West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-09-27
IN CHAINS.
SERMON Bx REV. TALmAoE
The Golden Chain ofGood Influences,
and the Iron Links OF EVIL Habits.

TEXT; snake a chain. Ezekiel vii. %.
At school and in college In announcing the
mechanical powers, we glori6ed the lever,
tho pulley, tho inclined plane, the screw, the
axle and the wheel, but my text calls us 20
study the philosophy OF the chain. These
links or metal, one with another, attracted
the old Bible authors, and we hear the chain
rattle and see its coil all the way through
from Genesis 20 Revelation, flashing as an
ornament, or restraining as in captivity, or
holding as I'm conjunction as I'm case of ma
chinery: To do him honor Pharaoh hung a
chain OF gold about the neck OF Joseph and
Belshazzar one about the neck OF Daniel.
Tho high priest had on his breast plate two
chains OF gold. On the cames' necks. as tho
lshmaelites drove up to Gideon, jIngled
The Bible refers to the Church as having
such glittering adornments, saying: Thy
neck Is coinely with chains OF goidn On the
other hand, chain means captivity. David
tho psalmtst exults that powor had been
given over his enemies, ito bind their kings
with chains" The old missionary apostle
cries out: For the hope Of 1srael, Il am bound
with this chain" In the prison where Peter
- 1ncarcorated, you hear one day n great
crash at the falling Off of his chains. Sc.
John saw an angel come down from Heaven
70 manacle the powers OF darkness, aud hav-
ing "a great chain in his handn and the
fallen angels are represented as ''ressrvei In
everlasting chains, while in my text for the
arrest and limitation of tho iniauity of
bis tine, Ezekiel thunders out: "Make
chainln
What wish TO impress upon mvaelf and
upon you Is the strength in right and wrong
directions, OF consecutive forces the superior
power Of a chain of influences above one in.
nvence, the great advantage OF a congeries
OF INKS above one link, and in all family
government and in all effort 20 rescue Others
and In all attempts TO stop iniquity. take the
suggestion of my text and make chainl
mat which contains the greatest import
that which fhs
dous opportunities. that which OF earthly
things Is most wretched by other worlds.
that which has beating against its two sides
all the eternities Is the cradle. The grave
Is nothing in importance compared with n,
Tor that Is only gully that we step across
In second, but the cradle has within h n
new 1. eternity, just born and never to cease.
When three or four years ago the Ohio River
overdowed it's banks and the wild freshets
swept down with them harvests and cities
one day was found floating on the bottom OF
the waters cradle with child in it all un.
hurt, wrapped up snug and warm, and its
blue eyes looking into the blue OF the oman
heavens It was mentioned as something err
traordinarY. But every cradle is with
. 'sS young SnT-., passenger, floating on the
calling to deep. Ohios and St Layyrences
and Mississippis OF influence bearing h ON.
ward. Now, what shall be done with this
new life recently launchedl Teach him an
evening prayerl That is important but NOT
enough. Hear him as soon as ne can recite
some gospel hymn or catechirml That "A
important but not enough. Every Sabbath
afternoon read him Bible storyf That is
important, but not enough. Once in a while
lesson, once i'm a while prayer once Ia n
while a restraining infiuencel All theSa ara
important, but not enough. Each one of
THESE influences Is only link, and it will not
bold him in the tremendous emergencies Of
life Let it be constant instruction, constant
prayer, constant application of COOL infu-
ences, long line OF consecutive irnpressions.
reaching from his first year to his fifth, and
from his fifth year to his tenth, and from
his tenth TO his twentieth. make a chainIn
.Spasmodis education, paroxysmal dis
cipline, occasional fidelity, amount to nothing
~ GU can as easily hold an anchor by one
link as hold child to the right by isolatei
and intermittent faithfulness The exannnla
must connect with the instruction. The
conversation must combine with tho actions
Z. = ne week DAY CONSISTENCY must conjoin with
the Sunday worship. Have family prayers
by all means; but be petulant and in
consistent and unreasonable I'm your honee
hold and your family prayers will be a
olaspnemous farce. SO great in our times
are the temptations of young men to dis
spation, and young women to social fo'lies
that 1t Is most important that tina first
eighteen years OF their life DO charged with a
religious power that will hold them when
they get out of tho harbor of home info tb1
stormy ocean of active life There Is
such thing as impressing children
20 powerfully, with good, that sixty
to efRace It than sixty minutes What n
rough time that young man has in doing
wrong, carefully nurtured as he vast His
rather and mother have been dead for years.
or over in Scotland or England or Ireland.
but they have stood In tho doorway Of
every dram shop that he entered, and under
the chandelier Of every house of dissipation.
aging; My son, this is no place for you'
Have you forgotten the old folks} Don't
you recognize these wrinkles and this stoor
In the shoulder, and this tremulous bandI
20 home. my boy, go homel BY the God TO
whom we consecrated you, by the cradle in
Whicn we rocked you, by the grass-groyy
graves in the old country churchvard nv
the heaven where we hope vet to meet Won
80 homel Go home, my boy, 20 homew And
some Sunday you will te surprised to find
that young man suddenly asking for the
prayers Of the church. Some Sunday Won
viii see him at the sacrament and perhaps
drinking from the same kind Of chalice that
the old folks drank out OF years ago when
they commemorated the sufferingS OF the
Lord. Yes, my lad, you do not have such
fun In sin as you seem TO have. / know what
spells your fun. You cannot shake off the
influence OF those prayers long ago offered
or OF those kind admonitions. You cannot
make them go away, and you feel like saw
ing: Father, what are You doing beTe3
Mother, why do you bother nue. with suggas-
tons OF those oden timesri But they will
not go away. They will push you back from
your evil paths, though they have 10 come
from their shining homes in heaven and
stand IN the very gates OF hell, and their
backs scorched by the fiery blast. and with
their hand on your shoulder, and their
breath on your brow, and their oves
looking straight into yours they win saw.
I'VE have come to take you home o. eon ~
many anxietie3ln At last that Young man
turns through the consecutive influence of a
pious parentage, who out Of prayers and
ndelttes innumerable. made a chain That
Is the chain that pulls nightly this morning
on i've hundred OF you. You may be too
proud 20 shed tear, and you may, to con.
vince others Of your imperturbability smile
10 your friend beside you. but there Is not so
much power In an Alpine avalanche after h
has sippod for thousand feet and having
struck lower cliR is taking its second
bound for hfteen hundred feet more of
plunge, AZ there - pow er IN the chain that
pulls out this moment toward God and
Christ and Heaveni Obi the almighty mil
Of the long chain Of early gracious in
huenccsi
But All people between thirty and forty
years OF age, yes, between fortg and afty-
aye, between nifty ana sixty years. ana AZ
septuagenarians as well. neei a surrounding
conjunction Of good influences. In Sing Sing,
Auburn, Moyamensiny, and oil the other
great prisons. are mon and women who went
wrong In mid-life and Old age. We need
around as n Gordon Of goO1 influences We
forget 20 apply tho we'll known rule that q
chain IL no stronger than its weakest link.
IL the chain bo made up OF n thousand links
and nine hundred and ninety nine are strong.