Wesley Corpus

On how totally insufficient grounds is the contrary supposition built ! “We have lost--near as many ships as we have taken | We have been disturbed on the banks of Newfoundland; and we can no longer sell our brethren like sheep, and pour out their blood like water; therefore the nation is in a desperate state; therefore we are on the brink of ruin l’’ And are these the best arguments that can be found to support the lamentable conclusion | Now, my friends, give me leave to sum up briefly what has been offered on the other side. And, I pray, observe the difference; mark the firm and solid foundation whereon the conclusion is built. The prosperous or adverse state of the nation is to be judged of from the state of its population, its agriculture, its manufactures, its land and fresh-water carriage of goods, its salt-water carriage of goods, its fisheries, the tendency of its taxes, its annual revenue, and the national debt. But you have seen, that, in each of these particulars, considered one by one, England is not in a worse but in a far better state than it was eighteen years ago; so far from being on the brink of ruin, that it is in a state of eminent prosperity. Let none then deceive you with vain words ! Let none by subtle reasonings, or by artful, elaborate harangues, persuade you out of your senses. Let no sweet-tongued orator, by his smooth periods, steal away your understanding; no thunder ing talker fill you with vain fears of evils that have no being. Be aware of all who (perhaps sincerely) strive to terrify you with creatures of their own imagination. You are encom passed with liberty, peace, and plenty: You see them on the right hand and on the left. Let no man then cast a mist before your eyes, and face you down that they are poverty and slavery. Know the public as well as private blessings: which you enjoy, and be thankful to God and man. There is only one reason why we should fear: There is a God that judgeth the earth. And as none can harm us if we have Him for our friend, so none can help us if we have Him for our enemy. Is it not wise then seriously to consider this, Is God our friend or our enemy?