The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1876-04-27

Furghcr. hiaoy tells ua tbs sans
trait. Tbe tendency q history Is -
sure a. dedication II the will q God .
- RAINING water .s u he slope 4
land. Wtsa We end anything. ike
slavery q polysamy. steadily losing
ground, age after age. iis allies traitor
Gus Or powcrless, ils seeming victories
turning to crushing defeats, foes
spHngiag up 10 the unlocked for quar-
lers and apparently the world uniting
10 huHt il down, We can make up our
minds that it Is ooHtrGry to the pur.
pose Of God. When. on the other
hand. VIC hnd 90 institution growing
hruer and more stable As centuries
pass, ike awell built wall, only more
compact and immoyahle As time settles
il together, there is more thAa q hint
VI Gods favor. Now in the thousands
Of years since Nimrod founded bis
kingdom in the land Of ShinAF there
have been questionings and disputings,
discussions with the pen and discus
siouE with the sword, wrangings and
tunnoils and rebellions. but touching
the sphere and scope and character OF
government, not its basis or its right.
fitness Here and there to be sure we
hear voice raised in discordant clam
or, as slgmatizing law as tyranny, but
they often declaim only against govern
ments as they exist, not against gov
eminent as they might be. II we read
Alright the aim Of God AZ it is express.
ed in the trend and being Of historic
events, what be has striven for has
been not TO uproot but TO prune, not to
destroy but TO cleanse. So though the
sphere OF the civil powerm may have been
somewhat circumscribed in the lapse
of time, though its methods have been
modified, the foundation fact remains
and the perpetuity and prevalence Of
civil government declares that it is
ordained of God.
Also we must consider the necessity
Of government a proof Of its divine
origin. 1t is impossible for US TO con-
ceive of any progress or any prosperity
without it. Space and time are neces.
sary conditions Of thought, and this
alone proves them TO be Of Divine ar.
rangement. But no more than we can
conceive of bodies without space. or
events without time, can we conceive
Of society, Of liberty, Of happiness, Of
safety without the condition of gov
ernment. As well think Of ships sail
ing in a sandy desert, as well think OF
hourishing cities built ON floating
clouds or fairy moonshine, instead oil
solid earth, think of men gaining the
ends of their being without associating
themselves in the bonds Of law and
order. Vesuvius or Elna may belch
forth flames aud lava, and the desolat
ing rivers rob the people Of their past
but before the smoke is dissipated il
air, before the fiery rivers are turaeC
to stone and the heaving mountain
ceases to quake, they return and ere
long the new made deserts bud anC
blossom as the rose. So rebellion anC
anarchy may seem to have gained the
ascendency, the bands Of society Il
have been burst forever. and the up
heaval TO have been the end OF order
hut hardly have we time to despair
, when on this very volcano il rearet
again the fabric of government w
thought destroyed forever. It's newt
ableness and necessity bespesk it tt
be from God.
D Again, for the good il has done ant
, is doing, we say it 10 OF God. Ever,
. good and perfect gift cometh dow
!. from above. All that is excellent an'
e profitable we instinctively and right
E. fully ascribe to the Father, to whom
. we owe all blessings. The good !
. does we must all acknowledge, tina
4 good unerringly marks its origin anc
i bids us ascribe it the source Of oil
; good. the institution Of God.
!. We find then all the lines we hav'
e followed converging TO the same point
e All roads lead TO the city. All tn
J. proof we summon goes TO show tina
y the thought with which we started i
a true, that civil government is ordaine,
e Of God
I 10 considering how this ordination
G and Institution comes about, we We
= that it is not direct. Those VII,
e would fain find some constitution wit
Y articles aud sections. delivered like th
II Jewish law by the mediation Of angels
a seek what they will never find. Tb
polity Of theHebIew theocrsey was new
e er intended as an absolute pattern
b though Of course hints may be take
d from Il. Nor has any state receives
3 the Divine sanction az being perfec.
No voice from heaven, no inspired pen
d DO direct monitioH Of the spirit, allow
a aud authorizes the founders Of nAtioI
i to claim preemiuent approval for tina
. which they have wrought. ALI gov