The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-08-07
DIR. TALMAGESI SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE eY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: Sin In High Piaces-Tho sans
Law or Right and Wrong Should Ap'
ply to Both Rich and Poor-Fascina-
tion Of Fraud.

tion Of Fraud.
ICopyright 1scL1
WASHINGTON, D. C.-In this discourse
DR.. Talmage shows that there is ten
dency to excuse brilliant faults, because
thew are brilliant, when the same law OF
right and wrong ought to be applied to
high places and low; text, Daniel ", 33,
"The same hour was the thing fulfilled
upon Nebuchadnezzar, and ne was driven
from men and did eat grass as oxen.
Here is the mightiest OF the baoylonlsn
kings Look at him He dia more SiJ iGI ri Inc his
grandeur of the capital than did all MS
predecessors or successors. Hanging gar.
dens, reservoirs, aqueducts, palaces, all OF
his own planning. The bricks that are
brought up to-day from the ruins OF Baby
Ion have his name on them, "Nebuchad-
nezzar, SON of Nabopolassor, king OF BABY
lon." He was a great conqueror. ne
stretched forth his spear toward nation,
and it surrendered. But he plundered the
temple of the true God. He lifted an
idol, Bel Merodach, and compelled the
people to bow down before it, and If they
refused they must go through the redhot
furnace or be crunched by hon or honess.
So God pulled him down. -"
He was smitten with what physicians
call lycanthropy, and fancied that he was
a wild beast, and he went out and pas
tured amid the cattle. God did not ex-
cuse him because he had committed the
sin in high places or because the trans
gression was wide rosounding. lie meas
ured Nebuchadnezzar in high place just as
he would measure the humblest captive.
But in our time, you know as well as 1,
that there is a disposition to put a halo
around iniquity if it is committed IN con-
spicuous places, and If it is wide resound,
ing and of large proportions. Ever and
anon there has been an epidemic Of crime
in high places, and there is not State or
a city and hardly o village which has. not
been called to look upon astounding forg-
cry, or an absconding bank cashier. or
president, or the wasting Of trust fund or
swindling mortgages. propose, in carry
ing out the suggestion OF my, text, as tar
as can, to scatter the fascinations
around iniquity and show you. that sin is
sin and wrong is wrong, whether In high
place or low place, and that it will be
dealt with by that God who dealt with
impalaced Nebuchadnezzar.
All who preach feel that two kinds OF
sermons are necessary-the one on the
faith of the gospel, the other on the mo-
rality of the gospel--and. the one is just as
in this land to-day there are hundreds of
men hiding behind the communion tables
and in churches of Jesus Christ who have
no business to be there as professors OF re-
ligion. They expect to be all right with
God, although they are all wrong with
man. And, while want you to under
stand that by the deeds of the law no
flesh living can be justified and q mere
honest life cannot enter us into heaven,
I want you as plainly to understand that
unless the life is right the heart is not
right-grace in the heart and grace in the tn
life. So we must preach sometimes the
faith of the gospel and sometimes the mo-
rality of the gospel. '.
It seems to me there has not been a
time in the last fifty years when this latter
truth needed more thoroughly to be pre-
sented in the American churches. It needs
to be presented to-day. -
Look upon all the fascinations thrown
around fraud in this country. You know
for years men have been made heroes Of
and pictorialized and in various ways pre-
sented to the public, as though sometimes
they were worthy Of admiration, if they
have scattered the funds of banks or
swallowed great estates that did not be-
dazed with this quick accumulation. They
have said: "That's the way to do it.
What's the use of plodding on with small
wages or insignificant salary when we
may 90 into business life and with some
stratagem achieve such fortune as that
man has achieved?" A different measure
has been applied to the crime of Wall
street from that which has been applied
to the spoils which the man carries up
Rat alley.
So peddler came down from New Eng
land many years ago, took hold of the
money market of New York, haunted his
tr tho oirh nf oil no
pie and defed public morals every day Of
his life. Young men looked up and said
"He was peddler in one decade, and in
the next decade he is one of the mon
archs of the stock market. That's the
way to do it," To this day the evil influ-
ence of that prohigate financier has, been
felt, and within the past few weeks he
has had conspicuous imitators.
There has been an irresistible impress
sion going abroad among young men that
the poorest way to get money is to earn
it. The young man of Haunting cravat
saws to the young man of humble apparel;
"What! You only get $500 a. year?
Why, that wouldn't keep me in pin
do you get it," asks the plain young man:
thing. you know" The plain young man
has hardly enough money to pay his
board has to wear clothes after they are
out of fashion and deny himself all luxu-
ries. After awhile he gets tired of his
plodding, and he goes to the man who
has achieved suddenly large estate, and he
says, "Just show me how it is done" And
he is shown. He soon learns how, al
though he is almost all the time idle now
and has resigned his position in the bank
or the factory or the store he has more
money than he ever had, trades off his old
silver watch for gold one with flashing
chain, sets his hat little further over on
the side of his head than he ever did,
smokes better cigars and more of them.
He has his hand in. Now, if he can 'es.
cape the penitentiary for three or four
years he will get into political circles, and
something to do with harbors and pave.
ments and docks. Now he has got so far
along he is safe for perdition.
1t is quite long road sometimes for
man to travel before he gets into the ro-
nance of crime. Those are caught who
are only in the prosaic stage of it. If the
sheriffs and constables would only leave
them alone little while they would steal
as we'll as anybody. They might not, be
able to steal whole railroad, but they
could master load of pig iron.
Now, always thank God when find an
estate like that go to smash. 1t is plague
struck, and it blasts the nation. thank
God when it goes into such a wreck it can
never be gathered up again. want it to
become so loathsome and such an insult
ferable stencil that honest young men will
take warning.
If God should put into money or its
representative the capacity to go to its
lawful owner, there would not be bank
or a safety deposit in the United States
whose walls would not be blown out, and
mortgages wouldrip and parchments would
rend, and gold would shoot. and beggars
would get on horseback, and stock gamb.
lers would go to the almshouse.
How many dishonesties in the making
out of invoices, and in the plastering Of
false labels, and in the filching of custom.
ers of rival houses, and in the making and