The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-26

Chicago. April 1s.-In this sermon the preacher draws a realistic picture of the numerous class that dallies with evil in- dulgence, making a mock of danger and needless of admonition until it is too late. The text is Proverbs xiv, 9. Fools make a mock at sin"
 There are times when hints and deli cate phraseology are inadequate for use ful purpose, and when the kindest and wisest course is to use plain, out-spoken characterization shot forth on arrows of denunciation and excoriation. So in my text Solomon says plainly that the man who mocks at sin is a fool. When the human body is slowly but surely being eaten up by a cancer, 1t Is time to use the surgeons knife. The gangrened limb needs amputation, not balms or plasters or poultices or fragrant ointments. And when men and women with wide open eyes deliberately place themselves in position where they may inhale the fetid atmosphere, reeking with the deadly germs of that contagious and fatal plague called sin, it is high time that some one should be bold enough to stigmatize them by an appropriate name. They are not misguided children who are mereiy lost in the crooked byways of llfe's jour ney. They can see the evil results Of sln everywhere they go if they will only LOOK as they are capable of looking. They arc not mental weddings who have been con fined behind le Iron bars of lunauc asylum. They can think. and clearly think, if they will and do what they ought to do. Such men and women are displaying suicidal folly and the only ap- propriate name for them Is that whlch Solomon applies to them; they are fools. Going to destruction by their own choice and volition, mocking at victims who have already been destroyed, needless or the fate impending over their own heads' they are as foolish as would be sea cap tain who in midocean and in the grip of q hurricane broke his rudder chalns, threw his chart overheard and smashed his compass.
 When a gigantic sin Is working evil to the body polite and is endangering our national well being, Solomons method is demanded. President Roosevelt eVl- dently thought so when, a short time ago. referring to a common sin, he Wrote' q do not know whether I most pity or despise the foolish and selfish man or woman who does not understand that the only things really worth having In lie are those the requirement of Whlch. normally means cost and effort. Phe man or woman who deliberately aVolds marriage and has heart so cold as to know no passion and a brain so shallow and selfish as to dislike, having children is in effect criminal fagainst the race and should be an object of contemptuous abhorrence to all healthy people"
 Why Mockers Are Fools.
 The stsnie kind of warning against sin Hugh.s SLatimer gave when he sent to Henry VIII, his king the present of New Testament, with these pungent words written in plain letters upon the fly leaf; For this ye know that no un- clean person hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" The same kind of warning against sin in high places John Knox used to give when as court preacher he would look down from his pulpit and denounce the sins of his ruler until the beautiful Mary, queen o9 Scots would grit her teeth and turn pale and clinch her tiny fists in paroxisms Of rage Let me show you why the mockers at sin are fools; also why men and wom- en in the daily walks of life should kneel every morning and evening and ask the Heavenly Father to protect and guide and save them from the evil temptations which beset them everywhere they go.
 Evil temptations invariably are intro duced to their victim in @ seemingly harmless way. They seek your compan- ionship at first as friends, and not as enemies They do not approach you glar- ing and convulsively working their claws and leap at you, as the man-eating mon ster might try to get at your throat when in all his fury he is caged in the geological gardens of Calcutta. But temptations come to you at first with the soft fur and the purring salutation of the ln4e kitten which might nestle in your lap, They come insidiously, as the chol- era germs might reach you wrapped in the beautiful garment which Is sent to you from far off India. They come with all the fragrance of the poisonous lear which brings death to every creature that touches 1t. Dr. Cuyler once gave won derful description of one of the poisonous trees, aptly called the Judas tree. He said that the blossoms of this tree are of a brilliant red From far and near the fatal beauty of those flowers attracts the insects. Yet "every bee wandering in search of honey that alights upon the blossoms imbibes fatal opiate and drops to the earth. Beneath tnis enticing tree the earth is strewn with the victims Of it's fatal fascination" That fatal plant is a vivid symbol of the way deadly sin first appeals to its victims. Sin in the
 
 brightest of floral colors It fascinates the ear as with the sweetest of harmo- nies. It soothes the sense of touch as with the velvety softness of tigers paw. while beneath is concealed the sharp claw It first wooes its victim to pillow his head upon the lap Of beauti- full Delilah. and while the sinner sleeps his lips are parted in a smile as he dreams the happiest of dreams.
 How Temptation Comes.
 "Sin is a sweet poison," once wrote Anthony Burgess. Tt tickleth while it stabbeth. The first thing 1t does is to be- witch, then to put out the eyes, then to take away the sense of feeling" It is when the temptation is concealed that it has It's greatest danger The mighty furred bruin of the Rocky moun- tains is not caught by the steel trap lying unconcealed In the open pathway. He shambles along, sniffs it, pushes 1t aside with his paw, moves round 1t or leaps over it, but when that trap Is concealed under the green grass a short distance from the tempting meat then the noun tain bear has need for fear. No sooner is the great paw placed upon that harmless looking covering than the steel teeth of that trap spring shut The mas sive limb is held in vise and the great 1-I.. Al.A 1~w.