motion to their fingers and utterance to their tongues. But leaving these wretched men to themselves, what are the dictates of our own reason on this subject? It tells us, in the outset, that it has not always existed; that thought arising from its perceptions springs from a principle very distinct from its own; that its faculties are the gift of some extraneous Being, who nevertheless is intimately present to all its operations. These first dawnings of reason must convince us of our weakness; and are sufficient to lead us insensibly to the important truths held out by religion. The necessity of a revelation soon becomes evident, and it is to be found only in the bosom of Christianity, which may be traced to its source in the garden of Eden. There was the theatre of our misfortunes; as well as the cradle of our worship. It was there that the first man, in consequence of his voluntary transgression, was stript of all the prerogatives of innocence, all the attributes of happiness, and saw no remedy for his misery, but in the promise of a Redeemer, who should one day appear to remove the ignorance and guilt of his posterity. The writings, which have transmitted this doctrine, present to reason's eye every feature of truth, and this noble faculty must be obscured by the delirium of the senses, nay, if possible, extinguished, before any rational, doubt can be entertained of the authenticity of the prophetick and apostolick writings. When once the proofs of these are established, which is readily done, then man perceives himself to be a tributary being, and bound to his Creator by the strongest ties both of justice and gratitude.

He sees within himself, and in every thing around him, fresh motives for attaching himself without reserve to God, and for honouring him by that worship which he has ordained. In vain now are the murmurs of the reluctant passions, the rebellion of the senses, and the perplexities of uncertainty. The soul thinks, and combines for herself; and quickly discovers, that through faith alone we are bound, and enabled to adore a Being altogether incomprehensible. Thus our reason, (if the expression may be allowed,) is then only rational, when it fills us with silent admiration, and profound humility in the presence of the Eternal, convincing us at the same time, that all the speculations which have been hazarded on this subject, have ended in nothing but obscurity and doubt. What, in fact, have those philosophers taught us, who, in the pride of their hearts, have presumed to be the legislators of mankind? Some have classed us with the most unseemly and ferocious animals; while others have regarded us only as parts of an inert, and senseless Divinity identified with matter. But, alas! these thoughtless mortals refuse to consider, that when a Being essentially Infinite is the subject of our meditations, reason is justified in admitting incomprehensible truths, though not in her efforts to conceive of this Great Being himself.

It is not reason, then, but the perversion of this faculty, that delivers us over to sophistry and absurdity. The language of reason is consistent, when we listen to no other; and to stop at

the limits which her Creator has assigned her, she deems more conducive to her glory, than to wander through the frightful void, in which pride and presumption are always bewildered. Our obligations to God are, therefore, so palpable, that we must be deaf to the voice of conscience, before we can plead any exemption from them. But this moral deafness, alas! too generally prevails. Most men are too occupied, or too dissipated, to listen either to inspiration or remorse. They live as if their lives were under their own control; and their desires are such, as would seem to connect their accomplishment with the sole end of human existence. They fondly affect to be ignorant, that God possesses an absolute right over every thought and sentiment of man; that to him we owe the entire sacrifice of our mental attainments, and animal appetites, when either of them would betray us; and that in our quality of immortal substances, we cannot draw a breath, without some reference to Him.

And yet, can man cast one look upon himself, without a consciousness of his dependence, and frailty? God, like the sun, and man, like the shadow, appear to move on in some degree together; but the light of the former is alone important, imparting body, as it were, even to shadow itself. Our reason possesses neither discrimination, nor precision, only so far as it emanates from the creating Spirit, who preserves and animates our being: It is in God only, the centre and fulness of all truth, that we can discover the science of numbers, as St. Augustin has observed; and if from them we advance to the contemplation of colours, and the other objects of our senses, we are immediately convinced, that independently of us, there exists a harmony in them all, which is neither arbitrary nor factitious, but is the spring of whatever regales and delights us. Thus reminded every moment of the impression of omnipotence, the soul places her chief happiness in acknowledging its reality, and admiring its perfections. On every mind this truth is impressed by reason, that the present state of existence cannot constitute the sole end and happiness of man, and that, of course, it is his duty by an innocent and holy life, to secure a reversion of more solid and lasting felicity. All our obligations to God may be reduced to one head; and that is love. Reason continually delivers this lesson. She proclaims with a voice loud and intelligible, that he who has made all things in us and for us, and who is to be at last our great reward, cannot be forgotten without guilt of the blackest die; and since from him alone we receive the capacity of loving, every attachment of our hearts should bear some reference to him as our Creator and Benefactor.

"Was it necessary, O my God!" exclaims the devout St. Austin, "to command us to love thee, when all nature cries aloud, that thou only art worthy of our love?" We must feel, that a God, who is always accessible, always placable, always constant and unchangeable, who opens the bosom of the earth, and spreads out the heavens for our service, has an undisputed title to all our

affections, and that rigorous justice demands the devotedness of our hearts to him, even when we are warranted in conciliating the affections of fellow-mortals.

This divine love, this primitive obligation, in order to be acceptable, must be active and fruitful. God is jealous of his sovereign dominion, and therefore requires that our minds should contemplate the wonders of his power, that our hearts should cherish an attachment to his laws, our hands be opened to the offices of benevolence, and our feet advancing in the paths of righteousness. In a word, that the whole of our earthly and spiritual being should be engaged in his service, in accomplishing his purposes.

Nothing can be more evident, than that we stand indebted to the Great Being, who preserves us, in unceasing returns of gratitude and love: we must, therefore, be guilty of a strange prevarication, when presuming to enter upon a new day of our lives, without first presenting to him the homage of worship and supplication. It is He who has made the day and night for our service, who shuts our eyelids in sleep, and opens them again to the light of the morning; who has often snatched us from disasters by an unexpected interference, which our reason must tell us, was altogether providential:-often has the lightning been suspended over our heads, and the yawning abyss been closed beneath our feet, by the unseen hand of our merciful Protector. We have seen thousands fall at our right hand, and thousands at our left, while we have remained unhurt amidst precipices and ruins. But such affecting and awful warnings are not necessary to remind us of our obligations towards God. The very act of breathing, the motion of the smallest fibre, is regulated by him. If he withdraw his hand, we crumble into dust, and mingle in a moment with the soil on which we tread. What, then, can we think of so many wretched beings, who pass their lives without acknowledging and worshiping their Creator? Lost to every awakening sensibility, they have eyes, and see not; ears have they, and hear not; they conceive themselves placed at an infinite distance from the Deity, while every pulsation of their hearts, every ray of their understandings, proceeds solely from him. Could we have ever imagined, that in the bosom of Christendom men should be found thus blinded by prejudices, or brutalized by their passions? They have presumed to dogmatize amidst the blaze of that blessed religion, which, not content to point out our duties to God, furnishes us, moreover, with means and ability to perform them; and by commanding us to set aside a determinate portion of our time for his service, brings even to the most dissipated mind a periodical call to its duty. Perhaps some shallow adept in literature or philosophy will boldly assert, that reason and revelation should be always kept separate, as things distinct from, and irreconcileable with each other: But observations of this kind have been repeatedly confuted, and the most incomprehensible mysteries have been shown to present more than one aspect enlightened by the rays of reason. Thus the mystery of

the Trinity, at which reason chiefly revolts, when accurately defined, presents no contradictory ideas. Ignorance, or impiety, have confounded the term Person, with that of God, while the numerical difference between one and three, which removes the chief difficulty, is kept out of sight. They would represent this mystery as consisting of one and of three persons, which, indeed, would be a palpable absurdity. Alas! how are they to be pitied, who refuse to listen to the voice of unsophisticated reason? How many disciples of Spinosa do we not meet with, who scruple not to embody the Deity with the vast frame of the universe, and yet scoff at the idea of the Eternal Logos assuming man's nature? How many Materialists, who, while they deny the possibility of the soul's acting upon matter, acknowledge God to be a pure Spirit, and the Power that gives motion to the heavens and the earth? In proportion as men recede from God, and abandon religion, the reasoning faculty becomes dim and uncertain; all our mistakes arise from a wanton dissipation of mind. We have habituated our passions and senses to become so importunately clamorous, that no other language can reach us; and their seducing lessons, like the voice of the Syrens, hurry us into irregularities degrading and fatal. When the greatest part of life has been past in attending solely to the tumultuous bustle of a world, which is for the most part irrational, reason herself will be regarded as folly. Go, and tell yon man of wealth that his ostentatious bounty is no Christian virtue, and he will not comprehend what you say; nor will he whom scientifick acquirements, or the voice of popularity appear to have raised above the level of his fellow-citizens, if reminded of the necessity of condescension, pay any regard to your observations. Tell the woman of the world that her luxurious profusion, and fashionable airs, are directly opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, and her answer will be, that she must support her rank in society. And the everlasting gambler will laugh at your remonstrances against the loss of his time, his money, and his temper. Thus, every child of folly suppressing the inward suggestions of reason, listens only to the importunities of passion; and successive generations serve only to perpetuate inconsistency and errour. We do not reflect that our obligations to God constitute the chief distinction between rational and irrational beings. The same senses and passions are common to both; and both are susceptible of gratitude and love; but on man only is bestowed the erect gait and lofty countenance which bespeak his affinity with the skies. When we regard ourselves as men and Christians, how many relations crowd upon our minds which attach us to God, to his love, and to his service? Our whole being viewed either in reference to its movements or thoughts, its sensations or its sentiments, should exert no other activity or will, but for God, and in God. Every thing becomes defective, and foreign to our nature, as soon as we withdraw ourselves from our preserving and lifegiving principle. Great then, and lamentable, must be their blindness or perverseness, who appear to blush not only at the

worship, but at the very name of God. It is reserved to the affected wisdom, or rather contemptible impiety of our day, to employ in serious discussions every ingenuity of expression, which eludes the mention of God. Modern sophists are not ashamed to read in pagan writers constant references to the Deity, in which the unmeaning and ridiculous terms nature and destiny, the jargon of modern infidels, very seldom occur. Perish, for ever, such vain philosophy! but may "all that is within us bless the holy name of the Lord!" He it is, who cheers our fainting spirits, who pardons our iniquities, and crowns us with mercy and lovingkindness: He realizes the desires of our hearts, renews our youth like that of an eagle, and regards us with the eye and feelings of a Father: He knows our frailty, that we are but dust and ashes; yet scatters his blessings from one generation to another on those who fear him: He has prepared for us a place in the mansions of bliss, where "of his reign shall be no end!" When he laid the foundations of the earth, he had respect to us, and when by the incarnation of the eternal word, he renovated the world, it was to place us in the road to everlasting happiness. If all these claims upon the love and gratitude of man be lost upon him, can he be considered much above the level of vegetable matter, or endowed with reason? And yet the day will surely come, and is probably not very distant, when the present system of things with all its amusements and occupations will vanish away, and God remain the only object of contemplation to the human mind. Then will appear the necessity of studying and practising his holy laws. David made this meditation the delight of his life. It animates the enraptured body of poetry, which he has left us in his Psalms, and which persons of a correct and elevated taste, prefer to all other flights of poetical fancy. They are, indeed, strains of hea venly melody; thoughts that glow, and words that burn with gratitude and love. Being of Beings! Thou who hast formed me, and breathed into me the breath of life; who hast unlocked my lips, and unsealed my eyes, who hast strengthened all my joints, who hast numbered the hairs of my head, and the drops of blood that circulate through my frame, who penetratest into all my thoughts, designs and inclinations; who strengthenest my memory, enlightenest my understanding, and dilatest my heart; enlivenest my fancy, fillest me with hopes, crownest me with blessings, and bestowest even now the faculty of recording thy mercies! Thou, my reason tells me, art truly my God; Thou, the Supreme Mover and Director of the universe; her only refuge, light and consolation! In the first stages of the union of my spirit with matter, this reason was nothing more than a transient spark amidst the gloom of night; but guided now by thy divine revelation, like a permanent star she enters upon her unmeasurable career, waiting on Thee as the Sun and centre of her system, and from Thee deriving

* Gray.