The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1856-08-20

"''S, he't"e' U hof your sonS Drever w
And jeremiah said unto the house of
The RechabItes, Thus saith the Lord of
hosts, the God of Israel, Because We have
2bcycd the commandment Of Jonadab
your father, and kept all his precep,s, and
done according unto all that he hath com
manded you;
Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts
The God Of lsreaI, Jouadab the son of
hcchab shall not want a man 10 stand be.
fore him forever"
Scott, the commentator, remarks: alt
was doubtless well known that they Ghe
Reclabits) had rules Of conduct peculiar
10 themselves they werC never in
cOrporatcd with the Jews X :: Il they were
worShipcrs Of the true God, but they were
not circumciscd + II and it was p,oper
that God should avow his readiness TO re-.
warl every degree Of gooI, when he de
term'ned TO punish his apos,ate people,
Accordingly he promised, that the family
of the R"chabtes should he very durably
continued, and upheld in the practice of
pl"iy and righteousness before linn, rs his
accepted worshipors, ,vcn when the jew,
we're cast out OF his sight" The ohiector
will have 10 erase from the volume Of the
Word the 35lh chapter of jeremiah. be-
lore he can deny that total abstinence has
peculiarly the approving sanction Of the
Lord of thn csrth. VIII you come, and
60 with us?
The notion,th n man is relieved from
this duty which we urge, because lie is a
member of Chris,'s visible church, we re.
gar" talacous and unsound, and unsus
tanned by any CHRISTIAN prccept or deluc-
ton OF fair reason. The benevolent ins,i-
tutons of The country, sustained hy the
Church itself, arc standing reiutation OF
the position. 1t is the philosophy OF
monks, and Of an age envelopcd in elm
meran darkness. vanshes in the blaze
Of gospel light. No man can relieve him.
self from the obligations of society. The
christian dare no: do it. love tbv
neighbor AS thyself"-and "to do GOOD
and to communicate, forget not" are as
imperative and binding, as "Love thy
Cod" To obey one command does no,
Justify disregard of any other equally
explicit. Ia christianity here is no place
for the practice of decent sclfshncss.
Every Nan is in a measure his "bro,hc,'s
keeper" Absolute inability and wan,
alone would prevent you from aiding a
Bib!e society. Your name, your money,
your counsel, your influence, your exam
pie, all the means with which Won are en-.
trusted by your Creator would be given
in hearty co operation. Why not ED bv
like means TO suppress the particular evil
and bhghting sin Of intcmpesance p
There is indeed, says Smith, in his The.
ory of Moral Sentiments, no surcr mark
of false and hollow heart, than dispo.
sltion ,hus to quibble away the clear in
functions OF duty ana-conscience." We
accuse no one specially of such conduc,
We feel free however TO declare the
truth as find II, and would cnleavor ex
cite reflection. He, who admits his obi
cations to his fellow-man, and would re.
strict the exercise of benevolence TO the
domain Of the Church, is forced to ap
prove and sanction the desecration of tho
pulpit and ministerial functions now every
where prevalent in the Eastern States Of
This Union. This is the inevitable resul,
of tie principle. 1t leads the ministe,
, aud church TO the political hustings. II
! transforms them. into stump orators.
Civil government should ever be made
10 conform to the dictates Of Christianity
To this every christian assents. When
government lransgresses, or falls short o.
This requirement, political action is neces
sa'y to reform, or bring the govern men,
up to the correc' standard. No enlight
ened christian or well informed temper
ancc man believes, that our State is wher,
she ought 20 be onIhe License system
and ihe Temperance cause. Il the Use %
alcoholic drink be an evil in the State, car
the State be justified in It's conncxion ant
participation With !hc cv;l' Il is is dnr,
10 cast down the polluling thirty pieces o
SILVER. II should touch not--tasle not
handle not the uLcean tLiuc. Pohti,a
agitation is necessary to effect remedy
Must the church and pulpit alone come
down from their great work, and meet "ir
/ the plain Ono " 10 do battle with the DO
!Itical dcmagogues and bdcchapaIs nf lh.
! landf The Church should 10 It's duty il
hepremises; but let her from the sane
tuary, and the other high positions will
: which she is favored. There is neet
therefore for another and a distinct organ
Ization TO operate in tie capacity OF eili
zines, and fight the political battle
\ Church members have both rights ant
duties as citizens. VIII you, reader, enIis
with us for tie war--or will you rather
when the Sons, like Gideon, say Give
! pray you, loaves Of bread uGto the peo
pie that follow me for they bc faint, re
ply, like the princes Of Succotb "Are ,h,
lands Of Iebah and Zalmunna now in tb,
hands, that we should give bread untl
thine arwy" Remember the sequel: =
And Gideon took the elders Of the city
and thoms Of the wilderness, and briars
and with them lie taught the men o
Snccoth, and slew the men Of the city,"
"A consideration Of duty, having refer
thce to y visible connexion with tenn
perancc organization, which appear
strongly 10 the christian especially, is tia
! You perhaps are made--it is certainly iru,