YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY &rfateAArfMhafcArih^MMiAi^^^^*^rfbAa^ftHh^*a^^^^^^^*« 3 9002 07111 4863 itUUTDUIiN(t wonderful THINGS BEHALF OF THE NATION. A. 13I8COXT118E: PEEAOHED ON THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY, INTovfimbeT .'Jijlli, 1M»;.3, IN THE FIRST PKESJ5YTERIAX OHITKCH OF I<"JiKTCPOK'l\ ilt^i:noi.-^. BY REV. ISAAC E. CAREY. FREEPORT, ILl.l.NOIS : .lUDSON & McCLUER, PRINTERS. CcjS '* 0 ' Y^LIl«¥]MII¥]EI^SIIir¥" GOD DOING WONDERFUL THINGS IN BEHALF OF THE NATION. A. disooxjrse; PEEAOHED ON THE NATIONAL THANKSGIYING DAT, November S^th, 1863, IK THE FIEST PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH OF T^RKEPORT, IXiXillirOIS, BY REV. ISAAC E. CAREY. FKEEPORT, ILLINOIS : JUDSON & McCLUER, PRINTERS. 1863. A. DISOOUHSE. 0 Lord, Thou art my God ; I will exalt Thee ; I will praise Thy name, for Thou hast done wonderful things ; Thy couDBels of old are faithfulness and truth.— /so, 25:1. Very grateful to the pious heart is the sincere recognition of God in the proclamation for national thanksgiving, by which we have been called to gether. The President first speaks of " the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies" ; then of others which more strikingly indicate " the ever watchful providence of Almighty God", such as the maintenance of order, the preservation of peace with all nations, the steady advance of the armies and navies of the union, the liberal rewards of " peaceful industry, notwithstanding the diversion of wealth and strength to the defense of the nation", the abundant yield of the mines of coal, iron and the precious metals, " the steady increase of population, notwithstanding the waste of life in the camp, the siege and the battle-field", the national consciousness "of augmented strength and vigor" — in a word, the extraoidinary outward prosperity of the nation, even " in the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity." In these great blessings, he humbly acknowl edges the kind and merciful providence of God. From his high seat, at the head of a great nation, the commander-in-chief of vast armies and navies, he declares to all the people that "God only doeth wondrous things." The following words from one, who, while called to act so great a part in the affairs of the nation and in the view of the world, regards himself as the mere instrument of providence, and gives to God all the glory of the successes which have been achieved, are themselves an occasion for thanks giving ; " No human counsel Tiath devised, nor hath any mortal v>oi Teed out these great things. They are the precious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, has nevertheless remem- lered mercy." I thank God for such utterances. I bless the Most High that the religious, christian heart of the nation has found so true and grateful an expression in the words of the President. Is not this itself an illustration of God's wonder-working f Is it not a sure indication that, after the long night which has overshadowed the nation, " the morning cometh" ? But while the President speaks of many things pertaining to the ex ternal afiairs of the nation, which call for our devout thanksgiving, there are yet greater things than these — things which show more clearly and strikingly the wonder-working providence of God in our behalf. We see the hand of God in the calamities which have come upon us as a people. What is the end of His chastisements ? Is He working simply to increase our wealth, our numbers, our power? Is our mere outward ma terial prosperity the thing of chief importance in His view ? Is a nation in His view exalted by wealth and power or only by righteousness ? Is He, then, by His judgment redeeming the nation? Is the nation coming forth from the fires of this great conflict, purified and righteous f Where is the compensation for the miseries and horrors of the war ? Is it in bountiful harvests, in the increasing yield of our mines, in the liberal reward of our industry, in our numerical progress? Is it in the steady advance of our armies and navies, or even in victory itself as the simple demonstration of the nation's power ? Is it found in the mainte nance of peaceful relations with foreign states ? These things do indeed show in a striking manner the Divine favor towards the Government and nation ; but are these alone a compensation for the blood which has been shed and the sorrow which has overwhelmed unnumbered households? In the security of these merely external interests, is there a satisfaction to the wife for the loss of her husband, to the parent for the loss of a son, to children for the loss of a father, to patriotism for its trying sacrifices? Can the value of a single one of the hundreds of thousands of lives which have been sacrificed in the war, be estimated in gold and silver ? Can all the produce of our fields, of our mines, of our industry and commerce, purchase the consent of a lovitag wife that her husband shall be sacrificed in the cause of the country ? No, all the wealth of the nation, ten times told, would be utterly worthless to her in comparison with the life of one so dear, and were it all hers, she would give it, without a moment's hesitation, for that life. The blood of patriots ! — it is so precious, so priceless, that material wealth aflords no measure by which to estimate its value. In our mere external prosperity, therefore, in the exhibition of the nation's prowess, in the security of our material interests, is certainly no adequate compensation for the blood-shed and misery which the war has caused. But even were it otherwise in regard to these interests — were there no such thing as outward prosperity in the midst of a civil war of such magnitude and severity, there would be a compensation for all the suffering and all the sacrifice. Had the war operated against our materia] prosperity, had it brought ruin to all our industrial and commercial in terests, had it impoverished the nation, had it involved us in conflict with foreign powers, had our armies been overwhelmed with defeat and driven back, instead of steadily advancing from victory to victory, still there would have been a compensation for all the bloodshed of the hundred terrible battles ; there would have been a compensation for the anguish of bleeding hearts ; and the patriot dying in the presence of defeat and disaster and the apparent ruin of his country, might have exulted that he was dying in a holy cause-dying in behalf of the eternal principles of right and justice, and by his self-sacrifice, doing something to hasten the day of their des tined triumph. He might have exulted that the laying down of his life was not waste, not loss, but gain, all gain to the highest and greatest interests. A man's life is worth more than the things whose value can be estimated in dollars and cents. But there are things which are worth more than any human life— interests which have their basis not in the outward and visible, but in the unseen and spiritual, and which involve the character, the moral condition, the true well-being of a nation— interests which are so precious and sacred that every one who appreciates them must hold his life of little value in the comparison, and regard their promotion as worth all the sacrifice and sufi"ering, however great, which it may cost. Now, it is the marked moral progress of the nation, in which, above all other things, we have the compensation for the war and its sacrifices. It is this which proves that the blood of patriots has not been poured forth in vain. It is the steady, irresistible advance of the eternal principles of "ght, justice and Christianity, which shows most strikingly the favor of God towards the nation. Who can question the fact? Who can help bowing his knees to the Most High and giving thanks in view of it ? It indeed sends a thrill of joy to our hearts, to think of the submission of Henry, Donelson, Columbus, Memphis, Nashville, Little Rock to the fed eral arms ; to think of snch great achievements as the captilre of New Orleans, of Vicksburg, of Port Hudson, of Tullahoma, of Chattanooga of Wagner— of the opening of the Mississippi, of the deliverance of East Ten nessee ; to think of such grand victories as that of Murfreesboro, of the beating back of the rebel army at Antietam, of the splendid, unsurpassed valor of Gettysburg, of even the heroic battering of Sumter, of the steady contraction of our military lines and the advance of our army into the very heart of the confederacy, and of the monetary resources of the country as shown by our sound financial condition, after almost three years of civil war. The patriot may well rejoice in such exhibitions of the nation's Strength, and of its ability, with the Divine blessing, to finish the stupen dous work it has undertaken. But we have to thank God for greater achievements than these, for more remarkable tokens of his favor, for more glorious victories, for a more gratifying progress. It is nothing in itself that we are strong, nothing that we are rich, nothing that we have great armies and navies, nothing that our arms have made marked progress. Our special occasion for thanksgiving, is the fact that the outward progress represents the advance of the great moral principles upon which our insti tutions are grounded, and upon which the well-being of the nation depends. Corresponding to the outward progress, deep down in the heart and life of the nation, have been doing their silent, regenerating work the vital spir itual forces, which are greater than the Government and Constitution greater and more powerful than our armies, worth more than all our treasures, worth more than all the patriot blood which has been shed forces of which the Government and armies have been simply the instru. ments; which have been the bulwark of our cause, and the strength of our arms upon every battlefield, and which have been working on to victory as well by means of our reverses as our successes. These living spiritual forces, which do their work beneath the surface and which are powerful because they are eternal, having their "source iii the bosom of God," have only to enter into the soul of any man to make him strong and great— have only to possess and govern any nation or army to make it powerful anjj invibCible. They are essentially immortal and unconquerable ; and they can not be successsfuUy opposed. They can not be destroyed. They are things which are strong and enduring as the foundations of God's thronfc; things which cannot be shaken, and which therefore must remain. And since the war commenced they have laid siege to the heart of many a man and compelled a surrender, bringing him to his right mind an(? casting out the demon that possessed him. A light-robed agency, a spiritual sanitary commission, bringing healing and life and "publishing peace," they have marched on in the wake of our armies to their bloodless victories. Not stopping short with individuals, they have silently taken possession of whole communities and achieved the conquest of whole States. The storming of Sumter announced the commencement of their triumphant march, and the cannon upon every battlefield have proclaimed in jubilant thunders its irresistible progress. The proclamation of emancipation recognized the grand movement and declared to all the world the certainty of its success. And now the great voice from the " White House" is echoed back from Delaware with a responsive amen ; it is answered from Maryland in the chorus of thousands of voices resounding along the shores of the Chesa peake; it bounds over the Blue Ridge to reverberate among the moBntains of Western Virginia and awaken glad responses ; it rolls over the hills and plains of Kentucky, and across the great river into Misseuri, to call forth the joyful, consenting voices of many thousands; it is answered in accor dant tones, equally earnest, if less powerful, from North Carolina, from Tennessee, from Mississippi, from Louisiana, from Texas ; it has sent a thrill of joy all along our military lines, and is responded to^ with the watch words " liberty and humanity," sounded forth from every camp and hos pital by our country's noble defenders; ' it has carried a deeper joy to mil lions of the poor and despised and awakened songs of praise and thanksgiv ing in their lowly homes ; and from the granite hills ot New England, from the busy marts of New York, from the mines and factories of Pennsylvania, from the fertile farms of Ohio, from the prairies of the great Northwest, from the wilds of the Rocky Mountains, from the gold fields of California— from the whole free North, from ocean to ocean, has gone up the victorious shout of loyal freemen, "as as the sound of many waters and mighty thun- derings," proclaiming the progress of right and justice and liberty in our land. This is the special occasion for thanksgiving— not that we have out ward prosperity ; not simply that our armies have gained victories, but that the advance of our armies represents the advance of eternal right and justice, and thus the advance of the aation in true wealth, greatness and power. One year since, what anxiety filled the public mind. After nearly two years of war, with immense sacrifice of property and life, it seemed that little had been accomplished. There had indeed been progress, but it was more real than apparent, and not very manifest to sup'erficial observers. — The policy of conciliation had been tried and had failed. The policy of crushing out the rebellion without crushing out slavery, had been tried and had failed. The great army of the Potomac, after a disastrous campaign in the peninsula, had been compelled to retreai in disgrace, barely escaping destruction. Hundreds of thousands had given themselves to the service of the country ; there was a call for hundreds of thousands more. Hun dreds of millions had been expended ; tbere was need of a still greater expenditure. The rebellion had demonstrated its iron strength, and was bold and defiant as at the beginning. Worst of all, the people seemed to be falling away from the Government. The State elections appeared to indi cate a loss of confidence in the Government, a feeling of discouragement, if not of positive disloyalty. In some of the free States were armed organ izations to resist the Government. Treason was showing its head without disguise in all the north. Rebel sympathizers seemed in a fair way to accomplish their hellish designs. Many began to contemplate the alterna tive of being compelled to take up arms against the disloyal immediately around them. Many were apprehensive that the flames of civil war would soon burst forth in this State, in Indiana and Ohio, and the demon of ruin be let loise in all the north. The minds of many of the loyal and patriotic were filled jjrith doubt and perplexity. There was one clear gleam of light amidst the darkness — the indication of a radical change of policy, in the promised proclamation of emancipation. Many, however, doubted the expediency of the proposed proclamation ; many thought it too late tp be of service; many were opposed to it on principle ; but many saw in it a new and clear revelation of the divine purpose in the war, and they rejoiced in it as a sure token of the coming day. Nor, thank God, has their confi dence been disappointed. The faint gleam of light has gradually bright ened, till now, though the war-clouds still hang over the land, the horizon shines with auroral splendors. The memorable proclamation was " the rising of our light in obscurity," to illuminate the pathway before our armies and guide them to victory ; and though the great end is not yet fully reached, yet the way to it is perfectly clear in the same pure light. — How great, how astonishing the progress of the past year ! a progress indi cated not only by^ the great achievements of our armies, and the greatly increased strength and vigor of the Government, but also by the suppres sion of treason in the north, by the unity of the free and border states in support of the Government, and the grand advance of the cause of liberty and justice in one hand. Assuredly we must say that "no human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal worked out these great things." Nothing is more manifest than that the nation has to do with powers which are greater than itself- powers having their origin in no human mind, or will or counsel-powers older than human laws or governments— immaterial, spiritual powers, working on irresistibly in one fixed direction, through the Government and armies as the instruments-powers using the resources of the nation for accomplishing a great end. There is a forward -movement, and there must be a moving cause. And as the things moved are human minds, and wills. Government, armies and nation, so the moving powers are greater than these, lying back of them, and having their eternal ground in the divine mind and will. And when we consider that whateirer the wishes or pur poses of men, there can be no forward movement but in the one fixed direction, it is the more manifest that the movement must have its ground in the higher powers. And now what are these powers that are working, and their appropriate results in our national aftairs ? What are the spirit ual powers that have laid hold of the Government and nation, and turned all their resources in the direction of justice and liberty? Shall we say that- they are the living " ideas of the age" energizing for a higher realization ? Shall we call them the powers of the kingdom of God at work in the nation? Shall we say that they are Christianity itself as an indestructible element in the national life ? Shall we call them the eternal principles of right and justice, regarded not indeed as abstract principles, but as living, concrete powers, working in the heart of the nation ? When the principles of right and justice are contemplated externally as mere theories, they are dead ; but when a man becomes " possessed of" them, they are powers in him.— And when these principles penetrate beyond the surface of society, and enter into combination with its vital moving forces, becoming organic, tak ing possession of human minds and wills, enshrined and cherished in human hearts, they are no longer dead abstractions, but living powers, moving the man and the community, and moving them from the center, and moving them in a fixed direction. And since the nation is moved fixedly and irresistibly in the direction of right and justice, must we not flnd the immediate cause of the movement in the principles of right and justice, living and abiding in the nation ? But these living principles, though powerful and controlling, are not intelligent, and not capable of purpose and oversight. We can not flnd in these the all-wise, all-beneficent providence, which has been exercising so watchful a care and so minute a supervision over our affairs; choosing always the fit agents for the work to be done ; using even selfishness and depravity for good purposes ; ordering reverses as well as successes for the furtherance of the great end ; and working all the while so wonderfully to give the victory to the true and the right.— Hence, back of these principles we must go to the Intelligence in which they have their ground, to the eternal Will which is evermore on their side; 9 yea, to the divine Spirit, "the spirit of the times," moving upon the troub led waters of our national life to bring forth the higher forms of a new creation— working through men or his instruments, working through human wills, through human counsels and plans, through blessings and calamities, to carry forward our cause to a triumphant issue. Thus is God in the nation working out his purpose, and that purpose identical with the cause of justice and humanity. Thus it has come about that truth has been gaining ground, and that the progress of the war has been the progress of the cause of justice and liberty. How wonderful is God in his working 1 How are the counsels of men brought to naught, while His own counsel stands, and He does all His pleasure ! The principles called " radical" now have the ascendency. The policy of the Government is the "radical policy." It is the enlightened christian mind of the nation, which is now the gov erning mind ; it is christian principles which are now the governing prin ciples. The verj principles of universal justice and liberty, whose advo cates, for many years, were everywhere exposed to reproach and contempt, have at last been taken as the guiding principles of the nation. The Gov ernment and armies have been under the providential necessity of taking the ground of these principles. All loyal men, all true patriots, however great their differences or bitter their hostility to each other in former years, are in reality found standing shoulder to shoulder upon the ground of these principles ; which also are beginning to assert their presence and power in the slave states themselves. God is showing the nation and the world that these principles are strong ; that they have the power to cast down and break in pieces ; that on their side is invincible might. They were brought to these shores chiefly in the great souls of the pilgrims, and in the great religion in those souls. They worked forth, at length, from christian minds and hearts and obtained a glorious expression in the declaration of independence. They were laid in the foundations of the nation and government. They have been a powerful element in the national life from the first, and they have ever de manded to be taken as the supreme law of the land. But it seems that, upon this great stage, God intended, by subjecting them to the Severest trial, to demonstrate before all the world their indestructible life and matchless power ; and it is only because they are eternally true and right, because they are intrinsically powerful, because God is on their side, that they are triumphant. It had been shown that they were too strong for despotism in the old world ; it was to be shown also that they are too strong for despotism in the new. It was to be shown that nothing can stand before them, and that they must prevail. From the foundations of the Government they have encountered an in creasingly powerful opposition. For fifty years the government was in the hands of men who were in heart opposed to them. The rulers of the na tion, many of them, sat in their seats in the halls of Congress, and in the name of justice .and liberty, plotted against justice and liberty. For a long ID period they were under proscription, in Washington, the principle sof wrong and despotism having complete ascendency, so that no citizen of that city could stand up for the great "rights of human nature," but at the cost of exclusion 'from the highest society ; and no member of Congress could ap pear as their advocate, without becoming the object of the bitterest hatred and animosity. The great doctrines of liberty and humanity were unpopu lar even among the rulers of a nation calling itself free and christian. They wsre for a long time unpopular throughout the country. Fifteen States of the Union rejected them. Great benevolent christian societies and great ecclesiastical bodies, disowned them. Even in the free States only a com parative few stood up boldly and persistently in their advocacy and de fense, and they were branded as fanatics and madmen. There was a strong tendency to cast into the background the truth that humanity as such hag great and sacred rights. Many regarded it a just reproach to any man to be thoroughly in favor of that truth ; and they took special pains not to incur the reproach. The pulpit, to a great extent, preserved entire silence in re gard to these principles, and thus virtually denied them. The press to a great extent, turned all its powerful enginery against them, and hunted and persecuted their advocates. At length, the highest court of the nation, in a solemn decision involving the great questions of liberty and justice, utterly renounced them, and took the side of the opposed principles. Then the nation itself, in an equally solemn vote in 1856, virtually endorsed that de cision and endorsed slavery, calling into existence an administration which, like the preceding one, sold itself to work evil and brought wrath upon the land. But in spite of the powerful combinations against them, the principles of right and justice were all the while manifestly gaining ground; they were proved to be strong. The efforts to keep them in the background had the effect of bringing them forth into the clearest light and keeping them before the public mind. The assaults upon them rallied to their side a host of valliant defenders. Vain the efforts of unptincipled politicians, of a false Christianity, of a corrupt legislation, of an apostate government, of a degraded press, to prevent their steady progress. As a last resort, therefore, let insurrection and rebellion bring in their more potent agencies. Burnish the rusty swords and muskets, and drag forth the columbiads from their long resting places, to resist the advancing powers of liberty and jus tice. Sound the clarion throughout the South, rallying the hordes of slavery around its hateful standards, and let rebellion and treason rise up defiantly in hundreds of thousands of armed men. Every other resource has failed ; let it be tried what "Southern powder and 'steel" can do against the eter nal Bight. Give rebellion at the outset every advantage. Let it possess the forts, arsenals, navy yards, munitions of war. Let it proceed according to a plan perfected by the labor of thirty years. Let it have full sway in the cotton States, and have the sympathy and co-operation of great multitudes in the free and border States. Proud of its resources and confident of success, let it proclaim to the world a new empire founded upon the per- II petual enslavement of the colored race as " the corner stone." Let it be fired with the intensest hatred af free principles and free institutions, and with the utmost strength and fixedness of purpose to revolutionize the gov ernment and nation in favor of the principles of slavery and despotism. Let it be assured of the sympathy, and the secret, if not open, co-operation of the governments of the old world. Let it rally its forces with such rap idity and appear in such strength as to render it questionable whether an almost defenseless government can stand until president elect is inaug urated, and whether itself will not take the place of the outgoing adminis tration. Let it engage in conflict with a government, itself well nigh par- alized by slavery ; and, in the flrst great trial of arms, give full proof of its iron strepgth by putting the forces of the Union to route, and driving them in panic from the field. Thus it rises into view, upon the world's stage, the most gigantic and powerful of rebellions ; a colossal power on the side of wrong and oppression ; a thoroughly organized insurrection bringing the force of millions to bear against the principles of right and justice, aid giving promise of being fully able to accomplish its purpose. In view of the frightful array, timid souls, having no faith in God nor in God's jus tice nor remembering His mighty acts of old, may think that the last hour of liberty has come, and that its great hopes are to perish. Unenlighted souls in this and other lands, not knowing that truth and right and justice are spiritual, invincible powers, not knowing that material forces are utter ly impotent against them, not seeing beyond the surface, may prophecy the certain downfall of free institutions. But the truly enlightened expect to see the glory of God in a new revelation of the power and majesty of the true and the right. Nor is their expectation disappointed. What has been the result of this assault upon the principles of justice and liberty and of the earth-shaking conflict which has ensued ? Is the end of the rebellion accomplished? Is there the slightest tendency towards its accomplish ments? Is truth crushed to earth never to rise again? Are the abiding, eternal foundation things shaken at all ? Are the great rights of human nature abolished ? Is the law of God crushed out? Are free institutions overthrown ? Are the great eternal principles of liberty andjustice proved to be powerless and destroyed ? Nay verily ; we are witnessing very different results. We behold these great eternal principles against all the forces opposed to them, marching irresistibly and triumphantly on, smiting and shattering the Moloch of slavery, casting it down to the ground, and grinding it to powder ; and nothing can save it from utter destruction. And do you want any clearer proof than God is thus giving you, in his wonder-working, that the principles of justice and liberty, which are also principles of the kingdom of God, are living, indestructible powers; and that nothing on earth nor even the gates of hell can prevail against them ? There shall yet be a trial of these principles upon even a wider stage, and they shall utterly break in pieces the opposing principles and the systems founded upon them, which systems shall be as the chaff of the summer 12 threshing floors, and the wind shall carry them away as stubble, and no place shall be found for them ; and then the powers of the kingdom of God shall have universal sway. .,,,¦,, j , • Moreover, we have a still further illustration of God's wonder-working, in the fact, that, in consequence of the war, the government >a more firmly established than ever, on the ground of right and justice. The rebellion instead of bringing the government over to the side of despotism has had the effect of emancipating it, and bringing it completely over to the side of liberty. The long contest between free principles, on one side, and despot ic principles, on the other, for the possession and control of the governmnt, has resulted in the triumph of free principles. And the consequence is that now, for the first time in the world's history, is there a great, a commanding power, openly and unequivocally committed on the side of human rights-the side of universal liberty. Our government occupies, at this moment, a higher position than was ever before occupied by an earthly government. It arose majestically out of the principles of Christianity, and though, for a time, it was under a tendency to apostatize from those principles, yet it stands to-day more nearly upon them as its firm basis than any other great power. The great powers of the world have been universally despotic powers, more or less. Tbe great generals and armies, with few or no exceptions, have fought in behalf of "priviledg- ed orders" ; they have fought to establish despotic thrones ; they have fought to keep down the masses. The strongholds and fortresses have been built in the interest of ruling classes, not to protect the rights of human nature. Never did the great doctrines of humanity obtain so clear an expression as in the utterances of our fathers ; and never was there a great government affording so grand an illustration of these doctrines, as does our own at the present time. There was a time when the United States' musket did not mean universal liberty and justice — when it did not une quivocally represent the rights of man as man. Only when pointed in a particular direction, did it mean liberty and human rights ; pointed in another, it meant oppression and despotism. And there was a time when the government was not a power on the side of universal liberty and humanity ; when it did not, unequivocally, represent the truth that hu manity as such is great and endowed with inalienable rights. The govern ment of the United States must bear the reproach of having given itself, in " evil days and evil times," to the service of oppression. For example, it did the work of a despotism, and practically denied its fundamental prin ciples when it hunted a fugitive slave in the streets of Boston, under the very shadow of Bunker Hill, thus, as many think, doing at the bidding of slavery, an extra-constitutional work, in the execution of an unconstitution al law. It did the work of a despotism when it endeavored to force a pro- slavery constitution upon the citizens of Kansas. Till very recently, it has been in relation to one great class of people in our country, only a despot ism. But the result of the war is that it is restored and established on the 13 ground of its fundamental principles, and is doing its appropriate work on, the side of humanity. The United States' musket now represents human ity and its rights. The immense military power of the nation— a power which perhap's never was surpassed— is a power working on the side of. universal liberty. Whether our rulers " think so" or not makes little differ ence ; this is the reality through God's wonder-working. The contempla tion of this power impresses me, that, while weak on the side of wrong and oppression, it is, in the purpose of God, absolutely irresistible, on the side of freedom and the rights of man ; just as the old Roman Empire was irresistible on the side of despotism. I rejoice in it, therefore, because it is so grand and commanding a power. I rejoice to think of a million bayon ets every one of which means universal liberty— bayonets wielded by patriot soldiers, every one of whom is a freeman, and fighting for freedom. I rejoice in our iron-sided vessels of war, whose defiant look has so much of admonition and warning to despotic powers. I rejoice in the ponderous guns, that can throw their crushing missiles for a distance of five miles— I rejoice in them I I rejoice that there is nothing like them in all the earth, and that only liberty, and not despotism, understands the secret of mak ing them ; because I know that they are the friends of every poor man, of every oppressed man, that they are the defiant champions of human rights, that they are working in the cause of humanity, that their business is to shatter and demolish the institutions of despotism ; and I know that they are continually thundering forth from their iron throats to all the world the great doctrines of liberty, and that all the world understands their meaning. I rejoice in our gleaming swords and bayonets, in our revolvers, in our seven-shooting rifles, in our cannon, in our Passaics and Wehawkens, in our armies, in our navies, because one and all, they repre sent humanity — because they represent the eternal right and justice and the eternal law, and they are saying, more and more distinctly, that even a poor and lowly man has worth and rights as a man, and that the true and highest exercise of power, is to recognize his worth and protect him in the enjoyment of his rights. Thus is God, in his wonder-working, wresting power from the bands of despotism, and committing to the hands of liberty and justice. It is a grand fact, it is a signiflcant fact of the times, that now for once in the world's history, is tbere a great, an irresistible power on the side of man and the rights of man. Humanity 1 yes ; this is the meaning of the war, on the part of the Gov ernment. God is working by means of the war jn behalf of humanity, and the glorious kingdom of humanity yet to appear ; and he is using the Gov ernment and armies for accomplishing his purpose. God is on the side of humanity, and through his providence the great power of the United States is on tbe same side, and fulfilling its grand mission. The rebellion was an insurrection against the great doctrines of humanity — an assault upon the truth that a man, of whatever race, ha? by the gift of God worth and , rights as a man. Even the Government, at first, did not stand upon the 14 ground of that truth, hut showed in one of its first ''f -*^« JJ-f ;<• Lrest fugitive slaves in Chicago-that it was not yet comrnitted to he eause of universal humanity, and that it needed a baptism of blood ,n order to its correction and purification. Tbe rebellion aims to establish and perpetuate slavery-to keep down the African race in our land The Gov- ernment at first regards itself as having no constitutional power to touch sla very it is willing that the African should be kept down; it does not, in seeking to suppress the rebellion, purpose liberty to the slave. But how wonderfully are human counsels brought to nothing! The rebellion and Government together cannot keep down the slave! The rebellion, with all its power and strength of purpose, accomplishes a result directly opposite to that intended. In seeking to keep down the slave, it by necessity lifts him up into the light of liberty. It is utterly impossible to found an empire upon slavery as its corner stone. The attempt breaks up the accursed sys tem from the foundation. God means the continent for liberty, not for despotism. The slave continually rises in spite of the rebellion. Tbe more desperate and determined the efforts of the rebel power, the stronger becomes the slave, until his chains are broken and be stands forth a freeman. Per haps too the Government comes at length to understand that the Highest heareth the cry of the weak, and pleadeth the cause of the poor, and breaketh in pieces the oppressor. It certainly does come to understand that nothing can be effected against the rebellion on the policy of taUing no account of the humanity and the rights of the slave. It is brought to un derstand that the poor, despised slave, with the Lord God Almighty on his side, is too strong for the nation on the opposite side. And so, the purpose of God to bring the Government, with all its power, completely over to the side of humanity and justice, is accomplished, and all the arms of the Union are brought to bear directly for the overthrow of slavery, and the deliverance and elevation of the slave. And now, consequently, not only one boasting a white skin, but even ebony Sambo also is a man, with a man's rights, and a man's dignity and a man's destiny — a freeman by the act of the Government itself; yea, worthy to bear a musket under the glo rious stars and stripes in defense of his own freedom and that of his wife and children, and having the privilege so long denied him, of proving by the side of his white brothers, his valor, his selfsaerificing heroism, his manhood, in the bloody encounters of Port Hudson, Milliken's Bend and Fort Wagner. Nor have the noblest of our soldiers of Anglo-saxon blood, nor the most cultivated and refined of them, nor the bravest of the brave among them, regarded it beneath them to march against the enemies of union and liberty, side by side with the black man, thus acknowledging him to be a man and a brother ; and they sleep side by side, the noble defend ers ef liberty, in common graves, where they fell fighting with equal bra very and heroism in a common glorious cause ; thus consecrating that cause and the soil itself to universal humanity. And now the country is the black man's country, and the government is his government, and our 15 free institutions are his, and the question is decided : henceforth the black man is a man and a brother and a fellow citizen ; and the whole power of the United States must assert and defend his liberty and his manhood. And was it not for this very purpose that it was raised up ? Humanity! the cause is worthy of all the Sacrifices. It has demanded the offering up of many a noble, precious life ; it will demand the offering up of many more ; but if the offerings are precious, the cause is more prec ious ; and its promotion abundantly compensates the sacrifices in its behalf. Thank God for the opportunity of helping in any way a cause so great and holy ; nor think that, to render it efBcient service, you must take part in the stern strife of arms. The sword is not the only instrument which God is using in the cause of humanity. Wonderfully is he calling into play, also, all the higher and nobler qualities for the accomplishment of the one great end. The sentiment which exhibits itself in deeds of daring and heroism on the battle field, is not the only one called into service. Piety also is constrained to go forth upon her self denying, holy mission as the good Samaritan, and thus appears in new and beautiful forms. And the sweet home affections, the parental, filial, brotherly, stirred to new life and activity, and going forth after the son, father, brother, who has given him self to the service of the country, prompt to generous self-denial for the same great cause which he is seeking to promote, and which his patriotism consecrates. And the feelings of benevolence and sympathy, excited to an unwonted activity, and working under the lead of the patriotic sentiment, are continually bringing their choicest offerings to the country's altars ; and they are beautifully illustrated in the cheerful labor of delicate hands for the comfort of those in arirs; also in the more self-denying and laborious ministrations of gentle, loving woman by the bedsides of the sick and wounded and dying in the hospitals ; also in the charitable efforts, which are put forth with increasing liberality in behalf of soldiers' families, of ref ugees and freedmen. Then there is the sentiment of reverence for the noble dead — a sentiment prompting to the emulation of their noble deeds and the deepening sense of the greatness and sacredoess of institutions which have cost so much, and the strengthening feeling of devotedness to the great principles of right and justice, for which we are contending. Thus, while not tending in the slightest degree to excite, but rather to repress every mean and selfish principle, the cause of the nation — the cause of humanity and Christianity, appeals directly to all that is great and noble in us, and calls it into service ; working at the same time to secure its highest devel opment, by exciting it to the highest and purest activity for a great and worthy end. Nor, unless the nation shall sadly and strangely fail to know the things which belong to its peace, shall the sacrifices be in vnin. God will accom plish what he has undertaken. The nation shall be redeemed. Out of the tears and sorrows of widows and orphans, out of the blood of heroes, out 16 of the sacrifices of patriotism, shall spring forth a higher, grander national life, and a nobler development of humanity than the world has seen. The whole land from the lakes to the gulf, from the river to either ocean, shall be a land of liberty. In it there shall be no priviledged classes. In it, over all its length and breadth, there shall be no slave. In it shall every poor man have his rights, and find an open way in which to seek his own highest developnient and pursue his own highest happiness It shall be a christian land ; a land of hibles and sabbaths and churches, and institu tions of learning consecrated to Christ and the church. And all its insti tutions shall be grounded in the principles of the Gospel. And the Gov ernment shall be the servant of the people — "a government of the people^ by the people and for the people." And the nation coming forth from the furnace, purified, shall rise to a bight of greatness and power never before attained. An4 the Annointed One shall be our king. " Blessed be tbe Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things ; and blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with bis glory. Amen and amen.'' yALB I. * KiV"