Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-11-03
A TIMELY SERMON.
SERMON OF REV. VIM. E. BAhER-POLIT1-
CAL EXCITEMENT AND CHURCH PEG
PLE-DANGERs OF IT.

| &C., SC, sc.
Last Sunday at che First Presbyterian
church Rev. VIM. E. Baker delivered a
sermon peculiarly appropriate, to the pres
ent heated term in politics, His text was
s'Be still and know that [ am God" He
said that our best remedy against UNDUE
excitement is the thought OF God. Man
is q creature Of limited range and prone to
magnify the little things Immediately be-
fore his vision, and intense contemplation
Of an object exaggerates it's Importance.
During a political canvass morals are apt
to decay and religion decline. Many, Or
dinarily sober on election day become IN
toxicated as, in the ball room temptations
triumph which could easily be resisted IN
the parlor.
Excitement adds to the interest of its
obj ects by imparting its own warm and
rich coloring to them. In the Observable
ry of Mr.. Booths Virginia house at the
Centennial exhibition there are four win
dows each Of q different shade of glass
Looking through one, the landscape has
the light green tints of spring. The next
makes it look like summer with its pale
yellow hues. Then we see the rich brown
of autumn and lastly the dullness and
deafness of winter. The illusion is so per-
feet in each case that we would certainly
be deceived if we depended upon vision.
So. excitement makes this world look like
paradise. The baying Of hounds be-
comes the sweetest music in the hunters
ears; the rowing of one boat faster than
another is thought worthy Of announce
ment by a cable telegram, and facility in
capturing brass ring with q tin spear is
an act of heroism worthy Of national APP
plause. And if excitement produces such
distortion in these little things, it is not
surprising that Oh the eve Of an important
Presidential election it should sweep ever
the country and axe every other matter
insignificant in comparison. fixing our
attention exclusively upon the inter est5
involved. they seem permanent to all 9th.
us W. are sure that il we succeed in he
conflict, earth viii l become almost a
Aeayen to us but That if we fail life will
hardly be worth living
In these circumstances we naturally re-
yard those who are on the other side as
either grossly ignorant Or intensely malc-
ious, while we have nothing but the most
, kind and charitable feelings towards the
thieves and rutfians on our own side.
These latter may be djsfgured by the sears
of many a street fight but they are worthy
citizens in our eyes, for, by reason of the
false coloring which excitement gives,
those who vote with US are the righteous,
while those who vote against US are the
wicked. This magnifying Of political DIS
tinctions must tend deci dedly to the ig-
noring Of those which are moral and re
ligious. Identity Of Christian belief be-
comes nothing compared with indemnity of
political belief. A fellow disciple does not
seem a S near to us as fellow partiZan; COM
muning together is not SO intimate q bond
as voting together. From this exaltation
of that which is temporal, divisions in the
church necessarily result. We become in,
different, if not unfriendly to those Of our
fellow members who are against us at the
polls. We carry our embttered feelings
from the hastings to the prayer meeting.
We are inclined to hold the kingdom of
God responsible for the bad treatment we
receive at the court house. The sinner
allows his political prejudices to interfere
with his religious duty. He will not keel
company with such opponents even in the
way to heaven. 1t may be unreason able
thus to bring every quarrel and every diff
ference, no matter where they may origi-
nate, and lay the blame Of them upon the
church. but we are very prone to do it..
Disease generally settles in the weakest
part Of the body, and our controversies
with men generally plunge us into contro-
versy with God Most of the divisions
which man the church had their Origin in
the world. Men began the conflict outside
and then carried 1t on inside. Many a
sinner has kept away from Christ and lost
his soul because Of prejudices against
those associated at the time with Christ.
We ought therefore to avoid undue excite
ment about temporal things. There is no
cause for which we are justified in forsak-
ing all, but the cause of the gospel. There
is no party with which we should identify
ourselves without reservation but the par
ty Of the gospel. We may indeed unite
with our fellow men, and with the very
worst of them in order to gain important
ends; but when such association interiors
with our allegiance to God we must draw
| off. Thorough and unreserved identitica-
ton with the parties and organizations of
earth is Nnadmissable to those whose
citizenship is in heaven.
| Worldly excitement moreover Interrupts |
Christian serenity. The heated partisan |
can know little of the peace of God. |
| Anxious about the result of efforts and |
| elections, he is unable to live soberly and |
| righteously and Cody in this present |
world. If defeat comes he is too much cast |
down to believe that ''all things work to-
gether for good to them that love God.n
AS telegram after telegram increases the |
majority on the other side, he finds himself |
less and less able to obey the apostolic in
junction to ''rejoice always" The burden
and yoke OF his party does not, like the
burden and yoke of Jesus give him rest in
the hour of disappointment. The taunts
of triumphant opponents cannot be borne
as easily as the reproach encountered on
behalf of Christ. And the candidate for
whom so many sacrifices We're made is IN
able, because of his own defeat, to say to
his Jealous adherents: ''Be thou faithful
unto death, and will give thee crown of
life" Ii, on the other hand, success crowns
the conflict, and unprecedented maiorities
roll In upon the Geographic wire from East
and West and North and South. the dam