Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1896 — AS THE THEE FALLS. [ARTICLE]

AS THE THEE FALLS.

NO MATTER IN WHAT DIRECTION, THERE IT SHALL LIE. Rev. Dr. Preaches An ISarh-* cat Sermon, Warning the Impenitent Against Waiting for the Next World Before Correcting the KrrOra of This. ~ I Talmage’s Sunday Talk. » Dr. Talipage in his sermon discusses a question that everybody -sometimfe discusses. It is one of tremendous import. Shall we have another chance? The text is Ecclesiastes ii., 3, “If the tree fall toward the south or toward the north, n the phtee whei'e the tree falleth there it. shall 1m?.” There is a hoveririg hope in the* minds of a vast multitude of people that there will ' be an opportunity in the next world of correcting the mistakes of this; that however complete a shipwreck we may make of our earthly life- it will be on a beach up •which we may walk to a palace; that as the defendant may lose his ease in a cir- . cirit court and appeal it and have it go up ■ to the supreme court or court of chancery and all the costs thrown over on the other party, so a man may lose his case in this world, but in the higher jurisdiction of eternity have the decision of the earthly case set aside, all the costs, remitted and the defendant he triumphant forever. A Baseless Hope. The object of my sermon is to show you that common sense declares with the text that such an expect on is chimerical. “If the tree fall toward the south or toward* the north, -in-* tlie. place where the s tree falleth there it shall Jje.” There are those who say that if the impenitent and unforgiven man enters the next world and sees the disaster, as a result of that disaster lie will turn, the distress the. cause of bis reformation, bntwe hove 10,- ’ 'OOO instances all around about us of people who have-done-wrong -and disaster suddenly came upon them. Did the disaster heal them? NO; they went on. There is a man flung "of dissipations. The doctor says to him, “Now, iny friend. If you don’t stop drinking ami don’t stop this fast life you are living you will die.” ' The patient thanks the physician for his warning and gets better. Ho begins to sit tip,, begins to Walk around the room, begins to go to business, and takes the same round of grogshops where he got his morning drum, and his evening dram, and the drams between. Down again. Same doctor. Same physical anguish. Same medical warning. But now the sickness Is more protracted, the liver more obstinate, the stomach more irritable, the digestive organs more rebellious. But still, under medical skill, he gets better, goes forth, commits the same Sacrilege against his physical health. Sometimes he vyakes up to see what he is doing, aud he realizes he is destroying his family, and that hi? life is a perpetual perjury against his marriage vows, and that that broken hearted , woman is so different from the roseate wife he married that her old schoolmates do not recognize her on the street, and that his sons are going out in life under tin* Taunt of a father’s drunkenness, and that his daughters are going out in life under the scarification of a disreputable ancestry. His nerves are all a-jang!e. - From crown of head to sole of foot he is one aching, rasping, crucifying, damning torture. Where is ho 7 He is in hell on earth. Does it stop him? Ah, no. After awhile delirium tremens pours out upon Efs pillow a whole jungle of hissing reptiles, nis screams horrify the neighbors as he dashes out of bed crying, “Take these things off me!” He is drinking down the comfort of his family, the education of his children, their prospects, for this life and perhaps their prospects for the life to come. Pale aud convalescent he sits up. Physician says to him: “Now, my good fellow, I am going to have a plain talk with you. If you ever hate an attack of this kind again, you will die. I can’t save yon, ajul all the dortors in creation can’t save yofi." The palient gets up, starts out. goes the same round‘of dissipation and is down , again, but this time medicines do riottouch his ease. Corisultutions of physicians say there is rio hope. Death ends the scene. That process of inebriation and physical suffering and medical warning and dissolution is taking place within a stone’s throw of where you sit and ji every neighborhood of Christendom. Pain does not reform. Suffering does not cure. What is true in regard to one sin is true in regard to all sins, and yet men are ox- " peering in tiie next life there will lie opportunity for purgatorial regeneration. Take tip the printed reports of the prisons of the United States and find that the vast majority of the criminals were there before, some for two times, throe times, four times, six times; punished again and again,- but they go right on. Millions of .Incidents and instances working the other way, and yet men think that in the next world punishment will work out for them salvalde effects. Why, yon and I cannot Imagine any worse torture from another world than A’<» have seen men in in this world, and without any salutary consequences.

The Last Chance. Furthermore, the prospect*of reformadon in another world is more improbable than here. Do you not realize the fact Chat a man starts in this world with Hie innocence of infancy? In the other ease, starring in the other world, h- starts with the 'Accumulated bad habits of a lifetime. Is it not to be expected that you could build a better ship out of hew timber tliau out of an old, hulk that has been ground up % in the breakers? If starting with com- •, parut'ive innoceney the man does not become godly, is it possible that starting Vifch sin a seraph can be evoluted? Is there not more prospect that a sculptor will make a liner statue out of a block of v pure white Parian marble than tout of a hlifk rock that has been cracked and twisted and split and scarred with the storms of a half century? Could you not write a last will uml testament, or write a dos'd, or write an important document on a pure white sheet of paper easier than you could write !t upon a sheet scribbled all over with infamy and tildtted and tore 'froth top to bottom? And yet there are those who are so uncommon sensieal as to believe that though a man starts hi this world with infancy and its inuocfcncc and turns out badly, in the next •world lie eau start with a dead failure and turn out well. .“But,” say some people, “we ought to have another chance in the next world localise our life here is so very brief. We searCely have room to turn around between the cradle and the gruve, the wood of the one almost striking against the marble of the other. We ought to have another chance because of the brevity of this life.” My friends, do you know what made the ancient deluge a myesslty? It was the' longevity of the antodeluvians. They were .worse in the second century than in the first, and worse when they got 30H yenrs old, and worse nt 400, anJ worse at 500, und worse at 000. and worse at 800, until the world hod to be washed and sconred and scrubbed and soaked and sunk and anchored a whole month under water before it was fit for decent people to live in. I have seep many pictures of old Time with his scythe to cut, but I never, saw any picture of Time with a chest of medicines to heal. Seneca said that in the first few years of his public * I* • * . ’ s'* • * t

fife Nero was set up as an example of clemency and kindness, but he got worse and worse, the path descending, until.at <SB years of age he was the suicide. If 800 years of lifetime could not cure the antedelrivinns bt their iniquity, I undertake to say that all the ages of eternity would be only prolongation of depravity. “But.” says some one, “in the next life the evil surroundings will be withdrawn and good influences will be substatuted. and hence expurgation, sublimation, glorification.” But you must remember that the righteous, all their sius forgiven, pass right up into a beatific state, and then having passed up into fife beatific state, not needing any other chance, that will, leave all those who have never been forgiven, and who were impenitent, alone — alone—and where are the solvable influences to conic from ? Can it be expected that Dr. Dnff, who spent his whole life in pointing the Hindoos to heaven, and Dr. Abeel; who spent his life in, evangelizing China, and thritiJudson, who spent his life in preaching the gospel to Burma —can it be expected that they will be sent down from some celestial missionary society to educate and save those who wasted their earthly existence? No. We are told distinctly that all missionary and evangelistic influences will be ended forever, and the good, having passed up to their beatific slate, all the morally bankrupt will be together, and where are the solvable influences to cpme from? Will a specked or bad apple put in a barrel of diseased apples make the other apples good? Will one who is down be able to lift others -up 'K Will those who have miserably failed In" the business of this life be able to pay the debts of our spiritual insolvents? Will a million Wrongs make one right? Poneropolis was the. city where King But us of Thraeia’put /ill bad people of his kingdom, and whenever there were iniquitous people found in any part of the land they were all sent to Poneropolis. It was the great capital of wickedness. Suppose a man or a woman had opened a primary school in Poneropolis; would the parents of other cities have sent their children there to be educated arid refofffiv ed? *

Words of Warning. If a mail in this world was surrounded with temptation, in the next world, all t,he righteous having passed up into the beatific state, the association will be more deteriorating, depreciating and down. You would riot send to a cholera or yellow fever hospital a man for his health, and the great lazaretto of the future, in which are gathered the diseased and the plague struck, will be a poor place for moral recovery. Tbs Count of Chateaubriand, in order to make his child courageous, made him sleep in the turrets of the castle, wiiere the winds howled and specters were said to hnujit the place. The mother and the sisters almost died of fright, but the son afterward gives his account, anil he says, “That gave me nerves of steel and gave me courage that has never faltered.” But, my friends, Ido not think the turrets of darkness or the spectral world swept by sirocco and euroclydon will .ever prepare a soul for the eternal land of suiißhirie. I wonder what is the curriculum in the College Inferno, where a man, having been prepared by enough sin, enters and goes up from freshman of iniquity to sophomore of abomination, and oil up from sophomore to junior, and from junior to senior, and day of graduation eomes, and the diploma is signed by Satan, the president, and all the professional demoniacs attest the fact that The candidate has been a sufficient time under their drill and then enters heaven. Pandemonium, a preparatory school for celestial—admission! Ah, iriy friends, while Satan and his cohorts have fitted a vast multitude for ruin, they nevemtttted one soul for happiness—never.

Again, I wish you further to notice that another chance in another world means the ruin of this. Now, suppose a wicked ninth Is assured that after « lifetime of wickedness,he can fix it all right up in the future. That would lie the demoralization of society, that would be the demolition of the human race. There are men who are now kept on the limits of sin by their fear. The fear that if we are bad and forgiven here it will not bo well with us in the next existence is the chief influence that keeps civilization from rushing back into semi-barbarism, and keeps semi-barbarism from rushing back into midnight savagery, and keeps midnight savagery from rushing back info extinction. Now. the man is kept on the limits of sin. But this id&t coming into his soul, this idea of another chance, he says: “Go to, now. I’ll get out of this world all there is'in it. Come, gluttony and revenge and uncleanness and all sensualities, and wait, upon me. It may abbreviate my earthly life by dissoluteness, but that will only give fne heavenly indulgence on a larger scale in a shorter length of time. I will overtake the righteous before long. 1 will only come in heaven a little late, and I will be a little more fortunate than those who have behaved themselves on earth and then went straight to the boson! of God, because 1 will see more and have wider excursions, and l Will come into heaven via gahenna, via she'd!” Hearers! Headers! Another chance in the next world means free license and the demolition of this. Suppose you had a ease in court t and all the judges and all the attorneys agreed’ in telling you the first trial of it —it Would lie tried twice —the first trial would not be of very much importance, but the second trial would decide everything. On which trial would you put the most expenditure? On which trial would you employ the ablest counsel? On which frig 1 would you bo most anxious to have the attendance of nil the witnesses? “Oh,” you would say, “if there are to be two trials, and tile first trial does not amount to much, the second trial being everything, everything depending upqu that., I must have the most eloquent attorney, ’and I must have all my witnesses present, and I will expend my money on that." If these men Who are impenitent and who are wicked felt there were two trials, and the first was of no very great importance, and the second trial was the one of vast and infinite importance, all the preparations for eternity would be post mortem, post funeral, post sepulchral, and this world would be jerked off into impeniteney and godlessness. Another chance in another world means the demolition of this world. An to the Invitation. Furthermore, uiy friends—for I am preaching to myself as Well ns to you: we are on the same level* and though the platform he a little higher than the pew, it is only fpr convenience, and that we may the better speak to the people: wo are all on the same platform, and I am talking to my soul While I talk to yours—my friends, why another chance in another world when we have declined so many chances in this? Suppose you spread a banquet and you Invite a vnst number of friends, and among others you dend an invitation to a man who disregard's it or treats it in an obnoxious way. During twenty years you give' twenty banquets, *> banquet a year, and yon inrite your friends, nud every tinte* you Invito this man, who disregards your.invitation or sends back some indignity. After awhile you move into a larger house and amid more luxuriant surroundings, and you invite your friends, but you do not invite that man to whom twenty times you sent an invitation to the smaller house. Are you to blame? You would only make yourself absurd before God and man to send that man another invitation. For twenty years he has been declining sour

offerstind sending insult for your klnt!nossjnid courtesy, and can he blame you? Gan the come up to your house on the night‘.of tfie banquet? Looking up and seeing it'fs a finer house, will he have the .right to say: “Let me in. I declined all those other offers, but this i-s a larger house, a brighter house, a more luxuriant abode. Let in. Give me another chance?” God has spread a banquet of his grace before us. For 3G5 days of every year since we knew tfie difference between our right and our left he has invited us by his providence and by hts spirit. Suppose we decline all these offers and all this kindness. Now the banquet is spread in a larger place, in the heavenly palace. Invitations are sent out, but no invitation is sent\o us. Why? Because we declined all those other banquets. Will God be to blame? Will we have any right to rap on the door of heaven and say: “I ought not to be shut out of this place; give me another chance?” Twelve gates of salvation standing wide for free admission? all our life and then when the twelve gates close we rush on the bosses of Jehovah’s buckler, saying, “Give me atiother chance!” A sh/ip is to sail for Hamburg. Yob want to go to Germany ’by that line. You see the advertisement of the steamer’s sailing. You see it for two weeks. You see it in the morning papers and youssfre. it in the evening papers. You see it placarded on the walls. Circulars are thrown into your office telling you all about that steamer. 'One day yon come “down oh the wharf, and the’steamer has swung out into .the stream. You say: “Oh. that isn’t fair. Come back; swing up again to the docks, yhrdw the plank ashore that I may come <fn board. It isn’t fair. I want to go to Germany by fh/at steamer. Give me another chance.” Here' is a magnificent offer for heaven. It has been anchored within our sight year after year, and year nftor year, and year after year, and all the benign voices of earth and heaven have urged us to get on board, since it inay sail at any moment. Suppose we let that Opportunity sail away, and then we look' out and say: “Send back that opportunity. I want to take it. It isn’t treating me fairly. Give me another chance.” Why, my brother, you might as well go out and stand on the Highlands at the Navesink three days after tie Majestic has gone out and shout: “Captain, come back. I want to go to Liverpool on the Majestic. Come back over the sea and through the Narrows and up to the docks. Give me another Chance.” You might as,well do that as, after the last opportunity of heaven has sped away, try to get it back again. Just think of it! It came on me yesterday in my study with overwhelming impressiveness. Just think of it. AH heaven offered us as a gratuity for a whole lifetime, and yet we wanting to rush against God, saying: “Give me another chance.” There ought to be. there will be, no such thing as posthumous opportunity.

A Grand Chance. You see rommon sense agrees w?fh lny text in saying that “if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be.” You See this idea lifts this world from an unimportant way station,, to a platform of stupendous issues and makes all eternity whirl around tfnis hour. Oh, my soul, my soul! Only one trial, and all the preparations for that trial to be made in this world or never made at all. Oh, my soul, my soul! You sec this piles "tip all the emphasis and all the climaxes and all the destinies info this life. No other ehance. Oh, how that intensifies the value and the importance of this chance. Alexander and his army used to come around a city, ami they would kindle a great light, with the understanding that as long as that light was burning the city might surrender and all would be well, but if they let that light go out then the battering rams would swing against the walls and there would coirie disaster and demolition. Oh, my friends, all you and I need to do to prepare for eternal safety is just to surrender to the King and Conqueror, Christ. Surrender hearts, surrender life, surrender everything. The great light keeps burning, light kindled by the wood of the (fross, light flaming up against the dark night of our sin and sorrow. Oh, let nri surrender before the light goes out and with it our last opportunity of making our peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, my brother, talk about anothir chance; this the supernal chance. In the time of Edward 11., at the battle of Musselburg, a private soldier saw that the Earl of Huntley had lost his helmet. The private soldier took off his helmet and wept up to the Earl of Huntley and put the helmet on his head. Now, the head of the private soldier uncovered, he was soon slain, while iiis commander rode* in safety through and out of the- battle. But it is different in >tir case. Instead of a private offering a helmet to an earl, it is the King of heaven and earth offering a crown to an unworthy subject, the King dying that we might live! Oh. tell it to the points qf the compass, tell it to day and night, tell it to earth and heaven, tell it to all tne centuries and all the millenniums that God has given us such a magnificent chance in this world that wo need no other ehance in another!