The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1911-02-21

Vl2As one of these from
the text. righteousness Exalteth a
Nation; But Sin is Reproach to any
People" proverbs xiv. 34). The speak
er said:-
Many besides myself surely were as
tonished to read the following extract
from the Wall Street Journal. under
the caption. what America Needs
what America needs more than rail-
way extension and western irrigation,
and bigger wheat crop. and mer-
chant marine, and new navy, Is a
revival of piety. the kind father and
mother used to have-piety that count
ed 1t good business 70 stop for daily
family prayers before breakfast. right
I'm the middle of harvest; that quit field
work a half hour earlier Thursday
night, so as TO get the chores done and
go to prayer.meeting. That's what we
need now to clean the country of filth.
of graft, and of greed. petty and big.
Of worship of fine houses and big
lands. and high office and grand social
functions"
This reached the eye of Bishop Can
dler. whose comment is so appropriate
that | cannot do better than quote it
here
This editor is right in calling us
back to more earnest forms of life than
all these things involved. He wants
religion In The home; he calls for lives
of prayer; he insists that we need the
most earnest type of religion to save
the country from moral wreck. And
he Is right But can we get that sort
of religion under the spur of the mo-
tive to which he appeals? Hardly.
1--WE cannot get u revival of religion
by seeking revival Of religion. No
where In Gods Word are men admon-
ished to seek religion or to seek re-
vival of religion. They are always
urged to seek God. All the revivals
Of religion which have blessed the
world In the history of the past have
come when men have undertaken to
seek God. None have ever come 9TH
erwise. We cannot deify even revival
of religion. God must be the supreme
object of our love and desire.
@Men Called Preachers Have Explained
Away the Word of God"
"Herein Is our trouble-we have lost
God. Men called preachers. have ex-
plained away the Word Of God. max
ing 1t no longer sure word Of proph-
ecy, but an antique for the critics to
analyze and discuss. The moral law
has been lowered. The ten command
ments have been reckoned as a piece
Of Mosaic plagiarism applicable to the
moral needs of ancient nomads in the
qualified bearing on the life of today.
The Sermon on the Mount has been
treated as AN iridescent dream
''The Lordship of Jesus Christ has
been denied. while treacherous COM
pliments have been poured out upon
his name. as that of great teacher
and a noble martyr. His teachings
have been defied or set aside wherever
they have stood in the way of ram
pant worldiiness or an insurgent ra-
ionalism. The outcome of 1t all Is
that multiplied thousands have lost
all knowledge of God In their souls.
To all intents and purposes God is
dead TO them. They take no account
Of His will In any of their plans and
doings, but live as If there were no
God. They are atheists without TAX
In ba ft-nt 70 lar fnr lxyt hn
atheism which they have inwardly ac-
cepted.
"The people must now be called to
seek God. He IL real, living Person,
and He will be found of those who sin
cerely seek Him. But He must be
sought as the supreme need of the
lives of men. He must be sought for
His own sake. He will not be found
of men who seek Him simply to RENE
dy bad commercial situation. or to
cure social and political ills. He will
not consent to be used as a sort of
celestial and omniscient chief-of-police
to help us suppress grating and steal
ing and RIGHTEOUSNESS.
at Is quite true that If all the peo-
pie turned to God they would be turn
ed away from every evil thing. But
they will never turn to God until they
feel that the worst disaster in life is
that one should fail to know our Heav-
emily Father. They must be made to
feel the sorrowfulness Of the orphan
age Of the soul until, like the prodigal
of the parable. they begin to say each
within himself. 4 win arise and go to
my Father
eve have had already too great a
disposition to try to use God for all
sorts of social ameliorations. moral re-
forms. and political renovations 1t is
time now we sought Him for Himself
alone. 1t is time we began to cry with
the PsaImist, Whom have In heaven
but Thee. and there is none upon