of that war in which we are engaged, we also must have our individual share. It is ever wise in us to look upon our duties in this solemn light; in the light, not of expedience, but of conscience; and, in the religious pause which this day affords, I have laid this view of the subject upon you, that you may consider whether it be " the devices of man" you are pursuing, or the "counsel of "God"

If then, in the first place, the war we pursue, be one which is neither founded in justice, nor necessity; if it be a war undertaken to overturn the independence, or abridge the prosperity of any other people; if it be to add to our wealth by the spoils of the world, or to seek our glory by the tears of innocent, or the blood of unoffending nations; if these be our secret objects in the war, let us not think, nor hope, nor pray for suc

cess. Victory may follow victory; achievement may succeed achievement; The pulse of national vanity may beat high; but "the counsel of the Almighty”, is against our devices. The secret vice which silently pursues its end, is undermining the fabric of all our prosperity, and the destroying angel, who comes from the throne of God to " justify his "ways to man," rejoices in the triumphs which his hand is so soon to wither; and in that attitude: of presumptuous elevation, which must so soon be humbled in the dust.

But, my brethren, on the other hand, if it be a war of a different description that our hearts tell us we are pursuing; if it be a war, necessary in its nature, and just in its end; if it be to maintain the rights, the freedom, and the independence of our country; if it be to protect

that constitution, which is the fountain of

all our best enjoyments here, and that religion which is the source of all our hopes hereafter; if it be to continue to our children that freedom to which they were born, and that faith in which they were baptized; if these be our sole objects in the war in which we are engaged, then, in the name of the living God, let us fear not. Defeat may for a time succeed defeat; misfortune may follow misfortune, and the hearts of the weak and the timid may turn cold;—but the counsels of God are with us. Every known, and every unknown power of nature are leagued in our favour. Even under circumstances of deeper alarm than we have yet experienced, hope is never to be lost. It is not easy to conquer an united people ;-it is not easy to wrest its liberty from a free land; it is not easy to tear from a great nation the honours which they have

worn in the sight of mankind for so many hundred years, and the glories, which,

in

every age, their fathers have transmitted to them.

For a long season, my brethren, this country has enjoyed a prosperity unexampled in the history of time. The an nals of the world, however, tell us, from the history of many nations, that such prosperity has often been the forerunner of their fall; and, trusting to such analogies, the enemy endeavours to persuade the rest of mankind, that such also is soon to be our fate, The time, therefore, is come, when we are to know whether prosperity has also corrupted us,-whether wealth has brought with it its usual avengers, and whether the selfishness of commerce, and the feebleness of luxury, have. also made our hands weak, and our hearts cold. If it be so,—if we are become careless or indifferent of the honours of our

country;-if we can place interest in opposition to duty;-if we can think of our own private profits, when the existence of our country is at stake;—if we can coolly calculate the price which is to pay us for freedom, for honour, and for independence; let us not deceive ourselves.Whatever our fathers may have been, we are no longer a nation,-" we are weigh"ed in the balance" of God" and are "found wanting." "The kingdom is "taken from us," and will be given to a nobler people.

I hope, however, my brethren, for better things. I hope that, amid all our wealth and all our luxury, the spirit of our country is yet undecayed. I trust, that, conducting ourselves" by the coun"sels of God," we may laugh to scorn "the devices of man.' And I do trust

so, from those animating scenes which

everywhere meet our eyes. I trust in it