BV C-NRLF DISCOURSE, IN TWO PARTS, DELIVERED JULY 23, 1812, ON THE PUBLIC FAST, IN THE CHAPEL OF YALE COLLEGE* BY TIMOTHY I> WIGHT, D.D.L.L.D. PRESIDENT OE THAT SEMINARY. 0+0 PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE STUDENTS. AND OTHERS NEW-HAVEN: PUBLISHED BY HOWE AND DEFOREST. SOLD ALSO BY A. T. GOODRICH AND CO. KO. 124, BROADWAY, NEW-YORK, Printed by J. Seymour, 49, John-street, New- York. 2,10 PART I. A DISCOURSE, ISAIAH xxi. 11, 12. The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watch man, what of the night ? Watchman, what of the night ? The Watchman said, The morning cometh ; and also the night. If ye will inquire, inquire ye ; return ; come. THIS passage of Scripture is unconnected with any thing, which either precedes or follows it. The first clause is merely a title, or caption, denoting the coun try concerning which the prediction is uttered : " The burden of Dumah ;" or more properly, as it is render ed by Bishop Lowth, " The oracle concerning Du mah" Dumah was the country ofldumaa, or Edom ; which was inhabited by JEsau, and his descendants. " He calleth to me out of Seir." Seir, as you know, was a mountain in that country ; the place originally chosen by Esau for his residence ; whence his posteri ty spread over the neighbouring region. They were often at war with the people of Judah. Saul at tacked them, and vexed them : 1 Samuel xiv. 47. David subdued them, and put garrisons in their for tresses ; so that they became his tributaries : 2 Samuel viii. 14. 1. Chronicles xviii. 12, 13. In the days of ( 4 ) Solomon, Hadad, one of the royal family, who had fled from the invasion of Joab into Egypt, returned, and re-established himself in the kingdom : whence, it would seem, he did much mischief to the people of Is- rael. In the time of Jehoshaphat, they united with the Ammonites, and the Moabites, to invade the kingdom of Judah. But the Lord set ambnshments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah ; and they were smitten : for the children of Ammon, and Moab, stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to slay and de stroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. After this singular event, the Edomites were effectual ly broken down for a course of years. r lhere was then, we are informed, no king in Edom : a deputy was Itiag. In the days oiJehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, they revolted j rom under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves : and although Jehoram de feated them 111 battle, they still preserved their inde pendence. Amaziah afterwards attacked them, and destroyed 20,000 of their men. Stili they continued an independent people, till they were finally subdued by John Hyrcanus, according to the predictions of Jere- miah, Ezedel, and Obadiah. They then submitted to be circumcised ; and soon ceased to be a distinct peo ple. Of this nation, one, in the name of the rest, calls to the prophet Isaiah from mount Seir. Or perhaps Ihe call is intended to be from the whole nation, per sonified agreeably to the manner of writing, which is so customary with the prophets of the Old Testament. That the call is directed to Isaiah himself, there can be no doubt : because he asserts it in the most direct terms, " He calleth to ME." The prophet is addressed under the figurative character ot a Watchman ; i. e. a watchman, appointed by GOD for the nations of the earth. As his predictions were successively uttered against many nations, and might be expected to in clude many more, the Idumceans, who were kindred to the Jews, and lived in their neighbourhood, are very naturally exhibited as wishing to know, from this inspired minister of the true GOD, what were the events, which were to befall themselves ; and to learn whether the prophet, with the eye of Revelation, saw any danger approaching to them. This is the more natural, as he had just been predicting the ruin of all the neighbouring countries ; of Egypt, of the country of the Philistines, Syria, Judaea, Moab, and Babylon. After these predictions, the people of Idumcea could hardly fail of trembling, lest their own destiny should be next announced, or of anxiously inquiring of what nature it should be. The inquiry, so solicitously made by this voice from Mount Seir, is, " Watchman, what of the night ? W atch- man, what of the night P" " The night" here denotes, I apprehend, merely the period of time for which the watchman was set as an inspector of the passing events. In familiar language, it was the prophet s watch, or season of watching. This is the season concerning which they inquire ; and the occurrences of which, so far as they respected themselves, they were desirous to know. The repetition of the inquiry shows, that they ask eagerly, and anxiously, because they are deeply alarmed by the miserable end of the surrounding nations concerning the fate of their own. The answer of the prophet is, like the question, concise and figurative. " The Watchman said, the morning cometh ; and also the night. If ye will in quire, inquire ye : return; come." The morning , the light, and tke day, are in the Scriptures familiar figu rative expressions to denote prosperity. Night and darkness, are with the same familiarity used to denote adversity. Such, I apprehend, is the use of these terms in the present case. The prophet may, there fore, be considered as saying to the people of Seir, and to the Idumceans generally, The morning com eth ; and also the night, i. e. a season of prosperity is immediately before you, and will be succeeded by a season of adversity. The remaining words of the answer may, I think, be naturally paraphrased in the following manner. * If ye are really desirous to know your destiny, and to learn the things which belong to your peace, come, and inquire at the mouth of GOD. Return to him by returning to the religion from which you have departed, ever since the days of your first founder. Come again ; and renew your allegi ance to GOD/ Such, I apprehend, is the whole meaning of this very concise, very figurative, and therefore very ob scure, passage of Scripture. A religious assembly, gathered in this land at the present moment, can hardly be supposed to feel a spirit of indifference with respect to the existing state of the world, and particularly of their own country. At no time, since the deluge, has the situation of the human race been so extraordinary ; the world so shaken ; or its changes so numerous, sudden, exten sive, and ominous. He, who is indifferent to these things, must be supposed to have neither heart, nor understanding, nor eyes, nor ears. In addition to all the other solemn and ill-boding events of the present period, to use the language of our chief magistrate, * the righteous Providence of GOD has permitted the nation to which we belong to be engaged in an of fensive war, the multiplied evils of which must be felt by all, but its end cannot be discovered by human agency. Our own cause, as well as that of the rest of mankind, is now in agitation. Even if we have been able to behold with indifference the general con vulsion of the world, and to see nation after nation blotted out from under heaven, it can scarcely be credible, that the most stupid among us can fail of being serious, solemn, and solicitous, when our own case is under trial, and when our allotments are now, perhaps, to be finally settled. I well know, that there are thoughtless, giddy, empty minds, who on the one hand consider this event as a victory, and on the other as a defeat, of their own party; and extend their views no further. I also know, that there are men of passion and violence, who feel satisfied with carrying, or mortified with failing to carry, a point ; that their views, and their horizon, terminate here; and that even their wishes extend no further than to the gratifi cation of their feelings. To persons of this descrip tion it is in vain to urge consequences; although con sequences, in almost all cases, involve whatever is important in each case; while the objects at which they aim have in themselves no importance at all. A sober man, especially when possessing an en lightened mind, will expand his thoughts beyond the present moment, and the passing event; and will look forward, in every solemn situation, with intense anxiety, to discern, as far as he may, the effects of those transactions, in which he is now interested; and will regularly perceive, that that which is to come, frequently gives the deepest colouring to that which is present ; and, whether desirable or undesirable, al ways enhances its import to mankind. Men of the former description, feel as if they had gained every thing, when they have compassed the object of their present wishes ; and are either indifferent concerning what is to come, or take it for granted, that, when it comes, it will adapt itself to their inclinations. Men of the latter description, consider that which is done, if consistent with the revealed will of GOD, as desir able, only when the events which it draws in its train are also desirable. The leading members of the ruling party in Great Britain, immediately be fore the American revolution, hugged themselves on their success in being able to force through the Par liament their favourite measures for humbling the Co lonies. Chatham, with an illumined eye foresaw, and with a prophetic voice declared, the disastrous consequences, which have since followed these darling measures. The period in which we live, is, in my own belief, marked out in prophecy as a part of that which is in cluded within the effusion of the seven vials. The fifth of these I consider as unquestionably poured out at the Reformation. According to this scheme, we are now under the sixth, or the seventh. As seve ral men of reputation, who have lately published treatises on the prophecies of Daniel and John, have espoused opinions widely different from this ; my reasons for holding it may fairly be demanded. I will, therefore, state them in a summary manner. The fifth vial is exhibited to us in the following terms. " And the fifth angel poured out Jiw vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was fall of ( 9 ) darkness ; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the GOD of Heaven, because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds" That the Reformation was an event, perfectly an swering to this prophecy, will, I suppose, not be questioned ; as without violence it plainly cannot. The seat of the beast is literally his throne, and sym bolically his power. Every one knows, that this great providential dispensation was directed immedi ately against the power of the Romish hierarchy. The Pontiff, his court, his ordinary and extraordinary agents, his clergy universally, the secular princes, and the immense body of people under his control, were all agitated by a general convulsion. A large part of the dominions, over which he held a spiritual sceptre, revolted ; and, notwithstanding the immense efforts, made by the Emperor of Germany, and his coadjutors, for the destruction of the Protestant cause, were finally rescued from their thraldom, and estab lished in the full possession of religious liberty. The kingdom of the Beast was, at this time, full of darkness. The hierarchy had always been distin guished for the attribute, which we style cunning ; and, it must be confessed, exercised it in a degree, to which there has been no parallel. But at this time their councils were weak and contemptible : weak, as they were wavering, and contradictory ; contempt ible, as they displayed that mixture of fear and false hood, which forms the lowest trait of despicableness in the human character. His kingdom, also, was full of darkness in another sense. It was filled with sore mortification. The hierarchy, in all its branches, saw its power greatly, and finally, lessened ; not a small part of its wealth irrecoverably diverted into 2 other channels ; and a body of men raised up in the heart of Christendom, whose number, weight, and talents, were formidable to all its interests, and threat ened even its existence. That these men blasphemed the GOD of Heaven because of their pains and their sores ; i. e. because of their extreme mortifications ; we cannot doubt : and we know, that they repented not of their deeds. In the early part of his career, Luther would have been satisfied with a Reformation, in those thing s merely, which were gross and mon strous : such was his reverence for the system at large. But they had so often rolled these, as sweet morsels, under their tongues, that they could not consent to give them up. The most heretical doctrine, ever preached by any Reformer, in the view of the Ro mish church, was the obligation to receive truth : the most heretical practice, ever adopted, was the renun ciation of sin. The account of the sixth vial is given in these terms. " And the sixth angel poured out his vial " upon the great river Euphrates; and the water " thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of " the East might be prepared. And I saw three un- " clean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of " the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and " out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they " are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which " go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the " whole world, to gather them to the battle of that " great day of GOD Almighty. Behold, I come as a " thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his " garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his " shame. And he gathered them together into a " place, cailed in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon/ This angel, we are told, poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. The Euphrates, in the literal sense, was the source of the wealth, strength, and safety, of the literal Babylon. It ran round the walls, and through the centre, of that city; and by Cyrus and Cyaxares, the literal kings of the East who destroyed Babylon, was dried up in these parts of its channel, by being turned into a lake higher up the country. The symbolical Ba bylon, or the Babylon of the Apocalypse, is the Ro mish spiritual Empire. The symbolical Euphrates 9 here mentioned, is a source of wealth, strength, and safety, to that empire. To dry up this Euphrates, is to diminish, or destroy, that source of wealth, strength, and safety. The symbolical kings of the East, are those, whoever they may be, who shall destroy this spiritual Babylon. Several commentators have sup posed this language to denote certain princes, who are to come from the East : making the phrase literal. This zigzag course between literal and symbolical language has, as it appears to me, had no other influ ence, than merely to perplex prophecy, and to render obscure what was otherwise plain. The kings of the East mean, here, nothing but the destroyers of the spi ritual Babylon. Had the names, Cyrus and Cyaxares, or Cyrus and Darius, been set down, instead of the kings of the East, as they might have been with strict propriety, because literally these are the very persons intended ; then we might with as strict propriety have expected Cyrus and Darius to be raised from the dead, in order to destroy the spiritual Babylon, as we may now expect kings, or any other persons, to come ( 12 ) from the East for this purpose. When this source, or these sources, of the wealth, strength, and safety, were dried up, or perhaps while they were drying up ; in other words, when sufficient preparation was made ; the prophet saw three unclean spirits, of an extraordi nary character, appear, and act, as important agents in this great work of providence. These spirits had the following remarkable characteristics. They came out of the mouth of the dragon ; that is, the secular persecuting power of this spiritual empire ; and out of the mouth of the beast, or ecclesiastical persecut ing power of the same empire ; and out of the mouth of the false prophet, a primary agent of this latter power ; exercising all the power of the first beast be fore him, and causing the earth, (the dominions of the Roman empire,) and them, who dwell therein, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. This prophet might with ease, and almost with absolute certainty, be shown to be the body of monks, or regular clergy, of the Romish church. But the time will not allow me to expatiate on this part of the subject. They were the spirits of demons ; malig nant, subtle ; hostile to human happiness, and human virtue; and enemies to Goo and the Lamb. In other words, they were bitter and violent enemies to Christianity. They were like frogs : base, grovel ling ; loquacious ; intrusive ; clamorous : to be found in every place ; and pertinacious in their modes of action. They wrought miracles ; or did things which were wonderful and astonishing. The great objects of these spirits is to deceive the kings of the earth, and of the whole world. The end for which they are permitted to do this, is that the kings of the earth, i. e. the powers and potentates of the Roman empire, ( 13 ) and many others, together with them, may be assem bled to the battle of the great day of GOD Almighty. The number three is a definite for an indefinite num ber ; and is probably used because these unclean spi rits were derived from three sources ; the three great powers of the Romish empire. The amount, then, of this part of the prophecy, sum marily expressed, is the following : * that while provi dence shall be employed in reducing the wealth, strength, and safety, of the Romish empire, a collection of men, of demon-like character, polluted and debased, clamo rous and intrusive, impudent and obstinate, and posses sing a Jiend-li e hostility to the Christian religion, will spring up in the heart of its dominions ; and par ticular ly among the princes and nobles ; the secular and regular ecclesiastics ; mho will combine together in the great business of deceiving the potentates of the earth, or JikOman Empire ; and others, also, in various parts oj the world ; that these potentates may be assembled in a vast war, in which the vengeance of GOD will be wonderfully executed upon the eminently wicked inhab itants of the countries, included within its limits ; call ed, because it is a day of such retribution, " the battle of that great day of GOD Almighty."" To this account is subjoined, " And he gathered them into a place, called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon ; or the mountain of Megiddo; or the mountain of the Gospel*. The mountain of Megiddo, very naturally denotes the moun tain of sorrow or mmirning : because Megiddo was the place, where Josiah was slain; of whom it is said, " And like unto him there was no king before him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his $oul, and with ail his might, according to all the law of * See Calmot, Cruden, &c. ( 14 ) Moses ; neither after him arose there any like him." After his death it is said, " All Judah and Jerusalem wept for Josiah ; and Jeremiah lamented for Josiah ; and all the singing men and singing women spake of Jo siah in their lamentations, to tltis day ; and made them an ordinance in Israel : and behold they are written of in the Lamentations" This mourning, so extensive,, so deep, so long, and so regularly continued, furnishes a most expressive image of the intense and unlimited sorrows, which will flow from the war in question, As denoting the mountain of the Gospel, Armageddon may be considered as pointing out the place where this war w r ill be carried on ; viz. the countries, in which the Gospel has been preached; or, in other words, what is commonly called Christendom. Probably it was in tended to have this douLle reference, and to express- both the place and the circumstances of this extraor dinary conflict. Our Saviour adds in a parenthesis, " Behold, I come as a thief; blessed is he that watcheth> and keepeth Ms garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame" The declaration at the beginning of this verse is a solemn annunciation of the Redeemer to his followers, that, when these preparations are made for the final destruction of the spiritual Babylon, he will come suddenly, and unexpectedly ; as a thief conies in the night; to destroy this grand human ene my of his Church. As the times will be times of terrible convulsion ; he affectionately warns his sincere disciples to take the most cautious heed, to watch over themselves, that they may not be exposed to the cen sures of malignant men here, nor furnish ground for regret, either in this world or that to come. When all this shall have been done, the seventh vial will be poured out ; of which we have the ioilow- ing account. ( 15 ) " And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the *< air ; and there came a great voice out of the temple " of heaven, from the throne, saying 1 , It is done. And " there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings ; 46 and there was a great earthquake, such as was not << since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earth- " quake, and so great. And the great city was di- " vided into three parts ; and the cities of the nations " fell: and gieat Babylon came in remembrance be- " fore GOD, to give unto her the cup of the wine of 46 the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled " away, and the mountains were not found. And. " there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven ; every " stone about the weight of a talent : and men blas- " phemed GOD because of the plague of the hail ; for " the plague thereof was exceeding great." Of this prophecy there are four parts. The great voice out of tike temple of heaven, saying, " It is done ;" L e. the kingdom of Babylon, or the spiritual Romish empire, is terminated ; or, perhaps more appropriately, the work of destroying this empire is finished. The second is, the general convulsion ofllie world, attendant upon this mighty event represented by the voices, the thunders, the lightnings, the earthquake, the falling of the cities of the nations, the fleeing away of the isl ands, the vanishing of the mountains, and the plague of hail. The third is, the effect of these convulsions upon Babylon itself. The great city was divided into three parts : and great Babylon came in remembrance before GOD to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierce ness of his wrath. The fourth is, the effect of these judgments upon sinful men : And they blasphemed GOD because of the plague of the hail : for the plague thereof was exceeding great. ( 16 ) The declaration, " It is done" intends, I apprehend, either that this is the last of the judgments of GOB upon the Romish empire ; or that the work of des truction is, (to use the language of Doddridge,) just now completing. In scriptural language, that is often said to have taken place, which is yet in progress ; and even that which is still future. The great convulsion, here described, is exhibited as affecting the earth, and the atmosphere. This de scription, like other parts of the Apocalypse, is symbo lical ; and denotes a convulsion among the empires of this world, resembling in its violence the terrible agi tation of the elements, which is here announced. " The nations" are those, who experience the shaking of the earthquake. The convulsion is of kingdoms, princes, nobles, and the people, over whom they preside ; such an one as will agitate and distress the world of men in the same manner, as if all the elements were in the confusion mentioned in the prophecy. It is not necessary to explain the third of these parts of The CITY Rome. Whether Rome may be thus affected, or not ; or whether it be peculiarly and immediately affected at all, or not ; the prophecy may be fulfilled with equal exactness. In the following chapter, where this subject is resumed in a different form, the angel interpreter informs us, that the woman, who sat upon the scarlet coloured beast, and who had upon her forehead her name written, " MYSTERY, BABY LON THE GREAT, the mother of harlots, and abo minations of the earth; 1 was the great city, which at that time reigned over the kings of the earth. Un questionably, this city was Rome : but it was not, as Rome, I apprehend; not as a city, having in itself, ( in the political system, power, agency, and influence, of its inhabitants;) this abominable control over mankind ; that this name is given to it. It was be cause Rome was the seat of the Hierarchy ; the cen tre of its power ; the fountain of its corruptions ; the spot, whence proceeded the delusions, impieties, and iniquities, which depraved the whole Christian world. If then, the city, in this seme, is divided and distract ed, the prediction is answered. The parts into which it is exhibited, as thus divided, are here said to be three : a definite number^ for an indefinite : the real meaning being expressed by the English word several. The fourth part needs no comment. Having finished the remarks which I thought it ne cessary to make upon these passages of Scripture by way of explanation, I will now proceed to give the reasons, why I suppose the present period falls under the two last of these vials : and these are all included under the general one, that the facts, which have ta ken place during the last 120 years, parti cularly during the last 80, and still more especially during the last 60, have been an exact, and wonderful, accomplishment of tlie predictions, which they contain. Many of these I have stated, particularly, on another occasion. At these I shall only glance; and then proceed to others, which were not then specified. The first public appearance of Deism was about the middle of the 16th century : when several persons in Italy, and France, assumed the title of Deists, as an express distinction of themselves from Christians. They are mentioned by the celebrated Viret, an emi nent Reformer, as treating the Scriptures as a collec tion of fables, and laughing at all religion. Several men of this class appeared in England, also, about 3 ( 18 ) the latter part of the same century. But neither in Grectt-Bril</m,noY on the continent, did they make any considerable impression upon public opinion. In the year 1624, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, a man of considerable talents, and learning 1 , published his book concerning Truth, at Paris. It was afterwards pub lished in England, together with two others. A fourth was added to them after his death. In these he attempted to reduce Deism to a system. From this time, writers of this class multiplied, both in Great- ftritain and on the contiuent of Europe. In. such a world as this, it was impossible that they should not find adherents. About the year 1728, the great sera of Infidelity, Voltaire formed a set design to destroy the Christian religion. For this purpose he engaged, at several succeeding periods, a number of men, distinguished for power, talents, reputation, and influence ; all deadly enemies to the Gospel ; Atheists ; men of profligate principles, and profligate lives. This de sign he pursued with unabated zeal 50 years; and was seconded by his associates with an ardour, and industry, scarcely inferior to his own. In conse quence of their united labours, and of the labours of others, from time to time combined with them, they ultimately spread the design throughout a great part of Europe ; and embarked in it individuals, at little distances, over almost the whole of that continent. Their adherents inserted themselves into every place, office, and employment, in which their agency might become efficacious, and which furnished an opportuni ty of spreading their corruptions. They were found in every literary institution from the Abecedarian school to the Academy of sciences \ and in every civil ( 19 ) office, from that of the bailiff to that of the Monarch, They swarmed in the palace ; they haunted the church. Wherever mischief could be done, they were found : and, wherever they were found, mis chief was extensively done. Of books they control led the publication, the sale, and the character. An immense number they formed ; an immense number they forged ; prefixed to them the names of reputable writers, and sent them into the world, to be sold for a song ; and, when that could not be done, to be given away. Within a period, shorter than couid have been imagined, they possessed themselves, to a great extent, of a control, nearly absolute, of the literary, religious, and political state of Europe. With these advantages in their hands, it will easily be believed, that they left no instrument unemployed, and no measure untried, to accomplish their own ma lignant purposes. With a diligence, courage, constan- Cj, activity, and perseverance, which m.gLt rival the efforts of demons themselves, they penetrated into eve ry corner of human society. Scarcely a man, woman, or child, was left unassailed, wherev er there was a sin gle hope, that the attack might be successful. Books were written, and published, in innumerable multi tudes, in which infidelity was brought down to the level of peasants, and even of children ; and poured with immense assiduity into the cottage, and the school. Others of a superior kind, crept into the shop, and the farm-house; and others of a still higher class, found their way to the drawing room, the university, and the palace. The business of all men, who were of any importance, and the education of the children of all such men, was, as far as possible, engrossed, or at least influenced, by these banditti of the moral ( 20 ) world; mid the hearts of those, who had no impor tance, but in their numbers, and physical strength. A sensual, profligate nobility, and princes, if possible still more sensual and profligate, easily yielded them selves, and their children, into the hands of these min ions of corruption. Too ignorant, too enervated, or too indolent, to understand, or even to inquire that they might understand, the tendency of all these ef forts, they marched quietly on to the gulf of ruin, which was already opened to receive them. With these was combined a priesthood, which, in all its dig nified ranks, was still more putrid ; and which eager ly yielded up the surplice and the lawn, the desk and the altar, to destroy that Bible, which they had vow ed to defend, as well as to preach ; and to renew the crucifixion of that Redeemer, whom they had sworn to worship. By these agents, and these efforts, the plague w r as spread with a rapidity, and to an ex tent, which astonished heaven and earth: and life went out, not in solitary cases, but by an universal ex tinction. While these measures were thus going on with a success scarcely interrupted, Dr. Adam \\ eishaupt^ professor of the Canon Law in the University of /w- (joldstadt, a city of Bavaria, a man of no contempti ble talents, but of immense turpitude, and a Jesuit, esta^ blished the society of Illuminees. Into this establish ment he brought all the systematized iniquity of his brotherhood ; distinguished beyond every other class, of men for cunning, mischief, an absolute desti tution of conscience, an absolute disregard of all the interests of man, and a torpid insensibility to moral ob ligation. No fraternity, for so long a time, or to so great an extent, united within its pale such a mass of ( 21 ) talents ; or employed in its service such a succession of vigorous efforts. The serpentine system of this or der Weishaupt perfectly understood. The great de sign of the Jesuits had always been to engross the pow er and influence of Europe, and to regulate all its im portant affairs. The system of measures, which they had adopted for this end, was superior to every prece ding scheme of human policy. To this design Weish aupt, who was more absolutely an Atheist than Vol taire, and as cordially wished for the ruin of Christi anity, superadded a general intention of destroying the moral character of man. The system of policy, adopt ed by the Jesuits, was, therefore, exactly fitted to his purpose : for the design, with this superaddition, was exactly the same. With these advantageous preparations, he boldly un dertook this work of destruction ; and laid the axe at the root of all moral principle, and the sense of all moral obligation, by establishing a few fundamental doctrines, which were amply sufficient for this pur pose. These were, that GOD is nothing ; that Govern ment is a curse, and authority an usurpation; that ci vil society is t/ie only aposlacy of man ; that the posses sion of property is robbery ; that chastity and natural affection, are mere prejudices , and that adultery, as sassination, poisoning, and other crimes of a similar nature, are lawful, and even virtuous. A large branch of the Masonic Societies in Germany and France had already adopted the same objects, as the great and con trolling ones of all their personal and united labours. Here secrecy furnished the most advantageous oppor tunities for the formation of every design, and the most advantageous contrivance for its successful execution. Here the spirit of hostility against religion and go vernment was kindled, and blown up into a flame. Here, in a word, all that vice could wish, and profli gacy attempt, was proposed, matured, and set forward for execution. Under these circumstances, were founded the societies of Illuminism. They spread, of course, with a rapidity, which nothing but fact could have induced any sober mind to believe. Before the year 1786, they were established in great numbers throughout Germany, in Sweden, Russia, Poland, Austria, Holland, France, Switzerland, Italy, JLny- land, Scotland, and even in America. In all these was taught the grand and sweeping principle of corrup tion, that t lie End sanctions the Means ; a principle which, if every where adopted, would overturn the universe. The design of the founder and his coadjutors, was nothing less than to engross the empire ot the world, and to place mankind beneath the feet of himself, and his successors. Voltaire died in the year following the establish ment of lliuminism. His disciples with one heart, and one voice, united in its interests ; and, finding* a more absolute system of corruption than themsehes had been able to form, entered eager y into all its plans and purposes. Thenceforward, therefore, all the legions of Infidelity are to be considered as em barked in a single bottom ; and as cruisuig together against order, peace, and virtue, on a voyage of ra pine and blood. The French revolution burst upon mankind at this moment. Here was opened an ample field for the labours of these abandoned men in the work of pol lution and death. There is no small reason to be lieve, that every individual iliuminee, and almost, if not quite, every infidel, on the continent of Jburope, lent his labours, when he could ; and his wishes, whea ( 23 ) he could not ; for the advancement of the sins and the miseries, which attended this unexampled corrup tion. Had not GOD taken the wise in their own craf tiness, and caused the wicked to fall into the pit which they digged, and into the snares wh <ch their hands had set ; it is impossible to conjecture the extent to which thefy would have carried their devastation of human happiness. But, like the profligate rulers of Israel, those who succeeded, regularly destroyed their pre decessors. The whole history of their rise, adminis tration, and fall, is sufficiently exhibited in the follow ing verses. " In the twenty and sixth year of Asa, " king of Judah, began Elah, the son of Baasha, to " reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. And his " servant Zimri, (captain of half his chariots,) con- " spired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking " himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of his " house in Tirzah. And Zimri went in, and smote 4 * him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh " year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned in his " stead. In the twenty and seventh year of Asa, " king of Judah, did Zimri reign seven days in " Tirzah; and the people were encamped against " Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. " And the people that were encamped, heard say, " * Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king.* " Wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of " the host, king over Israel, that day, in the camp. " And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Is- " rael with him, and they besieged Tirzah. And it " came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was " taken, that he went into the palace of the king s " house, and burnt the king s house over him with " tire, and died, for his sins, which he sinned in * doing evil iti the si<ht of the Lord, in walking in ( 24 ) " the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did " to make Israel to sin/ The spirit of infidelity has the heart of a wolf, the fang s of a tyger, and the talons of a vulture. Blood is its proper nourishment : and it scents its prey with the nerves of a hound, and cowers over a field of death on the sooty pinions of a fiend. Unlike all other animals of prey, it feeds upon its own kind ; and, when glutted with the blood of others, turns back upon those, who have been its coadjutors, and who, if either its disposition, or its measures, could admit of friendship, would have been its friends. Between 90 and 100 of those, who were leaders in this mighty work of destruction, fell by the hand of violence. Enemies to all men, they were of course enemies to each other. Butchers of the human race, they soon whetted the knife for each other s throats : and the tremendous Being, who rules the Universe, whose existence they had denied in a solemn act of legislation, whose perfections they had made the butt of public scorn and private insult, whose Son they had crucified afresh, and whose Word they had burnt by the hands of the common hangman ; swept them all by the hand of violence into an untimely grave . The tale made every ear, which heard it, tingle, and every heart chill with horror. It was, in the language of Ossian, " the song of death" It was like the reign of the plague in a populous city. Knell tolled upon knell ; hearse followed hearse ; and coffin rumbled af ter coffin ; without a mourner to shed a tear upon the corpse, or a solitary attendant to mark the place of the grave. From one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, the world went forth and looked after the carcasses of the men, who transgressed against GOD, and they were an abhorring unto all flesh. PART II. A DISCOURSE, c: ISAIAH xxi. 11, 12. TThe burden of DumaL He calleth to me out o/Seir, Walcl* man, what of the night ? Watchman, what of the night ? The Watchman said, The morning cometh ; and also the night. If ye will inquire, inquire ye; return ; come. IN the former part of this discourse I observed, that the present period is exhibited in prophecy by the two last of the seven vials, mentioned in the apocalypse. This prophecy, together witli that contained in the ac count of the fifth vial, I recited ; and in a brief comment endeavoured to explain. I then proceeded to examine a part of the history of Christendom, which I consi dered as the proper fulfilment of the prediction. I will now proceed with the detail ; and mention several other facts, included in the same history, and constitu ting other parts of the fulfilment of the same prophe cies. The miseries, brought upon the French nation by the Infidels, who were the agents in its republican go vernment, soon became intolerable. The whole sys tem was formed of a fieud-iike oppression ; and the empire was filled with alarm, and blood, and wo. The period of their domination became more and more dreadful ; and a considerable part of it was denomi- 4 nated " the reign of terror ;" the first time, it is believ ed, in which this phraseology came into proverbial use. France became a kind of suburb to the world of per dition. Surrounding- nations were lost in amazement, vi hen they beheld the scene. It seemed a prelude to the funeral of this great world; a stall of death ; a den, into which the feet of thousands daily entered ; but none were seen to return. In this situation despair compelled those, who still had influence, energy, and contrivance, to fly from the ravages of the existing- government to that last political refuge from human misery, a military despotism ; heretofore regarded by mankind as the consummation of ruin. Still it was a real refuge from the horrors of the former system ; horrors which no nation ever before suffered, and which no imagination had ever anticipated. The scheme of oppression was now settled ; and the mise ries to be suffered c^me on, like the course of the sea sons, in a regular, expected order. Taxes reaching every fruit of human labour, and all the property, which taxes can reach, wrung blood from every vein of the miserable inhabitants. A train of spies, im mense in their numbers, and stationed every where, prowled in every road and street, in every city and so litude, and haunted the church, the tire-side, and the closet ; carrying fear, suspense, distrust, and anguish, to every heart. The young men were yoked togeth er like cattle; and driven to the camp, to waste away with disease, toil, and suffering ; or to fall, with less agony, upon the edge of the sword. The female sex sunk gradually from the high level, to which the Gospel had raised them, towards the miserable degra dation, to which they have been depressed by Mo hammedans and savages; and lost all their influence, ( 27 ) &nd probably, all their disposition, to check the vices, refine the manners, and amend the hearts, of men. The irreligioa of the preceding- period was varied, on ly in its forms, and appearances ; in substance it was the same. The Goddess of Reason was not now wor shipped, as before, in the form of a polluted woman. The sacramental vessels were not now mounted upon an ass, aad paraded through the streets, to insult him, who died, that man might live. The Bible was not made the fuel of a bon-nre. The Sabbath might now be observed without treason against the government. But the churches were empty. The ministers were butts, and beggars. The Sabbath was a day of sport. Several booksellers, employed by the Commissioners of the London Missionary Society to furnish them with a Bible, searched the city of Paris three days, before they could find one. Religion was dead; and her re mains lay in the street of the yreat city, which spiritu ally is called, Sodom and Egypt. Tiie kingdom be came a charnel-house of Atheism : where the final knell had been toiled at the departure of life, and hope, and salvation. From the commencement of this revolution, the miseries, which spread in so terrible a manner through the French kingdom, extended themselves over all the surrounding country. The property of the prince, the nobles and the clergy, the Revolutionary leaders seized without remorse, or conscience, as their lawful prey. More than 200,000,000 sterling are suppos ed to have fallen into their hands by one vast act of confiscation. This immense sum was, however, in sufficient to satisfy their rapacity. Under the names of contributions, war-taxes, and other claims, profess edly claims of the nation, they gathered the riches of ( 28 ) the w/tok people as a nest, and as one yatheretk eggs that aie le/t ; and there was none, that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. With this singular mass of weaith in their possession, they raised armies, in dif ferent years amounting* to 5, 7, 9, and 12 hundred thousand men : the strongest and most formidable bo dy, which was ever assembled upon this globe. This incomprehensible multitude they emptied out upon every neighbouring state. The lava did not run in a stream, as in the eruptions of the natural world. Jt flowed down all the sides of the immeasurable crater at once : and like ah ocean, roiled its waves of fire over the whole face of the world, within its reach. Nothing withstood its power. The life, liberty, and property, of e\ 7 ery bordering nation, was consumed ; and a boundless scene of desolation every where mark ed its course. The power, and pride, of Spain were broken down. Italy was overrun. The king of Sar dinia was driven from his country. Switzerland, Belgium, Batavia, Germany, Prussia, and Austria, bowed successively to the French arms; and were un done. Every republic on the eastern side of the At lantic was blotted out from under heaven ; and every kingdom, also which policy, or the convenience of the conquerors, aid not compel them to leave independent. It made no difference whether the nation was a friend, or a foe \ was in alliance with ti .em, or at war. Whatever was thought convenient for France was done ; and done in defiance of every law of GOD or man ; of the most solemn treaties, ot the most absolute promises. At the very commencement of their career, the le gislature maue three great public promises ; for which they pledged their faith to the world. One was, that France would make no conquests. Another ( 29 ) Was, that she would make war only upon tyrants. The third was, that she would give liberty and equality to all peopk, whithersoever her armies came. With the first of these promises in her mouth, she began the work of conquest at her entrance into the field of conflict ; and has done nothing but conquer, or at tempt to conquer, to the present hour. While she was resounding the second over the face of the whole earth, she swept away with the besom of destruction the republics of Lucca, Pisa, and Venice; the thir teen republics of Switzerland ; the republics in alli ance with the Switzers; that of the Seven Isles ; that of St. Marino ; all the free cities of Germany ; and the republics of Genoa, Geneva, and the Netlierlands. One only remains on the face of the earth; and tiiat, merely because the giant was unable to wade through the billows of the Atlantic. The work of destruction is still going on ; and with no less zeal than heretofore. Nor is there any n ason to believe, that it will terminate, until the means of accomplishing it shall fail ; or until man kind cease to resist ; or until the world is desolated ; or until GOD shall consume in his wrath these ene mies of earth and heaven. Such is a summary account of this astonishing se ries of events; a parallel to which cannot be found in the annals of time. I will now proceed to exam ine the great parts of this tragedy, for the purpose of illustrating the principal point proposed ; their connex ion with t/iese remarkable prophecies. For this pur pose I observe, 1. T/iat the infidels, in question, sprang up in thf- very place, pointed ont by the prophecy. ( 30 ) They came out of the mouth of the Dragon ; the secular persecuting power, combined w>th the Ro mish Hierarchy, and were composed to a great extent of the nobles, the gentry, and the literati, ot the Ro man Catholic countries; particularly of the two prin cipal ones, France and Germany. They came out of the mouth of the Beast, or eccle siastical persecuting power. To a great extent they were composed of the secular clergy, which, with the pontiff at their head, peculiarly constituted the Hierarchy. A great multitude of these, particularly of the higher orders, were embarked in this design ; and were among the most efficacious instruments of carrying it into execution. Few persons rendered the system such important service, as Briennes, arch bishop of r l houiouse. They came out of the month of the false prophet, or the Beast, which had two horns, like a JLamb ; which extra sed all the power of thejirst Beast before him. The regular clergy have, from an early period, possessed, and exercised, the persecuting power, here referred to ; particularly that terrible branch of it, n.tmed the Inquisition. The Jesuits were, early, infi dels in great numbers; and contributed not a little by their writings to unhinge the minds of men With respect to religious doctrines, and moral practice. \\eishaupt completed what his predecessors had be gun, and advanced. But it is sufficient for my purpose, that they sprang out of the countries, under the control of the Hierar chy. 2nd. They were spirits of Demons. This is not only abundantly, but wonderfully, evi dent in the diabolical nature of their great design ; ( 31 ) the destruction of Christianity, and the subjugation of mankind. Equally evident was it in the means, which they employed for the accomplishment of their purpose. These were the publication of an endless number of falsehoods ; lying, without limits ; perju ry ; treachery \ treason ; murder ; robbery ; oppres sion. At the same time they were blasphemous, athe istical, and more furiously hostile to GOD and reli gion, than any other men since the deluge. They were like frogs ; endlessly loquacious on this subject ; immeasurably loathsome by their debase ment of mind, by their obscenity, their lewdness, their abjuration of all moral principle, and the pecu liar pleasure, which they discovered at the sight, and in the perpetration, of sin in every form, and degree. They were intrusive in a manner unexampled. Like the frogs, brought up upon the land of Egypt, they went up, and came into the house of the prince, and into his bedchamber, and upon his bed, and into the houses of his servants, upon his people, into their ovens, and into their kneading troughs; and, after they had perished, the ill savour, which they left be hind them, was not less offensive or overwhelming. There was not a situation, not an office, not a place, where mischief could be done, but it was occupied by them. They were clamorous. The press groan ed with their labours on all subjects, handled in all forms, which promised to be injurious to Christianity. From the magnificent Encyclopedic down to the farthing pamphlet, the hand-bill, arid the song, infide lity descended in a regular progress, without blushing at her degradation, satisfied if she could only oppose GOD, and destroy mankind ; and rejoicing in the means of mischief, however humble, if they were on- ( 82 ) Iy efficacious. At the same time they were equally sedulous with the tongue in the legislature, at the levee, in the drawing room, in the private circle of friends and neighbours, and even in the tavern club. Sdly. They have wrought Miracles : that is, have done things <fa marvellous nature. For proof of this position I refer to the history, which I have given ; and shall only add, that the world has been in a state of unceasing astonishment, ever since their designs, and their efforts, were fairly open ed to the view of mankind. 4thly. They have gone forth to the. kings of the earth, and the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of GOD Almighty. The earth, in the language of this book, usually de notes the Roman empire. It has been the favourite la bour of these men to insert themselves into the cabi nets of princes, and peculiarly into those offices, which were the seats of business, the sources of all the great movements of empire, of all great national exertions. Here, into the very cabinets, the very households, of mo- narchs, they have silently crept ; and wound themselves around their hearts with a motion so lubricous, so soft, so insensible, that neither their snaky character, nor even their approach, was perceived. Here they have charmed their miserable victims to destruction, and stung them to death. The battle of that great day of GOD Almighty, dues not, I apprehend, denote a single battle ; but a war, or series of wars, commenced, and carried on, in succes sion for the same purpose : just as the word, king, de notes, in the language of the same prophecy, that suc cession of "ings, which rule over a given kingdom du ring its continuance. This battle has been erroneous- t 33 ) ly supposed to be the same with that, mentioned, Zech- ariah xiv. 3, 4, 5, Sc 14. and has been supposed to be a single battle, fought in the neighbourhood of Jerusa lem, after the return of the Jews to their own land. But nothing 1 can, I apprehend, be more erroneous than this construction. The prophecy has not even a re mote reference to the Jems, nor to the<r country. Its scene is the Romish empire : and its object is, tirst, the Hierarchy, and secondly, the people governed by it. The name, Armageddon, or the mountain of Megiddo, mistakenly supposed to indicate, that Judcea is the scene of this battle, and the only expression in the pro phecy, which can be supposed even remotely to coun tenance this construction, indicates the contrary. As a symbolical expression, it very naturally denotes the mountain of mourning, as was specified above; be cause several afflicting events had taken place at Me*- giddo ; particularly the death of Josiah ; for whom a singular public mourning was instituted with great pomp and solemnity, and made an ordinance in Isra el. In consequence of this event, any remarkable pub lic sorrow, was, among the Jews, proverbially compar ed with the mourning of Megiddo. Of this a strong instance is furnished by the prophet Zechariah ; when he compares the pre-eminent sorrow of the Jews, after their final return to their own land, for their sin in cru cifying Christ, to the mourning instituted for Josiah. They shall mourn for him, says the prophet, as one mourneth for his only son ; and shall be in bitterness for him, as one is in bittern ss for his jirst-born. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad Rimmon in the valley of But the word also means the mountain of the pel, and in this sense denotes a place, or places, where the Gospel has been customarily preached ; a meaning* which, as you well know, excludes every reference to Judcea. As a literal expression, Armageddon can have no meaning. Megiddo was a city in a plain, or flat val ley, at tiie foot of Mount Carmel. There is, therefore, no such place as the mountain Meyiddo. The great day o/ GOD Almighty denotes here, very obviously, a day of vengeance ; a day, in which GOD will singularly manifest himself; in which his agency will be distinctly seen, and reverentially acknowledged. It is expressly styled a day of war ; in which the war is his own, and in which the vengeance will be inflict ed openly on his enemies. Accordingly, although these malignant, deceitful spirits, go forth to the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of this great day, it is yet said, that GOD him self gathered them togetJier in a place, called in the He brew tongue, Armageddon. It is, therefore, a dispen sation of his own, in which these profligate deceivers are, unwittingly, instruments of accomplishing his wrath against those wicked nations, for whom it has been treasured up. Let us now revert to the history. The European war, which began in the year 1792, has no parallel in the history of man, since the deluge ; whether we re gard the number of nations engaged in it, the number of armies in the field, the number of battles, the multi tude of the slain, the destruction of cities, the depopu lation of countries, or the immense ruin and devasta tion, brought upon the world. For a long time it was almost a continued succes sion of battles ; generally fought with great obstinacy. and prodigious slaughter. General Danican, a French officer, declares, that three millions of Frenchmen pe rished within the first four or five years of the Revo lution. Of the inhabitants of La Vendee only, a single province of France, 700,000 tell by the hand of vio lence. From the close of that period to the present time, thirteen or fourteen years, the number destroyed can Scarcely be much less. In the two great battles of Prus* sian Eylau and Aspern, they lost, within a small num ber, 100,000. In Spain, and Portugal, they are suppo sed to have lost 300,000. But the strongest proof of the vast extent of the ruin, so far as France herself is con cerned, is found in this great fact ; that, notwithstand ing the annual conscription, amounting to a prodigious number, the French armies are sensibly diminished ; and the Emperor has, for a series of years, been com pelled to constitute his forces, in a great degree, of other nations. At the same time he has anticipated, in several instances, both the period of conscription, and the conscription itself. Notamg could prove with more certainty the immeasurable waste of human life in this mighty and populous realm. Accordingly, travellers regularly inform us, that the fields of France are cultivated chiefly by women and old men. If such has been the devastation of man in the king-, dom of France ; we cannot but be assured, that the de struction must have borne a melancholy proportion to it in many other countries. The soldiers of Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Batavia, Belgium, Spain, and Poland, have fought in her armies ; and shared in the common slaughter. All these coun tries have, also, together with Prussia, Russia, arid Turkey, been invaded by her : some of them several times. Their inhabitants have, through a series of ( 36 > campaigns, fought against her armies ; and the coun tries themselves have, to a great extent, been wasted and destroyed. In Germany only, it has been com puted, between 1 and 2,000, 000 of mankind perished by famine, in consequence of a single French invasion. Spain and Portugal have not improbably lost from once and an half to twice the number of the French, \vho have fallen in their country, itussia and Turkey have sacrificed prodigious numbers of their inhabit-^ ants in a war between themselves. Sweden also has suliered deeply. It will be no excessive estimate, therefore, if we suppose 10,0000,000 of mankind to have become victims to this overflowing scourge of heaven. It is declared in the prophecy, that, these deceivers, shall go forth to the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them together to this great bat tle. The word kings, in this passage, may, with the strictest propriety, be considered as denoting ;*ing-* doms. Yet it deserves our particular attention, that the kings and princes of Europe, have, in a far great er number of instances, been personally engaged in this war, than in any other. The emperors of Aus tria, France, and Russia ; the brothers of them all ; the princes of the house of Bourbon ; the king of Prussia, and his brother ; several of the British prin ces ; two kings of Sweden ; the various reigning princes of Germany, and Italy ; and a prodigious number of the nobility of ail these countries ; have been personally present at these hostilities. All, also, have been allured, or compelled, either directly or consequentially, to this scene of destruction by these abandoned men. , Nor has the dispensation stopped here. The Em peror of Persia has been once engaged by a part of the same men to embark in their great design. Tippoo Saib was seduced to his ruin by their means. Their emissaries have attempted to embroil the Mahratfas, and Seiks, in the contest ; and, as there is reason to believe, have raised up a rebellion in Chi na, for the same purpose. Lately they have set on fire the Spanish World, on this side of the Atlantic ; and the flame, unhappily, has reached to our own shores. Whfcn, let me ask, were the kings, and kingdoms, of the whole world, ever before embarked in a single war ? When was this great globe so agitated to its centre ? When, since men were upon the earth, was there so mighty an earthquake, and so great P With what pre-eminent propriety may this be called the battle of the great day of GOD Almighty? 5. During this period, and several years which preceded it, all the sources, Jrom which the Romish empire derived its wealth, strength, and safety, have been dried up ; especially by being diverted into otlwr channels. All the branches of the Hierarchy have in this manner been withered. The pontiff has been broken down ; forced to flee for his life ; taken ; confined in a prison ; stripped of his wealth, power, and dignity ; persecuted ; insulted ; and transformed from the mighty ruler of Christendom, into a poor, dependent, beggared old man. In the same manner have the ecclesiastics in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, and Germany, been stripped of their possessions, the sa- credness of their character, and their magical influ ence ; and exposed to the inroads of mere brutal ( 38 ) force, against which they can make no resistance* Whatever else may be the consequence of this terri ble conflict ; the Romish empire is ruined. We may, I think, fairly consider the great Voice as already ut tered out of the temple of heaven, from the throne t saying, " It is done." The Hierarchy is ruined. Nothing remains of the system but fragments : and these, in ihe ordinary course of Providence, can never be gathered up. In the mean time, Christ has come to this work of judgment as a thief ; in a manner, the most sudden, the most astonishing, the most terrible. The most sanguine mind, the merest enthusiast, could not in the year 1790 have dreamed, that such a revolution in the Romish empire could have been accomplished tvithin 22 years. Gthly. As this great work is in substance done / ihe bials, if they are to be poured out hereafter, trill have no object, on which their force may be employed. Almost all that now remains of this work, accord ing to the language of these prophecies, is the in fliction of those additional f itdgments, which they in clude, upon the guilty nations, inhabiting its extensive dominions. All these vials are poured out upon the Hierarchy. Of course, this dominion must exist, in order to make the fulfilment of these prophecies possi ble. But its existence has substantially gone ; and the remaining contents of the seventh vial, which I consider as now in effusion, will be amply sufficient to finish its destruction. This long discussion, which I consider as essen tially involved in the answer to the question, in the text, I have made as summary as 1 couid. I hope it ( 30 ) will be found not destitute of instruction to thos who hear me. The next great division of this answer, respects the state of that religion which has been so wonderfully as sailed, and which, like the burning bush, has never yet been consumed. Here it is to be observed, 1st. That religion has, in several parts of the Christian world, unusually prevailed. This observation is very extensively applicable to our own country. Sixteen years since, a revival of re ligion commenced in the neighbouring town of Mil- ford; and spread throughout a considerable portion of its inhabitants. This, so far as my knowledge extends, was the first instance of the same nature in Nem- Enaland, for many years, which was considerable enough to attract the public attention. About the year 1752, a powerful prevalence of vital piety, which had existed for 12 or 15 years, and during which converts had been wonderfully multiplied, both here and in many othar countries, appeared so far to de cline, that the accessions, gained by the Ctmrch, were in a great measure single, and scarcely observed. In the year 1755, the last Canadian war broke out; and continued eight years. In 1764, that which followed the peace of Paris, our political disputes with Great- Britain began ; and the turmoil, which they occasioned, increased almost regularly till it terminated in the Revolutionary war. This began in 1775, and continued till 1783. The next 5 years the inhabitants of the United States were in continual agitation concerning their government. At length, in 1788, the present Constitution, having been adopt- e< the present system commenced its operations ; auii in a good degree restored order, and stability, fcd tlie public affairs of our country. The great prin ciples, upon which we were to act as a nation, were, liowever, to be settled ; and the minds of men were to a great extent engrossed by them ; partly on ac count of their novelty, and partly on account of their importance. War is not less ruinous to the morals of a community, than to property and life. The effects of both the wars, which have been mentioned, were in this respect eminently malignant. Peculiarly is this true of the last. It unhinged the principles, the morality, and the religion, of this country, more than could have been done by a peace of 40 years. The political disputes, which followed it, had also a very unfavourable aspect on the moral interests of the na tion. The minds of men were engrossed by them ; and their hearts drawn away from their religion, and their GOD. The comparative importance of politics was swollen beyond all bounds : and it seemed as if men had forgotten, in many instances, that they were not to live here for ever, or that there was beyond the grave a world either of happiness or misery. At the close of this bustling period, however, Religion began to come in for some share of human attention ; and GOD, in his boundless mercy, was pleased to remem ber those with compassion, who to a great extent had forgotten Him. The flame, once kindled, soon spread through a considerable part of the land. In fidelity began to stop her mouth, and licentiousness to exhibit a blush, to which she had been long a stran ger. Christians awaked ; ministers were invigorated ; the hoiise of GOD was extensively filled ; and the ways of Zion, in a great measure, ceased to mourn, because few came to her solemn feasts. In New- Eng land y and in several other countries on this side of the ( 41 ) Atlantic, times of refreshing came /row the presence of the Lord. From the date above mentioned to the present hour, the blessing has never been withdrawn. In two re markable instances it has visited this Seminary, in which about 120 of the youths, who had come to it for education, entered the Church of Christ ; almost all of whom, there is good reason to believe, are now vessels of honour, and usefulness, in his house. The same work is still going on prosperously in several parts of the county of Litc/ifield, in this State, and in several others of Massachusetts and New- Hampshire. It is also extending itself elsewhere, particularly in the State of ./Yew- York. What has been so happily begun, here, has been ex tensively realized, also, in Great- Britain. The friends of religion in that island, exult in a very important change in their moral circumstances ; and, while they mention many things to be lamented, congratulate themselves, and the public, on many other things, as solid foundations of rejoicing. The enemies, also, of vital piety complain of this fact in the same direct manner ; and the evidence derived from both, is deci sive. The change, there, is widely extended ; and is continually spreading to a still greater, and greater extent. The best hopes may, therefore, be entertained concerning it, by all who love the Gospel. In the year 1792, was formed in England, a Society styled the Baptist Missionary Society; and in the year 1795, another Society of the same nature; com prising Christians of various denominations, and styl ed the London Missionary Society : both intended for the purpose of Christianizing the Heathen. Soon after, several others were formed also; particularly 6 the Edinburgh Missionary Society, and the Society for Missions to Africa and the East. In this honourable train our own country soon followed ; and raised up a numerous succession of Missionary societies, for the purpose of supplying the wants of our brethren in the new-settlements, and christianizing the Indians on our borders. To these have been lately added a considerable number of Societies, established for the purpose of sending" Missionaries to foreign countries ; and this number is continually increasing. In the year 1804, a society was formed in London 9 for the purpose of sending the Bible, in the different languages of mankind, into the countries where those languages are spoken, named tlie British and Foreign Bible Society. To this have been added auxiliary so cieties in many parts of Great- Britain, in Ireland, and in several countries of Europe: and seventeen such societies have been formed in the American States. One also has risen up at Calcutta. The exertions, made by these Missionary and Bi ble Societies, form a new sera in the history of Chris tianity. It will be remembered, that four years be fore the first distinguished revival of religion com menced in this state, the first of these Missionary So cieties was formed ; and, eight years afterwards, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the parent of all the rest. Within these 20 years, more has been done to spread the Gospel among those, who did not enjoy its blessings, than has probably been done in the two preceding centuries ; more, unless we are to except the times of the h (formation , than has been done since the early ages of Christianity. Missions have been formed in the isles of the Southern Ocean, in New-Holland, in China, in the Birman Empire ; in ( 43 ) the island of Ceylon, in many parts of Hindostan, in Tartary, in many parts of Africa, on the southern continent of America, in the West- Indies, in Nova~ Scotia, Canada, the country of Labrador, and Green- land. Almost all these have met with some success, and several of them with much. The prospect of success, also, which was at first faint and doubtful, has been shining more and more, as there is reason to hope, unto the perfect day. Bibles also, and Testaments, have been distributed already in such numbers, and in such a variety of languages, as almost exceeds belief. What is remark able, many Roman Catholic ministers have readily permitted the free use of the Bible to the people un der their charge ; and, what is still more remarkable, one Bible -Society has been formed among Catholics. In the mean time, the Scriptures have been trans lated, either partially or wholly, into 19 Asiatic lan guages. Into four of them, the whole Bible ; into eight more, the whole New Testament ; and a part of the Old, and the whole New Testament, into two more. In ten of these languages, the New Testament is either in the press, or has been printed In one of them, the whole Bible, and three editions of the New Testament ; in another, two editions of the Gospel ; and in several others, parts of the Old Testament. Jn this manner, the Scriptures have been actually sent in their various languages to every nation in Eu rope, except the Turks ; and, if I mistake not, a translation of them into the Turkish language is in good forwardness. They have also been distributed into various parts of Asia, Africa, and of both North and South America The liberality, zeal, and activi ty, with which all this has been accomplished, has been ( 44 ) wonderful ; and, what perhaps is no less wonderful, it has been regularly increasing- to the present hour. St. Paul directed the Thessalonians to pray, that the word of the Lord miyht have free course, and be glori- fr d ; or, as it is in the original, miyht run, and be glorified; even as it was among themselves. The good men, who are now living, who have so often prayed for this blessing, behold their prayers answer ed in a manner new, singular, most delightful to themselves, and most glorious to their Creator. Now he sendetli forth his commandment upon earth ; his word runneth very swiftly ; to the amazement of the most sanguine, and to the unutterable joy of the virtuous. Now, also, many run to and fro, according to the promise, made to Daniel ; and knowledge is wonderfully increased; and many are purified and made white. These things Christianity has accomplished, or ra ther GOD has accomplished them for her, in this day of darkness and gloominess, of clouds and thick dark ness. Nor ought any Watchman to forget, on such an occasion as the present, the mighty change in human affairs, accomplished by the final termination of th a t disgrace to the name of man, that insult to Heaven, the African .slave-trade. This is a glorious proof, that GOD has not forgotten to be gracious to the pre sent generation of mankind. Accordingly, he has at the very time, when this vast reformation was ac complished, and in that very nation, by which it was first carried into final execution, discovered the means, in the Jennerian innoculation, of preserving, annually the lives of 2,000,000 of mankind. ( 45 ) Such is a summary view of the brighter parts of this immensely interesting scene. Let us now see, whether we may not derive from it some profitable instruction to ourselves. We have many things to fear, and some, I trust, to hope. There are three extensive reasons, why we should fear. The first of these is, the general aspect of pro phecy, and of the times. If I am right in my exposi tion of these prophecies, the terrible judgments, which the last of them denounces, are not yet finished ; and the language, in which these are conveyed, is suffi ciently alarming to shake the stoutest heart. Such ex actly is the state of things at the present moment. The war, the slaughter, the devastation, the terror, the bon dage, the wo, are, to the human eye, far from their ter mination. With us, the war is merely begun. What will be the future career of these evils, no eye, but the Omniscient, can foresee. No men are so hood-wink ed, so kindred to the mole, as those, who confidently believe, that they foresee them. Of such men I ask, " Who hath known the mind of the Lord? Who hath been his counsellor P Who beside His Spirit, can search the deep things of GOD ?" It is enough for us to know, that, when every island shall fiee away, the cities of the nations fall, the mountains cease to be found, and the great hail come down upon men out of heaven, the pe riod will be sufficiently distressing to overwhelm with terror, distress, and amazement, all the bold, impious wretches, who every where say to themselves, " Peace" when there is no peace. Who can tell what even a day may bring forth P " The beginning of strife" says Solo mon, " is as when one letteth out water" The breach, small at first, often becomes a vast chasm, and the lit- ( 46 ) x tie stream, which trickled through it, swells into a de luge. The second of these reasons is, the sinful character oj our nation. Notwithstanding the prevalence of Re ligion, which I have described, the irreligion, and the wickedness, of our land are such, as to furnish a most painful and melancholy prospect to a serious mind. We formed our Constitution without any acknowledg ment ok GOD ; without any recognition of his mercies to us, as a people, of his government, or even of his existence. The Convention, by which it was formed, never asked, even once, his direction, or his blessing upon their labours. Thus we commenced our nation al existence under the present system, without GOD. 1 wish I could say, that a disposition to render him the reverence, due to his great J\ame, and the gratitude, demanded by his innumerable mercies, had been more public, visible, uniform, and tervent. At the same time I have no hesitation to say, thai the eagerness, with which public offices are hunted for, and the sacrifices of principle and conscience, which, as we have but too much reason to believe, are made, in order to acquire them, constitute a great and dread ful sin ; and are a deep brand upon the moral charac ter of our country. Let it not be here supposed, that I intend in this, or in any other observation, to refer, even remotely, to any particular party, or political dispute, which now exists, or has heretofore existed. I stand in the presence of GOD ; I speak in his name. While, therefore, / shall not shun to declare his counsel, I in tend not to dishonour HIM, nor to trifle away this so lemn season, in reciting the feelings of spleen, and the pitiful imputations, sneers, and obloquy, of party-spirit. Our whole business lies with our sins, and the judg- ( 47 ) tftents of GOD. Let me warn all, who hear me, not to spend this day in secretly quarrelling 1 with their neighbours, or their government. Let me warn eve ry one to mourn for his own sins, and those of his country ; and to tremble at the mighty hand of GOD. This very party-spirit itself, this hostility between citizens of the same country, between neighbour and neighbour, friend and friend, nay, often between bro ther and brother, father and son ; is a great aad dread ful evil ; a smoke in the nostrils of JE HOVAH ; an abomination, which he cannot away with. Think how many unkind thoughts, how many slanders, how ma ny malignant threatenings, have been vented fcy this disposition against persons of an opposite party ; not one of which, in a great proportion of instances, would perhaps have been thought of, had the objects of them been of our own. lu this respect we do less, and worse, than publicans and sinners. The eagerness, with which wealth is coveted, and sought, by our countrymen, is another deplorable proof of that love of the world, which is utterly inconsistent with the love of GOD. How oftefi is that glorious, and fearful name, JE HOVAH OUR GOD, profaned in our streets! To what a terrible extent has the brutal sin of drunkenness spread through our land ! To such an extent, that most, if not all, of those ecclesiastical bo dies, which preside over extensive divisions of the Christian Church in this country, have thought it ne cessary to e.iter into a course of public, solemn mea sures, for the purpose of instituting a general, and effi cacious, resistance to its progress. Falsehood, also, in all its various forms, is, unless I am deceived, a more wideiy extended, and dreadful- ( 48 ) ly pernicious, evil, than any of those which I have?- mentioned. Think of the character, to which custom- house oaths are reduced. Think of the tenor of oaths of office : and then examine the tenour of the conduct, which, in some instances, actually follows them. At the same time, how widely have our elections, in a multitude of cases, veered from the tenour of our na- tionaland state Constitutions ; from our original profes sions ; from all that is free, and unbiassed ; and from the tremendous obligation, assumed in the oath of those who elect ! How often is the eye pained, and the soul wounded to the quick, by the dismal recitals of fashionable mur der ; perpetrated in defiance of all laws of GOD and man; and yet left unpunished by the very govern ment, which is thus insulted to its face ? Remember^ that GOD hath said* The land cannot be cleansed of the blood 9 which is shed therein* but by the blood of him that shed it. To close this painful catalogue, already long, and un happily capable of being made much longer, I observe* that more than 2,000,000, 1 am afraid I might say, more than 3,000,000 of our countrymen, there is too much reason to believe, have, and long have had, no regular^ stated worship ofGoT>, and are without any settled mi nisters of the Gospel, any Churches, and of course with out any religion. " Shall 1 not avenge for these things" saith JEHOVAH; "shall not my soul be aveng ed on suck a nation, as this ?" " Oh, that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments : then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness, as the waves of the sea /" The third of these reasons is found in our peculiar circumstances. ( 49 ) 1. A great part of our countrymen believe the war in tvhich we are engaged, to be unnecessary and unjust. This is true of many members of the national Legis lature ; of a great multitude of members, belonging to the state Legislatures ; and of a vast multitude of the inhabitants, embodied in both of the great political par ties. It is not my province to determine whether this opinion is just, or unjust. That a war should exist, and yet such an opinion prevail so extensively, cannot but be unhappy. On the part of all, by whom it is re ceived, it cannot but embarras their consciences, their conduct, and even their prayers. That the nation, with whom we are at war, has done us repeated inju ries, is admitted on all hands. Still the questions re cur, and are to be answered ; whether our own hands are clean $ whether we have used all the measures to preserve peace, which are demanded of a Christian nation ; and whether the war promises to us any real good, sufficiently important to compensate for the loss of life, property, and comfort, which it must necessari ly involve ; for the innumerable sins, which it will oc casion ; and for the varied and manifold evils, which it will produce. When we think how great must be that loss, and how many those sins and miseries ; the subject becomes solemn, painful, and melancholy, to a Sober man, in a degree which it will be difficult to as sign. 2dly. We have begun this war, almost without any preparation. In ancient tithes it was determined by very high authority to be wise for him, who was about to build a tower, or going to make war, to sit down first and count the cost, whether he had sufficient to finish the under taking. 7 ( 50 ) 3. Our enemy is so situated, as to be able seriously to distress us, with little expense, inconvenience, or ex posure. Our extensive coast is lined, in a great measure, with cities and villages ; including a great part of our wealth, and not a small one of our population. Most of these may be invaded, and destroyed, with little dif ficulty. A vast mass of our property is either floating on the ocean, or lying in the harbours of other nations. The exposure of this property, and of the unfortunate men, destined to convey it homeward, need not be specified. Our northern frontier extends not far from 2000 miles. A considerable part of it is settled, and every where exposed to the inroads of the enemy. A great part of the western frontier is left naked to the incur sions of the savages, with whom, unhappily, we are on the worst of terms. The British are said to have 10,000 black troops, and the Spaniards, with whom also we are contend ing, 5,000 more* in the West-Indian islands. These men have long been formed into military regiments, and inured to a strict military discipline Should they be landed in East-Florida ; it would be impossible to predict the consequences. He who remembers the state, extent, and feelings, of our black population, and calls to mind, that GOD is just, will look at this object with a pained eye, and an aching heart. 4. There is not a little reason to fear, that we may by this war be brought into an Alliance zvith France. The Jews often betook themselves in their troubles to the surrounding nations for help ; to Syria, to Eyypt, and to Assyria. The language of GOD on this sub ject is regularly, " Wo to them that go down to Egypt ( 61 ) for help, to strengthen themselves in the strength " of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. " When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall < fall down, and they shall all fail together." Egypt and Assyria were the chief enemies of GOD, and his Church, in ancient times. In modern times, the chief enemy of both, has been the Romish empire. Almost all the reasons, which forbade the Jews to unite with Egypt and Assyria, forbid us to unite with th* s empire. Some exist, and operate, in a still high er degree : and some can be alleged in our case, which could not be urged in theirs. Speaking of the people of Canaan, GOD says to the Israelites, " Thou " shalt make no covenant with them;" And again, " Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant " with the people of tfce land, whither thou goest, " lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee," Of the kingdom of Israel, Hosea said, * Ephraim feedeth " on wind, and followeth after the east wind. He " daily increaseth lies, and desolation; and they do " make a covenant with the Assyrians, and otif is " carried into Egypt :" i. e. precious ointments, fles- tined as a present to purchase the friendship of Pha raoh. The alliances, here spoken of, were to the Is raelites means of their ruin. In the like manner, speaking of the present times, and of the spiritual Ba- fyion or Romish empire, St. John says, " And I " heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come " out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of " her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues : for her sins have reached unto heaven ; and GOD * hath remembered her iniquities." This solemn in. ( 5-2 ) junction every Christian will regard with the deepest, concern, and obey with the most scrupulous exactness. The state of facts is, however, such, that the com mand, important as it is, would hardly seem necessary. France is the chief division of this empire ; and then- king has long since been named the eldest son of the Church. At the present time, France is, in a sense, almost the whole of this empire. Every protestant nation, which has disobeyed this command, and allied itself to this antichristian power, has received of her* plagues ; and extensively partaken, also, oj her sins. This, peculiarly, has been the crime, and the ruin, of Geneva, Switzerland, Holland, Prussia, and the Protestant States in Germany. Reason, therefore, and experience, as well as revelation, write our duty with sun-beams. On this subject my feelings are inexpressible. To ally America to France, is to chain living health and beauty, to a corpse dissolving with the plague. The evils, which we have already suffered from this im pure and monstrous connexion, are terrible omens of the destruction, which we are to expect from a con nexion still more intimate. The horrors of war, com pared with it, are mere amusement. The touch of France is pollution. Her embrace is death. The end of all these observations is to warn, to re buke, and to reclaim ; to persuade to repentance, an4 to effectuate reformation. " At what instant," saith GOD, " / shall speak concerning a nation, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it ; if that nation turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil, which I thought to do unto them." The way of safety is, there fore, a high-way ; and wayfaring men, though fools, need not err therein. Repentance and reformation ( 53 ) will certainly make us safe, prosperous, and lhappy. Our great duty, as taught in the text, is to inquire concerning our sin and danger, to return to GOD and come back to the obedience of his will. Can you want motives to compel you to this duty ? Turn your eyes to Europe. Where are the republics, which once flourished, there, in freedom, virtue, and happiness ? T heir pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of their viols. 1 he worm is spread un der them, and the worms cover them. Where are her kingdoms ; which once, like the cedars of Lebanon, exalted themselves above all the trees of the field ; and under their shadow dwelt great nations. 2 heir boughs are blasted and withered. The strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut them off" ; and the people of the earth are gone down from their shadow ; and the earth has shaken at the sound of their fall, ipon their ruins the fowls of heaven remain ; and the beasts of the field upon their branches. Where are her cities ? They have been searched with candles . their goods have become a booty, and their houses a desola tion. Where are her princes and nobles ? Behold, the Lord of hosts hath taken away the mighty man, the man of war, the judge and the prophet, the pru dent and the ancient, the captain of fifty and the ho nourable man and the counsellor, and the cunning ar tificer and the eloquent orator. Their kings have gone into captivity ; their priests, and their princes together. They have called their nobles to the kingdom; but none were there ; and their princes have become no thing. Look at her fields : they are whitened with hu man bones, and drenched in human blood. The day, in which our lot is fallen, is a day of wrath ; a day of trouble and distress ; a day of ( 54 ) Wasting and desolation. It is the day of the Lord?* vengeance ; the year of recompenses for the controver sies of Zion. The earth is utterly broken down ; the earth is clean dissolved; the earth is moved exceed ingly. For behold, JEHOVAH cometh out of his place, to punish the inhabitants for their iniquity ; to punish the hosts of the lugh ones, which are on high, and t/te kings of the earth upon the earth. For his indigna tion is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies. He is visibly pleading against them with pes tilence, and with blood, with an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, jire and brimstone. What, in this terrible day, is to become of us? Shall we trust in the multitude of chariots, and of horses P Shall we confide in Egypt P Shall we lean upon Assyria P Or shall we turn to GOD with all the heart, with fasting, with weeeping, and with mourning P Shall we not make the eternal GOD our refuge. He is gracious and mercijul, slow to anger, of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Sliall we not say of JEHOVAH, " He is our refuge, and our fortress; our GOD ; in him will we trust P" Surely lie will deliver us from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. Then may we say to our land, " Thou shall not be afraid for the terror by night ; nor for the arrow thatflieth by day ; nor for the pestilence that rvaLeth in darkness ; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right Jwmd: but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shall thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation." ESTT2ThOOD S3iavuan RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT TO* 202 Main Library LOAN PERIOD 1 HOME USE 2 3 4 5 6 ALL DWWIxO iv\r\ i UL IXI_^/-VUI-I-LX - - 1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-340, 6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to C.rculat,on Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW MAR 1 3 137 s BEC.CIB. FEB18 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY DD6, 40m, 3/78 BERKELEY, CA 94720