The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1900-08-10

the country, thirsty after long walk.
And came in, and my child was blow
ing soap bubbles, and they rolled out
of the cup blue and gold and green
and sparkling and beautiful and orb
icular, and in so small a space 1 never
saw more splendor concentrated. But
she blew once too often, and all the
glory vanished into suds. Then
turned and took glass of water and
was refreshed. And so far as soul
thirst is concerned 1 put against all
the blowing, glittering soap bubbles
of worldly reform and human specula-
ton one draft from the fountain
from under the throne of God clear
as crystal. Glory be to God for the
religion that drops from above, not
coming up from beneathl "And the
Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest
thou? And 1 said, A plumb line"
I want you to notice this fact, that
when a man gives up the straight up
and down religion of the Bible for
any new tangled religion, 1t is gener-
ally to suit his sins. You first hear
of his change of religion, and then you
hear of some swindle he has practiced
in special mining stock, telling some
one if he will put in SIC, 900 he can
take out 100000; or he has sacrificed
his integrity or plunged into IRENE
diable worldliness. His sins are so
broad he has to broaden his religion,
and he becomes as broad as tempta-
ton, as broad as the souls darkness,
as broad as hell. They want reli-
-
their sins and then at death say to
them: "Well done, good and faithful
servant" and that tells them: "All
is well, for there is no hell" What a
glorious Heaven they hold before us!
Come, let US go in and see it. There
are Herod and all the babes he mas
sacred. There are Charles Guiteau
and Robespierre, the feeder of the
French guillotine, and all the liars,
thieves, house burners, garroters,
pickpockets and libertines of all the
centuries. They have AL got crowns
and thrones and harps and scepters,
and when they chant they sing:
Thanksgiving and honor and glory
and power to the broad religion that
let's US all into Heaven without re-
pentance and without faith in those
humiliating dogmas of ecclesiastical
old fogyism.''
My text gives me a grand opportun-
ity of saying a useful word to all young
men who are now forming habits for
lifetime. Of what use to a stonema-
son or a bricklayer is a plumb line?
Why not build the wall by the unaided
eye and hand? Because they are in
sufficient, because if there be a de-
Election in the wall it cannot further
on be corrected. Because by the law
of gravitation wall must be straight
in order to be symmetrical and safe.
One of the best friends l ever had
died of delirium tremens at GO years
of age, though he had not since 21
years of age, before which he had
been dissipated, touched Intoxicating
liquor until that particular carousal
that took him off. Not Keeling well in
the street on a hot summer day he
stepped into drug store, just as you
and | would have done, and asked for
a dose of something to make him feel
better. And there was alcohol in the
dose, and that one drop aroused the
old appetite, and he entered the first
liquor store and staid there until
thoroughly under the power of rum.
He entered his home raving maniac,
his wife and daughters fleeing from
his presence, and at first he was taken
to the city hospital to die.
Remember that the wall may be 100
feet high, and yet DETECTION one foot
from the foundation affects the entire
structure. And if you live 100 years
and do right the last so years you may
nevertheless do something at 20 years
of age that will damage all your earth
ly existence. All you who have built
houses for yourselves or for others,
am not right in saying to these young
men, you cannot build a wall so high
as to be Independent of the character
of it's foundation? A man before 80
years of age may commit enough sin
to last him a lifetime. Now, John or
George or Henry, or whatever be your
Christian name or surname, say here
and now: '"No wild oats for me, no
cigars or cigarettes for me, no wine
or beer for me, no nasty stories for me,
no Sunday sprees for me. / am going
to start right and keep on right. God
help me, for am very weak. From the
throne of eternal righteousness let
down to me the principles by which [
can be guided in building everything
from foundation to capstone. Lord
God, by the wounded hand of Christ
throw me plumb line"
But" you say, you shut us young
folks out from all fun" Oh no! / like
fun. / believe in fun. I have had lots
of it in my time. But / have not had
to go into paths of sin to find it. No
credit to me, but because of an extraor-
idnary parental example and influence
was kept from outward transgres-
sions, though my heart was bad enough
and desperately wicked. i have had
fun illimita BILE, though 1 never swore
one oath and never gambled for so
much as the value of pin and never
saw the inside of haunt of sin save
as when many years ago, with COM
missioner of police and a detective and
two elders of my church, / explored
New York and Brooklyn by midnight,
not out of curiosity, but that / might
in pulpit discourse set before the peo-
pie the poverty and the horrors of un-
derground city life. Yet, though / was
never intoxicated for an instant and
never committed one act of dissolute-
ness-restrained only by the grace of
God, without which restraint / would
have gone headlong to the bottom of
infamy-I have had so much fun that
| don't believe there is man on the
planet at the present time who has had
more. Hear it, men and boys, women
and girls. all the fun is on the side
of right. Sin may seem attractive, but