The Portland daily press., 1864-04-23
Gods Kingdom Coextensive with Earth
ly Affairs.
A SER MON.
Preached in the State Street Church. on
Fast Day, april l4th. 1864,

Fdst Day, April l4M. 1864,
BY REV. GEO. LEON WALKER.
LUXE xI; 2D VERSE" Thy kingdom come Thy
wlibe done, as in heaven so in earth -
Teach US to pray" said the disciples. "Tell
us,-for we feel ourselves to be very ignorant.
what we ought to ask for, and rejoice TO see
coming, o Christi "Pray thy kingdom
come, Thy will be done, as in heaven. SO In
earth,' responds the Master. And with those
simple words what flood of light came i'm
upon the true relations of this world to Gods
will! What widespread and ong-enduring
errors concerning the things the kingdom OF
God takes cognizance OF, are swept away by
the calm breath Of that prayer
Thy kingdom come? Thy will be done, as
in heaven, so in earth? There Is, then. no
eternal and necessary opposition between the
courses Of this worlds affairs and Gods pleas
ure. Then God concerns himself as to how
these affairs go. Then the kingdom of God
Is to be sought, not in whatever is most op-
posite TO and remote from, the transactions
which mems early life involves them in, and
the duties which are here assigned them, but
rather in the more complete recognition of
the will OF God as the law of those transac-
tions and the true guide and test of those du-
ties.
"Thy kingdom come? Thy will be done.
as in heaven, so in earth ?" Then we have
not to strain our thoughts across the whole
diameter Of existence to find the sphere OF pi-
ETY. and God-serying, in region apart from
daily labors and common events. Then Re-
ligion is not matter blessing other worlds,
but leaving this world miserable and under a
curse. Then there is no great gulf fixed be-
tween mans character as a citizen and his
character as Christian, permitting him TO
bear good name in the one relation and a
bad name in the other. Then political ac-
tions and public events come under the iuris-
diction OF moral law; and are necessarily har-
monious with, or opposed to the Kingdom of
God. Then there Is no part of life, indiyidu-
al or social, public or private, which lies out
side the sanctions and consecrations of relig-
ion.
This truth is one which think may appro-
priately be made the foundation of our reflec-
uons to-day, summoned as we are by ancient
cnstom and civil authority, to consider our
responsibilities and our shortcomings as indi-
viduals and people, as those shortcomings
and responsibilities are disclosed to us in the
light of Gods present providenees and His
word.
On several previous occasions OF like assem-
bling, | have called your attention to what
conceived to be the lessons of Gods word and
Providence in our great and still unended
struggle for national regeneration. The du-
ties and the instructions growing out of the
present civil war, were what endeavored, in
somewhat exclusive manner, to set before
you. do not intend to-day, to dwell largely
on theme upon which have already, on so
many occasions, freely uttered my mind.
desire, with your assistance, rather to 90 back
a little behind the scenes which occupy the
Immediate foreground ofpublic attention, and
speak, as may be able, OF a Truth which un-
derlies all of them: q Truth which affords a
guide and principle OF action, not alone in
reference to the great conflict of civilization
and barbarism now waging in our land but a
truth taking hold of every relationship poss-
Bile to man, and afording law and light to
every action he can put forth. | am anxious
las trust, indeed, We all arel that this occa-
sion of professed public humiliation before
God, should not pass, without leaving with us
strengthened apprehension of some practi-
cal principle OF conduct, which shall qualify
US better to meet the responsibilities OF the
present hour, and Of every hour of that life of
struggle which every earnest and God-fearing
man finds appointed to him.
Our text IA part of the petition which our
Lord taught his disciplesl seems to me To
bring before us truth out of which we shall
find some such practical instruction emerging.
Let US first consider what the Truth he sets
forth is, that we may clearer see the lessons il
is suited to import.
l. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
as in heaven, so In earth.' - The two
clauses are equivalent and mutually explain
one another. However elsewhere the word
Kingdom" may be employed to denote
some more specific form OF the Divine Soyer-
eignty,-as when, for example. the Messiah's
kingdom Is spoken of,-here undoubtedly, the
complete doing OF the will of God on earth Is
the coming OF His kingdom. When. through
out all the manifold relationships OF society
and the affairs of the world. the will of Cod
Is done, the Kingdom" of God, in the sense
In which the word is in this petition will
have come. The truth, therefore, which this
passage sets before us, may appropriately be
stated thus: The kingdom Of God on sdrth, is
coertensire Nth the rihgt conduct Of all hu-
man gddirs,or, if you please, in llother phra-
seology, The sphere Of religion is commen-
surdte tcith all right iiriRg.
This truth is one Of very simple statement,
but OF exceeding broad application. But
broad and simple as is the principle itself its
consistent exemplihcation in the affairs OF
men and societies, is one Of the rarest things
observation can show us. There is, on the
contrary, universal tendency in human nature
TO set up an antagonism between common life
and piety, between the courses OF this world
aud the kingdom of God. Religion and daily
affairs, civil governments and the government
OF God, are looked upon, to marvellous ex-
tent even by professedly christian men. as be-
Ing in some sense different provinces, lying
indeed side by side, but having to a great de-
gree different laws and usages, and destined
TO remain separate till the final day. Two dis
similar codes of life-the one secular the 9TH
er spiritual, the one prescribing the duties TO
be performedin in the mans character as a citizen
of the kingdom of heaven, the other his allow
able privileges as 4 citizen OF the kingdom OF
earth-stand face to face, unreeonciled and
conflicting.
Let me illustrate the working Of this antag-
onism, by some familiar examples dawn from
individual life. before passing to one or two
broader instances suggested to us to-day by
public affairs. Here is man sitting in his Sab
bath-pew, whose eye suiiuSes and face glows
as some earnest voice from the pulpit diates
upon the self-denials and unworldlinesS Of the
apostle Paul. Beholding the responsiveness
of his sensibilities to the delineation, you nat
urally conjecture that unworldliness and self
sacrifice are traits of character which have
attained in him marked development. With
this conviction you go to him asking him to
undertake some self-denying labor, or with a
subscription-pa for some charitable object.
Is this the same man you noticed yesterday,
who on this Monday morning you lind hard
as adamant to your appeal buried already in
his schemes for the week, which are to leave
no moment undevoted to its toll of money
getting, till Saturday evening comes, with its
hush OF trade and its forecast shadow of the
Sabbath? Yes, this is the man,-but you
meet him now on different territory, and un-
der the SWAY Of quite anothtr empire. Do
not be too bitter In your censure. Ten to one
he is not conscious of the vast opposition
there is between his code OF the Sabbath and
his code of the week. He lays the one by so