The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-05-23
PULPIT EDITORIALS.
Delivered BY DIR. Frank Crane at Trinity
Church, Chicago. Preceding the Usual
sermon Sunday, May ea, 1898.
SHALL WE PRAY GOD FOR VICTORY,
copyrighted. 1887

II is an old issue that has puzzled
many The Spaniards pray that they
may conquer, and to the ear of the same
God comes the request of the Amerl-
cans that they also may succeed Sup
posing both parties to have equal faith
and sincerity II is embarrassing for the
theologian 10 solve the difficulty, for
evidently God cannot grant the petitions
of both Those who hold that we should
pray for our countrys victory have a
good example; for David made no bones
of asking Jehovah to help him and to
scatter his enemies in confusion; he
besought the Deity, in a wealth of
imprecation, to confound those who I
fought him. But 1t seems to me the
teachings OF Jesus shed a new light |
upon this matter, and that common |
sense shows clearly the way out. What |
does God want us to do? To do right, |
and TO establish justice upon the earth |
When are we warranted in asking His |
help? Only when our cause is just |
Therefore our prayer should not be
that we may have victory, nor that our
foes may be defeated, for we are not
omnisclent, and perhaps this may not
our petition should be that we may be
lust and true, that our fight may be in
a holy cause; that our motives may be
kept free from unholy vengeance, and
that in all that we undertake we may
be found on the side Of justice, hui
manity and mercy / think Abraham
Lincoln, with his usual penetrating
good sense, saw through the theologi-
,fs <
that some clergymen once assured him
that 1.-The Lord is on our side" whereat
he replied, "Wen, my friends, l am not
so certain about our getting the Lord
on our side, but | am sure that we
ought to be mighty careful to get on
the Lords side"
The nation needs the prayers of Chris
tians. But this is not in order to Sc
cure some magical and supernatural
GOOD luck or fortune for our forces, but
il is in order to keep ourselves firm up
on the foundation of righteousness
For when q combatant is waging war
for a true and noble aim he has an
element of divine strength that evil
men cannot know. Said Sir Galahad:
..Nv good sword carves the casques OF
NV tough lance thrusteth sure.
NV strength is as the strength of ten
Because my heart is pure
Let us ever pray, then, that no pase
increment creep into our purpose we
have begun this war for truly heroic
and unselfish end, to free the oppressed
to feed the starving, to rescue the tor
tured. So long as we adhere 10 th'7
high object we may well dare 10 lace
any enemy and all enemies ana IRON
honest hearts we may beseech lou
assistance.
But we have even greater TASK De
fore us than the subduing Oh SPAN
That is a light matter, Tor country y
boundless resources TO crush inoi
bund and bankrupt nation Ihere
another, and moral success, however
that will remain to be secured anu ina
Is to convince the doubling woiiu 'n'
We ore not hypocrites. To do this W.
must adhere resolutely 10 our ue' mn
alton that we are not engaged IN
oaraar of annexation, that we are no
seeking to extend our domain nor !
oi,a dollars and cents out of this al
fair bv plundering Spain OF her POSSES
-, our president soemnly assure
~ world that we did not want CUBA
"a that we simply wished to reneV
. condition of internecine warfare ina
had become intolerable at our door'
Ono and ALL the leading organs OF pul
it, oninion outside of the United olale
and Great Britain, simply sheer at In
,rhan thew mention it at ALL Inc
,,,,et,y take IL for granted that we al
wing and assume as a matter Oh cur
thot we are out for pillage. Ihey COZ
siaer us utterly commercial anu 10
g. racognize the deep consclentioushe
os our people. Shall the assurnp.ioh
.hasa nnbelievers be borne out ny =
s.,ents 70 come? Shall our future COZ
49, GROVE that they know us pet'
than we know ourselves
e- v
A,uoaav signs are apparent IN LII
,ongress which was so rapio asa
"the cowardly commencement ~,
nasitated at war;" signs or iasl eio.
TIC sentiment in favor or maKihs eoi
thing out of our enemy. 10 pe su.
A. "a said. 1--WE began the struss" ~,
4, dis,nterested, but now tha' I'M.
are coming our way, we iiien. -, /,
" 80. ,ve don't lose anything by
Hence simply because the ror'une'
war have offered US oppoi
are 70 abandon our previous nas'o,
noI,cv we are to embark upon
snore,ess sea Of militarism, we are
enter the disgraceful interna aro
sarar,b,e for degrading we are
east our high-fiown protestations 70
wind and we are to brand oussu g,
With the mark Of Yankee inia, u.
Which the European nations nc
already prepared for u.s. 49, .,
things let us not do this. Ha Lawns :
amered spain, let us under. ,an .
Greater enterprise of conaue,,nS,
selves The insidious temp,at ao ,
smh,tion. Of a cheap national pr, .s,,
a az Political greed should resoiuteiy
put away 80.
Having subdued our stubborn ,o. |,
rs end even more magnanimousy
we began. Shall man take pay
,ssc,ing a drowning boy, or 10,
,rs a life from fre7 Shall We as ssr.
t,on take pay for performins We
M