The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-08-28
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE NOTED DIvINE's SUNDAY
DISCOURSE
Subjects "Roformation of Habits"

i. TE11' when shall awaken / win sock
With hn insight into human nature suob
e. % other man ever reached. Solomon. Iva
my text, skeieho che MENTAL operation M
one who, having stepped aside from the
Path ~ rrctiiudo, desires 30 return. With
q Weh Tor something better ne SAYS "Whon
shhl 1 awaken When shall i come out of
thA horrid nightmare of iniqultyfn But
seized upon By unondlcniod hnblt and
forced down hill by he passions. he cries
Guy. - VII seek it yet again. viii try Il
once moro.
Our libraries are adorned with an elegant
literature pointing out an the dangers ana
tenl OF uie-eompleio maps OF the voyage.
showing hu the rocks. the qulcksands. the
shoals But supposon maa has already made
shIpwreck, suppose No + already On M
Track suppose h0 has already gone asirav.
now j. heto get baok2 That is a field COM
paralYely untouched propose 90 address
myself this evening TO such. There afethoso
n TINS audience who, with every passion OF
tnelr agonize1 soul, are ready % hear this
discussion. They compare themselves with
what they we're ten yrars ago, and ery out
from the bondage In which they are incar-
cerated.
Habit Is a task master As long as we
OBEY u i does not chastIss ne. but let us re-
a'ai' nnd we Ind we are TO be- lashed with
scorpion whips and bound with shin cable
ami thrown into the trast OF bone-bfsating
iuggeruauts. During the war OF 1872 there
was o ship set on Ere just above Niagara
faus, and then. cut loose from its moorlncs.
lt came on down through the night. and
tossed over the falls. IL was said 10 have
been scene brilliant beyond AN daserlp-
ton. Well, there are thousands OF men On
hro of evil habit, coming down through the
rapids. and through the awful night OF
temptation. toward the eternal plunge. Oh.
now hari It Is TO arrest them! God only can
arrest thcm.
Suppose a man, after I've, or ton, or twenty
wears OF evil doing resolves 20 do right.
Why. all the forces Of darkness are allied
against him. He cannot sleep nights He
gets down on his knees IN the midnight. and
cries, "GOd help mei' He bites his no, he
grnds his teeth; he clenches his lst in a
determination 20 keep his purpose. He dare
not look at the bottles In the windows Of a
wine store. II IS one long, bitter, exhaus-
tive. hand-to-hand fight with an inaamed.
iantalzlng and merciless habit. When he
thinks he Is entirely free the old inclinatlons
pounce upon him Ikea pack Of hounds, with
their muzzles tearing away at the nanks Of
one poor reindeer. In Paris there Is a sculp-
tured representation OF Bacchus. the god OF
raYeTy. He Is riding on a panther at full
leap. Oh, how suggestivel Let every one
who is speeding on bad ways understand he
IS not riding docile and well broken steed,
but he Is riding a monster, wild and blood
| thirsty, going at death leap.
How many there are who resolve on bet
ter life, and say, "When shall / awal;e?" but.
seized on by their old habits. cry. ~ will
! try It once more. I will seek it yet again. 4"
Years ago there were some Princeton stu
dents who were skating, and the ice was
very thin, and some one warned the com
/ pany back from the air hole, and finally
warned them entirely 10 leave the place.
| But one young man, with bravad0, after all
/ the rest had stopped cried out Zone round
/ more' He swept around and went down,
/ and was brought out a corpse. NY friends.
| there are thousands and tens of thousands
/ OF men losing their souls in that way II is
! the lone round more"
II a'man wants to return from evil prae-
tees, society rcpulses him. Desiring to re-
! form he says, "NoW I will shake of nv old
associates and I will find Christian COM
/ partnership" And he appears at the church
/ door some Sabbath day and the usher greets
him with look as much as to say, "Why.
you here! You are the last man | ever ex.
pected 10 see at church! Come, take this
seat right down by the door, " instead OF say.
ing, GOOD morning! l am glad you are
here. Come, will giveyou flr5t-rate seat
right up by the pull pit" Well, the prodlgal
not yet discouraged, enters prayer meeting
| and some Christian man, with more zeal thar
( common sense, says, "Glad to see you; the
dying thief was saved and / suppose there is
mercy for YOU" The young man, disguised
chilled. throws himself on his dignity, re.
solved he will never enter the house Of GOO
again.
Perhaps not quite fully discouraged about
reformation, he sides up by some highly re-
spectacle man he used to know, going dowr
the street, and Immediately the respectabl,
man has an errand down some other street
Well, the prodigal, wishing to return, take
some member OF Christian association b.
the hand. or tries to. The Christian youn)
man looks at him. looks at the faded appare
and the marks Of dissipation; instead Of Civ
ing him warm grip of the hand, he offer
him the tip ends of the long fingers Of tn
left hand. which is equal TO striking a mai
in the face. OH how few Christian peopl
understand now much force and gospi
there is in good honest Misunderstanding
Sometimes. when you have ielt the need O
encouragement, and some Christian man la
taken you heartily by the hand, have va
not felt thrilling through every fibre Of you
body, mind and soul an encouragement tina
was Just what you needed You do not kno,
anything at all about this unless you know
when a man tries 20 return from evil course
ne runs against repulsions innumerablt
We say Of some man, he lives a block 0
two from the church, or half q mile from tn
church There are people in our crowde
cities who live thousand miles from church
Vast deserts Of Indifference between Their
and the house OF God. The fact is, we mus
keep our responsibility, though thousand
and tens OF thousands perish. Christ sa
with publicans and sinners. But it Their
comes to the house OF God man with mark
OF dissipation upon him, the people almos
throw up their hands in horror, as much a
to say. "lsn't it shocking" How thes
dainty, fastidious Christians in all on
churches are going to ger into heaven don
know, unless they have an especial train {
cars, cushioned aud upholstered, each one
car to himself They cannot go with publ
cans and sinners.
On We who curl your lin Of scorn at th
! fallen, tell your plainly II you had bee
surrounded by the same influences, instea
/ OF sitting to-day amid the cultured and tn
q refined and the Christian, you would hal
been crouching wretch, covered with M