The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-09-26

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He bites his lip. He grinds his teeth. H
| clinches his fist in his determination t,
| keep his purpose. He dare not look a
| the bottles in the window of a wine store
| 1t was one long, bitter, exhaustive, hand
| to-hand fight with infamed, tantalizinl
and merciless habit. When he thinks b
is entirely free, the old inclination
pounce upon him like pack of hound
with their muzzles tearing away at tn
| tanks of one poor reindeer. In Pari
| there is sculptured representation O
Baechus, the god Of revelry. He is ridin.
on panther at full leap. Oh, how sug
gestivei Let every one who is speeding
on bad ways understand he is not riding
docile and we'll broken steed, but he i;
riding monster, wild and blood thirsty
going at death leap.
How many there are who resolve on
better life and say: "When shall
awake" But seized on by their old hab-
its cry: ~ will try it once more; 1 vii
seek it yet againI" Years ago there were
some Princeton students who were skat.
ing, and the ice was very thin, and some
one warned the company back from the
air hole, and finally warned them en-
tirely to leave the place. But one young
man with bravado, after all the rest had
stopped, cried out: zone round more -
He swept around and went down, and
was brought out a corpse. My friends,
there are thousands and tens of thou
sands OF men losing their souls in that
way. 1t is the one round more.
Ihave also to say that if a man wants
to return from evil practices society re-
pulses him. Desiring to reform, he
says: SNOW I will shake off my old as
sociates, and will find Christian COM
partnership" And he appears at the
church door some Sabbath day, and the
usher greets him with look, as much as
to say: "Why, you here? You are the
last man [ ever expected TO see at church
Come, take this seat right down by the
doorP Instead of saying: "Good morn
ing; am glad you are here. Come; |
VIII give you first-rate seat, right up by
the pulpit" Well, the prodigal, not yet
discouraged, enters the prayer meeting,
and some Christian man, with more zeal
than common sense, says:
"Glad to see you. The dying thief was
saved, and suppose there is mercy for
youW The young man, disguised, chilled,
throws himself back on his dignity. re-
solved he never will enter the house of
God again. Perhaps not quite fully dis
couraged about reformation, he sides I'D
by some highly-respee man he used
to know going down the street, and imme-
diately the respectable man has an err
rand downxs0me other street. Well. the
prodigal, Wishing to return, takes some
member of Christian association by the
hand or tries to. This Christian young
man looks at him, looks at the faded ap-
parel and marks Of dissipation, and in
stead ef giving him warm grip of the
hand offers him the tip end of the long
fingers OF the left hand, which is equal to
striking man in the face.
Oh, how few Christian people UNDER
stand how much force and Gospel there is
In good, honest hand shaking! Some
times, when you have felt the need of en-
couragement and some Christian man
has taken You heartily by the
hand, have you not felt that
thrilling through every fiber of
your body, mind and soul, an encourage
ment that was just what you needed?
Youdo not know any thing at all about this
unless you know when a man tries to re-
turn home from evil courses of conduct.
ne runs against repulsions innumer-
able. We say of some man. he hives
BLOCK or two from the church, or half
mile from the church. There are people
in our crowded cities who live Thousand
miles from the church. Vast deserts of
between them and the house
Oh God. The fact is, we must keep our
responsibility, though thousands and tens
OF thousands perish. Christ sat with
publicans and sinners. But if there
comes to the house of God O man with
marks of dissipation upon him, people
throw up their hands in horror as much
as to say: isn't it shocking?" How these
dainty, fastidious Christians in all our
are going to get into Heaven 1
DON'T know, unless they have an
especial train of cars, cushioned and up-
holstered, each one q car to himself?
They can not go with the great herd of
publ1cans and sinners. Oh, We who curl
your lip of scorn at the fallen, l tell Won
plainly, if you had been surrounded by
the same influences, instead of sitting to-
day amid the cultured and the refined and
Christian, you would have been a crouch
ing wretch in stable or ditch. covered
with filth aud abominationI It is not he
cause 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 Chris
tan parentage, you should be so hard on
the fallen?
l think men also are often hindered
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 a 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 by
and what kind Of a church
he is going to join. Oh, my friends! 1t
IS poor time to talk about PRESBYTERIAN
'atechism and Episcopal Iiturgies,
and Methodist love feasts. and
Oaptisteries to a man that is COM
ing out of the darkness of sin
INTO the glorious light of the Cos
pei. Why, it reminds US of man droyn>
ng in the sea, and a life-b boat puts out for
him, and the man in the boat saws to the
man out of the boat: Now if 1 get Won
ashore are you going to live in nv
'treetS" First get him ashore and then
talk about the nom essentials of religion.
Who cares what church he joins if he
1nly joins Christ and starts for Heaven?
On, you ought to have. my brother, an
Illuminated face and hearty grin for
every one that tries to turn from his evil
way. Take hold Of the same book with
Tim thnuUh HE dseei,oo4;a..z -