The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-26
"THE TWO COURTS"



The Prison Sunday sermon delivered yes
terday morning by the Rev. j. Cumming
Smith on the subject. 1.-THE Two Courts"
was pronounced one of the ablest addresses
ever made from the pulpit of the Tab
ernacle Church. Mr.. Smith said:
Mr.. Amos w. Butler, the distinguished
secretary OF the State Board of Charities,
urges the churches to come into closer
touch with our public phlanthropical in
situations. The church has been assigned
the sphere OF character from within; the
state has been set apart to improve the
civic environment; nevertheless, these two
spheres are not separate, but are congenial
and intertwined. The gospel regenerates;
but bad conditions retard the work of re-
generation. "A man whose business is maxi
ing cider has some interest in improving
the apple orchards.
when man comes into the world he is
a representative OF thousand antecedent
conditions. He Is organized on a certain
plan as to which he had no option what
soever. If the man Is by here itary i'm
pulse criminal he is the product of our
semi-chaotic civilization. The state, there
fore, lies under an obligation to repair
der conditions the law allows. 1t is not
charity; it is a debt the state owes to all
unfortunates. This is the modern gospel of
social redemption, and it springs from the
humane teachings of Jesus
I'VE ask you TO look into the points of
agreement and the points of difference be-
methods
of judicial procedure. They agree in their
source. God is the underlying power and
inspiration of both. A true theology has
back of all ethical forces. The source of
each being God, the aim and impelling
ideals must be the same. What? To make
every mans lot tally ultimately with his
real worth. Nothing else is the goal and
deeper meaning of justice.
FITNESS OF THINGS.
This is a universe of correspondences A
to In, o~da
able blue sky but out of order anywhere
else. An apple rounding out into rudy
fullness is properly located on the tree that
bears it, but not on thorn tree or trailing
vine Things must fit. The instinct of ma
ture is to apportion everything according
to it's naked genius.
so far human and divine methods of
Justice coalesce. However, they diverge be-
yond this point.
Human courts 1--WE mean chiefly legal
courts) treat only those cases that refer to
the purpose of the state. The function of
a state is limited in the main to the matter
of property and security of personal rights
Hence limit to this civic tribunal 1t
simply touches our human life where the
communal interest demands such interfer-
ence. 1t goes no farther. A state cannot
try man for heresy or chastise a back
bitter for a scandal or penaliZe degener-
ate for poisoning the mind of youth A
state cannot even reprimand bachelor for
a selfish singleness.
Now divine justice takes hold of all
humanity in its vexed questions and snarl-
ing issues. No item is omitted from it's
comprehensive docket In heavens light
every action, however minute, becomes
TRANSPORTED into a monumental affair be-
cause Ii touches the springs of life and af-
fects the farthest developments of eternity.
'Then again a human court avoids the
secret recesses where all actions are con-
ceived and born. 1t avoids motive; or, if
in certain cases it must pry open the shad-
owy chambers of motive, it is clumsy, I'M
sure fallible. On the other hand, God
sees and measures motives. To Him all
the occult and thick-veiled mysteries of the
interior manhood are as transparent as the
limpid lake to the eagle swooping down
on it's crystal shadows. He judges not
as the eye sees, but He judges the heart
GETTING THE FACTS.
Then again, human courts must torture
out the facts and evidences from without:
lawyers may be worried and baffied by un-
willing witnesses; 1t is an artificial process
to sweat out the facts for Judge or jury
On the other hand, in the divine economy
everything tends of itself from secrecy
toward manifestation; from the mask to
the open face; from ambush toward the
exposure. Nature harbors no villain Self
accusation. self-revelation. seif-eviction, is