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LECTURE 
 
 ON 
 
 C|risfamtj aiA % CM ITafos, 
 
 REV. JAMES A. LYON, D. B., 
 
 OF COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPL 
 
 COLUMBUS: 
 
 "MISSISSIPPI democrat" prent. 
 
 1859. 
 

Columbus, Miss., April 26th, 1859. 
 Rev. James A. Lyon: 
 
 Deur Sir: — Representing, as we believe, the 
 seatiments of a very large number of those who 
 lieard your able and instructive Lecture on ^^ Chris- 
 tia^dly and the Civil Laivs,^^ delivered on the 24th 
 inst.j we request a copy, at your earliest convenience, 
 
 for publication. 
 
 JOHN GILMER, 
 JAMES WHITFIELD, 
 JAMES HAMILTON, 
 THOMAS G. BLEWETT, Sr., 
 ALEX. F. YOUNG. 
 
 Columbus, Miss., April 27th, 1859. 
 To Col. John Gilmer, Gov. James Whitfield, 
 AND others: 
 Gentlemen: — In obedience to your kind request, I 
 herewith furnish you with a copy of my Lecture for 
 publication — with the hope that due allowance will 
 be made for its many errors and defects. 
 Yours, &c., very respectfully, 
 
 JAMES A. LYON. 
 
^Ilinisitiimitn mH, i\u €JiviI ^m^. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 About the 20tli of March last, some half dozen of 
 the supposed ph'ated Africans, that had been smug- 
 gled into the country by the "Wanderer," were 
 brought within the hearing of the church bells of 
 Columbus and offered for sale. This excited the 
 disgust and indignation of many of our citizens. The 
 author of this Lecture, fearing that some of his friends, 
 being uninformed of the true moral character of the 
 act, might be tempted to become a party in the crime 
 of those who offered them for sale, by purchase, thereby 
 involving themselves in difficulty and disgrace, availed 
 himself of the first opportunity that offered of putting 
 his fellow-citizens, and especially young men for whom 
 he feels the deepest interest, on their guard against 
 such temptation. This opportunity was soon afforded 
 at a public and promiscuous meeting of the citizens, 
 assembled to hear a lecture on morals and manners in 
 
general — at the close of which, there being ample 
 time, the people were requested, by one of our most 
 distinguished and wealthy planters, to remain seated 
 and the author, being invited to speak, gave utterance 
 to the indignation the people felt at being thus 
 insulted by the aforesaid' violators of law who presumed 
 that the high-toned, moral and intelligent people of 
 Columbus could be tempted to become a party with 
 them in their high crime. These sentiments, how- 
 ever accordant with the views of the great majority 
 of the citizens, as evinced by the significant and 
 creditable fact that the aforesaid bold violator of law 
 made no sale of his smuggled property in this place, 
 were nevertheless not entirely without opposition 
 sufficient to create a little excitement. This led the 
 author to give notice in his pulpit that he would, on 
 the following Sabbath afternoon, deliver a lecture on 
 *' Christianity in its relation to the civil laws." This 
 announcement brought the excitement to its acme 
 on the part of the few that we shall term the Oppo- 
 sition — "some," as the ancient Ephesians in Paul's 
 day, "crying one thing, and some another," amongst 
 which " confusion " — it was said — that the author had 
 transcended his duty^in warning his friends against 
 becoming parties in the aforesaid high crimes ! — that 
 it was intermeddling with things that did not belong 
 to his calling ! Others admitted that the thing itself, 
 that is, the warning of men against the commission 
 
of crime and great sins, was not so very much out 
 of the line of a clergyman's duty, but that the time 
 and jjlace of doing it was exceptionable — that the 
 Minister of the Gospel should not speak against sin 
 and vice in the streets and markets y but should remain 
 silent until, invested with gown and bands, he gets 
 into the pulpit ! These and similar criticisms, gave 
 occasion to the author to preface his Lecture with 
 the following preliminary remarks — viz : 
 
 I have been amused at the discussions that have 
 taken place on the streets and elsewhere, by a certain 
 class, as to the prerogative of the puljnt! Individuals 
 who make no pretension to religion — who know 
 nothing, scarcely, of the Bible — who can not tell the 
 difference between the "Apochrypha" and "Apoc- 
 alypse" — or distinguish between "John the Baptist" 
 and "John the Evangelist," and " Judas Iscariot " 
 and "Judas the author of the Epistle," with all the 
 self-confidence of a church dignitary, will gravely 
 pronounce on the prerogative of a Minister of the 
 Gospel — and confidently decide as to what the Lord 
 Jesus Christ has and has not commissioned his "am- 
 bassadors" to proclaim! — what is proper, and what 
 is not proper for the Minister of the Gospel, in trying 
 humbly and conscientiously to discharge his duty, to 
 say and to do ! ! I scarcely know which the more to 
 admire, the supercilious self-conjidence or the ignorance 
 of such self-constituted arbiters of the pulpit's pre- 
 
8 
 
 rogative ! I know not but that it would be well for 
 the information and comfort of such to deliver a 
 special lecture on the proper prerogative of the pulpit, 
 in which I should soon show that from the beginning 
 to the end of the Bible — both by precept and exam- 
 ple, by declaration and implication, it is made the 
 solemn duty of the *' Watchmen on the walls of Zion " 
 to "cry aloud and spare not" against — what? — all 
 unrighteousness — and to inculcate — what? — all virtue! 
 — which will extend to and embrace all the actions of 
 all men, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, 
 in church and state. He who takes the ground that 
 the Minister of the Gospel transcends his holy com- 
 mission in preaching against corruption in the state — 
 or wickedness in rulers, shows thereby that he does 
 not understand the first principle of Bible teaching on 
 this subject: that he is pitiably ignorant of God's 
 word, and the practice and precept of Bible characters ! 
 Such, doubtless, would pronounce Moses to have been 
 an intemieddler in matters that did not belong to him 
 in daring to confront Pharaoh, the great monarch of 
 Eg}^t! Such would adjudge Samuel, Elijah, Jere- 
 miah, and the prophets to have transcended their 
 prerogative because they reproved kings for their 
 wickedness! — and John the Baptist to have acted 
 indiscreetly and rashly in boldly telling Herod of his 
 violation of law. 
 
 Nothing can be more absurd than the notion that 
 the "Ambassadors" of the "King of Kings and Lord 
 
9 
 
 of Lords" should ask sinners — consult the world, as to 
 what they should preach, or hoiv^ when or where!! 
 Paul, in the discharge of his duty as an Apostle of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, did *' not consult with flesh and 
 blood" — but in "the castle" — before kings — ^in "the 
 marketplace" — by the " river side," and on "Mar's 
 Hill," the great court house of Athens, he lifted his 
 voice fearlessly against all unrighteousness! So in 
 like manner ought the successors of Paul to do the 
 same, in the same manner, and in the same spirit. 
 The strange fancy that a Minister of the Grospel must 
 not open his mouth in proclaiming the truths of the 
 Gospel in warning men against sin and iniquity, and 
 in inculcating virtue, except in the pulpit, is simply 
 ridiculous! Who ever imagined that Elijah waited 
 for a pulpit before he delivered his terrible messages 
 against wicked rulers ! or that Jesus Christ carried a 
 pulpit about with him through the hills and valleys of 
 Palestine! or that Paul, when "his spirit was stirred 
 in him," called for a pulpit before he gave utterance 
 to truths that made kings tremble on their thrones ! 
 I have recently requested my people, in the language 
 of Paul, (Eph: vi. 19, 20,) to pray "for me that 
 utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my 
 mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the 
 Gospel, for which I am an Ambassador * * * that 
 therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak" — 
 and I trust their prayer has been graciously answered. 
 
10 
 
 With these preliminary remarks, I shall now pro- 
 ceed to discuss the main subject, which is Christianity 
 in its relations to the civil laws of the country. 
 
LECTURE 
 
 MARK XII: 17. 
 "AxD Jesus answerixq said unto them — Render unto C^sar the 
 
 THINGS THAT ARE CjSSAIl's, AND TO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE God's." 
 
 I propose, at this time, to discuss a great moral 
 question of fearful importance — fearful, because of 
 its direct and powerful bearings upon the weal or the 
 woe of society, not only in its social relations, but 
 also in its organic and govermental aspects : — a ques- 
 tion, too, because of its moral and religious bearings, 
 that comes entirely within the province of the pulpit. 
 
 I do not propose to discuss politics. This I leave 
 to politicians, except w^hen politics cross the line into 
 the domains of Christian morals, and invade the terri- 
 tories of religion : then I will discuss so called politics, 
 since it thereby becomes a question of morals, and a 
 legitimate subject for the pulpit. 
 
 I do not propose, at this time, to discuss the ques- 
 tion of ''Slavery," although strictly a pulpit theme, 
 as it is a Bible doctrine, and one that I have already 
 treated, in years gone by, in this pulpit — the theme 
 of my first discourse being, " Slavery in the light of 
 the Bible," — and of my second, "Slavery in the 
 light of God's providence," — besides, I have delivered 
 elsewhere, and circulated in print in this community, 
 still another discourse on the "Missionary Aspect of 
 African Slavery." 
 
12 
 
 Neither is it my intention to discourse on the subject 
 of the "Slave Trade" between this country and 
 Africa : nor to enquire whether it would redound to 
 the best inerests of our country in any sense or aspect 
 whatsoever, religious, moral, economical, or political 
 to repeal existing laws on that subject — although 
 I have very decided opinions on that question, and 
 should deem it perfectly proper, nay, a binding duty, 
 on account of its great moral and religious bearing, 
 to express them if occasion required. But the present 
 occasion does not require it. 
 
 In short, I do not intend to investigate the intrinsic 
 proj)riety or impropriety of any existing law. But 
 the great theme of my present Lecture is the Bible 
 command — the christian duty of every citizen to 
 " Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and 
 to God the things that are God's," — or, in other 
 words, to reverence and obey Civil Law, which, in 
 this country, to which the eyes of all nations are 
 turned, is our only King ! 
 
 My right, privilege and duty to discuss this subject, 
 will hardly be called in question by any one, except 
 such as are wholly ignorant of the duties pertaining 
 to the office of the Christian ministry, and of the 
 moral questions that come within the domains of the 
 Christian pulpit. It is my right, my privilege, my 
 duty to discuss the great doctrine of my text, because : 
 
 First. I am a citizen, not only with equal rights 
 and immunities with others, a part of the body politic, 
 and a constituent of the commonwealtli, with common 
 interests at stake, with a common future, and with 
 the same patriotic hopes and aims, but I am bound, 
 as such, to contribute my due proportion of influence 
 
13 
 
 towards the prosperity of the body politic of which I 
 am a member, and from which I receive protection. 
 
 Second. I am not only a citizen, but I am more : I 
 am the head of a family, the father of little 
 children, who are now receiving an education, which 
 no vigilance can guard against — no caution can ward 
 off, from their suiToundings — from what they see and 
 hear in the every day walks of life — from the common 
 sentiment in the midst of which they live and move 
 and breathe : and an education, too, that is to shape 
 their destiny for life, and be as lasting as eternity! 
 and hence, influenced by the feelings and the aifections, 
 the hopes and the fears of a father, I don't want my 
 child to imbibe, from the moral atmosphere in which 
 he breathes, sentiments adverse to the word of Grod, 
 injurious to the well-being of society, and destructive 
 to his future hopes and prosperity as a successful and 
 good citizen. It is a duty that I owe my own 
 offspring to try to throw the salt of health, and 
 morality, and virtue into that society and public 
 sentiment, that is to stamp their characters with 
 moral lineaments lasting as ceaseless ages ! 
 
 Third. It is my duty, not only as a private citizen 
 but as a Minister of the Gospel, to aid in establishing 
 civil law and public order. The truth is, the pulpits 
 of the land are the pillars of civil power, and must of 
 necessity be so in all really free governments. This 
 is almost a truism. It is eminently verified in the 
 past history of our country. Ministers of the Gospel 
 led the "Pilgrims" that brought Liberty and Pro- 
 testant Chritianity to New England. The name of 
 an eminent Minister of the Gospel is signed to the 
 immortal "Declaration of Independence." Ministers 
 
14 
 
 of the Gospel commingled with the revolutionary 
 armies, aiding them with their counsel, with their 
 prayers, and with tlieir blood ! Washington, and the 
 leading politicians of that day, when the constitution 
 of the United States was promulgated, and was of 
 doubtful success, invoked the aid of the Ministers of 
 the Gospel in carrying it into successful effect. Gen- 
 eral Jackson, during "the late war," was assisted by 
 Ministers of the Gospel in sounding the tocsin, 
 raising the clans for freedom, and descending like an 
 avalanche upon the invaders of our shores, and driving 
 them from our borders ! Nay, liow long, think you, 
 the free government of these United States, or any 
 State government would last, were there no pulpits 
 in the land? Pull down these pulpits, close these 
 church doors, mufHe these church bells, and banish the 
 Ministers of the Gospel from the land, and where would 
 your boasted Freedom be in less than a lustrum of 
 years'? The question needs no answer. How perfectly 
 absurd, then, is it, and how indicative of ignorance, 
 for any one to imagine that it is not my duty, as well 
 as my privilege, to enforce the doctrine of my text, 
 and aid in establisliing civil law and public order ! 
 
 Fourth. But still further, it is not optional with 
 me whether I will remain silent, through a shrinking 
 and carnal policy, dictated by unmanly fears, un- 
 worthy of an "Ambassador" of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ — for he who is not willing, if need be, to 
 sacrifice his life for the truth that he preaches, is not 
 fit to hold that highest otfice among men; I say it is 
 not optional with me whether I will or will not 
 preach obedience to Civil Laws, since it is a Bible 
 doctrine clearly, repeatedly, abundantly set forth in 
 
15 
 
 the Word of God, and therefore, as a Minister of the 
 Word, I dare not hesitate to do it. 
 
 The doctrine of the text is most explicit and ex- 
 actly to the point: — "And they" (the Jews) "sent 
 unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians 
 to catch him in his words;" and, after a good deal 
 of artful flattery, they said unto him, "Master, is it 
 lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? shall we 
 give? or shall we not give?" You will bear in 
 mind that the government of the country was a 
 usurped one, won by the sword — not republican, not 
 christian, but despotic and pagan. Obedience to 
 Caesar (by which was meant the Roman government) 
 was believed by the Pharisees to be a violation of the 
 Theocracy in which no other king was recognized but 
 God. Powerful, therefore, was the inducement, in 
 the estimation of the Jews, to take ground against 
 obedience to civil law. Indeed, if it were possible to 
 find a valid argument against obedience to civil law, 
 whilst at tlie same time we recognize our obligation 
 to the law-making power, it certainly would be found 
 here, since "to pay tribute to Ca3sar" might be 
 construed into a virtual support of usurpation, and 
 of a pagan government in supposed contravention of 
 the Theocracy of the Jewish Constitution! But 
 what was the answer of him in whom dwelt all the 
 fulness of the God-head bodily, and who spake as 
 never man spake? It was — "Render nnto Caesar 
 the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things 
 that are God's:" — which teaches not only the duty 
 of obedience to civil law, as all commentators agree, 
 but, according to Doctor Joseph A. Alexander, "the 
 two duties are in perfect harmony, and rest upon one 
 
16 
 
 and the same principle." *'By rendering to Caesar 
 what is his, you render unto God what is his." 
 
 In view of such teacliing, therefore, on the part of 
 the great Founder of Christianity, well might we 
 expect to find his Apostles and Disciples every where 
 inculcating the same doctrine. Take the following 
 as a specimen: Paul says — "Let every soul be 
 subject unto the higher powers. For there is no 
 power but of Grod ; the powers that be are ordained 
 of God." Peter says — "Submit yourselves to every 
 ordinance of man for the Lord's sake : whether it be 
 to the king as supreme: or the governors, as unto 
 them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil 
 doers, and for the praise of them that do well." 
 
 The Old Testament is equally explicit in its teaching 
 on this subect: "Thou shalt not revile the gods," 
 (the civil authorities) "nor curse the Ruler of thy 
 people" — "Fear thou the Lord and the King, and 
 meddle not with them that are given to change" — 
 " Curse not the King, no not in thy thought." Peter 
 speaks of those whom the Lord will reserve to the 
 day of judgment to be punished, "But chiefly them 
 that despise Government, and are not afraid to speak 
 evil of dignities." Paul again exhorts: "Be subject 
 not only for wrath, but for conscience sake" — "For 
 this cause pay ye tribute also : for they are also God's 
 ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 
 Render, therefore, to all their dues : tribute to whom 
 tribute is due ; custom to whom custom ; fear to whom 
 fear; honor to whom honor." — "Put them in mind to 
 be subject to principalities and powers to obey magis- 
 trates" — "Whoever resisteth, resisteth the Ordinance 
 of God ; and they that resist shall receive damnation." 
 
17 
 
 How is it possible for the honest and fearless Am- 
 bassador of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep his lip^ 
 
 sealed on the great doctrine of the text in view of 
 the abundant, the overflowing, the tremendous utter- 
 ances of Holy Writ, clearly and explicitly pointing 
 out and enjoining his duty on that subject? 
 
 Fifth. But once more, it is my duty peculiarly as 
 a Presbyterian Minister to inculcate the duty of 
 obedience to civil lav/s, because it is made so by a 
 separate and distinct a.i'ticle in the creed — the ^'Con- 
 iession of Faith" of the great church of which I am 
 nn humble Minister. Chapter XXIII. of the Con- 
 fession of- Faith treats "Of the Civil Magisteate,*-' 
 and Section IV. of that Chapter reads as follows, viz: 
 
 ''It is the duty of the people to pray for Magistrate?, to honor their per- 
 tons, to pay them tribute and other dues, to obey their lawful commands, 
 iind to be subject to their authority, for conscience sake. Infidelity, or dil- 
 ference in religion doth not make void the Magistrate's just and legal aa- 
 ihority, nor free the people from Jue obedience to him." 
 
 But it is needless, my hearers, for me to dwell on 
 this part of my subject. That it is my right, mj 
 privilege, my duty — as a citizen with common rights 
 and immunities, and interests in the present and 
 iiiture of our country — as a father of children that 
 arc growing up and imbibing an ineffaceable moral 
 Ci^haracter from the social atmosphere in which thej 
 live — as a friend and supporter of the free and 
 republican institutions of this great country, where I 
 expect to live and die, and my posterity after me — as 
 an Ambassador of Jesus Christ, '*King of Kings and 
 Lord of Lords," v/ho has commissioned me, and 
 (Sommanded me to preach obedience to civil laws as a 
 christian duty — and an humble Minister of the wide- 
 extended, eonseiTative, and powerful Presbyteriam- 
 
18 
 
 Church in these United States, whose creed enjoins 
 it as a part of my faith and practice — I repeat, as 
 «uch, it is needless any longer to advocate my high 
 piivilege — my solemn duty, to enforce the doctrine 
 of my text, the duty of reverential respect and 
 obedience to civil laws. Nor would I have dwelt so 
 long, nor half so long, on this part of my subject, 
 had it not embodied the very gist and marrow of the 
 great theme which I am discussing. Indeed, were I 
 to stop here and say no more, I consider that I have 
 said enough to satisfy every Bible-reader and Bible- 
 believer, that it is the binding duty of every Christian, 
 and every good citizen, to render by act, and by 
 word, and by every other lawful influence, respect 
 and obedience to the constitutional laws of the land, 
 so long as the laws remain unrepealed, and we 
 recognize our allegiance to the Government that 
 ordains them. 
 
 But there are other aspects of this interesting- 
 subject, to which I desire now respectfully to call 
 your attention. It cannot have escaped the serious 
 and reflecting observer of the signs of the times, that 
 the tendency of things for the last few years has 
 been calculated to awaken the well grounded fears, 
 and to excite the painful apprehensions of every 
 patriotic citizen. It would seem that mobocracy and 
 lawlessness are becoming the order of the day tlu'ough- 
 out the entire length and breadth of our country ! 
 As illustrations of this fearful and rapid tendency, I 
 would instance the frequency with which the laws of 
 the United States have been openly trampled under 
 foot in New England, the honored cradle of American 
 liberty : — the rebellion in Kansas, so destructive of 
 
19 
 
 life, property, and good morals : — the numerous vigi- 
 lant-mobs, fearful and terrible in their lawless ten- 
 dencies, that ]iave disgraced many of our large cities 
 and towns : — the fillibustering expeditions along our 
 southern and western borders : — and the general dis- 
 position to trample upon law, and set its officers at 
 defiance every w^here : — and most alarming of all is 
 the cowardly disposition of many of the law-abiding, 
 and order-loving part of the community, wdiich con- 
 stitute for the most part a large majority, if they did 
 but know it, to wink at, or to shrink from opposing 
 and boldly denouncing such fearful and destructive 
 tendencies to inevitable ruin ! I have lived long 
 enough, and my experience has been such, as to con- 
 vince me that two or three dozen of reckless, wicked 
 men, can make the impression in a community of as 
 many thousand that their o-^\moi\\f^ puhlic opinion! 
 The sober, quiet, substantial part of any commimity 
 are for the most part modest and shrinking — too 
 shrinking for the public good. They have a great 
 aversion to coming into collision with any railing 
 opposition. They are quiet, and silent; and their 
 voice is not heard nor their arm raised in antagonism. 
 And hence they are erroneously thought to acquiesce 
 with tlie noisy ! — Indeed they themselves do not know 
 their own strength. Whereas on the contrary the 
 lawless and reckless few make a great out-cry, from 
 the fact that wickedness is a very active virus in the 
 bosom of man, and nerves him with unwanted energy. 
 Moreover such for tlie most part loosen their tongues, 
 and add to their garrulous propensities by artificial 
 stimulants, so that they are bold, fearless, and brazen 
 'm uttering their lawless sentiments, and moat vocifer- 
 
20 
 
 mm- m their unseemly screams and yells at the hustings 
 m sq^plauding vicious opinions — and if the world 
 i^enj to judge by the hideous noise made on suck 
 @K.'asions — and alas ! too many do — they would 
 *?«i€lude, as Elijah did of old, that all Israel had 
 ;|^me after Baal ! Whereas, if they were to rise up 
 si!? one man — speak out and declare their sentiments^ 
 Msgrj would find to their joy and astonishment, that 
 ^M^ij were the j[)eoj)lc — and the lawless and reckless 
 w^i-Q as yet but ihe faction ! I can assure you my 
 ^-"Ibw-citizens that if our glorious country is ever 
 -Jmien to destruction, as portended by the present 
 fcrless tendencies throughout the land, it will be 
 #me by the young, self-willed, ambitious Phaegtions 
 ^Ms I?oth sides of " the line, " who will grasp the 
 M-sfF, and lash the flame-breathing steeds into madness, 
 ^Mst the sober, quiet, modest, order-loving, great 
 s^^^rily will be culpable lookers on ! ! We do not 
 Isow our strength — and the reason we do not know 
 %, m that we do not siicalc out, and let our voices bo 
 M--^.m-i, The righteous shoul^ be *' bold as a lion " — 
 m^ feel and act as Isaiah did when he said — " for the 
 lAsrd God will help me; therefore shall I not be 
 #ciofounded ; therefore have I set my face like a flint, 
 mmII know that I shall not be ashamed." I repeat, 
 f&t nothing is more alarming in the present tendency 
 M" |;Jiings, than the shrinking quiescence of good 
 mmn. This may be accounted for in part, in addition 
 ias^ explanations already given, by an inadequate 
 ar|:jprehension of our real danger. Wc who are grown 
 iffip men, and have long since had our principles of 
 ^ih and practice firmly established, do not feel that 
 "wm aurs^dves are in any danger of being carried away 
 
21 
 
 l)y such disorderly tendcucies. True, but we forg^ 
 liow short a time it requires for our chihireu to p-i>w 
 up and become actors, zealous, self-willed, head-stix^^f 
 actors on the great theatre of political affairs ! Plesss^ 
 bear in mind that it requires only twenty-one je^^m 
 to travel from the cradle to the ballot-box — and le^ 
 time than that in this dynasty of " young America.,'^ 
 to shoulder a musket, gird on a bowie-knife, gmA 
 pocket a revolver, and set parental and all oiijjsr 
 authority at defiance ! Here lies the dreaded danger- 
 not that tve, the fully grown up and mature, are liaBI/e 
 to be much influenced by the tendencies alluded t?!^ 
 but the danger is that the Rising Generation^ whom;^ 
 short time, long before your head and mine are hml 
 under the sod, if we live out the ordinary term «3f 
 hmuan life, will have the reins of Clovernmentj Ite 
 law-making power in their own hands ; this genem&i^ 
 will and must of necessity receive an education., a 
 bent, a bias from this disorderly state of things, deeplj 
 iugraven as in rock, and ineftaceable as the law.?, af 
 mind and of nature, which will inevitably shape tfesir 
 destiny and the destiny of our country ! Now in Vmw 
 of these facts and considerations v/hich are indispu- 
 table, I appeal to you, fathers and heads of familii^s^ 
 and patriotic citizens, young and old, whether it lje 
 not the bounden duty of every one of us to set msn 
 faces like a flint against this lawless tendency, ajid tm 
 use our utmost endeavors to stay the immoral influesi'e 
 that is so rapidly, and so' inevitably moulding die 
 minds and hearts of our children who will so .s.oem 
 mould and control the country, which in time m 
 destined, for good or for evil, for tlie wTal or woeaf 
 our species, to influence the w^orld ! ! 
 
22 
 
 The position is now taken by some good men, and 
 advocated with great learning and ability that 
 America, protestant America, is the " Eestored Israel 
 of God, " promised in such glowing terms by the 
 ancient prophets. And if it be so, if America is 
 indeed to become the "Promised Land" to the down 
 trodden people of God, the "great high way" of 
 the nations, and the moral Light-House whose 
 effulgent radiance high and lifted up is to penetrate 
 with benign rays all lands, and is it not a grand 
 thought well calculated to ennoble every American 
 bosom ! will it not famish a most powerful stimulus 
 to every christian, to every philanthropist, to every 
 good man, to use his utmost endeavors, to heal, purify, 
 and preserve in its integrity this great Nation, that, 
 imited and harmonious, is so soon to give laws to the 
 whole earth ? 
 
 We feel proud of our Government, and justly. It 
 is called by the Nations of the world "The Great 
 Republic!" But I can assure you, my hearers, that 
 its glory consists in being Christian. And wlienever 
 Christian principles cease to have their influence in 
 our Legislative bodies, that moment we enter a 
 current that sweeps us into the maelstrom of political 
 destruction, resulting in anarchy first, and despotism 
 next ! " The edifice of human liberty, " says 
 Professor M. B. Hope, " can stand secure only when 
 it rests upon the Bible ; for this conclusive reason, 
 that tlie intelligence, and still more the moral 
 principles, which we liave seen to be essential, cannot 
 in the nature of the case exist, and in point of fact 
 never have existed permanently, except under the 
 illuminating, renovating and commanding influence of 
 
23 
 
 the Christian revelation." *'Itis the spiritual life 
 and power of Christianity moulding our institutions, 
 actuating our rulers and law-makers, and controlling 
 the moral principles of our people, in virtue of their 
 personal subjection to its sway, and nothing else, that 
 can successfully counteract the evils which are ever 
 rising up to tin-eaten the life of our national 
 freedom. " 
 
 The great Washington in his Address to the people 
 of the United States declining being considered a 
 candidate for re-election to the Presidency, makes use 
 of the following language : "Of all the dispositions 
 and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion 
 and morality are indispensable supports. In vain 
 would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who 
 would labor to subvert these great pillars of human 
 happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men 
 and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the 
 pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. 
 And let us with caution indulge the supposition that 
 morality can be m.aintained w^ithout religion. Wiat- 
 ever may be conceded to the influence of refined 
 education on minds of peculiar structure; reason and 
 experience both forbid us to expect that national 
 morality can prevail in exclusion of religious prin- 
 ciple." 
 
 " The framers of our Constitution, " says the 
 celebrated Wads worth, "recognized their obligations 
 to act as in the everlasting presence of a higher than 
 human authority. And they did act as in such 
 presence. Protestant Christianity is positively part of 
 our common law, and part of our Constitution. The 
 civil law of this land lifts a Protestant Bible in every 
 
24 
 
 official inauguratiop, and proclaims the Sabbat! i a,«* 
 consecrated to God, alike in the halls of our higher 
 national council, and in the rudest hut of the 
 borderer." 
 
 " Christianity," says the Supreme Court of Penn- 
 sylvania, "general Christianity is and always has 
 ])een a part of the common law of Pennsylvania * * 
 Christianity witli liberty of conscience to all men." 
 "From the time of Bracton not to go farther back," 
 says the same authority, "Christianity lias been 
 ]'eceived as part of the common law of England." 
 "No free Government exists in the word," continues 
 the same high authority, "unless where Christianity 
 is aeknov/ledged and is tlie religion of the country. 
 So far ft'om Christianity, as the counsel contends, 
 being part of the machinery necessary to despotism, 
 the reverse is the fact. Christianity is part of the 
 common law of this State. It is not proclaimed by 
 the commanding voice of any human superior, but 
 expressed in the calm and mild accents of customary 
 law. Its foundations are broad and strong and deep; 
 they are laid in the autliority, the interests, the 
 aiFections of the people." 
 
 Daniel YVebster, one of the greatest, if not the very 
 greatest, exponent of the law our country has ever 
 produced, says: 
 
 "Christianity i^ part of the law of tlic land. This was the case among* 
 the Puritans of New England — tl:e Episcopalians of the Southern States — 
 the Pennsjivania Quakers, the mass of the followers of Whitefield and 
 Weslej, and the Presbyterians; all brought, and all adopted this great 
 truth, and all have sustained it. And where there is ar.y religious sontimcat 
 amongst men at all, this sentiment incorporates itself with the law. Every 
 thing declares it. The massive cathedral of the Catholic; the Ei^iscopa- 
 lian church, with its lofty spire pointing heavenward; the plain temple or 
 the Quaker; the log church of the hardy pioneer of the wilderness; the 
 
25 
 
 Tiiemcntoes and inomoi-iaLs around and about us ; the oonsecratod grave- 
 yards, their tombstones and epitaphs ; their silent vaults, their mouldering 
 contents ; all attest it. The dead prove it as well as the living. The 
 generations that have gone before speak to it and pronounce it from the 
 tomb. We feel it. All, all proclaim that Christianity, general, tolerant 
 clrrlstianity, independent of sects and parties, is the law of the land." 
 
 Now, my hearers, what is the ine-vitable inference 
 — the grand conclusion that is forced upon us by this 
 conjoint, harmonious, and eloquent testimony of 
 philosophers, sages, law-makers, and supreme judges, 
 all agreeing and all declaring as with one voice and 
 with one tongue, that Christianity is — not only an 
 indispensable element of our moral well being — not 
 only an essential pillar to the permanency and stability 
 of our free government — but more, that it is itself "A 
 
 PART OF THE COMMON LAW OF THE LAND?" The 
 
 inference, the grand conclusion is, that disohedmice 
 to civil law is — alilvc in the judgment of Biblical 
 commentators, and legal exponders of the highest 
 authority — eebellion against God ! 
 
 In this country, Lavv^ is our only King ; and wc^ 
 each individual member of society, are the pillars of 
 his sublime throne. It is our only protection and 
 safe-guard. It is the exponent of public sentiment 
 constitutionally expressed — and is strong, not on 
 account of its pains and penalties in the lette)'^ nor of 
 the brute force, as in despotic countries, that may 
 attend its administration, but on account of its hold 
 on the affections of the people. Therefore to violate 
 law — to set it at d^i^fiance, or to defeat its design and 
 intention, by any otlier than the constitutional means 
 — that is, by repeal at tlie ballot-box, or by the 
 decision of the Supreme Court, is virtual treason, and 
 real, unvarnished loicJccdncss : it is a crime against 
 God, and against man! 
 
26 
 
 Men may, on sudden emergencies, sometimes act, 
 not in violation of law, but without the forms of law 
 — that is, do in the absence of law% w^hat the law 
 would do if it could be brought to bear. But this is 
 a very different thing from acting contrary to and in 
 violation of the laws of a Government which we still 
 recognize, and to which we still profess to owe 
 allegiance. Such irreverence for constituted authori- 
 ties, such disobedience to civil law, is not innocent — 
 nay, it is a crime, that will admit or no justifiation, 
 nor even of imlUation, in this republican countr}', 
 where the opinion of a majority, constitutionally 
 expressed, makes law; and which law, if wrong, 
 imwise or defective, may be declared inoperative and 
 set aside by the Supreme Court — I say, resistance to 
 such Government — a Government to which you still 
 profess allegiance — wilful disobedience to such law, 
 and the advocacy of such sentiments is not innocent, 
 it is pernicious, because it leads directly to w^rong, to 
 violence, to mobocracy, to anarchy, to blood-shed and 
 to destruction. Let us test this assertion : Suppose 
 one hundred men, or one hundred thousand, it matters 
 not, any number less than the law-making majority — 
 determine to violate a lavr, I care not on what plea, 
 I ask whether, on the same principle, ten men may 
 not do the same ? And if ten may, will not the same 
 logic justify one? What is the difference? Where 
 will this doctrine lead to ? A child can answer that 
 it will lead to the destruction of all law, and all 
 organized Government ! Might will make right. 
 This will result, first, in the formation of numerous 
 small marauding bands — then of larger and fewer — 
 and last, of an iron despotism! Now I ask can a 
 
27 
 
 principle ever, or in any instance, be right, that 
 logically and inevitably leads to such appalling 
 results? Can "a good tree bring forth evil fruit?" 
 
 But again, if a minoiity, I care not how large and 
 respectable it may be, has a right to violate civil law, 
 and to resist achiowledged authority, (for I am not 
 discussing a ccmts hclU, nor the justifiable grounds of 
 a revolution,) if they may resist the law of the 
 majority, has not the majority the very same right, to 
 say the least, to enforce their law ? and what is this 
 but to advocate civil war and bloodshed? the most 
 horrid of all evils, the legitimate fruits of the most 
 pernicicus of all sentiments ! ! 
 
 The advocacy of such lawless sentiments, is wrong- 
 in theory and ruinous in practice, because it moulds, 
 with powerful and fearful rapidity, the minds and 
 hearts of the young and rising generation, who are 
 so soon to control the destinies of this great and 
 constantly expanding nation. The impression that it 
 makes upon my little son, and upon yours, is not 
 favorable to their growing up to be law-abiding 
 citizens. It is this laxness of speecli, and want of 
 reverence for constituted law and autliority — law 
 made by svv^orn legislators, supposed to be the wisest 
 and best amongst the people, that is the true cause of 
 so much law^less conduct in different parts of the land, 
 our own streets not excepted. How my heart sickens, 
 to hear law-makers, and grave senators in our 
 legislative halls, and men in higli places — whose 
 irreverent and reckless flippancy is echoed by a 
 thousand lesser but self-constituted arbiters of public 
 weal — speak with as much indifference of severing 
 this glorious Union, the admiration of the whole 
 
23 
 
 world, erected upon the fortunes, the lives and sacred 
 honors of our fathei's, and baptized \\atli their tears, 
 their prayers and tlieir blood, as though it were a 
 thinoj of nousrht — a mere child's bauble — a foot-ball 
 to be kicked out of the way ! ! 
 
 And here I cannot refrain from transcribinsr the 
 prayer of the immortal Washington, contained in his 
 "Circulrir Letter," addressed to the Governor of tlie 
 several States, fi'om the head-quarters of the United 
 States army. It is In these solemn words : 
 
 "I now make it my earnest prayer that God would hrivo you, rvRci the 
 State over which you preside, in his holy protection ; that he would incline 
 the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience 
 to Government ; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, 
 for their follovt^- citizens of the United States at lai'ge — and particularly for 
 their brethren who have served in the field — and finally that He would most 
 graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to 
 demean ourselves v/ith that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mini 
 which were the characteristics of the divine Author of our blessed religion ; 
 without an humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never 
 hope to be a happy nation." 
 
 With the least particle of such a spirit as dictated 
 that patriotic prayer, it would be impossible to indulge 
 in those dreadful imprecations against the Government 
 and the Union with which our halls and hustings so 
 frequently resound. Sucli reckless speech is not 
 innocent, as it will not be vvitliout deleterious eftect. 
 Let some one, whom the people honor, denounce and 
 vilify, from day to day and from year to year, you, 
 the father, in the hearing of your little hoy, your ovk^ii 
 child, and think you it will not be without evil effect 
 -—that your child will not grow up with diminished 
 love and respect — nay, positively wanting in reverence 
 and affection for you? It would be a miracle if he 
 did not. Would yon risk it? "Would you sutler it? 
 
29 
 
 No, not for a moment ! And will not tlie very same 
 eiiect be produced upon all our children, who will 
 soon reach man's estate, and upon all the wxak, sillj 
 and unthinking of the land, by hearing unrebuked 
 and unceasingly this flippant ribaldry about severing 
 the Union! — splitting the Union! — pulling down the 
 pillars of our great republican throne, as though it 
 were another Dagon's Temple! — and sending an 
 arrow, dipped in the poison of ignorance and fanati- 
 cism, to the heart of the American Eagle, whose 
 wings now overshadow the entire continent ! No, no, 
 my hearers, I can assure you that such daring 
 language, such irreverent speech, wdiicli, if sincere, ig 
 wicked, if not sincere, is both silly and wricked, is not 
 pleasing to the sober, thinking and modest part of 
 the community; nay, it is positively painful, as it ig 
 certainly dangerous, in that it educates our children': 
 ii is therefore not good policy, is bad taste and worse 
 jsnorals — let us therefore not encourage it. 
 
 How the despots of the Old Yv'orld would chuckle 
 with unsuppressed glee and exultation, to see this 
 glorious, but to them terrible, Union severed into 
 fragments ! And how they would, with destructive 
 art, play upon the different parts, as did Philip of 
 Macedon upon the factions of Greece, until we were 
 all consumed ! And oh ! what a sad prospect in the 
 eyes of the zealous Christian, who regards this united, 
 homogeneous, christian Government as the great 
 Evangelizer which is to give, not only law, but the 
 Gospel to the world! How can we regard the 
 cmemies of the Union in any other light than as the 
 enemies of God, the enemies of a pure church, and 
 the enemies of the human nice ! 
 
30 
 
 I am a firm believer in *' Manifest Destiny." I liave 
 not a doubt but that in due time — which will be 
 God's time — a time not forced, not brought about by 
 the violation of law and justice, but in due time, 
 that all these Southern Islands, and all these Southern 
 Anarchies, for they deserve no better name, will fall 
 into our hands as a ripe apple falls to the ground. 
 But that "Manifest Destiny" that attempts to go in 
 advance of law and God's providence, is manifest 
 outrage and wickedness w^hich will not prosper ! It 
 is a remarkable fact, not generally recollected, that 
 we have an account of a fillibustering party recorded 
 in the Bible, which I w^ill read. It was a party in 
 the "camp of Israel," that determined, contrary to 
 the command of Moses, to take the "promised land" 
 before God's time ! The record, which you will find 
 in the XIV. chapter of the Book of Numbers, and 
 which I will now read, will inform you as to the 
 upshot of that fillibustering expedition : 
 
 "And they rose up early in the morning, and gat 
 them up into the top of the mountain, saying, lo, we 
 be here, and will go up into the place v/hicli the Lo7'd 
 hath promised, (here is their faith in ^'manifest 
 destiny,'''') for we have sinned. And Moses said, 
 wherefore now do ye transgress the commandjiient of 
 the Lord? But it shall not prosper. Go not up, for 
 the Lord is not among you: that ye be not smitten 
 before your enemies. For the Amalakites, and the 
 Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by 
 the sword; because ye are turned away from the 
 Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you. But 
 they presumed to go up to the Hill Top, nevertheless 
 the Ark of the Lord and Moses departed not out of 
 
31 
 
 the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and 
 the Canaanites, which dwelt in that hill, and smote 
 them, and discomfited them even unto Hormah." 
 And so it will be w^ith every other fiiiibustering 
 expedition w^hich, in violation of the laws of God 
 and the laws of man, attempts to anticipate God's 
 providence. 
 
 But there is one otlier evil resulting from this 
 tendency to encroach upon law and order, from this 
 laxness of speech, and want of reverence for law 
 made by sworn legislators, that is looming up fearfully 
 in all parts of our great country ; it is tliis : Irreverence 
 for law begets irreverence for lawwnakers and 
 administrators of law% which, in turn, will soon 
 result in our best men not consentinor to become 
 legislators and government officers ! The evil of this 
 state of things will be perfectly astounding ! Who 
 can depict the future of our country w^hen good men, 
 out of sheer self-respect, refuse to condescend to 
 take part in our legislative councils and the affairs of 
 the government; when the sword, the purse, the 
 army, and the navy of the country fldl into the hands 
 of ambitious, bad men ! I can assure you, my hearers, 
 that, according to my judgment and observation, the 
 current of popular ebullition and utterance, nay more, 
 of overt action, is fearfully tending in that direction ! 
 
 Let me say, in conclusion, that in this "Great 
 Republic," this "Free Country," wdiere public sen- 
 timent, constitutionally expressed, is law, every good 
 citizen should reverence law, and feel individually 
 and morally responsible for its faithful execution. 
 What can the officers of the law do in this free country, 
 where military force w^ould be a stigma upon our 
 
82 
 
 boasted freedom, unless they are sustained by the 
 people ? Let it be a maxim written upon the mind, 
 the heart, the conscience of every American citizen^ 
 that each and every member of the community i» 
 responsible for the welfare of the whole! Con- 
 sequently each one is bound to think — is bound to 
 have an ojjijiion — is bound to give utterance to his 
 sentiments — and is bound to use his injluence, much 
 or little, in support of virtue and the suppression of 
 of vice! Timidity in expressing our opinions in 
 relation to moral conduct is very revrehensihle. To 
 be silent in this land v^^here public sentiment is law, 
 and the only law, is to be virtually a party in the 
 transgression. We are all watchmen upon the walls 
 of public welfare — and are all bound to ''cry aloud 
 and spare not" when we see the danger. Ambrose, 
 an eminent father of i\\Q ancient church, was accus- 
 tomed to say, "As we must give an account for out 
 idle words, so likevrise must we for our idle silence." 
 May the Lord add his blessing, for Christ's sake, 
 
 Ajtej^. 
 
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