Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-06-09
G. a. r. SERMON.

of the Republic, by the Pastor, Rev.
John Edwards, and furnished by him
for publication, at the request of Lincoln
Post No. l. G. A. R., and is published in
THE HERALD by request of members of
the Post.
If had been requested to preach a
sermon for the Republican party,
should have refused. If had been asked
to preach sermon for the Democratic
party, | should not have consented. neith-
er should have preached for the third
party. But having been solicited to do
this for the G. A. of the R., have glad
ly complied.
You will find the text in St. Luke g
Gospel, 2:14. On earth, peace, good
will toward men," our theme is Christ
the end of war and the legacy of peace
to the world.
The objective point of Christ 3 mission
was to establish on earth His peaceful
government in accordance with the
prophecy of Daniel. The God of heav-
en- shall set up kingdom which shall
never be destroyed, it shall not be left to
other people, but it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms. The
influence of christianity, lasting forever,
was to destroy all idolatry. This Christ
proposed to do, from the beginning, des-
pite the views of the infidel Renan, who
said, That coming into close connection
with John the Baptist, he was seized
with revolutionary ardor and proposed
to set up kingdom" In accordance
with prophecy He kept this before the
views of all from the first, a kingdom
and the kingdom of heaven. He taught
his disciples of all time to pray. =" Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done on
earth as it is in Heaven His plans de.
veloped slowly but surely, just as they
had been ordained in the councils OF
heaven and as men were able to bear
Them" And SO they are doing to-day.
His kingdom was to be spiritual which
should infuse pure principle and truth
into matters of civil government, bless
ing nations as well as individuals. Jesus
clearly defnd His position. 9 Render un-
to Caesar the things that are Caesars
and unto God the things that are God IS. p"
Then his Government was to be peace
full, hence long before He came, He was
called the Prince of Peace" which i'm
piled that his government would be primo
ly and peaceful. The prophet Micah said.
. This man shall be the peace" and
Zechariah said, He shall speak peace
unto the heather, and his dominion shall
be from sea to sea, and from the re-
hottest rivers to the ends of the earth. "
The 72nd psalm says: In His day shall
the righteous flourish and abundance of
peace, SO long as the moon endureth. At
His birth, the wise men of Persia, in
quired for Him that was TO be born
the king of the Jews; ON His Cross, +" the
king of the Jews was written in three
languages above His head. Now, God
has exalted Him as prince and saw
ior, and on His vesture and thigh is
written king of kings, and lord of lords.
To-day we hail Him as our prince, the
prince of Isreal's hosts and the king of
all worlds. His advent was the procla-
nation of peace. The angels caught it.,
peace on earth, good will toward men;
what they proclaimed was only what He
embodied both for the individual and the
nations. He brought it and when He
left, He left it, saying my peace leave
with you.n
Entering ON His official life, with the
emblem of peace in Jordan, the spirit in
the form of dove descended and abode
upon Him, and thus visibly crowned
Him Prince of peace,-the author of
that peaceful spirit that should fill all
the hearts of all his subjects ON earth and
in Heaven. Yet he said, there shall be
wars and rumors of wars. He was not
the cause of war. Sin is the cause of
enmity. it is the atmosphere and hot bed
of evil growth, it has occasioned the
wrath that rendered the arbitrament of
the sword necessary. He knew
the inevitable and foretold it.
So settled was man in his love
of sin, the cause of war, that there
was nothing of the reformatory in him,
and instead of ending war, he would
have perpetuated it to the end of time,
or until every tribe had been blotted out,
and the earth were depopulated; nations
living without the Gospel have demon
strated this. With all the greatness of a
few nations before Christ, the earth
had been literally a scene of blood.
Read DIR. Dick on the state of morals in
the Ancient World, and the warlike dispo-
si.ion of mankind. His estimate was. that
at the least one tenth of the human race
had been swept away by the ravages of
war. Read the DIR. again on the state of
morals in Modern Times and the warlike
of civilized nations, and the in
of uncivilized tribes to I'M
fortunate travellers. But need we go
further than the aborigines of this coun-
try; they have ever and anon been Civ
ing us scenes of blood, and what has
been the attitude of civilized nations in
this respect? Have they not all required
to the settlement of difficulties by the
sword ? The record of every nation has
been that of blood. Bloodshed in social
life, bloodshed IN public amusements,
bloodshed in the beginning and con-
tinuance of the system of slavery. In
the roar of cannon, in the handling of
swords and the piercing of bayonet.
Bloodshed in the assassination of kings
and presidents; bloodshed for power,
position, fame and wealth. Bloodshed
in the riots of anarchists and the bombs of
Nihilism. Bloodshed in the prosecutions
of the Papacy, the folly of the Puritans,
and the cruelty of the Mormons. See lit
tie of the history of the world since the
close of the rebellion here. Note the
carnage between Germany and Austria.
The deluge of fire from the German
forces in the Frankie Prussian war. Soon
Spain ever drunk with the blood of men
is stirred with civil strife. The Turko Ser
Wan borders were baptised in human
gore. Abyssinia has been in almost con-
slant tumult with Great Britain or Italy.
Egypt constantly in state of ferment.
has fairly rolled in blood and many of
Great Britain's fair soldiers have faded
from the earth. In our southern conti-
nent there have been frequent upheav-
ais. and to-day Bulgaria, Servia, Austria,
Russia, France and Germany. are filed
ed with the rumors of war. Sin abounds
and the war cloud rises, but Christ on
earth, is peace on earth, good will to
men. He moves slowly, yet as fast as
we are prepared for His tread.
These instruments of death in war,
which have been SO prominent among
men and nations, may He not have, and
may he not yet use to bring about His
peaceful reign and thus make the wrath
of man turn to the praise of God. A few
examples will suffice. Perhaps this is seen
no where more clearly than in the
Frankie Prussian war. Though the loss of
life was immense, see some of the re-
suits, anti-Christ lost power Romanism
t>1no.,a anfaahlnl hu tho cfrOEa QTd