The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1894-06-21
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE,s SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Another Chance.o

/
toward the north. in the place where the
tree falleth there IL shall be. ."-Ecclesiastes es
H., 8.
There is q lowering hope in the minds ot
a vast multitude that there will bs an on
! portunity In the next world TO correct the
mistakes OF this that II wa do make COM
plete shipwreck OF our earthly life II will be
on shore, up which we may walk 10 n pal
ace that, as defendant may lose his case
in the circuit court and carry Il up to the SUI
preme court or court Of chancery and get n
reversal OF judgment in his behalf. all the
costs being thrown over on the other partv
40, IL we fail In the earthlytrial we NAV In
the higher jurisdiction OF eternity have the
judgment OF the lower court set aside. all
me costs remitted. aud we may be victorious
defendants forever Ny object In this SER
mon Is TO show that common sense ms we'll
as my text declares that such nm expectation
is chimerical. You say that the impenitent
man, having got iuto the next world and
seeing the disaster. will. as result OF that
disaster. turn. tho pain the cause Of his
reformation. But YOU can find 10000 In
stances In this world Of men who have done
wrong, and distress overlook them sud
denly. Did the distress heal them? No
they went right on.
That man was flung Of dissipations. "You
must stop drinking said the doctor, "and
quit the fast ltfe you are leading or IL will
I u''AtpN you. Inc patient suffers nnrONysm
alter paroNysm, but under skilfnl medical
treatment he begins TO sit up. begins to walk
about the room, begins TO 10 to business,
And. 10. he goes back 10 the same grog-shop
Tor his morning dram. and his evening dram.
and the drains between Flat down again?
Same doctor same physical anguish Same
medical warning Now the illness ia mora
protractel. the liver is moie stubborn. the
stomach more irritable. and the digestive or
gans are more rebellious. But after a while
he s out again. goes back 10 the dramshops
and goes the same round OF sacrilege against
his physical health.
He sees that his downward course Is ruin
Ing his household that his life is perpei-
ual perjury against his marriage VOW that
that broken hearted woman is so unlike the
hopeful young wife whom he married that
her old schoolmates do not recognize her /;
that his sons are 10 be taunted for lifetime
by the fathers drunkenness that the daugh-
ters are TO pass into life under the scarinca-
tion OF disreputable ancestor. lie Is
drinking up their happiness. their prospects
Tor this lie, and perhaps forthe life TO come.
Sometimes an appreciation OF what he is do
Ing comes upon him. His nervous system is
oil n-tangle. From crown OF head to sole Of
foot he is one aching, raspiny, crucifying.
damning torture. Where is he2 In hell on
earth. Does II reform him?
After awhile he has delrium tremens with
whole jungle OF kissing reptiles let out on
his pillow, and his screams horri.y the
neighbors az he dashss out OF his bed, cry
Ing, Take these things Off me r' As he sits
pale and convIlescent the doctor saws q.
NOW, want TO have plain talk with yon,
my dear fellow. The next attack OF this
kind you have you will be beyond all medi-
cal skill. and you will die" He gets better
and goes forth into the same fight again
| This time medicine takes no effect Consul
tatlon oil physicians agree in saying there Is
no hope. Death ends the scene
That process Of inebriation. warning and
dissolution Is going on wIthin.a stones throw
| OF you, going on In all the neighborhoods of
Chrlstendom. Pain does not correct. Suf-
fering does not reform. What is true in one
sense Is true In all senses and will forever be
so, and yet mer - expecting In the next
world purgat reluvenation. Take mn
/ the printed reports OF the prisons of the
! United States, and you will find that the
| vast majority oil the incarcerated have been
there before, some OF them tour. five, six
times. With 10000 900 illustrations all work.
Ing the other way in this world. people are
| expecting that distress in the next state will
/ be salva,ory. You cannot imagine any wors ,
/ torture in any other world than that which
some men have suffered here, and without
any sIlutary consequence.
/ Furthermore, the prospect OF n reforma-
tion in tho next world Is more improbable
/ than reformation here. In 'nis world the
/ life started with innocence Ct infancy In
/ the case supposed the other life will open
| with all the accumulated bad habits OF many
/ years upon him. Surely IL is easter to build
| strong ship out OF new timber than out OF
/ an old hulk that has been ground no in the
/ breakers. IL with innocence TO begin with
/ In this lie a man does not become godly
/ what prospect Is there that In the next world,
/ starting with sin, there would be u seraph
evoluted? Surely the sculptor has more
] prospect OF making fine statue out OF n
| block OF pure white Parian marble than out
/ OF an old black rock scanned and cracked
with the storms OF n half century. Surely
upon clean white sheet OF paper 1t Is easier
to write deed ora will than upon sheet
| OF paper all scribbled and blotted and torn
/ IRON top to bottom. Yet men seem 10 think
that. though the life that began here COM
paratiyely perfect turned out badly, the next
| lie will succeed, though it starts with a dead
| failure.
But" says some one, az think we ought
| 10 have a chance In the next life, because
| this life Is so short II allows only small op-
| portuntty. We hardly have time TO turn
around between cradle and tomb, the wood
OF the one almost touching the marble OF the
other" But do you know what made the an
Client deluge necessity Ii was the longe-
witty OF the antedlluvlans. They were worse
| In the second century OF their lifetime than
In the flrst hundred years, and still worse In
the third century, and still worse all the way
] on TO 700, 800 and 900 years, and tho earth
| had TO be washed and scrubbed and soaked
and anchored clear out OF sight for more
than month before II could be made 1T for
decent people 10 live in.
Longevity never cures impenitency. All
the pictures OF Time represent him with n
scythe TO cut, but never saw any picture OF
Time with case OF medicines TO heal
seneca says that Nero for the first five years
OF his public life was set up TOR an example
OF clemency and kindness, but his path all
the way descended until at 6S A. ID. he be-
came a suicide. II 500 years did not make
antediluylans any better, but only made
them worse, the ages OF eternity could have
no effect excsp. prolongation OF depravlty.
But, says some one, "ln the future state
evil surroundings will he withdrawn and
elevated influences substituted, and. hence
expurgation and subllmation and glorinca-
ton" But the righteous, all their sins for
given, have passed on into beatinc state.
aud consequently the unsaved will be left
alone. Ii cannot be expected that DIR. Dun,
who exhausted himself In teaching Hindoos
the way TO heaven, and DIR. Absel. who gave
his llle In the evangeizatlon OF China, and
1 A NAW. .A-au. ~