The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1893-12-23

tHdt you are aware OF, bndG the
breaking of one cornnandraeni makes
1t the more saay To bleak ali Of them.
and TIE philosophy Is plain. Any kind
OF sin wealsens the conscience. and il
the conscience is weakened, that opens
the door to all kinds of transgression.
II, for instance, a man go into this po-
litical campaign welding seurrility as
his chief weapon, and he believes
everything bad about d man, and he
believes nothing good, how long before
that mar himself will get over the
moral depression9 Neither in time
nor eternity. II utter falschoud in
regard TO a man, may damage him,
but I do myself ten-fold more damage.
That ~ gun that kicks. II, for in
stance, a man be profane, under prov
ocation he will commit any crime.
say under provocation. For il man
will maltreat the Lord Almighty,
would he not maltreat his fellow-man2
II man be guilty of nalfeasance in
Office, he will, under provocation, com.
init any sin. He who will steal will
lie, and he who will lie will steal.
1t, for instance, man be impure it
opens the door for all other iniquity,
for in that one iniquity he commits
theft of the worst kind, and covetous-
ness of the worst kind, and falsehood
pretending to be decent when he is
not--and ma1treats his parents by dis
gracing their name, If they were good.
Be careful, therefore, how you charge
that sin against any man either in high
place or in low place, either in office OF
out OF Office, because when you make
that charge against man you charge
him with all villainies. with all dis
gushing propensities, with all rotten
ness.
A libertine is beast lower than the
vermin that crawl over summer car
cass-lower than the swine, for the
swine has nointelligence to sin against.
Be careful, then, how You charge that
against any man. You must be so cer-
tain that a mathematical demonstra-
ton is doubtful as compared with it.
And, then, when You investigate
man on such subjec is, you must go to
the whole length of the investigation
and find out whether or not he has re-
pented. He may have been ON his
knees before God and implored the Di-
vine forgiveness, and he may have i'm.
plcred the forgiveness of society and
the forgiveness OF the world; although
if man commit sin at thirty or thirty
five years of age there is not one case
out of a thousand where he ever re-
penis. You must in your investiga-
ton see if 1t is possible that the one
case investigated may not have been
the exception. But do not chop off the
seventh commandment to suit the case.
Do not change Fairbanks scale to suit
what you are weighing with it. Do not
cut off yardstick to suit the dry goods
you arc measuring. Let the law stand,
and never tamper with it.
Above all, charge you, do not join
in the cry that have heard-for if
teen, twenty years l have heard it
that there is no such thing as purity.
If you make that charge you are q
foul-mouthed scandaler of the human
race. You are a leper. Make room for
that leper! When a man by pen or
type or tongue utters such SANDER on
the human race, that there is no such
thing as purity, l know right away
that that man himself is a walking laz-
arctic, reeking ulcer, and is fit for
no society better than that of devils
We may enlarge our chari-
les in such case, but in no such case
let us shave off the ten commandments.
Let them stand as the everlasting de-
Tense of society and of the Church of
God.
The committing of one sin opens the
door for the commission of other sins.
Those embezzlers, those bank cashiers
absconding as soon as they are brought
to justice develop the fact that they
were in all kinds of sin. No exception
to the rule. They all kept bad COM
pany, they nearly all gambled. they
all went to places where they ought
not. Why? The commission of the
one sin opened the gate for all the
other sins. Sins go in fiocls, in droves
and in herds. You open the door for
one sin, that invites in all the miser-
SOiC COuSA Cku0iOu.
Some of the campaign orators this
autumn, some of them, bonn harding
The suffering candidates all the week,
will think no wrong in Sabbath-break-
ng. All the week hurting the eighth
at one candidate, the
seventh commandment at another cam
iidate, and the ninth commandment
vt still another, what are they doing
With the fourth commandments: 'sRe-
the Sabbath day to keep it
,oly?" Breaking it. Is not the fourth |
as important as the
,ighth, as the seventh, as the ninth?
some of these political campaign
,rators, as have seen them re-
ported in other years, and as
have heard it in regard to
hem, bombarding the suffering can
lidates all the week, yet tossing the
lame of God from their lips recklessly,
,uilty of profanity. What are they do
ng with the third commandment? Is |
lot the third commandment, which |
ays; "Thou shalt not take the name |
# the Lord thy God in vain, for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless that
aketh his name in vain'--is not the |
bird commandment as important as
he other seven? Oh, yes, we find in
IL departments men are hurting their
against sins perhaps to |
which they are not specially tempted
hurting it against iniquity towards |