The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1888-03-29


upon him like a pack of hounds
with their muzzles tearing away at
the TANKS of one poor reindeer. In Paris
there is a scu1ptured representation of
Bacchus, the god of revelry. He is riding
on panther at full leap. Oh, how sug-
gestive. Let every one who is speeding
on bad ways understand he is not riding
docile and well broken steed, but he is
riding monster, wild and bloodthirsty
going at a death leap. How many there
are who resolve on better life, and say:
when shall I awake2" But, seized on
by their old habits, cry: 81 will try it
once more; will seek it yet againl' r.
Years ago there were some Princeton
students who were skating, and 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:
Zone round morei" He swept around,
and went down, and was brought out a
/ corpse. My friends, there are thousands
and tens of thousands of men losing
their souls in that way. It is the one
round more.
have also to say that II man wants
to return from evil practices, society re-
| pulses 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
Sabbath day, and the usher greets him
with look, as much as to say: ''Why,
you herea You are the last man 1 ever
expected to see at churchi Come, take
| this seat right down by the door, In
glad you are here. Come; will give
you a first rate seat, right up by the
pulpit" Well, the prodigal, not yet
discouraged, enters a prayer meeting,
and some Christian man, with more zeal
than common sense, says: s'Glad to see
you; the dying thief was saved, and sup
pose there Is mercy for you" The young
man, disguised, chilled, throws himself
| on his dignity, resolved he will never
enter into the house of God again. Per-
haps not quite fully discouraged abous
reformation, he sides up by some highly
| respectable man he used to know, going
down the street, and Immediately the re-
spectacle man has an GRAND down some
other street. Well, the prodigal wishing
to return takes some member Of a Chris
tan association by the hand, or tries to.
The Christian young man looks at him,
looks at the faded apparel and the marks
of dissipation, instead of giving him a
warm grip Of the hand, offers him the
tip ends of the long fingers of the left
hand, which is equal to striking man in
the facet Obi how few Christian people
understand how much force and gospel
there is in good, honest hand shaking.
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 fiber of your body, mind and soul
an encouragement that was Just what
you needed? You do not know anything
at all about this unless you know when a
man tries to return from evil courses Of
conduct he runs against repulsions in
Vulnerable. We say of some man, he
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 and
the house of God. The fact is we must
keep our responsibility, though thousands
and tens of thousands perish. Christ sat
with publicans and sinners. But il there
came to the house of God a man with
marks of dissipation upon him, people
almost threw up their hands III horror, as
much as to say: .'Isn't it shocking2"
How these dainty, fastidious Christians
in all our churches are going to get into
heaven 1 don't know, unless they have
an especial train Of cars. cushioned
and upholstered, each one a car to
himself. They cannot go with the great
horde of publicans and sinners Oh ye
who curl your lips and scorn at the fallen,
tell you plainly, If you had been sur
rounded by the same influences, instead
of sitting today amid the cultured, and
the refined, and the Christian you would
have been a crouching wretch in stable
or ditch, covered with filth and abomina-
ton. 1t is not because you are naturally
any better, but because the mercy Of
God has protected you. Who are you
that, brought up in Christian circles and
watched by Christian parents, you
should be so hard on the fallen2
I think men also are often numbered
from return by the fact that churches are
too anxious about their membership, and
too anxious about their denomination,
and they rush out 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 i'm
mersion-and what kind of church he
is going to join. Oh! my friends, it is
q poor time to talk about Presbyterian
catechisms, and Episcopal iturgies, and
Methodist love feasts, and baptistrles to
of sin into the glorious light of the Cos
pei. Why, it reminds me Of o man
drowning in the sea, and ifeboat puts
out for him, and the man in the boat says
to the man out of the boat: ..New, if get
you ashore, are you going to live on
my street,? First get him ashore, and
then talk about the non-essentials of re-
hgion. Who cares what church he
joins, if he only joins Christ and starts
for heaven?" Oh! you ought to have,
my brother, an illumined 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 designations
shake the book, remembering that ..he
that converteth a sinner from the error Of
his ways shall save soul from death
and hide multitude of sins.n
Now, I have shown you these obstacles
because 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
unriveted, and how the paths of virtue,
forsaken, may be regained. First of all,
my brother, throw yourself on God. Go
to him frankly, and earnestly, and tell
him these habits you have, and ask him
if there is any help in all the resources of
omnipotent love. to give it to you. Do
not go with q long rign,arole people call
prayer, made up OF ..ohs," and ssahs,
and forever and forever, amensi' Go
to-God and cry for helpl helpi helpi and,
If you cannot cry for help, just
look and live. I remember, in
the late war, ] was at Antietam, and
went into the hospitals after the battle