Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-02-14

were born We cannot In too many
ways honor that divine guidance. Some
time ago the president of the United
States had stricken OF one OF our ma
tional coins the famous motto first put
there by Salmon L. Chase-"In God
We Trust Our president Is devout
man whose motives are above suspi-
cion. He removed the words, he ex-
planned, because they were made a sub
feet OF ridicule. But many of us re-
greet the act The motto was appro-
pirate for nation with such a history
as ours. AS looked at those words
l could see the Mayfiower pilgrims
crossing the Atlantic to Plymouth rock
/ could picture the strange and Won
derful movements which led up to the
Revolutionary war l could see our
forefathers standing with the Declara-
ton of Independence I'm one hand and
with the constitution of the United
States In the other. / could see Wash
ington on his knees at Valley Forge,
and John Marshall and Alexander
Hamilton doing their work, and Thorn
as Jefferson and Livingston and Mar
Gus Whitman doing their work, and
Abraham Lincoln on his knees in the
White House. Each generation had a
work for a Moses to do. May we as
true patriotic Joshuas trust him and
continue to trust him In our hearts and
lives though the words "In God We
Trust" be obliterated from every coin
turned out from our national minis.
God has blessed our national life in
the past. And Joshua left nothing
80 oil Il =
ed Moses"
But when thinking of the great law
givers of our political life my mind
naturally turned to the great leaders
of our theological life. Some of you
know that it has been asserted that the
form of the United States government
was copied from the form of the Pres
byterian church Of old Scotland James
G. Blaine in one of his speeches claim
ed this fact TO be true; but, whether it
is true or not, one fact is certain-no
temporal government is better than the
prevailing spiritual creed If q people
have cruel, a malformed, q bestial
idea of divine truth, the government
of that people is sure to be a tlebased
government, and there is no exception
" ShC A0iC, SO UuCA VI Tue IUONeIS Oh
the amendments OF the constitution of
the United States, back of the signers
Of the Declaration of Independence,
back of Samuel Adams and Harrison
Gray Otis, we must find our John Eli
OTIS, and Roger Williamses, and La
sales. and John Enoxes, and Latimers.
and Ridleys, and Luthers. and Calvins.
and SavonarolaS, and all who have
tried to represent God to the world as
God of love. You could no more have
Plymouth rock without Marstou Moor
or the Declaration of independence
without Bannockburn than vow could
have physical body move and eat and
drink and walk without breath in the
nostrils. Our temporal governments
are only the echoes of our spiritual be-
liefs. The church or the mosque or
the temple always stands above the
legislative hall more potent than the
throne room, and there is no exception
to the rule.
A Broader Catholcity.
As the mighty lawgivers of religious
reformation have done their work
have they not left us some of thei
unfinished labor to complete? Shall
we not today get broader catholicity
a wider sweep Of Christ's true purpose
What is the use Of having all these diff
ferent Christian denominations. work
ing In many senses against each other
instead OF all the different members OF
the different Protestant churches wor
Shipping side by side? do you know
why gospel missions have made such
wonderful progress in Egypt?" asked
Rev. DR.. SmitherS in my presence 4
short time ago. at is because the
United Presbyterian church has prac-
tically the whole Christian work OF
that country. And If could would al
lot TO each sectarian church a country.
| would give China to the Methodists,
India to the Congregationalists, Syria
to the Lutherans, Japan to the Episco-
palians. And when one Christian de-
nomination enters a country 1 would
make the other Christian denominations
stay out. The curse OF missions is that
we send too many different Christian
denominations to convert one people,"
II DIR. Smithers is right as to the for
eign field, is not the principle applica-
bic to the home field? Would not one
large Christian church In an American
village be far better than four or five
differing sectarian churches trying to
do the work of that one same field?
And so, In closing, we come down
from the mountain tops which give us
a wide sweep of the church universal
and rest for little while upon the
doorstep of our own church meeting
house. care not where that church
building may be, whether at some
country crossroads or In village or city,
IL should be n very dear church to us.
And the more we worship In that
church the dearer it should become.
Why? Because its early struggles and
past troubles should make it seem to
us an Inherited duty from which we
would not escape. When we sit in its
pews 1t seems that our fathers and
mothers and all the dear ones who
used to worship within it's walls gath
er around us and bid us be true to this
church. They say: 1--WE have worked
hard to give it you. Our strength has
failed, and we fell by the wayside We
should have liked to do more for this
AA. 01u ShuiSh lhuH we ulu, Dut GOu
mas detailed You to complete our unfin-
ished labors. Do you not see those
dear faces lowering over you? Do you
not hear those dear lips pleading with
you" Oh. my friends. will you not
complete the unfinished iabors of those
who helped build your present church
home! And when you, as tired work
men, are called away, will not your
children and children's children help
cOmDlete the work which You haua not