Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1900-09-14
SAVANNAH TENNESSEE, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER A. 1900.

tnc top reculylnB uoWhG L was In
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 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 / 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 said, A plumb line"
I want you to notice this fact, that
when 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 $4,000 he can
take out $100,000; 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-
tion, as broad as the souls darkness,
as broad as hell. They want reli-
gion that will allow them to keep
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
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 ofsaying a useful word to all young
men who are now forming habits for
lifetime. OF what use to stonema.
son or bricklayer is piumb line?
Why not build the wall by the unaided
eye and hand? Because they are in
sufficient, because If there be de-
Election in the wall it cannot further
on be corrected Because by the law
of gravitation a wall must be straight
in order to be symme trical and safe.
One of the best friends / ever had
died of delirium tremens at co 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 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.
lie entered his home a 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 a 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 ali 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 wall so high
as to be Independent Of the character
of its foundation? A man before e
years Of age may commit enough sir
to last him lifetime. Now, John oi
George or Henry, or whatever be YOU
Christian name or surname, say here
and now: mo wild oats for me, M
cigars or cigarettes for me, no wint
or beer for me, no nasty stories for me
no Sunday sprees for me. am goine
to start right and keep on right. Goo
help me, for ! am very weak. From tn,
throne of eternal righteousness le
down to me the principles by which
can be guided in building everything
from foundation to capstone. Lore
God, by the wounded hand of Chris
throw me plumb line"
But" you say, you shut us youns
folks out from all fun" Oh, no! | lik,
fun. / believe in fun. / have had lot
of it in my time. But I have not hat
to go into paths Of sin to find it. NJ
! credit to me, but because of an extraor
idnary parental example and inhuenc
l was kept from outward transgres
sions, though my heart was bad enough
and desperately wicked. / have ha,
fun illimitable, though never swor
one oath and never gambled for s.
much as the value of pin and neve
saw the inside of haunt of sin saw
; as when many years ago, with a com
, missioner of police and detective an
two elders of my church, explore,
New York and Brooklyn by midnight
not out of curiosity, but that | nigh
in pulpit discourse set before the pee
| pie the poverty and the horrors of un
derground city life. Yet, though wa
/ never intoxicated for an instant an