The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-07-24
HOW TO CONQUER.
Sermon by Rev. T. Dewitt Tai
mage, d. D.
He Shows the Way Out of Sin Into the
Paths OF ELECTROMAGNETIC Worst
Obstacles In the Way are Evil
Habits and Society.


mon recently at Lake Maxinkuckee, Ind,
on the subject, Show to Conquer The
text was "When shall l awakei will
seek it yet again. prov. xiii. 35. The
eloquent preacher spoke as follows:
With an insight into human nature such
as no other man ever reached, Solomon, in
my text sketches the mental operations OF
one who, having stepped aside from the path
Of rectitude, desires to return With a
wish for something better he said: "when
shall awal1e4 When shall come out Of
this horrid nightmare of iniquityl" But,
seized upon by uneradicated habit and
forced down hill by his passions, he cries
out: II will seek it yet again. / will t.y
1t once more.n
Our libraries are adorned with an elegant
literature addressed TO young men, pointing
out to them all the dangers and perils Of
lfe--complete maps Of the voyage, showing
al the rocks, quioksands, the shoals. But
suppose aman has already made shipwreck; (;
suppose he is already of the track; suppose
he.has already gone astray. How Is he to get
backl That is field comparatively un-
touched. propose to address myself to
such. There are those In this audience who,
WAeh ONCNy DhobiOu VI tuClT dHUulL6u bOul,
are ready TO hear such discussion. They
compare themselves with what they were
ten years ago, and Cry out from the bondage
In which they are incarcerated. Now, II
there be any here, 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, l give them my right
hand and call them brother. Lookupi There
Is glorious and triumphant hope for you
yet. / sound the trumpet Of gospel deliver
ance. The church Is ready TO spread ban
quet at your return, and the hierarchs Of
heaven to fall into line Of hammered process
sion at the news Of your emancipation. So
Tar as God may help me, propose to show
what are the obstacles Of your return, and
then how you are TO surmount those OBJ
stacles. The first difficulty in the way Of
your return Is the force Of moral gravitation.
Just as there Is natural law which brings
down to the earth any thing you throw into
the air, so there Is corresponding moral
gravitation. In other words, II is easier TO
go down than 1t is to go up; 1t is easier to
do wrong than II Is to do right. Call TO mind
the comrades Of your boyhood days-some
Of them good, some Of them bad-which
most affected YOU'D Csll 10 mind the anec.
dotes that you have heard In the last five or
ten years--some Of them are pure and some
Of them impure. Which the more easily
sticks 70 your memoryi During the years
Of your life you have formed certain courses
Of conduct-some, Of them good, some Of
them bad. To which style Of habit did you
themore easily yieldi All, my friends, we
have 10 take but amomentof self inspection
to find out that there Is in all our souls q
force Of moral gravitationl But that grayk
tation may be resisted. Just as you may
pick up from the earth some thing and hold
II in your hand toward heaven, Just so, by
the power Of Gods grace soul fallen may
be lifted toward peace, toward pardon, to-
ward 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. l know there
are those who say II Is very easy for them
to give up evil habits. l do not believe
them. Here is man given TO intoxication.
He knows 1t is disgracing his family, de-
stroying his property, running him, body,
mind, and soul II that man, being an in
telligent man, and loving his family, could
easily give up that habit would he not do
sol The fact that he does not give 10 up
proves that IL is hard TO give II up. II Is a
very easy thing TO sail down stream, the
tide carrying you with great force; but
suppose you turn the boat up stream, Is II
30 easy then 10 row III As long as we yield
10 the evil inclinations in our 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 and
try 10 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
II very difficult Twenty-seven years ago
quit that habit and would as soon dare
10 put my right hand In the fire as once TO
indulge in IT, Whyi Because II was such
q struggle 10 get over IL. Now, lot a
man be advised by his physician to give up
the use Of tobacco. He goes around not
knowing what TO do with himself. He can
not add up line Of figures He can not
sleep nights. II seems as II the world had
turned upside down. He feels his business
Is going TO ruin. Where he was kind and
obliging he is scolding and fretful. The
composure that characterized him has given
way 10 fretful restlessness, and he has be-
come a complete fidget What power is II
that has rolled wave Of woe over the earth
and shaken portent in the heavensi He
has tried TO stop smoking or chewing After
while he says. ~ am going 10 do as /
please. The doctor doesn't understand my
case. Pm going back 10 my old habit.n
And he returns. Every thing assumes It's
hns O.
brighten. The world becomes an attractive
place 10 live in. His children, seeing the
difference, hail the return Of their fathers
genial disposition. What wave Of color has
dashed blue into the sky, and greenness into
the mountain foliage, and the glow Of sap
phire into the sunset What enchantment
has lifted world Of beauty and Joy on his
soulf He has gone back TO tobaccoi
Oh, the fact Is, as we all know In our own
experience, that habit is a tasltmaster; as
long as we obey II, II does not chastlse us;
but let us resist, and we find we are TO be
lashed with scorpion whips and bound with
ship cable, and thrown into the track OF bone
breaking juggernautsl During the war Of
1872 there was ship set on fire just above
Niagara Falls, and then, cut loose from It's,
moorings, itcame on down through the night
and tossed over the falls. Itwas said tohave
been scene brilliant beyond all description.
Well, there are thousands OF men on fire OF
evil habit, coming down through the rapids
and through the awful night Of temptation
toward the eternal plunge. OH how hard
II Is 10 arrest them. God only can arrest
them.
Suppose man after five, or ten, or twen-
ty years Of evil doing resolves TO do rightl
Why, all the forces Of darkness are allied
against him. He can not sleep nights. He
gets down on his knees in the midnight and