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lar discontent; but suddenly I recollected David's most powerful recourse. In the calculation of politicians, all hope was over with David; that army was most numerous which was with Absalom, and he had besides stolen the hearts of the people he had also a deep and subtle revolutionist in his camp. David had but one poor manœuvre left (one that I believe is never mentioned in all the books of tactics): Lord,

turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.' Was ever so simple a step? It seemed less efficient to meet a powerful enemy with, than even the sling and the stone; yet it was the very thing, and the only thing too, that effected David's deliverance. Such a prayer as this was my best confidence, and I have not yet been confounded.

Dec. 12, 1792.

66 JOHN BACON."

Extract of an admirable "Address to true Christians, on the Signs and Duties of the Times."

[Sold by J. Hatchard, Piccadilly; T. Williams, Stationers" Court; and L. B. Seeley, Ave Maria Lane: price id. cach, 10d. per dozen, or 6s. per hundred.]

WE

Countrymen and Fellow-Christians,

E are threatened with invasion; a term, which, in the present case, can mean nothing but our total ruin. And though similar menaces have in former cases proved futile, yet the different circumstances in which we at present stand, have led the most incredulous to expect that the attempt will now be made.

That the French armies should touch our shores is not indeed, in the common course of events, very probable; but should it please God to correct us by their means for our sins, it is possible. It is possible also, that they may obtain some partial and temporary advantage, which must inevitably be attended with great confusion and distress. Nothing then but our unanimity and preparation, under the good providence of God, can prevent their establishing themselves in our land; and should the Lord, in punishment of our sins, suffer that to take place, the unsubdued spirit of Britons must render our long happy and peaceful island, the scene of perpetual commotion and bloodshed.

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In this contest, then, our earthly all is at stake—all our personal and domestic comforts; all our national rights and liberties; all our civil and religious privileges. It is not against a few that these designs are directed, but against us all; to prevent our remaining in the scale of nations, the

ADDRESS TO TRUE CHRISTIANS.

197 rival of France in its power, its superior in national character and glory, and an effectual check upon its ambition.

The fate of other nations warns us of what would, in the, result of conquest, be our own;-a fate too degrading, too wretched, to be dwelt upon. The poorest man amongst us has much to lose; many points in which his feelings might be wounded in the extreme. Not only are our property and persons in danger, but every dearest relative, every child of our affections, every friend of our bosom, would offer a distinct inlet to unutterable anguish.

In a word, our destruction, if possible, is determined ; since, to support the tyranny of our implacable foe, to secure the insensibility of the French people, it is necessary to blot out from the earth the name of that nation, which alone enjoys a rational and long-established liberty, and where all its happy effects are discovered. It is necessary to reduce us to an equality of wretchedness with them, lest they should struggle to obtain an equality of privileges with us.

What then are the duties of such an alarming crisis? As Britons and fellow-subjects, we might join the general voice, and say, "Arise. Unite. Use every exertion in dependance upon the God of your fathers. Meet with cheerfulness every burden, brought upon you not so much by our own. governors, as by the malice of the enemy. Be prepared to encounter every difficulty, and suffer every privation, By unanimity and courage strengthen the hands of your rulers. Shew the enemy that we are-Resolved; and that the conqueror of British liberty must first conquer every individual Briton."

These are duties to which the times urge you in common with all your countrymen; duties as evidently incumbent upon you, as the defence of your families from the attack of the midnight assassin. But there are other duties which eminently belong to you as Christians, and in which we affectionately exhort you to be found active and vigilant, Let an union of courage and preparation be attended with an union of heart in humble confession of guilt, dependance of spirit, and earnest prayer to the God of our salvation. Let it be ever remembered, that, while prayer without attention to means is but presumption, attention to means without prayer is atheism in disguise. Let both be combined, and our country, through the undaunted spirit of our fleets and armies, the united exertions of all ranks of the people, shall, with the blessing of God, yet arise victorious over all opposi tion, as the favoured and protected of the Lord; and reserved let us hope, itself being reformed and evangelized, for the

effectual resistance of tyranny and vice, and for the diffusion of the Gospel with our extended commerce to the utmost boundaries of the habitable world.

But let us not be afraid to see the full extent of our dangers. Thus only shall we be prepared to meet them. Thus only shall we be able to bring them before God, and make each the subject of earnest and persevering supplication at the Throne of Grace. Let then, brethren, your closets, let your families witness your pious concern; and especially on the evening of the Lord's Day you will meet thousands of your Christian friends, who have devoted that season more peculiarly to urge their petitions in behalf of their sovereign, his ministers, the parliament, and their country at large, with deep humiliation before God. And we beg leave to remind you, that in promoting such an habitual spirit of humiliation as is suited to the present times, true Christians have ever found great advantage from the occasional exercise of private fasting.

We cannot but hope, that, when thus committing ourselves to God, He, who would have spared Sodom for a few righteous, will so appear for the thousands of his praying servants among us, that we shall be constrained to say, This hath God wrought! The history of the last war is one continued encouragement to such hopes; as we had then constant discoveries of his evident interposition in our favour; and, though our sins are great and manifold, yet, He who hath delivered, doth deliver, and in Him we trust that He will yet deliver.

Our sins indeed deserve his heaviest judgments. We must, therefore, accept whatever punishment of our iniquities He is pleased to bring upon us, and say, O Lord, thou art righteous! But let us humbly acknowledge this, and in judgment he will still remember mercy. He will magnify his truth to his praying servants; Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

We have no reason, while thus trusting in God and calling upon him, to be discouraged by the impious threats and the extended preparations of the enemy; nor by the ambition, cruelty, lust, and perfidy, which are known to actuate him; nor by the selfishness, apathy, or imbecility of many of the European powers; nor by the baseness of some few among ourselves. Yet while we rise above all these causes of discouragement, we can acquire no confidence from the boasts and bravadoes of any of our countrymen, who leave God out of the question; nor from the numberless forms in which the enemy is held up to contempt and ridicule. Our only fears

ADDRESS TO TRUE CHRISTIANS.

199 arise from the sins of the nation; and our only hopes from the forgiveness of those sins in answer to the fervent prayers of true Christians, in the name and through the prevalent intercession of the great Mediator, and the consequent blessing of God upon all the national plans and exertions.

And here we cannot but remind you, Dear Brethren, of many grounds of hope that God will yet be entreated of us. To Him we would ascribe the sense of danger and the vigour of preparation to meet it, which we see on all sides; with such a melting away of party distinctions, that the nation presents now the appearance of one united body, resolved to. conquer or to die. It is not in the usual course of the dispensations of Providence, that a nation which has been devoted to destruction has been suffered to assume such a commanding attitude. We take courage too from the known integrity of the King's Ministers, the moderation and patience of their conduct, and the perfect justice of our cause. We see too with exultation the general acknowledgment of God in Parliament, in the appointment of a public prayer, and of a fast-day, in the resolutions of public meetings, and in addresses to the King; and though we cannot account the urgency of the case such, as to justify the giving of a legal sanction to learning the military exercise upon the Sabbathday, yet we rejoice to see that even here there is no infringement upon the sacred rights of conscience. We see the hand of God in the abundant harvest, with which the earth is loaded; and in the favourable weather for gathering it in. We see it in the premature disclosure of the rebellion in Ireland, and the means which that discovery has afforded of exposing the unprincipled conduct of the enemy, of recalling the deluded back to their duty, and of evincing the noble moderation of the government under which we have the happiness to live. But above all, we take courage from the number of true Christians in this land, the serious manner in which they meet the present state of public affairs, and the spirit of prayer which appears to be excited among them. Wherever this is given, we have reason to believe it will be answered. The great purpose of this address is therefore to benefit our country, by stirring up this spirit, Brethren, still more among you,

And let not the pious Christian relax his supplications, on account of the infirmities which accompany them. Elias, who so prevailed with God of old, was but a man; a man of like passions and infirmities with ourselves. It is not the strength, the excellency, the eloquence of our prayers, that will prevail. The prayer of the heart, offered up in the faith

and love of the Redeemer, by the gracious aid of his Spirit, in submission to the will of our heavenly Father and in dependance upon his promise, shall certainly be accepted. Let prayer then, as it is your duty, be felt as your privilege, your daily exercise and your daily refuge. Psalm ix. 9, 10. Then, though the Lord should correct, yet he will not destroy. You will ever bear in mind that the Lord reigneth. Your humble dependance upon Him will be accompanied with a holy walk and conversation, in obedience to your rulers, in the fulfilment of all relative and domestic duties, and in simplicity and integrity of personal demeanour.

Thus shall you be witnesses, that true Christians are the best friends of the nation, and may wait the issue in patient hope, and in confident expectation of the divine mercy towards your beloved country; assured that all shall be ordered right for you in time, and all be well throughout eternity, August 1803.

From the Society for the Suppression of Vice. THE Society for the Suppression of Vice have observed, with inexpressible satisfaction, the salutary admonition which the Rev. Mr. Rush, the Minister, and Messrs. Stidder and Feltham, the Churchwardens, of the parish of Chelsea, have addressed to their parishioners respecting the profana. tion of the Lord's Day; and they think it incumbent upon them to return their thanks, in this public manner, to those gentlemen, for the very laudable zeal which they have thus manifested in the cause of religion and virtue. The Society are willing to hope that such an example will be deemed worthy of imitation, by the ministers and officers of every parish in the United Kingdom. They cannot reflect upon the present awful state of the country, without earnestly exhorting their fellow-subjects, of all ranks and conditions, to consider that the Divine favour alone can afford them effectual security in the hour of danger; and that this nation, on account of its irreligion and vices, has just reason, rather to dread the displeasure, than to rely on the favour of the Almighty. But among the many crying sins which may now be laid to our charge, the general and increasing profanation of the Lord's Day is one, which may justly be considered as an awful proof of deep corruption, and as a most alarming symptom of impending calamity. This sin, far from being confined to any one class, prevails, in a dreadful degree, among all classes; and, alas! many of those, whose high rank gives to their example an universal influence, not only

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