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aass_El5&4_ Book

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Baf o ^iin Disappo inted.

I'lLAiaiS GIVING SERMON

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DELIVERED

«

AT NOTTINGHAM-WEST,

Apbii 13, 1815.

DAV RECOMMENDED BY THE NATIONAL '.'WERNMENr, IN WHICH TO REHEARSE

GOB'S MIGHTY ACTS, A:^'D PRAISE HIS NAME.

/

BY DANfEL IVfEUKILL, A. M.

7'astor of the Church of Clirisl in NoUinghara-West.

"* COVCORT) : PRINTED BY ISAAC & \\. R. HII.T-

JuiK— 1815.

r

ADVERTISEMENl

THOSE at whose particular instance the frllcwinK ha» bttn subn.itted to the public, havesiicngly solicic;, 'hat the sentiment dtlivered from the dtbk, should not be re- trenched in passing through the press. The Author could not, therefore, have justified himself to -.is patrons, had he largely reduced or kept back «vhat tliey subscribed ;or.

The Author having been long and largely ini' vt ss((i with tke correctness and m?gnitude cf the piitirji .-s ad- vanced, and ci^nscious of the flestnictive btaiirgs ot the principles opposed, he has rather dilated upon thti i. than din>inished aught from tlitm, especiiliy in tlte App .caiiom

If just principles have been fairly stated, lej Jnriate deductions candidly drawn, popular snperstitic .s and honorable iniquiiies mildly exposed, the /lU.hor caicuUteS upon being &atisfitd with the consequences. F( r triuK ihall event Jally be sustained, its advocates honored, and i'.s adversaries made ashamed.

The reader is rt quested to buy the truth at the - -xns.: of bis prijiidices ; and to sell it not for the praisis ■ n.tn

It is fully believed aiid readily conceded, that tht e are among the New England Clergy, a goodly nuniber T tiaiy godly men; wh«se gr^nd object is the g'.cry of C d ard man's best good, however they may, in many instacces, have mistaken the means. Should such men pel' ■ e ihe following pages, they are rtquesttd to rest a^sui that the writer would gladly have made, in every ins ce, a discrimination in their favcr. Yes, he would with j iure, had it been compatible with truth, have attached i. tlame to such good men. Each is f-.fflctit.nately snlicitc te -«c- oejit ihe /loriiun which belongs to him, aad not to » w'"? at tht exposuion of his faults.

NUMCERS XXIII. 23.

Sure)v there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there ,111)' 'liT'ination a;?ainst Israel : nccovding to this time it shall be %aic< of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought !

THESE words were spoken by Balaam, the son of Beor ; whom Balak, the so»i of Zippor, hired, that he might come from the mowntaiES of the east, to curse Jacob and Israel. Thrice did Balak btiild seven altars, and thrice did he provide an equal number of bullocks and of rams, that Balaam might prevail with God and curse Israel, and thrice were Balak and his mad prophet disappointed. At the last, Balaam, who would have cursed Israel for gain, was compelled to take up his parabi''. and say, Rise up BeJak, and hear ; hearken unto me, thou sun of Zippor ; God is not a man, that he should li':, neither the son of man tliat he should repent : hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good ? Beho'd, I have received commandment to bless, nnd be hatli blessed, and I can- Tiot reverse it. lie hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hatla he seen pevvers'^ness in Israel : the Lord his God iii nith him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt, he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divina- tion against Israel : according to this time it shall bo said of Jacob and of Israel, AYhat hath God wrought ! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion : he shall not lie down until he eat oi" the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

Thus was the covetous prophet compelletl to bless Israel, and to lose the wages of unrighteousness which he loved.

Balaam was not sing>ilar ui being desirous of pleasing his employer, that he might possess the reward ; but it was Very singular, that he was compelled to bless whom he would have cursed, and thus to effend his employer, miss his wishfd for reward, and be dismissed with dis- grace. Balaam was obliged to pronounce in favor of Jacob and of Israel, what many, much ag<.'n3t their in- clination, may be constrained to say with relation to the United States of America, according to this time it ihall be said of them, What hath God wrought !

It is always wise to acquaint ourselves with Got], afi^' to be at peace with his works and ways ; but on such an occasion as the present, it becomes a peculiar and indis- pensable duty to inquire what God hath wrought, that we may, with aclmiratio:*, accompanied with ihanKsgivinr ai:d piaise, exclaim, According to this ti.ne it siiall be Sriid of our nation, What hath God wrought !

My principal object in thib discourse is to show you what God hath wrougl;t for our nation, and some of the reasons why, according to tl-.i"^ time it shall be said of the United States of America: What hath God wrought !

Before wc proceed to the great object of cur discourse, we may turn your attention to what Ge»d wrought for Jacob and Israel, and hew my text was, at that tnnc, very appropriate to lliern — According to this time it s-.aH be s\iil of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought '

Jacob had his name also Israel ; but by Israel i« oonv n^only intended Jacob's posterity.

(iod wrought for Jacob in delivering him frcm Es?u. and securing to liim the birthright and the WcSKiii^^; bv sending him into Mesopotamia, to Laban, his mother's broth<T : ' bv giving liim Laban's flocks and herds, by which he was made rich, became a prince and appeased his brother's wrath. God wrought for Jacob by sendmg Joseph iiito Kgynt, and there making him lord of the laiul of E'svpt, tl.at he might prepare sustenance for Jacob and his numerous family, in days of famine ; and obtain for tliem Goshen, a pleasant and productive prov- ince of Kgypt, for their residence in years of plenty.

. «w'

5

When another kinp^ arose, who kt^ew not Joseph, and oppressed Israel, God wrought tor tUem, by raisiHg up Moses and Aaron for their leaders ; by sending many and jjreut plagues upon t'haraoh and upon liis people, till they gladly rcleasid Israel from tiieir bondage and their burdens, to serve the Lerd in the wilderness.

Gud wrought for Israel when he brought them through the sea, where he drowned Pharaoh and his host, and triumpiied gloriously, casting the Egyptian horses and their riders into the depth of the sv;a. God wrought for Israel, when he, by tlie band of Moses, smote the rock, and caused livuig waters to flow, and lo follow their devious marcli for forty years ; also, during that time, ■^v-hilot l>e nightly rained upon them angels* food in abun- dance : also, wliilbt he commanded their clothes not to wax 'old, and pat their icar upon all their enemies round about. God wrought for Israel by refusing Balaam liber^ ty to curse them, or any of those who hated them, to prevail against them Cx.)d wrought for Israel by destroy- ing their enemies, by driving out the heathen, by givino- them Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey ; houses also which they builded not ; vines and vineyards which they planted not.

Well might Balaam say, Surely there is no enchr.nt- rirnt agai:..-.L Jacob, neither is there any divination against Isiael : according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, AVhat hath God wrought ! From Balaam's day to ours it hath been said witb wonder, of botii Jacob and Israel, What hatli God wrought !

'7e now proceed to our main object, which is to

s'lCW,

I. Wh^.t God hath wroug^hf for our nation.

II. So-mc of the reasons iv/iy, according lo thif> time it 'hill he gaid uf the United States of Annrica^ What haih (jod lurouffht !

As this is a day recommended to our nation, by the government over us, to be religiously observed in offering op thanksgivings and praises to Almighty God ; not! ing can be more appropriate than an inciuiry into what God hath wrought for our nation, and the reasons why, ac- cording to this time, it shall be said cf it, What hath God wrougiit ! A3

If, as a nation, \rc observe a season cf thanksgiving and praise, wc ought to be willing to know, and desirous of knuvving, trie true reasons of such observance. It any present are averse from hearing such reasons, they are not prepared for the present occasion ; and the luotivf s, which have convened them, may not be of the best kind. The peculiar reasons, for celebrating this day, are the tliings which God hath wrought for r.s. We therefore proceed to inquire,

I. What Ged ha'h ivrou^-fit for our nat ,i.

In the President's Proclamation, four of the most prominent things, which God hath wrought for ouv ration, are particularly noticed.

1. God directed our forefathers to one ofihe hestpb.-^ (ions of the dwellii.g-place allowed the great family of man.

2. He hath favored us with civil liberty.

3. Witli religious liberty.

4. He hath given us peace with those who were our enemies.

In each of these God hath wrought miVaculously, and triumphed gloriously.

1. God iiath given u^- one of the best portions of the earth for cur dwelling-place

Our progenitors were grievously afflicted and perse- cuted by that CJiurch, which spiHtually is callc^ ' and Egypt. The kind providence of the Lord :. -. . them to this good land. Here he drove out many nations, ■wiuch were greater and more mighty than they, iiv the pestilence, by t!ie swore", and by the fariip.--, ' ' • con.sume tlu-se heathen and barbarous natioii>, left them ftw in number. The land wliich ho hadi taken fiom ihem and given to \is, is a large and 'at Ian.' ; and, like ancient Canaan, full of hills and va.'.i s ^- . springs uf water. In which we have become a niuU.- tude and terrible to our enemies, who have been round about us. ^

2. The Lord hath granted us civil liberty.

When we multiplied and grew, the British nation, like ih(i r.topiians d old, beran to sot task-masters C'VL-r us, aiiii to lay burdens upon us. When we com- plained und groaned under their burdens, they incrcascJ

the number of task -masters, and laid on burdens stili more ii,rievous to be borne ; and assviracd the right of imposing whatever burdens they pleased, at their own discretion. \Vc eried to the I.ord in our distress, and put in operation the means with which he had furnished U9 ; and after a long and arduous struggle, we obrained our independence, and an acknowledged right of selt- government. Since which time we have enjoyed those civil rights and immunities which, but suldom, are enjoyed long ; and which many, Absalom like, would notv gladly wrest from us with a kiss.

In obtaining this liberty, the Lord wrought marvellous- ly fov- us, in giving union, courage, and means of de- fence , in subduing our enemies under us ; m giving large armies ii-.to our hands ; in raising up a poweiful ally ; aud in giving us perseverance ttli the object was secured. But,

3. The Lord hath wrought still more maj-vellously in bringing about our religious liberty.

For notwithst:mding it was the religious tyranny of the mother of harlots, or of one of her eldest daughters, which drove the first Englis'h settlers into this good land ; yet they soon manifested, that it was not from religious tyranny they were averse, but from suffuriog the lash of it. Too soon did they show their affinity with Bai^'y.on, by wielding the civil sword to ccmipel men to practice, for religious rites, the inventions of men. The SHme principle which they couid not endure to have practiced upon themselves in Euiop?, they put in opera- tion against their brethren in Am-rica. It was not so much the ptinciple of religious liberty which the first settler;: of our country so highly prized, as it was the piivilege of haviii^- it cxt( ndf d to themselves. This was apparent iQ (h ■ religious xyranny which they set up, and in the pelsccutioDs which they ii'Stitutcd a^ .i cruelly practised for many years ; the relics of which, and a degree of the •ame spirit, are still visible in our day.

In these anti-christian B:\Iiylo.'i!sh persecutions, for which NcAV-England !ias been fiiniovis, many were im- prisoned, more were fined, and n still greater number were arrested, and in many ways vexed by the civil power, in the sannc Babylonish procecxlings, a Holmea;

8

a baptist minister, was publicly whipped in Boston fof prt\iciiiijg the gos|j(-l lo his brethren in Lynn, witliout first obtaining leave of the ruling Clergyman of that place. A Williams, with his coinpanioiis, M'erc bamAhcd from the tlicn colony of Massachusetts, upon pain of death if they returned, for having spoken agai^ist, and refusing lo practice the Babyloiiish rite of infant sfiririk- Ung- Ilov gospel baptism.

Very many enormities, too nimie-rous to be here men- tioned, weie t'.ien inflicted by t!ie civil authority. \md'?r tiie influence of the ruling Clergy, upon those ^h10 wt-re then sighing for religious liberty, and dared to practice the scriptures of truth to the neglect of the command- merits of men. From ti;ose seasons of the cruel opposi - tioi5 of our forefathers agaiiist religions liberty, evcu down to the glorious revolution, a degree of the same spirit of intolerance prevailed. The bodies c? ma;:jr vere conmiittcd to prison, and the goods ot more forcibly v-rested from thorn, because tl.cy refused to deliver up their money to support the Clergy ; who then did, and do still, either teach for i!<'Ctiine t'le commandments of men, or pervert the right ways ct t!:e Lord.

During the revolutionary struggle for independence, the Clergy were a very useful class of cilizuns. They greatly animated tiie people to vigilance, vigor, and p. rsevcran'-e. But the strugi^le being hap>pily tenuii.at- ed, and cur independence s; cured, their desiix fjr^ religiuus domination soon appeared ; but their visi-.cs being in divers ways cheoUcd and dis.tppoi-ited, they became, -..t tiuies, uneasy, restless, and chafed in their spirits. At this time, the securing of religious I'Aiiy vasaufbjct nr. less dear to many, than the obtaining of civil libi rty had previously been to all.

When the Constitutions of the different States were frame.l, the Clergy wished for more i eligious shackles to be incorporate d in some, or in all of Inosc instruments* t'uan w( re obtained, and they obtained the insertion of more than wcr;- co^np'.tible with equal religious liberty ; and have made a more extensively oppr'ssive use of what they did obtain, tha» was hoj^ed for by the friends cf liberty at the tii;'v • When tue ConsUlution of <he United States v. as

9

&'amed, it t/as upon the most liberal principles. It em^ braced no articlt;, givintj powv-r to tUe civil autlurily to interfere in the government of Christ, or in any n.'Ii^iou3 matters. Tliis of course was not pleasing to all, if to any of the Clcry;y. Bv\t General Washington, a man of pre-eminent influence, being- at the head of it, it V7ent down. It has, however, increased the fears of the Glergy. From that time to this, there has been, at times, if not continually, an increasing cry of, Alas, alas ! religion is in danger.

When it vias contemplated to elect Thomas Jefferson into the Picsidential chair, tb.ere was, as many of us perfectly remember, an hue and cry througli New- *S~^hnd, Religion is in danger, our meeting houses will became stabK-s for horses, and our Bibles burnt, siiould Jefferson be President. Why was all this noise, this bustle, this fear excited ? Why every excitement used to inflame the passions of the people, and every prcjfidice tLud supi^rstition enlisted agidnst Jeft'erson's election ? For this simple reason, he was known to be hostile to superstition and religious tyranny ; those twin luries which have been, for a long time, drunken with the blood of the saints.

But perhaps no man hath been followed with such a continued torri^nt of abuse, as has the present cliiet Magi-;trate of this nation ; and f,',r w'at ? For having prevented the flood-gates of law-religion ftom deluginf^ his native State ; for having been uniformly opp s-.l tc an established religion, the most fruitful source of sup'^r. fttition and persecution ; and for having resisted, sted fastly, the haughty encroachments of Britain, declare* war nnd vindicated the inestimable rights of our ow. nati»*n.ag;->iist the tyranny and cruelty of that govern- ment which may, for the present, be styled the bulwark (<f national religion ; that bane of Christianity, and prin- cipal support of B;ibylon the great, the mother of harlots, and abominations of t'-.e earth ; by whom the nations have been decfivetl, and the kings of the earth made drunk with the wi;^^ of herfomicaiion.

Notwithstanding all this long and strong opposition agains< religious liberty, and continued hatred towards those who plead for it ; y ;t religious liberty has, for mapy years,

10

been on the increase ; and has obtained such stren^-th, ani gained such an ascendency in our nztion, that her enemies are aware, that our excellent Constitution must be altered, and the present adniir.istration put doM'n,or tlie dominant, the law-la vored religion of New-England Avill be in dan-

gei-.

This prcvalency of religious liberty, and its present maturity, are the work of God. This work He will con- tinue to perform till he siiall have filled all lands with iis salutary productions. This libeity, which all have a n^jht to enjoy, whilst but few do, is ihe bane of the Mc-'cr if harlots andofAer daughters, and will increase i 1: :'. ahall strip them naked, and the nations shall see then ::>:ame.

4. God hath given us peace and reconciliation wit^ those who have been our enemies.

Wc do not propose to make any direct enquiry^whcthei the war was just, as believed by most, or wliethcr it \v-n%. wicked, as it has been very boldly asserted by so::. v.. W v, choose to let what God hath wroucjht in the prosecution and close of it, answer that question.

Witii whom had we to cor.tend ? With a nation, which, for many hundred years, has been almost continually practising in war. With a nation, >vhich had, at the com- mencement of hostilities, more than two hundred thou- sands of veteran, wtll- disciplined soldiers and sailors in her employ, and at h'.r biildinir. With a nation, which had made mr.r.y, if hot most of the great nation? of the earth to tremble ut her power. With a natioJi, which, durini; tiic contest, was diseng.Tged from otlieJ' vars. and thus at liberty to send her disposable and veteran lcgio'-« to inHict wounds and death on us. With a nation, which had a thousand s'.dps of war, and claimed to be mistress of the seas. Witii a nation, whose navy had cripplc«l humbled and destroyed the most powerful navi*'? io the worhl. We had to 'contend wiih a nation which was fil- led with pride and flushed '.vith victory, and which threat- ened, with her armies and navies, to hurl vengeance up- on our devoted land, and thus to cripple, maim, and hum- ble us.

What had we ? Wliat proparatioBS with which to con- tend with such a foe ? Wc had six fri:;atts, a few smaller vessels ;.nd a number of gun-bofet? ; perhaps three thou-

11

wnd re)^.'-r troops, and the militia enervated by thirty : ;Ars ofLxuriant peace. With thesQ feeble raeai)s, in the ..ui«el, V. lad to contend with our powerful foreign foe, and ;o 1 c^ . all the embarrassments, which could be thrown'in he way by several of the State Legislatures, and bv ve; i many influential individuals ; whose business was to ilis.jurage enlistments, to disheaitcn the people, perpkx lie national government, and to prevent their ubtainin.j resources by which to prosecute the war. In addition io these flas^rant violations of the national com- pact, and or the duties of citizens, we had to be nearly stunned by an almost continued buzzing of a very large '■•■•••'' alse prophets, who were perpetually extoUinf^ 1, ability and excellence of our foe ; and, at :; ; mc, reproacliing and heaping almost nil kinds ot uic n it nefarious abuse upon our own government. These la; . - prophets were very expert in denouiicing the >vur, as.bdse, wicked, unjust and ruinous. These, with ' t effrontery, to mislead the people, kept up an

ii...,. ... . f , French Influence 1 French Inlluence ! and, at til e ^ame time, they co\dd, without a bhis'i, eulogize Brl'. r.id, with the greatest assm-ance, pronounce, iliAL iliv. \ ould never make peace with Madison, and that the Aduiinistralion which made war would never make peace.

Bcsi . all this, there were, not a few, of whom we might 1: 3 expected better things, who were talking out rebellion, md strongly intimating, and sometimes threat- •fning, a 8< paration from the Union. Surely we may say, Had not V. e Lord been on our side, we had sunk under these TOig ' >ty waters.

Can it '>e that, under these mighty discouragements, <\n(i whilst contending with such a for, we have triumphed ant! obtain ;d an honorable peace ! Yes. it can be, and is indeed a fact, our enemies themselves being judges. By whoni have we obtained tliis triumph ? by the right hand of Ivrad's King. Kow hath the Lord, our Shep- herd, wrc ught this salvation f^r us ? By inspiring our N^'.ional Government with wisdom, firnmf ss, aiid pcr- sevftrraic:. By giving almost incredible valor and good conducf .-'most of our commanding officers by both land and wat^r By ni?.ki!"ig them to be Samsons for courage,

and Solomons for visdom. Ry ;;iving Uie c slrenglr of lions to tiic uiidcr officeis and to

and mariners. Tl.us did tiu Luici, by tiie liaj ^ . _

Croictian and his i-.uiulrcd and t:iirty invincibics, cau>-.< about one hundred and fifty of the British, a^id i, < - ;, sidt^.able uuniber of tlif.ir savage allies, tofiil df^wn ' and Block, withllie residue of his iwt Ive liundied J . and Indians, to be turned hack confounded. Thus Ck the Lord, by the hand of PeiiT and his gnllanl compan ions, give the British fltet, on Lake Eiie, into our hands, on the loth of Scptf aiber, 1813. A few weeks after was the British ainiy, under Block, captured, and thcij- sav- age allies routed, by the ha.d of General Harrison, torn- manding the veteran militia volunteers of Kcri Previous to the time in which these events tiarspiica, three first rate Bvitisii fri^'ates, otforty-nine guns each, were cut up, and conipclleii to strike their colors j lb; Guerricre and Java by the i^onstitution, the M;.tedonian by tie fiii^ate United States In the mean time, our national and pi-ivnlc arnu d ships were triumpl>ing over their snialler ships of war, and dashing aroongst tbtii merchaiit vessels, and hurling destrurlion upon trade ii various seus. I take; liberty to instaDct, ft : ample, the j^allaiit Porter, in the small frig: t^ Ei.sex, after capturi'ig the Alert, a sloop of war of t\v guns, doubled round Cape Horn, took tweh whaling ships, containing, it is said, about tw, of dollars in specie, besides a plenty of piovisic:.>s ■» r vin; supply of the con([Ucrors, and othsr valuabl- * ~^' Out of these whale-men, Porter supplied hin-. two twenty gun ships, and others of inferior fcrce this took place, whilst haughty Britain had lo- flag in not more than one of our ships of cci force : though she had vainly tiiought to hav*- «. .cd cur little navy, as Goliath ot Gatli, Philjstia's f luci, pre' suinjuuously boasted he would the stripling David.

However, the proud sons of Albion grew mo ,? -^antihty as their disgrace increased; and in their ul their sine (pia nons, demanded in their er peace, the most humiliating concessions on and threatened «s with conflagrations and cc •'

destruction ui>on our continued resistance.

13

To intimidate us, they encouraged the savages, and their own Juojilcy in the most -Munton aets cfcrudly and

inhiunanittj. , , • i .1

God looked down from heave* and beheld th-ir brutal aed bitrbarous iniquities ; and, being displeased, he in- spired a Brown, a Scott, a Porter, and a Ripley, with martial fire ; wli», with their men of valor, slew hundreds upon hundreds of Wellington's veteians. Soon a ter, ^ave another oC their imposing fleets into the power ot th;j reJigious.tbe undaunted Macdonough ; and made fourteen • thousand of t'.ose, who would be thought the conquerors of Europe, to dee, submit, or fall before an handful of our In-ave, b-dt untutored militia. These things brought down • he spi.its of our foreign foe, but not of our domestic one. these itppeared 10 increase in wickedness, as their caub'. ; rev/ausperale. Witness their Hartford Conv en- ion 3iV\AthL\v mif-sion to Washington ; the latter of which has met with its Reserved contemfit : The members of the Other will be of lasting iU-fame.

Now Britain, the scourge of the world, was ready to give us peace upon torins honorable to America ; but the displeasure of the Lord was not, as yet, sufficif-ntiy man- ifested. New -Orleans was the place He chost, in which to complete their disgrace. Here, their vjaich-wjrdsy Beauty and Booty, full of savage and brutal import, capped thu climax of their enormities, and filled up the n^easuve of their sins. Here were they mowed down, h<;aps upon hoaps, by our death-bearing weapons of war. T^..;c P:ickeTjham,tlie commander in chief of this grand ekpedi'ioa, major p^encral Gibbs, the second in command, wi'.h m-iny other officers, and many hundreds of Britain's bravest i:oops fell down slain. Major General Keanc, with f'luneRn hundred more, were said to be wounded, and many of tiiem unto death, on the memorable 8th of January, 1815. On the same day, the prisoners and deserters were many, making the grand total of their loss about three tiiousmd. Whilst tlie loss on our side, in tills desperate conflict, was but six killed and seven wounded.

According to a late statenic nt of our adjutant g'"naral, we ha 1, at t.iat time, at N^tw-O.lians and its vicinity, less tlian five thousmd troops, and these mosdy uiilitia ; B

14

whilst the British confess, that their army consisted of ten or tn-clve thousand at the least ; besides, say five thousand on board tlitir ships. With this vast .disparity of force, the disparity of loss was still greatt-r. Says the intrepid Jackson, iu his late tomnnunication to Govt-rnor iJiount, " The w liole of our loss, fiom the first landing of the Biitisli to their final defeat, did not exceed Ji/iy- aix ; whilst the grand total of the enemy's loss was six tbousmul and Jive hundred." Thus hath the Lcrd M'rought for us, and covered the headi of our brave countrymen in the days of battle, as he hath, perhar»?». done for no other nation since the days of Gideon

On the ocean also, hath the Lord given u«, in i u. to wiiat we ha\e above related, triumph hftf r trmir pi\ to the confusion of the Biitish goveninient, and lasting reproach of their navy ; that too, in instances too isur.cr- ous to be here rehearsed.

Now let eveiy impartial man decide, let eveiy honest man decide, let the wurld and every indiviclm' '- ■> decide, on which side the Lord h.ath wiouyht ; ■<.■- his works testify ; wliether they coincide with the niators of our governnRi.t, who have, to deceive ♦' mon people and to alienate them fiom the go\' of their choice, been continually ringir>g in their ears, that the wnr mos uiijubi, wicked, and luir.ous : oi", wh.eth- er the works of God have said, and are still sayii.g. thrt the war was just, righteo\is, and for the salvation of ou.- invaluable libtM ties and privileges. Let the p.\.£c'nt *aii^ every future j^eneration decide whose names will descrv- . ediv stand highest on the records of fam ; those of » W:idison and his cabir.et colleagues ; those of? Jackson, a Brown, a Scott, a Macomb, a Croglian, an<i othci vr.ruint ones of the land service ; those of a Hull, a. Bainbridge, a Decatur, a Ptrry, a Matdonough, and other gallant commanders in the navy ; or the names of_I forbear to niention them, who, like curst Meroz of old, came not up to the help of the Lord, to the help ^f the Lord against the mighty ; but withheld the people, encouraged tie enemy, and did w! at they could to with- hold the energies, and to break down the spirits, of tlieir own government and nation.

15

II. We are to mention some of tlie reasons why, according to this tiuc it siiail be said of the Unilccl States of America, What halii God wrouglit 1

By tiiose who snail, to the lastest generation, become acquainted witii tiie his*ory of our nation to tne present tinie, it slrall, with admiration, be exclaimed, Vt'huc huih God lorouifhi I

Some of the rcasoi s why, accordnig- to this time it shall be said of the Uiiited States, What hath God ■wrought 1 are the following.

1. God made the 5T0** superstitions of the Briiish Chiirchi wiiicl. produced a severe persecution agaiRsl her most virtuous citizcnSj a mean of bringing our un-i:- ^athers ii»to this rich, this p.lcasunt, and this iur^c la7id

The he? then nations, whicli were much greater and more miglity than they, Pie, by the pestilence, by the 8\vor 1. ri'jd hy the famine, cUove out and consumed from before them. Surely we have one of tlie best portions of the dwelling-place allotted for men ; and one of the largest wiiich God hath divided among the nations. From an haiidful, we have, Avilhin the space of two hun- dred years, increased to a multitude ; and hsve become a rich, a great, and a respected nation. .411 this occasion- ed by the overgrown sujieraiitiojt oJ" Uri.'uix.

2. As by British superstition our nation was planted, so by ]•'■-. -ih oppression our nation became free. Like |i,,- - ';f.,s i,-, Egypt, we multiplied and grew ; iuid ^i' \elites in Egypt, cor.tented we were, and coii-

:U1 have been, had not the cupidity of Britain, or>.; iii T insatiable thirst for domination roused our relnc t,a;it opnosition. Civil opj)rtssio:is tiiey h.eaped upon - petitions and remonstrances were answered

by threats, menaces, proli.ibilions, and more severe ex- actions. As God always brings good out of evil, so it pleased him, by these, to stir up and unite the spirit of the then provinces of Britain, but now the American nation, to value and assert their inestimable and unaliena- ble rights. 'I'he same hauglity and oppressive spi'itof Britain, wliich excited our fathers to opposition, broke forth into acts the most hostile, outrageous, and cruel ; and constraiijtd the heads ot our tribes to declare oui*

d6

ration free, sovereign, nnd independent ; and to compel the British gover^inient to acknowledge the whole. Thus to the lasting regret of our foreit^^n foe, and to the per- petual confusion of cur dwrnestic one, then known by the name of Toi ies, we gained our civil liberties. But what is perhaps still more to be wondered at, we stiil retain them. Notwithstanding wc have greatly misused our civil liberty, and our internal foe has been watchful and active, and the haughty spirit of Britain has entered into many of our great men, who are sighing- to bei;r rule, and lamenting their dependance upon tiic. sulhages of the common people for their power to govern ; yet, our nobles are of ourselves, and our Governor proceedelh from the midst of us. According to this ti^oe it si *ill hr said of the United States of Auienca, Ji'/iat haik (>od Kor ought I

3. Another reason wliy it shall be said, zccorr'ing to this time, of our nation. What hath God wrought, is, we now enjoy religious liherty.

Of all kinds of liberty, this is the last to be expected; for the heart of all natural men is against it ; the super- stition of all men is against it ; all false religions are ag-.iinst it ; all established religions are against it ; the eslablisiicd ChM'gy, wherever four.d, are agni.'ist it. The Clv.Tp;y in our ow^n conntrv (ia\e been violently against it ; and are still strongly oppos'.'d IMnre than one hundred years since, they stirred ufi the Govtrnmtnt to arrt^f .r^ '•. Jine^ imfirifion^^»c, w/iifi, mid banish, tuch ns vjcre^ fjcf- hj to it. Ever since they have been devising nn ■ -n keep it down, to prevent its spreading, and to rool ' • of our couiitry.

By the nations of Eiiropc has religious liberty i.-'^tn proscribed, and, if we mistake not, she ha«, nt this time, no legal existiince in any of tliein, save in France, and perhaps out-lawed in her by this time. •

• The .ibove w.is written before it was knawn, In this country, th;4t Napo'eon had rc-mnunteii the Imperial Throne <.f Fr.-mce. TUc IVftich Com^rll of State, in their sitlin^s of Vlafch 25, 1815, amonc: oilier tliinps S.1V, "The Kmperur is ciiHcd to paaraniie ar.f.v, hv laws, (and he has en (raped to do so, in i»is proclama* lions to the nation an^ the armv) all the liberal principles, in-

* 17

Of all the nations \:i the work!, ours appears to have been tiie first in which religious liberty has been legal- ized. Even here she is waiclied with great jealousy; and some of the State Constitutions, Stale Legislatures, and otner officers, have shown their dislike to her, and hardiy crowded her. The Clergy, who have greatly ruled t'.ie nation, have been terribly afraid of her, and have, many a time, given t!ie alarm, crying, Xcs .' alas ! our Churches will ae overturned, or this vvionster mvist be put djwn. - In our country both the civil and ecclesiastic powers stovr f'xcessivelv to strantrte reiircious liberty in her but prevailed not. Like Moses in the ark ot '. she was pres^irved, and has been so nourished . acted, ttiat she bids tair to lead the true Israel OHt oi Ljjcvpt's iron bondage of Ecclesiastical tyranny. IVui it wi''. be attended with more tremendous plagues on Babj'lon, than were poured upon Egypt of old.

As religious liberty has prevailed, so has the church of Christ increased in our laud. Whcu God will work, none can liinder him.

Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel : according to this time it shall be said of our nation, ^VHAT «ath God

WU OUGHT !

4. Anolhcr reason why, according to this time it r-hz\\ W a.i.l of the United States of America, What hath (lod wrought I is, tiiat we have had so speedy, and so lionor- able .'I peace witu those wiio have Uiiely been our cnemii-s.

Ihc British empire is confounded that tliey have threat- 'rned so much, and done so little. Europe is surprised, ihs proud tyrant of tiie seas, with her thousand .. .--j.i'^d thundering legions, should be so quicklv beaten. Wc, and tlie world, are astonished, that oitr sl-.'ips have so generally made the British flee, or pull their fla- down ; that honor lias attended upon our little naw, and disgrace covered their great one : that handfuls of our

div;d,,al liberty, and ^qualily of.-iR-hts ; <he libertv of the press: »t>i 7'^ '-^ >efri^.m." &c Thus is religious liberty legalized anew, (or promised to be so;) ih Frai.ce B2

18

Republican, and generally untutored, troops, have chased away, captured, or caused to full dowu slain, ai mics of the 0pi»itbscr*s vetcrai. Icijions.

^^■cll may we exclaim with the Psalmist, « If it had rot been ti)e Lord who was on our side, now may America s^y. If it hud not been the Lord who was on our side, wiicii men rose up against us : Then they had swallow- ed us r.p quick, when their wrath kindled against us ; then the waters had overwhelmed us, tlie stream and the firo-ud ivaurs had gone ovtr our soul. Bks: "^ be tie Lord who halji not given us as a prey to tuiriecth. Our soul is escaped as out of the snare of the fowit-i's ; the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is Iq the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth."

The Lord hath planted and settled us. The Loid 'iatV« given us liberty, both civil awd religious. He !:--'i p^iveo peace in all our borders. Much in the laLgu;i.Le ol his servant IVlcses, we may now joyfully speak, sax. in :■ '* >Vc Will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed glorieusly. He 1 ath poured contempt on our foes, and blasted their expectations. Tlie Lcrd is our strength and song, and he h become our salvation : He is our God, and we will prepare him a habitation ; owr fathers' God, and we will exalt him. Tlie Lord is a man of war, the Lord is his name. Britannia's ships, with tlieir crews, hath He dashed in pieces: her chosen captains are fallen down slain. Tluj d* pths of death have covered them. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power : thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the •:ncmy. And in the greatniss of t. ine excellency thou hast over- thr'jwn them who resc up against thc?e. The encoy said, I vill pursue, 1 will oveitakc, I v,n\ divulr t/;c .t/i'^i' my I.UST sirall be .u'ijl-d uhvn them: I "ivill d^azv /»:y suord, my /n.nd s/iaii df.stroy ihem.

Thou (.'"Ist blow upon them, they were discomhied s they .su7ik a.<i irnd in ,he v.ii^hty %i>aters. Who is like unto THKK, O Lonn, among the gods ? Who is like thee, gloiious in hoiin* ss, fearful in piaises, doingwon- d<is? Thou slretchidst out thy riglit hand, the earth swallowed thim. T1h»u, in ttiy men y, hast led forth the peoph , wliieh thou hast rcdeeimd : thou hast guided then» in thy strcujith unto thy holy commandments. Tbe

19

diversity of enemies shall hear and be afraid : sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Britannia. Tiie dukes of Babylon shall be araazed : the mighty men of savage tribes, trembling shall take held upon thein ; all the inhabitants of the wilderness shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them : by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone ; till thxj pcojilc fxass over, which thou hast purchased. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever."

>\ Su ''-^s is no enchantment a^ainsi the Lord'e

h'-9filf ; neither is there any divination agai7i.st Mbs- S,'AH^s KINGDOM : according' to t/iia time it shaU be said oj our natioHy and of the Church of Christ, Wha r ha tH

APPLICATION.

From the subject it may appear,

1. Tliat of all nations, America shoiUd sound (he high- est praises.

JFoi' no nation, sare Israel of old, hath experienced such great salvations. None possess such a rich abun- dance of pleasant, fertile, and well watered lands. None understand their civil rights so well, or possess thenv so fully, or enjoy them so generally, as our nation. Where is tne nation, in which the common /leo/ile can eat, anti drink, and take the goed of their labors, as wc do ? In what nation have the rich, the superstitious, and the am- bitious, exerted themselves so much, and succeeded so h'.tle, in wresting these privileges from the commonality ? What nation like ours, where the people may, and can, read, think, and judge for themselves ; and taen, if light, truth, and conscience so oictate, worship God in a ^ay which the scribes and Pharisees call heresy ? In what nation, besides ours, has ecclesiastic tyranny been weakened in proportion to the violent measures which have been employed to strengthen it >. In what nation, except m esrs, have the civil and ecclesiastic powers been separating in proportion as the Clergy have la!)orcd lor their union ? What other national ciiarter, th^ guar- antee of the people's liberties, prohibits the cPinhiniition Of these two powers ? Amongst all the Constitutions

20

or governmeijts of the European nations, ig there one •which docs not assume the oversijjht and conlix)! of Uie church of Clirist ? liut, hsppy Ameiica, the framers of tiiy Constitulion thought it cnou.c;h to frame I-.uvs to govern men, and to k-avc it with Clirist to give laws for the government of his own kingdom.

Where these two powers, the civil aiid the ecclesiastic, are separated, ii.iigiuus liberty will prevail ; where tiiey are blended in the hands of superstition, reli-ious tyranny is the natural and sure coiistqueoce. By tlic good provi- dence oi God these two powers are separate ; cv.d, bv the supreme law of the land, forbidden to incorisri.utc. Hence we have opporlnnity, every one to sit under his own vine, and his own fig tree, and none to make hi-T- afraid. In short, our personal, our domestic, our socLI- cur civil, our religious, and our national, privileges art beyond a parallel. May our praises be proportionate.

2. Tiiat superstition has, probably, done its i:-mo.sl.

It has been under the best advantages. Its circum- stances in our country, liave been tlie most promising. It had in tnis land, wlien it hist claimed supremacy, and set up for complete independence, in a large degree, what it always arif.gates to itself, all tlie learning, all the tal- ents and all the piety, ia its train. Ycj. it had more, it had the Governors, the Captains, the Judges, the Treasurers, the Couisollors, thr Slierlfls and all tlie rulers of the pr()vilu:^'s in its tra'iB : and,if it had not Ncburhac'nei^i^r'k ban*l of music to persuade, it had ti'.e drum, the fife, liic dungeon, the post, and the pillory to compel vubtni&suin Under such promising circumstances it began its, career in this happy land, hut movtif) ing dipappnintment soon-at- tended : and, like the proud nior.arch of Babylon with his liaughty lords, tlic friends of s\iperst5tion were filled v. I'.h fuiy at the Danitls,thc Mananiahs, thu Michaels, and Az- ariahs, who would not submit, nor bow down to the law- reliv;ion, wiiich the (lovernors, the Comist'llors, the C ler- gy, ice. had setup. But when riicy found, th;it the lions vould not destroy, nor their fire consume those reputed heretics, who would not bow down, nor worship the imag-e of the beast, f^roUitunt ekiabUxhmnits^ wiiich the Govern- ors and the Clergy had set up, then they began to be <7«ron- iihid i and the fear of the prcvalciKcof the kingdom of

heaven has been upon them ever since. Thus, Haman hke, have they be^ua to fall before the true Israel of God ; and like him,will they and their ten sons,the Kings and Governors of the earth, who have agreed together to give their power unto the beast, an^ to his imajje, con- tinue to fall, till they shall be consumed and rise no n\urc

at all.

But, my friends, notwithstanding this glorious triumph, which reason, truth and rii^htc'jusiiess have gained over su^jcrsthion, t!)e prolific mother of abominations, yet she is to becareful'y watched and guarded against ; for like firmed Anteus of old,she has often revived, after being, ap- parently, knocked hfeless to the grouniJ. None but the '.iue David can destroy her utterly ; he cax, he will.

3. Thattlie Cnui-ch, in which tae Ntw-E iglnnd clergj are lead f-Ts, is not the Church of Christ, they taemselves being judges. Otherwise, why their cry, Alas ! alas ! the C.iurch is in dancjer ! when nothing •app'^ars to threaten thera, save the prevalence of religious liberty. Or, to accommodate myself to their views, a Gallio is approaching, or is in, the chair of State. What then ? to be sure, when the Jewish high Priest, or the New- England Clergy, drag a Paul, a Holmes, or a Williams, before Csssar's tribunal, to be condemned for rejecting the traditions of men, that they migiit follow the com- mands of God, they may be refused an audience, and driven from the judgment seat. What t len ? is the ■«hurch of Ciu-ist in danger ? Surely n«t, but their own sup^ rstition is.

How often have we heard expressions of the followinsj imoort falling with mournful accents, from their lips ? R ifgion is in danger. The Church is in dinger. The Church will come to nought, if unprotected by the civil power. A iron and Moses must be united. The Church and State will rise, or fall together, 8cc. &c.

It is here evident that their cliurch, according to their own notions of lier, is not founded or built, ©n Christ. For against Christ's church the gates of hell shall not prevail i nor any weapon formed against her ultimately prosper ; and, as for Gailiu, she fears him not. All she asks of CJEsar, is, to be a G.dlio, to let her alone, and to drive her

•censers n»w, from liis tribunal with disgrace, as Gallio aid in prunitive times.

Tlie church of Christ never scught a union with Cscsitr, or tJie civil sworJ. to be drawu in suppoit of tiic christian relii^-ion : she never asked for such a thing. '^ She never wished it. She never necvicu it. i'hus cvi- dent is it, tliat the church coniprisini; the New-Eugi-nd clci';.:y, is as dlffLrent from the church of Chiist. as was the Jewish hJi^h priest different from Paul. The cue souj^ot Caesar's aid, the other not, save when coivp-Hed by thefuiyofius persecutors. As then,soiiow,i ach aiiswer- iiig to each, shewing one thing ckad\,that tu che churc!,,io viiich Paul belonged, the New-Engiand clergy do not.

4. That the church of Chriat wiJl iiourish, where ;v" others decay.

Religious liberty is her proper clement ; but it is pcs- tifeiuusto every other. She needs but to be knuivi- u Se admired: the opposite is true of all spurious chuiwhes. Her cenverts arc willing ones. Site sceits auvl desires no other. She requires truth in seHtimunt, truth in the in- ward part, and truth in practice. Tiiese are not pro- duced by Nebuchadiitzzur'a furnace, by Darius' den of lions, nor by tiic Pcpc's inquisition. Freedom of readir.g, ^ of t inking and of speaking is productive of the fust ; lae vT /rce s/riric of God produces the jivwc, and both united 5/^ bring forth the truth in practice. This freedom suirs not \\J the darkness, the bigotry and the cuniuog sophistry of su- perstition. Such as do evil hute the light, free er neither will come to it, lest tlieir deeds should be i , . cd. Indeed, the superstitit^ns are ullei.dcd with u con- scious avl cow.iidly inferiorily, which compels t',-.. tr court Caesar, that he may cuerce wliom they cannot ;oii- vince. Every species of religious coei tion is of the s9nio liibe, whether found in his holiness, the triple crow!>ri pontiff, whilst rf)nverliug nations at the ])(>int of the sword, or at the cannon's mouth ; or in a Nc w-Enjjland legisla- ture fining a town sixty pounds for not supporting a JirO' tcs'ant clcr^t/nidri.

AH this cotrtion, all this fear is evidence complctcthat th'»v apprehend ruineus clTeols from tiic prevalence of re- ligi /US liberty. Not so with tiic chvnch of God; she Couils freedom of inquiry, freedouj of thinking, of speak-

S3

ing and of action. She seeks to be known, and where truly known, the converted heatlicn, the bigot, and the iiihdcl, gladly join to aui^vnent the number of her increasing con- verts.

5. From the subjeet it may also appear, why the clergy, in our country, have generuUy, been so bitter and outrage- ous against the present and preceding ad munstiations ; and why they v»'ish for some radical change in the Consti-

tutiHJ.

Because, as laatters now are, the common people have too much "li^ious liberty. Because tiie common people have a Constitutional right t© search the scriptures and see, if the doctrine, the i'^stitutions and the practice incul- ^ri-:, be from heaveu, or of men. Because the common ;,.'ujj;c nave a right to hear, when, where and whom they jMcase. Because, they have liberty to withhold their sup- p(^tt from bucti ?.s they do not believe and v;ill not iiear. Because neither the Constitution, nor the administration favours law religion, or religious establishments, which wiiich have drunk up rivers of blood flowing from those viiO believed in Gud and in Jf sus Christ, but not in the rituals and commandments of the clergy. Because the ciergy cannot govern the nation now, as their ancestors were accustomed to govern, when wc were provinces of Britain.

This opposition of the clergy is formidable and presa- ges evil, because it is sentimental. It is incorporated -witii their religious prejudices. They, doubtless, very sincerely think tnemsclvis to be doing God service in re- vHin.g- :/'• rulers of rhcir f'cofde ; in sfuakin^ evil of dig- nines ; in uttering wily insinuations, wl\ich en^^'jnder sus- picions ui^d local jealousies ; and in propoj^ating base and unfounded accusations, by whichtoii:flamethe minds of the common pcopl- against the protection and th ■ protectors of the dearest rights of men. There probably is no qui-s- tion, but what they verilv believe, Jhat they owght to do miny tl/inp^s contrary from tlie Constitution and the sacred IibtM-ties of the people ; and that they ou'^ht to resist the powers which bf, though by it they resist the orHin,ince of God, and -x^cz?. themselves to'conJemniition. This, their zealous and fixe.l oppositiow, b'-iny s.-nti.n.Mital, may render it less criminal in itself, but not less dangerous to

/ • -^

%he «ominunity. It therefore becomes ws to be circum- spect and vigilant, lest their sentimental error dissolve the union, overturn the Constitution, and rwin the nation.

6. That ene reason why the church, which is buijt on Christ, have so generally, approved of the Constitution, is, it faT«ur8 religious liberty ; and, -why they liave been pleased with the administration, Lccfusc the government t»f the churcli has been left to Jesus Christ.

The religion of Cln ist strongly impels its possessors to two things, and his church has been lamous for the prac- tice of them ; one is submission to the powers whub he knowing that civil authority is ordained of God ; xhe. otb* eris, carefully using justifiable means for the secuvily . " religious liberty. This being the spirit of the ( ; religion, the reason is obvious, ■why the m» " Christ's church should adhere to such a goj-en . nU

administiationas ours ; which secures to the whole a co- pious freedom of investigating?, believing, and practising that religion, which is honorable to God, and safe for man.

7. That the fears of our clergy are, probably, well

founded. , _ . . ,

They probably must overturn the Constitution, or, the reliKious liberty, ir.corporated with it, will oveilurn them ; and'lhev nvust oust the administration, or continue in dan- ger of being ousted themselves.

The exteriors of their religion^ or their fteculiarifies^ are incowfiatibU- r.'Vhfree emjuiry, dirreud by the ,./int of Fmmamui. If divine grace prcvud, and our y:ii > a u» Consiimtio!. be not put down, but cortnuie to be ;,.ln uus- tered by men of liberal minds, the Nc w-Englanr vith their churthes, in their present orgai.izaU- .^;

disappear: this too, to the joy and adn^jrution o: Gud.s ^copW- who may be fou..d in tl e midst oi t -em ^ ^

8 Whv Governor Stron^r believed ;u .1 said, .wiu ^.i.y the eleruy echoc d it, that Great Brilaw is the buhvark «t the rrlitc^^n which ive tir',/cK8. , • i •„

The reason is plain ; thnj profess a rchguin, which, m Us chuvch-n rm. Is taught by .he prccc pts and command- nnts\,f men. and is defended by the eivd power. W here- St is the spirit of C;od, who prepare, the m. u na.s ior a cbu ch of Christ, and the word of G^d direct, the buu.mg

S5

t)f it ; but a hw-religion makes pretenders, and die rites and commandments of men incorpei-ate them int<» a church : and tlie allurements of superstition prevail with many of the p!.:opIeof God to join them.

Many have considered Governor Strong to have spoken falsely in this matter. I cannot say that I ever did. I consider him to have epoken like an honest rnaji, shroud- td under strong fit cjudices. The religion Avhich he and Ills brethren profess, is, -o* ro i7* exteriors^its riles end f/iic!u!c:r defended by the laws of Kiugs and Emperors, t»f Hopes and Conclaves. This being the fact, nothing can if)e more true, tlian, that Great Britain is the bulwark of Yhe religion which they profess. For it was not«riously t-r;io, at the time he delivered the expression, that the es- tablished, the national, the law-religions of nighly all Eu- i*ope, (IV.itain's excepted,) were shaking and apparently \n danger of sinking into their merited contempt. The religionol the Governor, and of tlie New-England clergy with their churches, l)eing of the national, the European, complexion, they were indeed apprehensive, and not with- out cause, that should England fall, their religion would fall with her, and great would be the fall of it. For she is, in fact the strongest hold, of which established relig- ion can now boast. Here isthe foundation oi that firrdi- iectjon, which o7ir clergij gencraUij, and moi-o of the laity possess in favor of Britain ; and here is the bottom or ecurce, of that strong oH-fwisition ni^ainst 07ir Q'-mji govern- ment, its firincifilcs and its measures. It is true, this is all superstition. But it is no trifling one. Our object should be to eradicate, but not to enrage it. However lightly we may think of this sentimental delusion, we may not think lightly of all who are in it. For in its delusory em- braces, we may find not a few of splendid talents, of deep erudition, and of unquestionable piety. Such men are not eafiily div-rted from their purpose. Tliis diversion can be effected but in one way, and that is, by exposing the false principles, upon which Ihey have fovu.de d their erroneous sentiments. When opposition is sentimental, and that sentiment is founded in superstition, nr religions error, it is often combated with much difi&cultv, aud r.ot frequently v/ith success. C

S6

9. From the subject It imy appear, that GoTemor Stronif,and the New-England clergy, and those who join with tliem, may not be ao/auiiy for ofifiosmg relii^iou^Wh- erty, as they are for ad/icring^ to the traditions and ccm- mundments of mm^ whicii can be supported, but by relig- ious tyranny.

We by no means justify them ; for their fault is visible, as though written with the point of a diamond : but their fault is not so much in their practice, a: ' -.;ny

admitted such f*lse principles, and inibi! ..'^ s'V

rcramtrf such erroneous sentiments as iiopel their prac- tice. They cannot be honest men, and p currect'y.

whilst they believe erroneously. How 1 ; are b'am

able for having so rejected tiie cemmanus cf God, and i:. followed their own traditions, as now to bu trusting ^o an arm of flesh for their bulwark, the Judge- of ail must and will decide. One tiling however, is cer'd.^, their super- stition is great, and their fault considerable, besides, as matters now are, their sentimental error is tinged deeply with moral evil, for the true light now shineth, and in- creasingly too, that theij might correct their sentiments, and reform their practice, had they a liking to it. Some men find it difficult to believe, but what Governor Strong, and the New-England clergy, are, generally, downright hypocrites and enemies to their country. By such it ought to be considered, that great men have, frequently, great prejudices ; and learnetl men have leani- ed prejudices ; and pious men may have religious ones. W'ere we to judge by their political practice, wc might fear as to their love either for their God or countiy. Were we to judge by their political sentiments, our fears might not largely abate ; but it is otiv confirmed opinion, that, could wc sec their heart, our conclusion would, in numerous instances, be nmch more favorabk.

10. That our rtlii^i'jiu liberties are in clanger^ just in firofiortion to (he cltrgy's iiijluenee u/ion the civil potver.

The prejudices ©f the New-England clergy vilh their Governors and adherents must have been excessive, and nearly allied to infatuation and fatal delusion, or they could never have declared, or joined in the declaration, that Great Britain is the bulwark of their religion. This, their fupersiitious belief, has compelled Uicra to denounce it

27

sacrilege to join our own government in the righteotis ■war, which they were compeilcd lo wage against the acourge of nations, but the acknowledgtfd bulwark of their religion. From the same source proceeded, from »ovne of them, those infuriated and mad expressions. " That every man, in the expedition against Canada, was a murderer. Every man tliere slain would be murdered. Everyone who should sicken and die, or any way lose his life by th** expedition, would be a murdered man. All ■who aidcu or assisted in it, were murderers. All who »at in their ehimney corners, and wished success to the expedition, though they were not active, were murderers / ? -'Aiftr heart." Thus, and more abundantly, did some of the priosts of Babylon rage and rave, wishing death, or defeat, and denouncing damnation upon such as joined ihcir own country to make inroads upon the British and their saviKj^e allies, who were embodied in tlie bounds of Canada, for the murder and plunder of our frontier set- tlements ; and who had already commenced their nefari- ous work. These deluded deceivers communicated to many of their parishioners, portions of the same madness, causing them relijriously to believe, that to aid and com- fort the enemy, to weaken and embarrass our own gov- ernment, was doing servire to God and men.

But God hath triumphed. Truth liatn triumphed,ano w:U soon triumph more abundantly. Our geverninert lias triumphed. Our armies and navies have triumphed : our ministers at Ghent have tiinmphed ; and praised be the God of hosts, we are fr-'C. Free to think. free to sppak,frce to act. Free from Britain, and many of us, free from the ihackbs and superstitions ot that religion of which she is the bulwark Free to i:ivestiu;ate truth, whether civil, political, or religious. Free to inquire what religion is from heaven, and what of men. Free to search for the doctrine, the oidinr.nces, and practices of the Church of Christ, the kingdom set up by the God of heaven ; and full liberty to enter it, if our heart be in lore with it. Free to pursue the gljry of God, and man's best good, in heaven's ^prescribe! w^y. Free to seek our own pre- sent and future felicity, according as reason and re vela- lion dictate. Having none to make us afraid.

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In the possession of such privileges, and under such aclvaiitagts, how does it become us to vindicate the wap cl God to men? and, on such an happy occasien as this, to expose those delusions and that spurious Christianity, which teach discoid at home, and union with a barbarous and haughty foe, and which, by their deceitful wiles, had well nigh brought us to Eijypt again ? God broke the anare, we are escaped, the clcrsty disappointed, but not tatished. J^or can they, be, whilst religioua liberty pre- vails. It is essential to the permanenc/ -t every i'e.hi religion, and to every perversion cf the true, that re- bgious liberty be restricted. In Athens, Paul's life wasi in danger for usinv; this liberty, where they had mtrofiur.- «d three hundred gods, and by law made it capital to introduce a new one. In Judea, Jesus C\rist was cru- cified for firaclisiiig and teuchmg this iibcrij. All the persecutions which have been in the w j !il, 1 - ve beea for the suppression of relij^ious hberty : nnd have been. eflectcd by the influence of the clergy, or priests, upon the civil power. Nothing will save our religious liberty, and us from persecution, but the civil authority niaintain- ins the province which God hath assigned it, and rt fus- ing to pollute its sword in aiding the clergy in religious coertiov> Wherever the civil authqrUy is wuli thera, they have generally, if not universally, considered it a part ©f God's sc^ce io /iersec'u:e primiHrfe Christianity. As Ji^gious Jibbrty ia congenial with the christian re- liy-ion,'so i^ rfcligious tyranny necessary to the stability cf' every other religion, and to every corruption of this. Jt is surprising, that there is one clergyman for religious liberty, or for a government and administration which ioster it, or one baptist minister against either. The secular power must not be at the bidding of the clergy, to control religious matters, or religious liberty must go down. This is what the clergy are now struggling for. Thia is- manifently the root of the present controversy, in this our othtrivite happy cQunrry.

In support of the above observations, we appeal to the practice of all tlie generations from the days of Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate to ours.

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May God convert the governors, the eoimaellors, the sheriffs, the clergy, and all, at least in judgmcnlj that they may take up their parable and say, Purely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is tnere any divina- tion against Israel : accorUinij to this time it shall be said of America and the true Israel, What hath God wrought 1

Lastly. That the practice of our clergy has been too much like Balaam's, and tiiat of some of our governors and their great men like Baiak's awd his princes.

-They have fasted and prayed, and offered sacrifices ■H^ith; * ber, that they might curse the administra-

tion), .... ^itain prevail. But God suffered them not to curse with effect; and thus hath he kept them back from honor, and exposed their weakness. If like Balaam th-,y confess their weakness, they may have per- mission to return, but not with honor or reward.

V/e wouLI gladly suffer their outrageous superstition and high-handed wickedness to rest in oblivion, but their perseverance compels the recollection, and our duty obliges us to expose them. Feradventure God will ff7ve them refientavce ; and if not, the exfiosure may narrow ^

the bounds of their destructive hifluence ; and save Jacob *

and Israel, our beloved coxmtry, and the liberties of the /

church of Christ, from future jeopardies, similar to those \

througl) which we have lately past. They need but be \

thoroughly exposed, to be deserted by three fourths of >

their present followers. Amongst whom are honorable *

men, wise men, good men, some of the best of men ; but having their minds somewhat darkened by the ingenious subtlety which varnishes the evil motives, the unjustifiable means, and the Babylonish object of many of their lead- i

ers. The Lord Avill disappoint tliese erring prophets \

and their employers, and bring their counsels to nought. '

Yes, he will cause a dissension among them, as between Balak and Balaam, and the torrent of blessings which God included in Balaam's parables, shall come down upon our country, comprising the church and the gor- enimcnt which refuses to oppress her. These very men, wlio have risen up in the East, and come from the mountains of their high pretensions, may soon be com-

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pellcd to take up their prtrables and say, " Rise up, ye govtinoifc, and lieai\ ye nobles of the Last. With iiigh expect.itions have ye Wrought us forth, saying, Come, cuise yc theadiimnsiiation ; come, defy tije true Israel, Wiiich submits not to Britain's bulwark."

How siiall we curse, w h'bm God hath not cursed ? or how shall we defy, whom God hath not defit;d ? Fr»nFi the top of the rocks we see America, and from the hills we behold the true Israel : lo, the people sliall dwell securely, and the cliUicl\ be preserved from heafherAsh^ ov Jcwiih dejllemenis. SViio cau count the niulti .ude" ef of Anieiica, and tUe number of the fourth part of God's people ? Let us die the death of th^ righteous, and let our posterity be like theirs. God is not a man, that he should lie ; neither the son of man, that he sliould repcui; hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he jpokeu, and bhail he not make it good ? Behold, we have r-^ceiv- €d commandment to bless : and he hath blessed, and we cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in America ; neither hath he ■ seen perverscncss 'in his people : the Lord their God is with then*, and the shout of a king is among them.- God brought them out of Lgypt : he hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against America, neither is there any divination against the chwrch of tlic first- born : according to this time it shall be said of America, and of God's people, Wliat hath God wrought I How goodly are thy dwellings, O America, and <hy tabernacles^ O Zion ! As the vallies arc they spread foith, as gar- dens by the river's side ; as the trees of lign-alocs which the Lord hatli phaited, and as cedars beside the waters. They shall pcur their water out of their buckets, a«d their seed shall be in many waters : ond their Pieiident shall be higiier than jigag\ and their mtion shall be ex- altcd. They shall eat up the nations, their entniies, and fcreak their bones, and pierce tliem thrrfUKh with their •weapons of war. They couched, they l;»y down as a lion, and as a great lion : who shall stir theia up ? Blessed is kt thathlesscth thtv^, and cursed is he that turstth thcni. And may we all say, AMEN.

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