When two hundred and fifty thousand brave spirits passed from the field
of honor, through that thin veil, to the presence of God, and when at
last its parting folds admitted the martyr President to the company of
those dead heroes of the Republic, the nation stood so near the veil
that the whispers of God were heard by the children of men. Awe-stricken
by his voice, the American people knelt in tearful reverence and made a
solemn covenant with Him and with each other that this nation should be
saved from its enemies, that all its glories should be restored, and, on
the ruins of slavery and treason, the temples of freedom and justice
should be built, and should survive forever.
It remains for us, consecrated by that great event and under a covenant
with God, to keep that faith, to go forward in the great work until it
shall be completed. Following the lead of that great man, and obeying
the high behests of God, let us remember that:
"He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
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