Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1898-11-01
rhE SIM OF iMPU0ITY.

THE SIN OF iMPURiTv.
tsermon preached by Rev. r. J. Hsughton o.
the South Paris Congregational church, Oct
10, 1883.
"Blesssd Are the pure In heart. for they shall
"Kcep thyself pure" Tim. sa.
Sin is always sin. You may polish It,
you may conceal II. It is still sin. And
one of the greatest sins-one Of the
master slns--is the sin Of impurity. And
In dealing with this sin this morning l
do not purpose to hold up to view pict-
ures of vice, or to tell you Of things
which are grewsome aud vile. The cess
pools OF immortality, like the sewers OF
= city, should be kept covered-for the
protection Of the moral health OF the
community.
We do not want to let the sewers out
upon the streets, but we need not forget
that they exist. Ii Is not necessary that
a young man or q young woman should
know all the wickedness and corruption
that are In this world. II is not neces-
ssry that young man should be turned
loose to SOW what he calls his "wild oats'',
his "youthful indiscretiOns" for God
knows what AN awful harvest comes
al,rdys c0mes-0f such sowing.
IL is necessary that we should know
innocence, and truth, integrity and pur-
ity, and live rishteously. 1t is necessary
that the lives Of our youth be kept clean
aud wholesome, and that they shall be
kept sensitive to the touch OF vice, that
they shall shrink from the atmosphere OF
pollu,iou-as the birds leave the North
for the South, without being able to tell
you why they 60.
Ii IL not necessary that the youth
should be taught all the wickedness that
exists In the world, 10 order TO avoid II,
but Il Is necessary that they breathe the
higher, purer, sweeter air OF health and
moral yigor, 30 that when they feel the
chill OF the low and the vulgar coming
around them, their intuitions and hne
sensibilities shall lead them onward and
upward.
And 1t will never do for the citizens OF
any community to be Indifferent to the
kind OF atmosphere which surrounds the
young people OF that community -
never.
IL Is no secret that s.lawlessness, brib-
cry and corruption are fearfully preva-
lent" to-day. And our so-cslled best
citizens are often the worst, not inten.
tionally, but because Of their indifier-
ence. The baser elements OF life are
eternally vigilant. The good ought to
be eternally vigilsnt. There are factors
ut work In the society Of to-day whose
doctrine Is: Every man should be al
lowed to do a. he piesses, and take what
ever he wants. Every man should be
= law to himself" They despise law.
II the Almighty Is teaching men any
thing In this nineteenth century, II Is
that everything is placed under laws.
Every star that shines, every planet that
moves, every form Of life In the animal
and vegetable world-all things from the
Throne Of God 10 the dust Of the earth,
are under the control Of law. And TO
break these laws is TO suffer. And, when
I call attention to the necessity Of pur-
ity, and moral health, and point out that
every departure from virtue Is followed
by Justice, am simply bringing to your
attention one Of the laws which God has
placed upon men to obey, and which, II
disobeyed, brings physical, mental,
moral, and spiritual degeneration and
disaster.
keep thyself pure" Obey that COM
msnd and you are safe-as safe ss the
vessel that Is anchored within the har-
Dor, where the winds and storms cannot
reach her. Disregard this law, ignore
IL, and say "What does Il matterf" and
you pull down the danger signals, and
start upon career that leads on down.
ward into the blackest night! would
10 God that had the power 10 impress
this truth upon the mind Of every boy
and every girl here this morning-and
every boy and girl In this community.
DR.. Bradford called attention, the
other day, to some alarming character
istics Of the times; TO the widespread
and growing tendency toward the ef-
facemert Of the feeling OF individual re
sponsibility to God. The everlasting
obligation Of men to choose right, and
their moral peril II they refuse, Is not as
vivid as 1t should be.
Another characteristic, which is alarm
ing, Is the dimming Of the lines which
separate virtue and vice, right and
wrong. This Is very evident In our so
cial and domestic ideals. The civillza-
ton Of q nation IL always according to
its standard of moral purity. Those who
reverence and safeguard their homes,
prosper and endure; those Who are
fascinated by immoralities, SOW the seed
of their own decay. In these days
Puritanism Is sneered at as prudery, and
the divorce courts are mills that never
cease to grind q bsleful grist. The lines
which separate virtue aud vice, right and
wrong, are growing very dim In our
modern world. Luxury and efieminacy
are taking their places. Literature In
great part Is becoming mere filth, COW
ering of cancers with q cloth Of gold.
The stage has forgotten Its Greek digni-
ty, and become largely a place where
vice panders TO vice." Better far the
time when q man was forbidden TO kiss
his wife on the Lords Day, than land
without any Lords Day. Better the ab-
olition Of the play, than plays which
stimulate sensuality. Better q solemn
face, than one blotched with vice and
dissipation and carnality.
1t may be true, and we cannot deny
it, that the spirit Of lawlessness IL on the
increase In our country, and on the In.
crease in our state. There Is q general
dislike of law and order, and "authori-
ty'' Is q word that Is very unpopular.
Two of the saddest facts that face US
are these: First, that the proportion OF
marriages to the population is rapidly
decreasing. Second, that the proportion
of divorces to the number OF marriages
Is rapidly increasing. Fewer families
are being formed, and more families are
being broken up. DIR. Dixie, an expert
on the divorce question, stated at the