Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-12-15

solve on better life and say: ssWhen shal
tIawaks?" but, seized on by their olt
habits, cry: 81 will try it once more;
will seek it yet againp Years ago Their,
were some Princeton students who wer,
, skating, and the ice was very thin, and some
one warned the company back from the air
hole, and finally warned them entirely tc
leave the place. But one young man with
brayaao, after all the rest had stopped, cried
out: s'One round mors!'' He swept
around and went down, and was brought
out a corpse. My friends, there are thou
: sands and tens of thousands of men losing
their souls in that way. Iti the one round
more. vs
| I have also to say that if ma n wants tc
return from evil practices society rspulse,
him. Desiring to reform, he says: s'Now,
will shake off my old associates, and ]
will find Christian companionship. And be
appears at the church door some Sabbath
day, and the usher greets him with look,
as much as to say: ssWhy, you here? You
are the last man ever expected to see at
church! Come, take tl,s seat right down
by the deerp' insteaS.6f sayin9; .sGood
4 morning; am glad You are here. Come;
| will give you first-rate seat, right up by
the pulpit" Well, the prodigal, not yet
discouraged, enters praysr-meeting, and
some Christian man with more zeal than
common sense, says: ''Glad to see you
The dying thief was saved. and 1 suppose
there is mercy for ysu?'' The young man,
disguised, chilled, throws himself back on
his dignity, resolved he never will enter the
house of God again. Perhaps not quite full
ly discouraged about reformation, he sides
up by some highly-respectob BILE man he used
to know, going down the street, and imme-
diately the respectable man has an errand
down some other street! Well, the prodi-
gal, wishing to return, takes some msmber
of Christian association by the hand, or
tries to. The Christian young man locks at
him. looks at the faded apparel and the
marks, of dissipation, and instead of giving
him warm grip of the hand, offers him
the tip end Of the long fingers of the left
hand, which is equal to striking q man in
the face.
Oh, how few Christian people under-
stand how much force and gospel there is
in good, honest handshaking Some
times when you have felt the need of en-
couragement, and some Christian man has
taken you heartily by the hand, have you
not felt that thrilling through every flbrs
of your body, mind and soul an encourage
ment that was just what you needed p
You do not know anything at about all this
unless you know when man tries to return
from evil courses of conduct he runs against
repulsions innumerable. We say of some
man he lives block or two from the church,
or half mile from the church. There are
people in our crowded cities who live a
thousand miles from church. Vast deserts
of Indifference between them and the
house of God. The fact is we must keep
our respectability, though thousands and
tens of thousands perish. Christ sat with
publicans and sinners. But if there came
to the house of God a man with marks of
dissipation upon him people almost throw
up their hands in horror, as much as to
say: 'Isn't it shocking? How these
dainty, fastidious Christians in all our
churches are going to get into heaven
don't know, unlesss they have an especial
train of cars, cushioned and upholstered,
go with the great herd of publicans and
sinners. Oye who curl your lip of scorn at
the fallen, tell you plainly, if you had
been surrounded by the same influences,
instead of sitting to-day amid the cultured,
and the refined, and the Christian, you
would have been crouching wretch in
stable or ditch, covered with filth and abom-
ination? 1t is not because you are natu-
rally any better, but because the mercy of
God has protected you. Who are you that,
brought up in Christian circles and watched
| by Christian parentage, you should be 80
hard on the fallen?
| / think men also are often hindered from
return by the fact that churches are too
anxious about their membership, and too
| anxious about their denomination, and they
rush out when they see man about to give
up his sin and return to God and ask him
how he is going to be baptisted, whether by
sprinkling or immersion, and what kind of
church he Is going to join. o, my friends!
| it is poor time to talk about Presbyterian
Catechisms, and Episcopal liturgies, and
Methodist lovefeasts, and baptistries, to a
man that is coming out of the darkness Of
sin into the glorious light of the Gospel.
| Why, it reminds me of man drowning in
| the sea, and a life-boat puts out for him,
aud the man in the boat says to the man
out of the boat: "Now, if get you ashore,
are you going to live in my street," First
get him ashore, and then talk about the
non-essentials of religion. Who cares what
church he joins, if he only joins Christ and
starts for heaven! o, you ought to have,
my brother an ilumined face, and a hearty
grip for every one that tries to turn from
his evil way. Take hold of the same book
with him, though his designations shake the
book, remem mbering that he that converteth
sinner from the error of his ways shall
save soul from death and hide multitude
of sins.
Now, l have shown you these obstacles,
because / want you to understand l know
all the difficulties iu the way; but l am now
to tell you how Hannibal may scale the
Alps, and how the shackles may be unrivet-
ed and how the paths of virtue forsaken
may be regained.
First of all, my brother, throw yourself
on God. Go to Him frankly and earnestly
and tell Him these habits you have, and ask
Him if there is any help in all the resources
of omnipotent love, to give it to you. Do
not go with long rigmaroe people call
prayer, made up of ''ohs" and abs" and
ssforever and forever amensp' Go to God
and cry for help help! help! andif you can
not cry for help just look and live. I re-
member in the late war was at Antistam,
and went into the hospitals after the bat
tie, and l said to man: s'Where are you
hurt?" He made no answer, but held up
his arm, swollen and splintered. l saw
where he was hurt The simple fact is,
when man has wounded soul all he has
to do is to hold it up before sympathetic
Lord and get it healed, It does not take
any long prayer. just hold up the wound.
OF it is no small thing when man is ner-
vous, and weak, and exhausted, coming
from his evil ways, to feel that God puts
two omnipotent arms around him and says:
'Young man, will stand by you. The
mountains may depart and the hills be re-
moved, but I will never fail you." And
then, as the soul thinks the news is too
good to be true, and cannot believe it, and
| looks up in Gods face, God lifts his right
hand and takes an oath, an affidavit, saying
, Gas live, saith the Lord God, have nc
pleasure in the death of him that dieth."
, Blessed be GOO for such Gospel as this
"Cut the slices thin," said the wife to the
t husband, ''or there will not be enough tt
go all around for the children; cut the slices
thin.'' Blessed be God there is a full loai
Z for every one that wants it; bread enough
and to spare. No thin slices at the Lords
. table. remember when the Master-Stree
t Hospital, in Philadelphia, was opened dur
} | ing the war, a telegram came saying