Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-04-21
RBV. DIR. TALMAGB.
The Eminent Divine's SUNDAY
Discourse.
Subject: "Pray for Those In Author
ity.'

Inat Wnicn London Is to England, Paris Il
France, Berlin TO Ger many, Rome to Italy
vienna to Austria, st. Petersburg to Russia
Washington is to tho United States republic
The people who live here see more of The
| chief men of the Nation than any who live
anywhere els bet ween Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. IL =. Senator or Member OF tn.
House OF Representatives or Supreme Court
Justice or Se,ratary of the Cabinet or repre-
sentative of Foreign Nation enters public
assembly in any other city, his coming and
going are remarked upon, and unusual de-
terencs Is paid To him. In this capital there
ar, 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 Matter
horn or Juugfrau or Mont Blanc, because
those people are used to the Alps. So we at
this capita! are so accustomed to walk among
mountains of official and political eminence
that they are not to US great novelty.
| Morning, noon ami night we meet the giants.
But there is no place on earth where the
| Importance OF the Pauline injunction 10
| pray for those in eminent place ought to
| be better appreciated. At this time, when
| our pubi. men have before them the rescue
OF our NatioLal Treasury from appalling de-
| fcits, and the Cuban question. and the arbi-
| tration question, and in many departments
| men are taking important positions which
are TO them new and untrIed, would like to
| quote my text with whole tonnage of en-
PuhStS-WoTtS WTuttu ny tue ScaFreu mis-
| sionHry to the young theologian Timothy.
~ eXhort, therefore. that. first of all. sup
| pltcaiions, prayers. intercessions and giving
| o. thanks be made for all men, for kings and
| for all that are in authority"
II have the time and do not forget some
OF them before l cet through, | will give you
| four or five reasons why the people of the
United States ought to make earnest aud
| continuous prayer for those in eminent place
First, because that will put us in proper
attitude towart the successful men of the
Nation. After you have prayed for a man
you will DO him jnstice. There is bad
streak in human nature that demands us to
assaii those that are more successful than
ourselves. 1t shows itself in boyhood when
the lads, all running to get their ride on the
back of carriage, and one gets on, those
failing to get on shout on the driver, "Cut
behind" Unsuccessful men seldom like
those who in anv department are successful.
The cry is, .'He is political accident" or,
''He bought his way up" or, ''lt just hap
| pened so, AMI there is an impatient waiting
| for him to come down more rapidly than he
went up.
The best cure for such cynicsm 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 mistake
We will call ii mistake instead of malfea-
sanee in Office. And. oh. how much hap
pier we will be. for wishing one evil is dia-
bolic, but wishing one good is saint
| iy. is angelic, is codIike. When the
| Lord drops a man into depths beyond which
there is no lower depth, he allows him to be
put on an invest eating committee with the
one hope of finding something wrong. In
general assemblies of the Presbyterian
church, in conferences of the Methodist
church, in conventions Of the Episcopal
church. in House of Representatives and
Senate of the United States, there are men
| always glad to be appointed on the commit
| tee of malodors. while there are those who
are glad TO he put on the committee OF
| eulogiums. After YOU have prayed, in the
words of my text, Tor all that are in author
i,y, you VIII say. Brethren, gentlemen, Mr..
Chairman. excuse me from serving on the
| committee of malodors. for last night, just
before l prayed for those in emin snt posi-
| ions, l read that chapter in Corinthians
| about charity which 'hopeth all things and
| thinketh no evil" The committee of NAL
odors is an important committee, but | here
now declare that those are important for its
work who have. not in spirit of convention
| atty, but in spirit of earnest importantly,
prayed for those in high position. | cannot
| help ii. but do like 81. Bernard better
| than n bloodhound, and 1 would rat her be
humming bird among honeysuckles than a
| crow swooping upon field carcasse-.
Another reason why We should pray for
ihose in eminent place is because tney have
such multiplied perplexities. This city at
| this time holds hundreds of men who
expeciant of preterment, and United States
II all bags never brtore are full of ap-
| plications. Let me say have no sympathy
| with either the uttered or printed sneer at
| what are called office seekers" If | had
| not already received appoint ment as minis
| ter plenipotentiarv from the high court of
| heaven-as every minister OF the gospel has
and had at my back Il family for whom
wished TO achieve II livelihood, there is no
employer whose service | would sooner Sc k
than city, State or United States Govern
menf. Those Governments are the prOmptest
| in their payments, paying just as well in
hard times rs in good times aud during sum
mer vacation during winter work Be-
sides that, many of US have been paying
| taxes TO city and state and Nation for years,
| and while we are indebted for the protection
Of Government the Government IS indebted
to US for the honest support we have
rendered it So / wish success to all earnest
and competent men who appeal to city or
state or Nation for place to work.
But how many men in high place in
city and State and Nation at their
wits end to know what to do, when for
| some places there are ten applicants and for
others hundred. Perplexite- arise from
| the fact that cit Zcns sign petitions without
reference to the qualifications of the apnli-
ranl lor the places applied iOr. You sign
| The application because The applicant is your
| friend. People sometimes want that 1or
which they have no qualification, as we hear
people sing ~ want TO be an angel" when
they offer the poorest material possible for
angelhood. Doors wa ting TO be sent 10
| foI eign palaces as ambassadors. aud men
| without any business qualification wanting
to be consuls TO fore en- ports, and illiterat es,
| capable in OF ietter OF wrecking all the laws
| of ouhography and syntax, desiring to be
put into positions where most OF the work is
| dom, by correspondence. II divine help is
needed in any place in the world, il is In
those places where patronage is distributed.
In years gone by awful mistakes have been
made. Only God, who made the world out
of chaos. could out of the crowded pigeon
holes Of public men develop symmetrical re
suits. For this reason pray Almighty God
for all !hose in authority.
| Again, prayer to God for those in authority
| Is our only way of being of any practical
service TO them. Our personal advice would
be to them, for the most part, an impertIn
ence They have all the facts as we canno
have them, and they see the subject in all il:
bearings, and We can be of no help to then
except through the supplication that ou
text advises. In that way We may be- infinite
reinforcement. The mightest thing yo,
can do for man is TO pray for him. II tbs
old Bible be true-and if 1t ia not true IT ha
been the only imposition that ever biesse,
the world. turning barbarism into civiliza
tion and tyraDnies into republics-l say, /
the old b BILE | - trne, God answers prayer
You may get letter and through forgetfut
hess or lack of time not answer it, but Go'
never gets a genuine letter that he does no
make reply. Every genuine prayer is
chiid's letter to his Heavenly Father, ami h.
will answer it, and though you may get man
letters from your child before you respon
some day you say: 'rhere, l have receive
ten letters from my daughter, and / will an
1 swar them all now aud af once aud thong
not In just the way that she hopes for vi
do It in the best way, and though she asKe
me for a sheet of music I will not give II I
her. for do like the music spoken OF. but
will send her deed to house and lot.
be hers forever" So God does not in a
cases answer in the way those who sont th
prayer hoped for, but He in all cases give
what Is asked for or something better. s
prayers went up from the North and tt
South at the time of our Civil War. end the