Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1869-04-01
chaplains Of Congress.

Don Piatt thus discourseth il
/ one Of his letters from Washing
ton:
am a firm believer in politica
sermons. Our morals have SC
much TO do with our politics, and
our politics with our morals, that
cannot see how minister can do
his duty and not mix the two
Christ and his apostles were the
most effective and persistent polit-
ical preachers the world ever saw,
| have no doubt but that the aristo-
cratic circles Of Jerusalem we're ter
ribly shocked at the impertinent in
reference Of nen they considered
very low fellows.
The aristocracy Of to day is
about the same ss was that of Je-
rusalem, and it wants the minister
to be a sort Of Rev. Mr.. Japonica
Cheesewax, and devote himself to
the holiness Of the holy and the
sinfulness Of sin, and leave the con.
gregation alone to its money get
ting meanness, its wOrldliDess, and
above all, It's politics, be they good,
bad or Indifferent This sort Of
thing ! do not countenance, and
our brethren Of tie Methodist
Church have made it a live institu-
ton by ignoring such precepts.
But do most earnestly protest
against the practice Of injecting
politics into our prayers-in other
words to address the prayer to the
audience instead of the Lord. On
this account our chspIains to legis-
lative assemblies and at public
meetings have come to be called,
irreyerently, 1.-The Lords stump or
ators," and a gentleman once re-
marked, as he walked out OF the
church, that "the prayer just given
was the most eloquent effort he had
ever heard before a Boston audi
ence." During the late war an en-
thusiastic chaplain to the Senate
one morning prayed the Lord to
give the Senate brain. "Give them
brain, 0 Lord, give them brain /"
Certainly sensible proposition, but
rather hard for the brainless Sena-
tors to hear.
The better way for the chaplain
is to suppose that the Lord has
some sense, and not crowd in too
much advice. ! have heard more
bIasphemy poured out in prayer
than l ever heard in curses-and all
Instructions and advice to the Lord,
and all hits at the congregation,
come under that head
never hear this sort OF thing
that ! am not reminded of little
Choptanks, as We used to call him
up the Blac-a-cheek, who had his
wife arrested for assaultiug him with
"a fire shovel, while at his deyotions.
1t was an aggravated case. But
Mrs. Choptanks asked to be heard,
and she said that little Choppy.
didn't dare give her any of his
sars, in his talk; but he abused her
in his prayers, and on this occasion
he was on his knees, with a crowd
about the door, gathered there by
his 'hollerin, and a calm on the
Lord to forgive this black hearted /.
woman make her tell the truth, /
O Lord, followed, 'and make her
quit gaddin about and lyin to the
neighbors,' and l couldn't stand it,
and just took him a swipe with the
fat of the shovel, and I'll do it
again" /
A friend of mine tells me a good
story of a worthy divine Of the
Democratic faith, who, during the
Mexican war, held forth in prayer
one night, before his little congre-
CATION, somewhat in this wise -
"Thou knowest, o Lord, that our
rights we're invaded by those Mexi- |
they crossed the Rio
Grande into our territory, and so
war on us; all of which,
0 Lord, Thou wilt find set forth
clearly and conclusively in the
Of our excellent Presi-
dent"