The Newtown bee., 1894-09-28


 Text, l Samuel 1z:5, And he said unto them, the Lord is witness against you, and ! his anointed is witness this day, that ye have | not found aught in my hand. And they an | swered, He is witness"
 This is what Samuel said to the people, at certain time of crisis ip the political affairs of Israel. The people wanted a change in the administration of the gov ernment of the nation. They were evil dently tired of judges and prophets and | the government of themselves in accord ance with the divine law. They de- handed king, that they might be gov erned like the nations around them. It Is easier to be governed than it is to gov ern ourselves. It is more convenient to put the responsibility upon others than it is to bear it and do our duty, in poli- tics, as in anything else. "The govern ment of the people by the people and for the people" is the most difficult kind of government, because it is the highest and best kind of government, and de- | bends upon the character and the con- duct of the people themselves. And this is perhaps the chief reason why the poli- tics of this country so often falls into the hands of inferior and unworthy men who make the art of government their trade. As leading man of business in New | York is reported to have said, tive have thought this thing over and we find that it pays better to neglect our city affairs than to attend to them; that we can make more money in the time required for the full discharge of our political du- ties than the politicians can steal from us on account of our not discharging them" And so the divine principle of self government is neglected and we suffer the inconveniences and dangers of being governed by the boss and the mob until we feel the full force of the prov erb which says: "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the peo- pie mourn."
 SAMUEL WAS A WISE AND GOOD RULER under God. He was true statesman and leader of the people. He stands out against the clear sky of his day and generation as the greatest and most noble character of his nation,-a judge and prophet who ever commanded the reverence and love of I>rael, ''all the days of his life.'
 But he was an old man and he had made his sons judges over Israel" The story is best told in the eighth chap ter of the first book which is called by his. name:
 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes and perverted judgement. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah.
 And said unto him, Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways now make us king to judge us like all the nations.
 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that l should not reign over them.' This is the grand ideal wh oh we need to lay to heart. It is not which party may be in power. It is not whether Samuel, the wise and good, judges in Israel; or whether his wicked sons per- vert the government of the people for the sake of filthy lucre but are we true to the divine principles of government by which we are to square all our aetions-loyal to the law of God and faithful to each other? Do we make the abuses of politics an excuse for the neglect of our duties as Christian citi- zens, shifting the responsibility upon others? Or do we protest as best we can by voice and vote against the evils which first of all violate the holy law of God and therefore desecrate the church and the home, and defile every interest and relation of fife?
 wish to show, from the testimony and personal example of Samuel, that our political duties are just as truly re- ligious as any of the duties of life Christianity not only does not absolve us from the obligations of the state but it
 TENDS RATHER TO ENLARGE