way of inspiration and guidance, than he could have been whilst he was in the body. In mourning for the tabernacle which a mad and wicked hand hath invaded, do not forget to seize and appropriate the great life which hath been not so much unclothed as clothed upon. Disappoint any who may have secretly desired or planned this great crime, by showing forth, with the enthusiasm of a new discipleship, the very being, the very persistent purpose, which they would have put out of the world had it been possible. And what vengeance is to be compared with that divine vengeance which multiplies a thousand-fold the one voice that a cruel death has silenced, and makes of the truth which was buried in the ground a word of strength and joy for the whole world? There is a crime unto death. It ought not to be lightly dealt with. Let no man ask that it may be forgiven; but, when the ministers of God who bear not the sword in vain have fulfilled their office, and the criminal has received the stern sentence, let us remember, were it only for the honor and the love which we bear to our dead, the generous and humane spirit that was so large a part of his noble manhood. I confess that I have not thought that they mourn for him wisely, who, renouncing his spirit before his poor outraged clay was cold, propose to be bitter and revengeful in fact, though not of course in name, as he was not. Friends,Christian friends, followers of him whose first disciples were as loving as they were just, let us not forget the many sad warnings of man's history, the cheats which his deceitful heart has put upon him; let us not forget that what is begun in righteousness and love is often ended, and not well, in unrighteousness and wrath. shall have lost our noble leader indeed, if we lose his spirit, the wise and considerate mind, the excellent judgment, the tender, humane heart, that were in him; if, with all the wrongs, cruel wrongs, foul wrongs, that we have suffered as a nation, we forget that we are a Christian nation, and proceed to demand, and that, too, in the name of our gentle sufferer, measures of severity which he would never have sanctioned; so taking advantage of his dying, to thwart one of the high aims of his living. You know that I have spoken in but one voice from the beginning of this war, pleading for its rightfulness in the sight of the highest Christianity; and so you will not misunderstand my warning, lest, misled by passion, and not following, as we suppose, our man of peace, we inaugurate a reign of terror and blood. God grant that our martyr may be our deliverer; that he who was raised up in the most manifest providence of the Lord to be our counsellor and guide in our years of sore trial, may still rule and bless the people from the hiding-place of spiritual power; and, if we have had occasion to distrust him who is now called to the highest seat, may our fears be changed into hopes, and the desire of the nation be accomplished! * * The preacher desires that the paragraphs above may not be interpreted as recommending lenity to the authors of privy conspiracy and rebellion; and he is glad to add that the circumstances, well known to the country, which led so many to distrust our present national Chief Magistrate, have been explained, by those who speak with authority, to his entire satisfaction. 2 SAMUEL XIX: 2. AND THE VICTORY THAT Day was turNED INTO MOURNING UNTO ALL THE PEOPLE. BRETHREN, but one theme can command your attention this morning. Only the contemplation of one event, solemn and momentous, looked at in the light of that inscrutable providence which is ever wise and merciful, studied in its social and civil, its moral and religious aspects, is in harmony with the painful emotions that swell our hearts, the troubled thoughts that are pressing upon our minds. Three days since, we gathered here for a service of humiliation, of human appointment, at the call of the civil authorities; God so ordered it, that it became of necessity a service of gratitude and thanksgiving. The black cloud of treason and rebellion, which for four years had lowered over the land, seemed distinctly broken and scattered, floating away in the distance. The dawn of approaching peace, of reunion, of prosperity, of a glorious and honorable future for the nation, gave clear indications that it must ere long burst upon 21* (245) |