The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-07-08


oessfully defend them. Under the i'm
pulse of its teachings our fathers fought
and won the battle of our freedom, ana
the convictions it has produced upon
the minds of their children nave
hitherto maintained the institutions
| they founded.
The pulpit, the bible, the domestic
altar and the Sabbath school are the
great moral educational implements OF
religion. The Sabbath is the oppor-
| tunity afforded for their exercise: the
weekly silence God has made that His
own Supreme voice may be heard.
Dispense with the general sanctihca-
nay, must, tear down your churches,
seal your Bibles, disband your
Sunday Schools. and 1t will speedily
appear that the nation that has no SAP
| bath can have no God. Says John
Foster: "The Sabbath Is remarkable
appointment for raising the general
tenor of moral existence" Says Black
stone: "a corruption of morals usually
follows the PROCLAMATION OF the Sabbath;"
and again: 1.-THE keeping one day In
seven holy, as time OF relaxation and
refreshment, as we'll as for public wor-
ship, is OF admirable service 10 State.
1t enables the industrious workman TO
pursue his occupation in the ensuing
week with health and cheerfulness; 1t
imprints on the mind OF the people
that sense OF their duty to God, SO ne
cessary to make them good citizens,
but which yet would be worn out and
deiaced by unremitted labor, without
any stated times OF recalling them to
the worship OF their Maker" a nation
which depends for its order and secur-
| itY uDon the Intelligent and cOnscien-
| tious exercise of his freedom by the
| individual, cannot dispense with so
potential an institution for the restraint
OF selfish impulses and passions.
4. To the devout Christian the air.
nation that a sanctitied Sabbath is es-
sential to the perpetuity of this nation
needs no proof, for the mouth of the
Lord hath spoken 1t: "For the nation
and kingdom that will not serve thee"
q. e. the Kingdom OF CHRISTI "shall
perish; yea, those nations shall be ut
terly wasted" The Kingdoms of this
world must be tributary to Christ
must acknowledge the paramount
authority OF Him who is made Head
over all things TO the Church. His in
terests they must subserve-His COM
mands they must obey, or fall TO make
room for that period of Messianic rule
and glory when from Sabbath TO Sab
bath all nations shall come up to wor-
ship before God.
we have said nothing of Sunday
laws-nothing about enforcing the pre-
cepts of religion by civil law. Our ap-
peal Is 20 the individual conscience OF
| men as patriots and Christians. We
ask in the name of liberty that the Sab.
bath shall be redeemed from the usur-
pations OF business and pleasure to the
holy ends for which it was made. We
are becoming nation of pleasure seek
ers. Our pulpits, our prayers, our
| praises, our Sabbaths, our schemes of
religious benevolence, are all e9horted
to bow down and worship this new God
Of pleasure, which folly has set up.
Wo to the minister whose sermons
weary by their length or fail to please
and crafty by their adornments. Wo
to the sanctuary whose praises are not
executed in the most exquisite style OF
art. Wo to the Christian object Of be-
nevolence that does not introduce itself
to public favor with the smiles of fair
ladies', and board well spread with
all that can crafty the eye or tempt
the appetite. We say, woto that people
whose God Is their belly-who mind
earthly things.
We submit to an Intelligent COM
munity that duty is better rule of
conduct than pleasure, both for Chris
tian and patriot, and that the fear of
God Is stronger bulwark of freedom
than the applause OF infdels.
In the evening the united congrega-
tions assembled in the Presbyterian
Church and were addressed by Rev. A.
B. Castle, as follows:
He called attention to the various
sources of danger heralded from plat
form and press, the one man power
vested in the executive, the few men
power of Congress, the all men no-WO-
man power OF the ballot box on which
| the changes rung are more various
than the tones of a seven octave, ten
stop, double bank organ.
We are warned upon one side against
the tamperinR with the Constitution
which will destroy its sancity and our
reverence for 1t; on the other side,
against too profound reverence for a
human, therefore, imperfect doc ument.
We are warned that personal liberty
Is so broad it borders license-"per con-
ira" against the infringement OF liberty
which must end in revolt.
We are warned against military
despotism, and implored to increase
the army. We are assured that our
country is too bulky and becoming
more and more unwieldy with every
added acre OF territory; then that we
are unsafe while any foreign power
has foot hold upon the continent.
The speaker said we might pronounce
them all croakers and pass on in at least
fanCied security but that our shrewdest
strongest minds OF all political and re-
ligious faiths apprehended danger
| from some source.
| Physicians may differ In diagnosis
and prescriptions, Yet if there is dis
ease there may be danger. The most
alarming feature of our case Is that the
doctors of this Republic agree there ia
disease, but cannot agree upon its ma
| ture or remedy.
The speaker was glad he could claim
nooriginality-for then, standing alone,
he would be hopeless-in affirming that
all danger must be traced back 10 inn
morality among the masses. Not even
the Executive chair, or spacious Legis-
latiYe halls, could hold badness enough
TO ruin this country unless in their bad
ness they represented the people. That
an upright people would survive the
| total destruction of their constitution
and while upright were not likely to
ruin themselves by amending it. That
the breadth OF our land involved no
peril ''per SCI" the bond that will hold
| single neighborhood in permanent
fraternity will hold a continent OF Just
such neighborhoods. II the body DO.
little be sound, the centripeLal force will
| increase with the centrifugal. That
we can hardly aPprehend danger from
the military or tor want of military
while we have more and better soldiers
out OF the army than in it. That which
ruins us must come from the vitals,
not the extremities; from the masses
who select the office-holders and law
makers, whose moral sense gives tone
and shade TO the laws, and imparts the
force that executes them.