Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-11-09
THE REAL TEST OF FITNESS
AN ANrl-IcLECTI0S SERMON ny DR.
TALMAGE.

EALmA0E.
Ho Discusses PerxOnnI Character as
Ar.l4eA sS:c-Good ADVICE
for All partics--A Timely Topic
Treated.
Brccklyn.--Discussing the approach
ing election, and using the text Exodus
TX, IS and all the people saw the
thundcrings, and the iightnings, and
7 the noise Of the trumpet, and the
mountain smoking" Rev. DIR. Talmage
says:
On the eve of elections in the sixty
acounties Of this state and in all the
counties of most OF the United States,
while there are many hundreds OF
nominees to office, 1t is appropriate and
Important that 1 preach this before
election sermon.
81 My text informs you thnt the light
piDgs and earthquakes united their
forces to wreck a mountain Of Arabia
syPetraea In oldeu time, and travellers
to-day find heaps Of rorphyry and
u greenstone rocks, bowider against
\ bowlder-the remains of the first law
library, written not on parchment or
apapryus, but on shattered slabs or
S4yranite. The corner stones of all NOR
h atty, OF all wise law, of all righteous
Jurisprudence. of all government are
he two tablets of stone on which were
y written the ten commandments.
ISL All Roman law, all French law, all
English law, all American law chat Is
worth anything, all common law, civil
A. aw, criminal law, martial law, law of
siations wcTe rocked in the cradle of
he twentieth chapter Of Exodus. And
/ would be well in these times of great
political agitation if the newspapers
would print the Decalogue some day in
3 place Of the able editorial. The fact is
That some people suppose that the law
1Bsssas passed out Of existence, and some
re not aware Of some Of the passages
4 that law, and others say this or that
fIs of more importance. when no n
las any right to make such an asser-
Bksssion- These Laws are the pillars OF
3lbciety. and il you remove u pillar
on damage the whole structure.
All I have noticed that men are partlc-
gENlarIy vehement against sins to which
Whey are not particularly tempted and
ind no especial wrath against sins i'm
" shicA si:s;yf themselves indulge, They
t.lliake out gun from this battery of
4 len guns and load that. and unlimber
4 nat, aud fire that. They say, This IS
I I'm Armstrong gun, and this is a Krupp
I Nnn, and this Is n Nordenfeidt five bar
{ Aeled gun, and this Is a Calling ten
f3farTeled gun, and this is a Martini
4 4airty seven barreled gun" But | have
M tell them that they are not all OF the
Name caiiber and that they shoot from
H iternity to eternity.
~ Many questions are before the people
the coming elections all over this
ind. but l shall try to show you that
ie most Important thing to be settled
bout all these candidates is their per-
NAL, moral character. The Decalogue
brbids idolatr5, image making, pro-
nifty. maltrcatment OF parents, Sab
ath dissertation, murder. theft, incon-
hence. lying and o~ovetousness That
the Decalogue by which you and 1
iii have to be tried, and by the same
ecalosue You and must try candi-
ties for office.
or course we shall not find anything
Re perfection. Is we do not vote until
10 End All immaculate r0fnincc, we
\ iii never vote at all I'VE have SO
M any faults OF our own we ought not
m be censoripus or maiedictory or n.y.
ssrcritical In regard TO the faults of
hers. The ChristIy rule is as appro-
A7 iatc Tor November as any other
s' pnth In the year. Judge not that
fFH be not Judged, for with what meas-
g4 IL We metc Ii shah be measured to
&a.s5iu again"
.s14. Most certainly are we not to take the
%Atement Of red-hot craftsmanship as
NfaSe zeal character of any man. From
&h arly all the great cities of this land
@ttllnkeceive daily or weekly newspapers,
Fi1snt to me regularly aud in compli-
4XAent, so / see both sides-I see all
& 4ies-and 1t Is most entertaining and
{sks1g most regular amusement to read
Opposite statements The one state
sSFkgsnt says the man Is an angel, and the
says he Is a devil, and l split the
ference, and l find him half way be-
cen. k@
hero never has been an honest or
,pectable man running for the
tied States presidency Or for d
lgeship, or for the mayoralty, or for
shrievalty since the foundation of
American government, IL we may
ieve the old files of newspapers in
museums What q mercy Ii is that
y were not all hung before they
EH iuduSuTitcN. IL IL uidh UNiiCNN
shalt of what he sees in the newspa-
s in these times, his carcer will be
y short outside of Bloomingdale in
10 asylum.
was absent two or three years ago
lag one week of a political canvass,
was dependent entirely upon
at I read in regard 10 what had oc.
red In these cities, and l read there
a procession in New York of 5000
riots, aud n minute after / read in
,ther sheet that there were 1900,
then I read lii regtri To another
cession that there were 10000, and
o l read in another paper that there
e G0,000
on must admit It is a very difficult
lg In times like these to get a very
urate estimate of q mans character,
l charge as your religious
.her--I charge you to caution and
n~ercifulness and to prayer.
warn you also against the mistake
ch many are making and always dc
Re of applying a different standard
character for those In prominent
itions from the standard they apply
---I