AMERICAN PATRIOTISM.

of a British senate; the world shall see that the king and parliament can not only

Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos,

but that they know how to conquer the generous friends of liberty by generous acts of condescending love. Rise, ye mistaken sons of liberty, rise to demonstrate, that, as we can fight like Britons, so we can forgive as Christians, and indulge as brethren. Take your seats among British senators, and particularly represent the American provinces. But beware of considering this privilege as a bribe bestowed by a timorous administration, much less as a reward for your rash revolt. Though we make allowance for your mistakes, and put a favourable construction upon your intentions, we abhor and bear our solemn testimony against your proceedings. But the mantle of royal mercy, and of your repentance, having covered all, we shall not upbraid you with antichristian principles, and bloody scenes, which we wish to be buried in eternal oblivion. If we grant you some seats in the house of commons, it is only to remove your jealousies by a condescension which becomes a mother country and a mild government; and to regain the filial confidence of our American colonies, by permitting the men, who have been most prejudiced against us, to be eye witnesses of our firm attachment to the constitution, of our impartial zeal for the dignity of the crown, of our guardian care for the constitutional liberty of the people, and of our prudent endeavours to secure the due obedience of the British subjects.

"The wound which the demon of discord has given to our union, cannot be perfectly healed but by an amputation, or a consolidation. The former expedient is inconsistent with our mutual affection, and our common interest; but the latter is perfectly agreeable to both; and our consanguinity loudly demands that it should be preferred. Help us, then, to consolidate the lacerated parts of the British empire. Let your filial gratitude meet our paternal condescension half way; so shall reconciling love cast the bridge of union across the Atlantic, and firmly join our happy island with your fortunate continent. And may genuine, sober, Scriptural patriotism, like an adamantine key, for ever bind the solid arch! May one blood, one language, one constitution, one religion, one king, one supreme legislature, one temporal and eternal interest, combine to make us one flourishing empire, till the kingdom of God swallow up all other kingdoms! Nor let it be said any more,

Audiet cives acuisse ferrum,

Quo graves Turcas melius perirent;

Audiet pugnas, vitio parentum

Rara juventus."

While the speaker concludes this patriotic speech, my imagination returns from her pleasing excursion. The awful parliamentary scene vanishes "like the baseless fabric of a vision." But "a wreck is left behind." Hints of a Scriptural method of reconciliation are humbly suggested; and you have some expressions of my cordial concern for the glory of our sovereign, and the satisfaction of our American fellow subjects, to whom, as well as to Dr. Price and yourself, I sincerely wish

Our posterity, thinned by our civil wars, will hear of our culpable contentions, and will lament our having turned against each other those swords which should never have been drawn but against our common enemies.

all the sweets of Christian and British liberty, without any of the bitters of religious and civil licentiousness. "Of making many books, (says Solomon,) there is no end. Let us then hear the conclusion of the whole matter:-Fear GOD, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Or, if you prefer St. Peter's words, "Fear God, and honour the king," for this is the sum of the two tables of Christ's law, That, instead of breaking one of these tables under pretence of keeping the other, we may always agree to pay a cheerful obedience to both, is the final and highest wish of, reverend sir, your obedient servant in a Gospel, which neither makes void the law through faith, nor supersedes loyalty through liberty,

J. FLETCHER.

We subjoin here, by way of postscript to the above letters, an extract* from a small pamphlet published soon after them, and entitled, “THE BIBLE AND THE SWORD, &c."

THE BIBLE AND THE SWORD:

OR,

THE APPOINTMENT OF THE GENERAL FAST VINDICATED;

IN AN

ADDRESS TO THE COMMON PEOPLE.

THE royal proclamation, which has been lately issued out, shows that the hopes expressed in a late publicationt were well grounded. The heart of every good, unprejudiced man, must rejoice at reading this truly Christian decree :-" We, &c, command that a public fast and humiliation be observed throughout England, upon Friday, December 13, so that both we and our people may humble ourselves before almighty God, in order to obtain pardon of our sins; and may in the most devout and solemn manner send up our prayers and supplications to the Divine majesty, for averting those heavy jugdments, which our manifold sins and provocations have justly deserved; and for imploring his intervention and blessing speedily to deliver our loyal subjects," &c. The sovereign acts herein the part of a Christian prince, and of a wise politician. As a Christian prince he enforces the capital duty of national repentance;

* We term the following an extract, because we have judged it proper to omit the introductory part, it being merely a quotation from the fourth of the preceding letters, beginning with "Dr. Price has advanced an argument," &c, p. 536; and concluding with the end of the letter, p. 545.

American Patriotism Confronted, &o.

and as a wise politician he averts the most formidable stroke which Dr. Price has aimed at his government. May we second his laudable designs by acting the part of penitent sinners and loyal subjects; though mistaken patriots should pour floods of contempt upon us on the occasion.

It would be strange if an appointment, which has a direct tendency to promote piety, to increase loyalty, and to baffle the endeavours of a disappointed party, met with no opposition. If we solemnly keep the fast, we must expect to be ridiculed by the men who imagine that liberty consists in the neglect of God's law, and the contempt of the king's authority. The warm men who have publicly asserted that his last speech from the throne is full of insincerity, daily insinuate that his proclamation is full of hypocrisy, and that it will be as wrong in you to ask a blessing upon his arms, as to desire the Almighty to bless the arms of robbers and murderers. Nor are there few good men among us, who think that it is absolutely inconsistent with Christianity to draw the sword and proclaim a fast.

Lest the insinuations of such patriots and professors should cast a damp upon your devotion, and make you leave the field of national prayer to our revolted colonies, I beg leave to remind you of a similar case, in which God testified his approbation of a fast connected with a fight; yea, with a bloody civil war.

We read in the book of Judges, that "certain sons of Belial," belonging to the city of "Gibeah," in the land of Benjamin, "beset a house;" obliged a Levite who lodged there "to bring forth a concubine to them, and they knew her, and abused her all night" in such a manner, that "she died" in the morning. The Levite complained of this cruel usage to the eleven tribes. "All the men of Israel were gathered," on this occasion, "against the inhospitable city of Gibeah, and sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? Now, therefore, deliver us the sons of Belial, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin [instead of condescending to this just request] gathered themselves together unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel," Judges xix, 20.

Let us apply this first part of the story to the immediate cause of the bloodshed which stains the fields of British America, and we shall have the following state of the case. Certain sons of Belial, belonging to the city of Boston, beset a ship in the night, overpowered the crew, and feloniously destroyed her rich cargo. The government was informed that this felonious deed had been concerted by some of the principal inhabitants of Boston, and executed by their emissaries; and being justly incensed against the numerous rioters, it requested the unjust city to make up the loss sustained by the owners of the plundered ship, or to deliver up the sons of Belial who had so audaciously broken the laws of the land; and a military force was sent to block up the port of Boston, till the sovereign's just request should be granted. The other colonists, instead of using their interest with the obstinate inhabitants of Boston to induce them to do this act of loyalty and justice, gathered themselves together unto Boston, to go out to battle against the sons of Great Britain, and by taking up arms against the king to protect felons, made themselves guilty both of felony and high treason.

Return we now to the children of Israel, and let us see if God forbade them to bring their obstinate brethren to reason by the force of arms, and considered the prayers made to him on this occasion as improper and hypocritical. "The children of Israel (says the historian) arose and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord [instead of blaming their design] said, Judah shall go up first." In consequence of this direction, Judah marched up to the enemy. But, alas! the righteousness of a cause, and the Divine approbation, do not always insure success to those who fight in the cause of virtue. Judah lost the day, and 22,000 men. The children of Israel, greatly afflicted with this misfortune, went up and wept before the Lord until even, and asked counsel of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go up [a second time] to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?" And the Lord said, "Go up against him," Judges xx, 23. However, they were as unsuccessful in the second engagement as they had been in the first. "Then all the children of Israel, and all the people went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat before the Lord, and fasted that day until even. And the children of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Go up, for to-morrow I will deliver them into thine hand." And accordingly "the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel," Judges xx, 26, &c. And the few Benjamites that escaped the edge of the vindictive sword, lamented the obstinacy with which their infatuated tribe had taken up arms for the sons of Belial, who had beset the house in the inhospitable city of Gibeah.

To return. From the preceding Scriptural account, it evidently ap pears, (1.) That God allows, yea, commands the sword to be drawn for the punishment of daring felons, and of the infatuated people who bear arms in their defence, as the Benjamites formerly did, and as the revolted colonies actually do. (2.) That, in this case, a sister tribe may conscientiously draw the sword against an obstinate sister tribe; much more a parent state against an obstinate colony, and a king against rebellious subjects. (3.) That Providence, to try the patience of those who are in the right, may permit that they should suffer great losses. (4.) That while the maintainers of order and justice draw the sword to check daring licentiousness, it is their duty to go up unto the house of God, and to weep and fast before the Lord. (5.) That God makes a difference between the enthusiastical abettors of felonious practices, who fast to smite their brethren and rulers with the fist of wickedness, and the steady governors who, together with their people, fast to smite the wicked with the sceptre of righteousness; and that, while God testifies his abhorrence of the former fast, he shows that the latter ranks among the fasts which he has chosen, the end of true fasting being to repress evil without us, as well as within us. And lastly, that, although no war is so dreadful as a civil war, yet, when God was consulted three times following, all his answers show that the most bloody civil war is prefer able to the horrible consequences of daring anarchy: and that it is better to maintain order and execute justice, with the loss of thousands of soldiers, than to let the mobbing sons of Belial break into ships or

houses, to commit with impunity all the crimes which their lust, rapaciousness, and ferocity prompt them to.

Now if fasting and drawing the sword of justice be duties consistent with Scriptural religion, it follows that praying and using that sword are compatible ordinances. To be convinced of it, you need only consider the following scripture: "Moses said to Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek. Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur, went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass when Moses held up his hand [in earnest prayer] that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy, and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book," Exod. xvii, 9, &c.

"But supposing war and bloodshed were allowed under the Jewish dispensation, are they not absolutely forbidden under the Gospel? Is not Christ the Prince of Peace, and his Gospel the Gospel of peace? And is it not said that men shall neither hurt nor destroy in God's holy mountain? How then can we suppose that drawing the sword, and fasting on that occasion, can be evangelical duties ?"

This objection is specious, and deserves a full answer.

1. Our Lord, who said to his apostles that a kind of raging spirit goeth not out but by fasting and prayer, said also to them, "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. And they said,

Lord, behold, here are two swords: and he said, It is enough," Luke xxii, 36, 38. I grant, that when "Peter drew his sword, and [rashly] struck a servant of the high priest, Jesus said unto him, Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword [to use it rashly, as thou dost, without any order, and without the least probability of success] shall perish with the sword," Matt. xxvi, 52. From the whole of this evangelical account, it appears that our Lord allows his followers the use of the sword; and that he only blames it when it is precipitate, and likely to answer no other end than that of throwing the triumphant friends of vice into a greater rage.

2. If, indeed, all men were Christians, and every nominal Christian was led by the Spirit of Christ, there would be absolutely no need of the sword; for there would be nothing but justice, truth, and love, in the world. But reason dictates, that so long as the wicked shall use the sword in support of vice, the righteous, who are in power, must use it in defence of virtue. The Lord of hosts, and Captain of our salvation, who girds his two-edged sword upon his thigh, or causes it to proceed out of his mouth to devour the wicked-this righteous Lion of the tribe of Judah will never suffer Satan and his servants so to bear the sword as to engross the use of it. This would be letting them have the king. dom, the power, and the glory, without control.

3. The Psalms and Revelation are full of prophecies concerning the righteous wars which the godly will wage against the wicked, before iniquity be rooted out of the earth. When the place of the ungodly shall know them no more, and righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters do the sea, Isaiah's prophecy shall be fulfilled. "It shall come