The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-09-20

the war OF the Crusades, was captured
and imprisoned, but none Of his
friends knew where, so his loyal friend
went around the land from stronghold
to stronghold and sang at each win
dow snatch Of song that Richard
Occur de Lion lad taught him in other
days. And one day, coming before a
jail where he suspected his king
might be inca rcerated, he sang two
lines of song, and Immediately King
Richard responded from his cell with
the other two lines. and so his where
abouts were discovered, and a success
tul movement was at once made for
his alteration. So let us go up and
down the world with the music of kind
words and sympathetic hearts, sere-
nading the unfortunate, and trying to
get out of trouble men who had noble
natures. but by unforeseen circum-
stances have been incarcerated. thus
liberating kings. More hymnbook and
less razor.
Nothing Ever Happens"
Again, when read in my text that
the Lord shaves with the hired razor
OF Assyria the land of Julea l think
myself of the precision of Gods provi-
dence. A razor swung the tenth part
of an inch out of the right line means
either failure or liberation, but Gods
dealings never slip, and they do not
miss by the thousandth part of an inch
the right direction. People talk as
though things in this world were at
loose ends. Cholera sweeps across
Marseilles and Madrid and Palermo,
and we watch anxiously. Will the cpl
demic sweep Europe and America?
People say, That will entirely depend
on whether the incubation is sue
cessful experiment; that will depend
entirely on quarantine regulations;
that will depend on the early or late
appearance Of frost. That epidemic is
pitched into the world, and it goes
laundering across the continents, and
it is all guess-work and an appalling
perhaps" I think, perhaps. that God
had something to do with it and that
his mercy may have in some way pro-
tected us; that he may have done as
much for us as the quarantine and the
health officers. 1t was right and ne
cessity that all caution should be used,
but there have come enough macaroni
from Italy, and enough grapes from
the south of France, and enough rags
from tatterdemalions, and hidden in
these articles Of transportation enough
cholera germs to have left by this time
all the cities mourning in the ceme-
teries. thank all the doctors and
guarantees, but more than all, and
first of all, and last of all, and all the
time, l thank God. In all the 5000
years Of the worlds existence there
has not one thing merely happened
So" God is not an anarchist, but a
King, Father.
National Sins Punished.
Further, my text tells us that God
sometimes shaves nations. "In the
same day shall the Lord shave with
razor that is hired" With one sharp
sweep he went across Judea, and down
went its pride and power. In 1861 God
shaved the American nation. We had
allowed to grow Sabbath desecration
and oppression and blasphemy and
fraud and impurity and all sorts of
turpitide. The south had its sins, and
the north its sins, and the east its
sins, and the west it's sins. We had
been warned again and again, and we
did not heed. At length the word of
war cut from the st. Lawrence to the
gulf and from the Atlantic seaboard to
Pacific seaboard. The pride of the
land, not the towards, but the heroes.
on both sides went down. And that
which we took for the sword of war
was the Lords razor. In 1862 again it
went across the land; in 1863 again;
in 1864 again. Then the sharp instru-
ment was incased and put away.
Never in the history of the ages was
any land more thoroughly shaved
than during those four years of civil
combat, and, my brethren, if we do
not quit some of our individual and
national sins the Lord will again take
us in hand. He has other razors with
in reach besides war-epidemics
droughts, deluges, plagues-grasshop-
per and locust-or our overtowering
success may so far excite the jealousy
of other lands that under some pre-
text the great nations may combine to
put us down. Cur nation, so easily ap-
preached on north and south and from
both oceans, might have on hand at
once more hostilities than were ever
arrayed against any one power.
hope no such combination against us
will ever be formnd, but want to
show that, as Assyria was the hired
razor against Judea, and Cyrus, the
hired razor against Babylon, and the
Huns the hired razor against the
Goths, there are now many razors
that the Lord could hire if, because of
our national sins, he should undertake
to shave us. In 1870 Germany was the
razor with which the Lord shaved
France. Japan was the razor with
which he shaved China and America
the razor with which he shaved AFRO
CANT, oppressive and Bible hating
Spain. But nations are to repent in a
day. May a speedy and worldwide
coming to God hinder on both sides
the sea, all national calamity But
do not let us as nation either by I'M
righteous law at Washington or bad
lives among ourselves defy the AL
mighty.