righteousness, we must not look for the blessings of peace, entirely free from the miseries of war. While we have public sins, we must expect public chastise

ments.

With regard to the last objection, which I said might probably be levelled against such sermons as yours, I would observe, that I think the subject of popery can never be exhausted, while the danger of it remains; and though it may be a subject well understood by those who have been long blessed with faithful protestant pastors, yet this cannot be the case, with those who have had so few advantages of this kind as your infant congregations.

Indeed, that you should be more than ordinarily alarmed at this most singular crisis, is not to be wondered at. For, while we sit as yet safe in our metropolis, your situation on the frontiers is most dreadful;; and our last accounts from you are truly distressing to humanity-The army sent to your protection, defeated, retreating and leaving you defenceless behind them! murderers stealing through midnight darkness, and polluting the bed of rest* with savage death! Our poor back settlers, who, after much hardship and toil, had just begun to taste ease and comfort, daily forced from their habitations, leaving their unreaped harvests to the spoiler; and-what is far more severe-leaving, some a beloved wife, some an affectionate husband, some a tender parent, a brother or a son,-leaving them bleeding beneath the unrelent ing hand of merciless barbarians!

• The inhuman butcheries and outrages of the Indians.

In such a case, shall we be silent to avoid the imputation of too much warmth? Shall we expose ourselves to worse than persecution, for fear of stirring up a persecution of others? The rest of the foregoing objections would only lead us to give up all concern for the civil rights of our fellow citizens; but this goes farther, and, under an extraordinary shew of benevolence, would induce us tamely to yield up our sacred truth and religious rights also, for fear of being thought rude and uncharitable to such as seek to rob us of them: Surely we may guard against slavish and erroneous doctrines, without any breach of our Christian charity towards those who have unhappily embraced such doctrines. And surely we may strive to awaken in every protestant bosom a due sense of our exalted privileges, and a noble resolution to defend them against every foreign invader, without kindling the flame of persecution against any of those who have peaceably sheltered themselves amongst us, upon the faith of a rational toleration.

Most certainly, my friend, all this may be done; and I think it has been clearly shewn that all this ought to be done by every minister, and more especially those of our national church, which is the great bulwark of the protestant interest. And, indeed, we who belong to that church, can want no farther arguments on this head when we have the example of that great and good prelate* who now presides over it. In his civil capacity, I need not mention the noble stand which he made in his diocese of York, during

• Archbishop Herring.

the late rebellion. It will never be forgotten by Englishmen. And, in his episcopal capacity, when that danger was over, if you read his sermon preached at Kensington, on the Fast-day, January 7th, 1747, you will there find him as strenuously engaged for the preservation of the public virtue of his country, as he had been before for the preservation of its public liberty; considering the one as inseparable from the other, and breathing forth that candid benevolence to his species, together with that tempered zeal for the protestant religion, and the rights of the British nation, which distinguish his character.

And here I cannot forbear the transcribing a paragraph of a late most excellent letter, which I had the honour to receive from him by your hands. It is not foreign to the subject we are now upon; and I persuade myself that you will make the same good use of it, which, by the help of God, I shall strive to do.

"You will, says he, not only maintain, but certainly increase your credit, by promoting the interest of your country and the honour of religion; in which I will venture to call it the golden rule of conduct, to keep strictly to the spirit of protestantism, and to preserve the dignity of our establishment, in the temper of every reasonable degree of liberty.".

This is a golden rule indeed; and while we frame our conduct by it, we need not be awed by the faces of men, but boldly proceed to warn and exhort them in every species of duty. It is true, we have but few temporal advantages, in these parts, to support us in such a noble cause, but yet we are not left destitute

of the most animating motives. Whilst others are proposing, and justly proposing, to themselves the palm of high renown, for bravely subduing and maintaining a rich and spacious country for the name of Britain and liberty, we may consider ourselves even in a still higher light, as subduing it to the name of Christ, and adding it to his everlasting kingdom!! Compared to this, the glory of temporal conquests and foundations is but unsubstantial air, and shortlived renown!

Hence, then, my friend, were it my lot to be in your situation, at this perilous season, methinks I should consider myself as one who had advanced to the very frontiers of those places to which the gospel hath yet reached, and among the first who had unfolded its everlasting banners in the remotest parts of the West. Recede* I would not, nor give back a single inch to the gloomy reign of Heathenism and Error; but would strive to subject still more and more to the kingdom of God and his Christ. To see the fire and vigour of youth spent in such a work, is indeed a most lovely spectacle, because they are spent in his service who gave us both youth and fire! And if we exert ourselves manfully in such a cause, who knows, but at length, through Almighty assistance, a flame may be kindled which shall not only exalt every bosom among us to an equality with the fore

• The gentleman to whom this was addressed, as well as some ministers of other denominations, did a few months after this find it necessary to appear at the head of their people, and were signally instrumental in preventing some of the Frontier-counties from being totally abandoned by their inhabitants.

most of our neighbours, but shall also burn, and catch and spread, like a wide conflagration, till it has illuminated the remotest parts of this immense contihent!

I would not, however, be understood from any thing here said, to think it expedient for ministers of the gospel to interfere any farther in civil concerns than is just necessary to support that spirit of liberty, with which our holy religion is so inseparably connected; for such a conduct might engage us in broils, ruffle our tempers, and unfit us for the more solemn part of our duty. Nor do I think we ought to dwell any farther on the errors of others, than just to enable those, with whom we are connected, to shun them; lest, instead of the spirit of true holiness, a spirit of vain-glory, self-righteousness, and hypocritical-pride, should be promoted.

'Tis true, as hath been already said, that we can never be too much upon our guard against the growth of a corrupt and slavish religion among us, but we may be in as much danger, on the other hand, from infidelity, a morose and censorious spirit, and a neglect of the practice of all religion. Hence, then, though on proper occasions, we are to rise with a noble contention of soul, against vice and error; yet still our favourite subjects ought to be on the brighter side of things-to recommend the love of God and our neighbours, together with the practice of every social and divine virtue.

I would just observe farther, though, in such circumstances as the present, sermons from the press may be sometimes both necessary and seasonable,