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THE

| ULTIMATUM OF A FREE MINISTRY,

TO THE

DEMANDS OF POLITICIANS.

A DISCOURSE,

BY

REV. EDWARD ANDERSON,

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1 I

PASTOR OF THE TiBST BAPTIST CHURCH,
MILFOED,N.H., JULY 13, 1856.

MILFORD:
Uinfl ELD'S- BOOK AND JOB PRESS.
1856.

I

4

s^jpo^

THE

ULTIMATUM OF A FREE MINISTRY,

TO THE

DEMANDS OF POLITICIANS.

A DISCOURSE, BY
REV. EDWARD ANDERSON,
PASTOH OP THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, ^
MILFORD, N. H.
JVX.V 13, 1856.

MILFORD:
Garfield's book and job press.
1856.

Rev. Edward Anderson — ,
Dear Sir :
For our own instruction,
and to prevent any misapprehension, or misrepresentation of your
discourse delivered July 13th, P. M., — we, the undersigned, here
by respectfully solicit a copy for the press.
T/TCONART) flfTASTT, ? 0-T?r\

LEONARD CHASE.
WILLIAM LANE.
EDWIN SMITH.
D. J. PEARSON.
JAMES PEARSON.
OLIVER HOWE.
JOHN A. POWERS.
JOHN P. ADAMS.
DANIEL PUTNAM.
AARON MILLS.
WE W. ROBBINS.
S. C. MARSHALL.

GEO. F. BARTLETT.
MOSES FOSTER.
A. WOODS.
HEZEKIAH HAMBLETT.
JOHN MILLS.
JAMES LEWIS.
GRANVILLE TURNER.
B. WADLEIGH.
F. J. FRENCH.
HENRY HEALD.
STEPHEN C. COBURN.
ANDREW HUTCHINSON.

Milford, July 23, 1856.
Gentlemen : I thank you for the notice which you have been
pleased to take, of the discourse to which you refer.
And, though I might regard the first reason you present, for
giving it to the public, as springing, to some extent, from the par
tialities of friendship, — yet, the second reason, viz : that the views
therein expressed have been " misinterpreted and misrepresented,"
is the one that chiefly weighs with me in thus putting them into &
form where they shall no longer give an " uncertain sound."

4
In order to make this less possible, I have therefore added an
occasional sentence, or paragraph, where I supposed the original
copy might have been, in any respect, ambiguous, or indistinct.
The charge of vulgarity with which I was so unceremoniously
and publicly assailed, at the close of the discourse, I designed to
pass over, as the result of momentary excitement. Since, however,
the charge is coolly persisted in, I would just say that I have no
ambition to belong to such an aristocracy of refinement as was at
tained by the clerical exquisite, who solemnly declared to his incor
rigible hearers that unless they repented, they would go "to that
place which modesty forbids me to mention."
I shall be eontent with the more plebeian rank of such men as
could occasionally speak of " generations of vipers," the " hatching
of cockatrice' eggs," and even of " a dog returning to his vomit,"
when such " vulgar" allusions were necessary to brand guilt with
deeper infamy.
Having been prepared within a few days of its delivery, in the
ordinary course of pastoral duties, — and, of course with no view of
publication, — it may indeed lack some of the minor graces of style
andfinish, yet, I nevertheless feel confident that the main truth here
feebly advocated, will be regarded by a discerning public, as a
pearl, — none the less lustrous from the contrast with its setting.
I am, gentlemen, Your obedient servant,
EDWARD ANDERSON.
Messrs. Chase, Lane, &c.

DISCOURSE.

" Now go . . . nole it in a book that it may be for the time to come . . . that
this is a rebellious house, . . . that will not hear the law of the Lord, which
say to the Seers, see not, and to the Prophets, prophesy not unto us right things ;
speak unto us smooth things. . . Set you out of the way, — turn aside, out of
the path." — Isaiah xxx: 8-11.
There is an obvious tendency in our nature, to conform
to those around us. Individuals, like the waves of the sea,
cannot be elevated and sustained, either in manners or mor
als, far above the general level, except by the winds of pe
culiar and powerful influences. And when such influences,
are suspended, the leftiest crests will gradually subside, and
sink to a calm conformity with the surrounding surface.
This gravitating force acts so silently, so uniformly and con
stantly, that we are scarcely sensible of its power over us,
until something unusual calls' attention to its results.
An illustration of this is often noticed by the traveller in
this or other lands, in the similarity of dialect, accent and
phraseology, which obtains among the people of the same
region, state, or district. None, in their respective localities,

seem to notice the peculiarities, or improprieties, which are
so singular and striking to the wayfarer. Though, when
weighed by his standard, these peculiarities are set down as
the most barbarous provincialisms, yet, they pass around
with as little suspicion as though they had a world-wide cur
rency. By thus measuring themselves by themselves, and
comparing themselves among themselves alone, they soon
forget that there is any higher standard, or form of perfec
tion, to which they have not already attained.
The domain of fashion furnishes still more striking illus
trations of this tendency.
What can be more strange, fantastic, and ludicrous, than
some of the styles of dress which were in vogue with pre
ceding generations ? Though the re-appearance of some of
them now in our streets, would be greeted with a general
shout of ridicule, and their wearers be regarded as merry-
andrews, yet, while they were worn by the multitude,
0, they were considered as the most becoming habiliments
possible. Nor can there be any doubt that the attire of the
most fashionable belle, or beau, of our own day, will be ex
hibited to future generations, with similar results.
But, were this conforming gravitation confined in its influ
ence, to these lighter materials of human conduct, we should
not feel called upon to warn you, from this place, to be on
your guard against its force. These we should regard as
mere motes, or leaves, whose descent would endanger nei-
their life nor limb, of christian morality.
But it does not stop here. It tends to bring down and
degrade, not only the mint, anise, and cummin of non-essen*
tials, but likewise the " weightier matters of the law, — judg
ment, mercy, and faith."
Beneath its unobserved, yet mighty influence, the loftier

peaks of these everlasting mountains, will bow, by gradual
slides, or crashing masses, to the lower level of a general
and unrighteous practice. And it is no idle cause for alarm,
my friends, that the crags of Justice above, or the slopes of
Mercy beneath us, show signs of thus tottering, or sliding
from their ancient foundations. No interests, either private
or public, are safe in the track of such an avalanche; for, upon
whomsoever it shall fall, whether nation or individual, it
will grind him to powder.
Thus we see that this tendency to which we allude, not
content with its empire over the outward adornment of the
body, passes over to alter, or modify the heaven-established
costume of the soul. Yielding to its aggressions, and bow
ing to its usurped supremacy, in this domain, men will array
themselves in every form of irreligionj — assume every style
of unrighteous principle, and cast off, as obsolete, every ves
ture of scripture practice, — if the multitude will only make
and demand the change. They will " eat, speak and act,
under the influence of the most received star ; and though
even Satan lead the measure, such are to be followed."
What should we now think of the dangling ornaments of
glasses and decanters, and all their accompanying trappings,
which past generations wore with such self-complacency ?
Yet, the fact that it was the fashion, — that it was partici
pated in by the many, closed every eye to its enormity.
Even christians donned these trappings when thus recommen
ded, without scruple, and ministers themselves did not shrink
from the contact of its empoisoned and blistering folds. But
there are still other evils, as unscriptural, and as flagrant in
the sight of heaven which are, for the same reason, still ac
quiesced in and countenanced, even by persons of the same
high standing.

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Now, as it was by appealing to the scriptural standard of
morality, and by holding up its heavenly beauty to^view, that
the prevailing fashion to which we have alluded, became
unsufferable, and caused christians, with such unanimity
to cast off its filthy rags, so it can only be by the same
course that other cherished evils will ever come to be as
widely abhorred and discarded. -Hence the great truth
must be urged with new force and frequency, that the style
of moral uniform is prescribed by the Court of Heaven, to
all the Soldiers of the Cross ; and that the Great Captain of
Salvation can allow none who enter the ranks to dispense
with it. It must be impressed, by all the subordinate officers,
that their respective companies are " to take upon them the
whole armor of God."
Their loins are to be girt about with truth, — their bosoms
protected with the breastplate of righteousness, — their feet
shod with the preparation of the Gospel, and their heads
defended with the helmet of salvation. None of these are
to be laid aside for the looser, easier garb of worldly con
formity, however fashionable. " Be not conformed to this
world," is the Great General's direction. " Have no fellow
ship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather re*
prove them."
No matter if another style of morality is prevalent in the
world, by which we are surrounded. No matter if the reg
imentals of bible principles are looked upon by the greafcmass
as too stiff and formal. We must dare to wear them on pain of
our commander's displeasure. " Come out from among
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing, and I will receive you ; and I will be a father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord Almighty."

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The livery of heaven, brought thus into strong and vivid
contrast with the unseemly garb of prevailing vice, will soon
shame its now complacent, wearers out of countenance.
They will blush to be longer seen in such beggarly tatters.
But to do this effectually, both must be brought into the
clearest light — into a concentration of rays which shall reveal
to every beholder the stained deformities of the one, and re
flect with clearest lustre the unrivaled beauties of the other.
I am aware, indeed, that many have strong objections to
such an exposure of social and common vices. Especially
strong is the aversion of many, that ministers should take
any part in this work. They think it all right that the min
ister should denounce most pointedly some kinds of sin, — the
vices, for example, of the old Pharisees, the errors of Roman
ism, or of rival sects. He may venture on the most thorough
expdsure of obsolete systems of philosophy ; and warn his
people against vices to which they are not especially addicted,
or to which only a few of the less influential and respectable
in the community have any leaning.
But any course of conduct, however unscriptural and un
christian, if it has obtained a footing in the land, — if it is
acquiesced in by a leading portion of the people, — then it
is ruled out of order for ministers to presume to assail- it.
They must then draw the curtain so carefully, as to exclude
every flash of the angry lightnings of God's threatenings,
which would alarm the consciences, and wake up the slum
bers, of the guilty. It has become so fashionable, popular
and general, it is thought, that there is nothing left for minis
ters, now, but to keep silence, — to whisper peace, peace,
though God's word declares there is no peace, — to silence
the mutterings of the destruction that comes as a whirlwind,
to sweep away their refuges of lies, — by prophesying unto
them smooth things — prophesying deceits.

10
One great bugbear, by which it is now attempted to fright
en ministers, from declaring this part of the council of God,
— the part that bears on social evils, — is the charge of
preaching Politics.
This spectre, mounted on stilts of exaggeration, with out
stretched arms of threatened deposition from office, — ghast
ly and gaunt with the hues of prospective famine, — like
Apollyon,, in Bunyan's Pilgrim, is made to stride quite
across the highway of the minister's duty in this1 respect.
Those who. have not courage to encounter the grim mon
ster, are1 thus . obliged either to halt in terror, orjeave the
straight-forward course of duty, and creep round through
some bye- way.
Now, I used to be told in my "boyhood; whenever I saw
anything that looked unearthly and spectral, to march right
up to it, and see what its actual claims to ghostship were. By
taking this course, I often found that, what seemed at a dis
tance surrounded Avith all the terrors of a grizzly bear, lost
every attribute, on nearer inspection, than those appropriate
to a harmless domestic animal, or the charred stump of a
prostrate tree. What seemed a gigantic spectre, in the
uncertain darkness, would, when challenged and grappled
with, dwindle down into a little school-fellow.
Now, my friends, I know of no better course in the pres
ent case. We mean to march right up to this phantom of
fear, and find out how much substance there is beneath its
sheet of borrowed terror. Tearing off this spectral guise, what
do we find so appalling in what is called preaching politics ?
Why, it merely amounts to this : that the minister dwells
on something that men do socially, rather than individually,
— that he brings God's truth to beaf on acts which men
combine to perform, rather than those that they execute

11
without concert with their fellows, — that he arraigns be
fore the bar of Scripture, vices that are contagious and gen
eral, in distinction from those that are confined to individ
ual instances. Well, if this is all that Avas covered by this
frightful mask, what is there to prevent the minister from
spurning it out of the way, and moving fearlessly onward ?
Why should he, to avoid any such spectral illusion, desert
the straight highway, of declaring the whole council of
God, — giving to the erring multitude, as well as the stray
ing individual, a portion in due season ?
I. In keeping this course, the faithful minister finds
himself treading in the steps of the most eminent religious
teachers of every age. And this is my first reason for pur
suing it.
The Prophets, though inspired by the infallible spirit of God,
did not confine their attention to individual sin, — nor were
restrained, even by fear of death, from the most pointed and
fearless exposure of the vices of communities and nations.
It is remarkable, indeed, to notice how large a portion of
their teachings, exhortations, and denunciations, are applica
ble to whole peoples, and nations, and how small a propor
tion to individuals, — how active a part they took in advo
cating, or rebuking, great public measures, and how seldom
they confined their efforts to a select feAV, or a limited sphere.
There is Moses, — a character which, like some lone
mountain peak, towers above all earthly competitors, —
bathed in the cloudless light of communion Avith Deity.
Does his elevation of character, depth of piety, and profun
dity of theological lore, keep him aloof from the interests of
civil society ? Do his qualifications as a divine, disqualify
him from speaking intelligently on matters pertaining to legis
lation ? Or, do his meddling Avith the, not very pure, politics,

12
and his conflicts with the slave poAver, of Egypt, bring a
stain on his name, or a blot on his moral purity ?
Then turn your eye to the, scarcely less, distinguished
prophet Samuel, laying down the constitution of Israel's
first dynasty, — rebuking the wicked Saul to his face, when
its principles Avere violated, and taking the lead in trans
ferring the crown from the old incorrigible offender, to the
more youthful and virtuous, though some might think, "rash"
son of Jesse. Next folloAvs Elijah the Tishbite, opposing,
singly and successfully, the wicked administration of Ahab
and Jezebel.
But the time would fail me to tell of Nathan, and of
Isaiah, and of Jeremiah, and: of Daniel ; of John the Bap
tist also, and a host of others whom God delighted to honor.,
— to honor too for the very fearlessness and faithfulness, with
which they opposed and rebuked the great sins of their day.
Wherefore, seeing ministers at the present day are com
passed about with so great a cloud of witnesses/ let them
lay aside every weight, that would hinder their progress in
the same great, race. Especially should they shake off the
fear, that is so widely felt on this account, that they will, by
this course, degrade their high calling, and defile the sanc
tity of, their office.
There has, of late, sprung up in the "minds of many, who
never before were suspected of overmuch piety, or an over
weening regard for the clergy, the greatest apparent solic
itude on their behalf.
Venal editors, unscrupulous partisans, and salaried offi
cials, seem to haye resolved themselves into a corps of pro
fessor? of. pastoral duties. And if we are not, indeed, the
most thoroughly educated men in the land, it is not cer
tainly for any lack of instructors.

* 13
Fresh recruits, of every stature and calibre, from' the Pol
yphemus of the senate, to the pigmy of the pettiest post
office, are volunteering their services, until each minister,
like one of whom Ave read, is in danger of being possessed
by a whole legion of them. They are evermore magnifying
our office, eulogizing its transcendent sanctity, and trem
bling lest it should, by our indiscretion, fall into disrepute.
To prevent such a result, they Avould hurry us away
from all particpation in the ground floor duties of ordinary
christians, or citizens, — they would set us on the very
highest pinnacle of the temple, in whose service we are en
gaged, and release us from all sterner duties than quietly
turning, Uke other weather-vanes, with the veering gusts of
their own sweet will. We have only to acquiesce, — to
say to our condescending guardians,
" You shall be as a father to my youth ;
My voice, shall sound as you do prompt mine ear ;
And I will stoop and humble my intents,
To your well-practis'd, wise directions."
Those of us who unfortunately have the axis of our prin
ciples too much rusted with a sense of duty, or settled con
viction, to allow of this facile rotation, they would raise to
even a more exalted position. This is to be accomplished
by inflating our office into a kind of serial balloon, in which
we can be conveniently elevated beyond the range of any
winds of general interest, whether adapted to bring their
own ship, or that of their rivals, to the desired haven.
In this calm, airy domain, Ave are guaranteed perpetual
and peaceable possession. Even the " prince of the power
of , the air," will not raise the slightest objection to such an
invasion of his rightful realm ; but will most gladly evacuate
these higher regions in our favor., for the sake of nearer and
easier communication with his earthly allies.

14 #
While for all coming time this holy alliance will engage,
like guardian angels, to bear us up in their hands, beyond
the danger of " dashing our foot against the smallest stone"
of the exercise of civil rights, or of having our immaculate
bosoms bespattered, by ever venturing near enough to re
buke the reckless Jehus who dash through these " pools"
of political corruption.
Now, had such an order of guardians taken charge of
the training and conduct of the eminent religious teachers,
to whom Ave have alluded, how much more pure and per
fect would have been their characters than they are as
noAv handed down to us.
Moses would not then have been guilty of the crime of
meddling Avith the political concerns of Pharaoh, — Samuel
Avould have been free from the charge of denouncing the
wicked measures of Saul, — Nathan would have been saved
from the fanatical rashness of picturing out David's image
to him in the parable of the ewe lamb, and telling him
" Thou art the man," — Elijah would have been dissuaded
from any conflict with the priestly courtiers of Jezebel, or
from confronting Ahab, when, with bloody hands he went
down to annex the lands of the murdered Naboath, — and
John the Baptist would have been emasculated of that
faithfulness and fearlessness which denounced the adulterous
Herod to his face.
^ He might, doubtless, with the benefit of these wise coun
cils, with which we are so highly favored, have been a court
favorite, instead of having his uncompromising head brought
in on a charger. But for my own part, (and I think I speak
the sentiment of the great body of the clerical profession), I
would far rather be a humble imitator of these ancient wor
thies as they were, without such training, than a doughy

15
pattern of them, as they would have been, if thus softened
and molded.
Let it be fully understood, that we make no pretensions
or claims to a sanctity superior to theirs. We aspire to no'
style of piety that would drive us from our kind, — which
can live only in hermit's cells or monkish cloisters, or
which would unfit us to do anything that becomes a man
and a freeman.
The idea that the clergy are contaminated by the ordi
nary duties and relations of life, is closely connected with
the notion that religion is defiled by any other practical
application than to Sunday services. Both alike are the
uncast-off rags of Romish superstition.
Such apprehensions, from such quarters, lest the minis
try should be thus polluted, by what they call the " nrnddy
pools of politics," is always associated in my mind, (whether
on the principle of similarity or contrast, we stop not to in
quire), with the croaking of a host of reptiles in a pesti
lential swamp, when an attempt is about being made to
drain off its stagnant waters, and bring it under culture.
An JEsop would easily interpret these guttural remon
strances to run thus : "It would soil every human foot
that ventured over its margin. By all means remain in
your drawing-room if you would continue immaculate.
It would deform the lustre of every implement that you
bring into contact with it. Leave them in the warehouse,
if you would not have them tarnished."
But, for the very reason that it is so impure and pestilent,
is the necessity more urgent that the attempt should be
made. For the very reasons that its corrupt slough is so
adhesive, should none but the most polished tools be brought

16
to the work, and none but the most faithful men em
ployed to use them. This Avili be the most effectual means
of accomplishing the much needed result : that these pools
may no longer breathe contagion, nor hatch the spawn of
projected Avretchedness. For, to use the language of one
who never shrunk from calling things by their right names,
" They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web ;
he that eateth of their eggs, dieth, and that which is crushed,
breaketh out into a A'iper." — (Isa. 59: 5).
Here it will be seen that we only take the confession of
these politicians themselves, that the " pools" which they
make their haunt, endanger the health and life of all high-
toned piety and religious principle, within their contagious
influence. And then, from the assumed truth of their own
representations, we draw the strongest possible reason why
men of the purest principles, and characters should attempt
the renovation of these centres of moral disease and death.
How strong a confirmation of this have we in the present
posture of affairs in California ! Here the government had
become so corrupt that it was at length deserted by men of
rectitude and moral principle, and, as a malarious district
in the time of plague, was left in the exclusive possession
of the amphibia of vice, from the fierce alligators of open
-violence and assassination, to the lesser species of bribery
and peculation. The result was that " judgment was
turned away backward, and justice stood afar off: truth
had fallen in the street, and equity could not enter."
The people at length felt that they could no longer en
dure to breathe the atmosphere which it taintedi They rose
in their might to drain the " dismal swamp," to eject, or
starve out its vile myriads, and are now fast changing it
into an abode of health and beauty.

17
II. But we pass to a second reason for the ministry
pursuing such a course, viz : the fact that social sins are
all resolvable into the sins of individuals.
The mightiest rivers that roll through our great valleys,
are made up of numerous smaller tributaries ; these again
of bubbling fountains ; and these ultimately of the vapor
that descends on all the slopes and highlands, in flakes of
snow, or drops of rain. Let these ultimate drops cease to
descend for a few months, and the springs cease to boil up,
the rills to flow, the larger tributaries to roll their flood, and
eventually the main channel is dry. All the fleets it once
floated are grounded, — the machinery it drove motionless.
So it is with the public measures of a people like ours.
The mighty flood of national policy, whether it moves along
the plain of peace, foams over shallows of war, or breaks,
like the swollen Mississippi, over the barriers of freedom,
and spreads the sediment of oppression far and wide over
soil hitherto untarnished, is all but the combined force of
the popular will. It is fed at regular seasons by clouds
of the separate voluntary acts of each citizen. The united
tide has no force but what they have individually lent to it, —
no volume but what they have given it, — no tendency or
violence but what they have contributed to augment and
increase. .
The public measures of such a people, therefore, which
violate justice, humanity, or mercy, are not to be laid to
the charge of some abstract thing called the government, —
nor even chiefly to the agents chosen to administer it. They,
like other tools, do in the main what the mass of the people,
who make and wield them, desire. For, —
"Though we lay these honors on this man,
To ease ourselves of divers slanderous loads,

18
He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold ;
To groan and sweat under the business,
Either led or driven, as we point out the way ;
And having brought our treasure where we will,
Then take we down his load, and turn him off,
Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears,
And graze in commons."
Hence, it is plain that the great guilt of such wrong
measures lies at the door of every citizen, who knowingly
lends them his aid, influence and support. Instead,
therefore, of heightening the storm of denunciation that
howls so exclusively around the mansions of public officials,
we would have it widen its track, burst over every hamlet
and cottage that shelters an aider and abettor of public
wrong, — startling them from the sleep of fancied innocence,
with the thunder peal : " Thou art the man."
Nor is it to be supposed that a minute fragment of this
blame is allotted to each one who thus conspires to
help it forward. If a" dozen men are found, for example,
aiding and abetting each other in a case of murder, the
judge does not rule that each one is but guilty for the
twelfth part of the crime, and is to suffer but the twelfth
part of a hanging. But each of the whole twelve are ad
judged guilty of the whole crime, and are condemned to
suffer the fujl penalty. And to be an aider and abettor, it*
is not deemed necessary for each person to wield the deadly
instrument with his own hand, nor to be even present when
it is used.
In the celebrated Knapp case, argued by Daniel Web
ster, with such distinguished ability, one of the prisoners
was brought in guilty, who was, as it was proved, standing
at the time of the murder, in an adjoining street. This,
though clearly shown by the defence, and admitted by the

19
prosecution, did riot clear him in the eye of the law. It
looked deeper than this, — to the design and intention of
his being there.
In the words of Webster, used on the occasion : " If the
aid be anywhere, so as to embolden the perpetrator, — to
afford him hope, or confidence in his enterprise, it is the
same as though the person stood at his elbow, with his
sword drawn. His being there, ready to act, with power
to act, is what makes him an abettor."
Hence, though he did not commit the act, nor was pres
ent at its commission, yet, by conspiring with, and coun
tenancing the one who did commit it, even at a distance,
he made the act his own, and was condemned to suffer the
extreme penalty of the law.
Now, the same principle that is applicable to a combina
tion of two, or twelve, is just as applicable to two or twelve
millions. If innocent blood is shed, — if violence, or oppres
sion is exercised by them in their collective capacity, then each
and every individual, who knowingly conspires to help for
ward the crime, or who backs and emboldens its direct
perpetrators, while being committed, ¦ — then, I say, though
the scene of these crimes, and the direct actors in them,
be in distant states, or territories, each man of us, who
thus aids and abets them, is chargeable with their full guilt,
both by the spirit of the laws of earth and heaven.
No matter where, or by whom this aid and comfort is
rendered, — no matter whether it be at the ballot box, or
by the more private method of apologizing for, and encour
aging its perpetrators, it is, in the eye of omniscient and
eternal Justice, to make these public crimes our own acts,
and their just penalty, our own doom. Nor does the wide
sweep of this great principle stop at the church door, nor

20
give even the occupants of the pulpit the benefit of clergy.
It looks through every guise of office, and place, and rec
ognizes each one of us beneath them all, but as a guilty or
innocent man. From the cushions of the applauding peAV,
as well as from the soil of the slave plantation, the cry of
oppressed poverty and weakness " enters into the ears of the
Lord of Sabaoth." From the crimson drapery of 'an acquies
cing and apologizing pulpit, the voice of our brother's blood,
innocently shed, wails to heaven, with equal distinctness, as
from the gory plains which drank it in.
And oh, it is fearful to reflect, that such prayers for ven
geance, though unheard by human ear, may be infinitely
more importunate, earnest, and prevailing, with God, than
the loudest, and longest supplications for mercy, that ever
rises from the same consecrated spot ! And of all the various
forms, in which aid and comfort can come to the chief actors
in these great public sins, there is none that they can so ill
afford to spare, — none Avhich is more effectual in reassuring
their quailing consciences, and nerving their faltering arms,
than that which comes from this very source.
Hence it follows, that ministers, not only must unravel
the web of social iniquity, in order faithfully to trace the
threads of the individual guilt of those, over whom they are
placed as watchmen, but they must do so, likewise, from
the fact that they cannot otherwise escape the personal
guilt of being themselves accessory to the crime.
There are times and circumstances, in which we may
be, placed, where, even in the eye of human law, neutrality
is guilt, — silence and passivity a crime. Such a time,
we solemnly believe, is the present, — such circumstances
are those in which we, as christians and ministers, are now
placed. Where can we find a solitary spot on which we can

21
stand neutral ? These heaven-daring sins meet us every
where. Like one of the worst of Egypt's plagues, they are
not content, as heretofore, in the hmits of their appropriate
domain. In swarms, ever increasing in' number and audacity,
they confront us, coming up from the Nile of their teeming
abominations, to haunt and pollute the holiest places of our
temples, — to drag the slime of their sophistries over the
pages of inspiration, — to utter their impious croakings from
the very altars of Jehovah of Hosts, and to call upon his
consecrated ministers, on pain of their most venomous as
saults, to christen their progeny of uncleanness, as the legit
imate offspring of Christ's principles and precepts.
We must, therefore, either consent to this sacrilegious
profanation of all that is sacred, and thus become a party
to the guilt, or else seize the besom of destruction, and
sweep back every unclean invader from our altars, until
they shall remain only in the oozy channel from which they
dared to emerge.
It is in vain for us to suppose that we can longer continue,
Pilate-like, weakly to yield to, and acquiesce in, the clam
orous demands of wickedness, — that we can still forbear
to employ the powers of lawful and steadfast resistance
Avith which God has endowed us, and then wash our hands
of all guilt, in the watery plea of a desire for peace, — that
we can " prevail nothing" by opposing, or that opposition
will but " raise a tumult" of disunion. ,
How many victims of oppression and violence, through
out our land, might, in the language of the poet, say to such
persons, notwithstanding their show of commiseration, and
half-hearted desires for their relief :
"Yet, you Pilates
Have here delivered me to my sour Cross,
And water cannot wash away your sin."

Hence, ministers, by hundreds and thousands, have come
at length to feel, in view of recent public outrages, that not
to rebuke and oppose them, would be criminal acquies
cence, — that not to be against them, — openly, publicly,
and decidedly, against them, would be to be for them.
And this numerous body is not mainly made up of
" rash young men," carried away by a momentary burst
of excitement, but, to a great extent, of men of hoary age,
large experience, generous culture, and deep piety ; — ven
erable, conservative men, of the stamp of Doctors Wayland
and Hitchcock, — who, by a slight lapse of memory, might
forget vastly more, even of political science, than their flip
pant villifiers ever dreamed of ; — and even then, not feel
the loss, more than the eagle the smallest feather, that he
shakes loose amid the storm, from his broad wings.
III. Another consideration, which will show the absurd
ity of the restriction, that some would impose on the min
istry is, the fact, that it would successively silence them
from speaking of almost every moral or religious question
that the bible contains. Almost every duty, doctrine, and
moral precept, of Christianity, have been, are now, or may
be, so generally disregarded, as to become in turn a party,
or national issue.
The independency of the church of the state, was, for
a long time, a political question in this country. To as
sert this doctrine was, for many generations, branded as
preaching politics. Free toleration of rehgious opinions, —
the doctrine that civil force was not to be called on to put
down what was deemed error, or to punish those esteemed
heretics, was another great political question. To advocate
this was to create a perfect storm of party rancor. But
Roger Williams, even at the risk of being thus stamped as

23
a political preacher, — aye, and at the risk of banishment,
and exile, — did not shrink from the duty of proclaiming
this great central principle of religious liberty.
And if Ave mistake not, the assertion of the same great
principle, — in opposition to the club-law that has been
again reenacted in high places, and countenanced, and ap
proved in low places, — will not, even now, be much less
free from similar charges and dangers. One minister, we
understand, has already been ejected from his place, because
he would not, when solicited, join in an expression of laud-
ation and glorification of the ruffianly author of that outrage
against free discussion.
Another large portion of the word of God that is fenced
off, marked politics, and prohibited to the minister, is all
that portrays the guilt, and denounces the doom of oppres
sion. This has been, for generations, forbidden ground to
the preacher.
Still another part of scripture territory, — a large tract, if
you carefully mark its boundaries, — has more recently been
enclosed by a further extension of the same wall. This is
all that relates to the vice and condemnation of drunkenness.
Any allusion to this has, for some time, been adjudged
preaching politics. The minister must not venture to climb
this wall, unless he wishes to be impaled on the pointed
spikes of party bitterness. He must not put his hand through
the bars, for a little of the clay to anoint therewith the eyes
of the blinded inebriate. He must not seem to wish to do so,
nor look eagerly in, nor even linger about the wall, if he
.would be entirely above suspicion.
And preparations, we may see, are already commenced
to reduce the free territory of the preacher, to still narrower
limits. Morrnondom, with their repudiation of the mar-

24
riage law, — each with an omnibus load of wives, if he so
elects, — are knocking for admission into the union. Objec
tions will be made, as it is easy to see, to their " peculiar
institution." These objections will be met by another party,
by the plea that every people have a right, in their sover
eignty, to mold their domestic institutions to suit them
selves, — that they have a right to come in "with, or without"
the marriage law, just as they prefer. This will thus be
made a political question. The minister, thereupon, like
the Indians when the Whites wanted their lands, must at
once evacuate all the bible ground that is thus marked,
and claimed. To mention this subject of marriage, will
be, thenceforth preaching politics.
Now, how long will it be ' at this rate, before ministers
will be driven from all the plains of bible morality, and all
the groves of christian duty, in which there is any game
worth chasing ? How soon will they, like the few discon
solate old chiefs of these dwindling tribes, have no place
left, on which to kindle the council fires of their ancient
eloquence, except the Rocky mountains of scripture geneal
ogy, chronology, antiquities, or such like soil, which the
aggressive hordes of politics do not want, and where they
cannot grow, nor breed, the products, or chattels of then-
servitude ? And this, my friends, is no exaggeration, or fan
cy picture, of what may not, or can not be realized. The
whole bible is, by some governments, proscribed to the peo
ple as a seditious and revolutionary book. Its distributors,
readers, and preachers, are imprisoned or banished as dis
turbers of the peace. Protestantism is a political misde
meanor. And, even in Protestant countries themselves, dis
sent from the established church, is widely regarded in the
same light.

25
Shall we then as ministers of the gospel retire from this
goodly land which God gave unto our fathers ? Shall
we, after they by divine assistance, drove out the Canaanitish
errors of Popery, vindicated then- rights to the whole
Bible, and left it to us, in all its length and breadth,: as an
everlasting inheritance — shall we now, I ask, give way
to every political squatter that choses to drive down a stake,
in these fields flowing with milk and honey, and scrawl on
on it his baseless claim ? Shall we fear to lead our flocks
into every green pasture of Bible truth, which a pack of
political wolves choose to gallop across, and howl upon ?
And shall we, to escape encountering the glare of their
savage eyes, or the grin of their fierce, yet cowardly
teeth, flee to its more distant wastes, and remoter borders,
and plunge at length into the Pacific ocean of gurgling ac
quiescence ? I tell you nay. We have retired before
them too far already, — have shown too many signs of
shrinking timidity. We are now determined, in the name,
and through the strength of God, to make a stand and
drive back these invaders ; — to repudiate their claims ; —
to obliterate their trails; — to pursue them, like General
Putnam, even into the dens of their darkest sophistries,
and grimest prejudices ; — and to roam free and fearless
over the entire domain of Scripture truth, from frontier to
frontier. This then my brethren is the legitimate Monroe doc
trine which is to be applied to this great continent of Bible
truth. This is to be regarded as our ultimatum. It is the
only, and last terms which we shall propose, or accept,
We are not to be driven by the fear, nor cajoled by the favor
of any political despot, from an inch of its wide and ample
territory. The name of politics, shouted ever so vigorously,

shall, for us, have no such magic terror as to " possess us
Avith a dumb spirit" respecting any portion of God's truth,
Avhich duty calls us to unfold. Whether its principles be
in opposition to social, or individual sins, we shall pro
claim them.
This indeed may appear to some very unfair in their
ministers, as some of these Bible truths are distasteful to so
many of their supporters ; and even in some cases in conflict
Avith the practice of a majority of them. But if this proves
anything it proves too much. It Avould, if legitimately
folloAved out, lead us much farther than those Avho urge it
would wish. It is substantially that . ministers, should mold
the sentiments they utter, to accord with the tastes and
likings of those Avho furnish the larger half of their five bar
ley loaves and fishes. It is indeed when closely inspected,
seen to be but a revamping of the old doctrine of priestly
indulgences, AArhich permitted the clergy to connive at any
sin Avhich their Avealthy parishioners Avere willing to pay
roundly for the privilege of commiting with impunity ; —
reserving all their rebukes and denunciations for the, sins
of those who do not, or cannot furnish the cash. It is but
a resurrection of the same demand of frail humanity which,
before the reformation, produced such preachers as Tetzel,
Avho could so readily release either living or dead from the
penalties of sin, the moment " the money tinkled in the
box." So true is the quaint remark of his great annihila-
tor, Luther, that " every man has a Pope . in his heart."
Now, Ave would fain believe that such an argument could
never be considerately and deliberately used in a christian
community. Can it be possible that any man would, in
the light of reason and scripture, use means to foster, or
implant in his religious teacher, the disposition to propose

27
the bargain respecting Christ's truth, once proposed
respecting Christ himself: "What will ye give me
and I will betray him unto you ?" Do they think it a
legitimate cause for displeasure, that he will not make any
such advances, nor meet half-Avay those who would " gladly
covenant to give him money" for such a base betrayal of
their celestial guide ? Oh, Avould it be any wonder that
this beggarly reward of iniquity, if received, should burn
into our consciences like molten lead ; — that we should
soon return to our tempters and employers, when assem
bled before the " Great White Throne," with the cry of
agony : " I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent
blood '." Could these accomplices of our guilt, think you,
reply complacently to this shriek of accusing anguish :
" What is that to us ; see ye to that?" And would it not
be a relief from the shame that covered us, and the remorse
that gnawed us, to draw around our souls the noose of
God's condemning sentence, and leap from the battlements
of heaven, to dangle and fall, masses of gushing hatefulness,
to our " own place." Balaam himself, if raised from his
dishonored grave, with all his original characteristics un
changed, Avould not be sufficiently venal to meet this de
mand. For even he, branded as he is with an immortality
of infamy, for loving " the wages of unrighteousness," did
not dare to keep back, or alter the message that God gave
him to deliver. " If Balak would give me his house full of
silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord
my God, to do less or more." How withering was the
reply of an inspired apostle, to the mercenary Simon, for
offering him money as a consideration for religious immu
nities, to which his character did not entitle him : " Thy
money perish Avith thee, because thou hast thought the gift

28
of God might be purchased Avith money." And oh, that all
who would, either directly or ' indirectly, make a similar of
fer, would ponder the remainder of the same pointed ad
dress : " Repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness, and pray
God, if perhaps," (mark he does not seem sure that it is
possible), " if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be
forgiven thee ; for I perdeive that thou art in the gall of
bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity."
Now we wish it to be distinctly understood, that Ave
would never have a morsel of meat held out to us, however
faint and famishing Ave might be, if its reception is to be
viewed by the giver as either an expressed or implied con
sent to sell him our birthright, — that of " declaring the whole
council of God," faithfully and fearlessly. And we know
of no better return that the preacher can make for kindness
expressed by material aid, or otherwise, than by dealing
out, without stint, the plain, honest, needed, though at times,
pointed and distasteful, truth. To those who measure out
to him abundantly of the one, should he, with as liberal a
hand, mete out of the other, " good measure pressed down,
shaken together, and running over."
But it is perhaps time to bring these remarks to a close.
I have spoken as I have upon this subject because I felt
called upon, by what I deem a sincere sense of duty so to
do. I wished you, once for all, to understand that any al
lusions to such matters, made heretofore, or Avhich may
hereafter be made, either in preaching or prayer, are not
the transient outbursts of unreasoning excitement, but are
on the contrary the results of my most deliberate convic
tions, — the manifestation of sentiments which are inter
woven with the warp and woof of my moral and religious
nature, — the visible throbbings of my heart of hearts. I

29
Avished likeAvise to discuss the matter thoroughly, that
I might make a clean breast of it, and thus make it less
necessary to recur to it again, or leave the Avay clear to do
so if occasion should so demand. I have spoken, some may
think, too strongly, and taken extreme ground. But I wish
none to accept my conclusions because I have so concluded,
except they commend themselves to your own reason and
conscience, in view of God's truth, — God's truth, exam
ined Avith a sincere desire to know and obey its dictates.
It is thus that I have endeavored to preach, and thus I
wish you to hear. And if, after such a hearing, you hon
estly must dissent from my views, I have no harsh judg
ments to denounce, and have as little desire to have them
denounced upon myself. " To our own Master we each
shall severally stand or fall ; who art thou that judgest
another man's servant ?" If indeed I am after all mis
taken, and you who dissent from my views are right, then
you are still just as right, and need feel no less calm and
undisturbed, than if nothing had been said. If the place
of your defence " is the munitions" of truth's eternal rocks,
then a volley of the pebbles of sophistry need not alarm
you, in this impregnable Malakoff. The manifestation of
undue uneasiness and sensitiveness, Avhen our views are
examined or assailed, betrays a lurking inward apprehen
sion of their unsoundness. Conscious insecurity, as well
as conscious guilt; is always haunted by suspicion.
" The thief doth fear each bush an officer."
" The wicked fleeth when no man pursueth ; but the right
eous is as bold as a lion." Hence, the man unsupported
by conscious virtue, and the man unsustained by conscious
truth, may each be detected by similar tests.

30
„ ... . " I'll observe his looks ;
I'll tent him to the quick; if he doth blench,
I know my course. — Your majesty
And We that have free souls, it touches us not :
Let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung."
The old idea that the guilty alone would shrink be
neath the test 01 fire, is free from absurdity when re
garded as a symbol of the fire of truth acting upon the
inner man. This flame, though blown " seven times more
intensely than it is wont," around truth-loving, truth-
abiding souls, has no power to harm them, — cannot
" change even the garments " of their conscious security,
nor " singe the hair " of their settled peace.
" With trial-fire, touch me his finger-end ;
If he be pure, the flame will back descend,
And turn him to no pain ; but if he start,
It is the flesh of a corrupted heart."
My principal aim in the foregoing remarks, has been to
vindicate the minister's right to the whole range of Scripture
truth, — to unfold its doctrines, and apply its teachings to
human conduct, — whether alone, or amid the thronging
multitude, — without being challenged by any political
sentry, — without getting a passport from their secret and
jealous police, or without consulting the changing moods,
or favorite measures, of his self-constituted political guar
dians. This, my friends, is the " liberty wherewith Christ
has made his ministers free ;" and, though one of the
feeblest and most unworthy of them all, I shall exercise
this liberty, as long as I discharge its sacred functions.
And if the day should ever dawn, when I cannot, or dare not,
use this heaven-vested freedom, my tongue shall thenceforth
cleave to the roof of my mouth. A sense of the craven

31
servility, of the abject meanness, and of the unmanly, —
not to speak of the unchristian, — imbecility of such a con
dition, Avould cause me to shrink, ever after, not only out
of the pulpit, but out of the sight of every freeman.
I should feel impelled to flee toward the much reviled
South ; to secure the more generous price given there for
such pliable chattels ; to submit to the less galling lash ; to
engage in the less degrading labor, and to enjoy the supe
rior privileges and self-respect of the obedient plantation
slave.

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