The works of the Rev. William Thom, late minister ... - waughfamily.ca

130 SERMOKS.5. I will then mention fome rules and limitatioifs,.which have been agreed upon to mitigate the ills ofwar.—And, in the laft place,6. I will mention, and moftly from the text, a fewreafonsj why a people who have fome religion, or atleaft appear to be ferious, may continue long involvedin diilrefs, and even in the calamities of war itfelf.I intend to fpeak plainly, and to he fliort on eachof thefe particulars, which, as I apprehend, are allfounded in the text^I. I will mention fome of thefe lufts from whichwars and fightings take their rife.—And the firil Imention is the luft of carnal pleafure. This, if I miftakenot, is ftridlly and properly called luft in theftyle of fcripture, and in common converfation. Thisparticular luft is as dangerous as it is impetuous, ifit be not reftrained and directed by reafon, and bylaws human and divine* And it appears evidentlyfrom fcripture, from the mod ancient hiftory, andeven from fable, that this lull hath been the unhappyeaufe of bloodflied, of mafiacres, and of tedious wars»—Another Tuft I mention, which hath been the caufeof wars, is the violent defire of being rich. This luft,as it occafipns broils and contentions in private life,fo, in like manner, it kindles up the flames of war a-mong the princes of this world. Many of them think,and fome of them have been heard to fay, Why