The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-04-27
THE SIN OF INCIDENCE.
DR.. Talmage breaches a Practical
Sermon to Young People.
The Causes of Laziness and Its Evil Re-
suits--How 1t Endangers the Soul
"Go to the Ant, Thou SIuggard;
Consider Her Ways and
be Wise."

! At the Brooklyn tabernacle last Sun
day Rev. DIR. Talmage preached SER
mon on practical topic, giving shrewd
value to his hearers, especially to the
young people. His text was, Prov. xii.
27: "The slothful man roasteth not that
which he took in hunting" The SER
mon follows: ,e
David, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel,
and Micah and Solomon of the text
showed that sometime they had been
out on hunting expedition Spears,
lances, swords and nets were employed
in this service. A deep pitfall would be
digged. In the center of it there was
some raised ground with pole on
which lamb would be fastened, and
the wild beast not seeing the pitfall,
but only seeing the lamb, would plunge
for its prey and dash down, itself cap
tured. Birds wer0 caught in gins or
pierced with arrows. The hunters in
olden time had two missions, one to
clear the land of ferocious beasts and
the other to obtain meat for themselves
and their families The occupation and
habit Of hunters are favorite Bible
simile. David said he was hunted by
his enemy ike q partridge upon the
mountain. My text is hunting scene.
A sportsman arrayed in q garb appro-
: pirate to the wild chase let slip the
bloodthirsty hounds from their ken
nels, and mounting his feet horse with
halloo and the yell Of the greyhound
pack, they are off and away, through
brake and dell, over marsh and moor,
across chasms where misstep would
hurl horse and rider TO death, plunging
into mire up to the launches or into
swift streams up to the bit, till the
game is tracked by dripping foam and
blood, and the antlers crack on the
rocks, and the hunter has just time to
be in at the death. Yet, after all the
haste and peril Of the chase, my text
REPRESENTS this sportsman as being too
indolent to dress the game and pepare
II for food. He let's 1t lie in the door
yard OF his home and become a portion
for vermin and beaks Of prey. Thus
by one master stroke, Solomon gives a
picture of lazfness, when he says: "The
Blothful man roasteth not that which
he took in hunting" The most Of hunt
ers have the game they shot or en-
trapped cooked the same evening or the
next day, but not so with this laggard
Of the text. Too lazy to rip off the hide
Too lazy to lxindle the fire, and put the
gridiron on the Goals.
The first picture ever bought was an
engraving of ofThorwaldsen's Autumn" "
The clusters of grapes are ripe on the
vine Of the homestead, and the returned
hounds, painting from the chase, are ly-
ing on the door sill, and the hunter Is
unshouldering the game, while the
housewife is about to take portion OF
II and prepare IL for the evening meal.
Unlike the person OF the text, she was
enough industrious to roast that which
had been taken In hunting. But the
world has had many a specimen since
Solomon's time Of those whose lassi-
tude and improvidence and absurditv
were depicted in my text. The most Of
those vino have made dead failure Of
life can look back and see time when
great opportunity opened hut they
did not know It. They were not as wise
as George Stephenson. "the father Of
railways" !" who, when at sixteen years
of age he received an appointment 10
work at pumping engine for twelve
shillings a week, cried out: ''Now, I
am n made man for life" God gives 10
most men at least one good opportunity.
A great Grecian general was
met by a group OF beggars, and
he said TO them: 'If you want
beasts TO plow your land ! will lend
you some. II YOU want land will give
YOU some. II you want seed TO SOW
your land / will see that you get Il. But
/ will encourage none In idleness." So.
God gives TO most people an opportuni-
Nv of extrication from depressed circum.
stances. AS II TO create in us a hatred
for Incidence. God has made those ami.
mails which are sluggish 10 appear loath.
some In our ewes. while those which are
feet and active He has clothed with at
tractiyeness. The tortoise, the sloth.
the snail. the crocodile. repel us. while
the deer and the gazelle are as pleasing
as they are feet. and from, the swift
wings Of innumerable birds God has
SHARED no purple or rold or let or Grim.
son or snowy whiteness Besides al
this the Bible is constantly assaultinc
the vice of laziness Solomon seems e
order the idler ont of his sight as being
,a a, -. ix..;. i :.