Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1902-10-18
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,,
Pastor OF Jefferson Park Presby-
terian Church, Chicago

lalmaBe IN THIS sermon Oh the text
Exodus Xxx. Z, Thou shalt not take the
name of the Lord thy God In vain"
The blasphemer's condemnation Is O
mighty theme. Its curse indirectly af.
fects the whole human race. Every
man belongs to one Of two classes-ei
ther he is blasphemer and therefore,
on account OF his profanity. comes d.
rectly under the condemnation OF God,
or else he belongs to that large class
whose ears are polluted by his profans
utterances. in which class are some
who listen with indifference or con-
tempt, while others shudder with hor-
ror as they hear the blasphemous men.
tion OF the namo OF their Master and
King.
/ No street car or factory or shop or
camp is entirely free from this shock
Ing plague. In our streets and public
resorts there iS daily and hourly evil
dence OF the prevalence Of this perni-
cious habit. Not only does the hus-
band and father swear, but his exam
pie Is sometimes followed by his wife
and his son and even his little chill
dren. MotOrmen swear at the trucks
Engineers swear at their fires Boys
swear al their lessons In the school
room and at their baseball bats upon
the playground. Merchants swear at
their clerks. Employees, under their
breath In the store and out loud when
they are away from the counters, swear
at their employers. Men swear when
they are buying goods. Fishermen
swear at their hooks and lines and at
the fish they do not catch. CONNER
ciSi travellers swear because the train
OF the hotel meal Is late or because
there is no water pitcher In the bed
room. Sailors swear at the ropes aud
tie and the grain and the weather.
Men swear at the gutter into which
they tumble and at the wagon wheel
which spattcrs them with mud. Bias
phemers swear when they are happy;
they swear when they are sad; they
swear at everybody and everything.
The popularity OF this habit Of profan-
ity Is that It so permeates the BIAS
phemer's mind and conversation that
be gets TO swear unconsciously. He
can swear automatically In the same
way that the lungs can breathe auto
matically or a child's eyelIds can open
and Slut automatically or as a speak
er, when hs is thinking and planning
out an address. can walk up and down
his study automatically. 1t Is about
time that Christian pulpits should ut
ter their protest against the universal
evil OF saeriegious imprecation.
Profanity is a cruel and Il cOwardly
habit. because 1t shocks the holiest
feelings and pierccs the hearts Of
thousands and hundreds Of thousands
of Christians who are unable by law
to stop this awful and blood curdling
infamy. Only the other day tele-
phone girl had a Chicago merchant ar
rested and dned 500 and costs In the
police Justice court because the de-
fendant swOre at her over the wires.
His defense before the justice was that
he v..s hungry and wanted to order
his dinner from neighboring restau-
rant and that the girl In the central
office OF the telephone company would
not give him the right connection. But
when the justice beard the young GIRLS
statement that she could not make the
necessary connection because the lines
were busy at that time he decided
against the defense OF the Chicago
merchant. He said. mo man has
right to hurl profane words at any
public servant when that man or wom-
an Is trying to do bis or her full duty"
But Christian people cannot as class
stop the profane remarks which they
hear every day from the passersby
upon the different public thorough
fares.
The Blasphemer n Coward.
The blasphemer is essentially a cow
ard, because be inhicts suffering on
persons who are powerless to resist or
retaliate. 1t Is a hard word. but use
the plain, unvarnlshed Anglo-Saxon
word which describes the cowardly act |
/ want you swearers to realize the ex-
tent OF the injuries which you are dN' |
ing against some Of your fellow men /
when you swear in public. want
you to fully realize how you are cut
ting and laceratlng Chrl'.ian hearts
with your blood curdiing oaths by try.
ing to put yourself, II possible, In your
Christian brothers place, who Is COM !
PEELED to listen every day to the public
utterancss Of profanity. You can judge,
perhaps, how your Christian neighbor
feels by supposing that some one Is
speaking slightingly and dlsrespectful-
~ and slanderously Of some one you
very dearly love. You have a mother
or a wife or, perhaps. to use a better
Illustration, a young daughter whom
you fondly cherish. Suppose In some
public place you should hear her name
vilifed. What would yeu dol Why
need you answer Even now | can
see your cheek flush and your teeth
become set and your hands cllnch to-
gether You would Immediately de-
mand an apology from the vlliher or
perhaps, II you are an lmpulslve man,
you weuld raise your fist and knock
that man down. You would do just
what a friend Of miEe did some years
ago In waynesburg. W. Va. He was
bringing home the dead body Of his
little girl, who was bis Idol. AS
great, rough, brutal porter took the
coffin out OF the baggage car he. the
father, said to him: Man, please be
careful. Don't handle that box rough
ly." But when the porter In spite OF
that plea swore at the coffin and used
a contemptuous epithet about the be-
loved form within II and roughly let
the box tumble upon the platform, as
a varn 90 exnreasuaan let's a trunk fall