The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1902-12-19
their only saviour.

On, ye victims or the wine cup! eln,
We helpless men and women who have
long struggled In the relentless coils OF
the Satanic serpent, which are stronger
and more merciless than those OF the
great serpent, 120 feet long, Of which
Pliny once wrotel / beg and plead
with you to seek rescue from your
besetting sin in the blood Of Jesus
Christ Divine re-enforcements saved
John b. Cough. Divine REINFORCE
ment saved Francis Murphy. Divine
reinforcement saved Captain Barbour
Of Pittsburg. Divine reinforcement
can save you If you will live so close
to Christ that Christ can and viii live
close to you. Divine reinforcement
alone can save the drunkard who Ia
heading toward a drunkards grave.
This premise being true, that Jesus
Christ alone is the only sure antidote
for the suicidal thirst Of strong drink,
the next step in our temperance refor
nation should be to open all the
churches in our Christian land for
great temperance meetings. Every
minister of the gospel should preach
and continue to preach the gospel Of
teetotalism. Every pulpit Of every
church should be a broad, white desk
before which the victims Of strong
drink could bow at the throne Of grace
for mercy and then arise and with
trembling hand sign the temperance
pledge and blot it then and there with
their falling tears Of penitence. The
church Of the Lord Jesus Christ must |
and shall lead in this successful tenn
perance reform. The church Of the |
Lord Jesus Christ can destroy the sa-
loon IL she does her full duty, as the
prayer meetings Of the country. meet |
ing destroyed the political candidacy |
Of Robert G. Ingersoll for the govern
orship Of Illinois. The temperance
movement will fail, and surely fail, II
II is carried on purely as a secular
movement. 1t will win, and surely /
win, If 1t is carried on as a divine
movement in which is enlisted the
strong arm Of a church inspired Of the
Holy Spirit. 1t is by you that the call
for a gospel charge against the grog-
shops must first be sounded.
Lastly, and most important OF all,
with the help Of the church Of God. we
should try to kill the adder Of strong
drink by making our civil laws so
stringent that the young should find II
almost impossible to get at the wine
cup even IL they would. Ii is easier to
keep 100 young men from acquiring
the evil habit Of strong drink than It
is TO reform one debauched drunkard.
1t is easier to prevent than 10 reform
sin. suppose the chronic drunkards
who have been drinking for twenty or
thirty years Will find their poisonous
serpent Of the wine cup no matter
where they may be. But ii is possible
by law to protect the young. IL is pos
sible by law to keep liquor away from
the young men and the young women.
1t is possible to protect the rising gen
Grafton so that they may not be able
10 find this adder's lair and TO feel his
foul breath or his poisonous fangs.
And not only by stringent laws should
the destroying wine cup be kept from
the young, but the young should also
be taught why the debauching inhu-
ence of strong drink is kept out Of their
reach. The evil results Of indulgence
in the wine cup should be taught in
our public schools as well as In our
Sabbath schools. They should be taught
upon the public platforms as well as
in the private home. The evils Of
strong drink should be presented so
clearly and .vehemently to the young
that the rising generation should some
day by the grace Of God be able to
stand up in their might and declare
that America must and shall forever
be free from the evils OF strong drink.
They shall be able to declare 1t with
our help at the church altar; they shall
be able TO declare 1t In the nominating
planks of our great political parties;
they shall be able TO declare II at the
American ballot box; they shall be
able to declare it by telegraphic com
before a sin cursed, alco
hol poisoned world.
Christian men and women, north,
EAST, south and west, let us one and
I'll rally to the temperance cause. Let
he ministers consecrate the pulpits TO
his work. Let the laymen consecrate
.he pews. May we one and ali be
'eady to die for the temperance cause,
Jut never to surrender; never to cease
lighting the saloon and Its intrenched
,ower until we are summoned before
he great white throne Of heaven.
Never, never. never let up IN the strug-
lie against this hemisphere evil until
he home and the church and the
Singdom Of God shall forever be free.
Nay God give us one and all super
natural strength for the struggle which
8 before the temperance cause Of the
a I..IA