February 1925
51
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
A PRESIDENT’S PRAYER The three outstanding presidents of the United States are Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt, the birthdays of the first two mentioned occurring in this month of February. These three men—as different in many respects as
adoration of Jehovah, who in His own plan and pur pose had decreed that America should, with increasing brightness, be the star upon which all nations should fix their wondering eyes. ' SecôndAhe associates himself as one with the peo ple; not a pope; not a ruler; but an associate, to bear
with them,'¿as their representative, t h e burden of the Strife and struggle without which there could be no success. Third,—he pleads f o r submission t o law. Obedience to government is t h e r o o t principle so essential then, and so m u c h needed in t h i s d a y of our ascendancy, as a na tion, to such a posi tion of preeminence among the nations of the world. Law lessness is t h e Sa tanic seductionwhich is gnawing at the very foundation of our government and which, if unchecked, will bring destruc tion and dissolution. F o u r t h ,—he ex hibits an affection for. all the people and prays that their hearts might beat in loviiig sympathy one for the other, thus creating a b o n d which would cement them in an unbreak able union. And,
men could be—were yet all possessed of. those strong, sturdy, sensible t r a i t s of ' character which com pel recognition and incite imitation from r e a l A m e r i c a n patriots. These men w e r e great m e n because 1 they w e r e genuine arid gracious men . They were real men. They n e v e r sacri ficed their h o n e s t c ò n v i c t i o n s for popularity. People had a place in their hearts in preference to politics. T h e y w è r e living exam ples of real Amer ican manhood. T h e s e men were real Christians, also, and did not hesitate K to take their places ^ alongside the cruci fied, C h r i s t and . acknowledge, as sin ful men, their need of and acceptance of His sacrificial work. S They w e r e men of faith, and their faith was fixed on the real foundation of faith,
Washington's Prayer for the United States a ft we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to govern ment, and to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And, finally, that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the charac teristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen, —The Christian Statesman. l m i g h t y G o d ,
Fifth,—he acknowledges the Triune God,—Jesus Christ our Lord—the suffering, sin-bearing Saviour ; the ascended, interceding Christ ; the coming King of kings and Lord of lords. What a picture! What a prayer! What a. prece dent! Shall it not be a call to The King’s Business Family to bow their heads and hearts in humble adora tion on the twenty-second day of this month and voice anew this princely prayer of our honored president, George Washington, and may our hearts be united as we dedicate ourselves anew to the task of ourselves answering the prayer by lip and life.
which is the Bible. As a logical consequence, they believed in prayer, and they prayed with the assurance that the God of the. Bible held in His hand the sceptre * of the universe and could radio His answer to believing prayer to the ends of the earth. The prayer of Washington which is given herewith worthily illustrates the truth of these statements. It is not a lengthy prayer, but it is loyal and lucid; void 1 of pomp and personalities, it yet goes deep into the y heart of things, and is worthy of careful analysis. First,—there is an affirmation of faith which is inspiring. The first President of a nation destined to become the greatest of nations, on bended- knee,: in
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