As good fubjects, whatever our present or future ftations may be in fociety, or in whatever territory of his majesty's dominions we may act our part on the ftage of life, let the principles of loyalty and liberty, let cheerful obedience to our king, and a disinterested love to our country, let that generous, virtue, public fpirit, infpire our hearts, and appear in all our conduct. Let us be fubject, not for wrath, but for confcience fake. Let our obedience be, not a fervile artifice to efcape punishment; not the mercenary cringing of ambition or avarice; not the fulfome affected complaifance of flattery; but the voluntary offering of an honeft and fincere heart. Let this always be an effential part of our virtue, our religion, and whatever we esteem moft facred.

To you, my dear pupils, the hope, the joy, and the ornament of your country; who, if the wifhes and expectations of your parents, your friends, your tutors, and the public, be accomplished, will yet make an important figure in life; to you I muft particularly addrefs myself on this melancholy occafion, with all the affectionate folicitude and earneftnefs of a father's heart; and while only my voice founds in your ears, imagine you hear the voice of your other tutors, of the trustees of this inftitution, of your country and your God, inculcating upon you the fame exhortation.

your

While I invite you to drop your filial tears over the facred duft of our common father, who has hitherto cherished your tender years, I cannot but congratulate you once more upon your being coevals with George the Third; and that you will date entrance upon public life fo near the time of his acceffion to the royal feat of his ancestors. he happy fubjects of George the Second will foon give place to you, and vifit their beloved king in the manfions of the dead. But long may your king and you live, and many happy days may you fee together.. A a a

VOL. III.

You

You have a king, who has already taught you how to live, and recommended piety and virtue to you from the throne. Let this therefore be your first care. This will qualify you for both worlds, and render you at once good fubjects to your earthly fovereign, and to his Mafter and yours in heaven. The Chriftian cannot but be a patriot. He, who loves all mankind, even his enemies, muft certainly love his country. The Chriftian cannot but be a good fubject. He who loves his neighbour as himfelf, muft certainly love his fovereign: and he who fears God, will not fail to honour the king.

Let every foul be subject to the higher powers. This, my dear youth, this is the great precept of chriftianity, which this day demands your attention. From this day cherifh a public fpirit, and dedicate yourfelves to the fervice of your king and country. Whatever character you may hereafter fuftain, you will not be fo infignificant as to be incapable of any fervice to your fovereign and fellow-fubjects. Whether the health, the liberty and property, or the fpiritual interefts of mankind, be the object of your future profeffion; whether you choose the peaceful vale of retirement, or the bufy scenes of active life, remember, you will ftill have connections with the throne. You are parts of that great community over which his majefty prefides: and the good of the whole, as well as the ease, honour and prosperity of his government, will in fome measure depend upon your performing your parts well. Civil fociety is fo complicated a fyftem, and concludes fo many remote, as well as intimate connections, references, and mutual dependencies, that the leaft irregularity or defect in the minuteft fpring, may diforder and weaken the whole machine. Therefore it becomes you to know your own importance to your king and country, that you may exert your influences in your refpective fpheres, to execute all his patriot defigns. Let your literary acquifitions, your fortunes, and even your

lives be facred to him, when his royal pleasure demands them for the fervice of your country. This you must do, or turn rebels against your own hearts and confciences. I well know you cannot be difaffected, or even useless fubjects from principle. Your education, both at home and in Naffau-Hall, has invincibly pre-engaged your inclination, your reafon, and your confcience, in favour of our incomparable conftitution, and the fucceffion in the Hanover-family of liberty, the Proteftant religion and George the Third, which are infeparably united. Therefore act up to your principles, practife according to your political creed, and then my moft benevolent wishes, nay, the highest wishes of your king and fellow-fubjects, will be amply accomplished in you. Then you will give the world an honorable and juft fpecimen of the morals and politics inculcated in the College of New-Jerfey; and convince them, that it is a feminary of loyalty, as well as learning and piety; a nurfery for the state, as well as the church. Such may it always continue! You all concur in your cordial Amen.

SERMON

LXI.

RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM THE CONSTITUENTS OF

A GOOD SOLDIER.

*

2 SAM. X. 12. Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: And the Lord do that which feemeth him good.

A

N hundred years of peace and liberty in fuch a world as this, is a very unusual thing; and yet our country has been the happy spot that has been diftin

* Preached to Captain Overton's Independent Company of VoJanteers, raifed in Hanover County, Virginia, August 17, 1755.

Serm. 61. diftinguished with fuch a long series of bleffings, with little or no interruption. Our fituation in the middle of the British Colonies, and our feparation from the French, those eternal enemies of liberty and Britons, on the one fide by the vast Atlantic; and on the other by a long ridge of mountains, and a wide extended wilderness, have for many years been a barrier to us; and while other nations have been involved in war, we have not been alarmed with the found of the trumpet, nor feen garments rolled in blood.

But now the scene is changed: now we begin to experience in our turn the fate of the nations of the earth. Our territories are invaded by the power and perfidy of France; our frontiers ravaged by merciless favages, and our fellow-fubjects there murdered with all the horrid arts of Indian and Popish torture. Our general, unfortunately brave, is fallen, an army of 1300 choice men routed, our fine train of artillery taken, and all this (oh mortifying thought!) all this by four or five hundred daftardly, infidious barbari

ans!

These calamities have not come upon us without warnings. We were long ago apprized of the ambitious schemes of our enemies, and their motions to carry them into execution: and had we taken timely measures, they might have been crushed before they could have arrived at fuch a formidable height. But how have we generally behaved in fuch a critical time? Alas! our country has been funk in a deep fleep: a ftupid fecurity has unmanned the inhabitants: they could not realize a danger at the distance of two or three hundred miles: they would not be perfuaded that even French Papifts could ferioufly defign us an injury: and hence little or nothing has been done for the defence of our country in time, except by the compulfion of authority. And now, when the cloud thickens over our heads, and alarms every thoughtful mind with its near approach, multitudes,

multitudes, I am afraid, are ftill diffolved in careless fecurity, or enervated with an effeminate, cowardly fpirit. When the melancholy news firft reached us concerning the fate of our army, then we faw how natural it is for the prefumptuous to fall into the oppofite extreme of unmanly defpondence and confternation; and how little men could do in fuch a panic for their own defence. We have alfo fuffered our poor fellow-fubjects in the frontier counties to fall a helpless prey to blood-thirfty favages, without affording them proper affiftance, which as members of the fame body politic they had a right to expect. They might as well have continued in a ftate of nature as be united in fociety, if in fuch an article of extreme danger they are left to fhift for themselves. The bloody barbarians have exercised on some of them the moft unnatural and leifurely tortures; and others they have butchered in their beds, or in fome. unguarded hour. Can human nature bear the horror of the fight! See yonder! the hairy fcalps clotted with gore! the mangled limbs! Women ripped up! the heart and bowels ftill palpitating with life, and smoking on the ground! See the favages fwilling their blood, and imbibing a more outrageous fury with the inhuman draught! Sure these are not men; they are not beafts of prey; they are fomething worse; they must be infernal furies in human shape. And have we tamely looked on, and fuffered them to exercise these hellifh barbarities upon our fellow-men, our fellow-fubjects, our brethren! Alas! with what horror must we look upon ourselves, as being little better than acceffaries to their blood!

And fhall these ravages go on unchecked? Shall Virginia incur the guilt, and the everlasting fhame of tamely exchanging her liberty, her religion, and her all, for arbitrary Gallic power, and for Popish flavery, tyranny, and maffacre? Alas! are there none of her children, that enjoyed all the bleffings of her peace, that will efpoufe her caufe, and befriend her

now