Griffin, John. Britons' Jubilee ; or, the Duties of Subjects to their King and the Blessings of Liberty: A Sermon, preached at the Chapel of the Rev. Rowland Hill, London, on the 25th of October, 1809, being the 50th Year of the Reign of his present Majesty. London: Printed for the Author.., 1809. First Edition. [11655]
Sewn into a new acid-free wrapper, 8 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches; 74 pp., dark foxing on the first and last few leaves, including the title page; clean elsewhere. Good. Pamphlet.
The text is I Timothy 2:1-3, "I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty; for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour."
"The political aspect the Sermon wears, must be accounted for from the nature of the occasion; and, perhaps, from the Author's having made the Prophecies, for some years, the subject of his studies...This Sermon may be considered as an Appendix to one I some time since printed, 'On the Encouraging Aspect of the Times'..." - p. v.
Rev. Griffin shows that it is a Christian duty to both honor and pray for the king. He then examines several particulars, in light of God's blessing the British nation. They are, "the act of the first year of his Majesty's reign, by which the Judges were made independent of the crown; the war with our American colonies, "we have reason to rejoice and be thankful to God, that he has made that prove a blessing to Britain, which was predicted would prove an irreparable injury to her.'; the establishment of the Sinking Fund; the war with the French; the Union of Ireland with Great Britain; the Peace of Amiens; the present war with the French empire - several pages on how God's hand has upheld Britain's strength at sea, but has withheld it from their land forces; the Abolition of the Slave Trade; Mr. Windham's Army Bill, passed during the administration of Lord Grenville. "It admits of soldiers enlisting for seven years only, instead of for life, as before; which, as a question of morals, is of high importance to that class of society, is it keeps the way open to our thoughtless youths to return again to the bosom of their families, and to domestic principles and habits, - to receive religious instructions, and to communicate them to their children. Constitutionally considered, it is a national boon: it is placing another check-string of the war-chariot in the hands of the people, as the crown must frequently return to the nation in every new war to recruit its army" - p. 33.
Religious blessings in particular are then treated with, the advantages of A Free Press; A Free Pulpit; A Free School (not one without cost, but one without interference: he mentions particularly the Sunday Schools; and lastly, Free Societies, such as Missionary, Bible, Tract, and School societies.
Rev. John Griffin (1769-1834). b. Woburn, England. An Independent minister, Griffin was the pastor of a congregation in Portsea, England. He was minister to and author of the Life of Captain James Wilson, who commanded the ship Duff to convey a team of missionaries to Tahiti, Tonga, and the Marquesas islands.
