The Columbian fountain., 1846-09-02

1 lEAT.----' Lave SOOcIIy. lHuS u--l~'
MY BELOVED HEARERs The words III at
have selected as the foundation of the present
discourse were written by the Apostle Paul 70
Titus nearly eighteen hundred years ago; and
there is necessity for the same exhortation In
our own day. The great Apostle urges sober
ness in no less than seven instances in this
Epistle. He says 10 Bishops, :" Be not given
to wine, be sober, be temperate J" TO aged men,
g Be sober - to aged women, g Be not given
to much wine;" to young women, g Be sober J"
to young men, !" Be sober minded ]" and to all,
:" Live soberly.v If therefore had no other
authority this letter would be proof enough that
the author Of our text was areal Temperance
man. But it is said Of him in another place in
the Scriptures that he reasoned with Felix
on temperance, and have no donbt il was his
custom to preach this doctrine continually.
So you perceive am in good company when
turn Temperance lecturer. My present SER
mon will be very brief, the text only requiring,
FIRST to be explained, and secondly enforced.
|. WHAT Is IMPLIED BY " LIVING sOBERLY."
Many will contend that it has no reference to
abstinence from the use Of intoxicating drinks,
| bot boldly assert that it has. | will not say
this is the sole reference OF the author Of our
text, but that it is one item Of importance is evi
dent from his illusions 10 other parts Of the
epistle TO the drinking Of wine, which he begs
Titus to desist from and to exhort all classes of
men not TO be given to il; which would be
equivalent TO asking him TO sign the pledge,
if he had lived in our day of Temperance so
cieties g Live soberly /" implies indeed great
deal more than merely RETAINING from the use
of wine and strong drink-it may be applied to
the right government Of our temper, our con-
versation, our appeiites and habits in general
but above all, il alludes to abstinence from in
ebriating beverages, whether Of one class or
kind, or Of another; for no man, who uses these
can be said to "live soberly" in any proper
sense. Their use so affects the temper, words,
and actions of men as to unfit them for sobriety
in any department Of life. There is no con-
sistency whatever between the admonition Of
the text, and the habit of drinking alcoholic
beverages, and those persons who take the
writings Of ST. Paul, or other parts of the scrip
ture to Justify their use Of these drinks, resort
to the very source Of their condemnation, in as
much as their use is spoken against directly or
indirectly in nearly every book of the sacred
canon. If wine is sometimes recommended in
the Bible il is not intoxicating wine, and as
we have no other kind in our country, there is
not word in scripture to justify its use, espe
Ctdly dS COLQuiOu, VI cVcu OCCdSlUudl uiIHh
To "live soberly" therefore we should be Total
Abstinence men as TO ardent spirits, and even
as to these articles Of food and drink which may
be really beneficial, we should use them in
moderation. .'elf s oaaaa asf III
u IL. But. TO ENFORCE THE ExHoRTATIoN,
may make few remarks and very few, lest
| should weary your patience !; for a long SER
mon from dull preacher am aware is not to
be endured. We ought, then to "live soberly for
Gods sake who has right to command and
has commanded usso TO do; for our own sake be-
cause it will promote our best interest for time
and eternity, and for the sake Of our family,
friends and mankind in general, because we
shall be best able to render them what we are
bound to render A gay, volatile, tipsy life is,
so far as the real intention of our existence is
concerned, no life at all while the sober, cheer
full, temperate life Of good man shall be per-
petuated throughout eternity, if he who thus
lives exercises proper dependence upon the
mediation of our Saviour. Let me, in conclu-
sion, give you few Of the words Of preacher
whose style will perhaps please you better than
my own: "My friends, keep sober-avoid
these fatal glasses, at the bottom Of which lie
the sediment Of destruction--drin only at the
pure and limpid stream which flows directly
from the ever-gushing fountains of heaven,
whose waters are refreshing to the body, nour-
shing TO the soul. and purifying to the heart
and oh, dash down for ever upon the adaman- |
tine rock Of resolution that seducing goblet
which "steas away mans brains, morals,
and reputation" Amen. "
SET ,N0nEn SnRADS