The times., 1897-04-12

| because they do not realize what war is,
| or they are designing men, who want " ar
| for the same reason that wreckers like
| hurricanes and foundering ships, because
! of what may float ashore from the ruins.
| If God had not interfered we would have
| had three wars within the last tw o years
| war with England, war with Spain, and
| war with Turkey, this last joined by other
nations Transatlantic To preserve the
peaceful cquipoise which such men are
disturbing, we need divine balancing,
for which all good men oil both sides
the sea ought TO be every day praying
Again, prayer to God for those III 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 impertincnce. 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 except through
the supplcation that our text advises.
In that way we may be infinite rein
forcement. The mightest thing you can
do for a man is TO pray for him L sayif
the Bible be true, God answers prayer.
God does not in all cas- ses answer in
the way those who sent the prayer hoped
for, but He i'll all cases gives what is asked
for or something better. So prayers went
up from the North and the South at the
time of our civil war. and they were all
answered at Gettys burg You cannot
make me believe that God answered only
the Northern prayers, for there were just
as devout prayers made south OF Mason
and DiXon's line as north of it, and God
gave what was asked for, or something as
much more valuable as house and lot
are worth more than 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 1865 glori-
GUS 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 world on fire.
Yeai God sometimes answers prayers on
large scale.
Another reason why we should obey the
Pauline injunction of the text and pray
for all that are in authority is, that so very
much OF our own prosperity and happiness
are involved In their doings selfish
reason, you say. Yes, but a righteous
selfishness like that which leads you TO
take care of your own health and preserve
your own life. Prosperous government
means Il prosperous people. Damaged
government means a damaged people. We
all go up together or we all go down to-
gether. When we pray for our rulers We
pray for ourselves, for our homes. for the
easier gaining OF a livelihood. for better
prospects for our children, for the hurting
of these hard times so far down the EN-
hitnkment they can never climb up again.
Every prayer you make for our rulers. If
the prayer be of the right stamp and worth
anything, has rebound OF benedictien
for your win body. mind and soul.
In 1872 Holland was assailed. Her
people prayed nightly The ships OF
her enemies waited for the high tides on
which to come in. In answer to the
prayers offered, the tide, as never be-
fore, was detained twelve hours, and
before that twelve hours had passed a
hurricane swooped upon the enemies
ships and destroyed them. and Holland was
saved If God detained the high tide
in answer to prayer. viii he not hasten
it In answer TO prayer? Surely it has
been low tide long enough May the
Lord hasten the high tide of national
welfare. American citizensi our best
hold is upon God We have all seen fami
lies in prayer. and churches In prayer.
What we want yet TO sec is this whole
nation on its knees
DR., Talmage alluded to the written words
of Daniel Webster hermeticany sealed IN
a glass jar and deposited in the corner
stone OF the Capitol, the end of the doc
ument reading, God save the United
States of America" and said:
Are we not ready for the laying of the
cornerstone OF broader and higher
national life? The God OF Nations, who
hath dealt wit h us as with no other peo- |
pie, will preside at the soIemnizat tion. BY |
the square and level and the plumb OF the |
everlasting right let the cornerstone be |
adjusted. Let that cornerstone be the |
masoning together oft he two gra mite tables |
on whch the law was writ en- when Sinai |
shook with the earthquake. andinside that |
cornerstone put the Sermon on the Mount !
and scroll containing the names Of all /
the men and women who have fought nd |
prayed and toiled for the good Of this |
nation, from the first martyr of the Ameri-
can Revolution down to the last woman |
who bound up a soldiers wounds in the
field hospital. And let some one, wort by |
to do So strike the stone three times with
the gospel hammer, in the name of God |
the Father. God the Son and God the Holy
Ghost. Then let the building rise, one
wall Iaved hy the Pacific Ocean, and the
other washed of the Atlantic, until its
capstone shall be laid amid the shouting
of all nations, by that time free as our
own divinely founded, diyihely constructed
and divineIy protected Republic, the last
throle of oppression having fallen flat
INTO the dust, and the last shackle of
tyranny been hung up in museum as
relic of barharic ages.