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Show I AMERICfl ZEALOUS TO BE 1 Tl SIDE the American people have always believed In a God who has favored I right rather than any people or na- I lion, was the opinion of lcv. J. E. I Carver In his sermon on "The Ameri-( ?an and the German God." I It was iho speaker's contention thai America should be zealous to be on. the I side of right' first, last and always, and I that brutality, treachery and' deceit I should never characterise the methods of our arms. ' ' I lie v. Carver" said, in part: ' "American patriotism differs from ( I that of most countries In that we do , not proclaim that God has chosen us D for his favor. We belitve not in a: I God who has chosen x people, but in j fe God who has chosen riht. s'ever once I' In history has God selected a people in; I preference to absolutQ right. The I Jews suffered for ages because they I thought that God had so favored them j that regardless of the.'r de?ds they' I would be blessed. For all the cruelty li 1 they inflicted upon others they had to If L pay drop for drop. TIip Christ pro- I j claimed that he favored no one nation, I j race or church but whosoever would I j do right. The Germans still profess to I believe in the outworn theory that God I ' would choose a nation and be blind to j fS the bleeding wrongs of Belgium and j& Armenia and honor treachery and j jpf deceit. We are nol.so anxious to boast jf of God being on our side as we are ft, zealous that we should be on the aide Mb of suffering humanity and humanity's' i God. I I "We believe that prayer is a power, j : All else has changed but the soldiers' prayer. The arms of William the y . Silent, Cromwell. Adolphus and Wash- L f ington are obsolete, but their faith in I L f prayer is not. The company of the warriors and statesmen who had place ' ( for devotion to deity Is good company. U The noblest, the wisest and the I ' bravest of yesterday and today are ' joined in just such national devotion Li as that to which America is called to- J ! day. The most vital thing about an army is it's courage. Any trend that gives determination to the will of the soldier is of first value. If we do not believe enough in our cause to pray for its triumph, if our aim is not holy '. , enough to blend with our worship we had better give up hope. If our melh- l , ods are not pure enough to lay before ' f , God in prayer they are beneath us. 1 r A national day of prayer tones up the i ': method, strengthens the will ana , i gives directness to the purpose. In- deed, we do not believe those who arc I'fl willing to dare and suffer for right J would ever have the courage of ihoir a convictions if they did not rekindle I . the faith in right at tnc throne of jf prayer. If we have deluded ourselves l into thinking that we as a nation can advance apart from the thought of a H living and powerful God then days like L this when for a definite end we are Ra ' called to worship are just the sifting, j searching days needed, j . "In all the struggles of the past, no j fact is better attested than that the , i courage of the contenders is the most i vital factor in victory. The courago 1 of the soldier is his best weapon and y 'v his best defense. It is better- than ' armor. Men like Wallace. ruce. William Wil-liam Tell, Washington, Leonlrtas were first of all, pure courage. Cromwell never met a foe of Avhom he was if mid. I "The opportunity of service in he , struggle has widened from the narrow trench and long Hue of the soldiery 10 , the entire continent and each citizen. The battlers not only to the gunner, , but to the sower and eater as well, and, therefore, there is an opportunity fpr each and every one to do a real part in the struggle by conserving H bread and sugar. I "The meaning of citizenship is not the meaning of idleness. To be a citi-j citi-j zen is to think and to act in step with the nation. This means that, as citi-ij citi-ij zens, we must bear the citizen's part and do the citizen's duty. What is the I real goal of tho privilege of a republic? J It Is not pleasure, or wealth, or oppor-1 oppor-1 tunity for wealth or self-advancement, i much as these are to be valued in themselves. It is not any goal that reft re-ft turns to ourselves. To be a citizen is ,jk to bear a citizen's part and get under off' our share o the need and trial of the .jjr day, for we are part of the nation. I America was founded, not by those who sought pleasure. Our forebears, f. at cost of tremendous self-sacrifice and t'i toil and privation, endured the bur-; bur-; dens of sailing unknown seas and fell- $ ing forests and watering wastes, that - I a free land might be. We think much J of the open road Tor development of new life thai America affords. We say j ; every youth here has opportunity and I yet it was not this, prized as ij. is, but 5 self-sacrifice that nerved our fore- fathers in the days of struggle. To desire to make the most of ourselves is a high aim, but to be ready to sac-i sac-i rifice for a high aim Is far more in .. the spirit of the noble ones who have " made the dream of liberty and free-7 free-7 dom of thought, spirit and body come J true." I oo |