, 1877-11-12
RELIGIOUS.
p,of. Swing on 1.-THE Vows Of
the Present Age."
:, c,nsolatory Dlscourse by Dr.. Thomas
10 tie Weary and Heavy
Laden.
r,5 1ncersoll Reners Ills Controversy
with the New York sob
seryer."
THAT Journal Il Compelled to Admit
that Paine Did Not Recant-
TIE CHRISTIAN vow.


1,r~,,sur.% xyow
.vonor ny rnor. SWING.
-,... s.r,,, IN ,x.. nrrnrhe,Y vestrniay
The folo",.R ae1 So, r,,",s r. a.. .,.,s.,.x ~,
morning at oas, cen.a1' '"1'eA y '"' pA'' '
nv -. v,nr conversation be yes. yes, nay, nay.-
~ - r.
~ rows a.a upon me-, o! Hod.-ItdtS's. 1cI..
L.
Tbe vow performed a large part IN both the
,.r,.h mi, na4au economics. Worshtper and
1e"tn N. ,sss, IT, ,ovrr. III hound themselves
KluR' sous' ..h. ~. ~ .bs r.,for,n ancc RI .o,ne
With solemn e,at, Isu' ~ 's W., ontte customary to
s~,,r TINT one would neither eat nor drink I'll.
s".s' hoa nut IN death such an enemy, or had
til Que ,..,,1 w. 1 .o,,c mos. desirable work. Some
accomplished eo".s s,a,,,d ,o,,c,, IL. farc or
,,te, Tue lips TIL the enemy had been slain.
T.nh,ab. IN the fervor Of his war with the AM
'ep sp.. ,naI,c nror1Jsc that hc would offer 10
oFAes. "A s.e.,,,r. th,t sbou11 ron,c firth IN
God TUG ,','s, u'ss e' -. hc .houid draw near
home, II he should return Is conqucror'
no~ ,.r,no homo II WAS not q servant or re-
Vn .1".,ro nsaH ~ a1ave that came. but Ills only
mote ,e'"% ,a1 ,,1,nncd te meet him will, sour.
and symbol, and DANCE Alas, my uaaRhtef,
shou hast brought mo very low, for have
onsucd u1y mouth to the Lord, and cannot go
bssk." Such Tor4s reveal ~ inncxl6laness
Nv M the viii.
All through the Greek and l!oman times Ibis
frdnsocc Ui views Is seen. Going into battlc,
thc Greeks once promised TO Apollo % as many
offerings from the uoSx y 'ney snou.a scma k.l sr
Though those long centuries tod was being
Tbo loved Inrce prices for Ills serviccs and who
loved to sec Ilis children caught sn these kinds
of vottve snarea. II thslf eaGssneas @ 10 ,n Galn
msko large. strange vow, as though To grant
the jupiter, or the Apollo, or the Jehovah an
opportunity 10 cntrap them and secure large
III, 49,,
that clear and powerful protest IN his sermon.
liz 1T forth that all actions carried within them
selves motive for the doing or the nun-doiug.
The decd were right, do It; II wrong. LEI IL
your "hcad," or your "teard," or the "frst oo.
lei that meets you" to help you work and help
jod 10 intercede On your behalf. The Creator
ID pot being that delights IN cntrapplng feeble
mortals; IIc wants not the nl9oay aeatn ., nla!
ia wants nothing done In tho namo o. III
EthTone," or tfootstoos,n or "hcavena:" but
lis Il q God 20 Kreat that lie Wishes the right y
b. done and tho wrong 70 be left undonc. He
wishes tie yea Of right and the nay Of wroug to be
the ground and reward Of oil arts Of herolsm OF
denia], II God gave Jephtah victory, II Wal
because Of natural laws. and NOE because
happY child was about to be ensnarcd from
homo and sacrificed to Hlmself. A cruel, blood.
thinr was the whole vow-cuatom Of HchrsN
nd pagan antiquity. ..
,eo.ton in III entirety there may have beer
beautiful exceptions, times when the sou
faithful, and mado that proMiae in tho nam'
ooi7 Of TINT yea and nay brought forth by th
great Teacher. It Ia not very probable that II
Tits poetic rcyery Of David Thy Tows or
than The resolve Of mind that was rap1al
reaching the highest conception Of duty. Th
poem was written from exile and many mli
fortunes, and instead Of sinking under trtal
. Of pissta Of hill and glen, David kept I
mind q higher destiny, and expressed 1t !
the words, ssThy VOWS arc upon nc, Oh! God.
Itis ppsstble that he had madc ao!Ho other an
LESS noblo vows, but the TACT TINT our tex
comes from poem and not = prosaic pugc "oul
J~udcr It probable that hero the poet was slnl
)0g thn beauty Of the divine right.
The past history Of oaths and VOWS you'd b
by safs ss!ew fnf wpa a u B0e 0'
msse mention Of sucll AZ old custom aud To
allullon to aome OF its "details may well lead U
70 ask wtat ID or should be tic attitudo 81 vow
10 the nineteenth Chrlhttan century, what y
once resortcd to suct sacred and eotnttiins
awful proulisesf Was It all an accilentf VI
EAll fo,ly4 Was there good hidden undt
tho c{rOr1f Inquiries tHc81 WticH seem ut
simply curious but Of practical worth. Thu
need not bc ansNored In detail. A general di
cusslon OF tho theme will suffice for tie NOR
ing
/. The human mind is one ln al tlncs ar
places, and What It needed IN the 0lden time
way Of I'D to action 1t needs still, but It meet
pQi The Old modes vi aaslstance. The will
peytf jrou-Ilko, but always ID plastfc. It VI
bend under oratory, or brIbes, or 6attery,
music. or apy form OF interest. Whcn the o
babyloniau Ring wlshetl the captive Hebrews
worship his heathcu gods, he granted them
.!east lie Id of tt,uAic, Rpd ordered that VIII
Nthey ,hpilld hesr the sound Of tue cornet Il
dute. hayn. ssrkh,it. psaIlery. and duIcttner, Il
ali kind9 81 rnuaic.H they should fa4l down 4,
Nofship the Tolden Image, Al least brauttt
5oantis and tho strect peCeant might be o!Ier
fht great UcbTevs III Babylon 10 help them pa
nyef frotn tha oue Jchuynh 10 = golden smas
1enseieM and 1jIeless Thus lu all times {
human VIII has been not atiau,aut but wax,
cav trsnsfor1netiou fnto Qny shape.
This Geing true. il must carly have come
pass tbat men reared the liability OF their OF
rrsolulion or prumtse, ind feared also
stahility OF .nch uther. ard then eoop fear
fhat Jnn,ter. or T.nadha. or God, had no Er,
coptucace In mortsl Integrity, and hence
he1o acll. and Ia as4ure nelghbor, aud 70 assl
D.ty. mar bcean eariv to swsar great oaths,
bln1themseiYcs with costly and teariul w,
Nov. tha mind sf man Il still uexible,. 4