Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1854-01-04
A SHORT PRACTICAL LAY SERMON.

and come down to you 2"-NEHEmAH VI: 3.
AT the dawn of the nineteenth century a
reat, good and venerable man looked over
he world and 10! it was a scene of moral
The walls Of sobriety were bro
en- down and the gates of reason consumed
nth fire. He saw that the people were in
aptiyity, suffering great afficton and re-
roach. An enemy was among the people
mthe guise Of friend, deluging this fair
The f, ';th moral blight and woe from 10000
ex- wtrnnels. He saw grim fortresses
I'VE They ,over the land, and surrounded
in our days, and bones Of human victims.
in everywhere o. the terrific locomotive of
ny picture of hel cars of whiskey flying
I'VE He saw that thtrack, to complete
for in Lethean slumbers.u.
m to be found not in some'tion was sunk
of amiserable, loathsome druna family was
up husbands and fathers were thefted with
rm ofinnocent children and affectionaaKen
nd The poor houses shrieked with poverty;"S
prisons groaned with crime, the gallows =
yer ed on high with murderers doub!y ln-
in ed-and 10000 human beings wei early
IS slain-30 600 immortal souls sent 30 eter-
I'll. nifty over whose portals is writte:n letters
of eternal fre-'No drunkarAsaH 'n@er't
of tie kingdom of God'-and aths was done
according to law!
! And BES5xMfS fSUsH Hroafnee oserthe
desolation Of the people. He went up to a
great work-in the dawn of the nineteenth
century he forged and threw a tn nnderbolt
of truth into the camp of the enemy of hui
manity-while the SanbaILats Of the liquor
traffic reviIeG him all over the land and said
that even fox should break down the NOR
al wall he was building! They invited him
out into the village Of error to make acom-
promise with evil. But that good man an
swered lam doing great aOOrk, so\ that l
cannot come down why should theI work
cease, whilst leave it, and come down tc
you q
Then followed the venerated Porter, and
Humphrey, and Chapin, and Beecher, and
Barnes, and host of other faithful ministers
of God, who early saw that Tntemperance
was dragging victims from the very altar ot
Gods temples, consigning them to drunk
ards grave and drunkard's hell, and the,
prayed to God and preached to man, tia
the destroyer might be stayed. And agair
. the whole tribe of Sanballats arrayed them
r selves against those great and good men, ant
urged thera to abandon their position on TIL
= battlements oftruth but their answer eve
o was We are doing great work, so that W
=. cannot come down We are ministers c
, the Gospel, and we are now engaged in ighI
@ Ing the greatest enemy with which the Go,
- pei has to contend on earth, We are enga
d ged in building a temp le Of safety-ap asl
II lam for the temped-an ante chamber to tn
d church, why should the work cease, Will,
t. we have it, aud come down to YOU, to sett
d your petty quarrels about creeds and form
and wordy ceremonies Let US build Il
II the walls Of sobriety, quench the fires whic
are devoumng reason, let US cast this dey
out Of society, so that we may bring me
10 clothed in their right minds within the sour
ID of the everlasting Gospel which we preach
then il will be time enough to argue VIII
ther Presbyterianism, Methodsm, or son
"a other ism, is the more desirable way TO he
q ven.
And so the Porters, and Humphreys, al
Edwards, and Chapins, and Beechers, al
Barnes, of the early part of the nineteen
century, did not come down from the gre
ed work. and ten thousand times ten thousal
hearts. beating with life and hope this ds
he bless God for it. They labored until tn
nd quenched the fires Of at least 20, 700 dist
leries, banished wine from the side. board a
he harvest field, as common beverage, 8
nd. made intemperance questionable.
, Then, friends of Prohibition, ye who, l
der the blessing Of the God Of Nehemiah,
up about to finish this great work, take courag
the God said, Let there be light and there
been light. In blessing he has blessed
ms In the beginning Of the second half Of
rou nineteenth century another great man
hat newcd this great work-the work Of build
the an asylum for the oppressed-a house of
one fuge where 10000 human beings, now
the clutch of the Destroyer, may flee
safety-and hundreds and thousands of
- good men and woman Of America, havin
nds mind to work, are laboring to build up
YOU walls Of this moral temple. We pray
led that thev may not come down from it,
ran The Maine Law is the only safe ass
Won for the drunkard. 1t is to society what
bark walls where to Jerusalem. And yet the
bos- ballats of the liquor traffic, grieved tina
ever man should come to seek the welfare of
set +Half Century Tribune; by Rev. j
my Marsh.