^ 3 > 1> ^.& ' ^3::s> ^^ ^^^3 ^^^P^ ^^ 2> 31^ ^l^ s > I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I UNITED STATES OF AJIEEICA. f >i^5> -^ ^ ^;»» ■^' _.==?•' 33 - 3> ^ 33 :-- ■3'li -" 3:3 -= ^3 -" 33 "= ^> : 3. J> 3J> S4 3m :> j> > >■» — ^'^ ^ >vp>^->;: ■" >j> :::> yj^ z> yv VC^^J> ^^'j^-. 2^^:»:^ 3 >> z> 3 ^i:3> :^ :>iijir>:^ ^ i^ ^:^ 1> "Sii^ rTiv:, , 3-» => J> ^ > ;-. ■ > ^ >■ , 3 - > 3> ^'r>' ":> ,. .^:'2> Z> ^^ :■• ^^ zy .:> > ^ 1> > ":> ■■' 0>> ^ :> :> 2> 2:0 ■ :> ' > "^3l» '. :^ -^ :^3> r:>': H^ :ym Z^ ^^ !ZI3s» ■ '£^ 'yy> ~ .ZZ>3 ' 11^ ^l> . ^'"^. > \i r')S '^^ Z> ' ^^^^T^ ~> _^::> >^ :> :>^ ^ 1 'T~^^ - "' r>- j'i.^~"3^ :>^ .;>. i>>ii^ /> J ZMi >;> "-)]) _j^ ->> ^-^ -oyz^ ' ~) J > ^] >STr~j^ -•■ ~^;:> ^ >^: 3^^^ > ' ii) ■ r 31^ o2>:»' ^i »u>> -^^''^ v;.-3 •":>>- ^^;T 3^^ 3'i^ _:> :2s>z> .^> '-^^ -^ >:3> ,^ <*-^^33^:S>2>>3:; THE SOLDIER GOD'S MINISTER. THE SOLDIER &OD'S MillSri STER. DISCOURSE DELIVEEED IN THE OONaREGATIONAL OHUROH, FITZWILLIAM, N. H., Sabbath. Afternoon, October 5, 1862, ON THE OCCASION OF THE DEPARTITIE OF A COMPANY OF VOLUNTEERS FOB THE SEAT OF WAR, WILLIAM L. GAYLORD PASTOR OF THE CHVKCH. 'QUIT YOU LIKE MEN, BE STRONG." FITCHBURG: PRINTED AT THE ROLLSTONE JOB PRINTING OFFICE, 1862. • z FiTzwiLLiAM, N. H., Oct. 16, 1862. Rev. WM. L. GAYLORD :— Dear Sir — The citizens of this town who have enlisted for the nine months' service, and who were particuhirly addressed in your discourse of Sunday after- noon, Oct. 5th, desire to signify their approval of your sentiments respecting the true mission of tlie soldier in this holy conflict for Liberty, Union, and the main- tenance of law. Prompted by this desire, and in order also that the truths you inculcated may have a wider dissemination, and more lasting influence, it was unanimously voted at our meeting, Wednesday evening, October 15th, to request a copy of j'our sermon for publication. With many thanks for your kind expressions of sympa- thy, and trusting that both those who go, and those who remain, will prove faithful to the duties we owe our common country. We remain, Sincerel)^ yours, CHARLES H. WOODS, ) CHARLES H. PARKER, ^Committee. E. P. PHILLIPS, ) FiTZWiLLiAM, N. H., Oct. 16, 1862. Gentlemen — Your note of this date is received. I am sincerely grateful for the expressions it contains of interest in the discourse prepai-ed at your request, and preached on the 5th inst. to the company of volunteers which you represent. In the hope that it may fulfill some humble mission of public good, I herel)y place it at your disposal for pulilieation. With many kind wishes for you wclfiu-e, "Very truly yours, WILLIAM L. GAYLORD. CHARLES H. WOODS, ) CHARLES H. PARKER, ^Committee. E. P. PHILLIPS, 3 SERMON. RojiANS 13 : 4. " HE HEAliETH NOT THE SWOKD IN VAIN : FOK HE IS THE MINISTER OF GOD." The whole passage reads thus : — " Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God : and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power ? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same : For he is the minister 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 revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." Human governments are here referred to as being of divme ordination ; as having for their object, in the mind of God, the development of the highest good for mankind. Rulers, in whom is vested the executive authority of all rightful governments, are called the ministers of God — ministers of good to such as do well, but ministers of evil, — of wrath, — to those that do wickedly. This whole chapter of precepts is based upon the single fact that all properly constituted human govern- ments receive their authority from the divine govern- ment, — that all just laws have their foundation in the law of God. It is because all human governments exist by this high and divine ordination, because all just, human laws derive their authority from the divine law, that those who wield executive authority are called the " ministers of God." No prophet nor apos- tle, — no minister of the grace of Christ ever had the seal of a divine appointment placed upon his brow more truly than this inspired word confers it upon those who, in the relations of civil life, become the ministers of God. To the obedient, they are ministers for good. To the disobedient and refractory, they are the ministers of wrath to execute the decrees of divine and human justice. The citizens of this community, by whose invitation the discourse for this interesting occasion has been prepared, have enrolled themselves as the defenders of their country, its government and its laws, against those whose hearts have together counselled treason, against whose reeking hands the blood of thousands of their brothers — our country's noblest sons — cries from the ground into the ears of the God of Abel. My friends — my brothers — the position you occupy is one of exceeding interest. You have voluntarily stepped aside from your accustomed pursuits, that you may go forth at your country's call for her defence. You are called to hasten to the rescue of that beloved flag from the foul hands of traitors who would tear it from its noble height : — that flag which has so long been, — which is to-day, — which must forever he the emblem of constitutional liberty and law. You go to protect the sacred institutions of our land, — the sane- tuaries, the schools, the homes, the loved ones, — parents, wives and children, — that you leave behind you. But you have a holier mission than all this. The moment you enter upon that service to which the Chief Executive calls you, you are no longer only indi- vidual members of society, but each one of you be- comes a part of that million of noble men whose brave hearts wield strong arms to strike down treason wher- ever you find it, and to enforce the execution of the laws of the land. The chief magistrate of this nation no longer sits surrounded by his chosen counsellors, swaying the scepter of undisputed authority, but defied, insulted, and his authority mocked by a rebel horde, he takes to himself the " strong arm of the law," found alone, in this last resort, in a million bristling bayonets and gleaming sabres, in a million deep-throated mus- kets, in ten thousand brazen-mouthed cannon, and in the awful tread of ten thousand fiery chargers, and stands before the world, — and with him stands every man who, in this hour of peril, hastens to his sup- port, — the " minister of God ; a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." If the cause which he, with a united, loyal people, seeks to maintain and defend, can be vindicated before God and man, then we may use with confidence the language of the text ; " He beareth not the sword in vam : for he is the minister of God." The theme involved here, and which may profitably occupy our thoughts is this: — The soldier as the executor of divine and human justice, and the defender of the rights of man. As such he " beareth not the sword in vain," because he wields it under a divine commission as the cham- 6 pion of law, and the constituted order of government as established by God for the welfare of mankind. The survey of this field of thought will require that first of all we vindicate the justice of our cause before God and man. Two years ago thousands of men in this country would have shuddered at the idea of being personally engaged in war — in deadly strife for the mastery on the field of conflict, who have now gone forth ready to die, — yea, burning with a holy zeal to off"er themselves a sacrifice, if need be, for the redemption of their be- loved land from the death to which traitor hands would consign it. Men whose hearts have been bap- tized with the spirit of the religion of Him whose gos- pel is one of "peace on earth" and "good will to men," have yielded everything that before was dear to them, of home, of kindred and friends, that, in the front ranks of the army of liberty, they may strike for God and their country. Souls all aglow with love for their divine Lord have had breathed upon them His holier spirit until their faith has reached out to grasp their bleeding, distracted country, that not for themselves, but for God, — for His holy cause, — for humanity, — for posterity, and for the struggling nations of the Old World, they may rescue it from hands that conquer to enslave, and whose triumph is ruin. What means it ? What has caused the change ? What has converted that spirit of peace which our holy religion has so long breathed upon the land, into a spirit of earnest, defiant purpose to vindicate rightful authority, and to establish the supremacy of law ? I believe it is of God. Men are inspired. A holy baptism is upon them, — a baptism of love for their country, of justice, of liberty and humanity. They have heard the voice of God, — they cannot be deaf to the call to do and to die in this service. I doubt not that you who are about to follow those whose example is before you, have caught the same spirit, and are moved by the same noble purpose. The question whether it is right to go to the field of strife, where you will be called to take the life of your fellow man, may not have troubled you greatly, or you may have found for it a ready decision. Yet it is a stern and terrible necessity which is laid upon you, and it is because I believe that you feel it to be so, that I take this occasion to present three reasons in vindication of our position, either one of which, I am confident, is in itself a sufficient warrant, that you and all those who seek to sustain the Federal Government in this peril, are engaged in a just and holy cause. First : — It is, in its essential features, the cause of Christianity. We might maintain this truth on the ground that human governments are of divine institution, and that in fighting for the maintenance of an established form of government which is being assailed for no just and reasonable cause, we seek to restore divine not less than human authority. But I desire to take the dis- discussion of this point into another and important direction. The struggle in which we are engaged is essentially religious in its character, because, if suc- cessful, the results that will be secured will tend to the promotion of Christianity, while all the ends 8 sought for by those who are opposed to us are wholly antagonistic to the spirit of the Bible. Now it may be well for us to look at the history of the past and to ask, why was this government attacked, and why was its power sought to be broken ? It can- not be justly claimed by those who seek its overthrow, that they do so because it is committed against, or because its tendencies are against the Bible, and Chris- tianity, and the great claims of justice and humanity. The very reason for this assault upon the government, and upon the rights of thirty millions of human beings, is because those who are engaged in it have seen that if the principles which enter into the structure of our national institutions are legitimately evolved with free scope for development, they directly tend to the moral and religious enlightenment of mankind, to the utter overthrow of civil and religious despotism everywhere, and to the progress of mankind in virtue and hap- piness. Our foemen have seen these tendencies, and have become alarmed because they have seen in them the certainty of the speedy and inevitable overthrow of all irresponsible and despotic power. So long as they could manage the machinery of government to sub- serve their own ends, it was well. So long as they could suppress the power of truth, or, by political intrigue, darken and subvert the counsels of wisdom, it was well. They declared that the idea of educating the poor and the rich alike was unsafe, and ignorance stalked through their land. They declared that the Bible could not be put into the hands of the slave with safety to the oppressing power, and it was withheld. They bought and sold their fellow men as they would 9 the dumb brute in the market, and at last baptized the most hideous forms of oppression with the holy name of Christianity. And so long as they could wield the power of the central government to give to all this work of evil the dignity of a legal sanction, it was well. But the leaven was at work all the while. Christi- anity crossed the ocean in the barque that brought our noble sires. She had planted foot upon this goodly land, and hence she was not to be driven. The lead- ers of this revolt, with no dim eye, early saw what would be the issue. They saw that the principles of the Bible, if permitted to work out their legitimate moral effect, would result in the overthrow of oppres- sion, — in the enlightenment of mankind, — in the redemption of humanity. They saw with alarm the dawning light of the coming day of disenthralment to earth's oppressed millions. The handwriting upon the wall was too plain to be mistaken. They heard the voice utter the distinct and awful sentence, " Mene, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN," and like the great Leader of the first revolt, when they could no longer rule, deter- mined to destroy. Your sacred mission is to stay — nay, to strike down the arm of those bloody destroyers of order and peace, of law, justice, and humanity. And I say the cause is a holy one. It is the cause of Christianity, and of God. Second : — The second reason I shall present is, that our cause is the cause of good government. We fight to maintain a government mild in its requirements, — impartial in its restraints, — and health- ful to the great body politic in all its working. We strike to defend and enforce laws based upon just and equitable principles. 10 It is, undoubtedly, one of the natural rights of man to overthrow, by any legitimate means, any form of government which is founded, or whose functions are exercised, in a spirit of oppression, when the evils borne become greater than those involved by a change. It is upon this acknowledged right that our Puritan sires, vindicated the justice of their cause in throw- ing off the bonds of British oppression. But what plea can be made by those Southern rebels that will stand the test for one moment ? Can they say that they have been oppressed in any way by the acts of the Federal government ? They have wielded the power of that government almost uninterruptedly, for the last fifty years, and prostituted it most shame- fully to their own aggrandizement. To what single act of the government can the leaders of this revolt point, and say of it that it was designed, or that it tended to deprive them of their just rights, or in any way to oppress them I Not one ; — not a shadow, even. The charge is absolutely and shamefully false ! The history of this rebellion will one day be written candidly and faithfully. When this is done, posterity will read, to the utter shame of those who seek to extenuate, or in any way to apologize for this dreadful wrong, that there was not The slightest shadoiv of a just cause for complaint. It has been said, — it is still said, — that the North has wronged the South by a persistent agitation of the great doctrine of human freedom as related to the bondmen of the South And what is the meaning of this charge I Has the North, by any acts previous to the breaking out of this revolt, sought to interfere with the institutions of the South in any way that it was not her legitimate right to do I She has not. 11 The charge is forever false ! The extent of her sin- ning, if there be sin at all, is in words, not in deeds. And what have these been ^ Simply this. Remem- bering the great divine precept, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," she has felt that slavery is wrong, and she has spoken as she has felt. And so has God said that it is wrong. We have labored, by moral and legitimate means, to reach the hearts and con- sciences of those who uphold this great wrong, that they might themselves decree its overthrow. We have felt the terrible enormity of this evil, and it is every man's right, — it is his duty to pronounce that to be wrong which his moral sense condemns. We have done no more. And if the free North can be thus vindicated', how much more can be said on behalf of the central gov- ernment ! It has stretched forth its hands to confer blessings innumerable upon those who have claimed its protection, and have honored it by their allegiance. It has never imposed unnecessary restraints upon the liberty of its subjects, but has ever accorded the greatest freedom to the individual, consistent with the rights of all. To seek the overthrow of this best gov- ernment the world has ever seen, is a crime which pos- terity will look upon as the blackest that ever disgraced the annals of nations. Your mission is to resist this attempted destruction, and to strike down the traitor- ous hands that are tugging away at the pillars of social and political order. Fulfill your mission with manly courage, for it is the cause of good government against anarchy and misrule. And this is again our vindication. 12 Third : — The third and final reason which I pre- sent is, that our cause is the cause of human freedom. It matters not, so far as your divine authority and mission are concerned, whether or not freedom is the avowed object for which you are called into the field. The fact is the same in either case, and the giving or the withholding of human enactments or proclama- tions, has comparatively little to do with it. This is but the re-enactment in a different form, and on another scene, of the old conflict between despotism on the one hand and human rights on the other. So far as our particular ancestry is concerned, it began on the plains of Runny mede A. D. 1215, between the Feudal lords and the usurping king John of England, and in that struggle the cause of freedom triumphed, when the Magna Charta was secured ; and the seeds of universal, popular liberty were then sown, to germinate in future generations. The con- flict was repeated on the same soil between the Puri- tans and Cavaliers in the seventeenth century ; and again the righteous cause triumphed, but only to involve its adherents in a new and desperate struggle, when in the New World, and under new conditions, the American Declaration of Independence, involving the principle of universal human rights, was pub- lished to the world and maintained. It is a part of the same conflict in which we are now engaged. It is despotic, irresponsible power on one hand, against equal rights on the other, and no amount of political trickery, no deceptive power of human language can conceal the issue, or hinder long the result. 13 There are but two fundamental principles in human government, and these are directly and widely antago- nistic. There may be many modifications of each of these, to suit different circumstances and grades of human society, but the underlying principle is either monarchical or republican. It is either irresponsible, centralized power vested in one, or power derived from and amenable to the people. Wherever these opposing principles come in contact, there always has been, and always must be a conflict of moral and physical forces. This is the struggle that has raged with varying aspects throughout the Old World for centuries past. It is now the old conflict re-enacted of Despotism against Freedom. Mark the issue. There was no crowned head here to become the representative of the despotic power. There was no Feudal system, like that of the middle ages, to grasp the right of property, and oppress the poor. There was nothing in all this fair heritage to represent des- potism until it seized upon the system of American Slavery, and there developed itself in its blackest and most monstrous form. It is this spirit of despotism that we are called to combat. There is in this connection a very interesting and instructive thought to which I wish to call your atten- tion. It is found in a view of the legitimate tenden- cies of the spirit and form of the government under which we live, as contrasted with those of any and all other human governments. The inevitable tendency of those principles which lie at the foundation of our institutions, if left to their natural working, will always and everywhere be towards freedom and uni- 14 versal, equal rights. This cannot be said of any other form of government. Passing by others, let us take as our best example of a monarchy, that of Great Brit- ain. There is nothing in it, which is inherent to itself, that becomes a moving force in the direction of free- dom. Whatever has been gained to the cause of lib- erty, has been directly and always against the govern- ment, and by concessions forced from it. To illustrate my idea, let us take a single fact, viz. : that of the existence and the final overthrow of slavery in the British dominions. That result was not secured by the natural working of the English government and institutions, but in spite of it. The Magna Charta was obtained as a concession of the ruling power to appease the clamor of its subjects, and not as the natural working of the fundamental law of the exist- ence of that power, as the river flows from its foun- tain. And the same may be said of every law which has been enacted by the British Parliament, whose object was the promotion of freedom. The natural tendency of the English government, if it were left unrestricted by outside pressure, would inevitably be towards despotism and barbarism. And it is my con- viction that, in spite of all restraint, it is receding towards the Dark Ages. And yet that proud Boaster affects to teach America lessons on liberty ! It was necessary that the British government should enact a^ decree of emancipation, because the slave would never have become free without it. There was nothing nat- urally working towards freedom in the inherent prin- ciples of the civil and political polity of that nation. But the case was widely different with America. If the principles of the Declaration of Independence, 15 and of all our civil and social insritutions had been free to work legitimately towards their true end, slav- ery, and every form of oppression, would have seen its grave long ago. I mean this : — emancipation would have become a voluntary, individual act, rather than a result of national legislation. Human bondage was the natural growth of no fundamental, American prin- ciple, but the accidental thing that was forced in where it had no place. It was no part of the vital fluid, which, coursing through the veins of the body politic, should give life and vigor to every member. But it was the virus injected into the veins, poisoning wherever it went, and causing both moral and physi- cal disease and death by its presence. But the nat- ural tendencies of our institutions towards universal freedom, were subverted by those in the interest of despotism, who sought to make slavery the universal law, and freedom the accident. They saw the inevi- table workings of the principles of justice and human rights upon the mind and heart of an enlightened, thinking people. They saw that the leaven was at work, that the unseen forces of moral, social and political progress were seeking their true ends, — the enfranchisement of enslaved humanity, — the inevitable and speedy overthrow of tyranny. They saw this, and were alarmed. Their deep and treacherous designs to bury freedom and crown despotism, were beginning to be exposed. They had well nigh succeeded in their dark and crafty purpose. But they had come one step too near the people's rights to keep their base motives a secret any longer. A nation of freemen was aroused. Upon the sacred altars of freedom, unholy sacrifices had been offered. The Goddess of Liberty, at whose 16 shrine they paid their homage, had been insulted, and men who were born to be free could endure it no longer. The trumpet sounded ! The voice of God called ! And twenty millions of nature's noble men sprang to arms. Your mission is this. In the name of God and of religion, we are to reclaim the govern- ment from its work of subverting justice, crushing truth, and oppressing humanity, to its true and normal condition as the Palladium of liberty — the guardian of universal right. And, further, this is the cause of freedom, because it is, as has already been shown, the cause of Christi- anity and of the Bible. It is the cause of that relig- ion which The Crucified came to promulgate, and which must imbue its followers with a holy spirit of love for their fellow-men. And here I might well indite a new text for your thoughts to dwell upon as you go forth to the field of conflict. It is the brief but comprehensive declaration of the Founder of our holy religion, — the grand initial proclamation when He came to establish His blessed kingdom on earth. " The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath annointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverence to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." My brethren, if these views that I have presented are true, how do they elevate and ennoble our part in this great struggle ! With what holy faith should they inspire our hearts ! With what burning zeal should they nerve our arms ! With what a spirit of 17 unshrinking devotion should they fire the soul of every hero ! With what imperishable glory will they gild the crown of every martyr ! Who would not rather die in this holy cause than live to see his country dis- tained, dishonored, and sunk in the dark night of bar- barism ? To the rescue then ! Go ! We would not hold you back. Our tears may attest how deep the struggle that it costs us to lay you on the altar of love for our country, but they shall also be a baptism of love, of faith, and of prayer, through which the benediction of the holy God shall rest upon you. We have given other brothers, husbands, sons, to this holy martyrdom for liberty. Go ! Bear to them the assurances of our unchanged afi"ection for them, and our unfaltering faith in the justness of our cause. Go ! resolved, with them, to do and to die for God and your country. Go ! strike till the last armed traitor is laid low. Go ! strike for truth and liberty ! Strike for your altars ! Strike for your sacred sanctuaries ! Strike to defend your christian faith ! Strike for the memory of your sires ! Strike for the memory of those who have already filled a hero's grave ! Strike for the loved ones you leave behind ! Strike for God and your native land ! My brothers, a few more words, and I am done. I have tried thus to vindicate our cause in the sight of God and man. If this vindication be true, then you go as the ministers of God, bearing not the sword in vain. If it be true, I give you the Bible, God's revealed word, in one hand ; and the sword, which I adjure you never to wield in other than a just cause, in the other. Nay, — remembering that my poor, bleeding, distracted coun- 18 try has claims upon those who minister at God's holy altars, which cannot be set aside, I can bid you go^ only as I stand ready to take that Bible in hand and bid you follow. We must be careful, in this strife, to guard our hearts against the spirit of vindictiveness and hate towards our misguided brethren and foemen. Let no unholy passion rankle in our breasts. And, yet, let us not forget that we can no longer talk of compromises with evil. We have sought, by making every concession, by using every argument and persuasion, to avert the evils that have so long threatened us, and to convince our enemies that they were wrong But it has been of no avail ! They have challenged the issue. Let it come ! They have invoked the judgment of posterity and of mankind. We are ready to meet it. The time to preach or pray to the South is ended, Nai/ ! — there is a gospel which we are bound to preach most faithfully to them. It is " writ in rows of burn- ished steel." Its voice is the echomg thunder of ten thousand cannon. The mission of the law of love to- day is, to light the camp fires of the hosts of freedom from the shores of the Atlantic to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. It is to strike hands with every one who loves his country, until a band of patriots shall reach from East to West across the land, who, with charged muskets and gleaming bayonets, shall march resistlessly onward, the firm earth trembling beneath their tread, which, like the roar of many waters, shall strike terror to the hearts of traitors, and sound the death-knell of tyranny, — and with those, who, with songs of freedom upon their lips, shall be sworn to sweep treason forever from the land. 19 And when this mission shall have been fulfilled, as I doubt not it will be; when the broken, bleeding, betrayed South shall have learned, by sorrowful expe- rience, that they who resist the ordinance of God shall receive to themselves the greater condemnation, then another mission of love shall be begun, — a mission of healing to a bruised and wounded land. Then, they who have borne the sword shall carry the Bible, and they who have preached the terrible truth of retribution^ shall preach the gospel of redemption and sahation. Then, other thousands shall go forth to proclaim peace and good-will, carrying with them the balm of Gilead to pour into the wounds that the sword of justice has made. They shall go as angels of mercy through every village and hamlet, and into every house- hold, scattering everywhere the leaves of the tree of life for the healing of the nation. Oh ! what a day will that be for our beloved land, when, carried through a baptism of fire and of blood, struggling through this birth-night of terror and dark- ness, it shall experience a resurrection to a new life, and to a future whose coming glory already gilds the mountain tops. That day of future glory is hastening on. That day of a truer and deeper loyalty to God and to country, — that day when the oppressor's rod shall be broken, when the sigh of no captive spirit shall be heard throughout all our fair land. Men think— tliey will tell you — that the holy cause of freedom is making but tardy progress, or that it is making no progress at all. But heed them not. Their impatient haste beclouds their judgment, and bewilders their faith. Look back and behold what rapid strides it has made in our land in the few months that are pastj 20 and let your loyal hearts remain true to your country, to your rulers, and to your God. God, with His prov- idences, moves slowly and with majestic step along the ages. If his long-suffering patience can wait six thou- sand years for the disenthrallment of earth's enslaved millions, shall not our faith and patience endure for a twelve-month, while our part of the work is being- accomplished. But the night is far spent. The night of gloom that is upon us must yield to the coming day. The darkness slowly breaks before the eye of faith. The stars grow dimmer. The day of the Lord is at hand ! " The dwellers in the vales and ou the rocks Shout to eaeh other ; and the mountain tops From distant mountains catcli tlie flying joy ; Till nation after nation taught the strain, Earth rolls the rapturous hosanna round." From this survey, 1 must turn your thoughts, in this hallowed hour, to the peaceful resort of the righteous in the midst of every storm of mortal peril. When you go from this sanctuary and from these homes, it may be forever. Among those who have gone before you, five — Brooks, Miles, Taft, Whitcomb, and Waters, — have gone never to return to us.* Their memory is fresh in our hearts. It will ever remain so. That is truly " sacred soil" to us now where they lay down to die a martyr's death. They, with other radiant souls, were not permitted to reap on earth the full reward of their unshrinking sacrifice. * Note.— Let the names of Daniel S. Brooks, Danvebs Miles, Josiah 0. Taft, Lucius Whitcomb, and Stlvanus C. Waters, be reconletl, as being the first of the company of brave volunteers who liave gone from this comraunit.v, wlio fell while in the service of their country. Since this discourse was written, Jonas 1*'orristall and Albert G. Stone have lieeu added to the number of Fi'eedora's martyrs. 21 Forget not God. I beseech you. Be his holy word your guide. Think much upon its precepts, and let them enter into your daily life, and in the day of trial, when dangers gather thick around, your soul shall not be afraid of " the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor the destruction that wasteth at noonday." '• Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." * * * * " By few is gloiy's wi-eath attained ; But death, or soon or late, awaiteth all. To figlit ill Freedom's cause is something gained. And nothing I(i ^:s>^J>5>_ ;5^gZ> > 3> :> ^ ^^^^"jji^^ 'i'T) ci>l> !:3i » ^» S> J>.::?>,:>2> -^■^: "~>i> rym, >::> o :> !»)>> iz> ^">^ ^;^ ,^.s>" > ?5 ^>¥3 z>ia^^ i ::> >: >~3 3 ^^>_ ^>. s> .~~> ^- vi> 3 i>^ -3» ^'J^i^ 3:> 53" > .;i> ^^ "> >3 ^i> :^:> Z> 3 :>3 Z3» ^^ml^' LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 012 028 074