Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-28
WE SHOULD sEEKFoR PEACE
While We Prepare Ourselves For War
and Discover Without Passion What
Our Duty Really Is-Dr. MerrI-
mans Sermon.

At Central Church, Sunday morning,
DIR. Merriam preached an admirable SER
mon, touching upon the present crisis
and the necessity of sober, cooler and
not impassioned action. The text was
from Mark xiii, rs: And when ye shall
hear of wars and rumors Of wars, be
not troubled; these things must needs
come to pass; but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom"
Dr. Merriman said, in part:
1t is at first sight astonishing to find
this affirmation of the necessity Of war,
coming from the lips of the king OF
peace. 1t is even more amazing that
10 centuries after he uttered his great
message of charity, such an enormous
proportion Of the numbers, the wealth,
the inventive genius, the fervent ener-
gies of the most civilized and Christian
nations on the globe, should be occupied
in war or in preparation for war.
War, broadly considered, Is only one
aspect Of that universal struggle for ex-
istence which goes on perpetually in the
whole realm of organized life and which
science shows to be the absolutely nee
essary condition of all progress. War;
in spite of its colossal evils, has been a
chief, though rough, instrument of hui
WHICH
tends to be modified and even suppressed
ed by the very progress of which it Is
the necessary means.
Christianity recognizes war because it
recognizes the fact of nationality, and
of nationality as the organ for the pro-
pagation, through comparison and emu
lation, of those great principles Of intel
ligenee and morality which constitute
the divine kingdom on earth Nations
70 ha ots -f~f,
only one manifestation of the vast vari-
ETY. with which the Creator has stocked
the world and, through which He has
chosen to reveal Himself. We need not
concern ourselves here with the uues-
ton whether this arrangement is final
or not. 1t is enough for us to consider
that it has always existed, and exists
today; and that it is the cause-perhaps,
the necessary cause-of human develop
ment, and so of war
AS between individuals and classes of
individuals in a civilized society belong
ing to the same nation, physical force is
made the prerogative of the state and is
exercised under the direction and by the
sanction Of laws enacted by all. Well
bred people do not settle their disputes
by their fists or by shot guns on the
street. But under the influence of long
training these things are handed over
to the sheriff and to the courts
But the relation that exists between
different individuals or between groups
belonging to the same nation, does not
exist between different nations Here
there is not precisely the same common
aim, the same general spirit, the same
institutions or laws, and especially not
the same sovereignty. There Is, of
course, that somewhat loose and unde-
fined code known.ss national law. There
are certain well Recognized principles Of
diplomacy. There is the wonderful
achievement of this century, the institu-
ton of arbitration. Here indeed is laid
great basis looking towards the ulti-
mate establishment of an international
sovereignty. But that is not yet reached
and meantime force, which means arm
les and navies In motion in war, must
be the final arbiter between nations.
OF course war is regarded as justifl-
able when it is waged in self-defence,
for self-preservation is held to be the
first law Of nature. But it is also evident
that those great readjustments, emanci-
pations, enlargements and reconstruct
tions Of the institutions, boundaries and
ambitions Of various nations which are
inevitable because of national life and
progress, because Of higher ideas OF hui