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When Jesus Christ appeared on earth, and published the glad tidings of peace and salvation, the Jews rejected him and his doctrine: it was too pacific and virtuous, and breathed too much of the spirit of "peace and good will," to meet the approbation of a people so greatly given to strife and contention. They could not be persuaded to renounce the practice of rendering evil for evil; they chose rather to put their trust in an arm of flesh, and brandish the sword of war against their enemies. Hence their formidable objection against the doctrine of the Savior; "If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."

Here is a powerful evidence, that these contentious Jews well knew the pacific nature and tendency of his doctrine, and that those who believed on him, conformed to his doctrine, and followed his example, would not bear the arms of war, nor have any thing to do with their hostile conduct towards the Romans, which at that period began to show itself. "If all the Jews should embrace the pacific principles of this man, we should have no soldiers to fight the Romans, and they would come and conquer us all, and seize upon our country, and carry us all into captivity.". This was the real import of their language, and apparently the foundation of their objection: for if the followers of Christ had been ready and willing to unite with them, in their contentions and hostilities, they could have had no kind of foundation for any objections of that nature. But in order to prevent the apprehended danger that was likely to arise from such principles, these lovers of war and promoters of dissension, were determined to arrest this preacher of 66 peace and good will," and to put an effectual stop to the progress of his dangerous doctrines.

Accordingly they had him taken and crucified between two thieves; intending thereby to degrade him and his doctrines, in a manner that should prevent any further increase or dissemination thereof. This execution was succeeded by a continual train of persecutions against his followers, as long as they continued in obedience to his precepts, and abstained from war.

But did the Jews thereby prevent the Romans from bringing destruction upon their place and nation?" Did it not rather prove the very cause of the calamity which they pretended so greatly to fear? Jerusalem was, at that time, filled with all sorts of pollution, and deeply sunk in wicked

ness.

Seditions, contentions and murders extensively prevailed in every part of the city, and every kind of abomination was committed in it. Even the sacred temple itself, was shamefully polluted with the blood of its citizens. Jesus Christ, before his crucifixion, wept over the city, and foretold its destruction; because they rejected the things that belonged to their peace; nor was it in the power of the nation, with all the strength of their fortifications, their numerous armies and warlike preparations, to avert the awful calamities which came upon them.

As they were governed by the spirit of war, they were almost continually quarrelling among themselves, or contending with the Romans. Had the Jews been united in heart and hand, perhaps no city on earth was ever better provided with the means of defence, or better prepared to sustain a siege against the enemy, than Jerusalem was at the commencement of their war with the Romans. But the judgments of God were upon them, and their own contentions and animosities, which were the effect of their war spirit, proved more destructive to them than the Roman armies. They were brave indeed, so far as bravery consists in the spirit of contention and warfare; but this bravery was much more conspicuous and severe against each other, than it was against the Romans; and it finally led to the total destruction of their far famed city and its glorious temple. These the Romans themselves would gladly have preserved; but such was the obstinacy of the Jews, and such their confidence in their own strength and bravery, even while torn by contending factions, and distracted with internal feuds and animosities; and while at the same time they were perishing by the severest famine that ever afflicted any nation; that rather than yield to the mercy of the Romans, which was constantly extended towards them, from the beginning, they suffered themselves and their city to be destroyed by the most horrid calamities ever experienced by any nation on earth.

Thus this stubborn, proud and haughty nation with all their military preparations and personal bravery, could not defend themselves, nor save their city and nation from ruin. They trusted in their own strength for salvation, while the hand of God was against them; therefore they could not prosper.

After the country of Judea had been laid waste by the Romans, and the city and temple of Jerusalem utterly destroyed, in which, according to the account of Josephus,

eleven hundred thousand of the Jews perished by the sword, famine and pestilence, it appears that the fortress of Massada still remained unsubdued. This fortress, which was not far from Jerusalem, was built upon the lofty summit of a vast rock, rendered almost inaccessible by nature, and so strongly fortified by art, that it seemed impossible for any army to subdue it. It contained large stores of provisions of various kinds, sufficient to supply the garrison for a long period of time, and weapons of war of every description, sufficient for an army of ten thousand men. It was commanded by a bold and daring warrior, named Eleazar; and altho it was bravely defended; yet by the skill and persevering activity of the Romans, in planning and preparing the means of ascending this rocky mountain, and attacking the fortress, in which they were signally favored by Divine Providence, all these difficulties were soon surmounted, the engines erected, and the massy walls of the fortress shivered by a large and powerful battering ram.

This greatly alarmed the garrison, who, after all their efforts to frustrate the enemy's design, saw the danger to which they were exposed, and dreaded the consequences of falling into the hands of the Romans. In this alarming crisis, Eleazer exhorted his soldiers to fall by their own swords, rather than to be taken by the enemy, and by them be abused and slain. In his speech to them he "It had been proper says, indeed for us to have conjectured at the purpose of God much sooner,-and to have been sensible that the same God who had of old taken the Jewish nation into his favor, had now condemned them to destruction. For had he continued favorable to us, he would not have overlooked the destruction of so many men, nor delivered his most holy city to be burnt and demolished by our enemies.”

After a lengthy speech, in which he acknowledges their pride and obstinacy in vainly contending against the Romans after being forsaken of God, the work of slaughter commenced, and nine hundred and sixty Jews, consisting of men, women and children, fell by their own hands, or rather by the hands of those chosen by lot to execute the bloody deed, the last of whom plunged the sword through his own body. All these were found lying in heaps, and weltering in their own blood, when the Romans entered the place. Seven persons only, two women and five children, escaped this massacre by concealing themselves in one of the subterranean caverns of the fortress.

From an impartial review of the history of the Jewish nation, we are fully convinced of the following facts: 1st. That when they were careful to cultivate the spirit of peace and righteousness, and to walk in the paths of justice and truth, they were seldom molested by their enemies. 2d. That if such an event did sometimes take place; yet while they put their trust in God, and not in an arm of flesh, they were always protected by the hand of Divine Power, and not by the arms of war. 3d. That the spirit of war and contention always brought disgrace upon them, whenever they engaged in it without Divine authority; and that spirit was the leading cause of the many disasters which they met with from their enemies, and the direct means of their final destruction as an independent nation.

But notwithstanding all that can be said, respecting the overruling hand of Providence towards the Jews, many will doubtless argue, that the Jews, being God's peculiar covenant people, were therefore the special objects of his notice, both under the prosperous and adverse dispensations of his providence; and that we are not to look for such miraculous displays of Providence in this age of the world, nor to expect any Divine interposition in the political concerns of nations: That being now favored with greater light, and higher degrees of civilization, they are left to pursue their own policy, according to their own wisdom; and therefore must depend on their own national energies for defence, and be always prepared for war, as the only sure means of maintaining their national rights and preserving peace.

But the fallacy of these arguments will appear very obvious when contrasted with historical facts. We shall therefore proceed in our next discourse, to examine the effects of pacific principles, and produce some striking examples wherein they have been fairly proved, and see what instruction can be drawn from them.

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PART III.

PACIFIC PRINCIPLES AND FAIR DEALING THE BEST PROTECTION, AND THE ONLY WISE POLICY OF A NATION.

The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.-Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Psa. xxxvii. 11. and cxix. 165. Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of God. Matt. v. 9.

PEACE ESSENTIAL TO CHRISTIANITY.

Peace is an essential doctrine of Christianity; but war is directly opposed to that doctrine: hence, wherever war exists there can be no Christianity. Jesus Christ was styled the Prince of Peace, by prophetic inspiration, many ages before he appeared on earth; and his birth was ushered in by the song of angels, proclaiming "Peace on earth, and good will towards men." All his doctrines were the doctrines of peace; his whole life was spent in ministering peace and good will, both by precept and example; and his last gift to his disciples was a gift of peace. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Hence no true follower of Christ can take upon him the profession of arms, without forfeiting his title to the Kingdom of Heaven, and all his claims to Christianity. War belongs to "the prince of this world;" but the Kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of peace. The doctrine of Christ never did, and never can admit of the principles of war.

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It is an indisputable fact, that in the days of primitive Christianity, no such character as a warring Christian was known. This has been abundantly proved by various Christian writers, both ancient and modern. Those who wish to see the evidence of ancient writers on this subject, may find a sufficient number of quotations from them in Clarkson's Portraiture of Quakerism, volume 3d, chapter 3d; also in Lardner's Jewish and Heathen Testimonies. Clarkson, after producing a number of testimonies from ancient writers, to prove that the early Christians refused to bear arms, when called upon for that purpose, because it was contrary to the religion of Christ, some of whom suffered death in consequence of their refusal, makes the following very just remarks.

"It may be considered as a well founded proposition, that, as the lamp of Christianity burnt bright in those early

*John xiv. 27.

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