The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-01-16
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80 oeNa oON 'Se@'N - 1850
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Pass nov TO the seeesd considers
tion.-that offered BY brief tudy Of
some of the special providences of
our Nationsl history All ancient
! Nations bad their legends Of a gol-
den age, when their gods dwelt
iamong them, and they profsssed 10
have received their peculiar instii u
iions directly from them. II was the
bpast If the Jews that they were
q ID : people and that their history
was succession of Divine manifes-
tarions. Now that which was al
empty legend With the aucieuts, that
which was the pride ot the jews
iis truth more deeply real With re-
specl 10 our own Nation than with
any other OF our history we may
say as Of our resources, He hath
eob dealt so with a1v Bafipn."
Look ~ the wbnderful Pr videacs
display d eitb regard 20 the time Of
the discovery of orr continent |
know We are prone u lojk upon such
eveuts as mere ma tess af chance, as
be sinole results pf ,me one acting
agent Bat We must remember thsr
things do not "hsppe n 10 rhi- world
Taey come 10 pass ace rdlng To a
fixed law This continent remained
niddsn way between the oceans for
50 maay centuries, not because there
was no daring G. ,lumbus 70 disc ,vrr
is. but because G "a desired IL to be
hidden until "the fuliness Of time"
should cpms G. ID is orderly ia all
bis movements Oae step is fully
clmpleied before another is taken
The Soa came only in "thc full ness
If time" Aud never d ,es He intro
duce new force, element or agent
into human affairs until all thing,
are ia readiness 1t was discovered
too, at the time it was, not because
an enterprisipg navigator was found,
but because GJd was ready TO open
up new theatre of action; and IL
would have been discovered near tb t
tine bad Columbus never lived. for
God never lacks for a human object
to accomplish his designs "He is
able OF the very stones to raise up
seed 10 Abraham Tue inspiration
that fred the heart Of Columbus for
his work was from heaven, aud would
surely have come upon some one, 1t
was 40 more matter OF chance than
mat the acorn should grow into al
oak The same divine eve guided
that frail bark through the waves of
the Atlantic to It's safe anchorage on
the Western Continent, thus provid
ing an outlet and field in the new
sorld for the best thought aud life
# the old, that ages before had
watched the Ark in its drifting on
the watery waste, guiding IL with its
precious freight of all that was wor
thy, out of the old into the new.
There are three things which stand
connected 10 human blstory-otcrr-
ing at nearly the same time-the sig
nifcsnce Of which | leave you to
Contemplate; Isl The discovery
of printing, bv means of which the
world was liberated from its iutallec-
tual bondage 2nd Tue reforma-
,;on under Martin Luther, by means
nf which the world was liberated
from its spiritual bondage Sd The
discovery OF America, bv means Of
which this new Inheritance Of liberty
might 4 nIisb unmolested You saw
il ehsuced-ves it CHANGED "Almigh
" God that chance did guide I"
America was kept hidden all these
years that she might not be polluted
ard cursed bv the night Of the Dark
Ages. and was brought 10 light only
in tbe "fullness Of timen of mental,
moral end civil liberty
Look, now, al the Providence that
peopled this country. They were
men of character and convictions.
The strong wind # pprsecu'ion drove
them to our shores. The Nations of
rhe earth were sifted that roval seed
might he provided for the new Geld
The landing of the Pilgrim Fathers
at Plymouth was no more an acci
dent than the drifting of the
rush boat Of the infant Moses near
the palace Of Pharaoh was an accide' {.
The links of Gods provideutial chain
are s,metimes small but none the less
strong Nor do they less surely
draw results after them. The tremb
ling tear on the Infants cheek. a
storm beating ou the Mavflower are
not simply incidents. but great facts
in the worlds history. Did you ever
reflect what might have been the re-
suit had the gold belt skirted our
eastern rather than our western bnrd-
err Had it been there the Span
lard aud the adventurer would have
found il. and our population would
have been like that of Mexico or
Brazil But a better Inheritance was
in store for this fair land an open
Bible, free school. state without
king and a church without a Pope
Lock, now, al the events of &c.
which eliminated in the establish
ment of o new government, upon
new basis, thus inangurating a new
era 10 the worlds history. To the
student of history there is nothing
more interesting than the growth and
Development Of great idea. Its
fruition may be discovered, but not
its beginning-no more than the
beginning of dawn aud the end of
twilight natures as slowly as the
century plant ard bursts forth as
suddenly 1t required long ages to
prepare the world for human habita-
ton. 1t requires a century to devel-
ope an oak from an acorn So it re-
quired long periods of history aud
experiment to prepare the elements
and opportunities for the events of '7G.
They constitute the full fruition of the
maturing tendencies Of centuries.
We may not pause here 10 indicate
the manner in which God determined
the character of the new government
We need only cite the convictions
and principles Of the men who came
Grst to our shores, the wants and ne-
cessities the new government was de
signed to meet, the nature of the
colonial development. as illustra-