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"Thb path of the just is as thb shining light, that 
 
 8HINBTH MOBS AND MORE UNTO THB PERFECT DAY." PBOVBRBS 
 
 iv: 18. 
 
 SUCH a light is George Washington. 
 Bead again the story of his life ; hear 
 once more from his lips the declara- 
 tion of his deep convictions ; listen to his 
 wise counsel and to his prophecies con- 
 cerning America's future; and you will 
 be amazed at the light which shines from 
 Washington upon that fateful path on 
 which his countrymen are marching to- 
 day. 
 
 During his term as president the condi- 
 tions in Europe resembled those now ex- 
 isting. To use Washington's phrase, "the 
 whole world was in an uproar." His ad- 
 ministration began as the French Eevolu- 
 tion commenced. Then the Bastile was 
 stormed, a Paris mob rushed to Versailles, 
 and the king was dragged to the Tuil- 
 leries, a prisoner. While Washington 
 
 * A sermon preached by the Rev. Ernest M. Stires, D.D., on Febru- 
 ary 17, 1018, in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in com- 
 memoration of the birth of George Washington. 
 
»63 
 
 was guiding the destinies of a new nation 
 dedicated to liberty and law, the govern- 
 ment of France was seized by Marat, 
 Danton and Kobespierre. Keligion was 
 scorned, and unbridled license masked as 
 reason had been worshipped in the form 
 of an unclad woman enthroned upon the 
 altar of Notre Dame. 
 
 When you recall Washington's prob- 
 lems as a soldier, statesman and presi- 
 dent, when you live over again with him 
 the first precarious years of this republic, 
 and see with his eyes the condition of 
 Europe, you will understand how reason- 
 able it is to expect light from Washington 
 for our day, and you will be prepared to 
 heed his message. 
 
 Few of the great men of the past have 
 had the good fortune to hear their great- 
 ness acclaimed while yet they walked the 
 earth. Fewer still have had that rare 
 earthly immortality of a steadily increas- 
 ing fame. History binds these two gar- 
 lands on the brow of Washington. Today 
 his fame is as secure from detraction as it 
 is beyond man's power adequately to 
 honor. The ablest statesmen of England, 
 the men against whom he fought, among 
 them the brilliant elder Chatham, des- 
 cribed him in glowing words the like of 
 which has been applied to no other man. 
 If we are to limit ourselves, for the mo- 
 
 2 
 
ment, to a single tribute to Washington 
 let it be that picture which Thackeray 
 draws for us in "The Virginians" : 
 
 "The chief of a nation in arms, doing 
 battle with distracted parties; calm in 
 the midst of conspiracy; serene against 
 the open foe before him and the darker 
 enemies at his back; Washington inspir- 
 ing order and spirit into troops hungry 
 and in rags; stung by ingratitude, but 
 betraying no anger, and ever ready to for- 
 give; in defeat invincible, magnanimous 
 in conquest, and never so sublime as on 
 that day when he laid down his victorious 
 sword and sought his noble retirement — 
 here indeed is a character to admire and 
 revere, a life without a stain, a fame with- 
 out a flaw." 
 
 This is a unique description of moral 
 grandeur. I^o one has claimed for Wash- 
 ington the brilliant intellectual gifts of 
 Hamilton or Jefferson, yet these men have 
 eloquently recorded their wonder, their 
 admiration and their confidence in their 
 leader's wise decisions. To Washington 
 the universe revealed a God of law and 
 order; human history demonstrated the 
 working and the power of moral law, the 
 development of a divine purpose. To this 
 law he submitted with rigid self-disci- 
 pline, and to the fulfilment of the divine 
 plan he consecrated himself. Every great 
 
problem lie referred to that high supreme 
 court Avhich was always in session in his 
 soul, and when he received and announced 
 the decision the intellectuals and the 
 "practical" statesmen were amazed yet 
 convinced. 
 
 Says a historian of Virginia, "After serv- 
 ice one Sunday morning, in the summer of 
 1774, surrounded by the congregation, 
 every one of whom he well knew, Washing- 
 ton advocated withdrawing allegiance 
 from King George, and stated that he 
 would fight to uphold the independence of 
 the Colonies. No more solemn time or occa- 
 sion could have been chosen. With calm- 
 ness, in a spirit of prayerful deliberation, 
 he announced his momentous decision 
 under the very shadow of the church. 
 Nine years after, when that independence 
 had been sucessfully established and the 
 long-contested fight so bravely won, hav- 
 ing resigned his commission at Annapolis, 
 he was free to turn his face toward home. 
 His arrival at Mount Vernon was on 
 Christmas Eve. The next day found him 
 once more in his accustomed seat in the 
 church at Alexandria to hear the tender 
 message of peace and good will that was 
 proclaimed like liberty throughout the 
 land, and no one bowed in deeper grati- 
 tude than the great general, who came 
 as humbly as a little child to this, his 
 
Father's House/' (Dr. Clark's "Colonial 
 Churclies of Virginia.") 
 
 For four months Washington presided 
 at the sessions of the Constitutional Con- 
 vention in Philadelphia, and in those four 
 months he spoke but once and briefly. Yet 
 the brilliant members of that Convention 
 have recorded that the quiet force of that 
 silent man was greater than any other in 
 the framing and adoption of the Constitu- 
 tion. Before the convention assembled he 
 had expressed to a friend the hope of his 
 heart, and said "Let us raise a standard 
 to which the wise and honest can repair. 
 The event is in the hands of God." In the 
 atmosphere of that brooding prayer our 
 Constitution was born. 
 
 The fiirst inaugural address is unsur- 
 passed in literature for lofty idealism. 
 In it we read that "the foundation of our 
 national policy will be laid in the pure 
 and immutable principles of private mor- 
 ality . . .;" that '^ there exists in the 
 economy and course of nature an indis- 
 soluble union between virtue and happi- 
 ness, between duty and advantage, be- 
 tween the genuine maxims of an honest 
 and magnanimous policy and the solid re- 
 wards of public prosperity and felicity;" 
 and a declaration of faith in " the eternal 
 rules of order and right which Heaven it- 
 self has ordained." 
 
It is not strange that God used this man 
 of moral vision and courage for the ful- 
 filment of essential parts of His plan for 
 mankind. We can understand Gladstone 
 declaring that he almost idolized Wash- 
 ington, and that he considered him "the 
 purest figure in history." As we look up- 
 on that figure he seems to grow to heroic 
 proportions ; we become more conscious of 
 America's debt to him; indeed, there 
 comes a sense of personal obligation. We 
 have gathered here to acknowledge that 
 debt. Here in a house of God which is to 
 be the greatest cathedral of the Western 
 hemisphere ; here with patriots who have 
 consecrated themselves to the duty of 
 keeping alive the sacred fire upon the 
 altar of our country, we have assembled 
 to pay tribute to Washington. This we 
 owe not only to him, but to the genera- 
 tions that shall follow. But we have also 
 come for a greater purpose, — to hear his 
 message for America in this hour of des- 
 tiny. 
 
 You will not find it difficult to believe 
 that Washington has been following with 
 intense interest every phase of the prob- 
 lem which his country has been facing for 
 more than three and a half years. It may 
 be you would not find it hard to think of 
 him in France today, at Lafayette's side, 
 where perhaps God has permitted him to 
 
serve from the beginning. It would not be 
 surprising if the spirit of Washington 
 was the first American enlisted in a con- 
 test which involved not merely the free- 
 dom of a nation but the freedom of a 
 world. 
 
 He was never a moral neutral. Patient 
 with ignorance, he blazed with indigna- 
 tion at injustice, cruelty or disloyalty. He 
 was a man of high decision, endeavoring 
 to know the mind of God, and having de- 
 termined for himself the moral character 
 of a crisis, he acted at once with intelli- 
 gence, courage and force. We may be sure 
 he has sympathy for those in authority; 
 that he recognizes the weight of responsi- 
 bility; that he understands that often it 
 is hard to determine quickly what ought 
 to be done. IN'evertheless he would re- 
 mind America that the faith of her 
 fathers, the ideals which gave her birth 
 and are her life, the marvelous way in 
 which God has fashioned a great people 
 out of a score of nationalities, place an 
 obligation upon this country for moral 
 leadership, not for reluctant following. He 
 would bid us see clearly the vast world- 
 problems which must soon be determined 
 by justice, sympathy, and a respect for 
 the essential foundations of civilization 
 and human happiness. But he would also 
 urge us to be aware of our own perils. He 
 
would have us deal justly with every class 
 of our citizens, but he would have us deal 
 roundly with either capital or labor if it 
 sought a selfish advantage because of the 
 country's need, willing to imperil a great 
 cause, and to coin the blood of heroes into 
 traitorous gain. 
 
 Surely Washington would call us to be 
 a people of high decisions, of moral pur- 
 *pose and prompt action. A historian of 
 our own time makes a comment upon the 
 Farewell Address which possesses unique 
 significance, as that historian is now 
 President of the United States. Says Mr. 
 Wilson, "The circumstances which had 
 given his services a temporary value, he 
 told them, were passed; they had now a 
 unified and national government, which 
 might serve them for great ends. He ex- 
 horted them to preserve it intact, and not 
 to degrade it in the using; to put down 
 party spirit, make religion, education, 
 and good faith the guides and safeguards 
 of their government, and keep it national 
 and their own by excluding foreign in- 
 fluences and entanglements. 'Twas a 
 noble document. No thoughtful man could 
 read it without emotion, knowing how it 
 spoke in all its solemn sentences the great 
 character of the man whose career was 
 ended." 
 
So wrote the man who is president today. 
 May the virtues of Washington still abide 
 in the White House; a patriotism above 
 party or personal advantage; an execu- 
 tive ability which guides without compul- 
 sion, and controls without destroying, a 
 wisdom which can learn and which sur- 
 rounds itself with the wise and capable; 
 a complete devotion to the honor and pros- 
 perity of the nation; an abiding faith in 
 a God of wisdom, love and justice ; and a 
 reasonable respect for all the groups of 
 men who are striving loyally for our na- 
 tional progress. In this momentous hour 
 Washington would bid his fellow-country- 
 men to stand upon high ground, and to 
 make wise, courageous and prompt deci- 
 sions. 
 
 The second note in Washington's mes- 
 sage would be that of calm confidence in 
 the result of our high decisions. By our 
 faith in God, by our memory of many bless- 
 ings and the reward of loyalty in the 
 past, the man who knelt in the snow at 
 Valley Forge and committed himself and 
 his starved, ragged, frozen men to the God 
 of nations for the fulfilment of His pur- 
 pose, bids us never to doubt, never to 
 slacken, and to maintain with increased 
 glory America's fame for carrying on to 
 completion whatever she feels it her duty 
 to begin ! Should dark hours come, should 
 
some grow timid and doubtful, let the 
 calm confidence of the man of Valley 
 Forge bring them back to themselves and 
 to the service of their country. 
 
 There is one other note in Washington's 
 message, as we hear it today. It is the 
 note of optimism for the future of this na- 
 tion and its influence upon the world. 
 Even in the beginning he was quite cer- 
 tain that God was developing America for 
 moral leadership, and in a letter to Lafay- 
 ette he predicted her vast wealth and 
 power. He would fill us with gratitude, 
 courage and hope. He would have us 
 see our destiny as he sees it, then for 
 our task put on the whole armour of God, 
 and confidently expect the fulfilment of 
 a divine plan. This is his message to us at 
 this solemn moment; that we be men of 
 high decisions, calm confidence, and of 
 hopeful vision for the future. 
 
 The better we know Washington the 
 more certain are we of his rejoicing 
 today. He can afford to forget his dis- 
 appointment at our delays in his happi- 
 ness that we answered the call, that we 
 know we are in a holy war, and that the 
 fiower of American manhood in France, 
 on the sea, or ready to go, are of a quality 
 to make even the soul of Washington glow 
 with pride. He expects of them great 
 things ; he will not be disappointed. 
 
 You who are gathered here do not need 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
to be told that you are the custodians of 
 the high ideals for which our armies will 
 fight. Here on American soil will be fought 
 one of the greatest battles of the war 
 — a spiritual contest for the purpose of 
 bringing the body with its passions and 
 selfish ambitions into subjection to the 
 soul of a patriot. Then our returning vic- 
 torious heroes will face not a people heavy 
 with sordid desires, but a people renewed 
 like themselves, and ready to work with 
 them for the rebuilding of the world. 
 Washington would hid you to 'prepare for 
 this at once. 
 
 In olden times there was an interesting 
 service called the Feast of Lights. The 
 church would be filled at night with a 
 great multitude, each person carrying an 
 unlighted candle. At a given signal every 
 light in the church was extinguished ex- 
 cept one light on the altar. Then the 
 priest would advance with this light to 
 lighten others, and these would kindle 
 others, until in a few moments the 
 whole building would blaze with light. 
 Then every man and woman went home, 
 lighted through the darkness by the beam 
 which the altar-light had kindled. The an- 
 cient custom easily impresses its meaning 
 upon our hearts. But it has an added sig- 
 nificance for us today. We have been con- 
 templating gratefully the brightest light 
 
 11 
 
in our historj^ ; "the path of the just is as 
 the shining light, that shineth more and 
 more unto the perfect day." Surely we 
 are ready to kindle our torches of patriot- 
 ism at the clear, steady light of Washing- 
 ton, gaining new inspiration and courage 
 for the sublimest tasks ever offered to 
 man. 
 
 An American who recently returned 
 from France described an interesting con- 
 versation with Marshal Joffre, in the 
 course of which the great soldier drew 
 from his pocket a letter written by a 
 French mother to her son living in Can- 
 ada, and with unsteady voice he read : 
 
 "My dear boy : 
 You will be grieved to learn that your 
 two brothers have been killed. Their 
 country needed them and they gave every- 
 thing they had to save her. Your country 
 needs you, and while I am not going to 
 suggest that you return to fight for 
 France, I will only say if you do not come 
 at once, never come." 
 
 A man must answer the call of this hour 
 or lose his soul. Kindle your torches, men 
 and women, let no one fail or falter. Fol- 
 lowing our beloved Captain, inspired by 
 the devotion of our brave lads, encom- 
 passed by a host of heavenly witnesses, 
 one of them our Washington, we go to 
 claim a patriot's share in the holy war. 
 
 wa4 
 

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