Year: 1861

TO the volunteers from ork D1SIrlcC.


GALLANT SIRs: From the previous let
ter, it is evident, that in the judgment Of
your correspondent, the cause that sum-
mons you to arms is just and righteous, and
to the vindication of which, both patriotism
and religion lend their voice, and furnish
incentives. In order, then, that your Ca
reer as soldiers may elicit the appreciation
Of your friends and countrymen that your
valor and heroism may be manifest, even to
your enemies; that the favor and sanction
of the God of battles may be guaranteed to
you; that victory may perch upon your
standard, and that impartial posterity may
pay their homage at the shrine of your
names and memories, you only need to ex-
emplify the spirit of true soldiers. What
that spirit is, it is the aim and province Of
this letter to indicate. And first:


You should 60 forth with firm trust in
God and consciousness of dependence upon
Him for the issues. And here you scarcely
need to be reminded that to do this Alright,
willrequire thatyou be upon terms offriend-
ship with Him. Your familiarity with the
word Of God, and the religious training and
culture that you have enjoyed, do doubtless
assure you that the possession of renewed
heart-and faith in Christ and reconcilia-
ton through His atouing merits, are neces-
sary to an intelligent and consistent trust in
God in the hour and perils of battle. That
the results of the battle are in Gods hand,
is made too plain by the history Of the wars
recorded in the Bible to call for more than
an intimation here. The instances are nu-
merous, in which the fate of the battle was
decided by the presence or absence of
feeling of reliance upon God. Whenever
the Divine favor accompanied the battling
hosts of Israel, and confidence in God con-
trolled the hearts of the warriors, success
was theirs. What was true in ancient times
may yet be realized, for God is unchange-
able, and 50, bears the very same relations
to the incidents and issues of war, that He
did in the age and days Of the Bible war
riors.


Secondly: Another prerequisite for the
good soldier is respect for the laws of
God. This is a Legitimate inference from
the former position. 1t is vain to expect
the favor of Jehovah when no regard is
paid to His commands As God just and
holy and jealous of His honor, He cannot
be expected to smile upon him who disre-
CARDS His authority. Here it is not de-
signed to teach that God will allow no man
who does not love and obey His precepts
ever to meet with success in the day Of
battle. This would be contradicted by facts
potent on every hand. God, in His sover-
eighty, does sometimes allow the wicked to
prosper for time. But what is designed
is to inculcate the fact, that the despisers
of Gods laws have no right, and no proper
ground to expect the Divine blessing or
favor to attend them. Hence, my dear sirs,
should you be regardless of the honor due
Gods commands, and should you array His
frovn and power against you, by unguarded
and unlamented infractions Of His law, you
jeopardize your interests and thus far show
deficiency in the spirit of him who would
meet Alright the fortunes of war.


Thirdly: There should also, be the dis
position and habit Of appealing to God for
His aid. The fact that God should condes-
cend to notice the condition of men, which