Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-11
SCORES GRAFT
AND GRAFTERS
PREACHER DEDUCES LESSON
FROM STORY OF AHAB
DIVINE JUSTICE CERTAIN TO
FIND THE SINNER
Rev. 3. F. Boiler Discusses Saloons,
Race Track Gambling and kern's
Appointment to Board of
Public Works

Graft and Grafters" was the topic
last evening of Rev. B. F. Boiler, pas
tor of the Olivet Congregational church.
He took as his texts: And Ahab said
to Elijah: Hast thou found me, o mine
enemy? And he answered: have
found thee; because thou hast sold
myself to work evil in the sight of the
Lord 1 Kings 21:20. "As the Lord
God liveth before whom 1 stand" etc.
I Kings 17:1. Mr.. Boiler said in part:
"Ahab, the king of Israel, was a
good fighter and skillful general. More
than once he vanquished the army Of
the proud Benhadad. He was a lover
of art, a promoter of commerce and
trade among his own people. He built
for himself palace of ivory and found
ed cities. He had strong qualities, but
withal was tickle, weak at many points,
easily influenced by the beautiful fiend,
Jezebel, his wife, daughter of a heath
en- king. He abjured Jehovah alto
gether, repudiated his covenant rela-
tionship with the God of, Israel and
sold himself to do evil in the sight of
the Lord. He evidently had deter
mined to convert his people into
nation of Baal-worshipers.
with all his gardens, palaces and
parks he yet was not satisfied but COW
eted the one little vineyard of Naboth,
anu, Int q pOhIAlAG 0hO pCbAAoAA| CAAAANS
tossing in helpless detection, he fretted
for it. But as there are always tempt
ers for weak people, this unworthy
monarch was easily manipulated by his
scheming wife, Jezebel. The plot
worked and Naboth, who had nobly re-
piled: The Lord forbid it me that I
should give the inheritance of my
fathers unto thee through false and
hired accusers and assassins was
quickly Dut out of the way
Prompted by JezebeI
"Then the INSCRIPTIONS woman told
Ahab to go and take possession. But
this royal CRATER, like all others who
are after something that belongs to
somebody else, had to come to his
day of reckoning. On that very plot
of stolen property the king came face
to face with Elijah, the man of God,
who when on previous occasion he
had been accused of being the troubler
of Israel, boldly flung back the charge:
4 have not troubled Israel but thou
and thy fathers house in that We have
forsaken the commandments of the
Lord
So now, in fear, the king cries: Hast
thou found me, o mine enemy?' He
answered: I have found thee because
thou hast sold myself" ETC., and the
king was told that on that very spot
phecy that soon came true to the COW
etouS CRATER.
Eyes, il human justice fails to find
the CRATER sooner or later divine JUS
tice will find him and mete out to him
his penalty. But Elijah was a bold
and energetic prosecutor of graft. His
watchWord was AS the Lord God of
Israel Iiveth, before whom I stand
Ahab and his wife in getting Naboth's
vineyard thought they had obtained
something for nothing; but, as every
CRATER finds out when too late, they
paid dearly. AS penalty they lost
their own lives and those OF their sons
and gained only a name of infamy.
Sorrow tracketh wrong as echo fol-
lows song-On, on, on
Much Needed Truths
"'Be sure your sin will find you out
the great truth uttered by Moses, today
needs to be uttered into the ears of all
grafters. And this other present day
utterance: AS the Lord God liveth,
before whom 1 hold office We need
a sense of the reality of God, vital
apprehension of a living, present God.
''This sense of God in the city
council in the mayors chair, in the
governors office, in the legislature
would give us good laws and their eff
fective enforcement 1t would abolish
the saloons and race track gambling;
it would give us a sense of sin, of its
def1ling and debauching influence. 1t
would give US a civic conscience. 1t
would never tolerate in the board of
public works an appointee who had
been guilty of voting the graft of a
public franchise.
eff our mayor and city council knew
the force of the prophets utterance:
AS the Lord God liveth, before whom
| stand they never would have been
guilty of such an appointment and the
former council would never have been
guilty of such a vote.
"And if our legislators have any con-
are conscious of the living God before
whom they stand and by whom (and
by the people, they will be held ac-
countable, they will act and act quick
ly to abolish race track gambling and
give us good Sunday law.
'1t is because there are men who
are conscious of the living God before
whom they stand in their offices Of
responsibility and places of power that
we still have faith in our government
its security and erpetuity-because
there are such splendid personalities
of honor and righteousness as the
present occupant of the White House.
as Governor Hughes of New York,
Folk of Missouri, Hanly of Indiana,
Francis J. Heney, the fearless prose-
cutor, and A. J. Wallace in our own
city council"