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

The sermon argues that rebellion is a crime subject to divine judgment while acknowledging that resistance to tyranny can be justified when all constitutional remedies fail. It portrays government as ordained to restrain evil and promote the common good, grounded in a theocratic ideal that law should enable individual development while protecting society. The speaker maintains that forgiveness of rebels requires genuine repentance, defends the legitimacy of popular revolt under just circumstances, and frames a threefold inquiry into the nature of good government, what constitutes rebellion, and the duties of citizens to preserve order and seek lawful reform.