The Brookhaven leader., 1891-12-24
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Discourse to Young Men Deliv-
cred at Ann Arbor, Mich.
The InsIdious Temptations that Assail
Young Mcn-Lies In Business One
of the Most Deadly
Pitfalls.

before an immense congregation at Ann
Arbor, Mich, taking for his text:
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight Of
any bird.-Proverbs l.. IL.
Early in the morning went out with
a fowler to catch wild pigeons. We
FASTENED through the mountain gorge
and into the forest We spread out the
net, and covered up the edges of it as
well as we could. We arranged the call
bird, its feet fast, and its wings flap
ping in invitation to all fowls of heav-
en- to settle down there. We retired
into n booth of branches and leaves and
waited. After awhile, looking out of
the door of the booth, We saw flock
of birds in the sky. They came nearer
and nearer, and after awhile were
about to swoop into the net, when sud-
denly they darted away. Again we
waited. After awhile we saw another
flock of birds. They came nearer
and nearer, until just at the
moment when they were about
to swoop they darted away. The fowl
err was very much disappointed, as well
as myself. We said to each other:
What is the matter?" and "Why were
not these birds caught?" We went out
and examined the net, and by flutter
of a branch of tree part of the net had
been conspicuously exposed, and the
birds coming very |ar had seen their
peril and darted away. When saw
that, said to the old fowler: THAT
reminds me of passage of Scripture:
Surely in vain is the net spread in the
-. 1. I'll -,
my text stands for temptation.
The call bird of sin tempts men on
from point to point and from branch to
branch until they are about to drop in
to the net. If n man finds out in time
that it is the temptation of the devil, or
that evil men are attempting to cap
turc his soul for time and eternity,
the man steps back. He says: 81 am
not to be caught in that way; l see
what you are about; surely in vain is
the net spread in the sight of any
bird"
There are two classes of temptations
the superficial and the subterraneous
those above ground, those under
ground. If a man could see sin as it is
he would no more embrace it than he
would embrace lepcr. Sin is daugh-
ter of hell, yet she is garlanded and
robed and trinketed. Her voice is a
MARBLE. Her check is the setting sun.
Here forehead is an aurora She says
to men: Come, walk this path with
me; it is thymed and primrosed, and
the air is bewitched with the odors of
Che hanging gardens of Heaven; the
rivers are rivers of wine, and all you
have to do is to drink them up in chal-
ices that sparkle with diamond and
amethyst and chrysoprasus. See! 1t
Is all bloom and roseate cloud and
Heaven" Oh! my friends, if for one
moment the choiring of all these con-
certed voices of sin could be hushed,
we should see the orchestra of the pit
with hot breath blowing through fiery
flute, and the skeleton arms on drums
of thunder and darkness beating the
chorus: The end thereof is death"
want to point out the insidious
temptations that are assailing more
especially our young men. The only
kind OF nature comparatively free from
temptation, so far as can judge, is the
cold hard, stingy, mean temperament.
What would Satan do with such man
if he got him? Satan is not anxious to
get man who, after awhile, may dis
pute with him the realm of everlasting
meanness. 1t is the generous youSg
man, the ardent young man, the warm
hearted young man, that is in especial
peril. A pirate goes out on the sea,
and one bright morning he puts the
glass to his eye and looks off, and sees
an empty vessel floating from port to
port. He says: Never mind; that's
no prize for u.s." But the same morn
ing he puts the glass to his eye, and he
sees a vessel coming from Australia
laden with gold, or vessel from the
Indies laden with spieces He says:
That's our prize; bear down on it. :"
Across the unfortunate ship the Crap
pling-hooks are thrown. The crew are
blindfolded and compelled to walk the
plank. 1t is not the empty vessel, but
the laden merchantmen that is the
temptation to the pirate. And young
man empty of head, empty of heart,
empty of life-you want no Young
Mems Christian Association to keep
him safe; he is safe. He will not gam
BILE unless it is with somebody else's
stakes. He will not break the Sabbath
unless somebody else pays the horse
hire. He will not drink unless some
one else treats him. He will hang
around the bar hour after hour, wait
ing for some generous young man to
come in. The generous young man
comes in and accosts him and says:
"Well, will you have drink with me
to-day?" The man, as though it were
a sudden thing for him, says: well,
well, if you insist on it will will"
The first class of temptations that as
saults a young man is led on by the
skeptic. He will not admit that he is
an middleton atheist. Oh, no! he is a
'free-thinker;" he is one of your Glib
eral" men; he is free and easy in reli-
gion. Oh! how liberal he is, he is so
'liberal" that he will give away his
Bible; he is so."liberar' that he will
give away the throne of eternal justice;
he is SO liberal" that he would be
willing to give God out of the univere;
he is so liberal" that he would give
up his own soul and the souls of all his
friends. Now, what more could you
ask in the way of liberality? The vic
tim of this skeptic has probably just
come from the country. Through the
intervention of friends he has been
placed in a shop. On Saturday the
skeptic says to him. well. what are