Choose you this day whom you will serve. This is no time to hesitate. Your country is in jeopardy; your all is at stake. If immorality, impiety and infidelity prevail, they will plunder you of happiness here, and rob you of Heaven hereafter. Patriots, I adjure you by the love of your country; Christians, I adjure you by the love of Emanuel, to unite in your exertions to oppose the common enemies of your peace, your liberty and your salvation. Why will you weaken each others influence by division ? Are you not all brethren? Is not your interest one? Are not your dangers the same? A portion, rich and immense, is put in your possession. Will you cast it from you? Will you despise the bounty of Heaven, and sport with an inheritance purchased with the toils of your ancestors and the blood of your brethren? No party interests governed your fathers; no foreign influence divided them. No; they were united ; united in the love of their country; united in the duties of religion; united in the worship of their God. They have obtained the victory; they have received the crown; they have entered into Heaven. And now, bending from yonder skies, they address you, saying, "Children of our pilgrimage below, imitate the example we have left you; be virtuous, be united, be happy. Act worthy of yourselves. Hand down to posterity unimpaired the portion which we left you, and persevering through faith to the end, come up hither." Ye spirits of our fathers, we hear your voice; we venerate your counsel. We will obey it. We will honour the Saviour you honored, revere the religion you revered, defend the liberties you defended, and press toward the glory you have attained. Already do our souls aspire to heaven, and our hearts pant after immortality; and we trust that the God who led you through this vale of tears will not forsake us ; but that through the grace which hath made you perfect, we shall be made perfect also. WHEREFORE OUR HEARTS ARE GLAD, OUR GLORY REJOICETH, AND OUR FLESH SHALL REST IN HOPE. AMEN. |