Year: 1876

Gus creature, and justice is the atmos


phcrc he must breathe in the midst oi


these political and social and religion,


things 1t is the temperance at the great


feast, keeping him from dying of famine


or dying Of gluttony. The moment jus


ticc is Forgotten the doors Of home and


state and church may be closed, for the


great occupant has ceased to 90 in and


ont, the dOOr.sill remains to bc cNwlcd


over 10y moral h2zarOni or imbecilcs,


Right and wrong may indeed be great


mysteries in their deepest analysis, and


that God should have made man capa.
bic OF falling into the wrong may he a


greater mystery still; but the fact re.


mains that in the midst of this great
discrimination between good and bad,
right and wrong, the character Of man is
formed, and even the beauty of G"d


Himself seems to spring up from the
fact that His throne is founded upon
Righteousness. He is called cultured who


percciycs the delicate beauty in the airs
or in nature or literature; who can al.


most weep tor joy amid the unfolding


beauties of spring, but the world always


reserves its highest words Of praise for


al o,,I.ur.1 g,n1 that nnrr,iv1c tI,o i'm
port and whole beauty Of justice. From
the sudden ruins that have oNcrtaken all


men and all nations that have dcticd it,


and from the glory Of God that springs


out Of it, we may well conclude that


there is moral splendor in this quality


Of mind which our poor eyes have not


yet seen in the dark atmosphere of this


world. AS we are SO far away from the
planets that they only twinkle as little


lamps, and are called by the poets
drops of light" and as, could we ap,
proach them, we should see worlds more
beautiful than our own, so by practice
and by nature and by insensibility we
stand so far away from justice or right
eousncss that in our heavens it twinkles
only in cold sky but could we 80
nearer what stupendoUs world OF


beauty would lie before our fearful eyes


In presence of that world which would


seem a great white throne one sorrow


would fill the heart that we had known


our duty and had done it not.


II, my friends, you will follow further


this line OF thought you will feel what


utter ruin will come to religion when


any use shall rob it Of the idea that pun
ishment, both here and hereafter, must
follow sin. There are minds which have
come to such condition, or have been
born into such condition, that they
need say little or even think little Of the
punishnr>nt' that will follow sin. They
have ceased to sin willingly. The great
quantity Of their thought, flows along
the channel of hope and peace and hap
pincss. But the vast majority of US aIl
still need the impulse found in the idcn
that punishment will follow sin. For
the most part you are all allured by the
beauty Of the good, but there are hours
when the ruins that sin brings should he
before the mind in all their solcmnity.
Not only should we look to the reward
of virtue, but it will bc no cowardicc or
weakness in us if We confess that we are
unwilling to risk the sorrow of trans.
gression. The hcrOism that can face tho
guns in the field of honorable war is
commendablc; and all bravery along
true paths is beautiful feature in the
soul, but when it comes to facing the re-
suits of sin, facing God whose benef.
cent laws one has wilfully broker, there
is no herOism in tho act. Such courage
Is deformlty compared with tho kncel-
ing heart, saying, Lord DO merciful to
mGa sinner" Around oil, however much
they may wish to DO allurcd by heaven
rather than driven by hell, there may be
heard the voice of punishment saying
" Come not here About two years ago
a venerable clergyman wrote to me let
Ter Of religion, and among other things
said "The grea, doctrine to be held
firmly is hat OF reward and punish
NO trucr or more useful words
can sink into the hearts of any who
carry or preach the Christian religion
That religion must help or compel So
ciety to walk in that great discrimina.
I ion of riubf md urnnu which n,okpe nm