Delaware State journal and statesman., 1861-12-20
(Pu6lished by Request.)

desire to drive him utterly from the Throne of
the Universe. Few are so far gone in their mad
ambition as to seek to sit themselves upon that
throne. Mostly, they would be satisfied with
compromise, which should provide for a divided
dominion between themselves and God leaving
him heaven, and reserving to themselves the
earth allowing him the sovereignty in spiritual
things, on condition that lie should not interfere
in the affairs Of their daily lives. And so their
whole conduct is an ignoring Of Gods presence
and providence in the world; and their whole
speech Is, "Lesve us, O Lord this lower life of
trade and industry, Of pleasure and politics and
practice. Be thou content with that upper and
unstainedsphere Of theory, and imposs BILE vir
tue, and religious revery. Let us alone to do
our will through our six days, and then, if we
can tear ourselves away from our diversions, or
are not too weary with our work, we will come
up on Sundays and sit an hour or two with thee
content to purchase with little pain 30 large
share Of pleasure"
And as they think towards God, so think they
towards Gods messengers. "Let the minister
stay in his study all the week, and, OF last, bring
out for our delight some pleasant song that may
lnll us into easy slumbera. Let him discourse
as he will of faith, and hope, and whatever
charity will cover the greatest multitude Of our
sins, but let him By no means presume to meddle
with that outside life Of business which we have
been leading through that week. His affair is
with eternity and not with time; with theory
and not with practice; with doctrine and high
mysteries of faith, and free will, aud divine de-
cree, and not with conduct and the plain facts
of work, and perverted heart and human
actioni with our theological orthodoxy, aad not
with our mercantile morality; with our religion,
but not with our politics.
There is no denying that there is q popular
and pretendedly piuus prejudice ngast politi
cal preaching. Nor s there to my mind any
doubt but that il springs simply from this dis
like In the human heart to the government of
God, and this desire of men to separate wholly
the week day from the Sabbath, to divide dOmi-
niOn with the only rightIul Ruler Of all, to
divorce faith and works, to destroy the influence
OF Eternity over Time, to escape the remembrance
of Gods law, and so be left tree to work their
own wild and wicked will unhindered by any
thought Of his command, and unrestrained by
any fear of their own punishment Not con-
scously, perhaps, but still really afraid that if
the full blaze Of heavens light should shine upon
their sinful deeds, the test would be too hard
they seek the darkness lest those deeds should be
made manifest. If they believed the Bible to
be on their side, would they not seek the Bibles
sanotonY
And yet think that the preacher who rightly
regards his position in Gods providential plan,
and who rightly realizes his responsibility VINO
is not willing to have his Master dishOnored aud
his Masters authority despised who knows
that faith without works is dead and that some
thought of eternity is the only rudder that can
kulub tllt VI hDy uuHldu lle uCIush luo bth
of Time who sees that for mans law TO be any
law at al it must run parallel with Gods; who
remembers that politics is simply prudence, and
that there is no prudence except in doing right
and moreover, that there is no standard of right
hut the divine precept, which is his study, and
which it is his business to apply who remem
bers furthermore, how much OF that revealed re-
cord of Gods will is purely political; how much
of its history is of necessity history of politics.;
how, for the most part, its promises concern q
nation, and national development; and its pro.
phecies foretell the rise and progress and decay
Of peoples and its psalms the full bursting
praises of a rejoicing kingdom and its proverbs
are the productions Of king, and filled with the
soundest political maxims; and its precepis re-
late TO the management Of affairs ; aud its epis-
tles though full in the first place, Of the clear
eat theology, yet, no less full, in the last place,
of the closest application OF it all to the mutual
relations Of men, not only in the church, but in
the family and the state. til nix, indeed, that
the preacher who remembers all this will some
times despise the clamor and oalumny of the
popular prejudice, and putting his d1ty to God
above his fear OF man, say plainly to the people
sometimes on solemn dnys of fasting or thanks
giving, and sometimes on holer Sabbath days
that they shall not thus nulily Gods ordinances
and ignore Gods government. He will not pirate
of tariffs and banks and the various works o
Internal Improvement, but at the risk Of touch
ing upon license laws and prOhbtory statutes
he will preach that " Wine is q mOcker, ant
strong drink is raging and whosOever is deceiy
cd thereby, is not wise" In spite OF any super
fetal fancy that the matter belongs solely TO th'
legislature, he will denonnce the whole system
Of lottery gambling no less violation Of tn
spirit OF Gods commandment, than an OutTag
on humanity, and IL disgrace 10 the code of an.
community. Accepting the hazard Of bein
thought partiaan, he will proclaim that '' re
bellion is MS the sin of witohcraft." He will re
member how Samuel rtproved Saul and ho'
Nathan said unto David, " Thou art the man ;
and how Jeremiah rebuked the Jewish king; an
how Paul preached politics to the Romans an
how, indeed, the time will never come when min
listers must not preach politics till that almos
millenial age when politicians shall practice re
ligion.
And though this defence of such preachin
may seem to some out Of place in O dsCours
professedly of thanksgiving, yet, when you re
member how it has come to be that our yer
fastlngs and thanksgivngs are counted the Shil
boleths of our pArtizanshp and when you con
slider how the very possibility of such peculiar
Nv has been brought about in the community an
in the State by Il neglect Of that commando
mingling Of piety with politics, think you mu
confess that both time and circumstance col
spire 10 give certain fitness to such justihc
ti0n.
For, tell you, that il is simply this repudil
tion of Gods government that has brought US
into such sad and mournful case as we staI
in to-day We have, practically, In most Of o
American public life, put any idea of Divinity
Divine rule far from us as possible We ha
maRnifed our commerce, and our manufacture
and our agriculture, till we have forgotten wi
holds the winda, and who pours forth the streai
of waters whereby the mill.whees turn, and WI
causes the sun to shine, and the rains to fl
that the earth may bring forth food We In
indeed made money too much the obj
of our highest hope aud our hardest effort, ar
by no great exaggeraton, the God of our lido
try. We have made expediency, instead of &C
science the guide of our craftsmanship
have forgotten to measure our legislation, sc
ton by section, with the immutable statutes
Heaven Even in that venerable and almost
cred instrument, which is the charter Of 4
liheriies and the symbol of our national life,
have dared to leave out the merest mention
that God who gave us liberty and who alone c
preserve our life.
And it IL just this refusal to acknowlet
that all good government must needs recogu
Gods supreme sway, and all true politics III
be founded upon true piety, that has wrouI
such trouble and disquet in our land to-day.
is lust this that has made ill-teelng, and dspr
and quarrel, aud angry parting at last.
lust this that has filed the public offices v
corrupt and selfish men; that has sapped
very strength Of that loyalty which in every t
heart takes rank among the sacred loves of
human soul; that has made contusioni and pi
lived trade that has rocked the fabric OF
constitutional system TO its very base; that
filed one half the lana with embattled host
arms against the lawful authorities and ind
filed the whole land with the sad and sickeI
sights and sounds Of fratricdal war.
lust this that has brought up, as from an in
nal pit, the black clouds Of sorrow, and shn
and sin, that have covered the fair sky OF
hopes and shut out the bright sunlight of
opI tad 10