Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1896-04-02
MOST ALLURING
Are the Pleasures That Bring Oestruc-
ton to Us.

This World Was Intended to he Enjoyed
Music. Books and Other Innocent
Amusements Strongly RECON-
mended by DIR. Tsimsge In
His Sermon.
DIR. Talmage took for his sermon
Sunday, Our Social Rccrcations," /.
Cor, vii, 81: They that use this world
as not abusing it," Judges xvi, %:
and it came tn pass, when their hearts
were merry, that they said, Call Sam
son that he may makes us sport"
There were 5000 people assembled in
the Temple of Dagou. They had come
To make sport of cyeless Samson. They
were all ready for the entertainment.
They began To clap and pound, impa-
tient for the amusement To begin, and
they cried: Fetch him out Fetch him
out Yonder see the blind old giant
coming, led by the hand of child into
the very midst of the temple. At his
first appearance there goes up shout
of laughter and derision. The blind
old giant pretends he is tired, and
wants to rest himself against the pill
lars of the house 81 he says To the lad
who leads him: SHOW me where the
main pillars are" The lad does 50.
Then the strong man puts his right
hand on one pillar and his left hand on
another pillar, aud, with the mightiest
push that mortal ever made throws
himself forward until the whole house
comes down in thunderous crash,
grinding the audience like grapes in n
wine press. And so it came to pass,
when their hearts were merry, that
they said, Call for Samson that he
may make ms sport And they called
for Samson out of the prison house,
and he made them sport"
In other words, there are amuse-
ments that are destructive. and bring
down disaster and death upon the
heads of those who practice them.
While they laugh and cheer they die.
The three thousand who persisted that
day in GAIA are as nothing compared
to the tens of thousands who have been
destroyed by sinful amusements.
But my first text implies that there
is a lawful use of the world, as well rs
an unlawful abuse of it, and the differ
ence between the man Christian and
the man un-Christian is, that in the
former case the man masters the world,
while in the latter case the world mas
tiers him. For whom did God make
this grand and beautiful world? For
whom this wonderful expenditure OF
color, this gracefulness of line, this
mosaic of the ground, this fresco of the
sky, this glowing fruitage of orchard
and vineyard, this full orchestra of the
tempest, i'm which the tree branches
flute, and the winds trumpet, and the
thunders drum, and all the splendors
of earth and sky come clashing their
cymbals? For whom did God spring
the arched bridge of colors resting upon
buttresses of broken storm-cloud? For
whom did he gather the upholstery OF
fire around the window of the setting
sun? For all men; but more especially
for his own dear children.
| IL You build large mansion, and
spread n great feast after it, to cele-
bratc the completion of the structure,
do you allow strangers to come in and
occupy the place, while You thrust your
own children in the kitchen, or the
barn. or the fields? Oh, no! You say
Il am very glad to see strangers in my
mansion, but my own sons and daugh-
/ tiers shall have the first right there. y
Now. God has built this grand mansion
of world, and he has spread a glori-
Gus Ssast in it, and while thu who are
strange. to His grace may come in.
think that God especially Intends "a
give the dvantage Ia his O. n children
those who are the sons and daughters
of the Lord Almighty, those who
through grace can look up and say
Abba. Father" You can not make
me believe that God gives MORE advan.
tages to the world than he gives to the
church bought by His own blood. If,
/ therefore, people of the world have
looked with dolorous sympathy upon
I those who make profession of religion,
and have said, Those new converts
are going down into privation and into
hardship. Why did they not tarry a
| little longer in the world, and have
some of its enjoyments and amusements
and recreations?' say to such men OF
the world: you are greatly mistaken
and before get through | will show
that those people who stay out of the
kingdom of God have the hardships and
self-denials, while those who come in
have the joys and satisfactions, writs
of ejectment
In the name of the King of Heaven
and earth, serve a writ of ejectment
upon all the sinful and polluted who
have squatted on the domain of earthly
pleasure as though it belonged to them
while claim, in behalf of the good and
the pure and the true, the eternal in
heritance which God has given them
Hitherto, Christian philanthropists
clerical and lay, have busted them
selves chiefly in denouncing sinful rec
reations; but feel we have no right t.
stand before men and women in whose
hearts there is a desire for recreation
amounting to positive necessity, de
nouncing this and that and that and
the other thing, when we do not pro
pose to give them something better
God helping me and with reference t.
my last account, shall enter upon
sphere not usual in sermonizing, but 4
subject which think ought to be pre-
sented at this time. l propose now Il
lay before you some of the recreationl
which are not only innocent, but posi-
lively helpful and advantageous.
In the first place, / commend. amont
indoor recreations, music-vocal an,
instrumental. Among the first thing
created was the bird, so that the eartl
might have music at the start. Thi
world, which began with so sweet I
serenade, is finally to be demolished
amidst the ringing blast Of the arch
angels trumpet, SO that as there wa
music at the start, there shall be musi
at the close. While this heavenly ar
has often been dragged into the uses o
superstition and dissipation, we al
know it may be the means of higl
moral culture. Oh, it Is a grand thin
to have our children brought up amids
the sound of cultured voices, an,
amidst the melody of musical instru
ments.
There is in this art an indescribabl
fascination for the household. Let al
those families who have the means +
afford it, have flute, or harp, or piano
or organ. As soon as the hand is larg
enough to compass the keys, teach