THE KING’S BUSINESS
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were riveted upon him forever. “Was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?” As late as 18S4 Wen- del Phillips wrote despairingly, “Indeed the Government has fallen into the hands of the slave power completely. So far as national politics a r e . concerned, we are beaten—there’s no hope . . . The future seems to unfold a vast slave empire united with Brazil, and darkening the whole West. I hope I may be a false prophet, but the sky was never so dark.” And yet imme diately after this the “wounded men” arose, deluging the land with blood and burning the cities of the great Republic with fire. Have we not another illustration in the wonderful way in which God finally delivered Italy from the deadly Ecclesiasti cal misgovernment of ages? The Pope of Rome and the King of France together declared that the Italian people should never acquire Rome, and with it the sovereignty of Italy. Garibaldi was lying terribly wounded; there seemed no hope; yet once more the “wounded man” pre vailed—France was burned with fire, Italy was free. And God rules among the nations today as certainly as He ruled the nations of old; and just as certainly will He bring us into judgment if we are guilty of atheism, injustice, unrighteous ness. If we keep back the hire of the labourer who has reaped our fields, or if our labourers fail to fulfill their share of the covenant and are guilty of extortion, indolence, and excess; if we starve or wrong those who weave our purple and create our luxuries; if we get gain by adulterations which defraud and poison; if, for the sake of any base gratification or mercenary end, we take advantage of those who are inferior to ourselves in knowledge and station; if we employ our political and military ascendency to wrong any subject tribe or nation; God will surely visit us, humble us, destroy us. JUSTICE REIGNETH Brethren, let us again believe in the reign of eternal justice. Such was the faith of the glorious prophets of Israel;
with wealth, pride, and power; and on the other side was a . handful of slaves, crushed and bleeding through the bitter bondage of four centuries. So far as human calculations went, Pharaoh might well despise them. But these helpless slaves were God’s “wounded men,” and by them was the throne of Pharaoh over turned and the glory of Egypt darkened. At the other end of their national history, Israel itself furnishes a most striking illus tration of the working of the law of retri bution through all improbabilities. When the Christ was crucified through weakness, the people cried, “His bipod be upon us, and upon our children.” How unlikely did it seem that the Victim of Calvary could ever be avenged upon an unjust nation! And yet that “wounded Man” rose up invested with strange powers, and burned their city with fire. NATURAL CONSEQUENCES And let us not think that these instances of retribution are to be placed in the cate gory of the miraculous; they were the natural consequences of great denials of truth and justice. Men unjustly “pierced through” are terrible avengers in all ages and nations. For centuries did the kings and nobles of France oppress the peasantry; it is impossible for us to think adequately of the vast hopeless wretchedness of the people from the cradle to the grave. When Louis XVI. came to the throne jit seemed incredible that the long-suffering people would ever avenge themselves upon the powerful class by whom they were ground to the dust, and yet by a marvelous series of events the “wounded men” arose in awful wrath, burning palaces with fire and trampling greatness underfoot. “Pierced through” were those hungry, hopeless millions; but the day of doom came, and every bleeding wretch arose invincible with torch and sword. For generations the African was wronged by the American; the negro had no military, political, or literary power; he was bought and sold as are the dumb driven cattle, and it seemed as if the fetters of a shameful degradation
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