The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-11-01

mon was Exodus Xxx, IS: And all the
people saw the thunderings and the light
nings and the noise of the trumpet and
the mountain smoking" He said:
ION the eve of elections in the sixty
counties of this state, and in all the
counties Of most Of the United States,
while there are many hundreds Of nom
inees to office. it is appropriate and i'm
portant that l preach this before cleo
ton sermon
MY text informs you that the light
nings and earthquakes united their forces
wreck a mountain of Arabia Petraea
in olden time, and travellers today find
heaps of porphyry and greensboro rocks,
bowIder against bowlder, the remains of
the first law library, written, not on
parchment or papyrus, but on shattered
slabs of granite. The cornerstones Of
all morality, of al wise law, of all
righteous Jurisprudence, of all good gov
eminent are the two tablets of stone
which were written the ten command
ments
''Au Roman law, all French law, all
English law, all American law that is
worth anything. all common law, civil
law, criminal law, martial law, law of
nations were rocked in the cradle of
the twentieth chapter Of Exodus. And
1t would be well in these times of great
political agitation if the newspapers
would print the decalogue some day in
place of the able editorial. The fact is
that some people suppose that the law
has passed out of existence, and some
are not aware Of some Of the passages
of that law, and others say this or that
is of the more Importance, when no one
has any right to make such an assertion.
These laws are the pillars of society,
and if you remove one pillar you damage
the whole structure.
L have noticed that men are particular
ly vehement against sins to which they
are not particularly tempted and find
no special wrath against sins in which
they themselves indulge. They take
out one gun from this battery of ten
guns. and load that. and unlimber that,
and fire that They say, This is an
Armstrong gun, and this is a Krupp gun,
and this is a Nordenfeldt fve-barreled
gun, and this is a Calling ten-barreled
gun" But 1 have to tell them that
they are all of the same caliber, and
that they shoot from eternity 10
eternity.
Many questions are before the people
in the coming elections all over this
land, but l shall try TO show you that
about all these candidates is their per-
sOnal, moral character. The deealogue
forbids idOlatry, image making, prOfdni-
ty. maltreatment of parents, Sabbath
Dissertation, murder, theft, incOntinence,
lying and covetousness. That is the dec
alogue by which you and 1 will have to
be tried, and by the same decalogue
you and l must try candidates for Of
flee.
Splitting the Difference.
OF course we shall not find anything
like perfection. If we do not vote until
we find an immaculate nominee, we
will never vote at all. We have so many
faults Of our own we ought not to be
censorious or maledictory or hypercrit-
zeal in regard to the faults of others.
The Christly rule is as appropriate for
November as any other month of the
year. Judge not that ye be not judged,
for with what measure We mete it shall
be measured to you again.
Most certainly are we not to take the
statement of redhot craftsmanship as the
real character of any man. From nearly
all the great cities Of this land receive
daily or weekly newspapers, sent to me
regularly and in compliment, so I see
both sides-I see all sides-and il is
most entertaining and my regular amuse-
ment to read the opposite statements.
The one statement says the man is an
angel and the other says he is a devil;
and 1 split the difference and 1 find
him half way between.
There has never been an honest or
respectable man running for the United
States presidency. or for a judgeship. or
for the mayoralty. or for the shrievalty
since the foundation of the American
government, If we may believe the old
nleS of newspapers in the museums.
What mercy it is that they were not
all hung before they were inauguratedl
II a man believe one-half of what he
sees in the newspapers in these times,
his career will be very short outside of
BloOmingdale insane asylum.
was absent two or three years ago
during one week of a political canvass,
and was dependent entirely upon what
/ read IN regard TO what had occurred
in these cities. and I read there was a
procession in New York of 5000 patriots,
and minute after l read in another
sheet that there We're II 900, and then I
read in regard to another procession that
there were 10000. and then read in an
other paper that there were $4,000.
A campaign orator in the rink or the
Academy Of Music received a very cold
reception very chilling reception
said one statement The other statement
said the audience rose at him. So great
was the enthusiasm that for a long
while the orator could not be heard, and
1t was only after lifting his hand that
the vociferation began 70 subside! One
statement will twist an interview one
way, and another statement will twist
an interview another way. You must adj
nit 1t is very difficult thing in times
Ike these to get very accurate estimate
of a mans character, and / charge you,
as your religious teacher, I charge you
TO caution and to mercifulness and to
prayer.
/ warn you also against the mistake
which many are making and always do
make Of applying a different standard of
character for those in prominent posi-
ton from the standard they apply for
ordinary persons. However much a man
may have or however high the position
he gets, he has no especial liberty given
him in the Interpretation of the ten COM
nandments. A great sinner is no more
TO be excused than small sinner. Do
not charge illustriOus detection to eccen-
tricity or chop off the ten command
ments to suit especial cases. The right
is everlastingly right and the wrong is
everlaStingly wrong. If any man noni-
mated for any Office in this city or state
differs from the decalogue do not fix up
the decalogue but fix him up. The law
must stand whatever else must fall
Commandment Breaking.
1 call your attention also to the fact
thai you are all aware of-that the
breaking OF any one commandment
makes it the more easy to break all of
them-and the philosophy is plain. Any