Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1840-02-19
NON RERs1 sTAN cE


position that God Designed the establish
asent and has manifested his Approval of
human government shall be drawn from
the Instructions of the sacred volume in
respect TO civil government.
"Whoso sheddeth mans blood, BIZ man
shall his blood be shed; for in the image
of God made he man. Gen. tx: 6. This
passage has ever been regarded by all
respectable commentators as enioining on
men the duty Of taking life for life The
full examination of it. in Its bearing on
the subject of capital punishment, will be
more appropriate at another time At
present allude to it merely to show the
business of the inference | draw from it.
By some modern wise men it is very con-
tidently asserted, that this is not divine
injunction, declaring Gods will, and
mans duty, but merely prophetic dec
laration of the awful results which wicked
men would work out in despite of Gods
will to the contrary. Now if the preyi-
lous annunciation few years since of
outbreaks of popular violence as likely to
follow certain public proceedings, were
conclusive evidence that the editors who
foretold violence, favored it, and inten-
tlonally famed the fame, by forewarning
people of 1t, | see not how these new
commentators will be able on their own
Interpretation, to avoid charging God
with being particeps criminis at least a
sharer in the guilt of all the righteous
blood of murderers that has been shed
from the time of Noah, to the present
day. But if this passage be only pro-
phetlc declaration of what wicked and
revengeful men would do, viz: exact the
life of the murderer as the punishment
tor his crime, then am sorely puzzled
with the last clause of the verse Let
me give paraphrase Of the verse ac-
cordng to this new exposition, so as to
set forth its beauties and consistency. If
any man be guilty of murder, his fellow
men will wickedly exact his life for it,
because they are made in the image of
God; j. e. men will usurp authority and
unrighteously punish the murderer be.
cause they are like God. To such resorts
are we driven 10 order to make the Bible
speak as they would have it. But the
sense OF the passage is TOO manifest to
admit OF any such perversion, God would
invest human life with peculiar sacred
ness. Hence he declares that the taking
OF life shall not pass unpublished nor with !
slight punishment Whoever commits
murder shall thereby forfeit his own life,
as the severest penalty which can be in
hIcted; and the reason why this crime is
to be SO severely punished is, because
man was made IN Gods image and there.
fore to be held sacred and to be guarded
by the most dreaded penalty which can
be imposed.
But if men are here required to punish
murder with death, how shall it be done
Shall 1t be left to individuals 10 act as
their feelings may prompt, or their iudg-
ment dictate. This would not secure due
and Impartial investigation in doubtful
cases. The innocent would often suffer,
and the guilty escape with impunity.-
Those who were not particularly inter-
ested in any case of murder would be
likely to neglect the trial and punishment
of the criminal; while those who were
personally interested in the case, would
by the very interest they felt in the case,
be totally unified for impartial action.--
Hence Prof Bush, one of the first Bib
IIcal scholars in our country, SAYS this
ordinance" not prophecy Therefore man
be considered as a Uirtual institution of
mGglstracy." The Jews have ALWAYS
thus understood this passage A very
celebrated translation of the Pentateuch,
made about the time of our Savior, from
Hebrew into Chaldee, renders this pas
sage thus: e Whose sheddelh mans blood
with witnesses by the sentences of the
judges shall his blood be shed''
have dwelt the longer on this passage
because it is not liable to an objection
ofentimes urged against any declaration
OF Coos will after the time of Abraham,
that ''ths has no application TO US, but
was part of the ceremonial law abol
ished by Christ" No one probably will
contend that the Mosaic ritual was intro
duced or the Hebrew Commonwealth
established before the calling of Ahrah ham.
From this passage turn at once to The
New Testament. SO rs not to adduce any
questionable authority. The Pharisees
on a certain occasion leagued with the
t1efodlans to entangle the Savior in his
talk, by proposing an ar,fui question,
which they supposed could not be answer
ed without rendering him obnoxious to
the Jews or to the Romans. "WLat
thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give trih-
ute to Caesar or not2 Jesus in replv
teaches duty to human government and
duty to God, as perfectly harmonious with
each other, and both equally binding upon
men; thus rebuking the man EASING
seVility of the Herodans on the one hand.
and the perverse. self-wiled hvpocrirical