The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1860-12-26

not Done so-we knotv we have moi an
IN lne spfrrt'of 'exhalted patriotism. ths
sPlrlt which knows nothing but the rich
est, largest fraternal love, may we hav
10 the mdHtiness TO confess to each other III
~ wrong we have done-unite us wit
~ hooks OF eternal steel and such bonds @
~ love, that no mlsrule, no evil shall chang,
70 the purpose of our laws, and strike on
star or tear one stripe from our glorou
flag, TIL Gabrisl, standing with one foo
In the sea, and one on solid land. shal
proclaim Time TO be no more ; and no
tlll then, may the gIories of our Repub
hc be marred by any unhallowed act o.
man.
And, now, to The Father, the Son and Holy
Ghost we will render praise now and ever
Amen
The 1lth and I2th verses of the 2Ist
chapter of Isaiah were taken as the text =
'Watehn'an, tOhat Of the night Wdte hman
tchat off The nighte The Watchman said, The
morning eometh and also the night fye ,Oil
inquire, inquire ye +; return, come.
THE SERMON.
No man can feel the responsibility of his
position more than do now. | stand in the
presence of large audience of fellow-citi.
zens and fellow Christians-I as minister
OF The Lord Jesus Christ, devoted as / trust
TO the interests OF my Masters kingdom,
and considering the claims of the Bible as
paramount 10 all other considerations of
earth-l stand before you, equal with your.
selves as a citizen of the grandest republic
on this earth. As this latter am as close.
| ly identified with the Constitution and the
laws OF my country as with the Bible and
| religion of God-Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Consequently, | cannot be obtuse in nv
c~,,Ii.O~,-OtI s,rrtr-OuT UUruIuUu CUuuuy, Con'
mon Christianity and common communion,
co1nting, as do, Christianity a thing we
ought TO love ovet and above all things, and
the support of which will make US patriots
ia heart, life and death, il need be. The
| question which we design then TO consider
this morning is
How is our Union 10 be perpetuated?
an, aware that on this, as on all sub
ects, there exists diversi,ies of opirion. 1
am aware that some, nay many say, there
| is no danger, no cause for alarm or excite
ment. From this opinion | would most
kindly aud respectfully dissent. II | did
not feel in my heart, and conscien:iously,
fearful danger, | would not occupy your
time nor consume my strength in speaking
on subject of such magnitude. We say,
then, no sane man can shut his eyes to the
danger, and we ought to know it, and know
il now. desire not 10 speak as an aiarmlst
or for effect-ihe facts are palpable, clear
and visible TO all.
know it is said, and by mary, that it is
| impossible this Union should he dissolved
Wherein lies the impossibiity The pow
er of constructing is capable of dissolving
Let US look at the facts. Some years ago
every one said there was no danger of The
Church of God being divided. Is the
| Church of God divided Let US look at the
| Methodist church; that mighty combination
| of mind and heart, which has made itself
: felt and known from the Atlantic to the
| Western borders. and from the cold fros!s
of winter, which congeas even the wa
ters of the sea, to the distant Southern re-
gions of sunny beauty-and is not the
Methodist church divided.
Take the News School Presbyterian church,
noble body of intellect and heart, and is
it not divided, North and South.
Take the Baptist church, the grand auxil-
iary in the empire of morals and religion,
and is it not divided!
What divided the Methodist Church, and
what the New School Presbyterian filed up,
as it is, with men of gigantic minds and far
reaching benevoIence and wha: the Bap-
tits, that indesatisable body of Christians
spirits; why are they divided and stand
aloof, even to denying the elements of the
! body of Jesus, the one TO the other. The
ground we take is if you can sever bonds Of
fellowship, of Christian brotherhood, of holy
communion, and if you can so sectionalize
the church that you can leave those great
bodies diyided-if you have great bands of
Christianity and patriotism bound, welded
together, and all are broken asunder, why
should not merely political, social bonds, be
broken asunder
If, after all, The influence of the spirit OF
God, which change and enlighten the saw
age if after the action of this religion, and
after man has felt is modifying influence,
we find things as they are, what is there TO
prevent the severing of the political bands
which unite these States. The cause
which does the one sciH do the other, and
the cause which has done it is this day sew
ering these States. The question then is,
what can be done to avert so great calam-
ity And the cry is coming up in the
morning, and it ceaseth not at night,
s,Waichman, what of the night ?" 1t adj
dressed to the men of God as they look
! forth from the tu.rets of the citadel of saliva
ton, coming from the North, the East, and