1803 Emmons Fast Sermon, Some Civil Authorities Are Enemies of Religion

Emmons, Nathanael. A Discourse delivered on the day of the Annual Fast in Massachusetts, April 7, 1803. Wrentham, (Mass.): Printed by Nathaniel Heaton, Jun., 1803. First Edition. [10504] Trimmed pamphlet, no wrapper, old brown paper strip over the fold, 8 3/8 x 4 7/8 inches, 36 clean pp., contents complete but separated. Good. Pamphlet. A sermon on the text 2 Chronicles 24: 15-16. In this discourse Emmons asks his hearers to consider how civil authorities treat pastors. He laments that some civil officials scoff at religion and speaks of the damage that does to society. He states that it is the duty of Christian ministers "to exert all the power and influence which their sacred office gives them, to prevent the ruin of a nation...The enemies of religion and government are incessantly engaged, to eradicate from the minds of the people every religious principle and virtuous habit, and to destroy all the influence of religious instruction. The better to accomplish this malignant purpose,