The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-01-14

tor Of the Penn Avenue Baptist church,
preached a stirring sermon last night.
taking for his theme 'The Cry of the
Oppressed" He spoke upon the les
sons to be drawn from King David's
cry when he heard Of the death of his
son Absalom: ooh, my son Absalom.
my son, my son Absalom; would God
/ had died for thee oh, Absalom, my
son. my son!''
The doctor opened his remarks by
describing at length the thoroughly un-
principled character OF Absalom, who
plotted against his father; had him
self proclaimed king, and who. while
leading his army against the body
guard OF King David, was caught by
the hair in tree and put to death by
one of David's armor-bearers as he
hung helpless.
"The history of this wayward son Of
King David" said he, "brings to the
young people of today the sad lesson
that as the way Of the transgressor
was hard in that day, so surely is 1t
hard today. If we live lives devoid OF
honor and principle, we shall die as
did Absalom, utterly unprepared to
meet our God.
"The world says the wicked are sue
cessful, and 1t says let us plunge into
this avenue of vice and that and
we shall be happy and successful. The
success of the wicked, mark me, is but
n short lived success. Sin, though 1t
seems to some attractive, is in the
end, death. We speak of failures, but
there is no failure like the failure of a
human life. We speak of ruined tenn
pies and of ruined castles, but there is
no ruined temple that speaks as sadly
as the ruined temple of the soul.
RUIN OF THE SOUL.
There is no ruin like the ruin Of a
human soul. David's cry of My son,
myson,' has been the lament of fathers
for all the centuries. 1t has sounded
and resounded, echoed and re-echoed
down the corridors of the world. 1t Is
the sorrowful wall of broken-hearted
mothers. who weep for the sons who
are lost to them.
There are today fathers and moth
ers who are weeping for their boys
and girls and sounding the cry of David
of old. There are some who weep over
the children when God calls them
home. To them l say: BE still. weep
not for, far better Is it to weep over ten
dead children than over one living one
The city's cry at present is give
back the transfers. 1t is the cry of an
outraged public and it speaks to the
manager of corporation which has
robbed them of their honor and of their
position in society; corporation which
issues an order which it throws as an
insult in the face of the people upon
whom it has lived.
But there is a greater cry that
should go up. Scranton is robbed of
things far more precious than a few
tranfers. Before the clock shall strike
at the close of this present year moro
than a hundred of the boys of the
city of Scranton will have turned tow
ard the drunkards life and will lose
their better manhood and over fifty
girls will have gone into the eternal
night of sin.
1--WE raise hue and cry about a few
tranfers and we let our boys and girls
go down to an awful hell. What of
the cry, Give us back our sons, give
| us back our daughters, give us back
our manhood give us back our honor,
| give us back our soul The cry comes
again and again, 'Oh, my child, my
| child
ANOTHER CRY.
"There is another cry that comes
| sounding over the battlements of heav-
| en-. 1t is the cry of Jesus Christ,
| whose heart is rent when He sees His
| children drifting further and further
| away from Him.
He cries: 'Oh, world, give me back
| the men who in the prime of their
| lives have left the flock and wandered
far away. Give me back the boys and
| girls. Give me back the women. Give,
Oh give, me back those for whom
| died."