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." 
 
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