I NEED not inform you, my hearers, that the bloody and moſt cruel action of laſt Monday evening led me to the choice of the words which have now been read, for the theme of the following diſcourſe. We ſhould be criminal to let ſuch an awful affair paſs over without taking notice of it in a religious manner.

THE unparallelled barbarity of thoſe who were lately guilty of murdering a number of our innocent fellow-citizens will never be forgot.

THE now liſping child will rehearſe the 〈…〉 to his attentive offspring, when revolving years have covered his head with ſilver locks. Future generations will read the account with ſorrow, indignation and ſurprize: ſorrow for the dead, who ſell victims to the mercileſs rage of wicked men: indignation againſt the worſt of murderers; and ſurprize that any rational beings could be so deſtitute of every human feeling, as wantonly to deſtroy thoſe who never did, or thought of doing them any hurt.

BUT we have ſeen the gloomy time when our brethren were murdered before our eyes, and our moſt public ſtreets were deeply dyed with innocent blood. How affecting, unutterably affecting, to ſee our fellow citizens ſhot to death—their garments rolled in blood, and corpſes wallowing in gore, upon our Exchange, the place of general concourſe, where our moſt reſpectable inhabitants meet every day! But ſuch a ſcene has been acted—yea the blood of the ſlain is but now waſhed from the pavements.

A NOBLE ſpirit, indeed has appeared on this occaſion, not only in ſecuring the preſumed murderers that they may be brought to trial; but inſiſting that all the troops ſhould be removed from among us.

FROM this violent out-breaking, and innumerable diſorders that might be mentioned, the whole world may be convinced of the infinite impropriety of quartering troops in a well-regulated city under a notion of aſſiſting the civil magiſtrate, or ſtrengthening government. I pray God we may never behold a like appearance on a like pretence! It is time for that magiſtrate to reſign, who cannot depend on the aſſiſtance of his neighbours and fellow-citizens in the adminiſtration of juſtice. And that government which rejecting the foundation of the law, would eſtabliſh itſelf by the ſword, the ſooner it falls to the ground the better, that in its ſtead another might be eſtabliſhed, more agreeable to the nature of man, and conſiſtent with the great ends of ſociety.

BUT we ſhall leave theſe conſiderations to the improvement of the politicians of the day, and purſue the thoughts which the words read ſeem naturally to ſuggeſt.

WHAT I deſign, is to ſhew particularly when it may be ſaid, that innocent blood crieth unto God in the ſenſe of our text, and then make ſome reflections ſuitable to the occaſion.

FIRST then, Human blood crieth unto God, when it is ſhed in a wanton or cruel manner, without warrant from the law of the land or law of nations, founded upon and conſiſtent with the law of nature written upon the heart by God himſelf, to ſpeak in the language of inſpiration.

BEFORE there was any ſuch thing as civil government, which is founded on compact or the agreement of a number of people upon ſome plan to ſecure their general happineſs, every individual had a perfect right to his own perſon, life, and limbs, and a clear ſenſe of his duty and intereſt in preſerving and defending them againſt the attacks of any one. Theſe natural notions were planted in our breaſts by the God who made us, and would for ever lead us to determine that the life of man is ſacred, and his blood not to be ſhed, unleſs forfeited by ſome atrocious crime. In the yet uncultivated wilds of America, ſo ſtrong are theſe moral notices, that the man who is conſcious of having murdered another, does not pretend to reſiſt the ſurviving relation, who takes upon himſelf the office of an avenger of blood, but calmly bows his head to receive the fatal blow. Hence well obſerves St. Paul, that the heathen, which have not the (written) law, are a law unto themſelves: their underſtandings and conſciences witneſſing the juſtice of the divine decree, that, he who ſheddeth man's blood, by man ſhall his blood be ſhed. To refuſe, or unreaſonably delay doing juſtice upon the murderer, is to let the blood of the innocent, like that of Abel, cry unto God for vengeance.

THE murderer forfeits his right to life even in a ſtate of nature, where there is no civil authority; in that caſe every man is in ſome ſenſe a miniſter of juſtice, and may execute the law which God has written upon his heart. And whether that univerſal practice which obtains among the ſavages, of the neareſt kinſman purſuing & ſlaying the murderer of his relation, is not ſtrictly juſtifiable upon principles of natural law, will I think ſcarce admit of a queſtion.

THUS much is plain, we have no ſecurity for life in the neighbourhood of a perſon having a diſpoſition & power to deſtroy us: ſelf-preſervation therefore obliges us, on failure of other expedience, to cut off ſuch a common and dangerous enemy. And it ſeems as if all who found him, whether related to the ſlain or not, might fall upon and diſpatch him.

How ſtrong a ſenſe of this appears in the ſad expoſtulation of guilty, ſelf-condemned Cain?—Every one that findeth me ſhall ſlay me.

FROM the caſe of Abel, who was murdered before the promulgation of any law in that behalf, it is ſufficiently evident that the blood which was unjuſtly ſhed called aloud to God for vengeance, whether it was his will that the ſhedder ſhould be deſtroyed by a relation of the ſlain, or by whoever met with him; or whether, acting as Supreme Judge, he reſerved the execution to himſelf.

WE add ſecondly, The blood which is ſhed contrary to the revealed law of God calls to him from the Ground.

GOD ſhewed his abſolute abhorrence of murder from the beginning: he denounced a tremendous curſe againſt him who was firſt guilty of it. From the nature of the crime, and the fear which Cain expreſſed, it is more than probable that murder was puniſhed by death in the moſt early ages, though we find no expreſs law requiring it till after the flood, when the ſolemn declaration, in part cited before, was made. And ſurely your blood of your lives will I require: at the hand of every beaſt will I require it; and at the hand of a man, at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man. Whoſo ſheddeth man's blood by man ſhall his blood be ſhed, for in the image of God made he man. In theſe words the value of human life is fixed; a guard is ſet upon it by God himſelf, and that penalty is fully expreſſed which the Author of Life is pleaſed ſhould be incurred by him who unjuſtly dares to take it away.

THE life of man is highly valued—for in the Image of God made he man. This value was ſet upon the life of man, even when he was a ſinner; for notwithſtanding the depravity of human nature, none of God's works in this part of the ſyſtem are worthy to be compared with the children of men. They are capable of higher ſervices and more refined enjoyments than the beaſts that periſh.

THEY are therefore protected with more care. Even the irrational creature, who is capable of neither moral good nor evil, muſt be killed, if by a wild ungovernable rage he ſhould deſtroy a man. No leſs excuſable is the rage of man if he really intended to kill, unleſs in defence of his own life under abſolute neceſſity, he ſhall ſurely be put to death, according to the immutable ſentence of the great Jehovah!

THE 〈◊〉 of innocent blood cannot be allayed, but by the death of the guilty! There is no evading this law where the murder is indublicably proved—no liberty to acquit the criminal—God, the ſupreme legiſlator, has given the magiſtrate no authority to alter or diſponſe with his law, or mitigate the puniſhment in any manner or degree. He ſhall ſurely be put to death! And if that puniſhment is not inflicted, innocent blood will cry from the ground—it will cry for vengeance to fall not only on the murderer wherever he is, but upon thoſe, whoever they are, that divert the courſe of juſtice, and cauſe the murderers to go unpuniſhed.

THESE capital puniſhments are doubtleſs very diſagreeable 〈◊〉 —to put an end to the life of one's 〈◊〉 fellow-men is ſhocking.

THE tender ſeeings of human nature ſtrongly, ſtrongly plead in behalf of the criminal, and beſeech the judges if poſſible to ſhew mercy. But ſhould any degree of tenderneſs—ſhould the ſtrongeſt inclination to mercy—or ſhould all the horrors of an execution influence a conduct ſo contrary to the law of God? When the Lord of heaven has declared he ſhall ſurely die, and moreover added, thou ſhalt not pity him, but thou ſhalt put away the guilt of innocent blood. ſhall any pretend to pity—ſhall any, at the expence of incurring the vengeance due to blood-guiltineſs, dare to acquit, to ſpare, or ſolicit a pardon!

THIRDLY, Human blood crieth from the ground, when it is ſhed contrary to the laws of the community within which it is ſpilled.

CIVIL government, if good, is founded upon the law of nature, or the revealed law of God—the divine pleaſure is an univerſal law, eternally binding upon all rational creatures; whether this pleaſure be known by certain notions of right and wrong, which all men have within them—by the declarations of holy men who have been favoured with intimate acquaintance with God—or by immediate revelations from the Deity himſelf.

THAT he who formed the univerſe ſhould be lord and king, is a concluſion few, if any, will deny. This only abſolute Monarch has an indiſputable right to make ſuch laws, and eſtabliſh ſuch rules of government, as he knows will beſt ſuit the nature and mutual relations of all his ſubjects, and ſerve beſt to promote and ſecure the general happineſs of all.—

THAT it is the will of God his creatures ſhould be happy, is very evident from his own moſt ſolemn declarations. It is alſo in a good degree evident from the unextinguiſhable thirſt, after it, placed by God in every ſenſitive being. All wiſh for it; and however diverſe our notions of happineſs may be, 'the eternal ſigh' covets it with moſt ardent deſire and ſteady attention.

IT is utterly unworthy, and inconſiſtent with every idea of infinite wiſdom and power, of inexhauſtible fullneſs and unbounded beneficence, to ſuppoſe the Creator of man deſigned him only a compoſition of appetites, wants, and deſires, for the reaſonable gratification of which he has made no proviſion. Infinitely more ſhocking would be the preſumtion, that he had left him open to all invaſions from beaſts of prey, and men more ſavage than the beaſt, and neglected to furniſh him with means of defence or eſcape.

ONE of the ſtrongeſt affections or inclinations of the human mind is that for ſociety.—The Lord God ſaid, It is not good that Man ſhould be alone. The whole ſpecies, indeed every order of creatures, ſeem deſigned as meet-helpers to each other. All the difficulty in civil and ſocial life is, righteouſly to determine how much help we have a right to expect or demand of each other and what ſhall be a juſt conſideration for ſuch aſſiſtance. The Author and Finiſher of our faith has graciouſly ſolved this grand queſtion, in a divine axiom, as copious and deſcriptive, as plain and ſuitable to the human underſtanding. All things whatſoever ye would that men ſhould do to you, do ye even ſo to them; for this is THE LAW—the eternal and immutable reaſon of things conſtituted to promote and ſecure the happineſs of all.

GOVERNMENT, in whatever form it may be eſtabliſhed, can rightly aim at no other, and poſſibly at no higher end. Even the government of the Supreme Ruler of the univerſe is not pretended to aim at any thing more or greater!—

THE general good is therefore the end of all juſt government; and all the rules of conduct, agreed upon, all the ſtatutes, laws, and precepts, enacted and promulged, are made with a view to promote and ſecure the public good: and therefore the very nature and deſign of government require new laws to be made whenever it is found that the old ones are not ſufficient; and old ones to be repealed, whenever they are found to be miſchievous in their operation. Yea, if the eſſential parts of any ſyſtem of civil government are found to be inconſiſtent with the general good, the end of government requires that ſuch bad ſyſtem ſhould be demoliſhed, and a new one formed, by which the public weal ſhall be more effectually ſecured.—And further, if under any conſtitution of government the adminiſtration ſhould vary from the fundamental deſigns of promoting and ſecuring the common good; in ſuch caſe the ſubjects are in duty bound to join all their ſtrength to reduce matters to their original good order, whatever may be the fate of thoſe wicked men who for ends of their own would ſubvert the RIGHTS of the people.—

As no right is more ſacred than that of every innocent man to enjoy his own life, and the law of nature authorizes every individual to defend his life, that ſyſtem which was given by God to his people contains a number of very particular laws to ſecure the lives of the innocent, and moſt poſitive injunctions for the extirpation of ſuch as are guilty of innocent blood, as has been mentioned in the former part of this diſcourſe. In no point are the laws of our excellent conſtitution more expreſs; for what peace can be more ſacred than the peace of God and the king, which every quiet ſubject has a right to; which nothing can deſtroy?

FROM all the foregoing conſiderations it is plain, if any one by deſign ſlay another, or any-way cauſe an innocent perſon to be put to death, that innocent blood crieth unto God from the ground: it crieth for vengeance. It crieth to all who ſee it, or hear of its being ſhed. It crieth to the murderer himſelf, and requires him to ſubmit to juſtice, and receive his puniſhment. It crieth to thoſe that are witneſſes, and requires them to give faithful teſtimony of what they know. Whoever knows of murder and does not give information thereof, that the guilty may be brought to juſtice, will have innocent blood crying for vengeance to fall upon him. Innocent blood crieth to the magiſtrate, that the murderer be ſecured and brought to trial; it crieth to the judges, and requires that they ſee it avenged. And if innocent blood is not heard and avenged according to the ſtrict requirements of the law of God and the laws of every good ſyſtem of civil government, it will continue to cry, not only againſt the murderer, but the government and land, which ſuffers murderers to go unpuniſhed.

THUS have I mentioned, as particularly as ſeemed neceſſary, when it may be ſaid that human blood crieth unto God in the ſenſe of the text.

AND what a ſolemn cry of innocent blood is now going up to heaven from our ſtreets! The ſcene lately acted among us is on many accounts the moſt-afflicting that ever this place beheld! When conſuming fires have repeatedly ſwept down a great number of our houſes, the inhabitants eſcaping the flames viewed the loſs of their ſubſtance as chargeable to the malevolence of no one: but in the late dreadful affair we ſaw the agents, and had nothing but deſtruction to expect from their unbounded and unbridled rage, had they happened to have force enough to have put their horrid deſigns in execution.

THE barbarous murder of young Snider on the 22d of laſt Month was diſtreſſing to all who had any feelings of humanity; but how aggravated was the horrid affair of laſt Monday night!

IT is pretty evident from ſeveral plain teſtimonies, and a variety of circumſtances, that a number of the troops, with other ſons of Belial, were determined to murder the inhabitants—They began in ſeveral parts of the town—The alarmed people rang the bells to collect an aid for their ſecurity; and when they had obliged the firſt riotous ſoldiers to retire, and were diſperſing, not expecting any further diſturbance, a party of the troops fired upon a number of innocent people, unarmed and under no apprehenſion of ſuch cruel treatment!

WERE our brethren killed by avowed enemies in time of open war, we ſhould be grieved, it is true, but we could not complain; death and ſlaughter may then be expected: but in a time of profound peace, to have troops quartered among us on pretence of ſupporting government, where government has ever been ſupported as well as in any part of the known world—to be abuſed by common ſoldiers—to be aſſaulted by them in ſome or other part of the town almoſt every evening—to be wounded with the inſtruments of death—yea, finally, to ſee our brethren killed in cold blood—to behold their mortal gaſps, and hear their dying groans—but I deſiſt—the rehearſal of theſe things is too much for me. Who can reflect on the horrors of that night without ſhuddering! What were our fears, when the inhabitants, rouſed by the murder of their brethren, were hurrying together—When the troops were all paraded, and with fire arms preſented ſtood ready to attack or defend, from the juſt indignation of an enraged multitude, and nothing leſs than a general ſlaughter could be expected! To God alone be praiſe, that in this critical moment his divine power was diſplayed, and the remainder of wrath in ſo ſignal a manner reſtrained!

No leſs conſpicuous was the good hand of God in moving the hearts of thoſe in power to exert themſelves for the immediate relief of the people from further fears and dangers, to which a longer continuance of the troops in town would have ſubjected them. The wiſeſt of men has well obſerved, and too ſienſibly have we found it verified, that perſons cannot well dwell together unleſs they are agreed. The human heart muſt undergo a ſtrange revolution before it can look kindly on the inſtruments of its ruin and deſtruction! We truſt in God's unerring Providence, that ſo unnatural a ſociety will never be the ſubject of another experiment—That the civil magiſtrate will never again be furniſhed with ſuch a band of aſſiſtants, as will reſcue criminals cut of his hands, and even put his life in danger in the execution of his office.—That the lower and looſer part of our youth may never again have ſuch additional temptations to forſake the paths of virtue and religion.

FINALLY, that we may be allowed to live in the full enjoyment of all thoſe important rights and privileges, both of a civil and religious nature, with which the God of our fathers has been pleaſed to favour this part of his heritage; let us take heed to our ways, let us by a pious and exemplary behaviour perſuade men that Liberty and Religion are worth contending for—Let us chearfully conſpire with our Lord and Maſter to do good unto all, even to the evil and unthankful. Let juſtice flow down our ſtreets as a river, and righteouſneſs as an overflowing ſtream—Let the ſabbaths of the Lord, which have been too long profaned by the noiſe of drums and other martial inſtruments, be now ſanctified by the reverent and peaceful exerciſes of religion. Let the late affecting ſpectacles of mortality—the awful pomp of ſo uncommon a funeral, excite us all to preparation for our own diſſolution. Though we hope not to be murdered and cut off by the hand of violence, we are yet mortal. We muſt all die, it may be ſuddenly. Let us then ſeriouſly engage and unweariedly perſevere in the ſervice of the Lord, that whenever we are called from this very precarious ſtate, we may be found doing tho will of our great God and Redeemer, and at laſt be admitted into eternal glory.