Litchfield enquirer., 1843-02-02
BY REQUEST
YOUR PASTORS REPUTATION.

! BY REQUEST.
YOUR PASTORS REPUTATION.
! A ministers character is the lock of his
strength and if once this be sacrificed, he
is, like Samson shorn of his hair, n poor, fall
tering creature, the pity of his friends and
the derision of his enemies. l would not
have bad ministers screened, nor would !
have good ones maligned. When preach
err of righteousness has stood in the way Of
sinners, and walked in the counsel Of the I'M
godly, he shond never again open his lips
in the great congregation, until his repen-
lance is as notorious as his sin. But while
his character is unsulied, his friends should
preserve it with us much care against the
| tongue of the slaDderer, as they would his
life against the hand Of the assassin.
| When consider the restless malignity of
the great enemy of God and holiness, and
add to this his subtiity and craft; when l
consider how much his malice would be gra-
tilted, and his schemes prompted, by black
| ening the character of the ministers of the
gospel; when consider what a multitude
Of creatures there are who are his vassals,
and under his influence, creatures SO desti-
tute of moral principle, and so filled with
venomous spite against religion, AS to be pre-.
pared to 60 any lengths in maligning the
| righteous, and especially their ministers,
can account for it on no other ground than
| that of a special interpositiOn of Providence,
that the reputation OF Christian pastors is not
more frequently attacked by SANDER and
destroyed by caiumny. But probably we
see in this, as in other cases, that wise ar
| rangement Of Providence, by which things
Of delicacy and consequence are preserved,
by calling forth greater solicitude for their
| safety. Church members should therefore
be tremblingiy alive to the importance Of
defending their minister's character. They
! should. neither expect to see him perfect nor
hunt after his imperfections. When they
cannot but see his imperfec,ions-
tons which, after all, may be consistent with
not only real,but eminent piety-they should
not take pleasure in either nlagnifying or
looking at them; but make all reasonable
excuse for them, and endeavor to loose sight
of his inirmities in his virtues, as they do
the spots OF the sun amidst the blaze Of ra.
dance with which they are surrounded
Let it not be the subject Of conversation even
between yourselves, much less before your
children, servants, and the world. If you
talk of his faults in derison, who will speak
Of his excellences with admiration Do
not look at him with suspicion. but repose an
honorable confidence in his character. Do
not make him an offender tor word, and re-
fuse to him that charity and candor Of iudg-
ment, which would be granted to every one
else. Do not magnify indiscretions into i'm
moralities, and exact from him that absolute
perfection, which in your own case you find
to be unattainable. Beware of whispers,
innuendoes, significant mods, and that slaEd.
erous silence, which is more defamatory
than the broadeSt accusation.
Defend hin, against the groundless attacks of
others Never hear him spoken of with un-
deserved reproach, without Indignantly re.
polling the shafts of caIumny. Express
your firm and dignified displeasure against
the willing that would mike him ridiculous,
the scorner that would render him contemp-
tible, and the defamer that would brand him
as immoral.
Especially guard against those creeping
reptiles which infest our churches and are
perpetually insinuating that their ministers
do not preach the gospel, merely because
they do not necessarily repeat the same truths
in the same words because they do not alle-
gorize and sprilualize all the facts of the
Old Testament until they have found as
much gospel in the horses of Pharaoh's cha.
riot as they can in st. Paul's episiles; and
because they have dared to enforce the mo-
raj law as the rule ofthe believers conduct
The antmonian spirit has become the pest
Of many churches. 1t is the most mischie-
vous and disgusting of all errors. IF the he
resies which abound in the spiritual world
were to be represented by the noxious ami
mails of the natural world, we could find
some errors that would answer to the vulture,
the tiger, and the serpent but we could find
nothing that would be an adequate emblem
of antimonianism, except, by creation of
our own. we had united in some monstrous
reptile, the venom of the asp, with the defor-
nifty of the spider, and the slime of the snail.
j. A. Ames.
"PENKNIvES AND SATIN PAPER" CAST INTO
THE SHADE.
We stated on Saturday, that we had
rich mine to explore. Having examined q
part of its treasures, we offer the results for
the benefit of all concerned. We invite the
particular attention of the Times faction to
the subject, and we assure them that all
their agony and secret consultations will
not save them. We begin with the House
of Representatives. and we bring to light
| depredations committed by that body, bor-
dering, in our opinion, on petty larceny.
First then. we say, that in one of the bills
presented against the state, at the May ses-
sion of the legislature, 1912, are the follow
ing items for the House of Representatives,
| viz:
2 knives, at 81 so each, % 90
letter stamps, 81 1-2 each, 262
knife for Speaker (Wightman) rs
2 do. for clerks! $50
10 ivory paper cutters. $50