The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-06-27
ONLY ONE VERDICT =
Rev. DR., Tslmage Gives Wsr"lTS to
the Impenitenf.


BROOKLYN, June, 17.-Rsv. Dr.. Tai
msee. who Is now on his round Inc
world journey, las selected as the seo'
iect for his sermon through the press TO-
dsy Another Chance" the text BENG
taken from Ecclesiastes Il, 3, "lf ihe
tree fall toward the south or toward the
north, in the place where the tres faIleln
there it shall be-"
There is a lowering hopein the minds
of vast multitude that there will be an
opportunity 10 the next "orld 10 correct
the mistakes of this; that if we do make
complete shipwreck Of our earthly lie 1t
will be on shore, up which we may
walk to palace; that, as defendant
NAV lose his case in the clrcultcourt aDa
carry it up 10 the supreme court or court
of chancer7 and get a reversal OF Judg'
nent in his behalf, all the costs beng
thrown over on the other party, 30 II we
fail in the earthly trial we may IN the
higher Jurisdiction of eternity have the
Judgment Of the lower court set aside,
all the costs remitted, and we may be
victorious defendants forever. Ny OBJ
iect in this sermon is to show that COM
mon sense as my text declares that such
an expectation is chlmerical. You say
that the impenitent man, having got INTO
the next world and seeing the disaster,
will, as result of that disaster, turn,
the pain the cause CT his reformation.
But YOU can find 10, ,000instances IN this
world cf men who have done wrong,
and distress overlook them suddenly.
Did the distress heal them? No. they
went right en-.
That man was flung of designations.
.'You must stop drinking" " said the doc
tor, land quit the fast life you are lead
ing, or it will destroy you" The patti
ent suffers paroxysm, but under skillful
medical treatment he begins to sit up,
begins 10 walk about the room, begins
to 20 to business. And, 10, be goes
back to same grogshops Tor bis morning
dram. and his evening dram, and the
drams between. Flat down again. Same
doctor. Same physical anguish. Same
medical waning. Now the Illness IS
more protracted, the liver IS mora stub
born. the stomach more irritable, and
the digestive organs are more rebellious.
But after awhile he is out again, goes
back to the same dramshops and goes
the same round of sacrlege against his
physical health.
He sees that his downward course Is
1uinipg his household; that his life is 8
perpetual perjury AGAINST bis marriage
VOW; that that broken hearted woman is
so unlike the roseate young wife whom
he married that her old schoolmastes do
not recognize her; that his sons are to be
taunted for lifetime by the fathers
drunkenness; that the daughters are to
pass into life under the scarifcation OF a
dIsreputable ancestor. He IS drinking
up their happiness, their prospects for
this life and perhaps for the life to come
Sometimes an appreciation of what he is
doing comes upon him. His nervous
system is all tanele. From crown OF
head to sole of foot he is one aching rasp.
ing, crucifying, damnlng torture. Where
is he? In hell en- earth. Does it reform
hims
After awhile he has delirium tremens,
with whole jungle Of Kissing reptiles
let out on his pillow, and his screams
horrify the neighbors as he dashes out OF
his bed crying, Take these things eff
me!' AS be sits pale and convalescent
the doctor says: "Now, l want to have
a plain talk with you, my dear fellow.
The next attack of this kind you have
you will be beyond all medical skill, and
you will de-" He gets better and goes
forth into the same round again. This
time medicine takes no effect. Consulta"
ton Of physicians aglee in saying there
is no hope. Death ends the scene.
That process Of inebriation, warning
and dissolution is going on within stones
throw of you, gong on in all the neigh.
borhoods of Chrlstendom. Pain does
not correct. Suffering does not reform.
What is true in one sense is true in all
senses and will forever be so, and yet
men are expecting in the next world pur-
gatorial reiuyenation. Take up the
printed reports Of the prisons Of the
United States, and you will find that the
vast majority of the incarcerated have
been there before, some Of them four,
FIVE, six times. With a million lllustra-
tlons all working the other way in this
world, people are expecting that dis
tress in the next state will be salVatorT
. You cannot imagine any worse torture
in any other world than that which some
men have suffered here, and withou! any
salutary consequence.
Furthermore. the prospect of refor-
nation III the next world is more improb-
able thar reformation here. In this
world the life started with innocence of
infancy. In the case supposed, the Other
life will open with all the accumulated
bad habits OF many years upon him.
Surely it is easier to build a strong ship
oat OF new timber than cut Of an old
hulk that has been ground up IN the
breakers. # with innocence 10 start
with in this life man does not become
godly, what prospect ls there that in the
next world, starting with sin there would
be seraph evoluted? Surely the sculp.
tor Las more prospect of making a fine
statue out of a block OF pure white Parian
marble than out of an old black rock
scanned and cracked with the storms of q
half century. Surely upon clean white
sheet Of paper it is easier to write deed
or will than upon sheet Of paper al
scribbled and blotted and torn from TOP
to bottom. Yet men seem to think thai
though the lite that began here compare.
t.Vely perfect turned out badly, the next
life will succeed, though it starts with
q dead failure.
But" says some one, 81 think We
ought to have a chance in the next life,
because this life is so short it allows
only small opportunity. We hardly have
time to turn around between cradle and
tomb the wood of the one almost touch
ing the marble Of the other" But do
you know what made the deluge aneces-
sity? 1t was the longevity OF the an