Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-14
SWINDLED INTO SIN.
The lnsidious Snares Set for Young
Men by Their Tempters.
MEAN FOLK PROOF AGAINST THEM.
II Is the Bright, Warm-Eearted Man Who
Is COaxed Into Ruin.
MEAN FOLK PROOF AGAINST THEM.
TALNAGTS SERMON TO THE STUDENTS

NHiGlN III NdiH net Is spftdu III lllt
sight of any bird
Early in the morning l went out with O
fowler to catch wild pigeons. We hasteneo
through the mountain gorge and into the
forest. We spread out the net and covered
up the edges oc ii as well we could. We
arranged the call-bird, its feet fast anc its
wings happing in invitation to all fowls Of
heaven 10 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 fiuck of bird. in the sky
They came nearer and nearer, and after q
while were about to swoop into the net
whcr suddenly they darted away. Again
We waited. After while we saw another
flock OF birds They came nearer and nearer
until just at tie moment when they were
about to sw1op they darted away.
The fowler was very much disappointed
as well as myself We said to each other
What Is the matter ?" and 'ewhy were no,
these bir dis caughte' We went out and ex-
anined the net, ana by a fiutter of branch
of o tree part of the net had been conspicu.
ouSly exposed and the birds coming very
near had seen their peril and darted away.
When l saw that / said to the old fowler.
"That reminds me of passage of Scripture:
surely in vain is the net spread in the sight
Of any bird Now the net in my text
stands for temptation.
Temptations Over and Under Ground.
There are two classes OF temptations-the
superficial and the subterraneous-those
above ground, those under ground. II a man
could see sin as it is he would 10 more EN-
brace il than he would embrace a leper. Sin
is daughter of hell, yet she is garlanded
and robcd and trinketed.
/ want 10 Point ont the insidious tempta-
tions that are assailing more especially our
young men. The only kind of nature COM
psratively free from temptation, so far as 1
can judge, is tie cold, hard. stingv, mean
tannerament. What would Satan do with
such man if he got him? Satan is not
anxious 10 get q man who after while, may
dispute with him the realm of everla aSting
meannesS. 1t is the generous young man,
the ardent Young man, the warm-hearted
Young man. the social young man, that is in
especial peril.
young man empty of head. empty of
heart, empty of lifc-you want no Young
Mems Christian Association to keep him
safe; he is safe. He will not gamble unless
il Is with somebody eise'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.
The first class Of temptations that assaults
a Young man is led on by the slleptic. He
viii not admit that he is an infidel or athe-
lSt oh. no, be is a 'iree-thinEer:' he is one
81. your liberal men: he is free and easy in
rclI2lon. .. how liberal he is; he is so 'lib-
eral' that he Will give away his Bible.
Ioung Men Can't Bear Ridicule.
There is only here and there young man
wd0 can endure this artillery of scorn. They
are giving up their Bibles. The light of ma
ture, They have the light of nature in
Ch:na, tnev have it in Hindostan, they have
il in Ceylon. Flowers there. stars there,
waters there winds there: but no civiliza-
tion, no homes, no happiness. Lancets to
cut and JnGCernauts to fall under, and
hooks to swing ON; but no happiness.
tell YOU. my Young brother, we have to
take religion OF some kind. We have to
choose between fOur or five. Shall it be the
Koran OF the Mobammedan, the Shaster
~ the Hindoo, or the Zendavesta of the
Persian, OF the Confucius writings of the
Chinese, or the Holy Scriptures? Take what
Rihle
AK skeptics what irfidelity has ever done
to lift the Ls00,t GJ,O09 of the race out of bar
bGIiSIn. ASZ then, when infldelity ever in
stituied 4 sanitary commission: and, before
you leave tleir society once and forever.
tell them that they have lnsulted the
memory of your Christian father and spit
unon the dcRt..Ned of your mother and
with swine's snort rooted up the grave of
your sister who died believing in the Lord
Jesus.
Young man, hold on to your Bible 1t is
the best book vou ever owned. 1t will tell
You how to dress, how to bargain. how to
walk, how 10 act, how to live, how to die.
The second class OF insidious temptations
thar comes upon our young men is led on by
establishment Is Il school, In nine cases out
OF ren tie principles of the employer be-
come the principles of the employee.
where Young Men Are Taught Fraud
There are hundreds of commercial estab-
lishments in our great cities which are
educating class of young men who will be
tle honor Of the land. and there are other
embellishments which are educating Young
men 20 be norhing but sharpers What
Chance is there for a young man who was
taught in an establishments that if is right
90 3tc. If II is smart. and that a French label
Is ell thar Is necessary to make a thing
French. and tila- you ought always to be
honest when it pays, and that it is wrong to
steal unless you do il well? Suppose, now
yuHnE maa just starting in life enters a
place Cf that kind where there are ten
young men, all drilled in the infamous
practices OF the establishment. He is ready
to be taught. The young man has no theory
Of commercial ethics. Where is he to get
h:s theory? lie Will get the theory from his
EMPLOYERS.
one morning the employer comes to the
establishment. He goes into his counting
room and throws up his hands and shouts:
why, the safe has been robbedr' What is
the matter? Nothing, nothing; only the
clerk who has been practicing a good while
on customers is practicing a little on the
employer No new principle introduced in
70 hat establishment. 1t is poor rule that
will not y orll both ways. You must never
steal unless you can do it well. He did it
undertake to say that the employer is
responsible for all the iniquities of mis-
clerks, and all the iniquities Of those who are
are chrrn OF these clerks, down to the tenth
genera ion, if those employers inculcated in
iquitous and damnins principles.
Good Principles Pay Their Possessors.
In Philadelphia, in drug shop, a young
man said to his employer: q want to please
you. really, and am willing to sell medi-
cincs on Sunday; but 1 can't sell this patent
sloe backing on Sunday" "Wen," said the
head man, you will have to do it, or else
you will have to go away" The young mau
said: y can't Go il; am willing to sell med
icincs, but not shoe backing" well, then,
20, 60 now The young man went away.
The Lord looked after him. The hundreds
or thousands of dollars he won in this world
were the smallest part of his fortune. God
huuo-ed him. BY the course he took he
saved his soul as well as mis- fortunes in the
future.
Young men, it is safe to do right. There
are young mea in this house to-day who
der this storm of temptation, are striking
dCeper and deeper their roots, and spreading
out broader their branches. They are Dan
ieis in Babylon, they are Josephs in the
Egyptian court-
There is a mistake we make about Young
men. We put them I'm two classes: the one
moral are safe. The dissolute cannot be re-
claimed. ] deny both propositions. The
moral are not safe unless they nave laid hold
Of God, and the dissolute may be reclaimed.
] suppose there are selfrighteous men in
this house who feel no need of God. and they
viii 90 out in the world and they will be
tempted. and they will go down, down,
down. until some night you will see them GO
ing home hooting, raying, shouting bias
phemy.
The PeriIs of Young Brides.
They are going home to their mother, GO