Constitution, to preserve our dearest rights, our most sacred liberties. They have gone to breast the shock of battle where the Stars and Stripes must go, to shed their blood, if needs be, and to offer up their lives upon the altar of their country. Pray for them. May the God of battles spare them from the ravages of disease, and be a shield to them in the field of combat. May his banner be over them and inspire them with a noble courage, which disdains to fly before the foe. May his divine Spirit lead them to a true and humble confidence in him, and faith in the merits of Jesus Christ his Son, that should they fall, they may die at the post of duty and be meet for heaven. Let us pray for those who are at the head of this Government, and to whom are now committed the weightiest responsibilities. Our Chief Magistrate and his associates should be remembered by our people in their prayers, that God would endue them with all that wisdom, prudence, energy, and decision which will fit them to play the men in this hour of danger. They need to-day the hearty and unwavering support of every loyal citizen. Let us then rebuke every sinister attempt to spread abroad distrust and doubt among the people. Let us feel a confidence in the Government, and pray that God would bless our rulers; and especially let us thank him that he has spared to our country that veteran chieftain whose experienced counsels now direct our military movements that old hero who has so long led our armies on from victory to victory, and who, by his deep-laid strategy and unerring forecast, his cool, unshaken courage and accurate execution, has proved himself the greatest General of the age. God bless and strengthen him! May he live to see the day when the old flag shall wave again in glorious peace over this whole nation!

It is our duty also, as a Christian people, to pray for those who are in arms against us; not that God would favor their nefarious schemes or prosper their traitorous enterprises; but we can and should beseech him that he would dispel the delusion which is upon them, and reveal to them their fatal error-that he, who hath in his hands the hearts of all men, would turn their hearts from their evil purposes, that he would calm the stormy sea of passion, awaken their relentings, and lead them back to loyalty and obedience.

Oh! let us guard our feelings with a double diligence in a time like the present. Let not the high-souled emotions of patriotism be mingled with the bitterness of private revenge. Let us beware lest the blade which we unsheath as the sword of justice become forged into the dagger of malice and fiendish hate. Let us pray for our enemies, that they may be converted into friends.

And having conscientiously endeavored to know our duty, and

*Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, the victorious hero of many battles.

prepared to meet it at every sacrifice, let us calmly repeat the concluding words of Israel's valiant chieftain: "And the Lord do that which seemeth him good."

A devout recognition of God's overruling Providence, in continually disposing of human events and determining their results, is peculiarly befitting to us in our present circumstances. The Most High ruleth in heaven and on earth; "He changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings and setteth up kings;" "He increaseth the nations and destroyeth them." Do all we can in marshaling the mighty men and multiplying our resources, our destinies are in his hands. Christian patriotism and courage fall back and rest on his Almighty arm, saying, when duty is done : "And the Lord do that which seemeth him good." Such a sentiment should inspire the hearts of our people in this crisis. That swaggering bravery, which cowards glory in, which vents its fiery valor in huge curses and terrific oaths and boasts when it puts on its armor more than when it puts it off, may disdain such language, and sneer at it as cant; but Christian heroes use it, and with Joab, the old scarred veteran of Israel's hosts, say: "The Lord do that which seemeth him good."

This language is creature-like and becoming, for it is the language of felt dependence, of trust and humble confidence in the Almighty. It is the language of acquiescence in his will. It is the language of conscious satisfaction that we have sought to know our duty, and have done all we could, whatever may betide us. It is the language of submissive hope, gazing with a steady eye through the thickening gloom, and catching rays of brightness in the horoscope of futurity. With this sentiment filling our hearts, we rally around the Stars and Stripes for duty, and commit our country and our liberties, our children's heritage and our national destiny, to God! "And the Lord do that which seemeth him good."

I can not close without directing your thoughts to the last peaceful refuge of the pious from all the dark and tumultuous agitations of this life. Amidst all the revolutions of State, the overturnings of empires, and the decay of human governments, there is one Kingdom which can not be moved-it is the Kingdom of God! Its throne is in the heavens. Its reign is in the hearts of all of God's redeemed people. Treason can not endanger it. Fleets and armies can not destroy it. Here is our last asylum from a troubled world. "Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." Whatever be the fate of our country and her proud institutions, we are invited to take refuge in this kingdom, and secure a citizenship in heaven. Let us listen, then, to the embassy of grace which comes to us in the Gospel, and, by true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ the

Saviour, return to our allegiance to our Father God. Then, when all that we hold dear on earth is lost, our souls may rest in heaven. Then, when we die, whether on the battle-field, amidst the charge of squadrons and the thunders of artillery, or in the tranquil hour of summer twilight, surrounded by all the gentle offices of long affection and loved associations of home, wherever our spirits take their flight from earth, we gain the victory, and win a crown of glory which fadeth not away.

TO THE REV. EDWARD E. SEELYE, D.D., Pastor of the First Ret. Dutch Church, Schenectady:

REV. DEAR SIR: The undersigned members of your church and parish having lis tened with deep interest to your views on the present condition of our national affairs, as embodied in your sermon on Sunday, the 28th inst., respectfully solicit a copy of the same for publication.

SIMON C. GROOT,
OTIS SMITH,

W. VAN VRANKEN,
ERNESTUS PUTNAM,

J. B. GRAHAM,

C. YATES,

H. W. V. CLUTE,

To MR. S. C. GROOT AND OTHERS:

DANIEL VEDDER,
C. F. HOAG,
ABM. VROOMAN,
THOS. H. REEVES,
NICHOLAS CAIN,

N. SWITS,

E. ROSA.

SCHENECTADY, April 29, 1861.

GENTLEMEN: Your polite note, requesting me to furnish for publication the sermon I preached yesterday, on the present crisis, is received.

Although written hastily, and without the remotest view to such an end, yet if, in your judgment, it can conduce in any degree to promote a noble Christian patriotism, and subserve the cause of our beloved country, I cheerfully submit it to your disposal.

SERMON XVIII.

BY REV. ROBERT R. BOOTH,

PASTOR OF THE MERCER - STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. PREACHED, NEW-YORK, MAY 12, 1861.

THE NATION'S CRISIS AND THE CHRISTIAN'S DUTY.

"FEAR not for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."— 2 KINGS 6 16.

THERE is no quality of character so admirable and impressive as that which is calmly confident in the midst of adverse circumstances. That is the highest courage, the proof of the most complete manhood, which can stand firm on solid principle, and meet the storm of opposition or the thrilling peril of the hour, reposing on the strength of God and the majesty of eternal truth.

A signal illustration of this trait of character, and of the basis upon which it is sustained, is presented in the text. In that faroff age of Israel's ancient history, we witness the fortitude and moral strength which flow from a calm confidence in God, in the character and conduct of Elisha, the prophet, who was exiled and hunted from city to city for his unwavering faithfulness to the God of his fathers, who sent him to be a messenger of rebuke and warning to Israel.

One of the incidents of his manifold trials is contained in the narrative of the text. The prophet had been accused to the king of Syria of communicating to his enemy, the king of Israel, the plans and movements of the Syrian armies.

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Inquiry of his dwelling-place had been made, and it was found that he was in Dothan. Thither, therefore, the king sent horses and chariots and a great host, and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold! an host compassed the city, both with chariots and horses. And his servant said unto him, Alas! my master, how shall we do?" The prophet's answer was the text, a reply sublime in its confidence of faith, and in its firm repose on God: "Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." And then Elisha prayed, and the forces of God, sent for the prophet's protection, were revealed to the young man. On every side around him he saw the grand display: "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." Against such allies the hosts of Syria

could not contend. By their presence and by the power of prayer the might of the enemy was broken, and a complete deliverance accomplished for the servant of God.

Now, my brethren, we may regard the situation of Elisha amid these startling perils, and his calm faith in the higher power that was engaged for his defense, as a distinct illustration of a great truth which is engraven on the history of the world. That word of cheer which Elisha spoke to his trembling companion, is a clear prophecy of that which has since been realized in the experience of God's people amid all conflicts and reverses, and which shall be true unto the issue of the last battle in the great day of God. The substance of the truth herein presented may be set forth in the proposition, that

IN ALL THE MORAL ANTAGONISMS OF THE WORLD, THE REAL

STRENGTH AND THE ULTIMATE SUCCESS IS ON THE SIDE OF THOSE WHO ARE ALLIED WITH GOD.

The fundamental thought in this proposition is, that this world, and human society as existing in it, is the scene of ceaseless moral conflict. The truth of this position can not be intelligently questioned. On every side, in every age, there is clear evidence, that the agencies of good and evil are actively at work, each intent on its own end or purpose. The moral government of God is proceeding to its sublime and triumphant issues, only through protracted and desperate conflicts.

A recognition of this truth may be traced as an article of belief in the popular creed of almost all nations. The ancient Parsees, or fire-worshipers, believed in the existence of two independent deities, whom they represented by the elements of light and darkness; the former the author of good, and the latter the source of evil. These divinities were self-existent, eternal, and incessantly active. Thus they accounted for the presence of good and evil in the moral system. Most Pagan nations, it is well known, had in like manner their good and evil deities, who are always developing their opposing natures in the moral conflicts of the world.

That great truth which is thus included in the popular beliefs of mankind at large is abundantly manifested in the practical events of life. On every page of history, in the grand and solemn progress of the Church, in the long and weary struggles of Liberty with Oppression, in the revolt of men against the restraints of wholesome laws-yea, in the social life of every community, and of almost every family, there is a constant vision of this field of strife, in which battle is joined between the good and evil.

The elements of this antagonism are presented in the text by the words, "they that are with us," and "they that are with them."

The fact herein suggested is a reality for us in our generation, as much as for any that have gone before us; the responsibilities