^k IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 HIM 2.5 2.0 1.6 p^ <^ '^1 /a "^ > ^ .>^ / #^^^ n Photographic Sciences Corporation ''b ^Cs"- %^ ^e«90-<)i!c>9att9a NEW- YORK ; PUBLISHED BY EASTBURN, KIRK AND CO.; WHITINO AND WATSON; AND SMITH AND FORMAN. Paul Sr Thomas, Prinfcrn. 1815. <^/^ ^ ''^'/^ UiitrUI iifiXeiv- York, ij. BEITRRMEMBEHED, tint on the Tirenlictlnlay of JtAutry, in the Thirty-»)nHi year of the Indenen.lenre of tlie United St»te« of America, Alixakdir M't.KOD of the said .listrict, has deposited in this office the title of a Ijoolt, tlie right whereof ha claims as Author, in the words following, to wit : a »"» ii» " A Sc^Ptura' View of the Cliaractor. Canw. and Ends of the Present War. br Alixasdi'ii M'liEOD. D D. Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, New-Yorli. "^-nDiR ' " Hearken unto me : I also will show in'ne opinion." EHInk. ' " Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed It. Mlco*.' " III conformity to the act of the Conp-css of the United States, entitled " an Act Tor the «n- cnuragement of Leamine. I.y securing the copies Of Maps. Charts, and Hooks to th* authors and proprietors of such copies, durin? the time therein mentioned." And also to an Act, entitled, "an Act, supplementary to an Act, entitleerty which guarantees a fair hearing to the opponents of the measures of administration, se- cures a similar right to those who undertake their vindication. Let the parties contend in the strife of reason ; and truth, upon an equal footing with error, must prevail. * I have exercised, in the discourses now laid before the public, this privilege of a freeman. I have be- lieved, llierefore have I spoken. If the tendency of my publication, is to support the present administra- tion of the government, the work ought not to be condemned merely on that account. I am ready to ac .nowledge that a great part of my most intimate literary friends, are in opposition ; but this consi- deration does not, in the least degree, affect my con- victions of truth and righteousness. Against the pre- sent ,var, much of that opposition has been directed I have perceived, grafted upon the strife for place and power, errors which required correction : and, it is for this purpose, more than for the sake of serv- ing the rulers of the land, that I have taken up the subject. Had I thought much less of the men, who hold the sceptre, than 1 do, I would have thought and spoken of the cause of my country, precisely as I have done. These sermons were addressed to christians, from the pulpit; and for their use, they are principally mtendea, when issued from the press. Several re- spectable ministers of religion, took an eariy stand against the measures of government ; and denounced FREFACl. VU as cruel, and unprovoked, and unjust, the present appeal to arms. These opinions remained long be> fore the public without contradiction ; and it ap- peared, from the activity of their authors, and the silence of others, as if they were incapable of re- futation. It was becoming a general opinion, that the clergy and the church weie, on the great ques- tion between the United States and England, upon the side of the enemy. Many pious people were discouraged; their personal exertions, and their prayers, were aflected by this fact : and even, wlien our own city was under the apprehension of imme- diate invasion, so great was the force of prejudice, that many men of intelligent piety doubted, whe- ther they could join together in prayer, for courage to our warriors, and success to our armaments, in order to procure a speedy, an honourable, and a per- manent peace. I beheld with alarm, the extent of the evil of party spirit. I viewed it as a judgment from the Lord ; and I became fearful that the clouds of his indignation must thicken around us— that the hand of the eneiny, and a long continuance of c-lamity would become necessary in divine Pro- vidence to effect the unanimity, without which, 1 am still apprehensive, we shall not succeed in put- ting an end to the contest. I am persuaded, that it iequires no more than a display of unajvimitv in RESISTING AGGRESSION, to piocure at any time an honourable peace. While the enemy expects to di- vide, why should he seek to conciliate ? The principles v bich I have laid down, and en- forced in those sermons, are not, however, of mere VIU PRKFACJi. temporary interest. Whether in peace, or at war, they are of importance to a christian community! They are the permanent principles of social order and public equity. If the work contained a sin- gle sentiment of irreligious or immoral iendency, I would cheerfully consign it to the flames. I love mankind, I love the country of my choice, I love the saints; and I desire to promotl^the best intei-ests of true religion and of civil liberty, be- •ause I love my God. New-York, Jan. 20, 1815. DISCOURSES, ^c. \'^>'S- ♦ SERMON I. Amaziak said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Jvdah, and there eat bread and prophesy there: but prophesy not anymore at Bethel; for it is the king's ehapel, and it is the king's court. Then answered Amos, and said to Amaztah, I was no prophet, neither was I a pro- VheCs son ; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycamorefruit : and the Lord took me as I fol- lowed the flock; and the Lord said unto me^ Go, prophesy unto my people Israel. Now, therefore, hear thou the word of the Lord. Amos vii. 1 2—1 Q, 1 HE subject, which I propose for discussion in a series of discourses to be delivered on this hour of the Lord's day, has always been considered as ly- ing out of the common routine of pulpit exhibition ■ and has moreover, by some, been viewed as alto.re- ther without the field in which ministers are appoint- ed to labour. I, of course, at the commencement of my remarks on the present state of our public af- fairs, anticipate from a judicious audience the ques- tion once addressed to our Saviour, although T arn 10 THF, IJIOIIT OP /)ISC(T.SSIi\(, confitlont U will be proposed in ,,„iio n (lim-rent •pirit IVoni lliat vvliich inniieiued iUv Jewish rulers, hi/ ivlial auilwrily doest thou these things ? and who gate ther this authority /* n is a wi(l(« spare, Christians, that separates the line of eonducf, which would suhject the public lui- iii.^lry of the church to the o[jinions of men, from tiiat, which treats wifh conten)pt tiie sentiments of a respectalde part of the comnunnty. Hrtus est me- dium vitionim.f 'riiou^h I will not he deterred by popular opinion, from prosecuting this subject, I (eel it my dutv to treat with tcridtrness, and even respect, the prejudices of valuable men. There- fore do I preface a discussion which may in a cer- tain sense bt; termed political, with an exhibition of the authority under which, in this instance, I act. Far be it from me to assert the ri^ht of enslaving the minds of my hearers into passive obedience to sacerdotal claims; nor shall I insult an audience, which ought to be endowed with christian discern- ment, by an etlbrt at brow-beating the most humble of my fellow-mc^n. My apology is found in the words of Amos the prophet. Some explanation is necessary to comprehend the object of my text. The writer' was a native of Te- koa, a small town adjacent to the wilderness of Ju- dah. Here he passed his early years, in attending his flocks, and in gathering, in its season, the Egvp- *■ Mark xi, 28. i Cicero nJBI C itFFAlKb. 11 (lilTlrent sh rulers, and who iratea the mblic ini- len, IVoin enis of a us est mt- eried hy il)joct, I ind even I'here- in a cer- l)ition of ^e, I act. Mislaving ience to udience, (liscern- liuinble lie words lend the ; of Te- 58 of Ju- Itending 2 Egyp- tian tig, commonly called syvnmorc:fruit. In this pastoral life, Amos, pious and inlelligenl, enjoyed that happy simplicity which is unembarrassed by Ihe fastidious distinctions of more polished society. He did not belong 1o the regularly authorized instruc- ters of the church, nor was he educated in their theo- logical schools, miUur a prophet nor a prophet's son ; but, before he entered upon his public work, he had moie than an equivalent for systematic study, and ordinary induction into oflice : he was divinely called and qualified by inspiration, for an extraordinary mission to the apostatizing Iribes of Israel. He was called to the prophetic office when the kingdom of the ten tribes was in its utmost splendour and pow- er, under the second Jeroboam, upwards of one hundred and fifty years after its erection under the first king of the same name. The throne of Israel had been removed to Sama- ria ; but still the king maintained a court and a pa- lace, as well as a royal chapel at Bethel, a city bor- dering upon the kingdom of Judah, and in which the first Jeroboam had establislied the worship of the golden calf for the purpose of preventing the Israelites from returning to the altar at Jerusalem. That very successful insurgent, a despiser himself of the worship of the true God, was an observer of human nature and of human prejudices, and well understood the importance of some form of religion, (w^hetiier true or false was to him immaterial,) as an engine of state policy : and he mac^; no scruples to employ it 12 TIIK RIGHT OF DISCUSSING as such. His successors upon the throne, appre- ciated his policy and iu.itated his example. Bethel revered by aJi the tribes as the scene of ti,e remark- able vision of their father Jacob, was still continued as a principal place of devotion, and decorated with a ro^^al court, an opulent hierarchy, and a splendid superstition. When Arnos the prophet visited, by divine direc- tion, this city, Amaziah was at the head of the reli- gion established by law, and in great favour with the court and the king. Resenting the freedom with which the minister of the Lord touched upon the af- fairs of state, Amaziah accused Amos of treason against Jeroboam, and ordered him out of the kino-- dom. The whole case is represented in this chapter from the 8th verse. Amos had denounced both the religion and go- vernment of Israel, and predicted their downfal verse 9. The sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. The chief priest of the prevalent idolatry was alarmed at this uncourtly interference with the claims ot majesty, and became himself the informer, verse 10. Then Amamth, the priest of Bethel, sent to Jero- boam the kin^ of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. FUBLIC AFFAIRS. 13 , apprc- Bethel, remark- ontinued tetl with splendid le direc- the reli- with the )m with ti the af- treason le king- chapter and go- low nfal, i rvastCy mth the i*y was claims ", verse o Jero- nspired el: the Whether authorized by the king or not, Ainaziah proceeds to forbid the pr,)phet to preach any more such doctrine at Bethel : /or it is the king\s court: verse 12. Amos disregarded the injunction, and boldly addressinghimself to Amaziah, said, verse IG, JSorv, therefore^ hear thou the word of the Lord. Here, then, we have the example of an inspired man for introducing, in public, topics of discussion which have a political bearing, together with the re- monstrance of Amaziah against the practice. We venture to follow the prophet of the Lord. Nor is this a solitary example of the kind. Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Daniel, Paul, and John • yea, all the prophets of God, hesitated not to apply their doctrine to political persons and events, when- soever a proper occasion presented itself. In my humble opinion, the present condition of our city and our land is such an occasion. It forces upon our attenrion a practical question, which we cannot entirely evade. However this war may have originated, it is a fact that it exists, and that we feel Its pressure. This city is threatened, and many parts of our country are already invaded by a powerful foe. Our husbandmen are called off from the culti- vation of their fields, and our fellow-citizens from their several occupations, in order to be trained to arms, and at tlie risk of their lives to defend their homes. Our sons, our brothers, and our fathers, our brethren in Christ, who have sat down with us at the * table, in order to partake with us in the solemnities 14 THK IlIOHT OF HISCUfiSINO of our holy n-liiirion, wleep on tlic tented field, watcli at ur Lord together 3 march 2SS, and ne, both !y occu- vHhhold »oth our d after- ir mem- loin her d them- vvar? If lot only do siip- ag such idering )on the rather pulpit nit the Ministers have the ri^hl of discussing from the puU pit those political questions which affect christian mo- rals, I prove this right—and remove objections. I. Prove that we have such right. The object to be accomplished by our ministry— The scriptural history-The system of sacred pre- d,ction-And the precepts which we are commis- sioned to expound, are the sources of argumentation to which I refer yoif in proof of this claim of right. 1. The object of our ministry is, nowhere, more <^iimmar,ly expressed than in the words of our Sa- viour m granting, immediately before his ascension into heaven, the apostolical commission, Matth. 28 19. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations. The word m the original, wlilch we render teach,* signifies more than the diffusion of knowledge. It coliveys the Idea of forming disciples; and of course includes all that instruction in righteousness, which belongs to christians. It is impossible without perversion of language to exclude from such instruction every thing which has a political bearing. Ministers are authorized to go throughout the worid, and thus instruct all nations * Md^tiltvirtcle. f<' 16 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSIN*. upon the face of the earth ; and Ihe object of theii iTiHiistry cannot be said to be completely accom- plished until nations, as such, shall have submitted to the rule of ligliteousness. Individuals, indeed, may be converted, and edilied, and glorified ; churches may be organized, and enlarged, and comforted ; and even bodies politic may experience some advan- tage from the christian religion : in all these ir.^tan- ces the honour of the Deity is promoted oi, earth ; but the object of the ministry of the word of God is not fully answered unless ihe earth be filled with the knowledge of the glori/ of the Lord, and all nations made to feel the influence if Christianity. If reli- gion is of any use in this world, or in the world to come, it is useful for man, in every relation of life : and certainly, no christian, who seriously considers the value of religion, to know, and love, and serve God, l)y obeying in every situation his command- ments, can continue to doubt the propriety of acting religiously in the important concerns of civil life. From the obligations of the word of God, no man is exempt. Directions are addressed to the military as well as to the clergy.* It is unreasonable then, to deprive tlie ministers of religion of the right of speaking upon any subject whatever, that has respect to sin and duty, or that affects the moral conduct of men and of nations. How shall we ever realize the hope inspired by these assertions, rii^hteousness cxallcth a nation—The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lordy if christian dc- * Lnkeiii. 14. VUHLW AFFAIRS. 17 Tines have no ri^ht to apply the p.inciples of re- vealed relii-ion lo llie concerns of politic:al life ? 2. The scriptural history cannot be explained or applied vvithou} touchinc. on political topics. The sacred writers treated of the political con( erns of their own, and of preceding ages, and have set us the example. Deny us the right of expressing political sentiujents, and of remarking upon national conduct and events, and a great part of the sacred volume will necessarily remain unexplai 1 be- fore our eyes, and comparatively useless. Every man, who believes in the providence of God, will admit that all hue history is worthy of attention as a developement of the divine government over hu- man affairs; as an exposition of the principles of hu- man action ; and as a record of facts and events use- ful for the direction of our conduct in every situa- tion of life : and shall we not be permitted to avail ourselves of such aid in the instruction of the seve- ral ranks of our liearers ? We are assured, by the in- spired writers, that national concerns are made sub- ordinate to the interests of true religion: and, it is obvious to all, that there is an intimate connexion between political events, and the interests of the christian church. Where, then, is the propriety of sealing up our lips, tliat we may not speak of the di- vine providence, or point out the agency of our Saviour in overruling, for the good of Zion, the changes which take place among the nations of the earth .' 3 It) iilL liliiHT OK lilSCUeSINU 3. The prophecies of scripture can never be ex- plained without political discussion. The prospective history contained in the bible, as well as the narration of past events, interweaves the story of the rise and fall of empire, wilh that of the church of God ; and tlie whole is employed for the purpose of instructing the saints, and of supporting their hopes and benevolent exertions. The educa- tion of believers, of wliich the bible is unquestion- ably the perfect standard, cannot correspond with their diversified conditions, temptations, and duties, if all their civil relations be excluded from consi- deration, and their pastors utterly prohibited from expounding those portions of scripture which exhibit mankind in their collective capacity and character. Tndividual man is certainly a very interesting object of attention and study. The christian, from the first moments of his spiritual life ; throughout the whole progress of this his new and better nature to tlie per- fection of the man of God ; in the trying hour of his separation from the world; and in his future state of endless enjoyment; furnishes the public teachers and private members of the church, with abundant matter of useful discourse and reflection : but, the social concerns of the rational creature, as they occupy a great portion of our imo; ^ive ex- ercise to all our powers; and affecf ai duties and enjoyments ; must not be forgotten in the ap- plication of the word of truth., to the moral part of the tenants of this world, who are preparing Ui^ slie high society which we hope to enter when POBLIC AFFAIRS. 19 our pil^imagc is finished. No man can be permit- ted to explain (he prophecies wtiich are already ac- complished, unless he be allowed to apply the fact to the prediction: ard for the same reason, those, which are now fulfilling, or hereafter to be fulfilled cannot be pointed out to the friends of leligion un- less we have a right to bring into view i^, our public mmistrations great political events and characters Let the experiment be made upon the books, written by Daniel and John, and the truth of my assertion will be universally confessed. 4. A more copious and conclusive argument in support of our right, to preach what may, in a cer- tani sense, be denominated politics, is derived from the precepts of inspiration which we are required to proclaim to the world. The priesCs lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts,* '' It will not, 1 hope, be denied, that christian minis- ters have a right to make the commandments of their God a subject of discussion. The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and Just, and good.f There is I admit, some danger of abusing this and every other right which we possess ; and for such abuse we de- serve correction. In proportion, too, to the danger of misrepresenting the word o* truth, should be our * Mai. ii. 7. tRom. vii. 12. m 20 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSsIIvG caufion in the selection and discussion of subjects beifore the public. This caution is peculiarly neces- sary for those ministers who venture upon political remarks. Our own partialities are apl to betray us into error. The acuteness of an independent people, alive to their political interests, is waiting to detect our aberrations. A feverish sensibility, inseparable from the deep intrigues of selfish policy, renders a few incapable of hearing without misapprehension, and of speaking without misrepresentation. Some have swerved from a good conscience, and have turned aside unto rain Jangling ; desiring to be teachers of the laiv ; understanding neither what they say nor whereof they nfirm. But we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully* And it is impossible to make any use of some parts of the divine law, without enter- ing upon discussions that may be termed political. If I can show to you, my christian brethren, from this volume, by which alone you are bound to try my ministry among you, that the law of God gives directions about the several great concerns of civil polHy, you will not again call in question my right, to declare, from this place, the duty required of u^'s in relation to civil life. Bear with me, for a little, and I shall quote for your inspection passages, which prescribe The mode of constituting civil riders— The character of such as administer the government— The duty of the constituted authorities— The conduct proper upon the part of subjects— pass^iges which * 1 Tim. i. 5—8. PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 21, mprove them who confer power improperly^nd Ihreaten magistrates who art unmindful of their high obligations. AIJ the^e are political doctrines, wliicli the Gover- nor of the universe commands us to teach to the nations of the earth. 1. The mode of constituting rulers, is by electing, to the several departments of stale, suitable charac- ters from among the people over whom thev are to exercise authority. Exod. xviii. 21. Thou shalt pro- vide out of all the people able men, uwh as fear God, men of truth, hating covetovsness, and place such over them to be rulers. The chief concern of a nation in forming its arrangements, ought to be the wise and equitable distribution of power into proper hands. The divine rule for doing this, now quoted, has never been surpassed. It is adapted to every na- tion ; and its excellence obvious to every man of understanding. The prerequisites, in a candidate for power, are plainly stated. They are four, capa- city, piety, integrity, and disinterestedness. They appear, too, in the order of their relative impor- tance. First, capacity-a^/e men. The ignorant, ti.e feeble the foolish, and the insane, are diLrdei as obviously unfit to bear office among rational be- ings Second, piety-.wcA a. /ear G^orf. The seep- ic the VICIOUS, and the prof^me, are rejected from authority over the accountable subjects of the di- vme moral govein.nent. Third, integritv-m.. of 22 THE RIGHT OF DISCUPSING truth. The ambitious, the dissembler, and the hy- pocrite, being unprincipled, are dangerous and un- worthy of trust. Fourth, disinterestedness — hating covetousness. The selfish, and the mercenary man would sacrifice the public good at the shrine of an individual servant. The general maxim of polity, from which all these directions flow, is, that no provisions of a constitution of government, however wisely adopted, can pre- serve the liberties and promote the good of society., unless they be administered by suitable officers. Measuresy the object; and, for their sakes, proper men. In this view, I consider as correct, the decla- ration of a great parliamentary orator, " How vain then, how idle, how presumptuous is the opinion, that laws can do every thing ' and how weak and pernicious the maxim founded upon it, that mea- sures, not men, are to be attended to !"* 2. The character, to be supported by those who are in power in any commonwealth, is expressly pre- scribed, 2 Sam. xxiii. 3. The God of Israel said — He that ruhth over men must he just j ruling in the fear of God. If government be instituted for the good of the community, and not for the pleasure of an in- dividual, as the divine law declares and common sense admits, provision ought to be made for the * Fox's Hist. Phil.l 808, page 14, PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 23 speedy removal of a public servant who is unwor- thy of the trust reposed in him. The law must of course be applied to his character during the whole period of his continuance in oliice. If he cannot Dear the test, a more worthy personage ought to be ^^elected in order to occupy in his room. In vain would the divine law appoint a criterion, unless it were proper to dispossess the occupant who could not endure its application. The constitution of go- vernment, which requires base men, or those other- wise disqualified for the duties of a high station, to contmue in power for life, is on that very account inconsistent with the bible. The criterion specified m the passage before you, is both obvious and of easy application. It is twofold-justness to men, and reverence for their Creator. He that ruleth over men--. moral agents united by social ties, during the time he continues in power, must, of necessity, exhibit these qualifications. If he he unjust to men, these men ought, for their own sakes, to dispossess him and if lie have no respect for the Creator, men, ac- countable to him who is worthy of esteem and fear ought, in testimony of their allegiance to the almigh- ty Governor of nations, to remove from influence and honour the despiser of his name and law. 3. It is required of the constituted authorities of a nation, that they officially recognize the christian religion, and cherish the interests of the church of Jesus Christ. Psalm ii. 10, 12. Be rvise, now, there- .fore, O ye kings ; be instructed, ye judges of the 24 THE RIGHT OF DISCU&'SINU |;i : earth. Serve the Lord with fear — Kiss the Son lest he be angry. As it is the will of God, declared in the constitu- tion of human nature and in the circumstances of human life, as well as in the scriptures, that men should associate under suitable regulations, he pre- scribes for those, who frame and execute laws in a commonwealth so formed, their duty in relation to himself their sovereign Lord, almighty Protector, and omniscient Judge. It is their wisdom to comply — to hear, understand, and obey his divine injunctions, revealed in the christian religion. 4. The course of conduct, becoming the subjects of such equitable and righteous rulers, is also pointed out, and the reason upon which it is founded, is con- nected with the precept. Rom. xiii. 1, 5, 6. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers ; for there is no power but of God: the powers that be are or- dained of God. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath but fo'r conscience' sake. For this 'auscy pay ye tribute also : for they are God's minis- ters attending continually on this very thing. The duty specified is conscientious submission: that submission to be expressed by obedience to the law, and the punctual payment of such sums, as are required for the maintenance of public credit, and the support of the government. The reasons annex- ed are sufficiently forcible. The rulers of the na- I s mims- PUBLIC AFFATR?. ^5 vi;^ht; """'^'"^' ''"^"^'"^ -"«"-"^ on th^ tures. very eadl/u„d l^f '' Vh?;," '\^/"'> constitutions, and the eIec«on Jnffl '"" "' work of the community and th„ ' "'' "'^ authori!; :;f pXer e~ Vf -.i'^ "''" '"="" -•-* '^^/'- -•-!" wr:::7£^-' i.is'di2:xsr',:;rr'^^ "™^''^- -'" t--n governments: oher:Leir,"'""/"'' '"^'"■ principles. Hos. viii. ^7.3 1"'^ I"^ '"'"■'" tte Ihmg that is ^n,„l. a *"'* ""' # prmces, and I knen, it m. Now im i '? 7* «»«•««.•«.,, a,.d vini thnr sins '"'"' "^" Wx 26 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSING ;,l I In ou. political maxims and actions. Let us recom- mend ,n the same breath, religious and civil duty Uu the hrolhcrhood-Fmr God-Honour th Ki,Ji is ' * I Pet. ii. 1 I. r/ 32 THK RIGHT OP DlSCUaSIIfe 2. Objection. " The kingdom of the Redeemer ig not of this world ; and therefore the ministers of the Hedeemer should not interfere with the king- doms of this world." Far be it from me to deny the truth of the maxim with which this objection commences. It is a part of that good confession, which the faithful and true wit- ness made before the Roman deputy, who exercised over subjugated Palestine, the iron sway of the Cae- sars. Pontius Pilate, agitated by a consciousness of the innocence of Jesus Christ, and of his own guilt, and labouring to devise means for delivering th« Tictim of .Jewish malevolence without risking his own popularity, proposed, from the Judgment-seat, which he so unworthily filled, the question. Art thou the king of the Jews J Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world* He admitted that he was a king: He bore witness unto the truth ; and the iruth i?, that he is King of kings— higher than the kings of the earth.f How then are we to understand the assertion, " my kingdom is not of this world ?" In its most obvious meaning. His power is from a higher source. It is of God. It is not fiom the election of the peo- ple, nor the appointment of the Emperor. It is Je- hovah, who said to him. Sit thou at my right hand— Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of tie earth for thy possession.t If, therefore, his kingdom is not of this world, it is * Joha xviii. 33, 36. f Psalm Ix xxix. 27. J Paalm ii. 8. PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 3J of God: it is o..r the world : The Lord hath prepare edhis thrane in the heavens, and his kingdom rulelh over alt.* So far. then from furnishing an objection against the claim of nght which we make, is this principle, that .1 m fact establishes it beyond all dispute The kingdom of Christ is of God, over the nations, ther«- fore we apply the Ia,vs of that kingdom to the na- Claim of Satan, though termed the god of this norld. to the sovereignty orer the nations ; but shall endea- vour to rescue them from the dominion of the usur- per, and restore tliem in allegiance to their lawful governois " the prince of the kingsof the earth." The feaviour hunseli; when the adversary tempted him. by a requisition of homage, and an olfer of power over the world, refused both the demand, and the gift, because worship is due only unto God; and Irom God himself, the Rede -nerhad already obtain- ed all power over the kingdoms of the earth. The ctr ' ?"t" '■" '"" "•''''•• ^'"•'«'-- "- con! h .^he k-ngdom of Christ is not of hut over this world. The ministers of Christ have therefore! right to treat of all the moral concerns of humanL! 3. Oljection. « As ministers have the care of *ouls. and not of the bodily estate of men, they * Psalm ciii. 19. 5 m '/! .14 lltK liKillT OV t)lM!|i.ShlKriuilloil to trcut ul' i\t\y eUiopt ipi rihiul Nul»jrc'ts." Tlir m«MU romvin of rviM'V mislor w!io is fiuilir».. |m><)|»I«> wliom lio koivoh, is In iVnl llir lUuk ol' (io«l with kn<)\vl(Ml^(> nixl uiMiorsdiiuliiii;. It is mind tliut niakivs (ho inmi ; aiut iho inloivst of o\m soul iw iuoM> (o ho sought ixWvv, Uvviwisv, in irulity, morn Vi\iin\UU\ (linn ihv wholo world. 1 know that the <>raoh»s of (u»d inlorni vmmi, who hoar th<» gospol, that (hr» rulois of Israol tvatrh Jhr your soitfs, as they that m\isi ij^'ivr areouut.* Wo to \\\r unl'aithrni pastor who loinots tho souls of uion, or lotuses to niini»itei to (hoir odilioation. *riio inipiovoniriit of mind, howtnor, dors not it- *iui«i> tlu* nouU'< t ot tho body. 'Thoso oonstitut nt* of livini> man, an» intimatt l,v oonnootod by a divine liand. lU)th woiv a.^sunuHl ' > th«> Saviour, and it?- doon»od h\ his Mood. In both, wo 4>;h>rify (Jod on oarth. an«l shall rnj»>y hiiu in hoavtMi. Thr niatorial world is on abMl tor tlu> sako of tho moral ; and it is uplu Id by iMossiah (or tho sako of nnoaliuif hiss porfootions, in tho salvation of mon. iMattor itsoH, ♦hoi>i fiMv, n»ay Ih> n^forird to in «»ur ministry ; and iistdul It marks, upon it.s natuiv and its laws, may, without inourrinn the blamo of injurinj> tho rauso of spirituality, Ih^ intorwt>von with pi:ipit oxliibitions. l\>litios ivspoot not (ho lH>dily ostato only, or « von prinoipally. Thoy atUot mind, morals, pioty, com- * Heb. \iii. I T. ri'HLir ArFAiKj. 3:i lort. nnd duty. S.i far na fhc^y xc<>p(ini. politital evenis, are for your sakes. The whole of (he nations are subordinate to the churcii. the spiri(ual spouse ife of o! itude. It approaches monastic holiness more than the p,ety of Abraham, of Elijah, of Daniel of PauT and of John the Divine. These were m^„ ./ ? The, taught, and the, practised tZ^Ts ^S- that f • ;T''' """ '" "^■•' ""hout thinkin. that it injured devotion : and even «, ,l„ • , ^ t^^^Lor^s .„,, the beloved dilS" ^d "" his arisen Lord, to writs ^r ,u . f"*^" "X changes of empire! °^ '''' ^°'"*"'""S'' ='"'1 Believe me, brethren, if our religion is of the riVht description, and exists in o «„ ^ " certainly be enabled , '^ T' '"^'™''^' "^ ^''«" of God'^^n a human aff """"'r'' '"' P'"^'"-^- ev.l passions of worldly politician, ,f "'|*""? "'« ever that I f»->i . ,u i'"""'^"""- t confess, how- Tnt , • ' "■" '"'"* ''"«'■ <■'"■ the infirmities the weak; and should be disposed to avo d anv thing that might have a tendency'to mar their Lb,e i& THE HIOHT Ol JJISCUSSING Jl" devotion, did not duty require of tlie ambassadors of Clirist, to apply the law of their God to all questions of practical morality. 6. Objection. " Preachers are usually dictato- rial, and opposed to the religious and civil liberties of men. It is painful to be under the necessity of publicly eontradictin/?" ^^f'm, and li is therefore bet- ter for them to omit ?ai remarks in the pul- pit." The habit of public speaking without danger of interruption, or immediate opposition to the decla- rations which they make, as it is required by the re- spect due to devotional exercises, and enjoyed by the ministers of religion, is calculated to cherish, upon their par' i decision of expression, which may bor- der upon the dogmatic. It is probable, nevertheless, that the pulpit orator, is, usually, as far removed from Uiis extreme, as the members of the senate, or the gentlemen of the bar. A man of mind, convin- ced himself of tho truth of his assertions, will, hr any situation, speak with an air of confidence ; but there is no necessity of his treating with contumely the sentiments of such as think differently from him : and it is especially unbecoming the pulpit to affect contempt for the persons of men. If it be a fact, that a multitude of religious instructers are found friendly to arbitrary power and to an illegitimate subserviency of church to state polity, it is surely no good reason for preventing men, who understand and value the rights both of God and man, from PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 41 po nt,„g out the duty of christian, in relation both o ec topics from ,he pulpit IS truly favourable to (he real liberties of Licentiousness is as remote from civil liberty as k tyranny itself The righteousness which e.x;i,eth a nation, includes intelligence and public morality. Wo moral improvement can take place without re- gard to religion : and Christianity, as opposed to in- fidelity to superstition, and to lawless power, is em- pha ica lly the religion of " peace upon earth, and of good will towards men." I, is the religion of benevo' lence to man as well as piety towards God, and of course the only " perfect law of liberty." You will »llow me to add, that no means wimtever can be possibly successful in finally rescuing from-iisurpa- t.on the liberties of mankind, and of purifying and perpetuating them, without the aid of the religion ♦aught by the Son of God. This alone is efferal in diangmg the heart, from whence proceed the am- b tion and the strife which have been the causes bj"h tl e nations of the earth. When I shall have point! ed out the causes which incline the ministers of (.-e church to the side of arbitrary power among the na- tions. I shall Illustrate this sentiment with a revie«r o lacts, and so conclude my apology for introdu- cing this subject into the pulpit. 6 42 THE RIGHT OF DlSCt'S&IAG 1 . Account for the fact, that christian ministeri^ should, in despite of the tendency of the christian religion to favour the cause of civil liberty, be often found among the supporters of the interestn of arbi- trary power. It is not to be expected, among men of imperfect faculties and of like passions with others, that they should be perfectly conformed to the divine law, or even, in every case, assimilated to the examples which divine revelation records with approbation. They are capable of being, in part, aflected by sur- rounding circumstances, where they are piously disposed ; and, it is not to be questioned, that, in many instances, men enter into the ministry with unsanctified hearts, as the means of procuring a convenient livelihood. The great body of the priesthood of the nations will accordingly yield to the force of circumstances, and there are found so many exciting causes to prejudice the mind against civil liberty, that it is easy to account for the fact which we deplore. These causes are to be found in the ecclesiastical establishments of the nations — The personal ambi- tion of ecclesiastics — The power of fear — And the inclination to propagate their own opinions, natural to all men. First. The ecclesiastical establishments among the nations, secure a very great proportion of all the clergy in the christian world, upon the side of PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 43 the syste^i of civil rule, by which they are suoported, many of them in great splendour and opulence. They are themselves, as much as the Egyptian, Chaldean, or Roman hierarchies, a part of the national govern- ment, and as such identified with the prevailing des- potism. They, of course, and also as many as can be influenced by their doctrine and example, will be disposed to coincide with tyrannical power.* Second. Personal ambition is, everywhere, in a greater or less degree, to be found. Clerical ambi- tion was found in the apostolical age, and it has ne- ver yet diminished ; but still continues to agitate the churches. That civil liberty, which offers restraint to its exercise, and which denies gratification to its desires, will not receive so much of its aid, as a more splendid and powerful system, which can reward its services, by reducing within its reach the objects which it is anxious to compass— rank, influence,' and opulence. Discerning statesmen, of arbit-a-y and ambitious views, will understand their men ; and the understanding becomes mutual. ^ » Human establishments havealways been made engines of state policy: thej have promoted hypocrisy and infidelity-the great evil has been in the civil magistrate usurping the throne of Christ, and exercising spiritual dominion-Here," in the United States " 18 an asyhim for you, our brethren of the old world, whose livrj are embittered by the cruel impositions of men; the fruit of whose labours go to support lazy priests and lumrious princes } who thou<^h you rise early, and late take rest, obtain only a scanty subsistence lor yourselves and families." The blessings of America. A sermon, nythc late Dr. Linn, of New-York, 1791. 44 THE RIGHT OF DlbCUsrsIIVG Third. The fear of iiifidolity, ruinous as that system is, not only to ecclesiastical authority, but to good morals, and to present and future happiness, has driven many of the best men of the present age, into an unhappy attachment to the doctrinesof the old antichristian school. Irreligion formed, especially at the commencement of the Frendi revolution, a tem- poiary connexion with liberty against the dominion of European despotism ; and virtuous uiinds, not capa- ble of sufficient discrimination, rejected liberty on account of her evil associate. Designing men looked upon the connexion with pleasure, as affording an opportunity of sounding the alarm, and reducing into discredit the cause of liberty as if inseparable from impiety and licentiousness. Ministers, like others, took the alarm ; and although ihe scriptures assure us, that no other evil is to have such de- structive influence in the church, as the antichristian polity of superstitious establishments, tliey spake, in private, and from the pulpit, as if democracy and deibin were the only calamity to the church of God. In the course of a few years, of madness and misrule upon the part of France, habits of opposition to revo- lutions, and of attachments to ancient despotism, have been so strongly formed, that, even now, when history proves the danger to have been visionary, and France has actually returned to her ancient boundaries, and her ancient superstition, under her former race of kings ; the practice continues of presenting liberty ar- rayed in the garb of ipfidelity, as an object of execra- tion and universal al)horrence. Another generation will scarcely credit the extent of the panic among the TLBLlc AFFAIRS. 4.i as that y, but to 3ppineii»» sent age, »f the old ciaily at % a tem- iomhiion lot capa- )erty on ri looked rding an reducing eparable 318, like :riptures such de- christian f spake, acy and of God. misrule to revo- sni, have 1 history I France ries, and race of )erty ar- ■ execra- neration nong the thurohe, of the reformation. They will be amazed on ear„.„g from history, that distinguished andl te Lgent Protestant, in our own country, had been dnven ,y their fears of French infidelity 'so far i," a forgetfulness of the faith of their fathers, and of he recent struggles which established their national l.bert,es. as to hail like the millennium, an even wh.ch tended to consolidate European despot sn," wh.eh restored to power the „,n„ o? sin. wi, , a J gloomy terrors of the Roman inquisition ; andni. ch afforded the opportunity to their anci;„t , e .f pounng out h,s victorious legions upon their ;,; Fourth. It is natural for men to e.xpres, their opunons to others ; and to be uneasy under Strain M,n,sters of religion are as much disposed as any of efore the gates of Antwerp and Haerleui. 1 hroughout the several provinces of the Nether- iands, the founders of that famous republic were ac- customed to meet in arms, to hear sermons from preachers for whose heads rewards were i,. vain of- iered by the foes of liberty and truth. Scotland, tiie onginal comtrtf of the whigs, led on by her faithful pastors, introduced the name and the spirit into England ; and, by the aid of the puritan .ninisters succeeded in the temporary reformation of both tla' sanctuary and the throne. To these advocates of li- berty, the British empire stands to this day under ob- igation for all the freedom enjoyed by the constitu- tion. In encouraging and eflecting the American re volution, the exertions and influence of christian mi" nisters, in ih^ pulpit, in the congress, and in tlie field, were felt and duly appreciated: and there are yet among our own pastors, men, who, in despite of the baleful influence of party spirit, feel tlie force of pietv and patriotism, and remember their duly to the cause ot equity, llieir country, and their God. If the rioht. and liberties of this great and growing empire "aie 48 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSI^'G, Si'c. doomed to perish, their last abode will be found along the side of tiie pulpits of the ministers of religion. There are men, in that sacred office, who would, in such a case, use upon better principles than did the Roman orator, the words which he put on the lips of liis distinguished client, Titus Annius Milo, " I will withdraw and retire into exile: if I cannot be a member of a virtuous commonwealth, it will be some satisfaction not to live in a bad one ; and, as soon as I set foot in a well-regulated and free state, there will I fix my abode — qiiam-primnm ietigero bene moratam el liberam civilateniy in ea conquiescam." But, no ! Liberty shall not perish ! The daughter of Zion rejoices in her fellowship. Peace and prosperity shall hereafter visit our land, and dwrll in our habi- tations. The Lord hasten it in jis own time, and unto him be glory in Christ Je?;us, norld mfhout end. Ame>\ TOE MORAL CHARACTER OF THE TWO BELLIGERENTS. •^V,\)V3^. SERMON IL Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Dan. v. 27. I™o/r"r ''"*""'" "'' pronounced by a pro- welcorriP iviiii^ K f ., Proclaim tnis un- lar. of Chli, " "^ ""'""^'' '-"^ -x' - Belshazzar, the Nabonadius of the Greet hi... xv::e?N\^"^°'"'"-'"-''^-^^'■S^^^^^ celebiated Nitoons, now sat upon the throne of Ne- I uie k ngs of Babylon. It was on the 1 7th year of vlar™"; ;"' T'"'"""- -gn.and„„thea llf '^"-awds.i„rs;rrr':^rjt;j |:lt irs !'f 5a IHE MORAL CHARACTER OP palace. He forgot, amidst his wine, and his revelry, that he was in a besieged city. For two years had the united armies of the far-famed Cyrus of Per- sia, and of his uncle Darius the Mede, laid siege to Babylon, the most magnificent metropolis of the world. Babylon, covering a square of sixty milei circumference, watered by the great river Euphrates, surrounded by a wall of eighty-seven feet in thickness, and of corresponding height, strengthened by three hundred towers of defence, and provisioned for ma- ny years, proudly frowned upon the thousands of Media and Persia, who, hitherto in vain, were en- deavouring its overthrow. Belshazzar, while he lasted the wine, commanded the golden vessels, taken from the house of God in Jeru- salem, to be brought to him. Witli polluted lips, he, his princes, his wives, and his coticvhines, drank, from the sacred relics of Zion's former greatness, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. A brilliant candle- stick, with its many lights, the rays of which were reflected from innumerable mirrors, is suspended from the ceiling; and all within the palace is mirth and song. But, at once, the king of Babylon trem- bles. The paleness of death sat upon his counte- nance. The joints of his loins were loosed; and his knees smote one against another. The whole assem- V>ly fell into disorder. There was a cause. Fingers, unconnected with mortal hand, appear on the wall ove»' against the candlestick, and there, in writing, Ihey leave the indelible sentence which Daniel the THE TWO BELLItlERENTS. ^X prophet was summoned to interpret— Meive, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. He hath numbered^ he hath mm- beredy he hath weighed, they divide. The King of heaven hath numbered the days of Chaldean power- He hath numbered them completely— The Judge of the earth hath weighed in the scale of moral estiina^ tion, this government— The Medes and Persians di- vide and destroy tlie empire. That night the interpretation was verified. Tlie Medes and Persians look the city, and massacred its nobles. The sun of Babylon set to rise no more. It is now but a tale that is told. Sic transit gloria mundi. Human power is evanescent ; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. The hand-writing upon the wall shall not be forgotten : the words are copied into our bibles : they shall be repeated over all the kingdoms of the nations, unto people of every kindred and tongue : and the maxims which they lay down, shall, in Uieir full import, be applied to other times! Tekel, Thou art weighed in the balances. The same balances still remain in the hand of the Judge of the universe— Nations still exist— and the ministers of religion, like the prophet of God, still interpret the divine will. Acting upon this authority, I proceed, to weigh, before your eyes, in the balance of the sanctuary, THE British mowarchy and the American republic. . I- 52 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF To each, in its turn, I say Tekel. In the estimate, which I make, of the moral character of each of these belligerents, I desire to exercise the impartiali- ty of a visitant from another world. Of those things which are essential to the formation of a correct judgment, I would, designedly. " Keep nothing back, ♦' Nor aught get down in malice." Seeing it is not as a statesman, a historian, or a philosopher, but as a christian divine, and with a view to particular practical questions, 1 am now bound to exhibit their character, it will not be ex- pected that I should describe the state of literature in the two countries ; that I should attend to their attainments in the sciences or the useful arts ; that I should give an account of their respective means and strength ; that I should enter into a detail of the domestic economy or general manners of the peo- ple ; or, that I should describe the state of the churches, and the spirit of their public laws, other- wise, than as essentially necessary to an estimate of the comparative goodness of the two governments which are opposed in war, The controversy, to be decided by the sword, is in fact between the two governments, although up- on questions immediately affecting the members of each community. Independently, however, of the mei its of the cause, for which war is waged, it is in- teresting for the christian to understand the charac- THE TWO BELLIGERENTS. 53 ter of the parties in the contest. By contemplating these, in the light of the divine law, we shall be able to determine which has the least degree of the di- vine disapprobation, and to which, of course, the af- fections of the friends of God should most forcibly tend. There is a sense in which christians are not numbered among the nations. As members of Christ's kingdom, which is not of this world, as sub- jects to the Sovereign Governor of all nations, they are not to be influenced by partiality to country so much as by correct views of the righteousness' or iniquity which may belong to the constitutions of na- tional power, IVie constitutions of government as reduced to prac- tice, are, in this case, the proper objects of examina- tion. To these, as it respects the two belligerents, I now direct your attention, while I place them in the balances in the name of the Judge of the world. I begin at home, with, \ I. The national government of the United States, The sin of a nation is the aggregate of all the transgressions committed by individuals in that na- tion : but these are properly national sins, which are notorious, prevalent, and characteristic. I speak not however, of the nation at large, but of its consti- tuted authorities, and therefore attend only to au- thorized SINS.* * The following remarks, made unon «he BrJH.h n»Mo?5 ^" ~ Tery amiable and pioua divine of the church of England, appljr'equal^ Til THE MOKAL CIIAKACTLR 0I< m Tlio publir immoralities of the constitution of our ferleral government, may, although more numerous in detail, be elasbcd under two heads, viz. Disre- sped for God—and violation of human liberty. By the terms of the national compact, God is not at all acknowledgod, and holding men in slavery is author- ized. Uotli these are evils. :■* 1. God is not aeknowlcdi^ed by the constitution. In a federative government, erected over several distinct and independent states, retaining each the power of local legislation, it is not to be expected that specific provision should be made for the inter- ests of religion in particular congregations. The general government is erected for the general good of the United States, and especially for the manage- ment of their foreign concerns : but no association of men for moral purposes can be justified in an entire ly to thia country. « The multiplicity of oaths which are interwo- ▼en into almost every branch of public business, involves thousands in the habitual guilt of perjury, which perhaps may eminently be ityled our national sin. The frequency of oaths, the irreverent man- ner in which they are administered, and the impunity with which they arc broken, have greatly contributed to weaken the sense of every moral obligation, and to spread a desolate and daring spirit through the land. The profanation of the Lord's day, drunkenness, profane swearing, are contrary, not only to the precept of scripture, but to the laws of the land ; and yet could hardly be more preva- lent if there were no statutes in force against them. Very few ma- gistrates are concerned to enforce the observation of these laws; and, if private persons sometimes attempt it by information, they meet but little success ; they obtain but little thanks. The acts of pleading, the minutes and niceties of forms, are employed to entan- gle or discourage them, and to skreen offenders. Nefvlon's JVorks, Phit. 1 "92. Vol V, page 3oe. THE FEDEKAL CONSTITUTION. Q5 neglect of the Sovereign of the world. Statesmen in this country had undoubtedly in their eye tiie abuHe of religion for mere political purposes, which in the nations of the old world, had corrupted the sanctuary, and laid the foundation for the persecution of godly men. The princij)al writers, upon govern- ment, friendly to the cause of civil liberty in the king- doms of Europe, had generally advocated principles, which, in their application, have led, upon the part of civilians, to a disrespect for religion itself; and these principles had no small influence upon the founders of this republic. This was the case in a remarkable de- gree with the continental politicians ; nor are Sydney and Locke to be entirely exempted from the charge. In the overthrow of those particular establishments, favourable to tlie church of England, which existed here before the revolution, it was natural, consider- ing the state of religious information in the commu- nity, to go to an opposite extreme. But no consi- deration will justify the framers of the federal con- stitution, and the administration of the government, in withholding a recognition of the Lord and his Anointed from the grand charter of the nation. On our daily bread, we ask a blessing. At our ordina- ry meals, we acknowledge the Lord of the world. We begin our last testament for disposing of world- ly estates, in the name of God : and shall we be guiltless, with the bible in our hands, to disclaim the christian religion as a body politic ?* * If it be vohintuiy associations which they form, act ujMm tiiis principle. Tlu>y ap{Hiiii< tlu>ir chnirnmn. their scrilus thrlr hcasurcr, lluir nmnn^rorn, tlu ir ronuniltces at pUa- Mnv. In nil iVoo cities; in all IxMicvoh.nt inslitu- tions, wUvihvv composed of males or females ; in all mcrtinj»s for (he ilillnsion of literary knowkHl^e, for hilarity, or for l)nsin(«ss this i.s the common course of prociilnre: and why deny (ho applica(ion of com- mon sense io na(ional associa(i,ms for the main(en. aneeof order u.ider nnmicipal law, and the defence of (ho s(a(e tnnw foreign violence I Second. Divine revelation inculcates and excm- plilios Uio system of representation. God deals wilh us, upon a knowledsfe of thf frame of our n)inr of our facuKies ; and lie diivcts us, so, also, to deal with one anodit r. The iYpivs(Mita(ive system appears in the fno i(reai cs- irtbiishmtuts ofhrami, in relation (o mankind.^-Uie co- VK.XAN r OF w<)KK> and the covkna.\ r ok ohace. There is a natural inuiy, aud there is a spiritual bodif. And so it is nritten. The Jirst man, Adam, was made a /iri»tif .vo«/, the iast Adam nas made a quiekeninir spi- rit. The first man is of the (arth, larthi/ ; the seeond minis the l.ord Jhwi heaven. And as is the tarthi/, sueh are they also that are earthy; and as is the hea- ftidj/, sueh arc they also that are heaiadjf^*^ * 1 Cor. xr, 4 1—48. THE UniTlSH CinVKimiMKNT. «:$ Kiiicle, in Ibriii, act \\h\ thrir s, at plia- ni ifKstitii- OS ; ill all lecl^i^ for roui\so of of coin- inaint«>n- nd excm- he frame lies ; and la r. The — tlie co- E. There fnaile a tiiiitr spi- ke ueond e y divin,. right, to (hat part of the rational family, who are peeuliarly uihUm his care, a system of social or- der eonxNponding (herewith. AKhough he appoint eeelesiastieal olliccus, he gives the r/if/// (f choiee to bserved )r of ad- things ! laith Ihc Lord ; and shall not my soul he avenged on such a nation as this ?* 3. Tlie British government is a l^an h of the gene- ral antichrisiian apostacy. The opposition to the great protestant doctrine in relation to antichrist, which the English con nenta- ♦ors of more recent date have carried on, found id, or even a principle of integrity. They would then rather decline places of honour or profit, than accept of them upon Puch terms. We frt (uently see professed infidels, and notorious libertines, opproach the LortCs Table as t matter of covrse^ and prostitute the moat solemn ordinance of eh. ^tias v to their ambition or interest. I am afraid we have bet , iong guilty of a contemptuous profanation of the body and blood of Christ " Vol. V. pp. 3, 5. " A man canno e nn exciseman, a custom-hoir e officer, a lieu- tenant in the army or nav no, not o m eh as a tide-naitrr, with* out putting on the most distinguishing badge of Christianity, ac- cording to the usage of the church of England. Is .t this a strong temptation to profanation and hypocrisy ? Does it not pervert one of the most solemn in«t, itions of religion ?'" NeaV^ [list. Pur. To/. IF. p. .'ia9, 10 m m 74 THR MORAL CHARACTRR OF of the great a])08tacy ; and at. whose downful, by the judgments of the seventh vial, the Millen- nium was to commence. This system of interpreta- tion is now exploded. The empire of Buonaparte is no more ; and yet the Millennium does not ap- pear. The manners of men are as they wer«d. Ig- norance still prevails. Tyranny and superstition are sufficiently obvious. The church is in the wil- derness ; and although the Bourbons are restored, Europe is unsettled ; and still antichrist reigns. According to the unanimous opinion of all the protectant expositors^j not excepting the English themselves, that country has once been one of the ten horns of the apocalyptical beast, inhuenced by Sa- tan, the dragon.* This could not be disputed, be- cause the land was geographically within the bounds of the Latin Roman empire ; and the peo- ple had submitted to the Latin Roman religion. iSonie indeed allege, that, at the reformation, the connexion of Britain with the beast was dissolved; but, the scripture prediction does not justify the ex- pectation that any of the great powers of Europe should be severed from that connexion, for centuries, or even any considerable time, before the genera! destruction of the man of sin. The history of that country, the tyranny and superstition of Henry VIII ; the persecutions carried on against the sainti?, during the continuance of the succession in the Stuart race ; and the terrible bloodshed caused by ' Rev. xiJi. Charles both F of Eiig fore th land, sition. cause o the thr were n blood ( country under tl aiid c y Noc< ry affor ion witli the grej poured i nexion 1 but in n ly and j Propl tish emp charactt ceding The Er ture. A state, in is prost THE BKiriSII GOVERNMENT. 7^ vnful, by Millen- iterpreta- lonapaile ;s not ap- eir hornSf reat cor- m pro- tual im- )ured of ch light inly by >relacy, It ha^ broken, like treacherous Judah, and backsliding Is- rael, its covenant ; it has shed, like Chaldea, the blood of the martyrs ; and, although persecution unto death hath ceased, f his apostate nation still persists in the course of policy which the persecutor intro- duced—a course of opposition to true religion and regular ecclesiastical order. Ye are Ike ciiildren of them, that killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the mea- sure of your fathers,"^ In applying the sacred mea- sure to every branch of the apostacy, we cannot but pronounce it wanting, 4. The British government is Erastian in its con- stitution and administration. The expression, Erastian, is not so well under- stood in this country, where the practice is happily in a great measure un:;nown, as in the European world, where it almost universally prevails. Certain systems, both of religion and of human science, are, sometimes, stamped with the names of distinguished men, who appear in their illustration and defence, although the principles themselves may have had a very different origin. The names of Calvin and Arminius, are attached to systems which existed since the introduction of Christianity to the ftillen world. We speak of the Newtonian Philosophy, of Galvan- ism, &c. because ihe laws of nature, ancient as crea- tion itself, were illustrated in an able manner by men of such names. The phrase Erastian often occurs * Math, xxiii. 31. Hi THE MORAL CJfARACTER OF in the history of British controversies about religion and government. ;i»!i' Thomas Erastvs was hoth a divine and physician. He was learned and active, and influential among the distinguished men of that very remarkable age in which he lived : an age, which roused by an extra- ordinary impulse, the human mind from the lethargy under which it had long laboured — the era of the reformation. Born in Baden of Switzerland, in the year 1624, and educated in Bazil and Bologna, he practised physic at the court of tlie elector Palatine, and became professor in the university of Heidel- berg. In his book on Excomnnmicationy he deve- lopes those principles which hare since been called by his name. That Christ and hi^ apostle* prescrib- ed no forms of ^liscipline for the church — ikmi the supreme ecclesiastical power belongs to the civil magistrate — that ministers are only teachers pos- sessed of the right of public persuasion — That to the government of the state belongs the right of admit- ting members into the church, and excluding them from it — That the church of Christ is a department of the civil commonwealth, a^'e the sentiments of Erastus. These have always l>een the prevailing sentiments of the court of Great Britain, since the time of Henry VIIl. The clergy of the church of England, from Cramner to Wkilgift,* were of Eras- * " Bishop Warhurlon inrorms us, from Schkn ile Si/ncdriiSi that Erastus's lamoiishook de cxcommunicatione was purchased by Whit- gift, of Erastus's widow in Germany, and put hy him to the press in London, under ficlifious names of both the [dace and the printer^'" Supplemental Vol. IVarburt. irorka, p. 473. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT, 76 tian principles. Bancroft was the first to maintain the divine right of the episcopacy ; and even since his day, the great body of the English hierarchy view tiie church « as a mere creature of the state.''* Indeed, the Puritans themselves, both the ministers and the members of Parliament, were willing at first to subscribe, with but little variation, to Eraslian sen- timents, although disposed to a greater degree of liberty, in religion and civil concerns, than was consistent with the pleasure of the court and the bishops.f It was not, until the Scottish commission- ers explained, in the Assembly of Divines, the true polity of the churcli of God, as a spiritual empire, having its own officers and laws, under the head Jesus Christ, that the English ministers fully under- stood the distinction.;- To the faithful labours of the * These are the wonls of Neal, in his history of the Puritans, who also confirms the remarks I have made. rol. I, p. 510. t Tim i«ai- the substance of the petition signed by seven hun- dred ministers m the year 1041. The parliament were of the snmr ^uttti, and claimed the power of reforming the church as an ioherea^ i4j^. X In that v«.«MTable Assembly of Divines, which compiled our admirable Confession of Faith and other ecclesiastical standards, th« very learned Scldcn had a seat. He, assisted by the counsel, and the rabinnical learning of Coleman and Lightfoot, and supported by the national feelings, and «he prejudices or opinions of the par- liament, argued the cause of Erastianism in the grand otBATn upon ecclesiastical order. The quentioD excited immense interest ; the whole church, a %ft>^t nation, awftitfd the result with anxiety, George Gillespie, one of the ministers ot Edin*.orgh, and a com- missioner to the Assembly from the church of ^^lland, was ob- served to be engagefl »)cca> land and Scotland, that Ihe church of Enoland, wiii all the civil power given into the hands of the prea- cy, shall be preserved entire, and this is declared to be an essential fundamental part of the union. The temporal power of the lords spiritual, the spiritual supreniac/ of the monarch, together with the pros- titution of the most distinguishing badge of christian profession in the sacramental test, prove beyond a ddubt that the church and state are combined into one great corrupt and impious system of misrule . and Justifies the charge of Erastiaiiism against the British Constitution. In the Act for an union of the two kingdoms of Emrland and Scotland, provision is made for render- ing the English hierarchy perpetual: and the church of Scotland, although in form Presbyterian, has been constrained to submit to Erastianism, not merely by her members supporting the English religious esta^ bhshmenti but also, as essential to their own. The • Dec. George t June T3tb, 1715. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. U3 Scottish establishment is itself Erastian. The civil power sETTLts tlie condition of ministerial fellowship in the church. At the revolution, king William ad- dressed letters patent to both the Presbyterian and Episcopalian clergy, determining the conditions up- on which they must Join together. In the letter of February 1690, addressed to the General Assembly, his Majesty says to the highest judicatory of the the church, « fVe have thought good to signify our pleasure to i/ou, that you make no distinctif)n of men, otherwise well qualified for the ministry, who are wjlling to join with you in the acknowledgment of, and submission to the government of church and stale, as it is by law now established, though they have formerly complied to the introducing of episcopa- cy ; and that ye give them no disturbance upon that head." In the letter of the 1.0th .Tune thereafter, it is or- dained, « That neither the Assembly, nor any com- mission or church meeting, do meddle in any process or business that may concern the purging out of episcopal ministers." In the letter of January 1692, to the episcopal clergy, the language is equally dictatorial. « We doubt not of your applying to. and heartily meeting and concurring with your brethren, the Presbyterian ministers, in the terms which we have been at pains TO ADJUST for you.'* It is provided, too, by act of parliament, " That none be admitted or continued ministers, who do not 84 THE MORAL (JHAKACTEIl 01' lii take the oaths thereby prescribed, and observe uni- formity of worship, &c. as the same are, or shall he allowed by authority of parliament."* The civil power determines, of its own accord, the rule of faith to be professed by those ministers who are thus admitted or continued, and for the whole church in which they serve. Without ever calling an Assembly, and without any reference to former ecclesiastical acts, the parliament read and voted the Westminster Confession of Faith as the public con- fession of both church and nation.f The king and parliament, no doubt, with the aid of the Lords spiritual have provided for all the clergy of the Presbyterian establishment, the form of prayer to be used for tlie king and the royal family ; and it must be used under pain of exclusion from the ministry of the church.J Nor is this the only case in which the civil power assumes the right of deposing ministers from the pastoral charge, how- ever well they may be received by their people, and liowever great the attachment between them and their flocks. Ministers who did not appear before a certain day prescribed by theact,5j "are hereby, ipso facto, deprived of their respective kirks and sti- pends, and the same declared vacant without any iurther sentence." Under a similar penalty, queen Anne enforced the oath of abjuration. George L * Wjliiam and Mary, Par. 1 . Ses?. 4. Act 23. f Par. 1 C90. I 1005, Act 23. 1700, Act 2. and 1706, Act 6. § Act 27. Scs9. 5. Pari. 1. William and Marr. THE BRITISH OOVFRNMENT. 85 extended the requisition to students on trial, to schoolmasters, and to all masLrs in the universities.* George II. required an actt relative to a certain Capt. Porteus, to be read from all the pulpits in Scotland, once on every Lord's day for a whole year, « and in case," the act of parliament says, « such minister shall neglect to read this act, he shall for the first offence be declared incapable of sitting or voting in any church judicatory ; and for the se- cond offence, be declared incapable of taking, hold- ing, or enjoying any ecclesiastical benefice." The exercise of Erastian supremacy extendi to the settlement of ministers in a congregation. It is not there, as in this country. The people do not elect their own pastor. The appointment is vested originally in the crown, although usually transferred into a few of the most noble and wealthy in the land. The patron gives the church to his friend ; and if the people make any opposition, a company of armed men induct the pastor into office. « The Pope," said a distinguished lawyer, "claimed the right 6f the patronage of every kirk, to which no third party could show a special title ; but since the reforma- tion, the crown, as coming in place of the Pope, is considered as universal patron, where no riglit of patronage appears in a subject."^ I have only further to observe, that the king sum- mons at his pleasure, the supreme judicatories of the *ActG. 1706. tActl?37. t Erskine's Prill. Law of Scot. Book I. Tit. 5. Bh 1«E MOKAL ClIAUACTEU OK chui-ch ; adjourns and dissolves fhem as much as the civil legislature. In ordinary cases, they who com- pose llie General Assembly, are sufficientl. obse- quious, and are of course permitted to meet and de- part at a certain season of the year without compul- sion : but instances have repeatedly occurred, when the fact was otherwise, and the uniform tenor of the commission under which they meet, maintains the supremacy of the crown.^ I dismiss tliis disagreeable subject, with a quota- tion from the public records of two respectable bo- dies of professed christians in the British empire. From their words you will immediately perceive, that while 1 am describing the Erastianism of the constitution of government, I speak the language, not of an individual, but of churches, even in that country. M' I - rt I begin with the judicial declaration of the seces- sion CHURCH. " It is peculiarly incumbent upon every civil state whereunto Christianity is introduced, to study and bring to pass, that civil government among them, in all the appurtenances of its constitution and administra- tion, run in an agreeableness to the word of God; be subservient unto the spiritual kingdom of Jesus Christ, and to the interests of the true religion. By the good hand of God, the estates of England, but * The style i», « Thm seeing by our decree, (ui Assembly is to mtetf d'c." ^HE L .nsn GOVi!:R.\ME.\T. 87 more r pecially of Scotland, were inspired with a nobI( uid predominant zeal for the house of God, in an Its .aluabJe institutions: and attained to a consi- d. ^bie pitch of uvil r,, rmation subservient to the sa . It IS obse vabl^ that Sco//a„<;, the reforma- tion of he church hn ' .. in a beautiful ordei, F ceded and mtroauced uie ^formation of the state." " It w IS nc .ong, till this beautiful work was smc- thered, by the -.voful apostacy at, and after, tl,e re- storation of king Charles II." "The fatal overthro of the former civil refor- oiation; the devastation of the house an. heritage of God; the unparalleled course of pei. .ry, treachery, tyranny, against the King, cause, and subjects of -fiion, and against the liberties of mankind; are laid open in the act and testimony. It is to be feared, the guilt thereof ,s still lying upon the throne, the b^ dy politic, and all ranks in these lands." " Thus our ancient civil reformation has been apostatized from, and grievously defaced-^reat guilt and wrath from the Lord is still lying and in- creasing upon the body politic. Moreover, as our civil settlement has been thus corrupted, so it hath natively issued in a course of defective and corrupt admimstrations. All the legal securities given to this church, from 1638 to 1650, were overlooked- such were retained in places of public trust, and in m.itary office, as were enemies to our reformation, and hud been deeply involved in the horrid defec- ''^> %. O.^. ^'^^^'fe IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) {./ fc^^>%^ A i/.x fA 1.0 !frK IIIIIM IIIIIM 2.0 1.8 I.I 1.25 I 1.4 II1II.O Photographic Sciences Corporation ^^ ^9) ^^ \ 4^ 1^ ^\ 6^ % V "% r^jf 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 87i2-4503 ^A 1^ ^ .. / . •• !!i' Its THE MOBAL CIIARACTEU OF t iiouy persecution, and bloodshed of the former period. The power and privileges of the church were en- croached upon, as indeed by the act 1592, according to which presbytery was settled at the revolution, the Assembly is deprived of power, where the king or his commissioner are present, to nominate and appoint time and place for their next meeting." A very sinful and sad encroachment was made upon the costly and valuable privileges of the Lord's people, and a door opened for the corruption of the church, and the ruin of souls, while the right of patronages, which had been abolished in the year 1649, was again restored. This kingdom hath be* come subject to a parliament, whereof the bishops of England are constituent members ; and an at- tempt is made to force the members of this church unto an approbation of the English hierarchy. A bold and fatal encroachment was made, 1737, upon the headship of Zion's King, by that Erastian act anent Capt. John Porteus * By the above-men- tioned apostacy and corruption in the settlement and administration of ihe present civil government, the measure of guilt upon the body politic, and their • This man commanded the town-guard of Edinburgh. Piqued at the populace, he ordered his men to fire upon them, and killed and wounded many. He was tried and condemned by the civil au- thority, to suffer death as a murderer. He was a base man. The king reprieved him. The people took him from prison and gave him a public execution. Every minister was commanded to read from the pulpit, a declaration of parliament upon this subject, of- fering a reward for a discovery of any one concerned in the deed. Not one was ever disrovered. Scotland had no informer?. mer period, h were en- , according revolution, re the king ninate and Jting." was made the Lord's tion of the e right of 1 the year n hath be- he bishops ind an at- [lis churcii archy. A 737, upon astian act bove-men- ement and menty the and their ■gh. Piqued I, and killed the civil au- man. The )n and gave ided to read subject, of- in the deed. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. gg Legislators is greatly filled up." These quotations are from Gibs. Display of the Sec. Test. Vol 1 n ^vhetler m Europe or America, Indeed, a. to the moral character of the constitution of government in that country, there has not been much diversity of opinion among pious men who understand it. All admit its iiiipiety. The following quotation shows the light in which the Reformed Presbyterian Church, in the British do- minions, view the national government. " .yhen Henry VIII. of England, cast off the au- thority of the See of Rome, he did, at the same time, assume to himself all that power in his dominions, which the Pope formerly claimed ; and soon after- wards procured to have himself acknowledged and declared by act of parliament, to be 'iead of the CHURCH. This Anlichristian Supremacy has ever since continued an essential part of the English con- stitution, and inherent right of the crow^n I'he British monarch confines not his spiritual suprema- cy to the church of England, but extends it also over the church of Scotland."* « In the.revolution of 1 688, the settlement of reli-ion IS not a religious, but a mere civil and political one Jt appears quite inconsistent with the revolution set- tlement, to consider church power in any other light than as subordinate to the power of the state.f We' ■ Act. Dec. and Test. 1 797. p. 76. f Idem. p. eo-62 12 90 ■^V (If! THE MOKAL CHARACTER Of have ihe idolatrous institutions of Prelacy, establish- ed in the one nation ; and Erastianism, under the specious pretext of Presbytery, in the other : and both under an exotic head of ecclesiastical govern- ment. As the Constitutions, of both church and stale, were Erastian and antiscriptural ; so their con- duct ever since has been agreeable thereto ; tending evidently to discover that, while the state is robbing ovr Redeemer of his crown, and his church of her li- hertiesy the church, instead of testifying against, gives consent to these impieties.* It would be end- less to attempt an enumeration of all the instances of the exercise of Erastianism, which is annually re- newed. How often, alas ! have the Assemblies been prorogued, raised, and dissolved, by magistratical au- thority, and sometimes without nomination of ano- ther diet ! how frequently, also, have they been re- stricted in their proceedings, and prelimited as to members, and matters to be treated of and discussed therein ; depriving some members of their liberty to sit and act as members, though regularly chosen ! all which exercise of Erastian supremacy natively results from the parliamentary settlement."! 6. Tf the congress of the United States, in the year 1776, were correct in ascribing cruelty to the poli- cy of the British government, it is easy to show the continuance of the same disposition until the present day. P. 83. f P. 64. ii ■> THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 91 In the Declaration of Tndependence, the Fathers of American liberty assert, tiiat « tlie history of the present king of Great Britain, is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and de- stroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time, transporting large nrmies of foreign mercenaries, to complete the work of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and b -e- thren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He hus excited domestic insurrections amongst I's, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our fron- tiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions."* England is secure in her vast possessions in Asia ; and such is the frame of government for her territo- ries in the East, as rarely to admit of discussion, either in the parliament or in her newspapers. Therefore popular feeling is never excited about the operations of peace and war in that country, as it is about the several events which come to pass in the kingdoms of Europe. Among the princes of Hin- dostan, Great Britain has rioted for half a century, * Dec. Am. Imlppemlence. 92 THE MOKAL CHARACTER OK with a policy most cruel and perfidious, without pro- voking discussion, or commanding general attention, either in England or America. There, under the plausible plea, which tyranny never fails to employ, of granting prolcction for territory to the weaker states, the British power has effected more revolu- tions in the course of a few years, than have been elfeeted in Europe since the troubles in France com- menced. The native sovereignties of India have been deceived, divided, and conquered : and their only recompense for the power and the territory which they surrendered, consists in the loss of their liberty and independence. The usurpations, and the rapacity, and cruelty as- cribed to the late Emperor of France, are exceeded in degree and permanence by the British government of India. In a political point of view, the miseries ol Asia are not immediately interesting ; but in the estimate of moral character, the remoteness from lis of the scene of action, must not prevent our taking these enormities into the account. In rela- tion to them, the most abject flatterers of British greatness have no apology to offer. These ne not defensive wars. They are the offspring of tL. lust of power and of wealth. None of the Nabobs of the Carnalic or of Ovde ; neither Timur, the hero of Pa- niput, nor Tippoo Sidtan, nor the Great Mogul, ever threatened an invasion of the islands of Britain and Ireland. « To interfere actively in the domestic af- taiis of all other states; to regulate the succession ot then- governors; to take part in every quarrel ; I- IHK BRITISH 60VEHNMEM'. 93 10 elaim the lands of one party for assisting him, and seize the lands of the other, after boating him to get allies by force, and take care that nobody ■iball rob them but ourselves; to quarter troops u,; on our neighbours, and pay them with our neiMi- hours goods-This it is that we call Roman policy. While l,ppoo ,s despoiled for befriending the French, and the Nizam is despoiled for befriending he English ; „i,ile Holkar is despoiled for beating the Pn^hwa, and the Peishwa is despoiled for bein^ beaten by Holkar-Vlho is it that is enriched by be"^ iiendmgand beating them all ?"* England-Ene- land is enriched. This, and not self-.lefen.-e, is the <:ause of war in the East Indies. War is a ><&■- mau of heaven upon the nations that are engaged in carrying it on. Britain is seldom or ever at peace with other nations. She must, as a body politic, be a heinous transgressor. There is no avoiding (he in- ference. God is just; and all his judgments are ruth. Likfl ancient Rome, the most criminal of na- tions, «fe holds the stakes for every game that is played by the sword and the cannon, and whoever loses or w^ns, she is ultimately the gainer by the quarrel Providence will overrule; and they who thrive by the wages of iniquity, must expect a day of retribution. '' England, I admit, enjoys within herself compara- tive prosperity. Her nobles are at ease and in afHu- ence. Her merchants are opulent and prosperous. * E(Hn„ Uev. Vol. vi. p. 469. s^SB 94 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF Her yeomanry, although burdened with taxation, are healthy, and industrious, and flourishing. Her manufiicturers, though embarrassed by the American war, are still influential and wealthy. The spirit of libei ty in England, and Scotland, and Ireland, has given way for a time to the claims of the crown ; and for fear of foreign domination, the subjects sub- mit, with resignation, to their doom. The Judicia- ry, wilh the exception of that of Ireland, which has always, like a conquered province, been ruled with a rod of iron, is sufficiently independent to admi- nister common justice. In Scotland and England, personal liberty is in a great measure enjoyed : and yet, even in relation to her domestic policy, Britain is very cruel. In Ireland- for reasons of state, she persecutes the Catholics. It is not on account of their religion ; for this she has always supported on the continent ; but for their dissent from the English hierarchy, that tlie Irish are oppressed. She reduces the Presbyte- rians to pay tithes to an indolent, and often an absent and immoral priesthood, whom they neither know nor revere. In all her dominions, she restrains the spirit of independence and emigration, not by ren- dering home comfortable, but by laws and officers, who bind the intended emigrant as if by right, to the spot in wliich he was born. She authorizes bonds and captivity, by the pressgangy that secret, sudden, and formidable engine of despotic power, which seizes upon its victim unawares, and chains him to the wheels of the cannon — A system of op- THE BRITISH GOVERNMKNT. 9a taxation, in^. Her American e spirit of 3land, has le crown ; )jects sub- e juclicia- wbich has uled with to ad mi- England, yed : and r, Britain icutes the religion ; ontinent ; chy, that Presbyte- \j\ absent ler know rains the by ren- I officers, right, to uthorizes \i secret, c power, id chains n of op- pression and cruelty, compared with which, the Cm- scriplion of iVapoJeon was equitable and desirable A tour of hardships, foreseen, regulated by law equable, because extending equally to all classes, is not to be compared to a sudden seizure, partial unexpected, unprovided for, and without the hope of escape. Regular occasional service, however hard IS not to be compared to slavery without redress. ' Cruelty is exercised also on the conscience Al- though subjects have the contemptible permission, of bvmg unmolested, by the king, while they are silent and submissive; yet the government makes a mockery of conscience ; corrupts the morals of the subjects with ensnaring oaths of allegiance, repeated, and repeated ; and constrains them to forego inte>e afrJdXJ:lT/: ^ VK^CKa TO .x.c«.„. wa.T„ uj.o. ki„, „L ZlkZ. r nerer in the course of my reading, met with so perfect a description of the nature, the duty tie ore vance. and the design of civil government, fn ! C .= compass, as we find in the first six verses of hk chafer Without reference to any p.rticlr o ' ! .V, but w.th a perfect applicability to all, the ano^ ^'"g to the chnstran Jaw: and he aiJbrds another 15 w I lit IHK LAVVFULNKSS OF evidence of a truth, wliich ou^lii never to be forgot- ten, hy those wlio consider nnin in his social chixrac- ier, that the revealed will of (iod «Mnbrac>es the true philosophy of government. Individual man derives from (lod the right of s(df-government. Hence the sacn;d origin of personal liherty. Man, in h's col- lective capacity, derives from (lod tlic right, of go- vernment ; hence the magistrate is his ordinance — He is the minister of God. The design of this insti- tution is the good of society — He is the minister of (iod for good. 11 is province is the protection of virtue, and the suppression of evil. Rulers are not a terror tn srood works^ hut to the evil. In sup- pressing evil, tlie national sovereignty is divinely armed with vengeance — The minister of God, a re venger to execute ivrath, ■^i'liese are not the words of a vain philosoj>her, (i'arele^sly sluinbering over ideal plans of reform. They are words of truth. The idea of civil punish- ment whicii they cc-nvey, dillors entirely from the fa- natical imaginations of deluded minds, and from the prett nded discoveries of intidel humanity. The bword of the sovereign, is not merely disciplinary/ as TiU instrument of reibriu ; it is also for vengeance. Punishment is not prospective, but retrospective. It rontemphites not so nuich the capability of improve- ment, as the guilt of its subject. It is the connex- ion establishiKl by the moral Governor of the uni- verse between pain and crime. This is punishment and he is but a novice in the science of jurisjHU deuce, who has the idea yet to learn. OKKKNSIVK WAR. Il:> Now if the magistrate does not I,car (he ,wo.-,I in ",!.emu«tu.oit.l,is,,uli„,,i„,.a,„,„.,fo.j,„;" s . -Ke ,»,tl, to. > ,.,. ,|„. enemies „f l.is „,u„t,y / . . Sives linn the right of wagino- ,var //""[■ In- „r f\.,i „ ,■ "b"'p, wai. JU IS the mims- "> «/ (.o.l„Ue„d„ig mMimally on this vera thiw^ tet every man, i„ his individnal character. L hu-" u.ne cone ,ia,i,,g p„,i,„t „f i ,„; J ^_ '^ w ,r ; ''"l'^''l<>y'"''"'alyc resist not « ; ^r i^^ 7" 1'"" '""" "'" "« "" "^'" -^''"z^. m' „7 /, / '" f "• ^'"^ ^ ""^ """' «"•« "(« to go a mite, go with him twain. These preecpls are not to be unmf leave your business, and go with the rutin wUhou resistance, not only out of your way, wh ,| e": l.e would urge, but even twice as far. You mu! "ot akoout a defence at law against injustice "ou nnst not only allow a man to take from you door before you- eyes, a part of your property ; but also i'-ve lum even „,ore than he desired. Y.fu mustnul an en t the >.ights of property, and pronounc ^ IZ "^^"^ "n'l"-.»<.an. You must not only bear ""I' l'--nal assault, but also encourage it by 'tij FT IIG THE LAWFULNESS OF turning the other cheek to him that smites. You must in nowise, by no means whatever, by gentle or violent means, by persuasion, or by the law, resist any evil that befalls you. AVho then is so blind as not to see the absurdity of such a construction ? Who so childish as to use this argument against t^ie rights of war? We must adopt a consistent plan of interpretation ; and recollect that the Author of the gospely while he, in this passage, urges upon individuals a forgiving disposition, lays down in another passage, the duty of the national representative, acting as his minister, to exercise vengeance on the aggressor. He is a revenger to exe- cute wrath.* This is the doctrine of Jesus Christ our Lord. It is the Holy Ghost, the comforter of our souls, that makes the declaration. He, who sancti- fiesi and instructs true christians, hereby declares that fvar is in certain cases lawful. I might multiply quotations : but I only add in this connexion, the words of Solomon. By wise * Etc^iMi cii e/jyjjv. The word tKhxo? is derived from ikS'iksv, and that from »k and hxti. It signifies an avenger. He, who says to individuals in the preceding chap. Rom. xii. 19, 20. " Dearly be- loved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give bim drink ;" says, in this case, of the national sovereign, in his official capacity, " he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute wrath." If this distinction w^re Ijept in mind, there would be no room for perverting scripture, constraining it to speak against the right of a})plying force for the correction of injury. DEFENSIVE WAR. 117 eounsel thou shall make thy war j* the words of the ^ophet, relative to the sons oi Reuben and their allies They cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated of them-^there fell down many slain, because the war rvas of God;i and the words of Hezekiah, / have counsel and strength for war.t Third. Scripture precepts and reproof God hath commanded war in some instances to be waged; and hath reproved, in other cases, those who refused to carry it on. It is utterly impossible, however, that a holy God should command that which is in its nature unholy. That which is in iUeU indijerent, he may in his sovereignty command or prohibit: and the changeable circumstances and conditions, in which we are placed, may render alterations of divine law predicated upon mutable relations, wise and becom' mg. But he never recommends malevolence, impe- nitence, or unbelief. True, he once commanded Abraham to offer his own son Isaac upon the altar • but this was as a trial of faith; and he did not per- mit him to execute the deed. Jehovah has, more- over, a right to recall at pleasure the gift of life and to appoint the executioner. And he doth so, when he calls a nation to war, and to kill the enemy. The mere taking away of human life, is in itself lawful • for the equity or criminality of the act, depends' upon circumstances. Homicide is innocent. The execution of the guilty is a duty. Murder is a *Prov.xxiv.6. tIChron.v.20,22. t Isa. XXX vi. 5. liJ. i ]J8 TH1<: LAWFIJLNKbS OK I nime. Those who kill in a just war, art- arling otuhr divine auiii(u ielie ver ; of the single-hearted chris- tian ; of hnn, who, uninfluenced by sordid consider-^ ations, pours out the desires of his soul to f Jod, for a righteous cause, and for success to the means em- ployed to secure its triumph. To such the Lord l.nU, promised the victory, in a legitimate contest w.th Ihe sword. Lev. xxvi. 7. Ye shall chase your enemes^ and they shall fall before you hy the sLel 2 Kmgs ni. 18, 19. He will deUv^r the Moalnfes also rnlo your hand: and ye shall smite every fenced cilu i snlm xciv. 1, 2. O Lord, to whom vengeance belont eth-^show thyself. Lift up thyself thou Judge of the rarth, render a reward to the proud. Veises 20 2> Shall the throne of iui^pdly have fellowship with \hec, nhuh jrameth mischief by a law? The Lord our God shall cut them off. Psulm xliv. 4, .5. O Lord mmmand deliverance-through thee we shall push down our enemies. I have trespassed, sumdently, upon your patience, in argumg a case clear enough, without the aid of special pleading. The objections, which are usually ,n'!. 12a THK LAWFULNESS OF !^: made to the legitimacy of war, in any cause, I have already anticipated, so far as they appeared to me to require examination. No man is more anx- ious than I am, to hear that all war hath ceased throughout the ends of the earth. I ardently pray for the time when men hall learn its arts no more'; but I cannot admit that the religion of the Son of God, proposes to tie up the hands of those who feel its power, and to reduce them into passive subjec- tion to him, who delights in robbery and bloodshed. 1 plead in belmlf only, of II. Defensive Warfare, In tlie application of force to the correction of in- jury, reason ought to guide ; and if the force to be applied, is obviously inadequate to the object, it is in vain to make tlie application. It is madness to at- tempt to remove mountains by human agency; and it is criminal to risk treasure and life, by engaging in a bloody warfare without prospect of any suc- cess. In such a case, although cause of war exists, it is better to suffer than to contend. Upon this prin- ciple, those directions which are given in scripture, and which some have mistaken for a prohibition of resistance in any case, are to be understood. Upon this principle the martyrs acted, taking joyfully the spoiling of their goods, and passively submitting, un- der a righteous providence, to an injustice which, they had no power to control. They suffered with- oui resistance, because resistance would have only augmented the measure of their pains. This was f cause, I )peared to nore anx- ilh ceased ntly pray no more ; he Son of i who feel va subjec- doodshed. DEFENSIVE WAR. 221 ^Jght. It is what was required of them by their lion of in- rce to be jecl, it is less to at- ncy; and engaging any suc- exists, it his prin- scripture, bition of . Upon tfully the ting, un- e which, ed with" ave only ?his was There is, indeed, an excenfinn in ^^* i« casp«? ir. ihr. 1- *^^^epiion, m extraordinary case , to the application of this rule. When the Lord expressly enjoins resistance, should it be o y heaven i the first duty. He, too, who gives the S V u ^' •'"'^'^' '^"^ *^^ Kings of Isiael. The walls of Jericho Ml at the blast of the trumpet* Before Girieon and a co.npany of le^sisted the ar«,ec/ .o«.^a„,e. of the king of SanZ " '^ese, however, were extraordinary events and do not consthute, in the common pLeed^" of life, a rule of conduct in undertaking war. ft t m those cases, in which the issue of the conte t may appear doubtful, that prudence selects T ot portum ty, and courage is displayed in turning tl e best advantage. It is manifest, notwithsta^n L: that wha ever cause of war exists, it ought not to he waged without a rational prospect of s^ess *Jo9h.VK20. t Judges rii. 22. :t 2 Kings i. 12. 16 p^ m I'll THE LAWFULNESS OF This is the coinmand of my text ; and it is the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ liirnself. What king going to make war against another king, sitteth not down Jirst, and consulleth, whether he be able with ten thousHndt to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? or else, while the other is yet a great ^^y ^ffi ke scndeth an ambassagCy and desireth condi- tions of peace.* Having already established the maxim, that war is in some cases lawful, and having now shown that however great and just may be the cause for waging it, no nation should enter upon tiie strife with- out a prospect of success, I proceed to explain what is meant by Defensive AVar. It is necessary to be very particular in affixing correct ideas to this expression. Believing as I do, most sincerely, that no other kind of warfare is jus- tifiable, without an express revelation from heaven: believing, that the prayers of the saints ought not to be withheld from Uiose who are engaged in such a contest, and ought not to be offered in support of any other : knowing too, that agreeable to this rule, God approves of exertions and accepts of prayers, I feel it my duty, while addressing myself in Jeho- vah's name, to the Lord's people, to define the term to wliicli so much importance is attached. This is the more necessary, because, while the words are on * Luke xiv. 31,32. DEFENSIVE WAtt. 123 ho .ps of every one, the expression itself is some- what equivocal; and pains have been taken, in the common vehicles of current intelligence-in the pri! vate nitercourse of social Iife~in the halls of leU- lation-and even in the pulpits of the churches, to lli "^'" / \''""'^ *^ ^"^^^^^^ ^^^^^ obscurity, and to give to them a meaning as erroneous as it is 'njunous, to the interests of this empire. The expression, defensive war, is son.ewhat equivo- T ,,^'.P " '"^'^'^ ^^ ^ '•^^^^^"^^ to the courts of Z\ /r ' ?P^^ *^ '^'^''''' ^^^ ^^'•'" righteousness, and to offence, the term iniquity, I am to be understood as speaking upon moral principles. Offensive war is unjust, upon exactly the same grounds, that offensive or vexatious suits at law are immoral. Suppose one of you, my hearers, is attacked in your reputation, your property, or your person; and perhaps your life itself is in danger. You avail yourself of the law and prosecute the aggressor, in order to prevent the threatened injury, or recover for the trespass. In doing this, you act in self-defence. You do right. i3ut when the suit is commenced, the offender be- comes instantly, in law phraseology, the defendanL ^nd you are the plaintiff at the bar. It by no means toUows, that he who assumes the name of defendant IS not guilty. In the case stated, he is in fact the' aggressor. What would you then say of a judge of a counsel, of a jury, who would play upon the' terms, defensive and offensive, and upon that u=e of Jaw expression, proclaim you in the wrong ? ' !■ — 124 THE tAWFULNKSS OF The truth is, that in applying upon moral princi- ples, the epithet df/ctisive, you must have recourse to the nature of the cause in controversy; and com • dcr the original aggressor as the otfendcr. You are, in foro conscientiay still the defendant, although he is, tM foro Icgis, called by that name. Suppose a nation, resting in tin bosom of peace, is suddenly attacked by another; and one of its cities is taken, tbrtiHed, and garrisoned by the enemy. The offended nation raises an army, and in order to re- cover its own property, besieges the fortifications of the enemy. In this case, the enemy defends the fort against the assailant. Peihaps he makes a very he- roic defence. But is it this siege that gives to ttie war its character of defensive and offensive, or is it the original injury — the cause of the contest? Again, suppose this city had been thus taken by the enemy, without any previous declaration of war; and that the peaceful nation could not raise an army for the purpose of retaking its own territory, without a for- mal declaration of hostilities. Such an instrument appears before the world ; and the enemy thereafter meets it with a counter declaration, saying you have first declared war, I am therefore the defendant; would you believe him, and denominate the contest, upon his part, defensive and Just 1 Supposing ao-ain, that this peaceful nation, unwilling to make its own city the scene of confusion, of carnage, and desola- tion, should, instead of attempting directly to reco- ver it from the enemy, march an army into the ene DEJ-'EKSIVl;; WAtt. 125 inv 8 01. n territory, with design both to make repri- sals wlMch lie nnght c.crupy as an equivalent, and to draw oti ,he forces of that enemy frc.m the position which he occupied, thereby transferring the war, with all .ts concomitant calamities, into the country oflhe ongmal aggressor; I ask, wouM this transfer alter the moral character of the contest, and afford JendanU These questions must, by every man of sense, be answered in the negative. It follows, of course, that a play upon the words offemive and de- fensive although it may serve to confound and dis- tract the ignorant, is unworthy of any man of repu- tation, and entirely unbecoming the statesman or the christian. It also follows, that the question, whether war be on the part of any people, defensive, or of- fensive, depends entirely upon the causes of its com- mencement or continuance. The character of ike war does not, in any case depend upon the date of a declaration, or upon the place in which it is carried on. 1. It does not depend upon the date of the decla- ration of war, whether it be offensive or defensive. If lawful cause of war exist, it is right to wage it; and ,f ,t be right to wage it, surely it cannot be wrong to proclaim the intention, and explain to the civdized world the reasons for having recourse to arms. Declarations do not, according to the law of J2a THE LAWKULNiiJS OF • i nations, make tlic3 war, but explain its causes.* If one nation should injure another, or inarch an army in order to subjugate an Independent people, must that nation, so injured, invaded, and threatened, be considered as the ofFender. because tlie first in de- claring war? No. It of course follows, that the date of the declaration of war, does nothing towards deter- mining its moral character as oflensive or defensive. 2. It does not depend upon the place of combat, whether the war be, in fact, defensive. The idea which I am now to oppose, is of home origin. The writers on moral science, and the law of nations, never thought it a subject worthy of dis- cuss^ion, whether it was lawful to carry the war into an enemy's territory. Neutral territory has indeed been held sacred by the sentence of public law ; but it is too childish to set up a claim in ftivour of the aggressor in war, for the exemption of liis own pro- vinces from its calamities. The nation is one, how- ever numerous its members, and the ofiender may be • " Ul bellum legilimum sit indictionan belli non vidcH necessa- riam." C. V. Bvnkershock. " The universal law of nations acknowleilgea no general obliga- lion of making a declaration of war to the enemy, previous to a commencement of hostilities." Martens, Book VIII. C. 2. Sec. 4. " As to the time of commencing war, it seems to be no way con- trary to natural law, to say it is at any time the injured parti/ pleases^ after having received an injury. The meaning of a declaration of war seems to be, to call upon the injuring party to prevent it by re- paration— likewise to manifest to all other states, the justice of thr cause." Witherspoon's Moral Philosophy, Lcc. XIII. Sec. 2. Icri necessa- UEFEWSIVE WAK. J27 he accused of inju.iioe for the invasion of 21 Z uno«.K.i„,pro\i'::i:.;H:rt:;:;:sr -.lor, the soldier, the merchant, and the tenant .re personally considered equally inoili.>nsive • andfor he same reason, none should be troubled in the c«^ test : the war may be waged, but upon no penon whatever, except the sovereign. wL is so™ lant as not to know that the sovereign is guarded and unassailable but through his force Zl country? Who so blind as Lot to see hat war out "'T "".,"""" ^^ " •""^ P°"'-' """ o cou.se, so far as the end of war can be promoted thereby against every member of that body. Itl not the member attacked, but the nature of the con •est; ,t .s not the place of the b.'tle, but the caul ...controversy, that determines the moral cha-^r of an exisLng war. """tie. My definition of defensive war is, Th. application «//«m by ^ne commonneallh to amther.forthe Jr- pose ofpremuing or redressing actual i^uries iMcU rd or about lo be inflicted. ^ As to the ejaily of the war, little depends upon the -nagn..ude of the injury. This consideration will of course determine its expediency. If ,he evil inflict od be s.„all there is less excuse, upon the pa.t „f w 128 THE LAWFULNESS 01 111 the aggressor, for persisting in it at the risk of an appeal to arms. He is not entitled to impunity, on account of its being unimportant, provided it be a violation of right. It is for the offended party to judge of the proper measure of his own patience under suffering, and of the time and place, in which it is expedient for him to seek redress. Although the injury be only about to be inflicted, he may just- ly apply force to prevent it: a declaration of war previous to actual hostility, entitles the other to commence hostilities ; and actions, which amount to a declaration, give the same right. In such an important inquiry as this, 1 wish you, my brethren, to judge conscientiously for yourselves. I shall lay before you, therefore, in confirmation of my definition, the sentiments of approved writers en public law, and moral philosophy ; and 1 shall then direct you to the bible, in order ; > put the question at rest. 1. The Authority of Writers on Pullic Law. These writers have with one voice declared them- selves in favour of the principles of defensive war, which I have laid down. They uniformly represent the lawful object of war as threefold; precaution against injury — resistance to its progress — and re- dress for what has already been inflicted. When a nation is threatened with evil, war is lawfully waged in order to prevent it — this is precaution. When tlie national riglits are in fact invaded, they may be de- UEFEXsiVE War; 129 risk of an ipunity, on led it be a d party to n patience e, in which Although i may just- on of war e other to amount to wish you, i^ourselves. rmation of writers on shall then 3 question Oa/r. ired them- iisive war, represent lECAUTION —•and RE- When a !ly waged When llie lay be de- fended by the sword-tliis is resistance: and after a people have suffered injustice, they may declare war to recover an equivalent to their loss-this is r.rfm. ; ana all these are considered as defensive war. The lights, for the vindication of which, it is proper to contend with the sword, are capable of being reduced under three heads-LiBERTY-PKoPEirrY-iND Na- tional Honour. War in vindication of any of these rights, ,s legitimate according to the maxims of pub- be law. I give you my authorities. « There are causes for which we undertake war by the conduct of nature, as in the eause of defence- Because the law of nature is violated, war is under- taken. There is a TUHEEKOLD DEFENCE, ntcessary, profitable, and honest; yet we shall deem them all ueeessarj/. This defence is neeessary. against whom an armed enemy comes-1 call that a profitable de- lence, when we move war, fearing lest we ourselves should be warred upon-Honest defence is underta- ken for other men's sakes ; to free him to whom in- jury is done, out of the hand of the injurious." Al. Gentilis, Be Jure belli et pads. " W^ar is offensive on the part of the sovereiunlry ; and, before tlu> oates of Mcdvba, the Syrians and Ammonites, althouoh nctino upon the defei..^ive, were routed by the in- vadiiii. armies of Israel. The Syrians rallied, beino reinforced from beyond the Euphrates. After retirino to Ihlaui, Ifadarczcr, their ku\^, waited there, until David with the Israelitish iw /////« came and gave him battle. This seeond victory put an end to the Si/- rian war. Joab continued liis success against the Annnonites, untilhaving taken their capital, Rahbalt. by storm, they also yielded to the conqueror. This narrative exphiins the doctrine of legitimate warfaie, and cotiliiins, completely, what I have al- ready said, in delining defensive war. Actual wai was tir^t commenced by David, and it was com DKKF.K.HVK \V.\l{. J 37 mcnced too I nyond the line of his own fernioiy. It was p,,,secut(Ml, .r.oreover. again.! I.oth the A.n- momtos and the Syrians, in their own cour.try, unlil ItMah wan totally demolished, and (he Syrians forced to sulmni lo an l.raeliti.sh garrison established in JJamascus. n IS not th(> ^.,.of declaring war. or of making tl.e attack, nor is it the ;./«., i„ which the war is ca," iied on, that determines ils character. In (viry in stance, except in giving the>V.v/ ofena, Ihe An.mon- 'les in this war acled upon the dffcnsivc. 'J'hev never left their own country. They defended their own Cities and their own firesides : but Israel cau.e upon Ihem. fought them, and subducul them. 8til/ lowever, this was, upon the part of Ammon, an of- Jenswe nar. and on the part of David, a drfnisnc war. 1 he honour of his crown was alllcted by th(. indj<.- nitydone to his au.bassadors ; and rather than be constrained to make suitable atonement, the Am- momtes called their allies to their aid, and prepared for resistance. The king of Israel was a man of sense, a uum of spirit, and a man of piety. He was too much of a soldier, a moialist, and a 3tatesman, to say or to think, after he had>.s/ received the iniu- ly, that a war in defence of the honour and indepen- dency of his country, ought not to commence upon Ins part until the enemy attacked him in his own do- minions. He saved his own kingdom, and made the provinces of the offender the theatre of the contest. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he prayed tor his aniiie., while besieging the cities of the Am- J 38 THE LAWFULNESS Ob monites, as sincerol/, and as acceptably to God, as if petitions were offered for Israel besieged by an ene- my at the gaten of Jerusalem. It is the cause of war Ihat determines its morality : and David did not enter upon the bloody strife without a cause. He lived in a marlial a^e. However much disposed to peace himself, tlic welfare of his people required the preservation of their independence. Of this there was little probability unless they were prepared for vin.licating it by the sword. Had he suffered the in- sult to escape with impunity, he would have invited another and another, until the spirit of the people should be broken down, and his own pusillanimiiy be- come a byword. He chose the better part. He waged war to punish the insolence of Hanun, and to vindicate the honour and preserve the independence of his country. He was approved of God. He suc- ceeded. This, then, was lawful cause of war. Do you doubt it? For what then did Dhnd order Joab to the battle ? Because the enemy were preparing to give battle to him. Very well. Tiii's I confess is a good reason. You admit this. You acknowledge, then, that if my enemy is preparing to give me battle, I may, without waiting for invasion, become myself the invadery and carry the war, for precaution, into his territory. You admit this. I ask no more. This is enough. Invasion for precaution, is defen- sive war. You fortify my argument. But you do not do justice to the king of Israel. The Ammon- ites knew his character better than you do. Why DEFENSIVE WAH. 139 did fhey call upon the Syrians to help them ? Why did they encamp before Medeba ? They knew they were guilty. They knew they deserved punishment. They knew David had magnanimity. They knew him better tlian you appear to do. They expected vengeance from the minister of God. They pre- pared for resistance. Tlierj saw that theij had made themsetoes odious— that I hei/ stank before David. And jve all know, that they received adequate punish- ment for their offences. I have done. I have laid down the doctrine of legitimate warfare, from t le writers on public law,* and from the word of Goci. I have only to add, * M.de Valid, ajlmitg the legitimacy of offensive war. But in hid definition of it, he ineana no more, than we and other writers, in conformity to christian phraseology, include under the term de- fensive. He differs from us on this subject only ir words. The sentiment is the same. " We may set down this triple end as the distinguishing characteristic of a lawful war. 1. To recover what belongs, or is due to us. 2. To provide for our future safety, by punishing the aggressor, or offender. 3. To defend ourselves IVom an injury, by re|)elling an unjust violence. The tnofirsl are the ob- jects of an offensive, the third, that of a defensive war. Camillus when he was going to attack the Galls, concisely represented to his soldiers all the causes which can justify a war: omnia quae de- fendi, repetiqtic, et ulcisci,fas est." B. III. C. 3. Notwithstanding the general accuracy of this distinguished wri- ter, it appears to me improper to call that an offensive war, which is, according to the definition, 2. To provide for our safety by punish- ing the offender. Certainly it ought not be called offensive to punish the offender. According to the writer himself, however, this is lawful war. The cause of the cotitest determines Us morality : and this is the principle which I wish to establish. hviii i'lO IHK LAWFll-NK-SS Oh III. WUvu a iialion is engnirod in a lawful war, i( is ihf duhj of all to n/fvnl it their supiort. 'I'liis pait of my discourse docs not require much proof or illustration. Its truth will he generally ad milte-, encourages tl,e spirit ,vl,ich inflic^er ,h • •"' 0-. nr,d so promotes the claims f t^ s«ce w"' :;' --"--ed. the contest is of oCe for W \L ":: "!'°,'^^"-«^ """ victory should avenget- jury, and Vindicate equitv will ho .* ^ ^ 'o which side his afleoUo VindL Eve" '"• "' free statp i« r.f , »»cjme. ±.very man in a n.e to those who wage a defensive war, we so far '-.note ,.,e good of hu,na„ society. N^v'siIm M:! iti TMK l,AWKri,NKSS Ol' the rliiislinn, under any protenro whatever, speak oi nti HO as to encourage o/fmce against the ri^hls of soriety; so as to eneoura^irG the injtii^tiee of the foe, or to prevent (he '<''^^<>r h\ the forees employed by an injuied nation. Whether he en^a^je in hostilities or not, every part of hi.s deportnuMit, and especially his prayers, should unequivocally promote the success of tlie legitimate side of the question. 2. Those who withhold tluir support from the war in which their country is engaged, do what tends lo prolong Ific aii/. AVhcn appeal is once made to the law oi force, the (larties, if th(>y do liot ceast^ to reason, employ dis- cussion only as an auxiliary to the sword. It then becomes a contest for victory. The aggiessor, influ- enced oii<;inally by principles of injustice, is not lik(dy to be corrected by his own success. The his- tory of nations atlbrds no instance of claims, which occasioned war, being relinquished l)y the olUnding party, merely because the resistance of the other was feeble. When a people are divided, they oiler themselves an easy prey t<> the aggressor; and even, if they should ultimately succeeil in redressing the (ivil, their weakness and discord certainly prolongs the contest. A protracted warAire, although ulti- mately successful, is a present evil ; and the friends of a speedy peace will always, in war, be desirous to employ the energy which alone can deserve and secure a peace. AVith the work of death noFie UUKKNSJVK WAH. 14a should rov(^s tliosc who do not support an equitable war, as the cause of God, the Supreme Judge. Judges V. 2.}. Curse ye Mrros, (said the angel of the Lord) cvrseye biUcrhf the inhll« THE PRESENT WAR. •«*\iVs>- ^ SERMON IV. With good advice make war. Prov. xx. 18. IhE principles of this proverb I have already stated and defended. To-day you expect the ap- plication. If the general doctrines laid down in the preceding discourse be admitted, we can proceed harmoniously in applying them to existing circum- stances ; but if the truth of these be disputed, we leave the case to your reflections, without urging our sentiments; well convinced of the difficulty of con- vincing men against their own inclinations. In order to refresh your recollection, and that you may judo-e fairly of the correctness of their application to the present war, I repeat the principles aigued in the preceding sermon upon the same text. War is in some cases moral. JReason and Revelation prove this. War in defence of property, liberty, and na- tional INDEPENDENCE AND HONOUR IS LAWFUL : AND "P-mSmB^ ISO THE PRKSENt WAR. nF.PKNSIVi: WAU MAY HE FOR I'llECAUTION, RRSISTANGE, OK KKDKK.^S. Common Sense-- Writers on Public Law— and the Word of God, prove this. The cases of Abram^ Gi- deoHt and David, furnish examples in illustration. Support ought to be given to a just war. A sense of Justice— the love of Peace—and the Sa- rred Scriptures, prove this assertion. It is illustrated bj/ the inspired Song of Deborah. Should any of my hearers, anticipating the appli- cation, wliicli I would make of these prin( iples to the American side of Uie present war, either express a d(»ul>t of their correctness, or deny their truth, I have not entirely lost my object. I take you at your option. However you inay be disposed to con- sider your own country as tiie most guilty in the pre- sent contest, if you admit the principles which I have now repeated, the justice of this war upon our part will necessarily follow ; and if you reject the general truths laid down, the superior injustice of the enemy will, in order to be consistent, be admitted by you. Take your choice ; and let us reason to- gether. 1. Do you deny the lawfulness of war in any case? So let it be. I shall join with you for the time, in deprecating its numerous evils. It flows from Ih^ XHE I'RESEiVT WAH. 161 tESlSTANGE, malevolent passions; and it encouraoes and strength- ens tlje vicious passions from which it flows. It ar- rests the progress of improvement in society. It impoverishes countries ; and lays waste the cities of tlie nations. It exposes to temptations, and cor- rupts the youth. It exposes to danger and to death. it Inirries into eternity, in an unprepared state, thou- sands of our thoughtless fellow-sinners, who miglit otherwise have had time and space of repentance. If it be entirely unlawful, it must of course be the greatest of crhnes which man commits against man : and the nation which wages war is guilty of a hei- nous offence against the moral Governor of the world. Upon your principles, war is a national cnme; and the nation is guilty before God, and in your own estimation, in proportion to the magni- tude of the offence. The greater the war, the greater the guilt. Piety too, abhors guilty nations. You, therefoje, who consider war as a crime, will abhor nations in proportion to the extent of thenars in which they are concerned. Apply this. Blame your own country for her three years war. Set her down as guilty. Abhor her in due proportion. Lift up your voice against your rulers, who caused the nation to err, and are foremost in the crime. But what do you say of our foe? Great Britain is also at war with us. You say, war is unlawful; then, she too is guilty. Do you admit this ? Her guiit is of older date. It is of greater extent. It is of longer duration. She is scarcely ever at peace. Ber guilt, upon your own principles, surpasses the guilt of all the nations of the earth. During the w^ 152 THE PRESENT WAR. Ik last fifty years, she has shed more blood in IndiJi than has been shed in Europe : and in all the wars of Europe she is a party. Do you tiien believe she is the most guilty nation upon earth? Say so. Let your conversation and your political opinions mani- fest that you are in earnest. Show, that it is the abhorrence of all war from a pure conscience, and not a political bias against this republican country, the least guilty of the crime of war, that induces you to reprobate the contest. Declare, unequivocally, that as all war is unjust; as the guilt is in proportion to the extent and duration of the criminality, Great Britain is guilty of the greatest national injustice. You cannot avoid this conclusion. You cannot avoid the charge of insincerity, if you do not readi- ly adopt this conclusion. But I have not yet done with this subject. I will try you further by your own moral maxims. All war is crime — A nation is guilty in proportion to the scale upon which it sins hy carrying on war. These are your maxims. Then you declare that the power of the British empire is founded in crimco AVar hath raised her to her pre- sent splendour. Behold her navy—what you call the instrument of her guilt. Jt is her support and her glory. It is that very navy too, which hath proved the cause of our war with her. If we are guilty for going to war; she at least was the tempter. It was her war— according to your maxim, her crime ; it was her crime against other powers that affected our neutrality, and of course produced the rupture. She despoiled our trade ; she took seamen from our peaceful vessels. She forced them to the service of THE I'RF-ENT WAR. 1.03 3in ; for you say war is sinful Britain then, enga- p:ed with other nations in mwe, sought occasion to force some of ou.- people to take part in that crime. She commitled a crime ™ Sovorn,„ent. wind. ,„ak., .„e p,.„viLs of e o Z "V. .n some mstance», the seat of the present wal 3. Do you give „p the controversy ahout the na- me of defensive warfare, an in^r, „pon mora! prin- ciples, the legitimacy of an appeal to the sword. That in the recommendation of war, and in the ultimate decision, some of thr men in power may have been m/Iuenced by personal iiiitadon— oiliers, by views ot ambition and selfinterest-and others, bv feai- of giving offence to patrons, or to constituenls,'l do not take upon me to deny or to affirm. Such motives m some degree, enter very generally, into tlie rea^ sonmgs and conduct of all men, and particularly of politicians ; but even then, there may exist a love of countiy, and a senr^e of justice, .nodifying the less worthy motives. With the private designs of indivi- duals, we have not in this inquiry so much to do as with matters of fact, vhich are of public notoriety Ood judges tlie heari: but, it is known to the world that lor a seiies of years, the British S(.vereion was in the habit of injuring the interests a.ul honour of this commonwealth. Whatever diversity of opi- nions may exist respecting the extent of the injury and although the expediency and justice of the war' mm m 16u TllL Cv»lJsE!j Ot at its comnicritenieiit, may have been t-allcMl in ques- tion, no man ever doubted that the application ol' the rule of the war :>f HfjO, the orders in council, and the numerous blockading decrees of that nation, were injurious to the fair trade of America. The practice, too, of searching our vessels by their men of war, in order to impress our peaceful sailors into their service, as the ftict has never been doubted, will bo universally admitted to be a grievance — a heavy grievance to any people, and much more so to a free and independent empire. There are two principles, christians, upon which you will express your accord. AVhether the guilt of provoking the war, or of commencing it, be the greater, you will admit, both, that tub: sin, fou the pu- KISHMEKT OF WHICH IT IS PFKMITTF.I) BY THE DeITY, is chargeable upon us all ; and that the cause of THE co.\TiMJAKCE OF HOSTILITIES, is diflercnt from Ihai which gave it origin. If I shall have suc- ceeded in proving that the original grounds of the declaration of war weie moral, there can be no doubt of the propriety now of resisting an invading foe, or of continuing the contest until it terminate in an equitable peace. I do not rest my aigument entirely upon the limited idea of defence, which is involved in resisting invasion, although in the present stage of the contest, this would suffice to prove its Justice. He is unworthy of being treated with au appeal to intellect or conscience, who would dispute, after admitting the lawfulness of war in ajjy case, the propriety of repelling, force by force, when a TUK PKKSENT WAU. iOl 13(1 inques- )licatiun ol' in couiK'ih hat nation, lica. The their men bailors into I doubted, levance — a h more so pon which ' the guilt it, be the on THE PU- 'HE Deity, CAUSE OF rent from have sue- rounds ol" can be no 1 invading terminate ajgument , which is lie present |)rove its d with au d diijpule, iii\y ca.se, J, when a cession of territory is den.anded at the point of (ho bayonet, and invasion with all its horrors approar;hes his own door. I affirm the justice of the war from its com- mencement. Our neutral trade was violently op- posed, and almost totally destroyed ; our property was captured , our fellow-citizens were enslaved while peaceably pursuing their proper employment! and negotiation failed, after the exertion of years, to procure redress for the past, or immunity for the luture. To recover and preserve propert>^To re- deem and to defend men, these are lawful causes of war. These are the causes of the present war. Tlie argument requires neither art nor eloquence. It is obvious to every capacity. It is irresistible. It may be evaded, but it cannot be refuted. If it fail in extorting confession, it cannot fail in producing con- viction. American property has been seized and destroy- ed : American citizens have been impressed and en- slaved. These are the facts. War in defence of property, of liberty, and of life, is lawlul. This is the principle. Apply the principle to the facts. The United States have declared war, in order to vindicate the lights of property, of liberty, and of life, l^here- fore is the present war, from its origin, a defensive and a jusit war. This is the argument. 21 102 ini, ( ArsKH OF You may ppeak about it, and write about it ; yoH may t lose your eyes upon it ; you may «^o round aluuit, and tly from it. I)ut you will in vain otier re- sislanee to its Irulh. The facts are notorious. Tlie principle is confessed. The application is necessary. T use very plain Ian^uaie;e, my brethren ; it is time to s|)eak phiinly u[)on tliis subject. Our country has sudered abun(hmlly. FnsuH lias been added to injui y, by a people who re^ifard the Am M'ican repub- Wv with an evil and a jealous eye. Tiiey consider this country as a commercial rival. They are alarmed at its rapid growth in arts, in knowledge, in opulence, and in powtr. They atlect to despise every thin-^ that is American. By their publica- catioiis in prose and in |)oetry, the English writers strive to keep their countrymen in ignorance of the land in which we live. They draw a carricature of om- manners, our morals, our laws, and our religion. Their otiicial repoils, those documents in which the Yeranly to show the p -retire t^ere lawful; can it afford person of a sted wisdom ument, that of impress- hty empire, own ofl') for an English- 4. The pretext of perpetual allegiance, can have no eflect, in giving the semblance of equity to the practice, in the extent to which it has been carried by the officers of the British crown. They have claimed the right of removing from the vessels, aboard of wliich they entered by formal contract, men of all nations, who could not possibly be mis- taken for natives of the British Isles. The Swede, the Dane, the Dutchman, the Spaniard, and the sable sons of Africa, have been ordered, under tlie lash, to quit the place of their choice, and enter aboard a man of war. Such are the outrageous acts wliich the plea of perpetual allegiance has been invented to cover. It has been repeated, and repeated, and re- peated, until weak men, in despite of its absurdity, have been tempted to believe its truth. Having shown its inapplicability, I go on to prove its erroneousness. The question to which I particularly request your attention, is. The Right of Expatriation. The defence of pioperty is one cause of this war. The defence of persons, is another. Both are legi- timate causes. The seizure of men by the naval of- ficers of England, took place under the plea of alle- giance, which I have shown to be inapplicable. I undertake, besides, to prove that it is unjust. In taking this ground, I am not ignorant of the oppo- tm THK CArSKS Of siiion made to iho ri^ht of expafriation. T am pre* paro(' to meet it iii all ils lorte. The question lla^< been (liscuss(;(l in Europe and America. The sailor and the soldier, 0'; ' !.. trate and the judge, Ihe iaw- $;iver and Uie philosoj^iier, fhe husbandman and the meirhanl, llie mechanie and fhe eide in the t necessary lould be re- and even if ucing it ex- ation, as it tory. See- ot in which cumscribed ided, unless beity, it is ;overnment, im, without ' him, after Lhoritv. 3. Allegiance and protection are reciprocal; and protection is the foundation upon which the claim of allegiance rests. When the foundation is removed, the edifice falls of course. I readily admit, that there is something in Hie idea ot native countri/, which is intimately connected with the doctiine of allegiance. It is not, however, the spot of e^rth, upon which the child is born, that connects him with the national society; but the rela- tion of the child's parents to that society. In the ordinary concerns of life there is no need of such minute distinctions; and there is too little discrhnination, exercised by the greater part of men, to be able to understand it. Even statesmen are not always wise: and designing men find it their in- terest to keep up a confusion of ideas upon im- portant subjects. In the present discussion, never- theless, it is necessary, that I distinctly state to you the true bond, which connects the child with the body jwlilic. It is not the inanimate matter of a piece of land, but the moral relations of his parentage. Let a child be born within the walls of a church, this does not make liim a church member; but if the pa- rent or parents bu in connexion with the church, so is the offspring. Visible society, as it is proviilad for in Ihe constitution of human nature, naturally seeks to perpetuate its own existence, by conferring upon children the membership of their parents. Each citizen too is supposed to reserve for his off- sprihg the benefits of society. The Governor of the 22 170 ini, < Arsii;,'") OF I imivoiw np|)ioV( s of lliis |.iovi,si,m. Tims i(, is, (iiiil ImpiHMMMl lo Im> Im.i,, ill ils huriUM-y. l|r;^i(l«>ntv phmIihts an iilladiiiuiif. FMiicarK.ii ii I'm (|,r svvmvs cif raily lilr ; ImiI, only worn/ rtfafions /a,/ the foomtation for morni oh/isra- lioii. II is IlKMiijdMiuiii (,nii,> |>iivilrn(.M(,rs(Ki('ly, Dial lays (In. louiKJalion lor <»lK'(li«'ii(«> to i|,s juillio- lily. II follows IVoin Ihis, llial prolcc lion Uv'iu^ ||ie Mid of rivil oovrnmiciil, llio .s(>vnvi,«r|j |,as no ollior riaim npoii |ji(« alKuiaiicc ol" llu> siiUjccl, llian ulial arises IVoin (lie proUdioii uliidi he allonls. yts is Ifit /notniioii n/iic/i I ash ami rnrirr, so is the jrally ■ivhirli /oin. If I ask nonr, I am iindor no allc^i- iMwv W I rt(tiv<> iioiu>, I liav(> n(»lliinir to ickmi. II is liic viiy (ssciirc of ii lollow (lie con.Iirioii of ni«'ir latlitTs, ami oiilor inio till (juir linlits Tlu- placr of Itirlli j.ro.l.ic(->. iu» ohan-o in (his imilicilar-lor i( is not nnturi'lly the rlacc of hirlli that -ivos rights, hiit extraction. Cliildrcn horn at Poa-~,Mil of ti.e country— in tlio armies of (I,,' state,— in the l.ousoof ils ministers at a foreign court, are reputed native citizens. Every inan, born tree, may examine nliether it he covenienl for liini io .ii>in in the ..ooiety for which he was destineil hy his hirth. If l>e tinds tliat it uill he of no advantage to him to ronuiin in it, he i.^ nt liberty to leave it." Vattel, Sec. 'JJtJ— 220. THE PltK.Sir\T WAR. 171 "»(o ofhor ronnliM's, some; «>f their citizens— Wiilo.s *•". P"''l"- law, ai(nors an. nafu.ali/.Ml |,y H,,. sr-vcal rivili/,d stairs ; a.Hl raci, of (|„.H. (ads i.nplios ll.u luinrinlo <• condirioii of 'liUT of itirllt imtiiri'lly tli(> hlrcii horn a I II (ho lioiiscol ti/.ens. Evny III for liini to his hirtii. 1 1 iiain ill if, he 'riu. liisjoi-v ofdisiiiiirnislK,,! „u ^i" lirnian iv|uiMlc, (Voni Kian<(!, ( •om (lie liiJMsli l\ conslKufcs dl ah, | I, this case, (he „ne parly is |Vc(; |o leliuduisl nt'xion in llio nalure of thir :>ve irained n nlari/ vonlmd is l!io ly |Mwnl ; for, in as (h(^ other Wl i.i^s condilional, a? HMi the (!onnex h a c(»n- w,ll <»»! is dissolved. prolection and allegiance perish togelher. I give you ||u, law of nations on Ihis suhjed in the words of / V,//./. - The K-rn, coun!ni. conun'on- \y siondies the slalr of nhirh one is a mcrnhn-. In a more conliiuul sense, and more aorec.ahh; i„ jiy ^.^ ' "'olooy, Ihislenn sio„ilics IIm' sl.le, (,r even more parlicularly tiie (own, or pluco where our purculs If. 172 THE CAUSES OF lived at llic moment of our birth. In this sense it in juslly said, that our country cannot be changed, and always remains the same, to whatsoever place we re- inove afterwards— But, as several lawful reasons may oblige a man to choose another country, that is, to become a member of another society ; so, when we speak in general of the duly to our connlry, we ought to undersland by this term, the slate of which a man is an actual member; since it is to that he owes it en- tirely, and in preference to all others."* " There aie cases, in which a citizen has an abso- lute right to renounce his countri/, and abandon it en- tirely. I. If the citizen cannot procure subsistence in his own country. 2. If the body of the society, or he who re])resents it, absolutely fi^ ji^lects to fulfil his obligations to a citizf^n. 3. Jf the sovereiirn w^^uu! establish laws, to whkh the pact of Smicty f^nwA oblige a citizen to submit."t Of the third justifiable cause of expatriation, M. de Fattel gives three instances — When religious li- berty is violated ; when a form of government is al- tered from freedom to a more arbitrary system ; and wlien a nation has given up, by submission to ano- ther, its own independence. " Those who quit their country from a lawful reason, are called emigrants;" and of " the right of emigralion;' he says in the next sentence,! " This is a natural right, which is ccr- ^ Book I. Chap. 11. f Book I. Chap. 19, X Sect. 225, THE PRESENT WAR. 173 tainlye^ceptedin Ihepacl of society ^ It is, by ihelaw of nations, a right uhich cannot bo surrendered. Proceeding upon this principle, all nations have among them.* England particularly, as if deter- mmed to make apparent to the universe her own in- consistency, has furnished peculiar facilities for na^ turahzmg smfaring mm of all nations. The short period of two years serving aboard Jiritish vessels ■ marriage with a native in her ports ; and voluntai'r enlistment aboard her men of war. form a sufHcient ground for claiming them as subjects. The sove- reign of Britain, while he denounces as a traitor every native of his empire found in arms against Imn, forces to tight against his own country, the native of whatever nation ; and, as if determined to *\mm, what is most unreasonable and tyrannical Wit^H, the compass of human thought, he compels to* the Irattle in ti... Provinces of Upper and Lower Ca- nada, Am#>rican emigrants naturalized, even «ince the derkr^kifi of the present war. The plain lan- guage of K^A royal proclamations, illustrated by the practice of British otficers, is, " all the states upon earth must allow emigrations to Britain, but nm^\ prohibit emigrations from Britain to them- the natives of our ow n soil, and those of other countries whom we naturalize, shall be our slaves for ever • . ,' " ^ "f"''" "'"^ ^''"^ ^"^ "" • ^^''"eer llie quality of « eif.«>„, by « r^;" % '^'^"" ""f "' '" •"""^^' '"^'^'y- This « Ciaied mluralKatwnr Valid, Scd. 214. w ,<';WW;^ 171 THE CAUSES OF but let no other commonwealth dare to protect a na- tmalized foreigner."* * Notwithslanding this exclusive clainij of prohibiting emigra- lion, and encouraging naturalization, as suits her own convenience, Oreat Britain gives toiler subject?, those reasons which require the exercise of the natural and unalienable right of ixpatriation. Slie Tioiates, in every instance, the pact ok societt. 1. She does not aflFord to industry and enterprize, simifar encouragement to that %vhich is given in America. For the means of a comfortable sub- sistence, thousands are constrained to emigrate : others expatriate themselves, to improve a condition already comfortable; and a much greater number wotdd follow the example, could they com- mand the means of transportation to the hospitable shores of Colum- bia. 2. The British Government does not fulfil its obligations to the citizeii, in governing them by equal laws. The scale upon which the representation is graduated, prevents freemen from giving their suffrages for those who make the laws; and they have of course, a right to remove to a country, in which society is organized upon more liberal principles. 3. Religion is violated, and pious men are placed under political disqualification, and forced to support a system of faith and worship, to which they cannot as honest and good men give their assent. To the corrupt establishment they are compelled to give the tithes of all. A very large proportion of the population, and (he most religious part of it too, in England and in Scotland, is among the dissenters from the national system of worship ; and in Ireland, there is not probably one out of ten who belongs to the established church. We have heard in this country, of the claims of Irish Catholics for emancipation; but the reason of rejecting their claim is not ge- nerally known. It is not from any dislike that the high church- men have to the Roman religion ; but from (heir hatred and fear of the Protestant dissenters. The watchmen of (he political relio-ion of England, now stand with the Sacramental Test in their hand, (o guard the passage to power. The Independents, the Baptists, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, tUe ivbole body of Protestant dis- THE PRESENT WAR. 17/ protect a na- under polKical ith and worship, rather .„ffL !u ''""^' ^ *»"«^' ^^ho would So?;:: r\T:::".'^\r '''-'''"' "- laws of mc.Jf.t ■ "^ ""'^' '""^' ^•'"""•e 'I'c -ws 01 molality, and sin against their God. "J wvma oe tlie condition of man ti i •. . ^pinned down in the place oH.r .ivuM' ^' '^ authorities of Connecticut eTfnT^ ' ' ""^ ofNew-Yoil-ilJi , " . Romany citizens " VoiK, the local jurisdiction of every corpo- senlcrs, are (lie objecls of or...<;.,i(i„. ti,. > , , • , Randolph, avowed hi, eumily a '. L^T' , ''"''<''">f '•''"''»°. Ills diocese. ^' "'^'""wi l» 'mm,, li,t„, i„ " ""' ""' " "'^°'' '■"' "--«°S .he rigW Of c.,,«,Ha,i„„, 17G IHE CAUSES OF ration of a city or a village perpetually binds every one born within their respective limits. According to this morality, my hearers, you are guilty of trans- gression, for having left the township in wlucli you drew the tirst breath ; and in order to avoid further guilt, you must return whence you came, and leave be- hind you the wives and the children you have gotten in this city ; for here, they must remain until they re- tire to the tonib, You must, instead of encouraging a free and honourable intercourse among men of all nations and kingdoms, in order to make them live as one great rational family of the same blood; instead of encouraging a rivalship in equity and honour among the nations, and a sphit of personal freedom and generous feeling among the natives of every c'lLne and kindred — instead of this, you must require that man be chained to his birth-place; that sullenness, and non-intercourse, and jealousy, and hatred be cherished ; and that society be cut up into minute sections, with feelings and with views graduated upon the puny scale of counties and of townships. Then will Aristocracy perpetuate her dominion, and Despotism horribly smile from her bloody but triumphant car. The absurdity of this doctrine is so obvious to the christian, that I am astonished to find among the professed followers of my Redeemer any of its ad- vocates. The man wiio inculcates perpetual allegi- ance to the place of birth, assuredly calculates largely upon the amount of human ignorance and folly ; he ventures far upon the slavish feelings of his ,* I THE PRESENT WAR. 177 partisans; b,.t he does little credit to Lis Jwn that God has bestowed a scanty supply of brains "" ndeed by a course of uncommon depravity ?a '^ffl- r'f/^^r " "- «"- fibres of the S 6. ^ aave become mr hen ; arid especially, when it embraces the guilts .,wn of the kingdom: but it is in itself an ho »ble principle : alas ! it is too feeble, in the hen ,h of those American citizens, who admire the moi order and t>oli d hinery of Great Bri ain, more than they set. to preserve the integ- rity of Iheir own republican insututlons. I have not made these remarks on misplaced attach- ment to country, with a view to apply tliem to those emigrants from the dominions of the British king, who belong to this congregation. N Toyou, my brethren, they are not applicable. In couimon with (Jiose chris- tians in your native country, and in this, the country of your choice, who are bound with you iu the same faith, and in the same covenant, you embrace, as a part of your christian doctrine, the principle of expatria- tion. You disclaim, by the solemnities of religion, allegiance to the corrupt, political, and ecclesiastical system of British misrule. That was your country. It is so no more. To our brethren ; > ea, to every man in that empire, we wish health and happiness, and eternal life. But this country, although we see and lament the evils which appertain to its inhabit- ants and to its government, this country, is now be- come our own. Here we have voluntarily settled. Here we have married our wives. Here we have our homes. Here we have our children placed as olive-plants around our table ; and here we expect to leave our Jlesh to rest in hope, when the last breath shall depart from our nostrils, and the spirit shall re- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / O .% '^ % A 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.8 1^ |50 '""^ |i||M 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.4 IIIIII.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREST WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 372-4503 'K^^ :%^ "k / 182 THE CAUSES OF •Jfti :V. 'ft !.!':! turn tf> God. To this country, during the present struggle to maintain the rights of expatriation, to preserve the rights of the stranger, who expects not in vain to find hospitality— To this country, we wish success in the present contest. We pray for a hap- py termination of the strife, and for a speedy resto- ration of the blessings of peace, that in the peace thereof we may have peace. Having thus vindicated the most doubtful part of the cause of America in the present war, and given evidence of its justness, I go on, II. To show the Principles upon which the War may be lawfully prosecuted. Besides the question of right to make war upon an offending nation, there are many considerations to be taken into the account of its moral character. Governments, as well as individuals, have not unfre- quently displayed pride, indiscretion, and malevo- lence, in contending for their unquestionable rights ; and have thereby given a character of inexpediency and criminality to a contest which might have been conducted by better men upon moral principles. Nor is (he fact to be concealed, that the virtuous part of a community are justified in the sight of God and their country, in keeping aloof from a contest, however good the cause, if moral evil be made es- sential to the mode of carrying it on. We must not do evil that good may come of it. If the terms, upon which admission into the army, like the British THIS PRESENT WAR. 1^ mcramental test* be absolutely sinful, it becomes a duty, even when the cause of war is just, to reject the terms, and of course to withhold a support which cannot otherwiso be afforded. It is evidently, therefore, both the duty and the mterest of those who are placed at the head of a nation, to take order, that the wars, which, bv the in- justice of others, they are compelled to wao-e, be prosecuted upon equitable principles. If it should be the lot of a conscientious man to live in a bellige- rent state, which wages a war. Just in its causes, but imqmtous in the mode by which it is conducted, he has only, when the evil is beyond his remedy, to withhold his personal agency, and to pray that the cause may, notwithstanding the sins, of men, be pros- pered by the Lord. No iniquity of the instrument can justify the dereliction of a good cause. Those, of course, cannot be esteemed as virtuous members of any community, who, under th3 plea of improvi- dence, of weakness or mismanagement, upon the part of rulers, not only strive to prevent the success of a lawful war, but also with design to increase the na- tional embarrassment, deny the justness of the con- test. With this distinction, obvious to every man, 1 shield from the charge of insincerity those conscien- tious men who may disapprove of the present ad- ministration, and the conduct of the war, while I make no apology for him, who, devoid of patriotism and virtue, calls in question the legitimacy of the 1 * See page 71. 184 'iHE CAUSES 01 contest as it now exists, and recommends subnicsslon to the enemy~I make no apology for him, who strives to prevent the snccess of his country in tlie present strife. I leave him to the comforts of his own reflections, knowing, as 1 do, that whatever may be his motives, they cannot command the approba- tion of his country, of his cotemporaries in other lands, of posterity, of his conscience, or of his God. With him, therefore, I do not stoop to argue the question. To others I say, let us examine, upon moral principles, the mode of prosecuting the pre- sent war. I am not the eulogist of men in power; neither do Igivejlatkring tiiles to man: I love the country of my choice, and I pray to God for the prosperity and success of its arms. I lament whatever of inde- cision, and Imbecility, and improvidence, and mis- management has appeared in the hall^ of legislation, in the executive councils, in the leaders of our ar- mies. I could fervently wish, and devoutly pray, for more firmness, and wisdom, and action, and for more extensive resources in men and in money for the safety of the nation. But I would not dis- pute, and embarrass, and threaten, for the purpose of producing an effect, for which I should afterwards blame those who were irresolute enough to listen to my opposition. I would not strive to bring about an evil for the sake of condemning it, and iryuring the country. I would not tempt to sin, for the sake of triumphing over the fallen. THE PRESENT WAR. 185 I submit to you- consideration ll,e three follow- ing principles; heHigerent communilks are alnmm lo be considered, each as o«e iorfy-,„ „ar, ike m- I shall now explain these principles, and apply them to the mode in which this war 11 conducted 1. /« a state of War, we m^t eonsider each Com- munity as one Body. ' However extensive an empire, however nume- ious Us colonies and dependenci. ., organized into one society, and subject to the same ovefel powi when that sovereign has undertaken war. he 'whole empire .s called upor to bear a part in ts preset p..c.ofattackisa;u:str^;,:;;,ry'io::: g ble. The skill of the General in battle is di. " .^Ve pages 12G, and U^. 24 ICG TKE PRINCIPLES OfON WHICH niinous or immoral. Tlie sole object of a just war 16 to make the enemy feel the evils of his own injus- tice, and by his sufTerings dispose him to amend his ways. He must therefore be attacked upon tlie most accessible quarter. 1 have already established the justness of the pre- sent war. Taking that for granted, 1 now inquire into the best manner of giving it effect. The cir- cumstances of the case leave no manner of doubt upon this subject. Great Britain, separated from us by the wide Atlantic, exposes no point, upon which the United States can reacli her, except her colonies and her shipping. The Canadas and her commerce present the proper objects of attack. On both these points she feels ; and you may judge of her feelings from the fact, that those who feel with her, and for her, among ourselves, feel most upon these very sub- jects. Her fleets and her armies, those instruments of annoyance to others, are of no use but the pro- tection of her colonies and comnieice. By attack- ing and conquering them, the citizens of America may acquire, and have acquired, renown ; but it is by capturing that wliich they project, and for which alone they are supported, that th^. enemy can be brought to feel, to reason, and do justice. Upper Canada, particularly, presented to the United States the most eligible theatre for the con- test. It was the most accessible part of the enemy's; territory, — the possession of it would prove ihe de- fense of an extended frontier from the ravages of the IHE WAR IS COADUCTED. 187 foe, and lioiii Indian l)ail)arity— and it nijahl bo licdd as an equivalent until, for the sake of its restoration, the enemy would be constrained to do juf4ice. These considerations put the policy of attacking it beyond a doubt. And the equity oi it necessa^ilv follows from the justness of the war itself. Do you doubt this .' Sliow me wherefore, and I will answer you. Set your arguments in array, and my reply is at hand. « The inhabitants of Canada have com- mitted no offence." Is this your argument? Who then has offended? The Soldier, the Sailor? No. The Minister, the Regent? Will you then despatch a messenger of private vengeance to assassinate the offending sovereign, rather than attack his dominions, and his colonies, and his troops, and his ships of war ? But you are mistaken. The Canadians have offended. They have made a common cause with their sovereign. In him who represents them they have offended. Let them peacefully distinguish them- selves from him, and remain as non-combatants in the possession and use (»f their property— and these in- nocents shall then be unmolested. *It is not against the unoffending Canadians, it is against the king's troops, and the king's fleet, and against the king's territories, that the United States wage this war on the waters and the shores of Erie, Champlain, and Ontario. And you, too, I suspect, from the nature of your remark, do not so much dispute the legiti- macy of this part of the war, as you dislike the whole cause. Sympathy with the Canadians has frequently been affected as a benevolent method of aiming :J. i 1 88 'I HE pKiivcii'Lfcis i;i'Oi\ wmni d si(Je-l)Iuw at llie administralioii of the government 'J'liis may be considered as good policy; hut it par- takes not of tlic candour of religion. The British empire, like the human hody, has many members, and alJ the members being many, are one body. Jn a state of nar, an attack upon any member is lawful. In a Mioral j)oint of view, it makes no difference whether Oie blow falls upon the capitol or the colony. The wlnde nati«)n is one body. 2. The Nalion only is the proper Object of War. Humanity prescribes laws for belligerent commu- nities. The evils of war are necessarily great ; and they ought not to be unnecessarily increased. Pri- vate persons and projierty, whose injury cannot af- fect tlie controversy, should remain unmolested. The monuments of the fine arts are respected by civilized nations; and none but barbarians will de- signedly destroy elegant edifices or libraries. The plunder of hamlets and villages, the conflagration of private dwellings and barns, can have no otlier eflect than multiplying private misery, and producing higher degrees of exasperation : for the rule of hu- manity, in a necessary war, is to inflict no injury ex- cept what will affect the nation as a body politic, and thus subserve the proper end of warfare. 3. Several changes favourable to humanity, on the mode of conducting war, have already ob- tained ; and such ought to be extended. THE IVAH IS CONDUCTED. 10» It IS highly honourable to the government of thi. ^public, that a proffer has been made to th, enemy of an«r«,mee. ever since the commencement of hostilities, upon condition that he sliould desist by sea and by .and from the practices ,vhich caXd fo. an appeal to the sword; and that a proposal has been made, upon terms of reciprocity, fo^r reZ .ng 10 injured individuals the losses which iniS them be incurred during the continuance of the cj test. It n equally dishonourable, on the part of the foe, to refuse acceding to such proposals. On him of course descends the guilt of every injury. According to modern usage in christian nations unauthorized individuals are not permitted withl™' punity to fall upon an enemy. Secret means of an- caTdlT -n "' ""'""Z"' «'«''^'''"»«on. are d,V caided. I he persons of those who do not carry arms and even of retainers to an army, are in safe- ty Prisoners are not enslaved, but treated with re- spect. Officers are dismissed on their parole Pre datory excursions, and pillage of every kind, are dis- countenanced ; and the horrors of war accordingly mitigated.* This reform has been effected princi^ pally through the influence of the christian religion- a religion distinguished by its harmony with the most correct principles of national law. It ou^ht to be extended in its benign influence to other prac- tices, still admitted by the law of nations; but highly I m) THK nniNrU'LKH WON WM[MI injurious to nioralil y. Tt ou^Iii to bo exttiulcMl (o lilt' pnu'ticr of pi-ivat<'i;riii^, and to that which givcH (ui^ijin lo privalcM'iini^ ; Ihn practice ofcapturin^/^ri- lafv projurli/ of any kind upon tho ottran, hy piihlic armed vessels, whrther in \ny,\vv. or in war. 'I'lu'ie arc many cojicnt leasjons for opposiujLf the pracHre of takilii; privat«.^ pro[HMiy on thf; hi. ih. evil which hi.s injus- *K.^ ...n.tH. Thalgn.und is .suai< ienl. J t is the gn.uiHl upon u'hich rcHts (he equity of the war "roHo, .„..rclK.nt..u.„ Uy national ...i,. of .a/ n i U, . nouB .nVc„ n.o«t ,.vH .. U.. .apanHe^ of orClnary. „ 3" c culaUMl o cxciN: U.e aversion of c..ri.,ian ..u.mUy, ,„o t pe mcouB o the g.n<.rnl nu,rality ol the conununity, hy . ulli ly „' l^e nmnhor of adventurers, who «eek an.l «hare the '^uZ. 1 oflenchng rellovv-n.en : hut the evil, the radical evll/l 7 • L L vasion of private n^rJu at all ^' '"' To the total ahoiilion of this practice, I ace in (ho state of ih. natiou« no fcnnidal,le harrier, except uhat is presents iTthl .cy of Great Britain. ,t is her na.'y that playsTr il L I': unes of peace arul ,v„r. ,t is rea.onahle, however, t Ct < at ,!ur.nK (he present repose of the nations, they will isk Ine'n o or the nnestion, How long shall England he pern.i.e , tfen oy UHM.xclus.veco,nn,erce and dominion of the ocean/ Shall t he ever I It .s reasonahle to expect they will devise means „o^ cert, for asserting the fnetlom of the .seas. I know that this is necessary to puhlic .justice. I know it is ne cessary to a permanent peace in (he worhl. I know i ' noised in the word of «o... , know it will he hrought tl "7„ g< or handlhg l/,e umkanlhing ; but let them stiil love their co.u.lry ; and in every thing consistent with a good conscience sanctified by the Lord, promote the cause m which the nation is embarked against a powerlul and unjust enemy. If negotiation should fail to secure a speedy peace, the dangers of the country call for unanhnity m the strife of blood and battle. I„ that case, suiv pctuig the war will be the means of preservin.r Ih, umon of Ihe slates: and this is unquestionably ,le- suable. Whatever mistaken individuals may say of the collision of interests, and the rivalry existino- between the north and the south, the east and the west; every slate, every part of this extensive «m- 2fi 194 CONCLUSION. pile, has a deep interest in perpetuating the federal connexion. It is the means of preventing those col- lisions and jealousies from coining to an open rup- tyie — it is the means of internal peace and friend- ship — it is the means of promoting their commerce, their manufactures, and tlieir agriculture — it is the means of cultivating, by suitable encouragement, the sciences and the liberal arts — it is the means of pre- serving unimpaired the liberties of the people, and guaranteeing the forms of their democratic policy — it is the means of defence against foreign enemies, waiting to divide, and anxious to destroy — it is the means of securing religious liberty, together with the purity, the peace, and the growth of our ctiurches. The several religious denominations, al- ready weakened by dissention, would become still more weak, if the parts of each ecclesiastical body situated in the different states, were cut asunder by political distinctions, which must turn brother against brother. Such a state of things would prevent all liberal intercourse among Christians, scattered over this land from north to south ; and if, by renewing in America the local favouritism and the political priestcraft of the old world, some particular clergy- men might rise to a higher eminence, true religion would suffer by the change ; and the more ingenu- ous and humble men, v/ould become more limited in their influence and usefulness. 1 would urge the support of the war, because 1 earnestly long for a permanent peace. You know the enemy. His claimhi will rise, by his successes , CONCLUSIOiV. 19.0 ; the federal ig those col- li open rup- ! and friend- r commerce, ire — it is the jgement, the eans of pre- people, and itic policy — ign enemies, oy — it is the )gether with wth of our linations, al- become still astical body t asunder by Dther against I prevent all altered over by renewing the political Lular clergy- rue religion lore ingenu- ire limited in r, because 1 You know is successes; and fall, in proportion to his defeats. The more he suffers, the more will he be disposed to relinquish the contest. The greater his danger, the sooner will he come to an accommodation. By consistency and unanimity, America might have finished this war as- soon as it had commenced. It is only by affecting the fears of xhe foe, that he can be made to listen to the voice of equity. I would recommend the support of this war, be- cause it is just. The United States ask for nothing, but what they ought to have; what it is lawful for the enemy to give; what is in its very nature nioral-Jhe protection of property, and personal liherty. \ pray for success to these righteous claims • 1 pray for courage to the warrior, and for success to the armaments by which the plea is urged, because the cause is just— because it is necessary to the re- pose of the world— because God has promised that this cause shall universally prevail. In oflfering these prayers, 1 know that they are in unison with the prayers of my brethren, even in the country with which this nation is at war— with the prayers of all Chi istians, who say, from the heart, « thy kingdom comer I speak not of forms, dictated by courts, and used by the priests, whom the kings of the earth keep in pay to overawe their subjecrs. I speak of prayers, dictated by the Spirit of ourLord Jesus Christ. To such prayers, my petitions, for the ultimate success of the American claims, are in unison. Should you travel among the nations, and take the II f f 196 CONCLUSION. suffrages of the saints every where on earth, you would not find one single-hearted Christian, who would refuse his assent to these principles — ike sen should be free to all honest enterprise — personal liberty should be secured — and everi^ man should be permitted to pursue his lanful industry, where, never he chooses to take up his abode. These are the princi- ples for which this nation contends by the sword; and therefoie do I pray to the Almighty God, for their full success.— Amen. «»arfh, you isiinn, who riciples — the re — personal n should he lere. never he the princi- the sword; y God, for THE ENDS FOR w„,eH GOD m „„ PHOVmPKCB PERMIT* THE EXISTEKCE OP THIS WAH. — — ^WW- SEHMOIV V. Come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. Jer. li. lo. ThEV, whose lot it is to live in the midst of rero- lulions and wars, are constrained to be the witnesses of n.„ch misery and sorrow. Where ignorance and tyranny prevail, the humane have only to mourn in sJence over their calamities, without even the small consolation of proclaiming to the world, the evils which they see or endure. Wheresoever, however, liberty secures the right of expressing one's thoughts and especially where true religion begets a becom- ing magnanimity, men will always be found to re- late the tale of wo, and to declare their opinions of the causes and consequences of present sufTeiino-s I. IS, moreover, to be expected, that in such "cases some diversity of sentiment will obtain among the most unbiassed and virtuous. The complexness of li J9R GOD S PROVIDENCE IN ii' 1 public afTairs — L'r,A,buzaraddan. the Counnander in Chief of the Chaldean armament, olTered him an establishment in «abyl„„, |,e ppefe^d continuing with his afflicted brellneu, who bad never treated him with the kind- ness or esteem due to hia worth. This weeping prophet sympathized in the snflci- ings of a people, injured and invaded bv the foe Many of them were already in captivity.' He be- held the noble edifices of the capital smoking in ruins. He dropped a tear over (he fallen kIoiv • and turning his eyes to (he east, over the mighty wa- ters of Eu|,hiates, to Babylon, (he enemy of bi« country, now in the full tide of successful war, he I 200 god's providence in exclaimed, O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the mea- sure of thy covetousness* Jeremiah committed to writing the predicted judgments, and sent them by the hands of Seraiah to Babylon, with orders, that when he read them to the captive Israelites, they should be fastened to a stone, and thrown into the Euphrates, as a symbol of the .demolition of Chal- dean greatness. While predicting these judgments of war from the Lord, destined to overthrow that mighty empire, he invited the saints, in the words of my text, « Come, let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God." War iSf in a certain sense, the work of the Lord^ As sueh it ought to be understood and declared bi/ a re- ligious people. Both these assertions T shall endeavour to confirm and apply, and shall then conclude this subject. I. All wars are, in a certain sense, the work of the Lord our God. It is not, in its own nature, pleasing to the Deity, to contemplate either the evil passions or the suffer- ings of men. God is not to be viewed in the light of an arbitrary and capricious tyrant, that sports with the miseries of liis creatures. He is of purer eyes * Jer. li. 13. THE PRESENT WAR. :20l iny waters, nd the mea- ninitted to it tliem by :)rders, that elites, they ,vn into the >n of Chal- judginents rthrow that le words of the work of the Lord — redbif a re- to confirm Libject. work of tilt I the Deity, • the suffer- the light of sports with ^ purer ej/es than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity.* Ne- vertheless, he not only admits, but, in some instan- ces, requires war: and on account of its cfT'ccts, he brings it to pass, as under existing circumstances, sail- ed to the nature of his government over such ciea- tures as the sinf.il children of men. Shall not the Judge of aU the earth do right ?\ Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it ?X The Providence of God extends to every event- war is particularly specilied—and the wars of this age of the world, are pointed out in the prophetic history. 1. The Providence of God extends to every Emit which comes to pass. Provision was made, in the counsel of his own will, before any part of creation was called into existence, for all that the Lord doeth with his creatures in time or througli eternity. A man of understanding pur- poseth beforf;iiand what he shall do : it argues imper- fection of intellect or of power, or else mutation of disposition, to act contrary to previous resolution : omniscience, omnipotence, and immutability assure us, that God worketh all things after the counsel of his own will;^ and as he willed what he shall himself per- form, his agency extends over matter and mind to every event, from the colouring of a filament Hab. i. 13. f Gen. xviii. 25. 6 Eph. i. 11. 26 t Amos iji. H. I liir „ 202 OOD's I'ROVIDENCE llV li ■i of hair, to the overturning of a world. The ver^ hairs of your head are all numbered.* 2. War is parlieularlf/ specified in several parts of the sacred volume, as a work of Clod's Providence over human ati'airs. "Wherefore il is said in the hook of the wars of the Lord what he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon: and at the stream of the brook that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth on the border of ]Moab."t I shall illustrate this doctrine by a passage from fcacred history, which is very applicable to the seve- ral inquiries, which piety would suggest upon hear- ing that war is the work of the Lord our God. Ahah king of Israel proposetl to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, an alliance, for the purpose of waging war against the Syrians, of whicli tlie latter accept- ed ; but expressed a desire to consult the prophets i-especting the nature and ends of the contest.^ Jehoshaphat, with all his failings, which although nu- merous, appear to have chiefly proceeded from the mildness and indecision of his character, was a pious man, who revered the word of the Lord. Ahab was of an opposite character, but made it a part of his policy to keep a numerous ministry depending upon tlie royal bounty ; because, by that very dependence he niTght calculate upon their influence, in the com- munity, to favour his plans of ambition and tyranny Luke xii. 7. } Num. xxi. 14. i ^ Kings xxii. 1—5 THE I'RESKNT WAH. 203 The ver^ eral parts of Providence said in the ', in the Red t the stream ;lling of Ar, >assage froui to the seve- t upon liear- [•God. Jehoshaphat >se of waging atter accept- the prophets he contest.^ although nu- led from the , was a pious . Ahab was I part of his lending upon dependence , in the com- and tyranny He accordingly smninoncd a council of prophets, which was attended by about fotu- imndred. They knew the inclination of the king of Israel : they were not so well acquainted with the will of the king of heaven : and they did not hesitate to give, what their patron expected, the sanction of their religion to his belligerent proposals.* He was gratified ; but his ally, suspecting the character of Ahab's prophets, was not satisfied : he inquired for some teacher of di- vine truth, worthy of more confidence. There was one of that description at hand. Micaiah the son of Imlah, was well known in Samaria for his plainness and integrity ; but, as might be expected, of such a character, that he was not in favour with the court. Though constrained to respect his virtues, they dis- liked him for his unyielding disposition. I hate him, said Ahab, for he does not prophcsi/ good concerning me, but evil.f "^ It was the policy of the king of Israel, however, not to displease or disappoint a man upon whose co-operation he calculated in n.ents, on an- U^hristian nationH, bt long to the suth. We have shown, that the unclean spirits which pro- ceed from Satan, doing wonders, seducing {lickings of iheJlomauEart/^, and even of the whole worhl to^o lorth to war-Mm unekan spirits li/ce frogs, out of L mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are, the principles of infidelity, of tyranny, and of hypocrisy, supported by philosophi.ts, by European monarchs, and by corrupt ecclesiastics, producing wars, and gathering the nations to their merited \m\l ments. We have shown, that it is the design of heaven, wiule employing that terrible machinery, as a wo to the kmgdom of the man of sin, to destroy the im- mense resources, which the establishments of the old world draw from their system of foreign coloniza- lon, and its dependent commerce. We have shown, that this the object of the sixth vial, began to be ac- complished in the American revolution; and that the waters of Euphrates, thus diverted from their channel through the midst of Babylon, will continue to flow more and more in another course, until the former channel is dry, and the corrupt establishments of Eu- rope become a more easy prey to « the kings of the east, the agents of their ruin. Of this vial the pre- sent war is a part: and whatever may have been the •ntention of it. instigators an" tiMK us only |,y .ncn.s „r |,i, ,,.veal,.,| ,vi|| . ,,„, litUii so ordf>i-(>(l if #ii^4 . for l,e f 7''""-" "'"'•'"'"'■V'vve ,„..v a,..,,.,,,. cau.c ,1 ,» „„t ,„ ,,„ ,|^„i^^,, ,1^^^^ .^ y ;'wv «/-/.r M. .„„„«, „r /as „„,„ „.,w. , ,: * ,f Inns -n va,„. The efKu.. ,„..,,lu,ecl wo,,, i „ ,, war appears .U.s.ine.l by ,l,e (;„'„ ..f l,.,,., .^ «e purpo... of a>4.„„._„ ,,,,_;.;:;: i. r/ie WV is a Judgment. T;I« a,,, of i„,|ivi,|„a| (ran.K,r..ors are not P""';"'" '" ""■■■'■ <■"" -"-nt i„ \uy life. At ,Te '*• Hu( „a(„m.s ilo not cxisl as bodies politi,. i,, ,!,„ «".rlcl of spi,i,s. Uivine Justi.e lavs . ,1,1 of , „ «-"> <'K'-r "-entecl p„nisl.„,c„,. The trans^jressi, ,„. ,f ""•• e"-|..re are eonfessemy nu,„ero,,s; a,„l i„ no country upon earth .lo the ,si„. of ,li„i„en. in,1ivi,|" »l rcjuue more, to be taken into ll,e ae.o.u,, of ,he "»li.."al S-nll. Ihan tho.se of .he people of ,l,e tini.ed ^ |des; because in „o other ....untry, are the people ^...1 (he sovernmen. so .-onipleteiy i.fen.ified in he •■onstuuiiui. auJ aduauist ,a( ion of civil power. The 37 I ■o 210 THE DESIGN OF t- . ft moral character of those who are elected to office^, is known to Iheir constituents: their acts, while in office, are the acts of the community which they re- present: the offences committed by public men, are, therefore, justly laid to the account of the common- wealth. It is a fact, that we suffer ; and had we not sinned, such sufferings would not have befallen us. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upor us : for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth : for we obeyed not his voice.* We feel our sufferings. The mind is harassed by anxiety ; the body is bro- ken down by the fatigues of warfare : families are separated to meet no more: and the arts, the em- ployments, and tlie comforts of domestic life, give way to the labours of flight from the scene of danger ; to the duties of the camp, and of the field of battle ; and to the collection of the scattered fragments of what remains of former treasure. Property is rapidly changing hands. The Trader sees his ships rotting in the harbour, and become a prey for worms. His capital is without produc- tive employment, and gradually melting away like the April snow. The Manufacturer, the Adven- turer, the Sailor, the Soldier^ and especially the Pub- lic Contractor, is supported or enriched on the public loss. A i'ew years of war, will make many rich men poor, and some poor men wealthy, * Dao. ix. 14. :ted to office^ acts, while in vhich they re- blic men, are, the common- id had we not 5 befallen us. the evily and )d is righteous obeyed not his e bodv is bro- : families are arts, the em- stic life, give ne of danger ; Bid of battle ; fragments of The Trader and become hout produc- ng away like the Ad men- ially the Pub- onthe public lany rich men THE PRESENT WAR. 211 and d,et, as well as by the sword of battJe, many fall oi sorrow. Heavy taxation, for the present and „. accn,„u,a,ing national deb, for the suLeed 'ggle" this, and „, all these sufferings we clearly see (he i„- fof: r 1 T ''""'■ "" "PP-o'ed these ev lor national ehastisement : and the fact ■„„■. k proclaimed in Zion as the wor/of, t'Cru r:;f:;:;;:;:i;.''^'''^"--^-n--j^ 2. The War is a Trial. If would be no less comfortless to ourselves ,hm ungrateful ,0 a merciful God, were we to cons er tte ev,ls which he brings upon us solely in the g of a punishment. War, like other evUs, is ordain- ed for Inal: and as such, CInistians will improve the dispensation. While if corrects for preius and present gin t, it makes proof of the remaining good Such was the principal character of fhe afHicri^ns of Job. Such were the suflerings of piimltlve perse- cution: and such are, in a great measure, the evils Of a nation prosecuting legimate warfare. In the pre^nt state of this country the eommunify ..severely tried, as to the degree of Christian libe- uhty among Us members-as to the patriotism of #*■ r-,„. m 212 THK DKFIGN OP tlie nil(MV! and llie ])C'oj)lo — and as to the worth of their free repuhiican inslitulions. i Firsf. The contest does in fact show where Chris- iinn lihcralily is found, and in vviiat deijree it exists anioni;' ils profoMMs. Chaiity, r(speclin<^ tlie dif- ferent opinions of Christian sects and denominations, has h)niij heen a favourite doctiine in this country. AVhcth'.r it arises from true henevolence, or from in- diUerence to reli<;ion itxlf, remains to be shown. If from trjie henevolence, it will certainly triumph over political animosities. And tiie war will make it apj)ear vvliether these party jwlitical distinctions, v'hich have so lon^ and unhappily existed, can be made to yiehl to Christian attachments to such a de- gi'ce, as tliat brother can listen to a brother, and impar- tially esteem him, and love him still, although of dif- feient sentiments respecting the rharacter of the present war. Cliarity is not limited to a political sect. Second, The state of the country does also try ef- fectually the degree of patriotism which is still to be found in tlie United States. It will show how fiir a man is willing to suffer for his country — How far he is ready to sacrifice views of |)ersonal interest or ambition — How far he is prepared to give up with the pride of opinion, sup- press tiie prejudices of party spirit, cast oti'the train- inels of that j)arty machinery, wherewith he has been held in bondage. The country calls for unani- mity in repelling and chastising the foe. In the THE PRESENT WAR. 213 the worth of time of lier distress, an ainplt- oppoHunitv is afforded to the holbu-hearted patriot, 1(, if vilJ lier, to em- barrass her counsels and proceedings, and like Hhi- niei, at. Bahnrim, to curse her as guilt> before (Jod, in hopes of risini( on her ruins. But this is the thne' to show the true patriot, <,f whatever party. Hi, Jn- th.ence andJiis advice ; his co-operation and support • his wishes and his piayers, will be otlered up for the' maintenance of the contest with adequate resources, uniil victory crown with success the efforts of his country, and procure an lionourable and a perma- nent pacification. The patriotic statesman, had he personally suff^e,- ed from tns country tlie greatest injustice, would come, in the present crisis, as Arisiides, to his rival Thcmnlodes, and offer his services, in givincr effect to the war, for tl)e good of his country. In vain do they profess Christianity, who will permit the pagans of Greece to exhibit greater degrees of disinterestedness under snmiar circumstances. It is to be hoped, that in this hour of trial, it will be made to appear, that Athenians do not exceed Americans in jmtrioUsm. Third. The present war is a trial of our republi- can institutions. America gave to the civilized world, tlie first specimen of a country, great and enterprizing, ca- pable of order and prosperity without kings, without nobles, without degrading the lower classes of the community into a .tate of servitude, and withoid 214 THE OOOn EFFECTS OK h making of religion and its mitiisters, an engine of poiiticiil power. 'I'his fact is known in Km ope. It is alrL'ady admitted ev(M'y wnerc by men capable of relleetion, tliat repul»li. It capablo of ^h/irfsfntd' II lent for a shock of aiiswort!(I, p ru'^alivc. jai h;^ this uperiority L'lit to our- jvornment, he nation, the wealth fire ho^tili- it veteran s, is found most |)o\v- var, at the victorious se disposa- ls, we can r freedom n one an- vorld. ;e. Clouds liteousness one. Zion Judah rt- THE I'RESKNT WAR. 215 joked because of thy jiidirments, O Lord. Rejoice in the Lord, .ye ri^rhteous ; and give tiianks at the remeiiibrance of hia hoIinesB."* Whether F shall be able, my christian brethren, to specify the advantages which will flow from this contest or not, \ know well that Cod intends it for good. Whether I shall succeed in convincing you, that the etiects which I am about to mention, will in fact foll(»w, or that even when they co.r.e to pass, they shouhl be considered as a public benefit, I will not now venture to aflirm: but, at all events, the saints are required to rejoice in his jmlpnenls ; and these judgments must, of course, give cmst of joy. Others may contemplate the prospect before them with gloo.ny appr(-hensions. Let tliem cheerlessly cast their eye- upon the evil, and fall into deiipondence. Let them fret, and abuse, and curse the hand that smites them; but, I know thai all thimrs shall work toi^clher for good. Walking by faith, our eye is di- rected to him that sitteth upon the circle of the earth; and thus, we recommend to his care our bleeding country, confident that, in this struggle, in vindicaticm of its injured riglits, he will avenge our cause, and execute Judgment for us. I flatter myself, however, that T shall be able to point out sonje good effects which the Lord intenrlfi to bring about by this war. * Ps. xcvii. 21(i TlIK liOOli EFKKCTS OF I' First. Til ils vnv ijr('a(«'sl evil-, I ran perceive ac tuni luMiofits, 'VUv HullJiinsiis vvliirli it (•.m^c^s, will excii'ise the siiiiit-; to ijodliiH'ss, and promote their holiness, tiieir useluliiess-, and their future liap|)iness. The ehani;e in tiic state of property which it produ- ces, must inculcate in the bosom of tin* virtuous, de- pendenc(! on Clod, the oid y unchanur t roops ; with which they met r>q\iered all r, in argu- d upon the , guarantee- ontest, the communi- The love ith its ene- 1th, shortly jendence of var of inde- ests, which British com- of domestic that passion Hereafter the deeds of ; will be feit that on a I question of foreign opposition, they are all Ame- ricans. I^ifth. The doctrine of expatriation, and the true nature of allegiance and protection, being hereafter better understood, will encourage tlie best part of the Protestants of Europe to seek an asyluni m these lands, in the day of trial and of darkness, which awaits them in their own country. In vain should we conceal from ourselves the awful truth- Europe, the Latin earth, the scene of antichristian persecution, is to suffer more, infinitely more, than it has done in the last twenty years. The rejoicings which have taken place at the restoration of tlic Popish powers, shall be changed to lamentation and wo. The saints must yet suffer before the witnesses finish their testimony ; and in America thousands will yet seek for hospitality and repose. They will be encouraged, from the well known fact, that we have vindicated by the sword the rights of the stranger.'* * It has been alleged, that the cause of naturalized citfeens \m been given up by the government : but happily (he allegation is un- founded. Sad will be that day to America, if it ever shoulu arrive, when such a violation of her own faith, and of the moral law, will receive her Banction. Then the curse of God will alight upon her shores; and be more terrible than all her present evils. But the al- legation is unfounded. The praclice of Britain, of which America complained, has ceased with the European war. Wc cannot force the principle upon any nation. The principle is our own. AH we require of others is, not to injure us by their [iractice. But our Com- missioners of peace are expressly instructed, never to yield the prio- ciple to the clainw of the foe. 220' THE (iooi) F,nT,rTs or I Sixth. The present war'appeai-s destined ot Uio Lord, to subserve the cause of the kings of the east in drying up the waters of Euphrates.* This is a war for roinincrcial freedom, and against ilie British monopoly. It is a contest, not only to prevent the recolonization of these states, but also in the Providence of (iod for extending the princi- ples of representative democracy —the blessings of li- berty, and the rights of self-government, amon^ the colonies of Europe, which are found to the north and to the south of us. Like the wars of the old world, it is a shield horn subjugation to the Spanish colonics, struggling for emancipation to the south; and independently of the idea of conquering Canada by our arms, it teaches to its inhabitants the benefits of peace with the United States. It will, in its con- sequences, diminish their attachment to England, and instruct them in the value of liberty. The very opposition which is made to this war is the me-Ms of ultimately strengthening the American democracy. AVhatever may be the designs of the leaders of that opposition, the arguments employed by them are democratic, and these will not be forgotten. The appeals which are made to the peq)le will make the people still more sensible of their own strength and importance. The societies which are formed, whether to support or to oppose the administration, are so many small democracies, which still tend to promote the principles of civil liberty. They are ■ * See pages 205— -207- THE PKEPFNT WAR. 221 he easl in id against not only I, but also lie priiK'i- ngs of li- imon^ ilie the north i the old le Spanish he south; ng Canada le benefits in its con- England, The very B inc^Ms of emocracy. jrs of that theni are ^ten. The I make the n strength re formed, inistration, ill tend to They are Jacobinical inslifutiotis, conducted with all fhe zeal, for power ; bql with more intelligence and order, than the Parisian assjociations. Nay, the very cox- VKNTioN of the Eastern states, and all the opposition which the nieasui-cs of this government have pro- voked in that part of our country, arc predicated upon the principles of democracy. The war it- self, and all ihft strife and the contention which it has produced, must therefore he considered, m tUe Providence of (iod, as the means of destruction to the slavish doctrines of the old world, and as ulti- mately tending to the general emancipation of the human race from the bondage of despotism and su- perstition. CONCLUSION. If I have given, in these discourses, any encou- ragement to the prosecution of this war, with valour, with unanimity, and with energy, I have dene my du- ty. The faithful ministers of Christ give, with divine approbation, the golden vials full of the last plagurs, into the hands of the angels of war and of death; that they may be poured out upon the dominions of the man of sin. In common with others, 1 have a right to declare my sentiments ; and in doing so, in a tone of respect for those who differ from me, I hope that the mere fact, of these sentiments being on the side of my country, and its government, in this contest, is not a reason for comlemning Jliem un- heard, or of displeasuie at me for giving lliem utterance. "MMH 222 CONCLUSION. I have spoken upon this subject, as a Whig — as the friend of religion and liberty — as a consistent Presbyterian, averse from arbitrary power. Our fathers, my dear hearers, were of that stamp. Our bretluen in the Reformed Church, (for I have spoken their sentiments cooccning all the great moral principles which I have discussed,) are now, and have been from the dawn of the refor- mation, Whigs from conscience.* The Puritans, the Presbyterian^, the Martyrs, supported the *'The origin of the political and distinctive names, Whig and Tory, deserves to be known. It is an Index to the correct applica- tion of ttieni. " This year (1679,) is remarkable for being the epoch of the well known epithets of Whig and Tory, by which this island has been so long divided. The court party reproached their antagonists with their affinity to the fanatical conventiciers in Scotland," (so it suited an aiheisttorij, for David Hume was no democrat, to stig- matize the most pious people of the age,) " who rvcre known hy the name of Whigs. The country pa y found a resemblance between the courtiers and the Popish banditti, in Ireland, to whom the ap- pellation of Tory was affixed." Hume's Ckartes II. Chap. IV. " They were for confining the royal prerogative within the limits of the law, for which reason their adversaries charged them with rejnihlican principles^ and gave them the reproachful name of WiiiGs ; a name first given to the most rigid covenanters. The To- ries w^nt into all the arbitrary court measures, and adopted into our religion, a Mahometan principle, under the name of Passive Obe- dience, and Non-reBistauce; which, since the times of that impog- tor, who first broached it, has been the means to enslave a great part of the world." Neal's Hist. Puriians. Vol, IV. p. 578. " The name of Whig took its rise in the reign of Charles 11. and was bestowed on the best patriots then in the kingdom. True and genuine Whigism, therefore, consists in a zealous attachment fy the liberties of mankind." Old Whi!(. i :'■ CONCLUSION. 223 a Whig — as a consistent lower. Our stamp. Our Tor I have 11 the great mussed,) are »f the refor- he Puritans, ^ported the mes, Whig and correct applica* poch of the well I island has been ieir antagonists Scotland," (so kmocrat, to stig- :rc known by the iblance between whom the ap- Chap. IF. vitliin the HmitB rged (hem with achrui name of ters. The To- ld adopted into of Passive Obe- i of that impoB- enslave a great . p, 578. 1 of Charles II. ingdotn. True yuB attachment same principles, in their faithful opposition to the throne, and the prelacy of tyrannical Eng- land. The monuments of their faith and their sufferings, are still to be seen by the traveller, iu every part of that guilty land ; and their blood, like • that of Abel, still calls for vengeance upon the suc- cessors of the persecutors, the advocates of the crown and the mitre— the British Tories. The spirit of true religion is friendly to civil li- berty. It has appeared to be so in every country. The most faithful of the reformers with patriotic ar- dour contended with the sword in defence of their ci- vil and religious liberties. Ulric Zuingle, the morn- ^ ing-star of the reformation, fell in battle at Zurich, 1530,* at the commencement of the strife against ar- bitrary power; and towards the close of the struggle which terminated in the overthrow of the purest'^of the churches, Richard Camron fell aiAirsmoss, 1680, while defending, as a Christian hero, the religion and liberties of his country, against the tyranny of the bishops, and the royal house of Stuart.t * Mosheim, Vol. IV. page 353. t There, said Robert Murray, who cut oflF the head and hands of Mr. Camron, and presented them to the king's council, '^ There arc the head ami hands, that lived praying and preaching, and died pravins and fightings The tyrannical council, in the refinement of cruelty ordered them to be shown to his worlhy Father, now in prison for the same cause. He was asked if he knew them. The -ood man took them in his hands, kissed them, and said, "/ know them fjiey are my son\ my dear S0n\s: Good is the rvill of the Lord who mnnot wrong me »r mine,'^ ' Crook-Shank's Ecc. Hwf. Fol. IT. p. gp. •"^,-w 224 WONCLUSIOA. So far as f, loo, inay still retain any portion of tho spirit of my native land, where Wallace louglit, wliero Buchanan wrote, where A war preaclicd tht gos|)el of (iofi, where tlie 3tarli/rs, down from Patrick Hamilton to James Renwick, left tiieir flesh to rest in hope of deliverance -that spirit is opposed to the impious misrule of a corrupt hierarchy and immoral power. If I haiye caught tlie spirit of this, the country of my choice^ it is in f^ivour of liherty. If 1 claim a place among cor^sistent Pro{tjSt4intSy I must testify against all the a^ts of anficMrislian power. If 1 fol- low the steps which are i^d by ^ blood of the Martyrs, I g)U8t rnise my #jjce against the thrones which ^i^ci that Mood. If the'Bible is my sysfeni of religion, and of social order, I must disclaim attach- ment to those powers that are ho^ ile to evangelical doctrine, and to the riir/its of the church of God. If, in so doing, I have oliended any of my liearers, it is without intending it: for I watch for your souls, and desire to promote your welfare and your happiness. I have spoken, what I felt it my duty to speak, with- out respect of persons. Time will determine whether r iiave erred or not : And I leave the consequences, as it respects myself and all that is dear to me— as it respects the cause of America il^he present coritest, to Goi) MY KfcjDEEMEK, to w/iomm jglort/ foT ever and ever. — Amf\. ' '.'' % THE END. it uy portion of iflace fouglit, preaclicd tlit: from Patrick flesh to rest iposed to the and hnmorai !, the country . If I claim must testify er. If 1 fof- >lood of tlic the thrones (ly sysf t) in of claim attach- > evangelical of God. If, iiearers, it is lir souls, and ir happiness- speak, with- line whether )nsequences, iv to ine — as sent coFitest, for ever and *.. /M :#■■ "iMpV- 1 !«;?> s MAT W^:. !'■' - -*■ •^> "*#? 2^ S ^74T r ^r^-^ I --Ji,*4l)>. .'^W^- .'-» ^<'t'i^ l^v.wMhki^^%^MiK'~' .•'»J