The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-10-01
Charity i'm Judgment and speech


Text-1st Corinthians, 9Th chap. 9th verse :
''Thinketh no evil ; reJoiceth not In lnlquty
but reJoceth in the truth"
These words are part of Paul's sketch
of charity, some of the traits of truly low
ing soul. No better Interpretation of the
sense of the text can be given than that of
Poole's annotations. l quote-"Thinketh
no evil that is, "doth not rashly suspect
his neghbor of doing evil, nor lightly take
up evil reports of our neghbors. For a
man that hath true love for his brother,
though he may believe evil of him, and
charge him with it, when it evidently APP
pears to him that he is guilty, yet before
that is evident, he will not suspect nor think
any such things of him. ''Rejoiceth not
in niquity, etc., that is the loving man
''doth not take pleasure in the sinful falls
Of others, but rejoices in the manifestation
of any persons truth, or innocency, or
righteousness" Now observe, first, that
inwardness which is the principal thing in
the morality and religion of Jesus Christ.
The text does not say to be loving a man
must do no evil, nor speak any evil of his
neighbor. 1t requires us not to think any
evil of him. Our inmost sympathes must
always be with whatever is pure and true,
so that to be compelled to believe evil of
any man would be felt calamity If men
would only cease to think evil and rejoice
in it, and instead, cherish only charitable
judgments and pure sweet sympathies, it
would be an end of evil speaking. which is
the bane and curse of our social life. Make
the inside of the cup clean and the outside
will take care of itself There are some
persons who believe evil of others on gen.
eral principles without any evidence at all
| in the particular case" ''lIuman nature"
| say these cynics SIS essentially base, all
men are alike pretty much, when you get
at the heart of them" Such extreme dis
| position to evil thinking let us hope is rare,
still it has been avowed. If an eminent
minister OF the gospel is charged with
crimes, some newspaper writer sees forth
with in every man who occupies a pulpit n
possible libertine, and feels called upon to
warn families of their congregations against
these wolves in sleeps clothing. The doc
trine on which these men practice, dissent
mating the poison of universal distrust, is
absolutely perncous. 1t is the very anti
podes OF that charity which ''thinketh no
evil"
ii. Readiness to believe evil reports of
men of good name is another mark of I'M
charitableness. A man of fair repute, of
great talents, and in high honor, may be a
villain; but the presumption is all against
such supposition. and every one who pos
sesses the grace of charity will be slow in
yielding credence to evil insinuations or
or open charges of wrong against any man,
and especially one well known in the COM
munty, and whose record has been hithcr-
to clear. If the charges are proven beyond
doubt he will be compelled to believe; but
it will always be with reluctance and the
deepest grief, that loving man will lose
faith in the goodness of one whom he has
esteemed upright and pure. / shall ask in
diligence for allusion to the recent Brooklyn
scandal, simply as an illustration. When
some years since rumors were aaoat touch
ing the character of the great American
preacher, the public was astonished beyond
measure. A few there were who, either
from sheer love of evil or envious delight
in seeing a popular idol, especially of the
religious world, dethroned were quite will
ing to believe his guilt Alas aha they
exclaimed, "behold the hypocracy of relig'
ion in its proudcst representative unmask-
cd" When few months since an investi
CATION was instituted, and positive explicit
accusations were preferred against Mr.
Beecher, supported with documentary evil
, dence. the public were amazed and knew
not what to think. Doubtless many sin
, ceIe friends of truth during the last montl
$ have feared the worst, But manifest de-
termination to stand by the record and re-
putation of the pastor of Plymouth churcl
until his impeachment was sustained by un
G deniable evidence is highly creditabe to tn,
s public. l utter no word of censure for tn,
o judgment which any man has formed o
n this case. pronounce no opinion, though
| have one. on this case. But this much
will say, whether Mr. Beecher be guilty O.
L not, men who could willingly believe hin
@ guilty, and put the worst construction OF