Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1901-11-15
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
NAN VERSUS EVIL THE SUBJECT
LAST SUNDAY.
From Proverbs XIII; So, as Follows'
when Shall i Awake 1 Will Seek
1t Yet Again"-The Return OF the
ProdigaI-Surmountin Obstacles.

course DR.. Talmage depicts the strug-
Rle OF a man who desires liberation
from the enthrallment of evil and
shows how he may be set free; text,
Proverbs xiii, 35: When shall 1
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 sketching the
mental processes of a man who has
stepped aside from the path OF recti-
tilde and would like to return. Wish
ing for something better he says:
when shall I awake? When shall |
get over this horrible nightmare OF
iniquity?" But seized upon by I'M
sradicated appetite and pushed down
hill by his passions, he cries out: 1
will seek 1t yet again. will try it once
norei"
About a mile from Princeton, N. 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 lifeless
body was brought up. And in all
matters Of temptation and allurement
It is not a prolongation that is propos-
cd. but only just one more indulgence,
Just one more sin. Then comes the
fatality. Alas, for the one round
more! 81 will seek it 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 life-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 7 this day address
myself.
Surmounting Obstacles.
So far as God may help me l propose
20 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 a natural law which brings
down to earth anythingyou throw into
the air, so there is q corresponding
moral gravitation. I never shall for
get . prayer | 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
met" 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-
ton may be resisted. Just as you may
pick up anything from the earth and
hold 1t 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. 1t seems as if the world
had turned upside down. He feels his
business is going to ruin Where he
was kind and obliging he is scolding
and fretful. The composure that char
acterized him has given way to
fretful restlessness, and he has become
a complete fidget. What power is if
that has rolled wave of woe over the
earth and shaken a portent in the
heavens? He has quit tobacco. After
awhile he says: 81 am going to do as
1 please The doctor does not under
stand my case. I am going back to
my old habits And he returns
Everything assumes its usual COM
pOsure. His business seems to bright
en-. The world becomes an attractive
place to live in. His children, seeing
the difference, hail the return of their
genial disposition. What
wave OF color has dashed blue into he
sky. and greenness into the mountain
foliage. and the glow of sapphire into
the sunset? What enchantment has
lifted world Of beauty and Joy on his
soul? He has resumed tobacco.
The fact is, We all know In our own
experience that habit is a taskmaster
As long as We obey 1t 1t does not chas-
tise us; but let us resist, and we find
that we are dashed with scorpion
whips and bound with ship cable and
thrown into the track of bone break
Ing Juggernauts.
The ProdigaPs Return.
The prodigal, wishing to get into
good society, enters a prayer meeting.
Some good man without much sense
greets him by saying: why, are you
here? You are about the last person