West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-04-05
REFORMATION.
DIR. TALMAGE's SUNDAY SER,
MON.
The Sinner Advised TO Wake Up and
Turn n New Leaf

ono who, having stepped aside from the path
OF rectitude, desires TO re;utn. With a wish
Tor something better he says: "When shall
4 6wakei When shall i come out OF this
horrid nightmare of iniqutyin But seized
upon 10y uueradicated habit, and forced
down Hill by his pIss.ons he cries out: Il
VIII seek 1T yet again l will try IL once
more
Our libraries are adorned with an elegant
literature addressed 10 young men, pointing
cut to them all the dangers and perils OF life,
complete maps OF the voyage, showing all
the rocks, the quicksands, the shoals But
suppose man has already made shipwreck;
suppose he is already OF the track; suppose
he has already gone astray, how Is he TO get
back That is Geld comparatively un-
touched. propose 70 aldre 3 myself this
evening TO such There are those in this au-
dience who, with every passion of their
egonized soul, arc ready TO hear this discus
sion. They compare them elves with what
they were ten years AGO, and cry out from
the bondage in which they are incarcerated.
Now, If there be any in this house, come
with an earnest purpOse yet feeling they are
beyond the pale OF Christian sympathy, and
that the sermon can hardly be expected to
address them, then at this moment | give
them my right hand aud call them brother.
Look up. There Is glorious and triumphant
hope Tor You yet. sound the trumpet OF
Gospel deliverance. The church is ready to
spread banquet at your return and the
hierarchs of heaven TO fall into line of ban
nered procession at tho news OF your emanci-
patton. 30 far as God may help me, pro-
pose to show what are the obstacles of Your
return. and then how you are 10 surinount
those obstacles.
The first difficulty i'm the way of your re-
turn is the force of moral gravitation. Just
as there is a natural law which brings down
TO the earth anything which YOU throw into
the air, so there is a corresponding moral
gravitation. IN other words it is easier TO
go down than it is TO go up; il il easier 20 do
wrong than IL is TO do right Call TO mind
. 4.
them good, some OF them bad. Which most
affected youi Call To mind the anecdotes
that you have heard i'm the last five or ten
years-some of them are pure and some of
them impure. Which the more easily sticks
70 yourmemoryl During the years OF your
life you have formed certain courses of con-
duct-some of them good some of them bad.
To which style of habit did you the more
easily yield All my friends, we have 10
take but moment of self inspection to find
out that there is in all our souls force of
moral gravitation. But that gravitation
may be resisted. just you may pick up
from the earth something and hold it in ycir
hand toward heaven, just so, by the power
OF Gods grace, n soul fallen may be lifted
toward peace, toward pardon, toward heaven.
Force of moral gravitation in every one of
us, but power in Gods grace TO overcome
that force of moral gravitation.
The next thing in the way OF your return is
the power of evil habit. / know there are
those who say it is very easy for them to give
mp evil habits. do not believe them. Here
is a man given to intoxication. He knows it
Is disgracing his family, destroying his prop
erty, running him, body, mind and soul. If
that man. being an intelligent man, and low
ing his family, could easily give up that
habit, would he not do 50 The fact that he
does not give it up proves it is hard to give it
up. 10 Is very easy thing 10 sail down
stream, the tide carrying you with great
force but suppose you turn the boat up
stream, IS IL so easy then TO row it, As long
faIA 70 fNa
hearts and our bad habits we are sailing
down stream; but the moment we try TO
turn, we put our boat in the rapids Just above
Niagara, aud try to row up stream. Take
man given to the habit of using tobacco, as
most of you do, and let him resolve to stop,
and he finds 1t very difficult. Twenty-one
years ago / quit that habit, and | would
as soon dare 70 put my right hand i'm the fire
as once To indulge in IL. Why. Because it
was such terrible struggle to get over il.
Now. let n man be advised by his physician
to give up the use Of tobacco. He goes around
not knowing what to do with himself. He
cannot add up line Of figures. He cannot
sleep nights. 10 seems rs il the world had
turned upside down. He feels his business is
going 10 ruin. Where he was kind aud oblig-
ing, he is scoding and fretful. The com
posture that characterized him has given way
10 fretful restlessness, and he has become a
complete fidget. What power IS il that has
rolled a wave Of woe over the earth and
shaken pOrtent in the heavensi He
has freed TO stop smoking. After while
he says. II am going 70 DO as | please
The doctor doesn't understand my cnse.
Tn going back to the oil habith And
he returns. Everything ASSUMES its usual
composure. His business seems TO bri2 hten.
The world becomes an attractive place
TO live III. His children. see ng the diff
ference, hail the return Of Their fathers genial
disposition. What wave of color has dashed
blue into the sky, and grecnuess into the
mountain foliage. and the glow Of sapphire
IN he no
lifted world of beauty and Joy on his souii
he mas gone back TO smoking. Oh, the fact
Is, as we all know i'm our own experience that
habit IS taskmaster; as long as we obey it.
It does not chastise us: but lot us resist. and
we find that we are 10 be dashed with scorDior
whips,and bound with ship cable, and thrown
into the track Of bone breaking Juggernauts
During the war Of 1912 there was a ship set
on fire just above Niagara Fails, and thon,
cut loose from its mOorings, e came Oh
down through the night. aud tOssed over
the falls It was said to have been .
scene brilliant beyond alt descriDt on Well.
there are Thousands of men on fire OF evil
hahit' coming down through the rapids and
through the awful night o. temptation to.
ward the eternal plunge. Oh, how hard Il
ls 70 arrest hsm. God Ony can arrest them
suppose a man after FIVE, or ten. or tsVent ?
years Of evil doing resolves 90 do right
W ny an the forces Of darkness are allied
against MIN He cannot sleep nights He
gets down on his knees in the midnight and
cries: God help mem he bites his l,pg. He
grinds his teeth. He clanohes his fist In a de
termination % keep his purpose He dare
not look nc the bottles in the windows Of o
wine store 10 IS one long bitter exhaustive.
mani 70 hand fight " Ga in1amei tantaliz-
ing aud msrciles3 habit When he thinks
he Is entirely free the old inclinatiOns pounct
upon him like pack Of hounds with their
muzzes tearing away at the hanys Of one
poor rein ieor. In Paris there is "a ssulutured
representation Of Blcch1s tine god OF
feyeiry. He is riding on q panther Mt
Iul leap. OH how suggestive Let every
vh5 VINO ls spelling on bad ways
und arstand he is not riding a docilo and
vel broken stesd. but bee is riding monster
via ana bloodthirsty g0nL 90 death ie1p
no" many there arc who resolve ON "a ba. FER
NE ant say: "Whs1 shlu / awake r.
but, seized on b. their Cd habits cry. %
VIII Try it once mOr3. ! VIII seek TO vet
aKainl Years ago. thore were eo re Prince
Ton stuIent5 who were SEATING nn tln ice
was very thin. aud some on3 warno tho
company back from the air hole. auI
unaiy warned them entirely ~ leave
bue place. Bus Ona Young man with bravado
after OF the rest had stopped cried ont
Dne round more He swept ar0uu D. and
went down, anu was brought cut 70 correa
Ny friends. there are th9Is4nels ami f,,,5 II
thousands Of men losing their souls in Chat
way. 10 ig the one r0uu more
have also ~ say That if % man wants q
return from evil pra t.ecs society r.uuI4fa
hum Desiring tO reform. he s1ys Row.
vii shake Of my old os0ei1tes. and j vii
Hhl Chfi.Jihn coinpnnion.hip" Aud ho np
pears ~ the church door some Sabbath dqv
AMI the usher zrssts hin with n I,,5, n. r,u.f
s ~ say Why. you here' You are tb
last man ! ever expected 90 eae Ut rIu-.H
,,pne, take tbs scat right down by ta.
qppr Instead 1f saying. 'f10l noruinr