Year: 1864

victories


What could have startled the na


tions more than crash IN the wall.


Of lbe new. young irm bail! Repub
I he on This Western Continent All


how secure we felt, how prosperous


We we're, hos The strength Of you'll


rioied IN our veins, how bold our


challenge to kingdoms and powers io
/ give Us free track how we lifted


ourselves on toward prouder and


more osershadowiag future, and strobe


forward as though to some supreme
place among the nations vacant yet un-
iii our coming. Then, when our eyes
locked, II our lips did not speak, the


old naughty boast Of that king whom


the highest Judged to eat grass with


beasts in the iield, in the very fullness


Of our pride aud power and hope God


struck staggering blow. The ma.
/ ton reeled under it, stunned, bleed.


ing, aghasi The jealous Kingdoms


raised themselves on tiptoe to see our


anguish and ruin. Especially did
/ that power that brooks no rival on the
seas, sailing on, mistress of commerce


and Of ocean, "lie to" TO see founder
ing ship that had more than once ta-
ken the wind out Of her sails, 90 down,
quick into the depths. No, not yet,
| Oh, boasied mistress of the seas" not
even with your treacherous help


God meant tuition not destruction,
lie arrested us with this dreadful
shock, not that we might find it mortal,
but that we might heed lis hand
whose voice We had refused TO hear,
learn his judgments, and by this pause
and this rebuke made wise concerning
God, start airesh on career Of ma
tional growth.


And Il God meant tuition, what
was the lesson? Have any OF US
thought that God would give Us ma
tional prosperity and length OF days
while we still hugged great sin TO
our heart and refused to unciasp our
arms; that we could say in general
and vague confession, 40 be sure the
thing is wrong, but il is inconvenient
70 put il away, and God will not
judge US harshly nor punish US sharply
--see, he smiles upon us with fruitful
seasons and thriving trade and growing
wealth, and ever enlarging national
life" Have we rested upon such II
iacit com jact with God? Have we
thought Of him as such an one that we
could approach him acknowledging
our guilt and yet clinging to it as
,touily as ever and reapng the prof
its OF it? Ii he be silent when we
make such practical overtures untohim,
he consents TO our Interpretation Of
his character What i: this falsely
presents him ? Then must lie clear
himself Of completely with evil by
breaking his silence and denying in
testimonial judgments this awful ca
laumny.


BE is gracious and long-sufferirg.
He is slow to wrath. He had endu-
ring patience with us and our great
internal ucerous wrong. He would
not hurry our work Of sell-exirication,
nor demand its performance while we
were struggling for life in our cradle.
But when we grew strong, and stood
at our ease, and lived at leisure, and
had none TO molest us, or make us
afraid, and il rested with our
selves 10 say whether we would
shelter .he abomination any longer
under our brooding wings, and he saw
US dallying with it, and pelting it and
nursing it when it showed signs Of in
irrvty, then it was time for him 10
teach US by convincing demontsra-
ton that he was not God TO take |
pleasure in our unrighteousness, and
that this careless and easy presumption
that be was altogether such an one as
could not 60 on.


There was Il way we had of saying 1
We must live. Self-preservatoa
is our first duty. This wrong thing is |
30 built into the national fabric that we
disengage or remove il without
tearing down the august temple itself.
1t is hard that we should be self.de-
tor the sske Of roofing up evil. /
Here is undrniably cancer, but il Is
on our yitals, and we cannot cut it out
lest we cut mortally for our own lie.
Let II alone and il may wither up
and die cut. Our developing consii-
tuition may oufgrow it. We may
have strength by and by 10 throw il of.
Why should we slay ourselves to put
an cnd to this sofes So we reasoned.
blind TO the great truth that while
God reigns it is always safe 10 do
right. We kept the mischief iuyio
ate, intact, for our saiely's sake.
And God struck to show US that
wrong and danger 90 together; that
be that will save his life shall lose il
hat far Was Of avoiding peril was the
.hort and certain way TO destruction;
hat instead OF life with the evil, out
u tile evil there should come forth
heath and lie revive only with The
ielerminate surgery that should cut
he evil clean away.


Has God left Us in bis great iudg-
neni At all uncertain as 10 the provo
.ation. Tie juigment was civil
gar with all its horrors, gigantic