The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-04-16
THE sEMI-WEEKLY MESSENGER, FRIDAY. APRIL is, 1897.

before you respond. some day you say:
Insre- / have received ten letters from
my daughter. and / Will answer them all
the way that she hopes for. / will do II I'm
the best way. and though she asked me
for 4 sheet Of music. / will not give IL 10
her Tor ! DO not like the music spoken OF.
but l viii send her "A deed to 4 house and
lot TO be hers forever" 81 God does not
IN ali cases answer in the way those who
sent the prayer hoped for. but he In all
cases gives what j. asked for or some
thing better So prayers went up from
the north and the south at the time of our
civil war. and they were all answered at
Gettysburg You cannot make me believe
that God answered Only the orthern
prayers. for there were just as devout
prayers answered south OF Mason and
Dixon's line as north Of il. and God gave
what was asked for. or something as
much mere valuable as a house and lot
are worth than a sheet OF music. There
Is not a good and intelligent man between
the gulf Of Mexico and the St. Lawrence
river who does not believe that God did
the best thing possible when he stood
this nation down in 1855 a glorious unity.
never to be rent until the waters of the
Ohio and the Savannah. the Hudson and
the Alabama. are licked up by the long.
red tongues of a world on fire. Yea, God
sometimes answers prayers on a large
scale.
In worse predicament nation never was
than the Israelitish nation on the banks
OF the Red sea. the rafting shields and
the gathering hOofs of an overwhelming
NOSl tIb-c a1ltf llltll. All army toAiI
just as easily wade through the Atlantic
ocean, from New York TO Liverpool, as
the Israelites gould have waded through
waters to realize how big 1t is. How was
the crossing effected? BY prayer. Exodus
xiv. 10: And the Lord said unto Moses:
unto the children Of Israel, that they go
forward"-that is. Stop praying and take
the answer" And then the waters be-
gan to be agitated and swung this way
and that U1V and the rinpip haro me a
billow, and the billow climbed other bill
lows. and now they rise into walls of
sapphire and invisible trowels mason
them into firrnness, and the walls be-
come like mountains, topped and turreted
and domed with crags of cyStal, and God
throws an invisible chain around the feet
obliged to stand still, and there, right
before the IsraelitiSh army. is a turnpike
road, with all the emerald gates swung
wide open. The passing host did not even
get their feet wet. They passed dry shod
the bottom of the sea as hard as the pave
ment Of Pennsylvania avenue, or New
Oh. what a God they had! Or 1 think /
will change that and say, What a God
we have!'
What power put its hands upon astron-
Omy in JoShua'S time and made the sun
and moon stand still? Joshua X, II, Then
Spake Joshua unto the Lord" Prayer!
AS a giant will take two or four great
globes and in astounding way swing them
this way or that, or hold two of them
at arms length, SO the Omnipotent does
as he will with the great orbs of worlds,
with wheeling consultations and circling
galaxies, swinging easily star around
star, star tossed after star, or sun and
moon held out at arms length, and per-
fectly still. as in answer TO Joshua's pray
er. To God the largest world is a pebble.
RIGHTEOUS SELFISHNESS.
Another reason why we should obey the
Pauline injunction of the text and pray
fer all that are in authority is that SO
very much or our own prosperity and
happiness are involved in their doings.
A selfish reason, you say. Yes, but a
righteous selfiShness like that which leads
you to take care of your health and pre-
serve your own life. prosperous govern
ment means a prosperous people. Dam
aged government means a damaged peo-
pie. We all go up together or we all go
down together. When we pray for our
homes, for the easier gaining of a liveli-
hood, for better prospects for our chill
dren, for the hurting of these hard times
so far down the embankment they can
never climb up again. Do not look at
anything that pertains to public interest
as having no relation to yourself. We are
touched by all the events in our national
history, by the signing of the compact in
the cabin of the Mayfiower, by the small
ship, the Half Moon, sailing up the Hud-
son, by the treaty CT William Penn, by
the hand that made the Liberty bell''
sound it's first stroke, by Did Ironsides
blowing the high seas. And if touched by
49, NC NfSiNS ~ p"'e 81 toiiiis
by all the events of the present day.
Every prayer you make for our rulers. if
the prayer be of the right stamp and
worth anything, has a rebound of bene-
diction for your own body. mind and soul.
Another reason for obedience to my text
is that the prosperity of this country is
coming, and we want a hand in helping
on its coming. At any rate l do. 1t is q
matter of honest satisfaction to a soldier,
after some great battle has been fought
and some great victory won, to be able to
say: Yes, l was there! l was in the
brigade that stormed those heights. L
was in that bayonet charge that put the
come when all the financial, politicaland
moral fees of this republic will be driven
back and driven down. by the properties
come with slow tread and in fatigue
dress when We want them to take 1.-The
double quick By our prayers we may
stand on the mountain top and beckon
them on, and show them a shorter cut.
Yea, in answer to our prayers the Lord
God of Hosts may from the high heavens
command them forward swifter than
ted troops ever took the field at
Eylau or AuSterlitZ.
In 1872 Holland was assailed. Her peo-
pie prayed nightly. The ships of her
enemies waited for the high tide on which
to come in. In answer to the prayer Of
fered the tide, as never before, was de-
tanned twelve hours, and before that II
hours had passed a hurricane SwOOped
upon the enemies ships and destroyed
them, and Holland was saved. If God de-
tanned the hlS, tide in answer to prayer,
will he not hasten it in answer to prayer?
Surely it has been low tide long enough.
May the Lord hasten the high tide of ma
tiOnal welfare. American citizens. our
best hold is on God. We have all seen
families in prayer and churches in pray
er. What we want yet to see is this whole
nation on its knees.
WORDS OF WEBSTER.
The most of them are dead-those who
in 1851, moved in that procession that
marched from the city hall of Washing
ton down Louisiana avenue to Seventh
street, and then through Pennsylvania
avenue to the north gate of yonder CAPT
toll, to lay the cornerstone of the extern
sion of that capitol. The president, who
that day presided, and solemnly struck
the stone three times in dedication, long
ago quit earthly scenes, and the lips of the
great orator of that hour are dust, and
the grand master of that occasion long
ago put down the square and the level
and the plumb with which for the lasS
time, he pronounced a cornerstone we'll
1 laid. But what most interests are NOW