OuR COUiNTRY
AND
BY'. L. RIgOE, D.D.
NEW YORK:
CHARLES SCRIBNER, 124 GRAND STREET.
1861.




'TErtED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the
Southern District of New York.
JOHN F. TROW,
PRINTER, STEREOTYPER, AND ELECTROTYPER,
48 & 50 Greene Street.
New York.




PIRBEFACE.
THE following pages are the substance of two discourses preached in the 5th Avenue and 19th street
church, on the Sabbath preceding the late national fastday. The interest awakened, and the desire expressed
by many to see them in print, have led to the preparation of them for the press. They contain sentiments
which are believed to be not only scriptural, but of
great practical importance in the existing state of the
country and of the Church of Christ. Two circumstances in connection with our national troubles, we
have been cdmpelled to regard with pain and with
serious apprehension:
1. So far as we have had the opportunity to observe
the expression of sentiment by ministers of the Gospel
and ecclesiastical bodies, far greater prominence seems
to have been given to expressions of loyalty to, and
sympathy with, the Government, and to the condemnation of the Southern rebellion, than to the sinfulness
of the nation, and to the fact that the fearfil judgments




iv                  PREFACE.
of God are upon us, because of our iniquities. The
necessity of carrying on the war vigorously seems to
have been urged with more feeling and eloquence, than
the necessity of repentance and reformation. Now,
whatever propriety there may be in giving expression
to patriotic feeling, and to disapprobation of the conduct of those who have risen up against the Government, and are aiming to destroy our noble Union, we
cannot but believe that it is greatly more important to
the country, and more in harmony with the teaching of
God's word, that the chief prominence should be given
to the sin which is the chief cause of our troubles.
Either civil war, threatening the ruin of the nation, is
not a Divine judgment for our sins, or one of the main
duties of ministers of the Gospel and ecclesiastical
bodies, is to call both people and rulers, both Church
and State, to repentance. We have just read a sermon
preached by Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, a century ago, the
title of which is " Prayer for National Prosperity and
for the Revival of Religion inseparably connected,"
preached on a public fast appointed in Scotland on account of the war then raging, and the disasters which
had befallen the armies of Great Britain. His description of the state of things then, and of the course pursued, is almost literally applicable to our own affairs.
I cannot forbear to quote a few sentences from this
discourse:
" We have also been long engaged in war with a
powerful and politic enemy; and has not the Provi



PREFACE.                     V
dence of God sensibly frowned on us, and visibly frustrated almost every one of our attempts?  This hath
been the case to a degree hardly known in any former
instance.  We have'turned our backs faint-hearted
before our enemies  in almost every encounter; and
the greater and more formidable our preparations for
any enterprise, the more pitiful the issue, and the more
shameful, our defeat and disappointment.  Has there
not been an obstructed trade, a loss of territory, a loss
of honor, and expense of treasure?  -*'       *  Hlow
numerous and expensive, but how useless and inactive,
have been our fleets and armies."  Again: " From
what hath been said, you may see what wrong measures
we have hitherto taken for removing these evils, so far
as we have been sensible of them.  Our gracious sovereign hath, indeed, been pleased to point out our duty,
by calling us annually to fasting and humiliation, but
with the far greater number it hath been no more than
an unmeaning and lifeless form; and they have continued in the same forgetfuilness of God. You have
heard, also, that nothing is more contrary to the genuine spirit of intercessory prayer in public calamity,
than putting trust in an arm of flesh; and yet, is there
any thing with which this nation is at present more
chargeable?  Nothing is more apparent from the very
face of our common channels of intelligence.  In case
of disappointment, on the one hand, are we not ungovernable and head-strong in our resentment against
men? and equally foolish and sanguine, on the other,




vi                   PREFACE.
in our hopes of those who are substituted in their
place?  We give pompous details of armaments, and
prophecy, nay, even in a manner describe their victories,
long before the season of action; and incautiously
celebrate the characters of leaders, while they are only
putting on the harness, and going into the field. What
proud and arrogant sentiments do we often express on
the subject of our national courage, and ancient British
fire, as it is called." How literally descriptive of what
we have constantly read in our own papers!
2. The second thing we have observed with pain
and apprehension, is that, whilst so much concern is
expressed in the pulpit and in the religious press for
our Constitution, our Government, and our nation, we
see but little expression of grief on account of the state
of religion, and the divided and distracted condition
of the Church of Christ in this land.  We have read
strong commendations of ministers who have zealously
espoused the cause of the country, and strong condemnations even of those who, whilst avowing their zeal
for the country, have doubted whether ministers and
churches, as such, should identify themselves with the
war.  But how few expressions of grief on account of
divisions and heart-burnings in the churches, and the
very low state of religion! In the sermon just quoted,
Dr. Witherspoon labored to prove, that we have no
warrant to pray for deliverance from national calamities, and for national prosperity, without a revival of
religion; that we have no reason to expect that the




PREFACE.                    Vii
former will be separately bestowed; and if it should, it
would not be a blessing, but a curse.  " Are we not,"
he asks, " in a very low and fallen state as a church, or
a nation, still retaining some profession and form of
religion? This will be found to correspond with the
other (i. e., national calamities) as the cause with the
effect."  Would that we could deeply impress upon
every mind the following solemn truth, uttered in the
same discourse: "If, then, public calamity bears a
commission for this purpose, (i. e., the reformation of
the people,) from  him  whose work is perfect, what
reason is there to expect that it will be removed before
it hath attained its end?  Will He not repeat the
stroke, and increase its severity, till it procure submission? "  If these sentiments are true, (and what Christian will call them in question?) then is it not the special business of Christ's ministers, for the sake both of
the country and the church, to preach to the people
and their rulers, and also to the churches, the duty and
absolute necessity of immediate repentance and reformation?  We have before us the resolutions recently
adopted by a Congregational Convention, in which the
war is declared, on our part, to be " a just and righteous war; " the obligation is professed to prosecute it
with vigor, C and as speedily as possible bring it to a
triumphant conclusion."  And the Convention express
the strong conviction, that " the system  of American
slavery " is the cause of the war, and urge the Government to make emancipation an object in prosecuting




Viii                 PREFACE.
it.  But in these resolutions is not an intimation, that
we in the North have any sins to confess, or any reason
to dread the Divine judgments.
We have also before us the proceedings of one of
our oldest synods, in which we find one resolution in
reference to the country, viz.: that adopted by our
General Assembly, so far as patriotism is concerned;
but no recognition of the hand of God in our troubles,
no confession of sil, no call upon the churches to turn
to God. The resolution, it is stated, " proved the sterling loyalty and patriotism of the body."  Did their
loyalty and patriotism need to be proved?  We think
not. But surely the times demanded, if any thing
were said, something we do not find.
These cases are referred to, as happening to be before us, as showing the manner in which the troubles
of the country and Church are treated by ecclesiastical
bodies. They are not referred to in a censorious spirit,
but with grief.  We are deeply convinced that our
troubles are likely to increase, till God's ministers and
people shall be brought to utter the language of faithful warning and of true penitence, and to call mightily
upon Him  for help.  We must realize, that loyalty
and patriotism, however valuable in their place, cannot
deliver the nation from  the judgments which its sins
have brought on it.
N. L. i.




OUR COUNTRY:
ITS EXALTATION.
Righteousness exalteth a nation.-PRov. xiv. 34.
1. TROUBLE, individual, domestic, and national, though in itself an evil, often proves an inestimable blessing, by calling attention to great
truths, forgotten or disregarded in prosperity, and
impressing them  anew and more deeply on the
minds of men.  David said —  It is good for me
that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy
statutes."  Isaiah said-" With my soul have I
desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit
within me will I seek thee early; for when thy
judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the
world will learn righteousness." *  It is not probable that great afflictions ever leave individuals,
families, or nations in the same moral condition
T Isai xxvi, 9.




8               OURT COUINTRY:
in which they find them. Under the pressure
they become better or worse; turn in the direction of righteousness, or rush more recklessly forward in transgression.
2. There are few great truths more obvious,
yet more frequently forgotten, especially in periods of national prosperity, than that declared
in the text. To individuals and families prosperity has too generally proved more dangerous
than adversity; and in times of prosperity, nations, even more than individuals or families, forget their dependence on God, and become boastful and rebellious. In his farewell address to the
Jewish nation Moses very solemnly warned them
against this danger.  a When thou hast eaten
and art full, then shalt thou bless the Lord thy
God for the good land which he hath given
thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy
God, in not keeping his commandments, and his
judgments, and his statutes, which I command
thee this day: lest when thou hast eaten and art
full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply,
and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all
that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be
lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy Good."`  Deuti  vii, 10.




ITS EXALTATION.                 9
Yet how very soon the wonderful deliverances
they had experienced, and the solemn warnings
they had received, were forgotten, until Divine
judgments humbled them, and made them  feel
their dependence on God.  Happy will it be for
this nation if the great troubles that have come
upon it shall impress on the minds of the people
the important truth that' righteousness exalteth
a nation."  My design is to illustrate and apply
this truth.
Righteousness is conformity to God's law;
springing from faith in the Gospel.  Paul calls it
4 obedience to the faith." It is absolutely impossible to maintain a high standard of morals without the doctrines of Christianity. They constitute the reasons of the duties enjoined, and offer
the motives to the performance of them. This is,
doubtless, the reason why false teachers so generally seelk to corrupt the faith of the Church of
Christ; for the devil knows, that morals will
soon sink when the doctrines have been rejected.
Righteousness, it is here declared, exctlts a
nation.  It secures and promotes all those interests which make a nation prosperous, great, and
honorable.  Sin produces precisely opposite effects.  It undermines all its interests, weakens
and degrades ito




10               OUR COUNTRY:
There are two principal ways in which righteousness exalts a nation:
I. In its own nature, and by its own legitimate operation it promotes, in the highest degree,
all the interests of a nation. Every righteous
man seeks to understand all his relations, and to
discharge all the duties arising from those relations.  "1His delight is in the law of the Lord."
He delights to learn and to discharge all his
duties, whether directly to God or to men. The
same principles which make him  a blessing to
his family and his neighborhood, make him  a
true patriot and philanthropist.  Now that nation will always be most prosperous, the greatest
proportion of whose citizens aim conscientiously
to discharge all their duties.  When all build,
the walls go up rapidly.
Besides, every righteous man exerts a happy
moral influence on others.  Such men " shine as
lights in the world, holding forth the word of
life ~ —illustrating in their daily walk the excellency of the Christian faith, and impressing it on
the minds of men more forcibly than the most
conclusive arguments.  And even  multitudes
who never cordially embrace the Gospel, are induced by the influence of such men to practise,
with more or less strictness, its morals.  Such,




ITS EXALTATION.             11
indeed, is the power of the Gospel, when
preached with fidelity; and such the influence of
Christian example, that a high standard of morals may be sustained in a community, only a
small minority of whom profess to be Christians.
And so there may be the righteousness that will
exalt a nation, when the great majority of the
people are unconverted. The Church of God is
the salt of the earth."
There are many ways in which righteousness,
by its own operation, exalts a nation. It is worth
while to mention some of them.
1. It promotes useful industry. I say, useful
industry; for there are many men of energy and
untiring industry, who make their living by
means which not only add nothing to the general wealth, but tend to impoverish the country,
and afflict their fellow-men. But a righteous
man regards the rights of others, as well as his
own. As a member of society, he feels it both
a duty and a privilege to contribute his full share
to the general prosperity. His religion requires
him to be " diligent in business," as well as " fervent in spirit;"  and the pursuits in which he
engages, whilst they build up his own fortune,
add to the wealth of the country.
2. Righteousness promotes general intelli



12              OUR COUNTRY:
gence. Every righteous man is a disciple-a
learner. I-le is a constant student of the noblest
of all sciences. And the works and the Word of
God stand so intimately related to each other,
that he who loves the latter, can scarcely be indifferent to the former.  And he who would
have all acquainted with the Word of God,
would, for a like reason, have all acquainted
with his works. As a matter of fact, righteous
men have ever been the advocates of popular
education, and the founders and supporters of
the best literary institutions. A righteous nation, therefore, can never be an ignorant nation.
3. Righteousness promotes wise legislation
In a popular government, legislation can never
rise higher than public sentiment. A law unsupported or opposed by public sentiment, becomes a dead letter. So far, then, as there is
righteousness in a nation, there is a public sentiment demanding and sustaining wise and righteous legislation. It makes itself felt in the choice
of civil officers. It will not allow party feeling
to become so strong, that party nominations
become more important than capacity and integrity. It sustains good laws, and sees them
enforced. It is part of the religion of every righteous man to be " subject to the powers that be."




ITS EXALTATION.            13
Such men abhor mob violence as the very worst
form of tyranny. A nation with wise and equal
laws, sustained by public sentiment, cannot fail
to enjoy peace and prosperity.
4. Righteousness promotes works of benevolence. It loves both God and man. It honors
God and does good to man. The righteous man,
like his Saviour, goes about doing good. Hle is
not satisfied with doing only what his fellow-men
have the right to demand of him. It is his delight to diminish the amount of suffering, and
to add to the amount of happiness. Cornelius
"gave much alms to the people, and prayed to
God alway."  The labors of such men greatly
mitigate evils which cannot be entirely removed,
and melt away those which legislation cannot
immediately, if ever, reach. So long as there is
sin in the world, there will be evils in every nation. Righteousness will diminish some, and melt
away others, as the rising sun melts the snow.
II. Righteousness exalts a nation by securing
favoring providences. It is a glorious truth, that
God does exercise a providence over this fallen
world.  " The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice e9 — The Lord reigneth; let the people
tremble.9  The providence of God is not merely




14                OUT  COUNTRY:
a care of men, but a control over them with reference to the accomplishment of great ends.
God in his providence deals with men in view
of four forms of accountability, viz.: individual,
domestic, ecclesiastical, and national. Each individual, apart from his relations to others, is accountable for his own acts.  Each family, as a
community by itself, has duties to perform  and
sins to account for.  Churches, as such, have
their responsibility to God; and nations, as such,
have theirs.  Families, churches, and nations,
more than individuals, feel the consequences of
their conduct in this world; since they will not
exist hereafter.  God is " King of kings,9 and
"i King of nations."  Beyond a question, then,
the wickedness of a nation will call down Divine
judgments upon it; and the righteousness of a
nation will secure the Divine favor.  Thus righteousness does exalt a nation.
Besides, it is to be remembered, that nations
sustain to the Church of Christ such relations,
that they almost necessarily promote or hinder
its great work. And since Jesus Christ is "' head
over all things to the Church," he will surely
punish or destroy-nations that become obstacles
to the progress of his kingdom.  Therefore God
says to his Church-"' For the nation and king



ITS EXALTATION.             15
dom that will not serve thee shall perish: yea,
those nations shall be utterly wasted.'"     The
prophets foretold the rise and fall of the mightiest kingdoms of antiquity, only as connected
with the interests of the Church of God. And
who does not see that the recent revolutions in
Europe, and those impending in Asia, are the
fulfilment of prophecy, and are preparing the
way for the diffusion of the Gospel and the
coming of the kingdom of Christ? When the
seventh angel of the Apocalypse sounded his
trumpet-the symbol of political revolutions" there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he
shall reign forever and ever."
Nor ought it to be forgotten, that favoring
providences are secured to nations in answer to
the prayers of righteous men. If there had been
ten righteous men in Sodom  and Gomorrah to
unite their prayers with those of Abraham, those
cities would have been spared.  Jeremiah directed the captives at Babylon to pray for that
city; " for in the peace thereof ye shall have
peace."  And Paul exhorted, that " supplications, prayers, intercessions, and  giving  of
Isai. x. 12.




16              OUR COUNTRY:
thanks'be made for all men; for kings, and
for all that are in authority  that we may lead
a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty."  It is as true with respect to nations
as to individuals, that "the effectual, fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
And here we find a chief ground of hope for
this nation. The Congress and the President of
these United States have called'upon all the
praying people, and even the whole nation, to
humble themselves before God, and to implore
his mercy and his aid.  National humiliation
may be followed by deliverance from national
calamities.
Since, then, righteousness only can exalt a
nation, the great problem on which depends the
permanent prosperity of any nation, is how to
secure and maintain a high standard of religion
and morals. A nation may rise rapidly without
righteousness; but its speedy decline and ultimate ruin are sure. The Jewish nation never increased in wealth and power so rapidly as during
the reign of Solomon; and yet scarcely had his
body been laid in the grave, when the moral corruption which had rapidly increased, developed
itself in a ruinous revolution. Rome, aft er conquering all surrounding nations, sunk under the




ITS EXALTATION.               17
weight of her own corruptions.  She had not
virtue enough to bear her growing prosperity.
Spain, in the beginning of the sixteenth century,
was one of the greatest kingdoms on earth; and
yet its corruptions soon rendered it one of the
most wretched and contemptible.  The history
of France is no less instructive.
If it be true, that only righteousness can exalt any nation, it is eminently true of nations
having a republican form of government. In the
absence of a strong central government and of
standing armies, moral principle must restrain
passion, balance sectional interests and prejudices, and sustain law.  If the people, who are
the rulers, become corrupt, it is, of course, impossible that the government shall not be so. If
the people, who are virtually the law-makers,
become lawless, what bt  anarchy can result?
What shall become of a people, asks De Tocqueville, who are their own rulers, if they fear not
the Deity?
It is a terrible mistake to'suppose, that intelligence alone fits a people for self-government.
It is necessary, but it is wholly insufficient.
There is no adage which more commends itself
to the common sense of every one than 6 Honesty is the best policy;"  yet men of business




18               OUR COULNTRY:
never trust others on the ground of their intelligence. They are careful to inquire respecting
the moral character of those who seek their confidence. Depravity blinds men to their own interests, as much as it induces them to disregard
the interests of others.  The moral principle of a
people is to popular government what the attraction of cohesion is to solid bodies.  If you could
destroy that property in the firmest body, it
would instantly become particles of dust.  And
so, whenever moral principle amongst any people
having a free government becomes too feeble to
resist passion and sectional interest, divisions and
revolutions commence; and then there must be
anarchy or despotism.
All this is more emphatically true of nations
having a vast extent of territory, with marked
differences of climate, productions, and pursuits.
For, the more extended the territory, the greater
the number and importance of sectional, as opposed to general interests; and, therefore, the
greater the difficulty of restraining selfishness
and passion, to which political demagogues always make their appeal, and upon success in
exciting which their hope of elevation to office
depends.  For, that administration of government which is for the general good, must often




ITS EXALTATION.               19
bear hardly upon particular sections or interests.
With the increase of territory, therefore, there
must be corresponding strength in the moral
forces; or civil commotions and revolutions are
inevitable.
It is) then, evident that when a nation, after
years of peace and prosperity, becomes threatened with disruption and ruin through internal
discord, moral corruption must have made fearful
progress.  In all such cases, one of two things is
true, viz.: either a very large portion of the
people are disposed to trample upon important
rights of the rest; or a very large portion are indisposed to submit to the equitable administration of government. It is an historical fact, that
no nation was ever ruined or seriously in peril
from  internal strife, whilst maintaining a tolerably high standard of morals.  Civil constitutions and civil laws may prove defective in their
provisions, or ambiguous in their language; and
wise and good men may hold widely different
opinions on very important questions which arise
from time to time; but such men will compare
views, and agree or compromise, when bad men,
controlled or blinded by passion, will fall out
and fight.
Let us apply these principles to the present




20              OUR COUNTRY:
state of our country, that we may ascertain how
we stand, and what can be done to bring us out
of our troubles.
There are three principal ways in which God
has been wont to manifest his displeasure against
nations, viz.: by famine, by pestilence, and by
war. When He was displeased with David and
the Jewish nation, He offered him choice between seven years of famine, three months of war
and flight before his enemies, or three days of
pestilence. Of these three forms of Divine judgment, war is by far the most terrible; and civil
war is the most terrible form  of war. David,
therefore, said, " Let us fall now into the hand
of the Lord; for his mercies are great, and let us
not fall into the hands of man."  No one who
knows any thing of civil war, needs to have
proof that it is the most fearful and disastrous
kind of war. It is a house divided against itself;
a nation pulling down its own prosperity; and
in the dreadful work, the passions rage more
furiously than in war against a foreign foe.
We are thus brought to consider the alarming
fact, that our beloved country, so wonderfully
favored of God hitherto, is now suffering under
Divine judgments in their most dreadful form.
Our situation is still more alarming in view of




ITS EXALTATION.             21
the terrible disasters which have befallen our
army, and of the huge dimensions which this
quarrel has assumed. The appointment of a day
of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, at the request
of the supreme Legislature of the nation, in view
of the war and the disasters, is a solemn and emphatic acknowledgment, that the hand of God is
in our troubles, and that we are under his frown
for our sins. Such a confession, as already remarked, affords ground of hope.
It would be easy, whilst contemplating our
troubles, to dilate upon the excellency of our
Government, and the importance to the cause of
universal liberty of our success in this. conflict;
and, humanly speaking, it would be difficult to
overestimate its importance.  I had occasion,
some years ago, to deliver a lecture on the mission of these United States.  I believed then,
and still believe, that to no nation, if we except
the Jewish, did God ever intrust a more sublime
and glorious mission; and most sad is it to be
compelled to fear, that our country may prove
faithless to her high mission.
It would be easy, too, to affirm that the rebellion of several States of this confederacy against
the General Government, is without any justifying cause; and that the war on our part is for




22                OUr COUNTRY:
the very existence of the nation-a war forced
upon us, and therefore a righteous war.  And in
all this there is truth; but the appointment of a
cay of fasting is a confession that this is not the
whole truth, that on our side of the line great sin
has been committed.  And as we are now  to
come before God, with whom is no respect of persons, and who judges righteously, it becomes us
not to forget, much less to deny, that, in producing the irritation and loss of confidence which
have. resulted in this war, many in the North hlave
a fearful responsibility.
We are called upon, by the appointment of a
day of fasting, to consider our own sins, not to
declaim  agaimst the sins of those in war against
us; and it is our duty, as it is surely our interest,
to view the whole subject in the light of God's
word. It is, indeed, seldom  that ministers, if
they are wise men, can shout with the excited
multitude. There are very grave views to be
taken of such troubles, which, in the heat of excitement, are overlooked, but which their responsibilities require them  to consider. Moreover, noisy men are not the most reliable, either
as advisers or actors, in times of trouble and difficulty. If such men had had less influence, the
war might not have come; and if it had, our army




ITS EXALTATION.            23
might not have fled in confusion from the field
of battle. We are called to consider two truths:
1. Our present troubles are unquestionably
the result of prevailing corruption. We certainly have not the righteousness which exalts a
nation; but we have the sin, which is a reproach
to any people. I know it is said, and probably
with truth, that Southern politicians have long
been plotting this rebellion; but an enlightened
nation never allows scheming politicians to bring
it to the verge of ruin, whilst it maintains a tolerable standard of morals.
We have had no new questions to deal with.
Slavery has existed in the country from its earliest history, and there is no reason why it should
have become more difficult to manage now than
heretofore. We have had no questions at all to
deal with, which a moderate degree of wisdom
might not have settled. And then the motives
for perpetuating our civil Union are overwhelmingly strong, even aside from any moral obligation. Corruption must have made fearful progress before ties so sacred could have been
broken, and motives so overwhelming disregarded. But as the strength of moral principle
declines, selfishness and passion gain the ascendency; and then men can neither see their own
2




24               OUR COUNTRY:
true interests nor feel the claims of others. Then
crimination and recrimination take the place of
calm argument; and all that is said or published,
instead of diffusing light and producing conviction, only inflames the passions and hastens the
crisis.  And often does it happen, when moral
principle has become greatly weakened, and passion much excited, that great revolutions are precipitated by comparatively trifling causes.  A
single spark may ignite a magazine.  The secession of the ten tribes of Israel from the remaining two, affords a striking illustration of this
truth.'They complained of excessive taxation
during the reign of Solomon, and demanded of
his son that their burdens should be lightened.
And yet at no previous period had the people
amassed wealth so rapidly; nor had the nation
ever before taken so high a stand in the family
of nations.  But in the midst of this extraordinary prosperity, there had been a sad decline in
religion and morals. The people had become irritated, and Jeroboam, an ambitious and unprincipled man, had his agents amongst them to magnify their wrongs and inflame their passions.
An irritating answer to their demands, at the
critical moment, was sufficient to outweigh all
the weighty motives of duty and of interest,




ITS EXALTATION.             25
which bound them to the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin, to the temple, and the holy city of
their solenmities.  Jeroboam was too well aware
of the decay of religion and morals, or he would
not have ventured, as a matter of policy, to set np
an idolatrous worship among them. Such an outrage, at a period when the nation was less corrupt,
would have cost him his crown, if not his life.
But the moral corruption was not exclusively, probably not chiefly, in the seceding
tribes. The revolution was a Divine judgment
on the king and the nation for their sins,-1
Kings xi. 33. Never was there a more striking
illustration of the truth that " sin is a reproach,'
a cause of division, weakness, and degradation,
" to any nation."  A man with the seeds of consumption in his system may live many years, if
his general health can be preserved; but if that
becomes impaired, a slight cold seizing on the
weak point in his system, may prove fatal. And
a trifling ailment may become a serious matter, if
treated by unskilful physicians, or by quacks.
Our body politic had its weak point-the institution of slavery. So long ac. the standard of
morals was tolerably high, it bore up under the
evil, and was gradually throwing it off; but
under the weight of prevailing corruption, and




26               OUR COUNTRY:
because of the irritation produced by unskilful and
false reformers, it has reached a terrible crisis.
The decay of morals in a nation is gradual,
and to the mass of even intelligent men it is
often not perceptible. They do not stand in a
position to observe it. Their attention is not
called  to  it.  Therefore  they  are taken  almost completely by surprise, when it shows itself in civil convulsions. This is still more emphatically true in an age of moral and religious
excitement like the present; for in such an age
there may be much appearance of religion, whilst
sound doctrine is losing ground, and much talk
of moral reforms, when corruption is undermining the foundations of society. I had occasion
to visit the venerable Charter Oak, a few days
before it fell. Though showing signs of age, it
looked as though it might weather the storms of
years to come.  A  comparatively slight wind
proved too much for its strength; for decay had
been gradually going on at the roots for years.
So it is with nations.  So it has been with us.
Comparatively few  among us believed it possible, twelve months ago, that the nation could
have so soon fallen into its present state; and
few even now, it is to be feared, realize the extent to which corruption has spread.




ITS EXALTATION.             27
It is probable that every nation ruined by internal discord passes through three stages. The
first is the patriotic, when, engaged in laying the
foundations of its government, and struggling up
through many difficulties, it selects men of wisdom and tried integrity to fill important offices.
The second stage is the ambitious, when the
nation has taken its place among the family of
nations, and is enjoying peace and prosperity.
Then, as no dangers seem to threaten, the people
are less concerned to choose the best men for
high offices; and as office confers honor, ambitious men become successful candidates. Still
public sentiment demands of those who seek
honors at the hands of the people, that they give
some proofs of possessing patriotism  and integrity. The third stage is the venal, when the
nation has become wealthy and corrupt, and
men seek office, not for the honor it confers,
much less that they may be useful to their country, but for the money they can make by it.
Then votes come to be bought and sold, as commonly as wheat and corn; and the men who buy
their election expect to get their money back
with large interest, whilst enjoying the emoluments of office. Then comes bribery with all its
demoralizing influences; the people cease to re



28               ou   COUNTIR:
spect their legislators, and to place confidence in
their judges; and soon they are prepared for
any thing.  This dreadful state of things may
occur, when there are in the nation enough of
righteous men to resist the tide of corruption, if
only  their influence  were properly  directed.
Happy for the nation, if they perceive the danger
before it is too late, and rise in their strength
and effect its deliverance. In which of these
three stages this nation now is, others can judge
as well as 1.
But that corruption has made fearful progress
amongst us, there can be no doubt.  For years
past, mob violence has become growingly frequent; showing the weakening of the moral sentiment that upholds law. Defaulters have multiplied, showing the prevalence of covetousness,
and that such conduct was becoming less disgraceful, or more successful in escaping punishment.  And who has not observed, that men of
sterling integrity and of capacity in every part
of the nation, have been  pushed  aside  and
thrown into obscurity, whilst incompetent and
immoral men have been chosen to fill even the
most important offices?  Who does not know,
that bribery has become so common, that it has
almost ceased to be disreputable? There is no




ITS EXALTATION.               29
impropriety in stating the fact, that the late venerable Judge  icClean said to me, some three
years ago, that in his opinion this Governmlent
could not last twenty years longer, unless there
should be a considerable moral reform.  Corruption, he said, pervades all parties, and controls
the Government.  The opinion of such a man is
entitled to great weight; and he stated, that in
this opinion he was not singular-that the wisest
statesmen in the country agreed with him.
It is not very difficult to account for the decay of morals in our country; and since the discovery of the causes that have operated so disastrously may suggest the proper remedies, it is
worth while to point them out.
1. As we have been accustomed to boast that
the present is an age of progress, the idea has
extensively prevailed, that human nature, and
especially as represented in the Anglo-Saxon
race, is a progressive thing-that under favorable circumstances it will rise to a higher standard of morals, as well as of intelligence.  The
old doctrine of total depravity has become, to a
considerable extent, obsolete or unpopular.  It
is nothing strange, that the invalid who imagines
himself almost well, should cease to follow the
prescriptions of the skilful physician, and should




30              OUR COUNTRY:
become seriously ill. Whenever men have begun
to glory in the upward tendencies of human nature, its deep depravity has become more and
more manifest. For then the Divinely appointed
remedy for the ruins of the Fall has been neglected or corrupted.
2. The last thirty or forty years have been a
period of extraordinary prosperity, marked by
increasingly frequent commercial crises.  The
prospect of accumulating wealth rapidly, has
tempted multitudes into  extravagant speculations; and the danger of losing it still more
quickly, has tempted them to immoral methods
of holding it. It is not uncommon to meet with
men who have made and lost two or three fortunes, who have not yet lived threescore years.
This unhealthy state of things has been most unfavorable to sound morals.
3. A third and most effective cause of the
corruption of morals in our country, is to be
found in the unhappy change that has occurred
in the character of the pulpit and the religious
press. I do not stop now to notice the progress
which has been made by different forms of fundamental error; though the. tendency of all such
errors is to let down the standard of morals.
But I now refer to the change among evangelical




ITS EXALTATION.              31
denominations. Sermons have become, to a considerable extent, finely written moral or philosophic essays, adapted to please and entertain
cultivated audiences, but powerless to awaken
the conscience or affect the heart. Religion can
never be maintained in a healthy state, but by
the constant, clear, pungent setting forth of the
doctrines, as well as the duties of Christianity,
backed by the very language of inspiration. It
is the preaching of " the word "9-the preaching
of " the cross," which is the power of God to salvation. Apollos, as a preacher, was " mighty
in the Scriptures; " and thus only can ministers
of Christ be mighty with reference to their great
work.
But the mischief has been done, not so much
by powerless preaching, as by a kind of preaching and writing, which has imparted to religion
a perverted and injurious power. Within the last
forty years, a new philosophic theology has extensively prevailed, which began by magnifying
the abilities, and then the'iglhts of man. It first
had a great run in revivals of religion, which
turned out to be to a great extent spurious, under
the preaching of fluent, fiery evangelists. Sinful
men were taught to believe, that they could regenerate themselves, and must do it  and multiAn;




32              ouR COUNTRY:
tudes were induced to believe they had done it.
The effects were most injurious to the peace of
churches, to religion, and to morals.
The next manifestation of the new doctrines
(which after all were not new) was in the direction of moral reforms. The subject of tezmperance
was seized upon and pushed to great extremes,
even in some cases to the making of total abstinence a term of church membership. And then
the attempt was made, in some cases successfully,
to push legislation on the subject entirely beyond the public sentiment of the country. The
subject became prominent in elections; and ministers of the Gospel and churches were unhappily
and injuriously involved in the angry excitements. No wonder that one of the most prominent ministers in our country, himself an advocate of temperance, has felt constrained to say,
that the cause of temperance has met " a Waterloo defeat."
But the great theme on which the new principles of reform expended their energies, was
slavery. From a very early period of our history, the doctrine both in the churches and in
the country was, that slavery was a great evil
-an evil to both parties involved in it-and that
it ought to be removed, as fast as it could be




ITS EXALTATION.               33
with safety to all concerned. Under the influence of this doctrine, gradual emancipation was
growingly popular; and State after State adopted
a course of legislation terminating gradually the
existence of slavery within their limits.  Under
the influence of this sentiment the American Colonization Society arose, and was earnestly supported by all religious denominations, by many
Legislatures, and by the leading statesmen in the
country.
Then Abolitionism  arose.  Its fandamental
doctrine was, that slaveholding is in itself sinful;
and that slaveholders are great sinners.  Its advocates insisted upon purging the Church from
the sin, by the excommunication of all involved
in it.  These extreme positions, manifestly unsustained by the Scriptures, were set forth in
language the most offensive and irritating. Colonization was bitterly denounced, and immediate emancipation, regardless of consequences,
insisted on.  I doubt whether the history of the
Church and the world exhibits another instance
in which, during a period of thirty years, a great
and difficult subject, incessantly agitated, called
forth so little calm, Christian, or even manly argument-so much offensive, irritating declamation. I think I speak within bounds, when I




34              OUR COUNTRY:
say, that for every page of calm  argument on
this subject, there have been a hundred pages of
offensive denunciation.
Can any one wonder, who knows any thing
of human nature, that bitter denunciation on one
side called forth denunciation as bitter on the
other; that extreme doctrines on the one side
soon produced doctrines as extreme on the other;
and the unlawful and immoral means of freeing
slaves, led to unlawful and immoral means of
protecting the institution?  What were the effects upon the morals and the peace of the country   Let us calmly consider these.
1. The prominence given to these exciting
themes diverted attention from  the great doctrines of the Gospel, and from other great duties.
The shibboleth by which the orthodoxy of ministers was tested, was not their views of human
depravity, the atonement, the work of the Spirit,
and the like, but their views of temperance and
slavery, especially the latter. It became popular
for ministers to declaim, from Sabbath to Sabbath, against evils and sins a thousand miles
distant, whilst sin in its various forms was gaining in the communities where they were called
to labor. Religion could not flourish under such
preaching, nor sound morals.




ITS EXALTATION.              35
2d. Ecclesiastical agitations soon began. Angry discussions occupied the time, injured the
piety, and crippled the influence of ecclesiastical
bodies. Friendly relations between corresponding bodies were disturbed.  Finally, the sad
work of division commenced.  One denomination of Christians after another became divided
sectionally. They did not simply form different
organizations, but hostile organizations. There
was no ministerial or Christian fellowship between the Churches on the different sides of the
line. They were aliens to each other; and the
religious press, by its bitter effusions, constantly
increased the loss of confidence and the irritation.
And now, when almost all the moral forces,
which had so powerfully bound the different
sections of the country together, were not only
broken, but rendered antagonistic; what was
there left to balance sectional feeling and interest, and to restrain the passions which it is the
interest of corrupt men and demagogues to excite? In a country, where the main reliance for
the support of the Constitution and the laws, and
for the preservation of peace, must be upon the
moral forces, what could we expect when those
forces became antagonistic, but division and war 
In the mean time politicians on either side




36               OUR COUNTRY:
were not slow to see that they could make capital out of this quarrel. Sectional jealousy, as a
matter of course, already existed. Religious antipathy was now added to that.  Jeroboam very
naturally believed, that he could never prevent a
reunion between the ten tribes and the two, unless all religious fellowship between them were
destroyed (1 Kings xii. 26-33).  And aspiring
politicians-those who wished  the Union destroyed, and those whose merit could not elevate
them to office without a hobby-saw in the ecclesiastical divisions the opportunity they desired.
And now the religion and morals of the country
were further injured by a sort of union of religion
and politics. Politicians and political editors
never known to manifest hatred of sin before, declaimed against the sin of slavery, or against the
fanaticism of Abolitionism; and ministers of the
Gospel declaimed against the further extension
of the sin of slavery, or against political interference with what was held to be a Scriptural
institution.  As might have been expected, politicians did far more to corrupt the Church, than
the Church did to purify politics; and the Church
became a football to be knocked about by politicians, as their interests or passions dictated.
I rejoice to bear testimony, that large num



ITS EXALTATION.              37
bers of faithful ministers on both sides of the
line refused to prostitute their sacred office, and
continued to preach only 6 Christ and him crucified."  But the constantly increasing number
who yielded to the pressure of a public sentiment growingly corrupt and intolerant, were
quite sufficient to do incalculable injury to religion and morals, and to the country.
4. Whilst the  attention  of ministers and
churches was so unhappily diverted from  their
great work, and the religion and morals of the
country were corrupted and perverted, infidelity
made its appearance in some of its most dangerous forms.  One class of minds became bewildered by the absurdities of German Pantheism;
whilst a vastly larger number became converts to
the marvels of Spiritualism. This last form of infidelity, taking its type from the peculiar excitement of the age, claimed to hold constant intercourse with the spirit-world. Though a wretched
system of materialism, it made appeals to some of
the strongest feelings of human nature.  It sent
forth its lecturers in all directions. It descended
amongst the masses, and made converts amongst
women, as well as men.  Halls in large cities
were hired, and those lecturers gained access to
the masses, whom  the churches do not reach.




38               OUR COUNTRY:
Papers, and periodicals, and books in large numbers, and of all sizes, were printed and circulated.
Circles were formed in all cities and villages. No
form of infidelity has ever made progress half so
rapid in our country. And although it may
seem to have, in many places, but an ephemeral
existence, it leaves its victims miserable infidels,
and its demoralizing influence extending. In a
country so enlightened as this, and so generally
pervaded by Christianity, infidelity never could
have made such progress, if the Gospel had not
extensively lost its influence.  But with every
step of the progress of this form of infidelity, all
pure morality was annihilated, and the very
foundations of society unsettled.
5. After all, there was and is pure religion
enough in the country to have saved it, if it had
not been merged in party politics. For some
years past, the political parties have been nearly
equal in strength; and this fact, taken in connection with the character of the questions mainly
agitated, has given constantly increasing intensity to the excitement attending elections. The
fact that slavery became more and more the
prominent question on which the parties were
divided, induced moral and religious men to take
sides more warmly. The consequence has been,




ITS EXALTATION.             39
that such men, if they have not actually participated in the corrupt proceedings resorted to in
our elections, have connived at them; and in
their zeal for the triumph of their respective parties, they have readily voted for the party nominees, regardless of their competency and of their
moral characters. Year after year, men of true
statesmanship and of tried integrity have been
thrown into obscurity, whilst incompetent and
unprincipled men have been chosen to fill the
nmost important offices. Violent men have disgraced the halls of our national Legislatures;
and bribery has controlled the legislation of the
States and the country.
And as the Christians of the country have
given their influence to put honor upon incompetent and bad men; so have they thus given
to those men an influence still further to corrupt
tile morals of the country, they otherwise never
could have possessed. When wickedness is exalted to the high places of the land, it sheds down
upon the whole land a withering influence. And
when the young men of the nation see that
statesmanship is no qualification for office, and
virtue rather a hindrance to advancement than a
help, what must inevitably be the effect upon
their moral character? And then how can any




40               OUR COUNTRY:
people long respect laws made by lawless men,
and by bribery? And when in a free country,
respect for law has been destroyed, what can
save it from ruin? Surely the good men of this
nation have forgotten the inspired declaration" When the righteous are in authority, the people
rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the
people mourn."'  -ow widely different might
now have been the state of our country, if the
Christian and moral men in it had regarded
moral integrity in candidates for office, as far
more important than party politics, and had positively and perseveringly refused to give their influence to any candidate, unless he were known
to be a moral man and a patriot. Then, indeed,
the Church, whilst as such standing aloof from
politics, would have insured wise and righteous
legislation, and prevented the dreadful corruption
of the morals of the country by the influence of
men in office.
6. One of the most potent influences in corrupting the morals of the country remains to be
mentioned, viz., the character of a large portion
of the secular press. W e live in an age when
public sentiment is, as never before, moulded and
controlled by the press; and probably in no
other country are the people so generally accus



ITS EXALTATION.             41
tomed to read newspapers, and to form  their
opinions from them. Now, is it not true that to a
very great extent the leading secular papers of
the country have been and are under the control
of bad men? And, apart from their peculiar political sentiments, is it not true that they have
constantly put forth false and injurious moral
sentiments? These papers have been patronized
not only by unconverted men, but by Christians,
who have had the opportunity of knowing their
character from week to week, without uttering a
protest. For years this silent, but all-pervading
and mighty influence has been doing its work
upon the minds of the people of this nation.
Such are some of the chief influences by which
the morals of the nation have been corrupted, or
by which the better moral influences have been
neutralized.  Surely these are sufficient to account for the unhappy condition of our country.
II. But we are suffering under Divine judgments. War, as we have seen, is one of the judgments of God upon wicked nations, and civil war
the most dreadful form of war. In years past,
He has visited this nation by other judgments.
Twice within  thirty years the pestilence has
visited ns, sweeping hundreds of thousands into
the grave; and once a national fast was appoint



42                OUR COUNTRY:
ed and the people called on to h-nmble tlhemselves under the mighty hand of God.  Once
and again the rain has been withheld, and by
one means or another commercial crises have
taught us the uncertainty of wealth.  But all the
warnings have been disregarded; and now God
has spoken in His displeasure, uttering language
adapted to fill us with dismay.  He never punishes a people so severely, as when lie gives them
up to their own folly and passion to destroy
themselves.
INow, if this war is a judgment upon the
nation for its sins, it is absurd to suppose that
we can throw it off merely by fighting.  God is
calling us to repentance and reformation, and
nothing else will gain us lasting peace. Read
and consider Jeremiah xvii.; 7-10.
It is a terrible mistake to suppose that, because a war may be justifiable or necessary on
our part, God will give us success.  When lIe
sends the pestilence, the skill of physicians fails.
When IHe sends war, or when the most righteous
war is undertaken with sins unrepented, or in a
wrong spirit, the skill of generals and the courage of soldiers avail not. The attack on the city
of Ai, under direction of Joshua, was right; but
because there was sin in the camp, the army fled




ITS EXAL'TAION.            43
before their enemies; and Joshua was far less
concerned to inquire what blunder his officers
had committed, than how God came to be offended.  When UNebuchadnezzar led his hosts
against the Jewish nation, can we doubt that
they were justified in defending themselves? It
might be, and doubtless was said, not only that
the war was forced upon- them, but that it was a
war of liberty against despotism, of true religion
against paganism-a war in defence of the temple and the ark-in defence of God's chosen people, and that every attribute of God would secure His aid on the side of Israel.  But God was
displeased with the nation and the church for
their corruption and wickedness, and I-e had sent
Nebuchadnezzar against them. False prophets
assured them that God would be with them, and
faithful old Jeremiah was persecuted and immured in a dungeon for telling them that, on account of their sins, He would not. The 15th
chapter of 2 Chron. is just now instructive to us.
Referring to a time of great corruption, the
prophet says, " And in those times there was no
peace to him  that went out, nor to him  that
came in, but great vexations were upon all the
inhabitants of the countries.  And nation was
destroyed of nation, and city of city; for God




44               OUR coUNTRtY:
did vex them with all adversity."  God ceased
to afflict them, when they turned penitently and
sought Him, not before.  We cannot expect
chastisements to be removed before they have
had their proper effect.
What, then, is the hope of this great nation?
I answer:
1. Not in its importance to the cause of liberty in the world. It is to be feared that many
Christians, as well as others, have persuaded
themselves, that God will not abandon a nation
which has done so much in favor of human freedom, and whose influence is so important to this
noble cause. Let us not forget, that God has infinite resources.  The language of John the Baptist to the Jews, who labored under a similar
error, is appropriate to us: " Think not to say
within yourselves, We have Abraham  to our
father; for I say unto you, that God is able of
these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."
If this nation disqualify itself by its corruption
for its high mission, God can raise up other instruments to do the work.  Let us not forget,
that " all nations before him are as nothing: and
they are counted to him less than nothing and
vanity."
2. Our hope is not in the intelligence of the




ITS EXALTATION.              45
people, in the skill of our commanders and the
bravery of armies, nor in our abundant resources.
These are means and instrumentalities by which
ordinarily God accomplishes his purposes.  But
abounding wickedness always begets prevailing
folly, which renders the greatest resources worthless.  Cyrus could never have taken Babylon,
but for the corruption and dissipation within its
walls.  Moreover, no resources can avail, if God
be against us.  -Ie has said-" Cursed be the
man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his
arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
Blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, and
whose hope the Lord is."  Let us remember, that
-" the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the
strong."
3. The hope is, that the people of this nation,
especially the Christian people, in their troubles
will turn to the Lord, and seek wisdom and help
from him. But there must be true fasting, true
penitence, and permanent reformation.  For if
the cause of our troubles-national corruptioncontinue, how can we hope for peace and prosperity?
Let ministers of Christ and Christian people
come back to the cross, from which they have
wandered.  Let them  abandon the idea, that




46              OUR COUNTRY:
ours is an age of progress, and that the obvious
meaning of the Bible and the apostolic mode of
reforming men do not apply to us. Let us come
back to our Protestant creed, that the Scriptures
are a complete rule of faith and life, and that
they only, by the blessing of God, can effect reformation, or build up that righteousness which
exalts a nation. Let ministers be interpreters of
God's word, " in meekness instructing those that
oppose themselves; if, peradventure, God will
give them repentance to the acknowledging of
the truth."
Let the people take warning by the troubles
into which false principles of moral reform have
brought both the Church and the nation. For if
unwise preachers and bad politicians continue to
control public sentiment, our troubles are only
begun. Already do we find the very classes of
men who have done so much to produce the
alienation and want of confidence which have
involved us in war, clamoring to have it declared
to be a war for the abolition of slavery, and condemning the Government for not taking this
ground. Claiming, many of them, to be Christians, they would reform men, not by the Word
of God, but by the horrors of war. Having done
so much to divide the nation sectionally, and in



ITS EXALTATION.               47
volve it in the terrible disasters of war, they
would produce still further divisions, and thus
render us powerless, even for self-defence.
Let Christian men and patriots so far withdraw from political parties, as to refuse to give
their influence to put men in office, who are incompetent or destitute of integrity. It is a favorable time now for the Church to free herself from
political complications, and make her moral influence felt; for now political parties have nearly
disappeared.  A  great point will have  been
gained, if reformation be effected in this matter
-if the religion of the country shall cease to be
merged in party politics, and shall again put
forth its legitimate influence.
Let Christian influence be brought to bear
upon the secular press. Let those Christian men
to whom  God has given influence, make that
influence felt in purifying this powerful engine
for good or evil.  Let the conductors of the press
hear their solemn protests against those demoralizing influences, which have done so much to
ruin the country.
Let us have a Sabbath.  In years past, when
large numbers of Christian ministers and people
petitioned Congress against having the mails
carried on the Sabbath, they were reproved for
3




48      OUR COUNTRY: ITS EXALTATION.
interfering with such matters, and hints were
thrown out about the union of Church and State.
And now a great and ruinous battle has been
fought on the Sabbath, disgracing the nation before all the nations. Possibly now the people
may pause and consider. Let us have a Sabbath, that we may have righteousness, and that
the nation may be exalted.
Let there be reformation, as well as fasting
and prayer, and then we may hope for brighter
days.




THE CHURCH:
ITS  PERILS  AND  DUTIES.
"Behold, I come as.a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."
-REV. xvi. 15.
THE general meaning of the prophecies of the
book of Revelations, I doubt not, has been correctly understood.  I have some doubt whether
the symbols  the seals, trumpets, and vialshave been rightly interpreted by most commentators and writers on prophecy.  These three
classes of symbols have been supposed to reveal
events of the same general character; the seals
bringing  down events  in  the  history of the
Church and the world to a certain period; then
the trumpets  bringing them  to  another later
period; and the vials completing the history.
This mode of interpretation seems to me unsatisfactory. For:




)0              EXTHE CHURCHI:
1. It is most improbable, that three classes
of symbols so different should signify events of
the same character.
2. Seven is the number constantly employed
in the Scriptures to express that which is complete or perfect. We may safely conclude, therefore, that the seven seals complete the series of
events they are intended to reveal; the seven
trumpets complete another series; and the seven
vials, a third series. If so, the events indicated
by these three classes of symbols, do in the main
synchronize.
Perhaps a careful examination might lead to
the conclusion, that the seals reveal the history
of the Church, and of the progress of the Gospel
in the world; the trumpets bring to view national revolutions connected with the interests of
the Church, and overruled for its good, and for
the spread of the Gospel; and the vials exhibit
those remarkable Divine judgments with which,
from time to time, God has visited the Church
and the world. Certainly these three classes of
events do make up the history of the Church and
the world, and are the means divinely used for
introducing the Millennial day. It is not my
purpose now to give in further detail the reasons




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.          51
for this view; nor could I express it with unbecoming confidence.
But either interpretation makes the solemn
admonition expressed in the passage just quoted,
applicable to the present time; for it comes under the sixth vial. The pouring out of this vial
was to be followed by the rapid diffusion of
error, and by very great agitations among the
nations.  John saw  three unclean spirits like
frogs come out of the mouths of the dragon, of
the beast, and the false prophet; and these are
explained to be the spirits of devils, working
miracles or doing marvellous things, diffusing
amongst the nations their mischievous errors,
and thus producing bloody wars and revolutions.
These convulsions are to be overruled to the fulfilment of the Divine purposes; and therefore
they are represented as "t the battle of that great
day of God Almighty."
Unless interpreters have been sadly at fault,
the prophecies do indicate, that we are very near
to another great epoch in the history of the world
-the most momentous, if we except the advent
of Christ, in its history. The twelve hundred
and sixty years must be nearly completed.  Certain it is, that the human mind, the world over,
has never been so excited as within the last few




52               TPIHE CHURCH:
years; and important and startling events have
never crowded so rapidly upon each other. It
is observable, too, that in the providence of God,
by the increasing facilities of travel and intercommunication, all nations have been brought
closer together; and their interests have become
so united, that whatever seriously affects one,
affects all; and all excitements become universal.
And it is true, that the great questions which
have agitated and do still agitate the world, connect themselves more than ever before with religion and morals; and in the midst of the agitations and by means of them, Popery and Ilohammedanism, the two monster systems of error,
which were to continue to the end of the twelve
hundred and sixty years, have been made to
totter to their fall.
These agitations must continue for years to
come; and they will necessarily bring peculiar
perils to the Church of Christ, and demand corresponding watchfulness.' Behold, I come as a
thief." This is not, as I believe, to be a literal
and personal coming of Christ; but a coming
with overwhelming judgments and by the wonderful power of his grace, to prepare the way for
the thousand years of the reign of righteousness.
I propose briefly to consider the perils and




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           53
the duties of Christians, and of the Church of
Christ in this day.
The first danger I will mention is, of becoming unscripturally entangled with political
agitations.  It is clear, that such agitations are
to prevail under the sixth vial; and it is also
certain, that they are to prevail in connection
with, if not because of, religious errors extensively prevalent.  We know  that such  agitations have become increasingly frequent and extensive in our day.  To go no further back, the
great rebellion in China is closely connected with
religion. The late terrible outbreak in India was
excited by religious fanaticism  and hatred of
Christianity.  The war between Russia, on the
one side, and England and France, on the other,
had a similar origin; and so had the late deplorable massacres in Turkey. The astonishing revolution in Italy has been closely connected with
the great question of the rights of conscience.
In our own country, the great question which
has eclipsed all others, and which has involved
us in a dreadful civil war, is as much a moral as
a civil question; and its moral aspects have given
intensity to the feeling on both sides.
It is impossible that Christian men can be
indifferent spectators of these great conflicts.




54              1THE CHURCHIThey ought not to be so. They ought to feel,
and must feel a deeper interest in them, than
worldly men can; for they are intimately connected with the progress of the cause of Christ
in the world. But there is great danger lest,
failing to discriminate between the rights and
duties of the citizen, the rights and duties of
church members, the rights and duties of ministers of the Gospel, and the rights and duties
of ecclesiastical bodies, they may involve the
Church, as s8uch, in unscriptural and injurious
complications with political agitations.
This subject is one of so great importance and
difficulty, and there is so much difference of
opinion regarding it, that it demands very careful consideration.
The Church and the State are both of God;
the former directly, the latter indirectly. God
himself organized the Church, and he authorized
men to organize the State, or to establish civil
government.  He gave to the Church its form
of government; he left men free to give to civil
governments whatever forms might be best
adapted to them. But whatever the forms of
civil government, " the powers that be are ordained of God; " and within those limits which
He has prescribed, they are supreme.




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.          55
But in every age, much difficulty has existed
in defining the relations of these two organizations to each other, and in confining each within
its legitimate sphere. As the Church and the
State have been organized for widely different
purposes; so they are, in their nature, widely
different organizations.  Yet since they  are
obliged, to a considerable extent, to deal with
the same subjects, there has been no little difficulty in drawing the line beyond which neither
ought to go. To a considerable extent criminal
legislation and ecclesiastical discipline take cognizance of the same actions; and then marriage,
the Sabbath, &c., have both civil and religious
aspects.  It is not surprising, then, that the
State should often encroach on the Church, or
the Church on the State; that the State should
sometimes call on the Church for a kind of aid,
in times of difficulty, which it cannot rightly
render; or that the Church should be disposed
to avail itself of the arm  of State to suppress
errors and vices which do not readily yield to
argument and exhortation.
But for the sake of both organizations, for
the sake of the people for whose benefit they are
intended, and for the honor of God, the author
of them  both, it is of the utmost importance,




56                THE CHURCH:
especially in such a clay as this, that each of
them  be kept on its own side of the line, confined within its own proper sphere. Thus only
can they'be rmutual supports to each other, and
answer the great purposes for which they exist.
There are three principal ways in which these
two organizations have injured each other, and
perilled the interests of the people, viz.:
1st. By the State becoming the patron of the
hmureo, and assuming to legislate for it. It does
seem strange, that it has been so difficult for men
to see, that civil rulers were neither authorized
nor qualified to dictate creeds, modes of worship,
and terms of ecclesiastical fellowship.
2d. By the Church assuming to control the
legislation of the State. For centuries, the Pope
gave or withheld crowns, and deposed princes, as
to him seemed best.  Once and again, he commanded civil rulers to exterminate heretics, under pain of forfeiture of their crowns.  The
Church is no better qualified to direct the legislation of the State, than the State is to dictate
creeds for the Church.
3d. By the Church taking part in political
agitations and conflicts.  During a long period,
there was quite a contest between kings and
princes, in their quarrels with each other, which




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           57
should gain the Pope and the Church to his side.
And whoever gained in such contests, the Church
and religion always lost. In our own elections,
within the last few years, politicians have watched
the course of Christian ministers with intense interest; and political editors have commented on
their pulpit discourses, whenever they seemed to
have even a remote bearing upon the issues between the parties, with as much freedom  as on
the speeches of stump orators.  And in truth,
there were too many instances in which the
two so closely resembled each other, that there
seemed no good reason for discrimination. Whatever politicians or political parties may gain by
calling in the aid of ministers and churches, it is
certain that religion is thus dishonored, and shorn
of its saving power.
In attempting to state the relations of the
Church and the State to each other, let us keep
in view two great truths, viz.:
1. The work of the Church is incomparably
more important than that of the State.  It is,
therefore, absurd and wrong that, in order to
help the State, the Church should cripple her
energies in the great work to which her Redeemer has called her. It is far more important
that the people be brought under the influence




58              TTHE CHURCH:
of the Gospel-that the authority of God should
be supreme over their hearts and consciences,
than that any measures of State should succeed.
The conversion and salvation of men rise in importance infinitely above human law and government.  In God's plan the State is for the
Church, not the Church for the State. Jesus
Christ is "' head over all things to the Church."
Whatever, then, may become of civil governments, the ministry and the Church of Christ
must go forward in their great work, turning
neither to the right nor to the left. Surely I
need not appeal to particular passages of Scripture to prove a truth so clear.
2. The Church never serves the  State so
effectively as when she does her appropriate
work most faithfully. If it be true that "' righteousness exalteth a nation," then when the Church
and her ministers are most zealous and successful in building up righteousness, they accomplish
most toward the nation's prosperity and glory.
This is their part of the work. The civil and
secular interests of the nation have been committed to citizens and civil rulers; and the less
the Church, as such, interferes with matters not
belonging to her, the better both for religion and
for the country. The very character of her work




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           59
demands that she shall occupy a position which
will enable her to exert her entire religious and
moral influence on all classes and parties. Just
so soon as her ministers and her ecclesiastical
courts are found taking sides with one political
party, they destroy their influence over those
belonging to other parties, and over that large
class of men of all parties, who regard such a
course as the prostitution of a sacred office.
Such being the nature of the work intrusted to
the Church, ministers of the Gospel may well
become  alarmed when  they see the country
threatened with  ruin  in  consequence of the
prevalence of corruption and the rancor of party
feeling; for such a state of things demonstrates
too clearly that they have sadly failed in their
part of the work of sustaining the Government,
and, of course, in the far more important work
of converting men to God. In a country possessing one of the best governments on the globe,
and so pervaded by religious influences as this
country is, it is impossible that corruption should
so prevail, and that the Government should be in
great peril, until the churches have largely lost
their influence, or are exerting a perverted influence. Instead, therefore, of hastening to identify themselves with the quarrel, on one side or




60                THE CHURCH:
the other, let ministers inquire most earnestly
and prayerfully what great error they have committed.  Let them  lift up their voices like a
trumpet, and show the people their sins. Let
them preach the Gospel in its purity with greater
zeal and power than ever before. It is the wickedness of the nation that is ruining it. Let the
ministers of Christ build up righteousness.  Read
and consider the 58th chapter of Isaiah.
Keeping in view these two great truths, let us
come more directly to the consideration of the
relations of Church and State, and of their respective obligations to each other.
1. The obligation of the State to the Church
is that of protection simzply.  It cannot dictate or
recommend a creed, ceremonies, or a form  of
government. The Church never prospers as when
protected and let alone. It were better for her
to be persecuted, than established and patronized
by the State.  This will not be disputed in this
country.
2. The duty of the Church to the State is embraced in the following three particulars, viz.:
1st. It is the duty of the Church, through her
ministers, to teach those  great principles of
God's Word by which civil rulers are bound to
govern their official conduct.  God is King of




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           61
kings; and His law  is supreme over rulers.
Read Dent. xvii. 14-20.
2d. The Church owes it to the State to teach
the people "' to be snbject to the powers that be,
within the limits God HIimself has fixed; and to
explain to them, out of God's Word, the duties
of citizens.  (Rom. xiii. 7. 1 Pet. ii. T.)
3d. The Church owes it to the State to pray
for it, for all civil rulers, that they may fear
Gold, understand and discharge their duty; and
for the country, that the blessing of God may
rest upon it.  These three particulars embrace
all the duties which the Church owes directly to
the State.  And, having discharged these duties,
she cannot be charged with unfaithfulness or disloyalty.
But in such a day as this, it is of the utmost
importance to determine precisely how far the
Church, as such, and ministers of the Gospel, as
such, may justly be required to go; or how far
they may rightly and scripturally go in touching
the questions which agitate nations and States.
We have heard much recently of the loyalty or
disloyalty of ministers and churches. Not only
the sermons, but the prayers of ministers, have
been watched and criticized with reference to
their loyalty; and some have chosen, and others




62                THE CHIURCH:
have been obliged, to retire from pastoral charges
purely on the ground of their political opinions.
And large numbers of ministers and ecclesiastical bodies have very fully identified themselves,
on one side or the other, with the present war.
In the South, we see ministers acting as military
commanders; and in the North are not a few
who would be perhaps more consistent with their
own teaching, if they were employed in the same
way. There are, on the other hand, not a few
ministers who are deeply grieved at this state of
things, and regard it as alike unscriptural and
injurious to Church and State.  Let us then get
at the principles that underlie and should control this whole subject: How far ought ministers and churches, as such, to become involved
in these political agitations?
Let me not be misunderstood.  I am  not inquiring respecting the rights and duties of Christians or of ministers in their relations as citizens.
As a citizen, I have certain  rights, and am
obliged to perform certain duties. As a church
member, I have certain other rights, and am
obliged to perform  certain other duties.  As a
minister of the Gospel, I have still other rights,
and am obliged to the performance of still other
duties.  And when a member of an ecclesiastical




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES,          63
body, I have rights and duties peculiar to the
character of the body. It is of the utmost importance not to confound these different sets of
rights and duties. Our inquiry now has respect
exclusively to the rights and duties of ministers
and churches, as such, with reference to political
questions and agitations.
There are, then, two classes of subjects which
ministers and churches, as such, cannot decide,
viz.:
1. The first are questions purely secular, civil,
or political. Our commission as ministers obliges
us to preach the Gospel, and it limits us to this.
We may not preach less; we may not preach
more.   A  Christian  congregation  would  be
shocked, if their pastor should preach a sermon
on the importance of the Pacific Railroad. He
might plead that he was a patriot, and that the
road was essential to the best interests of the
country; or that such a road might aid in the
work of evangelizing an important section of the
country.  Such a plea could not be listened to.
On this point, perhaps, all are agreed. But I
proceed a step further, and contend2. That ministers and churches, as such, cannot settle those moral questions which depend
upon secular, civil, and political questions. In




64               THE CHURCH:
the progress of human affairs, and in the different
relations of life, many questions of right and
wrong, of duty and obligation, arise, which depend wholly upon secular, civil, or political questions; so that the settlement of these determines
the moral questions. Now, since the Scriptures
do not instruct us concerning such secular questions, the best men-those who most thoroughly
understand the Scripures, and who do not differ
from  each other on any important doctrine or
moral principle-do differ widely respecting the
secular questions, and, consequently, respecting
the moral questions which depend upon them.
For example, three  Christian  physicians are
called to treat a patient who is dangerously ill.
They are perfectly agreed as to the moral obligation, if possible, to restore him to health; but
they differ materially respecting the best mode
of treatment. The treatment which one of them
sincerely believes to be the best, another of them
believes to be injurious, if not fatal.  Consequently, the former would feel morally bound to
adopt a course which the latter would regard it
as morally wrong for him to adopt.  Who would
think of referring the moral question to any minister of the Gospel, or to any number of ministers? The moral question depends upon the sec



ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.         65
ilar or scientific; and since they are neither
authorized nor qualified to determine the latter,
they cannot decide the former.  Again, two
members of the church claim the same property,
each asserting his moral right to it. One of
them appeals to his pastor or to the session of
the church to decide to which of the claimants it
belongs. Each founds his claim upon a will or
a preceding title. The question is strictly moral,
but the determination of it depends upon the
validity of a will, or upon important principles of
civil law. Neither pastor nor session, as such,
can undertake to determine the dispute. They
are not authorized to settle the legal question;
and, therefore, they cannot settle the moral.
They cannot take sides in the dispute, since the
question is one respecting which the most conscientious men may differ.
Such a question our Lord was called upon to
determine, and his answer is instructive.  "M Master," said a certain man, " speak to my brother,
that he divide the inheritance with me. And he
said unto him, Maan, who made me a judge or
a divider over you ~.  Why was this answer
given? The question was a moral one, and our
Lord knew perfectly what was right in the case.
But the settlement of secular and civil ques



66                THE CHURCH:
tions did not belong to his sacred office; and the
moral question depended upon the secular or
civil. tIe, therefore, refused to prostitute his
sacred office, but embraced the opportunity to
teach a great moral truth, and to warn those
who heard him against the sin of covetousness.'" Now this shows us," says the excellent Matthew Henry, "' what is the nature and constitution of Christ's kingdom; it is a spiritual kingdom, and not of this world. It does not interfere
with civil power, nor take the authority of princes
out of their hands. * *  It does not intermeddle
with civil rights.   A* "  It does not allow ministers to entangle themselves in the affairs of this
life, to leave the Word of God to serve tables."
" This little episode," says Olshausen, " is instructive as showing the way in which Jesus conducted himself in affairs pertaining to the exeernal relatcions of political and civil life.  HIe
wholly refrained from such interference, and confined his labors entirely to the sphere of moral
and spiritual truth. * * *  An important hint
for all who are called to the work of the ministry."
Within the last few  years, questions have
arisen between our Government and that of
Great Britain respecting the right of search,




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.          67
boundary lines, and the like.  Moral questions
stood connected with these disputes; and if they
had resulted in war, there would have been a
great moral question respecting the righteousness
of the war on the one side and on the other. But
who would have thought of calling on ministers
and churches either to decide such qlestions, or
to take sides in the war? They could decide the
moral questions, only by first deciding the civil,
which latter they are not authorized to meddle
with. It belongs to the civil authorities to settle
such questions; and it is the duty of citizens to
acquiesce in such decisions, if they do not interfere with rights of conscience. But it would be
neither the duty nor the right of ministers and
churches to discuss the questions involved, and
to identify themselves with the war on either
side.
The same principle applies to the questions
which have so unhappily divided our country,
and involved it in civil war. One of the questions is, whether the several States of this Confederacy have the right, when their interests seem
to them  to demand it, to withdraw  from  the
Union. A second question is, whether slavery
exists in our country by common law or by municipal law-whether, in other words, the Consti



68               THE CHURCEH:
tution gives to slaveholders the right to take their
slaves into the territories.  A  third question is,
whether, when a State insists on withdrawing from
the Confederacy, the allegiance of citizens is due
primarily to the State or to the United States. To
these constitutional questions is added a question
of fact in relation to the public sentiment in
the free States with reference to slavery in the
South.  Now, the question of the righteousness
of the war, on the one side or the other, depends
mainly on the settlement of these constitutional
questions, together with the question of fact. If
the right to secede exists, then however justly
we may condemn the exercise of it as morally
wrong in the circumstances, we must also admit,
that it is wrong to deny the existence of the
right, and still more to wage war upon any State
for the exercise of it. If the right does not exist,
then it is wrong for any State to claim it, and
still more to involve the country in war in the
defence of it. If the Constitution gives to slaveholders the right to take their slaves into the territories, then it is wrong to deny them the right,
and to organize a political party upon the principle of withholding it. If the Constitution gives
no such right, then it is wrong for the Southern
States to claim it, still worse to attempt to break




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.          69
up the Government, because it is denied. And
so, if allegiance is due first and chiefly to the
State, then the citizens of seceded States must
be justified in yielding obedience to them, rather
than to the General Government; and vice versa.
The question of fact is one in regard to which
every individual must be left to form his opinions from the evidence before him.
But the moral questions, it is perfectly apparent, depend upon the constitutional or civil
questions; and what we maintain is-that since
ministers of the Gospel and churches have no
right to attempt to settle the latter, they cannot settle the former. There have, indeed, been
cases of civil conflicts, and there may be cases
again, in which ministers and churches may and
should take sides; because they directly involve
moral principles. Suppose, for example, a party
should deny the obligation to obey civil authorities, and attempt to overthrow all government.
Or suppose a party should attempt, for their
own ends, to revolutionize a government already
established, and which confessedly is constitutionally administered.  Or suppose a party to
attempt to deprive a portion of the people of the
rights of conscience.  Or there may be wars of
conquest or of plunder. In all such cases, the




70              THE CIHURCH:
violation of the law of God is clear; and the
ministers of Christ must condemn the wickedness. But the state of the case is widely differnet, when intelligent men and men of moral
principle differ respecting the proper interpretation of Constitutions. The difference may originate in the ambiguity of the language used by
the framers of the documents; or in the course
of events new questions may have arisen, which
did not occur to them, and for which they did
not adequately provide. But however the difference of opinion may have arisen, it would be
absurd to say, that men are either heretics or sinners for understanding the documents in one way,
and not in another. A minister of the Gospel,
as a citizen, may be satisfied as to the meaning
of the. Constitution on all the points just named;
but since he does not get his view from the Scriptures, which only he as a minister is authorized
to expound, he cannot press them  as morally
obligatory on others. He has no right to enter
his pulpit, and preach them to his people. So
long as those questions were in dispute between
the parties, all admitted, that ministers and
churches had no right to take sides in the dispute. Now  that the dispute has resulted in
war, can they rightly take sides?  H-ow does




ITS PERILS AND DUTIESo         71
the fact, that the two sections of the country
have appealed to the sword to settle which interpretation of the Constitution shall prevail, or
whether the parties, unable to agree, shall permanently separate, authorize ministers to become expounders of that document, and to pronounce upon
the moral questions depending upon the civil?
But are not ministers to be loyal to the government under which they live, and to teach
their people to be so? Most assuredly they are
to be law-abiding men, and to teach their people
to be " subject to the powers that be," within the
limits prescribed by God Himself. But it does
not follow, that they are to discuss the merits of
all the important proceedings of government, and
to decide for or against any war which may arise
from differences of political opinion or political
interests. What would have been thought of the
ministers and churches of the country, if they
had undertaken to discuss the merits of the late
war with Mexico, and to pass resolutions to sustain or oppose the Government in that war?
Doubtless they were expected to be loyal; but
they were not expected to identify themselves
with the Government in the prosecution of it.
Why not?  The war was morally right or
wrong. Why, then, did not the churches take
4




72                THE CIHUCH:
lip the question?  Because the moral question
depended upon the civil, which latter question
they were not authorized to settle. And so now,
ministers of the Gospel are expected to be loyal;
but why should they undertake to decide upon
the merits of the quarrel, and to identify themselves, as ministers, with the war? IHow can
they do it, without going entirely beyond the
limits of their high and sacred commission?
The correctness, as well as the great importance of these views, will appear from  several
additional considerations:
1. It is wholly unnecessary for ministers and
ehurches, as such, to take sides in such quarrels.
In this country, men are not accustomed to go to
ministers of the Gospel to learn what political
opinions they shall adopt, any more than they go
to lawyers to learn what religious doctrines they
should believe. The truth is, ministers as a class
are poor statesmen; and lawyers are poor theologians.  Each class may command respect and
be useful in the discharge of the proper functions
of their office; both expose themselves to just
criticism, when they attempt to give instruction
in departments with which they are not familiar.
The moment the pastor of any intelligent congregation begins to give forth his views of the true




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           T3
meaning of the Constitution on disputed points,
most of the men who hear him regard themselves
as at least his equal in that department; and
many of them know that they could instruct him.
All know, that if they need instruction in such
questions, they can easily find access to men far better qualified than their pastor to enlighten them.
It is true, that when excitement is high, many
are not only willing, but glad to hear any one
utter the sentiments they approve; not a few
are willing, for the time, to see ministers merge
their high office in the character of the patriot;
and not a few are disposed to demand, not that
ministers shall instruct their ignorance, but that
they shall utter the sentiments they desire to
hear. But after all, few, if any, are influenced
in the formation of their own opinions by such
deliverances; whilst very many, who have gone
to the House of God to listen to higher and more
momentous themes, are disappointed and grieved.
It is wholly needless, to say the least, for ministers to undertake to enlighten the people in civil
questions; and if they have expounded to them
the Word of God in relation to the duties of citizens, the moral questions will always be clear,
when the civil are understood.
2. It is a calamity to the State to have minis



74               TIHE CHURCOII
ters and churches identified with political quarrels
and with the conflicts arising from them. The
country may thus be precipitated into war, when
otherwise peaceful counsels might prevail. The
passions of men are easily aroused, when their
temporal interests seem to be in jeopardy. The
difficulties in the way of a peaceful settlement are
multiplied, when religious feeling is added to the
natural. For years past, wise men have seen the
gathering storm which has now burst upon our
country with terrific fury. Year after year, sectional feeling has become more and more intense.
Oh, if ministers of the Gospel, North and South,
men who ought to understand human nature,
had labored as faithfully and zealously to calm
the troubled waters and to preserve kindly feeling between the sections, as many of them did
to widen the breach, how different might now
have been the condition of our country! If
whilst some were denouncing the Dred Scott
decision by the Supreme Court, as if the interpretation of the Constitution were included in
their commission, and others were defending the
right of slaveholders to carry their slaves into
the territories, they had all been preaching the
Gospel with all their power, we might now have
been enjoying peace. Who can tell whether the




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.          75
State of Louisiana, for example, would have
seceded, if a distinguished minister in New Orleans had not, at the critical moment, preached a
sermon assuming the right of secession, and urging the people, as a religious duty, to secede,
in order to 6 conserve and perpetuate slavery "?
There were ministers on both sides, who did
what they could to prevent the war. Had ministers and churches generally done the same, war
would, in all probability, not have been initiated, and our noble Union would not have been
torn asunder. We owe our troubles, in large part,
to the interference of ministers and churches with
questions which they are not authorized to touch.
Another unhappy consequence of the taking of sides in such contests by ministers and
churches is, that war becomes far more fierce,
and it is far more difficult to make peace. The
moment the Church, as such, takes sides, religious
feelings give intensity to the natural passions;
and religious principle adds to the determination
to yield nothing. When men begin to fight re[igiously, then you have war indeed; and when
they whose office is that of peace-makers, have
become heated partisans, who shall restrain the
passions and mitigate the horrors of war; and
who shall influence excited men to accept an




T6              ATHE CHURCH:
honorable peace? Do not the angels weep to
see ministers of Jesus Christ, of the same faith,
who in times past have taken sweet counsel together, standing on either side of the embattled
hosts, not to restrain from cruelty, nor to remind
them  that they are brethren, but to urge them
on in God's name to the work of carnage?
Another most distressing consequence of the
course we deprecate is, the far greater difficulty of
keeping the country in peace when the war ends.
We cling to the hope that our country is yet to be
one. We are professedly fighting for the Union;
but when the war shall terminate, where are the
moral forces that are to bind together the now
hostile sections   We send bandages to our
wounded  soldiers; for the blood  cannot be
staunched, and the wounds will not heal, unless the
parts are pressed and held together. Put where
are the bandages for our wounded country, to
press and hold together the parts so torn asunder?
WVe must keep in view the truth, that in a free
country like ours, the moral forces must be
mainly relied on to maintain peace and union.
And will not those forces be very far more
needed hereafter to soothe the lacerated feelings,
and to open the way for the flow of the life-blood
of kindly and Christian feeling  through  the




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           77
nation?  Oh, if the different churches were but
united in Christian confidence, extending their
influence over the hostile sections; if they had
taken no sides, as churches; if they had not become absolutely hostile to each other; then,
when the war shall terminate, peace might be
preserved.  Alas! the country will make peace,
but the churches will not.  With t         them the quarrel has become a matter of religious principle
and of religious antipathy.  What hope is there,
then, that when the war shall end, permanent
peace can be preserved?
Besides, the very fact, that ministers and
churches have taken sides in the war, presents
one of the mightiest obstacles in the way of the
reconstruction of the civil TJnion. Did not Jeroboam  exhibit the shrewdness of a statesman,
when he decided that he could prevent the reunion of the ten tribes with the two only by
dividing the church, and substituting religious
antipathy for religious affection?  He said —" If
this people go up to do sacrifice in the House of
the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of
this people turn again unto their lord, even unto
Rlehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill
me, and go again to PRehoboam, king of Judah."
If it be true, as alleged, that there are Southern




78              T'IE CHURCH:
politicians who have been laboring for years to
effect a dissolution of the Union, they must have
seen with joy the sectional divisions of the different
Christian denominations; and if the leaders of the
Southern Confederacy are as wise as Jeroboam,
they must have been delighted to learn that the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
have taken sides in the war.  For whilst the
action of that body added little or nothing to the
popular sentiment in favor of prosecuting the
war, it severed the last strong moral tie that
bound the hostile sections together, and created
just that religious antipathy which was so effective in preventing a reunion of the Jewish tribes.
But for that action, tens of thousands of hearts
would have longed for reunion, and their influence would have been effective in bringing it
about.  But henceforward  there will be no
Christian fellowship between the two sections;
the different denominations on either side of the
line will be repelled, instead of being attracted.
It is said, division would have come, if no
such action had been taken. There is no certainty of this; but if, as a matter of expediency,
there had been different ecclesiastical organizations, they would not have been hostile organizations. They might have stood related to each




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           79
other, as the Presbyterian Church in this country
stands to that of Scotland, and to other evangelical bodies in Europe.  And who can tell
how effective is the Christian sympathy between
the churches of the two nations in preserving
peace between them?  Who can tell how soon
war would begin between  England  and  the
United States, if the same antagonism  should
come to exist between the churches of the two
nations, which now exists between the churches
in the North and the South?
But if (which God forbid) we shall be compelled to see this nation divided permanently,
and two governments existing side by side, the
difficulties in the way of permanent peace between themn will be very great. We shall then
need all the moral forces to prevent constant
collisions; and. yet we shall have none of them.
We shall have precisely the reverse.  How shall
two sections of the same nation, or two contiguous nations maintain peace in spite of sectional jealousy, the hatred arising from bloody
conflicts, and powerful moral antagonisms?
I do not hesitate to declare the painful conviction, that the condition and attitude of the
churches are by far the most discouraging features in the condition of our unhappy country.
4 *




80                THE CHURCH:
What shall become of a country which, from the
very nature of its government, is obliged to rely
mainly upon the moral forces for its support,
when all those forces are powerfully antagonistic?  I cannot help deploring what I must
regard as the prevalent and terrible mistake so
generally committed by ministers and churches,
North and South.  Either under the mistaken
notion of what is due to patriotism, or yielding
to a senseless clamor, they have done the country an injury from which it cannot soon recover.
It is true, ministers and ecclesiastical bodies
should not be silent in such a day as this.  But
what should they do?  Preach the Gospel.  Lift
up the banner of truth. Warn the people that
God's judgments are upon them; and if they
would escape, they must repent.  Guard the
churches and people of God against the dangers
to their spirituality, peculiar to such a time.
Would that the General Assembly had risen
above the clamor around them, and viewing our
troubles in the light of God's word, had addressed to all the ministers and churches under
their care, an affectionate, earnest pastoral letter,
warning muinisters against turning  aside from
their sacred office to engage in the carnal conflicts of the country, calling on ministers and




ITS PEBILS A D DUTIESo           81
people to come back to the Cross, from which
they have too far wandered, that they and our
country might escape the awful judgments of
God. Better, nnspeakably better, for the country, I cannot help believing, would have been
such action.
3. Another sad and terrible consequence flowing from the fact that ministers and churches
have taken sides in this war, is the serious injury
done to religion and to the great work committed to the Church.  Whenever ministers and
churches undertake to settle civil questions, or
the moral questions growing out of them, good
men of the same religious faith are sure to take
different sides. Then what follows?
1st. In the first place, ministers of the Gospel
of equal talents, learning, and piety, seem  to
give forth opposite utterances, not on  some
minor points in faith or duty, but on the fundamental principles of morals.  See how the matter now  stands.  On one side, ministers teach
that the war on the part of the Government is
eminently a righteous war, assure the people
that God will be with them, and that it is their
religious duty to fight till complete victory is
gained.  On the other side, ministers of no less
talent and learning, and whose piety hlas not




82               THE CHURCH:
heretofore been called in question, denounce the
war against the South as one of the most atrocious wars in the history of nations, and exhort
the people, as a religious duty, to resist the invading foe, even if extermination is the consequence. This is an  amazing state of things.
What will infidels and worldly men say?  We
have contended that the Bible is a perfect rule of
faith and morals, and easily understood on all
fundamental points, both of doctrines and morals.
How is it, then, that ministers of acknowledged
talents, and learning, and piety, who have devoted their lives to the study of the Bible, are
now found giving forth these opposite utterances
on fundamental points of morals, and on either
side adding to the fury of the war?  What
must men think of our rule of faith and practice. On careful inspection  it seems clear
that those ministers have placed themselves and
the Scriptures in a false attitude before the
world. They do not really differ on any moral
question involved in the whole subject. Catechize them and see.
Ask both classes of them —  Do you hold that
civil government is of God? Do you believe
that an oath of allegiance is morally binding?
Do you hold that rebellion against an existing




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           83
government is a sin, until it fails to answer the
ends for which it was founded? "  On all these
questions you will receive precisely the same
answers from both classes. Where, then^ is the
difference between them? It is in their understanding of the meaning of civil constitutions,
connected with their opinions of the sentiments
and purposes of the people on either side. The
Southern minister will say, "'The NTorth have
trampled under foot the Constitution, and have
avowed their determination to deprive us of
rights which we regard as essential to our prosperity, if not to our existence.  T7erefore, it is
right for us to secede and resist."  The Northern
minister thinks the South have put a wrong construction upon the Constitution, and have made
demands which ought not to be complied with.
Therefore, it is right, even necessary, to put
down the rebellion.  That is, these two classes
of ministers differ, not on  the principles of
morality taught in the Bible, but on civil questions; and because they differ on civil questions,
they differ on the moral questions which depend
upon them.  Let it be so understood; and thus
let the Bible be vindicated.  But what right have
ministers of the Gospel to turn interpreters of
civil constitutions, and thus rend in two the




84                THE CHURCH:
Church of Christy and throw reproach upon religion?
2d. The Church is divided into hostile parties, and thus she is crippled in the great work
of evangelizing the world.  The history of the
Presbyterian Church in this country is, in some
respects, a sad one. Between twenty and thirty
years ago, she passed through a severe conflict
in defending the doctrines of her Confession of
Faith, and in securing such an organization that
her energies might be wisely and efficiently put
forth in the diffusion of Gospel truth. Scarcely is
she fairly organized, and her different boards
prepared to do a great work, when by means of
our political troubles she is rent in twain-divided into two hostile organizations.  She successfully resisted all the efforts of fanatics to
divide her; but she at last split upon the rock
of political and national conflicts.
Is it, then, true that the unity of the Church
of Christ is absolutely dependent upon the unity
of the State?  Is the relation of the Church to
the State such that she must be torn to pieces
whenever politicians differ respecting the proper
interpretation of civil constitutions, and seek
to settle their differences by an appeal to the
sword? Who expects to see the State convulsed




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.         85
because churches differ and divide  If the
Church is under obligation, or is at liberty, to
take sides in every war, then indeed is she the
humble servant of the State, or rather of the
unwise and wicked men who may succeed in involving the country in war. But it is not so.
The Church and her ministers are appointed to
teach all nations the truths contained in the'Word of God. There is no reason why its unity,
even as to organization, might not extend over
different nations; nor is there any good reason
why that unity should be disturbed by merely
civil questions, or by moral questions depending
upon them. The Scripture method is to teach
the whole truth, and leave it to individuals and
the civil authorities, to settle all such questions.
Thus the Church, but slightly disturbed by civil
commotions, would go forward with all her
great work; and when peace should be restored,
all the sooner because she and her ministers
continued  peacemakers, she would bless the
nations by her moral and religious influence,
maintaining peace amongst them.
It is, alas  too late now to prevent the dismembermnent of our noble Church; but it is not
too late to guard against other great evils that
may soon come upon ius. We are in the te



8 6             THE CHURCH:
ginning of our troubles. When they will terminate none can tell. But we may look for still
further agitations in years to come; and unless
the Church and her ministers free themselves
from complication with such troubles, division
and subdivision will still go on, until the Church
shall appear a withered, scattered, feeble, contemptible thing in the eyes of men.
In what I have said concerning the troubles
of our country and the proper position of the
Church with reference to them, I have taken
neither the Southern nor the Northern view.
Indeed, however much ministers and churches on
the different sides of the line may have differed
on other points, they have too generally agreed
to take sides in the conflict. With the object
aimed at by our General Assembly-the preservation of our civil Union-I most deeply sympathize. I have no language adequate to express my unwillingness to see our noble country divided between two or more sovereignties.
The evils which must follow, will be incalculably
great. But the adoption of resolutions which
must not only divide the Church, but render the
two bodies into which it is divided hostile to
each other, is not the way to prevent the permanent disruption of our Government, It is




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.            8T
rather the most effective method of bringing
about the result.
2. The second great danger to which Christians and the Church are exposed in this day, is
loss of spirituality.  This will appear from several considerations:
1st. The attention of Christians is diverted
from  the cultivation of personal piety by the exciting  events constantly occurring.  All feel
anxious for the fate of the country. Every eye
is strained to see, if possible, a little way into
the future.  The papers and periodicals of the
country, secular and  religious, are constantly
filled with war news and with speculations regarding the war.  These are the constant topics
of conversation in the domestic and social circles,
on the street, and in the counting-room.  The
mind is constantly occupied and excited by these
themes.  Even on the Lord's day, and in the
House of God, the same subject is in the mouths
of many ministers. Almost unavoidably, the attention of Christians is diverted from  their own
spiritual state, and from the spiritual interests of
those around them.  Doctrinal and devotional
reading is neglected, and the ordinary means of
grace are slighted, or are neutralized by the secular thoughts and feelings which crowd the mind.




88                THE CHURCH:
2d. If piety is likely to suffer from having the
mind constantly filled with exciting subjects of
a secular nature, it is still more in danger from
the feelings excited by civil war. We not only
become familiar with the acts of violence and the
human slaughters, which constitute war; but we
rejoice in victories in which hundreds or thousands of our fellow-men have been suddenly hurried into eternity, and multitudes of families
filled with desolation and mourning. Familiarity
with such subjects is hardening; but far more injurious to personal piety are likely to be the feelings of animosity which it is too natural to cherish. The deplorable effects are most strikingly
manifested in the border States, where the people
are divided amongst themselves; where families
take opposite sides, and the officers and members
of the churches become enemies, prepared to slay
each other.  Alas! long years must pass away,
before the churches in Maryland, Kentucky, and
Missouri, can recover from the terrible effects of
the war. But there is great danger that in every
part of the Church the standard of piety will sink
rapidly. Is it not so already? We scarcely hear
of a revival in any part of the country.  The
Holy Spirit seems to have taken his departure
from the churches.




rIr PERILS AND DUTIES.         89
3d. The extraordinary anxiety of men of all
classes about their worldly affairs, is most unfavorable to spirituality. In the regions where the
war rages, multitudes have lost every thing. In
every part of the country, business has been
interrupted; many who supposed themselves
wealthy, find poverty staring them in the face;
men of business are at a loss to know how to
conduct their business; and multitudes who have
families dependent upon them, are thrown out
of employment. Christians become incapable of
devout meditation; the mind wanders, when they
would read the Word of God, and when they
would hear the Gospel preached.  "6 The cares of
the world," always unfavorable to the growth of
piety, become far more so in such times as the
present.
And this unsettled state of things must exist
for a long period. For there is abundant reason
to believe, that there are to be great agitations
amongst the nations for years to come. These
agitations will greatly disturb the ordinary and
healthful course of business. Fortunes will be
made rapidly, and lost even more rapidly.  Mlen
will thus be tempted into bold and reckless speculations; and to avoid losing their all, they will
be tempted to resort to immoral methods of




90               THE CHUCH:I
saving themselves.  Jlany professors of religion
will make shipwreck of the faith, and the Church
will suffer in consequence.  Already has the
cause of religion and morals suffered increasingly within the last thirty years, from  these
causes; and within the next thirty, it must in
all likelihood suffer still more.
It was with special reference to just such a
state of things, that our Saviour gave the following warning: "6 Take heed to yourselves, lest at
any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and so that day come upon you unawares.  For
as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell
upon the face of the whole earth."  We are living at a time, when the exhortation of our Lord
is most appropriate:'" And what I say unto you
I say unto all, Watch."   Christians need the
comforting exhortation of Peter-" Casting all
your care on Him; for I-He careth for you."
3. Another very serious danger to Christians
and others in this day, is that of being misled by
plausible religious errors. We are warned, that' in the last days, perilous times shall come."
When epidemics prevail, and the people are
looking  for physicians and  medicines;  then
quacks abound, and nostrums are advertised at




ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           91
every corner of the street. So it is in religious
matters.  At every great epoch in the history
of the Church, heresies have multiplied-always
taking their type from the character of the events
which are anticipated.  When the Messiah was
expected, false Christs constantly made their appearanlce  deceiving multitudes.  Now, all are
looking for moral reformations.  The period of
twelve hundred and sixty years is to end with
the overthrow  of Popery and Mahometanism.
After this there are likely to be great agitations,
resulting in the rapid spread of the Gospel. But
as the general expectation is of moral reform, false
reformers, zealous, plausible, fanatical, are likely
to multiply.  Already the Church in this country has suffered greatly from this cause; and the
troubles of the country are traceable to the same
cause. The "'unclean spirits like frogs " have
gone forth.  The " spirits of devils working miracles " are abroad in the world.  Pantheism,
Spiritualism, Abolitionism, Woman's  Rights,
Mormonism, are amongst the unhappy products
of this day of excitement.  Others will follow
rapidly.
Never was there a time, when the clear, discriminating, faithful preaching of the doctrines
of the Gospel was more needed.  Never was




92               THE CHURCH:
there a time, when it was more important that
parents faithfully instruct their children in the
catechism, making them  thoroughly acquainted
with the doctrines of Christianity. Peter's warning is appropriate to our day:  Ye, therefore,
beloved, seeing ye know  these things before,
beware lest ye also, being led away with the
error of the wicked, fall from  your own stedfastness.  nut grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
4. There is danger lest, in the midst of exciting events, we forget the great interests of the
cause of Christ in the world.  Whether we can
see it or not, it is nevertheless true, that Divine
Providence is now permitting or producing great
revolutions and changes with immediate reference
to the progress of the Gospel and the triumph of
the Church.  When God is moving, let not IHis
people slumber in carnal security.'When I-le is
upheaving the very foundations of society to prepare the way for the Gospel, let not His people,
in their concern for their temporal interests, neglect to work zealously for the cause.  We are
called to make sacrifices for our country in its
troubles; let us be still more willing to make
sacrifices for the cause of Christ.  Let us not for



ITS PERILS AND DUTIES.           93
get, that the Church of Christ is the hope of the
country and the world.
It is the precious privilege of the Christian,
in times when " men's hearts are failing them for
fear, and for looking after those things which are
coming on the earth," to rejoice that' the Lord
reigneth;' that " all things do work together for
good to them  that love God;"'  and that the
Church,'the bride, the Lamb's wife," shall
come forth from  these troubles, arrayed in her
white robes, having "6 made herself ready."
TIHE END.