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1 2 3

BOC

DAI

Citmtrg

KINOSTON, ONTARIO

BOCHIM, OR THE WEEPERS;
A SERMON

PREACHED ON THE 27th NOVEMBER,

BBINQ THB

DAY OF HUMILIATION

ON ACCOUNT or

THE INDIAN MUTINY.

BY THE REV. JAMES GIBSON,

OWEN BOUND.

PUBLISHED BT SPECIAL BEQUEST.

TORONTO :
MACLEAR & CO., 16 KING STREET EAST.

MDCCOLVn.

[advertisement.]

Tbls Sermon was composed in the ordinary course of Pulpit ministration, and
irithout the most distant view to publication. By many of those who heard it*
it waa deemed worthy of a permanent record, and a wider circulation ; and on
their presenting -a requisition to publish it, it was readily complied with, in the
hope that what gratified them might also be the means of benefiting others.

In the process of extending bis short-hand notes, the Author may have altered
■ome sentences, and added or erased others ; but, lubstantiaUy, the sermon is
printed as it waa preached ; and with all its defects must abide, of coarse— as by
its appearance in tbis £>rm it challenges>-the award of the Public.

Owen Sound, 7th December, 1857.

Judges I
to Bod
brough
I said,
make n
down t
ye dom
from bi
gods si
angel c
that t)
the na^
Lord.'

J.G.

SERMON.

tration, and
ho heard if,
ion ; and on
ritb, in the
others.

i«ve altered
e sermon is
arse— as bj

Judges II. 1-5. — "And an angel of the Lord came up from Oilgal
to Bochim, and eaid, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have
brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fafhtrs ; and
I said, I will never break my covenant with you; and ye shall
make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw
down their altars. But ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have
ye done this ? Wherefore I also said, I tvill not drive them out
from before you ; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their
gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass when the
angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel,
that the people lifted up their voice and wept. And they called
the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there unto th*
Lord."

" The children of Israel" were " a peculiar people"— pecu-
liar in their origin, peculiar in their progress, peculiar in
their destiny. They were God's " peculiar people." He be-
Btowed on them peculiar privileges. To these a special refe-
rence is made in the text. Even when slaves in Egypt they
were the objects of his peculiar care, insomuch that " the more
they were afflicted, the more they multiplied and grew." And
when the time of their emancipation came, " even the set
time," He brought them out with a strong hand and an out-
stretched arm, from the house of their bondage, and gave them
for a possession the " goodly land " of Canaan — driving out
its native inhabitanf;s, more numerous by far, aud more power-
ful than they, before them ; and maintaining with them,
through their leaders, the most constant, and immediate, we
might almost call it, personal communication. Yet were they
" a 8ti£f-necked and rebellious people." Their wanderings for
forty years, and the fall of an entire generation in the wilder-
ness, are the proof to us, as they were to themselves the pun-
ishment, of their heinous sins. The new generation carried
with them into the land of Canaan the same discontented and

117617

disobedient spirit that had preTented their fathers from enter-
ing it ; and on many occasions it displayed itself in a manner
80 flagrant as to subject them to immediate chastisement. Oar
text describes one of these, and contains a message from ** the
angel of the Lord/' that is, as is generally understood, from
the Lord himself— the Second Person of the Godhead in an
angelic form — charging his people for whom he had wrought
such a deliverance, on whom he had bestowed so many and
such distinguished favours, with disobedience, aggravated by
ingratitude, and forewarning them of chastisements of which
their own sins were the cause, and would be the instruments.

Were " the children of Israel" peculiar in this resp^iCt, my
friends ? Are not we, as a people, placed very much in a
similar position ? Do not we occupy now a high and promin-
ent place among all the other nations of the earth, such as the
Israelites did at the time referred to ; and are not our privi-
leges, under the Christian dispensation, greater and more dis-
tinguished than even theirs were under the Mosaic ? Is not
their deliverance from Egyptian bondage but a type, and an
inadequate one, of our deliverance from the slavery of Satan ;
and does not the earthly Canaan given to them for a posses-
sion, with all its fertility and beauty, furnish but a faint idea
of the heavenly, promised to us for an inheritance ? And then,
when we think of the means, respectively, by which their, and
our, deliverance was achieved, and their, and our, inheritance
secured. Oh how little room is their for comparison ! Yet
have we, any more than they, " rendered unto Qod according
to the benefits received," or " obeyed his voice," which, from
considerations alike of duty and obligation, should fall on our
ears with resistless, with all-constraining effect? Have we
not, by our disobedience and ingratitude, given Him most
frequent and just occasion to verify in our experience the
threatening that lie addressed to them. " I will visit your
transgression with the rod, and your iniquity with stripes?"

" Profitable," as it might be, *' for reproof, for correction,
^nd for ipsiiruotion in righteousness," to extend the parallel

)tween
that have
tltogethe
cial obje(
jthe disas
[taken pis
ito be mo
be trace(
[native in
land Brit
poys in 1
[neither
[person o
delibera
Why,
were, is
dation
What d
name tc
shed.
Cavmpt
principi
nage ai
which 1
scenes
must i
Buffere
countr
our ea
nions
mouri
to be
ing I
coil, i
are tc
denci

esp'^et, my
much in a
Qd promin-
'uch as the
our privi-
1 more dis-
c ? Is not
>e» and an
of Satan ;
^ a posses-
faint idea
And then,
their, and
iheritance
on I Yet
ficoording
icb, from
ill on our
Have we
im most
ence the
sit your
ripes ?"
•rection,
parallel

stween the Israelites and ourselves, on the general grounds
that have just been indicated, we have selected the passage for
iltogether a different purpose — with a specific view to the spe-
jcial object of this day's meeting, the improvement, namdly, of
Ithe disastrous and most deplorable events that have recently
[taken place in India. To these we shall see it, as we proceed,
ito be most appropriate ; and the points of analogy that may
[be traced between Israel's position viewed relatively to the
[native inhabitants of Canaan, at the period to which it refers,
[and Britain's position viewed relatively to the mutinous Se-
Ipoys in the Presidency of Bengal at the present time, are
Ineither few nor faint. They can escape the observation of no
[person of discernment i and they will receive the grave and
[deliberate consideration of every person of a reflecting mind.

Why, the very name of the place, where the Israelites now
I were, is significant, and is alike obvious and easy of accommo-
dation to our own case. What is the name ? " Bochim"
What does it mean ? " Waepers." Why did they give that
; name to the place ? Because of the tears which they there
shed. And what more appropriate name could be found for
Cavmpore^ for example, for Lucknow, for Delhi, for the other
principal seats of the Indian mutiny, and those scenes of car-
nage and cruelty, treachery and torture, dishonour and death,
which were there enacted ? From the very description of these
scenes we turn away horrid ed and heart-sick. Oh, what then
must it have been to witiiCMS them, to be actors in them,
sufferers by them ? Does not the " great cry" set up by our
countrymen and countrywomen and their children ring yet in
our ears ? and is there not still throughout the British domi-
nions " a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great
mourning," England " weeping for her children and refusing
to be comforted, because they are not ?" Yes ; the devastat-
ing hurricane that burst in Bengal is now felt, in its re-
coil, in the very heart of the British empire, while its wrecks
are to be found scattered on the shores of its remotest depen-
dencies. Wherever Britons are, there will be found " weep-

««M

era'* over this dreadful catastrophe, and " Boohim" not inap-
propriate, on this account, as a name for the entire empire,
might be most fitly inscribed over the portals of hundreds of
its dwellings, and is literally descriptive of the relief which
thousands of its subjects have been seeking for their over-
charged hearts. According to one estimate, " 3000 Europeans,
eight missionaries, and six chaplains, with their wives and
daughters, have been slain and dishonored in the course of
the Indian mutiny." How many "weepers" will there be
over this holocaust to Sepoy rage and lust? We ask the
question that you may form some idea of the numbers directly
involved in the sad calamities on account of whi?h we have
this day met, to humble ourselves before God; while of the
extent to which particular individuals and families have suffered
by them, the following oases may be taken as an illustration.
They are said to have been narrated by a minister, when offi-
ciating on the day of humiliation observed in Great Britain,
and have gone the round of the public prints. The one is
that of a gentleman of the minister's own acquaintance, who
had lost twenty-two relatives in India, within the space of six
-weeks. The other, that of a family party numbering thirteen^
who met last year in St. Andrews, Scotland, and who had all,
with a solitary exception, fallen victims to the Indian mutiny.
But into the details of this disaster, we do not mean to enter ;
nor shall we harrow up your feelings, or try the strength of
our own, by a recital of the atrocities, wanton in many cases,
as they were fiendish in all, by which it has been throughout
distinguished. For this we refer the curious to the public
prints, whose tales of horror, though falling far short of the
reality, we, for our part, have ceased to peruse. Much has
besn suppressed by them as not fit to be published, and much
of what they have published is not fit to be pronounced from
this place. The great facts of the case must be well enough
known to all who take any interest in passing events ; and
those whoso interest has not been excited by all that has been
spoken and written, for months past, about the Indian mutiny,

r not inap-
ire empire,
undreds of
•Hef which
[their over-
uropeans,
wives and
e course of
|I there be
e ask the
's directly
'h we have
hile of the
ve suffered
lustration,
when offi-
it Britain,
'he one is
ance, who
ace of six
»g thirteen,
•0 had all,
n mutiny.
1 to enter;
;rength of
nj cases,
roughout
^ public I
rt of the i
fuch has
id much
'ed from
enough
ts; and
as been
Mutiny,

' would not be much the wiser for anything that could be said
now respecting it, within the limits of a single discourse.

The few general statements on which we have ventured will
serve their purpose, if they leave on our minds the impression
that the visitation which wo deplore has been widely diffused
in its general character, and intensely agonising in particular
cases; if they help us to realize more vividly the analogy that
we have been tracing between British India and the whole
British empire as connected with it at the present time, on the
one hand, and the congregation of Israel at the time referred
to in the text, on the other ; if they lead us to see and constrain
us to admit the propriety with which the former may now take
to itself the name that the latter gave to the place where they
then were, the place of " weepers," *' Btchim" And,

Why has British India and the British empire been con-
verted into a Bochim ? For the same reason that the camp of
Israel was. " The angel of the Lord," the Lord himself, as
we have already explained, comes up to us, charged with the
same message that he delivered to them. And in further dis-
coursing from this message, there are three points to which
your attention shall be briefly directed, viz.. The sins com-
mitted ; the punishment inflicted ; and the repentance exhibited.

First — ^The sins committed. Sepoy treachery, Hindoo su-
perstition, and heathenish cruelty were only the secondary
causes of the Indian mutiny. Its real, active, and ultimate
cause is to be sought for elsewhere — it is to be found in sin.
All suffering is the result of sin, for " God does not afflict wil-
lingly nor grieve the children of men." And when special
sufferings are inflicted, when signal judgments are experi-
enced, it becomes those who are visited with them to seek out,
if haply they may discover, their special cause, the particular
sins of which they are sent as the appropriate punishment.
In these Indian calamities, God has been applying the rod to
us, as he frequently did to his ancient people. Like them, we
have been unfaithful to our trust, forgetful of our obligations ;
and confronting us now, as he did them at Bochim, his Ian-

I awiJuiwuiujiH

guage to us is the same — " Ye have not obeyed my voice ; why
have ye done this V

Some will ask, perhaps, what have we done ? wherein have
we disobeyed ? where are the proofs of our ingratitude or of
our unfaithfulness ? They are not far to seek, nor difficult to
find. It were easy to draw out a long list of national sins, in
the view of which the Indian disaster would appear to be no-
thing more than a righteous retribution, " a punishment less
than our iniquities have deserved." Pride and ambition ; im-
morality in its most revolting phases, and irreligion of the
most God-defying type ; the love of money and the love of con-
quest, with their natural and hideous offspring, extortion, op-
pression, injustice, and cruelty ; not to speak of those numerous
and flagrant crimes of which human law takes cognizance, and
for which earthly judges punish. Look at this black cata-
logue, and say if there is reason either for complaint or aston-
ishment, when, in the course of his providence, God makes his
voice to be heard as it were from the highest heavens ; and in
tones at once solemn and awe-striking, fitted alike to arrest
the attention and impress the heart, asks, " Shall not I visit
for these things ? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a
nation as this V

But we may come closer still. We think that the British
nation may read in the judgment on account of which it has
been called by its rulers to humble itself, the punishment of
sins committed against India, and the millions of its population.
Amid much diversity of opinion on collateral points, there is,
so far as we have had the means of judging, very considerable
harmony on this one, as expressed by t.he press, and from the
pulpit or the platform. Some, indeed, dwell principally on
the advantages that India has derived from British connection
and influence ; but these are constrained to admit that they
have been associated with many draw-backs, and neutralized,
in but too many oases, by grievous injuries. Others, again,
dwell chiefly on the opportunities of doing good that have been
neglected by the British in India, the positive and great evils

■I

"jwaisiwiwwflw"

Moej why

'rein have
'tude or of
■ffioult to
tl sins, in
to be no-
raent less
fcion; im-
of the
've of con-
ation, op-

umerous
Jance, and
(ack cata-
or aston-
'akes his
; and in
to arrest
r visit
n such a

J British
ih it has
ment of
yulation,
there is,
iderable
"•om the
illj on
nection
kt they
alized,
again,
ebeen
t evils

fchat they have perpetrated there, and the encouragement that
they have given to the idolatry that is there practised ; while
jthey refer only indirectly to the benefits reaped by India from
its British connection, and represent them as by no means a
counter-poise to the others. We do not presume exactly to
^apportion the two. We admit both the evil and the good, and
are willing to assign their due place and prominence to each.
j But balancing the one against the other, which predominates ?
Making all allowance for the good done, what an amount of
evil perpetrated, and of good that might have been done bat
was not, remains to be accounted for ? Without discussing
the question as to whether Britain came lighteously by her
Indian possessions, it will be admitted even by those who take
the most favorable view of this question, that " right " was
not always regarded, yrh^n ** might" could achieve or ac-
quire the object on which the representatives of British power
had set their hearts, and that the interests of the natives were
frequently, and recklessly, and shamefully sacrificed to per-
sonal cupidity, and national aggrandisement. Cowper, the
faithful Mentor to his country, and fearless denouncer of her
sins, placed the spoliation of India and the oppression of its
inhabitants, foremost in the list of those national crimes for
which God was punishing England in his time. Far be it
from us to detract from the brilliant exploits of Robert Glive,
or Warren Hastings ;— ^but only the blindest of admirers or
the most prejudiced of partizans will venture to deny the
duplicity practised by the furmer^ or to palliate the atrocities
perpetrated by the latter. The glories of Olive's military
career are sadly tarnished by the falsehood and treachery that,
in many parts of it, characterized his diplomacy ; — as, for in-
stance, in the matter of supplanting Surajah Dowlah, the Na-
bob of Bengal, by a creature of his own. The glories, agair,
of Hastings' administrative career are still more stained by
the exactions, alike unjust and exorbitant, of which he was
guilty, in the case for example, of the Rtyah of Benares ; and
by the cruelties, which, to secure compliance with his demands,

he perpetrated on those -who had givon him no offence, and \
were suspecting no injury; — as when he forced one Nabob
who had nothing to give him, to confiscate, for the replenish-
ing of his coffers, the treasures of Aw own mother and grand-
mother, — the Princesses of Oude, and when he hired his sol-
diers to another, to seize the peaceful and prosperous territory
of a neighbour, and to enslave and oppress "the finest
population in India,'' as the Rohillas are designated by one
of the most brilliant of living writers.

Who will say that God is not visiting for " tJtese things "
now ? — that he is not punishing the sins of a former genera-
tion, on the present ? Nor is the present generation itself
without sin as regards India. Admitting that it was a law-
ful conquest, or a fairly won prize, has that extensive and
magnificent country been governed and managed on those
wise, righteous, and Christian principles which a nation like
Britain should recognize, and on which it should act in all
parts of its dominion ? Has that regard been paid, which
should have been, even to the material interests and physical
condition of its hundred millions of inhabitants? Let the
opium trade, — to take only one example — answer the question.
A mo8t extensive trade that is — the East India Company ex-
porting not less than a hundred thousand chests annually — a
most lucrative trade, but a trade carried on, not more certainly
for the enrichment of the Company, than for the demoraliza-
tion and destruction of multitudes of their fellow men in the
East. Yea, we have not only been, and still are, traffickers in
this poison for the soul as well as the body, but we have com-
pelled reluctant nations, like the Chinese, to become our cus-
tomers for it. We have done so, and not the Company alone,
for the traffic is sanctioned, or at least connived at, by the
British government, it is permitted by the British people, and
the power and the prestige of both are lent to aid and abet
such forcible measures, for its maintenance, as have just been
referred to. "Partaking thus of their sins" can we wonder,
or shall we complain, when, as in the recent calamities, we
" receive also of their plagues ?"

TumM

Ito ameli
Bubjecis,
Ithat of I
I to say —
I -very pui
[ ment of '
and Goc
«• faults,
state an
count o
alities
influen
which
Butwl
of that
long p
emplo;
sionar

ties, b

prejud

eeculii

They

the w

fore,

Indit

J^nce, and!
5ne Nabob
wplenieh-
^nd grand-
led bis sol-
as territorj
J the finest
fed bj one

^« things"
er genera-
ktion itself
ras alaw-
nsive and
on those
ation like
act in all

[id, which

P physical

\ I^t the

question.

ipany ex-

lually— -a
certainly
^oraiiza-
3 in the
ickers in
ive com-
our 0U8-
r alone,
bj the
>Ie, and
3d abet
9t been
onder,
es, W6

Turn we now to what Britain has done, or rather not done
[to ameliorate tne moral and spiritual condition of her Indian
Isubjeccs, and our consciences must be more seared than was
ithab of Pharoah's butler, if we are not constrained with him
ito say— >" We do remember our faults this day.'^ It is for this
Tery purpose that the day has been set apart by the Qovern"
mentof this Province, and by the Session of this Congregation,
and God grant that the slight review now to be taken of our
"faults," our national faults in connection with the religious
state and prospects of India, may deepen our penitence on ac
count of them. And here we dwell not on the flagrant immor*
alities practised by the British in India, and the injurious
influence that they must have exerted on the religion with
which they would naturally, and universally be identified.
But what have we done, as Christians, for the evangelization
of that quarter of the globe, and its teeming millions ? For a
long period we did nothing. Nay, means were systematically
employed to prevent anything being dune. No Christian mis*
sionary was permitted to reside in the territory. The author!*
ties, both on the spot and at home, were afraid to ofiend the
prejudices of the natives, and, content with gaining their own
secular ends, paid no attention to the'.r spiritual interests.
They were kept in entire ignorance of the Scriptures, and of
the way of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, there-
fore, and most truly might an eloquent writer say, — " If our
Indian conquests were to be as suddenly lost as they had been
speedily acquired, not a trace would remain to shew that pa«
gan India had ever been held in subjection by a professedly
Christian nation.' At the time that he uttered these words
of burning reproof and withering reproach, pagan India had
been subject to professedly Christian Britain, for more than
half a century. Nor was this all. Not only was Christianity
thus carefully excluded from our Indian possessit'ns for more
than fifty years, but Ilindooism, Mohammedanism, Budhism,
and heatheniftm in all the various forms that it assumes there,
were countenanced and encouraged, directly and in many dif*

ferent ways. While the Bible was shat out of the govBxr Xi t
schools, the Yedas, the Shasters, and the Koran were re.'^^xlaT•
ly read, and their doctrines systematically inculcated. While
Christian missions were discouraged, contributions were made
in support of idol temples. While the first preachers of the
Gospel were ordered to leave the country, every indulgence
was granted, alike to the priests and the devotees of India's
million gods. While the most effectual measures were taken
to prevent the true religion from gaining a footings measures
as effectual were adopted to secure that the false religions
which were already flourishing, should strike their roots deeper
and wider in the soil. It is true that for a considerable num*
ber of years past, this policy, ns baneful in its results as it
was unchristian in its character, has been greatly modified.
British connection with Indian idolatry has to some extent,
been broken up. Some of its " horrid cruelties " have been
put down. The presence of missionaries in the country has
been tolerated. But their labours have not been encouraged*
The conversion of the nation is not wished. It is not more
strange than true, that this has actually been punished as a
crime. Fur no other reason than that he had became a con*
vert to Christianity, a Sepoy was discharged from his regi-
ment, the chaplain who baptized him was reprimanded, and
an enquiry was instituted to discover if any of his comrades .
had been accessory to the result* If they had, they of course
would also have been dismissed. Neither previous good con*
duct, nor present earnest entreaty could avail for the reversal
of the sentence ; and the words with which he left the com-
manding officer, might well have crimsoned his cheek, as they
■hould impart a deeper tone to our penitence 1 Is day, — **You
will allow me to serve your King, but not your God."

Details of this description might be multiplied indefinitely ;
but judging even from the specimen that has been given, have
we done our duty by India? Have wo been true to the trust
committed to us, as a Christian nation, when that rich and
extensive country was added to the British dominioiii ? Are

^e not "
iren ther
iper<»iitic
ery sins
le Lord"
league
[)wn thei
tie altars
lave mad
lolatrou

lovexr lit

id. While
ere made
lers of the
indulgence
of India's
ere taken
measures
religions
lots deeper
[able num*
isults as it
naudifiod.
ne extent,
lave been
untry has
icouraged.
not more
shed as a
nie a oon*
1 his regi-
ided, and
comrades .
of course
;ood con*
> reversal
the com*
» as they

finitely ;
en, have
'he trust
ioh and
I? An

fe not " verily guilty" in reference to the millions of our bre*
iren there whom we left, as we found, sunk in ignorance^
iper«ttition, and brutality ? Have we not been guilty of the
sry sins as connected with them, with which " the Angel of
le Lord" charges the Israelites in the text ? ** Ye shall make
league with the inhabitants of this land ; ye shall throw
)wn their altars : but ye have not obeyed my voice." No ;
le altars of heathenism are still standing in India, and we
[ave made a league with its inhabitants, in maintaining the
lo'atrous systems to which they are dedicated^ instead of
kbouring for their overthrow, and for the establishment on
leir ruins of the worship of the one living and true God, and
le way of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. And now God
saying to us with a voice of terror, and in a tone of indig-
nant remonstrance — " Why have ye done this ?" He is call-
ig on us to learn the enormity of our sin from the severity of
^ur sufferings. He has been threatening to wrest, from our
^rasp, the territory which we have so much misgoverned, and,
from our sway, the teeming population, of whose best and high-
est interests we have been thus grossly negligent* It is long
lince one nf themselves said to a British official — "Your Go-
rernment alone has prevented India from becoming a Chris*
fian country." That is a grave charge ; and who will deny
Its truth 7 That is a heinous sin ; and who will affirm that
^ven the recent disasters and horrors form too severe a punish-
lent for it? The attempt has been made to trace the sad
ivents that we deplore to-day, to the labours of the few mis-
sionaries who have been sent to India ; but the attempt has
|ltterly failed. Some of these self-denied men fell victims to
he mutiny, as we have already seen; but the charge of being
kither the cause or the occasion of it, either directly or indi-
)otly, has fallen to the ground. There is no room even for
luspioion. Tlie London Times, an impartial witness in such
case, and one not particularly prejudiced in favour of the
)artie8 whose acquittal it pronounces, whose innocence it as-
lerts, has given this utterance on the suttjeot-^" The peril hai

■Mfei*HanM»'

been created not by the preRence of Christian missionaries,
but by the absence of Christian soldiers." It is a favorable
sign of the times-^a token for good— «the harbinger, ^e trust,
of the speedy introduction of a new system, religious as well
as political, of managing India--^to find that journal ascribing
the calamities which we deplore to the neglect of the Sepoy's
instruction in Christianity, and so, by implication, acknow-
ledging this as one of the national sins on account of which
we have reason to humble ourselves before Qod. Let us keep
itj then, specially in view, while the others that have been
mentioned are not overlooked in the services of this day ; let us
humble ourselves on account of them all, but especially on
lis account ; and pray that from them all, but especially from
tY, we may be kept for the time to come.

This much for the sins that we have committed, and for the
analogy subsisting between them and those charged in the text
by the " angel of the Lord'* against " the children of Israel."
Now let us consider,

Secondly — the punishment inflicted ; and here a similar an-
alogy may be traced between our own case and Israel's. The
punishment of the Israelites was that they did not obtain un-
disturbed possession of the promised land. Instead of being
exterminated, its native tribes were left to harass and torment
them — to become, in the words of the text, " thorns in their
sides," and their " gods a snare" unto themselves. Our pu*
nishment has been the revolt of our Indian army, and the
massacre of multitudes of our countrymen, and countrywomen,
and their helpless children, in circumstances of unheard of
horror ; the suspension of all law and order throughout the
Presidency of Bengal ; the temporary triumph of rebellion
there ; and the threatened loss of our Indian possessions.
After what has been already said on these subjects, however,
we do not revert to them. Our punishment is plain enough.
We all know what it is ; multitudes feel it in the tenderest
part ; but what we wish you to notice here is its uUimaie
auihor, and its intermediate instrumenist

What sa

\* 1 will no

kven so, 11

Ikbove enui

Hod is the

^t it arigh

like
former is
Lnd famil
Ibis; and
\ntly forv
kf violatii
Mon. Fa
Bauses, o]
>r super!
9art. A
of prid
This is t1
lame, h(
knd publ
khe clov(
Ihough
llxlsts, h
lis woi
do th
rbile tt
rond th
olaced
BBS wo

isionaries, :
favorable
we trust,
|us as well
ascribiDg
le Sepoy's
I acktiow*
of which
let us keep
Ihave been
ay ; let us
teoially on
lially from

knd for the
in the text
of Israel."

similar an-
ftel's. The
obtain un-^
d of being
id torment
18 in their
Our pa»
', and the
;rywomen,
n heard of
ghout the
rebellion
ssessions.
however,
1 enough,
tenderest
s ultimate

What said " the angel of the Lord" to the children of Israel f
1 will not drive them (the Canaanites) from before you;" and
^ven so, He says now to us in reference to the sad calamities
Ikbove enumerated — " have not /done all these things ?" Yes 1
}od is the author of the Indian tragedy ; and we do not look
^t it aright unless we see it to be his work. National calam-
Ity, like personal or relative affliction, is from God. The
pormer is the discipline of nations, as the latter of individuals
|nd families. There are those, we know, who don't believe
^his ; and that is the very reason why we bring it so promin-
mtly forward. Loss of health, with them, is simply the result
>f violating natural laws — the laws of their physical constitu*
(ion. Famine and pestilence are simply the product of natural
sauses, operating on fixed principles beyond men's controul,
>r superinduced by negligence or criminality on their own
>art. And war is simply the effervescence of human passion
)f pride and ambition, of cruelty and the love of conquest.
?his is the creed of the atheist ; but many, who repudiate this
lame, hold practically the sentiments just enunciated, aye,
^nd publish them, too, in a form all the more ensnaring that
khe cloven foot is concealed, and that the being of a Qod,
pough virtually denied, is verbally admitted. But if God
dsts, he is the Governor of the universe. If he ever made
lis world, he also rules it. If it was not beneath his dignity
do the one, it is not beneath his dignity to do the other ;
rbiie the most insignificant event can as little be removed be*
f^ond the sphere of his notice, as the most momentous can be
>laced beyond the reach of bis power. The idea of a father-
less world, of a worla that is created by God, and then left to
fhift for itself, is incompatible alike with the moral and the

'.•ft

latural attributes of the Divine Being. To cherish such an
lea is to impeach not only his wisdom and power, but also his

justice and goodness. It is, indeed, to place him in the same
category with the unnatural husband and parent, who deserts
tis dependent partner, and throws his helpless progeny on the

Render mercies of an unfeeling publio.

This much even on principles of reason. And now for rtve'
ladon. If there is such a thing — if there is any truth in those
Holy writings which we all believe to be " given by inspira-
tion of God" — if the Bible is not, from beginning to end, "a
cunningly devised fable/' "verily there is a God that judgeth
in the earth/' He is a " fool that says there is not i" and he
is a liar who, admitting God's existence, denies his Provid*
ence — a Providence, alike exhaustless in its resources and
minute in its surveillance-^regulating and over-ruling, for its
own purposes, the destinies of empires, yet watching over the
" fail of a sparrow,'' and " numbering the hairs of our head."
We deny not the operation of secondary causes^ or their influ-
ence upon the condition of individuals, families, and nations ;
but we maintain that these are but instruments in God's
hands, working under his direction, and evolving his secret
and sovereign purposes. The most sedulous attention to the
laws of health will not always keep away disease, just as the
utter disregard of them, in other cases, does not engender it.
"Affliction cometh not from the dust, neither doth trouble
spring out of the ground." And where, then, is its source ?
Just where Job sought it — " I would seek unto Gody and unto
God would I commit my cause ;" and where David found it —
" In very faithfulness Thon has afflicted me." And as with
personal, so with national calamity. " Shall there be evil in
a city," asks the prophet Amos, " and the Lord hath not done
it ?" When the Assyrian power was broken in pieces, whence
came the stroke under which it first staggered and then fell ?
Isaiah tells us, " The Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who
shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who
shall turn it back ?" The same prophet, addressing God, in
another place says, " when thy judgments are abroad in the
earth, the people will learn righteousness," clearly implying
that whether men will learn the lesson or not, God is the
teacher whose judgments are abroad in the earth. Let us, my
friends, sit docilely, as we profess this day to do, at the feet
of this teacher ; let us " humble ourselves under the mighty

Jiow su
le vict

forreve-
in those
inspira>
end, "a
tjudgeth
" and he
is Provid'
rces and
g, for its
over the
ur head."
heir influ*
nations ;
in God's
his secret
ion to the
ust as the
gender it.
th trouble
ts source ?
', and unto
found it— ^
id as with
be evil in
I not done
's, whence
then fell r
and who
and who
J God, in
id in the
impljing
>d is the
>t us, my
) the feet
) mighty

nd of God,'' as it has been lifted up against us, in the mat-
r of the Indian mutiny. This is the part of interest as well
of duty ; for what shall be the end of those who will not
hear the rod," nor gee the hand that wields it? "Lord,
[ben thy hand is lifted up, they will not see ; but they shall
e, and be ashamed, * '^ yea, the fire of thine enemies
all devour them."

We have acknowledged the operation of secondary causes,

e employment of subordinate agents by God in the accom-

ishment of his purposes. And so far from wishing to ignore,

even conceal them, in the case of the present calamity, we

11 on you to notice them particularly, in connection with its

timate author. The instruments employed by God in pun-

hing his ancient people on the occasion referred to in the

xt, were the native inhabitants of Canaan. He made /^6m to

" thorns in their sides, and their gods to be a snare unto

em." And what language could more accurately describe

e agency employed by God in punishing our sins against

dia ? AVho were the mutineers ? Were they not the native

habitants of that country — the Sepoys. And what were the

eans by which they effected their purpose ? Was it not by

hcry f " snares," and death by torture, produced by slow

d painful means, like being pricked to death with " thorns ?"

is instructive to observe this coincidence ; and while we ob-

rve it, let us feel that now as then " our own iniquities have

een correcting us, and o>jr own baokslidings reproving us."

ere the very people whom we had injured became, in the

and of God, their own avengers and his. Look back again,

n some of our sins against our Indian brethren, as formerly

Jioticed. and you will see that from like sins against us we are

l^ow suffering. Were they the dupes of our deceit? We are

4he victims of their treachery. Did we treat theui with cruelty ?

H*' With the same measure," only " pressed down, and shaken

itogether, and running over," " has it been measured to us

«:ain." Pride we mentioned as another of our national sins ;

d of nothing in India, perhaps, were we more proud than of

our army — a native army, commanded by British ofScers.l
We had raised and trained it ; fought and conquered with it ;
and what, we were ready to ask, could we not do with such|
an array ? Yet that very army has nearly been our ruin, at
least in India. By it were all our conquests there placed in
jeopardy, yea, and the very prestige of our arms in all parts of
the world. The object of our pride has thus been converted
into a scourge for our punishment. And where is that army
now? Disorganized, dispersed, annihilated. Let us learn
from dear-bought experience to say with one who was himself
a great warrior as well as a mighty king — " Some trust in
chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name
of the Lord our God." " It is better to trust in the Lord than
to put confidence in man ; better to trust in the Lord than to
put confidence in princes."

Another of our sins against the people of India, our great-
est sin, was neglect of their spiritual interests. And the baneful
consequences of that neglect we are now reaping. We did not
teach them the religion of Jesus ; and they have treated us,
and especially our countrymen and countrywomen who fell
into their hands, in the spirit of their own religion. It is a
religion of "horrid cruelty." It sanctions the desertion
and even the destruction of sick and aged relatives,
and marks with its highest approval the self-infliction of tor-
ture, and the presentation of human sacrifices. What was it
to the devotees of such a system to imbrue their hands in their
officers' blood? And what treatment had the wives and
daughters of those officers to expect, other than they received,
when, with the sanction of the same religious system, they
hold their women in contempt, and, till a late period, burned
their widows ; when they ornament their temples with obscene
pictures, and walk about, themselves, in open day, in a state
of nudity ! And what shall we say to these things, when we
remember that that religious systen* was long patronised by
the British Government, and its idols and their '^emples sup-
ported by British treasure ! Is it not in righteous retribution

for our
land, an
thus pr(
try men
the Gos
the trea
leditai
)ur ins

[tish officers.!
'red with it I
■0 with such I
our ruin, at
're placed in
all parts of
in converted
IS that army
•t us learn
was himself
Jme trust in
er the name
e Lord than
'ord than to

our great-
the baneful
We did not
treated us,

^n who fell

on. It 18 a

> desertion
relatives,

tion of tor-

'^hat was it

^» in their

waives and

T received,

tem, thej

d» burned

'b obscene

in a state
when we

onised by

•pies sup-

tribution

for our sin, in " making a league with the inhabitants of the
land, and not throwing down their altars," that they have
thus proved thorns in our sides, and a snare" unto our coun-
trymen ? Had we been as careful to instruct the Sepoys in
the Gospel of peace, ns we were to teach them the art of war,
the treason that has been perpetrated might never have been
leditated. But we taught them the one, and they have turned
)ur instructions against ourselves. We neglected to teach
[them the other ; and dearly, dearly have we paid for our ne-
[gleet I Have we paid too dearly for it ? Has our punishment
(been too severe? Far be such a thought from our minds?
i*' Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid." While
jwe condemn ourselves on this day of humiliation, let us, at
the same time, justify Hia procedure, saying, " We have sin-
Ined, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly,
and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and
[from thy judgments ; neither have we hearkened unto thy
; servants the prophets, who spake in thy name to our kings,
Eour princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
|0 Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee ; but unto us con-
[fusion of faces, as at this day." This introduces us naturally
ito the

Third and last department of the subject, viz., the repent-
ance exhibited.

Ancient writers tell us of a savage tribe, who, when it
thundered, shot theirarrows and threw their javelins, in defi-
ance, against the sky ; and even so there are some men living
in civilized and Christian lands, who " set their mouth against
the heavens," and " harden their necks" under God's reproofs.
This is daring wickedness, extreme folly. •* Let the potsherd
strive with the potsherds of the earth," but "woe unto him
that striveth with his Maker." The Israelites, on the occasion
referred to in the text, "show us a more excellent way:" —
"they lifted up their voice and wept, * * and they sacri-
ficed there unto the Lord." Our meeting here to-day is evid-
ence, so far, that we feel disposed to follow their example in

this respeot. Bat genuine sorrow, let us remember, and espo*
oially penitential sorrow^ courts seclusion, though on all pro-
per occasions it does not shrink from publicity. Let us see,
then, that we weep over our sins, national and personal, when
alone with God in our closets, and when surrounding with our
families the domestic altar ; as well as when convened with
our Christian brethren, on a day like this, in the sanctuary of
God. And let the tears that we shed in all the three places,
be tears of contrition on account of sin itself^ and not merely
on account of its consequences. Ah, it would require a large
bottle to hold all the tears of natural affection that have been
shed over the Indian mutiny. Would one of the same dim-
ensions be required to contain those oi penitential sorrow?
The two may with all propriety be mingled ; for religion does
not eradicate or suppress, it only regulates and elevates our
natural feelings ; but tears purely of the former description
are not the tribute that such a day as this calls for ; they do
not constitute " the fast that God hath chosen,^' and that we
profess now to be keeping. Let this be the confession of our
hearts — " Against thee^ thee only have we sinned, and done
evil in thy sight.'' Let the true reason of our sorrow be ex-
pressed in these words — " rivers of waters run down mine
eyes, because they keep not thy law.'' And feeling that we
cannot weep enough over our own sins, and the sins of our
people as formerly enumerated, let us make Jeremiah's lam-
entation our own — " that my head were waters, and mine
eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for
the slain of the daughter of my people."

But the children of Israel not only " lifted up their voice
and wept," they also " sacrificed unto the Lord." And so let
us do. But what shall we sacrifice ? The sins^ surely, for
which we profess to be so sorry. Though dear to us as a right
eye, let us pluck them out. Though useful to us as a right
baud, let us cut them off. What of all the tears that we shed
over them, if we still persist in their commission ? It is only
adding hypocrisy to the already long catalogue. Reformation

1 i

>er, and espo-
h on all pro-
I^et us see,
•sonal, when
|»ng with our
ivened with
lanctuary of
three places,
not merely
mre a large
|t have been
same dim-
lal sorrow?
sligion does
levates our
description

'p; thejdo

nd that we

"on of our
and done

'ovr be ex-

lown mine

g that we

ins of our

iah's 1am-

and mine

night for

'eir voice
^nd so let
Telj, for
w a right
' a right
we shed
b is onlj
rmation

lust be the evidence of repentance ; and it is only when ** sin
|s forsaken'' as well as confessed, that we are promised mercy.
Tea, consistency itself requires this ; for what worth is humi-
Uation on account of sins which we do not abandon ? or of
That avail will prayers be for their pardon, if we still indulge
b their commission ? The mighty God, the Lord himself, has
mswered these questions — " If my people will humble them-
selves, and pray, and turn from their wicked ways," not
)therwise, it is implied " I will hear from heaven, and forgive
their sins."

This passage suggests another "sacrifice" appropriate to
this occasion. *' Let our prayer be set forth before God as in-
tense, and the lifting up of our hands as the evening sacri-
ice." To this exercise the Proclamation expressly calls us,
[and a specific object is mentioned, viz., prayer for the success
[of our arms in India. But in this we have been anticipated.
[God has verified the promise — " And it shall come to pass,
that before they call I will answer." For Delhi is taken ; the
lead-quarters of therebellion are broken up, and the out-posts,
^t may be expected, will ere long be dismantled, and the entire
[presidency brought back to its allegiance. Let us, however,
[give thanks for the victory that we do not now need to ask,
land be encouraged to pray that it may be only the first of a
peries of victories, to follow in rapid succession — the har-
[binger of the speedy return of peace and security to Bengal.*
But let us not by any means restrict our prayers to this one
object, important as it is. Let us pray also, that these sad ca-
lamities, when overpast, may leave a blessing behind — that

* Since this discourse was delivered, the intelligence has also
been received of the relief of Lucknow — a relief indeed, not only
to the brave-hearted, long-beleaguered, and much-enduring garri-
son of that place, but also to the public mind of the British empire.
It furnishes, at the same time, an additional cause of gratitude for
the past and ground of hope for the future. In connection with
other successes, indeed, it leaves no doubt of the ultimate subju-
gation of the rebels, and speedy restoration of tranquillity and
order to the well disposed portion of the community.

they may bo sanctified to the immediate sufferers, and to the
entire nation — and that they may lead to such a change in the
administration of Indian affairs as to facilitate, instead of re-
tarding as hitherto, the evangelization of that colossal empire.
Yes, for the poor Indians themselves, even the treacherous
Sepoys, claim, as they need, an interest in our prayers ; and
this will not be denied them by those, at least, who have the
spirit of Him who, in the very article of death, prayed for his
murderers — " Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do 1"

Again, lot us " sacrifice here unto the Lord,'' those timid
and time-serving principles, those maxims of worldly policy
which have hitherto prevented us from effecting, or even at-
tempting on anything like an adequate scale, the Ghristian-
ization of India. Let us be as true to our religion as either
Hindoo or Mahometan can be to theirs. Let us no longer pay
greater deference to their opinions and prejudices, than to the
dictates of Scripture and the commands of God. What have we
gained by this in times past? Only their contempt^ and His
rebuke ; and if we would either command their respect, or
secure His approval, for the time to come, we must turn over
an entirely new leaf. AVe must adopt the motto of the first
Christians, — " We ought to obey God rather than men ;" and
while we do not offend unnecessarily the prejudices of the
heathen, nor provoke imprudently, their hostility, we must
make it the rule of our conduct. Had we done so when India
came first into our possession, how very different might its
condition to-day, have been ; and how very different our own
position in reference to it? Let us, profiting by past miscal-
culations, and errors, do our duty now ; and leave results with
God. Duty to his sovereign was the guiding principle of a
great warrior and statesman, lately gone from among us ; and
how much more should duty to their God be the watchword of
every Christian man, and of every Christian nation ? To the
laconic sayings of the Duke of Wellington, great weight is
attached ; and there is one which we cannot forbear quoting

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this coQuoction. One of his chaplains asked him on one
jasion, What is the use of preaching the gospel to the he^-
jn? "What are your marching orders?" was his reply;
ire they not, go ijc into all the toorld and preach the Gospel
svery creature? Yes, most unquestionably they are, and
by are to be obeyed, though tumult and commotion should
the result — aye, though "the world should be turned
Iside down." " The Captain of salvation," himself said, " I
not come to send peace on earth, but a sword ;" and shall
soldiers keep " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
[God" in its scabbard, because it may provoke the devotees
idolatry to draw theirs in defence? Shall they shrink
)m the conflict of truth with error — of God's truth with
la's fables, as if distrustful of its power, or desponding of
triumph 1 Elsewhere, the same " meek and lowly " Jesus
[ys, " I am come to send jire on the earth." And his gospel
)uld not be what it is — it would but belie its name, if it did
)t burn up such systems of religion, falsely so called, as de-
cade, and pollute, and curse India. It is to our shame that
jiis firo is not already kindled ; and recent disasters will not
lost upon us, if they tend to stimulate our zeal, and thus,
jflexly, to fan and blow into a flame the merely " smoking
ix" of Indian Christianity.
But there is another sacrifice still, which it is but right that
re oiler, here, unto the Lord. It is thus enjoined by one of
[is Apostles — " To do good and to communicate, forget not^ for
rith such sacrifices God is well pleased." Money has been
illed the sinews of war ; and it is as necessary in the war
rith India's heathenism, as with the Sepoys' rebellion. How
luch is required to equip, to send out, and to maintain an
Ldequate force of Christian missionaries for the Indian ser-
vice ? Let the cost be carefully counted, and cheerfully
>aid. Here, we have an opportunity of returning, with in-
|erest, some of the treasure, wrung by injustice and fraud
fom our fellow subjects in the East. Shall it be taken advan-
ige of? If not, the humiliation of such a day as this is a

mere sham. If it is — means, and adequate means, will not
be wanting for this evangelistic enterprise. How utterly in-
adequate is the present force of Indian missionaries 1 Of them
we may well say as Andrew did of " the five loaves and two
fishes" that were forthcoming to feed five thousand men,
" What are these among so many ?" What are they ? They
are, as neariy as may be, in the proportion of two missionaries
to three millions of people I To our shame be it spoken !
Let such a blot remain no longer on our Christian generosity,
on our natural humanity. " Freely ye have received, freely
give." The appeal in behalf of the British sufferers by the
Indian mutiny has been nobly responded to ; but let us not
forget the Indian sufferers by British neglect and parsimony ;
nor let us turn a deaf ear to the appeal which, by their con-
dition, if not with their lips, they send across the seas, " Gome
over aud help us." God, by his judgments, is pleading with
us on their behalf. He is saying, " Break off your sins by
righteousness." One of these, doubtless, is "robbing Him
of the tithes and offerings" that Ilis service in India requires
Now, then, let us place them upon His altar, and ourselves in
a position to expect and experience the fulfilment of the ap
pended promise — " Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse.
* * and prove me now lierewith, saith the Lord of hosts
if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you
out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive
it."

PRINTED BY MAOLEAU, THOMAS k 00., 16 KINQ 81. EAST, TORONTO.

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