and regardless of the sanctions of religion, for that is Atheism; and in the end, in its effects, confusion and ruin. Our only safety under the moral government of this world is in fastening our country upon the throne of God. For without Him there is no life, in the body nor in our souls; in states nor in institutions; in nature, in plants, nor in trees; in the depths of the seas; amid the whirling hosts of the heavens. And so there is no life in a nation without God. "In Him is life," and there is none besides. All growth proceeds from Him, whether it be the tiny plant "beneath a mossy stone," or the spiritual vitality of the grandest Archangel in the eternal heavens! All fixedness, all endurance depend on Him, whether it be the firm seating of the hills around us, or the everlasting permanency of the eternal throne! Ay, brethren, God is every thing; and all of high, and great, and noble, depends on Him. In the idea of God, in the evolvement of the religious idea, in the pure, and strengthening, and gracious principles of Jesus, is a nation's only sure and real hope for growth and permanency. And therefore I say again—"God and our country"—for if this idea, in all its true relations, governs the minds of this people, then shall our country be unto God for ever, for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory. "For happy is the people that is in such a case; yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God."
Page:The future of Africa.djvu/177
god and the nation.
171
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/The_future_of_Africa.djvu/page177-1024px-The_future_of_Africa.djvu.jpg)