The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-06-10
soul, yet not able 20 get out Destroyed
without remedy,


without remedy"
c ! go on and say that the disciple Of
rum suffers from loss OF health. The
older men may remember that some
years ago DIR, Scwell went through this
country and electrified the people by
his lectures, in which he showed the
effects OF alcoholism ON the human
stomach. He had seven or eight dia-
grams by which he showed the devasta.
ton of strong drink upon the physical
system. There were thousands of peo-
pie who turned back from that ulcer
Gus sketch, swearing eternal abstinence
from everything that could intoxicate.
Again, the inebriate suffers through
the loss of home. | do not rare how
much he loves his wife and children, il
this passion for strong drink has mas
tered him, he will do the most out
rageous things; and, II he could not
got drink in any other way, he would
sell his family into eternal bondage.
How many homes have been broken up
in that way no one but God knows,
Oh. is there anything that will SO de.
stroy u man for this life, aud damn him
for the life that is to come. DO not
tell me that a man can be happy
when he knows that he is break
ing his wife's heart and clothing his
children with rags. Why, there are on
the roads and streets of this land to-
day little children barefootcd. UNI
washed aud uukcmpt-want on every
patch of their faded dress aud on every
wrinkle of the prematurely old coun-
~tenances, who would have been in
churches to-day, and rs well clad as
you are, but for the fact that rum de-
stroyed their parents and drove them
into the grave, q, rum, thou foe of
God, thou despoilcr of homes, thou re-
cruiting officer of the pit, | hate thee!
But my subject takes Il deeper tone,
and that is, that the unfortunate of
whom l speak suffers from the loss OF
the soul. The Bible intimates that in
the future world. il we are u~nforgivcn
here, our bad passions and appetites,
unrestrained, will go along with us
and make our torment there. So that,
| suppose, when an inebriate wakes up
in that world, he will feel infinite
thirst consuming him. Now. down in
this world, although he may have
been very poor, he could beg or he
could steal five cents with which to
get that which would Stake his thirst
for "A little while; but IN eternity where
is the rum to come from?
Oh, the deep, e%xhausting, %exasperat-
ing, everlasting thirst Of the drunkard
in hell! Why, If u fiend came up to
earth for some Internal work in agrog-
shop, and should go back taking Oh his
wing just II drop Of hat for which
the inebriate in the lost world longs,
what excitement it would make there!
Put that n drop from off the hend's
wing on the tip of the tongue Of the
destroyed inebriate; let the liquid
brightness just touch IT.; let the drop
be very small, if it only have in it the
smack Of alcoholic drink; let that
drop Just touch the lost incbriate In
the lost world, and he would spring
to his feet and cry: ''That is rum, ahal
That is rum" And it would wake up
rum! Give me rum! Give me rum!" In
the future world | do not believe that
1t will be the absence Of God that will
make the drunkard's sorrow. ] do not
believe that II will be the absence of
light. do not believe that II will be
the absence Of holiness. ! think it will
be the absence of rum. Oh: Look not
upon the wine when it Is red, when it
moveth itself Alright in the cup, for at
the last it biteth like a serpent and 1t
stingeth like an adder"
While | declared some time ago that
there was a point beyond which a man
could not stop, l want to tell you
that, while u man can not stop in his
own strength, the Lord God, by His
grace, can help him to stop at any
time. l was in u room in New York
where there were many happy men
who had been reclaimed from drunken
ness. | heard their testimony, and
for the first time in my life there
flashed out a truth | never under
stood. They said: ave were victims
of strong drink. We tried to give it
up, but always failed; but somehow
since we gave our hearts 10 Christ He
has taken care of u.s." l believe that
the time will soon come when the
grace OF God will show Its power not
only to ave mans soul, but his body,
and reconstruct, purify, elevate and re-
deem II.
l verify believe that, although you
feel graphing at the roots Of your
tongues an almost om~nipotent thirst, II
you will give your heart to God lie will
help you by His grace TO conquer. Try
1t. 1t is your last chance. l have
looked of upon the d~esolation. Sitting
next TO you In our religious assemblages
there are q good many people in awful
peril; and, judging from ordinary cir
cumstances, there is not one chance In
5000 that they will get clear of it.
There are men In every congregation
from Sabbath 10 Sabbath Of whom l
must make the remark, that IL they do
not change their course, within ten
years they will, as to their bodies, lie
down In drunkards' graves, and as TO
their souls, lie down in a drunkard's
perdition. l know that Is an awful
thing to say, but l can not help say
ing 1t.
Oh, beware! You have not yet been
captured. beware! Whether the
beverage be poured in golden chalice
or pewter mug. in the foam at the top,
in white letters, let there be spelled
out 10 your soul: ''Beware" When
the books Of judgment are open, and
10, 900, 900 drunkards come up TO get
their doom, ! want you to bear wit
ness that !, in the fear OF God and In
the love for your soul, told you, with
all affection and with all kindness, to
beware of that which has already ex-
erted its influence upon your family,
blowing out some Of its lights-a pre-
| mouition OF the blackness OF darkness