Ezekiel 36:22-23. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the LORD GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the LORD GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
Brethren, what must God think of a nation like to ours which has come to be called by his name, albeit it so little deserves that great honour? What, I say, must he think of the fact that if there are any vices yet unknown, white men will teach them to the heathen, and when the heathen have heard the Gospel, the great sources of doubt are the white men - Englishmen. Full often the greatest oppressors will spring of our own nation. Certainly we hold the belt for drunkenness, and where our fellow countrymen go the name of Christianity is rendered base among the heathen. The Mohammedan says of such a man, "He has been drunk and turned a Christian." I will grant that much that is said is said unwisely, and untruthfully, and slanderously in exaggeration, for these men are no Christians. They know not the Lord. It is not a Christian country: it is a heathen country, as some of us know, not only by what we read, but by what we see and hear. Can you walk the streets without hearing blasphemies more black than might be heard in any streets under heaven? This is a heathen country, but yet it has somehow come to be thought to be a Christian country; and therefore its conduct is bringing dishonour upon the name of the Most High. Oh! that he would have pity upon that name, and interpose, and once more establish the truth and set up a throne of righteousness, and turn the hearts of the people to himself in this country! Oh! that it were so, for his great name’s sake! He cannot bless us for our own sakes, for we deserve nothing but his wrath; but, oh! that he would once again have pity upon his holy name that is profaned, and bless this our land. The Lord goes on to say concerning his people: -
Ezekiel 36:22-23. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the LORD GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the LORD GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
Brethren, what must God think of a nation like to ours which has come to be called by his name, albeit it so little deserves that great honour? What, I say, must he think of the fact that if there are any vices yet unknown, white men will teach them to the heathen, and when the heathen have heard the Gospel, the great sources of doubt are the white men - Englishmen. Full often the greatest oppressors will spring of our own nation. Certainly we hold the belt for drunkenness, and where our fellow countrymen go the name of Christianity is rendered base among the heathen. The Mohammedan says of such a man, "He has been drunk and turned a Christian." I will grant that much that is said is said unwisely, and untruthfully, and slanderously in exaggeration, for these men are no Christians. They know not the Lord. It is not a Christian country: it is a heathen country, as some of us know, not only by what we read, but by what we see and hear. Can you walk the streets without hearing blasphemies more black than might be heard in any streets under heaven? This is a heathen country, but yet it has somehow come to be thought to be a Christian country; and therefore its conduct is bringing dishonour upon the name of the Most High. Oh! that he would have pity upon that name, and interpose, and once more establish the truth and set up a throne of righteousness, and turn the hearts of the people to himself in this country! Oh! that it were so, for his great name’s sake! He cannot bless us for our own sakes, for we deserve nothing but his wrath; but, oh! that he would once again have pity upon his holy name that is profaned, and bless this our land. The Lord goes on to say concerning his people: -