Chapter One—The Townshend Acts, 1767resource2.veritaspress.com/Resources/downloads/Squalls Primary... · kingdom, of coffee and cocoa ... Chapter One—The Townshend Acts, 1767

Squalls Before War Primary Sources 1

successors, the several rates and duties fol-lowing; that is to say,

For every hundred weight avoirdupois ofcrown, plate, flint, and white glass, fourshillings and eight pence.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois ofgreen glass, one shilling and two pence.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois ofred lead, two shillings.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois ofwhite lead, two shillings.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois ofpainters colours, two shillings.

For every pound weight avoirdupois of tea,three pence.

For every ream of paper, usually called orknown by the name of Atlas Fine, twelveshillings.

For every ream of paper called AtlasOrdinary, six shillings.

For every ream of paper called Bastard, orDouble Copy, one shilling and six pence.

For every single ream of blue paper forsugar bakers, ten pence halfpenny

For every ream of paper called Blue Royal,one shilling and six pence.

For every bundle of brown paper containingforty quires, not made in Great Britain, sixpence.

An act for granting certain duties in theBritish colonies and plantations in America;for allowing a drawback of the duties ofcustoms upon the exportation, from thiskingdom, of coffee and cocoa nuts of theproduce of the said colonies or plantations;for discontinuing the drawbacks payable onchina earthen ware exported to America;and for more effectually preventing theclandestine running of goods in the coloniesand plantations.

WHEREAS it is expedient that a revenueshould be raised in your Majesty’s domin-ions in America, for making a more certainand adequate provision for defraying thecharge of the administration of justice, andthe support of civil government, in suchprovinces where it shall be found necessary;and towards further defraying the expensesof defending, protecting, and securing, thesaid dominions; we, your Majesty’s mostdutiful and loyal subjects, the commons ofGreat Britain, in parliament assembled,have therefore resolved to give and grantunto your Majesty the several rates andduties herein after mentioned; and do mosthumbly beseech your Majesty that it may beenacted, and be it enacted by the King’smost excellent majesty, by and with theadvice of the lords spiritual and temporal,and commons, in this present parliamentassembled, and by the authority of thesame, That from and after the twentiethday of November, one thousand seven hun-dred and sixty seven, there shall be raised,levied, collected, and paid, unto his Majesty,his heirs, and successors, for and upon therespective goods herein after mentioned,which shall be imported from Great Britaininto any colony or plantation in Americawhich now is, or hereafter may be, underthe dominion of his Majesty, his heirs, or

SQUALLS BEFORE WARChapter One—The Townshend Acts, 1767


For every ream of paper called Brown Cap,not made in Great Britain, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called Brown LargeCap, made in Great Britain, four pence half-penny.

For every ream of paper called SmallOrdinary Brown, made in Great Britain,three pence.

For every bundle, containing forty quires, ofpaper called Whited Brown, made in GreatBritain, four pence halfpenny.

For every ream of cartridge paper, oneshilling and one penny halfpenny.

For every ream of paper called ChanceryDouble, one shilling and six pence.

For every ream of paper called GenoaCrown Fine, on shilling and one penny halfpenny.

For every ream of paper called GenoaCrown Second, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called GermanCrown, nine pence. For every ream of paper called FinePrinting Crown, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called SecondOrdinary Printing Crown, six pence threefarthings.

For every ream of paper called Crown Fine,made in Great Britain, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called CrownSecond, made in Great Britain, six pencethree farthings.

For every ream of paper called Demy Fine,not made in Great Britain, three shillings.

For every ream of paper called DemySecond, not made in Great Britain, oneshilling and four pence halfpenny.

For every ream of paper called Demy Fine,made in Great Britain, one shilling and onepenny halfpenny.

For every ream of paper called DemySecond, made in Great Britain, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called DemyPrinting, one shilling and three pence.

For every ream of paper called Genoa DemyFine, one shilling and six pence.

For every ream of paper called Genoa Demy Second, one shilling and one pennyhalfpenny.

For every ream of paper called GermanDemy, one shilling and one penny halfpen-ny.

For every ream of paper called ElephantFine, six shillings.

For every ream of paper called ElephantOrdinary, two shillings and five pence far-thing.

For every ream of paper called Genoa FoolsCap Fine, one shilling and one penny half-penny.

For every ream of paper called Genoa FoolsCap Second, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called German



Fools Cap, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called FinePrinting Fools Cap, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called SecondOrdinary Printing Fools Cap, six pence threefarthings.

For every ream of any other paper calledFools Cap Fine, not made in Great Britain,one shilling and ten pence halfpenny.

For every ream of any other paper calledFools Cap Fine Second, not made in GreatBritain, one shilling and six pence.

For every ream of paper Fools Cap Fine,made in Great Britain, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called Fools CapSecond, made in Great Britain, six pencethree farthings.

For every ream of paper called ImperialFine, twelve shillings.

For every ream of paper called SecondWriting Imperial, eight shillings and threepence.

For every ream of paper called GermanLombard, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called MediumFine, four shillings and six pence.

For every ream of paper called GenoaMedium, one shilling and ten pence half-penny.

For every ream of paper called SecondWriting Medium, three shillings.

For every ream of painted paper, not madein Great Britain, six shillings.

For every ream of paper called Fine LargePost, one shilling and ten pence halfpenny.

For every ream of paper called Small Post,one shilling and one penny halfpenny.

For every ream of paper called Fine GenoaPot, six pence three farthings.

For every ream of paper called SecondGenoa Pot, six pence three farthings.

For every ream of other paper calledSuperfine Pot, not made in Great Britain,one shilling and six pence.

For every ream of other paper called SecondFine Pot, not made in Great Britain, oneshilling and one penny halfpenny.

For every ream of paper called OrdinaryPot, not made in Great Britain, six pencethree farthings.

For every ream of paper called Fine Pot,made in Great Britain, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called Second Pot, made in Great Britain, four pence half-penny.

For every ream of paper called Super RoyalFine, nine shillings.

For every ream of paper called Royal Fine,six shillings.

For every ream of paper called Fine HollandRoyal, two shillings and five pence farthing.



For every ream of paper called Fine HollandSecond, one shilling and six pence.

For every ream of paper called Second FineHolland Royal, one shilling and six pence.

For every ream of paper called OrdinaryRoyal, nine pence.

For every ream of paper called Genoa Royal,two shillings and five pence farthing.

For every ream of paper called SecondWriting Royal, four shillings and one pennyhalfpenny.

For every ream of paper called SecondWriting Super Royal, six shillings.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois ofpaste-boards, mill-boards, and scale-boards,not made in Great Britain, three shillingsand nine pence.

For every hundred weight avoirdupois ofpaste-boards, mill-boards, and scale-boards,made in Great Britain, two shillings andthree pence.

And for and upon all paper which shall beprinted, painted, or stained, in Great Britain,to serve for hangings or other uses, threefarthings for every yard square, over andabove the duties payable for such paper bythis act, if the same had not been printed,painted, or stained; and after those ratesrespectively for any greater or less quantity.

II. And it is hereby further enacted by theauthority aforesaid, That all other paper (notbeing particularly rated and charged in thisact) shall pay the several and respectiveduties that are charged by this act, upon such

paper as is nearest above in size and goodnessto such unrated paper.

III. And be it declared and enacted by theauthority aforesaid, That a ream of paper,chargeable by this act, shall be understood toconsist of twenty quires, and each quire oftwenty four sheets.

IV. And it is hereby further enacted by theauthority aforesaid, That the said rates andduties, charged by this act upon goodsimported into any British American colonyor plantation, shall be deemed, and are here-by declared to be, sterling money of GreatBritain; and shall be collected, recovered, andpaid to the amount of the value which suchnominal sums bear in Great Britain; and thatsuch monies may be received and taken,according to the proportion and value of fiveshillings and six pence the ounce in silver;and shall be raised, levied, collected, paid,and recovered, in the same manner and form,and by such rules, ways, and means, andunder such penalties and forfeitures, as anyother duties, now payable to his Majestyupon goods imported into the said coloniesor plantations, may be raised, levied, collect-ed, paid, and recovered, by any act or acts ofparliament now in force, as fully and effec-tually, to all intents and purposes, as if theseveral clauses, powers, directions, penalties,and forfeitures, relating thereto, were partic-ularly repeated, and again enacted, in thebody of this present act: and that all themonies that shall arise by the said duties(except the necessary charges of raising, col-lecting, levying, recovering, answering, pay-ing, and accounting for the same) shall beapplied, in the first place, in such manner asis herein after mentioned, in making a morecertain and adequate provision for thecharge of the administration of justice, and



the support of civil government, in such ofthe said colonies and plantations where itshall be found necessary; and that theresidue of such duties shall be paid into thereceipt of his Majesty’s exchequer, and shallbe entered separate and apart from all othermonies paid or payable to his Majesty, hisheirs, or successors; and shall be therereserved, to be from time to time disposed ofby parliament towards defraying the neces-sary expences of defending, protecting, andsecuring, the British colonies and plantationsin America .

V. And be it further enacted by the authori-ty aforesaid, That his Majesty and his succes-sors shall be, and are hereby, impowered,from time to time, by any warrant or war-rants under his or their royal sign manual orsign manuals, countersigned by the hightreasurer, or any three or more of the com-missioners of the treasury for the time being,to cause such monies to be applied, out of theproduce of the duties granted by this act, ashis Majesty, or his successors, shall thinkproper or necessary, for defraying thecharges of the administration of justice, andthe support of the civil government, withinall or any of the said colonies or plantations.

VI. And whereas the allowing a drawback ofall the duties of customs upon the exporta-tion, from this kingdom, of coffee and cocoanuts, the growth of the British dominions inAmerica, may be a means of encouraging thegrowth of coffee and cocoa in the saiddominions; be it therefore enacted by theauthority aforesaid, That from and after thesaid twentieth day of November, one thou-sand seven hundred and sixty seven, uponthe exportation of any coffee or cocoa nuts,of the growth or produce of any Britishcolony or plantation in America, from this

kingdom as merchandize, the whole duties ofcustoms, payable upon the importation ofsuch coffee or cocoa nuts, shall be drawnback and repaid; in such manner, and undersuch rules, regulations, penalties, and forfei-tures, as any drawback or allowance, payableout of the duties of customs upon the expor-tation of such coffee or cocoa nuts, was,could, or might be paid, before the passing ofthis act; any law, custom, or usage, to thecontrary notwithstanding.

VII. And it is hereby further enacted by theauthority aforesaid, That no drawback shallbe allowed for any china earthen ware sold,after the passing of this act, at the sale of theunited company of merchants of Englandtrading to the East Indies, which shall beentered for exportation from Great Britain toany part of America; any law, custom, orusage, to the contrary notwithstanding.

VIII. And it is hereby further enacted by theauthority aforesaid, That if any china earth-en ware sold, after the passing of this act, atthe sale of the said united company, shall beentered for exportation to any part ofAmerica as china earthen ware that hadbeen sold at the sale of the said companybefore that time; or, if any china earthenware shall be entered for exportation to anyparts beyond the seas, other than to somepart of America, in order to obtain any draw-back thereon, and the said china earthenware shall nevertheless be carried to anypart of America, and landed there contraryto the true intent and meaning of this act;that then, in each and every such case, thedrawback shall be forfeited; and the mer-chant or other person making such entry,and the master or person taking the chargeof the ship or vessel on board which the saidgoods shall be loaden for exportation, shall



forfeit double the amount of the drawbackpaid, or to be paid, for the same, and also tre-ble the value of the said goods; one moiety toand for the use of his Majesty, his heirs, andsuccessors; and the other moiety to such offi-cer of the customs as shall sue for the same;to be prosecuted, sued for, and recovered, insuch manner and form, and by the samerules and regulations, as other penaltiesinflicted for offences against any laws relat-ing to the customs may be prosecuted, suedfor, and recovered, by any act or acts of par-liament now in force.

IX. And for the more effectual preventingthe clandestine running of goods in theBritish dominions in America, be it furtherenacted by the authority aforesaid, Thatfrom and after the said twentieth day ofNovember, one thousand seven hundred andsixty seven, the master or other person hav-ing or taking the charge or command ofevery ship or vessel arriving in any Britishcolony or plantation in America shall, beforehe proceeds with his vessel to the place ofunlading, come directly to the custom housefor the port or district where he arrives, andmake a just and true entry, upon oath, beforethe collector and comptroller, or other prin-cipal officer of the customs there, of the bur-then, contents, and lading of such ship orvessel, with the particular marks, numbers,qualities, and contents, of every parcel ofgoods therein laden, to the best of his knowl-edge; also where and in what port she tookin her lading; of what country built; howmanned; who was master during the voyage,and who are owners thereof; and whetherany, and what goods, during the course ofsuch voyage, had or had not been dischargedout of such ship or vessel, and where: andthe master or other person having or takingthe charge or command of every ship or ves-

sel, going out from any British colony orplantation in America, before he shall takein, or suffer to be taken into or laden onboard any such ship or vessel, any goods,wares, or merchadizes, to be exported, shall,in like manner, enter and report outwardssuch ship or vessel, with her name and bur-then, of what country built, and howmanned, with the names of the master andowners thereof, and to what port or place heintends to pass or sail: and before he shalldepart with such ship or vessel out of anysuch colony or plantation, he shall also bringand deliver unto the collector and comptrol-ler, or other principal officer of the customsat the port or place where he shall lade, acontent in writing, under his hand, of thename of every merchant, or other personwho shall have laden, or put on board anysuch ship or vessel, any goods or merchan-dize, together with the marks and numbersof such goods or merchandize: and such mas-ter or person having or taking the charge orcommand of every such ship or vessel, eithercoming into, or going out of, any Britishcolony or plantation as aforesaid, whethersuch ship or vessel shall be laden or in bal-last, or otherwise, shall likewise publickly, inthe open custom house, to the best of hisknowledge, answer upon oath to such ques-tions as shall be demanded of him by the col-lector and comptroller, or other principalofficer of the customs for such port or place,concerning such ship or vessel, and the des-tination of her voyage, or concerning anygoods or merchandize that shall or may beladen on board her, upon forfeiture of onehundred pound sterling money of GreatBritain, for each and every default orneglect; to be sued for, prosecuted, recovered,and divided, in the same manner and form,by the same rules and regulations in allrespects, as other pecuniary penalties, for



offences against the laws relating to the cus-toms or trade of his Majesty’s colonies inAmerica, may, by any act or acts of parlia-ment now in force, be prosecuted, sued for,recovered, and divided.

X. And whereas by an act of parliamentmade in the fourteenth year of the reign ofKing Charles the Second, intituled, An act forpreventing frauds, and regulating abuses, inhis Majesty’s customs, and several other actsnow in force, it is lawful for any officer ofhis Majesty’s customs, authorized by writ ofassistance under the seal of his majesty’scourt or exchequer, to take a constable, head-borough, or other public officer inhabitingnear unto the place, and in the day-time toenter and go into any house, shop, cellar,warehouse, or room or other place, and, incase of resistance, to break open doors,chests, trunks, and other package there, toseize, and from thence to bring, any kinds ofgoods or merchandize whatsoever prohibitedor uncustomed, and to put and secure thesame in his Majesty’s store-house next to theplace where such seizure shall be made: andwhereas by an act made in the seventh andeighth years of the reign of King William theThird, intituled, An act for preventingfrauds, and regulating abuses, in the planta-tion trade, it is, amongst other things, enact-ed, that the officers for collecting and man-aging his Majesty’s revenue, and inspectingthe plantation trade, in America, shall havethe same powers and authorities to enterhouses or warehouses, to search for and seizegoods prohibited to be imported or exportedinto or out of any of the said plantations, orfor which any duties are payable, or ought tohave been paid; and that the like assistanceshall be given to the said officers in the exe-cution of their office, as, by the said recitedact of the fourteenth year of King Charles

the Second, is provided for the officers inEngland: but, no authority being expresslygiven by the said act, made in the seventhand eighth years of the reign of KingWilliam the Third, to any particular court togrant such writs of assistance for the officersof the customs in the said plantations, it isdoubted whether such officers can legallyenter houses and other places on land, tosearch for and seize goods, in the mannerdirected by the said recited acts : To obviatewhich doubts for the future, and in order tocarry the intention of the said recited actsinto effectual execution, be it enacted, and itis hereby enacted by the authority aforesaid,That from and after the said twentieth dayof November, one thousand seven hundredand sixty seven, such writs of assistance, toauthorize and impower the officer of hisMajesty’s customs to enter and go into anyhouse, warehouse, shop, cellar, or other place,in the British colonies of plantations ofAmerica, to search for and seize prohibitedor uncustomed goods, in the manner directedby the said recited acts, shall and may begranted by the said superior or supremecourts of justice having jurisdiction withinsuch colony or plantation respectively.

XI. And be it further enacted by the author-ity aforesaid, That if any action or suit shallbe commenced either in Great Britain orAmerica, against any person or persons forany thing done in pursuance of this act, thedefendant or defendants in such action orsuit may plead the general issue, and givethis act, and the special matter, in evidenceat any trial to be had thereupon; and thatthe same was done in pursuance and by theauthority of this act: and if it shall appear soto have been done, the jury shall find for thedefendant or defendants: and if the plaintiffshall be nonsuited, or discontinue his action



after the defendant or defendants shall haveappeared, or if judgement shall be givenupon any verdict or demurrer against theplaintiff; the defendant or defendants shallrecover treble costs, and have the like reme-dy for the same as defendants have in othercases by law.

CAP. XLVII.

An act for discontinuing the duties on log-wood exported; for taking off the duties onSuccus Liquoritiae imported, and for grantingother duties in lieu thereof; for explainingsuch parts of two acts made in the tenth andtwelfth years of the reign of Queen Anne, asrelate to certain duties on silks, printed,painted, or stained, in Great Britain; forgranting a duty upon the exportation of suchrice as shall have been imported duty-free, inpursuance of an act made in this session ofparliament: and for more effectually pre-venting the wear of foreign lace and needlework which are prohibited to be importedinto this kingdom,

WHEREAS the discontinuing the dutypayable upon the exportation of logwoodfrom this kingdom, may be a means ofencouraging the importation thereof; May itplease your Majesty that it may be enacted,and be it enacted by the King’s most excel-lent majesty, by and with the advice and con-sent of the lords spiritual and temporal, andcommons, in this present parliament assem-bled, and by the authority of the same, Thatfrom and after the twentieth day of July, onethousand seven and sixty seven, the dutynow payable upon logwood, exported fromthis kingdom to any parts beyond the seas,shall cease, determine, and be no longer paidor payable; any law, custom or usage, to thecontrary notwithstanding.

II. Provided always, and it is hereby furtherenacted by the authority aforesaid, That dueentries shall be made at the custom-house ofall such logwood, upon which the duty istaken off by this act; and such logwood shallbe shipped outwards in the presence of theproper officers of the customs appointed forthat purpose; and the exportation thereofshall be in British built ships or vessels, nav-igated according to law; and the said log-wood shall be liable to the same duty as ifthis act had never been made; any thingherein before contained to the contrarynotwithstanding.

III. And whereas Succus Liquoritiae is ratedin the book of rates made in the twelfth yearof the reign of King Charles the Second,atone shilling per pound weight; according towhich value, the duties now payable uponSuccus Liquoritiae, imported into this king-dom, amount to seven pounds, two shillings,and six pence, for every hundred weightthereof: and whereas it has been found, byexperience, that the said duties are too high;which has induced many persons to importclandestinely great quantities of such SuccusLiquoritiae, to the prejudice of the revenueand the fair trader : For remedy whereof, beit enacted by the authority aforesaid, Thatfrom and after the twentieth day of July, onethousand seven hundred and sixty seven, theseveral duties payable upon the importationof Succus Liquoritiae shall cease, determine,and be no longer paid; and in lieu thereof,there shall be paid and payable to hisMajesty, his heirs, and successors, for everyhundred weight avoirdupois of SuccusLiquoritiae, which from and after the saidtwentieth day of July, one thousand sevenhundred and sixty seven, shall be importedinto Great Britain, the sum of thirtyshillings.



IV. And it is hereby further enacted by theauthority aforesaid, That the said duty bythis act granted shall be paid down in readymoney, without any discount or allowance;and shall not be afterwards drawn back orrepaid upon the exportation of the samegoods; and shall be raised, levied, collected,and paid, in the same manner and form, andby such rules, ways, and means, and undersuch penalties and forfeitures, as the dutiesupon Succus Liquoritiae hereby determined,or any of them, might have been raised,levied, recovered, and paid, if the same, orany of them, had continued.

V. And it is hereby enacted by the authorityaforesaid, That the duties to arise upon theimportation of Succus Liquoritiae pursuantto this act (the necessary charges of man-agement excepted) shall be appropriated andapplied, as near as may be, to the same usesand purposes as the present duties upondrugs, rated by the book of rates made in thetwelfth year of the reign of King Charles theSecond, are applicable, or ought to be applied.

VI . And whereas by an act passed in thetenth year of the reign of her late majestyQueen Anne, intituled, An act for laying sev-eral duties upon all sope and paper made inGreat Britain, or imported into the same; andupon chequered and striped linen imported;and upon certain silks, callicoes, linens, andstuffs, printed, painted, or stained; and uponseveral kinds of stampt vellum, parchment,and paper, and upon certain printed papers,pamphlets, and advertisements; for raisingthe sum of one million eight hundred thou-sand pounds, by way of a lottery, towards herMajesty’s supply; and for licensing an addi-tional number of hackney chairs; and forcharging certain stocks of cards and dice;and for better securing her Majesty’s duties

to arise in the office of stamp duties bylicences for marriages, and otherwise; andfor relief of persons who have not claimedtheir lottery tickets in due time, or have lostexchequer bills or lottery tickets; and forborrowing money upon stock (part of thecapital of the South Sea company) for theuse of the public; it is, amongst other things,enacted, that there should be raised, levied,collected, and paid, to and for the use of herMajesty her heirs, and successors, for andupon all silks, calicoes, linens, and stuffs, ofwhat kind soever, which, at any time ortimes, within or during the term of thirtytwo years, to be reckoned from the twentiethday of July, one thousand seven hundred andtwelve, should be printed, stained, painted, ordyed, in Great Britain (such calicoes, linens,and fustians, as should be dyed throughoutof one colour only; and stuffs made ofwoollen, or whereof the greatest part invalue should be woollen; always excepted)the several and respective rates and dutiesherein after expressed (over and above theduties payable upon the importation ofthem, or any of them) that is to say,

For and upon all silks so printed, stained, orpainted, in Great Britain (silk handkerchiefsexcepted) the sum of six pence for everyyard in length, reckoning half a yard for thebreadth.

And for all silk handkerchiefs so printed,stained, or painted, in Great Britain, the sumof three pence for every yard square; and inthose proportions for wider or narrowersilks.

And whereas by an act passed in the thirdyear of the reign of his late majesty KingGeorge the First, intituled, And act forredeeming the duties and revenues which




were settled to pay off principal and intereston the orders made forth at four lottery actspassed in the ninth and tenth years of herlate Majesty’s reign; and for redeeming cer-tain annuities payable on orders out of thehereditary excise, according to a former actin that behalf; and for establishing a generalyearly fund, not only for the future paymentof annuities at several rates, to be payableand transferrable at the bank of England,and redeemable by parliament, but also toraise monies for such proprietors of the saidorders as shall choose to be paid their prin-cipal and arrears of interest in ready money;and for making good such other deficienciesand payments as in this act are mentioned;and for taking off the duties on linseedimported, and British linen exported; the saidseveral rates and duties are made perpetual:And whereas by an act of parliament madein the twelfth year of the reign of her saidlate majesty Queen Anne, intituled, An actfor laying additional duties on sope andpaper; and upon certain linens, silks, calli-coes, and stuffs; and upon starch, and export-ed coals; and upon stampt vellum, parch-ment, and paper, for raising one million fourhundred thousand pounds, by way of a lot-tery, for her Majesty’s supply; and forallowances on exporting made wares ofleather, sheep skins, and lamb skins; and fordistribution of four thousand pounds due tothe officers and seamen for gun money; andto adjust the property of tickets in formerlotteries; and touching certain shares ofstock in the capital of the South Sea compa-ny; and for appropriating the monies grant-ed to her Majesty; it is, amongst other things,enacted, That there should be raised, levied,collected, and paid, to and for the use of herMajesty, her heirs, and successors, for andupon all silks, callicoes, linens, and stuffs, ofwhat kind soever, which, at any time or

times within or during the term of thirtytwo years, to be reckoned from the secondday of August, one thousand seven hundredand fourteen, should be printed, stained,painted, or dyed, in Great Britain (such calli-coes, linens, and fustians, as shall be dyedthroughout of one colour only; and stuffsmade of woollen, or whereof the greatestparts in value shall be woollen; alwaysexcepted) the several and respective ratesand duties therein and herein afterexpressed (over and above all other dutiespayable for the same, or any of them) that isto say,

For and upon all silks so printed, stained, orpainted, within or during the term aforesaid,in Great Britain (silk handkerchiefs except-ed) the sum of six pence for every yard inlength, reckoning half a yard for the breadth.

And for all silk handkerchiefs so printed,stained, or painted, within or during theterm aforesaid, in Great Britain, the sum ofone penny for every yard square; and inthose proportions for wider or narrowersilks.

And whereas by an act of parliament madein the sixth year of the reign of his said latemajesty King George the First, intituled, Anact for enabling the South Sea company toencrease their present capital and fund, byredeeming such publick debts and andincumbrances as are therein mentioned; andfor raising money, to be applied for lesseningseveral of the publick debts and incum-brances; and for calling in the present exche-quer bills remaining uncancelled; and formaking forth new bills in lieu thereof, to becirculated and exchanged upon demand at ornear the exchequer; the said several ratesand duties last mentioned are made perpetu-



al: And whereas some doubts have arisen,whether ribbands and silks so printed,stained, or painted, being less than half ayard in breadth, are within the meaning ofthe said recited acts, and liable to the saidseveral rates and duties by the said actsimposed : Now, for obviating all such doubts,be it declared by the authority aforesaid,That all ribbands and silks printed, stained,or painted, in Great Britain, though less thanhalf a yard in breadth, are, within the trueintent and meaning of the said acts, liable tothe several rates and duties by the said twofirst mentioned acts imposed, according tothe proportions in which such ribbands orsilks are or shall be made. VII. And whereas by an act made in this pre-sent session of parliament, intituled, An actfor allowing the free importation of rice,sago powder, and vermicelli, into this king-dom, from his Majesty’s colonies in NorthAmerica, for a limited time, it is, amongstother things, enacted, That it shall and maybe lawful for any person or persons toimport into Great Britain, from any of hisMajesty’s colonies in North America, at anytime or times before the first day ofDecember, one thousand seven hundred andsixty seven, any rice, without the payment ofany subsidy, custom, duty, or impositionwhatsoever : Now, to the end the advantageintended to this kingdom, by the said recitedact, may not be evaded by the exportation ofsuch rice into foreign parts; we yourMajesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects thecommons of Great Britain, in parliamentassembled, do give and grant unto yourMajesty, and do humbly beseech your Majestythat it may be enacted; and be it enacted bythe authority aforesaid, That for and uponall rice which hath been or shall be, import-ed into this kingdom duty-free, by virtue ofthe said recited act, and which shall be again

exported thereout, there shall be paid andanswered to his Majesty, his heirs, and suc-cessors, a subsidy of poundage of six pence inthe pound, according to the value or rate setupon rice imported, in the book of ratesreferred to by the act of the twelfth year ofKing Charles the Second; which said subsidyof six pence in the pound upon such rice soexported, shall be raised, levied, collected,and recovered, by such ways and means, andunder such rules, regulations, penalties, andforfeitures, as the subsidy or poundage forany goods or merchandizes exported fromGreat Britain may be raised, levied, collected,or recovered, by any act of parliament nowin force, as fully and effectually, to allintents and purposes, as if the several claus-es, powers, directions, penalties, and forfei-tures, relating thereto, were particularlyrepeated and again enacted into the body ofthis present act.

VIII. And be it further enacted by the author-ity aforesaid, That the said duties granted bythis act upon rice exported shall (the neces-sary charges of management excepted) bepaid into the receipt of his Majesty’s exche-quer, and be there reserved for the disposi-tion of parliament.

IX. And whereas the permitting foreign lacemade of silk or thread and foreign needle-work, to be worn or used in Great Britain,after the same had been seized and con-demned, gives the unfair dealer in thosecommodities, opportunity to secure fromseizures great quantities thereof, which areclandestinely imported : Now to prevent apractice so very prejudicial to the publickrevenue, and the manufacturers of suchgoods in this kingdom; be it therefore enact-ed by the authority aforesaid, That from andafter the seventh day of July, one thousand



seven hundred and sixty seven, no foreignlace made of silk or thread, or foreign nee-dle-work, which shall have been, or shall be,seized and condemned in Great Britain, forany cause of forfeiture, shall be sold or deliv-ered out of any custom-house warehousewherein the same shall be secured, otherwisethan on condition to be exported under thelike securities, regulations, and restrictions,penalties, and forfeitures, as are prescribedby law, for the due exportation of East Indiagoods prohibited to be worn or used in GreatBritain; any law, custom, or usage to the con-trary notwithstanding.

X. And be it further enacted by the authori-ty aforesaid, That if any action or suit shallbe commenced against any person or persons

for any thing done in pursuance of this act,the defendant or defendants, in any suchaction or suit, may plead the general issue,and give this act, and the special matter, inevidence, at any trial to be had thereupon;and that the same was done in pursuanceand by the authority of this act; and if itshall appear so to have been done, the juryshall find for the defendant or defendants;and if the plaintiff shall be nonsuited, or dis-continue his action after the defendant ordefendants shall have appeared; or if judge-ment shall be given upon any verdict ordemurrer against the plaintiff; the defendantor defendants shall recover treble costs, andhave the like remedy for the same, as anydefendant or defendants hath or have inother cases by law.


SQUALLS BEFORE WARChapter Two—The Articles of War

1. All commanders, captains, and officers,in or belonging to any of His Majesty’s shipsor vessels of war, shall cause the public wor-ship of Almighty God, according to the litur-gy of the Church of England established bylaw, to be solemnly, orderly and reverentlyperformed in their respective ships; and shalltake care that prayers and preaching, by thechaplains in holy orders of the respectiveships, be performed diligently; and that theLord’s day be observed according to law.

2. All flag officers, and all persons in orbelonging to His Majesty’s ships or vessels ofwar, being guilty of profane oaths, cursings,execrations, drunkenness, uncleanness, orother scandalous actions, in derogation ofGod’s honour, and corruption of good man-ners, shall incur such punishment as a courtmartial shall think fit to impose, and as thenature and degree of their offence shalldeserve.

3. If any officer, mariner, soldier, or otherperson of the fleet, shall give, hold, or enter-tain intelligence to or with any enemy orrebel, without leave from the king’s majesty,or the lord high admiral, or the commission-ers for executing the office of lord highadmiral, commander in chief, or his com-manding officer, every such person sooffending, and being thereof convicted bythe sentence of a court martial, shall be pun-ished with death.

4. If any letter of message from anyenemy or rebel, be conveyed to any officer,mariner, or soldier or other in the fleet, andthe said officer, mariner, or soldier, or otheras aforesaid, shall not, within twelve hours,having opportunity so to do, acquaint hissuperior or a commanding officer, or if anysuperior officer being acquainted therewith,shall not in convenient time reveal the sameto the commander in chief of the squadron,

every such person so offending, and beingconvicted thereof by the sentence of thecourt martial, shall be punished with death,or such other punishment as the nature anddegree of the offense shall deserve, and thecourt martial shall impose.

5. All spies, and all persons whatsoever,who shall come, or be found, in the nature ofspies, to bring or deliver any seducing lettersor messages from any enemy or rebel, orendeavor to corrupt any captain, officer,mariner, or other in the fleet, to betray histrust, being convicted of any such offense bythe sentence of the court martial, shall bepunished with death, or such other punish-ment, as the nature and degree of theoffence shall deserve, and the court martialshall impose.

6. No person in the fleet shall receive anenemy or rebel with money, victuals, powder,shot, arms, ammunition, or any other sup-plies whatsoever, directly or indirectly, uponpain of death, or such other punishment asthe court martial shall think fit to impose,and as the nature and degree of the crimeshall deserve.

7. All the papers, charter parties, bills oflading, passports, and other writings whatso-ever, that shall be taken, seized, or foundaboard any ship or ships which shall be sur-prized or taken as prize, shall be duly pre-served, and the very originals shall by thecommanding officer of the ship which shalltake such prize, be sent entirely, and withoutfraud, to the court of the admiralty, or suchother court of commissioners, as shall beauthorized to determine whether such prizebe lawful capture, there to be viewed, madeuse of, and proceeded upon according to law,upon pain that every person offending here-in, shall forfeit and lose his share of the cap-ture, and shall suffer such further punish-


of by the sentence of a court martial, shallsuffer death.

11. Every person in the fleet, who shall notduly observe the orders of the admiral, flagofficer, commander of any squadron or divi-sion, or other his superior officer, for assail-ing, joining battle with, or making defenseagainst any fleet, squadron, or ship, or shallnot obey the orders of his superior officer asaforesaid in the time of action, to the best ofhis power, or shall not use all possibleendeavours to put the same effectually intoexecution, every person so offending, andbeing convicted thereof by the sentence ofthe court martial, shall suffer death, or suchother punishment, as from the nature anddegree of the offence a court martial shalldeem him to deserve.

12. Every person in the fleet, who throughcowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shallin time of action withdraw or keep back, ornot come into the fight or engagement, orshall not do his utmost to take or destroyevery ship which it shall be his duty toengage, and to assist and relieve all and everyof His Majesty’s ships, or those of his allies,which it shall be his duty to assist andrelieve, every such person so offending, andbeing convicted thereof by the sentence of acourt martial, shall suffer death.

13. Every person in the fleet, who thoughcowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shallforbear to pursue the chase of any enemy,pirate or rebel, beaten or flying; or shall notrelieve or assist a known friend in view tothe utmost of his power; being convicted ofany such offense by the sentence of a courtmartial, shall suffer death.

14. If when action, or any service shall becommanded, any person in the fleet shallpresume or to delay or discourage the saidaction or service, upon pretence of arrears ofwages, or upon any pretence whatsoever,

ment, as the nature and degree of his offenseshall be found to deserve, and the court mar-tial shall impose.

8. No person in or belonging to the fleetshall take out of any prize, or ship seized forprize, any money, plate, or goods, unless itshall be necessary for the better securingthereof, or for the necessary use and serviceof any of His Majesty’s ships or vessels ofwar, before the same be adjudged lawfulprize in some admiralty court; but the fulland entire account of the whole, withoutembezzlement, shall be brought in, andjudgement passed entirely upon the wholewithout fraud, upon pain that every personoffending hemin shall forfeit and lose hisshare of the capture, and suffer such furtherpunishment as shall be imposed by a courtmartial, or such court of admiralty, accordingto the nature and degree of the offense.

9. If any ship or vessel be taken as prize,none of the officers, mariners, or other per-sons on board her, shall be stripped of theirclothes, or in any sort pillaged, beaten, orevil-intreated, upon the pain that the personor persons so offending, shall be liable tosuch punishment as a court martial shallthink fit to inflict.

10. Every flag officer, captain and com-mander in the fleet, who, upon signal ororder of fight, or sight of any ship or shipswhich it may be his duty to engage, or who,upon likelihood of engagement, shall notmake the necessary preparations for fight,and shall not in his own person, and accord-ing to his place, encourage the inferior offi-cers and men to fight courageously, shall suf-fer death, or such other punishment, as fromthe nature and degree of the offence a courtmartial shall deem him to deserve; and if anyperson in the fleet shall treacherously orcowardly yield or cry for quarter, every per-son so offending, and being convicted there-



either diverting to other parts or occasions,or refusing or neglecting to fight in theirdefence, if they be assailed, or running awaycowardly, and submitting the ships in theirconvoy to peril and hazard; or shall demandor exact any money or other reward fromany merchant or master for convoying anyships or vessels entrusted to their care, orshall misuse the masters or mariners thereof;shall be condemned to make reparation ofthe damage to the merchants, owners, andothers, as the court of admiralty shalladjudge, and also be punished criminallyaccording to the quality of their offences, beit by pains of death, or other punishment,according as shall be adjudged fit by thecourt martial.

18. If any captain, commander, or otherofficer of any of His Majesty’s ships or ves-sels, shall receive on board, or permit to bereceived on board such ship or vessel, anygoods or merchandizes whatsoever, otherthan for the sole use of the ship or vessel,except gold, silver, or jewels, and except thegoods and merchandizes belonging to anymerchant, or other ship or vessel which maybe shipwrecked, or in imminent danger ofbeing shipwrecked, either on the high seas,or in any port, creek, or harbour, in order tothe preserving them for their proper owners,and except such goods or merchandizes as heshall at any time be ordered to take orreceive on board by order of the lord highadmiral of Great Britain, or the commission-ers for executing the office of lord highadmiral for the time being; every person sooffending, being convicted thereof by thesentence of the court martial shall becashiered, and be for ever afterwards ren-dered incapable to serve in any place oroffice in the naval service of His Majesty, hisheirs and successors.

19. If any person in or belonging to the

every person so offending, being convictedthereof by the sentence of the court martial,shall suffer death, or such other punishment,as from the nature and degree of the offensea court martial shall deem him to deserve.

15. Every person in or belonging to thefleet, who shall desert to the enemy, pirate,or rebel, or run away with any of HisMajesty’s ships or vessels of war, or any ord-nance, ammunition, stores, or provisionbelonging thereto, to the weakening of theservice, or yield up the same cowardly ortreacherously to the enemy, pirate, or rebel,being convicted of any such offence by thesentence of the court martial, shall sufferdeath.

16. Every person in or belonging to thefleet, who shall desert or entice others so todo, shall suffer death, or such other punish-ment as the circumstances of the offenseshall deserve, and a court martial shall judgefit: and if any commanding officer of any ofHis Majesty’s ships or vessels of war shallreceive or entertain a deserter from anyother of His Majesty’s ships or vessels, afterdiscovering him to be such deserter, and shallnot with all convenient speed give notice tothe captain of the ship or vessel to whichsuch deserter belongs; or if the said ships orvessels are at any considerable distance fromeach other, to the secretary of the admiralty,or to the commander in chief; every personso offending, and being convicted thereof bythe sentence of the court martial, shall becashiered.

17. The officers and seamen of all shipsappointed for convoy and guard of merchantships, or of any other, shall diligently attendupon that charge, without delay, accordingto their instructions in that behalf; andwhosoever shall be faulty therein, and shallnot faithfully perform their duty, and defendthe ships and goods in their convoy, without



such or other pretence, shall attempt to stirup any disturbance, upon pain of such pun-ishment, as a court martial shall think fit toinflict, according to the degree of theoffence.

22. If any officer, mariner, soldier orother person in the fleet, shall strike any ofhis superior officers, or draw, or offer todraw, or lift up any weapon against him,being in the execution of his office, on anypretence whatsoever, every such personbeing convicted of any such offense, by thesentence of a court martial, shall sufferdeath; and if any officer, mariner, soldier orother person in the fleet, shall presume toquarrel with any of his superior officers,being in the execution of his office, or shalldisobey any lawful command of any of hissuperior officers; every such person beingconvicted of any such offence, by the sen-tence of a court martial, shall suffer death,or such other punishment, as shall, accord-ing to the nature and degree of his offence,be inflicted upon him by the sentence of acourt martial.

23. If any person in the fleet shall quarrelor fight with any other person in the fleet,or use reproachful or provoking speeches orgestures, tending to make any quarrel or dis-turbance, he shall, upon being convictedthereof, suffer such punishment as theoffence shall deserve, and a court martialshall impose.

24. There shall be no wasteful expence ofany powder, shot, ammunition, or otherstores in the fleet, nor any embezzlementthereof, but the stores and provisions shallbe careful preserved , upon pain of such pun-ishment to be inflicted upon the offenders,abettors, buyers and receivers (being personssubject to naval discipline) as shall be by acourt martial found just in that behalf.

25. Every person in the fleet, who shall

fleet shall make or endeavor to make anymutinous assembly upon any pretence what-soever, every person offending herein, andbeing convicted thereof by the sentence ofthe court martial, shall suffer death: and ifany person in or belonging to the fleet shallutter any words of sedition or mutiny, heshall suffer death, or such other punishmentas a court martial shall deem him to deserve:and if any officer, mariner, or soldier on orbelonging to the fleet, shall behave himselfwith contempt to his superior officer, beingin the execution of his office, he shall bepunished according to the nature of hisoffence by the judgement of a court martial.

20. If any person in the fleet shall concealany traiterous or mutinous practice ordesign, being convicted thereof by the sen-tence of a court martial, he shall sufferdeath, or any other punishment as a courtmartial shall think fit; and if any person, inor belonging to the fleet, shall conceal anytraiterous or mutinous words spoken by any,to the prejudice of His Majesty or govern-ment, or any words, practice, or design, tend-ing to the hindrance of the service, and shallnot forthwith reveal the same to the com-manding officer, or being present at anymutiny or sedition, shall not use his utmostendeavours to suppress the same, he shall bepunished as a court martial shall think hedeserves.

21. If any person in the fleet shall findcause of complaint of the unwholesomenessof the victual, or upon other just ground, heshall quietly make the same known to hissuperior, or captain, or commander in chief,as the occasion may deserve, that such pre-sent remedy may be had as the matter mayrequire; and the said superior, captain, orcommander in chief, shall, as far as he isable, cause the same to be presently reme-died; and no person in the fleet, upon any



cashiered, and rendered incapable of furtheremployment in His Majesty’s naval service.

32. No provost martial belonging to thefleet shall refuse to apprehend any criminal,whom he shall be authorized by legal war-rant to apprehend, or to receive or keep anyprisoner committed to his charge, or wilful-ly suffer him to escape, being once in his cus-tody, or dismiss him without lawful order,upon pain of such punishment as a courtmartial shall deem him fit to deserve; and allcaptains, officers, and others in the fleet,shall do their endeavour to detect, appre-hend, and bring to punishment all offenders,and shall assist the officers appointed forthat purpose therein, upon pain of being pro-ceeded against, and punished by a court mar-tial, according to the nature and degree ofthe offence.

33. If any flag officer, captain, or com-mander, or lieutenant belonging to the fleet,shall be convicted before a court martial ofbehaving in a scandalous, infamous, cruel,oppressive, or fraudulent manner, unbecom-ing the character of an officer, he shall bedismissed from His Majesty’s service.

34. Every person being in actual serviceand full pay, and part of the crew in orbelonging to any of His Majesty’s ships or ves-sels of war, who shall be guilty of mutiny,desertion, or disobedience to any lawfulcommand, in any part of His Majesty’sdominions on shore, when in actual servicerelative to the fleet, shall be liable to be triedby a court martial, and suffer the like pun-ishment for every such offence, as if thesame had been committed at sea on boardany of His Majesty’s ships or vessels of war.

35. If any person who shall be in the actu-al service and full pay of His Majesty’ shipsand vessels of war, shall commit upon theshore, in any place or places out of HisMajesty’s dominions, any of the crimes pun-

unlawfully burn or set fire to any magazineor store of powder, or ship, boat, ketch, hoyor vessel, or tackle or furniture thereuntobelonging, not then appertaining to anenemy, pirate, or rebel, being convicted ofany such offence, by the sentence of a courtmartial, shall suffer death.

26. Care shall be taken in the conductingand steering of any of His Majesty’s ships,that through wilfulness, negligence, or otherdefaults, no ship be stranded, or run uponany rocks or sands, or split or hazarded, uponpain, that such as shall be found guiltytherein, be punished by death, or such otherpunishment, as the offence by a court mar-tial shall be judged to deserve.

27. No person in or belonging to the fleetshall sleep upon his watch, or negligentlyperform the duty imposed on him, or forsakehis station, upon pain of death, or such otherpunishment as a court martial shall think fitto impose, and as the circumstances of thecase shall require.

28. All murders committed by any personin the fleet, shall be punished with death bythe sentence of a court martial.

29. If any person in the fleet shall committhe unnatural and detestable sin of buggeryand sodomy with man or beast, he shall bepunished with death by the sentence of acourt martial.

30. All robbery committed by any personin the fleet, shall be punished with death, orotherwise, as a court martial, upon consider-ation of the circumstances, shall find meet.

31. Every officer or other person in thefleet, who shall knowingly make or sign afalse muster or muster book, or who shallcommand, counsel, or procure the making orsigning thereof, or who shall aid or abet anyother person in the making or signing there-of, shall, upon proof of any such offencebeing made before a court martial, be



36. All other crimes not capital committedby any person or persons in the fleet, whichare not mentioned in this act, or for whichno punishment is hereby directed to beinflicted, shall be punished by the laws andcustoms in such cases used at sea.

ishable by these articles and orders, the per-son so offending shall be liable to be triedand punished for the same, in like manner, toall intents and purposes, as if the samecrimes had been committed at sea, on boardany of His Majesty’s ships or vessels of war.



THE METHOD OF GRACEJEREMIAH 6:14 — “THEY HAVE HEALED ALSO THE HURT OF THE

DAUGHTER OF MY PEOPLE SLIGHTLY, SAYING, PEACE, PEACE, WHEN

THERE IS NO PEACE.

As God can send a nation or people nogreater blessing than to give them faithful,sincere, and upright ministers, so the greatestcurse that God can possibly send upon a peo-ple in this world, is to give them over toblind, unregenerate, carnal, lukewarm, andunskilled guides. And yet, in all ages, we findthat there have been many wolves in sheep’sclothing, many that daubed with untem-pered mortar, that prophesied smootherthings than God did allow. As it was former-ly, so it is now; there are many that corruptthe Word of God and deal deceitfully with it.It was so in a special manner in the prophet

Jeremiah’s time; and he, faithful to his Lord,faithful to that God who employed him, didnot fail from time to time to open his mouthagainst them, and to bear a noble testimonyto the honor of that God in whose name hefrom time to time spake. If you will read thisprophecy, you will find that none spake moreagainst such ministers than Jeremiah, andhere especially in the chapter out of whichthe text is taken, he speaks very severelyagainst them—he charges them with severalcrimes; particularly, he charges them withcovetousness: ‘For,’ says he in the 13th verse,‘from the least of them even to the greatestof them, every one is given to covetousness;and from the prophet even unto the priest,every one dealeth false.’ And then, in thewords of the text, in a more special manner,he exemplifies how they had dealt falsely,

SQUALLS BEFORE WARChapter Eight—Whitefield’s Sermon



how they had behaved treacherously to poorsouls: says he, ‘They have healed also thehurt of the daughter of my people slightly,saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.’The prophet, in the name of God, had beendenouncing war against the people, he hadbeen telling them that their house should beleft desolate, and that the Lord would cer-tainly visit the land with war. ‘Therefore,’says he, in the 11th verse, ‘I am full of thefury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in;I will pour it out upon the children abroad,and upon the assembly of young men togeth-er; for even the husband with the wife shallbe taken, the aged with him that is full ofdays. And their houses shall be turned untoothers, with their fields and wives together;for I will stretch out my hand upon theinhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.’ Theprophet gives a thundering message, thatthey might be terrified and have some con-victions and inclinations to repent; but itseems that the false prophets, the falsepriests, went about stifling people’s convic-tions, and when they were hurt or a littleterrified, they were for daubing over thewound, telling them that Jeremiah was butan enthusiastic preacher, that there could beno such thing as war among them, and say-ing to people, Peace, peace, be still, when theprophet told them there was no peace. Thewords, then, refer primarily unto outwardthings, but I verily believe have also a fur-ther reference to the soul, and are to bereferred to those false teachers, who, whenpeople were under conviction of sin, whenpeople were beginning to look towards heav-en, were for stifling their convictions andtelling them they were good enough before.And, indeed, people generally love to have itso; our hearts are exceedingly deceitful, anddesperately wicked; none but the eternal Godknows how treacherous they are. How many

of us cry, Peace, peace, to our souls, whenthere is no peace! How many are there whoare now settled upon their lees, that nowthink they are Christians, that now flatterthemselves that they have an interest inJesus Christ; whereas if we come to examinetheir experiences, we shall find that theirpeace is but a peace of the devil’s making—itis not a peace of God’s giving—it is not apeace that passeth human understanding. Itis matter, therefore, of great importance, mydear hearers, to know whether we mayspeak peace to our hearts. We are all desirousof peace; peace is an unspeakable blessing;how can we live without peace? And, there-fore, people from time to time must betaught how far they must go, and what mustbe wrought in them, before they can speakpeace to their hearts. This is what I design atpresent, that I may deliver my soul, that Imay be free from the blood of those towhom I preach—that I may not fail todeclare the whole counsel of God. I shall,from the words of the text, endeavor to showyou what you must undergo, and what mustbe wrought in you before you can speakpeace to your hearts.

But before I come directly to this, give meleave to premise a caution or two. And thefirst is, that I take it for granted you believereligion to be an inward thing; you believe itto be a work in the heart, a work wrought inthe soul by the power of the Spirit of God. Ifyou do not believe this, you do not believeyour Bibles. If you do not believe this, thoughyou have got your Bibles in your hand, youhate the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart; forreligion is everywhere represented inScripture as the work of God in the heart.‘The kingdom of God is within us,’ says ourLord; and, ‘He is not a Christian who is oneoutwardly; but he is a Christian who is oneinwardly.’ If any of you place religion in out-



ward things, I shall not perhaps please youthis morning; you will understand me nomore when I speak of the work of God upona poor sinner’s heart, than if I were talkingin an unknown tongue. I would furtherpremise a caution, that I would by no meansconfine God to one way of acting. I would byno means say, that all persons, before theycome to have a settled peace in their hearts,are obliged to undergo the same degrees ofconviction. No; God has various ways ofbringing his children home; his sacred Spiritbloweth when, and where, and how it listeth.But, however, I will venture to affirm this,that before ever you can speak peace to yourheart, whether by shorter or longer continu-ance of your convictions, whether in a morepungent or in a more gentle way, you mustundergo what I shall hereafter lay down inthe following discourse.

First, then, before you can speak peace toyour hearts, you must be made to see, madeto feel, made to weep over, made to bewail,your actual transgressions against the law ofGod. According to the covenant of works,‘The soul that sinneth it shall die;’ cursed isthat man, be he what he may, that contin-ueth not in all things that are written in thebook of the law to do them. We are not onlyto do some things, but we are to do all things,and we are to continue so to do; so that theleast deviation from the moral law, accord-ing to the covenant of works, whether inthought, word, or deed, deserves eternaldeath at the hand of God. And if one evilthought, if one evil word, if one evil action,deserves eternal damnation, how many hells,my friends, do every one of us deserve,whose whole lives have been one continuedrebellion against God! Before ever, therefore,you can speak peace to your hearts, you mustbe brought to see, brought to believe, what adreadful thing it is to depart from the living

God. And now, my dear friends, examine yourhearts, for I hope you came hither with adesign to have your souls made better. Giveme leave to ask you, in the presence of God,whether you know the time, and if you donot know exactly the time, do you knowthere was a time, when God wrote bitterthings against you, when the arrows of theAlmighty were within you? Was ever theremembrance of your sins grievous to you?Was the burden of your sins intolerable toyour thoughts? Did you ever see that God’swrath might justly fall upon you, on accountof your actual transgressions against God?Were you ever in all your life sorry for yoursins? Could you ever say, My sins are goneover my head as a burden too heavy for meto bear? Did you ever experience any suchthing as this? Did ever any such thing as thispass between God and your soul? If not, forJesus Christ’s sake, do not call yourselvesChristians; you may speak peace to yourhearts, but there is no peace. May the Lordawaken you, may the Lord convert you, maythe Lord give you peace, if it be his will,before you go home!

But further: you may be convinced of youractual sins, so as to be made to tremble, andyet you may be strangers to Jesus Christ, youmay have no true work of grace upon yourhearts. Before ever, therefore, you can speakpeace to your hearts, conviction must godeeper; you must not only be convinced ofyour actual transgressions against the law ofGod, but likewise of the foundation of allyour transgressions. And what is that? I meanoriginal sin, that original corruption each ofus brings into the world with us, which ren-ders us liable to God’s wrath and damnation.There are many poor souls that think them-selves fine reasoners, yet they pretend to saythere is no such thing as original sin; theywill charge God with injustice in imputing



Adam’s sin to us; although we have got themark of the beast and of the devil upon us,yet they tell us we are not born in sin. Letthem look abroad into the world and see thedisorders in it, and think, if they can, if thisis the paradise in which God did put man.No! everything in the world is out of order. Ihave often thought, when I was abroad, thatif there were no other argument to proveoriginal sin, the rising of wolves and tigersagainst man, nay, the barking of a dogagainst us, is a proof of original sin. Tigersand lions durst not rise against us, if it werenot for Adam’s first sin; for when the crea-tures rise up against us, it is as much as tosay, You have sinned against God, and wetake up our Master’s quarrel. If we lookinwardly, we shall see enough of lusts, andman’s temper contrary to the temper of God.There is pride, malice, and revenge, in all ourhearts; and this temper cannot come fromGod; it comes from our first parent, Adam,who, after he fell from God, fell out of Godinto the devil. However, therefore, some peo-ple may deny this, yet when convictioncomes, all carnal reasonings are battereddown immediately and the poor soul beginsto feel and see the fountain from which allthe polluted streams do flow. When the sin-ner is first awakened, he begins to wonder—How came I to be so wicked? The Spirit ofGod then strikes in, and shows that he has nogood thing in him by nature; then he seesthat he is altogether gone out of the way,that he is altogether become abominable,and the poor creature is made to live downat the foot of the throne of God, and toacknowledge that God would be just to damnhim, just to cut him off, though he never hadcommitted one actual sin in his life. Did youever feel and experience this, any of you—tojustify God in your damnation—to own thatyou are by nature children of wrath, and

that God may justly cut you off, though younever actually had offended him in all yourlife? If you were ever truly convicted, if yourhearts were ever truly cut, if self were trulytaken out of you, you would be made to seeand feel this. And if you have never felt theweight of original sin, do not call yourselvesChristians. I am verily persuaded original sinis the greatest burden of a true convert; thisever grieves the regenerate soul, the sancti-fied soul. The indwelling of sin in the heartis the burden of a converted person; it is theburden of a true Christian. He continuallycries out, “O! who will deliver me from thisbody of death,’ this indwelling corruption inmy heart? This is that which disturbs a poorsoul most. And, therefore, if you never feltthis inward corruption, if you never saw thatGod might justly curse you for it, indeed, mydear friends, you may speak peace to yourhearts, but I fear, nay, I know, there is no truepeace.

Further: before you can speak peace toyour hearts, you must not only be troubledfor the sins of your life, the sin of yournature, but likewise for the sins of your bestduties and performances. When a poor soul issomewhat awakened by the terrors of theLord, then the poor creature, being bornunder the covenant of works, flies directly toa covenant of works again. And as Adam andEve hid themselves among the trees of thegarden, and sewed fig leaves together tocover their nakedness, so the poor sinner,when awakened, flies to his duties and to hisperformances, to hide himself from God, andgoes to patch up a righteousness of his own.Says he, I will be mighty good now—I willreform—I will do all I can; and then certain-ly Jesus Christ will have mercy on me. Butbefore you can speak peace to your heart,you must be brought to see that God maydamn you for the best prayer you ever put



up; you must be brought to see that all yourduties—all your righteousness—as theprophet elegantly expresses it—put them alltogether, are so far from recommending youto God, are so far from being any motive andinducement to God to have mercy on yourpoor soul, that he will see them to be filthyrags, a menstruous cloth—that God hatesthem, and cannot away with them, if youbring them to him in order to recommendyou to his favor. My dear friends, what isthere in our performances to recommend usunto God? Our persons are in an unjustifiedstate by nature, we deserve to be damned tenthousand times over; and what must our per-formances be? We can do no good thing bynature: ‘They that are in the flesh cannotplease God.’ You may do many things materi-ally good, but you cannot do a thing formal-ly and rightly good; because nature cannotact above itself. It is impossible that a manwho is unconverted can act for the glory ofGod; he cannot do anything in faith, and‘whatsoever is not of faith is sin.’ After weare renewed, yet we are renewed but in part,indwelling sin continues in us, there is amixture of corruption in every one of ourduties; so that after we are converted, wereJesus Christ only to accept us according toour works, our works would damn us, for wecannot pt up a prayer but it is far from thatperfection which the moral law requireth. Ido not know what you may think, but I cansay that I cannot pray but I sin—I cannotpreach to you or any others but I sin—I cando nothing without sin; and, as one expres-seth it, my repentance wants to be repentedof, and my tears to be washed in the preciousblood of my dear Redeemer. Our best dutiesare as so many splendid sins. Before you canspeak peace in your heart, you must not onlybe made sick of your original and actual sin,but you must be made sick of your right-

eousness, of all your duties and perfor-mances. There must be a deep convictionbefore you can be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idol taken out ofour heart. The pride of our heart will not letus submit to the righteousness of JesusChrist. But if you never felt that you had orighteousness of your own, if you never feltthe deficiency of your own righteousness,you cannot come to Jesus Christ. There are agreat many now who may say, Well, webelieve all this; but there is a great differencebetwixt talking and feeling. Did you ever feelthe want of a dear Redeemer? Did you everfeel the want of Jesus Christ, upon theaccount of the deficiency of your own right-eousness? And can you now say from yourheart, Lord, thou mayst justly damn me forthe best duties that ever I did perform? If youare not thus brought out of self, you mayspeak peace to yourselves, but yet there is nopeace.

But then, before you can speak peace toyour souls, there is one particular sin youmust be greatly troubled for, and yet I fearthere are few of you think what it is; it is thereigning, the damning sin of the Christianworld, and yet the Christian world seldom ornever think of it. And pray what is that? Itis what most of you think you are not guiltyof—and that is, the sin of unbelief. Beforeyou can speak peace to your heart, you mustbe troubled for the unbelief of you heart.But, can it be supposed that any of you areunbelievers here in this church-yard, thatare born in Scotland, in a reformed country,that go to church every Sabbath? Can any ofyou that receive the sacrament once a year—O that it were administered oftener! — can itbe supposed that you who had tokens for thesacrament, that you who keep up familyprayer, that any of you do not believe in theLord Jesus Christ? I appeal to your own



hearts, if you would not think me uncharita-ble, if I doubted whether any of you believedin Christ; and yet, I fear upon examination,we should find that most of you have not somuch faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as thedevil himself. I am persuaded the devilbelieves more of the Bible than most of usdo. He believes the divinity of Jesus Christ;that is more than many who call themselvesChristians do; nay, he believes and trembles,and that is more than thousands amongst usdo. My friends, we mistake a historical faithfor a true faith, wrought in the heart by theSpirit of God. You fancy you believe, becauseyou believe there is such a book as we callthe Bible—because you go to church; all thisyou may do, and have no true faith in Christ.Merely to believe there was such a person asChrist, merely to believe there is a bookcalled the Bible, will do you no good, morethan to believe there was such a man aCaesar or Alexander the Great. The Bible is asacred depository. What thanks have we togive to God for these lively oracles! But yetwe may have these, and not believe in theLord Jesus Christ. My dear friends, there mustbe a principle wrought in the heart by theSpirit of the living God. Did I ask you howlong it is since you believed in Jesus Christ, Isuppose most of you would tell me, youbelieved in Jesus Christ as long as ever youremember—you never did misbelieve. Then,you could not give me a better proof that younever yet believed in Jesus Christ, unless youwere sanctified early, as from the womb; for,they that otherwise believer in Christ knowthere was a time when they did not believein Jesus Christ. You say you love God with allyour heart, soul, and strength. If I were toask you how long it is since you loved God,you would say, As long as you can remember;you never hated God, you know no timewhen there was enmity in your heart against

God. Then, unless you were sanctified veryearly, you never loved God in your life. Mydear friends, I am more particular in this,because it is a most deceitful delusion,whereby so many people are carried away,that they believe already. Therefore, it isremarked of Mr. Marshall, giving account ofhis experiences, that he had been workingfor life, and he had ranged all his sins underthe ten commandments, and then coming toa minister, asked him the reason why hecould not get peace. The minister looked athis catalogue, Away, says he, I do not find oneword of the sin of unbelief in all your cata-logue. It is the peculiar work of the Spirit ofGod to convince us of our unbelief—that wehave got no faith. Says Jesus Christ, ‘I willsend the Comforter; and when he is come, hewill reprove the world’ of the sin of unbelief;‘of sin,’ says Christ, ‘because they believe noton me.’ Now, my dear friends, did God evershow you that you had no faith? Were youever made to bewail a hard heart of unbe-lief? Was it ever the language of your heart,Lord, give me faith; Lord, enable me to layhold on thee; Lord, enable me to call thee MYLord and MY God? Did Jesus Christ ever con-vince you in this manner? Did he ever con-vince you of your inability to close withChrist, and make you to cry out to God togive you faith? If not, do not speak peace toyour heart. May the Lord awaken you, andgive you true, solid peace before you gohence and be no more!

Once more then: before you can speakpeace to your heart, you must not only beconvinced of your actual and original sin,the sins of your own righteousness, the sin ofunbelief, but you must be enabled to lay holdupon the perfect righteousness, the all-suffi-cient righteousness, of the Lord Jesus Christ;you must lay hold by faith on the righteous-ness of Jesus Christ, and then you shall have


peace. ‘Come,’ says Jesus, ‘unto me, all ye thatare weary and heavy laden, and I will giveyou rest.’ This speaks encouragement to allthat are weary and heavy laden; but thepromise of rest is made to them only upontheir coming and believing, and taking himto be their God and their all. Before we canever have peace with God, we must be justi-fied by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ,we must be enabled to apply Christ to ourhearts, we must have Christ brought home toour souls, so as his righteousness may bemade our righteousness, so as his merits maybe imputed to our souls. My dear friends,were you ever married to Jesus Christ? DidJesus Christ ever give himself to you? Did youever close with Christ by a lively faith, so asto feel Christ in your hearts, so as to hearhim speaking peace to your souls? Did peaceever flow in upon your hearts like a river?Did you ever feel that peace that Christ spoketo his disciples? I pray God he may come andspeak peace to you. These things you mustexperience. I am not talking of the invisiblerealities of another world, of inward reli-gion, of the work of God upon a poor sinner’sheart. I am not talking of a matte of greatimportance, my dear hearers; you are all con-cerned in it, your souls are concerned in it,your eternal salvation is concerned in it. Youmay be all at peace, but perhaps the devilhas lulled you asleep into a carnal lethargyand security, and will endeavor to keep youthere, till he get you to hell, and there youwill be awakened; but it will be dreadful tobe awakened and find yourselves so fearful-ly mistaken, when the great gulf is fixed,when you will be calling to all eternity for adrop of water to cool your tongue, and shallnot obtain it.

Give me leave, then, to address myself toseveral sorts of persons; and O may God, ofhis infinite mercy, bless the application!

There are some of you perhaps can say,Through grace we can go along with you.Blessed be God, we have been convinced ofour actual sins, we have been convinced oforiginal sin, we have been convinced of self-righteousness, we have felt the bitterness ofunbelief, and through grace we have closedwith Jesus Christ; we can speak peace to ourhearts, because God hath spoken peace to us.Can you say so? Then I will salute you, as theangels did the women the first day of theweek, All hail! Fear not ye, my dear brethren,you are happy souls; you may lie down andbe at peace indeed, for God hath given youpeace; you may be content under all the dis-pensations of providence, for nothing canhappen to you now, but what shall be theeffect of God’s love to your soul; you neednot fear what sightings may be without, see-ing there is peace within. Have you closedwith Christ? Is God your friend? Is Christyour friend? Then, look up with comfort; allis yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ isGod’s. Everything shall work together foryour good; the very hairs of your head arenumbered; he that toucheth you, toucheththe apple of God’s eye. But then, my dearfriends, beware of resting on your first con-version. You that are young believers inChrist, you should be looking out for freshdiscoveries of the Lord Jesus Christ everymoment; you must not build upon your pastexperiences, you must not build upon a workwithin you, but always come out of your-selves to the righteousness of Jesus Christwithout you; you must be always coming aspoor sinners to draw water out of the wellsof salvation; you must be forgetting thethings that are behind, and be continuallypressing forward to the things that arebefore. My dear friends, you must keep u atender, close walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.There are many of us who lose our peace by




our untender walk; something or other getsin betwixt Christ and us, and we fall intodarkness; something or other steals ourhearts from God, and this grieves the HolyGhost, and the Holy Ghost leaves us to our-selves. Let me, therefore, exhort you thathave got peace with God, to take care thatyou do not lose this peace. It is true, if youare once in Christ, you cannot finally fallfrom God: ‘There is no condemnation to themthat are in Christ Jesus;’ but if you cannotfall finally, you may fall foully, and may gowith broken bones all your days. Take care ofbackslidings; for Jesus Christ’s sake, do notgrieve the Holy Ghost—you may never recov-er your comfort while you live. O take careof going a gadding and wandering from God,after you have closed with Jesus Christ. Mydear friends, I have paid dear for backsliding.Our hearts are so cursedly wicked, that ifyou take not care, if you do not keep up aconstant watch, your wicked hearts willdeceive you, and draw you aside. It will besad to be under the scourge of a correctingFather; witness the visitation of Job, David,and other saints in Scripture. Let me, there-fore, exhort you that have got peace to keepa close walk with Christ. I am grieved withthe loose walk of those that are Christians,that have had discoveries of Jesus Christ;there is so little difference betwixt them andother people, that I scarce know which is thetrue Christian. Christians are afraid to speakof God—they run down with the stream; ifthey come into worldly company, they willtalk of the world as if they were in their ele-ment; this you would not do when you hadthe first discoveries of Christ’s love; youcould talk then of Christ’s love for ever,when the candle of the Lord shined uponyour soul. That time has been when you hadsomething to say for your dear Lord; but nowyou can go into company and hear others

speaking about the world bold enough, andyou are afraid of being laughed at if youspeak for Jesus Christ. A great many peoplehave grown conformists now in the worstsense of the word; they will cry out againstthe ceremonies of the church, as they mayjustly do; but then you are mighty fond ofceremonies in your behavior; you will con-form to the world, which is a great dealworse. Many will stay till the devil bring upnew fashions. Take care, then, not to be con-formed to the world. What have Christians todo with the world? Christians should be sin-gularly good, bold for their Lord, that allwho are with you may take notice that youhave been with Jesus. I would exhort you tocome to a settlement in Jesus Christ, so as tohave a continual abiding of God in yourheart. We go a-building on our faith ofadherence, and lost our comfort; but weshould be growing up to a faith of assurance,to know that we are God’s, and so walk inthe comfort of the Holy Ghost and be edified.Jesus Christ is now much wounded in thehouse of his friends. Excuse me in being par-ticular; for, my friends, it grieves me morethat Jesus Christ should be wounded by hisfriends than by his enemies. We cannotexpect anything else from Deists; but forsuch as have felt his power, to fall away, forthem not to walk agreeably to the vocationwherewith they are called—by these meanswe bring our Lord’s religion into contempt, tobe a byword among the heathen. For Christ’ssake, if you know Christ keep close by him; ifGod have spoken peace, O keep that peace bylooking up to Jesus Christ every moment.Such as have got peace with God, if you areunder trials, fear not, all things shall workfor your good; if you are under temptations,fear not, if he has spoken peace to yourhearts, all these things shall be for your good.

But what shall I say to you that have got



o peace with God? — and these are, perhaps,the most of this congregation: it makes meweep to think of it. Most of you, if you exam-ine your hearts, must confess that God neveryet spoke peace to you; you are children ofthe devil, if Christ is not in you, if God hasnot spoken peace to your heart. Poor soul!What a cursed condition are you in. I wouldnot be in your case for ten thousand, thou-sand worlds. Why? You are just hanging overhell. What peace can you have when God isyour enemy, when the wrath of God is abid-ing upon your poor soul? Awake, then, youthat are sleeping in a false peace, awake, yecarnal professors, ye hypocrites that go tochurch, receive the sacrament, read yourBibles, and never felt the power of God uponyour hearts; you that are formal professors,you that are baptized heathens; awake,awake, and do not rest on a false bottom.Blame me not for addressing myself to you;indeed, it is out of love to your souls. I seeyou are lingering in your Sodom, and wanti-ng to stay there; but I come to you as theangel did to Lot, to take you by the hand.Come away, my dear brethren—fly, fly, flyfor your lives to Jesus Christ, fly to a bleed-ing God, fly to a throne of grace; and beg ofGod to break your hearts, beg of God to con-vince you of your actual sins, beg of God toconvince you of your original sin, beg of Godto convince you of your self-righteousness—beg of God to give you faith, and to enableyou to close with Jesus Christ. O you that aresecure, I must be a son of thunder to you, andO that God may awaken you, though it bewith thunder; it is out of love, indeed, that Ispeak to you. I know by sad experience whatit is to be lulled asleep with a false peace;long was I lulled asleep, long did I thinkmyself a Christian, when I knew nothing ofthe Lord Jesus Christ. I went perhaps fartherthan many of you do; I used to fast twice a-

week, I used to pray sometimes none times a-day, I used to receive the sacrament con-stantly every Lord’s-day; and yet I knewnothing of Jesus Christ in my heart, I knewnot that I must be a new creature—I knewnothing of inward religion in my soul. Andperhaps, many of you may be deceived as I,poor creature, was; and, therefore, it is out oflove to you indeed, that I speak to you. O ifyou do not take care, a form of religion willdestroy your soul; you will rest in it, and willnot come to Jesus Christ at all; whereas, thesethings are only the means, and not the endof religion; Christ is the end of the law forrighteousness to all that believe. O, then,awake, you that are settled on your lees;awake you Church professors; awake youthat have got a name to live, that are richand think you want nothing, not consideringthat you are poor, and blind, and naked; Icounsel you to come and buy of Jesus Christgold, white raiment, and eye-salve. But I hopethere are some that are a little wounded; Ihope God does not intend to let me preach invain; I hope God will reach some of your pre-cious souls, and awaken some of you out ofyour carnal security; I hope there are somewho are willing to come to Christ, and begin-ning to think that they have been buildingupon a false foundation. Perhaps the devilmay strike in, and bid you despair of mercy;but fear not, what I have been speaking toyou is only out of love to you—is only toawaken you, and let you see your danger. Ifany of you are willing to be reconciled toGod, God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, iswilling to be reconciled to you. O then,though you have no peace as yet, come awayto Jesus Christ; he is our peace, he is ourpeace-maker—he has made peace betwixtGod and offending man. Would you havepeace with God? Away, then, to God throughJesus Christ, who has purchased peace; the



Lord Jesus has shed his heart’s blood for this.He died for this; he rose again for this; heascended into the highest heaven, and is nowinterceding at the right hand of God. Perhapsyou think there will be no peace for you.Why so? Because you are sinners? Becauseyou have crucified Christ—you have put himto open shame—you have trampled underfoot the blood of the Son of God? What of allthis? Yet there is peace for you. Pray, whatdid Jesus Christ say of his disciples, when hecame to them the first day of the week? Thefirst word he said was, ‘Peace be unto you;’ heshowed them his hands and his side, andsaid, ‘Peace be unto you.’ It is as much as ifhe had said, Fear not, my disciples; see myhands and my feet how they have beenpierced for your sake; therefore fear not. Howdid Chris speak to his disciples? ‘Go tell mybrethren, and tell broken-hearted Peter inparticular, that Christ is risen, that he isascended unto his Father and your Father, tohis God and your God.’ And after Christ rosefrom the dead, he came preaching peace,with an olive branch of peace, like Noah’sdove; ‘My peace I leave with you.’ Who werethey? They were enemies of Christ as well aswe, they were deniers of Christ once as wellas we. Perhaps some of you have backsliddenand lost your peace, and you think youdeserve no peace; and no more you do. But,then, God will heal your backslidings, he willlove you freely. As for you that are wounded,if you are made willing to come to Christ,come away. Perhaps some of you want todress yourselves in your duties, that are butrotten rags. No, you had better come naked asyou are, for you must throw aside your rags,and come in your blood. Some of you maysay, We would come, but we have got a hardheart. But you will never get it made soft tillye come to Christ; he will take away theheart of stone, and give you an heart of

flesh; he will speak peace to your souls;though ye have betrayed him, yet he will beyour peace. Shall I prevail upon any of youthis morning to come to Jesus Christ? Thereis a great multitude of souls here; how short-ly must you all die, and go to judgment! Evenbefore night, or to-morrow’s night, some ofyou may be laid out for this kirk-yard. Andhow will you do if you be not at peace withGod—if the Lord Jesus Christ has not spokenpeace to your heart? If God speak not peaceto you here, you will be damned for ever. Imust not flatter you, my dear friends; I willdeal sincerely with your souls. Some of youmay think I carry things too far. But, indeed,when you come to judgment, you will findwhat I say is true, either to your eternaldamnation or comfort. May God influenceyour hearts to come to him! I am not willingto go away without persuading you. I cannotbe persuaded but God may make use of me asa means of persuading some of you to cometo the Lord Jesus Christ. O did you but feelthe peace which they have that love theLord Jesus Christ! ‘Great peace have they,’ saythe psalmist, ‘that love they law; nothingshall offend them.’ But there is no peace tothe wicked. I know what it is to live a life ofsin; I was obliged to sin in order to stifle con-viction. And I am sure this is the way manyof you take; If you get into company, youdrive off conviction. But you had better go tothe bottom at once; it must be done—yourwound must be searched, or you must bedamned. If it were a matter of indifference,I would not speak one word about it. But youwill be damned without Christ. He is theway, he is the truth, and the life. I cannotthink you should go to hell without Christ.How can you dwell with everlasting burn-ings? How can you abide the thought of liv-ing with the devil for ever? Is it not better tohave some soul-trouble here, than to be sent



to hell by Jesus Christ hereafter? What ishell, but to be absent from Christ? If therewere no other hell, that would be hellenough. It will be hell to be tormented withthe devil for ever. Get acquaintance withGod, then, and be at peace. I beseech you, asa poor worthless ambassador of Jesus Christ,that you would be reconciled to God. Mybusiness this morning, the first day of theweek, is to tell you that Christ is willing tobe reconciled to you. Will any of you be rec-onciled to Jesus Christ? Then, he will forgiveyou all your sins, he will blot out all yourtransgressions. But if you will go on andrebel against Christ, and stab him daily—ifyou will go on and abuse Jesus Christ, thewrath of God you must expect will fall uponyou. God will not be mocked; that which aman soweth, that shall he also reap. And ifyou will not be at peace with God, God willnot be at peace with you. Who can standbefore God when he is angry? It is a dreadfulthing to fall into the hands of an angry God.When the people came to apprehend Christ,they fell to the ground when Jesus said, ‘I amhe.’ And if they could not bear the sight ofChrist when clothed with the rags of mor-tality, how will they hear the sight of himwhen he is on his Father’s throne? MethinksI see the poor wretches dragged out of theirgraves by the devil; methinks I see themtrembling, crying out to the hills and rocksto cover them. But the devil will say, Come, Iwill take you away; and then they shall

stand trembling before the judgment-seat ofChrist. They shall appear before him to seehim once, and hear him pronounce thatirrevocable sentence, ‘Depart from me, yecursed.’ Methinks I hear the poor creaturessaying, Lord, if we must be damned, let someangel pronounce the sentence. No, the God oflove, Jesus Christ, will pronounce it. Will yenot believe this? Do not think I am talking atrandom, but agreeably to the Scriptures oftruth. If you do not, then show yourselvesmen, and this morning go away with full res-olution, in the strength of God, to cleave toChrist. And may you have no rest in yoursouls till you rest in Jesus Christ! I could stillgo on, for it is sweet to talk of Christ. Do younot long for the time when you shall havenew bodies—when they shall be immortal,and made like Christ’s glorious body? Andthen they will talk of Jesus Christ for ever-more. But it is time, perhaps, for you to goand prepare for your respective worship, andI would not hinder any of you. My design is,to bring poor sinners to Jesus Christ. O thatGod may bring some of you to himself! Maythe Lord Jesus now dismiss you with hisblessing, and may the dear Redeemer con-vince you that are unawakened, and turn thewicked from the evil of their way! And maythe love of God, that passeth all understand-ing, fill your hearts. Grant this, O Father, forChrist’s sake; to whom, with thee and theblessed Spirit, be all honor and glory, nowand for evermore. Amen.

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