We
stand to-day, dear brethren, in the midst of circumstances of great
doubt and
anxiety, with provocations tending to kindle the bitterest and most
vehement
passions, and with the line of duty in many instances difficult to
trace, and
difficult to follow, even when traced. Never did we stand more in need
of right
counsels, deliberate and conscientious reflection, earnest purpose to
do our
duty, and heartfelt dependence on God our Saviour, for guidance and
strength to
enable us for its performance. We stand to-day, face to face with civil
war, a
calamity, which, unless the experience and universal testimony of
mankind
deceive us, is direr and more to be deprecated than foreign war, than
famine,
than pestilence, than any other form of public evil. The cloud we have
all been
so long watching, which we have seen, day by day, and month by month,
enlarging
its skirts, and gathering blackness, is now beginning to burst upon us.
It
seems to me that no one but an Atheist, or an Epicurean, can doubt that
it is
God who rides in this storm, and will direct the whirlwind, and that He
now
calls upon us to look to Him, to consider our ways and our doings, to
remember
the offences by which we have heretofore provoked Him, and to determine
on the
conduct we will hereafter pursue towards Him, toward our fellowmen, and
towards
ourselves.
I
feel that we have some solid grounds of encouragement to hope for His
favour.
This Commonwealth, with whose fortunes our own are
linked, cannot be said to
have had
any hand in causing, or precipitating the issue before us. She has
sought, till
the last momen, to avert it, and she
his
incurred censure by these efforts. But when compelled to elect between
furnishing troops to subdue her nearest neighbors and kindred, and to
open her
Territory for the passage of armies marshalled to accomplish that
odious,
unauthorized and unhallowed object, or to refuse to aid, and to seek to
hinder
such attempts, she chose the part which affection, and interest and
duty seems
manifestly, and beyond all reasonable question, to require. What she
has done,
and is about to do, she does, as an old writer finely says in such a
case,
"willingly, but with an unwilling mind," as an imperative, but
painful duty. Such is the temper, we may be well assured, in which it
best
pleases God, that strife of any sort, especially strife of this sort,
should be
entered on.
There
is another consideration from which I derive great comfort, and which
is
certain to give comfort to all who receive it. It is that whatever we
may think
of some of the earlier steps in these disputes, yet as to the present
questions
between the North and the South, we can calmly, conscientiously, and, I
think,
conclusively, to all impartial men, maintain before God and man that now
at least we of the South are in the right. For we are on the defensive,
we ask only
to be let alone. That old Union
to
which we
were all at one time so deeply attached, is now dissolved. It cannot
be, at
this time, amicably reconstructed. No one proposes it shall be done---no
one
supposes it can be done. Shall there then be a voluntary and friendly
separation, or an attempt at subjugation. This is really the question
before
the people, lately known as the people of the United States.
How strange that
there should be any doubt as to the answer!! That men should hesitate
which to
prefer, a peaceful separation of those who cannot agree, or civil war,
with all
its horrors, and all its uncertain issues!! We ask the former---those so
lately
our brethren demand the latter. Should they insist on this, and should
they
succeed in this detestable strife to the very height of their hopes, it
would
be worse than a barren victory. It would be a victory that would cost
the
conquerors not only material prosperity,
but the very
principles of
government on which society with them, as with us, rests.
I
cannot then doubt, and it seems a singular hallucination that any man
should
mistake, the righteous cause in this present most lamentable
controversy, and I
hope and I believe that God will bless with temporal success the
righteous
cause. He may not, however, for He does not always see fit to make
right
visibly triumphant.---But succeed or not, it is the cause on the side of
which
one would desire to be found. Yet, however this thought may cheer us,
we cannot
disguise from ourselves that success, should we obtain it, will not
probably be
reached until after an arduous and painful struggle, involving severe
trials of
the feelings, and of the character of the community, and of ourselves
individually. And no man yet knows how he shall meet these trials. The
most
self-confident are usually the first to fail. "Let not him that girdeth
on
his armour boast himself as he that taketh it off."
Since,
then, a searching trial seems to await us, let us, in God's strength,
endeavor
to prepare for it, and in order thereto, listen with obedient faith to
the
instructions of that holy man, whose righteousness was so exemplary
that Jews,
as well as Christians, knew him by the name of James the Just.
"Blessed,
says he, is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he
shall
receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that
love
Him."
Temptation
or Trial (for they mean the same thing) comes to man in two forms,
Prosperity
or Adversity, of which the former is the more generally dangerous.
Prosperity
tempts us by inclining us to forget God, and to love the world which so
smiles
upon us, by slackening the reins on the necks of our appetites and
passions, by
opening the door to vices which our very circumstances might otherwise
shut out
from us, by nourishing selfishness, by deadening sympathy, and by
weakening
faith. Great prosperity has been the ruin of many countries, and of
many men in
every country. It has surely been the occasion of a large part of our
present
miseries. Never in the history of the world was there such a
rapid advance made by any
people in all
the elements of power, abundance and splendor, as was made by this
nation in
the last forty years. We passed, as in a day, from national childhood
to a most
robust and formidable manhood. We were the admiration, the envy, the
wonder,
and I may say, the fear of all other people.--- England
and France
bore that from us which they never would have endured from each other.
It was
not of our Army and Navy that they stood in awe, but they were
reluctant to
give umbrage to a people who fed their commerce, and upheld their
manufactures.
With this influence abroad, when we looked at home we saw villages
growing up
in a few years into great cities, a soil which to-day was a quaking
morass,
to-morrow sustaining immense blocks of buildings, warehouses bursting
with
their stores, dwellings not merely provided with comfort, but decorated
with
splendor, and this not in one or two favored spots, as sometimes in
Europe, but
on the contrary, we saw vast territories where the Buffalo roamed, and
the Deer
bounded, and the form of man had not appeared, except as the Indian was
observed marching along his war-path, or the solitary trapper gathering
his
furs; we saw these wild regions changed almost as in the shifting
scenes at a
Theatre, into great, rich and populous States. Astonished Europe
heard year by year, that another million had been added to the numbers
of the
mighty Republic, and that its agriculture and commerce, and
manufactures were
increasing even more rapidly than its population. Then came the Mexican
war,
like another volume of steam, and made the rush and roar of our rapid
progress
still more astounding. Then came more and more of gold and glory, and
expanding
territory.
We
have been tried by prosperity as no nation ever was tried before, and
we have
yielded to temptation as completely and unresistingly as any people
ever did. Those old stories we have all read were outdone. Rome
corrupted by the conquest of Greece
and of Asia, Spain
demoralized by the subjugation of the Indies,
were prophetic of our destiny. Our material prosperity, swift as was
its
advance, did not keep pace with our moral deterioration. Within the
memory of
any middle-aged man we were regarded in Europe as
rigidly, perhaps
ridiculously precise
and scrupulous in morals and manners. No one dreams of this being our
character
at present. In one single state, and that a small one, the number of
suicides
average annually nearly a hundred. What the number of homicides is,
no
statist [statistician?], I presume, would undertake to tell. This we know, that if the
blood of
man, shed by his fellow-man calls to God for vengeance, the cry that
pierces
the ear of the Lord of Hosts from our land ceases not day or night.
Need I say
any thing of other forms of vice---drunkenness, lewdness, gaming,
fraud,
bribery, peculation, public and private? And with this such
lawlessness, such
haughtiness, such self-glorification! Who that looks abroad on our
country, can
read without a shudder, the prophetic language of St. Paul in that last
Epistle
written from Nero's Dungeon with the axe and block at hand, when with
purged
eye he reads the signs of the last times, and thus describes them:
"This
know also, that in the last days, perilous times shall come, for men
shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
truce-breakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of
God."
Is
there a trait in this dark picture, to which our country does not
furnish a
living likeness! We have been tried by prosperity then, and we have not
stood that
trial. It seems clear that God is now about to withdraw, at least
for a
time, the favours we have so abused, to try us with calamity. There is
no man
this day in that wide land which was called the United States,
who does not know
trouble and affliction. It has come to us all, in some form or other,
and to
many in many forms. See how our national wealth, which was so dear to
the
national heart, is disappearing!! Whose property has not, within a few
months,
been reduced in value, a fourth, or a half, whatever his personal care
or
diligence may be. The idolaters of money are crying out like Micah of
old,
"Ye have taken away my God, and what have I left!" Indeed who knows
now how much property any man has! This time of trouble, like the
grave, levels all
distinctions, and
rich and poor meet together. Factories and shops are closed, schools
are
deserted, churches are thinned, in every family the husband, or the
father, or
the son, or the brother has marched, or is preparing to march to the
uncertain
issues of the siege, or the battle-field. Thus we stand to-day.---How or
where
we shall stand three or six months hence no human wisdom can inform us.
And how
shall we bear what may await us? As yet but a few drops have fallen on
us from
the cloud, how will it be when its full fury is upon us? "If thou hast
run
with the footmen, says the man of God, and they have wearied thee, then
how
canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace wherein
thou
trustedst they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?"
Let us then remember that we are now entering into a time of
temptation, and of
very severe temptation, and that temptation does not necessarily do any
man
good, but may do him great harm, while, however, the endurance
of
temptation will do him the greatest good, "for when thus tried, he
shall
receive the crown of life." Everything which comes to us from God, is
in
some sense a temptation; that is, tries us, reveals our character, and
brings
us a benefit, or an injury, according to the use we make of it. The
sunshine
which ripens the sound fruit, rots the unsound. The storm which
prostrates the
decayed oak, sends deeper into the soil the roots of the living and
healthy. So
with ourselves. Health, wealth, wisdom, power, life itself is a
blessing or a
curse, according to the use we make of it. So it is with trouble and
calamity.
They are medicines in the hands of the Great Physician, but we may so
receive
them, as that to us, they shall become poison. Affliction, alas, often
hardens
men's hearts, makes them unthankful and rebellious against God, envious
and
malignant towards their fellow-man. The worst men on earth are those
who have
passed through the extremes of the two conditions, who have known
nothing but
unbroken prosperity, or unmitigated misery. On the other hand, the best
men the
world has ever seen, are those who have borne great affliction, and by
God's
grace have endured the trial. Such were Noah, Daniel and Job, the
Prophets
and Apostles, the
great Saints,
and the blessed Martyrs, while on the other hand, vice has never been
so
shameless, and so pitiless as in times of great public and private
calamity,
such as the destruction of Jerusalem, the plague at Athens,
and the
great
pestilences in Florence and London. Out of the furnace of affliction
men come
either purified or hardened.
I
repeat it then, it is not necessarily good for us to meet trouble, but
that it
is of all things the best and most Christlike, victoriously to endure
it.
Permit
me, as one whose duty it is to watch for your souls, in view of the
great
account, to offer you in all humility and affection, some counsels on
this
momentous subject. In the first place then, believe and lay to heart,
and keep
constantly before your minds this most certain truth, that whosoever
may be the instruments of our present troubles, God is the
efficient
author of
them. Hear the word of the Lord which He spoke to His ancient people by
His
Prophet Amos. "You only have I known among all the families of the
earth,
therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities." Mark the cause
and
effect. Because he so peculiarly loved them, He would punish them. And
He adds:
"Shall the trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it?" And so
the blessed Jesus said to Pontius Pilot, "Thou couldst have no power at
all against me, except it were given thee from above." And to the same
effect is the message of God to Sennacherib, King of Assyria, by Isaiah
the
Prophet, saying with regard to that proud King's boasted victories:
"Hast
thou not heard long ago that I have done it, and of ancient times that
I have
formed it?" And then he adds: "I will put my hook in thy nose, and my
bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou
camest." The first requisite to success against our enemies is,
reverent
obedience towards God, for again as holy scripture sayeth: "When a
man's
ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with
him."
Let us then earnestly and perseveringly seek the favor of Him without
whom
our enemies can do us no
hurt---without whom not a hair of our heads can fall to the ground. Let
us seek
His favor by that which He so loudly calls for at this time, by
repentance,
national and individual, by prayer public and private, by fervent,
faithful,
constant, prevailing efforts to keep God's holy will and commandments,
and to
walk in his holy ways. Secondly, we must be careful to cherish unity
and mutual
affection among ourselves. A censorious, suspicious, denunciatory
spirit,
always evil, always pernicious, is especially to be deprecated by us at
present. Let us avoid as the last, greatest, and most shameful of
calamities, a
fall into that abyss of misery which engulphed the wretched Jews at
Jerusalem, when
assailed
by enemies from without, and deserted in spirit and counsel by God,
they gave
themselves over to hating and slaughtering one another.
Again
let us, as far as may be, seek to check in ourselves and others the
growth of
rancorous, vindictive, malignant feeling and the use of bitter,
scornful
opprobrious language concerning those once our brethren, now, alas, it
would
seem our enemies. For after all we are Christians, or we have been
deceiving
ourselves, and the world, and all but God, for a long time. We are the
servants
of Christ, and our master's eye is upon us in this hour of trial. We
are the
servants of Christ, and in our master's visible presence we shall soon
be. We
are the servants of Him who spoke the sermon on the mount. What
injunctions
does he there give us? What feelings does He there bid us to cherish;
what
language to use concerning our enemies? We are the servants of Christ---what
language did he use to Judas Iscariot when he came to betray Him? What
prayer
did He offer for those who nailed him to the cross? And how
shocking
does the language of some of our adversaries, and of some of the
professed
followers, and even ministers of Christ, among our adversaries, appear
to us?
Shall we imitate them in their faults and sins?
Again,
let us take care not to have our minds possessed by this one subject of
our
national troubles. A man whose thoughts are engrossed by one idea,
especially
if that be an agitating and exciting idea,
is on the verge of
insanity. And,
already, men heretofore of firm and well-ordered character, have
committed
suicide from the pressure of this one distracting thought, the troubles
of the
country. And I have heard already from a certain Lunatic Asylum, (and
what is
true of it is probably true of all,) that its inmates have recently
become much
more numerous from the same cause. The best remedy is the calm,
soothing,
elevating influence of religion. Remember the testimony of the
Psalmist, as it is
expressed in our prayer-book version: "The Lord is King, be the people
never so impatient. He sitteth between the cherubim, be the earth never
so
unquiet." Acquaint thyself with him, and be at peace. You will be
tempted
to intermit, or at least diminish the performance of your religious
duties.
Never yield to that temptation---dread it, abhor it. Never had you such
occasion
to be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord as now. Be more assiduous
than ever
heretofore in reading the Scriptures and the works of devout men, in
public
prayer, and the use of the sacraments, and above all, in your closets,
in
calling earnestly upon God, yea, importunately beseeching Him to send
peace, to
advance righteousness, to purify and bless the land, and to prepare us,
even by
these troubles, to expect, and to be ready for His coming. Make prayer
more
than ever a real communion with God. Temporal deliverance you may well
and
properly supplicate; indeed it is your duty to ask this, but have still
nearer
to your souls the deliverance of those souls from sin and and obduracy,
and
worldliness, and bad passions, and His wrath, and eternal death. Cry to
Him in
the all-prevailing name of Jesus, not for yourself only, but for your
country,
wretched and imperilled, for the Church weakened in its efforts,
uncertain as
to the future before it; and cry to Him likewise for those near and
dear to
you, for husband, brother, father, son, that He would guard and
preserve them,
body and soul, amid the exceeding fury of this storm which now shakes
our land.
And lastly, remember that you yourselves are now under trial; that the
issues
of that trial are for eternity, that though sharp it will be short; and
that if
you endure to the end you will be saved, and that the sharper the trial
endured the
more glorious will be the
salvation.
And now, dear brethren. what will be the result? Scripture prophesies
it, and
history prophesies it. Some of you will fail in this time of
temptation, and
will not endure it. Some of you, I fear, will sacrifice to the passions
of the
hour the Christian character, and the Christian hope. Some of you will
come out
of the trial purified and refined, and assured of a brighter crown.
Resolve, oh
Christian hearer, this day, in God's strength, to which class you will
belong;
whether to those who will cast away the crown to which perhaps for
years they
have aspired, or those who hold on to their hope with greater
resolution than
before.
