Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1889-01-24
A Thanksgiving Sermon
rEr>cIrp Al worrBoRu, \. H.. ~ EEy. l..
II. NACpuN Afp.

4 PREACHED Al woIIBoRo, y. n. BY REV. l..
II. MACpo>>tp.
/ GIN. x,iH. a2.-And he said. oh let not
Z th, Lord be angry. | viii speak Vet hu; ihi.
7 once: f,rad, ,ntulc ten righteous men shall
Z bc found in Ib. citt And hc .aid. | viii not
DESTROY It for t,n'> sake.
( 1t took hut ten men devoted 20 the ser
. vice OF God to save the ancient CITY of
I Nodom. These ten formed most strik-
E M minority IN that terribly wicked town.
i Ia taking their stand firmly on the side uf
! God. and the right, they had arraycd
against them the Nast majority on the side
( OF Satan. The thousands aud thousands
/ " no formed the ho>i> Of sin and evil But
/ even ten righteous men weighed nightly
/ IN sight ui the Lord. They had the Al
mighty ou tAtlT Side, and that gave them
the majority. nu matter hnw vast th, num-
hcr> on the other side. Aul 80 must II al
WAYS hc. The ~IlS alton Of any town. even
ot thu town in which we live, must al
ways depend On the number and tile earn
c>tnc>> of some few Of The best Of it, cili-
lcu>. | know it j. diiliCult To draw the
.lEc between The bust and the wor>, cilj-
Aru> IA community In any such Clas>l-
iicatlpn. there !, danger | am awarr. Of
forming a Sort OF social caste OF moral
ari>iucraCy. " hose tendency VIII be tn fold
the garments nf their >eil-Tl-htcou-ut
around them and say, "oh Lord, thank
thee that ! am not A. other men are. But
on the whole, .huk the distinction j.
not hard tp make. 1t = very evident tuat
IA TINS A. 40 every other community. in
amy question thHi concerns ri-At and pun
II. ur The Aishrr If, Of the citizens there
are some people tAat do not care, and there
are some people Who do care. There are
some for example. Who. seeing a man reel
M on The streets IN state OF bca~ily in
tuAicAtiuu wiil laugh and treat il a. a cap
ltaI Joke; there are Others seeing that
same spectacle. who will have no feelings
I hut thu>v of The deepest sorrow and shame
/ There arr some whose ears a>>ailcd by
/ prpiaue ANA obscene language III public
I places, " III DC deaf To- IL Coar~cuc>s, or
render it the tribute OF a sympathetic
smile there are others whom ii strikes
WITH harsh and painful jar a. il speaks
To them ui low and brutal order az hu-
man existence. prc>cut in Iheir midst.
There j. 4 class. then, that includes not
only the positively bad hut the morally
/ lax and inditiclcnt From them We need
hope nothing, or expect nothing Their
presence may make tnc town u worse place
- llYe ia, but 1t cannot make II any bet
ter. There j. another class the moraiN
pledge, and committed, the lovers Of
Whatsoever l. true, pure, and of good re-
putr- II l. these upon nom. ia every com
nunlty. We build our hopes. and upon the
strength 81 the righteousness IN item Wc
reJolcc IN the glad Anticipation of better
and higher state Of things in the future.
/ Like the inhabitants of seldom of old. lu
these. his ruiI>ccratcd souls shall We look
when We nc>ecch the Lord fnr hi, mercy
upon our CITY, and If in prophetic Vision
Ne shall behold the salvation Of oar com
muniiy from all forms Of >iu aud currup-
ton, il will br because W. can point To a
fcw. even If it be but ten. righteous and
God fearing people among ~.
We talk about the >acrednc>> of the
home. but j. there not also Il larger home.
consisting Of the town in which we live
that j. also sacred: imagine u man de-
voted 10 the work of making hi, home all
that it. ought to- be- He allows no evil
influences 70 enter H. portals. All its APP
pointmrnt> are adapted 10 cultivate the
highest qualities of mind and spirit. | 20
to such man and say YOU have indeed
got a beautiful home it. atmosphere j.
sweet and pure, and its customs of pietN
aud devotion must be uplifting and rein
ng 10 all that come within it, influence
But do YOU not that the home Is
not and can never be the whole of life:
Children learn how to live through the at
mO>phtr- and instruction Of home, but
they learn how to live far more eiicctually
through influences outside OF the home in
the general tone aud tendency of the town
in which they live. Let a child 20 forth
from home in which the moral and spir-
ltua tone j. good, and catch breath of
the outside social habits and customs. and
1t will soon regard the domestic teachings
AS narrow and artificial and the larger
world into which it has come a. that alone
of truth and reality There l. that within
Us that makes Us easily and irre>istihly
fall into the fashions that prevail around
Us What ayail> il that a child i taught
at home personal purity fog example. He
goes out into the street, and his quick ear
catches some words about some recent so
cial scandal some breach Of the law of
chastity with all it, ghastly nearness in
time and space. He learns in>tinCtiNeiv
that such things not only happen but that
they are treated with laughter and com
I plaCency by the average citizen. What i
the unconscious conclusion formed in that
child's mind: Is il not that that Is the
way of the world: Does it not beget 4
feeling that the perfect purity inculcated at
the home fireside is not the standard re-
quired after all, bur that real life as he
sees it in society around him. permits and
even smiles at good deal of departure
from that perfect ideal And so | say to
this father, with mind bent on making the
home influence perfect, you had better
look out for the community as well. De
pend upon it, there Is no work In the way
of training that you can do that the public
sentiment of the place cannot undo; you
would not allow vile and corrupting in
fiuence to exist in YOUR domestic circle
without your most earnest rebuke and Ell
| fort at determination. Is it not absurd
| that YOU snould look with Indifference and
! complacency on that kind of an influence
| existing in the larger but no less real and
| efiectual circle of society around you! But
| what have got to do with the commun-
/ ity. How can make or unmake the gen
eral attitude of the place with respect to
! these moral questions. You have every
thing TO do with it, | answer. There Is
no power that makes the public sentiment
| OF place except the people who live in
| the place. You are one of these people.
| Come out of your selfish isolation at the
| home fireside. If you are one that stands
for Gods right and purity, let your voice
| be heard and your personal influence be
| felt proclaiming 1t in all public ways and
| places. To remain in your little corner,
passive and indifferent to public evil, you
are as guilty in the sight of God as if you
directly sanctioned and encouraged it.
/ Shall the forces of evil, always wide
awake, active and energetic, be allowed
| full sway in creating public sentiment!
1t is for you to say And if, as servant
of God you are not doing all YOU can to
sway and mould things according to His
will in the public circle in which you move
! if you are not exercising public spirit, and
a positive, aggressive policy in the name
of the highest, you have not begun to do
your duty as God-fearing man and a
| faithful follower of the Master.
What do mean by public spirit? Let
me illustrate II go into strange town,
and one of the first questions l ask is,
what is the sentiment of the place in re-
gard to education and culture, the higher
| cultivation of mind and taste? citizen