MORAL PREACHING. 



183 



laboured and diffused arguments. 

 Yet, it is a fact, that such doctrines, which are 

 only the means of religion, have been expatiated 

 upon without intermission, as if the simple be 

 lief of them were the end of religion ; while the 

 great moral object of Christianity has been eiiher 

 entirely overlooked, or thrown into the shade. 

 What should we think of the instructer of youth, 

 who confined the attention of his pupil solely to 

 the characters of the alphabet, and to the pro 

 nunciation of a few elementary sounds, and then 

 dismissed him with a general exhortation, to ap 

 ply them to all the combinations of letters and 

 syllables he might find in every book ? Could 

 we ever expect, that, in ordinary cases, such a 

 pupil would either make progress in the art of 

 reading, or use it as the medium of acquiring 

 knowledge ? And what shall we think of those 

 who do little more than attempt to explain the 

 axioms of the Christian system, but never show 

 their bearings on the scenery of real life, nor en 

 deavour to extend our views of the providential 

 operations of God, and of the glory of his king 

 dom ? If Christianity consisted merely in ab 

 stract disquisitions, and metaphysical dogmas, 

 such a practice might be, in some measure, 

 defensible ; but since it is, in every sense of the 

 word, a practical system, it is next to trifling 

 with its prominent objects, to confine the range 

 of religious discussions within so narrow bounds 

 as is generally done by many of those who are 

 designated by the term evangelical ; and argues 

 a complete forgetfulness of the apostle s exhorta 

 tion, &quot; Therefore, leaving the first principles of 

 the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection,&quot; 

 tracing first principles through all their diversi 

 fied bearings on mortal action, and on Christian 

 contemplation. 



One of the great objects of preaching ought, 

 undoubtedly, to be, to investigate the numerous 

 and minute ramifications of human conduct ; to 

 explore every avenue of corruption ; to endea 

 vour to draw forth from its hiding-place every 

 immoral principle and action, which exerts its 

 pernicious influence in Christian or in general 

 society ; and with all the powers of graphical 

 description we can command, to portray them 

 before the eyes of men, in all their repulsive 

 features, and in all their abominations. At the 

 same time, we ought to apply the touch-stone of 

 the divine law to every unchristian propensity 

 and practice; to exhibit its contrariety to the 

 spirit of our holy religion ; to show how the 

 principle of love ought to operate in every given 

 case and circumstance, and in the minutest ac 

 tions of human life ; and how very different ef 

 fects would be produced, were the principles laid 

 down by our Saviour and his apostles, to operate 

 with full effect throughout every department of 

 the moral world. Unless such objects be gene 

 rally aimed at, and steadily kept in view, in the 

 course of public instruction, religion will be apt 



to degenerate into a mere figment, or, at most, 

 into a subject of wrangling, or a matter of curi 

 ous speculation. 



Let no class of religionists presume to tell us, 

 that, if the fundamental doctrines of religion b&amp;lt;; 

 simply declared, Christian morality will follow as 

 a matter of course ; and that, to expatiate on any 

 particular branch of social conduct, is to dege 

 nerate into legal preaching. If this principle 

 were to be admitted, then all the expostulations 

 and denunciations of the prophets, all the reproofs 

 and exhortations of the apostles, all the moral 

 sermons of our Saviour, and all the minute di 

 rections in reference to moral conduct, detailed 

 in every epistle to the Christian churches, may 

 be regarded as egregious trifling. If it be one 

 grand design of revelation to restore mankind 

 from the ruins of the fall, and to reinstate them 

 in that integrity which they at first possessed ; 

 if it was the chief design of&quot; the law and the 

 prophets&quot; to bring forth into action, on the theatre 

 of the world, the two fundamental principles of 

 the moral law, as the Lawgiver himself has ex 

 pressly stated ; (Matt. xxii. 37 40 ;) if the 

 sweet singer of Israel devoted a large portion of 

 his inspired strains to the celebration of the di 

 vine precepts, (Psalm cxix. &c. ;) if most of the 

 sermons and parables of our Saviour have a di 

 rect bearing on the same important subject ; if 

 the apostle Paul, in his instructions to a Christian 

 minister, enlarged particularly on the duties 

 which should be inculcated on the various ranks 

 and relations of men, (Titus ii. iii. ;) if all the 

 apostolic letters to the Christian churches are 

 full of minute directions, in relation to every 

 branch of moral duty ; if heaven be the scene of 

 perfect moral rectitude, where ardent affection 

 towards God, and towards fellow-intelligences, 

 ever reigns where love, peace, and harmony, 

 eternally prevail ; if the happiness of that world 

 depend upon the absence of moral evil, and the 

 attainment of moral perfection; if the present 

 world be a state of preparation for the enjoyments 

 of that happier region ; if this preparation con 

 sist in having the principles of love to God and 

 to man interwoven through the whole constitution 

 of the mind, and brought forth into action in .he 

 diversified scenes of civil and religious inter 

 course ; if such important effects cannot be pro 

 duced, unless by laying open to view the latent 

 abominations of the heart, by impelling the moral 

 principles of the gospel through all the avenues 

 and windings of the human passions and affec 

 tions ; and by illustrating, with minute particu 

 larity, every subordinate branch of Christian 

 duty ; if these positions be admitted, it will fol 

 low, that the duties of Christian morality, so far 

 from being thrown into an obscure corner, ought 

 to occupy a prominent place in the range of the 

 ministration of every Christian minister, who Is 

 desirous to promote the improvement of society, 

 and the renovation of the world. 



