The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1860-12-12

OF ner. lie has been q pillar OF flre
by night and pillar Of cloud by day,
and he has Furnished all her towers
with salvation, and made her gates
praises. The spirit of his church has
been onward; for
She has stretcLd out her arms like seas
To grasp in all the shore
Her charities have been extended, and
her benevolent heart has bounded
forward in search of some on whom to
shed its sympathy, and love Her
zeal has cansed her to follow on with
the advanced guard Of civilization, as
we'll as to climb mountains, and cross
distant seas, to plant the standared o.
the cross of Christ. Her feet are as
swift to day to run in the paths of
usefulness as ever, and she is making
longer strides, to carry further the
blessings of peace to our race.
May we not thank High Heaven
upon this occasion that protestant Z
ism is spreading more and more
through our nation, and that her
great heart is thoroughly protestant
lied, which is'a sconrce ofthe greatest
satisfaction to every man who loves
his country and his eonntry's good.
We should be thanhfal that we
have been delivered from foreign and
civil war. What could be more ca
lamitous than this ? Famine, pesti-
lence, poverty and bankruptcy, any Of
these, or all of them is preferable to
war in its most favorable aspect. -
Who can paint its horre rs! To see
it in all its force, you must eontem-
plate burning cities, lighting up the
midnight heavens, and destroying in
few hours the toll of years, perhaps
OF centuries You must see innocent
women and children flying for their
lives, seeking for an asylum and find
ing none You must see conflicting
armies, furnished with modern imple-
ments Of death, rushing upon rhe bat
tie field with all the fury and malice
of demons, shooting each other down
and wading through blood and car
maze And above the roar of artillery
you must hear the groans of the dying
and look upon the mangled and torn
bodies, the work Of this evil Genii Il
You must contemplate the husband
and the son leaving their peaceful
homes for the field of battle and con-
flict and wives and mothers shedding
tears at their parting, perhaps never
20 return again. And above all, you
must view the state of morals conse-
qnen' upon such an issue. There is
nothing more demoralizing. One
lengthy war would throw us back a
half century in this direction, and re-
ligion would receive shock that
century would hardly overcome.
Whilst participating in this Thanks
giving occasion, ominous clouds float
on the Southern sky. These clouds
seem ut present to forbode wrath
These clouds are indicitive that a
storm is arising, the magnitude of
which the wisest cannot fortell. They
may spread all along the Southern
horizon, and break at last with infuri-
ated malice, on this now happy and
peaceful nation What could be more
dreadful more heartrenling than in
ternecine war. OF all wars, the most
to be dreaded is civil war. It makes
us shuGder to read of brother in Gead-
ly conflict with brother, but the real
ing thereof is nothing in comparison
to its reality. Are we to add fuel to
the flame Are we to incite each
other to resistance Are we to help
to surcharge these clouds with the ex-
plosive elements of destruction God
forbid. Let us look un Him who
rideth upon the storm, and directs the
whirlwind, that he may lay his hand
on the agitated elements, and say,
" thus far, and no ferther shalt thou
GO" When Hezekiah received an in
sulting letter from the king Ct Assyria
threatnine to storm Jerusalem, the
Holy City, he took the letter up to
the temple f his God, where he often
repaired to worship, and spread it out
before the Lord, and earnestly prayed
that he would stand by him in this
national affection, as well as that Of
his people. So should christian men
in the North and. in the South, lift h0
ly hands without wrath and doubling,
and offer faithful prayer that He may
oyerrule all for his glory. .And most
devontly prayathat the clouds may be
rolled back, and that the sky may be-,
come lear andsthat The Ship of State,
composed of all the states Of the Uni
on, may again be seen floating in
peaceful waters, toward her destined
haven, amid the acelamations of happy
millions of freemens w fss
Tolsay that there are no plague
spots on the. eseutcheon Of this nation,
would be asserting what is not true