History of Presbyterianz‘sm

him, to them shall be delight and a good blessing shall come upon them.”

In the third place, laws must be executed. It mat- ters not how just and good the law may be, or how faithfully they may be interpreted; if they be not executed, all their good effect will be lost.

III. The ruler ought to be a man of truth. Men of truth preserve the Kingdom. If truth were to be banished from this world it ought still to find a dwelling place in the breasts of human beings, for the truth upholds all the moral, material and spirit- ual interests of mankind. Without it there could be no virtue and no happiness. Were falsehood uni- versal it would destroy not only a kingdom, but the whole world and the wide universe. It would trans~ form all rational beings into fiends, and heaven into hell. The ruler ought to be a man of truth. He should in no case vary from strict veracity. It too often happens that this is not the case. Those in power too frequently practice deception to serve their own ends. They think that this is a piece of necessary policy. They imagine that they may have recourse to stratagem in serving their own purposes. But this is wrong. Honesty is the best policy. Let them kindly, firmly and without equivocation, state the truth. This course will, in the end, show to their own advantage. Falsehood may in a person of superior cunning succeed for a time, but sooner or later it will be discovered, then it will bring down upon the guilty party just and righteous [‘Olldcm— nation. “Be sure your sin will find you out.”

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