The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1863-11-12
rhe Presby1erlan Church Oh
the state Of the Country.


At the late meeting of the Presbyterian
Synod Of Pittsburg, at Johnstown, the
state of the Country was touched upon
The members of the Synod were entirely
loyal, regarding it as Christian duty to
support the Government, believing that
righteous peace can be obtained only by
,he suppression oe the rebellion, and that
this can be done only by avigorous prose-
cution of the war New resolutions on the
subject were not deemed needful, but the
Synod affirmed the action of the last Gen.
sral Assembly, and especially the following
sentiments:
at NAV be we'll for this General Assem-
bly to reaffirm, as it now solemnly does,
the great principles to which utterance
has already been given. We do this the
more readily, because our beloved Church
may thus be understood to take her dellb-
crate and we'll. chosen stand, flee from all
imputations Of haste or excitement; because.
we recognize an entire harmony between
the duties of the citizen, Especially in
land where the people frame their own
laws, and choose their own rulers,) and
the duties of the Christian to the Great
Head of the Church because, indeed,
least of all persons, sho'd Christian citizens
even seem to stand back from their duty,
when bad men press forward for mischief;
and because a true love for our country,
in her times of peril, should forbid us to
withhold an expression Of oar attachment,
for the insufficient reason that We are not
accustomed to repeat our utteranccs.
"And because there are those among US
who have scruples touching the propriety
of any deliverance ofa Church Court re-
specting civil matters, this Assembly
would add, that all strife of party politics
should indeed be banished from our
ecclesiastical assemblies, and from our
pulpits; that Christian people should
earnestly guard against promoting partizan
divisions and that the difficulty OF a;cu-
rately deciding, in some cases, what are
general and what party principles, should
make US careful in our judgments; but
that our duty is none the less imperative
to uphold the constituted authorities,
because minor delicate questions may
possibly be involved. Rather, the sphere
of the Church is wider aud more searching,
touching matters of great public interest,
than the sphere of the civil magistrate, an
this important respect-that the civil
authorities can take ,ognizance only OF
overt acts while the law of which the
Church of God is the interpreter, searches
the heart, makes every man subject to the
civil authority for conscience SAKE, and
declares that man truly guilty, who allows
himself to be alienated, in sympathy and
feeling, from any lawful duty, or who does
not coDscientiously prefer the welfare, and
especially the preservation OF the Govern
ment, to any party or partisan ends
Officers may not always command a clti-
xen's confidence, measures may by him be
deemed unwise; earnest, lawful efforts
may be made for changes he may think
disirabie; but no causes now exist to
vindicate the disloyalty of American
citizens toward the United States Govern
ment.
'The General Assembly would not
withhold from the Government OF the
United States, that expression of cordial
sympathy which loyal people should
offer. We believe that God has afforded
US ample resources to suppress this rebell-
ION, ana that, WlLn MS DieSSihS, IL Will eie
long be accomplished We would animate
those who are discouraged by the contin-
uance and fluctuations of these costly
strifes, to remember and rejoice IN the
supreme government of our God, who
often leads through perplexity and dark
ness. We would exhorr to penitence tor
all our national sins, to sobriety and hum
bleaess of mind before the Great Ruler of
all, and to constant prayerfulaess for the
Divine blessing an6 we would entreas
our people to beware of all schemes i'm
plying resistance to the lawfully constitu-
ted authorities, by any other means than
are recognized as lawful to be openly
prosecuted. And this Assembly is ready
to declare our unalterable attachment auG
adherence to the Union established by our
fathers, and our unqualified condemnation
of the rebellion to proclaim to the world
the United States, one and undivided, as
our country the lawfully chosen rulers of
the land, our rulers; the Government OF
the United States, our civil government i:
and its honored flag, our flag land TO affirm
that we are bound, in the trilest and
strictest fidelity, to the duties Of Christian
citizens under a Government that has
strown its blessings with nrofuse hand"