minister of God--as a man? What is yours? Plainly to ask, What have
I--either by demanding too much, not in abstract right, but in the light
of present possibility--contributed towards this fearful condition? What
by my love of money, my sanction of oppression, my apologies for wrong, my
complaint against government, my support of wrong principles, my neglect
to vote and pray for the right, my boast of national greatness, my worship
of power and neglect of goodness, my forgetfulness of God? What by all
these, and more that I do not think of, have I done palpably, possibly,
toward bringing on this terrible crime against justice, humanity and law?
Then it is my duty to repent of all this and deplore it. It is also my
duty to strive against personal hatred and revenge, and to pray for my
country's enemies just as I would for my own, and _because_ they are my
own--not that they prosper in their rebellion, but that they repent and
find mercy, and acknowledge the authority against which they are at war.
It is our duty specially to pity and pray for the multitudes of good
citizens and their families, who cannot escape from among the rebels, and
who are in great jeopardy; men who love law and the Constitution, and the
whole country; who are either resisting, under the greatest pressure, the
evil that is upon them, or yielding through fear and force. We feel for
them; we call them our brothers. But it is also my duty and yours to
support our government--our administration; to pray for and sympathize
with our President and his Cabinet in their most trying posture, in the
midst of such perils, and with so meagre means for the moment, of
establishing order, and setting the nationality in permanent security. It
is our duty to report traitors to the police, that they may be lawfully
cared for; to help our militia and volunteers with every comfort and
defence; to hold up the arm of government so long as rebels remain.

This is _our_ country, bought with blood. It is second only to the
redemption which Christ purchased for us! And if we are called to contend