The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1895-11-15

LII lS dill lOOIlSuueSS W 6Npe a lllHleiSl
of The gospel to preach always things
thaG the people like or the people choose,
Young men of Washington, what shall
l preach to you tonight? Shall I tell yor
of the dignity Of human nature? Shall
| tell you Of the wonders that our race
has accomplished? "Oh, no, you say.
Tell me the message that came from
| God. " Twill. If there is any handwrit
ing on the wall, it is this lesson: "Re-
| pent Accept Of Christ and be saved p
| might talk of great many other
things, but that is the message and sc
/ declare it. Jesus never flattered those
to whom he preached. He said to those
who did wrong and who were offensive
in his sight: eye generation of vipers
Ye whited sepulchers How can We es-
cape the damnation of hell |" Paul the
apostle preached before man who was
not ready to hear him preach. What sub
ject did he take? Did he say, ooh, you
are good man. a very fine man, very
noble MANI" No He preached of right
eousness to a man who was upright
eous, of temperance to man who
was victim of bad appetites, of the
Judgment to come to man who was
unfit for it. So we must always declare
the message that happens to come to us,
Daniel must read it as it is. minister
preached before James l of England,
who was James VI of Scotland What
subject did he take? The king was noted
all over the world for being unsettled
and wavering in his ideas. What did the
minister preach about to this man who
was James Of England and James vi
of Scotland? He took for his text James
i, 6: "He that wavereth is like a
wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed Hugh Latimer offended
the king by a sermon he preached, and
the king said, "Hugh Latimer, come
and apologize" II WILL" said Hugh
Latimer. So the day was appointed, and
the kings chapel was full of lords and
dukes and the mighty men and women
of the country, for Hugh Latimer was
to apologize. He began his sermon by
saying: "Hugh Latimer, bethink thee |!
Thou art in the presence of thine earthly
king, who can destroy thy body. But
bethink thee, Hugh Latimer, that thou
art in the presence Of the king of heaven
and earth, who can destroy both body
and soul in hell fire. " Then he preached
with appalling directness at the kings
crimes.
Ghastly Banquet.
Another lesson that comes to us to-
night-there is great difference be-
ween the opening Of the banquet OF sin
and its close. Young man, il You had
looked in upon the banquet in the first
few hours, you would have wished you
had been invited there and could sit at
the feast. "Oh, the grandeur Of Bel
shazzar S feastl' you would have said,
but you look in at the close Of the ban
quet and your blood curdles with hor-
ror. The king of terrors has there a
ghastlier banquet Human blood is the
wine and dying groans are the music.
Sin has made itself king in the earth.
1t has crowned itself. 1t has spread a
banquet. 1t invites all the world to
come to it. 1t has hung in its banquet
ing hall the spoils Of all kingdoms and
the banners of all nations 1t has gath
cred from all music. 1t has strewn from
its wealth the tables and floors and
arches And yet how often is that ban
quet broken up and how horrible is its
end Ever and anon there is handwrit-
ing on the wall. A king falls. A great
culprit is arrested The knees Of wicked
ness knock together. Gods judgment,
like an armed host, brakes in upon the
banquet, and that night is Belshazzar,
the king of the Chaldeans, slain.
Here is young man who says: 81
cannot see why they make such fuss
about the Intoxicating cup. Why, it is
celebrating! 1t makes me feel well. /
can talk better, think better, feel better
l cannot see why people have such a
prejudice against it." A few years pass
on, and he wakes up and finds himself
in the clutches of an evil habit which
he tries to break, but cannot, and he
cries out, 20 Lord God, help me" 1t
seems as though God would not hear his
prayer, and in an agony of body and
soul he cries out, "It biteth like ser
pent, and it stingeth like an adder. !"
How bright it was at the start How
black it was at the last
Here is a man who begins to read
loose novels. "They are so charming,
he says. Il will go out and see for my
self whether all these things are So"
He opens the gate of a sinful life. He
goes in. A sinful sprite meets him with
her wand She waves her wand, and it
is all enchantment. Why, it seems as if
the angels Of God had poured out walls
of perfume in the atmosphere. As he
walks on he finds the hills becoming
more radiant with foliage and the
ravines more resonant with the falling
water Oh, what charming landscape
he seesl But that sinful sprite, with her
wand, meets him again, but now she re-
verses the wand, and all the enchant-
ment is gone. The cup is full of poison.
The fruit turns to ashes. All the leaves
of the bower are forked tongues of hiss
ing serpents. The flowing fountains fall
back in a dead pool stenchful with cor
ruption. The Turing songs become curses
and screams of demoniac laughter. Lost
spirits gather about him and feo' FOR his
heart and beckon him on win Hail
brother! Hail, blasted spirit, hailp'