Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-06-29


faith in God and dependence upon him.
The men who signed this paper were
brave men. The last few words which
Thomas Jefferson wrote at the end OF
the last page Indicate their courage.
And for the support of this declara-
ton we mutually pledge to each other
our lives. our fortunes and our sacred
honor" They pledged their lives Each
man knew that the signing of this doc
ument. which few hours later was
publicly read by John Nixon from the
balcony of the statehouse, made each
one of the signers traitor in the eyes
of England and fit subject for the
gibbet and Tower hill. yet when John
Hancock knew that he might be sign
ing his own death warrant he picked
up his pen and wrote in large. bold
letters his name. John Hancock" then
as he put down his pen he remarked,
There IS my name in letters so large
that King George will be able to read
them without spectacles!'
Faith Justified
The signers pledged their fortunes as
we'll as their lives. Had the insurrec-
ton been a failure their personal prop
critics would have been confscated.
When the millionaire. Charles Carroll.
signed the Declaration a bystander flip
PANTY remarked, There go few mil
lions of dollars if the cause is unsuc-
cessful." Yet so dead in earnest was
Charles Carroll to pledge his life. his
fortune and his sacred honor to the
cause of American liberty that lest his
name should be confused with that of
another Charles Carroll he specified
and individualized his name as he sign
ed it. Charles Carroll Of Carrollton."
But while the members of the Cont
mental congress of 1716 were brave
men, they were also, as class. pray
ing men. True courage and consecra-
ton are brothers. They were men
who believed in God. They were men
who. down upon their knees. reverently
and earnestly and intensely sought di-
vine light. In the famous historical
picture the members of the Second Con-
tinental congress are shown on their
knees in prayer. To the Christian
American student that picture ought
to be the most impressive historical
painting ever hung in legislative hall
or in foreign or domestic art gallery.
[ have seen the noted war pictures of
Berlin and Dresden. l have seen the
form of Emperor William l. in many
scenes. fianked by Won Moltke and the
/ nation builder Prince Bismarck. In
Paris have seen the Napoleonic pic
lures and in London the war pictures
| of Waterloo. where the pale faced Wei
lington immovably sits his horse.
| watching the destruction of the French
grenadiers. But in all the art galleries
| of the world there is no historical pic
/ turea that, to my mind. is so impressive.
| so significant. so full of inspiration as
| that historic picture Of the Continental
| congress in prayer.
Most of the members of that congress
| came from praying Christian homes.
| They assembled In the spring and sum-
| mer of 1776 to take the most mo-
mentous step which the citizens of any
| country can take. 1t was no light or
trivial act to renounce allegiance to
King George and to defy the power of
| the British government. These men
| well knew the consequences involved
| in such a step and realized the neces-
sity Of having divine guidance. One
| of the members arose and moved that
prominent Episcopalian minister of
Philadelphia should be sent for and
asked to lead the members in prayer
to God. Samuel Adams, think it was.
/ caanndod hot coid in h.
stance: II am not an Episcopalian, but
l am not bigot feel that Gods
hand must lead us in this national
crisis. l second the notion The mo-
ton was carried. The next day this
Episcopalian minister came to the leg
islative hall. He came in full canonical
robes. All the members knelt. l can
well believe that all must have joined
in the prayer that the God of the
lead and guide them. How on any
other assumption can we explain their
dauntless courage? 1t would have been
sheer temerity for those men to sign
that Declaration unless they had be-
lieved that God would be with them in
the struggle that must ensue. And
their faith was justified by the result.
The God who heard the pleading of the
Israelites in the wilderness heard the
prayers of that Continental congress. In
his providence England was not left
free to use her strength in crushing the
infant nation. The life and death
struggle in which she had to engage
nearer home curtailed her power, and
to that fact. due to the Overruling
mercy of God. our forefathers owed
their success. Oh. my fellow country
men. let Us on this anniversary eXer-
else the faith that our fathers had in
the God of nations. May we continue
to pray as our ancestors prayed in
1716 and in 1912 and in 1861. May we
feel as a nation that our God is q
prayer answering God, and that he will
listen to our petitions. whether lifted in