Class t-?>(^^ Book "T/up • •« Tlie Alarm, Tnimjpeh J ^y^ ^7 DISCOURSE BELIVERED AT BERKSHIRE, SEPT. 9, 1813. THE DAY OF THE NATION AJL JbAST, APTOIJrrEB BY THE FRESIBEJSTT, OJV ACCOUJ^T OF THE WA] BY JOHN TRUAIR, I, ' LATE PASTOR OF THE CHURCH IN CAMBRIDGE, VT. fVhosfiever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warn.' ing; if tfie sword come and take him away, his blood sJiall be uj)on hts own head Jehovah. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. MONTPELIER, Vt. PJilNfEB er WAL-ro^ S^ GOSS, OCtOBSK> 1818. ADVERTISEMEiNT. NO apologj- is offered for the publication of this Discourstj but the anxious solicitations of many fi-ipnds. Since it is offer- ed to the public, the author feels an assurance that by the gen- ' erous mind, he shall not be condemned unlieard. He most ear- nestly solicits that his readers would, not only give the sermou a candid, and a dispassionate perusal ; but also, that if practi- cable, tliey would obtain and carefully peruse the authorities here cited ; and then decide for themselves whether these things are not so. If, by means of this, one wavering should bo established : or if one unbelieving should be, convinced, his la- bors will be amply compensated. From any essential error, ^vhen pointed out, he Avill most cheerfully retract. The cour demnation of the whole, >vith a sneer, jvill be suffered to pass anuotieed. P -■) A DISCOURSE, 6jc. JOEL, II. 1. SOUND AN ALARM IN MY HOLY MOUNTAIN; LET ALL THE IN- HABITANTS OF THE LAND TKEMBLE. Bv the command of God two silver trumpets were made by Moses for the benefit of the cliihlren of Israel in the wilder- ness. These were to be blown, at the calling; of their assemblies; in all their days of ajladness, and in all tlieir solemn days. But in times of danj^v'r, tlie trumpets were to be blown, and an alarm sounded in tJie door of the Tabernacle. This to Israel was made an ordinance forever; and it is evident, that to this prac- tice the Prophet alludes in the text. " Blow tlie trumpet" says he " in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain." Zi- on, or the " holy mountain," is the Church; in this, therefore, the alarm is to be given. Accordino-ly the tabernacle, from which the alarm was sounded, was in the center of the congregation, or Church of Israel. But who was to sound lliis alarm? It was an ordinance of Israel, that the priests should sound, and give warn- ing, when danger was at liand. Hence, God said, when he sent ilest of men. The messengers of tlie Lord of hosts were anciently vilified, as the cause of all the public calamities, with, which a sinful people were visited. One was called, a " (roublerof Israel.*' Another, " Weaketied the hands of tiic men of war, ati.l the hands of all the people." by telling them the truth. A third, was put in pris- on, and '• fed with the !)read and the water ofajjiictiun,"' because he .-'onld not in trutli prophecy " «».7/ good'' concerning those in anthoritv. A fourth was worthv to die, because he " Taua-ht all rsicn. every where against tlie people and against the law.' Yet those very men, who were thus \ ilified, are sonie of the most apy.roved examples of piety whieh Me have in the Serijjture; *^omc of the most eminent servants of God. >Vhen such is the fact, it ".s a time of ahinn; for God has sworn by his holiness that ..he will visit for sucli things, and that hi'^ soul shall be avenged on a nation that n-ill doit. God is then despisqd in his miviaters: i'or so jius the Saviour declared: " Jle that desju^^dh you dc^^piseth THE ALARM TRU^VIPET. " ^ ute. and lie that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent wi?."' When, therefore, such contempt is cast upon tlie Great Sliephcrd, by vilifying the under shepherds, surely every lover of the flock will cry with a loud voice, " Souud an alarm in tlie holy moun- tain!" ■i. The ministers of Christ should sound an alarm in tho Church, when wickedness and imbecility are characteristic of the nilers of a nation. The Church is deeply interested in the prosperity of the na- tion. Every thini^, therefore, which is calculated to destroy that, is an occasion of alarm to the Church. Wicked rulers, especial- ly infidel ones, always have been, and always will be the scourge of God upon any land, for " When the wicked beareth rule, tho people njouni.'' Imbecility, also, in rulers, brings down a woe upon the land, for it is written, " Woe to thee O land, when thy king is a child." When such is the situation of any land, m ill not all the inhabitants cry with one voice " Sound an alarm in the holy mountain.^" 5. The ministers of Christ should sound an alarm in the Church when the sword is sent upon the land and the people plunged in- to all the horrours of w ar. It was because of War that the command of an alarm was giv- en in the text: and probably the ultimate view of the Prophet extended to the present wars which distress the nations of the earth. The context says, that the day of the Lord comes, and that he musters his host like a man of war; that he utters his voice before his army; that his camp is very great, and that he is clothed m ith strengtli. He calls upon the nations his enemies, to beat their plough-shares into swords, and their prnning-hooks into spears, and then to proclaim, (however weak and contemp- tible in his sight) that they are strong. Then will the mighty ones of the Lord come down, and the battle w ill be like burning and devouring fire. The day will be a day of clouds, gloominess and thick darkness. Then the command is, blow the trumpet and sound an alarm in the holy mountain. This command is to be obeyed by the ministers of Christ in all ages; for it is said concerning the watchman, " If when he seeth the sword come up- on the land, he blow the trumpet and warm the people: then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and t;-krth not warning, if the sword come and take liim away, his blood shall be upon his own head. But if the icatchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not irarned; if the sword come, and take aicaj/ anif person from among them, he is iaJc- enaicai/ in his inicpdty; but his blood will I require at the watch- man's hand.'^ Ezekiel xxxiii. 3, 6. Here is a solemn decision to tlie inquiiy, whether the minister* of Christ should, in times of war and calamity, warn the people of the surrounding dangers? If they would avoid the sin of blood- guihiness, when they see the sv.ord come, they rAvM sound an a- iarmj for then, there is danger that many will be. taken away THE ALARM TRUMPET. in their sins, and hurried as in a moment to the judgineni seat. Afafhcr, a brother, era friend may betaken away with a stroke: Yea, the brother may deliver up the brother to death, the father the son, and a man's foes may dwell even in his ow n bo- som. Wives, si*ter«, and daughters may be destined to abuse, insult, cruelty and deatli, by an uufeelina; and relentless soldiery. Peace, prosperity, and happiness, may all be buried in one com- mon grave; for destruction upon destruction is cried, and the •whole land is covered willi mouniing. No music is to be heard, but the horrid clangor of arms, the warriour's song, the shouts Of Ticf ory, or tlie groans of the dying. A\ iili sucli scenes before their eyes, it should seem tliat all would he anxious to hear an alarm from the messengers of the Lord of hosts. A stranger to our ruined race, viewing from some distant star such scenes of human w retchedness and woe, must be astonishingly amazed, that all did not cry, with Jinceas- ing voice, for an alarm from the w atchmen in the holy mountain, and for a trembling over all the land; for he must know for cer- tain that the Lord had a controversy with such a people. It was proposed, n. To shew, that when the Church should be alaimed, a trem- ling should seize all the inhabitants of tlie land. Tiic alarm in the text is commanded for the purpose, that all the inhabitants of the land may tremble at the warning voice of God, «hicli tells tliem that their crimes are gone up as a testimo- ny against them, and also assures, that God is about to visit such things, even visit their iniquities upon them. Then they are in danger of loosing tJieir wealth, their friends, their life, their hope and their all ; for the Lord aj)pears their encniy, and strong is his arm. Men will not be able to deliver, when God shall deal with the nations. Angels w ill not be able to afford relief in such an hour; and devils will be unnhle as well as unwillbi^ to rescue the souls in distress ; for it is to the \'lien, in the anti-dcluvian state, the earth l>ecame gcrerally corrupt, and despised the grr.cc of God, he destroyed it by a flood of water ; and the world Avhlch now is. by the .sflmeworr/ which destroyed the old world, is reserved inito f:ro. against the day of nerdtlion of un- c- THE ALARM TRUiMPET. f godly men. In answer to one prayer of Moses, God once spared the whole nation of Israel. To the saints, we are assured, belong all things ; the world, and all which it contains ; tlie>/ are the saU of the earth. Sodom cuuld not be destroyed while just Lot was ia it. No more can the world, while it is tilled uith the righteous. But remove them, and the auger of God would instantly consign it to deAouriag fire. 'J. All siiould treuible when it is a time of alarm in the Church, because, if J!J(ignieiit hegi:. at the housL- of God, it is certaiu that the end uill be among them that obey not the gospel. The man uhom Ezekiel saw commissioned from God to slay both old and young, male and female, began at the sanctuary and slew uiierly all who had not the signature of God. Ezek. ix. 6, 7. And from the sanctuary he went in the city, ax\d executed the just vengeance of hea>en. The apostle enquires, '' If judgment begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God r^ If, then, judgment begin in the Church, and it be a time of alarm there, let all the inhabitants of the land feel, that it \k ill soon be manifest, that the Lord has a controversy Mith them; and that with ihem, soon the messenger of destruction will com- mence his strange work. Then all knees shall be weak as wa- ter; every heart shall melt; and all shall tremble for fear of the things which shall come upon them. But 1 hear the command, " SOUND AN ALARM IN ^^V HOLY MOUNTAIN,'' and in obedience, I proceed, HI. Accordins: to the ability which God a;iveth, to " sound an alarm in the holy mountain," by way of application. But, thou Spirit of grace and of holiness .'here thy special aidy and thy guardian pirotection is most humbly implored, that our minds may be led to nothing but the tndh, and that, that may he im- pressed with everlasting weight itjMu every heart. Be it then remarked, 1. That infidelity and mockery prevail in the world, and the love of many waxes cold. It is true that infidelity has prevailed, more or less, in all ag- es ; but it is reserved for our times to behold the horrors which infidelity canspread through the world; and to read the blood-stain- ed annals of Atheism and Democracy. Illuminated Atheism and modern Democracy appear to be twin sisters ; or rather, different species in the same genus of iniquity. A settled hostility to re- ligion,* the subversion of all moral feeling and moral obligation; "with an insatiable thirst for human blood, appear to follow in their train as the governing appetites in their natures. To ac- count for this conduct, recourse must be had to their principles. Their general sentiments appear to be nearly the following : * This remark ivill not apply to all who profess modern democni- cy; but only to the principles and those who approve and advocate the doctrine of the lUumiuQes. In regard to this cojm&xion mamj are doubtless de<:«ived. « THE ALARM TRUMPET. That the works of nature do not bespeak a God; but are cnlV. the necessary effects of matter difterenlly diversitied: and tliai the soul is but a cliimera; that we cannot know whether a God reallv exists, or whether there is the smallest dijference between virtue and vice; that Christianity yields none but poisonous weeds; that there is no siicIj thing in nature as modesty, and tliat the command to love one's parents is more tlie work of education llian nature; that tlie fear of God is the beginniii!^ of folly; that all religion is instituted for the acquisiliori of power, and that tins must be crush- ed, before man can be emancipated from the shackles of tyranny and ignorauce; that to accomplish this object, a person's own pen- etration and judgment are absolutely and fully to be renounced; that there is notliing criminal in the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes, and that nothing is sin, but tiiat which ultimately produces mischief; that suicide is lawful under pressing dangers and ca- lamities, and that the end sanctifies the means. Pasons Proofs, P. 34, 50. 73. 95. 225. note, 123. 96. Such are some of the leading sentiments which the llliiminati Societies profess, and ■which they inculcate upon the minds of all who come within their reach. As the necessary fruits of these principles 1 will now briefly mention some of their practices in the enlightened repub- lic of France. As it was said that the enemies of religion had deserved well of mankind, it was ordered by the convention, fliat a monument should be erected to the first priest who should ab- jure Christianity in the temple of reason. It was resolved, by the council of Paris, that all temples for religious worsliip should be instantly shut, and that if any person should request that they might be opened, he should be put under an arrest as a suspicious person; and that the priests and ministers of religion should be res- i)onsibie for all the trouble and danger that should arise from re- igious motives. This was emphatically making them responsi- l)ie for every possible crime; and it appears from their history that with peculiar rancour they persecuted this class of their citi- zens. Gamier wrote to the Convention in December. 1793, thus, " I have caused eight priests to be drowned." In the month following lie wrote again, in this manner, " Ninety priests ha^e just been brought to me, and I have drowned them which has given me great satisfaction.'' Not only these, but twenty four thousand priests, many of whom were protestants, have falleii a prey to their relentless fury. They taught the people to despise God by publicly denying his existence, and applauding the youth when they openly declared that they detested him. They burned their Bibles in the pul)lic square, tore down the images of Jesus and Mary, and filled the vacant nitches with those of Reason and Lib- erty. To obliterate entirely the remembrauce of sacred things, and especially of the Holy Sabbath, in October. 1793. a new cal- ender was proposefl and adopted; and on this new adopted Sab- bath, they api)ointed festivals to imaginarv gods. The magnifi- cent Church of St. Genevieve at Paris, was by the national con- THE ALARM TRUMPET, 9 Veiled into a Paniheun or heathen temple. Here they depositwl the remains of tlicir great men. To this the bones of A altiiirb. and Rossean were conveyed in sohMnn and uias;nificent procession. Tlie l)ones of Voltaire were placed upon the hi2;!i altar, and in- cense was oifered to them, while the infatuated multitude bowed down and worshipped, before the relics of this arch enemy of our liord .lesus Clirist. They adored a female as a deity and sung to her their repnblieail hymns : burned prayer books and every tliin<>' appropriated to the use of public worship. They broke open prisons, and inhumanly murdered their prisoneis. They slaughtered old and young, male and female, babes and suck- Jiugs. V'ea, tbey "'ripped open (he wombs of mothers ; tore out the palpitating embryo, to deck the point of a pike of Liherti/ and Eqiuditi/.'^ They murdered two millions of their population: a- mong which are reckoned two hundred and fifty thousand wo- men : two hundred and thirty thousand children. An able writer remarks, '•• The conflagration of one thousand eight hundred and twenty towns, villages and hamlets, in one por- tion of its own territory ; the deliberate assassination of women and children by hundreds, and by thousands ; the horrid pollu- tion of female victims, expiring or expired ; and the establish- ment of a tan-yard under the auspices of government, for man- nfacturing leather out of the skins of the murdered citizens, are fact>, which exclusively grace the blood-stained annals of the Gallic Republic, and give to the revolution a dreadful preemin- ence in guilt." The marriage covenant has been totally disre- <^arded. In the year 1793, one hundred and fifty divorces took place in Paris every month ; occasioned by the decree of the convention. Theatres and balls were instituted at their head- quarters, to keep the soldiers from mutiny ; these were places of debauchery, Vvhich occasioned the murder of many new-born in- fant*. Mothers, regardless of the natural fruits of their own Iwdies, would willingly deliver them up to the slaitghter. A monster also by the name of Phillippe, once harrangued the mul- titude with a box in his hand, on patriotism ; and declared that, he considered the man who preferred the ties of blood and of nature to patriotic duty, an aristocrat worthy of death ; and then, to convince them of the sincerity of his patriotism, he opened the box and held up by the hair the bloody and shrivelled heads of his father and mother, which, said he, '• I have cut off, because Ihcy would not hear mass by a constitutional priest." The speech of this notorious parricide received the loudest applause.* This is emphatically being " icifhout natural affection.'' Such, we are assured, must be in the last days, and such they are : their belief and their practice are of the same general description. This is that infidelity which should alarm the people of God ; and vvhich should fill the sinner with fear and trembling; for sure it is, that (jod will be avenged for sueh scenes of blasphemy, cruel- ty and human \\ roteheduess. * Payson^s Froop, pages ,219 — 227.— JNTyf^s. B fO . THE ALARM TRUMPET. Let ii uot be said, that French conduct does not particularly concern us in these things: for we, as, a people, have drunk deeply of their poisonous principles, whicli have spread almost into ev- ery nation under heaven. Their sentimenls are not unfrequently broached by great men in our own country. Mr. Jefferson, it seems, is perfectly inditterent, as to the belief of mankind on religious subjects, when it does uot interfere \yith his own personal aggrandizement or interest. If it does not break his leg or pick his pocket, he cares not whether a man be- lieves in " 710 God, or in tu-enty gods.^^ He says that, in Penn- sylvania, and in ]Ne« vork thev have various kinds of relisiou supported, " hut all good enough ; all sufficient to preserve peace and order.''* Such remarks in their very nature are calculated to bring the Holy Scriptures into contempt and disrepute : for if they are true, it is of importance that men should believe in them, and in tlie one only living Jehovah wliich they teach us, is the only Ciod in which man can believe with safety. Hence to say, thi'.t it is nothing to me, wlietlier a man believes in no God or in twenty gods ; is to say that it does not concern me whether the Scriptures are true or false. This is one bold step in French philosophy, and is corroborated by the remark, that, " all kinds of religion are good enough.'^ Is tlien the religion of Jesus no better than that of Mahomet ? Is orthodoxy no better than here- sy ? Is llie one ev-jtially calculated to '■'• j-H'cscrve peace and order'' as the other ^ Then is Christ dead in vain ; your faith also is vain, and von are vet in your sins. This same great man, in another place,t recommends to par- ents not to let their children read the Bible, nor to have them in- structed in it, till they &hall be able to judge of religious things for themselves. But in their youthful days to put into their hands some of the heathen writings, and store their young minds with those things which would be entertaining, from such Morks as have a natural tendency to prejudice the mind against any thing that is sacred or divine. Others in the same spirit of opposition to all sacred things, de- clare it to be their opinion that, " so long as our temples stand we cannot hope for order or good governmeiit.'^ And when they be- hold our temples, are ready to point to them and with the utmost scorn and contempt exclaim, " Look at those painted nuisances.''^ Let the feeling of such hearts be gratified, and soon, as in France, all our temples for religious worship would be shut ; and the man who soould dare request that they might be opened, would be considered worthy of death. But not only are there a multitude of individuals, who hold and inculcate such principles, but there are actually societies established for the express purpose of des- troying all religion, and of bringing the country into a state of complete anarchy. * 1PET. 13 peo])le have been inflamed by declamations against supiMMliug reli2;ion by tlic laws ol" the laii'd, t»» that degree, that there; is pro- bably no subject that would slop tlie ears of many, quicker tl'.au to confront, this darlr:}^ sentiment, how erroneous and auti-chris- tian soever it may be. But that civil government and Christian- ity have no connexion with each other, in a cliristinn land, where is tlie evidence ? Continental Europe, or her history, does not af- ford it. It is not sliewn in the u hole history of the eliililren of Israel. It is not exhibited in tlie prophecies of the last glories of the Cluuch on eartli. If then, it exist at all, it is only in some illuminated minds of modern times, iiut, ;;rant the princi- ple, and the consequences will be such as many m lio profess it, would not like to admit, and the prospect such as must not confound their vision. The principle admitted, the dividing line is drawn between religion and government. There is, henceforth, no jnore intercourse between them. Now they are at open war ; and that government which is at war Mith Christianity is not, and cannot be a christian government. The sentiment then places all government at this day on the side of anti-christ; for it is written " He that is not for me, is against me.''' Here then is the origin of the sentiment. It is an anti-christian sentiment ; and ail the pri^cties which are built upon it, are such as are approved by anti-christ. The man, therefore, «ho iinderstandiiigly embraces it, so far at least as his sen- timents can speak, is declared to be an anti-christ. Gospel sentiments are directly the reverse of this, and gospel feelings recoil from it as from a deadly enemy. ^Vith what zeal do i hear every heart that is touched with a gospel temper or feeling, pray for the hastening, and the accompiislimcnt of this promise to the Church of God .^ '• Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles ; and set np my standard to the people ; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried npon their shoulder. Jnd kings shall be thy 7iursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers.''^ Isaiah xlix. 22, 23. Nursing fa- ■ thers and mothers, support and defend their children. If then it will be the duty of those kings and their queens, to nurse the Church; or, if it ever was a duty for them to do it ; for the same reason it is, and always has been the duty of every government to do the same. Hence the sentiment is against the gospel, and of course anti-christian. It is also, further manifest that it was first systematized by modern anti-christs ; and is now principally maintained by the adherents of French politics and French phi- losophy. In this way the Clunch is cast into the opeii field ; and one very important truth is cast down to the ground ; and if j«.s/ice could hefmu'l it would be a satisfaction to the nprlglit man. But instead of this, every iir^ginary crime which may be alleged a- gaiust an individual who professes rjligion, is at once charged npon the m hole Church ; or at least they all justify the crime be- cause they will not, contrary to every law of Christianity and the dictates of comxuon sense, condemn their brother unheard. And ^ ' li THE ALAKM TRUMPET. in nildition (o al! l!iis, (lie most scandalous crimes are chargeil Vpon (lu: ministers and friends of (Mirist at this day ; even such as have not so much as a semblance of truth. It is not unfre- ore frightful a law relis^'lon, that they may have a good lound salaiT, and grow fat upon the poverty of their neighbors } — AVhy then were they in favor of the American revolution, if they were desirous of liaring an oppressive government established .'' No, the leverse of this is their known character. It is because they r.re opposed to the present cramping system of Democracy that tlipT arc d'/nyunced as the vilest of men. Thev w ill nvi worshiji " LIBERTY AND E(giUALITY,- the Diana of modern philos- ophcra and jac(d>ins. Hesjce says that little Star, [.A^jrs/jfl^w'r] that glimmers in the hemisphere of Danville, '• they are the * Faber on Prnphecies, Vol. I. Chat. n. t Memoirs of Jefferson. Vol. II. p. 9~. Pa>j;o:i^$ I'roofs. p. 213. THE ALARM TRUMPET. * 15 uearest allied (o the lawyers who arc always in the ilcvirs ser- vice." If a minister oi' the 2;osi>el emltavors to expose the wick- edness of the great fulks^ he is at once denounced an '■ impious'^ person. A writer known by the sii^nature of the " New-Kui;land Farmer,'- has pnblislicd many scandalous and scurrilous thin;;s against (he ministers of Christ. The downfall of federal cleri;y- nien has loni^ since been j)redict(.'(l in the Worcester Paper; and to accomplish this prediction recourse has been had to the vilest of means. Those who have most diligently souujht it, havo abounded in what D'Alembert calb '■^ bows to reli'i-ion.-'' They have always professed the greatest possil)le veneration for reii^- ion, while at the same time, they have been endeavorina; to run down its ministers, by representing them as hostile to the hap- piness of their country. But we slionld do well to remember some of the favorite maxims of the illnminees; that they "■ must recommend religion, and for the reality substitute Jleason and Lib- ertif ;" and that their opposers '• must he GAINED OR RUIN- ED." For this purpose every stratagem and invention has been nsed. Attempts have been made in many places to deprive them of their means of support. In A'ermont, if from the pittance whidi is given them by their friends, they have preserved some- thing, by "their prudence and economy, for their families against a time of need : wliich with their polls shall amount to one hun- dred dollars, rateable ])roperly, they must be taxed, lest they should become rich, and should lord it over the poor. Will it be asked, why they should not be taxed as well as other men ? I Mould in- quire: is then the principle, to make them, in these things, like other men ? Why then the ditierence of the one hundred dollars ? And why not compel them to do military duty, to labor on the highways, and in all things make them like other men ? No, the object manifestly is, to keep up a semblance of deferanee and respect, and at the same time to bring them by degrees into dis- repute, and the holy gospel into contempt. Soon politics become tlic dividing Hue between a federal clergyman and a democratic society. If he camiot comply with every requisition of a hot headed jacobin, he is not only, at once de-iounced as an aristo- crat, w ho can no longer be fellowshipped ; but the very words of truth become oifensive when proceeding from his lips. Thus at last, politics are made jhe only test of orthodoxy. But what l)olitics are these which thus disturb the peace of the Church ? It has already appeared to be a branch of that modern French philosophy which discards all divine revelation. Hence it is a branch of that enemy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will eventually " consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy by the brightness of his coming." Here then let all adopt the en- ergetic language of the prophet. " O my soid, come not thou into their secret : into their assembly, mine honor he not thou imited.'^ 15e not deceived, for many '* shall I'ollow their pernicious ways," and by reason of their devices the way of truth shall b;; evil spoken of. If then we would not see the'sceues which have iti THE ALARM TRUMPET. been acif d in France, acted over again in this land: let us bewai" that we do not patronize those who walk in tlie paths which led to tlieir distresses. Let ns not licar, as au idle tale, the hase insin- nations against the Church and messengers of the Lord of Hosts : IJut with indignation and horror tnvn from that man who dares thus des])ise divine and everlasting things. 2\tke heed, therefore, how ,/e hear. My ears arc again Saluted with, " SOUND AN ALARM IN MY HOLY MOtJNTALN," and 1 must remark, ■ith. That w ickcdness and imbecility appear to be characteris- tic of our rulers. One w ho is wise in heart and wonderful in counsel ploclaims, " AYoe to thee, O land, w hen thy king is a child." Rulers who are children '• in ignorance, fickleness and caprice, are a sore judgment of God to any nation ; especially, when the nobles, who ought to be able and active statesmen, begin and spend their days in sensual indulgence." When, therefore: the government of a nation devolves on such persons, we should feel that the Lord is displeased w ith that na- tion, and all proper means should be used to avert his indigna- tion. An alarm should tiiPii be souiided ; it should be lieard by the people, and a proper attention paid to it, lest judgment fafl upon (hem suddenly. Will these remarks apply at all to the present rulers of the U- nited States ? 1 would they could not in truth be applied. But who are our present ruh'rs I' Mr. 3Iadison is President ; Mr. Ger- ry Yice President ; Mr. Monroe, Secreretary of State, and Mr. Gallatin Secretary of the Treasury. Every man of them oppos- ed to Wasliinglon and to his aduiinistration. Of Ml'. Gallatin we are informed, beside his constant attach- ment to the French faction, that he was once the mfa}nons leader of an insurrection and rebellion against the constitution and gov- ernment of the United States. Mr. Monroe has almost universally manifested the purity of his heart, by his constant adherence to French polities, and op- position to the purity of \Vashington's administration. His late report, however, in justification of the conduct of the President, clearly brings to view "tlie hidden things of dishonesty," which lurk within his breast. But more of this anon. jNIr. Gerry's character may be drawn in some measure from his opposition to the eonslitution of the tinited States, from its a- doption ; and from his approbation of the division of senatorial districts in Massachusetts. On the humanili/, justice, and political integ^ritii of Mr. Madi- son's heart, let the followijig memorable words of his stand as a comment. S(ieaking of the manufacturing subjects of Great Brit- ain, he savs, •• TJiere are three hundred thousa)ul souls who live by ourcustoni? LET THEM BE DRIVEN TO POVERTY AND ]>^^SPA1R, and what will be the consequence .- Most probably an accession of so many useful citizens to the United THE ALARM TRUMPET 17 Stales."* Sucli a spirit, breathins: delight inhuman wretchedness'^ never yet eseaptMl from tJie lips oi' Washington ; and there is no reason (o believe that it ever found a place in his heart: and yet we are fold that Mr. Madison is truly VVashingtonian. Many are taught lo believe that he pursues the administration of W iishing- ton ; and hence that all who are opposed to his, ore equally op- posed to that and the constitution. But a very small pittance of acquaintance with the history of our leading men, will convince almost any rational man, thatfjom the beginning they have been uniformly* oj)p()sod to Washington and U\^ administration ; if not to everij essential property of the constitution. It appears fi-oin Mr. Jefferson's letter * to Mazzei,t that he^ considered the constitution to he ^^ the form''' of the British government : and .also tliat it was no better for the preservation of the confedera- tion of the States than " lilliputian ties,''^ which he reconunends republicans in that same letter to break lest they shoxild soon have imj)oscd on them " the substance" as well as " the form" of the British government. In the same letter also, he brings ihe cliarge of TREASON AGAIJVST WASHINGTON, by representing him as being entirely under British influence ; and as endeavouring to establish an ^' Anglo-Monarchy^^ in the Unit- ed States. Could the mail who would do all this, be the friend of Washington and of his administiation .^^ Certainly he could not. But we shall be told that Mr. Jefferson has repeatedlj^ spo- ken in the highest possible terms of respect for Washington ; .and that in many instances he has highly commended his administra- tion. I reply ; that this is all true, and more also ; for it is doubtless true that at the death of AVashlngton lie • expressed much sorrow and regret; and also that he wept over his grave- But it is evident that his were the tears of the Crockodile. He w eeps at the death of the man, whom in his life-time he calum- niated as worhty of death. His pretensions to veneration for Washington are contradicted by his sentiments, which may be con- sidered the feelings of his heart; by his conduct and in many in- stances by his words. If not, why do we hear that Great wan, calumniated in Frenean's ^^ JVational Gazette,^^ printed under the special inspection, and by the pecuniary aids of Mr. Jefferson ? Why did he pay Calendar for writing " The Prospect before us,'" in which Washington and his administration are most shamefully abused and misrepresented ; and in which are many exhortations to the people to forsake him and his policy .'' Why did he ap- prove of Hawkins' work in favour of the doctrine of the lUumin- oes. and request liim to publish it for the benefit of the people of the United States ?^ Such are facts wliich stand on the pages of history, to drove the sincerity of Mr. Jefferson's pretensions to es- teem and veneration for W^ashington. As might be expected, liis 3 # Memoirs of Jefferson, vol. i,p. 473. t Memoirs of Jefferson, vol. 2, p. 3. \ Memoirs of Jefferson, vol. Up. 96, 110. Vol. 2, p. 95, C ib THE ALARM TRUMPET. ^\liole administration was in perfect opposition to that of Wasliing- toii ; ai:d tJiat of Mr. Adams, Mhicli in general vas appioved by Washington. ^^'J;en !Mr. Madison came to tlie Presidential ejiair. lie followed carefully the steps of his predecessor, and sought not counsel at the mouth of the friends and polit- ical adherents of Washington. The embargo, non-importa* tion and non-intereoiirsc laws have followed in their train, as the leading features in the administrations of these t«o Great men. " Measures," as a certain writer remarks, *•' more suited to the capacity of a qnaek physician, whose genius never wandered be- yond the circumference of a bill-box or a gallipot, than to the dig- iiily of deliberative men \vo hare to consult only the happiness and safety of their country." Who but persons bewildered with a wild fancy of reciving glory and ha])piness by the accomplish- ment of Bonaparte's continental system, could have imagined that to lay an embargo, non-importation, &. in the United States, would liring to terms by starvation, a nation who has it in her power to monopolize to herself the commerce of the world.-' Yet this has been the imagination of onr rulers t or at least they have endeavoured to make the peo[»le believe that they expected these measures would bring the British to their terms. To do this more effectually, they carried their non-intercourse into ef- fect against Great Britain exclusively, without the j)rovi5?ion pre- scribed by their own law for that purpose, being cou'.plied with on the part of France. That condition w as " an ejf,'ctiml rei'oca- Piu7i-^ of her decrees of Berlin and Milan. On the 2d of Nov. 1810. the President proclaimed to the world, that the French de- crees ■<\ere repealed on the first of said month ; that is to say, the daif before he issued Jiisploclamation. Tl-.e non-intercourse ac- dordiiigly went into effect against Great Britain, February 2d, 1811. The Federalists contended that the Duke of Cadore's letter of the fifth of August 1810, did not authorise the President to issue his proclamation- They insisted that it was only a trick of the French government, to dupe the government of the United States into a war with England. The Democratic Goveruours and new spapers, on tho contrary, declared that the decrees were repealed : that it was not Ameri- can to question the correctness of the President : and that he undoubtedly '* possessed ample vidence on the subject.'- Not ma- ny months passed, however, before a peep w as obtained from be- hind the curtain. March 3ist. 1811, five months after the Pres- ident issued his proclamation, Bonajjarte declared to his council of commerce, that the decrees of Berlin and Milan were the fun- damental laws of his empire : and that if the United States did hot conform themselves to these decrees, their ships should be driviM fiom Ills empire.* In the mean time the French priva- teers continued to burn and to destroy American vessels as be- * See address nf the minaritif in Coi^g^i'ess on the subject of the Sedaration of war. J THE ALARM TRUMPET. 19 fore. Ill this state of suspense and jui^^le things \verc,kept until May, 181:2, when a decree of Napoleon appeared, fomidinl on the act of Congress of Mareii 2d, ISll, aiiil dateil the 2sth of April in the same year ; declaring; tlie iierlln and Milan decrees to be definitely repealed from tlie tst of Nov. 1810. In this situation it was evident to all the world, who would receive the truth at all, that tliere was either a consummate trick played upon our gov- ernment by that of France; or that ours was under the influence of theirs ; and in all things acted according to the will of JVapo- leon. But by tbe democratic party it was still maintained that there was no French inlluence nor trick in the case ; but that the decrees are repealed according to the proclamation of the Presi- dent ; that he had the necessary information ; and that he would not in his otticial character come toward and in the face of the world proclaim an absolute falseiiood. No more would they ad- mit that he was capable of being deceived by Bonaparte, lint by virtue of Mr. Webster's resolutions, the Congress of the Unit- ed States was prevailed upon to call on the President for this " ample information''^ whicli he possessed in relation to the repeal of the Freneli decrees. And when it comes to light, behold ! it is nothing but Champaguy's letter of August 3th, ISIO, whicli has always from that time been before the public. Mr. Monroe's report, which casts such a world of light upon the subject, here deserves some attention. The whole of the report appears rather to be taken up iu vin- dication of the present v.ar, tlian iu giving any information res- pecting the repeal of the decrees of Bonaparte. Indeed, it ap- pears from the report that tJiere was no information which could be given iu relation to tliis subject. - But Mr. Secretary in one jnemorable instance at least, hxes an absolute falsehood upon the Duke of Bassano : yet he endeavours to justify, as much as possi- ble, both governments. But his particular drift appears to be en- tirely to justify every thing which the President has done. In this vindication, however, of the conduct of the Executive, strange as it may seem, he endeavours to make us believe that the French decrees were actually repealed the' 3th of August, ISIO. and also, that they did actually cease to operate on the Ih'st of November following ; not withsinnding burnings, confiscations and .condemnations of American vessels and property which took place posteriour to tlie first of November. A great deal of amus- ing stuff, whicli many people take for real argument, is used in trying to shew that the repealing decree of ^lay, 1S12, pretend- ing to be of April ISli, related to, arid was in confirmatio;i of tlie conditional declaration of the Uuke of Cadore's letter of August, 1810. If in the conduct of any man, there was ever a juggle practiced, here appears as trange^one in tlse conduct'of Mr. Mon- roe. Does he then suppose that the people of America are such tame and credulous beings, that they will believe, because he has said it, that om official act of any government iieeds another CQ confirm it ? If so. let him remember, that Americans are neither THE ALAR]M TRUMPET. Jifiicans, uor Dutchmen. But this is not all. Hc'endeavoiirs. ir» addili'j'j, to make us believe that the highest kind of evidencfe which there can be of the acts of any government, is the declara- tion of their minister. Would Mr.* Secretary by this give lis te understand, that an act having passed both hoiises of Congress, audhaviue; received the sanction of the President, is of no mortj validity, or that it carries no stronger evidence uith it, than any letter written by himself as secretary of state ? ]f so, he will give us a very diftereut idea of the power of the secretary, than we l)ave heretofore conceived. Finally, as one remarks, the report appears to be '• nought htit a mass of diplomatic slang, of condi- tions precedent, and conditions subsequent ;" and that" a bolder attempt to mislead the public jiidgnmit has never been practised in anij nation'^ Not unlike a timid female, who in a lit of hydro- y»hol}ia exposes all who are embarked with her, appears the con- duet of Mr. Monroe in this case. Conceiving that he had a difflcult road to travel, he takes groat pains to ride safely the per- ilous way ; but unfortunately he upsets and defiles the whole cabinet. Such complicated acts of pusillanimity as have distinguished wir administration, are scarcely to be found recorded of rulers in the pages of history. '• Woe to thee, O land, when thy kiug is a child." Already we feel the woe falling apon us, and demon- strating that the Lord has a controversy with us for our national folly. Let then these things fill us with a holy fear of Jehovah's frowns. Once more the solemn mandate is reiterated " SOUND, SOUND AN ALARM IN MY HOLY MOUNTAIN,' and the allecting language of the prophet here forces iiself upon me. " My bo\>els, my bowels ! 1 am pained at my very heart ; my heart niaketh a noise in me ; I connot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet ? For my people is foolish, they have not known nic: they are sottish children, and they have none understand- ing ; they are wise to do evil; but to do good they have no knowledge."' Jeremiah iv, 19,21, 22. This leads me to remark, otk. That the sword is sent upon this land, and we are invoh - od in all the liorrors of w ar. Yes, my brethren, 1 see the sword come upon the land, and would give an alarm to all the people. For in it I see, or I think I see, the sword of anti-christ drawn against the Lord of Hosts and .his cause in the world. The present w ar ai)pears to have been declared prematurely ; and now to^Jje continued w ithout any christian or adequate cause. T!ie time and manner of the declnrntion, in the pages of future Iiistojy will nearly bitances i;i which the same persons are numbered more than once. To this is to be added sev- en hundred and iifty seven, being an excess between the two reports of 1805 and 1808. Fifteen hundred and twenty four, have been discharged and ordered lo be discoarged. Tliere are also found a- niong them five hundred and sixteen acknowledged to be Rritish subjects. Five hundred and sixty eight who liad no documents at :ill: and six imndrcd and sixty four uiiose documents were declared to be insufticient. Two hundred and eighty one Avho had volunta- rily gone into the British service. One Imndrcd and ninety five, v.hose protcc'lions are evidently fraudulent. Ninety five desert- ed. Fifty neutral aliens or natives of the West-Indies. Forty two who had married in G rcat -Britain ; and twenty one prison- ers of war. In addition to all tliese, it is found from the docu- ments that sixteen hundred and fifty of these impressments have been from Britisli ships. This accounts for more than the stat- ed number of impressments. But deduct from lias number eigiit hundred thirty one for Americans impressed from on board Brit- ish sliips : which is as great a number as any rational man can ask ; it will then leave something less than two hundred unac- counted for. But it is also shewn, that to the first number, there was two hundred admitted which did not properly belong to it : so that from the most careful and critical examinatioa of the documents, it appears to this writer [_Mr. Taggart'] evident, that the British have released as many impressed seamen as ars in good faith Americans ; though probably all may not be the same persons. But he demonstrates from the documents that tlie number of real Americans has been dreadfully, and there is rea- son to believe wickedly overrated. Not\yithstanding all this we must fight the British, becau-.a tliey will impress our seamen. But the right to impress our sgmmn slse has never claimed. She claims the right of taking own seamen wherever she can find Ihem ; and this claim is not peculiar to her. All maritime na- tions claim it, and it is allowed them by the laws and usages of nations. And w^e are now at war, the President says, for our sea- men ; but that G. Britain has gotten them does not as yet appear in evidence. Why has not a list containing their names, the places of their birth and residence, been made out and sent to the Brit- ish government, and a regular demand made of sucli and sue'i persons ; impressed at sut-h a time, and in sueli a place : born i\hen, in what town and state in the U. States ? This wouid bo a species of evidence which none could easilv deny to l>e correct. But i!!r;tead of this, it appears that not half the pretended im- pressments, reported in the documents, have any \hich have niarked the progress of this war. are manifest in the danger which threatens tlie citizens, bo(h night and day. French outrages have nearly been rivalled by our sol- diery upon ourown citizens, iu many instaucci^, but in particular, that of Loyal Oliver.* Without regard to law, justice or even the feelings of humanity, citizens have been taken and couliued, without ceremony, merely upon the suspicion of tlic soldiery. In this way has the military, been set above the civil authority, "which is one bold step towards that military despotism which set Bonaparte upon the throne of France. Another is, wonderful lo tell ! passing wonderful to behold !! Mobs oti the part of achninis- iration !.'! As though it were not enough to be clothed with the authority of the nation, but its officers, in the discharge of their official duties, must go armed witli weapons of death, and shed the blood of citizens without a cause, or a shade of authoritv. Thus near are we to a state of complete anarchy, which is ihcr " Mormwood and the gall," that the wrath of God has mingled for that nation which will pollute themselves with the abomina- tions of France. Of this we must expect to drink if the present system of democracy and darkness prevails. "We look backward, and at a distance, just within our view, behold that summit of happiness and glory from which we have fallen. We look forward, and nought appears but, »#♦#**« «^ dark Elimitable ocean, without bound, AVithout dimension, where lengtli, breadtli and height, And time and place, are lost ; where eldest night And chaos, ancestors of nature, hold Eternal anarchy, amidst the noise Of endless fFars, and by confusion stand.'^ Such appears clearly to be the prospect before us. Would we shun the Charybdice, and agcdn stand in honor, safely and inde- pendence among the nations of the earth ? Then let all hear the alarm which is sounded from the statesmen, from the sanctuary and from the visible tokens of the Divine displeasure. If from * Loyal Oliver appears to have been a young' nian 19 years of age, a citizen of Champlain. On the 23d of June, i3l3, he ivas tak- en from a neighboring house, by force of arms, and withmit any charge against himn or reason given, he icas conveyed to Uv.rlington " 1) ;.B THE ALARM TRUMPET. all these t!uugs,men will not be comnnced, it is doubtful whether thoy would be persuaded should a visible hand write, in legible charaoters, their sure overthrow and their inevitable destruetion, upon a wall over against them. Do you need more proof of the misery that will follow the train of evils which we already experience, if this war continues ? Go tlicn, to tliose miserable nation?, where the wars of French democracy and tyranny have raged, and learn from the smoke of burning cities, villages and hamlets ; from the groans and la- mentations of thousands driven to wretchedness and woe ! Go learu from the dust of fallen republics, the awful hazard of ven- turing into the great vortex where they have fallen, to rise no more. But if, when all is done, you say you love your masters ; you love the cause of anti-ehrist, and the cause of war, theu cease forever your complaining. Do not repine. Though you sliould be destined to wear the chains of a tyrant, you will love your masters. Send also to other misei'iible creatures, and shew them in what mysterious May a man can be a slave from choice. Teach them to delight in seeing their families and their friends suffer insult, and every indignity, from a band of lawless ruffians, or by a sanguinary and ruthless soldiery. Submit cheei-fuUy to Jill the miseries attendant on a state of anarchy , or a military despotism, in which you are liable to fall a sacrifice to any un- feeling monster who shall choose to assassinate you ; or in which the will of a commander is law, life and death. And when at last you shall be driven in exile without a friend, without a home; love your misery and solitude. Do not wander in some distant, unknown region, and cast an anxious look toward that land which was your country, and moum/whcn it shall be too late, your folly and madness in not hearkening to warnings and in- structions, when it was in your power to have escaped these mis- cries. Do not imagine that such ideas are the illusions of a dis- ordered fancy ; but look at many of the distressed nations of Eu- rope, and there you see the whole realized. Are these things too much for spirits who have been accus- tomed to the blessings of freedom ? Then arise, and forsake the standard and the camp of anti-ehrist, lest these be not the bit- terest dregs which you must drink. By every lawful and con- stitutional means in your poMcr, oppose the present chilling and ■((•here he was detained in custody hy thejrrovost guard until July 2d. When he solicited a trial, he was told that as soon as witnesses should came 0)1, he should have his trial and be hanged ; " tliere is no oth- er way to deal with such fellows''' said the officer. In this state of suspense and au x'iety, he icas kept; frequently being threatened with death., anl yet his crime not knoicn, till the before mentioned 2d Ju- ly when Gen. Parker arrived at Burlington, took the command, aiid indered him delivered over to the civil authority, when none afpear-' Ing against him he was discharged and permitted to go at large. THE ALARM TRUMPET. 2^ cramping cause of democracy, which appears to have the de- struction of rational liberty for its object. Let the people rise, and in the majesty of their strength, hold fast to the constitution, while there is any life in it, as the Palladium of their rights, and as their last resort for union and safety at home. Let them he re- solved never to loose their liberties, Imt with their lives. Remember, that tlie time of these distresses is short, for al- ready, by pi'ophecy, you may see that soon the mighty ones of the Lord will come down, and then there will be multitudes of slain in the valley of decision. Brethren, come not into the paths of anti-christ ; for his " house is the way of hell, going down to the chambers of death." Yet some will folloAV his pernicious ways, and " know not that the dead are there, and that his guests are in the deptlis of hell." Into his assembly then, let not the honor of Americans he united. For the Lord " will plead against him with pestilenco and with blood, and will rain upon him and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, lire and brimstone." E^ekiel, xxxviii. 22, ^■^ < « ■ ■^.• <-FAp'09 I »