by his gods; and the Philistine faid to David, • Come to me and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beafts of the field,' But how juft and modeft the reply! Then faid David to the Philiftine, thou comeft to me with a fword, and with a fpear, and with a fhield; • but I come unto thee in the name of the Lord

of hofts, the God of the armies of Ifrael, whom *thou haft defied.' I was well pleased with a remark of this kind, thirty years ago, in a pamphlet, in which it was obferved, that there was a great deal of profane oftentation in the names given to fhips of war, as the Victory, the Valiant, the Thunderer, the Dreadnought, the Terrible, the Fire-brand, the Furnace, the Lightning, the Infernal, and many more of the fame kind. This the author confidered as a symptom of the national character and manners, very unfavourable, and not likely to obtain the bleffing of the God of Heaven ‡.

3. From

I am fenfible that one or two of thefe were fhips taken from the French, which brought their names with them. But the greatest number had their names impofed in England; and I cannot help obferving, that the victory often celebrated as the fineft hip ever built in Britain, was lost in the night without a ftorm, by fome unknown accident, and about twelve hundred perfons, many of them of the firft families in the nation, were buried with it in the deep. I do not mean to infer any thing from this, but, that we ought to live under

3. From what has been faid you may learn, what encouragement you have to put your truft in God, and hope for his affistance in the prefent important conflict. He is the Lord of hosts, great in might, and strong in battle. Whoever hath his countenance and approbation, shall have the beft at last. I do not mean to speak prophetically, but agreeable to the analogy of faith, and the principles of God's moral government. Some have obferved, that true religion, and, in her train, dominion, riches, literature, and arts, have taken their courfe in a flow and gradual manner, from eaft to weft fince the earth was fettled after the flood, and from thence forbode the future glory of America. I leave this as a matter rather of conjecture than certainty; but obferve, that if your caufe is juft,-if your principles are pure, and if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of oppofing hofts.

If your caufe is just-you may look with confidence to the Lord, and intreat him to plead it as his own. You are all my witneffes, that this is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit. At this season, however,

it

under the practical perfuafion of what no man will doctrinally deny, that there is no warring with the elements, or with him who directs their force; that he is able to write difappointment on the wifeft human schemes, and by the word of his power to frustrate the efforts of the greatest monarch upon earth.

it is not only lawful but neceffary; and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my o pinion without any hesitation, that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of juftice, of liberty, and of human nature: So far as we have hitherto proceeded, I am fatisfied that the confederacy of the colonies, has not been the effect of pride, refentment, or fedition, but of a deep and general conviction, that our civil and religious liberties, and consequently in a great measure the temporal and eternal happiness of us and our pofterity depended on the iffue. The knowledge of God and his truths has from the beginning of the world been chiefly, if not entirely confined to thefe parts of the earth, where fome degree of liberty and political juftice were to be feen, and great were the difficulties with which they had to ftruggle from the imperfection of human fociety, and the unjust decifions of ufurped authority. There is not a fingle inftance in history in which civil liberty was loft, and religious liberty preferved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the fame time deliver the confcience into bondage.

You fhall not, my brethren, hear from me in the pulpit, what you have never heard from me in converfation; I mean, railing at the king perfonally, or even his minifters and the parliament, and people of Britain as fo many barbarous favages. Many of their actions have probably

been

Been worse than their intentions. That they fhould defire unlimited dominion, if they can obtain or preferve it, is neither new nor wonderful. I do not refufe fubmiffion to their unjust claims, because they are corrupt or profligate, although probably many of them are fo; but because they are men, and therefore liable to all the selfish bias infeparable from human nature. I call this claim unjust of making laws to bind us in all cafes whatfoever, because they are separated from us, independent of us, and have an intereft in oppofing us. Would any man who could prevent it, give up his estate, person, and family, to the difpofal of his neighbour, although he had liberty to chufe the wifeft and the best master? Surely not. This is the true and proper hinge of the controverfy between Great-Britain and America. It is however to be added, that fuch is their diftance from us, that a wife and prudent administration of our affairs is as impoffible as the claim of authority is unjust. Such is and muft be their ignorance of the ftate of things here, fo much time must elapfe before an error can be feen and remedied, and fo much injustice and partiality must be expected from the arts and mifrepresentation of interested perfons, that for thefe colonies to depend wholly upon the legiflature of Great-Britain, would be like many other oppreffive connexions, injury to the mafter, and ruin to the flave.

The management of the war itself on their

part, would furnish new proof of this, if any were needful. Is it not manifeft with what abfurdity and impropriety they have conducted their own defigns? We had nothing fo much to fear as diffenfion; and they have, by wanton and unneceffary cruelty, forced us into union. At the fame time to let us fee what we have to expect, and what would be the fatal confequence of unlimited fubmiffion, they have uniformly called thofe acts Lenity, which filled this whole continent with refentment and horror. The inneffable difdain expreffed by our fellow fubject, in faying, "That he would not hearken to America, till fhe was at his feet," has armed more men, and infpired more deadly rage, than could have been done by laying waste a whole province with fire and fword. Again, we wanted not numbers, but time; and they fent over handful after handful till we were ready to oppofe a multitude greater than they have to fend. In fine, if there was one place ftronger than the rest, and more able and willing to refift, there they made the attack, and left the others til they were duly informed, completely infenfed, and fully furnished with every instrument of war.

I mention these things, my brethren, not only as grounds of confidence in God, who can eafily overthrow the wisdom of the wife, but as decifive proofs of the impoffibility of these great and growing states, being fafe and happy when every part of their internal polity is dependent on Great Britain.