Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1899-07-07
NUMBER u.

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had ever heard. That book brought
George Washington down on his knees
in the snow at Valley Forge, and led
the dying Prince Albert to ask some
one to sing Rock of Ages"
| tell you that the worst attempted
crime of the century is the attempt 10
destroy this book, Yet inhdelity, loath-
some, stenchful, leprous, pes,itcrous,
rotten monster, stretches out its hand,
ichorous with the second death, TO take
the hand of this republic, 1t stretches
II out through seductive magazines,
and through lyceum lectures, and
through oaricatures of religion. II asks
for all that part of the continent al
ready fully settled and the two-thirds
not yet occupied. 1t says; give me
all east of the Mississippi, with the
keys of the church and with the Chris
tian printing presses, Then give me
Wyoming, give me Alaska, give me
Montana, give me Colorado, give me all
the states west of the Mississippi and |
will take those places and keep them by
right OF possession long before the Cos
pei can be fully intrenched.
And this suitor presses his case APP
pallingly. Shall the banns of that mar
riage be proclaimed? "No!" say the
home missionaries of the west, mar
tyr band of whom the world is not
worthy, toiling amid fatigues and ma
!aria and starvation. mo, not il we
can help It. BY what we and our chill
dren have suffered we forbid the banns
of that marriage!" "No!" say all patri-
otic voices. "Our institutions were
bought nj too dear price and were de-
Tended at too great sacrifice to he so
cheaply surrendered" "No!" says the
God of Bunker Hill and Independence
hall and Gettysburg. 81 did not start
this nation for such farce" mol
cry 10000 voices. "To intidelity this
land shall not be married."
But there is another suitor that pre-
sents his claim for the hand OF this re-
public. He is mentioned in the verse
following my text where it says: "As
the bridegroom reioiceth over the bride,
SO shall thy God rejoice over thee" 1t
is not my figure. It is the figure of the
Bible. Christ is so desirous to have this
world love Him that He stops at no hui
initiation of simile. He compares His
grace to spittle on the eyes of the blind
man. He compares Himself to hen
gathering the chickens, and in my text
He compares Himself to a suitor beg
ging a hand in marriage. Does this
Christ, The King, deserve this land? Be-
hold Pilates hall and the insulting ex-
pectoration on the face of Christ. Be-
hold the Calvarean massacre and the
awful hemorrhage of five wounds. ia.
cob served IA wears for Rachel, but
Christ, my Lord, the King, suffered in
torture 80 years to win the love of this
world. AS often princcsses at their very
birth are pledged in treaty of marriage
to princes or kings of earth so this ma
ton at its birth was pledged to Christ
for Divine marriage.
Before Columbus and his 100 men en-
barked on the Santa Maria, the Pinta
and the Nina for their wonderful voy-
age, what was the last thing they did?
They sat down and took the holy sac
rament of the Lord Jesus Christ. After
they caught the first sight of this coun-
try and the gun of one ship had an
nounced it to the other vessels that land
had been discovered, what was the song
that went up from all the three decks ?
GLORIA in Excelsis." After Columbus
and his 100 men had stepped from the
ships deck to the solid ground, what
did they do? They all knclt and con-
secrated the new world to God. What
did the Huguenots do after they landed
in the Carolinas? What did the Hol-
land refugees do after they landed in
New York? What did the pilgrim
fathers DO after they landed in New
| England? With bended knee aud up
lifted face and Heaven besieging prayer,
they took possession Of this continent
for God. How was the first American
congress opened? BY prayer, in the
name of Jesus Christ. From its birth
this nation was pledged for holy mar
riage with Christ.
And then see how good God has been
to us! Just open the map of the con-
tinent and see how it is shaped for i'm
measurable properties. Navigable
| -. -, 10
than any other land, rolling down on
all sides into the sea, prophesying large
manufactures and easy commerce,
Look at the great ranges of mountains
timbered with wealth on the top and
sides, metalcd with wealth underneath.
One hundred and eighty thousand
square miles of coal. One hundred and
eighty thousand square miles of iron
The land so contoured that extreme
weather hardly ever lasts more than
three days-extreme heat or extreme
cold. Climate for the most part brac'
ing and favorable for Drawn and brain
| All fruits, all minerals, all harvests
Scenery displaying an autumnal pa
geantry that no land on earth pretends
to rival. No South American earth
quakes. No Scotch mists. No London
fogs. No Egyptian plaques. No Ger
manic divisions. The people Of the
United States are happier than any peo
pie on earth. 1t is the testimony Of
every man that has travelled abroad
For the poor, more sympathy; for the
industries, more opportunity. Oh, how
good God was to our fathers, and how
good he has been to us and to our chill
dren. To Him-blessed be His mighty
name-to Him of cross and triumph, tt
Him who still remembers the prayer o.
the Huguenots and Holland refugees
and the pilgrim fathers-to Him shal
this land be married. Oh, you Christian
patriots, by your contributions ant
your prayers, hasten on the fulfillment
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