The principles of Christian philosophy

Chap. IV

Of the Nature of the future State of Happiness . 71 CHAP. V.

Of the preparation for the future State of Happiness S8 I. Of the exercise of faith. — II. Of the necessity of holiness CHAP. VI.

Of Personal Duties » 107

I. Of the acquisition of knowledge. — II. Of the cultivation of the conscience. — III. Of the regulation of the passions and desires, according to the rules of propriety and virtue. — IV. Of self-denial. — V. Of the control and management of the thoughts. — VI. Of meditation on the subjects of religion. — VII. Of self-examination, and forming a correct knowledge of ourselves. — VIII. Of personal religion. — IX. Of the improvement of time.—X* Of aiming at Christian perfection.

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CONTENTS*

CHAP. VII.

Page

Op Relative Duties . 170

I. Of brotherly love.—II. Of forgiveness of injuries. — III. Of gentleness. — IV. Of peace. — V. Of humanity, compassion, and sympathy. — VI. Of gratitude. — VII. Of alms and active assistance. — VIII. Of hospitality. — IX. Of instruction in religious knowledge. — X. Of the duty of informing the dying of their danger. — XI. Of truth, honesty, and justice. — XII. Of the duties of husband and wife. — XIII. Of the duties of parents and children. — XIV. Of the duties of masters and servants. — XV. Of the duties of magistrates and subjects. — XVI. Of the duties of pastors and their flock.

CHAP. VIII.

Of the Duties Men owe to God . . . 231

I. To know God. — II. To believe the word and promises of God. — III. To love God.— IV. To obey God.— V. To devote themselves to his service. — VI. To venerate God. — VII. To give thanks, praise, and adoration to God. — VIII. To trust in Divine Providence. — IX. To be contented and resigned to the will of God. — X. To be patient. — XI. To observe the ordinances appointed by God — prayer — the Sabbath — the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper — ecclesiastical polity.

CHAP. IX.

Of the Admonitions and Consolations afforded by the Christian Religion ... ... 310

I. Of the admonitions given in temporal prosperity. — II. Of the admonitions in a state of spiritual comfort. — III. Of the consolation imparted to those who desire to be delivered from the power and punishment of sin. — IV. Of the consolation imparted to those who lament their backsliding.— V. Of the comfort afforded to those who fear that they may yet fall. — VI. Of the consolation given to those who are in affliction. — VII. Of the support offered to those who mourn the loss of their friends.— VIII. Of the hope held out in the prospect of death.

PRINCIPLES

OP

CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY.

Chap. I. Man Is Created For A Future State

It is a solemn reflection, that at the moment the reader is perusing this sentence, a mortal has quitted life, and closed forever his connexion with all that the world contains. The hand which writes, and the eye which reads, these pages must soon be insensible. Time, like an overflowing flood, is continually sweeping away multitudes from the earth. The young and the gay, the old and the wretched, are alike involved in the desolation. No rank is so high, no station so obscure, as to hope for exemption ; no power so great as to offer resistance, nor any situation so low as to escape detection. The pleasures and enjoyments, as well as the labours and pains of human life, must come to a 'conclusion, and, amidst the perpetual engagements, and incessant pursuits of men, a solemn voice may be heard, proclaiming that " all is vanity." Yes, reader, at this instant the words are repeated, and the sigh, which proceeds from the heart, bears witness to their truth. Neither riches, nor honours, nor business, nor pleasure, nor any temporal enjoyment, can satisfy the mind of man. They fail even in their highest and most permanent degree. How utterly insignificant then must they be, in that state of fluctuation and disappointment, usually presented to most of their votaries, and, especially, to those who have trusted chiefly to them.

Happiness is the desire of every creature, but alas, how few obtain it here 1 and how fleetly does it pass away 1 It comes as a shadow, and as a shadow it vanishes. Man is constantly in pursuit of it, but still it is distant ; grant him but the desire of this day, and he anticipates felicity : he obtains his desire, but yet he is not happy. Days and years, are spent in the chase of bubbles, which elude the grasp, or, if caught, yield only successive disappointments, and confirm the truth of the warning voice — that all is vanity.

The object of sound philosophy is to make men happy, and no knowledge is truly useful which does not promote this end. To rational beings, there can be no inquiry more important, than the relation they bear to the intellectual world, and the means by which their happiness may be permanently secured. The foundation of all wisdom is, and ought to be, the knowledge of an important fact, that this life forms but a mere speck, in the duration of man's existence.

The first and great principle of philosophy is, that man is created for a different state, for a world far removed from this. I know of no language strong enough to employ in proclaiming this truth. But why require any powers of reasoning, any glowing eloquence, to persuade men of a truth which their daily and melancholy experience must establish : alas ! it is this very circumstance, this daily repetition of the event, which has effaced its impression, and, made them heedless of the fact. Were one man singled out in an age, and removed from his brethren, then, we might expect that the same awe and admiration should be produced, as prevailed amongst the beholders, of the resurrection of Lazarus, from the dead. But that which is every day repeated, astonishing as it may in itself be, makes little impression on the mind, and, to the generality of mankind, it is much the same as if it never occurred. He who is exposed only once to a storm, trembles at the prospect of destruction, whilst the more experienced mariner, beholds with unconcern the raging billows, and all the fury of the elements. It is not till we be called ourselves to forsake this life, or perhaps have the dearest friend torn from our embrace,

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that we feelingly believe that this world is only a portion, and a very little portion too, of our inheritance. Behold the last struggles of departing life. Look at the cold clay deposited in its kindred earth. All that occupies us, occupied this dull body. It was warmed, it was clothed, it felt as we. The mind was active in the same pursuits, sought the same pleasures, indulged the same hopes and desires as we still do. It was subject to the same passions, it felt the same pains. But now, how great the change. This world is, already, as though it had never existed. These desires, hopes, and fears are all at an end, and a new state of existence is begun, an existence which is everlasting, whilst this mortal state is now for ever over. How awful the word for ever. Yet this word applies also to us. In a day, in an hour, we also may lose all connexion with this life, and in a few years, at farthest, it must be dissolved. Then, this world and all it contains, shall be as little to us, as it now is to the cold corpse, which is fast hastening to dust.

The first and great principle then of philosophy is, that this life is only a prelude to another ; all sound philosophy teaches this, but Christian philosophy teaches more. It instructs us how this came to be ; it does more, it enables us to look into futurity, and rejoice in the bright prospect which it unfolds.

Man originally was created innocent and happy, he was placed in a world, beautiful in all its parts, and full of delight ; all nature was gay and smiling, every creature filled with joy, and free from harm. Had man remained innocent, he should have remained happy, and have inherited for ever this glorious habitation, which came all perfect from the hand of God. His continuance here was on the condition of his obedience, for, he was expressly assured, that in the day he did what God had forbidden, he should die, that is, he should be discharged from this paradise, and become insensible to all happiness, being banished for ever from the presence of God, and associated, in misery, with those fallen spirits who had already sinned. Man did not continue innocent, and had there been no interposition in his behalf, he should have been, in the very instant of his transgression, removed from this world, and placed in darkness and misery. But, although he thus was saved from immediate destruction, a dreadful change took place ; the earth was cursed for his sake, the whole creation was brought under bondage, and every animal suffered in his fall ; yet, amidst this dreadful ruin, this destruction, which seemed universal and irretrievable, a bright and glorious ray of mercy unexpectedly appeared,. hope and joy again visited the heart of man. By the interposition of Jesus, the Son of God, another world, another state, far excelling that which Adam lost, was purchased for him and for his posterity. Into this state he was not to be immediately removed, but a separation was to be made of the soul from the body, which was, for a time, to return to its kindred dust, as a sad memorial of the fall of man. The sentence of death, or of the dissolution of the body, was thus passed on all men. But the sting of death was destroyed, it became only the mean, or way appointed by God, for the removal of man from this world, which was forfeited, and which was no longer a paradise, to that more glorious and happy state, purchased by the interposition of Jesus.

The fall of man, then, though attended by the ruin of this world, and the loss of his own glory and happiness here, was productive, through the rich mercy of God, of a state of felicity and exaltation, far excelling that enjoyed by Adam, in the garden of Eden, inconceivably surpassing it, in as much, as the second Adam transcends the first. We, the children of Adam, are interested, alike with him, both in his fall and in his renovation. We are called from his history, to believe that as he was originally created for a perpetual paradise here, we are formed for an everlasting paradise elsewhere. We are led to view this life merely as a state of previous existence, and preparation for our true and permanent life. Here, as strangers and pilgrims, we are journeying towards the new paradise, and welcome death as the termination of our probation, and as the mode employed, by God, for removing us hence, and introducing us into the glories, and full blessedness, of Christ's eternal kingdom.

CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY.

Two men have indeed been taken away without dying, but with these exceptions, it has been appointed that all must taste of death. The soul must be separated from the body, which is left here till, at the end of time, and the judgment, and destruction of this world, it be re-united, pure and glorified, to its former spirit, when the new man is fitted for the new heaven, and the new earth.

What reflecting mind, then, can refuse to acknowledge the superiority, of those things which are to come, over those which at present exist, and, the expediency, of choosing that good part which shall never be taken away. Yet, although the judgment must assent, the heart seldom goes along with the judgment, and present things keep a fast hold on our choice. But how trifling, how delusive the choice, when made to the exclusion of futurity. The objects and desires of time, can bear no comparison with those of eternity, they are nothing in point of stability and duration, and they are less than nothing, if compared in their nature, or the happiness they afford, even in their greatest perfection. Is there any one hope or enjoyment limited to time, which can give uninterrupted pleasure ? Riches take to themselves wings, and who amongst us does not know many instances of sad reverse of fortune ? the mighty ones of the earth, may bid, unexpectedly, a long farewell to all their greatness. The praise of the world is like the gleam of a meteor, friendships are dissolved, domestic happiness may be destroyed in a moment, health is insecure and dependent on causes we cannot control : but even were health, and friendship, and riches, and every temporal comfort joined together, and made sure, still life itself must end, and amidst the self-gratulation of " soul take thine ease," the sentence may have gone forth, " this night thy soul shall be required of thee." Every thing here is fleeting fast away, time itself is perpetually on the wing, and the awful hour is steadily approaching, which is to break the thread of life, and introduce in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, an everlasting world. " Lift up thine eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath, for the 1* heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner, but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished."

No man who attends to the operations of his own mind, can hesitate to admit the vanity of time, and the transient nature of all that the world contains. In the moment of imagination, as I walk solitary over the field, how rapid, and changeable, is the scene which presents itself to the mind, and how quickly do I pass to the .most remote, periods. I can call up the former inhabitants of the land, from their mansions of silence, and give them again activity and animation. I see the shepherd, tending his scattered flocks on the bleak hills, or the aged traveller, wandering amongst the mountains, his hair and ancient garments flying before the wind, I enter into his thoughts and pursuits, and give him views and desires suitable to the time at which he lived, I commiserate his fatigues, or sympathize in the prospect, of his reposing his wearied limbs, in the hut of his family. I meet the priest, hastening, with anxious steps, to reach his convent, and hear the bell which summons the brethren to their devotions. As my thoughts ramble, I behold contending armies cover the ground ; I see the strong hold of the chief destroyed, or the marauding band stealing silently along the glen. How fleeting the scene, how rapidly does it shift, how transient the actions, how shortlived the desires and feelings, I give to the shadows which pass before me. The events of ages, fly before my eyes, with the rapidity of thought. Now, I behold every thing barren, the earth covered with heath, the sky dark and cloudy, and man rude and barbarous. In a moment, a rich country is gilded with the sun, gay cities arise, and all the pomp and luxury of civilized society deck the scene. Men whom I have known, only, from the page of history, are familiar to me. I know their very thoughts. The heroes of antiquity, the kings and sages of my own land, pass in vision before me. I clothe every thing, which once existed, with a temporary existence. The passions which animated the dead I give unto them again ; but on all these phantoms it is written, " I ap-

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pear only to depart." Alas ! shall all that interested man, that gave him so much thought, that bound him so strongly to time, and deluded him respecting futurity, shall all the triumph of the warrior, the deep laid schemes of the wise and prudent, the daily cares of life, come to this, and be as the vision of a moment ? It is indeed true. When I look back on my life, it is only as a dream ; I recall the scenes and the actions, but the keen passions, the poignant feelings are gone. I look back on these scenes, almost, as on the days of another being, or, if I fix one scene in my mind as peculiarly my own, it gives me the painful feeling that the pleasure has fled, or recalls to my remembrance, that then I suffered. The pursuits of this day, are, rapidly, entering the treasury of memory, where alone they shall exist, to return only with the fleeting, unsubstantial, scenes conjured up by imagination. Alas ! here I am deceived. Those scenes and thoughts, which I rashly said should be, as though they had never been, shall all be preserved. In the great day, when I appear before my Judge, memory shall empty her stores, and, with scrupulous fidelity, make me rapidly live over every moment, and present a view of my whole life. How careful ought this reflection to make me of the present time, shunning its dangerous pleasures, its sinful pursuits, and rising above all its cares and temptations ! In a short period I shall lose all my relish for these pleasures, I shall cease to be agitated by these passions, or interested in these cares. I shall view the transactions of last year, as if they were the deeds of another, but in the awful day of judgment, conscience shall tell me they are all my own, and every thing shall then appear in its true colour, and in its real merit.

But though I know that this life is fleeting away, and is indeed as a vision, yet still I am bound unto it as if by a mighty spell. When I leave my mind to its reflections, these are influenced by surrounding objects, and the associations they produce. Amidst the activity of society, or the busy scenes displayed by the sun, my imagination wanders over the transactions of life, and follows out the ideas suggested by what 1 actually see or hear, and which lead to keen desires respecting the present, or to schemes for the future. But when the day is at an end, and I behold the cloudless sky, spangled over with innumerable stars, and enlightened by the luminary which rules by night, my mind rises to other worlds, and thence to the great Creator, whose power formed and whose wisdom regulates the universe ; my soul is abstracted from the earth, and ascends to the habitation of souls ; I think of those who have departed and are rejoicing in the bright regions of heaven ; I sigh on the recollection of what I have lost, but I bless God, for the prospect of myself, also, reaching that happy land. Do I stand alone in the silence of the night, when neither moon nor stars enlighten the earth ? All is dark, I see little more than the ground on which I stand. I hear only the sound of the wind, or the murmur of the brook : perhaps all is still, and the senses are at rest. I retire within myself, and reflect on the yanity of life. Perhaps my imagination goes abroad, and presents a picture of what is passing around me in the abodes of men, but it returns, to bring back the deep, perhaps the painful conviction, that all is but a vision. I feel that time is on the wing. I know that the dark globe on which I stand has, whilst my thoughts were flowing, carried me through a tract of space, which hath marked my nearer approach to eternity. I look around and feel that I am the creature of a moment, a spot on this mighty globe, but a spot not unseen by God, nor unprotected by him. The cares, the evils, the sins of this state oppress my mind : for a time it is dark as the night which surrounds me, but I anticipate the return of light, and the splendour of the sun. I hail with joy the Sun of righteousness, which ariseth to dispel the darkness of my mind, to warm my heart, and to restore me to everlasting day. I rejoice that there is a land, where night never comes, where there are neither storms, nor tempests, nor cares, nor disappointments, nor fears, nor illusions, where sin cannot enter, and where misery is unknown. The night of sorrow may last for a time, but the morning shall break at length. I shall forget my troubles as a dream. I shall be purified from my sin. I shall behold him who died for me, who loved me, and who,

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worthless as I am, was afflicted in all my afflictions, and supported me in all my cares and distresses, who preserved me in temptations, and took away my sin from me. I shall meet my dear friends, and join with them in praise to the most high God, and with them I shall, for ever, rejoice in the presence of my Redeemer.

Time has brought me nearer to eternity, whilst these ' thoughts were passing through my mind. I have been transported through an immense tract in space, with a velocity great, yet not perceived. My life has run through a corresponding portion of its duration. The dream is drawing to a conclusion. The true life is approaching, that never ending, never changing life, which is to be determined by this short span of existence. Through time I must pass, but I pass it only as the gate into eternity. Shall I then neglect those few moments, which are to fix my everlasting life ! Shall I trifle at that gate, which is to usher me into eternal happiness, or never ceasing misery ! Shall I risk immortal glory, for the vision of a moment, for the fleeting indulgences of an hour ! Time, is given me to prepare for eternity, to become acquainted with him who hath destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light. He is standing at the door knocking. The numbered moment is already on the wing, which terminates his offer of mercy, and my probation for eternity. How awful the thought ! How merciful the offer ! Salvation, joy, and everlasting blessedness, if I believe on Jesus who hath given me this period, short, yet sufficiently long, to believe. Let me then improve the time, for the days are evil, and ere I go down to the dark habitation of death, may I have good hope, in the loving kindness of my God, and fall asleep in the joyful expectation, of awakening in that happy place, prepared by Jesus, for those eons of Adam, whom he came to redeem.

Chap. II

OF THE MEANS BY WHICH A FUTURE STATE OF HAPPI- NESS IS PROCURED.

As our hopes and prospects here are limited, and must be terminated, as the world itself, which we now inhabit, is to be destroyed, it becomes us, as rational creatures, at all times, to consider ourselves as intended for another state, and diligently to inquire, how it was procured, and still is to be obtained. Into a future state all must enter, and the time is not left to their own choice. Men, though engrossed with this life, must, nevertheless, admit that they are to leave it. Neither power, nor wealth, nor the aid of man can prolong their stay, more than these can control the laws of nature, or check the heavenly bodies in their course. Many may have neglected this first principle of philosophy. They may neither have prepared for their permanent existence, nor thought about it, but enter upon it they must, some, after repeated and prolonged warnings, others, without the intimation of a single hour.

In the Scriptures, we are clearly informed, of the way, in which this new world was procured, and man saved from the punishment of sin. We bless God, that in this our dark and ignorant state, he hath been pleased, at divers times and in sundry manners, to grant us a revelation of his will respecting us, and full intimations regarding every thing which is essential to our salvation. This revelation, and these intimations, are contained in that most inestimable book called the Bible, which all wise and good men acknowledge as the word of God, and as the only certain source of information in religion. We there learn, that Jesus the Son of God, undertook the salvation of the human race, in a way that neither men nor angels could have conceived, and that devils themselves, could, scarcely, have been so presumptuous as to suppose. This method consisted in nothing less than his undertaking to become a man, and to bear the punishment due to men. This

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was twofold, the death of the body and the death of the soul, that is, its banishment from God, its privation of all enjoyment. He accordingly did die for our sake, and was forsaken of God in our stead. His gracious offer was accepted, and no glory, no happiness, man is hereafter to enjoy, can be too great to repay the mighty price. This great, this astonishing event, the incarnation and vicarious suffering of the second person in the Trinity, was, equally with the fall of Adam, foreseen and arranged in the eternal counsels of the Godhead, before the creation of the earth. Therefore, in one view, we may look upon this world as called into existence, in order to be the place, where Christ should display and magnify the power and glory of God. For, all other events which ever have occurred, since the foundation of the world, or which shall happen, even till the end of time, shrink into nothing, when compared with the history of redemption. Alas ! that any man, that all men, should think so little of that, which involves a world's fate, of that, in which they are so deeply interested. There must have been a period when God alone existed, and when there were neither angels nor heavens. Even then, all respecting this world, was foreseen and determined. But it was not till after the fall of man, that the eternal purpose of the Godhead was revealed. Had Adam continued innocent, he had continued happy, and, with Eve, possessed this world in its best estate. But he did not remain innocent, and it was foreseen that he would not remain so.

Being left to the freedom of his own will, he fell, and Satan, doubtless, exulted in the ruin he had accomplished, and rejoiced when he heard the fair work of God, pronounced to be cursed, for the sake of man, whom he had deluded. But on this very portion of God's creation, on which the enemy had exercised his power, and which he hoped to retain, for ever, under his domination, was to be exhibited, to the whole host of intelligent beings, the glory of that God, whose power he had dared, and whose work he had hoped to destroy. On that orb which he desired to seize, or to see blotted for ever out of existence, were to be displayed the glory, and the power, and the whole perfection of the Godhead, in a way which angels had not heretofore seen, and which it could, far less, have entered into the heart of man to conceive. For, behold, not only the fallen pair are rescued from his power, but from them proceeded, after their restoration, a numerous progeny, millions of whom, instead of only one pair, arose to glorify God ; and from this offspring proceeded, at length, Him who was to destroy the serpent. The moment man fell, Jesus began his mediatorial office, which was new in heaven, and beheld with astonishment and praise by all the angelic host. From that instant, man could no longer approach to God, nor did God communicate with man, but through the intermedium of Jesus. This mediatorial agency, of the Son of God, has existed from that time, and shall endure till the termination of all things, when the glorious work of I redemption shall be accomplished, and the last saint be J gathered from the earth.

By anticipation* the obedience and sufferings of f Jesus, benefited Adam, and also his posterity, previous 1 to their actual performance and endurance. But, dur- j f ing all this period, it was ordained that an innocent animal should be sacrificed by men, to intimate that they t deserved death, and were only.saved by the death of i another. Now, the blood of bulls or of goats could, in I itself, be of no efficacy in cleansing from sin. It could I be of no avail, unless as a prefiguration of the sacrifice r of Jesus. The simple sacrifices of the patriarchs, and 1 the more complex rites, and ordinations, of the Mosaic t law, merely, in so many different ways, shewed forth tl the expiation of sin, by the death of Jesus Christ. At a 1 very early time, we find a memorable evidence, of the 1 intention of sacrifices, in the history of Cain and Abel. t Cain, in a self-righteous spirit, offered unto God the $ fruits of the earth, as a token of thankfulness for food * and raiment, and an acknowledgment of his providence, l! but, virtually, denying any need of a propitiation for * sin. Abel, brought the firstlings of his flock, giving , a their life for his own, and presenting their blood as a t vicarious expiation. The answer of God to Cain is de- i; cisive — " If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted.'* ci How important was this to Cain, and how instructive to It us ! Let those who deny the necessity of an atonement, .