SERMON X.

ON THE CHRISTIAN DUTY OF SUBMISSION

TO CIVIL GOVERNMENT.

ROMANS xiii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power but of God: the powers that be, are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good.

But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

THERE are certain festivals in the year

on which it is convenient for the Christian preacher to obey the Apostolic precept, which bids him, "Put men in mind. that they be subject to principalities and powers, and obey magistrates."-A precept at all times necessary to be enforced, and not least so at the present.

I shall not advert to the circumstances of the historical event which we this day commemorate, but shall merely take occasion from it to lay before you the grounds of the moral obligation by which we are bound to the government under which we live; or, in the language of the Apostle, the subjection under which every soul ought to live to the higher powers. And this will be best done, if I begin by briefly showing from the text itself, first, the necessity, and, secondly, the divine institution of civil government.

First, its necessity. Government (or as St. Paul terms it in the text "the power,") is the minister of God, to him that doeth well, for good, but a revenger to execute wrath upon the evil: that is to say, kings and magistrates are agents of

God to defend and encourage good men, and to punish evil-doers.

Those men

can know very little of human nature who are not aware that a large proportion of mankind are of that disposition, that "their mouth must be held by bit and bridle, lest they fall upon thee." Without laws the headstrong passions and inordinate desires of wicked men would make the world a scene of rapine and violence, in which the quiet and peaceable could not live.

The concurrent testimony of history shows us that wheresoever the bonds of society are loosed, there spring up into light fiendlike beings, who revel in lust and blood, so that one is ready to doubt whether they be really men. Why should our own age form an exception? The sunniest brakes may conceal the venomous adder; beasts of prey lurk often in the loveliest scenes. We may float quietly down the smooth surface of the social stream, and discern not what is hidden in its deep recesses: but let the tempest arise, and the waters be troubled,

and there come forth to view hideous and cruel monsters who take their pastime in the storm, and sport amidst the wreck of all that is noble and beautiful.

Of all nations of the earth, none perhaps could be named, the prosperity or very existence of which so much depends, under Providence, on the preservation of peace and order, as that to which we belong. The greater portion of the inhabitants of this country obtain their daily subsistence by the wages of labour. Therefore it is obviously of the utmost importance, that those who have the means of giving employment to others. should have every encouragement to do SO. It is the reciprocity between labour and capital; or, to speak in common terms, the combined interest of labourers and employers, on which our social system hinges. Suppose, for instance, that a rich man comes into a neighbourhood, and begins to build a house, and lay out grounds. All hands are in immediate occupation: tradesmen, workmen, and labourers are

in full employment, there is not an idle man in the parish. As long as the work goes on, you must all be well aware how great a benefit is derived from it. In times of peace and tranquillity, works of this sort are continually proceeding; for as wealth increases, the possessors of it build costly mansions and adorn them with the embellishments of art: useful works also, such as canals and railroads, the sources of new wealth, are projected and executed; improvements of all sorts are made; trade, commerce, and agriculture flourish; and employment at good wages is easily obtained by the industrious and honest. Such are the natural results of security.-Mark now the contrary picture. Reflect upon what must be the necessary result, if civil government were set at nought, and tumult and disorder were to prevail. The first and immediate consequence, is want of employment. Who will build a house if he is not sure whether it may not be burnt or pulled down over his head? Who will make canals and other modes of