The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-30
THE METHODISTS.
Sermon of Rev DIR. Alabaster at Roberts
Park Church.


Park Church.
The Methodists of the city united in a thanks
giving service at Roberts Park Church, Rev.
John Alabaster, pastor of Meridlan-street,
preaching the sermon. Rev. j. K. Pye presiding
elder, had charge of the service assisted by Rev.
DIR. Marine, of Central-avenue, and Rev. R. d.
Robinson. magnificent prelude upon the or
gan. Introducing the national hymn, by Mr. Rob
| ert Newland, preceded The formal services.
Dir. Alabaster's sermon first treated of the
reasons for Thanksgiving, and secondly of the
| sins and weaknesses of the nation. This latter
branch was the principal part of the discourse,
| which at one time evoked vigorous handicap
ping and applause. He took Israel in the time
of Hosea and Amos, for an example. Israel had
| waxed wealthy, luxurious and wicked. The peo-
pie had become a nation of wine-bibbers, and
yet outwardly the appearances were of great
prosperity, Gas strong fOrits day as Germany,
as splendid as Russia, as voluptuous France,
| as prodiga as America; yet nation built upon
| quagmire of immortality and irreligion. There
was high culture, great temporal prosperity, yet,
with all, moral corruption" From this point
| the Doctor continued:
| If we could really know how strong Israel was
just then, really what its status was we must
| turn from her olive gardens and vineyards, for
they were too often wrested from the poor; from
| often cemented by the blood of the oppressed in
| her midst; from the treasures of silver and gold.
for they were not unfrequently the coinage of
| tears and the medals of a cruel ch1valry; from
| her armies and batJlements, tor power is, after
all, III right and Justice. And so we see that Is
rael, the seeming strong one was weak because
she left out God. When the day of trial came
| she could not endure. Outwardly, il seemed
| like some gigantic, oyersha allowing tree, with
strength of trunk expanse of branches, luxur-
ance of foliage and centuries wrapped up in its
unfolding life. Really, 1t was tree severed at
| the roots, wOrm-esten at the sap, decayed and
dry at the heart, Ghunder-blasted at the top and
putting forth Its last crop of leaves, the mockery
! of It's DOOM What lesson! How are we judg
| ing the nation2 How are we reading hlstory2
With what line are we measuring, and with what
scales are weighing our own countryG
| Do foDdy talk of domain2 OF
population2 OF commerce. OF mines of silver
and gOldl or great States and vast cites9 Do
| we tell even of vast charitable and educational
| tent of ancient Babylon, the population of As
| syria, the commerce of Phmnicia, the gold and
silver of Persia, ana the luxurant products of
| Egypt. We forget unrlvaled art and culture OF
| the lands along the Mediterranean sea. Let lis
not deceive ourselves They all persisted. So
shall we, unless we have more than had they.
| That domain is small, though stretched from sea
| TO sea, upon which the footprint of God isn't TO
| to be traced. That population is weak and puny,
though counted by millions, III which God is I'M
l counted: that treasury empty and that arsenal
unarmed, whose Golfers hold the price OF blood,
| and whose vaults are stored with the weapons
| of violence; and that nation is cursed with
| learning, whose education has not lts roots in
|
| something besides the license of law; education
something more than the license OF reckless the
| orists and the mysticisms of false PHILOSOPHERS;
| justice something more than the Incense or law,
| and eligion more than the license of denomIna-
| tiOnal bigoury for even these may be luxuriant
| in appearance, vet corrupt and rotten at the
| core. A nation, like an individual, must be esti-
| mated by the law of moral rectitude.
| Temporal prosperity in nation is usually a
| temptation to sin. Israel was at the height of
outward prosperity. yet it was in that time that
| God called from the sheept0ld of Teltoa ono who
was no prophet, bnt herdsman and gatherer
| of sy camOre fruit, and gave him this commits
sion: "Co prophesy unto my people, Israeli"
| The Influences of foreign civilization seemed TO
eliminate with the reign OF Jeroboam H. The
] nation, eated by its great cOnquests, seemed
secure in its possessions and ready to lie down in
ease. spirit of self-satsfaction was inducing
weakness and ruin. By its prosperity Israel
| was fast becoming enervated. The spirit OF
| manly daring aud high patriotism was giving
| way to one of Standardization. The nation had
| become engrossed in the extravaganza and lux
| ury that usually accompany successful warfare.
| There was lnordinate display, ana all the glitter
| and show of wealth. In this state of society,
where it exists, there is undue value attached
| TO wealth. Money becomes god Undue value
| is attached to whatever conduces to physical
| endowment Wealth. takes the place of realmerit.
| Pleasure takes the place of industry. 1t becomes
| a disgrace to labor, dishonor to be poor. Sud
den riches the most demorallzing of all
| treasure. They render man wholly I'M
| steady. And where some become suddenly
i rich, some quite apt to get suddenly poor.
| The powerful Cypress the weak. Then comes in
bribery and speculation, stock jobbing and all
m ethOds by which men combine to overreach
| their fellows and vault into riches. Then comes
| the Capitalization of capital for the control of
| articles of food and commerce. In times of
| great temporal prosperity the suices of sin are
| open. Many forms of SINS were prevalent in
| Israel, and which Amos denounced. He de-
| nounced Damascus because they have threshed
| Gilead with threshing instruments of iron"
| That is, they had sub ted captlves to torture
| in iron rollers GAIA is denounced because they
| liver them mn TO Edom." Tyre ia denounced for
| a similar reason, with the additional fact that
| she was a covenant breaker. God requires ma
lions well as individuals to keep. their treat
| les. Edom and Ammon and Moab are each
charged with cruelty and revenge. Now the
! great sin in all these nations was cruelty. They
| were inhuman, barbarous, unmerciful.
But let us consider the sins of Israel. One of
| the most prevalent was drunkenness. This fear
| full vice seemed common among all classes, and
| existed In most reVoltng forms. me prophecy
of Amos is full of iamentatiOn because of drunk
en9ess Hosea wrote just after Amos
sin of Israel. the, people not only
drank wine, but they carried their
carousals even into the sanctuary itself. The
women are represented as calling upon their
husbands, saying, Bring and let us drink"
Even the monastie Nazarites, whose vow re-
| auired them to separate from wine and strong
| drink" were either required or forced against
their VOWS to drink wine. In the mad orgies of
| the festivals they drank from the sacrificial
1 bowls Hosea tells us that the princes made
even the king sick with bottles OF wine and that
he stretched out his hand with scorners." The
| hardy virtues give way before the rapid aeeumu-
| latIon of riches. Industry, diligence. frugallty,
/ economy, temperance are swallowed up by in
temperance. Intemperance is one of the ser
| pents that is colng about the American Her
cules, and bitter will be its bites unless the
| young republic rises in its might for its destruc-
ton Another sin Righteousness, sin com
| monty Joined with intemperance. The pr0ph-
| ecy of Hosea flames with the denuneation of
the shameless indecencies of the times. The
social life of the people was utterly corrupt. Do
nestle purity and even tho most clearly dictated
prophecies OF parental and flial life disre-
1 garded. The whole land seemed like a court of
! Charles III,
\ and abandoned to vice, rather than people
/ through whom God had chosen to reveal him
| self to man. In this country we must cnl-
| tivate a more sacred regard for the mar
rage relation, and n greater unpOpularty
| for divorces. We must regulate and suppress