strength of their religious principles. The perilous enterprise in which they were engaged, was chiefly a religious enterprise. To enjoy their religion according to the dictates of their own consciences, and to effect the conversion of the native Indians,* we have seen, were the great objects of their toils and sufferings. The principles which supplied them with the high motives from which they acted, were perseveringly taught to their children, and aided by their own bright example, became the vital sentiment of the new communities which they founded. What must have been the strength of the conviction of Christian Truth in the American mind, when the popular names of Franklint and of Jefferson among its adversaries, have not been able much to impair its influence. May Christianity, clear and convincing as she is in her evidences, pure in her doctrines, conservative in her moral influences, imperishable in her destiny, the last consolation of those who have outlived all earthly hopes, and the last restraint of those who are above all earthly fear,.continue, with her benign reign, to bless our country, to the end of time, the crowning glory of the American name.‡ The conspiracy formed in Europe to destroy Christianity in the last century, has been overthrown and put to shame on that continent, by the overwhelming convulsions, distress and ruin brought upon its guilty nations, through the dissemination of its destructive principles. In the whirlwind and storm of this mighty moral tempest, its seeds were wafted to our shores. They have taken root in our land, and we are threatened with their pestilential fruit in disastrous plenty. Infidelity advanced at first in this country with cautious steps, and put on the decorous garb of rational and philosophical enquiry; until at length, having examined its ground and prepared its way, it has assumed the attitude of and uncompromising hostility to every form and every degree of the Christain faith. open * Note II. + Note I. ‡ Note K. * Mr. Macauley's Speech in House of Commons, April 17th, 1833. Our regard for the civil inheritance bequeathed us by our fathers, leads us to guard it with the most jealous vigilance. And shall we permit our religious inheritance, which in their estimation was of still higher value and is of infinitely more enduring interest, to be taken from us without a struggle? Are we not convinced, that if our religion is once undermined, it will be succeeded by a decline of public and private morals, and by the destruction of those high and noble qualities of character, for which as a community we have been so much distinguished?* Christianity, in its integrity, will never perish; the gates of Hell, shall never prevail against the Church of God. But it has perished and may perish again in particular districts of country. Are we accustomed to reflect on the consequences of a decline of the influence of Christianity among us, and along with it, of public and private morals? And on the other hand, are we sensible of the consequences which must attend the introduction and general belief of the infidel system in our land? The Christian and infidel systems have been long known in the world, and their opposite moral effects on mankind, have been manifested by the most ample experience. A tree is not more unequivocally known by its fruit, than are these two systems by the results which they have respectively produced. What has Christianity done for the nations which have embraced it? It has done much, very much. It has diminished the horrors of war. The spirit of ancient war, was a relentless and sanguinary vengeance, which knew not how to be satisfied but by the destruction of its victim. This fell spirit has in a goodly measure, been softened in the conduct of modern warfare. It has meliorated the calamitous lot of captives. Anciently, death, slavery, or an enormous ransom, was their customary doom every where; and this still continues to be the case in all countries not Christian. And when Christian principles, motives and feelings shall have become universal, "glory to God in the highest, and on earth * Note L. + Matthew xvi. 18. peace, good will towards men," will universally prevail. In arbitrary governments, it has relaxed the stern rigour of despotic sway. It has suppressed infanticide. It has secured the life and limbs of the slave against the caprice or passion of a tyrannical master. The frequent periodical recurrence of a Day of Rest, has elevated the character and meliorated the state of the labouring classes of every Christian country. It has restored the wife from a condition of humiliation and servitude, to be the companion, the associate, the confidential adviser and friend of the husband. It has restored marriage to the standard ordained "at the beginning," the indissoluble union of two individuals, called by St. Paul a great mystery symbolical of the spiritual union between Christ and his Church; and has thus furnished the only reasonable security for domestic tranquillity, and the suitable nurture and education of children. Under its influence, the combats of gladiators, the impurities of superstitious rites, and unnatural vices, are no longer tolerated. The poor, the sick and the forsaken, are relieved by the numerous hospitals and asylums which are provided in all countries in which its authority is acknowledged. Moreover, it has been chiefly instrumental in rendering the nations of Christendom superior in virtue, intelligence and power, to all the other nations of the earth. Nor are we to estimate its principal benefits by what is visible. "The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation;" it does not consist in external splendour; its chief influence is unseen, renewing and sanctifying the hearts of the multitude who throng the obscure and humble walks of life. Again, what has Christianity done for our own nation? The answer is once more; much, very much. It was the moving cause which led our ancestors to transfer themselves to these shores, and to procure for us the fair inheritance which we now enjoy. It was * Milton says; "He shall ascend "The throne hereditary, and bound his reign "With earth's wide bounds, his glory with the heavens." Matthew xix. 4-6. an intimate and practical acquaintance with the doctrines, history and spirit of Christianity, which imparted to them that entire dependence on God, that unhesitating confidence in the protection of his Providence, that deep conviction of his favour, and those commanding moral virtues which shone in their lives with so resplendent a lustre. Especially it is to Christianity, that we are indebted for the steady self-control, and power of habitually subjecting our passions to the sway of reason and conscience, which have preserved us to this day, a free and a united people. May the future historian never record of us, that becoming wise above what is written, and forsaking the paths of our pious forefathers, we brought the judgments of Heaven upon our guilty land, and were made to drink to the dregs of the cup of national humiliation and shame. And what has Christianity done for us personally? The answer is not only much, very much, but every thing. In infancy it may very possibly have saved us from death by exposure; no uncommon fate wherever Christianity has not prevailed. Born, as we were by nature, children of wrath, she received us by baptism into the fold of Christ, and made us heirs of the promises, the hopes and the consolations of the Gospel. Sensibly alive to the transitory nature of all human connexions, and the instability of all earthly prospects, she provided sureties, who, in case of the demise or default of our natural guardians, might feel themselves responsible for fitting us to receive the Christian inheritance, to which we were admitted in prospect, by baptism. On arriving at years of discretion, she confirmed us in the privileges of our high estate; and as we journey onward in the thorny path of life, she feeds us with "that bread which came down from Heaven," rescues us from temptation, strengthens us amid our infirmities, and animates our weary steps by the kind voice of encouragement. Aided and animated by her divine guidance, when we shall come to the end of our path, we shall not be overwhelmed with fearful apprehensions. We shall contemplate the solitude of the grave without dismay. She will not leave us within its narrow and lonely precincts. She will guide and sustain us through the dark valley of the shadow of death, and will bring us to mansions of immor tality and glory. And what has the infidel system to give us in exchange for the Christian promises, hopes, virtues, consolations and final inheritance which it destroys? What has it done for those who have embraced it? And in case we embrace it, what effects may it be expected to produce on our national destinies, on our domestic tranquillity, on ourselves personally, and "on all estates and orders of men?" We can have no difficulty in answering these questions ;-we have the oracular voice of the experience of the last half century. These will be the burthen of its teachings, the fruit of its instructions. By excluding a Supreme Being, a superintending Providence, and a future state of rewards and punishments, as much as possible, from the minds of men, it will destroy all sense of moral responsibility; for, the lively impression of an omnipresent Ruler of the Universe and a strong sense of moral obligation, have, in the history of mankind, always accompanied each other; and whenever the former has been weakened, it has never failed to be followed by a corresponding moral declension. Now what is to preserve an habitual reverence for Almighty God in the public mind, if the institution of public worship ever comes to be disregarded, if the Christian Ministry shall be rendered odious in the eyes of the community, if the observance of Sunday shall be generally neglected, and if the Scriptures shall be brought into general discredit? Yet with just such a state of things we are threatened. Let us not refuse to look at the real nature of the case. The fact is, that a man's sense of -duty, his moral sensibility, is the conservative element of his character; and no man can receive so great an injury himself, or inflict so great a calamity on another, as the impairing or the destruction of this grand principle. Of all unpromising indications in a youth, is not insensibility to moral considerations, the most decisive and unequivocal? When the sense of duty is extinguished in an individual, he becomes a burthen to himself and a nuisance to others, the sport of every wind of caprice and passion. From infecting individuals, a moral taint soon comes to infect a |