The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-02-19

nave -DAA4 LAe man " mo mas Dnt
least influence, and inquire into Iii.
history and find that by a yes or q
no he decided some ones eternity. Tia
TINS Of temptation he gave an aflirma-
tive or a negative to- some temptation
which another hearing Of, was in
4 duced to decide in the same way. Clear
on the other side of the next million
i years may be the drst you hear Of the
Y 1ong-reaching influence of that yes or
no, bat hear Of ii f you viii WIN
that father make path to shine after
hlm2 VIII that mother make a path
to shine after her2 You viii be
walking along these streets, or along
that country road 210 years from now
in the character OF your descendants
They viii be affected by your courage
or your cowardice. your purity or
your depravity, your holiness or your
sim. You viii make the path Is shine
after you or bIaclzen after YOU. Why
should they point ont to us on some
mountain Two rivulets. one of which
passes down into the rivers which pour
out into the Pacific ocean and the
other rivulet flowing down into the
rivers which pass out into the Atlantic
oeean2 Every man, every woman,
stands at q point whore words uttered,
or deeds done, or prayers offered,
decide opposite dastinies and OPP
pOsite eternities We see man
planting a tree, and treading the sod
firmly on either side of it, and water
ing st ia dry weather ana taking a
great care In its culture and he never
plueks any fruit from It's bough but
his children win we are an planting
trees that win yield fruit hundreds of
years after we are dead; orchards Of
golden fruit. or groves Of deadly upas.
i am So fascinated with the phosphor-
essence in the track of ship that I
have sometimes watched for long
while and have seen nothing on the
face Of the deep but blackness. The
mouth Of watery chasms that looked
like gaping jaws Of hell Nou spark
Us big as tile freely; not white scroll
Of surf; not taper to illuminate the
mighty sepulchers of dead ships; dark
ness three thousand feet deep. and
more thousands of feet long and wide.
That is the kind of wake that a bad
man leaves behind HIM as he plows
through the ocean Of this life toward
the vaster ocean of the great future
Now, suppose a man seated ia a cor
ner grocery, OF business office among
clerks, gives himself to jolly slzepti-
cism. He laughs at the Bible, makes
sport Of the miracles, speaks OF perdi-
ton in jokes and laughs at REVEALS as
a frolic and aft the passage Of a fu-
neral procession. which always solemn
ICES sensible people. SAYS. Boys, let's
take a. drink" There is In that group
a young man who IS making q great
struggle against temp tation. and prays
night and morning. and reads his
Bible and IS asking God for help day
by day But that gumaw against
IL F-
of sacred things and he gives up Sab
bath, and church and morals and
goes from bad to worse TIN he falls
under designations. dies Ina lazar
house and IS buried ID the potters
field Another young man who
heard shat jolly skepticism made
up his mind that lit makes no
difference what we do Or say for
we viii all come out at last at the
right place, began. as d consequence 7
to purloin. Some money that came
into his hands for others he applied to 4
his own uses. thinking perhaps he I
would make IL straight some other
time, and all would be well even If he I
did not make AZ straight He ends in I
the penitentiarv- That scofer who +
uttered the jokes against Christianity +
never realized what bad work he was (
doing and he passed on through life. 4
and out of it and into future that z 4
am not now going to depict 7 do not T
propose with q search light to show
The breakers of the awful coast on /
which that ship is wrecked. for my .
business now is to watch the sea after
the keel has ploved it, $50 phosphores-
e. nee ia the wake Of that ship but
behind it two souls struggling in the
wave two young men destroyed +
by reckless skepticism, an unillumined f
ocean beneath. and ON all sides
2f them. Blackness of darkness. You
know what nloriously good man
Rev. John Newton was. the most Of
his life but before his conversion he
vas very wicked sailor and on board
he ship .Harvich. instilled inhdel-
ty and vice III The mind Of q young
nan, principles vi ich destroyed him.
Afterwar3 the two met and Newton
.ried to undo his bad work, but ia
-ain. The young man became worse
ind worse, and died a prodigate. h0r-
flying with his profanities those who
tood by him ia his last moments
Setter look out what bad influence
-ou start. for You may not be able to
top it. % does not require very great
orce to ruin others Why was 1t that
many years ago q greet flood nearly
destroyed New 0rleaus9 A crawfish
lad burrowed into the banks of the
liver until the ground was saturated,
md the banks weakened until the
l0od burst
But find here q man who starts ont in
life with the determination that he viii
lever see suffering bat he VIII try to
ELEVATE st. and never see discourage
ncnt but he win try Is cheer it; and
lever meet with anybody but lie VIII
~ to do him good Getting his
trength from God, he starts from
Tome with high purpose of doing all