Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-09-16

trates the aveneing justice OF God.
might dwell at length on the discovery
II crimes as illustrating Gods Justice
but I speak now Of their punishment
and that as a warning to all sinners.
When we speak of mems depraYity as
at once originating and explaining
their sins, there comes in this subtle
gophistry, that If their nature be so bad
then as it is radically 50, they are not
to blame: and so the very bias Of their
souls to evil Is held in some way to be
4 their excuse. 1t would be easy TO ex-
pose this sophistry in other lights, but
let rs now try it in the light OF what
befalls a great criminal at the hands
! OF God. and I include what befalls him
g. the hands of his fellow men. for
they are but the instruments of GODS
kiustiee. It must be admitted that
great criminal is depraved, and that the
! disease of crime in his case has pene-
trated to the center Of his being. is
! this. then, held TO excuse him? Does
the strength Of evil within him take
away his responsibility? Does ex-
trenes meet, so that the greater
| criminal he is. the less a culpable and
punishable agent? Every one feels the
absurdity Of such conclusion; and the
longing desire in every breast when a
notorious crime has been committed,
that the real offender should be de-
tected. should be convicted and should
be brought to condign punishment. to-
gether with the stern march of law
which, amid general appreciation,
measures out TO the great transgressor
a lust recompense of reward, decisively
negatives and sweeps aside the sophis-
teal plea that depraFed nature ex-
emrts from blame and secures from
penalty And if it be so with GRIM
iral thus upon his trial at the bar OF
man, can ii be otherwise with us when
on our trial at the bar OF God? The
evil of our nature will be no excuse to
us; and that because it is voluntary,
because it is yielded to, because it IS
continually aggravated and made worse
by our own willful choice of sin and
ungodliness. Ard here an awful light
IS cast from the history of great Grim
trails upon our own moral relations TO
the government of God Our con
science is shocked by crime more than
by sin. The cruelty of a murderer &C
his victims affects us more than our
own rebellion against God. But let us
suppose another order Of beings who
look upon our sin as we now look upon
the worst of crimes we see that every
sin that we commit is indeed a crime
against the Divine government, and
who regard with as much horror olr
impurity, our intemperance, or oue
profanity, as we now regard the fouleht
and most detestable murder; yea, let
ug suppose that this view became our
own then how deep would b. our
conjunction for every tran 3Sression.
how much should the reG1ea. branee Ct
it appoll orr souls and hoy certainly
should we antfcipate for it dread
exposure and a solemn reckoning at
the hands Of 4 righteous God. Let US
then improve our sense of the guilt of
offenders against human law to deepen
our penitence as offenders against the
majesty of heaven; let us transfer the
! horror with which we regard their en-
+ oYr7ities to our own visions of the
law of eternal justice; and, feeling how
/ hopeless in every attempt to cloak or
hide our sin from the Divine eye let
us repair to tho fountain opened for
sin and for uncleanliness and there,
like the dying malefRetor and other
great transgressors, wash all our guilt
away.
| The history of great crimes proves
the need of watchflllness against temp
tstion How is it that men are tempt
ed and seduced onward to the darkest
and most diahollcal crimes? They do
not become SFlnclS Ol SuCn d 49t oil
at once. They first cast off the fear OF
God: for who are those whose feet are
swift to shed blood? It is those WHO
have no fear of God before their eyes"
So that if you forget God, your Maker,
if you cease to pray to him, if you for
sake-his sanctuary, If you remember
lot his day to keep it holy, you are
on the downward slope and no one
can tell how far you may sink to-
wards the bottom. A son of
wealthy man was arrested in New
York for stealing his mothers jewels.
The secret of his early depravity was
laid open,l when it was found out that
he had for some time been a reader of
dime novels ard fash newspapers.
There are thousands of boys in splen-
did houses in training for the same
misdeeds under the same influences.
| knew brilliant young man in
Philadelphia some years ago who made
/ lis first contribution to the literature
~ tho world nv writing = dime novel