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GG Til E PRACT ICA L f CIlR IST IAN.


stocks and · s tones ? Ar e th ey addressed to


brute beasts ? Are th ey addressed to beings


wh o ha ve no n uturul ca puc it ies to a ppreciate


and p ro fit by them ? Are th ey addressed to


heing )! bound fast in th e mesh es of' nn inflex ­ible'


fa rc? ' Arc th ey l!! ldressed t o ere ntu res


WllO; n '( i~ , I-;; e cr c t ly overrules in a ll th eir vo ­Iitj~


n ~ ," to n~ o'lIi" l ' their I ~ no ra l . c h a ract~ rs fOI'


h cnveu o r Iie ll ?- who are noth in g, and CIln


be tl otlling hu t what he imperceptibly makes .


tllem ? " n eilll' th e B i bi ~ aIHI see. Heark en to


. ' I "


theluw, th e pro phets, C h ris t and th e apost les !


Tlltin turn to th e un sophisticated testimony 0 1


11 . • , . " .


your own ccusc rcnccs- c- your own rea son , your


. , I I • .


owuinnure, e verl as ti ng consciousness of wh at


yo u ' nrc. ' lle'y ~ lI d thi s you . will de mand no


pr oof th at man is a free moral agen i, ' at perfect


liberty to c hoose holin ess a nd huppiness. : or


sin ~ n d nli s~ ry. Or if yo u sho uld sti ll call for


pr? o!; f ou r ~: o lJ( l u c t wOHid be co nc lusi ve proof


that furth er arg ume nt must be lost up on YOIl.


I pl igh t, lircse lit 1111 1Il;~' ay of - tcx ta under this


head, addll ced to Illustrat e th e gre at fuct that


th ~ i~ i[' le tak es free a gency for gra ured ; hut ­I


~ I ec in it wholly unll e~ essary, and shall th er e -


fore forbear. .


. Blli s ays one-" God hos for eordaillcd what-.


soevc r co mcs to pass , und th er efore mfln ca n­no


t be a free m01' ll1 age llt ." I will believ e th at


do etrine wh en you have pro ved it- not before .


Yet gr~ llting its truth, I ~ illsay feinl e. sly- if


God iws for eordain ed whatsoever com es to


pa ss, he has certa inly for eordained llIan ' s fr ee


mornl agenc y ; for that has come to pass. ­'


Ve a ll , k lio, w th e fnct, and cannotwlknolo it. ­S


~ ys a nothe r, ~' Go d for eknows all things,


therefor e noth, ing COl! toke pl ace othe rwise


thon he for eknew, whieh dest ro ys free moral


agen cy." F. ulse conclus ion. ' For ifGod for e­lin


ew nil things, he ce r tainly forekn ew man'lI


fr ee moraillgen cy, which is one of th e most


important things in natul'e. - And if God fore ­It.


new that his creatures would be, _ whot we all


Iwow men arc, jl'ee. , lIIora l' ag ents, it lollows


that th ey can, he nothing e lse than such agents. , ­A


filCt is a fuct . That ilion is a free mOI'lII ·


agcnt is ajad- a fnct which w~" know as truly


as we kn ow thut mnn exists, and ' which God


m us t ~ h ll V O ~ fol, tl l < llo W l t;~ i f,- h e - fuTe ltl1 e w- u li


th ings. Therefore, all such . ohj ections lire


vnin. Indeed , 1111 objections aga in st th e doc­trin


e ( or wh ich I alII contendillg are utterly


futil e, IJCing directed IIgllln st a self- evid ent


truth, ~ bvi o us t<;> th e common sense o fa ll lllun­:


ltind. .


L et us fccl, th en, thot God is sin cere in all


llis add resses to us. ' Let ns feel that we' a ro


wh at we seem to be- nohle bein gs in ev er y


re sp eet but those in which we hav e d egruded


ourselves, or, heen degrod ed hy others. Let us


fe el that wc can do ' sometl. Jing to rise- that


we are capobl e o f good as well as evil- and


that there is no filtal nec essity tyin g us down


to sin. L et us feel that with ull the helpfUl


inflnences s hed upon us bya God of lov e, who ,


wills 0111' salvation, we can rep ent, reform, be­come


rcgenerate, and thro ugh holin e~ s ascend


to th e sumlllit of th at bliss which the mind of


mun hath never yet fully con ceiv ed . And let


liS count all our tim e precious, a nd s lllllil


th in/; sof, gr eat con sequ ence in a moral point


' Of view, alway s , rem embering that if we are


not l- ising, we lire sinking ; nnd th at lIoth i n'g


in th e univers e can save us fi'olll misery if we


choose sin- a misery which mu st co nt inua lly


incrca se by tim e and aggravation. !\ Toy it


plense Hilll wh o lov es us with all in finit e lov e,


throu gh th o ' l1Iediationof Him wh o loved us


Ullto death , lind has risen to be our L ord, most


g l'iicious ly to gi vc us th e victory over all si n,


and to quali fy ou r so uls for a bl e~ sed immor ­tality.


, And to God . mil] the Lamh sha ll he


o ur undying pruise. , Amen.


THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN.


lIIc n doll, January 1, 1841.


REI'I. r TO E ll . J . 11. SA¥\\' AIW.


" ( Concluded.)


My bro th el' will allow me , before p roceed­ing


' fiml, e l' wi th thi s reply, to ex pla in mor e


clca rly llle doc trin e of our S ialldard rcsp cct.


ing govenll/ l enl. , O il tl jis poi nt we al: e ev ery


wh em grossly mis llnde rstoo d. ' Vhether th is


Illisu nrier stand ing has a rise n frolil the strong,


- ll1lqllulijieil lllld fiPllem l language in whic h we


have oxp l'essed our convictions: " I' from th e


z! egligtIlGe, prrJudice an ti ou liql1ity, of our op-pose


rs, or partl y from both, I wi ll not pres ume


to sa y. I am willin g, howev er, to think thut


th e faul t may lie partly in ou r mnuucrof ex - :


pr ess ion ; for I am well awa re thut wh en men


have lon g pond er ed an im portunt su bjee t, fol­low


ed out g rea t principles to th eir pra cti cal


' results, a nd se ttled for th em selv es a course of


a ction, th ey se ldom make all owance eno ug h


f01' th e dark ness a nd in ertia of oth er - minds. ­Thcy


ha ve th ou ght acu tely, co nc lude d delib­erute


ly, mill come to feel prof oundly ,- there­fore


th ey ut ter th ei r conviction s as if 110 one


co uld honestly doubt th eir soundness. H ence


th eir langu age is often hold, confi de nt, e lipt ic ­ul


an d sweeping. E xp eri ence at len gth ad ­moni


sh es th em tllnt they mu st not presu me on


the pre parat ion o f't he u ninfo rme d , - to recei ve


the ir doctrines, or even to a ppre hen d and up­precinre


th e meaning of th ei r lan gua ge. In


our case I find that le ading terms und phrases


are not und er stood by others in the se nse


wh ich we attue h to th orn. F or iustnuoe , the


follo win g, viz: " go verlllllent"- " divine gOllcm­meut"-


ug ovem lllents of this world" - " lmman


goven llllellt ," &. c. ' Vith us th ese terms lmvo


a peculiur , 0.1111almost technicul significurion.


This is a natmal co nse q llence of th e ca re ful


in ves tiga tion which led us to ollr pr esent co n­Illus


io ns . But if our fdends wh o 0 l'pose li S


nse th ese tel'lu s in a differ ent se nse li'om ours,


co ufiJsion and mutuul disgu st will in ~ itohly


follow in th e tr ai n of ' li scussion , I , wish th er efor e


to defin e th e ir mea uing as we ullrlcl'stllnd it .


I. " Government ." \ Val ker . Iefin es thi s word


thns- " Form of a community with resp ect to


th e di sp osition of, the su prem e uutho ri ty ; on


es tuhlishme llt of legal authority j admini stra­t


ion of puhiic affairs; regni llrit y o f behavior,"


&. c:. Go vern men t, th en , is the bond of social


order.' It pr csnpposes 1st, a ~ om n lll n i ty of


free m01' 01 agents ; 2 d , a 8nrire me govern ing


nutho r ity j 3d, fun. lamental and mino! IlIws ;


untl4th offic iul orga ns 01' agents throngh whom


th ese la \ vs llre regularly admini stered. Such


is g oven unent- whethe l' amon g an gels in heav­eu


, 01' men on th e ea rth. I t is a syste n., n bond


of soc iul orde r.


2. ~' J? iv!.!; e go_ v, en~ l1Ie l'~. " _ _ n.. iville ': 10 I · c l'I~ ­menns


oue lh unde lJ and III! mll1lster ed ' on di-vin


e principles; or, in othcr wo rds, accord ing


to Ihe will of God. Thus OilY individual, film­ily,


commu nity , stille 01' nat ion , wh osc rill es of


act iou sho uld all . refer to th e reveal ed will of


God as ex pou nde r! h)' . Jesu s Chris t, and he


rever en tly conformed to . th e two great com­moudments,


would be under tlivine go vel'll­ment.


A ~ ov el'lll1l ent wi th SIIl: h co ns titutions,


Il1ws, rul es, regulations, offic ia l or gllns, and


moral orde r, would he th e divine govern me nt


dev eloped among men. Its su prcme authori · .


ty would resid e in hellven ; its fundam ental


law would be the will of God, as rel ' coled hy


Ch ris t j , its official organs would he fellow


se rva nts with th eir hr ethren, honorel! only


for th e sakc ofth ose pl'iu ciples and law s which


s poke through th em; au rl its whole c1~ al'Uct el'


would be strictly Chri, ytian. S ue h a govern­ment


would filrgive offen ces, lov e its en emies;


, hleSli th em that cursed it, ,10 go od to them that


hat ed it, and ex erc ise only merciful rcs! i'aints


. towal'll s the most injuriou s of its s uhjects.


, 3. " Gove1' 1l l1lents of this IV01' ld"- NtUl1Ian


governl1lent." }¥ e contratli stin l( uish what is


" of this world" fi'om wh at is of God, alll! what


is peculiarl y huma n from what is divine, This


is the same distinction which Christ mOlle,


wh en he sa il) to his di sciples-" Ye ar e not oj


thi s ! Dodd, even as ( am not of thi s world;"


und to Pilate-" my kin l( dom is not of' this


world," &' c. , and to th e Phari seeS- lith e Bup­tisrn


ofJ ohn , wa s ' itji'ol1l heavell, or of men 1"


The same distinc~ i on is mad e hy the ap ostl e,


wh en - h e soys-" Tfany man 10Vll th e iworld,


th c . love of the F ather is not in him. For all


that is in th e world, th e lu st of th e flesh, th e


lust ofth e eyes, au d the pr ide of life, is not of


th e Father , hut is !? f th e world." , A gove l'll­meut


ofthis world, o r u str ictly human govc rp ­ment,


is on e in which the mer e will of mcfIl


c laims Sll prerile allth ority ov er man , reg ard less


of thc will of Gorl,- in wh ich mUll ma kes


IlIws contl'llry to th e law of his Creator, and


elllill'Ces them by pen ul I'engcaor: c IInr! lI'ar. ­01',


what amo unts to the. sam e thing , 1lgo\' c rn ­mellt


ofthi s wor! d is on e in wh ich th e ., cal'lllli


Ilt, yt oj tlominioll F ALSEI. Y c1l1 ims to gOI'em hy


divine rig hi, llnd to enforc e ohcJ ifJllce, wheth­er


to l" ight or wrong laws, Loy tlnholy mea IIS­by


mCHns whi ch God has forb iddclI. We reo


gnril all go vom me n ts us of this world, wh ose


consti tut ions ,' 01' fundnmental law s, ar e obvi­ou


sly co ntra ry 10 th e precepts and example of


J esu s Chris t. \ V e hold alls uc h to behtlman,


. as .. mak e- man supreme rath er than God- as are


controlled by men ra the r th an divin e principl es


- as pursu e a worldly ruth er than II heavwly


policy- and as a re sus ta ined by deadly we ap­on


s rath er th an by th e moral sense of th eir sub­j


ect s. All suc h go vern me nts ar e animated by


th e ge nius of human desp otism ; a n ever pr es­ent


, though often invisible Spirit, wh ich com ·


mands on its own lmderived authority, and


which snys P ercmptorilyro all its subj ects- i­"


you shall obey file, 01' he crus hed ; your life,


libert y, propert y, reputation, happiness, ar e at


my sove re ign d isp osal, a nd you shall quietly


e nj oy th em only on co nd itio n of oberli en c e to


my decrees. If 1 hhl yOIl r ise, arm, kill, burn ,


rob, ra vish, torture lind destroy , hy land or


se a, yo u r fellow men , it is right, and you sha ll


ob ey me. 1\( iglu is with me, and might sha ll


make right." ' I'll is is that spirit of usurpation


and blo od shed whie h has desolat ed th e earth


ever since th e dny/! of Cai n. And a lthoug h


th e divin e prin cipl es o f love, truth, just ice, uml


mer c)' hav e gra d na lly forc ed th eir passage


through th e fires IIl1d floods of per secution to


th e very throne on wh ich thi s evil genius s itt',


und hav e compe lled him to yield for ,( ccen cy's


sllke and for se l/: presc rvation , Illllny . of his


darling pr erogatives, yet his natu re is still thB


sa me. H e is Ihll. t " pr ince ofthi s 1V0rl . I" wh ich


TIndeth nothing in Ch rist to h i. liking, and


which Chr istilln ity wi ll ultimat ely " cast out."


It is this fiend- this Spi;' it of darkness- this


" rnUl'llerel' from th e beginning"- this subtle,


chameli on · like, " self · tmllsform ing, d eceit ful,


han ghty, cru el ge nius , th at we abhor- that IVB


cn n hav e no fell olYship Wilh, howev er plausi­bly


disguisell - tllllt we . Jesir e to se e ex pe lled


by th e pow er of Ch r istian truth and lovr:- frolll


the high plar, es of th e ellrth. Bnt we know


thot he cannot he dethron ed by worsh ipping


him, nor by ente r ing into u lea gu e offen sive


antl . defen siv e with him, nor by conformiug to


his com al policy. Show ns Il gov erllment


among men fi'om which thi s pr oud nnd se lfish


DEs- rR' 1YER is ex cl uoletl- o gov ernment whose


infullible c rite riOli is th e will of Go, l- a gov­ernmenl


wh os e fundllment/ ll low is love to


fi'iClll) IInoi foc, e ve n that love which " worketh


no ill"- a govcrmeut truly cl11' istian ill its law s


and admini stration, wh ose " offi cers nre peace


und its' execn tors " r ighteoll sn ess,"- show us


su ch an on e, and wc w, i11 acknowled ge it to be


of God- to ha ve been horn from al) ov e , to be


divin e. ' 1' 0 t'erve, upholtJ a nll promote suc h a


govemment, we will ncknowlerlg e onrselv es


hound to sa crifi ce nil merB wOI'ldly good, e ve n


lifc iisem BIIt th e govern me nts ofthis ~ orld


'- mEre hum an, man worshippin;( man-! dlling,


mnn- en sillvin g, man - destroying, anti Chris­tian


governments, wc cannot voluntarily par­ticipate


ill. ' Ve mn st lea ve th em and 1-: 0


' nbont tb e promotion ofthllt King,) om whieh


" is not of thi s wol'ld." All the good which th e


gov er nm ents of th is world hnv e incorporated


into th eil' luws ~ lI1 d systems of adn~ inistralion


is of GOII , and we will honor and promote it;


because it is o f divine origin. It is with us no


ohjection to a righteous requirem ent, that hu ­man


I( overnmeut has reechoed it. H cn ~ e we


cheerfully conform to all in noc ent I ~ ws and


nsngl'l', a nd pnj oy ! III righteou s privileges. ­They


are of God, and wh eth er man bas hud a


had int ention in est ah lishing anrl prol1lulgnt­ing


th em , we have no occn sion, to rlecid e ; it is


enoug h th ut th ey hav e th e , Ii,' ine sanc tion.


From th ese ex planat ions, niy brother will


morc perfectl y nncler stond om' m!! aning wh en


we lise th e followinl( langungo in onr St antlarcl ,


viz. " P lnc ing unlimited confide nce in our


heav enly F ather, we distrust all othel' [ i. e. nil


thllt is'contl'Ury to hi, y] g llidunc e and I! rotee­tion.


' Ve cnn not be I( overnerl by th e will of


man, [ as co n t rn r lis l i ng ll i~ h erl from the will of


God, 01' as conflicting th er ewith] however so l­emnly


an, l forlll ally , Ieclarcd [ i. e. hy pri est,


kin g, lord s, co mmo ns, con'gres ses, &. c. &. c.]


nor, put ou r tru st in th e arm of fles h, [ wi eld­ing


its deadly w capon ~ offens ive 01' . l efiJllsi ve].


H en ce we Vollllllarily withdl'llw fmm a ll in­terferen


ce [ i," c . e ithe r by act ive coope ra tion, 0 1'


by pol itical or ph ysical oppos ition] with th e


gov erll lllIJnls o f th is wo rld, [" II ra dieally a llt i


Chr isti: o n gnv c n n ne llls]. ' Ve can tak e 110


purt in th e p ol i ti .: ~ , th e adm inistra tion, or th e


de1e l) ce o f thcse [ a nti Chr istian ] go vernme nts


- eithe r by vo ting a t th eir poll s, holding their


offices, uiding in the exec ution of th eir legnl


ven gean ce, fighting under th eir banners, cl ai­min


g th e ir protecti on again st viol en ce, seek ing


redress in th eir courts, petitioning th eir legi s­lat


ures to enac t law s, 01' obey ing th eir unright­eous


req uirements. N either CIIII we partici­pat


e in uuy re be llion, insurrect ion , sed itio n, ri­01,


co nspirac y 01' plot aga in st any of th ese gov­eru


me nrs ; nOI' resi st un y of th eir ordlnnnces


hy ph ysical force j nor do an y thing unbecom­ing


a peaceabl e submission to' th e ex isting


Powers ; hut will quietly pay th e taxes levied


UpOIi u s, conform to nil inuoce ut laws aurl us­ages,


e nj oy 1111 righteous pri vileges, abstain


from 1111 civi l commotions , freely ex p ress our


opinion 01 go vern me ntul nets, and patiently


end u re wh at ev er penalties we mny fur con­sc


ience sake incur."


The grand qu esti on may now he ask ed and


an sw er ed, o:: l'" are we opposed ' to government


nmoug meu P No; we are heartily and devo,


terlly in ' IiIVOl' of government- I; ood gov ern­ment,


Chri st ian govern me nt, divin e ' govern ­mem-


social order Oil l'igltl principles, Ar~


we oppos ed to th e govennent s of this world,


IIny fimh er than they are opposed to chris- \


tianily- to th e will of the all- perfect God? ­_


Vo,' not in th e least. Are we sedit iollsly or re­belliousty


opposed to th e governments of thi s


world, eve n in their worst form? Ce rtainly


not; we a re o nly morally opposed cve n to Iheit'


wost IIhho rr ent feuturcs. ' Ve are p eaceably,


non . intcrferin gly opposed to th eir anti Cluis­tian


r. on8Iitutions, law s alll! usa ges j while at


ti m sallie tim e wc honor, approve and enrnest ­ly


e nde avOl' to promote 1111 the goot! which


th ey hllve horl'ow ed froII I Ihe tltvin c govern­ment.


Ifall thi s is lrue, whut will our influ­c


nce be on th e soc illI orde r o f 1~ lll world ? ­W


ill goo d Ic: ovf' rn u, ent lose uny thin;! uy our


ch rislilln lion - r esistance ? ' ViII th e worl, 1


grow worse hecllnse we consc ientious ly refu se


to tilke a n al' tive part in gOl'e rn me nts - which


we dcem esg, ~ nt ia ll y anti Christia n, hec au se


we willnllt employ gov ernmllntlll ma chinery


to do thnt for li S, wh ich our divine ma st er has


positil'e1y forhiddell us 10 do for olll'seh'es. It


is trll e wc ah sta in " from ' their politics ; orc we­t1an


ger on s un thi s acconnt? HolY llIany good


politil : iuns ar e bad men? We will not \' ote


ut th cir poll s ; hut how lIIany will in:,: vot er l § ,


are nnisan ces in socic ty ? ' Ve will not holol


offi': e; hilt how mar; y oflicc · holde rs lire th e


s lIhve r tc rs of goo d ro ci ety ? \ V e will not ai , l


in ! lUngin g 0 1' tonnenling cr iminals unll er se n­ten


ce o f penni luw; hut how muny wret cheS'


delight ill th ese s pectae les , 1lI~ 1 pick th cir'


neighbor'. s pock ets arollnd IIle ga llows ? We


will 1I0t fight inlhe army 01' , navy , nor se n e


in th e militia ; bllt hOlTmany dangerous chUl' ­aCler


s cr a\' e an opportnnity to se r ve th eir


count ry ill th ese ways ? ' Ve will not call on


th e poli ce 0 1' th e military power 10 protect nR


again st rllffians und - mobs ; but how mallY do


thi s wh o keep gnmhlillg hou~ e8 and brothels,


or IV ho cOllnte nnnce suc h dens of IIiso rde r ?_


We will not go to law to ' ohla in red ress of


wron gs; are all pla illliffs a nti prosecutors at


law goo d s ubjects of gOl'e rn me nt ? \ Ve wilf


no t petition legislatures to ,10 what we feel


forbidden to do ourselv es j lire nil who tease


legislativ e hodi es th er efore bett er members of


soc iety th an we are? ' Ve will not oltey any


law cOll, ra ry to th e luw of Go tl ; thollgh afte r


hll vin~ consc ientious ly re/ iJsed oh edi ence, we


will tak e patiently tfle penalty, '; vhe the r it be


to / lo into th e lion's den, or the hllrning fiery.


/ imlUee. Are they tluimfore more useful tl)


1II11llldntl, who always rel:'~ l'd kuman law as


s upreme? who say laICis law, and all law i~


right, wh eth el' enacted by God 01' lIlun? These


th illgs seem to be exceedi ng ly plaill . Instead


ofgood gove r rne nt losing any thing by OUI'"


v ie l~ of c hr istian tluty, it gains. Althp ug h , we


staml a loo f froll1 politieal and III ilitory action,


a nd frolll all parti cil illtion in the anti Christ­illn


works o f ex isting governments j yet we


or o prominellt c Ollserv ato rs of peace and good


order in soc iety . \ Ve Pllt th e gov erl1lnent to


no tr ouble to go vern us,: o p. ullish us or OUI'"


cnemies, 10 protect liS, to tlll< e ca re of us- we


kcep ou rsflll'es ; lI nt l in 80 U} e degr ee our ne igh­hor


s , in goo d ol'lle r 011 higher p rin cipl es than


tloe fe llr of' llIall , or th e worship of muu ; a nd


yel WI) fjlli!) tly pllY our tax es for th e mointen­lIuce


af go\" e ruullmt. \ V., lire clea r prqfit lind


110 loss to gll v ~ rn me n t ; ulIless,' in deed, th c love


o f dOlllilli oll a nd of rCl'en ge in th e asp ira nts to

Page 66 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840