o, *«> • » * •J v *6? «o *%,•"•-$* *V» •■• A? ^ " 1 *^ v V »I^L'* «>6 aP • ;,•«?* > V »L!nL', *P^ : ^6* A ■0. *i*^»i£%^,*' *T>v a"* *■ vV o^ *o . * * A A SERMON DELIVERED BY Rev. John W. Sayers Department Chaplain ON SUNDAY JULY 1st, 1894 AT THE Encampment of the Dept. of Pennsylvania GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. QETTY5BURQ, FA. TsiSb SERMON. Hitherto hath the Lord helped vs.— I Sam. vn : 12. Samuel was one of the most remarkable men of any age of the world. From his birth, through long years until his death, his life is a study for the philosopher and statesman, and an example to all men who would fulfil a useful mission in the world. Dedicated before his birth to the office of a Nazarite, he was, at a tender age, conse- crated in the tabernacle to the order of the Jewish priest- hood. He was the last of the Judges of Israel and the first in the line of succession of the prophets. In his childhood, while sleeping in the Tabernacle, God revealed to him in a vision the calamity which would befall the house of Eli. He saw the sad realization of that vision, and witnessed the miseries of Israel during the following years of their forgetfulness of God and their disobedience to His laws. He warned his people against their idolatry, secured their promise of repentance, and gathered them together at Mizpah for a reconsecration, where, by liba- tions, fastings and prayer, they renewed their covenants to God. At this well-remembered spot', just twenty years before, the Philistines had attacked and overcome them with great slaughter, leaving thirty thousand of their footmen dead upon the field. This same enemy had heard of their second assemblage at Mizpah, and had again come up against them to do battle. Israel was unprepared for fight. Their mission was one of humiliation and repentance, and not of war. . Unarmed, and in the presence of hostile forces, they realized, in' their extremity, that nothing but divine intervention could help them. They called upon Samuel, who prayed earn- estly and made sacrifice unto God in their behalf, and God heard and answered his prayer by a great thunder, which discomfited the enemy and gave victory to Israel. Samuel commemorated this event by setting up a stone, and call- ing it Ebenezer, saying, in the words of the text, "Hitherto the Lord hath helped us." These words start the thought that God dealt with Israel as He dealt and is still dealing with us. Events, easily traced through their career, may, as we shall pres- ently see, as easily find their counterpart in our own his- tory. We can but make them a subject of serious inquiry, in order that their experience may serve us in similar straights against the calamities they suffered, and preserve us against the temptations to which they so easily yielded. Samuel saw the close of the theocracy, a government in which, since the days of Moses, God had been recognized as the Supreme Ruler. Against his better judgment, he bowed to the will of the people, and anointed Saul as the first King over Israel. He lived to witness Saul's down- fall, and anointed David his successor. There was both far-reaching faith and retrospect in Samuel's reply or declaration. The Lord had wonderfully helped Israel through years of obedience, and had merci- fully borne with them in long seasons of disobedience. He had fulfilled his promise to Abraham by bringing his descendants to their .home in the Land of Canaan. There had been dreadful servitude in Egypt, long wanderings through the wilderness, hard fightings in even the land of promise and of hope. Sufferings and privations had been their lot during many years ; all through whieh the re- markable providence of God had left the history of His people overflowing with recollection of mercies, deliver- ances and Divine interpositions, enough to have secured ages of loving trust and obedience. Forgetfulness and ingratitude, those dominating sins of the human heart, had led Israel far into disregard of the terms upon which they were to possess the land. £ ^ "3 i * *n. They neglected to subdue it. They forgot the com- mand, given upon Mount Sinai, "Thou shalt have no other God before me." They had not kept themselves apart from the enemies of Jehovah, but had associated with them and followed their wicked devices. It required frequent punishment and oft-threatened dangers to recall their allegiance to the old faith. In these great straights, they pleaded for mercy, and it was freely given. They in- voked God's blessing, and His banner over them was love. Upon the very eve of destruction they prayed for deliver- ance, and the finger of the Almighty stirred the elements to the discomfiture of their enemies. So, Samuel set up the "Stone of Help," a crude and simple monument, com- memorative of God's helpful presence in the hour of ex- tremity. His forbearance with Israel had been very great. They were His chosen people. Through them all the families of the earth were to be blest. Through Moses, the L,aw-Giver, was to come the enlightened legislation which was to form the basis of all the humanizing codes of the future. From the lineage of David was to come the Messiah, and, through that line, was to be established and perpetuated the evangelizing processes through which all nations are yet to be lifted up toward God. They were to cast upon the water of Galilee the seeds of civil and religious liberty, which, after many days, should come back to all shores in the blessings of ^ree and enlightened government. They were to establish for the coming ages a creed of faith and obedience which they themselves should, for a time, forget, but which shall be embraced again, at their great rejoicing, when the song of their har- vest home shall be sung upon their restoration to the be- loved land from which they have so long been wandering. Samuel's words were retrospective in expression, but deeply prophetic in their meaning. "Hitherto" was an electric flash of retrospect over nearly nine hundred years of Israelitish history, from Mizpah back to Ur of the Chaldees. It was also, by implication, a prophecy to all coming time, a warning against national wickedness, a promise of Divine protection to be secured only by obedi- ence to God's commandments. From trie hour that God said to Abraham, "Get thee out of thy country," forward to the intercession of Samuel at Mizpah, Israel had been wonderfully helped and mi- raculously delivered. Through famine and plenty, through slavery and freedom, through wanderings and restings, through war and peace, through disobedience and faith, they had never been forsaken. How wonderful the providence ! He had not dealt so with any nation. Notwithstanding these mercies and de- liverances, how long would His forbearance continue if sin should predominate ? This stone of help should be a constant reminder both of deliverance in the past and pos- sible danger in the future. It is a monument set up for us of the present, a perpetual warning against unfaithful- ness as emphatic as it was for Israel before it reached the height of national grandeur under Solomon. We are to draw our lesson from this great truth to-day. To no other nation since Israel have the words of the text applied with greater significance than to us. To no other have the warnings of danger from disobedience to God applied with greater force. Indeed, between the Hebrew history and our own there runs a parallelism which becomes to us a matter of interesting and instructive contemplation. (Be- tween their civil institutions, where enlightened principles of government were intermingled with divine revelation, and the growth of our policy upon the basis of that reve- lation, there is a striking resemblance?) With faith in the divinity in man, we are stretching out toward the infinite in humanity. Israel went out from a land of physical bondage into a land where God had promised that they should become a free and mighty nation. They wandered through the wilderness before their des- tination was reached. Before they could occupy the coun- try which was to be their home, they had to subdue the land. Their progress from Egypt to their abiding-place among the hills of Palestine became marked by historical epochs almost typical of the world's great future. So the pioneers of our civilization came out of a land of spiritual bondage into an uncultivated wilderness where the corn- fields were to be carved from the primeval forests, where the pathways were to be hewn through rocky hillsides which had remained in undisturbed repose since the crea- tion, where freedom was to expand her wings and rise to heights hitherto unattained, where national independence and an abiding-place for true liberty were to be conquered from the domain of a savage and merciless foe. The Israelites early provided for the education of their children under learned and experienced teachers. They set up their tabernacle for religious worship in the wilderness. They drew their laws from divine revelation, and for defence formed a confederacy of eleven tribes and two half-tribes, and codified the foundation principles of their government into a written constitution. So the founders of our Re- public built schoolhouses for education in the midst of the woodlands and erected churches for worship on the hill- sides. They enacted laws for their government based upon the decalogue, and for mutual protection formed a confederacy of thirteen independent States. By a written constitution (the second only in the history of nations) they bound these States together into an indissoluble union. In our early history, weak in numbers and inex- perienced in war, we prevailed over stronger foes, and, trusting in the God of hosts, we became a worshiping and religious people. Surely, God has helped us. Go back in our history and trace the remarkable providences that have proved our help, moulded our institutions and established us as a Government of the people. The Genoese discoverer and the Spanish cavalier brought with them religious faith and the aggressive spirit of missionary zeal, but it was the religion of superstition and bigotry, and the bloody zeal of a spiritual bondage which 6 bowed the neck to the thraldom of an established church. For four hundred years it has not given to the territory that it conquered a much better civilization than it found. It has not lifted men above the brutality of unsanctified nature, nor drawn them away from the narrowing influ- ences of a false worship. It has not raised them to their higher estate under the liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Spain colonized the West Indies, conquered Mex- ico, and carried her victories, together with her undesirable religion, into South America. God seemed to hold in abeyance her baneful influence North of the Rio Grande. Who that reads history can doubt God's providence to- ward us in this? Over this land, upon which religious and civil liberty were to find their highest development, the shield of Divine protection was held. For more than a century the angel of the covenant stood at the Southern gate with flaming sword, until the evangel planted- the banner of the cross in the midst of the little colony at Jamestown. The advent was not heralded by sound of trumpet nor established by force. It came not under the parade of bigoted religionists nor was it accomplished by spiritual adventurers. It was not attended by zealous missionaries. It was the spontaneous emanation from the silent and un- conscious influence of the representatives of a nation already partly imbued with the spirit of the Gospel of Christ. Between 1607 and 1776 many serious civil and religious differences among the settlers from various na- tionalities had to be settled by the colonists, in all of which the finger of the Almighty seemed steadily pointing toward freedom of conscience and deeper religious convic- tion. Here, amid all the terrors and desolations of an un- relenting border warfare, Christianity became the genius of the people and numbered its triumphs in the midst of the most adverse circumstances. In every settlement, however humble, churches and schoolhouses sprung up, spreading refinement, education and faith in God among the masses, thus preparing the way for the Declaration of Independence. Through all the adversities of the War of .he Revolu- tion, through the privations of the camp and the sufferings of the battlefield, in the contentions of a few feeble colo- nies against the oldest, best-organized and most powerful nation of the earth, the Lord was helping us. There was the steady unfolding of a fixed purpose, then not even comprehended, but now clearly seen, in which, under God, the people were building the foundations of a mighty empire, deeper and better than they knew. Who that has read the story can doubt the providence that directed this nation in that most critical and fearful struggle? The war was over, and victory came with an exhausted ex- chequer, an unpaid army, ah enfeebled semblance of Gov- ernment, a dissatisfied and distrustful people and a stormy political outlook. The fretful and fitful period between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution was the most trying epoch of American history. The country was upon the verge of dissolution, sailing between monarchy and anarchy. Who that has followed the Federal Conven- tion through its dissensions, and can realize the weakness of a Government exhausted by war and held together only by a rope of sand, can for a moment doubt that a Pilot of more than human attributes stood at the helm and guided the ship through the dangerous channels of that perilous transition. When shattered finances had to be restored by unwonted monetary skill, when international confidence had to be secured by the most heroic methods, when a lost commerce had to be won again, gathered up, indeed, from the debris of a thousand wrecks, even from the grasp of red-handed piracy, the genius of man was inadequate to the task. From many a devout Christian heart, from many a God-fearing household, there went up to Heaven earnest prayers for deliverance. Even those who were unaccustomed to prayer appealed to Almighty power for help in their distress, and God heard and signally answered their petitions. Through the light of present revelation, we look over the storm-tossed waters and realize that none but the Voice that calmed the midnight tempest on the Sea of Galilee could still the howling winds and dashing waters that threatened the life of the young republic. The Constitution was the rainbow that succeeded the storm. It was God's pledge of promise to the newborn nation, provided it proved faithful to its sacred trusts. It was the harbinger of a glory not yet attained, but to be realized upon conditions of obedience to God and trust in His omnipotence. " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us " was the acknowledgment of every Christian soul, when the fearful ordeal of reconstruction had been safely passed. The wisdom of our statesmen, through Divine help, had conquered and secured for us a season of rest and recuper- ation. A short period for growth and development (a quarter of a century) passed, when war again clouded the sky. The result proved that the Lord was still upon our side, and that Christian equality and free institutions, as with the Hebrew Commonwealth, had found favor in His sight. Still, we had not purged ourselves from blood-guiltiness before the Omnipotent Judge of human actions. We had but weakly struggled against an evil that we were not strong enough to control. It had become a cloud, no longer lingering along the horizon, but was now mounting upward toward the heavens. Human slavery, that political leprosy which was slowly destroying, to the very bone, the flesh of independence, which had shrivelled the strength of manhood, palsied the God-given will of men and oppressed the soul, still existed under the protection of our laws. The taskmaster cut the cruel lash into the flesh of the bondman, while the owner bartered the life-blood of both men and women in the market for lucre. It was in vain that philanthropic and enlightened men protested against the iniquities of the unnatural institution. It was in vain that the genius of 9 liberty wept over our inconsistencies. It was in vain that the world before which we paraded onr civil institutions as an example pointed at us the finger of scorn and poured upon us the epithets of contempt. Slavery existed, flour- ished, and continued to secure additional favor from our National Legislature. It was the one blood-spot upon our escutcheon, which, like the mark upon Cain, told the world of our disgrace, without bringing vengeance upon us for our sins. Those interested in the perpetuation of this great civil wrong became defiant, as human advance- ment threw the searchlight of progress upon its iniquities, while the indifferent friends of liberty, like the nominal friends of God, remained at ease in Zion. The Ark of God's Covenant with the American nation had not yet found its permanent resting-place. The insti- tutions which were to give permanence to our nationality were not settled beyond peradventure. Our national sins had not been entirely forsaken. We still worshipped the strange gods of a foreign land. The time arrived when we must destroy this great idol or be ourselves destroyed by the false worship under which we bowed down be- fore it. Hitherto the L,ord had helped us ; but a culminating point had been reached when His help was once more needed, and when His help alone could save us from de- struction. Now, that help would not come uncondition- ally, would not come without great sacrifice upon our part, the sacrifice of life, of blood and suffering. Out of the centre of that great iniquity God evolved the storm. Along its fiery pathway the friends of treason, disunion and secession hissed their dreadful threatenings. Rebel- lion, like a cyclone, swept through the South, and on up toward the geographical boundaries that separated slavery from freedom. " But thus far shalt thou come," said the fiat, "and here shall defeat and discomfiture arrest, thy onward march." 10 The great proclamation of January, 1863, at the conclu- sion of which President Lincoln added, " I invoke the con- siderate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God," established before the nations the justice of our cause and gave earnest of a governmental power which relied upon the assistance of Heaven and which would yield to no defeat. It was the great thunder at Mizpah re-echoed at Washington, which went reverber- ating over the hills and along the valleys and down the rivers of our country until the sounds were lost in the dashing waves of the great waters which bound our con- tinent upon every side. God set at naught every infamous scheme for the destruction of our Government and decreed that the links of our chain of union, forged from triple bars of steel should never be broken. " He had sounded forth the trumpet that should never call retreat ; He was sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat." Out of that rebellion came freedom to the slave ; out of it came the genius of liberty ; out of it came a greater humanity and a more earnest and fervent Christianity. Out of it came a purer patriotism and a more profound reverence for our National institutions. Out of it grew that important and useful brotherhood — The Grand Army of the Republic ! The close of the Revolutionary War and the close of the War of the Rebellion exhibited marked contrast in the condition of the public mind. The patriotism was as pure and the instinct of fraternity was as great in both cases ; but between the two periods there had grown up an abiding faith in the ability of the people to rule, and a profound conviction of the stability of a Government founded upon the brotherhood of humanity. The officers of the Continental Army associated them- selves as the "Order of the Cincinnati," to perpetuate their traditions as companions in arms. Like Cincinnatus, they had been called from the plough, had served their country 11 faithfully, and were about to return to their homes. They wanted to preserve old memories by fraternal union, but left out of their consideration the rank and file, who had encountered with them the danger, shared the privations, and won the victories of the war. The country received the proposition with cold distrust. The people denounced it as a dangerous innovation upon Republicanism. The State Legislature censured it as unwise and mischievous. Not so at the close of the Rebellion. There was no dis- trust at the organization of the Grand Army of the Re- public. The country was proud of the achievements of its arms, and grateful to the men who had offered their lives in defence of the flag. They hailed the new brother- hood as a guarantee of patriotic devotion to the Constitu- tion, and they have never been deceived. Twenty-eight years of peaceful organization have sufficiently demon- strated their loyalty and usefulness. It was the stone of help set up at Mizpah, and, as to-day we call it to remem- brance, and look back upon its history, we are led to ex- claim, " Hitherto the Lord hath helped us." This brief historical outline, suggested by both the occasion and the text, leads to the belief that in the order of God's providence, this nation has its mission to the world in the lifting up of men to a higher condition than ever heretofore attained. God's prophets have looked for- ward to a period when this world shall indeed be a fore- taste of the world that is to come, when man shall form one universal brotherhood — happy, loving and holy. The Church of God, in its drawing together in Christian fel- lowship, in its broad sympathies and divine and heavenly aspirations, realizes the possibility of such an earthly state. Israel had received the high commission from divine authority to introduce this millenial condition to the world. Jerusalem was a type of Heaven, the temple was God's dwelling-place, the Shekinah was the visible manifestation of deity, from which His oracles were audi- bly delivered. There God revealed, through inspired 12 prophets, His will concerning men. What a glorious mission ! But it failed through disobedience and sin, and left the God-given work incomplete. Had Israel been true to its trust, the civilization of the world would have been as far in advance of the present as we are in advance of the religious and social condition of a thousand years ago. But for sin, the Golden City might still have been the glory and crown of Mount Zion. Its magnificent tem- ple might still have reflected back to Heaven the glory of the rising sun. Her fields would not have been desolate, her people scattered like chaff, nor her once-powerful Gov- ernment groaning under the yoke of a debasing and tyran- nical power. Let us inquire into God's will concerning us. It is manifest in all our past history as well as in our present advanced position. Through us, if obedient to His will, all the nations of the earth may be blessed. Through disobedience our fate may be as sad and our downfall as complete as that of Israel. It may be said with emphasis, whether by way of warning or of prophecy, that this nation can never forget God and continue to exist as a Government of the people. It can never lay aside the Bible and cater to infidelity ; it can never, from false conceptions of liberality, yield its hold upon the Sab- bath Day, and offer its sacrifices upon the altars of iniquity, and still fulfil its mission to mankind. The world is groping for light, as it never did since the eyes of our first parents were opened to the distinction between good and evil. Science and philosophy are carefully analyzing the motives and inducements which lead to sin and misery, shame and crime. Moralists are trying to evolve from the confused mass some universal method that will both pre- vent and cure. There can be no political panacea for all these evils. The law can restrain and punish offences ; philanthropy can alleviate much of suffering ; charity can relieve distress and drive want from the door, Christian sympathy can comfort and console, but nothing but the blood of Christ can cleanse the world from sin. The 13 Church of God is working earnestly for that unification of humanity which shall bring all lives into sympathizing touch with each other and shall add to all the wondrous touch of that life which said, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The political world, too, is looking toward the lifting up of men, in its desire for universal peace. While wicked- ness is in the hearts of rulers, national difficulties will probably be settled by the sword. War may have its pur- poses, but Governments are recognizing that better and more effective methods may be found in peaceful adjust- ments. Happy will it be for nations when they " beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into prim- ing-hooks, and learn war no more." It is a hopeful sign that the tendency of the world is in this direction. At our great Exposition at Chicago there were exhibited the latest military improvements, both for defence and offence ; fearful engines for the destruction of life and property ; models for tremendous naval structures which made the war vessels of a few years ago appear like frail toys ; of harbor and inland fortifications that seemed to the casual observer almost impregnable ; ponderous guns, ca- pable of carrying their destructive force into cities and against defences miles away ; small arms for close engage- ments, and equipments and appliances for rapid move- ments upon both land and sea — all seemingly for the anni- hilation of hostile forces. But, terrible as they appeared, they are not without another and brighter side. Are they not, as well, messengers of universal peace ? With such destructive implements, battles must be fought at longer range. Victories will no longer be won by superior force, nor by the persistence of human courage. Scientific skill, with mechanically perfect implements, which leave the human unit out of the computation, will be the agencies that will determine the issue. Men will not willingly fight against machinery, for courage will find but little credit in the account. The art of war itself is therefore 14 becoming the strongest argument for trie settlement of national disputes by peaceful arbitration. You will all agree with me that the world has had enough of war, and only needs peace for the advancement of future civilization. The course of empire rolling west- ward has doubtless made this new world the field of triumph upon which the great battles of peace are yet to be fought, and where God's Kingdom upon earth is to be established. The gathering of nations upon our soil, each bringing the tribute of its best skill, our standing face to face in social contact with all nationalities, our mingling of voices, our communion of thought, our sincere welcome to* all, our rejoicing together, has only been equalled by the great chorus of the morning stars, when all the sons of God shouted for joy. It is to us an earnest that in America "There shall be sung another golden age, The rise of empire and of arts." "Hitherto hath the Iyord helped us." Upon our obedi- ence to His will now depends the issues of the future. The text has for us its prophetic warnings. Israel had its rise and fall. Over the fields of lovely Palestine, that land of promise and of rest, under whose fair skies the children of Abraham were to dwell and become mighty, where the God of their fathers was to be worshipped in the beauty of holiness — over that land sin and disobedience have cast their baneful shadow ; upon its beautiful plains, where peace could have found an eternal resting-place and God's people an abiding home, the world's great armies have for ages marched back and forth, destroying the fig tree and the vine, and drenching the earth with the warm life-blood of millions of creatures created in God's image. Israel had been helped until repeated perverseness had forfeited their claims to divine protection. Let this nation take timely warning from Israel's fate, lest we despise the providences that have saved us, and fall more sadly, more deeply, and less pitied. This nation is not yet beyond the danger line. We have still to combat the sins inherent in the make-up of our social life. We have yet to fight 15 against the iniquities which the tide of emigration is pour- ing in among us ; against false political theories that are claiming recognition in our national creed ; against infidel- ity, Sabbath desecration, and the superstition of false religious worship. Dangers threaten us on every side danger to our Constitution, to our national life, to our religion, and to our social life. Israel worshipped strange gods and went astray, and so may we if we suffer ourselves to be beguiled from the true path. One evil above all others finds its stronghold in a mistaken and perverted public sentiment. We worship at the shrine of Bacchus and pay heavy tribute to his priests. Intemperance stalks boldly among us — a crime against society, a sin against humanity, and a reproach to our boasted civilization. It swallows up the good that would lift men up, counteracts the best efforts of the Church, and sows poverty and crime, and drags its victims to the lowest depths. Think of the profanity, the immorality which float like a pestilence into the atmosphere from this sin. We need to battle against this iniquity with all the combined moral influence of Church, State and Society. Another danger that threatens our political welfare is the corruption which the false teaching of foreign emigration is bringing among us— socialism, in its most offensive form ; anarchy, with its unreasoning ignorance ; infidelity, in its most repulsive garb, and Old World political heresies with a total want of appreciation of the beneficence of our institu- tions. These evils are too great to be counteracted by the education of our schools. We must add the missionary efforts of the Church and the individual influences of all thinking men. The evil is among us, and cannot be thrust aside. It must be met, held in check, and remedied. We must uphold the truth of the Gospel, observe the sanctity of the Sabbath, preserve the purity of our home life, and fearlessly educate against the superstitions of a false faith. We may well ask, " Who is sufficient for these things ?" "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us," and He is still upon our side. Shall we be unmistakably upon His side ? 16 Comrades of the Grand Army, your responsibility in this work is of no small import. For you to-day "The trumpet of the Gospel sounds, With an inviting voice." It calls you to repentance. It calls you to the defence of the Gospel and of Christ's Kingdom, just as the liberty bugle called you, years ago, to the defence of the Consti- tution and the Union. It calls you to rally under the blood-stained banner of the Cross, with the same valor with which you gathered under your country's banner, and expects you to fight as bravely for God's cause as you went forth and fought for the old flag and for your firesides when the nation's life was in clanger. There will be no bloodshed or mortal wounds, there will be no broken hearts or severed home ties, there will be no sorrow or weeping for loved ones who shall not return again, there will be no hospitals or prison-pens, no weary marches, no hunger, no thirst, and no privation. The warmth of God's love will cheer you on. The light of His countenance will make glad your pathway. His Spirit will be your guide, His strong arm your defence, and His everlasting bounty your reward. " Hitherto the Lord hath helped us." As I look back over the past and recount His provi- dences, as I turn and look far clown into the future,^ and see before the onward march of our people the fiery pillar, the cloud and the manna, I recognize the guiding and giving hand of God and rejoice in His presence among us. As I behold the nation building firmly upon its immovable foundation of faith in God, and see it rising higher and higher toward the eternal throne, as I see an exalted citi- zenship approaching the estate of the angels, as I see the great truths which make men holy and happy asserting their dominion over the land, I thank God most heartily for the revelation of His Word and the gift of His Son. I thank Him for a free Gospel and a free Government and a free people, and pray that the Ark of His Covenant shall forever abide with us and His presence be manifested in every heart. vpC,- • v V. t** * ^ «.**■ ovular- **. ^ i* . « • r oV O ♦ .„.• A ^ i» . t • ^ * A V *^ : V* * "\ 'JJP /\ V^jjg- /\ '-$%$: j>\ v ' G^ *o ^°^ *1^L% ^ fr^s' • A V *^ - C, vP