Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-12-06

and tossed over the Falls. II WAS ssI,, ~
nave been scene brilliant beyond ali
description. Well, there are thousands
OF men on fire OF evil habit, coming down
through the rapids aud through the awfnl
n,gnt Oh temptation toward the eternal
plunge. O1l how hard II Ii TO arrest
tnem' TOD only can arrest them Sun.
pose man after five, o; ten, or twenty
years OF evil-doiDg, resolves TO do riphtP
why, all the forces OF darkness ara nj.
lied against him. He cannot sleep Dishts
he gets down on his knees In the mid
night and cries: "God help mepr lie
bites his lip. He gtinds his teeth. lie
clenches his FIST IN determination tn
Keep his purpose. He dare not took at
the bottles In the window of a wine
store. IL was one long, bitter, exhaustive.
hand-to hand eight with eniltmed tantAliz.
ing and merciless habit. When he thinks
he Is entirely free the old inclinaiions
pOunce upon him like pack OF hounds
with their mnzzles tearing away A. tho
hanks Of one poor reindeer. In Paris
there Is eculpturyd representation OF
Bacchus, the god OF revelry, He IL
riding on panther at full leap ON.
now suggestivel Let every one who ~
speeding on bad ways understand he IS
not riding a docile and well.broken
steed, but he is riding monster, wild
and blood-thirsty, going at death leap
HOW many there are who resolve on a
better life and say; "When shall [
awaken but, seized on by their old
habits, cry; ~ will try it once more;
VIII seek II once againln Years ego
there were some Princeton students who
were skating, aud the ice was very thin,
and someone warned the company back
from the sir.hole, and finally warned
them entirely to leave the place. But
one young man with bravado, after all
the rest had stopped, cried out, zone
round morelh He swept around and
went down, and was brought out a
corpse. My friends, there are thous.
ands and tens Of thousands Of men losing
their souls In that way. 1t is the one
round more.
have also to say that II man wants
to return from evil practices society re.
pulses him. Desiring TO reform, he says
Now | will shake OF my old associates,
aud | will tiud Christian companiouship."
And he appears at the church door some
Sabbath day, and the usher greets him
with a look, as much as to say; "Why,
you hereI You are the last man l ever
expected 10 see at church! Come, take
this seat right down by the doorl'i IN
stead Of saying "Good morning; am
glad you are here. Come, will give
you u first-rate seat, right up by the
pulpit" Well, the prodigal, not yet
discouraged, enters prayor.mee ?
lug, and some Christian man,
with more zeal than common
sense, says: "Glad TO see you. The
dying thief was saved, and | suppose
there is mercy for you'll" The young
man, Disguised, chilled, throws himself
back on his dignity, resolved he never
will enter the house Of God again. Per-
haps not quite fully discouraged about
reformation, he sides up by some highly
respectable man he used TO know, going
down the street, and Immediately the re-
spectacle man has an errand down some
other street! Well, the prodigal, wish
ing TO return, takes some member OF a
Christian association by the hand, or tries
TO. The Christian young man looks at
him, looks at the faded apparel and the
marks OF dissipation, and instead a CIV
Ing him warm grip OF the hand, offers
him the tip end OF the long fingers OF the
left hand, which is equal TO striking a
man in the face.
oh, how few Christian people under
stand how much force and gospel there is
Ia a good, honest hand shaking! 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
fibre OF your body, mind and soul, an en-
couragement that was just what you
needed 7 You do not know anything at
all about this unless you know when a
man tries TO return from evil COURSES OF
conduct he runs against repulslOns in
Vulnerable. We say OF some man, he
lives block or two from the chu CHI or
half mile from the church. There are
people in our crowded cities who live
1000 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 II there came
TO the house OF God 4 man with marks OF
dissipation upon HIM, people almost
threw up their hands In horror, as
much as to say "Isn't 1t shock
ing2n How these dainty, fastldious
CHRISTIANS in all our churches are going
} To get into heaven don't know, unlesr
cushioned and upholstered, each one u
car TO himself They cannot 90 with the
great herd Of publcans and sinners. On
ye, who curl your lip OF scorn at the
fallen, tell you plainly, If you Dad been
surrounded with the same Influences, in
stead Of sitting to-day amid the cultured
and the refined and the Christian, you
would rave been crouching wretch in
stable or ditch, covered with filth and
abominationi 1t is not because you are
naturally any better, but b., cause the
mercy Of God has protected you VINO
are you that, brought up In CbrisllaD
circles, and watched by Christian parent
age, you should be so hard on The fallonY
/ think men are also often hindered
from return by the fact that churches are
too anxious about their membership, and
too auxi Jus about their denomination,
and they rush out when they see man
about 10 give up mis- sin and return 70
God, and ask him how he is going to be
baptized, whether by sprinking or i'm
merslou, and what kind Of church ~ Is
gong to join. oh, my friends II Is a
ALMA 20 4a1t ahput praEnvtnTlaD