The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1868-10-15

sentiment was sound, that those mighty
awakenings by che Spirit of God per-
yaded our happy land, and shed the
fruit OF righteousness which Is peace
the effect of righteousness which is .ui-
etness and assurance forever"
The text asks 'If the foundations he
destroyed what caa Me righteous t,o,'
lf disorder and oppression reign in any
community, righteousness aud peace
cannot flourish. Ifthe wicked triumph
II their secret and evil inacl,inations
prevail; and IL the upright in heart -
those who are correct i'm their principles,
and godly in their living--arc outwit-
ted aud overthrown: II the principles of
religion, on which the faith and hope of
Gods people a.c built, be destroyed,
what can the righteous do" Their con
dition will be helpless, hopeless, and
desperate. They are utterly po"erless
in themselves, The props are gone, aud
all must como to desolation. Christians
would be wholly nn,lone X they had not
4 u t'od TO go to, Il Ged to trust in, and n
future bliss 10 hope fer. Aud Scott we'll
remarks, LET 1t not be thought that In
rimes of prevailing iniquity, when all
tegard 10 the laws Of God and man il
discarded, the righteous can do 10 good
All is not over, while there Ia man left
to reprovc error, and bear testimony to
the truth; and Il man who does it with
becoming spirit, may stop u prince or
senate when in full career and recover
the day But christianity cannot take
care OF itself. Although instinct with u
vitality and power above every other
| system, ii cannot sustain itself without
the cooperative aid of God and man. To
insure its efficiency and success, II de-
mands healthy condition nf social life
and public order. lfall the divine in
| stitutlons and restraints OF our holy re-
ilgion are publicly disregarded-if pub
lie corruption, fraud, !::!seaao,!, protnn.-
ness, Sabbath breaking, disobedience,
drunkenness, debauchery, violence, and
murder stalk unrestrainca by 1.-The DOW
ers that be;' then christianity will
either die out, or take its final departure.
| Its can,iiesiicK will be removed. twill
not remain longer to attempt even the
conversion of the souls of men. For
when the body Is but n wreck from in
dulged appetite and lust, the mind Is
weakened and ruined by course of err
| ro" and sin; all the finer feelings Of the
| family relation are contemned; the laws
and proprieties OF civil society are violnt-
ed with impunity, and the very sacred
aess OF religious obligations arc unheed-
cd, what IAN the righteous do? What
can christianity effect under such entire
| corruption: To attempt anything more
would be to cast pearls before swine.n
''lhere rcmainetE ;" in such cases, "no
more sacrifice for sins; but certain fear
ful looking for orjudgment aud frey ia
| dignat:on, which shall devour the adj
ver-aries." Both the Bible and history
testify to the moral incompetency OF the
righteous, whom the foundations OF
t.fv. IL "a IN =.
'ali flesh had corrupted his way upon
the eal th," and it was filled with vio-
lence,n and God determined to dcstro y
them by IA flood. Noah had labored hard
tor centuries, as \ preacher Of righteous
ness, to Gtem the torrent and save the
foundations. But 1t was in vain. What
could he do? lie could only prepare an
ark to save himself and his house from
the universal deluge. Again, when
corruption had oversprcad the plains of
Mesopotamia, and The righteous could
do nothing to preserve tho worship of
the true God, Abraham wns called by
God to leave his country and kindred,
whose foundations had been destroyed
by id,latry, aud remove into a land
that he would shcw him. Afterwards,
| when the wickedness OF Sodom and
GoAorrah WAS so great that God had
determined To destroy it, not even right,
eous Lot, with the angels in his house
and with the importunate intercessions
Of Abraham in his behalf, could do any
thing but escape for his life: and even
then had to suffer in his own family, in
person and character, sad memorials OF
his having mingled with such people
And how often during the whole Jewish
history was the Hebrew commonwealth
punished and forsaken Of God, because
of their "vile corruptions and ahomina,
| bic idolatries;' and how little could
tnelr most righteous men effect Ia avert
ing the ever impending catastrophe,
until, at length, the foundations were
destroyed, and the apostle exclaimed,
II o we turn to the Genties.n
In Hosea iv. IA verses, we read
Hear the word of the Lord, We children
OF Israel; for the Lord hath Il controver-
sy with the inhantants OF the land, be-
cause there is no truth, nor mercy, nor
knowledge Of God in the land. By
swearing, and lying, and killing, and
stealing, and committing adultery, they
break out, and blood toucheth blood.
Yet let no man strive, nor reprove an
other; for thy people are as they that
strive with the PRIESTS Such was the
entire corruption i'm civil and social life
that religion was wholly inefficient, and
even its admonitions were withdrawn.
Again, in Jer u, /, we read,
-"Though Moses and Samuel stood be-
fore me, yet my mind could not be
toward this people; east them out Of my
sight, and let them go forth.' Their
public morals had become so corrupted,
that God declares that if even their
most renowned prophets should return
to the earth and intercede in their be-
half 10 avert the destiny that awaited
them. it would be Of no avail.
Once more in the book of Revelation,
the Apostle John, speakingof tHi!chist,
says, "Babylon, the great, the mother of
harlots and denominations of the Garth
! is become the habitation OF Gn":is, aad
the hold Of every .oal spirit AMI Il cage
Of every uncionnly and hatctt.l bird. y
| When her influence has reached its
| climax, .na through it the foundations
Of civil and religious society are de
| stroyed, what can the righteous do:"
! Remain within her, and seek to reform
| her. No! but escape from her. Ind
J l heard another voice from heaven,
! saying, Come out of her, my people,
| that ye be not partakers Of he. sins, and
| that ye receive not of her piague3.n
| PrcfaEe, as well as sacred history con-
firms the same alarming fact-that