The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-08

rewards and melting out the punishment
due to crime. Hence the decalogue con-
tains the underlying principles of al
righteous government, it is the divine
and therefore, perfect legislation, ap-
proving all Righteousness, and prohib-
tive of all unrighteousness. The law
of God is both perceptive and penal
teaching duty, obedience to righteous
ness, and designating the penalty fol
unrighteOusness and crime.
The object of this paper is to trace
the history of the divine enactments
concerning murder; to discover, if pos
sible, how God has dealt with the
crime; and ascertain what. if any, in
fiuence his legislation should have upon
the legislation of the state on this sub
ject.
Your attention must be called to the
scripture fact that the race had more
than 1,600 years according to accepted
Bible chronology of exemption from
the death penalty. That experience
was both unsatisfactory and wholly
disastrous. During that long period
the world experimental on what is
sometimes called the humane treat
ment of the murderer.
From the murder of Abel to the de-
struction of the old world by the del
uge the race was permitted to test
some of our advanced modern theories.
God has declared the results. He saw
that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and that every magma
ton of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually And the
Lord said, 1 viii destroy man whom 1
have created from the face of the
earth" Gen. vi, sd. He then pro-
ceeded to execute the judgment which
their crimes had merited, Sparing Noah
and his family for the reason given,
For thee have seen righteous before
me in this generation" Gen. vii, u.
To Noah and his family, spared from
judgment, he announced the death
penalty for the crime of murder, Civ
ing also the reason justifying the pen
atty If the question be raised why
this enactment was not made in the
beginning of the history OF the race,
If it were the righteous and best thing
TO do, it viii be sufficient to answer
that God has not given the reason.
He gfveth account of none of his mat
ters.'' You might raise the question
why. if the Saviors coming were
necessary for the salvation of the race,
God permitted the race TO experiment
along the lines of human attempts at
salvation through philosophy and self
culture during all the long centuries?
Why this delay? 1t was doubtless
necessary that the race should be per-
mitted to reach the last extremity Of
failure in order TO appreciate God S
fnterposition. So he permitted the race
to pass through an experience pro-
longed through the centuries of eX-
emption from the death penalty He
would teach with emphasis the failure
of law without adequate penal sane
tions. This experience has been re-
peated as often as law has not been
backed by penalty, or justice has been
defrauded by the failure of the judicial
power to perform its functions.
You viii recall further the scrip
tllraI fact that in the new races start
Cod announced to Noah and his pos
terity the death penalty for the crime
of murder who So sheddeth mans
oIood. by man shall his blood be shed,
for in the image of God made he
man" (Gen. tx. g. Thus did God en-
phasize the. reason for so tremendous
a penaI sanction. This was a new de-
narture and along the line of progress
in teaching the sacredneSs of human
life God has never gone back to
lower forms of moral development, in
his dealings with the race. Had the
death penalty been a descent to bar
l,arisrn" as a providential movement
:, would have been a backward step.
IF was better for the world than the
former condition, else God would not
have introduced it.
In uronouncing the death penalty
Cod gave the reason for it. That rea-
SON lies in the sacredness of human
life .sFor in the image of God made he
That was not passing, a tenn