Not contentWith every food of life to nourish man,Thou mak’st all nature beauty to his eyeAnd music to his ear.
Not contentWith every food of life to nourish man,Thou mak’st all nature beauty to his eyeAnd music to his ear.
Our Maker also, in his kindness, has so constructed us, that even mere vicissitude is grateful and refreshing—a consideration which should prompt us often to seek, from a prudentvariationofuseful pursuits, that recreation, for which we are apt to resort to what is altogether,unproductiveandunfruitful.
Yet rich and multiplied are the springs of innocent relaxation. The Christian relaxes in the temperate use of all the gifts of Providence. Imagination, and taste, and genius, and the beauties of creation, and the works of art, lie open to him. He relaxes in the feast of reason, in the intercourses of society, 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 benevolent and generous affections; which, by thegracious ordination of our Creator, while they disinterestedly 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 dissipation, 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 relinquished, 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 thenatureof that pleasantness 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. Fear, guilt, remorse, shame, and various other passions, 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 overwhelmed by the sense of his unworthiness. But all this ought in fairness to be charged to the account of his past sins, and not to that of his present repentance. It rarely happens, however, that this state of suffering continues very long. When the mental gloom is the blackest, a ray of heavenly light occasionally 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 Religion 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.”
“Drink deep,” however, “or taste not,” is a direction full as applicable to Religion, if we would find it a source of pleasure, as it is to knowledge. 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 just sufficient, by condemning their course of conduct, 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, as it were, an ill report of that land of promise, which, in truth, abounds with whatever, in our 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 qualified, I dare not say an entire, exemption from those distracting passions and corroding cares, by which he must naturally be harassed, whose treasure is within the reach of mortal accidents; there isthe humble quiet-giving hope of being reconciled to God, and of enjoying his favour; with that solid peace of mind, which the world can neither give nor take away, that results from a firm confidence in the infinite wisdom and goodness of God, and in the unceasing care and kindness of a generous Saviour: and there is the persuasion of the truth of the divine assurance, that all things shall work together for good.
When the pulse indeed beats high, and we are flushed with youth, and health, and vigour; 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 fortune frowns, or friends forsake us; when sorrow, or sickness, or old age, comes 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 of 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 an 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 endeavours and elude his grasp! To such an one,gloomilyindeed does the evening of life set in! All is sour and cheerless. He can neither look backward with complacency nor forward with hope: while the aged Christian, relying on the assured mercy of his Redeemer, 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 heart of man to conceive.”
Never were there times which inculcated more forcibly than those in which we live, the wisdom of seeking a happiness beyond the reach of human vicissitudes. What striking lessons havewehad of the precarious tenure of all sublunary possessions! Wealth, and power, and prosperity, how peculiarly transitory and uncertain! But Religion dispenses her choicest cordials in the seasons of exigence, in poverty, in exile, in sickness, and in death. The essential 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 splendour, 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, erect and vigorous; stripped indeed of his summer foliage, but more than ever discovering to the observing eye the solid strength of his substantial texture:
Pondere fixa suo est, nudosque per aera ramosAttollens, trunco non frondibus efficit umbram.
Pondere fixa suo est, nudosque per aera ramosAttollens, trunco non frondibus efficit umbram.
In a former chapter we largely insisted on what may be termed the fundamental practical error of the bulk of professed Christians in our days; their either overlooking or misconceiving the peculiar method, which the Gospel has provided for the renovation of our corrupted nature, and for the attainment of every Christian grace.
But there are mistakes on the right hand and on the left; and our general proneness, when we are flying from one extreme to run into an opposite error, renders 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 holiness; we must at the same time guard against a practical mistake of another kind. They 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 with God, have resolved henceforth, through the help of his Spirit, to bring forth the fruits of righteousness, are sometimes apt to conduct themselves as if they considered their work as now 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 repentanceand faith may seem to have become necessary. There are not a few in our relaxed age, who thus satisfy themselves with what may be termedgeneralChristianity; who feelgeneralpenitence and humiliation from a sense of their sinfulnessin general, andgeneraldesires of universal holiness; but who neglect that vigilant and jealous care, with which they should labour to extirpate everyparticularcorruption, by studying its nature, 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 acquisition 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 altogether in their instructions on thisgeneralReligion: instead of tracing and laying open all the secret motions of inward corruption, and instructing their hearers how best to conduct themselves in every distinct part of the Christian warfare; how best to strive against each particular vice, and to cultivate each grace of the Christian character. Hence it is, that in too many persons, concerning the sincerity of whose general professions of Religion we should be sorry to entertain a doubt, we yet 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 inability to resist the temptation to which they are particularly exposed. They will confess themselves, in general terms, to be “miserable sinners:” this is a tenet of their creed, and they feel even proud in avowing it. Theywill occasionally also lament particular failings: 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 which they have afforded of their acuteness or candour in discovering the infirmity in question, or of their frankness or humility in acknowledging 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 consideration 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, that there is noshort compendious method of holiness: but that it must be the business of their whole lives to grow in grace, and continually adding one virtue to another, as far as may be, “to go on towards perfection.” “He only that doeth righteousness is righteous.” 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 the whole, our unwillingness to pass an unfavourable judgment may lead us to indulge a hope, that “the root of the matter is found in them;” yet we must at least declare to them, that instead of adorning the doctrine of Christ, they disparage and discredit it. The world seesnot their secret humiliation, not 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 prejudices 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 unceasing circumspection. Let him endeavour to learn, both from men and books, particularly from the lives of eminent Christians[125], what methods have been actually found most effectual for the conquest of every particular vice, and for improvement in every branch of holiness. Thus studying his own character, and observing 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, in enabling him to avoid or to guard against the occasionsof 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 Christian. It is by this unceasing diligence, as the Apostle declares, that the servants of Christ must make their calling sure. Their labour will not be thrown away; for “an entrance shall” at length “be ministered unto them abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
There is another class of men, an increasing class, it is to be feared, in this country, that of absolute unbelievers, 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 not in their estimation true, yet is there not at least a presumption in its favour, sufficient to entitle it to a serious examination; from its having been embraced, and that not blindly and implicitly, but upon full inquiry and deep consideration, 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 of their knowledge, and by the freedom too of their minds, and their daring to combat existing prejudices, have calledforth the respect and admiration of mankind? It might be deemed scarcely fair to insist on Churchmen, 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 importance of the subject? The fact is, and it is a fact which redounds to the honour of Christianity, that infidelity is not the result of sober inquiry and deliberate preference. It is rather the slow production of a careless and irreligious life, operating together with prejudices and erroneous conceptions, concerning the nature of the leading doctrines and fundamental 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 thence 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 farther 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 to them. They yield to the temptations which assail them, and become, more or less, dissipated and licentious. At least they neglect to look into their Bible; they do not enlarge the sphere of their religious acquisitions; they do not even endeavour, by reflection and study, to turn into what may deserve the name of knowledge and rational conviction, the opinionswhich, 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 favour 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 commonly are either hurried round in the vortex of dissipation, or engage with the ardour 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 controversy: and what reaches their ears of the Bible, from 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 farther acquaintance with the Scripture would remove. Thus growing more and more to know Christianity only by the difficulties it contains; sometimes tempted by the ambition of shewing themselves superior to vulgar prejudice, and always prompted by the natural pride of the human heart to cast off their 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, andby no means take the precise shape or the substance of a formed opinion. At first, probably, they even offend and startle by their intrusion: but by degrees the unpleasant sensations which they once excited wear 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, and of the comfort and enlargement which would be afforded by that proof, 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 themselves 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, thenatural historyof 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 confirmed 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 hereditary assent to the truth of Christianity, and were what, by a mischievous perversion of language, the world denominatesbelievers. How were they then awakened from their sleep of ignorance? At what moment did the light of truth beam in upon them, and dissipate the darkness in which they had been involved? The periodof their infidelity is marked by no such determinate boundary. Reason, and thought, and inquiry had little or nothing to do with it. Having for many years lived careless and irreligious lives, and associated with companions equally careless and irreligious; not by force of study and reflection, 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 described. Something awakens them to reflection. They examine, they consider, and at length yield their assent to Christianity on what they deem sufficient grounds.
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 confirmed by the undeniable truth, that insocieties, 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 infidel 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 infidelity, and in favour 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 examiningdispassionately 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 infidelity increases, it is not in consequence of the reasonings of the infidel writers having been much studied, but from the progress of luxury, and the decay of morals: and, so far as this increase may be traced at all to the works of sceptical writers; it has been produced, not by argument and discussion, but by 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, thatinfidelity is in general a disease of the heart more than of the understanding. If Revelation were assailed only by reason and argument, it would have little to fear. The literary opposers of Christianity, from Herbert to Hume, have been seldom read. They made some stir in their day: during their 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 nominal orthodoxy to absolute infidelity,Unitarianism[126]is indeed, a sort of half-way house, if the expression 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 absolve their followers from the unbending strictness of Christian morality. They prescribe the predominant 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 religionists 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,Unitarianismseems 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, rather to incur the dreaded charge of singularity, than fall in with the declining manners of a dissipated age.
Unitarianism, where it may be supposed to proceed from the understanding rather thanfrom the heart, is not unfrequently produced by a confused idea of the difficulties, or, as they are termed, the impossibilities which orthodox Christianity is supposed to involve. It is not our intention to enter into the controversy:[127]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 system, results from the very circumstances of their being the assailants. They urge what they state to be powerful arguments against the truth of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and then call upon men to abandon them as posts no longer tenable. But they, 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 perplexing difficulties and plausible objections may be 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 which 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 preference. Experience, however, will have convinced the attentive observer of those around him, that it has been for want of adverting to this just and obvious 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 indirectly, by shewing the high probability of the truth of Christianity, and of its leading and peculiar doctrines, it is most likely that they would soon appear wholly unable to keep their ground. In short, reasoning fairly, there is no medium between absolutePyrrhonismand true 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 inconsideration, 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 oftheir 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 various 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 orthodox Christians. They grant the reality of future 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:” and, as was formerly hinted, though disbelieving almost every material doctrine which Christianity contains; yet, even in their own minds, they by no means conceive themselves to be inlisted 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, which they suffer themselves to indulge, of escaping but with a slight measure of punishment. Nor let them think their guilt inconsiderable.Is it not grossly criminal to trifle with the long-suffering 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 different 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 them, who voluntarily shut their eyes against that full light, which the bounty of Heaven has poured out upon them. These half-unbelievers are even more reprehensible than downright sceptics, for remaining in this state of careless uncertainty, without endeavouring to ascertain the truth or falsehood of revelation. The probability which they admit, that it may be true, imposes on them an additional and an undeniable obligation to inquiry. 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 soplainly, and at so easy a rate, offered to the consideration of mankind. Through the bounty of Providence, the more widely spreading poison of infidelity has in our days been met with more numerous and more powerful antidotes. One of these has been already pointed out: and it should be matter of farther gratitude to every real Christian, that in the very place on which modern infidelity had displayed the standard of victory, a warrior in the service of Religion, a man of the most acute discernment and profound research, has been raised up by Providence to quell theirtriumph[128]. He was soon taken from us; but happily for him and for ourselves, not till he had announced, that, like the Magi of old, he had seen the star of Christ in the East, and had fallen down and worshipped him. Another should be mentioned with honour, who is pursuing the track which that great man had pointed out[129]. Henceforth let all objectors against Christianity, on the ground of its being disproved by the oriental records, be put to silence. The strength of their cause consisted in their ignorance, and in our own, of oriental learning. They availed themselves for a while of our being in a state of darkness; but the light of day has at length broken in and exposed to deserved contempt their superficial speculations.
The infatuation of these unbelievers upon trust would be less striking, if they were able altogether to decline Christianity; and were at liberty to relinquish 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 encounter, and their eternal happiness or misery is suspended upon the issue[130]. What must be the emotions 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 mercy and the power of God awaken them from their desperate slumber, while life is yet spared, and there is yet space for repentance!
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 maintained, 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 attentively 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 which it now peculiarly enforces on them. If we consult the most intelligent accounts of foreign countries, which have been recently published, and compare them with the reports of former travellers; 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 progress of irreligion, and the decay of morals at home, are such as to alarm every consideratemind, and to forebode the worst consequences, unless some remedy can be applied to the growing evil. We can depend only upon trueChristiansfor effecting, in any degree, this important service. Their system, as was formerly stated, is that of our national church: and in proportion, therefore, as their system prevails, or as it increases in respect and estimation, from the manifest good conduct of its followers; in that very proportion the church is strengthened in the foundations, on which alone it can be much longer supported, the esteem and attachment of its members, and of the nation at large. Zeal is required in the cause of Religion;theyonly 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 earnestness, strive in all things to recommend their profession, 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 consider as devolved on Them the important duty of suspending 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 politics, in which it cannot but be confessed there is much uncertainty; but rather by that sure and radical 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, without sordidness or absurdity, shew by their modest demeanour, 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 money, which others selfishly waste in parade, and dress, and equipage. Let them evince, in short, a manifest moderation in all temporal things; as becomes those whose affections are set on higher objects than any which this world affords, and who possess, within their own bosoms, a fund of satisfaction 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 attempt 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 endeavours 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 in this season of national difficulty. We bear upon us but too plainly the marks of a declining empire. Who can say but that the Governor of the universe, who declares himself to be a Godwho hears the prayers of his servants, may, in answer to their intercessions, for a while avert our ruin, and continue to us the fulness of those temporal blessings, which in such abundant measure we have hitherto enjoyed[131]. 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 promoting the well being of the community; may yet, according to their humour, with a smile of complacent pity, or a sneer of supercilious contempt, read of the service which real Christians may render to their country, by conciliating the favour 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 for the image of his tutelar saint, in order to stop the destructive ravages of Ætna. We are, however, sure, if we believe the Scripture, that God will be disposed to favour the nation to which his servants belong; and that, in fact, such as They, have often been the unknown and unhonoured instruments of drawing down on their country the blessings of safety and prosperity.
But 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, thatto the decline of Religion and morality our national difficulties must both directly and indirectly be chiefly ascribed; and that my only solid hopes for the well-being of my country depend not so much on her fleets and armies, not so much on thewisdom of her rulers, or the spirit of her people, as on the persuasion that she still contains many, who, in a degenerate 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, Heaven may still look upon us with an eye of favour.
Let the prayers of the Christian reader be also offered up for the success of this feeble endeavour in the service of true Religion. God can give effect to the weakest effort; and the writer will feel himself too much honoured, if by that which he has now been making, but a single fellow creature should be awakened from a false security, or a single Christian, who deserves the name, be animated to more extensive usefulness. He may seem to have assumed to himself a task which he was ill qualified to execute. He fears he may be reproached with arrogance and presumption for taking upon him the office of a teacher. Yet, as he formerly suggested, it cannot be denied, that it belongs to his public situation to investigate the state of the national Religion and morals; and that it is the part of a real patriot to endeavour to retard their decline, and promote their revival. But 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 pardon him. Let him be allowed to offer in his excuse 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 acquaintance and his friends. Let him allege the unaffected solicitude which he feels for the welfare of his fellow creatures. Let him urge the fond wishhe gladly 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 Christianity might be still enjoyed, where the name of the Redeemer might still be honoured; 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.
Abuseof things, unfairness of arguing from it against their use,53.Acceptancewith God, commonly prevailing notions respecting it,85—88.— Scripture, and Church of England, doctrine respecting it,88—92.— practical consequences, of common notions respecting it,89.— true doctrine vindicated from objection,93—94.Addison, quoted,162.Affections, of their admission into Religion,57,58.— their admission into Religion reasonable,59—62.— true test and measure of them in Religion,62—65.— in Religion, not barely allowable, but highly necessary,66—69.— our Saviour the just object of them,69,70.— objection, that they are impossible towards an invisible Being, discussed,71—77.— little excited by public misfortunes, and why,75,76.— towards our Saviour, special grounds for them,77,78.— divine aid promised for exciting them,79,80.— our statements respecting them in Religion verified by facts,80,81.— religious, St. Paul a striking instanceofthem,61.Ambition, votaries of,125,126.Amiabletempers, discussion respecting,178—198.— substituted for Religion,179,180.— value of, estimated by the standard of mere reason,180.— false pretenders to them,181.— real nature, when not grounded on Religion,181,182.— precarious nature,182—184.— value of, on Christian principles,186.— life, Christian’s most so,190,191.— Christians urged to this,192—196.— its just praise,197,198.— apt to deceive us,198.Applause, desire of, universal,146,147.
Babington, the reverend Matthew,259.Benevolence, true Christian, its exalted nature,287,288.Bacon, Lord, quoted,229.
Calumny, considerations which reconcile the Christian to it,169,170.Charity, true, what, and its marks,311,312.Christianity, vital revival of, would invigorate church establishment,294.— vital, alone suited to lower orders,295,296.— the common system, falsely so called,305.— the truest patriotism,287—292.— of the world, its base nature,324.— not a gloomy service,326—332.— relaxations compatible with,327,328.— its solid texture,332.— general, what so called,334,335.— true, requires incessant watchfulness and care,336.— state in which it finds us,30—33.— its present critical circumstances,265—272.— reduced to a system of ethics, proofs of this,273,277,278.— causes, which have tended to produce neglect of her peculiar doctrines,269,270,274—276.— peculiar doctrines of, taught by the oldest divines and highest dignitaries of the English church,273,274.— peculiar doctrines gradually fallen into neglect,276—278.— sad symptoms of its low state among us,278—280.— objection, that our system of it too strict, stated and answered,280—283.— vital, its happy influence on temporal well-being of communities,283—285.— not hostile to patriotism,285—287.— from its essential nature, peculiarly adapted to well-being of communities,290—292.— vital, can alone produce these effects,293.— excellence of it, in some particulars not commonly noticed,252—259.— general state of, in England,262.— its tendency to promote the well-being of political communities,262—288,292,293.— has raised the general standard of practice,264,265.— sickens in prosperity and flourishes under persecution,266,267.— peculiarities of, naturally slide into disuse,269.Christians, true, duties especially incumbent on them in these times,350—353.— should pray for their country,351.— their prayers intreated for the success of this work,353.— ready made, who esteemed such,318.— real, how different from nominal,214,215.— life, illustrated by figure of a traveller,217—219.Commons, House of, proves inordinate love of worldly glory,159.Consistencybetween Christianity’s leading doctrines and practical precepts,231—252,253.— between Christianity’s leading doctrines amongst each other,253.— between Christianity’s practical precepts amongst each other,253—257.Contact, necessary to produce any interest in our affections,73—78,81.Corruptionof human nature, common notions of it,14—16.— of human nature, Scripture account of it,16,26,27.— of human nature, arguments suggested in proof of it,16—26.— of Heathen world, and striking instance of it,18,19.— of savage life,19,20.— proof of it, furnished by the state of the Christian world,20—24.— by the experience of the true Christian,24,25.— human, its general effects, when suffered to operate without restraint,25,26.— human, firm grounds on which it rests,35.— human, practical uses of the doctrine,36.Cowper’s Task, recommended,234—352.— quoted,251.
Defective, conceptions generally prevailing concerning importance of Christianity,1—5.— conceptions concerning human corruption,15,16.— conceptions concerning the evil spirit,28.— conceptions concerning the doctrines, which respect our Saviour and the Holy Spirit,70,71,45,46,48,49,50.— conceptions concerning the means of acceptance with God,84—91.— conceptions prevailing concerning practical Christianity,102—104,117—205.— conceptions of guilt and evil of sin,206—210.— fear of God,210.— sense of the difficulty of getting to heaven,214,215.— love of God in nominal Christians,219—221.— love of God, proofs of it in nominal Christians,221—224.— conceptions general, concerning peculiar doctrines of Christianity,231.— conceptions of peculiarities of Christianity, practical mischiefs from them,232.Depths, of the things of God; and our proneness to plunge into them,41—43.Devotednessto God, duty of it,107—110,113,116,118.Dissipatedand indolent, class of,121,122.Dissipation, seems to have prevailed in the antediluvian world,213.Doddridge’sSermons on Regeneration, referred to, note,83.Duelling, its guilt, &c.159—161.
Error, innocence of, considered,10—12.Establishment, religious, in England, how circumstanced,267.Estimation, desire of, universal,146,147.— common language concerning it, the effects of the love of it, and the nature of the passion,148—150.— commendations of it questioned,151.— essential defects of inordinate love of it, explained,152,153.— love of, Scripture lessons concerning,152—156.— value of, analogous to riches,156.— love of, common notions respecting it,157,158.— proofs of our statements respecting it from House of Commons,159.— proofs of our statements respecting it from duelling,159—161.— real nature of inordinate love of it,162,163.— true Christian’s conduct respecting love of it,164—173.— true modes of guarding against excessive love of it,171,172.— advice to the true Christian respecting love of it,174—178.— love of, best moderated by humility and charity,176.— true Christian’s temper respecting it,177.Evilspirit, the existence and agency not contrary to reason,28,29.Externalactions substituted for habits of mind,134,135.