Wesley Corpus

And what have they done? Have we not more and more reason to make that melancholy exclamation, Heu, nihil invitis fas quenquam fidere Divis 1 + 25. Can you believe, that our total ignorance of God, and our general contempt of Him, who, whether men will acknow ledge it or no, has still all power in heaven and in earth, can be well pleasing to him? We need not care for all the fervida dicta, all the rodomontades, of France and Spain. But if the Lord of the universe is against us, ought we not * This quotation from Virgil is thus translated by Pitt - “Not those insulting empty vaunts I dread; No ; but the gods with fear my bosom move, And he, my greatest foe, almighty Jove.”-EDIT. + This quotation from the same poet is thus translated by Pitt: “But, Heaven against us, all attempts must fail.”-EDIT. to care? unless we are very sure that our fleets and armies: can prevail against Him ! Otherwise, would it be any disgrace to humble ourselves, not to man, but to God? to use every means to secure Him for our friend, now all our other friends have failed us? Then, admitting “there is no other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God,” yet shall none be able to hurt us, but peace and every other blessing shall return both to us and to our colonies. “Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy.” HAve you forgotten who spoke these words? Or do you. set Him at defiance? Do you bid Him do his worst? Have a care. You are not stronger than He. “Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth; but woe unto the man that contendeth with his Maker. He sitteth on the circle of the heavens; and the inhabitants of the earth, are as grashoppers before him !” “Six days shalt thou do all manner of work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” It is not thine, but God’s day. He claims it for his own. He always. did claim it for his own, even from the beginning of the world. “In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and rested the seventh day.