sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan." It was very proper, therefore, for an inspired writer to make honourable mention of one, who taught men to dwell in tents, and of another, who instructed artificers how to work in brass and iron. How think you, my brethren, when God shall judge the world, and the two men shall stand before him, one the Tubal Cain, who taught men to work iron, and the other, king Jeroboam, who taught Israel to sin; which of these two men will appear most respectable in the eyes of the Judge, and of all mankind? For my part, I look upon the smith in a parish, as a disciple of Tubal Cain, and I respect him, because he contributes to your ease in the field; to your pleasure, when you travel; to your safety by locks and bolts at home; and to your defence in case of danger; and what I say of him, I affirm of every one, who hath contributed in former times, or who doth contribute now, to render life easy and agreeable: and when I observe, that others have been labouring for almost six thousand years, in their several occupations, for us, and that we are entered into their labours, that one soweth and another reapeth, and that we reap that whereon we bestowed no labour; I cannot help exclaiming with the text, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage !" Our condition resembles that of the Israelites, and God hath placed us in a land, "to give us great and goodly cities, which we builded not; houses full of all good things, which we filled not; wells, which we digged not; and gardens, and orchards, and trees, which we planted not." Observe, my brethren, what the man of God added to all this," Then beware lest thou forget the Lord;" beware, lest you be ignorant of your first benefactor, the instructer of all artists among mankind, and ungrateful to him, who "created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work;" who "instructed the plowman to open and break the clods of his ground," to harrow and roll, and make smooth the face thereof, to cast wheat in the principal place, or in the strongest soil, and rye and barley in

soils appointed for them; who gave man discretion to beat out vetches with a staff, and to thresh cummin with a rod, to bruise bread-corn, and so to prepare nourishment for himself, and his family, and his neighbours. All these "come from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working ;" and all these demand of us a tribute of gratitude and praise. Every time, therefore, that you take a receipt, or write a date, or hear the sound of One thousand seven hundred and sixty, or eighty, remember the text, and think, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant times, yea, I have a goodly heritage."

Consider next the country which you inhabit. Could you rise so high as to see all the kingdoms of the earth roll under your eye; could you survey them all as easily as you can a terrier of your lands, you would feel a disposition to prefer this in which you dwell, and of your being born in which you may truly say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us; but unto thy name we give glory." I say nothing of those burning countries, where the heaven over head is brass, and the earth under the feet iron; where the sun rises more like a strong man to destroy, than like a "bridegroom coming out of his chamber" to make men rejoice: nothing of those frozen countries, where God "sealeth up the hand of every man," and where he "reserves treasures of snow and hail against the day of battle:" nothing of those dreadful countries, where whirlwinds and earthquakes, and thunder, and lightning, and hurricanes, destroy all the hope of man; where the God of glory thundereth so as to break the cedars, to shake the wilderness, to make huge mountains skip like calves, to force the hinds to calve, and to strip whole districts bare of every green thing: nothing of those countries, where fevers, inflammations, extreme burning, and diseases peculiar to the situation, kill the wretched inhabitants: so we read of" the botch of Egypt." I say nothing of these; for which of these do we desire? Nor will I detain you to observe the natural advantages of our country, which is the first in the world: an island guarded by the ocean, and open to all its treasures, with docks and

harbours to our utmost wishes: a land productive of corn, herbs, grass, timber, and fruits: a country watered with the dews and the rains of heaven, feeding innumerable springs and wells, and navigable rivers a land, out of whose hills you may dig brass, iron, stone, marble, coals, clay, marles, and innumerable articles of daily use a land that maintains cattle, fowls, flocks, dairies, hives, and a thousand other classes, labouring for the inhabitants. I will not enlarge on these advantages, nor will I at present speak of the improved state of husbandry, building, trade, learning, and the other ornaments of our country.

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Let me, however, be allowed to observe what more immediately concerns you all; that is, the civil liberty we enjoy. The life of the meanest of you all is so guarded by the law, that in the heat of the day, after you have mowed half an acre of grass, you may lie down and refresh yourself by sleep at the end of the swathes; and should any daring hand take away your life, your blood would be required of the murderer by the hand of the magistrate. What God formerly said of the patriarchs, the law of England saith of every one you; yea more, of every limb of every one of you: "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." Your property, little or much, is equally guarded by law. No master can "keep back the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down his fields;" nor can any man deprive you of what you have, without your consent. You may lay it up, or lay it out; you may give it to others, or spend it on yourself; you are the absolute lord of your little all. I love to see the plowman leave his coat at the land's end, and the gleaner trust her gleans, her bread, and her bottle, on a balk; and I always conceive of the law, as a wall of fire round about them. The law saith, in effect, he that toucheth you; he that toucheth your garden-stuff, your fruit, your cattle, your poultry, your linen on the hedge, any thing that is yours, "toucheth the apple of mine eye." Your freedom, too, is fully established, except in one single case, which regards the settlements of the poor; and that case hath been taken up by a humane gentleman

in this country, and I hope in due time will be attended to. Except that, your freedom is fully established. You may live where you please, go and come when you please, and do what you please, provided you injure no other person. You need never want a day's work if you be well, nor the necessaries of life if you be sick. In other countries the life of a subject is at the will of his lord property in some countries they have none, the poor are property themselves, the slaves and beasts of the gentry, who buy and sell them with their estates. There are subjects on which no conversation may be allowed, and there is nothing but one general slavery; like Egypt, the whole country is resembled to a large jail, a house of bondage, in which the chains of some are of iron, and those of others are of gold; but all are in slavery, and have no deliverer to set them free. Oh happy people of this country! your "garners afford all manner of store; your sheep" (they are your own, remember) "bring forth thousands, and may bring forth ten thousands in your streets; your oxen may be strong. er to labour" than those of others: you may be, on account of your advantages, an object of envy, but you cannot be subject to plunder; for there is no violent "breaking in, no complaining in your streets! Happy is that people that is in such a case! The lines are fallen unto them in pleasant places; yea, they have a goodly heritage." Whenever you hear the sound of these words, parish-rates ... constable . . . justice of peace... assizes... law. . . liberty property.. life... recollect the text, and remember your happiness; for "touching the bone and the flesh" often makes a man "curse God to his face. Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath, will he give for his life."

If this article ought to affect other men, it ought much more to stir up thankfulness in husbandmen. Almost all the property of a farmer lies abroad: your cattle are abroad night and day; the corn of last harvest lies abroad in stacks; the hay and fodder for the winter lie abroad; your firing lies abroad; the wheat of next year is abroad, and the tender blade is exposed to danger; yet all these in this country lie safely. It is not

so in some other countries now; it was not so with Job formerly. Job was at home sacrificing to God, his ten children were feasting at their eldest brother's house, when, lo, a messenger came, and said "the Sabeans fell upon the oxen and asses, and took them away; and they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword:" another came and said, "the Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away." And thus the greatest of all the men of the East was in one day reduced to a state of extreme poverty; and all that his friends could do was to try to comfort him under his losses. It is more desirable not to be exposed to such sufferings, than to have friends to comfort us under them.

Consider further the religion of this country. Though we are not all christians, yet there are many societies of true Christians among us; and we are in a country where nothing but our own obstinacy can prevent our being Christians ourselves. To be a Christian, it is necessary there should be a Christ, a person appointed to redeem us from ignorance, guilt, and inaction. There is such a person; we know where he was born, how he lived, what he taught, how he was put to death, whither he is gone, what is to be done in his absence, when he will come again, how he will reckon with all mankind, and give up the kingdom to his Father. It is necessary we should have full proof of the truth of all this; and such is the connexion which the wisdom of God hath established between prophecy and promise, that every travelling Jew is himself a living witness to establish the truth of our holy religion.

To be a Christian, it is necessary to have the holy Scriptures you have them in you own mother tongue, so cheap that any body may buy the book, and so plain that the meanest creature may understand it. If any one be so extremely poor, that he cannot purchase a bible, the charity of other Christians will bestow it for nothing and if any one cannot read it himself, other Christians will read it to him. How often have I had the honor of doing this for some of you! We had in our congregation a poor, aged widow, who could neither