knowledge of himself; who seeing the cor- | follow the death unto sin.' There cannot ruptions that are in the world, and feeling be new aims and ends where there is not a those with which his heart abounds, is new principle to produce them. We shall brought, whether gradually or rapidly from not choose a new path until a light from an evil heart of unbelief, to a lively faith in heaven direct our choice and guide our the Redeemer; from a life, not only of gross feet.' We shall not run the way of God's vice, but of worldliness and vanity, to a life commandments,' till God himself enlarge of progressive piety; whose humility keeps our heart. pace with his progress; who, though his We do not, however, insist that the attainments are advancing, is so far from change required is such as precludes the counting himself to have attained, that he possibility of falling into sin; but it is a presses onward with unabated zeal, and change which fixes in the soul such a disevinces, by the change in his conduct, the position as shall make sin a burden, as shall change that has taken place in his heart-make the desire of pleasing God the governsuch a one is surely as sincerely converted, ing desire of a man's heart; as shall make and the effect is as much produced by the him hate the evil which he does; as shall same divine energy, as if some instantaneous make the lowness of his attainments the revolution in his character had given it a subject of his deepest sorrow. A Christian miraculous appearance. The doctrines of has hopes and fears, cares and temptations, Scripture are the same now as when David inclinations and desires, as well as other called them, a law converting the soul, men. God in changing the heart does not and giving light to the eyes.' This is per-extinguish the passions. Were that the haps the most accurate and comprehentive case, the Christian life would cease to be a definition of the change for which we are warfare.

contending, for it includes both the illumi- We are often deceived by that partial imnation of the understanding, and the altera-provement which appears in the victory over tion in the disposition.

If then this obnoxious expression signify nothing more nor less than that change of character which consists in turning from the world to God, however the term may offend, there is nothing ridiculous in the thing. Now, as it is not for the term which we contend, but for the principle conveyed by it; so it is the principle and not the term, which is the real ground of objection; though it is a little inconsistent that many who would sneer at the idea of conversion, would yet take it extremely ill if it were suspected that their hearts were not turned to God,

some one bad quality. But we must not mistake the removal of a symptom for a radical cure of the disease. An occasional remedy might remove an accidental sickness, but it requires a general regimen to renovate the diseased constitution.

It is the natural but melancholy history of the unchanged heart, that from youth to advanced years, there is no other revolution in the character but such as increase both the number and quality of its defects: that the levity, vanity, and self-sufficiency of the young man is carried into advanced life, and only meet, and mix with the defects of a mature period: that, instead of crying out with the royal prophet, O remember not my old sins,' he is inflaming his reckoning by new ones that age, protracting all the faults of youth, furnishes its own contingent of vices that sloth, suspicion, and covetousness, swell the account which religion has not been called in to cancel that the world, though it has lost the power to delight, has yet lost nothing of its power to enslave. Instead of improving in candour by the inward sense of its own defects, that very consciousness makes him less tolerant

Reformation, a term against which no objection is ever made, would, if words continued to retain their primitive signification, convey the same idea. For it is plain that to reform means to make anew. In the present use, kowever, it does not convey the same meaning in the same extent, nor indeed does it imply the operation of the same principle. Many are reformed on human motives, many are partially reformed; but only those who, as our great poet says, are reformed altogether, are converted. There is no complete reformation in the conduct of the defects of others, and more suspicious effected without a revolution in the heart. of their apparent virtues. His charity in a Ceasing from some sins; retaining others in warmer season having failed to bring him in a less degree; or adopting such as are mere- that return of gratitude for which it was ly creditable; or flying from one sin to an- partly peformed, and having never flowed other; or ceasing from the external act from the genuine spring, is dried up. His without any internal change of disposition, friendships having been formed on worldly is not Christian reformation. The new prin- principles, or interest, or ambition, or conciple must abolish the old habit; the rooted vivial hilarity, fail him. One must make inclination must be subdued by the substitu- some sacrifices to the world, is the prevailtion of an opposite one. The natural bias ing language of the nominal Christian. must be changed. The actual offence will What will the world pay you for your no more be pardoned than cured, if the in-sacrifices? replies the real Christian. ward corruption be not eradicated. To be Though he finds that the world is insolvent, ' alive unto God through Jesus Christ' must that it pays nothing of what is promised, for

it cannot bestow what it does not possess keen sense of dishonour, and are careful to happiness: yet he continues to cling to it al- avoid every thing that may bring the shamost as confidently as if it had never disap-dow of discredit on their name. Public opipointed him. Were we called upon to name nion is the breath by which they live, the the object under the sun which excites the standard by which they act; of course they deepest commiseration in the heart of Chris- would not lower by gross misconduct, that tian sensibility, which includes in itself the standard on which their happiness depends. most affecting congruities, which contains They have been taught to respect themthe sum and substance of real human mise-selves; this they can do with more security ry, we should not hesitate to say an irreligi- while they can retain, on this half-way prinous old age. The mere debility of declining ciple the respect of others,

years, even the hopelessness of decrepitude, In some who make further advances toin the pious, though they excite sympathy, wards religion, we continue to see it in that yet it is the sympathy of tenderness unmix-same low degree which we have always obed with distress. We take and give com- served. It is dwarfish and stunted, it makes fort, from the cheering persuasion that the no shoots. Though it gives some signs of exhausted body will soon cease to clog its life, it does not grow. By a tame and spiritimmortal companion; that the dim and fail- less round, or rather by this fixed and iming eyes will soon open on a world of glory. moveable position, we rob ourselves of that Dare we paint the reverse of the picture? fair reward of peace and joy which attends Dare we suffer the imagination to dwell on on an humble consciousness of progress; on the opening prospects of hoary impiety? the feeling of difficulties conquered; on a Dare we figure to ourselves that the weak- sense of the divine favour. That religion ness, the miseries, the terrors, we are now which is profitable, is commonly percepticommisserating, are case, are peace, are ble. Nothing supports a traveller in his happiness compared with the unutterable Christian course like the conviction that he perspective? is getting on; like looking back on the counThere is a fatal way of lulling the con-try he has passed; and, above all, like the science by entertaining diminishing thoughts sense of that protection which has hitherto of sins long since committed. We persuade carried him on, and of that grace which has ourselves to forget them, and we therefore promised to support him to the end. persuade ourselves that they are not re- The proper motion of the renewed heart membered by God. But though distance is still directed upward. True religion is of diminishes objects to the eye of the beholder, an aspiring nature, continually tending toit does not actually lessen them. Their real wards that heaven from whence it was magnitude remains the same. Deliver us, transplanted. Its top is high because its merciful God! from the delusion of believ-root is deep. It is watered by a perennial ing that secret sins, of which the world has fountain; in its most flourishing state it is no cognizance, early sins, which the world always capable of further growth. Real has forgotten, but which are known to Him goodness proves itself to be such by a contiwith whom we have to do,' become by secre-nual desire to be better. No virtue on earth cy and distance as if they had never been. is ever in a complete state. Whatever Are not these things noted in THY book?' stage of religion any man has attained, if he Perhaps if we remember them, God may be satisfied to rest in that stage, we would forget them, especially if our remembrance not call that man religious. The Gospel be such as to induce a sound repentance. If seems to consider the highest degree of we remember them not, He assuredly will. goodness as the lowest with which a Chris The holy contrition which should accompa-tian ought to sit down satisfied. We cannot ny this remembrance, while it will not abate be said to be finished in any Christian grace, our humble trust in our compassionate Re-because there is not one which may not be deemer, will keep our conscience tender, carried further than we have carried it. and our heart watchful.

This promotes the double purpose of keeping us humble as to our present stage, and of stimulating us to something higher which we may hope to attain.

We do not deny that there is frequently much kindness and urbanity, much benevolence and generosity, in men who do not even pretend to be religious. These quali- That superficial thing, which by mere ties often flow from constitutional feeling, people of the world is dignified by the apnatural softness of temper, and warm affec-pellation of religion, though it brings just tions: often from an elegant education, that that degree of credit which makes part of best human sweetener, and polisher of so-the system of worldly Christians; neither cial life. We feel a tender regret as we ex-brings comfort for this world, nor security claim, what a fine soil would such dispo- for the next. Outward observances, indissitions afford to plant religion in? Well pensable as they are, are not religion. They bred persons are accustomed to respect all are the accessory, but not the principal; the decorums of society, to connect insepa- they are important aids and adjuncts, but rably the ideas of personal comfort with not the thing itself; they are its aliment public esteem, of generosity with credit, of but not its life, the fuel but not the flame, order with respectability. They have a the scaffolding but not the edifice. Religion

can no more subsist merely by them. They such low attainment as will afford neither are divinely appointed, and must be consci-present peace nor future happiness. To entiously observed; but observed as a means know Christianity only in its external forms, to promote an end, and not as end in them-and its internal dissatisfaction, its superficial selves. appearances without, and its disquieting apThe heartless homage of formal worship, prehensions within; to be desirous of standwhere the living power does not give life to ing well with the world as a Christian, yet the form, the cold compliment of ceremo- to be unsupported by a well-founded Chrisnial attendance, without the animating prin- tian hope; to depend for happiness on the ciple, as it will not bring peace to our own opinion of men, instead of the favour of God; mind, so neither will it satisfy a jealous God. to go on dragging through the mere exerThat God whose eye is on the heart, who cises of piety, without deriving from them trieth the reins and searcheth the spirits,' real strength or solid peace; to live in the will not be satisfied that we make him little dread of being called an enthusiast, by out-. more than a nominal deity, while the world wardly exceeding in religion, and in secret is the real object of our worship. Such per- consciousness of falling short of it; to be sons seem to have almost the whole body of conformed to the world's view of Christianiperformance; all they want is the soul. ty, rather than to aspire to be transformed They are constant in their devotions, but by the renewing of your mind, is a state, the heart, which even the heathens esteem- not of pleasure but of penalty, not of coned the best part of the sacrifice, they keep quest but of hopeless conflict, not of ingenuaway. They read the Scriptures, but rest ous love but of tormenting fear. It is knowin the letter, instead of trying themselves by ing religion only as the captive in a foreign its spirit. They consider it as an enjoined land knows the country in which he is a task, but not as the quick and powerful in prisoner. He hears from the cheerful nastrument put into their hands for the critical tives of its beauties, but is himself ignorant dissection of piercing and dividing asunder of every thing beyond his own gloomy limits. the soul and spirit;' not as the penetrating He hears of others as free and happy, yet 'discerner of the thoughts and intents of the feels nothing himself but the rigours of inheart.' These well-mtentioned persons carceration. seem to spend no inconsiderable portion of time in religious exercises, and yet complain that they make little progress. They almost seem to insinuate as if the Almighty did not keep his word with them, and manifest that religion to them is not pleasantness, nor her paths peace.'

The Christian character is little understood by the votaries of the world; if it were, they would be struck with its grandeur. It is the very reverse of that meanness and pusillanimity, that abject spirit and those narrow views, which those who know it not ascribe to it.

Of such may we not ask, would you not A Christian lives at the height of his do better to examine than to complain? to being; not only at the top of his spiritual, inquire whether you do, indeed,, possess a but of his intellectual life. He alone lives heart which notwithstanding its imperfec-in the full exercise of his rational powers. tions, is sincerely devoted to God? He who Religion ennobles his reason while it endoes not desire to be perfect, is not sincere. larges it. Would you not do well to convince your- Let, then, your soul act up to its high desselves that God is not unfaithful? that his tination; let not that which was made to soar promises do not fail? that his goodness is not to heaven, grovel in the dust. Let it not slackened? May you not be entertaining live so much below itself. You wonder it is some secret infidelity, practising some latent not more fixed, when it is perpetually resdisobedience, withholding some part of your ting on things which are not fixed themheart, neglecting to exercise that faith, sub-selves. In the rest of a Christian there is tracting something from that devotedness, to stability. Nothing can shake his confidence which a Christian should engage himself, but sin. and to which the promises of God are annexed? Do you indulge no propensities contrary to his will? Do you never resist the dictates of his Spirit? never shut your and decay it. eyes to its illumination, nor your heart to its These are only a few of the mistakes influences? Do you not indulge some che-among the multitude which might have rished sin which obscures the light of grace, been pointed out; but these are noticed as some practice which obstructs the growth being of common and every day occurrence. of virtue, some distrust which chills the The ineffectiveness of such a religion will warmth of love? The discovery will repay be obvious. the search, and if you succeed in this scruti- That religion which sinks Christianity inny, let not the detection discourage but sti- to a mere conformity to religious usages, mulate. must always fail of substantial effects. If If, then, you resolve to take up religion sin be seated in the heart, if that be its in earnest, especially if you have actually home, that is the place in which it must be adopted its customary forms, rest not in combatted. It is in vain to attack it in the

Outward attack and troubles rather fix than unsettle him, as tempests from without only serve to root the oak faster, while an inward canker will gradually rot

suburbs, when it is lodged in the centre. on so poor a thing as his own advancement. Mere forms can never expel that enemy He will desire to devote all to the only obwhich they can never reach. By a religion ject worthy of them, to God. Our Saviour of decencies, our corruptions may perhaps has taken care to provide that our ideas of be driven out of sight, but they will never glorifying him may not run out into fanciful be driven out of possession. If they are ex- chimeras or subtle inventions, by simply stapelled from their outworks, they will retreat ting-HEREIN IS MY FATHER GLORIFIED, to their citadel. If they do not appear in THAT YE BEAR MUCH FRUIT.' This, he grosser forms, prohibited by the decalogue, goes on to inform us, is the true evidence of still they will exist. The shape may be al- our being of the number of his people, by tered, but the principle will remain. They adding so shall ye be my disciples.' will exist in the spiritual modification of the same sins, equally forbidden by the divine. expositor. He who dares not be revengeful, will be unforgiving. He who ventures not to break the letter of the seventh commandment in act, will violate it in the spirit. He who has not courage to forfeit heaven by profligacy, will scale it by pride, or forfeit ít by unprofitableness.

CHAP. IV.

Periodical Religion.

WE deceive ourselves not a little when we It is not any vain hope, built on some ex- fancy that what is emphatically called the ternal privilege or performance on the one world, is only to be found in this or that sihand, nor a presumptuous confidence that tuation. The world is every where. It is a our names are written in the book of life, on nature as well as a place; a principle as the other, which can afford a reasonable well as a local habitation and a name.' ground of safety, but it is endeavouring to Though the principle and the nature flourish keep all the commandments of God; it is most in those haunts which are their congeliving to him who died for us; it is being nial soil, yet we are too ready, when we conformed to his image, as well as redeem-withdraw from the world abroad, to bring ed by his blood. This is Christian_virtue; it home, to lodge it in our own bosom. The this is the holiness of a believer. A lower natural heart is both its temple and its wormotive will produce a lower morality, but shipper. such an unsanctified morality God will not accept.

But the most devoted idolater of the world, with all the capacity and industry which he For it will little avail us that Christ has may have applied to the subject, has never died for us, that he has conquered sin, tri- yet been able to accomplish the grand deumphed over the powers of darkness, and sign of uniting the interests of heaven and overcome the world, while any sin retains earth. This experiment, which has been its unresisted dominion in our hearts, while more assiduously and more frequently tried the world is our idol, while our fostered cor- than that of the philosopher for the grand ruptions cause us to prefer darkness to hermetic secret, has been tried with about light. We must not persuade ourselves that we are reconciled to God while our rebelLious hearts are not reconciled to goodness.

the same degree of success. The most laborious process of the spiritual chemist to reconcile religion with the world, has never yet been competent to make the contending principles coalesce.

But to drop metaphor.-Religion was never yet thoroughly relinquished by a heart full of the world. The world in return cannot be completely enjoyed where there is just religion enough to disturb its false peace. In such minds heaven and earth ruin each other's enjoyments.

It is not casting a set of opinions into a mould, and a set of duties into a system. which constitutes the Christian religion. The circumference must have a centre, the body must have a soul, the performances must have a principle. Outward observances were wisely constituted to rouse our forgetfulness, to awaken our secular spirits, to call back our negligent hearts; but it was never intended that we should stop short in There is a religion which is too sincere for the use of them. They were designed to hypocrisy, but too transient to be profitable; excite holy thoughts, to quicken us to holy too superficial to reach the heart, too unprodeeds, but not to be used as equivalents for ductive to proceed from it. It is slight, but either. But we find it cheaper to serve God not false. It has discernment enough to disin a multitude of exterior acts, than to starve tinguish sin, but not firmness enough to opon interior corruption. pose it; compunction sufficient to soften the Nothing short of that uniform stable prin.-heart, but not vigour sufficient to reform it ciple, that fixedness in religion which directs It laments when it does wrong, and performs a inan in all his actions, aims, and pursuits, all the functions of repentance of sin except to God as his ultimate end, can give consis- forsaking it. It has every thing of devotion tency to his conduct or tranquility to his except the stability, and gives every thing soul. This state once attained, he will not to religion except the heart. This is a rewaste all his thoughts and designs upon the ligion of times, events, and circumstances world; he will not lavish all his affections it is brought into play by accidents, and

dwindles away with the occasion which call- we solemnly pledge ourselves, at least ed it out. Festivals and fasts which occur once a week? Is consecrating an hour or but seldom, are much observed, and it is to two to public worship on the Sunday mornbe feared because they occur but seldom; ing, making the Sabbath a delight?' Is while the great festival which comes every desecrating the rest of the day, by doing week, comes too often to be so respectfully our own ways, finding our own pleasure, treated. The piety of these people comes speaking our own words,' making it hoout much in sickness, but is apt to retreat nourable?' again as recovery approaches. If they die, they are placed by their admirers in the Saints' calendar; if they recover, they go back into the world they had renounced, and again suspend their amendment as often as Death suspends his blow.

Sometimes in an awakening sermon, these periodical religionists hear, with awe and terror, of the hour of death and the day of judgment. Their hearts are penetrated with the solemn sounds. They confess the awful realities by the impression they make on There is another class whose views are their own feelings. The sermon ends, and still lower, who yet cannot so far shake off with it the serious reflections it excited. religion as to be easy without retaining its While they listen to these things, especially brief and stated forms, and who contrive to if the preacher be alarming, they are all in mix up these forms with a faith of a piece all to them. They return to the world— with their practice. They blend their in- and these things are as if they were not; as consistent works with a vague and unwar- if they had never been; as if their reality Tanted reliance on what the Saviour has lasted only while they were preached; as if done for them, and thus patch up a merit, their existence depended only on their beand a propitiation of their own-running the ing heard; as if truth were no longer truth hazard of incurring the danger of punish-than while it solicited their notice; as if there ment by their lives, and inventing a scheme were as little stability in religion itself as in to avert it by their creed. Religion never their attention to it. As soon as their minds interferes with their pleasures except by the are disengaged from the question, one would compliment of a short and occasional sus- think that death and judgment were an inpension. Having got through these periodi-vention, that heaven and hell were blotted cal acts of devotion, they return to the same from existence, that eternity ceased to be scenes of vanity and idleness which they eternity, in the long intervals in which they had quitted for the temporary duty: forget- cease to be the object of their considerating that it was the very end of those acts of tion. devotion to cure the vanity and to correct the idleness. Had the periodical observance answered its true design, it would have disinclined them to the pleasure instead of giving them a disposition for its indulgence. Had they used the devout exercise in a right spirit, and improved it to the true end, it would have set the heart and life at work on all those pursuits which it was calculated to promote. But their project has more ingenuity. By the stated minutes they give to religion, they cheaply purchase a protection for the misemployment of the rest of their time. They make these periodical devotions a kind of spiritual insurance office, which is to make up to the adventurers in pleasure, any loss or damage which they may sustain in its voyage.

This is the natural effect of what we venture to denominate periodical religion. It is a transient homage kept totally distinct and separate fron the rest of our lives, instead of its being made the prelude and the principle of a course of pious practice; instead of our weaving our devotions and our actions into one uniform tissue by doing all in one spirit and to one end. When worshippers of this description pray for a clean heart and a right spirit;' when they beg of God to turn away their eyes from beholding vanity,' is it not to be feared that they pray to be made what they resolve never to become, that they would be very unwilling to become as good as they pray to be made, and would be sorry to be as penitent as they profess to desire? But alas! they are in little danger of It is of these shallow devotions, these pre- being taken at their word; there is too much sumed equivalents for a new heart and a new reason to fear their petitions will not be life, that God declares by the prophet, that heard or answered, for prayer for the parhe is weary.' Though of his own express don of sin will obtain no pardon, while we appointment, they become an abomination retain the sin in hope that the prayer will be to him as soon as the sign comes to be rest-accepted without the renunciation. ed in for the thing signified. We Chris- The most solemn office of our Religion, tians have our new moous and our sacri- the sacred memorial of the death of its Aufices' under other names and other shapes; thor, the blessed injunction and tender tesof which sacrifices, that is, of the spirit in timony of his dying love, the consolation of which they are offered, the Almighty has the humble believer, the gracious appointsaid, I cannot away with them, they are ment for strengthening his faith, quickening iniquity.' his repentence, awakening his gratitude and Now is this superficial devotion that 'gi-kindling his charity, is too often resorted to ving up ourselves not with our lips only, on the same erroneous principle. He who but with our lives,' to our Maker, to which ventures to live without the use of this holy VOL. I.

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