Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1845-02-14

Wcek-and the substance OF speech by
Elihu Burrtt, the learned blacksmith, de-
livered at Springfield, Mass, few weeks
since
And oblge, FRIEND OF PEACE.
Substance Of Bwrcn's Speech al Spring
field, on Peace and War
God is love. There is no class legisa-
ton for any part of His moral universe
= He has given two laws of equal force and
necessity throughout all the realms Of His
Empire. To every atom of matter he has
said, "thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy soul, mind and strength, and
d thy neighbor as 'thyself;' or, what is the
same thing when applied 10 matter, 'rhou
shalt attach myself to His Eternal Throne
with all thy capacity of adhesion, and draw
with thee thy fellow atom to the same CEN
ire." This is the law of gravitation, the
physical duplicate of that other law, given
alike to every angel, man, and moral be-
ing in the universe :" thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy soul, mind and
strength, and thy neighbor as thyself"-
All his attributes are expressed in that law,
and he can no more change the one than
the other AS there is no one square inch
of space or matter TO which the law of
square. inch in the vast ampitudes of Gre
alton; SO there is no one portion of the
moral universe to which the law of love
is not as necessary as to any other portion
of it. That law is no more binding in
heaven than earth; no more obligatory on
Gabriel, than on the obscurest mortal to
whom it has been given unless, indeed,
the repeated violations Of law may exhaust
its obligations.
Now war, in the philosophy Of its i'm
preaching wickedness, demands that God
shall suspend this great law of love, this
law of moral gravitation, in certain por-
ton of his empire. But this is the hum
blest of its arrogant claims. 1t demands,
that he, who is love, shall change his at
tributes, the terms of admission to his
throne of grace and heaven of love. 1t
would point its iron cannon against the
walls Of the city Of God, and batter a
breach in its everlasting gates for hot
DlCdtllluS W SiiiiD III "
war; Christian war, out-monsters the
Devil in sin. Contemplate one of its sac
fihces, the great immolaton at Waterloo,
for instance. War, with its glaring fend's
eyes, peering like two smoking fues from
the bottomless pit, through an ocean of
sulphurous vapor, is preying over thou
sand acres of dying, dead and bleeding
men. "Thou Creator and Father of all
men," cries the pious and scaly Gorgon,
"here are hundred thousand human souls
that ], in behalf of several Christian ma
tons, send TO thy bar. TO be sure, they
have not washed their robes and made
them white in the blood Of the Lamb, but
they are dyed through and through in
each others blood, whose crimson is set
the deeper in their souls by the burning
malice OF their mutual murder. Waive
that severe condition which shuts the
murderer out of heaven, and banishes from
thy mercy seat the hater of his BROTHER
Rank in these man-butchers with the
heavenly hosts, tho cotted over with red
seals of their profession. Place them face
to face at the marriage supper of the
Lamb, at whose table they often commun-
ed here on earth, before they were COM
manded to kill each other. Every one of
them knew when he stabbed his neighbor
to the heart, that he who hateth his broth
eris murderer, debarred from heaven,
But we promised them all a LEGIsTIcE in
thy name, while they should seethe the
earth in human blood, and trample on thy
laws, They have hated all whom we COM
manded them to hate they have killed as
many as we have commanded them to kill
they took into their bosoms the hearts Of
tigers at our command; like tigers they
fought, and like tigers they died. They
violated all thy laws in obedience to their
superior officers. Place all their deeds
with all their vast consequences, and all
the malice of their hearts, to our account
If the righteousness of Christ be too scant
robe to cover up the stains of unrepent-
ed murder on their souls, let them gil il
out with the righteousness Of the christian