Two discourses delivered to the 2 Presbyterian Society in Newburyport

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TWO DISCOURSES.

DELIVERED TO THE
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY

IN NEWBUKYPOliT^ Atr«¥sr eo, 1812)
THE DAY RECOMMENDED BT

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

FOK
NATIONAL HUMILIATION AND PRAYER.

BY THE REV. JOHN GILES.

BRIDGEPORT,

DISCOURSE I.

PSALM, 106. 24,
Tca^ they despised the pleasant La?td,

I HIS Psalm is a short and concise history of the iru!tiph'ed and
unprovoked rebellions of the unj rateful f^iaelites ; and tie writer of it
enumerates their sins and provocation? against the goodness and bless-
ings of God urto them. Jehovah had conducted them safely through
scenes the most tryii.g, and through dangers the most formidable and
imminent, and brought them to the cof)fir'es of the promised land ;
but the spies brought an ill report of it, though they owned it was a
land which overflowed with milk and honey ; but that there were
such difficulties to possess it, which they thought insuperable ; and
hence the people despised it — in as much as when they were bid to go
and possess it, they refused ; and did not chuse to be at any difficulty
in subduing the inhabitants of it, or run any risk or hazard of their
lives in taking it, though the Lord had promised to give it them and
settle them in it. But they seemed rather inclined to make themselves
a captain, and return tn Egypt, which was interpreted a despising the
pleasant land. See Namb. xiv. I.

This history conveys much instruction t© us, and is well adapted 1o
the designs of the day. And, before we proceed in illustrating and
improving it ; the speuker must premise,' that it is not his intention to
irritate and inflame the feelings of any, in what he may deliver up on
the present occasion. His motives are, the discharge of duty, and pub-
licly to avow his warm, firm, and decided attachment, to the country
which has adopted him as its citizen, and tj the illustrious character
who at present , .resides over it ; and to thisdaty he is drged by lively
gratitude, and the solemn oath, which he has taken, of undeviating
allegianci to it.

I'irst Enquire y ni^hat ore thsse thhigs tvliich arc ahscluUly fiecessaty to

constitute a Imtd pleasant. And we observe,

\. That a climate the most salubrious, and a soil the most fertile and
luxuriant, wiiich may spontaneously produce, not only all the neces-
saries, but even the luxuries of life, may be rendered unhappy, and all
these sweets blighted, and marred, through the intruding hand of some
assuming and unfeeling tyrant. Such has been the state with the fer-
tile lands of Portugal, Spain and Italy ; and such is the still existing
state of more prolific Turkey. The God of nature has, in those coun-
tries, scatlert-d his gifts mojt profusely ; but they are placed beyond

tfte reach of the great mass of the people ,- a favoured lew, engross th«
sweets to themselves, and like the forbidden fruit of Paradiiie, no hand
dare phick tliem without incurring the displeasure of their lords and
masters. Thus, the kind bounties of an indu'gei^t providence, are pros-
tituted, and his creatures, who hsive a natural ng.nt to enj-jy theii>, are
tantalized with haviiJ; them in continual viev/, but art never filkd
with the sweetness of tfiem. This most turn the most pleasant and
fruitful land int a sterile and painful wilderness ; a land, which none
of us, my hearers, v/ould chuse as his home io dwell in, or as his place
Qf sojourneyin^.

2. To render a land pleasant the inhabitants must enjoy equal rights
amd privileges, otherwise it can be pleasant only to a favoured few,
while the great majority are rendered oljects of misery, through pe-
nury and distress ; and thus the comforts and blessings of civilized so-
ciety, be abused end subverted, and even prostituted to the most igno-
ble and basest oi porposes. We will demonstrate and illustrate this^
not only from ancient, but modern governments. And here we ob-
serve, that society in every state is a blessing ; but g »vernment in
its best state is but a necessary evil,— in its worst, state, an intolerable
OJi%. For when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by %
government, which we might expect in a country without govern-
ment, our calamity is heightened, by reflecting that we furnish the
means by which we suffer. Governm&2it, like dress, is the badge of
lost innocence. The palaces of kings, are built on the r jins: of the
bowers of Paradise. In ancient Greece, monarchy was the govern-
ment which they first formed ; but this they soon found degenerate
into tyranny. Hence the term /y/viw?, was justly appHed to them. —
And, indeed, the word originally signified no more than kwgf andwas
anciently the title of lawful princes. But monarchy gav« way to »
republican government, which, however, was diversified into almost
as many various forms as there were different cities, according to the
different genius and peculiar character of each people. But still there
was a tincture, or leaven, of the ancient monarchial government,
which frequently infiamed the ambitioii of private citiz,ens, and made
them desire to became masters of the country. In almost every stage
of Greece, some private persons advanced themselves, by sabal, treach-
ery, and violence, and exercised a sovereign authority, with a despotic
empire ; and in order to support their unjust usurpations, in the midst
of distrusts and alarms, they thought themselves obliged to prevent
imaginary or suppress real conspirators, by the most cruel proscriptions,
and to sacrifice to their own security, all those whom rank, merit,
wealth, zeal for liberty, or love of their country, rendered obnoxious to
asuspicious and unsettled gQvernment,and which found itself hated by
ail, and was sensible it deserved to b« so. What we have remarked ot
Greece, will with few shades of differehce,.apply to aincient Rome.

Let OS now take a view of the modern governments of Europe, an<|
txianine how far they are calculated to add to the peace, comfort, and
happine='s of nsankind ; and In the attempt oar sauls must overflow^
With gratitude to God, if sensible of the superior blessings and privile-
ges we enjoy in this oar favoured land. For»

3. A land to be pleasant, must have governors and magistrates, qaaJ-
ified and suited to the dignity and high stations they fill ; nor can they
command the respect and affection of those they rule over, unless they
are the men of their choice. For the truth of this, I appeal to
your judgment. Should we feel happy, were a man to be forced upon
OS, as governor of this State, or as president of the United States ?
And, granting the man, even qualified, in every point of view, would
notour feelings revolt ? But should such an one act the part of a ty-
rant, by oppressing your persons, taking from you your property, and
reducing you and your posterity, from complete case and affluence
to extreme want and beggary, the case would be still more
afflicting. This representation is not ideal ; it exists, in all the aggra-
vating circumstances here stated, and that, in the fast anchored isle ef
Great-Britain. The chief magistrate, er what they cill king, is hered-
itary. How degrading this t» an enlightened people ! It is a system
of mental leveling. It indiscriminately admits every species of char-
acter to the same authority. Vice and virtue, ignorance and wisdom,
in short, every quality, good or bad, is put on the same level. Kings
succeed each other, not as rationals ; it signifies not what their mental
or moral characters are. Such a government appears under all the va-
rious characters of childhood, decrepitude, and detage ; a thing at nurse,
in leading-strings, or in crutches. It reverses the wholesome order of
nature ; it occasionally puts children over men, and maniacs to rule
the wise. It requires some talents to be a common mechanic ; but to
be a king requires only the animal figure of a man, a sort of breathing
automaton. But 1 must observe, that I am not the personal enemy of
kings. No man mor« heartily wishes, than myself, to see them all in
the happy and honorable state of private individuals. But I am the
avowed and open enemy of what is called monarchy ; and I am such,
by principles which nothing can either alter or corrupt — that is, by
my attachment to humanity — by the anxiety, which I feel within
myself, for the ease and honor of the humm race — by the disgust
ivhich I experienced, when I obser\'ed men, directed by children, and
governed by brutes — by the horrors, which all thn evils that monar-
chy has spread over the earth, excite within my breast — and by those
sentiments, which make me shudder at the oalamitieb, the exaction^,
the wars, and the mac^acres with which monorchy has crushed nian-
kind. Would not you, my heareri., consider such a land, however sa-
Jabrlows the clime, ho v/ ever fertile the soil, however embellished with.
^>t progress mf tb« art* and Ecicn-ss. deprived of its birth right and

groaning under special marks of divine displeasure ? Let us rejoice, tha*
we are in the full possession and free exercise of the privelege ot seU'ct-
ing from ourselves, 7ueny to be our rulers ; and while we givo them »
compensation for the services which they rendered the public, in their
several stations, which is but just and reasonable ; for the labourer is
worthy of his hire. Yet govcrnmsnt in America is what it oUi-rht to
be, a matter of ho»our and trust, and not made a trade of, as i;i sLtry-
land, for the purpose of lucre.

4. That which constitutes a land pleasant, is the state of i:r/i:' ': •.
To see every member of it in the enjoyment all the essential nece sa-
ries of life ; we do not mean, that one aiid all should possess equai prop-
erty, for this never was deb'ia;ned by the Go?t of nature ; for there v/Ul
be some who are comparatively poor, for the exercise A the benevo-
lence of the rich. But that none should suffer through want or hun-
ger, all who are in the enjoyment of health, and are indus'riyus, should
be able by moderate labour, to procure the comforts of life. We hl.3ss
God that such a pleasant land is our inheritance. Here is a sujdfijiertcy of
bread for all. Let the people here be but diligent, and a few years v/iH
place them in a state of independence. O how different ib thij, horn
what we see on the other side of the Atlantic ! ShoulJ the ew^xixvy be
what makes the difference, has not providence favored them wita a
fruitful land ? We reply, providence has not been to the.n sptrin^; in
its gifts : but through the cunning craft of men, these gifts are e 'gros-
sed by a few choice spirits, who riot in luxury, at the exponce oJ the
labourer, the mechanic, and the husbandman. We will explain our
meaning — ^The chief magistrate of England receives a million sterlings
every year ; the other branches of his family, nearly the same sum,
and a long list of placemen and pensioners, swell tha burden to an e-
normous size. And all this is wrung from the hard e:irnings of the
labouring poor. It is this wretched system which causes the land to
mourn, which crouds the streets with beggari--, and which drives men
to the desperate act of invading the property of others ; for what will
not hunger impel men to ! This picture is not overcharged ; some pre-
sent have seen with their eyes, these things, and can Dear witness to
the facts. But let us turp. our view from these sickning scenes, and
contemplate our own condition on these happy shores, and we see an
extent of territory, twelve timeo larger than England, and the exoeiice
of the several departments of the general representative government
not amounting to what is allov/e':i even to the kmg alone.

5. To render a land pleasant, it is essential that the means of grace
should be enjoyed. It irf these which add to the glory of any la«i.'|,and
render a people truly great. This it was that made the Lraelites so much
greater than other nations. Thus Moses describes them : " What na-
tion is fhere so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous
*s all this Law which I set before you this day ?" Without thsGosoe^

ihe most enliarhtened people, are no better than refined savages. The*
Gospel is a pearl of great price ; it is the glory and honor of a church,,
a people, or a person. This only instructs us in the way of salvation.
Trade and commerce, may gai« and preserve an estate, bread may sup-
port the body, but this only can nourish and prop up the soul. When
the Gospel is removed, the light is removed which is able to direct us^
the pearl is removed which can only enrich us. In the want of this,
js introduced a spiritual darkness, which terminates in eternal darkness.
As theGospel is compared to Heaven, and so called the kingdom of heav-
en ; so in the want of it, they are said to be cast down to hell. See
Mattli. 10.23. So that what resemblance there is between heaven
and the means of grace ; that there is between the want of them and
hell. Both are a separation from God ,• so that when the Gospel de-
parts, all other blessings departs with it, and judgments succeed.—-
When the glory^f God was gone up from the first cherub to the
threshold of the house, see Ezek. 9. 3. the angels are commanded to
execute the destructive sentence against the city. v. 4, 5. Whentho
word of God is removed, the strength of a nation departs. The ordi*
nances of God are the towers of Sion, The temple was not only a
place of worship, bat a bulwark too. The ark wae often carried by
the Israelites into the camp, b«cause there their strength lay. And
"when David was chased away by his son Absalom, he takes the ark
of the tabernacle, and his greatest strength against the defection of his
son and subjects. This blessing, my hearers, we enjoy in a peculiar
manner. The heavenly manna profusely descends around our tents^
and every one may worship God in that form and manner which he
thinks accords best with the volume of inspiration,

C- That which renders our land the glory of all lands, is to be free
from all religious establishments, the bane of society, and curse of hu-
man nature. Let us enlarge a little on this subject. All religions arc
in their nature mild and benign, and united with priHciplesof morality.
They could not have made proselites at first by professing any thing
which was vicious and persecuting, or immoral. How is it then, that
they lose their native mildness, and become morose and intolerent ? —
It proceeds from an alliance between Church and State. The inquisi-
tion in Spain and Portugal, does not proceed from the religion original-
ly professed, but from this mule animal, as one calls it, engendered be
tween Church and State. The burnings in Smithfield proceeded from
t\e same hetrogeneous production ; and it was the regeneration of this
strange animal, .iftertoardsy in the nation nonv called the bulnvard of our rC"
i'lgion^ which revived rancour and irreligion. among the inhabitants
there, and which drove the people called dissenters and quakersto this
country. Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but
Vu is always the strongly-marked feature of all law-religions established,
by law. Take away the law-pstabiiihracnt, and every religioo rea*

'Suines »^ original benignity. Here m America, ft cathojic priest ism
^od citizen, a good character, and a good nciirhbour ; the same iray
be said of ministers of otlier denominations, andthii^ proceed?, indepen-
dent of men, from there being; no Iuv/-f;stabli:>hment in America,.

The Constitution of the United States l}a€ abolished or renounced
toleration, and intoleration also ; and has eslabli::hed universal right of
conscience. Toleration is not the oppoi-He of intoleration, lot is the
counterfeit of it ; both are despotisms. The oi>e assumes to itself the
right of withholdir]g the liberty of conscience, and tlie other of grant-
ing it. The one is the pope armed with lire and faggot, and the other
is the pope selling or granting indulgences. The former is church and
state ; the latter is church and traffic. Tliis is the perverted state of
things in that kingdom called f/^e icorld's last hcpe. And though the
gospel is there preached, yet it is the misfortune of many who love it,
to have a niinister imposed upon them, who is an enemy to it ; and
■which minister they must support, with the tenth of their tythes ;
even though dissenters from the established church ; and what adds to
the turpitude of all this, no man can hold any place of trust or employ
under the governn>€nt, who is not an episcopalian, without first receiv-
irig the sacrament of the Lord's Supperj on his Vended knees, to qualify
him for office. Must it not be duplicity, nay, the very essence of hy-
pocrisy, in any man, to call such a kingdom/ '•the bulwark of our reli-
gion."

Use I. Let ws to-day, deplore, and lament ever cur manifold sin;,
which have tempted God to let loose upon us one of his sore judg-
ments. The sword is drawn, and more than probable, while I am ad-
dressing you, it is bathed in the blood of some of our fellow-citiiens.—
It is true, that at present, through mercy, it is placed at a distance from
us ; but some on our frontiers, and on the sea, have already fallen sac-
rifices, and we know not how soon it may be permitted to a])proximate
our habitation^'. The fate of v/ar is always precarious and uncertain.
Let not him who putteth on his armour, boast lij.o him who putteth
it off. Remember it is God alone who giveth us the victory. Let our
eyes then be directed to him, and all our expectations from him. Thisj
by no means supercedes the necessity of cur warmest exertions. No,
it is the sword of the Lord and Gideon. Let us then assist the brave,
generous defenders of our country, who are vindicating our rights, and
redressing our wrongs. Let us, 1 say, assist them by prayer and fervent
cries, for prayer has ever proved a povrerful weapoii. '\f it overcomes
God, it certainly will overcome men. Thus, while the hand of Moses
was upheld by the prayer of Aaron and Hurr, he prevailed in the battle
against Amalek. And it is promised, that e.ie such, shall chace a thou-
sand, and two, put ten thousand to flight. Thus Jehosaphat, after he
had proclaimed a fast, when a great multitude came against him, ad-
dresses God in prayer : O, our God, wilt thou not judge them, for wc

^ave no might against this great company, which cometh against uii
neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. And when
they began to sing, and to praise, the Lord routed their enemies, with a
great slaughter.

2. Let us encourage ourselves in the Lord, from the nature of the en-
emy we are now engaged with. In our infancy, we humbled their
pride, and chained to the chariot wheels of our triumph, two of their
most celebrated generals ; one of which boasted on the floor of Parlia-
ment, that with 300G men, he would march in triumph, from one end
of our continent to the other. Part of his assertion appeared to be pro-
phetic, for he passed through a section of our continent, not as a con-
fjueror, but a crest-fallen prisoner. If we achieved such exploits in our
infant state, what shall we not, through providence, be able to do now
in our manhood ? Add to this the multiplied crimes of the government
we are opposed to ; a government, founded and cemented in blood,and
its tottering state, still upheld by blood ; a government with which,
it is evident, the Lord has a controversy. How different the state of
this, our happy land. Never had a country so many openings to hap-
piness as this ; her netting out into life, like the rising of a fair morning,
was unclouded and promising ; her cause was good ; her principles just
and liberal ; her conduct regulated by the nicest steps, and every thing
about her wore the mark of honour. Here I will give you the lan-
guage of Mr. Rush, the erator of the day, at the seat of our govern-
ment, the 4th of Jnly last. When, let us ask with cxultatien, when
have embassadors from other countries been sent to our shores, to com-
plain of injuries done by the American States ? What nation have the
American States plundered ? What nation have the American States
©utraged ? Upon what rights have the American States trampled ? In
the pride of justice and true honour, we say, none. But we have sent
forth from ourselves the messengers of peace and conciliation, again and
again, across seas, and to distant countries — To ask, earnestly to sue, for
a cessation of the injuries done to us. They have gone to protest, un-
der the sensibility of real suffering, against that course which made the
persons and the property of our countrymen, the subjects of indiscrimi-
nate and rapacious spoliations. These have been the ends they were
sent to obtain. Ends too fair for protracted refusal, too intelligible to
have been entangled in evasive subtiities, too legitimate to have been
neglected in hostile silence. When their ministers have been sent to
us, what has been the aim of their missions ? To urge redress for
wrongs done to them, shall we ask again ? No, the melancholy reverse.
For in too many instances, they have come to excuse, to palliate, or e-
ven to endeavour, in some f.hape, to riv«t, those inflicted by their sove-
reigns upon us.

We, my hearers, have nothing to fear eventually, in our contest
with a government so depraved and corrupt, as that of the British. —

^

Her fictitious wealth is depreciating ; her moit wise and virtuous statd-
IneD cannot be prevailed upon to join, ard unite in her councils ; her
p/incc regent has, by his intemperance and debaucheries, reduced him-
self to the state of an ideot : and the multitudes of her poor, rendered
debperate by hunger, are already threatening to overwhelm it with
their vengeance. In short, every sign of the times, indicates her spee-
dy dissolution. Certainly the righteous Gcd will not sufler her wick-
ed and horrid ravages to go unaveiged, even here upon earth. Let us
wait awhile, and we may live to see the time, wherein it shall not be
fcaid by the voice of faith, but by the voice of s«n5e itJelf, Babylon,
the greuLt, is faU«n, is fallen !

',f^^>^y^^>i^^^o^^^^

DISCOURSE IL

PSALM 106. 24.
2Vflr, they despised the pleasant Land.

X H E speaker, in the foi-enoon, called yoiar attention, to the distin=
guishing goodness ©f God, which has exempted us as a people, from the
burdens, oppressions, and calamities, under which the nations of Eu-
rope groan, and which wring from the inhabitants, the most piercing
cries. Our lines have fallen in pleasant places ; yea, we have a goodly
heritage : but seme among us, like Jeshurun of old, have waxed fat and
axe kicking against the rock of salvation. This leads us,

Secsnd — To exhibit the charactlks who despise the pleasant land.

We charge ne party, solely, as implicated in this crime ; but shall
attempt to demonstrate that there are iuch men among us. And we
will, as we proceed in our description, adhere to the criterion laid down
by our Saviour — you shall know them by their fruit.

1. Men nav be said to despise it, when they make light of their
privileges, either in a natural, moral, or political view.

First, in a natural view. The mercies, which we call natural, are
those which are necessary for our nourishment and.hupport ; and that

B

I

we, as a people, abound in these, is evident to all. We live in a land
overflowino- with a rich variety of God's providential goodness. Here
is no leanness of teeth ; our streets are not crowded with our fellow-
creatures, soliciting the aid of our benevolence — nor our ears assailed
with the melancholy tales of indigence and distress. The parent, with
pallid cheeks, hollow eyes, and trembling limbs, arrest not our steps
with importunate cries for relief to their helpless infants, pining in
want, and the lamp of life ready to expire, because destitute of means
to nourish it. We are p'aced far from these sickening scenes. But, a-
lus ! do we not make light of these mercies ? We enjoy the mercies,
and forget the donor. We take what he gives ; but pay not the tribute
he deserves. The Israelites forgot God their Savirur, which had done
great things in Egypt. We send God's mercies, where we would have
him send our sins, into a land of forgetfulne?s ; and write his benefits,
where he himself will write the names of the wi(?ked, in the dust,
which every wind effaces. We forget his goodness in the sun, while
it warms us — in the showers, while they enrich us — and in the corn,
while it nourishes us. It is an injustice to forget the benefits we re-
ceive from man, but a crime, of a higher nature, to forget those dispen-
sed to u? by the. band of God, who gives us those things which all the
world cannot furnish us without him. It is, in God's judgment, a bru-
tishness beyond that of a stupid ox, or a duller ass. The ox knoweth
his owner, and the ass his master's crib, but Israel doth not know, my
people do not consider. How horrible, that God should lose more by
hii bounty, than he would by his parsimony. If we had blessings
more sparingly, we should remeniber him more gratefully. If he had
sent tjs a bit of bread in distress, by a miracle, as he did to Elijah, by
the ravens, we should retain it in our memories. But the sense of daily
favours, soonest wear out of our minds, which are as great miracles, as
any in their own nature, and the products of the same power.

Secondly, We despise our moral and spiritual privileges, when we
reject the truths of revealed religion. This is one of the crying sins of
our land. Errors which were almost obsolete, are reviving, and th«
professors of those pernicious doctrines, are daily multiplying and in-
creasing, by which the glories of Christ are laid prostrate in the dust ;
and the object of the christian's dearest hope is degraded, and brought
down to a level witli a creature, so that we had need to tremble at the
prospects before us ; for these sentiments, like the explosion of a subter-
raneous fire, may ere long burst forth and spread ruin, slaughter, and
death, all ciiound, should they become the creed of an established reli-
'gion. Let no one say, we live in an age too enlightened, for religieus
persecution to gain head. But stop ; let us for a moment examine the
force of this reasoning ; and one remark shall suffice. Could any of
you, venerable patriots, who joyfully took the spoiling of your goods,
and waded your way through blood to gain the pinnacle of liberty,

n

could you suppose, at the close of your national struggle, that in th«
year 1812, your fellow-citizens should become objects of persecutioj:,
for an attachment to thot^^e very sentiments, for which so many of our
fathers bled and died ? And who are the characters who foment and
the very ringleaders of this intolerant spirit ? Are they not thos who
profess the aforesaid sentiments ^

Men despise the pleasant land, who make light of the Gospel, and
will not attend to the preaching of it ; or if they give it a hearing,
refuse to comply with its just and reasonable requisitions. It is not e-
nough, to be M^thin the visible ark ; so was a cursed Ham. Let us
not receive the grace of God in vain ; but adorn ihe gospel, by a gos-
pel spirit, and a gospel practice, and walk as children of light. Let ug
not trample it under our feet, but put our souk under the efficacy of it,
and get from it the foretastes of a heavenly and everlasting light. Let
us not loiter while the sun shines, lest we be benighted, and bewilder-
ed, and misled, and fiiUuiy miscarry.

Hiicse may, with the strictest propriety, be ranked among the des-
pisers, who dragoon religion into their service, and make it the trum-
pet of sedition and rebellion. The gospel, is the gospel of peace. It
was introduced by angels with Glorj to Gcd hi the highest, atid on earth
gccd nv'ill to man. Christ, the author of it, is called the Prince of Peacej
and it inculcates peace on all its followers. How malignunt,then, must
that soul be, which weuld convert it into an engine to irritate, goad,
and inflame tr.e passions of men, to strife, blood, and slaughter ?
"When the sacred desk, is converted into a vehicla of scandal, and ca-
lumny, ana charges predicted on misrepresentation and the most glar-
ing falsehood ; this is a prostitution, not only of place, but office, and
sinkmg the ministerial character into that.ef a public informer. It is
a melancholy consideration, that such occurrences should have taken
place, as to force from the speaker such observations ; but when the
poison is openly and M^idely dififused, it is the duty of every good man
to administer an antidote, to ceunteract the effects of it. Such con-
duct strikes at the root, and is subversive of a free government, and
has a tendency to introduce anarchy and confusion. It likewise flies
in the face cf divine authority, and subserves the cause of iniidelity ;
for no truth is more explicitly revealed, than due subordination to gov-
ernment. "We will quote a few to corroborate our assertion. Exod.
22. 28. Thou shalt not revile the Gods, nor curse the rulers of thy peo-
ple. And Rom. 13» 1, 2. Let every soul be subject unto the higher
powers. For there is no power but of God ; the powers that be,

are ordained of God. Whoever reaisteth the power,

resisteth the ordinance of God ; and they that resist shall re-
ceive to themselves damnation. Jude calls these disorganizers, v. 8.
Filthy dreawers, who defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil
Qf dignities, Caji there be a greater prop to infidelity ? Did Thomaj;

12

Fain*, with a)! his fr&ntic ravings a^inst the christian religioii, grrcit
!fo fatal a stab as thes-e pretended advecat«s of it, who in direct opposi-
tion to its express connnia:id£, defame and pour a torrent of abuse upon
our worthj President ; a man who, when first inducted into the Pres-
idency, was represented, by these his now defamcrs, as a concerted m»n,
and an experimental christian. But all these puny attempts to sink,
will but elevate him the higher, in the esteeai of every genuine Ame-
rican ; and with dignified composure, and silent contempt, he hears aU
these unfounded accusations, as the ebulitions of ignorance or of a ana-
niac ; and he who h^iS so long withstood the roaring of lions, hai n«.
thing to fear from the braying of an ass.

S. Men despise oar political privileges, v/hen they use every strata-
gem to render our government contemptible, and to alienate the affee-
tions oi their fellovz-citizens from it. This is to imitate satan, who
would rather reign in hell, than be subordinate in heaven. Never did
human wisdom devise so fair a fabrick as our Federal Government.—
Each State united to the other, like the several members of the hu-
man body, co-operating for the good of the whole ; so that ose cannot
say, I have no need of yon. All are bound by solemn compact, to ail-
here to each other ; for the good of the whole, is the good of each. --
How malicious ! how cruel ! how savage ! to attempt to mutilate to^
fair a fabric, and to loose the bond of union, and destroy a sy«tc m
'''V'hich, with its increasing years, hath produced increasing prosperity*
We grant that our apparent prosperity has partially been interrupted ;
hut this arooc not from any defect in our government, nor in those at
the hea4 of it ; but from the existing state of the European world,
^^hich, for a few years past, feas been in an ancommon fermentation. —
^''or could Solomon, had he presided over us, have guarded us against
the collisions of the belligerent powers. French ambition, and British
cupidity, have committed sp(Dliations on our commerce to a vast amount,
Eut must not every impartial peison adTiit,tbat, to promote a spirit of
discord and disunion among ourselves, is not th« way to redress, but the
5ure met!iod to incite tkem to greater aggressions. Let us frown, in-
dignant, at every attempt to dissolve our federal constitution, however
S'^cred may be their functions; let us regard them as missionaries of
him Vho is the father of lies, and a murderer from the beginning.

When men counteract the means which the wisdom of our Execa-
tive devise to assert Oiir rights, redress onr wrongs, and maintain our
national dignity and honor — or even when they be co!J and lukewarm
in promoting them, they come within the charge of our text. Such
churau»ters may ute plausible pleas, to extenuate their conduct — such aS
the temper of the public mind, the persecutions they shall be exposed
to, and the losses they shall sustain ; but if these pleas are valid now,
they Were <ralid daring our rivolutionary war ; and had the patriots ot
!h*l <iay,^i?play*d tbe same spirit, we shoold be groaning no^in £'

i&

ly^^tian bondage. Let such tremble ; let them arise from their torpor
lost they subject themselves to the anathema pronounced against soaie
m days of old. See /ndges 5. Td. Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of
the Lord ; curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they cam*
not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord a^^uinst the mighty.

When men turn liberty into licentiousness, and take bhelter under
the lenity of our Uw, to degrade and abuse the majesty of the law ;
this has a tendency to destroy the liberty we enjoy, and lay prostrate
in rum, the fair edifice, which has for thirty years withstood all the
rude shocks to which it has been exposed ; either by exciting our iegis-
iators to lay some restrictions on the press, which at present teems with
yo many infiamraatory, virulent, and infamous publications, or else re-
<lncing us to a sttite of anarchy. Let me, on th.s occasion, advise you
my hearers, to adhere, inflexibiy adhere, to the principles of Republi-
canism. But at the same time, bear and forbear, with the insults
Which your principles may expose you to. Remember, our constitu-
tion is founded on the right of private judgment, arid that principles
cannot be destroyed by the force of arms. No ; let re.iJfon and ar^u-
Hient be the only weapons which you will use ; and if violence°be
heard inour land, wasting and destrodion within our borders, let them
not originate from those who call themselves repablicans, a.-.d friends
01 oar government j bat from those who assume lo themselves, the ex-
elusive privilege of being the friexid? of aood order.

Use 1, Let us, to-day, lament over the niin of iapf^ed nature, and o-
ver the jarring, discordant, and destructive effects, which sin has intro-
<3ucecl,m all our national calaniiticb, under all the pressure of the times
and in the midsc of persona! saircrings. Let us hear the answer of
^oa to all our murmurings ; Thy way, and thy doings, have procured
tnes« thmgs unto thee : This is thy wickedness, becaui^e ,t is bitter, be-
cause it reacheth unto thy heart. Let us bumble ourselves under the
migmy hand of God, and by faith in ths Redeemer, and genuine re-
pcntance, disarm a frowning God of that vengceince which we have
demented at his hands.

cJ^ h!V^ ''^^ '"* "^^"-^ Mogeses, stmd in the gap, and plead with
a on J' "^ 'P^^^ "'■' * g^^^^>' P^^P^*^' *^'^ Still indulge us with

died O^'ll"''^ of those privileges for which our fathers fought, bied,and
^ienl]^r.,\u'T ^"^^ ^1^'^^' ^'''^"^ *^^>' *°^ P'''^^^^*'- enjoyments, bat pa>
lBntn^l^^V''' '"^ ^'^' ^ ^^'^^ privations whif^t tiie present contest
strnl I * J"^ *^^"g'^ «««^'^ '^f our property may be exhausted in th«
*nt n.- -f '^ " ^^"^' ^^ ^^^^^^ ^"^ families the pobsession of our pres-
i^Wlif^c ^l^';,"^'*^'^"' *^'* possession of a cent, than to leave them
Hiiilions of dollars, with the entailment of slavery.

a. l.et those, who openly express their disatt'ection to our govern^
me«i, paase, and reflect on the criminality of their conduct ; tlr God
««S8«R bfears witness ag»i>;?t thos^i ami which disturb society. In these

i4

cases, he is pleaf^ed to interest himself m a most signal manner, to cool
those, who make it their business to overturn the order he hath estab-
lished for the good of the earth. He doth not so often in this world
punish those faults coinniitted immediately against his own honour, as
those which put a State into a hurry and confusion. It is observed,
that the most turbulent, seditious persons in a state, come to most vio-
lent ends : As Corah, Adonijah, Zimri : Ahitophel draws Absalona'i
sword again:t David and Israel, and tiie next he twists a halter for
himself. Absalom heads a party again^jt his father, and God, by a
goodness to Lrael, hangs him up, and prevents not its safety, by David's
indulgence, and a future rebellion, had life been spared by the fondness
of his father. His Providence is more evident in discovering disturb-
ers, and the causes which move them, and in digging the contrivers out
of their caverns, and lurking-holes. He doth more severely in this
world, correct those actions, which unlink the mutual assistance be-^
tween man and man, and the charitable and kind correspendence he
would have kept up.

4. How lost to g.-atitudej and love ©f country, must be such of oac
deluded citizens, who can rejoice in the disasters of those, who are en-
gaged in warfare, against our proud, insulting fee ; and are ready to
weep at any success which attends our arms. Even the brute beast is
attached to the spot which affords it pasture ; but they, more brutish,
would tear to pieces the foliage of the tree which screens then from
the storm, and» unlike the beast, maliciously invite others to join them
in bl.isting oar f^iireat prospects, and laying all in wide ruin and destruc^
tion ! Is not this too evidently the wish of those among us, who make
me of every artifice, and twht and turn all the patriotic measures of
our Executive, as being under the control of French influence ? which
their own con?cience cannot subscribe to, neither do they themselves
believe so. But the evil object they have in view, they studiously
conceal ; and this outcry against French influence, is raised as a mist
to blind the eyes of the public, and to subserve the design of puMing
down our present rulers, and to raise themselves on their rain. vSa-uld
they succeed in their nefarious plan, what would be the de-i^ructivp con-
sequence ? Why, we soon should see these very same people, who *.re
so clamorous against foreign influence, forming an alliance with Great-
Britain, ofl'ensive an'l defensive, which would invalve us in the sanue
ruin with herself. Let us, for the truth of this, appeal to stubborn
fact?. Who is it that justify, and, if they cannot justify, palliate all
the insults which we have for ten years past received from that gov-
ernment : If they outrage all laws, moral and divine, by impressing
thousands of our gallant seamen ; and if, either by bribes, or cruel
whippings and floggings, they are forced to enter the service, their ad-
vocates extenuate their conduct, by observing, that it is impossible for
them to discriminate between our people and their own, as our features

^n^ language fire so similar. With such reasons and ar^unncnt., th*y
Istify the cruel wrongs, inflicted on our unhappy countryr.cn who
frefledto join and assist the common enemy, m their n.nrderons
work, and who are perhup. this moment, embruing their han.s m ihe
blood of their r^earcst friends and dearest relative. The.e predilections
for a government, which is sowing among us the sted of discord, sedi-
tion, and treason, and which wishes to tear from us our dearest rights,
demonstrates where the bias of their minds tends to. Nor can a word
be uttered in their hearing against the British, but what they resent
more than they would blasphemy ; this speaks volumes, and evidently
points to us the object which they have in view. But let them trem-
ble for their conduct. Th« great mass of our citizens, have too long
tasted the sweets of liberty, to exchange it for the gew-gavvs of mon-
archy. It is enough for us to tvUl to he free, and, m.augre all the i*.ttempts
of anarchists and monarchists, we are free. And let them not suppose,
that their misdeeds shall go unpunished. The day of reckoning is fast
Sipproaching, when the strong arm of law and justice, will overtake
them, and make them sensible that even in a republican government,
there is energy enough to crush the guilty.

5. Let not the exertions cf the religious inhabitants of England, in-
fluence your attachment to the British government, as if the large do-
nations contributed for the support of Missionaries, the distribution of
Bibles, and other religioHS purposes, v/ere the acts of government. —
These are the generous efforts of its subjects, of individuals, groaning
under the pressure of taxes. And hew much m.ore would th^se indi-
viduals contribute toward these benevolent purposes, were the demands
of government not so numerous ! So far is it from true, that the Brit-
ish government is friendly, that it is oppcsed to t'^e spread cf the gos-
pel among the millions in Asia. For, within e;;;'.t years ] a:.t, the
government of England rejected the application of the Missionary So-
ciety to send missionaries to India, to preach the govpe4 ; and whicli
subjected that society to the expence of sending them to New-York,
from whence they embarked to the place of their destination. To
conclude,

Me7T, Brethren, o.nd Fathers,

Let us, to-day, take a fresh survey of cur National, our State, and
our personal Blessings, and let us entertain them with a godly jeal-
ousy. Let no man, under a pretext of liberty, cajole cs oct of our
privileges. With all our calamities, ws are comparatively a happy
people. We can boast of what no other people can. The sovereign-
ty is in our own hands. We are not bound, as in France ?rd Eng-
land, to crouch like beasts of burden to those who gcad, and a !d to the
weight of their chains. Our rulers are our servants, and not oit mas-
ters. It is by our free suffrages, they have been elevated to their ex-
alted statious ; and if they swerve frcm the principles fef liberty,^we

tan destroy their official dignity, and reduce them to the ranks of prl-
vnte citizens, without having recourse to acts of violence. The miser-
ies attending the French revolution, must.be yet fresh in your memo-
ries ; and we hope, and pray, that no aspiring demagogues may be per.
mitted to rise up among us, whereby the proscriptions, assassinations,
and murd°r?, of a ferocious Marat, ard an ensanguined Robespierre,
may pollute and stain our hallowed land of liberty and equality.

And you, my >o;m^ hearers, read, frequently read,, the history of
your cr«untry. Emulate the deeds of your sires, whose patriotic arms,
put t"» flieht the ruffian hords, which Britain»vomited on our shores.
O, prove yourselves to be the descendants of those, whose names will
shine with lustre on the historic page ; tnd should you, like them, bo
called to avGFige your country's wrorigs, prove, thiit you not only in-
herit their names, but likewise their courage ; and that you will not
detract from their glory, but maintain with your blood, undiminished,
the fair inheritance which they have bequeathed you. And, O, that
A double portion of their spirit may rest on you. AMEN, & AMEN*

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