Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-07-27
For Sunday Reading
All 10 rfy Of Obinf0Ht
Divinity in Government.
rBy Rev. George Re;nsberger.]


1--WE are Christian nation fash
toned with the hand Of divine Provi-
dence: in the fundamental character
istics of our laws, the cooperative
power Of liberty and Christianity. be-
cause Righteousness exalted nation,
a righteousness founded upon the holt
ness Of God, a peace based upon the
political and religious rights Of man.
Christian imperialism: Paul sur
veyed the Roman empire through the
windows Of his prison and wrote the
Ephesian ep:stle on Christian imperi-
alism. In your metropolis there Is no
communication between the men who
ascend and the men who descend, and,
because there Is no communication,
your own ideal Of empire is not real
lied But we. Christians, worship
an ideal whose exaltation is only pre-
cious because it is the result Of a VOL
untary depression, in our empire the
man Jesus Christ who goes up Is the
same man Jesus Christ who once went
down We commemorate His ascen-
sion into power because He has as
cended into a power from which He
once descended.
HE desired to fill all things, to join
the extremities of the social LADDER.
In obedience to that desire he emptied
Himself. He gave Himself! He came
down into the haunts OF human misery.
OF .oualor. Of crime; He made trial by
contact OF what He had only known
afar off. He had all along the right
to rule by power but He desired 70
rule by sympathy. He wished Hls
government to be no arbitrary one,
but a government built upon the wants
OF men, responsive to those needs OF
ALL He came down to learn THESE
wants. and He has assembled only 10
give them effect. s'1e
"I4is ascention is. the lifting up OF
humanity He has carried INTO ,he
highest the report Of those tn'nss
which are required by the lowNest IN
the worship of His imperialism we
commemorate the filling OF all Things
Christ is all and in all.
"In every country that has played
any remarkable part in the drama OF
civilization, the co-existence has peeh
required Of % fitness Of physical en-
vironments. (2) fitness OF position IN
relation to other countries CD fitness
or the character Of the people, (a)
~rhere has never been blockade IN
tho nrogress of the drama of civil'za-
tfo,, neither pause in the rapidly OF
it's evolution.
rt is strange that nature, II blind
deaf and dumb should keep her Alex
.nders her Caesars her Napoieone'
her wa,shingtons, her Lincolns, for the
exact moment when they are required
r1io M
changes .,..,,,
HAS the ship OF human civlilza,.o.'
sailed Sc swiftly and pfosperousis
without the guiding hand OF steeIs-
man, driven by chance storms! Ane
waters it has traversed nave peeh ~
deep and open sea swept oy suilihe :.
hreezes. over which like derehct ~
might drift to its harbor. 1ne wafer
have abounded in narrow ana uaas
o,s passages, full Of rocks ana shoaA
and adverse currents.
"If It be possible for US 20 oe,'ese
that a ship without steam, Wi.hou'
rndder or without captain could ac-
complish such a voyage IN any ti,he
wa may likewise hold 1t probable tha'
the shin of human civilization has
sails 30 far in safety on its marrow
ana dangerous course without knowi-
edge. without choice and withou'
guiding hand. .,,,,.a
"God has set the Christian civiilza,
+,on of our country upon the pyramid
ton of opportunity; we are lookiht
dnwn on forty centurie0! Our countF'
has planted the Stars and Stripes upoi
gibraltar Of the ages which con''
mands the Christian civilization OF TN
worlds future"