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 ^V# 
 
 
 
OF THE 
 
 CMARACTEK, CAUSES- AND END^ 
 
 OB' 
 
 THE PRESENT WAR, 
 
 V 
 
 BY ALEXANDER M'LEOD, D. D, 
 
 PASTOR OF THS REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 
 NEW- YORK. 
 
 ' Hearken to me ; I also will show mine opinion." Elihu. 
 ' Hear ya tbe rod, and who hath appoiuUd it." Micas. 
 
 ->♦<■ 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 — — •s®A^<^-®®®e»— - 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PDBLISHED BY EASTBURN, KIRK AND CO.; WHITINO AND 
 WATSON3 AND SMITH AND FORMAN. 
 
 Paul Sf Thomas^ Printers. 
 1815. 
 
^Uiiid ofJS'eiv- York, iS. 
 |JE IT UEMESIRERED, tbat oa the Twentieth Jay of January, in tiie T hirty-oktii 
 JD year of tlie Indepeu'lence of the United States of America. Alexasder M'Lsod, 
 of the said district, l»i3 dijjKiaited in this otfice the title of a book, the right whereof he 
 claims as Author, in the words foUowiijo;, to wit : 
 
 " A Scriptural View of the Character. Causes, aii'i Ends nf the Present War, by Alexandeb 
 M'Leop, D D. Phitor of the Reformed Presliyteriaii Cliuren, New- York. 
 ' Hesrlien untn me : I also will show mine 0(>iuion.' EHku. 
 'Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointe<l it ' Micah. " 
 Tn conformity to the act of the Con'ress of the United States, entitled " an Act for the en- 
 cburafrement of I,earnin2. by securing the copies of iVlaps, Charts, and Books to the 
 authors and (iroprietors of such copies, durin;; the time therein mentioned." .^nd also t« 
 an Act, eutltled, •' au 4ct. supplt^mentHry to an ^ci, entitled an Act for the encourage- 
 ment of Learning, liy securins; the copie? of Maps, Charts, and Books to the authors and 
 pfoprietorf of such coiJie-, during (he times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits 
 thereof to tfte arts of designing, eDgraving, and etching historical and other prints " 
 
 THERON RUDD, 
 Clerk of ttie Southern District of New- York. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 An a free country, it is the privilege of the subjeci 
 to examine, and to judge the measures of the go- 
 vernment. AVhere every man is upon the footing of 
 equal rights with another, the rulers are the servants 
 of the public; their personal qualities, and their of- 
 ficial conduct, are of course proper objects of ani- 
 madversion. If magistrates are found deficient in 
 talents or integrity, they are unfit for their station ; 
 and if their official deportment should prove inju- 
 rious to the commonwealth, the end of their eleva- 
 tion is not answered, and they should, of course, be 
 dismissed from their employment by the people over 
 whom they unworthily rule. In this country, the 
 right of examining the merit of men in office, and of 
 candidates for power, is fully enjoyed. The press 
 is free ; and any one, who chooses to be at the trou- 
 ble or expense, may publish his opinions, as well as 
 freely express them in Ihe circle of his private 
 .friends. As this liberty is universal, no man has a 
 right to complain of its enjoyment or exercise by 
 another. For the manner, indeed, in which a per- 
 son sees proper either to speak or to write, he is 
 amenable, according to the laws of courtesy and of 
 equity, to the proper tribunals in civilized life. The 
 
ir PREFACE. 
 
 same liberty ^vhich guarantees a fair hearing to the 
 opponents of the measures of administration, se- 
 cures a similar right to those who undertake their 
 vindication. Let tlie parties contend in the strife of 
 reason; and truth, upon an equal footing with error^ 
 must prevail, 
 
 1 have exercised, in the discourses now laid before 
 the public, this privilege of a freeman. / have be- 
 lieved, therefore 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 
 acknowledge, 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 war, 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 I do, I would have thought and 
 spoken of the eausc of my country precisely as I 
 have done. 
 
 These sermons were addressed to christians, from 
 the pulpit; and for their use, they are principally 
 intended, when issued from the press. Several re^ 
 spectable ministers of religion took an early stand 
 against the measures of government; and denounced. 
 
PREFACE. , T 
 
 jas cruel, and unprovoked, and unjust, the present 
 [appeal to arms. These opinions remained long be- 
 Ifore the public without contradiction ; and it ap- 
 ppeared, from the activity of their authors, and the 
 jsilence of others, as if they were incapable of re- 
 Ifutation. It was becoming a general opinion, that 
 hlie clergy and the church were, on the great ques- 
 |Lion between the United States and England, upon 
 Ilie side of the enemy. Many pious people were 
 discouraged ; their personal exertions, and theii* 
 prayers, were afiected by this fact : and even, when 
 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 armamentSy 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 enemy, and a long continuance of 
 calamity would become necessary in divine Pro- 
 tvidence to effect the unanimity, without which, I 
 am still apprehensive, we shall not succeed in put- 
 Uing an end to the contest. I am persuaded, that it 
 
 irecjuires no more than a display of unanimity in 
 RESISTING aggression, to procure at any time an 
 honourable peace. AVhile the enemy expects to di- 
 Tide, why should he seek to conciliate? 
 
 The principles whicii I have laid down, and en- 
 forced in these sermons, are not, however, of mere 
 
VI rilEFACE. 
 
 temporary interest. Whether in peace, or at Avar, 
 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 tendency, 
 I would cheerfully consign it to the flames. I 
 love mankind, 1 love the country of my choice, I 
 love the saints; and I desire to promote the best 
 interests of true religion and of civil liberty, be- 
 cause I love my God. 
 
 New- York, Jan. 20, 1815. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 A HE demand for this work far exceeded the 
 calculations of the Author. He was of course com- 
 pelled, in order to supply subscribers, to publish 
 another edition. The arrangements which he made 
 with the printers for the first edition were also in 
 some degree inaccurate. He was under the necessity 
 of withholding from the press, for want of room, 
 some passages towards the close of the work. These, 
 although they do not materially affect the argu- 
 ment, are restored in this edition. 
 
 iThe author avails himself of this opportunity of 
 congratulating his readers upon the happy return of 
 the desired peace. Long may we enjoy, with grati- 
 tude to our God, its numerous blessings. Its terms 
 are liberal and just. No false principle is admitted : 
 no right, on either side, is violated. The enemy, had 
 he been inclined to peace, might have had the 
 same terms, at any hour since the commencement 
 of hostilities : and, if he had seen proper to prolong 
 the contest for years, it is not probable he could 
 have realized his first demands at Ghent. Had 
 he speedily met our commissioners with a spirit of 
 equity and conciliation, he might have spared us 
 sowic blood and treasure : and he would have saved for 
 
Vlll ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 himse\{ much of both, as well as, that which is to him of 
 great importance — his military renown. Heaven or- 
 dered it otherwise. The angel of the covenant, who, 
 notwithstanding our iniquities, presides in mercy 
 over the destinies of our free and happy land, had 
 decreed, that the enemy should send his veterans 
 across the Atlantic, with their hard-earned laurels, 
 for the purpose of transferring them to the brow of 
 American heroes, who fought and conquered in vin- 
 dication of the injured rights of their country. In 
 the concluding blow of the war we have a guaran- 
 tee that our national rights shall not again be rashly 
 invaded. The battle of Orleans cannot be forgotten. 
 While we live to enjoy the benefits of the pacifi^ca- 
 tion, and hold in honourable recollection the deeds 
 of the soldier, let us be grateful to him, who gave 
 courage to our warriors and success to our armaments, 
 so far as seemed to himself both wise and good. 
 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 
 He maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth, 
 New-York, March 1, 1815. 
 
DISCOURSES, «^v 
 
 ^1; 
 
 -«;^9i^«^- 
 
 SEMMOM I. 
 
 Aiiumah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go,Jlee thee 
 away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, 
 and prophesy there : bid prophesy not any more at 
 Bethel; for it is the king's chapel, and it is the 
 king's court. Then answered Amos, and said to 
 Amasiah, I was no prophet, neither was I a pro- 
 phet's son ; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer 
 of sycamore fruit: 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. 12 — VQ. 
 
 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 altoge- 
 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 I am 
 
10 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSING 
 
 confident it will be proposed in quite a different 
 spirit from that which influenced the Jewish rulers. 
 By ivhal avlhoritij doest thou these things ? and rvht 
 gave thee this authority /* 
 
 It is a wide space, christians, that separates the 
 line of conduct, which would subject the public mi- 
 nistry of the ciiurch to the opinions of men, from 
 that, which treats with contempt the sentiments of a 
 respectable part of the community. Virtus est me- 
 dium vifiorum.f Though I will not be deterred by 
 popular opinion, from prosecuting this subject, 1 
 feel it my duty to treat with tenderness, and even 
 respect, the prejudices of valuable men. There- 
 fore do I preface a discussion which may in a cer- 
 tain sense be termed political, with an exhibition of 
 the authority under which, in this instance, I act. 
 Far be it from me to assert the right of enslaving 
 the minds of my hearers into passive obedience to 
 sacerdotal claims; nor shall I insult an audience, 
 which ought to be endow^ed with christian discern- 
 ment, by an effort at brow-beating the most humble 
 of my fellow-men. 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 Egyp- 
 
 ^ Mark xi. 28, t Cicero. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 11 
 
 tian fig", commonly called sycamore-fruit. In this 
 pastoral life, Amos, pious and intelligent, enjoyed 
 that happy simplicity which is unembarrassed by the 
 fastidious distinctions of more polished society. He 
 did not belong to the regularly authorized insfruc- 
 ters of the church, nor was he educated in their theo- 
 logical schools, neither a prophet nor a prophet's son ; 
 but, before he entered upon his public work, he had 
 more than an equivalent for systematic study, and 
 ordinary induction into office : he was divinely called 
 and qualified by inspiration, for an extraordinaiy 
 mission to the apostatizing tribes 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 established 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, (whether 
 true or false was to him immaterial,) as an engine of 
 state policy : and he made no scruples to employ it 
 
12 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSING 
 
 as such. His successors upon the throne appre- 
 ciated his policy and imitated his example. Bethel, 
 revered by all the tribes as the scene of the remark- 
 able vision of their father Jacob, was still continued 
 as a principal place of devotion, and decorated with 
 a royal court, an opulent hierarchy, and a splendid 
 superstition. 
 
 When Amos 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 king- 
 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 theu' downfal, 
 verse 9. The sanctuaries of Israel shall he 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 
 of majesty, and became himself the informer, verse 
 10. Then Amaziah, the 'priest of Bethel, sent to Jero- 
 hoam the king 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. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS, 13 
 
 Whether authorized by the king or not, Amaziah 
 proceeds to forbid the prophet to preach any more 
 such doctrine at Bethel : for it is the king's court : 
 verse 12. Amos disregarded the injunction, and 
 boldly addressing himself to Amaziah, said, verse 16, 
 Now, 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 applj 
 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 
 iupon our attention a practical question, which we 
 jcannot 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 
 iof our country are already invaded by a powerful 
 ifoe. 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 the 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 THE RI^HT OF BISCDSSINS 
 
 of our holy religion, sleep on the tented field, watch 
 at their posts by night, or march to the cannon's 
 mouth, acting their part in the present contest. And 
 does not this state of things present to christians a 
 practical question? Is it possible that it should not 
 affect the conscience of every disciple of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ ? 
 
 * Shall we, who are yet permitted to meet together 
 in the temple, accompany our brethren who march 
 to the battle, with prayers for their success, and 
 welcome the survivors upon their return home, both 
 to our affections, and to the place which they occu- 
 pied among the saints? or shall we now withhold 
 from them, while they brave the danger, both our 
 sympathy and our prayers for success; and after- 
 wards refuse to acknowledge them as regular mem- 
 bers of the church of God, or expel them from her 
 communion as men who have unworthily hired them- 
 selves to shed innocent blood in an unjust v»ar? If 
 this war be absolutely unrighteous, then is it not only 
 criminal to support it ; but also those who do sup- 
 port it, are guilty of blood, and censurable as such 
 Ibefore the church. 
 
 I might justify myself, of course, for considering 
 this subject, under existing circumstances, upon the 
 ground of ecclesiastical order ; but, I choose rather 
 to rest my right of introducing it into the pulpit 
 upon a broader basis. AVith this vicAv, I submit the 
 following propasition. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 15 
 
 Ministers have the right of discussing from the jnd- 
 pit those political questions which affect christian mo- 
 rals. 
 
 I prove this right — and remove objection?. 
 
 I. Prove that ne have such right. 
 
 The object to be accomplished by our ministry — 
 The scriptural history — The system of sacred pre- 
 diction — And the precepts which we are commis- 
 sioned to expound, are the sources of argument to 
 which I refer you in support of this claim of 
 right. 
 
 1 . The object of our ministry is, nowhere, more 
 summarily expressed than in the words of our Sa- 
 viour, in granting, immediately before his ascension 
 into heaven, the apostolical commission, Matth. 28. 
 19. Goye^ theref ore y and teach all nations. The wnrd, 
 in the original, which we render teach,^ signifies 
 more than the ditfusion of knowledge. It conveys 
 the idea of forming disciples ; and of course includes 
 all tha- instruction in righteousness, which belongs to 
 christians. 
 
 It is impossible without perversion of language to 
 exclude from such instruction everv thinsr which has 
 a political bearing. Viinisters are authorized to go 
 throughout the world, and thus instruct all nation* 
 
^ 
 
 16 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSING 
 
 upon the face of the earth ; and the object of their 
 ministry cannot be said to be completely accom- 
 plished until nations, as such, shall have submitted to 
 the rule of rigliteousness. Individuals, indeed, may 
 be converted, and edified, 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 instan- 
 ces the honour of the Deity is promoted on earth ; 
 but the object of the ministry of the word of God is 
 not fully answered, unless the earth he filled with the 
 knowledge of the glory of the Lord, and all nations 
 made to feel the influence of Christianity. If reli- 
 jrion 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, by 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 the 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, righteousness 
 exalteth a nation — The kingdoms of this world arc 
 become the kingdoms of our Lordy if christian di- 
 
 ''' Luke iii. 1 4. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 17 
 
 vines have ,no right to apply the principleg of re- 
 vealed religion to the concerns of civil life ? 
 
 2. The scriptural history cannot be explained 
 or applied without touching on political topics. 
 The sacred writers treated of the public concerns 
 of their own, and of preceding ages, and have set 
 us the example. Deny us the right of expressing 
 political sentiments, and of remarking upon national 
 conduct and events, and a great part of the sacred 
 volume will necessarily remain unexplained be- 
 fore our eyes, and comparatively useless. Every 
 man, who believes in the providence of God, will 
 admit that all true 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 1 and shall we not be permitted to avail 
 ourselves of such aid in the instruction of the seve- 
 ral ranks of our hearers? 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, that 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 ? 
 
IH THE KFGHT OF DlbClJSSIAG 
 
 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, with that of the 
 chinch of God ; and the Avhole is employed for the 
 purpose of instructing the saints, and of supporting 
 their hopes and benevolent exertions. The educa- 
 tion of believers, of which 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. 
 Individual 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 the 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 time; give ex- 
 ercise to all our powers ; and affect all our 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 
 for the high society which we hope to enter when 
 
PDBLir AFFAIRS. 19 
 
 our pilgrimage is finished. No man can be permit- 
 ted to explain the prophecies which are already ac- 
 complished, unless he be allowed to apply the fact 
 to the prediction : and for the same reason, those, 
 which are now fulfilling, or hereafter to be fulfilled, 
 cannot be pointed out to the friends of religion, un- 
 less we have a right to bring into view in our public 
 ministrations great political evenls 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- 
 tain sense, be denominated politics, is derived from 
 the precepts of inspiration which we are required to 
 proclaim to the world. The jpriesfs lips should keep 
 knowledge, and they should seek the law at his 
 mouthy for he is the messenger of the Lord of 
 hosts.*^ 
 
 It will not, I hope, be denied, that christian minis- 
 ters have aright to make the commandments of their 
 God a subject of discussion. The law is holt/, 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 of truth, should be our 
 
 ^Mal. ii. 7. +Rom. rii. 12. 
 
20 THE KIGHT OF lilSCDfShXG 
 
 cau4ion in <he selection and discussion of subjects 
 before the public. This caution is peculiarly neces- 
 sary for those ministers Avho venture upon political 
 remarks. Our own partialities are apt to betiay 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 vain jangling ; desiring to be teachers of the 
 law ; understanding neither what they say nor jvhereof 
 ihey offirm. But we know that the law is good if a man 
 use it lawfully.* And it is impossible to make any 
 vise 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 
 polity, you Avill not again call in question my right, 
 to declare, from this place, the duty required of us 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 rulers — The 
 character if such as administer the government — 
 The duty of the constituted authorities — The conduct 
 proper upon the imrt of sidtjects — passages which 
 
 *^ 1 TiiJi. i. 5—8. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRi. 2^ 
 
 Reprove them who confer power improperly — and 
 Threaten magistrates who are unmindful of their 
 high obligations. 
 
 All these are political doctrines, which 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 state, suitable charac- 
 ters from among the people over whom they are to 
 exercise authority. Exod. xviii. 21. Thou shall pro- 
 vide out of all the people able men, such as fear 
 God, men of truth, hating covetousness, 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 — able men. The ignorant, 
 the feeble, the foolish, and the insane, are discarded, 
 as obviously unfit to bear office among rational be- 
 ings. Second, piety — such as fear God. The scep- 
 tic, the vicious, and the profane, are rejected from 
 authority over the accountable subjects of the di- 
 vine moral government. Third, integrity — men of 
 
22 THE UIGHT OF DISCUSSIAO 
 
 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. 
 Measures, the object; and, for their sakes, jjroper 
 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 V^'^ 
 
 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 ruleth over men must hejust^ 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. 1808, page 14. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 2J 
 
 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 office. If ,he cannot 
 bear the test, a more worthy personage ought to be 
 selected 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, whi^h requires base men, or those other- 
 wise disqualified for the duties of a high station, to 
 continue in power for life, is on that very account 
 inconsistent with the bible. The ciiterion specified 
 in the passage before you, is both obvious and of 
 easy application. It is iwoiold— justness to men, and 
 reverence for their Creator. He that ruleth overmen— 
 moral agents united by social ties, during the time 
 he continues in power, must, of necessity, exhibit 
 these qualifications. If he be unjust to men, these 
 men ought, for their own sakes, to dispossess him : 
 and if he 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 ahnigh- 
 ty Governor of nations, to remove from influence and 
 honour the despiser of his name and law\ 
 
 . 3. It is required of tlie 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 wise, now, there- 
 fore y O ye Jcini^s; be insfVHcfed, ve /udfce/^ of the 
 
24 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSlMi 
 
 earth. Serve the Lord ivUh 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, theii' 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. Lei 
 every soul be subject unto the higher poivers ; for there 
 is no power but of God: the powers that be are or- 
 dained of God. Wherefore ye must needs be subjecty 
 not only for tvrath, but for conscience sake. For this 
 cause, pay ye tribute also : for they arc God's minis- 
 ters attending continually on this very thing. 
 
 The duly 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- 
 
rUBLIG AFFAIRS. 25 
 
 tion, are its public servants, and of course to be sup- 
 ported by those who appoint them : being appointed, 
 iliey are the servants of God for the maintenance of 
 moral order; and reverence for liim will produce 
 respect for them. " They are ordained of God. They 
 are God's ministers, attending continually on this 
 very thing." 
 
 The controversy, about the divine right of both 
 the MiTKE and the crown, is passing rapidly into ob- 
 livion. The theory of civil polity, is from the scrip- 
 tures, very easily understood. The formation of 
 constitutions, and the election of officers, are the 
 work of the community ; and thus, government is the 
 ordinance of man. Jehovah, the God of order and 
 equity, approves of the civil association formed upon 
 moral principles, and sanctions with his own high 
 authority the proper exercise of legitimate power. 
 Thus, government is the ordinance of God. 1 Pet. ii. 
 13 — 15. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of maUy 
 whether it be to the king or unto governors^ for so is 
 the will of God. Rom. xiii. 2. Whosoever, thereforCy 
 resisteth the power, resistelh the ordinance of God. 
 
 5. The Sovereign of the universe threatens with 
 his divine displeasure, those who contrive and main- 
 tain governments, otherwise than upon true moral 
 principles. Hos. viii. 3, 4, 13. Israel hath cast off' 
 the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. 
 They have set up kings, but not by me ; they have made 
 princes, and I knew it not. Now will he remember their 
 iniquities, and visit their sins. 
 
 4 
 
2G THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSING 
 
 In this chapter, the sin of creating and maintaining; 
 an immoral system of civil polity is connected with 
 thai of an abuse of religion. It was the crime of Is- 
 rael, as well as of other nations, both ancient and 
 modern, to couple together an abuse of religion and 
 government into one complex system of impiety 
 and misiule. This has always been efiected by the 
 evil management of designing men, who availed them- 
 selves of the ignorance, the apathy, and the vices of 
 the people at large, in order to promote their own 
 schemes of ambition. But these are not alone in the 
 blame. The Lord in his word declares the whole 
 community guilty, and threatens them with deserved 
 punishment. His providence is a continual com- 
 mentary upon the declaration, and a constant execu- 
 tion of the threatening. The body of a nation suf- 
 fers under bad government. The fact cannot be dis- 
 puted. The justness of this measure is easily shown. 
 The population of a country have the power. They 
 can, if they will, pull down, build up, alter, and 
 amend the system of social order. When they sub- 
 mit to thrones of iniquity ivkich frame mischief by 
 law, their condition is not merely a state of suffering 
 which we may pity, but also a fault which we are to 
 blame. If through neglect or discord, they do not 
 co-operate in reform, suffer they justly must. Shall 
 not the Judge of all the earth do right ? 
 
 G. Civil rulers who neglect their duty, and abuse 
 their power, are also threatened with divine judg- 
 ment^. Psalm xciv. 20, 23. Shall the throne of ini- 
 quity have fellowship nyith theCy which frameth mischief 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 27 
 
 by a lam ? He shall bring upon them their own iniqui- 
 tj/, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness j yea, 
 the Liord our God shall cut them off. 
 
 Iniquity is displeasing to the Lord, because it is 
 contrary to his nature. The splendour of human great- 
 ness, and the pomp of human power, although they 
 dazzle our eyes and impose upon our credulity, will 
 not prevent him from judging righteously ; and the 
 greatness of the mischief, consequent upon the trans- 
 gressions of men in power, instead of screening 
 them from detection, will increase their condemna- 
 tion. Elevated as the higher ranks of life are above 
 the censures of the community, and unrestrained as 
 is their consequent indulgence in crime, they can- 
 not escape with impunity from him who refuses fel- 
 lowship with them in their illegitimate authority. 
 " Hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he 
 spoken, and shall he not make it good ?"* 
 
 In these judgments, which are inflicted upon those 
 who neglect to rule according to the principles of 
 the moral law, however heavy they fall, christians, 
 so far as they are influenced by scriptural advice 
 and example, will readily acquiesce. O Lord, thou 
 hast ordained them for judgment ; and, O mighty 
 God, thou hast established them for correction. Thou 
 art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not looli 
 on iniquity.^ 
 
 *NMmb. xxiii. 19. fHab. i. 12, U. 
 
26 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSING 
 
 From this collation, of passages selected from the 
 standard of our fiiith and practice, and embracing the 
 whole theory of civil polity, you will readily per- 
 ceive the force of my argument in support of the 
 right which I now claim. If the divine law be the 
 rule of our christian ministry, and the scriptures be 
 the bond of connexion between pastor and people, 
 then have I shown the authority, under which I act 
 in introducing this discussion, to be perfectly com- 
 petent. 
 
 I claim the privilege of explaining the law of mr 
 God. 1 claim it, too, not merely as a privilege, which 
 I am at liberty to use. It is not even optional to the 
 ministers of religion whether to use it or not : they 
 are bound by their public instructions, as ambassa- 
 dors for Christ, to raise a voice which shall reach ta 
 both the cottage and the tlnone, and teach their se- 
 veral occupants their respective duties. " Go," said 
 our arisen Lord to his ministers, when handing to 
 them their commission, " disciple all nations, teaching 
 ihem to observe all things whatsoever I have command- 
 ed you^ We must, my brethren, in order to be 
 faithful to our exalted employer, have it in our pow- 
 er to say upon a review of our ministry, after an ex- 
 ample of approved excellence, " I have not shunned 
 lo declare unto you the whole counsel of God.'^^ 
 
 \ r. Remove Objections. 
 
 •Acts XX. 27. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 29 
 
 There are many, who admit that the public teach- 
 ers of the Christian churches have a right, both as 
 citizens of the commonwealth, and as interpreters 
 of the oracles of God, to express their sentiments on 
 political subjects, who, nevertheless, deem it inexpe- 
 dient to exercise the right. Prudence, lest by giv- 
 ing offence, they frustrate the more important ob- 
 jects of their ministry ; personal timidity, lest they 
 provoke disrespect and opposition ; christian tender- 
 ness, lest they should wound the feelings of a pious 
 hearer; and in some, perliaps, a sense of their own 
 incompetency, or an ignoble pusillanimity, prevent 
 the ministers of religion generally from introducing 
 political remarks in their discourses. In abstaining 
 from the exercise of tliis right, let christian pastors 
 use their own discretion : I am willing to admit, that 
 we ought rarely touch on such points ; but an abso- 
 lute prohibition cannot be supported by any solid 
 reasonings. The following summary comprehends all 
 the arguments, with which I am acquainted, against 
 the right of introducing politics to the pulpit. 
 
 Christ crucified is the proper theme of ministerial 
 discussion — The kingdom of the Redeemer is not of 
 this world — Ministers have the care of souls, and not 
 of the bodily estate — Gospel hearers are divided in 
 political opinions — Political remarks are unfiivour- 
 able to devotion — Preachers are dictatorial, and 
 usually opposed to civil liberty. 
 
 I proceed, to the examination of these objections, 
 with a confidence that, without injury to ihc feelings 
 
80 THE RIGHT OF UlSCUSSliNG 
 
 of any candid mind, 1 shall be able to prove them 
 invalid. 
 
 1. Objection. " Christ and him crucified is the 
 proper theme of pulpit discussion ; and, therefore, it 
 is improper to introduce political concerns." 
 
 In examining this objection, I joyfully, as well as 
 readily, admit the precious truth contained in the as- 
 sertion upon which the argument is supposed to rest. 
 With my hand upon my heart, I repeat, in your 
 ears, the words of the great evangelize r of the Gen- 
 tiles, " For / determined not to know any thing 
 among i/ou, save Jesus Christ and him crucified."* 
 And from that determination, if I ever recede, let 
 my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.f 
 
 This declaration, however, neither supports the 
 objection, nor excludes from the pulpit the duties of 
 civil life. We are not to confine our ministry to the 
 mere words " Christ crucified." The doctrines of the 
 cross must be inculcated. We are not to confine our 
 discussion to the fact of Christ's death ; but must 
 preach of his person, his covenant, his mission, hi? 
 work, his power, his providence, and his law ; and 
 that law, in its application to man in his social ag 
 well as individual capacity. 
 
 The apostle Paul himself, who first employed the 
 words referred to, understood them in this latitude. 
 
 * 1 Cor. ii. 2. t Psalm cxxxvii. 6. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 31 
 
 He inculcated the doctrines of grace. He proclaim- 
 ed the duties of domestic and of civil life. He 
 spake of rulers, and of their laws, and of their sub- 
 jects. He shunned not to declare the whole counsel of 
 God. 
 
 The prophets, who preceded Paul, in diffusing the 
 light of revealed truth, had acted in the same man- 
 ner; and the Lord himself, when he appeared on 
 earth, spake of other subjects, as well as of the de- 
 cease which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Fol- 
 lowing their example we, too, would give this exten- 
 sion to our ministry, " built upon the foundation of 
 the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being 
 the chief corner-stone." 
 
 That very reason, which the objector urges against 
 the introduction into the pulpit of political remarks, 
 we esteem as an argument in its favour. The ob- 
 jection proceeds upon the principle, that the gospel 
 doctrine, the christian religion, is to be perpetually 
 separated from the polity of nations ; we go upon the 
 directly opposite principle, that civil rule should be 
 regulated by the maxims of christian law. Seeing, 
 therefore, that we determined to know notliing among 
 you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified ; we intro- 
 duce into this place our political sentiments, and in- 
 vite you to correct, by the revelation of truth, all 
 your political maxims and actions. Let us recom- 
 mend in the same breath, religious and civil duty. 
 Ijov€ the brotherhood — Fear God — Honour the King.^ 
 
 ■■■ ^ Pet. ii. 1 7. 
 
32 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSING 
 
 2. Objection. " The kingdom of the lledeemcr 
 is not of this world; and therefore the ministers of 
 the Redeemer 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 the 
 Tictim of Jewish malevolence without risking his own 
 popularity, proposed from the judgment-seat, which 
 he so unworthily filled, the question. Art thou the 
 Jcing of the Jews ? Jesus answcredy My kingdom is not 
 of this world.'* lie admitted that he was a king. 
 He bore witness unto the truth ; and the truth is, 
 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 from the election of the peo- 
 ple, nor the appointment of the Emperor. It is Je- 
 hovah, who said to him. Sit thou at my light hand — 
 Ilule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Ask of me, 
 and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inherilancet 
 and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.X 
 If, therefore, his kingdom is not of this world, it is 
 
 * John xviii. 33, 36. f Psalm Ixxxix. 27. \ Psalm ii. 8. 
 
PUBLIC AFFxMRS. '33 
 
 ^' God ; it is over the world : The Lord hath prcpar-- 
 td his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rideth 
 over all.^ 
 
 So far, then, from furnishing an objection against 
 the claim of right which we make, is this principle, 
 that it in fact establishes it beyond all dispute. The 
 kingdom of Christ is of God, over the nations, there- 
 fore we apply the laws of that kingdom to the na- 
 tional polity. We shall never recognize as valid the 
 claim of Satan, though termed the god of this world, 
 to the sovereignty over the nations ; but shall endea- 
 vouY to rescue them from the dominion of the usurp- 
 er, and restore them in allegiance to their lawful 
 governor, " the prince of the kings of the earth." The 
 Saviour himself, when the adversary tempted him, 
 by a requisition of homage, and an offer of power 
 over the world, refused both the demand and the 
 gift, because worship is due only unto God ; and 
 from God himself, the Redeemer had already obtain- 
 ed all power over the kingdoms of the earth. The 
 church of Christ is in this world. Christians are con- 
 cerned in the kingdoms of this world, as rulers and 
 ruled. The kingdom of Christ is not of but over 
 this world. The ministers of Christ have therefore a 
 right to treat of all the moral concerns of human so- 
 ciety. 
 
 3. Objection. " As ministers have the care of 
 iiouls, and not of the bodily estate of men, they 
 
 * Psalm ciii. 19. 
 5 
 
34 THE BIGHT OF DI.SCUSSI.NG 
 
 slioiild not be permitted to treat of any except spi- 
 ritual subjects." 
 
 The great concern of every pastor who is faithful 
 to the people whom he serves, is to feed the flock of 
 God with knowledge and understanding. It is mind 
 that makes the man ; and the interest of one soul is 
 more to be sought after, because, in reality, more 
 Taluable, than the whole world. I know that the 
 oracles of God inform you, w^ho hear the gospel, 
 that the rulers of Israel watch for your souls, as they 
 that must give accoufit.^ Wo to the unfaithful pastor 
 who forgets the souls of men, or refuses to minister 
 to their edification. 
 
 The improvement of mind, however, does not re- 
 quire the neglect of the body. These constituents 
 of living man, are intimately connected by a divine 
 hand. Both were assumed by the Saviour, and re- 
 deemed by his blood. In both, we glorify God on 
 earth, and shall enjoy him in heaven. The material 
 world is created for the sake of the moral ; and it 
 is upheld by Messiah for the sake of revealing his 
 perfections, in the salvation of men. Matter itself, 
 therefore, may be referred to in our ministry; and 
 useful remarks, upon its nature and its laws, may, 
 without incurring the blame of injuring the cause of 
 spirituality, be interwoven with pulpit exhibitions. 
 Politics respect not the bodily estate only, or even 
 principally. They affect mind, morals, piety, com- 
 
 ^Heb. xiii. 17. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS, 35 
 
 fort, and duty. So far as they do so, they may come 
 under review. It is not to settle the claims for empire, 
 to define geographical boundaries, or to adjust the 
 contendings of human ambition; but in order to 
 aid the christian in maintaining a conscience void of 
 offence towards God and man, that we would ever 
 introduce the subject into the public worship of our 
 God. In order to promote the good of souls, and not 
 with the djsignof diminishing your spiritual-minded- 
 ness, we urge this duty, that, with spiritual views of 
 political movements, you may intermingle with the 
 world ; that whatsoever ye do, whether ye eat or drinky 
 ye may do all to the glory of God.* All things, not 
 excepting political events, are for your sakes. The 
 whole of the nations are subordinate to the church, 
 the spiritual spouse of Immanuel. / am the Lord 
 thy God, the holy one of Israel, thy Saviour : I gave 
 Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seha for thee. 
 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been 
 honourable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give 
 menfor thee, and people for thy life.-f 
 
 The judicious minister will weigh, in the balance 
 of the sanctuary, every subject, for the purpose of 
 determining its importance. He will rarely enter 
 upon political topics. He will never descend to 
 questions of mere party : but there are times in 
 which he ought not to be silent, respecting the con- 
 duct of nations, or of christians in their civil capa- 
 city. 
 
 * 1 Cor. X. 31. f Isa. xllli. 3, 4. 
 
36 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSIKG 
 
 4. OhjecUon. " Gospel-hearers are usually so di- 
 vided, on political subjects, that ministers ought not 
 to give offence by expressing their own opinions." 
 
 Christians are, alas, divided : and the pride of opi- 
 nion in their distracted state, does much mischief. It 
 is the policy of the mere men of this world to keep 
 them divided ; and the god of this w^orld triumphs 
 in their want of unanimity and cordiality. If chris- 
 tians did uniformly co-operate, Satan's servants and 
 kingdom could not prosper. But the professors of 
 religion are divided, not about politics only ; every 
 doctrine of Christianity, every article of ecclesiastical 
 order, has been a subject of dispute and contention. 
 Are not the ambassadors of Christ at liberty to 
 preach disputed doctrines, and enforce any particu- 
 lar discipline or rule, even although some professed 
 christians should withhold their assent ? Certain pub- 
 lic teachers may, indeed, esteem it convenient to act 
 upon this maxim, and never support any one system 
 of doctrine or of order. These are not the exam- 
 ples of our ministry. Evangelical truths, I know, 
 are more important, infinitely more important, than 
 the common causes of party contention in politics; 
 therefore they require the more attention. When 
 occasion requires, however, the mere fact, that men 
 are of different politics, ought not to prevent the 
 application of the word of God to their disputes- 
 Political morality is essential to Christianity. 
 
 Am T told, that this will do no good : that it will 
 fjnly give otfence : that it will alienate the affectionf^ 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 37 
 
 of one set of politicians from the pastor: that it will 
 mar his usefulness ; and create personal enemies to 
 himself? Who makes these assertions? Men who 
 are mild and free from political bias ? or men who 
 are full of violence, and determined to execute the 
 threatening? In the discharge of my duty, I will 
 fearlessly run this risk. I will try whether, in this 
 liberal age, the candid investigation of the subject 
 before me, without imgenerous allusion or invective, 
 will create me personal enemies. I will make the 
 experiment, whether it be possible for any minister 
 of religion to prefer the cause of his country to that 
 of its powerful foe, without provoking the resentment 
 of party spirit. If 1 suffer, I am prepared for it; 
 but I do not expect any such treatment. Men of 
 different religious sentiments hear without passion 
 the same sermon. Are they, then, more concerned 
 about political than religious truth, and dispos- 
 ed to resent a difference of opinion on that subject, 
 more than on subjects relative to their eternal inter- 
 ests ? 1 cannot, as yet, admit this to be the case. I 
 confidently indulge the hope, that there is more li- 
 berality, amoiig those who attend upon gospel 
 ordinances, than to deny to us the right, which they 
 exercise themselves, of forming each his own senti- 
 ments, on political morality, and of modestly express- 
 ing them to the world. 
 
 We do not presume to prescribe for you. We do 
 not dictate to you in the choice of public officers. 
 We allow you to judge for yourselves. We only 
 I'equire of you a similar permission for us : and, 
 
M THE RIGHT OK IJISCCSSING 
 
 upon Ibis subject, while we cautiously avoid the 
 use of intemperate language, we have only to ask, 
 that you do justice to our arguments, and to the mo- 
 tives with which they are offered. 
 
 5. Ohjedion. " Political remarks are unfavour- 
 able to devotion; and therefore unsuitable to the 
 pulpit." 
 
 In endeavouring to obviate this objection, I feel as 
 if I had to encounter the most difficult task which 
 my subject imposes upon me. The devotional feel- 
 ings of many professed christians are so feeble, and 
 have so little foundation in moral principle, that they 
 are readily deranged or removed. Others, who 
 have learned only the rudiments of religion, seldom 
 consider it in any other light than as matter of men- 
 tal comfort to an individual, without having any 
 relation to their improvement and usefulness as 
 members of society. As they would give their at- 
 tention to the things of time, uninfluenced by chris- 
 tian principles, they may wish to fix in the sanctua- 
 ry their attention upon the concerns of eternity, 
 without any reference to a general reformation of 
 either church or state. It is ever to be expected, 
 that those, who are unwilling to consider religiously 
 their political concerns, will be as unwilling to be- 
 have religiously in their political transactions. 
 
 This is the way to produce a separation between 
 the two subjects. And yet the separation cannot be 
 complete, unless all christians are secluded from 
 
rUBLIC AFFAIRS. 39 
 
 every concern in national politics ; and the entire 
 management devolved upon those, who will not be 
 tempted to think of the bible as the rule, or of 
 piety as the principle, according to which civilians 
 should act: and where would this end ; but in the 
 transfer of the undivided management of national af- 
 fairs into the hands of infidels. 
 
 The principle of this objection, while it appears 
 to proceed from spiritual-mindedness, is near of kin 
 to the unenlightened devotion of the recluse or the 
 hermit, who retires fro!n the world into a life of so- 
 litude. It approaches monastic holiness more than 
 the piety of Abraham, of Elijah, of Daniel, of Paul, 
 and of John the Divine, These were men of piety. 
 They taught, and they practised the duties of politi- 
 cal life, both in peace and in war, without thinking 
 that it injured devotion: and even, in the spirit on 
 the Lord's day, the beloved disciple is directed by 
 his arisen Lord, to write of the contendings and 
 changes of empire. 
 
 Believe me, brethren, if our religion is of the right 
 description, and exists in a proper measure, we shall 
 certainly be enabled to contemplate the providence 
 of God in all human affairs, and apply the law of 
 God to questions of civil polity, without either en- 
 dangering a pious frame of mind, or engendering the 
 evil passions of worldly politicians. I confess, how- 
 ever, that I feel, at the same time, for the infirmities 
 ofthe w'eak; and should be disposed to avoid any 
 thing that might have a tendency to mar their feeble 
 
40 THE KIGHT OP DISCD5SING 
 
 devotion, did not duty require of the ambassadors 
 of Christ, 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 contradicting them, and it is therefore bet- 
 t-er for them to omit political 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 part, a decision of expression, wliich may bor- 
 <ler upon the dogmatic. It is probable, nevertheless, 
 that the pulpit orator is, usually, as far removed 
 from this extreme, as the members of the senate, or 
 the gentlemen of the bar. A man of mind, convin- 
 ced himself of the truth of his assertions, will, in 
 any situation, speak with an air of confidence ; but 
 there is no necessity of his treating with contumely 
 the sentiments of such as think diflerently 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 
 i ubserviency 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 
 
 pointing out the duty of christians in relation both 
 to ecclesiastical and civil society. It is not difficult 
 to account for the fact, that so many of tlie sacerdo- 
 tal order have inclined to despotism, and yet show, 
 that the liberal discussion of such topics from the 
 pulpit is truly favouiable to the real liberties of 
 men. 
 
 Licentiousness is as remote from civil liberty as is 
 tyranny itself. The righteousness which exalteth 
 a nation, includes intelligence and public morality. 
 No moral improv^ement can take place without re- 
 gard to religion : and Christianity, as opposed to in- 
 fidelity, to superstition, and to lawless power, is em- 
 phatically the religion of "peace upon earth, and of 
 good will towards men." It 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 
 allow me to add, that no means whatever can be 
 possibly successful in finally rescuing from usurpa- 
 tion the liberties of mankind, and of purifying and 
 perpetuating them, without the aid of the religion 
 taught by the Son of God. This alone is effectual 
 in changing the heart, from whence proceed the am- 
 bition and the strife which have been the causes botli 
 of arbitrary domination and wasteful wars among 
 the nations of the earth. When I shall have point- 
 ed out the causes which incline the ministers of the 
 church, to the side of arbitrary power among the na- 
 tions, I shall illustrate this sentiment with a reriew 
 of facts, and so conclude my apology for introdu 
 cing this subject into the pulpit. 
 
42 THE lUbHT OF BISCDSSIAO 
 
 J. Account for the fact, that chiislian iiiinistei^ 
 should, in despite of the tendency of the chiistian 
 religion to favour the cause of civil liberty, be often 
 found among the supporters of the interests of arbi- 
 trary p<:>\ver. 
 
 ii is not to be expected, among men of imperfec'if; 
 faculties and of like passions with others, that ihey 
 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, affected by sur- 
 rounding circumstancesy where they are piously 
 disposed ; and, it is not to be questioned, that, iii 
 many instances, men enter into the ministry with 
 unsanctified hearts, as the means of procuring e 
 convenient livelihood. The great body of the 
 priesthood of the nations will accordingly yield ta 
 the force of circumstances, and there are found so 
 inany exciting causes to prejudice the mind against 
 fivil liberty, that it is easy to account for the fact 
 ■^vhich we deplore. 
 
 These causes are to be found in the ecclesiastica* 
 ''Establishments of the nations — The personal ambi- 
 tion of ecclesiastics — The power of fear — And the 
 inclination to propagate their own opinions, patura! 
 to all men. 
 
 First. ITie ecclesiastical establishments among 
 the nations, secure a very great proportion of all 
 the clergy in the christian world, upon the side of 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 4,3 
 
 the system of civil rule, by which they are supported, 
 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 o 
 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 oflers restraint 
 to its exercise, and which denies giatification 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 arbitrary and 
 ambitious views, will understand their men ; and the 
 (understanding becomes mutual. 
 
 * " Human establishments have ahvays been made engines of state 
 policy : they have promoted hypocrisy and infidelity — the great 
 evil has been in the civil magistrate usurping the throne of Christ, 
 and exercising spiritual dominion — Here," ia the United Slate?, 
 " is an asylum for you, our brethren of the old world, whose lives 
 are embittered by the cruel impositions of men ; tlie fruit of whose 
 labours go to sufiport lazi/ priests and luxurious princes ; who, though 
 you rise early, and late take rest, obtain only a scanty subsistence 
 ibr yourselves and families." The Blessings of America. A sermon, 
 hy the late Dr. Linn, cf Ncm-York, 170T. 
 
44 THE RIGHT OF DISCUSSIKG 
 
 I'iiiicJ. The fear of infidelity, ruinous as that 
 system k, 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 doctrines of the old 
 antichribtian school. Irreligion formed, especially at 
 the commencement of the French revolution, a tem- 
 porary connexion with liberty against the dominion 
 of European despotism ; and virtuous minds, not capa- 
 ble of sufficient discrimination, rejected liberty on 
 accoimt 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 the scriptiues 
 assure us, that no other evil is to have such de- 
 structive influence in the church, as the antichristian 
 polity of superstitious establishments, they spake, 
 in private, and from the pulpit, as if democracy and 
 deism 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 infidelity, as an object of execra- 
 tion and universal abhorrence. Anotlier generation 
 will scarcely credit the extent of the panic among the 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 45 
 
 churches of the reformation. They will be amazed 
 on learning from history, that distinguished and in- 
 telligent protestants in our own country, had been 
 driven by their fears of French infidelity, so far into 
 a forgetfulness of the faith of their fathers, and of 
 the recent struggles which established their national 
 liberties, as to hail like the millennium, an event 
 which tended to consolidate European despotisms ; 
 which restored to power the man of sin, with all the 
 gloomy terrors of the Roman inquisition ; and which 
 afforded the opportunity to their ancient foe, of 
 pouring out his victorious legions upon their own 
 shores. 
 
 Fourth. It is natural for men to express their 
 opinions to others ; and to be uneasy under restraint. 
 Ministers of religion are as much disposed as any of 
 their fellow-citizens to propagate their own senti- 
 ments. Their habits render them as impatient, un- 
 der restraint, and of opposition, as any class of men. 
 They, of course, incline to those political partizans 
 who guarantee and encourage the exercise of their 
 right. When they open their bibles, they discover 
 political precepts which they are to expound. If 
 the friends of freedom should, under misapprehen- 
 sion, manifest an unwillingness to permit such expo- 
 sition, and their political opponents by every means^ 
 encourage it, a prejudice must immediately arise in 
 favour of the latter. Unhappily for our country, 
 this is very generally the case. And yet, however 
 obvious tlie effect produced by these causes, sepa- 
 rate or combined, it is a misrepresentation of the 
 
46 THE RIGHT OF mSCUSSII\G 
 
 most injudicious and unjust description, to class the 
 ministers of Christianity indiscriminately among the 
 enemies of civil freedom. Real religion is the best 
 friend of rational liberty. 
 
 2. History vindicates the character of christian 
 ministers, and holds them up to view, as furnishing, 
 in every age, some instances of the most intrepid 
 and successful resistance to the foes of freedom. 
 
 We do not carry you back, for proofs of this as- 
 sertion, to the ages of inspiration ; for the time would 
 fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak, and of Sam- 
 son, and of Jephthah ; of David also, and Sanmel, and 
 of the prophets: who, through faith subdued king- 
 doms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, 
 stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence 
 of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weak- 
 ness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned 
 to flight the armies of the aliens.* Nor do we refer 
 you to the history of theMaccabeanbrethren, who sig- 
 nalized their zeal and their constancy, against the ty- 
 rant Antiochus, in defence of tlie liberty and religion 
 of their country. The story of more recent times, 
 makes us acquainted with ministers of Christianity, 
 who vindicated the cause of God and man at the peril 
 of their lives, against the encroachments and preten- 
 sions of arbitrary power. In the era of the reformation, 
 it was by the aid of christian divines, that men became 
 acquainted with their sacred rights : Zuinglius, and 
 
 *Heb. IL 32—34. 
 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 4? 
 
 Luther, and Calvin, and Knox, like Moses, who/car- 
 ed not the wrath of the king^ said to the enslavers of 
 their brethren, let my people go; and in the words of 
 Samuel, when Saul had rent his mantle, the Lord 
 hath rent the kingdom from thee, did they venture to 
 address both kings and emperors. Who more va- 
 lorous in restoring the liberties of Holland ; in con- 
 quering the veterans of Alva ; and in resisting 
 Philip the tyrant, than the thousands who wept 
 under the ministry of their patriotic and faithful pas- 
 tors, before the gates of Antwerp and Haeilem. 
 Throughout the several provinces of the Nether- 
 lands, the foundei-s of that famous republic were ac- 
 customed to meet in arms, to hear sermons from 
 preachers for whose heads rewards were in vain of- 
 fered by the foes of liberty and truth. Scotland, the 
 original country of the whigs, led on by her faithful 
 pastors, introduced the name and the spirit into 
 England ; and, by the aid of the Puritan ministers, 
 succeeded in the temporary reformation of both the 
 sanctuary and the throne. To these advocates of li- 
 berty, the British empire stands to this day under ob- 
 ligation for all the freedom enjoyed by the constitu- 
 tion. In encouraging and effecting the American re- 
 volution, the exertions and influence of christian mi- 
 nisters, in the pulpit, in the congress, and in the 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 the force of piety 
 and patriotism, and remember their duty to the cause 
 of equity, their country, and their God. If the rights 
 and liberties of this great and growing empire are 
 
48 THIi RIGHT OF DISCUSShXU, ki:. 
 
 (loomed to perish, their last abode will be found along 
 the side of the pulpits of the ministers of religion. 
 There are men, in that sacred office, wlio would, 
 in such a case, use upon better principles than did 
 the Roman orator, the words which he put on the 
 lips of his distinguished client, Titus Anniiis 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 — ijuam-primum tetigcro bene 
 moiratam el liheram civilalem, in ea conquicscam.''^ But, 
 no ? Liberty shall not perish I The daughter of Zion 
 rejoices in her fellowship. Peace and prosperity 
 shall hereafter visit our land, and dwell in our habi- 
 tations. The Lord hasten it in his own time, and 
 unto him be glory in Christ Jesus, world iviihout 
 end. AME^^ 
 
 i*f 
 
THE MORAL CHARACTER OF THE TWO 
 BELLIGERENTS. 
 
 — — ^*'^'*- — 
 
 SERMON !!• 
 
 Tekel; 7%om art weighed in the balances^ and art 
 found wanting. Dan. v. 27. 
 
 1 HIS solemn sentence was pronounced by a pro- 
 phet of God, upon one of the most splendid and 
 powerful monarchies that ever existed. At a very 
 critical period, and under circumstances of the most 
 alarming kind, Daniel ventured to proclaim this un- 
 welcome truth, before the assembled lords and ru- 
 lers of Chaldea. 
 
 Belshazzar, the Nabonadius of the Greek histo- 
 rians, and tbe son of Evil-merodac, by his queen, the 
 celebrated Nitocris, now sat upon the throne of Ne- 
 buchadnezzar, his grandfather, and the most famous 
 of the kings of Babylon. It was on the 17th year of 
 his criminal and calamitous reign, and on the anni- 
 versary of a festival sacred to the idol-god, Sheshach, 
 that Belshazzar ordered an entertainment for his 
 thousand lords, in the spacious halls of his proud 
 
 7 
 
50 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 palace. He forgot, amidst his wine, and his revelr/r 
 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 INlede, laid siege to 
 Babylon, the most magnificent metropolis of the 
 world. Babylon, covering a square of sixty miles 
 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, w^ere en- 
 deavouring its overthrow. 
 
 Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded Uic 
 golden vessels, taken from the house of God in .Jeru- 
 salem, to be brought to him. With polluted lips, 
 he, his princes, his wives, and his concubines, 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- 
 bly fell into disorder. There was a cause. Fingers, 
 unconnected with mortal hand, appear on the wall 
 over against the candlestick, and there, in writing, 
 they leave the indelible sentence which Daniel the 
 
THE TWO BELLIGERENTS. 51 
 
 prophet was summoned to interpret — Mene, Mene, 
 Tekel, Upharsin. He hath numhcred, he hath num- 
 hered, he hath weighed^ they divide. Tlie 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 estima- 
 tion, this government — Tlie Medes and Persians di- 
 vide and destroy the empire. 
 
 That night the interpretation was verified. The 
 Medes and Persians took 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 
 miindi. Human power is evanescent ; but the word 
 of the Lord endurethfor 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 
 liingdoms of the nations, unto people of every kindred 
 and tongue : and the maxims which they lay down, 
 s.hall, in their 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 monarchy and the American republic. 
 
^•2 THi; 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 notliing back, 
 
 " Nor aught set down in malice." 
 
 Seeing it is not as a statesmen, a historian, or a 
 philosopher, but as a christian divine, and with a 
 view to particular practical questions, I 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 slate 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 ihe 
 merits of the cause^ for which war is waged, it is in- 
 teresting for the christian to understand the charac- 
 
THE TWO BELLIGERENTS. 53 
 
 \iev of^ ihe parties in the contest. By contemplating 
 ithese, in the light of the divine law, we shall be able 
 to determine which has the least degree of the di- 
 jvine disapprobation, and to which, of course, the af- 
 jfections of the friends of God should most forcibly 
 jtend. There is a sense in which christians are not 
 Inumbered 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 
 fire not to be influenced by partiality to country, so 
 inuch as by correct views of the righteousness or 
 iniquity which may belong to the constitutions of na- 
 tional power. 
 
 f The constitutions of government as reduced to prac- 
 Uice, are, in this case, the proper objects of examina- 
 Ition. 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 Slates, 
 
 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 upon (he British nation, by a 
 rery amiable and pious divine of the church of England, apply equal 
 
5i THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 ^ The public immoralities of the constitution of our 
 federal government, may, although more numerous 
 j^n detail, be classed under two heads, viz. Disrt- 
 \ sped for God — and violation of human liberly. By 
 jthe terms of the national compact, God is; not at all 
 tacknowledged, and holding men in slavery is author- 
 ■ized. Both these are evils. 
 
 1. God is not acknowledged 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 this country. '' The multiplicity of oaths which are interwo- 
 ven into almost every branch of public business, involves thousands 
 in the habitual guilt of perjury, which perhajis may eminently be 
 styled our national sin. The frequency of oaths, the irreverent man- 
 ner in which they are administered, and the impunity with which 
 they are 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, 
 {)rofane swearing, are contrary, not only to tlie 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 minutses and niceties of forms, are employed to entaD.. 
 gle or discourage them^ and to skreen offenders.'^ 
 
 Newloii's Works, Phil. 1792. Fol. V. page 306. 
 
THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTIO:^. 55 
 
 neglect of the Sovereign of the world. Statesmen 
 in this country had undoubtedly in their eye tht 
 abuse 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 principal 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 tlie founders of 
 this republic. This was the case in a remarkable de- 
 gree with the conimenlal politicians; nor are Sydney 
 and Locke to be entirely exempted from the charge. 
 In the overthrow of those particular establishments, 
 favourable to the 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 true, as has been asserteJ, by men who had the oppor- 
 tunity of knowing the fact, that Benjamin Franklin proposed, in 
 the coBvention. the introdiicfion in*o thf» rDniltutiou, of an arficls 
 
56 THlL MOKAL CHAKACILK OF 
 
 I 2. The constitution of our government recognizes 
 fche practice of holding meiiy without being convicted 
 of any offence against society, in perpetual slavery. 
 
 This evil, prohibited by the divine law, Exod. xxi. 
 16. And he that slealeth a man, and selleth him, or if 
 he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death,* 
 is equally inconsistent with what is said, in the decla- 
 ration of American independence, to be a self-evi- 
 dent truth. The words of that very valuable docu- 
 ment, are as follow, "We hold these truths to be 
 self-evident — that all men are created equal ; that 
 they are endowed by the Creator with certain una- 
 lienable rights; that, among these are life, liberty, 
 and the pursuit of happiness — That to secure these 
 rights governments are instituted among men." In 
 direct opposition to these self-evident maxims, the 
 constitution provided for the continuance of the 
 slave-trade until the year 1808, and it still provides 
 for the continuance of slavery in this free country. 
 It even gives to the slave-holder an influence, in le- 
 
 professing submission to the Lonl, anil that he was overruled, the sin 
 and the reproach on the part of his op[ionents is the greater. It is 
 certainly true, thnt an achninistralion, often ?aid to be inore friendly 
 to Christianity, than that which lias recently existed, has di?clainjed 
 that relisiioij in the following words: viz. '■'• The government of the 
 Vnilcd States is not, in any sense, founded on the christian religion. Jt 
 has in itself, no character cf enmUy against the laws or religion of 
 Mussulmen.'" 
 
 Trippl. Treaty, Art.U. U. S. Laws, Vol. IF. 
 
 This treaty, ratified in the year 1797, was thereby made the su- 
 preme law of the land. Const. Art. t. Sect. 2. lu a discourse publish- 
 e<l in 1 803, the author has vindicated Chi isCs power over the nations. 
 
 * The author published a discourse on this text, in 1802. 
 
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 57 
 
 gislatioii, proportioned to the number of his fellow- 
 men he holds in bondage,* 
 
 For these national immoralities, I am bound, as a 
 minister of the gospel, who derives his politics from 
 the bible,t to pronounce upon this government the 
 sentence of my text, — tekel. Thou art weighed in the 
 balances, and art found wanting. 
 
 Let me not be understood, however, as conveying 
 ithe idea, that the other belligerent is not faulty in 
 ithese respects. Great Britain set the example to her 
 colonies, of prosecuting the slave-trade. She still 
 retains in her numerous provinces, thousands in ab- 
 ject bondage. A few good men, after the repeated, 
 the continual exertion of years in the British Par- 
 liament, obtained at last a victory honourable to 
 themselves and to the cause of humanity, in finally 
 
 "^ The Constitution of the United States declares, Art. I. Sect. 9. 
 Clause 1. The migration, or importation of such persons, as any of 
 the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be pro- 
 hibited by the Congress, prior to the year one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and eight. Art. I. Sect. 2, Clause 3. Representatives, and di- 
 rect taxes, shall be apportioned among the several states which may 
 be included within this union, according to their respective num- 
 iiers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of 
 free persons — three-fifths of all other persons. 
 
 f " The bible is mi/ system of politics. There I read, that the 
 Lord reigns ; that he doth what he pleaseth in the armies of heaven, 
 and among the inhabitants of the earth ; that no wisdom, under- 
 standing, counsel, or power, can prevail without his blessing; that, 
 as righteousness exalteth a nation, so sin is the reproach, and will 
 even totally be the ruin, of any people." Ncwlon. 
 
58 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 abolishing" the African trade ; but those injured peo 
 pie, already in durance, have no hope of release for 
 themselves or for their offspring. Slavery is a black, 
 a vile inheritance left to America by her royal step- 
 mother, whose injustice produced the Revolution. 
 
 On the score of religion, it is better to neglecty tlian 
 to proslihite the church of God. Here^ the framers 
 of our law have said to the daughter of Zion, " de- 
 part from our councils. A few of us love thy cause ; 
 but there are some who hate it; and the greater part 
 are indiffejent about thee. Go, seek thy way uninter- 
 rupted through the land. Thou art free to pursue 
 the most desirable course : but upon our aid thou 
 must not calculate." There, political men beheld 
 the christian cause with an eye that seeks to make 
 gain of every object within its reach. The states- 
 man said, " Come, daughter of Zion, thou must 
 bear my yoke ; thou must be my servant ; thou 
 must promote my interest; and shouldst thou 
 refuse my mandates, thou shalt suffer for thy 
 fidelity to Jehovah. AVhatever the bible may 
 teach, it is my business to establish such a sys- 
 tem of religion as best suits my own political plans. 
 This is my determination." 
 
 Notwithstanding, therefore, the irreligion of the 
 general constitution of our government, the church of 
 God is, in tliis country, upon a better footing, as it re- 
 spects the national power, than in any other country 
 upon earth. Nay, under existing circumstances, it is 
 our mercy, that God has so ordered it in his providence. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 59 
 
 that men, of the description of those who are elected 
 to power among the nations, have not been permitted 
 to interfere with ecclesiastical polity, and to exercise 
 sovereignty over the consciences of men, in their spi- 
 tual concerns. While we reprobate the infidelity 
 of the national compact, we rejoice in the measure 
 of religious liberty which v/e enjoy ; and we depre- 
 cate any attempts upon the part of political men, 
 who do not understand the doctrines and the order 
 of the christian church, to imitate the corrupt exam- 
 ple of Uzsah the son of Abinadab, who applied his 
 hand to the ark of the covenant, or of kings Saul 
 and A^ariahy who, without authority, offered sacri- 
 fice and burned incense before the Lord, and were 
 accordingly punished as guilty.*^ 
 
 ill. I now proceed to examine The moral character 
 of the British Constitution. 
 
 It is not ray design, in this examination, to give 
 the history of this system of government, the foun- 
 dation of which is to be found in the rude and bar- 
 barous institutions of the ancient Germans,! or to 
 delineate its several checks and balances, in the distri- 
 bution of power, according to its present practice. 
 However instructive to the civilian such a review, it 
 would not comport with the place in which 1 speak, 
 or w^ith the object which I contemplate. Upon its 
 
 * 1 Sam. xiii. 10—13. 2 Chron. xsvi. 16—21. 
 ■« Stuart's Hist. Diss, concerning the English Constitution. 
 
Go THK MORAL CHAKACTER Oi< 
 
 wisdom and its might, its stability and its giandeur, 
 let others freely and fully descant : it is my business 
 to place it in the balances, in order to ascertain its 
 moral worth before my God and his church. Tekel ; 
 He hath weiiched if. And by his word we determine 
 its character. 
 
 The BRITISH GOVERNMENT, as it now exists, is a 
 despotic usurpation — A superstitious combination of 
 j civil and ecclesiastical power — A branch of the grand 
 \antichristian apostacy — Eraslian in its constitution 
 land administration — and Cruel in its policy. It is, 
 therefore, a throne of iniquity, of which neither God, 
 nor godly men, who understand it, can approve.* This 
 is a heavy charge ; but it is not unjust : if I do not sup- 
 port every article of it with sujfficient documentary 
 testimony, it is not because I have not abundance of 
 this at my command. I lay some of the eTidence be- 
 fore you. The impartial will say it is enough. There 
 is no need of comment. It is selected from unques- 
 tionable authorities, or in itself notorious. 
 
 1. The British government^ in the present practice 
 of the constitution, is not a fair representation of the 
 people over whom its power is exercised. 
 
 There are only three ways by which one set of men 
 acquire power over others — By divine authority, by 
 the election of the people to be governed, or by usur- 
 pation. Usurped authority, maintained as well as 
 
 * Psaltn xcir. 20. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 6i 
 
 originally acquired by force, is immoral. Divine 
 right cannot be pleaded without a divine revelation to 
 support it ; it follows of course that the choice of 
 the subject is necessary in the constitution of civil 
 order, to confer legitimate authority upon the ruler. 
 " The blood royal," " the ancient sovereigns," " the 
 rights of the crown," " the throne of his ancestors," 
 are all fine and captivating expressions from the lips 
 of an orator, to amuse and deceive the thoughtless : 
 but have they any meaning ? Do they convey any 
 idea worthy of a man of sense and magnanimity ? 
 Have they any allurements for a good christian? 
 No. They are only dazzling ornaments without so- 
 lidity and without worth. I lay it down as an axiom 
 in political morality, that true representation is 
 ESSENTIAL TO LAWFUL POWER ; and that in all cases in 
 which the Deity does not immediately interpose to 
 appoint the depositaries of power, the choice of a 
 representative belongs to the members of the com- 
 munity. Divide power as you will ; make the arm 
 of authority weak or strong, as suits your purpose ; 
 call your chief magistrate King, Consul, Emperor, 
 President, Governor, or whatsoever else you please ; 
 form your legislative councils of one or of many 
 chambers; let your courts, your judges, your offi- 
 cers of law, be many or few ; but maintain the prin- 
 ciple of representation inviolate ; for a representa- 
 tive DEMOCRACY IS THE ORDINANCE OF GoD. 
 
 The representative system is supported by the au- 
 thoriiy of common sense — hy decisions of scripture— 
 hy the general voice of the nations of the earth. 
 
62 THt MOKAL CHAHACiLK Ot 
 
 First. Men, with common sense as their guide, in 
 all the voluntary associations which they form, act 
 upon this principle. 
 
 They appoint their chairman, their scribe, their 
 treasurer, their managers, their committees, at plea- 
 sure. In all free cities; in all benevolent institu- 
 tions, whether composed of males or females ; in all 
 meetings for the ditfusion of literary knowledge, for 
 liilarity, or for business, this is tlie common course of 
 procedure : and why deny the application of com- 
 mon sense to national associations for the mainte- 
 nance of order under municipal law, and the defence 
 of the state from foreign violence ? 
 
 Second. Divine revelation inculcates and exem- 
 plifies the system of representation. 
 
 God deals with us, upon a knowledge of the frame 
 of our minds and the character of our faculties ; and 
 he directs us, so, also, to deal one with another. The 
 representative system appears in the two great es- 
 tablishments ofheaveUy in relation to mankind, — the co- 
 venant OF WORKS and the covenant of grace. There 
 is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And 
 so it is ivritten, The first maUy Adam, was made a 
 living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spi- 
 rit. The first man is of the earthy earthy j the second 
 man is the Lordfrom heai'e7i. And as is the earthy, 
 such are they also that are earihy j and as is the hea- 
 venly, such are they also that arc heavenly J"" 
 
 ■' 1 Cor. xr. 44 — 43. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 63 
 
 In the administrations of divine grace, hs well as 
 in the formation of his covenant, Jehovah directs 
 human society by his holy word to act upon the 
 principle of representation ; and he guarantees, by 
 divine right, to that part of the rational family, who 
 are peculiarly under his care, a system of social or- 
 der corresponding therewith. Although he appoints 
 ecclesiastical officers, he gives the right of choice to 
 the people over whom they rule. In the exercise of 
 authority, ecclesiastical officers meet, and appoint 
 their own order and agents. In the government di- 
 vinely provided for the church of God, we have the 
 best evidence of the manner in which he will have 
 his rational creatures to act, in the formation of all 
 their social institutions. The church is by divine 
 right a Republic : such a system of government is of 
 course the wisest and the best. 
 
 In civil affairs, as well as in ecclesiastical, the same 
 principles of order are inculcated in Scripture. The 
 law for the election of rulers, and for trial of their 
 conduct, implies the right of election, and removal 
 from office. The practice illustrates the law. We 
 read, it is true, of kings, and of kings designated to 
 office by immediate revelation. But the executive 
 officers of Judah and Israel, although called kings, 
 were placed under a law, and liable to deposition on 
 account of mal-administration. These kings, even 
 when nominated by the Lord, were still recognized 
 as the representatives, or agents of the common- 
 wealth, and subject to removal from office by the 
 community whensoever they abused their trust. The 
 
64 THE MORAL CHARACTEK Oh 
 
 covenant of God with David, I admit, did author- 
 ize the regal succession in the family of Ihe son of 
 Jesse ; but that succession was never regulated by 
 primogeniture, so much as by actual qualification 
 for power. And it would be as absurd, now that 
 Messiah is come, to whom that arrangement pointed, 
 to plead in behalf of royal blood, as to require, after 
 the example of the house of Aaron, iiiat the minis- 
 try of the church should be subjected to hereditary 
 succession. 
 
 Ahimehch is the first king of whom we read among 
 the Israelites, and he was made so by the men of 
 Shechem.^ The me7i of Israel had offered the sover- 
 eignty to Gideon ; but, while he admitted their pow-. 
 er of making the election, he refused their offer.f 
 When Saul was placed upon the throne, the instiju- 
 tion of the monarchy, and the actual election of the 
 incumbent, were the acts of the people of Israel, al- 
 though the Lord pointed out the man.J David, Solo- 
 mon, and Rehoboam, Uzziah and Josiah, received 
 the kingdom by consent of the community. All the 
 kings of Israel and Judah were subject to the con- 
 stitution and the law ; obliged to act with the advice 
 of the Sanhedrim, the great council of elders ;' to 
 preserve, in their rights, the lesser Sanhedrims of the ^h 
 several cities, all of which were regularly elected to 
 office ; and in default, these kings were punished of ' 
 the Lord, by divine judgments, and of the people"' ^ 
 
 '.Judg. is. r .Tudg. viii. 21— 23. J 1 Sam. xxii. 12— :>0. 
 
 Kcs. xiii. 10. 
 
 <.;0 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 65 
 
 by deposition, as in the case of Uzziah, or by death, 
 as in that of his father Amaziah, king of Judah.* 
 
 * The celebrated Mr. Prynne, who valiantly contended in the 
 British parliament for religion and liberty, under the reign of 
 Charles I. and who vindicated, with his pen, the rights of the peo- 
 ple upon scriptural principles, treats at great length upon this sub- 
 ject. After a learned and full examination of the history of the 
 kings of Judah and Israel, he adds, "From all these texts, compar- 
 ed with Prov. xi. 14. & xv. 22. & xxv. 5. it is most apparent, that 
 they were no absolute sovereign princes, paramount to their whole 
 kingdoms, or the general senateor congregation of the people, or their 
 sanhedrim ; but inferior to them in power ; and not only counselled, 
 but overruled usually, by them, in all matters of public concern- 
 ment." Sov. Power of Pari. p. 141. 
 
 Zuinglius\ the first herald of the reformation, says, that " the peo- 
 ple of Israel, although they called a king, reserved to themselves suf- 
 ficient authority to overrule their king in those things which seemed 
 needful for the public welfare. The kings of the Jews, and others, 
 might be lawfully deposed by the people. If the king be created bj 
 common suffrages, he may again be deprived by common votes, un- 
 less they will be punished with him." Tom. I. Art. 42. quoted by 
 Prynnc. 
 
 The learned Slephanus J. Brutus, in his Vindicice contra tyran- 
 nos, in answer to Machiavel, writes, " As all the people are supe- 
 rior to the king, so are those officers of state who represent them 
 collectively considered. In the kingdom of Israel they had elders 
 and captains elected out of all the tribes, who had the care of the 
 commonwealth, both in peace and in war — neither could any thing 
 be determined without their advice, which much concerned the 
 commonwealth. And because they represented all the people, all 
 the people are then said to have assembled together." Quest. 3. p. 
 94—97. 
 
 Sigonius is the last writer I shall quote, in this connexion. " The 
 kings of the Israelites were created by the suffrages of the people — 
 although the kingdom of Judah was in a sense hereditary, yet it 
 was confirmed by the suffrages of the people." Rep. Heb. Lab. 7. 
 Cap. 3. 
 
 9 
 
66 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 In ihe third place. The general practice of na- 
 tions, even where monarchy existed, is in support of 
 the principle of representation. Kingly govern- 
 ment is obviously, as the learned Selden, a member 
 of the Westminster Assembly, calls it, a heathen insli- 
 tutionj but the king was considered as the agent of 
 the public will. The history of every nation will 
 serve to show, that 1 do not make the assertion with- 
 out authority. The greatest tyrants have been in the 
 habit of considering themselves as representing the na- 
 tion over which they ruled; and in the present age, the 
 high claims of arbitrary power lend only, like the fa- 
 bles of Pagan mythology, and the fairy tales of a 
 ruder superstition, to decorate, with splendid image- 
 ry, poetry and romance ; or, when introduced art- 
 fully into popular declamation, to flatter aspiring 
 mhids, and deceive the simple. The treaty of Paris 
 abundantly shows that crowned heads no longer de- 
 pend on the divine right of hereditary succession. 
 Ferdinand is recognized, during the life-time of his 
 deposed father, on the throne of Spain. Murat and 
 Bernadotte are permitted to occupy the kingdoms of 
 living fugitives of the blood royal ; and since the 
 partition of Poland, successiul usmpation is a better 
 title than carnal descent. If the principle of repre- 
 sentation is forgotten, hereditary right is less de- 
 pended on, than possession by force of arms. Such, 
 alas ! is tlie unprincipled condition of the masters of 
 the European world.* 
 
 * That the rejiresentative sysiem, in a greater or less degree, 
 met with the views of the several nations, is obvious from the 
 ^vorks of the ablest writers. Andrew Hcrncy an eminent Englisli 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 69 
 
 If I have succeeded in showing, that representa- 
 tion is essential to lawful rule, I shall take less of 
 your time in proving, that the practice of the British 
 constitution is, when weighed in this balance, found 
 wanting. 
 
 lawyer in the reign of Edward I. says, ** A king is created and 
 elected to do justice, that the first kings of England had thirty-eight 
 companions, comitcs, or counts, the first officers of so many counties, 
 who collectively representing the whole kingdom, were above the 
 king." 
 
 Chancellor Fartesciie, in a work addressed to Henry VI. describes 
 the kingdom as a body politic, of which the king is head, and the 
 public will the heart or seat of life. " The king cannot change?. 
 the laws of that body, or v/ithdraw their substance from them 
 against their wills. He is ordained for the defence of the laws. He 
 receiveth power from his people. Of their own free will they sub- 
 mitted to the government of a king, only to the end that thej might 
 thereby maintain themselves with more safety." De Laud. Reg. 
 Cap. 9. 
 
 Salamonius uses these words, " The whole kingdom and people 
 are the original supreme sovereign power, by whose common con- 
 sent and authority, all lawful kings and kingdoms were at first 
 created and instituted, and from whom they derived all their regal 
 jurisdiction." Sal. de Principales, Lib. 1. p. 1 — 6. 
 
 Grotius represents the people as originally, sui juris^ entitled to 
 dispose of the government as they shall think meet — " it being a 
 thing in its own nature not capable of an occupancy, nor seizable 
 by any, unless the people will voluntarily desert their own liberty." 
 De Jure. bel. andpac. I. 3. c. 15. 
 
 *' Now verily, since kings are constituted by the people, all the 
 people are better and greater than the king. He who receiveth au- 
 thority from another is inferior to his author. In the republic, which 
 is compared to a ship, the king is the captain, the people the 
 owner. To him, holding the helm, the people submit, when not- 
 withstanding he ought to be accounted a servant.''^ Jiin. Brut, 
 Vindi. con.ttirran. quest. 3. p. 41. 
 
68 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 The king\ it is admitted, cannot do wrong. He is 
 not accountable. He succeeds to the throne accord- 
 ing to primogeniture. Be he wise or simple ; good 
 or bad, by the constitution of that country, which 
 has superior pretensions to good sense and to morali- 
 ty, the first-born of royal blood ascends the chair of 
 state ; and without the least regard to capacity or 
 to character, he is chief magistrate and head of the 
 church. This is notorious. Such a monarch cannot 
 be considered as the true representative of the king- 
 dom. The Lords spiritual and temporal, have little 
 of the principle stated above as necessary to lawful 
 rule, and the House of Commons is far from being a 
 true representation of the people. 
 
 The population of the united kingdoms amounts, 
 according to the latest accounts, to about fifteen mil- 
 lions. Very few of these are represented in parlia- 
 ment. The whole of the members returned to that 
 great court of the empire, have received, probably, 
 less than three hundred thousand votes. These suf- 
 frages are commonly bought and sold as any other 
 article in the market. The ministry can always se- 
 cure a large majority. The parliament is a repre- 
 sentation of a few powerful and opulent families; 
 and these only serve to give the appearance of popu- 
 larity to the paramount influence of the monarchy, as 
 employed by the immediate servants of the crown.* 
 
 * The population of Great Britain and Ireland, is computed at 
 fifteen millions. Of these, upwards of two are paupers. Upwards 
 of one half the remainder is of tlie female sex. And of the males 
 of matur? year?, which cannot be computed as far exceedJ4ig thro* 
 
THE BRITISH 60VERNMENT. 09 
 
 2. The British constitution of governmtnt, is a 
 superstitious combination of civil and ecclesiastical 
 power. 
 
 The king is head and sovereign of the church. 
 The bishops of the church are lords of the land, and 
 members of the legislaturCy and judges of the law. 
 By order of both, the tnost solemn of the ordinances 
 of the Lord our God is continually profaned: and 
 all this is essential to the constitution of the govern- 
 ment. These facts are notorious : and there is not 
 upon the face of the earth greater iniquity. 
 
 The king is head of the church. "Our lawyers; 
 pronounce, that the king of England unites in his 
 person the dignity of chief magistrate with the 
 sanctity of a priest ; and the title of Sacred Majesty 
 appears to have commenced, when he assumed the 
 
 millions, one out of six is in the pay of government. The offices 
 in church and state, in the army, the navy, and the colonies, are 
 filled by not less that half a million of men, deriving from the 
 patronage of the crown not less than one hundred millions of dol- 
 lars a year. These have friends and connexions; and there are 
 many office-hunters depending upon the patronage of the crown. 
 The evil is of course enormou?. Scarcely will one hundred thou- 
 sand independent electors he found in the united kingdoms. In 
 England there are only, altogether, one hundred and sixty thou- 
 sand freeholders. King''s Tables. 
 
 " What then," I use the words of a distinguished patriot of the re- 
 Tolution, "What is the majority of their parliament, but a flagitious 
 combination of niinisterii>l hirelings, conspired to erect the Babel 
 of tIes;.otism upon the ruins of the beautiful fabric of law." Gov. 
 Livings ten. 
 
70 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 function of head of the church."* He, as sovereign 
 of the ecclesiastical body, calls at pleasure his clergy 
 together, and dissolves their meetings when they 
 have executed his will : he fills up vacancies among 
 his bishops -, and he presents to their livings and their 
 tithes over his subjects, the inferior clergy, unless 
 the patronage be vested in subordinate hands. He, 
 by his pontifical and royal sanction, confers the cha- 
 racter of truth to his own faithful subjects upon arti- 
 cles of faith, whatever they may be in themselves ; he 
 confers upon ceremonies^ however frivolous, the vir- 
 tue of being significant and edifying: he constitutes 
 a government^ however arbitrary, pure and apostoli- 
 cal: in a word, he defends, he tolerates, he perse- 
 cutes, according to the constitution of the establish- 
 ment over which he presides with papal magnifi- 
 cence. And yet, O my God and my Redeemer, to 
 such a monarchyy with all its impious usurpation of 
 the rights of God, do any of thy disciples profess an 
 attachment ? Ah ! how frail a thing is man ! 
 
 Again, according to the British constitution, 
 bishops of the church are, by virtue of their office, 
 members of parliament and judges of the law. They 
 are Lords spiritual^ occupying a seat in the upper 
 house of legislation ; and the house of lords is the 
 ultimate tribunal of justice. The privileges of the 
 spiritual lords exceed those of the other peers of the 
 realm. They hold courts of their own, of which 
 they are the sole judges: they issue writs in a pccu- 
 
 ■^ I'inkerton. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 71 
 
 liar style, and in their own name: they alone can 
 depute to others their authority ; and the judges of 
 the king cannot sit within the diocese of some of 
 them without the bishop's permission.* Such then, 
 is this constitution, that while the king is supreme 
 head of the church, the prelates of the church are 
 an essential part of the legislature and judiciary of 
 the empire. 
 
 Is this right ? Is this scriptural ? Is this agreeable 
 to the example of our Lord — conformable to the 
 spirit of religion — corresponding with apostolical ex- 
 ample ? And is it thus, my hearers, that men would 
 exemplify the doctrine, my kingdom is nol of this 
 world? I, as a minister of Christ, have to reason with 
 you in defence of the right of making a few political 
 remarks ; and I cannot flatter myself that I have suc- 
 ceeded with you all, in procuring a patient hearing : 
 and yet, those ministers of religion, who neglect the 
 paths of the Lord, and are themselves become lords 
 OF THE LAND, and of God's heritage, enjoy your sym- 
 pathy : to that government you are attached, and, at 
 me, you are displeased for examining its character. 
 Bear with me, brethren; I would not wound your feel- 
 ings unnecessarily. I even sympathize with you in 
 your political obliquities. Man is frail. Even Abra- 
 ham besought the Lord for Sodom ; and the Lord dealt 
 tenderly with his servant, though he destroyed the 
 cities of the plain. I ask of you but the liberty of 
 saying to this part of the system of British power, 
 Tekel — Thou art found wanting. 
 
 • Chamber, 03— r,8. "RIaoksfone. !). I.e. H. 
 
72 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 If more be necessary to justify me in this applica- 
 tion of the text, it will be found in the practic€y re- 
 quired by the combined and impious power of 
 church and state over the British empire — the admi- 
 msiraiioii of the sacramental test. 
 
 What would you think of an ordinance from the 
 congress of the United States, requiring all officers 
 upon the civil and military list, under pain of dis- 
 mission, to take the sacrament ? What would you say 
 to a demand upon Presbyterians, and Independents, 
 and Baptists, ^c. to forego their own religious pro- 
 fession, and take the communion from Episcopal 
 hands ? What would you say of an act of congress that 
 required the prostitution of the Lord's Supper, to 
 the profane, and the ignorant, and the infidel ? What 
 would you say of me, if instead of thus addressing 
 you, I should be so far disposed to make traffic of 
 my ministry, as to accept of an appointment and an 
 equipage, and sit with the consecrated elements at 
 the door of the capitol, to administer the body and 
 the blood of the Lord to the whole tribe of office- 
 hunters who dance attendance in the hall of power? 
 Could you approve of this? would you tolerate me in 
 it ? would the rulers of our land require such a profa- 
 nation ? would this community bear it? would the 
 ministers of the church submit to it? It is practised 
 in England. It is the law of that land. It is authorized, 
 it is demanded by the government. It is observed 
 by the ministers. This prostitution is the door of ad- 
 mission to power.* Shall I not visit for these things ? 
 
 *■ Stat. 25. Car. II. Cap. 2. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. /O 
 
 saith the Lord; and shall not my soul he avenged on 
 such a nation as this ?* 
 
 3. The British government is a branch of the gene- 
 ral antichristian apostacy. 
 
 The opposition to the great protest ant doctrine in 
 relation to antichrist, which the English commenta- 
 tors of more recent date have carried on, found its 
 only support in the terror produced by the French 
 revolution. Mr. Faber is, by far, the most plausible 
 of those writers, who have represented that nation 
 under the Emperor Napoleon, as the last head 
 
 * Mr. John Newton, a minister of the church of England, 
 preached a sermon on this text in the parish church of St. Mary 
 Woolnoth, Feb. 21, 1781, in which he spoke as follows: " The 
 Test and Corporation Acts, which require every person who has a 
 post under government, or a commission in the army or navy, to 
 qualify himself for his office, by receiving the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper, would occasion no sin, if men were generally influ- 
 enced by the fear of God, or even a principle of integrity. They 
 would then rather decline places of honour or profit, than accept 
 of them upon such terms. We frequently see professed infuld^ 
 and notorious libertines, approach the hordes Table as a matter of 
 course^ and prostitute the most solemn ordinance of Christianity to 
 their ambition or interest. I am afraid we have been long guilty 
 of a contemptuous profanation of the body and blood of Christ." 
 Fol. V. pp. 3, 5. 
 
 " A ?nan cannot be an exciseman, a custom-house officer, a lieu- 
 tenant in the army or navy, no, not so much as a tide-waiter, with- 
 out putting on the most distinguishing badge of Christianity, ac- 
 cording to the usage of the church of England. Is not this a strong 
 temptation to profanation and hypocrisy ? Does it not pervert one 
 of tlie most solemn institutions of religion ?" NeaVs TJist. Ptn\ 
 r»l. IV. p, 530. 
 
 10 
 
74 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 of the great apostacy ; and at whose downfal, 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 were. 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, not excepting the English 
 themselves, that coimtry has once been one of the ten 
 horns of the apocalyptical beast, influenced 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. 
 
 Some 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 general 
 destiuction of the man of sin. The history of that 
 country, the tyranny and superstition of Henry 
 VIII ; the persecutions carried on against the saints, 
 durinir the continuance of the succession in the 
 Stuart race? ; and the terrible bloodshed caused by 
 
 * Kev. xiii. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 75 
 
 Charles II. and James, his successor and brofher, 
 both Popish tyrants, completely set aside the idea 
 of England's ceasing to be a horn of the beast, be- 
 fore the revolution of 16B8, under William of Hol- 
 land. Nor does that event itself justify the suppo- 
 sition. Much was ceitainly gained bv it to the 
 cause of both religion and liberty. The tyranny of 
 the throne, and the persecutions arising from it, 
 were mitigated, but not abolished. If protestant 
 blood does not flow as formerly, the saints, in that 
 country, the successors of the martyrs, still labour 
 under the frowns of power, marked by ecclesiastical 
 aiid civil pains and disabilities. 
 
 No country, it appears from the prospective histo- 
 ry afforded in prophecy, which was once in connex- 
 ion w ith the beast, is to be perfectly separated from 
 the great apostacy until the seventh vial shall have 
 poured out its plagues. The fifth has shaken the con- 
 nexion by the partial reformation of several nations ; 
 but in no instance has the connexion been complete- 
 ly and permanently dissolved. 
 
 "" Prophecy excludes the idea, of considering the Bri- 
 tish empire as removed from the Latin Earth: and, 
 the character of its government, as shown under the 
 preceding articles, demonstrates its antichristianistn. 
 The English establishment is, itself, of a beastly na- 
 lure. An unhallowed connexion between church and 
 state, in which civil liberty sutfers, and true religion 
 h prostituted, can never be reconciled with that li^ 
 
?6 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 berly wherervith Christ has made ns free. It is an an- 
 tichristian polity. I add to these a third argument, 
 drawn from the consideration of recent events. The 
 present king did take, as the condition of the crown 
 of Corsica, an oath to support the Popish religion;* 
 and he is at the head of the establishment of the same 
 faith in the province of Lower Canada, in connexion 
 with the church of England. By his arms, by the 
 wealth^of his empire, and by the blood of his sub- 
 jects, he has proved the principal stay of the anti- 
 christian polity in Europe. The restoration of the 
 Bourbons, of the Pope, and of the Inquisition, suffi- 
 ciently show that he is in fact a pillar of the great 
 throne of the man of sin. The British government, 
 once a branch of the apostacy, still within the 
 bounds of the symbolical earth, actually antichris- 
 lian in its own character, and now the chief stay of 
 the beast's authority, must necessarily be considered 
 as continuing to be one of the ten kings or horns, 
 which agree to give their power to the great cor- 
 ruption of moral order in the world. 
 
 The guilt of a nation, or an individual, is in pro- 
 portion to the privileges enjoyed, and the actual im- 
 morality. That country was the most favoured of 
 the nations. None had attained to so much light 
 and reformation. It was once, although only by 
 compulsion on the part of the crown and the prelacy, 
 in solemn league and covenant with God. It ha» 
 
 1794. 
 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 77 
 
 broken, like treacherous Judali, and backsliding Is- 
 rael, its covenant ; it has shed, like Chaldea, the blood 
 of the martyrs ; and, although persecution unto 
 death hath ceased, this 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 the children 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 ivanting, 
 
 4. 7%e 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 unknown, 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 fallen world. 
 We speak of the Newtonian Philosophy, of Galvan- 
 ism, &c. because the laws of nature, ancient as crea- 
 tion itself, were illustrated in an able manner by men 
 of such names. The phrase Erastian often occurs 
 
 * Mattli. xxiii. 31. 
 
78 THE MOftAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 3n the history of British controversies about religion 
 and government. 
 
 Thomas Eraslvs was botli a divine and physician. 
 He was learned and active, and iniiuential 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 the elector Palatine, 
 and became professor in the university of Heidel- 
 berg. In his book on Excommunication^ he deve- 
 lopes those principles which have since been called 
 by his name. That Christ and his apostles prescrib- 
 ed no forms of discipline for the church — that 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, are the sentiments of 
 Erastus. These have always been the prevailing 
 sentiments of the court of Great Britain, since the 
 time of Henry VIII. The clergy of the church of 
 England, from Cranmer to Whilgifty^ were of Eras- 
 
 • " BisJiop Warhurlcn inlbrnis us, from lidden dc Synulnis, thai: 
 Erastus's famous book dc cxcommunicatione was purcliascd by Whit- 
 gift, of Erastus's widow in Germany, and put by him to the press in 
 London, under fictitious names of both the place and the printer." 
 Supplemcnlal Vol. Warhnrt. Works, p. 473. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMEKT. 79 
 
 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 the 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 Erastian 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 church of God, as a spiritual empire, 
 having its own officers and laws, under the head 
 Jesus Christ, that the English ministers fullv under- 
 stood the distinction.J To the faithful labours of the 
 
 * These are the words oi Ncal, in his history of the Puritans 
 who also confirms the remarks I have made. Vol. I. p. 510. 
 
 f This was the substance of the petition signed by seven hun- 
 dred ministers in the year ]t}41. The parliament were of the 
 same mind, and claimed the power of reforming the church as an 
 inherent right. 
 
 :}: In that venerable Assembly of Divines, which compiled oui 
 admirable Confession of Faith and other ecclesiastical standards, the 
 very learned Sclden had a seat. He, assisted by the counsel, and 
 the rabbinical learning of Coleman and Lightfoot, and supported 
 by the national feelings, and the prejudices or opinions of the par- 
 liament, argued the cause of Erastia?iism in the grand debate 
 upon ecclesiastical order. The question excited immense interest ; 
 the whole church, a great nation, awaited the result with anxiety. 
 
 George Gillespie, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and a com- 
 missioner to the Assembly from the church of Scotland, was ob- 
 served to be engaged occasionally with his pen, while Selden spoke. 
 It was supposed he was taking notes of the argument. He, too. 
 
^U THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 church of Scotland, the christian world is indebted, 
 under the blessing of God, for the prevalence of a 
 
 "ivas learned, and of great reading ; but he was young, pious, mo- 
 dest, and a stranger in London. He had not acquired celebrity. 
 Some of the most grave and pious divines had a previous opportuni- 
 ty of satisfying themselves as to his views of divine truth. They 
 knew the sentiments of the church which he represented, to be 
 anti-eraslian. They went to his chair, and requested him to speak. 
 They inquired if he had taken notes. He was silent. They saw 
 the paper on which he had written. The only words upon it 
 were, give light, Lord, and direction. These were often re- 
 peated, " Rise, George," said a venerable friend, " Rise and de- 
 fend your jninciplcs, your country, your church, and the kingdom 
 of your God — Rise up, man, and df:fend the right of the Lord Je- 
 ?us Christ to govern, by his own laws, the church which he pur- 
 chased with his blood. Mr. Gillespie complied. He began by giv- 
 ing a summary of the argument of his learned antagonist, di^stiu- 
 guishing the several principles which it involved, and then request- 
 ed to be corrected if he made an unfair statement. Selden replied, 
 sf Mr. Gillespie will refute these principles with the same accura- 
 cy with which he has stated them, the controversy is over. Mr. 
 Gillespie had in his hand a two-edged sword. He contended suc- 
 cessfully for the prerogatives of his Redeemer's crown, and the in- 
 dependency of Christ's kingdom. He triumphed. Mr. Selden 
 himself observed, with astonishment, " This young man by his 
 speech has swept away the learning and labour of my life." Eras- 
 lianism was condemned, and presbytery established by the West- 
 minster Assembly. 
 
 The parliament was unwilling to yield. There, Mr. Selden had 
 also a seat. His hand was seen in the scruples and delays employ- 
 ed in the House of Commons against the establishment of the Pres- 
 byterian regimen. The Scottish commissioners remonstrated. The 
 London ministers also petitioned. Commissioners from parliament 
 met with a committee of the Assembly; but to the exertions of Mr. 
 Henderson, another of the S'coifw/i commissioners; supported by the 
 Toice of Scotland, and the fear of losing the co-operation of the 
 Scottish army in the war against the royalists, the reluctant ac' 
 quiescence of the English parliament is to be ascribed. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. ol 
 
 principle, now universally nnderstood, and, in this 
 country, reduced to practice by all ecclesiastical 
 bodies — ^that the church is a distinct socittyy with an 
 organisation of its own. This important doctrine is 
 of divine authority. Its truth hath been attested by 
 the blood of the martyrs : and the kingdoms, which 
 oppose this part of the faith delivered to the saints, 
 are guilty of rebellion against the King of kings, and 
 Lord of lords. 
 
 The Erastianism of the present British constitu- 
 tion of government, will now be made apparent. 
 
 The civil government makes the established 
 church, with the king as its supreme head, an essen- 
 tial part of the national polity — It settles, by parlia- 
 mentary law, the condition of ministerial fellowship — 
 It determines the faith to be professed — It prescribes 
 forms of prayer to be offered from the pulpit — It 
 inflicts the severest censures of the church — and ex- 
 ercises, exclusively, the power of convoking the su- 
 perior judicatories. Head, for yourselves, the re- 
 ferences which I make, and then decide upon the ac- 
 curacy of this statement. 
 
 The church, under the headship of the reigning 
 prince, whether male or female, it matters not, is, in 
 fact, a department of the state. 
 
 The British monarch has assumed all that power 
 in his dominions " over all persons and all causes, 
 whether civil or ecclesiastic," which the Pope claini- 
 
 11 
 
S^ THE MOUAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 ed ; and the parliament have secured by statute this 
 prerogative of the crown. Tlie declaration of 
 George I. who styles himself Defender of the Faith, 
 and Supreme Governor of the Church in his domin- 
 ions, proceeding upon this principle, requires that 
 Ihe clergy, before they can settle any differences about 
 the external polity of the church, must first obtain 
 leave under his broad seal.^ 
 
 It is provided by the treaty of union between Eng- 
 land and Scotland, that the church of England, with 
 all the civil power given into the hands of the prela- 
 cy, shall be preserved entire, and this is declared to 
 be an essential fmdamental part of the union. The 
 temporal power of the lords spiritual, the spiritual 
 supremacy of tlie monarch, together with the pros- 
 titution of the most distinguishing badge of christian 
 profession in the sacramental test, prove beyond a 
 doubt that the church and state are combined into 
 one great corrupt and impious system of misrule : 
 and justifies the charge of Erastianism against the 
 British Constitution. > 
 
 In the Act for an union of the two kingdoms of 
 England 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- 
 blishment ; but also, as essential to their own. The 
 
 * Dec. George I. June 13(h, 1715. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 83 
 
 Scottish establishment is itself Erastian, The civil 
 power SETTLES the 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 
 church, " We have thought good to signify our plea- 
 sure to 7/ou, that you make no distinction of men, 
 otherwise well qualified for the ministry, who are 
 willing to join with you in the acknowledgment of, 
 and submission to the government of church and state, 
 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 5th June 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 pai.vs 
 TO ADJUST for you." 
 
 It is provided, too, by act of parliament, " That 
 none he admitted or continued ministers, who do not 
 
S4 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 take the oaths thereby prescribed, and observe uni- 
 formity of woi-ship, &;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. AVithout 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 tiie Lords spiritual, have provided for all the 
 clergy of the Presbyterian establishment, the form 
 of prayer to be used for the king and the royal 
 family ; and it must be used under pain of exclusion 
 from the ministry of the chinch. 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 
 however great the attachment between them and 
 their flocks. Ministers who did not appear before a 
 certain day prescribed by the act,\i " are hereby, ipso 
 facto, deprived of their respective kirks and sti- 
 pends, and the same declared vacant without any 
 further sentence." Under a similar penalty, queen 
 Anne enforced the oath of abjuration. George I. 
 
 '^ William and Mary, Par. 1. Scss. 4. Act 23. j Par. 1690 
 
 I 1695, Act 23. 1700, Act 2. and 1706, Act G. 
 
 § Act 27. Ses5. 5. Pari. I. WiUiam am! Mary. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMEKT. 85 
 
 extended the requisition to students on trial, to 
 schoolmasters, and to all masters in the universities.*" 
 George II. required an actf 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 extends 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 
 of 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 right 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 
 
 * Act 6. 1700. t Act 1737. 
 
 t Erskine's Prin. Law. nf Scot. Eook I, Tit. 5. 
 
86 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 church ; adjourns and dissolves them as mucli as the 
 civil legislature. In ordinary cases, they who com- 
 pose the General Assembly, are sufficiently 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 this 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 I am describing the Erastianism of the 
 constitution of government, I speak the language, 
 not of an individual, but of churches, even in that 
 country. 
 
 I begin with the judicial dcclaralion 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 themy in all 
 the appurtenances of its constitution and administra- 
 tion, run in an agrceablcness to the word of God ; be 
 subservient unto the spiritual kingdom of Jesus 
 Clnist, and to the interests of the true religion. By 
 the good hand of God, the estates of England y but 
 
 * The style is, " Thua seeing by cur decree^ an Assembly is to 
 meet, &c.'^ 
 
THE BRITISH GOTERNMENT. 87 
 
 more especially of Scotland, were inspired with a 
 noble and predominant zeal for the house of God, in 
 all its valuable institutions: and attained to a consi- 
 derable pitch of civil reformation subservient to the 
 same. It is observable that in Scotland, the reforma- 
 tion of the church hatli always, in a beautiful order, 
 preceded and introduced the reformation of the state.'* 
 
 " It was not long, till this beautiful work was smo- 
 thered, by the woful aposlacy at, and after, the re- 
 storation of king Charles II." 
 
 " The fatal overthrow of the former civil refor- 
 mation ; the devastation of the house and heritage of 
 God ; the unparalleled course of perjury, treachery, 
 tyranny, against the King, cause, and subjects of 
 Zion, and against the liberties of mankind ; are laid 
 open in the act and testimony. It is to be feared, 
 the guilt thereof is still lying upon the throne, the bo- 
 dy jpolitic, and all ranks in these lands." 
 
 "Thus our ancient civil reformation has been 
 apostatized from, and grievously defaced — great 
 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 
 administrations. All the legal securities given to 
 this church, from 1638 to 1650, were overlooked ; 
 such were retained in places of public trust, and in 
 military office, as were enemies to our reformation, 
 and had been deeply involved in the horrid defec- 
 
88 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 iion, persecution f and bloodshed of the foriner 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 soids, while the right of 
 paironagesy 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. .Tohn Porteus.*" By the above-men- 
 tioned apostacy and corruption in the settlement and 
 administration of the present civil governmenty the 
 measure of guilt upon the body politic, and their 
 
 *Thi3 man commamleil the towo-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 sutler death as a nmrderer. 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- 
 Vot one was €ver discovered. Scotland had no informers. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 89 
 
 Legislators is greatly filled up." These quotations 
 are from Gibs. Display of the Sec. Test. Vol. I. p. 
 230 — 289. They speak the language of all Seceders, 
 whether in Europe or America. Indeed, as 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 impiety. 
 
 The following quotation shows the light in which 
 the Reformed Presbyterian Church, in the British do- 
 minions, view the national government. 
 
 " ^Vhen Henry VIII. of England, cast ofl* the au- 
 thority of the Sec 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- 
 w-ards procured to have himself acknowledged and 
 declared by act of parliament, to be head of the 
 CHURCH. This Antichrislian Supremacy has ever 
 since continued' 'an essential part of the English con- 
 stitution, and inherent right of the crown. The 
 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 1688, the selllemenl of religion 
 is not a religious, but a mere civil and poliUcal one. 
 It 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. 1797. p. 7Q. f IcJeni.p. 60—62. 
 
 12 
 
90 THE MORAL CHARACTEK OF 
 
 liave the 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 CojislilutionSy of both church and 
 state, were Erastian and antiscriptural ; so their con- 
 duct ever since has been agreeable thereto ; tending 
 evidently to discover that, wliile the slate is robbing 
 our Redeemer of his crown, and his church of her li- 
 berties, 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 chosenj 
 all which exercise of Erastian supremacy natively 
 results from the parliamentary settlement."! 
 
 6. If 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 
 dav. 
 
 P. 63. t P. 64. 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 91 
 
 I 
 
 In the Declaration of Independence, the Fathers 
 of American liberty assert, that " the 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 toAvns, and de- 
 stroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time 
 transporting large armies 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 civilised 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 bre- 
 thren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has 
 excited domestic insurrections amongst us, 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. Aru. Imlepemlfncp. 
 
92 THE MORAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 with a policy most cruel and perfidious, without pro- 
 Yoking discussion, or commanding general aUention, 
 either in England or America. Tliere, under the 
 plausible plea, which tyranny never fails to employ, 
 of grnntiiig prolcclion for territory to the weaker 
 states, the British power has effected more revolu- 
 tions in the course of a few years, than have been 
 effected 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 
 of Asia are not immediately interesting ; but in the 
 estimate of moral character, the remoteness from 
 us 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 are not 
 defensive ivars. I'liey are the offspring of the lust of 
 power and of wealth. None of the Nabobs oj the 
 Carnatic or of Oudej neither Timiir, the hero of Pa- 
 niput, nor Tippoo Sultan, nor the Great Mogul, ever 
 threatened an invasion of the islands of Britain and 
 Ireland. " To interfere actively in the domestic af- 
 fairs of all other states; to regulate the succession 
 of their governors; to take part in every quarrel; 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 93 
 
 to claim the lands of one party for assisting him, 
 and seize the lands of the other, after beating him ; 
 to get allies by force, and take care that nobody 
 shall rob them but ourselves ; to quarter troops up- 
 on our neighbours, and pay them with our neigh- 
 bours' goods — This it is that we call Roman policy. 
 While Tippoo is despoiled for befiiending the 
 French, and the Nisam is despoiled for befriending 
 the English ; while Holkar is despoiled for beating 
 the Peishna, and the Peishwa is despoiled for being 
 beaten by Holkar — Who is it that is enriched by be- 
 friending and beating Ihem all?"* England — Eng- 
 land is enriched. This, and not self-defence, is the 
 cause of war in the East Indies. War is a judg- 
 ment 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 the in- 
 ference. God is just; and all his judgments are 
 truth. Like ancient Home, the most criminal of na- 
 tions, She holds the stakes for every game that is 
 played by the sword and the cannon, and whoever 
 loses or wins, 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 afflu- 
 ence. Her merchants are opulent and prosperous. 
 
 * EfUn. Her. Vol. \u p. 4G9. 
 
04 THE AlOllAL CHARACTER OF 
 
 ller yeonianry, allhou^h buidened with taxation, 
 are healthy, and industrious, and flourishing. Her 
 manufacturers, though embarrassed by the American 
 war, are still influential and wealthy. The spirit of 
 liberty in England, and Scotland, and Ireland, has 
 given Avay for a time to the claims of the crown ; 
 and for fear of foreign domination, the subjecis sub- 
 mit, with resignation, to their doom. The judicia- 
 ry, with the exception of that of Ireland, which has 
 always, like a conquered province, been ruled with 
 a rod of iron, is sutficiently independent to admi- 
 nister common justice. In Scotland and England, 
 personal liberty u in a great measure enjoyed : and 
 yet, even in relation to her domestic policy, Brilain 
 is very cruel. 
 
 In Ireland, for reasons of state, she persecutes the 
 Catholics. Jt 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 
 the 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 which he was born. She authorizes 
 bonds and captivity, by the pressgang, that secret, 
 sudden, and formidable engine of despotic power, 
 which seizes upon ils victim unawares, and chains 
 him to the wheels of the cannon — A system of op- 
 
THE EKITISU GOVERNRIf-^T. ^'^ 
 
 pression and cruelty, compared with which, the Con- 
 scription of Napoleon 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 liope 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 living 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 integ- 
 rity of religious character, by partaking of the Sa- 
 cramental Test as tlie price of admission to power. 
 
 There is 07ie other feature of Briiish polici/f to 
 which, under this head, 1 would direct your atten- 
 tion. 
 
 The English merchants and monopolists, are men 
 of princely fortunes. They, with the lords of the 
 soil, and of the political church of the land, (for 
 such is the church of England as established by 
 law,) may easily acquire a character for splendour 
 and munificence. But how is it supported ? Not by 
 the islands of Great Britain. It is by the policy of 
 that government relative to its trade. The commer- 
 cial monopoly is the stafTof pride and power. The 
 
9() TllK MORAL CIJARACTFR OK 
 
 usurpation of the seas is an art of injustice. It is a 
 system of cruelty towards the weaker states, that 
 drives them from the ocean. It is the cruelty of a 
 licensed robber, that attacks the traveller upon the 
 highway, and prevents him from prosecuting his 
 journey to the market. This, this is the cause of 
 war. Britain is rarely at peace, because she seeks 
 the destruction of her neighbours' commerce. 
 
 War is an evil It is a school of vice. It is ^- 
 nui'sery of debauchery. By it, cities are sacked, 
 and countries laid waste. The dearest ties of kin- 
 dred are unloosed, fathers made childless, children 
 fatherless, and wives converted into widows. You 
 see, brethren, some of its pernicious effects in 
 this city : and you feel and lament the evil. You 
 hear of greater evils in other parts of our land, du- 
 ring the short period since war has upon our part ex- 
 isted. You deprecate the calamity. You regret 
 the policy which led to such a state of things. You 
 are tempted to call in Cjuestion entirely, tlie legili- 
 nuacij of war. It is not surprising you should. 
 \Yhat more cruel, and less congenial with the spirit 
 of the gospel? But England is scarcely ever at 
 peace. Such scenes are essential to her commer- 
 cial greatness. Her naval superiority is her glory. 
 From the Bailie to the Ganges, she is shedding hu- 
 man blood. And is she then innocent? The ago- 
 nies, the cries, the death of a thousand victims, on 
 the shores, on the seas, in the cities of the nations, 
 are the concomitants of that immense opulence, 
 which the traveller admirer in Liverpool ^x\(\ mLon- 
 
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 97 
 
 don. Twenty years of peace, in the civilized world, 
 would reduce Great Britain from her rank among 
 the nations. Allow the continental powers of Eu- 
 rope a free and fair commerce ; allow to these 
 United States the unrestrained right of carrying 
 their trade from sea to sea, and from nation to na- 
 tion; allow to all the nations equal rights, while 
 ploughing the deep, uninterrupted by the men of war, 
 and the glory of England, like that of Tyre, shall 
 sink to rise no more. Her policy is in war; and 
 that policy is crveL 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 That nation, the Government of which we have 
 thus weighed in the balanceSy is, nevertheless, entitled 
 to our christian attention and admiration. There, 
 the sciences and the arts are patronized and cultiva- 
 ted, and most liberally rewarded. There, among 
 christians of every denomination, is the honourable 
 strife, who shall do most for promoting the diffusion 
 of revealed truth throughout the world. There, 
 treasure is collected, and hands are employed, for 
 stretching over the perishing heathen the curtains of 
 Zion. There, exists that noble institution, which ex- 
 ceeds any thing that has hitherto been established by 
 christian exertions. The British and Foreign Bi- 
 ble Society — A river of life, which, with its thou- 
 sand streams, flows through every kingdom of the 
 world, watering, refreshing, and fructifying, until the 
 wilderness become like Eden, and the desert like 
 ?he garden of the Lord. There, in despite of the 
 
 ]3 
 
yy CUiVCLUSION. 
 
 immoral itndency of the laws; in despite of the pub- 
 lic prostitution of religion ; in despite of the pride, 
 and the debauchery, and the licentiousness of the 
 great ; and of the misery, the baseness, the wicked- 
 ness of the rabble, which prowl through the street* 
 of the populous cities ; — there, exist much patriotism 
 and courage, a feeling of personal liberty and inde- 
 pendence, learning, and talent, and piety, and great 
 domestic order and happines'r. 
 
 We admit all this with pleasure ; we pray for the 
 prosperity of christian men and christian institutions; 
 we are anxious to hold them up to others for imita- 
 tion; we love them sincerely ; and we supplicate the 
 throne of grace for their promotion and perma- 
 nence : but we do not admit them as a justification 
 of the evils we have pointed out. They increase in- 
 stead of diminishing the guilt of the government. 
 It is the art of the writers of romance ; it is the 
 great evil of the drama, to introduce a character 
 possessed of certain noble traits, that may palliate 
 and recommend vice and impiety ; and so pollute the 
 morals of the unwary. Wo to them that call good 
 evil, and evil good; that put bitter for sweet, and 
 sweet for bitter. We distinguish; we contrast the 
 good with the bad : and while we admit and approve 
 what is righteous among the people of those islands, 
 we bear our decided testimony against the usurpa- 
 tion, the superstition, the apostacy, the Erastianisn^j, 
 and the cruelty of the British system of govern- 
 ment. 
 
CONCLUSION. 9.9' 
 
 J have now, my brethren, weighed in the balances^ 
 the British monarchy and the American republic^ 
 They are both found, in some instances, wanting. 
 JBut the difference, in point of immorality, between 
 4hem is great. There is scarcely any comparison. 
 Our country has indeed transgressed, and we are at 
 this moment suffering the chastisement which we de- 
 serve. The enemy is let loose upon our borders. 
 God grant to us the sanctified use of the blow, and 
 direct us to the means proper for warding it off. 
 May the God of heaven succeed our efforts, in the 
 field, on the lakes, on the ocean, and in the councils 
 of negotiation, for bringing the enemy to a sense of 
 .justice. 
 
 Should we suppose an intelligent man elevated to 
 some spot in space, above the world, whence, with- 
 out partiality to either of the belligerents, he could 
 take a survey of both, and mark the contest be- 
 tween them — He would, upon principles of humani- 
 ty, wish success to the most innocent in the combat. 
 Independently of the causes which produced the 
 strife, and of the consequences which would result, 
 this must certainly be the w'ishes of a philanthropist 
 X)n beholding the character of the parties at war. 
 Did you see a youth of mild demeanour, and of 
 known integrity, engaged with an experienced and 
 long practised boxer, who made a trade of boasting 
 and of battle, you would instinctively wish that this 
 youth might escape unhurt, or come off victorious. 
 The inference I draw is, that, in the present contest, 
 between the belligerents, described in this discourse?,, 
 humanity wishes success to our own country. 
 
IQO CONCLUSION. 
 
 To the causes and proximate consequences of the 
 present war, I intend, hereafter, to turn your atten- 
 tion. Independently of these, our acquaintance with 
 the national character of the parties, furnishes an ar- 
 gument in support of our hopes. 
 
 There is an eye above the earth, that knows the 
 nations, that marks their conduct, that observes the 
 strife. There is a Man, elevated above the world, 
 with whom is no respect of persons, who is touched 
 with the feelings of our infirmities, and will award 
 to men and to empires their due. Christians, it is 
 your Redeemer. Behold him on high, at the right 
 hand of God, exalted above all principalities and 
 powers. He is Prince of the kings of the earth. 
 He rules in the battle. He directs the storm. He is 
 mindful of individuals. He will save them that trust 
 in him. He will bless and protect his church, while the 
 nations are at war. He invites you to come under the 
 shadow of his wings. There you shall have rest. 
 His voice of peace is heard, while his hand controls 
 the battle. Yes, brethren, while his Almighty fin- 
 ger writes upon the palace-w all this sentence against 
 the nations, Mene, Mkke, Tekel, Upharsin, to you 
 lie says. Come, my people, enter thou into thy cham- 
 hers, and shnt thy doors abont thee : hide thyself as it 
 were for a little moment, until the indignation be over- 
 past. Amen. 
 
THE LAWFULNESS OF DEFENSIVE WAB 
 
 • a'^^<%<s. 
 
 SERMON III, 
 With good advice make war. Prov. xx. 1 8. 
 
 f V HEN the son of Jesse was pursued by Saul, the 
 king of Israel, among the sheep-cotes of Engedi, he 
 had an opportunity of inflicting personal vengeance 
 upon his persecutor, in a cave to which he had re- 
 tired. The temptation was strong; but David re- 
 sisted it, waiting the time, appointed by the Lord, 
 for his own exaltation to the throne. He fortified 
 himself, by an ancient maxim, in the resolution of 
 permitting the escape of his enemy ; and to that 
 proverbial saying he afterwards referred king Saulp 
 who was surprised at this remarkable instance of pa--J 
 tience and magnanimity upon the part of a much in-, 
 jured man. " The Lord avenge me of thee : but : 
 mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith thepro-*^ 
 verb of the ancients^ wickedness proceedeth from the 
 wicked : but mine hand shall not be upon thee."* It • 
 appears from this expression, that, in this early age, 
 David revered the practical wisdom and morality of 
 antiquity, as communicated to posterity in pro- 
 
 '] Sam. uxiv. 12, 13. 
 
102 THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 verbs. It becomes us, who believe in Ihe scriptures, 
 to hold ill superior veneration the ancient aphorisms 
 of the son of David. These are not merely descrip- 
 tive of the general temper and morals of the age ; 
 but are maxims of sacred law for the direction of 
 our conduct in every situation of life. They have 
 a higher autiiority than antiquity, to recommend 
 them. The proverbs of ^Solomon are the dictates of 
 ihe Holy Ghost. 
 
 The writer had, under the influence of this spirit, 
 the power of giving peculiar point to the proverbial 
 style ; and from his works, as from an abundant store- 
 house, succeeding ages have drawn their best max- 
 ims. Desirous of employing his great wisdom for 
 the benefit of mankind, this enlightened monarch 
 devoted his leisure hours to writing for their instruc- 
 tion. His productions were numerous and compre- 
 hensive. Besides his three thousand proverbs , and his 
 one thousand and five songs, or poems; he spake 
 of treeSy from the cedar to the hyssop, of beasts, of 
 fowls, of creeping things, and of fishes. His works 
 on natural history are lost to us for ever. Let us 
 not repine ; but with gratitude and submission, im- 
 prove his doctrinal and moral writings, for our own 
 edification. 
 
 In the verse, which I have chosen for my text, the 
 l^ise man recommends caution and circumspection. 
 Good counsellors, while they do not destroy the de- 
 cisiveness of character, necessary to success on great 
 emergencies, furnish the information required, in or- 
 
IJEFENSiVE WAR. 10^ 
 
 der to act with understanding and witli confidence. 
 In those disputes between nations, which must ulti- 
 mately be settled by a trial of arms, such adviseri 
 are peculiarly estimable. Every purpose is establish- 
 ed bi/ counsel: and with good advice make war. 
 
 The peaceful son of David, declares in this apho- 
 rism, the dull/ of waging war, and of waging it only 
 with prudence. He did this under divine inspiration. 
 He spoke tlie language of good sense, of sound poli- 
 cy, and of true piety. He gave an advice, perfectly 
 corresponding with that given afterwards by our 
 Lord Jesus Chiist, the Prince of peacCy of whom So- 
 lomon was the type. Luke xlv. >3I. What king go- 
 ing to make war against another king, sitieth not down 
 first, and consnlteth, whether he be able—to meet him ? 
 This mode of reasoning, is a New Testament con- 
 firmation of the Old Testament doctrine, with good 
 
 ADVICE MAKE WAR. 
 
 The plan of my discourse on this text, I now lay 
 T)efore you. 
 
 War is, in certain casts, Ian fid — La n fid war is de- 
 fensive with a rational prospect of success — Such a 
 war ought to be supported. 
 
 These, my christian brethren, are very plain as- 
 sertions. They are the principles of my text. The 
 truth of each proposition is so obvious, that there is, 
 indeed, little need of either argument or proof: but, 
 there is no truth, however self-evident, that some one 
 
10-i IHE LAWFCLNESS OF 
 
 does not disf)ute. Great talents have been employed, 
 in the learned Avorld, to prove that I may reasonably 
 doubt of my own existence. In the christian world, 
 some ingenuity has been employed, to disprove the 
 positions now laid down, and of course to prevent 
 the civilized world from acting upon them. 
 
 Did the arguments, which are used to show that 
 war is prohibited in every case, by the christian re- 
 ligion, tend in fact to diminish the evil, I certainly 
 should never raise my voice against them. Know- 
 ing, however, that they are not only untrue, but un- 
 operative ; not only unoperative as to the object 
 professed ; but mischievous in their consequences, 
 by fostering the evil which they propose to prevent ; 
 I feel it my duty to meet them, and refute them. 
 Disputations more frequently engender strife, than 
 minister to the use of edifying. Calling in question 
 the lawfulness of war, in any case, puzzles, and di- 
 vides the well-meaning part of the community ; but 
 has no other influence upon the designing, than to 
 afford them an opportunity of converting to their 
 own schemes, the existing contentions and preju- 
 dices. 
 
 By producing distractions in the more simple, and 
 free, and moral states, the unprincipled and ambi- 
 tious politicians of the nations are encouraged to 
 prowl for their prey, and deal in unceasing wars. It 
 is not by disputing the right of enacting penal sta- 
 tutes, and inflicting punishment, that domestic peace 
 aad order are secured ; but by instructing the com- 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. iOf* 
 
 iiiunity in their legitimacy and utility ; and so, com- 
 manding the whole force of the nation, in support 
 of the arm of authority, in executing speedily, upon 
 the disturbers of their repose, the merited sentence 
 of the law. It is in the same way, and for the same 
 reasons, that international equity and peace will be 
 secured to the world. When nations shall come to 
 understand the rights of war and peace ; when they 
 shall be prepared to judge of the justness of com- 
 bats ; when they shall be disposed, without distrac- 
 tion, to yield their support to equitable claims ; 
 when they shall be prepared to undertake, and to 
 maintain lawful war against the aggressor, then, and 
 not till then, shall states be allowed to enjoy undis- 
 turbed c[uietness, and to rest in the bosom of peace. 
 Therefore do I now undertake an illustration of the 
 truths which I have proposed from the text, in the 
 order already mentioned. 
 
 I. War is, in cerlain casts, lawful. 
 
 The strife of arms, in which man is set against 
 man, and people against people, is, in all cases, an 
 evil to be deplored. In most instances, it is a crime 
 in both the parties; and in every instance, there is 
 on the part of one of them, injustice towards the 
 other. It is permitted of God, for the correction 
 and punishment of transgressions, and it is to be re- 
 ferred, for its source among men, to the corrupt 
 passions. Of the works of the jiesh are these, hatred, 
 variance, emulations, wrath, strife. From whence come 
 
106 THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 ivars and fightings among you ? come they not henct, 
 even of your lusts that war in your members ?* 
 
 Far be it from me, while explaining the precept 
 of my God, " With good advice make war," to en- 
 courage that which is sinful : to cherish the malevo- 
 lent passions : or to recommend the military life as 
 desirable. It is to suppress the malevolence of man, 
 to redress injuries, to promote righteousness, that 
 the sovereign of the world ever authorized an ap- 
 peal to the sword : and it is with the same design I 
 vindicate the morality of what he hath authorized. 
 Strange phraseology, indeed, to be required among 
 christians, vindicate the moralily of what God hath 
 authorized! and yet it is required in this discussion. 
 
 ^; War is the employment of force under the 
 sovereign authority of one civil community 
 AGAINST ANY oTHER.j That it is lawful to use such 
 force, I shall show from reason and from scripture, 
 
 1. The lawfulness of war is a deduction of sound 
 reasoning^ from the circumstances of civil life. 
 
 To live in a state of society is both the duty and 
 the privilege of man. It is the Creator of the world, 
 who said, // is not good that man should he alone. A 
 
 '■^ Gal. V. 19, 20. and James iv. 1. 
 f In all correct reasoning, it is necessary to keep in view the 
 weaning of the words we employ. " War is that state in whieb a 
 nation prosecutes its right by force." Valid. 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 107 
 
 great part of the active principles of human nature 
 would remain unimproved and unemployed, and 
 much of his happiness would necessarily be cut off, 
 were man doomed to a perpetual seclusion from so- 
 ciety, and constrained to spend his life in solitude. 
 It is not, however, to be expected, that a state of so- 
 ciety can exist on earth, during the continuance of 
 our imperfection, in which no error in morals will 
 obtain. Humanum est errare. Diversities of views, 
 and of inclinations, and of interests, cannot fail to pro- 
 duce discord; and the corrupt propensities of indi- 
 viduals require, for the preservation of social order, 
 that the power of suppressing evils should be placed 
 in the hands of competent authority. An advisory au- 
 ihority, unless endowed with the right of employing 
 force, would be found a nullity. Thus, as society is 
 necessary to man, and government is necessary to 
 society, the application of force is essential to both : 
 and the application of force to the correction of er- 
 roneous conduct, necessarily implies, that civil so- 
 ciety has the power of property, liberty, life, and 
 death, over every member. Such is the constitution 
 of society. Such is the will of God, expressed in 
 the constitution of human nature. Let theory say 
 what it will, it is a facty that civil society has the 
 right of taking away by force the life of any of its 
 members. 
 
 In vain am I told, by visionary theorists, that man 
 has not the right of taking away his own life. I know 
 it. The Lord giveth life. He only has the right of 
 taking it away, or of ordering another to take it 
 
JOS THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 away. In vain am I told, that society has only the 
 rights which individuals have surrendered to it: and 
 that of course it has not the right of taking away my 
 life, seeing I could not surrender what was not at 
 my option. I did not make myself a social being. 
 God made me so. Society is his creature. From him 
 it derives the right of self-preservation. Civilians 
 and Divines behove to attend to this fact. It is 
 Atheism, however it may be disguised, that supports 
 the contrary principle. He is a short-sighted States- 
 man, who, enamoured of the theories of JBcccaria, 
 and Voltaire, argues against the right of capital pu- 
 nislnnentSy in any case. It is not humanity, but 
 foVy, that dictates this doctrine. He is a short- 
 flighted Divine, who is seduced by the reasonings of 
 George i^oo; and William Pciin, It is not religion; 
 but fanaticism, that is promoted by such arguments. 
 
 I know, that small societies, in the bosom of regu- 
 larly organized nations — I know, that ecclesiastical 
 bodies may exist, without the application, upon their 
 own part, of violence to any member ; but the power 
 of force must exist somewhere, otherwise, one unru- 
 ly member might destroy any such society. 
 
 Laws are necessary to guard tlie rights of proper- 
 ty ; but if society have no right to transfer so much 
 of the debtor's property, against his will, into the 
 hands of the creditor, as may satisfy equity, laws 
 are a non-entity : again, if the debtor resists the offi- 
 cers of the law, and society has no right to apply 
 force in any case, the debtor escapes with, impunity. 
 
-: DEFENSIVE WAR. 1Q9 
 
 and laughs at the law. Legislation is still a nullity. 
 If force may be applied in any measure, short of in- 
 flicting wounds and death ; if the debtor knows be- 
 forehand, that no power dare touch his life, he may 
 arm himself; he may escape the law with all its 
 other force ; and he may lay under contribution, to 
 his cupidifi/f every member of the community. There 
 must in such case be an end to society. This is ob- 
 vious to every man. Each Ktate is of course com- 
 pelled to arm, with the sword, the civil magistrate. 
 Each individual will say, though I have no right to 
 destroy my life 1 have power to amputate a mem- 
 ber for the preservation of the body ; and each state 
 will say. I have power to cut off any member for 
 the safety of the whole. 
 
 This argument puts beyond a doubt the lawfulness 
 of war. Civil punishment is the exercise of force upon 
 an enennjy to the community of which he is a member. 
 The lowest degree of punishment, involves the right 
 of taking the life of the criminal, if resistance on his 
 part render the application of such force necessary. 
 Most assuredly then, if the aggressor be of a differ- 
 ent community, and be authorized by such cominu- 
 nity to act as an enemy, the sovereign power of the 
 injured commonwealth may lawfully resist even unto 
 blood ; and may apply the degree and kind of foi ce 
 necessary to correct the evil. If the right of waging 
 war be withheld from the body politic, there is an 
 end to the independence of nations, and all society 
 is dissolved. 
 
110 THE LAWFULNESS OP 
 
 Reasoning upon these principles, I am constrained 
 to pronounce the contrary opinions, by whatever 
 names, and from whatever motives, they are urged, 
 both unreasonable and dangerous. It is the will of 
 God, expressed in the constitution of society, that 
 nations have a right to wage war : and if it should 
 ever be made manifest, that the Deity, by positive 
 injunction, prohibited the exercise of this right, I 
 would indeed submit to his decision, and submit im- 
 plicitly ; but I would also infer, that, in making 
 such prohibition, he, who knows tlie consequences of 
 his own laws, had also ordered the dissolution of so- 
 eiety itself. So far is the revelation of his grace 
 from giving countenance to such absurdities, that 1 
 am enabled thereby to support the principle urged 
 in my text, With good advice make war. 
 
 2. The larvfulness of war is evident from the scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 In presenting the argument, drawn from the ex- 
 pression of the will of God, in the sacred oracles, in 
 favour of the right of making war, I do not forget or 
 conceal, that it is principally contained in the Old 
 Testament. I also know, that in the opinions of 
 many professors of religion, this is a sufficient reason 
 for rejecting the proof. As all, that referred to a 
 Saviour expected, but not as yet manifested in the 
 fleshy in the Old Testament dispensation, has been 
 superseded by the Redeemer, in his mission, suffer- 
 ings, and exaltation; as all, who believe in his 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. ill 
 
 name, are not of sufficient discernment, to distin- 
 guish between morality and mere ritual economy ; 
 and as prejudice and convenience are fruitful in mis- 
 apprehension and misapplication, it is not wonderful, 
 that some of our brethren should be tempted to under- 
 value the principles of moral order which are revealed 
 by the prophets. It is, nevertheless, a matter of la- 
 mentation, that such misunderstanding should be so ge- 
 neral and injurious. Very few christian societies ex- 
 ist, who have not erred on this subject. The church 
 membership of our offspring — the use of our psalm- 
 ody — the theology of civil polity — the existence even 
 of moral obligation — the utility of the Old Testa- 
 ment, have all, by different sects of professed chris- 
 tians, been called in question on this account. 
 "There is not," says one,* " a revelation of a future 
 state made to those who lived before the advent of 
 Messiah." "Where," says another,! "will you 
 find in the Old Testament, the doctrine of faith, 
 or of imputed righteousness." While the minds 
 of christians are thus amazed, and bewildered, it 
 ought not to surprise us that some good men have 
 denied the applicability of the argument, in support 
 of the right of waging war, which all admit, is 
 abundantly to be found in the bible. And yet, we 
 are not permitted to give up those great principles 
 of morality, which it hath pleased God to reveal, and 
 to sanction with his own authority. It is due to my 
 
 * Bishop Warburton. 
 t Rev. Mr. Freeman, of Newburgh. 
 
112 THE LAWFDLNK&S Ub 
 
 ■ t jt>. 
 
 hearers, to say, that, in referring for proof to inspired 
 men before the incarnation of our Lord, I do it upon 
 this broad principle, that morality and piety are 
 
 ESSENTIALLY THE SAME IN EVERY AGE OF THE WOULD. 
 
 Blan is essentially the same through all genera- 
 tions. God is the same yesterday, to-day, and for 
 ever. The image of God, on the soul of man, is at 
 all times and places of the same character. Precepts, 
 the reason of which is laid in changeable circum- 
 stances, cease or change with the occasion; h\ii prin- 
 ciples, founded upon permanent relations^ are unalter- 
 able. Although men should now pretend to more holi- 
 ness than was possessed by Abraham, by David, by 
 Samuel, by Elijah, and Nehemiah, this, however 
 great the assumption upon their part, would not jus- 
 tify their denial of the right of war, unless they 
 could at the same time show, that human nature is 
 not now what it was, or that God, the Lawgiver, has 
 undergone mutation both of nature and of will. If 
 holiness, now, is the same as ever, then is war as law- 
 ful as formerly : for that it cannot have been for- 
 bidden by him who once authorized it, is evident 
 from the fact, that there is no reason for a change 
 of law, as well as from the necessity of its legitima- 
 cy, if society be not entirely dissolved.* 
 
 We now proceed to lay before you, from both the 
 Old and the New Testaments, (for in this case I 
 
 ^^ See the preceding argumeot, page 109. 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 113 
 
 make no difference between them,) a summary view 
 
 of the tUgument in defence of the ri^ht of waging 
 
 \ war. We have in the bible, in vindication of this 
 
 ' maxim. Approved fads — Doctrines — Precepts andre- 
 
 i proofs — Promises and prayers. 
 
 First. Approved fads. The history of Abram, 
 of Moses, of Joshua, of the Judges, of the Kings, 
 and tlie Governors, affords such an abundance of in- 
 stances, in which war has been waged by Divine ap- 
 probation, and often at his express command, that 
 there is no need of specification. I do not, therefore, 
 take up your time with references and explications. 
 
 Second. Scripture doctrine inculcates the maxim. 
 I take my proof from the New Testament as well as 
 from the Old. Rom. xiii. 3, 4. ''For Ruleks are 
 not A TEKKOK to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou 
 then not be afraid of the power? For he is the mi- 
 NI^ PER OF God to thee for good. But if thou do that 
 which is evil, be afraid ; for he beareth not the 
 SWORD IN VAIN : for he is the minister of God, a re- 
 venger TO EXECUTE WRATH upou Mm that doeth evil. 
 
 I never, in the course of my reading, met with so 
 perfect a description of the nature, the duty, the pro- 
 vince, and the design of civil government, in so short 
 a compass, as we find in the first six verses of this 
 chapter. Without i eference to any particular coun- 
 try, but with a perfect applicability to all, the apos- 
 tle lays down the doctrine of civil sovereignty, accord- 
 ing to the christian law; and he affords another 
 
 15 
 
IH THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 evidente of a truth, which ought never to be forgot- 
 ten, by those who consider man in liis social charac- 
 ter, that the revealed will of God embraces the true 
 philosophy of government. Individual man derives 
 from God the right of self-government. Hence the 
 sacred origin of personal liberty. Man, in his col- 
 lective capacity, derives from God the right of go- 
 vernment j 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 
 God for good. His province is the protection of 
 virtue, and the suppression of evil. Rulers are not 
 a terror to good rvorkSy hut to the evil. In sup- 
 pressing evil, the national sovereignty is divinely 
 armed with vengeance — The minister of God a re- 
 venger to execute wrath. 
 
 These are not the words of a vain philosopher, 
 carelessly slumbering over ideal plans of reform. 
 They are words of truth. The idea of civil punish- 
 ment which they convey, differs entirely from the fa- 
 natical imaginations of deluded minds, and from the 
 pretended discoveries of infidel humanity. The 
 sword of the sovereign, is not merely disciplinary as 
 an instrument of reform; it is also for vengeance. 
 Punishment is not prospective, but retrospective. It 
 contemplates not so much the capability of improve- 
 ment, as the guilt of its subject. It is the connex- 
 ion established 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 jurispru- 
 dence, who has the idea yet to learn. 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 13 5 
 
 Now if the magistrate does not bear the sword in 
 vain, he must use it. It is put in his hand not for show, 
 but for execution. He is not decked in military ha- 
 biliments for mere parade. He puts on his armour, to 
 strike with terror the enemies of his country. God 
 gives him the right of waging war. He is the minis' 
 ter of God, attending continually on this very thing. 
 As a man, let him be meek, peaceful, and forgiving. 
 Lei every man, in his individual character, be hu- 
 mane, conciliating, patient of injury, slow to an- 
 ger. It is the law of Christ. It is strongly express- 
 ed, Matth.v. 39 — 41. I say unto you, that ye resist not 
 evil ; hut whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, 
 turn to him the other also. And if any man nill 
 sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him 
 have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel 
 thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 
 
 These precepts are not to be understood literally. 
 They only inculcate patience and forbearance upon 
 individuals ; but if they must be literally construed^ 
 there is an end to industry and social order. You 
 must leave your business, and go with the ruffian^ 
 without resistance, not only out of your way, whither 
 he would urge, but even twice as far. You must 
 not take out a defence at law against injustice : you 
 must not only allow a man to take from your door, 
 before your eyes, a part of your property ; but also 
 give him even more than he desired. You must put 
 an end to the rights of property, and pronounce the 
 law itself unchristian. You must not only bear 
 with personal assault; but aho encourage it by 
 
116 l-HE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 turning the other cheek to him that smites. You 
 must in nowise, by no means whatever, by gentle or 
 TJolent means, by persuasion, or by the law, resist ) 
 any evil that befalls you. 
 
 Who then is so blind as not to see the absurdity of 
 such a construction ? Who so childish as to use this 
 aro^ument against the rights of war ? We must adopt 
 a consistent plan of interpretation ; and recollect- that 
 the Author of the gospel, while he, in this passage, 
 urges upon individuals a forgiving disposition, lays 
 down in another passage, the duty of the national 
 represfntative, acting as his minister, to exercise 
 vengeance on the aggressor. He is a revenger to exe- 
 cute wrath* This is the doctrine of .Tesus Christ our 
 Lord. It is the Holy Ghost, the comforter of our 
 souls, that makes the declaration. He, who sancti- 
 fies and instructs true christians, hereby declares that 
 war is in certain cases lawful. 
 
 I might multiply quotations: but T only add in 
 this connexion, the words of Solomon. By wise 
 
 * EKhKot etg tpyvv- The word iK^iKOi is derived from txhx.ea, and 
 that Irorii tK and ^ix,>). It signifies an avenger. He, who says to 
 individuals in the preceding chap. Rom. xii. 1 9, 20. " Dearly be- 
 loved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: 
 for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will re[)ay, saith the Lord. 
 Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him 
 drink;" says, in this case, of the nalional sovereign, in his official 
 capacity, " he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute wrath." 
 If this distinction were kept in mind, there would be no room for 
 perverting scripture, constraining it to speak against the right ef 
 applying force for the correction of injury. ' 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 117-^ 
 
 counsel thou shall make thy war ;* the words of the 
 prophet, relative to the sons of Reuben and their aliies, 
 Theu cried to God in the battky and he was entreated 
 of them — there fell down many slaiiiy because the waK^ 
 was of God;\ and the words of Hezekiah, / have 
 counsel and strength for war.X 
 
 Third. Scripture precepts and reproof. God hath^ 
 commanded war in some instances to be waged; and, 
 hath reproved, in other cases, those wlio 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 itself indifferent^ 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,j 
 predicated upon mutable relations, wise and becom- - 
 ing". But he never recommends malevolence, iinpe-;^ 
 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, depend^ 
 upon circumstances. Homicide is innocent. The 
 execution of the guilty is a duty. Murder is a 
 
 ^ Pror. sxiv. 6. t 1 Chron. v. 20, 21. 
 
 X Isa. xxxtI. 5. 
 
118 THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 crime. Those who kill in a just war, are acting 
 under divine authority. It is what he commands. 
 Psalm cxlix. 6. Let the high praises of God be in their 
 mouthy and a two-edged sword in their hand; to exe- 
 cute vengeance upon the heathen^ and punishments upon 
 the people ; to hind their kings with chains, and their 
 nobles with fetters of iron. 
 
 The Lord reproves both cowardice and opposition \o 
 equitable warfare. That spirit of slavish cupidity, 
 which degrades men or nations, and disposes them 
 to prefer ignoble peace to manly warfare, as it u 
 base and pusillanimous, is also contemned by the 
 word of God, which always recommends every thing 
 that is truly great, magnanimous, and good. Gen. 
 xiv, 49. Issachar is a strong Ass, cotiching down he-- 
 tween two burdens: and he saw that rest was good, and 
 the land that it was pleasant ; and bowed his shoulder 
 to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. They 
 have grossly misrepresented Christianity, who have 
 described it as a system subservient to the ambition 
 of the feiv, and the reduction to servitude, of the 
 many. It administers reproof in a vehement tone, 
 to all, Avho, when duty called, refuse to co-operate in 
 the maintenance of right, by war. .Judges v. 19 — 23, 
 Zebuhm and Naphtali, were a people that jeoparded 
 their lives tinto the death, in the high places of the field. 
 The kings came and fought. Curse ye Meroz, {said 
 the angel of the Lord,) curse ye bitterly the inhabi- 
 tants thereof; because they came not to the help of 
 I he Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 119 
 
 I add, in the fourth place, the scriptures as- 
 sure us, that prayers are offered up for success in 
 war, and that the Lord who answers prayers, vouch- 
 safes to promise both a blessing and success. 
 
 I speak not, however, of the prayers, which Eras- 
 tian power prescribes for the ministers kept in the 
 pay of princes. I speak not of petitions mis- 
 chievously granted or withheld, in order to gratify 
 the mere party politician. I speak of the prayers 
 of the intelligent believer; of the single-hearted chris- 
 tian ; of him, who, iminfluenced by sordid consider- 
 ations, pours out the desires of his soul to God, for 
 a righteous cause, and for success to the means em- 
 ployed to secure its triumph. To such the Lord 
 hath promised the victory, in a legitimate contest 
 with the sword. Lev. xxvi. 7. Ye shall chase your 
 enemieSy and they shall fall before you by the sword. 
 2 Kings iii. 18, 19. He will deliver the Moabites also 
 into your hand : and ye shall smite every fenced city. 
 Psalm xciv. 1, 2. O Lord, to rvhom vengeance belong- 
 eth — show thyself Lift up thyself thou Judge of the 
 earth, render a reward to the proud. Verses 20, 23. 
 Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship ivith thee, 
 which frameth mischief by a law 1 The Lord our 
 God shall cut them off. Psalm xliv. 4, 5. O Lord, 
 command deliverance — through thee we shall push down 
 our enemies. 
 
 I have trespassed, sufficiently, upon your patience, 
 in arguing a case clear enough, without the aid of 
 special pleading. The objections, which are usually 
 
l&J TliK LAWFOL.MlSS of 
 
 made to tlie leoitimacy of wai', in any cause, I 
 bave already anticipated, so far as they appeared to 
 ine to require examination. INo 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 shall learn its arts no more ; 
 but I cannot admit that the relij^ion 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. 
 I plead in behalf only, of 
 
 if. Defensive Warfare, 
 
 In the 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 the 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 t^ufler 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 ])iinciple the martyrs acted, taking joyfulhj 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- 
 out resistance, because resistance would have only 
 augmented the measure of their pains. This was 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 121 
 
 light. It is what was required of tlicm by tlieir 
 God. 
 
 There is, indeed, an exception, in extraordinary 
 cases, to the application of this rule. When the 
 Lord expressly enjoins resistance, should it be only 
 by a few or even by a single hand against a 
 whole nation, man must of right obey; because, 
 however improbable success may be ; obedience to 
 lieaven is the first duty. He, too, who gives the 
 commandment, is himself able to make obedience 
 successful. This was repeatedly exemplified in the 
 history of Joshua, the Judges, and the Kings of 
 Israel. The walls of Jericho fell at the blast of 
 the trumpet.^ Before Gideon and a company of 
 three hundred men, the hosts of Midian were put 
 to flight,! and Elijah the prophet successfully 
 resisted the armed companies of the king of Sama- 
 rta.t 
 
 These, however, were extraordinary events, and 
 do not constitute, in the common proceedings of 
 life, a rule of conduct in undertaking war. It is 
 in those cases, in which the issue of the contest 
 may appear doubtful, that prudence selects the op- 
 portunity, and courage is displayed in turning it to 
 the best advantage. It is manifest, notwithstanding, 
 that whatever cause of war exists, it ought not to 
 be waged without a rational propect of success. 
 
 * Josh. vi. 20. f Judges vii. 22. 
 
 I 2 Kings i. 12. 
 16 
 
122 THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 This is the command of ray text ; and it is the 
 direction of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. What 
 king going to make ivar against another king, sittetk 
 not donmjirsfy and consvlteth, whether he be able with 
 ten thousand^ to meet him that cometh against him with 
 twenty thousand ? or elsCy while the other is yet a great 
 way offy he sendeth an ambassage, 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 the strife with- 
 out a prospect of success, 1 proceed to explain whal 
 is meant by 
 
 Defensive War. 
 
 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 those 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 
 lo which so much importance is attached. This is 
 the more necessary, because, while the words are on 
 
 * Luke xiv. 31,32. 
 
UEFENSIVE War. 223 
 
 the lips 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 intercourse of social life — in the lialls of legis- 
 lation — and even in the pulpits of the churclies, to 
 play upon the terms, to increase their obscurity, 
 and to give to them a meaning as erroneous as it is 
 injurious, to the interests of this empire. 
 
 The expression, defensive war, is somewhat eqidvo- 
 j «fl/. I explain myself by a reference to the courts of 
 law. When I apply to cfc/bzcc the term righteousness, 
 J and to offenccy 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. 
 But v;hen the suit is commenced, the offender be- 
 comes instantly, in law pluaseology, the defendant, 
 and you are the plaintiff at the bar. It by no means 
 follows, 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, 
 ©f a counsel, of a jury, who Avould play upon the 
 terms, defensive and offensive, and upon that use of 
 a law expression, proclaim you in the wrong? 
 
124 THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 The trulli is, that in applying upon moral princi- 
 ples, the epithet defensivey you must liave recourse to 
 the nature of the cause in contraversy ; and consi- 
 der the original aggressor as the offender. You are, 
 in for conscieniiiVy still the defendant, although he is, 
 uiforo legis, called by that name. 
 
 Suppose a nation, resting in tlie bosom of peace, is 
 suddenly attacked by another; and one of its cities is 
 taken, fortified, and garrisoned by the enemy. The 
 oliended 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. Perliaps he makes a very he- 
 roic defence. But is it this siege that gives to the 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 tlierefore the defendant ; 
 would you believe him, and denominate tlie contest, 
 upon his part defensive and just / Supposing again, 
 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- 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 125 
 
 my's own territory, with design both to make repri- 
 sals, which he might occupy as an equivalent, and to 
 draw off the forces of that enemy from the position 
 which he occupied, thereby transferring the war, 
 with all its concomitant calamities, into the country 
 of the original aggressor; I ask, would this transfer 
 alter the moral character of the contest, and afford 
 to the enemy a plea, that he is the righteous de- 
 fendant f These questions must, by every man of 
 sense, be answered in the negative. It follows, of 
 course, that a play upon the words offensive 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. 
 
 I The character of the ivar does not, in any case, 
 depend upon the date of a declaration, or upon the 
 jylace in rvhich 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 if it be right to wage it, surely it cannot be 
 wrong to proclaim the intention, and explain to the 
 civilized world the reasons for having recourse to 
 arms. Declarations do not, according to the law of 
 
110 THE laavfi;lne?s Ul' 
 
 nations, make the war, but explain its causes.* It' 
 one nation should injure another, or march an army 
 in order to subjugate an independent people, must 
 that nation, so injured, invaded, and threatened, be 
 considered as the offender, because the first in de- 
 claring war? No. It of course follows, that the dale 
 of the declaration of war, does nothing towards deter- 
 mining its moral character as offensive or defensive. 
 
 2. It does not depend upon the place of cotnbat, 
 whether the war be, in fact, defensive. 
 
 The idea which 1 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- 
 cussion, 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 favour of the 
 aggressor in war, for the exemption of his own pro- 
 vinces from its calamities. The nation is one, how- 
 ever numerous its members, and the offender may be 
 
 * " Ut hellwn legitimum sit indiciionem belli non videri necessa- 
 riamJ''' C. V. Bvnkershock. 
 
 " The universal la^Y of nations acknowledges uo general obliga- 
 tion of making a (Icclaralion of war to the enemy, previous to a 
 commencement of hostilities/' Martens, BookVlIl. 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 parly 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 (o manifest to all other states, the justice of tho 
 CBDse." WiTHEaspooN-s Moral Philosophy, Lcc. Xlll. Sec. Q.. 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 127 
 
 stricken in the most vulnerable part, whether upon 
 his coasts, in his colonies, or in his capital. If the 
 cause of war is sustained, Great Britain never can 
 be accused of injustice for the invasion o^ Spain and 
 France, nor her allies on the continent, for marching 
 to Paris, The plea is as absurd as it is novel, that 
 unoffending provinces ought not to be invaded ; the 
 sailor, the soldier, the merchant, and the tenant, are 
 personally considered equally inoffensive ; and for 
 the same reason, none should be troubled in the con- 
 test : the war may be waged, but upon no person 
 whatever, except the sovereign. Who is so igno- 
 rant as not to know that the sovereign is guarded, 
 and unassailable but through his forces, and his 
 country? Who so blind as not to see that war is 
 waged against the nation as a body politic, and of 
 course, so far as the end of war can be promoted 
 thereby, against every member of that body. It is 
 not the member attacked, but the nature of the con- 
 test; it is not the place of the battle, but the cause 
 in controversy, that determines the moral character 
 of an existing war. 
 
 My definition of defensive war is. The applicaiion 
 of force hy one commonwealth to another, for the pur- 
 pose of preventing or redressing actual injuries inflict- 
 ed or about to he irtflicted. 
 
 As to the equity of the war, little depends upon the 
 magnitude of the injury. This consideration will of 
 course determine its expediency. If the evil inflict- 
 ed be small, there is less excuse, upon the part of 
 
5f$ THE LAWFULNESS OI' 
 
 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, proTided it be a 
 violation of right. It is for the ofiended 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 hostilites; and actions, which amount to 
 a declaration, give the same right. M»f:'» o'ffr 'r 
 
 In such an important inquiry as this, I 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 on 
 public law, and moral philosophy; and I shall then 
 direct you to the bible, in order to put the question 
 at rest. 
 
 '1. The Authority of Writers on Public 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 the 
 national rights are in fact invaded, they may be de- 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 12^ 
 
 fended by the sword — this is resistance : and after a 
 people have suffered injustice, they may declare war 
 to recover an equivalent to their loss — this is redress' 
 and all these are considered as defensive war. The 
 rights, for the vindication of which it is proper to 
 contend with the sword, are capable of being reduced 
 under three heads — Libekty — Pkopehty — and Na- 
 tional Honour. War in vindication of any of these 
 rights, is legitimate according to the maxims of pub- 
 lic law. I give you my authorities. 
 
 " There are causes for which we undertake w^ar by 
 the conduct of nature, as in the cause of defence — 
 Because the law of nature is violated, w ar is under- 
 taken. There is a threefold defence, ntcessary^ 
 profitable, and honest; yet we shall deem them all 
 necessary. This defence is necessary, against whom 
 an armed enemy comes — I call that a profitahle de- 
 fence, when we move war, fearing lest we ourselves 
 should be w^arred 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, De jure belli et pacis. 
 
 "War is offensive on the part of the sovereign 
 who commits the first act of violence. It is defen- 
 live upon the part of him who receives the first act 
 of violence. Nothing short of the violation of a 
 perfect right, either committed^ commuting^ or with 
 which a nation is threatened in future, can justify the 
 undertaking of a war: on the other hand, euery such 
 nolafioiiy -when proved, and. when amicable meant' 
 
 17 
 
*30 THE I-AWFULNES3 OF 
 
 have been tried in vain, or when it is evident that it 
 would be useless to try such means, justifies the in- 
 jured parti/ in resorting to arms'' Martens, Booh 
 VIII, a 2. Sec. 2, 3. 
 
 " The objects of just war, are precaution, defence, 
 or reparation. In a larger sense, every just war is 
 A DEFENSIVE WAR, iuasmuch as every just war sup- 
 poses an injury perpetrated, attempted, or feared.'' 
 Paley's 3Ioral Phil. C. 12. 
 
 " The causes of commencing war, are the viola- 
 tion OF ANY perfect RKiHT — as taking away the 
 properly of the other state, or the lives of its subjects, 
 or restraining them in their industry, or hindering 
 them in the use of things common. The preservation 
 of our property implies, that if others take such 
 measures as are not to be accounted for, but upon 
 the supposition of an intention of wronging me, it is 
 often easier and safer to prevent and disarm the rob- 
 ber, than to suffer him to commit the violence." 
 Witherspoon's 31or. Phil. Lee. 13, 
 
 I might easily multiply testimonies, should it be 
 deemed necessary ; but I forbear. There is not one 
 writer upon public law, who would venture his re- 
 putation befoic the world, by denying the principles 
 of legitimate war, which I have stated. And it worst 
 of all becomes the apologists of that nation, with 
 which this republic is now at war, (a nation which is 
 itself scarcely ever at peace with its neighbours,) to 
 refuse their assent to the doctrine here laid down. 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 13J 
 
 If it be criminal to defend by the sword, the rights 
 which have been mentioned, no excuse whatever re- 
 mains for the mistress of the ocean, as her votaries 
 denominate the empire of Great Britain. 
 
 Addressing myself to christians, however, in the 
 name of the Author of religion, I draw, from the 
 rule and the instructions of my embassy, the most 
 conclusive arguments. 
 
 2. The Testimony of the Bible. 
 
 We refer you only to three historical facts. They 
 have the sanction of his authority who is alone Lord of 
 the conscience. They serve to show that war is law- 
 ful when waged in defence of lihtrty^ whether civil 
 or religious — in defence of property — or in defence 
 of national honour and independence.^ 
 
 * In the history oi' the sufferings of the Rev. Alexander Shields, 
 written by himself, an account rs given of his examination before 
 the privy council, and the justiciary of Scotland, in the rt;ign of 
 James II. where he argued the justness of defensive war. IMie 
 same doctrine was afterwards vindicated in his dispute uilh the 
 Bishops, to whom he was referred. 
 
 He maintained his principles with great force and co[)iousnf53 of 
 argument. 1. From the law of nature. 2. From the practice of 
 iiations. 3. From the scri|)ture3. He under the third head, par- 
 ticularly insists upon the love of liberty, which christianily inspire.s 
 and cultivates, as exemplified, 1. In the 7vars of defence against ty- 
 •ranay, which the saints waged; and, 2. Which revelation sunclions. 
 
 I. He gives eight historical instances of the practice of the Lord's 
 people in dtfcnsive ivar : viz. The Maccabees — The Eohemians — 
 The Waldenses — The German Protestants — The Holianders— 
 The French H'j?uenoU — The Poles — And llie Scotihh Reform- 
 
132 THE LAWFULKEbS OI- 
 
 I. The Patriarch Abraham waged war for the re- 
 covery of connexions taken captive, and of property 
 illegally seized. This is the first instance of war- 
 fare recorded in the scriptures. The narrative is 
 given by the prophet Moses, Gen. xiv. That it is 
 an instance of lawful war, is evident, not only from 
 the equity of the cause, but also from the character 
 of the friend of God, Abraham, the father of the 
 faithful ; from the success given to his enterprise as 
 a blessing from the Lord ; and from the benediction 
 passed upon him by Melchizedek, who received, as 
 the priest of the Most High God, tithes of all that 
 he had when he returned home in triumph. Verses 
 18, 20. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth 
 bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most 
 High God. Anel he blessed him, and said, blessed 
 
 ers. He proves licyond a doubt, that wherever Irue religion pre- 
 vailed, there was a spirit of resistance to despotic power. 
 
 II. From scripture he presents five conchisive argument?. 1. 
 Approved Exainpksy of winch he adduces fiflecn from Abralimn (o 
 Esther and Mordccai. 2. Scripture reproofs for passive cbetlience 
 and non-resistance, of which he adduces two, Jacob's prophecy, and 
 (he song of Deborah. 3. Scripture promises to valour in lawful 
 war, of which he enforces fourteen instances taken from the Old 
 and New Testament. 4. Scri[i\uTe precepts for resisting injury with 
 the sword. Of these he jtroduces seven examples. 5. Scripture 
 prayers for war and for victory, of which he gives five couclusive 
 instances. 
 
 Thus did he vindicate the lawfulnoss of resistance, to ihe arbi- 
 trary and Erastian power, exercised by the throne of Britain over 
 its own subjects; thus did Mr. Shields defend the practice of tliose 
 Eufliring christian?, who were attached to the reformation interest 
 in Scoliand, and wiio, on account of their love of liL,erfy and 
 righteousness, had the name of Whiks first applied to them, by the 
 idrocatt'3 or ovbi^rar}' p'^rvor in chtircb and in state. 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 133 
 
 be Abram — and blessed be the Most High God which 
 hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. 
 
 The origin of this war, for undertaking which God 
 blefesed Abram, was as follows. Five confederated 
 princes, in the neighbourhood of Sodom, where Lot 
 the nephew of Abram lived, had been reduced un- 
 der tribute to Chedorlaomcr king of Elam, and served 
 him twelve years. In the thirteenth year they rebel- 
 led. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, 
 with three other princes as his allies, to crush the said 
 rebellion. The four allied monarchs succeeded in 
 conquering their five confederated enemies. Their 
 cities were plundered ; the citizens were taken cap- 
 tive; and Xo^ was among the number of the prison- 
 ers. When Abram heard this, he armed his three 
 hundred and eighteen servants, and assisted by three 
 neighbouring princes, Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, who 
 acted as his auxiliaries, he pursued the victorious 
 foe, returning with his booty to his ovr^n land. The 
 distance they had to go from ihe plains of Jordan to 
 Elam and Shinar, to Chaldea and Persia, was 
 great. Abram overtook them, and defeated them at 
 Dan, but he found it necessary to carry on the pur- 
 suit, far beyond the bounds of Palestine to the neigh- 
 bourhood of Damascus, 
 
 Here then, is a war carried on, beyond the 
 limits of their own territory, by Abram and his al- 
 lies ; and that for the recovery of their friends who 
 were taken prisoners, and in order to rescue from 
 the enemy the spoils of Sodom and the other citie': 
 
134 THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 of the plain. It was a defensive war, waged for f«- 
 dress of injury received — waged in behalf of liberty, 
 and for personal property captured by another power. 
 Abraham's conscience was too enlightened, and tlie 
 spirit of his troops too courageous, to invent pre- 
 tended scruples about geographical boundaries; their 
 sense of personal liberty was too keen and honour- 
 able, to think of expense and danger, when their 
 friends and their countrymen were taken away by 
 force from their employments and their homes. It 
 remained for a people of a diffierent spirit from that 
 which influenced the father of the faithfuly to call in 
 C|uestion, the legitimacy of making war, beyond the 
 limits of their own country, for the purpose of reco- 
 vering property unjustly captured, and for releasing 
 their fellow-citizens held in bondage. 
 
 2. Gideon, by the command of bis God, waged war 
 *igainst Midian, in order to recover the liberties of 
 Israel, as well as the enjoyment of the fruits of their in- 
 dustry. The history is found in .Judges, Chap. vi. and 
 viii. It appears that the Blidianiles and the Amalck- 
 iles took possession of the fields of Palestine, and 
 banished from the farms which they had formerly 
 cultivated, the tenants of the soil. Those who were 
 permitted to remain in their possessions, had to hide 
 their sheaves when reaped, and to thresh their corn 
 in secret, lest they should become a prey. Such an " 
 uncertain tenure of property was a great vexation. 
 Frequent spoliations constituted an injury which re- 
 quired an appeal to arms for resistance and redress. 
 The Lord God directed that hostilities be forthwith 
 
DEFEXblTE WAR. 135 
 
 eommenced. Gideon obeyed ; and he delivered his 
 country. The war was undertaken, principally, in 
 defence oi property, for obtaining and enjoying which 
 liberty is essentially necessary. The Israelites, rous- 
 ed to action by the divine blessing, and led on to 
 battle by the son of Joash, pursued the enemy be- 
 yond the Jordan^ to the cities at the head of Arnon. 
 Regarding the cause in which they were engaged, 
 they thought not of limiting their defence by an 
 imaginary line, until the end for which they took 
 up arms was accomplished. They had to find and 
 fight an enemy ; and they had no objection to meet 
 him on his own territory. Gideon went up on the 
 east of Nohah, learning that Zcha and Zalmunna 
 were in Karkor. He put them to flight; pushed 
 the victory; overtook the two kings; made them 
 prisoners, and returned in triumpli to his own coun- 
 try. 
 
 3. The last instance to which I shall refer you, is 
 s^elected from the history of the son of Jesse, 
 
 The narrative is found in 1 Chron. xix. and in 
 2 Sam. X. The case is as follows: Nahash, king 
 of the Ammonites, had shown friendship to Da- 
 vid before he mounted the throne of Israel ; and at 
 his death, David sent ambassadors to pay his respects 
 to Hanun his son and successor. The young king, 
 influenced by the evil advice of his courtiers, insulted 
 these ambassadors, by shaving ofl* their beards, and 
 disfiguring their garments. David heard of this, and 
 indignant at the insult, prohibited the return of his 
 
J3ti 'iHt; LA\vy^JL^'ESS or- 
 
 servants to the capital, until the reproach should be 
 wiped away. Tarry at Jericho until your beards be 
 grown. The children of Ammon understood the 
 character of the king of Israel too well, to imagine, 
 that he >vould put up with the indignity thus showed 
 to his crown, in the persons of his public servants : 
 and they accordingly made immediate preparation to 
 meet the necessary consequences. They saw that 
 they made themselves odious to David j and they called 
 iipon their numerous allies to come to their as- 
 sistance. An army is collected to defend the land of 
 Moab; and they encamp before the gates of their 
 own principal frontier city, Medeba. In the mean 
 lime David was neither idle nor terrified. He or- 
 dered Joah, at the head of his army, to march to the 
 contest. The order was obeyed. The enemy was 
 attacked in his own country; and, before the gates 
 of 3Iedeba, the Syrians and Ammonites, although 
 acting upon the defensive, were routed by the in- 
 vading armies of Israel. The Syrians rallied, being 
 reinforced from beyond the Euphrates. After retiring 
 to Helam, Hadarezer^ their king, waited there, until 
 David with the Israelitish militia came and gave him 
 battle. This second victory put an end to the Sy- 
 rian war. Joab continued his success against the 
 Ammonites, until having taken their capital, Rabbah, 
 by storm, they also yielded to the conqueror. 
 
 This narrative explains the doctrine of legitimate 
 warfare, and confirms, completely, what I have al- 
 ready said, in defining defensive war. Actual war 
 was first commenced by David, and it was com- 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 1^7' 
 
 luenced too bieyond tfie lirie of His own terriibrJ^V It ' 
 was prosecuted, moreover, against both the Am- 
 monites and the Syrians, in their own country, until 
 Rahhah was totally demolished, and the Syrians 
 forced to submit to an Israelitish garrison established 
 in Damascus. 
 
 li is not the time of declaring war, or of making 
 the attack, nor is it i\\Q place in which the war is car- 
 ried on, that determines its character. In every in- 
 stance, except in giving ihe^ first offence^ the Ammon- 
 ites in this war acted upon the defensive. They 
 never left their own country. They defended their 
 own cities and their own firesides : but Israel came 
 upon them, fought them, and subdued them. Still, 
 however, this was, upon the part of Ammon, an of- 
 fensive ivaVy and on the part of David, a defensive war. 
 The honour of his crown was affected by the indig- 
 nity done to his ambassadors; and rather than be 
 constrained to make suitable atonement, the Am- 
 monites called their allies to their aid, and prepared 
 for resistance. The king of Israel was a man of 
 sense, a man of spirit, and a man of piety. He was 
 too much of a soldier, a moralist, and a statesman, to 
 say or to think, after he had first received the inju- 
 ry, that a war in defence of the honour and indepen- ' 
 dency of' his country, ought not to commence upon 
 bis 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 
 for his armies, while besieging the cities of the Am- 
 
 f4 
 
 1 
 
138 THE LAWFULNESS Oi' 
 
 raonites, as sincerely, as acceptably to God, as if 
 petitions were ofTered for Israel besieged by an ene- 
 my at the gates of Jerusalem. It is the cause of 
 war that determines its morality ; and David did not 
 enter upon the bloody strife without a cause. He 
 lived in a martial age. However much disposed to 
 peace himself, the welfare of his people required the 
 preservation of their independence. Of this there 
 was little probability unless they were prepared for 
 vindicating 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 pusillanimity be- 
 come a byword. He chose the better part. He 
 waged war to punish the insolence of Hanwiy 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 David order Joab to 
 the baltle? Because the enemy were preparing to give 
 battle to him, Yery well. This, 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 invader, 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 WAR. 139 
 
 did they call upon the Syrians to help them ? Why 
 did they encamp before Medeba ? They knew they 
 were guilty. Tliey knew they deserved punishment. 
 They knew David had magnanimity. They knew 
 him better than you appear to do. They expected 
 vengeance from the minister of God. They pre- 
 pared for resistance. They saw that they had made 
 themselves odious — that they stank before David. And 
 we all know, that they received adequate punish- 
 ment for their offences. 
 
 I have done. I have laid down the doctrine of 
 legitimate warfare, from the writers on public law,* 
 and from the word of God. I have only to add, 
 
 * M. de Vattel admits the legitimacy of offensive war. But in 
 5iis definitioa of it, he means 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 in 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 from 
 an injury, by repelling an unjust violence. Tlie two first are the ob- 
 jects of aa offensive, the third, that of a defensive war. Camillus, 
 when he was going to attack the Gauls, concisely represented to 
 his soldiers all the causes which can justify a war : omnia gux dc- 
 fendi, repetique, ct idcisci,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 hy 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 contest determines its morality : and 
 Ibis is the principle which I wish to establish. 
 
140 THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 III. When a nation is engaged in a lawful war, it 
 is the duty of all to afford it their support. 
 
 This part of my discourse does not require much 
 proof or illustration. Its truth will be generally ad- 
 mitted. The usual way of opposing belligerent 
 measures, is b)^ calling in question the necessity, or 
 expediency, of having recourse to them ; and this 
 apology for opposition seems to acknowledge, that if 
 war is necessary and equitable, it ought to be waged 
 with the undivided force of the empire. Under ab- 
 solute governments there is no examination of the 
 character of any Avar necessary upon the part of the 
 subject : he must obey ; he is forced to give support 
 to the contest in which his king is embarked. It is 
 only in states, which are in some degree free, that 
 there is need or use for argument ; because in them 
 only is the reason of the subject called to exercise. 
 It is in a free country, too, that the citizens should 
 best understand the moral character of war, and 
 when lawful, bestow upon it their most decided sup- 
 port. Such a war is their own. However diversi- 
 fied the pursuits, the interests, and the opinions of 
 the men who constitute a free and well-regulated 
 comjnonwealth, there is no propriety in their being 
 divided upon a question which respects resistance to 
 foreign aggression. Subjects of local concern may 
 be variously discussed, and perfect unanimity at the 
 same time be displayed against the common foe. It 
 may not suit the taste of every one to repair to the 
 camp, and take an active part even in the most just 
 
DEFENSITE WAR. Jl^-li 
 
 war : nor is there any necessity for this. In some 
 cases it would be innproper to relinquish other du- 
 ties, and seize the sword of defence itself. Nay, it 
 is possible, that in a just war, those who conduct it, 
 may order what it would be criminal to perform, and 
 may impose conditions of service with which it 
 would not be lawful to comply. These and other 
 accidental evils may be examined, reproved, resisted, 
 and corrected, and yet the cause of war sustained, 
 and the ends of the war prosecuted, by the whole 
 community. 
 
 That it is criminal not to support a. just war, 1 ar- 
 !gue in the following manner. Such a course of con- 
 duct, Promotes the injustice of the enemy — Prolongs the 
 war, with all its concomitant evils — and is Prohibited 
 hy the Lord. 
 
 1. It promotes the injustice of the enemy. Silence, 
 signs, words, and actions — whatsoever, in its place, 
 tends to prevent exertion in obtaining redress for in- 
 jury, encourages the spirit which inflicted the inju- 
 ry, and so promotes the claims of injustice. When 
 war is commenced, the contest is of course for victo- 
 ry. He, who desires that victory should avenge in- 
 jury, and vindicate equity, will be at no loss to say 
 to which side his affections incline. Every man in a 
 free state is of some value. His opinions and his 
 words have some influence. They ought always to 
 be on the side of equity : and if our affections in- 
 cline to those who wage a defensive war, we so far 
 promote the good of human society. Never should 
 
lit THE L.UV FULNESS OF 
 
 the christian, under any pretence whatever, speak or 
 act so as to encourage offence against the rights of 
 society ; so as to encourage the injustice of the foe, 
 or to prevent the due execution of punishment upon 
 the aggressor by the forces employed by an injured 
 nation. Whether he engage in hostilities or not, 
 every part of his deportment, and especially his 
 prayers, should unequivocally promote the success of 
 the legitimate side of the question. 
 
 2. Those, who withhold their support from the war 
 in which their country is engaged, do what tends to 
 prolong the evil. 
 
 When appeal is once made to the law of force, the 
 parties, if they do not cease to reason, employ dis- 
 cussion only as an auxiliary to the sword. It then 
 becomes a contest for victory. The aggressor, influ- 
 enced originally by principles of injustice, is not 
 likely to be corrected by his own success. The his- 
 tory of nations affords no instance of claims, which 
 occasioned war, being relinquished by the offending 
 party, merely because the resistance of the other 
 was feeble. When a people are divided, they offer 
 themselves an easy prey to the aggressor; and even, 
 if they should untimately succeed in redressing the 
 evil, their weakness and discord certainly prolongs 
 the contest. A protracted warfare, 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. With the work of death none 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 14.*J 
 
 should trifle. It is ruinous — It is cruel to prolong, 
 unnecessarily, even a war of defence. In so far as 
 any member of the community, in public or in pri- 
 vate, distracts the councils, or impedes the progress 
 of those who conduct the war, he evidently prolongs 
 the contest, and does what he can to prevent the re- 
 turn of peace. So far the guilt of a protracted war- 
 fare is chargeable upon him. It is, indeed, an evi- 
 dence of the displeasure of the Deity, when a people, 
 instead of unanimously co-operating for punishing 
 the aggressor, are so divided and enfeebled as to 
 prolong, for years, a contest which might be brought 
 to a successful issue, almost immediately after its 
 commencement. The man who withholds his sup- 
 port in such a case, is the enemy of peace : he loves 
 his party more than he does his country, more than 
 he does honour, and justice; more even than hu- 
 manity, or his own interest connected with the re- 
 turn of peace, who strives, for the sake of party, t® 
 enfeeble the arm of authority, to withhold the ne- 
 cessary resources, and to discourage the soldier. 
 
 3. The Lord of the universe^ who is also the God 
 of battles, reproves those, who withhold from their 
 country their support in a lawful war. 
 
 If the terms upon which your country offers 
 friendship and peace to the enemy be reciprocal and 
 just, you are wrong to discourage your country, and 
 so encourage the foe. If in your conscience you 
 believe the terms offered to be just, you are self-con- 
 demned if you do not support your coimtry in thft 
 
144 THE LAWFULNESS OF 
 
 contest. The immoral and irreligious tendency of 
 war; its pains, its losses, and its dangers, proclaim the 
 duty of having done with it as soon as possible. It 
 is criminal to protract it ; and of course, it is disi* 
 pleasing to the Deity not to push it vigorously- 
 to an end. 
 
 He is a God of justice and of truth. He will have 
 us to judge righteous judgment. He commands us 
 to love the truth and the peace ; and to promote the 
 knowledge and the practice of equity. Therefore 
 he reproves those who do not support an equitable 
 war, as the cause of God, the Supreme Judge. 
 Judges V. 23. Curse ye Mtros, (said the angel of the 
 Lord) curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof: because 
 they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the 
 Lord against the mighty, ^ 
 
 The part of Jewish history, in which this reproof 
 is found, asserts the sovereignty of God, and places 
 the female character in a striking light. The words 
 quoted are used in the song of Deborah, the wife of 
 Lapidoth, who by an extraordinary providence was 
 raised up to the rank and the office of judge in the"^ 
 commonwealth of Israel. In the song itself, wc:* 
 have an instance of female genius, under the influ-^ 
 ence of divine inspiration, and glowing with poetic ar-^ 
 dour, patriotism, and prowess. The prophetess ap- 
 pears, " giving breath to the trumpet of war," rousing 
 the spirit of her slumbering cotemporaries, and di- 
 recting " the embattled host" to contend for the li- 
 berty of her much injured country, to conquer, and 
 
DEFENSIVE WAR. 145 
 
 to tiiumph. The eighty years of peace and pros- 
 perity, with which the tribes of Jacob had been fa- 
 voured, after the death of Eglon king of Moab their 
 persecutor, had enervated that people, and so occa-'' 
 sioned their ignoble submission to the tyrannical 
 encroachments of J«6m the Canaanitish king. Twen- 
 ty years did this neighbouring despot insult the Is- 
 raelitish commonwealth, and peculiarly vex and op-r 
 press the tribes of Zehulun and Naphtali. Sisera, 
 the captain of his host, was one of the most able and 
 distinguished warriors of the age, and had at his com- 
 mand an armament well arranged, and consequently 
 formidable to a people who loved the arts of peace. 
 The people of Israel, besides, separated into twelve 
 distinct and independent principalities, and having 
 no standing army to fight their battles, were not ea- 
 sily brought to co-operate so as unanimously to pour 
 forth their militia, the only forces of the nation, in 
 order lo chastise aggression. 
 
 Under these circumstances a female appeared des- 
 tined of the Lord to deliver her country from de- 
 struction, from insult, and from injury. Awakened, 
 by present oppression, Deborah relinquished her 
 ease and retirement under the palms of Mount 
 Ephraim, and summoned along with her to the field of 
 blood Barak the son of Abinoam, at the head of ten 
 thousand undisciplined volunteers, to contend for 
 empire with veteran troops supported by nine hun- 
 dred chariots of iron. Barak was victorious. Sisera 
 fell. Israel was delivered. Peace was restored. 
 Tho^e M'Jbip^upported the war, <Snd waged it to a suc- 
 
 10 
 
34:0 (joKCLUSiois. 
 
 cessfiil issue, are praised of the Lord ; and they who. 
 refused their co-operation, are placed by the pro- 
 phetess under a divine malediction. 
 
 Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Issachar, these tribes 
 that maintained the war, are commended. Reuben, 
 split into factions by party spirit, occasioned lamen- 
 tations in Israel — For the divisions of Reuben there 
 were great searchings of heart. Two of the tribes 
 were remarkable for their power and patriotism — 
 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people who jeoparded 
 their lives unto the death in the high places of the 
 field. Upon Meros, who entirely withheld her sup- 
 port, when the cause of her country prohibited neu- 
 trality — upon Meroz fell the curse of God. 
 
 THE CONCLUSION 
 
 From these premises is obvious to all my hearers. 
 When your country is at war in defence of hei 
 rights, it is your duty to encourage, by all lawful 
 means, her exertions in the strife. It is criminal 
 to diminish her strength, or impede her progress.! 
 To tiiis principle I would call your notice from the 
 pulpit, while our friends and our brethren front 
 the adjacent country are assembled around our city, 
 to defend it from attack : while those among our 
 fellow-worshippers in this house, who are fit to bear 
 arms, are practising in the field the arts of defensive 
 warfare : while all ranks and classes of our fellow- 
 citizens are employing their hands and their money 
 in raising bulwarks on every assailable point, to 
 
CONCLUSION. 147 
 
 protect our homes and our places of public worship, 
 lei us accompany them Avith our wishes and our 
 prayers, lest we become an enslaved people. 
 
 Far be it from me to take advantage of the gene- 
 ral alarm, to impel you to a forgetfulness of the 
 duties which you owe to yourselves, to truth, and 
 to your country, relative to those who have been 
 entrusted, by the suffrages of a free people, to ad- 
 minister their government ; to make, to apply, and 
 to execute the laws. Examine, yes, examine, with 
 rigorous impartiality, their character and their acts : 
 speak out; blame them when they do wrong: But 
 forget not your country. Unite in her defence — in 
 defence of her injured rights. Support those who 
 wield the sword, and who direct its application — 
 support them Avith the means necessary to convince 
 the enemy that, whatever may be the doniestic 
 strife for influence, for place, and for pov\er, in re- 
 gard to those w^ho have taken your friends, and your 
 fellow-citizens into captivity, who have interrupted 
 and despoiled your trade upon the ocean, who have 
 violated your neutrality, and who lay claim to 
 your soil, — in regard to them, convince the enemy, 
 convince your own rulers, and the whole world, that 
 you have but one mind. Defensive war is lawful — 
 a brave people have the prospect of success — and 
 a moral people will prosecute the contest to a suc- 
 cessful termination. — Amen. 
 
THE PRESENT WAK, 
 
 SERMON TV. 
 With good advice make war. Pro v. xx. 18. 
 
 A HE principles of this proverb 1 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 judge 
 fairly of the correctness of their application to the 
 present war, I repeat the principles argued in the 
 preceding sermon upon the same text. 
 
 War is in some cases moral. 
 
 Reason and Revelation prove this. 
 
 War, in defence of property, liberty, and na- 
 tional INDEPENDENCE AND HONOUR, IS LAWFUL : AND 
 
150 THE I'RESEKT WAK. 
 
 DEFENSIVE WAR MAY BE FOR PRECAUTION, RESISTANCE, 
 OR REDRESS. 
 
 Common Sense — Writers on Public Law — and the 
 Word of God, prove this. The cases of Abram, Gi- 
 deon, and Davids furnish examples in illustration. 
 
 Support ought to be given to a just war. 
 
 A sense of Justice — the love of Peace — and the Sa- 
 cred Scriptures, prove this assertion. It is illustrated 
 by the inspired Song of Deborah. 
 
 Should any of my hearers, anticipating the appli- 
 cation which I would make of these principles to the 
 American side of the present war, either express a 
 doubt of their correctness, or deny their truth, I 
 have not entirely lost my object. I take you at 
 your option. However you may be disposed to con- 
 sider your own country as the 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 the 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 151 
 
 malevolent passions ; and it encourages and strength- 
 ens the vicious passions from which it flows. It ar- 
 rests the progress of improvement in society. It 
 impoverishes countries; and lays waste the cities of 
 the nations. It exposes to temptations, and cor- 
 rupts the youth. It exposes to danger and to death. 
 It hurries into eternity, in an unprepared state, thou- 
 sands of our thoughtless fellow-sinners, who might 
 otherwise have had time and space of repentance. If 
 it be entirely unlawful, it must of course be the 
 greatest of crimes 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 
 crime ; 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, therefore, who consider war as a crime, will 
 abhor nations in proportion to the extent of the wars 
 in wliich 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 guilt is 
 of older date. It is of greater extent. It is of 
 longer duration. She is scarcely ever at peace. 
 Her guilt, upon your own principles, surpasses the 
 guilt of all the nations of the earth. During the 
 
152 iHt FRESExNT WAK. 
 
 last fifty years, she has shed more blood in India 
 than has been shed in Europe : and in all the wars of 
 Europe she is a party. Do you then believe she i? 
 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 J 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 crime. War hath raised her to her pre^ 
 sent splendour. Behold her navy — what you call^ 
 the instrument of her guilt. It is her support and 
 her glory, ft is that very navy too, which hath^^ 
 proved the cause of our war w^ith 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 PRESENT WAR. 153 
 
 sin ; for you say war is sinful. BritalH then, enga- 
 ged with other nations in crime, sought occasion 
 to force some of our people to take part in that 
 crime. She committed a crime upon us. She is still 
 guilty of the same crime. She continues at war. If, 
 then, war is in all cases unjust, she is the most un- 
 just. Examine your own hearts. Try, by your at- 
 tachments, the degree of influence which your sen- 
 timents have over your inclinations ; and most as- 
 suredly, you can no longer consider yourselves sin- 
 cere, if opposed to all war, you yet remain the parti- 
 zans of England in her strife with America. You 
 will, if conscientious, speak and act in such a manner 
 as to be above suspicion: and you will do me, I hope, 
 the justice to acknowledge, that not my argument, 
 but your own principle, holds up to the moral world 
 the government of England as most worthy of chris- 
 tian abhorrence. 
 
 2. You will, perhaps, admit, that defensive war is 
 lavvful, but deny my definition of it to be correct. 
 Will you give us your own definition of defensive 
 warfare? Will you exclude inecaution and redress, 
 and confine it to resistance iiponyonr own soil against 
 invasion 1 I am satisfied : not, indeed, with the cor- 
 rectness of your view% but with the sufficiency of 
 your own admission to the object which I have in 
 view — to convince you that Great Britain is still the 
 more guilty nation. Let then the definition you 
 have given, contrary as it is to all authority, be the 
 one adopted in the present case. I^csistance to an 
 invading enemy is alone lawful war. 
 
 20 
 
154 THE PRESENT WAR. 
 
 This is 1/our definition. You will allow me again 
 to urge the duty of consistency. Abide by the ap- 
 plication of your own definition. Tell me then, 
 when did England wage a lawful war? When was 
 her soil invaded ? Are her armies confined to her 
 own soil ? Is her fieet confined within tlie limits of 
 her own waters? Was it within British seas she 
 blockaded the ports of the nations, plundered our 
 merchants, searched our vessels, and captivated our 
 mariners? No, my friends. According to your views 
 of lawful v.'ar, England is the disturber of the na- 
 tions; and her crime is her glory. She is proud 
 that her soil is in safety. She triumphs in the idea, 
 that her armies have overrun the provinces of her 
 enemy. She boasts of wielding the trident over the 
 ocean, and in the ports of the several nations of tlie 
 earth. By your definition, as the apologists of Eng- 
 land, you may condemn as immoral the achievements 
 of our Browns, and our Scotts, our Gaines, and our 
 Porters — You may condemn the invasion of Canada 
 by the American arms : but certainly, you have an 
 equal degree of guilt to balance the account of 
 criminality, between the belligerents, in the capture 
 of Detroit, the invasion of Plattsburgh, the posses- 
 sion of Castine, the plunders of the Chesapeake, and 
 of the cities which lie on its rivers, and its shores : 
 and there is yet a vast portion of guilt to which there 
 is no parallel. If it be unlawful to pass in Avar, the 
 limits of our own country, you may blot from the 
 number of your saints, the names of Abraham, and 
 Valid, and Gideon: but you cannot justify that na- 
 tion that has died in])]ood the snow? of Scandinavia, 
 
THE 1 RESENT WAR. 155 
 
 and the sands of the Ganges ; that has kindled the 
 flames of peaceful Copenhagen, and levelled to the 
 dust the bulwarks of Seringapalam. 
 
 If it be unjust to wage war for the preservation 
 of property, liberty, and national dignity or inde- 
 pendence, T believe it will not be easy to find in 
 the history of nations a justifiable war, or any na- 
 tion so innocent of shedding blood as the United 
 States of America. It is impossible to reason upon 
 moral principles against the side of America in the 
 present war, without exposing the immorality of 
 the enemy. Every argument, that can apply, in 
 any one case, against this country, will, with greater 
 force, apply in many cases, to the other belligerent. 
 Make the experiment, and you will feel the force of 
 my assertion. In the books of the wars of England, 
 no cause of battle which will bear examination can 
 be found, if you reject as illegitimate those which 
 have been mentioned. There is only one other 
 conceivable cause. War may be waged in defence of 
 religious rights in opposition to persecution. Of this 
 cause, however. Great Britain in her wars cannot 
 avail herself. The church of England is not suffer- 
 ing under persecution. She feels power; and how- 
 ever she may be charged by others with an intole- 
 rant spirit, she is under no necessity of contending 
 by the sword for toleration for herself. There 
 was a time vvhen English men fought for their 
 religious liberties. They contended against their 
 own kings, his prelates, his counsellors, and his 
 arms. They contended valiantly, and their valour 
 
lifij THE PKESEiNT IVAK. 
 
 deserves to be held in everlasting remembrance^ 
 That day is past; and jilas! the descendants of the 
 New-England pilgrims, the descendants of English 
 and Scottish dissenters from prelatical u?urpation, 
 appear to have forgotten, in their admiration of the 
 grandeur of British power, the mixture of supersti- 
 tion and misrule in the complex constitution of 
 church and state in that land — the evil, of which their 
 fathers complained, and under which they grievously 
 suffered. 
 
 There are, in the British empire, both within and 
 without her present ecclesiastical political esta- 
 blishment, men of virtue, of truth, of piety, who 
 revere the memory of the Puritans, and who are 
 themselves friends to tlie rights of humanity who 
 strive to diffuse the light of Christianity among the 
 nations; and avail themselves of the opportunities 
 which even criminal conquest may offer for that 
 purpose. But the wars of the sovereign are not for 
 the defence of religion. They are political. It is 
 not by the Royal family, the counsellors, the nobles, 
 or the army, that British piety is supported. It is 
 not for the honour of religion that the sacrament is 
 prostituted ; and that dissenters are excluded from 
 power. It is not in support of the great Protestant 
 cause, that Papists are kept down in Ireland, and 
 raised up to all the splendour of their superstition in 
 Italy, in Spain, and in France, by the arms of Eng- 
 land. It is not for the sake of Christ ianhy, in 
 the most extensive use of that word, that a revenue 
 accrues to the British government from the Pagan 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. t57 
 
 establishments of India. The wars, in short, of our 
 enemy, wherever they are waged, are utterly ille- 
 gitimate and unjust upon the principle of the defini- 
 tion wliich you have given, for the purpose of 
 condemning, as unjust, that policy of your own 
 government, which makes the provinces of the ene- 
 my, in some instances, the seat of the present war. 
 
 3. Do you give up the controversy about the na- 
 ture of defensive warfare, and admit the justice 
 of transferring it into the enemy's territory, but still 
 deny the applicability of the cases which I have 
 stated from the Bible ? 
 
 I meet you upon this ground with cheerfulness. 
 It is christian ground. Let the Bible direct our po- 
 litical conduct. Let this book decide upon the prin- 
 ciples which we are to apply to the belligerent na- 
 tions, in determining the measure of their rights and 
 their wrongs. If I have misapplied its maxims, 
 give your interpretation. I will adopt your own 
 comment, and show you, that if its principles condemn 
 the American policy, it will also condemn, with equal 
 severity, and in more numerous instances, the moral 
 character of Britisli wars, for which you are an apo- 
 logist against your country. You will again have 
 an opportunity of examining, as a sincere christian, 
 your own heart, and of trying, before your God, 
 your scruples relative to the present war. You can 
 then determine, whether they arise from tenderness 
 of conscience, or from the prejudices of foreign par- 
 tialities. 
 
1^8 THE PRESErvT WAR. 
 
 Offer your objections to the proof I Imve adduced 
 from the Bible. Do you say the cases are not pa- 
 rallel ? I grant it. The wars of Palestine differ in 
 many things from the American war. Palestine 
 itself differs from these lands which we occupy. 
 The people too are in many things different from 
 us. And yet, there are also many things in which 
 their circumstances agree. But to gratify you, I 
 drop all pretensions to maintain the parallel. I 
 have cited the cases of Abram, Gideon, and David. 
 / have staled facts. These facts are not disputed. 
 Upon the facts, / have rested principles. These 
 principles may be applied. It is not in order to 
 amuse you with expert analogies, in order to run 
 a parallel, that I have opened the Bible. It is for 
 the purpose of exhibiting principles, and the facts 
 which support and explain them. The principles 
 being discovered, every man may judge of the ap- 
 plication. Do you den}^ these principles? War is 
 lawful — defensive war is lawful — to prevent, resist, 
 or repair an injury, is lawful — war may be waged 
 for the defence of liberty, property, and national in- 
 dependence, if any of these are either threatened or 
 violated. Do you deny these principles? No; you 
 have admitted them. I will, therefore, apply them to 
 
 The war in which gum country is at present 
 
 ENGAGED. 
 
 In mailing this application of the words of inspi- 
 ration, " With good advice make war" I design to 
 show, that The United Slates have lanful cause of 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 159 
 
 war with Great Bi'itain, and to explain The princi- 
 ple s upon which the nar should be prosecuted. 
 
 T. The Causes of the present war. 
 
 Whatever may have been the personal wishes or 
 opinions uf those who recommended to the congress 
 a declaration of hostilities^ the instrument itself, in 
 which the declaration is made, and the Heport of the 
 Committee of Foreign Relations, assert facts, and con- 
 tain reasonings, too true to afford the impartial 
 reader an opportunity of denying, upon moral prin- 
 ciples, the legitimacy of an appeal to tlie sword. That 
 in the recommendation of war, and in the ultimate 
 decision, some of the men in power may have been 
 influenced by personal irritation — others, by views 
 of ambition and self-interest — and others, by fear of 
 giving offence to patrons, or to constituents, 1 do not 
 take upon me to deny or to affirm. Such motives, 
 in some degree, enter very generally into the rea- 
 sonings and conduct of all men, and particularly of 
 politicians ; but even then there may exist a love of 
 country, and a sense of justice, modifying the less 
 worthy motives. With the private designs of indi- 
 viduals, we have not in this inquiry so much to do as 
 with matters of fact, which are of public notoriety. 
 God judges the heart: but, it is known to the world, 
 that for a series of years, the British sovereign was 
 in the habit of injuring the interests and honour of 
 this commonwealth. AVhatever diversity of opi- 
 nions may exist respecting the extent of the injury ; 
 and although the expediency and justice of the war, 
 
160 THE CAUSES OF 
 
 at its commencement, may liave been called in ques- 
 tion, no man ever doubted that the application of 
 the rule of the war of 1756, 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 fact has never been doubted, 
 will be 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. Whether the guilt 
 of provoking the war, or of commencing it, be the 
 greater, you will admit, both, that thk sin, for the pu- 
 nishment OF WHICH IT IS PERMITTED BY THE DeITY, 
 
 is chargeable upon us all ; and that the cause of 
 THE continuance OF HOSTILITIES, is different from 
 that which gave it origin. If I shall have suc- 
 ceeded in proving that the original grounds of 
 the declaration of war were 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 argument 
 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 an 
 appeal to intellect or conscience, who would dispute, 
 after admitting the lawfulness of war in any case, 
 the propriety of repelling, force by force, when a 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 161 
 
 cession of territory is demanded at the point of the 
 bayonet, and invasion with all its horrors approaches 
 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 
 future. To recover and preserve property — To re- 
 deem and to defend men, these are lawful causes of 
 war. These are the causes of the present war. The 
 argument requires neither art nor eloquence. It is 
 obvious to ever}^ 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 lawful. This is the principle. 
 
 Apply the principle to the facts. The United 
 States have declared war, in order to vindicate the 
 rights of property, of liberty, and of life. There- 
 fore is the present w^ar, fiom its origin, a defensive 
 and a just war. This is the argument. 
 
 21 
 
J62 THE CAUSES OP 
 
 You may speak about it, and write about it ; yoiir 
 may close your eyes upon it; you may go round 
 about, and fly from it : but you will in vain offer re- 
 sistance to its truth. The facts are notorious. The 
 principle is confessed. The application is necessary. 
 
 I use very plain language, my brethren ; it is time 
 to speak plainly upon this subject. Our country 
 has suffered abundantly. Insult has been added to 
 injury, by a people who regard the American repub- 
 lic with an evil and a jealous eye. They consider 
 this country as a commercial rival. They are 
 alarmed at its rapid growth in arts, in knowledge, in 
 opulence, and in power. They affect to despise 
 every thing that is American. By their publica- 
 tions, in prose and in poetry, the English writers 
 strive to keep their countrymen in ignorance of the 
 land in which we live. They draw a caiicature of 
 our manners, our morals, our laws, and our religion. 
 Their official reports, those documents in which the 
 veracity of history should uniformly be found, are 
 characterized by illiherality and misrepresentation. 
 In diplomacy, they have practised delay ; they have 
 trifled, equivocated, and insulted. They have sought 
 the glory of Great Britain, at the expense of the ITni- 
 ted States; they have endeavoured to divide and to- 
 destroy. The hatred which they bear to our republi- 
 can institutions, envenoms the spirit of rivalry, with 
 which they contemplate the progress of empire in 
 the new world. Resistance ought to have been made 
 long before it was attempted by this nation — It 
 ought to have been made with unanimity and energy. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 1^3 
 
 In vindicating the justness of this war, upon the 
 •part of the United States, there is one interesting 
 question, to which I think it my duty to turn your 
 particular attention. It is one of tiie principal 
 causes of the war, that British officers have, while 
 acting upon the right of search, impressed mariners 
 from American merchantmen. This outrage upon 
 the national independence, they have endeavoured 
 to justify. The practice was convenient and profit- 
 able for the navy of that country ; and they sought 
 for a doctrine which might serve to give to it a sem- 
 blance of equity. They strove to discover some 
 general principle, which miglit at the same time 
 gratify the national pride of England, and furnish a 
 source of allegation and dispute, among the politi- 
 cal parties existing in the United States. They found 
 such a maxim in the despotic tenet of ptrpetual 
 allegiance to the crown. This maxim, never admit- 
 ted by any writer upon public law, who has a regard 
 to character, or is worthy of a name, is no lesi« false 
 in itself, than inapplicable to the case in hand. Were 
 it even true, that a native of Britain can never of 
 right throw off his allegiance to the country which 
 gave him birth, it by no means follows that the king 
 has a right to take from his employments, any of his 
 subjects, to serve him against his own choice. 
 
 1. He has not this right in his own dominions ; and 
 much less can he procure it, by violating the territo- 
 ry of a neighbouring nation. If he have no right to 
 enter a private farmer's house in England, and force 
 the son away from his father, and his mother, into 
 
2G4 THE CAUSES 01^ 
 
 slavery ; certainly he has no right, by virtue of na- 
 tive allegiance, to force such a one awa^ from any 
 other lawful situation in which he may happen in 
 providence to be placed. 
 
 2. If the doctrine of perpetual allegiance were 
 true, it w<»uld not justify entering by force, and com- 
 mitting violence on board an American vessel. The 
 right of search, for enemy's goods, or contraband of 
 war, aboard a neutral, is tolerated, for the purpose 
 of maintaining a fair trade; but it has no connexion 
 with the violent and injurious practice, of dragging 
 men into bondage, when prosecuting a fair trade. 
 
 3. As perpetual allegiance gives no right of en- 
 slaving an English subject, by forcing him into a 
 service which is not his choice ; much less can it jus- 
 tify the impressment of an American citizen. Urge, 
 as you will, the similarity of countenance, of dress, 
 and of language ; and the difficulty of distinguish- 
 ing man from man : these remarks go only to show 
 the propriety of omitting as inexpedienty the practice 
 which is so liable to abuse, even if it were lawful ; 
 but, on no principle of sound reasoning, can it afford 
 any right whatever, to seize by force the person of a 
 free man.* It was reserved for the boasted wisdom 
 
 * To Bay of emigrants to the United Slates from Europe, that, 
 in defending the rights of tlieir adopted coimivy against the injuries 
 of their native country, tliey are guilty of treason, and deserve the 
 punii^htnent of traitors, is a perversion of princifdes and of lan- 
 guage. Any thing, that the ruling party, an unjust judge, and a 
 packed jury, ^yill choo?e to condemn under the government of 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 165 
 
 of British partizans, to discover the argument, that 
 an American deserved the punibhment of impress- 
 ment, into the naval service of the haughty empire, 
 (whose cruel yoke had formerly been thrown off,) for 
 no other crime than his resemblance to an English- 
 man. Does this denote servitude ? 
 
 4. The pretext of perpetual allegiance, can have 
 110 effect, in giving the semblance of equity to the 
 practice, in the extent to w hich it has been carried 
 
 Great Britain, may, for that [jurpose, be denominated constructive 
 treason: but treason cannot be committed except by a traitor; and 
 no man can be a traitor unless he betrays his trust. Injustice doe» 
 not constitute a man a traitor, unless he has previously pledged 
 himself to a certain course ol' conduct. Pontius Pilate was unjust 
 towards our Lord Jesus <.;hrist; but Judas Iscariot was a traitor. 
 He who has publicly disclaimed allegiance to the king of England, 
 cannot aiterwards be a traitor to his majesty's government; but he 
 who has sworn allegiance to the United States, and afterwards 
 serves the cause of the enemies of America, he, even he, is the 
 man who betrays his trust, and is indeed the traitor to his country. 
 - All civilized states act upon this obvious principle of morality. 
 The subjects of one state residing in anolher, when war breaks out 
 between them, are treated as enemies b}' the state in which they 
 live; but not as traitors, because there was no trust reposed in 
 them. It is not until they have acquired the rights of citizenship 
 by naturalization that they can be guilty of treason. 
 
 Upon the self-same principle, those natives of Britain, who have 
 left their country, and publicly disavowed their allegiance, cannot 
 injustice he expected to retain it, and cannot of course either be- 
 tray a trust towards the British government, or be guilty of treason 
 against the King. All, who believe the correctness of the British 
 claims, practically declare, that Iho^e men are deceivers, who, having 
 been born in the British domiaions, have become naturalized ie 
 America. 
 
166 THE CAUSES OF 
 
 by the officers of the British crown. They haTc 
 claimed the right of removing from the vessels, 
 aboard of which 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 the lash, 
 to quit the place of their choice, and enter aboard a 
 man of war. Such are the outrageous acts which 
 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 inapijlicahilUy, I go on to prove 
 its erroneousness. 
 
 The question to which I particularly request your 
 attention, is. 
 
 The Right of Expatriatioa% 
 
 The defence of property 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- 
 sition made to the right of expatriation. I am pre- 
 pared to meet it in all its force. The question has 
 been discussed in Europe and America. The sailor 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. W7 
 
 and the soldier, the advocate and the judge, the law- 
 giver and the philosopher, the husbandman and the 
 merchant, the mechanic and the courtier, the divine 
 and the statesman, have taken an interest in the dis- 
 cussion. The decision affects all classes of men, and 
 all the nations of the earth. It behoves especially, 
 the christian moralist, to know upon which side the 
 truth is found, in order to be able to acquit himself 
 with a good conscience, wheresoever it may be his 
 lot to reside. If allegiance to human governments 
 be indeed unalienable, he who leaves his native 
 country, never can enjoy the rights of a citizen in 
 any other land ; and, although the men of the world 
 may sport with perjury, the christian, desirous to act 
 as an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile, 
 can never, by his profession or his oath, undertake 
 to transfer an allegiance which is in its nature unal- 
 terable. Pitiable indeed, is his case ; bound by an 
 iron law to the spot which gave him birth, or pre- 
 vented, if he should venture to leave his first resi- 
 dence, from enjoying to the end of his life the pri- 
 vilege of a freeman in any other society upon earth. 
 In vindicating the right of expatriation, I feel con- 
 vinced I am on the side of humanity and godliness. 
 
 All men are born equally free — There is no ob- 
 ligation by contract to prevent entirely a change of 
 country — allegiance and protection are reciprocal — 
 all nations recognize the principle of expatriation — 
 the contrary doctrine leads to absurdity — and the 
 word of the living God secures this right to man. 
 
168 THE CAUSES OP 
 
 I'hese are my arguments in defence of my asser- 
 tion. I proceed to illustrate and apply them. 
 
 J . All Men are born equally Free. 
 
 The religion, which is from God, lays the loftiness 
 of man, the pride of royalty, and the claims of no- 
 ble blood, in the dust. It assures us that God hath 
 made of one blood all the nations of men for to dwell 
 upon all the face of the earth* — that all are by nature 
 in a like sinful and dependent state. There is 
 nothing in the bone, or the blood, or the head, or 
 the heart of a king's son, to distinguish him from the 
 infant peasant. There is no provision in nature or 
 religion, for binding one man against his will to the 
 service of another. Nativity, therefore, of itself, 
 produces neither sovereignty nor allegiance : and it 
 is of course but a violence against the laws of 
 nature and of revelation to urge, on account of birth, 
 a perpetual allegiance to any dynasty whatever. 
 The relation of rulers and ruled exists only by con- 
 tract. Society results from the constitution of hu- 
 man nature. It is the will of God that order should 
 obtain among his rational creatures : but every mait 
 is free to select hi;; own society, and make choice of 
 the power to which he will submit for his protection. 
 
 2. There is no obligation from the social compact 
 upon man to continue in allegiance to the government 
 under which he was born. 
 
 « Acta xvii. 26. 
 
 -♦ttr 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 169 
 
 That an individual may bind himself, by ex- 
 press stipulation, to certain services, in a given place, 
 either for a specified term of years, or for life, 
 is not denied; but such stipulation is not implied 
 in the social compact. A nation, it is true, as well 
 as any other body politic, may give pledges, and 
 contract debts; and every member of the body 
 is bound to redeem the pledge, and discharge the 
 obligation, in its true spirit and design: but no 
 man is bound to continue a member, longer than the 
 nature of the connexion itself requires. There is 
 not in the constitution of the body politic any such 
 regulation, as requires every man to abide in the 
 country which gave him birth. It is not necessary 
 to civil society, that such a principle should be re- 
 cognized : it is not proper that it should : and even if 
 the government should succeed in introducing it ex- 
 pressly into the constitution, the stipulation, as it 
 would be immoral, could not be obligatory. See- 
 ing no man is morally bound to the spot in which 
 he was born, and cannot lawfully be circumscribed 
 by the limits of a prison, however extended, unless 
 by transgression he has forfeited his liberty, it is 
 perfectly preposterous to allege that a government, 
 formed for a local jurisdiction, should claim, without 
 his consent, the right of sovereignty over him, aftex 
 having passed beyond the limits of its authority, 
 
 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 fallp of course. 
 
 22 
 
1/0 THE CAUSES OF 
 
 I readily admit, that there is something in the 
 idea of native country^ which is intimately connected 
 willi the doctrine of allegiance. It is not, however, 
 the spot of earth, 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 
 discrimination, 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 irue hond^ rvhich connects the child with the body 
 polilic. li 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 him a church member ; but if the pa- 
 rent or parents be in connexion with tlie church, so 
 is the offspring. Visible society, as it is provided 
 for in the 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- 
 spring the benefits of society. The Governor of the 
 universe approves of this provision. Thus it is, that 
 the country of the faliier is that of the child, and not 
 because he happened to be born in its territory. 
 Residence produces an attachment. Education che- 
 rishes affection for the scenes of early life ; but orily^ 
 
THE PRESEiVT WAR. 171 
 
 moral relations lay the foundation for moral obliga- 
 tion. It is the enjoyment of the privileges of society, 
 that lays the foundation for obedience to its autho- 
 rity. It follows from this, that protection being the 
 end of civil government, the sovereign has no other 
 claim upon the allegiance of the subject, than what 
 arises from the protection which he affords. As is 
 the protection nhich 1 ask and receive^ so is the fealty 
 which I owe. If I ask none, I am under no allegi- 
 ance : If I receive none, I have nothing to return. 
 It is the very essence of despotism to claim au- 
 thority over me without an equivalent.* 
 
 4. All Nations recognise the Right of Expatriation. 
 
 It has been very common, among the several na- 
 tions of the earth, to banish from their territories 
 into other countries, some of their citizens — Writers 
 on public law, admit the right of emigration — Fo- 
 reigners are naturalized by the several civilized 
 
 * " By the law of nature alono, children follow the condition of 
 their fathers, and enter into all their rights. The [)lace of birth 
 produces no change in this parlicular — for it is not natunUIy the 
 place of birth that gives rights, but extraction. Children liorn at 
 sea — out of the country— in the armies of the state,— in thehouse of 
 its ministers at a foreign court, are reputed native citizens. Every 
 man, born free, may examine whether it be convenient for him to 
 join in the society (or which he was destined l)y his twrth. If 
 he finds that it will be of no advantage to him to remain in it, he 
 £8 at liberty to leave it." 
 
 Vattet.. Sec. 2iei--220. 
 
172 thb: causes ok 
 
 stales ; and each of these facts implies the principle 
 of expatriation. 
 
 The history of distinsjuished men, in the first rankc 
 of life, who have been exiled from the Grecian states, 
 from the Roman republic, from France, Germany, 
 and from the British dominions, would fill volumes 
 of instructive comment on this theme of discussion. 
 We have very respectable exiles before us, in this 
 city, who are living witnesses of the truth, that 
 Great Britain, notwithstanding the claims of per- 
 petual allegiance upon the part of her statesmen, 
 admits the dissolution of native allegiance, and of 
 course contradicts the doctrine of its perpetuity. If 
 nativity simply constitutes allegiance, it must be un- 
 alterable ; because native country never can change : 
 a man is born but once. If voluntary contract is the 
 basis of allegiance, I have gained my point ; for, in 
 this case, the one party is free to relinquish a con- 
 nexion in the nature of things conditional, as well 
 as the other. When the connexion is dissolved, 
 protection and allegiance perish together. 
 
 I give you the law of nations on this subject, in 
 the words of Vattel. "The term country ^ common- 
 ly signifies the state of which one is a member. In a 
 more confined sense, and more agreeable to its ety- 
 mology, this term signifies the state, or even more 
 particularly the town, or place where our parents 
 lived at the moment of our birth. In this sense it is 
 justly said, that our country cannot be changed, and 
 
THE PRESBNT WAn. 173 
 
 always remains the same, to whatsoever place we re- 
 move 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 country^ we ought 
 to understand by this term, the state of wMch a man 
 is an actual member ; since it is to that he owes it en- 
 tirely, and in preference to all others.""^ 
 
 " There are cases, in which a citizen has an abso- 
 lute right to renounce his country^ and abandon it en- 
 tirely. 1. If the citizen cannot procure subsistence 
 in his own country. 2. If the body of the society, 
 or he who represents it, absolutely neglects to fulfil 
 his obligations to a citizen. 3. If the sovereign would 
 establish laws, to which the pact of Society cannot 
 oblige a citizen to submit."t 
 
 Of the third justifiable cause of expatriation, M. 
 de Vattel gives three instances — When religious li- 
 berty is violated ; w^hen a form of government is al- 
 tered from freedom to a more arbitrary svstem ; and 
 when 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 emigration^'"' he says in the next 
 sentence,t " This is a natural right, which is cer- 
 
 •^ Book I. Chap. 11. fBook I. Cliap. 19. 
 
 :j: Sect. 225. 
 
874 THE CAUSES 01< 
 
 iainly excepted in the pact of socicti/J' It is, by the law 
 of nations, a right which cannot be surrendered. 
 
 Proceeding upon this principle, all nations have 
 been in the habits of naturalizing foreigners resident 
 among them."^ England particularly, as if deter- 
 mined to make apparent to the universe her own in- 
 consistency, has furnished peculiar facilities for na- 
 iiiralising seafaring men of all nations. Tlie short 
 period of two years serving aboard British vessels; 
 marriage Avith a native in her ports; and voluntary 
 enlistment aboard her men of war, form a sufficient 
 gt ound 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 
 him, forces to fight against his own country, the 
 native of whatever nation ; and, as if determined to 
 claim, what is most unreasonable and tyrannical, 
 within the compass of human thought, he compels to 
 the battle in the Provinces of Upper and Lower Ca- 
 nada, American emigrants naturalized, even since 
 the declaration of the present war. The plain lan- 
 guage of English royal proclamations, illustrated by 
 the practice of British officers, is, " all the states 
 upon earth must allow emigrations to Britain, but 
 must prohibit emigrations from Britain to them: the 
 natives of our own soil, and those of other countries, 
 whom we naturalize, shall be our slaves for ever; 
 
 "** *' A nalioa may grant to a strauger the quality of a citizen, by 
 admitting him to the boily of the political sociely. This is called 
 naturalisation.'"' Vattcl, Sfd. 214. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 175 
 
 but let no other commonwealth dare to protect a na- 
 turalized foreigner."* 
 
 * Notwithstanding this exclusive claim, of prohibiting emigra- 
 tion, anil encouraging naturalization, as suits her own convenience, 
 Great Britain gives to her subjects, those reasons which require the 
 exercise of the natural and unalienable right of expatriation. She 
 violates, in every instance, the pact of society. 1. She does not 
 afford to industry and enterprise, similar encouragement to that 
 which is given in America. For (he 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 would 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 
 citizens, 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, aad pious men are placed under political 
 disqualification, and forced to support a system of faith and worship, 
 io 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 the 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 nofe 
 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 knowji. It is not from any dislike that the high church- 
 men have to the Roman religion ; but from their hatred and fear of 
 the Protestant dissenters. The watchmen of the political religion 
 of England, now stand with the Sacramental Test in their hand, to 
 guard the passage to power. The Independents, the Baptists, the 
 Methodists, the Presbyterians, the whole body of Protestant dis- 
 
176 TJiE CADSKS or 
 
 5 The Right of Expatriation appeal's from the 
 Ghsurdity of the doctrine of perpetual fealty to the 
 place of nativity. 
 
 In the decision of tbis question, every man of 
 piety has an interest. However few the men who 
 reason, in order that they may understand ; and exa- 
 mine moral subjects, in order that they may discharge 
 their duty, there are still some, 1 trust, who would 
 rather suffer on the spot which gave them birth, tlian 
 leave it for ever, if by so doing they must violate the 
 laws of morality, and sin against their God. 
 
 Upon the principle which I am opposing, sad, sad 
 indeed, would be the condition of man. The child 
 is pinned down in the place of his nativity as in 
 a prison ; and, unto its local authorities he is for ever 
 in thraldom. The African and the Hindoo dare not 
 leave his country for another. The Frenchman and 
 the Spaniard must never throw off allegiance to 
 Louis and to Ferdinand. To the Prince Regent 
 of England, the emigrant must continue in subjec- 
 tion, although he, in an unhappy hour, has perjured 
 himself, in disclaiming his authority, and becoming 
 a naturalized citizen of this republic. And by the 
 same rule of obligation to the place of birth, the 
 authorities of Connecticut extend to many citizens 
 of New- York; the local jurisdiction of every corpo- 
 
 Ecnters, are the olyects of opposition. The late bishop of Loudon, 
 Randolph, avowed liis enmity ; and threatened to suppress, all dissen- 
 ters from the establishment, in his own diocese. 
 
 Is not this a reason for exercising the right of expatriation 2 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 177 
 
 ration of a city or a village perpetually binds every 
 one born within their respective limits. According 
 to this morality, my iiearers, you are guilty of trans- 
 gression, for having left the township in which you 
 drew the first breath; and in order to avoid funher 
 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 tomb. 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 spirit of personal 
 freedom and generous feeling among the natives 
 of every clime and kindred — instead of this, you 
 must require that man be chained to his birth-place ; 
 that suUenness, 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 who inculcates perpetual alle- 
 giance to the place of birth, assuredly calculates 
 largely upon the amount of human ignorance and 
 folly; he ventures far upon the slavish feelings of hi;? 
 
 23 
 
17S THE CAUSES OF 
 
 partisans, but lie does little credit to his own 
 discernment or beneTolence. 1 cannot but infer, 
 that God has bestowed a scanty supply of brains 
 upon the man that denies the right of expatriation ; 
 unless indeed by a course of imcomnion depravity, 
 he has himself destroyed the finer fibres of the heart. 
 Far different from his, is the morality of the chris- 
 tian religion. 
 
 6. With the 'scriptural argument, I close my de- 
 fence of a man's right to choose his country. 
 
 The scriptures inform us, that God gave the earth 
 to the children of men. It was his will and com- 
 mand, that it should be peopled from one pair. 
 God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply , and re- 
 plenish the tarth.^ But this order could not be exe- 
 cuted, unless the children should emigrate from the 
 place of their nativity, settle in other countries, and 
 form new societies. There is, moreover, no provi- 
 sion made in the scriptures, for keeping the colonies 
 in perpetual subjection to the parent state. This 
 would make the whole world subject to one unwiel- 
 dy despotism. Upon the contrary, we are assured, 
 that when religion prevails over all the earth, there 
 shall still be distinct nations, which Satan shall deceive 
 no more ;t there shall still be distinct kingdoms — 
 even the kingdoms of this world, that shall become 
 the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ. In confor- 
 njity to this principle, the Governor of the universe, 
 
 * Gen. i. 28. + Rev. xx, 3. 
 
THE PRESENT WAK. 179 
 
 at an early age, when men formed the plan of ad- 
 hering together in one great and corrupt society, 
 performed a miracle to prevent the evil ; and, so the 
 Lord scattered them abroad from thence^ vjjon the 
 face of all the earth.* Instead of permitting the so- 
 vereign of every country, to deceive the subject 
 with claims of perpetual allegiance, God command- 
 ed Abram to expatriate himself The father of the 
 faithful obeyed, and left his native country. In 
 vain would the kings of the Canaanites claim, as 
 bound to serve them, the descendants of Abram, 
 born in their territories. Jacob removed with his 
 family to Egypt ; and even tliere, notwithstanding 
 the power of the monarchy, they claimed the right 
 of being considered as a distinct people, and of emi- 
 grating at their pleasure from the land of bondage. 
 The proclamations of the Prince of Britain would 
 have passed for morality at the court of Pharaoh; 
 but Moses y without fearing the wrath of the king, 
 said unto him. Let my people go.f The tyrant ulti- 
 mately suffered the punishment of his crimes, when 
 he attempted to reclaim, as native subjects, the Is- 
 raelitish emigrants. Pharaoh, and his host, his cho- 
 sen captains also, were drowned in the Red Sea. 
 
 Moses did not offend the laws of morality, al- 
 though in despite of native allegianccy he invited Ho- 
 bob to expatriate himself from 3Iidian, and accept 
 of naturalization in the commonwealth of Israel. 
 Come thou with us, and we will do thee good — Leave ns 
 
 *Gen. xi. 8. t Exod. v. 'i,&:c. 
 
180 I'HE CAUSES OF 
 
 not, I pray thee — and it shall he, if thou go with us, 
 that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same 
 will we do unto Ihcc.^ 
 
 I will not pursue this discussion further. I trust I 
 have aheady sufficiently vindicated the principle 
 upon which, I myself, in common with many of my 
 hearers, and of my fellow-citizens in Pvew-York, 
 have acted. The principle upon which, the minis- 
 ters of religion must, in many instances act, in con- 
 formity to the command of the Prince of the kings 
 of Ihe earth. Go ye into all nations — preach the 
 gospel to enery creature; and lo, lam with you, even 
 unto the end of the world — the principle of expa- 
 triation. 
 
 There are, I feel and acknowledge, many tender 
 ties to bind us to our native country. We cherish, 
 in fond recollection, the scenes and the partners of 
 our youthful days. We revere the land of our fa- 
 thers, and the place of their sepulchres. We look 
 back on the friends that we have left behind : we de- 
 sire their welfare : we cultivate their correspon- 
 dence ; and we are not ashamed to call them bre- 
 thren. If we have left the national society, and have 
 thrown off allegiance to their rulers, we count it no 
 dishonour to have been born in a territory, where 
 arts, and science, and literature, and heroism, and 
 patriotism, abound. Even now, I can gladly trans- 
 })ort myself on fancy's wings to my native hills. 1 
 
 * Numb. X. 29—32. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 181 
 
 would slill listen to the music of the lark, to the 
 bleating of the flocks, and to the reaper's song ; and 
 I would close the day, in the bosom of a peaceful 
 family, with a solemn hymn of thanksgiving to the 
 Lord. I would still gaze on the lofty rock, where 
 the eagle builds her nest ; admire at a distance, the 
 cloud-capt cliffs of Benmorc, and count the foaming 
 billows of the Atlantic, rolling among the basaltic 
 pillars of Slaffa, along the classic shores of lona,^ 
 to the bold promontories at the mouth of Lochlevan. 
 I bless my native country, and take pride in all the 
 excellency of her sons. Others too, feel towards 
 their native place, as I do. But yet, my brethren, 
 on a question of morality, truth must decide. Con- 
 science, and not fancy, must make the application 
 of God's law. 
 
 I have frequently felt surprise, at the influence of 
 national feelings over the moral principles of men of 
 talents and of virtue. Some men of that description, 
 men too, of quick sensibility, of high and honoura- 
 ble feelings, have been seen listening to discussions, 
 which, in denying the right of transferring allegiance, 
 charged themselves with perjury. For, if fealty be 
 unalterable, the oath of naturalization is a falsehood. 
 There is one remarkable part of the character of 
 the sons of Britain, which is worthy of imitation by 
 the children of Columbia. It is their attachment to 
 country. It is often extravagant in the former, and 
 it is misplaced when directed to the society which 
 
 * IcohnkiU, 
 
182 THE CAUSES OF 
 
 they have left, more than to that of which they have 
 become members ; and especially, when it embraces 
 the guilty crown of the kingdom : but it is in itself 
 an honourable principle : alas ! it is too feeble, in 
 the hearts of those American citizens, who admire 
 the moral order and political machinery of Great 
 Britain, more than they seek to preserve the integrity 
 of their own republican institutions. 
 
 I have not made these remarks on misplaced attach- 
 ment to country, with a view to apply them to those 
 emigrants from the dominions of the British king, who 
 belong to this congregation. No. To you, my brethren, 
 they are not applicable. In common with those chris- 
 tians in your native country, and in this, the country 
 of your choice, who are bound with you in 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 rvas your country. 
 It is so no more. To our brethren; yea, 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 Jiesh to rest in hope, when the last breath 
 shall depart from our nostrils, and the spirit shall re- 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 183 
 
 turn to 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 givea 
 evidence of its justness, I go on, 
 
 II. To show the Principles upon which the War 
 may he lanfully prosecuted. 
 
 Besides the question of right to make war upoH 
 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 the 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 
 
184 THE CADSES OF 
 
 sacramental iesty^ be absolutely sinful, it becomes 
 a duty, even when the cause of war is just, to reject 
 tlie terms, and of course to withhold a support which 
 cannot otherwise be afforded. 
 
 It is evidently, therefore, both the duty and 
 the interest of those who are placed at the head of a 
 nation, to take order, that the wars, which, by the in- 
 justice of others, they are compelled to wage, 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 
 iniquitous 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 the 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, I 
 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 
 
 * See page 71. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 185 
 
 contest as it now exists, and recommends submission 
 to the enemy — I make no apology for liim, who 
 strives to prevent the success of his country in the 
 present strife. 1 leave him to the comforts of his 
 own reflections, knowing, as I 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 princi- 
 ples, the mode of prosecuting the present war. 
 
 I am not the eulogist of men in power; neither 
 do I give Jlaitcring lilies 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 halls of legislation, 
 in the executive councils, in the leaders of our armies. 
 I could fervently wish, and devoutly pray, for more 
 firmness, and wisdom, and action, and for more ex- 
 tensive resources in men and in money for the safety 
 of the nation. But 1 w ould not dispute, and embar- 
 rass, and threaten, for the purpose of producing an ef- 
 fect, 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 injuring the country. I would not 
 tempt to silly for the sake of triumphing over the fallen. 
 
 I submit to your consideration the three follow- 
 ing principles; belligerent com7m(nitics are always 
 
 24 
 
186 THE PRli\CltLE3 UFOJf 1\'HICH 
 
 to be consideredy each as one body — in wary the natiom^r 
 as suchy is the proper object of attack — the change, 
 which humanity has already introduced into the modes 
 of warfare, should not be diminishcdy but extended. 
 
 I shall now explain these principles, and apply 
 lliem to tlie mode in which this war is conducted. 
 
 1. In a slate of War, we must consider each Com- 
 mu?dty as one Body. 
 
 However extensi^^e an empire, however nume- 
 rous its colonies and dependencies, organized into 
 one society, and subject to the same sovereign power, 
 when that sovereign has undertaken war, the whole 
 empire is called upon to bear a part in its prosecu- 
 tion, and the other party in the contest, has a right 
 to consider it as one body. In a just war, tlie 
 place of attack is a question of expediency : and the 
 most vulnerable point presents itself as the most eli- 
 gible.^ The skill of the general in battle is dis- 
 played, in arranging his forces, and in selecting the 
 point of attack, so as with the least exertion and 
 danger to do the greatest possible injury to the hos- 
 tile battalions. If he besieges a city, he will select 
 the most vulnerable spot, and there strike the blow. 
 It is worse than trifling to allege, that this is pusilla- 
 nimous or immoral. The sole object of a just war i? 
 to make the enemy feel the evils of his own injus- 
 tice, and by his sufferings dispose him to amend his 
 ways. He must therefore be attacked upon the most 
 accessible quarter. 
 
 ' See pages 126, and 132. 
 
THE WAR IS CONDUCTED. 187 
 
 1 have already established the justness of the pre- 
 sent war. Taking that for granted, I 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 reach 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 commerce. By attack- 
 ing and conquering them, the citizens of America 
 may acquire, and have acquired, renown ; but it is by 
 capturing that which they protect, and for which 
 alone they are supported, that the 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, li was the most accessible part of the enemy's 
 territory, — the possession of it would prove the de- 
 fence of an extended frontier from the ravages of the 
 foe, and from Indian barbarity — and it might be held 
 as an equivalent until, for the sake of its restoration, 
 the enemy would be constrained to do justice. 
 These considerations put the policy of attacking it 
 beyond a doubt. And the cquili/ of it necessarily 
 follows from the justness of the war itself. Do you 
 43oubt this ? Show me wherefore, and T Avill answer 
 
188 THE PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH 
 
 you. Set your arguments in array, and my reply is 
 at hand. " The inhabitants of Canada have com- 
 mitted no oflcnce." Is tliis your argument? Who 
 then has ofTended ? The Soldier, the Sailor ? No. 
 The Minister, the Regent? Will you then despatch 
 a messenger of piivate vengeance to assassinate the 
 ofi'ending 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. Tiiey have made a common cause with 
 their sovereign. In him jvho represents them they 
 have offended. Let them peacefully distinguish them- 
 selves from him, and remain as non-combatants in the 
 possession and use of 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. Sympatliy with the Canadians has frequently 
 been affected as a benevolent method of aiming 
 a side-blow at the administration of the government. 
 This may be considered as good policy ; but it par- 
 takes not of the candour of religion. The British 
 empire, like the human body, has many members, and 
 all the members being many, are one body. In a state 
 of war, an attack upon any member is lawful. In a 
 jnoral point of view, it makes no difference whether 
 Ihe blow falls upon the capitol or the colony. The 
 whole nation is one bodv. 
 
THE WAR IS CONDUCTED. 189 
 
 2. The Nation 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 imnecessarily increased. Pri- 
 vate persons and property, whose injury cannot af- 
 fect the 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 other effect 
 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. 
 
 It is highly honourable to the government of this 
 republic, that a proffer has been made to the enemy 
 of an armislicey ever since the commencement of 
 hostilities, upon condition that he should desist, 
 by sea and by land, from the practices which called 
 for an appeal to the sword; and that a proposal 
 has been made, upon terms of reciprocity, for repay- 
 ing to injured individuals the losses whicli might by 
 them be incurred during the continuance of the con- 
 test. It is equally dishonourable, on the part of the 
 
190 THE PKINCIPLES UPO.\ WHICH 
 
 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 with im- 
 punity to fall upon an enemy. Secret means of an- 
 noyance, such as poison and assassination, are dis- 
 carded. The 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 ought to 
 be extended in its benign influence to other prac- 
 tices, still admitted by the law of nations; but highly 
 injurious to morality. It ought to be extended to 
 the practice of privateering, and to that which gives 
 origin to privateering; the practice of capturing j?ri- 
 t'fl/e property of any kind upon the ocean, by public 
 armed vessels, whether in peace or in war. There 
 are many cogent reasons for opposing the practice 
 of taking private property on the high seas. It is 
 contrary to the golden rule, " do unto others as you 
 would that they should do unto you." It is robbing 
 men of the fruits of their industry; for it allows 
 
 See oa this sultject, Paley, Blaitens, Vattel, Bynkersliock, 
 Pauli, and Moser. 
 
THE WAR IS CONDUCTED, ]9I 
 
 them no equivalent for their property. It cherishes 
 avarice, aheady sufficiently stimulated by commer- 
 cial cupidity. It entirely destroys much property, 
 without advantage to any one. It endangers and 
 sacrifices many valuable lives. It retards the pro- 
 gress of civilization. It increases the burden and 
 expenditure of nations, by giving occasion for fleets 
 of armed vessels, for defence and pillage. It is in 
 the present condition of the world, the principal 
 source of dispute and strife, of national quarrels, and 
 of public wars. Therefore is it devoutly to be 
 wished, that pious men, in every country, should, 
 with one consent, set their faces against so great an 
 evil ; and support, with every exertion in their pow- 
 er, those able civilians among the nations, who are 
 endeavouring, on this very head, to meliorate the 
 code of public law.'^ The only ground upon which 
 
 * There is some reason to hope, that the lime is approaching, 
 when the principle for which I coniend, wH! be in lact admitted as 
 a part of the law of nations: not simply as it rcs\iects privateers ; 
 but also as it respects public armed vessels. 
 
 Privateering, I acknowledge, is more obviously v^rong, than cap- 
 tures of merchantmen by national ships of war. It is that kind of 
 the invasion cf private right) which is most extensive in its inju- 
 rious effects, most level to the capacities of ordinary minds, most 
 calculated to excite the aversion of christian sensibility, most per- 
 nicious to the general morality of the community, by multiplying 
 the number of adventurers, who seek and share the plunder of un- 
 offending fellow-mcn : but the evil, the radical evil, lies in the in- 
 vasion of private right at all. 
 
 To the total abolition of this practice, I see ia the state of the 
 nations no formidable barrier, except what is presented by the po- 
 licy of Great Britain. It is her navy that plays the criminal game 
 in times of peace and war. It is reasonable, however, to expect, 
 (hat during the present repose of the nations, they will ask one an- 
 
l9i THE PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH 
 
 I justify this country in pursuing this practice, is that 
 of visiting upon the enemy, the evil which his injus- 
 tice merits. That ground is sufficient. It is the 
 ground upon which rests the equity of the war 
 
 other the question, How long shall England be permitted to enjoy 
 the exclusive commerce and dominion of the ocean ? Shall it be 
 for ever? It is reisonable to expect they will devise means, in con- 
 cert, for asserting the freedom nf the seas. 
 
 I know that this is necessary to public justice. I know it is ne- 
 cessary to a permanent peace in the world. I know it is pro- 
 mir^ed in the word of God, I know it will be brought to pass. In 
 despite of the example, and the influence of Great Britain, I find 
 throughout Europe and Americfi, an increasing dislike to the 
 practice oi' private plunder on the ocean. 
 
 Christian sensibility, in this city, and throughout the country, 
 is averse from privateering. Some American civilians, and 
 among others, Mr. Chancellor Kent of this state, (a man who, 
 while Chief Justice, ably vindicated the christian character of the 
 commonwealth, in affirming the decision that blasphemy against 
 the Saviour is a crime.) have protested against privateering. It 
 would be doing injustice to their intellect and their patriotism, to 
 say, that while condemning it here, they justifj' it on the part of 
 the enemy , that, while condemning the practice of privateering, 
 they approve of the principle of plunder by public armed vessels; 
 that, while condemning the invasion of private right, as a weapon 
 of war, they allow the morality of it in times of peace. I rather 
 class them with those writers on public law, who, while they ad- 
 mit that ii is among the usages of nations, desire to have the code 
 of national law altered and amended. I rather class them with 
 those distinguished civilians of France, who adorned the reign of 
 the Emperor Xapoleon, by raising up that imperishable monument 
 of legal talent, the Civil Code, still the law of the nation whose 
 throne he has abdicated. I had rather class them with the framers 
 of the Treaty of Tilsit, that remarkable instrument, which, as we 
 learn from the note of the Duke of Bassano, Paris, April 2.5, 1812, 
 to the Chancellor of Russia, asserts the same principle. In that 
 note are the following very liberal and correct assertions. " His 
 Majesty the Emperor of Russia, has acknowledged at Tilsit, the 
 
THE WAR IS CONDUCTED. 193 
 
 itself. War under the best form is an evil — a neces- 
 sary evil. Non enim est ulla defensio contra vim un- 
 quam obtanda, sed nonnunquam est necessaria.^ 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I NOW bring this discourse to a close, with a sum- 
 mary of my reasons, for urging upon all classes, a 
 cordial support of the defensive measures, which 
 may be morally and constitutionally employed, by 
 those, who, in divine providence, have the manage- 
 ment of the war committed into their hands. If 
 any means proposed, should appear to be unconstitu- 
 tional, let those, who are friendly to the instrument 
 which binds these states together in one great repub- 
 lican confederation, expose their inconsistency by 
 liberal arguments; but let them still support their 
 
 principle — that the nations, in the full enjoyment of their rights, might 
 give themselves up freely to the exercise of their industry — that the in- 
 dependence of their flag should be inviolable, and its protection a red' 
 procal duty of the one towards tlie otlierJ'* 
 
 AzuNi, on Maritime Law, adduces facts to show, that the na- 
 tions in general, are approaching a state, in which the convention- 
 al code of public law will provide, That " in future no merchant- 
 vessel shall be stopped or seized, unless laden with articles really con- 
 traband:''* and Martens gives to our own country, the credit of 
 being first in this work of reform. " In the Treaty of Commerce 
 between the king of Prussia and the United States of America, 
 1785, Art. 23, the first example has been given of a convention, 
 in virtue of which, all mercliant and trading vessels employed in the 
 exchange of the productions of different places, shall pass freely, and 
 mtkout molestation,''' 
 
 ' Cicero. 
 25 
 
194 CONCLUSION. 
 
 country in the contest. If any of these measure* 
 should be immoral, let Christians avoid touching^ tast- 
 ing, or handling the unclean thing; but let them still 
 love their country ; and in every thing consistent with 
 a good conscience sanctified by the Lord, promote 
 the cause in which the nation is embarked against a 
 powerful and unjust enemy. 
 
 If negotiation should fail to secure a speedy 
 peace, the dangers of the country call for unanimity 
 in the strife of blood and battle. In that case, sup- 
 porting the war will be the means of preserving the 
 union of the states: and this is unquestionably de- 
 sirable. Whatever mistaken individuals may say 
 of the collision of interests, and the rivalry existing 
 betAveen the north and the south, the east and the 
 west; every state, every part of this extensive em- 
 pire, has a deep interest in perpetuating the federal 
 connexion. It is the means of preventing those col- 
 lisions and jealousies from coming to an open rup- 
 ture — it is the means of internal peace and friend- 
 ship — it is tlie means of promoting their commerce, 
 their manufactures, and their 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 
 churches. The several religious denominations, al- 
 
CONCLUSION. 195 
 
 ready weakened by dissention, would become still 
 more weak, if the parts of each ecclesiastical body 
 situated in the different slates, 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, would become more limited in 
 their influence and usefulness. 
 
 I would urge the support of the war, because I 
 earnestly long for a permanent peace. You know 
 the enemy. His claims will rise, by his 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 the 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 
 moral — the protection of property, and personal 
 liberty, I pray for success to these righteous claimis: 
 
196 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I 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 prevaih 
 
 In offering these prayers, I 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 Christians, who say, from the heart, 
 "thy kingdom comtP 1 speak not oi forms, dictated 
 by courts, and used by the priests, whom the kings 
 of the earth keep in pay to overawe their subjects. 
 I speak of prayers, dictated by the Spirit of our Lord 
 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 
 suffrages of the saints every where on earth, you 
 would not find one single-hearted Christian, who 
 would refuse his assent to these principles — the 
 sea should he free to all honest enterprise — personal 
 liberty should be secured — and every man should be 
 permitted to pursue his lawful industry, wheresoever he 
 chooses to take up his abode. These are the princi- 
 ples for which this nation contends by the sword; 
 and therefore do I pray to the Almighty God, for 
 their full success. — Amen. 
 
W:l 
 
 THE ENDS FOR WHICH GOD IN HIS PROVIDENCE' 
 PERMITS THE EXISTENCE OF THIS WAR. 
 
 — — <*iWW»' 
 
 SERMON V, 
 
 Come, and let us declare in Zdon the work of the Lord 
 our God. Jer. li. 10. 
 
 ± HEY, whose lot it is to live in the midst of revo- 
 lutions and wars, are constrained to be the witnesses 
 of much misery and sorrow. Where ignorance and 
 tyranny prevail, the humane have only to mourn in 
 silence 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 sufferings. It 
 is, moreover, to be expected, that in such cases, 
 some diversity of sentiment will obtain among the 
 most unbiassed and virtuous. The complexness of 
 
198 god's PROVIJiENCE IN 
 
 public affairs — the imperfection of knowledge — the 
 peevishness and the passions of the heart, give us rea- 
 son to believe, had we not tlie lights of history to 
 assure us of the fact, that without any uncommon 
 degrees of depravity, men will dispute about the 
 several interesting concerns of social life. 
 
 The sad experience of the churches, and particu- 
 larly of the Reforwedy proclaims the danger to their 
 sons, which arises from the tumults and the changes 
 of political empire. During the concussion of na- 
 tions, many professors of religion lose their reason 
 and their faith : and it requires living principle, in 
 connexion with the Bock of ages, to prevent being 
 tossed off, and buried in the earthquake. Therefore 
 do we invite christians, during the present struggle 
 of the nations, to come and declare in Zion the work 
 of the Lord our God. 
 
 The invitation was originally given by the pro- 
 phet Jeremiah, in view of judgments destined to 
 overthrow the Chaldean government. It was to the 
 wars of the Medes and Persians, he gave the name 
 of the work of the Lord^ which deserves to be declar- 
 cd in Zion, the church of Jesus Christ. The narra- 
 tive of this case, affords an instructive lesson. It is 
 found in chap. 50, & 51. Jeremiah, who makes the 
 declaration, deserves to be held up to vicAv as a mo- 
 del for christian ambassadors, in midst of scenes of 
 war. He was descended from the house of Aaron, 
 and of course a priest, as well as a prophet. By 
 early piety, a remarkable discernment of the signs 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 1^ 
 
 of the times, an affecting tenderness, and by an un- 
 yielding firmness and integrity, he was qualified for 
 the duties of an arduous ministry ; and, although he 
 longed for a release from his labours, and his v^ery 
 body, insomuch as to curse the day of his birth, he 
 was continued, for the instruction of the church, to 
 old age upon earth. His faithfulness provoked the 
 resentment of the great ; and among those whom he 
 laboured to instruct and to save, as he would not flat- 
 ter, he had few, if any friends. They forced him re- 
 luctantly to minister to them in Egypt after the fall 
 of Jerusalem : and, even there, instead of consulting 
 their prejudices, he freely proclaimed unwelcome 
 truths. Persecuted by men, his only consolation was 
 from heaven : and his happiness on earth consisted in 
 doing his duty. We do not know which to admire 
 most, his magnanimity, or disinterestedness: for 
 when Nebusnraddan, the Commander in Chief of the 
 Chaldean armament, offered him an establishment in 
 Babylon, he preferred continuing with his afflicted 
 brethren, who had never treated him with the kind- 
 ness or esteem due to his worth. 
 
 This weeping prophet sympathized in the suffer- 
 ings of a people, injured and invaded by 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 the fallen glory; 
 and turning his eyes to the east, over the mighty wa- 
 ters of Euphrates, to Babylon, the enemy of his 
 country, now in the full tide of successful war, he 
 
200 sod's providence in 
 
 exclaimed, O thou that drvellest upon many waters, 
 abundant in treasureSy 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 vs declare in Zion the work of 
 the Lord our GodJ*' 
 
 War is, in a certain sense, the work of the Lord — 
 As such it ought to be understood and declared by a re" 
 ligious people. 
 
 Both these assertions I 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 his creatures. He is of purer eyes 
 
 *Jcr. n. 13. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 201 
 
 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 effects, he 
 brings it to pass, as under existing circumstances, suit- 
 ed to the nature of his government over such crea- 
 , tares as the sinful children of men. Shall not the Judge 
 of all the earth do right ?\ Shall there be evil in a 
 city, and the Lord hath not done it /J 
 
 The providence of God extends to every event — 
 war is particularly specified — and the wars of this 
 age of the world, are pointed out in the prophetic 
 history. 
 
 1. The providence of God extends to every event 
 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 
 er through eternity. A man of imderstanding pur- 
 poseth beforehand 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 ivorketh all things after the counsel of his 
 onyn mill ;^ and as he willed what he shall himself per- 
 form, his agency extends over matter and mind 
 .tip every event, from the colouring of a filament 
 
 ■ Hab. i. 13. +Gen. xviii. 25. % Amos iii. 6. 
 
 §Epb. i. IT. 
 
 26 
 
202 GOD 3 PROVIDEWCE IW 
 
 of hair, to the overturning of a world. The very 
 hairs of your head are all numbered.^ 
 
 2. War is particidarly specified in several parts of 
 the sacred volume, as a work of God's Providence 
 over human affairs. "Wherefore it is said in the 
 book 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 lietli on the border of Moab."t 
 
 I shall illustrate this doctrine by a passage from 
 Siicred 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 proposed to Jehoshaphat 
 king of Judah, an alliance, for the purpose of waging 
 war against the Syrians, of which the latter accept- 
 ed ; but expressed a desire to consult the prophets 
 respecting the nature and ends of the contest.!: 
 Jehoshaphat, with all his failings, Avliich 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 
 the royal bounty ; because, by that very dependence 
 he might calculate upon their influence, in the com- 
 munity, to favour his plans of ambition and tyranny 
 
 • Lake xii. 7. -j-Nuni. xxi. 14. 1 1 Kings xxii. 1 — 5. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 203 
 
 He accordingly summoned a council of piopliets, 
 which was attended by about four hundred. 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. / hate him, 
 said Ahab, for he does not prophecy good concerning 
 mCy butevil.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 the Syrian war ; and, 
 in order to gratify Jehoshaphat, Micaiah was admitted 
 to the royal presence^ Enrobed in state apparel, 
 the two allied monarchs sat upon thrones, before the 
 gate of Samaria, receiving, in the presence of the 
 populace, the homage of the more courtly prophets, 
 when the son of Imlah approached. He came along 
 with a trusty messenger from Ahab, who had pre- 
 viously solicited a favourable reply from liim to the 
 
 ' See Terse <5. r Verse 8. 
 
204 uod's providence in 
 
 proposition of (he kings. Tlie prophet made no 
 stipulations, save expressing a determination to do 
 his duty. AVhen he spake, he predicted the fall of 
 Aliab in the battle.* 
 
 Enraged at such boldness, the king ordered the 
 prophet instantly to prison, to he fed 2ipon bread of 
 affliclion, and water of affliction, until he should him- 
 self return from the field of battle, whither he 
 speedily directed his troops to march. And Micaiah 
 said, if thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not 
 spoken at all by mej\ The fact verified the predic- 
 tion. War was waged ; and Ahab, in despite of his 
 cowardly disguise, fell in battle. 
 
 The words of the prophet, before the gates of Sa- 
 maria, explain in what sense, war waged, by sinful 
 men influenced by a spirit of delusion, may, never- 
 theless, be said to be of the Lord. I saw the Lord 
 sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven stand- 
 ing by him, on his right hand and on his left. And 
 the Lord said, who shall persuade Ahab, that he may 
 go up and fall at Ramoth-gileadI — And there came 
 forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I 
 will persuade him — / will go forth, and be a lying spi- 
 rit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, go 
 forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord 
 hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy 
 prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning 
 you.X 
 
 •Verses 9—17. i Verse 28. :t Verses 19—23. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 205. 
 
 From this account, it appears, that Ahab and his 
 prophets, seduced by an evil spirit, voluntarily 
 acted and sinned — that the Governor of the world 
 permitted their transgressions, and employed their 
 actions to answer his righteous purposes — that the 
 contest at Ramoth-gilead was predestinated, pre- 
 dicted, and brought to pass, by the Lord our God. 
 
 3. The rvarSf which are, in this age of the worlds 
 carried on in Christendom, are peculiarly pointed out 
 in prophecy as the work of God, 
 
 That part of sacred history, from which I have ta- 
 ken my text, very readily suggests to every one, fa- 
 miliar with the Bible, a portion of New Testament 
 prediction which justifies this remark. I refer to the 
 outpouring of the sixth Apocalyptical vial. It is 
 the intimate connexion between these two passages 
 of Scripture that induced the selection of my text. 
 
 The prophecy of Jeremiah respects the downfal 
 of the ancient Babylon. This is "the work of the 
 Lord to be declared in Zion." The event took place 
 under Belshazzar, and was effected by the united ar- 
 mies of Darius the Mede and Cyrus prince of Per- 
 sia, conducted by the latter, the greatest general of 
 his own time. 
 
 Media and Persia, both lay to the east of Judea 
 and of Chaldea, and on this account, a Jew, writing in 
 Palestine about the affairs of Babylon, must consi- 
 der the well-known destroyers of Chaldean great- 
 
:206 GOD S PROVIDENCE m 
 
 ness, Cyrus and his uncle Cyaxares, as the kings of 
 the east. For twenty-one years, the empire of the 
 world was disputed between these kings and the ru- 
 lers of Babylon. It was by stratagem they at last 
 succeeded. The Euphrates, which runs through that 
 eity, was diverted at immense labour from its chan- 
 nel; and when the waters abated, the Medes and 
 the Persians marched in and took possession.* This 
 explains the w ords of John the Diyine. The sixth 
 angel poured out his vial upon the great river Eu- 
 phrates ; and the waters thereof was dried up, that the 
 way of the kings of the east might be prepared.^ 
 
 The sixth vial designates the period under which 
 we live. I shall not here repeat what I formerly said 
 in your hearing, in my Lectures on the Period 
 
 * " After a siege of nearly two years, Cyrus at last succeeded iu 
 faking Babylon. Understanding that a great annual festival was to 
 be kept at Babylon, he sent up a party of his men to the castle, 
 leading to the great lake, with orders to break down the bank, 
 and turn the whole current into the lake. Towards evening he 
 opened the head of the trenches on both sides the river above the 
 city. In the interim, getting all his forces together, he posted one 
 part of them at the place where the river entered the city, and the 
 other where it came out, with orders to enter as soon as the channel 
 became fordable. By the middle of the night, both parties enter- 
 ed, the one having Gobrias, and the other Gadales, two revolting 
 nobles of Chaldea, for their guides. Both parties met at the pa- 
 lace, surprised the guards, took possession, and slew the king. 
 Tiiis account Herodotus and Xenophon both give of the taking of 
 Babylon by Cyrus; and herein they exactly agree with the sacred 
 scriptures." 
 
 Pridcaux, Vol. J. p. 153 — 155. 
 
 1 Rev. xvi. 12. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 207 
 
 0F THE Vials, to prove that we are now under the 
 sixth, I take that fact for granted. The fifth intro- 
 duced the reformation. The seventh will introduce 
 the millennium. The intervening judgments, on an- 
 tichristian nations,, belong to the sLxth. 
 
 We have shown, that the unclean spirits which pro- 
 ceed from Satan, doing wonderSy seducing the kings of 
 the Roman Earthy and even of the whole world, to go 
 forth to war — three unclean spirits likefrogSy out of the 
 mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, 
 are, the principles of infidelity, of tyranny, and of 
 hypocrisy, supported by philosophists, by European 
 monarchs, and by corrupt ecclesiastics, producing 
 wars, and gathering the nations to their merited judg- 
 ments. We have shown, that it is the design of heaven, 
 while employing that terrible machinery, as a wo to 
 the kingdom 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- 
 tion, 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 formei 
 channel is dry, and the corrupt establishments of Eu- 
 rope become a more easy prey to " the kings of the 
 «ast," the agents of their ruin. Of this vial the pre- 
 sent war is a part : and whatever may have been the 
 intention of its instigators and opponents ; whatever 
 
^Q? THE CONSEQUENCFS OF 
 
 the immediate motives of its origin and continuance, 
 it is a part of the grand scheme of Providence, lo 
 drying up the waters of the modern or mystic Baby- 
 lon; and as sucli, it is in a peculiar sense the work 
 of fbe Lord our God, which it behoves us both to 
 declare and to explain in Zion. But this leads to 
 ianother part of my discourse. 
 
 II. We shall show the several ends to he answered hy 
 this ivar, as a work of God's good providence. 
 
 This theme of discussion recommends itself, in a 
 particular manner, to christian attention. All that 
 love the Lord Jesus Christ, will regard the doings of 
 his hand. He hath exalted his throne in the heavens, 
 and his kingdom ruleth over all. Whatever judgment 
 Ave form of the views and the actions of men in pow- 
 er over the several nations ; it is our incumbent duty 
 to study with care the designs of heaven, so far as 
 they are developed in the dispensations of his pro- 
 vidence. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the 
 hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto 
 the hand of her mistress : so our eyes wait upon the 
 Ijord our Uod.'^ 
 
 The war in which our country is engaged, is a 
 
 part of THE GRAND SCHEME OF GoD*S PROVIDENCE, 
 
 and requires that we consider it, both as it respects 
 this nation in particular, and as it respects the gene- 
 ral family of nations. ' '** 
 
 ■■- ifc 
 
 * Ps. cxxiii. 2. 
 
 rv 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 
 
 209 
 
 We can discover the purposes of the Deily re- 
 specting us, only by means of his revealed will ; and 
 he reveals himself by his wordy and his works. He 
 hath so ordered it, that we are at war with a great 
 and powerful empire : and, however we may account 
 for the fact, by the contingencies of secondary 
 causes, it is not to be denied, that it comes to pass 
 according to the purpose of Hiiriy who worketh all 
 things after the counsel of his own will. He does no- 
 thing in vain. The effects produced were intended 
 to be produced ; and by observing these, we learn 
 what he hath designed to accomplish. The present 
 war appears destined by the God of heaven, to an- 
 swer the purposes of a judgment — a trial — and, a 
 henefit* 
 
 J. The War is a Judgment. 
 
 The sins of individual transgressors are not 
 punished to their full amount in this life. At the 
 last day, every man shall receive as his work shall 
 be. But nations do not exist as bodies politic in the 
 world of spirits. Divine Justice lays hold of them 
 accordingly in the present world, and metes out to 
 them their merited punishment. The transgressions of 
 this empire are confessedly numerous; and in no 
 .country upon earth do the sins of different individu- 
 als require more, to be taken into the account of the 
 national guilt, than those of the people of the United 
 States ; because in no other country, are the people 
 and the government so completely identified in the 
 constitution and administration of civil power. The 
 
 27 
 
210 THE DESIGN OF 
 
 moral character of those who are elected to office, 
 is known to their constituents: their acts, while in 
 office, are the acts of the community which they re- 
 present: the offence 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 evily and 
 hrought it upon us : for the Lord our God is righteous 
 in all his works which he dotth : for we obeyed not his 
 voice,* We feel our sufferings. 
 
 The mind is harasse<l by anxiety ; the body is bro- 
 jken down by the fatigues of Avarfare : families are 
 separated to meet no more : and the arts, the em- 
 ployments, and the 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* 
 lie Contractor, is supported or enriched on the public 
 loss. A few years of war, will make many rich men 
 poor, and some poor men wealthy. 
 
 ^- Dan. ix. 14, 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 211 
 
 To fatigues and vexations, to the dissipation of 
 a military life, to the effects of unhealthy climate 
 and diet, as well as by the sword of battle, many fall 
 as victims, and leave behind them the widow and the 
 fatherless, bereaved and unprotected, to relate the tale 
 of sorrow. Heavy taxation, for the present, and an 
 accumulating national debt for the succeeding gene- 
 ration, are among the evils incident to a contest like 
 this, and in all these sufferings we clearly see the in- 
 dignation of the Lord. He appointed these evils 
 for national chastisement: and the fact must be 
 proclaimed in Zion as the work of the Lord. It 
 must be so, for he hath purposed it : and it shouM 
 be so, for he is holy. 
 
 2. The War is a Trial. 
 
 It would be no less comfortless to ourselves, than 
 ungrateful to a merciful God, were we to consider 
 the evils which he brings upon us solely in the light. 
 of a punishment. War, like other evils, is ordain- 
 ed for trial : and as such, Christians will improve the 
 dispensation. While it corrects for previous afid 
 present guilt, it makes proof of the remaining good. 
 Such was the principal character of the afflictions of 
 Job. Such were the sufferings of primitive perse- 
 cution : and such are, in a great measure, the evils 
 of a nation prosecuting legitimate warfare. 
 
 In the present state of this country the community 
 is severely tried, as to the degree of christian libe- 
 rality among its menabers — as to the patriotism of 
 
212 THE DESIGN OF 
 
 the rulers and the people — and as to the worth of 
 their free republican institutions. 
 
 First. The contest does in fact show where Chris- 
 Han liberality is found, and in what degree it exists 
 among its professors. Charity, respecting the dif- 
 ferent opinions of christian sects and denominations, 
 has long been a favourite doctrine in this country. 
 Whether it arises from true benevolence, or from in- 
 difference to religion itself, remains to be shown. If 
 from true benevolence, it will certainly triumph 
 over political animosities. And the war will make 
 it appear whether these party political distinctions, 
 which have so long and unhappily existed, can be 
 made to yield to Christian attachments to such a de- 
 gree, as that brother can listen to a brother, and impar- 
 tially esteem him, and love him still, although of dif- 
 ferent sentiments respecting the character of the 
 present war. Charity is not limited to a political sect. 
 
 Second. The state of the country does also try ef- 
 fectually the degree o{ patriotism which is still to be 
 found in the United States. 
 
 It will show how far a man is willing to suffer for 
 his country — How far he is ready to sacrifice views 
 of personal interest or ambition — How far he is 
 prepared to give up with the pride of opinion, sup* 
 press the prejudices of party spirit, cast off* the tram- 
 mels of that electioneering machinery, wherewith he 
 has been held in bondage. The country calls for una- 
 nimity in repelling and chabtising the foe. In the 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 213 
 
 time of her distress, an ample opportunity is afforded 
 to the hollow-hearted patriot, to revile her, to em- 
 barrass her counsels and proceedings, and like Shi- 
 mei, at Bahurim, to curse her as guilty before God, 
 in hopes of rising on her ruins. But this is the time 
 to show the true patriot, of whatever party. His in- 
 fluence and his advice ; his co-operation and support; 
 his wishes and his prayers, will be offered up for the 
 maintenance of the contest with adequate resources, 
 until victory crown with success the efforts of his 
 country, and procure an honourable and a perma- 
 nent pacification. 
 
 The patriotic statesman, had he personally suffer- 
 ed from his country the greatest injustice, would 
 come, in the present crisis, as AristideSy to his rival 
 Themistocles, and offer his services, in giving effect to 
 the war, for the good of his country. In vain do they 
 profess Christianity, who will permit the pagans of 
 Greece to exhibit greater degrees of disinterestedness 
 imder similar 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 patriotism, *^ 
 
 Third. The present war is a trial of our republi- 
 can institutions. 
 
 America gave to the civilized world, the first 
 specimen of a country, great and enterprising, ca- 
 pable of order and prosperity without kings, without 
 nobles, without degrading the lower classes of the 
 community into a state of servitude, and without 
 
214 THE GOO» EFFECTS Oif 
 
 making of religion and its ministers, an engine of 
 political power. This fact is known in Europe. It 
 is already admitted every where by men capable of 
 reflection, that republicanism, that a true Representa- 
 iive Democracy is the best form of government for a 
 people at peace. But can it endure the shock of 
 war? That is the question which has been answered, 
 by the advocates of arbitrary power, in the negative. 
 That is the interesting question now in trial by this 
 war. If we succeed in this contest, the superiority 
 of our political institutions must be evident to our- 
 selves, and to the whole world. If a government, 
 supported but by half the strength of the nation, 
 without fleets, without armies, and without the wealth 
 which gives sinews to w ar, dared to declare hostili- 
 ties; if a republican government, without veteran 
 soldiers, and without experienced generals, is found 
 capable of carrying on a contest with the most pow- 
 erful nation on earth, a nation skilled in war, at the 
 very acme of her greatness and glory, victorious 
 over all her other enemies, with an immense disposa- 
 ble force : and if, under such circumstances, we can 
 procure an honourable peace, then is our freedom 
 secure, then shall we have' confidence in one an- 
 other, and become the admiration of the world. 
 
 3. The war is a benefit, 
 
 " The Lord reigneth ; let the earth rejoice. Cloude 
 and darkness are round about him: righteousness 
 and judgment are the habitation of liis throne. Zion 
 heard and was glad; and the daughter of Judah re- 
 
THE PRESENT WAK. 215 
 
 joiced because of thy judgmentSy O Lord. Rejoice 
 in the Lord, ye righteous ; and give j^thanks at the 
 remembrance of his holiness."* 
 
 Whether I shall be able, my christian brethren, 
 to specify the advantages which will flow from this 
 contest or not, 1 know well that God intends it for 
 good. Whether 1 shall succeed in convincing you, 
 that the effects which I am about to mention, will in 
 fact follow, or that even when they come to pass, 
 they should be considered as a public benefit, I will 
 not now venture to affirm: but, at all events, the 
 saints are required to rejoice in his judgments ; and 
 these judgments must, of course, give cause of joy. 
 Others may contemplate the prospect before them 
 with gloomy apprehensions. Let them cheerlessly 
 cast their eye upon the evil, and fall into despondence. 
 Let them fret, and abuse, and curse the hand that 
 smites them ; but, I know that all things shall work 
 together 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 
 vindication of its injured rights, he will avenge our 
 cause, and execute judgment for us. 
 
 I flatter myself, however, that I shall be able t® 
 point out some good effects which the Lord intends 
 to bring about by this war. 
 
 *Ps. xcvii. 
 
216 THE GOOD EFFECTS OF 
 
 First. In its very greatest evils, I can perceive ac- 
 tual benefits. The sufferings which it causes, will 
 exercise the saints to godliness, and promote their 
 holiness, their usefulness, and their future happiness. 
 The ciiange in the state of property which it produ- 
 ces, must inculcate in the bosom of the virtuous, de- 
 pendence on God, the only unchangeable good : and 
 as to others, I can trust to the wisdom of Heaven, 
 since God knows better than we do, in whose hands 
 the multitude of gold and silver will be of the most 
 value in the world. The havoc made by the sv;ord, 
 cuts off many of the wicked from annoying the 
 earth; and the godly who fall are delivered from 
 temptation and trouble, and hastened home to the 
 enjoyment of a great reward. Immorality itself, 
 will in fine be overruled by Him, who numbers the 
 hairs of our head, for his own glory and the welfare 
 of his chosen sons and daughters. 
 
 Second. The American war brings to notice, 
 among the thinking part of society, among the 
 scholars and the statesmen, throughout the nations, 
 great and important principles of moral order, the 
 knowledge of which, has been heretofore confined 
 to a few of comparatively little influence in the 
 world. 
 
 The freedom of the seas is desirable to all the 
 nations, with a single exception ; and there is not a 
 man of sense in the whole world who denies its equi- 
 ty. Were you to call together, men of understand 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 217 
 
 ing, of whatever country, and refer to tliem for deci- 
 :sion, the great interesting questions of commerce, 
 they would unanimously and unhesitatingly declare, 
 The sea should be free to every man. 
 
 , It is utterly impossible that judicious men would 
 ever say, the dominion of the deep must of right be 
 surrendered to some one kingdom, and let the rest of 
 the nations become tributary : It is utterly impossi- 
 ble that a congress of impaitial men would say, the 
 ocean ought of right to be for ever and ever under 
 the dominion of England. It is indeed said, by the 
 supporters of English claims on America, " possession 
 gives right to territory, why not to the ocean? Eng- 
 land has undisputed possession of the deep: She 
 therefore has a right to control the commerce of the 
 world." Who makes this assertion? Men who say 
 they are themselves the friends of commerce ; and 
 who reflect upon their own government as if it were 
 unfriendly to the rights of trade. Do you, indeed, 
 sa}' that England has, by possession, obtained a right 
 to rule the waves? Trespass not upon her territory. 
 Say not you are the friends of unembarrassed trade. 
 Listen to me, and hear my reasoning. You are not 
 only inconsistent; but you are, also, entirely mista- 
 ken about the matter of fact. Britain never had un- 
 disputed possession of the seas. Spain, France, 
 Holland, the armed neutrality of the North, all the 
 nations of the civilized world have contended for 
 equal rights on the deep. This republic last, though 
 not the least successfully, has vindicated her title to 
 an equal share of maritime rights. As the argument 
 
 28 
 
218 THE GOOD EFFECTS OF 
 
 rests upon what is false in fact, so also, it assumes an 
 inapplicable principle. If possession is admitted ta 
 give a title to unappropriated lands ; it is because the 
 general good of society is promoted by the cultiva- 
 tion of the soil. Unoccupied territory is for the time 
 useless. But who can improve or cultivate the 
 ocean ? 
 
 There is no analogy between the two cases. The 
 ?eas are the highway of the nations of the earth. 
 The general advantage is promoted by the uninter- 
 rupted enjoyment of that highway, and not by the 
 British claims of exclusive occupancy. The indi- 
 vidual nation which urges by power a right to rule 
 the waves, resembles not the hushandman^ who takes 
 into his possession, and improves a part of the wilder- 
 ness ; but is like the highwayman who interrupts the 
 traveller on the public road. 
 
 The apologists of Gieat Britain, moreover, in 
 using this argument, claim a right which the Prince 
 Regent himself will not venture to claim before the 
 world. His navy frequently, indeed, too frequent- 
 ly for the repose of nations, practises as if he did claim 
 the right: but the cabinet are aware that an open 
 avowal would be understood, by all men of sense, as 
 a declaration of hostilities against civilized man. 
 They will, of course, endeavour to evade the queg- 
 tion, as the more convenient policy. 
 
 The essential principles of the social compact, as 
 arising from the constitution of human natuie, and 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 219 
 
 jdeclared in the word of God — a compact, necessary in- 
 deed, and yet voluntary upon the part of each member, 
 will in consequence of this war become a subject of 
 more general examination. It is not merely for " Free 
 trade and sailors' rights^'' that this contest was intend- 
 ed by the Governor of the world : it was to illustrate 
 the principles of national morality with which these 
 practical questions are necessarily associated. The 
 proper independency of nations, each of all others, is a 
 subject of consideration. The true nature of allegi- 
 ancCy due in proportion to the protection needed, asked 
 for, and enjoyed, is exhibited to view; so as to 
 maintain the idea that man is as free to choose his 
 residence as his employment, his country as his wife, 
 his ruler as his servant : the rights of industry and 
 commercial intercourse, to be equably granted to all 
 the nations ; and admitted by others to be without 
 restraint, while prosecuted openly and honourably, 
 are hereby made a subject of general attention and 
 discussion. These topics are urged at an interesting 
 crisis in the civilized world — by the ability and elo- 
 quence of our secretaries and ambassadors — by the 
 t)ravery of our troops, and the success of our ships 
 of war, they are forced upon the notice of kings and 
 of emperors ; of philosophers and of poets ; of mer- 
 chants, of mechanics, of husbandmen; yea, of all 
 ranks of men. They will thus command a respect 
 which politicians would scorn to yield to the max- 
 ims of equity, or to the precepts of the word of God. 
 
 Third. By the present contest, America will ac- 
 quire a respectable character in the family of na- 
 tions. 
 
220 THE CiOOD EFFECTS OF 
 
 She has' long been abused and insulted for her 
 peaceful demeanour. The belligerents of Europe 
 acted towards this country, as if it had been dena- 
 iionalhcd. Tlie weakness of the government, the 
 cowardice of the people, and above all, the avidity 
 of the merchants, were subjects of scorn and con- 
 tempt abroad : but the shame is removed; the vete- 
 rans of Wellington attest the prowess of our troops ; 
 and the world is astonished at the facility with which 
 our naval heroes hav^e conquered, when they met 
 upon terms of ecjuality, those who had conquered all 
 other nations. The American character, in argu- 
 ment and diplomacy, in the council and upon the 
 field, now stands confessed ; and this is a guarantee 
 against future insolence and aggression. 
 
 (Id 
 
 Fourth. As another effect of the contest, the 
 American name, respected abroad, will communi- 
 cate at home the impulse of patriotism. The love 
 of country, weakened by familiarity with its ene- 
 mies, and destroyed by the love of wealth, shortly 
 after the war, which established the independence of 
 America, will be revived by this second war of inde- 
 pendence ; and the several monied interests, which 
 are set in operation independently of British com- 
 merce, as well as the growing influence of domestic 
 literature and arts, will serve to cherish that passion 
 in the breasts of the rising generation. Hereafter 
 they will take an honourable pride in the deeds of 
 their statesmen and their warriors ; and it will be felt 
 by themselves, and known to others, that on a 
 question of foreign opposition, they are all Ame- 
 ricans. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 221 
 
 Fifth. The doctrine of expatriation, and the true 
 nature of allegiance and protection, being hereafter 
 better understood, will encourage the best part 
 of the Protestants of Europe to seek an asylum 
 in 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 earthy 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 the 
 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 citizens has 
 been given up by the government : but happily the allegation is un- 
 founded. Sad will be that day (o America, if it ever should arrive, 
 when such a violation of her own faith, and of the moral law, will 
 receive her sanction. 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 practice of Britain, of which America 
 complained? has ceased with the European war. We cannot force 
 the principle upon any nation. The principle is our own. All we 
 require of others is, not to injure us by their practice. But our Com- 
 missioners of peace are expressly instructed, never to yield the prin- 
 ciple to the claims of the foe. 
 
 Extract from the Instructions of the Executive to the Commissioners, 
 dated June 25, 1814. 
 
 " The United States having resisted by war the practice of im- 
 pressment, and continued the vrar until that practice had ceased, by 
 
222 THE GOOD EFFECTS OF 
 
 We have abundantly shown, in a preceding dis- 
 course, the absurd consequences of denying the 
 right of expalrialiony to man. We have charged, 
 moreover, the court of Britain with inconsistency, in 
 granting naturalization to others, while claiming per- 
 petuity of allegiance to themselves. 
 
 J am perfectly aware that British statesmen of no 
 mean name, and their apologists in the United States, 
 do not admit the justice of this charge. They plead 
 the correctness and the consistency of the Regenfs 
 recent pi'oclamaiion, recalling his native subjects, and 
 threatening to treat, as traitors^ all such, who are 
 found in arms against him : But I am also sensible, 
 that the court of Britain, haughty as it is, dare not 
 execute that threatening in its full extent. It has al- 
 ready been alarmed at the counter threatening of a 
 terrible retaliation. In vain am I told that the emi- 
 grant must remain on American ground in order to 
 be safe — that he must never bear arms against his 
 first rulers — ^that he must never venture upon the 
 
 a peace in Europe, their object has been essentially obtained for the 
 present. It may reasonably be expected, that the arrangement con- 
 templated and provided for, will take effect before a new war ia 
 Europe shall furnish an occasion for reviving the practice. Should 
 this arrangement, however, fail, and the practice be again revived, 
 the United States will be again at liberty to repel it by war; and 
 that they will do so cannot be doubted; for after the proof which 
 they have already given of a firm resistance in that mode persevered 
 in until the practice had ceased, under circumstances the most un- 
 favourable, it cannot be presumed that the practice will ever be to- 
 lerated again. Certain it is, that every day will render it more in- 
 eligible in Great Britain to make the attempt." 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 223 
 
 open seas. Transferring allegiance is either a right, 
 or it is not. If it is not a right, remaining on Ame- 
 rican ground cannot make it so, or free the con- 
 science from guilt in the oath of naturalization. If 
 it is a right, it constitutes an obligation to defend 
 the cause of the country ; and a voyage to sea does 
 not alter its nature. You admit, while defending the 
 claims of British domination, you admit, that she has 
 a law in her statute-book for naturalizing men of fo- 
 reign birth, not merely in order to people her land ; 
 but principally with design to navigate her vessels, 
 and to fight her battles on the ocean : And will you 
 be so inconsistent as to urge upon adopted American 
 citizens the necessity of confinement to the shores? 
 No, this is not your apology. I know what it is. I 
 well know what the lords of the admiralty direct to 
 be said in their behalf, upon this subject. They 
 would say, England indeed, by slalute laWy "natu- 
 ralizes foreigners, but by common law allegiance is 
 unalienable. America too, by law, naturalizes fo- 
 reigners, and so far we do not object : but here is the 
 difference. England gives up, to the natural sove- 
 reign, the subject for execution as a traitor: and 
 never protects the adopted citizen against the claims 
 of his native state. You profess to protect, like na- 
 tives, your adopted citizens. We are not inconsist- 
 ent : we claim our own subjects to be punished for 
 treason; and we will give up your citizens, when 
 you demand them, for the same purpose." 
 
 Horrible apology! criminal consistency! And is this 
 your vindication? Is this, indeed, your boasted politi- 
 
224 THE GOOD EFFECTS OF 
 
 cal morality ? You, by your own confession, invite the 
 unwary to your service ; you allure them to treason 
 you tempt them, you impress them, you deceive 
 them by the solemnities of an act of your parlia- 
 ment ; and yet you will not protect them : but give 
 them up for traitors to the hand of the public execu- 
 tioner. Great God, how deplorably mistaken must 
 those christians be, who consider such a government 
 as this, as becoming a moral and religious communi- 
 ty ! A government which pledges the public faith 
 with the express design of deceiving and destroying 
 him who trusts in it for protection. Righteousness^ 
 righteovsncss only, exalleth a nation, hut sin is a 
 reproach to any people. 
 
 Sixth, The present war appears destined of the 
 Lord, to subserve the cause of the kings of the east in 
 drying up the waters of Euphrates.^ 
 
 This is a war for commercial freedom, and against 
 the British monopoly. It is a contest, not only 
 to prevent the recolonization of these states, but also 
 in the Providence of God for extending the princi- 
 ples of representative democracy — the blessings of li- 
 berty, and the rights of self-government, among 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 from subjugation to the Spanish 
 colonies, struggling for emancipation to the south ; 
 and independently of the idea of conquering Canada 
 
 * See pages 205—207. 
 
THE PRESENT WAR. 225 
 
 hy our aiTns, it teaches to its inhabitants the benefitii 
 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 means of 
 ultimately strengthening the American democracy. 
 Whatever 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 people 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 
 Jacobinical institutions, conducted with all the zeal, 
 for power ; but with more intelligence and order, 
 than the Parisian associations. Nay, the very con- 
 vention of the Eastern states, and all the opposition 
 which the measures of this government have pro- 
 toked in that part of our country, are predicated 
 upon the principles of democracy. The war it- 
 self, and all the strife and the contention which it 
 has produced, must therefore be considered, in the 
 Providence of God, 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. 
 
 2'9 
 
 «938<][ 9'J •' 
 
(, 226 ) 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I'he hope, brethren, of a general emancipaliony sup- 
 ports and anhnates the benevolent exertions of the 
 Christian Philanthropist. Party will indeed rejoice, 
 in any event that may have an auspicious bearing up- 
 on the desired elevation of a favourite leader to 
 power. Selfishness will rejoice, in whatsoever tends 
 to promote its private gratification, should it be at 
 the expense of a nation's independence and honour. 
 But vital religion refers every event to the meridian 
 line, the work of Jesus Christ for the salvation )f 
 men ; and estimates the value of such events in pro- 
 portion to their tendency in bringing about peace up- 
 on earth and good will towards men of all kindreds and 
 languages. 
 
 The christian spirit is of a diffusive, an active, an 
 enlarged benevolence. It seeks first the kingdom of 
 heaven and its righteousness; and never ceases to 
 pray to Jehovah, thi/ kingdom come. It seeks the 
 overthrow of all false principles, of all immoral 
 power, of all tyranny, and of all irreligion. Infi- 
 delity, hypocrisy, corruption in matters of religion, 
 are alike objects of its aversion. Knowledge, virtue, 
 liberty, righteousness, these are the objects of pious 
 regard; and, in proportion to the prevajence of true 
 religion in the heart, will man be desirous to see 
 these blessings extended throughout the nations. 
 
CONCLUSION. 227 
 
 That they shall, in time, be so extended, he hath 
 promised who is able also to perform. The promise is, 
 however, accompanied with a threatening to those 
 nations that know not God, and obey not the gospel. 
 Thus saith the Lord Gou, Remove the diadem and 
 lake off the crown — / will overturn, overturn, overturn 
 it; and it shall he no more, until he come whose right 
 it is ; and I will give it him,^' 
 
 It is this overturning which astonishes the nations, 
 and makes the people afraid. We have seen much 
 of it come to pass, in the last twenty years ; and 
 more remains still to be accomplished. Terrified 
 at the work of judgment according to the threaten- 
 ing, many who have plead the promise, have ceased 
 from their prayers. There was a time when the 
 Churches were earnest, in their supplications, for the 
 downfal of antichrist — when all protestant ministers 
 and people were united in seeking the overthrow of 
 the man of sin, and of all the pillars of his throne. 
 That time, alas! is now no more. A temporizing 
 policy, a superficial faith, an accommodating morality 
 have succeeded, in destroying a taste for able evan- 
 gelical discussion ; in diminishing the ardour of de- 
 votion ; and in conciliating, for the sake of carnal 
 pleasure and gain, the affections of the ministers and 
 members of the Churches towards the great corrup- 
 tion of religion in the world effected by the supersti- 
 tious establishments of the European nations. There 
 
 * E7.ek. lixj. 26, 27. 
 
223 CONCLUSION. 
 
 are very few, I repeat the remark with fear and sor- 
 row, I repeat it with gloomy anticipations, as it re- 
 spects those churches themselves, there are very few 
 who publicly pray for the downfal of antichrist. And 
 yet this is the principal object which the Lord has in 
 view, in dashing the potsherds of the earth against 
 the potsherds of the earth. 
 
 To this object, the hopes of the church were long 
 directed from afar. Modern wars, in the great scheme 
 of Providence, are destined to realize these hopes. By 
 terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer uSj O 
 God of our salvation.* Of that grand scheme, the con- 
 test, in which our own country is engaged, is a part. 
 Therefore do I declare in Zion that it is the work 
 of the Lord our God. I hope with respect to us, the 
 contest will be short — that our country will escape 
 the trial, without injury to its republican institutions; 
 without diminution of its honour or power; without 
 dismemberment; and without curtailing the rights of 
 its citizens. But it is in the old world the principal 
 scenes of this tragedy are exposed to view. The 
 nations of Europe are, it is true, now at peace with 
 one another. The awful storm is, at once, unex 
 pectedly and surprisingly hushed. There is a calm. 
 The troubled ocean is still. It will not long continue 
 in this state. Against these nations there is wrath 
 from him that sits on high. Ignorance may flatter 
 itself that the era of the repose of nations is arrived 
 
 * Psalm Ixv. 5. 
 
tSOKCLUSION. 203 
 
 Crafty wen encourage the delusion for the sake of 
 personal gain and party purposes. If ihei/ should 
 not live to retract, some of i/ou will live to bear tes- 
 timony to the delusion which they have attempted 
 to practise. In vain has it been asserted that, by 
 the fall of Napoleon Buonapnrle, the peace of Europe 
 is secured. That man is indeed fallen. Events 
 which astonish us, have come to pass in a few months. 
 While in the height of his power he was not an ob- 
 ject of our love or of our fear. Circumscribed, by 
 the waves which encircle the island of Elba, he is 
 now neither the butt of our reproach nor the object 
 of our contempt. We are not in the habit of bow- 
 ing to the rising sun, nor of meanly trampling upon 
 men who are stripped of authority. Mind, he pos- 
 sessed in a higher degree than usually falls to the lot 
 of princes of royal blood. For talent, activity, and 
 decision of character, courage in the field, and intel- 
 ligence in the cabinet, Buonaparte had few equals 
 in any age. His religion and morality were ever 
 such, as we view with disapprobation. They were 
 those, of unsanctitied men, of mere politicians. 
 He was betrayed. He fell; and France is fallen 
 with him. The Bourbons are restored. The Pope 
 has reassumed his mitre. The Inquisition has seized 
 the instruments of torture in its gloomy caverns. 
 In the restoration of the Germanic empire, the last 
 head of the beast is more conspicuously revealed to 
 view ; and in the adjustment of the balance of pow- 
 er among the antichristian nation.?, tb.e frn horns may 
 
230 CONCLUSION. 
 
 again be more distinctly displayed before the last 
 vial is poured out by the angel of destruction. 
 
 The end, however, is not yet. The peace of 
 Europe cannot be permanent. A day of retri- 
 bution cometh. The scourge, which God employed 
 in the punishment of guilty communities, is indeed 
 laid aside ; but although Napoleon should never 
 again attract the attention of the civilized world, in- 
 struments, of equal anguish to offending nations, will 
 be employed by Him who hath pledged his word for 
 tlieir entire overthrow. We never considered the 
 events, which proceeded from the French revolution, 
 in any other light than as judgments from the Lord 
 upon the antichristian earth. They were not the 
 saints of the Most Highy but the votaries of the man 
 of sin, that suffered in the recent wars. Perhaps 
 there was not one single witness for the cause 
 of the Lord, who suffered martyrdom during the 
 whole French revolution. If any real christian 
 perished in the strife, he was not condemned to seal 
 with his blood the testimony which he heldy but fell 
 like others in the indiscriminate calamities of the po- 
 litical earthquake. It is against the thrones of the 
 ancient dynasties that the blood of the martyrs is 
 calling for vengeance: and so far as the United 
 States, in the present war with Great Britain, contend 
 for liberty and righteousness, they are co-operating 
 with the martyrs, in opposing that nation which is 
 now the principal support of the man of sin. 
 
CONCLUSION, 231 
 
 If 1 have given, in these discourses, any encour- 
 agement to the prosecution of this war, with valnur, 
 with unanimity, and with energy, I have done my du- 
 ty. The faithful ministers of Christ give, with divine 
 approbation, the golden vials full of the last plagues^ 
 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, I have a 
 right to declare my sentiments ; and in doing so, in a 
 tone of respect for those who differ from me, I hope 
 thstt the mere fact, of these sentiments being on the 
 side of my country, and its government, in this 
 contest, is not a reason for condemning them un- 
 heard, or of displeasure at me for giving them 
 utterance. 
 
 \ 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 
 brethren in the Reformed Church, (for I have 
 spoken their sentiments concerning 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 Presbyterians, the Martyrs, supported the 
 
 '■,'11 
 
 * 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 them. 
 
 " This year (1679,) is remarkable for being the epoch of the welJ 
 known epithets of Whig and Tort, by which this island has been 
 30 long divided. The court partj reproached their antagonists 
 
23ii CONCLUSION. 
 
 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, ill 
 eveiy 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. 
 Some of the most faithful ministers, among the re- 
 formers, with patriotic ardour contended, even with 
 ibe sword, in defence of their civil and religious li- 
 l)erties. Ulric Zdingle, the morning-star of the re- 
 
 with Ihcir affinity to the fanatical convetiticlers in Scotland," (so 
 it suited an aih^istiory, for David Hume was no democrat, to stJg- 
 Qiatize the most pious people of the age.) " who rvere known by the 
 name of Whigs. The country party found a resemblance between 
 the courtiers and the Popish banditti, in Ireland, to whom the ap- 
 pellation of Tory was affixed." Hxtmc's Charles 11. Chap IV. 
 
 " They were for confining the royal [)rerogative within the limits 
 »f the law, for which reason their adversaries charged them with 
 republican principles^ and gave them the reproachful name ol 
 Whigs ; a name first given to the most rigid covenanters. The To- 
 ries went into all the arbitrary court measures, and adopted into 
 our religion, a Mahometan principle, under the name of Passive Obe- 
 dience, and Non-resistance; which, since the times of that impos- 
 tor, who first broached it, has been the means to enslave a great 
 part of the world." Ncal's Hist. Puritatis, Vol. IV. p. 378. 
 
 " The name of Whig took its rise in the reign of Charles II. 
 and was bestowed on the best patriots then in the kingdom True 
 and genuine Whigism, therelbre, consists in a zealeus attachment 
 to the liberties of mankind." Old Whis. 
 
CONCLUSION. 233 
 
 formation, fell in battle at Zuvicli, 1530/^ at the com- 
 joencement of the strife against arbitrary power ; and 
 towards the close of the struggle which terminated in 
 the overthrow of the purest of the churches, Richard 
 Camron fell at Airsmoss, 1680, while defending, as a 
 christian hero, the religion and liberties of his coun- 
 tiy, against the tyranny of the bishops, and the royal 
 house of Stuart.f 
 
 So far as I, too, may still retain any portion oi 
 the spirit of my native land, where Wallace fought^ 
 where Buchanan wrote, where Knox preached the 
 gospel of God, where the Martyrs, down from PatricJc 
 Hamilton to James Benwick, left their flesh to rest 
 in hope of deliverance — that spirit is opposed to the 
 impious misrule of a corrupt hierarchy and immoral 
 power. If I have caught the spirit of this, the country 
 of my choice, it is in favour of liberty. If I claim 
 a place among consistent Protestants, I must testify 
 against all the acts of antichristian power. If 1 fol- 
 low the steps which are died by the blood of the 
 
 *- Mosheim, Vol. IV. page 353. 
 f There, said Robert Murray, who cut off the head and Ivav'V ^ 
 Mr. Camron, and presented them to the king's courif '' * ^ ". J 
 the head and hands, that lived praying and ;,r— ^unement of crue j ^^ 
 and fighting:' The tyrannical cPtt-orOiy Father, noy in P'"^".,^^**' 
 ordered them to be alw^s asked if he knew tbeivi. The goo inau 
 the same r.;- . . ;. ^^^ kissed them, and said, "I lcn^> ^cm. 
 ,.,.a.em xn h^s ^^ "^- ^ Good is the rM of Vae Urdfhf 
 
 ihey are my son's, my dea, son s. '^ 
 
 cnrtotrvrong ^^^ ^^'^^'^'^^^^.^t^s Ecc mt. mriV ^''■ 
 
234 COKCLUSIOiV. 
 
 Martyrs, I must raise my voice against the tlirones 
 which shed that blood. If the Bible is my system of 
 religion, and of social order, I must disclaim attach- 
 ment to those powers that are hostile to evangelical 
 doctrine, and to the rights of the church of God. If, 
 in so doing, 1 have olFended an}' of my hearers, it is 
 without intending it; for I watch for your souls, and 
 desire to promote your welfare and your hap- 
 piness. 
 
 1 have, however, in these discourses, which I now 
 bring to a close, proved the right, which christian mi- 
 nisters possess, of applying the christian doctrine to 
 man in his social as well as in his individual capacity : 
 and have given sufficient evidence, in the exercise of 
 this right, that true religion is favourable to the im- 
 provement and freedom of mankind. The moral cha- 
 racter of both the belligerents, this republic and the 
 British monarchy, has been weighed in the sacred ba- 
 lance, and the preference given to our own country. I 
 have shown, both the lawfulness of waging war, and 
 the causes which justify the application of force by 
 nation to another. I have vindicated the cause of 
 exnibnet»^^nst^ a jealous and powerful rival. I have 
 lions of the word oi^uJis considerations, and thepredic- 
 permitling this country (o'^^esigns of Providence in 
 
 Keen far from my fhou<^h/s ir, „: ^ '"—■•i has 
 eventhekasf. ofLS 7"'^°"^"^- <» any, 
 
 • ' " ^"^ "h" habitually wait upon it 
 
CONCLUSION. 235 
 
 and to the heart-searching God, whom I serve in the 
 gospel of his Son, that I do not practise upon a spirit 
 of contempt for the feelings of my fellow-men, al- 
 though I am accustomed to speak without the fear 
 of man, what I believe to be seasonable truth. 
 
 I have indeed spoken what I felt it my duty to 
 speak, without respect of persons. Time will deter- 
 mine whether I have 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 in the pre- 
 sent contest, to God my Redeemer, to whom be glory 
 for ever and ever. — Amen. 
 
 THE END. 
 
THE 
 
 CONSTITUTION, CHARACTER, 
 
 AND 
 
 DUTIES, 
 
 OF 
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 PREACHED AT 
 
 THE ORDINATION 
 
 REV. GILBERT Mc MASTER, 
 
 IN THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, DUANESBURGH, 
 
 BY ALEXANDER MCLEOD, A. M. 
 
 Pastor of the Refbnned Pre«l»yterian CcngregatioB in the citj- of Neu -Y orU, 
 
 PUBLISHED AT TH£ REQUEST OF THE HEARERS. 
 
 jYEW-YORK: 
 
 Printed by J. Seymour, No. 118, Peari-strett. 
 
 1808. 
 
A SERMON, 4-c. 
 
 Jeremiah hi. 15. — I will g'we you Pastors accord- 
 ing to mine heart, which shall feed you with know- 
 ledge and understanding. 
 
 1 HE few pious people, who remained scattered 
 through Palestine when Jeremiah was called to the 
 prophetic office, were in great need of a public minis- 
 try. Like you, my brethren, who are to-day assem- 
 bled, in order to receive a Pastor from your God, 
 those, who, in the land of Israel, adhered to the cove- 
 nant of their fathers, had been for years destitute of 
 the solemn forms of public worship. 
 
 About fifty years before the time of this prophecy, 
 Esarhaddon, the son of Sennacherib, and now king 
 both of Assyria and Chaldea, that he might entirely 
 subdue the efforts of the children of Israel to resist 
 his despotic power, carried the ten tribes out of their 
 country, and settled in their room. Idolaters from 
 som^ other provinces of his empire*. Very few of 
 
 * 2 Kings 17. Ezra. 4. 2—10. 
 
(' 4 ) 
 
 fhe worshrppcrs of the true God remained; and 
 these were without a Priest, and without a Sacri- 
 fice, and without an Altar. 
 
 The prophet Jeremiah lived to see the Church in 
 Judea involved in similar distress- Yes, he lived 
 to suffer much persecution in his own person, from 
 those ungodly rulers who had succeeded to the 
 throne of the pious Josiah; he lived, to witness the 
 judgment of God on Jerusalem, at the commence- 
 ment of their seventy years captivity, and to write 
 the book of Lamentations over the fallen glory of 
 Zion. His heart was tender, his passions were 
 strong ; he placed Jerusalem above his chief joy^ 
 and over the ruins of the Temple, no man mourned 
 with a more sincere sorrow than this weeping pro- 
 phet. Dark, indeed, was the page which his own ex- 
 perience occupied in the great volume of Time. But 
 he was divinely instructed to look forward unto more 
 pleasant, though distant objects. Cheered with the 
 prospect, he wipes away the falling tear, and sup- 
 presses the sigh which was ready to burst from his 
 affectionate heart, at beholding the calamities in 
 which covenant transgression had involved the seed 
 of Jacob; and he proclaims, according to the com- 
 mandment, the future restoration of God's covenant 
 people. The spirit by which Jeremiah was inspired, 
 carried him into futurity, and showed to him the 
 blessings of Uie Gospel. Types, and ceremonies. 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 and shadows evanish ; the ministration, which ex- 
 ceeds in glory, appears ; Apostles, and Evangelists^ 
 and Pastors, and Teachers, minister to the church of 
 God. He sees the fulfilment of the covenant of 
 Abraham. He sees Christian congregations regu- 
 larly organized. He beholds the dispersed witness- 
 es rallying around their standard, and receiving with 
 joy the blessings of a settled ministry. He listens 
 with delight to the promise which you now hear 
 from the Sanctuary, " / will give t^ou Pastors ac- 
 Gording to mine lieart, which shall feed you wit/i_ 
 knowledge and understanding ^ 
 
 God has pledged his veracity to provide a public 
 ministry for the service of his church — " And I will 
 give you Pastors" He hath placed distinguishing 
 marks on the ministry of which he approves — " Pas- 
 tors according to jnine heart." The sum of minis- 
 terial duty is the edification of the Church — " Pas- 
 tors, which shall Jeed you with knowledge and un- 
 derstanding" 
 
 You have now, brethren, the plan of my discourse 
 before you ; and as we are met to-day, to ordain a 
 Bishop for this church, it will not, I trust, be consi- 
 dered as impertinent, to lay before you the consti- 
 tution, character, and duties of the gospel ministry. 
 
 I. God is engaged by covenant, to provide a per- 
 petual public ministry for his church. 
 
 The Divine Being, in all his works, acts worthily of 
 
( G ) 
 
 liis own infinite perfections. His government of the 
 universe is characterized by perfect justice, and by 
 perfect wisdom. But the church is in a peculiar 
 sense his empire. It is the " Kingdom of God." He 
 hath desired it as his habitation. All his other works 
 are made subordinate to it. Here, his power and 
 his glory are manifested. Honour and majesty are 
 before him, strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 
 He combines with the splendour of his throne, a 
 display of wisdom and of mercy. Like as a father 
 pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that 
 fear him. He kno\A'eth our frame ; he remembereth 
 that we are dust. And he hath provided, that 
 Christians, (from the nature of their faith, always 
 eager for religious knowledge, but from their situa- 
 tion in this world almost perpetually occupied about 
 secular affairs,) should be furnished with a Jllinis- 
 try, committed to the hands of men, whose time and 
 talents should be exclusively devoted to the study 
 and exposition of the Holy Scriptures, and the col- 
 lateral duties of their sacred office — A ministry of 
 divine institution — of perpetual duration — and se- 
 cured by covenant. 
 
 1. A public stated ministry in the Christian 
 Church, is a divine institution. 
 
 To the church of old, God communicated the re- 
 velation of his grace, by extraordinary characters.. 
 He " at sundry times and in divers manners, spake 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 in times past unto the fathers by the prophets." Un- 
 til the time of Moses they had no written revelation, 
 nor such a visible organization as required an ordi- 
 nary stated ministry to conduct the solemnities of reli- 
 gious worship. It was in the days of Ezra that the 
 reading of the law was instituted for the instruction of 
 the Jews assembled in their Synagogues. Knowledge, 
 by immediate inspiration, was not henceforth to be 
 expected to continue among them. And, while 
 they looked forward to a more complete organiza- 
 tion of God's covenant people, after Messiah should 
 appear to order his kingdom, they were habituated 
 to those forms of public worship, in the synagogue, 
 upon the model of which the Christian church, with 
 some appropriate variation, was to have the public 
 worship conducted after the exaltation of the blessed 
 Saviour. The prophets, accordingly, (maintaining the 
 unity of the Church under every dispensation,) predict- 
 ed, that although immediate revelation should cease, 
 the church should be no loser ; but with a complete 
 canon of Scripture, as the only rule of faith, God 
 would provide for her a regular ministry, which should 
 abundantly suffice in the room of the priesthood, 
 which prefigured, in their oifering of sacrifices, the 
 Lord, our only New Testament Priest, of the pro- 
 phets who were occasionally raised up to give increase 
 of knowledge, and of the ministry of the synagogue 
 which read and expounded the law. The Scriptures 
 
( 8 ) . 
 
 of the Old Testament, therefore, as well as those of 
 the New, compel us to believe that the Christian mi- 
 nistry is an ordinance not of the wisdom of man, 
 but of the goodness of God. 
 
 We desire not to deceive you, my brethren. We 
 desire not to impose ourselves upon your credulity, 
 but to minister unto you as helpers of' your faith. 
 We are, indeed, earthen vessels. We are feeble and 
 imperfect, and mortal. But we possess a treasure of 
 unsearchable riches. We magnify our office. It is au- 
 thorised by God, — it is the gift of our exalted Sa- 
 viour, for the church which he redeemed — it is sanc- 
 tified by the Holy spirit as the means of feeding the 
 flock of God. But faith cometh by hearing. Hear ye, 
 therefore, the word of God, and believe. Ministers 
 are appointed by God. " / ha've set watchmen upon 
 thy walls, O Jerusalem — And no man taketh his ho- 
 nour unto himself ; but he that is called of God — • 
 All things are of God — who hath given to us the 
 ministry of reconciliation — And God hath set in 
 the Church, apostles*,'' &c. 
 
 Ministers are given by the exalted Saviour to his 
 Church. " Let a man so account of us as of the 
 ministers of Christ" — When he ascended upon high, 
 ^ he gave some apostles — and some pastors and teach- 
 ers—for the work of the ministry f". 
 
 * Isa. 62. 6. Heb. 5. 4. 2 Cor. 5. 18. I Cor. 12. 28. 
 t 1 Cor. 4. 1. Eph4. 11, 12. 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 Ministers are set apart by the divine spirit to feed 
 the flock of God. " Take heed therefore unto your- 
 selves, and to all thejiock over the which the Holy 
 Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church 
 of God*'\ 
 
 This ordinance is not to be classed with those 
 extraordinary manifestations of divine power which 
 were intended to be of short duration, and being em- 
 ployed to introduce the Christian dispensation of 
 grace into full operation, were necessarily limited to 
 the earliest ages of the Church. Miracles have 
 ceased, but the constitution of the gospel ministry is 
 of permanent duration. This requires discussion. 
 I solicit your attention both to the proposition and 
 its proof 
 
 2. It is the ordinance of God, that a public mi- 
 nistry should be continued in his church unto the 
 end of the world. 
 
 Some divine institutions are of a temporary na- 
 ture and use, and consequently of temporary dura- 
 tion. Statutes predicated upon circumstances which 
 have ceased to exist, are no longer obligatory. To 
 the church in the wilderness commandments were 
 given, which ceased to be law, after Israel was set- 
 tled in the land of promise. The ordinances which 
 God had appointed relative to the Tabernacle, were 
 superseded upon the building of the Temple. 
 
 * Acts 20. 28. 
 B 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 Tlic whole ceremonial part of the forms of wor- 
 ship divinely appointed for the Hebrew church, was 
 restricted in its duration to the time of Christ. The 
 ministry of John ceased when Jesus was publicly 
 revealed as the messenger of the Covenant. And 
 when our Saviour offered himself as a sacrifice, with- 
 out spot unto God, the typical sacrifice ceased to bo 
 his ordinance ; and the Sacerdotal order perished 
 with it. Christ Jesus is the only PiHest, the onli/ 
 Sacrifice, and the only Altar, of the Christian 
 church. Judicious Christians never use these terms 
 in relation to ecclesiastical officers or worship, but 
 in a figurative sense. The New Testament lan- 
 2uag;e and doctrine authorize no other use of 
 them. 'ie?£^c, is never applied to a Christian mi- 
 nister. And although the word Priest is a deriva- 
 tive from n|£f/3i;Ts?of, the common name of all eccle- 
 siastical rulers, seeing it has been appropriated by 
 the translators of the Bible to 'ie^evj, it is a perver- 
 sion of language to apply it otherwise than meta- 
 phorically to the Christian ministry — a perversion, 
 however, which is the principal support of the high 
 claims of both the papal and prelatical hierarchies. 
 
 Are we then to infer from the revocation of sta- 
 tutes designed for a temporary use, and from the 
 abolition of the Jewish ceremonies and hierarchy, 
 that the office of the ministry has ceased with the 
 first ages of the Christian Church ? By no means. 
 
( II ) 
 
 The ministry of reconciliation is always useful — Ii 
 corresponds with the state of the Church in the 
 world — No intimation was ever given hy God of 
 its intended limitation to the first ages of the gospel 
 — But its very constitution implies its destined per- 
 petuity. 
 
 All the objects, which were at any time proposed 
 to be answered, by the institution of the Gospel mi- 
 nistry, remain still to be answered by it ; and the 
 means, once divinely authorized, must be continued 
 to be employed, until the end be completely accom- 
 plished. There is nothing peculiar to any one age 
 in these objects — the communication of knowledge 
 — the conversion of sinners — the edification of be- 
 lievers — the conviction of gainsayers — the defence 
 of the gospel — the organization of churches — and 
 the directing the public worship of the congregation. 
 The office, of course, which was originally appointed 
 to accomplish these purposes, must continue to the 
 end of the world. " Go ye into all the world, and 
 preach the gospel to e^very creature — To open their 
 eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, from 
 the power of Satan unto God — For the perfecting 
 of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the 
 edifying of the body of Christ : Till we all come in 
 the unify of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
 Son of God, unto a perfect maif\" 
 
 * Mark 16. 15. Acts 26. 18. Eph. 4. 12, 13. 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 This institution also corresponds with the state 
 of the New Testament Church in the world. 
 
 Divine revelation is now completed, and commit- 
 ted to writing. Before revelaiion was committed to 
 writing, a succession of prophets, who taught by im- 
 mediate inspiration, was necessary, and was provid- 
 ed by the head of the Church. Before the Old Tes- 
 tament canon was completed, and prophecy had 
 ceased under that dispensation, God provided as an 
 appendage to the Mosaic economy, tlie synagogue 
 services for reading and expounding the law ; and 
 he remarkably blessed this institution as the suc- 
 cessful means of a general diffusion of knowledge, 
 the preservation of morals, and the preventing of 
 idolatry. Since the period in which the New Tes- 
 tament canon was completed, no new inspirations 
 are expected, and consequently extraordinary am- 
 bassadors, such as Apostles and Prophets, are not 
 adapted to the situation in which God hath placed 
 Zion. And yet these sacred writings in which the 
 will of heaven is revealed, require study and expo- 
 sition, and a constant application for the instruction 
 of the successive generations of men. The Scrip- 
 tures are, it is true, in the description of the prin- 
 cipal features of the system of redemption, so full, so 
 plain, and so forcible, that every man may readily 
 perceive and understand what be the first princi- 
 ples of the oracles of God. But the perfection of 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 Christian knowledge, for the possession of which all 
 are bound to strive, is not of so easy attainment. 
 This requires the aid of talents, and piet}^, and lite- 
 rature, and faithfulness, to be exclusively devoted to 
 its service ; and, of course, a peculiar order ofmen^ 
 who shall be disincumbered from the ordinary occu- 
 pations of life, that they may give themselves wholly 
 up to their ministry. The rapid increase of know- 
 ledge in all other departments of science, and the fa- 
 cility with which general information is diffused 
 among men, require increasing attention to Christian 
 literature. The philosophy of the w orld would soon 
 overwhelm with superior talents and acquisitions, the 
 professed disciples of our Lord, had he not made 
 provision for a standing ministry, Mhose exertions 
 should be consecrated to the instruction of the man 
 of God. The depths of divine wisdom contained in 
 the Scriptures will afford to the most vigorous intel- 
 lect, and the most unremitting industry, occasion for 
 constant exertion and a plentiful reward. And the 
 Lord's day calls upon every minister, for an exhi- 
 bition of the results of his pious labours, in conduct- 
 ing the business of that public school of instruction, 
 to which the youth and the aged, the learned and 
 the ignorant, the weak and the strong, the saint and 
 the sinner, are required to come on the first day of 
 each returning week, to learn repentance and obedi- 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 ence, and to present their public devotion to the au- 
 thor of their lives and their mercies. 
 
 No intimation has been given to us that the Re- 
 deemer intended to limit the appointment of a pub- 
 lic ministry to the first ages of the church. There 
 is nothing contained in the nature or circumstances 
 of the appointment from which such limitation can 
 be justly inferred; nor is it any where throughout 
 the New Testament expressly revealed that the mi- 
 nistry should become extinct before the end of the 
 world. Divine ordinances, which do not contain a 
 limitation to any specified time, in the nature or 
 circumstances of the appointment, and which arc 
 not expressly limited by the authority which enjoins 
 them, must be considered as of permanent obliga- 
 tion. This is not, however, a matter of mere infe- 
 rence. 
 
 The constitution of the gospel ministry, necessa- 
 rily implies its destined perpetuity. 
 
 The extent of the commission given by the Saviour 
 — the work appointed by him to be performed — and 
 the promise of protection, all proceed upon this prin- 
 ple, that the church should never upon earth be des- 
 titute of a public ministry. 1 . The Commission ex- 
 tends to all the earth, " Go ye, therefore, and teach 
 all nations;' and to the earth at all times and in 
 all generations, " Go ye into all the worhl and 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 preach the Gospel to every creature*. 2. The 
 xvork to be performed is not completed until 
 the end of the world, " Till we all come in the 
 unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the son 
 of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the 
 stature of the fulness qf Christ-\. 3. The promise 
 of support is co-extensive with the duration of the 
 office ; and as the promise extends to the end of the 
 world, so must also the ministry to which it is made, 
 " And lo, I am ivith you alway, even unto the end 
 of the worldX. 
 
 An ordinance of heaven, of permanent usefulness 
 and durability, certainly demands from the saints 
 every possible exertion for its support and preserva- 
 tion. And every part of the church of God, having 
 an interest in this appointment, is bound to exert it- 
 self for procuring a regular stated ministry. Chris- 
 tians have ample encouragement for such exertions, 
 
 3. God hath covenanted with his church to sup- 
 ply her congregations with a public ministry- — " And 
 I will give you Pastors." 
 
 All divine administrations proceed upon the foot- 
 iqg of a covenant establishment between God and 
 man. The whole display of mercy, made in divine 
 revelation, proceeds from the everlasting covenant 
 
 * Math. 28. 19. Mark 16. 15. 
 
 t Eph. 4. 13. \ Math, 28. 20, 
 
( 16- ) 
 
 which is between the Father and liis only Son Je- 
 sus Christ, as the head of the election of grace. 
 Saving grace is a covenant blessing, and all the 
 means of grace are reduced into a covenant form. 
 The existence of saints on earth, implies the exist- 
 ence of a people rcallx) in covenant \\\\X\ God ; and 
 the existence of apparent saints as necessarily im- 
 plies that of a visible covenant people. This is the 
 visible Church Catholic. Not the publication of the 
 gospel at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost — not 
 the personal ministry of the Saviour — not the baptism 
 of John — not the covenants of Sinai or Circumci- 
 sion, laid the foundation of this society. The cove- 
 nant of grace secures in Christ a redeemed church, 
 and the revelation of that covenant secures a body 
 of people, visible in the world, and professedly in 
 covenant with God, until all the elect be collected 
 into heaven. Then, and not till then, shall we ar- 
 rive at certainty, that the constituent members of the 
 church visible are precisely the same with those of 
 the invisible church elected in Christ Jesus, and call- 
 ed. We are however assured, my brethren, that 
 since the revelation of the first promise, and the pro- 
 fession of faith made by the first pair, a church shall 
 be continued in the world, ia covenant with God — a 
 people shall be visibly distinguished by their profess- 
 ed submission to tae revelation of his grace, until the 
 
( 17 ) 
 
 end of the world. To this people God has pledged 
 his word, his word of truth, to bestow upon them 
 the means of knowledge, to preserve among them 
 his ordinances. For this people, under the Chris- 
 tian dispensation, he has engaged to provide a pub- 
 lic ministry. 
 
 1 . Promises, made upon the footing of a perma- 
 nent relation between God and his church, which 
 have respect to a benefit of a permanent nature, are 
 to be understood as securing to the church that be- 
 nefit indefinitely throughout every period of time. 
 And although the promise should be expressed in 
 language more appropriate to one period than an- 
 other; this does not hinder the application of the be- 
 nefit promised in any other period. The Old Tes- 
 tament phraseology will not deprive the New Testa- 
 ment church of her hope in the blessings which are 
 promised of God. " For the people shall dwell in 
 Zion — And though the Lo7'd give you the bread of 
 ad'versity, and the waters of affliction, yet shall not 
 thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but 
 thine eyes shall see thy teachers — / have set watch- 
 men upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never 
 hold their peace*.'' These promises are perfectly 
 applicable to the Christian church. 
 
 * Isa. 30. 20, 21. & 62. 6. 
 C 
 
( 18 ) 
 
 2. Many promises delivered by the prophets were 
 designed to refer immediately to the New Testament 
 church ; and were so applied by th6 apostles of our 
 Lord. Some of these refer to the Christian Minis- 
 try. Therefore vi\f people shall know my name — How 
 ^heautifid upon the mountains are the jcet oj him 
 
 that bringeth good tidings, that pubUsheth peace — 
 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice : with the voice 
 together sJiall they sing : — All the ends of the earth 
 shall see the salvation of our God. And how shall 
 they hear without a preacher ? And hoxv shall they 
 preach except they be sent ? as it is written, how 
 beaut ifiil are the feet of them that preach the gospel 
 of peace*. 
 
 3. The Redeemer, in whom the promises are made, 
 and in whom they are accomplished, has solemnly 
 engaged never to leave his church entirely destitute 
 of a public ministry. He Avalks amidst the golden 
 candlesticks. He holds the stars in his right hand. 
 He gives power to his a\ itnesses. He commits to his 
 ministers the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He 
 hath engaged that the gates of hell shall never pre- 
 vail against his church, and that he shall accompany 
 his ministers until time itself shall terminate, and 
 eternity be unfolded. 
 
 * Isa. 52. 6, 7. 10. Sc Rom. 10. U, 15. 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 Never shall the Catholic church — the visible 
 kingdom of God, be dissolved, or her officers annihi- 
 lated. And although rising congregations be some- 
 times, as you have been, destitute of a fixed ministry ; 
 although there is no security against deaths and tem- 
 porary vacancies ; yet there is infallible ground of 
 faith, that God will fulfil his covenant to those who 
 wait upon him in the way of his commandments. 
 To day he fulfils his promise to you — And I will 
 gather the remnant of my flock — and will bring 
 them again to their folds — and I will set up shep- 
 herds over them which shall feed them, saith the 
 Lord*, , 
 
 II. God hath set distinguishing marks upon the 
 ministry, of which he approves — " Pastors accord- 
 ing; to mine heart." 
 
 Had the Chnstian church in its visible form been 
 so distinct from the world, that every person who is 
 not a sincere disciple, did profess himself a de- 
 spiser of religion, there would be no difficulty in as- 
 certaining precisely its members. But a wise pro- 
 vidence orders it otherwise. " The tares grow up 
 with the wheat until the harvest." A complete se- 
 paration would not correspond with the economy of 
 this state of imperfection. Even the sacred office of 
 
 * Jer. 23. 3, 4. 
 
( ^0 ) 
 
 the ministry has been invaded by unsanctified men. 
 " The Priests teach for hire, and the Prophets divine 
 for money." The head of the church hath left for 
 his followers a caution to beware of a false ministry. 
 " And many false prophets shall rise and deceive 
 many — if it were possible they shall deceive the very 
 elect — Some preach Christ of envy — speaking lies 
 in hypocrisy — There shall be false teachers among 
 you." We cannot, therefore, doubt that there exists 
 a ministry, professing to be Christian, of which God 
 does not approve, which is not his ordinance, which 
 will not profit the people, Avhich is, in short, an evil 
 against which all Christians ought to be upon their 
 guard. This subject, my brethren, is of too much 
 importance to be lightly esteemed. You are called 
 upon " to prove all things." You are bound to 
 " try the Spirits." You are bound to judge for your- 
 selves according to truth, and to reject those who 
 have run unsent. You are bound to receive as the 
 messengers of peace, and to support as the ordi- 
 nance of Christ, the ministers of the church of God, 
 " Thou hast tried them which say they are Apostles, 
 and are not, and hast found them liars J" They do 
 not act in a friendly manner to the cause of religion, 
 who attempt to stifle inquiry into the character of 
 the Christian ministry. Those who love the gates 
 of Zion, those whose souls are anxious to be fed by 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 •Pastors according to God's heart, cannot easily be 
 prevented from inquiring, How shall the ministry 
 which • is of divine appointment be ascertained ? 
 How shall you be able to test our several pre- 
 tensions and claims ? This is not to be done, by 
 merely hearing a Preacher, and judging his elo- 
 quence, his earnestness, or his doctrine. A man 
 may preach truth, and yet do it deceitfully, par- 
 tially, and without authority. Neither is the fact to 
 be ascertained by the number, or rank, or power of 
 those by whom a ministry may be recommended. 
 " Follow not a multitude to do evil — The wisdom of 
 this world is foolishness- — And all the world wonder- 
 ed after the beast." Nor is it to be ascertained, by 
 the multitude of reputed conversions which accom- 
 pany a person's ministry, whether or not he has the 
 authority of IMessiah. Many faithful ministers have 
 had little visible success. The Redeemer himself 
 stretched out his hands to disobedient and gainsay- 
 ing" people. And multitudes may appear much af- 
 fected where there is really no gracious change of 
 heart. They may appear sincere and zealous, in 
 giving glory to God, and in singing Hosannahs. 
 while as yet they are ready, under a change of ex- 
 ternal circumstances, to cry out with all their hearts, 
 " Not this man, but Barrabas." The distinguishing 
 marks which God hath set upon the ministry which 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 he approves, are, a Umiful calllo the ofiice, and a lij'c 
 correspond'uii^ with its sacred functions. 
 
 1. The Pastor according to God's heart, has re- 
 ceived a regular call to the ministry. 
 
 It is a general proposition of divine inspiration, 
 That no ecclesiastical office is to be undertaken 
 without a call from God. The head of the church 
 was liimself subjected to this law. And as there 
 was no exception admitted in his favour, it is vain to 
 expect it in favour of any other. And no man takcth 
 this Jionour unto himself, but he that is called oj 
 God, as was Aaron — So also Christ glorijitd not him- 
 self to be made an High Priest ; but he that said un- 
 to him. Thou art mi/ Son — called of God an Nigh 
 Priest *. By a divine call to any work or office is 
 meant, not merely that it comes to pass in the pro- 
 \idence of God that a person is engaged in such 
 work or office, but tliat he is employed by divine au- 
 thority therein. The call of God to ecclesiastical 
 office, is inward, when there is a divine influence . 
 experienced upon the mind, inclining and command- 
 ing the person to devote himself to the service of 
 the Church. It is outward, when accompanied with 
 external evidence for the satisfaction of the church. 
 It is extraordinari/, when a person is employed im- 
 
 * Ileb. 5. 4, 5. 10. 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 mediately by the Divine Being, without the inter- 
 vention of such human agencies as are regulated by 
 stated lavvs. It is ordinary, when authority is con- 
 ferred agreeably to such external order as God hath 
 appointed to be observed- as the standing ordinance 
 of his empire. The imvqrd call may satisfy a 
 man's own mind ; but others must, in order to re- 
 ceive him, have some external evidence. If this 
 were not the case, there would be no end of impos- 
 ture. No man is to be recognised as an ambassador 
 of Christ without an outward call. The extraordi- 
 nary call, is always accompanied with infallible evi- 
 dence. The seal of miracles gives evidence of the 
 authenticity of the commission, and is sufficient to 
 remove all suspicion of fraud. To this evidence the 
 Redeemer hath taught us by his own example to ap- 
 peal. The works that I do — they bear witness of 
 me*. But miracles are ceased. It is only therefore 
 for the ordinary ontxvard call we are to look in ex- 
 amining the pretensions of ecclesiastical officers — 
 And this consists in ordination by the laying on of 
 the hands of the Presbytery. You will readily per- 
 ceive, therefore, my brethren, that I consider such 
 ordination as the first mark of the ministry which 
 God npprovcs. In defence of this sentiment, I pro- 
 
 * John 10. 2o. . 
 
( ^'4 ) 
 
 pose to show — that ordination is the ministerial call 
 — that ordination is by the imposition of hands — 
 that the laying on of hands belongs exclusively to 
 the Presbytery. 
 
 1. Ordination constitutes the call of God to the 
 ministry of reconciliation in the Gospel church. 
 
 Ordination is the authoritative designation of a 
 person to office in the church of Christ, by those who 
 have power according to the will of God to trans- 
 mit the ministerial authority. According to the 
 constitution of the Christian church, certain offices 
 are created by the divine Redeemer, and this consti- 
 tution cannot be put into operation unless persons 
 are appointed to fill these offices. An extraordinary 
 call from God is not now to be expected ; these of- 
 fices must therefore be filled up in one of two ways; 
 Either every one who chooses may assume an office 
 without ceremony and without qualifications, or 
 some person or persons must have po^er, from the 
 head of the church, to Judge of the qualifications of 
 candidates, and to reject them, or invest them with 
 the office. The first of these ways is so evidently 
 disorderly and absurd, that you will not require ar- 
 guments to prove that it is not the order of the house 
 of God. And the last implies all that I now con- 
 tend for, that ordination constitutes the Minister. 
 Under the Old Testament, none was admitted to 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 any ordinary office in the church without inauguration. 
 The Priests and the Levites were by divine appoint- 
 ment publicly introduced into their ministerial offi- 
 ces, and the rulers of the Synagogue were never ad- 
 mitted without ordination. The head of the church 
 was ordained of God an High Priest ; and he or- 
 dained his apostles. Without ordination even Dea- 
 cons could not be admitted to exercise poAver over 
 the temporalities of the church*. Every where, in 
 short, those who exercised the ministry were ordain- 
 ed by competent authority. And it would have been 
 the height of absurdity to give specific directions 
 about the qualifications of Elders and Bishops, and 
 about their ordination, had every one possessed a 
 right to assume the office at pleasure — had there 
 been no ordaining power appointed in the churchf. 
 The conclusion is therefore irresistible — He who is 
 not ordained, is not the ambassador of Jesus Christ. 
 No plea of qualifications for teaching, no plea of ne- 
 cessity, can justify a violation of the law of Christ by 
 intrusion into the Gospel ministry. Nothing short of 
 immediate inspiration, of a special revelation from 
 Heaven, can supply the want of ordination to a mi- 
 nister of the Gospel. " Hozv shall they preach e.v- 
 cept they be sent % f 
 
 * Lev. 8. Num. 8. John 20. 21. Acts 6. 16. & 14. 23. 
 t 1 Tim ". 1—7. Tit. 1. 5—9. t Rom. 10. 15. 
 
 D 
 
( 2(J •) 
 
 2. Ordination to the holy ministry is to be per- 
 formed by imposition of hands. 
 
 Upon this subject, my brethren, much variety of 
 opinion has existed among those who profess the 
 Christian religion. St)nic have supposed that lai/ing 
 on of hands was used only in extraordinary cases, 
 and consequently ought not to be practised in ordi- 
 nations. Others have considered it as a sacrament. 
 It has been also represented as a significant cere- 
 mony, as a solemn farce, as a relict of popery, as a 
 piece of clerical imposition. The early reformers 
 of the church from popery, both in Scotland and in 
 other countries, were not all exactly of the same 
 sentiments about this ordinance. Although the 
 great body of them considered ordination by impo- 
 sition of hands as a divine institution, others insist- 
 ed that it was not essential to the va-lidity of ordina- 
 tion to lay on hands. In Scotland, the reformers 
 admitted the practice ; but in the 4th chapter of the" 
 first book of Discipline, it is judged not to be an es- 
 sential part of ordination. It is certain that, in 
 that countrv, dissenters from the popish establish- 
 ment existed in organized churches for 70 years be- 
 fore this, and, probably, from a much earlier peri- 
 od ; but I have not been able to ascertain, whether 
 in any instance ministers had been actually ordained 
 without the laying on of hands, either before or af- 
 ter the first book of discipline had been compiled. 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 Indeed, the sentiment expressed in the 4th chapter, 
 in reference to this subject, did not long prevail, if 
 ever it had received a general adoption. This book 
 of discipline was drawn up by a few ministers, and 
 subscribed by a part of the nobility who embraced 
 the reformation in the year 1561. In less than two 
 years thereafter, a general assembly was constituted, 
 which gave directions for having it revised. Vari- 
 ous causes, which distracted the church, prevented 
 another system of policy from being completed for 
 several years. And in the mean time the order of 
 the church was regulated a^ ithout any fixed standard 
 by express acts of assembly. In the year 1758 was 
 adopted the second book of discipline, which re- 
 quires ordination by imposition of hands. 
 
 1 shall not take it upon me, my brethren, to con- 
 demn the sentiments of such as say that ministers 
 can transmit office-power to an approved candidate, 
 by setting him apart in the name of the head of the 
 church to the Mork of the ministry, without laying 
 on hands ; but I shall endeavour to prove, that im- 
 position of hands at ordinations is a scriptural ap- 
 pointment — is the ordinance of God. 
 
 The Jews, among whom the Christian ministry was 
 first constituted, were perfectly familiar with the 
 practice of ordination to ecclesiastical office by the 
 laying on of hands. They required no laboured 
 explanations upon this subject. Every one knew 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 that tlie ministers of the synagogue were uniformly 
 ordained in this manner. The Jewish rabbis, in 
 j)roof of the antiquity of the practice, refer us to the 
 time of Moses *, and urge, that all power originat- 
 ing from God, and exercised among them, is in this 
 manner permanently transmitted. The learned 
 Lightfoot was led into a mistake, by an inaccurate 
 view of a passage in Maimonides, about the prac- 
 tice of the Jews, in the time of Christ, in ordaining 
 their doctors. This mistake is corrected by the ve- 
 ry learned Vitringa, who demonstrates that all ordi- 
 nations were by the laying on of hands, and exhi- 
 bits abundant evidence that the church in this res- 
 pect followed the practice of the synagogue "j". 
 This fact will serve to throw light on those passages 
 of the New Testament which relate to this part of 
 ecclesiastical order. I shall now submit some of 
 these texts to your consideration. 
 
 (1 .) 1 Tim. 5. 22. Lay hands suddenly on no man^ 
 neither he partaker of other men's sins. The whole 
 of the argument from the 17th verse respects the 
 ministers of religion. Honour is due to them — 
 they are entitled to a decent maintainance — tliey are 
 not to be accused upon slight grounds — When they 
 offend, discipline must be administered upon them 
 with faithfulness and impartiality. — And in order to 
 
 * Deut. 34. 9. t Vitringa dc Syn. Vet. Lib. 3. Cap. 15. 
 
( 2.9 ) 
 
 prevent the curse of a vicious ministry, orders are 
 given that none be rashly ordained to this holy of- 
 fice ; for those who, from negligence, admit base men 
 to the ministry, are partakers of their sins. The 
 meaning of the phrase, " lay hands suddenly on no 
 man,"" is, therefore, perfectly obvious — Let none be 
 ordained to the gospel ministry who is not known to 
 possess due qualifications. That this text refers to 
 ordination is evident, because, 1, The whole argu- 
 ment of which it is a part refers to ministers. 2. 
 This direction refers to what was the well known me- 
 thod of ordination to office. 3. Because the com- 
 munication of miraculous gifts by imposition of 
 hands, could not have been a subject of ordinary 
 rules. It would be absurd to exhort the prophets, 
 " Teach not error, while you are speaking by inspiia- 
 " tion." But if this text refers at all to ordination, it 
 establishes the doctrine of the imposition of hands : 
 for otherwise the whole work of ordination would 
 not have been included in the direction, " lay on 
 hands." 
 
 (2.) I shall quote 1 Tim. 4. 14. Neglect not the 
 s:[ft that is in thee, which was given thee by prophe- 
 cy with the laying on of' the hands of the Presbyte- 
 ry. The apostle is in this chapter describing the du- 
 ty of a " good minister of Jesus Christ!" See verse 
 6. And he urges Timothy to exercise aright his 
 own ministry. Verses ] 2 — \6. The gift, therefore. 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 (x*?'i»'/*«) in the 14. must be understood of the ofHce- 
 power conferred upon him. This is expressly said 
 to have been conferred upon him with imposition of 
 hands. 
 
 (3.) You will perceive another proof of this doc- 
 trine, and of the importance in which it was held in 
 the estimation of the primitive church, in Heb. 6. 2. 
 Of the doctri?2e of baptisms, and of laying ox of 
 HANDS, and of resurrection of the dead, and of 
 eternal judgments. This text, however, in order to 
 be understood, must be considered in connexion with 
 the argument of which it is a part. The Hebrews 
 are reproved for their slow progress in Christian 
 knowledge, chap. 5. 11 — 14. The apostle exhorts 
 them to behave as men of discernment, and in 
 chap. 6. 1 . to go on unto the perfection of Christian 
 knowledge, leaving the principles of the doctrine of 
 Christ so firmly established as articles of faith, that 
 they should not hereafter be under the necessity of 
 returning to lay a second time their foundation. 
 Tar from encouraging indifference to any part of the 
 Christian system, he exhorts every one to diligence 
 in procuring information upon every subject. The 
 convenient distinction between essentials and circum- 
 stantials, which has since been so industriously and, 
 alas ! so effectually employed in cooling the zeal, and 
 in flattering the indolence of Christians, was as yet 
 unknown. The apostles thought, that whatever was 
 
( 31 ) 
 
 worthy of God to reveal, was certainly worthy of man 
 to receive and understand. The writer of the Epistle 
 to the Hebrews makes, indeed, a distinction between 
 elementary doctrines and those which are necessary 
 to the perfection of the system ; but among the Jir^st 
 principles of tJie oracles of Gody, and along with re- 
 pe?itance, faith, the resurrection, and the judg- 
 ment, he enumerates also the sacrament of baptism 
 and the Christian ministry. This is unquestionably 
 the meaning of the text under examination. The 
 doctrine of the " laying on of hands,"" is one of the 
 principles of the doctrine of Christ, a fundamental 
 doctrine in the perfect edifice of Christian know- 
 ledge. It cannot at all apply, in this case, to the 
 act by which the gift of miracles was conveyed. 
 The Hebrew converts would not readily so under- 
 stand an expression which they were in the habit of 
 using themselves, in their synagogues, as synoni- 
 mous with ordination. Miracles were of temporary 
 use ; the ministry is permanent. Without their con- 
 tinuance, the church is complete in doctrine and or- 
 ders ; but without a ministry, she cannot even exist 
 in her organized visible form. And if the ministry 
 be at all referred to in the text, it follows that retrular 
 ordination is by the laying on of hands. 
 
 (4.) I shall examine one other passage of the New 
 Testament in corroboration of this doctrine. Acts 
 13. 2, 3. The Holi/ (r host said, Separate me Bar- 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 nabas and Saul for the work whereunto 1 lui've call- 
 ed them. And, lichen they had fasted and prayed, 
 and LAID THEIR HANDS ON THEM, they Sent them 
 away. From this it appears that the ministry at 
 Antioch were divinely directed to set apart Barna- 
 bas and Saul, two of their number, to a certain 
 work to which God had called them ; and that these 
 tM o ministers were accordingly set apart by their 
 brethren to that work, by the imposition of hands. 
 Upon this work, it also appears from verse 4. they 
 immediately set out. After an absence of three 
 years, they returned to Antioch, " from whence they 
 had been recommended to the grace of God for the 
 work which they fuljilled*." Upon their return, 
 they declare to the church that the work had been 
 accomplished, unto which they had been especially 
 called of God, and solemnly set apart by them. 
 They gave to their brethren an account of that 
 work — Christian churches have been organized 
 among the heathen. — " He had opened the door of 
 faith unto the Ge7itiles-\.'" This solemn transaction 
 was not an ordination to the ministry ; but a call to 
 employ the ministry, which they had already for 
 many years possessed, in a special mission, to form 
 churches among the Gentiles, who were hitherto 
 sunk in idolatry. 
 
 » Acts 14.. 26. t 14. 2r. 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 Perhaps it may be objected, by those who consi- 
 der this transaction as an ordination to the apostle- 
 ship, why all this solemnity about a mission which 
 was already authorized in the general commission gi- 
 ven to the apostles, " Go ye into all the world ?" If 
 no new powers were here given, wherefore these re- 
 velations, prayers, fasts, and this imposition of 
 hands ? Had not multitudes of the Gentiles been 
 already converted in Cesaria, in Arabia, and in An- 
 tioch? And if this exposition be true, what relation 
 has this transaction to the doctrine of ordination by 
 the laying on of hands? A simple statement of 
 facts will, I trust, remove all these objections, and 
 satisfactorily show that this argument is not irrele- 
 vant to the case in hand. 
 
 Joses was a native of Cyprus, and a Levite by 
 descent. In his native island he possessed an es- 
 tate which he sold, for the service of the church, 
 aying the price at the apostles' feet. He devoted 
 his talents also to the public service; and for his pa- 
 thetic eloquence, received from the apostles, within 
 a year alter the ascension of our Lord, the name 
 Barnabas, the Son of consolation*. In the year 42, 
 and the 9th of his ministry, this good man, full of 
 
 * Acts 4. 36. uo; TrapaxXno-Ewg. The Son of Exhortation, or 
 Comfort, The preacher who touched and rejoiced the heart. 
 
 K 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 the Holy Ghost, was sent from Jerusalem to preach 
 at Antioch in Syria. In this city his ministry was 
 remarkably successful. He stood in need of minis- 
 terial aid ; and having visited Tarsus, he prevailed 
 upon Saul to accompany him to Antioch, where 
 they laboured with great success for a twelve- 
 month. It was at the close of the year 44 that they 
 were both called to that special mission^ to which 
 they were set apart by imposition of hands. 
 
 Saul, afterwards called Paul, was a native of Tar- 
 sus, a city of Cilicia. While " breathing out slaugh- 
 ter" against the disciples of our Loi'd, he was mira- 
 culously converted on the road to Damascus, in the 
 year 35. Being called to the ministry and endowed 
 with the Holy Ghost, he preached in the synagogue 
 of Damascus ; and going from thence into Arabia, 
 he preached the Gospel to the Jews in that place for 
 two years. In the discharge of the duties of the 
 office, to which he had received, from God, an extra- 
 ordinary call, he journeyed from place to place, un- 
 til the year 44, when he was sent from Antiocli 
 along with Barnabas, to present to the Presbytery of 
 Jerusalem, the collection made by the Christians in 
 Syria. This w as on the 9th year of his ministry. 
 While he was in Jerusalem, he entered upon a cer- 
 tain occasion into the temple, fell into a transe, was 
 caught up into the third heavens, saw the Lord, and 
 received from him immediate directions and super-. 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 natural endowments to qualify him for the work of 
 Apostle to the Gentiles. After his return to Anti- 
 och along with Barnabas, they were publicly sef 
 apart to their mission. 
 
 Every thing was now ready for admitting the 
 Gentiles into the bosom of the church of God, with- 
 out subjecting them to the law of Moses. Nothing 
 of this kind had hitherto taken place. The gospel 
 was confined to the city of Jerusalem for the first 
 year after the ascension of our Saviour. The perse- 
 cution, however, in which Stephen suffered martyr- 
 dom, scattered the preachers of the gospel, except 
 the apostles themselves, abroad through Palestine 
 and the adjacent provinces, in which the Jews had 
 formed settlements. These preachers taught the 
 same doctrine and order which had been followed 
 by the church at Jerusalem ; and multitudes of the 
 Jews every where embraced the faith. For eight 
 years, the gospel was preached exclusively to the 
 descendants of Abraham *. It was in , the year 4 1 
 that the Gentiles were first admitted into the church. 
 And these first fi:uits were, previously, proselytes to 
 the Jewish religion f. Cornelius was a devout man, 
 before he heard the gospel ; and yet it occasioned 
 much astonishment and much controversy among 
 the disciples, that even he and those who believed 
 
 * Acts 11. 19. t Acts 10 — -. Sc 11. 20. 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 along with hiin, and along with him received the 
 Holy Ghoht, had been admitted by the apostle Pe- 
 ter to the privileges of the church. During the 
 three ensuing years, however, the proselytes o^ 
 the gate, in great numbers, joined the disciples 
 of Christ, and at Antioch they first became distin- 
 guished by the name Christian. For these eleven 
 years, the Jews and the proselyted Gentiles were 
 nevertheless the only converts. They constituted 
 the different Christian churches which had hitherto 
 been organized. The idolatrous Gentiles likd not 
 yet been invited to repentance. For this work a 
 .<{pecial mission is with awful solemnity now provided. 
 Although the apostolic commission, " Go ye^ 
 therefore, and teach all 7iations,'' authorizes the 
 preaching of the gospel to all men, there exists even 
 to this day, a powerful discouragement to missions 
 among the heathen. Their habits of thought and of 
 life, are entirely different from those which we culti- 
 vate ; and we cannot reason w ith them from Scrip- 
 tures which they have not received as a rule of faith. 
 In that day, it appears to have been the universal 
 opinion, that the promises peculiarly respected 
 the seed of Jacob. It required a vision to con- 
 vince the apostle Peter that it was lawful to evan- 
 gelize even the devout gentiles. Much more must 
 it have been necessary, to provide special instruc- 
 tion about opening the door of fnith to the pagans. 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 And after the conversion of the heathen, a question 
 Avould immediately occur, how are they to be formed 
 into regular assemblies or churches ? In organizing 
 congregations among the believing Jews and prose- 
 lyte Gentiles, there was little difficulty. These had 
 already been in the habit of submitting to the direct 
 tion of a divine revelation, they had been habituat- 
 ed to the exercises of public worship. They had 
 been accustomed to the discipline and government 
 of the Synagogue. The method of ordination by 
 the laying on of hands, was perfectly familiar to 
 them. It was entirely otherwise with the idolatrous 
 Heathen. It was therefore necessary that the first 
 mission to them should be so conducted as to estab- 
 lish a model upon which all ordinations aniong them 
 should be performed. Being totally unacquainted 
 with a ministry of divine appointment, and with the 
 forms of ordination to that otiice, nevertheless, it 
 pleased God to provide that they should speedily 
 upon their conversion, be organized into churches, 
 have elders ordained among them, and the ordinan- 
 ces of God statedly administered. So important 
 was to be the influence of this event, " opening the 
 " door of faith to the Heathen," upon the future 
 character, and history of the church of God, that the 
 first mission is conducted as if it had been itself the 
 beginning of the gospel dispensation ; as if all that 
 preceded it had-only been preparations for breaking 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 off the natural branches, that the Ge?iti/es might be 
 graffed into the good olive tree, that the casting away 
 of the Jews might be the reconciling of the world. 
 
 In Antioch, a heathen city abounding with Gentile 
 proselytes converted into the Cliristian faith, Barna- 
 bas and Saul, bol;h born on Gentile ground, receive 
 their mission to the Heathen, v, ith circumstances of 
 extraordinary solemnity. The Holy Ghost called 
 them — Their brethren in the ministry were com- 
 manded by a voice from heaven to set them 
 apart — They were set apart with fasting and pray- 
 er, and laying on of hands — And being recom- 
 mended to the grace of God, they departed on their 
 mission. They considered this as the divinely ap- 
 pointed model for setting apart, to the pastoral of- 
 fice in the Churches which they were about to organ- 
 ize, candidates duly qualified for the ministry of re- 
 conciliation. That Paul and Barnabas understood 
 it so is manifest. They practised upon it. During 
 three years, they travelled among the nations, reduc- 
 ing them into the faith of Christ, ordaining elders in 
 every Church, and with prayer and fasting recom- 
 mending them unto the Lord in whom they had be- 
 lieved, and thus organized the first Churches of the 
 Gentiles, without drilling them through the syna- 
 gogue, or subjecting them to the law of Moses. 
 
 This argument, therefore, my brethren, while it 
 con'oborates our " doctrine of the laying on of 
 
< 39 ) 
 
 ■• hands/' also exhibits the mode of Presbyterian or- 
 dination. And you will now be prepared to examine 
 the evidence which I shall lay before you. 
 
 3. That ministers are ordained to office, by the 
 imposition of the hands of the Presbytery — That 
 Presbyterian ordination is God's call to the mi- 
 nistry. 
 
 It is not my intention, to deny the propriety of per- 
 mitting candidates for the ministry to make a pub- 
 lic trial of their gifts, to deny the right which a 
 Christian congregation has to elect its own pastor^ 
 or to deny the duty of constituting a fixed relation 
 between a minister and a particular charge. No, 
 by no means. It is a very prudent practice, which 
 admits young men who have been preparing them- 
 selves for the service of God in the gospel of his 
 son, to make public trial of their talents before dif- 
 ferent congregations, as well as before ministers and 
 presbyteries. The students of the law were admit- 
 ted to teach publicly in the Jewish synagogues betbre 
 ordination. It was upon this principle, that Paul 
 had every where easy access into the Jewish syna- 
 gogues, and was allowed by the rulers to preach 
 publicly to the congregation. This is not a dividing 
 the Christian ministry. No part of it is committed 
 to probationers. They are upon trial, and when 
 they have made a sufficient public trial of their gifts, 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 Ihey ought either to be ordained to the ministry^ or 
 remanded to private life. 
 
 Every Christian congregation has a right to choose 
 its ecclesiastical officers. Tliis is congenial to the 
 
 o 
 
 maxims of natural equity, and to the spirit of the 
 gospel. It' is necessary to the edification and the 
 comfort of the Church, to the dignity and purity of 
 the ministry. It was the practice both of the syna- 
 gogue and the primitive church. Care should of course 
 be always taken to obtain in some decent and order- 
 ly manner the sense of a congregation, respecting 
 candidates ; their voice, in fact, should be heard, in 
 calling to the ministry among them, the person who 
 is appointed thereunto. And yet the call of the 
 congregation, is no part of ordination. It commu- 
 nicates no power. It only invites to the exei'cise of 
 the power, otherwise communicated, in a certain part 
 of the church of God. It is necessary to a regular 
 Episcopacy. A vague ministry, is undoubtedly in- 
 decent aftd improper. Every congregation should 
 have its pastor. This is the scriptural bishop — the 
 minister, who has a fixed charge of which he has 
 taken the oversight. None is owned by God's word 
 as a bishop, except he who has an appropriate charge. 
 The apostles were not bishops, although they were 
 all presbyters. They had no fixed congi'egations, al- 
 though they" were ecclesiastical rulers. The pastoral 
 connexion, the episcopate, ought not to be rashly 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 violated. It is constituted by the Holy Ghost*. 
 But while I admit all this, my brethren, I still con- 
 tend, that presbyterian ordination alone, constitutes 
 the ordinary ministerial call. 
 
 (I.) The ministry of the synagogue was uniformly 
 constituted in this manner. A number of those, 
 who were themselves ordained, did set apart others 
 to the same work, and confer upon them equal pow- 
 er with themselves by imposition of hands. Upon 
 this model the churches, consisting of Jewish and 
 proselyte Gentile converts, were organized with their 
 respective pastors. 
 
 (2.) In the 12th year from the erection of the Chris- 
 tian church, when the Gentiles were to be convert- 
 ed, and entirely preserved from the bondage of the 
 Jewish ceremonies, lest it should be thought that 
 presbyterian ordination by imposition of hands was 
 one of these abolished ceremonies, there was a very 
 solemn transaction at Antioch, in which a divinely 
 appointed model of it was exhibited in the mission 
 which God employed in creating the Gentile church- 
 es. And that there should be no kind of pretence 
 hereafter for dispensing with this practice, as of syna- 
 gogue origin, the Holy Ghost ordered the presbyte- 
 xy of Antioch not to dispense with it in that mission 
 which laid the foundation of the Christian church 
 
 * Acts 20. 28. 
 F 
 
( 42 ) 
 
 among the Heathen nations, even in the case of tliose 
 who had for years before exercised their ministry 
 among the Jews. Accordingly Paul and Barnabas 
 introduced the practice on that very mission *, and 
 established it upon a basis entirely independent of 
 Jewish tradition. 
 
 (3.) Three years after this mission was completed^ 
 Timothy received presbyterian ordination in one of 
 those newly constituted Gentile churches. He was 
 ordained by Paul, by the laying on of the hands of 
 the presbytery '\. 
 
 In the year 47, Paul preached at Derbe for the 
 first time, and on his second visit, which took place 
 three years thereafter^ he met Timothy in that place. 
 This youth was in high esteem among all the church- 
 es of Lycaonia. In the course of this journey, and 
 within the same year, we find him assisting in the 
 public ministry of the gospel at Thessalonica. He 
 must therefore have been ordained before they de- 
 parted from Lystra. Paul was now on his journey, 
 carrying the decree passed at Jerusalem, respecting 
 the law of Moses, to the Gentile' churches. None 
 of the apostles accompanied him. Even Barnabas 
 was no longer his fellow-labourer. From him he had 
 parted at Antioch, in consequence of a dispute about 
 John Mark, the nephew of Barnabas. The presby- 
 tery which laid hands on Timothy, therefore, was ei- 
 * Acts U. 2:3, + 1 Tim. 4. 14. & 2 Tim. I. 6. 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 ther that of Lystra, or one met for the purpose, and 
 composed of Paul and Silas, (and perhaps Titus,) 
 who accompanied Paul from Jerusalem on this jour- 
 aey. 
 
 (4.) I shall quote in proof of presbyterian ordi- 
 nation, the apostolic commission, as illustrated by 
 apostolic example. This commission stands upon 
 record in ]\Iatt. 28. 19, 20. Go ye, therefore, and 
 teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; 
 teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I 
 have commanded you : And, lo, I am with you al- 
 way, even unto the end of the world. AMEN. 
 
 In these words, the head of the church confers 
 ministerial power upon the Apostles. And it is per- 
 fectly evident, 1. that to the ministry alone, office- 
 power is committed : 2. that this power is transfer- 
 able unto the end of the world : 3. that equal power is 
 committed to all the Apostles : and, 4. that this power 
 is in its fullest extent transferable. We here, there- 
 fore, behold a ministry constituted by the head of 
 the church, complete in all its parts, subsisting in per- 
 fect equality, and possessing the right of transferring 
 their whole power into the hands of others, unto the 
 e?id of the world. Every ordained minister must 
 accordingly possess complete ministerial authority. 
 He can not be a minister without possessing the 
 \yhole power delivered into the hands of each of the- 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 Apostles, except in those cases in which Apostles 
 acted under an hnmediate inspiration of God. And 
 inspiration, whether in Apostles or others, univer* 
 sally, entitles to the exercise of authority superior to 
 the ordinary ministry. The reason is obvious. All 
 are bound to obey God. It is equally obvious, that 
 if any individual Apostle had the pov/er of ordina- 
 tion, every other Apostle had similar power; and 
 every ordained minister may by his own power or- 
 dain another to the ministry. This reasoning is, I 
 confess, insufficient to establish the necessity of or- 
 dination, being performed by a presbytery — by a 
 plurality of ordained ministers : but it completely 
 establishes these two propositions : 1 . Ordination is 
 to be performed by ministers only : 2. All ministers 
 have, in ordinations, equal power. It leaves no- 
 thing relative to my argument, undetermined, except 
 this question ; Whether is ordination to be performed 
 by one minister, or by several ministers united ? 
 And, if it does not decisively establish Presbyterian- 
 ism, it certainly destroys the claims of Independen- 
 cy and the Prelacy. But we do not rest here. The 
 practice of the Apostles, recorded with approbation 
 in the canon of Scripture, will determine whether a 
 Christian minister is to be ordained to office by an 
 individual Presbyter or by a Presbytery. And if, 
 upon investigation, it should appear that one can or- 
 dain, nothing can justly be inferred favourable to the 
 
{ 43 ) 
 
 Prelacy. Nor can it be denied, that prudence ancl 
 decency require the union of both counsel and action 
 in admitting a candidate to the lioly ministry. Minis- 
 terial parity would still remain a matter of divine 
 right, and Presbyterian ordination would be ac- 
 knowledged, a prudential measure, in perfect con- 
 formity to God's ordinance. But I contend for 
 more than this. I assert without fear of contradic- 
 tion, that the Scriptures record manif instances of 
 Presbyterian ordination, and no instance in which an 
 individual did ordain. In the Jewish synagogue, 
 ministers were uniformly ordained by a plurality of 
 ordained officers. Timothy was ordaineH by a Pres- 
 bytery. Paul and Barnabas, not separately, but joint- 
 ly, ordained Elders in all the churches which they 
 had planted. And there is not a passage in the 
 whole New Testament from which it can be justly 
 inferred that one minister ever did ordain another. 
 It has indeed been inferred from two texts of Scrip- 
 ture, that an individual may ordain ; but the infer- 
 ence is false. This will appear upon examination. 
 1 Tim. 5. 22. " Lay hands suddenly on no man.'' 
 The argument of our opponents from this text, is as 
 follows : It is a specimen of their mode of reason- 
 ing. " Timothy is directed not to ordain any man 
 *' rashly, therefore he must have had the poMcr of 
 •' ordination committed to him, individually." To 
 <tate this argument, is a sufficient reply to it. If an 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 elder brother hatli recommended it to me to be cau- 
 tious in admitting candidates to the ministry, am I 
 therefore to claim prelatical authority r Or rather 
 is it not the duty of every minister, as much as it was 
 that of Timothy, to lay hands suddenly on no man ? 
 The other text referred to, is Tit. 1.5. " For this 
 cause left I thee in Ctrte, that thou shouldest set in 
 order the things that are ivanting, and ordain el- 
 ders in every city as I had appointed thee." The 
 argument from this text is considered by the friends 
 of the hierarchy as conclusive in favour of their sys- 
 tem. It is this : "' Titus was left in Crete in order 
 '' to supply what was defective in its ecclesiastical 
 " organization by ordaining Presbyters, he must 
 " have therefore possessed the right to ordain in his 
 " individual capacity." Need I add, my brethren, 
 that the premises do not warrant the conclusion } It 
 is indeed certain, that Paul left Titus in Crete, that 
 he might ordain ciders. And it is probable that Ti- 
 tus did ordain. But it is also equally probable, 
 that as Paul ordained Timothy, so did Titus ordain 
 ministers in Crete, by the laying on of the hands of 
 the Presbytery. And it is most certain that no 
 proof to the contrary can be produced. The com- 
 mon language of the church is, that the minister, 
 appointed by the Presbytery to be their organ in the 
 ordaining prayer, does ordain the candidate. This 
 phraseology never conveys the idea that he was alone 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 in the sacred work; and this will be presently ex- 
 emplified in your sight, when, agree'ably to appoint- 
 ment, I shall ordain among you this candidate, by 
 prayer, and the laying on ©f the hands of the Pres- 
 bytery*. 
 
 * The defenders of Prelacy are very unfortunate when they 
 refer to Scripture for proof. They are much more at home 
 among the Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries. This text 
 gives a blow to their pretensions, of which they do not appear 
 to be aware. It proves, 1. that the organization of the Church 
 in Crete was incomplete when Titus was left there ; 2. that, ia 
 order to render it complete, several elders must be ordained ia 
 every city, in every congregation. Every Church in the apos- 
 tolic age had several elders. This was essential to its organi- 
 zation. Acts 14. 23. But modem Episcopalians require no 
 more than one Presbyter to each Church. And yet they talk, 
 (modestly enough to be sure,) of their most excellent Church, 
 of its Apostolic origin and order, f I hear your claims, and ob- 
 serve your zeal, said a shrewd Farmer to a zealous Episcopa- 
 lian of Utica, but where is your religion ? We had little of that 
 to show, added the respectable Episcopalian, who told me the 
 story. 
 
 I embrace the opportunity, which this note affords me, of 
 recommending to all, who make the subject of the Christian 
 ministry their study, the excellent Letters of Dr. Miller, and 
 the masterly review of a Collection of Essaysj iJfc. which ap- 
 pears in the Christian's Magazine. I wish both these works 
 were universally known. I wish also that Presbyterians fully 
 knew the strength of their adversaries. I would therefore re- 
 commend to their perusal, Dr. Hobart's Apology, and a work 
 wbieh I have read since thi^ discourse was sent to the press, they 
 
( 48 ) 
 
 I have now demonstrated, that a lawful call to the 
 office, is one of the distinguishing marks which God 
 hath set upon the ministry which he approves; and I 
 proceed to show also, 
 
 Secondly, That the Pastor according to God's 
 heart, has a life corresponding to the functions of 
 his holy office. 
 
 There is a striking analogy between a saint and 
 the church. Grace is not complete until it termi- 
 nates in glory ; and the church militant is imperfect. 
 Professions are frequently hypocritical, appearan- 
 ces are often discovered to have been without reality. 
 " Many will say to me in that day. Lord, Lord, 
 have we not prophecied in thy name ? — And then 
 will I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart 
 from me, ye that work iniquity." Ministers may 
 have a divine call to the office, and ^^et afterwards 
 give themselves up to the service of Satan, and betray 
 their master. Judas was an Apostle. There must 
 therefore be a check upon Christian confidence. It. 
 
 Letters of Dr. Bowden. When the judicious and pious reader 
 has admired the animated declamation of the former, and the 
 patient researches of the latter writer, he will conclude that 
 neither of the Dr.'s knew much about the system of grace, or 
 the constitution of the Christian Church. The latter work con- 
 tains a summary of Episcopal arguments. These arguments, 
 however, when opposed to the shield of faith, are feeble as the 
 dart of Priam. Such weapons are not so t&rrible to Presbyte- 
 lians) as was the sceptre of Elizabeth. 
 
( 49 ) 
 
 is not sufficient that the Pastor has been regularly 
 called, he must also adhere to his instructions. He 
 that is near the heart of God, ^^^td, has not only re- 
 ceived a regular ordination, but also continues to 
 perform faithfully the duties of the pastoral office. 
 Ministers are to be honourably received, and dili- 
 gently watched. While they continue to live a life 
 corresponding to their ministry, let them be esteem- 
 ed as the servants of God, as the ambassadors of 
 Christ. But when they shall have forsaken God, let 
 them be rejected by the church. You will bear, my 
 brethren, with our personal infirmities ; you will 
 sympathize in our calamities ; you will pity our in- 
 tellectual weakness ; you will mourn for our unsuc- 
 cessfulness ; and if we should never acquire great 
 popularity, we are not, merely on that account, to 
 be rejected of the church. Not great attainments 
 in eloquence, not courtly manners, not a talent of 
 pleasing the high or the low, not popularity, nor 
 even the degrees of success with which a ministry is 
 accompanied, can determine whether a Pastor be 
 far oflf, or near the heart of God. He is a Pastor 
 approved of God, who is pious, diligent, and faith- 
 ful 
 
 (1.) A ministry evidently impious, will meet with 
 few advocates. This evil can be tolerated only in a 
 church which has far departed from truth and holi- 
 ness. It is not indeed necessary tha^t we should 
 
 G 
 
( ^0 ) 
 
 have infallible evidence that a man is regenemted, 
 in order to recognise him as a minister of Christ, 
 Such evidence is impossible without a revelation 
 from heaven. But before he is invested with this 
 holy office, the candidate must be required to exhibit 
 all the satisfactory evidence of which the case ad- 
 mits. He must manifest his faith bi/ his zvoi^hs. It 
 is of no importance that he say he has faith — that he 
 tell us of his conversion. We look for the fruits of 
 that faith. These we examine, and of them we 
 judge. A Christian minister, destitute of piety, is in 
 a deplorable condition. He makes it the business of 
 his life, to serve a master whom he hates, to explain 
 a law at which his heart is in enmity, and to illustrate 
 promises which his own soul rejects. He preaches a 
 salvation of which he does not approve, and recom- 
 mends a heaven which he never seeks. He describes 
 terrors which are thickening around him, and he 
 teaches others to escape a hell into w hich he is him- 
 self hastily travelling. But the Pastor according to 
 God's heart, my brethren, is a man of piety. He 
 loves the doctrines of the Gospel. These have 
 been to his soul, green pastures and refreshing 
 streams. To be united to Christ, as a member of 
 his body, to be taught by the spirit of adoption, is a 
 source both of confidence and joy. Filled with hu- 
 mility, he admires in transports of delight the so- 
 vereignty of God. Grace appears to him pure. 
 
( 51 ) 
 
 Jand calm, and great, and wonderful. The pious 
 minister is constrained by the love of a crucified 
 Saviour, and he loves the Father with his whole 
 strength and mind. God appears to him in the com- 
 munications of his Holy Spirit, as an infinite foun- 
 tain of divine majesty and sweetness, pouring out his 
 all -sufficiency, and like the sun in its glory, plea- 
 santly diffusing both light and life. This encourages 
 him, 
 
 (2.) To diligence in his sacred office. He feels 
 the value of the soul. He knows it to be immortal. 
 He perceives the danger of sinners ; and anxious for 
 their salvation, he warns them of it frequently and 
 fervently. Giving himself wholly up to the duties 
 of his ministry, he renders subservient to it, his 
 plans and his actions, his studies and his medita- 
 tions. In the closet, upon his knees, he offers his 
 flock to the Chief Shepherd ; and, from the pulpit, 
 he invites that flock to his master's fold. From house 
 to house, he visits, he examines, he exhorts. In af- 
 flictions, he soothes ; in temptation, he admonishes ; 
 in sickness, he comforts ; and in death, he resigns 
 their departing spirits into tlie hands of that God 
 who created both him and them. 
 
 (3.) The Pastor, who is near the heart of God, is 
 faithful to God and to his church. Without cor- 
 rupting the word of truth, or handling that word de- 
 ceitfully, he preaches Christ crucified, as the sum 
 and the substance of true religion. He deals plain- 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 ly with sinners, uninfluenced by their frowns or their 
 smiles. He unfolds their guilt, their depravity, their 
 obduracy of heart; and he summons them to repent- 
 ance. He explains the sovereign love of God, and 
 the atonement made by the Saviour; and he demands 
 obedience to the great commandment, " believe in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ." He insists upon the neces- 
 sity of conversion, and of holiness ; and explicitly 
 and repeatedly declares, that unless a man be born 
 again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. He 
 inculcates, upon every one, attention to all God's or- 
 dinances ; he shows them how they are to behave 
 themselves in the house of God, which is the church. 
 In a word, he faithfully teaches them to observe all 
 things whatsoever God hath commanded. 
 
 III. The sum of pastoral duty is the edification of 
 the church. 
 
 This, you will recollect, is according to my ar- 
 rangement, the third and last general division of the 
 discourse. In the text, that minister, which God 
 approves, and in mercy bestows upon a congregation 
 of Christians, is represented as one " which shall 
 feed with knoxvledge and understanding T The edi- 
 fication of the Christian church is, in fact, the object 
 of all gospel-ordinances. And to the attainment of this 
 object, discipline as well as doctrine, is subordinate. 
 The original words are more comprehensive and ex- 
 pressive, than the words *' feed with knowledge." 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 ■nj;') ij^ni uy\7 is translated in the Septuagint, n«(/x!v«; 
 ■TTOLfxavuTiv TTOiiJLOi.mvTi';, Shepherds ivho shall pasture you,- 
 performing the duties of a shepherd^ with know- 
 ledge. This embraces, the whole business of a shep- 
 herd about his flock, the whole care which he takes 
 for their preservation and increase. And the faith- 
 ful shepherd must, of necessity, provide pastures for 
 his flock ; inspect, from time to time, their state ; de- 
 signate his own sheep from other herds ; and exer- 
 cise over them that power which is necessary for 
 their welfare. The edification of the church cannot 
 be promoted, wiiii intelligence, by the pastor, unless 
 he teach, inspect, seal, and rule, the several persons 
 who are committed to his charge, that he may watch 
 for their souls as one who must give an account. 
 The duties of the gospel ministry, are, therefore, to 
 preach the gospel — to examine the state of the con- 
 
 cresation — to administer the sacraments — and to ex- 
 es o 
 
 ercise ecclesiastical power for the preservation of 
 order in the church. 
 
 1. The Pastor according to God's heart, preach- 
 es to his congregation the gospel of Christ. This is 
 the food which he diligently provides for unmortal 
 souls. This gospel is the power of God unto salva- 
 tion. Christ crucified is the substance of it. And 
 this subject is far from being contracted. No, my 
 brethren, it embraces whatsoever is useful for the 
 perfection of the man of God. Preaching the gos- 
 pel is an ofiicial exhibition of the system of grace in 
 
( o4. ) 
 
 all its parts, accompanied with a direct offer of all 
 its blessings to all sinners, and with fervent admo- 
 nitions to receive and improve the offer, and the 
 gift. God is exhibited to view in all his attri- 
 butes. Man is described, as a creature, depend- 
 ent upon God, rational and accountable, bound to 
 knovv', love, and serve God perfectly, and labour- 
 ing under the guilt and the pollution of sin, original 
 and actual. The Redeemer is revealed in his per- 
 son and offices, as he really is, God manifested in 
 the flesh, our prophet, our priest, and our governor, 
 the only mediator between God and man, and our 
 only Saviour. Salvation, through him, is offered, to 
 every one, without terms, and without conditions. 
 And the pre-requisites to the enjoyment of happiness 
 in heaven, are explained, and required of all : Faith 
 in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, love to God, 
 and holiness in heart, speech, and behaviour. Union 
 with Christ by faith is manifested as the only ground 
 of pardon and acceptance, the only source of grace 
 and holiness, the only foundation of morality, and 
 the only fountain of perfection, and felicity, and 
 glory. The spirit of God is exhibited in his divinity, 
 and excellency, and efficacy — the author of all mo- 
 tion, all beauty, and all glory. lie is revealed as the 
 Sanctifier and the Comforter. The doctrine of con- 
 version is explained, and the necessity of conversion 
 is urged upon every conscience. The Holy Scrip- 
 tures are explained, and the truths of inspiration are 
 
( 5<5 ) 
 
 illustrated and applied. The history, the prophecy, the 
 precept, the doctrine, the promises, and the ordinan- 
 ces, yea, all the parts of the counsel of God, are 
 displayed without fear and without partiality, by the 
 faithful pastor. The order of God's providence is 
 marked and proclaimed. The events which fulfil 
 predictions, and the duties which, from the signs of 
 the times, devolve upon Christians, are duly exhi- 
 bited. The perversions of science, (falsely so call- 
 ed,) and the misrepresentations of Scripture, dan- 
 gerous to the sentiments and morals of men, are 
 detected and refuted. The order of the church of 
 Christ is vindicated ; and the history, pf God's judg- 
 ments upon the nations, is unfolded. ]\Ien are taught 
 to introduce the principles of Christianity into full 
 operation, in all the various relations of life, and 
 Jesus, the Saviour, is proclaimed as Head over all 
 things, the governor, and the judge of the universe. 
 Such a subject, my brethren, as this gospel which 
 we preach, so interesting, so various, so copious, 
 and so magnificent, most assuredly requires the de- 
 votion to its service of talents and erudition. la 
 order to qualify a man to preach this gospel, it is 
 necessary that he have good sense, extensive infor- 
 mation, and much experience. He must be a man of 
 reading, of study, of piety, and of prayer, in order 
 to become a workman who needeth not to be asham- 
 ed. Such a subject as this also requires that it be 
 discussed plainly, solemnly, and fervently. Nor is 
 
( 56 ) 
 
 it altogether unimportant to the edification of the 
 church, whether the gosi)el be preached by the 
 pastor to his congregation, by readin<£ in their 
 hearing, or by wliat is generally termed extem- 
 pore speaking. To this question I have paid some 
 attention. And, from the observations which I 
 have been enabled to make, I conclude, that it is 
 more agreeable to the mind of God, in the institu- 
 tion of the gospel ministry, that the pastor should 
 speak to his hearers, from the fulness of his under- 
 standing and his heart, upon a subject which he has 
 thoroughly studied and digested, than that he should 
 confine himself, entirely to the i^ecitatioji oi words 
 which he has committed to memory, or to the read- 
 ing of a manuscript which he holds before him. The 
 voice of nature, the voice of scripture, and the voice 
 of e.vperience, are certainly-, in favour of extempore 
 sermonising, 1 . This is the order of nature. Speech 
 is the natural mode of communicating our thoughts 
 to others. Writing is an artificial substitute for 
 speech ; and by its means we converse with those 
 to whom the voice cannot reach. But when we ad- 
 dress those who are present, it is more natural 
 that we speak what we know, than that we either 
 repeat what we have committed to memory, or read 
 what we have written. 2. All scriptural example 
 is upon the side of extempore preaching. Thus, 
 the ministers of the synagogues taught and exhorted. 
 Thus, all the apostles and evangelists practised. 
 
( 57 ) 
 
 Thus did also our blessed Saviour. Having read 
 his text, he " closed the book,'' and gave the mean- 
 ing. " Aiid he began to sen/ unto them,'' &c. Luke 
 4. 210, 21. And, 3. Experience also recommends 
 this example to our imitation. The most successful 
 ministers, in the best days of the churcli, thus preach- 
 ed the gospel. The early reformers, in this as well 
 as in other particulars, imitated the example of the 
 primitive pastors ; and the most eminently success- 
 ful ministers in every age, did likewise. If at any 
 time, signal awakenings have commenced under the 
 ministry of one who habitually read sermons, it was 
 found necessary to employ preaching extemporane- 
 ously, in cultivating the field and in gathering the 
 harvest. 
 
 There are also many strong objections against the 
 opposite method. It restrains the inventive faculty 
 of the preacher ; it diminishes his dependence upon 
 God's spirit, while actually engaged in his ministry ; 
 and it prevents those intellectual exertions, which, 
 excited by the occasion, give birth to the most natural 
 and forcible remarks. It is also calculated to impede 
 the discharge of other duties. The Pastor of a con- 
 gregation, who, during an ordinary life, serves one 
 church, must neglect parochial duties, if he is under 
 the necessity of writing two sermons every week. 
 This labour must likewise prevent study. In short, 
 the habit of reading or recitation has gone far toward 
 banishing discipline, and toward filling the church 
 
 H 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 with a superiicial ministry. It has had another in- 
 jurious effect. For as action and re-action are equal 
 and contrary in the moral, as well as in tlie physical 
 world, it has driven the great body of the people 
 away from the churches of the regularly educated 
 ministry, to follow declaimers, who have nothing to 
 recommend them but their natural and extempora- 
 neous eloquence. Nor is this all. Those who can- 
 not preach except by reading, have sometimes been 
 placed in a very disagreeable predicament. If they 
 are called upon, in providence, to preach, and have 
 not a sermon in their pocket suitable to the occasion, 
 they become justly liable to the terrible charge, Isa. 
 56. 10. " Dumb dogs ; they cannot barky Indeed, 
 if the practice of reading were universally adopted 
 in the public worship of the Lord's day, it would go 
 far toward the total overthrow of the ordinance of 
 the Christian ministry. As any one may write, so 
 any one may read, and then there is no necessity for 
 an ordained ministry to preach the gospel. 
 
 The apologies offered for this innovation have al- 
 ways appeared to me unsatisfactory. " There are 
 " some ministers who cannot correctly explain reli- 
 " gion, unless they confine themselves to discourses 
 " previously written." I trust, my brethren, this 
 apology will never be made for your pastor. I be- 
 lieve the principle of it is incorrect ; and I venture 
 to say, that every man who can write Avell, and can 
 read well, would have spoken well, had he cultivated 
 
( 59 ) 
 
 attentively the talent of speech. What ! shall there 
 be found men of talents for every other department 
 that requires eloquence, except for the ministry of 
 Christ's sospel ? In the senate, and at the bar, men 
 of information and of taste have listened with interest 
 to extempore eloquence. But it has been said, 
 " There are some congregations m hich feel so little 
 " interest in the great doctrines of religion, as to 
 " have no relish for discussions which are not re- 
 " commended by correctness of composition:" a 
 compliment which I hope shall never be paid by its 
 pastor to this congregation. I shall now dismiss this 
 subject, after I shall have observed, that men of su- 
 perior talents and acquisitions will certainly com- 
 mand respect, whatever be the mode in which they 
 address their hearers ; but these valuable endow- 
 ments might be employed much more successfully in 
 the service of the church, by cultivating an extem- 
 pore elocution, than by reading sermons. Let the 
 Ambassador Jor Christ, be thoroughly acquainted 
 with his Bible ; let him enrich his mind with various' 
 Icnowledge ; let him correct his thoughts by frequent 
 composition ; let him accurately digest the subject 
 about which he is to speak, and let him enter the 
 pulpit and address his congregation in total depend- 
 ence upon his God ; let him pour out his heart, not 
 mth enticing words of mans wisdonij but in demon- 
 stration of the spirit ajid of power, and his gain in 
 spiritual effect will far counterbalance his loss in ele- 
 gance of expression. 
 
( 60 ) 
 
 C, The pastor of whom God approves, is in duty 
 bound, from time to time, to examine the reUiiious 
 state of his congregation. 
 
 This is the work of the Christian bishop. The 
 duty of inspection, is in Scripture combined with 
 that of feeding. And every pastor is, of course, a 
 Bishop. ] Pet. 5. 2. " Feed the flock of God, tak- 
 ing the oversight thereof*." Acts 20. 28. " The Ho- 
 ly Ghost hath made you overseers |, to feed the 
 church of God.' It is evidently, therefore, both the 
 duty and the right of every minister to exercise in his 
 pastoral charge that power of inspection, on account 
 of which the name Bishop is bestowed upon him. 
 
 The abuse which the prelacy has made of the 
 word Bishop, has not only cherished its Anti-chris- 
 tian usurpation, but has also greatly contributed to 
 banish from the church that religious inspection of 
 congregations, which is necessary to their edification. 
 That convenient interpretation which separates in- 
 spection from teaching, places the people beyond 
 the reach of ecclesiastical rule, and soothes the in- 
 dolent pastor in his total neglect of parochial duty. 
 \^ou will recollect, however, my brethren, that the 
 pastor which God hath promised to give to his peo- 
 ple, is one according to his own heart. He shall 
 feed the flock of God, inspecting their religious 
 state. He inquires, from time to time, into theiy 
 
 * EffMDcewravTEf, exercising the power of a Bishop. 
 t Eff*<7xo9rafj Bishops. 
 
( ^1 ) 
 
 progress in Christian knowledge. He Examines, in 
 the light of truth, the correctness of their views, 
 their sentiments, and their experience. He takes 
 account of their conduct in relation to all the prac- 
 tical duties of Christianity. He takes care to ac- 
 quaint himself with the facts, which, more than any 
 declarations, evidence their religious character. Per- 
 sonal interviews, family visitations, and public ex- 
 aminations, are employed with all possible frequea- 
 cy, for the edification of the church. And thus 
 shall the pastor be enabled to divide rightly the word 
 of truth, to give them meat in due season. 
 
 3. It is the duty of the Christian pastor to admi- 
 nister the sacraments of the New-Testament, to the 
 members of his church. 
 
 Sacraments are instituted by Christ, for the con- 
 firmation of our faith ; and they manifest our sepa- 
 ration from the world. These sacraments are Bap- 
 tism and the Lord's Supper. They are seals as 
 well as signs of divine grace to the heirs of salva- 
 tion. But the administration of them is commit- 
 ted unto the hands of fallible men, who cannot judge 
 the heart, or determine the state of any man. The 
 rule of adujinistration, therefore, is not our opinions 
 of a man's state, but our knotokdge of facts respect- 
 ing the applicant. He is considered as in covenant 
 with the church, who receives the seal, as the proper- 
 ty of the church ; who receives its mark, as a mem- 
 ber of the church ; who receives its peculiar badge* 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 of distinction ; he, in fact, is necessarily considered 
 as already enlisted in the cause, to whom the oath, 
 the sacrament, is administered. The facts to be as- 
 certained, in order to administer the sacraments 
 aright, are therefore two. 1st. Is the applicant 
 Avithin the covenant which exists between the visible 
 church and God? 2. Considering the special cha- 
 racter of the sacrament to be administered, is there 
 no unfitness in the visible state of the applicant to 
 tke reception of the ordinance ? 
 
 Children cast by providence within the bosom of 
 tlie church, are, according to the dispensation of 
 gi'ace, within the covenant; they are church-mem- 
 bers. It is the birthright of every one who is born 
 of believing parents, or of whose parents one is a 
 believer, to be a church-member. Every bud up- 
 on the branch belon2;s to the sood olive-tree, as well 
 as the branch itself. Such children are to be baptiz- 
 e<l : because there is nothins; in the nature of the or- 
 dinance unsuitable to infants. It seals and recog- 
 nizes their visible covenant connexion, and it may 
 seal their engrafting unto Christ. Children are in- 
 admissible to the Lord's Supper ; because in their 
 admission, the special object of the ordinance could 
 not be answered. They are incapable of that in- 
 tellectual entertainment which commemorates the 
 death of Christ. 
 
 Baptism has very improperly been called Christen- 
 ing : and this name cherishes the superstition which 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 crave it birth. It is maintained by many that Bap- 
 tism makes the subject botli a church member and 
 a Christian — that it regenerates. The Pastor accord- 
 ing to God's heart, will not, however, my brethren, 
 err so egregiously in this matter. It shall be his 
 care and his delight, as it is his duty, to administer 
 the seals of the covenant according to the divine di- 
 rection. The adult who makes an intelligent pro- 
 fession of the gospel, whose conversation is exem- 
 plary, and joins the church in covenant with God, is 
 admitted to baptism, is admitted to present his off- 
 spring in baptism, and is admitted to the Lord's ta- 
 ble also. Anxious to present his flock perfect in 
 Christ Jesus, the pastor warns them to conform to 
 the primitive example which he himself adopts as 
 the model of a regular church, enjoying its sacra- 
 ments and its doctrines. Acts 2. 41, 42. TJiey 
 that gladly received his word were baptized : And 
 they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine 
 and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and 
 in prayers. 
 
 4. It is the duty of a Christian minister to exer- 
 cise authority over his flock. This is necessary to 
 their edification, and it is included in the exercise of 
 the duties of a pastor. It is implied m feeding with 
 knowledge. The Greek verb which we generally 
 translate feed, and which comprehends the sum of 
 pastoral duty, signifies to rule as well as to teach, 
 and is frequently so translated in the New Testa- 
 
( 6^4 ) 
 
 nient *. The power of the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven is in the hands of every Christian minister. 
 It has been committed to him by the Head of the 
 chmxh. The use of the key of rmle, as well as 
 that of knowledge, belongs to him. And in the exer- 
 cise of spiritual power for the edification of the 
 church, he must maintain order, examine scandals, 
 call the disorderly to account, admonish and rebuke 
 with all authority. 
 
 I have now done with the doctrinal discussion of 
 this text. I have endeavoured to give you satisfac- 
 tory evidence, that the Ministry of the Gospel is a per- 
 manent institution of Christ, secured to his church by 
 his faithful covenant. I have given you a general view 
 of the constitution, the character, and duties of that 
 ministry, and I shall shortly proceed, according to ap- 
 pointment, to set apart by prayer and the laying on 
 of the hands of this Presbytery, the candidate whom 
 you have chosen to the ministry of this church. Un- 
 til that work is accomplished, I shall postpone the 
 application of my discourse. And may the Father 
 of our spirits, from whom proceedeth every good and 
 perfect gift, realize to you, in the pastor which you 
 are about to receive, the promise of my text — And 
 I will give you Pastors according to mine hearty 
 which shall feed you with knowledge and under- 
 standing. AMEN. 
 
 * nojjLiaiw, Mat. 2, 6. Rev. 3. 27. and 19. 15. Homer fre- 
 quently styles his kings, not/*£V£f. 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 After Prayer and singing a Psalm, The Formula of Questionsy 
 &c. was read, and the Candidate, having given to each ques- 
 tion a satisfactory reply, was ordained by prayer und the 
 " laying on of hands," to the ministry of reconciliation, and 
 settled to the pastoral office of the Congregation. The ap- 
 plication of the Discourse immediately followed in the 
 Charge, 1. to the Minister, and 2. to the Congregation. 
 
 CHARGE TO THE MINISTER. 
 
 You stand now, my brother, before this congrega- 
 tion, in a relation in which you never stood before. 
 You are their Pastor. You stand before the minis- 
 try of the church in a new relation. You are invest- 
 ed with authority as an ambassador of Jesus Christ. 
 You stand before that God who is the witness of the 
 solemnities of to-day, in a new relation. The Holy 
 Ghost hath made you an OVERSEER. You oc- 
 cupy a post of honour, and a post of danger. You 
 stand in a needy station. Permit me, to warn you 
 of its difficulties ; to admonish you of its duties ; and 
 to assure you in the discharge of these duties, of an 
 all-sufficient help. 
 
 In doing this, I claim, over you, no prelatical au- 
 thority. In office, and in power in the church of 
 Christ, you are equal to any man upon earth. The 
 Apostolical commission has been transmitted to you 
 unimpaired. You are an ordained Minister. I 
 claim over you no other power than vvhat the actual 
 preacher has a right to exercise over every hearer — ■ 
 the power of divine truth over the conscience*. 
 
 * Such was the pov/er which the Prophets and Apostles pos- 
 
 I 
 
( 66 ) 
 
 Wlien wc pervert that truth, our words are without 
 authority, and resistance becomes virtue. 
 
 sessed and exercised. In them it was extraordinary. They 
 were not limited to expositions and applications of the written 
 revelation. They were inspired to make new revelations. And 
 Avho can lawfully resist inspiration ? The gift of inspiration 
 clothed the Apostles with an extraordinary character. This, 
 and not any Episcopal or Archi-episcopal power, gave them au- 
 thority over all the churches. At present, the scriptures of the 
 New Testament, as well as those of the Old, possess authority 
 over all the churches. The same authority did the Apostles 
 possess in their day. They were iriraculously qualiRed to guide 
 the faith and the worship of Christians. These divint gijin are 
 distinct from the commisaion which constituted them mirusters. 
 The commission is perpetually transmissible ; but the extraor* 
 dinary gifts, and the powers connected with them, have termi- 
 nated. Indeed, while they continued, they were exercised only 
 on extraordinary occasions. In common cases» the Apostles 
 acted as mere Presbyters. Acts 13. 1 — 3. and 14, 23— 2f.and 
 15th chapter throughout. Never, but when acting by inspira- 
 tion, did the Apostles assume any power over the ordinary 
 ministry. Never, otherwise, did they claim superiority over 
 Presbyters. Paul exercised the right of directing Tiraothyj 
 and prescribing for Titus, for He spake as he ivas tnoved by the 
 Holy Ghost ; and that was a warrant for the actions of these two 
 Evangelists. Paul is long since dead, but the authority which 
 he exercised over these ministers, remains, undiminished ; not 
 in the hands of an ambitious Prelate, but in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. The epistles are, to-day, as binding upon us as they 
 were on Timothy and Titus. The Apostles themselves, in 
 the very exercise of their superior power, and with their inspir- 
 ed lips, teach the docU'ine of Presbyterian parity. I Pet. 5. 1. 
 <' The Presbyters which are among yovi, I exhort, who am also 
 a Prcsbi/ter." 2. " Feed the flock of God, taking the oversight 
 thereof" — as Bishofis^ E7rKrxoTi.vT£i. 3. '< Neither as being lords 
 over God's heritage " — Not as masters of the clergy, kxtoixv^ivov 
 TE? Twy kXv^v. 5. " Yea, all of y.ii be subject one to another, and 
 y>e clothed with luirailitv." There are not, in fact, tAvo crea- 
 
( 67 ) 
 
 We have, to-day, my clear brother, presented you 
 to tiiis church, as the gitt of God, for tlieir edifica- 
 tion. We hope you are the fulfilment of the pro- 
 mise of our Saviour to this people, / xvill give you 
 Pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed 
 you with knowledge and understanding. In this 
 hope, I repeat to you the words of the Apostle Pe- 
 ter, " Feed the flock of God, taking the oversight 
 thereof, not by constraint, but willingly : not for 
 filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." You have indeed 
 to encounter difficulties in your pastoral office, of 
 which you are not yet fully aware. 
 
 There has been no opportunity for you hitherto to 
 feel the difficulty of managing aright the spiritual 
 concerns of a congregation. You have not felt the 
 tender tie which binds the pastor to his flock. You 
 have not felt, in all its exquisite anxieties, the re- 
 sponsibility of a watchman who must render unto 
 God an account for souls. Under new circumstan- 
 ces, also, corruptions, which have been supposed 
 extinguished, mIU again revive. Passions, which 
 have been considered as destroyed, will be excited 
 into fresh contentions. A multiplicity of undescri- 
 bable anxieties, will put your temper to a severe trial. 
 Your self-denial will be frequently put to the test. 
 Your reputation will be assailed by enemies. Your 
 words will be misunderstood, and your motives mis- 
 
 tures in the universe more dissimilar, than a Christian Bishop 
 and a Dignitary of the church of England. 
 
( 6S ) 
 
 represented. Your most disinterested exertions will 
 often be undervalued. I know your congregation. 
 I have long known them. 1 love them and esteem 
 them. 1 hey will endeavour to make you in every 
 respect comfortable. But they are human. They 
 are imperfect. And it is always difficult to direct 
 and to control several active, inquisitive, high-spirit- 
 ed, and diversihed minds, so as to effect one grea^ 
 object, the edification of all, and the good of the 
 whole church of Christ. To these difficulties, is 
 added the power of Satan, which you will have to 
 resist in all its devices. For we wrestle not against 
 Jlesh and blood, but against principalities, against 
 powers, against the rulers oj the darkness of this 
 world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
 Amidst these trials and difficulties, you must, never- 
 theless, continue unwearied in the w ork whereunto 
 you are now ordained. 
 
 Havinij in view the edification of the church, it 
 becomes you to stir up the gift that is in you. It 
 is your duty, my brother, to cultivate, by frecjuent 
 and fervent devotion, close intimacy with your Re- 
 deemer. You must read and study the scriptures, 
 as a sinner struggling for deliverance from the body 
 of death — as a Christian growing in grace and in 
 knowledge — as a critic weighing every expression, 
 and thoroughly searching every subject — as a pastor, 
 who, mindlul of his people, collects diligently for 
 their use. — You must read the scriptures as an am- 
 
( 69 ) 
 
 jbassador for Christ, that you may understand and 
 proclaim your master's will. In preaching Christ 
 crucified, and in administering the sacraments, exer- 
 cise both diligence and faithfulness. And let not 
 the ordinance of discipline be neglected in your mi- 
 nistry. Take heed to your life and conversation, 
 and let them be such as become the gospel. Be an 
 example to the flock in all love and humility. Be 
 patient, be sober, be vigilant. Visit your people, 
 and strive to know them as men and as Christians. 
 Indulge not, either in the pulpit or in private, per- 
 sonal animosities. Reprove and rebuke with all au- 
 thority. Give not heed to slanders, and listen not 
 to the tale of the censorious. In discipline, be cir- 
 cumspect and prompt, meek, but decisive. Show 
 to your people that you seek their salvation, " of 
 whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be form- 
 ed in you." And in the discharge of these duties, 
 put your trust in God. However great your difficul- 
 ties and your duties, greater still is your support. 
 
 God is to the faithful minister an all sufficient 
 help. He is a father and a friend. He will bear 
 you up in your afflictions. He will deliver you 
 from danger. He will strengthen you for your la- 
 bours. He pledges his faithfulness for your sup- 
 port. To the commission which he hath, through 
 us, to-day delivered unto your hands, he hath added 
 a promise, which you will never forget. It will in- 
 spire you with a confidence, which gives energy and 
 
( 70 ) 
 
 dignity to your ministry, Zo, / am mth you al- 
 ways even unto the end of the world. Amtn. 
 
 CHA'UGE TO THE CONGREGATION. 
 
 I feel, my brethren, more joy than I can express, 
 in turning to you, toward the close of the public du- 
 ties which have to-day devolved upon me, in order 
 to make application to you of the text which I have 
 selected for discussion. " And I," saith tlie Lord, 
 " will give you pastors according to mine heart, 
 which shall feed you with knowledge and under- 
 standing." For this object you have often sought ; 
 and you have often been disappointed. You have 
 now succeeded. Behold the answer of your pray- 
 ers. Your pastor is before you. Do you recognize 
 him as the gift of God to you — as the ambassador 
 of Christ — as the minister of your own choice? I 
 know you do. And I charge you, in the name of 
 the great God whose minister he is, that you conti- 
 nue to cherish toward him such a disposition. 
 
 He is entitled to your esteem. Many who have 
 no sense of religion, esteem its ministers for their 
 learning, their talents, their integrity, or their vene- 
 rable deportment. Ignorant devotion also looks up- 
 on ministers with superstitious veneration. But we 
 expect from you the exercise of a more intelligent 
 respect for your pastor. Reverence your Lord and 
 Saviour, embrace with love the work of salvation^ 
 and you will esteem highly for that work's sake he 
 
( 71 ) 
 
 who preaches the gospel of peace. Hoxv beautiful 
 upon the rnountains are the Jeet oj him that bring- 
 eth good tidings ! 
 
 Your minister also has a right to expect submis- 
 sion from you to the authority which he exerciseth 
 over you. This power is for your own edification. 
 *' Obctf them that have the rule oxier you, and sub- 
 mit yourselves ; for they watch for your souls, as 
 they that must give an account, that they may do it 
 •with joy, and not with grief, for that is unprofita^ 
 hie for ijou." 
 
 I need not, brethren, put you in mind that you 
 are bound to support comfortably your minister and 
 his family. When the church had called upon your 
 liberality heretofore, she was not disappointed. 
 And on this occasion, also, you have manifested the 
 same disposition. You have made liberal provision 
 for your pastor. Ministers deserve from their peo- 
 ple a comfortable support. Spending their time, 
 their talents, and their strength, for the good of the 
 church, it is hard if the church will not provide for 
 them. The labourer, yea, the common labourer, is 
 worthy of his hire. And despicable indeed must 
 that congregation be, which would not cheerfully 
 communicate, until the minister who labours for 
 their salvation could live as comfortably in the world 
 as they do. I speak to every individual. You have 
 not done your duty, until you have enabled your mi- 
 nister to live as well as you do. " For God loveth 
 
( 72 ) 
 
 a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all 
 grace abound toward you ; that ye always having 
 all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good 
 work."" 
 
 Let me also charge you to be much engaged in 
 prayer to God for your pastor. That Christian, 
 who habitually supplicates the throne of grace for a 
 blessing on the ministry, will profit by the word. 
 Cultivate also pious conversation with him, and 
 provoke him to instruct you, in private, as well 
 as in public. Let your houses be open for his re- 
 ception ; and let your families be instructed to res- 
 pect his visitations. Be manly, as well as pious. 
 Indulge not toward him a censorious spirit. Trou- 
 ble him not with tales of defamation. Join him, 
 and support him in the maintenance of discipline, 
 and in promoting the general interest of religion in 
 the church. Confine not your exertions within the 
 limits of your own congregation ; but, with a noble 
 generosity, co-operate with your pastor in every 
 plan which is calculated to spread the gospel, to pro- 
 vide a learned and pious ministry for the church, or 
 to increase the number and strength of other con- 
 gregations. 
 
 " Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of 
 good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and 
 the God of love and peace shall be with you." Amen. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
NEGRO SLAVERY 
 
 UNJUSTIFIABLE. 
 
 SERMON. 
 
NEGRO SLAVERY 
 
 UNJUSTIFIABLE. 
 
 DISCOURSE, 
 
 By ALEXANDER MCLEOD, A.M. 
 
 tastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation in the City of New-YorlCi 
 
 Vi'hosoever looketh unto the perfect law of liberty, and continueth 
 therein; he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; 
 this man shall be blessed in his deed. 
 
 James i. 25. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 Printed by T. (3 J. Slf'ORDS, No. 99 Pearl-street. 
 
 1802. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 i HE Author of this Discourse had a call presented to 
 him, in November, 1800, to take the pastoral charge of 
 a congregation in the county of Orange, in the State of 
 New- York. He perceived among the subscribers the names 
 of some whom he knew to be holders of slaves. He 
 doubted the consistency of enslaving the Negroes with the 
 Christian system, and was unwilling to enter into a full ec- 
 clesiastic communion with those who continued the prac- 
 tice. He hesitated to accept the call ; but took an early 
 opportunity of writing to the Elders of the Church, and 
 of intimating to the Presbytery his sentiments respecting 
 slavery. 
 
 The Reformed Presbytery has judicially condemned the 
 practice, and warned their connections against it. This 
 pi'oduced an additional evidence of the force of Christian 
 principle. It triumphed over self-interest ; and, in several 
 parts of the United States, have men sacrificed, on the altar 
 of Religion, the property which the civil law gave them in 
 their fellow men. There is not a slave-holder now in the 
 communion of the Reformed Presbytery. 
 
 A sense of duty determined the author to commit this 
 Discourse to the press. In the publication of it he has 
 particularly in view the instruction and establishment of 
 those inhabitants of Orange who have placed themselves 
 under his pastoral care. Through them he addresses all 
 into whose hands the Discourse may come. 
 
 If the Redeemer shall be pleased to bless it, and render 
 it the means of ameliorating the bondage, or of procuring 
 the liberty of any miserable African, the author shall re- 
 ceive more than a recompense. 
 
THE PRACTICE 
 
 OF 
 
 HOLDING MEN IN PERPETUAL SLAVERY 
 
 CONDEMNED. 
 
 ExoD. xxl. 16. He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, 
 or if lie be found in his hand, he shall surely be put 
 to death. 
 
 God is omnipotent. His omnipotence is necessary, and 
 independent of every other being. He is the source from 
 which all power flows. Whatever physical force can be 
 exerted by man, is derived from his Maker. In the ex- 
 ercise of natural power man is under a law to God. He 
 is indeed a free agent; but the divine law circumscribes 
 his sphere of action, and marks out boundaries which he 
 cannot pass with impunity. To exert his natural powers 
 under the direction of law is right : to exercise any powers 
 derived from God, contrary to his declared will, is wrong. 
 Whatever is included in the grant God has made to the 
 human family, is one of the rights of nuni; and beyond 
 this grant, contrary to God's law, man cannot claim a 
 right, until he shakes off his dependency, and elevates his 
 own authority until it become paramount to that which is 
 exercised by Jehovah. Whosoever attempts to deprive 
 any of the human family of the former, or put him in pos- 
 session of the latter, is guilty of treason against Heaven, 
 
( 6 } 
 
 unless he is expressly commissioned, in this particular in- 
 stance, to contradict the general principles of law, by the 
 same great authority from which the law derives its bind- 
 ing force. He who, without this authority, breaks over 
 the barriers of law, and, with physical force, deprives his 
 neighbour of liberty or property, is an enemy to God and 
 to man; much more so he who commences an unprovoked 
 attack on any of his fellow men, and, with lawless power, 
 steals him from his connections, barters him for some other 
 commodity, or forces him to labour for the benefit of an- 
 other, and that other an enejiiyy who has committed, or 
 countenanced the commission of the theft. 
 
 The divine law declares this a crime, and prescribes the 
 punishment. He who &tealeth a man, and selleth him, 
 or if he be found in his handy he shall sureli) be put to 
 death. 
 
 This law was given to the Hebrews as a body politic ; 
 but it proceeds on a moral ground, and is, consequently, 
 obligatory still on every subject of moral government. 
 
 He who acknowledges the morality of tlie eighth pre- 
 cept of the decalogue, will not require another proof of 
 the morality of the conduct recommended in the text. If 
 he who steals my purse, my coat, or my horse, be guilty 
 of an immorality, he cannot be innocent who robs me of 
 my father, my brother, my wife, or my child. Against 
 this principle an inspired Apostle directs his argument, in 
 his Epistle to Timothy. 1 Tim. i. 9. Knoxving this, that 
 the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the 
 lawless and disobedient— for man stealers — and if 
 there be ani/ other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. 
 Man stealing is classed with the most detestable crimes, 
 It is considered not only reprehensible among the ancient 
 Hebrews, but a moral evil, in every age, and in every na- 
 tion. 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 From th6 text, I consider myself autliorised to lay be- 
 fore you the following proposition : 
 
 The practice of buying, holdings or selling our unof^ 
 fending felloxe creatures as slaves is immoral. 
 
 The text will certainly support this proposition. Ac- 
 cording to the common principles of law, the receiver of 
 stolen goods, if he know them to be such, is esteemed 
 guilty as well as the thief. The slave holder never had a 
 riffht to force a man into his service, or to retain him, 
 ■without an equivalent. To sell him, therefore, is to tempt 
 another to sin, and to dispose of that, for money, to which 
 he never had a right. 
 
 The proposition does not militate aguinst slavery under 
 cverv form. By no means. A man, by the abuse of his 
 powers, to the injury of society, may forfeit liberty, and 
 even life : He may deserve slavery in the fullest sense of 
 the word, in order that his punishment may be a sanction 
 to the law — may be an example to others — and may com- 
 pensate, as much as possible, for the injuries done to so- 
 ciety. By *' innocent fellow creatures," in the proposi- 
 tion, it is not designed to teach that any of the human 
 race is so in relation to the divine law : it is not to be 
 understood in a moral, but in a political sense. As the 
 subjects of Jehovah's government, we are all guilty, and 
 deserve to perish. We have merited eternal imprisonment 
 from him. But, in relation to civil society, men are deemed 
 innocent unless they have violated its laws. These are as- 
 suredly entitled to personal freedom. 
 
 It is intended, in this discourse, to confirm the doctrine 
 of the proposition — to answer objections to it — and make 
 some improvemejit of it, 
 
 I. To hold ani/ of our fellow vien in perpetual slaveiy 
 is sinful. 
 
 1. This appears from the inconsistency of the practice 
 
{ 5 ) 
 
 of holding slaves with the natural rights of man. This 
 is a term which has been much abused. It is proper that 
 accurate ideas should be annexed to it, otherwise its force, 
 in the present argument, will not be perceptible. If man 
 were a being, owing his existence to accident, and not a 
 creature of God, his rights would indeed be negative. If 
 he stood in a state of independency of his Maker, and not a 
 subject of law, his rights could be determined only by the 
 will of society. But he is neither the son of chance nor 
 the possessor of independe?ici/. His life and his faculties 
 are the gift of God. From heaven he derives positive 
 rights, defined by positive precepts.* Considering man as 
 a free agent, by the constitution of nature he has a right 
 to the exercise of freedom, in conformity to the precepts of 
 that law by whicli the author of nature has ordered him 
 to regulate his actions. A delegated power he has from 
 God, and no creature has a right to restrict him in its 
 rightful exercise. To oppose the force of an individual, 
 
 * The author of " Political Justice" maintains that the rights of man 
 are all negative — that man has no rights. His reasoning is ingenious, 
 and is certainly less absurd than that which would introduce blasphemy 
 and vice among the rights of man. Both sentiments are, however, ab- 
 surd, and the absurdity proceeds from the same source. Man is con- 
 sidered in relation to man only. The interest of truth requires this 
 error to be detected and exposed. Before man is considered in relation 
 to man, his relation to God must be understood. This is the primary 
 one. It is that by which a'l others must be regulated. Consider man 
 as a creature of God, and depending upon his bounty, and you see him 
 receiving certain privileges from that Lord who has a necessary and ab- 
 solute property ii. all (.hings. These are the rights of man. They are not 
 inherent, but derived. 
 
 Consider man as a creature, and you see him under a law to God. 
 His possessions are completely circumscribed. Beyond this he has no 
 right. Ail ti. s rights of man are derived from Cod, and agreeable to hit 
 laiu. 
 
 By punctual attention to this principle, the friends of truth may 
 couMbtently and successfully combat those who would rob man of his 
 rights, or wouid unduly extend them. From this double battery, by 
 mamtaming a well-directed fire, they msy defeat the supporters of 
 civil and religious usurpation on the one side, and the propagators of 
 Hccntiousnbsi in politics and religion on the other. 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 or of a society, to this, is to wage war against the Supreme 
 Ruler : It is an attempt to reduce a moral agent to a mere 
 machine, whose motions are to be regulated by external 
 force; and, consequently, a denial of his right to the 
 person enslaved, and an arrogant assumption of lawless 
 authority by the usurper. Is it necessary to pursue this 
 argument before an American audience? It is generally^ 
 if not universally admitted. The principle is stated and 
 maintained in that instrument which hes at the foundation 
 of your national existence. In defence of it you have 
 fought — you have appealed to the Lord of Hosts ; and in 
 its support he has led on your armies to victory. 
 
 2. If an opposite principle of action were universally 
 admitted, it would lead to absolute absurdity. A demon- 
 stration of this will confirm the proposition* 
 
 If one man have a right to the services of another, with- 
 out an equivalent, right stands opposite and contrary to 
 right. This confounds the distinction between right and 
 wrong. It destroys morality, and justice between man and 
 man, between nation and nation. I have a right to en- 
 slave and sell you. You have an equal right to enslave 
 and sell me. The British have a right to enslave the 
 French, and the French the British — the Americans the 
 Africans, and the Africans the Americans. This would 
 be to expel right from the human family — to resolve law 
 into force, and justice into cunning. In the struggle of 
 contending rights, violence would be the only arbiter. 
 The decisions of reason would be perverted, and the sense 
 of morality extirpated from the breast. 
 
 Such absurdity will meet with few advocates to plead its 
 cause in theory. Is it not, tlierefore, lamentable, that any 
 should indulge a principle, or countenance a practice, the 
 justification of which would necessarily lead to it? But, 
 s 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 3. The practice of enslaving our fellow men stands equally 
 Opposed to the general tenor of the sacred scriptures. 
 
 The Bible is the criterion of doctrine and conduct. It 
 represents the European and the Asiatic, the African and 
 the American, as different members of the same great fa- 
 mily — the different children of the same benign and uni- 
 versal parent. God has made of one blood all the nations 
 of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath de- 
 termined the bounds of their habitation. Acts xvii. 26. 
 In relation to one another, they are equally bound to the 
 exercise of benevolence, and are respected as naturally 
 having no inequality of rights. Every man is bound to 
 respect his fellow man as his neighbour, and is com- 
 manded to love him as himself.* Our reciprocal duties 
 the divine Jesus summarily comprehends in that direction 
 commonly called the golden rule: Whatsoever ye xn'ould 
 that men should do to mm, do ye even so to them : for this 
 is the law and the prophets. ^ This is tiie sum of the duties 
 inculcated in the law of Moses, and in the writings of the 
 inspired prophets. How opposite the spirit of these pre- 
 cepts and doctrines to the practice of the slave-holder ! If 
 he is consistent with himself he will reason thus: " These 
 slaves are not of one blood with me. They are not en- 
 titled to the love I give to my neighbour. '1 he conduct 
 which I should pursue, were I enslaved by another, I 
 would not recommend to them. I shall feed and clothe 
 them from the same principle that I feed and stable my 
 cattle. They arc my property as much as ihese; and 
 when they do not serve my purpose agreeably to my 
 wishes, I shall dispose of them for money to another traf- 
 ficker in human flesh. I acknowledge, if any person was 
 to enslave me, I should endeavour to embrace the first op- 
 
 * Mark xli. 31. f Matt. vli. I a. 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 portunity of making my escape. But if ray Negro offers 
 to run away, I shall pursue, and severely chastise him. 
 He has no right to leave his master ; the rule, Whatsoever 
 ye v^'ould that men should do unto you, do ye also so to 
 them, notwithstanding." — I need not add, brethren, that 
 such sentiments are opposite to the principles of die ChriS' 
 tian Religion. 
 
 4. The practice which I am opposing is a manifest vio- 
 lation of four precepts of the decalogue. 
 
 If this can be shown, it will be an additional con- 
 firmation of the doctrine of the proposition. Revelation 
 informs us, that whosoever offends in one point is guilty 
 of all, James ii. 10. And the reason is added, because 
 the same authority is wantonly opposed in that one point 
 which gives sanction to the whole of divine revelation. 
 By inference, therefore, the whole decalogue is violated; 
 but there is a direct breach of the fifth, the sixth, the 
 eighth and the tenth commandments. 
 
 The fifth requires the performance of those duties which 
 respect the several relations in which we stand to one an- 
 other; and particularly enforces obedience to our natural 
 parents. The Christian's duty to the wretched Afiican, 
 brought providentially under his care, is to afford him the 
 necessaries of life — to bring him up in the nurture and ad- 
 monition of the Lord — to instruct him in the knowledge 
 of his duty and his rights — to habituate him to honest in- 
 dustry — to help him to some business for himself, and set 
 him at liberty from his controul. But the slave-holder ex- 
 ercises often a cruel, akvays an illegitimate, authority over 
 his slave. He destroys, to a great degree, natural rela- 
 tionship. He sets aside the authority of the immediate pa- 
 rent; and, in opposition to the divine law, which com- 
 mands each to honour his father and raodicr, the child is 
 taught, from die cradle, diat his duty consists in implicit 
 obedience to die command of Ids master. 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 The sixth requires tJie use of all lawful means to pre- 
 serve the lives of men. But ah ! Slavery, how many hast 
 thou murdered? Thou hast kindled wars among the mi- 
 serable Africans. Thou hast carried the captive, who 
 escaped death, into a still more miserable state. Thou hast 
 torn from the bosom of the grieved mother her beloved 
 daughter, and broughtest down the grey hairs of an aged 
 parent, with sorrow, to the grave. Thou hast buried them 
 on board thy floating prisons, and hast chained them in 
 holds, which have soon extinguished the remaining spark 
 of life. The few who have escaped thou hast deprived of 
 liberty, dearer itself than life. 
 
 The eighth forbids the unlawful hindrance of our neigh- 
 bour's wealth. The whole life of the slave-holder is an 
 infringement upon it. The labour of a man is worth 
 more than his food and cloathing ; but the slave receives no 
 anore. His master robs him of the fruits of industry. He 
 steals him from his relations. He robs him of his liberty 
 of action. He steals him from himself. The tenth com- 
 mandment forbids all inordinate desires after worldly pro- 
 perty. Tiie practice of the slave-holder is an evidence of 
 liis avarice. He employs servants without wages. He 
 sells to a hard master, for money, the man and the wo- 
 man whose severe services have already done more than 
 make him compensation for any trouble or expense to 
 which they had subjected him. Not only the avaricious 
 merchant who sails to the coast of Africa with his ship 
 fitted out with the implements of cruelty, in order to im- 
 port and expose to sale our sable brethren ; but the Ame- 
 rican slave-holder also, is convicted of a breach of the 
 tenth precept of the moral law. 
 
 5. The system against which I contend is also inimical 
 to that benevolent spirit which is produced and cherished 
 by the gospel of free grace. 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 In the system of grace all men are represented as pro- 
 ceeding from one pair — as fallen from a state of integrity 
 and happiness, into a situation that is sinful and miserable. 
 God is revealed as beholding inan in this condition with 
 an eye of benevolence — having pity for the distressed, 
 mercv for the miserable, and grace for the unworthy. 
 Jesus, God in our nature, appointed as the Saviour of sin- 
 ners, and without respect of persons, gathering from the 
 north and froin the south, from the east and from the 
 west, out of every kindred, tongue, and people, and na- 
 tion, an innumerable multitude, to be introduced, through 
 his divine mediation, into a state of unspotted purity and 
 unspeakable happiness. 
 
 The influence which the grace of the gospel has upon 
 the heart, is to cultivate, increase, and perfect every be- 
 nevolent affection, and suppress all malevolence, extirpat- 
 ing the principles of sinful selfishness from the soul — to 
 produce a spirit of meekness and self-denial, of readiness 
 to forgive real injuries, and of prayer for the good of 
 our enemies. Yes, the spirit of the gospel is love to God 
 and to man, evidencing its existence by suitable exertions 
 for the glory of our Creator, and the happiness of all our 
 brethren, here and hereafter. 
 
 How does this system. Christian, correspond with the 
 slave-trade? You behold your African brethren in the 
 same miserable state in which you are yourself by nature.* 
 Do you not sympathize with them ? Your Maker has 
 not excluded them from a share in his love, nor has the 
 blessed Redeemer interdicted them from claiming a share 
 in his salvation. How can you degrade them, tliercfore, 
 from that rank which their Maker has assigned to them, 
 ^nd endeavour to assimilate them to the beasts that perish ? 
 
 • Eph. ii. 3. 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 By divine grace you are taught not to love this world, nor 
 to be conformed to its sinful practices. Rom. xii. 2. Look 
 at your slave ! How came you by him ? Who had a 
 right to tear his father from the bosom of his friends, in 
 order to enslave him and his offspring, and sell this 
 wretched victim to you ? How long will religion suffer 
 you to retain him in bondage? for life? Ah! hard-hearted 
 Christian ! is it thus you imitate his example who died for 
 your sins? who voluntarily descended from his heavenly 
 glory, and humbled himself into the death, in order to de- 
 liver you from slavery ? On him rested the spirit of the 
 Lord, for he preached glad tidings unto the meek. He 
 proclaimed liberty to the captive, and the opening of the 
 prison doors to them who were bound. Isa. Ixi. 1 . Does 
 the same spirit rest on you? does it produce a similar dis- 
 position? Consider the contrast: consider it attentively. 
 You have pronounced heavy tidings in the ear of your 
 slave. You have proclaimed bondage for life to the cap- 
 tive. You have even closed upon him the door of hope 
 in his prison. You have purposed to enslave his offspring. 
 Merciful God ! how unmerciful do thy creatures act to- 
 wards one another ? 
 
 6. The last argument I shall use for confirming the 
 doctrine of the proposition, shall be taken from the perni- 
 cious consequences of the system of slavery. 
 
 To this manner of reasoning there can be no valid ob- 
 jection, if it be kept within proper boundaries. That 
 evil consequences follow a certain practice is not always 
 a decisive evidence that the practice is wrong; but it is a 
 sufficient reason for us to pause, and examine it in the light 
 of truth. If we be required, in the divine law, to pursue 
 this path, we must obey, leaving the consequences to his 
 management who commands us. If it be in itself law- 
 ful, but not requisite, evil coQsequences presenting them- 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 selves would teach us not to proceed. But if it really 
 be a forbidden path, the pernicious effects of travelling it 
 are additional warnings against continuing in it any 
 longer. 
 
 Ministers are commanded to preach the gospel, though 
 it should prove the occasion of submitting many to tribu- 
 lation in this life, and be to many a savour of death unto 
 death in the next. It was lawful for the Apostle to the 
 Gentiles to eat whatsoeva-" meat was sold in the shambles; 
 but if his using this Hberty would have been productive 
 of evil consequences, he would have instantly desisted 
 from the practice. 1 Cor. viii. 13. 
 
 If, then, from a lawful practice, it be expedient to de- 
 sist, because, although to ourselves useful, it is detrimental 
 to others, it is certainly our duty to relinquish a system 
 which is dubious in its nature. ^Vhen we liave presump- 
 tive evidence that we are fundamentally wrong, evil con- 
 Sequences are decisive against us ; and, as in the case be- 
 fore us, when other evidences condemn the practice, its 
 pernicious consequences loudly demand that from it we 
 should immediately desist. 
 
 1 . This practice has a tendency to destroy the finer feel- 
 ings, and render the heart of man more obdurate. The 
 butcher, long inured to slaughter, is not hurt at the low- 
 ing of the oxen or the bleating of the lambs which he is 
 about to kill.* Nor is the common executioner much 
 agitated in his work of blood, whether the victim be in- 
 nocent or guilty. The slave may roar under the lash of 
 his master, without commanding the least sympathy. The 
 slave-holder views all the iEtliiopian race as born to serve. 
 
 * Frequent attendance in the slaughter-house is supposed calculated 
 to blunt the feelings of humanity. By the laws of England, a butcher 
 is not admitted to sit on a jury, lest be should not be sufficiently deli- 
 cate in ca«?$ gf life and death. 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 His heart is steeled against them. Nor is the transition 
 great to become hard-hearted to ail men. " The whole 
 commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise 
 of die most boisterous passions — the most unremitting des- 
 potism on the one part, and degrading submission on the 
 other. The parent storms — the child looks on, catches 
 the lineaments of wrath, puts on the same airs in the cir- 
 cle of smaller slaves, gives a loose to the worst of his pas- 
 sions; and thus nursed, educated, and daily exercised in 
 tyranny, cannot but be stamped by it with odious peculia- 
 rities. The man must be a prodigy who can retain his 
 manners and morals undepraved by such circumstances."* 
 
 2. It debases a part of the human race, and tends to 
 destroy their intellectual and active powers. The slave, 
 from his infancy, is obliged implicitly to obey the will of 
 another. There is no circumstance which can stimulate 
 him to exercise his own intellectual powers. There is 
 much to deter him from such exercise. If he think or 
 plan, his thoughts and plans must give way to those of 
 his master. He must have less depravity of heart than 
 his white brethren, otherwise he must, under this treat- 
 ment, become thoughtless and sullen. The energies of 
 his mind are left to slumber. Every attempt is made to 
 smother them. It is not surprising that such creatures 
 should appear deficient in intellect. 
 
 Their moral principles also suffer. They are never cul- 
 tivated. They are early suppressed. While young, the 
 little tyrants of their master's family rule over them with 
 rigour. No benevolent tie can exist between them. The 
 slave, as soon as he can exercise his judgment, observes 
 laws to protect the life, tlie liberty and the property of his 
 master; but no law to procure these for him. He is pri- 
 
 * Jefferson's Notes, Query XVIII. 
 
( n ) 
 
 vate property. His master's will is his rule of duty. We 
 have no right to expect morality or virtue from such arx 
 education and such examples. 
 
 3. Another evil consequence is the encouragement of 
 licentiousness and debauchery. 
 
 The situation of the blacks is such as to afford every 
 encouragement to a criminal intercourse. This is not con- 
 fined to the blacks themselves, but frequently and shamefully 
 exists between them and their masters. Tlie lust of the 
 master maybe gratified and strengthened by intercourse with 
 the slave, without fear of prosecution for the support of 
 the offspring, or the character of the mother. The situa- 
 tion of these women admits of few guards to their chastity. 
 Their education does not strengthen it. In the Southern 
 States, illicit connection with a negro or mulatto woman is 
 spoken of as quite a common thing. No reluctance, de- 
 licacy or shame appear about the matter. The number of 
 mulattoes in the Northern States prove that this evil is also 
 prevalent among their inhabitants. It is usually a con-"^ 
 comitant of slavery. 
 
 4. This leads to a fourth lamentable consequence — the 
 destruction of natural affection. 
 
 An irregular intercourse renders it difficult for the father 
 to ascertain his proper offspring. Among the slaves them- 
 selves marriage is a slender tie. The master sells the hus- 
 band to a distance from his wife, and the mother is sepa- 
 rated from her infant children. This is a common thing. 
 It must destroy, in a great measure, natural affection. Nor 
 is the evil confined to the slaves. Their master, in this in- 
 stance, exceeds them in hardness of heart. He sees his 
 slave nursing an infant resembling himself in colour and 
 in features. Probably it is his child, his nephew, or his 
 grand-child. He beholds such, however, not as relatives, 
 c 
 
(, 18 ) 
 
 but as slaves, and rejoices in the same manner that he does 
 in viewing the increase of his cov^'s or liis horses.* 
 
 5. Domestic tyranny, whicli exists as a correlative to 
 domestic slavery, is a nursery for civil tyrants. Powerful 
 must be the force of other principles, and singular the com- 
 bination of circumstances, which can render an advocate 
 for dcm.estic slavery a sincere friend of civil liberty. Is it 
 possible? If he can buy, sell, and enslave for life, any 
 individual of the human race, for no reason but self- 
 interest, I should be unwilling to trust him with the affairs 
 of a nation. Kad he it in his power to do it with im- 
 punity, and did it appear conducive to his interest, or gra- 
 tifying to his ambition, he would become as really a des- 
 pot as the most arbitrary monarch. 
 
 C. This practice is calculated to bring down the judfr- 
 mcnts of God on societies and individuals. 
 
 The toleration of slavery is a national evil. It is the worst 
 of robberies sanctioned by law. It is treason against Hea- 
 ven — a conspiracy against the liberties of his subjects. If 
 the Judge of all the earth shall do right, he cannot but 
 punish the guilty. 
 
 Nations, as such, have no existence in a future state; 
 they must expect national judgments in the present. Dis- 
 tributive justice will mxasure their punishment according to 
 
 * " It is far from being uncommon to see a southern gentleman at 
 dinner, and his reputed offtpring, a slave, waiting at the table. ' I 
 myself,' says a gentleman of observation, ' saw two instances of thii 
 kind; and the company would very facetiously trace the features 
 of the father and mother in the child, and very accurately point out 
 their nnjre characteristic resemblances. The fathers, neither of them, 
 blushed, nor seemed disconcerted. They were called men of worth, 
 politeness and humanity.' The Africans are said to be inferior, in 
 point of sentiment and feeling, to white people. The African labours 
 night and day to collect a small pittance to purchase the freedom of 
 his child. The white man begets his likeness, and, with much indif- 
 ference, sees his offspring in bondage and misery, and makes not one 
 effort to rtdccm his own blood." 
 
 J\Ione\- Universal Gtography, p. 66. 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 their criminality. O America, what hast thou to ac- 
 count for on the head of slavery ! Thou alone, of all the 
 nations now on the earth, didst commission thy delegates, 
 in peace, and in security from the over-awing menaces of 
 a tyrant, or of factions, to form thy Constitution. Thou 
 didst possess, in a peculiar sense, the light of reason, of 
 science, of revelation, of past argumentation, and of past 
 experience. Thou hadst thyself formerly condemned the 
 principle, and, in the most solemn manner, made an ap- 
 peal to heaven for the justice of thy cause. Heaven heard, 
 and answered agreeably to thy wishes. Yet thou didst 
 contradict a principle so solemnly asseited. Thou hast 
 made provision for increasing the number and continuing 
 the bondage of thy slaves. Thy judgments may tarry, but 
 they will assuredly come.* Individuals are also in danger. 
 
 * The Declaration of Independence has these words : " We hold 
 these truths to be self-evident — that all men are created equal — that they 
 are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights — that 
 among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — that to se- 
 cure these rights governments are instituted among men." The negroes 
 are created equal with the whites according to this instrument. 'I'heir 
 liberty is an unalienable right. But this nation has taken away this 
 unalienable right from them. And although the nation declares that 
 government is instituted to preserve this right, the government still 
 continues to deprive them of it. The United States, according to the 
 late census, taken in i8or, hold 875,626 of the human race in slavery. 
 They have, even in the Constitution of the general government, twelve 
 years after the Declaration of Independence, made provision for the 
 increase of the number. Art. i. Sect. 9. " The migration or imporic- 
 tlon of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think pro- 
 per to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 
 1808." They have thus, inconsistently, constitutionally authori.-.ed a 
 continuance of the worst of robberies. Very few of the States have. 
 made any adequate provision for the emancipation of their slaves. But 
 the State of South-Carolina has exceeded her sister States in endeavours 
 to perpetuate tins impious practice. What language can expre5s th^ 
 political inconsistency of a people who have inserted in a republican 
 constitution of government the following section? Constitution of 
 South-Carolina, Art. i. Sect. 6. " No person shall be eligible to a seat 
 in the House of Representatives unless he is a free v.hitc man. If a 
 resident in the election district, he shall not be'eligible to a seat in the 
 House of Representatives unless he be legally seized and possessed, in 
 his own riglic, of a settled freehold estate of five hundred aoics of 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 Those who live " without God in the worlcT* may have tem- 
 poral judgments inflicted upon them for the part they have 
 acted in tlie encouragement of slavery ; but the time of 
 retribution is in the world to come. Even real Christians, 
 the guilt of whose sins is removed through the atonement 
 of Jesus, but who have learned the way of the heathen so 
 far as to confirm to the wicked practice of buying, selling, 
 and retaining slaves, have a right to expect severe correc- 
 tions. Psalm Ixxxix. 30 — 32. In proportion as they have 
 an opportunity of ascertaining duty, will their danger in- 
 crease, unless they cheerfully sacrifice interest to it. He 
 ■who knows his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be 
 beaten with many stripes. Luke xil. 47. I speak to you 
 who parley with this temptation — you who, in defiance of 
 conviction, are determined to go on in the paths of self- 
 interest. In this very path you may meet correction. 
 Your treasures are not secure. There is a God; and while 
 godliness continues to have the promise of the life which 
 now is, as well as that which is to come^^' those who con- 
 tinue to practise on tlie system of slavery may expect to 
 suffer losj. Watch them close: they may one day elude 
 your vigilance, and escape with your treasure. The en- 
 slaved Hebrews were allowed to escape with the jewels of 
 the ]i!gyptians. You may lose, in a similar manner, as 
 much of your property as you have withheld from them 
 of their earnings whom you retain in bondage. If not, 
 God has it in his power to send mildew and blasting upon 
 your crops — murrain and pestilence among your herds — 
 
 land, and ten negroes." To tolerate slavery is an evil of no small 
 magnitude; to give it a national recommendation is still more inexcus- 
 able; but to render it a condition without which no man can represent, 
 in the legislature, the district in which he lives, exceeds any thing on 
 record in the annals of nations. This Constitution was adoptoJ as late 
 as the year 1790. 
 
 • I Tim. iv. 8. 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 until you sustain a greater loss than you would have suf- 
 fered by giving liberty to your slaves. I should think it a 
 favourable evidence, though not a conclusive argument, 
 that God has a regard for you, if you are thus chastised for 
 your oppression of your brethren. But if ye be without 
 chastisement y whereof all are partakers, then are ye bas- 
 tards, and not sons."^ 
 
 I have now finished what I designed to say in confirma- 
 tion of the doctrine of the proposition, and shall proceed, 
 
 II. To refute objections offered to the principle I have 
 been defending. 
 
 It is not to be expected that every objection shall now 
 occur. Some that are made probably I never heard ; and 
 some which I have heard may have escaped my recollec- 
 tion. I shall not, however, designedly evade any that has 
 the appearance of argument. I shall examine each in 
 order to ascertain its full value. 
 
 Objection I. " Nature has made a distinction between 
 man and man. One has stronger intellectual powers than 
 another. As physical strength prevails in the subordinate 
 ranks of creation, let superiority of intellect preside among 
 intelligent creatures. The Europeans and their descendants 
 are superior in this respect to the Africans. These latter 
 are, moreover, in their own country, miserable. Their 
 state is not rendered worse by being enslaved. It is just 
 for the more intelligent to rule over the more ignorant, and 
 to make use of their services." 
 
 Answer. The distinctions which nature makes be- 
 tween man and man are probably not so great as those 
 which owe their existence to adventitious circumstances. 
 
 The inferiority of the blacks to the whites has been 
 
 * Hebrews xii. 8. 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 greatly exaggerated.* Let tlie fact, however, be granted, 
 and yet the inference which is the principle of the objec- 
 tion will not follow. It is the essence of tyranny. It is 
 founded in false notions concerning the nature of man. 
 You say, " a greater proportion of intellect gives a right to 
 rule over the less intelligent." But you are to observe that 
 man is not only a creature capable of intellectual exertion, 
 but also one who possesses moral sentiments, and a free 
 agent. He has a right, from the constitution given him 
 by the Author of Nature, to dispose of himself, and be 
 his own master in all respects, except in violating the will 
 of Heaven. He naturally acts agreeably to the motives 
 presented to him, with a liberty of choice respecting them. 
 He who argues a right to rule from natural endowments 
 must have more than a superior understanding to show. 
 He must evidence a superiority of moral excellence, and 
 an investiture with authority; otherwise he can have no 
 right to set aside the principle of self-governir.cnt, and act 
 
 * There is no reason to suppose the blacks destitute of mental powers- 
 In some settlements in this State, particularly along the Mohawk, and 
 in Scoharie, the negroes, although slaves, arc admitted to the privilege 
 of consultation with their masters about the manner of conducting their 
 labour. They live, comparatively, at ease and in plenty. They con- 
 sult about the management of the farm, and frequently convey the 
 produce to the markets. The negroes, in these places, are as intelli- 
 gent and active as their masters, unless the latter have had signal ad- 
 vantages from education, and associating with superior company. 
 
 The courage and skill of the negroes in war will no longer be dis- 
 puted, after their transactions in St. Domingo and Guadaloupe are 
 known. And great must be his prejudice who can deny to the black 
 Toussaint the qualifications of a warrior and a statesman. 
 
 The writings of Phillh Whcatly evince that negroes are not destitute 
 of poetic genius ; and the letters of Jgnaihn Sancho discover their pos- 
 session of talents for prose composition. The observations of the Rev. 
 Samuel Miller, of New- York, on the negro school of that city, and 
 those of Anthony Benezet on the school in Philadelphia, coiwtnn tliis 
 truth. But if any person desires more documents to corroborate tiic 
 position that the talents of the negroes are not inferior to those of the 
 whites. I refer him to Clarkson's Essay, and to Dr. Beattic's refuta- 
 tion of Hume's assertions with respect to African capacity. There he 
 will find satisfaction. 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 in opposition to that freedom which is necessarily implied 
 in personal responsibility to the Supreme Moral Governor. 
 Consider the consequences which the objection, if granted, 
 would involve. He who could, by cunning contrivance, 
 reduce his innocent and more simple neighbour under his 
 power, would be justifiable in enslaving him and his off- 
 spring for ever. All the usurpation of men of genius 
 without virtue, from the days of Pharaoh to those ot Bo- 
 naparte, would be justifiable on this principle. 
 
 As for the circumstance of the Africans being wretched 
 while at their own disposal, you are not accountable tor 
 it. Friendship for them is not well shown in the slave- 
 trade. Your wicked trafiic has already rendered them 
 more wicked and wretched even in Africa. If you have 
 ameliorated the condition of one, you have rendered more 
 painful the condition of thousands.* 
 
 * The nations called civilized, upon accurate calculation, are found 
 to export annually from Africa one hundred thousand slaves. Fifty thou- 
 sand of these are obtained by kidnapping. In order to supply the other 
 half, whole villages are at once depopulated, by order of the Princes 
 under European influence, and wars entered into expressly for the 
 purpose of making slaves of the prisoners. These causes produce con- 
 stant quarrels, and render the country miserable. It is supposed that 
 60,000 lives perish annually in these wars. Of the number shipped 
 from Africa, 25,000 perish on the passage, by pestilence, insurrection, 
 shipwreck, despair, &c. 25,000 more perish in seasoning to the cli- 
 mate of the West-Indies. The remaining 50,000 linger out a life of 
 wretched existence. Another fact will ascertain the havoc which fa- 
 mine, fatigue and cruelty make among those who are seasoned to tlie 
 climate. Ten thousand people, under fair advantages, should produce, 
 in a century, 160,000. In one of the colonies 650,000 slaves were 
 imported in one century. The offspring of these, at the expiration of 
 a hundred years, amounted to 140,000. According to this estimate, 
 population was impeded in the proportion of seventy-four to one. In 
 their own country they would have produced ten millions in that time. 
 Thus it appears that upwards of 100,000 lives are annually sacrificed. 
 This estimate is founded upon the testimony of witnesses by no means 
 partial to the Africans — the testimonies of Smyth, Bosnian, and 
 Moore, agents to the factories established in Africa — and the records 
 of Jamaica and St. Domingo. In Part iii. of Clark-on's E^^ay, a history 
 of the slave-trade is given, and many tales of woe related. If the ac- 
 curacy of this estimate is doubted, that excellent work maj be con- 
 sulted. 
 
( 24 ) 
 
 Objection II. " The negroes are a difFerent race of 
 people from us. Their capacities, their shape, their co- 
 lour, and their smell, indicate their procedure originally 
 from a difFerent pair. They are inferior to the white 
 people in all these respects. This gives a right to the ^- 
 perior race to rule over them as really as nature gives a 
 right to the use of the other subordinate ranks of animated 
 being." 
 
 Answer. This goes upon the footing of discrediting 
 scripture authority. In a discourse to professed Christians 
 I might reject it without consideration. There may, how- 
 ever, be in my hearing a slave-holder who is an unbeliever 
 of revelation. 1 would reason even with him, that, if 
 possible, I may serve the cause of justice, of liberty, aiKl 
 of man. The use of sound reason and philosophy Chris- 
 tianity by no means discards. 
 
 The principle of your argument is inadmissible j and, 
 if it were not, it would not serve your purpose. 
 
 1. It is inadmissible. Among the individuals of every 
 species there is a difference. No more causes than are suf- 
 ficient to account for any phenomenon are required by the 
 rules of philosophising. The action of the elements on 
 the human body, the diet and the manners of men, are 
 causes sufficient to account for that change in the organiza- 
 tion of bodies which gives them a tendency to absorb the 
 rays of light, to perspire more freely, and to put on that 
 shape which Is peculiar to the Inhabitants of Guinea and 
 their descendants. A single century will make a forcible 
 distinction between the inhabitants of a northern and a 
 southern climate, when the diet and manners are similar. 
 A difference In these can make a distinction In the same 
 latitude. It is Impossible to prove that twenty or thirty 
 centuries, during which successive generations did not 
 mingle with a foreign race, could not give to the African 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 ftegro that peculiarity of bodily appearance which so stub- 
 bornly adheres to him when translated into another clime. 
 A few years of a hot sun may produce a swarthiness of 
 complexion wliich the mildest climate cannot, for years, 
 exchange for- a rosy cheek. According to the laws for 
 propagating the species, the offspring resembles the parent. 
 It is not to be expected that a very apparent change should 
 be wrought on the complexion of the offspring of negroes 
 already in this country. Ten times the number of years 
 which have passed over the heads of the successive gene- 
 rations on the coast of Guinea, may be necessary, before 
 the negroes can retrace the steps by which they have pro- 
 ceeded from a fair countenance to their present shining 
 black. The causes of bodily variety in the human spe- 
 cies which I have stated are known to exist.* It is 
 highly unphllosophical to have recourse to others which 
 are only conjectural. Enmity to revelation makes many 
 one think himself a philosopher. But, 
 
 2. If the principle were just it would be invalid : it 
 would not answer your purpose. If you adopt the hypo- 
 thesis of several original and distinct pairs, by whom the 
 earth was peopled, you cannot determine where to stop. 
 The different nations of Europe and of Asia, and tiie dif- 
 ferent tribes of America, may have had different original 
 parents, all upon the footing of subordination one to the 
 other.f If the principle of your objection were admissible. 
 
 * The author embraces this opportunity of recommending " An In- 
 quiry into the Causes of Variety in the Human Complexions," by Dr. 
 Smith, President of the College of New- Jersey. His admirable cri- 
 ticisms on Lord Kaimes, by far the most able advocate of the doctrine 
 of a plurality of distinct original pairs, deserve the perusal of the phi- 
 losophic inquirer. 
 
 f Mr. Miller eloquently expresses himself on this subject:— 
 " Pride, indeed, may contend that these unhappy subjects of our 
 oppression are an inferior race of beings; and are, therefore, as- 
 signed, by the strictest justice, to a depressed and servile station in so- 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 it would prove too much, lead to absurdity, and is there- 
 fore capable of proving nothing. Each nation might 
 claim a superiority of rank over the other. Right would 
 be opposed to right, and cunning and violence would be 
 the only umpires. Involve not yourself in such inextrica- 
 ble difficulties in advocating a practice truly indefensible. 
 
 Objection III. "I firmly believe the scriptures. All 
 the families of the earth are brethren. They are originally 
 descended from Adam, and secondarily from Noah. But 
 the blacks are the descendants of Ham. They are under 
 a curse, and a right is given to their brethren to rule over 
 them. We have a divine grant, in Gen. ix. 25 — 27, to 
 enslave the negroes." 
 
 Answer. This threatening may have extended to all 
 the descendants of Ham. It is, however, to be noticed, 
 that it is directed to Canaan, the son of Ham. In order 
 to justify negro slavery from this prophecy, it will be ne- 
 cessary to prove four things. 1 . That all the posterity of 
 Canaan were devoted to suffer slavery. 2. That African 
 negroes are really descended of Canaan, 3. That each of 
 the descendants of Shcm and Japheth a has moral right 
 to reduce any of them to servitude. 4. That every 
 slave-holder is really descended from Shem or Japheth. 
 
 ciety. But in what does this inferiority consift? In a difference oi com-' 
 flexion andjigure? Let the narrow and illiberal mind, who can advance 
 such an argument, recollect whither it will carry him. In traversing 
 the various regions of the earth, from the equator to the pole, we find 
 an infinite diversity of shades in the complexion of men, from the dark- 
 est to the fairest hues. If, then, the proper station of the African is 
 that of servitude and depression, we must also contend that every Por- 
 tuguese and Spaniard is, though in a less degree, inferior to us, and 
 should be subject to a measure of the same degradation. Nay, if the 
 tints of colour be considered the test of human dignity, we may justly 
 assume a haughty superiority over our southern brethren of this con- 
 tinent, and devise their subjugation. In short, upon this principle, 
 where shall liberty end? or where shall slavery begin? at what grade 
 is it that the tics of blood are to cease ? and how many shades must we 
 descend still lower in the'scale, before mercy is to vanish with them?" 
 Discount; io the Idanumisiion Society of Nsw-Tork^ p. 12, 13* 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 Want of proof in any one of these particulars will 
 invalidate the whole objection. In a practice so contrary 
 to the general principles of the divine law, a very express 
 grant from the supreme authority is the only sanction to 
 us. But not one of the four facts specified as necessary 
 can be supported with unquestionable documents. On 
 each of them, however, we may spend a thought. 
 
 1 . The threatening is general. It does not imply parti- 
 cular personal servitude as much as political inferiority and 
 national degradation. It does not imply that every indi- 
 vidual of that race should of right be kept in a state of 
 slavery. 
 
 2. It is possible the negroes are descended from Ham. 
 It is even probable. But it is almost certain tliat they are 
 not the offspring of Canaan. The boundaries of their 
 habitation are defined. Gen. x. 19. The Canaanitish ter- 
 ritory is generally known from subsequent history. 
 
 3. The supposition, however, that the curse fell on 
 the negroes, may be granted with safety to the cause of 
 those who are opposed to the system by which they are 
 enslaved. It will not serve as a warrant for this practice. 
 It is not to be considered as a rule of duty, but as the pre- 
 diction of a future event. God has, in his providence, 
 given many men over to slavery, to hardships, and to death. 
 But this does not justify the tyrant and the murderer. Had 
 it been predicted, in so many words, that the Americans 
 should, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, be 
 in possession of African slaves, we might argue from the 
 fact the truth of the prophecy, but not the propriety of 
 the slave-holder's conduct. It was foretold that Israel 
 should be in bondage in Egypt. Gen. xv. 13. This did 
 not justify the cruelty of Pharaoh. He was a vessel of 
 wrath. Jesus, our God and Redeemer, was the subject of 
 many predictions. According to ancient prophecy, and to 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 satisfy divine justice, he was put to death. The charac- 
 ters who fulfilled this prediction were wicked to an ex- 
 treme. Acts ii, 23. 
 
 4. Slave-holders are probably the descendants of Japheth, 
 although it cannot be legally ascertained. And they may 
 be fulfilling tlie threatening on Canaan, although they are 
 not innocent. Be not afraid, my friends; prophecy shall 
 be fulfilled, although you should liberate your slaves. This 
 prediction has had its accomplishment three thousand years 
 ago. The descendants of Shem did, by divine direction, 
 under the conduct of Joshua, subjugate the offspring of 
 Canaan, when they took possession of the promised land. 
 
 This naturally leads us to consider another objection — 
 the most plausible argument that can possibly be offered 
 in defence of the unhallov^^ed practice of holding our fel- 
 low men in perpetual bondage. 
 
 Objection IV. " God permitted the ancient Israelites 
 to hold their fellow creatures in servitude. Men and wo- 
 men were bought and sold among them. The bond ser- 
 vant is called his master's money. Exod. xxi. 21. Had it 
 been wrong in its nature to enslave any human being, 
 God could not have granted the Hebrews a permission to 
 do it. Negro slavery, stripped of some accidental cruelties, 
 is not necessarily wicked." 
 
 Answer. This objection requires minute attention. 
 The fact is granted. Heaven did permit the Hebrews to 
 purchase some of the human race for servitude. The ge- 
 neral principle deduced from this fact is also granted. 
 It is, in certain cases, lawful to enslave our fellow crea- 
 tures. The application of it to justify the practice of mo- 
 dern nations is by no means admissible. 
 
 God is the Lord of the universe. As the Supreme Go- 
 vernor, he docs what is right. His subjects have violated 
 his law, abused their liberty, and rebelled against die ma- 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 jesty of Heaven. They have forfeited to his justice the 
 liberty and the Hfe he gave them. These they must yield. 
 They will, at the time appointed by the Judge, be enclosed 
 in the grave. The sovereign has also a right to the use 
 of whatever instrument he chooses in the execution of the 
 sentence. He may choose the famine or the pestilence, 
 the winds or the waves, wild beasts or human beings, to 
 be the executioners. Again : 
 
 Civil society has certain laws, to which its members, 
 voluntarily claiming its privileges, have assented. A vio- 
 lation of these is the violation of a contract, and the pe- 
 nalty stipulated musr he paid by the offenrler. "When, by 
 a person's licentiousness, justice is violated, or society en- 
 dangered, it is just and necessary to enslave the criminal, 
 and make his services, if possible, useful to society. This 
 much I cheerfully grant; and shall now proceed to show 
 that the objection does not apply to the doctrine which I 
 have been endeavouring to establish. 
 
 You cannot argue conclusively, in defence of negro 
 slavery, from the practice of the ancient Hebrews, unless 
 you can prove, 1st. That the slavery into which they 
 were permitted to reduce their fellow creatures was similar 
 to that in which the negroes are held: and, 2dly. That 
 ycu have, the same permission which they had, extended 
 to you. If proof fails in either of these, the objection is 
 invalid, and I undertake to show that both are without 
 proof. 
 
 I. The servitude into which the Hebrews were permitted 
 to reduce their fellow men was attended with such restric- 
 tions as rendered it essentially different from the negro 
 slave-trade. It may be considered, I . With reference to 
 their brethren ; 2. As it respected strangers. 
 
 1 . A natural descendant of Abraham might, in two cases, 
 be sold by die ma" istratcs into servitude. These were theft 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 and insolvency. And so great was the regard for freedom 
 
 whicli their code of laws discovered, that even the thief 
 
 could not be enslaved while he had property sufficient to 
 
 answer the demands of the law for the theft, Exod. xxii. 
 
 1 — 4. If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep^ and kill it, 
 
 or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for the ox, and four 
 
 sheep for the sheep. If a thief have nothing, then he 
 
 shall be sold for his theft. The servitude into which the 
 
 debtor was sold for the benefit of the creditor was not 
 
 severe. Lev. xxv. 39 — 43. Jf thy brother that dwelleth 
 
 with thee be waxen poor, a?id be sold unto thee, thou shall 
 
 not compel him to serve as a bond servant, but as an hired 
 
 sei^ant and as a sojourner he shall be with thee. Thou 
 
 shalt not rule over him with rigour, but shall fear thy 
 
 God. In both cases tlie duration of this species of slavery 
 
 was limited to six years. On the seventh he shall go out 
 
 free for nothing. Exod. xxi. 2. And it was required, in 
 
 the case of the debtor, that his master should give him 
 
 some stock on which he might again begin business for 
 
 the support of his family. Deut. xv. 12 — 15. When thou 
 
 sendest him out free, thou shalt furnish him liberally of 
 
 thy flock, thy floor, and thy wine-press. 
 
 Both these laws evidence the greatest care of the liberties 
 of individuals which is consistent with the real interest of 
 the nation. They are strong motives to industry, and 
 guard against burdensome taxation for the support of pri- 
 sons. 
 
 2. There were two classes of aliens with respect to 
 which the Israelitish law gave directions — those who be- 
 longed to any of the neighbouring Canaanitish tribes in 
 particular, and such as belonged to other nations in gene- 
 ral. With respect to the latter, the law was exactly the 
 same as to tlie Hebrews themselves. Lev. xxiv. 22. Ye 
 shall have one manner of law as well for the stranger as 
 
( 31 ) 
 
 for one of your own country. Verse 35, next chapter. If 
 thy brother be waxen poor^ then thou shalt relieve him — 
 yea, though he be a stranger or a sojourner. But there 
 are particular exceptions from this general law, which 
 guaranteed from invasion the life, the liberty, and the 
 property of aliens. These exceptions refer to the remains 
 of the conquered tribes living among the Israelites, or to 
 such of the nations of Canaan as were around them. 
 Lev. XXV. 44, 45. Of the heathen that are round about 
 you, shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Of the chil- 
 dren of the strangers that sojourn among you, shall ye 
 buy, and of the families which they begat in your land. 
 This permission was merciful. The descendants of Abra- 
 ham were expressly appointed the executioners of the di- 
 vine sentence against the tribes of Canaan. Extermina- 
 tion was the command; but on their voluntary subjection 
 they were only reduced into a state of servitude. The 
 Israelites were forbidden to use them harshly. Exod. xxi. 
 26. Accordingly, the Gibeonites, when they craftily ob- 
 tained the safety of their lives, were reduced Into the situa- 
 tion of bond servants. Joshua ix. When Saul treated 
 them with cruelty, God was offended, and even punished 
 David because he did not avenge that cruelty on the house 
 of Saul, at an early part of his reign. 2 Sam. xxi. 1. I 
 proceed, 
 
 II. To prove that this example is not for our imitation. 
 The Israelites themselves had no right to fit out their ships 
 with their implements of cruelty, in order to steal, buy. 
 Stow away, and chain men of other nations, living, with- 
 out injury to them, at a distance from their shores. Had 
 they done so, no future traffic could have rendered their 
 prizes legitimate. They were officially employed by Hea- 
 ven to punish the Iniquity of the nations which they van- 
 quished. They were ordered to sybdue, destroy or en- 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 skve the descendants of Canaan, and take possession of 
 the land covenanted to tlieir father Abraham. As a pe- 
 culiar people, they were to be kept distinct until Mes- 
 siah should come. The remains of foreign nations could 
 not, therefore, be admitted to the rights of citizenship. 
 The wall of partition is now broken down. All mankind 
 are our brethren. There is no similarity of circumstances 
 between us and the ancient Hebrews — no divine permis- 
 sion that can justify us in holding slaves. Although the 
 slavery were exactly the same with that into which the 
 blacks are reduced, the practice of modern nations would 
 remain unjustifiable. 
 
 The descendants of JShcm have, in the Hebrew nation, 
 reduced Canaan into a state of servitude ; and the offspring 
 of Japhech have supplanted those of Shem in both spiritual 
 and temporal privileges. 
 
 Objection V. " Slavery was tolerated, in the primi- 
 tive ages of Christianity, by the Roman laws. It is not 
 condemned by Christ or his Apostles. They have given 
 directions for the conduct of master and slave. 1 Tim. vi. 1 . 
 They have not intimated that the practice of keeping men 
 in slavery was sinful." 
 
 Answer. What vou have asserted is not correct, and, 
 if it had been, it would be no objection to the principles 
 for which I contend. The New Testament does condemn 
 the slave-trade. 1 Tim. i. 10. Man-stealing is here re- 
 probated, together with every practice which is contrary 
 to somid doctrine and the spirit of the glorious gospel. 
 1 Cor. vii. 21. If thou may est he made free, use it rather. 
 It is recommended to the slave, if he is able, to procure 
 his liberty. If he has no fair means of obtaining it, it is 
 his duty patiently to continue in bondage.* The gospel 
 
 * Commerce in the human species is of a very early date. Moses 
 informs us that Joseph was sold as a slave, and disposed of ia Egypt 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 hope comforts him. The New Testament says (Col. iv. 1 .), 
 Masters^ give unto your sei^ants that which is jiist 
 and equal. Treat them justly; use them mercifully; pay 
 them lawful wages ; give them an equivalent for their ser- 
 vices. But, supposing the scriptures had been silent on 
 this subject, the objector could not justify negro slavery 
 from that silence. If it prove any thing it will prove too 
 
 as such by the purchasers. Gen. xxxvli. 30, 36. Homer informs us, 
 that in the time of the Trojan war Egypt and Cyprus were markets 
 for slaves. Antinous threatens to send Ulysses to one of those places. 
 Odys. lib. xvii. v. 448. 
 
 Tyre and Sidon were uutorious for prosccuiiug ilic slave-trade. This 
 custom travelled over all Asia ; spread through the Grecian and Ro- 
 man world ; and was practised among the barbarous nations which 
 overturned the Roman Empire. The abolition of the slave-trade 
 among the European nations has been falsely attributed to the feudal 
 system. The prevalence of Christianity was the real cause of it. The 
 charters which were granted, in those days, for the freedom of slaves, 
 were expressly, pro amorc Del, pro mercede animo ; " that they might 
 procure the favour of the Deity, which they conceived themselves to 
 have forfeited by the subjugation of those whom they found to be the 
 objects of divine benevolence." These effects were produced as the na- 
 tions were converted, and procured a general liberty through Europe 
 before the close of the twelfth century. In the commencement of this 
 century slaves were a capital article in the domestic and foreign trade 
 of England. When any person had more children than he could main- 
 tain, he sold them to a merchant. In the Council held at St. Peters, 
 ■Westminster, A. D. Iioa, this practice was prohibited. In the great 
 Council of Armagh, A. D. 1171, the clergy of Ireland decreed that all 
 the English slaves should be immediately emancipated. fHenry's Eng- 
 land, vol. vi. p. 267, 8vo edit.) It had not yet been discovered that 
 the New Testament authorised slavery. No. Wherever this religion 
 prevails, it will be found to be the "perfect laiv of liberty." 
 
 The instance of Gnesimus has been very unhappily selected by the 
 advocates of slavery to support their system. It does not appear cer- 
 tainly that he had been a slave to Philemon, He had been, indeed, a 
 servant. But, if a slave, he was to be so no longer. Phil. 16. Paul had 
 a right to demand his Uberty. Phil. 8. He knows, however, that to 
 request it would be sufficient. Phil. 9. It appears Gnesimus had 
 wronged his master. Phil. 18. Notwithstanding, Paul might lawfully 
 have retained him without a recompence. Phil. 13. But, confiding 
 in Philemon's integrity, leaves the matter to his own option, and 
 becomes security for Gnesimus. Phil. 15. It appears that this Gne- 
 simus was no longer slave or servant. He was more probably after- 
 wards a minister of the gospel, and colleague with fychicus in Collosse. 
 He is said to have been afterwards pastor at Ephcsus. 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 iTitich. It will prove the justice of the worst of tyranny, 
 the most dreadful cruelty, because Nero is not specified as 
 an infamous tyrant in the New Testament. It will prove 
 that you have a right to sell your own children as slaves** 
 • — to kidnap your neighbour, your countryman and your 
 friend. You need not, therefore, confine your traffic in 
 human flesh to tlie Afi lean race. You may extend it even 
 to your own children. Eut if such practices are not for- 
 mally mentioned and condemned in the New Testament, 
 the principles from which they proceed are reprobated in 
 the strongest terms. The whole system of slavery is op- 
 posite to the spirit of that religion which is righteousness 
 and peace. True religion cheers the heart both of the 
 subject of a tyrant and the slave of a master. It teaches 
 fhem their duty as men, as social beings, as citizens of the 
 world ; while it reprobates the character who holds them 
 in durance, and condemns the tenor upon which he holds 
 his authority. It does not alter the external condition of 
 the believer, unless it reaches the heart of those who are 
 in power. It teaches him faithfulness and sobriety, pa- 
 tience and resignation, until God, in his providence, af- 
 fords him an opportunity of being more usefully active 
 in the restoration of moral order to society. 
 
 Objection VI. " I abhor the principle. The practice, 
 of importing and selling men is detestable. But here they 
 are. We found them slaves. We are not obliged, at 
 the expense of our property, to set them at liberty. The 
 community in general will not consent to it. They will 
 therefore be slaves. I want a servant. I may purchase 
 and hold a slave. His condition will not be rendered 
 
 • The immoralities practised in the Roman Empire, under the sanc- 
 tion of law, were numerous and aggravated. It would be an unreason- 
 able mode of compiling a system of ethics, to sustain as moral every an- 
 cient usage of the Grecians and Romans which are not expressly con" 
 <ltmued in the New Testament. 
 
,( 35 ) 
 
 worse by serving me. I am bound to treat him merci- 
 fully : but, as matters are now situated, there can be no 
 evil in my keeping him in bondage." 
 
 Answer. IF men were not strongly influenced by in- 
 terested motives, they could not impose so far on their 
 own understandings as to give indulgence to the principle 
 contained in this objection. A long C07itinuance of evil- 
 doing will change the nature of wrong unto right. If so, 
 there is an end to the distinction between virtue and vice. 
 Your fathers left the negroes in bondage, as an inheritance 
 to you. Does this justify you in retaining them? No. 
 If the first stealer and the first buyer acted contrary to 
 justice, the Constant retainer cannot be guiltless. You 
 condemn the principle, but justify the practice. Act con- 
 sistently, I beseech you. Touch not, taste not, handle 
 not the unclean thing. Let me call your attention to an- 
 other fact. You have a slave of thirty years of age in 
 your possession. He was born in your house. By na- 
 tural laws, and according to the first principles of civil 
 liberty, he was born equally free with your son. Who 
 has, upon him, committed the robbery by which he has 
 been deprived of his natural rights ? Yourself. Lay not 
 the blame on your parents, for you imitate their example. 
 The text applies to you directly. You have stolen from 
 his connections, from himself, a man born in your house. 
 Have you purchased him ? You have countenanced an 
 impious commerce ; the best reparation you can make is 
 to set your slave at liberty. You cannot afford to per- 
 form acts of such extensive benevolence. Do justice, 
 however. Deal mercifully with your servant. When t'nc 
 wages which he might have annually earned shall have 
 an^ounted to the purchase money, and lawful interest, set 
 him immediately at liberty from your controul. If you 
 ^re a worthy character, he sliall afterwards voluntarily 
 
( 36 ) 
 
 serve you, unless he be ungrateful indeed, provided you 
 give iiim due wages. After confessing the system to be 
 indefensible, it is to be hoped you will not give your suf- 
 frages to render it permanent. — I shall proceed, 
 
 III. To make some improvement. 
 
 In his walk of faith, the Christian considers himself 
 bound to the practice of every known duty. By the test 
 of obedience, the nature of his love to God is tried. This 
 IS the love of God, that ye keep his commandments, aM 
 his commandments are not grievous.* This disposition 
 inclines and fits him for making a practical improvement 
 of just theory. And the view we have now had of the 
 evils of the slave-trade may be improved for several 
 uses. 
 
 1 . AVe should lament over the distressing sufferings of 
 our brethren in bondage. True piety does not blunt the 
 feelings of benevolence. Commiseration with the wretch- 
 ed is strongly inculcated. Weep with those that weep. 
 Evangelic principle forms the soul to it. For these things 
 I weep; viine ei/e, mine eye, runneth doxon with tears.f 
 The situation of the African is miserable. In his native 
 country he is in darkness. He has no vision, no well- 
 grounded hope — the inhabitant of a waste wilderness, 
 ■without God in the world. He becomes acquainted with 
 foreigners on whom a Christian education has been be- 
 stowed. They profess the religion which breathes peace 
 and good will towards men. He knows them to his sor- 
 row. New occasions for war are afforded, and new and 
 terrible instruments for prosecuting war provided, for the 
 already ferocious tribes of the wilderness. He is taken 
 captive, and is sold for a bauble. He is chained in the 
 suffocating dungeon of a floating prison. He is brought 
 
 • Rom. xii. 15. f Lament, i. i6. 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 into a strange country. The whip is brandished over his 
 head. With its lash his back is furrowed. In a land boast- 
 ing of civilization, and enlightened by the gospel luminary, 
 he is doomed to ignorance, to rudeness and wretchedness. 
 There is power on the side of the oppressor, but on his 
 side there is no power.* His genius is cramped; the ener- 
 gies of his mind are suppressed; his moral feelings are era- 
 dicated ; his soul, his immortal soul, is left to perish with- 
 out the knowledge of Jesus. " Oh, slavery, thou art a 
 bitter draught!" Miserable African, we lament over your 
 condition. We are sensible of your sufferings. We sym- 
 pathise with you. We rerognise yon as a brnthftr. We 
 recommend you to the protection of our Heavenly Father. 
 We consign you to the arms of our dear Redeemer. God 
 of mercy ! Let the sighing of the prisoner come before 
 thee: according to the greatness of thy power, preserve 
 ihou those that are appointed to die.f 
 
 2. We may improve the view we have taken of the ne- 
 gro slave-trade, in order to stimulate us to present duty. 
 
 The benevolence of the Christian is not like the sensi- 
 bility of a writer of romance, ready to be exercised on 
 imaginary objects, but blind to objects of reality. While 
 we drop the tear of compassion over the slave, let us in- 
 quire whether or no we can do any thing to alleviate his 
 sorrows. Cannot your agency diminish the number of 
 slaves, and your behaviour be an example to others to 
 contribute their influence to the same desirable end? 
 
 I cannot demand of you, my brethren, to sacrifice your 
 property imprudently in purchasing the liberty of your 
 neighbour's slaves; but justice, your religion, requires 
 that you should cease to be slave-holders yourselves. 
 With respect to the young, arrangements may be made, 
 
 * Ecdes. iv. i. ^ Psalm Ixxu. il. 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 to defray, by their services, the expense of their support and 
 their education, before they are emancipated. To tliis you 
 have a right, and to no more. The middle-aged has al- 
 ready repaid your expenditures. If he has been pur- 
 chased, charity would recommend it to you, nevertheless, 
 to set him at libertv: and justice demands that you should 
 retain him in bondage no longer than is sufficient to re- 
 compence you for your trouble and expense. With re- 
 ference to the old, the inactive and the infirm, godly wis- 
 dom will direct the conscientious to such measures as may 
 be best calculated to secure their advantage, and enable 
 you to maintain an honourable testimony against this abo- 
 minable usurpation. Be merciful to them. Cultivate tlieir 
 understandings. Make them feel themselves to be men. 
 Raise them to the rank which God has assigned them. 
 Teach them the doctrines of the gospel. Give them ha- 
 bits of industry. Pray for them. Sacrifice the property, 
 which the civil law gives you in them, on the altar of re- 
 ligion. Seek for a recompence from on high. Heaven 
 can reward you. Godliness is profitable unto all things. 
 Jt has the promise of the life -which noxa is, and of thai 
 rehic/i is to come."* 
 
 3. The preceding discussion may be improved for dis- 
 covering the duty of gospel ministers. 
 
 These occupy an important office in the house of God. 
 They are ambassadors for Jesus Christ. They are com- 
 missioned not so much to please as to teach. The volume 
 of revelation contains their instructions. In negociating a 
 treaty between heaven and earth, they are not to neglect 
 its directions. It contains no useless articles to be expunged 
 or neglected. Much prudence, much prayer, and large 
 communications of the divine spirit, are indeed necessary 
 
 • I Tim. iv. 8. 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 to constitute fallible man a wise steward of the manifold 
 grace of God. This is promised ; a7id he is faithful who 
 promised, and able to perform.'^^ Mankind have no right 
 to be offended at ministers for directing them on the 
 head of slavery. My text is in the Bible. I have an 
 undoubted right to discuss it. Is the discussion scriptural, 
 and is it well timed ? are the only questions men have a 
 right to ask. My brethren in the ministry, if you la- 
 ment over this evil, let your voice be raised aloud against 
 it. The subject is important. To handle it rashly may 
 be dangerous. Offence may be undesignedly given, and 
 unjustly taken, which may mar the peace of the church, 
 and hinder the propagation of the gospel. Offences must 
 come. Woe to him by whom they are introduced. This 
 should make you vigilant, but not silent. Some, indeed, 
 have pushed their opposition to political evils too far. 
 1'his may have had an influence in deterring others from 
 going as far as duty directed. There is a timidity natural 
 to some characters, which detains them from prosecut- 
 ing public subjects. Some, who are traitors to their 
 Master's cause, neglect some articles in their instruc- 
 tions, while negociating in his name ; and there is a meek- 
 ness and diffidence cherished by true piety, which render 
 ministers more disposed to evangelic discussions than .to 
 inveigh against public immoralities. But remember, bre- 
 thren, that in preaching the gospel you are not to neglect 
 the law. It is to be used as a schoolmaster to lead men to 
 Christy who is the end of the law for righteousness to everi/ 
 one who bdieveth. And you are also to teach, that the 
 gospel is designed to establish the law, and dispose men to 
 obey its dictates. You may comfort yourselves, probably, 
 while neglecting your duty upon such subjects, by class- 
 
 * Heb. t. *, 3. Rom. iv. ai. 
 
( 40 > 
 
 ing yourselves with an apostle, in desiring to know tio^ 
 thing but Jesus, and him crucified. Be assured, however, 
 that the resolution of that inspired writer was not recorded 
 with a view to militate against the express precept of our 
 arisen Lord. He commanded his ambassadors not only to 
 preach the gospel to all nations, but also to teach them all 
 things •whatsoever he commanded.^' Considering the guilt 
 and the danger accompanying the practice of holding onr 
 brethren in perpetual slavery, it will be serving God in 
 your generation prudently to exercise the right of giving 
 public warning against it. Let us do our duty, leaving the 
 consequences to God. 
 
 4. The view we have taken of this subject also affords 
 a practical lesson to our legislators and statesmen. To 
 you belongs the maintenance of justice and order in so- 
 ciety. Your influence, your authority, your wisdom, 
 can be of signal service to the nation, if they are all ex- 
 erted in the cause of righteousness. Engage yourselves 
 speedily in rectifying this evil practice of holding your 
 brethren in slavery. It is inconsistent with the natural 
 rights of man; it is condemned by the scriptures; it is 
 at war with your republican institutions; it ruins the minds 
 and the morals of thousands; and it leaves you exposed 
 to the wrath of heaven. It is easy to see thut, although 
 it supports indolence and the pride of families, it is truly 
 detrimental to the wealth, the industry, the population and 
 the safety of the commonwealth. f It may be difficult to 
 
 * Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. 
 
 f " From repeated and accurate calculations, it has been found that 
 the expense of maintaining a slave, if we include the purchase-money, 
 is much greater than that of maintaining a free man ; and the labour 
 pf the free man, influenced by the powerful motive of gain, is at least 
 twice as profitable to the employer as that of the slave. Besides, slavery 
 is the bane of industry. It renders labour among the whites not 
 only unfashionable, but disreputable. Industry is the offspring ol neces- 
 sity rather than of choice. Slavery precludes this necessity, and indo- 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 point out a safe mode of redressing the evil. Every plai? 
 is accompanied with difficulties. To export them to Africa 
 would be cruel. To establish them in a separate colony 
 would be dangerous. To give them their liberty, and 
 incorporate them with the whites, would be more so. 
 The sins of the fathers, it is to be feared, will be visited 
 on their children. But it is more safe to adopt any one 
 of those plans than continue the evil. By a national re- 
 penting and forsaking, we may find mercy. Providence 
 can dispose of all things in our favour. We have a right 
 to expect that he will ward off or mitigate the threatening 
 consequences, " tbc natiuu would venture upon his kind- 
 ness to do their duty. 
 
 It must appear ridiculous to Europeans " to hear of an 
 American patriot signing with one hand declarations of in- 
 dependency, and with the other brandishing a whip over 
 an affrighted slave." Can you be sincere friends to liberty 
 and order, and tolerate this dreadful traffic ? 
 
 From repeated and accurate calculations it has been 
 found th^t slavery is unfavourable to the wealth of na- 
 tions. 
 
 lence, which strikes at the root of all social and political happiness, is the 
 <onsequence." Morse's Geography, p. 65. 
 
 If these observations be just, it appears that slavery Is impolitic as 
 well as immoral; and they will hold true except in cases in which the 
 negroes are treated in some degree as men, and in which they enjoy a 
 considerable portion of freedom: and even where this is the case, there 
 is a great disadvantage accompanying negro slavery. It renders service 
 of any kind disreputable. All the white people cannot be masters, and 
 yet even the poor are very unwiUing to serve. When they do engage 
 in service it is difficult to deal with them. If you assume an authority- 
 over them they resent it; if you have work to do which i« disagreeble, 
 your hired man or woman spurn at the thought of being more meanly 
 employed than yourself; nay, they will not be called servants, for thi? 
 would be reducing them to a level with the blacks. This is prevalent 
 throughout the country, except in those places in which different cus- 
 toms have introduced different ideas. The want of subordination and 
 faithfulness in the white servants in America, has long been a subject 
 of remark to Europeans. In the slavery of the blacks we see the cause 
 cf it— a cause more powerful than even mistaken notions of liberty. 
 
( 42 ) 
 
 Listen to the remarks of a writer of observation and 
 eminence. " With what execration should the states- 
 man be loaded, who, permitting one half of the citizens 
 thus to trample on the rights of the other, transforms those 
 into despots, and these into enemies — destroys the morals 
 of the one part, and the amor patria of the other ! With 
 the morals of the people, their industry also is destroyed. 
 Of the proprietors of slaves a small proportion is ever seen 
 to labour. And can the liberties of a nation be thought 
 secure, when we have removed their only firm basis, a 
 conviction in the minds of the public that their liberties are 
 the gift of God? ihac ihey are not to be violated but with 
 his wrath ? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I re- 
 flect that God is just — that his justice cannot sleep for ever 
 ' — that an exchange of situation is among possible events — ■ 
 that it may become probable by supernatural interference."* 
 You will find it true, that righteousness exalteth a nation^ 
 and that sin is a reproach to ani/ peopk.f 
 
 In concluding this discourse, let me warn my hearers 
 to consider the evil hand they may have in the system of 
 slavery, and especially that they are by nature in the worst 
 of slavery themselves. Come for deliverance from the 
 bondage of sin into the Son of God : for, whom the Son 
 makes free, shall be free indeed. Standing fast in this 
 liberty, use it in the service of God and of man. You are 
 no more your own; ye are bought with a price: Glo~ 
 rifij God in your bodies and spirits which are his. Amen. 
 
 • Jefferson's Notes.. ^ ProT. xlv. 34. 
 

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