The Penn's Grove record., 1889-05-18

| above the clouds on Lookout Mountain
but there was something higher than
that.
Again, the horses and chariots Of
God came to the rescue OF this nation
n 1876, at the close Of a Presidential
election famous for ferocity.
DARKER CLOUD YET
settled down upon this nation. The
result of the election was In dispute,
and revolution, not between two OF
three sections, but revolution In every
town and village and city Of the United
| States seemed imminent. The pros.
pect was that New York would throttle
New York, and New Orleans would
grip New Orleans, and Boston. Boston,
and Savannah, Savannah and Washing
ten, Washington. Some said MI. Tllden
was elected; others said Mr.. Hayes was
elected; and how near we came to uni
versal massacre some Of us guessed,
but God only knew. l ascribe our
escape not to the honesty and
Righteousness Of Infatuated politicians,
but I ascribe it to the upper forces Of
the text. Charlots of mercy rolled In,
and though the wheels were not heard,
and the flash wa5 not seen, yet all
through the mountains of the North
and the South and the East and the
West, though the hoofs did not CHATTER,
the cavalry of God gall0ped by. 1 tell
you God is the friend Of this nation.
In the awful excitement at the massa-
ora IF r f-oA1- ryhan thnro vrynd q nrOo-
pect that greater slaughter would open
upon this nation, God hushed the
tempest. In the awful excitement
at the time of Garfeld's assassi.
nation, God put His foot on the
neck of the cyclone. To prove
GOD Is ON THE SIDE OF THIS NATION.
| argue from the last eight or nine
great national harvests, and from the
national health Of the last quarter OF a
century, epldemics very exceptional,
and from the great revivals of religion.
and from the spreading Of the Church
of God, and from the continent blOss
OmIng with asylums and refOrmatory
institutions, and from an E~denizati0n
which promises that this whole land Is
to be a paradise, where God shall walk
If in other sermons l showed you
what was the evil that threatened to
upset and demOliSh American instltu.
lions, 1 am encouraged more than / can
tell as l see the regiments wheeling
down the sky, and my jeremiads turn
into dOx0logies, and that which was
the Good Friday OF the nations cruel
fixi0n becomes the Easter morn of its
resurrection. or course, God works
through human instrumentallties, and
this
NATIONAL RETIREMENT
is to come ameng other things through
a scrutinized ballot box. By the law
OF registration it is almost impossible
now to have illegal voting. There was
a time-you and | remember 1t very
well-when droves OF vagabOnds
wandered up and down on election
day. and from poll to poll, and voted
here, and voted there, and voted
everywhere, and there was no chal-
lenge; or, If there were. 1t amounted to
nothing, because nothing could SO sud-
denly be proved upon the vagabonds.
Now, In every well-organIzed neigh
bOrhOOd, every voter Is watched with
severest scrutiny. l must tell the
registrar my name, and how old
l am. and how long l have resided
in the State. and how long l have resi-
ded in the ward OF the township, and
IL I misrepresent, fifty witnesses will
rise and shut me out from the ballot
box. Is not that great advancep
| And then notice the law that prohibits
a man voting ir he has bet on the cleo
tiOn. A step further needs to be
taken, and that. man forbidden a vote
who has offered OF taken a bride,
whether 1t be in the shape of a free
drink, or cash paid down, the suspic-
Ious cases obliged to put their hand on
the Bible and swear their vote in If
they vote at all. So, through the sa.
cred chest of our nations suffrage,
redemption will come.
GOD WILL SAVE THIS NATION
through an aroused moral sentiment.
There has never been so much discus
sion of morals and immorals. Men,
whether or not they acknowledge what is
right, have to think what is right. We
have men who have had their hands in
the public treasury the most OF their
lifetime, stealing all they could lay
their hands on, discourslng eloquently
about dishonesty in public servants;
and men with two or three families Of
their own. preaching eloQuently about
the beauties of the seventh command
ment. The question of sobIiety
and drunkenness Is thrust In
the face of this nation az never before,
and takes a part in our political con-
tests. The question Of national sobrl-
ETY. is going to be respectfully and
d~eferentially heard at the bar of every
Legislature, and every House Of Rep
resentatives. and every United States
Senate; and an omnipotent voice will
ring down the sky and GRO this land
and back again, saying to these rising
tides of drunkenness which threaten to
whelm home and church and nation:
THUS far shalt thou come, but ne fur
Their, and here shall thy proud waves
be stayed.o c.
l have not in my mind a shadow Of
disheartenment as large as the shadow
of a housedy's wing. My faith is in
the upper forces. the upper armies of
the text. God as not dead The chari-
wv AAo Aoo hCGlCu. 4yOu WOulu
only pray more, and wash your eyes In
the cool, bright water fresh from the
well of CHRISTIAN reform, it would be
said of you. as Of this n of the text !:
"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"
When the army OF Ambiguous went
into battle his soldiers were very much
discouraged, and they rushed up to the
General and said to HIM: Don't you
see VIZ have a few forces, and they have
SO many more2" and the soldiers were
affrIghted at the smallness of their
number and the greatness of the enemy.
Ambiguous. their commander, straight
ened himself up and said: "How many
do you reckon me to be2' And when
we see the vast armies arrayed against
Ii CAUSE OF soBRIETY
1t may sometimes be very discouraging.
but l ask you In making up your estl-
mate of the forces of Righteousness
oak pnn hAuy voanu do xan,. ~an1an tho