The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-05-10
isitation from God upon blasphemers.

where every day, but for various reasons
they are not reported.
In Scotland a club assembled every
week for purposes of wickedness, and
there was a competition as to which could
use the most horrid oath, and the man
succeeded was to be president of the club.
The competition went on. A man uttered
an oath which COMPOUNDED all his com.
rades, and he was chosen president of the
club. His tongue began to swell, and it
protruded from his mouth, and he could
not draw it in, and he died, and the physi-
clans said: ''This is the strangest thing
we ever saw; we never saw any account in
the books like unto it; we can't UNDER
stand it." l understand it. He cursed
God and died.
At Catskill, N. Y, group of men stood
in blacksmith's shop during violent
thunder storm. There came a crash of
thunder and some of the men trembled.
One man said: 'Why, I don't see what
you are afraid of. l am not afraid to go
out in front of the shop and defy the AL
mighty. l am not afraid of lightning"
And he laid a wager on the subject, and
went out, and he shook his fist at the
Heavens, crying: "Strike, if you dare."
and instantly he fell under bolt What
DESTROYED him? Any mystery about it?
Oh, no. He cursed God and died.
Oh, my brother, God will not allow this
sin to go unpublished. There are styles of
writing with manifold sheets, so that a
man writing on one sheet writes clear
through ten, fifteen or twenty sheets, and
so every profanity we utter goes right
down through the leaves of Gods book Of
remembrance. 1t is no exceptional sin.
Do you think you could count the profan-
tiles of last week--the profanities of office,
store, shop, factory? They cursed God,
they cursed His word, they cursed His
only begotten Son.
Listen! Listen! GAIL blasphemers shall
have their place in the lake which burneth
with fire and birthstone, which is the
second DEATH" And if, according
to the theory of some, a man COM
mits in the next world the sins which
he committed in this world-if I'M
pardoned, unregenerated-think of a
mans going ON cursing in the name of
God to all eternity.
The habit grows. You start with small
oath, you will come to the large oath.
saw man die with an oath between his
teeth. Voltaire only gradually came to
his tremendous imprecation; but the
habit grew on him until in the last mo-
ment, supposing Christ stood at the bed,
he exclaimed: ''Curse that wretch? Curse
that wretch!" Oh, my brother, you begin
to swear and there is nothing impossible
for you in the wrong direction.
Who is this God whose name you are
using in swearing? Who is He? Is He
tryrant? Has He pursued you all your
life long? Has He starved you, frozen
you, tyrannized over you? No. He has
loved you; He has sheltered you; He
watched you last night; He will watch you
tonight He wants to love you, wants to
help you, wants to save you, wants to
comfort you. He was your fathers God
and your mothers God. He has housed
them from the blast, and He wants to
shelter you. Will you spit in His face by
an imprecation? VIII you ever thrust Him
back by an oath?
Who is this Jesus, whose name | heard
in the imprecation? Has He pursued you
all your live long? What vile thing has
He done to you that you should so dis
honor His name? Why, He was the Lamb
whose blood simmered in the fires Of
sacrifice for you. He is the brother that
took off His crown that you might put it
on. He has pursued you all your life long
with mercy. He wants you to love Him
wants you to serve Him. He comes with
streaming eyes and broken heart and
blistering feet to save you. On the craft
of our doomed humanity He pulled out
into the sea to take you off the wreck.
Where is the hand that will ever be lift
ed in imprecation again? Let that hand,
now blood-tipped, be lifted that may see
it. Not one. Where is the voice that will
ever be uttered in dishonoring the name
of that Christ? Let it speak row. Not
one. Not one. Oh, am glad to know
that all these vices of the community and
these crimes of our city will be gone.
Society is going to be bettered. The
world, by the power of Christ's Gospel, is
going to be saved, and this crime, this in
iquity, and all the other iniquities will
vanish before the rising of the sun OF
righteousness upon the nation.
There was one day in New England
memorable for storm and darkness.
hardly ever saw such an evening. The
clouds which had been gathering all day
numbered their batteries. The Housa-
tonic, which flows quietly, save as the
paddles of pleasure parties rattle the oar
locks, was dashed into foam, and the
waves hardly knew where to lay them
selves.
Oh! what time it was The hills Jared
under the rumbling of Gods chariots.
Binding sheets of rain drove the cattle to
the bars, or beat against the window
pane as though to dash it in. The grain
fields threw their crowns of gold at the
feet of the storm-king. When night came
In it was double night. Its mantle was
torn with the lightnings, and into its locks
were twisted the leaves of uprooted oaks
and the shreds of canvas torn from the
masts of the beached shipping. It was
such a night as makes you thank God for
shelter, and open the door to let in the
spaniel bowling outside with terror.
We went to sleep under the full blast of
Heavens great orchestra, the forests
with uplifted voices, in chorus that filled
the mountains, praising the Lord. We
woke not until the fingers of the sunny
morn touched our eyelids. We looked out
the window and the Housatonic slept as
quiet as an infants dream. Pillars of
clouds set against the sky looked like the
castles of the blest built for heavenly hi
erarchs on the beach of the azure sea. All
the trees spanked as though there had
been some great grief in Heaven, and each
leaf had been God appointed to catch an