Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-03-26
REFORMED SINNERS.
THE OBSTACLES THAT ARE THROWN IN
THEIR PATH.
DR.. falmags's Ssrnan in ChicagO-rhs Difficult
ties Of RsfamadOn-ROrcs Of Moral Gravl-
atOn-Powsr Of Evil Habit-Un-
sympathetic Christians.

Specla! Ttleeram 10 he Register.
CHICAGO, March 25.-The Rev. L.
Dewitt Talmage, DID,, pastor Of the
Tabernacle, Brooklyn, N. Y, preached
here this evening. His subject was
Reformation from Evil Habits" and his
text, Proverbs XIII, IS: "When shall l
awake? l will seek it yet again" de
said:
With an insight into human nature
such as no other man ever reached, Solo
mon, in my text, sketches the mental
operations of one who, having stepped aside
from the path Of reetitude desires to re-
turn. With wish for something better,
he says: "When shall l awake? When
shall come out of this horrid nightmare
OF iniquity?" But seized upon by unerad'
icated habit, and forced down hill by his
passions, he cries out: 81 will seek it yet
again. will try it once more"
Our libraries are adorned with an ele'
CANT literature addressed to young men,
pointing ont to them all the dangers and
perils of life-complets maps Of the voyage,
showing all the rocks, the quicksands, the
shoals. But suppose a man has already
made shipwreck; suppose he is already of
the track; suppose he has already gone
astray, how is he to get backP That Is a
field comparatively untouched. propose
to address myself this evening to sucn.
There are those in this audience who, with
syery passion of their agonized soul, are
ready to hear this discussion. They COM
pare themselves with what they were ten
years ago, and cry ont from the bondsge In
which they are incarcerated. Now, II
there be any in this house, come with an
earnest purpose, yet feeling they are be-
yond the pale of Christian sympathy, and
that the sermon can hardly be expected to
address them, then, at this moment, give
them my right hand and call them brother.
Look up. There is glorious and trium-
phant hope for you yet. / sound the trum-
pct of Gospel deliverance. The church is
ready to spread banquet at your return
and the hierachs Of heaven to fall into line
of hammered procession at the news Of your
emancipation. So far as God may help
me, propose TO show what are the obsta-
cies of your return, and then how you are
to surmouut tbose obstacles.
The first difficulty in the way OF your
return is the force of moral grayitation.
Just as there is natural law which brings
down to the earth anything which you
throw into the air, so there is correspond
ing moral gravitation. In other words, 1t
is easier to 20 down than it is to e up; 1t
is easier to do wrong than it is to do right.
Call to mind the comrades of your boy
hood days-some of them good, some OF
them bad. Which most affected you? Call
to mind the anecdotes that you have
heard in the last five or ten years-some
of them are pure and some Of them i'm
pure. Which the more easily sticks to
your memory? Daring the years OF yeur
life you have formed certain courses OF
conduct-S of them good, some OF
them bad. To which style Of habit did
you the more easily yield? All +! my
friends, we have 10 take but moment OF
self.inspection to find out that there is in
all our souls force of moral gravitation.
But that gravitation may be realized. Just
as you may pick up from the earth some
thing and hold it in
YOUR HAND TOWARD HEAVEN,
lust SO by the power of Gods grace, a soul
fallen may be lifted toward peace, toward
pardon, toward heaven. Force OF moral
(yayitation in every one Of us, but power
i Gods gt4sReae-te Y overcome that force oi
moral grayitatiOn. ~
The next thing in the way Of your re-
turn is the power of evil habit. know
there ore those who say il is very easy fol-
them to give up evil habits. do not be
leye them. Here is man given TO intox'
ication. He knows it is disgracing his
family, destroying his property, raining
him-body, mind and soul. IL that man,
being an intelligent man and loving his
family, could easily give up that habit,
would he not do so? The fact that he does
net give it up proves it is hard TO give il
up. 1t is very easy thing to sail down
stream, the tide carrying you with great
force, but suppose you turn the boat up
stream. is it SO easy then to row il? As
long as we yield to the evil inclinations in
our hearts and our bad habits, we are sail
ipg down stream, but the moment We try
to turn we put our boat in the rapids jusi
aboye Niagara and try to row up stream.
have also 10 say that if a man wants tc
return from evil practices, society repulses
him. Desiring TO reform, he says: Now,
will shake off my old associates, and
will find Christian companionship." And
he appears at the church door some Sab
hath day, and the usher greets him with
a look az much as to say: why, you
ber,P You are the last man ] ever eX
pected 10 see at church! Come, take THU
seat tight down by the door" Instead O
Ssving: Good morning; am glad you
are here. Come; will give you first
rate seat, right up by the pulpit F." Well
the prodigal, not yet discouraged, enters
rrayer meeting, 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.
The young man, Disguised, chilled, throw
hImselfon bis dignity, resolved he vii
never into the house OF God again. Per
haps not quite fully discouraged abou
. reformation, he sides up by some highl!
respectable man be used to know, goini
down the street and Immediately the re
spectabIe man has an errand down SOM
other street. Well, the prodigal wishini
TO return takes some D ember OF Christian
association by the hand, or tries to. Th
, Christian young man looks at him, look
at the faded apparel and the marks O
disaip,tion, instead Of giving him warn
| grip of the hand, offers him the tip end
+ Of the long fingers Of the left hand, whicI
ia eaual to striking a man in the face
OH how few Christian people understand
/ how much force and gospel there is in
Isooi honest hand-shsking Sometimes
when you have felt the need OF encourage
!, mept, and some Christian man has take
"eertily by the haud. have you no
sGa na; S.:I,;,s shrough every fibre Of you
body. mind and soul sh-<eeourssemeO
that was lust what you nseded
think men also are often NsnoeIe
f,ou return by the fact that churehe6-c ~
too anxious about their membership en'
90 anxious about their denomination. sns
4 they rush out when they see man abou
TO give up his sin and return TO GOO, an.
ssE him bow he 4 going TO be baptized
whefber by spfinKing or immersion, and
4 what ki13 Il aehurch he is going to join
f(1kt mn frien6, il Is Q poor time to tall
II 41~.<. @-<> y Sfsriau eztachisma and Fnis