70 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



becomes &quot; a worker together with God,&quot; a subor 

 dinate agent in carrying forward those plans of In 

 finite Benevolence which will issue in the ultimate 

 happiness of the moral universe. And as the 

 Almighty, in his benevolent operations, preserves 

 the harmony of the universe by certain laws of 

 order which he has established, as is apparent 

 in the arrangement of the planetary system, and 

 in the physical and moral economy of our ter 

 restrial sphere ; so it is the duty of man, in all 

 the movements to which love impels him, to imi 

 tate his Creator in this respect, and to employ the 

 intellectual faculties with which he is endued, for 

 regulating the exercise of the benevolent prin 

 ciple, for adapting and proportioning means 

 to ends, and for discriminating between rational 

 and enthusiastic schemes of exertion ; so that 

 order may facilitate his movements, and that the 

 greatest sum of happiness may result from his 

 active endeavours. 



We may now attend more particularly to the 

 practical operations of love, and the objects to 

 wards which it should be directed. 



The principal objects towards which our be 

 nevolence should be directed are, intelligent be 

 ings ; and in the sphere of action to which we 

 are at present confined, man is the chief object 

 whom we have it in our power to benefit by our 

 benevolent exertions. Our benevolent affections, 

 indeed, ought to expand towards all the holy 

 intelligences of which we have any intimation ; 

 and, in another stage of our existence, we may 

 have an opportunity of mingling with other or 

 ders of intellectual beings, and of co-operating 

 with them in diffusing happiness throughout the 

 universe ; but while we continue in this sublu 

 nary region, the improvement and happiness of 

 our fellow-men is the chief object to which our 

 exertions must necessarily be confined ; and when 

 we view the present state of the moral world in 

 all nations and climates, we behold a field of ex 

 ertion sufficiently ample to employ all the ener 

 gies of benevolence that have ever yet been dis 

 played, or perhaps ever will be displayed during 

 the existing economy of our world. 



Man may be considered in two points of view : 

 as possessed of a body, which is susceptible of 

 agreeable or disagreeable sensations and feel 

 ings ; and, as endued with a inind, or spiritual 

 principle which is capable of perpetual im 

 provement in knowledge and virtue, and which 

 is destined an endless existence. In both these 

 respects, love will exert its powers in meliorat 

 ing the condition and promoting the enjoyments 

 of mankind. In regard to his corporeal system, 

 man has various wants, which require to be 

 supplied, and he is subjected to various tuffer- 

 ings which require to be soothed and allevi 

 ated. He stands in need of food, raiment, shel 

 ter from the blasts of the tempests, comfort 

 able lodging and accommodation, light to cheer 

 and enable him to prosecute his employments, 



pure atmospheric air to invigorate his anima* 

 system, and water to cleanse and refresh him. 

 He is exposed to corporeal weakness and to 

 mental imbecility; to pain, sickness, and dis 

 ease ; to the loss of sight, of hearing, and of 

 bodily feelings ; to the decrepitude of old age 

 and to all those lingering disorders which termi 

 nate in dissolution. He is also exposed to the 

 afflictions occasioned by the loss of friends and 

 relatives ; to dejection of mind, to remorse of 

 conscience, to doubt, despondency, and despair , 

 and to a long train of anxieties, vexations, per 

 plexities, and troubles of various, kinds. Now, 

 in reference to the wants of mankind, love, when 

 genuine and ardent, will endeavour to supply 

 them wherever a deficiency is known to exist , 

 and in reference to their calamities and sorrows, 

 it will use its utmost exertions to relieve and 

 assuage them, in as far its powers and influ 

 ence can extend. In this respect, every one, 

 however low his situation in life, however li 

 mited the range of his knowledge, and how 

 ever contracted the sphere of his influence may 

 be, has it in his power, in a greater or less de 

 gree, to communicate blessings to his brethren 

 of mankind. He can visit the sick bed of an 

 afflicted neighbour ; he can supply a cup of cold 

 water to cool his parched tongue ; he can wipe 

 the sweat from his forehead ; he can smooth his 

 pillow ; he can turn him round on his bed of 

 languishing, that he may enjoy a more comfort 

 able repose; and he can cheer him with tho^e 

 expressions of tenderness and affection, which 

 have a tendency above all other acts of kindness 

 to sooth and revive the downcast spirit. He 

 can assist his neighbour by his strength, or by 

 his skill, by his counsel and advice, and by tak 

 ing a lively interest in his concerns ; he can 

 promote his joy by rejoicing in his prosperity and 

 success, by assisting him in his employment, by 

 rescuing him from danger, t\y forgiving the in 

 juries he may have received, by acknowledging 

 the worth of the skill, virtues, and endowments 

 of which he is possessed, and by listening with 

 patience and complacency to his sentiments, 

 complaints, or grievances. He can even pro 

 mote the happiness of his neighbour in ^negative 

 way, by not injuring him in his character or re 

 putation ; by not standing in the way of his pros 

 perity or advancement ; by not thwarting him 

 in his schemes and enterprises ; by not inter 

 rupting him in his innocent amusements ; and 

 by refraining from every thing that would tend 

 unnecessarily to injure hirn in his trade or pro- 

 fession. Such friendly attentions to promote 

 the comfort of his fellow-men, every one has it 

 in his power to bestow : and upon such appa 

 rently trivial actions the happiness of mankind 

 in general more immediately depends, than on 

 many of those legislative arrangements which 

 arrest the attention of a whole empire. For, 

 were they universally performed, the greater par* 



