The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-09-10


wall. 1t is all foolishness to expect a
minister of the gospel to preach always
things that the people like or the people
choose. What shall I preach to you to-
day? Shall tell you of the dignity OF
human nature? Shall / tell you of the
wonders that your race have accomplished!
"Oh, no." you say, "ten me the message
that came from God" l will. II there is
any handwriting on the wall it is this les
son: "Repent. accept of Christ and be
saved" might talk of a great many
SO declare it. Jesus never fattered those
to whom he preached. He said to those
who did wrong and who were offensive in
his sight: aye generation of vipers? We
whited sepulchers! How can We escape
the damnation of hell?" Paul the Apostle
preached before man who was not ready
to hear him preach. What subject did he
taker Did he say: "Oh, you are good
man, a very fine man. very noble man!'
No; he preached of Righteousness to a
man who was unrighteous; of temperance
to a man who was the victim
of bad appetites; of the judg-
it. So we must always declare the mes
sage that happens to come to us. Daniel
must read it as it is. A minister preached
before James !. of England, who was
James VI. of Scotland. What subject did
he take? The King was noted all over
the world for being unsettled and waver-
ing in his ideas. What did the minister
preach about to his man who was James l.
of England and James vi. of Scotland?
He took for his text:
He that wavereth IL like a wave of th e-sea
driven with the wind and tossed-James.
l., &
Hugh Latimer offended the King by a
sermon he preached, and the King said:
"Hugh Latimer, come and apologize"
al WILL" said Hugh Latimer.
So the day was appointed, and the
Kings chapel was full Of lords and dukes,
and the mighty men and women OF the
country, for Hugh Latimer was to apollo
gixs. He began his sermon by saying:
"Hugh Latimer, bethink thee! Thou art
in the presence Of thine earthly King, who
can destroy the body! But bethink thee,
Hugh Latimer that thou art in the pres
ence Of the King Of Heaven and earth,
who can destroy both body and soul in
hell FIRE. o, King, cursed be thy crimesp
9. Another lesson that comes to us:
There il = great difference between the
opening Of the banquet Of sin and its close.
Young man, il You had looked in upon the
banquet in the first few hours you would
have wished you had been invited there
and could sit at the feast. 30, the grand
eur Of Belshaxzar's feast. You would have
said; but you look in at the close of the
banquet and your blood curdles with hor-
ror. The King OF Terrors has there a
ghastlier banquet; human blood is the
wine and dying groans are the music. Sin
has made itself king in the earth. Ithas
itself. 1t has spread a banquet.
1t invites all the world to come to it. It
has hung In its banqueting hall the spoils
Of all kingdoms and the banners Of all ma
tions. 1t has gathered from all music. It
has strewn from its wealth the table and
floors and arches. And yet how often is
that banquet broken up, and how horrible
writing on the wan. 4 king ra1fS r
great culprit . arrested. The knees Of
knocked together. Gods judg-
ment, like an armed host, breaks In upon
the banquet, and that night Is Belshaxs ar,
the King Of the Chaldeans, slain.
Here is young man who says: II can
not see why they make such q fuss about
the intoxicating cup. Why, it is exhil-
arating. It makes me feel well. can
talk better, think better, feel better. lean
not see why people have such prejudice
against it," A few years pass on and he
wakes up and finds himself IN the clutches
of an evil habit which he tries to break,
but he can not; and he cries out: "Oh,
Lord God, help mel" 1t seems as though
God would not hear his prayer, and in an
agony Of body and soul he cries out:
1t bitetn like serpent and sringcth like An
adder.
How bright IL was at the starti how
black 1t was 1t the lastl
Here 10 . man who begins to read
French novels. "They are so charming"
he says; II will 60 out and see for myself
whether all these things are So" He
opens the gate of . sinful life. He goes
in. A sinful sprite meets him with her
wand. She waves her wand and it is
all enchantment. Why 1t seems as il the
angels OF God had poured out pitfalls Of
perfume in the atmosphere. As he walks
ON he finds the hills becoming MOI radiant
with the falling water. o, what charm
ing landscape he seesl But that sinful
sprite with her wan meets him again;
but now she reverses the wand, and all the
enchanment is gone. The cup is full Of poi
son. The fruit turns to ashes. All the
leaves of the bower are forked tongues Of
kissing serpents. The flowing fountains
fall back in dead pool, stem chful with
corruption. The Turing songs become
curses and screams OF demoniac laughter.
Lost spirits gather about hims and fesl for
his heart, and beckon him on with: "Hail
brother! Hail, blassed spirit! HAIL" He
tries 10 get out. He comes to the front
door, where he entered, and tries to push
IL back, hut the door turns against him;
and in the jar Of that shutting door he
hears these words:
This night is Belshaxsar. the King of the
ChaIdeans, slain
Sin may open bright a the morning: II
closes dark as the night.
3. learn further from this subject that
death sometimes breaks in upon = ban