Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-04-09

HYMNS sung at the Tabernacle this morn
ing begins with the words:
So let our lips and lives express
The holy gospel we profess.
After reading appropriate passages OF
scrinture the Rev. T. De Wilt Talmage,
ID, preached on the habit Of cursing
and swearing. His text was from the
Rook of Job, it,, 10: $50 went Satan
forth from the presence Of the Lord AID
smote Job with sore boils from the sole
NJ his foot unto his crown. Aud he took
him G potsherd to scrape himself
withsl; and he sat down among the
ashes. Then said his wife unto him:
IDOst thou still retain thine integrity?
Curse God aud die"
story oriental and marvellous. Job
Was the richest man in all the east. He
had csmeIs and oxen and asses and sheep,
and, what would hsve made him rich
without anything else, seven SONS and
three daughters. It WAS the habit OF
these children to gather together for fam.
ily reunion. One day Job is thinking of
his children as gathered together st
bsnuuet st the elder brother's house.
While the old man is seated at mis- tent
door he sees some one running, evidently
from his manner bringing bad news.
What is the matter now? "Oh," says
the messenger, ga foraging party of
S.besns have fallen upon the oxen and
the asses and destroyed them and butch
cred all the servants except myself"
Stand aside. Another messenger run
ming. What Is the matter now? son."
saws the msn, "the lightning hiss struck
the sheep and the shepherds, and all the
shepherds are destroyed except myself"
Stand aside. Another messenger run
ming. What is the matter now? "Oh,"
he says, Hthe Chaldeans have captured
the camels and SLAIN all the camel drivers
except myself" Stand aside. Another
messenger running. What is the matter
now? TOh," he ssys, "a hurricane struck
the four corners of the tent where your
children were assembled at the banquet
and they are all dead"
But the chapter of calamity has not
ended. Job was smitten with elephanti-
isis, or black leprosy. Tumors from
head to foot-forehead rigid with tuber-
cles-eyelashes fall out-nostrils excori-
sted-volce destroyed-intolerable exhs-
lations from the entire body, until with
none to dress his sores, he sits down in
the ashes with nothing but pieces of
broken pottery to use in
THE SURGERY OF HIS WOUNDS.
AZ this moment, when he needed all en-
I 1uragement and all consolation, his
wife comes in, in a fret and a rage, and
says: "This is intolerable. Our prop
erty gone, our children slain, and now
you covered up with this loathsome and
disgusting disease. Why don't you
sWesr2 Curse God, and die!"
An, Job knew right well thst swearing
would not cure one of the tumors of his
sgcnized body, would not bring back one
Of his destroyed camels, would not re-
store one of his dead children. BE knew
that profanity would only make the pain
more unbearable, and the poverty more
distressing, and the bereavement more
eIcruciating. But judging from the pro-
family abroad in our day, you might come
to the conclusion that there was some
great advantage to be reaped from pro-
family.
Bl4sphemy is all abroad. You hear II
in every direction. The draymnn swear
ing at his cart, the sewing girl impreca-
ting the tangled skein, the accountant
cursing the long line of troublesome fig
ures. Swearing at the store, swearing in
the loft, swearing in the cellar, swearing
on the street, swearing in the factory.
Children swear, men swear, women
swear. Swearing from the rough calling
on the Almighty in athe low restaurant,
clear up to the reckless so, Lord!" of q
glittering drawing-rocmi and the one is
as much blasphemy as the other.
There are times when we must cry out
to the Lord by reason of our physical
agony or our mental distress, and that is
only throwing out our weak hand toward
the strong arm of father. II was nc
profanity when james a. Garfield, shot in
the Washington depot, cried out: "My
God, what does this mesn?" There is nc
profanity in calling out upoD God in the
day Of trouble, In the day OF darkness, IN
THE DAY CT PHYSICAL ANGUISH,
in the day of bereavement; but l am
speaking now OF the triVialitY and of the
recklessness with which the name Of God
is sometimes managed. The whole land
is cursed with it.
A gentleman coming from the far west
sat in the car day after day behind two
persons who were indulging in profanity,
and he made up his mind that he would
make record of their profsnities, and st
the end of two days several sheets OF
paper were covered with these impreca,
tons, and at the close of the journey he
handed the manuscript to one Of the per
sons in front of him. "Is 1t possible"
said the mao, "that we hsve uttered sc
many profanities the last few dsys?"
at Is" replied the gentleman. "Then,'
said the man who had taken the manu-
script, "I will never swear again"
B. it Is 8 comparatively unimportsnt
thing if man makes record OF our i'm
prophecies Of speech. The more me-
morsble consideration is that every i'm
proper word, every oath uttered, has re-
cord in the book of Gods remembrance,
and that the day will come when all
our crimes Of speech, If unrepented OF,
will be our condemnation. l shall moi
to-day deal in distractions. l hate ao
stractions. 1 am going to have plain
talk with you, my brother, about habit
that you sdmit to be wrong.
The habit grows in community In the
fact that young people think it manly to
swear. Little children, hardly able to
walk straight on the street, yet have
enough distinctness of utterance to lei
you know that they are damning theil