Government and Rebellion A Sermon Delivered in the North Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Sunday Morning, April 28, 1861 — Background and Themes

The Text as a Political Weapon

Adams opens by asserting that Solomon's words express 'God's thought' and 'the expression of natural conscience.' He does not treat the verse as a timeless moral lesson but as a direct indictment of the Confederacy. The sermon repeatedly conflates divine and civil authority: God never pardons a rebel without repentance, and Adams argues that government cannot safely pardon a rebel until 'his rebellion cease.' This fusion of theology and politics is the sermon's central rhetorical move. Notably, Adams allows that 'resistance to tyrants is obedience to God' in cases of despotism, but he insists that the U.S. government is 'mild, equal, good'—thus foreclosing any justification for secession.

Rebellion Without Cause

Adams characterizes the Southern states as having 'commenced the war' without 'any legitimate ground of offence.' He accuses them of preparing for war 'at the expense of the Government' and of drawing 'their life from the bosom which they now sting.' The language is visceral: the Confederacy is a parasite or a traitor that has been nourished by the Union. Adams dismisses any claim of justifiable revolution, stating that the seceding states 'would submit to no method of adjustment that we could honorably allow.' The sermon frames the conflict not as a political dispute but as a moral and religious crisis, driven by 'a dark and demoralizing system'—slavery.

The Christian Duty to Subjugate

Adams's third section outlines the duty of citizens, especially Christians, when 'good government is assailed by rebellion.' He urges self-examination for any past bitterness, but insists that the Christian citizen 'must consecrate himself to the defence of the government and its policy.' The call to action is concrete: encourage troops, provide 'food, clothing, advice, BIBLES AND ARMS' (capitalized in the original), and if the rebellion continues, advocate for armies 'to utterly subjugate the rebels, and, if they cannot otherwise be brought to submit, put an end to their existence.' Adams cites God's treatment of Korah and Absalom as precedent, and argues that to deny this is to deny self-defense and to condemn the American Revolution.

Readers should note that this sermon represents one strand of Northern Protestant war theology, not a neutral analysis. Adams's use of Scripture is selective and instrumental; he does not engage with biblical passages that might complicate his case. The sermon's urgency and its call for total subjugation reflect the early-war mood of many Northern clergy. For a fuller picture, compare this with contemporary sermons from pacifist or more conciliatory traditions.

I remember sitting in my grandfather’s study, turning the brittle pages of his old sermon collection, and feeling the weight of those April 1861 words—how faith and politics braided so tightly into a call for order. That same solemn rhythm surfaced later in Moses and Aaron: Civil and Ecclesiastical Rites, Used by the Ancient Hebrews — A Closer Reading, where ancient rituals felt less like history and more like a quiet blueprint for belonging. Both books left me hushed, pondering how we shape what we obey.