The weekly standard., 1869-09-08
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| STANDARD.
For the Standard
Our Enemies and how we Should Regard
Them.
"Yehave heard that 1t hath been said thou shalt
loYe thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: But
say unto you, love your enemies, bless them
tnat curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you. That ye may be the children
OF your Father which is in heaven for he maketh
ms sun to rise on the just and on the unjust. For
II ye love them which love you what reward have
ye! Do not the publcans the same? Be We
therefore perfect, as your Father which is in
heaven Is perfect."-Our Saviour, St. Matthew
| 5. chap. 43. verse;
Gan you read those words, proud man, and
turn away and forget them and despise your
brother man? Do they not steal over your
world-stained spirit, gently diffusing the dew of
holy love? Do they not come unto your heart
with soothing, inspiring, ennobIing influence?
Alas for you if they do not strengthen and re-
fresh your soul. And woman, gentle woman,
can you close your ears to that most blessed
commandment which so plainly and unequivo-
cally directs the course we are bound to pursue
as christian men and women Dare we read it,
It is not an injunction, observe not recommend
ed to us as proper thing to do merely, but ii is
an absolute commandment, one that we can
not modify or misconstrue, to crafty the
cravings of tine unregenerate heart;- fur
| nish an excuse for an outlet of the vindic-
tive passions of our nature, dare we read it and
still hate and feel revengeful, though we may
have been deeply, deeply, wronged? Dare
we pray "Forgive US our trespasses as we
forgive those that trespass against US" whilst
the vile serpent hate, is coiled within our hearts?
When we presume thus to pray, do We not in
woke curse, and not blessing? Is it not Of
| fering strange fire upon the altar amidst the
| lurid flames of which we, and not they, shall
| perish?
| We often times feel strongly tempted, whilst
traversing the stormy paths of our terrestrial ex-
istence, to hate our brethren who array them
selves against us, often in manner unaccounta-
BILE to us, and seemingly without cause. The
wrongs they infct upon US are hard for the nat
ural man to bear; the sufferlngs they compel Us
| to endure, the losses we sustain by tlcm, often
| tend to embitter our feelings towards them. 1t
| is then the Demon hate loses much of his hide
in cnht dc
| pleasant to our ears, and his manner and shape
become SO agreeable that lie fascinates us, and
almost irresistably bears us along with his spe-
| cious arguments to hate, 10 wish 10 destroy ut
terly, to infiict suffering upon them in like
| wise cruel manner. 1t sounds like q syrcn
strain to our human hearts, it is the teaching we
| love, we justify ourselves for receiving it, we
| pile up our wrongs to mountain heights until
| we are awed by their stupendousness, we stand
and contemplate them until they become awful
ly sublime to our eyes, and our worldly hearts
| grow to love them, and brood over them, we
love to walk in their dark shadows and listen to
| the influences that teach us to hate. Seldom
| do we stop and ask, as this teaching right?
| Oh! for the angels OF light to come, and chase
away these evil spirits, and open our ears to the
blessed voice of the gentle, loving, forgiving,
Jesus, quickening our senses to hear its heaven
| ly tones rising above the wild storm of human
| passions ever raging, saying to every heart,
"Peace, Peace, Be still. Dearly beloved avenge
not yourselves. will repay II thine enemy
enemy hunger feed him, il he thirst give him
drink. Recompense to no man, evil for evil.
Love worketh no evil to his neighbor, therefore
Love is the fulfilling of the law''
| 1t is to be regretted that at the present time
the current OF public sentiment in this country
is too deeply tinted and intermingled with the
dark waters of dislike discord, and un-
| paternal feelings. AS it is clearly un-
christian and unlovely to indulge in feelings
and actions of revenge, SO it is as certainly un
| patriotic; it betokens not valor nor discretion;
on the contrary, it is only the brave and intrepid
| spirit that can overcome the natural tendencies
of fallen nature, and treat his foes, national as
| well as personal, according to tine dictates of
reason, clear Judgment, and impartiality-t that
can extend to them that forbearance that can
only be exercised by the truly brave and great
Tofight our enemies often becomes necessity,
to all properly balanced minds painful neces-
sity Likewise it is duty frequently TO fight
with all our might and strength, and to seize
every advantage, and push the battle until the
foe is routed and stbdted, and all this may be
be done without yielding to unwholesome and
brutalizing passions. Whosoever fighteth his
battles, and holdeth himself in subjection the
while, is indeed true Chistian, brave man, a
valiant soldier of the cross, and child of God.
| King David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel and
the great warrior of the olden time, prayed God
to teach his fingers to fight, but not his heart to
hate; on the contrary, what beautiful examples
of forbearance and magnanimity he set us when
fallen, more than once, into his power. If we
descend to our own time and country for exam
Piles we shall find them among the best ant
greatest names upon the pages of our nations
history. 1t is not recorded OF Washington tha
he abused and villiied, and inundated the inva
ding and naughty British with abusive epithets
and vowed undying hatred and vengeance agains
them, as an army or nation, or as individuals
1t is certainly known that he wept when he pro
nounced the sentence that consigned Maj Andr
to an ignominious grave, and that his great AM
noble heart was stirred to its depths with sorro1
and modification at the unworthy conduct of th
traitorous Benedict Arnold, but VIC never hear
that he cherished feelings of hatred to either c
them
Amid our recent and existing internal commo
tions, and moral and political up-heavings, an
general unsettledness of society, the press {
this country, and also, grieve to record it, tl
pulpit has encouraged and often striven to kee
alive the old, and incite fresh, feelings OF bttt
hatred and revenge against our fellow countr,
men and brothers in the flesh. What will OF
Saviour say to those of his Pastors who ha,
: urged the souls committed to their charge
, hate their enemies Let them fear and tremb
in dread Of the hour in which they must met
His reproving eye, and His voice uttering IL
9 words of reproof and condemnation. "Tl
I children asked for the bread of Christian do
trine that tendereth to eternal life, and ye hay
given them the serpent of discord, and stril
that worketh spiritual death. My sheep can
/ unto you for guidance unto all holy things, f
e comfort, Tor the sweet consultations of th
J, faith, the life of which is love, and ye hp
q aroused and lashed into fury the darkest pa
;, sions of their hearts," May they be forgive
) may they see their error and repent of it, al
flee from it. We write not to censure, but wi
! sorrow, in the spirit of brothcrly love, and
a the fear of God, who saith, "Thou shalt not ha
e thy brother in thine heart, but shalt in any wi
e rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin up
s him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear a
t | grudge against the children OF thy people, b
thou shalt loye thy neighbor as thyself: {
| the Lord" Gen. xxx III.
!, What will be the doom OF those men w
a WELD powerful influence and use it in stirIi
Y up strife and teaching hatred to the advantage