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and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it." (Micah iv. 1-4.) "The wolf also dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp; and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah xi. 6-9.)

The prediction of Isaiah, from which the text is taken, closely corresponds with that of Micah, and these, with the rest, agree in asserting the diffusion of religious knowledge as the means, and the abolition of war as the result. Here, then,

the argument rests on the authority of Scripture, of inspiration, of God. The general prospects of human improvement, to which your attention is next to be directed, are irradiated with light from heaven. The time shall come, when ambition, avarice and false glory, shall no more lead forth their victims to merciless carnage; nor enmities, jealousies and oppressions pour their vials of anguish on the world. The voice of Christian hope tells of past triumphs and future glories, speaking bliss to the inmost soul. We can exult in our nature and our destiny. We can look around on the earth, shake off the miserable associations of crime and misery, and trace on all things lines of benevolence and joy. The gladdening result which we anticipate is promised by the words of unerring prophecy, and shall be realized by the operations of an eternal and omnipotent Providence. The youth shall enter on a brighter world than his forefathers knew, and wonder at the blood-stained tale of ancient days;—while hoary age shall bow in holy resignation to the grave, exchanging earth for heaven, but as a transition from glory to glory, and exclaiming in devout gratitude, as memory reverts to the troublous scenes of childhood,

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Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."

Appendix

TO

LECTURE VI.

THE chapter on War and Military Establishments, in Paley's Moral Philosophy, is written in the same spirit as those on Crimes and Punishments, and on Establishments and Toleration ; and excites the same painful and humbling emotions. It is impossible not to wish that they had been written by any body else; or not written at all. Some observations on this chapter may usefully be introduced here, by way of proof, or illustration, of parts of the Lecture on War.

"Because the Christian Scriptures describe wars, as what they are, as crimes or judgments, some have been led to believe that it is unlawful for a Christian to bear arms."

The inference does not appear very unreasonable. If wars be crimes, a Christian should keep himself unstained with the guilt, though enjoined by authority and participated by numbers. If they be considered as judgments, it

should be remembered that he who goes about to execute a divine judgment should be able to produce a divine commission. The chastisement of the wicked is frequently assigned by Providence to others as wicked, and whose very depravity qualifies them for the task, for which better men are unfitted by their benevolence.

It might be supposed from the expression, "Some have been led to believe," that the lawfulness of the military profession had only been denied by a few speculating or enthusiastic individuals. The fact is, as will be shewn presently, that it was condemned by the almost unanimous voice of the whole Christian Church, for two or three centuries.

"But it should be remembered, that it may be necessary for individuals to unite their force, and for this end to resign themselves to the direction of a common will; and yet, it may be true that that will is often actuated by criminal motives, and often determined to destructive purposes."

What is this common will, to the guidance of which it may be supposed necessary for individuals unconditionally to commit their powers? The argument requires us to understand by it the will of governments, which we will suppose to coincide with that of the majority of the community. Whenever that will is determined

to vicious purposes, Christian individuals are certainly forbidden to resign themselves to its direction, although they may forfeit its protection and become obnoxious to its vengeance. They must obey God rather than man. No advantage to be derived from union can compensate for doing, or assisting voluntarily in, that which is morally wrong. The argument for submission is valid for all violations of the divine law, or for none. If it justifies a soldier for drawing his sword in what he deems an unjust cause, it will also justify him in perpetrating any atrocity which his superiors may command. Bands of robbers are the only societies united on such a principle.

"Hence, although the origin of wars be ascribed in Scripture to the operation of lawless and malignant passion, and though war itself be enumerated among the sorest calamities with which a land can be visited, the profession of a soldier is nowhere forbidden or condemned."

Dr. Paley here refers to James iv. 1. The apostle's condemnation of war is addressed either to rulers or to subjects. If to the former, it should operate as a prohibition. If, as is most probable, to the latter, why should they be told that war was the result of lawless and malignant passions, unless to intimate that it was their duty not to aid in carrying into effect the dic

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