THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION 



tart of the scheme of divine benevolence, he is 

 ed to contemplate the kindness of God at every 

 step, and in every object, arid is ever ready to 

 exclaim, &quot; What shall I render to the Lord for 

 all his benefits toward me? : 



In fine, supreme love to God includes in its 

 exercise, a delight in the public and private ex 

 ercises of his worship, a constant endeavour to 

 yield a willing and unreserved obedience to all 

 the institutions he has appointed, and to all the 

 laws he has issued forth for counteracting the 

 depravity of our natures, and for raising us to a 

 state of moral perfection; an active and enlight 

 ened zeal for the honour of his name, and for 

 promoting those institutions which have a ten 

 dency to advance his kingdom in the earth ; a 

 sincere and disinterested affection to all our fel 

 low-men, and particularly to every class of holy 

 intelligences ; a cordial approbation of all his 

 plans and movements in creation and provi 

 dence ; and devout aspirations after that higher 

 state of existence, where the glories of his na 

 ture and &quot; the kindness of his love&quot; shall be 

 more clearly unfolded, and where love shall glow 

 \n one uninterrupted and perpetual emotion. 



Thus, it appears that love to God consists in 

 complacency in his character and administration, 

 i\nd is inseparably connected with admiration of 

 K s wonderful works, with humility, resignation, 

 aivi gratitude. 



1 cannot conclude my remarks on this topic 

 without adverting, for a little, to the nobleness 

 and sublimity of this first and fundamental 

 spring of all moral action. From what has been 

 already stated, it appears that love to God is 

 the mos, . reasonable and amiable affection that 

 can aninvite ihe human mind ; for that Being 

 who is the object of it is the sum of all perfec 

 tion, the standard of all moral and physical 

 excellence, and the source of all the felicity 

 enjoyed by e rery rank of existence throughout 

 the boundless universe. It is also the most sub 

 lime and expandve affection that can pervade the 

 mind of any created intelligence. It excites the 

 most rapturous emotions when we contemplate 

 the harmonies, the beauties, and the sublimities 

 of the universe ; for it recognizes them as the dis 

 plays of boundless wisdom and boundless good 

 ness ; as the production of that Almighty Being 

 who stands in ihe relation of our Father and our 

 Friend , and leads us to conclude, that that power 

 and intelligence which ^ave birth to all that is 

 grand and beautiful in heaven and on earth, will 

 be for ever exercised in com &quot;ibuting to our eternal 

 enjoyment. Without such a recognition, crea 

 tion appears only like an immense desert, and is 

 apt to fill the mind with apprehension and terror ; 

 for it can feel no pleasurable emotions in con 

 templating the operations of a Being for whom 

 It entertains no affectionate regard. But, in 

 our solitary walks in the fields and the gardens, 

 amidst the emanations of divine munificence ; 



in our journeys through the fertile plains ; in ow 

 excursions through the Alpine scenes of nature ; 

 in our investigations into the structure of the 

 animal and vegetable tribes ; and in our contem 

 plations on the wonders of the starry sky love 

 throws a radiance on all these objects, and ex 

 cites an interest which cannot be appreciated 

 by that mind which has never felt the force of 

 this sacred emotion. 



It renders us superior to the ills of life, while, 

 under its influence, we bow, in cordial submis 

 sion, to the divine dispensations, as the result 

 of perfect wisdom, rectitude, and benevolence. 

 It enables us to recognize the hand of a Divine 

 Benefactor in every enjoyment, and the rod of 

 an affectionate Father, in every trial and afflic 

 tion to which we are subjected. It raises the 

 soul above the carking cares and degrading pur 

 suits of the world, and enables it to look down 

 with heroic indifference on all those trivial inci 

 dents and fancied insults which irritate, and in 

 flame, and torment &quot; the children of pride.&quot; It 

 preserves the mind in calm serenity amidst the 

 raging of the tempest, the rolling thunders, the 

 whirlwind, and the hurricane, the eruptions of 

 the volcano, and the convulsions of the earth- 

 quke ; while it recognizes the Ruler of the storm, 

 who presides amidst the crash of warring ele 

 ments, as its omnipotent Protector and its 

 eternal refuge.* It enables the man in whose 

 bosom it resides, to contemplate with composure 

 the downfall of kings and the revolutions of na 

 tions, to anticipate the hour of his dissolution 

 without dismay, and to look forward with forti 

 tude to the ruins of dissolving nature, when &quot;the 

 elements shall melt with fervent heat,&quot; and the 

 earth, with all its magnificence, shall be wrapt in 

 flames ; confident that, under &quot; the shadow of 

 the wings of the Almighty,&quot; he shall remain in 

 perfect security, amidst &quot; the wreck of matter 

 and the crush of worlds.&quot; 



This divine principle assimilates us to angels, 

 and to every other class of holy intelligences. 

 It renders us qualified for associating with these 

 superior intellectual natures for entering into 

 their vast and comprehensive views for con 

 versing with them OP the sublime topics which 

 occupy their attention for bearing a part in 

 their extensive schemes of universal benevo- 



The celebrated Kircher, in his relation of the 

 dreadful earthquake in Calabria, in 1638, which 

 overthrew the city of Euphemia, of which, he was 

 a spectator, expresses his feelings on that occasion 

 in the following words : &quot; The universal ruin 

 around me, the crash of falling houses, the totter 

 ing of towers, and the groans of the dying, all con 

 tributed to raise terror and despair. On every side 

 of me, I saw nothing but a scene of ruin and danger 

 threatening wherever I should fly. I commended 

 myself to God, as my last great refuge. At that 

 hour, how vain was every sublunary happiness . 

 wealth, honour, empire, wisdom, all mere uselesfc 

 sounds, and as empty as the bubbles of the deep 

 Just standing on the threshold of eternity, nothing 

 but God was my pleasure ; and the nearer I ap 

 proached, I only loved him the more.&quot; 



