Evening star., 1926-09-18
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON
OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW.
TEMPERANCE LESSON.1
uev., XXvi.1-46.)
Golden Text: Drink no wine
nor strong drink, thou, nor thy
sons with thee. Lev, x.9.

questions that America must face.
Eminent jurists and leaders of the
American bar have pointed out a
growing tendency to disregard not
only the Constitution of the Nation
but the laws of the community, Com.
monwealth and country. 1t Is claimed
that crime costs the United States
$10, 900, 100000 a year-more than
three times the national budget for
last year"
Various factors enter into the spirit
of disobedience that will, unless
checked, curbed and controlled. bring
an end of our country's career. Prob
ably no factor is more important than
the American home. 1t is said that
this time-honored institution is degen-
Grating. 1t is pointed out that ''one
in seven marriages. end in divorce
court, so that I'VE have, on the per-
centage basis, 80 times as many
divorces as Great Britain" This of
itself tends to remove from the mil
lions of children the discipline of the
well ordered home. In other homes,
where disagreement, discord and dis.
solution have not entered, the rod has
been laid aside The spirit of dis
respect is seen in the schools of our
land when a teacher seeks to enforce
discipline. The disregard of authority
in the modern youth can be traced to
the parents who have failed to prop
erly correct their children. 1t is still
true that if we spare the rod we will
spoil the child. An irreligious home
is apt to develop children who will
break the laws, fill our penal institu.
tions and clog the criminal court cal
endar.
This lesson is assigned as a tenn.
with hn Af
senting the evidence, that is apparent
to most people, to prove that one of
the greatest sources of disregarGing
the country's law is found in the
large number of Americans who de.
sire to use liquor to such an extent
that the Nation faces the duty OF
either overcoming the gigantic boot
Logging combinations or suffer the
results that any nation will reap that
breaks it's fundamental law. No mat
ter how men may differ as to the
wisdom, blessings or right of any law
our lesson points out the truth that
Law Observance Blesses.
The opening verses point out the
fact that the laws, which the nation
was called upon to observe were
those pertaining to the proper rec
ognition Of Deity and the Sabbath
Justice Cooley, one of the justices
of the Supreme Court of Michigan
has given us a decision based on Sir
Matthew Hale's statement that Chris
tianity Is parcel Of the common law
that in our land we need to recall
In it he said: ut is frequently said
that Christianity is part of the law
of the land. In certain sense. and
for certain purposes, this is true
But the law does not attempt to en-
force the precepts Of Christianity on
the ground Of their sacred character
or divine origin. Some of these pre-
cepts are universally recognized as
being incapable of enforcement by
human laws, notwithstanding they
are of continual and universal OBJ
legation. Christianity, therefore. is
not a part of the law Of the land, In
the sense that it would entitle the
courts to take notice of and base
their judgments upon it, except SO
far as they should find it's precepts
had been incorporated in and thus
become a component part OF the
law" Under the common law bias
phemy is punishable, and "reviling is
still an offense because 1t tends to
destroy good order"
While the requirement of the prop
er attitude towards Jehovah and the
observance of the Sabbath Is not a
part of the common law, yet there
is nothing more conducive to pros
perity seeking first the Kingdom of
God in all things. While it is an in
herent right for men to change laws
and seek the amendment of laws. the
persons and nation that honor God
and give Him one day in seven for
His worship and service are assured
that they will prosper, according to the
teachings of this weeks lesson. The
close relationship between spiritual
and physical for success in any held
calls for one to keep his soul in har-
mony with God and his body fit for
service by rightly observing one day
every week in His worship. Our
Lord made the test Of our loyalty to
Him along similar lines, when He
said: "If ye love Me ye will keep my
commandments" 1t Is only by cul-
tivating a genuine reverence for our
God that we can solve America S
problems of enforcement of law. 1t
goes deeper than an outward obserV-
ance of the law, for permanent and
abiding success in our Nations life.
Our lesson condemns the manu-
facture of idols and their worship In
a way that ought to warn us, for un-
less we are obedient to His laws, our in
fiuence upon the lives of men will be