Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1889-05-13

My soul, be on thy guard;
Ten thousand foes arise,
And hosts Of sin are pressing hard
To draw thee from the skies
His subject was ga Poisoned Dinner y
and his text II Kings iv., 40: $50 they
poured out for the men to eat. And il
came to pass, as they we're eating of the
pottsge, that they cried out, and said, o
thou man of God, there is death in the
pot. And they could not eat thereof"
Elisha had gone down TO lecture to the
students in the theological seminary at
Gilgal. He found the students very hun.
cry, as students are apt to be. 1t is very
seldom the world makes large provision
for those who give themselves to intellec-
tual toll. In order that these students
may be prepared to hear what Elisha says,
he first feeds their hunger. He knew very
well it is useless to talk, to preach, to lee
ture with hungry men.
So Elisha, recognizing this common sense
principle, which every Christian ought to
recognize, sends servants out to get food
for these hungry students. They pick up
some good, healthful herbs, but they hap
pen to pick up also some coloquintids, a
bitter, poisonous, deathfpl herb. They
bring all these herbs, they put therI into
the boiling pot, they stir them up, and
then s portion of this food is brought 10
the students and their professors. Seated
at the table, one Of the hungry students
begins Immediately to eat, and he happens
to get hold of some of the coloquintida.
He knew it by the taste. He cries out:
Poison, poison! o, thou man Of God,
there is death in the potr' CONSERVATION
is thrown over the whole group. What a
fortunate thing it was that this student SO
early found the cOlOquintida in the mix
ture at the table, You will by reference
find this story is precisely as have men
toned it,
Well, in our day there are great caldrons
of sin and death. Coloquintida of mighty
temptation is pressed into it. Some dip it
out, and taste, and reject it and live.
Others dip it out, taste it, keep at it and
ana die And il is the business of every
minister of religion and every man who
wishes well to the human race, and who
wants to keep the world back from its fol-
lies and its sufsrings, to cry ont:
''Bewarel poison, poison! Look out for
this csldron! Stand back! Bewarew
Sin has done an awful work in our
world. 1t has gone out through all the
ages, 1t has mixed up a great caldron OF
trouble and suffering and pain, and the
whole race is pOisoned-poisoned in body,
poisoned in mind, poisoned in soul. But
blessed be God that the Gospel Of Jesus
Christ is the antidote and where there
was sin there shAll be pardon, and where
there was suffering there shall be comfort,
and where there was death there shall be
life.
1. In the fret place, remark: that un-
happy and undisciplined homes are the
csldrOns of great iniquity.
Parents harsh and cruel on the one
hand, or on the other hand loose in their
government, wickedly loose in their gov
ernment, are raising up a generation OF
vipers. A home where scoiding and fret
fitness are dominant is blood relation to
the gallows and the peniteutiaryl Petu-
lance is a serpent that crawls mp into the
family nursery sometimes and crushes
everything Why, there are parents who
even make religion disgusting to thelr
children. They scOld them for not loving
Christ. They have an exssperating way
of doing their duty. The house is full
of the war whoop of contention and from
such a place husband and sons 20 out to
die.
Oh, is there a Hsgar leading away Ish-
mael into the desert to be smitten Of the
thirst and parched Of the sand? In the
solemn birth hour voice fell to thee from
the throne of God, saying: Take this
child and nurse it for me, and l will give
thee thy wages" At even time, when
the angels Of God hover over that home,
do they hear the children lisping the name
of Jesus? o traveller for eternity, your
little ones gathered under your robes, are
Won leading them on the right road, or are
YOU taking them out on the dangerous
winding bride path, off which their mex
perienced feet may slip, and up which
comes the bowling of the wolf and the
sound of loosened ledge and tumbling ava
Isucbe9 Blessed is the family altar at
which the children kneel. Blessed is the
cradle in which the Christian mother rocks
the Christian child Blessed is the song
the little ones sing at nightfall when sleep
is closing the eyes and looeening the nsrd
from the toy on the pillow. Blessed Is
that mother whose every heart throb Is
praver for her children's welfare.
The world grows old, and the stars will
cease TO illuminate it, and the waters to
refresh it, and the mountains to guard II,
and the heavens to overspan 1t, and It's
long story Of sin and shame and glory and
trinmnh will soon turn to ashes; but in
fluences that started in the early home
roll on and roll up through all eternity
blooming in all the JOY, waving,in all the
triumph, exulting in all the song, OF
shrinking back into sll the darkness
Father, mother, which way are you lead
ing your children?
III. I remark that another caldron oil IN
ouity is an indolent life. All the rall
trains down the Hudson river yesterday,
all the rail trains on the Pennsylvanlaa
ronte. all the trains on the Long Island
road brought to these cities young men to
beoin commercial life. Some OF them are
here this morning, doubt not. Do you
know what one of your great temptations
is Going to be? 1t is the example Of indo-
lent people in our cities. They are in all
onr cities. They dress better than some
who ara industrious. They have access to
all plsces of amusement-plenty OF money,
and vet idle. They hang around our great
boteis-tbe Fifth Avenue, the Windsor, the
Rrnnswick. the Stuyvesant, the Gilsey
House-ali our beautiful hotels, you hnd
them around there any dsy-men who do
nothing never earn anything, yet well
dressed, having plenty. Why should
Walk Why should you work? Why
drudee and toll in bank and shop and
office, or on the scaffoldipg, or by the an
vii when these men get along so well and
do not work?
Some of them hang around the city halls
of our great cities, toothpick IN their
mouth. waiteng for some crumb to fall
from the oficeholder's table. Some oi
them hapg around the city ball for the
citv van bringing criminals from the station
ho1ses They stand there and glost over
it-really enjoy the disgrace and suffering
of those poor creatures as they get out oi
the CITY van and 90 into the courts.
O the numbers OF people IN these greal
cities who are trying to get their living not
houestlyl And they are mighty tempta'
ton TO the industrious young man VINO
cannot understand it. While these otne,s
have il so easy they have 1t so hard'
Horatius of oldtn time was told that ne
could have Just as much ground as he
oould plow around with yoke of oxen IN
one day. He hooked up the oxen TO the
/ - he ont a varv larUa circle and