The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-12-19

household We hare been banished from
their very. houses of prayer; We have been
ridiculed, and tainted, and fouted - unfit
for the society Of men and accursed Of God.
And has not an this proved blessing to us I
For what has it not done for usi 1t has
awakened Us to the truth that there can be
no concert Of action our enemies and our
selves, and hastened the period Of adopting
such measures as are best calculated for our
interest. And what shall the measures BET
Shall We fold our arms ingloriously, and do
netting but beg like craven towards that
they win not disturb US / leave this eues-'
ton for your own hearts to answer.
Il Is not for for me to show what should
be done. 1t Is only for me to say what l be-
lieve to be the hand of God. in what has been
done-that the recognition Of. that hand
might add feror to our thanksgiving and
praise. n ,.s--s Il
Then bless the Lord, o, my soul, and for
get not then his benefits. But how shall we
bless Godi We should bless him not only
with our lips but in our lives, by giving our
selves up to his service, by walking before
him in holiness and righteousness al our
days, by doing our duty in that state Of life
in which it has pleased him to call us and
there is no state OF life, there is no circum-
stance in which we may not give praise to
Cod (the tradesman in the conduct Of his
business-the artisan in the practice of his
craf-the parent in the government Of his
household, or in the instruction Of his child
the domestic in the performance of her
most mental service-the beggar in receiving
Christian charity-the exhausted and suf,
fering inmate Of hospital in the endurance
of protracted and agonizing desease-all
may give themselves up to Gods service)-
for we do this when we act uprightly, when
we labor diligently, when we rule mildly,
when we obey cheerfully, when we suffer
patiently, when we submit ourselves to the
will of God in the Affections and visitations
of life, and are only concerned to gloriffy
Him through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Now, in justice to myself / must be per
mitted to make a remark before close. But
a few weeks ago, ] counseled you, from this
place to avoid all precipitate action; but at
the same time to take determined action
such action only as you felt you could take
with the conscious support of reason and of
religion. give that counsel still. But I am
one Of you. Ifecl as Southerner. South
ern honor is my honor-Southern degrade
ton is my degradation. Let no man mistake
my meaning or call my words idle As a
Southcrner, then, / will speak, and give it
as my firm and unhesitating belize, that no
thing is now left us but succession. do not
like the word, but it is the only one to ex-
press my meaning. We do not secede-our
enemies have cceded. We are on the Con-
stitution-our enimies are not on the Con-
stitutoh; and our language should be, if you
will not go with us, we win not 90 with you.
You may form for yourselves Constitution
but we will administer among ourselves the
Constitution which our Fathers have left us.
This should be our language and solemn de
termination. Such actiot our honor demands |:
such action will save the Union, if anything
can. We have yet friends left us in the
North, but they can not act for US till we
have acted for ourselves; and it would be as
pusillanimous in us to desert our friends as
to cover before our enemies. To advance is
to secure our rights; to recede, is to lay our
fortunes, our honor our liberty, under the
feet of our enemies. know that the conse-
quenccs of such a course, unless guided by
discretion, are perilous. But, peril our for
tunes, peril our lives, but, como what may,
let us never peril our liberty and our honor.
am willing at the call ofmy honor and my
liberty to die a freeman; but, I'll never, no
never, live slave; and the alternative now
presented by our enemies is secession Of
slavery. Let it be liberty or death.