A Sermon on the General Fast, Friday, December 13, 1776: for the Pardon of Sins, Averting Judgments, Imploring Victory, and Perpetuating Peace to the British Empire. by East Apthorp

A Sermon On The General Fast, Friday, December 13, 1776: For The Pardon Of Sins, Averting Judgments, Imploring Victory, And Perpetuating Peace To The British Empire. By East Apthorp is a religious-political address delivered to the parishioners of Croydon during the national fast of 1776. East Apthorp, the vicar of Croydon, uses Jeremiah 4:7–10 as a starting point to reflect on the nation's peril and the possibility of repentance. The sermon discusses the intertwined fates of Britain and its American colonies, arguing that public misdeeds—luxury, corrupt commerce, oppression, and irreligion—have provoked divine judgment, while virtue, humility, and reform may restore providential mercy. He traces the moral roots of the Empire's troubles to luxury, inequity in trade, and a neglect of religious duties, urging a return to simple manners, integrity, and charity. The text envisions reconciliation with the colonies through moderation, constitutional reform, and mutual loyalty, while affirming the prerogatives of the crown and the empire. Throughout, Apthorp condemns unfettered commerce that harms virtue, but also calls for a spirit of benevolence, domestic virtue, and a shared religious ethos as the path to lasting peace and prosperity.