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united by the bond of common interests as well as of a common brotherhood . This is the great truth which the Patriotism of Jesus teaches , and like other teachings of that divine instructor , nature , when read in the light which he affords , gives at once a sanction and a comment to the lesson . That sanction is seen in the punishment which ensues when the welfare of one people is sought in another ' s injury , and that comment we may read ia
the spread of those truly Christian principles which , in their operation , are beginning to allow of the unrestricted and unaided interchange of the varied products of different climes and divers talents . Yes , the spirit of Christian fiity is spreading on all sides around us , and soon will it , we hope , establish that entire and unlimited reciprocity which shall make , in fact , as they have long heen in theory , all nations one family . Then Patriotism will cease to benefit one brother at another ' s cost , and become , in the bosoms of bis
disciples , pure , ardent , and catholic , as it was in the bosom of Jesus . The character as well as the spirit of Patriotism has been narrow . Pa ^ triotism has been commonly identified with military renown . He is the Patriot , in the world ' s estimation , who protects and extends the boundaries of his country by martial virtues . The true definition of a Patriot is a lover of his country . Whoever loves and strives to benefit his native land is truly a Patriot . But no work so multifarious as the work of beneficence , and
accordingly , if we advert to the character of Jesus , we shall find his Patriotism displaying itself in a variety of ways — in almost every way , but that of martial achievements . To benefit his country Jesus taught in the syeago * gues and in the streets ; he cured the sick , raised the dead , solaced the poor , sought and saved what was lost . So , according to our power , let our Patriot ism display itself ! Each one may thus be a Patriot in his sphere , however contracted it may be ; and a measure of his beneficence you could not easil y find . Men common W think that the destinies of a nation are in the hands ot
its governors ; and so in a sense , but not the sense the many mean , they are . It is the controuJ , not the formation , of its destinies , that rulers have power over . That formation lies mainly in the hands of fathers and mothers , the ministers of Christ , and every instrument of evil or of good . And as is that formation , so must be the controul . All things are not governed in the same way . The pilot may brave the ocean , but would peril the safety were he to take the lead of an army . Legislation must always have a strict relation to the character of the subject ; for laws , to have effect , must be suited to those for
whom they are made ; they must carry with them the popular voice , and be fitted to the manners and wants of the people . Otherwise they are nugatory or injurious . So then with the many , not the few the shaping of a nation ' s coarse depends . Yes , however humble their station may appear , the Chris tian father and mother who are careful to bring up their children in the way they should go , exert a most important influence on the body politic , and discharge a most patriotic duty ; and every Christian minister , and -every
Christian man , who fulfils the purposes of his mission , though they may not rank with the rulers of their country , though they do not sit in its halls of legislation , exert an influence which the lawgiver must take cognizance of , and which , penetrating throughout the mass of society , affects even the king upon the throne . To benefit his country Jesus raised on high the reproving voice , denouncing spiritual wickedness ia high places , and menacing the civil power with destruction . At the same time he was observant of all that was due to
the constituted powers . Yes , he paid them tribute while he predicted their destruction . Hence we draw two lessons — obey the laws , and strive to
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Christian Patriotism . 379
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1831, page 379, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2598/page/19/
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