The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-12-29

succeeded best IN the lnfamy was made
President of the Club. His tongue be-
gan to swell. 1t prOtruded from his
| mouth; he could not draw it in. He
died within three days. Physicians
We're astOunded. There was nothing
! ike IL In all the books. What was the
matter with him? He cursed God and
died. Near Catskill, n. Y, during YiO-
lent thunder storm group of men were
standing in blacksmith'S shop. There
came crash of thunder, and the men
| were startled. One man said he was not
| afraid. He made wager that he dared
! get In front OF the shop while the light
ming was flying, and dare the Almighty.
| lie went cut, shook his fist at the heaY--
ems, crying: Strike if you dareP' In
| stantly thunderbOlt struck him, and
he was dead. He cursed God and died
| God will not abide this sin. He will
not let 1t escape. There is a kind of
manifold paper by which a man may,
! with heavy pencil, write upon a dozen
| sheets at Once-the writing going down
| through all the sheets. So every oath
and blasphemy goes through, and is
written indellibly upon every leaf of
Gods remembrance. All! how much Our
Father bears Can you make an esti--
mate of how many blasphemies will roll
up from the streets and saloons of our
cities to-day? ii you go out and look
up you cannot see them. There will be
no trail of fire on the sky, but the air is
full of them. The name of Christ is not
so often spoken in worship as in deris--
ion. God will be cursed to-day by hun
dreds of lips. II e grOg-shOps will curse
him. Every street in all our cities will
curse him. This blasphemy is an abOm-
lnatlOn no words of mine can describe.
And God bears it. They curse his Sab
bath; they curse his name; they curse
his Bible; they curse his people; they
curse his only begOtten son. Yes; they
they swear by the name of Jesus! IL
makes my hair rise, my flesh creep, my
blood chill, and my breath catch and my
foot halt. DiOnsius had cave where
men were incarcerated. At the top of
the cave was an aperature to which he
could put his ear and hear every sigh,
every grOan, every word of the inmates
rms world Is so arranged that all its
voices go up to heaven. God puts down
his ear and hears every word of praise
offered and every word of blasphemy
spoken. Our cities must come to judg-
ment All these Oaths must be answer
ed for. They die on the air, but thew
have an eternal echo. Listen to the echo
as 1t rolls back from the ages to come.
Listen: "All blasphemers shall have
their places in the lake that burneth
with fire and birthstone" Some have
thought lost soul in the future world
Will do that which it is most prone to
do in this world. If so, think of the
man blaspheming God through all eter--
nifty.
This habit grows upon man until at
last it pushes him off forever. | saw a
man die with an oath between his teeth.
NOltaire arose from his dying bed, and
suppOsing he saw Christ in the room,
he cried out: Crush the wretch" A
celebrated officer during the last war
fell, mOrtally wounded. and the only
word he sent to his wife, was: Tell
her fought like hellp' There are thou
sands of men who are having all their
moral nature pulled down by the fiery
fingers of this habit. At last, pinched,
shriyeled and consumed, they will get
down on their beds to die, and at the
step of the doctor in the hall, or the clO-
sing of the front door. they will start
up, thinking they hear the sepulchraI
gates creak open. Who is this God that
you should maltreat his name? Has he
been haunting you, starving yOu, freez-
ing you all your life? mol lie il your
father, patient and kind. He rocked
your cradle with blessings from the
time you were born. lie clothes you
now, and always has clothed you. You
never had sickness hut ne was sorry
for you. He has brcOjcd over you with
wings Of love. He has tried to press
you TO his heaIt OF love and compassion.
.
you; he wants to make you happy; he
watched last night over your pillow
while you slept; he will watch tonight;
he was your fathers and your mothers
God; he has housed them safe from the
blast, and he wants to shelter you. Do
you trifie with his name; do you spit
him in the face; do you thrust him back
by your imprecatiOns?
Who is this Jesus Christ hear
men swearing by? Who is he? Some
destroyer, that they so treat his name?
What foul thing hath he done that our
great cities speak his name in thousand
voiced JeerS and cOntemDtp Who is he?
lamb whose blood simmered in the
fires of sacrifice to save you. A brother
who put down his crown of glory that
you might take it up. For many years
he has been striving night and day to
win your affections. There is nothing
in heaven he is not willing to give you.
He came with blistered feet and stream
ing eyes, with aching head and broken
heart, to relieve you. On the craft of a
doomed humanity he pushed out to sea
to pick you off the rock. Who will ever
again malign his name? Is there a
hand that will ever again be lifted to
wound him? If so, let that hand, blood
tipped, be lifted now. Which one of my
hearers will ever again utter his name
in unhOly imprecatiOnp If any, let him
speak NOJ one. NOJ one. One sum-
mer among the New England hills there
was an evening memorable for storm
and darkness. The clouds, which had
been all dry gathering, at last unlim-
bered their batteries. The HOusatOnic,
that flows in silence, save as the pad
dies of pleasure parties rattle rattle in
the rOw-lOck, was lashed into foam, and
its waves staggered, not knowing where
to lay themselves. The hills Jared at
the rumbling of Gods chariOts. Blind
ing sheets of rain drove the cattle to
bars, and beat against the windOw-pane
as to dash it in. The cOrn-felds threw
their crowns of gold at the feet of the
stOrm-king. After the night shut in it
was a double night. It's black mantle
was rent with the lightnings, and into .
its locks were twisted the leaves of up
rooted oaks and shreds of canvass torn
from the masts of the beached shipping.
1t was such night as makes you thank
God for shelter, and bids you open the
door to let in even the spaniel bowling
outside with the terror. We went to
sleep under the full blast of heavens
uraat ond tho fornofo 1r,;fI,