The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-05
AN INSPIRING DISCOURSE
DIR. LYMAN ABBoTT ON THE DUTY
AND DESTINY OF THE NATION.
He Lauds the AngIo-saxon and Con-
trasts the Institutions OF Spain
with Those OF Our Country.


Brooklyn Eagle
The Rev. Or. Lyman Abbott preached an
appropriate sermon Sunday morning from
Revelation XII Is: The kingdoms of this
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of His Christ and He shall reign for
ever and ever" He spoke as follows:
What is a Christian nation? What is a
Christian? Not man who is perfectly con-
formed TO the image of Christ, who does all
that Christ would have him do and never
does anything that Christ would not have
him do certainly that man would he q
Christian If he could be found. but if onlv
that kind OF man were Christian, there
are none)-a Christian Is one who is follow
ing after Christ; who is conforming himself
to Christ; who is still doing the things he
would not do end leaving undone the things
he would do; who still has to battle win
himself against appetite and pride and cor
ruption ana yet who is making brave
battle, and, on the whole, a progressive
battle ana IS trying while still he has foes
within himself to battle against the foes of
humanity without What is a Christian ma
uon NOT nation which has no vices
which has no foes within it's own borders
which is perfect. but a nation which is
battling against the evil within itself ana
against the evil without itself End strug-
Cling toward higher and better ideal of
justice mercy. truth reverence II is a ma
tiCn which is endeavoring to give equal
rights and equal justice 10 all men; 1t is a
nation which has consideration for the poor
the ignorant, the oppressed and the suffer-
ing and which loves mercy as well as II
does justice; 1t is q nation which shows
reverence not merely nor mainly by tenn
pies in which it's people assemble from time
10 time to pray and praise, but reverence
because it seeks to ascertain what are Gods
laws and to incorporate those laws In &c
own commonwealth and to conform its ma
tional life TO those laws, and because in
some measure 1T trusts to the forces which
COO mas set at work in the world for
obedience to those laws within it's own com
monWeaith; a nation which in its organic
legal constitutional action does Justice
loves mercy and walks reverently and hum
bly, And just in the measure in which n
attalns this. just in the measure in which
II sets this ideal before it and walks toworJ
this Is 1t Christian nation. If Christian
is one who serves others, then Christian
nation is one which seeks not its own glory
Its own prestige and power, but seeks the
welfare of the human race
certainly do not wish this Sabbath
morning, to appeal to your pride or fiatter
your preJudices. but l wish you to consider
win me, In a calm and quiet manner what
are the lessons of the past and what thev
nave Tor us respecting the duties of the flu
tule' dng Tor that purpose / ask this uues-
ton: What are the DISTINGUISHING chsrac
t1riSucs Of this American Nation? Not its
characteristics merely. but it's DISTINGUISHING
CHARACTERISTICS; what are those features in
the national life which are distinct from the
features in the life of other nations?
NOT LAWLESS NOR IRREVERENT.
There are those who tell us that the dis
tinguishing characteristics of this Nation
are its drunkenness, its corruption. its Sab
bath-breaking, its irreverence, and its law
acknowledge them, and we might well
acknowledge them with ashes on our head
and sackcloth for our garments But thew
are not the distinguishing characteristics of
this Nation Neither drunkenness nor cor
ruption nor lawlessness nor irreverence dis
uhguish us from the other nations of the
earth. Drunkenness! Did yoai ever walk
I T9e streets OF London or of Edinburgh at
mght: You will see more drunkenness in
one OF those cities in single night than you
WI see - New York In month. Corrup-
uoh! rave you never read of ancient
Rome! rave you never read of the cor
Iuptlon that runs all through the Russian
nIeaucracy? Rave you rot read Of the
Fanama scandals in Erapce2 Have YOU
never read the chapter of English history
which Walpole helped to write?. Lawless-
ness! Have YOU read nothing respecting the
riots in Italy? Have you never read the
story OF the French revolution? Have you
never known of the Chartist riots in Great
britain? DO not say that other nations
also are irreverent and lawless and drunken
80 80, corrupt for the sake of tightening the
against those vices among our own people
u IS 70 better to be a sinner with hum
ored man to be sinner alone. But they
human nature. Change your form of gov
eminent. nut back a king bring in an
aristocracy. abolish vour public school svs-
TEN, change the whole structure of your
government from top TO bottom and still the
drunkenness and the corruption and the law
IeSsneSS would abide These are evils that
are wrought into man ard must be brought
out Of him by larger education and a bet
ter religion. They are not distinguishing
characteristics of American life they are
5S common as history and as wide as the
teIlsticS Of American history: how do we
6lHer. If at all. from other people? In the
aaTst place, we are on this continent forty
I'VE independent. sovereign States. and yet
curing the century of our history, there
nave been. ii is said, at least forty contro-
Verstes between the States which would
nave Suthced a cause for war had ii not
heen for determination to settle such con-
FoVefSIes by political methods. and our Ma
non OF judicial tribunal for that purpose
Why? Because we have contrived a method
no, not only that-because with that meth
Cd we have possessed ourselves of a certain
power Of self-restrant and patience and we
nave sad. when these sovereign and indie
pendent states get into controversies with
one another they shall not settle them by
appeal to force, they shall settle them by
appeal to reason and we will have a tri-
bunal which shall exercise that reason for
Us That is the first distinguishing charac-
tersttc of the American people. All writer's
: mink. on constitutional law, recognize the
history anything analogous to our Supreme
13Urt. And that is not merely tribunal
winch we have created. ii is principle
which we have embodied in our national life
that controversies between communities as
Wen IS controversies between individuals
Shall he settled by right and by reason not
ny force of arms.
ANOTHER PRINCIPLE
And along with that has gone another
that We will depend chiefly on right and
reason and conscience for the maintenance
OF law. We call this country a country of
set-government. What do we mean by that?
W ny. we mean, primarily. this: That we be-
Heve that men have wisdom enough to
Judge for themselves and conscience enough
TO respect the rights of their neighbour and
So while we have police and we have
our armed force. and and again we
must call them into activity in the main we
depend in this country, not on the police,
ana not on the militia. and not on armed
I"'ce or any kind. TO maintain the Suprem-
3cy or the law; We believe there is a power
IN the human conscience and we trust to
me human conscience; in other words
otileNe that II a law is a righteous law, it
VIII enforce itself. Or, TO put Ii still more
truly. we believe that God stands behind
every righteous law, and that we can trust
Iod himself. by the force and operation of
conscience speaking in man, TO enforce
righteous laws
There is no other country that compares
70 America IN It's application of this prin-
cple Of self-government; that is. trust TO
tle conscience OF men respecting the rights
OF their neighbors. / wonder if il will not
surprise YOU as last night il surprised me,
10 be told that the oldest legislative hail
in the world is in the United States. The
issue lies between the old House of Repre-
SentatiVes hall in Washington and the state