The American citizen. [volume] (Topeka, Kan.) 1888-1909, 1889-05-10
GUARDED BY THE LORD.
An Appropriate Centennial Dis
course by DR.. Talmage.
Our Country Guarded By the Divine Hosts
Struggles of the Thirteen ColonieS-
Other Perils Safely Passed-A
Bright Future.

preached sermon appropriate TO the ape
preaching anniversary. The text was
from Q Kings vi II: "And the Loro
opened the eyes of the young man; ana
he saw: and, behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots Of fire ROUND
about Elisha" Dr. Talmage said:
As it cost England many regiments and
s., OOO, 900 a year to keep safely a trouble
some captive at St. Helena, so the King OF
SYRIA sends out whole army to capturo
me minister of religion-perhaps 0OOJO
men to take Elisha. During the night the
army of Assyrians came around the VII
lage of Dothan, whore the prophet was
staying At early daybreak the man serV.
ant Of Elisha rushed in and SAID: =" n0'
shall we do? there is whole army CONS
to destroy you We shall die, we snah
die" But Elisha was not scared OH, 1or
he looked up and saw the mountains
all around full of supernatural
forces, and he knew that II there were
90, 600 Assyrans against him. there "erS
100, 900 for him; and IN answer 10 tne
nrophet's PRAYER in behalf of his affrighted
man servant, the young man saw IL Zoo.
Horses of fire harnessed to charlots or
dre. and drivers of fire pu ling reins OF hre
on bits of fire, and warriors of fire with
brandished swords of fire, and the brill
lance of that morning sunrise was
| eclipsed by the galloping splendors OF the
| celestial cavalcade. And the Loro
opened the eyes of the young man; ana
| he saw: and, behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire round
| ahout Elisha" | have often spoken TO
YOU of the Assyrian perils which threaten
! our American institutions, but now, as we
are assembling to keep the centennial
| celebration Of the inauguration or ASH
ington, l speak Of the upper forces or the
text that are to fight on our side Ii all
tba low levels are hlled with armed
threats, have to tell you that the mount
aims of our hope and courage and faith
are full of the horses and charlots OF
divine rescue.
You will notice that the divine equipage
is ALWAYS represented as a chariot Of lire.
Ezekiel and Isaiah and John, when they
come to describe the divine equipage, al
WAYS represent it as a wheeled, a har-
messed, an upholstered confagration. 1t
is not a chariot like kings and conquerors
of earth mount, but an organized and
compressed fire. That means purity, JUS
tice, chastisement, deliverance through
burning escapes. Chariot of rescue! Hes'
> but chariot of fire. All our national dis
entertainments udfo OCOA eAASU 81 SNN~ 49,
ing agonies and red disasters. Through
tribulation the Individual rises. Through
tribulation nations rise. Chariots of res
cue, but chariots of fire.
:, But how do l know that this divine
: equipage is on the side of our institutions
know it by the history of the last on
= hundred and eight years. The American
= revolution started from the pen of Johl
- ~ Ind Hall 17IS
The colonies without ships, without am
munition, without guns, without traine
warriors, without money, without prestige
= On the other side. the mghtiest nation c
. the earth the largest armies and tn
, prandest nav es and the most diStinguishe
:. commanders, and resources ineXhaustlbl'
and nearly all nations ready to back thel
= M in the fight Nothing as against In
mensity.
The cause of the Anne rlcan colonie
=. which started at zero, dropped still lowe
through the quarreling OF the Genera
- and through the jealousies at small SUI
- cess and through the winters which SUI
passed all predecessors in depth
snow and horrors of cOngealment. Elist
an surrounded by the whole Assyrian arm
- did not seem 10 be worse off than did Il
+ thirteen colonies encOmpassed and owe
bo Swallowed by foreign assault. What d
ra cided the contest in our favor! The upp
n. forces the upper armies. The Green al
ad White mountains OF New England e
highlands along the Hudson, the noun
N. aims of Virginia, ali the Appalachi'
ato ranges were full of reinforcements Will
he the young man, Washington, saw
faith; and his men endured the froz
in. feet and the gangrened wounds and
IL.
re- exhausting hunger ana the long mar
because 1.-The Lord opened the eyes of
the young man; ana ne saw; anu oeholo'
ord mountains were fulI OF horses ana cnarl
of fire round about Elisha"
the Washington himself was a mirac
an. What Joshua was in sacred history
ont first American President was in secu
his history. A thousand other men excel
new him in different things, but he excel
them all in roundness and completen
erv of character. The world never saw
we. like and probably never will see his
reat again, because there probably never '
be another such exigency. He was
down a divine interpOsItion. He '
from God direct do not know how 1
man can read the history of those til
=. without admitting that the contest
- decided by the upper forces.
Then in 1861, when our civil war
OXc; opened, many at the North and at
cash, South pronounced it national suicide.
L SO was not courage against coward &c, 1t
not wealth against poverty, 1t was
olu' large States against small States. 1t
CASH. heroism against heroism, t was the
sources OF many generations against
=. SIC resources of generations, it WAS the prs
Of the North against the prayer Of
merry. South, it was ons-half Of the Natiol
EggS armed wrath meeting the other hal
the Nation in armed indignation. v
oao' could come hut determination!
- n. At the opening ofthe war the commi
81. erin -ch et Of the United States forces
q man who had been great in battle
cowA old age had come with many infrm
and he had right to cuietude. He c
not mount q horse and he rode on the
@SSo tie field in a carriage. asking the dl
not Jolt it TO much. During the mos
ay6 the four years OF the contest on the s.
Anily. ern side was man in mid life who
in his veins the blood OF many genera
t4Scs ! If warriors himself one of the hero