In the Bible we are told “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God;” that is, to obey His commandments. We are desired also to love our neighbours as ourselves, and to do unto them as we should wish that they should do unto us. Are these precepts practical in this world, or are they not? and what is implied in their being practical? Before they can become practical, it must be shown that they are in harmony with, and supported by, the order of nature; that is to say, that nature is so constituted and arranged, that all the real interests of individuals and nations are compatible with each other, and that it is not necessary to rob and impoverish one, whether individual or nation, in order to enrich another. Not only so, but that all injustice, oppression, and spoliation, being in opposition to the order of nature, must ultimately lead to evil and suffering to the perpetrator, or to those to whom he leaves the legacy of his spoils and his crimes. If such be the constitution of nature, then these precepts are practical. If, on the other hand, the order of Providence admits of individuals and nations profiting by injustice and oppression, and reaching and continuing to enjoy real prosperity and happiness through the systematic practice of crimes and violence, then are these precepts not practical in this world.