v. 22. _Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and
men of strength to mingle strong drink._
Human depravity and iniquity have existed in all ages and countries.
The vices flowing therefrom have been much the same--selfishness,
pride, sensualism, oppression, drunkenness. Alcohol acting directly
on the brain, the seat of the mind, tends not only to derange, but to
enfeeble and pervert, and produces moral obliquity, moral
infatuation, and intensified delusion. All sorts of deceits are the
consequence. Observe--I. THE CHARACTERS INTRODUCED (ver. 22). Observe
also verses 11 and 12. In the last verses there is reference to
confirmed drunkards, daily, early, and late; the sensual
debauchees--their ignorance, want of thought and reflection. In the
text, notorious drinkers, bold, impudent wager-layers, boasters, &c.,
and those who have got the victory over the usual drinks, and now
make them stronger to meet the cravings of appetite and to keep up
the excitement. Observe, this is the great peril of moderate
drinking. It creates the appetite, it increases the appetite; last of
all, it gives the appetite the control, and the man or woman becomes
the slave and the victim.
II. THE INFATUATION PORTRAYED--by 1. _Giving false names to things_
(ver. 20). Call (1) evil good: drinks (poisons) are called beverages;
evil things made by men are called God's good creatures. And so they
call (2) good evil; despise the really good and safe; pour contempt
on water and safe fluids, and treat them as evil or worthless. How
drinks have secured the most alluring titles--strong cordials, dew,
&c., generous. Not only false names, but 2. _False qualities_ (ver.
20), "Bitter for sweet." Now intoxicating drinks are not sweet or
palatable to the natural taste; they blister the mouth of children;
do burn the delicate nerves of the stomach; the tongue and lips have
to be trained, drilled, hardened. Observe, they call sweet bitter;
things really so are treated as insipid. Ask the spirit-drinker to
taste milk or tea, or water, and see how his poisoned taste revolts,
&c.
Then there is presented to us--3. _Infatuated results._ Put darkness
for light; men plead and say these drinks--(1) Brighten the
intellect. How false! See the bloated faces, the diseased eyes, the
sensual expression, the stupid look, the stupor. The light is
artificial, momentary, false--no better than the effects of certain
gases or deadly stimulants, as opium, Indian hemp, &c. But they refer
to men, to Burns, Pitt, Sheridan, and other drinking wits. But they
were intellectually great in spite, &c. Look at Milton, Sir Isaac
Newton; look at the inspired prophets--the seraphic Isaiah, the
writer of the text. (2) They who drink say their drinks lighten the
heart, give social joyousness. Right; but is it not sensual,
spurious, evanescent, ends in darkness? So they put light for
darkness. The calm, equable sobriety of soul they called dulness,
darkness. But this is real, abiding, and rational. So, both in name
and quality, and in effects, they call "evil good," &c.
III. THE WOES DENOUNCED. 1. _There is the woe of physical
consequence._ The seed and the harvest, the poisons and their
effects, fire, deranged stomach, plague, diseased liver, excited
heart, fevered brain, all tending to a host of maladies, shortened
life, and an early grave. There is--2. _Woe of a distracted mind._
Reason beclouded; reflection, perception, all marred. The guiding
star eclipsed, the light obscured with darkness. There is
the--3. _Woe of moral defects._ The man is vitiated, made worse and
worse; his affections, his desires, his conscience, his heart, the
whole soul. There is--4. _The woe of perverted powers._ Gifts,
talents, &c., all poisoned; influence deadly; the man a curse--a
curse to all. 5. _The woe of God's malediction._ God's woe, His
displeasure, His threatening, His curse; this is written in both
volumes of the Scriptures--in frightful representation, in declared
eternal condemnation.
APPLICATION.--Learn--1. The horrors associated with strong drink;
2. The advantages of absolute temperance; 3. The value of these
associations; 4. The encouragement for labours--staying curses,
bringing down blessings; 5. The necessity of immediate decision;
6. The solemn importance of earnest prayer for the Divine
benediction; 7. Let us avoid exaggerated conclusions. This is not the
only evil; temperance not the only good. To all we say, "One thing is
needful;" "Except ye be converted," &c.--_Jabez Burns, D.D., LL.D.,
Sketches of Temperance Sermons._