Show TRAGIC t OF GREAT LIFE Benjamin enjamin Young Discourses on Failures of Saul DE N HIS CHARACTER TO BE DRAWN FROM THE DEATH OF ISRAELS KING Rev 9 n preached last night In the FIrst MethodIst church chulch the thir sermon in the serIes to young Then entitled The UThe Tragedy of Failure His text was from Samuel And the battle went sore against Saul SaulS S And when liL hl armor bearer 1 E w v that Saul was dead he fell feU blon AlJon his sword and dIed likewise with him He said Id in part This is th the re record ord of the tragic end ending endIng ing of a great life liCe Saul Is leaning upon his spear the death gleam 1 In i his eye for he has inflicted upon a mortal wound by falling his sword At first sight there seIus to be something heroic in this final rally ot of the king There is 15 It a sort C c heroic hopelessness s but the whole s ne is suggestive ot of failure and de The pIcure is painted In III soni som Ire lre colors the storm of battle has een terrific the surroundings harmon Z zt with the figure fiure of the trag tragedy tragedy edy the royal leader Is defeated Saul Saulis is d dad ad In thIs defeat on the battle battlefield field ot of there are some pointed lessons for us Two reasons make biographical study Interesting It the heroIc to us to emulation or 01 it gives us that warns of isa ter Saul started ut well He was the choice ot of the cople lie He was or of fine personal ap There wa not a man In iii all rael who could e equal lual him In strength The prophet had pronounced blessings upon his head Yet with all personal advantages his life was a conspicuous failure and culminated in self lion In all biography it would be dif dlf th to find n a life lite which spells failure la 11 such arge letters Reason For the Failure One reason for his hi failure was as that If h was vacillating in character It is lard for such an o on to win success yu may flay straddle a fence but every lody has contempt for a fence rIder Weather V ther cocks have their places on ont steeples t but may the good Lord deliver u from the religious political or wea t ock The man of this age must think and have convIctions You can cannot cannot not serve two masters The man who will wiil stick can win out in almost any line of human activity You may sue suc NI ed If you rId ride one horse but i if you ou attempt to rIde four or five horses lor the delectation of your friends you v Ill stand a good chance of breaking y Have decision do not vac ii I ate Saul also tailed in taking advantage of 1 opportunity The Roman myth of the SibYlline books teach that opportunities opportunities rise in price and diminish in umber every time we neglect to avail of them This Is true in hu hurlan huan an experIence the opportunIty Ity HY Sauls cupidity and love Jove of display aused him to err This was the sin of that age We know something about it toda today To be pos possessed of an 4 hate desire for gain is not helpful to Horal health It is dangerous to grat ly the PAssion for display It is well to be nicely clad but it wIll be far more to spend on men tt furnishing rather than to spend it for a b ver ot to a accentuate the color your necktIe The cut and the color olor or of your waistcoat Is not so important l f the pattern of your our brains I do doot ot mean that you ou shall go Eio about look 1 g like Rip Van Winkle but I mean you ou shall be stronger than the mere dictates of fashion Envy Is a Foul Bird BirdTh The Th passion for display is fatal to of character Envy Emy played an Important nt part In this failure This IS 5 01 11 In iii Sauls dealings with David He was vas very mad when the people sung t the hp praises of the slayer of Goliath Envy Is a foul bIrd In the nest of a auman human uman heart Some of the dark nar narl l tives In AmerIcan history are read toda tOday because men have given a place lu their souls for envy It will make the heart hert bitter and thus incapacitate ou If your frIend should sla slay some wish him well and bid him God swed to greater victories Saul acted as though he could y the law ot of God with Impunity It is pathetic to see him In the gather ing in gloom hastening to the witch to iVine the outcome of Bert te crown had already falln n from his irow The way of the transgressor is This Is made plain In this y Law Las hedges us about todis to dis means menna ruin A sad feature In this Is that the death of th the about the death of Jonathan h Fis son One failure causes another ne brings down another life liCe I 1 T td after the name or of Saul Failed I tead nad this of a company or of a or or of a home or of a loter 1 It l meg means wasted asted lives bl blasted sted hopes thwarted ambition enacted tragedy It ith h 1 had bad here It wIll be worse yonder onder Young man God m meant ant you ou fOr a are j re place Give Gle hIm n a e in the time of life Ufe Put him not from you lii in the period of matur s powers power Go not to the final J h j s with the curse upon you OU because OU have consulted familiar spirits and andou andou ou know not the spirit of the divine Go o not out into the stormy night like IJ Id mad Lear breathing at the or lIke Saul on the bloody of Gilbon Gilboa to be caught up In the sweep of di disaster but go with JUt pur JUta a 1 se and a heart In conformity with GooS good laws to build a habitation hl h shall stand In the crIses of eter 3 jt I ty |