Clergymen vs. Narcotics.
By H. S. Rumsey
"Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do it all to the
glory of God." How sad the thought, some clergymen
Think it too hard a trial
To live as by the Saviour taught,
A life of self-denial!
Yet no GOOD thing doth he withhold,
Only the soul-debasing,
That which doth health and life destroy,
God's lineaments effacing. Their conduct gives the lie unto
The holy truths they teach,
For as they daily walk our streets
With a cigar they preach.
They make a cesspool of their mouths,
Go drooling all the day:
Tobacco truly they enthrone,
And this their god obey. Their bodies should a temple meet
Be for the good and pure;
Instead of this much filthiness
They cause them to endure.
They cannot soar to Pisgah's top,
Till they are stimulated,
Tobacco, some exhilarant
They use, and are elated. Without their usual stimulant,
They have the "blues," the horrors,
They feel unsocial and morose,
Their minds are filled with terrors.
And yet God's blessing they will crave
Upon a life so vile;
And while they trample on His laws,
Expect that Heaven will smile. In doing good our Saviour passed
His useful life away,
But these their brain in nicotin
Are steeping day by day.
Tobacco wakens into life
A thirst for alcohol;
The plant of Java, China's leaf,
For stronger portions call. When their example we pursue,
And premature decay,
To assuage the grief of those who mourn,
These ministers will say—
"Our God hath given, and he will take
The ones he loves away."
Oh! shame upon these false, blind guides,
They lead us to the grave;
With such examples for our youths,
They sink 'neath ruin's wave. Sad! many who profess to love
The high, the holy way,
Defile the temple of the Lord
With stimulants each day.
And when they thus disease their nerves,
Like harp with jarring strings,
This human instrument divine
With horrid discord rings. And many a pang unfelt before,
Courses each nerve along,
The world without, within, is dark,
And ev'ry thing goes wrong.
Oh! brothers, spurn this vilest weed,
Which always leads to evil,
Which dwarfs, debases, blacks the soul,
And gives it to the devil.