The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1864-03-23

TEMPERANCE SERMoN-Agreeably to
public notice, the Rev. C. S. Armstrong preached
at the Presbyterian Church, on Sunday morning
last, on the subject Of Temperance. His text
was, a. o unto him that giveth his neighbor
drink that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest
him drunken al-ol" Hab ., Is.
The speaker referred to the case of one OF
our citizens recently found dead in the BAN.
who had been destroyed-murdered-i our
midst, by poisonous drinks sold to him. So the
the jury of inquest bad pronounced, and yet
there had been no prosecution and no arrest for
the crime, either on the part of the friends Of
the deceased, or of the public authorities Nor
was this solitary instance Such we're constant
y occurring He had been told by practicing
these matters, that in this city ana vicinity one
man goes to the grave once every month, MUIR
dered in this way, in our midst.
The sin of making ones neghbor drunk was
the subject Of discourse not the sin OF drunk.
enness, but the production Of it. As for the
victim himself, the speaker had 10 feeling to-
ward him, but cOmmiseration aud sorrow.
I. This sin treads under foot the great law
given by Christ By the Internal chemistry
pTaeticed by the seller upon bis victim, the
whole man is transformed, and the seller is en-
abled to rob him and his family not only of ma
terial possessions, but also Of his higher moral
aud intellectual nature robbery which not
enriches the robber, but makes bis victim poor
indeed; and this process is pursued upon a reg
ular system, while the perpetrator learns to
smile, and smile, and be a villain"
., This sin deiies God, and he who ia guilty
OF it becomes practical Atheist. The seller is
an id1lAtor of gold, and daily and hourly offers
M sacrifice nf hurus" blood evrAedinG s., ZEE
horrors that OF the most degraded heather.
Their sacrifice imnoates the body only; but that
of the liquor seller destroys the most beautiful
feelings and affections OF human nature, which
are thrown into the boiling cauIdron of evil, and
wrought over into everything fendish and vile.
The speaker compared the degradation and
wrongs resulting from the liquor traffic, with
the evils brought on community by the
midnight murderer and robber and rayisher, and
also with the horrors and desolations of war,
showing that they are not half so terrible or ir-
resistable as those hich the trafficker in liquors
pours out in streams upon every part of the
land
The speaker then showed the connection OF
this crime with other formes OF vice aud evil
Cursug and ribaldry, aud blasphemy abound in
every neighborhood where poison ia sold, snd
~ -, fatf, arsfx
Even woman, accustomed TO such society, learns
to think profanity, and ultimately as she sinks
away into the dark centre of crime which abound
in our cities, learns to give vent TO her feelings
in open and shameless basphemy.
This sin blots out the Sabbath deli berately, in.
vades home aud destroys the social relations, AID
is the mOst widespread and efectual mode Ofkil.
/ ing ever devised; stimulates and developes into
evil all the animal nature of man, grasps the last
morssl from the needy and suffering, and iastens
its greedy eyes upon everything it sees, and
strives to obtain it.
This is a practical evil. According to official re-
ports, within ten months past there have been Ii
censed in this city t~enty SIX sellers of intoxicat
lirgliquors,o t which four are druggists There are
said 70 be eleven churches in she city, and wha
are they doing: II We can stop the evil and Dc
not, are We not responsible for its existence
Shall We not rescue some of the victims from
the fends that are pursuing them:
On Sunday evening, Rev. Mr.. Tilley preached
in the Baptist Church, from Ephesans 5, Is
"Be not drunk with wine. wherein is excess
bu, be filed with the Spirit"
The speaker said the text contained warnin:
against evil, and 4 remedy for il. IN every civ
} ilized nation there il mourning because Of tn
} evils OF drunkenness. If there was any excep
ton, il was in some of the South Sea islands
In this country there IS rot only mourning il
every State, but in every neighborhoOd in eact
: State. The whisky, wine and rum eommonl
used in this country, were entirely unfit for
decent, respectable man to drink. The speake
referred to the discussions concerning the wiz
} used at the marriage in Cana Whether it wa
: intoxicating or rot, he did not know bat if
was, and any Of the company used it to exces.