The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-10-05

truth and Righteousness. and break them into
fragments. So it was here. Men forgot God,
and sneered at His law /; they put cruelty in
the place of kindness. anG dishonesty in the
place of probity. In the hot haste to become
rich, large numbers of men aoto telt themselves
at liberty to trampie down the principles of
honesty; and any means to acquire money
no matter what-became. according to the
business code of many, not only jlstiGable,
but worthy of all praise. See how Gsd visits
these guilty multitudes with His avenging JUS
tice. As the inHdelity towards Gods higher
law began in high places. and descended till it
reached the lowest, and there sounded all the
depths Of wickedness SO the blight of fnan
ciaI death fell first on the high places where
the iniquity began and in its descending
movemePts,it it has gone on crushing in its fury
everything before it. like an Alpine auafanche
till almost the whole land trembles and shakes
with terror. Mems hearts are failing them
for fear poverty has come to the homes of
thousands and gaunt hunger is driving to
desperation thousands more. Here was an
overissue of stock in quarters where men sup
posed that honesty was enthroned in its glory !;
and by few strokes Of the pen. millions of
dollars are lost There, teller, or a cashier,
of some bank. steals from its vaults. ten thou
sand, twenty thousand, fifty thousand, or as
If we spoke in the dainty and mincing language
of the times, we should say, that there was a
deficit in their accounts. But they are not
thieves. Onoi To commit theft. you must
break into some store or shop. and take few
pieces of worn out change from the money
drawer, and many will call you all the bad
names they can think Of Buff you vii, Just
walk Into the bank you have charge of. or
cheat the great public out of thousands OF
dollars, and then forget to pay the poor wild
ows and the orphan children you have wrong
ed, you will he spoken of by many as having
l-stoien? No /! not by amy means but as
having committed-a breach Of trust!
But leaving this depression. which, for the
moment has diverted us from tine point before
us-the death which has come upon mems
plans and themselves as the visitation of foods
justice-let us proceed in gathering up the re-
suits of onr wofui departure from God. a.
In addition to the widespread dishonesty
which has made such havoc of mems fortunes
and swallowed up millions in the vortex it has
opened. we have before us the unusual havoc
of life which has come upon US within the las
two years Now. while Gods providence il
always busy in carrying ont that law of uni
versal mortality which reigns because of uni
versal sin, there are times when isprovidenc
especially challenges the attention of men VIII
have been guilty of unusual acts of wicked
ness. He does this not only by visiting then
with such revulsions in business as terminate
in what may be called commercial death. bu
by commissioning diseases, pestilence, fires
shipwrecks and other casualties, to deystro
life. Never has there been such rapid az
celeration of wickedness, and such giganti
accumulation of crime among ourselves a
within the last four years. Our stupendou
:. frauds, our unheard of thefts, our revoltin
drunkenness. our degrading RIGHTEOUSNESS, on
national perEdy in trampling down time hor
ored compacts, have been multiplied in nun
ber and increased in frequency, till it seems
. if somehow there had been a general agre
. ment among multitudes. to see horo little the
could act'lih angels, and hop much like de
J lis. Underlying all this, and leading to it, q
we have already shown was our denial of God
= law and its application TO our conduct as ci,
zens, to which we might add as an auxiliary
: the terrible work. our contemptuous treatmel
: Of the good old gospel and rising above
in defiant scctf.. were blasphemies which clea
ed the skies and insulted the King of heayt
y and earth." $50 f.s.
e - - y ~
IS aIf. when the last year had commence
y God had spoken to the people of this land
" he did TO Hannaniah, He would have to
N them in all probability that their iniquities b
v. cried to heaven against them !; aud that E
OF as the Avenger for their increasing sins al
''i impious crimes would wbet bis sword agar
Us them. and visit them with His Indignation.
- But this was not needed. They had the g,
pei TO enlighten and bless them. They b
= read its precepts they had heard its warning
~ they had felt its power; they had seen its g
"e ry. But. from all its wonderful revelations
ue mercy and love, they turned away. and 10 {
~ = fance of the divine law and the profered CO,
ne sells of the divine wisdom, tbev rushed cup
'sn the thick bosses Of [Jehovahs] bucklers
Au Then as we have seen, God wasted US with
'o' pestilence He sent confusion into the Pile
te of commerce he jostled the laws of tr,
oe against each other; He tumhled down the
~" lossal temples which millionaires had bui
'0" He carried alarm and distress in every dil
te tion. He sunk our ships. and gave the sail
'.ef who manned them. and the passengers '
we went in them to the monsters of the deep
acs banquet. And yet men refuse TO hear ,
zee. God whose claims they have aet at noug
law and, in specializing on the disasters and des
I'm which have come upon Us, they talk as if
an hand of God was not in them at all. f
or " He that stitch in the heavens laughs
10 their fallacies, and holds in derision" t
J in idle srrnos;,;onsp - ssi.fs 4 a.. s..5.
go Thoughts like these cannot be too de-
mas pondered. 4''''a.'-.'s q. :. -.
our = -. :. ----------- -
the si2 SPRAYS OF WISDOM.
- Hpta& ' jar. - Sass y
nose He who makes an idol of his interest,
oe make mortgage of his integrity. ' ''
lol- Think before you speak, and consider be
tnts you promise. +....-.l II ...t.a s7aa.
NTH -. -
WIN Think not to reap in seed time, or SO,