The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-10-18
rs THINE HEART RIGHTG
Rev. DR.. Talmage Puts "A Point
Blank Question"
And Proceeds to Enumerate the 0uaiIG,
cations Necessary to an AnirmA-
tive Answor-Do You Lack H
tho Ono Thing

The following discourse prepared b
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage for publics
ton this week asks "A Point Blan
Question" which is found in the text:
Is thine heart right.-H Kings K. H.
With mettled horses at full speed
for he was celebrated for fast driving
Jehu, the warrior and king. return
from battle. But seeing Jehonadab
an acquaintance. by the wayside, h,
shouts: "Whoal whoa" to the lath
cred span. Then leaning over to Je
honadab, Jehu salutes him in the
words of the text-words not more ap
propriate for that hour and that
place. than for this hour and place.
as thine heart rightr'
should like to hear of your physical
health. Well myself. like to'have
everybody else well; and so might ask,
is your eyesight right, your hearing
right, your nerves right. your lungs
right, your entire body right? But 1
am busy to-day taking diagnosis of
the more important spiritual condi-
tions. l should like to hear of your
financial welfare. 1 want every
body to have plenty of money,
ample apparel, large storehouse, and
comfortable residence; and l might
ask, is your business right, your income
right, your worldly surroundings
right? But what are these financial
questions compared with the inquiry
as to whether you have been able to
pay your debts to God; as to whether
you are insured for eternity; as to
whether you are running youself by
the long-credit system of the soul? |
have known men to have no more than |
one loaf of bread at time, and yet to
own government bond of Heaven
worth more than the whole material
universe ..
The question ! ask you to-day is not
in regard to your habits. l make no
inquiry about your integrity. or your
chastity, or your sobriety. 1 do not
mean to stand on the outside of the
gate and ring the bell; but coming up
the steps, open the door and come to
the private apartment of the soul; and
with the earnestness of man that
must give an account for this days
work, cry out: Oh, man. Oh, woman I
immortal, is thine heart right?
will not insult you by an argu-
nent to prove that we are by nature
LII wrong. If there be factory ex-
olosion, and the smokestack be upset L
md the wheels be broken in two, and I
,he engine unjointed, and the ponder y
'us bars be twisted, and man should
ook in and say nothing was the mat
er, you would pronounce him fool.
Well, it needs no acumen to discover .
hat our nature is all atwist and s.
skew and unjointed The thing Il
loesn't work right The biggest trou- a
lie we have in the world is with our VI
ouls. Men sometimes say that, though
heir lives may not be just right, o
heir heart is all right. Impossible. z
farmer never puts the poorest apples n
n top of the barrel; nor does the mer- Ii
liant place the meanest goods ia his
how window The best part of us is u -
utward life. do not stop to discuss y
-hether we all fell in Adam, for we "
ave been our own Adam. and have all y
aten of the forbidden fruit, and have y
cen turned out of the paradise of a.
ollness and peace; and though the ~
aiming sword that stood at the gate p
keep US out has changed position and ~
omes behind to drive us in, we will y
OF 60 w
The Bible account of us is not exap- A.
Grated when it says that we are poor. ~
nd wretched, and miserable, and L,
ind, and naked. Poor: the wretch r,
lat stands shivering on our doorstep n
] cold day is not 80 much in need u
bread as we are of spiritual help. g.
ind: why, the man whose eyes per- ~ ~
he'd in the powder blast. and who for .,
ese ten years has gone feeling his r.
ay from street to street, Is not in =.
Oh utter darkness as we. Naked: A..
ny, there is not one rag of holiness -,
1t to hide the shame of our sin. =,
OK: why, the leprosy has eaten into ~
e head and the heart, and the w,
'nds, and the feet; and the maras- ~,
as of an everlasting wasting away ~
S already seized on some of us. a.,
First we need repenting heart II he
-tthe last ten, twenty or forty years ex
life, we have been going on in the va
ong way, it is time that we turned
ound and started in the opposite di- s.a
,tion. If we offend our friends we , Vo
: glad to apologize. God is our best nc nc
end and yet how many of us have 10y 10y
YER apologized for the wrongs we S su'
We done Himl ies
There is nothing that we SO much No.
ed to get rid of as sin. 1t is horri- g.,
, black monster. II polluted Eden. ~.
killed Christ. 1t has blasted the 49,
rid. Men keep dogs In kennels, and mo-
'bits in warren, and cattle in a ind
1. What a man that would be who -
uld shut them up In his parlor? But