2008 issue 1 - the republic of the israelites: an example to the american states - counsel of...

8/12/2019 2008 Issue 1 - The Republic of the Israelites: An Example to the American States - Counsel of Chalcedon

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The

Republic of

the

Israelites an Example

to

the American tates

Samuel Langdon 1723 - 1797)*

Of the

US

Constitution,

Langdon

stated:

That

as

God

in

the course

of

his

kind

providence hath given you

an excellent constitution of

government, founded

on the

most rational, equitable, and

libera l principles, by

which

all

that

liberty is secured

which

a

people

can

reasonably claim,

and

you are impowered to make

righteous

laws for promoting

public

order and

good morals;

and as he has moreover given

you by his Son Jesus Christ,

who is far superior to Moses, a

complete revelation of

his

will,

and a perfect system of true

religion, plainly delivered in

the sacred

writings; it will

be

your

wisdom in

the

eyes of

the

nations,

and

your true interest

and

happiness, to conform

your

practice in the strictest manner

to

the

excellent principles

of

your

government, adhere

faithfully to

the doctrines and

commands of

the

gospel,

and

practice

every public

and

private

virtue. By this you will

increase

in numbers, wealth,

and

power, and obtain reputation

and

dignity among the

i More about

Samuel

Langdon

pg

3

nations; whereas, the contrary

conduct will make

you

poor,

distressed,

and

contemptible.

'[E]quitable' referred to

principles of natural equity:

i.e., mora l law, expressed

by

the

Ten

Commandments

(and

indeed, throughout the rest

of the Bible), and discerned

by

the conscience

as

a

sense

of justice,· of right

and

wrong.

Therefore,

the

principles of

the

Constitu tion should always

accord with the

moral law.

2

Langdon noted,

regarding

the

Federal

( general ) Constitution:

Soon

after this Sermon

was delivered,

the

Convention

of

the

State of New Hampshire,

met according to adjournment,

and on the twenty-first day of

June

accepted

the

proposed

general Constitution of

government. This being the

ninth State which has acceded

to

this form of national Union,

it

will

be

carried

into

effect;

and there

is no

reason

to doubt

of the speedy accession of all

the other

States, which

are

now debating

on the important

question. Mayall rejoice in the

Lord, who

has

formed

us

into a

nation,

and

honour him as our

Judge, Lawgiver,

and

King, who

hath saved us, and will save us

from all enemies

and

fears, i we

thankfully receive

and

rightly

improve

his

great mercies.

(Emphasis added.)

[H] onohr him as our

Judge, Lawgiver,

and

King':

That's

an

acknowledgment

of the sovereignty of God

over

human

government.

Yet

at the

same

time, it was a

government of 'we, the people',

for Langdon wrote in 1788

regarding

the

Constitutional

Convention of 1787

in

Philadelphia: 'The general form

of such a constitution hath

already

been

drawn up,

and

presented

to the people,

by

a

convention of

the

i s e ~ t

and

most

celebrated patriots in the

land: eight of

the

states have

approved

and

accepted it, with

full te stimonies of joy: and i

it passes the scrutiny of the

whole,

and

recommends itself

to

be

universally adopted, we

shall have abundant

reason

to

offer e l ~ v t e d thanksgivings

to the

supreme

Ruler

of

the

The Gou·nsel of Ghalcedo n



The Republic

qf

the Israelites an Example to the Anwrican 8tates .1787

uni'Ve1 se for

a go'Venl1nent

completed under his

direction.' (Emphasis added.)

At the

same

time, Langdon

also wrote:

'Wisd0111

is

the

gift

of God, and social happiness

depends

on

his providential

governnlent; therefore, if

these

states

have fraI11ed their

constitutions with superior

wisd0111, and

secured

their

natural rights,

and

all

the

advantages of society, with

greater precaution than other

nations, we

l11ay with

good

reason affin11 that

God

hath

given

us

our

goverl1mwnt;

that

he

hath

taught

us

good

statutes

and

judg11wnts,

tending to nlake us great and

respectable in the view of the

world.' (Enlphasis added.)

This

is what is l11eant

by

the oft-used

phrases

''America is a

Christian

nation , America's

Christian

heritage , and Al11erica has

a Christian government .

The following are excerpts

fr0111

The Republic

of

the

IS1-aelites

an x a 1 1 ~ p l e to the

A m e r i c a 7 ~ 8tates. A 8ennon,

Preached at Concord, in the

8tate ofNew a n ~ p s h i r e ; B ~ f 0 1 e

the Hon01-able Gene1-aZ CouTt

at the Annual Election, June

5, 1788. By SaI11uel Langdon,

D.D. Pastor of

the

Church

in

Hampton Falls. Exeter: Printed

by LaI11son and Ranlet, 1788.

(Spelling and punctuation has

been

preserved.)

\Vhile

SOl11e

Christian

citizens

may debate

some of the details offered by

the author, this is clearly a

testiI110ny to the Biblical basis

for civil govenll11ent and a

historical witness to our own

national origins and foundation.

The

Republic of

the

Israelites an

EXaI11ple

to

the Anlerican States

Nations

Christ s Disciples

Sanluel Langdon (Edited)

[I:

I:

I: 1: ]3

There

is a rel11arkable

paragraph in the sacred

writings,

which nlay

be

very

well

acconll11odated to nly present

purpose and merits particular

attention. You have it in

DEUTERONOMY, IV, 5-8.

Behold, I have taught you

statutes and judg1nents,

even as

the Lord y God

c 0 1 n 1 1 ~ a n d e d nw,

that )'e

should

do

so

in

the

land

whither ye go to possess it.

Keep

therefore

and

do

t h e ~ ;

f01

this

is

your

wisd01n

and

your understanding

in

the

sight

of

the nations,

who

shall

hear all these statutes,

and

sa.)', surely this great nation

is

a

wise and understanding

people: for what nation

is

there

so great, which hath God so

nigh

unto

the1n

as

the Lord

our

God is in all things

that

we

call

upon

hi1nfor? and

what

nation is there so great, which

hath

statutes

and

judg1nents

so 'righteous

as

all this law

which I set b ~ f o r e you this day.

Here Moses reconll11ends to

Israel the strict observance of all

the

laws which he had delivered

to thel11 by God's conll11and,

relating both to their civil polity

and religion, as

the

sure way

to raise their reputation high

anl0ng all nations as a wise and

understanding people; because

no

other

nation

was

blessed with

such excellent national laws,

or the advantage of applying to

the oracle of the living God, and

praying

to

him in all difficulties,

with

assurance that all

their

requests would be answered.

As to every thing excellent

in

their

constitution

of

govenll11ent,

except

what was

peculiar

to

thenl

as a

nation

separated to God

fr0111

the rest

of nlankind the Israelites

l11ay

be

considered

as a pattern to the

world in all ages; and fr0111 thel11

we

nlay

learn what

will

exalt

our character

and what will

depress and bring us

to ruin.

Let us.

therefore

look over

their

constitution and laws,

enquire into their

practice

and

observe

how

their prosperity

and faI11e

depended on their

strict

observance

of the divine

conll11ands both as to their

govenll11ent

and

religion.

They had both a civil

and

l11ilitary establislll11ent

under

divine direotion, and a

o0111plete

body of judicial laws drawn

up

and delivered to thenl by

Moses in God's nat11e. They

had

also a

fon11

of religious

worship, by

the

sal11e authority

l11inutely

prescribed

designed

to preserve at110ng

thenl the

knowledge of the great Creator

of

the

Universe,

and

teach

thenl

to love and

serve

hh11;

while

idolatry

prevailed

through

the rest

of

the

world: and this

religion

contained

not

only

a publio ritual, but a

perfect

though very concise, systenl

of nl0rals, comprehended

in ten conll11ands, which

require

the perfection of

godliness, benevolence,

and

rectitude

of

conduct.

When

first the Israelites

Canle out fr0111 the bondage of

Egypt,

they

were

a

nlultitude

without

any

other

order

than

what had been kept up, very

feebly,

under the

ancient

patriarchal authOrity. They

were suddenly collected into

a

body under the

conduct of

Moses, without any proper

national or l11ilitary regulation.

Yet

in

the

short

space of about

three months after they had

Conti1vued

on

Page

27

7



The Republic qf the ISTaelites an Exmnple to the A1neTican States

1787

(continued f1-01n page 7)

passed the red sea, they were

reduced into such civil and

Inilitary order, blended together,

by the advice of Jethro, as

was well adapted to

their

circunlstances in

the

wilderness

while destitu te of property. Able

Inen were chosen out of all their

tribes, and made captains

and

rulers of thousands, hundreds,

fifties and tens: and these

cOllllnanded theIn as military

officers, and acted as judges in

matters

of conl111on

controversy.

But the great

thing

wanting

was

a

pennanent

constitution,

which nlight keep the people

peaceable

and

obedient while

in

the desert,

and

after they

had gained possession of

the

prOlnised land. Therefore, upon

the conlplaint of Moses that

the

burden of govenllnent was too

heavy for hiIn, God conlnlanded

him to bring seventy Inen,

chosen from aJnong

the

elders

and officers,

and present them

at the tabernacle; and there he

endued them with the satne

spirit which was in Moses,

that

they nlight

bear the burden

with hinl. Thus a Senate

was evidently consti tuted,

as necessary for

the

future

govenllnent of the nation,

under a chief conllnander.

And as to

the

choice of this

Senate, doubtless

the

people

were consulted, who appear to

have

had

a voice in all public

affairs

fr 1n

time to time,

the

whole congregation being

called together on all iInportant

occasions:

the

government

therefore was a proper republic.

And beside

this

general

establislllnent, every tribe

had

elders

and

a prince according

to

the

patriarchal order, with

which Moses did not interfere;

and these had an acknowledged

the

Nations Ohrisc's isciples

right to Ineet and consult

together, and with

the

consent

of

the

congregation do whatever

was necessary to preserve

good order,

and

promote the

conlnlon

interest

of

the

tribe.

So that the government of each

tribe was very similar to the

general govenllnent. There was

a President

and

Senate

at the

head of each, and the people

asseInbled and gave their voice

in all great Inatters: for in those

ages the people in all republics

were entirely

unacquainted with

the

way of appointing delegates

to act for theIn, which is a very

excellent nlodern improvenlent

in the nlanagelnent of republics.

Moreover, to c01npleat

the establislllnent of civil

governnlent, courts were to

be appointed in every walled

city, after

their

settleInent

in Canaan and

elders nlos t

distinguished for wisdonl and

integrity were to

be

made

judges, ready always to sit

and decide the conlmon

controversies within

their

respective jurisdictions.

The

people

had

a right likewise

to

appoint

such other

officers as

they Inight think necessary for

the

Inore effectual execution

of justice, according to

that

order given

in DEUT. 16. 18, 19.

--- ''Judges and officers shalt

thou 11 tahe thee in all thy gates

which the L01-d thy

God

giveth

thee throughout thy tTibes;

and

they shall judge the people with

just

u d g ~ e n t :

thou shalt

not

WTest judg111ent; thou shalt not

1-espect pe1-sons, neitheT tahe

a gift; for a gift doth blind the

eyes of the wise, and peTveTt

the wOTds of the 1-ighteous. --

But fr01n these courts an appeal

was allowed

in

weighty causes

to higher courts appointed over

the whole tribe, and

in

very

great and difficult cases to the

supreIne authority of

the

general

Senate and chief nlagistrate.

A govenunent thus settled

on republ ican prinCiples,

requi red laws;

without which

it

must have degenerated

inllnediately into aristocracy,

or

absolute Inonarchy. But

God

did

not

leave a people wholly

unskilled

in

legislation,

to nlake

laws for theInselves: he took this

iInportant matter wholly into

his own hands and beside

the

l110rallaws of

the

two tables,

which

directed

their

conduct

as

indiViduals, gave thenl

by

Moses

a complete code of judicial

laws.

They

were not nUlnerous

indeed,

but

concise and plain,

and

easily applicable

to ahnost

every controversy which Inight

arise between nlan and nlan

and every criIninal

case which

Inight

require the judgnlent

of

the court. Of these sonle were

peculiarly

adapted to

their

national fortn,

as

divided

into

tribes

and

faJnilies always

to

be

kept

distinct;

others

were

especially suited to the

peculiar

nature

of

the govenunent

as a

theocracy, God hiInself being

eIninently their king, and

Inanifesting hiInself aJnong

thenl in a visible nlanner,

by the

cloud of glory

in the

tabernacle and telnple. This

was

the

reason why blaspheIllY,

and all obstinate disobedience

to his laws, were considered

as high treason,

and

punished

with death; especially idolatry,

as being a criIne against the

fundmnental principles of the

constitution. But far the greater

part

of the judicial laws were

founded on the plain inlnlutable

principles of reason, justice, and

social virtue;

such

as are always

27



The Republic

of

the Israelites

an

Exantple to the Al1wrican

States 787

to their

own wisdonl

than

to SUbI11it

to

his

authority,

and

adhere

strictly to his

conll11ands: by this, their

reputation

among

the nations

would have

been equal

to

the

excellency of

their

laws.

[ I ~ ~ < ~ < ~ ~ ]

Now by the foregoing

view of the general state of the

11ation during the time of

the

judges, we Inay plainly see

the

reason why, instead of rising

to fanle

by the

perfection

of their polity, religion,

and

1110rals their character sunk

into

contel11pt. But

let

us see

whether they

conducted

better

afterwards, under

their

kings.

t

was

their

crime to

demand such

a king as was

like

the

kings of

other nations,

i.

e.

a king

with the saI11e

absolute power, to

command

all

according to his own pleasure.

In this

view

God

only was

their

king, and the

head

of the nation

was only to

be

his viceregent.

Therefore as

they

had

implicitly

r e j e ~ e d

the divine govenll11ent,

God

gave

them

a

king in his

anger; the consequence of

which was, the total loss of

their

republican

form of govenll11ent,

and

sad experience

of

the

effects

of despotic power. Indeed their

religious establishnlent,

which

had been

very much i1npaired

in the

days of the judges, was

restored,

and

brought to its

greatest

glory,

by

David

the nlost

pious, and SolO111on the wisest

of kings;

and

during

their

reigns,

the nation

gained the height

of grandeur;

but

no national

senate was appointed, and the

power of the kings continued to

be

despotic,

and

so

the

days of

their prosperity were soon over.

As soon as Rehoboanl ascended

the throne he openly

avowed

the

Ncaior/,s Ohdst:'s Disc'iples

l110St despotic prinCiples, so

that

ten

tribes revolted,

and

nlade

Jeroboanl

their

king.

o

:

o

:

o

:

o

<]

Nor is

it

to

be

wondered at

that

false religion

so

easily

gained

ground; for

the

people grew very

ignorant: no

care

was taken to

instruct

theIn,

in

their several

cities,

in

the law of God; but,

being

without teachers,

they

were very little

acquainted

with

their own religious institutions.

For this reason when

good

king

Jehoshaphat

resolved

upon

a

refonllation in

church

and

state,

after having

taken

a circuit

thro

his

kingd0111

to

bring the

people bach to the Lord God

of

thei1 fathers, he sent out

SOl W of

his

principal

officers,

with

priests

and

le'Vites, to

teach the people

in

the cities

of

Judah;

and

these carried

the booh

of

the

law with

them

and went

about

th1 oughout

all the cities

of

Judah,

and

taught them, that religion

which God c01nrnanded by

Moses.

t

likewise

appears

by

what

inll11ediately follows

this

account of

his

proceedings,

that there

had been

a long

O111ission

of

the

adI11inistration

of

justice in the

cities;

that

no

courts

had

been kept

up

by

the

preceeding

kings, or

such

as

were corrupt, in

which

the

judges

paid little regard

to law

and equity: for

the

king set

judges

in

the land, throughout

all the

fenced

cities

of

Judah,

city by city,

and said unto

the

judges, tahe heed what do,

f01

ye judge

not

for n ~ n but

for the Lord, who is with you

in

the judg1nent: --- wherefore

now

let the

fear qf

Lord be

upon

:you,

tahe heed

and do

it,

f01

the1 e is

no iniquity with

the

Lord our God, 1101 respect

of

persons,

nor

taking

of

gifts.

Repeated

atteI11pts were

I11ade

by

the few

pious kings, to put

a

stop to

the

corruption of

religion

and nl0rals;

but

all

in

vain;

the

people relapsed

again

and

again

into

ignorance, idolatry,

and

wickedness:

their

vices had

increased to the utInost degree

of

enornlity in

JereI11iah s titlle;

and their conlplicated crimes

at

length brought

upon theI11

desolation and a long captivity.

And now let us just

take

a

glance at their

general

state

after the

captivity

in

Babylon.

When they

returned to their

own

land

they

endeavored

to

confonn their

religion

and

govenunent to the

n10saic

standard;

idolatry was

entirely

purged

out;

they

discovered

great

zeal for

the

law of

their

God

and

the

instituted

worship;

they

appOinted a general

senate

of

seventy

elders,

called by

thenl the

Sanhedrin,

with

a

supreI11e I11agistrate

at the

head,

for

the

govenll11ent of

the

nation;

and

while

their

pious

zeal continued they grew

and

prospered. But,

according

to

the

con1n10n course of

things

in the

world, [

..

] the

affairs of

state

were

badly

adI11inistered,

and

the highest

honors

were gained by favor,

bribery, or

Violence;

hypocrisy

was

substituted in the r0O111

of

the true

fear of

God, and the

practice

of righteousness; all

the

vices

natural

to

I11ankind

daily

increased

[ ... ]

Therefore upon the whole

view we see,

that the

Israelites

never attained

to

that

faIlle

and

dignity

aIllong

the nations which

their constitution encouraged

theI11

to expect,

because

they

took little care to practice

agreeably

to the good statutes

and

judgI11ents given then1

by

29



The Republic of the Israelites an Example to the merican States 1787

Moses. Their constitution both:

of

government and

religion.

was excellent in writing,

but

was

never

exemplified

in

fact.

APPLICATION

And now,

my

fellow

Citizens, and

much honored

Fathers of the State, you may

be ready to

ask --- To

what

purpose is

this long detail

ofantiquated

history

on

this

public occasion? --- I answer

--- Examples are

better than

precepts; and history

is

the best

instructor both in polity and

morals. --- I have presented you

with the

portrait

of a nation,

highly

favoured by Heaven with

civil and religious institutions,

who yet, by

not

improving

their

advantages, forfeited

their

bleSSings, and

brought contempt

and destruction on themselves.

f I am not mist3;ken, instead

of

the

twelve tribes of Israel,

we

may substitute the thirteen

States of

the American

union,

and see this application plainly

offering itself, viz. ---

That

as

God

in the course of his kind

providence hath given you

an excellent constitution of

government; founded on the

most rational, eqUitable,

and

liberal principles,

by

which all

that liberty is secured which a

people can ·reasonably claim,

and

you

are impowered to

make

righteous

laws for promoting

public

order and

good morals;

and as he has moreover given

you by his Son Jesus Christ,

who is far

superior to

Moses, a

complete revelation of

his

will,

and a perfect system of true

religion, plainly delivered in

the sacred

writings; it will

be

your wisdom

in the

eyes of the

nations,

and

your

true

interest

and

happiness,

to

conform

your

practice

in the

strictest manner

to the excellent principles -

of your government, adhere

faithfully to the

doctrines and

commands of the gospel, and

practice every public and private

virtue . By this you will

increase

in

numbers,

wealth,

and

power,

and obtain reputation

and dignity among the

nations; whereas,

the contrary

conduct

will

make you

poor,

distressed, and contemptible. .

.

The

God of heaven

hath

not indeed

visibly displayed

the

glory of

his

majesty

and

power

before

our

eyes, as

he came

down in

the

sight of Israel

on

the burning

mount;

nor has he

written

with his own finger

the

laws of

our

civil polity: .but

the

.

signal interpositions of divine

providence, in saving us from

the vengeance of a powerful

irritated

nation, from which

we were unavoidably separated

by

their

inadmissible claim

of absolute

parliamentary

power over us; in giving us a

WASHINGTON to be captain-

general of

our

armies; in

carrying us through the various

distressing scenes of war

and

desolation, and making us twice

.

triumphant

over numerous

armies, surrounded and

captivated

in

the midst of their

career;

and

finally giving us

peace, with a large territory, and

acknowledged independence;

all these laid together fall little

short

of real miracles,

and

an·

heavenly charter of liberty for

these United States.

And when

we reflect, how wonderfully

the

order of

these states

Was

preserved when government

was dissolved,

or

supported

only

by

feeble props;

with

how much

sobriety, Wisdom,

and

unanimity

they formed

and received

the

diversified

yet similar constitutions

in

the different states; with

what prudence, fidelity,

patience,

and

success, the

Congress have managed

the

general government, under

the great disadvantages of a

very imperfect

and impotent

confederation; we cannot

but

acknowledge

that

God

hath

graCiously patronized

our

cause, and

taken

us under

his special care, as he did his

ancien t covenant people.

Or we may consider the

hand

of God

in another

view

Wisdom is

the

gift of God,

and

social happiness depends on

his providential government;

therefore, if

these

sta tes -have

framed

their

constitutions with

superior wisdom, and

secured

their natural rights, and all

the advantages of society, with

greater precaution than

other

nations, we may with good

reason affirm that God hath ;

given us

our

government; that.

he

hath

taught :us good

statutes

and

judgments, tending to

make us great

and

respectable

in the view of

the

world. Only.

one

thing

more remains

to

complete his favor toward us;

which is, the establishment

of a general government, as

happily formed as

our

particular

constitutions, for the perfect

union

of

these

states. Without·

this, all that we glory in is lost;

but if this· should

be

effected,

we may say with the greatest

joy, --- Godhath done great

things for us. --- The general

form of such a constitution

hath

already

been

drawn up, -

and presented to the people,

by a convention of the wisest

and most

celebrated patriots

in the land:. eight of the states

have approved

and

accepted

The

Counsel ofChalcedon



'l1w Republic

of

the Israelites

an

Example

t

the A11w1'ican States 1787

it, with full testh110nies of joy:

and i f it passes the sorutiny of

the whole, and reconl111ends

itself to

be

universally adopted,

we shall have

abundant

reasOn

to offer elevated thanksgiVings

to the supreme Ruler of

the

universe for a g o v e r n n l ~ n t

completed

under

his direotioll

Soon after this Sen110n

was delivered,

the

Convention

of the

State of New

H3111pshire

nle t aocording to adjounl111ent,

and on the twenty-first day of

June aooepted the proposed

general Constitution of

government. This being the

ninth

State whioh

has

aooeded

to this form of national Union,

it will

be

oarried into effeot;

and

there

is

1).0

r ~ s o n to

doubt

of

the

speedy accession of all

the

other States, whioh are

now debating on the iI11portant

question. Mayall rejoioe

in the

Lord, who has fornled us into a

nation,

and

honour him as

our

Judge, Lawgiver, and King, who

hath

saved us,

and

will save

us

fr0111

all enemies and fears, if we

thankfully reoeive and rightly

iI11prove his great nleroies.

Now

our

part

is to

make

a wise

iI11prove111ent

of what God grants us,

and

not neglect

or

despise

our

distinguishing privileges: for

the best constitution,badly

m.anaged, will soon fall,

and

be

ohanged into anarohy

or

tyranny. Without

oonstant

oare of your families, you will

have

bad

servants,

and your

estates will be wasted. So we

nlust pay oonstant attention to

the great f3111ily if we desire to

be

a free

and

happy people.

The power

in

all our

republios is aoknowledged to

M'aking the

Nations

Christ's

isciples

originate

in the

people: it is

delegated by them to every

111agistrate and offioer; and to

the

people all

in

authority are

aocountable,

if h ~ y

deviate

fr0111

their

duty, and abuse

their

power. Even

the

111an

who nlay be advanced to

the ohief oonlnland of these

United States, aocording to

the

proposed oonstitution;

whose offioe resembles that of

a king

in other

nations, whioh

has always

been

thought so

sacred that they have had no

oonoeption of bringing a king

before

the

bar of justioe; even

he depends on the choioe of

the

people for h is te111porary

and linlited power,

and

will be

liable to iI11peaohnlent, trial,

and

disgrace for any gross

111isoonduot.

On the

people,

therefore, of

these

United States

it depends whether wise 111en

or

fools, good

or bad

111en shall

govern

the111; whether they

shall

have righteous laws, a faithful

ad111inistration of govenll11ent,

and

pen11anent good order,

peaoe, and liberty; or, on

the

contrary, feel insupportable

burdens, and see all

their

affairs

run to oonfusion and ruin.

[.: : .]

Will you

hear

111e patiently

a little farther, while I say

one

thing

nlore of very great

iI11portanoe, whioh I dare not

suppress. I call upon you to

preserve the knowledge of

God

in

the

land,

and attend

to

the

revelation

written

to

us

fro111 heaven. f you negleot or

renounce

that

religion

taught

and

00111111anded

us

in the

holy

scriptures, think no nlore of

freeq01n, peaoe, and happiness;

the

judgnlents of heaven will

per sue you. Religion is not

a vain thing for you beoause

it is your life:

it

has

been

the

glory

and

defenoe of New

England fr0111 the infanoy of the

settle111ents; let

it be

also

our

glory

and

proteotion. I

nlean

no

other

religion

than what

is divinely presoribed, whioh

God hiI11self has

~ l i v e r e

to

us with

equal

evidenoe of his

authority, and even superior to

that

given

to

Israel,

and

whioh

he has as striotly oonlnlanded

us to reoeive

and

observe.

The holy soriptures are given

as the only rule of our faith,

worship and obedienoe, and if

we are guided by this perfeot

rule, we shall keep the way of

truth

and righteousness,

and

obtain the heavenly glory.

[.:

.]

While I

thus

earnestly

exhort you to religion, it 111USt

be understood

as equally

an

exhortation to every

branoh

of morality; for without

this

all religion is vain. That

exoellent

sentenoe

of

the

wise

king ought forever to

be in

our

111inds

---

Righteousness

exalteth a nation,

but sin is

the 7'eproach

ofany

people.

--- Sobriety, good order,

honesty, fidelity, indust ry,

frugality,

and the

like

virtues

nlust prevail; publio oriI11es

against person or property l11USt

be restrained and punished

or a people oannot be happy.

Therefore let al l 111aintain

reotitude of oonduot,

and

praotioe every

thing virtuous

and praise-worthy

a1110ng their

neighbours,

and be just and

true

in

all their interoourse

and

oonl111eroe.

Unite

in

assisting the governnlent in

the

exeoution of all good laws:

and let all

the

111el11bers of

the body

politio oonsider

that

their own happiness depends

31

2008 issue 1 - the republic of the israelites: an example to the american states - counsel of...

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