{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_10517/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_10517","id":"gutenberg_10517","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10517","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Proverbs, XVII, 11 -- Sermons","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - American","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Providence and government of God -- Christianity -- Sermons","United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Religious aspects -- Sermons","United States -- Politics and government -- 1861-1865 -- Sermons"],"text":"GOVERNMENT AND REBELLION\n\nA sermon delivered in the North Broad Street Presbyterian Church,\nSunday Morning, April 28 1861,\n\nBy\n\nRev. E. E. Adams.\n\nPublished by Request.\n\n1861.\n\n\n\n\nGovernment and Rebellion.\n\n\n  An evil man seeketh only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger shall be\n  sent against him.--Prov. xvii. 11.\n\n\nWe have in these words this plain announcement--that Rebellion is a crime,\nand shall be visited with terrible judgment. Solomon here speaks his own\nconvictions; God declares his thought, and utters his sanction of law.\nThis is also the expression of natural conscience,--vindicating in our\nbreast the Divine procedure, when the majesty of insulted government is\nasserted, and penalty applied.\n\nGod never overlooks rebellion against his throne--never pardons the rebel\nuntil he repent and submit. God does not command us to forgive our\noffending fellow-men, unless they repent. \"If thy brother trespass against\nthee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn to thee, saying,\nI repent, thou shalt forgive him.\" God is in a forgiving attitude; so\nought we to be. But he does not _express_ forgiveness until the rebel\nexpresses penitence; neither are we under obligation to _pronounce_ an\nenemy forgiven until he signify his compunction and sorrow, and desist\nfrom his injurious conduct. If my child rebel against my law and my\nrightful discipline, I am not allowed by the spirit of love to pursue him\nwith vengeance; neither am I bound by the law of God to release him from\nthe penalty of his sin, until he shall have exhibited signs of submission,\nof sorrow, and of obedience. I may pity him, and cherish toward him the\n_spirit_ of forgiveness; but for his own sake, for the order of the\nhousehold, and on account of my innate sense of justice, I must not\npronounce his acquittal, nor declare the controversy ended, until he shall\nhave satisfied my governmental authority, and the sentiment of justice\nwhich both his own conscience and mine, constitutionally, and therefore by\nnecessity, cherish. And I do not see that Government can safely pardon a\nrebel against its statutes, its honor and its common brotherhood, until\nhis rebellion cease; until he bow to law, confess his crime, and signify\nhis sorrow. I speak not of oppressive government, of iniquitous law; but\nof _good_ government, of statutes healthful, humane, equal. Although in\nthe former case rebellion cannot be justified until every constitutional\nmeasure has been resorted to for redress,--then, if redress be not given,\nthe voice of the people in all representative governments may legally\nchange oppressive for just laws, and oppressors for rulers who shall\nregard the popular will. And in despotisms, when the people have the\n_power_ to redress their wrongs, and to enter on a career of development\nin mind and morals, in the arts of civilization,--when every other course\nfails--\"resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!\" Man was not _made_ for\ntyranny. He was not made for any form of government that crushes out his\nintellect and his religious capabilities. He was made to be governed\nmorally; to be under righteous law; law which, while it restrains passion,\nselfishness and crime, gives a man all the freedom that he is able and\nwilling to _use_ safely for himself, and for the commonwealth; all that is\nconsistent with individual development and the national good.\n\nI am not one of those who believe that the voice of the people is, without\nexception, the voice of God. It was not so at the Deluge, but quite the\nreverse. It was not so when Israel clamored for a king--not in mercy but\nin anger, God gave them their request. It was not so when Absalom stole\nthe hearts of the people, and stirred up rebellion against his father. And\nyet, when a nation, independent of party, free from the excitements of\nmomentary interest, without the influence of ambitious leaders, under the\ncalm guidance of reason, history, and the spirit of the age,--rises\nspontaneously against oppression, against iniquity, and _demands_ just\nlaws; rights for all; free thought, free speech, free labor, free worship;\nwhen compacts are not violated; when moderation is maintained; when the\nspirit of humanity is preserved,--_then_, I believe, \"the voice of the\npeople _is_ the voice of God.\" I have no question that, in the great\nprinciple, Cromwell and his puritan hosts were right in their\nrevolutionary action. I could never doubt that our fathers did a noble,\nglorious, and Christian deed in throwing off the yoke of Britain, and\nproclaiming a new government for themselves and their posterity. It was\nright to contend and bleed for equal representation, for freedom of\nconscience, and for an independent nationality in which these high ends\ncould be secured.\n\nThe first government of which we have account was a Theocracy--that is,\n\"the government of God.\" _He_ was the only King. He revealed the law,\nappointed leaders, gave rules for worship, instruction and warfare. Thus\nin the outset did he set up his claims among men. He established the great\nprecedent, which men ought to have followed, which the world has ignored;\nbut to which the thoughts and the will of the race shall ultimately\nreturn. It is true _now_ that government, as such, is ordained of God. All\ngovernment, in its elemental authority, is a theocracy. All power is of\nGod; he ordains law. He originates the idea of civil compact. While,\ntherefore, the principles of governments among men may be defective, and\nthe administration wrong and hurtful, the great _fact_ of government is a\n_Divine fact. Good_ government is _emphatically God's_ government--intended\nto suppress evil, to promote holiness and happiness. \"The powers that be\nare ordained of God.\" \"Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth\nthe ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves\ndamnation.\" Despisers of government are enumerated by the Apostle as among\nthe most flagitious of men. There are _statutes_ in almost every government\nwhich may not be absolutely right; some which may be oppressive. These are\nto be distinguished from the principles, from the general bearing of a\ngovernment, and endured for the good therein, or be rid of by\nconstitutional and safe methods. It is a duty of each subject and citizen\nto surrender some of his desires and preferences--some of his convictions\npossibly--for the _general_ sentiment--the comprehensive good; while he has\nthe privilege of convincing by fair argument all others, and winning them\nto his views and measures if possible, without violence, without\ninfringement of law. It is not to be expected that every man should be\nabsolutely satisfied with any government. If he is called to yield only\nhis share of personal interest and preference, for the sake of all the\nprotection and blessing in which he participates in common with the state,\nhis reason, his conscience, his patriotism will joyfully acquiesce; he will\nfreely make so much sacrifice for the interests of the whole, knowing very\nwell that every other citizen is likely to be under an equal sacrifice.\nNatural, individual liberty, without law, is only barbarism. Where every\nman is free to do whatever his worst passions prompt, there is in fact no\nfreedom; there is tyranny; for the strong will subdue the weak, bone and\nmuscle will govern mind and conscience. In laws and governments men have\ntheir best thoughts; human _law_ is likely to be better than human\nnature. Men feel the need of restraint--are convinced of the necessity of\nlaw. They therefore make laws in self-defence; if thereby they would _not_\nrestrain their own selfishness, they _would_ restrain the selfishness\nof others; but that which is made a barrier to _one_ bad subject is\nalso a defence against all;--thus men do restrain themselves by their\ndefences against others. Thus it is that, with healthful convictions, men\nmay control diseased passion; with a right _ideal_ is intimately\njoined a safe actuality; with good law, a comparatively good condition.\nEven in the worst administration, and when the public mind is most\ndemoralized, there may remain the purity of law; the sublime thought.\nIf the mind finds itself sinking into lawlessness and disorganism, and\nborne away by the pressure of evil, it can look upward, and, catching new\nenergy from the unquenched light--\n\n    \"Spring into the realm of the ideal.\"\n\nOur destiny is ideal. We are on our way to the Unseen. The ideal draws us\nupward,--_real_ now, to the spirits of just men made perfect--to be real\nto us when we are perfect--_once_ ideal to them, as now to us. We must\nkeep above us the model of life and of law which we have not yet attained.\nLet it never be dim. It is a star shining through time's night! A banner\nwaving from the throne of God. It tells us of the goal. It points out our\nfuturity--the altitude of our virtue, our exaltation, our bliss.\n\nOur subject is GOVERNMENT AND MAN. We proceed to consider it in a\nthree-fold aspect, inquiring\n\n    I. _What is good government?_\n   II. _What constitutes rebellion against such government?_\n  III. _What is the duty of each citizen when rebellion exists?_\n\n\n\n\nI. _What is a good government_?\n\n\n\nNo citizen looks for an absolutely perfect form of nationality--of law.\nBut we have a right to ask for good government. We have been accustomed to\nthink that it depends more on administration than on principle; and the\nline of the poet, \"That which is best administered, is best,\" is a\nproverb, to the sentiment of which we too freely yield. No doubt a\ngovernment with bad statutes and wrong laws, may be so administered as to\nproduce a tolerable degree of national comfort and development for a\nseason; while a Constitution perfect in its theories and principles, may\nbe so maladministered as to corrupt and distract, impoverish and\ndemoralize, a people. And yet, I agree with an old patriot of the past\ncentury who said, \"There is no foundation to imagine that the goodness or\nbadness of any government depends solely upon its administration. It must\nbe allowed that the ultimate design of government is to restrain the\ncorruptions of human nature; and, since human nature is the same at all\ntimes and in all places, the same form of government which is best for one\nnation is best for all nations, if they would _only agree to adopt_ it.\"\n\nThere is a deep thought in this remark. We often say, for example, \"France\nis not fit for a republican form of government,\" and it is true; but that\nis _not_ to say, \"A republican form of government is not fit for France,\"\nif the population would agree to adopt and preserve it. Man, in his\nfallen state, is not fit for the holy government of God; but that holy\ngovernment is, nevertheless, the _only_ one that is fit for man as a moral\nbeing; and it is man's ignorance and folly, his guilt and ruin, that he\ndoes not adopt it. It is owing to the ignorance and wickedness of the\nworld that it is not fit for a representative government; and that all do\nnot choose Christ to be their King.\n\nWere a score of the professional politicians of our land to frame a\nConstitution for us in full accordance with their own schemes and choice,\nwe would soon find ourselves under an oligarchy of schemers, who cared for\nthe Republic only so far as to secure from it their own fame and\nemolument. Were as many brokers or merchants to make and administer our\nlaws, without regard to other industrial interests, we should have an\noligarchy of trade. Were as many husbandmen, or mechanics, or lawyers, to\nhave full control of our legislation and government, we would have one\ninterest towering above all others, and true equalization, true\nbrotherhood, just representation, healthful nationality would be\nimpossible. Or, were we dependent on officers in the army or navy for our\ngovernment, legislative and administrative, we would be likely to have\nmany of our rights circumscribed. Were as many clergymen to frame a\nConstitution, and administer laws, we might be under a crushing\npriesthood. A government of mere scholars, poets or orators, would be only\na sublime dream. A Constitution of philosophies alone, would glitter with\nabstractions beautiful, cold, grand as the snow-capt Alps, and as distant,\ntoo, from the actualities of men! A government of mere gentlemen who have\nnothing to do but think for slaves, to enjoy the chase and the\nrace-ground, to extol their pedigree, and traduce labor, and lead\nretainers to war--would be a government for the few over the many, an\naristocracy of blood and privilege, of curled moustache and taper fingers;\nbut not a republic of patriots, of self-made men, of equal privilege and\njust laws. It would be a return to semi-barbarism, to the age of Louis\nXIV., or even of Charles I.\n\nThis is now the strong tendency in the Rebel States: even along our free\nborder, but below it, such is the system of representation, that a county\ncontaining only about 3,000 inhabitants, sends as many representatives to\nthe legislature as another county of 30,000, and a single proprietor casts\nas many votes as a whole commune. So much liberty of citizens is already\nsacrificed to the chevalier, to the system of forced service.\n\nBut were a select number of experienced men, of true statesmen, embracing\ndifferent pursuits and professions, educated in different parts of the\nworld, and drawn together by grand national events,--statesmen born in the\nage when liberty had its first grand revival, and was guarded by soberness\nof thought, and tried by every variety and extent of sacrifice--by men who\nhad no professional, exclusive interest to provide for, but who expected\nto fight and die for their convictions, who sought only to lay the\nfoundation of a nationality for future generations, and for the world; who\naimed at a healthful union of all popular interests, both among poor and\nrich, among masters and dependents; who provided for freedom of action\nunder law; of worship and education, of commerce, agriculture, and the\narts; for the easy and equitable support of government,--for its\nperpetuity indeed, infusing into it elements that appeal powerfully, both\nto the self-interest and the patriotism of the citizens,--I say, were such\nmen, with such ends in view, by such sacrifice, to frame such a\ngovernment, containing the most delicate balance of interests, with strong\nchecks against the encroachment of any branch, either the legislative,\nexecutive or judicial, giving all trades and professions, and all men, an\nequal chance for excellence, influence, and honor; you would not hesitate\nto pronounce that a good government, even though you might find slight\nexception to some of its terms, though you might not interpret as others\ndo, all its constitutional phrases.\n\nIn view of the protection which such a constitution affords, especially if\nit had been tested, for a period of eighty years, by all the inward strain\nof domestic evils, and all the outward pressure of invasion; by the\ninfluence of foreign envy, of intrigue, of hostility; by the debasing\npower of disloyalty, the incompetency of rulers, and the general\ndegeneracy of human nature; I say, in view of all these untoward\ninfluences, the government which could still retain its majesty and power,\nstill stretch its Aegis over every national and individual right--you\nwould pronounce the best, both for ruler and people, that ever blessed a\nnation. And you would not hesitate to declare _that_ man a _traitor_, who\nshould attempt _to weaken_ and destroy it!\n\nNow we pretend to say that _our_ government was thus formed by the\nchoicest wisdom and patriotism of the world, with the largest liberty in\nview, under the restraint of law, giving equitable privilege to all its\ncitizens, and so balancing its different departments that they are\nmutually a defence. We pretend to claim for our government the loftiest\npurpose, the most comprehensive views, and the best practical results. We\nclaim for it justice, equality, and power. It does not stand out--a thing\ndistinct from the people and the states. It is not an objective power\nonly, but subjective; it is in every State and in every freeman. It is not\nin machinery, which can be set in motion and work out certain results, as\nif every part of it were iron or steel, and put into action by applied\nheat; but in _men_, in minds, in hearts, in the family circle, in the\nchurch, in every throb of patriotism, in every fibre of the husbandman and\nthe artizan, in the pastor's prayers, and the student's living thoughts.\nIt is in the _nation_ like latent fire, like a hidden life--evoked in time\nof peril, and flashing along the telegraph, breathed in song, uttered in\noratory, thundered from the cannon's mouth, hung out in streaming banners\nwhose \"every hue was born in heaven,\" felt in firm resolve, illustrated in\nresponse to the call of country and of law. Where is our government? Not\nat Washington alone. That is but its symbol. It is throughout all our\nLoyal States. It is enthroned on the granite hills of New Hampshire, sends\nits voice along the Alleghanies, and on the swelling floods of the\nMississippi, and spreads its wing over the children of the West, even to\nthe shores of Oregon. It lives in every cottage, and every mansion, and\nhas a throne in every true, free, noble, Christian heart.\n\nThat it is a _good_ government, you have only in imagination to blot from\nthe face of the earth whatever has grown up under its protection and\nencouragement, by the will and the blessing of the Almighty, during the\nfourscore years of its existence; level all the cities, sink the commerce,\nprostrate the schools and churches, obliterate all the science, history\nand thought it has fostered, quench the light of oratory, turn back the\nwheel of improvement, and leave us at the opening of 1776; estimate all\nthe freedom of act, of utterance, of industry; reckon the sum of human\ncomforts, even of luxuries, it has brought to our hand. Look at all our\nships, our mechanism, our homes, our sanctuaries, our institutions of\nmorality, of mercy and of religion; our wealth, intelligence, order,\npower; consider the elevation given to millions in the worst form of\ncivilization in the land, showing that such is the vitalizing force of our\nnational life, that even slavery here, bad as it is--and we know of\nnothing worse as a system--lifts men above the natural license of savage\nexistence. Consider all this, and much more, that I may not stop to utter,\nand you cannot--you _do_ not--no sane mind _can_ question the supreme\nexcellence--I had almost said the _divine_ excellence--of our\ngovernment. And if there were need of other proof, we have only to remind\nyou with what promptness the call of our noble Chief Magistrate was\nanswered from every free State--from the city and the hamlet; from the\nbank, the bar, the press and the pulpit; from the workshop and the soil;\nfrom the calm and comfort of home and ease and affluence, and from the\ncottage of the poor, as if the pulse of the government were beating in\nevery vein, and the will of the Cabinet had its home in every bosom!\nStrong men, young men, aged men, men of leisure, Christian men--all ready\nto march under the stars and stripes, or to pour out their treasure for\nothers. Mothers and wives and sisters, with breaking hearts and tremulous\nbenedictions, bidding the heroes go--offering them on their country's\naltar. Oh, it would not be thus but for the true manhood which our\ngovernment infuses into loyal citizens. It would not be so, but for the\nChristianity it protects without dictation, and acknowledges without\nostentation.\n\n\n\nII. We come now to the question, _What constitutes rebellion against good\ngovernment_?\n\n\nThere may be criminal rebellion even against a wicked and oppressive\ngovernment. The people may take the law into their own hands, and put to\ndeath, or imprison their rulers, without _first_ having tried\nconstitutional methods of redress. But I speak of rebellion against _good_\ngovernment--such as we have already had in review. There is a difference\nbetween insurrection and rebellion. The former is an act of a people or\npopulation against a single statute, or against a portion of the\nlegislative enactments, without necessarily growing into warfare, or\nrevolt against the whole constitution and the laws. This may become\nrebellion. There is also a difference between rebellion and revolution.\nThe latter, in a political sense, is a change, either wholly or in part,\nof the constitution. This may be effected by argument and a peaceful\nvote--by abdication, by a change of national policy in view of some new\nrelation, and by general consent, or by warfare. \"The revolution in\nEngland in 1688, was occasioned by the abdication of James II., the\nestablishment of the House of Orange on the throne, and the restoring of\nthe constitution to its primitive state.\"\n\nOur revolution of '76, and onward, was not a rebellion; it was resistance\nof oppression, of burdensome taxation without equal representation, and it\nresulted in our distinct nationality.\n\nThe revolutions of France have been of a similar character; they have\nsprung from oppression of the most severe and unnatural kind. This was the\nfact, at least, in 1797 and in 1830. In 1848, when it was my lot to be in\nthe midst of it, the revolution arose from the selfish conduct of Louis\nPhilippe, who enriched himself and his family out of the national\ntreasury, and encouraged his sons in a course which was at war with\nnational precedent, with the commercial interests and democratic\nindividualism of the French; for with their imperial prestiges and tastes\nthey are extreme in their personal democracy.\n\nBut all these revolutions resulted in good to the people. Education,\npublic spirit, enterprise, labor, all the arts of civilization, and even\nevangelical Christianity received a new impulse. Mind was opened and\nenlarged; the people thought for themselves, and sighed for knowledge and\na better faith.\n\nRevolution is going on silently, from year to year, in England. The\nnobility yield by slow, almost imperceptible degrees, to the demands of\nthe people. It is by this process that the Government avoids the shocks\nwhich startle Austria, France and Italy.\n\nSuch is the variety of honest opinion among men on all subjects; so\ndifferent are the degrees of information, and the opportunities of judging\nwith regard to the best measures of government; such a diversity exists in\nthe interests and abilities of a people,--that they may be good citizens\nwithout being satisfied altogether with the constitution, or with those\nwho administer its laws. There will be different political parties. It is\nthe glory of a government that the people are allowed to think and vote as\nthey please, and to express their honest opinions. Perhaps with us,\nexpression is too free, especially in regard to public men and measures.\nWe may have diverse views and convictions, and yet feel and act loyally.\nBut men who endeavor by any influence or means to lessen the loyalty of\nothers, to alienate the love of the people from the government, and who\nsignify their own aversion, not by condemning a single statute and seeking\nits lawful repeal, but by heaping abuse on the constitution and on those\nwho are chosen to administer the laws, by avowing their hostility to the\ngovernment and its policy, or their purpose to resist and war against\nit,--are in a posture of rebellion. Those who, being in office, commanding\nthe arms and other property of the government, cause them to be removed so\nas to weaken its power and strengthen those in actual rebellion, or who\nare threatening the same; those who aid and comfort a population or\nsoldiery who are in a state of actual resistance, and finally, those who\ndo openly and avowedly renounce the authority of the government to which\nthey have sworn allegiance, or take up arms to attack its strongholds,\nseize or destroy its property, or injure the soldiers and citizens who are\nsent to protect it,--are in a state of rebellion against its laws and\nagainst the commonwealth over which it holds the shield of its authority.\n\nKorah was a rebel and a traitor, who having, by intrigue, inspired some\nother leaders with the spirit of sedition, succeeded in drawing from their\nallegiance to Moses and Aaron, a large number of the people, who came\ntogether in a mob to demand a different administration. They were invited\nto refer the matter to the Divine decision, but they stoutly refused,\naccusing Moses of assumption, thus endeavoring to destroy his authority\nover the nation. That was rebellion. Again, in the reign of David, his son\nAbsalom drew the people from their allegiance, then seized the reins of\ngovernment and pursued his father with an army. That was rebellion against\nwholesome law, against the will of God.\n\nNow we have the painful fact before us, that rebellion has sprung up\nagainst our good government. Men in many quarters have secretly plotted,\nand openly avowed hostility to our Federal Union. Eight of our States have\npassed the Ordinance of Secession, four or five others are assuming an\nattitude of hostility to the General Government, or refusing to comply\nwith the Executive, who calls on them to aid in the defence of the\nCapital. This state of things has been preceded by acts of treachery on\nthe part of leading men in the States, by seizure of arms, money, and\npublic defences,--the property of the government. A new Confederacy is\nformed, contrary to oaths and compacts, for the purpose of destroying our\nUnion, and giving perpetuity to slavery. It has attacked our forts,\nadulterated our coin, stolen our arms, proclaimed piracy against our\ncommerce, set a price on the head of our Chief Magistrate, threatened our\nCapital, and raised armies to exterminate, if possible, our nationality.\nAnd all this it has done without one act of the Government to provoke such\nprocedure; without any oppression; without any threat; but in the face of\nevery honorable proposal on our part, after long and patient endurance of\ntheir encroachment and plunders; even until foreign journals deride us for\nour forbearance, and the rebels themselves insult our delay.\n\nThere are those who have compared this rebellion with our revolution of\n'76. There could hardly be a wider distinction, both in principle and in\nfact, than between these two movements. The Colonies, had been oppressed\nby \"navigation laws,\" intended by the British Parliament to crush out\ntheir commerce for a whole century, from 1660 to 1775. Their weakness\nduring that period did not allow of resistance. They were taxed\noppressively, while they were not allowed a representation. This was in\nviolation of Magna Charta; for the government of Great Britain was\nrepresentative. Having been aided by the Colonists during the Seven Years'\nWar, in the subjugation of Canada, the Parent Government--without asking\ntaxation through the regular action of the Colonial Government--assumed\nthe right to tax our expanding commerce, and commenced a vigorous\nenforcement of revenue laws. \"Writs of Assistance\" were issued, whereby\nofficers of the king were allowed to break open any citizen's store or\ndwelling, to search for, and seize foreign merchandise; sheriffs also were\ncompelled to assist in the work. The sanctions of private life might, by\nthis act be invaded at any time by hirelings; and bad as it was in itself,\nit was liable to more monstrous abuse. Then came the \"_sugar bill_,\"\nimposing enormous duties on various articles of merchandise from the West\nIndies, and greatly crippling Colonial commerce: then the infamous Stamp\nAct, by which every legal instrument, in order to validity, must have the\nseal of the British Government--deeds, diplomas, &c., costing from\nthirty-six cents to ten dollars apiece: then the duty on tea; and,\nfinally, the quartering of soldiers on our citizens in time of peace, for\nthe express purpose of subjugating our industry and energy to the selfish\npurposes of the crown.\n\nIt is enough to say, that the rebels against our Government have suffered\nno oppression. They do not set forth any legal ground of Secession. The\ngovernment has done nothing to call out their indignation, or to inflict\non them a wrong. They have had more than their share of public office;\nthey have had a larger representation, in proportion to their free\ncitizens, than we have; they have been protected in their claims, even\nagainst the convictions of the North; we yielding, as a political demand,\nwhat we do not wholly admit as a Christian duty. We have assisted them by\nenactments, by money, and by arms, in the preservation of a system at war\nwith our conscience, and with our liberties. We have paid for lands which\nthey occupy; and after all their indignities and taunts, and attacks on\nour citizens, their plunders, and their warlike demonstrations, we have\nbeen patient; and are even now imposing on ourselves restraint from the\nexecution of that chastisement, which many of their sober and awed\ncitizens acknowledge to be just, and which, if the call were made by the\nExecutive, would at once be hurled on the rebels by an indignant people,\nlike the rush of destiny.\n\nNow, I grant, for I do not wish to make the matter worse than it is\nagainst them, that in the North, individuals have demanded more than the\nSouth were able, at once, to give. Some have pushed reform faster than it\nwould bear, faster than the laws of Providence would allow; but it was\nhonestly and conscientiously done. We have sometimes in our warmth,\nuttered irritating words; but all this has been returned by blows, and by\nsavage vindictiveness. We have shown a willingness, of late, to yield some\nthings; to abide by the sense of the whole people; but these States are,\nby their rulers, declared _out of the Union_, without appeal to the\npeople; they have commenced the war, and now they are regarded by the\nwhole world as in a state of rebellion, not of justifiable revolution.\nThey would submit to no method of adjustment that we could honorably\nallow. They desired war, as they have been for years preparing for it, at\nthe expense of the Government, and in its service and trust, drawing their\nlife from the bosom which they now sting; and because freedom will no\nlonger bow, as it has done for a whole generation, to their will, they\nrebel, proclaim a system of piracy, and threaten the subjugation of the\nwhole American people. It is a deep, and long determined treason, running\ninto the whole national life, and is become to ourselves a question of\n_personal_ liberty.\n\n\n\n\nIII. What then, we ask, _is the duty of all citizens when good government\nis assailed by rebellion_?\n\n\nDoubtless, _one_ duty is to inquire whether they have in any way\ncontributed criminally to the occasion or the causes of such rebellion;\nwhether they have demanded too much of the disaffected, or encouraged a\nwrong spirit in them by coinciding with views leading to their present\nattitude; whether they have participated in any way with a policy\ncalculated to irritate, to defy, to provoke honest minds to anger? Whether\nas individuals, as Christians, they have been bitter and harsh, and\nvengeful, or are so now; and if they find any such spirit, it becomes them\nto repent, and school themselves into Christian charity and moderation.\nBut, notwithstanding any possible error in the past, the Christian citizen\nmust consecrate himself to the defence of the government and its _policy_;\nfor however, there is a distinction ordinarily between the two; in a\ncrisis that involves a nation's life, the policy which would save it, is\nthe spirit of government and order.\n\nThe true Christian will pray, and speak, and write, and labor, and die for\nits success! Will give assurance of his sympathy and support, and refuse\nto do any act that can be construed into _comfort_ to the rebels. He will\nencourage troops called to support the government, and its policy, giving\nthem food, clothing, advice, BIBLES AND ARMS. He will rouse their\npatriotism, and call down on them the benediction of heaven. This is the\nduty of ministers, and magistrates, of churches and individual Christians.\nAnd if the rebellion continue, it is their duty to advocate and help to\nform armies of sufficient numbers and power to utterly subjugate the\nrebels, and, if they cannot otherwise be brought to submit, put an end to\ntheir existence. That is what God did by the hand of Israel, to Korah and\nAbsalom; and it is the legitimate issue, if needs be, of all successful\nresistance,--of all defensive warfare. To deny it, is to deny the right of\nself-defence. It is to put a man in a position where he must love his\nenemy better than himself and children, which even Christianity does not\ndemand, though it does enjoin forbearance, charity, and sacrifice. To deny\nthis is to condemn the principles of our Revolution, and to sanction the\nplunder and destruction of national property and being.\n\nWhat, therefore, is our duty, now that rebellion actually rages against\nour mild, equal, good Government--the best, on the whole, that the world\never saw? rebellion without cause; with no legitimate ground of offence;\nrebellion for the sake of a dark and demoralizing system, that has robbed\nhalf the nation of its conscience, and cursed it with an inveterate\nidolatry. What is our duty? What is mine as a citizen, a Christian, a\nminister of God--as a man? What is yours? Plainly to ask, What have\nI--either by demanding too much, not in abstract right, but in the light\nof present possibility--contributed towards this fearful condition? What\nby my love of money, my sanction of oppression, my apologies for wrong, my\ncomplaint against government, my support of wrong principles, my neglect\nto vote and pray for the right, my boast of national greatness, my worship\nof power and neglect of goodness, my forgetfulness of God? What by all\nthese, and more that I do not think of, have I done palpably, possibly,\ntoward bringing on this terrible crime against justice, humanity and law?\nThen it is my duty to repent of all this and deplore it. It is also my\nduty to strive against personal hatred and revenge, and to pray for my\ncountry's enemies just as I would for my own, and _because_ they are my\nown--not that they prosper in their rebellion, but that they repent and\nfind mercy, and acknowledge the authority against which they are at war.\nIt is our duty specially to pity and pray for the multitudes of good\ncitizens and their families, who cannot escape from among the rebels, and\nwho are in great jeopardy; men who love law and the Constitution, and the\nwhole country; who are either resisting, under the greatest pressure, the\nevil that is upon them, or yielding through fear and force. We feel for\nthem; we call them our brothers. But it is also my duty and yours to\nsupport our government--our administration; to pray for and sympathize\nwith our President and his Cabinet in their most trying posture, in the\nmidst of such perils, and with so meagre means for the moment, of\nestablishing order, and setting the nationality in permanent security. It\nis our duty to report traitors to the police, that they may be lawfully\ncared for; to help our militia and volunteers with every comfort and\ndefence; to hold up the arm of government so long as rebels remain.\n\nThis is _our_ country, bought with blood. It is second only to the\nredemption which Christ purchased for us! And if we are called to contend\nwith principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places,\nfor the safety of our souls, surely we may contend with flesh and blood,\nwith rebels and traitors, to save this glorious inheritance from the gulf\nof anarchy and the bonds of a lasting servitude. _War is terrible_, but\nslavery and plunder and the silent gangrene of national dishonor, bribery\nand perverted conscience are worse. The burst of a thunder cloud may break\ndown a forest of lofty pines, but the slow delving of the mole may\nundermine a thousand habitations. The secret corrosions of the ship-worm\nwill sink a fleet.\n\nThis deep-working, inward ruin is appearing on the face of society. The\nstupendous fact is, that from Baltimore, onward throughout the disaffected\nStates, the population is under the guidance of mad leaders, and exposed\nto mob power. Thousands of good citizens are flying to us for protection;\nthousands more forced into the war against the country, and other\nthousands sighing and praying in secret that God will give success to our\narms and rescue themselves and their families from ruin. For these, as\nwell as for our liberties and honors are we summoned to war; it were a\ncrime to be inactive. The Bible is militant. Christianity is a warfare\nwith sin. Life is militant,--a perpetual fight with death. If our\nblessings are worth praying for and praising for, they are worth\n_fighting_ for, and if not to be otherwise secured, _must be fought for_.\n\nI want this country to live! I want my children to grow up under its\nshield! I want to see constitutional liberty mount above the obstacles of\nages, and rise higher and higher here, I want Italy to look toward us now\nwith hope! I cannot bear to hear the cry of shame that will come over the\nAtlantic from the vineyards of France, from the glaciers of Switzerland,\nand from the steppes of Russia, if we permit the walls of our blood-bought\ninheritance to be broken down. For the sake of God, liberty, religion, all\nover the earth, I want our flag to be honored abroad.\n\nIn the French revolution of '48, a deputation came to me to demand the\nAmerican church at Havre, for the purpose of holding a political meeting,\nI refused. They intimated that it would be torn down. I had only to assure\nthem that I would plant our flag on it, and if they touched it with rude\nhands, they would have to answer to our government. That was the last of\nthe matter. This power we must have still; and to secure this the whole\nNorth and West must awake, and act--for the multitudes who in the Border\nStates demand our aid; for the thousands of laboring, suffering poor who\ntremble beneath the glance of the proud chevalier; for the sake of our\neducation, our lands, our homes, our Christianity. We are sure that\nsuccess on our part now will demonstrate to the world the inherent power\nof our nation. They cannot behold the united action and offering of\n_nineteen millions_ in the free States--all animated with the spirit of\nliberty, religion and law, and resolved to crush treason and rebellion at\nany cost--without a deeper conviction of our real might, without a new\nimpression of the majesty that reposes in a people's will! All Europe\napproves of this war; and struggling nationalities look with anxious\nexpectancy for the issue.\n\nIt is a war for government, for order. It is against the power and rage of\nthe mob, led on by ambitious men who are mad at the loss of power. There\nis nothing more sublime than law; holding unseen the hearts and interests\nof millions, protecting their rights, and giving them full, happy\ndevelopment. Our flag represents law, liberty, sublime sacrifice, national\nlife. It is therefore right even for the Christian to fight for its\nperpetuity. If I may defend myself and family, the nation is greater than\nmy family and myself; and calls more powerfully for my service. And this\nwar, entered on by necessity, and with the grand purpose of protecting\norder and law, and rescuing a whole population from ruin, is inspiring in\nits motive, and therefore elevating in its influence. We are consciously\nbetter, nobler, in proportion as we forget ourselves in the sublime idea\nof our nationality, and all that this nationality can do. When men fight\nfor plunder, or victory alone, they labor downward, they become brutish;\nbut a war for true liberty, for national life, for our homes and our\ninheritance, and for the oppressed, is elevating, purifying. War is\nterrible in itself, and in some of its consequences, but there is a bow on\nthe cloud. When the bolt has spent itself in the pestiferous air, all\nnature is bright and glorious. With true discipline, soldiers are made\nvigorous in body; they are also quickened in mind by the tactics and\nincitements of warfare, they are ennobled by high motives, and may leave\nthe campaign better than when they entered it. Courage is awakened; love\nof liberty and order inspired; benevolence increased; and loyalty exalted\nby this war. What men bleed for they value. I have been delighted with the\neagerness with which many soldiers whom I have visited, listened to\nChristian address, and received the word of God. It is a matter of\ngratulation that but few arrests are made in our city in these days, not\nbecause the police are less watchful, but because the debased portion of\nthe population are inspired with a better thought. It is also hopeful to\nfind, that many who entered our city as volunteers, or as drafted\nsoldiers, are actually being reformed from their evil habits, under the\ngreater strictness of camp discipline.\n\nWe are cheered also by the fact that the people generally are more earnest\nthan formerly in their attendance on divine worship; more solemn, and full\nof feeling, and disposed to study the Bible, They need God. They look to\nGod. We all feel the Bible to be more than ever precious. Its solemn\nprophecies are swelling into fulfillment. The day of God is approaching,\nand the kingdoms of the earth are giving way for the coming of the Great\nKing!\n\nThe feeling is, and ought to be, intense for the conflict. Let the\nquestion be decided. Let half a million of freemen be called, when the\ntime shall indicate, to form a line of fire along the boundary that\nseparates Secession from loyalty. Let them take up their mighty march\nthrough the revolted territory, if it will not otherwise submit, and\nproclaim as they go, \"Liberty throughout the land!\" Let the flag that\nwaved over the suffering heroes of Valley Forge, and the conquerors of\nYorktown, wave forever on the Capitol, and over every village and subject\nin the land! Nay, it must be so. We must bow, if we do not conquer. They\nhave proclaimed it. Come down, then, from the Northern mountains, and out\nfrom the forests and the fields, ye sons of the Pilgrims, with your firm\nforce of will, and your achieving arms! Come up from the marts of\ncommerce, ye daring children of the Empire State, and ye firm hearts of\nNew Jersey and of Delaware! Come forth from the echoes of Erie, and the\nshores of Michigan and Superior! Come from the free air of Western\nVirginia and Ohio, from the loyal districts of Maryland, Kentucky, and\nTennessee! Come forth from the great West! and with them, go, ye strong\nand true of my adopted State and City, who listened even in your cradles,\nto the bell which gives out its tones over the birth-place of our\nliberties! Go forth, and live the epic that future ages shall sing: be\nyours the glory of _rooting this treason out_! And as they go, bless them,\naged fathers with tremulous voice! and mothers, bid them God speed! wives\nand sisters and Christian hearts, load them with your gifts and your\nprayers! And when they are gone, remember them at the home altar, and\nbless God that your country does not want defenders; and when your tears\nare dried up, and your cause is proclaimed triumphant, weep again tears of\njoy as you clasp the returning heroes to your arms! Or, if they shall be\nborne home to you wounded and worn in their country's service, be grateful\nthat your eye can watch over them, and your hand minister to their\nnecessities and griefs. Or finally, should they fall in battle, you will\nhave the consolation of knowing that they saved your country; that they\ndid something to consolidate its strength, and illustrate its glory\nbefore the world. For we are destined to conquer,--and after this trial\nthe nation will come forth as gold. We need to suffer that we may value\nour liberties. From the valley of tears arise notes of victory and\nhallelujahs. Nations as well as saints, come up out of great tribulation.\n\n                          \"None die in vain\n    Upon their country's war-fields! Every drop\n    Of blood, thus poured for faith and freedom, hath\n    A tone, which from the night of ages, from the gulf\n    Of death, shall burst, and make its high appeal\n    Sound unto earth and heaven.\"\n\nThe motto now is--\"No compromise! _Submission_! Give up the leaders of\nrebellion! Bow to law! Nay, more--no longer _ask_ us to protect your dark\nsystem!\"\n\nBut it is possible that, while we stir ourselves up to a fierce\nbelligerency against rebellion, and rush into hot condemnation of those\nwhom we once called \"_brethren,\" we_ are rebels against God! Some of you\nwho are equipping for the war, and ready to take the field in defence of\nyour country and her laws, are in heart at war with holiness and God! You\nmay see in the fever of our whole population what men think of treason\nagainst a good earthly government! See also in the commands of God, in the\nlife and death of Jesus, in the declared interest and anxious watchfulness\nof angels, in the whole glorified army that shall attend the Great King\nwhen he comes to set up his final assize,--what the Principalities and\nPowers in Heaven think of your treason against the holy government of\nJehovah! Behold in the uplifted arm of Justice--hear in the voice of the\nJudge, what shall be done to him who will not repent! Now the offers of\npardon are made through the death and sacrifice of Jesus. Repent; forsake\nyour sin; lay down your arms; retire from your rebellious attitude; and\nfrom the throne of Mercy shall the fact be proclaimed, that _you_ are\npardoned and restored!","title":"Government and Rebellion: A Sermon Delivered in the North Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Sunday Morning, April 28, 1861","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":7764}