The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-11-08
SERMON BY REV. J, LEE M1roHE1n.
Delivered Last sunday at Grand Avenue Congregational chwroh as Follows, THE MISSION OF THE GREAT RE-
 PUBLIC.

tOhNreSutAOMuA CnNroh as EOllOWss THE MISSION OF THE GREAT RE-
 PUBLIC.
 Rev, II15.
 The first civilized race or tier of civi- lized races, for 1t was not certain they were of one race, invented the family and writing; these are the oldest in- stitutions of men. Love reached TO- mantle force, domestic relations a re- finemert in the old valley of the Nile m;lleniums before Christ, never sur passed since.
 The second tier of civilized races in- vented were inspired by, had revealed to them, the conceptions of God and the d'yine leadership of men. In no semi nary or church, in no believing heart of this day, is clear vision of spiritual re- aiities more sought and sighed for than it was by the great Semitic seers and leaders.
 The third tier of civilized races in- vented or lifted up as world wis ble phenomena the ideals of political ac,iv- 1ty and liberty. Between this Graeco- Roman civil Zaton and ours there is nothing just nothing at all, yet to be compared to these majestic achieve ments of dead and gone empires. Be- tween ourselves and the Roman enl- pire there is nothing but beginnings, experiments, catastrophes new begin- nings, and no nation to-day claims to be possessed of ideas or Institutions such that anything short of miracle of good nature and intelligence can keep 1t from fresh catastrophe. On tTe one hand we are confronted by millions that are no longer content to be on y fed, but demand share in the conf rts and privileges If living. The persuad- ing of the barbarous not to cook their steaks under their saddl S, the church's gorge ous dominion, the brief empire of Spa n being closed out now in job ts, the holy frenzy of France for getting rid of hunlbugs convulsng Europe from Gibraltar to Moscow, come now to the utter poltrooning of a Dreyfus case, the rehabilitation of Germany in the interest of a by-gone absurdity of the divine right of kings, the great com mercial empires of England and Amer ica fraught with an oppression of man by man never surpassed on earth. A e these things to be called achievements? lhe last millennium and half has nothing else to show.
 Is it realized that the only answer given by the highest spiritual and po- litical authorities is t'cally that the word is but a vast training camp any way: all man is expected to get out of it is his training and then go hence to live his life elsewhere, according as he has proved himself here The answer given by low authorities is that the world is place for man to have just as good a time as he can without any more injury to his fellows than he can help. And by authoritias sonnet mes high and sometimes low we are told that the great institution of m der1 times. it's germinaI idea, is dem acracy, government of the people by them selves. Tor this all the experim mt ng since the dust began to settle on AtFe ems . and Rome has bfen. They trace the contribution of every land and revolu- ton, every brief success and lorg fail- ure to this; this we are told is about to be realized and perfected in the ar at western republic, and this is the rrea t. est and worthiest idea the world ever had.
 DO they mean that the present politi- cal exhibitions in New York and Phila- de1phia are to be compared with the achievements of Memphis and Thebes, where they sat rob-d in the rich purple oe their contented and abundant fanli- ly lie to be with Jerusalem in her glory when she made the songs of Je- hovah the songs that shall never die. sbo, cI,a 4o J go, ernment organized and just, and created every citizen statesman?
 10 they mean that there really is any power in government itself to make the government good? Do they mean to nitrate that there is a people on earth that do not govern themselves that have not just what government they want and deserve? If the mission of the modem world ideal'zed in the great republic is to teach men to want good government it is a great mission, but what art, what charm, what hither- 1o unknown force does democracy pos- sess to make men want good g7vern- ment or to want it enough to make my personal sa arifces to get it? If there be no other cons rving and nerving principle in our civilization than de- nnocracy. then we may rest assured we also are only an experiment our civili- zation never destined to rank beside the Cushite Semitic and Graeco-Ronan, TO say nothing of uniting them under one glorious triple diadem of family love, political life and divine aspiration.
 There remains as(not one of you has already) failed to note one fact of our era rooting back into the otheTs as all great facts must, fact entitled by it's political significance, if nothing more, to tl>e first place, the birth of Jesus, called the Christ. Whatever man be- lieves or does not believe concern ng him. even if he does not believe such a man ever was, there Is no disruting that the face of the earth ard every chanter of history is different because he lived or is supposed to have lived. But different to what purpose? Ger tain1y not to giving stability to our civ ilizet'o on The dea h and teachings of Jesus seem rather to have so intensi- fled the difference between good and evil to have reused the belief in ideals and so thrown open the gate to them to every man, that trey have actually in- creased the insecurity and unrest If our
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