The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-11-15
THE VOICE OF THE PULPIT.
The Discourse of Rev. Haines on the
Virtues of Righteous Indignation.
Outrageous Wrongs That Give Cause for the
Rise of an Annihilating Wrath-Yester-
days Special Church Services.
RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION.

RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION
Wrongs and Outrages That Give just Cause
for It's Rise.
Rev. NJ. L. Haines spoke at the First Presby-
terrain Church last night his subject being
Righteous Indignation, or the True Place and
Limitation of Anger" His text was:
Be ye angry and sin not Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil.
-Ephesians Nv, 26, 27.
He said the word of God does not forbid all
anger as sinful. Martin Farquhar Upper says:
Anger is noble infrmity; the generous failing
of the JUST We must answer Mr. Upper.
There are occasions when anger is neither an
infrmity nor failing, but positive virtue.
There are occasions when for a man not to feel
and show moral indignation would be I'M
christian. Love and anger are the two sides of
one sublime emotion. Just so far as we appre-
ciate and love the things that are true, and pure
and banefcent and righteous, just 80 far will we
be strong in our aversion to whatever things are
impure, false and detrimental to mans best in
terests He to whom all things in this world are
alike, who is not capable of being reused with q
strong feeling of aversion against meanness and
hypocrisy, against overreaching villainy, shows
oped manhood.
Solomon says there is a time TO hate as we'll as
time to love, and in many passages in Scripture
the duty of exhibiting wise ard Just anger is
exeInpllhed and sanctioned. Who can read
without tremor of the indignation that famed
in Christs breast and the awful succession of
Woe unto you," swoe unto YOU that fell from
His lips like thunderbolts npon those whited sep
ulchers-the hypocritical Pharsees2
For one u continuad Mr. Hafnas at SVrnna-
thize with the highest official in ourland when he
grows indignant over the manner in which his
private affairs and the sacred intmacies of his
home life pried into and then, in distorted
shape, spread out before the public through GER
tain newspapers. Or like case like that
brought to the minds of many in our land lately
through the visit of an English lord as business
manager of a theatrical troupe His name fairly
reeked with the foulness of a series of disrepu
table scandals Yet this man, in his own
land, possesses more ecclesiastical patronage
than any other English nobleman. He
has at his disposal more than
half hundred church livings No bishop in the
established church controls such number. 1t
is difficult for an honest, pure man TO think of
such an outrage upon decency and upon Chrsts
church without his heart growing hot within
him.
But we may come closer home in our exam
ination of the field that righteous indignation
has for its exercise We may as Christian citi-
zens, be glad to see that constituencies of the
community to frauds upon the ballot If
such frauds have been committed, then it is
eminent by the people and tor the people will
soon become farce unless public
sentiment Is made hot, and continues
SO, against bribers, election fxers and forgers.
people who would tamely submit to such out
RACES. and allow them TO be compromised or 60
unrebuked 90 not deserve the blessing of free
ballot and fair count. Crimes of the character
that we have heard talked about so much lately
are a robbery on our most sacred rights. l am
not speaking partisan, or even merely as
citizen but from the high stand point of our
rights and duties Christian men. l say
crimes against such government ours
crimes against society and against God, and
should rouse such a storm of righteous indigna-
ton as to drive the perpetrators to seek refuge
within the walls Of the penitentiary.
Let not the sun 60 down upon your wrath.
Yes, but there cases in which the righteous
anger should continue. And it, through nom
partisan citizens committee that wrath can be
crystallized and forged into thunderbot-and
always held ready to be hurled in the future
against all bribers and ballot-box burglars, and
tally-sheet forgers it would be cause for graft
tude.
Again, there is a loud call for the display of
This Christian temper against those terrible
pests of society and debauchers of public morals
the saloons. What hope is there for our
municipal governments long the saloons
hold the balance of power9 The best systems
soon become worthless without the enforcement
of law What q mastery in politics saloons
have acquired in our cities. I came from city
where, at one time, seven aldermen ont of
thirteen were saloon keepers. 1t was not
strange that, finally, there was popular upris-
ing. A citizens committee was formed and the
rascals we're turned out or, rather, turned into
the penitentary. We have shut our eyes to the
evil, and it has grown and intrenched itself
1t seems to have come to be understood in all
our large cities that the saloons are the only in
situations superior to the law. They make
many of our statutes farce. They burden
our corporations with enormous debts. They
furnish more than so per cent of our criminals,
and more than so per cent of our insane They
fill our poor houses they wreck our homes; they
corrupt our officials, and trample upon our stat
utes
'Bishop Butler said, long ago: It does not ap-
pear that the feeling of indignation, generally
speaking, is at all too high among mankind If
it where it ought to be in this land it would
rise up in its fury and sweep the liquor institu-
tons, as existing and organized, as with the
bosom of destruction. ] am no prophet nor the
son of a prophet, but believe we are marching
toward day when patience with the wrongs in
flicted by liquor-seers will cease to be counted
virtue-when the fares of righteous wrath
against the saloons will sweep like prairie fire
from one end of the land to the other"
THE CENTRAL-AVENUE REVIVAL.