Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

is echoed by every tongue; but who, in the mean time, liftens to the fhrieks of the widow, or regards the cries of the orphan?

When we were laft called upon by public authority to humble ourfelves before God, and to call down a bleffing on our arms and councils, little perhaps did we imagine that we fhould again be fummoned together, as we now are, on the fame melancholy occafion. We had formed to ourselves, no doubt, vain and fallacious hopes that the fword of war would long fince have been sheathed; that there would have been no more murmuring or complaining in our streets, but that mercy and truth, righteoufnefs and peace, would ere this have kiffed each other.

But it hath not fo pleased the divine will; we are at this moment in a more dangerous condition than we were at that time.. Since laft we met, to humble ourfelves before the Lord, a near and powerful enemy hath rifen up against us, whofe falfehood, perfidy, and ingratitude, cannot be fufficiently condemned; who, taking the advantage of our distressful fituation, have impioufly combined with our foes to ruin and deftroy us.

Whence, then, it is but natural to afk, whence doth it arife that the pious vows which we then made are not fulfilled; that our prayer is thus returned into our own bofom? It is but too probable that our fins have prevented all the good effects of our paft devotion; that our crimes and follies intercepted our prayers in their paffage to heaven, and would not permit them to afcend up to the throne of grace.

If ever, therefore, my brethren, there was a time when ferious and fober reflection were more immediately and indifpenfably neceffary, it is doubtlefs at this present most important juncture. Whatever we may vainly think of our own ftate, however we may be lulled by a fatal fecurity, great and manifold are our errors, heavy and numerous are our tranfgreffions. It is not this day's faft, however rigidly kept, not this day's penitence, however fincere, that can atone for them: univerfal corruption and depravity demand univerfal repentance and reformation: a continuance in fin, and a repetition of our follies, have brought continued and repeated misfortunes upon us, and nothing but à steady, uniform, and uninterrupted course of piety and virtue can ever redeem us from them.

To that God, therefore, who maketh men to be of one mind in an house, and to that blessed Redeemer, to whom alone we must be indebted for peace and reconcilement, let us fend up our humble petitions, that he will graciously deign to affift us in our labour of love; that he will turn the minds of our enemies, that he will perfuade the generous, affwage the angry, and foften the obdurate heart; open the eyes of the blind, inftruct the ignorant, direct the doubtful, and bring together the feparate and difunited.

Upon the whole then, it is but too evident. that we have all finned against the Lord; let us endeavour to make it as indifputable that we have all repented alfo. The sword of war

is ftill unfheathed, the angel of deftruction is ftill abroad: whilft therefore the honour, the fafety, and the happiness of our country is ftill undetermined, fhall we be fo neglectful of her intereft, fo careless of her reputation, fo indifferent about her fuccefs, as whilft fhe is in this fituation, to wanton in fenfual pleasure, give a loose to our paffions, and spend our time in folly, riot, and debauchery? Should not her danger alarm our fears, chaftife our joys, and awaken our attention? Doth not the prefent crifis feem to demand a more than ordinary caution and severity in all our words and acti

ons.

When a nation is at peace, fhe may be indulged in a fhort tranfport of pleasure, her errors may then perhaps lay fome claim to pardon, her follies may plead fome excufe; but when the ftern brow of war frowneth upon her, when every thing that is dear and precious is at ftake, when all her virtues are neceffary to support, and all her powers to defend her; at fuch a time to be gay is to be guilty, to be but careless is to be wicked; not to affift, is to oppofe; and to neglect our country, is to betray

her.

Let every one therefore think, that, as in the field of battle every man fhould behave as if on his fingle arm depended the victory, fo here at home let every man perfuade himself, that on his fingle virtue and repentance dependeth the reformation of a whole people. Let us then, in all humility, bow ourselves down before the God who made us; let this day's abftinence

ferve but as a type or emblem of that total abftinence from fin which we purpose henceforth ftrictly to obferve; and if we hope for public or for private happiness, let us from this hour fincerely and heartily endeavour to deferve it.

ON THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER.

TH

SERMON

LUKE VIII. 5.

XVII.

A fower went forth to fow his feed.

HE firft and moft ftriking beauty that, amongst many others, fo eminently diftinguishes the parables of our bleffed Saviour, is that amiable fimplicity which runs through every one of them: the images are all clear and familiar, the expreffion is plain and intelligible, the conduct regular and uniform, the comparifon juft, the defign and moral refulting from the whole immediately visible; and amongst them there is not one which is perhaps more agreeable or more inftructive than that which is now before us, wherein the greatest and moft fublime truths are enforced and illuf trated by an image drawn from an humble ftate of life; and circumftances the most common and familiar that could poffibly be imagined, anade ufe of to convey the nobleft and most exalted

exalted leffons of morality. A fower went forth to fow his feed; and as he fowed, fome fell by the way fide, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it: Some fell upon a rock, and as foon as it was Sprung up, it withered away, becaufe it lacked moisture: and Some fell among thorns and the thorns Sprung up with it, and choaked it; and others fell on good ground, and fprang up and bare fruit, an hundred fold.

Nothing can be more plain, fimple or concife, than this fhort narrative. It may not here however, be improper to obferve, that in feveral other of our Saviour's parables the words or circumstances preceding or fubfequent to them, fufficiently pointed out the defign and intention, and confequently led the hearers to the proper explanation and interpretation: but with regard to the parable before us, it doth not appear, by any previous circumstance, that those who heard were able to find out the meaning and purport of it. Our Saviour did therefore himself graciously condescend to interpret it in the following manner: The feed, fays he, is the word of God: thofe by the way fide, are they that hear: then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, left they fhould believe, and be faved: they on the rock, are they which when they hear, receive the word with joys and thefe have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away: and that which fell among thorns, are they, which when they have heard, go forth, and are choaked with cares, and riches, and pleafures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection: but that on the good ground, are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard Ꮮ

the

« AnteriorContinua »