THE goodness of Almighty God is that attribute on the contemplation whereof, our thoughts, so long as we feel how much we stand in need of it, do most delight to dwell. To this we naturally have recourse under the apprehension of danger, or the pressure of affliction. And thus far all is right. But the misfortune is, blessings vouchsafed seldom make impressions pro­portioned to the ardency with which they are implored. The same mouths, which, in time of distress, can cry mightily unto God, are too often observed, upon men's enlarge­ment from their straits, to become unac­countably silent. They, who perhaps have but just experienced the goodness of the Lord, want to be put in mind to give thanks unto him for it: Even the redeemed of the Lord must be called upon to say that his mercy endureth for ever.

That beautiful psalm, which begins with the words of my text, contains great va­riety of matter for praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God. On what particular [Page 4] occasion it was first composed, or to what purposes it might be afterwards applied, does not certainly appear. That part of it which immediately follows my text, besides some allusions in other parts of it, seems most fitly to represent the case of a people brought back to their own land, after a state of separation from it, and dispersion over the several quarters of the earth. A case how­ever to which we need not confine the words before us, nor the duty therein recom­mended. If restoration from a captivity already felt calls for devout joy and religious exultation, surely the preservation of those rights and comforts, which are the great sources of human felicity, may well inspire the redeemed of the Lord with like senti­ments of gratitude. The recovery of any good is not in itself a more real blessing than the continued possession of it.

In the application of the words then to the business of this day, which the piety of government hath thought fit to sanctify by the appointment of a public thanksgiv­ing for the manifold and signal mercies be­stowed upon this country, in the peaceable establishment, and continued possession of constitutions of government, which unite, and by their union establish liberty with order; for the preservation of our peace fo­reign and domestic; for the seasonable con­troul which has been given to a spirit of disorder in the suppression of the late in­surrection; and generally for the prosperous [Page 5] course of our affairs public and private, and all the other great and various favours, which he hath been pleased to confer upon us; I shall take occasion from thence to consider and illustrate 1. The general ground on which the duty of thanks-giving for national blessings is founded. 2. The particular reasonableness of the duty on this occasion; and 3. The proper manner of ex­pressing our gratitude for such blessings, with the influence it ought to have on our conduct.

1. As to the first: The duty of thanks­giving for national blessings is in general manifestly founded on these two plain sup­positions:

That benefits conferred call for suitable ac­knowledgements to the benefactor by the re­ceiver; and, that the supreme benefactor, to whom nations, as well as single persons stand indebted for the benefits conferred on them, and the deliverances vouchsafed to them, is Almighty God. Suppositions so agreeable to our natural notions, so gene­rally allowed by the sober part of mankind; that they can need very little, will hardly admit of any illustration.

The connexion between favours conferred on one part, and gratitude due on the other is so immediately visible, that it is scarcely possible by the interposition of any other consideration to render it more evident than it is by itself. If any person can be supposed insensible of it, after having done the low­est [Page 6] office of kindness to another; we can only help his apprehension by referring him to his own feeling on such an occasion, bid­ding him ask his own heart, what his ex­pectations were from the person he assisted, and (as we not more usually than properly say) obliged.

And that God is the great benefactor to whom all our acknowledgments are ulti­mately due, is a supposition equally certain with the other; tho' more liable to be per­plexed by the disputer, more apt to be over­looked by the politician of this world. The great Governor of the universe so generally acts by the intervention of subordinate cau­ses, so usually brings about his own purpo­ses without controuling the power which he originally gave them, or altering the tendencies, which he at first impressed upon them; that we cannot ordinarily distinguish with exactness between the effects of his general concurrence, and of his special direc­tion. But then neither is it at all necessary that we should so distinguish. Notwith­standing our inability to explain the nature of the divine superintendance, or to point out the instances of the interposition, devout applications for the blessings we want, and grateful acknowledgements for those we have received, will still be our reasonable service, so long as we are assured, that all events are in God's hands, and that 'he worketh all things after the counsel of his will.'

Whatever efficiency the author of nature [Page 7] may have given to any part of his own workmanship, neither scripture nor sound philosophy will permit us to suppose, that he hath put the supreme management of the whole out of his own power. No: He, who first formed, must still continue to up­hold, this great machine of the universe. The minutest movement in it is continually subject to his direction, and all its parts incessantly declare his glory, and fulfil his word. And as to the moral world: He, who is the God of the spirits of all flesh; in whom they live, and move, and have their being,' must be perfectly acquainted with their se­veral powers, intimately present with all their operations. 'In his hand are the hearts of men as the rivers of water, and he turneth them whithersoever he will.' Whe­ther by direct internal applications to them, or by disposing outward circumstances for them, or by numberless other methods un­searchable to us; he most easily can, and (we have reason to think) continually does, influence their counsels, where he does not irresistably force their wills: Nay, he can even work their jarring humours, their in­terfering designs, into a subserviency to the great and good purposes of his providence. He brings forth in each generation such persons to act, according to their own free choice, their various parts on the theatre of life, as he foresees will answer, sometimes by their great abilities and good dispositions, sometimes by the contrary, his holy pur­poses [Page 8] of judgment or of mercy. And the influence of this one arrangement on the establishment of our present tranquillity may have been, and probably hath been unspea­kably great. For tho' we should blush to be thought so uninstructed in the nature of our addresses to Heaven as to fancy they can work any temporary change in the dis­positions of the Deity, who is the same yes­terday, to day, and for ever; yet we are not ashamed to maintain that God, in the chain of causes and effects, which not only sustains each system, but connects them all with one another, hath so wonderfully con­trived, that the temporary endeavours of virtuous men shall procure good and avert evil, by means of that pre-established har­mony, which he hath willed to exist betwixt moral actions and natural events.

All events, then, not excepting those which seem to happen most agreeably to (what we call) the natural course of things, or to depend most on the free determinations of human choice, are in the last result to be ascribed to the direction, or at least the per­mission of Almighty God. And if so, more especially applicable must this be to those events, on which the fates of whole king­doms depend. If, (as we are assured by unerring wisdom) 'not a sparrow falleth to the ground without our father;' if those of his creatures, which to us seem most in­considerable, be yet by no means so incon­siderable as to escape his notice, or to be [Page 9] left out of his protection; his condescending care, we may be sure, interests itself with at least equal regard in those transactions, by the issue whereof all that is valuable to large societies of men, the liberties and lives of millions may be finally decided. This is indeed an awful subject, and, from the narrowness of our views of things, we must often be at a loss to account for particular appearances relating to it. But we have reason to suppose, that states and kingdoms are the great scenes, on which the Lord of the whole earth most usually displays the strength of his arm, and the justice of his administration. Frequently indeed we per­ceive no marks of the interposition of God in what passes But we are both inadver­tent and short sighted: Ignorant not only of the secret springs and material circum­stances of many human actions, but yet more, beyond comparison, of principal pur­poses in the divine administration. Yet this however we know that he is incessantly conducting the affairs of the present world towards a full display of his wisdom, jus­tice, and goodness, in the next, tho' often by steps invisible to our eyes, and impro­bable to our imaginations. ‘For his judge­ments are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out.’

2. We should in all things, then, believe a Providence; but in many cases we may see it, and plainly in our own case; and at the same time we must see the reasonableness [Page 10] of our acknowledgments and thanksgivings for it.

Under the guidance of Providence we have been conducted to, and planted in, a fair and fruitful country, of which we may say in the words of Moses, 'The Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that spring out of valleys and hills: A land of wheat and barley, and fig trees and pome­granates, a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it: A land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.'

In this land we have continually experi­enced the protection of the same kind pro­vidence, the fostering care of Heaven; so that within a short period from a handful, we have become a great people: and from those who had no name, we have been raised to take our rank among the nations of the world. In the scenes which led to this successful event, we have had deliverances, little less than miraculous, frequently vouchsafed to us, and have seen many vi­sible interpositions of Providence, in causing such concurrences of circumstances for our advantage, as no human wisdom could ei­ther foresee, direct, or over-rule. Nor did God only bestow the blessing, but it is he who continues it; and every days peace, as well as every days bread, is a new gift from him. Thus we may again apply the words of Moses and say 'As an eagle stir­reth [Page 11] up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him.'—We have been favoured with a succession of the blessings of Heaven from above and of the earth beneath, of fruitful seasons, and a plentiful increase; and for the better and more assured enjoyment of these favours, it hath pleased the divine Providence to bless us, at a most seasonable conjuncture, with the peaceable establish­ment of a most happy constitution of go­vernment; which, under the protection of wise and good laws, secures to us all our private rights and just liberties, and ren­ders this country the honoured repository of sacred freedom, an asylum from oppres­sion, at a time when almost all the other civilizen nations have, thro' force or trea­chery, lost their sacred rights. When we see, in one of the fairest countries of Eu­rope, the most interesting and noble strug­gle, for native rights and civil independence, crushed under the iron hands of unfeeling neighbouring despots;—and, in another the most powerful and civilized, even liberty herself, that sweetest of natures blessings, in her too eager haste, and, alas, misguided efforts, to regain the legitimate throne from which she had been long detruded, mark­ing her stained footsteps deep with domestic blood.

Our exertions to curb the savage, preda­tory [Page 12] incursions of the several neighbouring Indian tribes have been crowned with a de­gree of success that promises a speedy ter­mination to all acts of hostility from that quarter: and, by the prudent and steady con­duct of those, to whom the helm of go­vernment is entrusted, we have been pre­served from foreign war, under circum­stances peculiarly difficult and embarrassing, by which the passions of numbers had been worked up to a degree of rage and fury: 'Some, from well meant, but mistaken zeal, thinking that how was the time to pay the debt of gratitude to our allies, by entering ourselves parties in their cause; and others urged on by a just resentment and indignation at those shameful and perfidious spoliations, which, under British councils, were made on our trade. The offending power appears now sensible and ashamed of the wrongs committed against us. She hath listened to our remonstrances of reason, truth and justice, and is constrained to pro­mise restitution.' Hence our prospects of external peace begin to open before us with an unclouded horizon; and the most in­flamed among us are led to acknowledge the propriety and prudence of trying every method of amicable negotiation, previous to that dernier resort, calamitous and de­structive war.

God, in his infinite wisdom, hath indeed found it necessary, in order to awaken our grateful attention to the blessings by him [Page 13] conferred upon us, to threaten us with an interruption of them, by permitting the designs of a few factions and ambitious men to excite an insurrection in some western counties of a neighbouring state. This how­ever, under the providence of the same good and gracious being who permitted it, hath been speedily and happily suppressed, and, beyond expectation, without the effusion of blood. But as this attempt, so highly dis­graceful to the American character, in its direct tendency, put to hazard all our social rights and blessings, and is the first of its kind under our present constitution, it may perhaps be expected of me that I should not thus cursorily pass it over. I must therefore with a mixture of reluctance and pleasure make some observations, which may con­cern us all, on the unhappy occasion

And first let me lay before you the un­common and complicated guilt of this atro­cious attempt; and point out to you some aggravating circumstances, with which it was attended. It was an attempt to defeat a law, which the constituted authorities of government (the chosen representatives of the people) in aid of its necessities, had, on the most mature deliberation and reflection, enacted. It was an attempt to insult, to abuse, nay even to murder those men, who were constitutionally entrusted with the execution of the laws of their country. It was an attempt to sow dissension throughout this country, at a time when the blessings [Page 14] of a wise and free constitution had happily operated greatly to unite the hearts of all good citizens, and when, from peculiar circumstances, unanimity was singularly necessary. It was an attempt to frustrate those upright and steady measures, which have raised this country to a pitch of the most enviable prosperity; which, by the providence of God, have hitherto preserved to us the inestimable blessings of peace, amidst the desolating conflicts of almost every nation with whom we are in any de­gree connected; and which, we have daily increasing hopes, will secure to us a conti­nuance of those blessings. It was in short an attempt to set every man against his bro­ther; to fill the land with disorder and blood, and to give us up for a prey to the worst of enemies, anarchy and internal con­fusion.

The attempt having been thus shocking in its nature, let me next observe, how much it is the duty of every man to express his detestation of this crime by every means in his power. It is not enough that we do not actually join in such ruinous attempts. If we encourage them by our words, we are instrumental to their progress. To palliate guilt is to partake of it. And if we blow the dying embers of sedition by our breath, we take the surest means of kindling it again into flames. Even to be silent on such an occasion is a kind of connivance at the crime. No expressions of hatred and detestation [Page 15] against such ruinous wickedness can be too public or too strong. For thus alone by the united voice of all honest men, the leading in­struments of sedition can be struck dumb, and their deluded followers convinced of the baseness and profligacy of that attempt, in which they have been so unhappily involved.

My next observation is of a much more pleasing kind. In the quelling this shame­ful Insurrection we have had the strongest proof of a general attachment in all ranks of citizens to our most excellent constitu­tion, notwithstanding the loud clamours of some few factious combinations, and delud­ed individuals, which have been so indus­triously circulated among us: and, at the same time, the propriety and usefulness of a national militia have been unequivocally demonstrated. There have been honest men who doubted, and dishonest men who spread suspicions, concerning the effects of this es­tablishment. It had been suggested that a militia in the hour of trial, when employed against their fellow citizens, would prove themselves either timid, or incapable or un­faithful; that they would be more likely to aid an Insurrection than to quell one. But in this event we have seen a clear and no­ble instance of their union and ability, their integrity and courage. A mutual confidence, grounded on a mutual knowledge of each others upright intentions, was the cement that bound them together. 'The eye did not say to the hand, I have no need of thee, [Page 16] nor yet the head to the feet, I have no need of you. But God so tempered the body together, that there was no schism therein▪ but the members had the same care one of another'. But above all let me remark, that we may attribute the suppression of this dangerous attempt, without bloodshed, to the unanimi­ty, the conduct, the integrity, the generous forbearance, and distinguished humanity, which was displayed on this unhappy oc­casion, and which evinces not only a gene­ral spirit of patriotism, but also the excel­lence of a law, which fixes the national defence on its most natural and sure foun­dation, by teaching every man not to rely on the precarious and dangerous assistance of a mercenary standing force, but in turn to become his own, and his country's de­fender.

If we turn from government to religion, we have the same reason to adore the gra­cious majesty of Heaven, still working for his holy name, that is, for the general good of mankind. For tho' it would be vanity to boast in this case, as in the other, that true religion, like civil liberty, is scarcely to be found, except in these states, when we behold the Protestant faith professed in the purity of the Gospel, in so many kin­dred churches in Europe; yet this we can­not but declare, and should always acknow­ledge with gratitude, that, whilst so many in other countries, and under governments who call themselves Christian, have been [Page 17] deprived of that inestimable liberty, we are protected in the free exercise of this most pure religion, and by law secured in a full liberty of worshipping God according to the dictates of conscience, and of disciplin­ing and improving our minds in the prac­tice of all virtue, unembarrassed by legal clogs or penalties, in an extent unknown in any other part of the civilized world.

If these be things, which are the proper subjects of praise and thanksgiving, and call for the heartiest expressions of our gratitude to him, 'who redeemeth our life from de­struction, and crowneth us with mercy and loving kindness;' undoubtedly there is no nation under the sun that hath more reason this day than we to say, 'What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits that he hath done unto me? I will offer to him the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.' And this leads me to consider

3. The proper method of expressing our thankfulness; and the influence it ought to have on our future conduct.

And here, that the expressions of our gratitude should be as public and national, as the benefits that call for them, is a point which I need not insist on. The present solemnity proceeds upon this supposition, and your attendance in this holy place im­plies your assent to it. Nor will I doubt but that the sincerity of your religious ac­knowledgments has borne some proportion [Page 18] to the reality and greatness of the blessings you have been acknowledging. But sup­posing that: outward acknowldgments singly are downright pageantry and moc­kery. Nay inward sense of obligation along with them, if it bring not forth suit­able and lasting obedience, is imperfect, inefficacious, delusive homage, which our Maker cannot accept. 'Herein is my fa­ther glorified, faith our blessed Saviour, that ye bear much fruit.' And thus we are to understand that awful denunciation; 'If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, faith the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and I will even curse your blessings.'

If, then, the providence of God hath plant­ed us in a fruitful country, and his good­ness successively crowns our years with a perpetual increase, let us express our thank­fulness by temperance and sobriety, by works of mercy and charity, by taking care to prevent luxury and debauchery, pride and vanity, sloth and forgetfulness of God; which are the vices too apt to spring up out of prosperity and plenty. 'When thou hast eaten and art full, said Moses in his last exhortation to the Israelites, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day, lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast [Page 19] built goodly houses and dwelt therein,—and thy silver and thy gold, and all that thou hast, is multiplied;—then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God.'

If God hath preserved unto us our law­ful liberties and properties under a mild and well constituted government, when almost all other nations upon earth are subject to arbitrary and illegal dominion; which is that form of government, wherewith God threatened to punish the Israelites, when he declared unto them the manner of the king who should reign over them:—Our thank­fulness for this blessing can by no other way be so properly expressed, as by making it our chief care to use that liberty, which we so justly boast of, and which we have thought worth defending with so much blood and treasure, so as not to abuse it to licentiousness and wantonness; to use our liberty so as not to break thro' the obliga­tions of regular government, and legal re­straints; to use it so that we ourselves con­tribute nothing to the diminution of it.

In the most popular governments some authority there must be, and somewhere placed. And wheresoever authority is plac­ed, it must, if it has any meaning, create a proportionable obligation to obedience, (in other words, a proportionable restraint upon the freedom of action) in those who are subject to it. For after all our specu­lations, the obligations lying on the mem­bers of any community as such, must be [Page 20] measured by the laws of that community. These are at once the standards of the ma­gistrate's authority, and of the liberty of the subject. These are the declared will of the whole society, and must determine that of every member of it. A liberty to oppose his own private will to that of the public, and to resist those persons, who are entrust­ed with the execution of it, is no part of that liberty, which any society can allow its members. Nor can it be taken by any subject without a violation of the duty he owes to the government that protects him; to himself, as greatly interested in its peace and good order; and especially to that Be­ing, whose providence in the accounts of right reason, as well as those of revelation, 'ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.'

Legal liberty, then, is all that can be de­manded by members of society, and more than this cannot be confidently desired by any, who are willing to enjoy the benefits of government. 'Tis true we may think ourselves aggrieved by some of the laws in being; or we may dislike some thing in the form of government we live under: Or perhaps something in the conduct of persons entrusted with the administration thereof is not as it should be.' In all these cases, or any other of real or apprehended grievances, we have legal, constitutional, peaceable means for redressing them, with uncontrouled li­berty to use those means, if we will. And [Page 21] suppose they operate not so speedily, or so effectually, as we may wish; yet if force may be used instead of them, upon every failure or delay, especially when caused merely by difference of opinions amongst ourselves, no society can subsist. Taking unwarrantable steps in opposition to such as we may think, whether too hastily or not, bad men and bad measures, is only intro­ducing additional wickedness of our own, and giving others a pretence for continuing and even increasing theirs. If we are too corrupt to expect any good from mutual persuasion; much less can we expect it from mutual violence. The beginning of strife, especially between public parties, is as when one letteth out water; and 'tis impossible to say, where the breach may end, or the in­undation be stopped. I am willing to be­lieve, no considerable number of those per­sons, who first engaged in the measures we have been recollecting, had any thoughts of taking those steps, into which they soon permitted themselves to be hurried. But, alas! when respect for well settled constitu­tions, and the restraints of law, are once unadvisedly broken in upon; when men's passions are heated, and their jealousies set to work; no man can foresee how far those about him, or even himself may afterwards be carried. The gradation hinted at by St. Paul is generally found too easy and natu­ral; from backbiting and calumniating the actions of those in authority, to whisperings [Page 22] and secret cabals against them; from whis­perings to swellings and menaces, from swel­lings to tumults and riotous assemblings; thence the transition becomes almost una­voidable to open insurrection and rebellion.

Too much have the people of these Unit­ed States been unhappily divided by party distinctions and names of reproach; which often fatally hinder men from being of one mind in a house, and separate those, whom both duty and interest call upon to be chief friends. In this imperfect state of human affairs and human passions, it cannot indeed be, but that offences of this kind will come. But the present seems as promising a season as can well be expected, if not for wholly extirpating this baneful root of bitterness, at least for checking the growth of it. The general attachment lately shewn to our pre­sent established constitution of government was confessedly of the utmost importance to us all. And tho' some diversity of sen­timents about the methods of promoting our countrys interest, will ever subsist among such creatures as men, and will generally appear in a free country: Yet surely, un­less men are unreasonably fond of their own opinions, mere diversity need not degenerate into strife, nor zeal work itself up into rage and fury.

If, however, inconveniences in this respect should not always be prevented: If some will still be more solicitous for the preva­lence of their own schemes, than about the [Page 23] promotion of the general good: If they will go on groundlessly suspecting, and thence needlessly disgusting their well disposed neighbours: If, in short, warm zealots will unnecessarily kindle a tire, and compass them­selves about with sparks: Let each of us at least 'keep his own heart with all dili­gence,' guarding against the first motions towards all such vehemence in himself, and avoiding as much as possible the contagion of it in others; being well assured that no­thing in this world can recompence the loss of a meek and quiet spirit, which is not only a present ornament and blessing to every one that retaineth it, but a necessary preparative for that peaceful region, where the harsh voice of party shall not be heard: Where enmity and discord shall have no be­ing. If God hath given peace in our bor­ders and continues to us the blessing; among other expressions of our gratitude for so comprehensive a blessing, let us re­member to root out of our own breasts those lusts from whence, as from their original source, come wars and fightings among us; and let us, in their stead, cultivate those heaven born affections, which are at once the glory and happiness of brethren dwelling together in unity. And as it is a blessing of inestimable value in society, let us with resolution and watchfulness guard against every practice that may openly or secretly endanger it; nor hazard its destruction by delusive attempts, by listening to those [Page 24] 'who in quest of ideal perfection, are ne­ver satisfied with any established form of government, but whose unquiet minds, ever in pursuit of visionary theories, neglect the more important objects of peace, in­dustry and stability of goverment, which are the only circumstances that can give greatness or prosperity to a nation.'

Lastly, If God hath bestowed upon us the inestinable gift of religious liberty; of worshipping him according to the dictates of conscience; and vouchsafed to us the glorious light of the Gospel, and the know­ledge of his son Jesus Christ; whilst many other nations are deprived of this liberty; and several too lie yet in the darkness of Heathenism, and have not the knowledge of the law of God:—The best and most acceptable method of returning our thanks for so inestinable a blessing is, that we en­deavour to propagate the Christian know­ledge with simplicity to others, and that, animated with the love thereof, we take care above all things to obey the truth our­selves in all its purity; that we stedfastly take more and more heed, without regard to any human authority whatsoever, and without calling any man father or master upon earth, to adhere to the divine autho­rity of the Scriptures only, throwing off 'the sin which may so easily beset us,' that of too great eagerness and unchristian con­tention, about those secondary and inci­dental differences of opinion, which seem [Page 25] to divide us into various sects; while we all rejoice in one common day, which the glorious light of the Gospel hath spread over these extensive states. As therefore we all profess to be under the same Shep­herd, we should not surely make one ano­ther uneasy, because we lodge in different folds; seeing we all hold that a time will come, when all shall hear his voice, and there shall be one fold under one Shepherd.

To conclude. The constitution we live un­der is, in every respect, so happily balanced, as to partake of the beneficial influences of a just authority and a sober liberty, and to avoid the extremes of tyranny on one hand, and licentiousness on the other: A constitution under which we may be as secure, as any thing human can secure us, in our persons and our properties, in our lives and our consciences: A constitution, by a due im­provement of the advantages whereof, we may be easy in this world, and happy in a far better. Let us then at once shew our­selves worthy of these blessings, and secure the continuance of them, by rendering unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto GOD the things that are GOD'S: Ex­pressing our affection for our country by praying for its peace, and by contributing our honest industry, in our several stations, to­wards its prosperity; and our zeal for our holy religion, by a constant and devout at­tendance on its worship and its ordinances, and by adorning it with all the virtues and [Page 26] graces of a truly christian life.—In one word, our first duty is to fear God, our next, and in subordination thereto, to honor and obey those who are lawfully invested with autho­rity:—Join therefore these two together by means of wisdom and a sound understand­ing, with fervent prayers for a blessing on our endeavours;—and then tho' the rain should descend,—and the floods come,—and the winds blow, and beat upon our house,—yet our political edifice will not fail;—FOR IT IS FOUNDED ON A ROCK.