-juftice upon any legiflature. Laws that know NO MERCY are justly the deteftation of mankind.

How horrid, how impious is it to impute that con duct, that unequal conduct, to our heavenly Father, our gracious and moft merciful God, who is long fuffering and abundant in goodness and truth; who is loving unto every man, and whofe tender mercies are over all his works; who maketh his fun to fhine on the evil and the good, and fendeth rain on the just and on the unjuft, which if imputed to any human legiflator, would be confidered as a moft grievous offence!! Matt. v. 45. Ezek. xviii, 25. Pf. cxlv.

8, 9.

"That fervant which knew his Lord's will and did "it not, fhall be beaten with many ftripes," Luké xii. 47. and from hence you infer that the Jews are in a more DANGEROUS ftate than the Hottentots Hindoos, and other Heathen idolaters. Have you ability to form a juft judgment as to the obedience of the Jewish nation to the laws of JEHOVAH their God, as given to them by Mofes his fervant? Have you correct information upon this point? I do not think it is likely that a Chriftian poffeffes correct information upon this point; and be it how it may, I think that we Chriftians would be far better employed in looking nearer home; WE are exhorted in the fe words, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For ❝with what judgment ye judge, ye fhall be judged: "and with what measure ye mete, it shall be meafured to you again. And why beholdeft thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but confidereft

❝ not

"not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how "wilt thou fay to thy brother, Let me pull out the "mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in

thine own eye ?" Matt. vii. 1-4. WE have no need to feek employment in plucking up weeds which may poffibly grow in our neighbour's garden, there is work enough in our own. Our bleffed Lord hath faid unto us, "A new commandment I give "unto you, That ye love one another as I have ❝ loved you, that ye alfo love one another. By this "fhall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye "have love one to another." John xiii. 34, 35. We hope, and we truft that we have good reafon for hoping, that we are not wholly devoid of this spirit of love. We hope that it is increafing among us, and that it is removing that difpofition to debate and contention which formerly unhappily prevailed among

We hope that it hath proceeded from this principle, that fo many focieties and inftitutions have been formed in these lands, fupported by VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS, tending to relieve the fufferings of our fellow Chriftians. We hope that it hath proceeded from this principle, guided by the enlarged, the noble precepts given to us by our bleffed Lord, (Luke x. 30-37.) that we are disposed to acknow. ledge every individual of the human race, of every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, as OUR BRETHREN, and entitled to our kindness, our love, our affiftance, our respect, 1 Pet. ii. 17. But are there none but these beauteous plants in our garden; are there no poisonous weeds which furround

them;

them; are there no evidences of a contrary fpirit to be found where the Chriftian religion is profeffed; are wars evidence of the fpirit of love? Can we point to thofe nations profeffing the Chriftian religion as bearing this characteristic as nations? Have not dreadful wars, even from the time that Chriftianity became the established religion of the Roman empire, been waged by one nation profeffing Chriftianity against another nation profeffing Chriftianity; and is it not fo at this day? So far from nations profeffing Christianity being to be known as loving and peaceable nations, that there are those who profefs to be Christians who enlarge their defires as hell, and are as death that cannot be fatisfied: "He is a proud "man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his "defire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be fatis"fied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth "unto him all people: fhall not all thefe take up a "parable against him, and a taunting proverb against "him, and Say, Woe to him that increaseth that " which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth

himself with thick clay! Shall they not rife up "fuddenly that shall bite thee, and thou fhalt be for "booties unto them? Because thou haft fpoiled “many nations, all the remnant of the people shall "fpoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the "violence of the land, of the city, and of all that ❝dwell therein. Woe to him that coveteth an evil

covetoufnefs to his houfe, that he may fet his neft on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! Thou haft confulted fhame to thy house

"by

by cutting off many people, and haft finned against "thy foul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall,

and the beam out of the timber fhall answer it. "Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and "ftablisheth a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of "JEHOVAH OF HOSTS that the people fhall labour "in the very fire, and the people fhall weary them"felves for very vanity! For the earth fhall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of JEHOVAH, as "the waters cover the fea." Hab. ii. 5-14.

Wars and their attendant afflictions prove that nations profeffing the Chriftian religion are fuffering under the judgments of the Great Creator of heaven and earth, the God of Ifrael; for war is his judgment, whereby mankind are punished BY HIM: his four fore judgments are "the SWORD, and the FAMINE, "and the NOISOME BEAST, and the PESTILENCE," Ezek. xiv. 21. and when his judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world fhould learn righteoufnefs, Ifa. xxvi. 9. Under fuch circumstances it ill becomes us to DESPISE others; on the contrary, our wisdom will be found to confift in humi liation of foul, and in calling on the name of JноVAH for deliverance, Joel ii. 32.

You fpeak very highly of the British and Foreign Bible Society, but furely you are not fully aware of the principles upon which that excellent fociety is founded, or you would not reprefent the Jews to be in a worse flate than the Hottentots, Hindoos, and Heathen idolaters. The Jews not only poffefs the Books of Mofes, but all the Books of the Old Testa

ment;

ment; and furely the Bible Society would have juft caufe to rejoice if even the Book of Genefis were to be read by the Hindoos. Surely if you examine this matter you will perceive that it is a blefling, and an ineftimable bleffing too, that the Jews are in poffef fion of Holy Scripture, for they are thereby enabled to afcribe greatnefs unto JEHOVAH their God, who is the rock, all whofe works are perfect, and his ways judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, juft and right is he, Deut. xxxii. 4. This muft be a great comfort to them in their adverfity, inafmuch as thereby they are PROOF against that depreffion, the hard fpeeches which have been fabricated in the fchool in which you have been educated, would otherwise have a tendency to produce.

To thofe of the Jewifh nation who, reading their Bibles, are zealous for the glory of their God, and acknowledging that the ways of man are unequal, affert that the ways of the Great Creator of heaven and earth, JEHOVAH, God of Ifrael, their God, are juft and EQUAL (Ezek. xviii. 29.) to all his crea ́tures; thefe HARD SPEECHES will produce no uneafinefs as far as THEY are individually concerned; but not fo, as these HARD SPEECHES are really and actually HARD SPEECHES against their gracious God; accufing him whofe ways are EQUAL, as if his ways were actually unequal; accufing him who hath given the precious gift of reafon to man as if his ways were unreafonable; him who is good unto all, and whose tender mercies are over all his works, as if he were the very reverfe of all this: thus far thefe HARD

SPEECHES