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SERMON,

ADDRESSED TO THE

SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATION

IN ALBANY, A  

ON THE 1T‘0URTH‘0F JULY,

A  BY” WILLIAMS B.  SPRAGUE, D. 1).

MI1‘TI$'1‘ER.~O1§‘ SAID CONGREGATION.

A alhmm :*

PRINTED BY mc1c.a..n.1> AN!) VAN BLENTHUYSEN.

 

SERMON.

PSALM CXLIV. 15.

HAPPY IS 'I‘I~I.A.’I‘ PEOPLE ‘WHOSE GOD IS THIE LORI).

Times has been a disposition in every age, and so far as we
know, among all civilized nations, to set apart particular days in
commemoration of great events. To say nothing of the fact that
the "work of creation itself was from the beginning commemorated
by divine appointment in the institution of the sabbath, who does
not know that not a small part of the days in the Jewish calendar
were required to be observed, and were actually observed, in re--
membrance of some signal event connected with their history?
The heathen too have discovered the same disposition 3 no incon-
siderable number of their festivals and other religious rites, having
reference to some real or imaginary distinction conferred upon them
in preceding ages. The same propensity is to be found among all
christian nations : nor is there any thing in it, in itself considered,
that deserves reprehension. It is not indeed right that nations should
commemorate great events in their history in the spirit of self?-
idolatry, thus burning incense to their own pride; but they should
do it in such a manner as to deepen their impression of the provi-
dence of God in ordering their lot; to inspire them with gratitude
to their great Benefactor; and to cause them to understand and
apply the lessons of counsel and Warning, which the dealings of
God with them may be ﬁtted to inculcate.

A

4

In accordance with this universal sentiment, the anniversary of
our country’s independence, has, from the beginning, been observed
as a day of jubilee 3--A-«a practice which Patriotism approves, and
Religion does not condemn 3 though both Patriotism and Religion
have bled at their own altars, in consequence of the ﬁerce and un—-
hallowed political rites which have often constituted this celebra-
tion. The man who makes use of this occasion for any other pur-
pose than to render the fabric of his country’s liberty more stable
in its foundations, and to carry it upward in goodly and magniﬁcent
proportions toward heaven; especially the man who assails this
noble fabric by inﬂammatory harangues, designed to cherish party
spirit; is guilty of a sort of political sacrilege; and his name de-
serves to be set down in the foremost list of his country’s enemies.

It happens that this national anniversary, for the present year,
has come on the sabbath ;---i-a day which commemorates an inﬁ-
nitely more important event——--—-the redemption of man by Jesus
Christ. Think not that I am about to prostitute this sacred day
to a mere secular purpose 3 or to forget the greater in the less 3 as
if the deliverance of a nation from political thraldom were an event
to be compared with the deliverance of the world from the curse
of God. Nevertheless, the one, in some views, may be said to
run parallel with the other: in other words, Religion has its tem-
poral as well as its eternal bearings: it extends its claims to na-»
tionsas Well as individuals ; and neither the pulpit nor the sabbath
is ever prostituted by a fair exhibition of any of these claims or
bearings. For, rely on it, it is the very same Religion "Wl1lCl1
ministers balm to the wounded conscience, and softens the pillow
of death, and secures to the soul a passage through the gate of
glory, which promotes, in the highest degree, all the temporal in-
terests of man, and is the main pillar of national prosperity. , I
trust, therefore, I shall not be considered as violating the sacred-—
ness that belongs to the place or the day on the one hand, or as
leading you into a train of thought inappropriate to this anniver-
sary on the other, while I endeavor to illustrate the propositionthat

RELIGION Is THE GREAT souncn or NATIONAL HAPPINESS-V This
is clearly implied in the declaration, “ Happy is that people Whose
God is the Lord.”

5

In illustrating thisproposition, I observe,
1. That Religion puriﬁes the elements of society.

I assume it here as a fact, that sin is the original cause of all
the evil that exists in the world: a shock which I will not here
attempt to explain, has been experienced in the moral constitution
of man, which has introduced sad derangement into this part of
his nature, and opened in his breast a fountain of we. To say
nothing of the operation of a guilty conscience, which every sin-
ner ﬁnds to be a fearful reality, there is the operation of evil pas-
sion---discontent, pride, envy, revenge, which renders the breast
of the wicked man like “ the troubled sea, whose waters cast up
mire and dirt.” N ow this disorder that reigns in the human heart
it is the province of Religion, and that only, to rectify; and just in
proportion as its influence prevails, the bosom becomes the dwell-
irig of peace and joy. As Religion produces this effect in every
individual case,iin which it is suffered to operate, and as comma»
nities and nations are composed of individuals, is it not manifest
that the amount of national happiness is increased just in propor--
tion to the prevalence of pure Religion P I

But each individual sustains relations of various kinds to his
fellow-men; and each of these relations is a channel through
which his inﬂuence goes out into the various departments of so-
ciety. Suppose now that he be a man of corrupt principles and
vicious habits 3 suppose that he be contentious, or revengeful, or
dishonest; how much harm will he be likely to inflict in one way
and another upon those with whom he associates; and how much
to be deprecated will be the general inﬂuence which he exerts upon
the world around him .! Especially, if he occupy an elevated sta-9
tion, who can ‘calculate to what extent he may sow the seeds of
unhappiness, or how many fair hopes may be withered through
his baleful inﬂuence? Suppose, on the other hand, that the same»-
tifying and controlling power of Religion be exerted upon that "in;
dividual-—-each of these various relations which he sustains, be-
comes a channel of benign and healtliful inﬂuence to society; and
in athousand ways, he is the minister of goodto his fellow-men.
Suppose that instead of a single individual, there be many, in

6

whom Religion has its genuine operation, bringingthem to engage
actively in promoting the best interests of society, how exten-
sively must the effect of their I‘ exertions be felt, and how large a
contribution must they make to the happiness even of a nation!
Is it not manifest then, that Religion is the grand source of national
happiness, inasmuch as it not only renders men happy in their indi-
vidual capacity, but renders them the instruments of communica-
ting important blessings to others P If it exerts a propitious inﬂu-
ence on the very elements out of which a community is formed,
surely that inﬂuence must extend to the character of the commu-
nity itself.

2. I observe, secondly, that Religion is the great source of na-
tional happiness, as it quiclcens and directs ct nati0n’s intellectual
energies.

To the capabilities of the human mind, even in the present life,
it were not easy to assign a limit. How much has been accom-
plished by the persevering industry even of an individual, in many
of the arts and sciences! To what an eminence in intellectual
acquirement, did Newton, or Bacon, or Locke, or Edwards, reach,
during the brief period of their earthly existence ! But notvvith-~
standing man is gifted with the power of making exalted attain-
ments in knowledge, such attainments he will never make, unless
his powers are brought into vigorous exercise; and whether they
are or not, must depend, on the degree of motive which urges
him to exertion. .NOW I do not say that a man may not be im-
pelled to the most powerful mental efforts, by considerations which
have nothing to do with Religion; for I well know, that there
always have been, and still are, men, who unite the character of
giants in learning with that of giants in guilt: but I do say With
conﬁdence, that there is no inﬂuence which tends so naturally to
bring the intellectual ‘powers of an individual into operation, as that
of , Religion; for, in the ﬁrst place, that state of the affections
which it induces-—a calm, undisturbed state of the soul, is most
favorable to the exercise of the intellect; and then again, he

 who , is under its inﬂuence, recognizes the obligation that "rests

upon him to glorify God in the faithful use of all his powers,
and this involves the obligation to cultivate his powers, so far as

'7

God, in his providence, may give him the opportunity._ And what
is true of an individual, is true of any number of individuals»-~,--its
true of a nation: the more the obligations and the inﬂuence of
Religion are felt, so much the more, other things being equal, will
there be, of active, intellectual energy.

But Religion does more than bring out the energies of the mind:
it gives them a right direction. ‘ An individual may be, in his in»
tellectual character, an angel 3 in his moral character, a ﬁend. So,
also a nation may have in it many gifted, and powerful, and ac-
complished, minds, and yet, as at least one example has proved’
may be a nation of atheists. N ow I assert that it is Religion,
and that only, which secures to the intellect of a nation such a
direction, as shall prevent it from being a national curse. Banish
Religion from’ a community, and with it you annihilate the in-
ﬂuence of moral obligation ; and where that has ceased to ope»
rate, ignorance oan scarcely be considered a calamity _:, for intellec-
tual power, in such circumstances, is only another name for the
power of doing harm. Let Religion prevail, on the other hand,
and in the same proportion, science and learning, under the con-
trolling inﬂuence of moral obligation, will become the hand-maids
of public happiness. 3

. Apply these remarks now to the establishment of public institu-
tions of learning. That such institutions may be established un—~
der other than religious inﬂuences, far be it from me to question :
on this point we claim nothing more for Religion than that she is
always favorable to such institutions, and gladly takes them under
her patronage; but we claim for her the exclusive honor of ren--
dering them fountains of public blessing. Let our public semi-

naries be as numerous as they may, and let them offer as rich ad--

vantages for intellectual culture as they may, and let as many of
our youth be assembled in them as there be, and if there be no
religious inﬂuence to control and direct their operations, each of
them will be a proliﬁc source of evil 3 a worm at the rootof, the
nation’s prosperity. The young men who are trained up in them
will go forth, not to lead on their country to an exalted destiny,
but to shed mildew , upon her rising hopes; and l the torch of
science, which ought only to enlighten and to bless, will be used

8

for nothing but to blast and consume the very elements of public
happiness. But let christianity maintain a controlling power over
these institutions, and each of them becomes a radiating point of
benign inﬂuence to the whole community. The intellectual
energy which is here brought into exercise, guided by moral prin-
ciple, is a powerful means of sustaining and directing benevolent
operations, of prosecuting the work, not only of moral but political
reform, and thus of helping forward the cause of human happi-
ness, and of course, promoting the prosperity of a nation.

Moreover, Religion directs the intellectual energies of a nation,
as they are exerted through the medium of the press. This,
none can doubt, is one of the most powerful auxiliaries of national
prosperity, or one of the most formidable engines of national ruin.
It were scarcely too much to say that, let the press have its free
operation, and it can cast the -character of a nation in whatever
mould it pleases 3 andehence you will ﬁnd that the character of a
community, at any given time, may be safely judged by the cha-
racter of its literature. What, for instance, was the literature of
revolutionary France, but a‘ record of the most powerful efforts of
the human mind to free itself from every moral restraint, and to
efface, if possible, even the last vestige of natural religion. And
how much, think you, was done towards bringing about that great
moral convulsion»--thel French revolution“-by the intellectual
efforts of a few individuals, put forth by means of the press Pi
Nevertheless, on the other hand, the press is inﬂuenced, in no
small degree, by public opinion. Let there be a high standard of
moral feeling in a community, which is the product of Religion.
and nothing else, and those who write for the public will be en-
couraged to write such books only, as will be of a useful, to say
the least, of a harmless tendency ; and in such a state of things,
it may ordinarily be presumed that they will be disposed to write
no other. But let the moral taste of a community begin to de-
cline, and it will be the signal for the coming in of a corrupt lite-
rature ; and presently the press will groan under a burden of
trash, and if public opinion should sink so low as to tolerate it, of
absolute inﬁdelity and atheism.“ Yes, I repeat, Religion, and that
alone, is a security, ‘especially in a free country, against the per-r
version of the press; against its being wielded in opposition to

9

the best interests of man, both in his individual capacity and in“ his
social relations. v  ’ r ~ i

3. Religion is the grand source of national happiness, inasmuch
as it secures the and of civil govermnem‘.

It accomplishes this object, in the first place, by causing the
nature of i civil government, or the relation which exists between
the magistrate and the subject, to be correctly understood. Who
that knows any thing of the history of governments, does not
know that, in countries in which Christianity has not prevailed, or
has prevailed only in name, there have been the most false and
absurd notions on this subject; and that instead of operating to
secure to man his social rights, it has been made the grand instru-
ment of clepriving him of them P A single individual, or it may
be, a few individuals, have wielded the rod of oppression, while
the multitude have tamely submitted to be trampled in the dust ;
knowing indeed that all was not right, but knowing too little of
the theory of government to decide exactly where the evil lay, or
how it could be remedied. But just in proportion as the gospel
has prevailed in its power in any country, mistakes on this subject
have beencorrecteid, and the true nature of civil government has
been understood. I do not mean that the gospel prescribes any
particular form of government for all nations 5 but it has decided
that the object of every form should be, to guard and maintain the
rights of the whole community : it has given a faithful exposition
of the reciprocal duties of the magistrate and the subject; de-
scribing the one as the minister of God for good to the people, and
requiring of the other that he should be subject to the powers that
be, for conscience’ sake. Now is it not manifest that where this
scriptural view of civil government is understood by a commu-
nity, there the first step, at least, is gained toward the attainment
of its end? " l i it

But Religion secures the design of civil government still farther,
especially in a free country like ours, by securing the elevation of
goodmen to office. I know that this isttoo often madega ﬁeld for
the operation of party spleen, and the conﬂicts of personal feeling;
and the danger is, that the candidates forofﬁce will be selected,

10
rather in obedience to the dictates of an ambitious or selﬁsh policy,
than “from a sober conviction that they possess the requisite quali-—
ﬁcations. But let Religion operate upon a man to produce in him
a lively sense of moral obligation and accountableness to God, and
he will not, he dare not, under such an inﬂuence, give his vote for
one whom he ﬁrmly believes to be too weak or too wicked to be
entrusted with the public interests. Such a man will not indeed
stop to ask Whether the candidate for office belong to one denomi-
nation of christians or another: the inquiry will he, not whether
he be a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Presbyterian, or an Episcopa-
lian; but Whether he be a man who will be faithful to the interests
of his country and of the World. It is easy to see that in the
same proportion in which this conscientious adherence to principle
gains ground, the high places of power will be occupied by the

‘wise and good.

Moreover, Religion secures the end of civil government, by in»
ﬂuencing rulers to the faithful discharge of duty. A bad man
occupying a post of high authority, is justly a terror to the com-
munity in which he lives 5 and as the case may be, even to the
world. And though he be not distinguished for wickedness---—if he
be only chargeable with that degree of caprice and vvayvvardness,
which We see every day in the world ; in short, if he be any thing
else than i a man of exemplary ﬁrmness and incorruptible integrity,
you can never be sure that he will not be bribed, or ﬂattered, or
induced, in some way, to betray the interests committed to him.
But let a ruler have the fear of God before his eyes, and the people
whom he governs have nothing to dread. Such a man, especially
if he holds an exalted place, can hardly expect to receive the un—-
qualiﬁed approbation of all 5 but he will deserve it. He Will faithw
fully and impartially consult the interests of every class, and of the
Whole community over whom he is appointed to rule ; and though,
as a man, he may have his private friendships and partialities, yet
as a ruler, he will have none. And suppose it devolve upon him
to regulate in some measure the relations of his own country to
other countries, here again, he forgets not that other nations have
rights as well as his own ; and he respects them. In relation to
war, he will not indeed adopt the principle of a passive non-resist-
ance 3 but he will regard it as one of the greatest of all evils, and

1 1
will do his utmost to prevent its approach, and to exterminate it
from the earth. In short, whether it be the domestic or the foreign
relations of his country that come immediately under his eye, he
will endeavor to forget all private considerations, and shape his
conduct by the principles of undeviating rectitude.

And to crown all, Religion secures the end of civil government,
by forming good subjects, and cherishing aspirit of obedience to the
constituted authorities. Is it not a lamentable fact, that a restless
spirit of insubordination is often exhibited, where the individuals
who are appointed to rule, happen to be unacceptable to a part of
the community; a spirit, which, if there were any prospect of its
being armed with power, it would presently ripen into rebellion; a
spirit which will not excuse in a ruler the common inﬁrmities of a
man, and which watches opportunities to embarrass his eﬂorts for
the public good, and even to bring his administration into contempt.
Need I say that this spirit, and the spirit of Religion, or even a
common degree of moral principle, cannot dwell together in the
same bosom. Let a religious inﬂuence go abroad through a com-
munity, and the consequence will be a spirit of respectful sub-
ordination toward those in authority, and a disposition to co-operate,
with them for the accomplishment of all the good ends of govern-
ment. There will be a general compliance with the exhortation of
the apostle-—--“ Render therefore to all their dues ; tribute to whom
tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear ;
honor to whom honor.”  

If then Religion alone inculcates the reciprocal duties of magis--
trates and subjects ;j if it secures the elevation of suitable men to
ofﬁce 3 if it is a pledge for the integrity and ﬁdelity of rulers ; and
if it forms a proper spirit of obedience in subjects, is it not manifest

that it secures most eﬁectually the great end of t civil government 2?

4. I observe, once more, that Religion is the great source 1 of
national happiness, as it is at pledgeto ct nation of the A, special
blessing of God. ' l i t I i i

That God has promised to reward, and that he actually does

reward with special tokens of his favor, in the present life, indivi-
V i B I

12

duals who are obedient to his commandments, no one can reasonably
question: and as individuals are the component parts of a nation,
the greater the number of individuals who are thus blessed, the

* greater is the actual amount of national happiness. But his provi-

dence extends to nations not only in their component parts, but in

their collective capacity. Look, for instance, at his dealings with -

the Jewish nation. All his promises and threatenings to that people
were conditional; that is, they were to be fulﬁlled or not, accord-
ing as they were obedient or disobedient. And We ﬁnd from their
history that, just in proportion as they obeyed the commandments
of God, they enjoyed the divine blessing ; and in the same degree
that they departed from the path of duty, they were visited with
divine judgments. I know the Jewish government was, in its
constitution, peculiar: it was administered by Jehovah, in a higher
and more direct sense than any other government ever was :
nevertheless, the providence of God extends to other governments
as Well as that 5 and it is a uniform rule of the divine adminstration
towards nations, that, if they obey Him, He blesses them; if they
forsake Him, He withdraws from them his favor. And Why should
itnot be so? A nation, though composed of individuals, is, in an
important sense, one body : it performs acts either immediately by
itself, or by its representatives, which imply a national responsibi-
lity ;, why should it not then, as a body, incur the favor or the
frown of Him who sitteth king among the nations ? Be it so, that
nations will not be known in their collective character before the
throne of ﬁnal judgment; that every one there will be tried in his
individual capacity ; but here manifestly it is otherwise: nations
are punished or rewarded for their conduct as nations 3 and every
individutal feels, in a greater or less degree, the inﬂuence of the

great controlling measures which are adopted,even though he may

have had directly no part nor lot in the matter. Wlien France
abjured allegiance to the Most High, and made a desperate effortr
to rid herself of all the restraints of religion, He whose throne is
in the heavens, caused a dark cloud to * settle over that devoted

country, which discharged itself in thunders, and lightnings, and

tempest, till even inﬁdelityistood aghast, and acknowledged‘trem-t
blingly that Jehovah was in that cloud. #0 it always has been»-so,
we venture to predict, with all the analogies of providence to sustain
us-:-——it always will be :4--«the righteous nation will enjoy the special

13

bened‘iction of God ; the sinful nation will smart under the rod of
his displeasure.

1. In review of our subject, we remark, first, that it enables us
to rlistinguish between true and false pam'otism.t

The true patriot is the man who is sincerely devoted to the in-
terests of his country, and who does his utmost to promote them.
If it be true then that Religion is the grand source of national hap-
piness, that man most certainly is not a patriot, in the best sense,"
who refuses to yield to the claims ofiﬂeligionr The man who open-
ly sets at nought the authority of God, and pours contempt upon
divine institutions; the man who profanes his Maker’s name, or
disregards the sacredness of the "sabbath ; the man who, under the
pretence of honor, goes out in cool blood to take his brother’s life ;
‘or he who is studious to undermine the authority of the gospel, and
to see established the dark and terrible reign of inﬁdelity ;—----neither
of theseis, in theproper sense of the word, a patriot. ‘ I do not
say that he may not talk much about national greatness and na-
tional glory: I do not say that he may not stand up in the hall of
supreme legislation, and make eloquent harangues in favor of li-
berty, and seem Willing, and actually be willing, to fight his counw
tryis battles, and if need be, to lay himself down and die on What
he would call a bed of glory: but I do ‘say that he may be all this,
and do all this, and yet, if he outrages the authority of God, he
deserves not to be called a patriot; because there is a War between
his professions and his actions, or between one part of his conduct
and another 3 and Whatever he may profess, or Whatever he may
do, he is actually doingthat by an immoral life, the direct tendency
of which is to lay his country’s glory in the dust. On the other
hand, let a man stand forth the friend of Religion, and the active
promoter of , its institutions, and though his voice may never be
heard in thehigh places of the nation, his benign inﬂuence will be
felt in the advancement of her prosperity. And when the day of
his country’s trial comes, believe me, that man will show himself
her ﬁrm friend ; and in addition to all his other efforts in her behalf,
he will spread out her cause before the God of nations, and the
God of armies; and the intercessions which he offers may draw
down upon her the blessing of God, while the vaporing, harangues

14

of an atheistical patriotism may be found to have combined the
elements of a tremendous curse.

2. Our subject furnishes a criterion by which we may judge of
our own national prospects. i

If Religion is the great source of national happiness, then the
grand question on which the destinies of our country are to turn,
is, Whether, or to What extent, Religion is to exert its inﬂuence
upon us. In this view, there are signs of the times that are ﬁtted
to ~ awaken anxiety, and there are others which are adapted to
cherish hope.

In respect to the former class----I would say that it is an adverse
sign that our nation is, at this moment, so much distracted “by the
spirit of party ; that the choice of our rulers is so much controlled
by local partialities and jealousies 3 that it is often conducted
in a spirit of base intrigue and ﬁerce contention, beneath whose
chilling inﬂuence even the kindlier feelings of private and domestic
friendship wither and die. I call it an adverse sign, and one which
ought to cover this nation with sackcloth, that so many who are
exalted to its high places, treat Religion with open contempt ; and
manifest a spirit which, in other circumstances, would blot out the
Sabbath, and burn up the Bible. I count it an adverse sign, that
inﬁdelity is coming out of its dark retreats into which it had been
frowned and scourged by public‘ opinion ; that it is lifting its brazen
front in the ‘Walks of decent society 3 and is breathing out its venom
among us fresh from the pit. I count it an adverse sign, that a
name which is associated with the brightest day in our national
calendar, and the most memorable event in our national history,
has, during the past year, openly taken a foremost place in the
ranks of r inﬁdel philosophy ; that writings over which surviving
friendship ought to have wept tears of mortiﬁcation and anguish,
and then consignedithem to the ﬂames, have been drawn forth to
the public view on an errand of corruption ; as if a malignant star
had risen up from amidst the shadows of death, to blast every plant
of virtue on which its beams might chance to fall; or ‘least if the

I hand which contributed to rear the fabric of our country’s liberty,

had become tired of its work, and were lifting itself even from the

15

darkness and corruption of the sepulchre, to undermine that fabric
and lay it in ruins. In ﬁne, my brethren, I call it an adverse sign,
that so much iniquity cleaves to us as a nation 3 that among people
of every class, there is so much contempt of Religion, so much
disregard for the authority of God. I

Let us look now at the other side of the picture, and see what
there is in it to encourage hope.   I  

I call it a propitious sign, that there is an increasing spirit of co-
operation among christians of different sects, for the advancement
of the common cause; and that there is a growing and blessed
forgetfulness of many of those little differences which have too often
kept the church in a tumult, and caused her light to be darkness.
I regard it as a propitious sign, that our benevolent institutions are,
with each passing year, gathering fresh strength and glory; that
the Bible is ﬂying on the wings of christian zeal and effort, through
the land, and is likely soon to become the inmate of every dwell»-
ing ; that the Sabbath School is gathering into its sacred inclosure
children of every class, and forming them to virtue and usefulness ;
that Temperance Societies are concentrating the energies of all the
wise and good, and have the monster which they have been en-.-
countering already chained to their car 3 and that something is doing
to staunch the wounds of bleeding, suffering Africa. I count it an
auspicious sign, that the inﬂuences of God’s Spirit are, from time
to time, poured out from on high, to accompany the preaching of
the Word, and the ordinances of Religion, and the various benevo-
lent efforts of the age, and that the American church is gradually
rising both inrbeauty and strength. I I ‘

Judge then, brethren and friends, for yourselves, what propor-
tion ought to exist between the amount of anxiety and the amount
of hope, which We cherish in respect to our country. But let your
judgment on this subject be what it may, sure I am you Will agree
with me, that there is enough in our circumstances as a rco"m1nu--

I nity, to inspirehurnility in view of our national sins ; thanksgiving

in View of our national mercies ; and fervent supplication to the
Ruler of the World, that He will preserve us from being our own
destroyers, and lead us on to that glorious destiny Which, under
his good providence, it is within our power to reach. I

16

3. In View of our subject, we see the importance of suszatining
and carrying forward our benevolent institutions.

I speak of these institutions here, not in their momentous bear»
ings upon the immortal interests of men, but as they stand con-—
nected with the prosperity of our nation ; and I say deliberately, I
say conﬁdently, that on their success is staked our nation’s wel-
fare---nay, her very existence. Let the moral machinery which
christian benevolence has put in operation in this land, once be
stopped ; let there be no missionaries sent abroad to publish salva-
tion in the distant mountains and vallies of our country ; let our
Bible, and Tract, and Sabbath school, depositories be closed, and
each of these several institutions abolished ;, let nothing be done by
christian associations to resist the current of vice, as it sets in deep
and strong upon our national interests ; and I tell, you the signal is
given for digging the grave,_and preparing the shroud, of our coun--
try’s greatness: and all that you will see after that, will be a few
lingering beams of her glory, just as the orb is sinking in the
darkness of a perpetual night. And then Patriotism will fold her
arms, and sit down in the dust, and Weep; and as she casts an eye
over this once goodly inheritance, and beholds it a wide ﬁeld of
ruin ; as she sees written on the broad face of these Western skies,
in characters of W0, “ THE GLORY IS DEPARTED 5” as the monster,
Intemperance, leaping from the chains by which for a season he
had been bound, insultingly laughs at her defeat, and begins anew
his accursed career with fresh courage: in short, as she listens to
the death groan, and looks upon the last convulsion, of American
liberty; she lifts her hands to heaven, and exclaims, “ Oh that my
country had known, in the day of her merciful visitation, the things
that belonged to her peace ; but now they are hid from her eyes !”

Am I not right then, brethren, in charging you, by the regard
which you bear to your country’s interests, to foster with special
care her benevolent institutions 3 Rely on it, your halls of legis-
lation may resound with long and lofty speeches in favor of liberty,
and you may have your well-disciplined troops stationed in every
part of the land, and yet your country’s independence will not be
safe, if her moral and benevolent operations are arrested: for
though there be no enemy approaching from abroad, there is a

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viper warming into life in the very bosom of this nation ; whose
deadly fang will diffuse poison through the whole body politic, and
cause the life blood of her liberty to set back in the chill of death.

It is a thought which is most intimately and painfully connected
with this anniversary, that, in this land, which boasts itself to be
the nursery of freedom, there is an enslaved people; a multitude
of human beings, whom the hand of oppression hath deprived of
their liberty. It is well for our country that she is Waking up to
this appalling calamity, and endeavoring to purify herself from this
national abomination ; and it is an exercise of benevolence, than

which no other could be more appropriate to this day, to contribute ,

to the relief of this degraded people,   Of the history of the Ameri-
can Colonization Society, of its unexpected success, of its extended
operations, of its cheering prospects, I will not speak; so conﬁdent
am I that its claims are already well known to you, and have found
favor in your eyes. I will only ask you, brethren, to act as con--
sistent freemen, as wise politicians, as true patriots, as brothers of
the human family---above all, as disciples of the Lord Jesus, ought
to act, in View of this tremendous evil. I am willing to leave the
cause in your hands, without saying a word. I ask the God of
mercy to direct your charities, and give you your reward.