C.O. 
 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 Delivered May 9, 1798, 
 
 RECOMMENDED, BY THE PRESIDENT OF TH! 
 UNITED STATES, TO BE OBSERVED 
 AS A DAY OF GENERAL 
 
 HUMILIATION, FASTING, AND PRAYER. 
 
 By SAMUEL MILLER , A. M. 
 
 ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN 
 CHURCHES IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK. 
 
 NE IF- YORK: 
 
 PRINTED BY T. AND J. SWORDS. 
 
 1798 . 
 
The following difcourfe, haftily compofed, is publifhed at the re- 
 queft of many who heard it delivered. The author is not accuftomed 
 to carry political difcuflion into the pulpit, nor to deliver his fenti- 
 nients, in his public miniftrations, on feveral points, connected with 
 politics, which are glanced at in the following pages. He fuppofed, 
 however, that the occafion permitted, and even dictated fome devia¬ 
 tion from his ordinary habits in this refpedt. Viewing the prefent 
 crifis in the point of light which he does, he could not reconcile it 
 either with religion or with patriotifm to be wholly filent on the 
 fubjedl. It appears, by the refult, that fome of his friends concur 
 with him in opinion; and hoping, as they have been pleafed to fug- 
 geft, that the publication may poflibly do fome good in the fmall 
 fphere in which it may circulate, he has fuffered himfelf to be pre¬ 
 vailed on to commit it to the prefs. 
 
 NirvYork, May II, 1798) 
 
 t 
 
A SERMON, &c. 
 
 
 2 Timothy iii. i. 
 
 This know alfo , that in the lajl days perilous times 
 
 Jhall come. 
 
 T O notice the difpenfations of Providence, 
 to examine their connexion, and to trace, as 
 far as pofiible, their defign, are among the moft 
 important duties of man. Through the me¬ 
 dium of thefe difpenfations God exhibits his 
 own glories and our duty to us; and, of courfe, 
 to negledt them is to incur the character and the 
 guilt of thofe who do not regard his work , nei¬ 
 ther conjider the operations of his hands. Thus, 
 when the Pharifees and Sadducees came to (Thrift, 
 tempting him, and defiring that he would fhew 
 them a fign from heaven, he faid unto them—■ 
 0 ye hypocrites! ye can difcern the face of the Jky , 
 
6 
 
 but can ye not difcern the figns of the times ? As 
 if he had faid, “ You attend with diligence and 
 “ care to the fymptoms of the weather, and have 
 “ acquired confiderable fkill in predicting its 
 tc changes; but how comes it to pafs that you 
 “ have fo little tade for dudying the Providence 
 “ of God, and marking the progrefs of his king- 
 “ dom in the world?” 
 
 The ignorant and unthinking are (truck with 
 prefent objeCts only. They neither look back 
 on the pad, nor extend their views forward to. 
 the future. They contemplate the mod dupen- 
 dous fcenes in human life, as they contemplate 
 puppet-diew exhibitions, without inquiring who 
 is the prime mover, how far they may be con¬ 
 nected with preceding, circumdances, or what 
 influence they may have on futurity. To fuch 
 the ledons of experience are of no avail, becaufe 
 they never commit them to memory:—to fuch 
 every event is new and unexpected, becaufe they 
 have taken no pains to decypher the intima¬ 
 tions of Providence, nor to dudy that great 
 chain of caufes and effeCts which runs through 
 the moral, as well as the material world. But 
 the wife and difcerning contemplate the objeCts 
 which pafs before them with a very different eye. 
 They fee the hand of God in every occurrence. 
 
7 
 
 They retrace the divine proceedings in days of 
 old. And they fuffer no intimations of what is 
 to take place in time to come, to pafs unheeded. 
 Thus they grow wifer and better by every mean 
 of inftrudion. 
 
 Perhaps among all the modes of noticing the 
 difpenfations of Providence, and difcerning the 
 figns of the times, there is none more intereft- 
 ing, or more plainly incumbent upon us, than 
 comparing the courie of human affairs with the 
 predidions of God’s word. For this purpofe, no 
 doubt, among others, were the prophetic parts of 
 fcripture given to us; and we evidently negled 
 our duty, when we neglect to ftudy them, and 
 inquire into their fulfilment. It is true, indeed, 
 nothing is more common than to miftake in 
 fiich inveftigations. But thefe miftakes, fo far 
 from difcouraging this fpecies of ftudy, fhould 
 rather excite us to purfue it with greater dili¬ 
 gence ;—and while they guard us againft hafty 
 decifions and politive modes of fpeaking on the 
 fubjed, they fhould ftimulate us to new zeal,* 
 and more perfevering induftry in fearching after 
 the meaning of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 The words before us are a prophecy. They 
 were intended to warn the church of what was 
 to befal her in the laft days—to apprife her of 
 
s 
 
 the troubles and trials which fhe fhould be called 
 to endure. God has been gracioufly pleafed, 
 at [undry times , and in divers manners , from the 
 beginning, to favour his people with fuch premo¬ 
 nitory intimations of approaching evil, that it 
 might not come upon them unawares, but that 
 they might be looking and preparing beforehand 
 for its arrival. 
 
 In confidering this patTage of fcripture, and in 
 applying it to the occafion on which we are con¬ 
 vened, three objects of inquiry he before us, viz. 
 
 I. What period is defignated by the expref- 
 fion, the laji days ? 
 
 II. What is to be the character of thefe 
 days? And, 
 
 III. With what temper fhould we look for¬ 
 ward to the fulfilment of this predi&ion ? 
 
 I. The firft inquiry, then, which claims our 
 attention is—what period is defignated by the 
 expreffion, the laji days ? The moft approved 
 commentators, with few exceptions, underhand 
 thefe words as pointing out the times which 
 (hall immediately precede the commencement 
 of that happy period ufually denominated the 
 Millennium. The expreffion is, no doubt, fome- 
 times ufed in fcripture in a much more extern 
 five fenfe, even to figmfy the whole tra<ft of time 
 
9 
 
 which Ihould elapfe between the firft and fecond 
 coming of the Redeemer. It feems, however, 
 to have a more reftri&ed meaning in the cafe 
 under confideration, and to refer, efpecially, to 
 thofe interefting days, when the whole moral and 
 political creation lhall groan earnejily , expe&ing 
 the manifeflation of the Redeemer’s power and 
 grace with more awful folemnity, and with 
 brighter glory than ever they have been exhibit*, 
 ed before. 
 
 , That there is yet to come a time of extraordi¬ 
 
 nary profperity and happinefs to the church of 
 Chrift upon earth—a time when he zvhofe right it 
 is Jhall take to himfelf his great power and reign , 
 and when the kingdoms of this world Jhall become 
 the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Chrift is an 
 opinion fo generally received among chriftians, 
 that I lhall, at prefent, take it for granted. The 
 declarations of fcripture on which this general 
 belief is founded, are fo numerous and fo une¬ 
 quivocal, that I fee not how they admit of doubt 
 or evafion by thofe who acknowledge their divine 
 authority. 
 
 When this millennial glory will take place, is 
 a point concerning which various opinions have 
 Deen formed. And although it be acknowledged 
 that no abfolute decilion can be had as to thepre* 
 
 B 
 
lo 
 
 cife day or year of its commencement; yet it 
 feems reafonable to fuppofe, that the defign of 
 God in delivering fo many prophecies, and efpe- 
 dally fo many chronological notices on the fub- 
 jedt, was, that we might employ ourfelves, in 
 the mean time, in ftudying their interpretation, 
 and endeavouring to afcertain, as nearly as polfi- 
 ble, when thefe great things (hall be, and what 
 Jhall be the figns of their coming to pafs. Accord- 
 ingly, great have been the learned and the pious 
 labours bellowed upon this fubject: and al¬ 
 though thefe labours have produced very different 
 refults; yet nothing is more certain than that 
 a large majority of the molt refpedtable authori¬ 
 ties have been fubltantially agreed as to the point 
 in queltiom They have generally concluded, 
 that about the end of fix ihoufandyears from the 
 creation will be the commencement of that glo¬ 
 rious profperity promifed to the church :—that, 
 like the weekly return of the chrillian fabbath, 
 after fix days of fervile labour; fo, after fix mil¬ 
 lennial days of fpiritual labour, the church lhall 
 enjoy an holy fabbath,—when the knowledge of 
 the Lord Jhall cover the earthy as the zuaters cover 
 the depths of the fea ; and when there Jhall be 
 nothing to hurt nor defroy in all God's holy moun¬ 
 tain . In fupport of this opinion many diltin- 
 
11 
 
 guithed and venerable Names might be adduced, 
 were there time or neceffity for the purpofe 
 Names, the memory of whom has been long 
 embalmed in the hearts of the pious, and whofe 
 opinions, and interpretations of fcripture, I am 
 perfuaded, would not be lightly received by an 
 individual of this affembly. 
 
 If this opinion be true, then, we are not; 
 more than two centuries, and even, accord¬ 
 ing to fome very refpedtable calculations, not 
 more than half that length of time diftant from 
 the happy period under confideration. And, if 
 it be alfo granted, that the laft days refer to 
 the times immediately preceding its commence¬ 
 ment, THE DAYS IN WHICH WE LIVE MAY 
 BE CONSIDERED AS THE LAST DAYS. The 
 folemn time is haftening on, and even is already 
 commenced, which the facred writer defcribes in 
 the predi&ion now before us. 
 
 Methinks, my brethren, I fee you ftartled, and 
 filled with uneafmefs at the fuggeftion. The 
 generality of mankind are difpofed to apply pro¬ 
 phetic defcriptions to diftant times, efpecially 
 when they involve diftrefling events. They 
 would put far off the evil day. Hence few are 
 willing to believe the interpreter of fcripture, 
 who brings fuch days very near, and reprefenti 
 
evil as at the door. It is eafy to fee that this is £ 
 very improper temper. If prophecy affigns our 
 own times as the period of awful events, and of 
 lingular difficulty and trouble, it becomes us, in¬ 
 stead of cavilling, to receive the intimation with 
 readinefs, and to employ ourfelves rather in pre¬ 
 paration for what is before us, than in contriving 
 to evade the prediction. However folemn, then, 
 dnd however even alarming, on fome accounts* 
 the fentiment may be viewed, I repeat the decla¬ 
 ration,—There feems good reafon to conclude, 
 that the prefent times are, in a peculiar and em- 
 phatical fenfe, the lajl days ;—that God has 
 been pleafed to caft our lot in that unufually feri- 
 ous and awful part of his difpenfations toward 
 our world, which is defcribed in the paffage of 
 his word now under confideration. 
 
 The next object of our inquiry is— 
 
 II. What is to be the character of thefe laft 
 days? Our text tells us they fhall be perilous 
 times ; that is, as the original expreffion indi¬ 
 cates, they fhall be times of difficulty , trouble , and 
 danger ; times which fhall “ try men’s fouls,” 
 and prove efpecially diflreffing and dangerous to 
 thofe who love the truth, and who wifli to obey 
 
 ' V • % •* 
 
 God rather than man. 
 
 That the period for fome time preceding the 
 
1 $ 
 
 kit ter day glory fhall be more than commonly 
 dark and gloomy, is by no means a new opinion. 
 It is an opinion which, I believe, the moft of thofe 
 who have undertaken to explain the prophecies on 
 this fubjedt, have decidedly maintained.—They 
 have differed, indeed, materially upon defcending 
 to minute details of defcription concerning this 
 period; but they have been almoft unanimous in 
 the general idea, that it will be marked with un~ 
 ufual degeneracy and wickednefs. They have 
 luppofed this idea to be countenanced, not only 
 by many diredt and plain paffages of fcripture, 
 but alfo by a review of the courfe of divine Pro¬ 
 vidence from the beginning of the world. 
 
 It has been obferved by ecclefiaftical hiftorians, 
 that almoft all remarkable revivals of religion, 
 and all fignal interpofitions of divine power and 
 grace, to vindicate the caufe of truth, have been 
 preceded by times of more than common dark- 
 nefs and iniquity. This was the cafe before God 
 interfered to deftroy the world by a flood. This 
 was the cafe immediately before the Lord of 
 glory came in the likenefs of finful flefli. And 
 this was no lefs eminently the cafe before the re¬ 
 formation from popery, in the fixteenth century. 
 If, then, God’s ufual mode of adting is, not to in¬ 
 terfere by his power and grace in an extraordinary 
 
14 
 
 manner, until there is extraordinary need of it, it 
 follows as probable, upon the principle of ana¬ 
 logy, that before the introdudion of the Mil¬ 
 lennium, there will be a great falling away , and 
 a general defection from the caufe of truth. 
 
 But that we may be able to conceive more 
 juftly of the charader of thefe laft days, the 
 infpired writer goes on to defcribe them in the 
 verfes immediately following our text; which 
 he does in this remarkable language. In thofe 
 days, men Jhall be lovers of their own felves, 
 covetous , boafers, proud, blajphemers , difobedient 
 to parents , unthankful , unholy, without natural 
 affeSiion , truce-breakers, falfe accujers, inconti¬ 
 nent, fierce , defpifers of thofe who are good, 
 traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleafure 
 more than lovers of God. Correfponding to this 
 defcription are the accounts which are given of 
 thefe days in other parts of fcripture. Thus, in 
 writing to Timothy, the Apoftle expreffes him- 
 felf in this manner— Now, the Spirit fpeaketk ex- 
 prefsly that in the latter times fame Jhall depart from 
 the faith, giving heed to J'educing fpirits and doc¬ 
 trines of devils , {peaking lies in hypocrify, having 
 their confciences feared as with a hot iron. And 
 again, in the fecond epiftle of Peter, we read,— that 
 there Jhall come, in the lafi days, {coffers walking after 
 
l 5 
 
 their own lujls , and faying , Where is the promtJe 
 of his coming ? for fmce the fathers fell afleep , all 
 things continue as they were from the beginning of 
 the creation. 
 
 It is true, indeed, thefe defcriptions may be 
 confidered as more or lefs applicable to every 
 period which has elapfed fmce the incarnation of 
 the Redeemer. There have, doubtlefs, been 
 many fuch characters, and much of this condud 
 to be found in every age of the chriftian church. 
 But there feems to be a plain intimation, in the 
 palfages which have been' recited, that fuch cha¬ 
 racters will be far more numerous in the laft 
 days their wickednels more bold and outrage¬ 
 ous—and the deftrudive confequences of their 
 conduCt more dreadful and extenfive, than many 
 preceding times.—T. o be more particular, 
 i. The prophetic defcriptions which have been 
 quoted, feem to intimate, that thefe laft days 
 ftiall be eminently charaderifed by infidelity. 
 This is doubtlefs meant when we are told, that 
 in the days referred to, men fhall depart from the 
 faith that they fhall give heed to feducing fpirits , 
 and doctrines of devils— that they lhall bcfcoffers , 
 mockers , and blafphemers of divine truth—and 
 defpifers of all that is good. Nay, our Lord, 
 when defcribing theie days, intimates, that 
 
i6 
 
 when he fhall appear, to put an end to this dark- 
 nefs and degeneracy, he fhall fcarcely findfaitk 
 on the earth. Some he will certainly find. The 
 divine promife fecures to us, beyond all doubt, 
 that there fhall be, in the worfl times, a rem¬ 
 nant of faithful adherents to the fervice of God. 
 But the fpirit of prophecy plainly informs us, 
 that when the period fhall arrive, of which we 
 are fpeaking, great defections from chriftianity 
 are to be expeCted; that a proud oppofition to 
 revealed truth will generally pervade the world, 
 efpecially thofe parts of it in which the religion 
 of Jefus has been long planted, and acknow¬ 
 ledged ; and that contempt for every thing 
 facred will ftalk abroad, with a more dauntlefs 
 front, and a more extended authority than we 
 have hitherto feen. 
 
 It has long been the opinion of many, that as 
 literature and fcience make advances in the world, 
 real religion mufl alfo, in the fame proportion, 
 gain ground. This opinion would certainly be 
 well founded, were not man a depraved being; 
 —were not the human heart filled with prejudice 
 againft the truth;—and were not the tendency to 
 abufe natural gifts, when not accompanied by 
 moral corre&ives, almoft univerfal. Science, pro¬ 
 perly lb called, is the daughter of Reafon, the 
 
friend of Virtue, the handmaid of Religion, to 
 whom fhe bows her head with affectionate and 
 fubmiflive reverence. But, even this child of 
 wifdom, venerable and dignified as fhe is, when 
 committed to the hands of depraved man, is liable 
 to be deformed, abufed, and converted from 
 a blefling to a curfe. Mere intellectual cultiva- 
 tion, inftead of foftening and improving, will al¬ 
 ways be found to harden the heart. If, there¬ 
 fore, you increafe the natural light and know¬ 
 ledge of the unfanCtified mind* already mad 
 with hoftility againft the God of heaven —if you 
 extend the capacity and the range of his intellec¬ 
 tual powers, without the addition of renewing or 
 reftraining grace, you will but inflame his zeal 
 againft the truth; you will but add to his deliri¬ 
 ous hatred and oppofition to every thing that 
 is holy. None will imagine, that thefe remarks 
 are defigned to undervalue knowledge, or to op- 
 pofe diligence in the purfuit of it* It is an in¬ 
 fernal policy which would keep men ignorant 
 with a view to make them religious. But my 
 defign is, to urge the too commonly rejected 
 fentiment, that no natural advantages, taken 
 alone, will ever be found to promote the moral 
 improvement and the real welfare of their poflef- 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 for;—that all the treafures of fcience which can 
 illuminate the mind, unlefs regulated and directed 
 by holy principles, will but feduce more and more 
 from God, and from happinefs. 
 
 Perfuaded of this truth; convinced that it is 
 taught in fcripture, and that experience daily con¬ 
 firms it; I look for no fuch effe6t from the pro- 
 grefs of fcience, as many anticipate. I rather be¬ 
 lieve, that the pride of prefumptuous reafon, and 
 the deceitfulnefs of a vain philofophy, will be fuf- 
 fered to go forth, deceiving the nations, unhing¬ 
 ing the faith of men, fetting themfelves in op- 
 pofition to all revealed truth, and fubftituting in 
 its place thofe miferable dreams, with which men 
 may live in mifery, and die in defpair;—thofe 
 doctrines of devils , which are calculated only to 
 corrupt and deftroy. We fee much unbelief and 
 irreligion in the world at prefent. But, from the 
 prophetic defcriptions which have been recited, 
 we learn, that the times which are approaching 
 will be, in this refpeft, much darker than thofe 
 which are paft. The number of travellers to 
 Zion , with their faces thitherward , will be fewer 
 anddewer: and this awful degeneracy will pro- 
 orefs, until religion fhall be, in a great meafure, 
 banifhed from the ordinary walks of life; until 
 thofe who hold fall the profeffion of their faith 
 
*9 
 
 fhall only be found in the fhades of retirement, 
 and in obfcure corners of the earth. 
 
 Miftake me not, my brethren. I would not 
 be underftood to fay, that the church is in dan¬ 
 ger. It were blafphemy againft God to admit 
 the idea. She is in no danger. Her glorious 
 Head will never fuffer the gates of hell finally to 
 prevail againft her. But he will probably fuffer 
 her, for wife reafons, to luftain adverfity for a 
 time—to fit in fackloth—to be furrounded and 
 attacked by numberlefs foes—and to be almoft 
 overcome by them,—that his power and grace 
 may be more illuftrioufly difplayed in railing her 
 from the duft—in putting her enemies to fhame 
 -—and in cauling her, from a ft ate of fo much 
 mourning and gloom, to come forth, clear as the 
 fun, fair as the moon , and terrible as an army with 
 banners. 
 
 2. Again; the prophetic defcriptions which we 
 are conlidering, all intimate to us, that thefe lajl 
 days will be, in a remarkable and unprecedented 
 degree, chara&erifed by immorality. For 
 men, fays the Apoftle in the context, fliall be 
 covetous , blafphemers , treacherous , falfe accufers , 
 incontinent , fierce , lovers of pleafures more than 
 lovers of God , walking after their own lufis , and, 
 having their confidences feared as with an hot iron* 
 
20 
 
 This licentioufnefs of morals will naturally flow 
 from the reje&ion of religious principle. For, 
 whatever may be laid of the irreproachable lives 
 of a few philofophers in their clofets, it is plain, 
 that the mafs of mankind, when they have cad 
 off the reftraints of religion, are prepared for the 
 perpetration of the word crimes. What, then, 
 may we not expect, when infidelity /hall become 
 general f —when it fhall not be confined to a few 
 fjpeculative pretenders, who imagine that they 
 are the men, and that wifdom fhall die with them ; 
 but when it fhall pervade all ranks, unhinge 
 every mind, and diffolve every moral tie? If 
 we may judge by the fpecimens which we have 
 already feen of infidel morality, the refult will 
 be dreadful indeed \ Human fociety will exhibit 
 little but the reign of appetite and paflion;—and 
 depraved reafon, inftead of moralizing and re¬ 
 forming the world, as many vifionary minds 
 fondly imagine, will but fill it with diforder, 
 jnjuftice, and violence. 
 
 Another caufe which, it is probable, will unite 
 with that already mentioned, as a fruitful fource 
 of corruption in morals, is, the fpirit of commerce 
 and J'peculation , which is every day gaining 
 ground. It is a prevailing opinion, that 
 commerce has a tendency to polifh men, and to 
 
render them more focial, tranquil, and happy; 
 and that from its extenfion hereafter we have 
 great things to hope, as well for the happinefs 
 as the ftrength of fociety. But does not expe¬ 
 rience lead us to exped a contrary refult ? Has 
 not a fpirit of commercial enterprize, in all ages, 
 while it miniftered to the wealth and the ag¬ 
 grandizement of nations, increafed their luxury, 
 and undermined their virtue? Do not thefe 
 evils grow in proportion as it is extended? And 
 is there not reafon to apprehend, that both the 
 morbid caufe ? and the deftrudive effeds, will 
 proceed much farther, before men will learn to 
 be wife? If this be the cafe, while the praifes 
 of commerce are chaunted on every fide; ane 
 While the great objed of individuals and of go¬ 
 vernments feems to be to multiply and enlarge its 
 channels, the friend of virtue will drop a tear over 
 the fcene, as likely to afford another proof that 
 the prosperity of men defroys them. 
 
 If ever, therefore, the time fliall come, as there 
 is too much reafon to fear it will, before the careei 
 of human folly is clofed, when the principles of 
 fcepticifm and unbelief fhall become general, and 
 when the commercial and fpeculating fpirit, al¬ 
 ready too prevalent, (hall have gained that abfo- 
 lute fway to which it feems to be haftening, we 
 
22 
 
 may expert to fee the body politic, though, like 
 a white dfepulc hr e, it may appear beautiful outward, 
 yet, within, full of all uncleannefs. We may ex- 
 ped to fee every odious temper, every malignant 
 paflion, and every fpecies of violence, deform and 
 darken the face of fociety. We may exped to 
 fee all the amiable charities which fweeten and 
 animate life, trampled upon as pufillanimous feel¬ 
 ings ; and the various moral ties, by which men 
 are bound together, diffolved as vulgarprejudices. 
 We may exped to fee the chafte, the upright, the 
 meek, and the humble, laughed to fcorn; and to 
 hear of the innocence of revenge, plunder, du^ 
 elling, adultery, and lewdnefs. We may exped 
 
 to fee--but I forbear-I would draw a veil 
 
 over the reft of the fcene; and God grant that 
 it may prove but a groundlefs reprefentation ! 
 
 3* There feems to be an intimation, that thefu 
 laft days will be remarkably charaderized by 
 Temporal judgments of a diftreffing and de- 
 ftroying nature. This idea is evidently coun¬ 
 tenanced by innumerable paftages of fcripture. 
 Out of many which might be quoted, for proof 
 and illuftrationhere, I ftiall only feled the account 
 which is given in the Revelations of John the db 
 vine, of the circumftances attending the pouring 
 put of the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth K 
 
2 3 
 
 The three laft of thefe are reprefented as accom¬ 
 panied by fore judgments, calculated exceedingly 
 to afflict the children of men. And, what is {till 
 more remarkable, there is a plain intimation, that 
 thefe judgments, inftead of humbling and fatten¬ 
 ing the hearts of the wicked, will but render them 
 more obdurate—lead them to oppofe Jehovah 
 with greater boldnefs—and fill them with all the 
 malignity and violence of defpair, While they 
 gnaw their tongues for pain, they will blafpheme 
 the God of heaven , and will not repent of their 
 
 deeds. 
 
 But that extraordinary judgments may be ex¬ 
 pected to accompany an unufual degree of moral 
 degeneracy, while it is intimated in prophecy, is 
 alfo confonant with reafon and expenence* In 
 many cafes, the former are the natural and necett 
 fary confequences of the latter, as might be fhewn 
 in a variety of particulars, were there time for en¬ 
 tering into detail. In others, they aie, no doubt, 
 the refult of more immediate and lupernatural 
 interference. But whether affliCtive providences 
 flow from the ordinary operation of what arc 
 called natural laws, or from an agency which 
 appears more direCt and miraculous, God is to be 
 equally acknowledged as the author of both. 
 He who created the univerfe; who continually 
 
£4 
 
 preferves it; and who guides all its complicated 
 movements, forefaw every occurrence, adjufted 
 every inftrument, and interwove with his plan, 
 from the beginning, every event in the natural 
 world which he defigned to ufe, either to reward 
 the righteous, or to punilh the wicked. 
 
 What may be the kind or the meafure of 
 thofe judgments which we are to exped in the 
 laid days, it were prefumptuous to decide. Pro¬ 
 bably famine, peftilence, earthquakes, and every 
 fpecies of convulfion and calamity, will b$ 
 more frequent, extenfive, and dreadful, than in 
 preceding times. It feems not unreafonable to 
 luppofe, that the whole natural world will par¬ 
 take fomething of the gloom and agitation which 
 will afTed the moral. When man fell, the 
 ground was curfed for his fake; and in cafes of 
 extraordinary wickednefs fince, the elements 
 have been converted into tremendous execution¬ 
 ers of divine juftice. Similar events, there isreafon 
 to believe, will conftitute a part of the perils of 
 the lajl days. In the progrefs of that degeneracy 
 which we are to exped, Jehovah will probably 
 reprove men by the terrors of his Providence, as 
 well as by the threatenings of his word. He 
 will give numberlefs difplays of his power, and 
 his wrath againft fin; but they will be difregarded. 
 
2 5 
 
 He will exhibit, in his judicial dealings with 
 the wicked, abundant teftimony in favour of his 
 truth; but they will not believe. He will make 
 their plagues wonderful ; but they will not repent 
 to give him glory. 
 
 4. Once more; the prophetic defcriptions 
 which we are confidering, plainly intimate that 
 the laft days will be remarkably chara&erifed 
 
 by POLITICAL DISORDERS AND POLITICAL 
 
 miseries. Where infidelity and immorality 
 reign, with a combined force, it is impofTible 
 there fliould be permanent and happy civil go¬ 
 vernment. The politicians of this world, indeed, 
 fondly perfuade themfelves, that as mankind in- 
 creafe in knowledge, they will alfo advance in 
 political wifdom and happinefs. Their heated 
 imaginations, teeming with deceitful phantoms, 
 feduce them into the belief, that a period is fall 
 approaching, when men will become, by the na¬ 
 tural progrefs of human wifdom, too reafonable 
 to need the precepts of law, and too regular to 
 require the coercions of power. 
 
 This, it is to be feared, is a vain illufion! To 
 think of any community advancing in political 
 greatnefs, or in political felicity, without good 
 morals, is to think of gathering grapes of thorns , 
 or figs of thifles. And to look for good morals, 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 without the aid of religion, is to look for an ej}e£t 9 
 without any adequate caufe. Where the reftraints 
 of religious and moral principle, therefore, are 
 thrown afide, there muft be confufion and every 
 evil work. Where this is the cafe, power will be 
 ufed but to opprefs and deftroy—liberty will be 
 turned into a cloak of malicioufnefs —and diforder 
 will fucceed to diforder, until the body politic 
 finks into dififolution. In fhort, the natural ten¬ 
 dency of infidelity in religion, is to weaken the 
 force of every law-—to cherifh the felfifh princi¬ 
 ple, more deftrudive than fire or fword—and to 
 render government nothing but the conflict of 
 oppofing interefts. Hence, if, as the fcriptures 
 inform us, the lajl days be diftinguifhed, in an 
 unprecedented degree, by infidelity and wicked- 
 nefs, we have reafon to exped, as the natural 
 confequence, that they will be no lefs diftinguilh- 
 ed by political convulfions and revolutions. We 
 have reafon to exped, that war, change, and 
 diftradion, will be more than ever prevailing and 
 extenfive. That nation will, with more and 
 more frequency and malignity, rife up againft na¬ 
 tion, and kingdom againft kingdom; that na¬ 
 tional faith and honour will be generally trampled 
 upon, and power become the univerfal law; and 
 that the ftruggles of ambition, grafping and de- 
 
27 
 
 Vouring every thing within his reach, and the 
 fury of contending paflions, will convert the earth 
 into an aceldama , a field of blood. Accordingly, 
 it is plainly intimated, in the fecond pfalm, that 
 before the time come when God fhall give the 
 heathen to his Son for an inheritance , and the utter * 
 mojl parts of the earth for a pojfejion ; he will break 
 the nations with a rod of iron ; he will dafi them 
 in pieces like a potter s veffel. 
 
 For thefe dreadful explofions human folly has 
 been long laying the train. It has been building 
 up fyftems of civil and ecclefiaflical tyranny, 
 which muft, and which affuredly will, come down 5 
 but which, depraved as men are, cannot be ex- 
 peded to fall without diforder, crimes, and blood. 
 The ambitious, the defigning, and the miftaken, 
 have, in every age, been ereding fabrics of fuper- 
 flition and defpotifm, loading the bodies and the 
 minds of men with opprefhve burdens, and lay¬ 
 ing undue reftraints on the exercife of the human 
 faculties. Thefe fyftems of unnatural domination 
 are probably drawing to an end. But, alas! the 
 evil has gone too far to be remedied without 
 means as grievous as the difeafe. The time feems 
 to be haftening on, when men will no longer en¬ 
 dure the chains of fuperftition; but they threaten 
 to caft off the juft ties of religion and morality 
 
with them. Abufed fo long with counterfeits of 
 truth, they are learning to defpife the glorious 
 reality. The period appears to be at hand, when 
 every defpotic throne will be levelled to the duft; 
 but fuch is the infatuation of depraved man, 
 that, vibrating from one extreme, they will pro¬ 
 bably rufh to another, and become impatient of 
 fubmiffion even to wife and equitable govern¬ 
 ment. Poor human nature \ how low art thou 
 fallen! doomed forever to abufe the gifts of a be¬ 
 nevolent God, to convert bleffmgs into curfes, 
 and in attemping to remedy the evils which thy 
 folly has brought upon thee, to plunge deeper 
 and deeper into crimes and mifery.* 
 
 How far the degeneracy which has been de- 
 fcribed fhall proceed, before the tide fir all turn. 
 
 * The candid reader will not confhue thefe, or any of the fore¬ 
 going remarks, as defigned to imply, that all revolutions are wrong, 
 or that the reformation of bad governments cannot, with propriety, 
 t)e attempted in any cafe. The opinion of the author is diredly the 
 reverfe. He is now reaping the happy fruits of one revolution, in 
 which he can never ceafc to exult. And he cannot adopt the view? 
 of thofe who declaim againft all innovation, as foolifh and dan¬ 
 gerous. He would only be underflood to exprefs, what appears to 
 be too little realized, but which he firmly belieyes to be truth of 
 practical importance, and cfpecially at the prefent crifis—that the 
 human mind, in every part of the civilized world, feems to be daily 
 growing more impatient of every fpecies of controul—that the gall¬ 
 ing yoke of tyranny has been one of the principal caufes of this mor¬ 
 bid irritation—and that, in avoiding one extreme, much is to be 
 feared, in the prefent febrile flate of the moral world, from their 
 falling into the oppofite—anarchy, and intolerance of all rule. 
 
29 
 
 is a queftion which we are not competent to de¬ 
 cide. The fcriptures only give us general views 
 of the fubjedt, and leave us to be informed of the 
 reft by the awful event. They plainly give us to 
 underftand, however, that the corruption and 
 wickednefs of men will rife to an higher pitch than 
 they have ever yet rifen—That irreligion, diforder, 
 and violence, will be more extenfively and dread¬ 
 fully prevalent than they have appeared fince man 
 was an inhabitant of the earth—And that, as at the 
 clofe of this period, the light which fhall break 
 in upon the world fhall be more illuflrious than 
 ever before flione; fo the preceding cloud will fet 
 with more than ordinary thicknefs and gloom 
 over the nations. 
 
 Some have fuppofed, that the degeneracy and 
 corruption which have been defcribed will not 
 equally pervade every part of the earth. It is a 
 favourite hope with many, that America, as 
 the has fo lately become the refidence of civili¬ 
 zation and chriftianity, and as (lie has been fo 
 fignally favoured of heaven, is deftined to be the 
 depofitory of divine truth, and the feat of much 
 religious and political happinefs, even to the end : 
 while they imagine, that all the old Hates, and 
 every ancient eftablifhment, ecclefiaflical and ci¬ 
 vil, will be pulled down, and trodden in the 
 
(Juft. How far this view of the fubject may be 
 juft, cannot, with certainty, be pronounced at 
 prefent. On the one hand, it is fcarcely proba¬ 
 ble, that a country which has made, compara¬ 
 tively, fo fmall progrefs in that myjlery of iniquity 
 which has long been the difgrace of many old go¬ 
 vernments, fhould be fo deeply involved in its 
 confequent evils as they. But, on the other 
 hand, our fins, as a nation, are fo numerous and 
 aggravated, our abufes of divine goodnefs fo fre¬ 
 quent and inexcufable, and our demerit in the 
 fight of infinite Juftice fo great, that it were pre- 
 fumptuous to hope for a total exemption from 
 his frowns and judgments. O Lord! thou haft 
 done great things for us, whereof we are glad* 
 Continue thy guidance and proteddion. Save us 
 from our own infatuated counfels. If it be poffi - 
 ble, let the cup of bitternefs , of which other na¬ 
 tions are drinking fo deeply, pafs from us , that 
 our fouls may blefs thee! 
 
 But you will, perhaps, afk, my brethren, how 
 will all this be brought about ? What fhould 
 make men more wicked, and fill the world, with 
 more diforder and violence, for a confiderable 
 time to come, than have been exhibited in times, 
 paft ? I anfwer, that for bringing about the de- 
 figns of God, in this refpedd—for carrying the 
 
3 1 
 
 prophetic notices of his word into moft dreadful 
 execution—there feems to be a natural prepara¬ 
 tion in the prefent ftate of the world. Have not 
 events taken place in Europe, within ten years, 
 on which all civilized fociety is gazing with afto- 
 nilhment ? Have not the feeds of univerfal con- 
 fufion already begun to fhoot, and even to fpread 
 abroad peftiferous branches ? Who can contem¬ 
 plate the prefent awful derangement of the old 
 world, the growing atheifm, the profanenefs 
 which is increafing every hour, the progrefs of 
 luxury, which is conflantly corroding the morals 
 of fociety, the diffolution of focial ties, the felfifli 
 and mercenary fpirit, which is arming fo large a 
 portion of the community againft the reft of their 
 kind, and the contempt, daily gaining ground, 
 for all regular principles and inftitutions—who 
 
 can mark the rapid ftrides which all thefe evils 
 
 0 
 
 are making, without anticipating fome tremen¬ 
 dous refult? Yes, brethren, God has caft our 
 lot in folemn times l The evils which our ears 
 have heard are but the beginning of furrows. He 
 who expefts to fee the fpeedy eftablifhment of 
 peace and happinefs in the tranfatlantic world, 
 experts a courfe of miracles. No; humanly 
 fpeaking, it cannot be. A leaven has begun to 
 operate, which will never flop till it has leavened 
 
3 2 
 
 the whole mafs. “ A great armed doc¬ 
 trine” has gone forth, which will be permit¬ 
 ted, by a fovereign God, to overturn , and over¬ 
 turn^ and overturn , until he whofe right it is fhall 
 take to himfelf his great power and reign , and be¬ 
 come King of nations, as he is King of faints. 
 
 The defign of God, in fuffering this, is by no 
 means obfcure. The ultimate end of all his dif- 
 penfations, from the beginning, has been to ex¬ 
 hibit his own infinite Excellence, in oppofition 
 to all other obje&s of trufland confidence. And 
 
 as wifdom is never more completely difplayed 
 
 # 
 
 than when contrafted with folly, power with 
 weaknefs, and holinefs with fin, fo Jehovah, in 
 order to make a more perfeft and impreffive ex¬ 
 hibition of his own wifdom, power, and holinefs, 
 to the intelligent univerfe, has buffered depraved 
 reafon to go great lengths, to feek out many in¬ 
 ventions , and to expend its proud ingenuity, in 
 order to (hew its utter infufficiency to fecure hap- 
 pinefs without God. This is a leffon which the 
 Creator has been teaching mankind from the mo¬ 
 ment of the fall. But, like Jannes and Jambres , 
 who withfood Mofes , though they have been ever 
 learning , they have never yet come to the knowledge 
 of the truth. There is reafon, therefore, to be¬ 
 lieve. that this truth will yet be placed in a ftill 
 
33 
 
 Itrdnger point of light. Human wifdorti has not 
 yet a6ted out all its impiety and folly. It has 
 ftill fome inventions to exhibit, more wonderful 
 than we have hitherto feen; fome ftrokes of po¬ 
 licy to attempt, more mad and daring than it has 
 yet afpired to; fome ingenious modes of warfare 
 againft God and virtue, the nature and effe&s of 
 which are, at prefent, but little realized. When 
 the meafure of all thefe impious efforts fhall be 
 full—when human wifdom fhall have exhaufted 
 its infernal devices, and human pride fhall have 
 gone its utmofl length—when all the vain fchemes 
 of thofe who would govern the heart without 
 religion, and regulate fociety without God, fhall 
 be fufficiently expofed—when the hearts of the 
 few remaining believers fhall begin to fail them 
 for fear—and when univerfal diforder fhall pro¬ 
 claim the neceflity of divine interference—Then 
 he who has all power in heaven and in earth , will 
 appear for the vindication of his caufe-^will {weep 
 away his enemies with the befom of deftru&ion 
 — wi\l build up the wajleplaces of Zion —and thus 
 exhibit himfelf more glorious and powerful than 
 if this oppofition to his charadter had never been 
 made.— Surely the wrath of man fhall praife God , 
 and the remainder of wrath he will refrain. It 
 is his prerogative and his glory to bring good out 
 
 E 
 
34 
 
 of evil, light out of darknefs, order out of con- 
 fufion, and a kingdom of the greateft holinefs 
 and felicity out of beings who were totally de¬ 
 praved. 
 
 It only remains to inquire— 
 
 III. With what temper and views lliould we 
 look forward to the fulfilment of the predidion 
 in our text? 
 
 Out of many remarks which might properly 
 be introduced under this head, fuffer me to fe- 
 led the following for your lerious confideration. 
 
 i. If it be true that God has warned us of fucli 
 days, we fhould be aware of their approach , and 
 realize that they are before ns. It will, perhaps, 
 be afked, admitting that the reprefentation which 
 has been given of this fubjed were juft, what 
 good would it do to torment ourfelves before the 
 time, by anticipating the gloomy fcene ? I an- 
 fwer, my brethren, it would do much good. To 
 have fuitable views of this interefting point would 
 be pradically ufeful. It would ferve to explain 
 the prefent myfterious afped of Divine Provi¬ 
 dence : for who, without adopting, in fubftance, 
 the dodrines which have been delivered, can 
 form any fatisfadory opinion, or cherilli any ra¬ 
 tional hope, concerning the fingular pofture of 
 the moral and political world, at the prefent mo- 
 
35 
 
 inent? It would, farther, ferve to modify our 
 conduct in a variety of refpeCts, and would entei 
 deeply into the bufinefs and intercourfe of every 
 day. Accordingly, we find, in all thofe inftances 
 related in the facred hiftory, in which God’s 
 people did not realize and lay to heart pre¬ 
 dicted evil, they were feverely reproved and pu- 
 nifhed for their unbelief. A folemn leffon to 
 thofe who will not be perfuaded to believe any 
 thing unpleafant or gloomy, though undeviating 
 veracity declare it! The prudent man , fays Solo¬ 
 mon, forefeelh the evil , and hideth himfelf ; but 
 the foolijh pafs on , and are puni/hed. 
 
 But, even admitting that we could not fee the 
 practical utility of fuch beliefyet, if it be once 
 afcertained that God’s word has revealed the 
 truth in queftion, who will dare to fay it is of no 
 importance to be known ? Such a declaration 
 would be charging infinite Wifdom with making 
 predictions to no purpofe, and calling our atten¬ 
 tion, frequently and folemnly, to objeCts unwor¬ 
 thy of regard. 
 
 2. Again; we fhould contemplate this fubjeCt 
 with the deepejl abhorrence of fin , as the procuring 
 caufe of all the evils which we fuffer, or which 
 we have any reafon to fear ; and with the deepefi 
 humiliation before God , for the depravity and folly 
 
3 6 
 
 bf fallen man. As long as man remained inno* 
 cent, his life was tranquil and happy. Calmly 
 repofing under the blifsful bowers of paradife, he 
 knew nothing but enjoyment. What a contrail 
 to its prefent. chara&er would fociety exhibit, if 
 made up of fuch beings! But when Sin, that 
 odious and execrable moniler, appeared, he quick¬ 
 ly changed the fcene. From that fatal hour the 
 earth has been a continual theatre of diforder, 
 confufion, mifery, and tears. From that hour 
 the whole creation has groaned , and travailed in. 
 pain. In departing from God, man wandered 
 into an endlefs labyrinth, feeking reft, but find¬ 
 ing none; the farther he has gone from the Source 
 of good, the farther he has removed from happi- 
 nefs; nor can he ever regain that grand objcft of 
 human purfuit, but by a humble return to the 
 allegiance which he left. 
 
 Sin, then, or departing from God, and feek¬ 
 ing our chief good among creatures, is the fource 
 of all our troubles. Whether affliftions befal us 
 as individuals—whether they enter our families, 
 and gather blacknefs on the faces of the focial 
 circle—or whether they come upon us in a na¬ 
 tional capacity, fin is the parent of them all. 
 Does a dark cloud hang over us, as a people, at 
 the prefent moment ? Reafon and true philo- 
 
37 
 
 fophy concur with the word of God, in afcribing 
 it to our fins as the caufe. Do appearances por¬ 
 tend greater evils in future? Be allured, Jeho- 
 vah does not willingly afflitt or grieve the children 
 of men ; fo that if we were not eminently finful, 
 we Ihould have no reafon to expert extraordinary 
 judgments. 
 
 There cannot, therefore, be a more fuitable ex^ 
 eicife for this day, than to come before God with 
 deep humiliation , for that depravity of our natures, 
 which has produced fo much wickednefs and mi- 
 fery among men; than to come before him with 
 Jighing and mourning for all the abominations which 
 are done in our land , and throughout the world. 
 For, on the one hand, as national guilt is made 
 up of individual tranfgrelfion, fo it becomes 
 each of us to confider ourfelves involved in the 
 general charge of iniquity. And, on the other 
 hand, as national penitence confifts in floods of 
 individual holy forrow, it is the duty of all to be 
 covered with lhame, and to repent, in dull and 
 allies, at the footftool of grace. Brethren, to lit¬ 
 tle purpofe do we keep a Fall, and make con- 
 feflion of fin with our lips, if its evil and odious 
 nature do not pierce us to the heart, and hum¬ 
 ble us before God. To little purpofe do we 
 bozo down our heads as a bulrufh , and come to 
 
3S 
 
 the throne of mercy, imploring forgivenefs, if 
 that bitter andaccurfed thing, Which Jehovah hates, 
 be not renounced by us with penitential grief 
 and for row. 
 
 3. Is there reafon to believe, that -times of 
 more than ordinary peril and trouble are coming 
 on ? Then let every friend of truth and virtue 
 refolutely fet himjelf againji the torrent , and endea¬ 
 vour, by every exertion , to oppofe the progrefs of 
 vice. The perfuafion that perilous times are 
 approaching fhould not difcourage a fingle good 
 refolution, nor paralize a fingle virtuous effort. 
 We evidently abufe prophecy, and conftrue it 
 erroneoufly, when we fuffer it to interfere with 
 the ufe of ordinary means; or when it tempts us 
 to fit down in defpair. No view of the purpofes 
 of God can be juft, which tends to diminifh our 
 holy a&ivity in his fervice. A good man can ne¬ 
 ver be placed in a fituation in which it is not his 
 duty to drive againft fin, and to feek, by every 
 mean in his power, however feeble and unpro- 
 mifing, the advancement of the Redeemer’s king¬ 
 dom. On the contrary, the more prevailing and 
 triumphant the caufe of fatan may be, the ftronger 
 fhould fuch an one confider his obligations to 
 oppofe it with zeal. 
 
 Do you charge me with inconfiftency here? I 
 
39 
 
 anlwer, in the language of infpiration— Let God 
 be true , and every man a liar. Nothing is more 
 certain than that the purpofes of God are fixed. 
 His counfel Jlandeth firm , having this for its feal , 
 that God is true. But, at the fame time, it is 
 equally certain, that his purpofes are not to be 
 the rule of our conduct; for this plain reafon, 
 that we know not what they are. Even with re- 
 fpedt to thofe defigns which are the fubjedt of 
 prophetic difclofure, there are many things dill 
 left in the dark, becaufe the knowledge of them 
 could not be ufeful. For inftance, though it be 
 granted that perilous times are predicted, and re- 
 prefented as about generally to prevail, yet who 
 knows but many parts of the earth may be much 
 more favoured in this refpe<d than the others ? 
 What holy man knows but that the didridt in 
 which his lot is call may be, in a great meafure, 
 exempted from the furrounding calamities—and 
 that his exertions in the caufe of virtue are to be 
 ufed as means for fecuring this exemption ? It 
 were eafy to fhew, by a variety of fimilar illuf- 
 trations, that the firmed perfuafion of the truth 
 of what has been delivered, fhould not diminifh, 
 or difcourage our diligence in the caufe of righte- 
 oufnefs, and in driving to avoid the evil which 
 we fear. 
 
40 
 
 In looking forward, then, to the times which 
 have been defcribed, every believer fhould realize, 
 that he is called upon to double his diligence, to 
 walk with increafing circumfpedtion, and to put 
 on new armour. Chriftians! the time is ap¬ 
 proaching which fhall try you ! Gird up the loins 
 of your minds ; be fober , and watch unto prayer. 
 Quit yourfelves like men ; be Jlrong. Count not even 
 your lives dear unto you , that you may finifh your 
 courfe with joy ; and that , having overcome , you 
 may fit down with Chrifi on his throne , even as he 
 alfo has overcome , and fat down with the Father 
 on his throne. 
 
 4. Again; are perilous times coming on P And 
 have we reafon to believe that many nations, efpe- 
 cially in the old world, will become the melan¬ 
 choly vidtims of diforder and wickednefs ? Then 
 prudence, religion, found policy, and every 
 confideration, didfate that we fhould endeavour 
 to keep at as great a difiance from thofe nations , and 
 have as little to do with them , as poffible. My 
 brethren, I came not to this place to commend 
 or to cenfure the fyftems of party politicians, or 
 to enter into the warmth of thofe controverfies 
 which have fo long agitated my fellow-citizens. 
 
 I Hand not here to pronounce a panegyric upon 
 any one of the nations alluded to, at the expence 
 
4 * 
 
 of another. With refpeCt to all of them, in a 
 mafs, I am perfuaded, it may be faid, that they 
 offer few examples but thofe of rapine and vio¬ 
 lence—little intercourfe but fuch as is calculated 
 to corrupt and deftroy. European connec¬ 
 tions have already been a curfe to us. They 
 are every hour growing more dangerous. And 
 if we Ihould finally fall a prey to political dif- 
 orders and miferies, to the continuance and ex- 
 tenllon of thefe connections we fhall probably, in 
 a great meafure, owe the cataftrophe. Had I, 
 therefore, a voice that could be extended to the 
 extremes of the Unions I would exert it in pro¬ 
 claiming-My beloved countrymen 1 keep at 
 
 a diftance from thofe feats of diforder, left you 
 be fharers in the general wreck. Behold the com- 
 buftible materials which are accumulating in 
 every part of their guilty land, and threaten¬ 
 ing, every moment, to explode with volcanic 
 fury 1 What will it profit you to join in a ftrug- 
 gle of which no one can count the coft, or fee 
 the end—and with parties who are all hoftile to 
 our national welfare ? Come out from among 
 them, then, left you be partakers with them in 
 their plagues l Let nothing tempt you to con¬ 
 ned your interefts with theirs, or to run 
 the rifk of being involved in their convul- 
 
 F 
 
fions, if, peradventure, God will have mercy 
 upon us, that we perifli not with them ! 
 
 5. Have we reafon to believe that times of 
 unufual wickednefs and diforder are at hand? 
 Then let us cleave to the religion of Ckrijl , as the 
 bell defence, and the fureft conlolation. This 
 is the great Jheet anchor upon which abfolute re¬ 
 liance may be placed, in the moft violent ftorm. 
 And if we would efcape the fury of the billows 
 which have rifen, and are rifing ftill higher, in 
 the moral and political world, it will be our 
 wifdom never to part with it; but to ufe every 
 means of extending its influence. 
 
 This religion is the only effectual cure for mo¬ 
 ral depravity : the only fyftem of truth that can 
 purify the polluted recedes of the heart, that can 
 curb irregular appetites, and reftrain the impe- 
 tuofity of paffion* It confirms its precepts by 
 the mofl powerful fan&ions* It penetrates to 
 the thoughts and intents of the foul. It excites 
 to obedience by the mofl engaging and opeiativc 
 motives. It reaches to an extent to which hu¬ 
 man laws can never go. The native tendency 
 of this divine fyftem is, to check the infolence 
 of power; to reftrain the encroachments of op- 
 preflion; to give energy to the wife prefcriptions 
 of government; to fecure liberty with order; 
 
43 
 
 and to bind men together as a band of brethren, 
 having no other withes than to promote their 
 common happinefs, and to glorify their common 
 God. 
 
 My brethren, confider, then, the men who 
 would rob you of this religion as your enemies, 
 and the enemies of all focial happinefs. Be 
 affured, whatever may be their motives, and whe¬ 
 ther they realize it or not, they are madmen Scat¬ 
 tering firebrands , arrozvs , and death. They may 
 tell you, “ that in calling off religion, you will 
 only free yourfelves from chains which cramp 
 your faculties &nd degrade your nature; that 
 you will never rife to the true fublimity of the 
 human character, till you throw from you the 
 cumbrous load.” They may tell you this; and 
 they may believe it all. But, O, fellow mortals! 
 examine well before you commit yourfelves to 
 their delulive guidance. Are you patriots ? and 
 will you embrace principles which tend to dif- 
 folve all the ties of focial order ? Are you fa¬ 
 thers of families ? and will you adopt a fyftem, 
 which proftrates every law of domeftic happi¬ 
 nefs ? Are you accountable beings ? and will you 
 chufe a road which conducts to the chambers of 
 death f No, brethren. Whatever difficulty or 
 trouble may arife, hold fiafi the profeffion of your 
 
44 
 
 faith firm without wavering. For the name of 
 the Lord is a frong toiver ; the righteous runneth 
 into it, and is fafe. 
 
 6. Farther; are perilous times haflening on l 
 Then let us be eafncfl and importunate at the throne 
 cf peace, that thefe days may be.fiortened. Our 
 prayers can never, indeed, alter the divine plans. 
 They are formed with infinite wifdom, and are 
 therefore immutable. But Jehovah having ori¬ 
 ginally intended, and having given a kind of 
 promife that the days of which we are fpeaking 
 fhould be fhort, dill declares, that he will be 
 inquired of by his people, to do as he hath faid. 
 In conformity with this view of the fubjedt, is 
 the following remarkable language of our Lord. 
 And except thefe days fhould be ftor te tied, there 
 fhould no flefi be faved ; but, for the deft's fake, 
 whom I have chofen, thefe days Jhall be fhortened ; 
 Ye that make mention of the Lord, then, keep not 
 filence, and give him no ref until he make Jerufa- 
 lem a name and a praife in the earth—until the 
 right eon fiefs thereof go forth as brightnefs, and the 
 falvation thereof as a lamp that burnetii. 
 
 7. Laftly; have we rqafon to apprehend, that 
 there is a period of unufual degeneracy and 
 Wickednefs foon to be paffed through ? Let us 
 look forward to it with a firm faith, that bettei 1 
 
times, and a glorious difplay of divine power and 
 grace will immediately fucceed. Though for row 
 endure for a night , joy will come in the morning. 
 Though infidelity, profanenefs, moral diforder, 
 and political convulfion, may have their day; 
 yet we have no reafon to he difcouraged. Their 
 time will be fhort. Their triumph will foon be 
 over. He who has the government upon his 
 Jfioulder , will fpeedily interfere to deftroy the in¬ 
 ventions, and the oppofition of his enemies, and 
 to eftablifh the univerfal reign of righteoufnefs 
 and peace on the earth. 
 
 Be not difmayed, then, believer 1 Your caufe 
 is good. Your Redeemer is almighty. And 
 his faithfulnefs will never fail. Look through 
 the gloom, and fee beyond thofe intervening 
 clouds, the Sun of righteoufnefs riling, to fhed 
 upon the earth his meridian glory. See peace, 
 love, and truth, attending him with fmiles, and 
 Jiaftening to adorn “ the bleft Immanuel’s gentle 
 reign 1 ” Every inftance, therefore, in which the 
 infidel opens his mouth in blafphemy, fhould 
 confirm your faith, as it is a teflimony that the 
 fcriptures are fulfilling. Every fymptom of 
 growing degeneracy fhould encourage rather 
 than difpirit you, as it is a kind of pledge that 
 God is carrying on his work of grace. Every po- 
 
46 
 
 I 
 
 Jitical convulfion fliouldlead you to fix the eye of 
 faith more intently upon that glorious king¬ 
 dom, where no party fpirit fhall ever prevail, and 
 into which no diforder, violence, or fchifm, fhall 
 ever intrude. Every weapon that is formed 
 againft the Redeemer’s interefl fliould lead you 
 to buckle on your harnefs with new ardour, and 
 with increafing confidence; affured, that in a 
 little while, he will make his people conquerors , 
 and more than conquerors . 
 
 Finally , my brethren , beJlrong in the Lord , and 
 in the power of his might. Be not weary in well 
 doing for in due feafon , ye fiall reap if ye faint 
 not . But be fiedfajl , unmoveable , always abound¬ 
 ing in the work of the Lord s forafmuch as ye know 
 that your labour fhall not be in vain in the Lord . 
 In a little while , he that fhall come, will come , and 
 will not tarry. Come, Lord Jefus ! come quickly —> 
 even fo come , Lord Jefus! Amen. 
 
 THE END.