The Apostasy of Solomon

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The Mount of Offense. — In the days of Christ there were still to be seen opposite the Kidron, on the southern eminence of the Mount of Olives, huge stones, and relics of heathen temples and altars. This debris was in sight of the temple of God, and seemed to defiantly confront it. King Solomon had built those heathen sanctuaries during the time of his departure from God, and though they had subsequently been destroyed, their remnants were still remaining as memorials of his apostasy. During Josiah’s reign, unsightly blocks of wood and stone were to be seen peering through the myrtle and olive groves.

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Josiah had read to priests and people the book of the law found in the side of the ark in the house of God. His sensitive conscience was deeply stirred as he saw how far the people had departed from the requirements of the covenant they had made with God. He saw that they were indulging appetite to a fearful extent, and perverting their senses by the use of wine. Men in sacred offices were frequently incapacitated for the duties of their positions, because of their indulgence in wine.

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Appetite and passion were fast gaining the ascendency over the reason and judgment of the people, till they could not discern that the retribution of God would follow upon their corrupt course. Josiah, the youthful reformer, in the fear of God demolished the profane sanctuaries and hideous idols built for heathen worship, and the altars reared for sacrifices to heathen deities. Yet there were still to be seen in Christ’s time the memorials of the sad apostasy of the king of Israel and his people.

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Solomon, at the age of eighteen years, commenced his reign upon the throne of his father, David. He felt his need of strength from God. He asked for it humbly, and it was given to him. When he, at this early age, assumed the reins of government, he was cautious and distrustful of himself. He placed great confidence in the men who had wisely sustained his father, and deferred to their counsel. He did not feel competent to fill so responsible a position without the aid of wiser and more experienced heads.

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God perceived the desire of Solomon to walk with integrity before him, and to deal justly with his people, and, in a dream, asked what he should give him. And Solomon, after recounting the goodness of God to him, and to his father David, answered the Lord, saying, «I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?»

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The Lord was pleased with Solomon’s answer, because, instead of asking any personal favor for himself, he asked for power to guide his people aright. God said unto Solomon, «Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.»

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Solomon’s youth was illustrious, because he was connected with Heaven, and made God his dependence and his strength. God has called him Jedediah, which, interpreted, means The Beloved of God. He had been the pride and hope of his father, and well beloved in the sight of his mother. He had been surrounded by every worldly advantage that could improve his education and increase his wisdom. But, on the other hand, the corruption of court life was calculated to lead him to love amusement and the gratification of his appetite. He never felt the want of means by which to gratify his desires, and never had need to exercise self-denial.

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Notwithstanding all these objectionable surroundings, the character of Solomon was preserved in purity during his youth. God’s angel could talk with him in the night season; and the divine promise to give him understanding and judgment, and to fully qualify him for his responsible work, was faithfully kept. In the history of Solomon we have the assurance that God will do great things for those who love him, who are obedient to his commandments, and trust in him as their surety and strength.

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Many of our youth suffer shipwreck in the dangerous voyage of life, because they are self-confident and presumptuous. They follow their inclinations, and are allured by amusements, and indulgence of appetite, till habits are formed which become shackles, impossible for them to break, and which drag them down to ruin. Their once bright hopes and prospects are wrecked, and they are held in the veriest bondage to Satan. If the youth of our day would, like young King Solomon, feel their need of heavenly wisdom, and seek to develop and strengthen their higher faculties, and consecrate them to the service of God, their lives would show great and noble results, and bring pure and holy happiness to themselves and many others.

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Those who do not make God their trust, but indulge their animal passions and appetites, are gradually overcome entirely by their evil propensities: their moral powers become enfeebled; they are unable to discriminate between right and wrong; and Satan takes advantage of this to lead them into carrying forward his work. Thus God is robbed of the service due him, and society is deprived of the benefits which would follow the proper use of the endowments which God has bestowed upon them to use for his glory. This debasement of the higher qualities of the mind to the slavery of appetite and passion is a bondage more to be dreaded than prisons and fetters.

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God made man in his own image for high and noble purposes, such as are the delight of angels. If he connects with Heaven, the wisdom of Heaven will be given him, as in the case of Solomon in the years of his youth and purity. Continual dependence upon God, and obedience to him, will prevent man from imitating the example of Solomon in his mature years, when evil associates and unsanctified connections led him into apostasy and ruin. If the youth are connected with Heaven they will be able to discern evil from good, and to penetrate the specious appearance with which vice hides its hideousness. They will carefully consider every step they take, realizing that it can never be retraced, and that when they are once led astray by the deceitful devices of sin, they are weakened in principle, and are in double danger of again becoming the victims of temptation.

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The thought of our responsibility to God should be the strongest safeguard to finite minds. It is a solemn thought that our individual being is inseparably bound to the infinite God. Christ, our Saviour, has, by the sacrifice of his own life, brought to man, who was feeble in moral power, divine strength, that, through his name and merits, man might become, even in this life, little less than the angels of God. Whatever course we may choose to pursue, so long as we possess our reason we can never cease to be responsible to God for our words and deeds.

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It is the basest ingratitude to accept the favors and blessings of God with the indifference of dumb brutes, without making any acknowledgment of his goodness, or meeting the claims he has upon us. Our faculties are given us to be used in the work of God; and if we answer this purpose of our existence, still more important work will be intrusted to us; we shall be co-laborers with the Creator of the universe, ambassadors for Christ. We shall be elevated above the taint of selfishness and moral defilement; and the thought that we are living for a grand and noble purpose, fulfilling the design of our being, will make us earnest, cheerful, and strong under all discouragements and difficulties.

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The mental and moral powers of Solomon in his early life were unequaled by those of any king that ever sat upon an earthly throne. His wise rule was the praise of all nations; and his purity and goodness enshrined him in the hearts of all his people. The fear of the Lord, and a right connection with him, does not disqualify men for dealing with people of different minds and temperaments, but, on the other hand, does much toward qualifying them for the most important posts of responsibility in this life.

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God was glorified through Solomon, and he loved him, and favored his servant with the highest prosperity. His dominion extended from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt. He built a magnificent temple for God. He hearkened to the word of the Lord, and was so closely connected with him that the Lord gave him all the directions for building his temple.

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Solomon, under all his honors, walked wisely and firmly in the counsels of God for a considerable time; but he was overcome at length by temptations that came through his prosperity. He had lived luxuriously from his youth. His appetite had been gratified with the most delicate and expensive dainties. The effects of this luxurious living, and the free use of wine, finally clouded his intellect, and caused him to depart from God. He entered into rash and sinful marriage relations with idolatrous women.

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This was contrary to the special directions of God, who had forbidden the Hebrews to intermarry with the heathen nations around them, lest their wives, having been reared in idolatry, should draw the hearts of the people away from the living God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and they themselves should become worshipers of idols. If they should thus separate from God, their wisdom and power would be no higher than those of the heathen nations around them. God was ever leading his people upward and onward if they would submit to his guidance.

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Solomon was ruined by intemperate habits; had it not been for them, his later years would have been as illustrious as his earlier ones. In following his own inclinations he separated himself from God. He commenced to follow his own judgment, step by step, seeking less and less the wisdom of God, which would have kept him pure. At length God was forgotten, and his only care was for pleasure and self-gratification.

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After his unsanctified alliance with many idolatrous women, Solomon, in his desire to please them, was led away from God, and into idolatry, in proof of which the ruins we have mentioned still remained in the days of Christ. In the decline of life, this great king plunged into sinful indulgences, and the grossest excesses. The wonderful intelligence and ability which had once been devoted to God, and to his glory, were now employed in devising means by which he could best gratify his carnal desires for pleasure and his own glory. God did not, however, utterly forsake him who had once been his faithful servant. His moral powers, which had become benumbed through dissipation and lasciviousness, were mercifully aroused; and in proof of his reformation, we have the relation of his experience given in his inspired writings. —

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Solomon’s career of lasciviousness and unholy ambition was mercifully arrested by God, and he was effectually aroused from the iniquitous state into which he had fallen. He gave proofs of his reformation in the relation of his experience contained in his inspired writings. The case of Solomon should convey to all a lesson of human weakness, and the constant need of divine aid. Solomon possessed great intelligence, and learning, riches, and honor; yet all this was insufficient to insure his integrity to God, to himself, and to his nation. After a youth and early manhood of unsurpassed promise, there followed a blotted history of deterioration and iniquity. It might well be said of him, «How art thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning!»

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All the sins and excesses of Solomon can be traced to his great mistake in ceasing to rely upon God for wisdom, and to walk in humility before him. Therefore he went not on from strength to strength, rising higher and higher in the perfection of an elevated character, but soon became the prey of temptation and carnal desires. In the careless life which he entered upon, the blessings which God bestowed upon him were not improved to his glory, but were used to promote himself to an unexampled pinnacle of earthly grandeur. He surrendered the reins of self-control, laying them upon the neck of degrading passions. His conscience was violated, his manhood perverted, and his moral powers debased. Gifted with wondrous genius and fortune, he nevertheless lost his God and his happiness, and degenerated into the most miserable of men.

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God had expressly forbidden his chosen people to marry with the idolatrous nations around them. God singled out Israel to make them the depository of the true faith, and he placed a high barrier between them and the rest of the world. Their safety depended upon keeping pure, and preserving their unity with each other and with God. Solomon, in contracting a marriage to please his fancy instead of seeking by his marriage to glorify God, separated himself from God, ruined himself, and nearly ruined his nation.

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Solomon was extolled for his wisdom to the uttermost parts of the earth. He forgot that he was indebted to God for all his admirable qualifications, and came to look upon himself as being supreme in wisdom. He accordingly led out in enterprises without consulting the will of God; he established political alliances with pagan governments, and cultivated commercial intercourse with them. But the advantages accruing therefrom were dearly purchased by the sacrifice of principle and the divine favor. Silver was brought from Tarshish, and gold from Ophir, to enrich the nation; but the fine gold of righteousness, the purity and strength of the nation, became corrupted by idolatry. Polygamy spread widely abroad, and domestic and social life were poisoned under the reign of this apostate king, who had been exalted so highly in point of privilege, and in the favor of God.

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The original character of Solomon, as manifested during the earlier years of his reign, was bold, honorable, and judicious. Unparalleled success would have been his, had he continued to seek it in God. But there was everything about him to flatter his pride, and to indulge his appetite and passions. He was fond of wine, and his naturally clear intellect was often clouded by its effects. He was absolute monarch of Israel, holding in his power the lives and property of his people over all his wide-spread domain. As his mental powers became enervated and degraded by his dissipation and lascivious habits, he grew hasty, fitful, and tyrannical. His fine sensibilities were blunted, and his conscience seared. He who had prayed at the dedication of the temple that the hearts of his people might be undividedly given unto the Lord, had become a weak, fallen man. It was through his connection with idolaters that he became thus profligate and a despot. He maintained his unreasonable extravagance by heavy taxation, and lived in a state of unrivaled luxury and magnificence.

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His giant mind degenerated, and he could be molded like wax by the unscrupulous persons who studied his caprices and played upon his weaknesses. He endeavored to unite heathenism with the faith of the Hebrews, mistaking his own unscrupulous license for liberality and merciful toleration. But his attempt to unite darkness and light, in serving God and Baal, was like mingling ink and pure water. The water does not impart its crystal clearness to the ink, but, on the contrary, the ink gives its dark color to the water, making a murky compound. Purity cannot unite with impurity without being stained by the contact. This was the result developed by Solomon in his attempted union of God and Belial. He came finally to disregard all religions.

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The lesson for us to learn from the history of this perverted life is the necessity of continual dependence upon the counsels of God; to carefully watch the tendency of our course, and to reform every habit calculated to draw us from God. It teaches us that great caution, watchfulness, and prayer are needed to keep undefiled the simplicity and purity of our faith. If we would rise to the highest moral excellence, and attain to the perfection of religious character, what discrimination should be used in the formation of friendships, and the choice of a companion for life.

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Many, like the king of Israel, follow their own carnal desires, and enter into unsanctified marriages. Many who started out in life with as fair and promising a morning, in their limited sphere, as Solomon had in his exalted station, through one false and irrevocable step in the marriage relation, lose their souls, and draw others down to ruin with them. As Solomon’s wives turned his heart away from God to idolatry, so do frivolous companions, who have no depth of principle, turn away the hearts of those who were once noble and true, to vanity, corrupting pleasures, and downright vice.

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Moral worth has a charm that wealth and outward attractions do not possess. The woman having the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, in the sight of God has an endowment of great value, before which the silver of Tarshish, and the gold of Ophir, are worthless. Solomon’s bride, in all her glory, cannot compare with one of these household treasures.

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Few realize that, in their lives, they constantly exert an influence which will be perpetuated for good or evil. Hundreds of years had elapsed since Solomon caused those idolatrous shrines to be erected on the mount; and, although Joshua had demolished them as places for worship, their debris , containing portions of architecture, were still remaining in the days of Christ. The prominence upon which those shrines had stood was called, by the true-hearted of Israel, the Mount of Offense.

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Solomon, in his pride and enthusiasm, did not realize that in those pagan altars he was erecting a monument of his debased character, to endure for many generations, and to be commented on by thousands. In like manner, every act of life is great for good or evil; and it is only by acting upon principle in the tests of daily life, that we acquire power to stand firm and faithful in the most dangerous and most difficult positions.

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The marks of Solomon’s apostasy lived ages after him. In the days of Christ, the worshipers in the temple could look, just opposite them, upon the Mount of Offense, and be reminded that the builder of their rich and glorious temple, the most renowned of all kings, had separated himself from God, and reared altars to heathen idols; that the mightiest ruler on earth had failed in ruling his own spirit. Solomon went down to death a repentant man; but his repentance and tears could not efface from the Mount of Offense the signs of his miserable departure from God. Ruined walls and broken pillars bore silent witness for a thousand years to the apostasy of the greatest king that ever sat upon an earthly throne.

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The lesson of Solomon should be a warning to the youth, and to those of mature age who are tempted to deviate from principle in order to follow inclination. The great danger is in feeling that our own strength is sufficient, and not relying upon the strength of God. The youth who have been religiously educated are not safe from temptation; and unless the principles taught them are woven into the words and actions of their daily lives, and they fully comprehend the danger of contamination through evil associations, they are liable to make shipwreck of their lives.

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Bewitching temptations to follow the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are to be met on every side. The exercise of firm principle, and strict control of the appetites and passions, in the name of Jesus the Conqueror, will alone carry us safely through life. —

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The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age, after he had fully proven that all the pleasures earth is able to give are empty and unsatisfying. He there shows how impossible it is for the vanities of the world to meet the longings of the soul. His conclusion is that it is wisdom to enjoy with gratitude the good gifts of God, and to do right; for all our works will be brought into judgments.

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Solomon’s autobiography is a mournful one. He gives us the history of his search for happiness. He engaged in intellectual pursuits; he gratified his love for pleasure; he carried out his schemes of commercial enterprise. He was surrounded by the fascinating splendor of court life. All that the carnal heart could desire was at his command; yet he sums up his experience in this sad record:-

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«I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem; yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly; I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure; and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it? I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards. . . . . So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.»

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The errors and follies of the present time are an exaggerated repetition of those of past ages. One generation after another give themselves up to the vain pursuit of peace and happiness in the world, a pursuit which ends in disappointment, and too often in despair. The way of true happiness remains the same in all ages. Patient continuance in well-doing will lead to honor, happiness, and eternal life.

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Solomon sat upon a throne of ivory, the steps of which were of solid gold, flanked by six golden lions. His eyes rested upon highly cultivated and beautiful gardens just before him. Those grounds were visions of loveliness, arranged to resemble, as far as possible, the garden of Eden. Choice trees and shrubs, and flowers of every variety, had been brought from foreign lands to beautify them. Birds of every variety of brilliant plumage flitted from tree to tree, making the air vocal with sweet songs. Youthful attendants, gorgeously dressed and decorated, waited to obey his slightest wish. Scenes of revelry, music, sports, and games were arranged for his diversion at an extravagant expenditure of money.

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But all this did not bring happiness to the king. He sat upon his magnificent throne, his frowning countenance dark with despair. Dissipation had left its impress upon his once fair and intellectual face. He was sadly changed from the youthful Solomon. His brow was furrowed with care and unhappiness, and he bore in every feature the unmistakable marks of sensual indulgence. His lips were prepared to break forth into reproaches at the slightest deviation from his wishes.

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His shattered nerves and wasted frame showed the result of violating Nature’s laws. He confessed to a wasted life, an unsuccessful chase after happiness. His is the mournful wail, «All is vanity and vexation of spirit.» «Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning. 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! By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry; but money answereth all things.»

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It was customary for the Hebrews to eat but twice a day, their heartiest meal coming not far from the middle of the day. But the luxurious habits of the heathen had been engrafted into the nation, and the king and his princes were accustomed to extend their festivities far into the night. On the other hand, if the earlier part of the day was devoted to feasting and wine-drinking, the officers and rulers of the kingdom were totally unfitted for their grave duties.

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Solomon was conscious of the evil growing out of the indulgence of perverted appetite, yet seemed powerless to work the required reformation. He was aware that physical strength, calm nerves, and sound morals can only be secured through temperance. He knew that gluttony leads to drunkenness, and that intemperance in any degree disqualifies a man for any office of trust. Gluttonous feasts, and food taken into the stomach at untimely seasons, leave an influence upon every fiber of the system; and the mind also is seriously affected by what we eat and drink.

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The life of Solomon teaches a lesson of warning not only to the youth, but also to those of mature age. We are apt to look upon men of experience as safe from the allurements of sinful pleasure. But still we often see those whose early life has been exemplary being led away by the fascinations of sin, and sacrificing their God-given manhood for self-gratification. For a time they vacillate between the promptings of principle, and their inclination to pursue a forbidden course; but the current of evil finally proves too strong for their good resolutions, as in the case of the once wise and righteous king, Solomon.

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But Solomon addressed himself especially to the young in this urgent appeal: «Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.» He concludes thus: «Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.»

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Dear reader, as you stand in imagination on the slopes of Moriah, and look across the Kidron valley upon those ruined pagan shrines, take the lesson of the repentant king home to your heart, and be wise. Make God your trust. Turn your face resolutely against temptation. Vice is a costly indulgence. Its effects are fearful upon the constitutions of those whom it does not speedily destroy. A dizzy head, loss of strength, loss of memory, derangements of the brain, heart, and lungs, follow quickly upon such transgression of the rules of health and morality.

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Genius and crime make a sad combination, which we too frequently see in those who have given up God in pursuit of the world. Many of our youth who are highly gifted go astray. Falling under temptation, they become the slaves of appetite and passion. Virtue and integrity are destroyed in them; vice becomes a tyrant, driving its victims from one excess to another, until reason, self-respect, family affection, and eternal interests, plead in vain for reform. It is not easy to regain the reins of self-government, when they are once surrendered to the baser passions.

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Parents may learn a lesson from the history of Solomon. Their course of action in training their children for the duties of life, will remain as a living testimony of them when they are in their graves. There is no surer way to ruin children, both in body and soul, than to surround them with luxuries, provide them with plenty of money, allow them to frequent billiard tables, theaters, festivities, and other demoralizing scenes of amusement, to drink wine, and spend their time in delicate idleness. Reared in this way they do not feel the necessity of being able to support themselves, are devoid of energy in useful employment, avoiding systematic labor, having no respect for parents, or attachment for home. What will be the future of society and the State, if such men are chosen to offices of responsibility and trust? With no proper balance of conscience or principle, they will become the leaders and instigators of iniquity in high places, or the tools of other unprincipled and more daring men. The interests of community will not be held sacred by them; and they will sacrifice everything to their ruling desire.

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Parents, let us rear our children in such a manner that our memory will not be to them as a Mount of Offense, as they look back upon a misspent life, the result of their injudicious training at our hands.

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Let them rather look back upon a happy parental home, where vice of any sort was not tolerated, and where the law of kindness and right ruled, and the fear of the Lord was taught to be the beginning of wisdom.

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Abraham pitched his tent, and by its side erected his altar. The tent was afterward removed, but the altar was enduring. Those memorable stones remained as a monument of his righteousness and devotion, and commemorated in the minds of his children, and children’s children, the integrity of their father Abraham. There he had prayed, and made his vows to God. There angels had visited him with messages of mercy. Sacred spot indeed, where the weary pilgrim might send up his cry to Heaven for purity and holiness of heart. Mark the contrast between those memorials, and the ruins upon the Mount of Offense, which testified, for many generations, to the apostasy of Solomon.

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Christian parents, shall the testimony of your lives, in the persons of your children, speak honorably of you when your voice is silent in the grave, or shall your mistakes and sins be perpetuated in your children, as a warning to others, and a blot upon your memory?