Anadarko daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 1901-190?, 1901-11-19
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
MAN VERSUS EVIL THE SUBJECT
LAST SUNDAY.
From Proverbs XNITI; 35, as FolIowsi
when Shall I Awake? WIN seek
IL Vet Agaln"-The Return OF the
Prodisni surmountlng Obstacles.


Washington, Nov. 10.-In this dis
course Or Telmage depicts the strug-
gle of man who desires liberation
from the enthrallment of evil and
shows how he may be set free; text,
Proverbs xiii. 35: when shall
awake? will seek it yet again"
With an insight into human nature
such as no other man ever had Solo
mon in these words is skbtching the
mental processes OF a man who has
stepped aside from the path of recti-
tude and would like to return. Wish
ing for something better he says:
When shall awake? When shall
get over this horrible nightmare Of
iniquity?" But seized upon by un-
eradicated appetite and pushed down
hill by his passions, he cries out: 81
will seek it yet again. viii try il once
more!"
About a mile from Princeton, ~ j.,
there Is a skating pond. One winter
day, when the ice was very thin, a
farmer living near by warned the
young men of the danger OF skating at
that time They all took the warning
except one young man. He, in the
spirit of bravado. said, Boys, one
round more" He struck out on his
skates, the ice broke, and his lfeless
body was brought up. And in all
matters of temptation and allurement
/ it is not a prolongation that is propos-
/ ed, but only just one more indulgence,
/ just one more sin. Then comes the
4 fatality. Alas. for the one round
more! Il will seek 1t yet again"
Our Libraries are adorned with ele-
| CANT literature addressed to young
men pointing out to them all the dan
gers and perils of llfe-complete maps
of the voyage of life--the shoals. the
rocks. the quicksands. But suppose a
young man is already shipwrecked,
suppose he is already off the track.
suppose he has already gone astray,
how can he get back? That is a
question that remains unanswered.
and amid all the books OF the libraries
| find not one word on that subject. To
that class of persons this day address
myself.
So far as God may help me propose
to show what are the obstacles to your
return and then how you are to sur
mount those obstacles. The first diff
Guilty in the way OF your return Is the
force of moral gravitation. Just as
there is natural law which brings
downto earth anythingyou throw into
l IL sa a
moral gravitation. never shall for
get a prayer I heard a young man
make in the Young Mems Christian
Association of New York. With trem-
bling voice and streaming eyes he
said: 20 God, thou knowest how easy
1t is for me to do wrong and how hard
1t is for me to do right God help
mel" That man knows not his own
heart who has never felt the power Of
moral gravitation.
In your boyhood YOU had good asso-
ciates and bad associates Which
most impressed you? During the last
few years you have heard pure anec-
dotes and impure anecdotes. Which
the easiest stuck to your memory?
You have had good habits and bad
habits. To which did your soul more
, easily yield? But that moral gravita-
tion may be resisted. Just as you may
pick up anything from the earth and
hold IL in your hand toward heaven,
just so, by the power of Gods grace, a
fallen soul may be lifted toward peace,
toward pardon, toward salvation. The
, force of moral gravitation is in every
: one Of us, but also power in Gods
grace to overcome that force
= slavery to Habit.
A physician tells his patient that he
must quit the use of tobacco, as it is
. destroying his health. The man re-
+, plies, Il can stop that habit easy
enough" He quits the use OF the
weed. He goes around not knowing
= What to do with himself He cannot
: add up column OF figures; he cannot
sleep nights. II seems as If the world
| had turned upside down. He feels hls
t business is going to ruin. Where he
y was kind and obligins &c Is scolding
and fretful The composure that char
acterized him has given way to a
fretful restlessness, and he has become
complete fidget. What power is II
that has rolled a wave OF woe over the
earth and shaken a portent in the
D heavens? He has quit tobacco. After
a awhile he says: Il am going TO do as
. please. The doctor does not under
stand my case. am going back tc
my old habits" And he returns
; Everything assumes It's usual com.
$ posure His business seems to bright.