Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1905-06-08
MEMORIAL SERMON.

quest that he permit its publication
in the local papers.
2 Tim. 2:3 q Al
Veterans of the civil war and women
of the Relief corps, we welcome you to
our services on this Memorial Sab
bath. We have invited you to join
with us in the worship of our nations
God, that God who has so marvellous
ly blessed us as people and so sing
ularly honored us as a nation, that
God whose providential oversight has
been so strikingly evident in all our
history and as q part of our worship
to listen to sermon appropriate to
the occasion. say listen to a sermon.
A sermon is religious discourse
founded upon the Word Of God and
designed to save men. Ihave listened
to discourses on Memorial Sabbath
that would have been magnificent ora
tiOns for Decoration Day but which
were not sermons. The temptation
that comes to minister to substitute
the patriotic Grafton for the gospel
sermon on an occasion like this is
strong one. | have felt its force my
self more than once, but without dis
cussing the propriety of such sub
stitution, ! have upon reflection come
to the conclusion that that was not the
thought of those who first suggested
memorial service on the Sabbath pre-
ceeding Decoration Day. | do not
think they contemplated two Memorial
OratiOns similar in character and
identical in aim delivered within the
space of few days. Whilst the Sab
bath memorial service like the exer-
cises of Decoration Day are held in
honor of those who gave their lives
for their country yet the Sabbath SER
vice should lay special stress upon
those moral and religious forces which
are essential to true national prosper
ity. The texts | have taken refer to
the Christian conflict against evil and
error in all their manifestations. The
Commander in Chief of the forces wag-
ing this warfare is Jesus Christ, and
it should be the purpose of everyone
of us to be good soldiers of Christ so
that when life's conflicts are over and
like Paul we are about to be mustered
out we shall be able to say 81 have
fought a good fight"
The qualities which rendered the
soldier in our war for the Union
worthy of special honor are deserving
of emulation by every Christian SOL
der and are essential to his fighting
a good fight.
Let us note the analogy between the
war for the union and the war for
Christian truth and righteousness.
I We see it in the character of the
conflict. The war for the maintain
ance of the union was absolutely just
and necessary. This is a fact that
time only makes the clearer.
The number of those who would de-
clare that the North had no right to
force the seceeding states back into
the union is decreasing as the years
90 by. Even in the South we find
many to acknowledge they were in the
wrong whilst ] have never heard of a
single veteran of the northern army
confessing to the injustice of the side
upon which he fought or suffering
from any conjunction of conscience
because he enlisted in the union cause.
1t must be a source of great gratitica-
ton to the veteran of the union army
to know that after forty years have
passed and the passions engendered
by that terrible conflict have had time
to cool, and we are coming to the
period when it is possible to review
the causes of that conflict in scien.
| tific spirit, camly and impartially
that the justice of his cause, the right.
eous character of his side becomes
| increasingly transparent as the year:
go by so that the verdict of the age:
will certainly be recorded for thu
| Northern side.
| Thrice armed is he who in the hea
of the conflict hath his quarrel just
and three times thrice exultant he whit
knows that in the victory his side ha
won justice and right have ais,
triumphed. And when it became ap
parent that the union soldiers wer
fighting not only for the preservation
of territorial lines but for the freedom
of a race in bondage, for the over
throw of gigantic wrong, for tn
purging of the American flag from
foul stain that had long been blac
blot upon its fair eScutcheon then tn
assurance of the justice of his caus
became dOubly sure and the satisfact
ion over the victory won is deepene
many fold.
The soldiers of Christ are fghtin
for the extension of his kingdom
the world. His kingdom is a kingdol
of Righteousness and truth. Arraye
against it is the kingdom of unrigh
eousness which is manifested in
great variety OF forms. Its head, il
JEFF Davis, SO to speak, is Satan,
rebel against the authority of God,
secessionist from the kingdom {
heaven. Its citizens are all those VIII
under his influence lend themselves I
do his bidding. Though these kinI
doms are spiritual and not defined b
geographical limitations they al
nevertheless real, as real as right an
wrong are real, as real as sin an
holiness are real, as real as trut
and error are real; and the confii
between them, though fought viii
spiritual weapons and not carnal,
a very real conflict, just as real {
that between the Northern and Soutl
rem armies. Christ is the Captain
the cross is the standard, the Bible
the sword, the church the organise
army and every Christian a voluntee
Those lighting beneath the bloo
stained banner of the cross have Il
same commentator of conscience al
the same satisfaction in times
triumph that those who fought benea
the stars and stripes enjoyed, u
same in kind though many times grea
err in degree and pertinent questit
for me to put to everyone within d
sound of my voice is this: Upon whi'
side are you Fighting? For Chri