Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1862-09-24
A BATTLE-SERMON

A BATTLE.SERMON.
The following serman, delivered in the presence
of General Washington and his army on the eve OF
the battle of Brandywine, may prove interesting to
our readers It is capable of easy application to our
own times and condition.
"They that take the sword shall perish BY the
sword"-MA1T. 26: 81.
Soldiers and Countrymen:
We have met this evening" perhaps APPS rOa the
peril of the fight and the dismay OF tne ss1 tha
alike: we have endured the cold and munger. Mle
contumely of the internal foe, and coursge VI s.,e
foreign onnressor We have sal, night alter h'gnt'
beside the camn fire: we have heard together the
roll of the reyeille which called us 70 outy' VI .e
beat of the tattoo, which gave the slgnal Ior me
sleep Of the hardy s0 for lis W pillow ~
And now. soldiers and brethren, we have met IN
.ha rs.cefui valley on the eve Of battle, while the
suo ;s diving away behind yonder heights-the
suni;sht that tomorrow morn will glimmer on
S'1 We have met amid the whitening tents Of our
encampment; in time of terror and OF gloom nave
we gathered together. God grant it may not % LOT
II 10 solemn moment brethren Does not the
solemn voice of nature seem to echo the sympathes
Of the hour? The flag of our country doeps heavi-
~ rom Wonder staff; the breeze has died away along
the green plain Of Chadd's Ford, the plain that
spreads before us glittering in the sunlight: The
heights of the Brandywine arise gloomy and grand
hevond the waters of yonder stream. All nature
holds solemn silence on the Of the uproar, Of
the bloodshed and strife of tomorrow!
"7Hey that take ths suorG shall perish BY the
suord."
And have they not taken the sword,
Let the desolated plain, the blood.sodden valley,
the burned farmhouse, backening in the sun, the
sacked village, and the ravaged town, answer Let
the whitening bones Of the buchered farmer, strew
ed along the fields of his homestead, answerl Let
the starving mother, with the babe clinging to the
withered breast that afford no sustenance, let
her answer, with the death rattle mingling with the
murmuring tones that mark the last struggle oflife
Let that dying mother and her babe answer!
1t was but q day past, and our land slept in the
quiet of peace War was not here Fraud, and
wo, and misery, and want dwet not among u.s.
From the eternal solitude Of the green woods rose
the blue smoke of the settlers cabin, and golden
fields of corn looked forth from amid the waste of
the wilderness, and the music of human voices
awoke the silence Of the forest
Now-God of mercy-5chod the change! Under
the shadow of pretext under the sanctity Of the
name of God, invoking the Redeemsr to their aid
do these foreign hirelings STAY our people! They
throng our towns they darken our plains, and now
they encompass our posts on the lonely plain Of
Chadd's Ford.
"Tiey that take the suord shall perish By the
xpord."
Brethren, think me not unworthy of belief when
| tell YOU the doom OF the British is near Think
me not vain, when tell you that beyond the cloud
that now enshrouds us. l see gathering, thick and
fast the darker cloud and the blackcr storm Of divine
retribution!
They may conquer us tomorrow. Might and
wrong may prevail and we may be driven from this
field, but the hour of Gods own vengeance will
come!
Az, if in the vast solitudes of eternal space, If in
the heart of the boundess universe there throbs the
being Of an awful God, quick to avenge and sure to
punish guilt then will the man George Of Bruins
wick, called King feel in his brain and his heart the
vengeance OF the eternal Jehovah! A blight will
be upon his life a w,thered brain and accursed in
tellect; blight will be upon his children, and on
his people! Great God, how dread the punishment
Soldiers | look around upon your familiar faces
with strange interest TO morrow morning We will
all 90 forth to the battle for need tell you that
your unworthy minister will march with you, invok
ing Gods aid in the fight: We will march forth to
battle! Need exhort you to fight the good fight;
to fight for your homesteads, for your wives and
children?
Ny friends might urge you to fight by the gall
ing memories of British wrong. Walton, might
tell you of your father butchered in the silence Of
night on the plains Of Trenton might picture his
grey hairs dabbled in blood; might ring his death
shrek IN your ears!
Shemire, might tell you of "a butchered mother !;
the lonely farmhouse, the night assault the roof in
flames, the shouts the troopers as they dispatched
their victims the cries for mercy, the peadngs Of
innocence for pity. might paint this all again in
the vivid colors Of tho terrible reality, if thought
your courage needed such wild excitement
Ruf know Won Stronp in he MIGHT Of the
Lord. You will march forth to battle on the NOR
row with light hearts and determined spirits, though
the solemn duty, the duty Of avcngng the dead,
may rest heavy on your souls.
And in the hour Of battle, when all around the
darkness is lit by the lurd cannon glare, and the
piercing musket flash, when the wounded strew the
ground and the dead litter your path, then remeu.
Der, soldiers, that God Is with you! The eternal
God fights for you! lie rides on the battle cloud ;
he sweeps onward with the march, or the hurricane
charged God, the awful and the infinite, fights for
you, and you will triumph
"7hey that take the suord shall perish BY the
s,cord"
You have taken the sword but not in the spirit
of wrong and ravage. You have taken the sword
for your homes, for your little ones. You have
taken the sword for TRUTH for justice and right; and
to you the promise is, Be of good cheer, for your
foes have taken the sword in defiance Of all that
uViuS Ill ohSPHemy VI Nou" Ahey SiAA'A
perish by the sword.
And now, brethren and soldiers, bid you all
farewell!
Many of us may live to tell the story Of the fight
tomorrow and in the memory of all will ever rest
and linger the quiet scene of this autumnal night.
Solemn twilight advances over the valley. The
woods on the opposite heights fling their long sha.
dows over the green of the meadow. Around us
are the tents of the Continental host; the suppress
ed hustle of the camp, the hurried tramp of the
soldiers to and fro among the tents, the stiffness and
awe that marks the eve Of the battle.
When we meet again may the shadows oftwilight
be flung over peaceful land. God in heaven grant
it
Let us pray.
Oh God Of mercy, we pray thy blessing on the
American arms. Make the man of our hearts strong
in thy wisdom bless, we beseech thee, with renew
ed life and strength, our hope and Thy instrument
even George Washington. Shower thy counsels
down on the Honorable the Continental Congress.
Visit the tents of our host; comfort the soldier in
his wounds and Affections nerve him for the fight