Nevada County picayune., 1890-05-28
RELIGIOUS COLUMN.
Edited by GEO. A. GARDNER
HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY.

So then every of us shall give account of himself to God.-Romans xvi l2.
 Mans responsibility is the basic principle of all moral action. The fountain from which flows all that is good or bad in moral conduct. The beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea are ir- responsible crcatures-the human race alone is invested with the high endowment of accountability. All the other creatures were made sub seryient to mans comfort and hap piness, and all of them except the domestic animals draw their susten- ance from the spontaneous produc- tions of the earth. As lord of the earth, or exclusive proprietor of it's wide domain, man has undisputed dominion over these lower creatures. We shall not inquire into the reasons of this marked distinction between man and the whole brute creation such an inquiry would be profitless and unsatisfactory, but the fact re- mains that such is the case, and we are bound by every rational and phil osophical consideration to believe that it is for the best.
 It is entirely proper and legitl- mate, however, to examine the phil osophy of this wonderful endowment with which the human family is in- vested. There can be no intrinsic goodness or moral excellence without this attribute. Divested of it, man sinks to the level of an automaton or machine and is no longer the subject of praise or censure. Hence 1t IS readily apparent that this Is the reason why man was honored with this noble attribute. It is true that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the Armament showeth his handiwork-th the brute creation, along with inanimate nature, show forth his wisdom and power and goodness, but it is reserved to man to render voluntary and intelligent praise and homage to the great cre- ator of the universe, such praise and homage as are most pleasing in his sight. The purpose of mans crea- tion, therefore, was to glorlfy God by rendering to him the tribute of his voluntary homage. Spirituals wOr- ship, or that which is sincere and un- affected, flowing from the heart, is the kind of worship in which God de- 1 lights, for he seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and Tn truth.
 This responsibility covers the whole l field of moral conduct-in fact, every thought, word and action will be brought into judgment. Every man, too, must account for himself, and each person will stand or fall to his own master. As the responsibility in each case is measured by the abil- ity and opportunity enjoyed, so the reward or punishment with be in proportion to the use or abuse of these abilities and opportunities. l Where little has been given but little will be required, but where much has been given, much will be required, It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judg- ment than for Capernaum and Jeru- salem, for these latter cities sinned against greater light and knowledge. The people of the present day living i in Gospel lands will carry greater responsibility before the judgment tribunal than the people who lived in former ages, and more will be re- quired of them on account of their superior light and knowledge. Ex- act and impartial justice will then be administered to all.
 Here in this world justice is often cheated of her dues, and through bribery and corruption the guilty often go unpuniShed, and sometimes the innocent are made to suffer for the guilty. But in the day when each shall give an account of himself to God, when all nations shall ap- pear before the great white throne, and when our Savior himself shall sit as judge, there will he no mistakes on account of ignorance, no acquit- tals on account of bribery and cor ruption, but every one will receive according to what he hath done. whether it be good or bad. God has appointed a day in which he will ;rl,,o tbn unrl1 ou1 f,r raaSnus