Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1883-02-17

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TEMPERANCE SERMoN.-The subject
of Mr.. Moody's discourse at the regu-
lar 4 o'clock meeting was Freedom
from Intemperance by Divine Grace,
in which he took as the basis of his
arguments the words in the eighteenth
verse of the second chapter of Luke
He hath sent me to preach deliver
ance to the captives." These, said
Mr.. Moody, were the words quoted
by Christ in the synagogue at the little
town of Nazareth to the ministers,
from the Book of the Prophecy of
Esaias, and He added as He sat down:
This day is this scripture fulfilled"
Now, | simply want to put it to the
christians in my hearing "Do you
believe that Jesus Christ really has the
power to free the captive? If | were
to ask any one of you if you believed
the Word of God you would unhesi-
tatingly say, yes; but you do not if
you do not believe that Christ has the
power to free from all sin, the sin Of
intemperance as we'll as others. The
fact of the case is, there are a good
many protesting Jesus Christ who are
not true believers. 1t was not to be
eloquent, it was not to build up any
society or institution that Cerist came
into this world. He came to deliver
all under the captivity of sin.
THE DRUNKARD's MASTER.
Now, there never was slave in all
the South who had so mean master
as the drunkard Your drinking men
will not acknowledge that they are
slaves, but they mostly know it, new
ertheless. If there be an Incorporate
man within the sound of my voice
who thinks strong drink has not got
him completely under control, let him
try to do without it for little while.
Let him try to break off by his own
will, and see how he will be vanquish-
ed. l tell you there is that latent
spirit lurking in alcohol which, aside
from any physical effect, vitiates,
warps and destroys all the finer ener-
gies and essences Of spirituality that
raise man higher than the brute
There are some who are thus slaves
who go on without thought, and do
not know how tightly bound they are.
Yet these slaves to lust of the mouth
which consumes their bodies and cor
rupts their souls, say when any one
speaks Of taking away the temptation
that their liverties are being interior
ed with. For man 10 give up intern
perance is considered setting aside his
liberty. This is like interfering with
the liberty of the habitual criminals
by putting them in the penitentiary.
Now, take it that the drunkard,
as affairs go, is lawful captive, and
in mighty hands, but for all that, the
Lord will deliver him. I guess God
is more than match for the distilers
and vendors of drink, though they
fight very hard in favor of hell Eli
Their tits a fact that Christ came to
free the captive or it is not tact. If
you do not believe it is fact, take
your proper stand with the atheists
and Knockers at once, and do not wear
the hypocrite's mask. l attribute the
spread of drunkenness in the United
States, the going down to destruction
of the promising youth of the nation,
to the lack of faith in the churches.
THE COST OF IT.
Look at the hundreds of young men
of superior talents who might be fill
ing places of the highest influence, re-
spected by all, but who are creeping
along in shame faced and cowardly
way, filling mental places, and all be-
cause they are slaves to drink and can
not be relied upon for any length of
time. AS Christians these men might
be making the world feel their inhu-
ence. And yet here are our churches
cold every day in the year, except the
Sundays of eight moths, l believe
in the summer time most Of your
churches close up. Well, while the
churches are closed, and even while
they are open, the saloons are busy,
and the secret highways of hell on the
back streets are plying their trade
Do you believe these abandoned crea-
lures can be reached and saved thro'
the mercy of God in Christ Jesus p
| do. For every young man you see
in church there are five in every sa-
loon of every size. The tendency of
Christianity is to sife crime and up
root the works of the devil, and if in
temperance be not crime and a work
of the devil, l don't know what is
l ask any drinking man here to inves-
tigate and see if, like Samson, he be
not shorn of his strength. Both dis
elimination and revolution have gone.
Oh, how many broken vows, then, are
represented in this audience All the
churches in the world, no more than
all the pledges in the world. can stop
man completely from the sin of in
temperance. It's the work of Jesus
Christ No human agency can do if