535 / 652
A'RErORMATYON
SERMON.
mother
in
Israel, to
prevent it
:
Awake, awake,
Barak,"
arise
every son
of
courage and
authority, every
man
of
prudence and
zeal,
"
arise, and lead' this
captivity
cap-
tive
;
the
Lord make
you to havé
dominion over those
mighty
iniquities
that
would
destroy
all
religion
!"
HI.
From the discouragements
that
will
attend
on the
ways
of
God, a
great
decay
of
piety
will
ensue among
some
of
the serious professors
of
it
:
Continual
molesta-
tion
will
weary
out
the spirits
of
christians
in
a
great de-
gree,
and
because
iniquity abounds,
the
love
of
many
will
wax
cold
;"
Mat.
xxiv.
12.
Now
who
of
us
is
willing
to
bear
this reflection;
".
religion
is
almost driven
out
of
the land, and
I
have done
little
to
keep it
in
:
Godliness
is baffled
and
-lost,
and
I'
had
not
courage enough
to
stand
up
for
God amongst the
men
of
reformation
:
Amalek
has beaten Israel out
of
the
field,
and
I
never drèw sword
against that cursed nation
;
or-
when
I
had struck a stroke
or
two I'
laid down
my
arms, and suffered
Amalek
to
pre-
vail."
IV.
It
will
be a
scandal to our country
to suffer
sin
to
grow
rampant
and
sovereign
in
the midst
of
us;
we
shall
bring
a
scandal upon the gospel
that
we
profess,
and
a
dishonour
u
pon.the holy name
of
christians
that
we
bear
:
If
the
sins
of
heathenism multiply amongt
us,
we
shall be
a reproach
to
the christian faith:
Have
we
no
tenderness
for
the
name
of
Christ
?
Shall
we
permit
him to
be
ac-.
counted
a
minister
of
sin by suffering
the
works
of
the
devil,
which
he
destroyed,
to be
built
up again
by bold
transgressors
?
Bold
men
indeed,
that
sin
against the light
of
nature under
the
shining
revelations
of
grace
!
In
vain
have
we
been famed for
light
and knowledge, in vain
for
piety-
and
experimental godliness
in the
days
of
our
fathers,
but
now
we
grow a
by
-word
among the nations,
arid
an
impure proverb
:
'He swears like a Briton, he
is
as
drunk
as
an Englishman,
as
lewd
and profane
as
a
Londoner
:
Surely
it
will
not
be
very
grateful
to
our
ears,
if
such odiáus
forms
of
speech should arise
in
neighbour
-
kingdoms.
"
Righteousness indeed
exalteth
a
nation,
but
sin
is
a
reproach
to
any
people."
Prov.
xiv. 34.
V.
Not
reproaches
only
will
attend
us,
but real
and
multiplied
mischiefs
'Will
afflict
our
civil
interest, public
ing
and private.
The
public affairs
of
a
nation must suffer
certain
detriment
where wickedness roves loose
and unre-
ÍÍ