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

SERMON III.THE REVOLT OF THE TEN TRIBES.Preached in the Church of Govan, on the Public Faft, 1776.So when all Ifraelfaixj that the King hearkened not untothsmy the people anfivered the Kingy f^y'^ng^ What portionhave ive in David P neither have ixxe inheritance in tlje fonof yejfe : to- your tents, Ifrael! Noiv fee to thine' oivnhoufe, David. So Ifrael departed unto their tents.I Kings, xii. 16.rpo juiow the hlftory of mankind, fhould be the ftu-^dy of every\perfon : To know the changes thafeliave hrippencd m tlie circuinftances of individuals,and.of great focfeties, and the caufes of thofe changes^may be of great utility to every man, whether he bein a public or in a private ftation.Not to fpeak of theplcafure derived from a furvey of paft tranfattionsanS revolutions; there are to be found, in thehiftoryt.of almcit any country, fome noble examples of integrityand virtue, virhich we ought to admire and imitate; and alfo many ftriking inftances of folly, injuftice,and cruelty, Vv^hich we ought to abhor : Suchinftances and examples furnifli us with leiTons to formour temper, and to dire(?l: our conduft in life. Butthere is no hiftory fo fruitful of inftrucbion as thatcontained in the holy fcripture. The holy fcriptureis, in a peculiar fcnfe, the hiftory of providence, thehlftory o£ God's moral government :" God's countenancebeholdeth the upright, and his face is fet a-gainft tl)e wicked." By his difpofal, the wife andprudent " inherit worldly glor)^, and fhame is thepromotion of fools." The righteous are oftentimes-