tion hath the wisdom of the Creator struck the minds of all inquirers and observers with the highest admiration. All nature is in truth a scene of wonders. In the disposition of the heavenly bodies, and the general arrangement of the system of the universe; in the structure of the earth; in the endless variety of living creatures that fill it; and in the provision made for them all, to enable them to fulfil the ends of their being, it is not easy to determine, whether power, wisdom, or goodness be most conspicuous. It belongs not only to the heavens to declare the glory of God, and to the firmament to show forth his handy work; but in the smallest and most inconsiderable, as well as in the most illustrious works of God, equal marks appear of profound design and consummate art. It has been justly said, that there is not a vegetable that grows, nor an insect that moves, but what is sufficient to confound the atheist, and to afford the candid observer endless materials of devout adoration and praise.

EXAMPLE OF OUR SAVIOR.

Our Lord possessed all the virtues of the greatest and best men, without partaking any of their defects. In him all was light without a shade, and beauty without a stain. At the same time, his example is attended with this singular advantage, of being more accommo dated than any other to general imitation. It was distinguished by no unnatural austerities, no affected singularities; but exhibits the plain and simple tenor of all those virtues for which we have most frequent occasion in ordinary life. In order to render it of more universal benefit, our Savior fixed his residence in no particular place; he confined himself to no particular employment or mode of life; but gives us the opportunity of viewing his behavior, in that variety of lights which equally and indifferently regard all mankind. His life was divided between the retired and the active state. Devotion and business equally

shared it. In the discharge of that high office with which he was vested, we behold the perfect model of a public character; and we behold the most beautiful example of private life, when we contemplate him among his disciples, as a father in the midst of his family. By such means, he has exhibited before us specimens of every kind of virtue; and to all conditions of men has afforded a pattern after which they may copy. Let all, therefore, strive to imitate the perfect example of Christ, in his steady and conscientious discharge of duty, amidst opposition from evil men, and a corrupted world; in his patient submission to his Father's will, and the calmness of his spirit under all trials; in his acts of disinterested benevolence; in his compassion to the unhappy, in readiness to oblige, to assist, and to relieve; in the mildness and gentleness of his manners; in the affability and condescension which appeared in his behavior; and in the uncorrupted simplicity and purity which distinguished his whole life.

IMPORTANCE OF A SERIOUS EXAMINATION OF

CHRISTIANITY.

The knowledge of what is due to the solemnity of those interests, concerning which revelation professes to inform and direct us, may teach even those who are least inclined to respect the prejudices of mankind, to observe a decorum in the style and conduct of religious disquisitions, with the neglect of which, many adversaries of Christianity are justly chargeable. Serious arguments are fair on all sides. Christianity is but ill defended by refusing audience or toleration to the objections of unbelievers. But whilst we would have freedom of inquiry restrained by no laws, but those of decency, we are entitled to demand on behalf of a religion, which holds forth to mankind assurances of immortality, that its credit be assailed by no other weapons than those of sober discussion and legitimate reasoning that the truth or false kood of Christianity

be never made a topic of raillery, a theme for the exercise of wit or eloquence, or a subject of contention for literary fame and victory; that the cause be tried upon its merits; that all applications to the fancy, passions, or prejudices of the reader, all attempts to preoccupy, ensnare, or perplex his judgment, by any art, influence, or impression whatsoever, extrinsic to the proper grounds and evidence upon which his assent ought to proceed, be rejected from a question which involves in its determination, the hopes, the virtue, and the repose of millions; that the controversy be managed on both sides with sincerity, that is, that nothing be produced in the writings of either, contrary to, or beyond the writer's own knowledge and persuasion; that objections and difficulties be proposed from no other motives, than an honest and serious desire to obtain satisfaction, or to communicate information which may promote the discovery and progress of truth; that in conformity with this design, every thing be stated with integrity, with method, precision, and simplicity; and above all, that whatever is published in opposition to received and confessedly beneficial persuasions, be set forth under a form, which is likely to invite inquiry, and to meet examination.

RELIGION CONTRASTED WITH UNBELIEF,

The worship of a Supreme Cause and the belief of a future state, have not only, in general, been concomitant, but have so universally engaged the concurrence of mankind, that they who have pretended to teach the contrary, have been regarded in every age and state of society as men opposing the pure emotions of our nature. This Supreme Cause, it is true has, been prefigured to the imagination by symbols suited to the darkness and ignorance of unlettered ages; but the great and secret original has nevertheless been the same, in the contemplation of the simplest heathen and the most refined christian.

There must have been something exceedingly powerful in an idea that has made so prodigious a progress in the mind of man. The opinions of men have experienced a thousand changes; kingdoms that have been most powerful have been removed; the form of the earth itself has undergone various alterations; but amidst these grand and ruinous concussions, religion has remained unshaken; and a principle so consentaneous to the first formation of our nature must remain, until by some power of which at present we have no conception, the laws of that nature are universally dissolved.

It is evidently a false notion that religion is a visionary speculation, unworthy the serious regards of men who are engaged in the pursuits of scientific and philosophical learning. Religion performs that which philosophy, considered as distinct from it (and which is bere denominated philosophy only in compliance for a moment with the language of fashion,) cannot do; she carries the mind up directly to the Eternal Source of knowledge, while this boasted philosophy, confined to the present limited sphere of action alone, serves only to bewilder the mind in the mazes of doubt and error, which itself has formed. It is ever employed in raising questions that it has neither power nor inclination to solve. Religion enlightens the mind; she enables it to fix to every acquisition of learning and of virtue its proper value, and to discern its appropriate nature; she ennobles it by the simplicity of truth, that disdains those quibbles and that little war of words that have disgraced the ancient, and continue to degrade the modern schools; but this favorite, which its adherents would palm upon the world for a novelty, is continually employed in inventing sophisms that spring up only to be defeated by the common sense, and to be overthrown by the daily experience of mankind,

Consult the works and the lives of those who have embraced religion and rejected this false and foolish philosophy; compare them with the works and the live of the men who have labored to destroy the one and te establish the other. As to the former, behold the manly

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openness of their language and their conduct; all is manifest and clear, like the light from which they are derived. How different from this dignified nature are the obscure surmises, the dark hints, the querulous doubts of the contrasted character! What is there that is generous or noble in their arguments? Do they tend to discover the truth with simplicity? Do they not rather endeavor to entangle it by the subtlety of disputation, or overpower it by a multitude of words. That which is true is single, and its language goes directly to the understanding and the heart; that which is untrue, but which nevertheless assumes the appearance of truth, must be double, and its language consequently perplexed; it has, indeed, a twofold task to perform; it has to conceal its own secret and genuine character, and to support a borrowed one. It is natural to admire the character and the works of the one, and easy to detect the assumption and designs of the other.

CHRISTIANITY AN INTERNAL PRINCIPLE.

Christianity, though the most perfect rule of life that ever was devised, is far from being barely a rule of life. A religion consisting of a mere code of laws might have sufficed for man in a state of innocence. But man who has broken these laws cannot be saved by a rule which he has violated. What consolation could he find in the perusal of statutes, every one of which, bringing a fresh conviction of his guilt, brings a fresh assurance of his condemnation. The chief object of the gospel is not to furnish rules for the preservation of innocence, but to hold out the means of salvation to the guilty. It does not proceed upon a supposition, but a fact; not upon what might have suited man in a state of purity, but upon what is suitable to him in the exigencies of his fallen state.

This religion does not consist in an external conformity to practices which, though right in themselves, may be adopted from human motives, and to