The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-12-20
DIR. sERnON
The Eminent Dlvlne's Sunday
Discourse.
Subjects Salvation For the Morally ship
wrecked - Yield Not 60 the Force Of
Immoral 0ravltatlon Heipfulneas Of
Religion-Door Of Mercy swings Wide.

lcopyrght 1911
WASHINGTON, d. C.-In this discourse
DR.. Ialmage depicts the struggle of q
man who desires liberation from the en-
thralment of evil and shows how he may
be set free text, Proverbs xiii 50:
When shall awake? will seek II yet
again"
With an insight into human nature
such as no other man ever had, Solomon
in these words is sketching the mental
process of a man who has stepped aside
from the path Of rectitude and would like
TO return. Wishing for something better,
he says: when shall / awake? When
shall / get over this horrible nightmare
of iniquity" But seized upon by IN
eradicated appetite and pushed down bill
by his passions he cries out: II will seek
it yet again. will try it once more"
About a mile from Princeton, N. j.,
there is a skating pond. One winter day,
when the ice was very thin, a farmer llv-
ing 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 brayado, said, Boys,
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 allurement it IS not a
prolongation that is proposed, but only
lust one more indulgence, Just one more
sin. Then comes the fatality. Alas, for
the one round more! II will seek it yet
again"
Our libraries are adorned with elegant
literature addressed to young men, point
ing out to them all the dangers and perils
of life. Complete maps of the voyage OF
hfe-the shoals, the rocks, the quicksands
But suppose a young man is already ship
wrecked suppose he is already of 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.
You compare what you are now with
what you were three or four years ago,
and are greatly disheartened. 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 come.
I offer YOU the hand Of welcome and res
cue. l put the silver trumpet Of the .gos..
pei to my lips and blow one long, loud
blast. saying, "Whosoever will, let him
come, and let him come now" The
church of God is ready to spread ban
uuet upon your return, and all the hle-
rarchs of heaven fall into line of ban
nered procession over your redemption.
Years ago, and while yet Albert Barnes
was living, l preached in his pulpit one
night to the young men of Philadelphla.
In the opening of my discourse | said, 70
Lord, give me one soul tonight" At the
close of the service Mr.. Barnes intro
duced a young man, saying, "This is the
young man you prayed for" But l see
now it was a too limited prayer. l offer
no such prayer to-day. 1t must take IN
wider sweep. Lord, give us all these
souls to-day for happiness and heaven!"
So far as God may help me propose to
show what are the obstacles to your re-
turn, and then how you are to surmount
those obstacles. The first difficulty in the
way of your return Is the force OF moral
gravitatiCn;, Just as there is a natural natural
law which brings down to earth anything
YOU throw into the air, so there is cor
responding moral grayitation. never
shall forget prayer l heard young man
make in the Young Mems Christian Asso-
citation of New York. With trembling
voice and streaming eyes he said: ~
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 gravitation..
In your boyhood you had good asso-
ciates and bad associates. Which most
/ 4
you have heard pure anecdotes and i'm
pure anecdotes. Which the easiest stuck
to your memory? You have had good hab-
its and bad habits To which did your
soul more easily yield? But that moral
pravitation may be resisted. just as you
NAV pick up anything from the earth and
hold it in your hand toward heaven, Just
so, by the power Of Gods grace, fallen
/ soul may be lifted toward peace, toward
pardon, toward salvation. The force Of
moral gravitation is in every one OF u.s.
but also power in Gods grace to overcome
, that force.
The next thing in the way of your re-
turn is the power of evil habit. l know
! there are those who say it is very easy fol
them to give up evil habits. cannot be
lieve them Here is man given to lntox
! ication, who knows it is disgracing hii
| family, destroying his property and ruin
ing him body, mind and soul. If thai
| man, being an intelligent man and LOVING
his family, could easily give up that habit
would he not do so? The fact that HI
does not give it up proves that it is hare
to give it up. 1t is very easy thing tt
sail down stream the tide carrying yol
with great force, but suppose you turf
the boat up streams it so easy then tt
row it? AS long as we yield to the evil in
clinations in our heart and to our baC
habits we are sailing down stream, but tn
moment we try to turn we put our boa
in the rapids just above Niagara and tr
to row up stream.
A physician tells his patient that b
must quit the use of tobacco, as it is dc
stroying his health The man replies, $
can stop that habit easy enough" H
quits the use of the weed. He goe
around not knowing what to do with hin
self. He cannot add up a column G
figures; he cannot sleep nights. 1t seem
He feels his business is going to ruiz
Where he was kind and obhging he
scolding and fretful. The composure tina
characterized him has given way to a fire.
full restlessness, and he has become con