The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1897-04-23
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Prayers Of the Nation Should Go
Up for It's Rulers.
keasons Why Gods Help ShuOId be Asked
for Those In AuthOrity-PrOs
Gus Government Means
Prosperous People.

Rev. T. Dewitt Tslmage delivered the
| following sermon before his Washing
ton congregation, taking for his text:
exhort, therefore, that, first Of all, suppli-
! cations, prayers, iEterceSsions and giving of
thoaks, be made for all men; for kings. and for
al mat Gre IN authority.-TimOthy H., /.
! That which London is to Engla nd
Paris to France, Berlin to Germany,
Rome to Italy, Vienna to Austria, ST.
| Petersburg TO Russia, Washington is to
! the United States republic. The peo-
| pie who live here see more of the chief
men Of the nation than any who I've
anywhere else between the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans, If a senator, or
member of the house of representa-
tives, or supreme court justice, or sec
| rotary of the cabinet, or represen Ia
| tive of foreign nation enters a public
assembly in any other city, his coming
and going are remarked upon and un-
! usual Difference is paid to him. In this
| capital there are so many political
| chieftainS in our churches. our streets,
our halls, that their coming and going
make no excitement, The Swiss seldom
look up to the Matterhorn, or jung
] frau, OF Mont Blanc, because those peo-
| pie arc used to the Alps. So we at this
| capital are SO accustomed to walk
| among mountains of official and po-
| htcal eminence that they are
not to us a great novelty. Morning.
noon and night we meet the giants.
But there is no place on earth where
the Importance of the Pauline injunce
| tion to prayer for those in eminent
I 70 ha hsaa
| At this time, when our public men
have before them the rescue OF cur ma
tional treasury from appalling deficits,
and the Cuban question, and the arbi-
tration question, and in many depart
! msnts men are taking important posi-
| tions which are to them new and un-
tried, would like to quote my text
with a whole tonnage of emphasis
words written by the SCARED mission
airy to the young theologian Timothy:
Il exhort, therefore, that, first of all,
supplicatiOns, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks be made for all
men; for kings, aud for all that are in
authority"
If l have the time, and do not forget
some of them, before l get through l
will give you four or five reasons why
the people of the United States ought
to make earnest and continuous prayer
for those in eminent place,
First, because that will put us in
proper attitude toward the successful
men of the nation. After YOU have
prayed for a man you will do him JUS
hce. There is a bad streak in human
nature that demands us to assail those
that are more successful than our
selves. 1t shows itself in bOyhood
when the lads, all running to get their
ride on the back of a carriage, and one
gets on, those failing to get on shout
to the driver: Cut behind - Unsuc-
cessful men seldom like those who in
any department are successful. The
cryis He is a political accident" or
''He bought his way up or 1T just
happened So" and there is an impa-
tent waiting for him to come down
more rapidly than he went up. The
best cure for such cynicism is prayer.
After we have risen from our
knees we will be wishing the
official good instead of evil. We
will be hoping for him benediction
rather than malediction. If he makes
a mistake we will call it a mistake in
stead of malfeasance in office And,
oh! how much happier we viii be; for
wishing one evil is diabolic, but wish
ing one good is sanity, is angelic. is
God-Iize. When the Lord drops a man
into depths beyond which there is no
lower depths, He allows him to be put
on an investigation committee with the
one hope of finding something wrong.
In general assemblies of the Presbyte-
rian church, in conference of the Meth
Odist church, in conventions of the
Episcopal church, in house of repre-
sentatives, in senate of the United
States there are men always glad to be
appointed on the committee of malo-
dors, while there are those who are
glad to be put ON the committee
of eulogiums. After you have prayed,
in the words of my text, for all
that are in authority, you will
say: Brethren, Gentlemen, Mr.. Chair
man, excuse me from serving on the
committee of malodors, for last night
just before L prayed for those in emf
nent position, L read that chapter in
Corinthians about charity which
'hopeth all things and 'thinketh no
evil The committee of malodors is an
important committee, but l here now
declare that those are incompetent for
its work who have, not in spirit of
cOnventionality, but in spirit of earnest
Importantly, prayed for those in high
position. l can not help it, but do
like ST. Bernard better than a blood
hound, and 1 would rather be hum
ming bird among honey-suckles than
crow swooping upon field carcasses."
Another reason why we should pray
for those in eminent place is because
they have such multiplied perpleXities
This city at this time holds hundreds of
men who are expectant of preferment,
and United States mail bags, as never
before, are full of applications. Let
me say have no sympathy with either
the uttered or printed sneer at what |
are called ''office-seekerS. If l had |
not already received appointment as
minister plenipotentiary from the high |
court of Heaven-as every minister of
the Gospel has-and had at my back
a family for whom wished to achieve
livelihood, there is no employer
whose service l would sooner seek than
city. state or United States govern
ment. Those governments are the
proUaptest in their payments, paying
Just as well in hard times as in
good times. and during the summer
vacation as during winter work
been paying taxes to city, and state,