Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-04-04

evil habit, coming down through the rapid
and through the awful night of temptatlo
toward the eternal plunge. Oh, how hare
| it is to arrest them. God only can arres
them. suppose man after five, or ten, o
twenty years of evil doing resolves to d.
right. Why, all the forces of darkness ar
allied against him. He cannot sleep nights
He gets down on his knees in the midnigh
and cries: "God help me p He bites hi
lip. He grinds his teeth. He clenches hi
list in determination to keep his purpose
He dare not look at the bottles in the win
dows of wine store. 1t is one long, bitter
exhaustive, hand-to- hand fight with enfiam
ed, tantalizing and merciless habit. Whel
he thinks he is entirely free the old inclina
tions pounce upon him like pack of hound
with their muzzles tearing away at th,
fanks of one poor reindeer. In Paris Their
is sculptured representation of Bacchus
the god of revelry. He is riding on {
panther at full leap. Obi how suggestive
Let every one who is speeding on b ad way
understand he is not riding docile and
well-broken steed, but he is riding mon
ster wild and bloodthirsty, going at death
leap. How many there are who resolve on
a better life, and say: "When shall
awake ?" but, seized on by their old habits,
cry: 81 will try it once more; | will seek ii
yet again!" Years ago there were some
Princeton students who were skating an6
the ice was very thin, and some one warned
the company back from the air hole, and
finally warned them entirely to leave the
place. But one young man with bravado
after all the rest had stopped, cried out
"One round moreP' He swept around and
went down, and was brought out corpse.
My friends, there are thousands and tens OF
thousands of men losing their souls in that
way 1t is the one round more.
| have also to say that if a man wants to
return from evil practices, society repulses
him. Desiring to reform, he says: "Now.
l will shake off my old associates, and |
will find Christian companionship" And
he appears at the church door some Sab.
bath day, and the usher greets him with a
look as much as to say: "Why, you here?
You are the last man | ever expected to see
at church, Come, take this seat right
down by the door, Instead of saying:
sGood 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 prayer meeting,
and some Christian man, with mote zeal
than common sense, says: "Gladsto see you,
the dying thief was saved, and | suppose
there is mercy for you" The young man,
disgusted, chilled, throws himself on bis
dignity, resolved be will never enter into
the house of God again. Perhaps 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 respectable man has
an errand down some other street. Well,
the prodigal wishing to return takes some
member of Christian association by the
hand, or tries to. The Christian young
man looks at him, looks at the faded ap-
parel and the marks Of dissipation, instead
of giving him warm grip of the hand, of
fers him the tip ends Of the long fingers of
of the left hand, which is equal to striking
a man in the face! Oil how few Christian
people understand how much force and
gospel there is in good, honest hand-shak-
ing. Sometimes, when you have felt the
need of encouragement, and some Christian
man has taken you heartily by the hand,
have you not felt thrilling through every
fibre Of your body, mind and soul an en-.
conra cement that was just what you need.
ed? You do not know anything at all about
this unless you know when man tries to
return from evil courses of conduct he runs
against repulsions innumerabe We say
of some man, be lives block or two from
the church, or half mile from the church
There are people in our crowded cities who
live thousand miles from church. Vast
deserts of indifference between them aud
the house of God. The fact is we must
keep our respeetability, though thousands
and tens OF thousands perish Christ sat
with publieans and sinners. But if there
came to the house of God man with
marks of dissipation upon him, people al
most threw 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, unless they have an especial
train of cars, cushioned and upholstered,
each one Car to himself. They cannot
go with the great horde of publicans and
sinners. Oh! ye who curl your lip of scorn
at the fallen, tell you plainly, if you had
been surrounded by the same influences,
instead of sitting today amid the cultured,
and the refined, and ths Christian, you
would have been crouching wretch in
stable or ditch, covered with filth and
abomination. 1t is not because you are ma.
turally 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 so hard on the fallen?
I 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 ont when they see man about
to give up his sin and return to God, and
ask him how he is going to be baptized
whether BY sprinkling or immersion, and
what kind of a church he is going to join.
Oh! my friends. it is poor time to talk
about Presbyterian catechiams and Episoo
pal liturgies, aud Methodist lovefeasts, and
baptistries to nan that is coming out of
the darkness of sin into the glorious light
of the Gospel. Why. it reminds me of a
man drowning in the sea, and life-boai
puts out for him, and the man in the boat
says to the man oat of the boat: "Now, il
I get you ashore are you going to live on
my street?" First get him ashore, and
then talk about the non essentials of re-
ligion. Who cares what church he joins
if he only joins Christ and starts for heav'
en-? Ohl you ought to have, my brother,
an illnmined face and hearty grip for every
one that tries to turn from his evil way.
Take hold of the same book with him,
though his dssipations shake the book, re-
membering that che that converteth sin.
ner from the error of his way shall save q
soul from death and hide multitude oI
sins"
Now, have shown you these obstacle;
because I want you to understand know
all the difficulties in the way; but | 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 forsakeu
may be regained. First of all, my brother,
throw yourself on God. Go to Him frank
ly, and earnestly, and tell Him these habits
you have, and ask Him if there is any helI
in all the resources of omnipotent love, tc
give it to yon. Do not go with long
rigmarole people call prayer, made up o.
s'ohs," and "ahs," and "forever and ever,
amens!' Go to God and cry for help! help
help! and if you cannot cry for help, just
look and live. l remember, in the late war,
was at Antietam, and l went into the
hospitals after the battle and said to man
"Where are you hurt?" He made nc
answer but held up his arm, swollen and
splintered. saw where he was hurt. The
simple fact is, when man has a wounded
soul, all he has to do is to hold it up before
a sympathetic Lord and get it healed. II
does not take any long prayer. just hold
up the wound. Oh, it is no small thing
when man ie nervous and weak and ex
hausted, coming from his evil ways, to feel
that God puts two omnipotent aims around
him, and says: 'sYonng man, | will stand