The Religious Duty of Obedience to Law A Sermon by Ichabod S. Spencer Preached In The Second Presbyterian Church In Brooklyn, Nov. 24, 1850

The Religious Duty of Obedience to Law by Ichabod S. Spencer is a stirring 1850 sermon that challenges listeners to reconcile Christian conscience with civic responsibility. Preached at the Second Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn on November 24, 1850, Spencer grounds his argument in Scripture—notably Titus 3:1 and Romans 13—arguing that obedience to lawful authority is a moral duty that upholds social order and promotes ready service in every good work. Blending pastoral urgency with theological reflection, this religious sermon explores the relationship between divine sovereignty and human government, the duties of citizens under law, and the moral foundations that should guide public conduct. Delivered amid the volatile mid-19th-century American landscape, Spencer’s rhetoric addresses concerns about social stability, the role of the church in civic life, and the ethical limits of dissent, all while appealing to conscience, charity, and scripture. Ideal for students of American religious history, theology, law-and-religion scholars, clergy, and listeners who appreciate classic homiletics, this audiobook offers a clear, historically rooted meditation on obedience, duty, and the faith that undergirds civil order.