Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1836-02-04
No. l9.....VoL. VIlI...

life p he answered, "Keep the Command
ments: Thou shalt do no murder, Tho.
shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt NJ,
steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Honor thy father and thy mother; and tboo
shalt love thy neighbor as myself" This
last, he taught in another place, was the sub
stance of all that remained Of the norallav
which he had not recited This is the lar
But what does he say about penalties? No
thing here; yet in his sermon on the noun,
he not only allows, but plainly enioins,
mitigation Of penalties under the new dis.
pensation. Hear him: aye have heard
that it hath been said, An eye for an eve,
and tooth for tooth: But say unto YOU,
that ye resist not evil" 1t may be contend.
ed that this passage only undertakes to in.
struct individuals in their duty towards 9th.
er individuals from whom they have receiv.
ed injury. But if the authority for dispen-
sing with the penalty which judicially tool
an eye for an eye, is not found in the spin,
of this passage, where, we ask, is it found,
and why is it not now judicially obligatory
lift be found here-if the spirit Of this pas.
sage dispenses with the requirement of al
eye for an eye, why does not he spirit of it
dispense with the requirement Of life 70,
life7
Whatever light FINDER may have INA.
gined thrown upon his path by the scriptures
Of the Old Testament already noticed, We
must think that with the passage from Ro-
mans, he has "taken leap in the dark
He asks, "What is a sword7" And AZ.
swers, can instrument to infict death"
Allowing this construction, ON whom rs de.ta
to be inflicted On all who do "c1iL" No;
only the murderer, but the extortioner, the
swearer, the liar, the licentious-indeed the
best who do eril, all must be put 10 the
sword-be capitally punished. Trenbe
my brother, if you ever do evil; for, acco'
ding to your own exposition Of this scripture,
the rule is "the minister OF God acting with
divine commission" and che beareth no:
the sword"-" the instrument Of DEATH
Gin vain"-he is "a revenger 70 execute
wrath upon him that doeth evil"
: Having thus disposed Of the Scriptures
adduced By our correspondent in vindicatoa
Of capital pCnishmens whether satisfactorily
S or not to him and others, he and others must
decide, let US now examine one other passage,
7 which has been considered BY some to te
s more weighty in favor Of that doctrine, thar
I any or all here brought forward. Tide Gen.
l esis il. s.: "Whoso sheddeth mans blood,
by man shall his blood be she'd" The su'
S perior force Of the argument derived from
J. this passage, has been supposed to consist 10
e this: 1t was spoken to Noah, and cannot be
reckoned as part Of the ceremonial law a.
forwards delivered to Moses. 1t must COZ.
t stantly be borne in mind, that we do nc,
' dispose Of the lau against murder, as cere,
monial. "Thou shalt not kill, whether de.
e llvered to Moses, or Noah, or the people Of
= the present generation, is the voice of nature
as we'll as of natures God, originating in
: eternal rcctitude and the fitness Of things
b always blnding-never to be abrngated. We
= cannot see that the consideration that it wa,
: given to Noah, gives it any additional strength
I over and above the consideration that it VS.,
given to Moses. 1t would have been equsl.
= ly binding on Us, had it only been revealed
to the latter, aud not to the former. If then
A a TAO Is nothing the more obligatory iot
e having been delivered to Noah, why is
r penohy2 That other laws are not consid.
0 cred or treated as the more obligatory on us
: Tor their having been delivered to Noah, is
evident from the fact that some of them are
as little regarded, as matter of dutu, -
! any OF the ceremonial laws given to Moses
I Two OF them may be found in the preceding
verses of the chapter already cited from
Genesis lx.-rtde verses and 4.
Some still may think that nothing less
than the blood of the murderer can satisfy
Justlce-that to spare him would be unjust
, The God Of justice did not think so, in re-
, gard to the first case of murder, and most re-
r voting tratricide recorded in the history Of
p man He not only spared the poor wretch,
bot mercifuliy favored him with mark for
= his personal safety. Not only "let US sub.
init and not be wise above what is written"
e but let US not undertake to be more lust than
: God, to whom alone belongeth vengeance.
a In closing the argument from the Law ara
!, the Testimony" we feel ourselves driven to
e the following conclusion: That although er-
e cry Jot and every title of the law that eve'
y stood against any manner Of sin, now stands,
e and ever will stand against it, still the sp'''
? 1t Of the new dispensation not only allows,
IS but requires mitigation of temporal penal
4 ties.
i Af,oL - Ty:.3 -