Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-10-17

by heaven, Tor IL is COO s throne, nor
by the earth. for IL Is his footstool;
neither by Jerusalem. for IL is the city
OF the great King. Neither shalt thou
swear by thy head. because thou canst
not make one hair white or black But
let your communication be, Yea, yea;
nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than
these cometh OF evil" Could any de-
nunciation be more vehement against
the use of slang common among our
women and children and also among
the men than those words OF Jesus
Christ?
Suicidal Habit.
Profanity is a suicidal habit because
1t runs directly counter to the express
ed commands of God. Albert Barnes
once wrote, "There is not in the uni
verse more cause for amazement than
Gods forbearance In his dealings with
the blasphemer." But that God viii
ultimately punish those who take his
name In vain there Is no doubt. The
Bible distinctly asserts IL. And that
God sometimes instantly Furnishes the
sin OF blasphemy is also unquestioned.
Incident upon incident can be cited to
illustrate this fact.
Some years ago two English soldiers
in the Chatham barracks gathered
some of their comrades about them as
judges. Then these two men made a
wager. Then each started out to find
out who could utter the greatest num-
Der and the most awful variety of
blood curdling oaths so as to win that
wager. After one of the soldiers had
gone on for awhile in his blasphemous
sin be suddenly stopped and said, Now
l shall utter one more OATH more hor-
rible than all the rest of them, and
then am done" Instantly Gods con-
| demning wrath struck him dumb. For
three long hours he suffered and strug-
gled for breath. Then he died, a con-
demned blasphemer's death. After the
heart of the blasphemer's body had
ceased to beat his corpse, by the order
OF his officers. was made o PUBLIC spec
tacle TO teach the populace and the SOL
diers and the sailors alike that they
might realize the awfulness OF the
warning In the third commandment.
that God will not hold him guiltless
that taketh his name In vain" Gods
condemning wrath I'm that instance
came as suddenly as a stroke OF light
ming.
Ny father often mentioned an Incl
dent showing how sometimes the
wrath OF God can ana does strike the
blasphemer down; how Il can strike
the profane lips in the twinkling OF an
eye. The scene took place in q noted
inhdel club in Scotland. That night il
was decided by the club members that
the man who could make the most aw-
full oath in defiance Of God should be
elected president of the club. In this
competition of oaths one man uttered
SO vile an oath that bis comrades were
dumfounded. But no sooner was 1t
unanimously decided that this bias.
phemer should take the presidents
chair than his tongue began to swell.
II kept on swelling until it protruded
from the mouth. The blasphemer's
tongue kept on swelling until the BIAS
phemer died. He died quickly, be-
cause God had once said, I'm the words
OF my text. Thou shalt not take
the name OF the Lord thy God in
vain, for the Lord will not hold him
guiltiess that taketh his name In
vain"
But though Kaziitt Arvine gives in
cident after incident where the con-
demning wrath of God has instantly
slain the blasphemer, none of them
ever made such an impression upon
my mind as that which happened some
years ago practically under my own
eyes. We were then stopping In Eliza
BEETHOVEN, among the Adirondack
mountains. One afternoon fearful
thunderstorm came up. Before the
tempest broke IL was almost black MS
night. The air became so still that
even the leaves ceased to rustic Ma
ture was silent save here and there
when we heard q frightened bird twit.
ter as she few away to her nest and
young. Then the winds began to blow.
and those great trees began TO groan
and bend like monstrous human Lao
coons with their children in the fatal
grip of a destroying serpent dragging
them down. Then the heavens beca me
ut times like great rivers OF fire. The
lightning struck the earth again and
again. The golden grain, like n wound
cd and dying deer, bent the knee and
pillowed the head In the mud. Every
where We're the awful, terrific exhibit
tons OF supernatural power. Amid
this battle scene OF the elements a
party OF men were gathered in barn
but short distance from the hotel
piazza. In that company was an in
fdel. disappearing scoffer. When the
conversation turned upon the power of
hn nj
storm / am not afraid TO defy God"
He stepped to the open barn door and
raised his arms as he cried: Curse
God! Strike If you darew Immediately
there was dash, and the blasphemer
fell dead. The God who had uttered the
words of my text had heard. God in
one stroke OF the unsheathed sword of
fire made that blasphemer answer for
his crime. oh, my profane brother and
sister, as the doom OF the biasphemer
sooner or later is bound to come, dare
you today curse God? Dare you Ion
ger defy his will?
To Save the BIasphemer.
1 have written this sermon upon the
blasphemer's condemnation for two
purposes. The first is. / want to make
the piaspnemer realize his awful dan
ger and,by the grace OF God, to rescue
him IL possible from the awful de
struction toward which he is heading.
want to rescue him. by the grace OF
God, because, my brother, you will
never be emancipated from this sinful
habit of profanity unless you seek di-
vine help. After you have been a pro-
fame man for many years your pro-
family becomes a part of yourself.
You are bound to this evil habit by
links stronger than steel. Eion Foster
tells us that there was once a godly |
man who for thirty years had lived a
consistent Christian life who was
taken seriously Ill. During his deliri- |
GUS sickness he swore all the time. He |
swore because the evil habit which he |
practiced In his youthful days was
still lying dormant in his subconscious |
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