Page images
PDF
EPUB

to the God of peace; together bowing their knees at the throne of grace! and when I recollected the enmity that had formerly existed between them, compared with what I then saw, tears of joy flowed from my eyes. O my friends, after the conversion of Africaner and Berend, despair not of any man, however wicked he may be, for the Grace of God is infinite."

Defensive War considered.

[Printed in 1804.]

"THOSE Writers who advocate the

justice of War, and its consistency with the divine principles of Christ, * do not in their writings advert to the essential doctrine preached by our blessed Saviour on the mountain, but build their foundation on the transactions recorded in the Bible, under the old dispensation; arguing from the morality of the law of Moses, and endeavouring, by the effort of reason, to draw parallels whereby this law or doctrine may correspond with that.

They are not aware to what lengths their arguments may be extended, because, if they are right in the instance of war, what was permitted or winked at under the Mosaic dispensation, might be adopted by the present generation; which would overthrow the system of government in this country, and totally subvert what they

intend to establish.

If war be consistent with the mild spirit of the Christian religion, polygamy may be justified on similar grounds, and the law enacted to prevent it, by their own arguments, must be unjust; and thus a man may put away his wife or wives at pleasure, agreeably to Deut. xxiv. 1.

When a man hath taken a wife and inarried her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her, then

let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.'

When the question was put to our blessed Saviour, by the Pharisees- Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him:he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart, he wrote you this precept.' Mark x. 2, 3, 4, 5.

Considerable stress is laid upon Exodus xxii. 2, for the shedding of blood in self-defence :- If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall be no blood shed for him. This supposes the and at best or worse may be contransaction to take place in the night, strued chance-medley; but the 3d and 4th verses say, If the sun be

risen

blood shed for him; for he should upon him, there shall be

make full restitution: if he have notheft. If the theft be certainly found thing, then he shall be sold for his in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep, he shall restore double.'

The advocates for war, especially those who say they are called by the Holy Ghost to preach the Gospel, tion to man, should seriously conthe glad tidings of peace and salvasider, whether they be justified in laid down by our Saviour, when he their attempts to weaken the doctrine says, Matthew v. 43, &c. . Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven,' &c. Or render nugatory the prophecies

* See the Writings of the late John Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley, Shropshire, recorded in the Old Testament, wherein we are told, Isaiah ii. 4, Micah iv.

and Alexander Knox.

3, 4, 5—'And he (Christ) shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.' And again, Isa. lxv. 25'The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock; and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.'

In the Armenian Magazine, for January and February, the subject of Defensive War has been discussed by a gentleman of the name of Knox : his arguments and deductions appear to be nearly a counterpart of the extract from the political writings of John Fletcher, late Vicar of Madeley, Salop. The latter begins with quoting the case of the Levite, Judges xix. 20; the truth of which is admitted, as well as that of the many battles fought, from the period of Moses' departure from Egypt to the advent of our blessed Saviour. I shall only observe, that when the Hebrews were in possession of the promised land, observing and doing all the commandments commanded by Moses, in Deut. xxviii. the Lord their God set them on high above all the nations of the earth, and preserved them in this blessed state; but when they declined from the law, and worshipped strange gods, they were given up to their enemies, at first for a short space of time, afterwards for successive longer periods, until the final destruction of their country, city, and temple, by Titus; when they experienced, to the full, the completion of the woes denounced by their law-giver Moses. It is worthy of remark, also, that when they went up to worship, they went in perfect confidence (leaving their property, and all they had, exposed) in the promises made to them, that during their absence every particular should be safe, and that their

:

enemies should not so much as covet their possessions: 'Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel; for I will cast out the nations before thee; and enlarge thy borders neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.'* Exod. xxxiv. 23, 24. We are further instructed in the same history, that it was not by numbers that the Almighty fought for them, as in the instance of Gibeon, Hezekiah, and others, lest they should attribute their success to the prowess of man; as it is expressed, Zech. iv. 6- Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.' Hosea i. 7.

It will be admitted by those who believe the sacred writings, that war Iwas directed to be made on some occasions, wherein the Divine interference was eminently displayed: and it will also be admitted, I presume, by the Christian, that He who created man, may at one time see meet to order a dispensation, and again annul it, in order to introduce another, agreeable to His holy will and providence, however widely different; the reasons for which cannot be understood by the limited comprehension and intuitive faculties of man; who, the more he knows by the aid of reason, must be convinced he knows but little, when put in the scale with Omniscient Divinity, some

It might be profitable for most, to pause and reflect whether they will be justified in the awful day of retribution and judgement, which is bastening on all flesh, by permitting affairs of pleasure, business, or trifling avocations, to prevent their attendance on places of worship, where those duties are to be fulfilled which are due from the created to the Creator, and solely depend on him. to recollect that both life and property

The writer remembers a gentleman of the first commercial connections observing, that he had so arranged his affairs, that he

defied the Almighty to ruin him! But the brought him intelligence that he was renext packet which arrived in course, duced to poverty!

[ocr errors]

of whose attributes he is pleased to communicate the knowledge of to man: the greater part of which, we may conclude, are too transcendent for him to conceive, or have the least idea of, only as permitted to be communicated by revelation, to the good and wise in all ages, as is written on another occasion; 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10—′ Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.'

:

The inferences which are made from the men of Israel being drawn together against the Benjamites, rest more upon individual interpretation of Scripture, than the New Testament will authorise; which, being the last will and testament, it is our duty to conclude is the rule to go by, for those professing Christianity. It would not much avail a culprit at the bar, to insist on being tried by an old law, when a new one was made which effectually abolished the preceding, for reasons obvious to the Legislature.

We discover throughout modern history, that almost every page comprises relations of battles fought, accompanied with rapine, destruction, and violation, amongst contending kingdoms, on spots of the world inhabited by those called Christians, professing the principles of Christianity. This induced the Abbé Raynall to observe, that the perusal of the Settlement of Pennsylvania, under the wise Legislator William Penn, contained the only page of history where the mind could pause, and dwell with delight-the only instance on record of a country being settled without blood. Every where else, in establishing Christian settlements, the progress has been marked with cruelty, blood, and rapine, quoting the authority of the Old Testament, as though every country which those marauders chose to possess, was a Canaan promised to them; and that

they were justified in hunting the peaceful aborigines of the soil with dogs, and" dogs of War," more savage still.

The expressions of our Lord are construed as inclination or prejudice dictate. Thus, when the disciples were informed that the kind of spirit went not out but by prayer and fasting, Matt. xvii. 19- Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting"-it was intended to strengthen them in their faith, having reproached them for deficiency therein, and also that fasting and prayer were necessary thereto, without the least reference to war.

The text in Luke xxii. 36, &c.— 'Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one: for I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, and he was reckoned amongst the transgressors; for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords; and he said unto them, It is enough;' can by no means be considered as a direction to arm for military purposes, because two swords could not be sufficient; besides, in no instance does our Lord contradict himself, as he frequently inculcated in their minds, that his kingdom was not of this world. He meant by the expressions to warn them that they had to sustain, and encounter with a variety of troubles and afflictions. Even then the disciples could not avoid believing that he would restore again the kingdom to Israel.

Matt. xxvi. 52, is also explained

at pleasure, and a meaning given to it which the words do not warrant. When Peter drew his sword, and struck a servant of the High Priest, Jesus said unto him, 'Put up again thy sword; for all they who take up the sword, shall perish by the sword.' This expression is very decisive and clear had it wanted qualification, the wise master would have done it, and not left the explanation to be made by his creatures, who cannot command one hour of time, or increase their stature one inch.

It is admitted by those writers, that if all men were Christians, righteousness must prevail; but, they advance, whilst the wicked wear the sword, it is necessary for the righteous to wear and use it too-as though it was in the power of Satan to overthrow the decrees of Heaven, and that, to establish the kingdom of righteousness, the righteous must be instructed by, and assimilate with, the Devil and his Angels, to be a match for them. The connection is certainly very incongruous, and runs counter to the whole body of evidence contained in the Scripture, because, what concord can Christ have with Belial? Those inspired writers, David and John, did not mean, nor does any one suppose that they did mean, that the godly should arm with instruments of war against the wicked, previous to the coming of those blessed days when righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters do the sea; and when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more,' Isa. ii. -Yet, in the interim, the wicked may be instruments of wrath in the hands of the Almighty to the destruction of each other: but the godly are to fight the good fight of faith, as the apostle writes, Ephes. vi. 10, &c. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil; for we wrestle not against

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places: wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance, and supplication for all saints.' These are the arms which the righteous in this dispensation are to assume, and this is the discipline : their warfare must be spiritual, not temporal; and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, will accomplish all things in his own appointed time.

The circumstance advanced, of the soldiers going to John the Baptist, can have no reference, as a justification of war; nor does the Scripture imply the interpretation given to it by the writers in its favour. John was the fore-runner of the Messiah; the old law was still in force; but they were enjoined to do violence to no man: if they did violence to no man, certainly they could not kill; neither was it likely that John should encourage the Roman soldiers to keep the Hebrews in subjection to the Romans, whose emperor they (the Hebrews) paid tribute to.

Our blessed Lord, indeed, praised the faith of the centurion; it does not appear he saw him afterwards. He praised the faith of many, and sat down to dine with publicans and sinners; but the Scripture does not record that he approved the exactions

of the one, or the sinful state of the others; which he certainly did, if the argument in favour of his approbation of the centurion's profession be in force. The application is good in one instance, as well as the other; but no one supposes he approved the conduct of the publicans and sinners; neither is it to be inferred he did the profession of the centurion.

Here is also another centurion brought forward, to strengthen the argument in favour of war. Peter went to one at Cesarea, as he was ordered, and preached unto him Jesus crucified; the Holy Ghost fell on Cornelius, and he was also baptized. What further passed is not noticed; whether the centurion retained his military profession or not, as his name does not afterwards occur, only as Peter explained the circumstance to the brethren.

The military escort ordered by Claudius Lysias to protect Paul against the blood-thirsty Jews, is also brought forward as another argument that he, as an apostle, approved of military establishments. Had Paul solicited this assistance, it might be used as a plea; but he only informed the magistrate of the conspiracy against him, that he might not, on the morrow, be brought down to the council, leaving to him the means of protecting his person from insult, and perhaps destruction: therefore this cannot be adduced in aid of the subject.

It is singular, indeed, that Christ, and afterwards his apostles, should be supposed to approve what they had to correct, and, because they were sent to heal the sick, they should countenance their vices, and courage publicans and sinners, by sitting with them.

en

The Scribes, Pharisees, and chief rulers amongst the Jews, entertained a very different opinion of the effect and consequences of our Saviour's preaching; otherwise they would not have advanced as a charge against him, John xi. 48- If we let him

VOL. III.

thus alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.' We may infer from hence, that they did not believe he either directly or indirectly encouraged war and fighting, but that, from the peaceable doctrine he preached, its mild tendency would influence mankind, and render them unfit for the purpose of resistance, because their faith would be fixed on him for every thing, both spiritual and temporal.

The history of wars, from remote periods, furnish this remark—that each contending nation throws the odium of aggression on the other, which is maintained by casuists employed to justify the cause of their respective interests: and this will continue to be the case as long as wars devastate society, ruining the morals and wealth of individuals, instead of promoting vital religion, which breathes' peace on earth, and good-will to all men.'

Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that there are many virtuous characters, both in the army and in the navy, (it would be ungenerous to conclude otherwise,) who deservedly hold high rank in each department. It is not for an individual who writes on a religious subject, to discuss the political necessity in which countries may be placed, having no business with these matters; his duty consisting in passive obedience to the laws, where conscience is not concerned; nor to question the authority of his superiors: but he may contend for the beauty of Christianity and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: and that the same Almighty power which supported and preserved Daniel in the lions' den, and the worthies in the fiery furnace, can and will preserve individuals and nations, which in righteousness and self-abasement look up to him for protection against private and foreign foes of every description; that his angels will encamp round those that fear him, and that 3 C

« PreviousContinue »