The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-12-25
TO YOUNG MEN.
DR.. Talmage Talks to Ann Arbor
Collegians.
The Snares That Beset the Pathways oi
Youth-sin's AIluring Dlsguises-The
Bible as shield-Choose the
Right Path.

In a recent sermon preached before
the students of Ann Arbor mich
took his text from Proverbs 1. Il:
''Surely in vain the net is spread in
the sight of any bird He said:
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 Tapping an
invitation to all the fowls of heaven to
settle down there. We retired into a
booth of branches and leaves and
waited After awhile, looking out OF
the door of the booth, we saw a 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 dsrted 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 fowler was very much dis
appointed as we'll as myself. We said
to each other: 'What is the matterP'
and 'why were not these birds
caught?" We went out and examined
the net and by a hutter of a branch
of tree part of the net had been con-
spicuously exposed, and the birds
coming very near had seen their peril
= and darted away. When 1 saw that
| I said to the old fowler. shat reminds
pe 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.
The call bird of sin tempts men on
from point to point and from branch
to branch until they are about to drop
into the net If man finds out in
time that it is the temptation of the
devil, or that evil men are attempting
to capture his soul for time and for
eternity, the man steps back. He
says: 81 am not to be caught in that
way; / 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 subterEaneous
those above ground, those under
ground. If man could see sin as it
is, he would no more embrace il than
he would embrace a leper Sin is
daughter of hell. yet she is garlanded
and robed and trinketed. Her voice is
a warble. Her cheek is the setting
sun. Her forehead is an aurora. She
says to men: Come, walk this path
with me; 1t is thyned and primrosed,
and the air is bewitched with the odors
of the hanging gardens of heaven; the
rivers are rivers of wine, and all you
have to do is to drink them up in
chalices that sparkle with diamond and
amethyst and chrysoprasus. See! 1t
is all bloom and roseate cloud and
heaven"
1 want to point out the insidious
temptations that are assailing more es-
pecially our young men. The only
kind of nature comparatively free from
temptation, so far as l can Judge, is
the cold, hard. stingy, mean tempera-
ment What would Satan do with such
a man if he got him? Satan is not
anxious to get man who, after awhile
may dispute with him the realm of
everlasting meauness.
1t is the generous young man, the
ardent young man, the warm-hearted
young man, the social 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
morning he puts the glass to his eve,
and he sees vessel coming from Aus
tralia laden with gold, or 4 vessel from
the Indies laden with spices He says:
That's our prize; bear down on it"'
Across that unfortunate ship the Crap
pling hooks are thrown. The crew are
blindfolded and are compelled to walk |
the plank. 1t is not the empty vessel,
but the laden merchantmen that is the |
man empty of head, empty of heart, |
empty of life-you want no Y. NJ. C. A. |
TO keep him safe; he is safe. He will |
not gamb BILE unless it is with some body |
else's stakes. He will not break the |
Sabbath unless some body else pays the |
horse hire. He will not drink unless |
some one else treats him. He will |
hang around the bar hour after hour |
waiting for some generous young man
to come in. The generous young man
comes in and accosts him and saws:
well, will you have drink with me
to-day" The man, as though it were
g sudden thing for him, says: well,
well, if you insist on it l will will"
Too mean to go to perdition unless
somebody else pays his expenses? For
such young men we will not fight We
would no more contend for them than
Tartary and Ethiopia would fight as to
who should have the great Sahara
desert, But for those young men who
are buoyant and enthusiastic, those
who are determined to do something
for time and for eternity-for them we
will fight
The first class of temptations that
young man is led on by the
skeptic. He will not admit that he is
an infidel or atheist Oh, no! he is
free ''thinker;" he is one of your lib
eral" men; he is free and easy in re-
ligion. o! how liberal he is; he is so
''liberal" that he will give away his
Bible; he is so Liberal" that he will
give away the throne of eternal justice;
be is so liberal that he would be
willing to give God out of the universe;
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
of friends he has been