is blest), and, as we this day witness, promoting, by their attendance in this sacred place, the education of the children. of the poor in the principles of our holy religion. In these works of mercy may they increase and abound yet more and more! May the severe, but necessary, duties of the magistracy be softened and adorned by the mild and delightful employments of Christian philanthropy. May private prayer and the reading of the Scriptures, in the family and in the closet, never be neglected through the press of official duties, or the burden of public business. May power and wealth and office ever be consecrated to the service of God, to the defence of religion against the sneers of the profane or the scorner, and to the honor of that Saviour who has declared, Whoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father and the holy angels, and before whose awful tribunal the rulers and judges of the world must themselves tender their solemn account, in that day when the judgment shall be set, when the books shall be opened, and when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God. With the realities of that day full in view, may you, my honored brethren, apply yourselves with all diligence to that task which has been assigned to you by God and by your country. Behold the appalling scenes which present themselves. in this great city and its environs! Behold the awful profanation of the Sabbath, the intemperance and impurity which abound! May you be enabled, through the grace of God, to fulfil the arduous and important duties of your office, and restrain, with the strong arm of the law, the daring impiety of such as will not be won over to rectitude by the mild and gentle accents of the Gospel. Thus will every friend of real religion and social order rejoice to perceive that our revered magistracy do not bear the sword in vain, but are the ministers of God to us for good. May this city ever maintain a high tone of Christian morals, and set a pattern to the nation at large, of every thing that is virtuous and lovely and of good report. May this Metropolis honor God, and be honored by Him. May her treasures, instead of being hoarded by avarice or wasted in luxury, be employed to the Divine glory, and to the temporal and eternal welfare of man. May holiness unto the Lord be imprinted on her merchandise and displayed in the lives of her citizens. May the children of the poor and the destitute be trained up in the fear of God, and in the principles of Christianity, and thus best guarded against the temptations which may assail them in future life, and prepared to discharge their several duties to their parents, to their superiors, to their sovereign, and to each other. Nor do I know of any means by which these important ends can be promoted and secured, unconnected with the doctrines of Scripture and the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ. For, if pious admonition be neglected, and the opinions of men be taught to the exclusion of the mysteries of redemption, we may train up atheists |