The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-08-07


having full swing in some families.
The violent temper of Frederick Will
liam is the Inheritance of Frederick the
Great 1t is not theory founded by
worldly philosophy, but by divine au-
thority. Do you not remember how
the Bible speaks of chosen genera
tion, of the generation of the right
eous, of the generation of vipers, of
an untoward generation, of the in
EQUITY of the fathers visited upon the
children unto the third and fourth
generation? So that the text comes
to-day with the force of projectile
hurled from mightiest catapult,
Whose son art thou, thou young
man?"
Well, says some one, shat theory
discharges me from all responsibility.
Born of sarctified parents, we are
bound to be good and we can not help
ourselves Born of unrigAteous par
entage, we are bound to be evil, and
we can not help ourselves" Two in
accuracies. AS much as if you should
say: "The centripetal force in nature
has tendency to bring every thing to
the center. The centrifugal force in
nature has a tendency to throw every
thing to the periphery, and therefore
everything will go out to the deriph-
cry" You know as well as know
that you can make the centripetal
force overcome the centrifugal, and
you can make the centrifugal over
come the centripetal. AS when there
is a mighty tide of good in
family that may be overcome by
determination to evil, as in the case of
Aaron Burr, the libertine, who had for
father President Burr, the consecrated;
as in the case of Pierrepont Edwards,
the scourge of New York society 30
years ago, who had Christian ances-
try; while, on the other hand, some of
the best men and women of this day
are those who have come of an ances-
try which it would not be courteous to
speak in their presence. The practical
and useful object of this sermon
is to show you that if you have come
of Christian ancestry, then you are
solemnly bound to preserve and
develop the glorious inheritance,
or, if you have come of depraved
ancestry. then it is your duty to brace
yourself against the evil tendency by
all PRAYER and Christian determination,
and you are to find out the family
frailties, and in arming the castle put
the strongest guard at The weakest
gate With these smooth stones from
the brook, I hope to strike you, not
| x,l,o,a n,x;d r,1oly Goliath in the
head, but where Nathan struck David,
in the heart. Whose son art thou,
thou young MANI"
There is something in all winter
holidays to bring up the old folks. l
think many of our thoughts at such
times are set to the tune of "Auld
Lang Syne." The old folks were so
busy at such times in making us happy,
and perhaps on less resource made
their sons aud daughters happier than
you on larger resources are able TO
make your sons and daughters. The
snow Law two feet above their graves,
but they shook off the white blankets
and mingled in the holiday festivities
the same wrinkles, the same
stoop of shoulder under the weight of
age, the same old style of dress or
coat, the same smile, the same tone OF
voice. hope you remember them be-
fore they went away. If not, hope
there are those :who have recited to
YOU what they were, and that there
may be in your house some article OF
dress or furniture with which you as
sociate their memories. / want to
arouse the most sacred memories of
vour heart while l make the lmpas-
stoned interrogatory in regard to
your pedigree: Whose son art thou
thou, thou young man?'
First. | accost all those who are
descended of Christian ancestry. l do
not ask if your parents were perfect.
There are no perfect people now, and
I do not suppose there were any per-
feet people then. Perhaps there was
sometimes too much blood in their eye
when they chastised you. But from
what know of you, you got no more
than you deserved, and perhaps little
more chastisement would have been
salutary. But you are willing to ac-
knowledge, think, that they wanted
to do right. From what you over
heard in conversations, and from what
YOU saw at the family altar and al
neighborhood obsequies, you know
that they had invited God into Their
heart and their life. There was some
thing that sustained those old people
systematically. You have no doubt
about their destiny. You expect if you
ever get to Heaven to meet them az
Won expect to meet the Lord Jesus
Christ. That early association has beer
a charm for you. There was a tim'
,,,hap Won cot RIGHT up from a house o.