, but that on account of the
changed conditions resulting from the fall and the flood, its use
was permitted.
3. When God chose Israel for His people, what kinds of flesh food were
excluded from their diet?
Those called unclean. See Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
4. What special food did God provide for the children of Israel during
their forty years’ wandering in the wilderness?
“Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain _bread from heaven_
for you.” “And the children of Israel did eat _manna_ forty years, until
they came to a land inhabited.” Ex. 16:4, 35.
5. At the same time what did God promise to do for them?
“I will take _sickness_ away from the midst of thee.” Ex. 23:25.
6. What testimony does the psalmist bear regarding their physical
condition?
“There was not one feeble person among their tribes.” Ps. 105:37.
NOTE.—When they complained at God’s dealings with them, and longed
for the food of Egypt, God gave them their desires, but sent
“leanness into their soul.” See Numbers 11; Ps. 106:13-15; 1 Cor.
10:6. Like many today, they were not content with a simple but
wholesome and nourishing diet.
7. Where, above all, should true temperance reform begin?
In the home.
NOTE.—Unless fathers and mothers practise temperance, they cannot
expect their children to do so.
8. What classes of men especially should be strictly temperate?
“Be thou an _example_ of the believers.” 1 Tim. 4:12.
NOTE.—Of all men in the world, ministers and physicians should
lead strictly temperate lives. The welfare of society demands this
of them, for their influence is constantly telling for or against
moral reform and the improvement of society. By precept and
example they can do much toward bringing about the much-needed
reform.
9. Can the fact that the liquor traffic brings in a large revenue to the
state justify men in licensing it?
“Woe to him that buildeth a town with _blood_, and stablisheth a city by
_iniquity_.” Hab. 2:12.
NOTE.—In all the walks and relationships of life, whether in the
home, the medical profession, the pulpit, or the legislative
assembly, men should stand for temperance. To license the liquor
traffic is to legalize and foster it. It cannot exist nor thrive
without the patronage of each rising generation, a large number of
whom it must necessarily ruin, body, soul, and spirit. For the
state to receive money from such a source, therefore, must be
highly reprehensible. The practise has fittingly been likened to a
father catching sharks, and baiting his hook with his own
children.