Year: 1866

tate the nrSG Qlspatcn sent over the
electric wire. When she was notified
of the completion of the work, she sent
this most appropriate sentence from the
Holy Bible: "What hath God wrought"
These were the first words ever sent
over the first complete line of electric
wires in America. None could have
been more appropriate. They were a
fitting recognition of the great
author of all improvement, and of all
benefcent changes.


When l consider our history as a ma
ton, its beginnings, its marvellous
changes, its wonderful developement
and growth, its material and moral
transformations, especially when con-
slider the history of the few years just
past, it seems to me it needs no divine
illumination such as opened the eyes
of Balaam to the wonderful experience
of Israel, to discover a divine agency
in our history. God is in it in so dis
tinct revelation, accomplishing such
purposes as harmonic with his reveal
ed character and will, that it would
seem that his sovereignty could be ig-
nored only by an atheism akin in its
madness to that of the undevout as
tronomer.


We can safely assume that it was a
purpose of God to establish in due
time in this western world an improv-
ed form of Christian civilization and


government. Here was the last great
field for the growth of a nobler, richer
manhood than the world had seen. 1t
was magnificent in its extent, varied in
climate from torrid heats to arctic
colds, bearded with great forests, with
a soil adapted to every form of animal
and vegetable life, its mountains rich
ly stored with mineral and metallic
wealth, surrounded by wide oceans
that were at once a defence, a high
way, and storehouse of food, with in
land waters and navigable rivers more
numerous and better adapted to the
necessities and convenience of a dense


population than those of any other
portion of the worlds surface with all
these riches as yet unappropriated, We
may we'll believe that God, had held
this magnificent domain in reserve for
no igno5le purpose-that here was to
be tried the last and best experiment
in human history.


And what wonderful discipline fit
ted our forefathers for their mission in
settling and establishing the institu-
tions of new country. Trained by the
struggle with king-craft and priest-craft
to harder manhood and a more in
telligent idea of government, and purer
views of religion, they were at once
prepared for the hardships of their
mission, and for its wise Inauguration.
Through the furnace of persecution
under Plantagenets and Stuarts,
through the storms of war between the
Parliament and the King, through the
governmental experiment of the Pro
tectorate, through the struggle for re-
! ligious toleration between the Papal
hierarchy and Protestant sects, God
fitted people for the great work Of
founding a new nation in this western
world.


And then how manifestly He rocked
the cradle of the nations infancy
How visible His hand in directing its
childhood and youth through the Yari-
Gus stages to manhood and independ-
ence and when that was attained
what wonderful growth and enlarge
ment He ensured-making US to full
fill the prophets vision"-A little one
shall become a thousand, and small
one strong nation" In two centu-
ries the wilderness had been peopled
with race made up from all lands.
and yet moulded by wise institutions
into a nation so hardy, vigorous, inge-
nious, brave, and rich, as to excite the
admiration and fear of the world Of
this people, as of Israel of old, it may
be said, the Lord treated them as His
people, and portion, and inheritance,
He led them about and instructed them.
He kept them as the apple of His eye.
He made them to ride on the high pla-
ces of the earth, that they might, eat
of the increase of the field. He made
them to suck honey out of the rock,
and oil out of the hinty rock.


And as truly as he designed, and
wrought, and. accomplished, a great
improvement in civilization, in morals,
and in government, in the experience
and by the example of the Jewish peo-
pie, so has He been accomplishing SINH
lar work among this modern people. of
His choice. Underlying their success
was the divine principles of govern
ment given on Mount Sinia. They
were successful and strong, because,
and in so far, as they conformed to the
laws imposed by the divine sovereignty
that they professed. to adopt. And as
Gods agency in the affairs of the Jews
was clearly manifested in the division
that He caused, and the scourges. of
pestilence, and famine, and war, that
He sent upon them to correct their de-
partures from principles of just govern
marked His displeasure and inhictSd
His corrections upon US, for our depar-
lures from the right way. Our funda-
mental laws and principles of govern
ment, like those of Israel, are from
God; and though their annunciation
was unaccompanied by the miraculous
phenomena of Sinai, they come not less
vislbly, to christian sight, from the Di-
vine Sovereign, and have interfused in
them the clearer revelation of the
christian code. 1t was not less than
an inspiration from the Sovereign of
the universe that prompted the noble
principles in "the Declaration of Inde-
pendence," and in the Preamble of our
Constitution, on which cur Govern
ment is professedly founded. The
truths held to be self evident, "that all
men are created equal; that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights,-that among these
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness-and, "that to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed"-that
the Constitution was ordained and es-
tablished in order to "form a more
perfect union, establish justice, and
secure the blessings of liberty" to all
the people-this was inpart conscious
ly, and altogether in fact, recogni-
ton of the divine Sovereignty, as it
was the embodiment, in human rule,
of principles of the Holy Scriptures
The same omnipotent voice is heard in
them that declared that "the rich and
the poor meet together" and ''God is
the maker of them all, that HE
hath made of one blood all nations"
of men, and, that as He is no respector
of persons, so also all just governments
should he eoual and imnartial in all