The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-08-07
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.

Rev. I. Dewitt Talmage preached SER
mon recently at Lake Maxinkuckee, Ind,
on the subject: "How to Conquer" The
text was "When shall l awakea l will
seek it vet again. prov. xiii. 35. The
eloquent preacher spoke as follows:
With an insight into human nature such
Is no other man ever reached, Solomon, in
nv text, sketches the mental operations Of
one who, having stepped aside from the path
Of rectitude, desires to return. With
wish for something better, he said: "When
shall awakel When shall come out Of
this horrid nightmare of iniquity9" But,
yeized upon by uneradicated habit, and
forced down hill by his passions, he cries
out: II will seek it yet again. will try
t once more"
Our libraries are adorned with an elegant
literature addressed to young men, pointing
out to them all the dangers and perils Of
life-complete maps of the voyage, showing
all the rocks, quicksands, the shoals. But
suppose man has already made shlpwreck;
suppose he is already Off tho track; suppose
he:has already gone astray. How is he to get
backa That is field comparatively un-
touched. propose to address myself to
SUCH There are those in this audience who,
with every passion Of their agonized soul,
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, If
there be any here, come with an earnest
purpose, yet feeling they are beyond epale
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. Lookup! 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
far as God may help me, propose to show
what are the obstacles Of your return, and
then how you are to surmou mt those OBJ
stacles. The first difficulty in the way of
your return is the force of moral gravitation.
Just as there is a natural law which brings
down to the earth any thing you throw into
the air, so there is a corresponding moral
gravitation. In other words, it is easier to
go down than it is to 60 up; it is easier to
| do wrong than it is to do right. Call to mind
the comrades of your boyhood days-some
of them good, some of them bad-which
most affected yous Call to 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 to your memory9 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
the more easily yield? All. my friends, we
have to take but amoment of self inspection
to find out that there is in all our souls a
force Of moral gravitation! But that CRAWL
tation may be resisted. Just as you may
pick up from the earth some thing and hold
1t 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 it is very easy for them
to give up evil habits. / do not believe
them. Here is man given to intoxication.
He knows it is disgracng his family, de-
stroying his property, running him, body,
mind, and soul. If that man, being an in
telligent man, and loving his family, could
easily give up that habit would he not do
500 The fact that he does not give it up
proves that it is hard to give it up. 1t 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 il
so easy then to row its 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 oul
boat in the rapids just above Niagara anG
try to row up stream. Take man given tc
the habit of using tobacco as most of yor
do, and let him resolve to stop and he find:
it very difficult. Twenty. seven years age
quit that habit, and would as soon dare
to put my right hand in the fire as once tt
Indulge in it. Why! Because it was suct
struggle to get over it. Now, let :
man be advised by his physician to give VI
The use of tobacco. He goes around no
knowing what to do with himself. He cal
not add up line Of figures. He can no
sleep nights. 1t seems as If the world hat
turned upside down. He feels his business
is going to ruin. Where he was kind ant
obliging he is scolding and fretful. Tn,
composure that characterized him has givel
way to a fretful restlessness, and he has be
come complete fidget. What power is i
that has rolled wave Of woe over the eartl
and shaken portent in the heavensl H
has tried to stop smoking or chewingl Afte
while he says 81 am going to do as
please. The doctor doesn't understand m,
ease. I'm going back to my old habit.
And he returns Every thing assumes it
usual composure. His business seems I
brighten. The world becomes an attractive
place to live in. His children, seeing tn
Inference, hail the return of their father
genial disposition. What wave Of color ha
dashed blue into the sky, and greenness int
the mountain foliage, and the glow of sap
phire into the sunset! What enchantmen
has lifted world of beauty and Joy on hi
souls He has gone back to tobacco!
Oh, the fact is, as we all know in our ow,
experience, that habit is taskmaster; a
long as we obey it, it does not chastise US
but let us resist, and we find we are to. b
dashed with scorpion whips and bound witt
ship cable and thrown into the track of bon
breaking juggernauts! During the war o
1912 there was ship set on fire Just abov
Niagara Falls, and then, cut loose from it
moorings, 1t came on down through the nigh
and tossed over the falls. 1t was said to hav
been scene brilliant beyond alldescriptior
Well, there are thousands of men on fire O
evil habit, coming down through the rapid
and through the awful night of Temptation
toward the eternal plunge. Oh! how har
it is to arrest them. God only can arres
them.
Suppose man after FIVE, or ten. So tweu
ty years of evil doing, resolves to do right
| al Of 6ov oil n
against him. He can not sleep nights. H
gets down on his knees in the midnight an
cries: God help metz He bites his lips. H