Telegram-herald., 1890-05-05
TO THE YOUNG MEN
Rev. L. H. King Preached a Per
sonsl Discourse 10 Them.
THE SHARES ASD PITFALLS OF LIFE
Hhat They are &ud hOs - Asoid Ihesa
a Tllasls Topic Mel ana Forei-
~ Preseated-Ths Ssrlnoa
KePeAtea ~ Request

The following sermon MAS preached
yeslerday by the Rev. r. Ii Kmg of
tie Aules NJ. L. church. II lad al
ready been delivered by that gentleman
and vas repeated By special request.
Il IS intended for the special behoof of
young men.
Text Nherewithsl shall Young
man cleanse his wayg By taking heed
thereto according 10 my word .''-
Psalms elxlx, =.
THIS expression OF the Psalmlst Is a
direct implication that the way OF the
Young man IS beset With peculiar dan
gers.
Experience, also, teaches that il is IN
deed a per!lous path IN which the young
man walks.
The man Who lives 20 be twenty years
OF age and has preserved his virtue and
self-respect, Is fully entitled 10 the
name OF "herO." lie has, by that time,
had many a batlle-hOtly contested
with the "lusts OF the flesh" aud the
"prde of life" AT that age, be has
learned the truth OF the prOverb, "He
that j. slow tO anger j. better than the
mighty, and he that ruleth ms spirit,
/ than ne that taketh city" lie has
encountered foes within and enemies
without. enemies crafty, powerful, IN
| s.di0us, dey.lsh. IL, through ali the
contest. he has come of conQueror, we
| look upon MIN, despite his scars, with
| profound respect.
But the truth is, the average young
I u 40 9 -
/ taint Of sn. The chances are, that IN
some hoty contested field, ne has
/ YIELDED the point and surrendered to
/ Satan. Thus the question Of this text
/ is pertinent; "Nherewithal shall 4
young man cleanse his wsy2" How
/ shall ne rd himself of the STAN OF sin?
/ How shall he escape the contamination
I of the evil influences around MN? The
answer i at hand "By taking heed
/ thereto according 10 thy word"
"Forewarned is f0rearmed," says the
/ adage; and truly if we would escape
the perils that besct our pathway, We
must take heed" to know and under
| stand them.
We will consider some Of the enemies
/ that lurk in the way of young men:
/. The love OF fun. A wrong view
! Of what constitutes pleasure IS a preva-
lent and widespread cause Of danger.
In the exuberance of youth, one IS IN
clned to activity. His animal nature
calls loudly upon him, and, not having
! learned that spirit should always domI-
nate the lower appettes and lusts Of
| the flesh, he imaglnes that true pleas
ure hes IN catering TO every call OF his
| physical nature. This one mistake
leads HIM into serious danger. He
soon lives for fun. The hours of study
are filled with longngs for some fun
which he is planning and, in short, fun
has become the aim of life TO HIM.
would not be understood that fun is al
ways evil, but il is dangerous 70 con-
fuse pleasure with fun; and unless
this mistaken view is early put away,
the young mans life drifts rapidly to-
ward moral failure.
2. Evil associates. Solomon, in his
Proverbs, says: II discovered among
youths a young man void of under
standing" and then proceeds to draw a
| picture of this young mans downfall
through the influence OF evil associates.
EVIL communications corrupt good
manners" IS the inspired warning of
Paul to the Corinthlan Christians, and
/ experience has taught us the truth of
the adage. The yOuDg are naturally
! yielding. We may try TO persuade
! ourselves that we are not easily nfiu-
enced, but we are. The young man
imagines he can mingle with evil and
not be contaminated, but il is a delu-
SION of the evil one-he certainly falls.
1t IS true, if startling, that one-half
of the young men who gam distinction
for evil ways and form habits that arc
| degrading, do so solely because of evil
associates. One young man with evil
habits will come into previously
| moral community, and in a few months
corrupt a score who will be worse than
he.
Sabbath desecration, tipping. card.
playing and gambling result almost
| exclusively from evil associations.
Vice always seeks 10 hide itself, and
| the worse the vice the more secret
il is. 1t has struck me as a note
worthy fact, that during the last ten
| years, gong into all sorts Of homes and
| business places, | have never seen q
pack of ordinary playing cards lying
| upon center table or counter. By al
| most all persons whether religious or not
cards are held IN bad taste. "They are
the gamblers Tools" Is trIte saying
| They are the table ornaments of "a
loon and dive and brothel. The fash.
| ionsblc world took them up for time
| and progressive euchre" was "sOcle
tvs fad" 1t was soon discarded and
| Society sought for something new.
Let u now be said that the pets Of 60
ciety are by DO means secure from the
dangers which threaten the ordinary
young man.
IN that gambling room there was q
brawl. man was shot dead. He
was one of sOciety's darlings. Thai
man who plunged into the river and
was taken out dead. was one Of theff
pets, but gambling ruined him; and h'
sought 70 hide his disgrace n a sul
cide's grave.
Yes. society. 20 called. hss paved lh'
way TO death and he'll for many a poo
fellow who did not seek 70 cleanse hl'
way by taking heed thereto.
3. The open saloon No more form
dsble enemy than this sts. ln ever
vi age and city - flaming sgns star
respectsble people n the faCe and POI
shed counters. Cut-glass decanters. snf
soclal surroundings tempt the Noln.
man tg nIe 10 q. As YOU walk tie sUeels
. young man. teuare, When invited Z
enter t.e saloon boWsrei Take heed =
ylr Ta Arv Young nan, p
strong FL YOU and win pr0spf cts az rat
-2 has fngn1 ths threshold II th
loon enc trsi sep in the path e rom
F s.o1 word svs nst the rro
et9r' ol sa a7rns The few 7 know.
- nof l1fEe, n1t rsise solemn uCt
- VAN ~ tre young. sgs insf IRE o
--re--o---s d 81 L L.. -a-l-rr