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OUR YOUNG WOMEN.
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Westminster Chapel, Dr. Campbell Morgan's Church.
‘‘The woman being deceived, was in the tran
gression.” 1 Timothy 2:14.
O
hearted man, and with real fatherly care he went
to her and said: “My child, what do you want?”
“Oh, sir,” said she, “I am on my way from fath
er’s home to live in ‘Hell-dom.’ They have told
me I can't stay there any longer, for I have lost
my good name. My story is too sad to tell, but I
was not made for a dive like I am going to live in.
It kills me almost.”
There are hundreds and thousands like her in
every city. They may not be wailing for the same
thing, but they are wailing just the same. The
devil knows that his best work is done when he
gets a woman down in sin.
The Convention of Demons.
A man is reported to have dreamed that he died,
and went straight to hell; and there he attended a
convention of devils. The subject under consid
eration was how they might take a certain delight
ful little city, the city from which he had come.
One after another got up, and had this and that to
say. After awhile, one very wise and philosophic
devil said: “I have a plan that will work better
than anything you have suggested. Turn loose on
that town one hundred of the prettiest and most
accomplished women you can find, and then fill
them full of sin. There is no town or city in this
world that cannot be overthrown by one hundred
such women.”
How true is this! The first energy of the Church
and the home, and the city should be in the direc
tion of saving the women and keeping them saved.
We ought not to wait until after they have gone to
the devil, but save them before they go. I do not
know why it is, but it is true that ever since I
began my ministry, my chief concern has been work
in behalf of women. I do not mean to say that I
One of a Series of Sermons Being Preached by Dr. Broughton in Westminster Chapel, London.
NE Christmas Eve night, a policeman
w’as walking to his beat, supposing that
everything was quiet and orderly, when
suddenly he heard the sobs and sighs
of a woman. He did not know at first
from whence they came, but soon lo
cated them in a dark little alley-way
that led into what was called “Hell
dom.” The policeman was a kind-
The Golden Age for September 27, 1906.
am not interested in men, but God has somehow laid
upon my heart the work of women. 1 think it is
wise, for as the women go, the men go.
Women have it in their power to establish any
code of morals that they elect to establish.
Satan has always made his most insidious attacks
upon women. You read the history of the fall of
empires and nations; the one thing that has contrib
uted more than all things else to their overthrow
has been bad women. It is likewise true of the de
velopment of nations and empires. Woman, when
she makes up her mind to dedicate her heart to
that which is true, is an angel from Heaven, but
when she wants to be bad, she can be the devil
incarnate. Everybody knows that a hundred bad
women will curse us more than a scourge of yel
low’ fever.
The important question, therefore, in any com
munity is how to keep the devil from damning our
women.
The first need is old-fashioned mothers who watch
their girls, and keep them out of mischief. There
is a. vast difference between mothers. The curse
of the present day is the curse of bad mothers.
Many mothers are turning their children over to the
Sunday school, kindergartens, servants and the
like to have them trained. In this respect, these
good things have been misused. No institution on
the face of this earth should take the place of a
mother’s training. The greatest pulpit ever erect
ed is the fireside. The greatest preacher God ever
gave this world is mother. There is no kindergar
ten teacher like a good mother. I do pity the
girl who has no mother. My heart is made to
bleed every time I meet a girl who has to face
temptation, and has no mother to go to.
Betsy the Thief.
Sometime ago, I picked up a little booklet, the
title of which was “Betsy, the Thief.” The
story . was about like this: A beautful,
black-eyed girl was arrested for steal
ing. There were so many sensational fea
tures about the arrest, the papers wrote her up,
and published her picture. When the day for the
trial came, she touched the elbow of the lawyer,
and said, “Please let me make a statement to the
judge.” She arose in the presence of the court,
the room being crowded with men, and looking
the judge in the face, the tears streaming down her
beautiful face, said: “Your honor, please, I am
guilty of the charge. But, judge, I have never had
a mother.” Every eye in that house was dancing
in tears. The judge took his handkerchief from his
pocket, and wiped the tears from his own eyes. Im
mediately a man arose and said, “Your honor,
pleasfe, how much did she steal?” By that time
every one in that house was ready to go down in
his pocket and pay the girl out.
Oh, young woman, have you no mother? God
bless and keep you. The only place you can
be secure is under “the shadow of the Almighty.”
Man, do you know such a girl? Then, if you have
one speck of manhood in you, you will spill the last
drop of your blood to protect her.
Mother and Marriage.
A girl, in order to be saved from a life of sin,
(and I am not speaking of any special sin) needs
to be taught that there is something else for her be
sides getting married.
I believe in marriage. Under proper circumstan
ces, I like to see a couple marry, and start out in
life. But I do believe it would be a thousand times
better for our women if they were less anxious for
matrimony. A mis-match is the very best way to
go to the devil.
Read the records of our courts. Look at the large
increase in divorce applications, and you will see
in part how the devil uses mis-matches in marriage.
I do not know anything more serious than the con
templation of marriage. As one stands before the
marriage altar, and takes the vow, then is the most
women.
solemn and sacred contract that was ever formed
in earth or Heaven.
Selecting a ’Husband.
Then, there should be more common sense exer
cised in the selection of a husband.
“Oh!” you say, “I love him.” Yes, you love
him. There are lots of women that love just any
thing. They love dogs, cats—anything. It has
not been long since a woman was actually wedded
to a dog. I know lots of them wedded to two-legged
dogs here in Atlanta.
I want to give three principles for women to
remember:
(a) You set it down as a fact that the man
whose hand you take at the marriage altar must
have a character. It does not make any difference
about what he promises, if he has not love enough
for you before you become his wife to establish a
character, he is not worthy of you. Character
will live and make you happy forever.
No character and all the money of the Roth
childs will make you live in hell.
(b) He must have no bad habits. If he drinks,
that settles it. I would not marry a man who
drinks if he were clothed in gold. To have a man
come home staggering and reeling like a lunatic,
and come in my presence with his brain on fire
with whiskey and his breath smelling like a beer
keg, is more than I would stand. God pity you,
dear wife, if you are in that fix. Make up your
mind, I will live on the street before I will marry
a man who drinks whiskey.
I would not marry a man that smokes cigarettes,
if I were in the marrying business. I would not
smell the odor for all the money I could get. The
man who smokes cigarettes ten years will commit
every crime in the catalogue of crime, if it suits
him. They will destroy his moral manhood.
(c) He should have employment. I w’ould not
marry a man in this world if he were out of a
job. I certainly would not propose to go to keeping
a boarding house the next day after I was married.
The man who is not employed will serve the devil
as sure as he lives. He would have to have a
job. If nothing else, I would have him sit down and
play with his fingers, just to keep him from being
idle.
Environments That Damn.
If a young woman would be kept from ruin, she
must fight the influence of bad environments.
Prof. Austin, of Cambridge, tells the story of the
abduction of a child by an orang-outang, which I
think contains a lesson for us all at this point.
“In 1864, a young boy by the name of Tuba was
missing from one of the Borean villages. His peo
ple began to fear that some terrible accident had
befallen him, and concluded to ferret out the mvs
tery.
“Having armed themselves, they soon start
ed out and searched through the jungle for four
days without finding any trace of the lost boy. On
the fifth day, they came to the Sakarang River,
where every one of them went in bathing. They
went down the river a short distance, when one of
the number fortunately discovered some clothing
on the nearest bank, which, on examination, proved
to be that of their missing friend. Close beside
it lay the sumpitan, or blow-pipe, and the short
sword which he always carried with him.
“A little later, the party heard his voice, and
after dressing, they set out in search. They fol
lowed a narrow ravine which led from the river
scanning every nook and hole, searching under cov
erts of leaves and dead, fallen branches, but in vain
They were on the point of retracing their steps,
when they again heard the voice.
“It was the voice of the boy and strange as it
may appeal he was soon discovered high in a tree
naked, and a large orang-outang was his compan
ion. A rifle shot soon brought her to the ground,
where they finished her with knives. Then the