SERMON II.

ON A DAY OF PUBLIC HUMILIATION.

Deut. xxiii, 9.-When the Host goeth forth against thine Enemies, then keep thee from every wicked Thing.

THE acknowledgment of that God, in whose hand our breath

is, and whose are all our ways *, is a duty in its obligation so evidently reasonable, in its exercise so delightful, and in its natural consequences so variously advantageous, that one would hope it should be the prevailing temper among men ; a temper which should run through the most agreeable and secure scenes of life, since that agreeableness and security is the effect of divine care and goodness. Nevertheless we too generally see, that in this respect men are lulled asleep by those gentle gales of prosperity, which waft them on towards a haven they desire; but when cross and contrary winds arise, and beat upon them, the noise, the motion, the danger of the tempest often awakes them, and engages them, like the Mariners in the ship with Jonah, to call every one upon his God †. I would hope indeed, that I am now addressing many, who have made prayer the business and the joy of their prosperous days; and such may with peculiar pleasure and confidence have recourse to it in circumstances of extremity, if God should be pleased to lead us in such circumstances. In the mean time, I doubt not, but it is with great readiness that such numbers of you have obeyed the wise and pious call of our sovereign, to assemble this day, "That we may humble ourselves before almighty God, in order to obtain pardon of our sins; and may in a most devout and solemn manner send up our prayers and supplications to the divine Majesty, for averting those heavy judgments which our manifold sins and provocations have most justly deserved, imploring his blessing and assistance on our arms, and for restoring and perpetuating peace, safety, and prosperity to us."

VOL. III.

* Dan. v. 23.

† Jonah i. 5.

D

Christian princes have seldom omitted on such occasions as these, to give such calls to their subjects; and they have instructive precedents for it in scripture. They might learn it from the conduct of pious Jehoshaphat, who, when numerous nations were conspiring against him, set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah, that they might gather themselves together, to ask help from him *. Yea, the hint might be taken even from the behaviour of the King of Ninevah, who, when the prophet had so solemnly declared in the name of God, that this country should be destroyed, rose from his throne, and laid aside his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes, at the same time causing a most rigorous fast to be proclaimed through Ninevah, by his own decree, and that of his nobles; an abstinence, in which, the more forcibly to impress the minds of men, the beasts were also to share, and neither to feed, nor drink water; and those of them which had appeared in that luxurious city in the most sumptuous trappings and decorations, were in the sad procession, like their masters, to be covered with sackcloth. With such low prostration was the whole nation, as one man, to cry mightily unto God, to avert his displeasure: but it is worthy of our remark, that the light of nature and reason taught that prince also to add, in his royal mandate for a general humiliation, Let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands +.

Now as obedience to the government, and love to the public, must engage every faithful minister to labour to address his people this day, on such a subject, and in such a manner, as he judges most suitable to its great design; I thought it my duty to fix my own meditations and yours, on the absolute necessity of national and personal reformation, in order to a wellgrounded expectation of success in war. This the king of Ninevah inculcated, as you have heard; and Moses also had long before solemnly urged it, in the words of my text; when the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing. And surely every one's conscience will tell him, how fit it is, that, after we have been pouring out our confessions and our supplications before God, we should attentively reflect upon such a charge as this, lest future iniquities, aggravated even by the humiliation of this day, should prove our speedy, and our final destruction.

You see the words contain a very plain and intelligible ad

*2 Chron. xx. 3, 4.

Jonah ii, 6-8.

monition to Israel, of the peculiar care with which they should guard against any unreformed wickedness, when, like GreatBritain at this day, they were engaging in war. and they are a charge, not only to the soldiery, in such circumstances as these, to abstain from rapine, cruelty, and debauchery, as well as from any superstitious regard to those idols, which they might meet with in the camps and cities of their enemies; but also to the people in general, to be careful, that they did not, by any impieties or immoralities at home, bring down the curse of God upon their arms, and blast the success even of the most righteous cause.

Before I proceed to a more particular consideration of the words, I will very readily allow, they might have some peculiar weight, when considered as addressed to the Israelites; for they had God in a very extraordinary manner present among them; as the ark, often called the footstool of his throne, was now in the midst of their camp; and, when it was not, there were other holy instruments committed to the charge of the anointed of the field, by which God was to be consulted, and his presence acknowledged. Upon this account we find, in the following words, they are urged to keep themselves, not only from moral, but also from ceremonial, and even natural pollution; that the order, decency, and cleanliness of their camp might be an habitual expression of their reverence for that God, who condescended to appear among them as their General, and their King: For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp; —therefore shall it be holy, that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee *.

It may also be proper to recollect upon this occasion, that the Israelites were under something of a peculiarly equal providence; and consequently might expect victory or defeat, as they were obedient, or disobedient to the divine command, with a certainty greater than is common to other nations. For though indeed it is probable, that, in a series of years, the prosperity or calamity of a nation will be proportionable to its general virtues or vices; yet the peculiar covenant which God had made with Israel, not only seems to have engaged him to a more immediate retribution, but likewise extended itself to all those peculiar institutions, which they as a separate nation were under. Therefore does he particularly tell them, that If they did not observe to do all his commandments and statutes, he

*Deut. xxiii. 14.

would cause them to be smitten before their enemies; they should go out against them one way, and flee seven ways before them; thereby strongly intimating, and indeed with the utmost reason, that the presumptuous violation of any ceremonial or positive precept would be attended with fatal consequences; of which, you well know, the defeat brought upon the whole army of Israel for the sin of Achan, in secreting the accursed thing, was an early and very memorable instance; as well as the severity, with which that crime was punished, on the offender, and his family †. And it was indeed a merciful method which God took, to preserve Israel in an external and visible adherence to the religion and the institutions he had founded among them, thus immediately to animadvert upon them by his chastising providence, whenever they deviated from it, though in circumstances otherwise indifferent; and it may be in those, in which human policy would have dictated a very different conduct, had not a divine command interposed: which, by the way, is particularly apparent in the effect of multiplying chariots and horses which were always a curse, instead of a defence to Israel, how useful soever they might have been to other nations; because God had required them to employ infantry alone, as that by which, the more immediately to shew his interposition, he would save them, when they depended upon him.

I pretend not therefore to maintain from these words, that we are concerned in them, just in the very same manner and degree, that the Israelites were; yet I doubt not but I shall be able,

I. To prove, that we are highly concerned in this caution which is given to them. And then,

II. I shall endeavour to illustrate it, by the mention of some particular evils, against which, in our present circumstances, we are peculiarly obliged to guard. After which, III. I shall conclude with some inferences from hence, further suited to the occasion of this day's most solemn assembly.

I. I am to prove, that we are all much concerned in the caution that is here given; and that as ever we, or any other nation, would reasonably expect success against our enemies, it is necessary that when we go forth against them, we should keep ourselves from every wicked thing.

You will remember, I pretend not to assert, that the event

*Deut. xxviii. 15, 25.

Josh. chap. vii.

cause, or to the virtue and Indeed the event of some of the reformation, where

of every battle, or of every war, will always bear an exact proportion, either to the justice of the piety of those that are engaged in it. wars, especially towards the beginning in the sufferers were persons of the most excellent, and the victors of the must hateful characters, is too sad an evidence to the contrary. I am very ready to allow, that in some instances, to form the hearts of his people to more eminent attainments in goodness by scenes of distress, or for other reasons to us unknown, God may determine events otherwise: yet I think I may very safely venture to affirm, that we can never form any just expectation of continued success and prosperity in our military affairs, unless there be a zealous concern about a reformation in our manners; and unless national piety and virtue be our earnest and governing care. And this may sufficiently appear, if we consider, on the one hand, that the divine favour can only reasonably be expected by those, who are careful to keep themselves from evil; and on the other, that prosperity in military affairs does evidently depend on the divine favour. Both these considerations are so plain, that they might almost be admitted as self-evident; though in order to impress them more deeply upon our minds, I shall spend a few words upon each.

1. The divine favour can only reasonably be expected by those, who are solicitous to keep themselves from moral evil.

I might introduce what I have further to say on this head, by observing, that the moral perfections of God seem evidently deducible from his natural; for to suppose otherwise concerning him, would be indeed to suppose him worse than even the very vilest of men, who, if they act unrighteously, where they know what is reasonable and fit, do it as tempted by some self-interest; a temptation, to which an almighty Being cannot possibly be obnoxious. Now the consequence from his being perfectly holy and righteous himself, to his loving the like character, and hating the contrary, in his reasonable creatures, is so plain, that the apostle appeals to every one's conscience to bear witness to it:

* I hardly know a more memorable instance of this, than in the success of that perfidious and ungrateful war, which the Emperor Charles V. undertook against those two pious and worthy princes, John Frederick, elector of Saxony, and Philip, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassal; in which the Emperor was supported by a considerable number of Spanish and Italian forces, who marked their way through Germany with unheard-of cruelties; and particularly, (as the Landgrave himself asserts in his manifesto) cut off the hands and feet of little children, to testify their hatred against the protestant religion, which their parents professed. "Pueris ipsis et infantibus resecare manus atque pedes, odio nimirum doctrinæ." Sleid. de Stat.

Relig. lib. xviii. p. 71.