, 1863-05-01

Tic speaker, after tracing the circumstance
winch gave rise TO the petition Of the prophet
and the Appropriateness Of the petition npol
Tie part 81 those nations against whom til,
said flat Gods wrath towards guilty natio, %
may be consuming or 1t may BE- tempered
! with elements Of mercy The wrath nj Go,
against the wicked antediluvians grew &c
fierce, on account Of their utter corrup
tion, that nothing. could stay it ehor
Of the publication Of the Garth by desolat
ing flood. Thcindignation of Jehovah agains
the oppressors Of Ills people IN Egypt coult
not be appeased until ten destructive plague
I had wasted the land.
But God often remembers mercy in Hi
wrath toward guilty communities. Thu
| more than once, when lie was on the point O
destroying the rebcllious congregation Of Is
rael in the wilderness, lie listened to the In
tcrcession Of Moses and Aaron, and snare,
the people, for His names sake, after Uc ha,
sorcly chastened them for their sins. So Ii
the history Of many other guilty nations
judgment has at length yielded to mercy. an,
peace and prosperity hare succeeded to til
cala1nlties OF war and domestic conflict,
| 1ae speaker then referred to our own conn
| ~. for many years VIC have seen . rapi,
! development Of the very evils and danger
against which the far-sccing Washing ton mos
| earnestly warned the country. in his Farewell
| Address, 1t has been long apparent that
large portion Of our citizens were more closcl
Welded to political parties than to the fire.
institutions Of the country. Hence, whel
any attempt has been made to point out tn
fair and Legitimate applications Of the doc
trines of freedom, 1t has been met by preju
dice and denunciatfon, or even bylauTess yfo
lence. Then a whole section Of the countr,
has been directly interested In system tha
was based on the assumption that the doc
t1ahe .'aIs o. equal liberty which ONT fathers Pro
cal heresy the spirit Of party long since
allied Itself as q matter OF policy. In the pro
ETess OF the collisions Of sentiment thus in
duced, all real freedom Of speech on the sub
tect was interdicted throughout the Southern
| States. With ench essential conturieties iu
the ayowed principles Of our people, and such
contradictions 10 our hoasted theories Of lib.
| erty in our practice, is it strange that Gods
wrath ehould lave been kindled against u.s.
With the 1oudest professions Of zeal for the
rights Of all men, VIC have been behind nearly
all the 1nonarchiet Of Christendom, and behind
the A1gerincs, in our practical devotion to the
cauEe of impartial and universal freedom !;
and day, a1ler eur sin has found us out, and
the wrath Of God has come down upon us,
through our tniquity as its instrument, 1t is
scarcely safe to declare the unyarnished truth
on this mourntul subject, even in many com
lnunitics that are nolninally standing for the
defence Of our free Government against its
enemies,
Tet, there are indications that God has mcr-
cy in store for US, as 4 political community, II
VIC are only willing to humble ourselves. we
have the great fact that large proportion Of
our people stand firm for the fundamental
principles Of our Government, and that theV
love onr FREQ institutions for htimanity's sake,
We laye also tho indisputablo flct, that
the lore Of liberty as a principle is gaining
ground. And is not the conviction ginning
ground, that all NC lack to achieve glorious
success Is the elimination from our system
Of the auti-republican elements that have.
by their discordant working, conyu1sed
the nation! A new and all-conqucring con
Tiction is taking firm hold upon thousands
OF energetic minds that have until recently
been committed against the true doctrine Of
human progress and political liberty There
s'e rays Of real morning beginning to stream
in upon the night Of our darkness. The au.
thorisies Of our Government arc at last setting
tho nation right before the world by boldly
asserting, in all constitutional ways, the SUI
Premacy Of the doctrines on which our politi-
cal system was originally founded.
We scc token or Gods displcasure against
us IN the extent to which he has permitted
our Christianity to become corrupted by the
power Of commercial, political and social
causes. Our prosperity and luxury as a peo-
pie have operated to relax the Christian con-
science ot the country; SO the zeal for truii,
aud purity, and Justice, have very far given
way to semisktptica1 or merely ethical re-
llgion on the one hand, and dead crccdism
without humanity, on the other It has thus
come to pass that whole denominations Of
nominal Christians, with their teachers,
throughout almost half continent, hare com
mltted themselves to the support Of the dog
family to be the chattels and merchandise Of
their brethren Of the same blood.
Ihe speaker remarked it was another in
stance of Gods mercy that tho seeming di-
visions among the supporters OF the Govern
meIt had been thwarted The spirit of m.
lr1otls1n has been revived in millions Of hearts
W the very consciousness Of the immense
fucrificcs which we are making for the great
cause Of government and human liberty, and
already the rising spirit If anarchy begins to
hide its head behind renewed professions Of
loyalty and zeal for our beloved Union.
The speaker said that our reycrses were Or
dcrcd for our humiliation, but still we arc
progressing. towards 1ine1 victory, Powerful
foreign nations hare symplthized with our
enemies, but when We struck at the root aud
strength Of the rebellion, God began to raise
up friends for us abroad to compensate for all
home.
War Is not the greatest of evils, Provi-
dence often 0rdalns 1t as the purifier Of an at
1nosphcre that had grown fuul and full Of pes.
thence; i Win be mercy working in the day
If wrath If this fearful war sh.ll leave in it,
issue the overthrow of the rebellion, and If
the foundations Of slavery, already shaken and
uphcavcd, shall be torn away all over the con
tinent, never to be re.l1id
This Is a lime tor earnest humiliation and
repentance. The rulers and the pious among
the people must appear before God with weep
ing aud 1asting, to arrest the cloud Of ven
geance. Already the Government is Washing
its hands Of the chief Elne that have brought
down the judgments Of God upon US. Will
not the ear Of Heaven listen this day to .
v~v1tt In nr1F 4 + ~
sanctuarics, that may. not be despised?
Let US pray to day for success and I peace
that will g}orify God, and provide for the safe
II and weI-bcing Of remote nations, aud of
generations far on In the future history
If our suffering race. Are VIC not
called upon to day to gird ourselves anew for
the duty before us. with the spirit Of eudur-
ance md self sacrifice. # VIC are determined
to succeed for the Lords sake nnd h1mauity's
sake, VIC shall find motive enough in tho sa-
credncss and magnitude Of the cluse to nerve
us for all that remains to be done and suffered
for IN end 60 glorious.
We must stand firmly by the constituted
authorities Of the county. If we would act 90
hunest part as the friends Of the Government
and Of tue nation. all prctcnces Of sustaining
the Government while taking sides against its
representatives, are equivalent to actual COM
plicity with our enemies. This is not time
for nice distinctions Of technical law at the
".
matter what our theories may be touching de-
batab'e points Of constitutional law, if our
htorts are with the Government, our voices
aud hands will be with it also.
We must 1Ac4 ont the issues to the end. A
false peace would be worse than tho gua;1s
that were given to the IsraHlites when the
wrath Of God flashed out against them while
the flesh was yet between their teeth. Let no
untempered mortar be laid upon the breaches
In our national cdidcc. He who prlys for
peace, while ready 10 compromise with rebel
lion and reinttato the great cause Of our ca
lnmities IN nu its former vigor and venom,
asks only Tor another baptism Of blood, aud M.
other revelation Of ilerccr Judgment against Us.
Let US be bold enough to insist upon the appli-
cation Of an effectnal remedy for our terrible
national difficulties. Let us dare to mak,.
history for orr Eencrntion that will shed its
radiance FAR down upon the ages to come.
for il will surely be an enduring honor to have
lived and acted manly part at such time
j. this, and the Kingdom Of Christ will begin
new era from these dark years that will
gather brightness In Its unfolding scenes. un-
II the beams OF latter day glory shall pour
their hallowcd blood upon the world.
ST. ,AMEss cuxRct1.
The congregation that assembled In st,
James Church was large. The morning
service, with the prayers set forth by the
Bishop, were read by the Rev. Mr.. Van Dyne,
the Rector's assistant.
The sermon was preached by Rev. Dr..
Ciarkson, from the text: "fe shall know
that have not done without cause, all that
have done in the land, saith the Lord God.'-
Ezekiel II: g.
The sermon commenced with an acknovl-
edgment that our national calamit1es were
from the Lord. Then the preacher proceeded
to show that not without cause had the Lord
afflicted us. lie then gave some causes why
we deserved chas tisc1ncut and SORROW The