The South Carolina College, August 4th, 1819.

TO JAMES T. GOODWYN, ESQ. INTENDANT OF THE TOWN OF COLUMBIA.

SIR,-To the request of the Town Council, and Citizens of Columbia, for the publication of my discourse on the 4th of July last; I readily give my assent; and beg leave through you to express my most grateful acknowledgements, for the honor conferred on me on this

occasion.

Accept my thanks for the very polite and delicate manner in which you have communicated the wishes of my fellow citizens.

for

With great esteem and respect, and with best wishes your prosperity, I subscribe myself your friend and servant,

J. MAXCY.

A DISCOURSE.

"HE HATH NOT DEALT SO WITH ANY NATION; AND AS FOR HIS JUDG. MENTS, THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THEM. PRAISE YE THE LORD."-147 PSALM, 20th verse.

THE blessings which God bestowed on the ancient Israelites were great and peculiar. After delivering them from bondage imposed by a cruel tyrant, he carried them as on eagles' wings, through innumerable displays of mercies and judgments; he instructed and governed them by miraculous interpositions of his providence; and after discomfiting all their enemies, triumphantly established them in the promised land. Here, he most signally interposed on their behalf; and was indeed, their shield in war, and their sun in peace. He dealt not so with other nations. These, left to their own direction, wandered into distant quarters of the globe; lost the knowledge of their creator; debased and dishonored themselves, by the vilest superstitions and the most enormous vices. On the other hand, the Israelites, chosen by God for his peculiar people, were taken under his immediate government and instruction, and furnished with laws religious, moral and political, which at length elevated them to the highest pitch of national prosperity. Well might the royal Psalmist say, "He hath not dealt so with any nation; and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord."

That men should praise God, for national, as well as for individual blessings, is the injunction of reason and the dictate of revelation. Ingratitude is of all vices, the most vile and degrading. It robs man of all those humane and generous feelings, of all those high an ennobling sentiments, which impart value to his nature and dignity to his character. So great is our attachment to the present world; so busily are we occupied in visionary scenes of happiness, or hurried on in the delusive pursuits of ambition and of wealth, that we are perpetually liable to incur the reproach of ingratitude to God, unless reminded of our duty by some stated occasion, or by some unusual dispensation of divine providence. Hence, God, in order to secure the fidelity of his ancient people, and to keep alive a sense of their obligations, enjoined upon them a solemn festival to be kept in commemoration of their deliverance from bondage. Yet notwithstanding this, and innumerable displays of power and goodness; this highly favored people were frequently guilty of forgetting God, their great benefactor. How often does he remind them of their rebellion! How often does he impress upon their minds their wonderful emancipation, as an event which ought forever to secure their grateful obedience, which ought for ever to be celebrated with enthusiastic devotion? let us apply these things to ourselves. An inspired Apostle says, they were written for us, for examples. Has not God wrought for us a wonderful deliverance? Has he not crushed our oppressor? Has he not smitten the Dragon who lies in the great waters, whose limbs stretch through every ocean, whose voice shakes the ends of the world? God has indeed been our refuge and strength; a very present help in time of trouble. He has not only delivered us from servitude; but crowned us with innumerable blessings. His almighty hand planted the seed of liberty, as an handful of corn in the top of the mountains, whose fruit shakes like Lebanon. Calling to mind the events of our past history, and comparing them with those of other nations, we are obliged to adopt the language of our text, and say, "He hath not dealt so with any nation." As we are assembled to commemorate the nativity of American freedom, and as this auspicious anniversary has fallen on a day peculiarly consecrated

to God, we may with propriety call to mind some of the great scenes through which he has conducted us, and recount some of the distinguished blessings he has conferred upon us, as a nation. It becomes us as men and as christians, to bow before his holy altars; to adore his divine majesty, and to present our grateful offerings. It becomes us to venerate that great Being whose beneficent providence has watched over and guided the destinies of our beloved country; it becomes us to recognize our great obligations for his goodness, to humble ourselves before him for our manifold sins, and to confide in that unchanging mercy, which embraces and blesses the universe. It becomes us, in all things to notice and acknowledge, the providence, and the power of God. He is indeed the governor among the nations. In the pages of inspiration, he is every where described as the great and universal agent in the affairs of men. So perfect is his providence, that the hairs of our heads are all numbered; even a sparrow does not fall to the grond without his notice. Well then may we believe, that the great concerns of the world, the foundation of nations, the rise and fall of states and kingdoms; all their political concerns, and their various fortunes in peace and in war; are all under his immediate control and direction. Strictly and truly speaking, he is the sole agent in the universe. The smallest deviation from this principle will land us in atheism. Hence the scriptures represent God, as exalting and depressing nations at his pleasure. To one he gives great and good men ; wise and just rulers, prudent counsellors; upright judges, heroic warriors and eloquent orators; to another he raises up an haughty and relentless tyrant, and entails on it all the evils of slavery and oppression; of injustice and cruelty. What a contrast to this do we find in the writings of uninspired men! Here, all things are referred, to mere secondary causes, to subordinate agencies, and God is overlooked and forgotten.

Fortunately for this country, many of its first occupants were religious men. They acknowledged God in all things. Confiding in his providence, they left their native shores; flying from oppression; braving the dangers of the ocean; and heroically urging their course, towards this vast and howling wilderness.