The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-21
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON FOR TOMORROW
BY J. [. GIL BERT, u. D.,

, he dfunkards. Therefore, touch not
 taste not. That would be good logic and
 moral prudence. But he prefers 2 aiI. ai. constituent properties of the alcoholic drink and finds there what cannot be allowed. with safety even in q small oe-
 gree. He was no chemist, It was re
 served for the Arabs at a later date to
 find and name what he knew to be pres tnt, what he knew moreover by it's bane-
 iul influence. 1t was a poison of the
 most virulent kind. which nigh. work would surely though gradually be done In the end and no one could tell N hen, It's venom would be like the bite ot serpent like the sting of the not adder ao be triHtd with. There Was but one wise and safe course to be p'irsued|t must be let alone.
 bent and the sting of the adder cause more than temporary discomfort. They ir. feet into the system what deranges and corrupts and destroys. 50 the poison contained In intoxicating beverages
 works it's mischievous results in every part of mans nature. It has a strange power to inf1ame the passions ana awak" en unholy desires. The vice. Of drunken. loathsome forms of "iicentiousness. In our dav the saloon and the brothel are in clCse neighborhood and often in partner
 ship solomon calls attention to tms down to a fife of impurGy (Gen. xix, s2). so that his heart sends forth out Of its disordered state perverse and indecent words. Dan. V, D Obscenity Is one or bauchery. The man who descends to that level has well-nigh defaeed the divine and human and enthroned the beastly.
 Peril (verse sD-Under such circuni- very rapid, and the sense of insecurity constantly increases. The man addicted to strong drink Is in constant peril. By loss of physical vigor, by disturnanoee ce appetite and vile affections. he selects ways that are not only bad in them selves but which are beset by destruct- i've influences. Within and without are perilous as that of one who lies down 10 sleep upon the top of mast of ves- seI at sea- where by the waves and storms he is liable at any moment to lose his verified in the lives of the many who met violent deaths while intoxicated. (2 Sam. xiii. 2S.) If the list of such cas- ualties in any community could be pub, all would see what frightftil sacrifices of life are made to the demon of alcohol.
 Bondage-(Verse 35) Strong drink leads man steadily on from one stage to another until he becomes most aDJect slave Among the earlier proofs Of ms bondage is a growing hallueination that the evils that have been brought upon him by his own actions were really tn- fiicted by others. He fancies himself stricken by some enemy and beaten Tor offenses of which he was not guilty, so thet he has resented as in injury, SO should have led him to repentance. tJer. xxxi, 1S) The results of his habit have thus only tended to strengthen him In it. After any physical suffering, which was natures call to reform sent by loving heavenly father, he turns again to seek his cup, expecting to find relief from pre- sent discomfort by momentary stimula- tion and exhilaraton. So the claims are fastened upon both soul and body holding him in gaflinE slavery from which there is no release by any power of his own.
 ConcIusion--Such then is the voice of wisdom, speaking out of the past to the young of today. The wine may sparkle eii the glass and appear beautiful to the eye, and drunken poets may write very the last 1t biteth like a serpent and stinEeth like an adder" It Is far worse than the fabled cup of Gree which trans formed men into brutes. It flames the paesiens and prompts to every crime. 1t ruins mans constitution and tends to beggafy. It Is an incentive to the basest lusts and causes many to fall into the deep ditch from which so few escape with their lives. It lets loose the tongue to utter everything impious. polluting and provoking. And yet it fascinates him his galllng chains, that he only sleeps to recruit himself. that when he awakes he may return to his destructdive in- dulgence. Who that has common sense would contract such a habit or sell him self to such iniquity?