deed, as if he were a character to be admired and eulogized, while the general course of his life is marked with vice and an utter forgetfulness of God and religion: nor does he fix a stigma of immorality upon the person who may have acted foolishly or sinfully in one or two instances, while the general tenor of his conduct has been marked by purity and rectitude; for in both cases, he considers that it is not a single action, but general habits which determine the character of any individual. He esteems the wise and the good, and holds friendly intercourse with them, to whatever political or religious party they belong. He can bear with affability and candour, to have his opinions contradicted; and can differ from his neighbour in many disputed points, while at the same time he values and esteems him. He will not brand a man as a heretick or deist, because he takes a view of some opinions in theology in a different light from what he himself does; for he considers the difference of habits, studies, pursuits, and educational prejudices which must have influenced his opinions; and makes due allowance for the range of thought to which he may have been accustomed. He is disposed to attribute the actions of others to good motives, when he has no proof of the contrary. He uses no threats or physical force to support his opinions, or to convince gainsayers; for he knows that no external coercion canilluminate the mind; and that the strength of arguments and the force of truth, can alone produce conviction. He is convinced how ignorant he is, notwithstanding all his study, observations, and researches, and presses forward as long as he lives, to higher degrees of knowledge and of moral improvement. And such a man is an active promoter of every scheme that tends to enlighten mankind, and meliorate their condition, and extend the knowledge of salvation to the ends of the earth; for he considers that it is not by miracles, but by the subordinate race. agency of intelligent beings, that God will effect the illumination, and moral renovation of our apostate He views the hand of God in all the movements of the scientifick, the political, and religious world; and perceives him accomplishing his purpose in the inventions of human genius, and in the economy of the minutest insect, as well as in the earthquake, the storm, and the convulsions of nations; for he considers the smallest atom,and the hosts of heaven, as equally directed by eternal wisdom, and equally necessary in the universal chain of creatures and events. He displays a becoming modesty in the speaking of the ways and works of God. When he meets with any dark and afflictive dispensation in the course of Providence, he does not fret and repine; but is calm and resigned, conscious that he perceives only a small portion of the chain of God's dispensations, and is therefore, unable to form a just comparison of the connexion of any one part with the whole. When he contemplates the depraved and wretched condition of the greater part of the world at present, and for a thousand years past, notwithstanding the salvation which has been achieved for sinners of mankind, he is far from arraigning the divine goodness and rectitude, in leaving so many nations to walk in their own ways; for he knows not what relation this dismal scene may bear, what influence it may have, or what important impressions it may produce on worlds and beings with which we are at present unacquainted. Moreover, a man of such enlarged views is cautious in the pronouncing decisively respecting the dispensations of God, in regard to the universe at large. He does not, for example, assert with the utmost confidence, as some have done, that there never was, and never will be to all the ages of eternity, such a bright display of the divine glory as in the cross of Christ. He admires and he adores the condescension and the love of God in the plan of salvation which the gospel exhibits, and feels an interest in it far beyond that of any other special manifestation of Deity; but he dares not set limits to the divine attributes and operations. He considers himself at present, with regard to the grand system of the universe, in a situation similar to that of a small insect on one of the stones of a magnificent edifice, which sees only a few hair-breadths around it, and is altogether incapable of surveying the symmetry, the order and beauty of the structure, and of forming an adequate conception of the whole. He considers that he has never yet surveyed the millionth part of Jehovah's empire, and therefore cannot tell what the eternal Sovereign has been pleased to exhibit in its numerous provinces; and least of all, can he ever presume to divine into the depths of interminable ages, and boldly declare what the Almighty will or will not do, through eternity to come. He therefore views it as presumption, while he has no dictate of revelation for his warrant, to pronounce decisively, either on the one side or the other, of such a deep and important question, which seems above the reach of the loftiest seraph to determine. In short, he endeavours to take a view of all the manifestations of Deity within his reach, from every source of information which lies before him, and as far as his limited faculties will permit. He does not call in question the discoveries of science, because they bring to his ears most astonishing reports of the wisdom and omnipotence of Jehovah and the boundless extent of his kingdom; but rejoices to learn that the grandeur of his dominions is actually found to correspond with the lofty descriptions of divine majesty and glory recorded in the volume of inspiration, and is thereby inspired with nobler hopes of the glory and felicity of that heavenly world, where he expects to spend an endless existence. If, then, such be some of the features in the charac ter of the enlightened Christian; if liberality, and candour, and accurate investigation mark the judgements he pronounces on the sentiments and the actions of men, and on the works and the ways of God; and if such views and feelings ought to be considered as more congenial to the noble and benevolent spirit of our religion than the narrow and distorted notions of a contracted mind, it must be an object much to be desired, that the mass of the Christian world would be led into such trains of thought as might imbue their minds with a larger portion of this spirit. And if diversified and occasional discussions on the topicks to which we have adverted, would have a tendency to produce this desirable effect, it is obvious that such branches of knowledge as are calculated to enlarge the capacity of the mind, and to throw a light over the revelations and the works of God, should no longer be overlooked in the range of our religious contemplations. With such striking remarks and noble sentiments of an eminent man and highly distinguished author, my discourse and volume are concluded. Amen. THE END. |