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    kingdom is not of this world . " The Messiah himself did not fight , nor would he permit his disciples to fight in the defence of his own sacred person : because it would have been to

    oppose the known mind and will of God to do so ; but the Messiah never said , that none , of his disciples should ever fight in a just public cause . He said , indeed , to Peter , " Put up again thy sword into its place , for all they that take the sword , shall perish with

    the sword . " But this speech was particularly addressed to Peter , and suitable to existing circumstances at the time . Some early Christian writers , whom Barclay has quoted , thought war unlawful , but these fathers may have erred in this judgment , as they have erred in some other im *

    portant points * If it be true , as some historians have reported , that there was a legion of Christian soldiers in the army of Marcus Antoninus , who , by their prayers , rendered an eminent service to that emperor , it would appear that the opinion of these fathers had not much weight with their felloW-christians .

    The general precepts of our Lord respecting the forgiveness of injuries , not resisting evil , &c , have no relation to the state of nations , and must even be interpreted with some abatement of the literal sense in regard to private life . The conduct of Jesus himself

    on his trial before the Sanhedrim , and particularly that of Paul on a similar occasion , is decisive in this respect * When soldiers came among others to attend the baptism of John , he gave

    them some good advice , but by no means desired them to give over the military profession . —Our Lord , Matt * viii . 5 , marvelled at the words of a Roman centurion , who had soldiers

    under him , and declared , *« Verily , t say unto you , I have not found so great faith , no not in Israel . ' He does not desire , however , this worthy soldier to diminish his rank in the Roman army , nor does Peter require Cornelius , another centurion , to do

    the same , though this devout , charitable soldier was expressly sent to him to be instructed iu his duty as a Christian . The Apostle Paul , in his Epistles , has many allusions to the military art : in particular , he speaks of < c the breast-plate of righteousness ,

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    the shield of faith , tlVe helmet of salvation , and the sword of the spirit /' A confirmed and determined Christian , capable of enduring hardness , * is , in

    the animated language of Paul , styled " a good soldier of Jesus Christ . ' * I can hardly think that Paul would have alluded so often to military concerns , if he had deemed the profession itself unworthy of a Christian to follow .

    I come now to a passage that I apprehend to be clear and sufficient to decide the whole controversy . The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews , chap . xL in enumerating and eulogizing those worthies who , in different situations , overcame the world and all

    its trials and temptations , by acting on the sublime and elevated principle of divine faith , has the following remarkable and emphatic words , ver . 32 to 34 , inclusive : " And what shall I more say ? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon , and of Barak , and of Sampson , and of Jeptha , of

    David also and Samuel , and of the prophets : who through faith subdued kingdoms , wrought righteousness , obtained promises , stopped the mouths of lions , quenched the violence of lire , escaped the edge of the sword , out of weakness were made strong , waxed valiant in fight , turned to flight ( or expelled ) the armies of the aliens . *"

    I would now propose a question . What does the Author of this Epistle mean , by celebrating military heroes , joined with martyrs and confessors , and proposing both as patterns and examples of the efficacy of divine

    faith to the believing Hebrews ? If every kind of war be absolutely unlawful under the gospel dispensation to ChristiaHs , his mentioning and applauding some of the names beforementioned , must be considered as ait

    exhortation and advice , on his part , to commit murder !—! might quote several learned Commentators on this passage in Latin and English : but this would be tedious . I shall , therefore , content myself with extracting a brief passage from the Family Expo « sitor of Dr . Doddridge :

    " Is it possible we should read these animated periods without feeling our hearts glow with a sacred ambition of acting as becomes those who have heard such tidings and beheld such examples ? If the triumphs of faith

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    Lawfulness of Defensive War amongst Christians * 151

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1819, page 151, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1770/page/15/