Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-11-15
FREEDOM FROM SIN.
DR.. Talmage Depicts Struggle Of
Man Who Desires Liberation.
fake. Text from Proverbs and Shows
the Good Angel and the Bad
Angel Striving for Victory.
Over the Soul.


Washington. Nov. 10.
In this discourse DR.. Talmage de-
picts the struggle of man who de-
sires liberation from the enthrall-
uaent of evil and shows how he may
be set free; text, Proverbs 23:35:
when shall awake? I will seek it
yet again"
With an insight into human nature
such as no other man ever had Sol
omon in these words is sketching the
mental processes of a man who. has
stepped aside from the path Of rec
titude and would like to return.
Wishing for something better, he
Ays: when shall I awake? When
shalr T get over this horrible night
mare of iniquity?" But, seized upon
by an uneradicated appetite and
pushededowns hill by his passions, he
cries out: 81 will seek it yet again.
will try it once more!"
About mile from Princeton, N.
T., there is = skating pond. One win
ter day, when the ice was very thin,
= 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:
"BoysS one round more" He struck
out on his skates, the ice broke, and
his lifeless body was brought up. And
in all matters Of temptation and al
lurement it is not a prolongation
that1 is proposed, but only just one
more indulgence, just one more sin.
Then comes the fatality. Alas, for
the one round morei 81 viii seek it
get again"
Our libraries are adorned with ele-
CANT literature addressed to- young
men pointing out to them allsthe dan
gers and perils of life-complete
maps. of the voyage of life--the
shoals, the rocks, the quicksands.
But suppose young man is already
sAipwrecked. suppose he is already
off the track. suppose he has already
gone astray, how can he get back?
That is a question that remains IN
answered, and amid all the books of
Che libraries I find not one word on
. that subject. To that class of per-
sons l this day address myself.
You compare what you are now
with what you were three or four
years ago, and you are greatly dis
heartened. You are ready with every
passion of your soul to listen to a
discussion like this. Be of good
cheer! Your best days are yet to
rome. I offer you the hand of wei
come and rescue. put the silver
o trumpet of the gospel to my lips and
bbow one long, loud blast, saying:
whatsoever will, let him come, and
let him come now" The church of
God is ready to spread a banquet
, upon your return, and all the
shierarchs of Heaven fall into line of
hammered procession over your re-
sdemption.s
Years ago, and while yet Albert
Barnes was living, I preached in his
pulpit one night to the young men
of Philadelphia. In the opening of
my discourse I said: 20 Lord, give
me one soul tonight" At the close
of the service Mr.. Barnes introduced
o young man saying: This is the
young man you prayed for" But I
see now it was too limited a prayer.
So far as God may help me I pro-
pose to show what are the obstacles
to your return and how you are to
surmount those obstacles. The first
difficulty in the way of your return
Is the force of moral gravitation
just as there is a natural law which
brings down to earth anything YOU
throw into the air, SO there is a cor
responding moral gravitation. I
never shall forget a prayer I heard a
young man make in the Young Mems
ChEistian association of New York.
W1ths trembling voice. and streaming
eyes he said: 20 God Thou knowest
how easy it is for me to do wrong
and how hard it is for me to do
right God help mel" That man
knows not his own heart who has
never felt the power of moral gray
j, itation.
In your boyhood you had good asso-
ciates and bad associates. Which most
impressed you? During the last few
years you have heard pure anecdotes
and impure anecdotes. Which the
easiest stuck in your memory You
have had good habits and bad habits.
10 which did your soul more easily
yleldF But that moral gravita ton NAV
De resisted. Just as you may pick up
anything from the earth and hold it
In your hand toward heaven, Just So,
by the power of Gods grace. a fallen
soul may be lifted coward peace. to-
ward pardon, toward salvation. The
force of moral gravitation is in every
one of us, but also power in Gods grace
to overcome that force
The next thing in the way. of your
return is ting power of evil habit. I
know there are those who cay it is
very easy for them ia give up evil hab-
its. cannot believe them. Here is a
man given to intoxication, who knows
1T is disgracing his family, destroying
his property and running hirn-body,
mind and sous. If that man, an intel
gent man and loving his family, could
give up that habit, would he not do