Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-02-18

SAM P. JONES.
CINCINNATI, Feb. s.-Rev Sam Jones is a
phenomenauy attractive man to Cincin-
natians, and when the thermometer was am
bitiously striving to reach zero and outdo
its efforts during the last blizzard, five
thousand of them left their comfortable
hearthstones and, muffied up, went to Music
Hall in the teeth Of the biting blast that
blew from the frigid north.
Rev. Sam Jones preached one of his forci-
ble, characteristic and earnest sermons as
follows:
"BRETHREN-Let US go prayerfuly into
this service. We will take for our text the
expression of David, perhaps the strangest
we find in all the psalms: i thought upon
my way, and made haste and delayed not to
keep Thy commandments
"T thought upon my way Oh, how
much time we have spent in this world
thinking about this old worlds ways How
much time we have spent In talking about
the ways of this old woridl How many
books have been written on the ways Of men
and on the ways of the world; but, brother,
l never saw a book written on my way. l
never have seen men talk much about their
own personal way. l wish l could get men
to see that you may go in groups and sin in
schools and commit iniquity in common
with thousands of others; and yet we goa 4
stand before the judgment bar of cd as i
we were the only man that iv 4 in Gin
cinnati, or as if we were the o " man that
? ever lived in America, a if we were the
only human being that e. er walked the face
of the earth.
Brother, fter all amt responsible for
the way +his world does any further than
the fact c n say | have always set the
world good example and done what could
to e it to be good-further than that
amt responsible for the ways of the world.
"T thought on my way One tie mUsG
striking incidents ever hea the Incl
den, related of a brilliant y uag fellow who
gradl ated in Amer -. aud then went to
Eurol Q and graduatsd there IN the first col
lege OF he lanI, and then he studied and
matriculs to IL law and scienc ce, and came
back to this country carrying with him the
honors he had won in every department Of
study.
'sOn the streets of New York the day he
returned he met an old friend of his, with
silvery hair and bowed form, and the good
man saw the young fellow, and when he
came up said: George, I'm glad to see you
back / have heard how glorjously Won
have acquitted yourself in both worlds, sir.
George, I've been thinking ebout you. You
have your diplomas showing that you grad
uated with the first honors from the literary
and the scientific and the law schools, but,
George, rm anxious to know what
you're going to do hereafter WELL said
George, Pm going Immediately into the
practice of law, and shall practice the law
and become proficient in my profession
George, what then, said the old gentleman.
After I've practiced lay awhile said
George I'm going to run for the legislature,
and Pm going to represent my county in the
legislature two or three sessions Well,
George, what thenf asked the old gentle
man. We'll, then, said George, Pm going
into the state senate and represent my con-
stituents in the state senate for a year or
two what thenP asked the old gentleman
once more Then Pm going to run for the
United States congress, and I'm going to
serve two or three consecutive terms there
SAID the conceited young fellow. We'll,
George, what then, repeated the old gentle
man. 'Oh, then,' said George, Pm going to
run for the United States senate, and my
voice shall be heard from Maine to Mexico
and from the north to the south, and l will
States senate. We'll, George, what thenp
asked the old gentleman. 'Then,' said
George, swelling up, I'm going to receive
the nomination for the president of the
United States, and I'll be president of this
great republic about two terms What
then GeorgeP asked the old gentleman,
persistently Then I'm going to retire
and buy me nice pleasant spot out in the
country, and pll adorn it with all the splen-
dors of luxury and comfort to spend my old
age in What, then, GeorgeP asked the
old man again. 'Oh, then I'll be getting
old and rIl have to die,' said George. Well,
what then, GeorgeF asked the old man at
last. The young man turned pale and be-
streaming down his face, My old reverend
sir, you've got me down to the earth now
with your 'What thenP' l will reverse
the plan of my life. give my heart to God
to-day, and I'll live and serve God whether
do anything else or not There's some
sense in that. I'll tell you another thing
There are whole hundreds and thousands Of
people in this city that you get them down
to the ground with the What then Let's
you and think little tonight.
W
you out the most brilliant path; you may
start out in the intellectual, the scientific,
the philosophical or in the legal or literary
profession, in anything, but where will it
end2 Where does your path-the path you
are in tonight, where does it end? Oh,
brother, wise man not only wants to know
where his path is, but he wants to know
where his path ends. Where will l be when
get to the end of this path2 4 thought on
my way am going somewhere. l am in
tine way, on the road. l am in highway,
on path. This path started somewhere
and it ends somt where-now, where are you
going? When you get to the end of the path
where will you be? That's the question.
" Il thought on my way That profane
swearer out there-he blisters his lips with
profanity; he is an unchaste and profane
man. Brother, now you look at your rela-
tions to things around you: What's the
cause of your profanity, of your foul
mouthed expressions, of your want OF
language? You have disconnected yourself
with everything that's pure and upright and
holy. You have shut the door of heaven in
your face, and have flung the doors OF hell
wide open. Is that wise? Is there enough
in it for you to do that? How much does
your profanity yield you in a year, in a
month, in a week or in a dayi How many
of your friends would forsake- you if you
was to quit cussing? How many dollars
would you lose if you was to quit cussing9
How much less would your wife think of
you, and how much less would your chill
dren think of you, if you was to quit your
cussing? How much would you degrade
yourself if you were to chop off this useless
and guilty sin from your Gfes
"1 thought on my way and as soon as
you find that profanity is disease, and that
1t is but the manifestation of disease, then
you're going to seek cure for the source of
don't care what your sin is on the surface,
whether Sabbath breaking, profanity,
drunkenness, or anything else; don't care
what your manifestations are on the sur
face, it is the same old disease we have all
got--sini
SIT don't break out on so much! When
Senator Hill, of Georgia, had a fractured
tooth and it lacerated the side Of his tongue
they made light of it and said it didn't
amount to much, but the next thing heard
Of Senator Hill he was in Philadelphia un-
der the surgeons knife, and they took out
about one-third of his tongue, and the next
heard he was recovering rapidly; but the
news that followed was that he was again
under the surgeons knife at Philadelphia,
and they cut out all the glands on one side