THIS passage of the word of God, carries the mind above generals, to the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, whose character, ability and per­fection are such, that should the comparison be made, all the generals, nobles and kings of the earth, yea, and all the kingdoms of this and of all other worlds, would become as the drop of the bucket, or the unnoticed d [...]t of the balance. Hence this doctrine: God is all and in all.

For proof of this doctrine let us consider how created existences came into being. The LORD GOD said, let them be, and they were. This is demonstration that God was all and in all in crea­tion. For further proof of the Doctrine, let us view the government of the world, here as well as in creation it will be evident that God is all and in [Page 4] all. When God would have a chosen people in the world, he took Abraham their ancestor and carried him safely through all his pilgrimage in the land, afterward to be peopled with his descendants. No enemy harmed him, for God was his shield and de­fence. When five kings combined and wrought wickedness, for which God thought best to punish them, Abraham and his family were a sufficient host in the hand of Omnipotence to vanquish the combined forces, liberate their captives and recover the spoil they were carrying off. God was all and in all, in protecting and defending Isaac and Jacob with their families, while as pilgrims and strangers, they sojourned among their enemies. When God's people were reduced to the most abject slavery in Egypt, he raised up Moses with all the talents, furnished with all the accomplishments necessary to effect what he then would have done. God with this noble instrument in his hand emancipated Israel, spoiled the Egyptains, yea, and conducted his chosen nation through the sea, through the wilderness within sight of the promised land. And before he dismissed Moses, he had prepaired a more suitable character to be instrumental in conquering and settling Canaan in the person of Joshua. This chain of Gods instrument whom he raised up and qualified to effect those things which were done through the periods of the Judges and Kings of Isreal, might be traced to advantage, in shewing that God is all and in all.

But let us now attend to proof of the doctrine con­tained in the text. The text looks to the period when Israel had been nearly seventy years in captivity, when God had punished that nation for their wickedness ac­cording to his former threatenings, to the time when he had purposed to redeem them from captivity and bring them back to Jerusalem. Therefore, God prepares for himself a character exactly suited to the occasion, to be the instrument in this great work; yea and out of the heathen world too he makes to himself a general, furnished with all the arts of war, necessary to be the instrument in his hand in overturning Babylon that mighty empire, which had been mistress of the world [Page 5] many years. When Cyrus laid siege to the city of Babylon, such was the strength and height of its walls, that the inhabitants so far from being terrified at the siege, made a scoff and derision of the general and his army. The river Euphrates ran through the middle of Babylon, passing under the wall through arches: each side of this river, or on each bank within the city were walls of similar strength to those that surrounded the city, and in those walls at the bottom of every street were brazen gates through which the inhabitants passed to the river; the constant practice was to have these gates stand open by day, and to have them shut and fast barred by night. The way in which Cyrus took the city was; he turned the course of the river above the city, causing all the waters to leave the natural channel, then made two divisions of his army and entered the city on both sides at once in the channel of the river, and passing up and down the channel, found all the brazen gates open, which gave him an opportunity to attack all parts of the city at once. Here was fulfilled the promise of God in the text, I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut—I will brake in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of Iron. Thus Cyrus in one night became master of Babylon and all her hidden treasures, he overturned the Babylonian empire, and erected the Persian. This revolution threw captive Israel into the hands of the conquering General. Now look at the finger of God, and realize that he is all and in all. The iron savage heart of the hero Cyrus, that yesterday was bent on making all the world slaves to himself, to day, in the hand of God, is melted down so as to say to captive Israel, be free, go, return to your own land, carry with you the rich treasure brought hither from Jerusalem, rebuild your temple and city; and lo! ye have also the aid and assistance of me and my subjects! What an event this! and how striking a proof that God is all and in all. But for more sensible proof of the truth of our doctrine, we will come down to things which we have seen, and humbly hope we shall all be feelingly convinced that God is all and in all.

[Page 6]Our ancestors, to enjoy peaceably their religion, left their native land, crossed the untraversed ocean, under the guiding hand of God, and settled the borders of this then savage land. God fought their battles with the savages as our fathers tell us, and in his hand his little flock was safe. Under the care of such a Shep­herd the flock soon became numerous like Israel of old, was great and goodly, so as to be seen across the broad Atlantic with a jealous and envious eye by its parent. She not like other parents, disowned her child, and not only refused to give it nourishment, but with rapacious hand, attempted to snatch what the infant had itself gathered for its own support. The infant held its hard acquired morsel fast. What followed? The monster, for I will no longer call her parent, drew the glittering sword, and sheathed it in the infants heart, and called it rebel. But to dismiss the allegory: God was about to make another nation in the world; and for materials, he chose the British Colonies in America, the then most weak, and as to the arts of war most unexperienced part of the nation, which like Babylon of old had long been the terror of the world. The whole nation besides the Colonies, not to mention the multitudes scattered throughout them who did ^* worse, flew to arms to crush the ^‡ rebellion, as they termed it, and bind fast in slaveries galling chains Americans. But it was all in vain, for God who is all and in all, was about to give birth to, perhaps, the most important nation on earth, and he had his instrument all prepared. He had his [Page 7] General made and furnished with every talent, with every qualification necessary to take the field, and at the head of such men, for we cannot with propriety say soldiers, as the Colonies afforded, he baffled the councils, defeated and captured the armies, and lay prostrate the pride of haughty Britain.

Americans, this was the work of God, who is all, and in all, and in this work WASHINGTON was his noble creature, made of God to be an instrument in freeing you from the oppressive tyranny of Britian's haughty Monarch. Yes, let it be realized, let it be felt in every heart that God was all and in all, in raising up and in qualifying our beloved WASHINGTON to do this impor­tant service for the nation. God in his providence furnished him with wise and good councillors, and with all the help he enjoyed, he did all for him, and carried him on, shielding him in his hand in the crimson field, and filling his mind with the whole system of tactics until as a General he stood unrivalled. With WASHINGTON as the chief instrument, God hath made a nation which of its age, hath not an equal. This done, the bene­volent father of mercies was pleased to continue his noble creature still a rich blessing to the nation, to be an instrument in forming our execellent constitution.

This being done, and the nation having adopted it; here again God was all and in all, in qualifying our beloved WASHINGTON for that office in state to which he was unanimously called by his fellow citizens. Finally, it was God who made all the difference which there was between our beloved and never to be for­gotten WASHINGTON, and the greatest idiot in the land.

Long did God favor this happy land with all the talents, with all the virtues that shone in his creature WASHINGTON.

But at length the period arrived, when this, like all other temporal blessings must be taken away by the same hand. The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away, and it becomes the whole nation to say, blessed be the name of the LORD, for it is in righteousness he afflicts us, as a nation: we deserve not only this, but much heavier judgement. We ought to realize that [Page 8] the death of this great and eminently useful man, is a punishment for our sins, and to be humble before God; yea, and it is suitable that we should accept the punish­ment of our iniquities. "Shall we receive good at the hand of the LORD and shall we not receive evil." The evil we deserve, but the good we merit not, it is there­fore mercy. Should we as a nation, suitably conduct under this afflicting stroke of God, should it lead us to true repentance and engage us in the service of God, we may with confidence look to and trust in the great all and in all, to raise us up another WASHINGTON, should he be needed to lead forth our warriors to battle, to be an instrument in his hand to do us the good we may need. And in the midst of our grief for our departed friend, and sorrowing under the rod of God, it becomes us to be truly grateful to God for the blessing we mourn the loss of. We are not to view WASHINGTON as a God, nor as a Saviour, because he was only a man, and as a man he is dead, but our God and our Saviour are alive, and will live forever. Therefore let us view WASHINGTON as a man, and as such mourn his loss: and as he was confessedly one of the greatest and most useful of men, as such, he though dead, will live in the memory of his fellow citizens. And his character in this point of view, will ever stand a suitable example for imitation. Would the youth of our land wish to live respected, would they arrive to the height of earthly greatness, and die universally lamented, let them look at the example WASHINGTON has set, and go and do like­wise. But would they wish to arrive to that felicity and glory, to which the human soul may arrive: let them look to a greater than a WASHINGTON, and imitate the example which he has set, even Jesus Christ, then they may be assured of not only such preferment, respect and veneration as WASHINGTON has on earth, but also the approbation of their God and Judge, and the enjoyment without end, of such blessedness as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man to conceive of. AMEN.