Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-08-01
SUNDAYS SERMON.
ovr OF REV. DIR. TALMAGE'S
STERLING DIsCOURSES.
snniect: 'How TO Conquer" preach
cd at Lake Maxinkuckee. Ind


:. other man ever reached, Solomon, in my
~ ~ sketches the mental operations of one
sho having stepped aside from the path OF
's..stlde. desires to return. With wish for
Iss..ssthine better, he said: 'sWhen shall ]
ss.rstes When shall come out of this horrid
l,.btmare of iniquityg' But, seized upon.by
mssrsdicted habit, and forced down hill by
~ PASSIONS he cries out: II will seek it yet
sin will try it once more.o
's 0ur libraries are adorned with an elegant
Htsrattlre addressed to young men, pointing
ant 10 them all the dangers and perils of life
COMPLETE maps of the voyage. showing all
~ rocks the auicksands, the shoals. But
',nnose a man has already made shipwreck:
s',prose he is already off the track; suppose
y has already gone astray. How is he to
rst hack? That is field comparatively un.
,souched. propose u address myself to such.
mere are those in this audience who, with
oTsrv passion of their agonized soul, are
rssdy to hear such a discussion. They com
rsra themselves with what they were ten
Years ago, and cry out from the bondage in
which they are incarcerated. Now, If there
h any here, come with an earnest
purpose, yet feeling they are beyond
H. male of Christian sympathy and that the
ssrmon can hardly be expected to address
ben, then, at this moment, give them my
,igbt hand. and call them brother Look
M There is glorious and triumphant hope
i1r YOU vet / sound the trumpet of Gospel
Ssiyerance. The church is ready to spread
sbanouet at your return, and the hierarchs
II heaven to fall into line of hammered pro
csSion at the news of your emancipation
81 far as God may help me, propose to
show what are the obstacles of your return,
,nd then how you are to surmount those
Obstacles The first difficulty in the way OF
.-tf ~
INST as there is a natural law which brings
Dawn to the earth anything you throw into the
IN 50 there is a corresponding moral gravi-
tahou. In other words. it is easier TO 90
down than it is to go up; it is easier to do
wrong than it is to do right: Cali TO mind
Ae comrades Of your boyhood days
sme Of them good, some of them bad
which most affected your Call to mind the
anecdotes that you have heard in the last
1--WE or ten years-some OF them are pure
and some of them impure. Which the
more easily sticks to your memory
During the years of your life you have
formed certain courses of condnct-some OF
them good, some of them bad. To which
style Of habit did you the more easily
Nsdi All, my friends, we have TO take but
, moment Of self-inspection 10 find out
that there is in all our souls force of
moral gravitationl But that gravitation
NAV be resisted Just as you may pick up
from the earth something and hold it in your
hand toward heaven, Just so, by the power
oiGodls grace, soul fallen may be lifted
bvard peace, toward pardon, toward heaven.
Force Of moral gravitation in every one Of
Us butpower in Gods grace to overcome that
trce of moral gravItation.
The next thing in the way of your return
the power of evil habit. l know there are
thar. TO- rfxr
I'd evil habits. / do not believe them Here
ka man given to intoxication. He knows ii
kdisgracing his family, destroying his prop
ry, running him, body, mind and soul.
4 that man, being an intelligent man,
and loving his family, could easily
1--WE up that habit would he
Dot do sol The fact that he does not give
tup proves that it is hard TO give it up 1t
ia very easy thing to sail down stream, the
tide carrying you with great force; but sup
pose you turn the boat up stream, is it so easy
hen to row it, As long as we yield to 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
he rapids just above Niagara, and try to
row up stream. Take a man given to the
habit Of using tobacco, as most Of you do,
and let him resolve TO stop, and he finds It
very difficult. Twenty-seven years ago quit
that habit, and | would as soon dare to put
ny right hand in the fire as once to indulge
it. Whyg Because it was such a
terrific struggle to get over il. Now,
1t man be advised by his physi-
can 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. IL seems
If the world had turned upside down. be
feng HE hrtcinace frpfnrr tn, rf1ln M here lie
vas kind and obiging he is scolding and
tetful The composure that characterized
him has given way to a fretful restlessness,
md be has become complete tidget. What
power is it that has rolled q wave OF woe
over the earth and shaken a portent in the
heavensg He has tried to stop smoking or
aeWing After while he says, II am going
b do as please The doctor doesn't under
handmy case. Pm going back TO my old
habit" And he returns Everything assumes
Z usual composIIre. His business seems to
brighten, the world becomes an attractive
Place to live in. His children, seeing the
difference hail the return of their
nthers genial disposition. What wave
dcoor has dashed blue into the sky, and
reenness into the mountain foliage, and the
gov Of sapphire into the sunset What en-
Aantment has lifted a world of beauty and
~ on his soul' He has gone back to to-
hccol
o., the fact is, as we all know in our own
aperience, that habit is a taslxmaster. as
pag as we obey it it does not chastlse US,
oat let US resist and we find we are 70 oe
sshed with scorpion whips and bound with
UP cable, and thrown into the track Oh
gnsbreaking Juggernautsi During the war
y lel2 there was ship set on fire Just above
niagara Falls, and then, cut loose from Us
mornings it came on down through the nlgnt
va tossed over the falls 1t was said 10 nave
een scene brilliant beyond all description:
vel, there are thousands Of men on ire OF
ssl habit coming down through the rapids
na through the awful night Of Temptation
ward the eternal plunge. OH how hard IL
2 arrest them God only can arrest them
Suppose man after five, or ten, or twenty
yalsof evil doing, resolves to do rights " ny,
y me forces Of darkness are allied against
UNI He cannot sleep nights he gets down
z MS knees in the midnight and cries. TOD
aeip meE He bites his lip. He grinds ms
.seih He clenches his fist in his determine
eon to keep his purpose He dare not look
y NE bottles in the window Of a wine store
\ was one long bitter, exhaustive, hand 20
aand light, with infamed. tantalizlng ana
.sfcleSs habit When he thinks he IS en-
sslely Tree, the old inclinations pounce upon
~. w Ike pack of hounds with their muzzles
seAllng away at the TANKS Of one poor rem
-. In Paris there is a sculptured repre-
;;'l.siion Of Bacchus, the god of revelry. nc
sridilg on a panther at full leap Oh no"
sgesnvel Let every one who Is speeding