The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-12-04
PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.
GOD IN HISTORY.
A Sermon by Rev. Geo. A. Ph9bus, d. d.,
IN THE ELKToN NJ. L. CHURCH, THANKS
GIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 25th, 1919.

GIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 25th, 1915.
IS eimg he -veth to all life, and breath, and all
And hath ms. of one blood all nations Of men for
10 dwell all tlc face of the earth and hath deter
mined the times before appointed, and the bounds Of
their hahitation;
That they should seek the Lord if happy they might
feel after him. and mud him. though he be not Tar from
For in him we live and move, and have our being AS
certain also Of y, NJ own poets have said. For We are
also his offspring '-ACrS WI 2o-2s
The proclamation of our Civil Magis-
trates, recognizing as they do the hand of
God, in shaping the destiny of the people,
invites us to thanksgiving for past bounties
and blessings, and to prayer for the con-
tinuation of the same in the future. This
service may be rendered the more pleasant
and profitable by due consideration of
the relation the Supreme Being has been
pleased to make known to u.s. as existing
between Himself and us. To set it before
you the text has been selected, which, in
its condensed form, is pregnant with pro-
POSITIONS that, fully discussed, put us in
possession of the gravest and greatest eth-
cal truths revealed to the world.
To most minds, the clear announcement
of Paul to the Athenan Philosophers con-
corning God, and man, and redemption,
and future accountability, is sufficiently
argumentative, and crcumstantial in de-
tail, to be received without single further
word of confirmation. The chapter before
us, as well as tAe text, is one OF Theology,
Anthropology, Soteriology, and Eschatol-
/ ogy. 1t dwells upon the relation of God to
man; of man to man; of man to redemp-
ton; of man to the future; and of man to
God. Contrary to the teachings of Modern
1nfidelty, it places God at the beginning of
the human race; and, in opposition to the
polytheistic tendencies of the Athenian
schools of thoughts, it sets forth "not
strange gods, but the One Supreme, ON
nipotent, Creator of all things. Ittrenches,
too, on the g survival of the fittest,' but
it teaches that God hath determined the
times and habitations of men in order that
they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they
might feel Him and find Him though He is
not far from every one of us.
With the system of many divnitics, some
of one grade of power, and dignity; others
of inferior excelency and dominion and
resources; grew the theory of many races
among the people of the globe, some super
ior, others inferior: but in Pauls system
of man, One God made of one blood all
nations Of men on all the face of the earth:
thus he presents with the unity of God the
ItU Of ha A ity-t hot
source to Him in whom eve live, and
move, and have our being"
Accepting these great truths, it is pro-
posed to improve this festal occasion, by
calling attention to the revelation Of God
in History. And We propose to show His
hand in the government of the world, and
in the formation of national character, by
the internal development of the human
race, according to His own divine will and
plan; that we are a people, not by accident,
but by the design of God, and that our
national perpetuity depends not on armies,
or navies, or diplomacy but on our success
in seeking after and finding Him. We
invite you to consider as revealed in his
! tory,
His creative power; His patience and
goodness; His righteous Judgment; and
His holy love.
l. His creatire poner-permitting the
human mind to unfold itself in the varied
forms of national character.
We are race Of nations, having each
peculiarly marked and sharply defined
types of character, that distinguish US
from every other nation on the globe. As
no two faces are alike, SO no two peoples
are alike. Our differences are not uhoHy
nor as we shall see, mainly, and materially,
such as arise from different forms of gov
eminent, or social and political institutions,
or from peculiarities of soil, and climate,
or from natural advantages or Instructions,
but they grow out Of certain aud funda-
mental conditions of the human mind that
are the foundations of national character
istcs. Systems of government do not
make men, they are born of men. A true
Russian if he were permitted to found a
government in these United States, would
make it an autocracy, though lie gathered
his servants in country
"Where man is brave, and woman true
And free as mountain air.
A genuine Teuton, if enthroned in Japan,
would surround his government with the
dcfenses of Bismarck, and rule after the
type of the Imperial Kaiser of Fatherland,
while true American, would proclaim
rap,llic tbrp,,rl, tba b,1Ie of
the Hapsburgs, or inscribe on the walls of
Prussia's kingly halls, Liberty, Equality
and Fraternity. Government is the result
of the unfolding of mind; and national
character is the impression which is made
on people by that unfolding. To trace
this idea somewhat further, go to that
period in the worlds history when the
whole earth was of one language and
speech, when the ambitious conception of
rearing a monumental throne, the seat of
God, the Babel of the Bible, took posses
sion of the mighty leader Nimrod We
behold one race, one language, one people,
moving within a small compass of the
earth's area, and proposing by this monu-
ment to keep together near the ancient
landmarks. And what did this proposition
mean9 No higher civilization than that
to which they had attained; no more elab-
crate development of earth's resources
than had been secured; no new types of
character, or calling forth of God given
forces, unknown because untried. 1t meant
humanity has finished its mission-it meant
grave in the cradle of life. But not SO
had God ordered. He had formed the
mind for higher education than had been
attained under the dynasty of Nmrod-
He had created those forces that must drive
men forward though new groupings of
society were called forth, and painful dis
pensions had to be heralded Out of that
confounding of language, and confusion of
tongues was to grow up, new combinings,
new nations, an endless diversity of fea-
ture, language, customs, and faiths. Attri-
! hut