The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-07-06

light, and there was light. The milen- nial day shall come as suddenly as the tongues of fire leaped out of the heavens when the Holy Spirit lowered over the heads of the praying, pleading, exultant Pentecostal worshippers
 If the millennial day is to come when the gospel shall be proclaimed unto all the nations of the earth. I ask you this pertinent question: What nation is better fitted to convey that gospel to all unevan- gelized nations than the American nation? Was not this nation, in the first place, founded in the name of God2 Did not old John Robinson stand upon the shore just before the Mayfiower sailed and dedi- cate to God the littleband of pilgrim fath- CTS? Was not the pilgrim band bound to- gether by sacred covenant to walk in all his ways made known, or to be made known unto them, according to their best endeavors, whatever it should cost? Was not Maryland settled in the rame of God and Pennsylvania in the name of God? On account of this past dedication of our forefathers, dare America refuse to carry the gospel unto all nations of the earth?
 'pIsgsllqM 10 hLoas V
 How the different religious denomina- tions are able to work side by side in America for the scattering of the gospel seed may be illustrated by an incident in the life of George Whitfield. One day the great evangelist stopped dramatically in his sermon and, looking up as though addressing the throne of the Almighty, cried out in interrogation, 70 Lord, are there any Presbyterians in heaven?" No" came back the answer. 70 Lord, are there no Episcopalians in heaven?" NO" again come back the answer. 70 Lord are there any Methodists in heav- en?' Mo-" "Who, then, are the denisons of fH0 rlyf tians all. "So in the scattering of the gos- pei seed by the American nation there are no religious sect In the sight of the Lord there are only Christians. The Calvin ists and the Armenians, the close commu- nicahts and the Congregationalsts, the Protestants and the Catholics, can work side by side because these different re- ligious denominations believe in the atone ment. They can and should scatter the gospel seed unto all nations because the American nation was settled and conse- crated by our forefathers to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ
 Americas second mission is emphati- cally the establishment of an interna- tlonal court of arbitration so | at bloody wars in the future shall be an impossibil- ity that a great international court of arbitration can be established by the united action of the ten or twelve princi- Rdl ndllOuS OI the WOTIu IS unQenlaDle, and that such a court will be ultimately established Is unquestioned. When such a court is established. the United States, England, France, Spain, Austria, Ger many, Italy, Russia, Japan and China will each have representatives upon that tribunal. Then when international diffi- culties arise these difficulties will be peacefully settled, as the Alabama claims were amicably settled before the Geneva tribunal which assembled in 1871, compos- ed of the five representatives which were furnished by the United States, Great Britain, Italy Switzerland and Brazil; as the Venezuelan claims were settled be- fore a tribunal which met in Paris in l9OO as the Alaska boundry line was ami cably settled and as the war claims against the Chinese government by the different allied forces are now being ami oebly settled.
 For Universal Peace.
 Now, my friends. what civilized na- tion on the face of the globe is better fitted to lead in the establishment of this supreme court of international ar bitration than the American nation? |? The different nations of Europe, I care not how strong some of them may be. are unable to successfully lead in this movement for universal peace because these nations are jealous of each other. These different European nations cannot do as they would, no matter how noble and Christian their motives may be, If they could do as they wished, they would have long ago wiped off the face of the earth that most cruel and corrupt of all governments, the government of Turkey When the Sultan gave orders to his sol diers to massacre in cold blood the Ar menians, great wave of horror rolled .lT z4.-4
 D. Gladstone was then a oying old man, he took up his pen and wrote a godike protest. Indignation voicing the senti- ment of every civilized government was heard alike in London, Paris, Berlin Rome, Vienna, St. Petersburg and New York; but, though men and women were slaughtered by the hundreds and the thousands, though in mid-winter young boys and girls were stripped of their gar ments and driven forth naked into the mountains to freeze and to starve and to die, though whole families were de- stroyed and whole regions desoated, yet not one nation of Europe was able to prevent or avenge the massacres because the European nations were Jealous of each other. The nation that would at tempt to obliterate the Turkish govern ment would have the swords of other European nations plunged at its heart.
 
 5000 miles from the European nations, is hand free foot free and heart free. It can lead in this movement to establish a supreme court of arbitration because all foreign nations will realize that 1t is not making such move to upset the "bslance of European power" or to ab- sorb new territory, and a Christian na- ton like the American which does not try to turn the sword into the plowshare and the spear into the pruning hook de- serves to lose its influence to fall from it's proud position as Q great and free na- tion and to perish from the earth.
 Recognizing the fact that many people are looking forward to the time when war shall forever be abolished, an imagi- native writer once described how that blessed condition was to be accomplished. He declared that the time would come when ali Europe would be convulsed by a great international struggle He pie tured that event in the dim future He arrayed every European nation upon one or the other side of the combat, but the night before the great battle was to open an angel in human shape would be seen going through the camps of the two ar mics. This visitor would stop long enough to pin upon every soldiers breast sign. And when the two vast armies should next day prepare for battle and the command should be given to the troops to fire not a rife would flash, not a sword would be unsheathed, not a can d non would speak. because the sign pinned upon every soldiers heart would be the sign of the cross. The picture drawn by this imaginative writer may be accepted as a truthful one except in two or three facts. He describes that day as in the dim future. I believe the day