Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1888-04-21

ways d violation Of the oath becomes m
some circles a grand Joke. lol say TO a
man. How is it possible for you Q sell
these goods SO very cheap cant un-
dcrstand IT, All he replies, with "A
twinkle of the eye, 'the custom house
tariff Of these goods isn't as much rs it
r.ight be" An oath does not mean as
much as il would were the name Of God
used in reverence and in solemnity. Why
is it ihat so often jurors render unac-
countable ,erdicts, and judges give uDac-
countahle charges, and useless railroad
schemes pass in our state capitals, and
there are unjust changes made in tariffs
tariff lifted from one thing and put upon
another
II NATURE OF An OATH.
What is an oathY Anything solemn
Anything that calls upon the Almighty 4?
Anything that marks al event in a mans
history Oh. no! 1t is kissing the book!
There is no habit. | tell YOU plainly-and
| talk to hundreds and thousands OF men
today who will thank me for my utter
ance-l tell you. my brothcr-l talk to
YOU not professionally but just as one
brother talks TO another on some very i'm
portaut theme-i tell YOU there is no
habit hat 50 deplctes a mans nature as
the habit of profanity. You might as
well try TO raise VINEYARDS and orchards
on the sides of hclcling Stromholi IA to
raise anything gOodo IN Il heart from which
there pours out the scoria Of pro-
family. You may swear yourself down
YOU canno swear yourself up. When
the Mohammcdan finds piece of paper
he cannot read. he puts ii aside very eau
liousiy for fear the name Of God may be
on it. That is one extreme. We 20 the
th"r. Now what is the cure OF this
habit? 1t IS a mighty habit. Men have
struggled for years Ia ret over it. There
are men in this house OF God who would
give half their fortune to get rid Of ii.
An aged man was in the dclirium Of a fe-
yer. lie had for many years lived a most
upright life ana was ilenorcd in all the
community; but when he came into the
dciirium Of this fever he was full Of i'm
prcca,i0n and profanity, and they could
not understand it.. After he came TO his
right reason he explained il. lie said:
Nv hen | was u young man | was very
profanc. | conquered the habit. but |
had TO struggle all through life. You
haven't for forty years heard me say an
improper word, but il has been an awful
struggle. The tiger is chained, but he is
alive yet.
TIE VsELEssNEss OF PROFANITY.
If you would get rid Of this habit. /
want YOU, my friends, to dwell upon the
usclessncss Of it. Did a volly of oaths
ever start a heavy loady Did they ever
eXtirpatc meanness from a customer
Did they ever collect a bad debt? Did
they ever cure "A toothaChcY Did they
yer STOP the tWingc of the rhcumatismY
Did they ever help YOU forward one step
in the right direction? Come now, tell
me. We who have had the mostexpericnce
in this habit, how much have you made
ont Of itE Five thousand dollars IN all
your lifcy No. One thOusandy No.
One hundred? No. One dollar No
one cent? No. If the habit be SO utter
~ useless, away with it.
But YOU say: Il have struggled 20
overcome the habit "A long while, and |
have not been successful" You strug-
gled in your own strength, my brother.
if cver a man wants God. i; is in such a
crisis Of his history. God alone BY His
grace can cmancipate YOU from that
li'NlDIt. val hlOA AiI NiJ diit lIlEijI
that YOU may be delivered from this
crime. Remember also in the cure OF
this hahit that it arOuscs Gods indigna-
ton. The Bible rcitcrates from chaplrr
20 chapter. and verse after verse. the fact
hat it is ~accursed Cor this life and that il
makes a man miserable for eternity.
There is not a sin in all the catalogue
that is 5 o often pcremptorily and sud
denly punished in this world as the sin of
profanity. There is not a city or "a viii
lagc hut can give an illustration OF "A man
struck down at the moment OF impreca-
ton. A couple of years ago, briefly
referring 10 this in "A sermon, | gave one
instances in which God had struck swear
crs dead at The moment of their profanity.
That St rmen brought {, me from many
parts OF this land and other lands state
mcnts Of similar cases Of instantaneous
visitation from God upon ~blasphemc,s.
My opinion is that such cases occur some
where every day. but for various reasons
they are not reported.
ALCDGMENT IN PROFANITY.
In Scotland a club assembled every
week for purposes of w~ickcdness. and
there was "a competition as to which
could use the most horrid oath, and the
man who succeeded was 10 be president
of the club. The competition went on.
A man uttered IN oath which ~confounded
all his comrades, and he was made presi-
dent Of the club. His tongue began 10
swell, and it ryatruded from the mouth.
and he conld not draw it in, and he died,
and the physicians said: This il the
strangest thing we ever saw: We never
saw any account in the books like unto
il: we can't understand it," under
stand it. He cursed God and died.
At Catskill, n. y, a group Of men
stood in n tlacksmith's shop during q
violent thunder storm There came n
crash Of thunder and some OF the men
tremhlcd. One man sid: why.
cont sec what YOU are afraid OF. am
NOT afraid 10 90 out IN front Of the shop
and defy the Almighty. | am not afraid
OF lightning" And he laid a wager on
the subject. and he went out, and he
shook his tists 1t the hefyens, or, ing:
strike, If You dare and instantly. ne
fell under IA bolt. What DESTROYED limY
Any mystery about it, Oh, no. he
cursed God and died.
PROFANITY 90 AN EXCEPTIONAL SIN.
ola, my bs0thcr, God will not ALLOW
this sin 10 90 unpublished. There are
styles OF writing with manifold sheets, 20
that a maj writing on one leaf writes
clear through on ten. fifteen. or twenty
Sh.n.a and "a .Vnry nrhfapity wa p3tsr