Year: 1863




the field, in meeting, driving back and oVt
d coming the enemy. In like manner We P
le our trust in Pope, and Burnside, and HOokt
o and HaIleck, and Stanton, and a host of OF


ers, prominent in the field and cabinet,-b
o only to find ourselves In each instance disa
IS pointed, and to learn they were all ike br
b ken reeds which could give us no support
e We must rest in God if we would not be CO.
] founded.


j In all the events which have been transpi
] ing among US since the war began, God ha
: been showing us in a very especial maune
thar He and not qce govern the world. In th
: presence of the awful troubles and disaster
which have come upon US, we must recogniZ
) the diUine hand.


There are many who will tell you exaetl
how this rebellion arose and will trace out al


its causes and effects even iD their most minut


details; but though 1 acknowledge the rebel


lion had its natural causes, yet feel assures


that when we have gone in this direction a
far as we can, when we have philosophical up
on the matter to the extent of our ability, VI
shall still find ourselves confronted with diff
culties whose only solution is the decree o
0mnipotence. We are forced to cry out witt
the Psalmist: 'Come, behold the works of the
Lord, what desolation he hath made in the
earth. He is terrible in his doings among
the children of men," If there be chapter
of American history crowded with proViden-
tial events and judgments, it is certainly that
which contains the records of the last two
years and half. Vain is the help of man,
Our hope must be in God, and with the Psalm
ist we must exclaim: "Why art thou cast
down, o my soul ? and why art thou disquiet'
ed within me? Hope thou in God, for
shall yet praise him for the help Of his eoun-
tenance."


know of no sentiment or conviction which
is more appropriate to our present cireum-
stances as a nation, or more calculated to give
us comfort, than this hope in God. What
does it involve?


l. A devout and filial trust in God as the
God of Providence, the God of nations as
well as the God of individuals. We believe
that all the events which are transpiring a.
mong us a nation, in common with all other
events, have been ordered of God and for wise
purposes, though they are brought about in a
way which interferes not in the slightest with
the free moral agency and accountability of
Gods creatures. For example, if slavery has
been the main cause of the war, as we be-
lieVe it has, then so far as the cause rests with
US, we are accountable for it and are suffering
the Just punishment of God for tolerating,
protecting and cherishing for so long time a
system at once the most wicked, crnel und un-
natural which can be conceived Of and one
which has always been visited with the divine
displeasure. And yet God, by his permission,
decree and providential doings, has allowed US
as a nation to foster this system and has per-
mitted it to work out its natural and legiti-
mate results. And though it has thrown as.
into great tumultion and involved US in civ
il war, yet who can charge God with folly Or
injustice, or find fault with his administration?
1t is impossible for him to make mistake
He has great and wise plan to accomplish
with regard to US as nation, and will allow
no one to thwart or circumvent that plan
There will doubtless be in the future, as there
has been in the past, great deal of misman-
agement on the part Of our rulers and Gener-
ais, but out OF these very errors God will work
some ultimate advantage.


Now have we not in this thought a stable





the roaring of the waves and try to peer out
into the midnight darkness which enshrouds
the future, may we not rest our souls on God
and smile with hope even amid the fury of the
storm? God sees the end from the beginning
and can cause both the victory and defeat of
enemies, and the discontinue and success of
friends to further his own designs. He who
numbers the very hairs of our head, who feeds
the young ravens when they cry, and without
whose notice not a sparrow falls to the ground.
is surely no Indifferent spectator Of a contest
which shakes the world and involves in its is
sues the most vital interests of christian civil
ization. He is not only interested, but he
takes part, and the chief part in this con-
test The principles for which we are con-
tending are Just and true in their nature, and
such as God has always approved, and we may
rest assured the struggle is has and intended to
secure some wise purpose. Some one has well
said 'while others are foundering in the bog
of endless conjecture and worldly calculation,
or tossed to and fro in the whirlpool of excit-
ed popular opinion, let US stand firmly upon
this Rock of ages, lifting up our heads in the
strength of filial trust and prayer. 1t is al
ways folly to try to walk through this world
by sight only; it is madness to do so now
| If we would not be confounded nor put to
shame, if we would look the future in the
face without dismay, we must learn to keep
step to the music of Providence, and say con-
tinually in our hearts, 'Alleluia, for the Lord
! God omnipotent reigneth.'


2 In connection with this devout trust in
God as the God of Providence, we must ex-
ercise spirit of patience and submission
| One would think we surely have had enough
/ to make US impatient, and much to tempt US
! to murmur and prove restless under the di.
vine ADMINISTRATION. When we think of the
terrible condition into which we have been
brought os nation by traitors who have laid
their ruthless hands upon interests dearer than
! life to us and our children; when we think
that the wretched ingrates, false to every prin-
ciple of gratitude and honor, are trampling
beneath their feet the flag which has waved
victoriously over hundred battle fields, and
which has been glory and a shield to the
American citizen both at home and abroad;
when we remember that the glorious Consti~
tuition purchased for US by our fathers with
their tears, their toll, their blood, and under
which we have SO prospered, is this day tot
tering beneath the foul blows of this wicked
rebellion, blows dealt by no foreign foe, but
o, shame l-parricidaL blows struck by the
very children she had nurtured and who had
shared in all that pertained to her prosperity
and glory; when we remember the reception
our cause has met with abroad, how christian
England, who has boosted of her freedom and
has so often reproached us for tOlerating sla-
very, how christian England has from the first
sternly set her face against us, when we are
contending for the very principles she has SO
pretended to honor; when we remember the
thousands uron thousands of precious lives