The Redwood gazette., 1902-05-28

naSI Win Inlne arm redeemed the
people from the 18th psalm.
After felicitous introduction,
Mr.. Mitchell continued:
''The greatness Of God, then, is
the first thing which Iwish to i'm
press upon your mind today. Oh,
how little we sometimes make our
God! How we bring him down to
our own finite limitations instead OF
looking upward aad being made
higher thereby ourselves. Think
| for little while and compare the
greatness of nature, the greatness
of men and the greatness of God.
No one can stand at night and look
up at the thousands and thousands
OF stars revealed to the human eye
without feeling that nature is won
derfully great. No,one can traverse
our boundless prairies or climb our
mountains or go out upon the ocean
and be surrounded by the vast ex-
panse of water and see nothing but
the water all around and the blue
sky overhead in all it's grandeur,
without feeling the greatness OF
nature. You cannot stand at the
foot of Niagara Falls and see the
mighty rush of water pouring over
with such great power without be-
ing impressed with the greatness
of nature.
And yet, although nature is great
in many ways, the speaker argued
from the achievements of men in
discovery, in science, and in the So
luton of the problems that have
b zen presented to him, that man is
greater still. =
Nature is great and man is great
er, but God is greater than all! We
make God so little, we define him
with our finite terms and all the
time he is leading and guiding his
people in wonderful ways. The
churches, sad to say quarrel and
fight over minor differences, but
God is over and above all and is
always trying to impress upon us
that great truth that he is a great
God, and only as we mount up to
the higher life shall we realize his
infinite greatness. Loyalty to coun-
try goes hand in hand with loyalty
to God. Intense patriotism and in
tense and deep religious fervor,
these things are combined and when
we come to think of God and our
national life we are compelled ITO
say with the psalmist: Who is SO
great a God as our God?p
Away back in the early days
men from foreign shores, with one
common thought, one great idea in
their minds, came to this country.
That idea was the liberty of the
human conscience. The result was
the first landing in Jamestown in
1907, company OF God fearing men
with clergyman of the church of
Eng land as their pastor. and then
later on, in 1920, the landing of the
Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth Rock,
the most devout and God fearing
of men, and as they unfurled their
flag in this new land they took pos
session of the country in the name
of God. Little by little was deep.
ened the consciousness of God S
presence and guidance.
Here the speaker dwelt upon the
religious sentiment which prevaded
the revolutionary period, and quot
ed John Fiske's statement that after
the completion of the work of the
first constitutional convention, the
members of that body bowed theil
heads in prayer and thanksgiving
to Almighty God for all that he hae
i done for them.
4 Another page of .our national his
tory was cited-the time when tn
comrades in blue left their home
and fresides at the call of LincolI
to defend their country's flag.
It is said that Lincoln. when b
) was called to take charge of our na
. tion at the beginning of that time c
strife and conflict, was almost
skeptic and was man who seidor
permitted himself to kneel, but du,
ing the dark days of the war tha
: followed we see the mighty Lincol
!. down upon his knees in PRAYER t