Smyrna times., 1881-09-28

DellcVeu InaG GOU worked Ill harmony
with His own laws and could not answer
many prayers because they were not only
in conflict with his own purposes but
would be hurtfulto the subject. But in
one sense all prayers were answered when
made in the proper and only prayerful
way,-"thy will be done" by bringing to
the subject thorough submission to the
divine will. In delaying the effect of the
fatal bullet for so days, in which time the
people had prayed and humbled them
selves before God be believed they had
been prepared for peaceful transmission
of the Government to other hands where
as if President Garfield had died suddenly
there would have been distrust and posi-
BILE confusion and anarchy.
BETHEL.
At Bethel ON the Circuit a fair sized
congregation assembled. Rev. J. A. Brin-
die preached a sermon taking for his text
passage in the history of Josiah his
theme being an analogy between the life
of this ruler and President Garfield He
was followed in some excellent and APP
propriate remarks by Mr.. Rich NJ Cooper
of the congregation.
CENTENNIAL.
At Centennial Church in this town the
colored people held services, and with ap-
7 prOpriate singing and q moving sermon
! by the pastor, eVinced strong manifesto
| tiOns of grief. Thus ended memorable
| day that stands without parallel in the
! annals of the worlds history.
MONDAY.
On Monday while the last sad rites were
being performed over the remains of
President Garfield in the presence of the
assembled thousands in the cemetery at
Cleaveland, in obedience to the proclama-
ton of Governor Hall, and also our own
town commissioners, the places of business
OF the town were closed, and nOtwithstand-
ing the intense eheat-thermometer 95o-
large congregations assembled at the p. Il.
and NJ. +. churches. At the latter the
Presbyterian and Methodist congregations
met in union services, the body of the
church being completely filled and con-
siderable number in the gallery. After an
appropriate anthem by the choir the Rev.
J. T. Umsted, Pastor of the Presbyterian
Church, announced the 1904 hymn:
Great King of Nations hear our prayer"
After which the congregation was led i'll
prayer by Rev. 7. +. Martindalc, Presid-
ing Elder of the district. Rev. J. ID. Rigg
Pastor of the Methodist Church, introduced
Mr.. Umsted as the first speaker who in an
address of 45 minutes ON the
LESSONS OF THE HOUR"
! had the undivided attention of an appre-
ciative audience. After speaking touch
ingly of the bereavement of the nation,
the unprecedented sympathy manifested
and the tribute of respect that was being
paid by the whole civilized world, by
EmperOrs and Kings and especially by
England and her noble Queen to our
| deceased President; he dwelt eloquently
upon the improvement to be made by u
stricken people of the direful afiliction
With which they had been visited.
He said that he could fully appreciate
all the eulOgies that had been or would be
| pronounced upon our honored and beloved
President-he could say as Webster said
of Judge Jay with respect to his immacu-
lacy, that the Presidential robe never
touched anything purer than itself as
when it fell upon the person of James A
Garfield. But this was not the time for
eulogy-it was day of humiliation and
prayer-Of confession of sin before God
and the supplication of the divine mercy
that we perish not in our sins. In this
sore and grievous affiictiOn, it became the
nation to learn
1st.-That God is the Sovereign ruler of
the Universe, the God and Judge of the
nations of the earth, the disposer of all
events, to believe and know that He never
errs and is always wise in His isdispensatiOns,
that He has done what is right and proper
in His Christening hand.
2d.-To bow submissively to His sOver-
eign will, to be still and know that He is
God, and out of this to learn,
1st.-TO view this fearful dispensatiOn
as the chastisement of the nation on ac-
count ofits sins. The nation had forgotten
God and in view of His loving kindness
towards it from the beginning of its history
the sins of the nation were aggravated.
God had sifted the nations of the old world
to form people for himself Our exiled
Fathers sought these shores in order to
have freedom to worship God according
to the dictates of their own conscience and
to establish a Christian Commonwealth
and to abide in the generation of the
righteous. But we had in q great measure
forgotten the God of our fathers, hence He
stirred up the nation to fratricidal war
and in the dire calamity the President
then of the nation fell by the foul hand of
the assassin, and now again within
period of sixteen years, He has permitted
the same melancholy event to occur as
most severe chastisement for our multiplied
transgressions. The call of God is to the
acknowledgement and repentance of our
sins before His face. 1t is evident to every
thinking Hlind, that there is a decay of
public virtue; peculatiOn of the people
through the national Golfers, a lack of
high toned moral sentiment regulating
the relations of men, wide spread crime,
inlquity and intemperance, disregard of
authority apd acondonipg OrnOt rebuking
of the same,
2d.-There is fearful disObedience of
Gods Commandment" Remember the
Sabbath to keep it holy" The desc
Grafton, especially in our large cities, is a
crying sin against God, We have allowed
the hordes of Europe to pollute the sacred
ness of the day by the introduction of con-
tinental usages, amusements and dissipa-
tions and thus to undermine the very foun-
dation of Christianity and the State, and
Gods protesting people do not observe the
Sabbath as their godly ancestors did and
it becomes them to return to the old paths.
3d.-We have allowed a licentious or
ganization under the name of religion
and baptized christianity to exist among
us and TO defy the government as II Is i'm
INJURED in the mountain fastnesses of the
Observation-Disclosures "praying cir
Gle" made its boast that uneeasing prayer
was made for the death of President
Garfield, for they we'll knew that he
would exert his influence to have this
foul spot removed from the national es-
cutcheon.
4th.-There exists among us a cherished
sin, by which assassination has been con-
doned or not emphatically condemned.
! We have afforded shelter-a city of refuge
for assasins from abroad and permitted