The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-08-21
PEACE BY
! ! - THE SWORD.
Rev. E. P. Herbruck's Interest
ing Sunday Theme.
Is NOT A MINUS QUANTITY
And Has Victories no Less Renowned Than
war-A Large Audience Listens
to . Scholarly
Sermon.

day morning, Rev. e. Z. Herbruck
preached q splendid sermon, most ap- |
propriate to the times. There was O
large audience and the talented and
eloquent divine held the closest atten-
tion of his hearers.
Rev. Herbruck's text was Romans,
1918: "If 1t be possible, as much as
lieth in you live peaceably with all mem"
and his theme was. 'The peace that
cometh by the sword" He said:
Contrary to the standard of the
world peace is something positive and
not negative. 1t Is plus and not a
minus quantity. 1t stands for power
and not weakness, for peace hath her
victories no less renowned than war;
There can be no peace where there is
not the possibility Of conflict. Peace
does not come from a lack of power;
1t is the result of power. A man who is
incapable Of combat can have no peace.
A man who has fought no battle and
passed through no struggles Will never
know the sweetness Of repose.
"Peace with all men Is not possible.
The apostle intimates that when he
says If it be possible, live peaceably
with all men, The phrase, II 1t be
possible" is significant. There can be
no peace as long as there is wickedness
in the world. Peace in the face of evil.
peace in the presence of unrighteousness
is a sin. Peace where satan IL defiant
and vice holds high carnival Is a crime.
Peace when high principles and holy
institutions are being trampled upon Is
most undesirable. Avoid and count
perious any peace which does not
allow you to be full Of Indignation.
There can be no peace between forces
that are inherently antagonistic. There
can be no peace between God and the
devil, between good and wicked men.
While good and evil exist peace Is a
moral impossibility. There has been
conflict ever since Christ came into the
world. He was called The Prince of
Peace and properly SO, yet he also said,
Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth. ! am not come to send
peace out sword
"That sword has been here; 1t Is here
now; and 1t will be here while evil
lasts. There are some things more to be
deprecated than war. Chains are
worse than bayonets. Injustice and op-
preston are worse than bloodshed. As
long as we have these there will be
antagonism. 1t must be SO in the very
nature Of the case. There are several
truths we wish to emphasize In this
discussion. The first one Is that COM
promise with sin will never bring peace.
Peace follows war. Peace must be
won. This has been true in all the
great reforms .of the past and 1t Is
true of the great questions that press
Apon us now. They will find their So
luton only In the thorough subsection
OF injustice and wrong. 1t Is true also
of our own heart life. Sin must be
conquered before the peace Of God can
fill our hearts. Peace is not an arbi-
trary gift bestowed upon few people
without regard to human conditions. 1t
is not some hypnotic influence dropped
down from above, gentle, soporific In
difference to the wrongs and vices
around us. We can only have 1t by
fighting for 1t without compromise. 1t
is always preceded by struggle. And
the greatest combat in the world Is that
by which man SO masters himself
that there can be peace in his heart.
We sing the praises of our great mill
tary heroes, the men who have achiev-
ed conquest on the field Of battle. The
world is still speaking in warmest ap-
plause Of our gallant admiral who on'
a summer morn two years ago sail
ed his proud ships into the bay Of
Manila. Everything was against him
there. The entrance to the bay Is but
narrow and in the midst of 1t lies the
fortified island of Corregidor. On the
one side were the shore batteries Of
the Spanish, on the other the Spanish
squadron. Beneath him were numer-
GUS mines laden with death and de-
struction, above him nothing but the
olyx
the very jaws Of hell. But in q few
hours Of terrific combat he silenced the
batteries on the shore and sank the
Spanish fleet. 1t was glorious
triumph, and peace with Spain was
the result. We praise the intrepid hero
for his unparalleled victory. Yet a
greater hero Is he who fights himself
and wins the victory; who goes down
into the valley Of temptation and there
in the miasma>of sin and with che de-
mons Of hell glaring at him, meets his
own self, the baser and lower part OF
his dual nature, and after a short and
decisive struggle subjugates and mas
ters himself. He who thus prevails 10
q victor mightier than the hero Of many
battles. Greater Is he who ruleth his
own spirit than he that taketh q city,
and his reward will be the peace Of
God. peace which can come in no
other way. t .ts alt{J n
"The second truth that needs en-
phasis is this: The responsibility for
peace must not rest on US. The divine
exhortation is 'as much as In you lieth,
live peaceably with all men,. Fight
ing for peace is one thing, fighting for
fun or glory Ia another. There are
those who delight to fight. They are
pugnacious by nature and are never
more happy than when In the midst
of quarrel. They are ready to fight
for things not worth fighting for. 1t
is remarkable how very heroic some
people are over mere trifies. Matters
of little consequence they cling to with
desperation. They are willing even to
die for things that are not worth dying
for. An Illustration of this iSsthe zion
elders and their conflict with the peo-
pie of Mansfield. That is. much ado