Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1865-04-19
fHEPULPIT on THE GRELT TRAGEDY.
Abstracts OF Sermons Preached byRevs.
T. ii. Hawks and samuel VOL
cOtf, Last Sunday, on the
Assassination.

ity.
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN oHURoH-REv. T. a.
HAWKS.
This church was draped in mourning,
the galleries extending around three sides
being festooned with black cloth, and the
marble pulpit hung with the same, set off
in beautiful contrast with cross of white
flowers. A portrsit of President Lincoln,
decorated with a wreath of besutiful white
flowers tied with Grape, was hung in front
of the choir, and bouquet of flowers was
placed on the table in front of the pulpit.
After fearful organ voluntary, an i'm
pressive prayer, and the singing of Cow
per's hymn, "God moves in mysterious
Wy" the pastor announced the following
texts:
2 2samuell. 10, 20; The beauty. of Isrsel is slain
up n thy high places how are tbs mighty fallen I
Tell It not Ia Gath, publish IL not IN the streets
Aakelon lest the daughters Of the Pbilstines re-
'oioe lest the daughters Of the uneircumcissd tr-
umph.
Pssm ct. 2: Clouds aad darsnoss s-e round
about BIN TiRhteousne.s and judgment are the
habitat. n Of his throne.
Psalm As, 10: B. still, ami know ihst am God
allied in thessrth.
how shall speak that which cannot be
uttered-the overwhelming grief of every
heart The stunning anguish that be-
wilders and almost psrslyzes US ] So sud
den atrsusition from the light of triumph
and Joy, Of hope and faith, TO the utter
depths of smssement and sorrow, ofgloom
and fear We groan and are troubled.
The sword is without and terror within.
But yesterday the nation rejoiced, and
gave thanks to the Most High at the re-
membrance of His great goodness. To-day
"pain is in all loins," and call faces gather
blackness"
We blessed Him for His mercies; we glori-
fed Him that He had given great and wise
aad good men to conduct the nation
through so many dangers in the past, and
we trusted at the same would be our
leader in the perils yet to come. We blessed
Him for His favor in raising up and 30 gra-
ciously endowiDg with wisdom and coursge
and faith the President OF the Republic,
Abraham Lincoln, the second savior of his
country, the incorruptible Magistrate, the
Liberator Of the oppressed, the man OF
prayer and trnst in God.
The shocking tragedy which has carried
Consideration and unutterable grief TO
twenty millions of freemen, and which will
cause wall of anguish from the enslaved
ofall lands. has hardly parallel in history.
Indeed, taken in all its relations, it seems
to Uo &c surpasss all other deeds of Internal
malice ami hate, save that 5ne by Hhi3h
the Son Of God, the Savior of the world ives
laid low in death. The man who has fallen
victim of the assassin's cruel rage, was
no ordinary man. He W6s g statesman in
the largest and best sense of that term.
Possessed Of cless intellect, he cohpre.
heuded, as few have done, that the interests
Of a nation embrace the interests of all
clSssss. he had broken sway from the
trammeis OF traditional theories, and found
nobler method of service. Called to the
administration of afairs at q period of
utmost peril, he had been enabled, by the
btassinS OF Sod, 10 steer the 1hib Of state
through the darkness and dangers of her
wsy, till the port of peace was fairly in
view.
President Lincoln was tho erebodimont
of the clear, practical sagacity aud Wi5dom
which the American people so much ad-
mire, and by means Of which he had
secured & measure Of popular confdsnce
suOh as no President, save Washin stoh, has
evet enjoyed. His administration had
been crowned, ct hotne, with signal vic
tories over powerful and relentless en- emies,
and with moral triumpbs in the cause oi
the enslaved, that made him the object oi
sdmitsti5n and lSvs, not only smone them,
but also among the friends OF liberty every
where. He was, by eminence, the repre-
sentative of democratic principles and in
sSituuoBs, and, as ouch, wss feared and
hated by the privileged classes of the Old
World, and by the naughty, mslevolent,
pstty .yrsnts of the New. By nothing had
he msde himself more dear to the loyal
people of the land than by his unwa7ering
devotion to the slaves of the South. Slow
to pronounce for their emancipation, when
once his reason and moral sense were ar
rpyed on their side, he held tenaciously to
his purpose, FIAT THEY SHOULD BE FREE.
And this was his great crime, in the eyes
Of their oppressors. His patriotic devotion
b the country, which would not suffer him
TO prove false to his oath registered in Hea-
ven, and to conniye at its dismem berment,
or for q moment 10 tolerate the idea Of its
humiliation, and his sense of justice, COM
bined with that comprehensive perception
ofths national veal to which we have refer
red, as embracing the industries and rights
of every class, gave him the proud pre-
eminense smcng rulers which he upqUes-
tionably held; and the unbounded conf
dence and love of his countrymen. But
they were also the occasions and sources OF
peril. They srrsyed against him the hate
Of the oppressor and the traitor. And
these vowed his death. The vow has been
kept. The rancorOus passion has been
grsti6ed. The deed has been done. Pres
ident Lincoln, the just, the wise, the loved,
the humsne, the merciful, has been foully
murdered Freedom has had many martyrs;
but few like him. HencefOrth his name
r-tl1 H. - H.. al
brsted, and a Borrowing nation will embslm
in memory his virtues, and rear mOnu-
ments to his imperishable repown. We're
they not Christlans,-wereth they as the old
Romans end Cracks, Who hOnored their
bsnefactors,-theyw would confer upon him
the gloryo an apotheosis, and teach their
children to revere him as god. But now a
nObler honor will be given him. He will
be truly reYerenced as q martyr to free
dom's cause, and history and poetry and
art will perpetuate his praise. .
Another thought we would impress,
grows out of what has now been said. We
are to accept and support the man, on
whom the Presidential Office now devolYes.
We have hoped, we have prayed, that
President Lincoln might be spared TO ad-
minister affairs during the term for which
he was elected. We have feared greatly
lest the administration should by his death,
devolVe upon the Vice President. You
know t0hy We thus hoped, and prayed,
and feared. Was there, IN this remarkable
anxiety, prophecy of the coming change,
which we could not then understand?
Our hopes are disappointed; our prayers
have been denied, save as we added, "J
Thou t0iLt"; the thing we feared has como
upon US. Be assured, that the hand of
God is in this. What now shall we do ?
Through the choice of the people, and by
the will of God, Andrew johnson is now
President of the United States. He has
taken the oath of office. He can do moth
ing without the support of the pee pie and
the other departments of government. 1t
is necessary for the safety of the country
that confidence should be reposed in him.
The cause he repre- sents must not be aban-
doned. And who can tell, whether the
Lord will not use him, as an instrument, TO
do a work which had not been done by an
other, thereby getting to Himself greater
glory It may be that the sense of respon-
sibility will arouse all the manhood of his
h.ffar ond that hras hin TIM cnTdc