Smyrna times., 1892-07-06
The Fourth of July as, Enunciated
from the Pulpit.

The Fourth OF July as Enumerated |
from the Pulpit.
The sermon of Rev. w. w. w. Will
son, of the Methodist church, Sunday |
morning, took the form of discourse
appropriate to the occasion of the
Nations birthday, there being no cele-
bratiOn in Smyrna of the event. The
text was from the 57th Psalm, goth
verse He hath not dealt so with any
nation" He said it was Father Tay-
lor who, at the dedication of his Sail
Or's Bethel in Boston, congratulated
his congregation that they were "wor-
Shipping in the centre of the UNIVERSE
this world is the centre of all worlds,
America is the center of this world,
the United States is the centre Of
America, Boston is the centre of the
United States, North Square is the CEN
tre of Boston," To whatever
extent this may be geographically true
or otherwise, yet we do affirm that
whatever relation this world may sus-
tain to other worlds, ours is the great
est nation on the face of the globe.
1t is the greatest in prophecy; not
until February 1857 had anyone at
tempted to show that America was the
subject of prophetic writing. At that
time Rev. F. E. Pitt appeared in Wash
ingtOn with a book which he had writ
ten showing almost cOnclusively that
this is the land referred to by the
prophets-for instance, such passages
as from Ezekiel Xvii, 18-20,-"FrOm
the border unto the east sea this is the
east side,-the west side also shall be
4 great sea-" Now these is no east sea
to old Canaan, therefore this must re-
fer to some other land, presumably to
this. And from Ezekiel xlVii,-"A
land that has always been a waste;
that is unsettled and nearly uuinhab-
| tied. Palestine is not referred to here
| for Judea has not always been a waste,
nor have any of the Bible lands; there
fore we conclude that our own land is
! indicated And the land of the proph-
ecy was to be ''inhabitod by people
gathered out of all nations of the
earth;"-nO other land than this is
thus inhabited. And again, kings
shall be thy nursing fathers and
queens thy nursing mothers How
true is this; our country is the child of
empires, the early prOtegee of kings
and queens, until reaching a certain
period she takes the great place as
signed her among independent ma
tiOns.
On the fourth day of July, 1875
there was born on American soil the
greatest nation on the face of the
earth;-great in its origin, in the cOur-
age with which it declared its indie
pence and the valor with which il
maintained that declaration amid the
most threatening scenes of carnage,
the most appalling scenes of blood and
N exposure and suffering, until to-day
she stands amid the galaxy of nations
as the central sun Of great system
commanding the respect and esteem
of all the lands that surround and
know her. In her resources, natura
and acquired, in her institutions, hel
representative bodies, federal, state
and municipal, in her public and pri
vats Offices, in her power, wealth
character and progress she stands su
preme among nations.
DR.. Cook, in Boston, declared thai
there is more arabic land in Americs
than in Europe, Asia and Africa to
gether This is true, for while ther
are thirty-One million square miles o
land in the old world, and fifteen mil
lions in the new, yet the old wOrlt
has only ten million square miles O
tillable land, while the new has clever
million. Hence the grand pOssibilitie
of our cOuntry,--as the Encyclopedia
Britannica says, this country is able /
accommodate and feed thirty six hun
dred million people if taxed to he
capacity, yet we have now only abou
3 One-sixtieth of that number. In l79
5 the centre of population was a lttl
east of Baltimore, in 1875 a little cas-
Y of Cincinnati, and now it is still fal
3 ther to the west, and marching wes
\ ward still. Henry Clay, as he stoo
It among the Rocky Mountains, put b
ear to the ground and remarked, 8
Q am listening for the tread of comm
,. millions" And they are coming, Ou
3 vast territory invites them; the grea
II West invites them.
: He spoke of the vast area of Ou
9 country and the vast areas ofits part
). as compared with the sizes of 9th,
3 lands; the magnitude of our still VI
settled and undevelOped territOr
a Great Britain could be placed with
e our Dakota and not occupy all its spat
Il or she might be placed in our Ne
h Mexico and much land would be le
Is over; our State of Texas would exteU
e from Norway to Spain, covering No
a way, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britai
l. part of Germany, Belgium, HOllar
e and France. You could not find
r place in Europe large enough to no
Ie our Mississippi River. The wealth
ID our land is inexhaustible, there is I
le fear of overcrowding, its resources an
u advantages are limitless, it is 4
n chosen land of GOd;-"Verily, GC
l. hath not dealt so with any nation
ly There is no respect in which it can
g. considered that it will be put to disa
D. vantage alongside of any other natiO
The whole discourse tended to she
to that as a people we ought to appre
1t ate our great blessings, and so live a
" so worship the Lord that the prOspt
n ity and growth of the nation may CO
se tinue. He also dwelt fOrcibly on t
he dangers threatening us, which :
's- have not space to enumerate.