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SERMON, 
 
 I>£LIT£R£D BEFOBE TB£ 
 
 CONVENTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHUBCH 
 
 IN THE 
 
 STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA, 
 
 Held in St. James's Church, Philadelphia, May 3, 1815; 
 AND PUBUSHED BY REqUEST. 
 
 BY THE REV. FREDERICK BEASLEY, D. D. 
 
 ProvosI of the University of rennsylvania. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY EDWARD EARLK 
 
 William Fry, Printer. 
 
 1815. 
 
 5c^ 
 
 /i .. /- 
 
A SERMON, &c. 
 
 John xxi. IT* 
 
 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou mei 
 Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou 
 me? And lie said unto him. Lord! thou knowest all thing-s; thou knowest 
 that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 
 
 St. JOHN, the beloved disciple, in the strain of whose 
 composition there are a tenderness and an amenitj^ which 
 have never been surpassed, if ever equalled, by any sacred 
 or profane author, here exhibits a most affecting interview 
 of the Apostles with their divine Master, that took place 
 in the interval between his resurrection and ascension. Jesus 
 Christ after having given them at this interview, as at many 
 others, infallible proofs of his resurrection, before he takes 
 his final leave of them, addresses himself particularly to St. 
 Peter, v/hose ardour and vehemence of temper and dispo- 
 sition, at the same time that they exposed him to danger, 
 and sometimes hurried him into the most culpable excesses, 
 nevertheless rendered him one of the most interesting, if not 
 the most interesting of the twelve Apostles. As if the more 
 deeply to impress upon his mind, the high responsibility of 
 the station he should occupy after his departure, thrice, at 
 that solemn moment, he repeats the enquiry, " Simon, son 
 
of Jonas, lovcst thou me?" and wlicii Peter with characte- 
 ristic impetuosit}', immediately replies, " Lord! thou knowest 
 that I love thee;" he rejoins, as if to make him sensible of 
 the most incontestable evidence he could give of that love, 
 feed my sheep. 
 
 Such, my reverend brethren, is the station which you at 
 present occupy. As was St. Peter and his illustrious col- 
 leagues, in this pure and primitive age, so are you now, 
 shepherds commissioned by Christ, under the most solemn 
 injunctions of fidelity, to feed the flock which he hath pur- 
 chased with his own blood. You are embassadors, accredited 
 by God to promulge his holy law, and proclaim amongst 
 men the terms on which he w^ill condescendto be reconciled 
 to them. You are stewards of the mysteries of grace. To 
 your superintendance the Saviour hath committed the 
 manifold and momentous concerns of his church. In a 
 word, the everlasting interests of mankind most largely 
 depend upon your fidelity and diligence in the discharge of 
 vour sacred functions. What an office do you hold! How- 
 dignified and important is it! How awful your responsibility 
 to your supreme Lord! To each of you at his ordination, 
 your divine Master virtually addressed his enquir)- to St. 
 Peter, "lovest thou me?" and left him at the same time the 
 solemn admonition to demonstrate his love by feeding his 
 sheep; that is, by a diligent and anxious attention to his pa- 
 rochial duties. 
 
 I assure you, my brethren, I am fully sensible of the 
 delicacy and impoitance of the task imposed upon me, on 
 this occasion, l)y our venerable Diocesan, and feel myself 
 under sacred obligations faithfull;. to perforin it. It is our 
 duty, at all times, *^to provoke one anotlier to love and to 
 good works;" but moie especially so at such opportunities 
 as the present. I should consider myself as delinquent in 
 
duty, you yourselves, I am assured, would not excuse me, 
 should I not address you, on this occasion, with that can- 
 dour, and freedom, and boldness, which become the minis- 
 ter of Jesus Christ. The duties of the ministry — the motives 
 which propel us to the faithful discharge of these duties; 
 these are subjects too important in their nature, not to en- 
 sure me an attentive hearing from the present audience. 
 
 My reverend brethren, the ministry of the gospel, it is 
 true, presents nothing, as far as relates to the things of this 
 world, to allure you. Your career, while engaged in it, 
 useful as it is, is not splendid. The course which you have 
 chosen to pursue is along the cool sequestered walks of life. 
 The performance of those silent duties which are incumbent 
 upon you, is not calculated to attract to you the attentions, 
 or the caresses, or the homage of men. You cannot expect 
 that the honours, the dignities, or the riches of this world 
 await you. If you have imbibed the spirit of your high and 
 holy calling, these are not objects on which you expend a sigh. 
 Your desires, I trust, disengaging themselves from the 
 pomps and vanities of earth, have been elevated to a better, 
 that is to say, a heavenly country. The dignities and ho- 
 nours, after which you should aspire, are those crowns of 
 glory which shall be bestowed upon you as the recompense 
 of your toils in your Redeemer's kingdom. Nevertheless, 
 while you remain on earth, you are connected with your 
 fellow-men by the most interesting and endearing relations. 
 Out of these relations spring many important duties which 
 you should never fail, scrupulously, and to the utmost, to 
 fulfill. Before this enlightened body it is unnecessary that I 
 should dilate upon this part of mv subject. It will be suffi- 
 cient that I slightly touch upon tliose numerous and ardu- 
 ous duties which are incumbent upon the christian minister. 
 *' Study to show thyself," says St. Paul to Timothy, 
 
^' approved unto God, a workman that nccdctli not to be 
 ashamed, rightly dividing the word of trutli/' And again 
 to Titus, says this Apostle of the Gentiles, " in all things 
 showing th^ self a pattern of good works: in doctrine show- 
 ing unr.orruptncss, gravity, sincerity, sound speecli that 
 cannot be condemned; tliat he that is of the contrary part- 
 may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you." 
 
 This is a portrait of the minister of the gospel drawn by 
 the hand of an illustrious master. ''^ In doctrine," says he, 
 "showing uncorruptness, gravit}-, sincerity, sound speech 
 that cannot be condemned." The ministers of Jesus Christ 
 should be indefatigable in announcing to his people the glad 
 tidings of salvation, and in expounding to them the law and 
 testimony of his God. He should " preach the word in sea- 
 son and out of season." He should boldly declare the whole 
 counsel of God. He should reprove and rebuke when cir- 
 cumstances demand it, with all confidence and authority. 
 Released from the fear of man, the fear of God only should 
 be the ruling motive of his actions. To gain the favour of 
 men, let him never dare mitigate the rigours of the divine 
 law. His doctrines should never be so modified, and soft- 
 ened, and frittered away, as to suit the corruptions, or tlie 
 prejudices, or the fastidiousness of his audience. While he 
 is careful to exhibit, on all occasions, both in his language 
 and deportment, that modesty imd meekness which are so 
 amiable in the man, and so congenial to the spirit of his 
 ministr)', he should never allow a false and culpable distrust 
 of himself, nor a reluctance to excite painful alarms, nor tlie 
 sometimes "mnocent apprehension of giving offence, to in- 
 duce him to ap])ly palliatives where the probe only can effect 
 a cure. Recollecting that the gospel is pre-eminently a dis- 
 pensation of grace, he should exhaust all the innocent arts 
 of pulpit persuasion, to allure sinner*^ to repentance and 
 
reformation, but should they prove refractory and contuma- 
 cious, despising his reproofs, and setting at naught his most 
 solemn admonitions, he should clothe himself in the most 
 awful thunders of the gospel. He should never cease in his 
 endeavours to instruct the ignorant, to convince the incre- 
 dulous, to confirm the wavering, to establish the faith of 
 believers, and to reclaim the guilty. A tender regard to the 
 souls of men, should impart a spirit and an unction to all 
 his addresses, and should animate all his conduct. In all his 
 instructions from the sacred desk, he should closely adhere 
 to that "form of sound words" contained in the scripture. 
 On the one hand, he should carefully avoid all cold moral, 
 metaphysical, or philosophical disquisitions, that contain no 
 solid nutriment for his flock; and on the other, he should 
 refrain with equal solicitude from the ridiculous reveries, 
 the crude and incoherent declamations, the indecent ravings 
 of ignorance and fanaticism. He should deliver the truth as 
 it is in Jesus. He should preach the gospel to his people in 
 its purity, its simplicity, and its energy; ever remembering 
 that it is a sublime code of moral lavv^s enforced by the most 
 powerful evangelical sanctions. 
 
 But the toils of the minister of Jesus Christ by no means 
 terminate in the pulpit. From the pulpit he should descend, 
 as did Moses from those tlumders, lightnings, and loud 
 trumpet's sounds which shook Sinai, while he promulged 
 the law, to conduct his people to the promised land. He 
 should be unremittedly attentive to parochial visitations. It 
 is by cultivating habits of intercourse with his people that 
 he becomes acquainted with the field in which he is to 
 labour, that he gains admission to their hearts, engages 
 their aflfections, and thcrcl)y gives tenfold efficacy to his 
 public ministrations. And if the clergymjui should sedu- 
 louslv cultivate habits of frlcndlv intercourse with hiswliole 
 
8 
 
 flock, he should be more particularly attentive to those who 
 stand in need of his assistance. Here he should ever yield a 
 prompt and cheerful obedience to the calls of duty. He 
 should delight to cheer by his presence the houses of 
 mourning. He should be a father to the fatherless of his 
 flock, and a husband to the widow. The wretched should 
 always find in him a comforter; the poor, a friend. 
 
 The minister of the gospel should, as far as is practicable, 
 be a man of letters. He should snatch every moment that 
 can be spared from his indispensable avocations, and devote 
 it to the cultivation of science. The more his mind is en- 
 larged by literature, and the more the sphere of his infor- 
 mation is extended, the greater, for the most part, will be 
 his success in the service of his Master. What talents and 
 erudition have, in modern times, unhappily for mankind, 
 been enlisted on the side of irreligion! The minister of the 
 gospel should prepare himself, by studv and imj)rovement, 
 to resist the enemies of his faith. He should be able to ex- 
 pose their sophistry, to detect their secret machinations, and 
 to repel their open assaults. He should, above all things, 
 make himself acquainted, and profoundly acquainted, with 
 the evidences of our holv religion. He should be able to 
 give a prompt and satisfactor}' answer to any man who 
 asketh him a reason for the faith that is in him. He should 
 never rest satisfied until he has gained access to all those 
 lights of philosophy, of history, and of antiquity, that ser\'e 
 to illuminate the sacred volume. 
 
 These are qualifications which prepare the christian mi- 
 nister to fill, with honour and efficiency, his public station. 
 What should he be in private life? Where is the virtue, or 
 where the grace which should not adorn the lives of the 
 ministers of Him, who hath set before them a model of 
 all the most illustrious virtues and most resplendent graces? 
 
9 
 
 Copying from their Saviour, the great original of moral ex- 
 cellence, they should set examples which their flocks may 
 safely imitate. They should be meek, humble, affable and 
 unassuming in their deportment. To the wisdom of the ser- 
 pent, enabling them to comprehend their duties, they should 
 unite the harmlessness of the dove. They should, above all 
 other men, be long-suffering, forbearing, and forgiving in 
 their temper and disposition. They should bear with mild- 
 ness and equanimity, as their Lord has done before them, 
 the contradictions of sinners, the follies, and infirmities, and 
 passions of men. They should be quiet and peaceable mem- 
 bers of society. Peculiarly seemly in their profession, is the 
 ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. When those strifes, 
 and contentions, and animosities arise, which occasion so 
 large a proportion of the infelicities and miseries of human 
 life, they should take upon them the office of making peace. 
 In a word, like their great Exemplar, they should find their 
 highest delight in doing good. They should be hospitable, 
 benevolent, charitable — ^Their hands should always be open 
 to the utmost of their ability, to supply the necessities of 
 the indigent — They should observe frugality and simplicity 
 in their domestic economy— They should be temperate in 
 their meat and drink; abstemious in indulging the pleasures 
 of the world— They should scrupulously avoid, in their 
 intercourse with men, all appearance of show, of pride, or 
 ostentation — They should demonstrate that they are not 
 covetous of the paltry riches of earth; but that the riches 
 after which they aspire, are accumulated in that land in 
 which they expect to attain to everlasting rest. The minister 
 of Christ should be a man of prayer, of meditation, and 
 heavenly-mindedness. He should find his meat and drink 
 in performing the exercises of a holy life. His closet, and 
 domestic state, as well as the temples of his God, should 
 
 B 
 
10 
 
 be familiar with the language oi liis devotions. In ilnc, he 
 should be exemplary in all his walk and conversation. I 
 know that we should be careful not to exact too much ot 
 the ministers of religion. It is to be remembered, that after 
 all, like the rest of mankind, they are but dust and ashes, 
 and must be supposed to have their share of the foibles and 
 imperfections of human nature. But the more they strive to 
 be perfect as their Father in heaven is perfect — the more 
 they exert themselves to attain to that consummation of holi- 
 ness which was exhibited in the life of their blessed Lord, 
 the nearer will they approximate to it, and the greater will 
 be their progress in the divine life. And what a shame is 
 it, what a scandal to the church, and reproach upon our 
 holy profession, when he who ministers in sacred things, 
 who presumes to come up to the very sanctuary of God) 
 and officiate in the holy of holies, is polluted with vices or 
 irregularities of life? Shall he, whose office it is to promulge 
 the holy laws of God, violate those laws? he who enforces 
 upon others their obligations to live a virtuous and pious 
 life, break through those obligations? Shall those who should 
 set examples to others, have their characters stained and 
 blasted with impurities? Shall they, who are commissioned 
 to call sinners to repentance, themselves stand in most need 
 of penitence? they who should save odiers, be themselves 
 the first that perish? Surely, if the ministers of the gospel, 
 cannot attain to perfection in holiness, they can at any rate 
 refrain from scandalous offences; if they cannot adorn their 
 professsion by their talents and virtues, they can avoid sink- 
 ing into contemj)!, disgrace, and scorn. 
 
 Such is a very brief view of the duties of the christian 
 minister. Tq.the perfomimce of these duties, you are pro- 
 pelled by numerous and powerful motives. Some of these 
 motives are common to vou and the preachers ot the gospel 
 
11 
 
 In all ages; others spring out of the peculiar circumstances 
 of our own country. 
 
 The examples of Christ and his Apostles, present the first 
 motive to activity and diligence in performing the duties of 
 your sacred office. You well know what the great Founder 
 of our religion sustained in the propagation of the gospel. 
 You have often wept at the recital of his sufferings. From 
 the period in which he commenced the duties of the minis- 
 try, his life was but an uninterrupted series of the most 
 frightful ills which can assail human nature. He denied 
 himself all the enjoyments of earth, in order to promote the 
 iiappinesss of mankind — He had not a place on which to 
 lay his head — He had to pursue his way through number- 
 less fatigues and difficulties, while environed by dangers 
 from his cruel persecutors — He, at length, fell a sacrifice to 
 their virulence and fury — He poured out on Calvary his 
 his precious blood. These are the ills our blessed Lord en- 
 countered in the promulgation of his gospel — And shall we 
 be discouraged by the few difficulties with which we meet 
 — difficulties, which, when compared with his, are lighter 
 than the dust of the balance? When we feel our zeal cool- 
 ing, let us go to the garden of Gethsemane, and see our 
 Lord labouring under those pangs which occasioned his 
 bloody sweat; to the hall of Pilate that witnessed his indig- 
 nities and injuries; or to the hill of Calvary, on which, 
 amidst the agonies of crucifixion, he resigned his breath; 
 and catch new fervour in the sacred cause. 
 
 But if it be imagined, that in the character of the Saviour, 
 there was a sublimity of excellence which renders it inim- 
 itable — if it be supposed that his virtues were of so exalted 
 and transcendant nature, that we cannot aspire after a per- 
 fect imitation of them; look at his Apostles. They were 
 feeble men like ourselves; yet what an illustrious example 
 
12 
 
 have they set us! They have acted a part in the great work 
 of prom ul gin g Christianity little less than divine. My mind 
 is filled with emotions of the highest degree of the sublime, 
 when I follow these great men through their glorious career. 
 Setting off from the tomb of their Saviour, a spark issues 
 from his ashes, that kindles within them unquenchable 
 ardour in his service. They pursue their way through dif- 
 ficulties, and discouragements, and the most formidable 
 dangers. The church presents to their view only the simili- 
 tude of a fiery furnace, heated by the flames of persecution; 
 yet these true sons of Israel walk, undaunted, in the midst of 
 it — They traverse every region with incredible rapidity— 
 They sow the seeds of gospel-truth M'ith equal success 
 amidst the wilderness of barbarous life, and in the culti* 
 vated fields of science and philosophy — Hunger, thirst, cold, 
 nakedne«>s, bonds and imprisonments, are their daily fare- 
 Some shed their blood in Judca, others in the East, some 
 in the South, others in the West; yet none are discouraged, 
 none relax in their exertions, none shrink back from the 
 perilous enterprise on which they have embarked. My God! 
 what a motive does the conduct of these holy men offer to 
 us of activity and zeal in the propagation of the gospel! 
 With such animating examples before us, can we sink into a 
 criminal and fatal apathy? 
 
 The pre-eminent excellence of that church to which you 
 belong, in her doctrines, discipline, and forms of worship, 
 presents another incentive to unremitted activity and zeal 
 in discharging the functions of your sacred office. — In the 
 midst of those numberless errors which divide and dis- 
 honour Christendom, you are assured that you fmd in her 
 doctrines the lamp of pure and primitive truth, and in her 
 exterior form, the glorious model of apostolic government 
 and order. The very plan upon which our reformers pro- 
 
ceeded with a moderation, a caution, and a comprehension 
 which have done them immortal honour, was to separate 
 the genuine ore of Christianity, from the dross and rubbish 
 which had been connected with it ckiring its progress 
 through the dark, and gloomy periods of its history. To 
 this end were directed all their researches into primitive 
 history and antiquity — To this end were devoted all their 
 zeal and assiduity in preaching; and to its accomplishment, 
 many of them willingly and triumphantly shed their blood. 
 My brethren: this is a topic, on which I can never dwell with- 
 out feeling my bosom dilate with conscious enthusiasm and 
 exultation— The interests of this church are ever near my 
 heart — Attached to her from the earliest recollections, as 
 well as from the habits of education, and first brought within 
 her sacred pale to recognize the existence and presence of 
 a Deity, and to acknowledge the endearing claims of a Re- 
 deemer, I have found with sacred pride, my early prepos- 
 sessions in her favour, sanctioned and confirmed by the 
 subsequent convictions of my understanding — I have found 
 her upon examination, all that my most fervent wishes 
 could have led me to desire, or my most sanguine hopes to 
 anticipate; pure and unadulterated in her doctrines, primi- 
 tive in her form of government, of pre-eminent chastity and 
 simplicity in her rites and ceremonies, of unrivalled excel- 
 lence and sublimity in her forms of worship, and exhibiting 
 throughout her whole frame and organization, a beautiful 
 and glorious model of that church, which, in the first and 
 and golden age of Christianity, was fashioned by the hands 
 of Christ himself, and his Apostles, and cemented with 
 their blood. Such is the truly primitive and apostolic church 
 to which we belong, both in her internal principles and ex- 
 ternal structure. True, she retained not her primeval purity 
 and perfection, during her passage through the dark ages. 
 
14 
 
 but becoming dcteri<^raled, corrupted, and sullied, was in- 
 fested with all those monstrous errors in doctrine, and 
 abuses in practice, that fraud and superstition could engen- 
 der in the bosom of ignorance and blind credulit} — but, at 
 the revival of true religion and learning in Europe, under the 
 master hands of our illustrious reformers, she was restored 
 to her primitive glory and beauty, and became the pride 
 and bulwark of the reformation. — It is this church, so vene- 
 rable for her antiquitv, so admirable both in her internal and 
 external frame and organization, of such surpassing excel- 
 lence and sublimity in her forms of worship, whose desti- 
 nies are, under her great Head, entrusted to our care. And 
 shall not our most strenuous exertions be directed to guard 
 her from dangers, and promote her peace and prosperity? 
 Far be it from me, to wish to excite among you a spirit of 
 bigotry and intolerance, the fruitful parents of persecution 
 and all that horrid progeny of mischiefs and miseries that 
 follow in its train — But is a warm and decided preference 
 of our own church, inconsistent with the sentiments of good 
 will and brotherly kindness, to all denominations of chris- 
 tians? While we conceive them to have deviated both in 
 doctrine and practice, from the truth once delivered to the 
 saints, and would make use of all lawful and proper expe- 
 dients to bring them back to what we must ever regard as 
 the true fold of Christ; cannot we cherish a delicate and 
 scrupulous respect for their rights of conscience? In a word, 
 is there no medium between universal latitudinarianism 
 and bigotr}', and intolerance — between a criminal neglect 
 earnestly to contend for the faiUi, and lighting the fires of 
 persecution — ^Ijetween embracing or justifying the errors 
 that prevail, and consigning our l)rethren over to the wheel 
 of the inquisitor? In order not to violate the great and funda- 
 mental law of charitv, must we close our eyes against the 
 
15 
 
 light of truth, or seal our mouths, and cease to proclaim it? 
 God forbid — This would be to abandon the post assigned 
 us by high heaven, and to become traitors to the sacred 
 cause of religion. — What! Shall it be required of us, as a 
 part of christian charity, to be silent, when we see such 
 errors broached and propagated, as are eating out, like a 
 canker, the very core of religion among us, and some of 
 which are evils that present a most formidable and porten- 
 tous aspect to the very existence of Christianity itself? Are 
 our mouths to remain hermetically sealed, when we behold 
 some overthrow the fundamental principles of that venera- 
 ble and goodly order of church government by Bishops, 
 Priests, and Deacons, dispensed to us by the sacred hand of 
 her divine founder and head, and promulge doctrines that 
 would throw a shade of malignity over the benign moral 
 character of the Almighty; and others, refusing to extend 
 to our beloved offspring, the precious privilege of being 
 initiated into the mysteries of faith and adopted into the 
 holy family of God? some waging war again stall externals 
 in religion, and discarding even the sacraments themselves, 
 which Christ hath bestowed on us as the endearing pledges 
 of his love, and the richest nutriment of the pious soul; 
 others converting the worship of God, who requires us to 
 serve him in spirit and in truth, into scenes of confusion 
 and wild uproar? some relaxing the very springs of the 
 of the divine government, and stripping the gospel of its 
 most awful sanctions, by denying those future tremendous 
 penalties which it represents as the portion of the guilty, 
 and thereby opening a door to boundless licentiousness, 
 and profligacy of manners? others embracing the scheme 
 and uttering the language of the impious Socinus, mutter- 
 ing blasphemies against the Son of God, denying the very 
 Lord who bought them, and whose sacred name they pre- 
 
16 
 
 sume to wear, when by rejecting his divinity they would 
 take from Christianity its ver)^ [lifc-bloodf When errors 
 such as these are prevalent, some of which are not only 
 false in theory, but most mischievous in their influence upon 
 society, shall any considerations withhold us from raising 
 our voice against them? We would not, indeed, wish to 
 interfere with the sacred rights of conscience, and prescribe 
 limits to an unbounded freedom of opinion; or subject the 
 the understandings of mankind to the restraints of law and 
 coercion. The weapons of that warfare which we would 
 carry on against errors, are not carnal, but spiritual — We 
 would meet them in the fair field of argument, under the 
 full conviction that truth, if her advocates are faithful to her 
 cause, will ultimately triumph. Let our ministers, therefore, 
 while they attempt not to interfere with the modes of wor- 
 ship instituted by other denominations of christians, be 
 staunch to their own principles, imbibe the genuine spirit 
 of an Episcopalian ministr\^, preach the unadulterated doc- 
 trines of the cross, and rigorously conform to that liturgy, 
 which in my estimation, (and in this opinion, I am sup- 
 ported by many men of the most approved taste and exten- 
 sive erudition) is of a more various and surpassing excel- 
 lence than any uninspired compositions extant in our 
 language or perhaps in anv other.— And here, my breth- 
 ren, you will allow me to remark, as another motive to indus- 
 tn', that refreshing to the souls of the faithful as are the 
 s\TTiptoms which have lately displayed themselves in our 
 churches in this countn , of an increased attention to the 
 duties of religion — it is not to be denied, and I repeat it to 
 our shame, and could do it even with weeping; it is not to 
 be denied, that a dreadful coldness, indifference and apathy 
 have seized us concerning the interests of our church, of 
 religion, and even in regard to our everlasting salvation. 
 
17 
 
 While I deprecate the introduction among us of a blind, 
 fiery and misguided zeal; what would I not give to see pre- 
 valent, the genuine ardours of an enlightened and well 
 directed devotion! Would to God! That I could catch its 
 sacred glows from the altars of heaven, and breathe them 
 into your bosoms in all their purifying, renovating, and en- 
 livening efficacy — Blessed with a church, having pre-emi- 
 nent claims to purity, antiquity, and divine authority, in 
 whose services we find the unadulterated word of God, 
 the fabric of whose ecclesiastical government is fashioned 
 upon the apostolic model, and whose exterior rites and 
 ceremonies are distinguished by the simplicity of the early 
 ages, we know not how to appreciate these inestimable pri- 
 vileges — How indolently are our churches attended for the 
 purposes of public worship! how little frequented the sacred 
 altars of our God! How cold and indevout are we in our ex- 
 ercises of devotion, in performing our impassioned services! 
 In the eagerness and inordinate desire with which we engage 
 in the pursuit of pleasure, and amidst the intoxication pro- 
 duced by that whirlpool of dissipation in which we are toss- 
 ed, all serious thoughts of futurity are excluded from our 
 minds — Added to this morbid lethargy in our most import- 
 ant concerns and this rage for frivolous or licentious indulg- 
 ence, a gloomy and baleful plague of infidelity is creeping 
 up to the heart, freezing the warm current of our immortal 
 hopes, and stopping the pulse of spiritual life among us. 
 These are symptoms which should alarm our fears and sti- 
 mulate us to activity — They are sources from which may 
 spring numberless future dangers and disasters. Were we 
 all as alert, active and zealous in the defence and edification 
 of our Zion, as we should be; we should be less exposed to 
 the inroads of fanaticism and a wild enthusiasm, as well as 
 to the bolder invasions of our open and more formidable 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 enemies. And is there no mode, my christiiui brethren, by 
 which you can be roused from the torpor of indifference 
 and animated into some concern for religion, and your ever- 
 lasting interests? The doctrines of our holy religion are too 
 awful to be lightly regarded by you, the salvation of the 
 soul, too momentous to be thus shamefully neglected, eter- 
 nitv too dreadful an object thus to live in a total and cri- 
 minal forgetfulness of it — Considerations of this kind should 
 penetrate deeply into our hearts, awaken within them salu- 
 tary feiu-s, and touch all the springs of religious sensibility. 
 In the moral and religious state of the people of our church, 
 we cannot deny, that there is urgent need of amendment; 
 but let not this be attempted by deviations from her regular 
 order, but rather by putting into vigorous operation, all 
 those means which she has established for the improvement 
 and salvation of her members. We want excited among us 
 a spirit of greater devotedness to our Creator, of modera- 
 tion, self-denial and abstemiousness in our enjoyments, and 
 of prayer and supplication in public, in our domestic state 
 and in private — Perhaps, there are no three moral causes, 
 that have so great an influence upon nations, families, and 
 mdividuals, as public, domestic, and private devotion. In 
 proportion as these are neglected, nations hasten to their 
 declension and downfall, families to extinction and private 
 persons to ruin— And for iill these three modes of inter- 
 course with heaven, has our church made large, and ample 
 provision in her admirable forms of worship — Would we 
 but give full effect to her wise, and wholesome institutions 
 and ordinances, and catch that fer\ ent, devout and heavenly 
 spirit, which she breathes, what a holy and zealous clergy and 
 people should wc become, what a praise in the earth, what 
 bright and glorious examples to our christian brethren! 
 Lilt, on the other hand, if instead of imbibing the devo- 
 
19 
 
 tional spirit of our church, and conforming to her institu- 
 tions, the heads of families among us, totally neglect or 
 indolently attend, the public worship of Almighty God — if 
 they violate without scruple the holy sabbath, and evidence 
 their contempt for the ordinances of religion by keeping at 
 a distance from those altars at which they are administered 
 — if family worship is totally omitted by them as well as 
 the devotions of their closets — in a word, if they exhibit no 
 outward proof, that they live in the fear of God and in the 
 performance of religious duties, what are we to expect but 
 that the condition of the church will wax worse and worse, 
 until it falls into ruins; but that the rising generation, their 
 beloved offspring, will permit their ardent sensibilities, un- 
 restrained by the discipline of a virtuous and pious educa- 
 tion, to shoot forth into all the most odious and pernicious 
 forms of criminal excess? But upon this subject a treatise 
 might be written of itself, so copious is it, and interesting 
 to the feelings — The coldness and indifference which pre- 
 vail in matters of religion should suggest another motive to 
 the zealous performance of the duties of the ministry. 
 
 You should be excited to zeal and industry in your holy 
 vocation, in the next place, from considering the inveterate 
 and mischievous libertinism of the age. The tares of unbe- 
 lief, unhappily for mankind, were sown in England, and on 
 the continent of Europe, along with the good seeds of the 
 reformation — It was the natural progress of the human mind 
 to make this transition from the extreme of superstition, of 
 a foul and abominable superstition, to that of infidelity. It 
 was not to be wondered at, if when mankind had once 
 thrown off the shackles of papal dominion, and the thunders 
 of the Vatican ceased to drown the voice of enquiry, they 
 felt some reluctance at such a season, to submit to the whole- 
 some control even of the genuine doctrines of the faith. 
 
20 
 
 Various causes contributed, at the siimc time, to introduce 
 among the literati a spirit of scepticism and unbelief. The 
 revival of letters during this centur)^ and the consequent 
 distaste which was at first excited among learned men by 
 an acquaintance with the classics, for the doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity as couched in the jargon of the monks — the abhor- 
 rence of popery, (then the only name for Christianity,) which 
 was naturally awakened, when the lights of science that 
 were enkindled, disclosed to view its horrid corruptions 
 and abominations; the superficial attainments which would, 
 at such a time, be made in literature, and which were then, 
 and always have been unfriendly to religion*— -the systems 
 of philosophy, which about the same period were revived 
 or broached anew, that tended to give the mind a captious 
 and sceptical cast; all these causes and more than these, 
 contributed to the origin and growth of the principles of 
 unbelief, at the time of the reformation. The vain reason of 
 man had not yet been allowed time, alter arousing from 
 those slumbers of ignorance and superstition in which it 
 
 • See all these points illustrated by Bisliop Warburton in his scrnnon on 
 ihe influence of learning^ on revelation. In that masterly performance, 
 speakinjj of the unfriendly tendency towards reliu-ioii which superficial 
 knowledge has on the minds of men, he says, " Hence it is we find the 
 leaders and professors of free thinking to have been generally of this class 
 of men. And hence it is that there are now fewer unbelievers amongst 
 men eminent in the learned professions than at tlie revival of letters. For 
 as science has kept advancing, and Uie theory of nature opened, men's 
 hard thoughts of revelation have gradually lessened and subsided. The 
 philosophy of Aristotle, when the schools first got to its source in the six- 
 teenth century, inclined the Italian literati to Atheism; and the new in- 
 ventions of Descartes, in the seventeenth, dis|>osed ll»c French to natu- 
 ralism. They have now both given place to the true theory of nature. And 
 Newton, as well by hia doctrine as example, has taught the ]>lnlosophic 
 world to beUev« and trcmbh.' " 
 
21 
 
 had been so long sunk, to exhaust itself with forming vi- 
 sionary systems of philosophy, and to discover by painful 
 experience, that after all its efforts at inventing new theories 
 and indulging novel speculations, true wisdom will be found 
 in taking refuge in the sublime system of revealed religion. 
 Accordingly, we find that this has been done, at subsequent 
 periods in the history of science. The age of Newton, of 
 Locke, Boyle, and those illustrious men who appeared with 
 them, was the age of the true philosophy, and it was the age 
 also of revelation — These great men have proved that the 
 true religion has nothing to apprehend from the true philo- 
 losophy— -Whilst in one hand, they held the torch which 
 darted its penetrating rays through the works of God, both 
 in the physical and moral world, in the other, they held 
 that which illuminated his word. They have rendered theii* 
 names as sacred to the altar as to literature — Instead of be- 
 coming the enemies of our religion, they are her pride. In 
 fact, true philosophy never has been and never will be hos- 
 tile to pure Christianity — On the contrary, it has proved her 
 hand-maid, and ablest support. It has strengthened the foun- 
 dation on which she rests, and erected around her the most 
 impregnable bulwarks. While, however, we recollect with 
 pleasure and exultation, the noble example set by these 
 truly great men, to the philosophic world, we have to la- 
 ment that there have been found philosophers who have 
 discovered a different spirit, and have converted those ex- 
 alted powers of the understanding bestowed on them by 
 their Creator, into weapons with which to wage an ungrate- 
 ful and impious war against him.* For the most part, how- 
 
 • It is reported that Sir Isaac Newton once said to the celebrated Dr. 
 Halley, who (it seems) sometimes spoke slijjhtly of revealed religion, 
 " Dr. Halley, I am always glad to hear you wlien you speak about astro- 
 
22 
 
 ever, it may be remarked, that, although the enemies o4 
 Christianity have sometimes discovered a profound acquaint- 
 ance with other branches of science, yet they have evidenced 
 at the same time, a shameful ignorance of theological — that 
 with which of all others they ought to have made them- 
 selves acquainted, before they presumed to commit any 
 overt acts of hostility against the holy religion of their fa- 
 thers. " I very much doubt, says an elegant writer, whether 
 a single instance can be given of a truly philosophic mind, 
 that understood Christianity and disbelieved it."* 
 
 In recent times, we have seen infidelity arise with aug- 
 mented boldness and augmented virulence. We have seen 
 plans which had, no doubt, been long before meditated by 
 
 noray or other parts of mathematics, because it is a subject which you 
 have studied and well understand; but you should not talkof Cliristianity, 
 J'or you have noi studied it; I have, and know that you know nolhing^ of the 
 matter." The gross ignorance of Voltaire in theological matters has been 
 ;Annply exposed in the " Jews Letters;" and we have never yet seen any 
 thing- from the pen of Mr. Hume which shows him to have been better 
 versed in them. And I am sure that no one will be inclined to think 
 Mr. Paine an exception from this rule, or he would not have brought 
 forward with so much confidence, objections which had been again and 
 again refuted. Would to God, that men would but take the trouble to 
 make themselves acquainted with the evidences of our holy religion, before 
 they reject it. Tlie number of unbelievers would then be few indeed. 
 It i» only from imperfect and partial views of the subject that men are led 
 to discredit her prelcnfiions. A more thorough examination would produce 
 conviction, and settle them in the faith. This has been uniformly and inva- 
 riably the result in the case of all those who have entered upon a candid 
 and serious investigation of the claims of our religion to credit and autho- 
 rity. Lord Lyttlcton, the elder, acknowledges that in his youth he was 
 inclined to scepticism; but that more mature research made him a Chris- 
 tian. This was also tlie case witlj Mr. Gilbert West, and many others that 
 might be enumerated. 
 
 • Dr. Beatlie, in his Evidences. 
 
23 
 
 the ho|icful members of the same fraternity, completely con-* 
 cocted, and carried into execution, to exterminate Christi- 
 anity. We have seen this leaven of infidelity fermenting, un- 
 til it has overtuiTied empires, and accomplislied its baleful 
 work in levelling, for a while, our holy religion with the 
 dust over one of the fairest portions of the globe. We have 
 seen it fill that unhappy country with desolation and car- 
 nage. Nor have we, my brethren, been exempt from the in- 
 fluence of those principles which produced convulsions in 
 the old world that shook it to its centre. The tares of unbe- 
 lief that produced such destructive fruits on the continent 
 of Europe, have found in our country, a soil but too favour- 
 able to their growth and propagation. About the time of 
 our revolution, and some years afterwards, a period of fer- 
 ment in which the mind was, as it were, loosened from the 
 moorings of reason and the control of steady principles and 
 habits, and of course in a condition the best fitted to receive 
 any impressions that might be made on it by the apostles of 
 irreligion — I say, at this season, so favourable as was ima- 
 gined for the purpose, some pestilent productions were in- 
 dustriously circulated among the people, and the attempt 
 made to link the malign and mischievous cause of atheism 
 and irreligion with the humane and noble one of civil liberty 
 — Thanks be rendered to that kind and good providence, 
 which defeated this dark and malignant purpose, and which, 
 in bestowing on us those excellent free institutions, which 
 we at present enjoy, extended to us, at the same time, the 
 only pillar which can sustain them, the holy religion of the 
 Saviour. We still have it, however, deeply to lament, that 
 although the pieces before alluded to, failed of their great 
 object, yet they have but too much vitiated and poisoned 
 the public mind — Are we not still sensible of their destruc- 
 tive fruits, in the deplorable neglect and inattention to the 
 
<M*dinanccs ol religion and in the unblublnng avowal ot the 
 principles of unbelief? Do we not see these principles by 
 infecting the voung and rising generation, contaminating the 
 public morals at the founta'm head, and awakening in the 
 bosom of the patriot the most painful apprehensions for the 
 future destiny of our country? My brethren, it is true that 
 the church enjoys, at this season, perfect tranquillity, and 
 that the rage of her enemies, which but a short time ago 
 threatened her peace and existence, has abated in its malig- 
 nity and been checked in its circulation; but should we per- 
 mit our vigilance against its approach and encroachments to 
 be intermitted, or our exertions relaxed? The great antichrist, 
 no longer walks forth with so unblushing a front, openly in- 
 sulting heaven with its impieties and breathing destruction 
 against the powers of earth, but when operating in secret may 
 it not be tending as surely towards the accomplishment of its 
 grand object? May it not be sapping the foundations of Chris- 
 tianity? For my part, I iun of opinion, that although this blas- 
 phemous spirit has ceased to convulse, iuid waste Christen- 
 dom, it still presents to us a most dangerous and formidable 
 aspect. Its fatal poison is found every where— The student 
 meets with it in the treatise of philosophy, in real and ficti- 
 tious history, in the narrative of the traveller, in the produc- 
 tions of the muse— The very fountains of science are now 
 poisoned with it. This poison has incorporated itself into the 
 wholesome food of knowledge. While we are pouring that ali- 
 ment into the mind of youth which is necessan' to its expan- 
 sion and its growth to maturity, it is imbil)ing along with it 
 this noxious infusion — It has diffused its tincture over the 
 most popular productions of the day. If the ordinary reader 
 take up the small pamphlet for his amusement, this ephemc- 
 ron also, lives not its day in his fancy, without leaving behind 
 at its (It p-.irtiire, this fatal venom. Are we not, then, in real 
 
25 
 
 and imminent danger? Are not the rising generation, when 
 thus circumtanced, objects of peculiar solicitude? My 
 reverend brethren, these evils, if remedied at all, must be 
 remedied by your efforts; your province is it to provide an 
 antidote to this poison. If the progress of infidelity be 
 checked, it must be checked by the diligence of the clergy* 
 Be active, then; summon all your strength to stem the tor- 
 rent. Make yourselves profoundly acquainted with the evi- 
 dences of our holy religion. Ground your flocks well in 
 these evidences. Take peculiar care of the religious educa- 
 tion of the young. In the period of youth those deep 
 impressions may be made upon the minds in favour of vir- 
 tue and religion, which can never afterwards be entirely 
 obliterated. 
 
 Such and so formidable is infidelity at the present age. 
 And what, my brethren, is this infidelity of which we speak? 
 what is the character it has displayed in the history of man? 
 It appears, indeed, outwardly comely unto men, and speaks 
 a fair and glozing language, but, when stripped of its dis- 
 guises, what is it? Let me pause for a few moments to pour- 
 tray it to you. 
 
 Infidelity is the true Antichrist, of which all other Anti- 
 christs are but counterparts. Ever since the days of old Celsus, 
 and even from the Apostolic age, it has existed in the Church 
 of Christ, but has never been completely unveiled until re- 
 cent times.* Infidelity is that power which maintains a 
 
 * It will be seen that the infidelity which is here attempted to be de- 
 scribed, is of that dark and malignant kind which prevailed among the 
 illuminati of France and Germany, at the period in which Atheism, along 
 with Anarchy, was established by law; when the Son of God was pro- 
 claimed to be an impostor, and his Gospel a forgery; and when these mad 
 zealots of impiety bound themselves by an oath to exterminate Christi- 
 anity. — Unbelievers in general, indeed, will disavow such shocking doc- 
 trines as are here ascribed to them, but in doing so they are unfaithful to 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 firm and perpetual league with the grand adversary of God 
 and man. Like him, an apostate spirit fallen from its pri- 
 mitive dignity, it wages incessant war against heaven and 
 all holy things. To accomplish its plans of hostility against 
 Christ and his heavenly kingdom, it has had recourse to 
 numberless stratagems. Sometimes it has essayed secret- 
 ly to undermine the holy religion of tlie Saviour; at other 
 times, it has assailed it with open violence. Sometimes it has 
 assumed the form of an angel of light, and under this dis- 
 guise has gained admission amongst the hosts of the Lord, 
 and tried to seduce them from their allegiance and duty to 
 him; at other times, appearing in its genuine shape, as an 
 angel of darkness, has spit against them its bitterest venom. 
 But if vou wish to see disclosed the deep malignity of the 
 nature of infidelitv, and those secret designs by which it is 
 alwavs actuated, although sometimes it dares not openly 
 avow them, you must trace its footsteps through the conti- 
 nent of Europe in recent times. There it has exhibited its real 
 character, there developed its dark purposes, and there pro- 
 
 thcirown principles. The same difficulties in revealed relipioii which 
 staj^ger their belief and drive them into the quarters of th« enemy, are 
 found also in natural religion. — The fact is, that as soon as the mind is 
 Ifwsened from its adhersnce to the orthodox doctrines of the Church, 
 there is no middle point at which it can stop. Like a bark swung from its 
 moorings, it floats and fluctuates on a sea of uncertainty, and finds no 
 rcsting-placo until it plunges into the gulph of Atheism. The French 
 infidels, thertfore, only carried their principles to their just extent. It is in 
 vain thatthcenennies of religion have endeavoured to cloak their real prin- 
 ciples by assuming the modest appellation of Deists. The first title that 
 was given them was the true one, that of Atheists. This is expressive of 
 their real sentiments. It has not, however, for more than a century past, 
 suited their purpose. Once they were contented with indulging their 
 libertinism of Uiemselvcs, or at most with initiating the learned into the 
 mysteries of their iniquity; but in later times they have attempted to gain 
 over the populace, and the frightful name of Atheists would have proved 
 too powerful a rcpcUant. 
 
27 
 
 duced its baleful fruits. And what is infidelity or the true 
 Antichrist, as there disclosed to view, rising out of the rank 
 and venomous bosom of the modern school? At one time, 
 it is a demon, which, not contented with tearing from their 
 foundations all the sacred establishments of the world, 
 would wage impious war against the government of God, 
 would demolish his awful throne, and strike him from the 
 universe; at another time, it is a Moloch, delighting in the 
 blood of the Saints, immolating human victims to sate 
 its cruel appetite. It walks perpetually to and fro on the 
 earth, the most active spirit that co-operates with the prince 
 of darkness, in effecting his purposes of ruin. Temples, al- 
 tars, sacrifices, all sacred institutions, are the objects of its 
 irreconcileable hatred. These it pursues with exterminating 
 virulence. It enters with deadly intent also within the pre- 
 cincts of civil society. It would sever the strongest bonds 
 which connect mankind together. Its progress there has 
 been marked with revolutions, with anarchy and with blood. 
 A missionary from the dominions of chaos and old night, it 
 would restore their confused and tumultuous reign. Nor 
 does infidelity here stop its course.* Like a malignant ge- 
 nius, it essays to extend its sway into the bosom of man, 
 and disturb its peace. It would entinguish all his hopes, 
 blast his best prospects, and dry up all the fountains of his 
 comfort. It sounds its raven voice over the bed of the suf- 
 ferer, the knell to all his expectations of succour. Whilst 
 with one hand, it would wrest from the mouth of man the 
 purest cups of his enjoyment; with the other it would pour 
 out those vials, that would give tenfold bitterness to his 
 
 * This is the infidelity of Hume, Voltaire, and the other illuminati, that 
 infidelity which would blot out a God from the universe, deny his provi- 
 dence, and make death an eternal sleep. Of such a principle this can- 
 not be considered as an exagg-erated representation. 
 
28 
 
 sorrows. The poor it would render hopeless, the wrctchc d 
 inconsolulile, the bereaved desperate. It would draw the cur- 
 tain of midnight, (if I may speak so,) over the hemisphere 
 of man's lot. Through it no ray of light could penetrate to 
 cheer him. When infidelity has thus despoiled man of his 
 sweetest enjoyments, and infused a deeper-tinged gall into 
 his sorrows, it would cut him off from all intercourse with 
 God; it would convert the heavens into a canopy of brass, 
 against which all his importunities and complaints would 
 strike and die away in fruitless reverberation, no eai* of divine 
 mercy being found there to receive them. And, to conclude 
 this work of horror, when infidelity has thus stripped man 
 of all his hopes, his consolations, and his best enjoyments; 
 when it has transformed the earth into a dungeon, in which 
 he is immured without being visited by a single ray of light, 
 it follows him even to the bed of death. It sounds in his 
 ears the most dismal omens. It dashes from his lips the last 
 drop of consolation which can mitigate the sharpness of that 
 bitter drauijjit. It goes still farther — it exhibits its gloomy 
 form even amidst the repositories of the dead. With ruth- 
 less hand, it would extinguish all those lights that cheer the 
 fainting spirit, as she pursues her trembling way through 
 that dreary passage. It would snatch the kevs of death and 
 the grave from the hands of Him who bears them, as tro- 
 phies of that victory he has obtained over them, and conduct 
 mankind into their silent chambers; and then, bolting, irre- 
 versibly bcjlting the gtitcs of heaven against them, would 
 there leave them to worms, to rottenness, and oblivion. As 
 watchmen on the walls of Zion, should )Ou not guard 
 against the approaches of so dreadful an enemy? 
 
 In the next place, mv reverend brethern, the importance 
 of > our exertions to the temporal and eternal interest of 
 mankind should prove a powerful motive to industry. 
 
^9 
 
 The temporal Interests of mankind are abundantly advan- 
 ced by your efforts in preaching the gospel. That religion is 
 indispensably necessary to the welfare and even the existence 
 of civil society, is a maxim which has been consecrated by 
 the experience of ages. And surely it will be allowed on all 
 hands, that never was there a religion known, so benign in 
 the effects it produces in the world, as Christianity. What 
 wonders of utility did it not effect at its introduction! How 
 salutary has been its sway at every period of its history! 
 At its commencement, the immence structures of Pagan 
 superstition sunk before it. On the ruins of the temples of 
 idolatrous worship, it erected the worship of the one only 
 living and true God — in place of the absurd, obscene, and 
 abominable mythology of the Heathens, it substituted the 
 purest and most sublime theolog}'. It bore along with it a 
 system of moral truth more simple, luminous and perfect, 
 and armed with more awful sanctions, than the schools had 
 been able to attain by the toils of ages. Under its genial 
 influence the Jew shook off his national antipathies, the 
 Gentile forsook his idols of wood and stone, the horrors of 
 war were diminished, human sacrifices and many other bar- 
 barous customs were abolished, the oracles of imposture 
 were silenced, man became humanized in his sentiments and 
 refined in his manners; in a word, men felt themselves more 
 intimately united with each other, the bonds of society were 
 strengthened and cemented. Wherever this peace-breathing 
 religion went, the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled, " the 
 wilderness and the solitary were made glad, and the desert 
 rejoiced and blossomed as the rose." Such was once the be- 
 nign influence of Christianity, and such, or similar to these 
 are the eflfects it still continues to produce when the hearts 
 of men are truly subjected to its sway. It controls those 
 passions that poison the intercourse of mankind, it moderates 
 
30 
 
 those desires which when they become inordinate disturb 
 the peace of the bosom, it calls into exercise all those be- 
 nevolent affections which in their operation, arc like heal- 
 ing streams, that flow through society, mitigating its sor- 
 rows, soothing its cares, and sweetening its enjoyments. In 
 fine, by its sublime morality, it heightens and refines our 
 principles of virtue; by its awful sanctions, it constrains us 
 to holiness; by its precious hopes, it consoles and supports 
 us amidst the toils of duty. Imbibing its bland influence^ 
 the savage of the wilderness shakes off his ferocity, leses 
 his thirst for blood, lavs aside the horrid instruments of 
 barbarous warfare, takes up the implements and cultivates 
 the arts of husbandry and peace, and learns to feel the dig- 
 nity of his nature. Under the mild but efficient control of 
 our religion, the tranquillity of states is preserved, rulers 
 learn to exercise their sway in righteousness and equity, sub- 
 jects to yield submission to just authority, all classes of 
 men, due subordination. In a political point of light, there- 
 fore, the offices you perform, are of the highest impor- 
 tance. Most cgregiously mistaken in their political views 
 are those who suppose the influence of thf clergy to be ini- 
 mical to the civil liberties of mankind. 
 
 But, if the offices you perform are important as they re- 
 late to the temporal interests of men, infinitely more impor- 
 tant are they, when it is considered, that, with your faithful- 
 ness in discharging them, are connected their everlasting 
 interests. How interesting the reflection! that upon our ef- 
 forts may it depend whether many of our ftllow-nun shall 
 be everlastinglv happy or miserable in a future world! O 
 man of God! and canst thou, under this impression, give 
 sleep to thine eyes, or slumber to thine eye-lids, until thou 
 hast fulfilled to the utmost thy duty in calling sinners from 
 darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God? 
 
31 
 
 Other men have charge of their own salvation only; you are, 
 in a degree, accountable for the salvation of all those en- 
 trusted to your care. How ardent should be the prayers 
 with which you importune the throne of mercy for the flocks 
 over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers! how 
 deep the desire of your hearts for their salvation! 
 
 And this consideration is rendered still more awful, when 
 we connect with it the associated one, that, for your atten- 
 tion to the souls entrusted to you, you are responsible to Je- 
 sus Christ, the Bishop of souls. His all-seeing eye dwells up- 
 on your conduct — ^he inscribes on the records of eternity the 
 services of faithful pastors — He prepares for them brighter 
 crowns and more glorious habitations, than for other men, 
 in the kingdom of heaven. They shall shine there with the 
 refulgent glories of the sun. But the names of slothful and 
 faithless pastors shall be blotted out of the book of life. A 
 deeper condemnation is reserved for them on the day of re- 
 tribution. Should we not approach this sacred office, this 
 ark of the covenant, with fear and trembling? Should not a 
 sacred awe seize us while this holy burthen presses on our 
 shoulders? Listen to the terms on which our Divine Mas- 
 ter granted us our charter — " Son of man, I have made thee 
 a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore, hear the 
 word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When 
 I shall say unto the wicked thou shalt surely die, and thou 
 givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked 
 from his wicked way to save his life, the same wicked man 
 shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy 
 hand." Do not your hearts sink within you at the thought, 
 that through your delinquency in duty, a single sinner 
 shall perish and his blood rise up and speak against you at 
 the bar of your Lord? Yet, if you slumber and sleep whilst 
 the «ituation of your flocks requires you to be vigilant at 
 
32 
 
 your posts — if you permit them to perish for the want of 
 that food which you are commissioned to dispense — if you 
 see them environed with perils and do not give them warn- 
 ing — secure in sin and do not endeavour to awake them, 
 indulging groundless hopes and do not undeceive them; what 
 better destiny have you any reason to anticipate? On the 
 other hand, what delight will it give to the faithful pastor to 
 render in his account to his supreme Lord — Here am I, 
 Jesus, Master! he shall say, and those whom thou hast 
 given me. Thine they were, and thine they shall be to all 
 eternity; and I thank thee that thou rendered me the hum- 
 ble instrument of gathering them into thy fold on earth, and 
 at last conducting them to thy heavenly kingdom. Blessed, 
 indeed, is that servant whom his Lord at his coming shall 
 find thus prepared to meet him. Did you ever endeavour to 
 realize your emotions, if, when you shall stand in the pa- 
 radise of God, a single soul shall approach, and say of vou, 
 my God! this is that wise steward whom thou didst make 
 ruler over thy household, and to whom I feel myself in- 
 debted, under the operation of thv Holy Spirit, for my 
 everlasting salvation? To him I owe it, that I now enjoy 
 thy blisful presence, heavenly Father! and that I have en- 
 tered into the rest which thou hast provided for thy hol\' 
 people. Will not the happiness derived from such a source 
 invigorate the joys of the paradise above? Can the human 
 mind conceive of a more powerful motive to diligence and 
 assiduity in the performance of our sacred duties? 
 
 And now what shall I, what need I say more to excite 
 you to zeal and activity in your holy vocation? Need I re- 
 mind you of the exquisite pleasure, which to the good man, 
 whose heart and affections are engaged in the sacred cause, 
 is found in the performance of your blessed task? You know 
 what this pleasure is; you know that it pro\ es a cordial to 
 
53 
 
 your spirits, amidst all your fatigues and difficulties, trials 
 and sufferings. The world, indeed, imagines that the task 
 which you perform is an irksome one, and that your life is 
 joyless and gloomy. It was never more mistaken; it knows 
 not the exalted consolations of tlvi ministry. Jesus Christ 
 permits not his anointed to be comfortless— No, my Saviour! 
 had we nothing but the advantage of more frequent and 
 familiar intercourse with thee, we would not exchange this 
 gratification for all that a corrupt world has to bestow. 
 
 Yes, my reverend brethren, your occupation is a most 
 exalted and delightful one. What employment more delight- 
 ful than to be wholly devoted to the service of a merciful 
 God, a kind and good master? What can afford more grati- 
 fication to the benevolent mind, than to be the messengers 
 to convey to a fallen and depraved race, the glad tidings of 
 pardon and reconciliation from their God; to publish peace 
 to them? What can be more grateful to the feeling heart 
 than to be instrumental in the everlasting salvation of man- 
 kind? There is joy among the angels of God over one sin- 
 ner that repenteth. Happy, then; thrice happy is he who is 
 made the humble instrument to lead him to repentance! In 
 short, what can give you a more exalted satisfaction than 
 that which your sacred office guarantees to you, to co-operate 
 with your Lord in his works of mercy, to comfort those 
 that mourn, to bind up the broken hearted, to preach the gos- 
 pel to the poor, and to assuage to the departing spirit, the last 
 throes of dissolving nature? No, O my God! to whose sa- 
 cred service we have devoted ourselves, we desire no other 
 joys but those which can be drawn from thy sanctuary! 
 Henceforth we would devote ourselves with renewed fervor 
 to the fulfilment of those holy duties, which thou hast Im- 
 posed upon us. Great shepherd of thy flock! do thou strength- 
 en our hands and comfort our hearts amidst our toils and 
 
difficulties; make U3 instrumental in turning many sinnert> 
 from the error of their ways to the service of the living 
 God, who shall be the pledges of our usefulness in this life, 
 and the crowns of our rejoicing in the world to come. Ac- 
 company all our exertions with the quickening energy of thy 
 holy spirit, and when our labours on earth shall be termi- 
 nated; when we shall have finished our course, do thou, O 
 God! prepare us all to receive the divine benediction, " Well 
 done ye good and faithful servants; enter ye into the joys of 
 your Lord." 
 
 Such arc the duties of the christian minister, and such the 
 powerful motives w hich should propel us tO the faithful dis- 
 charge of those duties. And exhausted as must be both your 
 time and jiatience, I cannot conclude, without requesting 
 you my Brethren of the I^aity, to extend to the clergy, in all 
 their endeavours, your most cordial co-operation and sup- 
 port. — They can do little unless aided by you, and since 
 they are toiling for your advantage, surely, it is but reason- 
 able to expect that you should discover a readiness to exert 
 yourselves in order to augment their influence and useful- 
 ness. Let us conjointly direct our exertions towards promot- 
 ing the interests of our common Christianity, but more par- 
 ticularly of that church, to which we belong. Let all things 
 be transacted among us in decency, and harmonv", and order. 
 — Let us closely adhere in all our public offices to our pure 
 and admirable forms of worship, and revive, if possible, the 
 wholesome rigors of ancient discipline. Pure in our doc- 
 trines, we should be equidly pure in our practice. Let us 
 deprecate as one of the greatest curses, all discord and dis- 
 sention in our public councils. Framing our canons, in the 
 most mature and deliberate wisdom, kt us execute them 
 to the utmost of our ability.— Wc are asseml)led here for 
 the pui']-)ose of consulting the great interests of the church 
 
of Christ; let us bear it in mind that we sustain a charge of 
 immense and awful magnitude. The destiny of thousands 
 yet unborn may depend upon the efforts we now make. We 
 are laying the foundations of a church, which, if she be suf- 
 ficiently nursed and cultivated will become the glory of our 
 new world. Let us never be weary in our endeavours to ex- 
 tend her doctrine, discipline and forms of worship— Let us 
 act unitedly and harmoniously, in the furtherance of this 
 great and primary object. Let us strive to revive among us 
 a spirit of pure and vital piety. Let our ministers preach 
 the genuine doctrines of the Cross, and our people become 
 more and more sedulous, in their attention to their religious 
 duties. In a word, let us become a holy, and we shall infal- 
 libly be also a happy ministry and people. And to this bless- 
 ed issue, may God, in his infinite mercy, bring us for Christ 
 sake — Amen. 
 
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