the moral susceptibility of happiness expands by exercise, and the uncreated object to which it is directed, is, by necessity, unchangeable, eternal and infinite. A provision is thus made for the happiness of man, eternal and illimitable; that is to say, not only is it evident, from the constitution of man, that he is made to love God, but also that he is made to love Him infinitely more than any thing else; to be happier from loving Him than from loving any thing else; and, also, to be more and more intensely happy, from loving Him, throughout eternity.

Thus, in general, from the relations which we sustain to God, we are under more imperative obligations than we are able to conceive, to exercise towards him that temper of heart, which is, perhaps, in the language of men, best expressed by the term, a filial disposition; that is, a disposition to universal obedience, pervaded by the spirit of supreme and grateful affection. This temper of heart is that generically denominated in the Scriptures, faith. In the New Testament, it is somewhat modified by the relations in which we stand to God, in consequence of the provisions of the remedial dispensation.

Now, all these dispositions would be required of us, if we were sinless beings, and possibly no others would be required. The same are manifestly our duty, after we have sinned; for our sin changes neither the character of God, nor His claim upon our obedience and affection. A child who has done wrong, is not under any the less imperative obligation to exercise a filial disposition towards a parent. But, suppose a creature to have sinned, it is manifest, that he would be under obligations to exercise another moral disposition. He ought to regret his fault, not on account of its consequences to himself, but on account of the violation of moral obligation, which is the essence of its guiltiness. Acknowledging its utter wrongfulness, justifying God, and taking all the blame of his act upon himself, he ought to hate his own act, and from such feelings to the act, as well as from the temper of filial obedience to God, commence a life of moral purity. Such is repentance. This is the temper of heart, which the Scriptures teach us, that God requires of us as sinners.

III. Such, then, is the obligation under which, by our creation, we stand to God. It would be easy to show that this is the only principle of action suited to our nature, under the present constitution.

For, 1. As we live under a constitution of law, that is, under which every action is amenable to law, and since to every action is affixed, by omnipotent power and unsearchable wisdom, rewards or punishments, both in this life and also in the other, and, as these consequences can, by no power of ours, be severed from the action, it is manifest, that we can attain to happiness, and escape from 'misery, only by perfectly obeying the will of our Creator. And yet more, since we are creatures, endowed with will, and the power of choice, we never can be completely happy, unless we act as we choose; that is, unless we obey because we love to obey. Hence, from the elements of our constitution, it is evident, we can be happy on no other principles than those of perfect obedience to God, and obedience emanating from, and pervaded by, love.

2. The same truth is evident, from a consideration of the relations which every individual sustains to the whole race of man. It manifestly enters into the constitution under which we exist, that every individual shall have a power over society, both for good and for evil, so far as we can see, in its nature illimitable. That such is the fact will be evident to every one who will reflect for a moment upon the results emanating from the lives of St. Paul, Luther, Howard, Clarkson, or Wilberforce; and of Alexander, Julius Cæsar, Voltaire, Lord Byron, or Napoleon. Now, it is only necessary to recollect, that the being, possessed of this power, is by nature utterly ignorant of the future; wholly incapable, even during life, and much more after death, of controlling and directing the consequences of his actions; and still more, that he is fallible, that is, liable not only to err from ignorance, but also from a wrong moral bias; and we must be convinced that the exercise of this power could never be safe for his fellows, unless it were under the supreme direction of a Being who knew the end from the beginning, and who was by his very nature incapable of wrong.

From what has been said, it will follow, that our duty to God forbids,

1. Idolatry,—that is, rendering divine homage to any other being than the Deity.

2. Rendering obedience to any creature, in opposition to the will of the Creator.

3. Yielding obedience to our own will, or gratifying our own desires, in opposition to His will.

4. Loving any thing which He has forbidden.

5. Loving any thing which He has allowed us to love, in a manner and to a degree that He has forbidden.

6. Loving any thing created in preference to Him. Each of these topics is susceptible of extended illustration. As, however, they are discussed in full in works on theology, to which science they more particularly belong, we shall leave them with this simple enumeration.

In treating of the remainder of this subject, we shall, therefore, consider only the means by which the love of God, or piety, may be cultivated. These are three: 1st. A spirit of devotion. 2d. Prayer. 3d. The observance of the Sabbath.

CHAPTER SECOND.

THE CULTIVATION OF A DEVOTIONAL SPIRIT.

FROM what has already been said, it will be seen that the relation which we sustain to God, imposes upon us the obligation of maintaining such an habitual temper towards Him, as shall continually incite us to do whatever will please Him, It is natural to suppose that our Creator would have placed us under such circumstances as would, from their nature, cultivate in us such a temper. Such we find to be the fact. We are surrounded by objects of knowledge, which not merely by their existence, but also by their ceaseless changes, remind us of the attributes of God, and of the obligations under which we are placed to Him. A devotional spirit consists in making the moral use which is intended, of all the objects of intellection that come within our experience or our observation.

Now,

1. Our existence is dependent on a succession of changes, which are taking place at every moment in ourselves, over which we have no power whatever, but of which, each one involves the necessity of the existence and the superintending power of the Deity. The existence of the whole material universe is of the same nature. each of these changes is, with infinite skill, adapted to the relative conditions of all the beings whom they affect; and they are subjected to laws which are most evident expressions of almighty power, of unsearchable wisdom, and of exhaustless goodness. Now, were we merely intellectual beings, it would not be possible for us to consider any thing more than these laws themselves; but, inasmuch as we are intellectual, and also moral beings, we are capable not only of considering the laws, but also the attributes of the Creator from whom such laws are the emanations. As every thing which we can know teaches a lesson concerning God. if we

connect that lesson with every thing which we learn, every thing will be resplendent with the attributes of Deity. By using in this manner, the knowledge which is every where spread before us, we shall habitually cultivate a devout temper of mind. Thus, "the heavens will declare unto us the glory of God, and the firmament will show his handy-work; thus day unto day will utter speech, and night unto night show forth knowledge of Him.'

2. Nor is this true of physical nature alone. The whole history of the human race teaches us the same lesson. The rewards of virtue, and the punishments of vice, as they are beheld in the events which befall both individuals and nations, all exhibit the attributes of the Deity. It is He that "stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people." "The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne."

His for

bearance and long-suffering, and at the same time His inflexible justice, His love of right, and His hatred of wrong, are legibly written in every page of individual and national history. And hence it is, that every fact which we witness in the government of moral beings, has a twofold chain of connections and relations. To the mere political economist or the statesman, it teaches the law by which cause and effect are connected. To the pious man it also teaches the attributes of that Being, who has so connected cause and effect; and who, amidst all the intricate mazes of human motive and social organization, carries forward His laws with unchanging certainty and unerring righteousness. Now, it is by observing not merely the law, but the moral lesson derived from the law; it is by observing not merely the connections of events with each other, but, also, their connection with the Great First Cause, that a devotional spirit is to be cultivated.

And, hence, we see that knowledge of every kind, if suitably improved, has, in its very nature, a tendency to devotion. If we do not thus use it, we sever it from its most important connections. We act simply as intellectual, and not as moral beings. We act contrary to the highest and most