Discourses on various subjects

-^

/^-i

I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, |
^ Princeton, Nt^'O".

|l Case,, ^Division . . .-l-|i..

I ^-^' Sec. • ....r

U. Hook, I!)

t> ^ ^ _ ~ ._=- ,-N-D -.-^ .,^. , , . .^-. . . s*.

OC/

/i^?!.^

CJ^ o-r^^-^^^

DISCOURSES

ON

VARIOUS SUBJECTS,

S Y

THOMAS RENNELL, D. D.

MASTER OF THE TEMPLE.

THE SECOND EDITION.

LONDON :

PRINTED FOR F. AND C, RIVINGTON,
NO. 62, ST. PAUL'S church-yard;

SY BYE AND LAW, ST. JOHn's SQUARE, CLERKENWELL.

1801.

EVER HONORED MEMORr

REVEREND, PIOUS AND PROFOUNDLY LEARNED

THOMAS RENNELL, A.M.

DEPARTED INTO THE JOY OF HIS LORD,

AFTER A LIFE SPENT

IN AN UNREMITTING STUDY OF THE RECORDS,

A POWERFUL INVESTIGATION OF THE
EVIDENCES,

AND AN

EMINENT PRACTICE OF THE DUTIES OT
CHRISTIANITY,

THIS VOLUME

IS,

WITH INDELIBLE GRATITUDE, AFFECTION
AND VENERATION,

INSCRIBED

BY HIS ONLY SURVIVING CHILD,

THE AUTHOH,

^

CONTENTS

DLS COURSE I.

Page

The Confequenccs of the Vice of Gaming.

Preached in 1793.

Hef.. xii. 1. The Jin xvhich doth fo eafily befet
you. S

D I S C O U R S E II.

On Old Age.

Preached at the Temple in 1799.

PsALM Ixxi. 9. Ca/t tUii not off in the time of
old age, forjake me not when my jlrengtk
faileth me. o%

DISCOURSE III.

Benevolence exclufively an Evangelical
Virtue.

Preached before the Univerfity of Cambridge for
the Beneiit of Addenbroke's liofpital in 1796.

John xiii. 34. A new commandment give I unto

you, that ye love one another. , . .73

DI S-

Vi CONTENTS.

DISCOURSE IV.

Page

The Services rendered to the Englifli Nation
by the Church of England, a Motive for
Liberahty to the Orphan Children of
Indigent Minifters.

Preached at St. Paul's Cathedral, at the Anniver-
fary Meeting of the Sons of the Clergy in
May 1796.

2 Cor. viii. 23, 24:. Thei/ are the mejfengers of
the churches, and the glory of Chrift : where-
fore JJiew ye to them, and before the churches,
the proof of your love. ^ -109

DISCOURSE V.
On the Grounds and Regulation of Na-
tional Joy.

Preached before the Hon. Houie of Commons, on

Occafion of the folemn Thankfgiving for the ;

Naval Vi6tory by the Britiih Fleet under Lord
NeUbn, at the Mouth of the Nile, November 29,
. 1798.

Psalm ii. 11. Rejoice xoith trembling. 149

DISCOURSE VI.

On the Connection of the Duties of loving
the Brotherhood, fearing God, and ho-
noring the King.

Preached at St. Magnus Church, London Bridge,
in 17;92.

fi PtTER ii. 17. Love the brotherhood, fear God,

honor the king. 161

DIS-

CONTENTS. vii

DISCOURSE VII.

Page

On the Guilt of Blood-thirftinefs.
Occafioned by the Murder of the Queen of France.

Preached in the Cathedral Church of Winchefter,
Oflober 26, 1793.

Jlzek. xxiv, 6. and part of 7. Wherefore thus faith
the Lord God, woe to the bloodj/ citx) I to the
pot whoft fcum is therein; and whofe fcum is
not gone out of it! — bring it out piece h\)
'piece ; let no lot fall upon it. For her blood
is in the midji of her ; JJie fet it upon the tfi^'"'^'
of a rock. jt$^ '195

DISCOURSE Vlli'

On the Atonement. *\^^VxT

Preached at the Temple Church on the Fall of thi .
Crucifixion, 1799.

Gal. i. 4. Who gave himfelf for our fins, that
he might deliver us from the prefent evil
world. 2H

DISCOURSE IX.

A Sermon preached at St. Paul's Cathedral, at the
triennial Vifitation of the Right Rev. Beilby,
Lord Biiliop of London, in May 1795.

2 Tim. iv. 5. Do the work of an Evangelif,

make full proof of thy miniflry. 225

DIS-

CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE X.

Page

Great Britain's Naval Strength and Infular
Situation, a Caufe of Gratitude and
^Thankfgiving to Almighty God.

Preached at Deptford, before the Right Hon. Wil-
liam Pitt, Mafter, and the Elder Brethren of the
Corporation of Trinity Houfe, on Trinity Mon-
day, 1796.

Psalm xxiv. 2. For he hath founded it upon the
feas, and ejlablijlied it upon the floods. 253

DISCOURSE XL

Ignorance produ6live of Atheifm, Anarchy
and Superftition.

Preached before the Univerfity of Cambridge on
Commencement Sunday, 1798, and printed by
defire of the Heads of Houfes.

HosEA iv. 6. My people are dtftroyed for lack

of knoxdedge. 269

DISCOURSES XII, XIII, and XIV.
On the Sting of Death ; the Strength of

Sin ; and the Vi6lory over them both

through Jefus Chrift
Preached at the Temple Church in Eafter Term,

1800.

1 Cor. XV. 56, 57. The fling of deaths is fin ;
and theflrength of fin is the law. But thanks
be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jefus Chrifl. 313, 329, 343

DISCOURSE

DISCOURSE I.

Hebrews xii. 1.

** JHE SIN WHICH DOTH SO EASILY BE-
SET you/'

iO comprehend in any fyftem of religion
or morality every deviation from the laws
or rules which that fyftem prefcribes, is
neither poflible, nor Ihould we upon reflec-
tion find it even to be expedient. So vari-
ous are, not only the natural difpofitions of
individuals, but alfo fo diverfified thofe habits
and pra^lices which the different ftages of
manners, arts, and refinement produce, that
an attempt to enumerate the vices growing
eventually out of them would be inconfiflent
with that fmiplicity and concifenefs which
fhould accompany a colle6lion of precepts
adapted to the purpofes, and dire6led to the

B inflruG-

2 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

inftruftion, of all mankind. Although there-
fore in the revealed will of God we do not
find every mode and degree of crimes to
which language has affixed a fpecific name,
yet a little enquiry will foon comince us that
the morality of the Gofpel ilands beyond all
comparifon on a broader, fmipler, and more
pra6iical bafis than that of an}^ other body
of inftruftion, which under any form was
.ever propofed to the acceptance of mankind.
Without the forced and artificial formality
of a fyftem, it hath all that coherence and
harmonious concurrence which the ablefi;
conftru(5lors of human fyftems of morality
have never reached. Though the Evangelical
precepts appear to llight obfervers fcattered
incidentally and occafionally, > yet have they
-all mutual reference to each other, and an
uniyerlal relation to the whole ,of that ftu-
pehdous plan of mercy and reconciliation
brought to light in the w ritings of the New
Teftament. \^ hen^ in the , language of in-
fpired wifdom the ze^hoh of man is difplayed
before us, wheii his corruptions, and their
caufe, and their remedy, are clearly difcerned,
when his deftination in Time and Eternity
diflindly appears, then is he railed'' to an

eminence

VICE OP GAMING 3

eminence from whence the profpe6l of his
duty is exteniive and commanding indeed.
Referred to fiich a view, the true nature of
every a6tion, and the minuteft variation of
it, is fo clearly difcerned, that even with re-
gard to thofe habits and practices of which
fcarcely the flighteft mention occurs, we are
at no lofs whatever for a fafe and eafy de-
termination. The grand Chriftian princi-
ples are fo bold, diftin6t, and prominent, as
to render them moft eafy in their conilruc-
tion, moft fafe and exteniive in j;heir applica-
tion. Though Chriftian cafuiftry lieth within
a fmall compafs, yet there is no part of
human conduct which Chriftian oblio-ation
doth not reach, and where Chriftian motives
do not operate. Sophiftry may evade, Care-
leflhefs may negleft, Obftinacy may oppofe.
Vice may fmother, both the precepts of the
Gofpel, and the grace of God which gives
ftrength and efficacy to them. But all mijiakes
concerning our duty in judging of the confe-
quences of our aftions are almoft invariably
wilful, and this as much where the Scriptures
are Jilent concerning particular offences, as
where they direftly advert to them. In the
relaxation of amufement, in the hurry of pub-

B ^ lie

4 THE CONSEQUEXCES OF THE

lie atid political occupation, a Christian
is as much aeiuated by the motives of his
religion, as in the prollrations of devotion,
and in the ftillnels of retirement. To all and
every part of human life, a new dire6tion is
given by his acceptance of the Gofpel, nor is
there a lingle thought of his heart, or a6iion
of his hfe, concerning which, either in its
caufes, dependencies, or coniequences, the will
of God is not on Scriptural grounds moft
clearly to be difcerned by him. To the tribunal
of our Confciences, enlightened by his \'\'ord,
and aided by his Grace, e\'ery a6t:ion ihould
be fummoned by thofe ^vho have effeftual
conviction that in lb doing tliey anticipate the
judgment of that tribunal, from which no
word, thought, or deed can be exempted.

Thefe obfervations, however plain and ob-
vious, I have thought it pro])er to premife, in
entering upon a fubje6l of the higheft, molt
awful, and moft inftant importance, namely,
the nature and coniequences of the prevailing
habit of Gaming — becaufe if we may con-
clude from daily obfervation, the operation of
the plainelt Chriftian principles feems in the
controul of this vice to4iave heen fit fpetided
at lealt in many inftances where the autho-
rity

VICK or C. AMIXG. 5

ritv of revelation is not openly diikvowed,
or even lecrctlv dilcarded. I am fully con-
vinced tliat if very many did not from the
Jilence of Scripture derive Ibme glimmerings
of hope, that their accountability in this
prat:tice did not Hand upon the fame groimds
as in other otfences .which are exprefsly named
therein, they could not periift in a courle
of prac'tilin.o-, cultivating, and ditfufmg a vice
^vhich is the parent of as extended guilt
and mifery as perhaps the moil flagrant vices
againfl which the indignation of God is no-
minally threatened. — Anv out of thole crimes,
to which EVEiiY gamelter in an advanced
ftage of the vice is neceflarily and invaria-
bly either an accomplice or principal, would,
it might be fuppofed, either in their prof-
pe6t, retrofpect, or commifiion, ilrike the
molt obdurate heart with difmay and confu-
iion. But here the calloufnels of cuftom, the
llrength of habit, and the extended prevalence
of example, feem to have nrade a I'yttem of
the moft accumulated mifchiei' and atrocity
coniiilent with an allumption of charafter,
with an apparently unrullled recollection, nay
a profeffion of moral, and at times even of
religious obligation. With fuch ftrong felf-
13 3 delufion

6 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

delufion in fome, and fuch hardened repro-
bacj in others, it is difficult to contend. Every
circumftance contributes to increafe that diffi-
culty. So indiftinft is it in its firft advances,
fo combined by habit with every part of
focial life, that it is difficult to mark the
firft ftages of its malignity, and ftiil more
difficult to feparate it from thofe various and
extended objefts with which it is unfortu-
nately blended.

To convert that which is the obje6l of your
eagereft purfuit, the employment of all 3^our
hours, the cement of all j'our fuppofed friend-
fhips, into your horror and deteltation ; to
eradicate tempers of contrajied depravity, to
foften ferocity and to awaken indolence, to fix
the frivoloufnefs of diffipation, and to pene-
trate the gloom of defpair ; to fubftitute deep
penitence into the place of the moft hardened
reprobacy, is an attempt which thofe who
know not that the " strength" of God is
perfe6led in the " weakness" of his Mi-
nisters, will perhaps treat with fcorn and
mocker}^ : it is an attempt which thofe, who
in defiance of every civil, focial, and facred
obligation are fp reading and diffiifmg this vice,
will treat with the mofl marked virulence.

But

VICE OF GAMING. 7

But the Minifters of the Gofpel have a duty
to difcharge of moft important and aAvful
urgency — of an urgency as preffing, as the
ruin of every thing vakrable in this hfe, and
every hope in the next, is in thefe calamitous
times imminent and menacino:. In the dif-
charge of this duty, notwitliftanding every
obfi:ru6tion and difcouragement, they look for
the co-operation of all good men, and humbly
hope for that all-powerful afliftance which
never fails to attend every iincere effort to
leflen the guilt, the corruption, and the anguiili
of mankind.

In endeavouring to fuggeft to my hearers
fuch reflections as may be effeClual to awaken
their caution and excite their abhorrence of
the vice of Gaming, I propofe to examine its
progrefs and ef!e6ls, as produ6live,

Ift, Of the corruptions, crimes, and mifery
of individuals, and

2dly, As at all times endangering, and
very frequently fubverting, the ftability of
civil order — conlidoring it under the first
of thefe heads as completely deflru6live of
every principle of Christian" piety in
INDIVIDUALS ; and under the fecond, of
tlie falutary influence of social and

B 4 national

8 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

NATIONAL RELIGION, which fecures the
fubordination, the peace, and the welfare of
Communities.

Deeply I am convinced will every generous
heart be fenfible, that the corruption of the
Individual is the Mifery of the Individual ;
and that fordid and feltiih habits not oyAj con-
tra6t the compafs, but deftroy the fources of
true happinefs. The more covertly thel'e
habits infmuate themfelves, the greater is the
danger. Now, I affert, upon fome obfervation,
that in Gaming, the worft affedions that can
contaminate the heart of Man, inlmuate them-
felves gradually and (in their early flages) im-
perceptibly, till the whole moral mafs is
irretrievably corrupted. We may fay, that
in efFe6ling the Mifer}^ and Ruin of mankind,
the " Serpent" retains his Scriptural charac-
ter of " Subtlety." The young and unwary
have not in general the faintelt conception of
the vilenefs of thofe habits to which their
ESTABLISHED PRECEPTORS in this horrid
career are forming and training them. The
whole tenor of a Gamefter's life demonftrates
that to the blacked iniquity he is conducted
by the mofl degrading meannefs, and what is
peculiar to this vice is, that the atrocity of

guilt

VICE OF GAMING. 9

guilt is rendered Ms ftriking by the fordid
baleneis which accompanies it, and that Hor-
ror is leiiened by Contempt.

\Vhen we are capable of cahii and moral
reflection, when confcience can predominate
over cuftom, what are the difpofitions which
occur to us in examining the receives of a
Gamefter's heart ? Firft and foremofl, an in-
ordinate LOVE OF LUCRE — and that themoft
fordid, fixed, and habitual, which, irritated
every moment by renewed a6ts, in the end
ufurps a fovereign authority. Thougli in ibme
inilances thofe diforderly and licentious indul-
gences which are necelfarily connecled with
the vice of Gaming, may interrupt or difguife,
yet they never overcome this darlino; and pri-
manj propenfity. Hence, where Gain folicits,
not only the remains of ever)^ valuable prin-
ciple is annihilated, but the united force of
every bad one is fufpended and fuperfeded :
Let the profpeci of money Hart up to the
Gamefter, not only shame and virtue re-
treat from the unequal contefl; but even
PRIDE (loops, and ambition^ dies.

Farther, to this Ibrdid habit the Gameiler
joins a difpofition to fraud; and that of the
mcaneji call. To thofe who foberly and

fairly

10 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

fairly appreciate the real nature of human ac-
tions, nothing appears more inconliftent than
that focieties of men, who have incorpo-
rated themfelves for the exprefs purpofe of
Gaming, iliould difclaim fraud or indirection,
or affect to drive from their affemblies thofe
among their aflbciates whofe crimes would
retieCt'' difgrace on them. Surely this to a
confiderate mind is as folemn and refmed a
banter as can well be exhibited : For when
we take into view the vaft latitude allowed by
tlie moil upright gamefters, when we reflect
that according to their precious cafuiftry every
advantage may be legitimately taken of the
young, the unwary, and the inebriated, which
fuperior coolnefs, Ikill, addrefs, and activity
can fupply, we mull look upon pretences to
honefty as a moft fliamelefs aggravation of
their crimes. Even if it were poflible that in
his own practices a man might be a fair
GAMESTER, yet for the refult of the extended
frauds committed by his fellows he Hands
deeply accountable to God, his Country, and
his Confcience. To a fyltem neceffarily im-
plicated with Fraud, to aflbciations of men
a large majority of whom fubfift by Fraud,
to habits calculated to poifon the fource and

principle

VICE OF GAMING. 11

principle of all integrity, he gives efficacy,
countenance, and concurrence. Even his vir-
tues he fufFei*s to be fublidiary to the caufe
of vice. He iees with calmnefs depredation
committed daily and hourly in his company,
perhaps under his very roof. Yet men of
this defcription declaim (fo defperately de-
ceitful is the heart of Man) againft the very
Knaves they cherifli and proteft, and whom
perhaps with fome poor fophiltical refuge for
a worn-out confcience, they even imitate. To
iiich let the Scripture fpeak with emphatical
decifion — " JVhe?i thou faweji a thief, then
^^ thou confentedjl zdth him." Awa}^ then with
the mifchievous diftinclion between fair and
unfair gameilers; a di{lin(Stion implying (in
my poor opinion) only a very iniignificant ihade
in the degrees of guilt, a diftin6tion invented
and framed by the general enemy of mankind,
to prote6l thofe who are doing his work and
devoted to his fervice. In this inftance even
Heathen wifdom judged foundly and ftrongiy.
The moft profound and fagacious oblerver of
human actions (as far I mean as the imper-
feft light of Nature could carry him) affigns
to Gamefters their true place and order in
fociety (a). He confiders them without any

diltinc-

12 THE CONSEQUENCr.S OF THE

diiHnftion not only an plunderers, but afferts
with peculiar jullice, that from more srefierous
plunderers they are diltinguiihed by the pecu-
liar ilUberalitii of their practices, and their
JeiJiJJj (ind fordid lull: of gain. This gueat
MAN had not learned the feeble and evafive
cafuiftry which this age of apoftacy has adopt-
ed, in oppofition to much ftronger light, and
to much furer principles, than thofe which
Providence had vouchfafed to him.

But I apprehend that men are not often To
difinterejiedhj mifchievous. When thofe of
high rank open their doors to men of this de-
fcription, when they announce long before
their invitations to fuch no6lurnal aiKbciations,
they will not ferioufly claim to be diftinguifhed
from the worji of thofe they alfemble.
Thieves (b) they are all, all who harbour,
all who cheriili them, not fparing e^-en what
the Arabian robber holds facred — the tie of
profeffed friendlliip, the confidence of un-
fufpecting youth, and the facred rights of
hofpitality. Therefore the unM'ary fhould be
w^ell warned, that when Gamefters tender
their friendfhip (c), they offer what they are
radically incapable of. They may be made
firft the dupes, and then the partners of their

bafenefs; .

T ; VICE OF GAMING. 13

bafent'fs ; but lucli an union utterly precludes
that noble one formed on the principles and
directed to the prac'tices of religion, virtue,
and benevolence, it' thefc are excluded, as
iurely they are by fraud and felfilbnefs, there
remains neither bond nor ground of confi-
dence, either to individuals or focieties. Let
the young be alliu-ed, that when thny plunge
into intimacy with Gamefters, they take
treachery and abjection to their bofoms in
EVERY instance: that whatever profef-
fions of generofity, or iniinuation of addrels,
or appearance of franknefs, fuch men may
find it convenient to adopt, thefe artificial ap-
pendages are but part of their deteftable trade ^
rendering them in the eye of reafon and re-
flexion ten thoufand times more bafe, dan-
gerous, and deftru(5tive.

But in addition to fraud and all its train of
crimes, propenfities and habits of a very dif-
ferent complexion enter into the compofition
of a Gamelter; a moft ungovernable fero-
city OF DISPOSITION, however for a time
difguiied and latent, is invariably the refult of
his lyftem of conduft. Jealouly, rage, and
revenge exifl among gamefters in their worft
^nd Hioft frantic excelles, and end IVequently

in

14 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

in, confequences of the moll atrocious violence
and outrage. By perpetual agitation, the ma-
lignant paflions fpurn and overwhelm every
boundary which difcretion and confcience can
oppofe. From what fource are we to trace
a very large number of thofe murders, fanc-
tioned or palliated indeed by cuftom, but
which ftand at the tribunal of God preciieiy
upon the fame grounds with every other fpe-
cies of murder ? — From the gaming-table,
from the no6turnal receptacles of diftraction
and frenzy, the Duelift rufties with his hand
lifted up againft his brother's life ! — Thofe
who are as yet on the threfhold of thefe ha-
bits {hould be warned, that however calm
their nfl^M7'«/ temperament, however meek and
placable their difpoiitjon, yet that by the
events, which every moment arife, they Hand
expofed to the ungovernable fury of them-
felves and others. In the midfl of fraud, pro-
te6led by menace on the one hand, and on the
other, of defpair ; irritated by a recollection of
the meannefs of the artifices and the bafenefs
of the hands by which utter and remedileft
ruin has been inflifted ; in the midft of thefe
feelings of horror and diflra6tion, it is that
the voice of brethren's blood " aieth unto

« God
4

VICE OF GAMING. 15

*^ God from thegroumr^^' and now art thou
" curfedfrom the earth which hath opened her
" mouth to receive thy brother s blood from thy
« hand,"— ^ot only THOU who aduadly
fheddeil that blood, but thou who art the
artificer of death — thou who adminiitereft
incentives to thefe habits — who dilTeminateft
the praftice of them — improveft the ikill ih
them — lliarpeneft the propenfity to them — at
THY hands will it be required, furely, at the
tribunal of God in the next world, and per-
haps in moil inftances in his diftributive and
awful dilpenltitions towards thee and thine
here on earth.

But w^hatever a6livity the malignant
PASSIONS may derive from fuch habits, the
BENEVOLENT AFFECTIONS, On the con-
trary, are more impaired by gaming than it is
poflible to conceive or calculate. The reaibns
are obvious; the mifery which an habitual
Gamefter fuffers, hazards, and occalions, miiit
render him completely and fyllematically cal-
lous. Without a lingle fentiment of remorfe
or compaifion, he coolly and defignedly inflicts
utter and irretrievable miichief on the greater
part of thofe with whom he is converlant.
What though every day he lives he wrings

the

l6 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

the heart of many a fond wife, many an help-
lefs orphan, many an aged parent, by efFe6t-
ing the rapid and inftantaneous ruin of thofe
to whom they looked up for iupport and com-
fort ; what though the wretched Suicide, una-
ble to bear the complicated agonies of thofe
whofeafteftions nature has wound clofeft round
his heart, leaves them to deplore his lois in
this world, and his d ester ate state in
that into which he precipitated himfelf; what
though cf all fuch horrors he is the *wit-
nefs, the caufe, and the accomplice ; what
though he is the patron and legijlator of the
iyftem which diffufes them; yet, with all
this, HE remains calm, eafy and colle6led.
A fuperticial politenefs, an aflumed franknefs
and good-nature, an acquaintance with the
habits of what is commonly called the World,
and an adroit application to the foibles of
thofe with whom thefe men confort, may
draw a thin veil over the Jixed relent le/fnejs of
a Gamefter's mind, lie Tuai/ pretend (for
human pretences are indefmite) to feeling,
ho7ior,fentimenf, words coined for the pur-
pofe either of concealing vice, or drelfmg it
up in virtue's garb. But as I principally ad-
drefs myfelf to thofe -who may be expofed to

fuch

VICE OF GAMING. 17

fach men and to fuch artifices, be afiTured that
to human pangs Gamefters' hearts are effen-
tially impenetrable. They recount, in all the
callous flippancy of fafliionable converfation,
the miferable fates of thofi^ whom they or
their affociates have configned to mifery ; and
language itfelf is diftorted and depraved in or-
der to invent words to exprefs their diabo-
lical cant and unfeeling jargon, and to inter-
cept thofe emotions of indignation againfl the
patrons, and of pity for the viiSiims, of this
fyflem of crimes and calamities, which would
naturally arife in the heart of man upon hear-
ing thefe tales of woe and wickednefs told
with ferioufnefs and hmplicitj^ If therefore
you would preferve that beji part of your
frame which peculiarly diftinguiflies you from
the beafts which perifli, if you would retain
even that wTeck of virtue which furvives in
fome degree perhaps almoil every other
courfe of iniquity, leaving ftill that kindly dil-
pofition of " weeping with thofe that weep,'^
fly the haunts, dread the habits, and abhor
the VERY LANGUAGE of Gameftcrs.

But it is not only general Philanthropy, biit

even that more powerful principle of Natural

AfFe6lion, which this vice ftifles in many

C inftances,

18 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

inllances, and injures in all. To be without
" natural affeSiion' was one of the moil pro-
minent features of thofe calamitous times of
reprobacy and apoftacy which the prophetic
fpirit of the great Apoftle fo diftin6lly fore-
faw and fo awfully delineated. Where gaming
is general, this is a conftant concomitant; for
what pretences can a Gamefter make to the
fmalleft degree of affection and duty to thof^
whom he expofes every hour he lives to afflic^
^ioi>s worfe than death itfelf ? Were his- con-*
jfcience for a moment to awake> how would
he be reproached by the bare fight of thofe
whofe hopes and intereils he embarks upon the
fingle call of a die, from whom he fuffers
the vilefi: of mankind to wreft even the bed
upon wdiich they repofe, and the morfel of
bread w hich fupports their exiftence ! whom
lie not only expofes to fuch calamity, when it
actually befalls them, but to the unljpeakable^
agony of a fearful cxpeBation of it every
hour they live. But even this cruelty of the
Gamefter is fmall in comparifon to that by
which he communicates his guilt. The fud-»
den ftroke of Poverty, bitter as it is, where-
innocence accompanies it, may be foftened
by the lenient difpenfations of an Almighty

Prote6lor.

VICE OF GATVIIKO* 19

Prote6lor. But what are the hearts of thofe
Gamefters who train up their progeny in their
GUILT, who accuftom their innocent, uncor*
rupted minds to the daily fpe6iacle of fraud
and pillage !

Let thofe who as yet only Hand on the
brink of this milery, thofe who confider thefe
meetings as amusements, or who comply
with them merely that they may not be ex-
cluded from faihionable fociety, think to what
poor motives they expofe thofe innocent
pledges which a kind Providence has en-
trufted to them. Has entrufted to them for
what ? — to be the joy of their youth, the
pride of their maturer years, the comfort of
their age, and their alleviation even in the
pangs of death. To be trained up to what ?
— to be the benefa6lors of mankind, fervants
of the great and high God, and partakers
with them of a glorious immortahty in
Heaven.

To thefe purpofes I will boldly aflert that
all tampering with the vice of Gaming, in
every ftage of it, is always dangerous, and
moft frequently deftru^tive. You will fay
YOU do not GAME — that you mix only with
fuch fociety that you may not appear ftrange
C 2 —that

20 THE COK^SEQUENCES OF THE

— that, you can always reilrain yourfelf from
hazarding more than your circumftances will
permit. To grant all thefe pleas, which
would be fufficientlj abfurd, yet are you fure
that your children will have all this mo-
deration, that THEY, when once habituated to
fuch company, and introduced into fuch re-
ceptacles, will not be corrupted, pillaged, and
undone? Do you really expert that having
early acquired the relilli and Ikill, which a
repetition of thefe fcenes naturally produces, as
they advance in years they u ill (top fliort of
ruin and guilt ? Can you, for the poor ambi-
tion of conforting with men of falhion, for
thetinlel gratilication of exhibiting your tafte,
prepare your dwellings for llie reception and
harbour of that large mixture of privileged
thieves, whicli I am crt dibiy informed con-
iHtute a part of fuch afiemblies ? Do not
think me obtrufive in appealing to that
kindly virtue which is lafl eradicated from the
liuman heart. Can you calmly deftroy all
the part which you yourfelves have, all the
part which God has, in thofe whom you now
look on with the eye of parental rapture ?
Are you reconciled to beholding them as
" vessels fitted for destruction V

If

VICE OF GAMING. 21

If you cannot^ retreat inftaiitaneoufly from
the brink of the precipice on -which both
you and your beloved children ftand. Think
that in all thefe fcenes which every day an-
nounces to us as exhibiting in the pohter part
of the Metropolis, when rank and elegance
combine their powerful and fafcinating delu-
fions, when every external decoration which
art and fplendour can devife, is fubfidiary to
them — think that in the midft of thefe leduc-
tive fcenes, you fee Ruhi, Fraud, Beggary^
and imimiely Death — think that you fee the
hand of the Suicide lifted againft himfelf,
and that Suicide your own darling
CHILD ! gone forward to the bar of eternal
jufticeas a fwift witnefs againft the authors
OF his existence, for having early fown
in him the feeds of temporal deftruction and
eternal death — and then, if poffible, think
the faithful Minifters of Chrift too importu-
nate when they exhort you to flee, in the earli/
Jiages of thefe calamities, ?i?, for your lives,
when they warn you, even in thofe habits which
to carelefs and unthinking minds appear of an
indifferent tendency, not to fpurn the dictates
of nature and conicience, and to expofe thofe
%vhom God has conligned to your prote(5tion
c 3 and

^3 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

aiid care to the floodgates of fuch wickednefs,
anguifli, and defolation !

Shall we farther explore the complicated
bafenefs of the Gamefter's mind, or does
difguil recoil from the examination of that
polluted manfion ? If this difgnji is excited,
I Ihall by God's grace have difcharged no
mean part of the arduous and difficult talk I
have undertaken.

I will mention but 07ie more of thofe dif-
poiitions which have appeared to me con-
flantly to have been alfociated to the cha-
ra6ler of a Gamefter — a quality which gives
confiftence and permanence to all the reft, that
is a fixed, calm, and temperate impudence,
diffufmg itfelf over every part of his conduct
and deportment. This qualification is thought
of fo much confequence by the preceptors in
this vice, as to be a matter of regular training
and inftitution. And wile are they in their ge-
neration, for SHAME is MORAL VITALITY;

where that furvives, every pollution is de-
lible, and every habit recoverable. Conf&-
quently with it every Gamefter is in a regular
flate of warfare ; for was he capable of feel-
ing his own degradation, the fight of an
honeft man muft overwhelm him with into-
lerable confufion. But to every internal feel-
ing

irtdt OF GAMING. 2^

iflg of bafenefs, and every external circum-
fiance of infamy, he is completely recon-
ciled (d). Though he not only knows himfelf,
but is convinced that every thinking man
knows him likewife, yet under the protection
of this peculiar qualification we iliall find
him occalionally and familiarly ufmg the
words Friendship, Benevolence, Pi-
ty, and Philanthropy, and at times af-
fuming a high perfe6tion of them, and what is
flill more extraordinary, we may obferve the
unthinkino^ multitude with a mifchievous and
indolent acquiefcence admitting fuch a claim.
But I heive hitherto coniidered only the
efFe6ls which the habit of Gaming uniforml}^,
and almoft without exception, produces upon
thofe principles of moral virtue and natural
confcience, of M^hich even Heathen wifdom
was not devoid. But of all the distinguish-
ing DOCTRINES, and all the operative pow-
ers of the bleffed Gofpel of Chrift, the prac-
tice of Gaming is in its m.oil: diftant ftages,
and in every pra6lice which approximates to it,
radically deftruftive. It is poffible for men to
make fome cautious and Ikilful advances in it
without ruining their foPvTUNes or repu-
tation, but with their interefi and their
c 4 hopes

24 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

hopes as Ch ristians, and -with every prin-
ciple of inward piety, it is utterly irrecon-
cileable.

Firit of all what is, or ought to be, the em-
ployment of the time of a Chriftian, a crea-
ture redeemed from fm and eternal death, and
*' born again after the image of him who
" created him" — carrying about with him (in
the awful words of an eloquent Father of the
Church) (e) the fenfe of mortality and tefti-
mony of guilt — for whom " the Eternal Spirit
" is making interceffions with groans zi'hich
" cannot be uttered" — of a creature whofe
prayers and penitence, contrition and charity,
are to fill up the fhort fpan and precarious
term of an earthly exiftence ? Surely he mult
be guilty of a moft tremendous mockery
of Almighty God and his Son's Gofpel who
can affert, that with this ftate, with thefe
views and motives, an employment of nearly
the HALF of every day he lives in Games
of fkill or chance is confident or compa-
tible. Is it indeed thus that we are to
pafs through a miferable and guilty world !
the GUILT of which, and the misery of
which, every Chriflian's time and exertions
are called forth to remedy. Remember this

STRO^sTG

VICE OF GAMING. 25

STRONG AND PREGNANT evangelical prin-
ciple, that " ?/e are not your own, ye are bought
" with a price." Now, with thefe views, look
back upon your pail life, look forward to
your future. If you have recorded your
time, examine tliofe records. What do they
exhibit — memorials of your alms and prayers,
or your dedication and devotion by night and
by day to occupations which can be in their
heji ftages but trifling and unprofitable ?
Look at your a6ls of benevolence and your
labours of love — in inftru6ting the igno-
rant, in relieving the afflided, in vifiting the
prifoner, in endeavouring to lellen that fum
of corruption and guilt with which this poor
iliort ftate is deluged. From thefe duties, or
rather from thefe confolations (f), and from
thofe tears which conftitute an earned and
anticipation of the blifs of Heaven, this
miferable and frivolous employment of your
time completely precludes you. No other
pleafure, no other vice fo entirely ingulphs
the life of a Chriftian as this — none is fo ac-
ceffible at all times — fo adapted to every va-
riety of age, fituation, rank, and underlland-
ing. Let me befeech you to bear the word
of exhortation and admonition, be convinced

that

26 THE CONSEQITENCES OF THE

that to the guilt of Gaming they are clearly
obnoxious whofe hours alone are facriiiced to
it. It is not only thofe who riik much of
their property that deferve the appellation of
Gamefters, it is not thofe only who defraud
their guefts or companions — it is thofe alfo
who cheat God of their time, their Redeemer
of their afFe6lions, Man of their exertions,
and riik their falvation on the iffue of fuch a
miferable miffpent life.

But it is not merely that Time is wafted,
and Thought withdrawn from Religion, but
habits are acquired by thefe means which-
generate an INVETERATE aversion to it.
Aversion to Religion foon follows the
NEGLECT of it in moll cafes, but in this in-
Hance commences and is co-ordinate with if.
I do not pretend to any very wide experience
in human life, but I fcarcely ever knew any
Jingle perfon who had made any Confiderable
progrefs in games of ikill, but that in pro-
portion to the exercife of that fkill, his dilin-
clination and difguft to Religion grew with it.
Not only is religious principle fupplanted, but
a principle of the higheft llage of contraft is
fupplied in its ftead. Examine (you that
have calmnefs and capacity) yourlelves and

your

VICE OF GAMI?^G. ^7

youT neighbours — look not only at the haunts
of profelied Gameflers, but at thole contemp-
tible and mifchievous meetings, where indo-
lence and vacancy find their daily refuge. In
the midft of thefe, let the flightell mention
be made of the real religious Hate of Man,
of his redemption by Chrift, of his date of
mifery and calamity prior to that redemption,
of the awful looking-for of everlafting de-
ftruftion to which every irreconciled finner is
cxpofed, with what fcorn and mockery, what
affefted banter and real difguft would any
fuch mention be treated. Miferable deluded
Beings ! do you think that the expreffion of
" always bearing about in the body the dying
*' of the Lord Jefus," of " pajfmg the time of
** your fqjoiirnmg here in fe ae,'' arc precepts,
like thofe of the Stoicks of old, founded on
impracticable paradoxes, or that they are the
commands of God who fupplieth Power to
all thofe who have the Will to praftife them ?
But you will fay, Devotion and Prayer have
their intervals. I readily admit it : but not
intervals of doing mifchief, not intervals of
fowing the feeds of vices, which in farther
fiages of their progrefs fcatter deflruCtion and
mifery, not intervals which every time they

occur

28 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

occur render you more and more indifpofed
to the Word, to the Worfhip, and to the Dif-
penlations of Ahnighty Gotl. But be fair
with yourfehes — with what pain is it that
you who are thus engaged, particularly as
you proceed in thofe courfes, recur not only to
SPIRITUAL, but even to formal devotion?
The very few ftated decencies, thofe poor
wrecks of Religion, which this age of Apof-
tacy has left, are grown intolerable to you.
I with to be underftood to fpeak of the em-
ployment of Thought^ as I did of the employ-
ment of Time., that this iliipwreck of our
Chriftian principles commences at a period
long before the generality of men will allow
that they are at all tainted with the vice of
Gaming. The mind of one immerfed in
Cards foon becomes vacant, frivolous, and
captious. The habits form a ftrange mixture
of mock gravity and pert flippancy. The
underftanding, by a perpetual attention to a
variety of unmeaning combinations, acquires
a kind of pride in this baftard employment of
the faculty of thought, which is fo far from
having any analogy to the real exercife of
reafon, that we generally find a miferable
eminence in it attainable by the dullefl, moil

ignorant.

VICE OF GAMING. 29

ignorant, and moft contemptible of mankind.
The Gamefter however frequently miftakes
this ikill for general acutenel's, and from that
conceit either totally reje6ts the Gofpel evi-
dence, or if political or profefiional confide ra-
tions render this indecent or inexpedient, he
harbours all that contemptible chicane, all that
petty fophiftry, all that creepins; evafion, with
which a lelfilli heart, and a contra6\ed under-
ftanding, meets and embraces the pre^^iling
herefy of Xhe times in which we live (g) ;
degrading the dignity, enervating the mo*
tives, and deitrovins^ the confolations of the
Crois of Chrift. If therefore a Gamefter
ever makes profeffion of Religion, it is with
fuch teachers and with fuch doctrines that he
finds his mind moft congenial. To real
Chriftianity and its taithful jMinifters his
enmitv is lafting and virulent, becaufe thefe
are in ftrong and direct oppofition to his fa-
vorite vice. But it is feidom that he ftops
here. As the crimes with which Gaming
is conne'5ted are deftru6tive of every detached
portion of Chriftian piety, fo is the general ha-
bit to the uhoh'fpirit of it. There is fcarcely
a politive precept of Chriftianity which is not
violated in the courfe of a Gameftcr's career.

Truft
4

so THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

Truft in Providence is expelled by a courfe of*
a6lion, in which though he embarks perpe-
tually his moil important intereft, he dares
not look up in any flage to God for favor or
protection. Can he '' fet God always before,
" him ;" that God whofe name and whofe
Gofpel are never mentioned by him but to
give energy to imprecation, or zeft to mock-
ery ? As contrary therefore as Dignity is to
Bafeiiefs, Pity to Calloiifnefs, Cahnnefs to
DiJiraBion^ Fraud to Integrity^ Revenge to
Flacabilify, Hope to Defpair, fo contrary is
Gaming to the fpirit and tenor of Religion in
ALL its degrees and modifications. I am con-
vinced that the juftice of thefe obfervations
will not be contefted by the adepts in this
vice, who would receive with a fmile of
apathy any fuggeitions of their guilt as
Chriltians.

But the point I wifh to labour, and the
efFe6l I principally have in view in this repre-
fentation, is to warn thofe who are in dijiant
Jiages of the fame progrefs, and who have
not yet calmly acquiefced in a furrender of
every hope and confolation of Rehgion. To
fuch I would fay in much affection, and in
the face of the unpopularity which fuch doc-
trines

VICE OF GAMING. 31

trines may occ^^fion, that all occupiitions of this
kind render man guilty before God at a time
when both fafliion and cuftom pronounce them
innocent. That the very defign of thofe flip-
pant miferable meetings is, to intercept all the
awful viQws which it is the purpofe of Religion
to difplay, and to annihilate the habits which
a Chriilian ftiould fonn* I fliould further
iuggeft, that with the incipient flages of this
vice, all the fuhfequent ones are conne6ted.
The (kill acquired, and the principles fown,
while diverjion only is in view, foon expand
themfelves, unlefs continual caution is exerted
into the adult and vigorous growth of guilt
and profligacy, which defies both God and
Man. Againft all ecvcejfes you proteft, but
for thofe excefles you afiimilate the foil, you
trenph the ground, you fcatter the feed ; and
are, you not anfwerable for the increafe ?
Permit me to affure you, that if for the lake
of a trifling and degrading amufement, you
are prepared to difleminate this mifchief both
temporal and eternal, you exhibit in your
OWN PERSONS the molt overbearing infl;ance
of that brutal and unfeeling texture of mind
which thefe miferable habits foon produce,
Kemember therefore the faying of him who

warn§

S2 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

warns you that between fuch practices and
every religious obligation " there is a
" great gulph eixed ;" and that in en-
deavouring to reconcile a life addi6led to
them with the fmalleji portion of religious
hope, you are trifling with your confcience
moil palpably and egregioufly.

Art thou a Christian then and devoted
to thefe things ? (h) Be not deceived by the
levity of thele meetings, but efteem them to
be moft awfully and eilentially wicked. 'Look
at the miferies of the latter end of a Game-
fter's career, and dread them for Thyfelf
and thy Children: For I can venture to
aflure thee, that as no other courfe of crimes
is attended with a more obftinate and obdurate
fcorn and contempt of God's Word, his Wor-
(liip and his Providence, fo there is none
asrainft: which the vens;eance of Heaven is
more keenly and vijibly exerted, nor any in
which the punijhnient more quickly and in-
variably follows the crime. A day, perhaps
an hour, reverfes plenty, fecurity, and credit,
into penury, ignominy, and defpair, aggra-
vated by the unutterable anguilh of having
drawn thofe whom they ought to have fup-
ported and prote6led into the fame gulph of

de{lru6tion.

VICE O^ GAMING. S3

deftruftion. The" punifliment of the Game-
fter, hke that of Cain of old, is " greater
*' than he can hear." Either the paiigs of
his recolle^Hon drive him to that lad: fatal aft
forwliich " no place for repentance" is found,
or he drags on a fordid exiflence, fupported
by decoying others into the fame fnares by
which his own ruin has been effefted, carry-
ing about with him a moral wreck (for
fuch is the bread of every Gamefter) till the
meafure of his iniquity is full. O refleft;
then in time ! " that which a man foweth,
" thai Jliall he alfo reap." — Think how im-
probable it is, that you who have carelefsly
and Wantonly facrificed every principL of
duty to Go(!, and benevolence to Man, to a
poor wretched aniufement, ihould ^fc'ape his
awful and tremendous jufcice. If for this
thou canlt bra^e the fears cf final impeni-
tence in this world, and of everlalting de-
ftru6tion in the next, the Apoille only can
fpeak with the energy of divine grace to thy
feared confcience — " 0 wretched Man that
" thou art, who fliall deliver thee from the
" bodt/ of this death !"

I have now, with all ferioufnefs, endea-
voured diftindtly to point to thofe effects.
D which

34 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

which I have obferved to be produced by the
vice of Gaming on I x d i v i d u a l s , it remains
for me to coniider its confequences as they
afteft the ftabihty and order of Civil Go-
vernment, and the pubhc and focial influ-
ence of the HOLY Religion we profefs.

In entering upon this part of my fubject,
I would not be thought to acquiefe in that
mifchievous diftinction, invented by Knaves
and current only with Tools ; a diltinction I
mean between p r i v a t e and public morals,
as if any vice or mode of immorality could
exift, which doth not by /owe clia nnel conxey
its poifon to the body politick. In fome in-
ftances the milbhief done is How and circuit-
ous, not producing a vifible efteft till the ac-
cumulated accellions of many generations have
ripened and matured thefe deadly feeds. But
the vice of gaming Itrikes inDiitdiately at the
vitals of public virtue, public order, and pub-
lic happinefs. The connexion between caufes
and etfecls are here direct and palpable. It
gives vigour, efficacy, and activity to every
other public vice, communicating and receiv-
ing reciprocal fupport. To the receptacles of
Gamelters, luxury, debauchery, and extrava-
gance, tiv for refuge and recovery froni that

rum

VICE OP GAMING. 35

fuln which unbridled Ubertinifm has entailed
upon them. On the contrary, to drown the
pangs of remorie and keen anguifli of con-
fcience, the Gamefler plunges by intervals
into the fouleft abyfs of fenfuality and riot.
Hence follows the mofl deplorable corruption
nmongfi: Thofe whole bias and determination
to Good or Evil, is the protection or ruin of a
WHOLE COM M UNITY. To the integrity and
independence of men of rank and opulence,
a free ilate looks for whatever is upright
in conduft, found in determination, fafe in
practice, and beneficial in confequence. The
greater the number of fuch men w4io fill
either the executive departments of a State,
or who partake of the office of Legiflators,
the greater the ftability of that country.
Should it fall to the lot of fuch men to pro-
ject political meafures, it will be done with
forelight and refleolion — fliould it be their
province to examine or even to oppofe thofe
planned by others, that examination and op-
poiition will be condu6ted with firmnefs, de-
void of acrimony, and will be of fuch a
mltio-ated nature as never to endantrer the
lafety of the whole. The confciouihefs of
integrity will fupply calmnefs, and the deep
D 2 interefl

S6 THE CONS^EQUENCES OF THE

interefl they have in the welfare of their
country, will enfure caution and difcretion
in all their movements and defigns. But
what is it that leflens the number of fuch
invaluable members of fociety ? What is it
that converts Tliofe dehgned by Providence to
be the Guardians and Protectors, into
the Bane and Curse of their Country? I
will anfwer — the Gaming Table. The
reverfes here every moment occurring, unite
beggared fortunes, mortified pride, ca'llous
bafenefs, and enflamed appetites, dire6ling
their joint operations to the deftruCtion of that
common mother which gave them birth. —
And here I wifli to be rightly underftood —
that with a frugal, aclive, dignified poverty,
the difcharge of public duty is perfectly com-
patible. Such a poverty was highly reve-
renced in the beft ages of Pagan antiquity, as
the nurfe of every great and ufeful exertion :
but as diftant as light from darknefs is I'uch
a poverty from that degraded, malevolent, ab-
je(5t MENDICITY, the offspring of vice, the
organ of fa6tion, and the parent of miiverfal
proititution and venality. To preferve the
moft venerable council of tjie nation from the
mifchiefs and dilgrace accruing from fuch

members.

VICE OF GAMING, 37

members, was one of the mofl important func-
tions of the Cenforian Magiftracy in ancient
Rome (i). To thofe Magiflrates were com-
mitted the power of removing thofe Senators
who had reduced themfelves to indigence by
profligacy or extravagance. Sunilar inilances
of wife caution are to be traced in the
Athenian pohty, which abundantly pro-
vided checks againft thofe whofe prodigality
and beggary might make their interference in
public affairs dangerous or prejudicial. It
is difficult indeed to conceive what intereft
any one ruined by a courfe of vice can have
in the welfare of his country: It ls ftill
more difficult to conceive that this resrard
fhould exifl in Gameflers. Any claim to
•patriotifm in fuch men, furniflies perhaps
one of the mofl: stupendous inftances of
impudence in aflerting, and of dupery in
admitting it, which the records of human
folly and depravity any where exhibit. For
not only do they, by the mifapplication of
their own talents, and the operation of their
own malignant palllons, deeply injure that
country which they fo vehemently and loudly
profefs to ferve, but by drying up the vital
iburces of public integrity, and depriving it

D 3 of

38- THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

of that future harveft of virtue, to which its
fondeft expeftations were dire6led. For it is
ahvays obfervable, that the Principals in this
vice foon enhft large troops of accomplices in
their fervice, by fpreading among the noble
and opulent youth their crimes, miiery, and
defpondency, uniting them in fimilar \iews
and affbciations for the fame deteftable ends.
In viewing the defolation fpread by fuch
men, in confidering the bafe incitements with
which they pre-occupy the ingenuous hearts
of the rifmg generation, and reconcile them
to their trade and infection, the watchfulnefs
with which they felecl their victims and dif-
ciples in the earlieft flages of manhood, in
beholding the riling hopes of our country lb
blighted and blafted, well may we fay of our
imhappy land — " In Rama there was a voice
*' heard, lamentation and weeping and great
^' mowiiing ! Bachael weeping for her chiU
*' dren, and would not he comforted becaufe
*' they are not" More wretched ftill than
that difconiblate mourner ! Happier they who
w^eep the death of their departed, than they
who feel the parricidal wounds infli6ted by
their degenerate offspring !

It is only in fuch fchools that can be formed

that

VICE OF GAMING. 39

that true calloiifnels which can anticipate all
the calamities of civil difcord with the fondell
expe8ation, which having long dealt in prl^
vafe, can extend its efforts to national ruin
and pillage. This tranlition is eafy and na-
tural : fuch in all ages have been thofe by
whom the peace of- flouriiliing and free com-
munities have been difturbed, their properties
invaded, and their liberties deftroyed. Thefe
are they who, under the maik of patriotifm,
pant for civil convuHion and profcription, for
wdiich the whole texture of their habits have
previoufly difpofed them. While therefore
men of this defcription abound, it is utterly
impoffible that any State can be in permanent
fecurity ; it is impoflible that thofe principles
of fubordination, which are ellential to the
happinefs of Mankind, can be maintained
while many in the higher orders are given
to this dellru6live habit. Thofe who wish
for anarchy and mifery, thofe to whom public
profperity is a fource of defpair, and public
confulion an obie6l of hope and exultation,
a6t wifely and confiltently enough when they
encourage and promote this horrible conta-
gion. The beggary, the degradation, the de-

D 4 fpair,

40 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

fpair, the malignancy of thofe whom they
aflemble and tiflbciate, are their natural wea-
pons, and render them fit inftruments of their
plundering and atrocious projects. The young
men into whofe intimacy they infinuate them-
felves, cannot be the organs of their pur'-
pofes, till their habits are debafed, their pro-
perty pillaged, and their confciences oblite-
rated. This it is which has united fo many
among us, in the furtherance of thofe aban-
doned principles of anarchy and fedition,
which are the natural confequences of that
mafs of vices, of which Gaming is the corner
ftone. This it is which has for many years
pafl: been preparing the materials for that tre-»
mendous conflagration which threatens every
nation \n liurope, and has already overwhelm-
ed the moft flouriihing, populous, and civilized
of its kingdoms. Of ruined Gamefters we
are told that the crew of Catiline was
principally compofed(K); and recent obferva-
tion, drawn from the bell attefted fa6is, will
inform us, that amidft all the unparalleled
crimes which tiie deplorable Revolution in
France has pioduced, this has been in its
turn the caufe, and in its turn the effect, of

them

VICE OF GAMING. 41

them all. To the Gaming Table, I am told
by eye-witnelles, was regularly brought the
fruits of public confifcation, cruelty, and pro-
fcription,

Thofe therefore who have tlie fame views
and deiigns, whom no experience of the guilt
and milery which fuch principles have fpread
in that de^ oted land which gave them birth,
thofe who have fteeled their breails to the
groans, the anguilh, and the deftru6tion of
their countrymen, a6l conformably to their
views and chara6ter in pra6lifmg and encou-
raging that vice, which, alcove all others,
afhfts their predatory and I'anguinary projects.
BUT it is moft aftonilhing indeed, that thole
who have a remaming intereft in the welfare
of their Country, who have humanity unex-
tinguiflied, who have loyalty to their Prince
in their hearts, and love of order and conlti-
tutional liberty yet unimpaired, fliould not fee
and avow the abfolute necefhty of immediately
withdrawing from every avenue to this ac-
curled vice, and from thofe aflbciations which
in the full order of legiilative and perceptive
form teach the principles and arrange the
pra6lice of it. Such fliould be well aware,
that while this peftilence is in its vigour,

neither

J ^

42 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

neither the wifeft counfels can long protraCV,
nor the moft a6live exertions finally avert the
evils which threaten us. Here, therefore, ruin
muji be refilled — here only it can be refilled.
Before the lower ranks of men can be brouo-ht
back to that refpecl for their luperiors which
can alone enfure peace and happinefs both to
high and low, they muft ceaie to render
themfelves vile in the eyes of men by the
degradation, the beggary, and the meannefs
which the Gaming Table entails upon them.
They muft abandon their bafe companions
and no6lurnal haunts, and return to the na-
tive munificence and generofity which in times
of old endeared them to the poor and needy,
and were the firmell barrier of their property
and privileges. Oh that the Great could but
*' in this their day of vijitation' hear the
friendly voice of one, whofe labours have
been moft difintereftedly and conlcientioufly
exerted in the promotion of thofe principles
of loyalty and fubordination which it is
the purpofe of the enemies of this coun-
try to vilify and fubvert ! That they could
be aware how much, by their indulgen-
cies in this favorite vice, they farther the
defigns of thofe whofe malignant activity
9 is

VICE OF GAMING. 43

is evidently dire6ted to plunder, confifcation,
and anarchy !

But in none of the effects of Gaining is a
more deadly wound infli6ted, than by the ut-
ter deftruction of that principle of National
Reha'ion, without which the whole ftru^ture
of focial order diliblves and perilhes. I know
bow fertile this age of innovation in which
we live is of new opinions and fentiments
upon the connexion between Religion and
Government : But whatever the pertnefs of
paradox may obje6l, the voice of the moft
venerable antiquity, both facred and profane,
combines with the awful experience of recent
and ftriking events in alliiring us, that when
the chain which unites the creature to the
Creator is broken and interrupted, w^hen Law
is feparated from the Source of Legisla-
tion, then union is impoliible, and diffolu-
tion inevitable. Religion as it is the per-
fe6;ion of individuals, fo it is the prefervation
of communities. Whatever therefore coun-
teracts its effects, and obftrufts its progrefs,
itrikes at the very vitals of civil fociety. But
neither the fophiiiry of infidelity, the refine-
ments of luxury, or the lures of plealure,
have contributed io much to wreft all awe of

God

44 THE CONSEQUENCES OT THE

God from the minds of men, as this fmgle vice
of Gaming. I now fpeak of focial Rehgion,
beginning with families, and extending itfelf
through various gradations to more compre-
hend ve aflbciations, till it embraces that moft
enlarged community, which may be denomi-
nated national or political.

And firft, what is it which has difturbed
that beautiful appearance of family piety,
which was of old the ornament of our Englifh
nation, and conftituted part of its public cha-
racter: when each morning and evening the
mafter of a iamily afiembled with a patriarchal
and primeval dignity his children and domef-
tics, to praife the Author of the abundant
bleffmgs fhowered down upon them ? How
every relation and dependency derived reci-
procal fanftity and force ! How this falutary
pra6tice contributed through the channels of
prival-o principle to augment the ftock of
public happinefs and fecurity ! But now in-
ftru6tion and admonition are no more ! Thefe
pious exercifes are fupplanted by the occupa-
tion of Cards and Dice ; in this occupation
the NIGHT frequently clofes, while numerous
trains of domefticsare abandoned to all the pro-
fanenefs, debauchery, and corruption, which

the

VICE OF GAMING. 45

the ftreets of a liixiirious and profligate Me-
tropolis exhibits. Thus is God delerted in
the iirlt inltance. But who are they who
break in upon his Sabbath, that laft bulwark
of decaying religion which ftill remains ? I
too well know the loofe and licentious doc-
trines which have .been difleminated with
regard to the obfervance of this facred day,
which God (by the firft command given to
Man) confecrated to his worfliip and the unin-
terrupted meditation on his word. I have
heard with inexpreffible pain, the ftri6l obfer-
vation of this day (that peculiar glory of the
Protestant RELiGiO]sr,that duty in which
the Engliili Church has been moft eminent
and examplary) cenfured as overftrained and
puritanical. I have heard all abftinence from
amufement reprefented as gloomy and melan-
choly, and opinions broached on this fubje6t
which would foon precipitate this nation into
the fame depth of Apodacy in which a neigh-
bouring country is plunged. With fuch an
indifference to the mifery of mankind, and
to the judicial difpenfations of Almighty God,
it is in vain to contend : But to thofe whojiill
feel for themfelves and others, I would with
all eagernefs fuggeft, that of all habits which

withdraw

»^

46 THE COXSEQUEKCES OP THE

withdraw Men from the pubHc furtherance
of Rehgion on this da\', Gaming is among
the foremoft — I would fay, that as to dei'ert
the worlliip of Ahiiighty God for fuch diver-
lions, is a mark of the moft flagrant Apoftacy ;
fo any attempt to reconcile an attendance
upon the one, with a practice of the other, is
a moft infulting mockery of the commands
of God. It is to lap the foundations of all
Religion in thofe who are within the Iphere
of your influence ; it is to devote thofe who
among the lower ranks are corrupted by your
example to the pangs and ignominy of an un-
timely death, which a violation of the Sabbath
is well known in its confequences to draw
down upon them. May Almighty God, by
his preventing grace, bring it home to the
hearts of all thofe in the higher ranks, who
carelefsly or contemptuoufly devote theml'elves
to this praftice on the Sabbath, how they will
wifli, when their great account is to be given
in the hour of death and the day of judg-
ment, that they had been " innocent of the
" blood of all men !"

But the greatefl; mifchief this accurfed vice
can effe6l is when any conflderable portion of
thofe whofe labours are dedicated to the facred

Miniftry

VICE OF GAMIXG. 4T

Minifti'J fliould ever be overcome by its con-
stagion. With all the dignity, the power, the
energy and efficacy of profeffional character,
the vice of G aming is in every degree and in
every mode utterly incompatible. To any of
its encroachments the Catholio Church,
through the whole current of pure and primi-
tive antiquity, oppofed a moft dignified re-
fiftance : It turned with an awful and averted
front from thofe of its degenerate chil-
dren upon whom the ilighteft contamination
refted ; it prohibited under the fevereft pe-
nalties even the prefence of its Minifters at
fcenes where their virtue and fidelity were lb
deeply endangered. Neither has that found
and eminent part of it, our Englilb Church,
which both in its doctrines and difcipline doth
not want a true Apoflolical feal, been back-
ward in its ceniures. To the large portion of
pious and exemplary Eccleiiaitics, who really
love thofe doctrines they teach, and the Maf-
ter whom they ferve, I am convinced that
God in his Scriptures, and Chrifl in his
Church, will not, cannot fpeak in vain. At all
times for Dice, and fuch like diverfions, even
were they of a nature which did not derogate
iVom the dignity of our high vocation and

miniftry

48 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE

miniflry, we have, or ought to have very
few intervals. We have in the bell ages
much vice to reform, much calamity to com^
fort, much ignorance to enlighten, much
wilfulnefs to fubdue — but, in thefe times,
how is the arduous tafk increafed, how are
our beft exertions called for — to recover from
Atheifm and Anarchy a perifliing and fmking
world, to countera6l thofe feeds of revolt
from God, which have fliaken the founda-
tions of civil fociety, and deluged Europe
with feas of human blood — how intenfe
ftiould be our charity, how fervent our af-
pirations, how wakeful our condu6l, how in-
celTant our prayers ! But I will leave it to the
confideration of every refle6iing man, how
by a perpetual devotion of our time to cards
and amufements, we intercept thoie awful
views of fm and calamity from ourfelves and
others, which alone can give energy to our
labours. It becomes us to be well aware that
our habits Ihould be formed, our hearts pre-
pared, our views enlarged, and our refolution
ftrengthened, for all that we may be called
upon to do, and all that Providence may def-
tine us to fuffer^ in fupport of that faith we
profefs, and that Gofpel which we preach.

In

VICE OF GAMING* 49

In particular, let not these sacred re-
treats, the monuments of antient piety and
munificence, be degraded by an ill-judged
and dilguRing affectation of fafliionable man-
ners and faQiionable vices, and peculiarly of
" that Sin zokich doth fo eafihf befet us." — •
Prayer and meditation, ftudy and retirement^
chanty and dignified hofpitalit}^, are eqiialhj
excluded, by a conftant round of cards and
diffipation. May thefe ori^a mental, thefe
NOBLE, and when applied to their proper
ends thefe useful inftitutions never be
brought into difrepute by the folly and fault
of a few. Let me not feem in this " ^'5 one
" that mocketh," for I cannot but think that
every ferious Miniiler of Chrift mufi: confider
this awful paffage of St. Paul as exhibiting
aflrong analogy to the prefent circumftances
of himfelf and his brethren — ■" for I think
" God hath fet forth the Apojtles laji, as it
" were appointed to death. For we are made
" afpeBacle unto the Worlds and to Angels,
"' and to Men.'* I muft fuggeft, that to
fuch a fituation even the dijiraciion of the
generality of amufements is fufficiently un-
congenial and indecorous — much more the
prevalence of one, which I firmly believe'

E has

50 THE CONSEQUENCES 0^ THE

has contributed more in its confequences and
dependencies to overwhelm the earth with
confufion and bloodlhed, than the united
force of all the other powers of Hell and
Darkness.

To conclude. Happy they who havQ
efcaped the pollutions of the w orld by fm in
this Liaportant point I Happy they whom the
powerful and controuling Grace of God
(without which all moral precepts are but a
dead letter) has arrefted in thefe co'urfes,
convincing them of "■ the things appertaining
" unto their peace before they are hid fronn
" their eijesfor ever T

13ut thrice happy they whom elevation of
rank,, fplendour of flation, and the poileffion
of extend^fl property, have enabled to contri-
bute a powerful and decifive influence ia
checking this wTetched career of guilt and
woe ! Who, in the fervice of God and of
Mankind, have difcauateiKinced habits, and
facriiiced amufements, a-pparently innocent,
to this great, this glorious, this benevolent
purpofe ! THIS will give them unfpeakabl©
confolation and joy at thofe tremendous mo-
ments, when all earthly diftinctions ihall
eeafe, an&l all eartiily pleafures are for ever

palTed

VICE OF GAMllSrG.

51

paflTed and gone. " Theij (hall Jlilne as the
" hrightnefs of the firmament^ and they that
^^ turn many to righteoujhefi as thejiarsfor
** eve)' and ever."

r>^

NOTES.

.*i.r^

NOTES.

(a) Ariftoteles in Ethicis Nicom. The fenti-
ments of this illulhious fage are worthy of himfelf
and of the attention of thofe who have proftituted
their talents in the praife of Gamefters. Ariftotle
jniift have entertained very different opinions of
the nature of liberality from thofe which are now
current, for he utterly excludes all Gamefters from
the fmallejl portion of it, even from that degree
of it which other plunderers are not without.

ff.nSt a, Sny aSi Kiyoi^iv ANEAET0EPOT2- oioi/ tou?
Tupatva?, TToAfjj TropS'ouvTaf, x«» »ff« (TuAwi/Ta?, aXXoe.
TTOvn^isq IX.XXX0V XXI ua-i^etg )ta» aJ'jxsf. O fjt,tv rot
KTBETTHS «an 6 AnnOATTHS, k«i 0 AHZTHZ,
Tuv ANEAETQEPriN etciy' ocKr^^^onepSetg y^P' XEpeJaf
yoip i/iKX oifxipoTipoi irpxy^XTivovTOHy nxi oi/BiSri uVo-
uivoviTi. xxi 01 fxm xiVdJ'utaf rovg fAiyio-rovg Ivrnx tow
Xri[j,iJ.XTOi;' en Si xna ruu $IAflN mpSxivisa-H', oig Ssi
SiSoyxi. AiAiporifQ\ Sy\ o^iv ov Sii KipSximiv (3ouAo-»
f/.i]/oi ai<r)(^poxtoSng' kxi 7r«0"«t in at' toix-jtxi A)i\]/£i^
ANEAEY0EPOI.

(b) Defme ab iftis tuis, furaciffimis moribus,— f
Cyp?ia?ms de J led.

(c) The

NOTES. 53

(c) The friendfhip of Gameflers is defcribed
with great juftice and animation by Cyprian —
*' Illic rabiofa amicitia, illic atrociffimi fceleris
fraternitas difcordans." Ci/priamis ibidem.

(d) It was probably a convidion of the vile-
nefs and contented infamy of Gamefters, which
induced forne of the moft efteemed commentators
on the Roman law to affert the inadmiffihility of
tkeir Evidence in a Court of Juftice. This opinion
is fupported with great ability and force of rea-
foning by Mafcardtis de Probationibus, vol. 2.
p. 262.

(e) Homo circumferens mortalitatem fuam,
circumferens teftimonium peccati fui ! — Aiigiiftini
Conjejiones.

(f) In the exquifite language of Bafil —

*' To Sxy.f\Jov TSTO oiouii cxipfAA XXI ^xi>iKry.x Tng

«<wn8 ;)^apa?." — Bcifdii HomiUa de Gratiarum
Actione.

(g) The Connexion between the artifices of
Gameftcrs, and the /liifting depravity of Heretical
fubterfuge, is ftrongly marked by the Apoftle —

" TripicpspofAiuoi TTxili av£/>cw Trig Si$x(T)iaKiXi; iv

Tt7 KTBEIA Tuv av^pwTTcov." — Ephef iv. 14.

This fame Analogy was fo ftriking as to attra6l
the notice of various commentators on thispaiiage

E 3 in

54 NOTES.

in the early ages of the Chrirtian Church. Thus
Oecumenius in cap. iv. ad Ephefios —

KTBEYTAI Xoyuv Xsyovrcn et y-iv -Ton ralo, iron ^e
tKHvo J'»J'a(rxoi'T£f nai fJHTx^xivouTsg urn airo raro fif
Tare Troivspyu^t Toiovroi otAIPETIKOI.

(h) Aleator qulcunque es & Chriftianum tc
dicis ? — Cyprianus ibidem.

(i) " Every Luftrum, i. e. at the end of every
fifth year, the Senate was leviewed by one of the
Cenfors, and if any one had rendered himfelf un-
worthy of that high rank, or had funk his jortune
below that of a Senator^ his name was paifed over
by the Cenfor in reading the roll of Senators ;
and thus he was held to be excluded from the
Senate." Vide Adams & accurate and well digefted
Sijjlem of Roman Antiquities^ p. 6. — Fide alfo
JEfchines in Timarchum pajjim.

(k) This fufficiently appears from the invalua-
ble account which Sallufl has tranfmitted to us of
the Cati'inarian confpiracy, many parts of which
unfortunately appear to be rather a defcription of
prefent^ than a hijtorijo^paji events. " Quicunque
impudicus, adulter, ganeo, a lea manu, ventre
bona patria laceraverat quique alienum a?s grande
conflaverat — Hi Catilinie proximi familiarefque
erant," — De Bello Catilinario,

APPEN-

APPENDIX

THIRD EDITION,

A HE reception of this difcourfe, ulicn it
was fiiil feparately publilhed, greatly ex-
ceeded the author's expeftations. He can
however aflert with much truth and lincerity,
that though he is very far from being indif-
ferent to the pubhc opinion, yet that a de-
fu'e to preferve thofe who might be inchned
to perufe it from a precipice of calamity and
ruin was his leading and predominant motive.
'J o have been initrumental in refcuing any
one victim from the power and confequences
of the habits of Gaming, to have awakened
in any one inftance, eitbe^-coujugal, parental,
or filial affection, in the arrefting the pro-
grefs of this deadly contagion, is of infinitely
greater importance to him than any judgment

E 4) which

56 APPENDIX.

which may be paffed on its merits as a com-
pofition.

Still, however, to the kind and candid
conftruiStion of his readers, as well as to
the judgment of ibme excellent and much
efteemed friends, he owes fome little explana-
tion upon a point on which fome objeftions,
as he underftands, have been made. He is
fuppofed to have involved in one common and
undijiinguijliing cenfure thofe innocent recrea^
tions which terminate merely in focial artiufe-
ment, and thofe atrocious pra6tices by which
the formed Gamejhr deals havock and ruin
around him. — To this he can only anfwer,
that he has been mifunderftood — that nothing
was farther from his intention. He meant
not to affert that amufements of this nature
where mere i^ecreatioii, properly regulated, is
the fole obje8, were to be univerfally pro-
fcribed ; but that extreme care was to be
taken that the flendernefs of the partitions
which pecuUarli/ in the prefent times divide
the amufement of cards from the vice of
Gaming, might SEB be moft diftinftly and
awfully difcernible. He has advanced fuch
leading principles upon this fubjeft as he
is alllired are inconteftible upon every ground

of

APPENDIX. 57

of Holy Scripture, natural humanity, and
political exigency. With 7iice and enervating
diftinctions he thought it beyond his province
to deal. If his principles are admitted,
it is for the judgment and confcience of his
readers to apply them to particular tifages
and pra&ices, as that judgment and that
confcience, aided by God's grace, may dire6l.
That they may fo apply them as the fecurity
and true interefl of themfelves and thofe who
are neareft and deareft to them demand at
their hand, is the author's honeft, hearty, and
exclufive wifh ! He is far from putting in any
claim, as far forth as he himfelf is concerned,
to advance religious truths of extraordinary
rigor or feverity. But things and aSiions
muft be reprefented as they are, and what
was formerly faid of virtue by an illuftrious
heathen, is equally applicable to chriftian cou-
rage and perfection : Non ex ahorum neque
ex noftra fortaffe mollitie fed ex ipsa virtute
de viftutis robore exiftiniandum eft."

DIS-

DISCOURSE II.

Psalm Ixxi. Q,

*' CAST ME NOT OFF IN" THE TIME OF
" OLD AGE, FORSAKE ME NOT WHEN
*' MY STRENGTH FAILETH Me/'

In this fhort and afFe6ling exclamation of
the Pfalmift, the minds of men are led into
an immediate conviction of the moft impor-
tant of all truths, on the moft important of
all fubjefts ; namely, that the only fupport
of declining years, and all thofe various trials
by which that period of our exiftence is ren-
dered wretched to fo many, and fo com-
fortlefs to almoft all, is a grounded confidence
in the protection and providence of Almighty
Ood, in the comforts of true and genuine

Religion,

60 ON OLD AGE.

Religion, and in the certainty of a glorious
immortality hereafter.

The means of alleviating the burthens of
age have we know fucceffively employed the
attention of two of the moft eminent, and I
believe the foundeft moralifts in the Heathen
world ; one of whom has left us a profelled
and regular treatife on the fubject, founded
indeed upon, and confiderabiy dilated from,
the hints he received from the other (a).
Every refource which human wifJom could
fiiggeft in order to enable men to anticipate
Age with calmnefs, and to face the approach
of death without terror, are abundantly ran-
facked and explored. All that mere reafon,
affifted by the moft tranfcendent powers of
genius and eloquence could efFe61, is effefted ;
but ftili arguments even fo enforced, and
precepts fo delivered, when called forth to
real ufe and applied to mens' bufmefs and
bofoms, on this, as on every other topic upon
which the Pagan moralifts have defcanted, are,
relatively fpeaking, but of fmall avai], being
calculated as was confefied even by Cicero
himfelf, (whole extenfive knowledge of the
principles of every fe6l enabled him to fpeak
decifively) rather for the oftentation of Sci-
ence,

ON OLD AGE. 6\

ence, than for the pra6tical ufes of human
life (b). To grapple with thofe real evils,
or rather trials, with wliich Old Age even in
its moft profperous ftate is generally accom-
panied, fomething far more fubftantial than
heathen morahty muit be fought for. Our
motives muft be ftrong, our opinions decifive,
and our profpefts certain. That Christi-
anity alone will produce thefe moft delirable
eftefts for us in that period of our utmoft
need, to which we all hope to arrive, unlefs
the Sun of Righteouihefs be riien upon us in
vain, will I truft fufficiently appear if we
purfue the train of awful relieclion into
which the w ords of my text are naturally
calculated to lead us. •.,

I fliall then in the foUowino- difcourfe re-
quell your attention to the two following
plain and important truths. ,^

Firft, that to one forfaking Almighty God,
or (what is nearly the fame thing) forfaken
by Him, and deftitute of the fupports of real
heartfelt religion, every other fupport, every
other expedient in their declining years is
vain, empty, and ineffectual. ■-,

Secondly, I fliall endeavour to fet before
you, as forcibly as I am able, thofe fure and

fubftantial

loS ON OLD AGE.

fubftantial refources with which Chriftianity
fupphes us in this laft and trying fcene of
our Hves.

If the experience of every day and every
place we are in did not contradi6l it, we could
hardly be inclined to fuppofe that many men
could be found who fought to alleviate the
infirmities, the difeafes, the drearinefs of Age,
hy a purfuit of what is ufually called plea-
fure and amufement. Without laying dow^n
the principles of a rigid and impra6ticable
morality, we may iafely affert, that from a
confideration of the whole frame and ftruc-
ture of our, nature, in no age, in no period
of our exiftence, were we made for the ex-
clufive purpofes of fenfual gratification. Even
in Youth, amidft the turbulence and vigour of
the paffions, great facrifices mull be made of
prefent gratification to profpe6ls of a more
fubftantial nature. A life devoted to indo-
lence or pleafure in the earlieft period, i$
thought an ill exchange even for the w^orldly
view^s and advantages of ambition, riches, or
temporal advancement. But if we have ret
fpect to the formation of a virtuous and reli*
gious character, the paths of pleafure will
appear to this great and important undertaking
1 in

ON OLD AGE. 63

ia the lail degree dangerous and deftructive.
Pleafure, ei'cn in the leaibn and foil which are
moft congenial to it, foon palls upon the ap-
petite, and leaves the higher faculties of the
human foul unfatisfied and uncultivated. If
this be true of Youths what can be faid of
thofe to whom Ag^ hath brought neither
Wifdom, Experience, or Self-government ?
What fhall be faid of thofe, whofe Ible
Tefource at that time, lies in the groffiiefs
of fenfuality or the frivoloufnefs of diffipa-
tion? Whom neither infirmitj^, nor dif-
cafe, nor decrepitude can prevent from
clinging to purfuits and plealures which their
youth mull havie informed them are vain
and unfatisfa<5lory. Even yming men, when
they facrifice their religion to plealiire, facri-
lice it, God knows, to a (liadow ; but the old^
if I may be allowed the expreffion, to the
ihadow of a fhadow. They are diffipated
without fprightHnefs, and vicious without
temptation. An old age fo fpent, even
heathen morahty difclaimed. Few arg-uments
are necefiary to prove how far it is fhort of
the perfeftion the Gofpel requires, and of the
comforts and hopes it propofes to our views.
it is diihonorable — it is not attended with the

efteem

64

ON OLD AGE.

efteera of tliofe around us — which though an
inferior, is neverthelefs under proper regu-
lations and rejirlciions, a laudable principle
of a6iion. And though a momentary and
faftitious popularity may fometimes be at-
tained by the aged among younger men, by
an affectation of gaiety, by mixing in their
amufements, and by difclaiming that retired-
nefs of manners, which alone conftitutes the
dignity of chara6ler fo becoming in that pe-
riod of hfe ; yet this popularity is of a- moft
fleeting and tranfitory nature, and is loon fuc-
ceeded by different ientiments and opinions.
As foon as refleftion and reafon afiert their
place, thofe only are viewed by the young
with efteem and affeftion, by the mildnefs of
whofe manners they have been taught to love
virtue and religion, and by the auflerity and
ftriftnefs of whofe examples they have been
Ih^w^n, that its ways are neither unpleafant,
nor its precepts impracticable.

But upon fuch a fubje6l to wave opinion.
In that Iblenm interval which intervenes be-
t^veen age and death, it furely becomes men
to reflefl, that with this life they have, pro-
perly fpeaking, done ; here nothing but dregs
remain. Difeaie, infirmities, iofs of facul-
ties,

ON OLD AGE. 65

ties, render them dead to every thing, except
to the mere aflre'5i;ation of pleafure. What
anfwer did old Barzillai give to David, when
invited by the King to partake of the feiti-
vity of his vi6tory ? " llie King /aid unto
" Barzillai, come over with me and I wili
" feed thee riith me in Jentfalem, And
" Barzillai /aid unto the King, How lonfr
" have I to live that I Jliould go vp with
" the King unto Jerufalem ; I am this day
** four/core years old,'' (and permit me to
fay that we muft apply this do6lrine, if at
all, long before fourfcore years are arrived)
" and can I difcern between good and evil,
" can thyfervant tajie what I eat or what
" I drink, can 1 hear any more the voice of
" finging ?nen or finging women ; wherefore
" thenJJiould thy fervant he yet a burthen
" tinto my Lord the King ?" Upon the fim-
plicity and propriety of chara6ler difplayed
in this palFage it is fuperfluous to dwell. I
cannot but obferve that it is a negleB of this
falutary lelFon, which makes old age fo bitter
to the luxurious and voluptuous ; fo that the
very mention of the time of life they have
arrived at, is intolerable to them, and it is

^ deemed

66 ON OLD AGE,

deemed a want of politenefs to converfe on
any fubje6l which may remind them of it.

If therefore, /wc/« be the melancholy clofe of
a life devoted to pkafure, ftiall we any longer
live therein ? Iffuch the profpetSts it propofes
to our latter end, doth it not become us to re-»
fleet in time ; to make fome better provifion
for our exigence in that needful period, by
the pra6tice of piety and religion, by fobriety,
by meditation, by prayer, by felf-denial ? Let
fuch as have hitherto' negle6ted all this, con-
fult their own hearts. If they find that they
have a real grounded fatisfa6tion in thofe
pleafures, amulements, and vices they have
all their lives been purfuing, let them by all
means adhere to them to the lateft moment
of their exiftence. But if they find them-
felves deje6led, difiatisfied, ailiamed to look
back, afraid to look forward; fuch may upon
refleclion learn, that their recovery at the
latejt period, though difficult, is not impof-
fible : that a late preparation for death, is
better than no preparation at ail. But not
,a moment is to be loft; " the night is fav
." fpent^ the day is at hand;" wherefore let
them " put on the whole armour of light,"

left

ON OLD AGE. 67

left we be hurried into tlie world of fpints^
unrefiecling, unrefbrmed, and reprobate.

But perhaps fome who agree with me in

rejefting pleafure and fenlUahty as a fupport

of old age, may ftill think that there are other

refources which, excluiively of religion, may

enable men to anticipate it with chearfulnefs,

and pafs through it with comfort. But what

are thefe when we view them near? Will

the purfuits of Ambition effect this ? If at

the clofe of an ambitious life we have been

fuccefsful in its obje6l, it is often found that

that very objeft, fought through fo much

hazard and labour, is utterly unworthy of

the anxiety beftowed upon it. We have in-

ftances in hiftory of fome few men who have

had ftrength of mind enough to a6l upon

this wife conclufion, and have quietly re-

figned that parade, power, and empire, which

it had been the work of their whole lives to

acquire. But fuppofmg the objeft ftill to

retain its power of pleafmg ; muft not the

refle6lion that we muft fo foon be feparated

from it, embitter all our enjoyment ? — Add

to this that competitors are perpetually ftart-

ing up, who by the vigour of their youth

are enabled to wreft from us. that power, that

r 2 fame,

63 Om OLD AGE.

fame, that rank, which conftitutes our fole
and exclulive happinefs.

But what ihall we fay of the clofe of an
ambitious life where we have miffed of our
obje6l ? We know that in this refpe6l an
earthly contention differs from an heavenly
one, for many run, but one obtaineth the
prize. Befides the perpetual agitation in
which the mind is kept through the courfe of
a long hfe fpent in the purfuits of thefe ob-
je6ls, it acquires a certain fournefs and * anx-
iety, which renders it utterly incapable of
repofe, if a feafon of repofe ever occurs.
From an experience (and I fuppofe it falls in
the way of moft men converiant in public
life to experience it) of the ingratitude of
fome, of the perfidy and defertion of others,
of the felfilhnefs of almoft all, the ambitious
man loving no one and beloved by none, lofes
all traces of benevolence, and defcends friend-
lefs to the vale of years. Having been long
habituated to confider religion as a mere Jiate
engine, he is, as all men muft be from the
moment they confider it in this light, utterly
deftitute of all thofe joys and comforts with
which it can enlighten this dark period of
our exiftence. If fuch be the end of the

ambitious

ON OLD AGE. 6^

ambitious man, may we not fay, " that he
^* cometh in vanity and departeth in dark-
" wc/s, and his name JJiall be covered zmth
** darhiefs"

But others again, perhaps convinced of the
vanity of pleajure, and the emptinefs of am^
bition, have ibiight refources in literary and
fcien tijic purfuits. That thefe, when coniidered
as fubjidiary to the caufe of virtue, and /«5or-
dinate to the heavenly wifdom contained in
Revelation, will conduce much to the pur-
pofe of lightening the burthens of age, and
indeed many other of the calamities of human
life, muft certainly be allowed. But ab-
ftrafted from thefe, I fear a mere literary old
age, though lefs turbulent than an ambitious
one, and lefs contemptible than a fenfual and
a diffipated one, is not attended with that fa-
tisfaftion and comfort which it at firft pro-
mifes. Philofophy at a diftance promifes
much: but when we view the habits of their
profelTors nearer we find their age fplenetic,
peevifli, avaricious, pofitive, envious, vain,
and dogmatical. We fee them as effeminate
in facing the evils and infirmities which have
overtaken them, as much alarmed by the ter-
mors of approaching death, and as httle able

Y3 to

70 ON OLD AGE.

to fuftain the thoughts of it, as the moft illi-
terate uninformed peaiant. An experience of
this perhaps prevailed on the wifeft of hea-
thens to give as his deciiive opinion, that hu-
man wifdom is (in its moral effects 1 prefume
he meant) of very fmall import. And indeed,-
whoever is acquainted with the idle frivolous
eontroverlies, the bitter and endlefs conten-
tibns, with which every part of learning, is
confufed and embarraffed, will in his old age
be' rather inclined to view it m ith difguft,
than expert to reap from it any fubftantial
fupport and confolation.
^ If then every o?ze of thofe fupports, which
the perverted ingenuity of Man can devife,
will ultimately end in- mifery'and vexation,
whither fliall we fly when our age apprcach-
eth, " when our eyes grow dim and our
^' Jtrengtli fculeth?'' A fate and certain re-
fuge is afforded us, if we do not forl^it it by
our own folly. and oblHnacy. The great Fa-
ther of Mercies hath not deferted us in this
|>ortion of our lives, he hath abundantly pro-
vided comfort and fupport for our age, as ivell
as for every other trial, in the blefied Gofpel
of his Son. But remember, that in this in^

ftance'3

ON OLD AGE» 71

iftance, aS in all the roil, " other foundation
" can no man lay, than Jefus Chriji."

To a Christian then, we may fafelj and
boldly aflert, that old age is fo far from be-
ing a burthen of mifery, that it is the moft
happy and comfortable period in his whole ex-
iftence here on earth; and if men ever ihew
or complain that it is otherwife, it is becaufe
they are deftitute of real operative religion.
In AGE a true Christian confiders that
the danger of his trial is paft ; a feal is, as it
were, fet to his charader, and his temptations
have loft their force and danger; he has by the
mercy of God, and through the merits of
Chrift, made his " calling and ekBionfure.''
Is he interdifted by his religion from fenfu-
ahty and diffipation ? — P leasures even yet
await him; the exquifite pleafure of relievino-
the indigent, inftru6ling the ignorant, com-
forting the afflifted. — Ambition ftill re-
mains to him, (if I may call fo great a work
by fo ??iean a name) the great ambition
of furthering the kingdom of the Redeemer
here on earth, of recommending the praftice
of piety and religion, by the comforts he de-
monftrably deriveth from them; the noble
ambition of bearing a deciiive teftimony
I" 4. agaiiift

72 (5n old age.

againft vice, infiddit}', and all the refinement
of modern profligacy, in the midft of an
adulterous and fmful generation. — The moft
valuable of all knowledge yet remains to
him ; the knowledge for which the great
Apoftle renounced all that human learning
and human eloquence, for which he was fo
eminently diftinguiflied ; the knoa\ ledge
OF Christ and him crucified. There
remaineth to him, firm faith, vigorous
HOPE, and FERVENT CHARITY. — So far
from looking upon Death as an evil, he longs
" to he dijjoked and to be with ChrijL" Da
the preffures of pain, poverty, and difeafe,
comhine their force and poignancy in this laft
trying fcene ? The Chriftian knows and re-
joices that the moment is not far off, " wheii
" hejliall hunger no more, nor thirji any more^
" neither Jh all the fun lighten him, nor any
'' heat ; for the Lamb which is in the midft of
*' the throne, fJiall feed andJhaU lead him unto
" living fountains of waters,, and God fiall
*' zvipe away all tears from his eyes for ever F'

Such conitoi'ts, fuch fupports, tranfcending
all expreflion, and pafiing all underftanding,
are known to await the aged and dying Chrif-
tian, by tlioib whom chance or profeflional
9 dutj

ON OLD AGE. 73

duty have ever called to be witnefs of thefe
edifying Icenes. What to the adherents of
luxury, diffipation, ambition, and worldly wif-
dom, clofed by the flippant reprobacy of mo-
dern infidelity, is dreary and delblate, is to
the Christian matter of fteady joy, and
complacent triumph.. Let us leave then to
the mercy of God, thofe who are refolved to
perfev ere in worldly courfes to the end ; but
may W'E live the life, enjoy the age, and
** die the death of the righteous, and ?nay our
*' latter end he like his !'*

And permit me to end with this importai]t
caution ; that thefe refources muft be pro-
vided principally in our youth ; the onlif
period w hen they may be acquired with en-
tire comfort, eafe, and effeft ; before ill ha-
bits are rooted in our frame, and the " God
*' of this world hath blinded our eyes." And
let me warn the young, that Age is at a much
fmaller real than apparent diftance from
every one of them ; that it fteals on with
imperceptible rapid it}^ like a " thief in th^
" nighty" and comes upon the generality as
little expe<5ling it, or prepared for it, as death
to thofe who are cut off in the fulnefs of
their health and the vigour of their years.

llierefore

74 ON OIsD AGE.

Therefore it is highly probable, that if your
youth and maturer age, is licentious and dif-
lipated, your old age will be dreary and defti-
tute. Let me then leave imprefied upon the
minds of the young, this important admoni-
tion,— " Remember tky Creator now in the
" days of thy youth, while the evil days come
*' 710/, 7ior the years draw nigh, in which thou
" Jlialt fay, I have no pleafure in them." And
THEN, whether Providence intercept our
courfe in the days of bur youth, in the vi'gour
of our ftrength, or whether he permits us to
decline gradually into the vale of years, an
entrance will be abundantly miniftered to us,
into the everlafting kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jefus Chrift.

NOTES.

NOTES.

(a) Vld. Plato de Repub. lib. 1ft. & Cicero
De Sene6lute.

(b) Qiiotus enim quifque Philofopliorum inve-
nitiir qui fit ita moratus ita animo ac vita confti-
tutus ut ratio poitulat? qui difciplinam fuam non
ojlaitat'ioncm fcientias fed kgan vitce putet. Tuf-
culan. Difp. 1. 2.

■J^

DISCOURSE III.

JoHif xiii, 34.

" A NEW COMMANI>MENT GIVE I UNTO
you, THAT YE LOV£ ONE ANOTHER."

As far forth as human imbeciUty and
blinclnefs can difcern the final caufes of the
various operations of Ahnighty God, they
Ihould appear ultimately refolvable into one
iimple extended principle, "the commu-
nication OF GOOD." To this every civine
difpenfation, whether of juftice or mercy, of
reward or even punishment, (a) when con-
fidered as affefting the zvhole fyflem of cre-
ated beings, evidently points. The natural
world, as far as defign reaches, exhibits and
confirms this concluficn, to thofe whofe
views are not intercepted by thofe grand

obftacles

78 BENEVOLENCE EXCLUSIVELY

obftacles to all moral truth, pride and con-*
ceit. Whether the more obvious appear-
ances of the objefts which furround us are
forced upon us by ordinary and alpiofl in-
voluntary obfervation, or whether we are
enabled by the powers of fcience to difcern
the texture of the minuteft, the ilru6lure of
the moft complicated and organical, the or-
der, motions, and extent of the fublimeft
w^orks of the creation, the difplay of bene-
volence appears to be unequivocally the intent
6f the great caufe and archite6l. No other
conceivablef ^nd of thefe his creatures can be
traced ; no other, where this has been
daringly denied, has, in the licentiaufnefs of
the moft unbridled {peculation, ibe'en even
fa'mtli/ conjeB lived (b).

If then, in the fubferviency of the inani-
mate parts of . the univerfal fyftem of nature,
to the moral and rational part of it, we trace
the beneficent deligns of the Deity, the con-
clufion (hould appear to be ineVitahly forced
upon us, that man, and all his nobler parts,
were formed for the fame gracious end ; —
that as the objeds of nature appear clearly as
means to the difpenfation of good, to beings
capable of participating it, fo in the con*
, templation

AN EVANGELICAL VIRTUE. 79

templation of caufes and efte6is, it is mucli
more powerfully to be inferred, that man is
an indrument in the hands of God for the
good of his fellcw-credtures, at once the reci-
pient and conummicator of divine beneficence.
If fuch a procefs were as ealy to thofe on
whom the beams of the gofpel never ihone,
as it appears to us on whom the " day-ftar
hath arilen," it might i^eemfirange that our
bleiled Lord fhould have laid his claim to
have been the first and e x c L u s i v e teacher
pf benevolence and reciprocal love. But to
thofe who h^ve ever directed their fludies
to that moil important part of the fcience
of morality fo unaccountably overlooked in
modem fyftems of it, naniely, its progrefs,
variations, and extent, as they have been
aftually exhibited in the difterent ftages of
fociety, manners, and cultivation, particularly
before the appearance of our Lord on earth,
this his claim will not appear extravagant or
unfounded, but ftri6tly warranted by fa6l
and experience. We are too well apprized
how flattering it is to the pride of the human
heart, to recur to the indefinite and. fiia-
dowy regions of Natueal. religion for
thofe lights which RevQlation, only can fup^

80 BENEV-OLENCE EXCLUSIVELY

ply. But had Chriftian bencA olence, in its
fpecific motives and principles been dilcovera-
ble, either in that, or in any other human
code or fyftem zi}hatev€r, our Lord could not
with propriety have allerted, in fo diftin6l
and unambiguous a manner, "a new com^
" mandment give I unto you, that ye love
" one another."

To convince ourfelves of the juftice of this
important declaration of our Blefled Lord, it
may not be unexpedient, I trufl, before this
audience, to confider thofe other motives and
grounds for mutual love and benevolence
ivhich may be fuppofed distinct from thofe
propofed in the Gofpel.

< And, fecondly, to enquire how far, and in
what degree, evangelical charity ftands in a
ilate of feparation from all of them ; peculiarly
in regard to its motives and dire6tion.

Laftly, and very briefly, to requeft on
thofe motives and principles your kind affiil-
ance and fupport, in behalf of the benevo-
lent inftitution whofe caufe I am delegated to
plead.

Of thofe who would reft the do6lrines
of benevolence on what is commonly called
natural religion, a teim iifed by many, but

undei'Jiood

AK EVANGELICAL VIRTUE. 81

imderjiood by few, we may with all deference
be permitted to enquire, whether they dif-
tin6tly underftand the term itfelf. We have
a legitimate claim to be informed, firft,
whether is meant by it fuch a knowledge of
God and our relative duties refulting from
it, as might have been, or acluaHy has been,
obtained in thofe countries and nations to
which the knowledge and influence of reve-
lation have never been extended. If the lat-
ter, I will boldly affert that no man who has
taken an accurate, fyftematic, and extenfive
furvey of the opinions and pra6lices of the
heathens concerning divine things, whether
as exhibited in the opinions of their philofo-
phers, or exhibited in that state engine,
their mythology, will be inclined to difpute
the affertion of the great Apoftle, that " their
** fooUJh heart was darkened" any more than
the confequences of this darknefs upon their
affe6lions, namelj^, that they were ^^ full of
*' envij^ murther, debate, deceit, malignity T
And yet to thefe muft the advocates of na-
tural religion refer us for that benevolence
which they alfert to he Juperfluoiijh/ enjoyed
in the Chrillian Revelation.

G If

83 BENEVOLENCE EXCLUSIVELY

If it be averted that their ignorance of the
nature of true benevolence was wilful, and
that jufter views of it might have been reached
than thofe which actually were obtained in
the heathen world, fuch a pofition will bring
natural religion to a poj/ible fyftem only; a
Hate fo very faint and precarious as to reduce
it, in point of influence and energy, nearly
to 71011 eaijience. For we have no reafon to
fuppofe that the unafQfted powers of the hu-
man mind, as exerted in the inveftigation of
virtue and happinefs, coniidered as refulting
from our natural apprehenfions of God, can
at any time be carried to a greater pitch of
perfection than among the two polilhed and
knowing nations of Pagan antiquity. And
yet, among the mofl: favage hordes, a greater
ferocity is hardly exhibited than in the tri-
umphs, games, and gladiatorian fports of
ancient Rome, and in the expofition of chil-
dren, cruelty to ilaves, and various limilar
practices among the G reeks.

However we may determine on either of
thefe two fuppofitions, natural religion is
furely nothing more than natural pride, fen-
fuality, and difeafe, and a vain attempt to

eltablifli

AN EVANGELICAL VIRTUl:. 83

eftabliili fach an intcrcourfe between the
Creator and creature as is confiftent
with every earthly and niahgnant propenfity.
Man is therefore reprel'ented, under the Goi-
pel, not as reformed, but recreated ; notmerely
different from, but coiitrojled to, what he is
from nature ; by which infideUty itfelf is
obhged to confefs that " man is the greatcji
enemy of man,'' (c).

It is not at all my preferit purpofe or pro-
vince to examine on what balis the religion of
7iature refts, in what region it is to be founds
or to what obje6ls it extends ; or to purfue
any of the corollaries ariiing out of a con-
fideration of its precariouiiiefs and uncer-
tainty. This would be indeed in the prefent
times, and coniidering the tenor and tondeiicy
of fome prevalent and popular opinions, a
ipeculation of great importance in its illue ;
particularly if we could have the refolutioii
to diveit terms of their ambiguity, and to
prefent the naked truth to the impartial view
of thofe who fenouiiy feek for it. We il ould
then difcern what extreme caution and referve
are to be ui'ed in founding any doctrinal con-
clufion on what is looiely and negligently
called the connexion between natural and re-

G 2 vealed

84 BENEVOLENCE EXCLUSIVELY

vealed religion ^ and how extremely wary we
Ihould be in liimmoning the latter to the trl»
bunalofthe former, (d)

It is now limply my intention to aflert,
that, to Chriftian benevolence we find fcarcely
any habit, fentiment, or precept, which bears
even a dijiant analogy in thofe fyftems which
can, with any tolerable propriety, come under
the name of natural i^eligion ; that is, " in
any fyllem of moral truth,* derived from
man's natural conception of God and his
attributes, and the deductions concerning his
relative duties derived from them," For we
cannot admit any fyftem to bear the name of
natural religion, y^ri^/?/, which has originated
in countries where the truths of the Gofpel
are known and received, and where its ftrong
and pervafive principles are tranfplanted into
thofe very ly ftems which too commonly fu-
perlede it. But in heathen antiquity, where
natural relio-ion is beft inveftisrated, how was
it pojible that fo leading a duty as benevo-
lence from man to man, founded on their
mutual relation to the Creator, could exift,
even in au}^ well-founded theoiy ? Of Al-
mighty God, fome denied even the exiftence,*
very many reje6ted all providential fuperin-

tendance;

AS EVAXGELICAL VIRTUE, 85

tendance; (e) and thofe whofe opinions were
foundelt, built them on mere conjetture, which,
when it had reached (as it ibmetimes did) any
great or luminous principle, fuffered it to
elcape in the gloom of the iurrounding dark-
nels. The importance ot benevolence, in the
ORDER of moral truths, was never difcerned
or acknowledged. AVhenever it came under
confideration, it was ncA er held as the end of
human action, but as a means to an end, and
that generally mean and felfifli. Beneficent
exertion was recommended merely as a road to
'political importance^ the acqiiijiiion of friends,
or the attainment of more extended reputation
in hfe, or what they pecuharly panted for,
a fame furviving death. And this may
very fairly be prefumed to have been the
cafe for this plani reafon : — every religious
duty, founded in an inveftigation of God
and his attributes, cannot poliibly reach a
greater perfection than the fource from
whence it is derived. — If their knowledoe
of God, therefore, was imperfect, in the fame
exa6l proportion mult have been their con-
ception of thofe duties which were founded
upon it.

G 3 The

86 EEA^EVOLENCE EXCLUSIV^ELY

The great Apoflle did not very widely
miftake when he declared " that the world by
'* wifdom knew not God." To the heathens,
knowing as they were on other fubje6ls, it
rmiji have been a nezD propofition that " God
" is love" and a nexD commandment " that
" we Jliould love one another as Chriji has
" loved us"

But it may be, and has been alTerted, that
in order to know and praftife the virtue of
benevolence, we have very little need to have
recourl'e to any opinions or Ipeculations con-
cerning the divine nature. Benevolence, we
are told, is- implanted in our breaft by nature,
difcoverable by realbn and philolbphy, called
for by public utility, enforced by intereft, de-
manded bv patriotifm, the child of civilization
and refinement, and the neceflary confe-
quence of well-ordered civil polity.

Without examining into the w^aknefs of
the pofition, " that any virtue can exift in-
dependent of God," or how far nature,
which is in itfelf merely an effect, can be-
come a primary caufe, we may fairly doubt ;
nay, I conceive we may ahfolutely dem/, that
the frame of man naturally conducts him to

fentiments

AN EVANGELICAL VIRTUE. 87

fenliments of benevolence. The tendency of
]inman pafllons, as they are diicoverable in
inftances \\here leait aheration is made by
artiticial and fupeiinduced habits, and by
the occafional rettraints of law and civil
polity, certainly acts in an oppofite direc-
tion.

Man is declared, with juftice, by the pro-
foundeft thinker in Pagan antiquity, to be
the Jierccji of ail animals, (f) It is well
known that,, as tar as the records of hiftory,
or the intimations of tradition can carry us,
legillators have recovered men from flaugh-
tering and devouring each other, like the
beafts of the field. The fame difpofition,
among uncultivated hordes, is traced by
modern difcovery with almoft uninterrupted
uniformity. To men in this ftate, furely the
command of mutual love is a " new com-
" mandmcnt."

But to reafon and philofophy it will be
afierted, that fo obvious and lelf-evident a
duty as benevolence can never be llrange —
can the guide of life, the medicine of the foul,
that which lays open the univerfe to our
view, with the bearings and dependencies of
its various parts, leave us in ignorance of the
G 4 Jirji

88 BENEVOLENCE EXCLUSIVELY

firji and nobleji principle of human aftion !
This muft be determined by an obfervation of
thofe tendencies which, what is commonly
called phiiofoph}^ has, in all ages of the
world, been calculated to excite. The Stoics
and Epicureans who were but reprefentatives
(as has been well obferved) of every divifion
of philofophy, (g) in every age of the world,
founded themfelves on two principles of cor-
rupted nature, pride and sensuality —
principles in as high a ftage of contrail; as can
poffibly be conceived to a principle of bene-
volence. By both of thofe fe(5ls was compaf-
fion formally difclaimed and reprobated — by
the one it was defpifed as a weaknefs, by the
other difcarded as an interruption. Could
HE, who prefumed to call himfelf a mortal
god, complete and confummate in himfelf;
gifted with every perfection ; viftor over
every calamity ; who denied either pain, dif-
eafe, captivity, or death to be evils ; could
HE ha^e the humility to dcfcend into the for-
rows of another? could he weep with thofe
that weep ? could h e be forward in relieving
that anguiili which he afferted the powers of
the fufferer were fufficient not only to combat
and overcome, but to annihikite and defpife ?

On

AN EVANGELICAL VIRTUE. 89

On the other hand, could the voluptuous
Epicurean, relaxed by indolence, diflipated
by gaiety, and furfeited by leniliality, could
H E enter the houfe of mourning ? could h e
attend to the '•'' Jorrowful crying of the pri-
" finer?" could he take the gage of human
woe ?

AVithout either prefumption or paradox,
we may aflert, that the doctrines of benevo-
lence, as underftood and felt by Chriflians,
did not at all enter into any fcheme of Pagan
philofophy — and that for this obvious realbn :
that philofophy, in all its varieties and mo-
difications, nourilhed thofe very pajjiom
which rendered men either acceflary to the
calamities' of others, or at bell: indifferent to
them.

But it may be faid, that what antient wif-
dom never could reach, the progrefs of reafon
in thefe later times may effe6l, by improved
and enlarged views of the moral ftate of man,
by refinement in arts, by foftnefs and poliili
of manners, by the perfeftion of civil polity,
modified and regulated by the light of phi-
lofophical refearch.

Firft, that moral truth (independent of
the light of revelation) has been progreflive,

may

90 BENEVOLENCE EXCLUSIVELY

may be fairly queftioned. For we need not
helitate to affert, that none of the received
fyftems of moral philoibphy, either in our
own times, or thofe immediately preceding
them, are, either in depth of refearch, fym-
metry of parts, comprehenfion of views, deep
infight into human motives and paffions,
energy and dignity of ftile, at all comparable
to thofe delivered down to us from the moft
eminent of the Pagan moralifts. We may
hazard the afiertion, that they will not for a
moment ftand the tell of fuch a competi-
tion (h). If therefore, the do6lrines of he-
nevolence feem in certain refpe6ts laid in
founder principles in modern fyftems than
in thofe of old, it is a fuperfeded, neglefted
gofpel, from whence every found principle is
covertly transferred, to which fuch improve-
ment is owing.

Much is now, I know, expefted from that
ideal perfeftion of government, and that ex-
tenfion of political liberty, which is founded
on the natural and civil equality of man.
But I know not that equality, could its ex-
igence be proved, is the fource of peace or
benevolence. If it is productive of pride and
contention, it furely a6ts in a dire6iion totally

oppofite

AN EVANGELICAL VIRTUE. 91

oppofite to thofe blefled ends. But " by its
^ fruits it is known." — After the oceans
of blood flied in purfiiit of this factitious
principle of mock Ibcial philanthropy, it is
now abandoned by its wretched martyrs them-
folves.

But further — to the flighteft obferver it is
evident that no refinement whatever of civil
government, laws, or policy, can reach the
ieat of benevolence — the heart of man.
Laws depend much more on morals^ than
morals on laws ; a fentiment which the phi-
lofophy of antiquity did not think it pru-
dent to overlook or defpife. To expe6l,
therefore, that degree of melioration, in the
human affections, which is now fo fondly
expeCled from any theoretical perfection of
civil polity, is an expedlation which experi-
ence, to this very day vifible and palpable,
warrants not.

Muft then the pride of philofophy, the
dignity of our rational nature, the fagacity of
the politician, refort to the doctrines of a cru-
cified, rejected Saviour for fo plain a do<5lrine
as that of mutual love and benevolence "^ It
is my hearty wifli that calm refle61:ion on the
arguments propofed, aided by matured ex-
perience.

93 BENEVOLENCE EXCLUSlVELr

perience, ma}^ be the arbiter of this impor-
tant queftion to thofe who have it ftill to
deterniiue. But thofe by whom the autho-
rity of the facred oracles is admitted, cannot
but acknowledge that Chriftian benevolence
is fo far different even from the moft fpe-^
cious fubftitutes for it, as to exhibit nearly
a contraft to any other tendency bearing the
fame appellation. *' As is the earthy fo alfo
" are they that are earthy, and as is the hea-
*' venIy,Jo alfo are they that are heavenly." It
is moft ftriking and peculiar that throughout
all the New Teftximent every injun^lion to
benevolence and reciprocal love is founded on
reafons drawn from the very effence of Chrif-
tianity. The exhortations of our bleflbd Lord
himfelf to thefe duties, are derived uniformly
from confiderations arilino- out of his ozcm
miffion and character. Any argument of an
extraneous nature we trace not, I believe, in
any iingle inftance. " This is my command-
'* ment, that ye love one another as I have hved
" you. Greater Jove hath no man than this,
*' that he lay dozen his life for another!*
Again, and ftriftly to the fame effecl, we
read, '^ If I, who am your Lord and Mafier^
*' have wafJied your feet, hon' ought ye to waJJi

" one

AN EVANGELICAL VIRTUE. 93

*' one anothei-'sfeet." On thefe principles are
the iame dudes exclusively enforced by
apoftolical authority. Their afieftion to their
crucified Lord was of too high and heroic a
natiu'e to lofe fight, for a moment, of the
Author and Finilher of every good and per-
ie&. gift. St. Paul exhorts the Ephefians to
" zmJk in love as Chri/i hath loved ns, and
" hath given himfefffor m an offering, and a
" faerifice to God as afweef-fmelling favourJ*
We will, then, moft powerfully infer, that
in benevolence, of which every Chriftian
virtue is but a modification, " other founda-
*' tion can no man lay than J e/ us Chri/i!'
Far from that inflated and empty boaft of the
dignity of human nature, Chriftian charity
takes its origin in humility. " It is /'own iu
" weaknefs, it is raifid -in pozc^er ; it is fown in
*' dijhonmir, it is raifed in glory" Inftead of
vain, empty, metaphyfical ab{lra6lions, it
prefents to us the perfon of a fufferino- Sa-
viour. Therefore, as charity is the peculiar
and appropriate end of the commandment, {o
the ONLY bafis of charity is ikith iTi Chrift,
In whatever view we contemplate his perfon
and cham^ler, whether divine or human,
SACERDOTAL or MEDIATORIAL; whether

we

94 BENEVOLE^*CE EXCLUSITELV

we adore him as our God, repofe in him as oup
interceiTor, fly to him as the great object of
our hope and confidence, from HIM, as from
acENTiiAL POINT, every ray of charity that
warms our hearts and expands our affections
muft neceflarily emanate. Let our concep-
tions be directed for a moment to that ftate of
glory in which our Lord was entiironed with
his Father before the exiftence of the higheft
created being — let us view' him in his humi-
liation, contempt, and poverty, here below,
bearing the concentered poignancy of every
human trefpafs on the accurfed tree — fee
him, in the ultimate ilKiie of this awful pro-
cefs, victorious over death, fm, and hell —
once more exalted above " all principalities
" and powers, and might and dominion, and
*' everi/ name that is named, not only in this
" woi'ld but in that which is to come."

Turn we then our eyes to the earth — look
we upon the beggar at our g^tes : worn with
ficknefs, penury, and woe, in fquallor and
nakednefs, in anguiih and dereliction, loath-
fome, iliunned, and deilitute ! HecoUeFt, that
for this poor, neglefted, abjeft brother, the
eternal Son of God was incarnate ; that even
for HIM the tremendous facrifice upon the

crofs

AX EVANGELICAL VIRTUE. 95

crofs was confummated, when, aniidft the
pangs and groans of an expiring Saviour, the
rocks were rent, the earth quaked, the graves
were opened, and the vail of the temple was
divided in twain. Think we of the ties of
a COMMON Redemption and a common
Redeemer, and then re fort we, if we can,
to fo poor a fource as philofophy for motives
of love and tendernefs towards him !

In the name, then, of that di\ ine Saviour,
without whofe merits and atoning blood
none, however high in rank, affluent in
riches, or profound in fcience, can hope to
lee light or life ; in the name of that Re-
deemer who has declared himfelf ready to
accept, as done peribnallj to himfelf, every
a6i of beneficence done to the leait of.thofe
whom he, in the unutterable depth of his
condelcenlion, has called his brethren, even
in HIS name, we implore the continuance of
your generous contributions to the benevolent
Inftitution we are this day met to fupport ;
an inftitution of which it would be fuperfiu-
ous to report in detail the nature and ufeful-
nefs. Many are the afiliiStions the poor en-
dure, even in the days of their health and
vigour ; but on the bed of licknefs, except

the

96 BENEVOLENCE EXCLUSIVELY

the hand of Cliarity interferes, anguilh and
defpair is their inevitable portion. Their
difeafes are not the efFe6t of luxurious and
bloated living, of unbridled licence, or of
dronilh and enervating indolence, but either
of unforefeen accident, the conlequence of
exhaufting labour, or the fcantinefs of poor,
and perhaps unwholefome, diet. We aik
3- our affiftance for the poor village
PEASANTRY, (of wliich the obje6ls of
this Inftitution principally confill) the mojt
dcfcrvbig and leafl corrupted of any de*
fcription of men in this age of wickednefs
and apoftacy, by whofe honeft natures every
artful incitement to the principles of revolt,
plunder, and violence, have been refifted
and reje6led in a manner that muft for ever
endear them to every friend to his King
and Country. We are perfuaded that, by
this moft judicious exercife of your charity,
you will continue to demonflrate to them
that it is not to the atrocious codes of anar-
chy, [i) which are fo induftrioufly recom-
mended, that they can hope for rehef fj-om
the preffures of calamity, but from the energy
and efficacy of that Gofpel, which it is the
unvaried tendency of fuch ieffons to vilify

and

AN EVANGELjlCAL VIRTUE. 97

and eradicate. I am perfuaded that they-
are, and ever will be, convinced, that every
attempt to tear up the foundations of pro-
perty and focial order, is to deflroy their
own beil refources in the time of their
utmoft need.

But, above all, may a confideration of the
general calamities of human life foften down
your hearts to the meeknefs of Chriftian
wifdom ! How loon may Providence vilit you
with licknefs, pain, and agony! How foon
may the youngeji man who hears me, lie down
in that bed from whence he fhall rife no
more till the general refurre6lion ! In thefe
tremendous moments, when neither rank,
affluence, or reputation for the higheft intel-
le6lual endowments, can afford the fmalleft
hope or refuge, it will then be a treafure of
unfpeakable confolation to you, that you have
vifited the poor in his ficknefs, and the pri-
foner in his calamity. Let then neither the
conceit of any thing that is great, nor the
confidence of any thing that is wife or ftrong
in you, intercept your ferious meditation on
thefe words : " BleJJed is he that coiijidereth
" the poor and needy, the Lord will deliver
" him in the time, of trouble ; the Lord mil
1 H ^^ Jiren^them

98 BEN^EVOLENCE EXCLUSIVELY

" Jirengthen him upon the bed of langvi/Jiing ;
" the Lord will make all his bed in hisjick-
*' nefs."

I truft that, in thefe days of calamitous de-
fe6lion, all who wear the badge, and bear the
reproach, of Chrift, will Ihew themfelves his
difciples by that fign of mutual love by which
alone HIS CHURCH and HIS DISCI-
PLES are, according to his own express
DECLARATION, known and diftinguifhed ;
and without which all other' marks of apoftoli-
Cal miffion in the miniftry, and of Chriftian
profeffion in the laity, are " but as founding
^* brafs or tinkling cymbals."

I truft this FAMOUS and ancient Uni-
versity, eminent as it is for the cultivation
of every ufeflil and ornamental art, for the
profoundefl inveftigation of truth and fcience,
for the long and unrivalled lift of iiluf-
trious Names which it has added to the annals
of learning in this moft civilifed portion of
the globe, will not look upon this humble
but Chriftian Inftitution as the meaneft of its
well-earned triumphs. I am confident that
what its munificence planted, its foftering
hand has nourifhed, and its care and prudence
fg fteadily fuperintended, will ever continue

to

AN EVANGELICAL VIRTUE. 99

to be the objeft of its anxious and parental
affedion ; that, having brought every thought
into the captivity of Chrift, it will c^nfider
this, though the leaft fplendid, yet the mod
permanent of all its diftin6\ions ; that it
will, in the depth of Chriftian humiliation,
prefer the exercife of qhakity to all myf-
teries and all knowledge — anticipating tliat
bleffed ftatc w here fauh fliall be loft in vifion,
and hope in fruition; but charity, liks
ITS GREAT Author anij FoundjuIj

SHALL BE eternal!

H 2 NOTES.

NOTES.

(a) The procefs of Divine Benevolence, with
regard to the individuals upon whom puniiliment
is inflided, is inveftigated in the Gorgias of Plato
with a depth and comprehenfion of thought, and
with an avvful infight into the moral laws of the
creation, which feem to predominate over the
Jfcantiuefs of the materials with which natural re-
ligion fupplied him. This, however, placed an.
infurmountable barrier to his progrefs in this- im-
portant fpeculation. The necelTary connection
between crime and punijhment he clearly faw ; he
afferts, and J5er/i«p5 with juftice, th^t even pardon
itfelf could not relieve the oflfender, from what
he emphatically calls the '* sixfAom tou xikkou."
Therefore, in his laudable attempt to " vindicate
the ways of God to Man," he confiders all pu-
nilhment as medicinal to the fufferer. To affume
tl)i5, however, as a general principle, applicable to
every degree of punifliment, would be, I fear, to
go farther than fa6t and experience will warrant.
It however brings us, as the philofophy of Plato
generally does, to the very ^^re/Xo/^? of revelation:
to the acknowledgement not only of the neceffity
of that GREAT VICTIM who " bare OUT fins on his

Qwn

NOTES* 101

own body on the tree, " but alfo of that moral and
medicinal purification, which his grace alone-can
eflPe6t in the human heart.

Cb) Mr. Hume, in bis Pofthumous Dialogues
on Natural Religion, exhibits a very different
fpedacle from that of tbe illuftrious heathen juft
adverted to. We perceivd the latter through the
dimnels of natural light and the wildernefs of
conjetlure, labouring by every painful effort, to
reach and communicate the confolations of divine
benevolence. The former we find endeavouring,
with the calmeft determination, to fmother that
full convidion of it, which the providential fyftem
of Almighty God, when unfolded and illuilrated
by evangelical truth, fo undeniably exhibits. And,
when henetolent defign is excluded, with what are
we prefented in its ftead ? Let the infulted reader
judge, and let all ingenuous young men be early
aware to what poor fpeculations they facrifice their
confidence in God, and the hope of their Chriftian
calling. " Man is able, perhaps, to ajjert, or con-
jecture, that the unvcerfe, fometime^ arqfe from
fomething like defign : hut beyond that pofition he
cannot aj certain one (ingle circumflance ; and is left
aftenvards tojiv every point of his theology by the
utmoji licence of fancy and hypothefis. This worlds
for aught he knows, is very faulty and imperfeBy
compared to a fuperior ftandard ; and was only the
firft rude eff'ay of fome infant deiiy^ who after-

H 3 ivards

102 NOTES.

^ards ahandofied it, ajhamed of his lame per-
frrmance : it is the zvork only of fome dependent
inferior deity ; and is the object of derifmi to his
fuperiors : it is the production of old age and
dotage in fome fuperannuafed deity ; and^ ever
fince his deaths has run on at adventitres, from the
firji impulfe andaStive force which it receinedfrom
him.^'' See Dialogues concerning Natural Reli-
gion, p. 1 1 1. — Surely fuch conjectures are, in
the emphatical language of Cicero, " vix digna
lucuhratione aiiicularwn.^'' And j-et they are the
beft which the ahlejl of all the adverfaries of
Chriftianity could fubftitute for that vilified, re-
je6led Gofpel, which hath brought " life and im-
mortality to light."

(c) " Man 19 the greateft enemy of man."-—
Hume's Dialogues on Natural Religion, p. 179.

(d) If the province, limits, and defeats of
natural religion, were to be afcertained not from
fpeculation but fa6t, its beft conclufions would
appear to be not unfrequently negative. And
therefore juftly did Cicero, that nioft accurate
ki/loriari of philofophical opinions in the moft
poliflied age of Pagan ifni, after a full and dif-
tincl enumeration of the fentiments of all the
preceding teachers of wifdom in antiquity con-
cerning the nature of the Gods, juftly did he call
them '' non philofophorum judicia, fed delirantiiim

4 fomnia. '"

NOTES. 103

fomnia. " And very rationally, after recounting
the ravings of the ftoical Spinofifts, and the ab-
furdities of the Epicurean Anthropomorphites,
did HE profefs himfelf unable to find refuge ex-
cept in total fcepticifm and fufpenfe. Turn demum
mihi procax academia videbiturfi aut confeiiferint
omneSj aut erit inventus aliquis qui quid fit verum
invenerit. " De Nat. DeoV. lib. I. If experience
then is to guide us, inevitably inuft Christians
infer that the " things ofGodknowethno man, but
'' the fpirHt ofGod;'' and therefore if natueal
RELIGION be the religion of the natural man,
it ^'receiveth not the things of the fpirit of God ;''^
and we may fafely admit Mr. Hume's principle as
founded in fad:, however diftorted and malig-
nantly mifapplied by him, " that religious

FAITH IS TO BE ERECTED ON PHILOSOPHICAL

scepticism;" or on an honeft and fair flate-
ment of thequeftion, *' that man's ignorance

can only BE ENLIGHTENED BY THE WISDOM

OF God." — The author of the *' Age of Reafon'^
is pleafed to alTert, that " the Bible of the Crea-
tion is inexhauftible in texts." Yet fo ill was it
underftood by Cicero who kyiew not, and Mr.
.Hume who rejeBed, the Gofpel, that they both
confeffed that utter doubt and uncertainty was
the refult of the beft philofophy.

(e) Of the Divine Nature, Cicero aflerts, ''Res
nulla eji de qua tantopere non folam indocti,
H4 ' f^d

104 NOTES.

fed etiam docti difjhitiant ;' and a little before,
*' Qid Deos ejfe divet^unt tantd funt in varietateei
dijjhitiouey lit eorum molcjiumjit dinumerare fen-
tentias.'" DeNat. Deor. This citation will en-
able the moft fuperficial reader to difcern the
broad, vulgar, and elementary ignorance of the
following pofitions of Mr. T. Paine in the above-
mentioned tra6l : — " Deifm, then, teaches us,
without t\\t pqffibUity of being deceived, all that
is necefiary and poffible to be known. The crea-
tion is t\\t Bible of the Deift." " Inftead of
Undying theology, as is now done, out of the
Bible and Teftament, it is neceffary that we refer
to the Bible of the Creation. The principles we dif-
co'cer there are eternal and of divine origin ; they
are the foundation of all the fcience that exifts in
the world, and muft be the foundation of theology.''''
AfTertions fo grofsly ignorant may be expofed, but
fcarcely need confutation. Nothing can give them
a momentary importance or currency but the
growing negledt of ancient learning, and the fop-
piOi indolence of the age. But let it be remem-
bered, that if men of high rank zyf// embalm
the memory, and fpread the pofthumous fneers of
Gibbon, the vulgar, corrupted by their example,
will fwallow the atrocious blafphemies of Paine.
Let them, therefore, look to the confequences.

(f) Ariftotle juftly enough confiders 2, flat e
of nature, prior to the fandtion of laws, and the

reftrid;ion

IfOTES. 105

reftii6lion of foclal fubordination, to be a ftate of
the utmoft depravation, and therefore aflferts,

«Tw HXi p^w^ktOek vojtAou xaj (^iK»)f, yiioiorrov •uyot.VTUv.——
im otvocrniTaTOv hxi AFPinTATON ocuv ccPiTng. — He
then fhrewdly adds, H AE AIKAIOZTNH nOAI-
TIKON. Polit. 1. 1.

(g) Mr. Hume.

(h) If the Memorabilia of Xenophon, the
Offices of Cicero, the Enchiridion of Epi^tetus, the
writings of Antoninus and Hierocles, Arrian and
SimpUcius, are not thought futiicient to warrant
this aiiertion, the Nkhomachean Ethics of Arif-
totle will, above all, prefent an overbearing proof
of it Thefe laft afford not only the moft perfe<3;
ipecimen of fcientilic morality, but exhibit alfo
the powers of the moft compaft and befi con-
ftru6ted lyftem which the human intellect ever
produced upon any fubjecl; enlivening occafion-
ally great feverity of method, and ftrid: precifion
of terms, by the fublimeft, though fobereft, fplen-
dor of diction. Ariftotle had the fmgular art of
infufing eloquence even into a definition — of this
his definition of happ'mefs affords a marvellous
inftance: " ESTIN ETAAIMONIA KAT' APETHN
ENEPFEIA." The fixth and feventh chapters of
the laft book of this great work are unrivalled in
grandeur either of language or conception. If

moral

106 NOTES.

moral philofophy, I mean fpecificalli) and properly
fo called, without an incongruous mixture of
theology and politics, (iVom either of wliich it is
entirely diftinft,) is to be ftudied as a fcience, in
fuch fources it is to be fought. Thenee will be
formed a manly intellectual vigour, an ingenuous
modefty and dignity of habit, an energy of
thought and didion, and a reach of comprehen-
five knoM'ledge, which diftinguifhes the true Eng-
lifli fcholar. On the contrary, it is to be feared
that the feeble fpeculation which ahnoft all mo-
dern SYSTEMS of morality (fuch I fairly and
frankly own as Dr. Paley's Principles of
Moral Philosophy) encourage, and the fuper-
ficial information they aftbrd, fuperfeding the
neceffity of all a6;ive and real employment of the
faculties, have operated more fatally upon the
mental habits of the rifmg generation than total
ig?iora?ice could poilibly have done. What ren-
ders men fuperficial, renders them pert ; and I
hardly ever knew an inftance, either in men or
communities, where benevolence is not anni-
hilated by per tnefs. Let it be remembered, as
an important document, that the moft fuperiicial
and foppilh nation of Europe has, in every
change and modification of its habits, whe-
ther of SUPERSTITION or Atheifm, of ty-
ranny or licentioufnefs, been uniformly and no-
torioully the moft cruel and relentlefs.

(1) The

NOTES. 107

(i) So the French have at laft been obliged to
call every preceding fyllem of Equality and the
Rights of Men, except only the laft precious
modification of them, under which they now
groan. (This was preached in the year 1795.)

DISCOURSE

DISCOURSE IV.

2 COR. viii. 23, 24.

" THEY ARE THE MESSEJfGERS OF THE
" CHURCHES, AND THE GLORY OF
*' CHRIST : WHEREFORE SHEW YE TO
" THEM, AND BEFORE THE CHURCHES,
" THE PROOF OF YOUR LOVe/'

1 H E reciprocal love which exifted between
the Minillers of the Gofpel and their recent
converts, conftituted one of the prominent
features of the Apoflolic age. The fpirit of
focial religion feems to have been never lb
well underftood, nor its practice ib generally
diffufed. Mutual dangers and mutual dif-
trelfes were, perhaps happily for them, the
only portion they could expe6t in the king-
dom of Chrift upon earth ! They proved
beyond all controverfy, how necellary the
■ fpirit of Chrillianity is to a right under-

Itanding

110 FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

ilanding of its nature, principles and polity.
The conflni6tion of the component parts of
the Church, the gradation of its orders, the
obje6ls and limits of its difcipline, the duty
and regard attaching to its Minifters, the
reciprocal charities between all its members^
feem both from the facred records, and thofe
nearly co-eval with them (fcanty as they are)
in thofe early times to have been moft clearly
imderftood. Without thofe cumbrous vo-
lumes upon Ecclefiaftical regimen, without
the exafperation of difpute, without the pro-
lix decrees of Synods or Councils, without
the folemn decifions of Canon Law, without
the tedious procefs and uncertain ifllie of me-
taphyiical abftra6lions, which the worldly
wifdom and ambitious craft of fucceeding
ages produced, the primitive Chriilians well
knew both how to command, and how to
obey. The abfolute neceffity of religious
order and fubordination, as arifmg out of the
very nature and eflence of Church commu-
nion, they abundantly felt and acknowledged.
Not only between the members of each fepa-
rate Church did there exift a principle of
aflfe^tioi) and concord, but between diftinft
and independent Churche:s the kindeft com-
munication

FOR THE SONS OT THE CLERGY. Ill

munication and correfpondence. An infolated
Chriftian was a chara\:ler unknown anion<2r
them, and of whom they recognized not even
the exiilence. Their love to their crucified
Lord was combined with a love of *' his
body the Church/' It appears uniformly,
that its authority was Itrenuoufly inhiied
upon, and obligations of obedience to its
rulers eagerly inculcated. And yet by us it
may be thought fufficiently lingular, that
though in the Apoftles and their fucceflbrs
we find no receffion from the high claim of
authority, no mitigation in the rigid per-
formance of duty, no perfonal fear or par-
tiality in the intiiftion of thok fpiritiial cen-
fures which the Church fo boldly and yet fo
charitably denounced againft oiienders, yet
the principal excefs which they had to con-
troul and contend with, was the exuberance
of the affection which their children and
converts bore them. They feared left the
overwhelming inftances of affe6lion they ex-
perienced {hould too much foften down their
refolutioh for thofe ftern trials of their faith
and conftancy which they knew ultimately
awaited them. This was the comphi'mt of
a Paul, this was the apprthenjion of an

Jgnatius,

112 rOR THE «ONS OF THE CLERGY.

Ignatius, (a) Correfpondent to this recipro-
cal love were the hberal contributions by
which the common caufe in thofe times was
fupported both in the fupply of the wants
of the Miniftry, and the rehef of the necef-
fities of the poor Saints. For we find there
" was not among them any that lacked, for as
*' jnany as were pojjeffors of lands or hoiifes,
" Jbld them, and brought the prices of the
" things that were fold, and laid them at the
" Apojiles'feet" Nor was the return to thefe
and fimilar inftances of unbounded confidence,
lefs confpicuous or exemplary. The great
Apoftle, after his ready abandonment of every
worldly intereft, of all thofe envied diftinc-
tions to which his exuberant eloquence, his
comprehenfive mind, and his mafculine un-
derftanding, aided by the adventitious privi-
lege of Roman citizenlhip, might juftly have
entitled him in that knowing and civilized
age ; after having facrificed what to him,
perhaps, was a more precious oflfering, all
that renown to which his confcious fupe-
riority, and (as far as we can trace it) his
natural temperament fo ftrongly inclined him ;
after, I fay, laying down all this at the foot of
the crofs, and taking up in its ilead poverty,

reproach,

FOR Till! SOXS OF TIIF CLERGY. 113

reproach, ignominy, and perfeciition ; after
all his watchings and failings, his journey-
ings and imprifonments, his labours and con-
flicts, his tears and prayers for his beloved
children, even HE utterly declined to avail
himfelf of the common bounty, but tells us,
that " his own hands .miniftered unto his
neceflities, becaule he would not be charge-
able to any of thofe to whom he preached
the Gofpel of God \"

But in recurring to thefe early ages for
examples of thefe, or any other precedents
for our Chriftian conduct, we need a fteady,
difcreet, and temperate judgment, equally
preferring us from two extremes. On the
one hand, fome from comparing paft with
prefent practice and principle, from indiffe-
rence, from indolence, from affeftation, and
more from the mere effeminacy of the times,
maintain an abfolute and perfe6l exemption
from propofing fuch patterns to their imita-
tion. 'I'hey feem to think that the laborious
exertions in thofe times made, the magnani-
mous refolution then dilplayed, the fraternal
intercourfe and communication of benefits
then interchanged, are in the prefent day per-
fectly vilionary and impracticable. That not
I only

114 rOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

only fuch principles may be abandoned, but
in many important inftances ihofe direftly
contrajied to them may be adopted. The
few, I trnft the very few, among the Clergy,
who are degraded by fuch opinions, may hold
themfelves jultiiiable in thmking that the
public provilion for their maintenance may
be difpofed of and employed like all other
propert}^, to which no i'pecilic difcharge of
duty is attached ; and in return the Laity
whofe fentiments are limilar, may efteem
themfelves juftitied in conlidering a Church
eftablilhment as a burthenfome though ne-
ceflary appendage to a State Police, and its
moft faithful Minifters entitled for all their
labours, to no other return of regard and
liberality than fer vices merely ftipendiary
demand.

How oppofite fuch a judgment is to all the
duties, all the confolations, all the influence
of the Gofpel, as well as to the purpole of
this day's kibour of Love, it Icarcely need be
proved, or that the very end of an eflabhihed
Church is not to alter or enervate r but to
prefer\e, to cheriih, and to continue the
iital principle of Chriftian Faith, Hope, and
Charity.

/ . The

FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY. 115

The other extreme alluded to, is that of
fpeculative and I'ometimes fplenetic obfervers,
who take into no confideration whatever the
neceiiary conieqiiences of the civil eflablifli-
ment of Chriftianity ; who in reading of the
hig-h and heroic zeal which animated the
apoftolical age, are apt- to imagine that all
exertions /7/or^ of thefe are mean and infigni-
ficant. Thele men picture to themfelves de-
pravity which exifts not, and overlook in-
Itances of virtue and piety which are imme-
diately before them. They peeviflily, paf-
fionately, and fometimes malignantly indulge
themfelves in trite and vague declamation
-againft civil eftabliiliments as the grand ob-
llacles and hindrances of all Chriftian influ-
ence in the heart of man ; they cannot or will
not dilcern that it was as much in the inten-
tion of the Divine Founder of our religion,
that at a ftated period of its growth it fliould
be incorporated with the civil government of
Chriftian nations, giving and receiving reci-
procal fupport, as it was that it (hould, be^
fore fuch a period, found and maintain itl'elf
without fuch fupport ; and who prefumptu-
oully, by fo perv-erfe a train of reafonirg,
reftrict Infinite Wifdom in producing the
I 2 fame

Il6 roB Tin: sons of the clkrgy.

fame end by different inftmments. If men
of this caft ever refer to Chriftian antiquity*
it is witli a view of invidious and malignant
contrali ; it is more with an intention to indif-
pofe the minds of men to the Clergy of the
eftablifl-jment, than with a view of regulating
the practice of themfelves ai7d others, by the
bright and ihining lights which primitive
ages exhibit.

Upon principles equally remote from either
of thefe extremes it is, that men of candid,
calm, and charitable minds, will derive their
meafures of thinking and acting with regard
to the Chriftian Church, and the members of
whom it is compofed. In eftimating the
fervices rendered, and the return of liberality
and kihdnefs exj)e6led, they will confidcr the
nature of the various trials to which they are
called forth. They will take into their view
the cliverfified circumftances either of prol-
perity or adverfity in which the Church may
be placed. They will reflect upon the varied
confequences which neceflarily arife from the
commercial, the literary, the focial relations
and bearings of the nation in which the Pro-
vidence of God has planted it. They will
combine the degree of the ejfhrts cjei-ted, with

the

ITOR THE SOXS Of THE CLERGY. ll7^

tlie ohfiades oppofed to tlieni ; the proportion
of peribnal virtue, with the pecuhar tempta-
tions and trials to which it ftands expofed.
In tracing the faults of individuals, in mark-
ing the imperfe6tions of difcipline, they will
not fliiit their eyes to the refult of the good
obtained, not only in the. times which are bn-
inediatdif before them, but in thofe w hich arc
pajl. xlbove all they will remember, whenever
inclined to too great a feverity of animadver-
fion, that our great High Frieji himfdf is
touched with a Jenfc of human infirmity.

It is to men of a judgement fo balanced,
of an underilanding i'o informed, of affec-
tions fo combined with a love tor the blefled
Gofpel of Chrift, and the common country in
which we live, that the Church of Eng-
land with a firm, but ihe truits a modeit
confidence, prefers her petition for thtr con-
tinuance of the kindneis and generofity of
this ancient, great, and renowned nation, in
behalf of Thole, who in a peculiar fenfe are
near and dear unto her. The Church of
ExGLANP implores it in conlideratien of her
own dignity, rank, and importance, in the
order of Proteltant and Cln*iltian Churches ;
of the faithful dilcharge of duty, of a clofe
I 3 fellowliiip

118 FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

fellowfhip of interefts and benefits, both fpi-
ritual and temporal, with the Laity of thefe
kingdoms ; die implores it in behalf of
Thofe, who in the efficacy of their labours
are not a whit behind the chiefeft of any who
" are the Meffengers of the Churches and
the glory of Chrifl/' Concerning the
grounds upon which flie requefts the con-
tinuance of your liberality on her own ac-
count ^vho afks, and the ments of Thofe /or
whom fhe implores it, {lie prays that by the
unworthieft of her Sons and Minifters it may
be permitted her to /peak for herfelf.

And firft, the rank and dignity ilic has
ever held among reformed Churches, may well
entitle her to this mark of your regard.
When Almighty Cjod, in the depth of his
merciful decrees, was pleafed to diffipate the
long dark night of Papal Superflition, to
burft thofe bonds of cruelty, perfecution, ig-
norance, and impofture, which had for fo
long a facceflion of ages triumphed over
learning, piety, antl even the common feel-
ings of natural humanity ; when in order to
^ccomplilh that his gracious defign, he had
given his chofen inllruments Luther (b)
and Calvin with an intrepidity, an energy,

a manly

lOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY. 119

a manly deciilon of character, a contempt of
eafe, danger, and intereli:^ proportioned to
the high talk he had affigned them — then it
was that amidft the goodheft of the Struc-
tures which were founded on the ruins of
the Roman domination, the Church of
England arofe. Her original was truly
primitive, it was watered by the blood of
her Fathers. Their faith and ^!rmnefs were
very early called forth by the Papiits to a
iliarp and fiery perfecution. To her firil
Bifhops, among whom was her venerable
Primate, theiv pre-eminence was a pre-emi-
nence oi\fufferi/ig, and their high dignity, a
crow^n of martyrdom ! 'J 'hey prophecied in
die midft of the flames by which they were
confumed, that their fufferings would not
be forgotten by the Englifh nation, but that
a light would be kindled which the darknefs
of Antichrift would never again extinguiili or
overcome.

The origin of this Church then ha$ the
impreflion of a feal and chara6ler truly pri-
mitive, both in the rank, the courage, and
the confcancy of its Martyrs. From them
was tranfmitted to us,- by the Providence of
God, and to this day is prefer ved to us a
I 4 Chiu'ch

120 FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

Church founded on the Apoftles and Mar-
tyrs, Jefus Chrift hhnfelf being the Corner
Stone.

Nor doth this Church come recommended
to us by its foundation only, but by its fuper^
ftruBure alio. Its doctrines are Evan-
gelical, AND ITS DISCIPLINE APOSTO-
L I c A L. Firm temper, true moderation, great
fkill in the word of God, extenfive view^s of
primitive antiquity, gave a moil beneficial
direction to that fervent piety by Avhich the
firft reformers were animated. In confe-
quence of their provident labours, we may
boaft a - profefiion of faith founded on the
Holy Scriptures, to which alone our Church
appeals for the truth of every principle ihe
afierts, and every conclufion ilie has deduced.
Pier Theology ihe lias laid in the deepeit and
firmeft foundations, the ma jeity of the Crea^
tor and the humiliation of the creature. In
her fublime, iimple, and animated Liturgy,
ihe has colle6ted and diifuied all that is
ftrong mid Jpiritual in Rehgion, carrying to
the huarts and bolbms of men every Evan-
gelical grace and confolation, in the daily
fervice of her Temple.

And

FOR THE SONS OF THE CLrr.GY. 121

And be it permitted us to iay, that not
only in its origin und fuperjiriili are, but in
its adual exertions may it jullly urge its title
to your attachment.

Eirft, as I have before oblerved, as the
Church of England was raifed in oppofition
to Papal power, craft and cruelty, lb has it
ever fmce been a firm bulwark againfi: their
return into thefe kingdoms. So far is it from
there being the fmalleil; ground for that inali-
cioiis and idle, calumny of its approximation
in any principle or practice to Popery, (c)
that the Church of Rome is known by thofe
who have either by reading or converfation
an opportunity of learning the ientiments of
its leading agents, to conlider the exiftence,
the prolperity, and the itability of the Eiigliih
Church, as the Ofili/ impregnable barrier to
its revival in this kingdom. The Papifts well
remember that it was not the Sectaries, but
the Church of E^vTGLand, which ftood in
the gap, near the clofe of the laft century ;
nor uill the honourable teftimony of the firft
Houfe of Commons which aflembled after
the grand Revolution, recording, in a folemn
vote of thanks the grateful fenfe of the na-
tion, for the exertions of the Englifh Clergy

in

122 rOR THE SOXS OF THE CLERGY.

in the time of clanger and calamity, ever be
eraied from tlieir recollection, (d) Of courfe
the antipathy of either natke or foreign Pa-
piits, while Popery is what it is ellentiall}-,
and what it ever has been, cannot be (e) fojt-
ened by (nuj benefits^ or dilarmed by an exten-
fion of immunities, (as we have recent, wide,
and UNDENIABLE experience). The fubver-
fion of the Church of England is their hrit,
their darling obje6t ; and till this can be ac-
compliilied,an invincible obftacle is oppofed to
every defign they can form, and every eftbrt
they can make. Nor will this oppolitio.n be
the lef'^, we truft, from the charity, the tem-
per, the humanity, the unexampled Chriftian
.munificence which our Church has exhibited
to thefe her radical and inveterate foes. That
without ever fuffering her zeal to degenerate
into violence^ or, what in thefe times is more
to be apprehended, her moderation to be
lulled into indifference, the Church of Eng-
land will continue to ad up vigilantly to
this high deftination of Providence, in con-
trouling the power, and countera6ting the
wiles of Antichrift, we may confidently anti-
cipate. On the ground then of this invaluable
fervice rendered to the Proteftant caufe, with

which

TOR THE SONS OF THE CLEPxCY. 123

which the charitable inftitution we are met to
liipport bears a clofe conne6tion, may be refted
one of our moft juit claims to your favour
and bounty.

But not only in her oppoJJtion to Vopery is
the praife of our common Parent conlpicu-
ous in every ftage of her progrefs, but alfo
in a firm adherence and conftancy to thole
Evangelical doctrines which the venerable
reformers delivered as their befl legacy to her
guardian care. Thole fame doctrines which
were to Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley,
Hooper, Jewel, their glory, their joy and
their crown of rejoicing, ftill are (we are
ready to fubmit to the reproach) to this t'er?/
day the do6i;rines of this Church. No fediic-
tions of worldly wifdom, no taunts of her
adverlaries, no artifices and infmuations on
the one hand, or menaces on the other, has
fliaken the conftancy of the Church of Eng-
land to the orthodox doftrine of the Gofpel.
To her it is owing that the energies of Chrif-
tianity have not been abated, nor its confola-
tions enervated by Arian or Socinian re-
finement. ( f) If this is indeed a reproach, it
is the reproach of the Cross, and long may
it remain with her ! Her conflicts with her

adverfaries

134 FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

adverlaries in this great caufe, a large ma-
jority of the Eiiglifh Laity have witnefied
and approved. Nor need we recur to former
times for examples of this fame prudence,
vigilance, and conftancy. We find no age
in which peevifh, petulant, and precipitate
innovation in thefe great and effential points,
has been more firmly and more charitably
oppofed, than by the prefent Governors and
Fathers of the Church. Nor has this been
an oppofition oijieadinefs only, but of ai'gu-
menf^ learnings and conviBion. Polemical
ikill and erudition, which would have done
honor to the beffc ages of the Church, have
been difpiayed on thefe fubje6is by Thofe
who have been called to its higheft ftations.
And we cannot but glory, and this glorying
can no man make void, that in no Church
has Scriptural learning in every branch, cri'
tical or explanatory, elegant or didactic,
been purfued with more unremitting a6tivity,
or cultivated with more fignal fuccels. And,
above all, I believe that in inveftigating, in
illuftrating, in arranging the various evi-
dences of our common faith, in oppofition
to the multifarious and verfatile cavils and
fophiftry of Infidelity, which for this lafl

century

rOR THE SOXS OF THE CLERGY. 125

rentury has been in unwearied a6livity in
different parts of Europe, the writers of the
Church of England ftand unrivalled by mo-
dern or even ancient apologifts. I think
we may hazard the afiertion that in eftablilh-
ing the proofs of revelation, whatever is juft
in ftatement, orderly in method, perfpicuous
in illuftration, copious in difcuflion, power-
ful in inference, has in the immortal writinirs
of the Clergy, and with peculiar fati.sfaclion
we add, the Laity of the eftablifhed Church,
been fo exhibited as not to be equalled by
the colleftive labours of the wliolt Clirijtlan
Church fmce the Apoftolic age. (g) And
happy are we that the lateft defenders, whom
Cjod has raifed among us, have diljplayed an
ability, fpirit, and a<5ti^ity which proves, that
even in tliefe days he hath not left himfelf
without witnei's.

Neither among the dire6t fervices done to
the fociety in which Hie is planted can we,
or ought we, to overlook the confcientious
obedience to the conititutional government
of this country, which the Minilters of the
Church of England have both preached and
enforced. Knowing that the wifdom from
above is firft peaceable, then gentle, they
\i3.ve Jcorned to court a momentary popularity

by

12G FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

by flattering and fomenting the licentious
pafllons of men, to their mutual deftruction,
confufion, and de valla tion. To the conftitu-
tional and limited monarchy of the country,
they have felt it their duty to promote a
warm attachment at all times, and in none,
more than in thofe of its grcatefl calamity
and depreffion. Theirs, we truft, is not the
friendfliip and adherence of profperitif only :
in the moii; turbulent and tempeiluous fea-
fons they enjoined, and we truft will boldly
continue to enjoin, fear to God and honor to
the King. Their leffons ill accord with thofe
delufive profpecls ofperfeftion in ci\il go-
vernment, which while they pretend to fecure
the rights and to advance the liberties of man-
kind, promote that fpirit of ferocious con-
tention and proud turbulency, which threaten
utterly to annihilate both. While therefore
the bleffmgs of order and fecurity are felt
and acknowledged, while the miferable efiPefts
of uncontrouled paffions, and licentious the-
ories, are vifible and palpable ; while the Eng-
lifli conftitution diffufes protection, plenty,
and i'ecurity, the uniform conduct of the
Englifli Clergy in founding the duty to Kings
Qn the word of Him by whom Kings reign,

will

Foil THE SONS OF THE CLERGV. 127

■will be thoLiglit by all good men a beneficial
dilcharge of duty both to God, their countiy,
and to pofterity ; a duty never more called
for than by the awful exigency of the times
in which we are thrown ! Of this Church
then we may furely fa}', " for our Brethren
and companions lakes we will wiili Thee
profperity."

I'o clofe all, it might be added, though
upon a fubject on which the Church of
JMigiand from every principle is leafl inclined
to glory, it might be added, I fay, that in
no province of learning or ibience, by w hich
the national chara6ler has been raifed in every
country in Europe, have advances been made,
but that the Englilh Clergy have been in the
ten) foremoji ranks. Nay, farther, by the
eloquence of her preachers the ftandard of
the Englilli language has been railed and
fixed. From the majeftic circumfcription,
and overwhelming pathos of a Barrow ; the
vehement, eager, artiefs impetuofity of a
TiLLOTSON ; the ornamental, copious, flow-
ing elegance of an Atterbury; from the
mafculine preciiion, and the nervous gravity
of a Sherlock, the beauty, the variety, and
ilie refources of our native ton2;ue have been
9 moll

1^1 FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

moil tranfcendently exhibited and explored.
Theie, and iucli like illuftrioiis models both
the Senate and the Bar have, we well know,
not difdained to coniider as the moll exube-
rant fources of thofe ftreams by which they
are enriched and fed. And we confidently
hope, that not only the fiyle and diction of
thefe illuftrious mafters have been the object
of their imitation, and the foundation of
their eminence, but that alio the principles
thefe venerable men profeiled, and that nurf-
ing mother the Church, which bore them,
will have their fupport, affection, and ad-
herence, till time (hall be no more.

But neither in this, or any other human ac-
quifition, is (he inclined toboaft. " God forbid
" that {he should glory save in the
" CROSS OF OUR Lord Jesus Christ !"
But at a time when her enemies are many,
and her conflicts various; when invidious
comparifons are inftituted between her fifter
Proteftant Church eftablilbed in this* ifland,
(to whom, however, flie is proud to profels
her warmed veneration, not as a rival of her
fame, but as a partner of her labours, and a
helper of her joy, and a joint bulwark of the
Proteftant faith in thefe kingdoms); when

fuch

roil TiiE SONS of the clergy. 129

fuch comparifons are inftituted in the highe/i
places, and by men of exalted rank,- flie may
realbnably claim to havej not her panegyric,
but her apology heard ; (h) and that at this
folemn feafon, when the tribes as it were go
up in the center of this great metropolis,
and when in the prefence of fo many of
her venerable and apoflolical Fathers, the
national bounty is eagerly requefted for thofe
fo nearly related to her; at fuch a time, I
fay, it might be juftly and reafonably per-
mitted to her fons (in the beautiful language
of one of her moft able apologilts, who
lived to witncfs her fad downfall in thefe
nations) " to remember Jerufalem, and call
" to mind the pleafures of the Temple, the
*' order of her fervices, the beauty of her
** buildmo's, the fweetnefs of her fon^s, the
•** decency of her miniftrations, the afiiduity
" and economy of her Priefts and Levites,
" the daily ikcrifice, and that eternal fire of
" devotion that went not out by day or by
" night ; thefe were the pleafures of our
" peace, and there is a permanent felicity in
" the very memory of thofe fpiritual de-
" lights which we then enjoyed as antepafls
K " of

130 FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

" of Heaven, and a conlignation to immor-
" tality of joys '^."

If then the Church of Chrift eftabhflied
in thefe kingdoms, has in the difcharge of
her duty in an eminent degree contributed to
the wehare, the order, the temporal profperity
of her country ; if in the formation of the
national charafter her leifons have contributed
to the growth of that integrity, good lenfe,
good nature, and benevolence, which difcri-
minate the habits of Enghihmen; if by
her means the everlafling Gofpel has been
preached pure and entire to you ; if the
galling yoke of Roman bondage has by
her means been twice averted from 3-ou ; if
in the bofom of her communion fo many of
our forefathers have died in the hope of
Chrift, then fhe requefls to be heard in be-
half of thefe poor orphan branches of her
family, which are now prefented to your pity
and regard.

Expanded as our hearts muft be with that
holy flame of charity which the fight of this
crowded and augufl: aftembly, met for fuch
a purpofe, muft naturally excite, I will not
fuppofe that any who hear me wdll be difm-

clined

* Bifhop Jer, Taylor.

FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY. 131

clined to further our bleffed undertaking by
any of thofe petulant and contra6led objec-
tions which are urged againft the inequahty
of rank and emolument in the Church of
Chrift eftabliflied among us. Trials of va-
rious kinds muft under every pojjihle modifi-
cation of Church revenue await the Minifters
of Chrift in this their militant and proba-
tionary ftate. Both profperity and adverfity
may in the Clergy, as well as in other Chril-
tians, be the gauge of their fidelity to Chrift,
or the occafion of their fallinsi: from him.
"We feel no relu(5lance whatever in admitting
that all ecclefiaftical dignity, rank, revenue,
and patronage, are not the inftruments either
of private luxury, felfiftinefs, pomp, and con-
fequence, but a moji folemn and facred triift,
for which a ftri(5l account muft be given
when all our accounts are rendered up before
the great Judge of all men, and from the
abufe of which, efFe61s of the moft extended,
lamentable, and malignant nature to learning,
piety, and morals, muft be felt by the whole
flock of Chrift. But as they afford (and
what does not afford) grounds for abufe, fo
do they on the contrary open the faireft field
for the exercife of every Chriftian grace and
K 2! virtue.

132 FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

virtue. Humility is brought forth by pof-
feffion of rank, munificence by weah;h, ab-
ftinence by plenty, meeknefs by exaltation,
forbearance by power. Caution, we admit,
is neceilary, and a poietratmg and conjiant
.conviction that for all thefe things " God
" will call the pofleiTors into judgment ;"
but alfo that " if they are faithful unto
" death, He will give them a croMn of life."
However, in the mod flourilhing ftate of the
Church, /e^z^^ can be called to this envied and
dangex'ous fuperiority . 1 1 is through the fafer,
though iharper conflict of tribulations and
afflictions that perhaps a major ifi/ of Chrift's
Minilters juu/t pals through the wildernefs of
this world, to " fhat reft uhich mcaiteth the
*' people of God".

Precious, therefore, in the fight of God, of
their country, and of all good men, will be
the labours and perfons of thofe whom his
providence has deftined to what in this world
only will be confidered the fubordinate offices
of the Cliurch of Chrift. For be it w'ell
and conftantly recollected, — that all external
and apparently more magnificent parts of the
eccleliailical fabric, — all the gradations of its
orders, — all the authority and dignity of its

hierarchy,

rOR THE SONS'OF fllE CLERGY. 135

hierarchy, — all the decent fplendour of its
ceremonies, — all the llibiidiary exertions of
the learning, the acutenefs, and the ability of
its a^dvocates, are but as means to an end, to
which if they contribute not, they are in truth
the moft infignificant things which can be con-
ceived. The end and purpofe of all is, THE

ADVAlSrCEMENT OF CiIRISt's SPIRITUAL
INWARD KINGDOM IX THE HEARTS OP

MAN ; the efFe6tual operative difplay of this
elementary, conftituent propofition, on which
hang all the law and the prophets, the Church
and the Gofpel, namely, "That God was
" IN Christ, iiEcoxciLiNG the w^orld

" unto himself, not IMPUTING THEIR

TRESPASSES UNTO THEM.

In the immediate exercife of this miniflry
of reconciliation, and an application of it to
the hearts of men, were thefe holy perfons,
for whole orphan progeny we now requeft
your bounty, aSilveh/ employed. Theirs it
was to preach the Gofpel to the poor, to bind
up the broken hearted, not fo much to rejoice
with thofe that rejoice, as to weep with thofe
who weep : to be partakers of the tribulations
of the Gofpel ; to carry the triumphant ban-
kers of tlie crofs into the chilling penury and
K 3 defolation

134 FOR THE SONS OF THE GLERGY.

defolation of a cottage ; theirs to bear the
terrors of the Lord to rough, fiillen and boif-
terous offenders ; to fnatch the moment of
pain or danger to perfuade men ; theii's to
open the welUfpring of comfort to eager,
anxious penitents, trembUng between the two
ftages of exiftence in time and in eternity ; to
intercept defpair, and to reprefs prefymption ;
to fupport the dying, and to warn the hving ;
theirs in this work to face the inclemency of
the feafons, to brave the contagion of pefti-
lential maladies in prifons and lazar houfes ;
theirs to perform all this to the poor and
friendlefs, and by the unremitting exertions of
body and mind, foul and fpirit, through the
might of Chrift, to abate the bitternefs of the
curfe by which " Sin came iyito the world, and
" death by Sin." Still more, theirs it is, to
difcharge fuch duty in the midft of ob-
fcurity and retirement, where no obfervation
of the Great follows, no earthly hope en-
courages, no human applaufe cheers or deba/es
their labors. Their only witnefs is God,
and their confcience, and their only return
the prayers of thofe they comfort and ferve,
and the expe6lation of that recompence
which awaits them at the refurre(5lion of the

juft,

FOR THE SONS Of THE GLEPwGi. 135

juft. Surely iuch men " are the messen-
" GERs OF the Churches and the
*' GLORY OF Christ."

Of theie men, lively muft be the confola-
tions in life, and when they themfelves lie
clown on the bed of hcknefs or of death, great
muft be their hope in God, and unfpeakable
thofe fupports which they have fo often mi-
niftered to others : an anxiety ftill however
remains with them ; an anxiety connected
with the moil heavenly affections in the hu*
man frame. Surrounded as they are by their
widow ed partner and their weeping progeny,
on them they caft their laft earthly regards.
They lament not that their lot, like that of
their parent, is humble and obfcure, but an
agonizing thought intervenes, left in this
chequered world of woe and temptation, the
preffures of want iliould bear too hard upon
tliem, and that they ihould for any pains of
poverty tall from God. They fear for the
dangers of youth and deftitution, and in the
laft parting look they caft upon them, they
tremble for thole nameleis and numberlefs
dangers to which the unprotected innocence,
particularly oi female orphans, ftands expoled.
Of fuch men, in fuch moments, recollect

K 4 every

136 FOR THE SONS OF THE CLERGY.

every donation of 3'oiirs muit foolh the ago-
nies. They will be encouraged in life, and
comforted in death, by knowing that there is
no decay in this charitable intlitution, and
that after all their affli^lions which ftill re-
main behind in the flefh are confummated in
them, that they have left thefe their deareft
legacy in the hands of a merciful God, pity-
ing benefa6iors, and a grateful country,

May the protection of Almighty God be
for ever with his Church, uniting all orders
and degrees in thefe kingdoms in one com-
mon link of faith, hope, and charity ; by his
good providence may it be tranfmitted to the
lateft pofte'rity ; and when it is deftined to
pafs from its militant to its triumphant ftate,
jnay every foul who hears me, by their ex-
panded charity beftowed on this occafion,
through the grace, and in the name of
the Saviour of the world, " Jiiid mercy i)i
" that daij."

NOTES.

NOTES.

HxpS'imv' iyu yxff a [xci/on ^i^riuxi aXXot, v.xi uiro^xvuv nz

jaaJpofi. c. 21. V. 13.

$o§8joiai yxp J|Uwv AFAITHN f/.n auTJi j(/.£ a^jxtia-ij.
'T[Aiv yap iv^ipig itrriv o ^iXetb Tiroivtrxiy {[xoi ^e S\j<Ty.oKov
(anv T8 0£8 £7r»TUp(^£»i' ixv Trip UjM.£ij ^£J0"£6£ /lAa. Igncitii

Epijiola ad Romanos,

(b) Of the firft of thefe great men, IMartyn'
Luther, Bishop Atterbury gives the follow-
ing mallerly character, for tranfcribing* which few
of my readers will think any apology neceffary,
particularly as the tra6l from whence it is taken
is very fcarce, and in ^ew hands.

" IVIartin Luther's life was a continual warfare,
*■ he was engaged againft the united forces of the
'* Papal world, and he ftood *the fliock of 'em
** bravely, both with courage, and fuccefs. Af-
" ter his death, one would have expected, that
" generous adverfarics fliould have put up their
♦* pens and quitt.ed at leaft fo much of the quarrel
^* as was perfonal. But on the contrary, when
*^ Ihs doctrines grew too flrong to be Ihook by

" hi.';

138 NOTES.

his enemies, they perfecuted his reputation ;
and by the venome of their tongues fufficiently
convinced the world, that the rehgion they
were of allowed not only- prayers for the
dead, but even ciirfes too. — He was a man
certainly of high endowments of mind, and
great virtues : he had a vaft underftanding,
which rais'd him up to a pitch of learning un-
known to the age he liv'd in : his knowledge
in fcripturcs was admirable, his elocution
manly, and his way of reafoning with all the
fubtilty that thofe honeft; plain truths, he deli-
vered, would bear: His thoughts were bent al-
ways on great defigns, and he had a refolution
fitted to go thro' with 'em : The alTurance of
his mind was not to be fliook, or furpriz'd ; and
that '7rxppri(not of his (for I know not what elfe
to call it) before the dyet at Worms, was fuch
as might have become the days of the Apof-
tles. His life was holy, and, when he had lei-
{"ure for retirements, fcvere : his virtues active
chiefly, and homilitical, not thofe lazy fullen
ones of the Cloylter. He had no ambition but
in the fervice of God : for other things, neither
his enjoyment, nor willies, ever went higher
than the bare conveniencies of living. He was
of a temper particularly averfe to covetoufnefsy
or any bafe fni ; and charitable even to a fault,
without ref])e6t to his own occafions. If among
2 '' this

XOTES. 139

" this crozcd of vh't lies a. failhig crept in, we mull
*' remember that an Apoille himfelf has not
" been irreprovahk : If in the body of his doc-
*' trine, ouejiaw is to be fecn ; yet the greatell
*' lights of the Church, and the pureft times of
*' it, were, we knoM', not exa6t in all their opi-
*' nions. Upon the whole, we have certainly
" great reafon to break out in the phrafe of the
** prophet, and fay — Hoxv beautiful upon the
" mountains are the feet of him that bringetfi
*' glad tidings /"—Vide an anfwer to fome cou-
fiderations on the fpirit of Martin Luther, printed
at the Theatre, Oxford, 1687.

Such was the affedionate zeal which defended,
and the matured eloquence which illuftrated the
chara6ter of the patriarch of the reformation,
M'hen Atterbury had not compleated his twen-
ty-fourth year ! It can only ceafe to intereft us
when the memory of the reformation itfelf, the
principles on Avhich it was effedted, and the eoii-
fequences which flowed from it, are, with every
otheV valuable confideration, obliterated in our
hearts, beyond the poilibility of revival or re-
covery.

(c) That any fuch reproach iLould have been
ever call upon the Englilli Church, feems almoft
incredible to tjiofe who have confidered the grand
principles of its conftructiouj or the general and

almoft

140 NOTES.

almoft unvaried tenour of the fentiments of its-
moil diftinguiOied writers. Before we give up
the idolatjy and antichnjtiamfm of Popery, we
muft unlearn all the lelfons v/e have been tauaht
hy TiLLOTsoN, Stillingfleet, H. ]\Iore,
Mede, Clarke, Warburton, IIurd, Town-
son, and above all the illuftrious Sir Isaac
Newton. Nor indeed, (as it is vaguely and vain-
ly alTerted by fome) has Popery undergone the
fmallejl alteration either in its do<5lrines or tem-
per, as might be fulhciently proved from the
writings of the Papifts of the prefent day, if any
one has time and patience to examine them. And
God knows that recent events mark as difthicllif
as thofe of any preceding period, the nature and
confequences of a fuperftition, to which it is im-
poffible not to trace th6 greatefl part of all Eu-
rope now feels and fears. The cruelty, abfurdit}?-,
bigotry and wide extent of Popery, generated
that Atheism to which, in the opinion of the
great Chillingworth, it is conftantly allied
and perfectly congenial. Thefe abufes difgufted
fuperficial obfervers with that holy religion of
which the Romilli faith bears the name only, and
to which it exhibits the moft compkat and con-
trafied oppofition. Be it well and conftantly re-
membered, that it was not the decay and downfall
of Popery which produced the principles of the
Infidel Philofophy and Jacobinical Anarchy, but

that

NOTES. 141

that it was the abfurdity and barbarity of Papal
luperilitioii which engendered that baleful and
tremendous pcftilence. Let the following obfcr-
vations of the President Montesquielf, in
his Jingular letter to Bishop Waiiburtox, be
well weiglied, and deeply confiderecj. '' Je fais
** qu'un hommc en Efpagnc, ou en Portugal,
*' que Ton va bruler; ou qui craint d'etre brule,
*' parcequ'il ne croit pas de certains articles de-
" pendans ou non de la religion revelee, a uii
** jufte fujet de i'attaquer, parcequ'il peut avoir
*' quelque efperance de pouvoir a fa defence
'' naturelle." Vide Bifhop Warburton's Works,
by Hurd, 7th voL If farther proof of this is re-
quired, let the reader turn to the article In-
qidjUion, in the Encyclopedic of Dideeot and
d'Alembert, and there let him obferve what oc-
cafion was given to revile the faith of Chrift, by
its worft enemies to its artful and implacable op-
ponents. The Abbe Barrjel, in his late Hif-
tory of Jacobinifm, has flrongly and juftly de-
picted the nature and confequences of the
Atheiftical Syftem of Phibfophy ; but he has
prudently declined pointing to its caufes. Thofe
who have carefully read any authentic Hiftory of
the Maflacre of St. Bartholomew, the revoca-
tion of the Edid of Nantz, and the longr tiliue
of fliarp and favage perfecution of the Protef-
Unts in France, continued down to a period

not

142 • IfOTES.

tiot far removed from the commencement of the
Revolution — thofe who learn tliat this perfecution
was not only promoted in practice, but calmly
and diftinclly defended in principle, by the
mod diftinguiflied of the Gallican Prelates in
their writings, (and particularly by Bossuet and
theBifliop of Agen) — whoever is informed of all
this, will not wonder that thofe to whom the
blelfed Gofpel of Chrift came only through the
medium of Poper}^ fliould loofe all traces of hu-
manity, *' and ihut the gates of mercy on man-
*' kind." God be praifed, what we receive is not
from Man, but from God ; we read it in his in-
fp'ired word, genuine and uncorrupted, enlighten-
ing the underftanding, and foftening the affec-
tions of man. Notwithftanding therefore the
turbulence of the times, and the miferable delu-
iion into which part of our nation has been fe-
duced, I truft that the principles of firm loyalty,
Chrillian mercy, and focial benevolence, will
never be eradicated from this Protestant land.
It is a matter of fnigular fatisfaclion to every
true Proteftantj that a fubje6t, from a variety of
caufes, too long out of view, has been recalled
to our attention in an epifcopal charge of uncom-
mon a^bihty, by the prefent Biiliop of Lincoln,
(Dr. Peetyman). His Lordlliip moft juftly at-
tributes the cruel excefles of French Atheifm to
the genius of the antecedent fuperftition.

His

NOTES. 143

His LorcKhip obferves, "There is one material
" difference between Popery and Proteftantifm,
** which I am willing to think furniflies fome
" ground for hope, that Engh'linncn can never be
** guilty of fuch enormities as have been com-
" mitted in France. It is among the maxims of
" Popery, hy forbidding the reading of the Scrip-
*' tares, and by perf (tinning the religious /ervices in
** an unhwxcn language, to keep the lower 7Ytnks
" of maiikind in extreme ignorance : hence their
•' minds, enflaved by a blind fuperjiition, arepecit"
*' Uarly liable to receive any evil impreffioiis; and
*' they become, in the hands of ill-defigning men,
** fit injtrumentsfor the wojft of purpofes. But,
" can it be believed that perfons, whofe minds
" have been enlarged and improved by the niild
** and benevolent fpirit of the Gofpel, who have
*' been accuftomed to join in the truly devout
*^ prayers of our admirable Liturgy, and who
" have imbibed a juft fenfe of their duty from
" the unerring Word of God ; can it be believed^
•' that men brought up in thefe habits, and blef-
" fed with thefe advantages, will ever diveft
*' themfelves of the common feelino-s of huma-
*' nity, fet at defiance the IMajefty of Heaven,
*' and trample upon all the facred obligations of
" morality and religion?" — ^Thefe are indeed
fentiments truly becoming a Proteftant Bifliop,
and worthy of the fnigular penetration, the ma-
ture

144 NOTES.

ture judgment, and refle6ling habits of that ex-
emplary and highly efteemed Prelate.

(d) Two days after the Commons voted "That
*• the thanks of the Hoiife fliould be given to
" the Clergy of the Church of England
" who had refufed to read in the Churches the
" King's declaration for toleration." — Rapins
Hijl t'oL 2. p. 786\

(e) The titular Cilhop of Waterford, in Ire-
land, (Dr. Hussey) has lately publilhed a paftoral
letter, addrelTed to the Popifli Clergy of his Dio-
cefe, (printed for Coglan, Duke-ftreet, Grof-
venor-fquare). I make no obfervations upon it,
and only earneftly recommend it to general pe-
lufal. I leave the readers of it their own impar-
tial and inevitable conclufions. Political men
may learn 7Jiuch from it ; and I think Protejlants
cannot but adopt the conclufion of the very
learned, able, and pious Mr. R. Churton, in
his preface to Archdeacon Townson"s poft-
humous trails. " In regard to ourfelves, the
" fingularly favoured inhabitants of thefe iflands,
•' few periods in our annals feem to have called
" for vigilance more loudly than the prefent ;
** when exiles humanely foftered, and natives
** juftly tolerated, the common fons of one and
*' the fame idolatrous, infidious, and fanguinary
" Church, are exerting, in fupport of a declin-

NOTE S. 145

** Ing caufe, all their ufual art, and more, if pof*
." fible, than their ufual induftry. When the
*' enemy is awake and adive, thofe within the
*' fortrefs ought not to flumbcr."

(f) The fyfteni of modern Socinianiftn, as no\y
refined and fublimated by Dr. Priestley^
MeffrS. LiNDSEY, pVANS, &c. &c. confift$
merely of a train of whimfical paradoxes, which
are in truth, (as I have once before had occafion
to obferve) mere abortions of the mind ! ftrangc
without originality, dull without fobriety, flippant
without wit, and contagious without allurement.
Nothing perhaps, but its (ingular and almoft in-
variable combination with the fadtious principles
of a political party, could have prevented it froni
tranfmigrating quietly into profeifed Deifm, of
dying away by its own exility and decay.

(g) That this is no exaggerated ftatement will
be fully admitted when we recolle6l the names of
Bifhops Butler, Chandler, Sherlock, Cony-
bear, — of Bentley, Clarke, SkeeTon, Ad-
dison, West, Littleton, Powel, S. Jenyns,
&c. Nor will pofterity forget the labours of the
Ihmg defenders of Chriftianity, the Right Re-
verend and acute author of the Criterion *, the
Horcn PauUnie of Dr. Pa ley, and perhaps above
all, the original vein of thought, and ftupcndous

* Dr. J. Douglas, Lord Biihop of Salilbury*

L erudition

146 NOTES.

erudition of the venerable Jacob Bryant. This
jlJuftrious LAYMAN has in his Analysis of An-
cient Mythology exhibited fuch a con fpi ra-
tion of evidence in confinnation of the Mofaick
Hillory, drawn from the moft recondite receffes
and moft widely diftant regions of antiquity, as
I beheve cannot be equalled in the beft and
mofl flourifliing ages of facred literature,

(h) I have no hefitation in acknowledging
that fome reflexions caft by a noble Lord, (the
Earl of Lauderdale) a fhort time before this
Sermon was preaclied, in a very high alTembly
upon the profeffional exertions of the Englifh
Clergy, and the diftribuiion of its revenues, as
compared and contrailed with the Scotch Churchj
^ave rife to this obfervation. But in truth fucU
ComparifonS; at no time judicious or charitable,
are peculiarly jnifplaced at the prcfent moment,
when the temper of thefe two Protellant Churches
have long been growing to a perfect and mutual
amity, efteem and affection. I am perfuaded
there are few (very few) Minifters of the Englifh
Church who are not moft ready tio exprefs the
Ti)o(i unqualified regard and refpe6l for the
eflablifljed Church of Scotland. L^pon their own
principles^ the Englifli Clergy cannot but lament
that the Church of Scotland has receded
from the epifcopal regimen, a feature of Chrif-
tjan antiquity, fo permanent, unvaried, and

uniform

NOTES. 147

uniform from the earlieft apoftolic times, down to
the very dawning of the reformation. A feature
which Dean Swift m oft admirably and tcmps.ratdy
alTerts to be '* abfolutely neceflary to the pcrfec-
*' tion {not to the exifienct) of a Chriftian church."
But though we find not this, yet other ftrong
marks of excellence we gladly difcern, and freely
ackno^\'tedg•e. The Qiurch of Scotland is Pa-
TiENS OPEBUM PARvoQUE ASSUETA. Primitive
marks furely ! And indeed when we confider the
vigilant exertions, the conftant refidence of her
laborious clergy, the effectual and general diffu-
(ion of religious knowledge among the lower ranks
of the people, the regular inftitution, well directed
courfe of lludy, and the public and folemn ex-
amination, and previous profeffional knowledge
which is indifpenfibly required in thofe who are
admitted to the facred Miniftry, we cannot but hold
fuch a Church as worthy of the higheft refpe6t
and veneration ; we cannot but highly efteem and
embrace our brethren in one common Lord, and
hail them, in the language of the pureft antiquity,

AfTTra^flat J^oia:? ij hyxTTn ruv aJ'fXf wv— Xapjf vuiv

J.§ PISGOURSE

■-'■' ■ -■■■-'. ■ t ^ .'] i. 111. .Luirfcr

DISCOURSE V.

riMM

PSALM ih IL

" REJOICE WITH TREMBLING.

I N the difpenfations of Almighty God to
the national communities of the earth, when
compared with his dealings with 'particular
fnen^ although we find a fufficient degree of
analogy to enable us to refer them to their
genuiile fdurcej yet notwithftanding, circum*.
(lances of ftrong diffimilarity are to be traced*
Undoubtedly the movements of God's Pro-
vidence are fteady, uniform, and confiftent to
man in his individual as well as in his col-
le6tive capacity. No event can t9.ke place in
either of thefe, but according to the operation
of caufes fixed and predetermined in thi^
Divine counfels, and directed to ends of con-
L 3 fummats

150 REJOICE WITH TREMBLING.

fummate wifdom, mercy, and goodnefs. Ife
is fuperfluous to obferve, that what is gene-
Tally called chance^ accident^ fortune^ dejiiny,
can have no place whatever in the life and
concerns of man. No chafm or fpace for
them occurs even for a moment. The admif-
iion of thefe empty and unmeaning names,
into the language rather than the opinions of
-various feds among the- Heathen philofo-
phers, was moll juilly expofed, and repro-
bated by one of the moft animated and poig-
nant of the fatirifts of antiquity (a). But
in the infinite variety of circumftances in
Avhich individuals are placed, the fecret hand
of the Almighty, however eafily traced by re-
flexion and confideration, is often hid from
the eyes of men. Not unfrequently indeed,
by the intoxication of ambition, the delufion
of paffion, the flutter and debility of felf-con-
ceit, and above all, by the obduracy of guilt,
the mercies and judgments of the great moral
.Governor of the Univerfe are entirely over-
looked, even by thofe who adually experience
them. The marks fet by him upon private
men, are with their bodies call into the grave ;
and their crimes or virtues (even when they
.are fo recorded) are written only in the

memories

^■^

REJOICE -^Virir TREMBLING. 151

tnemories of thofe who lived with them, or
regiflered iii the ** fleftily tables" of each
man's confcience. But the great features of
the Divine adminiftration to communities are
incomparably more diftind and prominent.
It is not to the Jewish nation alone, that the
" arm of the Lord was revealed" in the tem-
poral efFe6i:s of obedience to his will, or re-^
volt from his government. The whole courfe
of hiftory ihews, the unbroken tenor of
events demonftrates, all experience irreliftibly
evinces, that the efFe6l3 of hisjufticeor mer-
cy, are as regular and determinate, as the
movements and laws of the material fyftem.
Whether by the undifturbed progrefs of na-
tural caufes, or by the miraculous interpofi.-
tions recorded in Holy Scripture, his purpofes
are equally fulfilled. In both thefe cafes, in
Almighty God there is " np variablenefs or
" fliadow of change/' One fmiple and uni-
verfal law flretches through the wideft ex-
panfe of his moral creation, " all tilings wor-k
" together for good, to thofe who love and
''fearHi?n"

The reafons of this diverfity of the Divine

difpenfations to Nations and Individuals,

would, I am perfuaded, if we followed the

L 4 train

151 RtJOICE W-rtH TREMBLING*

trai^l of thought the fubjed fuggefts, appeaf
to be founded in the deepeft wifdom. Itwould
be evident, among various other confider-
ations, that without the vifible and palpable
exertions of his might, the frenzy of man,
when augmented by concert, and inflamed
by reciprocal example, would exceed all the
bounds which the prelervation of his crea-
tures demands. " At divers times" therefore,
*• and in fundry mminers,'* his power has ob-
^ fervably interpofed, that " the nations of the
*' earth may fee<i and know, and conjider to-
•' gether, that the Lord hath done this, and
♦* the Holy One of Ifrael created it"
■' But we truft that the general inveftigation
of this important fubje6t is fuperfluous to
thofe before whom I am now called to fpeak.
By the very a6t of aflembling themfelves by
pubHc authority, they admit the general prin-
ciple adverted to, and acknowledge the general
duty founded upon it. It therefore appears
expedient to endeavour (for I fear it can be
Only an endeavour) to confider the magnitude
of that particular interference, which the
mercy of the Almighty has fhewn in behalf of
thefe kingdoms, as a juft foundation of na-
tional joy, and to mark the diredion of it

which

ItfijblCE WITH TREMBLING. 153

which the Holy Pralmifl (who had abundantly
experienced both for himfelf and his people
ib many providential interpofitions) points out
to us, -namely, that it (hould be exhibited
" in trembling,"

The calamities and diftra6llons, which the
French- Revolution -has for many years paft
fpread over the greateft part of Europe, have
extended their operations, and confequences,
far beyond the limits to which former experi-
ence could point, or ordinary fagacity could
predi6l. It is true indeed, that very fanguine,
though indefinite, hopes were raifed in the
brealls of thole, who faw in the very germ of
the plaufible and metaphyfical abflradions,
by which this tremendous moral peftilence
was ulhered into open day, that it promifed
fuch a rich harveft of mifchief, that its prin-
ciples were at all hazards to be fupported,
and its pra6iices, by every poffible exertion
and artifice, promoted and defended. Men of
iharp wits and beggared fortunes early faw,
that under the thin difguife of liberty and
fraternity, fuch confufion would enfue, as
might probably lead to their real and favourite
^roje6t; that is, to a repartition of property
in jevert/ nation in Europe, Add to this, that

the

154 UEJ-CICI: M'lTH TRESfBLT^J'a.

relaxed and morbid ftate of morals through*
out Europe, incalculably aided and accelerated
.the progrefs of the evil. The debility, the
difcord, the private and felfiih views of many
of thofe Continental Powers, who attempted
to countera6; this revolutionary fyftem by
force of arms, and the treachery of many of
the inftruments in whom they confided, fo
baffled and enfeebled every effort to oppofe
the common enemy, that a train of the moil
unprofperous events enfued ; and in the ifluc
of the conteft, the moft flouriihing, fertile,
and opulent countries, in very diftant regions
of the world, became in their turns the vie*
tims of infult, violence, and depredation. Of
French principles, and of French force, it
may feelingly be faid, " the land is as the
" garden of Eden before them, and behind
" them a defolate wildermfs/'

It is fufficiently obfervable, that thofe who
begun their career by hypocritically difclaim*
ing every deiign of increaiing the territorial
acquifitions of France, have proje6led, and
in no fmall degree actually compaiTed, a plan
and fyftem of foreign fubjugation, of which
the dominion of ancient Rome, the incurfion
of the barbarous hordes upon its decaying

empire.

KJEJOlCt WITH TREMBLING. 155

empire, and even the wide fweep of Oriental
conqueft, exliibit but a faint idea, and a dif-
proportionate refemblance.. Convulfive force
has been aided by the moft refined artifice.
The pohcy of Jefuits has been combined with
the frenzy of Maniacs. From craft and vio-
lence fo dire6ted and exerted, effe6ls have
flowed moft fignally deplorable. The Scrip-
tures alone can fupply us with language ade-
quate to a deicription of the condition of the
wretched countries ravaged, fubdued, and oc-
cupied by tlie French armies. " Behold the
*' tears of fuch as were opprefled, and fheif
" Iiad 710 comforter ! and on thejide of their
** opprejfors there was power, hut they had
" no comforter, IV Iter ef ore I praifed the
*' dead which are already dead, more than the
*' Uvino' which are yet alive. Yea better is
*' he than both they, which hath not hee7u
*' who hath not feen the evil work which is
" done under the fun!"

Let it not be forgotten, that by the utipro-
voked aggreflion of the enemy this country
was originally involved in the prefent conteft,
the moft ftridly jufiifiahle and legitimate, m
the eyes of God and man, of any which hif-
tory has recorded : and it has been marked
' . in

lo^ nzJOlCt WITH tRB^^BLIi^^J-

in its progrefs by ah honourable and nccef-
iary endeavour to avert from herfelf, and the
reft of the civihzed world, the moft difaftrous
evils, and to counteract the principles in which
they originated.

To thofe who did not obftinately reiift^ ot
affeci to refill, the ftrongeft evidence of fa6ls^
the real charatiler of the French Revolution
muft, from the moment it began to interpofe
in the concerns of other nations, have com-*
pletely developed itfelf. This fpeciiie and
precife form and lliape, under which it now
appears, it affumed at a very early period.
Yet dekifion upon this head was every where
attempted, and even in this country was fof
a fhort period not without fome profelytesl-
The effefts of thefe events were reprefented
to teem with the moft kindly and beneficial
confequences, extending to all nations, and
languages, and people. Ear other views of
this unparalleled iyftem were adopted even itl
its incipient ftages, by the wifdom and fore-
fight of the Britifh iegiftature, and with fomtf
inconliderable exceptions, very generally ap*-
proved by that found and ftrong fenfe^ which
chara6terifes the great body of the
Commonalty of this jland. It is now

placed

REJOICE WITH TREMBLING. J57

placed by recent events, out of the power
even of fa6lion to controvert, that we have
contended even from the beginning, for no
lefs an objed than ou-- national exist-
ence ; and that we have been difcharging a
high and indifpenfable duty to ourfelves, our
relatives, our pofterity, and to the whole hu-
man race. If the world, in its moft diftant
quarters, has been preferved from one over-
whelming tyranny and ruin, it muft be
afcribed to the firmnefs, the magnanimity,
and conftancy, which it hath gracioufly
pleafed Almighty God (from whom alone is
every good and perfeft gift) to impart to the
counfels of this nation, and to the courage,
enterprize, and a6livity, with which he haa
fo largely endowed thofe who have been
called to defend it in arms. Our ftruggle
hath afliiredly been iharp, our perils immi-
nent, and our facrifices great and many. Yet
amidft all we have fuftained, and all which
may ftill remain behind to be fuftained by us,
it cannot but be moft legitimately grateful to
an Englifh heart to recolle6i;, that amidfl the
humiliation and difcomfiture of every Ally
originally engaged in this conteft, amidft the
yarious reveries and overthrows which have
5 been

I$8 REJOICE WITH TEEMBirjTG.

been experienced by moil of the furrounding
nations, however varied in their circum-»
fiances and diverfified in their forms of go-
vernment, that although this nation was left
jtngly to fupport a conteft to which the reft of
Europe was found to be unequal ; yet, that
in eteiy region of that element on which the
power of Great Britain, its riches, and its
greatnefs are founded and eftablilhed, the
viftories wrought for us during the prefent
confli6i, {hould, in fplendour, magnitude, and
importance, exceed the moft fignal of thofe
which preceded them in our annals. But if
in giving fcope to our thoughts, and carrying
them forward to a contemplation of the
peculiar circumftances which belong to one of
the leading events we now devoutly comme-
morate ; if in confidering, that near that very
region famed from the moft remote anti^
quity — vifited by the Patriarchs — the long
fojourn of God's chofen people — the witnefs
of his divine power, difplayed in figns and
wonders and an outftretched arm — and above

allj HONOURED BY THE INFANT PRE-
SENCE OF THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD

— rendered venerable by the origin of letters,
arts, and fciences — fignalized by the moft im^

porta nt

31EJ0ICE WITH TREMBLING. 159

portant tranfa6iions and confli6ls in Greek
and Roman ftory ; if in recollc6ling that even
there., within the view of that ancient

RIVER, THE RIVER NiLE, the prowcfs of

the Britifh Navy ftiould perhaps have decided
(I hope I do not prefume in iaying) the fate
of the univerfc ; that it Ihould there have
curbed the furioufncls of an exuhing Heathen,
*' who imagined a vain things' — ^whb had
broached his commiffion in blaiphemy, and,
as ufaal, marked his way in blood (b) — who
had vinted cities, for centuries pad embofomed
in peace, with indifcriminate mafracre and pil-
lage— If, I fay, if in contemplating of all
this, w^e ihould be fondly inclined to glory,
to ufe the language of the great Apoftle, we

ihould " BE POOLS IN CILORYING.'* Let

us carry our thoughts to the foot-ilool of that
throne, where the conihmmate Christian
Hero, who was the inilrument of this great
deliverance to his country and mankind, car-
ried his afpirations. Nurfed in hereditary piety,
and trained by the early leilbns of a venerable
parent, whom God has graciouily preferved
to an extended period of life, to be the wit-
nefs of his fon's atchievements, he has been
foond ia the very fluili of vi6tory, to have

fully

l60 REJOICE WITH TREMBLINa,

fully afcribed the glory unto God. Therefore
" Let the Lord alone be exalted in this day,'*
Let HIM whofe God is dejiini/, and whofe
fword has made fo many women childiefs^
beware, left " the days of recompence ftiould
" be come ;" left, in the language of the
Prophet, " Egypt gatlier up his armies^ and
" Memphis bury them '^ J'

Nor can we, in grateful recollection, omit
a confideration of the other great deliverance,
which under the fame kind and .watchful
Providence, Almighty God has operated, by
the intrepid a6tivity of our naval commanders
and the valour of our feamen, upon the coaft;
of Ireland. Into whatever quarter we di-
Te6l our views, the Britilh Navj- prefents it-
felf as our appropriate and appointed bulwark.
Had not the unwearied vigilance of our fleets
intercepted the liiccours, with which our fo-
reisjn eneni}' had intended to aid the progrefs
of revolt, our liiter illand muft have experi-
enced horrors to which all it has already pre-
vioully undergone, would have been but
flight precurfors. Scenes equal in extent and
.atrocity to thofe which our forefathers wit-
^efled m that kingdom, in the middle of tlie
laft century. But I hope and truft, that it

has
* Hofea ix. 6.

JIEJOICE \VITH TREMBLING. l61

has pleafed God to " JJiorten the tribulation
*' of fhofe days, without z^hich nofleJJi could
*' have heenfavedy Liberty muft have been
buried under (tern republican defpotifm, and
an infoient ufurpation muft have overwhelmed
our laws, government, and religion.

Grateful then fliould we be, that Almighty
God appears to have raifed and compacted
■a confederacy of all good men, in defence of
all that is dear to us ; that thofe who endea-
voured to millead, delude, and diftra6l their
fellow fubje6ls, and to deliver them over,
through the medium of anarchy, as a prey to
foreign fubjugation, have been bafiied in all
their efforts, and ciilconcerted in all their pro-
je6lsj by the wifdom of our counfel, aided by
the difcernment and fortitude of the people.

Grateful are we, that God has continued
"to us for fo long « period, during thefe tre-
mendous contli6fs, a Sovereign who reigns
BEYOND EXAMPLE, I believe, in the hearts
of his people ; who, to a moft merciful, mild,
and paternal difpofition, has united the firm-*
'nefs, courage, and magnanimity which could
alone have preferved the liberty and inde-
pendance of the Britifh nation at this arduous^
• conjun6lure ; to whom the language of the
k M facred

l02 REJOICE WITH TREMBLING.

facred Scriptures may without exaggeration
be applied ; " like unto him there was no king
" before him, that (in an age of decay and
" apoftacy) turned to the Lord zmth all his
** foul, and with all his might, according to
*' all the law of his God"

In revoking all thefe, among various
other mercies of the author of all good, for
his mercies to us are on everi/ lide, it be-
comes us to beware, that this our facrifice of
praife be performed with ferioufnefs and with
trembhngi The mercies of God, if duly
reflected on, are the moft awful of all his
difpenfations ; if flighted, or defpifed, or
abufed, they are converted into the moll
Iharp and iignal punifliments. Great are
the dangers we have ftill to encounter, and
llupendous are the obftacles we have yet to
furmount, calling for every refource of cou-
rage, Ibbriety, patience, energy, and activity.
There is much awe which arifes from a con-
fideration, that the deliverance of our native
land has not been efFe6ted without the lofs of
fo many of our brave and beloved country-
men. It is our fpecific duty fo " to rejoice
" with thofe .that rejoice," that we " weep
" with thoje that zceep." That the aged pa-

rents^

REJOICE WITH TREMBLING. l6S

rents, the widows and orphans, who cannot
joy in the general joy, do receive from us not
only the cafual confolation of the moment,
but every kindly office in the general inter-
courfe of focial life. " Our right handjhould
" fooner forget its cunnings' than that we
fliould ever forget, that it is owing to the re-
latives of thefe poor widows and orphans that
our wives are not widows, and our children
fatherlefs, and that the progrefs of an in-
fulting and pitilefs foe, is not marked in this
favoured Ifland by blood, rapine, and delb-
lation.

Lailly, the virtues of fuch men, either of
thofe who have fallen in the arms of victory,
or thofe whom the providence of God has
preferved for farther glorious exploits, fliould
warn us in our refpe6live fiations, how high
a duty we feverally are called to fulfil. By
conlidering the bravery and refolution of thofe
" who have refifled unto blood,'' who have
CHEARFULLY facrificcd even their lives to
the fervice of their country, we Ihall be furely
inclined to fuftain thofe burdens, and to make
thofe meaner facrifices which the country
loudly demands at our hands. To promote
and fupport with zeal, fearleflhefs, and ac-
M 2 tivity,

l6ri? REJOICE WITH TEEMBLIN'G.

tivity, thofe principles by which alone
the dehverance we now commemorate can be
made beneficial to us ; we (liall furely engage
in our Chriftian and civil warfare with equal
zeal, courage, and conilancy. But above all
I truft, that neither the conceit of any thing
that is wife, nor the confidence of any thing
that is ftrong in us, will any way withdraw
us from the moft proftrate acknowledgement
of God's goodnefs to us, and from a convic-
tion that " all the inhabitants of 'the earth
" are nothing" in his fight ; — " from praifing
'' and honouring him who liveth for ever and
" ever,,whofe dominion is an everlafting do-
" minion, and M^hofe kingdom is from genera- .
" tion to generation ;" who " doeth according
'" to his will in the army of Heaven, and
" among the inhabitants of the ear.th."
" Blessed then," (in the name of the
Britiih nation) " be the Lord God of

" ISRAEL, from everlasting to EV'ER-

" LASTING ! May he, the God op ouA
*' forefathers, be our guide unto
** death!"

NOTES.

NOTES.

(a) ^TSIS xon EIMAPMENH otuwoffroiTOty naV

OiAOSo^nN sTnvon^iuToc. Luciaii Deorum.
Synecl.

(b) Of the favage cruelties committed at Alex-
andria, without diltiiiclion of age or fex, the in-
tercepted difpatchcs exhibit moft ftriking and im-
portant documents.

m3 DIS-

DISCOURSE VI,

2 ST. PETER ii. 17«

•* LOVE THE BROTHERHOOD, FEAR GOD,
HONOR THE KING/'

XT is very certain, that the only foundation
of true benevolence, and all the long trairi
of comforts connected with it, is to be found
in the Gofpel. Man is there bound to man
by real, genuine, and fubftantial obligation.
Other principles of brotherly love, which
have been propofed by thofe who never heard
of Jefus Chrift, or having heard, neverthelefs
have reje6led him, are fhadowy, vague, and
ineffe6live. This would be abundantly evi-
dent, if I were to lay before you the miferable
artifices, and poor plauiibihties, of thofe, who
Vinder a pretence of promoting fentiments
^l 4» of

l68 CONNEXION OF THE DUTIES OF

of benevolence, have only pandered to thoio*
wretched paffions, and promoted that de-
plorable Jicentioufnefs, which has in its ope-
ration carried difcord, havock, and htilery
among mankind, (a)

On the contrary 5 the inspired Apostle
when he fpeaks of brotherly love, lays it upon
fuch foundations as cannot be moved. He
connects it with social subordination
and RELIGIOUS principle. " Love the
^' Brotherhood — What follows; '" fear^
•^ God,'' " HONOR THE King?" A con-
nexion which the prefent pofture of affairs,
and the artifices of wicked and delionino- men,
render it the peculiar and moft binding duty
of every faithful Minifter of Chriil, to bring
to the ferious confideration of thofe conimitte4
to their charge.

When the peace and order, nay the exift-s
ence of all legitimate government is menaced
by Sedition, conne6led with and founded on
Atheifm ; furely the Minifters of Chrift have
a duty to perform to God and their Con«
fciences, their King and their Country.
Great muft be their condemnation, if, from
profligate indifference, from fenfual indolence,
from fear of obloquy, of violence, or ever*

death

LaVING THE BROTHERHOOD, <Scc. 1^5

death itfelf, they '\/Inai to declare to you the
^« zi^hole counfel of God."

That the voice of God in his revealed
word is fufficiently decilive, both with re-
gard to their duty and yours, I hope and
truft you will recolle6t that 1 abundantly
proved in the difcourfe which I felt it to be
rny duty to deliver to you foon after the if-»
fuing of his Majefty's gracious Proclamation.
The unparalleled eourfe of events which have
fince that period arifen, the defigns and opi-
nions to which they have given birth, per-
fuades me that your bell interefts, both in
time and eternity, are if pofiible more con-
cerned in the fentiments you may adopt, and
the meafures you may follow at the prefent
moft awful crilis, than even at the period
when I laft addrefied you. 1 am neverthelefs
periuaded, and the late public declaration of
your fentiments gives me the comfortable af-
furance, that my talk is rather to confirm the
honeft and the upright, than to confute the
deluder, or to recal the deluded.

To point out then to you the ncceflaiy con-
nexion of the duties of LOVING THE BRO-
THERHOOD, FEARING Cod, and honor-
ing THE King, with an ufeful application

to

170 CONNEXION OF THE DUTIES of

to the prefent times, is the purpofe ofthefoU
lowing Difcoiirfe.

i That alt Chriitians are bound, from the
higheft to the loweft, notwithftanding any dif-
tinftionofrank or property, TO love as bre-
THREX, is moft certain. Brotherhood
is a term conftantly ufed throughout the whole
New Teftament as expreffive of the connexion
fubfifting between Chriitians. Thus St. Paul
to the Romans. " Be kindly affectioned one
V" toward another with brotherly love."
And to the Thefialonians, " As touching
" brotherly love, ye need not that I
" write unto you, for ye your/elves are
" taught of God to love one ano-»
*' THER.'' The tenor of the Scriptures is fo
uniform, that it is ufelefs to cite many partis
cular texts to this purpofe. But on what is
this brotherly love founded ? Let us care-
EULly obser VE. It is founded on the fol^
lowing particulars.

That we are all equally the offspring of
Ahnighly G od : As St. Paul quotes to the
Athenians from one of their own poets-—
" For ice are alfo his ofiprino" That w^e
are all, equally permitted by his unutterable
condefceniion to call him " Our Father which

" art

LOVING THE BROTHEUIIOOD, &C. 171

«^ art in Heaven.'* That we are all,whateveF
may be our ftation and condition, doomed to
die, and to return again to our dull. That
after death we are all, high and low, rich and
poor, fubje6l and magiftrate, to ^'ftand before
" the judgement feat of Chriji, to receive the
" things done in the body, zvhether they be
" good or whether they be evil." That we
are all fellow travellers and pilgrims through
a world of affli6lion, and a valley of tears,
to an eternal repofe and reft in Heaven,
That the precious blood of the Redeemer
was equally fhed for all, without favor or
partiality^ (for in this refpe6l God is truly no
refpe6ler of perfons). That this redemption,
and the fenfe of it, binds us to a6ls of unceaf-
ing, perfevering, inflamed aflfeftion to the
pooreft, the meaneft, and the loweft of our
brethren.

On THESE particulars is founded the true
Chriftian do6trine of Brotherhood; a doclrine
produftive of virtue, peace, order, benevo-
lence, and comfort ! But it becomes us moft
carefully to obferve, that the very fame Gof-
pel which inculcates this kind and ftate of
Brotherhood, rejefts and condemns in the
moft pointed terms thofe extravagant notions
3 of

X7'Pi CONNEXION OF THE DUTIES OF :

of Equality and Fraternity, tvhich fome meft
have attempted to diiiule and propagate
anion o' the inferior ranks of men in tliefe
kingdoms.

Refpec"^ to the perfons of fuperiors, raifed
either by the dignity of Rank, or invefted
with the powers of Magiflracy, was one of
the FIRST PRINCIPLES which the iVpoftles
taught their converts, antl through them de-
livered down for the infl:ru6lion of every fuc-
ceeding age of' the Church. Thefe holy men
would have re je6led with abomination the title
of Apostles of Liberty, blafphemoully
bellowed on certain feditious preachers of the
prefent day. On the contrary, under the
firm fafeguard of Religion, property and per-
fonal fecurity was placed. " Let him thai
*' Jiole, Jieal no more ; hut rather let him la-
" hour^ working with his hands the thing
" which is good, thai he may have to give to
" him that needeth." Farther, not only aU
fraud and violence with regard to property,
but a confcientidus fubmiffion and reipecl due
to our Brethre2V' in the higher ranks is
moft DISTINCTLY, moft absolutely, moft
REPEATEDLY enjoined. *' Render there-
" fore" fays St. Paul to the Romans, *' to all

, " their
3

LOVING THE- BROTHERHOOD, 6cc. 173

" their due : tribute to u horn tribute is due,;
" cujiom to zcliomcujiom; fear to whom fear;

'**• HONOR to Zo/wm HONOR. '

Chriftians, in addition to a convi6tion of
the civil advantages arifing from this fpirit
'of fiibordination, are ftri^tly bound by poli-
tive rehgious precept and obhgation. ^' Sub-
•** 7nit yourfelves to everij ordinance af Man^
** for the Lords fake." A moft remarkable
and pointed inltance of this fubmiflioii we
find in the example of the great Apoftle :
When the unjuit and imperious High Prielt
had ordered him to be fmitten on the moulh,
Paul, with emotion, faid, " God finite thcc,
" thou whited u'ull." But, upon being ad-
moniflied, " Revileji thou God'sHighFrieji?"
St. Paul, with the high recollected dignity of
an infpired Apoftle, banilhed all human paf~
lion ; and with an immediate correction of
himfelf, laid, " I zi'iji not, brethren, that hs
.'*' was the High Prieji; for it is written,
" Thoufialt not f peak evil of the Ruler of
*' thjf People."

Here let me appeal to your underftandings
•and confciences, how different are such pre-
cepts and SUCH examples from thofe wild
and frantic doctrines of Modern Equahty,

calcu-

176 CONNEXION OF THt DUTIES OF

calculated to level all ranks, to annihilate all
property !

The doftrine of Equality, which is now by
fome made the foundation of all civil govern-
ment, is not only mifchievous in its operations,
but completely falfe in fa6l. At no time
were men born equal, at no time did they
BECOME, or if they were, could they con-
tinue equal. Even previous to the exiftence
of civil government, this inequality exifted.
It is afferted, and with the utmoll truth, by
the profoundeft reafoner and matureft thinker
(b) in Pagan antiquity, that man brought
not Equality, but Subordination, to
political fociety. The family diftinclipns of Ea-
ther and Child, Husband and Wife,
Master and Servant, exifted before,
and prepared the way for the civil relation of
Subject and Magistrate. The fame in-
equality which fubfjfted in the origin, is
elientially neceffary to the contimiance of the
political machine. The inequality of pro-
perty is the foundation of all honeft induftry
and exertion ; the prote6tion of property once
acquired is the only preventive of never-
ceafmg bloodllied, violence, and confufion.
The commoneft fenl'e muil inform us, that

the

LOVING THE B Rot HER HOOD, &C. 175

the contrary do6lrine is equally deftrii6tive of
poor as well as rich. Deprive the Merchant
of his opulence, and where can the numerous
manufa<5lurers and their families find that
plentiful and comfortable maintenance, which
lies open to honeft induftry in every com-
mercial town in thefe kingdoms ? Take from
the Landholder his eftates, and where will
the Farmer, and much more his Labourer,
fly for refuge ? Where will be thole im-
provements and operations of agriculture,
which fuppofe, and necefiarily infer, a much
larger portion of landed property than can
come to any man's ihare upon an equal divi-
fion ?

But it may be afked. Do not thefe inequa*
lities frequently bear hard upon the lower
ranks of our brethren ? Are not the means,
even of the fcantiell {libfiftence, in fome cafes
inacceffible to the induftrious and labouring
part of the community ? and is it not an
unfpeakable addition to their calamities that
thole, whofe affections nature hath wound
clofeft round their hearts, partake of them ?
Thele, alas ! are , tiie defects not fo much of
civil govtrnment^ as^ of that imperfe6l Itage of
our exiflence, in,wUithi;.it hwth pieafed tiie

pro-

176 CONNEXION' OP THE DUTIES OS

providence of ^ilniighty God to place -us.
Againft thefe, no form of government, how-^-
ever perfect, nor civil regulations, howeve?
well contrived, can provide. But Here
(praifed be God) we have no abiding city,
hut we feek for one which is io come. A
Chriftian's perfe6l Citizenjhip (c) is properly
in Heaven. There indeed (but there only)
lliall men hunger no morcj nor thirjt any
more — there only lliall there be no more curj'e
• — there, and there only, fliall God wipe away
all tears from your eyes — there only Jliall
there be no more death, nor forron-, nor cry-
ing; for the former things JJiall have pafjed
away. But in a ftate when Sin entered intff
ihe world, and Death % Sin, a Chriftian,
with the enlarged views which the Gofpel
alone can give him, will not, cannot expeqit
a perfect fyltem of civil polity here on
earth.

Undoubtedly every protection which can
be afforded to the lower ranks of our bre-
thren, every preventive of their diftrefs,
every alleviation of the calamities which may
aftually overtake them, ought to be, and will
be an obje6l of primary importance with
every Chriftian community.
-C.J But

LOVING TIIll BROTHERHOOD, (Sec. 177

But after all mifeiy must and will remain j
which can be efFettually lellencd and alle-
viated, not by vilionary fchenies of ci\'il equali-
zation, and of unattainable perfection, but by
adiffalion and cultivation of thofe Evangelical
principles and habits, which it is the direft
end of the modern friends of the people to
ridicule, decry, and to fubvert. Diminifli or
deftroj the principles of genuine Chriftianity,
and I will venture boldly to aflert, that in the
fame de2;ree vou will diminifh the refources
of confolation to the poor, and the motives
to benevolence in the rich. It is not the doc-
trine of the Rights of Man, or abfolute
Equality, but it is the Precepts of
THE Gospel, it is the Grace of God,
carrying thole precepts into application and
energy in the breaits of men, that can ani-
mate the Samaritan to bind up the wounds of
his neighbour ; that can arreft the luxurious,
the diflipated and fenfual ; and that can con-
ftrain them w ith penitential tears and foftened
hearts to penetrate the receifes of miibry, to
enter the poor man's hut, and to admiihlter
comfort and relief to the drearineis and defo-
lation of fmking humanit}^ under this irre-
filtible conviftion, " That in as much as they

N " have

175 CONNEXION OF THE DUTIES OF

" have done it to the leajl of their brethreif,
" theif have done it unto Chriji." (d) It is
from the influence of fucli habits and fuch
doctrines, and not from the leilbns of faction
and civil diforder, that the poor can hope for
fubftantial alleviation and help. How little
the lower ranks have gained from the conti-
mied convulfions in France, is evident from
the moll authentic accounts daily brought us
of the unpitied famine, nakedneis, and diftrefs
which is the lot of the induilrious poor in that
devoted land.

Still LESS has been gained by the lower
ranks of men in thofe miferal)le counU'ies, into
which the French armies have penetrated.
Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood,
Was their profefiion ; T y r a n n y, Pl u n d e r,
and Massacre their pmftice. Under a
pretext of delivering the deluded people from
the opprefiion of the nobles and the rich,
thefe invaders have feized all the corn, and all
the currency of thefe nations, and (topped
<even the clamour of hunger by the point of
the bayonet. Their wives and dauohters hav6
been fubjeft to the barbarous jail of ftrangers ;
and all who had the crime of poflefiing pro-
perty, are condemned to e^:lle, arbitrary im-

prifonment.

LOVING THE BROTIIERHOOr), &C. 179

prifonment, and death itfelf. Like the Ro-
mans of old, where thele plunderers and
tyrants bring famine, the fword, and de-
ftruction, they infalt the unhappy vi6tims of
their cruelty, by calling this ckfolation a flate
of Libert ij.{e)

Wretched, indeed,, thofe nations upon
whom God, zn'ho difpcnfethjorrow in his aiiger,
has fent this dreadful Icourge ! Unutterable
the guilt of thofe men who, from diftrefs of
circumftances, political enmity, or that most

PROFLIGATE OF ALL PASSIOXS, THE
SPLEEN OF DISAPPOINTED AMBITION,

would league with fuoii invaders for the fub-*
^erfion of this happy government, or would
at leaft mifreprefent the deiigns and coun-
tera6t the effeGt of thofe meaiures which are
ablblutely neceilary to ward off fuch accu-
mulated calamity from thefe kingdoms ! Let
it be well remem bered the very existence
of what is now called Government in France,
depends upon the furtherance of bloodfhed
and difcord over the whole face of Europe.
Thefe men are formidable, hot by their ex-
ternal efforts, but by their connexion with the
fa6lious and feditious among thofe nations
who are the objed of their enmity. Think
N 2 well,

180 COXNEXION or THE DUTIES OF

-well, my brethren, on the probable conle-
.quences of fuch fraternity ! Be convinced
-of the folly of facrificmg every political and
every commercial bleffmg, which God has fo
richly ihowered down upon you, to fuch poor,
fuch palpable, fuch deitructive delulions, as
are now difieminated. Reflect that the
French, notwithftanding their vain and boaft-
ing exultation, are fuftering a punifliment, if
poffible, equal to their crimes : In their Me-
tropolis, that center of Mafiacre, Atheifm,
and Anarchy, each recent event furpafhng in
horror all that have preceded, fpeaks loudly
and awfully, " that except the trUmlation of
" thefe daijs Jhall he Jhortened, noflejlican
** be faved."

But this leads me to a confideration of the
fecond precept contained in my text, namely,
the Fear of God,

To a virtuous Heathen philofopher and
hillorian it appeared perfeftly incredible,
that a nation could exift in any ilage of fo-
ciety, rude or civiUzed, without a fenfe of
religion and the fuperintending Providence of
Almighty God. Such a Hate he denied to
be within the experience of the records of
mankind. " It is eafier to conceive, (fays

this

Lovi^ro Tiir, BrvOTiiKRiiooD, &c. 181

this grave and mature obferver) (f) that a
building can Hand without foundation, than
that a political Ibciety can receive coherence
and durability, if a conviction of the exiftence
of God is once removed." This great truth
broke even through the gloom of Pagan
fuperflition, and the glimmering faint light
of M-hat is commonly called Natural Reli-
gion. But if fuch a circumltance appeared
UNNATURAL and incredible to an Heathen,
with what feelinirs of horror and awe mult
we hear of thofe who, in full pofleffion of
the revealed will of God, notwithftanding
have proceeded in regular and deliberate order
from one gradation of impiety to another ; of
thofe who, after ereciing Itatues, and decree-
ing funeral honors to the avowed authors of
blafphemy and obfcenity, have crowned the
whole, by receiving, with unbounded apr
plaufe, in the very bofom of the legiflature,
a propofdl to make Atheifm a part and prin-
ciple of the public education of youth !

But I will not farther dwell upon a hdt fo
fhocking and revolting to every virtuous mind,
than juft to obfene, that they have left this
moil momentous truth to fucceeding genera-
tions : Tiiat where the fear of God is baniihed,
N 3 the

1^3 CONNEXION OF THE DUTIES OF

the love of man foon foilows ; and that the
fame moment which withdraws man from his
allegiance to his Creator, turns hmi out a
beaii of prey, leekmg whom he may devour.
Then the licentious aud depraved p^ffions
fpurn and overwhelm every boundary which
reafon, humanity, and pity can oppofe.
Then it is that the prmciple of moral vitality
is loft, and man becomes in every thing but
the commiffion of fm, and the perception of
mifery, a dead and putrefying carcafs !
When at the creation of the world order and
harmony arofe, " the Jpirit of God moved
" on the face of the waters." To him aeone
is owing the fame order and harmony in the
civil concerns of men. " He openeth his
" hand, we are Jilled with good ; he hideth
" his face, we are troubled; he taketh away
" our breath, (and in a focial as ^ye\\ as natu^
" ral and religious view) we die, and return
" agaiji to our duft." It is therefore no
matter of furprize to a Chriftian, that after
this infatuated people had difcarded all regard
to the providence of Almighty God, that the
dagger of the affaffin was armed, not only
agaiiift all virtuous and honeft men, but alfo
in a manner which it is impoffible for lan-
guage

LOVING THF, BROTHERHOOD, &C, 183

guage (o aggravate, againft the unprotec-ted
itate of womtii, venerable age, and the inno-
cence of childhood ! From a participation of
fiich crimes and Ihch calamities, may the
fear of God protect us ! May this truth re-
main as a principle indelibly engraven in the
heart and afiei:tions of every Englifliman — -
" Verily there is a God zchich rezcardeth the
" righteous; doubt Icfs there is a God who
" judgeth the earth. "

Laitly, by the joint refult and elte<5l of the
two principles of the Love or the Bro-
therhood, and the Fear of God, will
be cheriilied and cultivated the indifpeniable
duty of honoring the Ikcred Perlbn and Office
of the Monarch, in our free and excellent
Conftitution.

Brethr en ! our forefathers were efteem-
ed men in their generation of great wrfdom,
piety, and virtue. They were diltinguiihed
among all the nations of the earth for an
hatred of oppreilion, and for an unlliaken
love of fober and rational liberty. Bre-
thren! they underftood and polielKed hber-
ty, both ci\il and religious, while that con-
ceited and unprincipled people, ^¥hich modern
reformers hold up as your guide and mafteri
N 4 in

184 CONNEXION OF THE DUTIES OF

in civil polity, lay under the bonds of the
mod abjeft flavery, and in the utter darknefs
of Romifli fuperftition. Brethren ! this
liberty our forefathers, who had full and con-
vincing experience of the tyrannical anarchy
of a Republican government, wifely fecured,
by continuing and perpetuating the power and
office of a revered, though limited Monarch ;
they wifely tempered the exceffes by which
liberty hath in all other countries deftroyed
itfelf, by the wifdom and prudence of an an-
tient, venerable, and hereditary Ariilocracy.
Under this government, notwithftanding every
flight defe<5l neceflarily incident to every far
brie of human conftru(5lion, the profperity
and happinefs of this nation has been for the
coLirfe of a century unparalleled in the re?
cords of mankind.

The defeats of this noble fyllem muil bear
a fmall proportion indeed to its excellencies,
when they have not prevented this favoured
iiland from becoming the central point where
nearly the whole of the wealth, commerce, l"e-
curity, and true liberty, which exifts through-
out the world, have met. Let it not be forgot-
ten that to thefe kingdoms the French Exiles
fled for (belter from Regal opprejjion and

Papal

LOVING THE BROTHERHOOD, 5cC. 185

Papal per fecutioii, on the revocation of the
ediS. of Nantz, at the clofe of the laft cen-
tuiy. At the clofe of this, equal prote^ion
is afforded to thofe of the fame nation, whom
a vindiftive, farioiis populace, the organ of
relentleis demao-oo-ues, has driven to leek a
hmilar refuge on tl-tefe hofpitable Ihores !
HtTe, as far as the imperfect condition of
Immanity will permit, (and may it be fo till
time Ihall be no more !) " here the Kicked
" ceafe from frouhlitio', here the weary are at
*' rejt r Here mild and equal laAvs render
the cottage of llie labourer as fecure as the
palace of the noble. Here juftice is difpenfed
in a pure and unpolluted ftream. And fliall
all thefe ineftimable bleffmgs, all thefe pre-
<:ious privileges, be endangered by fchemes
of vifionary reform, projected by thofe whofc
fole refuge from the ruin in which their
vices aiid debaut^hery have involved them,
lies not in the reform, but in the fubvcijion of
the Gonltitution ? Reform is in truth a fpe-
t:ious word ; but I truft every honeft man,
before he gives encouragement to fuch pro-
je6tors, will reflect how much may be loft,
and how little can be gained, by fuch inno-
yation- But if this reform, (be it of what

nature

186 CONNEXION OF THE DUTIES OF

nature it may) extends to the weakening the
power and influence of the Monarch, dire6lly
or indirectly, will not all the advantages
which arife from the nice equipoise of our
admirable Conflitution be endangered with
them ? At leaft, before we truft the reform
of the ftate with any projectors, we have a
right to expect that they fliould have extended
their zeal for reformation to their own morals
and habits.

Surely then all thofe who love the Bro-
therhood and fear God, will feel how
much it is their intereft as Citizens, and duty
as Chrillians, to honor the King. I am
farther perfuaded that all honeil men are fully
convinced, that in addition to the value of a
limited Monarchy, abftraCledly conlidered,
the Perfonal Virtues of our gmcious Sovereign
moft powerfully claim the united attachment
and duty of his fubjecls. His mild and mer-
ciful difpofition, his warm and paternal love
of his people, and above all his exemplary
piety and holinefs in the midft of an apoftate
and adulterous generation, have fcarcely ever
been equalled, and never exceeded, by the
moft virtuous of his predeceffors on the throne
of thefe kingdoms.

It

LOVING THE BROTHERHOOD, &C. 187

It is againlt ibch a Monarch, and againft
fuch a Government, that a fcheme ot* the
blackeit and mofl extended treachery had cer-
tainly been laid. A deciliv e blow was nearly
ftruck againlt our liberty, proiperity, and na-
tional exiflence ! But thanks to Almighty
God, the timely and « judicious meafures of
his Majefty's Minifters, the united fpirit of
loyal Alibciation, affilted by the unfliaken
courage, warm patriotifm, and fuperior ad-
drefs of the Chief Magilirate (g) of this Me-
tropolis, have for the prefent checked and de-
feated the defigns of our foreign and domeftic
enemies. To the manly exertions of this laft
mentioned diftinguilhed peribn it is greatly
owing that your property is fafe from plun-
der, the honor of your wives and daughters
from brutal infolence, and your lives from
the daggers of foreign affaffms. It is a mean
recompence to fuch merit, that it will cer-
tainly defcend to pofterity. Far more im-
portant to this excellent INIagiftrate I am per-
fuaded is the warm gratitude of every honed
citizen, the filent, ftrong teftimony of con-
fcience, and the hope of thofe rewards, end-
lefs in duration and unfpeakable in value,
which the Almighty has ftored in Heaven for

the

188 CONNEXION OF THE DUTIES, Scc.

the benefafilors of mankind in their genera-
tion here on earth !

It remains then only for me to exhort you
as Englishmen, refolved to preferve your
liberty and property from domoftic treachery
and plunder, and your national independence
from foreign infultand attack — as Fathers
and Husbands, bound to prote6lyour deareil
relatives from mifery and ruin — as Chris-
tians, acknoM'ledging the providence and
adoring the majefty of Almighty God — to
cherifli and diffufe a love and veneration for
the Laws, the Conftitution, the Religion of
this land; and to requeit you to join me in
hearty, fervent praj'^er, that if in vindication
of the juft rights of his allies, and the

DEAREST INTERESTS of his fubjects, OUr

PTacious Monarch fliould be eniraiied in a ne-
ceffary conteil with our antient and bitter foes,
that the Omnipotent Prote6tor of all who call
on his name, may go forth as in former ages
with our fleets and armies; and- that the
fpeedy iffue of this conteft may be, that peace,
order, piety, and good government, may not
only be perpetuated in thefe kingdoms, butbcr
come univerfal over the face of the earth !

NOTES,

NOTES.

(a) Of this tendency, above all others, are the
WTitings of J. J. Rouffeau. The mifchief done to
morality and religion by this man are beyond all
calculation. The paflions in their worft excefles
are painted by him in the garb of virtue, and by
this means the progrcfs made in vice is moft art-
fully rendered imperceptible to the unwary mind.
Confcience is fiibverted, and mock principle, a
thoufand times worfe than none, is fubftituted in
its place. The pureft philanthropy is the profef-
fion of this writer ; but the rert/purpofe and cffecl
of his- writings is to diffufe a principle of ft^iti-
mcntal profligacy, and canting libertinifm. And
yet, notwithftanding tlie enervated languor of his
ftyle, and the meannefs and poornefs of his arti-
fices, his influence over the minds and habits of
the age has been ftupendoiis. Thofe whofe prin-
ciples have been proof againft the acutencfs of
HoBBES, the fubtlety of Hume, the bombaftic
farcafm of Gibbon, and the buffoonery of Vol-
taire, have fallen before the effeminate and fac-
titious tendernefs of Roufleau.

Viftique doHs LACRlMi^qjJE cozOl
Quos neque Tydides nee Lariflaeus Achilles,
Non anni domuere decern hon mille carinse.

The late Mr. Burke delineated the chara6ter
of this writer with the truefl moral and political
difcernment, aided by all the vivacity and fplen-

dar

190 NOTES.

dor of di6lIon, which he fo enihicntly poffefTed.
The whole of his obfervatlons on the elfe^is of
Rouffeau's doctrines, in his " Second Letter to a
Member of the National Affembly,'' is fuperior
to all praife.

(b) E« |3a(^^Xll)0jM,f^M^ yacj^ (7vvr,X^ou' Traca yap omix
^x(nhtviToii VTTO Tuv ■arpeo-QiVTOi.Tcov, Ariji. PoUt,

L 1. c. 1.

This important principle was afferted by Aris-
totle,, who has developed the origin of civil fo-
ciety, and traced it to its elementary principles,
with an ability and reach of thought, which in my
poor opinion has never been attained to fnice by
any fubfequent writer on thefe fubje6ts. , Having
had opportunity of long and deep experience,
from obfervingtheprai^ical eifecls of the different
principles of civil government in the numerous
free dates of Greece; he tried Theory by Faft,
and became the moft able experimental Po-
litician either of ancient or modern times. ]\Ii-.
Locke, on the contrary, in his Treatife of Go-
vernment, is as fcanty, defective, and confined in
his references to hiflorical fact, as the Greek Phi-
lofopher was copious, accurate, and extenfive.
This polition is maintained with peculiar fuccefs
by Dr. Gillies in his Introdu6lion to the Ari-
•ftotelic Philofophy, of which he has exhibited a
moft valuable abftrad. — The very able, truly
-learned, ai^d impor-taiit work to which I allude,
v^ is

NOTESV 191

is intitlcd '^ Arlftotle's Ethics and Politics, com-
prizing his Praftical Philofophy, &c. &c. by
J. Gillies, LL.D." in 2 vols^ 4to. London,
1797. — ^The introdu6lion of this birX)k into our
Englifli Univcdities would be attended, I am
convinced, with the mod beneficial efte^ls.

(c) Phillippians, c. <iii. v, 20. The word
•sToXiTux is weakly and erroneoufly tranflated in
the common verfion Converfation ; by which the
noblencfs and aptnefs of the metaphor are to-
tally loft.

(d) Here, indeedj is the true principle 0^ love
and bj'otherhood which lighted up the holy flame
of charity and fervour of eloquence among the
primitive Chriflians. " lia^/m y«p Iv ic^iv »

XV^Jy, £«Tf WXOUO-JO?, flTE tD-£V7]?, £»T£ J^OUAo? £JT£ fAfU-

flou^of, Ka* j(A»a x£(paAri izuvruv £^ ou rx "csokvrot
XPIZT02. K«» oTTfp iT^v ciXXriXoig tx [j.iXn^ touts
tKitfog £)carw, xxi ziraa-iv xttxptis.'" GvegOV, Naz.

Orafio de Pauperum amore.

(e) Although I am unwilling to degrade the
niemor}^ of the Roman . people, by a comparifon
with the French, except in rapine and tyranny,
yet I cannot help obferving, how exa(5lly the re-
femblance is in thefe circumflances as defcribed
by Tacitus. I have therefore cited the pafTage
at full lenoth.

" Nos

192 NOTES.

" Nos terrarum ac libertatis cxtremos, rccefflis
ipfe ac finus famae in hunc diem defcndit. Nunc
terminus Biitannioc patct, atque omne ignotum
pi'o magni/ico eft. Sed nulla jam ultra gens, nihil
nifi fluclus : Et interiores Romani, quorum fu-
perbiam frufira, per obfequium & modeftiam cf-
fugeris, raptores orbis, poftquam cundla vaf-
tantibus defuere terra?, & mare fcrurantur : Si
locuples hoftis eft, avari : fi pauper, ambitiofi :
quos non oriens, non occidens fatiaverit : Soli
omnium opes atque inopiam pari affeclu concu-
pifcunt, auferrc, trucidare, rapcrc flilfis nominibiis
imperium, atque ubi folitudincm faciunt, pacem
appellant. Liberos cuiquc ac propinquos fuos
natura cariffimos effe voluit ; hi per dele6lus alibi
fervituri auferuntur. Conjuges fororefque, etfi
hoftilem libidinem effugiant, nomine amicoruili
atque hofpitum poluuntur. Bona fortunafque in
tributum egerunt ; in annonam frumentum.'" —
Tacitus de Vita Jgrkolce.

(f) Plutarchus adverfiis Coloicm. The whole
paffage is well worth referring to.

(g) This fer'mon was preached in the year
1792 ; Avhen the exertions of the late Sir James

^Sa^dErson during his mayoralty were moil emi-
nent and exemplary, and gave him a juft title to
the gratilade of the prefent age, and the me-
mory of pofterity.

DISCOURSE

%

DISCOURSE VII.

<(

(I

EZEKIEL xxiv. 6. AND PART OF 7.

WHEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD,
WOE TO THE BLOODY CITV ! TO THE POT

'' WHOfiE SCUM IS therein; AND WHOSE

SCUM IS NOT GONE OUT OF IT ! BRING

IT OUT PIECE BY PIECE; LET NO LOT
FALL UPON IT. FOR HER BLOOD IS IN
THE MIDST OF HER; SHE SET IT UPON

'' THE TOP OF A ROCK."

1 HE threatenings of God which we find
dire6ied againft Nations in the Holy Scrip-
tures, are if poffible more awful and alarm-
ing even than thofe againft Individuals.
Individuals indeed, when once abandoned
to their own ways, are not often recalled to
righteoufnefs ; but Nations ftill more rarely.
We have fame inftances in the Scriptures,
in which particular men have been by God's
O grace

I9i ON THE DEATH Off

grace happily alarmed and arrefted ; but
Nineveh is almofl the only inftance of the
warning of Almighty God operating upon
a community fo far as to bring it to re-
pentance. Babylon and Tyre among the
Heathens perfifted in their crimes 'till their
punifhment overtook them. Nay, God's
own peculiar people and city could be
warned by no inftruftions, examples, or
threatenings. They refufed to edify a fmful
world by their repentance ; therefore their
'iittcr dejiruction vindicated the ways of God
to Man.

It is the peculiar duty of the Minillers of
the Gofpel, under the fever eft ^penalties, to
bring, as often as occafion fliall require, thefe
threatenings home to the hearts of their
hearers. Tliofe that indeed love their flocks,
tliofe who feek not theitis but them, will
find this fenfe of duty quickened by Affec-
*rioNj in dangerous and difficult times. They
will have no refl to their ej- e-lids while they
have omitted to warn their hearers to "^e.e
^ from the wrath to come.'*

The prefent times, which are more awful
than any iince the deftru6tion of Jerufalem,
iibfolutely require, that watchfulnefs on their

part^

THE QUvEEN OF FRANCE. ig5

part, and attention on yours, fliould either
avert tliofe national calamities which hang
over us, or if we fhould perilh in them, that
we fo deport ourfelves " as to be found zvorthy
*' tojtand before the Son of Man."

Let us enquire then in the following Dif-
courfe into the nature- of the £n of Blood-
guiltinefs in a Nation or Community^ the
Confequences which are attached to it, and
the Principles and Doftrines from which it

orisijmates.

Man undoubtedly was created to love,
cherilh, and comfort his brethren. This he
would undoubtedly have done, if he had not
fallen from God — if our firft parents had not
rebelled againft their kind Benefactor, in re-
turning the rich bounty of the Almighty by
an acl of foul and dire6l rebellion. Had
they and their pofterity remained in the pa-
radifiacal ftate, Death and Sin would never
have had exiftence. The prefence of God
would have flied perpetual comfort, and the.
love of each other Iprung Ipontaneous in
every child of Adam. No human Laws, or
Magiftrates, or Pnni/Iiments would have been
necellary, had God been obeyed, and his law
kept. But after man had fallen, his wicked
o 2 appetites

19^ ON THE DEATH OF

appetites broke loofe, difcord enfued, and
the firll crime upon the catalogue is Murder^

From this time the exiftence of Magilhacy
and Laws became neceflary. It is upon
compidfion only that man, collettively conli-^
dered, is prevented from being the enemy of
his kind.

But God Almighty even here did not de-
fert him. Though by fin he was degraded,
yet even this ftate of degradation was not
meant to be a ftate of perpetual bloodfhed
and diforder. God inftituted Laws and Civil
Government. By him Kings reign and
Princes decree jujiice. This ordinance who-
ever rai"hly reiifts, rejijis the ordinance of
God. When men refift Civil Governors, I
am bound to tell you, that they take a moft
AWFUL CHARGE upon themfclves. That
Government muft be corrupt indeed which
will warrant this ; and fhould any motives of
private intereft, of private paffion, of diftrefs
of circumftances, lead men to fubvert law
and order, thele at the dread tribunal of God
muft ftand under the deep die of Blood-
guilt inefs. And if the guilt of the blood of
one man is enough to plunge us into irre-
trievable mifery, what muft be the ftate of

thofc.

THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. 397

thofe, whofe conducl, whofe principles, and
whofe deiigns have led to the death of tliou^
fands and tens of thoiifands !

I am ready to admit that the very fame
awful caution extends to Kings and other
Civil Governors, as well as to SuhjeSts, and
that in the fight of ' God the life of the
pooreft Peafant is equally precious with that
of the proudeft Monarch. By God's law
Monarchs will be judged as well as the
lowed of their fubjects, before that dread
tribunal, to which we muft all be fum-
moned.

But the fm of Blood^guiltinefs, as we have
moil INSTANT and lamentable experience,
may be likewife attached to Subjects. When
men from indireft motives withfland ajufl
and equal Government — when they fpread
gi'oundlefs difcontents — when they vilify the
perfons and mifreprefent the motives of
Kings, and thofe in authority, they then
refill the powers that be, and Ihall receive
unto themfelves danniation. The word, in
fpite of every palliative, is ftrong and em-
phatical ; but not more marked and di{tin6l
than the crimes of fuch men. To ahfohde
perfection neither Civil Government or

o 3 . Civil

19^ ON THE DEATH OF

Civil Governors can poffibly be brought ;
and if the i?)ijjerfcBions of thefe are to be
the caufe of tumult and infurreclion, af-
furedlj bloodibed and dilbrder muft be uni-
verfal and perpetual over the vrhole face of
the earth. By God's bleffmg we live un-
der a Government nearei' to perfection, con^
feffedly and avowedly, than any of which
record has reached us. But yet perhaps a
more perfect form of polity may be imagined
by fpeculative men, although, if the experi-
ment were tried, it would not practically be
obtained.

To ftimulate then men to acts of refiftance
to Magiftrates, becaufe imperfections remain
in any form of Government, is furely to re-
fill the ordinance of that God, who never
hitended to beftow ahfolutc perfection on
any fyftems of laws here below. So many
circumitances muft concur and confpire to
render a fabftantial change falutary and be-
neficial to a community at large, that a
wife nian will heftate, and a good man
•tremble, in taking any part in the fubverlion
of the Government under which the provi-
dence of Almighty God has placed him. A
man who really fears God, and who efteems

himfelf

THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. 199

himfelf accountable to him, will, if lie ever
confents to meafures of the flighted innova-
tion, take good heed to his ways. Not only
his a61ions, bat even his words will bo
guarded. lie will confider, that for every
ftep he takes, not only originating in paffion
and fraud, but even in . precipitation and in-
advertency, he ftands accountable for every
confequence which may refult from them.
His prayer to God will be, early and late,
public and private, " Deliver me from Blood-
" guiltinefs, O Lord."

Nor will this caution and tendernefs of
confcience be exercifed with regrard to him-
felf only, but likewife to all thole with
whom he communicates his aftions and
deflgns. He will moft diligently watch,
that neither Mendicancy, Malevolence, or
Grafp of Powder, conftitute any part of
THEIR motives, any more than his own.
He will be little inchned to think, that
profligacy, profanenefs, and fyfl;ematic li-
bertinifm, can work out political purity
and reformation. He will recolie6l that
Rebellion is as the fin of Witchcraft — that
it comes in its firft origin in very plauiiiile
o 4 fliapes,

200 ON THE DEATH OF

lliapcs, but that its progrefs is marked in
diforder, blood, and defpair. He will never
lofe light of this important trath, that the
Beginners of thefe fpecious meafures of re-
form and renovation are anfwerable for all
thofe atrocities to which the w^oril men, who
have intrenched themfelves under their au-
thority, character, and influence, may, in the
ufual and natural progrefs of fuch events,
afterwards proceed.

But, alas ! how widely different from fuch
conicientious circumfpe6tion do we find the
condu6t of thofe who have been in all ages
inftrumental in proje6ting fyflems of innova-
tion and change !

Pride and Petulance, Rancour and
Spleen (a), Luft of Lucre, and Fear of Juf-
tice, the Preffures of Poverty and Reftlefliiefs
of Guilt, have, to compafs their ends, in-
duced men to let at nought the groans, and
tears, and agonies of the numerous victims
of focial difcord and civil commotion. Such
have been, I repeat it, in all ages, the fcourges
of mankind, fcattering dciblation and deftrucT
tion over the moral creation of God,

If we may truft the uniform tenor of hif-

torical

THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. 201

torical record, no defcriplion of men ever cx-
ifled, in whom all pity for the fufferings of
mankind, all fear of the retributive juflice of
Almighty God, have been more com-
pletely and invariably extinguillied, than in
thofe who have affumed the characters of po-
pular leaders, and peculiar allertors of the
rights and privileges of their fellow citizens.
Who have been lefs fcrupulous of the means
by which they accompliflied their ends ? AVho
have w^aded through more blood, either to
obtain or to preferve their booty, their power,
their elevation ? What Tyranny more im-
placable in the facritices with which it gorged
itfelf, than the ftern ferocity of Marius, the
mock clemency of Cj^sar, the profcriptive
libertinifm of Antony, or the cool, digelled,
murderous determination of Cromwell ?
Every one of thefe in their day pretended to
be lovers of their country — they duped, they
plundered, they oppreff'ed it.

Let us then beware how the plaufible pre-
tences of any fet of men i'o operate upon our
paffions, as to render us infenfible of the ilain
o{ Blood-Gidltinefs — of the crime of being ac-
ceflary to a fubverfion of thofe laws and that
ofder in this land, which are at this moment,

as

203 ON THE DEATH OF

as for above a century pall, our ornament,
our diItin6tion, and our fafeguard. Nothing
can lurpais the Guilt of fuch an attempt, ex-
cept the Folly of it.

The FoUif of it is prominent indeed, but in
none more than in the firft authors of delu-
lion and difcord — becaufe hiilory proves, and
recent experience moft awfully confirms that
proof, that in this fyltem of crimes, the fii*ft
pei^petrators, by the juft deiignation of Al-
mighty God, are invariably the firft and fevereft
fufferers (b). Thei/ incur the guilt, but others
rea^ the fruit of their machinations. Nor is
it enough for the well-intentioned to anfwer,
that they only intends Reformation of the Go-
vernment, and not its Subverfion — from fmiilar
pretences all inilirredions have originated.

I'he Guilt of it, permit me to fay, is at
the prefent criiis of a deeper and more aggra-^
vated complexion, than at any former period
in the annals of mankind. To difclaim, with
ftudied fcorn, all reverence for the fuperin-
tending Providence of Almighty God — to re-
ject with mockery every apprchenfion of a
judgment to come — to harden the murderer,
by telling him by public authority, that after
death his crimes and confcience will be buried

in

THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. 203

in eternal fleep — all this has not been the
accidental Confequence, but the Bajis and
ejfential Principle of (what the poverty of
language obliges me to call) the political fyf-
tem of thofe wretched regicides, who are al-
ternately threatening mankind with the con-
tagion of their principles, or appalling them
by the horrors of their crimes.

God knows, that in this ftate of fm and
mifery, of change and calamity, the page of
hiftory (hews how much man has corrupted
his ways before God, and with what violence
the earth has at all times been filled. But to
the fcenes which have been exhibited, and are
ftill exhibiting in France, no parallel occurs
to the aftoniihed mind ! Whether we view
the extended fcale on which this fcheme of
maflacre was proje6ted, the Iteady and relent-
lefs feverity with which it has been purfued,
the principles and paflions from which it ori-
ginated, or the fpirit of calm Jporlive inven-
tive barbarity, with which it has been in
thoufands of inftances executed, experience,
language, and even conception fail us ! " The
" Angel of God hath poured out his phial on
" the rivers and fountains of waters, and they
*' have become Blood/'

Surely

204 ON THE DEATH OF

Surely thefe Horrors, however made fa-
miliar to us by recitals, to which for nearly
four years we have been accuftomed, re-
ceived their ultimate confummation in the
laji Act of their atrocity, which has juft
reached us. As they before furpaffed all
former Hecorded Fa&ors in Blood, they
have here outdone f hem/elves. They have
left their former guilt flirunk and contra6ied
in its dimenfions. The long avenues of
mifery, through which her perfecutors con-
duced this defencelefs Royal Sufferer, the
fucceffive gradations of mifery fhe under-
went, exceeding the former infliftions of it
by nicely adjufted proportions — the skilful
barbarity with which in every ftage of her
conflid they contrived that the anguifli of the
mind fliould keep pace with that of the body —
the ufe they made of thofe blcffed Natural Af-
feci ions which God has implanted in the breall
of a Wife and a Mother, to give poignancy
to every pang, by the fpe6lacle of the length-
ened fufferings of a murdered Hufband, and
Children torn from her to calamities ten
thoufand times worfe than to death — the
horrors of a dungeon, clofed by a mock pro-
cefs, and an execution accompanied with the

bafeil

THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. 205

bafeft infults and indignities — above all, one
unutterable inflance of agonizing cruelt}^,
which the records of her trial exhibit ! — all
thefe combined circumllances leave but one
fe ntiment of confolation to an E n g l i s ii m a n
and a Christian — That her Affliftions
ARE ENDED ! That fhe is now arrived at
that peaceful haven, " where the rmcked ceafe
" from troubling, and where the weary are at
" rejt, where the prifoners rcji together, and
^ they hear not the mice of the opprefjor ;
" where God Jliall wipe away all tears from
*' their eyes, and there Jliall he no more death,
" neither forrow, nor crying, neither JJiall
" there he any more pain ; for the former
" things are pa fed azaay."

But let it be well remembered, that it is
not at Royal Dignity that this deftruc-
tion ends ; the fame week, I believe the fame
day, which confummated the afifii6lions of this
lamented vi6lim, produced a decree from this
fame ruffian horde, for the razing to the
ground of the fecond * city in France in popu-
lation and commerce, and the deftru^lion of
man, woman, and child, under the dirccTtion
ot Conmiiffioners deputed by the Convention

to

* I.

vons-.

206 ON THE DEATH OF

to direft and regulate this fcene of malTacre.
Surely of this nation we may fay, " Her
" blood is in the midji of her ; Jlie hath fit it
" on the top of a rock."

May Ahuighty G od prote6l this favoured
land from fuch Horrors, and the Principles
which lead to them ! Cherifli this falutary
truth ! — That the caufe we are now engaged
in, is the caufe of God and our Country,
our Liberties and Property, our Wives and
Children. It is the caufe of the lowest, as
much as the highest ; for upon the iffueof
the prefent conteft it muft depend, whether
" Ji rangers /hall eat up thine harvcjt and thy
" bread zi:hich thy fitjis and daughters Jhould
*' eat — whether theyjliall eat up thy flocks and
*' thine herds — whether they fliall impoverijlt
*' thy fenced cities zvherein thou dwelleji with
" the fworcV — whether bloodfhed, fire, and
fword fliall be brought among us by a relent-
lefs, vindiclive foreign foe, afiifted by the moft
abandoned of our own countrymen, whofe
efforts have long been united for the reduc-
tion of this free and happy nation to a beg-
gared, degraded, plundered province to theie
me rcilefs enemies. Should they, (which God
in his mercy avert !) fucceed in this en-

terprize.

THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. 207

terprize, the voice of England would be like
the " voice of the daughter of Sion, uhich
" hewaileth herfelf, that Jpreadeth her hands,
" fil/^^^S ^^^^ ^ ^^^ now^ for my foul is wea^
" ried becaife of murderers !"

Be warned then in time my brethren and
fellow-fubjefts — think of our common coun-
try, which holds forth its imploring arms to
you ! think of the dangers and horrors to
which every ftage of thefe deteftable doftrines
expofes thofe whofe aifedion God has wound
clofeft round your heart — think of the me-
mory of your forefathers, who have delivered
down to you the fpirit of firm loyalty and
rational liberty, as infeparably and effentially
united — think of that holy Religion you
profefs, the fole refuge and confolation of
defponding humanity, and the only cement
of that mutual compaflion and benevolence
which can make this fhort and precarious life
for a moment tolerable — think of that heavy
unguifli and guilt, which in the Hour of
Death and Day of Judgment any partici-
pation of principles leading to a reje6lion of
God, and the incalculable deitruftion of his
creatures, muft accumulate upon your heads
— tliiiik ct the fgnal 'dwd fj)eedy vengeance

>Tith
3

208 ON THE DEATH, <S:C*

with which Divine Juftice hath mod diftin^lly
and fucceffively vifited moft of the individuals
who have been forwardly employed in this
diabolical work — Then, if you can fet thefe
moft awful objects in array before you, I
doubt not your determination and conduct
will be that of Chrijtians and EngUJJmien !
I fear not then the artifices by which thefe
pretended Apoftles of Liberty, and Apolo-
gifts of real MalTacre, are endeavouring to
pave their way to Plunder, Ufurpation, and
Atheifm.

Brethren, let your interceflion be frequent
and fervent, that the great and tremendous
God, whofe Providence we acknowledge,
whofe Mercy we adore, whofe judgments we
dread, in whofe Gofpel we repofe, may grant
Succefs to thofe Councils, and Vi6lory to
thofe Arms, which have no other object in
this defenfive War, than to reftore peace and
order in France, and to fecure and perpetuate
the bleffings and comforts of civil fociety to
every nation in Europe.

NOTES,

NOTES,

(a) In the flroiig' and pregnant language of
Tacitus — " Libido Saxguixis atque uiails
FK.EMIORUJf." — liift. L 4.

(b)To this purpofe it was pertinently obfcrved
by one who w'lih great Ihrewdncfs and powers of
genius deteded and expofed the mock patriotiliu
of his own times — " ^I'fic e.vperlcncc of all agea
^' might let tkcm Imoic, thai thcif xcho trouble iha
*' xcatcrs firjl have fc Ida m the bcnejil of the ffi-
'' ing: as thei) zclio began the late rebeU'uni en-
^^ jojjed not the fruit oj' their undertaking, but
*' xcere crujhcd then f elves b\j the ufurpation of
'' their own injh^ument," DuYDiix.

DISCOURSE

a

DISCOURSE vm.

GALATIAXS i. 4,

WHO GAVE HIMSELF TOR OUR SIXS,

((

a

THAT HE MIGHT DELIVER US FROM
THE PRESEXT EVIL WORLD."

j^OTIIIXG is more ftriking to a man of
oblervation and reliection, than the fimple*
tliftincl, and intelligible manner in which the
lubiimell truths of Religion are unfolded in
the Holy Scriptures. I'he nature, the end,
the efficacy of the fuTerings of the Redeemer,
are in the words of my text fo clearly fet
forth, that one would imagine it to be aimoft
impoffible for the fophiftry even of modern
metaphyfics, to em])arrafs or perplex the
meaning of them. However myflerious iho
grounds and reafons of the great do6lrine of

V 3 Redunrj-

212 ON THE ATONEMENT.

Redemption through Chrift, may, and muft
for ever remain to us, while we are taber-
nacled in flefli, yet as far as our praBice and
affect Ions are concerned, nothing can be more
clear and determmate. But neither the un-
fpeakable and awful importance of it, nor the
plainnefs with which it is revealed, has pre-
vented various attempts to elude its force, or
diftort the dire6t language in which it is con-
veyed. In all ages of the Church there have
not been wanting thofe " who have denied
" the Lord who bought them." — In none
more, than in thofe unfortunate times into
which the providence of God has thrown us :
whether fuch fuppofe that mere afte6tation of
paradox raifes them from iniignificancy, or
that they cannot bear to face thoie truths of
the Gofpel, which ftand in fo awful a con-
traft to the habits of a luxurious, frivolous and
apoftate age, is not for me to determine. To
endeavour to Hate to you the true Scrip-
tural doctrines of the Redemption pur-
chafed for us by the death and futlbrings of
Him " zi'ho gave liimfelfj'or us, that he might
»* deliver us from the prefent evil world ^' Ihall

be the defign of the following difcourfe,

To

on ^iiE ATONEMENT4 213

To thofe who have confidered the effects of
Sin and Tranigreffion, either from the na-
ture of things themfelves, or from the dif-
order and mifery flowing from them, which
daily experience points out to us, in various
events of human hfe which happen wathin
our notice; fomey?/'o;?«- interpodtion will ap-
pear neceffary to relieve us from the guilt of
Sin, the power of Sin, and the praSiice of
Sin. If we view Sin abftra6ledly, and con-
fider it as a violation of the commands of the
great Author of Nature, the benevolent
Source of Order and Ilapolnefs difiUfed
over infinite ly items of created Beings, the
giver of every faculty both of ioal and body,
" in Zi)]iom zee live, and move, and have our bc-
" ing;' we cannot but think that every act
of difobedience to fuch a Lord and Governor
leaves the foul of man m a moft degraded,
corrupted, and difeafed condition : It reduces
the linner to a Itate of alienation from the
Creator, and hoitility to the Creature. Be-
nevolence to Man, and enmity to God, are
totally irreconciieabie to, and deilra6tive of
each other. The end and deiiiin of God is
order and happinefs ; that of the Sinner, con-
fuiion and mifery. Add to this, that the.,
p 3 contagious

214 ox Till: ATOXEME^vT.

contagious nature of tnuiigreffion, fprcading
ruin and defolation by various channels
through the moral creation of God, calls upon
him, as the great Governor of the Ufiiverle,
to prevent the progrefs of offences. If we
admit and apply the grand luminous doctrine
of analogy between every part of God's go-
vernment, whether in his natural, moral, or
revealed fyftem, this will appear to us in the
Itrongeft and moil diftin6l point of view\
We all know the fanftity and reverence which
necelTarily attaches itfelf to LAW and order
in every well-regulated government. How
effential it is for every civil Magijirate care-
fully to guard the obfervance of leiws once
laid down, by tlie ftrifteft and fevereft penal-
ties ; hoAv rarely can thofe penalties be dif-
-penfed with, coniiftently with the ends of
government, even mjlight and inconjiderahle
inftances of difobedience. But where ohjii"
nate, habitual, flagrant tranfgreffion appears,
not only j/z/iict', but even mercy to the inno-
cent, requires an exa^ion of the peinalty in its
ilmrpeft rigour and utmoft extent. Even the
fevered and moil fuicere repentance will not
juftify the pardon of offenders in numberlefs
iniiances of tranfgreffion. The mifchicf done.

can

7

ox THE ATONEMENT. $15

can only be remedied by the pimiJJiment to be
endured, and the fole quellion with the Ma-
giitrate is, whether the pangs of the luifer-
ing criminal can be difpenled with, at the
hazard of the difiblution of all law and
order, and its baneful effefts upon the found
and unoffending portio-n of his fubje^ts. It
will not be difficult for us to apply this, with
due reverence and abatement, to the moral
government of Almighty God ; who feems
to bear to the whole Jjljiem of his created
beings a relation analogous to that which a
Magiftrate bears to thofe over whom he is
invefted with authority. The effefts of an
iinpunijlied tranl'greffion of the divine laws,
may extend in their confequences far beyond
the limits of our narrow and bounded ima-
ginations, and fpread the feeds of mifery and
diforder, as widely in proportion to the iini-
'verfe, as vice evidently doth over corrupted
civil communities on this our earth.

What then mufl be, by nature, the help-
lefs and defperate it ate of thofe \Vho have ex-
pofed themfelves to thefe fevere penalties of
the righteous judgements of God !— who have
rendered it inconiiftent with his juji ice to ex-
tend his rnerciu or to ftate the queftion more
p 4 clearlvj

2l6 ON THE ATONEMENT.

clearlj, have rendered merci/ to us inconfiilent
with merc}^ to the reft of his moral creation.
When we reflect upon the corruption and the
canker with which SiN overfp reads the heart,
the deep defpair to which, by the law of
Nature, or of Mofes, the offender is left ;
Wiien we anticipate the extended eftects of
God's wrath againft habitual fmnners in ajio-
ilur world, by comparing them with the
baneful confequences even of thofe fms, which
our loofe cafuiftry reprefents to us to 'be of a
lighter nature in the prefent Jiate ; when we
coniider all this, may we not well exclaim in
the abrupt and eager language of the Apoftle,
^' Wretched man that I am, who JJiall deliver
*' me from the hodij of this death /"

It is to thofe who have brought their con-
dition home to tliemfelves by reflection, that
the Chriflian do6trine of Redemption opens
all its glorious and vivifying profpe6ts.
When we coniider how abje6t, how defpe-
ratp, the condition is of thofe who have fub-
jefted tliemfelves to fuffer temporal death by
a breach of the laws of their country; how
even their friends and nearelt relations flirink
from them in thofe trying moments which
intervene between their fentence and the exe-
cution

ON TilE ATONEMENT. 217

cution of it ; we fliall then attain a faint and
dilhmt idea of his love " wlio while we were
" finners ijet loved us." Let us fuppofe to
one in this deferted flate, the doors of the
prifon were opened, a free pardon proclaimed
upon condition of future amendment ; what
would be the fentiment of gratitude towards
the perfon by whom it had been procured l
But flill farther, if fuch an offender could be
informed that he who had procured this re-
miffion had done it upon the condition of
fuftering the fentence of the law in his ow?t
perfoji in its fulleft extent and fliarpeft rigor,
in the place and in the Jlead of the offender,
could the tongues of men and angels exprels
his gratitude ! — As fure as the word of God
is true, as fure as there is meaning in lan-
guage, this is the fituation in which every
foul who hears me is reprefented to be placed.
Thus St. Paul in his epiille to the Romans
tells us, that " death had pajjed upon all men,
" for that all have finned.'' — " That as in
*' Adam all die, even fo in Chriji Jliall all
*' he made alive." Temporal death was en-
tailed on us by the confequences of the fm of
our firit progenitor, eternal death by our own
a6lual tranfgreffions, and by our giving way

td

218 ON THE ATOXEMENf.

to thofe corrupted tendencies we derived frofti
him. To heal the one, and to atone for the
ofheVy was the great end of the mifiion of the
Son of God. Both thefe pur|X)fes were ne-
cefiarilj connected in thti Gofpel dii'penfation,
Without the one, the other woukl have been
of fmall efficacy. Little would it hare
availed to the finner tluit a right fpirit could
have been renewed within him, while he re-
mained obnoxious to the guilt of his former
trefpaffes ; little would this ftupendous fcheme
of mercy and redemption have ferved the
gracious purpoi'es of its benevolent Author,
unlefs it had ihpplied us with fuch difpofi-
tions and motives, as might, unlefs through
our own perverfenefs, prevent us from a
Tclapfe into lin and miiery. — To give then
full fatisfaftion to the majelly of an offended
God, and to reconcile the honor of his laws
in the pardon of repenting finners, was the
primari/ deiign of the incarnation and fuffer-
ins of the Son of God. It is not enouph to
fay that he fuiTered ybr us, he fuffered in our
Jiead. A diilinflion not of a metaphyjical,
but of a moft important and praBical nature ;
a diftinclion the more necelfary to be inliiled
upon, as the great do6lrine of vicarious fuf-
' ferine

ox THE ATOKEMEXr. 21<?

fering has been attempted by this means to
be evaded and explained away by the ableft
and Ihrewdeft of tlie Arian writers of our
days, (a) But an attention to the various ex-
preflions in which this do6irino is conveyed
to us in the Scriptures, will abundantly fruf-
trate this attempt, which is indeed in the
original language of the New Teftament,
marked by terms more di{tin6t and precife, if
polhble, than even in the common tranflation.
If it were admitted that Chriit' only loft his
life in the caufe of virtue and benevolence,
this would fcarcely diftinguiili His death and
luiferings, from that of the Apoiiles and
Martyrs : a diftin8ion which the great
Apoftle infilled upon with an eagernefs ade-
quate to its importance. " JVas Paul" faid
he, " crucified for you ?" fo fearful was lie that
an over attachment to himlelf ihould make
his converts lofe fight of the merits of fhat
Saviour, whole fervant and inflrument he
took every opportunit}^, in all the depth of
felf-humiliation, to confefs and proclaim
himfelf.

As our VICTIM then, and our substi-
tute, Chrift fufFered : to Htm, all the train
of facrifices pointed, from the earlieil patri-
archal

220 ox THE ATONEMENT*

ai'cbal times, all throupji the ISIofaic difpenfa*
tion, (lo^Yii to that a^^fal moment, in which the
redemption of Man was completed, in which)
amklit the agonies and torments of an in-
carnate God, " the fun teas clarlened^and
" the vail of the temple icas rent in tziain!*
Glimpfes of this great deliverance broke in even
upon the dark night of Pagan antiquity, among
whom the Providence of God kept alive the
doclrine of vicarious fufFering (b), by thofe ex-
piatory rites of which Natural religion, truly
fo called, exhibited a faint fliadow and type,
in the various attempts to fubftitute victims,
which men poorly imagined of fufljcient
worth to avert the merited vengeance of their
offended deities. The power of Sin upon
their confciences the heathens fuily felt : nor
could their bell philofophy deviie any fuffi*
cient means of purification or deliverance.
However (fays Cicero) the ftains of the
Bodv may be cleared, the pollutions of the
Mind by guilt, can be cleanfed by no ablu-
tion, nor obliterated by the longeft fucceffion
of ages (c). Deeply therefore founded, and
flrongly evinced, is the doctrine of the necef-
fity of a Victim, a Redeemer, and a Sanc-
titier, firft, by the confeilion of the beft

Philo--

ox THE ATONEMEXT. 221'

Philolbphersjwho acknowledged and lamented
the dearth of their refbiirces for the recovery
of man from the abandoned and defolate
Hate into which Sin had plunged him ; and
fecondly, by the frivolous attempts which the
vulgar liad recourfe to for the purpoies of
expiation and deliverance.

When then we reflect upon the tranfcen-
dency of that Victim which was offered for
us, — of the dignity of the Great High
Priest which offered it, of the infinite
price of the iiaxsom paid; when we con-
fider, how things in their own nature feem-
jngly incompatible are reconciled, infinite
Juftice with infinite Mercy — the pardon of
Sin with the promotion of A^irtue, — how is
our pride and leli-conceit abafed, and gra-
titude, love, and veneration towards the
Author and Finifher of this ftupendous
fcheme lightened and inflamed ! — how is
every thought brought into the captivity of
Chritt ! — how comfortable the doctrnic of
that redemption whereby w^e appear with
boldnefs before the throne of grace, " not
" having our own righteoiijhej's, but that
'' which is of faith in the Redeemer." God
fqrbid then that the pride of underftand-

222 ON THE ATONEMENT.

ing, tlie foppiOinefs of an apoftate age, con-
iicience m onr ov.n lliort-figlited realbn,
(vvliicli I cannot but obferve is icldom weaker
than in thofe who afiect the largeft portion and
coolcit exercife of it) fliould indine the Mi-
nifters of tlie Goi'pel to derogate from the
dignity, and explain away the efficacy of that
tremendous facrifice w-hich the Redeemer of-
fered. God forbid that " w f, Jliould ghrif
^\fave hi the crqfs of oijn Lohd Jbsu*
♦« Cjihist/'

K'OTES.

IS^OTES.

(a) The late Mr. H. Tmjlor, Reaor of Craw-
ley, in Hants, in his Apology of B. B. Mordecai,

is here alluded to. — I know of no fyftem whieh
ftands lefs fupported I)y Seripture than that mode
of Arianilm adopted by him. The texture of his
Tlieology is fuffieiently amufing and plaufible,
but his \'iews of Clififtianity are, in the language
of Cicero, tofa commtntltia.

(d) This fentiment was too Jlrong to be over-
come by the cavils of their philofophers. — '' Tu
autem etiam DECionn^r devotionibus placatos
Deos efie cenfes — Qwcd fuit eorum tanta iniquitas
tit placari pvpido Romano nun pojfcnt nifi viri tales
occidiifent." The grounds of this impoflibility
are to be looked for in the fubfequent citation.

(c) *' Inceftumvel afpcrfione aqui^ vel dierum
nunicro tolHtum : anoii labes nee diuturnitate
evanefcere nee amnibus ul!is clui poteft." — Cicero
de Natnra Deorum. 1. ir.

DISCOURSE

DISCOURSE IX.

2 TIMOTHY iV. 5i

*' DO THE WORK OF AN E VANGELIstj
MAKE FULL PROOF OF THY MIN^ISTRy/'

These words are part of that awful and
afFeftidftate charge which St. Paul gave to
Timothy, when he fent him forth to preach
the Gofpel of Chrift. Throughout the two
epiftles which were dire6led to this his beloved
Son, the leading features of the mind and cha-
ta6ler of the great Apoftle every where ap-
pear moll prominently and diftindlly. In
Paul of Tarsus were combined tempers
and difpoiitions which we feldom find compa-
tible with each other, all confpiring by their
very contraji to give efficacy to his efforts in
the great caufe he was called to fupport. An
Q exube**

026 VISITATION sER3io:?r

exuberancy of afIe«^lion joined to a mafculin&
underftanding,— a fpiendid eloquence aided
by the mofl vigorous argumentative powers,
— an heroic zeal directed rather than bounded
by the niceit dilcretion, — a conicious and
commanding dignity foftened by the meekeft
and moft profound humihty, — a feverity and
even lliarpneis of reproof in which the ten-
dered regard to the objeft of it was clearly
difcernible, — a pure, fifed, and apoflolical fc'
renity, joined to a fenid and even impetuous
temperament, defpilmg every danger and
bearing down every obflacle; — -all ihele rare
gifts and graces, as they rendered this chofen
veflel the great inftrument of the converiion
of the Gentiles in that hh day, fo do they ex-
liibit to all thole who are dedicated to the
fame miniftry, the moft fublime and capti-
vating pattern for their imitation, and the moft
pregnant documents for their inltru^lion.

It would be very prefumptuous in me to
fuppofe that thofe whom I am now called
upon to addrefs myfelf, have not made them
the objeiSf of their long and ferious con-
templation, and from thence derived awful
views of the unlpeakable importance of
the character which they have taken upon

them- .

i'REACliEiD AT ST. PAUL's. ^^t

ihemfelves, and of the duties they are 'ap-
pointed to difcharge. To do the work of
Evangehlls, to give full proof of our Mi-
niitry, let it be faid with the ftri6teft truth
and fincerity, we have not wanted either en-
couragement, direction, or example* Con-*
cerning therefore the nature of the office we
bear, the obligations attached to it, and the
confequences refulting from the fidelity with
which we difcharge it to ourfeives and our
flocks, it is not my intention to offer any
general obfervations farther than as they are
iipplicable to the very peculiar and unparal*
ieled complexion of the times in which we
live.

Though the virtues we are bound to culti*
vate and the do6lrines we are enjoined to
deliver are of a permanent and unvarying na-
ture, though the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift be
indeed the fame yefterday and to-day and for
ever, yet the mode and direBion of our exer^
tions muft have a reference to the peculiar
circumftances in which the providence of
God has placed us. In one grand point of'
view all times and all fituations upon which
the Minifters of the Gofpel can be thrown,
refemble each other, namely, that they are
q2 all

228 VISITATION SERMai^r

all a " warfare/* Labour to be undergone^
affli6lion3 to be borrie, contradictions to be
endured^ danger to be braved, intereft to be
defpifed in the beft and moft fioiiriiliing ages
of the Church, are the perpetual badges of
far the greater part of thofe who take up their
crofs and follow Chrift. Even where the
lead caution feems neceffary, the greateft is
required of us. It is perhaps in the mcft
profperous times that thofe feeds of deftruc-
tion are fown, which in further ilages of their
progrefs perpetuate and difFufe the deadly
poifon of profligac}", herefj, and apoftacy. —
But, Gocl knows, the prefent times do not
admit the fmallcfl palliation for inadvertency
or negligence. The figns of them (as dif-
playing the anger of the Almighty) are une-
quivocal, and their dangers moft inftant and
menacing. It is furely then not foreign to
the occaiion and purpofe of this meeting to
conlider the duties incumbent upon the Mi-
nifters of the Gofpel, both v/ith regard to
their doStrines, their majiners, and their ?«o-
rals at the day in which they live, and the
circumflanees in which they are placed.

We live in an age in which the ferment of
political di{lra6lions, originating in princi-
ples,

PREACHED AT ST. TAUL's. 229

pies, and attended by events, completely un-
analogous to any -which has hitherto been
traced in hiflory, has produced a reRlefii and
fretful eagernefs in the minds of men. That
ftrange predileftion for paradox, which feems
to have difturbed the civil tranquillity of al-
moil every country in Europe, has extended
itlelf to their reafonings and fpeculations upon
every fubje6l which is at all conne6led with
reUiiion. So far is it from beino; true, accord-
ing to affertions which are now every day
raihly made, and as raflrily received, that reli-
gion and politics are fubje6ls perfeftly cf?*//Z-
7nilar and unconneBed; fo far is this from
truth and fac^, that I am firmly perfuaded
that no inftance of relio-ious innovation can be
found which did not communicate its influ-
ence to focial order, nor any change in the
political principles of men, which has not in
fome degree affefted their meafures of think-
ing and afting in the concerns of religion.
AVhatever field for fpeculation this might open
with regard to prefent events, it is not my inten-
tion to enter upon, being contented with point-
ing fmiply to that duty which we are called
to difcharge, in arrefting the progrefs of thofe
errors which either the artifice of fome may
Q 3 covertly

230 VISITATIOIS" SERMO?}'

covertly introcliice, or the direct and open
violence of others may boiileroaily obtrude.
Of thefe fome are entirely new and appro->
priate to the times, othsrs are only different
ilages of opinions long ago exiiting,
. To thofe who are verled in the hiftory of
the various controverlies agitated between the
Church of England and its Proteltant ad-.
verfaries, from the time it iirft refifted the
claims and reformed the errors of Papal
Rome, it is fufficiently curious and -not en-«
tirely unfatkfactory to mark, that they are
now reduced to a moft Jimple iffue. The
queftion is not between Calvinifts and Armi^
nians — it is not between Epifcopalians and
Prefbyterians, — it is not between the fup^
porters of Liturgical forms and the advocates
of free and extemporaneous woribip, — from
all thefe controverlies men have in a great
meafure retreated, either from indifference,
wearinefs, or faliety. With regard to thefe,
the differences M^hich rerxiain among Protef-r
tants are unaccompanied with either the ea^-
-gernefs or exacerbation which generally attend
upon religious difpute. Upon all thefe difr.
ferences true Chriftians, both within and
without the eftablifhment, are much nearer a

recon-

PRIjACHED AT ST. PALLS. 231

reconciling view of thefe fubjeftsf, than they
have ever been at any former period. The onhj
boundary which feparates the Church from
thofe Proteltant adverfaries that retain any
virulence in their oppoiition to her, is the per-

f eve ring, dijlinSt, refoiiitt avowal of the pro-
per Deity of the eternal Son of Cxod, con-
ceived in fuch terms, and fenced by fuch bul-
warks, as neither violence can overthrow, Ib-
phiftry undermine, or equivocation explain

.away. The only queltion therefore which, is

aiow agitated between us and out opponents,
to the abforption of all others, is limply this,;
" Shall we dilcard thofe doctrines which our
articles allert relative to the peribn of the
lledeemer, and the union of tlie three pejr-

" ioi\i ni the divine natuile, as expreisly laid
down in the Baptifmal form enjoined by ef^^r
Lord him/elf, by the unequivocal teftimony

nof the whole current of antiquity, and hitherto
preferved in common by evej'ij eJiahUjhed

■ Chtirch 171 C/ir?JIeiulo?n, or ihall we give up
this depofitum, and admit the tenets of modern
Socimans in their ftead ?" — Whatever other
propolals of innovation are made, from what-

- ever quarter they may ariie, either more

openly or covertly, lead to T h i s : and accord-

Q 4 ingly

232 VISITATION SERMOIf

ingly as we may be inclined to determine this
quef^ion, we fhall give or refufe countenance
and concurrence to them. The patrons of
thefe doftrinesare not entirely unaware of the
repugnance of their fyftem both to the plain
declarations of Scripture, and to the genuine
native Chriftian difpofition of the Englilh nar
tion. Various opinions therefore have been
ilarted, and various artifices ufed to make an
opening, by oblique and indire6t means, for
the introdu6tion of thefe tenets into* the na-
tional creed. Liberality of fentiment, the un-
obftrufted courfe of free enquiry, the rights of
private judgment, have been pretexts by which
attempts have been made to feduce the fidelity
of the Mlnifters of the eftablifhment, and the
affe61:ions of the Laity, from the lincerity of
that faith of which every genuine Church of
Chrlft is the appointed guardian and repoiii
tory. Strange as it may appear, in the vio-»
lent furtherance of this defign J cepticifin h^s
]:)ecome dogmatical and licentioujnefs arbi-i
trary (a). But I am perfuaded that no true
Son and Minifter of the eftabliiliment will be
deterred by an invidious application of high
founding and opprobrious epithets, from aA
ferting the principles of that Church, to

whicl)

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL's, 233

which he has folemnly and voluntarily dedk
cated his talents and exertions. I am con-
vinced that we lliall well weigh the meaning
of words, under a convidion of the mifchief
w^iich in all ages has accrued from the de-
figned or precipitate abufe of them, to the
beft intereil of mankiud, civil and religious.
Thus in what is called Liheralify of Jeriti-
meiit, we too often difcover either a mean
compromife of all religious principle, or a flale
pretext to lull the vigilance of thofe whofe
duty it is to contend for " the faith once
" delivered to the faints." — In a pretended
regard to the rights of private judgment, w-e
trace a contempt of very folemn and facred
obligations, — under the guife oifree enquiry,
difpofitions to idle and mifchievous paradox,
which is much more frequently the efFe6l of
fpleen and peevijhnefs, than of a refineinent of
genius, or exuberance of imagination. As we
are confident that the difcernment of the efta-
blifhed Clergy will eafily detect and fteadily
withftand fuch pretences, fo may we be af-
fured that they will be as little inclined to
countenance that invidious and indeed o-round-
lefs oppolition, which has been attempted to
\}.e held forth betv^ een the Church of England

and

234 VISITATIOX SERMON"

and the Church of Chrifi^ (b) — that thej wiU
difdain thofe mahgnant infinuations that a
warm aiTe6iion for the one., was irreconcile-
able with the more extended obhgation due to
the other. But of what is the Church of
Chrift compofed, unlefs of a collection of
particular Churches profeffmg each of them
the fundamental verities of the everlafting
Gofpel, each of them dire6ling the judgments
and regulating the practices of individuals,
by the united wifdom and prudence of the
whole commumty ? By every fuch com-
munity the right of interpreting Scripture
may be moft juilly and reafonably claimed,
and that right which no religious fociety can
be without, of prefcribing to its members
the terms of admiffion into its pale. Than
fuch a claim nothing can be more confiftent
with true Proteitancy, or the deligns of the
primitive reformers, who never meant by their
refolute and meritorious refiftance to Papal
encroachments, to leave the diftin6l integral
branches of Chrifl's flock a prey to internal
anarchy, diftraclion and confuiion.

If either the temper, the do6lrines, or the
difcipline of any particular church, be of
fuch a nature as to interfere with the temper

and

PRdEACIIED AT ST. PAVl's, 235

and ipirit, and confequently the intereils and
progrei's of Chriltianity at large, in I'uch a,
cafe no one will alTert that a regard for npart
is to fuperfede a regard for the whole. But
what will be the condu6l to which confcience
and integrity point on fuch an occaiion?
Not moft alTuredly to countenance fuch cor-
ruptions by a longer continuance in that
Church which retains them, much iefs to
fan6lion them by a difcharge of the minif-
terial office in a community fo degenerate and
depraved, leaji of all to confound all the
rules of iincerity hitherto admitted among
men, by holding and retaining high Jtatioiis
^nd large emoluments, to which a profefiion
of thofe exceptionable and unfcriptural doc-
trines is decidedly attached : but to choofe
fome other community where a greater purity
of doftrinc may make your i^eal and formal
creed one and the fame ; to which your adhe-
iion is neither unfmcere or fiipendiary . This
would be indeed to exercife duly and nobly
the right of private judgment, and however
ill founded the obje6tions to the tenets of the
Church from which fuch a feceder departed
might be, yet the praife of confiftency and
integrity could never be juftly withheld from
6 him.

^56 VISITATION SERMON

him. Even the fociety which he left muft
fay of him, with that reverence and affeftion
which no truly confcientious difference of re-
ligious opinion ihould impair,

♦' Talis cum fis utinam nofter efles !'*

But to remain a member or minijler of a Chrif-
tian Church, is not only to declare (while
a6lions have meaning) that this fociety pro-
pofes no Jinf id terms of communion, but that
of all the various communities which exift
around, you give it 2ijincere^ decided and un-*
qualified preference.

Ileje6Ling then the palpable fophiftry of
the opinions before adverted to, we may fafely
conclude, that a temperate and decided zeal
for the peculiar and diflinguifhing doftrineg
of the Church to which we belong, is not
only reconciieahle to our duty as Chriftians,
but injeparable from it in this its hour of
danger and difficult ij. Well may this chafte
Ipoufe of Chrift exclaim with affe6lion to her
true fons in thefe days, " Ye have continued
" with me in my tribulations/'

But as I have made mention of fome of
the opinions which by dijiant approaches and
indireSt paths lead towards Sociniani/m, it

PICEACHED AT ST. PAUl's. ^Sf

may not be improper juft to advert to pro-
pofals for various innovations, the generality
of which have, when we view them carefully,
the fame tendency and deiign.

To the views of men who are attached
either fecretly or avowedly, to the Socinian
hypothecs, and willing to further thefe opi-
nions by the fanStion of national forms, we
all know the Liturgy of our Engliih Church
oppofes an insurmountable barrier.
The fpirit of primitive piety which animates
every part and portion of it, that beautiful and
moft aifefting (implicity which renders it at
the fame time intelligible to the rudeft, and
acceptable to the higheft capacity — the natu-
ral and infpiriting fublimity by which it raifes
our hearts to God — the fober fervor with
which it mounts our afpirations to the foot-
ftool of his throne — and the admirable man-
ner in w^iich the diftinguifliing do6lrines of
the Gofpel are intimately interwoven with its
texture, all confpire to produce that high ve^
neration in which the bulk of the Laity of
all ranks and profeffions hold this moft per-
feft of all human compofitions, as the facred
legacy of the primitive Reformers of our
Church. It is furely a fli'onger mark of aa

elevated

233 VIS^'^ATlo^^ sermO:)?

elevated mind, a pious intention, and a found
judgment, to acknowledge and admire its
perfe6lions, than with a captious, pragma-
tical and peevifti minutenefs to inveftigate
its fmaller errors and inconfiderable flaws.
But, it is not either inaccuracy of expreffion,
or what fuch I'crupulous judges may be pleafed
to call obfoletenefs of language, or lefifer mif-
takes, which excite the induftry and attra<!^
the notice of the generality of objeclors.- —
The DOCTRINES which are incorporated with
it, and from which its tone and fpirit are de«
rived, are the real caufe of complaint and
averiion.

The prayers occafionally directed to the
Redeem.er of mankind, the confidence raifed
in his merits, the devout proftrations before
the high majeity of his tranfcendant nature,
communicating a principle of pious and
Chriilian vitality to the whole, are the ftrong
bulwarks which it is the real purpofe of thefe
affe6led, feeble, and fophiftical cavils to un-
dermine and deftroy. The fame fpirit and
the fame views have given rife to thofe va-
rious propofals for either the bold proje6l of
a new tranjlation, or the more fpecious one of
a revifal of the prefent veriion of the Holy

Scriptures.

PREACHED AT ST. PAUl's. 239

Scriptures. From either of thefe fcliemes
there can be io I'd tie gained^ and may be fo
^iich hazarded, that the probable good bears
ho manner of proportion to the threatened
danger. We have indeed i'pecmiens of new
perjions both of tlie wiiole, and various parts
of the Old and Nt;w Teltaments. Some
of them, particularly of the Old Te/iainenf,
clearly intended as a vehicle for loofe and
licentious fpeculation. (c) The language of
the New Tejiament (d) is diftorted in viola-
tion of all analogy of fenfe and diclion, to
fpeak the opinions of Socinus, But even the
BEST of thefe fpecimens, executed by men
of acknowledged talents and foundnefs of
opinion, recommend moft ftrongly by their
avowed inferiority m every effential point, an
adherence to that we are already in poffeffion
of. With regard to a revision, it is of little
importance that a few particles be adjufted, a
few phrafes poliftied, if the whole fabrick of
that faith which was once dehvered to the
faints is thereby fhaken to its foundations.
For the extent and prof^refs of fuch a revifion,
or the objefts it may embrace, no man who
is acquainted with the ordinary courfe of
theological proceedings can at all calculate.

With

^40 iaSITATTON gERMOI>f

With regard to the New Tejlament I am fare
we may confidently affirm, that in a (e) well
known inftance the induilry, learning, and
abilities which have been feduloufly exerted
in collecting the miftakes and inaccuracies
which are faid to exift in the received verlion^
have fcarcely been able to produce a single
JERROR by which any material faB or doSirine
is afFe6ted. Add to this^ that the grandeur^
dignity, and fimplicity of it, is confeffed
even by thofe who willi eagerly to promote a
reviiion, and by the moll eminent critics and
mafters of ftyle it is allowed to exhibit a
more perfe6t fpecimen of the integrity
of the Engliib language, than any other
writing which that language can boaft(F).
But the grounds on which thefe proje6ts are
to be refilled, are much more ferious and im-
portant. For when we fee men of the moft
latudinarian principles uniformly preffmg
forward this dangerous propofal, when we
fee the molt unbounded panegyrics bellowed
on thofe who have converted the Mofaic hif-
tory into allegory, and the New Teilamenit
into Socinianifm, when we fee thefe attempts
ftudiouily foilered and applauded by the ad^
VQcates for this proje6led revifion, we muft

conjecture

PIIEACHED AT ST. PAULS. 241

feonje^liire that fomething more is meant than
e correclion of miltakes, or an improvement
©f diction. Thole doctrines, the demohtion
of which we know to be, in late inllances, the-
grand objecSl of luch innovators when they
propofe alterations in articles of faith, or cor*
rection of liiturgicah forms^ are i'urely in Hill
greater danger when attempted by the fame
men under the diftant approaches of a revijion
of our Englilli Bible (g).

But I fear I have too long trefpaffed on your
patience, not to hailen to a conllderation of
thofe duties which the exigency of the times
moil awfully demands in the forming of our
manners, and the regulation of our morals.

To thofe who have confidered with due
attention, the progreis of real religion and the
caufes which contributed to check or promote
its influence, PiOthing appears of greater im-
portance than the regulation of the manners
of the Clergy. By manners I w ould be un-
derftood to mark thofe habits and ufages,
which in focial life, though not perhaps
ftri6tly virtuous or vicious, yet have a power-
ful indirect influence to further virtue or pro-
mote vice. Thefe, however, in other pro-
feffions may be, comparatively Ipeaking, an
R object

^4^ Visitation sermon

objecl of lels attention, they are in the Clergy,
of incalculable importance : Though I am
perfuaded that even among the Laity^ be-
tween manners and morah there is in aeneral
a much nearer connexion than is by fuper-
iicial obfervers fuppofed. I would not be
underftood To recommend either formality or
'{)recifenefs, in averting that to the energy,
and efficacy of our profeffioiral chara6\.er, a
pai'ticipation of the uncommon le\ itj'^ of the
age is very unfavourable. A marked con-
tempt of formSj an indolent affectation of po-
litenefs, and an ungovertiable appetite for
amufements, conftitute fome of the predo-
minant features of the times. Hence a light-
nefs and flippancy of manners has beea
fpread, too nearly refembling the habits of
that wretched nation which has almoft buried
the whole moral world in its fall and ruins,
Thefe habits, however uncongenial to the
fobriety and lerioufneis of tl^e native Englifh
character, have been diflufed by a perpetual
round of pleallires, in Mhich for a long time,
we degraded ourfelves by an ambitious
imitation of that frivolous, conceited, and
abandoned people. Their mifery was pre-
ceded and accompanied in every ftage of it

by

pheached at st. pauI's. 243

by a perpetual iucceffion of public diverfions*
The moll: foppiili levity and the molt appall-*
ing cruelty went hand in hand. From
the kill I trufl we are^ and ever fliall be far,
. very far removed.— But if a ipe6tator were to
come into this metropolis uriacquainted with
the a6lual circumftaiices in which we are at
this moment placed, would he fuppofe that
\ve were in a juft alarm for a continuance of
the very exigence of civil order .^ — Could he
conjeciare that we had fo lately been called
together by a molt pious and religious Prince
to a public national acl of the deepeft and
moft contrite humiliation^ to deprecate the
impending judgments of Almighty God?
Would he not fee day turned into night*
and night into day, the opulent and gay-
rolling about in recklefs unconcern, focieties
of delperate gamelters plying their no6lurnai
trade, new theatres ariling from the ruins of
old ones, and with ajbipendous and iiif'amotis
magnificence, towering above the temples of
God himielf, as if pleafure and profanenefs
wei'e to be our future and eternal idols.
Surely, however ///cA a ilranger might judge
of thele fpeftacles, he would be Utile in-
clined to think that a participation of them
R 5i fuited

244 VISITATION SKI13I02J

iiiited either the general character, or prefent
Jituation of tlioi'e, whofe profeflion it is in
the midii: of every variety of human Avoe,
follv, frenzy, and mifery, to in^•aken the
minds of men to a conviction of this moil
awful truth, " iltnt fni came hio the zcorld,
" and death hi/ Jin /"' In the prelent duy it is
perhaps a Wcint of abftinence from amufe-
ments, (which as far as my obfervation can
carry me) has contributed more to diminifli
the power and ciiect of our labours," and to
lower the dignity of our character, than it is
poiTible to conceive or calculate. Nor doth it
refi; here — Levity of manners jnuji affect our
doctrines, Tlieie, it will be necefliiry for us
in mere felf-defence, to lower down to the
Itandard of our practice. But to be
drowned in fafnionable amufements, to go
flown the iull tide of pleafure and diflipation^
Is not to difcharge our duty to our Flocks, our
King, and our Country, in this moment of
their greateft need. It is furely to cheat man-
kind of thofe exertions, by which alone peace,
j^^irtue, fubordination, and hap pine Is can be
reftored and perpetuated among us. At
a time when the foldier is undergoing his
temporal warfare, courageouily Itruggling

agaiiifL

PREACHED AT ST. PAULS. 545

Q<j:aln{l the fatiirue ^f his labours and the
anguifli of his wounds, it ill becomes us
foldiers of Chrift to (lacken our activity,
refolution, and fidelity in this our fpiritual
career.

Men in fach circumitances fliould be aware,
that every approximation to tlie manners
of the world, lets us nearer to the morals of
it. And woe be to that Miniiler of the
Gofpel who by a flagrant a6t of known pro-
fligac}', at any time, adds by his conduct to
the triumph of the wicked, to the affliction
of the virtuous, to the fedu6lion of the in-
nocent, to the perverfenefs of the captious,
and to the general furtherance of tlijs powers
of Hell and of Darknefs ! But at this tre-
mendous criiis, what can be faid of fuch a
condu6l I It is to tear open thofe wounds
which we fliould be binding up with the ten,-
dereft affection, — it is to ftrike a deep and
deadly blow at the vitals of our fainting
country, — it is to difpenfe poijbn inftead of
medicine to a languifliing and confiding pa-
tientj^t is to ftifle all natural aftection forr
thofe of our neareft relatives, who muft par-
take of the temporal effe6ts which our exam-
ple occalions ! If fuch there be, not I truft
R 3 many

546 VISITATION SERMON".

many in number, well may the Apoftle ex-«
claim, " Wretchechnen that they are, whoJJiall
*« deliver them from the hpdi/ of this death''?
From the edification I have recei\ed fron>
moll: of my brethren who are employed in
the minifterial office in this metropolis, than
whom I believe no body of Clergy in thefe
latter times have exhibited a more fteady, fm^
cere, and confpicuous piety, — from the per-?
ibnal knowledge I have of fome, who hy the
purity of their conduct, and the fervor of
their zeal, woqld have been an ornament to
the bell ^nd moft primitive ages of thQ
Church ; from the eminent virtue, zeal, an^
piety, of that excellent Prelate whoir^
God has called to the goverriment of this
Diocefe, I am convinced that in thefe fenti-?
ments I fhall meet with the cordial cour
currence and agreement pf thofe who now
he^r me. All in this venerable affembly >vill
join me in fervent afpirations to the great
Shepherd of the Sheep, that he will give his
heavenly proteftion to his faithful ejvpefiting
Church, and that after all our trials, ftrug-?
gles, anxieties, temptations, and affli6tiong
fire ended, we may have fo fought that good
fjghtj and fq hniffied our courle in this our

^arthlu

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL's. 247

earthly and militant ftate, that we may be
thought worthy to be admitted to that tri-
umphant Church above, where, in the pre-
fence of God and of his Chrift, " the tears
" Jhall he for ever zfipedjrom everi/ ei/e/*

Hi NOTES.

NOTES.

(a) Thofe who are acquainted with the tone
and temper in Avhich the Confessional is
written, and who are converfant with the van
rious pubhcations Mhich fupport the fame opir
nions to this very day, will recognize the juftice
of this obfervation.

(b) In this oppofition it is fufficientlv fmgular
that both Popery and Sociniaxism agree:
and contrafted as they may appear, this is not
the onli/ point of fimilarity, which is to be
traced between them,

(c) Vide Dr. Geddes's New Tranflation of
the Pentateuch.

(d) Vide Wakefield's Tranflation of the
^ew Teftament,

(e) Vide *'ObfervationsontheEng]ifli Verfion
of the Gofpels and Epiftles," by John; Symoxds,
LL. D, Profeffor of J\Iodern Hiftory in the Unin
verfity of Cambridge. For this learned and ex-
cellent perfon, I am proud to profefs the greateft
pubhc refpe^l, and private regard. But I muft be
permitted to fay, that if hi^ talents a^d acutenefs

5. (;ouId

could find fo very few material errors or defe6U
111 the common verdon of the New Teftamcnt,
there is i'mall occafion to refort to a new tranfla-
tion or a revlfion of the old.

(f) Thofe who indulge themfclves In precipitate
objc('^ions to> the language, and Avhat they term
the ohfoiete phrafeology, both of our tranllation of
the Scriptures, and our Englilh Liturgy, \\^ill do
well to attend to the fentlments of Dean Swift,
in his Letter to the Eaul of Oxford, then Lord
Jligh Treafurer.

*' It is your Lordfliip's obfervation, that if it
*^ were not for the Bible and Common Prayer
** book in the vulgar tongue, we fliould hardly
^' be able to undertland any thing that was writ-
*' ten among us an hundred years ago; which is
^' certainly true : for thofe books being })erpe-
*' tualiy read in churches, have proved a kind of
^' ftandard for language, efpecially to the com-
" mon people. And I doubt whether the altera-
*' tions fince introduced, have added much to the
*' beauty or ftrength of the Englillx tongue,
*' though they have taken oif a great deal from
* ^ tlmt Jmplicitj/, which is one of the greateil
^' perfections in any language. You, my Lord,
^' Avho are fo converfant in the facred writings,
♦* and fo great a judge of them in their originals,
<^ wiU agree, that no tranllation our country ever

"yet

250 NOTES.

** yet produced, hath come up to that of the Old
*' and New Teilament : and by the many beau-
*^ tiful paffages which I have often had the honour
" to hear your Lordihip cite from thence, I am
" perfuaded that the tranflators of the Bible were
*' mailers of an Enghih flyle much jitter for that
** work, tlian any wc fee in ouv pre/en t 'ciriti/igs;
" which I take to be owing to the Jinipliciti/ thsit
** runs through the whole. Then, as to the
*' greateft part of our Liturgy, compiled long bc-
*' fore the tranflation of the Bible now in ufe, and
*' little altered iince ; there feem to be iYi it as
*' great ftrains of true fublime eloquence, as are
*' any where to be found in our language, which
" every man of good tafte will obferve in the
*' Communion Service, that of Burial, andothe?"
'* parts."

With this opinion the late Lord Monboddo,
whofe eminent and profound critical fkill in an-
cient languages rendered him a confummatejudge
of the ftru61;ure and beauties of our own, entirely
coincides — " I hold (fays he) the Engiyk Bible to
'•'- be the hejljtandard of the Englifh language wc
" have at this day." Vide *' Origin and Progrefs
of Language." Vol. IL p. 141.

(g) Having both in this difcourfe, and that
before the Sons of the Clergy, unrefervedly de-
clared my fentiments of the principles of various

propofe4

NOTES. 251

propoftd hmovations of our Liturgy iincl Articles,
I truil it will not be improper here incidentally to
advert to a mode of objection, not unfrequcnt
vath thofe who have been t-i'^'iined in the fchool
of the ConJ'effional.

It is frequently demanded, with an air of much
triumph, whether the primitive Reformers of the
Englilh Church have clelivered to us fo perfe6l a
fyitem of do<5lrine, and fo faultlefs a liturgical
form, as that po fubfequent improvement can be
made by men of judgment and ability fraught
with the accumulated advantages which the pro-
greffiye advancement of learning and fcience af-^
fords. That fuch a period may never arrive, or
that fuch was the infallibility of our firft Re-
formers, it is very far from our intention to affert
But whether the prefent time is the propereft for
the work of farther amendment and corre6tion,
and whether thofe who fo confidently and loudly
pall for it are the properelt perfon^ to undertake
it, may be fairly doubted. Our liturgy and arti-
cles ^yere frarned by men in Avhom religious prin-
ciple exifted in its full vigour — in an age of dig-
tiified fnnplicity both of thought and language — ■
in times when the exertions and fufferings con-
comitant to the reformation had given an elaftic
activity to the human mind— times furely far
inore favorable to fuch undertakings than the
^refititj when indolence, refinement, and luxur}',

and

252 NOTES.

and that ibphiftry Mhlch arifes from them, is Co
fl^enerall}^ prevalent. However fafliionable it iiiay
he to decry the labours, to depreciate the talents,
and forget the ferrices of our firft Reformers,
yet from the truly eminent in piety and learning
they have received, and ever will receive, that
tribute of praife and veneration to which they
are juftly entitled. To thofe who inconfiderately
and conlidently pronounce that our articles im-
pofe upon us the doctrines of dark and ignorant
ages, the late acute and learned Dr. Thomas
Balguy direds the following poignant and juft
reproof: *' One might be tempted to aflt fucli
*' objeftors, of what ages they fpealc, I hope
** they do not fpeak of the times of the Reforma-
<* tion, The age of Ridley, and Jewel, and
^* Hooker, will be reverenced by the lateft pof-
?*terity." — Vide " Charge delivered, in 1772^
by T. BalguY; Archdeacon of Winchefter*"

DISCOURSE

DISCOURSE X.

PSALM xxiv. 2.

^ FOR HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THfi
Ci'-i^ SEAS, AND ESTABLISHED IT UPON"
^l^« THE FLOODS."

^7 HAT was formerly faicl of moral pliilo*
foph}^, is more jufiJy Applicable to oiir holy
jeligion : namely, that there is no fituation in
which man can be placed, no relation in which
he iiands connected either with the works of
the creation around him, or with individuals
or communities of his own fpecies, to which
its duties, its principles, and its obho-ations,
Ji]o not extend.

Without reference to the Great Author and
Architect, all the lublime objefts by which
MQ are furrounded lofe their fplendor and

relilli.

254 i»REACHED BEfOtllE THE

relilli. Thofe^ therefore, who have alban^
doned the idea of an all-wife, powerful, and
benevolent, Firft Caufe, as the primary pu-
nilhment of this depravation of their zcIII(a)
(for never yet was it a miftake of the under"
Jianding) are depri^^ed of all thofe blefied and
lively emotions which the confolatory convic-
tion of a fuperin tending Providence inevitably
ini'plres. Neither the order, motions, and
magnitude, of the heavenly bodies, the earth
on which we live, or the wide and vaft ocean
by which it is environed, if afcribed to a blind
totality or a necefiiiry feries of caufes and ef-
fects, ftrike an obferver by their magnificence,
beauty, and fublimity. A difavowal of the
conne6lion between the creature and the
Creator is the death of the moral
MAN, and of all thofe fatisfactions and de*
lights which are, by the moral fenfe, alone
perceptible. An Atheiit, therefore, either
fpeculative or pradical, muft view the objefts
of the creation around him with a dreary
fullennefg and Itupor which differs from that
of the beafts that periili, only by the malignity
which is invariably attached to it.

But the moment the greatnefs, the good*
nefo, the niercv, the bounty, of Almighty

God

CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 255

God breaks in upon the mind, then it is that
a fenfe of beauty, proportion, and coherence,
is fuggefled by a contemplation of final
caufes. Hence, in that fchool by which alone
the heart of man can be regulated or its
movements directed to a moral end, the works
'of God are conftantly connected with their
author; and the beneficial effects flowing'
from them, are afcribed to Him, and the ope-
rations of his hands. " Who hath hardened
" himfelf aQ-ainJt him (fays holy Job) and
** profpered — zvhicJi alone fpreadeth out tlie
** heavens, and treadeth upon the reaves of the
*' fea ; zphich makeih ArFturns, Orion, and
•* Pleiades, and, the chambers of the foutU;
** zihich doeth great things, pajl finding out ;
*' i/ea, and wonders zvitliout number (n)."

Nor is this obfervable only with res^ard to
thefe his creatures, by which the individual
neceffities of men are fupplied, but alfo to
thofe bleffings by which civil communities
are cemented and upheld. All the variety of
benefits which, by the different proportions
and modifications of external and adventitious
circumitances are diitributed to different na-
tions of the globe, are referred, in the holy
Scriptures, to God alone : " God^ that made

" the

S56 ^KExVCHED BEFORE tHE

*' the world and all things therein^ is Lord of
" heaven and earth, and hath made, of one
" blood, all nations of men, for to dwell on all
" the face of the earth ; and hath determined
*' tlie times before appointed, and the bounds
** of their habitations"

I have a comfortable afTurance that, upon-
an occafion fo connected with our national
profperity and welfare as that which now
aflembles us, we fhall be inclined to follow
this train of thought ; that we Ihall, for an in-»
terval, fufpend thofe contracted views which
a confideration of meaner and fecondary caufes
fuggelts, and that we Ihall, with expanded
thoughts and purified aft"e6lions, acknow*
ledge the blelfings which arife^ and the du-*
ties which refult, from the fmgular circum-*
itances in which the providence of God hath
placed us.

That it hath pleafed tjie Supreme Difpenfei*
of national as well as individual lienefits to
allot to Great Britain fo high a pre-eminence
in the order of commercial nations, not only
above thole w^hich exift in our days^ but even
thofe recorded iu hiiforj^, is furely a token of
his peculiar bounty and favQur. Neither*
Tyre, Carthage, or Alexandria, in ancient

times,

CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 257

times, or in more recent ones, Venice, Hoi-
land, or the American States, have either in
extent, a6tivity, or enterprize, if taken at their
moft flourifliing periods, equalled, colleStivehj,
the ftrength and growth of our prefent power
and exertions, e^ en amidft the turbulent in-
terruptions and wdld calualties of a mofl ar-
duous and extended conflift.

Great are the real bleffmgs, if rightly ap-
plied, which arife out of this his gracious dif-
penfation towards us. And furely that com-
merce is ultimately conducive to individual
and national happinefs can fcarcely be denied,
except where reafon is outweighed by fpleen,
and truth by paradox. By this means not
only are the neceffities and conveniencies of
life amply fupplied, not only many of the
various medical aids, without which human
nature muft fmk under hopelefs difeafes and
agony, are diftributed among wddely diftant
nations, but an elafticity is communicated to
the mind, and an enlargement to its views,
which, if rightly regulated and directed, muft
be highly conducive to the progrefs of virtue
and humanity. I know^ of 710 iituation more
unfavourable to morals, and confequently to
religion, tlian that torpor and (tagnation, that
S' ftlfifli

25S PREACIiED BEFORE THE

felfiili pride and fullen ferocity, -which a flate
of national feckifion neceffarily generates, and
which an extended commercial intercourfe
with other nations, is beft calculated to pre-
vent, or to corre6l.

To be infenfible, therefore, of fuch a blefs-
ing, or, from a view of the abufes only, of
an extended commerce, (and which of God'a
bleffmgs may not be abufed ?) to depreciate its
beneficial influence, is to reje61; the bounty of
the Almighty with a malignant fullennefs and
ingratitude. I fliould not have thought it ne-
ceflary to have made this obfervation, had I
not been aware that declamatory Jiatements of
the incidental inconvcnicncies to which a com-
mercial fyftem, like every other human good,
is neceffarily fubjeft, are frequently among
, the topics by which an attempt is made to in-
tercept the views of the happinefs and prof-
perity of this nation from thofe upon whom
the goodnefs of God has bellowed it. From
the formation of the globe on which we live,
from the nature and properties of the ocean
by which it is encompafled, opening a ready
' and rapid conmiunication between the dif-
ferent and diftant communities of its inhabi-
tants, and (for which communication it feems

to

CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 259^

to have been fpecificalli/ formed) a commercial
intercourfe between nations, appears to have
been in the dire6t dejign of God's wife and
gracious decrees. And furelj, in this order
of his providence, " the Lord loveth the gates
" of Zion more than all the dwellings of
" Jacob." For whatever advantages the ex-
tended traffic of the En2;h{h nation has Dro-
duced, thefe he has made permanent by its
impregnable infular iituation. " He hath
" founded it upon thefeas, and eJiahUJlied it
" upon the floods;' a gift of which it is
fcarcely poffible to calculate the magnitude,
or exprefs the importance ! Through the fur-
rounding waves God fpeaks to each hoftile
invader, " Hitherto flialt thou come, and no
" farther" Hence it is that, even amidft
the raging of war, our native land is un-
ftained with blood — hence it is that thofe dif-
aftrous events which affeft continental ftates,
are, by this providential deftination, warded
from us. Even while the thunder of the bat-
tle is within our hearing, our wives and our
children are in fecurity, and our fields bring
forth their increafe. — This, furely, is a fovrce
of gratitude to Him who hath '^ fowided''
s 2 this

260 PREACHING BEFORE THE

this favoured land " itpoii ihe/eas, and ejla*
" bllflied it upon the foods"

But not only in out pknti/ and fecurity,
but in that unrivalled form of civil polity, un-
der which we live, do we Hand diftinguiftied
above even the happiejl nations now exifting,
or recorded inhiflorj. Whatever benefits are
difpenfed by our maritime and commercial
lyftem, whatever proportion of them is feve-
raliy divided among the lower as well as
higher orders among us, the free and un-
difturbed enjoyment of them is fecured and
afcertained by the moll equal laws and the
freeft government with which God, in the
utmoft prodigality of his bounty, ever bleffed
any people. So conftru6led is civil fociety
among us, that the great maffes of wealth
and property operate as the heart doth in
the human frame, conveying the fources of
vitality and vigour in efficient circulation to
the moft diftant and rem^ote ramifications of
the political body. So that, according to the
apt metaphor of the apoftle, " the whole fitly
joined together, aiid compared by thai
ichich every joint fupplietii, according to
tn\ effeStual zcorJcing in the meafure of
*' ei'cn( pV(/'^ makeih increafe of the body."

But

CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 26i

But to all bleffings, national as v/ell as in-
dividual, correfponding cautions and duties
are annexed, left, in the awful language of
holy writ, " the things zchich Jliould have been
" for the wealth'* of the poffeflbrs, '* be iintd
" the?n an occafion of falling^'

When, then, we expand our thoughts to a
fober refledion on the majeftic fcenes of opu-
lence and power which this day's fpe6tacl8
has exhibited — when the vaft refources which
brace the finews of the Britifh arm arife in
contemplation before us, we fliall furely not
think fcorn of this pleafant land — we (hall,
doubtlefs, kneel in humble gratitude before
that Almighty Prote6lor who hath hitherto
fruftrated all the efforts, and defeated all the
artifices, of our enemies, foreign and domejiic^
to proftrate her glory in the duft. If, when
we contraft; our prefent ftrength, however
alfailed, our prefent fecurity, however threat-
ened, with the lot of many of the furrounding
nations in Europe, groaning under the favage
insurfion and relentlefs defpotifm of a plun-
dering and infulting foe, by whofe plaujible
and hypocritical prof ejjlons they were lulled
into a ftate of fatal inactivity and torpor-^
when, I fay, we find them wakened in the
s 3 loaidft

% .

25^ PREACHED BEFORE THE

midft of blood, ruin, pillage, and famine, "with
fetters rivetted upon them, and, perhaps, their
|)Q{terity, how ought WE to blefs God that a
difcerning fpirit inclined a large ma.jority of
our people to an early infight into the motives
and defigns of the French nation, and the
tremendous operation of the principles they
had adopted ! — Our fhips, our ports, our
arfenals, our merchandife, and the majeftic
river on which we have this day pafled, are
ALL, through the might of Him Who hath
founded this illand " on the feas, and ejia"
« bliJJicd it on the floods;' STILL OUR
OWN. We have not, like Carthage of old,
or our former allies the Dutch in the prefent
moment, been reduced to the fliarp humilia-
tion of delivering up all the inheritance of
our anceftors, and the rich acquifitions of our
own valour and induftry.

But we muft remember — that " Jerufaleni
" is as a city which is at unity with itfelf:''
what no eaternal effort can compafs, internal
treachery, difcord, and revolt, may effecl.
To ourfel-ces we mufl be true ; true to our
God, our confciences, our King, and our
pofterity !

Whenever, therefore, we think upon the

mighty

CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE. 263

mighty and equal flake we all of us, high
and low, rich and poor, manufafturers and
merchants, pealknts and nobles, have in the
termination of the prefent arduous confli6t ;
if we recollciSl that the wars preceding the
prefent were for dominion and empire, but this
for our very national. ex ijlence, for " our wives^
" our children, and the cities of our God" —
if we reflecl upon the fteady perfeverance
with which the favourite object of Eng^
land's ruin is purfued by our vindii'Riive fe-
rocious foe, whofe hatred to this honeft and
generous people feems to be an hereditary
principle of aftion under every variety through
which they pafs, either of Royalty or De-
mocracy, of Despotism or Anarchy,
of Atheism orSuPERSTiTioN — an enmity
which no benefits can foften, and no time ob-
literate— who, whether oppofed by our arms
or FED BY OUR BOUNTY, uniformly exclaim
of this nation, Down wjth her, down
with her, even to the ground— then
fliall we learn to appreciate the worth of that
order of Men to whole exertions and fervices
we owe, under Providence, all we poiTefs, and
deliverance from all we fear, By the manly
intrepidity of the SEAMEN OF ENG^
s 4 LxlND,

•*

264 PREACHED BEFORE THE

LAND, by their a6live enterprifing fpirit, by
their contempt of death and danger, the me-
naces of oar foes have invariably recoiled
upon them — by their means, amidft every
other viciffitude, our naval fuperiority is at
this moment confpicuoiis and complete beyond
all former precedent — by thefe men " the
" Lord hath caiifed our enemies that rnfe up
" againji ns to be fmit ten before our face" —
by their inftrumentality He hath made us
high abov^e all nations in praise, in
NAME, AND IN HONOUR. In them (and
perhaps in them alone) the virtues of our fore-
fathers have undergone no diminution or
abatement. Their hardy courage, melting hu-
manity, and vitSlorious proweis, is as in the
daj^s of old and the years that are paft (c).

Being afiembled, I trult, with one heart
and one mmd, in ardent affeclion for our
King and Country, you are prepared to vene-
rate the memory of our forefathers, who have
delivered down to your guardian care this
ANCIENT Establishment for the relief
and refuge of thefe meritorious men, bulwarks
of our ftrength and pride of our glory ! A
Foundation fo connefted with national grati-
tude to its iiluilrious defenders, fo calculated

to

CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE, ^65

to promote flvill, to encourage enlerprife, and
to animate the courage of Britiih Seamen,
and to fecure and perpetuate our naval fupe-
riority and dominion, well deferves the Ibh-
citude and fuperintendance of the higheft cha-
rade rs in this kingdom. Such it hath hi-
therto gloried in as its patrons and protestors ;
and we trull that, as it has grown with our
growth and llrengthened with our ftrength,
fo that it will be coeval with the Britiih name
and nation, till time Ihall be no more. We
are confidently affured, that at a period when
in different parts of Europe Peace can fcarcely
find room for the fole of her foot, the fpec-
tacle of fo many objects of the national mu-
nificence and gratitude as are here before us,
provided with a calm retreat for their declin-
ing years, and with liipport for their deareft
relatives, will foften down our hearts with
love to our common country, and piety to
the Author of every good and perfe6l gift.
I ftand affured that neither dan2:ers or reverfes
will deter us from a manly adherence to thofe
principles, and a cultivation of thofe Chrif-
tian virtues, which are the birthright and
difi:inciion of Englilhmen — that our fouls
will never come into counfel with the hidden

worker*

266 PREACHED BEFORE, &C.

workers of confufion and revolt, or "witli the
avowed enemies of our ftrength, wealth, and
commerce. But we rf/ entertain a confola-
tory anticipation that British courage, loy-
alty, humanit}' , ' and generolity, will be fixed
on that fame impregnable fortrefs which
the arm of Almighty God has " founded

'' UPON THE SEAS, AND ESTABLISHED

" ON THE FLOODS." In HIM our fore-
fathers truited ; they hoped in HIM, and
were never i/et confounded. May HE de-
fend the heritage uhich he hath chofen, and
fend us help from his holy place !

AMEN! AMEN!

NOTES.

NOTES.

(a) The words of St. Peter are emphatically
defcriptive of the philofophy, and the calamities,
of the prefent times — " For this they willingly
'* are ignorant of, that by the word of God the
'* heavens were oj old, and the earth ftanding out
" of the water and in the xvater : zuhereby the
" world that then was, being o-verjiozved by zvater,
'' perijhed:' 2 Pet. iii. 5, 6,

(b) Jobix. 8, 9, 10.

(c) This Sermon was preached before the vic-
tories obtained by Earl St. Vixcext, Lord
DuNCAX and Lord Nelson. Such an accelhon
of national ftrength and fecurity as thefe heroes
have earned for their country within fo iliort a
fpace of time, even the moil fanguine enthiifiarm
could not have anticipated. May the glory be
afcribed unto God !

DISCOURSE XL

HOSEA IV. 6.
'^ MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED POR LACK

OF knowledge/'

j[ HE mifery of ignorance and the benefits
of knowledge all mankind agree in confeffing,
and therefore on this head it fhould feem we
have no need to have recourfe to Prophetical
illumination. But in many obvious conclu-
fions, difficulties occur, or queftions involving
difficulty in a proximate ftage of enquiry.
When our blefled Lord declared unto Pilate,
"^/br this cmffe came I inio the world, that I
'■'Jhoidd hear witnefs of the truth," Pilate
propofed a queftion fufficiently embarraffmg
to one not inftru6led in the wifdom which
the Redeemer of Mankind came from heaven

tQ

270 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

to teach — " JVhat is truth f A quellion cer-.
tainly not put captioully or fopliifticaliy, but
with fuch a deftre of information as the ftate
of opinions at that time rendered highly ra-
tional and juftifiable in the Roman governor.
Tiius, with regard to a fubje6t fo congenial
to truth as Jcnoickdge, if a fimilar queftion
were put, before an anfwer could be returned,
much thought would be requifite, even among
thole who are habituated to reflection and
difcuflion. Thofe poffibly leajl qualified to
return an anfwer, would be moil forward and
precipitate in attempting it. Surel}^, without
any defire to defcend to the meaneft employ-
ment of the underllanding, a cavil upon the
definition of a word, it might be aiked,
whether the nature of knowledge, general or
particular, primarij or fuhordinate, was en-
quired into ? If the exiilence of a knowledge,
to which all other is inltrumental and fubfer-
vient, which points to the end, which regu-
lates the acquifitioR, which afcertains the boun-
daries of all other branches of learning and
fcience, can be proved, and is admitted, what is
it, and where is it to be found ? I can hardly
bring myfelf to imagine tliat in the mod in-
formed aflembly, the refolution of this quef-
tion
3

PREACHED AT CAMBHIDGE, 1798. 2?^

iion would be either immediate or uniform —
Farther, if there is a knowledge, on which
not only the improvements, and the refine-
ments, but the very being of fociety de-
pends, the flate of this muft be in its nature
mofl deeply awful and interefting. It was
the language of Pagan Philofophy that fuch
a knowledge did exift (a). The tranfcendent
powers of natural genius, which the Almighty,
for purpofes infinitely wife, vouchfafed to
fome of the high architefts of heathen wif-
dom, enabled them to difcern, that all fcience,
as exercifed in its inferior provinces, required
fome principle of a fublimer nature, which
might afford cement, confiftence, and bafis to
every fubordinate effort and exertion of the
human intellect. In exploring this principle,
they how^ever failed — and inftead of fubftan-
tial truth, were lofl in the delufive twilight of
a magnificent though ineffectual and perpe-
tually baffled metaphyfical fpeculation. But
thofe upon whom the " T)ay-ftar" of revela-
tion, either Patriarchal, Mofaick, or Evan-
gelical arofe, found in the diflin6t difcovery
of a moral Governor of the univerfe, and the
full and unequivocal difplay of his attributes,
that kno\^ledge which marks the. origin, the

limits.

273 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

limits, and deftination of every facultj^ talent,
and acquifition.

When then we are inftru6led by Ahnighty
God tiiat there is a knowledge, " for the~
" lack of which a people is cleft rGJjed" we mull
infer both from the reafon of the thins;, and
the concurring teftimony of revelation, that
it is the knowledge of himfelf, his nature,
his providence, and his power. There are
very few inftances w^iere a people poffeffmg
this knowledge is deftroyed, even by external
violence, none I believe by internal caufes of
convulfion and ruin. When therefore the ftate
of man is^difordered, not only in one nation,
but " as the lightning that lightenethout of one
" part of the earth Jliineth even to the other"
fo a fliock and conflagration is communicated
to every civilized nation under the Sun ; when,
iti fome. Ruin has had its perfe6l work in
its moft hideous forms, and in almoft every
other the tempefl feems ripe for burfling, —
to fearch for this in any other than in the di-
vine counfels, is to be blind indeed to the
operations of Him whofe working is from
everlafting to everlafting. If it be true that
" knowledge and wifdon are the Jiahility of
*' profperoiis times" the converfe will equally

claim

pheaciied at Cambridge, 1798. 273

claim our attention, that " /or lack of know--
*' kc/ge a people /.s deflroi/ed." To enquire,
with as much concifenefs as poffible, into the
moral caules in both thefe fcriptural propo-
fitions, as they appear to exifi; in our own
country, to mark their operation and efFefts
in the events taking place within our obferva-
tion, cannot be in times of common danoer
and alarm, alien either to the occafion on which
we are aflembled, or unfuited to the attention
of thofe to whom it is my immediate province
to addrefs myfelf.

I am extremely aware that ftrong exception
be made to a ftatemeht which reprefents any
deficiency in Wifdom in an age calling itfelf
knowing and enhghtened beyond all former
example. That fuch is the character of the
prefent times in any branch of learning might
fairly be doubted. But it is not my intention,
to inflitute a regular comparifon between the
various acquiiitions and exertions of ourfelves
and our predecellbrs. In compafs and com-
mand of language, in fimplicity and energy
of diction, in orderly and comprehenfive
thought, in profoundnels of learning, and in
the detail of accurate and patient inveftiga-
tion, I cannot help thinking that we fliould
T be

274 COMMEXCEMENT SERMON

be unwife in contefting the fuperiority. But
it is more to my purpofe to mark thofe intel-
le6liial habits which interfere with the cuhiva-
tion of that knowledge which direfts, fuper-
intends, and fanctifies every portion of wifdom
we can acquire. The kmguage of the ancien.t
Theology of the Engiilh Church is, that (b)
" we are capable of God both by Underftand-
ing and by AV^ill : by Undei'ftanding, as he is
that fovereign truth ^shicli comprehends the
rich treafures of all wildom ; by AVill-, as he
is that Sea of Goodnefs whereof whofo talleth
Ihall thiril no more." A^'ith f'uch principles
of wifdom predominating in their intelle^f,
and reigning in their affections, did oui- pre-
deceffors in thefe feats of learning, for a long
courfe of time fubfequent to the Reformation,
proceed in tlieir literary career. Whatever
was the region of fcience which they ex-
plored, whatever branch of learning they cul-
tivated, they lleadily kept in ^'iew the G reat
Source of every good and perfeft gift, in
whom, by whom, through whom, for whom
are ail things. Not only in treatifes where
Theology was the profefied obje6f, was di-
vine knowledge diffufed, but in thole where
the connections were lefs vilible and direifl.

The

PREACHED AT CAMBRIDGE, 1798. 275

The divine adminiflration was perpetually
pointed to by the Hiftorian ; the paffions of
men were coniidered by him as mean and fub-
ordinate inftruments to the fleady difpenfation
t>f juftice or mercy, of reward or puniftiment,
to communities of men either acknowledging
the hand of the Almighty, or prefumptuoufly
oppoiing his counlels and commands. In ex-
amining the moral fyftem of man, and his
powers, inclinations, and habits in the attain-
ment of happinefs. Religion was confidered
as the polar Itar of morality. With ftill
greater diligence in Natural Philofophy was
the finger of God, whether in the ftrudure
of the human body, the laws of the mate-
rial world, and the motions of the hea-
venly bodies perpetually pointed out and
defignated. Every work was in fome mea-
fure a fchool of divine knowledge ; and j^et
no man alive will, if converfant in the works
of thefe men, prefume to ^-dy that their efforts
were cramped or confined by their piety.
Was the political fagacity of a Hooker the
lefs confpicuous for the perpetual eagernefs
he exp relied to found every maxim, and the
foundnefs of all regimen, on the love and ad-
miration of Almighty God ? Was the wiftiom
T 2 of

276 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

of a Bacon, in difcerning the provinces, in
marking the Umits, and in pointing to the
advancement of moral and fcientific truth, the
lefs fubhme for his reverential avv'e of the
Deity, and his zealous and orthodox profef-
fion of the faith of Chrift, in all the magna-
nimous humility of Chriftian abafement ? Is
the hiilory of a Clarendon lefs grave,
fplendid, inftru6live, and dignified, for that
fpirit of conflant piety which pervades and
upholds every fentiment and refleftioh ? Are ,
the refearches of thefe men lefs profound,
their intelle6l lefs penetrating, their know-
ledge lefs exuberant, their genius lefs lighted,
and their eloquence lefs enflamed, than that of
thofe who are now employed in the fame
provinces of learning and fcience ? Be this
as it may — certain it is, that the channels by
which the knowledge of religion was com- .
municated, are neither fo numerous or abun-
dant as in the days of our fathers ; and rarely
it is indeed that, except in works direftly
treating of Theology, any pious reference,
even when the fubjeft moft points to it, is
made to the difpenfation and moral govern-
ment of Almighty God. In a variety of
caufes will this be traced : in none more than

in

PREACHED AT CAMBRIDGE, 1798. 5277

in Pride, or in its abortion, Vanity. The
obftruftions which thel'e have interpofed to
the general acceptance of the Gofpel, are
greater than expreliion can reach. There is
a knowledge ''for the lack of which a people
" is clejtroyed ;" and there is, on the contrary-,
a knowledge by which " every man is hnitijh,
" every founder is confounded hy his graven
" image, for his molten image isfalfeJiood, and
" there is no breath in them. They are va-
" nity, and the works of errors, and in the
" time of their vifitation they fliall perijli."
Such idols are the high prerogatives of hu-
man nature and human reafon, which modern
philofopliy call upon its ^ difciples to afiert.
This engenders a fondnefs for paradox, than
which nothing can be a greater obflru«5tion to
all knowledge, and particularly to the know-
ledge of God and his difpenfations. All
paradox, even in its moft ingenious forms,
is mere debility, and in no inftance a mark of
enero'V or ftrenoth of mind. And it is ob-
fer\able that in proportion to the love for
this, the intellectual appetite is palled and
vitiated for the perception and inveftigation of
genuine truth. Hence thole miichievous ab-
ftraftions, which when introduced into Reli-
T 3 gion,

278 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

gion, Morals and Politics, have from cauft's
comparatively mean, produced the moft ex-
tended and tremendous effects. It is a truth,
to which I believe very few exceptions occur,
that paradoxes are but the panders and fatel-
lites to the paffions. Rarely indeed do we
find a paradox which isfnendly to virtue or
moral obligation. i\ll of them, by different
modes, tend to enflame this principle, which
expelled our firft parents from Paradife, " ye
^^Jliallhc as Gods." They tend to difinchne
man to \\ hat an eminent Theologian (c) call-
ed, with a pregnancy of wifdom and pietj^
" a creature flate." From this fource a cer-
tain ftrange compound of fiercenefs and pe-
tulance is generated : Modefty, and the of!-
fpring of Modefty, patient Induftry, is anni-
hilated. Man " by his knowledge becomes
truly hrutijh ;' he is inclined to overbear the
humble, annoy the ftmple, and opprefs the
weak. But when to this ilrong predifponent
principle, the indolence of an efieminate, and
the luxury and diflipation of a fenfual age is
added, the evil becomes radical and inveterate.
In a fliort time tliere will (we have reafon
to fear) remain but two kinds of perlbns
among us, either thofe who think not at all,
9 or

PREACHED AT CAIVIBCIDGE, 179B. 279

or thofe whole imaginations are a6ti\ e indeed,
but " coiitinualhf evil." In the fonner, the
fountains of knowledge are choaked up by
indolence, fenfuality, and llupor ; in the lat-
ter, the inebriation of pride, and the incen-
tives of ambition, have entirely intercepted
a view of the dependencies of Laws, hu-
man and di\ine, and thole connected rela-
tions by which man is bound to nuifi, and the
creature to the Creator. Their '' fooUJh
heart" in the language of the iVpoftle, " is
darkened." They are " zc'dftdhj ignorant" of
the necelliiry imperfections of that polity
which embraces a very limited portion of our
exillence ; which imperfe6tions, in truth, a
reference to the civil records of all ao-es and
countries, and a confideration of the very na-
ture of the o-overnment of a Beins; difordered
by guilt, di{lra6ted by paffion, and darkened
by ignorance, point out as inevitable and in-
vincible. If man liadt\mt knowledge of his
own nature, which can never be underflood
w ithout a difcernment of his dependency upon
the Cause of his exiftence, his deduclions
and conclullons in moral and political truth,
would exempt him from the operation of that
dupery, to which the frenzy of the paffions,
T 4 and

280 COMMENCEMENT SERMON"

and the artifices of thoie who are flailed to
turn that frenzy and that dupery to their own
- bafe purpofes, renders men in the early Itages
of life, and in the rude flioot and flrong
exuberance of the faculties, pecuharly liable.
Of the principles^ I do not fay of the clef ail,
of political fcience, a sound Th e o lo g y is
the only fare and (teady bafis (d).

Having in a manner, perhaps fbmewhat too
general, though I truft not inapplicable to the
opinions, events, and circumflances of the
prefent times, adverted to the caufes of that
" lack of knozeledge" by w hich " a people is
" cicjiroi/ed," 1 proceed to trace the operations,
by which a deftruction fb extended in its
confequences, has been eftecled.

It has been already afferted that the mafter-
fpring of every principle vrliich can perma-
nently fecure the liability of a people, is the fear
and knowledge of Almigh ty G od , 1 am greatly
inclined to think that had the different foreign
Potentates in Europe fuiricientl}^ difcerned the
value of this knowledge, the events we now
deplore would have never taken place. The
flrft operation of a principle of Atheism,
and perhaps one of the moft formidable in its
confequences, is that which leads political

men

PREACHED AT CAMBUIDGE, 1798. 281

men to conceive of Christianity, not as
of a fyftem deeply involving the perfonal and
individual interell of mankind here and here-
after, but as of a mere auxiliary of theftate(E).
This was, I fear, a very prevalent opinion in
various nations upon' the Continent, even to
that "Ccry day when the flood-gates of defola-
tion were opened upon them. But no fuck
\iews of the Gofpel will either be beneticial
to man, or acceptable to God. Religion was
not inftituted (in the divine counfel I mean)
for the purpofe oi' fociefi/ and government, but
focieiy and government for the purpofes of
religion. That zcitJiout rehgion, government
cannot permanently exift, is fufTicientiy evi-
dent : but we fliall do well to obferve, it is
not only the cement and bafis of focial order
and regimen, but its fixal cause. This
fublime view the fcripture exhibits to us in
the " Lcunh that was /lain from the foiinda-
" tion of the zcorM." This is that " dete}^-
" mined cGunfel and foreknordedge of God,'*
which direfts and adjufts the various revolu-
tions of civil affairs, the rife and fall of em-
pires, the progrefs, maturity, and decay of
arts and learning, the impctuofity of human

pafllons,

282 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

paffions, the refinement of politicians, and
every movement of the national communi-
ties of the earth, to the ultimate advance-
ment of the Gofpel of his Son. Had a foli-
citude to profefs Chriftianity in its purity,
and to dilleminate it with zeal by various
channels amons: the different orders of thofe
committed to their charge, been more pre-
valent among the civil governors of Europe,
all the doctrines of anarch}', all the abfurd
opinions, which have caufed this accumulated
deitru^lion and ruin, would have flirunk from
the luftre of divine truth, as the ftars from
the rihno; fun. When men admit or embrace
the doctrines of the Sovereignty of the Peo-
ple, of the Duty of Ltfurreciion, the Natural
Equality of Man, his imprefcriptihle and un-
alienable Ilight to he his own Legijlator, it is
not that their underftanding is deceived, but
their paffions enflamed. Thefe fliallow
fophifms are in no degree believed by thofe
who difieminate them, whofe meaning is to
found upon them the fevereft and moft re-
lentlefs tyranny under which the human race
ever yet groaned (g). From fuch mifemble
artificers of fraud, Christian principles can

alone

PREACHED AT CAMBRIDGE, 1798. 283

alone proted us. They, by referring all go-
vernment to its heavenh/ original, enlarge the
views, purity the paflions, and by conibniing
confcience with expediency, derive the niea-
lures of obedience from their true and pe-

o

nuine motives. Plow flrong an obitacle true
Religion intergofes to, the defigns of the fac-
tious, and the partilans of anarchy, is fuffi-
ciently evident from the inveterate malice
which they uniformly bear to the fmalleft ap-
proximation to its genuine principles or prac-
tice. And wife are they in their generation.
When a principle of dependency upon God is
removed, there is no longer room for the
operation of be.neficial laws, equal juftice, or
fociul lubordination. It is impoffible to erecl
genuine rational liberty on the ruins of con-
fcience, or to reft coijfcicnce on any other
bafis than the word and the fuperintendance
of a moral Governor. All the boafted liberty,
founded on maxims of litigious pride, is pal-
pably and undeniably found to be nothinp-
more than the domination of passion

OPERATING BY PHYSICAL FORCE. To

the plaufible delufions of fraternity and equa-
lity, which were exhibited and propagated in
France, had counlel been taken of God,

other

284 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

other nations would not have lent a willins:
ear, but would have in time dilcerned, in the
extravagant do6lrines of unmeafurable licen-
tioufnefs, that germ of piratical depre-
dation from without, and fevere inter-
nal DESPOTISM, which that ferocious and
devoted nation is infli6ling and fuffering.

But in other effefts of the want of divine
knowledge are we to trace the origin of the
calamities which have overfpread the earth,
and fpecifically thofe which have lately me-
naced the (lability and unity of the Britifli
empire. From an inadvertence, amounting
nearly to, judicial stupor, there has of
late prevailed an obitinate repugnance to trace
and acknowledge the fimilar fources and con-
genial effe6is of Atheifm and Superftition.
Great furelyis the ignorance of moral caufes,
which can fuppofe that the o?ie of thefe con-
trouls or counteracts the other. As Atheifm
prefumptuoully attempts to difcard a moral
government, in order to open a fearlefs un-^
reftrained indulgence for the impetuofity of
paffion, fo Superjiition adminilters, upon a
principle of commutation, to thofe fame in-
dulgences. It is utterly Ibbverlive of the two
grand pillars of the di\ ine adminillration, hi^

Juftice

PREACHED AT CAMBRIDGE, 1798. 985

Juftice and his Mercy. It neither fuppofes
unriahteoufnel's to render men obnoxious to
the former, nor that real contrite reformation
Mill, throii<j;h the mediatorial covenant in
Christ, place us within the abundant ex-
tent of the latter. Without an abjeft venera-
tion for priefts, and a pun6iual and a mecha-
nical performance of idle Ceremonies, the view
oF the placability of (lod is precluded and
intercepted by Superflition : and li-ith them,
unlimited confidence and fecurity to every
excefs is fraudulently exhibited. Thus are
both Atheifm and Superjiition inltruments of
the general adverfary of mankind. Their
on^in is in the wilful io;norance of God, and
their operation in the mercilefs deltru6lion of
his creatures. So clofely are they joined, that
they a6b reciprocally as caufe and effeB : the
one^ in the order of divine juftice, is frequently
inflicted as a punilliment of the other. That
this connexion iliould not be more clearly and
generally difcerned, fufficiently evinces, that
however men may pride themfelves upon their
fagacity, there is a great lack of that know-
ledge which is the " {lability'' of a people.
Paoan wifdom has in this inftance far fur-
palled us, who might borrow hght from bet-
ter

286 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

ter fources, and has confidered, in one of its
moft mafterly treatiies, the origination of the
one of thefe principles from the other, with a
foundnefs of judgment, and a depth of obfer-
vation, which even modern experience could
have fcarcelj improved (ii). Surely there-
fore we may conclude that where Atheifm
abounds, Supcrjtition is not far removed, and
that the coiwerfe is equally true. Thofe who
have duly and maturely wT'ighed tliefe im-
portant truths, whofe philofophy has been
tempered v^iih. a reverential awe of the dif-
penfations of Providence, will not be at all
iurprifed that after the wide ravages which
Atheilin and Anarchy have committed in va-
rious parts of Europe, when theij, as it were,
feemed tired, though not fatiated with car-
nage and deiblation, that in a Sifter Kingdom,
Popish Superstition fhould have ftarted
up, as an organ and auxiliary, in completing
the work of confuiion and devaftation. It will
not in the leaft ftartle the experience of
thoughtful men, that after a fevere conflift. be-
gun in France between Infidelity and Popery,
after the complete devaftation of the property,
and the moft favage cruelty inflicted upon the
perlbns of the Romilh Ecclefiaftics, that un-
moved

PREACHED AT CAMBRIDGE, 1798. 287

moved by all this, Popery flioiild in Ire-
land join its machinations with thole of its
furious antagoniil againft that Proteftant efta-
bliiliment, which had fo tolerant a fpirit to
that religion, and had in this kingdom exhi-
bited fuch unbounded liberality and kindnefs
to its exiled and dilVelfed miniiters, the vic-
tims of Atheiitical ferocity — this, I fay, w ill
not at all ftartle tliofe whofe fentiments of Po-
pery are derived from its autlientic records,
the ellential principles of its conltruction, the
invariable tenor of its conduct, and from the
lellbns of the moll penetrating, profound, and
judicious of our Theological prcdeceffor^.
Neither, on the other hand., will thofe who
have ftudied the fprings of human aftion, be
lurprifed that in both thefe kingdoms the
moll turbulent demagogues, and the loudell
aifertons of unbridled liberty, Ihould lend ever}^
afliftance, and hold forth every incentive, to
extirpate the Proteftant rehgion, and rivet the
moft abje6t fyftem of moral and mtelleftual
llavery on the Irilli nation. We, however,
Iball not, I truft, be fo far deceived, as not to
be aware that the power and predominancy of
Popery, (for tliis is the true meaning of Ca-
tholic Emancipalion) in amj part of the em-
pire,

288 COMME^'CF.MENT SERMON"

pire, is iilterly inconiittent with the quiet,
order, and I'ecurity of the whole (i), and per-
fectly irreconcilable to the principles of that
Revolution, of which it was the united glory
to deliver us from Popery and arbitrary
Power. To the principles of iliat Revolution
they can furcly lay fmall claim, who are la-
bouring to further the very project which the
virtue of our Proteftant anceltors rendered
abortive, in the hands of the infatuated James
the Second, and l)y the affiflance of that I'cry
??a^/o/i which co-operated with him in his un-
warrantable deiigns. — From fuch affertors of
civil and religious liberty, may Almighty God
in his mercv defend us and our pofterity !

Of thefe calamities, the true and permanent
remedy will not be foimd in farther extenfion
of civil privileges to the Papiiis, which expe-
rience has Ihown to be of fo linall avail ; a
continued feries of concefiion, conferred even
to a blind and precipitate prodigalitj^, un-
known to the ri'ifdom of our anceftors, feems
to have inftigatcd revolt, rather than pro-
duced conciliation, gratitude, or obedience.
Neither can the application of /brce, folely I
mean and ultimately, produce' this dehrable
eilecl. Force canaot reach opinion : while

the

PREACHED AT CAMBRIDGE, 1798. 289

the principles of the fiiperjtif ion which had
fo large a fliare in this revolt continue to be
widely extended in Ireland, while they are en-
couraged by public fauciio?i, and perpetuated
by the erection and even Parliamen-
tary ENDOWMENT OF PoPISH SEMINA-
RIES, the embers will for ever, under all
circumftances, be ready to burft forth into
wide and deftru6tive ruin and conflagration.
The true and radical remedy is to be Ibught
in the vigilant exertions, conjiant T'ejidence, and
pious zeal of the Protestant Clergy, in
the recovery of the lower ranks among the
Irifli from that ignorance and barbarifm in
which they are defignedly kept by the Romilli
Ecclefiaftics ; in the careful, perfevering, and
zealous difl'emination of that fcriptural- and
proteftant light, for " the lack of which a
*' people is deJiroyed{K)."

To conclude. — If the prefent difaflrous ftate
of human aflairs, in all its extent and in all
its bearings, and if the various foes by which
civil fecurity and focial order is befet, are
brought into review before us, we can afcribe
it but to one fource, a corruption of j/wrak,
produced by a previous depravation of the
opinions of mankind. Under every external
U lemblance

290 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

femblance of civilization, amidfl the higheft
refinement of every ornamental art, a grofs
ignorance of Almighty God, of his difpenfa-
tions, of the foundations of his revealed word,
as laid in our own nature and corruption, and
even in the moral hiflory of man, has widely
prevailed. And what furely conftitutes a
great, and perhaps remedilels aggravation of
this ignorance, is, that it has been affociated
in the fuperior ranks of the various countries^
of Europe, with the affe6lation of" worldly
wifdom, and the high boaft of intelle6fual
light ; it was not the pitiable ignorance of
poor uncultivated favages, but a wilful
ignorance generated by calm prefumption,
folemn mocker}^ and contemptuous pride.
Politicians, in the hardened refmement of
their hearts, were weak enough to fuppofe
that the civil purpofes of religion would be
anfwered by Superjiifion ; and with an ex-
ternal reverence, and an internal contempt
clofed in with all the corruptions, idolatry,
and bigotry of the Roman Church. But
this fuperftition was a broken reed ; it inter-
pofed not a lingle obflacle to this ruin and
convullion, but incalculably in many inftances
accelerated its progrefs. It rendered the minds

of

PREACHED AT CAMBRIt>GE, 179B. 29l

oif its poor fenfelels votaries a proper re-*
ceptacle for the dodrines of Anarchy and
Atheifm. It is utterly falfe to fay, that Re-
ligion was deftroyed in France and Italy
by the fuccefs of revolutionary arms and prin-
ciples. That very Revolution was effefted by
the PREVIOUS deliruclion of all real Rehgion.
Upon the ruins caufed by political refinement
and Romifli fraud and tyranny, was founded
that fierce, fuperficial, and contemptuous fyf*
tern of Infidelity, dignified by the name of
Philofophy. Hence have flowed thofe effe6ts
which have carried with them unexampled
havock, and threaten httle fliort of univerfal
extermmation to the moft flourifliing and ci-
vilized communities of the world.

But I am perfuaded that it will be the wif-
dom of this and limilar ancient inftitutions^
to difcern the feat of the difeafe, and to apply
with immediate induftry what I firmly be-
lieve the only eflPeclual remedy. If the events
we deplore and deprecate arife from igno-
rance, error, and falfe opinion, it is only in
an early knowledge and correction of thofe
errors that this peflilential malady can be
counteracted. If this deflru6tive ignorance is
fpecifically the ignorance of Almighty God

u 2 and

292 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

and his difpenfations, to revive and diflemi-
nate with a6livity the principles of a found,
Chriftian, and orthodox theology, will, I am
convinced, be thought our beft intereft, as it
is our bounden duty. This cannot be done
without rendering Theology, in its grand
leading principles (I do not fay in its detail) a
fubftantial, integrant, and indifpenfable part
of education in this and other great prepa-
ratory feminaries. And indeed, in addition
to the obligation we are under to God and
our country to diicharge this duty, I have no
hefitation in afferting, that without combining
the fludy of the facred records with our
other purfuits, we Ihall very imperfeiStly fulfil
our oflice in the general promotion of learn-
ins: and fcience. With Ikill in the learned
lansuao^es, with hiftorical and chronolooical
refearch, with the fludy of the moral and
metaphyfical philofophy of Greece and Rome,
and even the more elegant arts of poetry and
eloquence, advancement in this fludy is clofely
connected ; neither can any of thefe be car-
ried to their /'«// perfe6lion, if this connexion
is broken and diffblved. I cannot but add,
that to do this we have great encouragement,
as the mofl eminent examples of mafculine
9 eloquence,

PTxEACHED AT CAMBRIDGE, 1789. 293

eloquence, profound thought, and vigorous
argumentative powers, exhibited by our Theo-
logical writers, are luch as to lay the founda-
tion of eminence in every profellional de-
fig nation of the talents of the riling genera-
tion. I am perfuaded that it will be needlefs
for me to fuggeft to this venerable bod}^, that
it is our duty to dire6l thefe refearches, not
in the fpirit of that floating fcepticifm which
alfumes the fpecious name oifree enquirif^ but
according to the tried, found, and evangelical
faith of the Enghfli Church, to which our
moll zealous adherence is folemnly, volun-
tarily, and perfonally pledged, and which,
notwithftanding the deplorable decay and
apoftacy of the times, is ftill moft dear to
all that is virtuous and honourable in the
Englifh nation. Well may it be Ir.id of our
ecclefiaftical and academical eftabhfliments, as
of Saul and Jonathan of old, " in their lives
" they zoere lovely and pleafant, and in their
" deaths they zmll not he divided J' It will be
our wifdom likewile carefully to check thofe
habits of indolent diffipation which are a moll
ferious and infurmountable obliacle to the
fubilantial and fyftematical acquilition of all
knowledge, but peculiarly diiqualify the mind
u 3 for

294 COMMENCEMENT SERMON

for the cultivation and perception of divine
truth. In thefe retreats it is a confiderable
point gained, if ignorance and indolence are
here rendereduncomfortable. The manners
of our venerable predeceffors might be con^
fiderably removed from the artificial elegance
and the feeble politenefs of what is com-
monly called the world, but they were like-
wife removed from its follies, corruptions,
and affeclation. Though frequently impelled
by duty to controul the licentioufnefs, and to
enfoi^ce the induftry of young men, even by
an apparent fternnefs of difcipUne, yet they
never loft then' affections, for they never for-
feited their efteem. Thofe committed to their
charge looked up to them as their parents in
religion, virtue, and wildom, and retained a
filial and reverential attachment, both to them
and the inftitutions of which they were guar-
dians, to the lateft moment of their lives,

1 Ihould feel myfelf greatly deficient in the
high refpe6l which is due from me to thofe
before whom I now fpeak, if I were to appeal
to the meaner motives of the perfonal intereft
they all have in thefe eflablifhments, nor
would it be decorous in me to fuppofe an
inadvertency to that maxim of anciept wifdom,

♦* that

PREACHED AT CAMBRIDGE, 1798. 295

" that all inftitutions are preferred only by
an adherence to the principles and end for
which they were initituted (l)/' But we will
anticipate that from a fenfe of facred duty,
the aftiA'e exertions of this venerable body
will correfpond with the awful exigencies
which demand them ; and that in the fupport
of learning, religion, and loyalty, its condu6l
will be fucli as might be expelled from its
ancient character, its original inititution, and
its high dignity ; and that through your
inftrumentality, the torrent of Siipeijiition
and i\theifm, Faction and Anarchy, will be
efte<51ually and maturely Itemmed : that the
clouds of ignorance will be difpelled, and the
knov/liedge of God and his Chrift will be
once more the liability of our times. " Then
" Jliall OVR fields bring forth their increafey
" and God even our oun God n:iU give us his
" hleffingj'

u 4 NOTES,

NOTES.

(a) This is marked out by Plato, in what he

terms the *' B'iupix iruvlo^ i^iv p^poi-ou 7ra(ni? $t oi;(7<af.'*

De Repub. lib. vi. Both he and the other great
luminary of the Pagan world, Ariftotle, were
equally defirous, though with fome difference of
method, to carry up this fublime ftudy into The-
ology. Vide Jrijiot. Metaphif. lib. iv, chap. iii.
An inveftjgation of the final caufes of the vari-
ous difpenlations of Almighty God in the moral
world, is, if condu6led with calmnefs and humi-
lity, one of the moft ufeful employments of the
human intelle6i:. Extremes are certainly to be
avoided, tliat of fcepticifm and inadvertence on.
the one hand, and of dogmatical prefumption on
the other. Under thefe principles I know of no
fubje6l fo pregnant in important confequences as
a confideration of the extremes of ftrength and
weaknefs exhibited by the ancient Greek philo-
fophers. At the very moment that the dawn of
Divine Truth opens upon them, and the day
feems burfling in full fplendour, in that very mo-
ment (as thofe who are converfant in their writ-
ings well know) they are replunged into the pro-
foundeft abyfs of intene6Kial night. This is
particularly obfcrvable with regard to the three

foundell

NOTES. 297

founded and nobleft feds among them, the
Stoicks, the Platen ifts, and the Pythagoreans.
After difcerning and laying down the nobleft
principles concerning the moral and providential
difpenfations of God, they generally clofed their
refearches in a mere metaphyseal abftra6lion, in
which even the perfonality of the Firfl; Great
Caufe, and the obvious diftinftion between the
creature and the Creator, was Idil in what is now
denominated Spinozifm and Fatalifm. Their phi-
lofophy refembles the courfe of the Rhine, which,
after traverfmg in a full, wide, and noble cur-
rent, the fineft countries in Europe, empties itfelf
into the Ocean, in an obfcure rivulet, which can
fcarcely be diftindiy or detinitely traced. Thefe
circumftances, if duly weighed, will point out to
the wifdom of this Univerfity the extreme impor-
tance of combining the ftudy of the ancient Greek
philofophy with our Theological refearches. The
foundations of the evidences of Revelation will
be greatly ftrengthened by obferving with accu-
racy the light the Pagans actually obtained, and
in difcerning the infurmountable boundary which
interrupted their farther progrefs. I have ever
confidered the works of Plato, Ariftotle, and the
moral writings of Cicero and Plutarch, as an
avenue and portico to Chriftianity. I am con-
vinced, from fome experience, that minds im-
bued with the precepts of thefe men, ftrength-
ened

29B NOTES.

ened with their wifclom, and elevated with their
dignity, will be ftrongly predifpqfedy both from a
review of their excellencies and defe6ls, to clofe
in with the evidences of that Gofpel which brought
life and immortality to light. The minds of our
young men, fo formed, would be inaccefilble to
the filly and ignorant fophifms of Voltaire,
Rousseau, Condorcet, D'Alembert, and
VoLNXT. They would confider them, not as
ieduclions to their virtue, but as infults to their
underftanding. Their rejeclion would be accom-
panied with an honourable difdain of the fliallow-
Befs of tlie impofture oifered to them. If to the
ether ftudies purfued in this Univcrfity, thefe were
added, if an inveftigation of the laws of God in
the moral world were combined with that of his
wifdom in the material fyftem, the courfe of our
education would then be confummate. The writ-
ings of Butler, Plato, Bacon, and Newton,
yfowld jointly lead us to this inevitable conclu-
iion, that " Christ is the wisdom of Gob

*' AND THE power OF GoD."

(bj Hooker.

(c) WiCHCOTT.

(d) To the heavenly origin of laws and go-
vernment we are dire6led by Pagan as well as
Spixiiuctt authority. As a necelfary preliminary
' to

NOTES. 299

to all legiflation, Plato thus propofes and thus
rcfolves this important queftion. ©E02, r 7if

«i/9pw7r«:/, w ^ivt, n\n(pe rnv ocmav t»i? tcov vofAuv
iiAh<nu}q J 0EO2, w ^tvf, ©EOS.

P/f//o i/e Leg! bus, 1. 1.

In this opinion Cicero concurs. " Hanc igitur
vides fapientiffimorum fuiffe fententiam, legem
neq; hominum ingeniis excogitatam nee fcitum
aliquod efle populorum, fed ajternum quiddam
quod univerfum mundum regeret imperandi pro-
hibendiq; fapientia. Ita principem illam legem
& ultimam menteni effe dicebant omnia ratione
aut cogentis aut volentis Dei. EX QUA ilia
lex quam Dii kumano gemri dederunt re6l6 eft
laudata." Cicero deLeg. 1. 11. In this affertion,
therefore, I have ventured to make, we may think
ourfclves fully warranted, by very high authority,
as well as by the reafou of the thing.

(e) The reprobation of fuch fentiments is cx-
preffed by Cicero, in very remarkable terms,
worthy o^ peculiar notice : — " Quid dii qui dixe-
runt totam de diis immortalibus opinionem fidtam
effe ab hominibus fapientibus reipublicce causa,
ut quos ratio non polfet, eos ad officium religio
duceret, nonne omnem x^YigionQm funditus iwi-
tulerunt?"

Cicero^ de Nat, Deor. 1. i.

(f) Surely

300 NOTES.

(f) Surely a more jDalpable fophifm \vas never
attempted to be impofed upon mankind than
that.whic]i is held forth in the expreffion of the
Sovereignty of the People. It is no prin-
ciple of ("ommon fenfe, or what is the beft fenfe
reduced to praclice, the Englifh Conftitution,
as fettled and defined at the Revolution. The
Englilh Laws call, the King our Sovereign
Lord; if fo, can any man obey trvo mafters?
can any man be at the fame time the Governed
and the Governor? The very purpofe of civil
government and of all laws, is to take the /ore-
reignty out of the hands of thofe, who by the
very nature of the thing can never exercife it,
and in whom, even in tht fmcdleji Jlates^ the at-
tempt to exercife it has terminated in the extremes
of violence, murder, and confufion, ending in
the tyranny of thofe who inculcated this precious
maxim. We read in Holy Scripture of " the
"' madnefs of the people^'' but never, I believe, of
the fovere'ignty of the people. The ^v^hole progrefs
of demagogues to defpotifm, through fach prin-
ciples, as it was fenfibly felt, fo was it moft elo-
quently defcribed by the political writers of anti-
quit}^ Scholars would do well to attend to the
full difcuffion of this fubjed in the eighth book
of the Republic of Plato, from whicli I have
fele6led a few paffages, in order to promote a
perufal of the Avhole.

NOTES. 301

*H y*p uyoLv EAET0EPIA fsixtv oxjy. si; aWo ti n ii^
fiyocp AOTAEIAN [xiTa{iaKKnv icat i^Kcrri x«» rrt woXfi,
EixoTW? ToivvUy oux £^ (zAAr? 7roA»T£»aj TTPANNIS xa9«r-
T«Tat n tK AHMOKPATIA2. E^ (o»|oiai) T»f axporar^s

op(^Aou^, x«Xa?, tpuuxg xat fAtyaXocg y.ai Trt^siua; [Aic^ootyx-

jUfKJI, £J? TVpXifVl^tX; Tf H«i ^rifAOKpOiTUX; iXKOVTi T«5

7roAtT£<«?. M«i'6(;ei'Co ot» o ^r;^oq o yimna-ocq tou

rvpoiVi/ov, 0p£»|>£i auTOi/ t£ KXi STOcipovg. tovto irj

e[ji.o?s.oyoviJ.Evri o.v JiJ^r, Tu/)an/jj £*»], Ha«, to Kiya^tvov^ o
^i^l^og^ <pivyuv ocv Kixnuov J'ouAEia? £A£b0£o«i', ng -rvvp SovKov
^e<nroTtKxg a,v {[/.TnTrTUKug sirty ocuti tj]J ttc/AAj]? £K£t>>!ff
x«< axajpou £A£u0£pi«? tj51/ j^^aAETrwramv t£ xa» iriKO-

Plato, de Rep. 1. viii, /;er i]/<^

(g) Plutarchus. Tiipi ^£Kri^xi(jt.ovK3ig. — Con-
cerning the connection and reciprocal action
of atheifm and fuperjiition, the fentiments of
the cahneft and profouncieft thinkers have been
uniform and decifive. The fuppofition that the
one was exclufive of the otlieVy and that the
prevalence of the one precludes the clanger of the
other, is one of thofe prominent inftances of
lack of knowledge for which a people is deftroyed.
The generation of Atheism bj Superstition
is thus Itrongly and empliatically marked by
Plutarch, in the above-mentioned invaluable

treatife.

302 NOTES.

trcatife. 'H AEI2IAAIMONIA m A0EOTHTI xai
ysvicr^ai Trxpicr^v ecp^rivj y.x\ yi'yoti.i)/'!) ^tSooffiv avoXo-
yiotVy ovH. ot,Xr\^r\j ov^t xa-Xnu' vpoipxcrtiig ie nvog ou«
auoipav oviTHV.

Chillingworth afferts to the fame purpofe,
that " Experience juftifies that, when and where
Popery has moft abfolutely commanded, there
and then Atheifm hath moft abounded."

Preface to Chariti/ j\Ia'mtai}ied.

Of the reprodudlion of SuperjUtion from
Atheifmy the following fentiments of* Bishop
Butler may convey very feafonable admonition.
" The danger of Superftition cannot but be hi'
creafed by the prevalence of irreligion, and by its
general "^rtvdXtnce, the evil be unavoidable. For
the common people, wanting a religion, will take
up with almoft any Superftition which is thrown
in their way : and in the procefs of time amidft
the irtfinite vic'iffitiides of the political world, the
leaders of parties \w\\\ certainly be able to ferve
themfelves of that Superftition, whatever it be,
which is getting ground, and will not fail to carry
it to the utmoft length their occafions require.'*
Bijhop Butlers Sermons, xli. p. 339, 340.—
God grant that fuch oracles of wifdom, as I have
juft cited, may not be ** Dei juffu non unquani
credita Teucris I"

g (h) How

NOTES. 303

(h) How juftly and fagacioufly BISHOP
SHERLOCK thought in his day upon this fub-
je6l, appears from the following paifage, which
occurs in the l!2th of his occafional chfcourfes.
*' The pre fe?it Government and the Protestant
*' llehgion muft (land or fall together ; Papists
" are by Principle enemies to both ; tlie more
*' igjiorant they are, the more determined and
*' defperate enemies they will be ; as being free
*' from the reftraints of confcience and refle6lion,
" to yield blind obedience to their diredors. —
" Whenever the public has been d'lfireffcd by
*' internal commotions, the ftrength of Popery
'* in Ireland has been fatally experienced. The
*' fituation of aifairs in Charles the Firft's time,
'' brought them to take arms, and the general
" majjacre of the Froteftants is ftill frefh in me-
" mory, in which thoufands periihed by cruel-
" ties unknown even among barbarous nations.
*' At the Revolution, the Popery of Ireland en-
*' dangered the Proteftantifm of the three king-
** doms, by finding employment for the arms of
" England, when they were wanted elfe'wher&
*' to fupport the caufe of Liberty and Rehgion;
** and fliould we ever be fo unhappy as to fee
" our Religion and Liberty put again to the
*' chance of War, there can be no doubt which
''fide the Iriih Papifts would take."

(i) HoMT

504 NOTES.

(i) How large a fliare Popish fupeiftition had
in producing the deplorable and fanguinary
fcenes, which lately laid Ireland wafte, it is im-
polhble for thofe who are relu6lant not to admit,
and mud by all impartial men be immediately
difcerned and acknowledged. The active part
which fo many of their ecclefiaftics have taken,
the oaths of Proteftant extermination fo gene-
rally adminiftered, the exemption of Papifts from
the murders and ravages infli6led on the perfons
and properties of Proteftants, the confeffions of
the leaders in the revolt, as reported -by the
Committee of both Houfes of Parliament, leave
it beyond a doubt, even to thofe who are igno-
rant of the practice, hiflory, and principles of
that fuperftition. The Reports of the Secret
Committee of the irish House of Commons
diftin6tly ftate, *' that the Catholic priefts had
ceafed to be alarmed at the calumnies which had
been propagated of French irreligion, and M^ere
iall well afFeded to the caufe." Vid, Appendlv
to IriJJi Committee, No. 30, p. 229- It is not
denied that other caufes might confpire with the
Popifli influence. I am ready to admit, that in
the early flages of this infurre6lion, many among
the Dilfenters might, with a view of deftroying
the eftabliihed Church, co-operate with the ge-
neral enemy of Proteftants. Atheifts, and the
patrons of French politics, ftrongly faw in the

pre-

NOTE Si S05

predominance of fupeiftitlon, fewer obftaclcs to
their purpofes, than in tlie found fcriptural and
loyal religion of the eftabliilied Church, and there-
fore heartily courted the aUiance of theRomanifts.
But I am perfuadedthat the combined force of
all the other C2iui'cs could not have produced thefe
deplorable events, unlefs it had been alTifted by
the ftrength, extent, and'malignity of the Popiili
religion. The Diffenters in the North of Ire-
LAND, I have been credibly informed, alarmed
by the fears of extermination, which their new
affociates fo liberally denounced againft all Pro-
teftants, had thejudgment to difcern the precipice
to which they were hurrying, and to withdraw
themfelves in time from this nefarious combina-
tion. It is greatly to be wilhed that this their
difcretion may lead them to difcern their true in-
tereft in both kingdoms better than in times paft !
Thofe who are acquainted with the authentic re-
pojitories of Popifli doClrines, which they them-
felves admit to be the indifputable and irreverfible
flandard of their faith, will not want the inftruc-
tion of prefent events to inform them how precari-
ous, and I had almoft faid, how chimerical it is, to
expe6l that Roman Catholics lliould be fubftan-
tially or permanently loyal to a Proteftant go-
vernment. As a body I mean, for that there are
individuals whofe humanity and loyalty would be
fliocked at the barbarous practices to which tJicir
PRINCIPLES lead, I am fully ready to acknow-

X ledge.

S06 NOTES.

ledge. But the enquiry is not what refiftance a
feto minds endued with good nature and huma-
nity will make to their ozvn creed, but what will
be the influence of the fyftem upon the ma-
jority of its adherents. — The hiftory of all ages
demonftratcs what it has aftually been.— The
tenor of events is uniform. The rebellion and
maflacre in Ireland in 164-1, and that of St.
Bartholomew in France, and the commotions in
Ireland during the late rebellion, all exhibit
the fame features. SCIRES E SANGUINE
NATOS ! They are equally difcernible in the
ferocious decrees of the council of Lateran or
Constance ; and in the overbearing and in-
flammatory menace in the Paftoral Letter pub-
liihed in the name of Dr. Hussey, titular Biiliop
of Waterford, or in the difcreet, ecajke Pafto-
ral InftruClions of Dr. Troy, printed in Dublin,
and reprinted in London, in the year 1793. — It
is greatly to be wiflied that our Theological ftu-
dents would read not what is A\^ritten cigamfi Po-
pery, but what the Papifts write ihemfehes. It is
to be wifhed that they iliould fearch for their
doctrines where the Papifts themfelves tell us they
are to be found. " We wifli (fays Du. Troy,
the prefent titular Archbiiliop of Dublin, in his
Paftoral Inftruclions, p. 103), that Proteftants
and others may judge of our civil and reli-
gious principles by our catechifms, by our books
of devotion and religious inftru^lion, by the
Paftoral Letters of our Bifliops, by the dogmatical

I alii-

NOTES. 509'

Inftltiitions of Popes, b}' the doctrinal deci-
6I0NS OF OUR GEXERAL COUNCILS, and by our
uniform condlift." We agree jDerfeclly witb Dr. ,
Troy, and wiili that they were rrcV/ knoMii. I
particularly recommend to thofe who have accefs
to them, the Bullarium Romaxum, and above
all, becaufe it is the higheji authority known to
the Roman Catholics, the Concilia Gene-
RALiA. The decrees of a legitimate general
council are infallible and irreverfible. In this all
parties among the Papifts agree. I leave them
to fpeak for themfelves, and requeft Proteftants
to judge what degrees of mercy to their Pro-
' teftant fellow-fubjefts, or loyalty to an hfretical
prince, is to be expected from them, when their
powers or numbers enable them to a6l. I have
made large extracts from the 3d chapter of the
4th council of Lateran, held under Innocent III.
in 1215, one of the inoft efteemed, and undeniabli/
formal and legitimate.

" Excommunicamus et anathematizamus om-
nem hasrefin, extollentem fe adverfus banc fanc-
tam, orthodoxam, catholicam fidem, quam fupe-
rius expofuimus; co\\{\em\\m\tQs imiverfos hcereti-^
cos, quibufcunque nominibus cenfeantur ; facies
quidem habentes diverfas, fed caudas ad inviceni
colligatas, quia de vanitate conveniunt in idipfum.
*' Damnati vero fascularibus potellatibus pnr-
fentibus, auteorum baillivis, icWiKiu-dutur an imad-
*ocrJxonQ debita punkiidi, clericis prius ^ fms ordi-
>'. 2 • nibus

SOS Notes.

nibus degradatis, ita quod bona hujufmodi dam-
natoruni, fi laici fuerint, confifcentur : fi ver6
clerici applicentur ecclefiis a quibus flipendia
percepeiunt.

*' Qui autem invent! fuerint {oXb. fu/picio7ie no*
tabiles, nifi juxta confiderationes fufpicionis, qua-
litatemque perfonjE, piopriam innocentiam con-
grua purgatione monftraverint, anathematis gla-
dio feriautiir, et ufque ad fatista6lionem condig-
nam ab omnibus evitentur; ita quod li per an-
num in excommunicatione perftiterint, extunc
velut hieretici condemnentur.

*' Moneantur autem et inducantur, et, fi ne-
cefTe fuerit, per cenfaram ecclefiafiicam com-
PELLANTUR lasculares poteftates, quibufcunque
fungantur officiis, ut ficut reputari cupiunt et
haberi iideles, ita pro defenfione fidei pra^ftent
public^ juramentum, quod de terris fucE jurifdic-
tioni fubjeftis univerfos imreticos ab Ecclejia dc-
7iotatos, bonafidepro mribus extermin are Jiude-
hunt J ita quod amodo, quandocunque quis fuerit
in poteftatem five fpiritualem, five temporalem af-
fumptus, hoc teneatur capitulum juramento fir*
mare.

" Si vero dominus temporalis requifitus et mo-
nitus ab Ecclefia, terram fuam /;zfro'd^re neglexerit
ab hac fueretka folditate, per metropolitanum
et coDteros comprovinciaks Epifcopos excommu-
iiicationis vinculo innodetur. Et, fi fatisfacere
contempferit infra annum, fignificctur hoc fummo

Poiitifici;

NOTES/ 509

t^ontlfici ; ut extunc ipfi mfallos ah ejus fideli^
tate dcnuntiet abfolatos, et terrain exponat catholi-
CIS occupandam, qui earn extermimtis Imreticis fiie
iiUa contradifiione pq/Jideant, et in fidei puritate
confervent, falvo jure domini principalis, dum-
modo fuper hoc ipfe nullum prceftet obftaculum,
nee aliquod impedimentum opponat, eadem ni-
hilominus lege fervata circa eos, qui non habent
dominos principales.

" Catholici ver6, qui crucis alTumpto cliarac-
tere ad hsereticorum exterminium fe accinxerint,
ilia gaudeant indulgentia, illoque fanao privi-
legio fmt muniti, quod accedentibus in Terroe
fanftce fubfidium conceditur.

*' Credentes ver6, prtetere^ receptores, dcfen-
fores ttfautores h^reticorum, excommunicationi
decernimus fubiacere, finniter ftatuentes, ut
poftquam quis talium fuerit excommunicatione
notatus, fi latisfacere contempierit infra annum,
extunc ipfo jure fit fa'5lus infamis, nee ad pub-
lica officia feu confilia, nee ad eligendos aliquos
ad hujufmodi, nee ad teftimonium admittatur.
Sit etiam intcftabilis, ut nee teftandi liberam ha-
beat faeultatem, nee ad ha^reditatis fueceffionem
accedat. Nullus pra?.terea ipfi fuper quocaiique
negotio, fed ipfe aliis refpondere cogatur. Quotl li
fort^ judex extiterit, ejusfententia nullam obtineat
firmitatem, nee eaufce aliquae ad ejus audientiam
perferantur. Si fuerit advoeatus, ejus patroci-
nium nullatenus admittatur. bi tabeilio, eju^ in-
ftrumeuta contecla per ipfum nullius penitus fmt
X 3 moment},

5l0^ KOTES.

momenti, fed cum au6lore damnato damnentur*
Et in fimilibus idem pra;cipimus obfervari. Si
ver6 clericus luerit, ab omni officio ct beneficio
deponatur, ut in quo major eft culpa gravior ex-
erceaturvindifta.

" Si qui autemtalcsj poftquam ab Ecclefia de-
notati fuerint, evitare contempferint, excommu-
nication is fententia ufque ad fatisfaclionem ido-
iieam percellantur. San^clerici non exhibeanthu-
jufmodipeliilentibus ecclefiaftica facramenta, nee
eos Chrijiiame pi^mfumant fepulturce tradere, nee
cleemofijnas aut ohlationcs eorum accipiant. Alio-
quin fuo priventur officio, ad quod nunquam re-
fdtuantur abfque indulto fedis Apoftolicce fpeciali.

*' Adjicimus infuper, ut quilibet Archiepifco-
pus vel Epifcopus per fe, aut per Arch idiaconum
fuum, vel idoneas peribnas honcftas, bis aut fal-
tem femel in anno propriara parochiam, in qua
fama f uerit hixireticos habitare, circumeat, et ibi
trcs vel plures boni teftimonii viros, vel etiam, H
expcdire videbitur, totam viciniam jurare com-
pellat, quod fi quis ibidem hcereticos fciverit, vel
aliquos occulta conventicula celebrintes, feu a
com muni converfatione fidelium vita et moribus
diffidentes, eos Epifcopo ftudcat indicare. Ipfe
autem Epifcopus ad priefentiam fuam convocct
accufatos, qui nifi fe ab objeclo reatu purgave-
rint, vel fi poftpurgationemexhibitam inpriftinam
fuerint relapli pertidiam, canonic^ puniantur.
Si qui vero ex eis juramcnti religionem obftina-

tionc

NOTES, 311

tlone damnabili rcfpuentes, jurare forte 7iolacr'uitf
ex hoc iplb tanquam hceretici rcputentur."

We fee the tejct, and have not far to look for
the comment. I leave them both to the judg-
ment of my readers. What Popery was, it is—r
fo they themfelves tell us. Experience ihews us
that their doftrines are not antiquated. I need
not obferve, that my time would fail me if I
were to cite all the paiTages to this effect from
their councils and canon law — ac uno
piscE OMNES. " The religious principles
OF Roman Catholics being unchange-
able, THEY are applicable TO ALL TIMES."

Dr. Troy's Paftoral Letter to the Catholics of
Ireland, 1798.

I cannot but obferve that this fubje6l has been
treated with great force, courage, and perfpicuity
by Dr. Patrick Duigexan, a member of the
late Irifh Parliament, in a moft mafterly addrefs
to H. Grattan, republilhed in London for Wright,
Piccadilly. Dr. Duigenan defervesthe thanks
of every loyal Proteftant throughout thefe king-
doms, v.'ho has the fenfe to difcern and the virtue
to vindicate that genuine ftate of civil and reli-
gious liberty which has been fubftantially fecurcd
by the eftablifliment in church and ftate for
above a century. — Man}' Ihallow and fuperficial
notions are corre6ted in his moft fcafonable and
manly produclions, and the fagacity and vigi-
lance of Proteftants directed to objects which
x \ from

5l2 NOTES.

from an unfortunate coincidence of clrcumflance^
have been too long out of view. His obfervations
(in p. 127) upon the neceffary conne61ion of
Popiih fupremacy m Spmtuals, with its Tyranny
in Temporals, are ftrong and convincing. And
in controverting the ordinary and groundlefs no-
tion, that the pov/er and principles of the Ro-
man Catholics are lefs operative and obnoxious
from the downfal of tlie Pope's Sovereignty in
Italy, even if luch an event were ultimately to
take place, we find a very popular and general,
though a very radical error, moft pow^erfully and
ably combatea. But in truth the hollility of
Republicanifm and Popery is not (nor was it
ever) fo great as fome men reprefent it; for it
appears every day that between the advocates for
t\\G fupremacy of the Pope and the /over eigfiti/ of
the People, a clofe alliance is forming. Iil our
own country this is growing very confpicuous.

(k) Tmperium facile iis artibus retinetur qui-
bus initio partum eft. Salluft. de Bello Cat.

DISCOURSE

DISCOURSE XII.

1 COR. XV. 56f 57'

•* THE STIIS^G OF DEATH IS SIN^; AND
" THE STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW.
" BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHICH
" GIVETH US THE VICTOTY THROUGH
<« OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."

1 N the words of my text, St. Paul combine*
and concentrates nearly the whole fubftance
of the Chriftian dodrine, in a manner equally
diftinft, refolute, and decifive. The warm
affedion which he bore both to the mailer he
ferved, and the caufe which he was called to
fupport, would not fuffer him to take refuge
in abatements and mitigations, which, how-
ever palatable to the inchnations, would have
been deadly to the interefts of his converts.

He was little inclined to amufe the inhabi-
tants of a voluptuary and opulent city, fuch

as

314 SIINT THE STIXG OF DEATH.

2kS Corinth is from the earlieft times re-i
corded to have been, with that artificial difplay
of rhetoric and fophiitry to which then* habits
Itrongly difpol'ed tiiem, and to the relilh of
which their talte Mas early formed. Litera-
ture and Philofophv, as at that time cultivated
in Greece, were rather fubiidiary to, than
corrective of licentioufnefs, vice, and luxury.
The refined occupations of the inteile6l and
the elegant exhibitions of art, offered to the
jaded and exhaufted fenfes of men a kind of
paufe and interval, from whence they might
recruit themfelves for the ftated recurrence
of debauchery and riot. With the invete-
racy of fuch habits, rendered ftill more dege-
nerate by the feebknejs of the moral frame
to w hich they adhered, the great Apoftle well
knew that nothing fliort of the full energy of
Evangelical doctrine could enable him with
any profpecl of fuccefs to contend. He
fpeaks therefore " ziuth the demonjiration of
" the fpirit and zdth pozoer." In difcourfing
upon the refurreftion of our Lord from the
dead, proved by the moft irrefragable tefti-
mony, and illuitruted in its principle by the
firongelt analogies of natural objects around
us, he takes occalion to lead us into the in-

moil

SIN TUE STING or DEATH. Sl5

mod recels of Chriflian Tlieology. He points
to all we tetl, and all we fear. lie opens to
us with allea^ly and fevere, but with a reme-
dial hand, the true condition of human na-
ture, and the ftrength of the malady by which
it is beiet. To reprefent this to be other
than it is, hath ever bcx^n the darling and
incciiant effort of every fyilem of falfe philo-
fophy, and of plaufible and accommodating
morality. From a co-operation of thefe with
the fenfual and ambitious parts of our frame,
in certain itages of focietv, and in certain
cafts of poliilied manners, Chriftianity {lands
blafted and dinted in all its influencing mo-
tives, and all its genuine and confolatory
energies. It is changed from its high cha-
racter of being a fpiritual, perfonal, and pre-
dominant lav/, to a lUbordinate engine of civil
polity, to a circinnitance of external decency,
or a fubjeCl of literary curioiity. Politicians,
fciolifts, fophiits, and all thofe various tribes
which fwarm amid ft the hurry, the fenfual ity,
the dilfipation, and the foppery of a luxurious
metropolis, are feduloufly endeavouring to
bound it to the compafs, the ufes, and even to
the amufement of this Ihort and precarious
ftate.

Againft

Sl6 SIN THE STINC OF DEATH.

Againft conceptions of the Gofpel of Jefus
Chrift, fo derogatory to its dignity and fo
dangerous to thole who entertain them, I
know no means of fortifvins: ourfeh'^es more
efficacious, than by giving full fcope to our
reflections in a connected confideration of the
propofitions advanced in the words of my
text. They are every one of primary im-
portance, and if planted in a flrong theolo-
gical foil, may, if God give the increafe, have
'* their fruit unto holiuefs, and the encl ever^
** lajling life"

' The propofitions brought forward by the
Apoftle, are three :

Ifl:, That the fting of death is fin.

2dly, That the ftrength, or efficacy im-
parted to it, is by the law.

3dly, That a vii^ory both over the fear of
the one, and the ftrength of the other, is
fupplied by the Chriflian difpenfation eiclu-
fivelij.

In the firft proportion, two points offer
themfelves to our confideration — that death
has afiing, and that that fting isfn.

That the fear^ or, in the emphatical lan-
guage of the Apoftle, the fting of death, is
in feme fenfe a natural principle, mufl be

admitted.

SIN THE STING OF DEATH. 317

admitted. No propenfity fo common to wife
and tbolifli, to learned and ignorant, to the
wretched and profperous, to the rude and
civilized, can be with juftice confidered in
any other point of view. Nothing is more
flriking than the radical ignorance of the
human frame, which jthe philofophers of old
difplayed upon this fubje6l. Indeed, concern'
ing the final cause of the various tenden-
cies and difpofitions of our common nature,
.they fcarcely formed a conje6lure. Hence
the fear of death was falfely confidered by
one leading feci, as a feeling they were able
to evade ; and by another, as one they had
Jirength to annihilate. But the power of
God is as diflicult to be grappled with in
the movements of our moral frame, as in
the flux and reflux of the tides. I am there-
fore y^eaJi/z/ of opinion, that men can no more
expe6t to fubdue the fear of death by the fe^
of philofophi/ they may profefs, than from the
fliape and fafliion of the garments they wear.
The Poets, Mythologifts and Legiflators
among the ancients reafoned much more
jufl;ly concerning death than their Philofo-
phers. IlXiq former exhibited it invariably in
gloomy and delpondent colours. The firit

great

518 SIX THE STIXG OF DEATH*

great and coiifummate mailer and hiftorian
of human paffions and afle<?tio.ns, lived at a
period far prior to all that we call Philofophy.
He reprefents tlie njolt abje6b and fervile
itate here on eartli, to be far preferable to the
highell pre-eminence m the llage of our ex-
illence beyond the grave (a). — And here, I
truft, I may be. permitted incidentally to ob-
ferve, that his works, above all others in the
Pagan world, inform us of the real flate, com-
pafs, and obligation of natural law, and na-
tural religion. Of thefe they are, properly:
fpeaking, the region and depolitory ; and with
regard to the exiiience or prevalence of any
particular opinions, they, in point of fact, ex-
hibit moft valuable and conclufive evidence (b).
If therefore we reibrt to authority, to be in-
formed that in the heathen world the fear of
death was a predominant and irrejijiihle prin-
ciple, we might .thence collect it. This great
Patriarch of heathen morality admits, and
even ifwulcafcs, that if we could efcape this
our laft enemy, every object within the grafp
of ambition, the ftrength of which he fully
appreciated, and moft graphically defcribed,
would be a cheap facrifice for fuch an exemp-
tion and indemnity (c).

I with

elN THE STING OP DEATH. 319

I wifli here that my intention may not be
fniftaken. I am by no means attempting to
fortify a chriftian fentiment by the obvious
authority of an heathen poet ; but to fhew
how exaftly the doftrines of holy writ are
coincident with the u?ifoph/Jt(cated experience
of man. When therefore the Apoflle repre-
fents death to be armed with a fting, does he
fpeak in unifon with the beft founded and
moll genuine obfervation of human nature ?
or are we to have recourfe to the Epicuremi,
who fuppofes that that fting derives its effi-
cacy from lupei-ftition, or to the Stoick, who
afcribes it to the untutored weaknefs of our
habits and difpofitions ? I fpeak not here of
modern Phiiolbphy, in any of its moral mo-
difications. It is not fufHciently definite to
admit even of a divifion into fe6fs. It is in
all its varied forms little more than a mere
rejection of the Gofpel, and frequently a de-
nial of more or fewer of the truths of na-
tural religion connefted with it. It propofes
neither a legitimate end to our a6fions, nor
any diftinct regulation of our motives. It
neither informs us what we are — why we
are — or whither we are deitined to go. Its
code is ]yuYe\y negative. And it is not with-
i^J out

320 SIN THE STING OF DEATH*

out confidence that we may afk any ifian
who a6i:s under its influence, or its infeBioni
whether it has fupphed him with a Jingle
moral truth to which he can truft, and by
which he is determined to virtuous conduct.
It is not then to be reafonably expe6led, that
the Apoftle's polition ihould be very forcibly
encountered by any principle which modern
infidelity may oppole to it. For we cannot
poffibly think that mere blafphemy, farcafm,
and profanenefs, or a few folitary inftances
of the hardened and unrelenting deaths of its
leading profefibrs, even if they were more
credibly and lefs vainly attefted than they
have hitherto been, can in theory or practice
fufficiently overcome the ilrong current of
natural religion, the clear dictates of uniform
experience, and the exprefs declaration of the
great Apoltle.

Whatever fceptical doubts may, by our OTmi
co-operation, perplex and confound o^Aer arti-
cles of our Chriitian creed, this cannot be af-
fe6ted by them. Philofophy may lead us to
deny outwardly, but the invincible feelings of
our nature muft oblige us inwardly to con-
fefs, that death has affuredly a venomous
fting, that the wound is deep, and the anguiih
, poignant.

SIN" THE STING OF 13EATIT. 321

poignant. Many of us in the early and pro-
tracted decajs of our frame, feel iKrfonalhj
that we ha\ e death in our members. — During
the fmall point of time in which health and
vigor may exempt us from immediate fear for
ourftlves, we mult itill participate of the bit-
ternefs of death by the - fuffe ranee of thole,
whole pangs the alie6tions of nature have made
our own. Either by fi/mpathij with others,
or a?iticipafio7i for omfelves, there is fcarcely
a moment in the lives of any of us in which
it may not ftridly befaid, " that in themidji
" of life zsc are in death.''

But after having difcerned and acknow-
ledged that " Death has its Iting," it will, I
truft, not be more difficult to afcribe it, as we
propofed, to its true cauie, and to conclude
with the Apoftle, " that the Jiing of death is

The fages of antiquity piqued themfelves
much upon their acutenefs in inveltigaling
the caufes of the various moral appearances
around them. It \^as alierted, " that no-
thing w^as more degrading to a Philolbpher
than to iidmit an eiiect without alligning a
caufe." But m the m.oral lyitem of God's
government, how frequent was their humi-
Y iiy^tion 1

322 SIN THE STING Of DEATH.

liation I Of man's original defignation to im-
mortality they were not aware ; — of his fall
from God they knew nothing defaiitel}^
Though tradition feemed to have preferved
fome diftind and inconteftible veftiges of the
Paradifaical ftate among the Gentiles, yet
they brought none of thofe documents to
bear upon their opinions and judgments con-
cerning the ftate and deftination of man.
Human mifery they fliarply felt, and unre-
fervedly confeiled. To fome of them, parti-
cularly upon occafions of perfonal fufterance,
it appeared in fuch lively colours as to extort
from them, amidil their loud wailings, im-
pious and blafphemous impeachments of the
juftice and benevolence of the great Author of
the Univerfe (d). The forrows of life, and the
pains of death, they drew to their laft dregs.
But this luminous principle, the foundation
of all our reafonings, and the grand aphorifm,
which above all others enlarges the Chrif-
tian's view, they knew not : namely, that *' hy
*' one mans offence judgment came upon all
" men to coiulenmation." From this ignorance
proceeded all their wanderings, miftakes, and
falfe judgments ; all the proltrate panics of
their fuperfiition ; and all the poor groveling

pride
4

SIN THE STING OF DEATH. 325

pride of their philofophy. In the inftance
before us they erred racUcalli/, in reprefenting
death to be the mere natural termination of
the exiftence of man, either in this prefent
ftate, or in the whole of his being. They
knew it not as a forfeit, or as a puniJJiment.
In the hours of their frolic, profperity, and
literary luxury, they vainly and fiftitioufly
endeavoured to paint it as the laft a6l of a
drama— the concluding part of a banquet,
from which a wife man might retire with fa-
tie ty, chearfulnefs, and tranquillity (e). Thefe
views may ferve to amufe us^ as they did
tliem^ when this our enemy is at a great ima-
ginary diflance ; but thofe are grievoully mif-
taken who flatter themfelves that its approach
will juiliiy fuch conceptions of it. " I^ear
" with me, and indeed hear with 7n€," if I re-
peat it, that Scripture declares death to be
the INFLICTION OF A PENALTY, and that
found experience, by which Scripture is inva-
riably corroborated, teaches the fame mo-
mentous truth. It is not othenvife to be ac-
counted for, that this our lafl period, under
its moil favorable circumllances, Ihould be
accompanied with fo much bodily pain, and
fo much mental fmking and deftitution. —
Y 2 But,

324 SIN THE STING OF DEATH.

But, in faft, its true fting is eafily diicernible.
The coniequeiice of our forefathev's trelpals
inevitably remains upon us. " Sbi hath
" reigned from Adam unto Mo/es, even to
" thofe zcho have not Jinned, according to the
" fimiUtude of Adam's tranfgreffion."

My fubjecl doth not here call upon me to
prove, but to afferf, upon the authority of
Scripture, the connection between death and
Iin, as between caufe and eft'efct. If the po-
verty and impotency ot the cavils which are
fet up againfc it were the objecl of our prefent
confideration, it would not be a difficult talk
to vindicate the dealings of God to our firit
parents, upon every principle of retributive
juftice which can attach itfelf to the idea of a
moral Governor of the Uni\ erfe. A mode-,
rate de2:ree of reflection would convince us of
the goodnefs and hountif againft which they
offended ; of the exact adjuitment of the
inflance of obedience required of them to the
natural and moral circumftances in which
they are recorded to have been placed ; of the.
wickednefs which fuggells, and of the pre-
ci])itate ignorance and inconfideration which
adopts an allegorical interpretation of the
Molaic hiitory of the fall, or of thofe modern

and

SIN THK STING OF DEATH. 325

and ftill more proffigate attempts of foreiga
infidels^ to refer thele awful events to the
region of mythological fidtion. Neither
would it be matter of greater dilFiculty in
the depravation^ the niifcry and mortaUty of
the poderitv of Adam, entailed upon them
by his primaival fall, to' trace au evident and
imdeniable analogy with the dealings of God
in the ordinary courfe and tenor of his provi-
dence here on earth. By what links our
perfonal corruptions and lufterings are con-
nefted with and occafioned by thole of our
forefather, till we know our llru6lure, na-
tural and moral, as well as he that made us,
we muft at prefent be contented to remain
ignorant : — but, that difeafes, incapacities,
poverty, infamy, malignity, are under the
moral government of God every day entailed
from father to fon, we see, and KN0W^

Feeling then into what Hate the effeSts of
the original fm of Adam has reduced us ;
that it hath given calamity its eflicacy, and
armed death with its iting, I prefume that
with regard to actual fin, our confciences do
not fuffer us ferioii/h/ to doubt, that to every
one of us, m different degrees, the " stixg
'^ OF X)£ATH IS sin/' I am well aware how
y 3 incefiantly

S26 SIN THE STING OF DEATH.

inceffantlj this truth is refifted, how bitter a
draught it is for human pride and petulance
to fwailow — and if we fuffer our obfervation
to take a calm and fteady courfe, we may alfo
trace the evident marks which the contemners
of this great do6lrine exhibit, of the righte-^
ous judgments of God in their own perfons,
and in the fpeedier infliction and more aggra-
vated poignancy which death,, haftened, or
precipitated by vicious habits, almoft inva-
riably occafions. To ufe the words of one
of the moft awful as well as profound of our
Englifh theologians, "Things are what

THEY ARE, AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF
THEM WILL BE WHAT THEY WILL BE.''

It is in vain for us to contend either againft
God, or his laws, in our moral frame. That
death has its fting — that this fling is derived
from ojigi?ial, and incalculably aggravated by
a&a/ fm, are truths which muil be ac-
knowledged and felt, before any alleviation
can be afforded to that defpondency and alarm
which embitters life, and renders death into-
lerable. This will appear more clearly, if
we proceed to a confideration of the fecond
claufe of the Apoftle's declaration, that " the
^' Jirength of Jin is the law J' But the ex-
tended

SIN THE STIXG OF DEATH. 327

tended and important difcuffion into which
this opens, inchncs me to defer it to my next
diicourfe. In the mean time I will leave j^ou
with this ferious admonition of the fame holy
Apoftle —

" Behold the goodnefs and thefeverity of
" God; on them zchich itfeU,feve7'ity\ hut
" towards thee goodnefi^ if thou continue in
" his goodnefs ; other wife, thou alfo fialt be
" cut of."

y4 DIS«

\

DISCOURSE XIIL

1 COR. XV. 56, 57'

a

THE STIXG OF DEATH IS SIN; AND
" THE STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW.
" BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHICH
" GIVETH US THE VICTORY THROUGH
" OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."

In my lafl difcourle upon thefe words I
endeavoured to juftify the Apoftle in the firll
propofitions contained in them ; namely,
" that death has its Iting," and " fin Ls tiiat
fting." I attempted to confider how far the
opinions of ancient wildom coincided with
his doctrine, and w\mt farther corroboration
an obfervation of the firuclure of man, and
an attentive view of i\ie final caiffes of human
paffions, and the courfe of events in human
life, might fuggeft and afford.

The

330 THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIK.

The next claufe which offers itfelf is,
'* that thejirength of Jin is the law." In a
confideration of this propofition, I am more
than ordinarily fearful that what I fliall ad-
vance may not reach its awful importance and
its wide extent.

Various have been the grounds of moral
obhgation, which the ingenuity of metaphy-
ficians has devifed and inculcated. But ad-
mitting the exiftence of a Being, who has
created all things by his power, and "fuflains
them by his providence, who fuperintends
the a6^tions of men in this flate, and will
judge them in the next, in whofe hands
avowedly are the greateft benefits which infi-
nite goodnefs can beilow, and the fharpeft
penalties which infinite juftice can infli6i:,
there can be no other motive of action ulti-
mately reforted to, but his will fufficiently
and diilin6lly promulgated and announced.
All human legiflation muft be derived from
fomething eoctrinjical to itfelf The perfons
to whom it owes its earthly origin are then^-
felves frail, blind, mortal, perifliable : they
are evidently in fubjection to laws arifing
either (according to the impious jargon of
fome philofophers) from the neceffity of na-
ture.

THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF STIST. 331

ture, or a moral governing power, which
ahvays controuls, and frequentl}^ blafts and
enervates their llrongeft elibrts. There is

NO LAW therefore BUT OF GoD, nOF

any that can be obhgatory but in concurrence
with, and in lubordination to, his high and
fovereign will and authority. From hence
ALL LAW, moral and ibcial, public and pri-
vate, natural and revealed, derives its beneficial
ftrength, its remedial ftrength, its difpenhng
ftrength, and its damnatory ftrength. Upon
this principle, law, under all thele circum-
ftances, and modifications, becomes the
Jlrengfh of God, becaufe in its ultimate origin
It is the ordinance of God. Inftead of this,
to propofe either the beauty of virtue, 'public
utility, the Jit nejfes of tliiiigs, or any fucb like
ahjirattions, as ' a governing rule of a6lion, is
in fa6l to fuppiant that motive which fets be-
fore us the awefulnefs of our p?'0^a^io?ian/ ftate
in the ftrongeft point of view. It is to rebel
againft the fovereignty of our proper Lord, '
and to give other lords dominion over us — It
is to fet up feeble, (lender fyflems of morals,
depending not upon J atiBion, but caprice — It
is to render virtue a matter of tajie, of feel-
ing, a factitious 3 variable, inconftant, debili-
tated

332 THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN.

tated principle. — It is to change reality into
romance — It is, fundament ally to fubvert the
ftrong declaration of the Apoftle now before
us. For, according to my apprehenfion, in
acknowledging that all obligation, or if you
pleafe, all moral motive arifes out of law,
and that of all legiflation God is the fource,
we are enabled to difcern the energy of this

CiREAT TRUTH. The WILL OF GoD can

never be feparated from any action, properly
fpeaking, 7noral : and I know of no a«5tion in
which individual or fecial happinefs is con-
cerned, which is not of a moral nature.

In bringing forward thefe pofitions, we
truft that we not only illuftrate the meaning
of the proportion under confideration, but
we convey a caution againft that principle of
SELF DEPENDENCY,which it is the perpetual
flruggle of the falfe philofophy of all ages
to inculcate and eftablifh. Whatever aftion,
oxfyjiem of aftion is in fubordinaticn to the
will of God, and in obedience to his com-
mands, approves itfelf to the unadulterated
confcience of man. Whatever other motives
we may adopt, however plaufd:)le and pala-
table they may appear, yet, when brought to
the teft of experience, " zve doubt not,'^ (in

the

THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN. 333

the flrong and warranted language of the
13th article of our Church) " that for aj much
as they are not done as God willed and com-
manded them to he done, that theij have the na-
fiu^ of fin (r)." When therefore ///? is confi-
dered, not as a deviation trom an abjiract
principle, but as a dirtLn6i a6l of revolt againft
an Omnipotent Legislator, we then
difcern the true fource of ilia Jh' en gth im-
parted to it, the genuine atrocity of its nature,
and the contagious malignancy of its effects.
God is the fource of all happinefs, and all his
righteous commands lead to the henejit of his
creatures. Perhaps the molt aweful confidera-
tion ^vhich can arife in the human heart is, that
even hisjajiice is ultimately refolvable into be-
nevolence. From the Itupendous links, Avhich
every part of the material world exhibits
to our view, in wliich movements apparently
inconfiderable are, upon clofer obfervation,
feen to be connected with the moil important
and fublime, each in its place contributing to
the defignated fun6lion of all the others ; we
mu(t inevitablt/ infer, that in the moral con-
Ititution of things, to which the material is
clearly fubiervient, that order is the dcjign of
its tranfcendant A u T H o r a N D A R c h i t E c t .

To

334 THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN.

To enquire why the perverfity of the
CREATURE fmftrates the purpofe of the
Creator, is to endeavour to pierce through
the " clouds and darhnefs" which God has
fpread around that " throne" of which
" light eoufnefs and judgment are the ever-'
" lajiing habitation." Sufficient is it to us to
know, that from breaches of the divine law,
diforder and death enfue, and that the main
ftrength with which fm is endowed, arifes from
its being an offence againft a law, which is
not bounded by the confined compafs of hu-
man legiflation, but which embraces the uni-
•verfe(G); that it difturbs that order, and
chokes up thofe channels, by which infinite
Benevolence diffufes his benefits to his crea-
tures. No man fins againfi: his own foul only.
In the confequence of our offences, our rela-
tives, our neighbours, our country, are clearly
involved. One fin gives rife to others, very
different both in kind, degree and complexion,
both in the offender and all around him, each
in his turn multiplying and varying its de-
plorable effe6ls. And in carrying on this
confideration to the utrnofl bounds of the
moral creation of God whatever fyftems it
may compreh^fid in its aweful expanfe, we

fliould.

THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN. 335

fl^iouid, I conceive, be fully warranted, by
every conclufion which the fertile region of
ANALOGY fupplies.

I cannot therefore but fuggeft, that if sin
were ferioufly confidered in this point of
view, we fliould more juitly appreciate the
malignity of thole difpofitions from which it
originates, and the enlargement and ftrength
of which it is capable. Every a6l of fm is
in different degrees an a6l of cruelty, as fober
experience will fufficiently verity. Great part
of thofe fms which we reprefent as merely ter-
minating in the corruption of the individual
are, if duly confidered, aiSts of extreme cruelty
to our fellow creatures. No tranfgreffor there-
fore of the revealed law of God, can reafonabiy
afifume the chara61:er of that philanthropy, to
which the modern political and philofophical
infidels of the day are making the moll dif-
gufting and naufeous pretences. Strong
(if thefe views are warranted by experience)
muft be the power which countera6ls fuch
robuft evil, fevere the penalty to which it
Hands obnoxious, and juft the judge which
intli6ls it. Hence sin, if armed with a fting
commenfurate to its extent, mufl acquire a
moft formidable force, — Aiid farther, when
we confider the tremendous capacity for

fuffering,

336 THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN".

fuffering, with which the moral frame of man
is endued, an eftimate of the strength of
iin mufl: fill the flouted heart with alarm and
difma^^

If then fuch be indeed the ftrength of fin,
imparted to it by the law, it may be afked
zcliat law the Apoflle adverted to ? To which
I anfwer, the natural and revealed law of
God, from both of which, that ftrength arifes.
Thofe perlbns can have but little information
in the moral hiftory of man, who do hot dif-
cern amidft all the deficiencies and indiftinft-
nefs of natural religion, (which no man is more
ready than myfelf to admit) the predominancy
of the fame truth. Concerning natural reli-
gion, I need not inform my prefent audience
of the diflerent opinions that have been en-
tertained. Some we knov/ have, in the teeth
of facl., and in utter ignorance of the con-
fedions which the wifeft heathens have left
upon record of their blindnefs and uncer-
tainty, afferted that its fuf!iciency and clear-
nefs fuperfedes the necefiity of Revelation.
Others, on the contrary, have precipitately
denied its very exiftence. But furely God
never left his creatures without a lar^:. With-
out a law, communicated and promulgated,

fin

TUB LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN". S3f

.{in could not have had ftrength, or even exift-
ence. To the ian^lions of the law of nature,
and to its obligatory force, St. Paul bears the
moit dechive unequivocal teitimony. " JFe
*' have before proved" (fays he in his epiille to
the Romans) " both Jews and Gentiles to be
" under Jin." He reprefents the heathens not
as originallij deftitute, but as corrupters of
divine knowledge, " becaiife that when they
" KNEW God, they glorified him not as God,
" neither were thankful, but became vain in
" their imaginations, and their foolijh heart
** zms darkened." Thofe who are converfant
in their writings well know that they did,
in the words of the fame Apoftle, ^^ Jhew the
*' work of the lazi) in their hearts, their con-
*' fcience alfo bearing witnefs, and their
" thoughts alfo the inean while accujing or
" excujing one another." Of many of the
relative duties they entertained very adequate
notions, and conceived the vengeance of
heaven to be directed againft a flagrant viola-
tion of them . Conscience evidently exerted
its high and imprefcriptible prerogative over
tliem; and an aweful dread of its verdi6t
was not overcome by the moll refined volup-
tuary among them. Inltances are not unfre-
Z Quent

3SS THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN,

quent where the anguifli of their crimes
drove them to frenzy, and where the fe verity
of their pangs, in this ftage of their exift-
ence, derived unutterable poignancy from a
tremendous though indefinite anticipation of
future judgment (n). Vain, therefore, are the
efforts of thofe amongft owfehes, who, to
avoid the ftrength of the revealed law of God,
attempt to efcape to the regions of Natural
Religion as to a fituation of refuge, pro-
tection, and amnefty. Miftaken and un-
happy men ! " 11 hither can they go from
" GocFs fpirit, or whither can they fly fj'om his
" prefence ? If they fay, peradveiiture the.
" darknefs fliall cover them, then fliall they
'''find their night turned into day." The hea-
then, who certainly deferved luch a refuge
better than modern apoftates from Chrift,
found it not. The fanGtions of divine law were
not to be efcaped by them, even in the inde-
finite gloom of natural religion. Ev'en tlicy
' found the ftrength of iin in the law.

If we turn our eyes to the law of Mofes,
it is to be obferved, that though the compafs
of its ian6tions is confined to temporal penal-
ties, 3'et that its ftrength in exacting thofe
penalties was conlpicuouily fevere. Moft

ftriking

tllE LAW THE STREISTGTII OP SIX. 339

ftriking doth the perverfity of the Je\vi{h na-
tion appear, who in the face of benefits be-
ftowed, of privileges conferred in the im^
mediate prel'ence of God, obftinately and
repeatedly preferred the idolatrous corrup-
tions of the furrounding nations to his pure
worfliip, and his righteous commands. They
defpifed and maltreated the long order of
prophets whom he vouchfafed to fend among
them, and filled up the meafure of all their
rebellious iniquity, by the rejection and cru-
cifixion of the promifed Melllah. Againffc
them therefore the law always was, and flill
remains^ the flrength of fm. Its fliarpefl
penalties were inflicted, in the various natural
calamities which befet them, in the fig-nal
judgments which were fent upon them, even
to the flaughter of thoufands and tens of
thoufands by peftilence and war, in theiir
long banifliment under the tyranny and infults
of the Babylonian and Aflfyrian monarchs,
and in the utter deftru61:ion of their city by
the Romans, with circumftances of aggravated
mifery, (of which even the age we live in
fcarcely exhibits a parallel ;) and laftly, in
the total extermination and difperfion among
all the nations of the earth, with a mark let
z 2 upon

340 THE LA^V THE STRENGTH OF SIN.

upon them, like Cain of old. Whoever col-
le6is and combines thefe circumftances, part
of which are upon undoubted record, and
part of which are now pafling immecUatelif
within our own obfervation, will fcarcely be
of opinion that the privilege of the feed of
Abraham has enervated the law, or afforded
the Imalleft pretext to that imputation of par-
tiality, which the petulance of infidels has at
times prelumed to charge upon the equal and
common Lord and Father both of Jews and
Gentiles. Indeed, the inconfiftency of infide-
lity is, in this initance, fufficiently prominent :
it at one time arraigns the feveriii/ with which
the Jewifti nation was treated, and at others
profanely reprobates the bountiful hand which
granted unmerited and ejcclujke benefits and
favoui's to fo obftinate and Itiff-necked a
people. Steady oblervation upon the hiitory,
condition and cu'cumftances of that infatuated
nation, would irrefiftibly evince that God is
not in his dealings capricious or unequal.
But the vindication of his righteous deahngs
in this particular, is not the immediate i'ub-
jeft to be purfiied. It is merely our purpofe
to (hew, that God hath concluded all men,
both Jew and Gentile, under /m — That /iis
i laws,

THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN^. 541

laws, either under the Ught of nature, or the
Moiaic difpenlation, dfjiincilij indicate that
they are armed with penalties, the iharpnels
of which is inevitable and intolerable — that
thefe penalties being connected with the or-
der and happinefs of the universe, cannot,
with regard to all that 'pafles under our ob-
fervation, in the common courfe of the moral
government, be difpenfed with ; that without
foiiie interpofition beyond our power to efFe6t,
or our wifdom to devife, tribulation and an-
guifii is, without exception or mitigation, in
the order of things deftined to every foul
that doeth evil, of the Jew lirlt, and the Gen-
tile afterwards.

If therefore a confideration of the ftate to
which fm has reduced us, has its due influ-
ence,— if the paji courfe of human affairs, —

if the PRESENT AV/EEUL STATE OF THEM

has ever been attended to by us, — if in the
invefligation of religious truth we have pro-
ceeded one lingle ftep beyond the beggarly
elements of metaphyfical fpeculation, of poli-
tical expediency, or of external decorum, — if
we fpiritually dilcern that life is gloomy, that
confcience is importunate, that calamity is
imminent, and death defperate, — if we have
z 3 any

342 THE LAW THE STRENGTH OF SIN.

any moral apprehenlion of thefe things, either
for ourfelves, or our relatives, we (hall have no
fmall intereft in inquiring what is that viftory
over the fting of lin, and tlie ftrength of the
law, which God has given us through Jefus
Chrift our Lord. — But this will, by his blefs-
ing, be the fubje6t of our doling difcourfe
pn the words of the text.

DIS-

DISCOURSE XIV.

I COR. XV. 56, 57.

((

THE STING OF DEATH IS SIN; AND
" THE STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW.
" BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHICH
" GIVETII US THE VICTORY THROUGH
" OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."'

WPIOEVER would judge completely
and diltiniStly of Chriftianit}^, fliould fre-
quently bring it to the tell of experience.
The Gofpel profelfes to deliver us from evils
of the greatell extent and malignity, and to
confer benefits of the higheft value and im-
portance. Tiiefe have both of them refer-
ence to a prejuppofed ftate of man, and to the
whole of the moral condition in which we
are reprefented to be placed. If therefore
the fcriptural defcriptions of this ftate and
condition, do not appear to be warranted by
z 4> an

344 VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH

an examination of what palles within out
notice, both with regard to ourjelves and
others, we might be juitiiied in concluding,
that a iyilem founded upon falfe and delufive
views of human nature, could not proceed
from him who created, and therefore knew
what was in man. If, on the contrary, by
defcending into ourfelves, by turning the eye
of refle6iion on our frame, we there behold
as in a faithful mirror all that the Gofpel
reprefents us to be ; — if our fears and hopes,
our happinefs and milery are theix appreci-
ated with a truth and exa6tnefs, which can
no where elfe be found, then are we bound
to a ftrong prefumption at leaft, that it is
proport ion a bli/ entitled to our confidence, when
it exhibits to us " the evidence of things not
" /eew, the fuhjiance of things hoped for."
To this fdfe and moft rational teft Chriftianity
may affuredly be brought, and it is greatly
to be wiflied by all who have its interefts and
influence at heart, that by this it may be
calmly and fully tried. Thus, with regard to
the fubjecl before us, if the courfe of human
life is fuch as to prefent but moderate fuffer-
ance or forrow to our obfervation, if we dif-
cern in it hut Jk?ider obftructions to our hap-
pinefs,

THROUGH JESUS CHllIST. 345

pinefs, if our anxiety in profpe6t, or pain in re-
trolpe6tbe mconjiderable, then indeed might
men be lefs iblicitous in providing fuch re-
fouvces as the Golpel graciouily oiFers to our
acceptance. Or — if, in the language of an-
cient philofophj, the fum of what we are
deftined to " bear and forbear," however
great in itfelf, is not beyond the meafure
of our own una[jijied efibrts ; even tlien
might the rejeeiion of fucli offers be fup-
ported, by a recurrence to our own powers
and exertions. — But if what has been ad-
vanced in my tw^o former difcourfes is in
any degree fupported by fa6l ; if fm has its
fting, and the law^ its ftrength ; then will the
grave alfo its viftory, and the captivity and
mifery of man be confummated ! If death
be the penalty of fin, and human life merely
an entrance and an avenue to it, then will its
horrors poifon every portion of fatisfaftion
which any human fuccefs can offer to us.
If death be an introduction to an infliction
of mifery, of which the degree is not to be
calculated, and the end is not to be reached,
even by the utmoft ftretch of imagination ;
if the univerfal feelings of mankind, even
under the light of nature, anticipated this,

and

346 VICTORY OVER SIJT AND DEATH

and revelation confirms it — then the firft
queition to be determined by us is, whether
we have any thing ultimately to (land by in
a rational learch after happinefs and com-
fort but a vigorous effort, to avoid the pe-
nakies, and obtain the promifes of the
GofpeL'

That a remedy for the pains of death, the
guilt which occalions them, and the anxiety
and mifery by which they are preceded, can
be fuppUed by owfolves, may in fh*i*6l con-
formity with that E X p E ii i e n c e to which we
profeis to appeal, be pofitively denied. That
from difeafe, decay, and death there is no
deliverance, either from Iniman ftrength or
wifdom, it is fuperiiuous to afiert. But as
to their influence upon our peace and comfort,
their virulent operation upon our moral frame,
their irruption upon our nioft exulting mo-
ments, upon our moft intrenched fecurity,
we are equally helplefs, (however relu6lant
men may be to acknowledge it) either in
fuftaining or even alleviating them. The
Stoick afferted, " that man's repofe was dif-
" turbed not by things themfelves, but by his
" opinions concerning them.'" But what, in the
name of common fenie, is gained by this ?

All

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. 347

All human liappinefs we know depends upon
opinion. But of our opinioiu, or the influ-
ence they have upon our happinefs, we are
no more mafters than we are over events
themielves. How poor a refonrce the higheft
heroilm of ancient philolbphy aiFords us,
may be judged by- the weaknefs of this
vaunting aphorifm, which merely afierts the
fact of whicji Ave complain, inftead of pro-
poiing a remedy againft it. The true point
of enquiry is, what can alleviate or counter-
aft thofe opinions and impreffions, which the
conicioufnels of fm, and the approach of
death make upon the human heart ? The
Sensualist, by his firil principle, admits
that he cannot. " Eat and drink, for to-
" morrow we die." The very paraphrafe of
this is its confutation. Thele enjoyments to
which 1 cling are of fuch a nature, that I can-
not promife myleif a day's i'ecurity in the pof-
feffion of them. Nor (permit me to oblerve)
do the higlier and more apparently dignified
objects of pur fait, confer upon us any right
to gainfay this poor and juHly delpifed Sen-
fualiit. Men mm/ be ftrongly fortified in
underftanding, in fame, in wealth, in rank, in
honor ; they may fix. the ilandard of ambition

on

348 VICTORY OVER SIN" AND DEATH

on its higheft eminence; they may inherit, or
what is perhaps more intoxicating, they may
acquire rank, power, and wealth by the exer-
cife of fuperior talents ; they may view their
domains and dwellings with the fame eye
of unhallowed exultation, which broiioht on
the fubfequent humiliation of the Eaftern
Monarch — " Is not this great Baby-
lon THAT I have built ?" But I entreat
3'ou to confider, what atom of real fufficiency
doth all this confer in allaying the apprehend
iions of death, and theflate confequent to it?
Is the tenure of men a whit more certain, in
fuch acquifitions, than in the frivolous obie61:s
of mere fenfe ? Difeal'e raav in a moment, or
the ftill more painful fenfe of decay, gradu-
ally blight and blaft every efficient effort of
thofe intelle6iual powers, which were once the
fource of their confequence and diftinction,
and the pride and joy of their undifciplined
hearts, lifenfualitij effeminates the mind in
bearing the reverfes which muff occur, ambi-
tion renders its votaries ftill more miferable,
by an irritating remembrance of the towering
elevation from which they have fallen. It is
to be feared, that the wile in their generation,
and the long-fighted, in their views, have not

even

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. 349

even the lozi) portion of wifdom of the Epi-
curean they delpife. Theif do not go the
length even o^ Yi\\{\ngdidehijhe fuperrtrii^tiire
upon a right foundation. Their boafted wif-
dom does not carry them fo far as to fay,
*' Let us raife our confequence, heap up
riches, accumulate honors, extend our influ-
ence, FOR " to-morrow we die" Poor, mi-
fcrable man ! whofe very wifdom is weaker
than his folli/, and whole captivity is effe6ted
by his prefumedy/rewi^f/i /

If then " the lu/i of the eye, and the pride
" 0/ lifC'' will not bear us out in any relift-
ance to the incumbent weight of our mortal
and calamitous fituation, much lefs will that
fhilofophj, which is compounded of both of
them. Even before God vouchfafed his re-
velation by Jefus Chrift, the attempts of men
€0 refcue themfelves, were confeiiedly vain
and impotent ; they notorioufly built upon
principks which the courfe of human aftairs
would not warrant ; they had recourfe to
motives as fafititious as the principles on
which they were founded. Some denied
death or adverlity to be evils. They grap-
pled with truth and faft, and reprefented the
general tendencies and fenfations infeparable

from

350 VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH

from the human frame, to be incidental Meak-
neifes, which it was in the power of the wife
man to conquer. If death took from him
the deareft obje6l of his affe6tions, the fug-
geftion of this philofophy • was, that thefe
his relatives never properly belonged to him, — ■
that they were extrinfical and adventitious
pofieffions, — that his affection was attached to
mere mortals (i), — and that reflection would
perfecllj relieve him from the pangs which
fuch lofles occafion in vulgar, uninitiated
minds ! From this fpecimen, we may con-
clude what victory over fm and death, the
fterneft and ftrongeft fyftem of ancient mo-
rals, could fupply.

But whatever were the errors, the vaunt-
ings, and the tveahieffes of Pagan philofophj^,
to God's righteous and merciful tribunal
alone it Itands amenable. We take not upon
us to mark the degree of guilt, which was
both the caufe, and, in its turn, the confe-
quence of their opinions. One high pitch
of crime it certainly did not reach — that of
reiilting and reje6ting the light of the re-
vealed will of God. Concerning its utter
impotency, and radical miilakes, we have a
clear right, and it is our undoubted duty to

determine.

THROUGH JESUS CIiniST. 351

determine. But we prefume not to break in
upon the hallowed and tremendous fanetuary
of his dealings and decrees, fatisfied that to
thofe who were " zcHthout," juflice will be
adminiftered according to confiimmate mercy,
by him who will judge men both according
to their decch, and the light voucliikfed to
them.

But of modern infidel Philofophy, I know
no conclulion that can adminilter a lingle ray
of comfort. We mult be guite certain that
death is everlafting fleep, before the miferable
refuge of infe^ilibility and ftupefaftion can
be reforted to. Even aJlJght conJcBure that
it may ?wt be fo, will utterly defeat our pur-
pofe. . Sceptlcijhi cannot fecure us, even
though the aro-uments in favor of death be-

o o

ing the final deltra^tion of body and foul,
had a real preponderance. Much lefs is the
Imner finking with morbid debility, amidft
the namelefs horrors and throes of approach-
ing diflblution, enabled to appreciate fuch a
fuppofed preponderance, or nicely to weigh
the moral evidence by which it is coun-
terbalanced. On the contrary, the lion'ors
he already feels, Vv'ill incline him to antici-
pate, ftili farther and more terrible degrees

of

S52 VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH

of them, and to infer that what he now ex-
periences, is but the beginning of forrow. *
This I conceive to be the leaji aggravated
ftatement of the deftitution of an infidel death.
We have reafon to fuppofe, that mifery feldom
flops at this point ; but that the hght which
we have during our whole lives obftinately re-
jefted, burfts in upon us to our unutterable-
difmay in thele tremendous moments. The
defpifed long fuffering of God, the fanftity
and benevolence of his laws, the gracious mild-
nefs of their adminiftration in Chrift Jefus, the
■\aolated interefts of our country, the mifchief
done to our neareft relatives by the example
of our apoftacy, will then overwhelm us with
irrefiftible conviftion and defpair 1

" J f retched men that we are! whojliall
" delivtr us from the bodi/ of this death?"'
Doth it not become us, as realbnable and
reiieaing beings, " to lift tip our eyes lo the.
*' hills from whence cometh our help^ for our
*' help cometh even from the Lord, who hath
" made heaven and earth."

I believe that there is no evil with which
human life is affli'Sled, but what is connefted
more nearly or remotely with the confcioulhefs
of unpardoned fm. Thofe chagrins, difap-^

pointmcnts.

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. 353

pointments, heartburnings, envyings, com-
petitions, which ieerafarfheji removed from
this Iburce, are in fa6l to be derived from it.
Till we are reconciled to God, death mull
he the final clofe of all that our eyes
can look after, or our hearts defire. The
ob)e<5ls, therefore, which are now prefent
with us, acquired an inconceivable value,
and thole are held our bittereft foes, who
are competitors with us for them. Thofe
fears and apprehenlions, which render us
fo formidable to one another, are to be re-
ferred to the fame origin. If death be the
beginning of our miferj^, and the end of our
joys, then muft the favor of thofe, who can
beftow all that is widied for in this fliort
precarious ftate, become of migliti) concern.
We will not obey God, and therefore we are
captive one to another : the opinions of men
fuccefsful in their advancement, confpicuous
for their talents, elevated in rank, powerful
in influence, become a fearful and domineer-
ing tyranny. And why ? — Becaufe this world
is our ALL, and they can ob{t:ru61: our inte-
refts in it. Were our confidence flrona; in
God, he would be equally our hope and re-
fuge in e\ery itage of our exiitence to which
A a his

S54 VICTORY OVER SIX AKD UEATif

his power might remove us. Whatever wo
dread, arifes from our hoftihty to him.
And how can we render ourfelves acceptable
to him, who lor oiu- lins is moft juftij dif-
pleafed ? Perlecl innocence, I prefume, none-
can offer. Different are the degrees of our
offences ; bttt if the fum of the crimes of
men is to be eflimated by their m[fery^ (and
colkctively it cannot be brought to a Hirer
teit) it mult be great indeed ! Few are thofe
who have not made a tremendous addition to
this mals of hn and forrow. The favor and
blefling of God is therefore viithdrawn from
us ! Where then is our hope } By nature,
penitence, even attefted by reformation, can-
not difarm the juftice, or allay the anger of
the areat moral Governor of the univerfe. To
beings thuscircumilanced, Chriftianity opens
its grand leading principle, dra^ ing an j: v j: r -
lasting boundary between natural and re-
vealed religion. " God teas in Chriji reco7idl-
" ing the world unto hinifeJf, not imputing
*' their trefpojjes toito them." This is our
ROCK and fortress , — This is .the badge of
oar profeffion. Though the Gofpel has indu-
bitably brought life and immortality to light>
yet before thefe can be looked to as a blefling.

tHiiotfeii JESUS cUftisti 35.5

tlic curfe of the luw, and the fling of fin muft
be removed. Otherwife, where would be the
benefit and privileoe of exiftence protracted
under the wrath of God, and the infliclion of
the punifliments denounced againft tranf-
greffion ? I^y the s a c r i f i c e of hmifelf on
the crofs, Christ has-e&^ied that remiffion
of fins, which no other iacrifice was worthy
to obtain. Here our anxiety and captivity
endsj— Here our victory commences.
*' He hath borne our forrows, and God hath
*' laid upon him the iniquities of us all/'
In this truth is contained the very ESSENCii
of the GofpeL We mufl; therefore, if we wiili
for dehverance from mifery and thraldom,
beware of every opinion which countei'a6ls or
enervates it* Its adaptation to our wants, ita
adju(tmenttoourcircumfl:ances, is confpicuoits*
In contending therefore for this^ we contend
for all the fubfeqiient triumphs of our faith,
and privileges of our profeffion. If Christ
IS OUR PEACE, then is our aiTurance of the
mercy of God imJJiaken. This is a well-
fpring of Hope, and wdthout Hope* the
very name of Religion is nugatory. This
well*grounded expe6tation of our acceptance
A a 2 with

556 VICTORY OVER SIK AND DEATH

with God through Chriit, will ditfule a vi-
vacity of obedience over our whole moral
conduct, \\ hich no oilier principle can fup-
ply. — Sin being thus conquered, and the
hand-writing of ordinances againft us abo-
liflied, all the fubfequent aftions of the Re-
deemer exhibit a continued courfe of victory.
By an a6l of power, of greater fublimity than
any which the human annals exhibit, attelled
by evidence ftronger than any which they
record, the barriers of the tomb were burft,
and by the refurretlion of our Lord from the
grave, " Death was swallowed up
" IN VICTORY." Bv his Horious afcenfion
into heaven, (an event to which our truly
primitive and apoltolick Church at this time
directs our view) his triumphs and the evi-
dences of hi'^ miffion were completed, and
confummated. By this event he is " Jet down
*' at God's right hand in heavenly places,
" far above all principality, and power, and
" might, and dominion, and every name that
** is named, not only in this world, but alfo in
" that zohich is to come." And it is with joy
unfpeakable that we refleft, that as thefe fuf-
ferinos, and this humiliation of the Redeemer
were not undergone on his ov> n account, io

neither

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. SdJ

neither do his victories and triumphs termi-
nate in himi'elf, but reach in their effefts to
the meaneft and pooreft of the fons of men.
In him we " a?-c more than conqueror's."
Through HIM our confcience is healed, and
peace and comfort is reftored, — fni hath no
more dominion over us. I'hrough him the
prifon of the tomb is opened, — through him
we coniio-n with affectionate confidence our
dear and venerable relatives to the grave, and,
in the inimitable and overwhelming language
of the great Apoflle, " we for row not as men
" without hope for thofe that Jl.ecp in him."
And when the valley of the fliadow of death is
to be trod perfonally by ourfelves, we trull
that through him our agonies will be foftened,
and our (inking fpirits fupported, and that he
will not fuflfer us in our laft hour for any pains
and pangs of impending difiblution to fall
from him. By him we expe6l (in the tranf-
cendant (train of our Engliih liturgy) through
the grave and gate of death to pafs on to our
joyful refurrection ; we afpire to afcend with
hmi to thofe blifsful manfions, where in the
midft of the fpirits of juft men made perfect,
and thoie holy persons whom we moft
tenderly loved here on earth, and in the
A a 3 prefence

358 VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH

prefence of God the judge of all, and this tli^
Mediator of the new covenant, fni, forrow,
and death, lliall be no more, and the tear^
ihall be for ever wiped from every eye !

In recollecting therefore this Jji/le?n of be-^
jiefits, this uninterrupted career of victory
over our moil cruel enemies, furely the fir/i
fentjments which occur, are thofe of deep hu^
miliation on our parts, and exuberant gratinr
tude to its great author and finiilier, Here
Faith andPjiiLOSOPH y for ever feparate, —
Here Chriftianity takes it ftand — " JVe gahi
*' not this viSiori/ through our o\v>i /word,
*' neither zms zVoz/rowN arm that helped us,
** hut it is God's right hand, n];s arm, and
*' the light of Ills countenance, hecaufe he
*- had a favor uf it 0 us." Eut to our exulta-
tion we are to add ^eal, caution, energy, ex-
ertion. My prefcnt audience are, I truft, little
inclined to forget, with the miferable enthu-
iiafts of the day, (who every where fwarm
• firound us, difgracing and disfiguring the
Gofpel they pretend to honor) that after all
the unfpeakahle extenfion of mercy which
Chriftianity holds forth with overflowing be-
peficence, Christ ftill departs not from his

HJP|I ;.IlGIS;.ATiyE DIG^flTY, AND JU-

PJCJAJ-

THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. 359

biciAL AUTHORITY. — We lliall not affur-
edJj difmiis from our minds, that he has pro-
pofed LAWS to our obedience, and will ftill,
for an obllinate contempt of them, condemn
US inevitably and irretrievably. May the in-
ference which the great Apoftle immediately
fu})joins to the words of my text, be yours
and mine — " Wherefore^ my beloved brethren,
" bejiedfaji, immoveable, cdzoays abounding
" in the work of the Lord, forafmuch as
" ye hiow that your labour is not in vain in
*' the Lord:'

Aa4 NOTES.

NOTES.

(a) The reply of Achilles in the fliades below
to Ulyfles, who fuggefted to him the high pitch
of honor he had attained while on earth, is one
of the moil feeling documents M^iich could be
offered to pride and ambition, under the light of
nature.

Ai/^pj Trap' UKXvp'j!) o) |U>] SjoJoj ttoXv; ecn

Odyff. A.

(b) The works of Homer are in this point of
mew (in which I cannot help thinking that they
are not fuiiiciently confidered) invciluable. His
Moral Philofophy is declared by no mean judge
to be tlie beft extant —

quid fit pulchram, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non,

Planius ac melius Chryfippo ac Crantore dixit.

And I own I conceive his theological fentiments,
when divefted of the thin integument of the my-
thology in which they were enveloped, are more
juft and true, and correfponding to reality and
fact, than thofe which Zeno, Ariftotle, or even

Platq

N,OTES. SGl

Plato himfelf have delivered down tons. Are
there abiurdities in Homer on thefe lubjedsr —
What fliall we fay on the other hand of that Phi-
lofoph}', which is declared by him who was beft
acquainted with all its varieties, (Cicero I mean)
to exhibit, on fubjecls of Theology merely, the
" delircuitium fomn'ia f' Are there, on the con-
trary, any ftrong and prominent theological
truths, in the writings of thefe fages ? I think
we may produce paffages from this great poety
which will confiderably /i/?yw/s' them. On the
derivation of. all virtue from God as its founda-
tion and cement, in the 1ft Iliad; — on the ftrong
eftecl oi prayer, and the placabUUy of the divine
nature, in that moft fmgular and arrefting palfage
in the 9th, from the 49 'M to the 510th hne; —
on the Origin of erif, in the 3 1 ft, 32d and 33d
verfes of the 1ft Odyft'. — he leaves Philofophy
far behind him.- — Thofe who are deftrous of fee-
ing this fubjeft fully ilhiftrated and exemplified,
will confult two excellent works, replete with
very curious and valuable information, — Homeri
Gnomologia, perDuport. Cantab. 156'0. 4to. and
Homerus EBPATZnN, five Comparatio Homeri cum
Scriptoribus facris, perZach. Bogan. Oxon. 165S.
12mo. Any Scholar who might re-edit the firji
of. thefe works, would render a fubjiantial fervice
to morals and tlieoiogy.

(c) Vid.

552 NOTES.

(c) Vid. Iliad M. v. 322 to ^25.

(d) How much upon a level in this deplorable
deltitutign, their 7i-i}yi mm were placed with the
meaneft vulgar, the two following declarations of
their greateft writers fufficiently indicate ; to
which it would be well if thofe who look for com-
fort in Philofophy would attend. Tacitus, in
recollecting the mifer}'' of the calamitous events
he relates, thus infers : " Ncv^^ue unquam atro-
" cioribus popuii Romani cladibus magifve juftis
" indiciis approbatum a^t non efle curas deis
^^ ftcur'itatcm noftram, effe ultiGnem.'"

Tacit. H'lft. L. i.
What confolation Paganifm aiforded, even to
a virtuous mind, in the fevere trial of the lofs of
near relatives, let the following well known cita-
tion decide; and iiiay it convey awful i"efle<Sion
to every fcholar !

*' Quis enim bonus parens mihi ignofcat, fi
" lludere amplius poffum? ac non oderit banc
" animi mei firmitatem, fi quis in me eft alius
*' ufus vocis quam ut inciifem Deos. fuperftes
** omnium meorum ; nullam terras defpicere
" Providentiam tefter? fi non meo cafu, cul
*' tamen nihil objici, nifi quod vivcwi, poteft, at
*' illorum cexth quos utique immeritos mors
** accrba damnavit."

Quintilian de Injl. Orator. L. VI.

(e) "Cut

NOTES, , 363

(e) '' Cur non iitpleiius vitx co)2vka recedis}"

LiicrethiSr

And after him his imitator : —

'* Inde fit ut raro qui fe vixiOe beatum
** Dicat, et exaclo contcntus tempore, vita
*^ Ce4at, lui convl'va faiur^ reperire queanius,"

(f) This pofition, among- others in our 39 ar-
ticles, has often been precipitately objefted to —
See the Bifliop of Lincohi's mo^ fatisjaftory tin-*
cidation of it.— The Student in Divinjty will find
great advantage in inveftigating the genuine doc-
trines of our Church, in that eminent work of
this Prelate, entitled, " The Elements of Chriji mil
Theology ;" where wc 6nd a rare uuioii of per-
fpicuity, judgment and decijion, ancl of that Chrif-
tian calmnefs and charity^ which Should accom-
pany all Theological refearch,

(g) In the celebrated Hymn of Cleanthes,
the exprelhons of this philofophical Poet feem
to indicate a fimilar caft of thought.

Ka]£i;9£um? KOINON AOrON Jc §icc vxiHuv

^Oi\x i^iyi/viJiivog ^lyocXQii y.iKpoig1e (pas<T<Tiv,

(n) Among various inftances of this truth,
which occur to the mod curfory reader, that of

Nero,

$64^ ^ NOTES.

Nero, after the murder of his mother, flands
moft awefully prominent, as recorded by Sueto-
nius:— "Nequetamen Sceleris conscientiam,
quanquam et militum etfenatus populiquegratu-
lationibus confirmaretur, aut Jiatim aut imquam
poftea ferre potuit ; faspe confeffus exagitari fe
matern^ fpecie, verberibus furiariim, ac tsdis
ardentibus. Quin etfado per magos facro, evocare
manes et exorare tentavit. Peregrinatione qui-
dem Grccciae, Eieufiniis facris, quorum initiatione
impii et fcelerati voce prseconis fummoverentur,
interefle non aufus eil."

Suetonius in vita Neronis.

It is extremely fingular that the power of this
internal judge and monitor ^vas admitted even by
the Epicureans and Atheifts oi antiquity.

Sed metus in vita poenarum pro malefaftis
Eft infignibus infignis, fcelerifq; luela
Career, et horribilis de faxo jadlu', deorfum ;
Verbera ; carnifices ; robur j pix ; lamina ; taedae :
Quae tamen et fi abfunt, at ?nensjibi confcia faBi ,
Praenietuens adhibet ftimulos torretque fiagellis.
Nee videt interea qui terminus efle malorum
Poflit ; nee quae fit poenarum denique finis.
Atque eadem metuit 7nagis hisc ne in morte grave/cant,
Lucretius de Rer. Nat. Lib. III. v. IQ27.

(i) The pafl^ige already cited from Quinti-
Li AN (in Note d) will throw irrefiftible light upon

the

NOTES. S65

the folly of the Stoick ])recept. K(p* ixxf^ tmv

T^V'va.yui'yH'^ai^ J v\ ^ifyo^jt-ivitiv, jwe^v^xto nriKiyeiv onotov

ANGPnnON xal«^i?.«{* aTroS-avo^Jof yap ctvfa oulaf*-
;^S"«o"w ! ! !

Epidetus.

FINIS.

^,

BOOKS

tATELY PUBLISHED

By R and C. RIVINGTON,

No. 62, St. Paul's Church Yard.

l.nPHE THEOLOGICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL, and
X MISCELLANEOUS WORKS of the Rev.
WILLIAM JONES, ALA. F.R.S. To which Is pre-
fixedi a fliort iVccount of his Life and Writings. Hand-
fomely printed in twelve Volumes 8vo. Price in Boards
Si 8s.

2. REFLECTIONS on the Political and Moral ST" ATE
of SOCIETY, at the Clofe of the Eighteenth Century.
With a Supplement, in which the Political State of Society
is continued to the Month of June, 1801. By JOHN
BOWLES, Efq. In one Volume 8vo. Price fewed
5s. 6d.

3. A PLAIN and PRACTICAL EXPOSITION of
the COMMANDMENl'S, in Ten ILort Dilcourfes, with
an Introduction : Adapted to general LTe. By the Rev.
S. GLASSE, D.D. Redor ' of Wanftcad, ElTex, and
Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majefly. In one Volume,
Price in boards 3s. 6d.

4. SERMONS on the PARABLES. By J. FARRER,
M. A. late of Queen^s College, Oxford. In one Volume
$vo. Price in Boards 7s.

*^* A fecond Volume, which will complete the
Author's Plan, is preparing for Publication.

5. A

feOOKS printed for F. and C. UIVINGTON'.

5. A Fourth Volume of SERMONS on PRACTICAL
SUBJKCI'S. By the late Rev. SAMUEL CARR, D. D.

Prebendary of St. Paul's ; Rector of St. Andrew Under-
ihaft, London ; and of Finchlcy, Middlefex. 8vo. Price
'in boards 3s.

G. SERMONS preached on feveral Occafions. To
which are added, IHREE CHARGES and a CIRCU-
LAR ADDRESS to the Clergy of the Diocefe of Offory,
on tlie State of Ireland, in the Year 1797. By T. L.
O'BEIRNE, D. D. Lord Bifhop of ?^Ieath. In one Vo-
lume 8vo. Piice in boards 6s.

7. EXTRACTS, Moral and Sacred, or a few HINTS
feledted from the Writings of the Wife and Good, in Sup-
port of the Caufe of Religion and good Order. By the
Rev. D. YONGE, M.A. Vicar of Cornwood, Devon.
In one Volume l2mo. Price 3s.

8. The MEDITATIONS of a RECLUSE, chiefly on
Religious Subjeas. By JOHN BREWSTER, M.A.
Vicar of Stockton upOn Tees, and Greatham, Durham.
Handfomely printed in 'one Volume, Price in boards 5s.

9. HISTORY the INTERPRETER of PROPHECY,
or a View of Scriptural PROPHECIES and their AC-
COMPLISHMENT in the PAST and PRESENT Oc-
currences of the World, with Conjeftures refpe61;ing their
future Completion. By HENRY KE:TT, B D. Fellow
of Trinity College, Oxford, and one of his Majelly's.
Preachers at Whitehall. The fourth Edition. In two
Volumes 8vo. Price in boards 14s.

10. The DIVINE ORIGIN of PROPHECY, illuf-

trated and defended in a Courfe of Sermons, preached be-
fore the Univerfity of Oxford, in the Year 1800, at the
Bampton Lecture. By the Rev. GEORGE RICHARDS,
M.A. Vicar of Bampton, and Reclor of Lillingftone
Lovell, Oxfordfliire, and late Fellow of Oriel College.-
In one Volume Svo. Price in boards Cs.

11. A

BOOKS printed for F. and C. RIVINGTON.

11. A COURSE of FAMILY SERMONS. By the
Rev. E. W. AVHITAKER, late of Chrift Church,' Ox-
ford ; now Re6lor of St. Mildred's, Canterbury. — It is
proper to ftate, that this Work is not a Compilation from
the Writings of various Divines, but an original Compo-
iition, conlifting of Fifty-four Difcourfes, written and
arranged with a particular View to domeftic Inftru6lion
in the Faith and Duties of a Chriftian. The fecond Edi-
tion. In three Volumes 8vo. Price in boards ll. Is.

12. SERMONS to COUNTRY CONGREGA-
TIONS. By the late Rev. GEORGE HAGGITF,

M. A. Reftor of Beachamwell, Norfolk. The fourth
Edition. In two Volumes 8vo. Price in boards 14s.

13. SERMONS containing Anfwers to feme. popular
Objections againft the NecefTity of the Credibility of the
Chriftian Revelation, preached before the Univerfity of
Oxford in the Year 1799, at the Bampton Ledlure. By
WILLIAM BARROW, of Queen's College, L. L. D.
and F. S. A. In one Volume 8vo. Price in boards 7s.

14. The SCHOLAR ARMED againft the ERRORS
of tlie TIME ; or, a Colledion of Tra6ts on the Prin-
ciples and Evidences j of Chriftianity, the Conftitution of
the Church, and the Authority of Civil Government.
The Whole intended for the Information and Afiiftancc
of young Students in our Schools and Univerfities ; and
publiflied by a Society for the Reformation of Principles.
The fecond Eiition. In two large Volumes 8vo. Price
:u boards 16s.

Printed by Bye and Law, St. John's-Sc^uare, ClerkenweH.

w

•'\yr.<w,- i-^-jfTaqj:

m