SERMON PREACHED ON THE ISLAND. 299 
late Mr. John Adams, until a knowledge of 
the Christian religion was extant among you. 
Had he been cut off when ye were in your 
childhood, in all probability, your husbands 
would be bowing to a stock or a stone, and 
ye, instead of uniting in the worship of the 
true God, would not indeed have been per- 
mitted to enter the temple of idols, but would 
have remained all your lives the slaves of 
sensuality and caprice; despised by your 
tyrannical masters, scorned by your own 
children, deserted in your sickness, and with- 
out hope, and without God in the world. 
" Bless God, then, for Jesus Christ, my 
female friends. Serve Him with sincerity 
of heart, and remember it is He that com- 
mands you to submit yourselves unto your 
own husbands as unto himself. 
" Men and brethren, To you I next ad- 
dress my discourse. On you chiefly depends 
the happiness of your families. Remember, 
when you entered the married state, you pro- 
mised to love and honour your wives. See, 
then, that you are true to your engagements. 
Let Christ's love to His Church be an en- 
sample for you to copy. To each I would 
