THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



angels and archangels, to cherubim and sera 

 phim, to thrones, dominions, principalities, and 

 powers, from whose discourses he will learn the 

 history of the divine dispensations, the wonders 

 of Almighty power, and the &quot; manifold wisdom 

 of God.&quot; So long as it reigns uncontrolled in 

 his heart, it will secure his happiness in all 

 places, and in every period of his existence, by 

 a law established by the Almighty, and founded 

 on his perfections; a law which binds together 

 the whole intelligent system, and forms the basis 

 of the felicity of the moral universe. So that 

 his future blessedness is for ever secure, beyond 

 the reach of danger, and rests upon a foundation 

 stable and permanent as the throne of tho 

 Eternal. 



3. From what has been now stated, we may 

 learn that there is but one religion throughout the 

 universe, however vast its magnitude and bound 

 less its extension. In this world, numerous 

 systems of religion prevail, and thousands of 

 different opinions in relation to its ceremonies 

 and objects; but experience has demonstrated, 

 that all of them, except one, are insufficient to 

 guide rational beings to substantial felicity. 

 And of this one system, how many foolish and 

 inaccurate, and even contradictory opinions, 

 have been formed, through the ignorance and 

 perversity of the human mind ! Though all its 

 parts have a direct reference to the actions of 

 intelligent agents, and to the cultivation of 

 benevolent affections, yet it has been represented, 

 even by its professed abetters, as a congeries of 

 metaphysical dogmas and speculative opinions ; 

 and in this point of view it has been the source 

 of perpetual wrangling and contentions. Though 

 it is calculated to expand the understanding, to 

 warm the heart, and to elevate the soul to God, 

 yet it has been reduced, by the cunning artifice 

 of man, to a mass of mere quibbles and unmean 

 ing ceremonies. And though it breathes nothing 

 but peace and good-will to man, it has been 

 employed as an engine of persecution and of 

 human destruction. It is only in proportion as 

 our religion approximates to the character of the 

 religion which is common to all holy beings, 

 that it is worthy of our veneration and our ardent 

 pursuit. Anu therefore, in order to determine 

 the truth and importance of any particular sys 

 tem of religious opinions, the best test we can 

 apply to k is, to ascertain what bearings it has 

 upon the grand principles to which we have been 

 adverting. &quot; Do all the sentiments and tenets 

 which it strenuously supports, like the lines from 

 the circumference to the centre of a circle, con 

 verge towards the promotion of love in all its 

 practical ramifications ? Are the opinions we 

 now so fiercely maintain of such a nature, that 

 we shall probably recognize them as important 

 practical principles a million of years hence, in 

 the regions of distant worlds?&quot; If such a test 

 were applied to hundreds of opinions which have 



agitated the religious world, and obstructed tin 

 operations of the benevolent affections, thej 

 would be driven away from the Christian sys 

 tem as chaff before the whirlwind ; and Chris 

 tians would feel ashamed of the importance they 

 attached to their &quot; mint, and anise, and cum- 

 min,&quot; while they neglected the weightier matters 

 of the law, &quot;judgment, mercy, and the love ot 

 God.&quot; How many false and foolish opinions 

 shall we leave behind us in this region of dark 

 ness and contention, when we enter within 

 the confines of the eternal state ? How sublime, 

 how lovely, and how beautifying will religion 

 appear in that world, where it will be contem 

 plated in its native simplicity, and stripped 01 

 all the foreign and adventitious circumstances 

 which now obscure its brightness and glorv ! I 

 need scarcely say, that the one religion 10 which 

 I allude is Christianity, considered, not so much 

 in the scheme of mediation which it unfolds, 

 which may have a relation solely to man viewed 

 in his character as a sinner, but in the leading 

 dispositions and virtues it inculcates, and in the 

 great objects which all its doctrines, facts, and 

 supernatural communications have a tendency 

 to accomplish. In these points of view, it must 

 be considered as imbodying principles and laws 

 which pervade the religious systems of all worlds. 

 Finally, Love is a principle in the moral and 

 intelligent system which bears a striking analogy 

 to the principle of attraction in the material 

 world. Each of them unites, in its respective 

 sphere, all the beings which compose it in one 

 grand and harmonious system ; and both of them 

 combined give birth to all the moral and physical 

 phenomena which diversify the intellectual and 

 the material universe. By the principle of at 

 traction, the inhabitants of the earth, along with 

 their habitations, are retained to its surface, and 

 prevented from flying off in wild confusion 

 through the voids of space. By the same power 

 the mountains rest on a solid basis, the rivers 

 flow from the mountains to the plains, and tho 

 ocean is confined within its appointed channels. 

 It produces the various phenomena which arise 

 from the meandering rill, the majestic river, and 

 the roaring cataract. It produces the descent 

 of rain and dew, and the alternate flux and reflux 

 of the tides. It prevents the waters of the great 

 deep from covering the mountain-tops, and 

 mingling in confusion with the clouds of heaven. 

 It binds together the infinity of atoms which con 

 stitute the globe on which we tread ; it regulates 

 the various movements of men and other anima 

 ted beings ; it forms mechanical powers, and 

 gives impulsion to numerous machines and en 

 gines. It rolls the moon in regular succession 

 around the earth, and prevents her from running 

 lawlessly through the sky. It extends its influ 

 ence from the sun to the remotest planets, con 

 ducting revolving worlds, with ali their satellite*, 

 in their ample circuits, and prese: ving them atf 



