New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-08-12

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| Exodus 18th, 2lst
4 A few months ago tue President of the Confed-
| crate States, in accordance with the unanimous
request Of the national Congress, appointed day
for fasting and prayer. The object was to gather
the people throughout our borders to their several
houses OF worship, that they might unitedly i'm
piore the presence and protection of God in the
perils that surround us. The day was set apart
agreeably with ansancient and beautiful custom
and was universally and heartily observed Young
men and maidens, old men and children, from the
hill tops and the valleys, from the woodlands and
the prairies, throDged, with anxious hearts, the
churches OF our land, and prayer went up, like a
cloud of incense, to God, that he would interpose
bis aid to espel the Northern invaders from our
SOIL and permit g to sit beneath our own vine
and ag. tree with none to modest make us
AFRAID God heard and answered our PRAYERS
In every conflict since, though largely outnum
bered by the enemy in men, and surpassed in the
munitions of war, we have come off more than
eonquerors.
The browning battle Of the campaign, SO far, and
indeed the greatest battle Of modern times, &C.
eurfed one week ago to-day: On that beautiful
Sabb. til morning, when peace should have been on
all the world abroad, when thoughts of God and
eternity should have occupied every mind, when
men should have been engaged in the holy work of
prayer and praise, Instead of imbruing their hands
III each Others blood, the fanatics and mercenaries
OF tho N rth opened their terrible batteries upon
Y. Iney Droke the sacred stiffness Of Gods holy
DAY WIN the roar of cannon and the mad shouts of
lsavages. Until the sun was near his setting
through that live-long day, all The Internal MAJ
chihery Oh war was Kept in motion to conquer or
murder US. You know 1t all. 7 on well remember
how, through those fearful hours without water TO
Stake your burning thirst, or food to appease the
cravings OF hunger, yol were marched hurrealv
for mics under brotlng sun, and kept constantly
exposed to the bullets OF the foe, whieh4el aronnd
you like the rtiH,drops OF summer shower But
You were not iefEto yourselves IN the stern conflict
great cloud Of Witnesses, invisible to mortal eye
watched eagerly its progress. anxious to SEQ vic
farm pfs1 an bau Ihn C,ipit- an
great and good, who have lived and died on our
soil. lowered &boht your pathway to whisper words
of encouragement i'll your ears to fire your hearts
and to nerve your arms for the deadly strife And,
more than all, the great God, whom we had in
Foked, was on our side--the side of Justice and of
right, He gave US the victory over the rushing
teginhs OF fauaiieisIn, and q wonderful immunity
from wounds and death. How appropriate then
that on This sacred daythe first Sabbath after our
imminent exposure and marvellous triumph---we
spend the hour we are together In thanksgiving and
praise to our great deiiyerer. g Sing We to the
Lord, for he hath trinnphed gloriously the horse
and his rider hath he thrown into the sea-"
4 The circumstances under which these rapturous
words were uttered are strikingly analogous t1,
our own. When the children Of Israel had seeded
from the Government of Egypt on account of its
exaetons and abuses, and Pharaoh and his hosts
pursuing hefa Ia order to force them back to their
saiieganee, were drowned in the depths Of the Red
Sea Mlriaal,. the prophecies, with 1imbrel in her
hand, accompanied blythe maIdens OF Israel with
tnshrels and with dances wOve the eXutaDt strains
have selected as my text. Let us, my hearers
adopt the language as our own, and, with gushing
gratitude, exelaisl this morning, Sing ye to the
LORD for he hath trinmphed goriously: the horse
ana ms rider hathhe thrown into the sea.n Our
causes o. gratitude will be my subject at this time.
our hrst cause Of gratitude is God's care of us
as a,s. lrely daals Why are we here this morning
YIN, why IS heallh rnantilng on every cheek and joy
n ss from every ege2 Why are you writh-
ing IN understandable anguish pour bodies torn and
tortured by The bullets If the foe, or sleeping be-
meath the. green hiiluek, far OF from those YOU
love- As recall the perils through which You
nave pass as think Of the IRON tempest thai
fenceless heads AZ remember ypur rapid and
tatignlng march, Without food or drink, through
the searching lent, ana filled with amazement
that one OF yon survives 10 me here to-day
What hair-bfeadta escapes yon can all recount