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 L I B RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N 1 VE.RSITY 
 
 or 1 LLl NOLS
 
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 I 
 
 (
 
 NATIONAL SINS 
 
 AND 
 
 NATIONAL JUDGMENTS. 
 
 ET 
 
 WILLIAM DODSWORTH, M.A. 
 
 Dreak off tly sirs by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing nitrcy 
 to the poor; if it may be a Itngthen.r.g oi thy tranquiil.ty." 
 
 Dan. iv. 27. 
 
 i^ubli'g^rtr hi) Kfciuest. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JAMES BURNS, 17, PORTMAN STREET, 
 
 PORTMAN SQUARE. 
 1847.
 
 A SERMON, 
 
 Preached on Weekesdat, 24th March, 184, 
 
 Joel II. 1, 2. 
 
 "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and ftoiind an alarm in my liohj 
 mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the 
 day of the Lord cometh, for it is niffh at hand ; a day of dark- 
 ness and of gloominess ; a day of clouds and of tldck darkness, 
 
 ' as the morning spread upon the mountains." 
 
 Every day of affliction is, in some sense, a day of 
 judgment — a "day of the Lord." It is the lighting 
 down of God's arm upon us ; and although it come 
 not, as it will one day come, in punishment upon the 
 wicked, but as we may hope still in mercy and in 
 chastisement, and as a summons to repentance, yet 
 still is it in retribution for our sins — and a kind of 
 merciful anticipation of that last great and dreadful 
 day of the Lord, which shall be " with fury poured 
 out" in ^-judgment witliout mercy;" when "the Lord 
 shall be revealed from heaven in flamins^ lire, takins; 
 vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey 
 not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." As a mer- 
 ciful and corrective anticipation of that day, any 
 signal infliction of God's judgments is called in Scrip- 
 ture " the day of the Lord." So was the taking of 
 Jerusalem by the Chaldteans, which is, perhaps, more 
 immediately referred to in the text. So was the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem by the Romans ; and so, in a 
 degree, is any infliction of the judgments o! God. God
 
 is callinn^ us to account for our sins, and dealing with 
 us accordingly. These, then, are seasons which in- 
 spire great awe. They bring us into near contact 
 with the God of Judgment. They bring Him before 
 us under an aspect most fearfuL They point to His 
 uplifted arm. Irreligious men do not and will not 
 see this. They rest in what are called second causes. 
 What they call the law of nature is their God ; as if 
 to trace events through any number of lower opera- 
 tions, were any hindrance of the truth that God holds 
 the first moving power of all things in his hands ; and 
 that " not even a sparrow falleth to the ground with- 
 out Him." Of such men Scripture says, " they will 
 not behold the majesty of the Lord; Lord, when Thy 
 hand is lifted up they will not see; but they shall see 
 and be ashamed.'' Yes ; at last every eye shall see 
 Him, and bow down before Him, and confess that He 
 is the Doer of all thino-s. But blessed be God there 
 are those, even now, who hear His voice and see His 
 uplifted arm; of whom it is written, "In the way of 
 Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee ; 
 the desire of our soul is to Thy name, and to the re- 
 membrance of Thee." God grant to us, my brethren, 
 this spirit of humble submission and pious observance 
 of His dealings with us. " Hear ye the rod, and who 
 hath appointed it." 
 
 The prophet Joel is, perhaps, of all the prophets, 
 the most instructive on this particular point. All 
 the prophets, indeed, more or less, are raised up to 
 give warning of God's judgments, and to direct the 
 people how to act in reference to them. But this is 
 specially so with Joel ; and as the judgments of God 
 at different times, and the state of the people on whom 
 they are inflicted, bear a close parallel with each 
 other ; so it would seem as if this Book of Joel were 
 expressly written for circumstances, such as these in 
 which we now find ourselves. 
 
 A 2
 
 In tlie first chapter is described a fearful desolation 
 of the hmd by a famine. After describing tlie 
 invasion of the land by the locusts, he proceeds ; 
 (Verse 10,) " The field is wasted; the land mourn- 
 eth, for the corn is wasted ; the new wine is dried up ; 
 the oil lano^uisheth." Then he describes the husband- 
 men as ashamed of their unprofitable labours: unable, 
 by their skill or industry, to stay the terrible famine : 
 (Verse 11,) "Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; 
 howl, O ye vine-dressers, for the wheat and for the 
 barley ; because the harvest of the field is perished. 
 The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth, 
 the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the 
 apple-tree, even all the trees are withered : because 
 joy is withered away from the sons of men.'' 
 
 Nay, so severe would be the famine, that tlie 
 due oifcrings could not be made for the house of God. 
 So he proceeds: (Verse 13,) '*Gird yourselves, and 
 lament, ye ])riests : howl, ye ministers of the altar : 
 come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my 
 God: for the meat-oifering and the drink-offering 
 is withholden from the house of your God." 
 
 The prophet then calls for an acknowledgment of 
 all this as a judgment from Almighty God ; and 
 summons the nation to a solemn act of humiliation : 
 (Verse 14,) " Sanctify ye a fist ; call a solemn 
 assembly ; gather the elders and all the inhabitants 
 of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and 
 cry unto the Lord, Alas ! for the day of the Lord 
 is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty 
 shall it come." 
 
 Then, after a further description of the desolation 
 of the land, the second chapter opens with a second 
 warning of impending judgments — of judgments yet 
 more terril^le and desolating than before ; but fol- 
 lowed, withal, with a promise, that upon the true 
 repentance and humiliation of the people, God would 
 
 ^ 
 
 u,uc.
 
 relent, and turn from tlic fierceness of His ann-er. 
 This at first is set forth as a possibility of mercy — 
 as affording only some little gleam of hope : " who 
 loioiveth if He will return and repent, and leave a 
 blessino; behind llira, even a meat-oft'erins; and a 
 drink - oiFerinn^ unto the Lord vour God." But 
 soon this fainter hope seems to wax greater and 
 greater, and at length rises to positive assurance ; if 
 only the humiliation were real and sincere. " Let 
 the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between 
 the ])orch and tlie altar, and let them say, Spare thy 
 
 j)eople, and give not thine heritage to reproach 
 
 Then will tlie Lord be jealous for His land, and pity 
 His peo})le ; yea, the Lord will answer, and say unto 
 His people. Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, 
 
 and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith Fear 
 
 not, O land, be glad and rejoice, for the Lord will 
 do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; 
 for tlie pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the 
 tree beareth her fruit, the fio-tree and the vine do 
 yield their strength. Tlie floors shall be full of 
 Avheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and 
 
 oil And ye shall eat in plenty, and'be satisfied, 
 
 and praise the name of the Lord your God, who hath 
 dealt wondrously with you." 
 
 From this brief outline we may see the general 
 ])nrport of this most striking prophecy. In the first 
 chapter is a prediction of God's impending judg- 
 ments for the sins of the people: and then, if they 
 repent not, a still severer judgment is threatened in 
 the second chapter. The first woe Avould be but as 
 a foretaste of the second : and the text, which is 
 tlie opening of the second chapter, is the announce- 
 ment of this. It gives great force and emphasis to 
 its language, to consider it as uttered in a kind of 
 pan--e between tlie first and second outpouring of 
 God's judgments. Tlie first, in the anticipative e^-'^ 
 
 A 3
 
 uf the prophet, had passed with but little effect ; the 
 second is announced in these stirring words : " Blow 
 ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my 
 holy mountain : let all the inhabitants oi" the land 
 tremble : for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is 
 nigh at hand ; A day of darkness and of gloominess, 
 a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morn- 
 ing spread upon the mountains." And yet if the 
 people would but repent, this severer judgment 
 should be but the harbinger of a day of mercy. 
 Almighty God would " stay his rough wind in the 
 day of the east wind," and bring back days of joy 
 and peace. 
 
 Now surely the application of all this to our own 
 circumstances is very strikingly obvious ; for, 
 
 I. This day is to us " a day of darkness and 
 gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness ; " 
 
 II. And yet a day of hope — if we are really 
 bending under God's judgments ; 
 
 III. And yet of trembling hope — lest one judg- 
 ment being unimproved, another should iall more 
 heavily upon us. 
 
 We will consider these several points. 
 
 I. It is a day of darkness and gloominess. For surely 
 the hand of the Lord is upon us, and the lighting down 
 of His terrible arm. He has visited us with the rod. 
 I say, he has visited tis; for let no spirit of selfish- 
 ness separate our own interests from those of our 
 brethren. It is true that, in this part of our country, 
 we are as yet spared the horrors of famine and pesti- 
 lence. But must we not feel that God's hand has touched 
 us as a people ? It must fall first somewiiere ; and it 
 has fallen not on us personally, but upon our brethren. 
 What then ? shall we say. This is no concern of 
 ours; it does not touch us; they are visited for 
 their sins ; but this proves nothing against us ? Are 
 we Christians, and is this the law of Christ ? Far
 
 otherwise are we taught : " Bear ye one another's 
 burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ ; " " Remem- 
 ber them that are in bonds as bound with them, and 
 them that suffer adversity, as being yourselves also 
 in the body." If we are so selfish as thus to sever 
 ourselves from our brethren, this last thought may 
 still aflPect us : " AYe ourselves also are in the body." 
 Judgment has not " first begun at us ; " but who can 
 say where it will end? I believe that those best 
 able to form a judgment on such matters, so far as 
 human foresight can judge, see much reason to fear 
 for ourselves ; at least they speak doubtfully. If God 
 shall mercifully send us fruitful seasons, all may be 
 well. If our next harvest be abundant, we may be 
 spared. But if not, the very sufferings which now 
 harrow up our souls, in the hearing of the ear, may 
 be realised before our eyes, and in our own families. 
 And, after all, how very short is the longest human 
 foresight ! Judgments may come in a way we see 
 not, and know not, and think not of. There is " the 
 pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the destruc- 
 tion that wasteth at noon-day ; " or one of many other 
 calamities may be God's way of visiting us. 
 
 But the darkness and gloominess of this day is 
 not only or chiefly on account of the judgments we 
 may fear, — but much more on account of the sins 
 which have provoked them. The uplifted arm of 
 God tells us, with a voice which will be heard, that 
 we have sinned in departing from Him. Our sins 
 have separated between us and our God; and we 
 have before us the sorrowful task of inquiring, 
 " Wherefore He contendeth with us," and what is 
 " the Lord's controversy with the inhabitants of the 
 land?" 
 
 And, here, where are we to begin ? — where are we 
 to enter upon this heavy task ? 
 
 1. First, and foremost, stands out the fearful state
 
 8 
 
 of irrelialon into which hirgc masses of our people I 
 Imve fallen. I know that this is accounted a hack- 
 neyed subject, and people are tired of hearing of it : 
 and yet it must be airain and aiiain sounded in their 
 ears ; for surely it is a most crvins; sin. Here we 
 are, a Christian people— believing in heaven and hell, 
 and a judirment to come; — believing that the Son of 
 God came down from heaven to s;ive men ; — be- 
 lieving that He suffered and died to save men; — 
 believing that the everlasting destinies of men, for 
 good or for evil, fcr heaven or for hell, are fixed, 
 eternally fixed at the close of this short transient 
 life ; — and yet there are thousands, and hundreds of 
 thousands, of these immortal men livino; around us 
 initaught, unwarned, and almost unthought of, "no 
 man caring for their souls I " Men, too, they arc, 
 with the responsibilities of Christians upon them — 
 baptized into Christ— invested with higher than an- 
 gels' blessings, and tlien left to live and die like the 
 beasts that perish ! But it is often asked. Whose 
 fault is this ? — and every one is ready to find it in 
 his brother rather than in himself. Some will say, 
 it Is in a slothful clergy, and otliers will say, it is in 
 a niggard laity. Some will attribute it to the want 
 of zeal in instructors ; and others to perverseness in 
 the instructed. But who thinks of lavlno^ the sin at 
 his own door ? And yet, no doubt, it docs lie there. 
 The sin is in ourselves — in each of us more or less. 
 It is shared by us all, from the highest to the lowest. 
 Have we, any one of us, done what we could to re- 
 move or lessen this crying evil? Have we given our 
 substance, and have Ave given our influence ? Such 
 an inquiry tells more forcibly in this free country, 
 Avherc every one has his measure of influence. Are, 
 then, the interests of Christ's Church cared for, as 
 are the fleeting interests of this present world ? Or 
 are not the concerns of His Church conducted on
 
 groiiiids which vv'ould not be tolerated wlicre the con- 
 cerns of this life only arc at stake? To give })oint 
 to such an inquiry one must descend into particulars. 
 Would it be endured, for example, if the chief places 
 in our army, or navy, or courts of law, wereiilJed on 
 principles which notoriously and avowedly influence 
 such appointments in the Church? Would it be 
 tolerated if the General of an army were selected 
 from motives which oftentimes avowedly Influence 
 the choice of Bishops ? — or would the command of a 
 ship, in a time of critical warfare, be assigned on 
 considerations which often make a rector of a parish ? 
 Where our temporal interests only are at stake, do 
 we suifer court favour, influential connexion, and 
 mere relationship in blood, to guide men's choice ? — 
 And yet is not this avowedly notoriously done in the 
 cure of souls? Who cares for these things, — who 
 remonstrates, — who speaks of them otherwise than 
 with a smile, — as amusing instances of the contempt 
 with which tlie Church may be treated ? Do men 
 exclaim against it, and petition against it, or is 
 public opinion, in other things so prolific of reform, 
 outraged by it ? No ; because it is only men's souls 
 that are lost by it ! But is not this offensive, insult- 
 ing, in the sight of Almighty God ? Does He look 
 with indifference on such thins^s? Listen to His 
 word by the prophet : — '•' Ye offer polluted bread 
 upon my altar ; and ye say. Wherein have we pol- 
 luted Thee ? In that ye say. The table of the Lord 
 is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacri- 
 fice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame 
 and sick, is it not evil ? Offer it now unto thy 
 governor. Will he be pleased with thee, or accept 
 thy person? saith the Lord of hosts."' Hear, again. 
 His word, by Ezekicl : — ^' Woe to the shepherds 
 that do feed themselves ! Should not the shepherds 
 
 1 Mai. i. 7, 8.
 
 10 
 
 feed the flocks ? Ye cat the fat, and clothe ye with 
 the wool; ye kill them that are fed, but ye feed not 
 the flock. Tlie diseased have ye not strengthened ; 
 neither have ye healed that Avhich was sick, neither 
 have ye bound up that which was broken, neither 
 have ye brought again that which was driven away, 
 
 neither have ye sought that which was lost 
 
 And they were scattered because there was no shep- 
 herd, and they became meat to all the beasts of the 
 field when they were scattered."' 
 
 There are some, it may be, who feel a secret com- 
 placency when they hear such reproofs as these, 
 ' Ah !' they are ready to say, ' it is but too true ; 
 the clergy are too slothful, and too secular ; if they 
 did their duty things would not be so bad as they 
 are.' As to the substance of such charges, let them 
 be sorrowfully admitted. Let us plead guilty ; and 
 let us humble ourselves before God for our remiss- 
 nesses, and for our sins. Only let me warn others, 
 that they must share the guilt. Where the ministers 
 of religion are slothful or corrupt, it cannot be that 
 the people are without blame. Either they have 
 neglected prayer for the priesthood, (and " whosoever 
 is without sin" in this respect, " let him cast the first 
 stone,") or by their positive irreligion, or from not 
 using Avhat influence they have for the promotion 
 of religion and piety, they have hindered the good 
 that might have been done. I am quite sure that 
 if we look upon the irreligion of this land, as we 
 ought to look upon it, — upon the masses of Chris- 
 tian people who are living in heathen ignorance, and 
 worse than heathen sin, — and think, each of us, 
 of what we have done, or rather, left undone, towards 
 removing this great misery of our land, we shall see 
 that the fault does not lie exclusively at the door of 
 
 ^ Ezek. rrsiv. 2. &c.
 
 11 
 
 this or that class of persons, but it is the sin and 
 transgression of us all. " "\Ye have sinned, and com- 
 mitted iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have 
 rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts, and 
 from Thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened 
 to Thy servants, the prophets, who spake in Thy 
 name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and 
 to all the people of the land."^ 
 
 And here must be noticed, what is certainly a 
 special feature in our sins this day. I do not say 
 exclusively of this day, but certainly more than ordi- 
 narily apparent amongst us ; — I mean, our making 
 religion itself a matter of dissension ; — our spending 
 our zeal and our strength in disputes with each other, 
 instead of in the £::reat work of advancino; God's 
 kmgdom, first in our own hearts, and then in the 
 hearts of others. While we are disputing who is 
 right and wlio is wrong ; about this person or that ; 
 wdiat is such an one's tendencies, and what he will 
 do ; souls are perishing around us, and our own are 
 in imminent dani^er. Look at the fiict as it is. Our 
 religion, instead of binding us together, is the most 
 fruitful source of our dissensions. We Enolishmen, 
 mstead of being bound together by the blessed 
 Gospel of Christ, are hereby severed from each other. 
 We make Christ, not the Author of peace, but of 
 confusion. Or if this be not so, we can only have 
 peace with each other when apart from Him. We 
 can only meet on common ground, by banishing from 
 our communications and counsels that Holy Name in 
 which every Christian work ought to be done, and 
 every Christian word to be spoken. What a fearful 
 thing to be confessed, if we really think of it, that 
 we can unite in almost every object, but in that 
 of glorifying Him " who bought us with His blood." 
 Nay, not only is this so in the Senate, in politics, in 
 
 ' Daniel ix. 5.
 
 12 
 
 literature, in science ; but, at length, it has come to 
 be a question wliethcr we can educate our children, 
 without first finding a place for them where the 
 name of Christ must not be named ; or where, at least, 
 He must not be named as the true and living God, 
 who came in our nature, and died to save us. 
 
 And then, what fearful crimes do our divisions 
 bring in their train. "We leave myriads around us 
 to die in isjnorance, because we cannot ao^ree in what 
 we should teach them ; and leave the heathen world 
 to lie in wickedness, while we spend our strength in 
 useless disputation. Xay, we have in some cases 
 even consigned our countrymen, whom we have 
 banished from our shores for their crimes, almost to 
 hopeless guilt and misery, because we cannot agree 
 how Christ should be ministered to them. Who 
 can measure the untold guilt of such a state of 
 things ? " Shall I not visit for these things, salth 
 the Lord, and shall not My soul be avenged on such 
 a nation as this." ^ 
 
 2. And now, if we turn our thoughts to the sinsof owr 
 social life, we shall find still further grounds of humili- 
 ation. God has constituted our social relationships in 
 Himself. The relationship of parent and child, husband 
 and wife, master and servant, derive their sanctity 
 from the relationship in which God and Christ vouch- 
 safe to stand to us. And surely it is not too much to 
 say, that we see in our time a great disruption of 
 these ties. I do not stop to inquire whether there 
 may be more or fewer positive breaches of social 
 duty at this time than at other times. But I notice 
 as our sin, the relaxation of the ties themselves. Thus 
 one must say of the relationship of parent and child, 
 which is the foundation of all other relationships, the 
 bond is obviously loosened. In the upper classes, by 
 want of discipline on one side ; by want of reverence 
 
 ^ Jeremiah v. 9.
 
 13 
 
 on the other ; by foolish and premature independ- 
 ence. While in large classes of the poor, especially 
 the manufacturing poor, this endearing parental tie 
 is often almost dissolved after the first years of 
 infancy, and the temporal and eternal interests 
 of the child sacrificed for the sake of Mammon. 
 
 Ao;ain : who must not see what a srrievous sin lies 
 upon the land, in a neglect of the higher duties of 
 master and servant. That fine and noble feelino; of 
 attachment which, in better times, bound them toge- 
 ther, by which the servant was considered as a per- 
 manent member of the family, one to be cared for 
 spiritually as well as temporally, and second only to 
 the children themselves ; and by which, on the otlier 
 hand, the servant identified his master's interests with 
 his own, and looked up to him and revered him as 
 his natural protector and guide ; this is almost 
 gone : and for it is substituted indiiFerence on one 
 side, and boasted independence on the other. These 
 engagements are now formed from mere mercenary 
 motives, to be dissolved at any time, by the caprice 
 of either party ; and as one result of this, I suppose, 
 as a class, of course admitting of many happy ex- 
 ceptions, there is none that lives more entirely 
 " without God in the world," than the class of 
 household servants. Even Christian masters seem to 
 use them oftentimes as if they forgot that they had 
 souls to be lost or saved. I may just mention as an 
 instance of this, and as coming within my own 
 knowledge, that there are heads of families who would 
 by no means themselves omit their attendance at 
 church, and even at sacraments, who yet care not to 
 make arrangements by v\'hich it is scarcely possible 
 that their servants can enjoy the like blessing. In 
 many instances some household servants are almost 
 precluded from going to church, and in many more 
 from any due attendance at sacraments.
 
 14 
 
 I might go on to speak of other relationships; for 
 example, of master and apprentice. Tliis was once 
 almost a sacred relationship ; now every such feeling 
 about it is all but gone. And again, how far have 
 we gone in breaking up the bonds of pastoral relation- 
 ship? But let what has been said suffice to turn our 
 thoughts to tliis ground of humiliation. Surely 
 these arc sins which lie heavily upon us. 
 
 There is, however, one other sin, or ratiier class 
 of sins, of a more general kind, wliicli must be 
 noticed. I mean the inordinate pursuit of money, 
 together with the growth of luxury; and with this, 
 as always has been, the growing separation of the 
 richer from the poorest classes, and the consequent 
 ]ie£;lect of them. Plave we foro-otten the 2:uiit 
 which must lie on this land for that mania in 
 money speculations, which occurred a little more 
 tlian a vear ao'o? What oamblinir, what fraud, 
 what deceit and overreaching; in a word, what 
 undisguised worship of Mammon carried away the 
 nation, — it is scarcely too much to say, the nation ! 
 Xot only the claims of religion, but the principles 
 of common honour and honesty, were sacrificed to 
 the base love of gain. Men, from the highest to 
 the lowest, seemed to lose all shame in this mad 
 pursuit. And then the extravagant luxuries of 
 tlie ricli tend to and effect their severance from 
 the poor. It always is so. An extreme in one 
 direction tends to brino- about an exti'eme in an- 
 otiier. Some ])eople tliink that much is done for 
 the poor through our varied societies. I would not 
 rlepreciate the benefits Avhich flow through those 
 channels. Let us thank God for them in the absence 
 <>f what is better. But it is often forgotten that 
 the tendency even of these institutions is to prevent 
 comnumication between the rich and poor en ainf 
 • dtenshe scale. It is true that these societies enlist
 
 15 
 
 some few amon^-st tlie rich to look after the interests 
 of their poorer brethren. But how many, it may- 
 be, satisfy themselves with a money gift to a 
 society, and on that account excuse themselves from 
 that " pure and undefiled religion, before God and 
 the Father, wliicli is to tisit the widows and fatherless 
 in their afHiction." I say, then, that the tendency of 
 societies, of which money is the bond of union, is to 
 substitute money for men, to content persons with 
 giving what they have, instead of giving themselves ; 
 oftentimes to destroy sympathy with the poor, to 
 encourage hard and repulsive methods of relief; to 
 do away with the thought of the blessing and privi- 
 lege of giving ; and to induce a forgetfulness that, in 
 ministering unto the poor, we are ministering unto 
 Christ Himself. 
 
 II. So much time has been occupied in this sad, 
 but yet very brief and inadequate, outline, of the 
 grounds of our humiliation^ that but little remains 
 for the other points of observation Avhicli the text 
 suggests to us. And yet I must not omit to notice 
 that in " this day of darkness and gloominess," there 
 is for us a gleam of hope. Our assembling together 
 this day to humble ourselves before God, at the 
 summons of our Sovereign, is a hopeful feature for 
 us. The lanQ-uaGTC which our Soverei2;n has been 
 advised to use, is as comfortins; to the Christian 
 heart, as, alas ! it is unusual. How gratifying to 
 hear such words as tliese : — " That trustin£»; in the 
 mercy of Almighty God, that notwithstanding the 
 sore punishment He hath laid upon us and our 
 ])eople. He Avill, if we turn to Him in due contrition 
 and penitence of heart, withdraw His afflicting 
 hand;" — then follows the order for the Fast; and 
 then the Proclamation continues: — "that so both 
 v.e and our people may Immble ourselves before
 
 16 
 
 Almighty God, in order to obtain pardon of our 
 sins, and may in the most devout and solemn manner 
 send up our prayers and supplications to the Divine 
 Majesty, for the removal of those heavy judgments 
 which our manifold sins and provocations have most 
 justly deserved." 
 
 This is surelv Ian2;ua2:c becomino; a Christian 
 queen and a Christian government. A\ e cannot 
 suppose that such solemn words are used as a mere 
 form, merely for the sake of precedent. Surely no 
 one would venture so to trille with holy things ! 
 We must take them as real words ; and if they be 
 only followed by real acts, we may find a Scripture 
 example to encourage our best hopes : " The people 
 of Xineveh believed God, and proclaimed a last, and 
 put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to 
 t!ie least of them. For the word came to the kins; 
 of Xineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he 
 laid liis robe from him, and covered him with sack- 
 cloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be 
 proclaimed and published through ]^ineveh by the 
 decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither 
 man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing : let 
 them not feed, nor drink water : but let man and 
 beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily 
 unto God : yea, let them turn every one from his 
 evil way. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, 
 and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish 
 not? And God saw their works, that they turned 
 from their evil way ; and God repented of the evil, 
 that He said that He would do unto them ; and He 
 did it not."' 
 
 III. But if this day of darkness be a day of 
 hope, it is yet of trembling hope. The Xinevites, 
 
 ^ Jonah iii. 5 — 10.
 
 17 
 
 we see, found mercy, not by their fast alone, but by 
 their fast accompanied with real repentance and 
 amendment. And, as we have seen, the whole argu- 
 ment of this prophecy of Joel turns upon this, that 
 if we do not sincerely repent under one judgment, 
 God will send another more severe. This Fast-day 
 
 CANNOT LEAVE THIS NATION AS IT FINDS IT. It 
 
 comes as "a savour of life unto life, or of death unto 
 death." If it bring forth "Avorks meet for repent- 
 ance," well ; if we really do amend our ways and 
 our doings, what mercies may not be in store for us 
 from His hand, " who chasteneth whom He loveth, 
 and scouro^eth whom He receiveth ! " But if not, 
 what is this but the beo-innino; of troubles ? and who 
 can say what will be the end ? 
 
 Repent, therefore, O my brethren, and turn ye 
 every one from his evil way, that iniquity be not 
 your ruin. If it can be said that the charge of 
 national sin is vague and indefinite, too much divided 
 to make a deep impression : this cannot be said of 
 national repentance, for this must begin with per- 
 sonal repentance. If, as individuals, Ave become 
 what Christians ought to be, our Christian land will 
 become Avliat it ought to be : a general personal 
 reformation would most certainly be followed by a 
 national reformation. Xational judgments and visita- 
 tions call each of us, in our several spheres of duty, to 
 amendment. Let us each search and try his ways ; 
 let not this day pass away from any one of us, without 
 resolving upon some distinct specific amendment, — 
 something that Ave can distinctly name to ourselves. 
 We often lose by the desultoriness of our resolutions; 
 AA'e resolve in general to do better, and perhaps sin- 
 cerely, but without having the point of amendment 
 distinctly before our minds. Now, I am sure avo 
 should bring doAvn a blessing upon ourselves — upon 
 ourselves personally and collectively — upon this con-
 
 18 
 
 grcgatlon — and upon this parish, if we would each of 
 us this day set ourselves to amend some one fault, — 
 to do some one good work which we have neglected, 
 — in prayer, in fasting, in almsgiving; in our personal 
 conduct or habits of life ; in our conduct towards 
 others — as parents, as children, as masters, as ser- 
 vants ; in our communications with others ; in 
 allaying the bitterness of strife ; in checking the 
 accusations of brethren ; in softening harsh judg- 
 ments ; in witnessing for Christ ; in meekly bearing 
 His cross; — we can alleviate some misery, comfort 
 some sorrow, minister to some want. 
 
 Behold, then, the uplifted arm of God : " Hear ye 
 the rod, and who hath appointed it. The Lord's voice 
 crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see 
 thy name." ^ We have sinned ; we have deserved 
 punishment ; God threatens to inflict it. Hearken 
 then to his voice : " Break off thy sins by righteous- 
 ness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the 
 poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.*' - 
 
 ' Micalx vi. 9. - Dan. iv. 27 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILI.
 
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