The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-02

the false judgment passed upon our nighbor. As the spadefuls of earth fall upon tho coffin, so, does each false judgment which we hurl at the heads of cur fellow men recoil upon us and bury us.
 A public institution. church. for in stance, does itself great harm by Judg- ing without mandate, the falth or others, inasmuch as 1t sometimes ex- cludes what might nourish It, ana re- tains the poison that destroys 1t.
 Let us be prudent. my brethern. razor in the hands of child Is dangerous weapon, and a Judgment in the hands of men, as they are made that Is to say, not qualified to be judges is a mortally dangerous instru- ment.
 Let us allow ourselves to be cor rected by the One who has said: Judse not" Let us learn from Him better justice, a more merciful justice. Nol only is our justice coarse and liable to wound and kill, 1t Is also impure and corrupted.
 Human justice is very often like the rag that the great Talstoy speaks or which being soiled itself, cannot oe used to clean anything. EverNthIhs that touches the foul rag is sullied. our human JuSlltN 0'0lhS h''N
 pretends to clean.
 Cease. therefore, from judging, dult the tribunal seat; let God alone pre- side there. and be yourselves mercliul. If you cannot help having an oplhloh' for it seems impossible to think With out judging, do not allow yoursell |" judge without appeal-keep at the pot tom of your heart Higher Court Remember that our opinions, ike our selves, are subject to error. All Juus ments are subject to the necessity or revision by tho only competent Judge Do not set yourself up as supreme judge. and do not lay a hand on the work of the Eternal Father. Our Jus tice ia an usurper-it usurps the throne of God. In what an aoyss ooeS it not run the risk of being cast!
 This. my hretheren. Is what l have felt myself called upon to say to you today We prefer to hear more atul- able and softer words; but IT Solht truths are like oil, which soothes ana alleviates wounds, there are others that are like wine whose effect upon WouhuS is painful You know that the Goon Samaritan. when he helped the man who lay stunned and bathing in ms blood on the wavslde poured oil and wine upon his wounds-oil to soothe thcm and wine to purify them' Tor win is an antiseptc.
 There arc truths that are antlsepuc, that are intended to cleanse our wouhp truths that trace painful, but hec- essary furrows in our hearts inc great Samaritan who goes through the Gospel, who came upon the earth, ana | into the life of man, the farsceiis | Samaritan. who understood nAhhihu l and did not despisc it, says that we should not Judge and condemn one another. but that we should love one another. He has weighed man in His hands, and does not find him too mucn wanting: He has believed in him, ana | in spite of his sins He died Tor hlm' | He believed in humanity with the same
 strength as He believed in God Let | us do like Him; let us believe In our | fellow men. Let us not proclaim them
 cursed, lost, dcbarred from everything s if we have done so in the past, let us
 efface our scntenees,let us proclaim an | amnesty.
 There are times of public good will
 when amncsties are proclaimed, priso-
 ners are set free, wretched birds are
 let out of their cages. People remem- | Der that there are fellow men who nave
 been waiting since a long time Tor | kind word. and they are willing to give | them that kind word. Nations have their amncsties-let individuals also | have theirs.
 Oh. if the Churches could also have | their amnesties. l am an essentially religious man l was born religious | and will die the same; but l am com pelled to say to you, to be perfectly l truthful. that the most atrocious in- justice are pious injustices.
 Therefore. give even greater care to your judgments on religious matters
 than to those on civil or moral grounds When you are disposed to piety or