Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1858-07-05
FOURTH OF JULY SERMON,
DELIVERED By
REV. j. r. WILSON
AT THE FOURTH STREET M 3. oHURcH,
ON SUNDAY. JULY 4, 1865.
IReported for Tie Inteliigencer.',
DELIVERED BY

tered &C. '''s 49, '-'''--
This language is supposed by many to be adj
dressed 70 our own nation-1.shadOwing with
wings" referring to our national ensign, an
eagle with extended wings, offering protection
TO all the prosecuted children of other countries
"Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia" or Cush,
which name was usually adopted by the He
brews to designate Africa,-hence, the country
named in the text must be beyond Africa
Now. ship sailing FROM the nearest point,
| (Joppa) Supposing the prophet to be at JeTu-
salem, would move down tue Mediterranean,
pass 6epond nil the rivers OF Africa, through
| the straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic, aud
continue westward to America. Neither can
we send 'ambassadors' to any commercial M
ton, but by sea. The word "bulrushes," which
in the Hebrew is "gomey," means something
that impreSseth powerfully, as fiery war horse,
impatient for the battle, and may not be inaptly
applied to our ocean steamers
Without combining myself merely to the orig
inal purpose of this passage, as connected with
the Jews, would state, that God probably In
tended our nation as an example TO the world,
and a retreat from civil and ecclesiastical bond
age. To accomplish this grand destiny, it is
necessary,
Cosmopolitanism is no better a sentiment than
to think equally we'll of all religions, to be in
| different TO forms of government, or to cfface
/ all distinctions between good and evil. True,
/ We are citizens of the word-bnt our love in
tensities as we approach its subdivisions into
continent, country, family. Even the Bible
constantly. speaks of 'our fnthers, ''our own
| Zion and people" To my mind, this is 50 just
a sentiment TINT doubt not that our 4th of
July is to be the strong cord that will hold these
Stntes together. FanaIicism North, and fanati-
cism South, cannot be heard above the boom of
the jubilant cannon, SO long as this day is re-
membered One Of our revolutionary states.
men exclaimed: 81 see the brightness of the
future as the sun in herren. We shall make
this glorious an immortal day. When we
are in our graves, our children will honor it
| On its annual return, they will shed tears CO.
lpious, gushing tears of exultation, gratitude
and JOY" The contemplate demagogueiSn and
corruption, the loose manners and staggering
air of the present day, is styled young Amer
lea" The true Young America lived in '76, and
was baptsed in blood-and our present Ameri-
en- must march back to that day, and learn of
Washington, and Franklin, and Greene, ere she
! can be worthy of her sireS, or be fully equipped
to achieve the glorious future plainly indicated
| by Providence. No race can he permanently
blended in another-Nature forbids 1.-THE
Creator has decreed the variety. Mingle as
you may, all will flow again as pent up stream
! bursting its banks or like the Australia BOOM
| erang, which Is thrown IN a certain direction,
and returns again from the opposite one to the
| foot of the archer. The "reminiscences of a peo-
| pie, and the songs Of II nation, kindle emotions
! in the bosom of the distant wanderer from
home, to which the native iSu stranger. France
/ never fought so furiousy, or marched so vigor-
{OuSly, even on the StoTTn-Swept Alps, as when
the music of the biarscilles thrilled upon the
soldiers ear-and what moves American blood
/ SO suddenly her national airs? The tear
Fingers on the Scutchman'S eye, as he thinks Of
I "auld lang Syne,n and even the exile of Erin
! gathers new enthusiasm as he diates upon the
beauties of his own Emerald isle. This is the
natural home feeling, which finds substantial
aliment and relief when, anywhere upon the
1 globe, we can find our own people, our own
! forms and customs, and responsive bosoms IN
cur midst, to the expression of our joys aud
sorrows
The true safety of this republic, howeVer,is
not mere devotion to the Union, loyalty to the
/ Constitution, or submission to the voice of the
majority. These are Indispensable; but under
meath them, is the solid base on which the whole
4 fabric rcStS-I mean the Family Reltti0n and
the Sabbath School
| Milton says that welded love survived the fall
E and sure it is, that around the hearth-stome
are gathered the hottest associations, imbibetl
those early principles which always outlast sub
Sequent teachings, and That obedience learned
which is the sureSt protection to the State. But
! throughout our land, and especially in the largo
cities, multitudcs of families have abandoned
| their dwellings, and taken refuge in boarding
houses aud hotels; or hired rooms, and take
ttheir meals at the cafe or restaurant. And
there being no home the theatre, the gambling
house, and other places Of i'll fame, furnish the
required recreation after the laborions day
The children cannot Withstand so hi,sii an ex-
ample, and the members Of the hor chold be-
come estranged and indifferent TO th other,
and the groSn-up boys and young n,,,i readily
affiliate with the lawiesS mob, the bG .5lar and
the murderer Our penitcntiaries are soon
/ filled, the chaiR-gsng is daily recruited, and
anon the murderer feels the last vindicalion of
the law upon the gallnws. Others are found
dailynefving themselves to blasphelny by means
of the deadly draught of the cup, pouring
venom on the spirit and forms of our holy re-
lgion, sneering at female innocence, hardening
their hearts and Softening their heads. To break
up the family order of our homes, is to intro
! duce ganGrene into the cornerstone of this
great republic, to tear the American flag into
shreds, to abolish this cherished anniversary,
and toshap the last cable that makes us unit.
Love of family, as much as love Of country,
1 initiated the revolution Husbands fought to
protect their wives, sons fought to save their
| parents and their sisters-the rnatrOn buckled
the armor on her boys, and sent them to the
ranks with prayers and blessings made gar
ments for their backs. and sometimes toiledher-
self at the cannon and the camp. But the
training which many of our females now re-
ceiye, Is calculated to revolntionize any thing
else but an oppressive government. The Bible
no WheF leaves the i9nDrpSSion TINT tyotircy y,yh