Democratic messenger., 1889-05-04
A NATIONAL SERMON.
DR.. Talmage says Religion will
Purify Politics.

DIR. Talmage says Religion will
Purify Politics.
BRooKLYN, n. Y, April ?s.-At the tab
ernaclc to-day the Rev. T. De Witt Tai
mage, d. D., preached a sermon appropri
ate to the coming centennial. The vast
congregation sang the hymn beginning
Before Jchovah's awful throne.
We nations. how with sacred JOY,
DIR. Talmagc's text was II. Kings vi.
II: "And the Lord opened the eyes Of IL,
young man, and he saw and. behold, the
mountain was full Of horses and charioi'
Of fire round and about Elisha" He said
As II cost England many regiments and
$2,OOO,0OO year 10 keep safely trouble
some captive at 81. Helena, so the King oi
Syria sends out whole army Ia capture
one minister Of religion perhaps $1,000
men TO take Elisha. During the night
the army Of Assyrians came around the
village OF Dothan, where the prophet was
staying AT early daybrcak the man ser.
want Of Elisha rushed in and said: "What
shall we dol there Is whole army come
to destroy you. We must die, we must
die" But Elisha was not scared a bit. for
he looked up and saw the mountains all
around full of supernatural forces, and he
knew that II there were $1,000 Assyrians
against him there were 100000 angels for
him and in answer TO the prophets pray
or in behalf Of his affrightcd man servant
the young man saw il, too. Horses Of fire
harnessed TO chariois Of fire, and drivers
of fire pulling reins oftrc on bits Of fire
and warriors Of fire with brandishc,l
sword 0f fire, and the brilliancc of that
morning sunrise was ccliipsed by the gal
Looping splcndors 0f the celestial cavalcade.
"And the Lord opened the eyes of the
young man, and he saw and, behold, the
mountain was full Of horses and chariots
of fire round about Elisha" have often
spoken to you Of the Assyrian perils
which threaten our American institutions,
but now. as we are assembling TO keep
centennial celebration of the Inauguration
of Washington. speak of the upper
forces Of the text that are Ia fight ON our
side. Ifall the low levels are filled with
armed threats, have t0 tell you that the
mountains Of our hope and courage and
faith arc full Of horses and clariots OF di.
vine rescue.
CHARioTS or FIRE on ORR SIDE.
You will notice that the divine equip
age is always represented as a chariot Of
fire. Ezekiel and Isaiah and John, when
they come TO describe the divine cquipagc,
always represent II rs u wheeled, n har-
messed. and upholstered conilagraiion. II
is not chariot like kings and conqucrors
Of earth mount. but an organized and com
pressed fire. That means purity, justice,
cliasiiscment, dcliverancc through burn.
ing escapes. Chariot Of rescue: Yes. hut
chariot of fire. All our national Olsen.
treatments have been through scOrching
agonics and red disasters. Through tri-
bulatiOn the individual rises. Through
iribulation nations rise. Chariois Of rescue,
hut cllariots of fire.
But how do | know that this divine
cquipagr is ON the side al our institutions: !:
know il by the history of the last los
years. The American Revolution started
from the pen of John Hancock in lndc
pcndcncc Hall in l.iG. The colonies with.
out ships. without ammunition, without
guns, without trained worriOrs, without
money. without prestige. On the other
side. the mighiirst nation ofthc earth, the
largest armies and the grandcst navics.
and the most DISTINGUISHED commanders.
and resources inexhaustible, and nearly
all nations ready to back them up In the
fight. Nothing rs against immensiiy.
The cause of the American colonies.
which started At zero. dropped still lower
through the quarrcling of the generals,
and through the icalousics at small sue
ccss,'s. and through the winters which
surpassed all predecessors in depth of
snow and horrors Oi congcnlment. Eli
sIia. surrounded by the whole Assyrian
army. did moi seem Ia bc worse oil than
did the IL colonies encompassed and over
shadowed by foreign assault. What de-
ci,lcd the contest in our favor: The upper
forces. the upper armies. The Green and
White mountains of New England, the
Highlands along the Hudson. the noun.
lains IL the Virginias. all the Appalachian
ranges were full of rciniorccmcnts which
the young man Washington saw by faith;
and his men endured the frozen feet. and
the gangrcncd wounds. and the exhaust
ing hunger, aud the long march because
"thc Lord opened the eyes of the young
man. and he saw aud. behold. the noun
iains were full nf horses aud chariots Of
fire round about Elisha" Washington
himself was a miracle. What Joshua was
in sacred history the first American Presi.
dent was in secular history. A thousand
other men cxccllcd him in different things
uut ut tNttilcu tueIl uit w lbuHlHtrS uUu
completeness of character. The world
never saw his like. and probably never
will see his like again, because there pro.
baby never will be another such eXisgcn
cy. lie was let downa divine interposi-
ton lie was from God direct.
] d" not know how any man eau read
the history of those times without admit,
ting that the contest was decided by the
upper forces.
mERoIsM AGAINST nEROIsM.
Then In 1861. when our civil war open.
ed. many nj the North and ai the South
pronounced il national suicide. II was
not courage against cowanlice. Il was moi
wealth against poverty, II was not large
states against small states II WAS hcrnism
against heroism. II was the resources of
many generations against the resources oi