Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1897-04-16

in the grave trenches, but the two IL
lustrious and honest men / have men
toned were in good health long after
the ending of things at Appomattox,
and if those who advocated measures
recently that would have brought on
war between our country and spain OF
England or Turkey had been successful
in bringing on the wholesale murders
they themselves would not have been
above ground, as / hope they will be,
TO celebrate the birth Of the twentieth
century If God had not interfered, we
would have had three wars within the
last two years-war with England, war
with Spain and war with Turkey, this
last Joined by other nations transatlan-
tic. To preserve the peaceful cquipoise
which such men are disturbing We
need divine balancing, for which all
good men on both sides the sea ought to
be every day praying.
Advice an Impertinence.
Again, prayer to God for those in au-
thority is our only way Of being Of any
practical service TO them. Our personal
advice would be to them, for the most
part, an impertinence. They have all
the facts as we cannot have them, and
they see the subject in all its bearings,
and we can be Of no help to them ex-
cept through the supplication that our
text advises In that way we may be
infinite re enforcement. The mightiest
thing you can do for a man Is 70 pray
for him. If the old Bible be true-and
if it is not true it has been the only i'm
position that ever blessed the world,
turning barbarism into civilization and
tyrannies into republics--I say, if the
old Bible be true, God answers prayer
You may get letter and through for
getfulness or lack Of time not answer il,
but God never gets genuine letter that
he does not make reply. Every genuine
prayer is a childs letter 10 his Heaven
ly Father, and he will answer il, and
though you may get many letters from
your child before you respond some day
you say: "There! l have received ten
letters from my daughter, and | will
answer them all now and at once, and
though not in just the way that she
hopes for | will do it in the best way,
and though she asked me for a sheet Of
music / will not give it to her, for / do
not like the music spoken Of, but l viii
send her a deed 70 a house and lot, 10
be hers forever" So God does not in
all cases answer in the way those who
sent the prayer hoped for, but he in all
cases gives what IS eslIed 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 an
swered at Gettysburg. You cannot
make me believe that God answered on
" the northern prayers, for there were
Just as devout prayers answered south
of Mason and DiXon's line as north Qt
it, and God gave what was asked for
or something as much more valuable,
as a house and lot are worth more than
a sheet of music There Is not a good
and intelligent man between the gulf
of Mexico ard the St Lawrence river
who does not believe that God did the
best thing possible when he stood this
nation down in 1865 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 large scale.
The opened Sea.
In worse predicament nation never
was than the Israelitish nation on the
banks Of the Red sea, the rafting
shields and the clattering hoofs Of an
overwhelming host close after them.
An army could just as easily wade
through the Atlantic ocean from New
York 70 Liverpool as the lsraelites
could have waded through the Red sea
You need to sail on its waters to real
ize how big it is. How was the crossing
eGectedl BY prayer Exodus xiv, 10;
"And the Lord said unto Moses Where
fore criest thou unto mel Speak unto
the children of Israel, that they 90 for
ward"-that is, stop praying and
take the answer" And then the waters
tegan to be agitated and swung tins
way and that way, and the ripple be-
came a billow, and the billow climbed
other pillows, and now they rise into
walls Of sapphire, and invisible trowels
mason them into firmness, and the
walls become like mountains, topped
and turreted and domed with crags OF
crystal. and God throws an invisible
chain around the feet Of those noun
tains, SO that they are obliged 70 stand
still, and there, right before the Israeli
itish 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 bot
tom of the sea as hard as the pavement
Of Pennsylvania avenue or New York 5
Broadway or London's Strand. Or.
what a God they had Or think l viii
change that and say, What God we
have"
What power put its hands upon as
,ronomy in Joshua's time and made the
an and moon stand still! Joshua \, X,
Then spoke Joshua unto the Loiu'
, Prayerl AS a giant will take two OF
> four great globes and in astounding
way swing them this way or that OF
I hold two Of them at arms length, SC
= the Omnipotent does as he will with
, the great orbs Of worlds, with wheeling
consultations and circliug galaxies'
. swinging easily star around star, stal
tossed after star or sun and moon helc
, out at arms length and perfectly stlli'
> as in answer to Joshua's prayer IL
God the largest world is pebble.
A Righteous selfishness'
Another reason why we should ODE.
Z the Pauline injunction of the text an'
4 pray for all that are in authority Is Una
/. so very much of our own prosperity
O snd happiness are involved in their 40
4 inps A selfish reason, you say Yes
!. but a righteous selfshness, like ina
4 which leads you to take care OF you
d own health and preserve your own lie
: Prosperous government means pros
/ D....afrad O0V(Tnmen