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A 

PRACTICAL VIEW 

OF THE 

PREVAILING RELIGIOUS SYSTEM 

OP 

PROFESSED CHRISTIANS, 

IN 
THE HIGHER AND MIDDLE CLASSES, 

CONTRASTED WITH REAL CHRISTIANITY 



BY WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. 



Search the Scriptures.— John 5 : 39. 

How charming is divine philosophy ! 
Not harsh, and crabbed, as dull fools suppose. 
But musical as is Apollo's lute. 
And a perpetual feast of nectar'd sweets. 
Where no crude surfeit reigns. — Milton. 



REVISED AND ABRIDGED. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. 



^X^ir 






w In the present edition of this work the language is in some 
places slightly condensed, and a few passages, that appeared to 
be irrelevant to the state of things in this country, which is with- 
out a national religious establishment, have been omitted. 

It is an interesting fact that 3,000 copies of the London Reli- 
gious Tract Society's edition of this work, from which this edi- 
tion was printed, were distributed among the nobility of Eng 
land by the liberality of a single individual. 



<Gttt 

Mrs. Hennert Jennings 
April 26, -933 



INTRODUCTION, 



The main object which the writer has in 
view is, not to convince the sceptic, or to an- 
swer the arguments of persons who avow- 
edly oppose the fundamental doctrines of our 
religion; but to point out the scanty and 
erroneous system of the bulk of those who 
belong to the class of orthodox Christians, and 
to contrast their defective scheme with a re- 
presentation of what the author apprehends 
to be real Christianity. Often has it filled him 
with deep concern to observe in this descrip- 
tion of persons scarcely any distinct know- 
ledge of the real nature and principles of the 
religion which they profess. The subject is 
of infinite importance ; let it not be driven out 
of our minds by the bustle or dissipations of 
life. This present scene, with all its cares and 
all its gaieties, will soon be rolled away, and 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

" we must stand before the judgment-seat of 
Christ." This awful consideration will prompt 
the writer to express himself with greater 
freedom than he should otherwise be disposed 
to use. This consideration, he trusts, also will 
justify his frankness, and will secure him a 
serious and patient perusal. 

Let it only be further premised, that if 
what shall be stated should to any appear 
needlessly austere and rigid, the writer must 
lay in his claim not to be condemned without 
a fair inquiry whether or not his statements 
accord with the language of the sacred writ- 
ings. To that test he refers with confidence ; 
and it must be conceded by those who admit 
the authority of Scripture, that from the deci- 
sion of the word of God there can be no 
appeal. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER L 

Inadequate conceptions of the importance of Christianity. 

Page 

Popular notions of the importance of Christianity . 13 
Scripture account of the same subject ... .18 
T ato false maxims exposed , . . . . .21 

1. It signifies little what a man believes— look to his 

practice .21 

2. Sincerity is all in all . . . . .21 

CHAPTER II. 

Corruption of human nature. 

Sect. I. — Inadequate conceptions. of the corruption of 

human nature ....... 25 

True account proved from reason and Scripture . 28 

Sect. II.— Evil spirit 39 

Natural state of man 40 

Christianity affords hope to man in his lost and help- 
less state . . . . . . . .44 

Practical importance and uses of the doctrine of I u- 

man corruption 45 

Practical advice respecting it, and its practical uses 46 
Sect. III. — Corruption of human nature. — Objection . 47 
Objection — That our corruption and weakness, be 
ing natural to us, will be excused and allowed 
for. slated and considered 52 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

Chief defects of the religious system of the bulk of professed Christians 
in what regards our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. — With 
a dissertation concerning the use of the passions in religion. 

Page 

Sect. I.— Inadequate conceptions concerning our Savior 

and the Holy Spirit ...... 55 

Scripture doctrines . . . . . .55 

Popular notions . . . . . . . .57 

Language of one who objects against the religious 
affections towards our Savior — Also against the 
operations of the Holy Spirit . . . .58 

Objections discussed and replied to ... 64 
Sect. II. — On the admission of the passions into religion 67 

True test and measure of the religious affections . 71 

The affections not merely allowable in religion, but 
highly necessary .75 

Christ the just object of our warm affections . . 79 
Sect. III. — Considerations of the reasonableness of af- 
fections towards an invisible Being . . .81 

The affections denied to be possible towards an in- 
visible Being 81 

This position discussed and answered . . .81 

Special grounds for the religious affections towards 
our Savior . . . . . . . .82 

Unreasonable conduct of our objectors in the pre- 
sent instance . . . . ... 85 

Appeal to fact in proof of our former positions . 8G 
Sect. IV.— -Inadequate conceptions entertained by no- 
minal Christians of the terms of acceptance with 
God . . ... . . . . 88 

Prevailing fundamental misconception of the scheme 
and essential principle of the Gospel . . .92 

Some practical consequences of this fundamental 
error . . .95 



CONTENTS. 7 

Pago 

Condemnation of those who abuse the doctrine of 

free grace .98 

Believing in Christ, what it really implies . . 99 
The atonement and grace of Christ pressed as the 
subject of our habitual regard .... 104 

CHAPTER IV. 

On the prevailing inadequate conceptions concerning the nature and 
strictness of practical Christianity. 

Sect. 1. — Strictness of true practical Christianity . 107 
Its essential nature opened and stated . .114 
Its precepts expressed in broad terms . . .119 
Its precepts universal, because resulting from re- 
lations common to all Christians . . . 120 
Strong practical precepts, and other confirmations 123 
Extreme importance of these considerations . 124 
Sect. II. — General notion of practical Christianity 
amongst the bulk of nominal Christians stated 
and illustrated 125 

General consequences 127 

Appeal to various classes of nominal Christians . 128 
The idle and dissipated . . . . 130 

The votaries of sensual pleasures . . .131 
The votaries of pomp and parade . . .133 
The votaries of wealth and ambition . . . 133 

Conclusion from the review — and general fault of 
all the above classes . . . . . 136 

Effects of the fundamental error on our judgments 
and practice in the case of others . . . 137 

Further effects — Religion degraded into a set of 
statutes . 139 

Another effect — Religion placed in external actions 142 



» CONTENTS 

Pag* 

Christian tempers not cultivated , . . .143 
Most men forget that the Christian's life is a life of 
faith, and the true Christian's character in this 
respect . . . ... . ♦ . 145 

Sunday, and hints for its employment . . . 150 
Other internal defects noticed .... 153 

Sect. III. — On the desire of human estimation and ap- 
plause. The generally prevailing opinions con- 
trasted with those of the true Christian . . 156 

Universality of the passion 158 

The common notions asserted .... 159 
The vindication of common notions questioned . 160 
Opinions of pagan moralists ..... 161 
Scripture lessons stated and illustrated . . . 162 
Generally prevailing notions opposed to those of 

Scripture 162 

Various proofs of the truth of our representations 
of the opinions on this point of the bulk of nomi- 
nal Christians . . . . . . . 169 

Proof from the House of Commons, and from dueling 169 
Wherein the guilt of dueling chiefly consists . . 171 
Real nature of inordinate love of human estimation 172 
The true Christian's conduct in relation to this 
principle . . ... . . . 175 

Parting counsel to those who wish to bring this 
passion under due regulation . . . .185 

45ect. IV. — The generally prevailing error, of substitut- 
ing amiable tempers and useful lives in the place 
of religion, stated and confuted ; with hints to 

real Christians 189 

Common language on this head .... 189 
The worth of amiable tempers estimated by the 

standard of unassisted reason .... 191 
Many false pretenders to these tempers . . .191 



CONTENTS. 9 

Page 

Real nature of amiable tempers when not grounded 
in religion . . . . . . . 192 

Their short and precarious duration . . . 193 

Worth of useful lives estimated by the standard of 
unassisted reason * 195 

Real worth of amiable tempers and useful lives, 
when not grounded in religion, estimated on 
Christian principles ...... 196 

The true Christian really the most amiable and 
useful 199 

Admonition to true Christians .... 204 

Admonition to the naturally sweet-tempered and 
active 205 

Admonition to the naturally rough and austere . 206 

Their just praise given to amiable tempers and use- 
ful lives 209 

Our amiableness of temper and usefulness of life 
apt to deceive and mislead us . . .211 

Danger to true Christians from mixing too much 
in worldly business 212 

Advice to such as suspect that they are growing 
indifferent to religion 212 

Exquisite sensibility — School of Rousseau and 

Sterne . .217 

Sect. V. — Some other grand defects in the practical 

system of the bulk of nominal Christians . . 218 

Inadequate ideas of the guilt and evil of sin . . 219 

Inadequate fear of God 221 

Inadequate sense of the difficulty of getting to hea- 
ven ' 227 

Most nominal Christians defective in the love of 
God .233 

Remarks on theatrical amusements . . . 235 

Practical system of nominal Christians defective in 
what regards the love of their fellow-creatures . 238 



10 CONTENTS. 

True marks of benevolence .... .239 
Sect. VI.— Grand defect— Neglect of the peculiar doc- 
trines of Christianity — This evil pursued into its 

effects 245 

Advice of modern religionists to such as are desi- 
rous of repenting 248 

Advice given by the Holy Scriptures . . . 249 
Extreme importance of the point now under discus- 
sion ... . . . . . . 250 

The true Christian's practical use of the peculiar 

doctrines of Christianity 252 

Use of the peculiar doctrines in enforcing the im- 
portance of Christianity 253 

Unconditional surrender of ourselves to God . 255 

The guilt of sin and the dread of its punishment 256 
In promoting the love of God . . . .256 

In promoting the love of Christ .... 258 
In promoting the love of our fellow-creatures . 258 

In promoting humility 260 

In promoting a spirit of moderation in early pur- 
suits, and cheerfulness in suffering . . . 261 
In promoting courage and confidence in danger, 

and heavenly mindedness .... 263 
The place held by the peculiar doctrines of Chris- 
tianity constitutes the grand distinction between 
nominal and real Christians . . . . 266 



CHAPTER V. 

On the excellence of Christianity in certain important particulars. Ar- 
gument which results thence in proof of its divine origin 

Consistency between the leading doctrines and practical 

precepts of Christianity ; .268 



CONTENTS. 1 I 

Pa ff 8 

Consistency between the leading doctrines of Christia- 
nity amongst each other 2G9 

Consistency between the practical precepts amongst 
each other 269 

A higher value set by Christianity on moral than on in- 
tellectual attainments 274 

Excellence of Christianity's practical precepts . . 277 

CHAPTER VI. 

Brief inquiry into the present state of Christianity in this country, Kith 
some of the causes which have led to its critical circumstances. Its 
importance to us, as a political community ; and practical hints for 
which the foregoing 1 considerations give occasion. 

Preliminary consideration : general tone of moral prac- 
tice 279 

Present state of Christianity among us . . . . 283 

Causes from which the peculiarities of Christianity 

slide into disuse 285 

Christianity reduced to a system of ethics, and a cause 
assigned which has especially operated in produc- 
ing this effect .290 

Other bad symptoms as to the practical state of Chris- 
tianity 294 

The objection, that the author's system is too strict, and 
that if it were to prevail the world could not go on, 
considered and refuted . . . . . 297 

Good effects to us as a political community from the 
prevalence of vital Christianity .... 300 

Christianity not hostile to patriotism .... 302 

We must either have vital Christianity or none at all . 310 

Political good effects from the revival of Christianity ; 
and bad ones from its further decline . . . 314 

Practical hints for the conduct of men in power in the 
case of religion 317 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Practical hints to various descriptions of persons. 

Page 

Sect. L — Difference between nominal and real Chris- ; 

tians of the first importance . . . .321 
Helps in self-examination. Frequent sources of 

self-deception pointed out . . . . 324 

Outgrowing or merely changing our vices mistaken 

for forsaking of all sin 326 

Uncharitableness and true charity .... 328 
Women naturally more disposed to religion than 

men • . .330 

Innocent young people — Term much abused . 332 

Hints to such as, having been hitherto careless, wish 

to become true Christians 336 

Base nature of the religion of most nominal Chris- 
tians . . . . • . . 343 
Falsehood of the objection, that we make religion 

a gloomy service ...♦.#. 346 
Sect. II. — Advice to some who profess their full assent 

to the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel . 352 
Sect. III. — Brief observations addressed to sceptics and 

unitarians ; 357 

Progress of infidelity 358 

Unitarianism a sort of half-way house in the course 

to absolute infidelity 363 

Advantage possessed by deists and unitarians in 

contending with their opponents .... 3G5 
Half unbelievers — theit system grossly irrational 367 
Sect. IV. — Advice suggested by the state of the times 

to true Christians ., 370 



CHAPTER I 

INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE IMPOR 
TANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 



Popular notions. — Scripture account. — Ignorance in this cast 
criminal. — Two false maxims exposed. 

Before we consider particular defects in the re- 
ligious system of the bulk of professed Christians, it 
may be proper to point out the very inadequate con- 
ception which they entertain of the importance of 
Christianity in general, of its peculiar nature, and 
superior excellence. If we listen to their conversa- 
tion, virtue is praised, and vice is censured ; piety, 
perhaps, is applauded, and profaneness condemned. 
So far is well. But let any one, who would not be 
deceived by " barren generalities," examine more 
closely, and he will find, that not to Christianity in 
particular, but, at best, to religion in general, perhaps 
to mere morality, their homage is paid. With Chris- 
tianity, as distinct from these, they are little acquaint- 
ed : their views of it have been so cursory and su- 
perficial, that, far from discerning its characteristic 
essence, they have little more than perceived those 



14 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

exterior circumstances which distinguish it from 
other forms of religion. There are some few facts, 
and perhaps some leading doctrines and principles, 
of which they cannot be wholly ignorant ;, but of the 
consequences, and relations, and practical uses of 
these, they have few ideas, or none at all. 

View their plan of life and their ordinary conduct ; 
and, not to speak at present of general inattention to 
things of a religious nature, let us ask, wherein can 
we discern the points of discrimination between them 
and professed unbelievers ? In an age wherein it is 
confessed and lamented that infidelity abounds, do we 
observe in them any remarkable care to instruct their 
children in the principles of the faith which they pro- 
fess, and to furnish them with arguments for the de- 
fence of it ? They would blush, on their child's com- 
ing out into the world, to think him defective in any 
branch of that knowledge, or of those accomplish- 
ments which belong to his station in life; accordingly 
these are cultivated with assiduity. But the study of 
Christianity has formed no part of his education ; 
and his attachment to it, where any attachment to it 
exists at all, is merely the result of his being born in 
a Christian country. When such is the hereditary 
religion handed down from generation to generation, 
it cannot surprise us to observe young men shaken 
by frivolous objections and profane cavils. 

Let us beware before it be too late. No one can 
say what may be the painful results, at a time when 






IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 15 

the free and unrestrained intercourse subsisting 
amongst the several ranks and classes of society, so 
much favors the general diffusion of the sentiments 
of the higher orders. 

It cannot be expected, that they who are so little 
attentive to this great object in the education of their 
children, should be more so in other parts of their 
conduct, where less strongly stimulated by affection, 
and less obviously loaded with responsibility. They 
are of course, therefore, little regardful of the state of 
Christianity in their own country; and still more in- 
^ efferent about communicating the light of divine 
truth to the nations which " sit in darkness." 

But religion, it may be replied, is not noisy and 
ostentatious ; it is modest and private in its nature; 
it resides in a man's own bosom, and shuns the ob- 
servation of the multitude. Be it so. 

From this transient and distant view, then, let us 
approach a little nearer, and listen to the unreserved 
conversation of their confidential hours. Here, if any 
where, we may ascertain the true principles of their 
regards and aversions; the scale by which they 
measure the good and evil of life. Here, however, 
you will discover few or no traces of Christianity. 
She scarcely finds a place amidst the many objects 
of their hopes and fears, and joys and sorrows. 
Grateful, perhaps, as well indeed they may be grate- 
ful, for health, and talents, and affluence, and other 
blessings, they scarcely reckon in the number this 



16 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

grand distinguishing mark of the bounty of Provi- 
dence ; or if they mention it at all, it is noticed coldly 
and formally, like one of those obsolete claims to 
which, though but of small account in the estimate 
of our wealth or power, we think it as well to put 
in our title, from considerations of family decorum or 
of national usage. 

Let their conversation take a graver turn : here at 
length their religion, modest and retired as it is, 
must be expected to disclose itself; here, however, 
you will look in vain for the religion of Jesus. 
Their standard of right and wrong is not the stand- 
ard of the Gospel: they approve and condemn by a 
different rule ; they advance principles and maintain 
opinions altogether opposite to the genius and cha 
racter of Christianity. 

The truth is, their opinions on these subjects are 
not formed from the perusal of the word of God. 
The Bible lies unopened ; and they would be wholly 
ignorant of its contents, except for what they hear 
occasionally at church, or for some faint traces 
which their memories may still retain of the lessons 
of their earliest infancy. 

How different, nay, in many respects, how con- 
tradictory would be the two systems of mere morals, 
of which the one should be formed from the com- 
monly received maxims of the Christian world, and 
the other from the study of the holy Scriptures ! 

It were a waste of time to multiply arguments in 



IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 17 

order to prove how criminal the voluntary igno- 
rance, of which we have been speaking, must ap- 
pear in the sight of God. It must be confessed by 
all who believe that we are accountable, and to such 
only the writer is addressing himself, that we shall 
have to answer hereafter to the Almightjr for all the 
means and occasions we have here enjoyed of im- ( 
proving ourselves, or of promoting the happiness of } 
others. And if, when summoned to give an account 
of our stewardship, we shall be called upon to an- 
swer for the use which we have made of our bodily 
organs, and of the means of relieving the wants and 
necessities of our fellow-creatures; how much more 
for the exercise of the nobler and more exalted fa- 
culties of our nature — of invention, and judgment, 
and memory ; and for our employment of all the in- 
struments and opportunities of diligent application, 
and serious reflection, and honest decision ! And to 
what subject might we in all reason be expected to 
apply more earnestly, than to that wherein our eter- 
nal interests are at issue ? When God has of his 
goodness vouchsafed to grant us such abundant 
means of instruction in that which we are most con- 
cerned to know, how great must be the guilt, and 
how awful the punishment of voluntary ignorance ! 
And why, it may be asked, are we in this pursuit 
alone to expect knowledge without inquiry, and 
success without endeavor ? The whole analogy of 
nature inculcates on us a different lesson, and our 

Pr. View. 2 



18 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

own judgments, in matters of temporal interest and 
worldly policy, confirm the truth of her suggestions 
Bountiful as is the hand of Providence, its gifts are 
not so bestowed as to seduce us into indolence, but , 
to rouse us to exertion ; and no one expects to attain 
to the height of learning, or arts, or power, or wealth, 
without vigorous resolution, and strenuous diligence, 
and steady perseverance. Yet we expect to be Chris- 
tians without labor, study, or inquiry. This is the 
more preposterous, because Christianity, being a 
revelation from God, and not the invention of man, 
discovering to us new relations, with their corres- 
pondent duties; containing also doctrines, and mo- 
tives, and practical principles, and rules, peculiar to 
itself, and almost as new in their nature as supreme 
in their excellence, we cannot reasonably expect to 
become proficients in it by the accidental intercour- 
ses of life, as one might learn, insensibly, the maxims 
of worldly policy, or a scheme of mere morals. 

The diligent perusal of the holy Scriptures would 
discover to us our past ignorance. We should cease 
to be deceived by superficial appearances, and to 
confound the Gospel of Christ with the systems ol 
philosophers ; we should become impressed with 
that weighty truth, so much forgotten, and never to 
be too strongly insisted on, that Christianity calls on 
us, as we value our immortal souls, not merely in 
general to be religious and moral, but specially to 
oelieve the doctrines, and imbibe the principles, and 



IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 19 

practice the precepts of Christ. It would be to run 
into too great length, and is quite unnecessary, 
though not difficult, to confirm this position beyond 
dispute, by express quotations from Scripture. And 
it may be sufficient here to remark in general, that 
Christianity is always represented in Scripture as 
the grand, the unparalleled instance of God's bounty 
to mankind. It was graciously held forth in the ori- 
ginal promise to our first parents ; it was predicted 
by a long continued series of prophets; the subject 
of their prayers, inquiries, and longing expectations. 
In a world which opposed and persecuted them, it 
was their source of peace, and hope, and consolation. 
At length it approached — the desire of all nations — 
a multitude of the heavenly host hailed its introduc- 
tion, and proclaimed its character; " Glory to God 
in the highest, on earth peace, good will towards 
men." It is every where represented in Scripture by 
such figures as ma}' most deeply impress on us a sense 
of its value. It is spoken of as light from darkness, 
as release from prison, as deliverance from capti- 
vity, as life from death. " Lord, now lettest thou thy 
servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen 
thy salvation," was the exclamation with which it 
was welcomed by the pious Simeon ; and it was uni- 
versally received and professed, among the early con- 
verts, with thankfulness and joy. At one time, the 
communication of it is promised as a reward ; at an- 
other, the loss of it is threatened as a punishment. 



20 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

And, short as is the form of prayer taught us by our 
blessed Savior, the more general extension of the 
kingdom of Christ constitutes one of its leading pe- 
titions. 

With what exalted conceptions of the importance 
of Christianity ought we to be filled by such descrip- 
tions as these ! Yet, in vain have we " line up- 
on line, and precept upon precept." Thus pre- 
dicted, thus prayed and longed for, thus announc- 
ed and characterized and rejoiced in, we scarcely 
accept this heavenly treasure poured into our lap 
in rich abundance ! We turn from it coldly, or, at 
best, possess it negligently, as a thing of no account 
or estimation. But a due sense of its value would 
be assuredly impressed on us by the diligent study 
of the word of God, that blessed repository of divine 
truth and consolation. Thence it is that we are to 
learn our obligations and our duty — what we are to 
believe, and what to practice. And surely, one would 
think, it could not be required to press men to the 
perusal of the sacred volume. Reason dictates, reve- 
lation commands'. " Faith comes by hearing, and 
hearing by the word of God " — "Search the Scrip- 
tures " — " Be ready to give to every one a reason of 
the hope that is in you." Such are the declarations 
and injunctions of the inspired writers ; injunctions 
confirmed by the commendations of those who obey 
the admonition. Yet, is it not undeniable, that, with 
the Bible in our houses, we are ignorant of its con 



IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 21 

tents; and that hence, in a great measure, it arises, 
that the bulk of the Christian world know so little, 
and mistake so greatly, in what regards the religion 
which they profess ? 

This is not the place for inquiring at large, whence 
it is that those who assent to the position that the 
Bible is the word of God, and who profess to resi 
their hopes on the Christian basis, contentedly ac- 
quiesce in a state of such lamentable ignorance. 
But it may not be improper here to touch an two 
kindred opinions, from which, in the minds of the 
more thoughtful and serious, this acquiescence ap- 
pears to derive much secret support. The one is, that 
it signifies little what a man believes ; look to his 
practice. The other, of the same family, that sin- 
cerity is all in all. Let a man's opinions and con- 
duct be what they may, yet, provided he be sincerely 
convinced that they are right, however the exigen- 
cies of civil society may require him to be dealt with 
amongst men, in the sight of God he cannot be cri- 
minal ! 

It would detain us too long to set forth the vari 
ous merits of these favorite positions. The forme* 
of them is founded altogether on that grossly falla- 
cious assumption, that a man's opinions will not in- 
fluence his practice. The latter proceeds on this 
groundless supposition, that the Supreme Being has 
not afforded us sufficient means for discriminating 
truth from falsehood, right from wrong ; and it im 



22 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

plies, that be a man's opinions or conduct ever so 
wild and extravagant, we are to presume that they 
are as much the result of impartial inquiry and, hon- 
est conviction, as if his sentiments and actions had 
been strictly conformable to the rules of reason and 
sobriety. Never, indeed, was there a principle more 
general in its use, more sovereign in its potency. 
How does its simplicity also, and brevity, give it 
rank before the laborious subtleties of Bellarmin ! 
Clement, and Ravaillac, and other worthies of a simi- 
lar stamp, from whose purity of intention the world 
has hitherto withheld its due tribute of applause, 
would here have found a ready plea, and full vindi- 
cation ! "These, however," it may be replied, "are 
excepted cases." Certainly they are cases of which 
any one who maintains the opinion in question would 
be glad to disencumber himself; because they clearly 
expose the unsoundness of his principle. But it will 
be incumbent on such a one, first to explain why 
they are to be exempted from its operation ; and this 
he will find an impossible task ; for sincerity in its 
popular sense, so shamefully is the term misapplied, 
can be made the criterion of guilt and innocence on 
no grounds which will not equally serve to justify 
the assassins who have been instanced. The conclu- 
sion cannot be eluded ; no man was ever more fully 
persuaded of the innocence of any action, than these 
men were, that the horrid deed they were about to 
perpetiate was not lawful merely, but highly meri- 



IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 23 

lorious. Thus Clement and Ravaillac being un- 
questionably sincere, they were therefore indubita- 
bly innocent ! Nay. the absurdity of this principle 
might be shown to be even greater, than what has 
yet been stated. It would not be going too far to as- 
sert, that whilst it scorns to defend petty villains, those 
who still retain the sense of good and evil, it holds 
forth a secure asylum to those more finished crimi- 
nals, who, from long habits of wickedness, are lost 
alike to the perception and the practice of virtue ; 
and that it selects a seared conscience, and a heart 
become callous to all moral distinctions, as the 
special objects of its care. Nor is it only in profane 
history that instances like these are to be found, of 
persons committing the greatest crimes with a 
sincere conviction of the rectitude of their conduct. 
Scripture will afford us parallels ; and it was surely 
to guard us against this very error that our blessed 
Savior forewarned his disciples : " The time com- 
eth, that whosoever killeth you will think that he 
doeth God service." 

A principle like this must then be abandoned, and 
the advocates for sincerity must be compelled to ac- 
knowledge that it must imply honesty; of mind, and 
the faithful use of the means of knowledge and of im- 
provement, the desire of being instructed, humble 
inquiry, impartial consideration, and unprejudiced 
judgment. It is to these we would earnestly call 
you ; to these, ever to be accompanied with fervent 



24 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS, &c. 

prayers for the Divine blessing, Scripture every 
where holds forth the most animating promises. 
" Ask, and ye shall receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; 
knock, and it shall be opened unto you. " — " Ho ! 
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. 51 
Such are the comfortable assurances, such the gra- 
cious encouragements to the truly sincere inquirer. 
How deep will be our guilt, if we slight all these 
merciful offers ! How many prophets and kings 
have desired to hear the things that we hear, and 
have not heard them ! Great, indeed, are our op 
portunities. great also is our responsibility. Let us 
awaken to a true sense of our situation. We have 
every consideration to alarm our fears, or to animate 
our industry. How soon may the brightness of our 
meridian sun be darkened ! Or, should the long- 
suffering of God still continue to us the mercies 
which we so much abuse, it will only aggravate our 
crime, and in the end enhance our punishment. 
The time of reckoning will at length arrive. And 
when finally summoned to the bar of God, to give 
an account of our stewardship, what plea can we 
have to urge in our defence, if we remain willingly 
and obstinately ignorant of the way which leads to 
life, with such transcendent means of knowing it, 
and such urgent motives to its pursuit ? 



CHAPTER II. 



CORRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE. 



SECTION I. 

Inadequate conceptions of the corruption of human nature. 

After considering the defective notions of the 
importance of Christianity in general, which prevail 
among the higher orders of the Christian world, the 
particular misconceptions which first come under 
our notice, respect the corruption and weakness of 
human nature. This is a topic on which it is pos- 
sible that many of those, into whose hands the pre- 
sent work shall fall, may not have bestowed much 
attention. The subject is of the deepest import. It 
lies at the very root of all true religion ; and, still 
more, it is eminently the basis and ground-work of 
Christianity. 

The generality of professed Christians among the 
higher classes, either altogether overlook or deny, 
or, at least, greatly extenuate the corruption and 
weakness here in question. They acknowledge, 



26 CORRUPTION OF 

indeed, that there is, and ever has been in the world 
a great portion of vice and wickedness ; that man- 
kind have been ever prone to sensuality and selfish- 
ness, in disobedience to the more refined and liberal 
principles of their nature ; that, in all ages and coun- 
tries, in public and in private life, innumerable in- 
stances have been afforded of oppression, of rapacity, 
of cruelty, of fraud, of envy, and of malice. They 
own, that it is too often in vain that you inform the 
understanding and convince the judgment. They 
admit that you do not thereby reform the hearts of 
men. Though they know their duty, they will not 
practice it; no, not even when you have forced them 
to acknowledge that the path of virtue is that also 
of real interest and of solid enjoyment. 

These facts are certain ; they cannot be disputed; 
and they are at the same time so obvious, that one 
would have thought that the celebrated apothegm of 
the Grecian sage, " The majority are wicked," would 
scarcely have established his claim to intellectual 
superiority. 

But though these effects of human depravity are 
every where acknowledged and lamented, we must 
not expect to find them traced to their true origin, 
Prepare yourself to hear rather of frailty and infir- 
mity, of petty transgressions, of occasional failings, 
of sudden surprisals, and of such other qualifying 
terms as may serve to keep out of view the true source 
of the evil, and, without shocking the understanding, 



HUMAN NATURE. 27 

may administer consolation to the pride of human 
nature. The bulk of professed Christians speak of 
man as of a being who, naturally pure, and inclined 
to all virtue, is sometimes, almost involuntarily, 
drawn out of the right course, or is overpowered by 
the violence of temptation. Vice, with them, is rather 
an accidental and temporary, than a constitutional and 
habitual distemper ; a noxious plant, which, though 
found to live, and even to thrive in the human mind, is 
not the natural growth and production of the soil. 

Far different is the humiliating language of 
Christianity. From it we learn that man is an 
apostate creature, fallen from his high original, de- 
graded in his nature, and depraved in his faculties ; 
indisposed to good, and disposed to evil : prone to 
vice, it is natural and easy to him ; disinclined to 
virtue, it is difficult and laborious: that he is tainted 
with sin, not slightly and superficially, but radically, 
and to the very core. These are truths which, how- 
ever mortifying to our pride, one would think (if 
this very corruption itself did not warp the judg- 
ment) none would be hardy enough to attempt to 
controvert. I know not any thing which brings 
them home so forcibly to my own feelings, as the 
consideration of what still remains to us of our prim- 
itive dignity, when contrasted with our present state 
of moral degradation. 

" Into what depth thou seest, 
" From what height fallen !" 



28 CORRUPTION OF 

Examine first with attention the natural power? 
and faculties of man; invention, reason, judgment 
memory; a mind "of large discourse," "looking 
before and after," reviewing the past, and thence de- 
termining for the present, and anticipating the future ; 
discerning, collecting, combining, comparing. A 
mind capable not merely of apprehending, but of 
admiring the beauty of moral excellence; with fear 
and hope to warm and animate : with joy and sor- 
row to solace and soften ; with love to attach, with 
sympathy to harmonize, with courage to attempt, 
with patience to endure, and with the power of con- 
science, that faithful monitor within the breast, to 
enforce the conclusions of reason, and direct and re- 
gulate the passions of the soul. Truly we must pro- 
nounce him " majestic, though in ruin," " Happy, 
happy world!" would be the exclamation of the 
inhabitant of some other planet, on being told of 
a globe like ours, peopled with such creatures as 
these, and abounding with situations and occasions to 
call forth the multiplied excellences of their nature. 

But we have indulged too long in these delightful 
speculations ; a sad reverse presents itself on our 
survey of the actual state of man, when, from view- 
ing his natural powers, we follow him into practice, 
and see the uses to which he applies them. Take 
in the whole of the prospect, view him in every age 
and climate, and nation, in every condition and pe- 
riod of society. Where now do you discover tho 






H UMAN NATURE. 29 

characters of his exalted nature 1 " Flow is the gold 
become dim, and the fine gold changed !" How is 
his reason clouded, his affections perverted, his con- 
science stupified ! How do anger, and envy, and ha- 
tred, and revenge, spring up in his wretched bosom ! 
How is he a slave to the meanest of his appetites ! 
What fatal propensities does he discover to evil ! 
What inaptitude to good ! 

Dwell awhile on the state of the ancient world ; 
not merely on that benighted pait of it where all lay 
buried in brutish ignorance and barbarism, but on 
the seats of civilized and polished nations, on the 
empire of taste, and learning, and philosophy : yet 
in these chosen regions, with whatever lustre the 
sun of science poured forth its rays, the moral dark- 
ness was so thick " that it might be felt." Behold 
their sottish idolatries, their absurd superstitions, 
their want of natural affection, their brutal excesses, 
their unfeeling oppression, their savage cruelty ! 
Look not to the illiterate and the vulgar, but to the 
learned and refined. Form not your ideas from the 
conduct of the less restrained and more licentious ; 
you will turn away with disgust and shame from the 
allowed and familiar habits of the decent and the 
moral. St. Paul best states the facts, and furnishes 
the explanation ; V Because they did not like to re- 
tain God in their knowledge, he gave them over to 
a reprobate mind." 

Now direct your view to another quarter, to the 



30 CORRUPTION OF 

aborigines of a new hemisphere, where the banefiL 
practices and contagious example of the old world 
had never traveled. Surely, among these children 
of nature we may expect to find those virtuous ten 
dencies for which we have hitherto looked in vain. 
Alas! our search will still be fruitless! They are 
represented by the historian of America, (whose ac- 
count is more favorable than those of some other 
great authorities,) as being a compound of pride, and 
indolence, and selfishness, and cunning, and cruelty ; 
full of a revenge which nothing could satiate, of a 
ferocity which nothing could soften ; strangers to the 
most amiable sensibilities of nature.* They appeared 
incapable of conjugal affection, or parental fondness, 
or filial reverence, or social attachments ; uniting, too, 
with their state of barbarism, many of the vices and 
weaknesses of polished society. Their horrid treat- 
ment of captives taken in war, on whose bodies they 
feasted, after putting them to death by the most cruel 
tortures, is so well known that we may spare the 
disgusting recital. No commendable qualities re- 
lieve this gloomy picture, except fortitude and perse- 
verance, and zeal for the welfare of their little com- 
munity, if this last quality, exercised and directed 
as it was, can be thought deserving of commendation. 
But you give up the heathen nations as indefensi 
ble, and wish rather to form your estimate of man 

* Robertson, vol ii. pp. 130, 90, 91. 



HUMAN NATURE. 31 

from a view of countries which have been blessed 
with the light of revelation. True it is, and with 
joy let us record the concession, Christianity has 
set the general tone of morals much higher than it 
was ever found in the pagan world. She has every 
where improved the character and multiplied the 
comforts of society, particularly to the poor and the 
weak, whom, from the beginning, she professed to 
take under her special patronage. Like her Divine 
Author, " who sends his rain on the evil and on the 
good," she showers down unnumbered blessings on 
ihousands who profit from her bounty, while they 
forget or deny her power, and set at naught her au- 
thority. Yet, even in this more favored situation, we 
shall discover too many lamentable proofs of the 
depravity of man. Nay, this depravity will now 
become even more apparent and less deniable. For 
what bars does it not now overleap? Over what 
motives is it not now victorious % Consider well the 
superior light and advantages which we enjoy, and 
then appreciate the superior obligations which are 
imposed on us. Consider in how many cases our 
evil propensities are now kept from breaking forth, 
by the superior restraints under which vice is laid 
among us by positive laws, and by the amended 
standard of public opinion. Consider, then, the supe- 
rior excellence of our moral code, the new principles 
of obedience furnished by the Gospel; and above all, 
the awful sanction which the doctrines and precepts 



<r 



32 CORRUPTION OF 

of Christianity derive from the clear discovery of a 
future state of retribution, and from the annunciation 
of that tremendous day " when we shall stand be- 
fore the judgment-seat of Christ." Yet, in spite oi 
all our knowledge, thus enforced and pressed home 
by this solemn notice, how little has been our pro- 
gress in virtue ! It has been by no means such as 
to prevent the adoption, in our days, of various max- 
ims of antiquity, which, when well considered, clearly 
establish the depravity of man. It may not be amiss 
to adduce a few instances in proof of this assertion. 
It is now no less acknowledged than heretofore, that 
prosperity hardens the heart ; that unlimited power 
is ever abused, instead of being rendered the instru- 
ment of diffusing happiness ; that habits of vice grow 
up of themselves, whilst those of virtue, if to be ob- 
tained at all, are of slow and difficult formation ; that 
those who draw the finest pictures of virtue, and 
seem most enamored of her charms, are often the 
least under her influence, and by the merest trifles 
are drawn aside from that line of conduct which 
they most strongly and seriously recommend to 
others ; that all this takes place, though most of the 
pleasures of vice are to be found with less alloy in 
the paths of virtue ; whilst at the same time these 
paths afTord superior and more exquisite delights, 
peculiar to themselves, and are free from the diseases 
and bitter remorse, at the price of which vicious 
gratifications are so often purchased. 



HUMAN NATURE. 33 

It may suffice to touch very slightly on some other 
arguments ; one of these (the justice of which, how- 
ever denied by superficial moralists, parents of strict 
principles can abundantly testify,) may be drawn 
from the perverse and froward dispositions perceiv- 
able in children, which it is the business and some- 
times the ineffectual attempt of education to reform. 
Another may be drawn from the various deceits we 
are apt to practice on ourselves, to which no one can 
be a stranger who has ever contemplated the opera- 
tions of his own mind with serious attention. To the 
influence of this species of corruption it has been in 
a great degree owing that Christianity itself has 
been too often disgraced. It has been turned into 
an engine of cruelty, and, amidst the bitterness of 
persecution, every trace has disappeared of the mild 
and beneficent spirit of the religion of Jesus. In 
what degree must the taint have worked itself into 
the frame, and have corrupted the habit, when the 
most wholesome nutriment can be thus converted into 
the deadliest poison ! Wishing always to argue from 
such premises as are not only really sound, but from 
such as cannot even be questioned by those to whom 
this work is addressed, little was said in representing 
the deplorable state of the heathen world, respecting 
their defective and unworthy conceptions in what 
regards the Supreme Being, who even then, how- 
ever, •• left not himself without witness, but gave 
them rain and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts 

Pr.View. 3 



34 CORRUPTION OF 

with food and gladness." But surely to any who 
call themselves Christians, it may be justly urged as 
an astcnishing instance of human depravity, that we 
ourselves, who enjoy the full light of revelation ; to 
whom God has vouchsafed such clear discoveries 
of what it concerns us to know of his being and 
attributes ; who profess to believe " that in him we 
live, and move, and have our being j" that to him we 
owe all the comforts we here enjoy, and the offer of 
eternal glory, purchased for us by the atoning blood 
of his own Son ; " thanks be to God for his unspeak- 
able gift ;" that we, thus loaded with mercies, 
should, every one of us, be continually chargeable 
with forgetting his authority, and being ungrateful 
for his benefits ; with slighting his gracious pro- 
posals, or receiving them, at best, but heartlessly 
and coldly. 

But to put the question concerning the natural 
depravity of man to the severest test ; take the best 
of the human species, the watchful, diligent, self-de- 
nying Christian, and let him decide the controversy ; 
and that, not by inferences drawn from the practices 
of a thoughtless and dissolute world, but by an ap- 
peal to his personal experience. Go with him into 
his closet, ask him his opinion of the corruption of 
the heart, and he will fell you that he is deeply sen- 
sible of its power, for that he has learned it from 
much self-observation, and long acquaintance with 
the workings of his own mind. He will tell you. 



< 



HUMAN NATURE. 35 

that every day strengthens this conviction ; yea, that 
hourly he sees fresh reason to deplore his want of 
simplicity in intention, his infirmity of purpose, his 
low views, his selfish unworthy desires, his back- 
wardness to set about his duty, his languor and cold- 
ness in performing it: that he finds himself obliged 
continually to confess that he feels within him two 
opposite principles, and that " he cannot do the things 
that he would. 7 ' He cries out, in the language of the 
excellent Hooker, " The little fruit which we have 
in holiness, it is, God knoweth, corrupt and unsound : 
we put no confidence at all in it, we challenge no- 
thing in the world for it, we dare not call God to reck- 
oning, as if we had him in our debt books ; our con 
tinual suit to him is, and must be, to bear with our 
infirmities, and pardon our offences." 

Such is the moral history, such the condition of 
man. The figures of the piece may vary, and the 
coloring is sometimes of a darker, sometimes of a 
lighter hue ; but the principles of the composition, 
the grand outlines, are every where the same. 
Wherever we direct our view, we discover the me- 
lancholy proofs of our depravity ; whether we look 
to ancient or modern times, to barbarous or civilized 
nations, to the conduct of the world around us, or to 
the monitor within the breast ; whether we read, or 
hear, or act, or think, or feel, the same humiliating 
lesson is forced upon us. 

Now when we look back to the picture which was 



36 CORRUPTION OF 

formerly drawn of the natural powers of man, and 
compare this, his actual state, with that for which, 
from a consideration of those powers, he seems to 
have been originally calculated, how are we to ac- 
count for the astonishing contrast ? Will frailty, or 
infirmity, or occasional lapses, or sudden surprisals, 
or any such qualifying terms, convey an adequate 
idea of the nature, or point out the cause of the dis- 
temper ? How can we account for it, but by conceiv- 
ing that man, since he came out of the hands of his 
Creator, has contracted a taint, and that this subtle 
poison has been communicated throughout the race 
of Adam, every where exhibiting incontestable marks 
of its fatal malignity 1 Hence it has arisen, that the 
appetites deriving new strength, and the powers of 
reason and conscience being weakened, the latter 
have feebly and impotently pleaded against those 
forbidden indulgences which the former have soli- 
cited. Sensual gratifications and illicit affections 
have debased our nobler powers, and indisposed oui 
hearts to the discovery of God, and to the conside- 
ration of his perfections ; to a constant, willing sub- 
mission to his authority, and obedience to his laws. 
By a repetition of vicious acts, evil habits have been 
formed within us, and have riveted the fetters of sin. 
Left to the consequences of our own folly, the under- 
standing has grown darker, and the heart more ob- 
durate ; reason has at length altogether betrayed her 
trust,, and even conscience herself has aided the 



HUMAN NATURE. 3? 

delusion, till, instead of deploring our miserable 
slavery, we have too often hugged, and even gloried 
in our chains. 

Such is the general account of the progress of 
vice, where it is suffered to attain to its full growth 
in the human heart. The circumstances of indi- 
viduals will be found indeed to differ, but none are 
altogether free ; all, without exception, in a greater 
or less degree, bear about them, more visible or more 
concealed, the ignominious marks of their captivity. 

Such, on a full and fair investigation, must be 
confessed to be the state of facts ; and how can this 
be accounted for on any other supposition, than that 
of some original taint, some radical principle of cor 
ruption ? All other solutions are unsatisfactory 
whilst the potent cause which has been assigned 
does abundantly, and can alone sufficiently account 
for the effect. Thus, then, it appears that the cor- 
ruption of human nature is proved by the same mode 
of reasoning as has been deemed conclusive in es- 
tablishing the existence, and ascertaining the laws 
of the principle of gravitation ; that the doctrine rests 
on the same solid basis as the sublime philosophy 
of Newton ; that it is not a mere speculation, and 
therefore an uncertain, though perhaps an ingenious 
theory, but the sure result of a large and actual ex- 
periment, deduced from incontestable facts, and still 
more fully approving its truth, by harmonizing with 
the several parts, and accounting for the various phe 



S8 CORRUPTION OF 

nomena, jarring otherwise, and inexplicable, of the 
great system of the universe. 

Revelation, however, here comes in, and sustains 
the fallible conjectures of our unassisted reason. The 
holy Scriptures speak of us as fallen creatures ; in 
almost every page we shall find something that is 
calculated to abate the loftiness and silence the pre- 
tensions of man. " The imagination of man's heart 
is evil, from his youth." " What is man, that he 
should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, 
that he should be righteous?" Job, 15: 14. u How 
much more abominable and filthy is man, which 
drinketh iniquity like w T ater I" Job, 15 : 16. " The 
Lord looked down from heaven upon the children 
of men, to see if there were any that did understand, 
and seek God. They are all gone aside ; they are 
altogether become filthy : there is none that doeth 
good, no, not one." Ps. 14 : 2, 3. " Who can say, I 
have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" 
Prov. 20 : 9. " The heart is deceitful above all things, 
and desperately wicked : who can know it?" " Be- 
hold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my 
mother conceive me." " We were by nature the chil- 
dren of wrath, even as others, fulfilling the desires of 
the flesh and of the mind." " O wretched man that 
I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death?" Passages might be multiplied upon pas- 
sages, which speak the same language, and these 
again might be illustrated and confirmed at large by 



HUMAN NATURE. 39 

various other considerations, drawn from the same 
sacrea source; such as those which represent a 
thorough change, a renovation of our nature, as be- 
ing necessary to our becoming true Christians ; or 
as those, also, which are suggested by observing 
that holy men refer their good dispositions and af- 
fections to the immediate agency of the Supreme 
Being. 

SECTION II. 

Evil spirit. — Natural state of man. 

In addition to all which has been yet stated, tne 
word of God instructs us, that we have to contend 
not only with our own natural depravity, but with 
the power of darkness, the evil spirit, who rules in 
the hearts of the wicked, and whose dominion, we 
learn from Scripture, is so general, as to entitle him 
to the denomination of u the prince of this world." 
There cannot be a stronger proof of the difference 
which exists between the religious system of the 
Scriptures, and that of the bulk of nominal Chris- 
tians, than the proof which is afforded by the subject 
now in question. The existence and agency of the 
evil spirit, though so distinctly and repeatedly af- 
firmed in Scripture, are regarded by many as a pre- 
judice, which it would now be a discredit to any man 
of understanding to believe. But to be consistent with 
ourselves, we might, on the same principle, deny the 



40 CORRUPTION OF 

reality of all other incorporeal beings. What is 
there, in truth, in the doctrine, which is in itself im- 
probable, or which is not confirmed by analogy? 
We see, in fact, that there are wicked men, enemies 
to God, and malignant towards their fellow- creatures, 
who take pleasure, and often succeed, in drawing m 
others to the commission of evil. Why then should 
it be deemed incredible that there may be one or 
more spiritual intelligences of similar natures and 
propensities, who may, in like manner, be permitted 
to tempt men to the practice of sin ? Surely we may 
retort upon our opponents the charge of absurdity, 
and justly accuse them of gross inconsistency, in 
admitting, without difficulty, the existence and ope- 
ration of these qualities in a material being, and yet 
denying them in an immaterial one, in direct con- 
tradiction to the authority of Scripture, which they 
allow to be conclusive, when they cannot, and will 
not pretend, for a moment, that there is any thing be- 
longing to the nature of matter, to which these quali- 
ties naturally adhere. 

But to dilate no farther on a topic which, howevei 
it may excite the ridicule of the inconsiderate, will 
suggest matter of serious apprehension to all who 
form their opinions on the authority of the word of 
God ; thus brought as we are into captivity, and ex- 
posed to danger ; depraved and weakened within, 
and tempted from without ; it might well fill our 
hearts with anxiety to reflect, that the day will come 



HUMAN NATURE. 41 

when " the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved* 
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ;" 
44 when the dead, small and great, shall stand before" 
the tribunal of " God," and we shall have to give 
account of all things done in the body. We are na- 
turally prompted to turn over the page of revelation 
with solicitude, in order to discover the qualities and 
character of our Judge, and the probable principles 
of his determination ; but this only serves to turn 
painful apprehension into fixed and certain terror. 
First, of the qualities of our Judge. As all nature 
bears witness to his irresistible power, so we read 
in Scripture, that nothing can escape his observation, 
or elude his discovery ; not our actions only, but out 
most secret cogitations are open to his view. " He 
is about our path and about our bed, and spieth out 
all our ways," Psalm 139 : 3. " The Lord search 
eth all hearts, and understandeth all the imagina- 
tions of the thoughts," 1 Chron. 28 : 9. " And he 
will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, 
and will make manifest the counsels of the heart." 
Now, hear his description and character, and the 
rule of his award : " The Lord our God is a con- 
suming fire, even a jealous God." " He is of purer 
eyes than to behold iniquity." " The soul that sin- 
neth, it shall die." " The wages of sin is death." 
These positive declarations are enforced by the ac 
counts which, for our warning, we read in sacred 
history, of the terrible vengeance of the Almighty; 



42 CORRUPTION OF 

his punishment of " the angels who kept not then 
first estate, and whom he hath reserved in everlasting 
chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the 
great day:" the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah; the 
sentence issued against the ^idolatrous nations of 
Canaan, and of which the execution was assigned to 
the Israelites, by the express command of God, at 
their own peril, in case of disobedience : the ruin of 
Babylon, and of Tyre, and of Nineveh, and of Jeru- 
salem, prophetically denounced as the punishment 
of their crimes, and taking place in an exact and 
terrible accordance with the Divine predictions. 
These are, indeed, matters of awful perusal, suffi- 
cient, surely, to confound the fallacious confidence 
of any who, on the ground that our Creator must be 
aware of our natural weakness, and must be of course 
disposed to allow for it, should allege that, though 
unable, indeed, to justify ourselves in the sight of 
God, we need not give way to such gloomy appre 
hensions, but might throw ourselves, with assured 
hope, on the infinite benevolence of the Supreme 
Being. It is indeed true, that with the threatenings 
of the word of God there are mixed many gracious 
declarations of pardon, on repentance and thorough 
amendment. But, alas ! who of us is there, whose 
conscience must not reproach him with having tri- 
fled with the long-sufTering of God, and with having 
but ill kept the resolutions of amendment which he 
had some time or other formed in the seasons of re- 



HUMAN NATURE. 43 

collection and remorse ? And how is the disquietude 
naturally excited by such a retrospect, confirmed and 
heightened by passages like these ! "Because I have 
called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my 
hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at 
naught all my counsel, and would none of my re- 
proof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will 
mock when your fear cometh; when your fear 
cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh 
as a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish cometh 
upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will 
not answer ; they shall seek me early, but they shall 
not find me : for that they hated knowledge, and did 
not choose the fear of the Lord." Prov. 1 : 24-29. The 
apprehensions which must be excited by thus read- 
ing the recorded judgments and awful language of 
Scripture, are confirmed to the inquisitive and at- 
tentive mind, by a close observation of the moral 
constitution of the world. Such a one will find oc- 
casion to remark, that all which has been suggested 
of the final consequences of vice, is in strict analogy 
to what we may observe in the ordinary course of 
human affairs, wherein God has established such an 
order of causes and effects as loudly proclaims the 
principles of his moral government, and strongly 
suggests that vice and imprudence will finally ter- 
minate in misery, however interrupted here below, 
by hinderances and obstructions apparently of a tern- 



44 CORRUPTION OF 

porary nature.* Not that this species of proof was 
wanted ; for that which we must acknowledge, on 
weighing the evidence, to be a revelation from God, 
requires not the aid of such a confirmation : but yet, 
as this accordance might be expected between the 
words and the works, the past and the future ordi- 
nations of the same Almighty Being, it is no idle 
speculation to remark, that the visible constitution 
of things in the world around us falls in with the 
representations here given from Scripture, of the 
dreadful consequences of vice, nay, even of what is 
commonly termed inconsideratenessand imprudence. 
If such then be indeed our sad condition, what is 
to be done ? Is there no hope? nothing left for us 
" but a fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery in- 
dignation, which shall devour the adversaries V 1 
Heb. 10 : 27. Blessed be God ! we are not shut up 
irrecoverably in this sad condition : " Turn you to 
the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope ; " hear one 
who proclaims his designation, " to heal the broken- 
hearted, to .preach liberty to the captives, and reco- 
vering of sight to the blind. " Those who have 
formed a true notion of their lost and helpless state, 
will most gladly listen to the sound, and most justly 
estimate the value of such a deliverance. And this 
is the cause, which renders it of such pressing mo- 
ment not to pass cursorily over those important to* 

* Vide Butler's Analogy* 



HUMAN NATURE. 45 

pics of the original and superinduced corruption and 
weakness of man ; a discussion painful and humili- 
ating' to the pride of human nature, to which the 
mind lends itself with difficulty, and hearkens with 
a mixture of anger and disgust ; but well suited to 
our case, and, like the distasteful lessons of adversi- 
ty, permanently useful in its consequences. It is 
here, never let it be forgotten, that our foundation 
must be laid; otherwise our superstructure, what- 
ever we may think of it, will one day or other prove 
tottering and insecure. This is therefore no meta- 
physical speculation, but a practical matter. Slight 
and superficial conceptions of our state of natural 
degradation, and of our insufficiency to recover from 
it of ourselves, fall in too well with our natural in- 
considerateness, and produce that fatal insensibility 
to the Divine warning to " flee from the wrath to 
come," which we cannot but observe to prevail so 
generally. Having no due sense of the malignity of 
our disease, and of its dreadful issue, we do not set 
ourselves to work in earnest to obtain the remedy 
as to a business, arduous indeed, but indispensable : 
for it must ever be carefully remembered, that this 
deliverance is not forced on us, but offered to us ; we 
are furnished, indeed, with every help, and are always 
to bear in mind that we are unable, of ourselves, to 
will or to do rightly ; but we are plainly admonished 
to " work out our own salvation with fear and trem- 
bling." Philippians, 2: 12. Watchful, for we are 



46 CORRUPTION OF 

encompassed with dangers; " putting on the whole 
armor of God," for " we are beset with enemies." 

May we be enabled to shake off that lethargy 
which is so apt to creep upon us ! For this end, a 
deep practical conviction of our natural depravity 
and weakness will be found of eminent advantage. 
As it is by this we must at first be roused from our 
fallacious security, so by this we must be kept wake- 
ful and active unto the end. Let us therefore make 
it our business to have this doctrine firmly seated in 
our understandings, and radically worked into our ] 
hearts. With a view to the former of these ob- 
jects, we should often seriously and attentively con- 
sider the firm ground on which it rests. It is plain- 
ly made known to us by the light of nature, and ir- 
resistibly enforced on us by the dictates of our un- 
derstandings. But, lest there should be any so 
obstinately dull as not to discern the force of the 
evidence suggested to our reason and confirmed by 
all experience, or rather so heedless as not to notice 
it, the authoritative stamp of revelation is superad 
ded, to complete the proof; and we must therefore 
be altogether inexcusable, if we still remain un- 
convinced by such an accumulated mass of argu- 
ment. 

But we must not only assent to the doctrine clear- 
ly, but feel it strongly. To this end, let us accus- 
om ourselves to refer to our natural depravity, as 
to their primary cause, the sad instances of vice and 



HUMAN NATURE. 47 

folly of which we read, or which we see around us, 
or to which we feel the propensities in our own 
bosoms ; ever vigilant and distrustful of ourselves, j 
and looking with an eye of kindness and pity on the 
faults and infirmities of others, whom we should 
learn to regard with the same tender concern as 
that with which the sick are used to sympathize 
with those who are suffering under the same dis- 
temper as themselves. This lesson once well ac- 
quired, we shall feel the benefit of it in all our future 
progress ; and though it be a lesson which we are 
slow to learn, it is one in which study and experi- 
ence, the incidents of every day, and every fresh ob- 
servation of the workings of our own hearts, will 
gradually concur to perfect us. Let it not, after all, 
then, be our reproach, and at length our ruin, that 
these abundant means of instruction are possessed 
in vain. ^ 

SECTION III. 

Corruption of human nature. — Objection. 

But there is one difficulty still behind, more for- 
midable than all the rest. The pride of man is loth 
to be humbled. Forced to abandon the plea of in- 
nocence, and pressed so closely that he can no long- 
er escape from the conclusion to which we would 
drive him, some more bold objector, endeavoring to 
Justify what he cannot deny, " Whatever I am," he 



48 CORRUPTION OF 

contends, " I am what my Creator made me. If this 
plea cannot establish my innocence, it must excuse, 
or at least extenuate my guilt. Frail and weak as I 
am, a Being of infinite justice and goodness will 
never try me by a rule which, however equitable 
in the case of creatures of a higher nature, is alto- 
gether disproportionate to mine." 

Let not my readers be alarmed ! The writer is 
not going to enter into the discussion of the grand 
question concerning the origin of moral evil, or to 
attempt at large to reconcile its existence, and con- 
sequent punishment, with the acknowledged attri- 
butes and perfections of God. These are questions, 
of which, if one may judge from the little success 
with which the acutest and profoundest reasoners 
have been ever laboring to solve the difficulties they 
contain, the full and clear comprehension is above 
the intellect of man. Yet, as such an objection as 
that which has been stated is sometimes heard from 
the mouths of professed Christians, it must not be 
passed by without a few short observations. 

Were the language in question to be addressed to 
us by an avowed sceptic, though it might not be 
very difficult to expose to him the futility of his rea- 
sonings, we should almost despair of satisfying him 
of the soundness of our own. We should perhaps 
suggest impossibilities, which might stand in the 
way of such a system as he would establish j we 
might, indeed, point out wherein (arguing from con- 



HUMAN NATURE. 49 

cessions which he would freely make) his precon- 
ceptions concerning the conduct of the Supreme Be- 
ing had been, in fact, already contradicted, particu- 
larly by the existence at all of natural or moral evil ; 
and if thus proved erroneous in one instance, why 
might they not be so likewise in another? But 
though, by these and similar arguments, we might at 
length silence our objector, we could not much ex- 
pect to bring him over to our opinions. We should 
probably do better, if we were to endeavor rather to 
draw him off from these dark and slippery regions, 
and to contend with him on sure ground, and in the 
light of day. Then we might fairly lay before him 
all the various arguments for the truth of our holy 
religion ; arguments which have been sufficient to 
satisfy the wisest, and the best, and the ablest of men. 
We should afterwards, perhaps, insist on the abun- 
dant confirmation Christianity receives from its being 
exactly suited to the nature and wants of man ; and 
we might conclude with fairly putting it to him, 
whether all this weight of evidence were to be over- 
balanced by this one difficulty, on a subject so con- 
fessedly high and mysterious, considering that we 
see but a part (O how small a part !) of the universal 
creation of God, and that our faculties are wholly 
incompetent to judge of the schemes of his infinite 
wisdom. This seems, at least in general, the best 
mode, in the case of the objection now in question, 
Di dealing with unbelievers. To adopt the contrary 

Pr. View. 4 



50 CORRUPTION OF 

plan, seems somewhat like that of any one who, hav 
mg to convince some untutored Indian of the truth 
of the Copernican system, instead of beginning with 
plain and simple propositions, and leading him on 
to what is more abstruse and remote, should state to 
him, at the outset, some astonishing problems, to 
which the understanding can only yield its slow as- 
sent, when constrained by the decisive force of de- 
monstration. The novice, instead of lending him- 
self to such a mistaken method of instruction, would 
turn away in disgust, and be only hardened against 
his preceptor. But it must be remembered that the 
present work is addressed to those who acknowledge 
the authority of the holy Scriptures. And in order 
to convince all such that there is a fallacy in our 
objector's reasoning, it will be sufficient to establish, 
that though the word of God clearly asserts the jus- 
tice and goodness of the Supreme Being, and also 
the natural depravity of man, yet it no less clearly 
lays down, that this natural depravity shall never be 
admitted as an excuse for sin, but that " they which 
have done evil, shall rise to the resurrection of dam- 
nation," John, 5: 29 ; " That the wicked shall be 
turned into hell, and all the people that forget God." 
Psa. 9:17. And it is worthy of remark, that, as it 
for the very purpose of more effectually silencing 
those unbelieving doubts which are ever springing 
up in the human heart, our blessed Savior, though 
the messenger of peace and good will to man, ha<* 



HUMAN NATURE. 51 

again and again repeated these awful denunciations. 

Nor, it must also be remarked, are the holy Scrip- 
tures less clear and full in guarding us against sup- 
posing our sins, or the dreadful consequences of them, 
to be chargeable on God. " Let no man say, when 
he is tempted, I am tempted of God : for God cannot 
be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." 
James, 1: 13. "The Lord is not willing that any 
should perish." 2 Peter, 3:9. And again, where 
the idea is repelled as injurious to his character ; 
" Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should 
die ? saith the Lord God ; and not that he should 
return from his ways and live?" Ezek. 18: 23. 
" For I have no pleasure in the death of him that 
dieth, saith the Lord God." Ezek. 18 ; 32. Indeed, 
almost every page of the word of God contains some 
warning or invitation to sinners ; and all these, to a 
considerate mind, must unquestionably be proofs of 
our present position. 

It has been the more necessary not to leave unno- 
ticed the objection which we have been now refuting, 
because, when not avowed in the daring language in 
which it has been above stated, it may frequently be 
observed in an inferior degree; and often, when not 
distinctly formed into shape, it lurks in secret, dif- 
fusing a general cloud of doubt or unbelief, or low- 
ering our standard of right, or whispering fallacious 
comfort, and producing a ruinous tranquillity. Let 
us here remark, that though the holy Scriptures so 



52 CORRUPTION 01* 

clearly state the natural corruption and weakness of 
man, they, throughout, directly oppose the supposi- 
tion that this corruption and weakness will be ad- 
mitted as lowering the demands of divine justice, 
and in some sort palliating our transgressions of the 
laws of God. Such a notion is at war with the 
whole scheme of redemption by the atonement of 
Christ. But perhaps it may be enough, when any 
such suggestions, as those which we are condemn- 
ing, force themselves into the imagination of a Chris- 
tian, to recommend it to him to silence them by 
what is their best practical answer : that if our na- 
tural condition be depraved and weak, our tempta- 
tions numerous, and our Almighty Judge infinitely 
holy ; yet that the offers to penitent sinners of par- 
don, and grace, and strength, are universal and un- 
limited. Let it not however surprise us, if in all 
this there seem to be involved difficulties which we 
cannot fully comprehend. How many such every 
where present themselves! Scarcely is there an ob- 
ject around us that does not afford endless matter of 
doubt and argument. The meanest reptile which 
crawls on the earth, nay, every herb and flower 
which we behold, baffles the imbecility of our limit- 
ed inquiries. All nature calls upon us to be hum- 
ble. Can it then be surprising if we are at a loss 
on this question, which respects not the properties 
of matter, or of numbers, but the counsels and ways 
of Him whose " understanding is infinite" Psalm 



HUMAN NATURE. 53 

147 : 5. " Whose judgments are declared to be un- 
searchable, and his ways past finding- out ?" Rom. 
11:33. In this our ignorance, however, we may 
calmly repose ourselves on his own declaration, that 
though " clouds and darkness are round about him," 
yet " righteousness and judgment are the habitation 
of his throne." Psalm 97 : 2. Let it also be remem- 
bered, that if in Christianity some things are difficult, 
that which it most concerns us to know, is plain and 
obvious. To this it is true wisdom to attach our- 
selves, assenting to what is revealed where above 
our faculties, (we do not say contradictory to them,) 
on the credit of what is clearly discerned and satis- 
factorily established. In truth, we are all perhaps 
too apt to plunge into depths which it is beyond our 
power to fathom ; and it was to warn us against this 
very error, that the inspired writer, when he has 
been threatening the people, whom God had selected 
as the objects of his special favor, with the most 
dreadful punishments, if they should forsake the law 
of the Lord, and has introduced surrounding nations 
as asking the meaning of the severe infliction, winds 
up the whole with this instructive admonition : " Se- 
cret things belong unto the Lord our God ; but those 
which are revealed belong unto us and to our chil- 
dren for ever, that we may do all the words of this 
law." Deut. 29:29. 

To any one who is seriously impressed with a 
sense of the critical state in which we are here 



54 CORRT'PTION OF HUMAN NATURE. 

placed, it is indeed an awful and an affecting specta- 
cle, to see men thus busying themselves in these vain 
speculations of arrogant curiosity, and trifling with 
their dearest, their everlasting interests. It is but a 
feeble illustration of this exquisite folly, to compare 
it to the conduct of some convicted rebel, who, when 
brought into the presence of his sovereign, instead 
of seizing the occasion to sue for mercy, should even 
neglect and trifle with the pardon which should be 
offered to him, and insolently employ himself in pry- 
ing into his sovereign's designs and criticising his 
counsels. Our case, indeed, is, in another point of 
comparison, but too much like that of the convicted 
rebel. But there is this grand difference — that, at 
the best, his success must be uncertain; ours, if it be 
not our own fault, is sure: and while, on the one 
hand, our guilt is unspeakably greater than that of 
any rebel against an earthly monarch ; so, on the 
other, w r e know that our Sovereign is " long-suffer- 
ing, and easy to be entreated j" more ready to grant, 
than we to ask forgiveness. 



CHAPTER III. 



CHIEF DEFECTS OF THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OP 
THE BULK OF PROFESSED CHRISTIANS, IN WHAT 
REGARDS OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THE 
HOLY SPIRIT WITH A DISSERTATION CONCERN- 
ING THE USE OF THE PASSIONS IN RELIGION. 



SECTION I. 

Inadequate conceptions concerning our Savior and the 
Holy Spirit. 

That God so loved the world, as of his tender 
mercy to give his only Son Jesus Christ for our 
redemption : 

That our blessed Lord willingly left the glory of 
the Father, and was made man : 

That " he was despised and rejected of men ; a 
man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:" 

That " he was wounded for our transgressions ;" 
and " was bruised for our iniquities :" 

That " the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all:" 

That at length he humbled himself even to the 
death of the cross, for us, miserable sinners; to the 



56 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS ■ OF OUR 

end that all who, with hearty repentance and true 
faith should come to him, might not perish, but 
have everlasting life : 

That he is now at the right hand of God, making 
intercession for his people : 

That, " being reconciled to God by the death of 
his Son, we may come boldly unto the throne of 
grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in 
time of need :" 

That our heavenly Father " will surely give bis 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him :" 

That "the Spirit of God must dwell in us :" and 
that " if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is 
none of his :" 

That by this Divine influence " we are to be re- 
newed in knowledge after the image of Him who 
created us," and " to be filled with the fruits of 
righteousness, to the praise of the glory of his 
grace;" that, "being thus made meet for the in- 
heritance of the saints in light," we shall sleep in 
the Lord ; and that, when the last trumpet shall 
sound, this corruption shall put on incorruption ; 
and that, being at length perfected after his likeness, 
we shall be admitted into his heavenly kingdom : — 

These are the leading doctrines concerning our 
Savior, and the Holy Spirit, which are taught in the 
holy Scriptures, and held by the church of England. 
The truth of them, agreeably to our general plan, 
will be taken for granted. Few of those who have 



SAVIOR AND HOLY SPIRIT. 57 

been used to join in the established form of worship, 
can have been, it is hoped, s-o inattentive as to be 
ignorant of these grand truths, which are to be found 
every where dispersed throughout our excellent 
liturgy. Would to God it could be presumed, with 
equal confidence, that all who assent to them in 
terms, discern their force and excellency in the un- 
derstanding, and feel their power in the affections, 
and their transforming influence in the heart ! What 
lively emotions are they calculated to excite in us, of 
deep self-abasement, and abhorrence of our sins ; and 
of humble hope, and firm faith, and heavenly joy, 
and ardent love, and active unceasing gratitude ! 

But here, it is to be feared, will be found the 
grand defect of the religion of the bulk of professed 
Christians ; a defect, like the palsy at the heart, which, 
while, in its first attack, it changes but little the ex- 
terior appearance of the body, extinguishes the in- 
ternal principle of heat and motion, and soon extends 
its benumbing influence to the remotest fibres of the 
frame. This defect is closely connected with that 
which was the chief subject of the last chapter : 
" They that are whole need not a physician, but they 
that are sick." Had we duly felt the burden of our 
sins, that they are a load which our own strength is 
wholly unable to support, and that the weight of 
them must finally sink us into perdition, our hearts 
would have rejoiced at the sound of the gracious in- 
vitation, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are 



68 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF OUR 

heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 1 1 : 
28. But in those who have scarcely felt their sins 
as any incumbrance, it would be mere affectation to 
pretend to very exalted conceptions of the value and 
acceptableness of the proffered deliverance. This 
pretence, accordingly, is seldom now kept up ; and 
the most superficial observer, comparing the senti- 
ments and views of the bulk of the christian world 
with the articles still retained in their creed, and 
with the strong language of Scripture, must be 
struck with the amazing disproportion. 

To pass over the throng from whose minds reli- 
gion is altogether excluded by the business or the 
vanities of life, how is it with the more decent and 
moral ?, To what criterion shall we appeal? Are 
their hearts really filled with these things, and 
warmed by the love which they are adapted to in- 
spire ? Then surely their minds are apt to stray to 
them almost unseasonably ; or at least to hasten back 
to them with eagerness, when escaped from the 
estrangement imposed by the necessary cares and 
business of life. 

" And how," it may be perhaps replied, " do you 
know but that the minds of these people are thus 
occupied?" Let us appeal to a test to which we re- 
sorted in a former instance. " Out of the abundance 
of the heart the mouth speaketh." Take these per- 
sons, and lead the conversation to the subject of reli- 
gion. The utmost which can be effected is, to bring 



SAVIOR AND HOLY SPIRIT. 59 

them to talk of things in generalities ; there is no- 
thing precise and determinate, nothing which im- 
plies a mind used to the contemplation of its object, 
[n vain you strive to bring them to speak on that to- 
pic, which one might expect to be ever uppermost 
in the hearts of redeemed sinners. They elude all 
your endeavors ; and if you mention it yourself, it 
is received with no very cordial welcome, if not 
with unequivocal disgust ; it is, at the best, a forced 
and formal discussion. The excellence of our Sa- 
vior's moral precepts, the kindness, and simplicity, 
and self-denial, and unblemished purity of his life, 
his patience and meekness in the hour of death, can- 
not indeed be spoken of but with admiration, when 
spoken of at all, as they have often extorted unwil- 
ling praise from the most daring and malignant in- 
fidels. But are not these mentioned as qualities in 
the abstract, rather than as the perfections and linea- 
ments of our Patron, and Benefactor, and Friend, 
" who loved us, and gave himself for us ;" of Him 
"who died for our offences, and rose again for our 
justification ;" " who is even now at the right hand 
of God, making intercession for us f\ Who would 
think that the kindness, and humanity, and self-de- 
nial, and patience in suffering, which we so dryly 
commend, had been exerted towards ourselves, in 
acts of more than finite benevolence, of which we 
were to derive the benefit, in condescensions and la- 
bors submitted to for our sakes, in pain and igno- 
miny endured for our deliverance? 



60 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF OUIl 

The Unitarian and Socinian, who deny or explain 
away the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel, may bo 
alloAved to feel and talk of these grand truths with 
little emotion. But in those who profess a sincere 
belief in them, this coldness is insupportable. The 
greatest possible services of man to man must appear 
contemptible, when compared with " the unspeaka 
ble mercies of Christ :" mercies so dearly bought, 
so freely bestowed— a deliverance from eternal mi- 
sery — the gift of " a crown of glory, that fadeth not 
away." Yet, what judgment should we form of such 
conduct as is here censured, in the case of any one 
who had received signal services from a fellow-crea- 
ture ? True love is an ardent and active principle; 
a cold, a dormant, a phlegmatic gratitude are con- 
tradictions in terms. When these generous affections 
really exist in vigor, are we not ever fond of dwell- 
ing on the value and enumerating the merits of our 
benefactor ? How are we moved when any thing is 
asserted to his disparagement ! How do we delight 
to tell of his kindness ! With what pious care do we 
preserve any memorial of him which we may hap- 
pen to possess ! How gladly do we seize any oppor- 
tunity of rendering to him, or to those who are dear 
to him, any little good offices, which, though in 
themselves of small intrinsic worth, may testify the 
sincerity of our thankfulness ! The very mention of 
his name will cheer the heart, and light up the 
countenance ! And if he be now no more, and if he 



SAVIOR AND HOLY SPIRIT. 61 

had made it his dying request that, in a way of his 
own appointment, we would occasionally meet to 
keep the memory of his person and of his services 
in lively exercise ; how should we resent the idea 
of failing in the performance of so sacred an obliga- 
tion ! 

Such are the genuine characters, such the natu- 
ral workings of a lively gratitude. And can we be- 
lieve, without doing violence to the most established 
principles of human nature, that where the effects 
are so different, the internal principle is in truth the 
same? 

If the love of Christ be thus languid in the bulk 
of nominal Christians, their joy and trust in him 
cannot be expected to be very vigorous. Here again 
we find reason to remark, that there is nothing dis- 
tinct, nothing specific, nothing which implies a mind 
acquainted with the nature and familiarized with the 
use of the Christian's privileges, habitually solacing 
itself with the hopes held out by the Gospel, anima- 
ted by the sense of its high relations and its glori- 
ous reversion. 

The doctrine of the sanctifying operations of the 
Holy Spirit appears 10 have met with still worse 
treatment. It would be to convey a very inadequate 
idea of the scantiness of the conceptions, on this head, 
of the bulk of the Christian world, to affirm merely 
that they are too little conscious of the inefflcacy of 
their own unassisted endeavors after holiness of 



62 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF OUR 

heart and life, and that they are not daily employed 
in humbly and diligently using the appointed means 
for the reception and cultivation of the divine assist- 
ance. It would hardly be to go beyond the truth to 
assert, that for the most part their notions on this 
subject are so confused and faint, that they can 
scarcely be said to believe the doctrine at all. 

The writer is prepared to hear it urged, that often 
where there have been the strongest pretences to 
religious affections, there has been little or nothing 
of the reality of them ; and that even omitting the 
instances of studied hypocrisy, what have assumed 
to themselves the name of religious affections, have 
been merely the flights of a lively imagination, or 
the working of a heated brain: in particular, that 
this love of our Savior dwells only in the disordered 
mind of the enthusiast. That religion is of a more 
steady nature ; and that she rejects with scorn the 
support of a mere feeling, indeterminate, trivial, and 
useless ; a feeling varying in different men, and even 
in the same man at different times, according to the 
accidental flow of the animal spirits ; a feeling of 
which it may perhaps be said, we are, from our 
very nature, hardly susceptible towards an invisible 
Being. 

"As to the operations of the Holy Spirit," it 
may probably be further urged, that "it is perhaps 
scarcely worth while to spend much time in inquir- 
ing into the theory, when, in practice at least, it is 



SAVIOR AND HOLY SPIRIT. 63 

manifest that there is no sure criterion whereby any 
one can ascertain the reality of them, even in his 
own case, much less in that of another. All we 
know is, that pretenders to these extraordinary as- 
sistances have never been wanting to abuse the 
credulity of the vulgar, and to try the patience of the 
wise. The doctrine, to say the best of it, can only 
serve to favor the indolence of man. It is, therefore, 
true wisdom to attach ourselves to what is more solid 
and practical ; to the work of rectifying the disorders 
of the passions, and of implanting and cultivating 
the virtues of the moral character. You are contend- 
ing for that which not only is altogether unworthy 
of our Divine Master, but which, with considerate 
men, has ever brought his religion into suspicion 
and disrepute, and, under a show of honoring him, 
serves only to injure and discredit his cause." Our 
objector, warming as he proceeds, will perhaps as- 
sume a more impatient tone. " Have not these doc- 
trines," he may exclaim, " been ever perverted to 
purposes the most disgraceful to the religion of 
Jesus ? If you want an instance, look to the standard 
of the Inquisitionj and behold the Dominicans tor- 
turing their miserable victims for the love of Christ.* 
Or would you rather see the effects of your prin- 
ciples on a larger scale, and by wholesale, (if the 
phrase may be pardoned,) cast your eyes across the 

* This was the motto on their banner. 



64 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF OUR 

Atlantic, and let your zeal be edified by the holy 
activity of Cortez and Pizarro, and their apostles oi 
the western hemisphere. To what else have been 
owing the national persecutions, and religious wars 
and crusades ; whereby rapacity, and pride, and 
cruelty, sheltering themselves under the mask of this 
specious principle, have so often afflicted the world f 1 

Objection discussed. 

That the sacred name of religion has been too 
often prostituted to the most detestable purposes ; 
that furious bigots, and bloody persecutors, and self- 
interested hypocrites, of all qualities and dimensions, 
have falsely called themselves Christians, are me- 
lancholy and humiliating truths, which, as none so 
deeply lament them, none will more readily admit, 
than they who best understand the nature, and are 
most concerned for the honor of Christianity. We 
are ready to acknowledge, also, without dispute, that 
the doctrines of religious affections and divine as- 
sistances have almost, at all times, been more or less 
disgraced by the false pretences and extravagant 
conduct of fanatics and enthusiasts. All this, how- 
ever, is only as it happens in other instances, wherein 
the depravity of man perverts the bounty of God. 
Why is it here only to be made an argument, that 
there is danger of abuse? So is there, also, in the 
case of ail the potent and operative principles, whe- 






SAVIOR AND HOLY SPIRIT. 65 

ther in the natural or moral world. Take, for an 
instance, the powers and properties of matter. These 
were, doubtless, designed by Providence for our 
comfort and well-being ; yet they are often misap- 
plied to trifling purposes, and still more frequently 
turned into so many agents of misery and death. 
Suppose religion were discarded, then liberty re- 
mains to plague the world ; a power which, though, 
when well employed, the dispenser of light and hap- 
piness, has been often proved, and eminently in 
this very instance, to be capable, when abused, of 
becoming infinitely mischievous. Well, then, ex- 
tinguish liberty — blot out courage; and so might 
you proceed to extinguish, one by one, reason, and 
speech, and memory, and all the discriminating 
prerogatives of man. But, perhaps, more than 
enough has already been urged in reply to an ob- 
jection so indefensible as that which would equally 
warrant our condemning any physical or moral 
faculty altogether, on account of its being occasion- 
ally abused. 

As to the position, that there is no way whereby 
the validity of pretensions to the religious affections 
may be ascertained, it must partly be admitted. 
Doubtless, we are not able always to read the hearts 
of men, and to discover their real characters ; and 
hence it is that we in some measure lie open to the 
false and hypocritical pretences which are brought 
forward so triumphantly. But then these pretences 

Pr. View. 5 



66 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS, &c. 

no more prove all similar claims to be founded in 
falsehood and hypocrisy, than there having been 
many false and interested pretenders to wisdom and 
honesty would prove that there can be no such 
thing as a wise or an honest man. We do not argue 
thus but where our reason is under a corrupt bias. 
It is no more than our blessed Master himself taught 
us to expect ; and when the old difficulty is stated, 
" Didst thou not sow good seed in thy field, whence 
then hath it tares?" his own answer furnishes the 
best solution, " An enemy hath done this." Hypo- 
crisy is indeed detestable, and enthusiasm sufficiently 
mischievous to justify our guarding against its ap- 
proaches with jealous care, Yet we are apt to draw 
too unfavorable conclusions from unpleasant appear- 
ances. The mode and language in which a vulgar 
man will express himself on the subject of religion, 
will probably be vulgar ; and it is difficult for peo- 
ple of literature and refinement not to be unreason- 
ably shocked by such vulgarities. But we should 
at least endeavor to correct the rash judgments which 
we may be disposed to form on these occasions, and 
should learn to recognize and to prize a sound tex- 
ture and just configuration, though disguised beneath 
homely or uncouth drapery. 



SECTION It. 

On the admission of the passions into religion. 

The objection, that by insisting on (he obligation 
of making our blessed Savior the object of our reli- 
gious affections, we are degrading the worship of 
the understanding, and are substituting a set of mere 
feelings in its stead, deserves most serious conside- 
ration. If it be just, it is decisive ; for ours must be 
unquestionably a " reasonable service." Rom. 12: I. 

This notion of the affections being out of place in 
religion, is indeed an opinion which appears to be 
generally prevalent. Mankind are apt to be the 
dupes of misapplied terms ; and the progress of the 
persuasion now in question, has been considerably 
aided by an abuse of language not sufficiently check 
ed in its first advances, whereby that species of reli- 
gion which is opposite to the warm and affectionate 
kind, has been suffered, almost without disturbance, 
to usurp to itself the epithet of rational. But let not 
this claim be too hastily admitted. Let the position 
in question be thoroughly and impartially discussed, 
and it will appear, if I mistake not, to be a gross and 
pernicious error. 

It cannot but afford a considerable presumption 
against the doctrine which we are about to com- 
bat, that it proposes to exclude at once from the ser 
vice of religion, so grand a part of the composition 



68 ON THE ADMISSION OF THE 

of man ; that in this our noblest employment it con- 
demns, as worse than useless, all the most active and 
operative principles of our nature. One cannot but 
suppose that, like the organs of the body, so the ele- 
mentary qualities and original passions of the mind 
were ail given us for valuable purposes by our all- 
wise Creator. It is indeed one of the sad evidences 
of our fallen condition, that they are now perpetually 
rebelling against the powers of reason and con- 
science, to which they should be subject. But even 
if revelation had been silent, natural reason might 
have, in some degree, presumed that it would be the 
effect of a religion which should come from God, 
completely to repair the consequences of our super- 
induced depravity. The schemes of mere human 
wisdom had indeed tacitly confessed that this was a 
task beyond their strength. Of the two most celebra- 
ted systems of philosophy, the one expressly confirm- 
ed the usurpation of the passions ; while the other, 
despairing of being able to regulate, saw nothing left 
Vbut to extinguish them. Christianity would not be 
driven to any such wretched expedients ; it is her 
peculiar glory and her main office to bring all the 
faculties of our nature into their just subordination 
and dependence ; that so the whule man, complete 
in all his functions, may be restored to the true ends 
of his being, and be devoted to the service and glory 
of God. " My son, give me thine heart ;" " Thou 
ahalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart ." 



PASSIONS INTO RELIGION. 60 

such are the direct and comprehensive claims which 
are made on' us in the holy Scriptures. We can 
scarcely indeed look into any part of the sacred vo- 
lume without meeting abundant proofs that it is the 
religion of the affections which God particularly re 
quires. Love, zeal, gratitude, joy, hope, trust, are 
each of them specified ; and are not allowed to us 
as weaknesses, but enjoined on us as our bounden du 
ty, and commended to us as our acceptable worship. 
Where passages are so numerous, there would be 
no end of particular citations. Let it be sufficient, 
therefore, to refer the reader to the word of God 
There let him observe, too, that as the lively exer 
cise of the passions towards their legitimate object i& 
always spoken of with praise, so a cold, hard, unfee] 
frig heart, is represented as highly criminal. Luke 
warmness is stated to be the object of God's disgust 
and aversion; zeal and love, of his favor and de- 
light ; and the taking away of the heart of stone, 
and the implanting of a warmer and more tender na- 
ture in its stead, is specifically promised as the ef- 
fect of his returning favor, and the work of his re- 
newing grace. It is the prayer of an inspired teach- 
er in behalf of those for whom he was most interest- 
ed, " that their love " (already acknowledged to be 
great) " might abound yet more and more." Those 
modes of worship are set forth and prescribed, which 
are best calculated to excite the dormant affections, 
and to maintain them in lively exercise ; if we look 



70 ON THE ADMISSION OF THE 

to the most eminent of the Scripture characters, we 
shall find them warm, zealous, and affectionate. 
When engaged in their favorite work of celebrating 
the goodness of their Supreme Benefactor, their 
souls appear to burn within them, their hearts kin- 
dle into rapture ; the powers of language are inade- 
quate ; and they call on all nature to unite with 
them in hallelujahs of gratitude, and joy, and praise. 
The man after God's own heart most of all abounds 
in these glowing effusions ; and his compositions 
appear to have been given us in order to set the tone, 
as it were, to all succeeding generations. Accord- 
ingly, (to quote the words of a late excellent prelate, 
who was himself warmed with the same heaven- 
ly flame,) ''in the language of this divine book, the 
praises of the church have been offered up to the 
throne of grace from age to age." Again, when it 
pleased God to check the future apostle of the Gen- 
tiles in his wild career, and to make him a monu- 
ment of transforming grace, was the force of his af- 
fections diminished, or was it not only that their di- 
rection was changed ? He brought his affections 
entire and unabated into the service of his blessed 
Master. His zeal now burned even with an increase 
of brightness; and no intenseness, no continuance 
of suffering could allay its. ardor, or damp the fer- 
vors of his triumphant exultations. Finally: the 
worship and service of the glorified spirits in hea- 
ven is not represented to us as a cold, intellectual 



PASSIONS INTO RELIGION 71 

investigation, but as the worship and service of gra- 
titude and love. And surely it will not be disputed 
that it should be, even here, the humble endeavor of 
those who are promised, while on earth " to be made 
meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints 
in light," to bring their hearts into capacity for 
joining in those everlasting praises. 

But it may be advisable here to guard against a 
mistaken supposition, that the force of the religious 
affections is to be mainly estimated by the degree of 
mere animal fervor, by ardors, and transports, and 
raptures, of which, from constitutional temperament, 
a person may be easily susceptible ; or into which 
daily experience must convince us that people of 
strong conceptions and of warm passions may 
work themselves without much difficulty, where 
their hearts are by no means truly or deeply inte- 
rested. These high degrees of the passions bad men 
may experience, good men may want. They may 
be affected ; they may be genuine ; but, whether ge- 
nuine or affected, they form not the true standard by 
which the real nature or strength of the religious 
affections is to be determined. To ascertain these 
points, we must examine whether they appear to be 
grounded in knowledge, to have their root in strong 
and just conceptions of the great, manifold excellen- 
ces of their objects, or to be ignorant, unmeaning, or 
vague : whether they are natural and easy, or con- 
strained and forced : wakeful and apt to fix on their 



72 ON THE ADMISSION OF THE 

great objects, delighting in their proper nutriment, 
the exercises of prayer and praise, and religious 
contemplation ; or voluntarily omitting offered occa- 
sions of receiving it, looking forward to them with 
little expectation, looking back on them with little 
complacency, and being disappointed of them with 
little regret. We must observe whether these reli 
gious affections are merely occasional visitants, oi 
the abiding inmates of the soul : whether they have 
the mastery over the vicious passions and propensi 
ties, with which, in their origin, and nature, and ten 
dency, they are at open variance; or whether, if the 
victory be not yet complete, the war is at least con 
stant, and the breach irreconcilable. We must ob 
serve whether they moderate and regulate all the 
inferior appetites and desires, which are culpable 
only in their excess, thus striving to reign in the 
bosom with a settled, undisputed predominance. 
We must examine whether, above all, they manifest 
themselves by prompting to the active discharge oi 
the duties of life; the personal, and domestic, and re- 
lative, and professional, and social, and civil duties. 
Here the wideness of their range and the universa 
lity of their influence will generally distinguish them 
from those partial efforts of diligence and self-deniai 
to which mankind are prompted by subordinate mo 
tives. All proofs, other than this deduced from con 
duct, are in some degree ambiguous. This, this 
only, whether we argue from reason or from Scrip 



PASSIONS INTO RELIGION. 73 

ture, is a sure, infallible criterion. From the daily 
incidents of conjugal and domestic life, we learn 
that a warmth of affection, occasionally vehement, 
but superficial and transitory, may consist with a 
course of conduct exhibiting incontestable proofs of 
neglect and unkindness. But the passion, which 
alone the holy Scriptures dignify with the name of 
love, is a deep, not a superficial feeling ; a fixed and 
permanent, not an occasional emotion. It proves the 
validity of its title by actions corresponding with its 
nature, by practical endeavors to gratify the wishes 
and to promote the interests of the object of affection. 
" If a man love me, he will keep my sayings." 
" This is the love of God, that we keep his com- 
mandments." This, therefore, is the best standard 
by which to try the quality ; or, the quality being as- 
certained, to estimate the strength of the religious 
affections. Without suffering ourselves to derive too 
much complacency from transient fervors of devo- 
tion, we should carefully and frequently prove our- 
selves by this less dubitable test ; impartially examin- 
ing our daily conduct ; and often comparing our ac- 
tual with our possible services, the fair amount of 
our exertions with our natural or acquired means 
and opportunities of usefulness. 

We are perfectly ready to concede to the objector, 
whose arguments we have so long been considering, 
that the religious affections must be expected to be 
more or less lively in different men, and in the same 



74 ON THE ADMISS ON OF THE 

man at different times, in proportion to natural tem- 
pers, ages, situations, and habits of life. But to 
found an objection on this ground, would be as un- 
reasonable as it were altogether to deny the obliga- 
tion of the precepts which command us to relieve 
the necessities of the indigent, because the infinitely 
varying circumstances of mankind must render it 
impossible to specify, beforehand, the sum which 
each individual ought, on the whole, to allot to 
this purpose, or to fix, in every particular instance, 
on any determinate measure and mode of contribu- 
tion. To the one case, no less than to the other, we 
may apply the maxim of an eminent writer ; t£ An 
honest heart is the best casuist." He who every 
where but in religion is warm and animated, there 
only phlegmatic and cold, can hardly expect (espe- 
cially if this coldness be not the subject of unfeigned 
humiliation and sorrow) that his plea on the ground 
of natural temper should be admitted ; any more 
than that of a person who should urge his poverty 
as a justification of his not relieving the wants of the 
necessitous, at the very time that he should be 
launching out into expense without restraint, on oc- 
casions in which he should be really prompted by 
his inclinations. In both cases, " it is the willing 
mind which is required." Where that is found, 
"every man will be judged according to what he 
hath, and not according to what he hath not." 2 Cor. 
8: 12. 



PASSIONS INTO RELIGION. 75 

After the decisive proofs already adduced from the 
*vord of God, of the unreasonableness of the objec- 
tion to the admission of the passions into religion, all 
farther arguments may appear superfluous to any 
one who is disposed to bow to scriptural authority. 
Yet, the point is of so much importance, and, it is 
to be feared, so little regarded, that it may not be 
amiss to continue the discussion. The best results 
of our understanding will be shown to fall in w r ith 
what clearly appears to be the authoritative lan- 
guage of revelation ; and to call in the aid of the 
affections to the service of religion will prove to be 
not only what sober reason may permit, but to be 
that which she clearly and strongly dictates to our 
deliberate judgments, as being what the circumstan- 
ces of our natural condition indispensably require. 
We have every one of us a w r ork to accomplish, 
wherein our eternal interests are at stake ; a work 
to which we are naturally indisposed. We live in 
a world abounding with objects which distract our 
attention and divert our endeavors ; and a deadly 
enemy is ever at hand to seduce and beguile us. If 
we persevere, indeed, success is certain ; but our 
efforts must know no remission. There is a call on 
us for vigorous and continual resolution, self-denial, 
and activity. Now, man is not a being of mere in- 
tellect. 

Video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor,* 

* I sco what is riplit, and approve it, but practice what is wrocg 



76 ON THE ADMISSION OF THE 

is a complaint which, alas I we all of us might daily 
utter. The slightest solicitation of appetite is often 

"able to draw us to act in opposition to our clearest 
judgment, our highest interests, and most resolute 
determinations. Sickness, poverty, disgrace, and even 

£ eternal misery itself, sometimes in vain solicit our 
regards ; they are all excluded from the view, and 
thrust as it were beyond the sphere of vision, by some 
poor, unsubstantial, transient object, so minute and 
contemptible as almost to escape the notice of the 
eye of reason. 

These observations are more strikingly confirmed 
in our religious concerns than in any other ; because 
in them the interests at stake are of transcendent im* 
portance : but they hold equally in every instance, 
according to its measure, wherein there is a call for 
laborious, painful, and continued exertions, from 
which any one is likely to be deterred by obstacles, 
or seduced by the solicitations of pleasure. What 
then is to be done in the case of any such arduous 
and necessary undertaking? The answer is obvi- 
ous : You should endeavor not only to convince the 
understanding, hut also to affect the heart ; and for 
this end, you must secure the reinforcement of the 
passions. This is indeed the course which would 
be naturally followed by every man of common un* 
derstanding, who should know that some one for 
whom he was deeply interested, a child, for instance, 
or a brother, were about to enter on along, difficult, 



PASSIONS INTO RELIGION. 77 

perilous, and critical adventure, wherein success was 
to be honor and affluence, and defeat to be contempt 
and ruin. And still more, if the parent were convinc- 
ed that his child possessed faculties which, strenu- 
ously and unremittingly exerted, would prove equal 
to all the exigences of the enterprise, but knew him 
also to be volatile and inconstant, and had reason to 
doubt his resolution and his vigilance ; how would the 
friendly monitor's endeavor be redoubled, so as to 
possess his pupil's mind with the worth and dignity 
of the undertaking, that there should be no opening 
for the entrance of any inferior consideration ! "Weigh 
well," he would say, " the value of the object for 
which you are about to contend, and contemplate and 
study its various excellencies, till your whole soul 
be on fire for its acquisition. Consider too, that, if 
you fail, misery and infamy are united in the alter- 
native which awaits you. Let not the mistaken no- 
tion of its being a safe and easy service, for a mo- 
ment beguile you into the discontinuance or remis- 
sion of your efforts. Be aware of your imminent 
danger, and at the same time know your true secu- 
rity. It is a service of labor and peril ; but one 
wherein the powers which you possess, strenuously 
and perseveringly exerted, cannot but crown you 
with victory. Accustom yourself to look first to the 
dreadful consequences of failure; then fix your eye 
on the glorious prize which is before you ; and when 
your strength begins to fail, and your spirits are well 



78 ON THE ADMISSION OF THE 

nigh exhausted, let the animating view rekindle 
your resolution, and call forth in renewed vigor the 
fainting energies of your soul." 

It was the remark of an unerring Observer, "trie 
children of this world are wiser in their generation 
than the children of light." And it is indisputably 
true, that in religion we have to argue and plead 
with men for principles of action, the wisdom and 
expediency of which are universally acknowledged 
in matters of worldly concern. So it is in the in- 
stance beforeus. The case which has been just de- 
scribed, is an exact but a faint representation of our 
condition in this life. Frail and "infirm of pur- 
pose," we have a business to execute of supreme and 
indispensable necessity. Solicitations to neglect it 
every where abound : the difficulties and dangers are 
numerous and urgent ; and the night of death com- 
eth, how soon we know not, " when no man can work." 
All this is granted. It seems to be a state of things 
wherein one should look out with solicitude for some 
powerful stimulants. Mere knowledge is confess- 
edly too weak. The affections alone remain to 
supply the deficiency. They precisely meet the oc- 
casion, and suit the purposes intended. Yet, when 
we propose to fit ourselves for our great undertak- 
ing, by calling them in to our help, we are to be 
told that we are acting contrary to reason. Is this 
reasonable, to strip us first of our armor of proof, 
and then to send us to the sharpest of encounters ? 



PASSIONS INTO RELIGION. 79 

To summon us to the severest labors, but first to 
rob us of the precious cordials which should brace 
our sinews and recruit our strength ? 

Let these pretended advocates for reason then con- 
fess their folly, and do justice to the superior wis- 
dom as well as goodness of out heavenly Instructor, 
who, better understanding oui true condition, and 
knowing our frovvardness and inadvertency, has 
most reasonably, as well as kindly pointed out and 
enjoined onus the use of those aids which may coun- 
teract our infirmities ; who commanding the effect, 
has commanded also the means whereby it may be 
accomplished. 

And now, if the use of the affections in religion, 
in general, be at length shown to be conformable to 
reason, it will not require many words to prove that 
our blessed Savior is the proper object of them. We 
know that love, gratitude, joy, hope, trust, (the affec- 
tions in question,) all have their appropriate objects. 
Now it must be at once conceded, that if these ap- 
propriate objects be not exhibited, it is perfectly un- 
reasonable to expect that the correspondent passions 
should be excited. If we ask for love, in the case 
of an object which has no excellence or desirable- 
ness ; for gratitude, where no obligation has been 
conferred ; for joy, where there is no just cause of 
self- congratulation; for hope, where nothing is ex- 
pected ; for trust, where there exists no ground of 
reliance ; then, indeed, we must kiss the rod, and 



80 ON THE ADMISSION, & C . 

patiently submit to correction. This would be in- 
deed Egyptian bondage, to demand the effects with- 
out the means of producing them. Is the case then 
so? Are we ready to adopt the language of the 
avowed enemies of our adorable Savior ; and again 
to say of him "in whom dwelleth all the fullness of 
the Godhead bodily/' that " he hath no form nor 
comeliness ; and when we shall see him, there is 
no beauty that we should desire him ?" Isa. 53 : 2. 
Is it no obligation, that he who " thought it not rob- 
bery to be equal with God," should yet, for our 
sakes, " make himself of no reputation, and take upon 
him the form of a servant, and be made in the like- 
ness of men ; and humble himself, and become obe- 
dient unto death, even the death of the cross ?" Phil. 
2:6-8. Is it no cause of "joy, that to us is born 
u Savior," Luke, 2 : 10, 11, by whom we may "be 
delivered from the power of darkness, and be made 
meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints 
in light?" Col. 1 : 12, 13. Can there be a "hope 
comparable to that of our calling," Eph. 1:18, 
" which is Christ in us, the hope of glory?" Col. 1 : 
27. Can there be a trust to be preferred to the reli- 
ance on "Christ Jesus, who is the same yester- 
day, to-day, and for ever ?" Heb. 13 : 8. Surely, if 
our opponent be not dead to every generous emo- 
tion, he cannot look his own objection in the face 
without a blush of shame and indignation. - 



SECTION III. 

Consideration of the reasonableness of objections towards an 
invisible Being. 

Forced at last to retreat from his favorite position, 
and compelled to acknowledge that the religious af- 
fections towards our blessed Savior are not unrea- 
sonable ; he still, however, maintains the combat, 
suggesting that, by the very constitution of our na- 
ture, we are not susceptible of them towards an in- 
visible Being ; in whose case, it will be added, we 
are shut out from all those means of communication 
and intercourse which knit and cement the union 
between mail and man. 

We mean not to deny that there is something in 
this objection. It might even seem to plead the au- 
thority of Scripture in its favor — " He that loveth 
, not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love 
God whom he hath not seen?" 1 John, 4 : 20. We 
receive impressions more readily from visible ob- 
jects, we feel them more strongly, and retain them 
more durably. But though it must be granted that 
this circumstance makes it a more difficult task to 
preserve the affections in question in a healthful and 
vigorous state, is it thereby rendered impossible? 
This were indeed a most precipitate conclusion : 
and any one who should be disposed to admit the 
truth of it, might at least hesitate, when he should 

Tr View. Q 



82 REASONABLENESS OF AFFECTIONS 

reflect that the argument applies equally against the 
possibility of the love of God, a duty of which the 
most cursory reader of Scripture, if he admits its 
divine authority, cannot but acknowledge the indis- 
pensable obligation. But we need only look back 
to the Scripture proofs which have been lately ad- 
duced, to be convinced that the religious affections 
are therein inculcated on us, as a matter of high and 
serious obligation. 

If the principles of love, and gratitude, and joy, 
and hope, and trust, are not utterly extinct within 
us, they cannot but be called forth by the various 
corresponding objects which the contemplation of 
our blessed Redeemer would gradually bring forth 
to our view. Well might the language of the apos- 
tle be addressed to Christians, " Whom having not 
seen, ye love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, 
yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and 
full of glory." 1 Pet. 1 : 8. 

Our blessed Savior, if Ave may be permitted so to 
say, is not removed far from us ; and the various re- 
lations in which we stand towards him seem pur- 
posely made known to us, in order to furnish so 
many different bonds of connexion with him, and 
consequent occasions of continual intercourse. He 
exhibits not himself to us " dark with excessive 
brightness," but is let down as it were to the possi- 
bilities of human converse. We may not think that 
he is incapable of entering into our little concerns. 



TOWARDS AN INVISIBLE BEING. 83 

and sympathizing with them ; for we are graciously 
assured that he is not one " who cannot be touched 
with the feeling of our infirmities, having been in 
all points tempted like as we are." Heb. 4 : 15. The 
figures under which he is represented, are such as 
convey ideas of the utmost tenderness. " He shall 
feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall gather the 
lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and 
shall gently lead those that are with young." Isaiah, 
40 : 1 1. " They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither 
shall the heat nor sun smite them ; for he that hath 
mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs 
of water shall he guide them." Isaiah, 49 : 10. " I 
will not leave you orphans,"* was one of his last 
consolatory declarations. John, 14: 18. The children 
of Christ are here separated indeed from the per- 
sonal view of him ; but not from his paternal affec- 
tion and paternal care. Meanwhile let them quicken 
their regards by the animating anticipation of that 
blessed day, when he " who is gone to prepare a 
place for them, will come again to receive them unto 
himself." Then shall they be admitted to his more 
immediate presence : " Now we see through a glass, 
darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; 
but then shall I know even as also I am known." 
1 Cor. 13:12. 
Surely more than enough has been now said to 

* The word "comfortless" is rendered in the margin, 

orphans. 



84 REASONABLENESS OF AFFECTIONS 

prove that this particular case, from its very nature 
furnishes the most abundant and powerful conside- 
rations and means for exciting the feelings; and it 
might be contended, without fear of refutation, that 
by the diligent and habitual use of those considera- 
tions and means, we might, with confident expecta- 
tion of success, engage in the work of raising our 
affections towards our blessed Savior to a state cf 
due force and activity. But, blessed be God, we have 
a still better reliance ; for the grand circumstance of 
all yet remains behind, which the writer has been 
led to defer, from his wish to contend with his op- 
ponents on their own ground. This circumstance 
is, that here, no less than in other particulars, the 
Christian's hope is founded, not on the speculations 
or the strength of man, but on the declaration of 
Him who cannot lie — on the power of Omnipotence. 
We learn from the Scriptures that it is one main 
part of the operations of the Holy Spirit, to implant 
these heavenly principles in the human mind, and 
to cherish their growth. We are encouraged to be- 
lieve that, in answer to our prayers, this aid from 
above will give efficacy to our earnest endeavors, 
if used in humble dependence on divine grace. 
We may, therefore, with confidence take the means 
which have been suggested. But let us, in our turn, 
be permitted to ask our opponents, have they humbly 
and perseveringly applied for this divine strength 'I 
or, disclaiming that assistance, perhaps as tempting 



TOWARDS AN INVISIBLE BEING. 85 

them to indolence, have they been so much the more 
strenuous and unwearied in the use of their own 
unaided endeavors ? or rather, have they not been 
equally negligent of both ? Renouncing the one, they 
have wholly omitted the other. But this is far from 
being all. They even reverse all the methods which 
we have recommended as being calculated to in- 
crease regard ; and exactly follow that course which 
would be pursued by any one who should wish to 
reduce an excessive affection. Yet thus leaving un- 
tried all the means which, whether from reason or 
Scripture, we maintain to be necessary to the pro- 
duction of the end, nay, using such as are of a di- 
rectly opposite nature, these men presume to talk to 
us of impossibilities ! We may rather contend that 
they furnish a fresh proof of the soundness of our 
reasonings. We lay it down as a fundamental posi- 
tion, that speculative knowledge alone, that mere 
superficial, cursory considerations, will be of no avail. 
Nothing is to be done without the diligent,continued 
use of the appointed method. They themselves af- 
ford an instance of the truth of our assertions ; and 
while they supply no argument against the efficacy 
of the mode prescribed, they acknowledge at least 
that they are wholly ignorant of any other. 

But let us now turn our eyes to Christians of a 
higher order, to those who have actually proved the 
truth of our reasonings ; who have not only assumed 
the name, but who have possessed the substance, and 



86 REASONABLENESS OF AFFECTIONS 

felt the power of Christianity , who, though often 
foiled by their remaining corruptions, and shamed 
and cast down under a sense of their many imper- 
fections, have known in their better seasons what it 
was to experience its firm hope, its dignified joy, its 
unshaken trust, its more than human consolations. 
In their hearts, love also towards their Redeemer 
has glowed ; a love not superficial and unmeaning, 
(think not that this would be the subject of our 
praise,) but constant and rational, resulting from a 
strong impression of the worth of its object, and 
heightened by an abiding sense of great, unmerited, 
and continually accumulating obligations; ever mani- 
festing itself in acts of diligent obedience or of patient 
suffering. Such was the religion of the holy martyrs 
of the sixteenth century, the illustrious ornaments of 
the Christian church. They realized the theory 
which we have now been faintly tracing. Look to 
their writings, and you will find that their thoughts 
and affections had been much exercised in habitual 
views of the blessed Jesus. Thus they used the re- 
quired means. What were the effects % Persecution 
and distress, degradation and contempt, assailed them 
in vain : all these evils served but to bring their af- 
fections into closer contact with their object ; and not 
only did their love feel no diminution or abatement, 
but it rose to all the exigencies of the occasion, and 
burned with an increase of ardor ; and when brought 
forth at last to a cruel and ignominious death, they 



TOWARDS AN INVISIBLE BEING. 87 

repined not at their fate; but rather rejoiced that 
they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of 
Christ. By the blessing of God the writer might 
refer to still more recent times. But lest his authori- 
ties should be disputed, let us go to the apostles of 
our Lord ; and while, on a very cursory perusal of 
their writings, we must acknowledge that they com- 
mend and even prescribe to us the love of Christ, as 
one of the chief of the Christian graces ; so, on a 
more attentive inspection of those writings, we shall 
discover abundant proofs that they were themselves 
bright examples of their own precept; that our 
blessed Savior was really the object of their warmest 
affection, and what he had done and suffered for 
them the continual matter of their grateful remem 
brance. 

The disposition so prevalent in the bulk of nomi- 
nal Christians, to form a religious system for them- 
selves, instead of taking it from the word of God, is 
strikingly observable in their scarcely admitting, 
except in the most vague and general sense, the 
doctrine_o£ the influences of the. Holy Spirit. If we 
look into the Scriptures for information on this par- 
ticular, we learn a very different lesson. We are in 
them distinctly taught, that " of ourselves we can do 
nothing;" that " we are by nature children of wrath," 
and under the power of the evil spirit, our under- 
standings being naturally dark, and our hearts averse 
from spiritual things ; and we are directed to pray 



83 REASONABLENESS OF AFFECTIONS &c. 

for the influences of the Holy Spirit to enlighten our 
understandings, to dissipate our prejudices, to purify 
our corrupt minds, and to renew us after the image 
of our heavenly Father. It is this influence which 
is represented as originally awakening us from 
slumber, as enlightening us in darkness, a& "quick- 
ening us when dead," Eph. 2: 1-5, as "delivering 
us from the power of the devil," as drawing us to 
God, as " translating us into the kingdom of his 
dear Son," Col. 1 : 13, as creating us anew in Christ 
Jesus," Eph. 2 : 10, as " dwelling in us, and walk- 
ing in us;" 2 Cor. 6 : 16; so that " putting off the 
old man with his deeds," we are to consider our- 
selves as "having put on the new man, which is 
renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that 
created him;" Col. 3 : 9-10, and as those who are 
to be " an habitation of God through the Spirit," 
Eph. 2 : 22. It is by this divine assistance only that 
we can grow in grace, and improve in all holiness. 
So expressly, particularly, and repeatedly does the 
word of God inculcate these lessons, that one would 
think there were scarcely room for any difference 
of opinion among those who admit its authority. 
Sometimes* the whole of a Christian's repentance 
and faith, and consequent holiness, are ascribed 
generally to the Divine influence; sometimes these 

* See Dr. Doddridge's Eight Sermons on Regeneration, a 
most valuable compilation ; and M'Laurin's Essay on Di- 
vine Grace. 



INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS, &e. 89 

are spoken of separately, and ascribed to 'the same 
Almighty power. Sometimes different, particular 
graces of the christian character, those which res- 
pect our duties and tempers towards our fellow-crea- 
tures, no less than those which have reference to th^5 
Supreme Being, are particularly traced to this source. 
Sometimes they are all referred collectively to this 
common root, being comprehended under the com- 
pendious denomination of " the fruits of the Spirit." 
In exact correspondence with these representations, 
this aid from above is promised, in other parts 01 
Scripture, for the production of those effects ; and the 
withholding or withdrawing of it is occasionally 
threatened as a punishment for the sins of men, and 
as one of the most fatal consequences of the Divine 
displeasure. 

SECTION IV. 

Inadequate conceptions entertained by nominal Christians oj 
the terms of acceptance with God. 

If then it be indeed as now stated — that, in con- 
tradiction to the plainest dictates of Scripture, the 
sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit, the first 
fruits of our reconciliation to God, the purchase of 
our Redeemer's death, and his best gift to his true 
disciples, are too generally undervalued and slight- 
ed ; if it be also true, as was formerly proved, that 
our thoughts of the blessed Savior are confused and 



90 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

s faint, our affections towards him languid and luke- 
warm, little proportioned to what those who at such 
a price have been rescued from ruin, and endowed 
with a title to eternal glory, might be justly expect- 
ed to feel towards the Author of their deliverance ; 
little proportioned to what has been felt by others, ran- 
somed from the same ruin, and partakers of the same 

j inheritance : — if this, let it be repeated, be indeed so, 
let us not shut our eyes against the perception of our 
real state ; but rather endeavor to trace the evil to its 
source. We are loudly called on to examine well 
our foundations. If any thing be there unsound and 
hollow, the superstructure could not be safe, though 
its exterior were less suspicious. Let the question 
then be asked, and let the answer be returned with 
all the consideration and solemnity which a ques- 
tion so important may justly demand, whether, in the 
grand concern of all, the means of a sinner's accep- 
tance with God, there is not reason to apprehend, 
that the nominal Christians whom we have been 
addressing, too generally entertain very superficial 
and confused, and (to speak in the softest terms) high- 
ly dangerous notions ? Is there not reason to fear, 
that with little more than an indistinct and nominal 
reference to Him who "bore our sins in his own body 

m| on the tree," they really rest their eternal hopes on 
a vague, general persuasion of the unqualified mer- 

. cy of the Supreme Being ; or that, still more errone- 

C ously, they rely in the main on their own negative 



TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 91 

or positive merits ? " They can look upon their lives 
with an impartial eye, and congratulate themselves 
on their inoffensiveness in society; on their havino- 
been exempt at least from any gross vice, or if 
sometimes accidentally betrayed into it, on its never 
having been indulged habitually ; or if not even so," 
(for there are but few who can say this, if the term 
vice be explained according to the strict requisitions 
of the Gospel,) "yet on the balance being in their 
favor, or, on the whole, not much against them, 
when their good and bad actions are fairly weigh 
ed, and due allowance is made for human frailty." 
These considerations are sufficient for the most part 
to compose their apprehensions ; these are the cor- 
dials which they find most at hand in the moments 
of serious thought, or of occasional dejection ; and 
sometimes perhaps, in seasons of less than ordinary 
self-complacency, they call in also to their aid, the 
general persuasion of the unbounded mercy and pity 
of God. Yet persons of this description by no 
means disclaim a Savior, or avowedly relinquish 
their title to a share in the benefits of his death. 
They close their petitions with the name of Christ; 
but if not chiefly from the effect of habit, or out of 
decent conformity to the established faith, yet surely 
with something of the same ambiguity of principle 
which influenced the expiring philosopher, when he 
ordered the customary mark of homage to be paid 
to the god of medicine. 



92 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

Others go farther than this ; for there are many 
shades of difference between those who flatly re- 
nounce, and those who cordially embrace the doc- 
trine of redemption by Christ. This class has a sort 
of general, indeterminate, and ill understood depen- 
dence on our blessed Savior. But their hopes, so 
far as they can be distinctly made out, (for their 
views also are very obscure,) appear ultimately to 
be founded on the persuasion that they are now, 
through Christ, become members of a new dispen- 
sation, wherein .they will be tried by a more leni- 
ent rule than that to which they must have been other- 
wise subject. Their reasoning is this: "God will 
not now be extreme to mark what is done amiss ; 
but will dispense with the rigorous exactions of his 
law, too strict, indeed, for such frail creatures as we 
are to hope that we can fulfill it Christianity has 
moderated the requisitions of Divine justice; and 
all which is now required of us, is thankfully to trust 
to the merits of Christ for the pardon of our sins, and 
the acceptance of our sincere though imperfect obe- 
dience. The frailties and infirmities to which our 
nature is liable, or to which our situation in life ex- 
poses us, will not be severely judged ; and as it is 
practice that really determines the character, we 
may rest satisfied, that if, on the whole, our lives be 
tolerably good, we shall escape with little or no pun- 
ishment, and, through Jesus Christ our Lord, shall 
be finally partakers of heavenly felicity." 



TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 93 

We cannot dive into the human heart, and there- 
fore should always speak with caution and diffi- 
dence, when from external appearances or declara- 
tions we are affirming the existence of any internal 
principles and feelings ; especially as we are liable 
to be misled by the ambiguities of language, or by 
the inaccuracy with which others may express 
themselves. But it is sometimes not difficult to any 
one who is accustomed (if the phrase may be allow 
ed) to the anatomy of the human mind, to discern, 
that generally speaking, the persons who use the 
above language rely not so much on the merits of 
Christ, and on the agency of Divine grace, as on 
their own power of fulfilling the moderated requisi- 
tions of Divine justice. He will hence therefore 
discover in them a disposition rather to extenuate 
the malignity of their disease, than to magnify the 
excellence of the proffered remedy. He will find 
them apt to palliate in themselves what they cannot 
fully justify, to enhance the merit of what they be- 
lieve to be their good qualities and commendable ac- 
tions, to set, as it were, in an account the good against 
the bad ; and if the result be not very unfavorable, 
they conceive that they shall be entitled to claim the 
benefits of our Savior's sufferings as a thing of 
course. They have little idea, so little, that it might 
almost be affirmed that they have no idea at all, of 
the importance or difficulty of the duty of what the 
Scripture calls "submitting ourselves to the righ- 



94 INADEQUATE C0*>CEPTI0xVS OF 

teausness of God ;" or of our proneness rather to jus- 
tify ourselves in his sight,, than in the language of 
imploring penitents to acknowledge ourselves guilty 
and helpless sinners. They have never summoned 
themselves to this entire and unqualified renuncia- 
tion of their own merits and their own strength ; 
and therefore they remain strangers to the natural 
loftiness of the human heart, which such a call 
would have awakened into action, and roused to re- 
sistance. All these their several errors naturally 
result from the mistaken conception entertained of 
the fundamental principles of Christianity. They 
consider not that Christianity is a scheme for "jus- 
tifying the ungodly," Rom. 4 : 5, by Christ's dying 
for them "when yet sinners,"* Rom. 5 : 6, 8 ; a 
scheme "for reconciling us to God, when enemies;" 

* The writer trusts he cannot be misunderstood to mean 
that any, continuing sinners and ungodly, can, by believing, 
be accepted or finally saved. The following chapter, par- 
ticularly the latter part of it, (section vi.) would abundantly 
vindicate him from any such misconstruction. Meanwhile, 
he will only remark, that true faith (in which repentance 
is considered as involved) is in Scripture regarded as the 
radical principle of holiness. If the root exist, the proper 
fruits will be brought forth. An attention to this considera- 
tion would have easily explained and reconciled those pas- 
sages of St. Paul's and St. James' epistles, which have fur- 
nished so much argument and criticism. St. James, it may 
be observed, all along speaks of a man, not who has fait a. 
but who says that he has faith. Vide James, 2 : 14, &c &c. 



TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 95 

and for making the fruits of holiness the effects,* 
not the cause of our being- justified and reconciled : 
that, in short, it opens freely the door of mercy to 
the greatest and vilest of penitent sinners; that 
obeying the blessed impulse of the grace of God, 
whereby they had been awakened from the sleep of 
death, and moved to seek for pardon, they might 
enter in, and through the regenerating influences of 
the Holy Spirit might be enabled to bring forth the 
fruits of righteousness. They rather conceive of 
Christianity as opening the door of mercy, that 
those who on the ground of their own merits could 
not have hoped to justify themselves before God, 
may yet be admitted, for Christ's sake, on condition 
of their having previously satisfied the moderated 
requisitions of Divine justice. In speaking to others 
also of the Gospel scheme, they are apt to talk too 
much of terms and performances on our part, on 
which we become entitled to an interest in the suf- 
ferings of Christ ; instead of stating the benefits of 
Christ's satisfaction as extended to us freely, "with- 
out money and without price." 

The practical consequences of these errors are 
such as might be expected. They tend to prevent 
that sense w T hich we ought to entertain of our own 
natural misery and helplessness ; and that deep feel- 
ing of gratitude for the sufferings, merits, and inter 
cession of Christ, to which we are wholly indebted 
♦Vide note, ch. 4, sec. 6. 



96 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

for our reconciliation to God, and for the will and 
the power, from first to last, to work out our own 
salvation. They consider it too much in the light of 
a contract between two parties, wherein each, inde- 
pendently of the other, has his own distinct condi- 
tion to perform ; man — to do what they account his 
duty ; God— -to justify and accept for Christ's sake : 
if they fail not in the discharge of their condition, 
assuredly the condition on God's part will be faith- 
fully fulfilled. Accordingly, we find in fact, that 
those who represent the Gospel scheme in the man- 
ner above described, give evidence of the subject 
s \ with which their hearts are most filled, by their 
/ proneness to run into merely moral disquisitions, 
) either not mentioning at all, or at least but cursorily 
( touching on the sufferings and love of their Re- 
deemer ; and are little apt to kindle at their Savior's 
S name, and, like the apostles, to be betrayed by their 
/ fervor into- what maybe almost an untimely des- 
| cant on the riches of his unutterable mercy. In 
addressing others also whom they conceive to be 
living in habits of sin, and under the wrath of God, 
S they rather advise them to amend their ways as a 
/ preparation for their coming to Christ, than exhort 
them to throw themselves with deep prostration of 
soul at the foot of the cross, there to obtain pardon 
ancl find grace to help in time of need. 

The great importance of the subject in question 
will justify having been thus particular. On a ques- 



TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 97 

tion of such magnitude, to mistake our meaning 
should be impossible. But after all which has been 
said, let it also be remembered, that except so far as 
the instruction of others is concerned, the point of 
importance is, the internal disposition of the mind. 
The great question is, where the dependence for par- 
don, and for holiness, is really placed ; not what the 
Ian gu age~is~fn wh ich men express themselves. 

If this so generally prevailing error concerning 
the nature of the gospel offer be in any considerable 
degree just, it will explain that so generally prevail- 
ing languor in the affections towards our blessed 
Savior which was formerly remarked, and that in- 
adequate impression of the necessity and value of 
the assistance of the Divine Spirit. According to 
the soundest principles of reasoning, it may be also 
adduced as an additional proof of the correctness of 
our present statement, that it so exactly falls in with 
those phenomena, and so naturally accounts for them. 
For, even admitting that the persons above men- 
tioned, particularly the last class, do at the bottom 
rely on the atonement of Christ ; yet on their scheme, 
it must necessarily happen, that the object to which 
they are most accustomed to look, from which they 
most habitually derive complacency, is rather their 
own qualified merit and services, though confessed 
to be inadequate, than the sufferings and atoning 
death of a crucified Savior. The affections to- 
wards our blessed Lord cannot be expected to flou- 

Pr. View. 7 



V 



98 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

rish, because they receive not that which is necessary 
to their nutriment and growth. If we would love 
him as affectionately, and rejoice m him as triumph- ;| 
antly as the first Christians did, we must learn like j 
them to repose our entire trust in him, and to adopt 
the language of the apostle, " God forbid that I 
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." Gal. 6 : 14. "Who of God is made unto 
us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, 
and redemption." 1 Cor. 1 : 30. 

Doubtless there have been too many who, to their 
eternal ruin, have abused the doctrine of salvation 
by grace ; and have vainly trusted in Christ for par- 
don and acceptance, when by their vicious lives they 
have plainly proved the groundlessness of their pre- 
tensions. The tree is to be known by its fruits ; 
and there is too much reason to fear that there is no 
principle of faith, when it does not decidedly evince 
itself by the fruits of holiness. Dreadful indeed will 
be the doom, above that of all others, of those loose 
professors of Christianity, to whom at the last day 
our blessed Savior will address those words, " I 
never knew you; depart from me, ye that work in- 
iquity." But the danger of error on this side ought 
not to render us insensible to the opposite error ; an 
error against which in these days it seems particu- 
larly necessary to guard. It is far from the inten- 
tion of the writer of this work to enter into the 
niceties of controversy ; but surely he may be per- 



TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 99 

mitted to contend, that those who in the main be- 
lieve the doctrines of the church of England, are 
bound to allow that our dependence on our blessed 
Savior, as alone the meritorious cause of our ac- 
ceptance with God, and as, the means of all its bless- 
ed fruits and glorious consequences, must be not 
merely formal and nominal, but real and substantial ; 
not vague, qualified, and partial, but direct, cordial, 
and entire. "Repentance towards God, and faith 
towards our Lord Jesus Christ," was the sum of the 
apostolical instructions. It is not an occasional in- 
vocation of the name, or a transient recognition of 
the authority of Christ, that fills up the measure of 
the term, believing in Jesus. This we shall find no 
such easy task ; and if we trust that we do believe, 
we should all perhaps do well to cry out in the 
words of an imploring suppliant, (he supplicated 
not in vain,) "Lord, help thou our unbelief." We 
must be deeply conscious of our guilt and misery, 
heartily repenting of our sins, and firmly resolving 
to forsake them: and thus penitently "fleeing for 
refuge to the hope set before us," we must found 
altogether on the merit of the crucified Redeemer 
our hopes of escape from their deserved punishment, 
and of deliverance from their enslaving power. This 
must be our first, our last, our only plea. We 
are to surrender ourselves up to him to " be washed 
m his blood," Rev. 1 * 5, to be sanctified by his 
Spirit, resolving to receive him for our Lord and 



100 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

Master, to learn in his school, to obey all his com- 
mandments. 

We would still more particularly address our- 
selves to others who are disposed to believe that 
though, in some obscure and vague sense, the death 
of Christ, as the satisfaction for our sins, and for the 
purchase of our future happiness, and the sanctify- 
ing influence of the Holy Spirit, are to be admitted 
as fundamental articles of our creed, yet that these 
are doctrines so much above us, that they are not 
objects suited to our capacities ; and that, turning our 
eyes from these difficult speculations, we should fix 
them on the practical and moral precepts of the Gos- ; 
pel. " These," they alledge, " it most concerns us to 
know ; these therefore let us study. Such is the frailty 
of our nature, such the strength and number of our 
temptations to evil, that in reducing the gospel mo- 
rality to practice we shall find full employment : and 
by attending to these moral precepts, rather than to 
those high mysterious doctrines which you are press- 
ing on us, we shall best prepare to appear before 
God on that tremendous day, when * He shall judge 
every man according to his works.' 

" 'Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy !' " 

It will at once destroy this flimsy web, to reply in 
the words of our blessed Savior, and of his beloved 
disciple — * k This is the work of God, that ye believe 
on him whom he hath sent." John, 6 : 29/ " This is 



TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 101 

his commandment, That we should believe on the 
name of his Son Jesus Christ," 1 John. 3 : 23. In 
truth, if we consider but for a moment the opinions 
of men who argue thus, we must be conscious of 
their absurdity. This may be not inconsistently the 
'anguage of the modern Unitarian •> but surely it is 
in the highest degree unreasonable to admit into our 
scheme all the grand peculiarities of Christianity, 
and having admitted, to neglect and think no more 
of them ! "Wherefore," (might the Socinian say,) 
" wherefore all this costly and complicated machine- 
ry ? It is so little like the simplicity of nature, it is 
so unworthy of the Divine hand, that it even offends 
against those rules of propriety which we require to , 
be observed in the imperfect compositions of the 
human intellect."* 

Well may the Socinian assume this lofty tone with 
those whom we are now addressing. If these are 
indeed the doctrines of revelation, common sense 
suggests to us that from their nature and their mag- 
nitude they deserve our most serious regard. It is 
the very theology of Epicurus to allow the existence 
of these " heavenly things," but to deny their con- 
nexion with human concerns, and their influence on 
human actions. Besides the unreasonableness of this 
conduct, we might strongly urge also in this con- 
nexion the profaneness of thus treating as matters of 

* Nee Deus intersit, &c. 



*02 n INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

subordinate consideration those parts of the system 
of Christianity which are so strongly impressed on 
our reverence by the dignity of the person to whom 
they relate. This very argument is indeed repeatedly 
and pointedly pressed by the sacred writers.* 

Nor is the profane irreverence of this conduct 
more striking than its ingratitude. When from read- 
ing that our Savior was " the brightness of his Ea- 
ther's glory, and the express image of his person, 
upholding all things by the word of his power," we 
go on to consider the purpose for which he came on 
earth, and all that he did and suffered for us ; surely 
if we have a spark of ingenuousness left we shall 
condemn ourselves as guilty of the blackest ingrati- 
tude, in rarely noticing, or coldly turning away, on 
whatever shallow pretences, from the contemplation 
of these miracles of mercy. For those minds, how- 
ever, on which fear alone can operate, that motive is 
superadded : and we are plainly forewarned, both 
directly and indirectly, by the example of the Jewish 
nation, that God will not hold them guiltless who 
are thus unmindful of his most signal acts of con- 
descension and kindness. But as this is a question 
of pure revelation, reasonings from probability may 
not be deemed decisive. To revelation therefore we 
must appeal ; and as it might be to trespass on the 
reader's patience fully to discuss this most important 

♦ SeeHeb. 2:l,&c. 



TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD, 103 

subject, we must refer him to the sacred writings 
themselves for complete satisfaction. We would 
earnestly recommend it to him to weigh with the ut- 
most seriousness those passages of Scripture wherein 
the peculiar doctrines of Christianity are expressly 
mentioned ; and farther, to attend with due regard to 
the illustration and confirmation which the conclu- 
sions resulting from those passages receive inci- 
dentally from the word of God. Those who main- 
tain the opinion which we are combating, will hereby 
become convinced that theirs is indeed an unscrip- 
tural religion ; and will learn, instead of turning off 
their eyes from the grand peculiarities of Chris 
tianity, to keep these ever in view, as the first prin- 
ciples whence all the rest must derive their origin, 
and receive their best support.* 

* Any one who wishes to investigate this subject, will do 
well to study attentively M'Laurin's Essay on Prejudices 
against the Gospel. — It may not be amiss here to direct the 
reader's attention to a few leading arguments, many of them 
those of the work just recommended. Let him maturely 
estimate the force of those terms, whereby the apostle in the 
following passages designates and characterizes the whole 
of the Christian system. " We preach Christ crucified." 
u We determined to know nothing among : you, save Jesus 
Christ, and him crucified." The value of this argument 
will be acknowledged by all who consider that a system is 
never designated by an immaterial or an inferior part of it, 
but by that which constitutes its prime consideration and 
essential distinction. The conclusion suggested by this re- 
mark is confirmed by the Lord's supper being the rite by 



104 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

Let us then, each for himself, solemnly ask our« 
selves, whether zee have fled for refuge to the ap« 
pointed hope % And whether we are habitually look- 
ing to it, as to the only source of consolation 1 
H Other foundation can no man lay :" there is no 
other ground of dependence, no other plea for pardon; 
but here there is hope, even to the uttermost. Let 
us labor then to affect our hearts with a deep con- 

whieh our Savior himself commanded his disciples to Veep 
him in remembrance- and indeed a similar lesson is taught 
by the ordinance of baptism, which shadows out our souls 
being washed and purified by the blood of Christ. Observe 
next the frequency with which our Savior's death and suf- 
ferings are introduced, and how often they are urged as 
practical motives. 

" The minds of the apostles seem full of this subject 
Every thing put them in mind of it ; they did not allow them 
selves to have it long out of their view, nor did any other 
branch of spiritual instruction make them lose sight of it." 
Consider next that part of the epistle to the Romans, where- 
in St. Paul speaks of some who went about to establish their 
own righteousness, and had not submitted themselves to 
the righteousness of God. May not this charge be in some 
degree urged, and even more strongly than in the case of 
the Jews, against those who satisfy themselves with vague 
general, occasional thoughts of our Savior's mediation ; and 
the source of whose habitual complacency, as we explained 
ebove, is rather their being tolerably well satisfied with 
their own characters and conduct? Yet St. Paul declares 
concerning those of whom he speaks, .as concerning persons 
whose sad situation could not be too much lamented, that he 
had great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart 



TERMS OF ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD. 105 

viction of our need of a Redeemer, and of the value 
of his offered mediation. Let us fall down humbly 
before the throne of God, imploring pity and pardon 
in the name of the Son of his love. Let us beseech 
him to give us a true spirit of repentance, and oi 
hearty undivided faifh in the Lord Jesus. Let us not 
be satisfied till the cordiality of our belief be con- 
firmed to us by that character of the apostle, " that to 

adding still more emphatical expressions of deep and bitter 
regret. 

Let the Epistle to the Galatians be also carefully examined 
and considered ; and let it be fairly asked, what was the par- 
ticular in which the Judaizing Christians were defective, 
and the want of which is spoken of in such strong terms as 
these ; that it frustrates the grace of God, and must debar 
from all the benefits of the death of Jesus ? The Judaizing 
converts were not immoral. Thev seem to have admitted 
the chief tenets concerning our Savior. But they appear to 
have been disposed to trust, (not wholly, be it observed also, 
but only in part,) for their acceptance with God, to the Mo- 
saic institutions, instead of reposing wholly on the merits of 
Christ. Here let it be remembered, that when a compliance 
with these institutions was not regarded as conveying this 
inference, the apostle showed by his own conduct that he 
did not deem it criminal; whence, no less than from the 
words of the epistle, it is clear that the ofTence of the Ju- 
daizing Christians whom he condemned, was what we have 
stated ; not their obstinately continuing to adhere to a dis- 
pensation, the ceremonial of which Christianity had abro- 
gated, or their trusting to the sacrifices of the Levitical law, 
which were in their own nature inefficacious for the blotting 
out of sin. See Heb. 7 8, 9. 10. 



196 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

as many as believe Christ is precious ;" and let us 
strive to increase daily in love towards our blessed 
Savior; and pray earnestly that "we may be filled 
with joy and peace in believing, that we may abound 
in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." 
Let us diligently put in practice the directions for- 
merly given for cherishing and cultivating the prin- 
ciples of the love of Christ. With this view let us 
labor assiduously to increase in knowledge, that 
ours may be a deeply rooted and rational affection. 
By frequent meditation on the incidents of our Sa- 
vior's life, and still more on the astonishing circum- 
stances of his death ; by often calling to mind the 
state from which he proposes to rescue us, and the 
glories of his heavenly kingdom ; by continual in- 
tercourse with him of prayer and praise, of depend- 
ence and confidence in dangers, of hope and joy in . 
our brighter hours; let us endeavor to keep him 
constantly present to our minds, and to render all 
our conceptions of him more distinct, lively, and in 
telligent. The title of Christian is a reproach to us 
if we estrange ourselves from Him after whom we 
are denominated. %The name of Jesus is not to be 
to us like the Allah of the Mohammedans, a talisman 
or an amulet to be worn on the arm, as an external 
badge merely, and symbol of our profession, and to 
preserve us from evil by some mysterious and unin> 
telligible potency ; but it is to be engraven deeply on 
the heart, there written by the finger of God himself 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 107 

in everlasting characters. It is our title known and 
understood to present peace and future glory. The 
assurance which it conveys of a bright reversion, 
will lighten the burdens and alleviate the sorrows 
of life ; and in some happier moments it will impart 
to us somewhat of that fullness of joy which is at 
God's right hand, enabling us to join even here in 
the heavenly hosanna, " Worthy is the Lamb that 
was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 
and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." 
k4 Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto 
him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, 
for ever and ever." Rev. 5 : 12, 13. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ON THE PREVAILING INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS 
CONCERNING THE NATURE AND THE STRICT- 
NESS OF PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY. 



SECTION I. 



One part of this title may, on the first view, excite 
surprise in any who may have drawn a hasty in 



108 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

ference from the charges conveyed by the two pre- 
ceding chapters. Such a one might be disposed to 
expect, that those who have very low conceptions 
of the corruption of human nature, would be pro- 
portionably less indulgent to human frailty ; and 
that those who lay little stress on Christ's satisfac- 
tion for sin, or on the operations of the Holy Spirit, 
would be more high and rigid in their demands of 
diligent endeavors after universal holiness ; since 
their scheme implies that we must depend chiefly 
on our own exertions and performances for our ac- 
ceptance with God. 

But any such expectations as these would be 
greatly disappointed. There is in fact a region of 
truth, and a region of errors. Those who hold the 
fundamental doctrines of Scripture in their due 
force, hold also in its due degree of purity the practi- 
cal system which Scripture inculcates. But those 
who explain away the former, soften down the latter 
also, and reduce it to the level of their own defective 
scheme. It is not from any confidence in the supe- 
rior amount of their own performances, or in the 
greater vigor of their own exertions, that they re- 
concile themselves to their low views of the satisfac- 
tion of Christ, and of the influence of the Spirit; 
but it should rather seem their plan so to depress 
the required standard of practice, that no man need 
fail short of it, that no superior aid can be wanted 
for enabling us to attain to it. It happens, however, 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 109 

with respect to their simple method of morality, as 
in the case of the short ways to knowledge, of 
which some vain pretenders have vaunted them- 
selves to be possessed : despising the beaten track in 
which more sober and humble spirits have been 
content to tread, they have struck into new and un- 
tried paths ; but these have failed of conducting them 
to the right object, and have issued only in igno- 
rance and conceit. 

It seems in our days to be the commonly received 
opinion, that provided a man admit in general terms 
the truth of Christianity, though he know not or 
consider not much concerning the particulars of the 
system ; and if he be not habitually guilty of any of 
the grosser vices against his fellow-creatures, we 
have no great reason to be dissatisfied with him, or 
to question the validity of his claim to the name and 
consequent privileges of a Christian. The title im- 
plies no more than a sort of formal, general assent 
to Christianity in the gross, and a degree of morality 
in practice, but little, if at all, superior to that for 
which we look in a good Deist, Mussulman, or 
Hindoo. 

If any one be disposed to deny that this is a fair 
representation of the religion of the bulk of the 
Christian world, he might be asked, whether, if it 
were proved to them beyond dispute that Christian- 
ity is a mere forgery, would this occasion any great 
change in their conduct or habits of mind ? Would 



110 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

any alteration be made in consequence of. this dis- 
covery, except in a few of their speculative opinions, 
which, when distinct from practice, it is a part of 
their own system, as has been before remarked, to 
think of little consequence ; and in their attendance 
on public worship, which, however, knowing the 
good effects of religion upon the lower orders of the 
people, they might still think it better to attend oc- 
casionally for example's sake ? Would not their re- 
gard for their character, their health, their domestic 
and social comforts, still continue to restrain them 
from vicious excesses, and to prompt them to persist 
in the discharge, according to their present measure, 
of the various duties of their stations ? Would they 
find themselves dispossessed of what had been to 
them hitherto the repository of counsel and instruc- 
tion, the rule of their conduct, their habitual source 
of peace, and hope, and consolation ? 

It were needless to put these questions. They are 
answered in fact already by the lives of many known 
unbelievers, between whom and these professed 
Christians, even the familiar associates of both, 
though men of discernment and observation, would 
discover little difference either in conduct or temper 
of mind. How little then does Christianity deserve 
that title to novelty and superiority which has been 
almost universally admitted ! that pre-eminence, as 
a practical code, over all other systems of ethics ! 
How unmerited are the praises which have beep 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. Ill 

lavished upon it by its friends ! praises, in which 
even its enemies, not in general disposed to make 
concessions in its favor, have so often been unwarily- 
drawn in to acquiesce ! 

Was it then for this that the Son of God conde- 
scended to become our Instructor and our Pattern, 
leaving us an example, that we might tread in his 
steps ? Was it for this that the apostles of Christ 
voluntarily submitted to hunger and nakedness, and 
pain, and ignominy and death, when forewarned too 
by their Master that such would be their treatment % 
That, after all, their disciples should attain to no 
higher a strain of virtue than those who, rejecting 
their divine authority, should still adhere to the old 
philosophy ? 

But it may perhaps be objected, that we are for- 
getting an observation which w r e ourselves have 
made, that Christianity has raised the general stand- 
ard of morals : to which therefore infidelity herself 
now finds it prudent to conform, availing herself of 
the pure morality of Christianity, and sometimes 
wishing to usurp to herself the credit of it, while 
she stigmatizes the authors with the epithets of igno- 
rant dupes or designing impostors ! 

But let it then be asked, are the motives of Chris- 
tianity so little necessary to the practice of it, its 
principles to its conclusions, that the one may be 
spared and yet the other remain in undiminished 
force ? Still, then, its doctrines are no more than a 



112 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

barren and inapplicable, or at least an unnecessary 
theory, the place of which, it may perhaps be added, 
would be well supplied by a more simple and less 
costly scheme. 

But can it be ? Is Christianity then reduced to a 
mere creed ? Is its practical influence bounded with 
in a few external plausibilities % Does its essence 
consist only in a few speculative opinions, and a few 
useless and unprofitable tenets? And can this be 
the ground of that portentous distinction, which is 
so unequivocally made by the evangelist between 
those who accept and those who reject the Gospel: 
" He that believeth on the Son hath evenasting life, 
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; 
but the wrath of God abideth on him ?" This were 
to run into the very error which the bulk of profess- 
ed Christians would be most forward to condemn, 
of making an unproductive faith the rule of God's 
future judgment, and the ground of an eternal sepa- 
ration. Thus not unlike the rival circumnavigators 
from Spain and Portugal, who setting out in contra- 
ry directions, found themselves in company at the 
very time they thought themselves farthest from 
each other ; so the bulk of professed Christians ar- 
rive, though by a different course, almost at the very 
same point, and occupy nearly the same station as a 
set of enthusiasts, who also rest upon a barren faith, 
to whom on the first view they might be thought the 
most nearly opposite, and whose tenets they with 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 113 

reason profess to hold in peculiar detestation. By 
what pernicious courtesy of language is it, that this 
wretched system has been flattered with the name 
of Christianity ? 

The morality of the Gospel is not so slight a fa- 
bric. Christianity throughout exhibits proofs of its 
Divine original, and its practical precepts are no 
less pure than its doctrines are sublime. Can lan- 
guage furnish injunctions stricter in their measure, 
or larger in their comprehension, than those with 
which the word of God abounds ? " Whatsoever ye 
do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord 
Jesus "— - u Be ye holy, for God is holy" — "Be ye per- 
fect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect?' 1 
We are commanded to perfect holiness, to go on un- 
to perfection. 

Such are the Scripture admonitions ; and surely we 
may not safely acquiesce in low attainments : a con- 
clusion to which also we are led by the force of the 
expressions by which Christians are characterized 
in Scripture, and by the thorough change represent- 
ed as taking place in any man on his becoming a 
real Christian. " Every one," it is said, " that hath 
this hope, purifieth himself even as God is pure :" 
true Christians are said to be "partakers of the Di- 
vine nature;" "to be created anew in the image ol 
God;" "to be temples of the Holy Ghost." The 
effects of which must appear " in all goodness and 
righteousness and truth." 

Pr. View. o 



114 iNADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

Great as was the progress which the apostle Ptfu. 
had made in all virtue, he declares of himself that 
he still presses forward, " forgetting the things which 
are behind, and reaching forth unto the things which 
are before." He prays for his beloved disciples, 
" that they may be filled with all the fullness of 
God ;" " that they may be rilled with the fruits of 
righteousness ;" " that they might walk worthy of 
the Lord un„o all pleasing, being fruitful in every 
good work." Nor is it a less full and comprehen- 
sive petition, which, from our blessed Savior's insert- 
ing it in the prayer he has given as a model for our 
imitation, we may infer ought to be the habitual 
sentiment of our hearts ; " Thy will be done on 
earth as it is in heaven." 

These few extracts from the word of God abun- 
dantly vindicate the strictness of the christian moral- 
ity ; but this point will be still more fully established 
when we proceed to investigate the nature, essence, 
and governing principles of the christian chaiacter. 

It is the grand, essential, practical characteristic 
of true Christians, that, relying on the promises 
to repenting sinners, of acceptance through the Re- 
deemer, they have renounced and abjured all other 
masters, and have cordially and unreservedly de- 
voted themselves to God. Christians have become 
the sworn enemies of sin ; they will allow it in no 
shape, they will admit it to no composition ; the wai 
they have denounced against it is universal, irre- 
concilable. 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 115 

But this is not all : it is now their determined 
purpose to yield themselves without reserve to the 
reasonable service of their rightful Sovereign. They 
are not their own : their bodily and mental facul- 
ties, their natural and acquired endowments, their 
substance, their authority, their time, their influence ; 
all these they consider as belonging to them, nojjbr 
their own gratification, but as so many instruments ) 
to be consecrated to the honor and employed in the ) 
service of God. This must be the master principle 
to which every other must be subordinate. What- 
ever may have been hitherto their ruling passion, 
whatever hitherto their leading pursuit, whether sen- 
sual, or intellectual, of science, of taste, of fancy, or 
of feeling, it must now possess but a secondary 
place ; or rather, to speak more correctly, it must 
exist only at the pleasure, and be put altogether un- 
der the control and direction of its true and legiti- 
mate superior. 

Thus it is the prerogative of Christianity " to 
bring into captivity every thought to the obedience 
of Christ." They who really feel its power, are re- 
solved, in' the language of Scripture, " to live no 
longer to themselves, but to him that died for them :" 
they know indeed their own infirmities ; they know 
that the way on which they have entered is strait 
md difficult, but they know too the encouraging as- 
surance, " They that wait on the Lord shall renew 
their strength; 57 and, relying on this animating de- 



116 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

duration, they deliberately purpose that the govern* 
ing maxim of their future lives shall be, " to do all 
to the glory of God." 

Behold here the principle, which contains within 
it the rudiments of all true virtue ; which, striking 
deep its roots, though feeble perhaps and lowly in 
its beginnings, silently progressive and almost insen^ 
sibly maturing, yet will shortly, even in the bleak 
and churlish temperature of this world, lift up its 
head and spread abroad its branches, bearing abun- 
dant fruits, precious fruits of refreshment and consola- 
tion, of which the boasted products of philosophy 
are but sickly imitations, void of fragrance and of 
flavor. But, 

Igneus est illis vigor et coelestis origo. 

At length it will be transplanted into its native re- 
gion, and enjoy a more genial climate and a kind- 
lier soil ; and, bursting forth into full luxuriance, 
with unfading beauty and unexhausted odors, shall 
flourish for ever in the paradise of God. 

While the servants of Christ continue in this life, 
glorious as is the issue of their labors, they receive 
many humiliating memorials of their remaining im- 
perfections, and daily find reason to confess that 
they cannot do the things that they would. Their 
determination, however, is still unshaken, and it is 
the fixed desire of their hearts to improve in all 
holiness ; and this, let it be observed, on many ac- 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 117 

counts. They are urged on by the dread of failure; 
they trust not, where their all is at stake, to lively^ 
emotions, or to internal impressions ,; the example of 
Christ is their pattern, the word of God is their rule ; 
there they read, that " without holiness no man shall 
see the Lord." It is the description of real Christians, 
that they are gradually M changed into the image 
of their Divine Master;" and they dare not allow 
t^m selves tp_ believe their title sure, except so far 
as they can discern in themselves the growing 
traces of this blessed resemblance. 

It is not merely however the fear of misery, and 
the desire of happiness, by which they are actuated 
in their endeavors to excel in all holiness; they 
love it for its own sake : nor is it solely by the sense 
of self-interest (this, though often unreasonably con- 
demned, is but a principle of an inferior order) that 
they are influenced in their determination to obey 
the will, and to cultivate the favor of God. This 
determination has its foundations indeed in a deep 
and humiliating sense of his exalted majesty and in- 
finite power, and of their own extreme inferiority 
and littleness, attended with a settled conviction of 
its being their duty as his creatures, to submit in all 
things to the will of their great Creator. But these 
awful impressions are relieved and ennobled by an 
admiring sense of the infinite perfections and in- 
finite amiableness of the Divine character ; animated 
by a confiding though humble hope of his fatherly 



118 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

kindness and protection, and quickened by the grate- 
ful recollection of immense and continually increas- 
ing obligations. This is the Christian love of God ! 
A love compounded of admiration, of preference, of 
hope, of trust, of joy ; chastised by reverential awe, 
and wakeful with continual gratitude. 

The elementary principles which have been above 
enumerated, however, exist in various degrees and 
proportions. A difference in natural disposition, in 
the circumstances of the past life, and in number- 
less other particulars, may occasion a great difference 
in the predominant tempers of different Christians. 
^In one the love, in another the fear of God may 
have the ascendency ; trust in one, and in another 
gratitude ; but in greater or less degrees, a cordial 
complacency in the sovereignty, an exalted sense of 
the perfections, a grateful impression of the good- 
ness, and a humble hope of the favor of the Divine 
Being, are common to them all. Common — the 
determination to devote themselves without excep- 
tions, to the service and glory of God. Common 
— the desire of holiness and of continual progress 
towards perfection. Common- — an abasing con- 
sciousness of their own unworthiness, and of their 
many remaining infirmities, which interpose so 
often to corrupt the simplicity of their intentions, to 
thwart the execution of their purer purposes, and 
frustrate the resolutions of their better hours. 

But some perhaps, who will not directly and in 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 119 

the gross oppose the conclusions for which we have 
been contending, may endeavor to elude them. It 
may be urged, that to represent them as of general 
application, is going much too far* and however 
true in the case of some individuals of a higher or- 
der, it may be asserted they are not applicable to 
ordinary Christians ; from these so much will not 
surely be expected; and here perhaps there may be 
a secret reference to that supposed mitigation of the 
requisitions of the Divine law under the Christian 
dispensation, which was formerly noticed. This is 
so important a point that it ought not to be passed 
over : let us call in the authority of Scripture ; at the 
same time only a few passages shall be cited, and 
we refer to the word of God itself for those who 
wish for fuller satisfaction. The difficulty here is 
not to find proofs, but to select with discretion from 
the multitude which pour in upon us. 

In the first place, the precepts are expressed in 
the broadest and most general terms ; no persons are 
at libertv to conceive themselves exempted from the 
obligation of them ; and in any disposed to urge 
such a plea of exemption, it may well excite the 
most serious apprehension to consider how the 
plea would be received by an earthly tribunal. 
No weak argument this to any who are acquainted 
with the Scriptures, and who know how often God 
is there represented as reasoning with mankind on 
the principles which they have established for their 
dealings with each other. 



120 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

In the next place, the precepts in question contain 
within themselves abundant proofs of their universal 
application, inasmuch as they are grounded on cir- 
cumstances and relations common to all Christians, 
and of the benefits of which, even our objectors 
themselves, though they would evade the practical 
deductions from them, would not be willing to re- 
linquish their share. Christians "are not their 
own," because " they are bought with a price:" they 
are not " to live unto themselves, but to Him that 
died for them ; they are commanded to do the most 
difficult duties, "that they may be the children of 
their Father which is in heaven;" and "except a 
man be born again of the Spirit" (thus again be- 
coming one of the sons of God) " he cannot enter 
into the kingdom of heaven " It is " because they 
are sons," that God has given them what in Scrip- 
ture language is styled "the spirit of adoption." It. 
is only of u as many as are led by the Spirit of God " 
that it is declared " they are the sons of God •" and 
we are expressly warned, as it were to prevent any 
such loose profession of Christianity as that which 
we are here combating, " If any man have not the 
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." In short, Chris- 
tians in general are every where denominated the 
servants and the children of God, and are required to 
serve him with that submissive obedience, and that 
affectionate promptitude of duty, which belong to 
those endearing relations. 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 121 

Estimate next the force of that well known pas- 
sage — u Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy strength." The injunction is 
multiplied on us, to silence the sophistry of the ca- 
viller, and to fix the most inconsiderate mind. And 
surely if the words have any meaning at all, the least 
which can be intended by them is that settled, pre- 
dominant esteem, and cordial preference, for which 
we are now contending. The conclusion which this 
passage forces on us, is strikingly confirmed by 
other parts of Scripture, wherein the love of God is 
positively commended to the whole of a Christian 
church; 2 Cor. 13 : 14; or wherein the want of it, 
(1 John, 3: 17, Rom. 16: 18, compared with Phil. 
3 : 19,) or wherein its not being the chief and ruling 
affection, is charged on persons professing them- 
selves Christians, as being sufficient to disprove 
their claim to that appellation, or as being equivalent 
to denying it ; 2 Tim. 3 : 4. Let not, therefore, any 
deceive themselves by imagining that only an abso- 
lute unqualified renunciation of the desire of the fa- 
vor of God is here condemned. God wi) ]j&tJi££ex3L~ 
of a divided affection ; a single heart and a single 
eye are in express terms declared to be indispensa- 
bly required of us. We are ordered, under the figure 
of amassing heavenly treasure, to make the favor 
and service of God our chief pursuit, for this very 
reason, because " where our treasure is, there will 



122 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

our hearts be also." It is on this principle that, in 
speaking of particular vices, such phrases are often 
used in Scripture as suggest that their criminality 
mainly consists in drawing away the heart from 
Him who is the just object cf its preference; and 
sins which we might think very different in crimi- 
nality, are classed together, because they all agree 
in this grand character. Nor is this preference as- 
serted only over affections vicious in themselves, and 
to which therefore Christianity might well be sup- 
posed hostile ; but over those also which in their 
just measure are not only lawful, but even most 
strongly enjoined on us. " He that loveth father and 
mother more than me," says our blessed Savior, 
u is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth son or 
daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." Matt. 
10 : 37. The spirit of these injunctions harmonizes 
with many commendations in Scripture of zeal for 
the honor of God, as well as with that strong ex- 
pression of disgust and abhorrence with which the 
lukewarm, (those neither cold nor hot,) are spoken of 
as being more loathsome and offensive than even 
open and avowed enemies. 

Another class of instances tending to the same 
point, is furnished by those many passages of Scrip- 
ture, wherein promoting of the glory of God is com- 
manded as our supreme and universal aim, and 
wherein the honor due unto him is declared to be 
that in'which he will allow no competitor to partici- 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 123 

pate. On this head indeed the holy Scriptures are, 
if possible 3 more peremptory than on the former ; 
and at the same time so full as to render particular 
citations unnecessary in the case of any one who 
has ever so little acquaintance with the word of God. 
To put the same thing therefore in another light. 
All who have read the Scriptures must confess that 
idolatry is the crime against which God's highest 
resentment is expressed, and his severest punish- 
ment denounced. But let us not deceive ourselves. 
It is not in bowing the knee to idols that idolatry 
consists, so much as in the internal homage of the 
heart ; as in feeling towards them any of that su- 
preme love, reverence, or gratitude, which God re- 
serves to himself as his own exclusive prerogative. 
On the same principle, whatever else draws off the 
heart from him engrosses our prime regard, and 
holds the chief place in our esteem and affections, 
that, in the estimation of reason, is no less an idol to 
us than an image of wood or stone would be, before 
which we should fall down and worship. This is 
the language and argument of inspiration. The ser- 
vant of God is commanded not to set up his idol in 
his heart ; and sensuality and covetousness are re- 
peatedly termed idolatry. The same God who de- 
clares — " My glory will I not give to another, nei- 
ther my praise to graven images," declares also — 
" Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither 
let the mighty man glory in his might ; let not the 



124 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

rich man glory in his riches." Jer. 9 : 23. "No 
flesh may glory in his presence ;" " he that glorieth, 
let him glory in the Lord." The sudden vengeance 
by which the vain-glorious ostentation of Herod was 
punished, when, acquiescing in the servile adulation 
of an admiring multitude, " he gave not God the 
glory," is a dreadful comment on these injunctions. 
These awful declarations, it is to be feared, are 
little regarded. Let the great, and the wise, and the 
learned, and the successful, lay them seriously to 
heart, and labor habitually to consider their supe- 1 
riority, whether derived from nature, or study, or- 
fortune, asjjrejmmjy*^ This re- f 

flection will naturally tend to produce a disposition, 
instead of that proud self-complacency so apt to grow 
upon the human heart, in all respects opposite to it ; 
a disposition honorable to God and useful to man ; 
a temper composed of reverence, humility, and grati- 
/ tude, and delighting to be engaged in the praise's, 
j and employed in the benevolent service of the uni- 
( versal Benefactor. 

It only remains to be remarked, that here, as in 
the former instances, the characters of the righteous 
and of the wicked, as delineated in Scripture, exactly 
correspond with the representations which have been 
given of the Scripture injunctions. 

The necessity of this cordial unreserved devoted- 
ness to the glory and service of God, as indispen- 
sable to the character of the true Christian, has been 



N i 






THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 125 

insisted on at the greater length, not only on ac 
count of its own extreme importance, but also be- 
cause it appears a duty too generally overlooked. 
Once well established, it will serve as ia fundamental 
principle both for the government of the heart and 
regulation of the conduct ; and wilKprove eminently 
useful in the decision of many practical cases which 
it might be difficult to bring under the undisputed 
operation of any subordinate or appropriate rule. 



SECTION II. 

Having endeavored to establish the strictness, 
and to ascertain the essential character of true prac- 
tical Christianity, let us investigate more in detail 
the practical system of the bulk of professed Chris- 
tians among ourselves.* 

It was formerly remarked, that the whole subject 
of religion was often viewed from such a distance 
as to be seen only in the gross. We now, it is to 
be feared, shall find too much cause for believing 
that those who approach nearer, and do discover in 

* It will be remembered by the reader, that it is not the 
object of this work to animadvert on the vices, defects, and 
-erroneous opinions of the times, except as they are received 
cnto the prevailing religious system, or are tolerated by it, 
and are not thought sufficient to prevent a man from being 
esteemed, on the whole, a very tolerable Christian. 



126 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

Christianity somewhat of a distinct foim, yet come 
not close enough to discern her peculiar conforma- 
tion. 

A very erroneous notion prevails concerning the 
trfae nature of religion. Religion, agreeably to 
what has been already stated, may be considered as 
the implantation of a vigorous and active principle ; 
it is seated in the heart, where its authority is recog- 
' nized as supreme, whence by degrees it expels 
whatever is opposed to it, and where it gradually 
brings all the affections and desires under its com- 
plete control. 

But though the heart be its special residence, eve- 
ry endeavor and pursuit must acknowledge its pre- 
sence ; and whatever does not, or will not, or cannot 
receive its sacred stamp, is to be condemned, and is 
to be at once abstained from or abandoned. It is 
like the principle of vitality, which communicates its 
influence to the smallest and remotest fibres of the 
frame. But the notion of religion entertained by 
many among us seems altogether different. They 
begin, indeed, in submission to her clear prohibitions, 
by fencing off from the field of human action a cer- 
tain district, which, though it in many parts bear 
fruits on which they cast a longing eye, they cannot 
but confess to be forbidden ground. They next as- 
sign to religion a portion according to their circum- 
stances and views, in which however she is to pos- 
sess merely a qualified jurisdiction, and having so 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 127 

done, they conceive that without hinderance they have 
a right to range at will over the spacious remainder. 
Religion can claim only a stated proportion of their 
thoughts, and time, and fortune, and influence ; the 
rest they think is now their own, to do what they 
will with ; they have paid their tithes — say rather, 
their composition ; the demands of the Church are 
satisfied, and they may surely be permitted to enjoy 
what she has left without molestation or interference. 

It is scarcely possible to state too strongly the 
mischief which results from this fundamental error. 
At the same time its consequences are so natural 
and obvious, that one would think it scarcely possi- 
ble not to foresee that they must infallibly follow. 
The greatest part of human actions is considered as 
indifferent. If men are not chargeable with gross 
vices, and are decent in the discharge of their reli- 
gious duties ; if they do not stray into the forbidden 
ground, what more can be expected from them? In- 
stead of keeping at a distance from all sin, in which 
alone consists our safety, they will be apt not to care 
how near they approach what they conceive to be 
the boundary line; if they have not actually passed 
it, there is no harm done, it is no trespass. Thus 
the free and active spirit of religion is checked. She 
must keep to her prescribed confines, and every at- 
tempt to extend them will be resisted. 

This is not all. Since whatever can be gained 
from her allotment, or whatever can be taken in 



I 



128 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

from the forbidden ground, will be so much of addition 
to that land where men may roam at large, free 
from restraint or molestation, they will of course be 
constantly pressing upon the limits of the religious 
allotment on the one hand, and on the other will 
be removing back a little farther and farther the 
fence which abridges them on the side of the for- 
bidden ground. The space she occupies diminishes 
till it is scarcely discernible ; whilst, her spirit ex- 
anguished and her force destroyed, she is little more 
than the nominal possessor even of the contracted 
limits to which she has been avowedly reduced. 

This is but too faithful a representation of the gen- 
eral state of things among ourselves. The promo- 
tion of the glory of God, and the possession of his 
favor, are no longer recognized as the objects of our 
highest regard, and most strenuous endeavors ; as 
furnishing to us a vigorous, habitual, and univer- 
sal principle of action. We set up for ourselves : 
we are become our own masters. The sense of 
continual service is irksome and galling to us ; and 
we rejoice in being emancipated from it. Thus the 
very tenure and condition by which life and all its 
possessions are held, undergo a total change. What- 
ever we have is regarded rather as a property than 
R3 a trust ; or if there still exists the remembrance of 
some paramount claim, we are satisfied with an 
*"M)ccasionai acknowledgment, as of a nominal right. 

Hence it is that so littie sense of responsibility 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY 129 

seems attached to the possession of high rank, or 
splendid abilities, or affluent fortunes, or other means 
or instruments of usefulness. The instructive admo- 
nitions, " Give an account of thy stewardship" — 
" Occupy till I come," are forgotten. Or if it be ac- 
knowledged by some men of larger views than ordi- 
nary, that reference is to be had to some principle 
superior to that of our own gratification, it is, at best, 
to the good of society, or to the welfare of our fami- 
lies : and even then the obligations resulting from 
these relations are seldom enforced on us by any 
higher sanctions than those of familj comfort, and of 
w r orldly interest or estimation. Beside, T ,vhat multi- 
tudes of persons are there, people without families, 
in private stations, or of a retired turn, to whom they 
are scarcely held to apply! and what multitudes of 
cases to which it would be thought unnecessary 
scrupulosity to extend them ! Accordingly we find, 
in fact, that the generality of mankind among the 
higher order, in the formation of their schemes, in 
the selection of their studies, in the choice of their 
place of residence, in the employment and distribu- 
tion of their time, in their thoughts, conversation and 
amusements, ate considered as being at liberty, if 
there be no actual vice, to consult their own grati- 
fication. 

Thus the generous and wakeful spirit of Christian 
benevolence, seeking and finding every where occa« 
sions for its exercise, is exploded, and a system of de* 

Pr View. 9 



130 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

cent selfishness is avowedly established in its stead; 
a system scarcely more to be abjured for its impiety, 
than to be abhorred for its cold insensibility to the 
opportunities of diffusing happiness. " Have' we n( 
families, or are they provided for 7 Are we wealthy 
and bred to no profession ? Are we young and live 
ly, and in the gayety and vigor of youth ? Surely w^ 
may be allowed to take our pleasure. We neglect 
no duty, we live in no vice, we do nobody any harm, 
and have a right to amuse ourselves. We have no- 
thing better to do ; we wish we had ; our time hangs 
heavy on our hands for want of it." 

But no man has a right to be idle- Not to speak 
of that great work which we all have to accomplish, 
and surely the whole attention of a short and precari- 
ous life is not more than an eternal interest may well 
require ; where is it that, in such a world as this, 
health, and leisure, and affluence may not find some 
ignorance to instruct, some wrong to redress, some 
want to supply, some misery to alleviate ? Shall am- 
bition and avarice never sleep ? Shall they never 
want objects on which to fasten ? Shall they be so 
observant to discover, so acute to discern, so eager, 
so patient to pursue, and shall the benevolence of 
Christians want employment ? 

Yet thus life rolls away with too many of us, in a 
course of " shapeless idleness." Its recreations con- 
stitute its chief businsss. Watering-places, the sports 
of the field, cards ! never-failing cards ! the assem- 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 13l 

bly, the theatre, all contribute their aid ; amusements 
are multiplied, and combined, and varied, " to fill up 
the void of a listless and languid life ;" and by the 
regulated use of these different resources, there is 
often a kind of sober settled plan of domestic dissipa- 
tion, in which, with all imaginable decency, year 
after year wears away in unprofitable vacancy. 
Even old age often finds us pacing in the same 
round of amusements which our early youth had 
tracked out. Meanwhile, being conscious that we 
are not giving in to any flagrant vice, and it may be, 
that we are not neglecting the offices of religion, we 
persuade ourselves that we need not be uneasy. In 
the main, we do not fall below the general standard 
of morals of the class and station to which we 
belong ; we may therefore allow ourselves to glide 
down the stream without apprehension of the con- 
sequences. 

Some, of a character often hardly to be distin- 
guished from the class we have been just describing, 
take up with sensual pleasures. The chief happi- 
ness of their lives consists in one species or another 
of animal gratification; and these persons perhaps 
will be found to compose a large proportion. It be- 
longs not to our purpose to speak of the grossly and 
scandalously profligate, who renounce all pretensions 
to the name of Christians ; but of those who, main- 
taining a certain decency of character, and perhaps 
being tolerably observant of the forms of religion, 



132 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

may yet be not improperly termed sober sensualists. 
These, though less impetuous and more measured, 
are not less stanch and steady than the professed 
votaries of licentious pleasure, in the pursuit of their 
favorite objects. " Mortify the flesh, with its affections 
and lusts," is the Christian precept ; but a soft lux- 
urious course of habitual indulgence is the practice 
of the bulk of modern Christians : and that constant 
moderation, that wholesome discipline of restraint 
and self-denial, which are requisite to prevent the 
unperccived encroachments of the inferior appetites, 
seem altogether as disused as the exploded austeri- 
ties of monkish superstition. 

Christianity calls her professors to a state of dili- 
gent watchfulness and active services. But the per- 
sons of whom we are now speaking, forgetting alike 
the duties they owe to themselves and to their fellow- 
creatures, often act as though their condition were 
meant to be a state of uniform indulgence, and vacant, 
unprofitable sloth. To multiply the comforts of afflu- 
ence, to provide for the gratification of appetite, to be 
luxurious without diseases, and indolent without 
lassitude, seems the chief study of their lives. Nor 
can they be clearly exemptedlpm this class, who, by 
a common error, substituting^Jie means for the end, 
make the preservation of health and spirits, not as 
instruments of usefulness, but as sources of pleasure, 
their great business and continual care. 

Others again seem more to attach themselves to 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 133 

what have been well termed the " pomps and vani 
ties of this world." Magnificent houses, grand equi- 
pages, numerous retinues, splendid entertainments, 
high and fashionable connexions, appear to consti- 
tute, in their estimation, the supreme happiness of 
life. This class, too, i[ we mistake not, will be found 
numerous in our days; for it must be considered 
that it is the heart, set on these things, which consti- 
tutes the essential character. Persons to whose rank 
and station these indulgences most properly belong, 
often are the most indifferent to them. Undue soli- 
citude about them is more visible in persons of in- 
ferior conditions and smaller fortunes, in whom it is 
detected by the studious contrivances of a misapplied 
ingenuity to reconcile parade with economy, and to 
glitter at a cheap rate. But this temper of display 
and competition is a direct contrast to the lowly, 
modest, unassuming carriage of the true Christian : 
and wherever there is an evident effort and struggle 
to excel in the particulars here in question, a mani- 
fest wish thus to rival superiors, to outstrip equals, to 
dazzle inferiors ; it is manifest the great end of life, 
and of all its possessions, is too little kept in view, 
and it is to be feared that the gratification of a vain 
ostentatious humor is the predominant disposition of 
the heart. 

As there is a sober sensuality, so is there also a 
sober avarice, and a sober ambition. The commer- 
cial and the professional w r orld compose the chief 



134 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

sphere of their influence. They are often recog- 
nised and openly avowed as just master principles 
of action. But where this is not the case, they as- 
sume such plausible shapes, are called by such 
specious names, and urge such powerful pleas, that 
they are received with cordiality, and suffered to 
gather strength without suspicion. The seducing 
considerations of diligence in our callings, of suc- 
cess in our profession, of making handsome pro- 
visions for our children, beguile our better judg- 
ments. " We rise early, and late take rest, and eat 
the bread of carefulness." In our few intervals of 
leisure, our exhausted spirits require refreshment ; 
the serious concerns of our immortal souls are matters 
of speculation too grave and gloomy to answer the 
purpose, and we fly to something that may better 
deserve the name of relaxation, till we are again 
summoned to the daily labors of our employment. 

Meanwhile religion scarcely occurs to our 
thoughts ; and when some secret misgivings begin 
to be felt on this head, company soon drowns, amuse- 
ments dissipate, or habitual occupations insensibly 
displace or smother the rising apprehension. Pro- 
fessional and commercial men often quiet their 
consciences by the plea, that their business leaves 
them no time to think on these serious subjects at 
present. " Men of leisure they confess should con- 
sider them; they themselves will, do it hereafter 
when they retire; meanwhile they are usefully, or at 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 135 

least innocently employed." Thus business and plea- 
sure fill up our time, and the " one thing needful " is 
forgotten. Respected by others 3 and secretly applaud- 
ing ourselves, perhaps congratulating ourselves that 
we are not like such a one who is a spendthrift or 
a mere man of pleasure, or such another who is a 
notorious miser, the true principle of action is no 
less wanting in us, and personal advancement or the 
acquisition of wealth is the object of our supreme 
desires and predominant pursuit. 

It would be too much to attempt the delineation of 
the characters of the politician, the metaphysician, 
the scholar, the poet, the virtuoso, the man of taste, 
in all their varieties. Of these and many other 
classes, suffice it to appeal to every man's own expe- 
rience for the truth of the observation, that they in 
like manner are often completely engrossed by their 
several pursuits. In many cases, indeed, a generous 
spirit surrenders itself wholly up with the less re- 
serve, and continues absorbed with the fuller con- 
fidence, from the consciousness of not being led by 
self-interested motives. Here therefore these men are 
ardent, active, laborious, persevering, and they think, 
and speak, and act, as those the whole happiness of 
whose life turns on the success or failure of their 
endeavors. Let not the writer be supposed to in- 
sinuate that religion is an enemy to the pursuits of 
taste, much less to those of learning and of science. 
Let these have their due place in the estimation of 



136 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

mankind; but this must not be the highest place. 
Let them know their just subordination. They de- 
serve not to be the primary concern, for there is 
another, to which in importance they bear no more 
proportion than our span of existence to eternity. 

Thus the supreme desires of the heart are per- 
mitted without control to take that course, whatever 
it may be, which best suits our natural temper, or to 
which they are impelled by our various situations 
and circumstances. " Know thyself," is in truth an 
injunction with which the careless and the indolent 
cannot comply. For this compliance, it is requisite, 
in obedience to the Scripture precept, " to keep the 
heart with all diligence." Mankind are in general 
deplorably ignorant of their true state ; and there are 
few who have any adequate conception of the real 
strength of the ties by which they are bound to the 
several objects of their attachment, or who are aware 
how small a share of their regard is possessed by 
those concerns on which it ought to be supremely 
fixed. 

But God requires to set up his throne in the heart, 
and to reign in it without a rival : if he be kept out of 
his right, it matters not by what competitor. The 
revolt may be more avowed or more secret ; it may 
be the treason of deliberate preference, or of incon- 
siderate levity ; we may be the subjects of a more or 
of a less creditable master; we may be employed in 
services more gross or more refined ; but whether 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 137 

the slaves of avarice, of sensuality, of dissipation, of 
sloth, or the votaries of ambition, of taste, or of 
fashion; whether supremely governed by vanity and 
self-love, by the desire of literary fame or of military 
glory, we are alike estranged from the dominion of 
our rightful Sovereign. Let not this seem a harsh 
position ; it can appear so only from not adverting 
to what was shown to be the essential nature of true 
religion. He who bowed the knee to the god of 
medicine or of eloquence, was no less an idolater 
than the worshiper of the deified patrons of lewdness 
or of theft. In the several cases which have been 
specified, the external acts indeed are different, but 
in principle the disaffection is the same ; and we 
must prepare to meet the punishment of rebels on 
that tremendous day, when all false colors shall be 
done away, and, there being no longer any room for 
the evasions of worldly sophistry, or the smooth 
plausibilities of worldly language, " that which is 
often highly esteemed amongst men, shall appear to 
have been abomination in the sight of God." 

These fundamental truths seem vanished from the 
mind, and it follows of course, that every thing is 
viewed less and less through a religious medium. 
To speak no longer of instances wherein we our- 
selves are concerned, what are the judgments which 
men form in the case of others 1 Idleness, profusion, 
thoughtlessness, and dissipation, the misapplication 
of time or of talents, the trifling away of life in 



r 



138 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

frivolous occupations or unprofitable studies; all 
these things we may regret in those around us, in 
the view of their temporal effects ; but they are not 
considered in a religious connexion, or lamented as 
endangering everlasting happiness. Excessive vani- 
ty and inordinate ambition are spoken of as weak- 
nesses rather than as sins ; even covetousness itself, 
though a hateful passion, yet, if not extreme, scarcely 
presents the face of irreligion. Is some friend, or 
even some common acquaintance sick, or has some 
accident befallen him °- How solicitously do we in 
quire after him, how tenderly do we visit him, how 
much perhaps do we regret that he has not better 
advice, and how should we reproach ourselves if we 
were to neglect any means in our power of contri 
buting to his recovery ! But " the mind is diseased,'' 
is neglected and forgotten — " that is not our affair ; 
we hope, we do not perhaps really believe, that here 
it is well with him." The truth is. we have no so- 
licitude about his spiritual interest. Here he is 
created like the unfortunate traveler in the Gospel ; 
we look upon him ; we see but too well his sad con- 
dition, but (priest and Levite alike) we pass by on 
the other side, and leave him to the officious tender- 
ness of some poor despised Samaritan. 

Nay, take the case of our very children, when our 
hearts being most interested to promote their happi- 
ness, we must be supposed most desirous of deter- 
mining on right principles, and where therefore the 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 139 

real standard of our deliberate judgments may be 
indisputably ascertained . in their education and mar- 
riage, in the choice of their professions, in our com- 
parative consideration and judgment of the different 
parts of their several characters, how little do we 
reflect that they are immortal beings ! Health, learn- 
ing, credit ; the amiable and agreeable qualities ; 
above all, fortune and success in life, are taken, and 
not unjustly taken, into the account ; but how small 
a share in forming our opinions is allowed to the 
probable effect which may be produced on their 
eternal interests ! Indeed, the subjects of our mutual 
inquiries, and congratulations, and condolences, prove 
but too plainly what considerations are in these cases 
uppermost in our thoughts. 

Such are the fatal and widely spreading effects • 
which follow from the admission of the grand funda- 
mental error before mentioned, that of not consider- 

... 
ing religion as a principle of universal application 

and command. Robbed of its best energies, religion 
now takes the form of a cold compilation of restraints 
and prohibitions. Considering, moreover, that the 
matter of them is not in general very palatable, and 
that the partiality of every man, where his own cause 
is in question, will be likely to make him construe 
them liberally in his own favor, we might before- 
hand have formed a tolerable judgment of the man- 
ner in which they are actually treated. Sometimes 
we attend to the words rather than to the spirit of 



140 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS 01? 

Scripture injunctions, overlooking the principle they 
involve, which a better acquaintance with the word 
of God would have clearly taught us to infer from 
them. At others, " the spirit of an injunction is all ;" 
and this we contrive to collect so dexterously, as 
thereby to relax or annul the strictness of the terms. 
They say, " Whatever is not expressly forbidden 
cannot be very criminal ; whatever is not positively 
enjoined, cannot be indispensably necessary. If we 
do not offend against the laws, what more can be 
expected from us ? — The persons to whom the strict 
precepts of the Gospel were given, were in very dif- 
ferent circumstances from those in which we are 
placed. The injunctions were drawn rather tighter 
than is quite necessary, in order to allow for a little 
relaxation in practice. The expressions of the sa- 
cred writers are figurative ; the eastern style is con- 
fessedly hyperbolical." 

By these and other such dishonest shifts, by which 
however we seldom deceive ourselves, except it be 
in thinking that we deceive others, the pure but 
strong morality of the word of God is explained 
away, and its too rigid canons are softened down 
with as much dexterity as is exhibited by those who 
practice a logic of the same complexion, in order to 
escape from the obligations of human statutes. 

But when the law, both in its spirit and its letter, 
is obstinate and incorrigible, what we cannot bend to 
our purpose we must break. Hear excuses of this 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 141 

nature : " Our sins, we hope, are of the smaller order: 
a little harmless gallantry, a little innocent jollity, a 
few foolish expletives which we use from the mere 
force of habit, meaning nothing by them ; a little 
warmth of coloring and license of expression ; a 
few freedoms of speech in the gayety of our hearts, 
which, though not perhaps strictly correct, none but 
the over-rigid would think of treating any otherwise 
than as venial infirmities, and in which very grave 
and religious men will often take their share, when 
they may throw off their state, and relax without im- 
propriety. We serve an all-merciful Being, who 
knows the frailty of our nature, the number and 
strength of our temptations, and will not be extreme 
to mark what is done amiss. Even the less lenient 
judicatures of human institution concede somewhat 
to the weakness of man. It is an established maxim 
— ' De minimis non curat lex.' We hope we are not 
worse than the generality. All men are imperfect. 
We own we have our infirmities ; we confess it is 
so ; we wish we were better, and trust, as we grow 
older, we shall become so ; we are ready to acknow- 
ledge that we must be indebted for our admission 
into a future state of happiness, not to our own merit, 
but to the clemency of God, and the mercy of our 
Redeemer." 

But let not this language be mistaken for that of 
.rue Christian humiliation, of which it is the very 
essence to feel the burden of sin, and to long to be 



142 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

released from it : nor let two things be confounded, 
than which none can be more fundamentally differ- 
ent — the allowed want of universality in our deter- 
mination and our endeavor to obey the will of God, 
and that defective accomplishment of our purposes, 
which even the best of men will too often find reason 
to deplore. In the persons of whom we now have been 
speaking*, the unconcern with which they can amuse 
themselves upon the borders of sin, and the easy 
familiarity with which they can actually dally with 
it in its less offensive shapes, show plainly that, dis- 
tinctly from its consequences, it is by no means the 
object of their aversion ; that there is no love of ho- 
liness as such; no endeavor to acquire it, no care to 
prepare the soul for the reception of this divine 
principle, and to expel or keep under whatever 
might be likely to obstruct its entrance, or dispute 
its sovereignty. 

It is indeed a most lamentable consequence of the 
practice of regarding religion as a compilation of 
statutes, and not as an internal principle, that it soon 
comes to be considered as being conversant about 
external actions, rather than about habits of mind. 
This sentiment sometimes has even the hardiness to 
insinuate and maintain itself under the guise of ex- 
traordinary concern for practical religion ; but it 
soon discovers the falsehood of this pretension, and 
betrays its real nature. The expedient indeed of 
attaining to superiority in practice, by not wasting 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 143 

any of the attention on the internal principles from 
which alone practice can flow, is about as reasonable, 
and will answer about as well, as the economy of 
the architect who should account it mere prodigality 
to expend any of his materials in laying foundations, 
from an idea that they might be more usefully ap- 
plied to the raising of the superstructure. We know 
what would be the fate of such an edifice. 

It is indeed true* and a truth never to be forgotten, 
that all pretensions to internal principles of holiness ) 
are vain, when they are contradicted by the conduct ; 
but it is no less true, that the only effectual way of 
improving the latter, is by a vigilant attention to the } 
former. It was therefore our blessed Savior's in- 
junction, " Make the tree good" as the necessary 
means of obtaining good fruit; and the holy Scrip- 
tures abound in admonitions, to let it be our chief 
business to cultivate our hearts with all diligence, 
to examine into their state with impartiality, and 
watch over them with continual care. Indeed it is 
the heart which constitutes the man ; and external 
actions derive their whole character and meaning 
from the motives and dispositions of which they are 
the indications. Human judicatures, it is true, are 
chiefly conversant about the former ; but this is only 
because, to our limited perceptions, the latter can sel- 
dom be any otherwise clearly ascertained. The real 
object of inquiry to human judicatures is the internal 
disposition ; it is to this that they adapt the nature, 
and proportion the degree of their punishments. 



144 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

Yet though this be a truth so obvious, so es- 
tablished, that to have insisted on it may seem al- 
most needless ; it is a truth of which we are apt to 
lose sight in the review of our religious character, 
and with which the habit of considering religion as 
consisting rather in external actions than internal 
principles, is at direct and open war. This mode of 
judging may well be termed habitual ; for though by 
some persons it is advisedly adopted and openly 
avowed, yet in many cases, for want of due watch- 
fulness, it has stolen insensibly upon the mind ; it 
exists unsuspected, and is practiced, like other habits, 
without consciousness or observation. 

In what degree soever this pernicious principle 
prevails, in that degree is the mischief it produces. 
The vicious affections, like noxious weeds, sprout 
up and increase of themselves but too naturally ; 
while the graces of the Christian temper, exotics in 
the soil of the human heart, like the more tender 
productions of the vegetable world, though the light 
and breath of heaven must quicken them, require, on 
our part also, constant and assiduous care. But so 
far from their being earnestly sought for, or watch- 
fully reared, with unremitted prayers for that divine 
grace, without which all our labors must be ineffec- 
tual ; such is the result of the principle we are here 
condemning, that no endeavors are used for their at- 
tainment, or they are suffered to droop and die al- 
most without an effort to preserve them. Way being 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 145 

thus made for the unobstructed growth of other tem- 
pers, the qualities of which are very different, and 
often directly opposite, these naturally overspread 
and quietly possess the mind ; their contrariety to the 
Christian spirit not being discerned, and even perhaps 
their presence being scarcely acknowledged, except 
when their existence and their nature are manifested 
in the conduct, by marks too plain to be overlooked 
or mistaken. 

Some of the most important branches of the 
Christian temper, wherein the bulk of nominal 
Christians appear eminently and allowedly defective, 
have been already noticed in this and in the pre- 
ceding chapter. Many others still remain to be par- 
ticularized. 

First, then, it is the comprehensive compendium 
of the character of true Christians, that " they are 
walking by faith, and not by sight." By this de- 
scription is meant, not merely that they so firmly 
believe in the doctrine of future rewards and punish- 
ments, as to be influenced by that persuasion to ad- 
here in the main to the path of duty, though tempted 
to forsake it by present interest and present gratifi- 
cation ; but farther, that the great truths revealed in 
Scripture concerning the unseen world, are the 
ideas for the most part uppermost in their thoughts, 
and about which habitually their hearts are most in-,. 
terested. This state of mind contributes, if the ex- 
pression may be allowed, to rectify the illusions of 

Pr.View. 10 



146 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

vision, to bring forward into nearer view those eter- 
nal things which, from their remoteness, are apt to be 
either wholly overlooked, or to appear but faintly in 
the utmost bounds of the horizon; and to remove 
backward, and reduce to their true comparative di- 
mensions, the objects of the present life, which are 
apt to fill the human eye, assuming a false magni- 
tude from their vicinity. The true Christian knows 
from experience, however, that the former are apt 
to fade from the sight, and the latter again to swell 
on it. He makes it therefore his continual care to 
preserve those just and enlightened views which, 
through divine mercy, he has obtained. Not that 
he will retire from that station in the world which 
Providence seems to have appointed him to fill : he 
will be active in the business of life, and enjoy its 
comforts with moderation and thankfulness ; but he 
will not give up his whole soul to them, they will 
be habitually subordinate in his estimation to objects 
of more importance. The awful truth has sunk 
deep into his mind, "the things which are seen are 
temporal, but the things which are not seen are 
eternal ;" and in the tumult and bustle of life, he is 
sobered by the still small voice which whispers to 
him, " The fashion of this world passes away " 
This circumstance alone must, it is obvious, consti- 
tute a vast difference between the habitual temper of 
his mind, and that of the generality of nominal 
Christians, who are almost entirely taken up with 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 147 

the concerns of the present world. They know in 
deed that they are mortal, but they do not feel it. 
The truth rests in their understandings, and cannot 
gain admission into their hearts. This speculative 
persuasion is altogether different from that strong 
practical impression of the infinite importance oi 
eternal things, which, attended with a proportionate 
sense of the shortness and uncertainty of all below, 
while it prompts to activity from a conviction that 
" the night cometh when no man can work," pro- 
duces a certain firmness of texture, which hardens 
us against the buffets of fortune, and prevents our 
being very deeply penetrated by the cares and in- 
terests, the goods or evils of this transitory state. 
Thus this just impression of the relative value of 
temporal and eternal things maintains in the soul 
a dignified composure through all the vicissitudes 
of life. It quickens our diligence, yet moderates our 
ardor; urges us to just pursuits, yet checks any 
undue solicitude about the success of them, and 
thereby enables us, in the language of Scripture, 
" to use this world as not abusing it," rendering us 
at once beneficial to others and comfortable to our- 
selves. 

But this is not all : besides the distinction be- 
tween the nominal and the real Christian, which 
results from the impressions produced on them re- 
spectively by the eternal duration of heavenly things, 
there is another grounded on their nature, no less 



148 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

marked nor less important, They are stated in 
Scripture, not only as entitling themselves to the no- 
tice of the true Christian from considerations of in- 
terest, but as approving themselves to his judgment, 
from a conviction of their excellence ; and yet farther, 
as recommending themselves to his feelings by thei~ 
being suited to the renewed dispositions of his heart 
Indeed, were the case otherwise, did not their quali- 
ties correspond with his inclinations, however he 
might endure them on principles of duty, and be 
coldly conscious of their superior worth, he could 
not lend himself to them with cordial complacency, 
much less look to them as the surest source of 
pleasure. But this is the light in which they are 
habitually regarded by the true Christian. He 
walks in the ways of religion, not by constraint, but 
willingly ; they are to him not only safe, but com 
fortable ; " ways of pleasantness as well as of peace." 
Not but that here also he is, from experience, aware 
of the necessity of constant support, and continual 
watchfulness ; without these, his old estimate of 
things is apt to return, on him, and the former ob- 
jects of his affections to resume their influence. 
With earnest prayers, therefore, for the Divine help, 
with jealous circumspection and resolute self-denial 
he guards against, and abstains from whatever 
might be likely again to darken his enlightened 
judgment or to vitiate his reformed taste ; thus mak 
ing it his unwearied endeavor to grow in the know 



/ 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 149 

ledge and love of heavenly things, and to obtain a 
warmer admiration and a more cordial relish of 
their excellence. 

That this is a just representation of the habitual 
judgment, and of the leading disposition of true 
Christians, will be abundantly evident, if, endeavor- 
ing to form ourselves after our proper model, wo 
consult the Sacred Scripture. But in vain are Chris- 
tians there represented as having set their affections 
on things above, as cordially rejoicing in the service 
and delighting in the worship of God. Pleasure and 
religion are contradictory terms with the bulk of 
nominal Christians. They may look back indeed , 
on their religious offices with something of secret 
satisfaction, and even feel it during the performance 
of them, from the idea of being engaged in the dis- 
charge of a duty ; but this is altogether different 
from the pleasure which attends an employment in j 
itself acceptable and grateful to us. The writer 
must here again guard against being understood to 
speak of a deficiency in the warmth and vehemence 
merely of religious affections. Are the service and 
worship of God pleasant to these persons ? it is not 
asked whether they are delightful. Do they diffuse 
over the soul any thing of that calm complacency, 
that mild and grateful composure, which bespeaks 
a mind in good humor with itself and all around, 
and engaged in a service suited to its taste, and con. 
genial with its feelings? 



i.*0 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

Let us appeal to the day especially devoted to the 
oflices of religion: Do they joyfully avail them- 
selves of this blessed opportunity of withdrawing 
from the business and cares of life; when, without 
being disquieted by any doubt whether they are not 
neglecting the duties of their proper callings, they 
may be allowed to detach their minds from earthly 
things, that by a fuller knowledge of heavenly ob- 
jects, and a more habitual acquaintance with them, 
their hope may grow more " full of immortality J" 
Is the day cheerfully devoted to those holy exercises 
for which it was appointed % Do they indeed " come 
into the courts of God with gladness T' And how 
are they employed when not engaged in the public 
services of the day 7 Are they busied in studying the 
word of God, in meditating on his perfection, in 
tracing his providential dispensations, in admiring 
his works, in revolving his mercies — above all, the 
transcendent mercies of redeeming love — in singing 
his praises, " and speaking good of his name J u Do 
their secret retirements witness the earnestness of 
their prayers and the warmth of their thanksgiv- 
ings, their diligence and impartiality in the necessa- 
ry work of self-examination, their mindfulness of 
the benevolent duty of intercession ? Is the kind 
purpose of the institution of a Sabbath answered by 
them, in its being made to their servants and de- 
pendants a season of rest and comfort ? Does the 
instruction of their families, or of the more poor and 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 151 

ignorant of their neighbors, possess its due share of 
their time % If blessed with talents or with affluence, 
are they sedulously employing a part of this inter- 
val of leisure in relieving the indigent, visiting the 
sick, and comforting the sorrowful — in forming plans 
for the good of their fellow-creatures, in considering 
how they may promote both the temporal and spiri- 
tual benefit of their friends and acquaintance ; or 
if theirs is a larger sphere, in devising measures 
whereby, through the Divine blessing, they may 
become the honored instruments of the more extend- 
ed diffusion of religious truth ? In the hours of do- 
mestic or social intercourse, does their conversation 
manifest the subject of which their hearts are full % 
Do their language and demeanor show them to be 
more than commonly gentle, and kind, and friendly, 
free from rough and irritating passions % 

Surely an entire day should not seem long amidst 
these various employments. It might well be deem* 
ed a privilege thus to spend it in the more imme- 
diate presence of our heavenly Father, in the exer- 
cises of humble admiration and grateful homage — of 
the benevolent, and domestic, and social feelings, 
and of all the best affections of our nature, prompted 
by their true motives, conversant about their proper 
objects, and directed to their noblest end ; all sorrows 
mitigated, all cares suspended, all fears repressed, 
every angry emotion softened, every envious, or re- 
vengeful, or malignant passion expelled ; and the 



152 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

bosom thus quieted, purified, enlarged, ennobled, par- 
taking almost of a measure of the heavenly happi 
ness, and become for a while the seat of love, and 
joy, and confidence, and harmony. 

The nature and uses, and proper employments of 
a Christian Sabbath, have been pointed out more 
particularly, not only because the day will be found, 
when thus employed, eminently conducive, through 
the Divine blessing, to the maintenance of the reli- 
gious principle in activity and vigor; but also be- 
cause we must all have had occasion often to re- 
mark, that many persons, of the graver and more 
decent sort, seem not seldom to be nearly destitute 
of religious resources. The Sunday is with them, 
to say the best of it, a heavy day; and that larger 
part of it, which is not claimed by the public offices 
of the church, dully drawls on in comfortless 
vacuity, or without improvements, is trifled away 
in vain and unprofitable discourse. Not to speak of 
those who, by their more daring profanation of this 
sacred season, openly violate the laws and insult the 
religion of their country, how little do many seem 
to enter into the spirit of the institution who are not 
wholly inattentive to its exterior decorums ! How 
glad are they to qualify the rigor of their religious 
labors ! How hard do they plead against being com- 
pelled to devote the whole of the day to religion, 
claiming to themselves no small merit for giving up 
to it a part, and purchasing therefore, as they hope, 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 153 

a right to spend the remainder more agreeably! 
How dextrously do they avail themselves of any 
plausible plea for introducing some week-day em- 
ployment into the Sunday, whilst they have not the 
same propensity to introduce any of the Sunday's 
peculiar employment into the rest of the week ! How 
often do they find excuses for taking journeys, wri- 
ting letters, balancing accounts ; or, in short, doing 
something which, by a little management, might pro- 
bably have been anticipated, or which, without any 
material inconvenience, might be postponed ! Even 
business itself is recreation, compared with religion, 
and from the drudgery of this day of sacred rest 
they fly for relief to their ordinary occupations. 

Others again, who would consider business as a 
profanation, and who still hold out against the en- 
croachments of the card-table, get over much of the 
day, and gladly seek for an innocent resource in the 
social circle or in family visits, where it is not even 
pretended that the conversation turns on such topics 
as might render it in any way conducive to reli- 
gious instruction or improvement. Their families, 
meanwhile, are neglected, their servants robbed of 
Christian privileges, and their example quoted by 
others, who cannot see that they are themselves less 
religiously employed, while playing an innocent 
game at cards or relaxing in the concert-room. 

But all these several artifices, whatever they may 
be, to unhallow the Sunday, and to change its cha 



I 

I 

I 



154 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF 

racter, prove too plainly, however we may be glad 
to take refuge in religion, when driven to it by the 
ioss of every other comfort, and to retain, as it were 
a reversionary interest in an asylum which may re 
ceive us when we are forced from the transitory en- 
joyments of our present state ; that in itself it wears 
to us a gloomy and forbidding aspect, and not a face 
of consolation and joy ; that the worship of God is 
with us a constrained, and not a willing service, 
which we are glad, therefore, to abridge, though we 
dare not omit it. 

Some indeed there are who, with concern and 
grief, will confess this to be their uncomfortable 
and melancholy state; who humbly pray, and dili- 
gently endeavor, for an imagination less distracted 
at devotional seasons, for a heart more capable of 
relishing the excellence of divine things; and who 
carefully guard against whatever has a tendency to 
chain down their affections to earthly enjoyments. 
Let not such be discouraged. It is not these whom 
we are condemning ; hut such as know, and even 
acknowledge this to be their case, yet proceed in a 
way directly contrary ; who, scarcely seeming to sus- 
pect that any thing is wrong l/ith them, voluntarily 
acquiesce in a state of mind directly contrary to the 
positive commands of God, which forms a perfect con- 
trast to the representations given us in Scripture ot 
the christian character, and accords but too faithful- 
ly, in one leading feature, with the character of those 



THE NATURE OF CHRISTIANITY. 155 

who are stated to be the objects of Divine displea- 
sure in this life, and of Divine punishment in the next. 
It is not, however, only in these essential constitu- 
ents of a devotional frame that the bulk of nominal 
Christians are defective. This they freely declare, 
secretly feeling perhaps some complacency from the 
frankness of the avowal, to be a higher strain of pi- 
ety than that to which they aspire. Their forget- 
fulness also of some of the leading dispositions o 
Christianity, is undeniably apparent in their allow- 
ed want of the spirit of kindness, and meekness, ana 
gentleness, and patience, and long-suffering; and 
above all, of that which is the stock on which alone 
these dispositions can grow and flourish, that hu- 
mility and lowliness of mind, in which perhaps, 
more than in any other quality, may be said to con- 
sist the true essence and vital principle of the chris- 
tian temper. These dispositions are not only ne- 
glected, but even disavowed and exploded ; and their 
opposites, if not rising to any great height, are ac- 
knowledged and applauded. A just pride, a pro- 
per and becoming pride, are terms we daily hear. 
To possess a high spirit, to behave with proper spi- 
rit when used ill — by which is meant a quick feel- 
.ng of injuries, and a promptness in resenting them, 
entitles to commendation ; and a meek-spirited dis- 
position, the highest scripture eulogium, expresses 
ideas of disapprobation and contempt. Vanity and 
vain-glory are suffered without interruption to retain 



< 



156 ON THE DESIRE OF HIHMAN 

their natural possession of the heart. Bat here a 
topic opens upon us of such importance, and ou 
which so many mistakes are to be found, both in the 
writings of respectable authors and in the commonly 
prevailing opinions of the world, that we must treat 
of it in a separate section. 



SECTION III. 

On the desire of human estimation and applause.— The gene- 
rally prevailing opinions contrasted with those of the true 
Christian. 

The desire of human estimation, and distinction, 
and honor, of the admiration and applause of our 
fellow-creatures, if we take it in all its various modi- 
fications, from the thirst of glory to the dread ot 
shame, is the passion of which the empire is by far 
the most general, and perhaps the authority the most 
commanding. Though its power be most conspicu- 
ous in the higher classes of society, it seems to 
spare neither age, nor sex, nor condition ; and taking 
ten thousand shapes, insinuating itself, under the 
most specious pretexts, and sheltering itself, when 
necessary, under the most artful disguises, it winds 
its way in secret, when it dares not openly avow 
itself, and mixes in all we think, and speak, and do. 
It is in some instances the determined and declared 
pursuit, and confessedly the main practical principle ; 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 157 

but where this is not the case, it is not seldom the 
grand spring of action, and in the beauty and the 
author, no less than in the soldier, it is often the 
master passion of the soul. 

This is the principle which parents recognize 
with joy in their infant offspring, which is diligently 
instilled and nurtured in advancing years, which, 
under the names of honorable ambition and of laud- 
able emulation, it is the professed aim of schools and 
colleges to excite and cherish. The writer is well 
aware that it will be thought he is pushing his 
opinions much too far, when he assails this great 
principle of human action ; " a principle," its advo- 
cates might perhaps exclaim, " the extinction of 
which would be like the annihilation in the material 
world of the principle of motion ; without it all were 
torpid, and cold, and comfortless. We grant," they 
might go on to observe, "that we never ought to 
deviate from the paths of duty in order to procure 
the applause or to avoid the reproaches of men, and 
we allow that this is a rule too little attended to in 
practice. We grant that the love of praise is in some 
instances a ridiculous, and in others a mischievous 
passion ; that to it we owe coquettes and coxcombs, 
and, a more serious evil, the noxious race of heroes 
and conquerors. We too are ready, when it appears 
in the shape of vanity, to smile at it as a foible, or 
in that of false glory, to condemn it as a crime. But 
all these are only its perversions ; and on account of 



158 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

them to contend against it, were to give in to the error 
of arguing against the use of a salutary principle 
altogether, on account of its being liable to occasional 
abuse. When turned into the right direction, and 
applied to its true purposes, it prompts to every dig- 
nified and generous enterprise. It forces indolence 
into activity, and extorts from vice itself the deeds of 
generosity and virtue. When once the sou] is warm- 
ed by its generous ardor, no difficulties deter, no 
dangers terrify, no labors tire. It is this which, 
giving by its stamp to what is virtuous and honora- 
ble, its just superiority over the gifts of birth and 
fortune, rescues the rich from base subjection to the 
pleasures of sense, and makes them prefer a course 
of toil and hardship to a life of indulgence and ease. 
It prevents the man of rank from acquiescing in his 
hereditary greatness, and spurs him forward in pur- 
suit of personal distinction, and of a nobility which 
he may justly term his own. It moderates and quali- 
fies the over-great inequalities of human conditions ; 
and reaching to those who are above the sphere of 
laws, and extending to cases which fall not within 
their province, it limits and circumscribes the power 
of the tyrant on his throne, and gives gentleness to 
war, and to pride, humility. 

" Nor is its influence confined to public life, nor 
is it known only in the great and the splen id. To 
it is to be ascribed a large portion of that courtesy 
and disposition to please, which naturally producing 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 159 

a mutual appearance of good will, and a reciproca- 
tion of good offices, constitute much of the comfort 
of private life. Nay, from the force of habit, it fol- 
lows us even into solitude, and in our most secret 
retirements we often act as if our conduct were sub- 
ject to human observation, and we derive no small 
complacency from the imaginary applauses of an 
ideal spectator." 

So far of the effects of the love of praise and dis- 
tinction: and if, after enumerating some of these, 
you should proceed to investigate its nature — " We 
aJmit," it might be added, "that a hasty and mis- 
judging world often misapplies commendations and 
censures; and whilst we therefore confess that the 
praises of the discerning few are alone truly valua- 
ble ; we acknowledge that it were better if mankind 
were always to act from the sense of right and the 
love of virtue, without reference to the opinions of 
their fellow-creatures. We even allow that, inde- 
pendently of consequences, this were perhaps in 
itself a higher strain of virtue ; but it is a degree of 
purity which it would be vain to expect from the 
bulk of mankind. When the intrinsic excellence of 
this principle, however, is called in question, let it be 
remembered, that in its higher degrees it was styled, 
by one who meant rather to detract from its merits 
than to aggravate them, ' the infirmity of noble 
minds;' and surely, that in such a soil it most na- 
turally springs up and flourishes, is proof nf its ex- 
alted origin and generous nature. 



160 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

" But were these more dubious, and were it no 
more than a splendid error ; yet, considering that it 
works so often in the right direction, it were enough 
to urge in its behalf, that it is a principle of real 
action and approved energy. That it is to be pre- 
ferred for general use, before those higher principles 
of morals which, however just and excellent in them- 
selves, you would in vain attempt to bring home to 
the ' business and bosoms of mankind/ at large. 
Reject not then a principle thus universal in its in- 
fluence, thus valuable in its effects; a principle 
which, by whatever name you may please to call it, 
acts by motives and considerations suited to our con- 
dition ; and which, putting it at the very lowest, must 
be confessed, in our present infirm state, to be an 
habitual aid and an ever-present support to the fee- 
bleness of virtue ! In a selfish world it produces the 
effects of disinterestedness ; and when public spirit is 
extinct, it supplies the want of patriotism. Let us 
therefore with gratitude avail ourselves of its help, 
and not relinquish the good which it freely offers, 
from we know not what vain dreams of impractica- 
ble purity and unattainable perfection." 

All this and much more might be urged by the 
advocates of this favorite principle. It would be, 
however, no difficult task to show that it by no means 
merits this high eulogium. To say nothing of that 
larger part of the argument of our opponents, which 
proceeds upon that mischievous notion of the inno- 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE 161 

cence of error, the principle in question is manifestly 
as inconstant and variable as the innumerably di- 
versified modes of fashions, habits, and opinions in 
different periods and societies. What it tolerates in 
one age, it forbids in another ; what in one country 
it prescribes and applauds, in another it condemns 
and stigmatizes ! Obviously and openly it often 
takes vice into its patronage, and sets itself in direct 
opposition to virtue. It is calculated to produce rather 
the appearance than the reality of excellence; and, 
at best, not to check the love, but only the commission 
of vice. Much of this indeed was seen and acknow- 
ledged by the philosophers, and even by the poets 
of the pagan world. They declaimed against it as 
a mutable and inconsistent principle : they lamented 
the fatal effects which, under the name of false glory, 
it had produced on the peace and happiness of man« 
kind. They condemned the pursuit of it when it 
led its followers out of the path of virtue, and taught 
that the praise of the wise and of the good only was 
to be desired. 

But it was reserved for the page of Scripture to 
point out distinctly wherein this is essentially de- 
fective and vicious, and to discover to us more fully 
its encroaching nature and dangerous tendencies ; 
teaching us at the same time, how, being purified 
from its corrupt qualities, and reduced under just 
subordination, it may be brought into legitimate 
exercise, and be directed to its true end. 

Pr.View 11 



162 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

In the sacred volume we are throughout reminded 
that we are originally the creatures of God's forma- 
tion, and continual dependants on his bounty. There 
too we learn the painful lesson of man's degradation 
and unworthiness. We learn that humiliation and 
contrition are the tempers of mind best suited to our 
fallen condition, and most acceptable in the sight of 
our Creator. We learn that these it should be our 
habitual care to cherish and cultivate, (to the repres- 
sion and extinction of that spirit of arrogance and 
self-importance which is so natural to the heart 
of man,) studiously maintaining a continual sense 
that, not only for all the natural advantages over 
others which we may possess, but that for all our 
moral superiority also, we are altogether indebted to 
the unmerited goodness of God. It might perhaps 
be said to be the great end and purpose of all reve- 
lation, and especially to be the design of the Gospel, 
to reclaim us from our natural pride and selfishness, 
and their fatal consequences ; to bring us to a just 
sense of our weakness and depravity; and to dispose 
us, with unfeigned humiliation, to abase ourselves, 
and give glory to God. " No flesh may glory in 
his presence ; he that glorieth, let him glory in the 
Lord." — " The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, 
and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, 
and the Lord alone shall be exalted." Isa. 2 : 11. 

These solemn admonitions are too generally dis- 
regarded, their intimate connexion with this subject 




ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 163 

has been often entirely overlooked, even by Chris- 
tian moralists. These authors, without reference to 
the main -spring, and internal principle of conduct, 
are apt to speak of the love of human applause as 
being meritorious or culpable, as being the desire ol 
true or of false glory, accordingly as the external 
actions it produces, and the pursuits to which it 
prompts, are beneficial or mischievous to mankind. 
But it is undeniably manifest, that in the judgment 
of the word of God, the love M worldly admiration 
and applause is in its nature essentially and radically 
corrupt ; so far as it partakes of a disposition to exalt 
and aggrandize ourselves, to pride ourselves on our 
natural or acquired endowments, or to assume to 
ourselves the merit and credit of our good qualities, 
instead of ascribing all the honor and glory where 
only they are due. Its guilt therefore, in these cases, 
is not to be measured by its effects on the happiness 
of mankind ; nor is it to be denominated true or false 
glory, accordingly as the ends to which it is directed 
are beneficial or mischievous, just or unjust objects 
of pursuit ; but it is false, because it exalts that which 
ought to be abased:; and criminal, because it en- 
croaches on the prerogative of God. 

The Scriptures further instruct us, not merely 
that mankind are liable to error, and therefore that 
the world's commendations may be sometimes mis- 
taken : but that their judgment being darkened and 
their hearts depraved, its applauses and contempt 






/'■'£ 



164 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

will for the most part be systematically misplaced ; 
that though the beneficent and disinterested spirit of 
Christianity, and her obvious tendency to promote 
domestic comfort and general happiness, cannot but 
extort applause; yet that her aspiring after more 
than ordinary excellence, by exciting secret mis- 
givings in others, or a painful sense of inferiority 
not unmixed with envy, cannot fail often to disgust 
and offend. The word of God teaches us, that 
though such of the doctrines and precepts of Chris- 
tianity as are coincident with worldly interests and 
pursuits, and with worldly principles and systems, 
may be professed without offence-; yet, that what is 
opposite to these, or even different from them, will 
be deemed needlessly precise and strict, the indul- 
gence of a morose and gloomy humor, the symptoms 
of a contracted and superstitious spirit, the marks of 
a mean, enslaved, or distorted understanding: that 
for these and other reasons the follower of Christ 
must not only make up his mind to the occasional 
relinquishment of worldly favor, but that it should 
even afford him matter of holy jealousy and sus- 
picion of himself, when it is very lavishly and very 
generally bestowed. 

But though the standard of worldly estimation 
differed less from that of the Gospel ; yet, since our 
affections ought to be set on heavenly things, and 
conversant about heavenly objects ; and since, in par- 
ticular, the love and favor of God ouofht to be the 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 165 

matter of our supreme arid habitual desire, to which 
every other should be subordinated ; it follows that 
the love of human applause must be manifestly in- 
jurious, so far as it tends to bound and circumscribe 
our desires within the narrow limits of this world; 
particularly that it is impure, so far as it is tinctured 
with a disposition to estimate too highly, and love 
too well, the good opinion and commendations of 
man* 

But though the holy Scripture warns us against 
the inordinate desire or earnest pursuit of worldly 
estimation and honor, though it so greatly reduces 
their value, and prepares us for losing them without 
surprise, and for relinquishing them with little re- 
luctance; yet it teaches us that Christians in general 
are not only not called upon absolutely and volun- 
tarily to renounce or forego them, but that when, 
without our having solicitously sought them, they 
are bestowed on us for actions intrinsically good, we 
are to accept them as being intended by Providence, 
to be sometimes, even in this disorderly state of 
things, a present solace, and a reward to virtue. 
Nay more, we are instructed, that in our general 
deportment, that in little particulars of conduct other- 
wise indifferent, that in the circumstances and man- 
ner of performing actions in themselves of a deter- 
mined character and indispensable obligation, guard- 
ing however against the smallest degree of artifice 
or deceit ; that by watching for opportunities of doing 



i66 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

little kindnesses, that by avoiding singularities, and 
even humoring prejudices, where it maybe done with- 
out the slightest infringement on truth or duty, we 
ought to have a due respect and regard to the ap- 
probation and favor of men. These, however, we 
should not value chiefly as they administer to our 
own gratification, but as furnishing means and in- 
struments of influence, which we may turn to good 
account, by making them subservient to the im- 
provement and happiness of our fellow-creatures, 
and thus conducive to the glory of God. The re- 
mark is almost superfluous, that on occasions like 
these we must even watch our hearts with the most 
jealous care, lest pride and self-love insensibly infuse 
themselves, and corrupt the purity of principles so 
liable to contract a taint. 

Credit and reputation, in the judgment of the true 
Christian, stand on ground not very different from 
riches ; which he is not to prize highly, or to desire 
and pursue with solicitude ; but which, when they 
are allotted to him by the hand of Providence, he is 
to accept with thankfulness, and to use with mode- 
ration ; relinquishing them when it becomes neces- 
sary, without a murmur ; guarding most circum- 
spectly, so long as they remain with him, against 
that sensual and selfish temper, and no less against 
ihat pride and wantonness of heart which they are 
too apt to produce and cherish ; thus considering 
them as in themselves acceptable, but, from the in- 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 167 

firmity of his nature, as highly dangerous posses- 
sions ; and valuing them not as instruments of luxury 
or splendor, but as affording the means of honoring 
his heavenly Benefactor, and lessening the miseries 
of mankind. 

Christianity, however, proposes not to extinguish 
our natural desires, but to bring them under just 
contxoX and "direct them to their true objects. Whilst 
she commands us not to set our hearts on earthly 
treasures, she reminds us that " we have in heaven 
a better and more enduring substance :; than this 
world can bestow; and while she represses our so- 
licitude respecting earthly credit, and moderates 
our attachment to it, she holds forth to us, and bids 
us habitually to aspire after the splendors of that 
better state, where is true glory, and honor, and im- 
mortality ; thus exciting in us a just ambition, suited 
to our high origin, and worthy of our large capaci- 
ties, which the little, misplaced, and perishable dis- 
tinctions of this life, would in vain attempt to satisfy. 

It would be mere waste of time to enter into any 
labored argument to prove at large, that the light in 
which worldly credit and estimation are regarded, 
by the bulk of professed Christians, is extremely 
different from that in which they are placed by the 
page of Scripture. The inordinate love of worldly 
glory, indeed, implies a passion which, from the na- 
ture of things cannot be called into exercise in the 
generality of mankind ; because, being conversant 



168 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

about great objects, it can but rarely find that field 
which is requisite for its exertions. But we every 
where discover the, same principle reduced to the 
dimensions of common life, and modified and directed 
according to every one's sphere of action. We may 
discover it in a supreme love of distinction, and ad- 
miration, and praise; in the universal acceptableness 
of flattery ; and above all, in the excessive valuation 
of our worldly character, in that watchfulness with 
which it is guarded, in that jealousy when it is ques- 
tioned, in that solicitude when it is in danger, in 
that hot resentment when it is attacked, in that bit- 
terness of suffering when it is impaired or lost. All 
these emotions, as they are too manifest to be dis- 
puted, so they are too reputable to be denied. Dis- 
honor, disgrace, and shame present images of horror 
too dreadful to be faced ; they are evils, which it is 
thought the mark of a generous spirit to consider as 
excluding every idea of comfort and enjoyment, and 
to feel, in short, as too heavy to be borne. 

The consequences of all this are natural and ob- 
vious. Though it be not openly avowed that we are 
to follow after worldly estimation, or to escape from 
disrepute, when they can only be pursued or avoided 
by declining from the path of duty; nay, though the 
contrary be recognised as being the just opinion ; 
yet all the effect of this speculative, concession is 
soon done away in fact. Estimating worldly ciedxt 
as of the highest intrinsic excellence, an>3 i Giidly 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 169 

shame as the greatest of all possible evils, we some- 
times shape and turn the path of duty itself from its 
true direction, so as it may favor our acquisition of 
the one and avoidance of the other; 0* when this 
cannot he done, we boidly an.i opemy turn aside 
from it, declaring the temptation is too strong to be 
resisted. 

It were easy to adduce numerous proofs of the 
truth of these assertions. It is proved, indeed, by 
that general tendency in religion to conceal herself 
from the view; for we might hope that in these cases 
she often is by no means altogether extinct; by her 
being apt to vanish from our conversations, and even 
to give place to a pretended licentiousness of senti- 
ments and conduct, and a false show of infidelity. 
It is proved by that complying acquiescence and 
participation in the habits and manners of this dis- 
sipated age, whicn has almost confounded every ex- 
ternal distinction between the Christian and the in- 
fidel, and has made it so rare to find any one who 
dares incur the charge of Christian singularity, or 
who can say with the apostleihat " he is not asham- 
ed of the Gospel of Christ." It is proved (how can 
this proof be omitted by one to whose lot it has so 
often fallen to witness and lament, sometimes, he 
fears, to afford an instance of it?) by that quick re- 
sentment/those bitter contentions, those angry re- 
torts, those malicious triumphs, that impatience of 
inferiority, that wakeful sense of past defeats, and 



170 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

promptness to revenge them, which too often change 
the character of a christian deliberative assembly into 
that of a stage for prize-fighters : violating at once 
the proprieties of public conduct and the rules Oi 
social decorum, and renouncing and chasing away 
all the charities of the religion of Jesus! 

But from all lesser proofs our attention is drawn 
to one of a still larger size, and more determined 
character. Surely the reader will here anticipate 
mention of the practice of duelling ; a practice which, 
to the disgrace of a christian society, has long been 
suffered to exist with little restraint or opposition. 

This practice, whilst it powerfully supports, mainly 
rests on that excessive over- valuation of character 
which teaches that worldly credit is to be preserved 
at any rate, and disgrace at any rate to be avoided. 
The unreasonableness of duelling has been often 
proved, and it has often been shown to be criminal, 
on various principles. But it seems hardly to have 
been enough noticed in what chiefly consists its es- 
sential guilt ; that it is a deliberate preference of the 
favor of man, before the favor and approbation or 
God, in articulo mortis, in an instant, wherein our 
own life and that of a fellow-creature are at stake, 
and wherein we run the risk of rushing into the 
presence of our Maker in the very act of offending 
him. It would detain us too long, and it were some- 
what beside our present purpose, to enumerate the 
mischievous consequences which result from this 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 171 

practice. They are many and great ; and if regard 
be had merely to the temporal interests of men, and 
to the well-being of society, they are but poorly met 
by the plea, which must be admitted in its behalf by 
a candid observer of human nature, of a courtesy and 
refinement in our modern manners unknown to an- 
cient times. 

But there is one observation which has been too 
much overlooked. In the judgment of that religion 
which requires purity of heart, and of that Being to 
whom, as was before remarked, "thought is action," 
he cannot be esteemed innocent of this crime who 
lives in a settled habitual determination to commit it, 
when circumstances shall call upon him so to do.* 
This is a consideration which places the crime of 
duelling on a different footing from almost any other; 
indeed there is perhaps no other, which mankind 
habitually and deliberately resolve to practice when- 
ever the temptation shall occur. It shows also that 
the crime of duelling is far more general in the 
higher classes than is commonly supposed, and that 
the whole sum of the guilt which the practice pro- 
duces is great beyond what has perhaps been ever 
conceived ! It will be the writer's comfort to have 
solemnly suggested this consideration to the con- 
sciences of those by whom this impious practice 
might be suppressed : if such there be, which he is 

* As, " Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust aftei her, 
hath committed adulteiy with her," &c. Matt. 5 : 28. 



l72 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

strongly inclined to believe, theirs is the crime, and 
theirs the responsibility of suffering it to continue. 

In the foregoing observations it has not been tha 
writer's intention to discuss completely that copious 
subject, the love of worldly estimation. Enough 
however may have been said, to make it evident 
that this principle is of a character highly question- 
able ; that it should be brought under subjection, and 
watched with the most jealous care ; that, notwith- 
standing its lofty pretensions, it often can by no 
means justly boast that high origin and exalted na- 
ture which its superficial admirers are disposed to 
concede to it. What real, intrinsic, essential value, 
it might be asked, does there appear to be in a virtue 
which had wholly changed its nature and character, 
if public opinion had been different? But it is, in 
truth, of base extraction and ungenerous qualities, 
springing from selfishness, and vanity, and low am- 
bition ; by these it subsists, and thrives, and acts ; and 
envy, and jealousy, and detraction, and hatred, and 
variance, are its faithful and natural associates. If 
it sometimes stimulates to great and generous enter- 
prises; if it urges to industry, and sometimes to ex- 
cellence ; if in the more contracted sphere it produces 
courtesy and kindness ; yet to its account we must 
place the ambition which desolates nations, and many 
of the competitions and resentments which interrupt 
the harmony of social life. The former indeed has 
been often laid to its charge, but the latter have not 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 173 

been sufficiently attended to ; and still less lias its 
noxious influence on the vital principle and distin- 
guishing graces of the christian character been duly- 
pointed out and enforced. 

To read the writings of certain christian moral 
ists, # and to observe how little they seem disposed to 
call it in question, except where it raves in the con- 
queror, one should be almost tempted to suspect that, 
considering it as a principle of such potency and pre- 
valence, as that they must despair of bringing it into 
just subjection, they were intent only on compliment- 
ing it into good humor, like those barbarous nations 
which worship the evil spirit through fear ; or rather, 
that they were making a sort of composition with an 
enemy they could not master, and were willing, on 
condition of its giving up the trade of war, to suffer 
it to rule undisturbed, and range at pleasure. 

But the truth is, that the reasonings of christian 
moralists too often exhibit but few traces of the genius 
of christian morality. Of this position, the case be- 
fore us is an instance. This principle of the desire 
of worldly distinction and applause is often allowed, 
and even commended, with too few qualifications, and 
too little reserve. To covet wealth is base and sordid, 
but to covet honor is treated as the mark of a ge- 
nerous and exalted nature. These writers scarcely 
seem to bear in mind, that though the principle in 

* See in particular a paper in the Guardian, by Addison, 
on Honor, vol. ii. 



174 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

question tends to prevent the commission of those 
grosser acts *of vice which would injure us in the 
general estimation; yet that it not only stops there, 
but that it there begins to exert almost an equal force 
in the opposite direction. They do not consider how 
apt this principle is, even in the case of those who 
move in a contracted sphere, to fill us with vain con- 
ceits and vicious passions; and-above all, how it 
tends to fix the affections on earthly things, and to 
steal away the heart from God. They acknowledge 
it to be criminal when it produces mischievous ef- 
fects, but forget how apt it is, by the substitution of 
a false and corrupt motive, to vitiate the purity of 
our good actions, depriving them of all which ren- 
dered them truly and essentially valuable. That, 
not to be too hastily approved, because it takes the 
side of virtue, it often works her ruin while it as- 
serts her cause, and like some vile seducer, pretends 
affection, only the more surely to betray. 

It is the distinguishing glory of Christianity noi 
to rest satisfied with superficial appearances, but to 
rectify the motives and purify the heart. The true 
Christian, in obedience to the lessons of Scripture, 
no where keeps over himself a more resolute and 
jealous guard, than where the desire of human esti- 
mation and distinction is in question. No where 
does he more deeply feel the insufficiency of his un- 
assisted strength, or more diligently and earnestly 
pray for Divine assistance He may well indeed 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 175 

watch and pray against the encroachments of a pas- 
sion, which, when suffered to transgress its just 
limits, discovers a peculiar hostility to the distin- 
guishing graces of the Christian temper; a passion 
which must insensibly acquire force, because it is in 
continual exercise ; to which almost every thing 
without administers nutriment, and the growth of 
which within is favored and cherished by such 
powerful auxiliaries as pride and selfishness, the 
natural and perhaps inexterminable inhabitants of 
the human heart ; of which the predominance, if es- 
tablished, is thus so pernicious, and which possesses 
so many advantages for effecting its establishment. 
Strongly impressed therefore with a sense of tho 
indispensable necessity of guarding against the pro 
gress of this encroaching principle, in humble reli 
ance on superior aid, the true Christian thankfully 
uses the means, and habitually exercises himself in 
he considerations and motives suggested to him for 
that purpose by the word of God. He is much occu- 
pied in searching out his own in firmities. He endea- / 
vors to acquire and maintain a just conviction of his 1 
great unworthiness ; and to keep in continual re- \ 
membrance, that whatever distinguishes himself from | 
others, is not properly his own, but that he is alto- 
gether indebted for it to the undeserved bounty of 
Heaven. He diligently endeavors, also, habitually 
to preserve a just sense of the real worth of human 
distinction and applause, knowing that he shall covet 



176 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

them less when he has learned not to overrate their 
value. He labors to hear in mind how undeservedly 
they are often bestowed, how precariously they are 
always possessed. The censures of good men justly 
render him suspicious of himself, and prompt him 
carefully and impartially to examine into those parts 
of his character, or those particulars of his conduct, 
which have drawn on him their animadversions. 
The favorable opinion and the praises of good men 
are justly acceptable to him. But, even in the case 
of their commendations, he suffers not himself to be 
beguiled into an over- valuation of them, lest he should 
be led to substitute them m the place of conscience. 
He guards against this by reflecting how indistinctly 
we can discern each other's motives, how little enter 
into each other's circumstances ; how mistaken there- 
fore may be the judgments formed of us, or of our ac- 
tions, even by good men ; and that it is far from im- 
probable that we may at some time be compelled to 
forfeit their esteem, by adhering to the dictates of our 
own consciences. 

But if he endeavors thus to sit loose to the favor 
and applause even of good men, much more does he 
to those of the world at large; not but that he is sen- 
sible of their worth as means and instruments of use- 
fulness and influence ; and under the limitations and 
for the ends allowed in Scripture, he is glad to pos 
sess, observant to acquire, and careful to retain them. 
He considers them, however, as desirable, not simply 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 177 

m their possession, but in their use. In this view, he 
holds himself to be responsible for that share of them 
which he enjoys, and as bound not to let them lie 
unemployed ; not to lavish them ; not imprudently to 
misapply them ; but as under an obligation to regard 
them as conferred on him, that they might be brought 
into action, and as what therefore~he may by no means 
throw away, though ready, if it be required, to re. 
linquish them with cheerfulness ; and never feeling 
himself at liberty, in consideration of the use he in- 
tends to make of them, to acquire or retain them un- 
lawfully. 

Acting therefore on these principles, he will stu- 
diously and diligently use any degree of worldly 
credit he may enjoy, in removing or lessening pre- 
judices ; in conciliating good will, and thereby mak- 
ing way for the less obstructed progress of truth ; 
and in providing for its being entertained by those 
who would bar all access against it in a rougher or 
more homely form. He will make it his business 
to set on foot and forward benevolent and useful 
schemes ; and where they require united efforts, to 
obtain and preserve for them this co-operation. He 
will endeavor to discountenance vice, to bring mo- 
dest merit into notice ; to lend as it were his light to 
men of real worth, but of less creditable name, and 
perhaps of less conciliating qualities and manners, 
But while he strives to render his reputation, so long 
as he possesses it, subservient to advancing the cause 

Pr.View. 12 



178 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

of religion and virtue, and promoting the happiness 
and comfort of mankind, he will not transgress the 
rule of the scripture precepts in order to obtain, to 
cultivate, or to preserve it, resolutely disclaiming that 
dangerous sophistry of " doing evil that good may 
come." Ready to relinquish his reputation when re- 
quired so to do, he will not throw it away ; and so 
far as he allowably may, he will avoid occasions of 
diminishing it, instead of studiously seeking, or need- 
lessly multiplying them, as is sometimes the prac- 
tice of worthy but imprudent men. There will be no 
capricious humors, no selfish tempers, no morose- 
ness, no discourtesy, no affected severity of deport- 
ment, no peculiarity of language, no indolent neglect, 
or wanton breach of the ordinary forms or fashions 
of society. His reputation, if sacrificed at all, shall 
be sacrificed at the call of duty. The world shall be 
constrained to allow him to be amiable, as well as 
respectable ; though, in what regards religion, they 
may account him unreasonably precise and strict. 
He will endeavor to reduce the enemies of religion, 
to adopt the confession of the accusers of the Jewish 
ruler, "We shall not find any fault or occasion against 
this Daniel — except concerning the law of his God :" 
and if he fall into disesteem, it shall not be chargeable 
to any conduct which is justly dishonorable, but to the 
false standard of estimation of a misjudging world. 
When his character is thus mistaken, or his conduct 
thus misconstrued, he will not wrap himself up in a 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 179 

mysterious sullenness ; but will be ready to clear up 
what has been dubious, to explain what has been im- 
perfectly known, and " speaking the truth in love," 
to correct erroneous impressions. He may sometimes 
feel it his duty publicly to vindicate his character 
from unjust reproach, and to repel false charges ; but 
he will carefully watch against being led away by 
pride, or being betrayed into some breach of truth 01 
of christian charity, when he is treading in a path so 
dangerous. At such a time he will also guard against 
any undue solicitude about his worldly reputation for 
its own sake; and when he has done what duty re- 
quires for its vindication, it will be matter of no very 
deep concern to him if his endeavors should have 
been ineffectual. If good men in every age and na- 
tion have been often unjustly calumniated and dis- 
graced, and if, in such circumstances, even the dark- 
ness of paganism has been able contentedly to re- 
pose itself on the consciousness of innocence, shall 
one who is cheered by the Christian's hope, who is 
assured, also, that a day will shortly come, in which 
whatever is secret shall be made manifest, and the 
mistaken judgments of men, perhaps even of good 
men, being corrected, that " he shall then have praise 
of God ;" shall such a one sink ? shall he even bend 
or droop under such a trial ? They might be more 
excusable in over- valuing human reputation to whom 
all beyond the grave was dark and cheerless. 
They also might be more easily pardoned for pursu- 



k80 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

ing with eagerness and solicitude that glory which 
might survive them, thus seeking as it were to ex- 
tend the narrow span of their earthly existence: but 
far different is our case, to whom these clouds are 
rolled away, and " life and immortality brought to 
light by the Gospel." Not but that worldly favor 
and distinction are amongst the best things this 
world has to offer : but the Christian knows it is the 
very condition of his calling, not to have his portion 
here; and as in the case of any other earthly enjoy- 
ments, so in that also of worldly honor, he dreads, 
lest his supreme affections being thereby gratified, it 
should be hereafter said to him, " Remember that 
thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things." 

He is required by his holy calling to be victorious 
over the world; and to this victory, the conquest of the 
dread of its disesteem and dishonor is essentially and 
indispensably required. He reflects on those holy men 
ivho " had trial of cruel mockings ;" he remembers 
that our blessed Savior himself " was despised and 
rejected of men ;" and what is he, that he should be 
exempted from the common lot, or think it much to 
bear the scandal of his profession ? If therefore he is 
creditable and popular, he considers this, if the phrase 
may be pardoned, as something beyond his bargain ; 
and he watches himself with double care, lest he 
should grow over-fond of what he may be shortly 
called upon to relinquish. He meditates often on the 
probability of his being involved in such circum- 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 181 

stances as may lender it necessary for him to sub- 
ject himself to the disgrace and obloquy of the world ; 
thus familiarizing himself with them betimes, and 
preparing himself, that when the trying hour arrives 
they may not take him unawares. 

But the cultivation of the desire of " that honor 
which cometh from God," he finds the most effectual 
means of bringing his mind into a proper temper, in 
what regards the love of human approbation. Chris- 
tian ! w T ouldst thou indeed reduce this affection un- 
der just control — sursum cor da ! lift up your heart ! 
rise on the wings of contemplation, until the praises 
and the censures of men die away upon the ear, and 
the still small voice of conscience is no longer 
drowned by the din of this nether world. Here the 
sight is apt to be occupied with earthly objects, and 
the hearing to be engrossed with earthly sounds ; 
but there thou shalt come within the view of that re- 
splendent and incorruptible crown which is held 
forth to thy acceptance in the realms of light, and 
thine ear shall be regaled with heavenly melody ! 
Here we dwell in a variable atmosphere — the pros- 
pect is at one time darkened by the gloom of dis- 
grace, and at another the eye is dazzled by the 
gleamings of glory: but thou hast now ascended 
above this inconstant region ; no storms agitate, no 
clouds obscure the air, and the lightnings play and 
the thunders roll beneath thee. 

Thus, at chosen seasons, the Christian exercises 



182 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

himself; and when, from this elevated region, he 
descends into the plain below, and mixes in the bus- 
tle of life, he still retains the impressions of his more 
retired hours. By these he realizes to himself the 
unseen world: he accustoms himself to speak and 
act as in the presence of "an innumerable company 
of angels, and of the spirits of just men made perfect, 
and of God the Judge of all f the consciousness of 
their approbation cheers and gladdens his soul un- 
der the scoffs and reproaches of a misjudging world, 
and to his delighted ear their united praises form a 
harmony which a few discordant earthly voices can- 
not interrupt. 

But though the Christian is sometimes enabled 
thus to triumph over the inordinate love of hu- 
man applause, he does not therefore deem him- 
self secure from its encroachments. On the con- 
trary, he is aware, so strong and active is its princi- 
ple of vitality, that even where it seems extinct, let 
but circumstances favor its revival, and it will spring 
forth again in renewed vigor. And as his watch 
must thus, during life, know no termination, because 
the enemy will ever be at hand; so it must be the 
more close and vigilant, because he is nowhere free 
from danger, but is on every side open to attack. 
" Sume swperbiam qucesitam meritis" was the maxim 
of a worldly moralist: but the Christian is aware 
that he is particularly assailable where he really ex- 
cels ; there he is in especial danger lest his motives, 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 183 

originally pure, being insensibly corrupted, he 
should be betrayed into anxiety about worldly favor, 
when he is endeavoring to render his virtue amiable 
and respected in the eyes of others, and in obedience 
to the Scripture injunction, is willing to let his " light 
so shine before men, that they may see his good 
works, and glorify his Father which is in heaven." 

He watches himself also on small as well as on 
great occasions: the latter indeed, in the case of 
many persons, can hardly ever be expected to occur, 
whereas the former are continually presenting them- 
selves ; and thus, whilst they may be rendered highly 
useful in forming and strengthening a just habit of 
mind in the particular in question, so they are the 
means most at hand for enabling us to discover our 
own real character. Let not this be slightly passed 
over. If any one finds himself shrinking from dis- 
repute or disesteem in little instances, but apt to so- 
lace himself with the persuasion that his spirits be- 
ing fully called forth to the encounter, he could boldly 
stand the brunt of sharper trials; let him be slow to 
give entertainment to so beguiling a suggestion; and 
let him not forget that these little instances, where 
no credit is to be got, and the vainest can find small 
room for self-complacency, furnish perhaps the truest 
tests whether we are ashamed of the Gospel of 
Christ, and are willing, on principles really pure, to 
bear reproach for the name of Jesus. 

The Christian, too, is well aware that the execs- 






184 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

sive desire of human approbation is a passion of so 
subtile a nature that there is nothing into which it 
cannot penetrate ; and from much experience, learn- 
ing to discover it where it would lurk unseen, and 
to detect it under its most specious disguises, he 
finds that it is apt to insinuate itself into his very 
religion. Proud piety and ostentatious charity, and 
all the more open effects it there produces, have been 
often condemned, and we may discover the tendencies 
to them in ourselves, without difficulty. But let not 
the Christian suffer himself to be deceived by any 
external dissimilitudes between himself and the 
world around him, trusting perhaps to the sincerity 
of the principle to w T hich they originally owed their 
rise ; but let him beware lest, through the insensible 
encroachments of the subtile usurper, his religion 
should at length have "only a name to live;" lest 
he should be mainly preserved in his religious 
course by the dread of incurring the charge of levi- 
ty for quitting a path on which he had deliberately 
entered. Or where, on a strict and impartial scrutiny 
of. his governing motives, he may fairly conclude 
this not to be the case, let him beware lest he be in- 
fluenced by this principle in particular parts of his 
character, and especially where any external singu 
larities are in question ; closely scrutinizing his ap 
parent motives, lest he should be prompted to his 
more than ordinary religious observances, and be 
kept from participating in the licentious pleasures 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 185 

of a dissipated age, not so much by a vigorous prin- 
ciple of internal holiness, as by a fear of lessening 
himself in the good opinion of the stricter circle of 
his associates, or of suffering even in the estimation 
of the world at large, by violating the proprieties of 
his assumed character. 

To those who, in this important particular, wish to 
conform themselves to the injunctions of the word of 
God, we must advise a laborious watchfulness, a ( 
iealous guar d, a close and fre quent scrutiny of their A 
own hearts, that they may not too late find them- \ 
selves to have been mistaken as to what they had 
conceived to be their governing motives. Above all, 
let them labor, with humble prayers for the Divine 
assistance, to fix in themselves a deep, habitual, and 
practical sense of the excellence of "that honor 
which cometh from God," and of the comparative 
worthlessness of all earthly estimation and pre-emi- 
nence. In truth, unless the affections of the soul be 
thus predominantly engaged on the side of heaven- 
ly, in preference to that of human honor, though we 
may have relinquished the pursuit of fame, we shall 
not have acquired that firm contexture of mind which 
can bear disgrace and shame. Between these two 
states there is a wide interval, and he who finds rea- 
son to believe he has arrived at the one, must not 
therefore conclude he has reached the other. To 
the one, a little natural moderation and quietness of 
temper may be sufficient to conduct us ; but to the 



186 ON THE DESIRE OF HUMAN 

other we can only attain by much discipline and 
slow advances ; and we shall often find reason to 
confess, in the hour of trial, that we had greatly, far 
too greatly, overrated our progress. 

When engaged, too, in the prosecution of this 
course, we must be aware of the snares which lie in 
our way, and of the deceits to which we are liable; 
and we must be provided against these impositions, 
by having obtained a full and distinct conception of 
the temper of mind, with regard to human favor, 
which is prescribed to us in Scripture ; and by con- 
tinually examining our hearts and lives, to ascertain 
how far they correspond with it. This will prevent 
our substituting contemplation in the place of action, 
to the neglect of the common duties of life ; this will 
prevent our mistaking the gratification of ah indo- 
lent temper for the Christian's disregard of fame , 
for never let it be forgotten, we must deserve estima- 
tion, though we may not possess it; forcing men of 
the world to acknowledge that we do not want their 
boasted spring of action : but that its place is better 
supplied to us by another, which produces all the 
good of theirs without its evil ; thus demonstrating 
the superiority of the principle which animates us, 
by the superior utility and excellence of its effects. 
This principle, in order to be pure and genuine, 
though nerved with more than mortal firmness, must 
be sweetened by love, and tempered with humility. 
The former of these qualities will render us kind, 



ESTIMATION AND APPLAUSE. 187 

friendly, and beneficent, preventing* our being no 
longer on the watch to promote the happiness or 
comfort of others, than whilst we are stimulated by 
the desire of their applause ; the produce of which 
passion, whatever may be vaunted of its effects on 
social intercourse, is often nothing better than selfish- 
ness, ill concealed under a superficial covering of 
exterior courtesy. 

Humility, again, reducing us in our own value, 
will moderate our claims on worldly estimation. It 
will check our tendency to ostentation and display, 
prompting us rather to avoid than to attract notice. 
It will dispose us to sit down in quiet obscurity, 
though, judging ourselves impartially, w T e believe 
ourselves better entitled to credit than those on 
whom it is conferred ; closing the entrance against 
a proud, painful, and malignant passion; from which, 
under such circumstances, we can otherwise be hard- 
ly free, the passion of " high disdain from sense of 
injured merit." 

Love and humility will concur in producing a 
frame of mind not more distinct from an ardent 
thirst of glory, than from that frigid disregard, or in- 
solent contempt, or ostentatious renunciation of hu- 
man favor and distinction, which we have some- 
times seen opposed to it. These latter qualities may 
not unfrequently be traced to a slothful, sensual, and 
selfish temper ; to the consciousness of being unequal 
to any great and generous attempts; to the disap. 



188 ON THE DESIRE, &c 

pointment of schemes of ambition or of glory ; to a 
w, little personal experience of the world's capricious 
and inconstant humor. The renunciation in these 
cases, however sententious, is often far from sincere ; 
and it is even made not unfrequently with a view to 
the attainment of that very distinction which it affects 
to disclaim. In some other of these instances', the 
over-valuation and inordinate desire of worldly 
credit, however disavowed, are abundantly evident, 
from the merit which is assumed for relinquishing 
them ; or from that sour and surly humor, which 
betrays a gloomy and a corroded mind, galled and 
fretting under the irritating sense of the want of that 
which it most wishes to possess. 

But the Christian's is a far different temper: not 
a temper of sordid sensuality, or lazy apathy, or dog- 
matizing pride, or disappointed ambition : more truly 
independent of worldly estimation than philosophy 
with all her boasts, it forms a perfect contrast to epi- 
curean selfishness, to stoical pride, and to cynical 
brutality. It is a temper compounded of firmness, and 
complacency, and peace, and love ; manifesting itself 
in acts of kindness and of courtesy; a kindness not 
pretended, but genuine ; a courtesy not false and su- 
perficial, but cordial and sincere. In the hour of po- 
pularity it is not intoxicated or insolent ; m the hour 
of unpopularity it is not desponding or morose ; un- 
shaken in constancy, unwearied in benevolence, firm 
without roughness, and assiduous without servility. 



AMIABLE TEMPERS, &c. 189 

SECTION IV. 

The generally prevailing error, of substituting amiable tempers 
and useful lives in the place of religion, stated and confuted ; 
with hints to real Christians. 

There is another practical error very generally 
prevalent, the effects of which are highly injurious 
to the cause of religion ; and which in particular is 
often brought forward, when, upon Christian princi- 
ples, any advocates for Christianity would press the 
practice of Christian virtues. 

The error in question is that of exaggerating the 
merit of certain amiable and useful qualities, and of 
considering them as sufficient to compensate for the 
want of the supreme love and fear of God. 

It seems to be an opinion pretty generally preva- 
lent, that kindness and sweetness of temper ; sym- 
pathizing, and benevolent, and generous affections ; 
attention to what, in the world's estimation, are the 
domestic, relative and social duties ; and, above all, a 
life of general activity and usefulness, may well be 
allowed, in our imperfect state, to make up for the 
defect of what in strict propriety of speech is termed 
religion. 

Many indeed will unreservedly declare, and more 
will hint the opinion, that " the difference between 
the qualities above mentioned and religion, is rather 
a verbal or logical, than a real and essential differ- 
ence ; h? in truth, what are they but religion in sub- 



190 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

stance, if not in name ? Is it not the great end of re- 
ligion, and in particular the glory of Christianity, to 
extinguish the malignant passions ; to curb the vio- 
lence, to control the appetites, and to smooth the as- 
perities of man ; to make us compassionate, and kind, 
and forgiving, one to another ; to make us good hus- 
bands, good fathers, good friends ; and to render us 
active and useful in the discharge of the relative, so 
cial, and civil duties ? We do not deny, that in tht 
general mass of society, and particularly in the low- 
er orders, such conduct and tempers cannot be difc 
fused and maintained by any other medium than 
that of religion. But if the end be effected, surely it 
is only unnecessary refinement to dispute about the 
means. It is even to forget your own principles, 
and to refuse its just place to solid, practical virtue, 
while you assign too high a value to speculative 
opinions." 

Thus a fatal distinction is admitted between mo- 
rality and religion — a great and desperate error, of 
which it is the more necessary to take notice, be- 
cause many who would condemn, as too strong, the 
language in which this opinion is sometimes openly 
avowed, are yet more or less tinctured with the no- 
tion itself; and under the habitual and almost un- 
perceived influence of this beguiling suggestion, are 
vainly solacing their imaginations, and repressing 
their w T ell-grounded fears concerning their own state; 
and are also quieting their just solicitude concerning 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 191 

the spiritual condition of others, and soothing them- 
selves in the neglect of friendly endeavors for their 
improvement. 

There can hardly be a stronger proof of the curso 
ry and superficial views with which men are apt to 
satisfy themselves in religious concerns, than the 
prevalence of the opinion here in question ; the false- 
hood and sophistry of which must be acknowledged 
by any one who, admitting the authority of Scripture, 
will examine it with ever so little seriousness and 
impartiality of mind. 

Appealing even to a less strict standard, it would 
not be difficult to show that the moral worth of these 
sweet and benevolent tempers, and of these useful 
lives, is greatly overrated. The former involuntarily 
gain upon our affections, and disarm our severer 
judgments, by their kindly complying, and apparent- 
ly disinterested nature ; by their prompting men to 
flatter instead of mortifying our pride, to sympathize 
either with our joys or our sorrows, to abound in 
obliging attentions and offices of courtesy ; by their 
obvious tendency to produce and maintain harmony 
and comfort in social and domestic life. It is not 
however unworthy of remark, that from the commen- 
dations generally bestowed on these qualities, and 
their rendering men universally acceptable and po- 
pular, there is many a false pretender to them, who 
gains a credit for them which he by no means de- 
serves : in whom they are no more than the proprio 



L92 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

ties of his assumed character, or worn in public only 
the better to conceal an opposite temper. Would you 
see this man of courtesy and sweetness stripped of 
his false covering, follow him unobserved into his fa- 
mily, and you shall behold, too plain to be mistaken, 
selfishness and spleen harassing and vexing the 
wretched subjects of their unmanly tyranny, as if 
they were making up to themselves for the restraint 
which had been imposed on them in the world. 

But where the benevolent qualities are genuine, 
they often deserve the name rather of amiable in- 
stincts than of moral virtues. In many cases, they 
imply no mental conflict, no previous discipline : they 
are apt to evaporate in barren sensibilities, and tran- 
sitory sympathies, and indolent wishes, and unpro- 
ductive declarations: they possess not that strength 
and energy of character which, in contempt of diffi- 
culties and dangers, produce alacrity in service, vi- 
gor and perseverance in action. Destitute of proper 
firmness, they often encourage that vice and folly 
which it is their especial duty to repress ; and it is 
well if, from their soft complying humor, they are not 
often drawn in to participate in what is wrong, as well 
as to connive at it. Thus their possessors are fre- 
quently, in the eye of truth and reason, bad magis- 
trates, bad parents, bad friends ; defective in those 
very qualities which give to each of these several 
relations its chief and appropriate value. And this 
is a defect which might well bring into question that 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 193 

freedom from selfishness which is so often claimed, 
inasmuch as there is too great reason to fear that it 
often arises in us chiefly from indisposition to submit 
to a painful effort, though real good- will commands 
the sacrifice, or from the fear of lessening the good 
opinion which is entertained of us. 

These qualities also, when they are not grounded 
and rooted in religion, are of a sickly and short-lived 
nature, and want that temperament which is requi- 
site for enabling them to bear the rude shocks and 
the variable and churlish seasons to which, in such 
a w T orld as this, they must ever be exposed. It is 
only a Christian love of which it is the character 
that "it sufTereth long, and yet is kind; that it is not 
easily provoked ; that it beareth all things, and en- 
dureth all things." In the spring of youth, indeed, 
we are flushed with health and confidence ; hope is 
young and ardent, our desires are unsated, and what- 
ever we see has the grace of novelty ; we are the 
more disposed to be good-natured, because we are 
pleased ; pleased, because universally well received. 
Wherever we cast our eyes, we see some face of 
friendship, and love, and gratulation: all nature 
smiles around us. Now the amiable tempers of 
which we have been speaking naturally spring up. 
The soil suits, the climate favors them. They ap- 
pear to shoot forth vigorously, and blossom in gay 
luxuriance. To the superficial eye, all is fair and 
flourishing ; we anticipate the fruits of autumn, and 

Pr. View. 1 3 



194 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

promise ourselves an ample produce. But by and 
by the sun scorches, the frost nips, the winds rise, 
the rains descend; all our fond expectations are no 
more. Oar youthful efforts, let it be supposed, have 
been successful ; and we rise to wealth or eminence. 
A kind flexible temper and popular manners have 
produced in us, as they are too apt, a youth of easy, 
social dissipation and unproductive idleness ; and 
we are overtaken too late by the consciousness of 
having wasted that time which cannot be recalled, 
and those opportunities which we cannot now reco- 
ver. We sink into disregard and obscurity when, 
there being a call for qualities of more energy, indo 
lent good nature must fall back. We are thrust out 
of notice by accident or misfortunes. We are left 
behind by those with whom Ave started on equal 
terms, and who, originally perhaps having less pre- 
tensions and fewer advantages, .have greatly out- 
stripped us in the race of honor \ and their having 
got before us is often the more galling, because it 
appears to us, and perhaps with reason, to have been 
chiefly owing to a generous, easy, good-natured hu 
mor on our part, which led us to give place, without 
a struggle, to their more lofty pretensions. Thus we 
suffered them quietly to occupy a station to which 
originally we had as fair a claim as they ; but our 
awkward and vain endeavors to recover it, while 
they show that we want self-knowledge and compo- 
sure in our riper years, as much as in our younger 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 195 

we had been destitute of exertion, serve only to make 
our inferiority more manifest, and to bring our dis- 
content into the fuller notice of an ill-natured world, 
which, however, not unjustly condemns and ridicules 
our misplaced ambition. 

It may be sufficient to have hinted at a few of the 
vicissitudes and changes of advancing life. Now the 
bosom is no longer cheerful and placid ; and if the 
countenance preserve its exterior character, this is 
no longer the honest expression of the heart. Pros- 
perity and luxury, gradually extinguishing sympa- 
thy and puffing up with pride, harden and debase 
the soul. In other instances, shame secretly clouds, 
and remorse begins to sting, and suspicion to corrode, 
and jealousy and envy to imbitter. Disappointed 
hopes, unsuccessful competitions, and frustrated pur- 
suits, sour and irritate the temper. A little personal 
experience of the selfishness of mankind damps our 
generous warmth and kind affections ; reproving the 
prompt sensibility and unsuspecting simplicity of our 
earlier years. Above all, ingratitude sickens the 
heart, and chills and thickens the very life's-blood 
of benevolence ; till at length our youthful Nero, soft 
and susceptible, becomes a hard and cruel tyrant; 
and our youthful Timon, the gay, the generous, the 
beneficent, is changed into a cold, sour, silent mis- 
anthrope. 

And, as in the case of amiable tempers, so in that 
also of what are called useful lives, it must be con- 



196 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

fessed that their intrinsic worth, arguing still merely 
on principles of reason, is apt to be greatly overrated. 
They are often the result of a disposition naturally 
bustling and active, which delights in motion, and 
finds its labor more than repaid, either by the very 
pleasure which it takes in its employments, or by the 
Tedit which it derives from them. More than this: 
^ it be granted that religion tends in general to pro- 
duce usefulness ; and therefore that these irreligious 
men of useful lives are rather exceptions to the gene- 
ral rule; it must at least be confessed that they are 
so far useless, or even positively mischievous, as they 
either neglect to encourage, or actually discourage 
that principle which is the great operative spring of 
usefulness in the bulk of mankind. 

Thus it might well perhaps be questioned, esti- 
mating these men by their own standard, whether 
the particular good in this case, is not rriore than 
counterbalanced by the general evil ; still more, if 
their conduct being brought to a strict account, they 
should be charged, as they justly ought, with the loss 
of the good which, if they had manifestly and avow- 
edly acted from a higher principle, might have been 
produced, not only directly in themselves, but indi- 
rectly and remotely in others, from the extended ef- 
ficacy of a religious example. They may be com- 
pared to persons whom some peculiarity of constitu- 
tion enables to set at defiance those established rules 
of living which must be observed by the world at 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 197 

large. These healthy debauchees, however they may 
plead in their defence that they do themselves no in- 
jury, would probably, but for their excesses, have 
both enjoyed their health better, and preserved it 
longer, as well as have turned it to better account ; 
and it may at least be urged against them, that they 
disparage the laws of temperance, and fatally betray 
others into the breach of them, by affording an in- 
stance of their being transgressed with impunity. 

But were the merit of the qualities in question 
greater than it is, and though it were not liable to 
the exceptions which have been alledged against it, 
yet could they be in no degree admitted as a com- 
pensation for the want of the supreme love and fear 
of God, and of a predominant desire to promote his 
glory. The observance of one commandment, how- 
ever clearly and forcibly enjoined, cannot make up for 
the neglect of another, which is enjoined with equal 
clearness and equal force. To allow this plea in the 
present instance, would be to permit men to abrogate 
the first table of the law, on condition of their obey 
ing the second. But religion suffers not any such 
composition of duties. It is on the very self-same 
miserable principle that some have thought to atone 
for a life of injustice and rapine by the strictness of 
their religious observances. If the former class of 
men can plead the diligent discharge of their duties 
to their fellow-creatures, the latter will urge that of 
theirs to God. We easily see the falsehood of the 



198 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

plea in the latter case ; and it is only self-deceit and 
partiality which prevent its being equally visible in 
the former. Yet so it is ; such is the unequal mea- 
sure, if I may be allowed the expression, which we 
deal out to God, and to each other. It would justly 
and universally be thought false confidence in the 
religious thief, or the religious adulterer, (to admit for 
the sake of argument such a solecism in terms,) to 
solace himself with the firm persuasion of the Divine 
favor ; but it will, to many, appear hard and over- 
precise, to deny this firm persuasion of Divine ap- 
probation to the avowedly irreligious man of social 
and domestic usefulness. 

Will it be urged here that the writer is not doing 
justice to his opponent's argument; which is, not 
that irreligious men of useful lives may be excused 
for neglecting their duties towards God, in conside- 
ration of their exemplary discharge of their duties 
towards their fellow-creatures ; but that in perform- 
ing the latter, they perform the former virtually and 
substantially, if not in name ? 

Can then our opponent deny that the Holy Scrip- 
tures are in nothing more full, frequent, strong, and 
unequivocal, than in their injunctions on us supreme- 
ly to love and fear God, and to worship and serve 
him continually with humble and grateful hearts ; 
habitually regarding him as our Benefactor, and So- 
vereign, and Father, and abounding in sentiments of 
gratitude, and loyalty, and respectful affection ? Can 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 199 

ne deny that these positive precepts are rendered, if 
possible, still more clear, and their authority still 
more binding, by illustrations and indirect confir- 
mations almost innumerable % And who then is that 
bold, intruder into the council of Infinite Wisdom, 
who, in contempt of these precise commands, thus 
illustrated also and confirmed, will dare to maintain 
that, knowing the intention with which they were 
primarily given, and the ends they were ultimately 
designed to produce, he may innocently neglect or 
violate their plain obligations, on the plea that he 
conforms himself, though in a different manner, to 
this primary intention, and produces, though by dif- 
ferent means, these real and ultimate ends ? 

This mode of arguing is one with which, to say 
nothing of its insolent profaneness, the heart of man, 
prone to deceive himself, and partial in his own cause, 
is not fit to be trusted. Here, again, more cautious 
and jealous in the case of our worldly than of our 
religious interests, we readily discern the fallacy of 
this reasoning, and protest against it, when it is at- 
tempted to be introduced into the commerce of life* 
We see clearly that it would afford the means of 
refining away by turns every moral obligation. 
The adulterer might allow himself, with a good 
conscience, to violate the bed of his unsuspecting 
friend, whenever he could assure himself that his 
crime would escape detection ; for then, where would 
be the evil and misery the prevention of which was 



200 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

the real ultimate object of the prohibition of adultery ? 
The thief, in like manner, and even the murderer, 
might find abundant room for the innocent exercise 
of their respective occupations, arguing from the 
primary intention and real objects of the commands 
by which theft and murder were forbidden. There 
perhaps exists not a crime to which this crooked 
morality would not furnish some convenient opening. 

But this miserable sophistry deserves not that we 
should spend so much time in the refutation of it, 
To discern its fallaciousness requires not acuteness 
of understanding so much as a little common ho- 
nesty. " There is indeed no surer mark of a false 
and hollow heart, than a disposition thus to quibble 
away the clear injunctions of duty and conscience."* 
It is the wretched resource of a disingenuous mind, 
endeavoring to escape from convictions before which 
it cannot stand, and to evade obligations which it 
dares not disavow. 

The arguments which have been adduced would 
surely be sufficient to disprove the extravagant pre- 
tensions of the qualities under consideration, though 
those qualities were perfect in their nature. But 
they are not perfect. On the contrary, they are 
radically defective and corrupt; they are a body 
without a soul; they want the vital actuating prin- 
ciple, or rather, they are animated and actuated by 
a false one. Christianity — let me avail myself of 

* See Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments. 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 201 

the very words of a friend* in maintaining her ar- 
gument — is " a religion of motives." That only is 
Christian practice which flows from Christian prin- 
ciples ; and none else will be admitted as such by 
Him who will be obeyed as well as worshiped " in 
spirit and in truth," 

This also is a position of which, in our intercourse 
with our fellow-creatures, we clearly discern the 
justice, and universally admit the force. Though we 
have received a benefit at the hands of any one, we 
scarcely feel grateful if we do not believe the inten- 
tion towards us to have been friendly. Have we 
served any one from motives of kindness, and is a 
return of service made to us ? We hardly feel our- 
selves worthily requited, except that return be dic- 
tated by gratitude. We should think ourselves rather 
injured than obliged by it, if it were merely prompted 
by a proud unwillingness to continue in our debt.f 
What husband, or what father, not absolutely dead 
to every generous feeling, would be satisfied with a 
wife or a child, who, though he could not charge 
them with any actual breach of their respective ob- 
ligations, should yet confessedly perform them from 
a cold sense of duty, in place of the quickening 
energies of conjugal and filial affection? What an 

* The writer hopes that the work to which he is referring 
is so well known, that he needs scarcely name Mrs. H. 
More. 

t See Smith's Thcorv of Moral Sentiments. 



202 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

insult would it be to such a one, to tell him gravely 
that he had no reason to complain ! 

The unfairness with which we suffer ourselves 
to reason in matters of religion, is no where more 
striking than in the instance before us. It were per- 
haps not unnatural to suppose that, as we have no 
sure way of judging any one's internal principles 
but by his external actions, it would have grown 
into an established rule, that when the latter were 
unobjectionable, the former were not to be question- 
ed ; and on the other hand, that in reference to a Be- 
ing who searches the heart, our motives, rather than 
our external actions, would be granted ta be the just 
objects of inquiry. But we exactly reverse these 
natural principles of reasoning. In the case of our 
fellow-creatures, the motive is that which we prin- 
cipally inquire after and regard. But in the case of 
our Supreme Judge, from whom no secrets are hid, 
we suffer ourselves to believe that internal principles 
may be dispensed with, if the external action be 
performed ! 

Let us not however be supposed ready to concede, 
in contradiction to what has been formerly contend 
ed, that where the true motive is wanting, the ex- 
ternal actions themselves will not generally betray 
the defect. Who will not confess in the instance so 
lately put, of a wife and a child who should dis- 
charge their respective obligations merely from a 
cold sense of duty, that the. inferiority of their ac- 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 203 

tuating principle would not be confined to its nature, 
but would be discoverable also in its effects ? Who 
does not feel that these domestic services, thus robbed 
of their vital spirit, would be so debased and de- 
graded in our estimation, as to become not barely 
lifeless and uninteresting*, but even distasteful and 
loathsome -? Who will deny that these would be per- 
formed in fuller measure, with more wakeful and 
unwearied attention, as well as with more heart ; 
where,, with the same sense of duty, the enlivening 
principle of affection should be also associated? 

The enemies of religion are sometimes apt to 
compare the irreligious man, of a temper naturally 
sweet and amiable, with the religious man of natural 
roughness and severity ; the irreligious man of na- 
tural activity, with the religious man who is naturally 
indolent j and thence to draw their inferences. But 
this mode of reasoning is surely unjust. If they 
would argue the question fairly, they should make 
their comparisons between persons of similar natural 
qualities, not in one or two examples, but in a mass 
of instances. They would then be compelled to con- 
fess the efficacy of religion in heightening the bene- 
volence and increasing the usefulnesss of men; and 
to admit that, granting the occasional, but rare exist- 
ence of genuine and persevering benevolence of dis- 
position and usefulness of life where the religious 
principle is wanting, yet that experience gives us 
reason to believe that true religion, while it would 



204 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

have implanted these qualities in persons in whom 
before they had no place, would have rendered the 
amiable more amiable, the useful more useful, with 
fewer inconsistencies, with less abatement. - 

Let true Christians meanwhile be ever mindful 
that they are loudly called upon to make this argu- 
ment still more clear, these positions still less ques- 
tionable. You are every where commanded to be 
tender and sympathetic, diligent and useful : and it 
is the character of that " wisdom from above,' 5 in 
which you are to be proficients, that it " is gentle 
and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good 
fruits." Gould the efficacy of Christianity in soften- 
ing the heart be denied by those who saw, in the 
instance of the great apostle of the Gentiles, that it 
was able to transform a bigoted, furious, and cruel 
persecutor, into an almost unequalled example of 
candor and gentleness, and universal tenderness and 
love? Could its spirit of active beneficence be denied 
by those who saw its Divine Author so diligent and 
unwearied in his benevolent labors, as to justify the 
compendious description which was given of him by 
a personal witness of his exertions, that he " went 
about doing good ? Imitate these blessed examples ; 
so shall you vindicate the honor of your profession, 
and "put to silence the ignorance of foolish men;" 
so shall you obey those divine injunctions of adorn- 
ing the doctrine of Christ, and of "letting your light 
shine before men, that they may see your good works 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION 205 

and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Beat 
the world at its own best weapons. Let your love 
be more affectionate, your mildness less open to ir- 
ritation, your diligence more. laborious, your activity 
more wakeful and persevering. Consider sweetness 
of temper and activity of mind, if they naturally be- 
long to you, as talents of special worth and utility, 
for which you will have to give account. Care- 
fully watch against whatever might impair them; 
cherish them with constant assiduity ; keep them in 
continual exercise, and direct them to their noblest 
ends. The latter of these qualities renders it less 
difficult, and therefore more incumbent on you to be 
ever abounding in the work of the Lord ; and to be 
copious in the production of that species of good 
fruit, of which mankind in general will be most 
ready to allow the excellence, because they best un- 
derstand its nature. In your instance, the solid sub- 
stance of christian practice is easily susceptible of 
that high and beautiful polish, which may attract 
the attention, and extort the admiration of a careless 
and undiscerning world, so slow to notice, and so 
backward to acknowledge intrinsic worth when con- 
cealed under a less sightly exterior. Know, then, 
and value as you ought, the honorable office which 
is especially devolved on you. Let it be your ac- 
ceptable service to recommend the discredited cause, 
and sustain the fainting interests of religion, to fur- 
nish to her friends matters of sound and obvious 



206 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

argument, and of honest triumph ; and if your best 
endeavors cannot conciliate; to refute at least, and 
confound her enemies. 

If, on the other hand, you are conscious that you 
are naturally rough and austere, that disappoint- 
ments have soured, or prosperity has elated you, or 
that habits of command have rendered you quick in 
expression, and impatient of contradiction ; or if, from 
whatever other cause, you have contracted anun- 
happy peevishness of temper or asperity of manners, 
or harshness and severity of language, remember 
that these defects are by no means incompatible with 
an aptness to perform services of substantial kind- 
ness. If nature has been confirmed by habit till your 
soul seems thoroughly tinctured with these evil dis- 
positions, yet do not despair. Remember that the Di- 
vine agency is promised "to take away the heart of 
stone, and give a heart of flesh," of which it is the 
natural property to be tender and susceptible. Pray 
then earnestly and perseveringly, that the blessed aid 
J of Divine grace may operate effectually on your be- 
) half. Beware of acquiescing in evil tempers, under 
J the idea that they are the ordinary imperfections ol 
the best of men ; that they show themselves only in 
little instances ; that they are only occasional, hasty, 
and transient effusions, when you are taken off your 
guard ; the passing shade of your mind, and not the 
settled color. Beware of excusing or allowing them 
in yourself, under the notion of warm zeal for the 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 207 

cause of religion and virtue, which you perhaps own 
is now and then apt to carry you into somewhat 
over-great severity of judgment or sharpness of re- 
proof. Listen not to these, or an}' other such flatter- 
ing excuses, which your own heart will he hut toe 
ready to suggest to you. Scrutinize yourself rather 
with rigorous strictness ; and where there is so much 
room for self-deceit, call in the aid of some faithful 
friend, and unbosoming yourself to him without con- 
cealment, ask his impartial and unreserved opinion 
of your behavior and condition. Our unwillingness 
to do this often betrays to others, not seldom it first 
discovers to ourselves, that we entertain a secret dis- 
trust of our own character and conduct. Instead also of 
extenuating to yourself the criminality of the vicious 
tempers under consideration, strive to impress your 
mind deeply with a sense of it. For this end, often 
consider seriously that these rough and churlish 
tempers are a direct contrast to the " meekness and 
gentleness of Christ ;" and that Christians are strong- 
ly and repeatedly enjoined to copy after their great 
Model in these particulars, and to be themselves pat- 
terns of " mercy and kindness, and humbleness of 
mind, and meekness, and long-suffering." They are 
to " put away all bitternes s, and wrath, and angejv.y 
and clamor, and evil-speaking ;" not only " being 
ready to every good work, but being gentle unto all 
men ;" " showing all meekness unto all men ;" " for- 
bearing, forgiving," tender-hearted. Remember the 



208 AMIABLE TEMI'ERS AND 

apostle's declaration, that " if any man bridleth not 
his tongue, he only seemeth to be religious, and de- 
ceiveth his own heart ;" and that it is one of the cha- 
racters of that love, without which all pretensions 
to the name of Christian are but vain, that " it doth 
not behave itself unseemly." Consider how much 
these acrimonious tempers must break in upon the 
peace, and destroy the comfort of those around you. 
Remember also that the honor of your Christian pro- 
fession is at stake, and be solicitous not to discredit 
it; justly dreading lest you should disgust those 
whom you ought to conciliate, and by conveying 
an unfavorable impression of your principles and 
character, should incur the guilt of putting an " of- 
fence in your brother's way-;" thereby " hindering 
the Gospel of Christ," the advancement of which 
should be your daily and assiduous care. 

Thus having come to the full knowledge of your 
disease, and to a just impression of its malignity, 
strive against it with incessant watchfulness. Guard 
against its breaking forth into act. Force yourself 
to abound in little offices of courtesy and kindness; 
and you shall gradually experience in the perform- 
ance .of these a pleasure hitherto unknown. But 
take not up with external amendment ; and remem- 
ber that the Christian is not to be satisfied with the 
world's superficial courtliness of demeanor, but that 
his " love is to be without dissimulation." Examine 
carefully whether the unchristian tempers which 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 209 

you would eradicate, are not maintained by selfish- 
ness and pride; and strive to subdue them effectually. 
Accustom yourself to endeavor to look attentively up- 
on a careless and inconsiderate world, which, while it 
is in such eminent peril, is so ignorant of its danger. 
Dwell upon this affecting scene, till it has excited 
your pity ; and this pity, while it melts the mind to 
Christian love, shall insensibly produce a temper of 
habitual sympathy and softness. By means like 
these, perseveringly used in constant dependence on 
Divine aid, you may confidently hope to make con- 
tinual progress. Among men of the world, a youth 
of softness and sweetness will often, as we formerly 
remarked, harden into insensibility, and sharpen into 
moroseness. But it is the office of Christianity to 
reverse this order. It is pleasing to witness this 
blessed renovation; to see, as life advances, asperi- 
ties gradually smoothing down, and roughnesses 
mellowing away; while the subject of this happy 
change experiences within, increasing measures of 
the comfort which he diffuses around him ; and feel- 
ing the genial influences of that heavenly flame, 
which can thus give life, and warmth, and action to 
what had been hitherto rigid and insensible, looks 
up with gratitude to Him who has shed abroad this 
principle of love in his heart ; 

Miraturqae novas frondes et non sua poma. 

Let it not be thought that in the foregoing discus- 

Pk. View. j 4 



210 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

sion the amiable and useful qualities, where they 
are not prompted and governed by a principle of re- 
ligion, have been spoken of in too disparaging terms. 
Nor would I be understood as unwilling to concede 
s to those who are living in the exercise of them, their 
proper tribute of commendation. Of such persons it 
must be said, in the language, of Scripture, " They 
have their reward." They have it in the inward 
complacency which a sweet temper seldom fails to 
inspire : in the comforts of the domestic or social 
circle ; in the pleasure which, from the constitution 
of our nature, accompanies pursuit and action. They 
are always beloved in private, and generally respect- 
ed in public life. But when devoid of religion, if 
the word of God be not a fable, " they cannot enter 
y-into the kingdom of heaven." True practical Chris- 
7 tianity, never let it be forgotten, consists in devoting 
{ t he heart and life to God : in being supremely and 
) habitually governed by a desire to know, and a dis- 
S position to fulfill his will, and in endeavoring, under 
( the influence of these motives, to " live to his glory." 
/ Where these essential requisites are wanting, how- 
ever amiable the character may be, however credit- 
able and respectable among men ; yet, as it possesses 
not the grand distinguishing essence, it must not be 
complimented with the name of Christianity. This, 
however, must commonly be a matter between God 
and a man's own conscience ; and we ought never 
to forget how strongly we are enjoined to be liberal 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION, 211 

in judging 5 the motives of others, while we are strict 
in scrutinizing and severe in questioning our own. 
And this strict scrutiny is no where more necessary, 
because there is no where more room for the opera- 
tion of self-deceit. We are all extremely prone to lend 
ourselves to the good opinion which, however falsely, 
is entertained of us by others ; and though we at first 
suspect, or even indubitably know, that their esteem 
is unfounded and their praises undeserved, and that 
they would have thought and spoken of us very dif- 
ferently if they had discerned our secret motives, or 
had been accurately acquainted with all the circum- 
stances of our conduct; we gradually suffer our- 
selves to adopt their judgment of us, and at length 
feel that we are in some sort injured or denied our 
due, when these false commendations are contradict- 
ed or withheld. Without the most constant watch- 
fulness, and the most close and impartial self-exami- 
nation, irreligious people of amiable tempers, and 
still more those of useful lives, from the general po- 
pularity of their character, will be particularly liable 
to become the dupes of this propensity. Men of real 
religion will also do well to watch against this delu- 
sion. There is, however, another danger against 
which it is necessary to warn them. In their en- 
deavors to fulfill this obligation, let them specially be- 
ware lest, setting out on right principles, they insen* 
sibly lose them in the course of their progress — lest, 
engaging originally in the business and bustle of the 



212 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

world, from a sincere and earnest desire to promote 
the glory of God, their minds should hecome so heat- 
ed and absorbed in the pursuit of their object, that 
the true motive of action should either altogether 
cease to be an habitual principle, or should at least 
lose much of its life and vigor — lest their thoughts 
and affections being engrossed by temporal concerns, 
their sense of the reality of " unseen things" should 
fade away, and they should lose their relish for the 
employments and offices of religion. 

The Christian's path is beset with dangers. On 
the one hand, he justly dreads an inactive and un- 
profitable life ; on the other, he no less justly trem- 
bles for the loss of spiritual-mindedness. Does then 
the Christian discover in himself (judging not from 
accidental or occasional feelings, on which little 
stress is either way to be laid, but from the perma- 
nent and habitual temper of his mind) a settled, and, 
still more, a growing coldness and indisposition to- 
wards the considerations and offices of religion ; and 
has he reason to apprehend that this coldness and in- 
disposition are owing to his being engaged too much 
or too earnestly in worldly business, or to his being 
too keen in the pursuit of worldly objects % Let him 
carefully examine the state of his own heart, and se- 
riously and impartially survey the circumstances of 
his situation in life ; humbly praying to the Father 
of light and mercy, that he may be enabled to see 
his way clearly in this difficult emergency. If he 



useful ;lives not religion. 213 

finds himself pursuing wealth, or dignity, or reputa- 
tion, with earnestness and solicitude ; if these things 
engage many of his thoughts ; if his mind naturally 
and inadvertently runs out into contemplations of 
them ; if success in these respects greatly gladdens, 
and disappointments dispirit and distress his mind ; 
he has but too plain grounds for self-condemnation. 
" No man can serve two masters." The world is 
evidently in possession of his heart, and it is no won- 
der that he finds himself dull, or rather dead, to the 
impression and enjoyment of spiritual things. 

But though the marks of predominant estimation 
and regard for earthly things are much less clear 
and determinate, yet, if the object he is pursuing be 
one which, by its attainment, would bring him a con- 
siderable accession of riches, station and honor, let 
him soberly and fairly question and examine whe- 
ther the pursuit be warrantable ? here, also, asking 
the advice of some judicious friend; his backward- 
ness to do which, in instances like these, should justly 
lead him to distrust the reasonableness of the schemes 
which he is prosecuting. In such a case as this, we 
have good cause to distrust ourselves. Though the 
inward hope, that we are chiefly prompted by a de- 
sire to promote the glory of our Maker and the happi- 
ness of our fellow-creatures, by increasing aur means 
of usefulness, may suggest itself to allay, yet let it 
not altogether remove our suspicions. It is not im- 
probable* that beneath this plausible mask we con- 



214 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

ceai, more successfully perhaps from ourselves than 
from others, an inordinate attachment to the pomps 
and transitory distinctions of this life ; and as this at- 
tachment gains the ascendency, it will ever be found 
that our perception and feeling of the supreme excel- 
lence of heavenly things will proportionally subside. 
But when the consequences which would follow 
from the success of our worldly pursuits do not ren- 
der them so questionable as in the case we have 
been just considering ; yet, having such good reason 
to believe that there is somewhere a flaw, let us care- 
fully scrutinize the whole of our conduct, in order 
to discover whether we may not be living either in 
the breach or in the omission of some known duty, 
and whether it may not therefore have pleased God 
to withdraw from us the influence of his Holy Spirit ; 
particularly inquiring whether the duties of self 
examination, of secret and public prayer, the reading 
of the Holy Scriptures, and the other prescribed 
means of grace, have not been intermitted at their 
proper seasons, or performed with precipitation or 
distraction f . And if we find reason to believe that 
the allotment of time which it would be most for 
our spiritual improvement to assign to our religious 
offices is often broken in upon and curtailed, let us 
be extremely backward to admit excuses for such 
interruptions and abridgments. It is more than pro- 
bable, for many obvious reasons, that even our world- 
ly affairs will not go on the better for encroaching 






USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 215 

upon those hours which ought to be dedicated to the 
more immediate service of God, and to the cultivation 
of the inward principles of religion. Our hearts, at<9 
least, and our conduct will soon exhibit proofs of the J 
sad effects of this fatal negligence. 

Let ns, when engaged in this important scrutiny, 
impartially examine ourselves whether the worldly 
objects which engross us, are all of them such as 
properly belong to our profession, or station, or cir- 
cumstances in life, which therefore we could not 
neglect with a good conscience? If they are, let us 
consider whether they do not consume a larger 
share of our time than they really require ; and 
whether, by not trifling over our work, by deducting 
somewhat which might be spared from our hours of re- 
laxation, or by some other little management, we might 
not fully satisfy their just claims, and yet have an in- 
creased leisure to be devoted to the offices of religion. 

But if we deliberately and honestly conclude that 
we ought not to give these worldly objects less of 
our time, let us endeavor at least to give them less 
of our hearts ; striving that the settled frame of our 
desires and affections may be more spiritual, and 
that, in the motley intercourses of life, we may con- 
stantly retain a more lively sense of the divine pre- 
sence, and a stronger impression of the reality of 
unseen things ; thus corresponding with the scrip- 
ture description of true Christians, " walking by faith 
and not by sight, and having our conversation in 
heaven." 



216 AMIABLE TEMPERS AND 

Above all, let us guard against the temptation, to 
which we shall certainly be exposed, of lowering 
down our views to our state, instead of endeavoring 
to rise to the level of our views. Let us rather de- 
termine to know the worst of our case, and strive to 
be suitably affected with it ; not forward to speak 
peace to ourselves, but patiently carrying about with 
us a deep conviction of our backwardness and inap- 
titude to religious duties, and a just sense of our great 
weakness and numerous infirmities. This cannot be 
an unbecoming temper in those who are command- 
ed to "work out their salvation with fear and trem- 
bling." It prompts to constant and earnest prayer. 
It produces that sobriety, and lowliness, and tender- 
ness of mind, that meekness of demeanor and cir- 
cumspection in conduct, which are such eminent 
characteristics of the true Christian. 

Nor is it a state devoid of consolation : " They 
that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength •" 
'Be strong, and he shall comfort thy heart:" 
" Blessed are they that mourn ; for they shall be 
comforted." These divine assurances soothe and en- 
courage the Christian's disturbed and dejected mind, 
and insensibly diffuse a holy composure. The tint 
may be solemn, nay, even melancholy, but it is mild 
and grateful. The tumult of his soul has subsided, 
and he is possessed by complacency, and hope, and 
love. If a sense of undeserved kindness fill his eyes 
with tears, they are tears of reconciliation and joy: 



USEFUL LIVES NOT RELIGION. 217 

while a generous ardor springing up within him, 
sends him forth to his worldly labors "fervent in 
spirit," resolving, through the divine aid, to be hence- 
forth more diligent and exemplary in living to the 
glory of God, and longing meanwhile for that bless- 
ed time, when, "being freed from the bondage ot 
corruption," he shall be enabled to render to his 
heavenly Benefactor more pure and acceptable ser- 
vice. 

After having discussed so much the whole ques- 
tion concerning amiable tempers in general, it may 
be scarcely necessary to dwell upon that particular 
class of them which belongs to the head of generous 
emotions, or of exquisite sensibility. To these al- 
most all which has been said is strictly applicable ; 
to which it may be added, that the persons in whom 
the latter qualities most abound, are often far from 
conducing to the peace and comfort of their nearest 
connections. These qualities indeed may be render- 
ed highly useful instruments, when in the service of 
religion. But we ought to except against them the 
more strongly, when not under her control ; because 
there is still greater danger than in the former case, 
that persons in whom they abound may be flattered 
into a false opinion of themselves by the excessive 
commendations often paid to them by others, and by 
the beguiling complacencies of their own minds, 
which are apt to be puffed up with a proud though 
secret consciousness of their own superior acutenes? 



218 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

and sensibility. But it is the less requisite to en 
large on this topic, because it has been well discussed 
by many who have shown that these qualities often 
fail us when most we want their aid ; that their pos- 
sessors can solace themselves with their imaginary 
exertions in behalf of ideal misery, and yet shrink 
from the labors of active benevolence, or retire with 
disgust from the homely forms of real poverty and 
wretchedness. In fine, the superiority of Christian 
charity and of plain practical beneficence has been 
ably vindicated; and the school of Rousseau or of 
Sterne has been forced to yield to the school of 
Christ, when the question has been concerning the 
best means of promoting the comfort of family life, 
or the temporal well-being of society. 

SECTION V. 

Some other grand defects in the practical system of the bulk of 
nominal Christians. 

In the imperfect sketch which has been drawn of 
the religion of the bulk of nominal Christians, their 
fundamental error respecting the nature of Chris- 
tianity has been traced into some of its many mis 
chievous consequences. Several of their particulai 
misconceptions and allowed defects have also been 
pointed out and illustrated. It may not be improper 
to close the survey by noticing some others, for the 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 219 

existence of which we may now appeal to almost 
every part of the preceding delineation. 

In the first place, then, there appears throughout, 
both in the principles and allowed conduct of the 
bulk of nominal Christians, a most inadequate idea of 
the guilt and evil of sin. We every where find rea- 
son to remark, that, as was formerly observed, reli- 
gion is suffered to dwindle away into a mere matter 
of police. Hence the guilt of actions is estimated, 
not by the proportion in which, according to Scrip- 
ture, they are offensive to God, but by that in which 
they are injurious to society. Murder, theft, fraud in 
all its shapes, and some species of lying, are mani- 
festly, and in an eminent degree, injurious to social 
happiness. How different, accordingly, in the moral 
scale, is the place they hold, from that which is as- 
signed to idolatry, to general irreligion, to swearing, 
drinking, fornication, lasciviousness, sensuality, exces- 
sive dissipation ; and, in particular circumstances, to 
pride, wrath, malice, and revenge ! 

Indeed, several of the abovementioned vices are 
aeld to be grossly criminal in the lower ranks, be- 
cause manifestly ruinous to their temporal interests ; 
but in the higher, they are represented as " losing 
half their evil by losing all their grossness," as flow- 
ing naturally from great prosperity, from the excess 
of gayety and good humor ; and they are accordingly 
M regarded with but a small degree of disapproba- 



220 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

tlon, and censured very slightly, or not at all."* 
These are the remarks of authors who have survey- 
ed the stage of human life with more than ordinary 
observation ; one of whom, in particular, cannot be 
suspected of having been misled by religious pre- 
judices to form a judgment of the superior orders 
too unfavorable and severe. 

Will these positions however be denied % Will it 
be maintained that there is not the difference already 
stated, in the moral estimation of these different 
classes of vices ? Will it be said that the one class 
is indeed more generally restrained, and more se- 
verely punished by human laws, because more pro- 
perly cognizable by human judicatures, and more 
directly at war with the well-being of society; but 
that, when brought before the tribunal of internal 
opinion, they are condemned with equal rigor ? 

Facts may be denied, but where the general senti 
ment and feeling of mankind are in question, oui 
common language is often the clearest and most 
impartial witness; and the conclusions thus furnish- 
ed, are not to be parried by wit, or eluded by sophis- 
try. In the present case, our ordinary modes of 
speech furnish sufficient matter for the determination 
of the argument, and abundantly prove our disposi- 
tion to consider as matters of small account, such 
sins as are not held to be injurious to the eommu- 

* Vide Smith on the Wealth of Nations, vol. iii 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 221 

mty. We invent for them diminutive and qualifying 
terms, which, if not to be admitted as signs of ap- 
probation and good-wiil, must at least be confessed 
to be proofs of our tendency to regard them with 
palliation and indulgence. Free-thinking, gallantry, 
jollity,* and a thousand similar phrases, might be 
adduced as instances. But it is w r orthy of remark, 
that no such soft and qualifying terms are in use for 
expressing the smaller degrees of theft, or fraud, or 
forgery, or any other of those offences which are 
committed by men against their fellow-creatures, and 
in the suppression of which we are interested by our 
regard to our temporal concerns. 

The charge which we are urging is indeed unde- 
niable. In the case of any question of honor, or of 
moral honesty, we are sagacious in discerning and 
inexorable in judging the offence. No allowance is 
made for the suddenness of surprise, or the strength 
of temptations. One single failure is presumed to im- 
ply the absence of the moral or honorable princi- 
ple. The memory is retentive on these occasions, 
and the man's character is blasted for life. Here 
even mere suspicion of having once offended can 
scarcely be got over : " There is an awkward story 
about that man, which must be explained before he 

* Many more might be added, such as, a good fellow, a 
good companion, a libertine, a little free, a little loose in 
tiik, wild, gay, jovial, being no man's enemy but his own, 
&e, &e. &c. &c. above all. having a good heart. 



222 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

and I can become acquainted." But in the case of 
sins against God, there is no such watchful jealousy., 
none of this rigorous logic. A man may go on in 
the frequent commission of known sins, yet no such 
inference is drawn respecting the absence of the reli- 
gious principle. On the contrary, we say of him, that 
"though his conduct be a little incorrect, his princi- 
ples are untouched ;" — " that he has a good heart : 
and such a man may go quietly through life, with the 
titles of a mighty worthy creature, and a very good 
Christian." • 

But in the word of God, actions are estimated by a 
far less accommodating standard. There we read of no 
little sins. Much of our Savior's sermon on the mount, 
which many of the class we are condemning affect 
highly to admire, is expressly pointed against so dan* 
gerous a misconception. There, no such distinction 
is made between the rich and the poor. No notices 
are to be traced of one scale of morals for the high* 
er, and of another for the lower classes of society, 
Nay, the former are distinctly warned, that their 
condition in life is the more dangerous, because of the 
more abundant temptations to which it exposes them. 
Idolatry, fornication, lasciviousness, drunkenness, 
revellings, inordinate affection, are, by the apostle, 
likewise classed with theft and murder, and with 
what we hold in even still greater abomination ; and 
concerning them all, it is pronounced alike, that 
" they which do such things shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God." Gal. 5 : 19-21. Col. 3* 5-9, 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 223 

In truth, the instance which we have lately speci- 
fied, of the loose system of these nominal Christians, 
betrays a fatal absence of the principle which is th« 
very foundation of all religion. Their slight notions 
of the guilt and evil of sin discover an utter want of 
all suitable reverence for the Divine majesty. This 
principle is justly termed in Scripture, "the begin- 
ning of wisdom," and there is perhaps no one quality 
which it is so much the studious endeavor of the sa- 
cred writers to impress upon the human heart. Job, 
28: 28. Psalm 111: 10. Prov. 1:7. 9: 10. 

Sin is considered in Scripture as rebellion against 
he sovereignty of God, and every different aci of it 
equally violates his law, and if persevered in, dis- 
claims his supremacy. To the inconsiderate and the 
gay this doctrine may seem harsh, while, vainly 
fluttering in the sunshine of worldly prosperity, they 
lull themselves into a fond security. " But the day 
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in 
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, 
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ; the 
earth also and the works that are therein shall be 
burnt up. Seeing, then, that all these things shall be 
dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be 
in all holy conversation and godliness ?■' 2 Peter, 3 * 
10, 11. We are but an atom in the universe. Worlds 
upon worlds surround us, all probably full of intelli- 
gent creatures, to whom, now or hereafter, we may 
be a spectacle, and afford an example of the Divine 



224 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

procedure. Who then shall take upon him to pro- 
nounce what might be the issue, if sin were suffered 
to pass unpunished in one corner of this universal 
empire % Who shall say what confusion might be the 
consequence, what disorder it might spread through 
the creation of God ? Be this however as it may, the 
language of Scripture is clear and decisive: " The 
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations 
that forget God." 

It should be carefully observed, too, that these aw- 
ful denunciations of the future punishment of sin de- 
rive additional weight from this consideration, that 
they are represented, not merely as a judicial sen- 
tence which, without violence to the settled order of 
things, might be remitted through the mere mercy 
of our Almighty Governor, but as arising out of the 
established course of nature; as happening in the 
way of natural consequence, just as a cause is ne- 
cessarily connected with its effect; as resulting from 
certain connections and relations which rendered 
them suitable and becoming. It is stated that the king- 
dom of God and the kingdom of Satan are both set 
up in the world, and that to the one or the other of 
these we must belong. " The righteous have pas- 
sed from death unto life ;" " they are delivered from 
the power of darkness, and are translated into the 
kingdom of God's dear Son." Col. 1 : 13. They 
are become "the children" and u the subjects of 
God " While on earth, they love his day, his ser« 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 225 

vice, his people ; they " speak good of his name ;" 
they abound in his works. Even here they are in 
some degree possessed of his image : by and by it 
shall be perfected ; they shall awake up after his 
"likeness," and being "heirs of eternal life," they 
shall receive " an inheritance incorruptible and un- 
dented, and that fadeth not away." 

Of sinners, on the other hand, it is declared that 
" they are of their father the devil ;" white on earth, 
they are styled " his children," " his servants ;" they 
are said "to do his works," to be "subjects of his 
kingdom:" at length "they shall partake his por- 
tion," when the merciful Savior shall be changed 
into an avenging Judge, and shall pronounce that 
dreadful sentence, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into 
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
angels." 

Is it possible that these declarations should not 
strike terror, or at least excite serious and fearful ap- 
prehension in the lightest and most inconsiderate 
mind % But the imaginations of men are fatally prone 
to suggest to them fallacious hopes, in the very face 
of these positive declarations. " We cannot persuade 
ourselves that God will, in fact, prove so severe." It 
was the very delusion to which our first parents 
listened ; " Ye shall not surely die." 

Let me ask these rash men, who are thus disposed 
to trifle with their immortal interests, had they lived 
in the antediluvian world, would they have conce-iv^ 

Pr.View 15 



226 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

ed it possible that God would then execute his pre* 
dieted threatening ? Yet the event took place at the- 
appointed time ; the flood came and swept them all 
away ; and this awful instance of the anger of God 
against sin is related in the inspired writings for our. 
instruction. Still more to rouse us to attention, the 
record is impressed in indelible characters on the 
solid substance of the very globe we inhabit ; which 
thus, in every country upon earth, furnishes practi- 
cal attestations to the truth of the sacred writings, 
and to the actual accomplishment of their awful pre- 
dictions. For myself I must declare that I never 
can read without awe the passage in which our Sa- 
vior is speaking of the state of the world at the time 
of this memorable event. The wickedness of men 
is represented to have been great and prevalent ; yet 
not, as we are ready to conceive, such as to interrupt 
the course and shake the very frame of society. The 
general face of things was, perhaps, not very dif- 
ferent from that which is exhibited in many of the 
European nations. It was a selfish, a luxurious, an 
irreligious, and an inconsiderate world. They were 
called, but they would not hearken ; they were warn- 
ed, but they would not believe — " They did eat, they 
drank, they married wives, they were given in mar- 
riage :" such is the account of one of the evangelists ; 
in that of another it is stated nearly in the same 
words ; **. They were eating and drinking, marrying 
and giving in marriage, and knew not until the 
flood came, and swept them all away." 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. ~227 

Again, we see throughout, in the system which 

we have heen describing, a most inadequate ^cqncept 

t jjan—oCth e d i ffic u lty of becoming true Christian^ 
and an utter forge^iuTnesTol'' its^elngTlie^great bu- 
siness of life to secure our admission into heaven, 
and to prepare our hearts for its service/and enjoy- 
ments. The general notion appears to be, i-hat, if born 
in a country of which Christianity is the established 
religion, we are born Christians. We do not there- 
fore look out for positive evidence of our really beij% 
of that number ; but putting the onus probandi, if it 
may be so expressed, on the wrong side, we con- 
ceive ourselves such of course, except our title be 
disproved by positive evidence to the contrary. And 
we are so slow in giving ear to what conscience 
urges to us on this side; so dexterous in justifying 
what is clearly wrong, in palliating what we cannot 
justify, in magnifying the merit of what is fairly com- 
mendable, in flattering ourselves that our habits of 
vice are only occasional acts, and in multiplying our 
single acts into habits of virtue, that we must be bad 
indeed, to be compelled to give a verdict against 
ourselves. Besides, having no suspicion of our state, 
we do not set ourselves in earnest to the work of 
self-examination ; but only receive in a confused and 
hasty way some occasional notices of our danger, 
when sickness, or the loss of a friend, or the recent 
commission of some act of vice of greater size than 
ordinary, has awakened in our consciences a more 
than usual degree of sensibility. 



228 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

Thus, by the generality, it is altogether forgotten 
that the Christian has a great work to execute— that 
of forming himself after the pattern of his Lord and 
Master, through the operation of the Holy Spirit ol 
God, which is promised to our fervent prayers and 
diligent endeavors. Unconscious of the obstacles 
which impede, and of the enemies which resist their 
advancement, they are naturally forgetful also of the 
ample provision which is in store for enabling them 
to surmount the one, and to conquer the other. The 
scriptural representations of the state of the Christian 
on earth, by the images of "a race," and ''a war- 
fare ;■" of its being necessary to rid himself of every 
encumbrance which might retard him in the one, 
and to furnish himself with the whole armor of 
God for being victorious in the other, are, so far as 
these nominal Christians are concerned, figures of 
no propriety or meaning. As little, as was formerly 
shown, have they, in correspondence with the scrip- 
ture descriptions of the feelings and language of real 
Christians, any idea of acquiring a relish, while on 
earth, for the worship and service of heaven. If the 
truth must be told, their notion is rather a confused 
idea of future gratification in heaven, in return for 
having put a force upon their inclinations, and en- 
dured so much religion while on earth. 

But all this is only nominal Christianity, which 
exhibits an infinitely more inadequate image of her 
real excellences, than the cold copyings, by some 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 229 

insipid pencil, convey of the force and grace of na 
ture, or of Raphael. In the language of Scripture, 
Christianity is not a geographical, hut a moral term. 
It is not the being a native of a Christian country : 
it is a condition, a state ; the possession of a peculiar 
nature, with the qualities and properties which te 
long to it. 

Farther than this ; it is a state into which we are 
not born, but into which we must be translated ; a 
nature which we do not inherit, but into which we 
are to be created anew. To the undeserved grace of 
God, which is promised on our use of the appointed 
means, we must be indebted for the attainment of this 
nature; and to acquire and make sure of it is that 
great " work of our salvation " which we are com- 
manded to " work out with fear and trembling." We 
are every where reminded, that this is a matter of 
labor and difficulty, requiring continual watchfulness, 
and unceasing effort, and unwearied patience. Even 
to the very last, towards the close of a long life con- 
sumed in active service or in cheerful suffering, we 
find St. Paul himself declaring that he conceived 
bodily self-denial and mental discipline to be indis- 
pensably necessary to his very safety. Christians, 
who are really worthy of the name, are represented 
as being " made meet for the inheritance of the saints 
in li^ht :' ; as " waiting- for the coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ ;" as " looking for and hastening unto 
the coming of the dav of God." It is stated as being 



230 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

- enough to make them happy, that " Christ should re 
ceive them to himself;" and the songs of the blessed 
spirits in heaven are described to be the same as 
those in which the servants of God on earth pour 
forth their gratitude and adoration. 

Conscious therefore of the indispensable necessity 
and of the arduous nature of the service in which he 
is engaged, the true Christian sets himself to the 
work with vigor, and prosecutes it with diligence; 
his motto is that of the painter — " Null us dies sine 
linea." Fled as it were from a country in which the 
plague is raging, he thinks it not enough just to pass 
the boundary line, but would put out of doubt his es- 
cape beyond the limits of infection. Prepared to 
meet with difficulties, he is not discouraged when 
they occur ; warned of his numerous adversaries, 
he is not alarmed on their approach, or unprovided 
for encountering them. He knows that the begin- 
ning of every new course may be expected to be 
rough and painful ; but he is assured that the paths 
on which he is entering will ere long seem smooth- 
er, and become indeed "paths of pleasantness and 
peace." 

Now of the state of such an one the expressions 
of pilgrim and stranger are a lively description ; and 
all the other figures and images, by which Christians 
are represented in Scripture, have in his case a de- 
terminate meaning and a just application. There is 
indeed none by which the Christian's state on earth 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 231 

is in the word of God more frequently imaged, or 
more happily illustrated, than by that of a journey; 
and it may not be amiss to pause for a while in order 
to survey it under that resemblance. The Christian 
is traveling on business through a strange country, 
in which he is commanded to execute his work with 
diligence, and pursue his course homeward with 
alacrity. The fruits which he sees by the way- side 
he gathers with caution ; he drinks of the streams 
with moderation ; he is thankful when the sun shines, 
and his way is pleasant ; but if it be rough and rainy, 
he cares not much, he is but a traveler. He is pre- 
pared for vicissitudes ; he knows that he must expect 
to meet with them in the stormy and uncertain cli- 
mate of this world. But he is traveling to a " better 
country," a country of unclouded light and undis- 
turbed serenity. He finds also, by experience, that 
when he has had the least of external comforts, he 
has always been least disposed to loiter ; and if Tor 
the time it be a little disagreeable, he can solace him.- 
self with the idea of his being thereby forwarded in 
his course. In a less unfavorable season, he looks 
round with an eye of observation ; he admires what 
is beautiful ; he examines what is curious ; he re- 
ceives with complacency the refreshments set before 
him, and enjoys them with thankfulness. Nor 
does he churlishly refuse to associate with the in- 
habitants of the country through which he is pass- 
ing. But he neither suffers pleasure, nor curiosity, 



232 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

nor society to take up his time; and is still intent 
on transacting the business he has to execute, and 
on prosecuting the journey he is ordered to pursue. 
He knows that to the very end of life his journey will 
be through a country in which lie has many ene- 
mies ; that his way is beset with snares; that , temp- 
tations throng around him, to seduce him from his 
course, or check his advancement in it; that the 
very air disposes to drowsiness, and that therefore 
to the very last it will Be requisite for him to be cir- 
cumspect and collected. Often therefore he examines 
whereabouts he is, how he has got forward, and 
whether or not he is traveling in the right direction. 
Sometimes he seems to himself to make considera- 
ble progress; sometimes he advances but slowly; 
too often he finds reason to fear that he has fallen 
backward in his course. Now he is cheered with 
hope, and gladdened by success ; now he is disqui- 
eted by doubts, and damped by disappointments. 
Thus, while to nominal Christians religion is a dull 
uniform thing, and they have no conception of the 
desires and disappointments, the hopes and fears, the 
joys and sorrows which it is calculated to bring into 
exercise ; in the true Christian all is life and motion, 
and his great work calls forth the various passions 
of the soul. Let it not therefore be imagined that 
his is a state of unenlivened toil and hardship. His 
very labors are " the labors of love ;"" if " ha has 
need of patience," it is " the patience of hope ;" and 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 233 

he is cheered in his work by the constant assurance 
of present support and of final victory. Let it not be 
forgotten, that this is the very idea given us of hap- 
piness by one of the ablest examiners of the human 
mind ; " a constant employment for a desired end, 
with the consciousness of continual progress. 55 So 
true is the scripture declaration, that " godliness has 
the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that 
which is to come." 

Our review of the character of the bulk of nomi- 
nal Christians has exhibited abundant proofs of 
their defectiveness in that great constituent of the 
true Christian character, the love of God. Many in- 
stances, in proof of this assertion, have been pointed 
out: and the charge is in itself so obvious, that it 
were superfluous to spend much time in endeavoring 
to establish it. Put the question fairly to the test. 
Concerning the proper marks and evidences of af- 
fection there can be little dispute. Let the most can- 
did investigator examine the character, and conduct, 
and language of the persons of whom we have been 
speaking, and he will be compelled to acknowledge 
that, so far as love towards the Supreme Being is in 
question, these marks and evidences are no where to 
be met with. It is in itself a decisive evidence of a 
contrary feeling in those nominal Christians, that 
they find no pleasure in the service and worship of 
God. Their devotional acts resemble less the free- 
will offerings of a grateful heart, than that constrain- 



234 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

ed and reluctant homage exacted by some hard mas- 
ter from his oppressed dependents, and paid with 
cold sullenness and slavish apprehension. It was 
the very charge brought by God against his ungrate- 
ful people of old, that, while they called him Sove- 
reign and Father, they withheld from him the re- 
gards which severally belong to those respected and 
endearing appellations. Thus we likewise think it 
enough to offer to the most excellent and amiable of 
beings^ to our supreme and unwearied Benefactor, 
a dull, artificial, heartless gratitude, of which we 
should be ashamed in the case of a fellow-creature 
who had ever so small a claim on our regard and 
thankfulness ! 

It may be of infinite use to establish in our minds 
a strong and habitual sense of that first and great 
commandment, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with 
all thy soul, and with all thy strength." This mo- 
tive, operative and vigorous in its very nature, like 
a master spring, would put and maintain in action 
all the complicated movements of the human soul. 
Soon also would it terminate many questions con 
cerning certain compliances ; questions which, with 
other similar difficulties, are often only the cold off- 
spring of a spirit of reluctant submission, and cannot 
stand the encounter of this trying principle. If, for 
example, it were disputed whether or not the law of 
God were so strict as had been stated, in condemn- 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 235 

ing the slightest infraction of its precepts ; yet when, 
from the precise demands of justice, the appeal 
should be made to the more generous principle of 
love, there would be at once an end of the discus- 
sion. Fear will deter from acknowledged crimes, and 
self-interest will bribe to laborious services ; but it 
is the peculiar glory and the very characteristic of 
this more generous passion, to show itself in ten 
thousand little and undefinable acts of sedulous at- 
tention, which love alone can pay, and of which, 
when paid, love alone can estimate the value. Love 
outruns the deductions of reasoning ; it scorns the 
refuge of casuistry ; it requires not the slow process 
of laborious and undeniable proof that an action 
would be injurious and offensive, or another benefi- 
cial or gratifying, to the object of affection. The 
least hint, the slightest surmise is sufficient to make 
it start from the former, and fly with eagerness to 
the latter. 

There has been much argument concerning the 
lawfulness of theatrical amusements.* Let it be 
sufficient to remark, that the controversy would be 
short indeed, if the question were to be tried by this 
criterion of love to the Supreme Being. If there 
were any thing of that sensibility for the honor of 
God, and of that zeal in his service which we show 

* It is almost unnecessary to remark, that the word is to 
be understood in a large sense as including the opera, &c. 



236 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

in behalf of our earthly friends, or of our political 
connections, should we seek our pleasure in that 
place which the debauchee, inflamed with wine, or 
bent on the gratification of other licentious appetites, 
finds most congenial to his state and temper of mind 9 
In that place, from the neighborhood of which (how 
justly termed a school of morals might hence alone 
be inferred) decorum, and modesty, and regularity 
retire, while riot and lewdness are invited to the spot 
and invariably select it for their chosen residence ! 
where the sacred name of God is often profaned ! 
where sentiments are often heard with delight, and 
motions and gestures often applauded, which would 
not be tolerated in private company, but which may 
far exceed the utmost license allowed in the social 
circle, without at all transgressing theatrical deco- 
rum ! where, when moral principles are inculcated, 
they are not such as a Christian ought to cherish in 
his bosom, but such as it must be his daily endeavor 
to extirpate; not those which Scripture warrants, 
but those which it condemns as false and spurious 
being founded in pride and ambition, and the over- 
valuation of human favor! where surely, if a Chris- 
tian should trust himself at all, it would be requisite 
for him to prepare himself with a double portion of 
watchfulness and seriousness of mind, instead of se- 
lecting it as the place in which he may throw ofl 
his guard, and unbend without danger! The just- 
ness of this last remark, and the general tendency of 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 237 

theatrical amusements, is attested by the same well* 
instructed master in the science of human life, to 
whom we had before occasion to refer. By him 
they are recommended as the most efficacious expe- 
dient for relaxing, among any people, that f precise- 
ness and austerity of morals," to use his own phrase, 
which, under the name of holiness, it is the business 
of Scripture to inculcate and enforce. Nor is this 
position merely theoretical. The experiment was 
tried, and tried successfully, in a city upon the conti- 
nent, Geneva, in which it was wished to corrupt the 
simple morality of purer times. 

Let us try the question by a parallel instance. 

What judgment should we form of the warmth of 
that man's attachment to his sovereign, who, at sea- 
sons of recreation, should seek his pleasures in 
scenes as ill accordant with the principle of loyalty 
as those of which we have been speaking are with 
the genius of religion ? If for this purpose he were 
to select the place and frequent the amusements to 
which rebels should love to resort for entertainment, 
and in which they should find themselves so much 
at home as invariably to select the spot for their 
abiding habitation ; where dialogue, and song, and 
the intelligible language of gesticulation should be 
used to convey ideas and sentiments, not perhaps 
palpably treasonable, or directly falling within the 
strict precision of any legal limits, but yet palpably 
contrary to the spirit of the government! What 



238 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

opinion should we form of the delicacy of that friend- 
ship, or of the fidelity of that love, which, in relation 
to their respective objects, should exhibit the same 
contradictions ? 

In truth, the very different way in which we allow 
ourselves to act, and speak, and feel, where God is 
concerned, from that which we require, or even prac- 
tice in the case of our fellow-creatures, is in itself the 
most decisive proof that the principle of the love oi 
God*if not altogether extinct in us, is at least in 
the lowest possible degree of languor. 

From examining the degree in which the bulk of 
nominal Christians are defective in the love of God, 
if we proceed to inquire concerning the strength of 
their love towards their fellow-creatures, the writer 
is well aware of its being generally held, that here 
at least they may rather challenge praise than sub- 
mit to censure. And the many beneficent institu- 
tions in which this country abounds, probably above 
every other, whether in ancient or modern times, 
may be perhaps appealed to in proof of the opinion. 
Much of what might have been otherwise urged in 
the discussion of this topic, has been anticipated in 
the inquiry into the grounds of the extravagant esti- 
mation assigned to amiable tempers and useful lives, 
when unconnected with religious principle. What 
was then stated may serve in many cases to lower, 
in the present instance, the loftiness of the preten- 
sions of these nominal Christians; and we shall here- 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 239 

after have occasion to mention another consideration 
of which the effect must be, still further to reduce 
their claims. Meanwhile let it- suffice, to remark, 
that a vigorous principle of philanthropy must not 
be at once conceded, on the ground of liberal bene- 
factions to the poor, in the case of one who, by his 
liberality in this respect, is curtailed in no necessary, 
is abridged of no luxury, is put to no trouble either 
of thought or of action ; who, not to impute a desire 
of being praised for his benevolence, is injured in 
no man's estimation ; in whom also familiarity with 
large sums has produced that freedom in the ex- 
penditure of money, which, thereby affording a fresh 
illustration of the justice of the old proverb, " Fa- 
miliarity breeds contempt," never fails to operate, 
except in minds under the influence of a strong prin- 
ciple of avarice. 

Our conclusion, perhaps, would be less favora- 
ble, but not less fair, if we were to try the characters 
in question by those surer tests, which are stated 
by the apostle to be less ambiguous marks of a real 
spirit of philanthropy. The strength of every pas 
sion is to be estimated by its victory over passions of 
an opposite nature. What judgment then shall we 
form of the force of the benevolence of the age, when 
measured by this standard ? How does it stand the 
shock, when it comes into encounter with our pride, 
our vanity, our self-love, our self-interest, our love of 
ease or of pleasure, with our ambition, with our de- 



240 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

sire of worldly estimation ? Does it make us self-de- 
nying, that we may be liberal in relieving others I 
Does it make us persevere in doing good in spite of 
ingratitude; and only pity the ignorance, or preju- 
dice, or malice which misrepresents our conduct, or 
misconstrues our motives ? Does it make us forbear 
from what we conceive may probably prove the occa- 
sion of harm to a fellow-creature ; though the harm 
should not seem naturally or even fairly to flow from 
our conduct, but to be the result only of his own ob- 
stinacy or weakness ? Are we slow to believe any 
thing to our neighbor's disadvantage ? and when we I 
cannot but credit it, are we disposed to cover, and as 
far as we justly can, rather to palliate than to divulge 
or aggravate it ? Suppose an opportunity to occur of 
performing a kindness to one who, from pride or 
vanity, should be loth to receive, or to be known to 
receive a favor from us ; should we honestly endea 
vor, so far as we could with truth, to lessen in his 
own mind and in that of others the merit of our good 
offices, and by so doing dispose him to receive them 
with diminished reluctance ? This end, however, 
must be accomplished, if to be accomplished at all, by 
a simple and fair explanation of the circumstances, 
which may render the action in no wise inconveni- 
ent to ourselves, though highly beneficial to another ; 
not by speeches of affected disparagement, which we 
might easily foresee, and in fact do foresee, must pro- 
duce the contrary effect. Can we, from motives 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 241 

kindness, incur or risk the charge of being defi- 
cient in spirit, in penetration, or in foresight % Do we 
tell another of his faults, when the communication, 
though probably beneficial to him, cannot be made 
without embarrassment or pain to ourselves, and may 
probably lessen his regard for our person, or his 
opinion of our judgment? Can we stifle a repartee 
which would wound another ; though the utterance of 
it would gratify our vanity, and the suppression of it 
may disparage our character for wit % If any one ad- 
vance a mistaken proposition, in an instance wherein 
the error may be mischievous to him ; can we, to the 
prtjudice perhaps of our credit for discernment, for- 
bear to contradict him in public, if it be probable that 
in so doing, by piquing his pride, we might only 
harden him in his error 1 and can we reserve our 
counsel for some more favorable season, when it 
may be communicated without offence ? If we have 
recommended to any one a particular line of conduct, 
or have pointed out the probable mischiefs of the op- 
posite course, and if our admonitions have been neg- 
lected, are we really hurt when our predictions of 
evil are accomplished % Is our love superior to envy, 
and jealousy, and emulation % Are we acute to dis- 
cern and forward to embrace any fair opportunity of 
promoting the interest of another ; if it be in a line 
wherein we ourselves also are moving, and in which 
we think our progress has not been proportioned to 
aur desert ? Can we take pleasure in bringing his 

Pr. View. |(3 



242 DEFECTS IN THE PRACTICAL 

merits into notice, and in obviating the prejudices 
which may have damped his efforts, or in removing 
the obstacles which may have retarded his advance- 
ment ? If even to this extent we should be able to 
stand the scrutiny, let it be farther asked how, in the 
case of our enemies, do we correspond with the scrip- 
ture representations of love ? Are we meek und^r j 
provocations, ready to forgive, and apt to forget inju- 
ries? Can we, with sincerity, " bless them that curse 
us, do good to them that hate us, and pray for them 
which despitefully use us, and persecute us ?" Do \ 
we prove to the Searcher of hearts a real spirit of for- 
giveness, by our forbearing not only from avenging 
an injury when it is in our power, but even from tell- 
ing to any one how ill we have been used ; and that too 
when we are not kept silent by a consciousness that 
we should lose credit by divulging the circumstance? 
And lastly, can we not only be content to return our 
enemies good for evil, (for this return, as has been 
remarked by one of the greatest of uninspired au- 
thorities,* may be prompted by pride and repaid by 
self-complacency,) but, when they are successful or 
unsuccessful without our having contributed to their 
good or ill fortune, can we not only be content, but 
cordially rejoice in their prosperity, or sympathize 
with their distresses ? 

These are but a few specimens of the characteris- 
tic marks which might be stated of a true predomi- 
*' Lord Bacon 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 243 

nant benevolence : yet even these may serve to con- 
vince us how far the bulk of nominal Christians fall 
short of the requisitions of Scripture, even in that par- 
ticular which exhibits their character in the most 
favorable point of view. The truth is, we do not 
enough call to mind the exalted tone of scripture mo- 
rality, and are therefore apt to value ourselves on the 
heights to which we attain, when a better acquaint- 
ance with our standard would have convinced us ot 
our falling far short of the elevation prescribed to us. 
It is in the very instance of the most difficult of the 
duties lately specified, the forgiveness and love of 
enemies, that our Savior points out to our imitation \ 
the example of our Supreme Benefactor. After stat- 
ing that, by being kind and courteous to those who, 
even in the world's opinion, had a title to our good of- 
fices and good will, we should in vain set up a claim 
to christian benevolence, he emphatically adds, " Be 
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is 
in heaven is perfect." 

We must here again resort to the topic of theatri- 
cal amusements ; and recommend their advocates to 
consider them in connection with the duty of which 
we have now been exhibiting some of the leading 
characters. 

It is an undeniable fact, for the truth of which we 
may safely appeal to every age and nation, that the 
situation of the performers is remarkably unfavora- 
ble to the maintenance and growth of religious and 



244 DEFECTS IN THE TRACTICAL 

moral principle, and of course highly dangerous to 
their eternal interests. Might it not then be fairly 
asked, how far, in all who confess the truth of this 
position, it is consistent with the sensibility of chris- 
tian benevolence, merely for the entertainment of an 
idle hour, to Encourage the continuance of any of 
their fellow-creatures in such a way of life, and to 
take a part in tempting any others to enter into it? 
how far, considering that, by their own concession, 
they are employing whatever they spend in this way 
in sustaining and advancing the cause of vice, and 
consequently in promoting misery, they are herein 
bestowing this share of their wealth in a manner 
agreeable to the intentions of their holy and benevo- 
lent Benefactor ? how far also they are not in this in- 
stance the rather criminal, from there being so many 
sources of innocent pleasure open to their enjoyment? 
how far they are acting conformably to that golden 
principle of doing to others as we would they should 
do to us? how far they harmonize with the spirit of 
the apostle's declaration, that he would deny himself 
for his whole life the most innocent indulgence, nay, 
what might seem almost an absolute necessary, ra- 
ther than cause his weak fellow-christian to offend ? 
or, lastly, how far they are influenced by the solemn 
language of our Savior himself; " It needs must be 
that offences come, but wo to that man by whom 
the offence cometh ; it were better for him that a mill- 
stone were hanged about his neck, and that he were 



SYSTEM OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 245 

cast into the depths of the sea?" The present in* 
stance is perhaps another example of our taking 
greater concern in the temporal than in the spiritua- 
interests of our fellow-creatures. That man would be 
deemed, and justly deemed, of an inhuman temper, 
who in these days were to seek his amusement in the 
combat of gladiators and prize-fighters ; yet Chris- 
tians appear conscious of no inconsistency in finding 
their pleasure in spectacles maintained at the risk, at 
least, if not the ruin of the eternal happiness of those 
who perform in them! s^ 

SECTION VI. 

Grand defect. — Neglect of the peculiar doctrines of 
Christianity. 

But the grand radical defect in the practical system 
of these nominal Christians, is their forgetfulness 
of all the peculiar doctrines of the religion which 
they profess — the corruption of human nature ; the I 
atonement of the Savior ; and the sanctifying influ- 
ence of the Holy Spirit. 

Here then we come again to the grand distinction 
between the religion of Christ and that of the bulk 
of nominal Christians in the present day. The point 
is of the utmost practical importance, and we would 
therefore trace it into its actual effects. 

There are, it is to be apprehended, not a few who 
having been for some time hurried down the stream 



246 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

of dissipation m the indulgence of all their natural 
appetites, except, perhaps, that they were restrained 
from very gross vice by a regard to character, or by 
the yet unsubdued voice of conscience ; and who, 
having all the while thought little, or scarcely at all, 
about religion, " living, 5 ' to use the emphatieal lan- 
guage of Scripture, " without God in the world," 
become in some degree impressed with a sense of 
the infinite importance of religion. A fit of sickness, 
perhaps, or the loss of some friend, or much loved 
relative, or some other stroke of adverse fortune, 
damps their spirits, awakens them to a practical con- 
viction of the precariousness of all human things, and 
turns them to seek for some more stable foundation 
of happiness than this world can afford. Looking 
into themselves ever so little, they become sensible 
that they must have offended God. They resolve ac- 
cordingly to set about the work of reformation. Here 
it is that we shall recognize the fatal effects of the 
prevailing ignorance of the real nature of Christiani- 
ty, and the general forgetfulness of its grand pecu- 
liarities. These men wish to reform, but they know 
neither the real nature of their distemper nor its 
true remedy. They are aware, indeed, that they 
must " cease to do evil, and learn to do well •" that 
they must relinquish their habits of vice, and attend 
more or less to the duties of religion ; but having no 
conception of the actual malignity of the disease un- 
der which they labor, or of the perfect cure which 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 247 

the Gospel has provided for it, or of the manner in 
which that cure is to be effected, 

li They do but skim and film the ulcerous place, 
w While rank corruption, mining all within, 
" Infects unseen." 

It often happens therefore but too naturally in this 
case, that where they do not soon desist from their 
attempt at reformation, and relapse into their old 
habits of sin, they take up with a partial and scanty- 
amendment, and fondly flatter themselves that it is 
a thorough change. They now conceive that they 
have a right to take to themselves the comforts of 
Christianity. Not being able to raise their practice 
up to their standard of right, they lower their stan- 
dard to their practice : they sit down for life con- 
tented with their present attainments, beguiled by the 
complacencies of their own minds, and by the favor- 
able testimony of surrounding friends ; and it often 
happens, particularly where there is any degree of 
strictness in formal and ceremonial observances, that 
there are no people more jealous of their character 
for religion. 

Others, perhaps, go farther than this. The dread 
of the wrath to come has sunk deeper into their 
hearts ; and for a while they strive with all their 
might to resist their evil propensities, and to walk 
without stumbling in the path of duty. Again and 
again they resolve : again and again they break 



248 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

their resolutions.* All their endeavors are foiled, 
and they become more and more convinced of their 
own moral weakness, and of the strength of their in - 
dwelling corruption. Thus groaning under the en- 
slaving power of sin, and experiencing the futility 
of the utmost efforts which they can use for effecting 
their deliverance, they are tempted to give up aJ m 
despair, and to acquiesce under their wretched cap 
tivity, conceiving it impossible to break their chains. 
Sometimes, probably, it even happens that they are 
driven to seek for refuge from their disquietude in 
the suggestions of infidelity, and to quiet their trou- 
blesome consciences by arguments which they them- 
selves scarcely believe, at the very moment in which 
they suffer themselves to be lulled asleep by them. 
In the mean time, while this conflict has been going 
on, their walk is sad and comfortless, and their couch 
is nightly watered with tears. These men are pur 
suing the right object, but they mistake the way in 
which it is to be obtained. The path in which they 
are now treading is not that which the Gospel has 
provided for conducting them to true holiness, nor 
will they find in it any solid peace. 

Persons under these circumstances naturally seek 
for religious instruction. They turn over the works 

* If any one would read a description of this process, en- 
livened and enforced by the powers of the most exquisite 
poetry, let him peruse the middle and latter part of the fifth 
book of Cowper's Task. 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 249 

of our modern religionists, and as well as they can 
collect the advice addressed to men in their situation, 
the substance of it is, at the best, of this sort: " Be 
sorry indeed for your sins, and discontinue the 
practice of them, but do not make yourselves so un- 
easy. Christ died for the sins of the whole world 
Do your utmost; discharge with fidelity the duties 
of your stations, not neglecting your religious offi- 
ces ; and fear not but that in the end all will go well ; 
and that having thus performed the conditions re- 
quired on your part, you will at last obtain forgive- 
ness of our merciful Creator, through the merits of 
Jesus Christ, and be aided, where your own strength 
shall be .insufficient, by the assistance of his Hoiy 
Spirit. Meanwhile you cannot do better than read 
carefully such books of practical divinity as will in 
struct you in the principles of a Christian life. We 
are excellently furnished with works of this nature; 
and it is by the diligent study of them that you will 
gradually become a proficient in the lessons of the 
Gospel." 

But the holy Scriptures call upon those who are 
in 4he circumstances above stated, to lay afresh the 
whole foundation of their religion; gratefully to 
adore that undeserved goodness which has awaken- 
ed them from the sleep of death ; to prostrate them- 
selves before the cross of Christ with humble peni- 
tence and deep self-abhorrence ; solemnly resolving 
to forsake all their sins, but relying on the grace o! 



250 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

God alone for power to keep their resolution. Thus, 
and thus only, do they assure them that all their 
crimes -will be blotted out, and that they will receive 
from above a new living principle of holiness. " Be- 
lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shait be 
saved.' 5 " No man," says our blessed Savior, " com- 
eth unto the Father but by me." " I am the true 
vine. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself ex- 
cept it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye 
abide in me." " Fie that abideth in me and I in him, 
the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without," 
or severed from "me, ye can do nothing." " by 
grace are ye saved, ^through faith, and that not of 
yourselves, it is the gift of God ; not of works, lest 
any man should boast : for we are his workmanship, 
created in Christ Jesus unto good works." 

Let us not be thought tedious, or be accused of 
running into needless repetitions, in pressing this 
point with so much earnestness. It is in fact a 
point which can never be too much insisted on. It 
is the cardinal point, on which the whole of Chris- 
tianity turns; on which it is peculiarly proper in 
this place to be perfectly distinct. There have been 
some who have imagined that the wrath of God 
was to be deprecated, or his favor conciliated by- 
austerities and penances, or even by forms and cere- 
monies, and external observances. But all men of 
enlightened understandings, who acknowledge the 
moral government of God, must also acknowledge 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 251 

that vice must offend and virtue delight him. In 
short they must, more or less, assent to the scripture 
declaration, " Without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord." But the grand distinction which subsists 
between the true Christian and all other religionists, 
is concerning the nature of this holiness, and the 
way in which it is to be obtained. The views en- 
tertained by the latter of the nature of holiness, 
are of all degrees of inadequateness ; and they con- 
ceive it is to be obtained by their own natural unas- 
sisted efforts: or if they admit some vague indistinct 
notion of the assistance of the Holy Spirit, it is un- 
questionably obvious, on conversing with them, that 
this does not constitute the main practical ground of 
their dependence. But the nature of the holiness to 
which the desires of the true Christian are directed, 
is no other than the restoration of the image of God ; 
and as to the manner of acquiring it, disclaiming 
with indignation every idea of attaining it by his 
own strength, all his hopes of possessing it rest al- 
together on the divine assurances of the operation of 
the Holy Spirit in those who cordially embrace the 
Gospel of Christ. He knows therefore that this 
holiness is not to precede his reconciliation to God, 
and be its cause; but to follow it, and be its effect. 
That, in short, it is by faith in Christ only* that 
he is to be justified in the sight of God; to be 

* Here again let it be remarked, that faith, where genu* 
ine always supposes repentance, abhorrence of sin, &c. 



> 



252 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

delivered from the condition of a child of wrath txm) 
a slave oi Satan; to be adopted into the family of 
GoJ ; to become an heir of God and a joint heir 
with Christ, entitled to all the privileges which be- 
long to this high relation ; here, to the Spirit of 
grace, and a partial renewal after the image of his 
Creator ; hereafter, to the more perfect possession of 
the Divine likeness, and an inheritance of eternal 
glory. 

And as it is in this way that in obedience to the 
dictates of the Gospel, the true Christian must origi- 
nally become possessed of the vital spirit and living 
principle of universal holiness ; so, in order to grow 
in grace, he must also study in the same school; 
rinding in the consideration of the peculiar doctrines 
of the Gospel, and in the contemplation of the life, 
and character, and sufferings of our blessed Savior, 
the elements of all practical wisdom, and an inex- 
haustible storehouse of instructions and motives, no 
otherwise to be so well supplied. From the neglect 
of these peculiar doctrines arise the main practical 
errors of the bulk of professed Christians. These 
gigantic truths, retained in view, would put to shame 
the littleness of their dwarfish morality. It would 
be impossible for them to make these harmonize 
with their low conceptions of the wretchedness and 
danger of their natural state, which is represented 
in Scripture as having so powerfully called forth the 
compassion of God, that he sent his only-begotten 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 253 

Son to rescue us. Where now are their low con- 
ceptions of the worth of the soul, when means like 
these were taken to redeem it ? Where now their 
inadequate conceptions of the guilt of sin, for which 
in the Divine counsels it seemed requisite that an 
atonement no less costly should be made than that 
of the blood of the only-begotten Son of God? How 
can they reconcile their low standard of christian 
practice with the representation of our being " tem- 
ples of the Holy Ghost ?" their cold sense of obli- 
gation, and scanty grudged returns of service, with 
the glowing gratitude of those who, having been 
" delivered from the power of darkness, and trans- 
lated into the kingdom of God's dear Son," may 
well conceive that the labors of a whole life will be 
but an imperfect expression of their thankfulness ? 

The peculiar doctrines of the Gospel being once 
admitted, the conclusions which have been now sug- 
gested are clear and obvious deductions of reason. 
But our neglect of these important truths is still less 
pardonable, because they are distinctly and repeat- 
edly applied in Scripture to the very purposes in 
question, and the whole superstructure of christian 
morals is grounded on their deep and ample basis. 
Sometimes these truths are represented in Scrip- 
ture, generally, as furnishing Christians with a vigo- 
rous and ever-present principle of universal obedi- 
ence. And our learning the lessons of heavenly 
wisdom is still further stimulated, by almost every 



254 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

particular christian duty being occasionally traced 
to them as to its proper source. They are every 
where represented as warming the hearts of the 
people of God on earth with continual admiration, 
and thankfulness, and love, and joy ; as triumphing 
over the attack of the last great enemy, and as call- 
ing forth afresh in heaven the ardent effusions ot 
their unexhausted gratitude. 

If then we would indeed be "filled with wisdom 
and spiritual understanding ;" if we would " walk 
worthy of the Lord unto all well pleasing, being 
fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the 
knowledge of God ;" here let us fix our eyes ! " Let 
us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth 
so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the 
race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the 
Author and Finisher of our faith ; who, for the joy 
that was set before him, endured the cross, des- 
pising the shame, and is set down at the right hand 
of the throne of God." Heb. 12 : 1, 2. 

Here best we may learn the infinite importance 
of Christianity. How little it can deserve to be treat- 
ed in that slight and superficial way in which it is 
in these days regarded by the bulk of nominal Chris- 
tians, who are apt to think it may be enough, and 
almost pleasing to God, to be religious in any way, 
and upon any system. What exquisite folly it must 
be to risk the soulon such a venture, in direct con- 
tradiction to the dictates of reason and the express 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 255 

declaration of the word of God! "How shall we 
escape, if we neglect so great salvation ?" 

LOOKING UNTO JESUS ! 

Here we shall best learn the duty and reasonable- 
ness of an absolute and unconditional surrender of 
soul and body to the will and service of God. " We 
are not our own, for we are bought with a price," 
and must "therefore" make it our grand concern to 
" glorify God with our bodies and our spirits, which 
are God's." Should we be base enough, even if we 
could do it with safety, to make any reserves in our 
returns of service to that gracious Savior who " gave 
up himself for us ?" If we have formerly talked of 
compounding, by the performance of some commands 
for the breach of others, can we now bear the mention 
of a composition of duties, or of retaining to ourselves 
the right of practicing little sins ? The very sugges- 
tion of such an idea fills us with indignation and 
shame, if our hearts be not dead to every sense of 
gratitude. 

LOOKING UNTO JESUS ! 

Here we find displayed, in the most lively colors, 
the guilt of sin, and how hateful it must be to the per- 
fect holiness of that Being who is of " purer eyes 
than to behold iniquity." When we see that, rather 



256 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

than sin should go unpunished, " God spared not his 
own Son^" but " was pleased* to bruise and put him 
to grief" for our sakes ; how vainly must impeni- 
tent sinners flatter themselves with the hope of escap- 
ing the vengeance of heaven, and buoy themselves 
up with the desperate dreams of the Divine benigity ! 
Here too we may anticipate the dreadful suffer- 
ings of that state " where shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth ;" when, rather than that w r e should 
undergo them, " the Son of God himself, who 
" thought it not robbery to be equal with God," con- 
sented to take upon him our degraded nature, with 
all its weaknesses and infirmities ; to be " a man of 
sorrows ;" " to hide not his face from shame and spit- 
ting ;" " to be wounded for our transgressions, and 
bruised for our iniquities ;" and at length to endure 
the sharpness of death, " even the death of the cross," 
that he might u deliver us from the wrath to come," 
and open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. 

LOOKING UNTO JESUS. 

Here best we may learn to grow in the love of 
God ! The certainty of his pity and love towards 

* It has been well remarked that the word used, where it is 
said that God '■ was pleased to bruise," and put to grief his 
only Son for us, is the same word as that wherein it was de- 
clared by a voice from heaven, " This is my beloved Son, in 
whom lam well pleased." 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 257 

repenting sinners, thus irrefragably demonstrated, 
chases away the sense of tormenting fear, and best 
lays the ground in us of a reciprocal affection. And 
while we steadily contemplate this wonderful trans- 
action, and consider in its several relations the amaz- 
ing truth, that " God spared not his own, but deliv- 
ered him up for us all ;" if our minds be not utterly 
dead to every impulse of sensibility, the emotions of 
admiration, of preference, of hope, and trust, and joy 
cannot but spring up within us, chastened with rev- 
erential fear, and softened and quickened by overflow 
ing gratitude.* Here we shall become animated by 
an abiding disposition to endeavor to please our great 
Benefactor ; and by a humble persuasion, that the 
weakest endeavors of this nature will not be despised 
by a Being who has already proved himself so 
kindly affected towards us. Rom. 5 : 9, 10. Here we 
cannot fail to imbibe an earnest desire of possessing 
his favor, and a conviction, founded on his own de- 
clarations thus unquestionably confirmed, that the 
desire shall not be disappointed. Whenever we are 
conscious that we have offended this gracious Be- 
ing, a single thought of the great work of redemp- 
tion will be enough to fill us with compunction. 
We shall feel a deep concern, grief mingled with in- 
dignant shame, for having conducted ourselves so 
unworthily towards one who to us has been infinite 

* Vide Chap. 3 : where these were shown to be the ele- 
mentary principles of the passion of love. 

Pr.View. 17 



258 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

in kindness ; we shall not rest till we have reason 
to hope that he is reconciled to us ; and we shall 
watch over our hearts and conduct in future with a 
renewed jealousy, lest we should again offend him. 
To those who are ever so little acquainted with the 
nature of the human mind, it were superfluous to re- 
mark that the affections and tempers which have 
been enumerated, are the infallible marks and the 
constituent properties of love. Let him then, who 
would abound and grow in this Christian principle, 
be much conversant with the great doctrines of the 
Gospel. 

It is obvious that the attentive and frequent con- 
sideration of these great doctrines must have a still 
more direct tendency to produce and cherish in our 
minds the principle of the love of Christ. But on 
this head so much was said in a former chapter, as 
to render any further observations unnecessary. 

Much also has been already observed concerning 
the love of our fellow-creatures, and it has been dis- 
tinctly stated to be the indispensable, and indeed the 
characteristic duty of Christians. It remains, how- 
ever, to be here further remarked, that this grace 
can no where be cultivated with more advantage 
than at the foot of the cross. No where can our Sa- 
vior's dying injunction to the exercise of this virtue 
be recollected with more effect ; " This is my com- 
mandment, that ye love one another as I have loved 
you." No where can the admonition of the apostkr 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 259 

more powerfully affect us ; " Be ye kind one to 
another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even 
as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you." The 
view of mankind which is here presented to us, as 
having been all involved in one common ruin ; and 
the offer of deliverance held out to all, by the Son of 
(rod giving himself up to pay the price of our 
reconciliation, produce that sympathy towards our fel- 
low creatures which, by the constitution of our nature, 
seldom fails to result from the consciousness of an 
identity of interests and a similarity of fortunes. Pity 
for an unthinking world assists this impression. Our 
enmities soften and melt away: we are ashamed of 
thinking much of the petty injuries which we may 
have suffered, when we consider what the Son of 
God, "who did no wrong, neither was guile found 
in his mouth," patiently underwent. Our hearts be- 
come tender while we contemplate this signal act of 
loving-kindness. We grow desirous of imitating 
what we cannot but admire. A vigorous principle 
of enlarged and active charity springs up within us ; 
and we go forth with alacrity, desirous of treading in 
the steps of our blessed Master, and of manifesting 
our gratitude for his unmerited goodness, by bearing 
each other's burdens, and abounding in the disinte- 
rested labors of benevolence. 

LOOKING UNTO JESUS! 
He was meek and lowly of heart, and from the 



260 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

study of his character we shall best learn the lessons 
of humility. Contemplating the work of redemption, 
we become more and more impressed with the sense 
of our natural darkness, and helplessness, and mi- 
sery, from which it was requisite to ransom us at 
such a price ; more and more conscious that we are 
utterly unworthy of all the amazing condescension 
and love which have been manifested towards us : 
ashamed of the callousness of our tenderest sensi- 
bility, and of the poor returns of our most active ser- 
vices. Considerations like these, abating our pride 
and reducing our opinion of ourselves, naturally mo- 
derate our pretensions towards others. We become 
less disposed to exact that respect for our persons, 
and that deference for our authority, which we na- 
turally covet ; we less sensibly feel a slight, and less 
hotly resent it ; we grow less irritable, less prone to 
be dissatisfied ; more soft, and meek, and courteous, 
and placable, and condescending. We are not lite- 
rally required to practice the same humiliating sub- 
missions to which our blessed Savior himself was 
not ashamed to stoop;* but the spirit of the remark 
applies to us, " the servant is not greater than his 
Lord :" and we should especially bear this truth in 
mind, when the occasion calls upon us to discharge 
some duty, or patiently to suffer some ill treatment, 

* John, 13 : 13-17. " If I then, your Lord and Master, have 
washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet/' 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 261 

whereby our pride will be wounded, and we are 
likely to be in some degree degraded from the rank 
we had possessed in the world's estimation. At the 
same time the sacred Scriptures assuring us, that to 
the powerful operations of the Holy Spirit, purchased 
for us by the death of Christ, we must be indebted 
for the success of all our endeavors after improve- 
ment in virtue ; the conviction of this truth tends to> 
render us diffident of our own powers, and to sup- 
press the first risings of vanity. Thus, while we are 
conducted to heights of virtue no otherwise attaina 
ble, due care is taken to prevent our becoming giddy 
from our elevation.* It is the Scripture characteris- 
tic of the Gospel system, that by it all disposition to 
exalt ourselves is excluded; and if we really grow 
in grace, we shall grow also in humility. 

LOOKING UNTO JESUS ! 

" He endured the cross, despising the shame." 
While we steadily contemplate this solemn scene, 
that sober frame of spirit is produced within us 
which best befits the Christian militant here on earth. 
We become impressed with a sense of the shortness 
and uncertainty of time, and that it behoves us to be di- 
ligent in making provision for eternity. In such a 
temper of mind, the pomps and vanities of life are cast 
behind us as the baubles of children. We lose our re- 

* See Pascal's Thoughts on Religion: a book abounding 

in the deepest views of practical Christianity. 



262 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

lish for the frolics of gayety, the race of ambition, or 
the grosser gratifications of voluptuousness. In the 
case even of those objects which may more justly 
claim the attention of reasonable and immortal be- 
ings ; in our family arrangements, in our plans of life, 
in our schemes of business, we become, without re- 
linquishing the path of duty, more moderate in pur- 
suit, and more indifferent about the issue. Here also 
we learn to correct the world's false estimate of 
things, and to ** look through the shallowness of 
earthly grandeur;"* to venerate what is truly ex- 
cellent and noble, though under a despised and de- 
graded form ; and to cultivate w r ithin ourselves that 
true magnanimity which can make us rise superior 
to the smiles or frowns of this world ; that dignified 
composure of soul which no earthly incidents can 
destroy or ruffle. Instead of repining at any of the 
little occasional inconveniences we may meet with 
in our passage through life, we are almost ashamed 
of the multiplied comforts and enjoyments of our 
condition, when we think of him, who, though " the 
Lord of glory," "had not where to lay his head." 
And if it be our lot to undergo evils of more than or- 
dinary magnitude, we are animated under them by 
reflecting that we are hereby more conformed to 
the example of our blessed Master : though we must 
ever recollect. one important difference, that the suf- 
ferings of Christ were voluntarily borne for our be- 

* Pope. 



DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 263 

nefit, and were probably far more exquisitely agoniz- 
ing than any which we are called upon to undergo. 
Besides, it must be a solid support to us amidst all 
our troubles to know that they do not happen to 
us by chance ; that they are not even merely the 
punishment of sin ; but that they are the dispensa- 
tions of a kind Providence, and sent on messages of 
mercy. " The cup that our Father hath given us, 
shall we not drink it ?" " Blessed Savior ! by the 
bitterness of thy pains we may estimate the force of 
thy love ; we are sure of thy kindness and compas- 
sion ; thou wouldst not willingly call on us to suffer j 
thou hast declared unto us, that all things shall final- 
ly Work together for good to them that love thee; 
and therefore, if thou so ordainest it, welcome disap- 
pointment and poverty, welcome sickness and pain, 
welcome even shame, and contempt, and calumny. 
If this be a rough and thorny path, it is one in which 
thou hast gone before us. Where we see thy foot- 
steps we cannot repine. Meanwhile thou wilt sup- 
port us with the consolations of thy grace ; and even 
here thou canst more than compensate to us for any 
temporal sufferings, by the possession of that peace 
which the world can neither give nor take away." 

LOOKING UNTO JESUS ! 

"The Author and Finisher of our faith, who for 
the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, 



264 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

despising the shame, and is set down at the right 
hand of God." From the scene of our Savior's weak- 
ness and degradation we follow him, in idea, into the 
realms of glory, where " he is on the right hand of 
God; angels, and principalities, and powers being 
made subject unto him." But though changed in 
place, yeA not in nature, he is still full of sympathy 
and love ; and having died " to save his people from 
their sins," "he ever liveth to make intercession for 
them." Cheered by this animating view, the Chris- 
tian's fainting spirits revive. Under the heaviest bur- 
dens he feels his strength recruited : and when all 
around him is dark and stormy, he can lift up an 
eye to heaven, radiant with hope, and glistening with 
gratitude. At such a season no dangers can alarm, 
no opposition can move, no provocations can irritate. 
He may almost adopt, as the language of his sober 
exultation, what in the philosopher was but idle rant : 
and, considering that it is only the garment of nu»> 
tality which is subject to the rents of fortune, while 
his spirit, cheered with the Divine support, keeps 
its place within, secure and unassailable, he can 
sometimes almost triumph at the stake. But it is 
rarely that the Christian is elevated with this "joy 
unspeakable and full of glory :" he even lends him- 
self to these views with moderation and reserve. Of- 
ten, alas ! emotions of another kind fill him with grief 
and confusion ; and conscious of having acted unwor- 
thy of his high calling, perhaps of having exposed 






DOCTRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 265 

himself to the just censure of a world ready enough to 
spy out his infirmities, he seems to' himself almost "to 
have crucified the Son of God afresh, and put him to 
an open shame." But neither his joys intoxicate, nor 
his sorrows too much depress him. Let him still re- 
member that his chief business while on earth is not 
to meditate, but to act ; that the seeds of moral cor- 
ruption are apt to spring up within him, and that it 
is requisite for him to watch over his own heart with 
incessant care; that he is to discharge with fidelity 
the duties of his particular station, and to conduct 
himself, according to his measure, after the example 
of his blessed Master, whose meat and drink it was 
to do the work of his heavenly Father ; that he is di- 
ligently to cultivate the talents with which God has 
intrusted him, and assiduously to employ them in 
doing justice and showing mercy, while he guards 
against the assaults of an internal enemy. In short, 
he is to demean himself, in all the common affairs 
of life, like an accountable creature, who, in corres- 
pondence with the Scripture character of Christians, 
is "waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." 
Often therefore he questions himself, " Am I employ- 
ing my time, my fortune, my bodily and mental pow- 
ers, so as to be able to * render up my account with 
joy, and not with grief?' Am I ' adorning the doctrine 
of God my Savior in all things ;' and proving that 
the servants of Christ, animated by a principle of 
filial affection, which renders their work a service 



266 NEGLECT OF THE PECULIAR 

of perfect freedom, are capable of as active an J as 
persevering exertions as the votaries of fame, or the 
slaves of ambition, or the drudges of avarice'?" 

Thus, without interruption to his labors, he mav 
interpose occasional thoughts of things unseen ; and 
amidst the many little intervals of business, may 
calmly look upwards to the heavenly Advocate, who 
is ever pleading the cause of his people, and obtain- 
ing for them needful supplies of grace and consola- 
tion. It is these realizing views which give the 
Christian a relish for the worship and service of the 
heavenly world. And if these blessed images, "seen 
but through a glass darkly," can thus refresh the 
soul ; what must be its state, when on the morning 
of the resurrection it shall awake to the unclouded 
vision of celestial glory? when " to them that look 
for him, the Son of God shall appear a second time 
without sin unto salvation ?" when " sighing and sor- 
row being fled away," when doubts and fears no 
more disquieting, and the painful consciousness of 
remaining imperfections no longer weighing down 
the spirit, they shall enter upon the fruition of " those 
joys which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive ;" 
and shall bear their part in that blessed anthem—- 
" Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne 
and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever ?" 

Thus, never let it be forgotten, the main distinc- 
tion between real Christianity and the system of the 



POCkRINES OF CHRISTIANITY. 267 

bulk cf nominal Christians, chiefly consists in the 
different place which is assigned in the two schemes 
to the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel. These, in 
the scheme of nominal Christians, if admitted at all, 
appear bat like the stars of the firmament to the or- 
dinary eye. Those splendid luminaries draw forth 
perhaps occasionally a transient expression of admi- 
ration, when we behold their beauty, or hear their 
distances, magnitudes, or properties : now and then 
too we are led, perhaps, to muse upon their possible 
uses : but however curious as subjects of speculation, 
after all, it must be confessed they twinkle to the 
common observer with a vain and "idle" lustre ; and 
except in the dreams of the astrologer, have no in- 
fluence on human happiness, or any concern with 
the course and order of the world. But to the real 
Christian, on the contrary, these peculiar doctrines 
constitute the centre to which he gravitates ! the very 
sun of his system! the soul of the world! the ori- 
gin of ail that is excellent and lovely ! the source of 
light, and life, and motion, and genial warmth, and 
plastic energy ! Dim is the light of reason, and cold 
and comfortless our state, while left to her unassisted 
guidance. Even the Old Testament itself, though a 
revelation from heaven, shines but with feeble and 
scanty rays. But the blessed truths of the Gospel 
are now unveiled to our eyes, and we are called upon 
to behold, and to enjoy "the light of the knowledge 
of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ," m 



268 EXCELLENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 

the full, radiance of its meridian splendor. The words 
of inspiration best express our highly favored state; 
"We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the 
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, 
from glory to glory, eveif as by the Spirit of the 
Lord." 

" Thou art the source and centre of all minds, 
Their only point of rest, Eternal Word ; 
From thee departing, they are lost, and rove 
At random, without honor, hope, or peace: 
From thee is all that soothes the life of man ; 
His high endeavor, and his glad success ; 
His strength to suffer, and his will to serve. 
But O ! thou bounteous giver of all good ! 
Thou art of all thy gifts thyself the crown * 
Give what thou canst, without thee we are poor, 
And with thee rich, take What thou wilt away." 



CHAPTER V. 

ON THE EXCELLENCE OF CHRISTIANITY IN CER- 
TAIN IMPORTANT PARTICULARS.— ARGUMENT 
WHICH RESULTS THENCE IN PROOF OF ITS DI- 
VINE ORIGIN. 

Having nowcompleted a faint delineation of the 
leading features of real Christianity, Ave may point 



IN IMPORTANT PARTICULARS. 269 

out some excellences which she really possesses; 
but which, as they are not to be found in that super- 
ficial system which so unworthily usurps her name, 
appear scarcely to have attracted sufficient notice; 
but by which she will appear to exhibit more clearly, 
than as she is usually drawn, the characters of her 
divine original. 

It holds true, indeed, in the case of Christianity, 
as in that of all the works of God, that though a su- 
perficial and cursory view cannot fail to discover to 
us somewhat of their beauty; yet when, on a more 
careful and accurate scrutiny, we become better ac- 
quainted with their properties, we become also more 
deeply impressed by a conviction of their excellence. 
We may begin by referring to the last chapter for 
an instance of the truth of this assertion. Therein 
was pointed out that intimate connection, that perfect 
harmony, between the leading doctrines and the 
practical precepts of Christianity, which is apt to 
escape the attention of the ordinary eye. 

It may not be improper also to remark, though 
the position be so obvious as almost to render the 
statement of it needless, that there is the same close 
connection and perfect harmony in the leading doc- 
trines of Christianity among each other. It is self- 
evident that the corruption of human nature, that 
our reconciliation to God by the atonement of Christ, 
and that the restoration of our primitive dignity by 
the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit, are all 



\ 



270 EXCELLENCE OE CHRISTIANITY 

parts of one whole, united in close dependence and 
mutual congruity. 

Perhaps, however, it has not been sufficiently no- 
ticed, that in the chief practical precepts of Christiani- 
ty, there is the same essential agreement, the same 
mutual dependency of one upon another. Let us 
survey this fresh instance of the wisdom of that sys- 
tem which is the only solid foundation of our pre- 
sent or future happiness. 

The virtues most strongly and repeatedly enjoin- 
ed in Scripture, and by our progress in which we 
may best measure our advancement in holiness, are 
the fear and love of God and of Christ ; love, kind- 
ness, and meekness towards our fellow-creatures , 
indifference to the possessions and events of this life, 
in comparison with our concern about eternal things; 
self-denial, and humility. 

It has been already pointed out in many particu- 
lars, how essentially such of these Christian graces 
as respect the Divine Being are connected with those 
which have more directly for their objects our fel- 
iow-creatures and ourselves. But in the case of these 
two last descriptions of Christian graces, the more 
attentively we consider them with reference to the 
acknowledged principles of human nature and to 
indisputable facts, the more we shall be convinced 
that they afford mutual aid towards the acquisition 
of each other ; and that, when acquired, they all 
harmonize with each other in perfect and essential 






IN IMPORTANT PARTICULARS. 271 

union. This truth may perhaps be sufficiently ap- 
parent from what has been already remarked ; but 
it may not be useless to dwell on it a little more in 
detail. Take then the instances of loving-kindness 
and meekness towards others, and observe the solid 
foundation which is laid for them in self-denial, in 
moderation as to the good things of this life, and in 
humility. The chief causes of enmity among men, 
are pride and self-importance, the high opinion which 
men entertain of themselves, and the consequent de- 
ference which they exact from others; the over- va- 
luation of worldly possessions and of worldly honors, 
and in consequence, a too eager competition for 
them. The rough edges of one man rub against 
those of another, if the expression may be allowed; 
and the friction is often such as to injure the works, 
and disturb the just arrangements and regular mo- 
tions of the social machine. But by Christianity all 
these roughnesses are filed down ; every wheel rolls 
round smoothly in the performance of its appointed 
function, and there is nothing to retard the several 
movements, or break in upon the general order. 
The religious system indeed of the bulk of nominal 
Christians is satisfied with some appearances of vir- 
tue ; and accordingly, while it recommends love and 
beneficence, it tolerates, as has been shown, pride 
and vanity in many cases ; it even countenances and 
commends the excessive valuation of character, and 
at least allows a man's whole soul to be absorbed in 



272 EXCELLENCE OF CHRISTIANITY 

the pursuit of the object he is following, be it what 
it may, of personal or professional success. But 
though these latter qualities may, for the most part, 
consist with a soft exterior and courtly demeanor, 
they cannot accord with the genuine internal prin- 
ciple of love. Some cause of discontent, some ground 
of jealousy or of envy will arise, some suspicion will 
corrode, some disappointment will sour, some slight 
or calumny will irritate, and provoke reprisals. In the 
higher walks of life, indeed, we learn to disguise our 
emotions ; but such will be the real inward feelings 
of the soul, and they will frequently betray them- 
selves when we are off our guard, or when we ar 
not likely to be disparaged by the discovery. This 
state of the higher orders, in- which men are scuf- 
fling eagerly for the same objects, and wearing all 
the while such an appearance of sweetness and com- 
placency, has often appeared to me to be not ill il- 
lustrated by a gaming-table. There, every man is 
intent only on his own profit ; the good success of 
one is the ill success of another, and therefore the 
general state of mind of the parties engaged may be 
pretty well conjectured. All this, however, does not 
prevent, in well-bred societies, an exterior of perfect 
gentleness and good humor. But let the same em- 
ployment be carried on among those who are not so 
well schooled in the art of disguising their feelings ; 
or in places where, by general connivance, people 
are allowed to give vent to their real emotions ; and 



IN IMPORTANT PARTICULARS. 273 

every passion will display itself, by which the "hu- 
man face divine" can be distorted and deformed 
The horrid name,* by which it is familiarly known 
among its frequenters, sufficiently attests the fidelity 
of its resemblance. 

But Christianity requires the substantial reality, 
which may stand the scrutinizing eye of that Being 
n who searches the heart. 5 ' Meaning therefore that 
the Christian should live and breathe in an atmos- 
phere of benevolence, she forbids whatever can tend 
to obstruct its diffusion or vitiate its purity. It is on 
this principle that emulation is forbidden: for, be- 
sides that this passion almost insensibly degenerates 
into envy, and that it derives its origin chiefly from 
pride and a desire of self-exaltation; how can we 
easily love our neighbor as ourselves if we consider 
him at the same time as our rival, and are intent upon 
surpassing him in the pursuit of whatever is the sub- 
ject of our competition T 

Christianity, again, teaches us not to set our 
hearts on earthly possessions and earthly honors , 
and thereby provides for our really loving, or even 
cordially forgiving those who have been more suc- 
cessful than ourselves in the attainment of them, or 
who have even designedly thwarted us in the pur- 
suit. " Let the rich," says the apostle, " rejoice in 
that he is brought low." How can he who means 

* The Hell, so called, be it observed, not by way of re- 
proach, but familiarity, by those who frequent it. 

Pr. View. 1 8 



274 EXCELLENCE OF CHRISTIANITY 

to attempt, in any degree, to obey this precept, be ir- 
reconcilably hostile towards any one who may have 
been instrumental in his depression 1 

Christianity also teaches us not to prize human 
estimation at a very high rate ; and thereby provides 
for the practice of her injunction, to love from the 
heart those who, justly or unjustly, may have at- 
tacked our reputation and wounded our character. 
She commands not the show, but the reality of meek- 
ness and gentleness ; and by thus taking away the 
aliment of anger and the fomenters of discord, she 
provides for the maintenance of peace, and the resto- 
ration of good temper among men, when it may 
have sustained a temporary interruption. 

It is another capital excellence of Christianity, 
that she values moral attainments at a far higher 
rate than intellectual acquisitions, and proposes to 
conduct her followers to the height of virtue rather 
than- of knowledge. On the contrary, most of the 
false religious systems which have prevailed in the 
world, have proposed to reward the labor of their 
votary by drawing aside the veil which concealed 
from the vulgar eye their hidden mysteries, and by 
introducing him to the knowledge of their deeper 
and more sacred doctrines. 

This is eminently the case in the Hindoo, and in 
the Mohammedan religion, in that of China, and, for 
the most part, in the various modifications of ancient 
paganism. In systems which proceed on this prin- 



IN IMPORTANT PARTICULARS. 275 

ciple, it is obvious that the bulk of mankind can 
never make any great proficiency. There was ac 
cordingly, among the nations of antiquity, one sys 
tern, whatever it was, for the learned, and another 
for the illiterate. Many of the philosophers spoke 
out, and professed to keep the lower orders in igno- 
rance for the general good; plainly suggesting that 
the bulk of mankind was to be considered as almost 
of an inferior species. Aristotle himself counte- 
nanced this opinion. An opposite mode of proceed- 
ing naturally belongs to Christianity, which, with- 
out distinction, professes an equal regard for all hu- 
man beings, and which was characterized by her 
first Promulgator as the messenger of " glad tidings 
to the poor." 

But her preference of moral to intellectual excel- 
lence is not to be praised, only because it is conge- 
nial with her general character, and suitable to the 
ends which she professes to have in view. It is the 
part of true wisdom to endeavor to excel, where we 
may really attain to excellence. IFhis consideration 
might be alone sufficient to direct our efforts to the 
acquisition of virtue rather than of knowledge. How 
limited is the range of the greatest human abilities ! 
how scanty the stores of the richest human know- 
ledge ! Those who undeniably have held the first 
rank, both for natural and acquired endowments, in- 
stead of thinking their pre-eminence a just ground 
of self-exaltation, have commonly been the most for- 



276 EXCELLENCE OF CHRISTIANITY 

ward to confess that their views were bounded and 
their attainments moderate. Had they indeed been 
les& candid, this is a discovery which we would not 
have failed to make for ourselves. Experience daily 
furnishes us with examples of weakness and error, 
in the wisest and the most learned of men, which 
might serve to confound the pride of human wisdom. 
Not so in morals. Made at first in the likeness of 
God, and still bearing about us some faint traces 
of our high original, we are offered by our blessed 
Redeemer the means of purification from our cor- 
ruptions, and of once more regaining the image of 
our heavenly Father. Eph. 2. In love, the com- 
pendious expression for almost every virtue; in for- 
titude under all its forms; in justice, in humility, 
and in all the other graces of the Christian charac- 
ter, we are made capable of attaining to heights of 
real elevation : and were we but faithful in the use 
of the means of grace which we enjoy, the opera- 
tions of the Holy Spirit, prompting and aiding our 
diligent endeavors, would infallibly crown our la- 
bors with success, and make us partakers of a Di- 
vine nature. Let me not be thought to undervalue 
any of the gifts of God, or of the fruits of human 
exertion ; but let not these be prized beyond their 
proper worth. If one of those little industrious in- 
sects, to which we have been well sent for a lesson 
of diligence and foresight, were to pride itself upon 
its strength, because it could carry off a larger grain 



IN IMPORTANT PARTICULARS. 277 

oi wheat than any other of its fellow-ants, should 
we not laugh at the vanity which could be highly 
gratified with such a contemptible pre-eminence 1 
And is it far different to the eye of reason, when 
man, weak, short-sighted man, is vain of surpassing 
others in knowledge, in which, at best, his progress 
must be so limited ; forgetting the true dignity of his 
nature, and the path which would conduct him to 
real excellence? 

The unparalleled value of the precepts of Chris- 
tianity ought not to be passed over altogether unno- 
ticed in this place. It is by no means, however, the 
design of this little work to attempt to trace the va- 
rious excellences of Christianity; but it may not 
have been improper to point out a few particulars 
which have fallen under our notice, and hitherto 
perhaps may scarcely have been enough regarded. 
Every such instance, it should always be remem- 
bered, is a fresh proof of Christianity being a reve- 
lation from God. 

It is still less, however, the intention of the writer 
to attempt to vindicate the Divine origin of our holy 
religion. This task has often been executed by far 
abler advocates. Anxious, however, in my little 
measure, to contribute to the support of this great 
cause, may it be permitted me to state one argument 
which impresses my mind with particular force. 
This is, the great variety of the kinds of evidence 
which have been adduced in proof of Christianity 



278 EXCELLENCE OF CHRISTIANITY 

and the confirmation thereby afforded of its truth : 
the proof from prophecy — from miracles — from the 
character of Christ— from that of his apostles — from 
the nature of the doctrines of Christianity— from the 
nature and excellence of her practical precepts — from 
the accordance we have lately pointed out between 
the doctrinal and practical system of Christianity, 
whether considered each in itseiftn* in their mutual 
relation to each other — from other species of internal 
evidence, afforded in the more abundance in propor- 
tion as the sacred records have been scrutinized with 
greater care — from the accounts of contemporary or 
nearly contemporary writers — from the impossibility 
of accounting, on any other supposition than that of 
the truth of Christianity, for its promulgation and 
early prevalence : these and other lines of argument 
have all been brought forward, and ably urged by 
different writers, in proportion as they have struck 
the minds of different observers more or less forcibly. 
Now, granting that some obscure and illiterate men, 
residing in a distant province of the Roman empire, 
had plotted to impose a forgery upon the world; 
though some foundation for the imposture might, 
and indeed must have been attempted to be laid ; it 
seems, at least to my understanding, morally impos- 
sible that so many different species of proofs, and all 
so strong, should have lent their concurrent aid, and 
have united their joint force in the establishment of 
the falsehood ,. It may assist the reader in estimating 



IN IMPORTANT PARTICULARS. 279 

the value of this argument, to consider upon how 
different a footing, in this respect, has rested every 
other religious system, without exception, which 
was ever proposed to the world ; and, indeed, every 
other historical fact, of which the truth has been at 
all contested 



CHAPTER VI. 



BRIEF INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF CHRISTIANI- 
TY IN THIS COUNTRY. ITS IMPORTANCE TO 

US AS A POLITICAL COMMUNITY, AND PRACTI- 
CAL HINTS FOR WHICH THE FOREGOING CON- 
SIDERATIONS GIVE OCCASION. 

It may not be altogether improper to remind the 
reader, that hitherto our discussion has been con- 
cerning the prevailing religious opinions merely of 
professed Christians; no longer confining ourselves 
to persons of this description, let us now extend our 
inquiry } and briefly investigate the general state of 
Christianity in this country. 

The tendency of religion to promote the temporal 
well-being of political communities, is a fact, which 



280 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE 

depends on such obvious and undeniable principles, 
and which is so forcibly inculcated by the history of 
all ages, that there can be no necessity for entering 
into a formal proof of its truth. It has indeed been 
maintained, not merely by schoolmen and divines, 
but by the most celebrated philosophers, and mora- 
lists, and politicians of every age. 

The peculiar excellence in this respect also of 
Christianity, considered independently of its truth or 
falsehood, has been recognized by many writers, 
who, to say the least, were not disposed to exagge- 
rate its merits. Either or both of these propositions 
being admitted, the state of religion in a country at 
any given period, not to mention its connection with 
the eternal happiness of the inhabitants, immediately 
becomes a question of great political importance : 
and in particular, it must be material to ascertain 
whether religion be in an advancing or in a declining 
state ; and if the latter be the case, whether there be 
any practicable means for preventing at least its far- 
ther declension. 

If the representations contained in the preceding 
chapters, of the state of Christianity among the bulk 
of professed Christians, be not very erroneous, they 
may well excite serious apprehension in the mind of 
every reader, when considered merely in a political 
view. 

When it is proposed, however, to inquire into the 
actual state of religion in any country, and in parti- 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 281 

cular to compare that state with its condition at any 
former period, there is one preliminary observation 
to be made. There exists, established by tacit consent, 
in every country, what may be called a general 
standard or tone of morals, varying in the same com- 
munity at different periods, and different at the same 
period in different ranks and situations in society. 
Whoever falls below this standard, and, not unfre- 
quently, whoever also rises above it, offending against 
this general rule, suffers proportionably in the ge- 
neral estimation. Thus a regard for character, 
which, as was formerly remarked, is commonly the 
grand governing principle among men, becomes to 
a certain degree, though no farther, an incitement to 
morality and virtue. It follows of course, that where * 
the practice does no more than come up to the re- 
quired level, it will be no sufficient evidence of the 
existence, much less will it furnish any just measure 
of the force of a real internal principle of religion. 
Christians, Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics, per- 
sons of ten thousand different sorts of passions and 
opinions, being members at the same time of the 
same community, and all conscious that they will 
be examined by this same standard, will regulate 
their conduct accordingly, and, with no great differ- 
ence, will all adjust themselves to the required mea- 
sure. 

It must also be remarked, that the causes which 
tend to raise or to depress this standard, commonly 



282 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

produce their effects by slow and almost insensible 
degrees; and that it often continues for some time 
nearly the same, when the circumstances by which it 
was fixed have materially altered. 

It is a truth which will hardly be contested, that 
Christianity, whenever it has at all prevailed, has 
raised the general standard of morals to a height be- 
fore unknown. Some actions, which among the an- 
cients were scarcely held to be blemishes in the most 
excellent characters, have been justly considered by 
the laws of every christian community as meriting 
the severest punishments. In other instances, virtues 
formerly rare have become common ; and in particu- 
lar, a merciful and courteous temper has softened the 
•rugged manners, and humanized the brutal ferocity 
prevalent among the most polished nations of the 
heathen world. But from what has been recently 
observed, it is manifest, that, so far as external ap- 
pearances are concerned, these effects, when once 
produced by Christianity, are produced alike in those 
who deny and in those who admit her Divine origi- 
nal ; I had almost said, in those who reject and those 
who cordially embrace the doctrines of the Gospel . 
and these effects might, and probably would remain 
for a whne, without any great apparent alteration, 
however her spirit might languish, or even her au- 
thority decline. The form of the temple, as was once 
beautifully remarked, may continue when the dii 
tutelar es — the tutelary deities — have left it. When 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 283 

we are inquiring therefore into the real state of Chris- 
tianity at any period, if we would not be deceived 
in this important investigation, it becomes us to be 
the more careful not to take up with superficial ap- 
pearances. 

It may perhaps help us to ascertain the advancing 
or declining state of Christianity in this nation at 
the present moment, and still more to discover some 
of the causes by which that state has been produced, 
to employ a little time in considering what might 
naturally be expected to be its actual situation ; what 
advantages or disadvantages such a religion might 
be expected to derive from the circumstances in 
which it has been placed among us, and from those 
in which it. still continues. 

Experience warrants, and reason justifies and ex- 
plains the assertion, that persecution generally tends 
to quicken the vigor and extend the prevalence of 
the opinions which she would eradicate. For the 
peace of mankind, it has grown at length almost into 
an axiom, that " her devilish engine recoils back upon 
herself." Christianity especially has always thriven 
under persecution. At such a season she has no luke- 
warm professors ; no adherents concerning whom it 
is doubtful to what party they belong. The Chris- 
tian is then reminded at every turn, that his Mas- 
ter's kingdom is not of this world. When all on 
earth wears a black and threatening aspect, he looks 
up to heaven for consolation ; he learns practically 



284 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

to- consider himself as a pilgrim and a stranger. He 
then cleaves to fundamentals, and examines well his 
foundation, as at the hour of death. When religion 
is in a state of external quiet and prosperity, the con- 
trary of air this naturally takes place. The soldiers 
of the church militant then forget that the}?- are in a 
state of warfare. Their ardor slackens; their zeal 
languishes. Like a colony long settled in a strange 
country, they are gradually assimilated in features, 
and demeanor, and language, to the native inhabi- 
tants, till at" length almost every vestige of peculiari- 
ty dies away. 

If, in general, persecution and prosperity be pro- 
ductive respectively of these opposite effects, this cir- 
cumstance alone might teach us what expectations 
to form concerning the state of Christianity in a 
country where her institutions have long been amply 
endowed, and the community long been enjoying 
great commercial prosperity. Let it also be sup- 
posed that they have been making no unequal pro- 
gress in all those arts, and sciences, and literary pro- 
ductions, which have ever been the growth of a 
polished age, and are the sure marks of a highly 
finished condition of society. It is not difficult to 
anticipate the effects likely to be produced on vital 
religion, both in the clergy and the laity, by such a 
state of external prosperity. And these effects must 
be infallibly furthered where the country in question 
enjoys a free constitution of government. We for- 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 28£ 

merly had occasion to quote the remark of an accu- 
rate observer of the stage of human life, that a much 
looser system of morals commonly prevails in the 
higher, than in the middling and lower orders of so- 
ciety. Now, in every country, of which the middling 
classes are daily growing in wealth and consequence 
by the success of their commercial speculations; and-, 
most of all, in a country having such a constitution 
as our own, where the acquisition of riches is the 
possession also of rank and power ; with the com- 
forts and refinements, the vices also of the higher 
orders are continually descending, and a mischiev- 
ous uniformity of sentiments, and manners, and mo- 
rals, gradually diffuses itself throughout the whole 
community. The multiplication of great cities also, 
and above all, the habit, ever increasing with the 
increasing wealth of the country, of frequenting a 
splendid and luxurious metropolis, would power- 
fully tend to accelerate the discontinuance of the re- 
ligious habits of a purer age, and to accomplish the 
substitution of a more relaxed morality. And it must 
even be confessed, that the commercial spirit, much 
as we are indebted to it, is not naturally favorable to 
the maintenance of the religious principle in a vigo- 
rous and lively state. 

In times like these, therefore, the strict precepts 
and self-denying habits of Christianity naturally 
slide into disuse ; and, even among the better sort of 
Christians, are likely to be softened, so far at least 



286 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

as to be rendered less abhorrent from the general 
disposition to relaxation and indulgence. In such 
prosperous circumstances, men, in truth, are apt to 
think very little about religion. Christianity, there- 
fore, seldom occupying the attention of the bulk of 
nominal Christians, and being scarcely at all the ob- 
ject of their study, we should expect, of course, to 
find them extremely unacquainted with its tenets. 
Those doctrines and principles, indeed, which it con- 
tains in common with the law of the land, or which 
are sanctioned by the general standard of morals 
formerly described, being brought into continual no- 
tice and mention by the common occurrences of life, 
might continue to be recognized. But whatever she 
contains peculiar to herself, and which should not be 
habitually brought'into recollection by the incidents 
of every day, might be expected to be less and less 
thought of, till at length it should be almost wholly 
forgotten. Still more might this be naturally expect- 
ed to become the case, if the peculiarities in question 
should be, from their very nature, at war with pride, 
and luxury, and worldly-mindedness, the too general 
concomitants of rapidly increasing wealth : and this 
would particularly happen among the laity, if the 
circumstances of their having been at any time abus« 
ed to purposes of hypocrisy or fanaticism, should 
have prompted even some of the better disposed of 
the clergy, perhaps from well intentioned though 
erroneous motives, to bring them forward less fre- 
quently in their discourses on religion. 



+ 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 287 

When so many should thus have been straying 
out of the right, path, some bold reformer might, 
from time to time, be likely to arise, who should not 
unjustly charge them with their deviation : but, 
though right perhaps in the main, yet deviating 
himself also in an opposite direction, and creating 
disgust by his violence, or vulgarity, or absurdities, 
he might fail, except in a few instances, to produce 
the effect of recalling them from their wanderings. 

Still, however, the Divine original of Christianity 
would not be professedly disavowed ; partly from a 
real, and more commonly from a political deference 
for the established faith ; but most of all, from the 
bulk of mankind being not yet prepared, as it were, 
to throw away the scabbard, and to venture their 
eternal happiness on the issue of its falsehood. Somo 
bolder spirits, indeed, might be expected to despiso 
the cautious moderation of these timid reasoners, 
and to pronounce decisively, that the Bible was q 
forgery : while the generality, professing to believe 
it genuine, should, less consistently, be satisfied with 
remaining ignorant of its contents; and when press* 
ed, should discover themselves by no means to be* 
lieve many of the most important particulars con« 
tained in it. 

When, by the operation of causes like these, any 
country has at length grown into the condition which 
has been here stated, it is but too obvious, that, in 
ihe bulk of the community, religion, already sunk 



288 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

very low, must be hastening fast to her entire dissa 
lution. Causes, energetic and active like these 
though accidental hinderances may occasionally 
thwart their operation, will not at once become slug- 
gish and unproductive. Their effect is sure ; and 
the time is fast approaching, when Christianity will 
be almost as openly disavowed in the language, as 
in fact it is already supposed to have disappeared 
from the conduct of men ; when infidelity will be 
held to be the necessary appendage of a man of fa- 
shion, and to believe will be deemed the indication 
of a feeble mind and a contracted understanding. 

Something like what have been here premised are 
the conjectures which we should naturally be led to 
form concerning the state of Christianity in this 
country, and its probable issue, from considering her 
own nature, and the peculiar circumstances in which 
she has been placed. That her real condition differs 
not much from the result of this reasoning from pro- 
bability, must, with whatever regret, be confessed by 
all. who take a careful and impartial survey of the 
actual situation of things among us. But our hypo- 
thetical delineation, if just, will have approved itself 
to the reader's conviction as we have gone along; 
and we may therefore be spared the painful and in- 
vidious task of pointing out in detail the several 
particulars wherein our statements are justified by 
facts. Every where we may actually trace the ef- 
fects of increasing wealth and luxury, in banishing, 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 289 

one by one the habits, and new-modeling the phra- 
seology of stricter times ; and in diffusing through- 
out the middle ranks those relaxed morals and dissi- 
pated manners which were formerly confined to the 
higher classes of society. We meet, indeed, with 
more refinement, and more generally with those 
amiable courtesies which are its proper fruits : those 
vices also have become less frequent which natural- 
ly infest the darkness of a ruder and less polished 
age, and which recede on the approach of light and 
civilization : but with these grossnesses, religion, on 
the other hand, has also declined ; God is forgotten ; 
his providence is exploded ; his hand is lifted up, but 
we see it not ; he multiplies our comforts, but we are 
not grateful ; he visits us with chastisements, but we 
are not contrite. The portion of the week set apart 
to the service of religion we give up, without re- 
luctance, to vanity and dissipation. 

But when there is not this open and shameless 
disavowal of religion, few traces of it are to be found. 
Improving in almost every other branch of know- 
ledge, we have become less and less acquainted with 
Christianity. The preceding chapters have pointed 
out, among those who believe themselves to be or- 
thodox Christians, a deplorable ignorance of the re- 
ligion they profess, an utter forgetful ness of the pe- 
culiar doctrines by which it is characterized, a dis- 
position to regard it as a mere system of ethics, and, 
what might seem an inconsistency, at the same time 

Pr.View 19 



290 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

a most inadequate idea of the nature and strictness 
of its practical principles. This declension of Chris- 
tianity into a mere system of ethics, may partly be 
accounted for, as has been lately suggested, by con- 
sidering the corruption of our nature, what Chris 
tianity is, and in what circumstances she has been 
placed in this country. But it has also been consi- 
derably promoted by one peculiar cause, on which, 
for many reasons, it may not be improper to dwell a 
little more particularly. 

Christianity in its best days (for the credit of our 
representations let this be remembered by those who 
object to our statement as austere and contracted) 
was such as it has been delineated in the present 
work. This was the religion of the most eminent 
reformers, of those bright ornaments of our country 
who suffered martyrdom under queen Mary ; of 
their successors in the times of Elizabeth ; in short, 
of all the pillars of our Protestant church ; of many 
of its highest dignitaries ; of Davenant, of Jewell, of 
Hall, of Reynolds, of Beveridge, of Hooker, of An- 
drews, of Smith, of Leighton, of Usher, of Hopkins, 
of Baxter, and of many others of scarcely inferior 
note. In their pages the peculiar doctrines of Chris- 
tianity were every where visible, and on the deep 
and solid basis of these doctrinal truths were laid 
the foundations of a superstructure of morals propor- 
tionably broad and exalted. Of this fact their writings 
still extant, are a decisive proof; and those who may 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 291 

want leisure, or opportunity, or inclination, for the 
perusal of these valuable records, may satisfy them- 
selves of the truth of the assertion, that, such as we 
have stated it, was the Christianity of those times, 
by consulting our articles and homilies, or even by 
carefully examining our excellent liturgy. But from 
that tendency to deterioration lately noticed, these 
great fundamental truths began to be somewhat less 
prominent in the compositions of many of the lead- 
ing divines before the time of the civil wars. Dur- 
ing that period, however, the peculiar doctrines oi 
Christianity were grievously abused by many who 
were foremost in the commotions of those unhappy 
days ; who, while they talked copiously of the free 
grace of Christ, and the operations of the Holy 
Spirit, were by their lives an open scandal to the 
name of Christian. 

Towards the close of the eighteenth century the 
divines of the established church began to run into 
a different error. They professed to make it their 
chief object to inculcate the moral and practical pre- 
cepts of Christianity; but without sufficiently main- 
taining, often even without justly laying the grand 
foundation of a sinner's acceptance with God, or 
pointing out how the practical precepts of Christian- 
ity grow out of her peculiar doctrines, and are in- 
separably connected with them.* By this fatal er- 

* See chap. iv. sect. vi. where this most important truth *s 
expressly and fully treated. 



292 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

ror the very genius and essential nature of Chris- 
tianity imperceptibly underwent a change. She no 
longer retained her peculiar character, or produced 
that appropriate frame of spirit by which her follow- 
ers had been characterized. The example thus set 
was followed during the present century, and its ef- 
fect was aided by various causes already pointed out. 
In addition to these, it may be proper to mention as 
a cause of powerful operation, that for the last fifty 
years the press has teemed with moral essays, many 
of them published periodically, and most extensively 
circulated ; which, being considered either as works 
of mere entertainment, or in which at least enter- 
tainment was to be blended with instruction, rather 
than as religious pieces, were kept clear from what- 
ever might give them the air of sermons, or cause 
them to wear an appearance of seriousness incon- 
sistent with the idea of relaxation. But in this way 
the fatal habit of considering christian morals as dis- 
distinct from christian doctrines, insensibly gained 
strength. Thus the peculiar doctrines of Christianity 
went more and more out of sight ; and, as might na- 
turally have been expected, the moral system itself 
also began to wither and decay, being robbed of that 
which should have supplied it with life and nutri- 
ment. At length, in our own days, these peculiar 
doctrines have almost altogether vanished from the 
view. Even in many sermons scarcely any traces 
of them are to be found. 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 29S 

But the degree of neglect into which they are re- 
ally fallen may perhaps be rendered still more mani- 
fest by appealing to another criterion. There is a 
certain class of publications, of which it is the object 
to give us exact delineations of life and manners ; 
and when these are written by authors of accurate 
observation and deep knowledge of human nature, 
and many such there have been in our times, they 
furnish a more faithful picture than can be obtained 
in any other way, of the prevalent opinions and feel- 
ings of mankind. It must be obvious that novels 
are here alluded to. A careful perusal of the most 
celebrated of these pieces would furnish a strong con- 
firmation of the apprehension, suggested from other 
considerations, concerning the very low state of reli- 
gion in this country ; but they would still more strik- 
ingly illustrate the truth of the remark, that the grand 
peculiarities of Christianity are almost vanished from 
the view. In a sermon, although throughout the 
whole of it there may have been no traces of these 
peculiarities, either directly or indirectly, the preach- 
er closes with an ordinary form, which, if one were 
to assert that the}'- were absolutely omitted, would 
immediately be alledged in contradiction of the as- 
sertion, and may just serve to protect them from fall- 
ing into entire oblivion. But in novels, the writer is 
not so tied down. In these, people of religion, and 
clergymen too, are placed in all possible situations, 
and the sentiments and language deemed suitable to 



294 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

the occasion are assigned to them. They are intro- 
duced instructing, reproving, counseling, comfort- 
ing. It is often the author's intention to represent 
them in a favorable point of view, and accordingly 
he makes them as well-informed and as good Chris- 
tians as he knows how. They are painted amiable, 
benevolent, and forgiving ; but it is not too much to 
say, that if all the peculiarities of Christianity had 
never existed, or had been proved to be false, the cir- 
cumstance would scarcely create the necessity of al- 
tering a single syllable in any of the most celebrated 
of these performances. It is striking to observe the 
difference which there is in this respect in similar 
works of Mohammedan authors, wherein the charac- 
ters, which they mean to represent in a favorable 
light, are drawn far more observant of the peculiari- 
ties of their religion. , 

If this be the state of things even in the case of 
sermons, and of the compositions of those whose 
sphere of information must be supposed larger than 
that of the bulk of mankind ; it must excite less 
wonder, that in the world in general, though Chris- 
tianity be not formally denied, people know little 
about it ; and that in fact you find, when you como 
to converse with them, that, admitting in terms the 
Divine revelation of Scripture, they are far from be- 
lieving the propositions it contains. 

It has also been a melancholy prognostic of the 
state to which we are progressive, that many of the 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 295 

most eminent literary characters of modern times 
have been professed unbelievers ; and that others 
have discovered such lukewarmness in the cause of 
Christ, as to treat with especial good will, attention, 
and respect, those who, by their avowed publica- 
tions, were openly assailing, or insidiously under- 
mining the very foundations of the Christian hope; 
considering themselves as more closely united to 
them by literature, than severed from them by the 
widest religious differences.* Can it then occasion 
surprise, that, under all these circumstances, one of 
the most acute and most forward of the professed 
unbelievers! should appear to anticipate, as at no 
great distance, the more complete triumph of his 

* It is with pain that the author finds himself compelled 
to place so great a writer as Dr. Robertson in this class. But, 
to say nothing- of his phlegmatic account of the Reformation, 
(a subject which we should have thought likely to excite in 
any one, who united the character of a Christian divine with 
that of an historian, some warmth of pious gratitude for the 
good providence of God,) to pass over also other points, his 
letters to Mr. Gibbon cannot but excite emotions of regret in 
every sincere Christian. The author must be understood 
decidedly to condemn a hot, a contentious, much more an 
abusive manner of opposing or of speaking of the assailants 
of Christianity. The apostle's direction in this respect can- 
not be too much attended to. " The servant of the Lord 
must not strive ; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, pa- 
tient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves ; 
if God peradventure will give them repentance to the ac- 
knowledging of the truth." 2 Tim. 2:24, 25. 
t Hume. 



296 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

sceptical principles ; and that another author of dis- 
tinguished name,* not so openly professing those 
infidel opinions, should declare of the writer above 
alluded to, whose great abilities had been systemati- 
cally prostituted to the open attack of every principle 
of religion, both natural and revealed, " that he 
had always considered him, both in his life-time and 
since his death, as approaching as nearly to the idea 
of a perfectly wise and virtuous man, as perhaps the 
nature of human frailty will permit?"! 

Can there then be a doubt whither tends the path 
in which we are traveling, and whither at length it 
must conduct us ? If any should hesitate, let them 
take a lesson from experience. In a neighboring 
country, several of the same causes have been in ac- 
tion; and they have at length produced their full ef- 
fect : manners corrupted, morals depraved, dissipa- 
tion predominant, above all, religion discredited, and 
infidelity grown into repute and fashion, J terminated 
in the public disavowal of every religious principle 
which had been used to attract the veneration of 

* Dr. A Smith. 

t See, however, Bishop Home's letter to Dr. A. Smith re- 
specting Hume, "under the signature of " One of the people 
called Christians." 

t What is here stated must be acknowledged by all, be 
their political opinions concerning French events what they 
may ; and it makes no difference in the writer's view of the 
subject, whether the state of morals was or was not quite, 
or nearly as bad, before the French revolution. 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 297 

mankind — the representatives of a whole nation 
publicly witnessing, not only without horror, but, to 
say the least, without disapprobation, an open un- 
qualified denial of the very existence of God, and at 
length, as a body, withdrawing their allegiance from 
the Majesty of Heaven ! 

There are not a few, perhaps, who may have wit- 
nessed with apprehension, and may be ready to con- 
fess with pain, the gradual declension, but who at 
the time may conceive that the writer of this tract is 
disposed to carry things too far. They may even a] - 
ledge, that the degree of religion for which he con- 
tends is inconsistent with the ordinary business of 
life, and with the well-being of society ; that if it 
were generally to prevail, people would be wholly 
engrossed by religion, and all their time occupied 
by prayer and preaching. Agriculture and com- 
merce would decline, the arts would languish, the 
very duties of common life would be neglected ; and, 
in short, the whole machine of civil society would 
be obstructed, and speedily stopped. 

In reply to this objection it might be urged, that 
though we should allow it for a moment to be in a 
considerable degree well founded, yet this admission 
would not warrant the conclusion intended to be 
drawn from it. The question would still remain, 
whether our representation of what Christianity re- 
quires be agreeable to the word of God? for if it 
be, surely it must be confessed to be a matter of small 



298 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

account to sacrifice a little worldly comfort and 
prosperity, during the short span of our existence in 
this life, in order to secure a crown of eternal glory, 
and the enjoyment of those pleasures which are at 
God's right hand for evermore ! It might be added 
also, that our blessed Savior had fairly declared, that 
it would often be required of Christians to make 
such a sacrifice ; and had forewarned us, that, in or- 
der to be able to do it with cheerfulness whenever 
the occasion should arrive, we must habitually sit 
loose to all worldly possessions and enjoyments. 
And it might further be remarked, that though it 
were even admitted, that the general prevalence of 
vital Christianity should somewhat interfere with 
the views of national wealth and aggrandizement, 
yet that there is too much reason to believe that this 
general prevalence, to speak justly, could not be 
hoped for. But indeed the objection on which we 
have now been commenting, is not only groundless, 
but the very contrary to it is the truth. If Chris- 
tianity, such as we have represented it, were gene- 
rally to prevail, the world, from being such as it is, 
would become a scene of general peace and pros- 
perity ; and abating the chances and calamities 
" which flesh is inseparably heir to," would wear 
one unwearied face of complacency and joy. 

On the first promulgation of Christianity, it is true, 
some of her early converts seem to have been in 
danger of so far mistaking the principles of the new 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 299 

religion, as to imagine that in future they were to 
be discharged from an active attendance on their se- 
cular affairs. But the apostle most pointedly guarded 
them against so gross an error, and expressly and 
repeatedly enjoined them to perform the particular 
duties of their several stations with increased alacrity 
and fidelity, that they might thereby do credit to 
their Christian profession. This he did, at the same 
time that he prescribed to them that predominant 
love of God and of Christ, that heavenly-mindedness, 
that comparative indifference to the things of this 
world, that earnest endeavor after growth in grace 
and perfection in holiness, which have already been 
stated as the essential characteristics of real Christiani- 
ty. It cannot therefore be supposed by any who allow 
to the apostle even the claim of a consistent instructor, 
much less by any who admit his Divine authority, 
that these latter precepts are incompatible with the 
former. Let it be remembered, that the grand cha- 
racteristic mark of the true Christian which has been 
insisted on, is his desiring to please God in all his 
thoughts, and words, and actions ; to take the re- 
vealed word to be the rule of his belief and practice ; 
to " let his light shine before men ;" and in all things 
to adorn the doctrine which he professes. No calling 
is proscribed, no pursuit is forbidden, no science or 
art, no pleasure is disallowed, which is reconcilable 
with this principle. Christianity indeed will not favor 
that vehement and inordinate ardor in the pursuit of 



300 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

temporal objects, which tends to the acquisition of 
immense wealth, or of widely spread renown : nor is 
it calculated to gratify the extravagant views of those 
mistaken politicians, the chief object of whose admi- 
ration, and the main scope of whose endeavors for 
their country, are extended dominion, and command- 
ing power, and unrivaled affluence, rather than the 
more solid advantages of peace, and comfort, and se- 
curity. These men would barter comfort for great- 
ness. In their vain reveries they forget that a nation 
consists of individuals, and that true national pros- 
perity is no other than the multiplication of particu- 
lar happiness. 

But in fact, so far is it from being true that the 
prevalence of real religion would produce a stagna- 
tion in life ; that a man, whatever might be his em- , 
ployment or pursuit, would be furnished with a new 
motive to prosecute it with alacrity, a motive far more 
constant and vigorous than any human prospects can 
supply: at the same time, his solicitude being not so 
much to succeed in whatever he might be engaged 
in, as to act from a pure principle, and leave the 
event to God, he would not be liable to the same 
disappointments as men who are active and labori- 
ous from a desire of worldly gain or of human esti- 
mation. Thus he would possess the true secret of 
a life at the same time useful and happy. Following 
peace also with all men, and looking upon them as 
members of the same family, entitled not only to the 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 301 

debts of justice, but to the less definite and more libe- 
ral claims of fraternal kindness, he would naturally 
be respected and beloved by others, and be in him- 
self free from the annoyance of those bad passions 
by which those who are actuated by worldly princi- 
ples are so commonly corroded. If any country 
were indeed filled with men, each thus diligently 
discharging the duties of his own station without 
breaking in upon the rights of others, but on the con- 
trary endeavoring, so far as he might be able, to 
forward their views and promote their happiness, all 
would be active and harmonious in the goodly frame 
of human society. There would be no jarrings, no 
discord. The whole machine of civil life would 
work without obstruction or disorder. 

Such would be the happy state of a truly Chris- 
tian nation within itself. Nor would its condition 
with regard to foreign countries form a contrast to 
this its internal comfort. Such a community, on 
the contrary, peaceable at home, would be respected 
and beloved abroad. General integrity in all its deal- 
ings would inspire universal confidence : differences . 
between nations commonly arises from mutual inju- 
ries, and still more from mutual jealousy and dis- 
trust. Of the former there would be no longer any 
ground for complaint; the latter would find nothing 
to attach upon. But if, in spite of all its justice and 
forbearance, the violence of some neighboring state 
nhould force it to resist an unprovoked attack, hosti- 



302 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

lilies strictly defensive are those only in which it 
would be engaged, its domestic union would double 
its national force, while the consciousness of a good 
cause, and of the general favor of God, would invi- 
gorate its arm and inspirit its efforts. 

It is indeed the position of an author whose love 
of paradox has not seldom led him into error, that 
true Christianity is an enemy to patriotism. If by 
patriotism be meant that mischievous and domineer- 
ing quality which renders men ardent to promote, 
not the happiness, but the aggrandizement of their 
own country, by the oppression and conquest of every 
other ; to such patriotism, so generally applauded in 
the heathen world, that religion must be indeed an 
enemy, whose foundation is justice, and whose com- 
pendious character is ''peace, and good-will toward 
men." But if by patriotism be understood that quali- 
ty which, without shutting up our philanthropy with- 
in the narrow bounds of a single kingdom, yet at- 
taches us in particular to the country to which we 
belong; of this true patriotism, Christianity is the 
most copious source, , and the surest preservative. 
The contrary opinion can indeed only have arisen 
from not considering the fullness and universality of 
our Savior's precepts. Not like the puny produc- 
tions of human workmanship, which, at the best, can 
commonly serve but the particular purpose that they 
are specially designed to answer, the moral as well 
as the physical principles of the great Author of all 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 303 

things are capable of being applied at once to ten 
thousand different uses ; thus, amidst infinite compli- 
cation, preserving a grand simplicity, and therein 
bearing the unambiguous stamp of their divine ori- 
ginal. Thus, to specify one out. of the numberless 
instances which might be adduced — the principle of 
gravitation, while it is subservient to all the mecha- 
nical purposes of common life, keeps at the same 
time the stars in their courses, and sustains the har- 
mony of worlds. 

Thus also in the case before us ; society consists 
of a number of different circles of various magnitudes 
and uses ; and that circumstance, wherein the prin- 
ciple of patriotism chiefly consists, whereby the duty 
of patriotism is best practiced, and the happiest ef- 
fects to the general weal produced, is, that it should 
be the desire and aim of every individual to fill well 
his own proper circle, as a part and member of the 
whole, with a view to the production of general hap- 
piness. This our Savior enjoined when he prescrib- 
ed the duty of universal love, which is but another 
term for the most exalted patriotism. Benevolence, in- 
deed, when not originating from religion, dispenses 
but from a scanty and precarious fund ; and there- 
fore if it be liberal in the case of some objects, it is 
generally found to be contracted towards others. 
Men who, acting from worldly principles, make the 
greatest stir about general philanthrophy or zealous 
patriotism, are often very deficient in their conduct 



304 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

in domestic life; and very neglectful of the opportu- 
nities, fully within their reach, of promoting the com- 
fort of those with whom they are immediately con- 
nected. But true Christian benevolence js always 
occupied in producing happiness to the utmost of its 
power, and according to the extent of its sphere, be 
it larger or more limited ; it contracts itself to the 
measure of the smallest ; it can expand itself to the 
amplitude of the largest. It resembles majestic 
rivers, which are poured from an unfailing and abun- 
dant source. Silent and peaceful in their outset, they 
begin with dispensing beauty and comfort to every 
cottage by which they pass. In their further pro- 
gress they fertilize provinces and enrich kingdoms. 
At length they pour themselves into the ocean, 
where, changing their names, but not their nature, 
they visit distant nations and other hemispheres, and 
spread throughout the world the expansive tide of 
their beneficence. 

It must be confessed that many of the good effects 
of which religion is productive to political societies, 
would be produced even by a false religion, which 
should prescribe good morals, and should be able 
to enforce its precepts by sufficient sanctions. Of 
this nature are those effects which depend on our 
calling in the aid of a Being who sees the heart, in 
order to assist the weakness and in various ways to 
supply the inherent defects of all human jurispru- 
dence. But the superior excellence of Christianity in 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 305 

this respect must be acknowledged, both in the su- 
periority of her moral code, ami in the powerful mo- 
tives and efficacious means which she furnishes for 
enabling us to practice it, and in the tendency of 
her doctrines to provide for the observance of her 
precepts, by producing tempers of mind which cor- 
respond with them. 

But, more than all this, it has not perhaps been 
enough remarked, that true Christianity, from her 
essential nature, appears peculiarly and powerfully 
adapted to promote the preservation and healthful- 
ness of political communities. What is in truth their 
grand malady? The answer is short, selfishness. 
This is that young disease received at the moment 
of their birth, " which grows with their growth, and 
strengthens with their strength;" and through which 
they at length expire, if not cut off prematurely by 
some external shock or intestine convulsion. 

The disease of selfishness, indeed, assumes differ- 
ent forms in the different classes of society. In the 
great and the wealthy it displays itself in luxury, in 
pomp and parade, and in all the frivolities of a sick- 
ly and depraved imagination, which seeks in vain 
its own gratification, and is dead to the generous and 
energetic pursuits of an enlarged heart. In the lower 
orders, when not motionless under the weight of a 
superincumbent despotism, it manifests itself in pride, 
and its natural offspring, insubordination in all its 
modes. But though the external effects may vary, 

Pr.View. v 20 



306 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

the internal principle is the same ; a disposition in 
each individual to make self the grand centre and 
end of his desires and enjoyments ; to overrate his 
own merits and importance, and of course to magni- 
fy his claims on others, and in return to underrate 
theirs on him ; a disposition to undervalue the advan- 
tages, and overstate the disadvantages of his con- 
dition in life. Thence spring rapacity, and venality, 
and sensuality. Thence imperious nobles and fac- 
tious leaders, and an unruly commonalty, bearing 
with difficulty the inconveniences of a lower station, 
and imputing to the nature or administration of their 
government the evils which necessarily flow from 
the very constitution of our species, or which per- 
haps are chiefly the result of their own vices and 
follies. The opposite to selfishness is public spirit; 
which may be termed, not unjustly, the grand prin- 
ciple of political vitality, the very life's-breath of 
states, which tends to keep them active and vigo- 
rous, and to carry them to greatness and glory. 

The tendency of public spirit, and the opposite 
tendency of selfishness, have not escaped the obser- 
vation of the founders of states, or of the writers on 
government ; and various expedients have been re- 
sorted to and extolled for cherishing the one, and foi 
repressing the other. Sometimes a principle of inter 
nal agitation and dissension, resulting from the very 
frame of the government, has been productive of the 
effect. Sparta flourished for more than seven hundred 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 307 

years under the civil institutions of Lycurgus ; which 
guarded against the selfish principle, by prohibiting 
commerce, and imposing universal poverty and hard- 
ship. The Roman commonwealth, in which public 
spirit was cherished, and selfishness checked, by the 
principle of the love of glory, was also of long con- 
tinuance. This passion naturally operates to pro- 
duce an unbounded spirit of conquest, which, like 
the ambition of the greatest of its own heroes, was 
never satiated while any other kingdom was left it 
to subdue. The principle of political vitality, when 
kept alive only by means like these, merits the de- 
scription once given of eloquence: "Sieut flamma, 
materia alitur, et motibus excitatur, et urendo clares- 
cit." But, like eloquence, when no longer called 
into action by external causes, or fomented by civil 
broils, it gradually languishes. Wealth and luxu- 
ry produce stagnation, and stagnation terminates in 
death. 

To provide, however, for the continuance of a 
state, by the admission of internal dissensions, or 
even by the chilling influence of poverty, seems to 
be in some sort sacrificing the end to the means. 
Happiness is the end for which men unite in civil 
society ; but in societies thus constituted, little happi- 
ness, comparatively speaking, is to be found. The 
expedient, again, of preserving a state by the spirit 
of conquest, though even this has not wanted its ad- 
mirers, is not to be tolerated for a moment, when 



3U8 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

considered on principles of universal justice. Such 
a state lives, and grows, and thrives by the misery 
of otherSj and becomes professedly the general ene- 
my of its neighbors, and the scourge of the human 
race. All these devices are in truth but too niuch 
like the fabrications of man, when compared with 
the works of the Supreme Being ; clumsy, yet weak 
in the execution of their purpose, and full of contra- 
dictory principles and jarring movements. 

I might here enlarge with pleasure on the unri- 
valled excellence, in this very view, of the constitu- 
tion under which we live in this happy country ; 
and point out how, more perhaps than any which 
ever existed upon earth, it is so framed as to provide 
at the same time for keeping up a due degree of 
public spirit, and yet for preserving unimpaired thf. 
quietness, and comfort, and charities of private life; 
how it even extracts from selfishness itself many of 
the advantages which, under less happily constructed 
forms of government, public spirit only can supply. 
But such a political discussion would here be out of 
place. It is rather our business to remark, how 
much Christianity in every way sets herself in direct 
hostility to selfishness, the mortal distemper of poli- 
tical communities ; and consequently how their wel- 
fare must be inseparable from her prevalence. It 
might indeed be almost stated as the main object and 
chief concern of Christianity, to root out our natural 
selfishness, and to rectify the false standard which it 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 309 

imposes on us ; with views, however, far higher than 
any which concern merely our temporal and social 
well-being ; to bring us to a just estimate of ourselves, 
and of all around us, and to a due impression of the 
various claims and obligations resulting from the 
different relations in which we stand. Benevolence, 
enlarged, vigorous, operative benevolence, is her 
master principle. Moderation in temporal pursuits 
and enjoyments, comparative indifference to the issue 
of worldly projects, diligence in the discharge of per- 
sonal and civil duties, resignation to the will of God, 
and patience under all the dispensations of his pro- 
vidence, are among her daily lessons. Humility is 
one of the essential qualities which her precepts 
most directly and strongly enjoin, and which all her 
various doctrines tend to call forth and cultivate ; and 
humility, as has been before suggested,, lays the 
deepest and surest grounds for benevolence. In 
whatever class or order of society Christianity pre- 
vails, she sets herself to rectify the particular faults, 
or, if we would speak more distinctly, to counteract 
the particular mode of selfishness to which that class 
is liable. Affluence she teaches to be liberal and be- 
neficent; authority to bear its faculties with meek* 
ness, and to consider the various cares and obliga- 
tions belonging to its elevated station as being con- 
ditions on which that station is conferred. Thus, 
softening the glare of wealth and moderating the 
insolence of power, she renders the inequalities of 



310 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

the social state less galling to those in the humbler 
walks of life, whom also she instructs, in their turn 
to be diligent, humble, patient : reminding them that, 
their more lowly path has been allotted to them by 
.the hand of God ; that it is their part faithfully to 
discharge its duties, and contentedly to bear its in- 
conveniences ; that the present state of things is very 
short ; that the objects about which worldly men 
conflict so eagerly, are not worth the contest ; that 
the peace of mind which religion offers to all ranks 
indiscriminately, affords more true satisfaction than 
all the expensive pleasures which are beyond the 
poor man's reach. Also, that in this view the poor 
have the advantage, and that if their superiors enjoy 
more abundant comforts, they are likewise exposed 
to many temptations from which the inferior classes 
are happily exempted ; that " having food and rai- 
ment, they should be therewith content," for that 
their situation in life, with all its evils, is better than 
they have deserved at the hand of God ; finally, that 
all human distinctions will soon be done away, and 
the true followers of Christ will all, as children of 
the same Father, be alike admitted to the possession 
of the same heavenly inheritance. Such are the 
blessed effects of Christianity on the temporal well- 
being of political communities. 

The Christianity which can produce effects like 
these must be real, not nominal ; deep, not superficial. 
Such then is the religion we should cultivate, if we 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 311 

would realize these pleasing speculations, and arrest 
the progress of political decay. But in the present 
circumstances of. this country, it is a farther reason 
for endeavoring to cultivate this vital Christianity, 
still considering its effects merely in a political view, 
that, according to all human appearance, we must 
either have this or none: unless the prevalence of 
this be in some degree restored, we are likely not 
only to lose all the advantages which we might 
have derived from true Christianity, but to incur all 
the manifold evils which would result from the ab- 
sence of all religion. 

In the first place, let it be remarked that a weakly 
principle of religion, (and even such a one, in a 
political view, is productive of many advantages,) 
though its existence may be prolonged if all external 
circumstances favor its continuance, can hardly be 
kept alive when the state of things is so unfavorable 
to vital religion as it is in our condition of society. 
Nor is it merely the ordinary effects of a state of 
wealth and prosperity to which we here allude. 
Much also may justly be apprehended from that 
change which has taken place in our general habits 
of thinking and feeling concerning the systems and 
opinions of former times. "At a less advanced period 
of society, indeed, the religion of the state will be 
generally accepted, though it be not felt in its vitdl 
power. It was the religion of our forefathers : with 
the bulk it is on that account entitled to rove- 



312 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

rence, and its authority is admitted without question. 
The establishment in which it subsists pleads the 
same prescription, and obtains the same respect. 
But in our days things are very differently cir- 
cumstanced. Not merely the blind prejudice in fa- 
vor of former times, but even the proper respect for 
them, and the reasonable presumption in their favor, 
has abated. Still less will the idea be endured of 
any system being kept up, when the imposture is 
seen through by the higher orders, for the sake of 
retaining the common people in subjection. A sys- 
tem, if not supported by a real persuasion of its 
truth, will fall to the ground. Thus it not unfre- 
quently happens that, in a more advanced state of 
society, a religious establishment must be indebted 
for its support to that very religion which in earlier 
times it fostered and protected, as the weakness of 
some aged mother is sustained, and her existence 
lengthened, by the tender assiduities of the child 
whom she had reared in the helplessness of infancy. 
So in the present instance, unless there be reinfused 
into the mass of our society something of that prin- 
ciple which animated our ecclesiastical system in its 
earlier days, it is vain for us to hope that the es- 
tablishment will very long continue ; for the anomaly 
will not much longer be borne, of an establishment, 
the actual principles of the bulk of whose members, 
and even teachers, are so extremely different from 
those which it professes. 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 313 

If when the reign of prejudice and even of honest 
prepossession and of grateful veneration is no more, 
(for by these almost any system may generally be 
supported, before a state, having passed the period 
of its maturity, is verging to its decline,) if there 
are any who think that a dry, unanimated religion, 
like that which is now professed by nominal Chris- 
tians, can hold its place, much more, that it can be re- 
vived among the general mass of mankind, it may be 
affirmed, that, arguing merely on human principles, 
they know little of human nature. The kind of reli- 
gion which we have recommended, whatever opinion 
may be entertained concerning its truth, and to say 
nothing of the agency of Divine grace, must at least 
be conceded to be the only one at all suited to make 
impression upon the mass of the community, by 
strongly interesting the passions of the human mind. 
If it be thought that a system of ethics may regulate 
the conduct of the higher classes, such a one is al- 
together unsuitable to the lower, who must be work- 
ed upon by their affections, or they will not be work- 
ed upon at all. The ancients were wiser than our- 
selves, and never thought of governing the communi- 
ty in general by their lessons of philosophy. These 
lessons were confined to the schools of the learned ; 
while for the million, a system of religion, such as 
it was, was kept up as alone adapted to their gross- 
er natures. If this reasoning fail to convince, we 
may safely appeal to experience. Let the Socinian 



314 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

and the moral teacher of Christianity come forth, 
and tell us what effects they have produced on the 
lower orders. They themselves will hardly deny the 
inefflcacy of their instructions. But, blessed be God, 
the religion which we recommend has proved its 
correspondence with the character originally given 
of Christianity, that it was calculated for the poor ; 
by changing the whole condition of the mass of so- 
ciety in many of the most populous districts in this 
and other countries, and by bringing them from 
being scenes of almost unexampled wickedness and 
barbarism, to be eminent for sobriety, decency, in- 
dustry, and, in short, for whatever can render men 
useful members of civil society. 

If indeed, through the blessing -of Providence, a 
principle of true religion should in any considera- 
ble degree gain ground, there is no estimating the 
effects on public morals, and the consequent influ- 
ence on our political welfare. These effects are not 
merely negative : though it would be much, merely 
Co check the farther progress of a gangrene which 
is eatino- out the very vital principles of our social 
and political existence. The general standard of mo- 
rality formerly described, would be raised : it would 
at least be sustained and kept for a while from fur- 
her depression. The esteem which religious cha- 
racters would personally attract, would extend to the 
system which they should hold, and to the church of 
which they should be members. These are all mere- 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 315 

ly natural consequences. But to those who believe 
in a superintending Providence, it may be added, 
that the blessing of God might be drawn down upon 
our country, and the strokes of his anger be for a 
while suspended. 

Let it not be vainly imagined, that our state of 
civilization must prevent moral degeneracy. A 
neighboring nation has lately furnished a lamenta- 
ble proof, that superior polish and refinement may 
well consist with a very large measure of depravity 
But to appeal to a still more decisive instance ; it 
maybe seen in the history of the latter years of the 
most celebrated of the pagan nations, that the high 
est degrees of civilization and refinement are by no 
means inseparable from the most shocking depravity 
of morals. The fact is certain, and the obvious in- 
ference with regard to ourselves cannot be denied. 
The cause of this strange phenomenon (such it 
really appears to our view, for which the natural 
corruption of man might hardly seem to account suf- 
ficiently) has been explained by an inspired writer. 
Speaking of the most polished nations of antiquity, 
he observes : " Because when they knew God, they 
glorified him not as God, and were not solicitous* to 
retain him in their knowledge, he gave them over 
to a reprobate mind." Let us then beware, and take 
warning from their example : let us not suffer our 

* Such seems to be the just rendering of the word which 
our Testament translates, " did not like to retain God in their 
knowledge." 



316 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

self-love to beguile us : let us not vainly persuade 
ourselves, that although prosperity and wealth may 
have caused us to relax a little too much in those 
more serious duties which regard our Maker, yet 
that we shall stop where we are, or at least that we 
can never sink into the same state of moral deprava- 
tion. Doubtless we should sink as low if God were 
to give us up also to our own imaginations. And 
what ground have we to think he will not? If we 
would reason justly, w r e should not compare our- 
selves with the state of the heathen world when at 
its worst, but with its state at that period, when, for 
its forgetfulness of God, and its ingratitude towards 
him, it was suffered to fall, till at length it reached 
that worst, its ultimate point of depression. The 
heathen had only reason and natural conscience to 
direct them : w r e enjoy, superadded to these, the 
clear light of gospel revelation, and a distinct de- 
claration of God's dealings with them, to be a lesson 
for our instruction. How then can we but believe 
that if we, enjoying advantages so much superior to 
theirs, are alike forgetful of our kind Benefactor, we 
also shall be left to ourselves ? and if so left, what 
reason can be assigned why we should not fall into 
the same enormities ? 

What then is to be done ? The inquiry is of the 
first importance, and the general answer to it is not 
difficult. The causes and nature of the decay of re- 
ligion and morals among us sufficiently indicate tbc» 






CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 317 

course which, on principles of sound policy, it is 
in the highest degree expedient for us to pursue. 
The distemper of which, as a community we are 
sick, should be considered rather as a moral than 
a political malady. How much has this been 
forgotten by the disputants of modern times ! and 
accordingly, how transient may be expected to be 
the good effects of the best of their publications ! 
We should endeavor to tread back our steps. Every 
effort should be used to raise the depressed tone of 
public morals. This is a duty particularly incum- 
bent on all who are in the higher walks of life. 

Every person of rank, and fortune, and abilities, 
should endeavor to exhibit a good example, and to 
recommend it to the imitation of the circle in which 
he moves. It has been the opinion of some well- 
meaning people, that by giving, as far as they pos- 
sibly could with innocence, into the customs and 
practices of irreligious men, they might soften the 
prejudices frequently taken up against religion, of 
its being an austere, gloomy service ; and thus secure 
a previous favorable impression against any time 
when they might have an opportunity of explaining 
or enforcing their sentiments. This is always a 
questionable, and, it is to be feared, a dangerous po- 
licy. Many mischievous consequences necessarily 
resulting from it might easily be enumerated. But 
it is a policy particularly unsuitable to our inconsi- 
derate and dissipated times, and to the lengths at 



6lS INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

which we are* arrived. In these circumstances, the 
most likely means of producing the revulsion which 
is required, must be boldly to proclaim the distinc- 
tion between the adherents of " God and Baal." The 
expediency of this conduct in our present situation 
is confirmed by another consideration. It is this — 
that when men are aware that something of difficulty 
is to be effected, their spirits rise to the level of the 
encounter ; they make up their minds to bear hard- 
ships and brave dangers, and to persevere in spite of 
fatigue and opposition : whereas in a matter which 
is regarded as of easy and ordinary operation, they 
are apt to slumber over their work, and to fail, in 
what a small effort might have been sufficient to ac- 
complish, for want of having called up the requisite 
degree of energy and spirit. Conformably to the 
principle hereby suggested, in the circumstances in 
which we are placed, the line of demarcation be- 
tween the friends and the enemies of religion should 
now be made clear; the separation would be broad 
and obvious. Let him, then, who wishes well to his 
country, no longer hesitate what course of conduct to 
pursue. The question now is not, in what liberties 
he might warrantably indulge himself in another 
situation ? but what are the restraints on himself 
which the exigencies of the present times render it 
advisable for him to impose? Circumstanced as we 
now are, it is more than ever obvious that the best 
man is the truest patriot. 



CHRISTIANITY IN THIS COUNTRY. 319 

Nor is it only by their personal conduct, though 
this mode will always be the most efficacious, that 
men of authority and influence may promote the 
cause of good morals. Let them in their several sta- 
tions encourage virtue and discountenance vice in 
others. Let them enforce the laws by which the wis- 
dom of our forefathers has guarded against the gross- 
er infractions of morals. Let them favor and take 
part in any plans which may be formed for the ad- 
vancement of morality. Above all things, let them 
endeavor to instruct and improve the rising genera- 
tion. But fruitless will be all attempts to sustain, 
much more to revive, the fainting cause of morals, 
unless you can restore the prevalence of evangelical 
Christianity. It is in morals as in physic, unless the 
source of practical principles be elevated, it will be 
in vain to attempt to make them flow on a high level 
in their future course. You may force them for a 
while into some constrained position, but they will 
soon drop to their natural point of depression. By 
all, therefore, who are studious of their country's 
welfare, every effort should be used to revive the 
Christianity of our better days. The attempt should 
especially be made in the case of the pastors of the 
church, whose situation must render the principles 
which they hold a matter of supereminent impor- 
tance. Wherever these teachers have steadily and 
zealously inculcated the true doctrines of the church 
of England, the happiest effects have commonly re- 



320 INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF 

warded their labors. The duty of encouraging vital 
religion in the church particularly devolves on all 
who have the disposal of ecclesiastical preferment, 
and more especially on the dignitaries of the sacred 
order. Some of these have already sounded the 
alarm, justly censuring the practice of suffering 
Christianity to degenerate into a mere system oi 
ethics, and recommending more attention to the pecu- 
liar doctrines of our religion. In our schools, in 
our universities, let the study be encouraged of the 
writings of those venerable divines who flourished 
hi the purer times of Christianity. Let even a con- 
siderable proficiency in their writings be required of 
candidates for ordination. Let our churches no long- 
er witness that unseemly discordance which has 
prevailed between the prayers and the sermon which 
follows. 

To all who have at heart the national welfare, the 
above suggestions are solemnly submitted. They 
have not been urged without misgivings lest it should 
appear, as though the concern of eternity were melt- 
ed down into a mere matter of temporal advantage 
or political expediency. But since it has graciously 
pleased the Supreme Being so to arrange the con- 
stitution of things as to render the prevalence of true 
religion and of pure morality conducive to the well- 
being of states and the preservation of civil order, 
and since these subordinate inducements are not un- 
frequently held forth, even by the sacred writers, it 



CHRISTIANITY IS THIS COUNTRY 321 

seemed proper to suggest inferior motives to readers 
who might be Jess disposed to listen to considerations 
of a higher order. 

Would to God that the course of conduct here 
suggested might be fairly pursued ! Would to God 
that the happy consequences which would result 
from the principles we have recommended could be 
realized; and, above all, that the influence of true 
religion could be extensively diffused! It is the best 
wish which can be formed for his country, by one 
who is deeply anxious for its welfare : 

Lucem redde tuam, dux bone, patriae 
Instar veris enim vultus ubi tuus 
Affulsit populo, gratior it dies, 
Et soles melius nitent. 



CHAPTER VIL 



PRACTICAL HINTS TO VARIOUS DESCRIPTIONS OF 
PERSONS. 

Thus have we endeavored to trace the chief de- 
fects of the religious system of the bulk of professed 
Christians in this country. We have pointed out 

Pr.View. *1 



322 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

their low idea of the importance of Christianity in 
general, their inadequate conceptions of all its leading 
doctrines, and the effect hereby naturally produced 
in relaxing the strictness of its practical system ; 
more than all, we have remarked their grand funda- 
mental misconception of its genius and essential na-j 
ture. Let not therefore the difference between them 
and true believers be considered as a minute differ- 
ence, as a question of forms or opinions. The ques- 
tion is of the very substance of religion ; the differ- 
ence is of the most serious and momentous amount. 
We must speak out. Their Christianity is not Chris- ! 
tianity. It wants the radical principle. It is mainly 
defective in all the grand constituents. Let them no 
longer then be deceived by names in a matter of in- 
finite importance ; but with humble prayer to the 
Source of all wisdom, that he would enlighten their 
understandings and clear their hearts from prejudice, 
let them seriously examine by the Scripture stand- 
ard their real belief and allowed practice, and they 
will become sensible of the shallowness of their scanty 
system. 

If through the blessing of Providence on any thing 
here written, there should be any whom it has dis- 
posed to this important duty of self-inquiry, let me 
previously warn them to be well aware of our natu- 
ral proneness to think too favorably of ourselves. 
Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the cor- 
ruption of human nature : and it is obvious that s^l- 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 323 

fishness disposes us to overrate our good qualities, 
and to overlook or extenuate our defects. The cor- 
ruption of human nature therefore being admitted, it 
follows undeniably, that in all our reckonings, if we 
would form a just estimate of our character, we must 
make allowance for the effects of selfishness. It is also 
another effect of the corruption of human nature, to 
cloud our moral sight and blunt our moral sensibility. 
Something must therefore be allowed for this effect 
likewise. Doubtless, the perfect purity of the Supreme 
Being makes him see in us stains far more in num- 
ber and deeper in dye than we ourselves can discover, 
Nor should another awful consideration be forgotten. 
When we look into ourselves, those sins only into 
which we have lately fallen are commonly apt to 
excite any lively impression. Many individual acts 
of vice, or a continued course of vicious or dissipated 
conduct, which, when recent, may have smitten us 
with deep remorse, after a few months or years leave 
very faint traces in our recollection. But the strong 
impressions which they at first excited, not the faded 
images which they subsequently present to us, fur- 
nish the true measure of their guilt ; and to the pure 
eyes of God this guilt must always have appeared 
far greater than to us. Now to the Supreme Being 
there is no past or future ; as whatever will be, so 
whatever has been, is retained by him in present and 
unvarying contemplation, continuing always to ap- 
pear just the same as at the first moment of its hap- 



324 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

pening. Well may it then humble us in the sight of 
that Being " who is of purer eyes than to behold 
iniquity," to call to mind that unless our offences 
have been blotted out by our obtaining an interest in 
the satisfaction of Christ, through true repentance 
and lively faith, we appear before him clothed with 
the sins of our whole lives, in all their original depth 
of coloring, and with all the aggravations which we 
no longer particularly remember, but which, in gen- 
eral, we perhaps may recollect to have once filled 
us with shame and confusion of face. The writer is 
the rather desirous of enforcing this reflection, be- 
cause he can truly declare that he has found no 
consideration so efficacious in producing in his own 
mind the deepest self-abasement. 

In treating of the sources of the erroneous estimates 
which we form of our religious and moral character, 
it may not, perhaps, be without its uses to take this 
occasion of pointing out some other common springs 
of self-deception. Many persons, as was formerly 
hinted, are misled by the favorable opinions enter- 
tained of them by others ; many, it is to be feared, 
mistake a hot zeal for orthodoxy, for a cordial ac- 
ceptance of the great truths of the Gospel; and al- 
most all of us, at one time or other, are more or less 
misled by confounding the suggestions of the under- 
standing with the impulses of the will, the assent 
which our judgment gives to religious and mora! 
truths with a hearty belief and approbation of them. 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 325 

There is another frequent source of self-deception, 
productive of so much mischief in life that it would 
be highly improper to omit the mention of it in this 
place. That we may be the better understood, it may 
be proper to premise that certain particular vices, 
and likewise that certain particular good and amia- 
ble qualities, seem naturally to belong to certain par- 
ticular periods and conditions of life. Now, if we 
would reason fairly in estimating our moral charac- 
ter, we ought to examine ourselves with reference 
to that particular " sin which does most easily beset 
us," not to some other sin to which we are not so 
much liable. And in like manner, on the other hand, 
we ought not to account it matter of self-complacen- 
cy if we find in ourselves that good and amiable 
quality which naturally belongs to our period or 
condition ; but rather look for some less ambiguous 
sign of a real internal principle of virtue. But we 
are very apt to reverse these i ules of judging : we 
are very apt, on the one hand, both in ourselves and 
in others, to excuse " the besetting sin," taking and 
giving credit for being exempt from others, to which 
we or they are less liable ; and on the other hand, to 
value ourselves extremely on our possession of the 
good or amiable quality which naturally belongs to 
us, and to require no more satisfactory evidence of 
the sufficiency at least of our moral character. The 
bad effects of this partiality are aggravated by the 
practice, to which we are sadly prone, of being con- 



326 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

rented, when we take a hasty view of ourselves, with 
negative evidences of our state ; thinking- it very well 
if we are not shocked by some great actual trans- 
gression, instead of looking for the positive signs of 
a true Christian, as laid down in the holy Scripture, 

But the source of self-deception, which it is more 
particularly our present object to point out, is a dis- 
position to consider as a conquest of any particular 
vice, our merely forsaking it on our quitting the pe- 
riod or condition of life to which that vice belongs, 
when perhaps also we substitute for it the vice of 
the new period or condition on which we are enter- 
ing. We thus mistake merely outgrowing our vices, 
or relinquishing them from some change in our 
w r orldly circumstances, for a thorough, or at least for 
a sufficient reformation. 

But this topic deserves to be viewed a little more 
closely. Young people may, without much offence, 
be inconsiderate and dissipated ; the youth of one sex 
may indulge occasionally in licentious excesses; those 
of the other may be supremely given up to vanity 
and pleasure : yet, provided that they are sweet tem- 
pered, and open, and not disobedient to their parents 
or other superiors, the former are deemed good 
hearted young men, the latter, innocent young wo- 
men. Those who love them best have no solicitude 
about their spiritual interests : and it would be deem- 
ed strangely strict in themselves, or in others, to 
doubt of their becoming more religious as they ad- 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 327 

vance in life ; to speak of them as being actually un- 
der the Divine displeasure ; or, if their lives should 
be in danger, to entertain any apprehensions con- 
cerning their future destiny. 

They grow older, and marry. The same licen- 
tiousness which was formerly considered in young 
men as a venial frailty, is now no longer regarded 
in the husband and the father as compatible with the 
character of a decently religious man. The language 
is of this sort ; " they have sown their wild oats, they 
must now reform, and be regular." Nor perhaps is 
the same manifest predominance of vanity and dissi- 
pation deemed innocent in the matron : but if they 
are kind respectively in their conjugal and parental 
relations, and are tolerably regular and decent, they 
pass for mighty good sort of people ; and it would be 
altogether unnecessary scrupulosity in them to doubt 
of their coming up to the requisitions of the Divine 
law, as far as in the present, state of the world can be 
expected from human frailty. Their hearts, how- 
ever, are no more than before supremely set on the 
great work of their salvation, but are chiefly bent on 
increasing their fortunes or raising their families. 
Meanwhile they congratulate themselves on having 
amended from vices they are no longer strongly 
tempted to commit, or abstaining from which ought 
not to be assumed as a test of the strength of the re- 
ligious principle, since the commission of them 
would prejudice their characters, and perhaps injure 
their fortune in life. 



328 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

Old age has at length made its advances. Now, 
if ever, we might expect that it would be deemed 
high time to make eternal things the main object 
of attention. No such thing! There is still, an ap- 
propriate good quality, the presence of which calms 
the disquietude and satisfies the requisitions both of 
themselves and of those around them. It is now re 
quired of them that they should be good natured and 
cheerful, indulgent to the frailties and follies of the 
young ; remembering that when young themselves 
they gave in to the same practices. How opposite 
this to that dread of sin which is the sure characte- 
ristic of the true Christian ! which causes him to look 
back upon the vices of his own youthful days with 
shame and sorrow, and which, instead of conceding 
to young people to be wild *.nd thoughtless, as a pri- 
vilege belonging to their age and circumstances, 
prompts him to w T arn them against what has proved 
to himself matter of such bitter retrospection ! Thus, 
throughout the whole of life some means or other 
are devised for stifling the voice of conscience. " We 
cry peace, while there is no peace ;" and both to our- 
selves and others that complacency is furnished 
which ought only to proceed from a consciousness 
'of being reconciled to God, and a humble hope of 
our possessing his favor. 

These sentiments will be termed uncharitable, 
out we must not be deterred by such an imputation. 
It is time to have done with that senseless cant of 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 329 

charity, which insults the understandings and trifles 
with the feelings of those who are really concerned 
for the happiness of their fellow-creatures. What 
matter of keen remorse and of bitter self-reproaches 
are they storing up for their future torment, who are 
themselves its miserable dupes ; or who, being charg- 
ed with the office of watching over the eternal inte- 
rests of their children or relations, suffer themselves 
to be lulled asleep, or beguiled by such shallow rea- 
sonings into sparing themselves the momentary pain 
of executing their important duty! Charity, indeed, 
is partial to the object of her regard ; and where ac- 
tions are of a doubtful quality, this partiality disposes 
her to refer them to a good, rather than to a bad mo- 
tive. She is apt also somewhat to exaggerate merits, 
and to see amiable qualities in a light more favora- 
ble than that which strictly belongs to them. But 
true charity is wakeful, fervent, full of solicitude, 
full of good offices, not so easily satisfied, not so 
ready to believe that every thing is going on well 
as a matter of course : but jealous of mischief, apt to 
suspect danger, and prompt to extend relief. These 
are the symptoms by which genuine regard will 
manifest itself in a wife or a mother, in the case of 
the bodily health of the object of her affections. And 
where there is any real concern for the spiritual in- 
terests of others, it is characterized by the same in- 
fallible marks. That wretched quality, by which the 
sacred name of charity is now so generally and so 



330 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

falsely usurped, is no other than indifference ; which, 
against the plainest evidence, or at least where there 
is strong ground of apprehension, is easily contented 
to believe that all goes well, because it has no anxie- 
ties to allay, no fears to repress. It undergoes no al- 
ternation of passions ; it is not at one time flushed 
with hope, nor at another chilled by disappointment. 
To a considerate and feeling mind there is some- 
thing deeply afflicting in seeing the engaging cheer- 
fulness and cloudless gayety incident to youth wel- 
comed as a sufficient indication of internal purity by 
the delighted parents ; who, knowing the deceitful- 
ness of these flattering appearances, should eagerly 
avail themselves of this period, when once wasted 
never to be regained, of good humored acquiescence 
and dutiful docility : a period when the soft and duc- 
tile temper of the mind renders it more easily sus- 
ceptible of the impressions we desire; and when, 
therefore, habits should be formed which may assist 
our natural weakness to resist the temptations to 
which we shall be exposed in the commerce of ma- 
turer life. This is more especially affecting in the 
female sex, because that sex seems to be more favora- 
bly disposed than ours to the feelings and offices of 
religion ; being thus fitted by the bounty of Provi- 
dence, the better to execute the important task which 
devolves on it, of the education of our earliest youth. 
Doubtless, this more favorable disposition to religion 
in the female sex, was graciously designed also to 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 331 

make women doubly valuable in the wedded state: 
and it seems to afford to the married man the means 
of rendering an active share in the business of life 
more compatible than it would otherwise be with 
the liveliest devotional feelings ; that when the hus- 
band should return to his family, worn and harassed 
by worldly cares or professional labors, the wife, ha- 
bitually preserving a warmer and more unimpaired 
spirit of devotion than is perhaps consistent with 
being immersed in the bustle of life, might revive his 
languid piety, and that the religious impressions of 
both might derive new force and tenderness from the 
animating sympathies of conjugal affection. Can a 
more pleasing image be presented to a considerate 
mind, than that of a couple, happy in each other and 
in the pledges of their mutual love, uniting in an act 
of grateful adoration to the Author of all their mer- 
cies: recommending each other, and the objects of 
their common care, to the Divine protection ; and 
repressing the solicitude of conjugal and parental 
tenderness by a confiding hope, that through all the 
changes of this uncertain life, the Disposer of all 
things will assuredly cause all to work together for 
the good of- them that love and put their trust in him ; 
and that after this uncertain state shall have passed 
away, they shall be admitted to a joint participation 
of never-ending happiness. It is surely no mean or 
ignoble office which we would allot to the female 
sex, when we would thus commit to them the charge 



332 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

of maintaining in lively exercise whatever emotio&j 
most dignify and adorn human nature; when we 
would make them as it were the medium of our in- 
tercourse with the heavenly world, the faithful repo- 
sitories of the religious principle for the benefit both 
of the present and of the rising generation. Must it 
not then excite our grief and indignation, when we 
behold mothers forgetful at once of their own pecu- 
liar duties, and of the high office which Providence 
designed their daughters to fulfill ; exciting instead 
of endeavoring to moderate in them the natural san- 
guineness and inconsiderateness of youth ; hurrying 
them night after night to the resorts of dissipation: 
thus teaching them to despise the common comforts 
of the family circle; and, instead of striving to raise 
their views, and to direct their affections to their true 
object, acting as if with the express design studiously 
to extinguish every spark of a devotional spirit, and 
to kindle in its stead an excessive love of pleasure, 
and perhaps a principle of extravagant vanity and 
ardent emulation ! 

Innocent young women ! Good hearted young 
men ! Wherein does this goodness of heart and this 
innocence appear? Remember that we are fallen 
creatures, born in sin, and naturally depraved. 
Christianity recognizes no innocence or goodness of 
heart but in the remission of sin, and in the effects 
of the operation of divine grace. Do3ve find in these 
young persons the characters which the holy Scrip 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 333 

tures lay down as the only satisfactory evidences o* 
a safe state ? Do we not, on the other hand, discover 
the specified marks of a state of alienation from 
God ? Can the blindest partiality persuade itself that 
they are loving, or striving "to love God with all 
(heir hearts, and minds, and souls, and strength ¥' 
Are they " seeking first the kingdom of God, and 
his righteousness ?" Are they " working out their 
salvation with fear and trembling ?" Are they 
" clothed with humility ?" Are they not, on the con- 
trary, supremely given up to self-indulgence ? Are 
they not at least " lovers of pleasure more than lovers 
of God V J Are the offices of religion their solace or 
their task ? Do they not come to these sacred, ser- 
vices with reluctance, continue in them by constraint, 
and quit them with gladness? And of how many of 
these persons may it not be affirmed in the spirit of 
the prophet's language : " The harp and the viol, the 
tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts ; but 
they regard not the work of the Lord, neither con- 
sider the operation of his hands ?" Are not the youth 
of one sex often actually committing, and still more 
often wishing for the opportunity to commit those 
sins of which the Scripture says expressly, " that 
they which do such things shall not inherit the 
kingdom of God?" Are not the youth of the other 
mainly intent on the gratification of vanity ; and 
looking for their chief happiness to the resorts of 
gayety and fashion, to all the multiplied pleasures 



334 PRACTICAL HINTS T0» 

which public places, or the still higher gratifications 
of more refined circles can supply ? 

And then, when the first ebullitions of youthful 
warmth are over, what is their boasted reformation? 
They may be decent, sober, useful, respectable, as 
members of the community, or amiable in the rela- 
tions of domestic life. But is this the change of 
which the Scripture speaks ? Hear the expressions 
which it uses, and judge for yourselves — "Except a \ 
man be born again, he cannot enter into the king-i 
dom of God." " The old man — is corrupt according 
to the deceitful lusts;" an expression but too de- 
scriptive of the vain delirium of youthful dissipation, 
and of the false dreams of pleasure which it in- 
spires ; but " the new man" is awakened from this 
fallacious estimate of happiness; "he is renewed in 
knowledge after the image of Him that created him" 
— " He is created after God in righteousness and 
true holiness." The persons of whom we are speak- 
ing are no longer, indeed, so thoughtless, and wild, 
and dissipated as formerly ; so negligent in their at- 
tention to objects of real value ; so eager in the pur- 
suit of pleasure ; so prone to yield to the impulse of 
appetite. But this is no more than the change of 
which a writer of no very strict cast speaks, as na- 
turally belonging to their riper age: 

Conversis studiis, setas, animusque virilis 
Gtuaerit opes, et amicitias: inservit honori: 
Commisisse cavet, quod mox mutare laboret. Hor 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 335 

This is a point of infinite importance: let it not 
be thought tedious to spend even yet a few more 
moments in the discussion of it. Put the question to 
another issue, and try it by appealing to the princi- 
ple of life being a state of probation ; a proposition, 
indeed, true, in a certain sense, though not exactly 
in that which is sometimes assigned to it ; and you 
will still be led to no very different conclusion. Pro- 
bation implies resisting, in obedience to the dictates of j 
religion, appetites which we are naturally prompted to 
gratify. Young people are not tempted to be churlish, 
interested, covetous ; but to be inconsiderate and dissi- 
pated, " lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." 
People in middle age are not so strongly tempted to be 
thoughtless, and idle, and licentious. From excesses of 
this sort they are sufficiently withheld, particularly 
when happily settled in domestic life, by a regard to 
their characters, by the restraints of family connec- 
tions, and by a sense of what is due to the decencies of 
the married state. Their probation is of another 
sort; they are tempted to be supremely engrossed 
by worldly cares, by family interests, by professional 
objects, by the pursuit of wealth or of ambition . Thus 
occupied, they are tempted to " mind earthly rather 
than heavenly things," forgetting " the one thing 
needful ;" to " set their affections " on temporal ra- 
ther than eternal concerns, and to take up with " a 
form of godliness," instead of seeking to experience 
the oower thereof: the foundations of this nominal 



336 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

religion being laid, as was formerly explained more 
at large, in the for get fulness, if not in the ignorance 
of the peculiar doctrines of Christianity. These are 
the ready-made Christians formerly spoken of, who 
consider Christianity as a geographical term, proper- 
ly applicable to all those who have been born and 
educated in a country wherein ^Christianity is pro- 
fessed; not as indicating a renewed nature, as ex- 
pressive of a peculiar character, with its appropriate 
desires and aversions, and hopes, and fears, and joys, 
and sorrows. To people of this description, the so- 
lemn admonition of Christ is addressed : " I know 
thy works ; that thou hast a name that thou livest, 
and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things 
which remain that are ready to die; for I have not 
found thy works perfect before God." 

If there be any one who is inclined to listen to this 
solemn warning, who is awakened from his dream 
of false security, and is disposed to be not only al- 
most but altogether a Christian — O! Jet him not 
stifle or dissipate these beginnings of seriousness, 
but sedulously cherish them as the " workings of the 
Divine Spirit," which would draw him from the 
"broad" and crowded "road of destruction, into the 
narrow" and thinly peopled path " that leadeth to 
life." Let him retire from the multitude — let him 
enter into his closet, and on his bended knees im- 
plore, for Christ's sake, and in reliance on his media- 
tion, that God would " take away from him the heart 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 337 

of stone, and give him a heart of flesh ; that the 
Father of light would open his eyes to his true con- 
dition, and clear his heart from the clouds of preju- 
dice, and dissipate the deceitful medium of self-love. 
Then let him carefully examine his past life, and his 
present course of conduct, comparing himself with 
God's word, and considering how any one might 
reasonably have been expected to conduct himself 
to whom the holy Scriptures had been always open, 
and who had been used to acknowledge them to be 
the revelation of the will of his Creator, and Go- 
vernor, and Supreme Benefactor ; let him there pe- 
ruse the awful denunciations against impenitent sin- 
ners ; let him labor to become more and more deeply 
impressed with a sense of his own radical blindness 
and corruption ; above all, let him steadily contem- 
plate, in all its bearings and connections, that stupen- 
dous truth, the incarnation and crucifixion of the only 
begotten Son of God, and the message of mercy pro- 
claimed from the cross to repenting sinners. " Be 
ye reconciled unto God." " Believe in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 

When he fairly estimates the guilt of sin by the 
costly satisfaction which was required to atone for it, 
and the worth of his soul by the price which was 
paid for its redemption, and contrasts both of these 
with his own sottish inconsiderateness ; when he re- 
flects on the amazing love and pity of Christ, and on 
the cold and formal acknowledgments with which he 

P,View. ^ 



338 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

has hitherto returned this infinite obligation, making 
light of the precious blood of the Son of God, and 
trifling with the gracious invitations of his Redeem- 
er ; surely, if he be not lost to sensibility, mixed emo- 
tions of guilt, and fear, and shame, and remorse, and 
sorrow nearly overwhelm his soul ; he will smite 
upon his breast, and cry out in the language of the 
publican, " God be merciful to me a sinner." But, 
blessed be God, such an one needs not despair: it 
is to persons in this very situation, and with these 
very feelings, that the offers of the Gospel are held 
forth, and its promises assured ; " to the weary and 
heavy laden " under the burden of their sins ; to those 
who thirst for the water of life ; to those who feel 
themselves "tied and bound by the chain of their 
sins ;" who abhor their captivity, and long earnestly 
for deliverance. Happy, happy souls ! whom the 
grace of God has visited, a has brought out of dark* 
ness into his marvellous light," and " from the power 
of Satan unto God." Cast yourselves then on his un- 
deserved mercy; he is full of love, and will not 
spurn you : surrender yourselves into his hands, and 
solemnly resolve, through his grace, to dedicate 
henceforth all your faculties and powers to his service. 
It is yours now " to work out your own salvation 
with fear and trembling," relying on the fidelity of 
Him who has promised to " work in you both to 
will and to do of his good pleasure." Ever look to 
him for help : your own safety consists in a deep and 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 339 

abiding sense of your own weakness, and in a firm 
reliance on his strength. If you " give all diligence," 
his power is armed for your protection, his truth is 
pledged for your security. You are enlisted under 
the banner of Christ — fear not, though the world, 
and the flesh, and the devil are set in array against 
you. " Faithful is he that hath promised ;" " be ye 
also faithful unto death, and he will give you a crown 
of life.' 5 " He that endureth to the end, the same 
shall be saved." In such a world as this, in such a 
state of society as ours, especially if in the higher 
walks of life, you must be prepared to meet with 
many difficulties : arm yourselves, therefore, in the 
first place, with a determined resolution not to rate 
human estimation beyond its true value ; not to dread 
the charge of particularity, when it shall be necessa- 
ry to incur it; but, as was before recommended, let 
it be your constant endeavor to retain before your 
mental eye that bright assemblage of invisible spec- 
tators who are the witnesses of your daily conduct, 
and " to seek that honor which cometh from God." 
You cannot advance a single step till you are in 
some good measure prepossessed of this comparative 
indifference to the favor of men. We have before 
explained ourselves too clearly to render it necessa- 
ry to declare that no one should needlessly affect 
singularity ; but to aim at incompatible advantages, 
to, seek to please God and the world, where theii 
commands are really at variance, is the way to be 



340 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

neither respectable, nor good, nor happy. Continue 
to be ever aware of your own radical corruption and 
habitual weakness. Indeed, if your eyes are really 
opened, and your heart truly softened, " hungering 
and thirsting after righteousness," rising in your 
ideas of true holiness, and proving the genuineness 
of your hope by desiring " to purify yourself even as 
God is pure ;" you will become daily more and 
more sensible of your own defects, and wants, and 
weaknesses ; and more and more impressed by a 
sense of the mercy and long-suffering of that gra- 
cious Savior, " who forgiveth all your sins, and heal- 
eth all your infirmities. " 

This is the solution of what to a man of the world 
might seem a strange paradox, that in proportion as 
the Christian grows in grace, he grows also in humi- 
lity. Humility is indeed the vital principle of Chris-) 
tianity ; that principle by which from first to last she 
lives and thrives, and in proportion to the growth or 
decline of which she must decay or flourish. This 
first disposes the sinner in deep self-abasement to ac- 
cept the offers of the Gospel ; this, during his w T hole 
progress, is the very ground and basis of his feel- 
ings and conduct, both in relation to God, his feilow- 
creatures, and himself; and when at length he shall 
be translated into the realms of glory, this principle 
shall still subsist in undiminished force ; he shall 
" fall down, and cast his crown before the Lamb; 
and ascribe blessing, and honor, and glory and 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 341 

power to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the 
Lamb, for ever and ever." The practical benefits of 
this habitual lowliness of spirit are too numerous, 
and at the same time too obvious, to require enume- 
ration. It will lead you to dread the beginnings, and 
fly from the occasions of sin ; as that man would 
shun some infectious distemper w T ho should know 
that he was predisposed to take the contagion. It will 
prevent a thousand difficulties, and decide a thousand 
questions concerning worldly compliances, by which 
those persons are apt to be embarrassed who are 
not duly sensible of their own exceeding frailty, 
whose views of the christian character are not suffi- 
ciently elevated, and who are not enough possessed 
with a continual fear of u grieving the Holy Spirit 
of God," and of thus provoking him to withdraw his 
gracious influence. But if you are really such as 
we have been describing, you need not be urged to 
set the standard of practice high, and to strive after 
universal holiness. It is the desire of your hearts to 
act in all things with a single eye to the favor of 
God, and thus the most ordinary actions of life are 
raised into offices of religion. This is the purifying, 
the transmuting principle, which realizes the fabled 
touch which changes all to gold. But it belongs to 
this desire of pleasing God that we should be con- 
tinually solicitous to discover the path of duty; that 
we should not indolently wait, satisfied with not re- 
fusing occasions of glorifying God when they are 



342 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

forced upon us ; but that we should pray to God fci 
wisdom and spiritual understanding, that we may be 
acute in discerning opportunities of serving him in 
the world, and judicious in selecting and wise in im- 
proving them. Guard indeed against the distraction 
of worldly cares ; and cultivate heavenly mindedness 
and a spirit of continual prayer, and neglect not to 
watch incessantly over the workings of your deceit- 
ful heart ; but be active also, and useful. Let not 
your precious time be wasted " in shapeless idle- 
ness;" an admonition which, in our days, is renderec 
but too necessary by the relaxed habits of persons ." 
even of real piety ; but wisely husband and improve 
this fleeting treasure. Never be satisfied with your 
present attainments; but "forgetting the things which 
are behind," labor still to "press forward" with un- 
diminished energy, and to run the race that is set 
before you without flagging in your course. 

Above all, measure your progress by your im-j 
provement in love to God and man. '/God is love." 
This is the sacred principle which warms and en- 
lightens the heavenly world, that blessed seat of 
God's visible presence. There it shines with un- 
clouded radiance. Some scattered beams are gra- 
ciously lent to us on earth, or we had been benighted 
and lost in darkness and misery ; but a larger por- 
tion of it is infused into the hearts of the servants of 
God, who thus " are renewed in the Divine like- 
ness," and even here exhibit some faint traces of the 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 343 

image of their heavenly Father. It is the principle 
of love which disposes them to yield themselves up 
without reserve to the service of him " who has 
bought them with the price of his own blood.' 7 

Servile, and base, and mercenary is the notion of 
Christian practice among the bulk of nominal Chris- 
tians. They give no more than they dare not with- 
hold ; they abstain from nothing but what they must 
not practice. In short, they know Christianity only 
as a system of restraints. She is despoiled of every 
liberal and generous principle : she is rendered al^ 
most unfit for the social intercourses of life. But 
true Christians consider themselves not as satisfying 
some rigorous creditor, but as discharging a debt of 
gratitude. Theirs is accordingly not the stinted re- 
turn of a constrained obedience, but the large and 
liberal measure of a voluntary service. This prin- 
ciple, therefore, as was formerly remarked, and as 
has been recently observed of true Christian hu- 
mility, prevents a thousand practical embarrass- 
ments by which they are continually harassed who 
act from a less generous motive, and who require it 
to be clearly ascertained to them that any gratification 
or worldly compliance which may be in question, is 
beyond the allowed boundary line of Christian prac- 
tice.* This principle regulates the true Christian's 

* Neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord my 
God," says David, u of that which doth cost me nothing." 
2 Sam. 24 : 24. 



344 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

choice of companions and friends, where he is at li- 
berty to make an option ; this fills him with the de 
sire of promoting the temporal well-being of all 
around him, and still more, with pity, and iOve, and 
anxious solicitude for their spiritual welfare. Indif- 
ference indeed in this respect is one of the surest 
signs of a low or declining state in religion. This 
animating principle it is, which in the true Chris- 
tian's happier hour inspirits his devotions, and 
causes him to delight in the worship of God ; which 
fills him with consolation, and peace, and gladness, 
and sometimes even enables him "to rejoice with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory." 

But this world is not his resting-place: here, to 
the very last, he must be a pilgrim and a stranger ; 
a soldier whose warfare ends only with life, ever 
struggling and combating with the powers oi 

" They " (the apostles) " departed from the presence of the 
council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer 
shame for the name of Jesus." Acts> 5 : 41. See also 1 Thess, 
1 : 6. Heb. 10:34. James, 1 : 2. 1 Peter, 4:13, 14. 

Such are the marks exhibited in Scripture of a true love 
to God : and though our regard for our common Lord is not 
put to the same severe test as that of the apostles and first 
Christians was, yet, if the same principle existed in us also, 
it would surely dispose us to act in the spirit of that con- 
duct, and prompt us rather to be willing to exceed in self- 
denials and labors for Christ's sake, than to be so forward as 
we are to complain, whenever we are called upon to per- 
form or to abstain from any thing, though in an instance ever 
so little contrary fo our inclinations. 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 345 

darkness, and with the temptations of the world 
around hirn, and the still more dangerous hostilities 
of internal depravity. The perpetual vicissitudes 
of this uncertain state; the peculiar trials and dif- 
ficulties with which the life of a Christian is che- 
quered; and still more, the painful and humiliating 
remembrance of his own infirmities teach him to 
look forward, almost with outstretched neck, to 
that promised day, when he shall be completely de- 
livered from the bondage of corruption, and sorrow 
and sighing shall flee away. ' In the anticipation of 
that blessed period, and comparing this churlish and 
turbulent world, where competition, and envy, and 
anger, and revenge, so vex and agitate the sons of 
men, with that blissful region where love shall reign 
without disturbance, and where all being knit to- 
gether in bonds of indissoluble friendship, shall 
unite in one harmonious song of praise to the 
Author of their common happiness, the true Chris- 
tian triumphs over the fear of death: he longs to 
realize these cheering images, and to obtain admis- 
sion into that blessed company. With far more 
justice than it was originally used, he may adopt the' 
beautiful exclamation — " O prseclarum ilium diem, 
cum ad illud divinum animorum concilium coetum- 
que proficiscar, atque ex hac turb& et colluvione 
discedam !" 

What has been now as well as formerly remarked 
concerning the habitual feelings of the real believer, 



S46 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

may suggest a reply to an objection common in the 
mouths of the nominal Christians, that we would 
deny men the -innocent amusements and gratifica- 
tions of life; thus causing our religion to wear a 
gloomy, forbidding aspect, instead of her true and na- 
tural face of cheerfulness and joy. This is a charge 
of so serious a nature, that although it lead into a di- 
gression, it may not be improper to take some notice 
of it.' 

In the first place, religion prohibits no amusement 
or gratification which is really innocent. The ques- 
tion, however, of its innocence, must not be tried by 
the loose maxims of worldly morality, but by the 
spirit of the injunctions of the word of God, and 
by the indulgence being conformable or not conform- 
able to the genius of Christianity, and to the tempers 
and dispositions of mind enjoined on its professors. 
There can be no dispute concerning the true end of 
recreations. They are intended to refresh our ex- 
hausted bodily or mental powers, and to restore us, 
with renewed vigor, to the more serious occupations 
of life. Whatever, therefore, fatigues either body or 
mind, instead of refreshing, them, is not fitted to 
answer the designed purpose. Whatever consumes 
more time, or money, or thought, than it is expe- 
dient, or rather necessary, to allot to mere amuse- 
ment, can hardly be approved by any one who con 
s/ders these talents as precious deposits, for the 
expenditure of which he will have to give account. 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 347 

Whatever directly or indirectly must be likely to 
injure the welfare of a fellow creature, can scarcely 
be a suitable recreation for a Christian, who is " to 
love his neighbor as himself;" or a very consistent 
diversion for any one, the business of whose life is 
to diffuse happiness. 

But does a Christian never relax? Let us not so 
wrong and vilify the bounty of Providence, as to al- 
low for a moment that the sources of innocent amuse, 
ment are so rare that men must be driven, almost by 
constraint, to such as are of a doubtful quality. On the 
contrary, such has been the Creator's goodness, that 
almost every one, both of our physical, and intellec- 
tual, and moral faculties, and the same may be said 
of the whole creation which we see around us, is not 
only calculated to answer the proper end of its being, 
by its subserviency to some purpose of solid use- 
fulness, but to be the instrument of administering 
pleasure. 

" Not content 
With every food of life to nourish man, 
Thou makest all nature beauty to his eye 
And music to his ear." 

Our Maker also, in his kindness, has so constructed 
us that even mere vicissitude is grateful and refresh- 
ing — a consideration which should prompt us often 
to seek, from a prudent variation of useful pursuits, 
that recreation for which we are apt to resort to 
what is altogether unproductive and unfruitful. 



348 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

Yet rich and multiplied are the springs of inno 
cent relaxation. The Christian relaxes in the tern 
perate use of all the gifts of Providence. Imagina- 
tion, and taste, and genius, and the beauties of cre- 
ation, and the works of art, lie open to him. He re- 
laxes in the feast of reason, in the intercourses of so- 
ciety, in the sweets of friendship, in the endearments 
of love, in the exercise of hope, of confidence, of joy, 
of gratitude, of universal good will, of all the bene- 
volent and generous affections : which, by the gra- 
cious ordination of our Creator, while they disin- 
terestedly intend only happiness to others, are most 
surely productive to ourselves of complacency and 
peace. O ! little do they know of the true measure 
of enjoyment, who can compare these delightful 
complacencies with the frivolous pleasures of dissipa- 
tion, or the coarse gratifications of sensuality. It is 
no wonder, however, that the nominal Christian 
should reluctantly give up, one by one, the pleasures 
of the world ; and look back upon them, when relin- 
quished, with eyes of wistfulness and regret ; because 
he knows not the sweetness of the delights with which 
true Christianity repays those trifling sacrifices, and 
is greatly unacquainted with the nature of that plea- 
santness which is to be found in the ways of religion. 

It is indeed true, that when any one who has long 
been going on in the gross and unrestrained practice 
of vice is checked in his career, and enters at first 
on a religious course, he has much to undergo. 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 349 

Fear, fSM-H, remorse, shame, and various other pas- 
sions., struggle and conflict within him. His appetites 
are clamorous for their accustomed gratification, and 
inveterate habits are scarcely to be denied. He is 
weighed down by a load of guilt, and almost over- 
whelmed by the sense of his un worthiness. But all 
this ought in fairness to be charged to the account of 
his past sins, and not to that of his present repen- 
tance. It rarely happens, however, that this state of 
suffering continues very long. When the mental 
gloom is the blackest, a ray of heavenly light occa- 
sionally breaks in, and suggests the hope of better 
days. Even in this life it commonly holds true, 
* They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." 

Neither, when we maintain that the ways of re- 
ligion are ways of pleasantness, do we mean to deny 
that the Christian's internal state is, through the 
whole of his life, a state of discipline and warfare. 
Several of the causes which contribute to render it 
such have been already pointed out, together with 
the workings of his mind in relation to them: but if 
he has solicitudes and griefs peculiar to himself, he 
has "joys also with which a stranger intermeddles 
not." 

f A little religion is, it must be confessed, apt to 
make men gloomy, as a little knowledge to render 
[them vain : hence the unjust imputation often brought 
upon religion by those whose degree of religion is 
iust sufficient, by condemning their course of con- 



350 PRACTICAL HINTS TO 

duct, to render them uneasy; enough merely to 
impair the sweetness of the pleasures of sin, and not 
enough to compensate for the relinquishment of 
them by its own peculiar comforts. Thus these men 
bring up an ill report of that land of promise which 
in truth abounds with whatever, in oar journey 
through life, can best refresh and strengthen us. , 

We have enumerated some sources of pleasure 
which men of the world may understand, and must 
acknowledge to belong to the true Christian; but 
there are others, and those of a still higher class, 
to which they must confess themselves strangers. 
To say nothing of a degree of exemption from 
those distracting passions and corroding cares, by 
which he must naturally be harassed whose trea- 
sure is within the reach of mortal accidents ; there 
is the humble, quiet-giving hope of being reconciled 
to God, and of enjoying his favor; with that solid 
peace of mind which the world can neither give nor 
take away, which results from a firm confidence in 
the infinite wisdom and goodness ftf God, and in 
the unceasing care and kindness of a gracious Sa- 
vior : arid there is the persuasion of the truth of 
the Divine assurance, that all things shall work to- 
gether for good. 

When flushed with youth, and health, and vigor ; 
when all goes on prosperously, and success seems 
almost to anticipate our wishes ; then we feel not 
the want of the consolations of religion : but when 



VARIOUS PERSONS. 35l 

fortune frowns, or friends forsake us, when sorrow, 
or sickness, or old age eomes upon us, then it is 
that the superiority of the pleasures of religion is 
established over those of dissipation and vanity, 
which are ever apt to fly from us when we are most 
in want of their aid. There is scarcely a more 
melancholy sight to a considerate mind, than that oi 
an old man who is a stranger to those only true 
sources of satisfaction. How affecting, and at the 
same time how disgusting is it to see such a one 
awkwardly catching at the pleasures of his younger 
years, which are now beyond his reach ; or feebly 
attempting to retain them, while they mock his endea- 
vors and elude his grasp ! To such a one, gloomily 
indeed does the evening of life set in. All is sour and 
cheerless. He can neither look backward with com- 
placency, nor forward with hope: while the _aged 
Christian, relying on the assured mercy of his Re- 
deemer, can calmly reflect that his dismission is at 
hand ; that his redemption draweth nigh : while his 
strength declines and his faculties decay, he can 
quietly repose himself on the fidelity of God : and 
at the very entrance of the valley of the shadow 
of death he can lift up an eye, dim, perhaps, and 
feeble, yet occasionally sparkling with hope, and 
confidently looking forward to the near possession of 
his heavenly inheritance, "to those joys which eye 
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered 
into the heait of man to conceive ? 



352 ADVICE TO PROFESSORS 

Never were there times which inculcated more 
forcibly, than those in which we live, the wisdom of 
seeking happiness beyond the reach of human vicis- 
situdes. What striking" lessons have we had of the 
precarious tenure of all sublunary possessions 5 
Wealth, and power, and prosperity, how peculiarly 
transitory and uncertain ! But religion dispenses hei 
choicest cordials in the seasons of exigence, in po- 
verty, in exile, in sickness, and in death. The essen- 
tial superiority of that support which is derived from 
religion is less felt, at least it is less apparent, when 
the Christian is in full possession of riches, and 
splendor, and rank, and all the gifts of nature and 
fortune. But when all these are swept away by the 
rude hand of time, or the rough blasts of adversity, 
the true Christian stands, like the glory of the forest, 
er^ct and vigorous ; stripped indeed of his summer 
foliage, but more than ever discovering to the observ- 
ing eye the solid strength of his substantial texture : 

" Pondere fixa suo est, imdosque per aera ramos 
Attollens, trunco non frondibus efficit umbram." 



SECTION II. 

Advice to some who prof ess full assent to the fundamental dec* 
trines of the Gospel. 

In a former chapter we largely insisted on what 
may be termed the fundamental practical error of 



OF THIS GGSPKX.. 353 

the bulk of professed Christians in our days; their 
either overlooking or misconceiving the peculiar 
method which the Gospel has provided for the reno 
vation of our corrupted nature, and for the attainment 
of every Christian grace. 

But there are mistakes on the right hand and 01. 
the left; and our general proneness, when flying 
from one extreme to run into an opposite error, ren- 
ders it necessary to superadd another admonition. 
The generally prevailing error of the present day, 
indeed, is that fundamental one which was formerly 
pointed out. But while we attend, in the first place, 
to this ; and, on the warrant both of Scripture and 
experience, prescribe hearty repentance and lively 
faith as the only root and foundation of all true ho- 
liness ; we must at the same time guard against a 
practical mistake of another kind. Those who, with 
penitent hearts, have humbled themselves before the 
cross of Christ; and who, pleading his merits as their 
only ground of pardon and acceptance, have resolv 
ed henceforth, through the influences of the Holy 
Spirit, to bring forth the fruits of righteousness, are 
sometimes apt to conduct themselves as if they con- 
sidered their work as done ; or at least as if this were 
the whole they had to do, as often as, by falling afresh 
into sin, another act of repentance and faith may seem 
to have become necessary. There are not a few in 
our relaxed age, who thus satisfy themselves with 
what may be termed general Christianity ; who feel 

Pr. View. 23 



354 ADVICE TO PROFESSORS 

general penitence and humiliation from a sense ;f 
their sinfulness in general, and general desires of 
universal holiness ; but who neglect that vigilant and 
jealous care with which they should labor to extir- 
pate every particular corruption, by studying its na- 
ture, its root, its ramifications, and thus becoming 
acquainted, with its secret movements, with the means 
whereby it gains strength, and with the most effectual 
methods of resisting it. In like manner, they are far 
from striving with persevering alacrity for the ac- 
quisition and improvement of every Christian grace. 
Nor is it unusual for ministers, who preach the truths 
of the Gospel with fidelity, ability, and success, to be 
themselves also liable to the charge of dwelling al- 
together in their instructions on this general reli- 
gion : instead of tracing and laying open the secret 
motions of inward corruption, and instructing their 
hearers how best to conduct themselves in every dis- 
tinct part of the Christian warfare ; how best to strive 
against each particular vice, and to cultivate each 
grace of the Christian character. In too many per- 
sons, concerning the sincerity of whose general pro- 
fessions of religion we should be sorry to entertain 
a doubt, we see little progress made in the regulation 
of their tempers, in the improvement of their time, 
in the reform of their plan of life, or in ability to re- 
sist the temptation to which they are particularly 
exposed. They will confess themselves, in general 
terms, to be " miserable sinners:" this is a tenet of 



OF THE GOSPEL. 355 

\heir creed, and they feel even proud in avowing it. 
They will occasionally also lament particular fail- 
ings : but this confession is sometimes obviously 
made in order to draw forth a compliment for the 
very opposite virtue: and where this is not the case, 
it is often not difficult to detect, under this false guise 
of contrition, a secret self-complacency, arising from 
the manifestations they have afforded of their acute- 
ness or candor in discovering the infirmity in ques- 
tion, or of their frankness or humility in acknowledg- 
ing it. This will scarcely seem an illiberal suspicion 
to any one who either watches the workings of his 
own heart, or who observes that the faults confessed 
in these instances are very seldom those with which 
the person is most clearly and strongly chargeable. 
We must plainly warn these men, and the consi- 
deration is seriously pressed on their instructors also, 
that they are in danger of deceiving themselves Let 
them beware lest they be nominal Christians of 
another sort. These persons require to be reminded 
.hat there is no short compendious method of holi- 
ness ; but that it must be the business of their whole 
lives to grow in grace, and continually adding one 
virtue to another, as far in may be, "to go on towards 
perfection." He only "that doeth righteousness is 
lighteous." Unless "they bring forth the fruits of 
the Spirit," they can have no sufficient evidence that 
they have received that Spirit of Christ, without 
which they are none of his. But where, on thv 



356 ADVICE TO PROFESSORS 

whole, our unwillingness to pass an unfavorable 
judgment may lead us to indulge a hope that "the 
root of the matter is found in them," yet we must de- 
clare to them, that instead of adorning the doctrine 
of Christ, they disparage and discredit it. The world 
sees not their secret humiliation, nor the exercises of 
their closets, but it is acute in discerning practical 
weaknesses ; and if it observe that they have the 
same eagerness in the pursuit of wealth or ambition,, 
the same vain taste for ostentation and display, the 
same ungoverned tempers which are found in the 
generality of mankind, it will treat with contempt 
their pretences to superior sanctity and indifference 
to worldly things, and will be hardened in its preju- 
dices against the only mode which God has provided 
for our escaping the wrath to come, and obtaining 
eternal happiness. 

Let him, then, who would be indeed a Christian, 
watch over his ways and over his heart with unceas- 
ing circumspection. Let him endeavor to learn, both 
from men and books, particularly from the lives of 
eminent Christians, what methods have been actual- 
ly found most effectual for the conquest of every par- 
ticular vice, and for improvement in every branch of 
holiness. Thus studying his own character, and ob- 
serving the most secret workings of his own mind, 
and of our common nature ; the knowledge which 
he will acquire of the human heart in general, and 
especially of his own, will be of the highest utility 



OF THE GOSPEL. 357 

in enabling him to avoid or to guard against the oc- 
casions of evil ; and it will also tend, above all things, 
to the growth of humility, and to the maintenance 
of that sobriety of spirit and tenderness of conscience 
which are eminently characteristic of the true Chris- 
tian. It is by this unceasing diligence, as the apostle 
declares, that the servants of Christ must make their 
calling sure. Their labor will not be thrown away ; 
for " an entrance shall" at length "be ministered 
unto them abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom 
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 

SECTION III. 

Brief observations addressed to Sceptics and Unitarians. 

There is another class of men, an increasing class 
it is to be feared, in this country, that of absolute un 
believers, with which this little work has properly no 
concern : but may the writer, sincerely pitying their 
melancholy state, be permitted to ask them one plain 
question ? If Christianity be nut in their estimation 
true, yet is there not at least a presumption in its fa- 
vor sufficient to entitle it to a serious examination j 
from its having been embraced, and that not blindly 
and implicitly, but upon full inquiry and deep con- 
sideration, by Bacon, and Milton, and Locke, and 
Newton, and much the greater part of those, who, 
by the reach of their understandings, or the extent 



358 BRIEF OBSERVATIONS TO 

of their knowledge, and by the freedom of their 
minds, and their daring to combat existing preju- 
dices, have called forth the respect and admiration 
of mankind ? It might be deemed scarcely fair to in- 
stance clergymen, though some of them are among 
the greatest names this country has ever known. 
Can the sceptic in general say with truth that he has 
either prosecuted an examination into the evidences 
of revelation at all, or at least with a seriousness and 
diligence in any degree proportioned to the impor- 
tance of the subject? The fact is, and it is a fact 
which redounds to the honor of Christianity, that' 
infidelity is not the result of sober inquiry and deli- 
berate preference. It is rather the slow production 
of a careless and irreligious life, operating together 
with prejudices and erroneous conceptions concern- 
ing the nature of the leading doctrines and funda- 
mental tenets of Christianity. 

Take the case of young men of condition, bred up 
by what we have termed nominal Christians. When 
children, they are carried to church, and there they 
become acquainted with such parts of Scripture as 
are contained in our public service. If their parents- 
preserve still more of the customs of better times, 
they are taught their catechism, and furnished with 
a little further religious knowledge. After a while 
they go from under the eyes of their parents ; they 
enter into the world, and move forward in the path 
of life, whatever it may be, which has been assigned 



SCEPTICS AND UNITARIANS. 359 

to them. They yield to the temptations which assail 
them, and become more or less dissipated and licen- 
tious. At least they neglect to look into their Bible ; 
they do not enlarge the sphere of their religious ac- 
quisitions ; they do not even endeavor, by reflection 
and study, to turn into what may deserve the name 
of knowledge and rational conviction, the opinions 
which, in their childhood, they had taken on trust. 

They travel, perhaps, into foreign countries ; a 
proceeding which naturally tends to weaken their 
nursery prejudice in favor of the religion in which 
they were bred, and by removing them from all 
means of public worship, to relax their practical 
habits of religion. They return home, and common- 
ly are either hurried round in the vortex of dissipa- 
tion, or engage with the ardor of youthful minds in 
some public or professional pursuit. If they read or 
hear any thing about Christianity, it is commonly 
only about those tenets which are subjects of con- 
troversy ; and what reaches their ears from the Bible, 
in their occasional attendance at church, though it 
may sometimes impress them with an idea of the 
purity of christian morality, contains much which, 
coming thus detached, perplexes and offends them, 
and suggests various doubts and startling objections 
which a further acquaintance with the Scripture 
would remove. Thus growing more and more to 
know Christianity only by the difficulties it contains ; 
sometimes tempted by an ambition of showing them 



380 BRIEF OBSERVATIONS TO 

selves superior to what they think vulgar prejudice, 
and always prompted by the natural pride of the 
human heart to cast off subjection to dogmas imposed 
on them ; disgusted, perhaps, by the immoral lives 
of some professed Christians, by the weaknesses and 
absurdities of others, and by what they observe to be 
the implicit belief of numbers whom they see and 
know to be equally ignorant with themselves ; many 
doubts and suspicions of greater or less extent spring 
up within them. These doubts enter into the mind at 
first almost imperceptibly : they exist only as vague 
indistinct surmises, and by no means take the precise 
shape or the substance of a formed opinion. At first, 
probably, they even offend and startle by their intru- 
sion ; but by degrees the unpleasant sensations they 
once excited w T ear off; the mind grows more familiar 
with them. A confused sense, for such it is, rather 
than a formed idea of its being desirable that their 
doubts should prove well founded, lends them much 
secret aid. The impression becomes deeper ; not in 
consequence of being reinforced by fresh arguments, 
but merely by dint of having longer rested in the 
mind ; and as they increase in force, they creep on 
and extend themselves. At length they diffuse them- 
selves over the whole of religion, and possess the 
mind in undisturbed occupancy. 

It is by no means meant that this is universally 
the process. But speaking generally, this might be 
termed, perhaps not unjustly, the natural history of 



SCEPTICS AND UNITARIANS. 361 

scepticism. It approves itself to the experience of 
those who have with any care watched the progress 
of infidelity in persons around them ; and it is con- 
firmed by the written lives of some of the most eminent 
unbelievers. It is curious to read their own accounts 
of themselves, the rather as they accord so exactly 
with the result of our own observation. We find 
that they once perhaps gave a sort of implicit heredi- 
tary assent to the truth of Christianity, and were what 
by a mischievous perversion of language the world 
denominates believers. How were they then awa- 
kened from their sleep of ignorance % At what mo- 
ment did the light of truth beam in upon them, and 
dissipate the darkness in which they had been involv- 
ed \ The period of their infidelity is marked by no 
such determinate boundary. Reason, and thought, 
and inquiry had little or nothing to do with it. Ha- 
ving for many years lived careless and irreligious 
lives, and associated with companions equally care- 
less and irreligious; not by force of study and re- 
flection, but rather by the lapse of time, they at 
length attained to their infidel maturity. It is 
worthy of remark, that where any are reclaimed 
from infidelity, it is generally by a process much 
more rational than that which has been here de- 
scribed. Something awakens them to reflection. 
They examine, they consider, and at length yield 
their assent to Christianity on what they deem suffi- 
cient grounds. 



362 BRIEF OBSERVATIONS TO 

From the account here given, it appears plainly 
that infidelity is generally the offspring of prejudice, 
and that its success is mainly to be ascribed to the 
depravity of the moral character. This fact is con- 
firmed by the undeniable truth, that in societies, 
which consist of individuals, infidelity is the natural 
fruit, not so much of a studious and disputatious, as 
of a dissipated and vicious age. It diffuses itself in 
proportion as the general morals decline ; and it is 
embraced with less apprehension, when every infi- 
del is kept in spirits by seeing many around him 
who are sharing fortunes with himself. 

To any fair mind this consideration alone might be 
offered, as suggesting a strong argument against in- 
fidelity, and in favor of revelation; And the friends 
of Christianity might justly retort the charge which 
their opponents often urge with no little affectation 
of superior wisdom, that we implicitly surrender 
ourselves to the influence of prejudice, instead of 
examining dispassionately the ground of our faith, 
and yielding our assent only according to the degree 
of evidence. 

In our own days, when it is but too clear that in- 
fidelhy increases, it is not in consequence of the rea- 
sonings of the infidel writers having been much stu- 
died, but from the progress of luxury and the decay 
of morals ; and, so far as this increase maybe traced 
at all to the works of sceptical writers, it has been 
produced, not by argument and discussion, but by 



SCEPTICS AND UNITARIANS. 363 

sarcasms and points of wit, which have operated on 
weak minds, or on nominal Christians, by bringing 
gradually into contempt opinions which, in their 
case, had only rested on the basis of blind respect 
and the prejudices of education. It may therefore be 
laid down as an axiom, that infidelity is in general a 
disease of the heart more than of the understanding. 
If revelation were assailed only by reason ana argu- 
ment, it would have little to fear. The literary op- 
posers of Christianity, from Herbert to Hume, haye 
been seldom read. They made some stir in their - 
day ; during their brief span of existence they were 
noisy and noxious ; but, like the locusts of the east, 
which for a while obscure the air and destroy the 
verdure, they were soon swept away and forgotten. 
Their very names would be scarcely found if Leland 
had not preserved them from oblivion. 

The account which has been given of the secret 
but grand source of infidelity, may perhaps justly be 
extended, as being not seldom true in the case of 
those who deny the fundamental doctrines of the 
Gospel. 

In the course which we lately traced from nomi- 
nal orthodoxy to absolute infidelity, Unitarianism* is, 

* The author is aware that he may perhaps be censured 
for conceding this term to the class of persons now in ques- 
tion, since orthodox Christians equally contend for the uni- 
ty of the Divine nature ; and it perhaps may hardly be a 
sufficient excuse, that, it not being his object particularly 



364 BRIEF OBSERVATIONS TO 

'indeed, a sort of half-way house, if the expression I 
may be pardoned; a stage on the journey, where 
sometimes a person indeed finally stops, but where, 
not unfrequently, he only pauses for a while, and 
then pursues his progress. 

The unitarian teachers by no means profess to ab- 
solve their followers from the unbending strictness 
of Christian morality. They prescribe the predomi- 
nant love of God, and an habitual spirit of devotion : 
but it is an unquestionable fact, a fact which they 
themselves almost admit, that this class of religion- 
ists is not in general distinguished for superior purity 
of life; and still less for that frame of mind which, 
by the injunction "to be spiritually, not carnally 
minded," the word of God prescribes to us, as one of 
the surest tests of our experiencing the vital power of 
Christianity. On the contrary, in point of fact, Uni- 
tarianism seems to be resorted to, not merely by 
those who are disgusted with the peculiar doctrines 
of Christianity, but by those also who are seeking 
a refuge from the strictness of her practical precepts, 
and who more particularly would escape from the 
obligation which she imposes on her adherents ra- 
ther to incur the dreaded charge of singularity, than 
fall in with the declining manners of a dissipated age. 

to refute the errors of Unitarianism, he uses the term in its 
popular sense rather than give needless offence. He thus 
guards, however, against any false construction being drawn 
from his use of it. 



SCEPTICS AND UNITARIANS. 365 

Unitarianism, where it may be supposed to pro- 
ceed from the understanding rather than from the 
heart, is not unfrequently produced by a confused 
idea of the difficulties, or. as they are termed, the 
impossibilities which orthodox Christianity is sup- 
posed to involve. It is not our intention to enter into 
the controversy ; # but it may not be improper to 
make one remark, as a guard to persons in whose 
way the arguments of the Unitarians may be likely 
to fall ; namely, that one great advantage possessed 
by deists, and perhaps in a still greater degree by 
Unitarians, in their warfare with the Christian sys- 
tem, results from the very circumstances of their 
being the assailants. They urge what they state to 
be powerful arguments against the truth of the fun- 
damental doctrines of Christianity, and then call 
upon men to abandon them as posts no longer ten- 
able. But those who are disposed to yield to this 
assault, should call to mind, that it has pleased God 
so to establish the constitution of all things, that per- 
plexing difficulties and plausible objections may be 

* The author of this treatise has, since its completion, pe- 
rused a work, entitled, Calvinism and Socinianism com- 
pared, by A. Fuller; and, without reference to the pecu- 
liarities of Calvinism, he is happy to embrace this opportu- 
nity of acknowledging the high obligation which, in common 
with all the friends of true religion, he owes to the author 
of that highly valuable publication for his masterly defence 
of the doctrines of Christianity, and his acute refutation of 
the opposite errors. 



366 BRIEF OBSERVATIONS TO 

adduced against the most established truths; such, 
for instance, as the being of a God, and many others 
both physical and moral. In all cases, therefore, 
it becomes us, not on a partial view to reject any 
proposition, because it is attended with difficulties; 
but to compare the difficulties which it involves, with 
those that attend the alternative proposition which 
must be embraced on its rejection. We should put 
to the proof the alternative proposition in its turn, 
and see whether it be not still less tenable than that 
which we are summoned to abandon. In short, we 
should examine circumspectly on all sides ; and 
abide by that opinion which, on carefully balancing 
all considerations, appears fairly entitled to our pre- 
ference. Experience, however, will have convinced 
the attentive observer of those around him, that it 
has been for want of adverting to this just and ob- 
vious principle, that the Unitarians in particular have 
gained most of their proselytes from the church, so 
far as argument has contributed to their success. 
If the Unitarians, or even the deists, were considered 
in their turn as masters of the field, and were in 
their turn attacked, both by arguments tending to 
disprove their system directly, and to disprove it indi- 
rectly, by showing the high probability of the truth 
of Christianity, and of its leading and peculiar doc- 
trines, it is most likely that they would soon ap- 
pear wholly unable to keep their ground. In short, 
reasoning fairly, there is no medium between abso- 



SCEPTICS AND UNITARIANS. 367 

lute pyrrhonism and Christianity; and if we reject 
the latter on account of its difficulties, we shall be 
still more loudly called upon to reject every other 
system which has been offered to the acceptance of 
mankind. This consideration might, perhaps, with 
advantage be more attended to than it has been, 
by those who take upon them to vindicate the truth 
of our holy religion: as many, who, from inconside- 
ration, or any other cause, are disposed to give up 
the great fundamentals of Christianity, would be 
startled by the idea, that on the same principle on 
which they did this, they must give up the hope of 
finding any rest for the sole of their foot on any 
ground of religion, and not stop short of unqualified 
atheism. 

Besides the class of those who professedly reject 
revelation, there is another, and that also, it is to be 
feared, an increasing one, which may be called the 
class of half-unbelievers, who are to be found in va- 
rious degrees of approximation to a state of absolute 
infidelity. The system, if it deserve the name, of 
these men, is grossly irrational. Hearing many who 
assert, and many who deny the truth of Christianity, 
and not reflecting seriously enough to consider that 
it must be either true or false, they take up a strange 
sort of middle opinion of its qualified truth. They 
conceive that there must be something in it, though 
by no means to the extent to which it is pushed by or- 
thodox Christians. They grant the reality of future 



368 BRIEF OBSERVATIONS TO 

punishment, and even that they themselves cannot 
altogether expect to escape it; yet "they trust it 
will not go so hard with them as the churchmen 
state j" and, as was formerly hinted, though disbe- 
lieving almost every material doctrine which Chris- 
tianity contains; yet, even in their own minds, they 
by no means conceive themselves to be enlisted under 
the banners of infidelity, or to have much cause 
for any great apprehension lest Christianity should 
prove true. 

But let these men be reminded that there is no 
middle way. If they can be prevailed on to look 
into their Bible, and do not make up their minds 
absolutely to reject its authority, they must admit 
that there is no ground whatever for this vain hope 
of escaping with a slight measure of punishment. 
Nor let them think their guilt inconsiderable. Is 
it not grossly criminal to trifle with the long-suf- 
fering of God, to despise alike his invitations and 
his threatenings, and the offer of his Spirit of grace, 
and the precious blood of the Redeemer? Far dif- 
ferent is the scripture estimate : "How shall we escape 
if we neglect so great salvation % " It shall be more 
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of 
judgment," than for those who voluntarily shut their 
eyes against that full light which the bounty of 
Heaven has poured out upon them. These half-un- 
believers are even more reprehensible than down- 
right sceptics, for remaining in this state of careless 



SCEPTICS AND UNITARIANS. 369 

uncertainty, without endeavoring to ascertain the 
truth or falsehood of revelation. The probability 
which they admit, that it may be true, imposes on 
ihem an additional and undeniable obligation to in- 
quiry. But both to them and to decided sceptics it 
must be plainly declared that they are in these days 
less excusable than ever, for not looking into the 
grounds and proofs on which is rested the truth of 
Christianity ; for never before were these proofs so 
plainly, and at so easy a rate offered to the conside- 
ration of mankind. Through the bounty of Provi- 
dence the more widely spread poison of infidelity 
has in our days been met with more numerous and 
more powerful antidotes. 

The infatuation of these unbelievers upon trust 
would be less striking, if they were able altogether 
to decline Christianity ; and were at liberty to re- 
linquish their pretensions to its rewards, on condition 
of being exempted from its punishments. But that 
is not the case ; they must stand the risk of the en- 
counter, and their eternal happiness or misery is 
suspended upon the issue.* What must be the emo- 
tions of these men, on first opening their eyes in the 
world of spirits, and being convinced, too late, of the 
awful reality of their impending ruin ? May the 

* This argument is pressed with uncommon force in Pas- 
cal's Thoughts on Religion, a work highly valuable, though 
not in every part to be approved ; abounding in particular 
with those deep views of religion which the name of its 
author prepares us to expect. 
Fr View. 24 



370 ADVICE TO TRUE CHRISTIANS. 

mercy and the power of God awaken them from 
their desperate slumber, while life is yet spared, and 
there is yet space for repentance ! 

SECTION IV. 

Advice suggested by the state of the times to true Christians. 

To those who really deserve the appellation of 
true Christians, much has been said incidentally in 
the course of the present work. It has been main- 
tained, and the proposition will not be disputed by 
any sound or experienced politician, that they are 
always most important members of the community. 
But we may boldly assert, that there never was a 
period wherein, more justly than in the present, this 
could be affirmed of them ; whether the situation, in 
all its circumstances, of our own country be atten 
tively considered, or the general state of society in 
Europe. Let them, on their part, seriously weigh 
the important station which they fill, and the various 
duties it now peculiarly enforces on them. If we 
consult the most intelligent accounts of foreign coun- 
tries which have been recently published, and com- 
pare them with the reports of former travelers, we 
must be convinced that religion and the standard of 
morals are every where declining, abroad even more 
rapidly than in our own country. But still the pro- 
gress of irreligion and the decay of morals at home 
are such as to alarm every considerate mind, and to 



ADVICE TO TRUE CHRISTIANS. 371 

forebode the worst consequences, unless some remedy 
can be applied to the growing evil. We can depend 
only upon true Christians for effecting, in any de- 
gree, this important service. Zeal is required in 
the cause of religion ; they only can feel it. The. 
charge of singularity must be incurred ; they only 
will dare to encounter it. Uniformity of conduct 
and perseverance in exertion will be requisite; 
among no others can we look for those qualities. 

Let true Christians then, with becoming earnest- 
ness, strive in all things to recommend their profes- 
sion, and to put to silence the vain scoffs of ignorant 
objectors. Let them boldly assert the cause of Christ 
in an age when so many who bear the name of 
Christians are ashamed of him : and let them con- 
sider as devolved on them the important duty of sus- 
pending for a while the fall of their country, and, 
perhaps, of performing a still more extensive service 
to society at large ; not by busy interference in poli- 
tics, in which it cannot but be confessed there is 
much uncertainty, but rather by that sure and radi- 
cal benefit of restoring the influence of religion, and 
of raising the standard of morality. 

Let them be active, useful, generous towards 
others; manifestly moderate and self-denying in 
themselves. Let them be ashamed of idleness, as 
they would be of the most acknowledged sin. When 
Providence blesses them with affluence, let them 
withdraw from the competition of vanity ; and, with- 



372 ADVICE TO TRUE CHRISTIANS. 

out sordidness or absurdity, show, by their modest 
demeanor and by their retiring from display, that, 
without affecting singularity, they are not slaves to 
fashion ; that they consider it as their duty to set an 
example of moderation and sobriety, and to reserve 
for nobler and more disinterested purposes that mo- 
ney which others selfishly waste in parade, and 
dress, and equipage. Let them evince, in short, a 
manifest moderation in all temporal things ; as be- 
comes those whose affections are set on higher ob- 
jects than any which this world affords, and who 
possess, within their own bosoms, a fund of satisfac- 
tion and comfort which the world seeks in vanity 
and dissipation. Let them cultivate a catholic spirit 
of universal good will, and of amicable fellowship 
towards all those, of whatever sect or denomination, 
who, differing from them in non-essentials, agree 
with them in the grand fundamentals of religion. 
Let them countenance men of real piety wherever 
they are found, and encourage in others every at- 
tempt to repress the progress of vice, and to revive 
and diffuse the influence of religion and virtue. Let 
their earnest prayers be constantly offered that such 
endeavors may be successful, and that the abused 
long-suffering of God may still continue to us the 
invaluable privilege of vital Christianity. 

Let them pray continually for their country. Who 
can say but that the Governor of the universe, who 
declares himself to be a God who hears the prayers 



ADVICE TO TRUE CHRISTIANS. 373 

o[ his servants, may, in answer to their intercessions, 
for a while avert our ruin, and continue to us the 
fullness of those temporal blessings which in such 
abundant measure we have hitherto enjoyed?* Men 
of the world, indeed, however they may admit the 
natural operation of natural causes, and may therefore 
confess the effects of religion and morality in promot- 
ing the well-being of the community ; may yet, accord- 
ing to their humor, with a smile of complacent pity, 
or a sneer of supercilious contempt, read of the ser- 
vice which real Christians may render to their coun- 
try, by conciliating the favor and calling down the 
blessing of Providence. It may appear in their eyes 
an instance of the same superstitious weakness as 
that which prompts the terrified inhabitant of Sicily 
to bring forth the image of his tutelar saint, in order 
to stop the destructive ravages of iEtna. We are, 
however, sure, if*we believe the Scripture, that God 
will be disposed to favor the nation to which his seT 
vants belong ; and that, in fact, such as they have 
often been the unknown and unhonored instruments 
of drawing down on their country the blessings of 
safety and prosperity. 

It would be an instance in myself of that very false 
shame which I have condemned in others, if I were 
not boldly to avow my firm persuasion, that to the 
decline of religion and morality our national diffi- 

* See some exquisitely beautiful lines in the last book of 
Cowper's Task, wherein this sentiment is introduced. 



374 ADVICE TO TRUE CHRISTIANS 

culties must both directly and indirectly be chiefly 
ascribed ; and that the only solid hopes for the well- 
being of our countiy depend not so much on her 
fleets and armies, not so much on the wisdom of her 
rulers or the spirit of her people, as on the persua- 
sion that she still contains many, who, in a degene- ! 
rate age, love and obey the Gospel of Christ ; on the | 
humble trust that the intercession of these may still 
be prevalent, that for the sake of these God may still 
look upon us with an eye of favor. 

Let the prayers of the Christian reader be also of 
fered up for the success of this feeble endeavor in the 
service of true religion. God can give effect to the 
weakest effort ; and the writer will feel himself too 
much honored, if by that which he has now been 
making, but a single fellow-creature should be 
awakened from a false security, of*a single Chris- 
tian, who deserves the name, be animated to more 
extensive usefulness. And if the office in which he 
has been engaged were less intimately connected 
with the duties of his particular station, the candid 
and the liberal mind would not be indisposed to par- 
don him. Let him be allowed to offer in his ex- 
cuse a desire not only to discharge a duty to his 
country, but to acquit himself of what he deems a 
solemn and indispensable obligation to his acquaint- 
ance and his friends. Let him alledge the unaffected 
solicitude which he feels for the welfare of his fel* 



ADVICE TO TRUE CHRISTIANS. 375 

low-creatures. Let him urge the fond wish he glad- 
ly would encourage — that while, in so large a part 
of Europe, a false philosophy having been preferred 
before the lessons of revelation, infidelity has lifted 
up her head without shame, and walked abroad 
boldly and in the face of day; while the practical 
consequences are such as might be expected, and 
licentiousness and vice prevail without restraint— 
here at least there might be a sanctuary, a land of 
religion and piety, where the blessings of Christia- 
nity might be still enjoyed, where the name of the 
Redeemer might still be honored ; where mankind 
might be able to see what is, in truth, the religion of 
Jesus, and what are its blessed effects ; and whence, 
if the mercy of God should so ordain it, the means 
of religious instruction and consolation might be 
again extended to surrounding countries, and to the 
world at large.^^ 



THE ESfD. 



PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 



IP Aubigne's Hist, of the 
Reformation, 4 vols., 
cloth extra, $1 75. 

Faints' Rest, large type. 

Jay's Morning Exercises. 

Flavel's Meth. of Grace. 

navel's Fount' n of Life. 

Mason's Spirit. Treasury. 

Hall's Scripture History. 

Gregory's Letters on In- 
fidelity. 

Edwards on Revivals. 

Bishop Hopkins on Ten 
Commandments. 

Memoir of Mrs. Graham. 

Complete Duty of Man. 

Owen on Forgiveness of 
Sin, Psalm 130. 

Memoir of Mrs. Sarah L. 
H. Smith. 

Abbott's Y'ng Christian. 

Sacred Songs, (Hymns 
and Tunes.) 

Do. (Patent Notes.) 

Nelson on Infidelity. 

Bible not of Man. 

Memoir of Dr. Payson. 

Memoir of Mrs. H. L. 
Winslow. 

Mem. of Jas. B. Taylor. 

Memoir of Rev. Dr. Bu- 
chanan. 

BOO 

Peep of Day. 
Line upon Line. 
Precept upon Precept. 
Amelia, the Pastor's 

Daughter. 
Elizabeth Ba!es. 
Emily Maria. 
Newton's Letters to an 

Adopted Daughter. 
Child's Book on the Sab. 
Abbots Gjgld BWHome. 



Guide to Y'ng Disciples. 

Bunvan's Pilgrim's Prog. 

Elijah the Tishbite. 

Volume on Infidelity. 

Doddrklge's Rise and 
Progress. 

Life of Martyn. 

Baxter's Saints' Rest. 

Edwards' History of Re- 
demption. 

Pike's Persuasives to Ear- 
ly Piety. 

Reformation in Europe. 

Practical Piety, by Han- 
nah More. 

Anecdotes for the Family 
Circle. 

Jay's Christian Contem- 
plated. 

Spirit of Popery. 

Wil her force's Prac.Vie w. 

Life of David Brainerd. 

MeiviH's Bib. Thoughts. 

Mammon. By Harris. 

Life of Samuel Pearce. 

Edwards on Affections. 

Mem. of Hannah Hobbie. 

Life of John Newton. 

Curney on Love to God. 

Memoir of H. Page. 

Abbott's Moth, at Home. 

Young Man from Hom< 



Nevms' Pract. Thoughts 
Nevins' Thoughts cu 

Popery. 
Religion and Eter. Life. 
Bogue's Evidences ot 

Christianity. 
Baxter's Call, large tyj)e. 
" h small tyj>c 

Morison's Counsels to 

Young Men. 
Anxious Inquirer. 
Mason's Self Knowledgs 
Henry on Meekness. 
Baxter's Dying Tho'ts. 
" Life, chiefly by 

himself. 
Alleine's Alarm. 
Keith's Evidences of Pro- 
phecy. 
Life of Rev. Sam. Kilpin. 
Fuller's Backslider. 
Flavel on Keeping the 

Heart. 
Flavel's Touchstone. 
Redeemer's Last Com 

mand. 
Beecher on Intern per'ce 
Mem.of Norm'nd Smith. 
Self-Deception. 
Appeal to Mothers. 
Social Hymns. 

rains to Sacred Songi 



<S FOR THE YOUN13 



Child's Book on Repent- 
ance. 

Youth's Book of Natural 
Theology. 

Nathan W. Dickerman. 

Mary Lothrop. 

John Mooney Mead. 

Henry Obookiah. 

Gallaudet'sLifeofJosiah. 

The Dairyman's Daugh- 



ter^Ac. 
* ^ALSO- 



Amos Armrleld, or the 
Leather-covered Bible. 

Child's Hymn Book. Se- 
lect, by Miss Caulkina 

Script. Animals, 16 cuts. 

Letters to Little Chil- 
dren, 13 cuts. 

Watts' Divine and Moral 
Songs. 

With numerous similar 
works. 



In Welsh — Pilgrim a 
Progress, and Baxter's 
Saints' Rest and Call. 



Sabbath Manual, Parts! In German — 31 vols. 

1, 2, and 3, 64 cents various sizes. 

Temperance Manual, 5. | In FREmiH— J.2 vols. 

Also, upwards of 1000 Tracts and Children's Tracts, separate, bound, ot 
in packets, adapted for convenient sale by merchants and traders, many of 
J-.em with beautiful engravings — in English, German, French, Spanish, P>~ 
<oguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Welsh. 





























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