The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1889-10-25
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DlVINE's SUN.
DAY SERMON.
subject: DRUNKENNESS the Nations
Curse" preached at Helena,
ATontana)

} 1 see long row Of baskets coming up t,
: ward the palace Of King Jehu / am SOM
, what inquisitiye to find out what is in I'll
, baskets. l look in and l find the CORY heaC
of seventy slain Princes As the basket
, arrive at the gate of the palace, tine heads al
thrown into two heaps, one on either side til
gate. In the morning the King comes our
and he looks upon the bleeding, ghastl
heads of the massacTed Prices Looking o
either side the gate, he cries out with a rims
, ing emphasis: "Who slew all thesa?'
We have my friends lived to see a NOR
fearful massacre. There is no use of M
taking your time in trying to give you sta
tistics about the devastation and ruin an
death which strong drink has wrought il
! tins country. Statistics do not seem to mea.
anything. We are 50 hardened under thes
statistics that the fact that fifty thousan,
more men are slain or fifty thousand les
men are slain, seems to make no positive i'm
preston on the public mind. Suffice it {
say, that intemperance has slain an in
numerahle company Of Princes-the childre
Of Gods royal family; and at the gate o
every neighborhood their are two heaps o
! the slain; and at the door of the Household
there are two heaps of the slain; and at tn
door of the legislative hall there are tw
heaps of the slain: and at the door of IN
university there are two heaps of the slain
and at the gate Of this nation there are tw
heaps of the slain. When l look upol
the desolstion I am almost fran
tic with Tia scene, while
cry out: WHO slew all thesega I can answe
that question in half minute The minis
tiers of Christ who have given no warning
the courts OF law that have offered the Ece1
sure, fre- women who git5 escTong drink on
New Years day, the fathers aud mothers
who have rum on the sideboard the hundreds
OF thousands Of Christian men and women in
the land who are stolid in their indifference
on this subjeet-they slew all these!
propose in this discourse to tell you what
think are the sorrows and the doom of the
drunkard, so that you to whom / speak NAV
not come to torment
Some one says; "You had better let those
subjects alone" Why, my brethren, we
would be glad to let them alone If they would
let US alone; but wAsn | have in nv pocket
now four requests saying: pray for my hus-
band, pray for my son, pray for my brother.
pray for my friend, who is the captive OF
strong drink, reply, we are ready to let
that question alone when it is willing to letus
alone; but when it stands blocking up the
way to heaven, and keeping multitudes away
from Christ and heaven, | dare not be silent.
lest the Lord require their blood at my
hands.
think the subject has been kept back
very much by the morriment people make
over those slain by strong drink I used to
10 very merry over lleSe tilll9S, having q
keen sense of the ludicrous. There was some
thing very grotesque in the gait of drunk
ard It IS not SO now; for I saw in one of the
streets of Philadelphia sight that changed
the whole subject 10 me. There was a young
man being led home. He was very much in
toxicated-he was raving with intoxica-
ton. Two young men were leading
MIN along. The boys hOoted in the
street, men laughed, women sneared;
but l happened to be very near the door
where be went init was the door of his
mothers house. I saw him go up stairs
heard him shouting, hooting and blasphem-
ing. He had lost bis hat, and the mcrI.i-
ment increased with the mob until he came
to the door, and as the door WAS opened mis-
mother came out. When I heard her cry
that took all the comedy out Of tho scene
Since that time when / see man walking
through the street, reeling, the comedy is all
gone, and it is q tragedy Of tears and grOans
and heartbreaks. Never make any fun
around me about the grotesqueness of a
dTunkGrd. Alas FOR his homel
The first suffering Of the dIunkard is in
the loss Of his good name. God has so ar
ranged 1t that no man ever loses his good
name except through his own act. All the
hatred OF men and all the assaults OF devils
cannot destroy mans good name if he
really maintains his integrity II a man is
industrious and pure and Christian, God
looks after him. Although he may be bonn
barded for twenty or thirty years, his integ-
rity is never lost and his good name is never
sacrificed. No force on earth or in he'll
can capture such q Gibraltar. But when it
Is said Of a man, He drinkSn and it can
be proved, then what employer wants
aim for workman what store wants him
Tor clerkS what church wants him for
member? who win trust him? what dying
man would appoint him his exacutor2 he
ha a bean hull
his reputation-it goes down Letters Of
recommendation, the backing up OF business
firms, brilliant ancestry cannot save him
The world SHES off. Why? 1t is whispered
all through the community, He drinks; he
drinks That blasts him. When man lcses
Interpolation for sobriety he might as well be
at the bottom of the sea- There are men
here who have their good name as their only
ndetaL You are now achieving your own
GOOD, under God, by your own right
WeYer,-2w look out that there is no doubt
.sbriety. Do not create any sus-
~ PeFdtlNing in and cut Of immoral places.
eminent pdor OF your breath, or b. ANY
I eye, OF by any immature. ISL
sooh e3k. You cannot afford 70 10 it.
be rea0bod name is your only capital, and
pra - IS blasted with the reputation Of
- strong drink all is gone
.55her loss which the inebriate suffers is
V Of self respect. Just as soon as a man
ikes up and ind that he is the captive OF
's.dong drink he feels demeaned. ] do not
care how reckless he acts. He may say, 81
don't care;n he does care He cannot look a
pure man in the eye, unless it Is with positive
force Of resolution .Three-fOurths Of his nature
is Destroyed his self respect gone; he says
things he would not otherwise say; he does
things he would not otherwise do. When q
man IS nIne-tenUns gone Win strong drink,
the first thing he wants 10 do is TO persUadey you
that he can stop any time he wants to. He
cannot The Phlistines have bound hun hand
and foot, and shorn his locks, and put out his
eyes, and are making him grind in the mill of |
a great horror. He cannot stop. / viii prove /
it. He knows that his course is bringing dis |
grace and ruin upon himself. He loves him |
self. II he could stop he would lie knows |
his course is bringing ruin upon his family. |
BE Loves them. He would stop il he could. !
lie cannot Perhaps he could three months |
or a year ago; not now. Just ask him to |
stop for a month He cannot: he knows he |
cannot, 50 he does not try. l had friend |
who for fifteen years was going down under |
this evil habit. he had large means. He had |
given thousands Of dollars to Bible societies |
and reformatory institutions Of all sorts |
He was very genial and very gener-
Gus and.very lovable, and whenever he talked
about this evil habit he would say: Il can
stop any tin1e.n But lie kept going on, going /
say: 4 wish you would stop Why" he
you'd reply, i can stop any time if I want
tor After while he had delirium tremens;
he had it twice; and yet after that he said;
II could stop at any time if / wanted to-
he IS dead now What killed hims Rum
Rum And yet among his last utterances
was: I can stop at any time" Ho did not
stop it. because he could not stop IL. Oh
there is a point in inebriation beyond which,
If q man goes, he cannot stop
One of these victims said TO G Christian
man: ''SiI, L I were told that l couldn't
get a drink until tomorrow night un-
less I had all my fingers cut off, / Yonld
say: Bring the Ratchet and cut them
OF now" l have dear friend in Phila-
delphia, whose nephew came to him one day, !
and when lie was EXPORTED about his evil
Iabit, said: 'Uncle, l can't give it up.
Il there stood cannon, and it was loaded,
md a glass Of wine rat on the mouth Of
hat cannon, and ISInew that you would
IRE it of Just as I came up and took
he glass, would start, for l must have
tn Oh, it is sad thing for man 20
wake up in this hfo and feel that he
is captive. he says: Il could have got rid
If this once, but / can't now. might have
wed an hozorable life and died a
Christian death; but there is no hope for me
low; there is no escape for me, Dead, but
rot buried. am a walking corpse. am
IN ASPIRATION OF what I once was. I am
aged immortal, beating against the wires of
ny cage in this direction and in that dircc-
ion; beating against the cage until there is
blood on the wires and blood upon my soul,