The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1901-11-15

and how the paths OF virtue 1orSaken
may be regained. First of all, throw
yourself on God. Go TO Him frankly
and earnestly and tell Him these habits
you have and ask Him, if there is any
help in all the resources of omnipo-
tent love, to give it to you. Do not
go on with long rigmarole, which
some people call prayer, made up of
obs and abs and forever and forever
amensl Go to God and cry for help.
1 remember that in the civil war I
was at Antietam, with other members
of the Christian commission, to look
after the wounded. / went into the
hospital after the battle, and 1 said
to man: where are you hurt?" He
made no answer, but held up his arm,
swollen and splintered. / saw where
he was hurt. The simple fact is, when
a man has a wounded soul all he has to
do is to hold it up before sympathetic
Lord and get it healed. 1t does not
take any long prayer. just hold up
the wound. 1t is no small thing when
a man is nervous and weak and ex-
hausted, coming from his evil ways,
to feel that God puts two omnipotent
arms about him and says:
young man, I will stand by you.
The mountains may depart and the
hills be removed, but 1 will never fail
YOU" And then, as the soul thinks the
news is too good to be true and cannot
believe it and looks up in Gods face,
God lifts His right hand and takes
an affidavit, makes an oath, saying:
GAS 1 live" saith the Lord, 81 have no
II he 4f -iol-
Blessed be God for such Gospel as this!
"Cut the slices thin" says the wife
to the husband, "for there will not
be enough to go around for all the
children. Cut the slices thin" Blessed
be God, there is a full loaf for every
one that wants it. Bread and enough
to spare! No thin slices on the Lords
table!
L remember that while living in Phil
adelphia, at the time 1 spoke of min
ute ago, the Master Street hospital
was opened, and a telegram was re-
ceived, saying: "There will be 300
wounded men tonight. Please take
care of them" From my church there
went out 20 or 30 men and women. AS
the poor, wounded men were brought
in no one asked them from what state
they came or what was their parent
age. There was a wounded soldier,
and the only question was how to take
off the rags most gently and put ON
the cool bandage and administer the
cordial. And when a soul comes to
God He does not ask where you came
from or what your ancestry was. Heal
ing balm for all your wounds; pardon
for all your guilt; comfort for all your
troubles!
Then, also, I counsel you, if you
want to get back, quit all your bad
associates. One unholy intimacy will
fill your soul with moral distemper.
In all the ages of the church there
has not been an instance where a man
kept one evil associate and was re-
formed-among the 1,600,00O,0 900 of the
race, not one instance. Give up your
bad companions or give up heaven. 1t
is not ten bad companions that destroy
man nor five bad companions nor
three, but one.
What chance is there for the young
man l saw along the street, four or
five young men with him, in front of
a grog-shop, urging him to go in, he
resisting vehemently, resisting, until,
after awhile they forced him to go
in? 1t was a summer night, and the
door was left open, and 1 saw the
process. They held him fast, and they
put the cup to his lips, and they forced
down the strong drink. What chance
is there for such young man?
I counsel you also to seek Christ tan
advice. Every Christian man is, bound
to help you. If he declines to help you,
he is not a Christian. Now gather up
all your energies of body, mind
and soul, and, appealing to God
for success, declare this day ever
lasting war against all evil in
huences. A half work will amount
to nothing; it must be a Waterloo.
Shrink back now and you are lost.
Push on and you are saved. A Spar
tan general fell at the very moment
his own blood and wrote on rock
near which he was dying: Sparta has
Though your struggle to
get rid of sin may seem to be almost a
death struggle, you can dip your finger
in your own blood and write on the
Rock of Ages: "Victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Some one said to a Grecian gen.
eral: what was the proudest mo-
ment of your life?" He thought a
moment and said: "The proudest
was when 1 sent word home
to my parents that 1 had gained the
victory" And the gladdest and most
brilliant moment in your life will be
the moment when you can send word
to your parents that you have con-
4uered the evil habits by the grace of
God and become eternal victor.
Oh, despise not parental anxiety!
The time will come when you will
have neither father nor mother, and
you will go around the place where
they used to watch you and find them
gone from the house and gone from
the field and gone from the neighbor-
hood. Cry as loud for forgiveness as
you may over the mound in the
they cannot answer.
Deadl Deadl And then you will
take out the white lock of hair thai
was cut from your mothers brow
Just before they buried her. and you
will take. the cane with which your
father used to walk, and you will
think and think and wish that you
had done just as they wanted you
and would give the world if you had
never thrust a pang through their
dear old hearts.
God pity the young man who has
brought disgrace on his fathers
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