important doctrines of the gospel, to inculcate its duties, to excite you to the practice of them, and to warn you against every error, sin and vice. My connection with you has been peaceful, agreeable, and of late I hope successful. I expected to continue and spend the rest of my days with you. And as the proposal of my leaving you was no object of my seeking; so it has been attended with great anxiety concerning my duty. As the best expedient in the case, and the most likely means of obtaining light as to the way of duty, the whole question concerning my removal has, as you well know, been submitted to a council mutually agreeable to us both. You know the result of the council; it was their unanimous opinion, that it was my duty to accept the call, which invites me to leave you, and your duty to acquiesce.

Had they decided, that I ought to continue with you, I should have complied with their decision, in a conviction, that in that case, I should enjoy far more ease; more leisure, more retirement and more opportunity to prosecute my favorite study of theology, to indulge many agreeable propensities and to enjoy many of my most agreeable friends, whose society must be lost by my removal. And now that they have decided it to be my duty to accept a call to a distant place, I feel myself obliged to comply with their decision, though with great reluctance to leaving this dear people, especially at the present juncture, at which it has pleased the great Head of the church to afford his influences among us; and in the prospect of labor, anxiety, responsibility and perhaps difficulty, in the undertaking to which I am invited. Yet since it is by proper judges decided to be my duty, I shall take upon me this arduous service, and discharge the obligations of it, according to my best ability, looking to God to assist and support me.

Since we must part, what is more proper, than we part as Paul, and the Corinthians did? After the example of the great apostle of the gentiles, I do certainly most ardently wish you to be perfect, to be of good comfort, to be of one mind and to live in peace; and that you may be animated so to do, by the motive, that then the God of love and peace shall be with you.

You have heard what has been said concerning the necessity of unanimity and peace among yourselves. And I dare say you realize it. Formerly, you experienced the ill effects of dissensions. Let this your experience warn and guard you against everything of the like kind in future. "Remembering your affliction and your misery, the wormwood and the gall; let your soul still have them in remembrance, and be humbled in you." Let me beseech you to withstand the beginning of dissension. It is

"like the letting out of water; once let out, it is hard to be stopped again, and the longer it runs, the deeper and wider channel it wears, therefore leave off contention before it is meddled with."

Your union among yourselves, as well as your kind treatment of me, since I have been connected with you, has been a source of happiness to me. I shall always remember you with affection, gratitude and kindest benevolence. It is a most happy circumstance, that since we must part, we part not only with peace, but with entire mutual friendship. This is a singular case of the dismission of a minister from his people. That you have acted in this whole affair with so much candor, with so many and so unequivocal testimonies of affection to me, and regard to the council which has dissolved our connection, has been often noticed to your honor. I hope the mutual friendship, which has uninterruptedly subsisted between us, will ever continue, and that we shall sincerely remember each other in our prayers.

As your minister is now about to leave you, I sincerely pray and hope that in due time God will send you a good minister of Jesus Christ a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost; and that under his faithful ministry much people may be added unto the Lord. And as it has pleased God lately to visit you with the influences of his Holy Spirit, to the revival of true religion among you; I presume you will not be contented to live long, without so important a blessing, as a christian minister. If you have tasted, that the Lord is gracious, you will not be willing to live without the preaching of the gospel and stated worship on the sabbath. As new born babes you will desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.

I hope, brethren, that in settling a minister, you will be attentive to two things, that he be sound in the faith, and that as far as you can judge, he be a man of true piety. If he be not sound in the faith, he will lead you and your children into error and false religion; and this error and false religion will naturally descend to future generations, and may prove fatal to thousands. And if he be not a man of true piety, with what sincerity can he act in any part of his ministry? As he will not be friendly to Christ or his cause, he will not relish the truth, nor heartily engage to promote it. If he do not directly oppose true religion, which is the most favorable supposition; still being a blind leader of the blind, he and his hearers will be likely both to fall into the ditch.

But if you shall settle a good and faithful minister, you will, so far as you yourselves are rightly disposed, rejoice in him and in his ministrations; you will have peace and be edified in the most

holy faith; and you will have reason to hope, that God will bless his labors among you, and extend the good effects of such a ministry to generations yet unborn.

How happy will you be under such a minister! How happy will all your friends be on your behalf! And how happy shall I be, to hear of your prosperity!

And now, Brethren, I am to take my leave of you. When Paul took leave of the elders of the church of Ephesus, "they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words, which he spake, that "they should see his face no more." How it may be with us, brethren, whether we may ever be permitted to see each other's face again in this world, God only knows. Therefore "finally, brethren, farewell." It is my heart's desire and prayer for you, that you may prosper in all your real interests; that you may prosper in your several lawful secular concerns; that you may prosper as a society, increasing in numbers, wealth, and reputation, and be regarded as a truly respectable people, by all around you; that you may prosper as a church, established in the faith and order of the gospel, receiving "daily additions of such as shall be saved;" and that you may prosper as individuals; that every careless sinner among you may be thoroughly awakened and convinced; that every unregenerate sinner may be renewed by divine grace; and that every real christian may "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;" in one word, that "your souls may be in health and prosper," is my earnest prayer for you.

To this end, let me beseech you all to improve the present favorable opportunity. Now God is shedding down his kind influences among you, to the awakening and conviction of many and the hopeful conversion of some. Now then is a happy opportunity to obtain the grace of God. "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation." Should any of you live through such a time as this, and resist the peculiar and strong motives, which are now exhibited, to become reconciled to God; it is not likely, that the weaker motives of ordinary times will have much effect upon you. But you are in the hands of a sovereign God, to whom you have forfeited every blessing, and who therefore has a right to have mercy upon you, or to leave you to perish in your sins. You are dependent on his sovereign grace. Own this your dependence; and expect help from no other source. Accept the offered grace of God, and lose not that infiuite blessing, by neglect or delay.

"Take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock, which God

hath purchased with his own blood." Take heed, that after my departing grievous wolves do not enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and that of your ownselves men do not arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." "Brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them, which are sanctified." May the God of love and peace be with and bless both you and me respectively; may he watch over, protect and prosper us in our several lawful ways; and may he especially replenish our hearts with his grace and love. And when we shall have served our generation according to his will, may we meet with joy and mutual congratulation before our common judge, be acquitted and accepted by him, and so may we be forever with the Lord.

SERMON XIV.

SUBMISSION TO RULERS.*

ROMANS 13:1, 2.-Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God.

THE nature of civil government, and the extent and limits of the authority of magistrates, have been so frequently and largely discussed, especially in later times, that scarce anything new concerning them can be said. Still, to be reminded of what is old and has often been said, especially on such important subjects, is by no means without its use. If therefore this shall be all that is done in my present discourse, it will not be in vain.

The sources of argument for the exhibition and confirmation of the truth as to civil government are two, reason and scripture. And of the passages of scripture referred to by writers on the subject, the text is probably the chief. Now it is of great importance that we know the scriptural doctrine on these points. For if God has revealed his mind concerning the nature, extent, and end of civil government, we may be sure that such a revelation is a perfect and infallible rule for us. And as our text is supposed by many to be the passage in which above all others God has made known his will concerning these things, so we are under peculiar obligation, in our inquiries after truth on these subjects, to attend to it, and to endeavor by all means to possess ourselves of its true meaning and import. This we now propose to do.

The text has been understood very differently by different persons. Some suppose that in it we have a very plain precept, requiring passive obedience and non-resistance to our rulers in all cases, and especially to those in supreme authority. And though such rulers may do what they will; though they oppress us ever so much, and break through all law, and overturn the very foundations of our constitution, and tear from us every right and lib

* Preached at the annual Freemen's Meeting for voting, etc. 1775. It is published, as being in many respects a curious and interesting “sign of the times" in which it was preached.