Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1863-08-15

blocd-the legitimate consequences of ma
tional corruption and decentralization In
connection with thanksgiving to God for
preservation and success in the day of pc.
il, it may be we'll to enquire after the i'm.
mortal truths aud principles which lay deep
down at the worry foundation Of all civil
government, ordained Of God. And when
cast my eye over the sacred record, in
search of text which shall convey all that
is essential to the purity aud stability of
government, the words of our Savior stand
forth as the embodiment of truth and prin
ciple on this subjec Render, therefore,
unto Caesar the things which are Caesars;
and unto God the things which are Gods"
Such is the order Heaven prescribes, to
regulate our civil and divine relations
And the order of duty indicated by our
Lord in the text, is so selfevidently just
and consistent with our civil and divine re-.
lations, that argument to convince men
would seem to be q waste of time; since
none will deny the obligation TO "Rsnder
TO Cesar the things which are Cesar's, and
unto God the things which are Gods"
But a question may arise as to the pro-
per division of our duty. In other words:
what are the respective rights Of God and
Caesar; and what are the duties We owe to
each n our civil and divine relations? This
is the real question at issue, and has been
the bore OF contention among men Of diff
| ferent ethics, and not whether it was right
to Render unto God and Cesar the
things which belong to them l"'d Around
this question men of different creeds have
gathered their forces and fought their
bloodess battles before the resort to carual
weapons and mortal conflict. Each saw.
the beautiful harmony flowing out Of a
righteous distribu ion of dutyto God and
to Caesar, but differing as to the exact
line of jurisdiction between the civil and
divine, instead of harmony, the land is
filed with violence. "'aiya' 81
And before we can reasonably hope for
permanent natioral Union--such Union
as God will approve, and as will lay the
foundation for future peace and prosperity;
as nation, We must be governed by the
regulating principle laid dewn 10 onStext.
1t must be the granite rock on which we
4 found our natiopal structure, the keystone
in the arch of our Temple of Liberty
the north star for our Ship Of State, while
sailing down the course of time Would
we see united, happy, prosperous country,
where the rights of the high and the low,
and the rich and the poor, are equally re-.
spected, then the supremacy of government
must be maintained, aud the spirit of in,
subordination put down. And while we
exat the civil code to the authority aud
dignity of a divine institution, C@'ar must
no longer usurp the prerogatives of God,
and strike down the Higher Law" by a
miserable time serving expediency or half
way covenant with death and he'll! G cd
will accept :. no such nuholy compromises,
aud the nation that ordaihs them makes a
fearful issue with the administration Of
heaven. '' ~.'
With these preliminary remarks | now
proceed with the following order OF discus
sion : hoping to present SO much of God in
our national history that your hearts will
be moved to uufeigned than ksgiylng and
praise u1r .41irbaW U-. 31ul
lst. Consider tie respective dQteS
which we owe to God and Cgsar, or civil
and divine government. 3D .' i
I'd. Show the perfect harmony and con-
sistency of those respective duties.
Sd. Notice the tendency, in civil gov
ernment, to reverse this order ana the con-
sequences. .l1 .r.t.,.. p. .la4 ..lv
lst. Consider the respective duties &c /,
I-Government arises from the necessity Of
order 1t is said, "Order is heavens first
law;" Hence, throughout the wide domain
of God--in the kingdoms of nature and of
| --uS uHifOloui 10 Su' hHN''HpoN W
God and his works we find government
tending to this one grand result-Order,
Heavens First Lawl Now are we 10 sup;
pose that God has provided laws for every.
thing except mankind Or that map, the
most exalted, intelligent and accountable
of all Gods earthly creation, is left to
frame and Irresponsible code without coun,
sci or dictatiou from infinite wisdom? Such
q conclusion can emanatc only from blank
tboisn,r lius .rs.r rl-ssl g7o vt' -7I-l isF 80
\ <A'nN'Su" p .0i HuEU Goa llru1 -if ui .'s's'. u
But when We turn to the sacred oratlons
! of truth we are not left in darkness and
doubt as to the origin of civil government,
for there it is expressly declared that
"there is no power but Of God" and "tbe
4 powers nthat be are ordained of God" ln
other words, civil government, as an insti'
tuition, is Of divine appointment. Properly
! tconsidered, civil government is simply an
| oof ,'Iba tfli vino acchrn mndafed n