PHILADELPHIA
REFORMED;
OR ELSE
DESTROYED.



AN
ADDRESS
IN CHRISTIAN LOVE,
TO THE
Inhabitants of Philadelphia;
ON THE 
AWFUL DISPENSATION 
OF THE 
YELLOW FEVER,
In 1798.
By THADDEUS BROWN.
Before him went the Pestilence.
Habak. III. 5.
Knowing therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.
II. Cor. V. 110.
That the generation to come, might know.
Psalms. LXXVIII. 6.
Philadelphia:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY R. AITKEN,
No. 22, MARKET-STREET.
1798. 



PREFACE.
READER,
MANKIND, when addressed upon
interesting subjects, usually wish to know
something of the person, and his motives,
by whom they are addressed.
This necessary information, when
sufficiently obtained, generally removes
all grounds of deception and consequent
dissatisfaction.
In conformity to these sentiments,
the Author of the following Address,
informs the Reader, that, he has con-
stantly resided in the City, during the
calamity of 1793, 1797, and the pre-
sent year: and, has seen, felt, and suf-
fered much, therein ; which, from time
to time, has given rise to various obser-
vations and reflections, that are here
presented to public view.
The principal objects, of this publi-
cation, are neither fame, nor pecuniary
emoluments : subjects of far greater mag-
nitude and consequence ; the glory of
A3 God

[ vi ]
God—the reformation and salvation of
the inhabitants of this City—the good of
mankind—and, his own peace of mind
—have, as far as he knows his own
heart, been his leading motives.
In attempting a work of this kind, ma-
ny discouragements have arisen ; parti-
cularly a sense of unfitness and inability ;
but knowing the terrors of the Lord,
and feeling a woe from God denounced
against him, if he did not, in this way,
endeavour to persuade men to repent-
ance ; he has endeavoured to comply,
under a constraining sense of religious
duty ; desiring to commit its effects to
God, who is able to carry on his designs
in whatever, way he pleases ; and, does
frequently make use of weak, and ap-
parently very unlikely means; to answer
important and beneficial purposes.
Philadelphia, 11th mo.* (Nov.) 1, 1798.
* The author professes, unity, in religious sentiments, with
friends; though he is not, an acknowledged member of their
society.

AN ADDRESS, &c.
FEELING, as I apprehend, an ardent de-
sire for the promotion of the cause of truth and
righteousness in the earth; and viewing the present
dispensation--as,
First, A Judgment from God, Secondly, A
Judgment mixed with mercy. Thirdly, A Judg-
ment designed for the punishment of sin ; and the
reformation and benefit of mankind.-—And Fourth-
ly, As a Judgment, that, unless suitably attended
to, will probably be followed by more vindictive
tokens of divine displeasure.
I shall, in attending to this Judgment, under
this fourfold view, intreat you in the first place,
to view it as coming from God. Oh, the duty,
the indispensible duty of professed christians to
acknowledge God, not only in all their own, but
in all his ways.
In times of calamity, especially such as the
present, as well as in prosperity; the enemy of
all righteousness, is busy, very busy, not only
with the openly wicked and profane; but, also,
not unfrequently, with the more thoughtful and
conscientious; if possible, to bewilder and divert
their minds from the truth; thereby to deprive
God 

8
God of the glory, and mankind of the benefit, that
would other wise ensue. And no marvel the ene-
my is thus busy ! for of all the dispensations of
divine providence, perhaps, none has a more di-
rect tendency to bring the mind home to God.
than the present if rightly understood : but this
will be more fully considered in its proper
place.
Not only the grand adversary immediately,
but likewise worldly wisdom instrumentally, serves
to perplex and obscure divine truths, agreeably to
that scripture declaration " The world by wisdom
knew not God."* Neither does it by its own
wisdom clearly understand his operations, either
in away of Judgment or mercy.
The holy scriptures, in relating God's Judg-
ments upon Pharaoh, and the Egyptians, mention
the instrumentality of Moses and Aaron, and the
Rod of God, &c. in bringing and oftentimes in
removing most of the dispensations, excepting the
pestilence. In that, nothing of the instrumenta-
lity of Moses or Aaron appear to have been em-
ployed ; but the immediate Hand of God, or his
destroying angel, dealt the avenging, the irresisti-
ble blow. Some of the dispensations were attempt-
ed to be imitated and accounted for, by the
magicians, and other wise men of Egypt, by na-
tural causes. But the pestilence, or plague, was
a dispensation. The Egyptians, and even the
hard
* I Cor. i. 21.

9
hard hearted Pharaoh viewed as coming imme-
diately from God, and bowed before it as such,
and obeyed the Lord by letting his people depart,
according to his commands.*
The scriptures also in relating the plague that
was sent upon the Philistines for detaining the
ark of God, mention it, not only as sent by the
immediate Hand of God; but, as so viewed by
the Philistines themselves, at least by their priests
and diviners, when they advised them to give glory
to the God of Israel; and not to harden their
hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharoah had done.
And though it seems these priests and diviners,
afterwards, got into a doubting state, (like some
at the present day) concerning the great evil, that
happened unto them ; whether it was the Hand
of the Lord ? or something, that came upon them
by chance ? Yet God, in the course of his provi-
dence, caused their own predictions to be verified
in such a manner, as to prove beyond a doubt,
that his hand and not a blind chance directed
the plague that was upon the Philistines and
their lords ; for removing and obstructing the
institutions of his worship.†
David in scriptures stiled a man after God's
own heart viewed the pestilence as coming imme-
diately from the hand of God; for when famine,
war, and pestilence, were proposed unto him, for
his
* Exod. vii xii.
† I Samuel, v. vi: 

10
his selection or choice, he chose the pestilence in
preference to either of the other calamities, as he
viewed it under the more immediate agency and
direction of the most high.
And when the pestilence came, and David was
permitted to see the cause of the people's destructi-
on; nothing either from the air, or from any o-
ther of the long train of second causes seemed to
claim any share therein, but the angel of the Lord
appeared to be the immediate dispenser of death*.
So in the case of Sennacherib, King of Assy-
ria, who by his messenger, reproached the living
God; and by himself and his army threatened to
bring destruction upon Jerusalem: blasphemously
entertaining and expressing unbelief of God's pow-
er and sufficiency to deliver the people that trusted
in him:—The pestilence destroyed the army of this
blasphemous and unbelieving King.—By means of
second causes ? No; they fell by the immediate hand
of the angel of God:—Who in one night, a fatal
night! smote with death, One Hundred and Eighty
Five Thousand!†
Other instances, might be mentioned from
scripture to prove the immediate and direct agen-
cy of the Almighty in the pestilence, without the
intervention of that train of second causes, so com-
monly instrumental in the generating and promo-
ting of most other diseases: But, the foregoing,
being
* 2 Samuel. xxxiv.
† Isaiah. xxxvi. xxviii. 

11
being (I think) so much in point; and as, I wish
to study brevity as far as consistent with perspi-
cuity, I shall not enlarge from scripture under,
this head.
Common history, if consulted, would no doubt
in many instances, confirm the belief of God's im-
mediate agency, in all dispensations like the pre-
sent; but I shall now confine my observations prin-
cipally to what relates immediately to this city.
Something like a specimen of the present ca-
lamity, was foreseen*, foretold and realized; more
than half a century past: but a kind providential
language seemed to be; how shall I give thee up,
O Philadelphia!
But in 1793, an alarm was sounded! A trum-
pet of divine displeasure blown! A dispensation
sent! Before which, the loftiness of man, was
bowed down, the haughtiness of men laid low and
the Lord alone was exalted, with many in that day.
The men of knowledge, the men of science,, the
men of the wisdom of this world, attempted to fathom
the cause, but most ofthem failed; their asserti-
ons in some instances were not strictly true, con-
vincing to others, or satisfactory to their own
minds. The first report of common fame, (which
sometimes speaks true) was, " The plague has
broke out in Water-street."
On some of those fatal days, about the 10th of
the 10 Month (October) 1793 : when all faces ga-
thered
*See Thomas Chalkley's Journal, page 205.

12
thered blackness, the bands of society seemed dissol-
ving, and human nature shuddered and almost
sunk under feeling apprehensions of God's with-
drawing his support, his presence, and his protection
from this city : Who, then doubted of his imme-
diately directing the dreadful scourge ?
Most, if not all, were convinced it was a judg-
ment sent by the immediate hand of God :— And
that nothing but the same hand or power could
remove it.
Many were brought very low, the prevailing
language then was, Lord, save me ! Only carry me
through this dispensation alive, and I will serve
thee forever !
The Lord heard— In the midst of wrath, he
remembered mercy— The disorder stopt— By what
means ? By the Lord's saying to the destroying
Angel which smote the people; It is enough ;
stay now thine hand.
My soul is often humbly affected both for
myself and others on account of broken cove-
nants : did proffessors of religion ; or others keep 
their covenants made, in those hours of sore distress
and bitterness of soul, from the lowest depths of
woe with Almighty God ?
The succeeding more than usual pomp and
parade of fashion—The unabated, increased and
the insatiable third after riches, vanities, sinful
pleasures and vain amusements : shewed but too
plainly, great forgetfulness—great neglect—great 
unmindfulness,

13
unmindfulness, of what was past, and great danger
of what was to come.
The widow's gloom was scarcely removed—
parents tears had not ceased to flow-—nor the re-
latives sigh, forgot to heave ; in remembrance of
last year's* calamity; when the dread alarm again
assailed our tingling ears---approached our af-
frighted habitations— and siezed our troubled
minds. Plainly shewing, that God has neither
lost his power; nor sin, its offensive and destroy-
ing nature.
HERE, let us make a solemn pause ! stand still!
and, view the wonderful works of God! and
behold what desolations sin hath made in the City:
swept as it were with the besom of destruction!
Are not the scriptures of truth, the revelations
of God to his servant John,† in part fulfilling
and verified in this dispensation. Where now
are the rulers of the earth, the great men—the
rich men—the chief of captains—the mighty men—
the bond man—the free man? may not many of
them be said, as it were, to have hid themselves,
in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains?
saying by their conduct, to the mountains and
rocks, fall on us, and hide us, from the face of
him, that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath
of the lamb: for the great day of his wrath is
come: and, who shall be able to stand ?
B ARE
* 1797.
† Rev. vi. 15, 16, 17. 

14
Are not some of the prophecies of Isaiah,* re-
specting the jews, verified as concerning this ci-
ty? Hath not the Lord, the Lord of hosts, taken
away from Philadelphia; the mighty man, and the
man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the
prudent and the ancient, the captain of fifty, 'and
the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the
cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator ? Hath
not the Lord made the city empty and waste, and
turned it upside down, and scattered abroad the
inhabitants thereof ? And is it not, as with the peo-
ple, so with the priest: as with the servant, so with
his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress,
as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the
lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of
usury, so with the giver of usury to him?
Is not this city defiled under the inhabitants
thereof; because they have transgressed the laws,
changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting co-
venant? And therefore, hath not the curse devour-
ed the city, and they that dwell therein are de-
solate; and few men left? Hath not the mirth of
tabrets ceased, the noise of them that rejoice ended,
the joy of the harp ceased? Is not the city of con-
fusion broken down? Is not almost every house
shut up, that no man may come in? Is not the
city left desolate, and the borders thereof smitten
with destruction?
HAS
* Isaiah. iii. xxiv. 


15
Has not the state of the city, in some measure,
been similar to the lamentable situation of Jerusa-
lem, as described by the prophet Jeremiah.* Does
not the city, sit solitary, that was full of people?
Is she not become as a widow ? She that was great
among the states! and Princess among the provin-
ces! Have not the ways of Philadelphia mourned;
because so few came to her solemn feasts? Are
not her gates desolate ? Have, not her priests sigh-
ed? Her virgins been afflicted? And did not the
adversaries see her, and mock at her sabbaths?
Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by ? Behold
and see if there be any sorrow like unto our sor-
row, which is done unto us, wherewith the Lord
hath afflicted us in the day of his fierce anger.
Again, how solemn, how earnest, was the
prophet Isaiah, in his denunciation upon, and
expostulation with the Jews formerly? (In order,
effectually, to bring them off from all vain hopes,
and improper expectations, of escaping the right-
eous judgments of God.) "When, (in language,
no doubt, applicable to the present time and dis-
pensation) he thus addressed them, "Because ye
have said, we have made a covenant with death,
and with hell are we at agreemement: when the
overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall
not come unto us : for we have made lies our re-
fuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.
Therefore thus faith the Lord God, Your covenant
B 2 with
* Lament, i. I, &c. 

16
with death shall be disannulled, and your agree-
ment with hell shall not stand; when the over-
flowing scourge shall pass through, then shall ye
be trodden down by it. From the time that it
goeth forth shall it take you: for morning by
morning shall it pass over, by day and by night;
and it shall be a vexation only to understand the
report. For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount
Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the Valley of
Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange
work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
" Now therefore, be ye not mockers, lest your
bands be made strong: for I have heard from the
Lord of hosts a consumption, even determined,
upon the whole earth."*
And may we not say of this dispensation, as the
prophet said in another case, "This also cometh
forth from the Lord of hosts ; which is wonderful
in counsel, and excellent in working."†
A particular attention to the last mentioned
words, in their distinct order, may serve to con-
vince us, more fully, of the propriety of their
quotation.
* "This" This dispensation, that hath humbled
the pride of man— this calamity— this fever— this
pestilence— this plague— or, whatever name it
may be called by :—that hath done, and is doing ;
that, which nothing but the immediate hand of
God
* Isaiah. xxviii.
† Isaiah. xxviii. 29.

l7
God could do: in that, it hath shaken the king-
dom of Satan, to its foundation, in the hearts of
many of the inhabitants' of this City—that, in a
few days, as it were at one stroke, hath brought
home to the minds of all (not incurably hardened)
the belief of a God—his superintending providence
—and, immediate agency in this dispensation-
That hath done at once- what days, weeks,
months, years, yea many years, of instrumental
labours, and lighter calamities, did not effect;
evidently " also cometh forth from the Lord, of
hosts," is an inscription, in such legible charac-
ters, as, that he who runs, may read it upon this
judgment, so secret in approach— so sudden in at-
tack— and, so fatal, so universal in operation: And,
as proceeding from him, "which is wonderful
in counsel," is one link, in the great chain, of
the wonderful counsels of God : And, although,
at some dark times and seasons, the mystery of
iniquity may seem very deep ; and the kingdom
and cause of Satan ready to prevail, and triumph
in the world. Yet all, I believe, is ordered and
directed in unerring wisdom ; and however low
bind discouraging, to the rightly exercised chris-
tian, the cause of God and truth may appear to
be in the earth: Yet, it never was, nor ever will
be, totally extinct. But sometimes it appears,
that the lowest depths, serve as foundations for
the greatest heights of the testimonies of truth;
and, for the promotion thereof in the earth. And
B 3 however

18
however various and many are the devices of
men's hearts, yet the counsel of the Lord ! that
shall stand. " And excellent in working." Indeed
will God appear to be in this dispensation ; if
some of the excellent productions thereof be duly
considered, in respect of many of those individuals,
who have improved it aright. Has it not, in ma-
ny instances, opened a way for the display of the
most excellent qualities of the man, and the chris-
tian ? Such as, faith, hope, charity— a weaned-
ness from the world— dependance on God alone—
repentance— reformation— clear prospects and
foretastes of heaven— triumph over death: and, to
sum up all in a word, love to God, and love to
men.
THESE are the Lord's doings ! marvellous to
us! And will be so in the eyes of succeeding ge-
nerations ! Amen.
Secondly, this Judgment may, in the second
place, be viewed as mixed with mercy.
Well may the surviving inhabitants of Phila-
delphia, in adoring language, of the deepest hu-
mility, and heartfelt gratitude, acknowledge it
is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed:
And could we be permitted to lift the veil, that
separates time from eternity ; we should no doubt
behold, that the boundless mercy of Christ, the
Mediator, who, when on earth, was called the
friend of publicans and sinners; who came not to
call 

19
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ; who
received the penitent thief from the cross into Pa-
radise: has interceded with his father, in the midst
of wrath, to remember mercy to many poor souls;
hid, in the vale of poverty and obscurity; (per-
haps great wickedness) from much of the notice
and attention of the world— seized, as it were in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, with all
the terrors— all the horrors of death ! Intimate
friends, none; or far away—the black sick carriage
at the door— the dreary Hospital in view— and
Potter's Field in expectation. On high, God an-
gry for sin. —Below, Hell yawning to receive. In
this situation, all that many a poor (though pre-
cious) soul could do, was the utterance of a groan
or sigh:— Lord help me! Or casting a desponding
look toward Heaven, for mercy. In this misery
extreme, I believe the Lord, whose tender mer-
cies are over all the works of his hand, has fre-
quently looked down from the height of his sanc-
tuary, and out of Heaven has beheld the earth ;
not to see the pomp and parade of princes ; nor
the vanities and glories of this world; but to hear
the groanings of the (afflicted spiritual) prisoner;
and to loose such as seemed appointed both to
temporal and eternal death: and in their last mo-
ments, has reached forth salvation :— and has raised
them from the depths of woe on earth, to the
heights of joy in Heaven.
NEITHER

20
NEITHER was the distress, nor mercy of the
dispensation confined to the abject poor alone :—
but the horror and distress seemed as universal as
sin— and the mercy of God as boundless as the
objects that claimed his attention. 
Some, of all classes of citizens, have remained
in the city : Numbers from, motives of conscience,
(may it not almost be said) pure as truth, and disin-
terested as the means of salvation. Some remained
under a constraining necessity; some to receive
benefit themselves; some to impart it to others,
generally, all from good motives ; or, at least but
very few (I believe) from those that were repre-
hensible. 
Nor were those who fled, worthy of blame :—
many fled as influenced by a warning voice, to
escape impending destruction; some chose to, and
did continue, almost within sight, and certainly
within reach of feeling the distresses and afflictions
of those who remained behind. Almost unbounded
was the charity of many : and great the anxiety
and concern of most, if not all, who were ab-
sent.
INDEED the mercy of God was evident in in-
fluencing some to go, others to stay : had all fled,
who would have suffered ? Had all tarried, who
would have escaped ? Therefore if any glory, for
tarrying and being useful, let them glory in the
Lord; if any rejoice for fleeing and being safe,
let them rejoice with fear and trembling : and
those 

21
those who fled, and those who tarried, unite in
charitable dispositions—brotherly love—thankful
hearts—and reformed lives.
BUT to return more particularly to the mix-
ture of mercy and judgment in this dispensation;
Solomon said "money answereth all things." *And
although a scripture phrase ; may perhaps be taken
in a more general sense, than the author designed:
if this has ever been the case, many are now
undeceived. This calamity was no respecter of
persons: money had no charms for the pestilence
Riches could offer no availing bribe to death; as
said a celebrated poet:
" Their golden cordials could not ease
Their pained hearts, and aching heads,
Nor fright, nor bribe approaching death,
From glittering roofs and downy beds." †
And as on the one hand, riches did not raise the
minds of men above sinning ; so on the other, it
did not excuse them from the bitter cup of suffer-
ings. However captivating riches may appear in;
the view of most men, in times of worldly prospe-
rity ; yet it may be viewed as one of the mercies of
this dispensation, that riches thereby, were set in
a true and subordinate light: A drop of water to
cool the parched tongue, and a fanning breeze of
refreshing air, to allay the scorching heat of pesti-
lential
* Eccles. χ. 19,
† Dr. Watts. 

22
lential flames ; were in many cases, all the luxu-
ries the most unbounded wealth could give: or
the most voluptuous receive.
AN instantaneous view of approaching eternity;
eclipsed in a moment, all the glory of this world,
in the eyes of many, and cut asunder the con-
nections of time and sense: and the soul by an
act of faith, cast upon the unmerited mercy of
God alone: immediately received a peace and a
satisfactory assurance, and a stayedness of mind as
far above what this world, in its most prosperous
state can bestow: as the heavens are above the earth.
And were enabled, by the boundless mercy of God,
to leave a scene, which at best, as it related to
temporal prosperity, was replete with disappoint-
ments to enter upon a state ; glorious in prospect,
perfect in enjoyment, and endless in duration!
Great numbers, (charity hopes the greatest
number) of those, who have been removed by this
dispensation, have given those survivors, who, at-
tended them, in their last moments, satisfactory
hopes of their future well being.
For the justness of this observation; I appeal
to surviving relatives—-religious visitants—-feeling
physicians, and others:— who attended the cham-
bers of the sick, and dying In 1793, 1797, and the
present year, whether they have not been frequent-
ly witness for God; that his judgments have
been mixed with unbounded mercy ?
FREQUENTLY,

23
FREQUENTLY, very frequently ! After all that
imagination can conceive and often more than
any language can express, of horror and despair,
has been seen and heard, in the unutterable dis-
tress and anguish usually attending this, disorder ;
after the most heart piercing shrieks ! terrifying
convulsions! and, distorting agonies! have ex-
hausted all their terrors, all their woes ! Then,
a gleam of extended mercy--a beam of divine
light—--a ray of immortal glory---has, with ineffa-
ble splendour, darted through all the horrors of
the gloom—--the distressed soul, enlivened by the
joys of God's salvation ; breathed high aspirations
for its native land—--assuming heavenly tranquility,
before unknown—--triumphing over death and the
grave—--has quit the abode of clay—--and, amid
exulting angelic hosts of guardian spirits—--wing-
ed its way towards the Paradise of God.
Thus the rich and the poor do meet together:
and the Lord is not only the Maker of them all,
but likewise the Redeemer and Saviour of many ;
it is to be hoped most of them.
Those who survive have occasion to speak of
mercy as well as of Judgment: "Wherefore doth
a living man complain, a man for the punishment
of his sins" ?* 
Is it not a mercy from God, who influences the
hearts of all men in virtuous actions, that such
numbers
* Lament iii. 39. 

24
numbers of distinguished characters remained at
their posts ? That so many illustrious citizens
were found, endued with wisdom; armed with
fortitude ; and blest with perseverance, to under-
take, and carry on, and finally complete, the most
hazardous and beneficial services, in the cause of
suffering humanity ?* The long list of Philadel-
phian worthies, will not only exist in the most
lively feelings, and the warmest and most public
and lasting expressions of the gratitude and respect-
ful esteem of the present generation : but long,
very long ! after these public benefactors are laid
low, will their grateful remembrance descend to
succeeding generations; surrounded with illumi-
nating tracts of resplendent glory, emanating
from their deeds ; even till time shall be no more.
In enumerating the mercies of God, may we
not mention— fires seldom happened ; few angry
disputations took place; markets were well sup-
plied ; resignation and stayedness upon God were
experienced: and his divine presence, at times,
very sensibly felt, both in public and private devo-
tions.
VOLUMES would be necessary to display that
charity; bright resemblance of the Deity ! which
has been so abundantly bestowed ; in alleviating
the
* I lament not being able to do that particular justice to me-
rit, do uncommon, which my feelings suggest ; but (Providence
permitting, and no abler pen preventing) I shall endeavour to
remedy this defect in some future publication.

25
the distresses of this calamity. These offerings
of divine preparing will no doubt, ascend as an
acceptable sacrifice before the father of all mer-
cies: and procure for the generous donors, the
answer of "well done" and finally that glorious in-
vitation "come ye blessed" in addition to the re-
wards of lasting thanks and gratitude; they will
receive from their fellow men.
The winds and the weather, (subordinate mi-
nisters of providence) have also been directed in
much mercy.—-But in attempting to speak of the
mercies of God, I am launching into a boundless
ocean! they are innumerably made known to us
every morning, yea every moment of our lives!
and more especially conspicuous at this time, when
contrasted with the afflictive judgments of the
present dispensation.
THIRDLY You are now, as in the fear
and dread of Almighty God, requested to view
this awful dispensation; as a judgment designed
for the punishment of sin: and the reformation and
benefit of mankind. 
Our benign creator, who delighteth in mercy
doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children
of men. It is sin, and sin alone, that maketh a
separation between any people; or any individual
and God.
Adam, by disobedience, lost Paradise.—--The
old world became depraved, and were drowned—-
Pharaoh, and his people for opposition to God,
C and 

26
and cruelty to the children of Israel : were pu-
nished many ways, and finally drowned in the Red
sea.--—Previous to the Egyptian's destruction, So-
dom and Gomorrha, for pride, idleness, and ful-
ness of bread : were overthrown by flaming sul-
phureous torrents from Heaven.—--Moses for one
rash expression was denied the happiness and glo-
ry of entering the promised land.—--Sampson by
not obeying God, lost his strength ; and fell a
prey to his enemies.— Eli for not restraining his
children from wicked practices, lost the priesthood,
and met with a tragical death.—--Saul by prefer-
ing sacrifice to obedience, lost the kingdom.—--
David, (though in many things a man after God's
heart) for his heinous sins of adultery and murder,
( committed very secretly) was punished before
the sun, in the sight of all Israel.—--The jews by
means of various kinds of sin, (the relation of
which composes no inconsiderable part of scrip-
ture) were finally brought from that height of
power, which they enjoyed in the time of Solo-
mon, to that degraded state, they at this day ex-
hibit in the world.
It would far exceed my abilities, and the de-
signed brevity of this publication, to display sin
and all its consequences, from that of our first pa-
rents in paradise, down to the present dispensation.
The sorrowful experience of all men, in all ages
unite in this, that sin is the cause that renders the
judgments of God necessary, absolutely necessary!
to

27
to prevent the total depravity and destruction of
mankind.
FEELING at times an almost insupportable
weight of my own sins and infirmities; I have al-
most sunk under the burden of delineating those
of others. But a sense of duty renders objections
and scruples (otherwise insurmountable) of no a-
vail.
SINS of nations and communities, likewise those
of individuals are various; so also are the conse-
quent judgments or dispensations.
AMONG the long and black catalogue of sins
and transgressions of mankind : The following, if
conscience and self examination are duly attended
to, will, I believe, appear to every considerate per-
son, to have had no small influence in bringing
the present calamitous dispensation, upon the city :
and which the inhabitants are providentially, seri-
ously and most earnestly, and affectionately, warn-
ed, and entreated, before it be too late! to re-
pent of, reform, and entirely forsake, all
PRIDE,
IDLENESS,
INTEMPERANCE,
PROFANENESS,
COVETOUSNESS,
INJUSTICE,
SABBATH-BREAKING,
NEGLECT of EDUCATION,
BAD-BOOKS,
C2 MOCKERY

28
MOCKERY of RELIGION,
UNTHANKFULNESS to GOD, and
DISREGARD of his JUDGMENTS, and
EVERY OTHER SIN;
As the only means of appeasing his anger and
probably averting more signal tokens of his divine
displeasure.
PRIDE.
Solomon observes, " only by pride cometh con-
tention"* and in another place, " pride goeth be-
fore destruction, and an haughty spirit before a
fall."‡ Oh, the sad the fatal effects of pride !
How exceedingly apt it is to creep into, and en-
twine itself with, almost every circumstance and
situation in life? Youth practises it; midde age
delights in it; old age feels it; and external ob-
servations of religious duties, are not always ex-
empt from it.
PRIDE and poverty are often connected ; pride
and mediocrity frequently associate; and pride
and riches but too generally go hand in hand to-
gether. The profane are proud ; and the profess-
ed followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, are very
seldom sufficiently humble. Our relatives deco-
rate us with pride at our birth : it follows us
close, ah, very close, through life ; forsakes us
not
* Prov. xiii. 10.
‡ Prov. xvi. 18. 

29
not always at death : but like an inseparable com-
panion, approaches the grave—-descends with, the
mortal part and moulders into dust.--Else, why
the decorated coffins, and costly habiliments of
the dead ? Why, the immoderately long and pom-
pous parades at funerals ? Why, the lisping and
tottering airs of the infant ? Whence, the hypo-
critical sanctity in the countenance of the cold for-
mal professor? Why, the unblushing front of the
notoriously profane ? Why, among those who
would be thought rich, such an eager, such a pre-
mature introduction of eastern pomp and magni-
ficence, in apartments and furniture, apparel,
entertainments, and equipage ? Why are conve-
niences sacrificed for elegancies ? And else, why
are necessaries parted with for show ?
OH pride! thou enemy of all good! thou dis-
turber of the harmony of heaven! that laid some
of the highest angels low! that turned our first
parents out of Paradise ! that, in all ages of the
world, has humbled and destroyed poor man!—-
How hast thou made thy way into this city; not
only among the more unguarded and inexperienc-
ed, but into the very houses, hearts, and prac-
tices, of those societies; whose principles and
professions, when sincere, would seem to place
them at the greatest distance from thy insidious
approaches! How inconsistent, how dangerous,
is pride in any man; particularly so in a professed
christian.
C 3 MUCH 

30
MUCH, that the controversy of God has been
against, much, that has tended to the destruction
of this city, has proceeded from pride: therefore
let all, who wish for and value the real prosperity and
welfare of this City in general, and their own in
particular, be warned, exhorted and entreated to
avoid pride, as they would one of the greatest
evils.
IDLENESS.
IDLENESS was one of the sins that caused the
destruction of Sodom, and has no doubt been very
instrumental in procuring the present calamity.
IDLENESS is a wasting of time, doing nothing,
or doing that which answers no good purpose.
IT is said in scripture, " All the Athenians and
strangers which were there, spent their time in
nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new
thing."* Oh this idle curiosity ! how it throngs
all places of public resort, with those whose prin-
cipal employment is to waste or kill time: these
are active idlers--—others, more passive, live like
birds shut up in cages: to them unseen, the eye-
lids of the morning open in the East; to them are
unknown and unenjoyed the delightful and healthy
exercise of early morning walks,† when pure re-
freshing
* Acts, xvii. 21.
† I have frequently seen, with instruction and satisfaction, the
Roman Catholics, Methodists, &c. in their early morning walks,
to and from their public devotions, with countenances at once
expressive of health and sincerity. 

31
freshing balsamic air may be inhaled; uncontami-
nated by filth, dust, or smoke; when the ear may
be soothed and charmed, and the mind very sensibly
impressed and instructed, with the harmony and
the joys of innocence, by the feathered songsters
of the grove, who raise their artless and hal-
lowed lays, to the great Parent of the universe,
at the rising dawn of returning day ; when the
eye may be regaled with the extensive usefulness,
beauty and glory of the rising fun; a sight almost
worthy of adoration, from a heathen! and at least
a tribute of gratitude and praise to God from a
christian !
To some, whose bodies are enervated by sloth
and their mind's debased by idlenesss, the sea and
sand pours in abundance on every side. The
whole creation as it were traveleth in pain, to
minister unto their luxury and ease: every virtue
every duty, every obligation, devolving on them.
to perform, appear in their view to be comprized
and fully summed up in one single point: posses-
sion of wealth!
IDLENESS frequently renders the soul dead to
every virtue, but alive and fully active in every
vice. Pests of society indeed! stagnating waters
are not more pernicious in the natural world; than
idle persons in the moral.
The play-house, that synagogue of satan;* that
Pandorian box; that public monument of disgrace
and
* Perhaps this expression may shock some persons, but the e- 

32
and infamy, (so viewed and expressed by many
religious and well disposed people of various de-
nominations) serves as a place, a slaughter-house,
for the idle and dissipated, of both sexes, of all
societies to kill time. The play-house, that nur-
sery of sin! that hot bed of vice! where those
exotic phrases, customs, principles, habits and
irregularities, are sheltered, sown, take root,
flourish, are disseminated, transplanted, and spread
through society, and receive a public countenance
and protection; which otherwise could not in
America, at present be obtained :—-to the great
promotion of dishonesty, neglect of business, ex-
travagance, idleness, hypocrisy, and almost every
impropriety and corruption of good principles in
youth; proves at best, to those who are ad-
vanced in life, a corrupt source of bad exam-
ples, occasioning frequent breaches of good hours,
and a neglect of necessary concerns and important
duties, both of a public and private nature; and
therefore may be justly considered, without any
undue prejudice, as an effect of idleness and luxu-
ry; incompatible with christianity, and highly.
pernicious in any well ordered society.
The
vident consequence of play-houses ought to shock them more :—
Would any person of common sense, wishing to have well regu-
lated children and domestics, choose, or even submit to live
near a play-house if possible to avoid it? Would the pride or
morality of many citizens who countenance the theatres,be flatter-
ed by their sons or daughters appearing on the stage ? Or would
they esteem themselves or families honored or benefited by an in-
timate acquaintance with the actors ? 

33
The present dispensation serves to shew in the
clearest point of view, the baleful effects of idle-
ness in many of its consequences ; and that it has
been a mean of drawing down the divine displea-
sure upon this City.
MAY all be persuaded to a sense and practice of
duty! life is short—-its concerns weighty—-its du-
ties many and various. The idle person is a blank
or something worse in creation. May the fire of
this dispensation purify us from idleness, that rust
and canker of soul and body.
INTEMPERANCE.
INTEMPERANCE, comprehending (to speak in
plain terms) gluttony and drunkenness and excess
of all kinds in general, does at all times, and in all
places tend very evidently to the destruction of
man, soul and body !
THE scripture faith, "Woe to the drunkards
of Ephraim!"* and may it not be added? " Woe
to the drunkards of Philadelphia." Solomon faith,
" The drunkard and the glutton shall come to po-
verty."† And in another place, "Who hath
woe ? Who hath sorrow ? Who hath contentions ?
Who hath babbling ? Who hath wounds without
cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that
tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek
mixed wine." ‡ The effects or consequences
of
* Isaiah. xxviii. I. † Prov. xxiii. 21.
‡ Prov. xxiii. 29, 30. 

34
of many sins are aimed at others in the
first instance, and only ultimately or collaterally
fall upon the perpetrators: but the intemperate
person, turns a whole train of evils directly upon
himself, that only affect others in an indirect or
accidental way and manner. Therefore the in-
temperate person may be truly said to be his own
worst enemy; destroying with his own hands the
greatest blessing he can possibly enjoy, of a tem-
poral nature, health; and exposes the soul, that
immortal part, in the most direct manner to ever-
lasting destruction. Are not the gales of life
sufficiently brisk ? Are the gentle breezes of
health too long uninterrupted by the storms and
hurricanes of sickness and trouble? Is the passage
to eternity likely to prove too short? that such
multitudes eagerly plunge into that all destructive
and overwhelming vortex, intemperance.
THIS dispensation, the Yellow Fever, has cal-
led the drunkard and the glutton to a very severe
account; many, of this description, may be truly
compared to vessels of wrath fitted for destruction.
And what renders it the more to be lamented, is,
that it is done by themselves not ignorantly (if
that were the case, they would be more pitiable
objects) but knowingly, willingly, and witting-
ly.
LET the drunkard and the glutton, who have
survived: and the intemperate of every descripti-
on ; be warned, solemnly warned, speedily, ere
it

35
it be too late ! to view this dispensation of Al-
mighty God, in a true and clear light; and them-
selves, as abusers of the bounties of God—-their
own destroyers — disturbers of society - setters of
evil examples :— and involved, deeply involved,
in drawing down the vengeance of heaven.
HEAR me, I beseech you, Oh ye sons of In-
temperance! In future let your moderation, in
eating and drinking, be known to all men* and
be persuaded to reform, and entirely renounce
all intemperance.
When you take the pernicious intoxicating
draught in your hands, highly charged with
distilled spirits; those " liquid fires" — Think, Oh
think! before you swallow the slow but fatal poi-
son! That you are about to drink the " life blood"
of the wretched African. Hark! what mingled
founds assail the ear ! Are they not the resound-
ing echoes of the lash ? And the sighs and groans
of despair? Behold the agonizing tear! View
well the drops of blood! Count the long train of
West
* Draymen, carters, &c. respectable as many of them are, for
attention to their business, at once useful and absolutely necessary
yet when any of them give way to immoderate drinking ; their
Horses but too often suffer the most cruel and inhuman abuses ;—
Being frequently overloaded and beaten in a manner shocking to
humanity, and disgraceful to any civilized people.
An animal, so noble in figure and courage, so useful and service-
able to man; cannot be wantonly abused. without great guilt being in-
curred in the sight of that God, who is the maker of the Horse,
as well as of his rider, leader, and driver. Does net the Horse in
many ways assist government; and therefore claim a protection
from abuse by its laws ? 

36
West Indian Slavery's woe! Mixed up in the in-
ebriating bowl for your destruction : Pause!
receive advice !— and wisely shun the glass !
IN quitting all Intemperance of every kind we
shall very effectually attend to one of the first and
greatest of all moral obligations, self preservation;
and essentially promote domestic happiness, which
once destroyed, or impaired, seldom admits a sub-
stitute.
I SHALL conclude this part of my address,
with that very important recommendation and
advice of the apostle, Paul," Whether, therefore
ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to
the glory of God.*
PROFANENESS.
PROFANENESS, another sin, in the catalogue
of crimes, under consideration, is in many instan-
ces connected with Intemperace. The tongue,
that Instrument of Profaneness, according to the
scripture account, and daily observation : " Is a
little member and boasteth great things, Behold
how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And
the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the
tongue among our members, that it defileth the
whole body, and setteth on fire the course of na-
ture; and it is set on fire of Hell."†
On
* I Cor. x. 31. 
† James, iii. 5, 6. 

37
OH ! how many of such wicked engines of de-
struction hath been in this city; set on fire, at
least by spiritous liquors. How affecting to any
religious, or well disposed person? Is the lan-
guage, shall I say the language of Hell: That,
but too frequently, too generally prevails ; not
only in the streets, but likewise in many of the
houses in Philadelphia. Profaneness, at which,
foreigners * stand astonished, and the sons of the
boisterous ocean, confess themselves outdone !
WHERE now (in this calamitous season) is the
profane swearer? struck dumb! or if an oath or
imprecation escape from his unruly tongue ; he is
stared at, even by his associates; as a monster of
profane less!
MAY the dread of this sin of profaneness for-
ever last; and the command of our Saviour,
" Swear not at all ;"† be in future strictly obey-
ed.
COVETOUSNESS.
COVETOUSNESS termed by the Apostle Paul
" Idolatry"‡ and the inordinate love of money,
D which
* An intelligent sea Captain; a native of Scotland, and head
of a family in this city informed me, that for variety of singular
profaneness of expression ; the youth, as well as those of riper
years in this place, exceed all he ever saw or heard of in any
part of the world.
† Matth. v, 28.
‡ Colos. iii. 5. 

38
which he also stiles " the root of all evil ;"* has
had no inconsiderable share in contributing to our
very distressed situation.
Covetousness has intruded upon, and marred,
and much injured the original plan of the first
founder of this City, the truly honourable WIL-
LIAM PENN. 
ACCORDING to his design, (if I am rightly in-
formed) no buildings were to be erected between
Front street and the River Delaware. But covet-
ousness, regardless of the beauty — the conveni-
ence — the natural order — and health of the city ;
has crowded buildings in a manner,, that is incon-
venient for business, and destructive to the inha-
bitants. — And viewing this matter in a natural
light only, and extending our views no farther
than the surface of things. — It would, I believe
be a great benefit to this city, if every building of
the above description were entirely removed : and
the vacancy supplied by one or two ranges of low
and wide stores intersected with rows of trees. —
And paved or graveled walks. By such or simi-
lar arrangements; The intense heat of a Summer's
Meridian fun: its reflected sultry rays at particu-
lar hours from the surface of the river: and cor-
rupted and stagnated air from confined and crowd-
ed houses, generally destitute of yards; toge-
ther with other inconveniences and disadvanta-
ges too many and too obvious to be particularly
enumerated;
* I Tim. vi. 10. 

39
enmerated: would generally be removed, or
greatly alleviated and avoided.
COVETOUSNESS, thus considered, has most essen-
tially combined, with other causes, to most the
beauty — injure the prosperity — and endanger the
existence of the city.
AND here it may be observed, that the pestilence
whether originating in natural, or moral causes,
or both combined; has in its three fatal visitati-
ons: first made its appearance eastward of Front-
street.
THESE effects of covetousness are difficult to
obviate, perhaps impossible entirely to remove : I
shall therefore endeavour to turn your attention
to the effects of covetousness in points, if not less
fatal, yet more remediable.
COVETOUSNESS, when it once gains an ascen-
dency in the mind, is one of the most dangerous
vices : in proof of this, much might be produced
from scripture and history, but I shall principally
confine my observations to America in general,
and Philadelphia in particular.
What but covetousness caused such unheard of
cruelties to be committed upon the ancient inha-
bitants of South America ? and let me ask what
but covetousness caused so many of the original
inhabitants of North America, at once, to lose
their lands without receiving compensation, and
their lives without giving provocation ? is it not
an indisputable fact, that some of the states ob-
D 2 tained 

40
tained their lands by robbery and murder ? and
to the disgrace of a free and enlightened nation ;
do not some of them continue to have their plan-
tations cultivated by slavery and oppression ?
But amidst all the sorrows of my heart, it af-
fords me real satisfaction to observe that this state
was free from this odious trait of covetousness,
in its first settlement ; and the numerous and be-
neficial charitable institutions, which in this ci-
ty, far exceed those of any other on the continent,
stamp the liberality of the citizens, in the most
conspicuous and durable characters. Under this
view, may we not, in the language of scripture,
say : if " the time is come that judgment must
begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at
us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the
the gospel of God ?*
But if the monster covetousness stalks not in
public, it lurks unseen in private : of too many
individuals it may be said ;
" Of all their views, the first and chief request,
" Of each, is to be richer than the rest."
WHICH extreme ardour, in the acquisition of
riches, seems at variance with the œconomy of
providence. I appeal to every serious and atten-
tive observer of providential dispensations, in the
natural and moral world;— if covetousness in a fa-
ther, does not frequently occasion prodigality in
the son ? COVETOUSNESS
* 1 Peter, iv. 17. 

41
COVETOUSNESS often defeats its own purposes -—
grasping at all— it, eventually holds none. Has
not covetousness in this city of late, too much
taken the place of Industry in business? — Has not
the use of banks been abused — artificial capitals
(of short duration) created, imprudent in com-
mencement—-perplexing in advancement — and ru-
inous in the end?
COVETOUSNESS, by this dispensation, is punishi-
ed in all its branches. The apprentice lad, too
closely confined, now enjoys a long vacation. —
The avaricious landlord, perceives his rents de-
clining in magnitude and number. — With most,
the means of acquisition are few ; Those of dis-
bursement many.
Happy are those, who duly consider,
"Man wants but little here below,
"Nor wants that little long."
And the last, though not the least command saith,
"Thou shalt not covet."
INJUSTICE.
INJUSTICE so connected and closely allied with
covetousness, as, in many instances scarcely to be
distinguished from it; Is not entirely unknown
not unpracticed here. Viewing things upon a large
scale ; War, that source of many evils, lays an ample
foundation for Injustice : The last war did not pass
D 3 wholly 

42
wholly unimproved — embezzlement — peculation
and speculation — as intimately connected with a
state of war; as the touch of a match, is with
the explosion of a cannon; in some degree prevail-
ed: The hardy soldier, who exposed his breast, as
his country's barrier; earned, for greedy specu-
lators to receive.
Is this city free from injustice of this sort?
overgrown nominal estates — foundations for
princely palaces — and a variety of vast speculative
schemes and arrangements, say no! And suffer
me to ask, whether some are not more scrupulous
against personally bearing arms, in war ; than a-
gainst speculation in, and profit thereby ?
INJUSTICE, and speculation, in large and nati-
onal concerns ; has a direct tendency, by example
and otherwise to infect a whole community. —
Punctuality the life of business and basis of confi-
dence, falls a sacrifice. Iniquitous adulterati-
ons — false balances—and diverse weights, are
branches of injustice too often practised : But a
destructive principle is connected with all unjust
practices, containing a fire, that will sooner or la-
ter certainly devour.
SABBATH-BREAKING.
The apostle Paul speaking of the Sabbath, saith
" he that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the
Lord; 

43
Lord;"* passing-over without notice, the pride of
fashion, and parade of dress, particularly discerni-
ble on the Sabbath : I shall endeavour to explain
its nature and use : and the pernicious effects re-
sulting from an abuse thereof.
The Sabbath is an ancient institution prime-
val with creation — appointed to man, for rest
from labour, in obedience to the ordinance and ex-
ample of God.
If one day in seven, was necessary, was useful,
for man to observe, as a day of rest, while innocent
and uncorrupted: How much more so now, in
his present state and situation ? Surrounded on e-
very side with perplexing cares ; and beset with
bodily and mental imperfections.
There are but few, if any, of the different
religious societies in this City, whose forefathers
or themselves have not suffered in some age or
nation of the world, in a greater or lesser degree;
disadvantages, fines, punishments of some kind,
persecutions, imprisonments, or death, from the
iron hand of arbitrary power; for the conscien-
tious performance of religious worship, on this
blessed day. But praised be God ! a nation is
born! a Government arisen! a Constitution es-
tablished! of which we are a part, and under
which we live; that gives to, and protects all, in
a full and free liberty of conscience, in matters
of religion and worship ! How is this important,
this
* Rom. xiv. 6. 

44
this precious, this inestimable privilege improved?
Is it improved in a manner that tends to promote
God's glory and our benefit?
THE affairs of this world, necessarily, unavoid-
ably, engage much of men's attention, particularly
in commercial cities; and without such an insti-
tution as the sabbath, the mind would be in dan-
ger of being entirely engrossed and overwhelmed
in temporal pursuits; and some of the most im-
portant duties of christianity and morality neglect-
ed and entirely forgotten: Death unregarded, and
a future state unthought of, and unprepared for.
IT will no doubt be readily assented to, by all
considerate persons, that the sabbath has in this
place heretofore been shamefully neglected and
disregarded. The apostle Paul, exhorted the
people in his day, to be careful in not forsaking
the assembling together, as the manner of some
was.
HERE permit me to ask, are there not many
heads of families, and others, whose conduct
should be exemplary, that seldom, if ever, attend
any place of public worship? Surely in this city,
where twelve or more of different religious deno-
minations meet separately, no person can plead
excuse, when in health, for a general course of
non-attendance, at some one of these places.
CAN those be said to spend the sabbath with
propriety or real use, who keep it as a day or
feasting, diversion, or amusement, either in town
or country ? COMMON 

45
COMMON observation will justify me in saying,
that the sabbath, nominally a holy, is with many
by far the most unholy and ill spent day in the
week. Oh, what mockery! what perversion of
order! what monstrous ingratitude and impropri-
ety is exhibited on this day, (particularly set apart
for divine worship.) The day is profaned by ma-
ny, of whom better things might reasonably be
expected; things that tend to edification, not de-
struction.
ON this day, instead of humility, behold pride!
instead of temperance, excess! instead of self
examination, and deep searchings of heart, behold
vain and unprofitable conversation, and light airy
behaviour!* instead of a stillness and quietness
through the city: behold the parade, and hear
the rattling of the carriages, the sound of the
whip, and the prancing of the horses! to the
great grief and disquiet of those, who wish to
sanctify the sabbath themselves, and to see and
hear the like of others. My brethren, these things
ought not to be.
MAY that supreme being, who first instituted
the sabbath, and since has commanded us expressly
to
* I think it an incumbent duty, here to mention the satisfac-
tion I have received in being an eye and ear witness; at different
times, and in various parts of this city, of the exemplary conduct
of numbers of the Africans, on the sabbath. As I have passed
many of their houses, I have observed them teaching their children
—reading the scriptures- and discoursing upon religious subjects;
to the great reproach of the conduct of many who claim a superior
rank in the scale of being. 

46
to keep it holy, have his anger, which has been
kindled against the sabbath-breakers, appeased,
by a seasonable and lasting reformation.
MY heart within me, is, in measure warmed 
with the love of God, which I feel at this time,
flowing through my soul, towards all the inhabi-
tants of this city, of whatever denomination; and
the travail and exercise of my spirit for them; is,
that they may all be brought out of darkness into
light; and from the service of sin and satan unto the
true worship of the living God: and that we may
keep our sabbaths here below, in such a manner,
that we may he permitted to see good days, accord-
ing to the days wherein we have seen evil; and,
that finally, we may be admitted to keep that sab-
bath of rest with the Almighty; which the spirits
of the just enjoy with him, in his kingdom for
even
I WISH with every degree of weight, that its nature and
importance requires: Being convinced in my own
mind, that if, in future, Sabbaths are remembered
and sanctified, throughout the city, it will have
a powerful tendency to correct vice— establish
virtue— and thereby procure the divine favour :
that so, an all powerful and kind providential
care, may watch over this city, and all its widely
extended concerns— for preservation, not destruc-
tion ! 
BUT 

47
BUT on the other hand, if no reformation takes
place, my foreboding apprehensions suggest, that
what we have seen, felt and suffered, are only the
beginning of Sorrows.
NEGLECT OF EDUCATION.
A DEEP concern for the temporal and spiritual
welfare, of the young and rising generation, has
long dwelt with great weight upon my mind; and
I have anxiously desired that they might be a gene-
ration to serve the Lord. A generation worthy to
come forward in a country possessed of so many
natural and acquired advantages !
BUT alas ! I until they see less of bad examples—
are more restricted from reading pernicious books
—kept at a greater distance from improper associ-
ates— and are brought to submit to a stricter dis-
cipline. What well grounded hopes can reason-
ably be entertained for their welfare ?
THE neglect of parents and others, in these
important respects, have, I believe, essentially con-
tributed to the present calamity; and a sense of
these fatal neglects, has by this dispensation, been
brought home to the feelings and conscience of
many an unhappy parent, when on a dying bed,
taking a long, an heart rending farewell of their
weeping offspring; or viewing a much beloved
child, under all the inexpressible horrors, of
this most dreadful of all disorders! encircled in
the

48
the icy arms, and cold embraces of approaching
death !
ON the reverse, where education has been
strictly attended to, and the parent's duty faith- 
fully discharged, there has been an answer of
peace in these trying moments, which not all the
wealth of the Indies could give, nor all the hor-
rors of death take away.
WHEREFORE, let all such parents as are spared
to their children : and have children continued
unto them ; be tenderly entreated to be more at-
tentive to this important point, education. Our
Saviour when personally on earth ; did not think
children unworthy of his attention, but took them
in his arms and blessed them, saying, "of such is
the kingdom of God."* And Solomon, a Jewish
King; noted for wisdom, said, " train up a child
in the way he should go ; and when he is old he
will not depart from it."†
BAD BOOKS.
It is much to be lamented, that so noble, so
ingenious, and so universally useful an art as print-
ing, should ever be so debased, as, in any instance,
to become an engine destructive of mankind, and
a powerful auxiliary to the cause of vice. But the
experience of past and present times, in too ma-
ny
* Mark, x. 14.
† Pro v. xxii. 6. 

49
ny instances, prove the press may be prostituted to
very unworthy purposes, particularly printing bad
books.
The avenues of education and instruction, are
often obstructed and corrupted by reason of bad
books, by their means the attention of youth is
forcibly attracted, and intensely fixed upon frivo-
lous, and often upon very improper and pernici-
ous objects and narrations. Whereby the worst
of impressions and principles are frequently rivet-
ted in their young and tender minds : And their
lively imaginations, fired with premature ideas,
and false notions of men and things: Therefore
may it be truly said.—" Bad Books are a public
fountain of vice."
SCRIPTURE informs us, the Apostle Paul
wrought so great a conviction, at a certain time,
on the minds of the Ephesians; That many of
them, " which used curious arts brought their
books together, and burned them before all men:
and they counted the price of them and found it
fifty thousand pieces of silver."*
IF all the vain, wicked and unprofitable books
in tins city, were collected into one place, the
bulk would doubtless be astonishingly great, could
all their pernicious contents be seen at once, no
mind not callous to the feelings of virtue; but
would be filled with horror :—But ah! could
all their fatal effects ; as disobedience to parents--
E debaucheries
* Acts, xix. 19. 

50
debaucheries— prostitutions— broken promises—
perjuries— adulteries— suicides and other crimes
too horrid to name, and all the souls eventually
lost, caused by learning in, and inculcated from
this abominable library of hell, be fully known :—
not an arm, in the city, would remain a moment
unstretched to light the funeral pile of departing
vice: And the curling clouds of the rising co- 
lumns of smoke would ascend towards heaven, as
an acceptable sin offering from the inhabitants of
Philadelphia.
IF prudent parents are cautious (as they cer-
tainly ought to be) in respect of what, company
they admit in their families, as intimate acquain-
tances:— how much more caution is necessary
with regard to books ?
IN conversation many circumstances serve to
repress and abash vicious dispositions and inclinati-
ons. In reading none. The most pernicious 
books are generally read with the greatest secrecy:
not a blush raised at any impropriety of expression:
nor perhaps a thought excited, or alarmed with
a sense of danger; while the most intimate and
destructive connections are forming by means of
books: between wicked and designing authors;
and innocent and unsuspecting youth.
Is it not an incumbent duty upon every per-
son; capable of serious reflection, to inspect their,;
own books; and those of their dependants : and to
burn and entirely destroy all such as tend to cor- 
rupt 

51
rupt good morals: and to lead the mind astray
from the paths of innocence, rectitude, and virtue:
and to suffer, upon no pretence whatever, any
book to remain, or, ever after to be introduced,
that may be found inconsistent with the purest
morals, and the strictest reformation; that now
seems so evidently necessary to take place ?
REMEMBER I beseech you, how, that in Jo-
shua's time, the secreting a wedge of gold, some
silver, and a Babylonish garment; brought trou-
ble upon the children of Israel; and proved the
entire destruction of one of its families.
OH ! that one and all of us, may be induced
from the best of motives, to unite in so laudable
an undertaking, as that of effectually clearing this
city of bad books; if rightly undertaken, God
will no doubt, in mercy to the rising generation,
crown every honest effort with desired success.
MOCKERY OF RELIGION.
OR open declaration of war with heaven, has
been attempted, and in some measure carried on,
in every age of the world : but, it never finally
prospered, nor ever will eventually prevail.
PERHAPS, at no time, were the essential princi-
ples of natural and revealed religion, more gene-
rally attacked throughout the world ; than at the
present day. Some, by attempting to do away
real or supposed errors, confound, right and
E 2 wrong 

52
wrong— truth and falsehood in one blended and
undistinguished overthrow: instead of mending,
destroy- instead of correcting, obliterate: And
with the tares pluck up the wheat. Others with-
out ceremony, openly and directly attack and de-
ny all revealed religion.— The scriptures, they 
pretend, are a mere farce, a human invention, I
much of them political fables, calculated to keep
the ignorant and vulgar in awe; affirming to them-
selves the privilege of being numbered with the 
enlightened few, who have discovered the cheat.
With some, (as they pretend) God is nothing but
a name; Christ a mere man; Heaven, only an
imaginary good; and Hell, a fictitious evil.
THESE opinions, whatever plausible pretexts
some of them may assume, are, as they relate to
man in this world, directly pointed against all
government, all social compact, all that tends to
render life desirable, or even supportable. As to
a future state, these all destructive principles ren-
der it a chaos, o'er which broods more than Egypt-
ian darkness: Annihilation! mental destruction! 
to cease to be! are prospects more terrific, to the 
immortal mind forever active, and the rolling eye
enjoying the golden day, than all the most gloomy
imagination can paint, or the warmest enthusiasm
believe of shades below.
AGAINST such principles, hostile to human hap-
piness in every view, every wise, every good man,
feels at once opposed. The politician views them
as 

53
as a devouring hydra, before which, no govern-
ment can stand; and the moralist and the chris-
tian view them as productive of every present and
future woe.
PRINCIPLES like these, wicked fools alone ad-
vance, advocate, or pretend to believe!
BUT however great my partiality and charity
for this city may be, I am persuaded they would
be extended too far, if I should suppose it entirely
free from such principles, however inconsistent
with wisdom, goodness, or common honesty.
To such persons, few, I hope, in number, as
dangerous in sentiment, what can be addressed
with any prospect of success ? God's own power,
immediately, or man's good examples, instrument-
ally, seem the only remedies, in cases, so despe-
rate.
GOD's power so signally displayed, at this time,
both in mercy and judgment, in preserving and
destroying— in obscuring the world in all its glo-
ry— in withdrawing its pleasures and advantages,
in so great a degree, from its principal votaries
and dependants, has occasioned the atheist, the
deist, and the unbelievers of all descriptions, to
experience sad times I gloomy days! and great
remorse! Conscience in many has been aroused!
The wrath of Almighty God, and the terrors of
his judgments, have brought conviction home to
the minds of many; under which they have been
E 3 made 

54
made to cry out, Lord, save me, or I die! A re-
deemer, or I perish!
The mind of man, ever active in the pursuit
of happiness, when disappointed in one object,
naturally turns to another; as faith an eminent
poet:
" Man has a soul of vast desires;
He burns within with restless fires,
Toss'd to and fro, his passions fly,
From vanity to vanity."
AND after a long and unsuccessful pursuit, not
satisfied with all this world can bestow, in this
dark and bewildered situation, the bright rays of
good examples, at times strike through the sur-
rounding gloom, the mind is attracted to the glory
of the light, and the brightness of its rising: 
nearer survey, he is astonished to find, that while
he has been unhappy in prosperity and adversity,
the christian enjoys happiness in both: that what
he has been seeking from without, the christian ;
finds within; that, while from the most unbound-
ed success in war, (which engrosses so much of
our attention) lasting, individual, or national hap-
piness can never arise: that, while wealth, how-
ever immense, cannot give peace; nor universal
fame and applause, bestow real content. The
good man has a world within, where God rules
(the devil Seldom enters); where politics, wealth
and same, are merely accidental matters, not
having

55
having the highest pre-eminence; happiness or mi-
sery, depend on them in a subordinate manner
only.
FROM a feeling of the judgments of God— from
an experience of the vanity of the world, its in-
sufficiency to bestow lasting happiness— from be-
holding the dignity of virtue, and seeing the good
man happy in every situation— many are at times
brought into a state of inward attention and con-
sideration, which, if abode in, with patience and
perseverance, would be the means, by the blessing
of God, of bringing those, who are thus exercised,
out of darkness into light; out of anxiety and dis-
content, into peace, and a well grounded hope of
future happiness.
IF unbelievers can receive instruction from the
examples of good men, in their lives, they may
not be altogether unbenefited by attending to their
deaths.
IT is the end that crowns all; and where a man
is seen calmly quiting every earthly connection—
passing the verge of time— entering on the borders
of eternity— satisfied with life— unmoved at death!
it appears to all a consummation devoutly to be
wished; and many are ready to adopt the langu-
age of Balaam, " Let me die the death of the
righteous, and let my last end be like his!"*
SOME infidels, who do not openly deny all re-
vealed religion, yet by their conduct, seem to
entertain
* Numb xxiii. 10. 

56
entertain a thorough contempt and disregard of
its professors. This, no doubt, is highly dis-
pleasing in the sight of God.
WE frequently see and hear that the rulers of
the earth, when their ambassadors, their envoys
extraordinary, their subjects or citizens, are treat-
ed with abuse, contempt, or neglect, in a foreign
land, denounce the vengeance of the state, unless
reparation for the offence is made. An insult to
an individual is often viewed as offered immediate-
ly to the majesty of the nation : War sometimes
ensues, and thousands, comprehending the inno-
cent and guilty, are often involved in one undis-
tinguished ruin.
IF earthly potentates are so jealous of matters
concerning honour, and respect, whether relating
immediately to themselves, or those under their
direction and government, can we suppose the
supreme ruler of the universe, possessing all know-
ledge and power, to be an idle spectator, and 
wholly indifferent about the manner in which his
messengers are received— his servants treated—
and his communications attended to and obeyed?
Most individuals and most communities have!
a day; wherein happiness, in its most extensive
sense, may be obtained. Adam had a day— but
not being sufficiently attentive he suffered loss.—
The old world, had their day, but they neglected
it:— Among them, was Noah, a preacher of righte-
ousness, but he was disregarded ; they were too
much 

57
much immersed in temporal concerns; the earth
was filled with violence : all flesh had corrupted
his way— and destruction ensued. And although
the Almighty covenanted with Noah and his poste-
rity, that So universal a destruction among man-
kind, by reason of a flood should not again take
place : yet we have seen, and this day seen, that
the Lord's arm is not shortened, either to save or
destroy.
SODOM and Gomorrha had a day, but alas !
it was neglected ; till destruction came : though
they had a Lot in the city to warn and reprove ;
and an Abraham in the country to intercede with
Heaven. Oh how many reproving Lots, and in-
terceding Abrahams, have, day and night, in sea-
son and out of season, been employed for the sal-
vation of this city. Some of whom have been
mocked and despised— pointed and jeered at,
when walking the streets— and, all in effect
have been but too much disregarded until calamity
approached.
AHAB had a day, and although a very wicked
King, surrounded by an idolatrous people— and
his public and private concerns troubled with a
cruel, meddlesome, unprincipalled woman : which
stirred him up to do, what perhaps otherwise
would not have been done: Yet when the Lord
reproved him by the mouth of his prophet, he
did not mock at religion, nor despise his messen-
ger ; (though he counted him for an enemy) but
he 

58
he humbled himself before God, and his doom
was suspended.
THE inhabitants of Ninevah had a day of grace
assigned unto them : and by attending thereto in
earnest— by an universal humiliation— fervent
prayer to Almighty God— and a thorough repen-
tance and reformation— the anger of the most
high was appeased— and his righteous judgments
not inflicted. 
THE Jews had a day, a long day of grace, but 
they never fully improved it. They were divided 
into different sects; some Pharisees; some Sad- 
ducees; others perhaps, of no particular denomi-
nation, but mockers at any appearance of religion.
Most were too much outward in their perfor-
mances, and few sincere at heart in the Sight of
God: They, as a city, as a nation, with flood the
law and the prophets: the Son and sent of God,
came personally unto them; but they received him
not: they mocked and persecuted both him and
the religion he came to establish; which brought 
upon them and their city, a destruction attended
with circumstances unparalleled in history, anci-
ent or modern, sacred or profane.
A PROSPECT of which, brought from the com- 
pasionate and ever blessed Son of God and Saviour 
of the world, that pathetic exclamation and dread-
ful denunciation,. "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them
which are sent unto thee, how often would I
have

59
have gathered thy children together, as a hen ga-
thereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not! Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me
henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord."*
THESE things, my aflicted brethren of Phila-
delphia, were written for warnings and examples
to us, and now, in my measure of that love, that
wisheth well to all men, ate endeavoured to be
revived in your remembrance.
MAY God of his infinite mercy, through Jesus
Christ our Lord and Saviour, grant that these
things may be received in the love of the truth:
That all, who have heretofore been mockers of
religion, may be convinced of their folly and dan-
ger, and turn from their evil ways; lest they
should experience from God, what is spoken of
by the wise man Solomon, " Because I have call-
ed and ye have refused; I have stretched out my
hand, and no man regardeth; but ye have set at
nought all my counsel, and would none of my
reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will
mock when your fear cometh. When your fear
cometh as desolation, and your destruction com-
eth as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish
cometh upon you; then shall they call upon me, but
I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me: For that they hated know-
ledge
* Matth. xxiii. 37, 58, 39. 

60
ledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:
They would none of my counsel; they despised
all my reproof: Therefore shall they eat of the
fruit of their own way, and be filled with their
own devices, For the turning away of the sim-
ple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools
shall destroy them."*
UNTHANKFULNESS TO GOD,
AND
DISREGARD OF HIS JUDGMENTS!
The whole world exhibits one general and uni-
versal proof of mankind being in too many in-
stances, deficient in gratitude for mercies; and
but too frequently inattentive to corrections in-
flicted by divine providence for sin.
The actions and fate of men and nations, faith-
fully recorded and handed down to those of the
present day, afford a melancholy proof of this.
THE greater the favours, and the later the
age in which bestowed, if unthankfully received
and not suitably improved, proportionably increase
guilt, and consequently the weight of the judg-
ments that may be justly expected.
All the labours, all the improvements in the
useful arts and sciences, by former generations,
are enjoyed by us of the present day. Not two
centuries have passed away since the first settle-
ments
* Prov. i. 24——32.

61
ments were made in this country, by people called
civilized. Its advances (through dangers great
and pressing) to Empire and Independence were
attended with a rapidity and success, far exceed-
ing the most sanguine expectations and hopes of
its principal founders.
THIS city, which has shared so largely in na-
tional advancement and prosperity— this city, so e-
minently favoured with liberty, health, peace and
plenty- this city where toleration ever prevailed
and extensive liberty is now enjoyed— this city
whose burial grounds were often so strictly guarded
by the angel of health, that scarcely a solitary corpse
for months could gain admittance, and then, un-
der such circumstances of pomp and parade ; as
seemed rather calculated for an ostentatious dis-
play of wealth and family distinction; than, a
descent to the silent mansions of the dead— this
city, whose police seemed to contain the very
essence of peace ; whose gaol, instead of exhibi-
ting a scene of human misery, idleness, corrupti-
on, and depravity in almost every shape, seemed
better calculated for, and more expressive of, an
university, where legislators from different States,
and foreigners of eminence and distinction might
assemble, to learn the benefits of order— The ad-
vantages of œconomy, industry, and good regu-
lations : and the practicalness and utility of com-
bining the principles of the christian religion,
with the formation and execution of human laws.—
F this 

62
this city whose part was crowded with vessels from
every clime.— this city whose markets equalled or
exceeded all in America, perhaps in the world;
for goodness, variety, and plenty : uniting the
luxuries of the east, with the. conveniences and
necessaries of the west.- this city, under all these
circumstances ; (and many others that might be
enumerated) that individually enjoyed, would call
forth the thanks of any grateful people : and,
when all united, claim, one general and lasting
tribute of thankfulness and praise; has been un-
thankful and ungrateful to God; calamities of former
times have not been suitably noticed, nor judgments of
later date duly regarded.
THUS, it appears, that in this city, pride has
abounded numbers have lived in idleness, many
have been intemperate— others profane— some are
covetous— some unjust— the sabbath is broken-
education neglected— bad books read— religion
mocked at— God's mercies have not excited suffi-
cient thankfulness— nor his judgments been duly
regarded !
UNDER an awful impression from this view!
the prophet's language to the revolting Jews, may
be applied to Philadelphia, " Ah, sinful nation,
(city,) a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-
doers, children that are corrupters! they have
forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy
One of Israel unto anger; they are gone away
backward."* IMPRESSED
* Isaiah, i. 4.

63
IMPRESSED, with these solemn and melancho-
ly truths, may a serious and careful examination
take place in every mind : and let all, who wish
well to themselves, and to the future welfare
and prosperity of this city, endeavour to amend
whatever may have been amiss.— The Almighty
doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children
of men. Punishments are preceded by warnings
and exhortations. Sin, when unrestrained by pu-
nishment, is of such a nature ; as, of itself to de-
stroy mankind. Punishment therefore, when
mixed with mercy; may be viewed as tending to
man's benefit, when suitably improved: other-
wise no flesh could stand in judgment.
A great work of reformation, I hope, and
believe is, bringing about by the various permissi-
ons and dispensations of divine providence at the
present day.
JUDGEMENTS are sometimes varied according
to the sins and circumstances of those upon whom
they are inflicted. People delighting in war and
bloodshed, spreading ruin and devastation among
their neighbours, sometimes experience those ca-
lamities, designed for others, turned upon them-
selves ; or something of the same convulsive, and
sudden destructive nature: as Fire, Hurricanes,
Deluges, Earthquakes and the like.
But the inhabitants of this city, are many of
them peaceable men ; professing to stand aloof
from war, and being concerned in the destruction
F 2 of 

64
of their fellow men :— pacific principles, by rea-
son of their advocates intermixing with their fel-
low citizens, upon many local interesting occasi-
ons ; and thereby in conjunction with the great
diffusion of knowledge, and the improved civili-
zation of the present day have insensibly infused
general principles of peace, with some exceptions,
into the mass of society. The citizens, therefore,
speaking in general terms; may be called pacific
in many of their principles, and most of their
practices; their sins may be considered, as com-
mitted more directly against God, and their own
souls and bodies; than against the lives and pro-
perties of their neighbours.
THE punishment therefore of these transgressi-
ons seem to proceed directly from God, and to
be confined in a manner to the city: with a hap-
py tendency when improved aright, to enforce the
observance of those duties, which have been neg-
lected, and the practice of those virtues, that
stand opposed to the sins and vices, which have
been most prevalent.
THUS humility, as opposed to pride : industry,
instead of idleness, the illustrious train attendant
on temperance, instead of the frightful group sur-
rounding excess— instead of profaneness, sobriety-
liberality instead of covetousness— instead of in-
justice, honesty— sabbaths sanctified, instead of
broken ? Children taught by virtuous examples,
and proper discipline, instead of a vitiated and
neglected 

65
neglected education— instead of reading bad books,
a more frequent use of the scriptures, and a peru-
sal of edifying subjects— instead of mocking and
ridiculing religion and its author, a devotion to
them above all things— and instead of unthankful-
ness to God, and disregard of his judgments, lives
entirely devoted to his service and praise : and a
religious dread of again incurring his righteous
indignation are virtues, reformations, and bene-
fits, pressed enjoined, and conferred, by this dis-
pensation, upon us, and by us, as examples, to
and upon mankind ; in a language, though dumb,
eloquent— mute yet expressive— silent but positive--
far beyond all powers of the elocution of angels
or men ; being the immediate voice of God him-
self !
WHICH voice that we may all hear, and so
obey ; as to live in truth and peace before him —-
may God of his infinite mercy grant, through
Jesus Christ our Lord ! Amen.
FOURTHLY. It may be observed in the fourth
and last place, that this dispensation is a judgment,
that unless suitably attended to probably will be
followed by more vindictive tokens of divine
displeasure.
THE end, or design of punishment, is usually,
of a two-fold nature— to destroy vice, and intro-
duce virtue.
THE visitation of divine judgment upon this
city, which is scarcely removed, whether we
F 3 view 

66
view it in its nature or effect; in its cause or im-
mediate consequence, our enquiries will result in
this:— That God has been angry with the inhabit-
ants of Philadelphia, for their sins; and by this third
visitation of the plague, has, as it were by his imme-
diate voice from Heaven, warned those who survive,
to repentance, in a more direst and solemn manner,
than any other city on this continent has ever experi-
enced, since its settlement by Europeans.*
IF repentance does not succeed this judgment,
can we suppose it will not be renewed ? perhaps
with tenfold vengeance! REFORMATION or
DESTRUCTION! TURN or DIE! is, I be-
lieve, the emphatical language of heaven, to us,
at this time!
GOD has clearly pointed out to the inhabitants
of this city, their duty: Neither the means of
knowledge, nor knowledge itself is wanting. He
has favoured us with his written word and holy
Spirit; all that is wanting is a heart to fear and
obey the Lord.
OUR heavenly Father has not been inattentive
to our salvation— to allure us into the pleasing
paths of virtue— to deter us from the dangerous
avenues of vice— he has, in the one hand, held
out every blessing; in the other, every woe— in
the
* According to official returns, on 9th mo. (September) 28th,
106 persons died— which, considering the very few inhabitants
remaining in the city, perhaps not one tenth part of what re-
named in 1793, may be accounted the greatest mortality ever
known, by Americans, in this country. 

67
the one, all prosperity; in the other, every ad-
versity— in the one, blooming joy ; in the other,
wan despair !
AROUND him, in thronged succession wait, im-
patient to know and obey his will, dread minis-
ters of heaven, armed with every element, every
power! to reward or punish— save or destroy.
IF the pestilence is not heard! if the language
of the plague is not understood! will it not be
repeated ? or something more arousing to refor-
mation! Something more sudden in attack! more
alarming and universal in execution !
FIRE!
PERHAPS an angel may descend, involved in
cloudy columns of dusky smoke; and by spreading
combustibles unquenchable, light the " funeral
pile" of Philadelphia's glory and existence! Or
A DELUGE!
BY Some commissioned Spirit, descending o'er
the deep, with a wand, more potent than that
waved by Moses, overwhelm this city, and all
its guilty inhabitants, in one common watery
grave! Or
A 

68
A HURRICANE,
SWIFTLY descending, urged on, and fiercely
driven by some serenely indignant seraph, borne in
awful sublimity of state, on whirling wings, of
Northern airy forces— sweeping with impetuous
deluging tempests— charged with incessant peals of
the deepest toned thunder— preceded by widely ex-
panded sheets and streams of heaven's avenging
flashes of vivid lightning— before which the lofty
spires bend— airy turrets bow— human grandeur
lays low— and the effects of sin and sinners, com-
pose one general ruin ! Or
AN EARTHQUAKE!
WHEN earth, groaning from its inmost cav-
erns, quaking with horror, of its impious load,
is permitted, by an angry God, to execute his
vengeance, expanding wide its voracious jaws,
draws in, in one dire fated moment, Philadel-
phians and Philadelphia, to its centre. Or
WAR!
WHEN men, naturally feeble and wicked as
ourselves, may be permitted by the Almighty, for
our sins, and our destruction, to be disarmed of
humanity, in all but vice and shape, to unite the
subtility of the Fox, with the fierceness of the
Tiger, and the strength and courage of the Lion
armed 

69
— armed in dread vengeance with insatiable thirst
for despotic power, and human blood ! Led by
unbounded ambition to gain universal empire and
dominion, should assail our borders by land and
water, in one day, and with every cruelty and
every horror; planned in hell, or done on earth
—destroy men, women and children, and razing
the buildings to their foundations, not leaving
one stone upon another; and in the centre of its
desolation erect a monument with this inscription,
as a warning to mankind, in all succeeding ages,
against sin:
HERE PHILADELPHIA STOOD.
Under the assault of one of these judgments,
or some, or all of them united, the once famed
city Philadelphia, being
" Like an exile, from a father's care,
Deliver'd o'er to darkness and despair."
PERHAPS may be viewed by some sympathizing
friend, standing at a distance, in an agony of des-
pair, uttering a language, somewhat after this
manner :
" OH Philadelphia! thou that hast passed
through so many dispensations of mercy and judg-
ment, would to God thou hadst known, even
thou in thy day the things that belonged to thy
peace; but now they are forever hid from thine
eyes."
BUT 

70
BUT, if no general, no lasting reformation
should prevail, and none of the judgments men-
tioned should follow, much as pestilence, fire,
deluges, hurricanes, earthquakes, war, and other
calamities similar unto them, are to be dreaded:
Yet there remains one judgment unmentioned,
more to be feared than all the others, separately
or jointly considered: I mean a being left of God
to ourselves. 
WRETCHED indeed ! is that individual, or that
community, whose sins are suffered to pass long 
unpunished, without repentance! Though the 
world and all around may seem to smile, and
every thing for the present appear agreeable, yet 
sooner or later, it will be found an important and
interesting truth, that while sin remains uniform-
ed, and unrepented of, and the heart undevoted
to, and estranged from God, we are in that broad
way which leads to destruction; the breadth and
smoothness whereof, and the numbers and gaiety
of those who are passing therein, will make but
poor amends for the final destructive consequences
that will inevitably ensue.
OH ! saith my soul, and all that is living within
me, let none put off the necessary, the All im-
portant work of repentance and reformation, to
what they may vainly suppose a convenient season!
The call for instant and effectual attention to these
duties, is pressing beyond expression. 
As

71 
AS being in the immediate presence of my
Maker, and, I trust, under the influence and di-
rection of his Holy Spirit, I feel it my indispen-
sible duty, at this time, and in this way, most
solemnly to declare it to be my clear and full be-
lief, that this city, if not reformed, will in all
probability, eventually be destroyed.
EMBRACING, in the arms of faith and love,
every individual inhabitant of this extensive city,
and humbly prostrating before the throne of divine
grace, with the deepest awe, and most profound
veneration, my soul breathes forth fervent suppli-
cations to the most high! that he would gracious-
ly be pleased, to enable us all to examine our
ways and doings, and in the goodness and abund-
ance of his infinite mercy, for the sake of his dear
Son our blessed saviour and redeemer, assist us in
every needful time, to repent and reform of what-
ever we have done amiss; that so, we may be
received into his favour, and all tokens of his dis-
pleasure, in future, be averted; and the prospe-
rity and happiness of this our beloved city, be
placed and secured upon that only sure foundation,
acceptance with God, through Jesus Christ.
AMEN.