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my people their transgressions, and the "house of Jacob their sins: yet they pretend

"to seek me daily, and to delight to know

my ways, as a nation that did righteous66 ness, and hath not forsaken the ordinance "of their God. They continually enquire "of me, concerning the ordinances of righte"ousness; they take delight to draw nigh "unto God. Wherefore have we fasted, " and thou seest not? Have we afflicted "our souls, and thou dost not regard? Be"hold (rejoins the Almighty), in the day of

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your fasting ye enjoy your pleasure, and "all your demands of labour ye rigorously "exact. Behold ye fast for strife and con"tention, and to smite with the fist the 66 poor. Wherefore fast ye unto me in this 66 manner, to make your voice to be heard on "high? Is such then the fast which I choose, "that a man should afflict his soul for a day? "Is it that he should bow down his head like "a bulrush,

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a bulrush, and spread sackcloth and ashes ❝ for his bed? Shall this be called a fast, "and a day acceptable to Jehovah? Is not "this the fast I choose-to dissolve the bands "of wickedness, to unloose the oppressive "burdens, to deliver those that are crushed "by violence, and that ye should break "asunder every yoke? Is it not to distri"bute bread to the hungry, and to bring the "wandering poor into thine house; when "thou seest the naked, that thou clothe him, "and that thou hide not thyself from thine 66 own flesh?" Inspired and energetic language, to which all modern composition is but as sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal! From this expostulation it is evident, that a true fast consists in deeds of virtue, and in acts of mercy, to dissolve the bands of wickedness, to clothe the naked, and distribute bread to the hungry; without this, it is in vain to put on the exterior of religion, or to

assume

assume the mask of momentary dejection. To render ourselves truly acceptable to God, upon this, as upon all other occasions, we must be careful to maintain good works. "Yea a man may say (exclaims St. James), "thou hast faith, and I have works; shew 66 me thy faith without thy works, and I will "shew thee my faith by my works." The semblance of religion is of little worth, without the substance; or, in the all-wise language of the Son of God, which ought to be uppermost in every Christian mind, "Not

every one that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, "shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven,

but he that doeth the will of my Father, "who is in Heaven.

But whilst we are imploring the protection of God, to shield us from our enemies, and his divine assistance to lead us forth to victory, let us not forget at the same time to return him our unfeigned thanks for having placed

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placed us in such a situation, as to render us Whilst other

strangers to the horrors of war. nations are overwhelmed and swallowed up in the torrent of unbridled conquest; whilst the inhabitants of other countries are trodden under the foot of the licentious soldier, accustomed to pillage and to bloodshed, insulted, stripped of honour and subsistence, or fugitives from their native land; we feel, through the infinite mercy of God, no other than pecuniary inconvenience. To the valour, fortitude, the national energy, of this land of freedom, history bears the most honourable testimony; nor do we at present entertain a doubt, that all its ancient glory (under Providencc) will still be preserved. But what can the most desperate courage avail against numbers so superior? Had not the Almighty placed between us and our enemy, those almost insurmountable barriers, the occan, and our victorious fleets, who shall

say

say we might not, at this very moment, swell the enormous list of foreign conquests? To the gracious protection of that Omnipotent Being, we must recommend the continued safety of our national bulwark, and study, by every exercise of public as well as individual goodness, to deserve his favour. Further, let us pray for those who are now suffering under his afflicting hand, in other countries; that they may, ere long, enjoy the comforts of their native land, in the return of victory and peace. The present conqueror of Europe has (doubtless for reasons inscrutable to us) enjoyed an unexampled flood of prosperity; he has been allowed to swallow up and annihilate the kingdoms around him. Whatever we may think of him, we must not presume to call down fire from Heaven to stop his course, or dictate to the Divine Director of all Events, in his government of the world; let us remember, there is a future tribunal,

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