Polynesian., 1854-09-23

FTeached an Salem street Church, Sabbath, June
l8, 1854, By Req. Edtcard Beecher, d. d.,
EXTENT AND LIMITATIONS OF THE DUTY OF OBE-
DIENcE TO Civil RULERS
Text Rom. xiii, 1-6: "Let every soul be sub
ect unto the higher powers. For there is no power
out OF God; the powers that be are ordained of
God," &c. Also, Micah VII, 10: "For the stat
utes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the
house of Ahab, and We walk in their counsels
that should make thee a desolat,on, and the in
habltants thereof an Kissing; therefore We shall
bear the reproach of my people" And Hosea v,
IL: EPhrnim is oppressed and broken in judg-
ment, because he willingly walked after the com
mandment."
The preacher said he felt it his duty 10 discuss
the subject above designated because in Pauls
eplstes, 1t is made the duty of christian ministers
to discuss IT. The passages given above present
both sides of the subject. Among {" the powers
that be Vi. e., existing and actual governments
was the Kingdom of Israel, the Kingdom of the
Ten j rbes, which revolted from the house of Da-
vid, under Je;oboam. When Rehoboam. the son
of Solomon, was disposed to reduce them to obe-
dlence, he was commanded to desist; for this
thing, their revolt, "is of Me,' said the Lord.
We have therefore the fullest evidence that the
Kingdom of the Ten Tribes existed by the Prov
ldence of God; and yet for the obedience to some
OF the laws of that kingdom, the people were
threatened with the vengeance of the Almighty
Z" For the statutes of Omri are kept" &c. These
|" statutes" required what God had forbidden and
though they had been ia force nearly three hun
dred years, they had properly no binding authority,
they were of no validity. And in the other pas
sage "Ephraim is oppressed and broken in udg-
ment," &C., it appears that the people lost their
civil rights and became victims OF oppression, be-
cause they yielded a willing obedience to civil
laws that were IN conflict with the laws of God.
Ii Ill,
duty of obedience to civil government has its prop
er limitations. Ii has, as is well known been for
years matter of dispute among us, whether we
should keep certain lar. The question resolves
itself into this-whether this law is one of the
" statutes Of Omri," for obedience to which the
people were threatened with the vengeance of
God or whether it is one which God can approve
he preac did not intend to discuss this partc-
ular law but to lay down the general principles of
the B bic on the subject of obedience to civil ru-
lers.
/. CtuH Government is an ordinance of God
That is it is the will of God that men should exist
under different kinds of human government, of
which the State is the chief. So family govern
ment exists by the will of God. But the funda-
mental idea Is, that the rule of civil government
should be in accordance with the will of God. The
substance of the law of God, as prescribing the
conduct of men towards each other, is RECIPRoCI-
TY-that we TO do TO others as we would have
them do to us. This is the great law Uf nature,
written in the hearts of all men. The ablest iu-
rlsts IN all tmes Pagan well as Christian, have
acknowledged that all human laws ought to pro-
ceed on this ground The preacher to illustrate
this point, made several quotations from Black
stone. No human law,'' says this great writer,
- Is of any validity which does not recognise this
great Law of Nature. If any human law should
require what is contrary 70 the Law of Nature, e.
G., if It should require murder we are bound to
transgress." Quotations to the same point were
made from Justinian, and from Cicero and Demos
themes.
Now, what has been the actual character of hu-
man governments? Sometimes, nay, often, as all
history shows, human governments have framed
unjust, immoral and wicked laws. Babylon, Tyre,
Egypt, Persia, Greece and ROme-ther rulers
were selfish and wicked men, and governed un-
Justly and wickedly-and God punished those ma
tlons. Still, these governments did, for the most
part, preserve and defend the rights Of society,
and so far they did this, they were to be obey
ed. We come now
ii. To the Limitation of the rights of Ciu,i
Government and of The duty of Obedience
Governments are bound to enact Just and good
laws, and no other If they enact and enforce
other laws Ioicked laws, the subject is released
from obedience. In the text. God threatens men
for Obeying and keeping such laws. The mere
fact that in the providence of God such Govern
legation to obey them. Take our own Govern
ment TO it We are in the providence of God sub
Jected, and so tar as Its enactments are founded on
the great law OF nature, we are bound TO obey.
But if it has among its laws "the statutes of ON
ri flaws which conflict with the law of God
these have no validity; we are not bound to obey
them and if we obey, we expose ourselves to the
vengeance of the Almighty.
In review: /. The preacher said he knew not
that IN regard TO the principles thus laid down he
differed from any intelligent divine, except some IN
the times of the THdors and Stuarts. With this
exception. all admit these principles.
2. There is no presumption beforehand that any
particular government may not have enacted laws
which contravene the laws of God because all
human governments are administered for The most
part by unregenerate men I; men not in harmony
with God. Hence we ore not bound to idolize CIV
ii governments. We are often forbidden to trust
in princes, &c. Hence, also, lnsurrectlon and rev.
olutlon are not always wrong. These have been
resorted to in all ages, with good effects. What
human law defines treason, Is not OF course
crime. Armed resistance TO the government Is not
always wrong. There is also broad distinction
between TRUE law, which has Gods law for its ba-
sis, and FALSE law, which has for its basis the evil
passions and selfish interests of The ruler 10
obey the former, is duty to obey the latter
sin. Even lawyers admit that It IS sometimes
right to disobey the law, in order to have the prin
ciple of the law tested.
3. How are we to determine iehat laws are true
and right, and ,rhat laws are false and wrong
We come here to the great Protestant principle of
the RIGHT OF PRIVATE JU UDGMENT. No man, surely,
at least no Protestant, will deny this right. IL we
cannot allow Popes and Councils and Hierarchies
10 come between US and God, neither can we allow
civil rulers to do this. For the exercise of this
right, this right of CONSCIENCE, we are responsible
only to God. | know this right may be abused,
and often is abused. But the abuse does not prove
that the right does not exist. The preacher re-
peated in conclusion that he did not design 10 D.