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No. St. 
 
 THE 
 
 BOLD BLASPHEMER 
 
 A NARRATIVE OF FACTS. 
 
 ABOUT thirty miles from the place in which for a number of 
 years I resided, lived a respectable family, with whom I 
 frequently tarried for a night, and became well acquainted. 
 In that new country there are very few taverns except in 
 towns, and at the house of ]\Ir. W. L. I always received 
 a hearty welcome. He was a frank, open-hearted, hospitable 
 man, and though himself irreligious, was quick-sighted to dis- 
 cern consistenc)'^ of character, and respected the man who was 
 not ashamed of his religion . I had several times heard him men- 
 tion that the overseer he had employed for a number of years' 
 was sick, and had gone to live nearer to a physician, and ho 
 often expressed his fears that " poor T. would not recover." 
 His complaints were of such a nature as almost to preclude 
 the hope. 
 
 I asked something about the character of the -ick man ; and 
 in reply Mr. L. said, " He is the best manager I ever had, but 
 he is the most wicked swearer I ever heard. Bad as I am 
 myself, it chills my very blood, to hear him. It seems to me 
 his oaths must come from the lower regions, the}' are so wick- 
 ed.'" I asked, " Does he not seem sensible that he has but 
 a iittle time to live?" Mr. L. answered, *' I told him last 
 week that he did not seem to be getting any better, when he 
 broke out into such a volley of tjurses, that I was almost afraid 
 to stay in the house. Ho cursed his Maker for sending upon 
 him such suiierings. He cursed the physicians for not curing 
 lim. He cursed me for telling him he would not get well. 
 I never heard such profaneness. It was awful to hear him.'^ 
 
 When J. T. found there was no hope of curej he requested 
 to be carried homo to the house of his employer, and here I 
 saw and heard this bold blasphemer. My first interview was 
 very brief, and he attempted no reply to the few words I ad- 
 dressed to brm. 
 
2* *rHi: BOLD B1<ASPHEM£R. 
 
 In the same rcsigliborhood lived an humble Christian, whom 
 this blasphemer had delighted to ridicule. As soon as good 
 Mr. G. heard of J. T. 's return to the neighborhood, he took 
 his Bible and went over to see him. To the usual inquiry as 
 to his health, he uttered a horrid oath, and said, " You see I 
 am sick, what do you ask me for ?" Mr. G. remarked, "• Yes, 
 I know you are sick, and I came over to sit awhile and have 
 some talk with you." 
 
 T. " Well, if you have any news to tell me, speak out ; but 
 don't S3,y a word about your cursed religion. I hate it," 
 i/r. G. " Why do you hate religion ?" 
 2\ J " I never saw any body made better by it." 
 
 (?, • "How is that? Look at James' S, . Is he the 
 
 same horse- racer, and fighter, and drunkard, he used to be ? 
 Is he none the better for his religion f 
 
 T. " Perhaps he is ; but there is H. W. over the river, he 
 pretended to become a Christian and there is not a greater 
 cheat in the whole county of W." 
 
 C. " It is true he is a professor of religion, but it is to be 
 feared from his conduct, that his heart is not right with God. 
 But you don't throw away all your bank notes because you 
 get now and then a -counterfeit. One of the best evidences of 
 the excellency of the Christian religion is, that its enemies 
 ■expect its professors to be good and holy men. True religion 
 makes those who possess it, good men, good husbands, and 
 fathers, and masters. Now T., you know in your heart this 
 is true." 
 
 T. " And you know if I was not sick I could out talk you, 
 and head you up, whichever road you took ; but I am too 
 sick to talk, and I don'X care about hearing any more preach- 
 ing." 
 
 G. "I make na question of your superior abilities; but 
 I think God has made me a happier man than some I know." 
 T, " I am not a happy man, God knows." 
 G. " But I can tell what will make yoia happy." 
 T. " I know what you are going to say, but say on." 
 G. Opens his Bible and reads. "This is a faituful saying, 
 and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into 
 the, world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." " Believe on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "Repent 
 ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins maybe blotted 
 out." "-He tliat, being often reproved, and • hardeneth his 
 neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." 
 "Every one of us shall givc'an account of himself to God." 
 
 Even these passages of Scripture, with the few remarks by 
 which they wore accompanied, were bo ofleusive, that whiijB 
 
THE BOLD BLASPHEMEU. ^ J 
 
 the good man was yet speaking, T. summoned uitwonted 
 strength, crawled oflF his bed, and succeeded in reaching a bed 
 in the adjoining room.. Mr. G. was greatly affected, and after 
 some appropriate conversation with Mrs, L. left the house. 
 
 The next evening a pious man, who stopped to spend the 
 night, attempted to have some conversation with T., but find- 
 ing it only irritated him, he desisted. Ilis case was, however, 
 particularly mentioned in family prayer ; but it so enraged 
 the sick man, that he seized a chair witli tbe strength of a 
 maniac, and struck his black boy wlio waited on hi-m. 
 
 T.'s situation became every day more and more di'^tressing. 
 As be became conscious he could not live much longer, his 
 hatred to God, to Christians, and to the Bible, increased in 
 malignity. Mrs. L. told him, that so dreadful were his im- 
 precation^ and curses, she was terrified continually, and feared 
 some heavy judgment would be sent on the whole house. I 
 saw him at tftis time, and can never fo^'get his appearance. 
 He was emaciated to a skeleton. His sharp black eye had an 
 unnatural fierceness; his voice was deep and liollow. There 
 w;a3 a haggardness in his looks, a restless impatience and an- 
 guish depicted in his face, such as I never saw before. I was 
 journeying in company with a clergyman, and we stopped to 
 spend the night with our hospitable friend, W. L. I knew 
 our visit would be pleasant to Mrs. L.. as she had recently in- 
 dulged hope in Christ. 1 knew, too, that she was greatly dis- 
 tressed and worn out by the scene which was passing before 
 her, and that a visit from my friend would be gratifying to 
 her, and as she had told me that his conversation on the im- 
 portance of preparation for death had been the means of lead- 
 ing her- to the Saviour. 
 
 We entered the usual sitting-room, and here lay poor T. 
 He could not bear to be left alone, and at his urgent request 
 he had been rempved to this room, forgetting that he must 
 go alone to try the .realities of eternity — that he must go alone 
 to the judgment-bar of the God he had so often blasphen.ed. 
 
 As soon as conversation could be introduced, my fellow-trav- 
 eller inquired of T. the nature of his complaints, etc. He 
 was very free to converse on (his subject ; the more so, pro- 
 bably, because he knew that Mr. W. had some medical knowl- 
 edge. He related his symptoms, his sufferings, the various 
 remedijes used, etc., an i finding he was listened to patiently, 
 he seemed quite animated, possibly with- the faint hope that 
 somethir.g could yet be done for him. Mr. W. endeavored to 
 draw fron^him whether he had any hope of recover}^, and it 
 appeared evident that if he had any, it was very feeble. In 
 a very tender^ but solemn manner, Mr. W. then spoke of tho 
 
4 THE HOLD nLASPHEMEU, 
 
 change jvliich awaits all men, of the eternity to which all are 
 hastening, of the judgmeni-Tseat before which all must stand, 
 and of the final sentence from which there is no appeal, no 
 escape. 
 
 We listened with breathless anxiety, and T trust more than 
 one offered up fervent petitions that this poor sinner might 
 awake to a sense of his danger. It was the first time he had 
 listened so long to any serious conversation without interrupt- 
 ing it. I perceived he was restless, and I had begun to in- 
 dulge the hope that we sh^nld hear him exclaim, " Sirs, what 
 must I do to be saved?" But, alas, when the question was 
 asked, " Do you feel prepared to stand before the hply and 
 just God, to whose eyes all things are naked and open?" he 
 broke out, saying, 
 
 " I am as much prepared as I ever shall be ; and if I am not, 
 it is none of your business." 
 
 Fixing his eyes full upon him, Mr. W. said, 'i Young man, 
 let me tell you, you may realize your situation yet before you 
 die ; you may wish in vain for the short time which now ap- 
 pears between you and eternity. You can live but a few 
 days; it may be but a few hours. God calls 3'ou 7iow to re- 
 pent. But if you loill not, if 3^ou harden your heart and stifien 
 your neck, you r/^(77/ call when ^^.od will not hear, you may 
 stretch out you. hand when he will not regard, because you 
 have set at naught all his counsel, and despised his reproof." 
 
 Mr. W. was asked to lead in family prayer ; and here another 
 opportunity offered, which was eagerly embraced, of reaching 
 the case of the sick man. A suitable portion of Scripture 
 was read, a sole^i n and affecting exhortation given, and then 
 such a prayer offered as it seems to me I never united in be- 
 fore. I thought T. would be melted; but no, he was wroth 
 — he tossed upon his bed — he rolled over — his eyes, Oh I can 
 never forget thsir expression -he raised himself up — he tossed 
 to one side of the bed and the other — he. rose upon his feet 
 — ^^staggered to the door — was caught and seated iq a chair in 
 the entry till the prayer was over, and then brought back to 
 his bed. 
 
 Nothing more was said to him that night. But it was to 
 him a night of unspeakable horror — his groans we could dis- 
 finctly hear, intermnigled occasionally with shocking oaths. 
 He was evidently afraid to sleep himself, and seemed decer- 
 mindd that no one else should. 
 
 We took our leave earJy in the morning, when again a word 
 was addressed to him. A week after, we heard that this bold 
 blasphemer had gone to the eternal world. The cir(?hmstances 
 of his death was related to me by Mr. and Mrs. L., and Mr. G. 
 
TH£ BOLD BLASPllKMEft. o 
 
 ■ Two nights after we left him, there was evidently a change 
 for the worse, which he was the first to notice. He had an 
 hour or two of disturbed sleep, and awoke in great distress 
 both of body and mind, crying out, "I shall die; Oh I am 
 dying, and shalTgo to hell." 
 
 Those around him tried to tell him about the Saviour of 
 sinners, but he would not hear. He continued to exclaim, " I 
 am lost — O, I am lost — I shall go to hell." 
 
 He reqnested Mr. W. to be sent for ; but as it was thought 
 he could not live through' the night, and the distance was 
 great, it was not judged best to geud. He then requested old 
 Mr. Gr. to be sent for. The old man soon came. 
 
 Air. r. "0 do pray for me, I must die, and go to hell." 
 
 Mr. G. ' " You must pray for yourself." 
 
 T. "I can't." 
 
 G. " You can say, ' God bo merciful to me a sinner,' " 
 
 2\ " O- no 1 can't. God will not hear such a wrfetch," 
 
 G. " But my prayers cannot save you ; you must pray for 
 yourself; you must repent of sin. You must believe in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ; yield up yourself to him, and through his 
 atoning blood all your sins shall be forgiven." 
 
 T. " do pray — do pray for me." 
 
 His request was complied with ; but he continued his groans 
 and exclamations, so that it is probable he heard but little of 
 the prayer. When Mr. G. ceased, he begged him to read the 
 Bible. This was done. K Mr. G. stopped, he would cry out, 
 " do read," or " do pray," or " do talk." 
 
 Mr. G, fearing he wa.^ depending ou him to save him, and 
 knowing that he was rapidly going into eternity, left the house. 
 He told mc he could scarcely endure the moans and cries which 
 this blasphemer uttered. , They seemed not the cries of a peni- 
 tent pleading Cor mercy, but of a soul suffering under God's 
 wrath, and tasting the cup which his own folly and wicked- 
 ness had mixed. He tossed upon his bed, lashed by the up- 
 braidings of conscience, and there seemed to be reaHzed in 
 his case "a certain fearful looking for of judgment «nd fiery 
 indignation " from his offended Creator. 
 
 He was often urged, during tbese hours of anguish, t.j re- 
 pent now — to pray now. To which he invariably answered, 
 " I can't — 'tis too late — too late — 'tis too late for me.. Take 
 warning by me, 'take v\'arning — 'tis too late for me." In 
 this manner he continued to groan, and toss, and struggle, till 
 nature was exhausted. 
 
 Thiis died this bold blasphemer. And now where is he ? 
 Ileadei'j here is a .-imple narrative of fact^-. Mai5y persons 
 were acquain-ted with tile man and the manner of his death. I 
 
C THE BOLD BLASPHEMER. 
 
 often heard it talked about while I lived in that part of the 
 country. I am sure that no one who saw him during the last 
 week of his life can ever forget him. Often have I thought 
 of his appearance, and my blood has chilled in my veins. 
 Yet, hardened and wicked as he was, " his sin found him out." 
 Even in this world he felt the gnawings " of the -worm that 
 never dies." He had a clear perception of what his sins de- 
 served, and though he trembled and shrunk at the sight, yet 
 no meltings of godly sorrow came over his soul. No change 
 of posture gave ease to his tortured spirit. He had often 
 prayed that God would damn his soul ; but now he felt he 
 could not pray that it might be saved. He had racked his in- 
 vention to make the most absurd and wicked oaths, and now 
 lie saw them returning upon his own soul, and ready to sinic 
 him to that world of woe from which he seemed to have bor- 
 rowed language to express the wickedness of his heart. 
 
 " It is too late— too late for me," was his cry, when urged 
 to repent — " Too late-^too late." " He knew his duty, but 
 be did it not." He knew that he was a creature of God, who 
 had a claim to his obedience. He knew that his laws were 
 holy, just, and good, and that he had wilfully broken them, 
 and incurred the penalty. '' The soul that sinneth it shall 
 die." 
 
 Reader, is it yet " too late " for you ? Are you still in 
 your sins ? Is it nothing to you that God your Maker claims 
 your obediencaand love? Is it nothing to you that the Re- 
 deemer has died, and that " he that bglieveth " in him^ *' shall 
 be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned 1" 
 
 Are you a profane swearer ? " Be sure your sin will find 
 you out." Have you ever prayed God to '■'•damn your soulV 
 He has heard that prayer, and it may be, he will answer it 
 according to your request. And now let me seriously ask 
 you, can you calmly repeat the impious prayer you have so 
 often uttered ? Can you do it ? Dare you do it ? Are you so 
 hardened in sin that you can deliberatelj"- pray for " damna- 
 tion ?" • ■ 
 
 Think, what is it to be damned — to be cast off from God, 
 from happiness, from heaven, and cast down to hell the prison 
 of despair? Think, too, that this will be eternal. God hath 
 said, " The wicked shall go away into everlg,sting punishment^ 
 where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." 
 
 Do you plead as an excuse for swearing, that'youdoit 
 thoughtlessly, that you have acquired the habit, and no.w you 
 hardly know when you swear ? This is a dreadful acknowl- 
 edgement that you constantly break the command, '.' Thou 
 shalt not t>ake the name of the Lord tftj God in vain," that 
 
tlJE BOLD BLASPHEMER. 7 
 
 it has become habitual. You thus acknowledgo that you care 
 not for the command, and defy the penalty. 
 
 Do you say that you only swear when you are in a passion? 
 Do you offer this as an excuse ? Will you carry up this ex- 
 cuse to the judgment of the great God, before whom y«u 
 must answer for "every idle word?" Will you tell -/wwi'that 
 you broke his commands thoughtlessly, habitually, and when 
 you were in a passion ; or do you hope to escape the notice of 
 Omniscience? Thiuk not that in that immense assembly when 
 all who have lived shall stand before the Judge, you may be 
 overlooked or passed by unobserved. O no. He who num- 
 bers the hairs of your head; whose eyes, as a flame of fire, 
 have been fixed .upon you during all your wayward course ; 
 who has often warned you by his providence, his ministers, 
 his Spirit, and by your own conscience; who has borne with 
 you patiently, it may be twenty, thirty, or fifty years; he 
 will not let you escape. The mounrains will rot heed your 
 call, nor the hills cover you " from the face of Him that sit- 
 teth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." 
 
 Now, fellow-sinner, what will you do? Conscieifce whim- 
 pers that you are verily guilty. What then will you do'? 
 Come to a decision. Will you continue this senseless, absurd, 
 wicked practice of swearing; or will you break off from this, 
 and all other sins, and lead a life of obedience to all the com- 
 mands of your Maker ? Will you throw aside this Tract, 
 which pleads with you, as a man with his friend, to think of 
 these things as you will wish you had done when you come to 
 die? Will you deliberately crowd these- considerations out 
 of mind, and pursue the same downward course ? Will you, 
 when your eternal all is at stake, throw nway your soul ? 
 Throw it awa}' ! Where? Into the cold, dark, cheerless gulf 
 of annihilation? This you cannot do. You cannot cease to 
 exist. no. If you repentnot, you wilfully throw your soul 
 into that boundless, unfathomable abyss where no sound is 
 heard save '• weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. for 
 ever." • . 
 
JUDGMENT^ 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 QEE til' Eternal Judge clescending- 
 1^ View him seated on liis throne 1 
 Now poor sinner, now lamenting, 
 
 Stand and hear thy awful doom — 
 Trumpets call thee ! 
 
 Stand and hear thy awful doom. 
 
 Hear the cries he now is venting, 
 Fill'd with dread of fiercer pain ; 
 
 While in anguish thus lamenting, 
 That he ne'er was trorn again. 
 
 Greatly mourning. 
 That he ne'er was born again. 
 
 *' Yonder sits my slighted Saviour, 
 With' the marks of dying love ; 
 
 Oh, that I had sought his fkvor, 
 When I felt his Spirit move — 
 
 Golden moments. 
 When I felt his Spirit move." 
 
 Now, despisers, look and wonder ! 
 
 Hope and sinners here must part, 
 Louder than a peal of thunder, 
 
 Hear the dreadful sound, " Depart ! " 
 Lost for ever. 
 
 Hear the dreadful sound, " Depart ! " 
 
 RICHMOND, VA: 
 FBESBVTERIAN COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATIOTr. 
 
HoUinger Corp. 
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