Litchfield enquirer., 1881-10-13

IIgj5;3lIT41T -7T 7--T TT0--g ! ----7Y TT -01i .. be for some excellent purpose that God has not spared the life of our President since not withstanding this great tvoIumenaof prayer, longing, and effort on our part3 his life has been denied. Aad ol1 nat now renains for us Ito do, but go forth obedientay aoaneet and do thetgood will of God isRoS'sws ssf i'9idw -s si tBatwe ought to be very careful that we meet in the right spirit this inevitable purpose and providence of tGod. principally because upon the way in which we meet qitI depends in great measure the character of it's result t- whether it is to prove 2 great blessing or g great evil to us as nation and as individuals whether it is to be sanctifed unto our good or not. A slight good or. slight evil it cam not be, for we have just been moved too strongly, too profoundly, and too protractedly for that Said man to me, year or more, aga, after he had passed through q long abda terrible affi,ction, and while we were stand,. inSpg the open grave of his wifes Is'This is an e1bsriepce that colnes to one only once in q liIe-time, and l know it will make me much wosse or much better, man. "ad Fellow, cii- zens, as g nation we have been passing through q solemn experience, such as,s perhaps, has aever before been given to anynpeople. Cpd has greatly privileged ins ybyn sending psI through this fiery and trying ordeal. He3 I has set us above the nations. And there is ho doubt that through this experience he means to prepare. us for the great and noble work thas lies before us. But the providence will prove d great evil instead of great biessip pg unless we meet it rightly 's''.''e' n'''q
 s9 Those dumb lips at Cleveland, once so elo- quent, told us in 1866 how the people met the will of God when our first martyreed Preside ent, was struck down. And thus may, be assured thatcould Garfield realizethep present moment, he you'd be principally anxious, not how we mourn for him, but in what attitude the, peo- pie lareTto meet this providence of God. On the first anniversary of President nLincolns death, the lamented Garfield spoke as follows: 4, There are times in the history of men and nations when they stand so near the veil ethat separates mortals from immorta's, time from eternity, and men from their God, that they can almost hear the breathings feel and the pulsationS of the heart T of $. the 1nfiuite.l Through such time has the nation passed. When two hundred aud fifty thousand brave spirits passed from the field of honor through that their veil to the presence of God, and when at last it's partfng folds admitted the niartyred President to the company of the dead heroes of the Republic, the nation stood SO near the veil that the whispers of God were heard by the children of men. Awe-stricken ny His voice the American people knelt in fearful reverence and make a solemn covenant with, God and each other that lthls nation should be saved from its enemies, that all it's glorles should be restored, and on the ruins of Slavery and Treason the temples of Free dom and Justice should be built and standfor- ever. ,,..{ sriil4sH set E.. .f.,-9rts.tt .7 aa .,. Such was the covenant of the people and such their attitude of reverence before the mysterious providence of God when Lincoln was struck down. Fellow citizens, this is a more solemn hour than that Have we then no covenant to make ,and should our attitude of reverence obedience be less profound? For only a few hours, did the people then stand before that their veilthat separated them from the unseen world; but now for weeks ana months we have been waiting before that veil and hearing the voice of God, so that His teachings have sunk deeply within. During all these weeks the very BIT has been hallowed by more than Sabbath's influence. All men have been made for the time religious; and the press has been purified and5inspired as by a breath from Heaven so as to make it, for the time bbeing, the oracle of righteousness, purity, and religion. LiDclon's death came to the popular mind~more as blow, like the sudden outbnrst of a storm, paralyzing the popular will for the moment and leaving but 8 transient lesson. But this later event has been to us as an abiding, uplifting and divine pre- 2senee,,i filing us with prayers, sympathy and high aspirations Truly ifthat event Ted to such consecration, this event ought to lead us to remuneration ten-fold deeper, ten-fold more abiding, tenlfold more sacred and divine.
 God never lifts a nation so near to Himself, nor agitates it so profoundly, unless He means to do something great through it.. It is not so that He treats the minor nations of the earth, for He has no such work to do through the m. And He lays responsibility upon us cores bonding to the greatness Of His purpose and our privileges responsibility which comes upon us now, and which perchance, can never be borne again That this providence of God will prove great and incalculable blessing to us if we meet it aright there can be no ques7 ton. And that God means to give an answer to our prayer. better thana literal one could possibly be- seems already abundantly eyi- dent. For has not our fallen President, ac- complished far more for his country and for humanity by his death than he could possibly have done had he lived. ? 5ft3'r 5a af3 q, a .eeftiaf- 5lR Ge7a'1I--r- TE tsgu--3 s6I D saoh h''.God moves in mysterious va wayf ,, ii
 His wonders to perform >2al i6eih 2 Iatn ass5 He plants His footsteps ID the sea
 | at,sg e.a,e And rides upon the storm. ,sl,..,,T !
 .sYe fearful saints fresh courage take. i'
 7-, ,e-ss ,.,g The clouds yep 90 much dread, F Are big with mercy, and. will break
 In blessings o.tyour head. '+'9c |
 7' ' 'Btnd unbelietas sure to err,e s,,e, a q
 And scan His work in vain, @"''
 God is Hissswn interpreter, O lf 1~5. .44 And He will will make it plainr ssazL
 taa vi bsJudge not the Lord by feeble sense, <
 E7..sgs q, zy But trust Him for His grace, ,d rnT LI,>5 <..ss Behind frowning providence f;9,, 2 taH 2i.S5' He hides smiling face.o t6A A@f t siw x!sIpg bGa ysE3lDp sb E;3i ab His fzsi5 ] sA Thisif weirneet that providence in the right spirit. But the brightest providence if met in the wrong spirit will at length prove only a curse toaas- i0 al pi fiaa vsr2 4ai1ofssT T To what objects, then,r let us ask, shall we covenant ourselves at the present hour Do 5 not your avn hearts suggest the answer? To what other objects than those to, which be con sscrated his broken life, and for which we learned e tqe reverence hima isP President Arthur ein his late anangnfal Address, could have ut7 tered no higher, nobler or more adequate senti- ment when he said, o,siAli, the, noble jaspifa,