mercy, or in judgment. If you are conscious that you have thankfully received and faithfully improved the blessings of Heaven, you have a solid reason to rejoice in the goodness of God; and you most certainly have a heart to praise him for the large share you have had in the blessings which have filled the world. It is the language of your grateful hearts, "What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits?" Ask your hearts, and they will tell you, whether your blessings have been sent in mercy, or not.

2. If God will approve and reward only those who improve his favors in his service, then men are extremely unwise as well as criminal, in converting them merely to their own use. They are very apt to improve all their powers and privileges to promote their own private, selfish purposes, in neglect of, and in opposition to, the glory of God and the interests of his kingdom. The talents, the learning, the wealth, and the power, of the great mass of mankind have been employed for ages in opposition to the kingdom of God, and for the promotion of the kingdom of darkness. This is the grossest folly in public bodies and private individuals. They are defeating their own selfish purposes, and destroying, instead of promoting, their own interests. To bury or abuse talents, to pervert public or private privileges, is to diminish them, and turn them into a curse. Those were the wise servants who employed their talents in their master's service; for they eventually promoted their own interest as well as his. And the slothful servant was as unwise as criminal; for he lost his talent and turned it into a curse. It would have been far better for him if he had never received it. The same dire consequences will always follow the perpetual abuse of divine favors.

3. If the only way to obtain the favor and approbation of God is to improve his blessings to his glory, then men ought to be more concerned to improve his favors faithfully, than to gain the possession of them. They are almost universally fond of, and even zealous to gain, a large if not the largest portion of divine blessings. They desire not only one, but two, and even ten talents. The more and greater favors God bestows upon them, the more and greater favors they desire and seek after. They never know when God has given enough. But this is a very egregious mistake. Men ought to be far more concerned to improve divine blessings wisely and faithfully, than to obtain larger and larger portions of them. A man's life does not consist in the abundance he possesses. Abundance often serves to diminish, rather than to increase happiness. Wealth has destroyed a vast many more of mankind than poverty, both for time and eternity. Civil and religious

advantages create great obligations and high responsibility. Those on whom God bestows the greatest external favors have reason to tremble for fear that they shall abuse and pervert them to their own and others' ruin. Hence Agur prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches." He was justly more concerned about improving than possessing the good things of life. So every good man feels; and so all men ought to feel.

4. If those who faithfully improve the blessings which God bestows upon them have reason to expect that he will increase them, then those who abuse his favors have reason to expect that he will either diminish them or take them entirely away. Thus the master in the parable treated his unfaithful servant. He took away the talent that he had neglected and abused, and gave it to him who had ten talents, and faithfully improved them. And thus God often treats mankind in the common course of providence. He takes away the gospel, with all its precious ordinances, from one nation, and gives it to another, as a punishment for the abuse of his richest blessings. He takes away the rights and immunities of a nation which abuses its civil privileges, and gives them to another. He punishes those who ungratefully receive and ungratefully abuse his favors, and gives them to others. The abusers of divine goodness, therefore, have reason to expect that God will treat them as he has often treated others, who have despised and perverted his favors. It is very easy for God to punish the ungrateful and disobedient, by stripping them of all their abused enjoyments. It was easy for God to strip Nebuchadnezzar of his intellectual talents, of his royal dignity, and all the wealth and affluence of his kingdom, for abusing such signal favors. It was easy for God to blast, in a moment, the hopes and happiness of Belshazzar, amidst his voluptuous entertainments, for his ingratitude and blasphemy. It was easy for God to strip Haman of his ill-gotten and abused power and affluence, and bury him in the pit he had digged for others. And it is still easy for God to take away any favors he has bestowed, from those who abuse them. And they have reason to fear that he will employ this method, to punish them for abusing the blessings they have enjoyed, by causing them to eat the bitter fruits of their own ways, and filling them with their own devices. Hence,

5. We, as a people, have reason to fear that God will manifest his displeasure towards us, for abusing the great and distinguishing blessings which he has so long and so bountifully bestowed upon us. He hath not dealt so with any nation. No nation now on earth enjoys so great and so numerous public and private, civil and religious privileges and advantages, as

we always have enjoyed, and do still enjoy. God has given us his word and ordinances, and raised up able and faithful men to take us by the hand and show us the way to salvation. He has given us his holy Sabbath, and allowed us to worship him in public as well as in private, according to the dictates of our own consciences. But how have we neglected and abused these precious religious privileges! Have we constantly and seriously read or heard his word? Have we strictly and conscientiously observed his holy day? Have we not egregiously neglected the assembling of ourselves together in his house? Have we not run into all manner of errors, heresies, and delusions, and set up altar against altar, and multiplied religious divisions and animosities? What people have more grossly abused the gospel and all its sacred institutions? Have we not, then, reason to fear that God will, in his holy displeasure, curtail or remove the precious religious privileges which we have so long and so ungratefully despised, neglected, and abused? God has given us the most ample enjoyment of the civil rights, privileges, and immunities which he has taken away from almost all the nations of the earth. While they have been, and still are, groaning under cruel tyranny and oppression, we have been boasting and exulting in the most free and lenient government. But how have we improved these distinguishing blessings of civil liberty and freedom? Have we not perverted and abused them, by running into licentiousness and anarchy? What zeal and exertions have been seen, to subvert the first principles of our excellent constitution! And how have the wisest and best rulers been thrown out of their seats, to make room for the unwise and unprincipled!

Wealth and affluence have been flowing in upon us, like waves of the sea. But what use have we made of these external bounties of Providence? Have we consecrated them to God, and employed them in his service? A few, and but a few, have made these grateful returns to the author of all our mercies. Those who have received the largest portion of temporal favors have generally perverted them to luxury, and prodigality, and intemperance. These are the abounding iniquities of the times. Will not God visit us for such ingratitude for his favors, and such perversion of them? We have certainly much to fear from his just displeasure. Will he increase our national blessings? Will he not diminish, or take them away?

This subject now calls upon all the faithful servants of God, who have improved his blessings in his service, to rejoice, and to praise him for his goodness and wonderful works to the children of men. You are the only persons who have ground

to rejoice in all the blessings of Heaven. Those you have received have done you good, and afford you reason to expect that greater and more numerous blessings are laid up for you in time to come. You are a royal priesthood, to bless and praise God for all the blessings he has bestowed upon you, and upon an ungrateful world. A day of thanksgiving is appropriately your day; and be entreated faithfully and joyfully to perform the duties of it. It may to some be the last they will ever enjoy in this world. But when your annual thanksgivings shall cease, your eternal thanksgiving will commence.

And now let us all consider, that the great Procurer and Dispenser of favors will soon return, and call us to account for all the blessings he has bestowed upon us. He knows whether

he has given us one talent, or two, or ten talents. He keeps account of all, however forgetful we may be of the goods he has committed to us. Let us then prepare to meet him at his coming, by being faithful, if we have been unfaithful; or by being more faithful, the longer his favors continue, and the more they are multiplied. And then we may expect to hear that blessed invitation, "Well done, good and faithful servants, enter ye into the joy of your Lord."

SERMON XXIII.

NEW ENGLAND'S SECOND CENTURY.

DECEMBER 31, 1820, THE LAST LORD'S DAY IN THE SECOND CENTURY SINCE OUR FOREFATHERS FIRST SETTLED IN PLYMOUTH.

AND what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things, and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?-2 SAMUEL, vii. 23.

Ir is the character of good men to be wise and attentive observers of divine Providence. They eye the hand and heart of God in public as well as in private favors. David, having just been reflecting on the signal blessings which God had bestowed upon himself, and which he had promised to bestow upon his posterity, was naturally led to contemplate and admire the more important and distinguishing blessings which he had from the beginning bestowed upon his nation and kingdom. He was deeply impressed with a grateful sense of God's extraordinary and discriminating goodness to them, in their origin, destination, and their present national prosperity. He devoutly appeals to God whether he had not done greater and better things for his people Israel than for any other nation in the world. "What one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things, and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?" This concise and comprehensive representation of God's discrimi