Year: 1865

The following sermon was delivered i
, Independent Church, Philadelphia, by Re,
John Chambers, Thanksgiving-day. i


!" Can ye not discern the signs of the times -
No man certainly ought to be an idle, in
attentive spectator of passing events in hi


relation to the signs OF the times. Compar


atively few of the great mass of men thinl


for themselves; hence they are the slave


and the dupes Of others. 1t Is known to tn,


world that there are no class of men on earth


or any nation of men on earth, who make


the same amount Of boast and triumph about


their liberties as the people of this land and


at the same time the many are carried by


the few. There are comparatively but few


men who have sufficient manhood in any Of


the general walks of life, or its business as


sociations, to think fairly, conclusively, and


clearly enough for themselves, and to act


from firm conviction of duty. This is


unfortunately true, religiously and eivilly,


in this country. How many Of the teeminr


millions of the United States have ever sat


down and carefully, judiciousIy and calmly


studied the Constitution Do YOU suppose.
4


ever did it? How then can a man know


whether the Government is administered


justly or unjustly if he does not know the


rule by which it is governed?


The past four or five years have been


among the most eventful periods in the


worlds history; never before were such


scenes witnessed as have been witnessed up


on the theatre of this nation. The great


experiment of selfgovernment has been


stretched to its utmost tension; we have


been on the verge of ruin, and confess that
| my mind is not satisfied that the ship of
State is entirely on the lee-shore vet, nor is


safely moored. There are signs in the polit-


ical heavens (which to me are portentous,


and the sea of life is fearfully agitated.
| Now We have the question: what is our
| present condition, and what are our pros


poets for the future? As l view it, our


present condition is appalling.


The speaker here spoke of The Christian


church, and stated that if the Bible had


been adhered to, the calamities of this


country would have been averted. Paul, in


his letter to Titus, advised him to obey the


magistrates, to be ready in good work, to


speak evil ofno man. But who at the pres


ent day, has that standard? Is that the
characteristic of the Christian church in


which We live? Are we gentle, showing


all meekness? have no reference to de-


nominations. What do / care about the


blatant noise we hear in regard to loyalty
What is it, | want TO know? If a man will
obey the Constitution and laws; if he is
| good citizen-you can call him BY what


name you please-that is all that concerns


one as citizen of this country. If man
does his duty as required by the great chart


of the nation, that is enough.


There is one grand test by which Chris
tians and the Christian Church are to be
known. The Savior said: "a new COM
mandment l give unto you, that ye love
one another; as l have loved you then We
also love one another" But, do we do it /?
Does that mean we are to kill each other
and wade in each others hearts blood, to
place each other in opposition against the
cannon's mouth and the piercing of the
sword? There is no religion in that. The
true religion consists in a true love for
mankind. 1t does not array men on the
battlefield, nor bring them into bloody
hostility. 1t does not enable them to tri-
umph and shout over each others woes.
Does it apply the incendiary's torch to your
dwelling? Does it abuse your wife and your
little children, and throw open the cod mis-
cries of the world upon millions of men,
houseless, homeless and penniless Can we
from this believe that the standard of piety
is up to the requirements of the Scriptures? ?


We have at present thrown upon the
world about four millions of human beings,
who never had any care or anxiety about
the future; and what is being done to better
their condition? / admit there is any
quantity of sympathy, but that neither shell
ters, feeds nor clothes these unfortunate
creatures, who are without friends or homes.
They are dying by hundreds and thousands,
these very unfortunate negroes, who have
been cruelty and unkindly treated in the
way in which they have been thrown upon
the world. If slavery was to be got rid of
in this country-if the people had wished
tit should have been done gradually. |
Theircondition is deplorable in the extreme,
and the hot breath of the pestilence is sweep
ing over them like the sirocco of the desert. |
1t is the duty of those who brought them to |
this condition to provide for them, for they |
are mostly that portion of the American |
people whose ancestors were chiefly concern |
ed in bringing African slaves to this coun- |
try, and who reaped immense fortunes
thereby the inhabitants Of the States of |
Massachusetts and Rhode Island should
take care of these people now. do not say |
they injured the negro by bringing him |
here; have an entirely different view of |
the subject. In their native Africa they
were merely animals; but here, their minds |
were raised from darkness and degradation |
and exposed to the consoling influences of |
civilization and Christianity. Was that
doing him wrong? / have always been |
e. II 10 II Eo.- 1
him treated with all kindness and humanity, |
and Christian sentiment, in his place, and |
nowhere else


Another frightful sign of the times is the
decentralization of the country-robberry, |
murder, drunkenness, and Sabbath desecra-
ton. Some say it is the result Of increased |
but that cannot well be true,
considering we have had a four years war in |
which we lost considerably morea than mil
lion people. 1t extends to all classes. In |
legislative bodies you can easily accomplish
your object; You can buy men. The ballot
box, about which we boast so much, is rotten
to the core, and our boasted defense is little
more than farce. You can buy men as
you buy sheep in the market. Hundred Of
of dollars yes, millions of dollars,
are spent in the great Presidential elections
for the purpose Of buying American citizens
to vote as you wish them. A man who calls
himself Republican requires his men to
vote the ticket he desires, or they lose their
situations. They say that such a man be APP
preached, and that means that You need have
no hesitation in offering him bribe to do as
you wish. If we do not extricate ourselves
from the whirlpool we are gone, and ire
so. We must be careful Of the
character of the men we send to represent us,
in the law-making as well as in the executive
departments Of the Government. Men in
limited circumstances are just the kind TO be
approached. They should not be sent. We
should have men Of property, and who have
some interest in the matter. .ft


Another alarming sign Of the times Is the
grinning spirit Of insubordination which
runs through all classes Of society. Boys
and girls Of the rising generation manifest
it 70 their parents, and so it goes on up 20 the
of law, both constitutional
and statute. was going to give you fact
in illustration, but / will not. You have
heared people talk coutemptuously Of the
Constitution Of the United States, and that is
enough.


Perhaps the most rightful sign of the
times is the assumption Of the military over
the civil power This, the kneil of all pre-
,-;oua ronuhlfcu haa r<.llaI fs.f tsr.or the |