Religion: Not Unto Us, O Lord

In Princeton University Chapel on Thanksgiving Day, Dr. Henry Sloane Coffin, president of Union Theological Seminary and foremost U.S. Presbyterian, preached proud Americans a sermon on Christian humbleness. Excerpts:

“We are celebrating a national thanksgiving. If we and our fellow citizens thoughtfully and sincerely say: ‘Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory,’ there is a good chance that the American people will grow more likable in the eyes of mankind. . . .

“As a nation, doubtless we have always been self-reliant, not to say cocky. . . .

Now that we are aware of our enormous might, we may become much more cocky, and therefore intolerably offensive in the eyes of nations whose excellencies are along other lines. Conquering nations have seldom been humble. That is one reason why victorious wars have not brought enduring peace. . . .

“We shall become impatient and irritated with our allies; and God knows they will be tried and provoked with us. … Penitent, pardoned, and therefore truly humble Americans—can we fancy it?—may under God be used to discover and help establish wise international arrangements.”