The Progress., 1897-04-17

A Mighty Se1VAces
Again, prayer to God for those in au-
thority Is our only way of being OF any
nractioal service to them. Our personal
advice youfd be to them, for the most
mart. an impertinence They have all the
facts as we cannot have them, and they
see the subject In all Its bearings, ana we
can be of no help to them except shrough
the supplioation that our text advises In
that 1yay we may be infinite REINFORCE
ment. The mightiest thing you can do for
a man is to pray for him. II the old Bible
to true, and If it is not true 1t has been
the only imposition that ever blessed the
world. turning barbarisIn into civilizations
and tyrannies into republics-1 say II Tho
old Bible be true God answers prayer
You may get letter, and through forget
fitness or lack of time not answer It, but
God never gets a genuine letter that he
does not make reply. Every genuine
PRAYER is a child's letter to his heavenly
Father, and he will answer 1t, and though
you may get many letters from your Child
before you respond, some day you say:
ssThere! have received ten letters from
NV daughter, and I will answer them All
now and at once, and though not In just
the way that she hopes for, Will do 1t Ia
the best way, and though she asked mo
for q sheet Of music, will not give 1t to
her, for do not like the music spoken OF,
but will send her a deed to a house and
ts
in all cases answer in the way those who
sent the prayer hoped for, but he In all
cases gives what is asked for or something
better. So prayers went up from the north
l and the south at tho time OF our civil war,
/ and they were all answered at Gettysburg.
/ You cannot make me believe that God an
L sHered only the northern prayers, for there
l were Just as devout prayers answered south
l of Mason and Dixon's limo as north OF 1t,
and God gave what was asked for, or
\ something rs much more valuable us
house and lot are worth more than sheet
Of music. There is not good and inteih.
i gent man between tho gulf of Mexico ana
i the st. Lawrence river who docs not be-
lieve that God did the best thing possible
l when he stood this nation down In 1860 o
l glorious unity, never to be rent until the
I waters Of the Ohio and the Savannah, the
Hudson and the Alabama, are licked up
] by tho long, red tongues of a world on Ire
l Veal God sometimes answers prayers Ola
l large scale.
In worse predicament nation never was
| than the Israelitish nation on the banks OF
the Rcd sea, tho rafting shields and the
| Gathering hoofs of an overwhelming host
1 close after them. An army could just AS
easily wade through the Atlantic ocean,
from New York to Liverpool, as the Israel
ties could have waded through the Red
| sea- You need to sail on It's waters to rcnl-
lie how big 1T Is. How was the crossing
efectedp By prayer. Exodus XIV, 10:
"And the Lord said unto Moses: Where
. fore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the
, children Of Israel, that they go forward
, that is, "Stop praying and take the an
! swer" And then the waters began TO DC
: | agitated and swung this way and that
! way, and the ripple became billow, and
the billow climbed other pillows, and now
| they rise into walls of sapphire, and In
! visible trowels mason them into hrmness
, and the walls become like mountains, top
, ped and turreted and domed with crngi
, | Of crystal, and God throws an invisible
, chain around the feet Of those mountains
| 80 that they are obliged to stand stall, ant
! there, right before the Israelitish army, \
| q turnpike road, with all the emerald gate
swung wide open. The passing host did
a not even get their feet wet. They passes
I dry shod, the bottom of the sea as hard q
!. | the pavement Of Pennsylvania avenue, o
d New York's Broadway, or London
q Strand. Oh, what q God they had Or
= l think will change that and say, "What