Year: 1875

Curse Of Curses.


BY REV. THEODORE L. CUYLER.


These are strong words to apply to
any evil But the English vocabu-
larry breaks down in the attempt to
do adequate justice to such curse
as the following facts describe.


A missionary, appointed by our
Sabbath Scool, reports us that he is
laboring in township which con-
tains about one Observation-Disclosures.
He does not find a single Sabbath
School. But he does find six rum
selling taverns, two distilleries, and
two cider millsl He reports a tre-
menduous harvest of tares in the
shape of drunken farmers sons,
worthless work hands, Sabbath
breakers, and a general going-to- the
devil among the whole community.
And this missionary field lies in our
Empire State, and nearly one hun
dred miles from the City of New
York. In this centennial era of
our history as nation, and in one of
our Oldest settled regions, such a
picture as this looms up. And ought
not the one thing which can produce
such a moral desolation, to be brand
ed as the curse of curses?


every true" replies some city
reader of The Evangelist; "but you
need not go into the rural districts
to find what the drink-demon can do.
We have here in New York 470
churches and chapels, and $40
dramshopsl There is a house of
worship for every two thousand per-
sons-most of them open only one
day in the week; there is dramshop
for every one hundred and twelve
persons, and open every day-and all
day-and sometimes at night What
do you propose to do about it,"


Good reader, whether in town or
country, there are some things that
can be done, and ought to be done
speedily. The very people to lay
hold of these certain things are the
followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God ordained his church to fghtsin,
not merely to mourn over it. If there
is one curse that is doing more to
neutralize the Gospel and to wreck
souls, than any other known among
us, surely the church of Jesus is not
to ignore that curse and the havoc
which it is making. Mere general
tiles in the shape of 'tAssembly's res
olutions" and reports of ecclesiastical
bodies effect but little. This is
work for each individual church, nay,
for each individual Christian. We
have no business to leave the effort
for saving any class of sinners entire
ly to outside organizations, 'orders,
lodges, or societies of any name or
description. They are useful; but
does Christ bid his followers turn
over the hardest cases and heaviest
curses to philanthropies of outsidersa


Each church then should directly
labor, in its own way, and with its
own moral machinery, against this
monster of wickedness. Every
church ought to have some systemat-
ic, organized method for resisting the
bottle, for instilling habits of sohrie-
ty, for reforming the fallen, and for
saving the young from this devour-
ing curse. Good legislation is val
able; but civil enactments are not the
peculiar province of Christ's church.


Suppose that every pastor and
every church and Sabbath School
would just lay hold of this monster
and ask God for help and guidance
to give battle to it. Suppose that
every minister should squarely plant
himself on the ground of entire ex-
clusion of every intoxicant from his
own house and his own lips; and
should call on all his members to
abandon it for the good of Others and
the glory Of God. Suppose that eV-
cry Sunday School instilled the du-
ty and the safety of abstinence into
the young hearts of the children.
Suppose that every church in the
land should organize action against
this curse of curses, and hold meet
ings, and spread abroad the truth,
and lay earnest hold on mems con-
sciences, and work with a will; who
can doubt the prodigious results that
would be achieved?


But what a topic for earnest, be-
seeching prayer is this curse Of ours
es! What a revival would that be
which would save the mighty multi
tude trooping to hell through the
doorway of drink? Men and breth-
rem, is not the hour ripe for action?


At the time of this writing there
are ten men in the county jail, all
Young men, some of them mere boys.
Not one of them would be there if it
had not been for intoxicating liquor.
We aye acquainted with some of
them. and know them to be honora-
BILE, kind-hearted, generous young
men, who would harm no one, and
violate no law of the land, if sober.
i Jackson Standard.