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ADDRESS

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FEB. 22, 1839,

S. S. SCHMUCKER, D. D.
'II

GETTTSBURa :
PRINTED BY H. C. NEINSTEDT, BALTIMORE STREET,
SECOND SqUARE.
1839.

ADDRESS.

Fellow Citizens, Sf respected Members of the Gettysburg Guards :
I rise at your request, to give public expression to those pa
triotic and christian sentiments and feelings, which ought to an
imate every American bosom on the birth-day of the illustrious
Washington. It was one of the sanctioned customs of early anti
quity, by celebrations and various other means, to perpetuate the
memory of illustrious personages and remarkable events. The
apotheosis of heroes, of statesmen, physicians and philosophers,
was indeed a criminal extreme, by which that veneration was
given to man, which belongs only to God. Not unfrequently
too, the inspirations of the poet have been kindled with unholy
fire, and have tendered the incense of adulation to those, who
merited only the execrations of posterity. But where the pencil
of the painter, the chisel of the .statuary, the votes of senates,
or the eulogies of the public speaker, have been employed to per
petuate the memory of truly important events or meritoriously
distinguished personages, reason does not denounce the tribute,
nor is it discouraged by .scripture. David delivered a eulogium
on Saul and Jonathan ; and, among the Christian fathers, Eu,se-
bius pronounced one on the emperor Constantine, and St. Am
brose on Theodosius. But if chastened eulogy and rational cele
bration be allowed, what incident does the civil history of mod
ern ages present, so interesting to us as the origin of our repub
lic ; what personage so universally admired, as the principal in
strument of its accomplishment ? The day of his birth is, tliere
fore, justly celebrated throughout the length and breadth of the
land I and volumes of eulogies commemorate his virtues and
achievements.

Washington was indeed an extraordinary man. It is true,
his life acquires much of its interest from the peculiar position in
which Providence placed him. Though there were among his
contemporaries some more learned than he, and others posse.ssed
of more brilliant talents, and some who loved their country as
well — tliere could be but one Washington. The republic could
have but one beginning — the continental army could have but one
commander in chief — our country but one Jirst president ; yet in
him was found such an extraordinary combination of cardinal
virtues, especially an almost unerring judgment; all called into
prominent action before the eyes of the American people, so
wonderfully adapted tothe peculiar emergencies of our country,
tried in every possible way and yet ever found faithful, un
corrupted by national "adulation, unmoved by popular violence
and clamor, that by common consent he is styled the father qf his
country, and regarded, as he was pronounced by Congress in the
resolution touching his death, "first in war, first in peace, and
first in the hearts of his countrymen."
There are some men whose extraordinary talents are calcu
lated only to dazzle and consume, without accomplishing any
great good to mankind. Such a man was not George Washing
ton. In him we have the practical model of the patriot, tbe phil
anthropist and the christian. The incidents of his life are so
familiar, the tale of his doings and sufferings has been so often
told, that you do not expect me to repeat it. An occasional illus
tration from this source may suffice i and mere eulogy we deem
superfluous. Our praise#cannot i-each his ear, nor break tbe si
lence of his grave. On the banks of his own loved Potomac his
ashes now rest in peace, awaiting tlic resurrection of the just.
But he has left us the rich legacy of his noble principles ; he lias
left us his instructive counsels ; he has left to us tlie preservation
and transmission of the fair fabric of liberty which liis right arm
was mainly instrumental in rearing. If ''he mourns the dead,
who lives as they desire," it w ill be an appropriate emplo} mcul.

for us as patriots and christians to contemplate the principles of
this government, and the rules of action, which promise to give
perpetuity to our institutions, and make our nation a blessing to
the world. You yourselves would regard the hour as illy im
proved by mere panegyric, or expression of admiration for our
free institutions. You expect me, fellow citizens, to remind you
t)f your duties, to discuss principles, and present counsels, which
may tend to make us purer patriots and better men. Yet I deem
it due to you who are assembled without distinction of party, to
myself who am no exclusive partyman, and to the sacred walls
that surround us, to avoid topics properly considered of mere
party character. The principles which I design to inculcate, are
those taught by our holy religion, or flowing from the nature of
our government, and adopted in theory, by the intelligent and
honest of all parties ; and if I dissuade from some abuses as vio
lations of these principles and dangerous to our liberties, they
are such as the intelligent know are chargeable on both parties.
My brethren, although not a professed politician, I have through
life felt a deep interest in the welfare of my country. I yield to
none of you in ardent love of our republican institutions, in ar
dent love of human liberty 5 and happy shall I be, if what I this
day say, shall contribute to the stability ofthe one or the preva
lence of the other.
Mloiv me then to present some ot the teatuees of the
TRUE CHRISTIAN PATRIOT. Would you aspire to this high
character, encourage national industry, and respect
THOSE WHO PRACTICE IT. *
A republic is a beautiful edifice, but it must rest on firm
pillars or it cannot long resist the shocks to which it is exposed:
These pillars, in the judgment of the wisest statesmen, are na
tional industry, national intelligence and national virtue. Ev
ery member of the community is under obligation to contribute
his exertions to the common good. But the subsistence, clothing,
and comfort of the whole, require that the major pari; be employ-

8
ed in productive labor, in developing the physical resources of
the country, and in converting the bounties of nature and provi
dence into the necessaries and comforts of life. Therefore labor
is useful and honorable, and ought to be so regarded by all. Po
litical economists and wise legislators have indeed always so re
garded it, and have paid due respect to the agricultural, mechani
cal, manufacturing and commercial community ; but we now and
then meet with an ignorant or inflated coxcomb, or purse-proud
sluggard, who would feel ashamed to be caught with an axe, a saw
or a shovel in his hand. Such men deserve only our commisera
tion. If they were all throughout the land to evaporate in one
night, the republic would be insensible of the loss. It is the ope
rative, the productive community, that are the bone and sinew of
the land, the sources of national wealth in peace, the bulwarks of
national defence in war. It is by the hand of industry, that these
Atlantic States have in half a century been transformed into high
ly cultivated farms, checkered with numberless villages, and
towns, and populous cities, all linked together by turnpikes, ca
nals and rail-roads. It is before the arm of industry, that our
Western forests have been prostrated, and abodes for civilized
man been planted, where but lately the buffalo and bear held un
disputed dominion ! Such are the fruits of industry. What
would OUI' nation be without them ?
Industry is a duty enjoined by our holy religion. As Chris
tians, we cannot forget that Abraham, the father ofthe faithful,
was a grazier ; that to Adam, in the state of primitive innocence,
was, by divine appointment, assigned the cultivation of the soil. —
The apostle Paul tells us : "If any will not work, neither shall he
eat :" and the wisest of men has left on record this important max
im of political philosophy : "The hand of the diligent shall bear
rnle ; but the slothful shall be under tribute.'"
Nor is it at all necessary that the operative community should
be ignorant and unenlightened. Of this our own New-England
States have for half a century furnished demonstrative proof: and

when our free-school system shall have impressed its image on
the rising generation, the remaining exceptions in our Common
wealth will disappear. Indeed, labor combined with education,
is calculated to produce the noblest specimens of humanity, as pa
triots, as warriors, and as missionaries ofthe cross. It was from
the plough that the voice of his troubled country called Cincinna
tus to her delivery. Fabricius, Curius and Camillus were alikela.- «
miliar with the implements of husbandry and of war. So highly
was labor respected in the purer ages of Rome, that a single con
temptuous allusion to it, was visited with signal displeasure. —
"Prithee, friend," said Scipio Nasica to a laboring man, on sha
king hands with him, "do you walk on your hands ?" But mark
the consequence. Scipio was then a candidate for the edileship,
and lost his election ! I need not tell you that some of the most il
lustrious philosophers of our country were mechanics ; that Frank-
lin was a printer, Rittenhouse a goldsmith, that Washington him
self personaUy attended to the management of his farm ; and that
it is from the laboring and educated New England, that the far
greater part of the missionaries have come, who were willing to
forsake every thing for Christ, and plant the standard ofthe cross
in foreign lands !
Again : would you aspire to the character of a Christian pa
triot, BE A UNIFORM ADVOCATE OF POPUI>AR*EDUCATION.
National inteUigence is the second pillar on which a republic
must rest. Indeed, the truth of-this position must be self-evident
to any man, who has a distinct idea of the organization of a re-
publican government. As all power is ultimately vested in the
mass of the people, as that power is statedly exercised at the polls,
in the choice of such men as favor the measures they prefer, it is
obvious, that unless the people are capable of understanding the
operation of different proposed measures or courses of po
licy, and of deciding which will exert the most salutary influence
on the country, they may, and often will, though animated by the
best intentions, decjde in favor of the worst measures. The safe-
it <' :• B

10
»
ty of our liberties', therefore, ultimately depends on the intelii-
gence, the freedom and the purity of our elections. The great
mass of our citizens are always honest in their intentions, and
right at heart. Let them have intelligence enough to judge of
men ^.nd measures, let them have the privilege of expressing that
jydg'Went, juninfluenced and unintimidated at the polls, and let the
voice of the majority be fairly allowed to rule ; and with the pres
ent industry knd virtue of our people, our liberties are for the pre
sent safe. But if we would strike a fatal blow at the institutions of
our country, if we would make the mass ofthe people mere tools
of political demagogues, if we would make the rich richer andthe
poor poorer still, then let us keep them in ignorance. Let it not
be forgotten that tlje rich will educate their sons, whether provi
sion is made fof pdpular education or not. But the free schools
place the poor man'afcsjons on equality with those of the rich, as to
personal qualificatitms for business, and for offices of trust or prof
it, and for the ordinary duties of the private citizen.
Education is mjffeover necessary to enable us to yield a faith
ful obedience to thij^ws. The theory of our government contem
plates universal edtttation, and presupposes that not a single man
shall be found under its jurisdiction unable to read. Accordingly
the laws ar^ not trumjieted forth by the proclamation of a herald,
as in some anCienf days, when letters were comparatively un
known ; |)ut they areijiublished in at least one newspaper in every
county ; and then, devolving on every citizen the duty of reading
them, admit not ignorance as a justification of tran.sgression.
Again, popular edu<^tion is the handmaid and powerful aux
iliary of national industry 'and enterprise, and it is only by the
light of science and literature, that they are directed into the
most profitable channels. Who'^Rat reads does not know what
incalculable advantages the agriculturist has derived from the
light vvhich chemistry and vegetable physiology have thrown on
the composition of the different soils, appropriate manure.s, and
the rotation of crops adapted to each sotl f'av dpes not admit that

«
Sir Humphrey Davy, and Lorain, and Buel, and a multitude of
others, who have written on the same subject, belong to the best
friends of the farmer ? To what else are. we indebted for the un-
precedented and amazing improvements in, the different branches
of manufacturing, in the different mechanical arts, in the inven
tion, improvement and application of the infiri|ite vjfe'iety of.iia.GhiT
nery, and locomotive power, which form a neWngrat-jn the hist^^
of productive indu,stry ? In all ages, indeed, UtejjMUEe and sci
ence have been made tributary to human indu^jf,;^M men of the
highest attainments have not disdained to labor i]^jln% cause. —
The ancient Greeks could boast among their writers t^ agricul
ture, a Democritus, a Xenophon, an Aristotle^and a Theophras-
tus ; whilst the Romans could point to Cid|rb, \jfho, though he
wrote nothing original on this subject, tHgnslateiJ^Xenophon's
Economics into Latin, to Cato, to Varro^nd to the inimitable
author ofthe Georgics. It is worthy of pafncular note,' tli^t this
admirable poem of Virgil, completed and published at the solici
tation of Msecenas, who deplored the susp^sionof agriculture du
ring the civil war, effected a striking revoluHon in the'hafiits of
the Romans, and brought farming again intfl|rep^jjp and practice.
And indeed, independently of its high literary attractions, his
work contains a multitude ofthe best economical maxims, I will
mention one only, the propriety of whit^^^s often struck me
when travelling through some portions of'^ur C()||itry^
 Laudato ingentia rufa :

Exiguum colito.-

that is : It may do well enough to n^is^arge Mrms ; but it is
much wiser to cultivate well a smalljfcle.** '**
In accordance with these vffiws<our ^blest statesmen have
urged the necessity of populajj^ducatioij\ , Hear the language of
one, to whom you listen to-d^ with especial pleasure : "Promote
then," says Washington^ "as an object of primary importance in
stitutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion
as the structuri of. a government gives force to public opinion, it

12
should be enlightened." Nearly all the Constitutions originally
adopted by the States at their first organization enjoined on the
respective Legi.slatures„some provision for popular education,
which proves the estimate ofthe patriots of seventy-six : and we
feel proud in being able to say, that our own Pennsylvania has
now ^deeme^ her character, and that among all the states North
'l&.nd West of us, there is now not one without a free school system,
unless perhapsBur infant sisters Wisconsin and Iowa, which are
but one year old, and will not long be without it.
Oneof the books, which ought to be studied in all ourshools,
should be a political class-book, explaining the elementary fea
tures of our government, and the political duties of our citizens.
Such a one was furnished to Massachusetts by a member of
her bar, Mr, Sullivan. May it not be long until our Common
wealth is as well sujmlied. Dr. Duer, President of Columbia
College, and Mr. !Erayard, ofthe Philadelphia bar, have each
furnished an able work on the Constitutional structure of our
national government, equally adapted to all the States and well
calculated for th^higher classes of our common schools. As vir
tue is another pillawof republican governments, the Bible, or at
least the New Testament, without note or comment, ought to be
read in our common schools ; for it is admitted by infidels them
selves, that no other sy.stem of morality was ever devised, so pure,
so benevolent, so well calculated to make good men and valuable
citizens as that ^th^ Saviour and his Apostles. The form of
government for the adnffljiistration ofthe church inthe New Testa
ment is essentially republican, and could not fail to favor the free
and popular institutions of otir country, as it doubtless had great
influence in forming the viewsfof some of our revolutionary patri
ots. Indeed we have lately seen'i't gtated, by Mr. Todd on Con
gregationalism, that before the Revolution, there was a small
Congregational Church, near Charlottesville, Va. the residence of
Thomas Jefferson, which that distinguished statesman contempla-

13
ted with much interest, remarking to a friend, that it was a fine
model for a republican government.
Again, would you aspire to the characterof christian patriots,
then BE FIRM AND IMPAETIAl OBSERVERS AND SUPPORTERS OF
THE lAWS.
Governments may be divided into those of will and those of
law. In the former, the monarch's pleasure is the rule of action,
and passive obedience regarded as the subject's duty. I need not
tell you, that our's is a government of laws. We have indeed a
monarch, but that monarch is our statute book, and we are gov
erned by his pleasure too, but that pleasure is found in the re- /
corded laws of the land ; laws not made to favor particular indi-
viduals, but based on abstract right and designed, as far as human
laws can do so, to operate equally on all. Hence, as these laws
are made by men chosen from among ourselves, men having com
munity of interest with us, and as they can be altered whenever a
majority believe them unwise or injurious, it is evident that the
more faithfully these laws are executed and observed, the more
favorably will our system of government operate. Accordingly,
liberty in a republic does not consist in the privilege of each in
dividual to do what he pleases, but as Dr. Beattie has happily
expressed it : "Political liberty is that state in which men are so
governed by equitable laws, and so tried by equitable judges,
that no person can be hindered from doing what the law allows,
or have reason to be afraid of any person so long as he does his
duty." Now if, as the scriptures teach us, it is our duty to "be subject
to the higher powers," and "obey the magistrates," and "submit
to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake," and "for con
science .sake," no matter what be the form of our government, .so
long as our rulers are "a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them
that do well ;" such must be most eminently our duty, according
to the dictates both of reason and scripture, under our happy in
stitutions. "Respect," says Washington, "for the authority of

14
your government, compliance with its laws, and acquiescence in
its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of
true Liberty." And as there is a Constitutional mode of amend
ing any laws which may prove unequal or prejudicial in their o-
peration, it would seem that however unfavorable may be the in
fluence of any law on our individual interests, so Inng as it is not
repealed, it ought to be obeyed ; unless indeed the laws of man
should require of us what is clearly contrary to the laws of God,
in which case, "we must, like Peter of old, obey God rather than
man." The laws, my brethren, are, under God, our best protec
tors. Let us cling to the laws, and if our rights are invaded, un
less it be a case in which a Christian may consent to suffer wrong,
we have a right with Paul to take our stand upon the laws of the
land, and happy shall we be, if like him, when he was assailed by
the mob at Jerusalem, for uttering sentiments not contrary to any
law, but unpalatable to them, we can say, "I stand at Csesar's
judgment seat, where I ought to be judged; if I be an offender,
or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die ;
but if there be none of these things true, whereof these accuse me,
no man may deliver me unto them."
•Let us then ourselves be faithful observers of the law. That
man assuredly can have but little claim to the character of a patri
ot, who allows himself to violate the laws of the land even in what
the world are prone to consider minor matters. Let us, therefore,
discountenance gambling, and horse-racing, and sabbath-break
ing, by our example and influence. They are all violations of
the law ; they all tend to corru|)t the morals ofthe community, and
thus destroy that virtue which is one of the pillars of our republi
can government, that righteousness which exalteth a nation, tha.t
holiness without which no man can see God. And why is it that
men who love their country, can stake money on the issue of elec
tions ? Assuredly they do not reflect that they convert their dear
est political privileges into a gambling scheme ; that they thus
call into play tlie foulest and basest principles of our nature. —

15
They do not reflect that by corrupting the purity of our elections,
they strike a blow at the vitals of our liberties, which often repeat
ed, they cannot survive !
Again : let us manfully sustain the constituted authorities in
the faithful execution of the laws. If our's be a government of
laws, the laws must govern : and so soon, and in so far as the
laws are not permitted to rule, and take their prescribed course,
our government is changed into a despotism in fact, although the
name and forms of a republic be retained. All popular violence,
such as mobs and lynch processes, are in the highest degree dan
gerous. They strike at the very foundation of our government.
It was by such scenes that the French revolution was commenced.
When once introduced among a people sufiiciently corrupt to tole
rate them, their progress is fearful. Would you see, fellow-citi
zens, what awaits us, what awaits our wives and our children, if
the authority of the laws is prostrate by popular violence ? Be
hold it in the history of revolutionary France — a history written
in the blood of millions of Frenchmen — a history fraught with
scenes of cruelty which humanity shudders to contemplate ! When
once the ruthless passions of infuriate men have broken down the
barriers of the law, they mock all other restraints, they sacrifice
alike the purest patriots, the most virtuous citizens, the most inno
cent and helpless women and children ; nay, not unfrequently, by
a just though unintended retribution, they, with the smitten viper,
recoil upon themselves. Danton and Robespierre, let it be remem
bered, lost their own heads on the guillotine which they them
selves erected for others. Let us then always be faithful in sup
porting the constituted authorities of the land, no matter which
party are in power, or to which party the offenders belong. In
supporting the laws we must know no party. On this subject let
all parties listen to the impressive valedictory counsel of Wash
ington : "All obstruction to the execution of the law.s, all combi
nations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with
the real design to direct, control, counteract or awe the regular de-

16
liberations and actions of the constituted authorities, are destruc
tive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency."
As patriots, we should also be attentive to the conduct of our
representatives, and exert our influence in all constitutional ways
to promote a wise and equitable administration of the government.
We should never advocate or justify any measure which we believe
impolitic or unjust, because our own partizans have proposed it.
Be jealous of your liberties, and protest against any invasion of
them. Be jealous of the Con.stitution, and protest against any in
fringement of it by the constituted authorities. Let the public
functionaries confine themselves within their several constitution
al spheres. The distribution of power was made because it is un
safe to trust all to any one man, and therefore the distribution
ought to be adhered to. Be jealous of the nation's honor, and ad
vocate that just, and wise, and honorable policy to other nation.s,
and tbat inviolability of our national faith, which religion dictates,
and true patriotism demands ; and let it not be by your sanction or
connivance, ifthe charge of Punic faith is ever justly made again.st
our country. Would you aspire to the character of a Christian Patriot,
STRIVE TO AllAY THE VIOLENCE OF PARTY EXCITEMENT.
It has been asserted by political writers of no mean name,
that party spirit is necessary in a Republic. Had it been said
that in such imperfect creatures as we are, party spirit is almost
unavoidable, the fact might not easily be disputed. But if by par
ty spirit be meant, what the term most naturally indicates, a pre
disposition to justify and defend the measures of a party merely
because we have hitherto acted with it, we think such a spirit can
not be vindicated on chri.stian principles ; and instead of being ne
cessary to a republic, it is, as Washington pronounced it, one of
its most dangerous enemies. The disciple ofthe Saviour is bound,
like his Heavenly Father, to be no re.specter of persons, but at all
times "to fear God," and in all the relations of life, political as
well as domestic, to "work righteousness ;" to approve and do

17
the right, to disapprove and resist the wrong. There will, indeed,
always be more or less difference of opinion relative to the tenden
cy of measures ; and therefore there will be parties in a republic,
and these will incidentally operate as salutary checks upon one
another. But the man, who as a matter of course approves of eve
ry thing his party does, and disapproves of every measure of his
opponents, cannot be regarded as an enlightened and honest friend
of his country. If our citizens would make it a point to read both
sides of every question, and honestly endeavor to make such a de
cision as God will approve, the lines of party distinction would
not be so strongly drawn, each party would learn to estimate more
highly the character and motives of their opponents, and to see
that whatever may be true of some party leaders and office-hunt
ers on either side, the mass of the people in both parties are
equally honest men and sincere friends of their country.
Excited party spirit is always unjust to the character of ita
opponent. See this exemplified in the life of the beloved and re
vered patriot whose birth we this day commemorate ! We now
all, with one accord, hail him as "First in War" — but whilst he
was in the tented field, enduring the privations and hardships
to which the poverty of our infant country, and the unexampled
severity of the so called "hard winter" exposed the army, there
was a party forming, to which, it is said, some members of Con
gress belonged, to divest him of the chief command, and confer it
on Gen. Gates ! We now hail him as "First in Peace" — but af
ter he had endured the trials ofthe war, and was faithfully labor
ing for the good of his country in the cabinet, he was denounced
by the spirit of party as an enemy ofthe Republic, and unfit to fill
the Presidential chair. We now hail him as "First in the hearts
of his Countrymen" — but who that is acquainted with the history
of those times, does not know that in the height of party excite
ment, he was scandalously charged with embezzlingthe public mo
neys, and with having violated the Constitution of his country in
the treaty negotiated with England ; and the propriety of an im^
C

18
peachment was publicly proposed ! Now since death has laid him
and his enemies into the grave, and another generation, less influ
enced by the personal interest and party strife of those scenes, has
succeeded, we view his actions with more impartial eye, and do
him justice. Now, whilst it may be admitted that he sometimes
erred, the purity of his motives, tbe noble patriotism of his actions,
the general wisdom of his measures will be gainsaid by none. —
But it was one of the noblest traits in Washington's character
that he was unmoved by any of these vicissitudes ; for he well
knew the fickleness of popular applause. It is truly affecting to
read the remarks recorded in his diary, of what may not unaptly
be styled his triumphal entry into New- York, after his election
as first President, escorted by a committee of Congress, in an
elegant barge of thirteen oars prepared for the purpose by the citi
zens of New-York. "The display of boats which attended and
joined on this occasion, some with vocal and others with instru
mental music on board, the decorations of the ships, the roar of
cannon, and the loud acclamations which rent the sky as I passed
along the wharves, filled my mind with sensations as painful (con
templating the reverse of this scene, which may be the case after
all my labors to do good) as they were pleasing."
My Brethren, let us learn a lesson from experience. How
often are the issues of elections celebrated by the one party with
the intoxicated triumph of a national delivery, and deplored by
the other with all tbe bitterness of expiring liberty ; whilst each
party brands the other, en masse, as enemies of our country. —
Let it not be so. The raass nf both parties are sincere. And
though we sometimes differ from each other in opinion, let us do
justice to each other's motives. Let not the demon of party spirit
blind us to the evidences ofthe truth, and Ict us impartially weigh
both sides of every question. Above all, let not party spirit min
gle its bitter waters with the domestic and social relations of life,
let it not contaminate the sanctuary of our God ! Soon we too shall
pass from the stage and appear before a tribunal, where party

19
spirit and party interests will all be absorbed in the great ques
tion, Was my citizenship in heaven ? Was I the enemy, or the
friend of the universal judge ? Tis but a few years since God, by
a very remarkable providence, the death of both ex-presidents,
Adams and Jefferson, on one day, the leaders of the two antago
nist parties of our land, united in death, those who had for a while
been divided, and compelled all parties to pronounce the eulogy
of both in the same oration ! May that soleran lesson not soon be
forgotten !
The christian patriot should be a man of principie and
A FRIEND OF PEACE.
A republic is founded and constructed on certain abstract
principles radically diverse from those by which either a monar
chy or an aristocracy is sustained. This our revolutionary patri
ots well knew, and therefore in their declaration of independence,
proclaimed for the purpose of justifying their resistance to the
British crown and their .struggle for liberty, they profess thesis
principles as their rule of action. In the face of high heaven and
before the world they declared : "We hold these truths to be
self-evident — that all men are created equal ; that they are en
dowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
amongst these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Ac
cording to these principles they endeavored as far as practicable
to construct our national constitution ; and according to tbese
principles our government generally has been, and always ought
to be conducted. With this Declaration of Independence and Con
stitution every American citizen ought to be familiar. The prin
ciples developed in them are coincident with the dictates of God's
word ; and only in so far as we are governed by these principles
at the ballot-box, or in the legislative hall, or on the judicial
bench, are we true to the republican principles of our government.
But within the range of these broad principles which all parties
at least profess to adopt, certain differences of opinion have
arisen as to the best method of carrying out the great purposes of

20
our government, and perpetuating our liberties ; such as whether
an increase ofthe powers of the general government, by a liberal
construction of the Constitution, or a diminution of them by a rig
id construction, is more dangerous to our liberties. This principle
embraces the questions whether the general government has pow
er to encourage domestic manufactures by imposing duties on for
eign imports, and to what extent and for what purposes it has pow
er to prosecute works of internal improvement within the States,
Itwas upon this second class of questions or principles, that the
political parties of our land were originally based. Yet neither
party has been uniformly true to its professed principles ; and
multitudes in both parties evidently have their eyes so intent
ly fixed on the loaves and the fishes, as to be unable clearly to
discern any thing else. Every friend of his country, especially
every christian patriot, should remember, that in selecting men he
decides upon measures ; and if he gives preference to one class of
measures rather than another, he ought to have intelligent reasons
for his choice. "Principles rather than men," should therefore
be our motto ; and our actions should be consistent with it. Let
us not profess certain principles, and advocate raeasures opposed
to them. Let us not profess certain principles and support men
who are opposed to them. Let us not advocate measures which
we believe Wrong in principle, because they may operate favora
bly on our individual interests ; or because the party with whom
we have acted, propose them. Let party leaders but learn from
experience, that our citizens will abandon them, when they pro
pose measures opposed to their professed principles, and there
will be incalculably more consistency and honesty in our political
history. In short the christian patriot should love his principles, as
he does his religion, on account of their intrinsic excellence,
and because they coincide with the dictates of the holy volume.
And he should not only desire to enjoy these glorious privileges
and inalienable rights himself, he should wish to see them enjoyed

21
by all his fellow men. Whilst, therefore, he is ready to defend
his own rights and liberties, he should be unwilling to infringe
those of others ; whilst he defends his own country in the pos
session of these blessings, he should be utterly averse to make
war upon the liberties of other countries. He should be a lover
of peace ; as his Saviour is "the Prince of peace." I am aware,
my brethi-en, that a number of you are before me arrayed in mili
tary attire, and that it is by your special request that I noW' oc
cupy this desk. No man respects the christian soldier more than
I do. Those have always appeared to me to be in error, who de
ny the rights of defending ourselves against the actual aggressions
of an enemy. I cannot perceive how it should be right for us to
protect ourselves and our families by police officers, and jails, and
even by the gallows, against individual robbers and murderers,
and yet be wrong to take measures for defence against hundreds,
or thousands of men coming for the same purpose, although they
may be clad in uniform, and come in open day, and murder us
according to the laws of war. You will agree with me, that wars
of mere conquest are nothing else than national robbery and mur
der; that to invade and subdue a neighboring nation, or in any
respect to deny them justice in our intercourse with them, because
we are stronger than they, is the most flagrant violation of natu
ral right and of christian principle. But so soon as every nation
shall confine itself to defensive wars, all wars would of conse
quence cease ; and the world witness that glorious triumph of
christian principle over the lusts and passions of our depraved
nature, predicted by ancient seers : when men "shall beat their
swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks ;
when nation shall not lift up sword again.st nation, neither shall
tliey learn war any more."
Finally, brethren, if you wouid be good patriots be
TRUE CHRISTIANS.
It is an indisputable truth, that every thing really noble or
beautiful in human character, is made raore beautiful and nobler

22
still by religion. An irreligious man may, as many often have
done, exhibit an ardent attachment to his country and its liber
ties : he may be willing to endure various privations and even to
pour out his blood ; yet when we reflect that he regards his fellow
citizens only as fellow travellers for a few years, and has no refer
ence to those higher privileges resulting from liberty which refer
to his spiritual and higher nature, his patriotism is not of a very
exalted character : and when we remember the selfishness of the
human heart, we are constrained to admit that very possibly self
ishness, the love of applause, or the expectation of power or at
least fame, may have entered largely into the motives of his pa
triotism. But the true christian regards his fellow citizens in a
higher light, as creatures of God, and candidates for eternity, as
his expected companions in another world. His love to them is
stronger and nobler, and more disinterested : and he pursues
his patriotic course in obedience to the will of God, regardless
even ofthe ingratitude of those he desires to benefit.
Be a chi'istian patriot, and you will have new motives to in
dustry, new motives to advocate intelligence, that the light of rev
elation may be reflected over the whole community ; new motives
to love peace, for the captain of your salvation is the Prince of
peace : new motives to practice that righteousness which exalteth
a nation. Your patriotism moreover will be of the most expand
ed character ; like that of Gustavus Adolphus and Lafayette, it
will embrace the oppressed not only in our own country, but even
in foreign lands ; like that of your heavenly Father it will extend
to every human being whom it is in your power to benefit. Be
christians, and your patriotism will, like your religion, look also
to the future. You will guard our liberties not only for our sake,
but for generations yet to come. We should seek to make our na
tion a model for future ages and foreign nations ; not only a land
of refuge for the oppressed of Europe who resort to our shores,
but a model government for the friends of liberty over the earth.
The influence of our example has already materially improved

2^
the condition of European nations. We have heard much of a
Holy Alliance among the kings of Europe ; but there is an alli
ance far holier between the people of the different kingdoms, a
bond of sympathy which binds them to each other and to us, and
which will eventually compel kings to grant their subjects the
substantial blessings of a republic, if they wish to retain even the
forras of monarchy.
But as christians our liberties acquire a still higher value to
us, because they secure the privilege of worshiping God accord
ing to the dictates of our own conscience, of modeling his Church
according to our best conceptions of his word, and of disseminat
ing the doctrine and practicing the principle of love to God and
love to man as far as our influence can extend. Let us then be
thankful to that God, to whom our fathers appealed for the justice
of their cause, and who crowned their struggle with success.
Others have attempted the same noble enterprise, denying that
God, and failed. Whilst, therefore, we pay due honors to the
Solons and Agamemnons of '76, let us never withhold from God
the glory due to his name. After all, the most illustrious patriot,
if destitute of religion, is a rebel against God, and must soon pass
from the adulation of man into the regions of hopeless darkness
and de.spair. Let us therefore acknowledge him in all our ways
as a nation, that he may continue still to direct our steps. In this
the illustrious father of our country, whose birth we this day com
memorate, furnished us with a noble example. "It was his cus
tom," says his biographer, "on Sunday evenings, to read to his
family the bible and a sermon. Sometimes he would sit as if he
forgot that he was not alone, and raising his hand, would move his
lips silently in prayer. In town or in the country, he was a con
stant attendant on public worship, and by his devout deportment
there, proved that he went there for the purpose of worshipping
God. He always acknowledged by his example that he felt his
solemn obligation to keep holy the sabbath day ; and to influence
others to do so as far as was in his power." After the war was

24
terminated that gave ns existence as a nation, and the army was
about to be disbanded, Washington issued his farewell orders, and
bade an affectionate adieu to the soldiers who had fought and bled
by his side. After alluding to the trials, and privations, and faith
fulness of his fellow-soldiers, he closed with these solemn words :
"Being about to bid a final adieu to the armies he hassolonghad
the honor to command, the Commander-in-Chief can only again
offer in their behalf, his recommendations to his grateful country,
and his prayer to the God of armies. May ample justice be done
them here, and may the choicest favor both here and hereafter
attend those who, under the divine auspices, have secured innu
merable blessings for others!" And when soon after, he appeared
in the hall of Congress, and resigned his commission, after having
spoken of the accomplishment of his wishes and exertions, in the
independence of his country, and commended his officers and sol
diers to Congress — whilst all eyes were fixed upon him, beholding
the sublime spectacle ofthe highest military commander surrend
ering to the civil authorities the sword with which they had en
trusted him, he concluded in these words : "I consider it an indis
pensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by com
mending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Al
mighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them to his
holy keeping." Noble Washington ! Sublime example of Chris
tian patriotism ! May the same spirit ever animate thy country
men ! and following in thy footsteps, may we at last meet thee at
the right hand of that God, whom on earth thou didst delight to
honor !

( AfC 9 1946 J

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