Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1896-08-08
As THE TREE FALLS.
no MATTER m WHAT DIRECTION,
THERE 1T SHALL LIE.
Rev. Dr. Taimage breaches An Earncgt
sermon. Warning the Impenitent Against
Waiting For the Next World Before
Correcting the Mistakes OF This.

CORRECTING. the Mistakes Of This.
WASHINGTON. Aug Or Talmagc to-
day discusses question that everybody
some time discusses. IL is one of trcmcn-
dous import. Shall we have another
chance. The text i Erclcsiastcs ii, >, III
the tree fall toward the south or toward
the north. in the Lace where the tree fall
9TH there il shall h. "
There is u lowering hope in tho minds OF
q vast multitude ~ people that there will
30 an opportunity in the next world of cor
rccting he mistakes of this; that however
complete q shipwrcck we may make Of our
earthly life it will hc on beach up which
we may walk t. :. palace; that rs the de
fcndnnt may lose his case In circuit court
and appeal it and have II 90 up TO the SUI
prcmc court or court Of chancery and all
the costs thrown over on the other party
81 "A man may lose his ease in this world
hut in the higher jurisdiction of eternity
have the decision Of the earthly case set
aside, all the costs RENTED and the de
PENDANT bc triumphant forever
a Basciess Hope.
The object of my sermon is To show you
that common sense declares with the text
that such an expectation is chimcrical. III
the tree fall toward the south or toward
the north, in the place where the tree fall
eth there It shall be There are those
who say that if the impcnitcnt and unfor-
given man enters the next world and sees
the disaster, rs u result of that disaster he
will turn, the distress the cause Of his ref
ormation, hut we have 200 instances all
around about us of people who have done
wrong and disaster suddenly came upon
them. Did the disaster heal them? No;
they went on.
There Is n man flung of dissipations.
The doctor SAYS TO him, Now, my friend,
If you don't stop drinking and don I stop
this fast life you are living you will die. y
The patient thanks tho physician for his
warming and gets better He begins to sit
up, begins To walk around the room, be-
gins TO go to business, and takes the same
round of grogshops where he got his
morning dram, and his evening dram, and
the drains between. Down again. Same
doctor Same physical anguish. Same
medical warming. But now the sickness
is more protractcd, the liver more obsti-
nate. the stomach more irritable, the digcs-
tive organs more rchcllious But STILL un-
der medical skill. he gets better, goes
forth, commits the same sacrilegc against
his physical health. Sometimes he wakes
up 70 see what he is doing, and he realizes
he is destroying his family, and that his
life Is perpetual perjury against his mar
riagc vows, and that that broken hearted
woman Is So different from the roscatc
wife he married that her old schoolmatcs
do not recognize her on the street, and
that his sons are going out In life under
the taunt of fathers drunkenness, and
that his daughters are going out in lifc
under the scariilcation 81 diSrcputablC
ancestry His nerves are all a-ianglc.
From crown Of head Ia sole Of foot he is
one aching, rasping. crucifyins damning
torture. Where is he:
Hc Il in hell on earth. Docs il stop him!
All, mol After awhile dclirium trcmcns
pours out upon his pillow whole jungle
Of kissing reptiles. His screams horrify
the ncighhors rs he aashcs out of bed cry
ing, Take these thing off met He Is
drinking down the comfort Of his family,
the education Of his children, their pros
poets for this life and perhaps their pros
poets for the life TO come. Pale and con
valcscent he sits up. Physician says t.
him: Now. my good fellow. am going
TO have a plain talk with YOU. II you ever
have an attack Of this kind again, you
will die l can't save you, and all the
doctors in creation can't save you"
Tho patient gets up, starts out, goes the
same round Of dissipation and IS down
again. but this time medicines do not
touch his case. Consultations of physicians
say there is no hope. Death ends the scene.
I That process Of inchriation and physical
suffering and medical warming and disso
luton is taking place within n stones
throw OF where you sit and in every neigh
horhood of Christcndom Pain does not
reform suffering docs not cIrc. What
Is true In regard to one sin Is true In re
gard to all sins. and yet men arr expecting
In the next life there will bc opportunity
| for purgatorial regeneration. Take up the
printed reports of the prisons of the United
States and find that the vast majority oi
the criminals were there before. some FOR
two times, three times, four times, six
times; punished again and again, but
they 60 right on. Millions of incidents and
instances working the other way. and yet
men think that in the next world punish
mcnt will work out for them Salva.ble e.
fectS Why YOU and cannot imagine any
worse torture from another world than we
have seen men in in this world. and with
out any salutary consequence.