Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-04-28
iluenl!alIatiGah the c

munty IN which we live we close our
mouths aud say nothing, We are
afraid. ~. autagoniIe tbein ahd those
men and women who are their power
ful supporters. fur t ,fn IN
They nlmn who dnresi to attack sin
that Is strongly ifrehhlIed is 'liahie TO
be assalicd III character and person.
Ills friends come to- hffi and say: Let
Il alone. Yon will make enemies who
can ruin you" Have you never had
such advice given TO you! " you ,haYe
moi you have been Pill your life u trim
ncr," "a licdger, n polite lmau- . You
have not come forth boldly and de-
ciSivcly and attacked WRONG wherever
you have kss.tf IL llft It's hideous head.
III other words. you can be classed
among those moral towards whom
James l''TselI Lowell ffcYriated when
he said:
They are slaves who fear TO speak
For the failan and the weak li. Il
They are hiAv,sfwho will not choose
Hatred. soothing and Dl,uFe .,i la Lrr
Rather than IN silvnce shrink 81
From tlys truth they needs must think.
They are slaves who dare not be
In the right with two or three.
Are You Honestt
The world looks upon you as an hon
est man. Are you HONESTY mean. in
the higher SENSE of the word, are you
honest with yourself? The city In
which you live is ia Il death grapple
with the saloon or, as is Los Angeles
with an infamous gambling corpora
ton. bare you lift up your voice In
protest? "Oh. no." you answer; III l
did those men would boycott me, and
they are my customers. They buy lots
of goods at my store" In your silence
are you not before God committing a
secret sin: For years and years In our
northern states there We're hundreds
upon hundreds of ministers who were
afraid 10 speak upon the slavery ques-
ton. bc,lu>, IL they did they knew
they would split their congregations In
twain. When my father as young
man was called 10 the city OF Philadel-
phia Just before the war the paddock Of
silence was upon many ministers lips.
After my father had been there Il few
weeks he preached an abolition sermon.
That afternoon thirty of his most prom
ineut families took their hymn books
out of their racks aud walked out OF
the church and never came back Tell
me. are you ready like that to attack
sin wherever YOU see III Are YOU ready
To denoui,'r sin in high places or In
low Are you ready TO defy the sin OF
your friends MS we'll rs the sin Of your
enemies. or are you going To he mum
bercd among the "trimIners." the hedg-
ers. the polite men. who dare not be
Tin ia" right with two or three IL
| you do thus the world Wey say you
are honest. but in the sight of God you
are guilty of II black, heinous secret
sin You are guilty of the sin of cow
ardice. the sin of not being an out and
out disciple OF Jesus Christ.
| But We must not stop here. In this
catalogue of secret sins we must name
the malformcd offspring of our minds
called 'evil thoughts" by this name l
do not mean those evil thoughts"
which some of us are willing TO voice
In public. but | do mean those carnal
those revcngeful aud brutal thoughts.
those dcbnsiug thoughts. which some
OF MS Ut times. 10 II greater or less de
gree, are ready to foster and let live
in our hearts.
The Sin of Evil Thought.
When there are born into the nursery
OF the brain lccntious thoughts, re-
vengcful thoughts. brutal and accursed
thoughts. thoughts which come to US
from reading bad books or going with
Improper companions. or evil thoughts
which come To us we know not from
whence. then we shield these thoughts.
We are foolish enough TO suppose that
because the world does not know about
them we are safe. All. no. my friends!
Though the world may not see mans
evil thoughts. yet God sees them. And
as Il man thinketh in his heart so is he
in the sight of Cod" For God shall
bring every work into judgment with
every secret thing. whether II be good
or whether IL be evil" Beware how
you trinc with those bad thoughts
those evil thoughts. BY the grace OF
God crush them out of your life as you
would mash the poisonous fang OF a
deadly adder under your heel God
will condemn you not for what you
do, but also for what you think In the
innost recesses Of your mind. o
God. make us pure In II ind as we'll az
pure in deed.
But there are still two other classes
OF secret sins To which | would call
your attention one of them Is the
sin of covetousness. The other Is the
sin of selfish Indifference TO the misery
and wants of others. Now. this sin OF
covetousness is such repellent sin In
Gods sight that he wrote II whole com
mandment against IL. This command
ment was not put In the words of a
general statement. but went into spe-
citic detail Let me read 10 you the
command as IL was given 10 Moses on
a table of stone Thou shalt not covet
thy neighbours house. thou shalt not
covet thy neighbours wife. nor his man
servant. nor his maidservant. nor his
OK. nor his ass. nor anything that Is
fhV nnighhnr'S Hut fhnuph InI In