The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-17
Qua SUNDAY COLUMN.
Original and Otherwise, Pre-
pared by Mark.
NO. III.

ouHuuy' hoIWltISI anuluS tue pdu COlt-
dition of tho streets and the low sta to
of the mercury. But some were absent
and they were hard pushed to conjure
up an excuse for staying at home; but
there was one hard by who is always
| ready to help delinquents freme excuses
for neglect of duty.
Tue enemy OF souls and the destroyer
of all good is omnipresent. He is up
early every Sunday morning and visits
every home and Influences, or tries to
influence, every heart to stay away from
the house of the Lord. He succeeds in
many instances 1t is an easy task to
influence some church members to stay
away from church. Some professors Of
religion have neglected the house OF the
Lord so long that they have gotten
altogether out of the hsbit,of going to
chSrch. and when Satan comes around
on Sunday mornings, or .prayer-meeting
nights, to find out what they are going
to do, they decide him at once, and
tell him that it wasn'e.even any ,use for
him to call, that they hadn't been to
church for year and certainly don't
propose to go in such weather as this.
'Bravol" says the devil, you'll do"
And then ne adds "Ifn could get every
body to do as you do E,could soon break
up the churches and the Sunday-se hools
toe" but alas" he seys, II cannot
fasten upon many of the church saints
in Roanoke the fatal habit of neglect.
They have got the idea from an old
book that some cross. bearing must be
done and that church member
must present himself as living sacri-
fice' to their God and Saviour, and I
stand no chance to become their master
But you. you have learned how to neg
1T and with easy conscience you can
neglect to go to church, neglect the
neglect the prayer meet
ing. neglect private devotion, neglect
the reading OF the Bible, neglect the
family altar, neglect to give to the
missio nary cause--in short, you have
learned to neglect all church worlk-all
Christian duties, and are but barren |
fig tree in the vineyard of the Lord,
but you are bearing fruit for my kiRg. |
dom, and you shall have your reward" |
Oh, the peril and ruin of neglect. |
Neglect will ruin any soul-anY man
a man who is in business need not COM
NIT forgery or robbery to ruin himself: |
he has only to neglect his business and |
his ruin is certain. A man who |
is lying on bed of sickness
need not cut his throat to destroy him
self; he las only to neglect the means
Of restoration and he will be ruined. A
man floating in skiff above the Nj
agara need not NOV an oar or make an
effort to destroy himself; he has only to
neglect using the oar at the proper time
and he will certainly be carried over
the cataract. Most of the calamities of
life are caused by neglect. Thomson
wrote poem entitled 1.-The Castle of
ndOlnn0n - 10 too
dreamy land where every sense is
stepped in the most luxurious though
enervating delights. The lord of tho
castle was powerful enchanter, who.
by his arts enticed thoughtless travellers
within his gate, that he might destroy
their strength and ruin their hopes
by careless round of voluptuous pleas.
lres, and easy going non-conformity to
u! the claims of God and Christianity.
rhero are May church members In
roanoke who hayo been enticed within
ne gate of the Castle Incidence and
and it seems that the keeper
u THIS castle has locked them in till
10 transfers them TO their final homo
he pit where the wages OF sin md
piritual sloth are bestowed. 0 for
ONE power to arouse the INDECENT
hurch saints in Roanoke end quicken
nd compel them to break out arr.
reak away from the Castle Of Incidence
ho Ner ,.eou and begin to be live, lib
raj, laborious, loving church embers.
MY droway powers why sleep yc SO,
Nothing hnis half iaIF Thy by" work york; to do,
Yet nothings half so dull.
"The little aIts for ono small grain
labor and tug and strive;
Yet we who have heaven to obtain,
How negligent we live"
Begin to-day to live for Christ and
MS cause. You are going to lie down
and die soon and then you will want
preacher and funeral. The preacher,
IL he is faithful, and has any regard for
appropriateness in text, sermon and
hymn, will select the parable of the
fruitiess fig tree as q Scripture LESSEN to
read on the occasion, buhe Is. go. He
will find his text in Mark 11:l3. Moth
ing but leaves" The preacher will go
on TIC say, this text explains itself and
illustrates the life and character of the |
dead church member. The deceased |
was a member of --- church, but !
that was all The departed lived in
the castle OF Incidence and reclined
upon the bed of spiritual sloth, and all
that the Lord or tho church could find
on this tree during the waole time the
deceased was member of
church was nothing but leaves" This
church member did not die a happv
death.
There was no brightness of the eve,
no inward sustaining hope, no conscious
ness of duty performed. Remorse as a
Kissing serpent stung and disturbed the
dying hour of this church member. No
hopeful expression escaped the lips of
the deceased during the last illness
Now and then there were some inco-