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wealth, the strength, the population, the security, of their country, is the great object of this undertaking; and may perhaps no longer suffer so important a national concern to subsist on funds, for much the most part casual and precarious, and which are found by experience to be not only insufficient for the improvement and completion of this excellent work, but greatly inadequate even to its present necessary demands 1.

And may God open the hearts of the rich, incline the wills of the great, and guide the counsels of the wise, to the support, the improvement, and the extension, of every generous design, charitably formed, prudently devised, and faithfully executed, for the good of our country, and for the glory of his holy name. Such, we presume, in an eminent degree, is this institution. Scarce any other example can be given, in which the views of religion and policy are so justly connected, and so intimately united. The interests of the kingdom of Ireland are more immediately concerned but whatever affects the prosperity, the strength and safety of that kingdom, must greatly influence the welfare of our own; and though we were not at

1 From the estimates subjoined to the petition of the Society, presented to the House of Commons of Ireland in the last session, it appears that the expences of the Society for two years are about

The funds, ditto, about

Deficiency in two years

£28,000

11,000

17,000

The Parliament usually grants 12,000l. to make up the deficiencies of two years. The grant of 15,000l. by the Parliament in the last session was extraordinary, on account of the great expences incurred by building nurseries.

all concerned on account of any union of national interest, or temporal advantage, yet the common motives of humanity, and the sacred obligations of religion, ought to excite our zeal in this good work of relieving our brethren, of assisting the poor, and instructing the ignorant. Let those who are more immediately concerned, earnestly engage in the promotion of it, as true lovers of their country, justly solicitous for its civil and its spiritual welfare let us, as friends, fellow-subjects, and fellowProtestants, heartily concur with them; "for our brethren and companions' sake, let us wish them prosperity; yea, because of the house of the Lord our God, let us seek to do them good."

SERMON VIII'.

LUKE Xiii. 1-3.

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye, that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

THIS tragical event was related to Jesus as he was teaching the people at Jerusalem. The persons who relate it seem to have been possessed with the opinion that this terrible destruction was a manifest instance of Divine judgment, executed upon these Galileans for their enormous wickedness; which probably they were the more ready to entertain, as the Jews of Jerusalem generally despised and hated the Galileans, malevolence being apt to have a great influence in such conclusions: and they seem to relate it to him, out of an ill-natured curiosity of hearing his remarks upon it, and in expectation of having their sentiments confirmed

1 Preached at the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace, on AshWednesday, 1779. By Robert Lowth, Lord Bishop of London, Dean of his Majesty's Chapels. London, 1779, 4to. 2nd edition, same year,

8vo.

by him; supposing that he would enlarge upon the crimes of those miserable men, and display the justice and the terror of God's vengeance, exemplified in their destruction. Instead of this, our Saviour, who took every opportunity of instructing and admonishing his hearers, corrects their uncharitable and mistaken notions, and warns them, instead of being busied in judging others, to judge themselves, and to reflect upon their own sins; their own sins in particular, and the accumulated guilt of their nation; and to make the proper use of the chastisements which God inflicted upon others, while he spared them, no less deserving punishment, as an argument for amendment and reformation, that they might avert God's wrath by repentance. "Suppose ye, that these

Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

Let us consider some of the reasons, upon which we may presume this determination of our blessed Saviour to be founded ;-that we are not to infer from great and signal calamities any great and uncommon wickedness in the sufferers.

It is not to be denied, that God hath sometimes, and upon extraordinary occasions, punished notorious offenders in such a remarkable manner, as left little room to doubt, that their destruction was his immediate work. But examples of this sort, taken from the history of the Israelites, which abounds with them, are not to be applied to the present purpose, nor do they properly belong to

;

this question. Beside his universal character of Creator and Lord, God bore to them a peculiar relation by the particular covenant which he had entered into with them. He had chosen them as his own nation, his peculiar people, his temporal subjects he became their King and Governor : he resided among them visibly: he ruled them in person, in their public and national capacity, according to the law which he had given them which, being enforced by the sanction of temporal life and death, could not in all cases be put in execution, but by the infliction of temporal judgments from the hand of God their supreme Governor. However, even under this extraordinary dispensation, in respect of private persons, the interposition of the hand of God was not commonly observable; and though national prosperity and adversity was always proportionable to national obedience and disobedience to God's laws; yet Solomon remarked, in his time, of the general course of Providence respecting individuals, “that all things came alike to all; that there was one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; and that no man knew either love or hatred," whether he himself, or any other person, was in the favour or under the displeasure of God, "by all that was before him '."

In regard also to the common course of things, under God's universal providence, consider, I beseech you, the state of past or of present times; have those, who have been most remarkably suc

1 Eccles. ix. 1, 2.

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