The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1891-03-20

STRONG DISCOURSE PREACHED ~
REV. T. De WITT TALMAGE.

seVs ~ S6 WI VNeWN0Gs
Saleful Amuscmcnts the Subject - A
Great Concoursc Prcscnt-The Speak
Or Specifies Amusements That Arr
Harmful and Those That Are Not.
NEW YORK, March 15.-The series of ser
mons DR.. Talmage is preaching in this city
Cities" Is attracting general attention
1t the morning service in Brooklyn and
ct the evening services held under tn,
auspices of The Christian Herald. in thi.
city, the number of persons who come tt
hear the sermons is far larger than either
Of the buildings can accommodate. The
sermon to-day, which is the fourth of the
series, is on "Baleful Amusements." The
tsxt was II Samuel, ii, IA: "Let the young
men now arise and play before u.s."
There are two armies encamped by the
pool of Gideon. The time hangs heavily
on their hands. One army proposes game
Of sword fencing. Nothing could be more
healthful and innocent The other army
accepts the challenge. Twelve men against
twelve men, the sport opens. But some
thing went adversely. Perhaps one of the
swordsmen got an unlucky clip, or in some
way had his ire aroused, and that which
opened in sportfulness ended in violence,
each one taking his contestant by the hair,
and then with the sword thrusting him in
the side so that that which opened in in
nocent fun ended in the massacre of all the
twenty-four sportsmen. Was there ever q
better illustration OF what was true then,
and is true now, that that which is inno-
cant NAV he made deStruCtiVe2
What of a worldly nature is more i'm
portant and strengthening and innocent
than amusement, and yet what has count
ed more victims? have no sympathy with
q straitjacket religion. This is a very
bright world to me, and propose to do all
can to make it bright for others.
YOUTHS sPoRTIvENEss SHOULD NOT BE SUP
PRESSED.
Inever could keep step to dead march.
A book years ago issued says that Chris
For instance, if he comes home at night
weary from his work, and feeling in need
Of recreation, puts on his slippers, and
goes into his garnet and walks lively
round the floor several times there can be
no harm in it. l believe the church of
God has made tremendous mistake in
youth and drive out from men their love
anything in us he implanted this desire.
But instead of providing for this demand
Of our nature, the church of God has, for
the main part, ignored it. AS in riot, the
mayor plants battery at the end of the
street, and has it tired off so that every
thing is cut down that happens to stand in
~, %hn hn1
there are men in the church who plant
their batteries of condemnation and fire
away Unfortunately. Everything is con-
who use the world without abusing it, and
In the natural world God has done every
thing to please and amuse u.s. In poetic
figure we sometimes speak of natural OBJ
jects as being in pain, but it is mere
fancy. Poets say the clouds weep, but
they never yet shed tear; and the winds
sigh, but they never did have any trouble;
and that the stor1ahQwls. but it neX1 1ost
its tehpef. Thd world is rose, and tie
universe a garland.
And am glad to know that in all our
cities there are plenty of places where we
may find elevated. moral entertainment.
But all honest men and good women will
0AxCc Will ulC Ill U1C SUdUCllCAU UldU OuC u
the worst plaques of these cities is corrupt
amusement. Multitudes have gone down
under the blasting influence never to rise.
II we may judge of what is going on in
many of the places of amusement by the
Sodomic pictures on board fences and in
many of the show windows there is not a
much lower depth of profigacy to reach.
At Naples, Italy, they keep such pictures
L. n%o
Those pictures were exhumed from Pom
peii and are not fit for public gaze. If the
effrontery of bad places OF amusement in
hanging out improper advertisements OF
what they are doing night by night grows
worse in the same proportion, in fifty years
New York and Brooklyn will beat not only
Pompeii, but Sodom.
To help stay the plague now raging l
project certain principles by which you
may Judge in regard to any amusement or
recreation, finding out for yourself whether
1t Is right or whether it is wrong.
BY ITS FRUITS KNOW IT.
/ remark in the first place that you can
judge of the moral character of any amuse-
mAht by it's healthful result or by it's bale
full reaction. There are people who seem
made up of hard facts. They are COM
bination of multiplication tables and sta.
tistics. If you show them an exquisite
picture they will begin to discuss the pig
ments involved in the coloring. If you
show them beautiful rose they will sub
NIT it to botanical analysis, which is only
the post-mortem examination of flower.
They have no rebound in their nature.
They never do anything more than smile.
There are no great tides of feeling surging
up from the depths of their soul in billow
after billow of reverberating laughter.
They seem as if nature had built them by
contract and made bungling job of it.
But, blessed be God, there are people in
the world who have bright faces, and
whose life is song, an anthem, pecan Of
of victory. Even their troubles are like
the vines that crawl up the side of a great
tower on the top of which the sunlight
sits, and the soft airs of summer hold per-
petual carnival. They are the people you
like to have come to your house; they are
the people like to have come to my house.
II you but touch the hem of their gar
ments you are healed.
Now it is these exhilarant and sympa-
thetic and warm hearted people that are
most tempted to pernicious amusements.
In proportion as ship is swift it wants a
strong helmsman; in proportion as horse