West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-06-06
DIR. TALMAGE.
POWER OF GOOD RESOLUTIONS
Fine Apologies offered by Mon I'm
Excuse for Their Sins

TEXT: "If Trash myself ,cith snou
scoter, and should cleanse mn hands ~
dtkaff, yet shalt thou plunge me IN the ditch
and mine olvn clothes shalt o6hor me-
Job tx, 80, 81.
Albert Barnes-honored be his name or
earth and in heaven-went straight back 70 the
original writing OF my text and translated
tt as have now quoted IL, giving substantial
reasons for so doing. Although we know
better, the ancients had an idea that in snow
water there was special power TO cleanse,
and that garment washed and rinscd i'm II
would be as clean as clean could be; but II
the plain snow water failed TO do its work.
then they would take I've or alkali and
mixed It with oil, and under that
preparation they felt that tho last impurity
would certainly be gone. Job i'm my text
An most forceful figure sets forth the
idea that all his attempts 20 make himself
pure before God were n dead failure and
that, unless we are abluted by something
better than earthly liquids and chemical
preparations, we are loathsome and in the
ditch. "If wash myself with snow water.
and should cleanse my hands in allxali, yet
shalt thou plunge me in the ditch and mine
own clothes shall abhor me-"
You are now sitting for your picture
turn the camera obscura of Gods
word fun upon you, and / pray that
the sunshine falling through the skylight
may enable me TO take YOU lust as Won
are; Shall IL DO flattering picture, oil
shall It be true onef You say: "Let it be
true one" The first profile that was ever
taken was taken three hundred and thirty
years before Christ, of Ambiguous. He had
blind eye, and he compelled the art
Isl to take his profile so as to hide the
defect in his vision. But since that inven.
ton, three hundred and thirty years before
Thirst, there have been a great many pro
files. Shall to-day give you a one-sided
view OF yourselves profile, or shall it be
mli-length portrait, showing you Just what
Fou arey III God will help me by His al
mighty grace, l shall give you that last kind
of picture.
When first entered the ministry used TO
write my sermons all out and read them, and
run my hand along the line lest should lose
my place. have hundreds of those manu-.
scrlpts. Shall ever preach themg Never:
Tor IN those days was somewhat over-mas.
tered with the idea l heard talked all around
About, OF the dignity of human nature, and
adopted the idea, and evolved il. and illus
rated Il, and argued it; but coming on in
nfet and having seen more of the world and
studied better my Bible L find that that early
'eaching was faulty, and that there is no dig
atty IN human nature until it is reconstructed
py the grace of God. Talk about vessels going
70 pieces on the Skerries, Off Irelandl There
neyer was such n shipwreck as in the Gihon
and the Hiddekel, rivers of Eden, where
our first parents foundered Talk of n
steamer going down with five hundred
passengers on boardl What is that to the
lhipwreck OF fourteen hundred million soulsP
We are by nature mass of uncleanness and
putrefaction, from which it takes all the om-
Impotence and infinitude OF Gods grace to
Ktr1cate us. 7" II wash myself with snow
Eater, and should cleanse my hands in al
Kali, yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch
and my own clothes shall abhor men
remark, in the first place, that some peo-
pie try to cleanse their soul OF sin in the snow
water of fine apologies. Here is one man who
pays; am sinner; confess that; but
inherited this. Ny father was a sinner my
srandiatner, my great-great-grandfather,
Ind all the way back to Adam. and /
sonidnt help myself" My brother, have
Fou not, every day in your life add
I'd something TO the original estate of
nn that was bequeathed 70 you? Are
Lou not brave enough to confess
that you have sometimes surrendered to sin
which you ought to have conquered? L ask
Fou whether 1t Is fair play to put upon our
ancestry things for which we ourselves are
personally reSponsibleg If your nature was
hSkew when You got it. have you not some
LINES given 1t an additional twist? Win all
me tombstones of those who have preceded
as make barricade high enough
Tor eternal defenses9 l know a devont
nan who had blasphemous parentape.
Know an honest man whose father was n
THIEF. know a pure man whose mother was
q watf OF the street. The hereditary tide
y n
IS stemming it. The fact that have n cor
rupt nature is no reason why / should Weld
70 1t. The deep stains Of our soul can never
be washed out by the snow water of such in
sufficient apology.
Still further, says some one: 'Tf have
gone INTO sin, 1t has been through nv com.
2anions, my comrades and my Associate.
sney ruined me. They taught me to drink,
They took me to the gambling hell Thav
plunged me into the house Of sin. They
ruined my soul" / do not believe IL God
gave TO no one the power to destroy Won or
me. If man is DESTROYED he is self destyove a
and that is always so. Why did you not break
away from thems III they had tried To sfeal
your purse, you would have knocked Thorn
down; II they had tried to purloin your gold
NaScn, you would have riddlod them
with shot; but when they tried to steal vouT
immortal soul, you placidly submitted to h.
1hose Dad fellows have a cup Of fire to drink.
40 not pour your cup into it. In this mater
Of the soul, every man for himself. That
those persons are not fully responsible FOR
your sin' prove by the fact that YOU still
eonsort with them. You canuot pet cfP nv
planning them Though you gather up all
these apologies; though there were a f1,-eot
uood Of them; though they should come down
with the force OF the melting SHOWS from
- azssDailol, they could not wash out one stain
=, stu further, some persons APOLOGIZE for
sher SINS by saying: I'VE are a great deal
better than some people. You see people an
around about us that are a great deal WORE
tnan we" You stand up columnar In vour
integrity, and look down upon those who are
PROSTATE in their habits and crimes Wbat
~ that, my brotherf II failed through recls-
lessness and wicked imprudence for Ten fbo5,-
seau gohafs, - the matter alleviated at All
~, tne fact that somebody else has
taaiea Tor one hundred thousand doIlarS
ano somebody else for two bupdra1
tHousand dollars; Oh, no. II have
Ine neuralgia, shall refuse medical attend
snce pecause my neighbor has pirule,h
syPnola teYerY The fact that his disease
- ~orse than mine-dOes that cure r1ipef
~ ~ through my fOolhardiness. lean of inf
tuin, does it break the fan 10 know
snat Others leap of higher cliff into
deeper Darkness When the Uudsou ,fveT
reAl tram went through the bridge at Sr,1v,ts,
DuyYil, did IL alleviate the matter AZ sii tb.9
.n.hoead OF Two or three people being burt
knefe were seventy-flve m0ngled and crushed,
oect'9se others are depraved, Is that any ex.
S e,l iof my deprayity? Am i better
s sns.n .t.heyf Perhaps they had worse
temptations than / have had PEI
maps their surroundings In lie 49,
more 0yerpoweriDg. Perhaps. y man
u you had been under the same stroee ~
ttLni'tatiy1, instead n sitting I.r. =, a.,
you would have been looking through the
Dars ~ n peuitentiafy. Perhaps % sg6mau.
" you bad been under tho same povrr Oh
temptation, instead Of sitting here today
you would b. iFBmping Che street the LAUGH
~ st9ck oI men and tie grief of the ANGELS
81 COD dungeoned. body mind and aouL in
the Diacknes NJ despair AL do not 1t
nssOiace ourscives with the thought tiat Other
people are worse than we. perhaDs in Tho
future when our fortunes may change nm
Leis troo prevents it. we may De Forga than