in which they have no interest or concern? This question is answered by St. Paul; that prophecy (like other parts of scripture) is "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." These prophecies, therefore, are handed down to inform us that it is the will of the great and benevolent Parent of mankind, and consequently the duty of Christians, to live together in harmony and love, instead of hating and destroying each other by war. They are written to show us that if wars now exist, the fault is not in Christianity, but in those who are called Christians.They are written to tell us what effects real Christianity will produce hereafter, and consequently what it ought to produce now.-They are written, Sire, to admonish Christians to refrain from war. These prophecies are still more important, for they point out the way to put an end to war; viz., by spreading abroad Christianity (or "the knowledge of the Lord") till "it shall cover the earth." When Christians cease from war, this undertaking will become comparatively an easy task. Thus understood and applied, these prophecies, instead of being a mere dead letter and a matter of useless speculation, become practically and individually useful; they become, like other parts of Scripture, "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

It is well, Sire, for Christians who feel a deep interest for the honour of their religion, that the history of the first two centuries establishes the fact, that the professors of Christianity, in those early ages, refrained from war. It is also well for the cause of Christianity that an apostasy from the faith was predicted. In Scripture language, faith and Christian practice are often synonymous; and it is impossible to conceive a greater departure from Christian practice than war. Thus, Sire, this departure from the practice of the Apostles and early Christians, like every other fact connected with the Christian history, when duly considered, bears testimony to its truth.

So long as nations professing Christianity shall make a trade of war, the superstructure of Christianity must and will be assailable through these prophecies: but its foundations are imperishable. When Christians shall cease from war, which, on the sure word of prophecy, they will do; then may we hope that Christianity "will cover the earth," and that "all the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ." Till then, warriors must be considered as the foes of Christianity.

If, Sire, we ask ourselves the question-what changes would be effected in the moral and political world, if our Lord's sermon on the mount, instead of being a subject of occasional eulogium and admiration, were made the standard rule of men's actions? Let the prophet Isaiah answer the question: men would "beat their swords into ploughshares," and "nation would not lift up sword against nation, neither would they learn war any more." The all-powerful cause that is to produce these glorious effects is Christianity. Connecting it with the prophecies of the Old Testament, we may consider "the knowledge of the Lord," and Christian knowledge, as the same thing: and taking the sermon of our Lord on the mount as a summary of this knowledge, we may consider it as the noble instrument that is finally to produce these glorious effects.

The close agreement, Sire, between these prophecies and the probable result of our Saviour's precepts, if practically embraced, affords a strong presumptive proof, that both the prophecies and the precepts are of divine origin. I have, I trust, shown that the former never can be fulfilled so long as Christians shall engage in war. It will be equally easy to show that the precepts of the Gospel can never be complied with by nations or by individuals engaging in war. Their obedience to such precepts and commands as the following, seems to be an impossibility.

Have peace one with another. By this shall all men

know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Walk with all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love.

Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another: love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous, not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing.

Be at peace among yourselves. See that none render evil for evil to any man. God hath called us to

peace.

Follow after love, patience, meekness. Be gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. Live in peace.

Lay aside all malice. Put off anger, wrath, malice. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.

Avenge not yourselves. If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Overcome evil with good.

What a strange anomaly, Sire, would be exhibited, were these truly noble and characteristic precepts of the Christian religion placed at the head of every naval or military officer's commission, and at the head of every warlike order issued from the Admiralty or War-office, or at the head of every regimental orderly-book! No incongruity could appear greater than such a mixture of war and Gospel-no impossibility more evident than the impossibility of obedience in both cases-no truth more clear than that war and Christianity are utterly irreconcilable. When the Christian and military duties are thus contrasted, the discrepance is so glaring, that it has rather the appearance of burlesque than of sober truth. But surely this striking contrariety affords no mean argument that the duties of a Christian and a warrior can never be faithfully discharged by the same individual.

A due consideration of these truly Christian precepts will show us the fallacy of one of the most popular

arguments in favour of war: viz., that as the Jews, the highly-favoured people of God, were commanded, by God himself, to wage war, it cannot therefore be sinful for Christians to do the same. But our Saviour has left his followers without this excuse; for he tells them they are not to be guided by the customs of the Jews: "Ye have heard," says he, "that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”— "Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, love them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you." The practice of the Jews, therefore, Sire, can be no excuse for Christians to engage in war.

Another popular argument in favour of war is, that the moral precepts of the Gospel, though imperative to individuals, may, in cases of necessity, be dispensed with by sovereigns, or nations. On this subject an acute reasoner thus expresses himself: "In the transactions of private persons, no advantage that results from the breach of a general law of justice, can compensate to the public for the violation of the law; in the concerns of empire this may be sometimes doubted." I deeply regret, Sire, that a sentiment so derogatory to Christian morals, should have proceeded from the pen of Dr. Paley. My regret, however, is softened by the knowledge that Christian sovereigns, united in Holy Alliance, "have not so learned Christ." These sovereigns solemnly declare "their fixed resolution, both in the administration of their respective states, and in their political relations with every other government, to take for their SOLE guide the precepts of that holy religion" (the Christian): "namely, the precepts of justice, Christian charity, and peace, which, far from being applicable only to private concerns, must have an immediate influence on the counsels of princes, and guide all

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their steps, as being the ONLY means of consolidating human institutions, and remedying their imperfections." Whenever Christian nations shall act on these principles, wars among them will cease, and "the knowledge of the LORD will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea."

Considering the high importance of the subject-matter of these pages to myself individually, I trust, Sire, that I shall not, in concluding them, be accused of egotism, or of improperly indulging my own feelings or vanity, in stating the following particulars concerning myself.

When the first impressions, Sire, were formed in my mind concerning the unlawfulness of Christians entering into or remaining in the military profession, I cannot exactly recollect. To my shame I may, I believe, say that I never thought seriously on the subject till within the last four years. Whenever I heard feelings of disapprobation expressed concerning war, I was led to regard them, as Bishop Horsley did, as a species of puritanical cant; so fully was I satisfied that war, and consequently my profession, was perfectly consonant with the precepts of Christianity. About the time I have mentioned, owing to circumstances which I need not state, I began to entertain doubts on this subject. These doubts gradually gained strength; and early in the year 1822, I came to the resolution to investigate the subject more closely than I had hitherto done; and if, after such investigation, it should appear to me that my profession was irreconcilable with the precepts of Christ, I determined to resign my naval rank and half-pay, although I placed a high value upon the former, and the latter forms a large portion of a very limited income; and I was thereby subjecting myself, and not myself alone, to a very considerable change in my mode of living, and this at an advanced period of life, when its comforts and conveniences are most wanted.