Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-11-24
Local.
TIE TIMES AND THEIR REMEDY

| AV&jGass
THE TIMES AND THEIR REMEDY.
ANOTHER TIMELY SERMON BY REV. WIN.
E. BAKER-RIGHTEOUsN EXALTETH
| A NATION-TuE TRUE REMEDY FOR
ALL OUR TROUBLES,
&C. &C., &C.
On Sunday morning the gloomy weather
and the gloomy outlook generally gave the
churches a thin attendance One result
was that gooii many who were alb
sent from the First Presbyterian Church
missed a sermon from Rev. VIM. E. Ba-
ker, most admirably suited to the times.
His remarks were based on the text,
Righteousness eXateth a nation: but
sin is reproach to any people," We have
often heard, said Mr.. Baker, that religion
is essential to national prosperity: now we
see it. Our present political s,stem can
not be maintained unless we become more
thoroughly Christianized. The Bible is as
necessary to the liberties we enjoy, as cur
| Federal constitution. The sacredness of
the Sabbath should be guarded with as
much care as the inviolability of the bal
lot-box. Righteousness will certainly
exalt US as a people, and wickedness will
certainly destroy us.
First: can any one fail to perceive that
our present lack Of comfort is due to lack
of confidence? The seasons have been
propitious; the harvests abundant; the pro-
| duction of cold onG cilvor ooorr,ouc. +bo
blessing Of health general. then do
we find ourselves poor, perplexed, and I'M
comfortable? Why this unhealthy con-
dition OF the public mind? Without doubt
| it is all owing to lack Of confidence. The
two great parties into which the people
are divided have no confidence in each
other. They have no faith i'll each others
kilograms. and would be afraid to trust II
! ballot-box in each others hands. Under
the circumstances how is it possible for the
country to be composed? How can a man
sleep and keep his nerves in Il healthy con-
dition if he has to stay awake all night to
watch his neighbors? And how can the
public mind have rest as long as individuals
feel themselves justified in doing anything
whatever, if they do it for the sake of
party.
Without confidence all advantages are
fulfil e and no success can protect from
poverty. The people of Europe give every
third days labor in order to enjoy the fruits
of the other two, and delicate women do
the labor of men that men may stand idle
to guard the frontier. In our own coun-
try hundreds Of thousands at this time are
without employment, the wheels Of great
manufactures are stopped, millions of
acres lie untitled and real estate in many
sections is practically of no value. Let us
remember that parties Ill conflict always
become poorer; that property in litigation
is always known by its dilapidation. And
it is to be feared that many are becoming
desperate. giving Up the effort to meet
their obligations and making the general
distress an excuse FOR their Wn failures.
Without doubt the restoration of conf
dence would double the value Of every
bodys property i'll our country.
Secondly, the lack of confidence is due
to the deficiency Of character. This deiic-
iency may be either the want Of power to
recognise those qualities which are worthy
of confidence, OF the non possession of
those qualities which are the basis of con-
fdence. Some say that if the different clas-
ses and sections of our country only knew
each other better they would at once be-
gin to love and trust each other. It
is not true, however, that an e1cusable 1g-
norance IS the cause of all our trouble the
mutual ignorance of different sections is
mainly owing to unfriendliness. The
press is obliged to repeat this uniriendli-
ness and thus serves to increase rather than
diminish this ignorance. The intercourse
of the peoples representatives at Washing
ton inste;.d of mitigating the bitterness in
tensifies it, and the feeling of distrust be
tween the two parties in the same section
is as strong as that between the two Sec
tions. The lack of confidence, therefore,
SO far as it proceeds from inability to appre-
ciate character is itself, defect of charac-
ter. Not to trust God is declared in
the Scriptures to be sn, and not
to trust our fell0W-men so far gs
they are worthy to be trusted, and
not to recognize their trustWorthiness is
also sin. 1t takes likeness to Christ to rec
ognize Christ, and honesty to recognize
honesty, and in proportion as we are relia
BILE ourselves, will we be able to detect and
appreciate reliability in our nelghbors. We
nay therefore i'll expressing want of con-
lidence in others, only be condemning our
selves, as the man who trembles when there
ic n who
when reason shows that everything is
properly secure as such man is coward
or, at best, a weakllng, SO those who have
| no confidence III the piety, the honor, the
truth of others because they belong to
different social class or live in a distant
portion of the country, such persons are
destitute Of noble and generous charac-
ter
The other side of this deficiency is the
non possession of qualities which are the
basis OF confidence. We cannot have con-
tiderce i'll thieves and robbers, we cannot
entrust the ballot box to the care of bitter
partsans. We cannot feel that our inter-
ests are secure in the hands of those who
| hate us. And is there not sufficient rea
son for lack of confidence, when we consid-
er the vice, the immortality, the untruth-
fulness, the i'll will prevailing? Do not
many refuse to acknowledge any moral OBJ
legation to pay money which they are not
legally obliged to +? We say that we are
too poor, but it is not mans poverty so
! much as the weakness of his moral ener-
: gies which makes us distrust him. If those
ha ST II in iur nerve and |