Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1904-11-24
A THANKLESs NATION.

A THANKLESS NATION.
Here on h western continent this
season of the year awakens a national
consciousness. The Thanksgiving idea
suggests u country's relation to re-
ltgion. That a nation has obligations
to ehova will be the theme of hun
dreds of sermons within the next week.
There Is thus a measure Of timeliness
In this Sunday school lesson which
deals with one nations thanklessness.
For that is the story in a nutshell.
The divine favor had beer shown in a
peculiar degree to Judah: and Judah's
response a been forgetfulness and
Reputation of God. In excoriating
words h prophet portrays the ingrati-
tude and sin, and consequent suffering
of the chosen people.
The theme is one to be treated broad
ly; yet In countless Sunday school
classes. 1t Is to be feared, the time will
be spent In proftless quibbling over
dates and names and authorship and
other minutae Of criticism, which are
quite proper in the study, or in the
class room Of systematic students, but
have no place in the ordinary Sunday
school class. There Is no need TO go
beyond the text for sufficient lesson
material.
A NATIONS PROPHETS.
Where there is no vision the people
perish" The Jews were better served
by their seers than by their kings. And
1t still is true that the preacher has a
place III national life as important as
that Of governor or president. Men
who walk the higher levels, and, whose
eyes are clear to spiritual truth, are to
any nation What Isaiah was to Judah.
This son of Amoz had that which is
surest sign of a call" to preach--abil-
lty to see and say His eyes were open,
n his lips were their fit partners, to
utter what he saw.
The danger of every prosperous easy
going time. like the present, is that
lions watchmen will cry Peace!
Peace!" when there is no peace. 1t is
easy to run with the crowd, and to tell
them that the present way is the right
way. There is a pulpit jingoism In
things religious which is as dangerous
as political jingoism. Isaiah was brave
enough to Withstand the popular cur
rents, and at the risk of being called a
pessimist and a critic, show wherein
the people had departed from the d.
vine program. God help the nation
which fails Of men of vision who dare
to tell 1t the truth about itself.
WHEN A NATION GOES WRONG.
For nations wander from the path of
NANS cS Aal w. IL 10 10
possible for a whole people to sin as 1t
Is for one man. God is the God of ma
lions; and those which have best served
the race, n found the largest destiny
Tor themselves, have been alive with
the consciousness Of their obligation to
Jehovah. England's truest self speaks
In Kipling's mob lines;
Lore God OF hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget! Lest we forget!,
lsaiah's burden was that Judah had
gone wrong. The bitter truth that
wrung his heart was the s%infuiness of
mig country. Speaking for Jehovah, he
crled, IN graphic portrayal of Jewish
tngfatitude. Il have nourished and
brought up children, and they have
rebelied against me-" Then, line upon
Tine, he portrays the sinfulness Of a
nation. The OK and the ass were 10
such ingrates as these recipients of
special favor. It is an elouuently sad
and bitter wall that the old patriot ut
ters: for he loved his land, next only to
his Lord. Indeed. he Is a poor citizen
ana q poor Christian who can look un-
moved upon the sin of his country.
THE GREAT RIDDLE.
why will ye?" Isaiah cried. All.
why? That Is the riddle of ages. Why
do sinners sin. when the most foolish
see that to sin is to suffer? The prodigal
knows. better than any preacher who
portrays his plight. the bitter remorse
which Is the daily bread of the far coun-
try: and yet he will not come home.
None Sd well understands the sorrow Of
drunkenness as the drunkard. and yet
he still drinks. The delights of pure
love. and the torment, of unholy pas
sion. are more vivid to the libertine
than to any other: but he continues a
nbertine. Is there any other solution
for the great riddle than simply satan?
Judah. the backslidden. knew in her
own experience that righteousness ex-
alteth q nation. but sin Is a reproach to
any people" She was a conspicuous IL
~lustratton of the truth which has been
writ large upon the tombstones Of
many nations. that declension from
moral virtue means q waning of power.
prosperity and life. The cavalier and
dilletante may sneer at old-fashioned
morality. at the prosy ways Of God
seayins; truth-telling, home-loving:
sQuare-dealing folk. but whoever reads
the newspaper. OF older history. UNDER
s~tandingly. knows full well that these
virtues are the true pillars Of a state,
ana that when these become decayed,
the structure falls.
The IN wages Of sin are the things
Of death. SO Isaiah pointed out to
Judah. A. unsparingly az q good ply
sician he exposed the r~ottenness Of the
nation: from the sole OF the foot even
unto the head. there's no ~soundness in
Il: but wounds. and bruises. and fresh
stripes" AZ night follows the earth's
turning away from b SUM-, 20 surely
dos suffering succeed sin. Hear the
singing and ecorching way In which
the prophet tells the truth to the dere-
1lct nation: your country II d~esolate;
your cities aro burned with fre; your
land. strAngers devour It in your pres
|ence ana It = d~eeolate, ~ overthrown
by otTAngero."
chuNcHlY. oUT CROOKED.
Even WORSE. It appears, a. Isaiah's
.Iterrential address weeps on. was the
tact that IN spite Ct the nations grew
ouB SHINING, e still continued. { o exer-
cise the forms Of religion. Now q hypo-
critic = odlous In the sight Of God and
man. and Judah vas playing the hypo-
crite. While her heart wa rotten With
wlckednese. her lipe were of5erinw the
IWoFnhip prescribed BY Noes and her
hands Wose rcd with sAcrincial Offer
~. 30 deeply enukeu IN transgres-
etoa Wa the nakton that she did not
eyen percelve tha enotmity o. thu
Mpck6ey - Odd.