The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-12-08

Talmage, d. D., preached here to-day Fol
lswing is his sermon; Subject, ~Of the
Track; How % Get on Again
Text. Proverbs xii, - :"When shall ]
uwakei / viii seek II yet again.
With an insight into human nature such az
no other man ever reached, Solomon, in my
text, sketches the mental operations Of ono
who, having stepped aside from the path Of
rectitude, desires to return. With wish FOR
something better he said "W hen shall /
awakel When shall come out Of this horrid
nightmare Of iuiquityT But seized upon by
uneradicated habit and forced down hill by
his passions he cries out: Il viii seek it yet
again. / viii try it once more
Our Libraries are, adorned with an elegant
literature addressed to young men, pointing
out to them all the dangers and perils OF life
complete maps Of the voyage, showing all
the rocks, the quicksands, the shoals. But
suppose a man has already made shipwreck;
suppose he is already off the track; suppose
he has already gone astrsy, how is he 10 get
backl That IS a field comparatively I'M
touched. ] propose 70 address myself this
morning % such. There are those in this
audience who, with every passion Of their
agonized soul, are ready 10 hear such a dis
cussion They compare themselves with
what they were ten years ago, and cry out
from the bondage in which they are incar-
cerated Now il there be any in this house,
come with an earnest purpose, yet feeling
they are beyond the pale Of Christian sympa-
thy, and that the sermon can hardly be eX-
pected TO address them, then. at this moment
| give them my right hand, and call them
brother. Look up. There is glorious and
triumphant hope for you yet. | sound the
trumpet of gospel delIverance. The church
Is ready 10 spread banquet at your return,
and the hierarchs Of heaven 20 fall into line
of hammered procession at the news Of your
emancipafion So far as God may help me,
/ propose 10 show what are the obstacles Of
your return, and then how You are to sur
mount those obstacles.
The first difficulty in the way Of your re
turn Is the force Of moral gravitation. Just
as there is a natural law which brings down
TO the earth anything you throw into the air, so
there is a corresponding moral gravitation
In other words 10 is easier to go down thanit is
10 90 up: it is easier to do wrong than it is 10
do right. Call 10 mind the comrades Of your
bovhood days-some Of them good, some Of
them bad. Which most affected your CAN
10 mind the anecdotes that sou have heard in
the last five or ten years. Some Of them are
pure and some Of them impure. Which the
more easily sticks 90 your memory, During
the years Of your life you have formed GER
tain course. of cOnduct-some of them good
some Of them bad To which style Of habit
did you the more easily yield. All! my
friends xe have TO take but "A moment OF
self-inspection to fund out that there is in all
our souls a force of moral gravitation. But
that grayitatiou may be resisted Just as
You may pick up from the earth something
and hold il in your hand toward heaven, just
50. by the power of Gods grace, soul fallen
may be lifted toward peace, toward pardon,
toward heaven. Force of moral grayitation is
in every one of us, but there is power in Gods
prace to overcome that force of moral grayi-
tation.
The next thing in the way of your return
is the power Of evil habit, ! know there are
those who say it is very easy for them to give
up evil habits. do not believe them. Here
is a man given to intoxication. He knows it
is disgracing his family, destroying his prop
erty, running him, body, mind and soul. If
that mau, being an intelligent man, and low
ing his family could easily give up that
habit. would he not do so3 The fact that he
does not give it up proves il is hard to give it
up. Il is "A very easy thing TO sail down
stream the tide carrying you with great
force; but suppose you turn the boat up
stream is it 50 easy then to row it. As long
rs we yield 10 the evil iuclinations in our
hearts, and our bad habits, we are sailing
down stream, but the moment we try TO turn
we put our boat in the rapids just above Nj
agara, and try to row up stream.
Take "A man given to the habit of using
tobacco, as most Of you do, and let him re
solve to stop, and he finds 1t very difficult.
Twenty-one years ago l quit that habit, and
/ would as soon dare TO put my right hand in
the fire as once TO indulge in it. Whyl Be
cause il was such a terrific struggle TO get
over IT, Now, let "A man be advised by his
physician to give up the use of tobacco. He
goes around not knowing what to do with
himself He cannot add up line of figures.
He cannot sleep nights. 1t seems as if the
world had turned upside down. He feels his
business is going TO ruin Where he was
kind and obiging he is scolding and fretful.
The composure that characterized him has
given way TO fretful restlessness, and he
has become a complete fidget. What power
is it that has rolled wave of woe over the
earth and shaken portent in the heavensa
He has tried 70 stop smokingi After IA while
no says: Il am going to do as please. The
doctor doesn't understand my case. | am
kNtiAN bdIk W hA1 bhA itbits ~hhA TIC ~
turns Everything assumes its usual com
posture. His business seems to brighten. The
world becomes an attractive place to live in.
His children, seeing the difference, hail the
return of their fathers genial disposition.
What wave of color has dashed blue into the
sky, and greenneSs into the mountain foliage,
and the glow of sapphire into the sunsetl
What enchsntment has lifted "A world of
beauty and joy ON his soulg He has gone
back 10 smoking.
Oh! the fact is, as we all know in our own
experience that habit is taskmaster; as.
long as we obey il it does not chastise US. but
let us resist and we find we are to be dashed
with scorpion whips and bound with ship
cable, and thrown into the track Of bone
breaking juggernautS. During the war of
1912 there was a ship set on fire just above
Niagara Falls, and then cut loose from its
moorings. IL came on down through the night
aud tossed over the fails. 1t was said to have
been scene brilliant beyond description
Well, there are thousands of men on fire of
evil habit, coming down through the rapids
and through the awful night of temptation
toward the eternal plunge. Oh, how hard it
is to arrest them. God only can arrest them.
Suppose a man, after five or ten or twenty
years Of evil doing, resolves to do rightl
Why, all the forces of darkness are allied
against him. He cannot sleep nights. He
gets down on his knees in the midnight and
cries, God help melv He bites his lip. He
grinds his teeth. He clenches his fist in a
determination TO keep his purpose. He dare
not look at the bottles in the window of a
wine store IT was one long, bitter, exhaus-
tive hand 70 hand fight with iuflamed, tan
talizing and merciless habit. When he thinks
he is entirely free, the old inclinations pounce
upon him like pack of hounds with their
muzzles tearing away at the TANKS of cna
poor reindeer In Paris there is a sculpt1IreS
of Bacchus, the god of revelrv
He Is riding on panther at full leap. oh.
how suggestivei Let every one who is
speeding on bad ways understand he is not
riding docile and well broken steed, but he
Is riding a monster, wild and bloodthirsty.
going at death leap, How many there are
who resolve ON better life and say: @When
shall | awaken but, seized on by their old
habits, cry: Il viii try it once more; viii
seek II yet again. Years ago there were
some Princeton students who were skating.
and the ice was very thin, and some one
warned the company back from the air hole,
and finally warned them entirely TO leave the
place. But one young man with hravado.
round moreT He swept around. ana went
down, and was brought out corpse. Nv
friends, there arr thousands and tens of thou
sands Of men losing their souls in that way.
IL is the one round more
have also TO say that if man wants to
return from evil practices society repulses
him Desiring 10 reform, no says: Now,
will shake of my old associates, and / will
lind Christian companionship And ha an,
pears at the church door some sabbath day.
and the usher greets him with look, as much
as to say; Why, you heref You are the last
man ever expected to see at church, Come,
take this seat right down by the doorm in
stead of saying: Good morning; l am glad
you are here. Come; win give You a first
rate seat, right up by the pulpit Well,
The prodigal, not yet discouraged, en-
fers a prayer meeting, and some Chris
tian man, with more zeal than common
sense. saVs. ~(1lad 10 vfas Thu 4x-fr,sv