Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-11-18
SETTLED In HEAVEN.
oa TALMAes ON DIVINE lNTERPoSi-
Ton IN HUMAN AFFAIRS. o

The Fate of Nations ms Wei as of In
div Idun's In Gods Hands - The
world Not COY .racd In n Haphax-
ard Way.
copyright. Louis Klopsch. 1891
WAsniNC OK. Nov. l2-The idea that
things In this world are at loose ends
aud going az haphazard is in this dis
course c.mbaicl 10y Dr. Talmagc. The
text is Psalms cxix. 80. Forever. d
Lord, thy word Is settled in heaven
This world has been in process Of
change ever since il was crcaied-moun-
tains born. mountains dying. and they
have both cradle aud grave. Once this
planet WAS al fluid. and no being such as
you or have ever seen could have lived
on IL n minute. Our hemisphere turns its
face 10 the sun and then turns its back.
The axis Of the earih's revolution has
shifted. The earih's center OF gravity is
changed. Once flowers grew In the arc
tic and there was snow in the tropic.
There has been a redistribution Of land
and sea. thr land crumbling into the sea.
the sea swallowing the land. Ice and
fire have fought for the possession Of this
\
IL different now from what IL once was.
Volcanoes once terribly alive are dead.
not one ihrnb of fiery pulse. not one
breath OF vapor-thc ocean changing its
amount Of saline qualities. The internal
fires Of the earth are gradually eating
their way to the surfaces-uphcaval aad
subsistence Of vast realms Of continent.
Moravians in Greenland have removed
their boat poles because the advancing
sea submerged them. Linnaeus records
that In 81 years a great stone was 100
feet nearer the water than when he
wrote. Forests have been buried by the
sea. and land that was cultured by farm
er's hoe can he touched only by sailors
anchor. L"ch Nevis of Scotland and
Dingle bay of Ireland and the fiords Of
Norway, where pleasure boats now float,
were once valleys AMI glens. Many Of
the Islands IF the sea are the tops Of
sunken mountains. Six thousand miles
Of the Pacific ocean are sinking. The d.
ameter OF the earth. according Ia scien-
fitc announ' rmrnt. Is $50 miles less than
II was. The entire configuration Of the
earth is altered. Hills are dcnudcd Of
their forests. The frosts and the wa
tiers and the air lombard the earth till il
surrenders fn the assault. The SO called
Everlasting hills" do not last Many
railroad companies cease To- build iron
bridges because the iron has n life OF its
own. not n vegetable life or an animal
life. but n metallic life. and when that
life dies the bridge goes down. Oxida-
ton Of minerals is only another term for
describing their death. Mosses and sea
weeds help destroy the rocks they deco
rate.
The changes 81 the inanimate earth
only symbolic the moral changes Soci-
ETY. ever becomes different for better or
worse. Boundary lines between nations
are settled until the next war unsctiles
them. Uncertainty strikes through laws
and customs and legislation. The char
acteristic 81 this world is that nothing in
Il is settled. At time when we hoped
that the arbitration planned last summer
nj The Hague. Holland. would forever
sheathe the sword and spike the gun and
dismantle the fortress the world has IN
hand two wars which are digging graves
for the flower Of English and American
soldiery. From the presence 81 such geo.
logical and social and national and inter
national unrest we turn with thanksgiv-
ing and exultation 10 my text and find
that there are things forever settled. but
In higher ATTITUDES than we have ever
trod. Forever. o Lord. thy word is set
tied in heaven
Fate Of Nations Settled.
High up in the palace Of the sun n;
least five things are scttled-that nations
which go continuously aud pcrsistently
wrong perish: that happiness is the re-
suit Of spiritual condition and not Of
earthly environment: that this world is n
schoolhouse for splendid or disgraceful
graduation: that with or without MS the
world Is 90 be- made over into n scene 81
arborescence and purity; that all who
are adjoined 20 the unparalleled One Of
Bethlehem and Nazareth and Gogoiha
will be the subjects 81 n supcrnal felicity
without any taking off.
DO sou doubt my first proposition-ihai
nations which go wrong perish? We
have In this American nation all the Gle.
ments Of pe-manence and destruction.
We need not borrow from others any
:rowels for upbuilding or torches for
demolition. Elements 81 ruin-nihilism.
iniidelty. agnosticiSm. Sabbath desecra-
tion. inebrieiy. scnsualty. extravaganza.
fraud: they are all here. Elements Of
safety-God worshiping men and wO-
men by the scores ~ millions. honesty.
benevolence. truthfuness. self sacrifice.
industry. sobrieiy and more religion than
has characterized any nation that has
ever existed they are all here. The
only question is a. 60 which ~ the forces
will gain dnminancy--the one class as
cendant. and this United States govern
ment. think. will continue as long as
the world exists: the other class ascend
ant and the United States goes into
ssch small pieces that other govern
ments would hardly think them worth
picking up.
Have you ever noticed the size Of the
cemetery ~ dead nations. the vast Green
wood and Pere IT, Chaise. where mighty
kingdoms were buried? Open the gate
and walk through this cemetery and read
the epiiaphs Here lies Carthage born
100 years before Rome. great commercial
metropolis ON the hay Of Tunis. n part Of
an empire that gave the alphabet 10 the
Greeks and their great language 10 the
Hebrews: her arms the terror 81 nations.
commanding nj one time 10000 miles ~
coast: her Hamilcar leading forth 30 my
RAIDS. or 100000 troops: her Hannibal
carrying out in manhood the oath he had
taken IN boyhood 20 preserve eternal IN
nifty Ia Rome. leaving costly and impos-
Ing monuments at Agrigentum a CHASTITY
hehp OF runs. thrthhge. het col"h"s "h
every coast. her ships blowing every sea:
Carthage-wl.rrs are her splendors now?
All extinguishe,i. Where are her swords?
The last one broken. Where are her tow
ers and long rpnges ~ magnificent archi-
lecture? Buried under the sands 81 the
Bagradas. A. ballast Of foreign ships
much Of her radiant marble has been ear
ried away TO build the walls ~ iransmed-
iterranean catbedrals. while other blocks
have been blasted in modern times @y the
makers ~ the Tunis railway. And all ~
that great and mighty city and kingdom
that the torrist finds today Is here and
there broker arch ~ what was once a
70 mile aqueducf Our talented and gen
ial friend. Henry ~ Field. IN one ~ his
matchless hooks 81 travel. lahors hard 70
nrove that the slight ruins OF that city