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For Frederick Douglass Paper.

NATIONAL AND CHURCH POLITY

Frederick Douglass, Esq., Dear Sir,—

Allow me a little space in your col-
umns to express my sentiments on the all-
important subject of our National and Church Polity.
However small my natural, or acquired
abilities may be, I only ask you to give them
their just weight, if worthy of your notice. I say,
then, no man or set of men can be safe and
wise politicians, who shut God out of their creed.
Divine Revelation is the pricipal [principle] means of our
knowledge of God, of our relation to Him, our
responsibilities, and His reasonable and just re-
quirements of us, as His creatures and subjects,
and He our rightful Lord and moral Governor
of the Universe. In these characters, appro-
priate to each, He demands an acknowledge-
ment, both in word and practice. All short of
this, is disobedience, and renders us liable to His
power and displeasure. God is the source of
life, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. Hence
arises our obligation of subjection to Him, " for
His is the Kingdom and the power, and the
glory, forever" God is not only the original
source, but the continual preserver, and up
holder—" He upholds all things by the word of
His power." "Hence there is no power but
of God ;" all rightful, authority belongs to
God. "God hath spoken once, (said David,)
twice have I heard this, that power belongeth
unto God"—all created power is from Him
and limited by Him. "By me Kings reign and
Princes deem justice. By me Princes rule,
and Nobles, even all the judges of the earth;
counsel is mine, and sound wisdom, I am under-
standing, I have strength." I am not writing
these texts, supposing that I am informing
others of these facts and truths, but of the im-
portance, yes more; of the indispensable duty and
necessity, of observing them. He that sinneth