DEPOSITED 
 
 September i8, 1871. 
 
I 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/exercisesofpiety01zoll 
 
EXERCISES OF PIETY: 
 
 OR, 
 
 MEDITATIONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 PRINCIPAL DOCTRINES ^ DUTIES 
 
 OF 
 
 EELIGION. 
 
 FOR THE USE OF 
 
 ENLIGHTENED & VIRTUOUS CHRISTIANS, 
 
 BY G. J. ZOLLIKOFER, 
 
 LATE PASTOR OF THE REFORMED CHURCH AT LEIPjICK, IN G2RMANT. 
 
 ABRIDGED, CORRECTED AND RECOMMENDED, 
 
 BY THADDEU3 M. HARRIS, 
 
 PASTOR OF THE CHURCH AT DORCHESTER, M A S S A C H U S ET t S« 
 
 SECOXD EBITIOM 
 
 PRINTED AT V/ORC ESTER, BY THOMAS STURTEVANT, 
 
 For ISJIAI^l THOMJS, Jun. 
 
 Sold by him in Worcester ; by Th-mas 8t Whipple, Newbuiyport, and by 
 Thomas & Tappan, P rtsmouth. 
 ........... 
 
District of Massachusetts District^ to ^vit : 
 
 (3 u 
 
 i3E IT HEMEMBERED, That OH the Twen- 
 
 tyseventh Day of January, in the Twentyseventh Year cf the In- 
 dependence ot the Unitid States of America, Isaiah Thomas, 
 Junior, of the said District, hath deposited in this Ofhce the Title of 
 a Book, the Right whereof he claims as Proprietor, in the words fol- 
 lowing, to wit: " Exercises of Piety : Or, Meditations on the Prin- 
 cipal Doctrines and Duties of Religion. For the Use of Enlightened 
 and Virtuous Christians. By G. J. Zollikofer, late Pastor of the 
 Reformed Church at Leipsick. in Germany. Translated from the 
 French Edition by James M^^nning, Pastor of the United Congre- 
 gation of Dissenters, in Exeter, Greatbritain. Abridged, corrected * 
 and recommended bv Thaddeus M. Harris Pastor of the Church 
 as Dorchester, Massachusetts, Norih America." 
 
 In Conformity to the Act of the Con<^re?s, of the Unit- 
 ed States, intituled, '* An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by 
 fecuring the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and 
 Proprietors of fuch Copies, during the times therein mentioned." 
 
 N. GOODALE, 
 Clerk of the District oj Massachusetts District, 
 A true Copy of Record — 
 Attfit, N. GooDALE, Clerk. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 ^ B V T H E 
 
 TRANSLATOR. 
 
 THE fcHo%vmg Exercises of Piety are 
 the production of Mr. G. J. Zollikofer the 
 "worthy pastor of the reformed church at Leip- 
 sick. They made their first appearance in the 
 German Language^ but ivere lately published in 
 French, at Frankfort. The French edition^ from 
 \\)hich these Exercises ivere translated^ is printed 
 in two volumes ^ of which the devotional services 
 now published^ make but an inconsiderable part, 
 and are chiefly taken from the second vohnne. 
 
 The enlightened and virtuous Christiafi, for 
 whose use they are principally intended^ will here 
 find something exactly suited to his external 
 circu?nstances, and the devotional feelings of 
 his mind. 
 
 The less perfect Christian^ who has not yd 
 viade such progress in the school of Pi et y as the 
 former^ may also reap considerable benefit from 
 such, a book of devotion. It will tend to improve 
 him in knowledge and practice, and be a useful 
 book of instruction as voell as of devotion. He 
 may here be led to form just notions and holy de- 
 sires^ such as cannot but have considerable in- 
 fiuence on his prayers and on his conduct. 
 
 The idea of translating them voas suggested 
 by reading Dr. Fordyc^i's Addresses to the 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Deity, to vihich they appeared to he a proper 
 companion^ as they are compositicns of the same 
 kind^ a species of pious conteniphition^ ivhere 
 the sou/y inspired by a lively sense cf the Divine 
 Presence, expresses^ vjith humility and ardor, 
 her very inmost thoughts^ affections and desires^ 
 on different subjects.^' 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 This work of one of the most eminent Di- 
 vines and popular Preachers in Germany, has 
 been justly celebrated and admired. The German 
 Journals of Literature give a high character of the 
 original ; and the English Reviews tiotice the trans* 
 lation (here reprinted) in terms of warm commenda^ 
 tion. Indeed all the friends of religion will peruse 
 these pathetic pages with real satisfaction and advan- 
 tage^ animated with the elevated devotion xuhick 
 breathes through them ; and will unitein recommend- 
 ing them to all, as eminently calculated to enliven the 
 spirit and promote the habits oj pure and rational 
 Piety. 
 
 It is the peculiar merit of these Excercises," 
 that they are accommodated to most of the duties, the 
 conditions and relations of life- They may serve, 
 too, to attract Children to their primary ohliga- 
 iions ; tQ assist Parents in their tender cares ; to lead 
 the Aged to the most happy recollections ; to in- 
 struct the Poor in the virtues befitting their lowly 
 state ; to induce the Rich to acquire more of those 
 qualities luhich will enhance their enjoyments ; to 
 S40th the Sick, and to comfort the Bereaved. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 If promotive <?/ either of these good purposes, es- 
 pecially if beneficial in all of them., how ought this* 
 book to be prized! and how eagerly should every 
 family he to possess, and every individual to peruse 
 it I 
 
 Under this persuasion, the writer of this Introduc- 
 tion flatters himself that in ynore widely circulating 
 the inestimable work, by giving a cheap American 
 Edition, he is doing service to the cause of practi- 
 cal godliness, and opening to his jriends a new and 
 copious source of religious improvement ; and thus 
 to do is his dearest wish, and will ever he his most 
 zealous endeavor. 
 
 Note, — In this American Edition several 
 sentences, which appeared mere repetitions, have been 
 omitted ; and the structure of others altered, to ac- 
 commodate them more to the idiom of our language : 
 And two Exercises on the Lord's Day, transla- 
 ted from the same Author^ are added* 
 
 THADDEUS M. HARRIS. 
 
 'Doxchtiitx, January 1803, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 lOGRAPHICAL Notices of the Author 9 
 
 Introduction 13 
 
 Reflections on the Existence of God j8 
 
 On Providence 27 
 
 On Faith in Jesus Christ 41 , 
 
 The Immortality of the Soul 49 
 
 Love to God ■ , 62 
 
 Love to Jesus Christ 68 
 
 Love to Mankind 74 
 
 Love of Labor 84 
 
 The safest Rule "n the Conduct of Life 90 
 
 Exercises of Pi-'ty suited to the different Relations of Society 92 
 
 Married Persons , 93 
 
 Parents 101 
 
 For a Child , 112 
 
 Youth 119 
 
 Manhood ^ 129 
 
 Old As» 135 
 
 On Duty to Rulers and Superiors . . . 143 
 
 Rich Man 1^9 
 
 Poor Man 1 c-^ 
 
 A Per^n confined by Sickness , 166 
 
 Death of Friends .' 17^ 
 
 0n the Lord's day Morning ^ . 185 
 
 Oa the Lord's day Evening 189 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES or the AUTHOR. 
 
 When we take up a book we naturally wish te 
 know something of the author, who he was, where he liv- 
 ed, and why he wrote. We would ascertain his preten- 
 sions to our notice, and whether we may expect any partic'- 
 ular benefit, new information, or increased satisfaction : 
 from his writings. 
 
 Or if the perusal of a volume, by an author unknown to 
 us, has served to instruct and improve us, to make us wiser 
 and better, to elevate our piety and increase our happiness, 
 we feel a real obligation, a sen^e of becoming gratitude, 
 and are particularly desirous of knowing to whom we are 
 indebted ; we have even contracted an affection, a friend- 
 ship, for our judicious instructor — and friends should be 
 well acquainted. 
 
 To gratify this laudable curiosity in those who have the 
 inclination to purchase and the good sense to peruse this 
 valuable work, pains have been taken to collect some ac- 
 count of the worthy author. 
 
 George Joachim Zollikofer was born at St. Gall, 
 in Switzerland, on the 5th of August, 1730. His father, 
 David Anthon y Zollikofer, is still remembered there 
 as an eminent practitioner in the law, and as a pious and 
 upright man. That he omitted nothing in the literary ed- 
 ucat-'on of his son may well be imagined ; it is still more 
 Kianifest that by his own virtuous example he became his 
 moral tutor, a tutor to whom posterity is under such infi- 
 nite obligations through his pupil. 
 
 Young Zollikofer, when arrived at the proper age, 
 was put to the gymnasium of his native town ; from whence, 
 ije ng intended for the church, he was sent to prosecute his. 
 
JO- BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 Studies, first at Bremen, and afterwards at the university of 
 Utrecht, where the divinity professors are said to have 
 been then in high repute. 
 
 Possessing native genius, a clear intellect, and an ele- 
 vated fancy, with a close attachment to learning and an ar- 
 dent ambition to excel, as might be expected he made great 
 improvements and became an accomplished scholar. He 
 was well vened in History, Biography, Poetry, and all the 
 branches of Polite Literature : He w^as fond of these pur- 
 suits, for tliey enlarged his mind, corrected his taste, and 
 refined his native sensibilities. In Natural History and 
 Natural Philosophy, also, he is said to have possessed un- 
 common knowledge. But Ethics and Divinity were his 
 favorite studies, for they belonged to the profession to 
 which he had devoted all his regards, all his exertions, and 
 all his talents. In this profession he was unrivalled. His 
 compositions, always judicious, correct and pathetic? were 
 delivered with all the advantages, of a fine voice, a graceful 
 figure, and an irresistible eloquence. 
 
 His first establishment as a Preacher, w hich was soon af- 
 ter he had completed his academical course, was in his own 
 country at Murten, in the Paysde Vaud. Here, however, 
 he remained only a short time, having a call toa more con- 
 siderable place at Monstein, in the Grisons. This congre- 
 gation, likewise, had not the happiness to possess him for 
 a much longer period, he being invited to Isenburg as a 
 preacher iJ;ere. Yet neither was this station the theatre 
 which Providence had determined for liis most extensive 
 and permanent usefulness. In the year 175S, at the age of 
 eight and twenty, he was appointed to the office of one of 
 the German preachers at the reformed church at Leipsick, 
 This was a conspicuous station, and Mr. Zollikofer filled 
 it with eminent advantage. That he was universally ad- 
 mired and celebrated, is his least praise ; his ministerial ia- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. ii 
 
 "bors, his instructions, and his example, diifiised far around 
 tiie knowledge and the beauties of holiness while his most 
 excellent publications will spread, through every country 
 and age, fresh excitements and encouragements to virtue 
 and piety. 
 
 Several volumes of his i comparab'e discourses have 
 been for some years in the hands of the public, and are ;n 
 high and deserved repute.* Net only have they passed 
 through many editions in their original language, but they 
 have been translated i.ito Frenrh, Italian, and English, and 
 are continually reprinting. 1 he celebrated Dr. Blair is 
 said to have made them more than his model ; this may 
 perhaps be an invidio 'S s^tggestion, but it is a high testi- 
 mony to their excel ence. 
 
 Honored by the wise, beloved by the good, respected 
 and venerarea by all classes \ — delighted in by the young 
 as a candid, kind, and faithful adviser ; resorted to by the 
 poor as a bountiful helper and patron ; sent for by the sick 
 and afflicted as their best earthly comforter ; wholly occu- 
 pied with religious duties and with humane and pious ex- 
 ercises, he spent an useful and honorable life, and left be- 
 hind him a reputation unblemished and a fame immortal. 
 
 He was twice married. His first wife, na^ied Le Roy, 
 was a lady of great understanding and considerable attain- 
 ments. He was extremely fond of her, and his congrega- 
 tion witnessed the manly tears he shed upon her grave. 
 His second, of the family of Sechekay, at Leipsick, was 
 an uncommon blessing to him during "-mc last seven years of 
 his life, and probably the world is indebted to her endear- 
 ing attentions that his life and labors v»-ere so far prolong- 
 ed. Both marriages "were childless ; Providence, doubt- 
 
 * H's two volumes of Sermons on the " Dignity of Man ^ and the 
 ehjects relating to Humart Happiness^'" h-a-je just been published by I. 
 Thomas, jun. jn Worcester. 
 
12 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
 
 less for some wise purposes unknown to us, not dispensing 
 to the n?.an who had thought and read so much on the nur- 
 ture and education of youth, and author of several pieces 
 on the subject, the happiness of applying his wise and ex- 
 cellent lessons to practice. 
 
 For the space of a year before his death, feeling his fac- 
 ulties considerably on the decline, and thinking himself no 
 longer able to fulfil the duties of his office to his own satis- 
 faction, he formed the resolution to lay it down, and retire 
 to the place of his nativity in Switzerland : But at the unit- 
 ed request ot his congregation, who assured him that they 
 would willingly content themselves with a discourse from 
 him every fortnight, he was induced to remain in his sta. 
 tion. His health even seemed to improve during the sum- 
 mer in consequenceof his having passed the intervals of his 
 time at the village of Gchlitz, not fir from town. But in 
 the following autumn it too plainly appeared that his re- 
 covery was only apparent. He still, however, attended on 
 the duties of his office, though with the utmost d fficulty { 
 till, at length, a few weeks before his death, he was oblig- 
 ed to apply for assistance to a candidate for orders, who 
 kindly took upon him the charge of preaching. His last 
 illness was extremely painful, yet he bore his sufferings 
 with the patience of a wise man, and the resignation of a 
 Christian who looks beyond the grave and corruption to a 
 world of retribution. On the jid of January, 17S8, he 
 gently sunk into the arms of death, and was interred on 
 the 23th. The whole of his numerous congregation, to- 
 gether with some hundreds of students at the- Univer'ity, 
 and numbers of his auditors of the Lutheran communion, 
 attended his body to the grave with every token of un- 
 feigned sorrow. 
 
EXERCISES 
 
 OF 
 
 I E T 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ReFLLCTION is the mother of 
 Wisdom, the faithful companion of Vir- 
 tue, and the principal source of human 
 felicity. The wisest and most virtuous of 
 men have always considered it in this view, 
 and to this day no one calls in question 
 the truth of the encomium. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the acknowledged 
 advantages of reflection, many persons 
 scarcely ever reflect at all j and the greater 
 part of mankind regard this employment 
 as difficult and burdensome. We think 
 continually, and without intermission. 
 Thought is as necessary to the life of the 
 
 B 
 
14 Introduction, 
 
 soul as motion is to that of the body. 
 They are both equally involuntary. It is 
 as impossible entirely to banish thought, 
 as to stop the circulation of the blood. 
 The objects which surround us, and the 
 changes which take place within us, are 
 continually making impressions upon us, 
 which the mind presents to itself with 
 more or less distinctness, a\id which it ap- 
 proves or disapproves. And this opera- 
 tion is performed in sleeping and waking, 
 at rest and in action, in society and in 
 solitude. We never cease, therefore, to 
 thifik^ any more than v^e cease to breathe. 
 But we generally think with such rapidity 
 and inattention, that our ideas are effaced 
 as easily as they are produced, and leave 
 no sensible traces behind them. . 
 
 We often thinky then, without refect- 
 ing ; and it is seldom we examine with 
 attention what have been our thoughts. 
 Hence ai ise the little certainty, order and 
 consistency we observe in our ideas — hence 
 
Introduction, 
 
 15 
 
 the slight conviction they produce ; the 
 inconsistency and fickleness of our opin- 
 ions and judgments, and the opposition 
 that is often seen between our light and . 
 our conduct, our manner of thinking and 
 manner of acting. To remove these de- 
 fects, it is necessary to habituate ourselves 
 to reflection, and to familiarize cur minds 
 to so noble and useful an employment. 
 To reflect, as the very expression inti- 
 mates, is to throw back the thoughts upon 
 themselves, to return to a thought we 
 have already had, and to think upon it a 
 second time, A person who reflects, stops, 
 and fixes upon one idea — considers it at 
 leisure, and with attention — analyzes it in 
 order to discover, more distinctly, the na- 
 ture of the object on which he meditates, 
 to trace it in its causes and eff^ects, and to 
 draw consequences from it relating to his 
 conduct and happiness. 
 
 It is by means of such reflection that 
 our ideas, and the knowledge we have ac- 
 
16 Introduction, 
 
 quired, become more clear, complete, cer- 
 tain, interesting and useful to us : And 
 such will be the daily employment of eve- 
 ry one who zealously aspires after wisdom, 
 virtue and happiness. 
 
 Properly speaking, there is no subject 
 upon which we cannot reflect. The field 
 of contemplation is immense. The heav- 
 ens and the earth, creatures, animate and 
 inanimate ; the present and the future — 
 every thing invites to reflection ; and 
 happy is that man, whose faculties of 
 mind, and whose leisure, permit him to 
 meditate on all the variety of objects a- 
 round him, and to taste the pleasures of 
 reflection, to the greatest extent. But this 
 can be only the privilege of a few ; it there- 
 fore becomes necessary for us to make a 
 judicious selection and choice of subjects 
 on which to fix our attention 5 for every 
 exercise of reflection cannot be equally 
 necessary and useful for us. 
 
Introduction. 
 
 17 
 
 What then are the objects with which 
 it most concerns us to be acquainted, and 
 what are the subjects on which it chiefly 
 concerns us to reflect ? 
 
 If we would fix our attention on sub- 
 jects which are most interesting, we must 
 reflect on the existence and providence of 
 God, on Jesus Christ and Christianity, on 
 the immortality of the soul, and a future 
 state of retribution. 
 
REFLECTIONS ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 
 
 What is the eternal and inex- 
 Iiaustible source, whence flow the streams 
 of light and life, which diffuse themselves 
 over all worlds, and all the orders of be- 
 ings which inhabit them ? What is the 
 \3niversal and incessantly active principle 
 which animate and gives life to all, from 
 which the powers of nature proceed, and 
 byi whicii they are continually renewed ? 
 
 Where is the first cause of all that I be- 
 hold ? I see nothing around me but effects 
 which owe their origin to other effects. — 
 Every thing is produced by another, and is 
 itself produced in its turn by others. All 
 things are connected and linked togeth- 
 er. — Does not this connexion necessarily 
 lead me up to a first cause, eternal, inde- 
 pendent, selfexistent ^ who always did, and 
 always will, continue to exist ? Where is 
 
Existence of God: 19 
 
 the first link of this immense chain, and 
 the Almighty Hand that holds it ? 
 
 Can I doubt that this first cause is in- 
 finitely wise, intelligent and good ? Do I 
 not every where see the sensible and strik- 
 ing traces of intelligence, wisdom and be- 
 nevolence — the appearances of order, har- 
 mony, beauty, design and means, proper 
 to execute those designs ? Who hath as- 
 signed to the sun, the moon, the stars, and 
 all those thousands of worlds w4th which 
 I am surrounded, the places they occupy, 
 and the circles they run : Who hath so 
 magnificently adorned the place of my a- 
 bode, and spread so much life and pleasure 
 amongst its inhabitants ? What a variety 
 and multitude of plants, insects and ani- 
 mals, cover the face of the globe, all of 
 which, by their structure, their instincts, 
 their modes of life, their labors, and their 
 relation to each other, proclaim the con- 
 summate ability, and perfect wisdom, of 
 Him who created them ! How wonderful 
 
20 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 the manner in which they multiply them- 
 selves from age to age, without ever alter- 
 ing or confounding their species ! Must I 
 not do violence to my understanding, to 
 consider all this as the effect of chance, or 
 of a blind and unintelligent cause ? 
 
 And where is the first, supreme intelli- 
 gence, the Father of Spirits, who hath 
 created me, and all other thinking and 
 reasonable creatures ? For I have not al- 
 ways thought. I have existed but a short 
 time, and am equally ignorant how I 
 think, and how I began to think. I am 
 sensible it is not in myself that I must seek 
 for the true cause of my existence. It is 
 not to the immediate authors I am indebt- 
 ed for it. They know not how I exist, 
 and the cause of their own existence is no 
 more in themselves than mine is in me. 
 Every thing informs me, also, that my 
 intelligent nature cannot be the v>^ork of 
 chance, the effect of the sensible objects 
 which surround me, nor of the gross ma- 
 
Existence of God, 21 
 
 terials to which I am united. The order, 
 the connexion, and the harmony which 
 prevail in my thoughts, will not suffer me 
 to believe it. I cannot but observe that 
 my mind is of a much nobler origin, and 
 is of a nature far superior to the body 
 which serves for its covering. I perceive 
 that my soul is the work of a Being superi- 
 or to all those which I see around me — that 
 it proceeds from an immaterial, intelligent 
 principle, by whom it lives and thinks, 
 and to whom it is most intimately related. 
 
 To believe that there is a first, eternal 
 cause of all things, an intelligence supreme 
 and perfect, is to admit a truth, the con- 
 viction of which is necessary to relieve and 
 tranquilize my heart 5 and the clearer my 
 ideas on this subject, and the more atten- 
 tion I pay to what passes within and with- 
 out me, the more clearly I hear the voice 
 of nature, which announces to me a Deity. 
 
 O thou Being of Beings, infinite, eter- 
 nal 'y heaven and earth proclaim thy exist- 
 
22 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 ence ! — Every leaf, every plant, every 
 tree, every insect, every worm that crawl- 
 eth on the ground, every living and ra- 
 tional creature speaks of Thee. Every 
 thing that exists and thinks, celebrates 
 thy praise. I behold Thee in the bright- 
 ness of the firmament — in the mild light 
 which surrounds, and in the vital heat 
 which pervades ail animate beings ! It 
 IS Thee I hear in the soft murmurs of the 
 air, in the salutary blowing of the winds, 
 in the rustling noise of the leaves, in the 
 melodious song of birds, in the intelligible 
 language of men, in the roaring waves of 
 the sea, and in the thundering voice of the 
 tempest. It is Thee whom I perceive in the 
 impressions which external objects make 
 upon me, and in the pleasing, and sometimes 
 rapturous feelings which arise from the 
 knowledge of truth, the practice of virtue, 
 and the expectation of a happy futurity. 
 
 All that exist, live, think and act, in- 
 form me there is a God, an universal 
 
Existence of God, 23 
 
 principle, an eternal source of life, motion 
 and thought. Yes, great God ! Thou 
 wast, and art, and art to come, from ever- 
 lasting, and to everlasting. 
 
 How happy am I in knowing Thee, and 
 in being able, on the wings of thought, to 
 elevate myself to Thee ! What would the 
 whole world be without Thee ? — A con- 
 fused, inexphcable mystery. Our entel- 
 ligent minds would be involved in fright- 
 ful darkness, and all our thoughts, knowl- 
 edge, actions and enjoyments, would lose 
 all their charms, together with all their 
 use. If all were but the sport of chance, 
 what hopes could we cherish in our bo- 
 soms i to what fears should we not, be- 
 come the prey ? On what could we, with 
 any confidence rely ? What principles 
 could safely guide us in the search of truth, 
 and in the conduct of life ? 
 
 If I did not know that thou, O God, 
 dost exist, I could scarce restrain myself 
 from envying the brutes. la this case, 
 
24 Exercises of Piety* 
 
 the power of thinking, and of ascending 
 from effect to cause, would be to me a fa- 
 tal present, and life a burden. No — it 
 is such a Being as thyself alone which 
 could give me a mind capable of conceiv- 
 ing of Thee, and a heart burning with a 
 desire to know Thee, without whom I can 
 enjoy no true felicity. 
 
 By believing in thy existence, I perceive 
 the whole value of my own. The idea 
 that I am, that I think and live, and that 
 I owe these advantages to Thee, fills me 
 with joy unspeakable. I am no longer 
 an unconnected individual, lost amidst 
 the multitude of living beings. I am no 
 longer an effect without a cause. I am 
 the workmanship of sovereign wisdom 
 and benevolence 5 the creature of Him 
 who hath created, and who preserves all| 
 beings, and all worlds ; the child of the 
 common parent, of the immense family 
 Vvliich fills the heavens and the earth. 
 
Existence of God, 25 
 
 Yes, O my God, little as I appear in 
 comparison with the vast universe, lam as 
 much thy v^ork as the sun, and all the 
 v/orlds which revolve in the immensity of 
 space. I am as much thy child as the most 
 exalted intelligences which encircle thy 
 throne. To thine eyes, thou eternal and 
 infinite Being, all the distinctions which 
 are made by men between what they call 
 great and little, disappear. All that comes 
 out of thine hands, is worthy of Thee, and 
 bears the impression of thy infinite wisdom 
 and power. 
 
 What a light is now reflected on all 
 things around me ! All is good and per- 
 . feet in its kind. Every thing is what it 
 ought to be in the place it occupies, and 
 according to its design, for all that exists 
 is the work of the wisest, and the best of 
 Beings. The universe is an immense 
 whole, all whose parts, closely connected 
 together, promote the wisest and most im- 
 portant ends. 
 
 c 
 
26 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 What contentment and tranquillity 
 now reign in my heart ! I know the ob- 
 ject of my faith and hope. I know from 
 whence I came, by whom I exist, in whom 
 I may rejoice, and on whom I can rely. 
 I know that thou livest, O my God ; that 
 thou art my Creator and my Father, and 
 the Creator and Father of all men, and of 
 all beings, and will be forever. May 
 nothing ever deprive me of this lively and 
 delightful conviction. Father of Mer- 
 cies ! Strengthen and increase my faith. 
 May I be daily more and more convinced 
 of thine existence, and adorable perfec- 
 tions ; and, filled with this idea, may it 
 become to me a constant source of hap- 
 piness. 
 
ON PROVIDENCE. 
 
 If God exists — and can I doubt of 
 it whilst the heavens and the earth, all 
 that is within me and without me, pro- 
 claims this truth ? — If there is a first e- 
 ternal cause, a Creator of the universe, 
 there is also a Providence which preserves, 
 governs and directs the several creatures 
 to their respective ends, and to a perpetu- 
 ally increasing perfection and felicity. 
 
 The idea I form to myself of the Su- 
 preme Being necessarily convinces me of 
 the truth of this doctrine ^ and what falls 
 under my notice of the frame and consti- 
 tution of all things confirms my faith in 
 it. 
 
 How can he who knows all things be 
 ignorant of what passes in any part of his 
 vast dominions ? Must he not know the 
 qualities, the abilities, the effects, the 
 combinations of his creatures, animate 
 
28 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 as well as inanimate ? Must he not know 
 exactly their wants, their situation, their 
 washes their endeavors ? Are they not all 
 in his hands ? Can any thing exist, live, 
 be happy or unhappy, without his will or 
 permission ? Do not all the powers of na- 
 lure proceed from Him who is the eter- 
 nal and inexhaustible source of motion 
 and of life ; from Him who is the Father 
 of our spirits, and the God of the spirits 
 of all flesh ? And can I believe that God, 
 despising the work of his handj, will aban- 
 don his children to the caprice of chance, 
 and to the weakness of nature ? Can I 
 think a Being of perfect benevolence can 
 be an indifferent spectator of the series of 
 events, and insensible to the happiness 
 and misery of his creatures 5 that eternal 
 wisdom acts without an end, or cannot at- 
 tain the end it proposes ; or that Infinite 
 Goodness will not do all the good that is 
 in its power ? 
 
On Promclence, 
 
 29 
 
 I need not be surprized if the princes of 
 the earth neglect the people over whom 
 they are placed, if their measures are not 
 always wise, or their administrations free 
 from reproach ; and if, even with the best 
 intentions, they frequently commit the 
 greatest faults. Sometimes they are de- 
 ficient in understanding and knowledge, 
 at others in power or benevolence. Some- 
 times they are misled by error, at other 
 times they are blinded by passion ; and 
 they almost always sink under the burden 
 that overpowers them. Their feeble sight 
 cannot take in so large a field at once y 
 and neither their heads nor their hearts 
 are equal to so many objects. But the 
 eye of the Supreme takes in all things at 
 one view. His understanding is infinite 
 his love and paternal kindness are bound- 
 less. He cannot be deceived by false ap- 
 pearances^ — to him nothing is difficult ; 
 his strength is never weakned, and there 
 is no place which his arm cannot reach, 
 c 2 
 
30 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 He sees all things as they really are. The 
 material and spiritual worlds are equally 
 subjected to him. He speaks and it is 
 done ; he commands and it stands fast. 
 He doeth w hatsoever he pleaseth in heaven 
 and earth. No one can stay his hand, 
 and say unto him, What doest thou ? We 
 have every reason to be satisfied that it is 
 infinite wisdom, power and goodness, 
 which preserve, direct and govern the 
 world ; all things proceed from him, all 
 things exist by him and for him. The 
 perfections of the Divine Nature prove 
 this delightful and important doctrine ; 
 and what falls under our notice of the 
 frame and constitution of the world, es- 
 tablishes it beyond all uncertainty and 
 doubt. 
 
 Are not we, and all that surrounds us, 
 as feeble and dependent this day, as we 
 were the former ? Are we not as incapa- 
 ble of prolonging our existence for a sin- 
 gle moment as we were of giving ourselves 
 
On Promdcncc. 
 
 31 
 
 existence at first ? Can that which is de- 
 pendent become independent, and subsist 
 by itself ? Can the brook continue to run 
 without its source, or the weak and feeble 
 infant support itself without the tender 
 care of its mother ? Is it not necessary 
 that the Almighty Will, which gave us 
 our being, should be continually exerted 
 to prevent our sinking into our original 
 nothingness ? Oh, my God ! every thing 
 convinces me that my faculties, my sta- 
 tion, and the duration of my existence, 
 do not depe^id on my will. It is thou 
 who by a secret and absolute power main- 
 tainest my strength, motion and existence. 
 If my breath is not stopped — if my blood 
 circulates — ^if my limbs have not lost their 
 activity — if the organs of my senses have 
 preserved their delicacy — if in this instant 
 I have the faculty of thinking, and the 
 use of my reason, it is to Thee alone that 
 I am indebted for this continued blessing. 
 These expressions in thy holy word then 
 
32 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 are as true as they are beautiful. " All 
 thy creatures wait upon thee, and thoi^ 
 givest them their meat in due season — that 
 thou givest them they gather ; thou open- 
 est thy hand, they are filled with good ; 
 thou hidest thy face, they are troubled ; thou 
 takest away their breath, they die and re- 
 turn to their dust ; thou sendest forth thy 
 spirit, they are created, and thou renewest 
 the face of the earth." 
 
 What does the invariable order which 
 reigns in nature teach me ; the regular 
 and constant course of the stars, the won- 
 derful harmony of their motions, notwith- 
 standing their innumerable multitude, and 
 the difference of their magnitude ? What 
 does the continual and well regulated suc- 
 cession of days, and seedtime, and harvest, 
 and the inexhaustible fertility of nature 
 teach me ? Of what am I informed by the 
 unchangeable relations which subsist be- 
 tween the different kinds of plants, ani- 
 mals and men and by the exact propor- 
 
On Providence. 3S 
 
 tion which takes place between life and 
 death, between what is destructive and 
 preservative, between the means and the 
 end ? If chance, or a blind necessity, could 
 not produce this surprizing and harmo- 
 nious order, neither could they preserve 
 and mahitain it. Such constant regular- 
 ity can only be the effect of an ever active 
 Intelligence, which embraces and actuates 
 all. 
 
 Great God ! I humbly prostrate myself 
 before Thee. Thou art the sovereign lord 
 of the universe, the great disposer of 
 events, the perserver and father of all thy 
 creatures. This is what all nature pro- 
 clains to me ; but thy son Jesus Christ, 
 hath more especially taught me to consider 
 Thee under these glorious and consolatory 
 relations. It is in Thee my God, I live, 
 and move, and have my being. If thou 
 suspendest thine influence, I languish ; if 
 thou takest away my breath, I die. Thou 
 hast assigned to every one the place he 
 
34 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 occupies in thy kingdom, and hast deter- 
 mined the number of his days. Thou 
 knowest all my wants, and thou providest 
 for them with a wisdom and liberality 
 truly paternal. Thou perceivest all our 
 thoughts, thou hearest all our sighs, and 
 thou weighest all our actions. Thou dis- 
 coverest all the most secret wishes that are 
 formed in our hearts, and there is nothing 
 so concealed as to be unseen by Thee. — 
 Thou dwellest in light, and all is light in 
 thine eyes. The darkest nigth is the same 
 to Thee as the brightest day 3 the obscur- 
 ity of the grave is to Thee as the splendor 
 of the firmament. Thou art the ever 
 present eternal life, whose vital energy and 
 power animate and pervade the whole 
 universe. In the heavens and in the earth, 
 in every being, in every intelligence, and 
 in the heart of man we perceive thy con- 
 stant agency, O omnipotent Jehovah ! of 
 whom, and through whom, and for whom 
 are all things y to whom be glory forever. 
 
On Proiaidence, 35 
 
 Thou neglectest nothing in thy vast 
 empire ; thou takest care of the smallest 
 as well as the greatest of thy works, of 
 the parts as well as the whole. All are 
 thy works, all equally present to thy spirit, 
 all closely bound and subjected to thy 
 laws. All are perfect in their kind, and 
 all contribute to promote the greatest 
 possible perfection and happiness in the 
 universe. It is thou that clothest the 
 flowers in all their magnificence; thou 
 givest to the beast his food, and the young 
 ravens which cry. Not a sparrow falls to 
 the ground without thy permission. — 
 Thou preservest andguidset the worm that 
 crawleth on the ground, and the sun 
 which shines in the firmament ; the frail 
 children of the earth, and the sublime in- 
 habitants of heaven. 
 
 How low soever be the rank we sustain 
 among rational creatures, this does not 
 prevent Thee from being our Father, and 
 from watching continually for our pres- 
 
36 Exercises of Piety,. 
 
 ervation and happinefs. Nothing can 
 befall us which thou hast not foreseen, 
 and which hath not made a part of thy 
 plan as a caufe or an efFecl. Thou up- 
 holdest all that fall, and raisest up all those 
 that be bowed down ; thou makest poor, 
 and thou makest rich ; thou killest, and 
 thou mskest alive ; thou woundest, and 
 thou healest, neither is there any that can 
 deliver out of thine hand. The very hairs 
 of thy servants' heads are numbered by 
 thee. Thou determinest our destiny, and 
 the fate of kingdoms and of worlds and 
 all that thou orderest is righteous and 
 good. 
 
 However great the plans, and however 
 exalted the ends of thy providence, thou 
 wilt not fail to execute the one and attain 
 the other. How opposite soever the pow- 
 ers of nature may appear, how contradic- 
 tory soever the wifhes, thoughts, designs, 
 and endeavors of men, what thou hast re- 
 solved on shall take place, thy will shall 
 
On Proiidence^ 
 
 be accomplished ; and from all these con- 
 tradictions, real or apparent, the most 
 perfect harmony shall finally result. 
 
 How happy should I esteem myself in 
 being the object of the wise care and at- 
 tention of the best and most tender of fa- 
 thers. How happy is it for me that I am 
 not left to myself, to the weakness of na- 
 ture and the extravagance of passions ; 
 that my fate is not governed by my child- 
 ish and senseless wishes, but by the laws 
 of thine adorable wisdom ; that it is Thou, 
 a Being of infinite knowledge and good- 
 ness, who governest and directest my lot, 
 and not myself, a weak and blind mortal. 
 
 With what calm fearlessness can I now 
 contemplate the most extraordinary and 
 frightful revolutions in nature and in so- 
 ciety ! With what firm assurance can I 
 look forward to all future events ! I know 
 that thine hand directs every event, and 
 that nothing can take place without thy 
 sovereign will. 
 
58 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 With filial confidence I commit into 
 thy paternal hands my lot in life, and all 
 that shall befalhne. Foolish and thought- 
 less should I be, to presume to prescribe to 
 Thee, the manner in which Thou shouldst 
 regulate my lot, the lot of my friends, or 
 of all thy children spread over the face of 
 the earth. Thou knowest and Thou 
 lovest us all better than we do ourselves. 
 Thou alone knowest, with certainty, what 
 would be proper for each of us in our re- 
 spective stations, and our several rela- 
 tions. Little doth it signify whether the 
 path by which thou conductest us be 
 obscure or light, troublesome or easy, if 
 it leads us to perfection and happiness. 
 This consideration alone should compose 
 my mind, and make me say, with resigna- 
 tion, in all imaginable cases — " It is the 
 Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.'* 
 It is true thy thoughts are not as our 
 thoughts, nor thy ways as our Vv^ays. Our 
 views are bounded by a small circle of ob- 
 
On Pro'uidence, 
 
 39 
 
 jects, and we behold but a small part of 
 the universe. But thou takest in at one 
 view, all times and all places. ^ all that is 
 possible, and all that really exists, the past 
 as well as the most distant futurity. Thou 
 seest at one glance of thine eye, the im- 
 mense chain of causes and effects in all 
 ages, and in all worlds. What we con- 
 sider as ends, are often no more than 
 means to attain more important ends. 
 What we regard as evil, is often only a 
 preservative from evil, much more con- 
 siderable, and even a fruitful source of 
 new blessings. 
 
 Far, then, from permitting the least 
 murmur against the unsearchable ways of 
 Providence, I put my hand upon my 
 mouth and say^ — Father, not as I will, 
 but as thou wilt. The time is coming 
 when my faith shall be turned into sight ; 
 then shall I be enlightened with heavenly 
 light y then what I here saw through a 
 glass darkly shall be perfectly revealed — 
 
40 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 Though clouds and darkness are now 
 roimd about the proceedings of the Most 
 High, I shall then see, without an inter- 
 vening cloud, thy sublime designs, the 
 wisdom of the means by which they were 
 accomplished, and their connexion with 
 my happy lot. Then shall I sing with 
 ail glorified spirits, Hallelujah — the Lord 
 God Omnipotent reigneth — All that the 
 Lord hath done is good — Praise ye the 
 Lord ! 
 
ON FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 It is a true and faithful saying, 
 that Jesus Christ came into the world to 
 save sinners. The dignity of his charac- 
 ter, the beneficence and innocence of his 
 life, the sublime and consolatory nature 
 of his doctrines, the disinterested manner 
 in which he and his apostles taught them 
 to mankind, the remarkable and unheard 
 of treatment with which he met, his death 
 and resurrection, the happy change which 
 his religion produced in the world — these 
 are so many plain and well known facts, 
 resting on evidence which must be more 
 than sufficient to obtain for them an en- 
 tire credit and a fixed belief. And this 
 belief is absolutely necessaiy for those who 
 earnestly long for the knowledge of truth, 
 and a satisfactory assurance on points the 
 most important ^ and who earnestly desire 
 
 D 2 
 
42 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 to be confirmed in virtue, and enjoy a dur- 
 able tranquillity. 
 
 How deplorable was the condition of 
 the human race, before Jesus Christ 
 brought into the world the light of truth ! 
 How many errors were embraced, even by 
 the wisest and most enlightened of man- 
 kind ! From what source could they de- 
 rive that steady conviction, that firm as- 
 surance, that solid peace, those exalted 
 hopes, that delightful confidence in God, 
 which are the portion of the Christian ? 
 The most absurd idolatries and supersti- 
 tious customs, the most dangerous incred- 
 ulity and scepticism, the grossest sensual- 
 ity, the most dreadful misery and despair, 
 had extended on all sides their dominion 
 over the earth. And who will venture to 
 deny, that the doctrine of Jesus Christ 
 hath produced in these respects the great- 
 est and happiest revolution in the world ; 
 a change which all the wishes and all the 
 
Faith in Jesus Christ. 43 
 
 efforts of the heathen philosophers could 
 never effect ? 
 
 Is it not Jesus who hath marked out 
 and cleared the path of truth, of virtue, 
 and of happiness, which so many mortals 
 sought before him but could never find ? 
 How many thousands and millions of 
 men have arrived by this path into that 
 firm persuasion, that precious liberty, that 
 noble conquest over themselves — to that 
 sweet peace of mind, to that contentment 
 and internal felicity, after which they 
 had so long aspired. How many are 
 there at the present day who walk with a 
 serene mind, and an unshaken confidence 
 in this road, and approach nearer and 
 nearer to perfection. Is it not now much 
 easier for mankind to improve themselves, 
 to attend to the voice of nature, to con- 
 sult their reason, and to avoid, by the light 
 of this heavenly torch, the dark and crook- 
 ed paths into which men formerly wan- 
 dered ? 
 
44 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 How much am I myself indebted to the 
 Christian doctrine ! And how much hap- 
 pier may I not yet become by its assistance ? 
 I am brought acquainted with God — I 
 know that he is my father, the only living 
 and true God ; a Being eternal, infinitely 
 wise and good ; the Creator, Preserver and 
 Governor of ail things ; the King of 
 heaven and earth. I know that he is mer- 
 ciful and kind, even to the greatest of sin- 
 ners 'y and when they repent and amend, 
 will forgive their sins, and receive them 
 into his favor. I know that my soul is 
 immortal, and that after the present life a 
 more perfect and happy state, a state of 
 retribution, awaits me. But I should 
 have been unacquainted with all these 
 things, how agreeable soever I now find 
 them to the light of reason, or I should 
 have known them but imperfectly, if Jesus 
 Christ had not revealed them to mankind 
 by commission from his Father. And 
 how could I hz so serene and happy as I 
 
Faith in Jesus Christ. 45 
 
 now am, if I had been ignorant of these 
 doctrines , or called in question their certain- 
 ty and truth. Do they not spread a cheer- 
 ing light on all my being and on all the e- 
 vents of my life ? Do they not give more sta- 
 bility, a better foundation, and a greater 
 importance to my thoughts, principles and 
 actions ? And if I obey the precepts of Je- 
 sus, if I imitate his example, if I am ani- 
 mated by his spirit, how wise, good, 
 peaceful and happy shall I become r How 
 easy will the practice of my duty be to 
 me ? It will then cost me but little to gain 
 the conquest of myself, and to live and die 
 contented. With what zeal shall I do good ; 
 what peace will reign in my heart ; what 
 agreement and harmony in my sentiments, 
 inclinations and conduct ? With what 
 joy shall I think of God, with what feel- 
 ings of benevolence and charity shall I re- 
 gard my fellovv' creatures ; with what no- 
 ble confidence shall I look forward to 
 death and an eternal world ? 
 
46 Exercises of Piety. II 
 
 ' And shall I yet doubt, after all that my 
 experience teaches me, whether this doc- 
 trine come from God, .the Father of light, 
 the Author and source of all happiness ? 
 Shall I still doubt whether it be the safest 
 and the shortest road to perfection and 
 felicity ? Shall I not embrace, with a lively 
 faith, a religion which in all respects bears 
 the evident marks of a celestial origin, 
 and which must appear so desirable to ev- 
 ery man v/hose mind is free from preju- 
 dice, and whose heart is uncorrupted — 
 a religion which is so necessary to my 
 tranquillity and peace ? Shall I not re- 
 gard it as the most precious gift of heaven 
 to mankind? Shall I not acknowledge 
 Jesus to be the organ of truth, the Savior, 
 the Redeemer of the world ? And shall I 
 not testify the sincerest gratitude for all 
 that he hath undertaken and suffered for 
 us ? Shall I not obey him with my whole 
 heart ? Shall I not cheerfully follow his 
 steps, and endeavor more and more to re- 
 
Faith in Jesus Christ, 47 
 
 semble him, that I may be exalted to the 
 glory and felicity of heaven ? 
 
 O God, who art the Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, accept my praises and 
 thanksgivings for having called me to the 
 knowledge of the Gospel, and for disclos- 
 ing to me in the Christian doctrine, so 
 much light, encouragement, consolation 
 and happiness. Every good and perfect 
 gift Cometh down from above, from the 
 Father of Lights, and consequently Christ- 
 ianity — which imparts to us such just 
 and certain knowledge of thy nature and 
 will; which inspires such perfect confi- 
 dence in thy paternal bounty which gives 
 us the assurance of thy grace and mercy. 
 — ^May no tormenting doubts, no tumult- 
 uous passions ever disturb so pure a spring, 
 and make me distaste these wholesome wa- 
 ters of life ! The most ardent wish of my 
 heart, O my God, shall be to deserve, by 
 my conduct, the title of Christian ^ to 
 feel, more and more, the power of the 
 
48 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 Gospel J to enjoy its privileges with grat- i 
 itude ; to distinguish myself from unbe- 
 lievers, by wisdom and virtue, the seren- 
 ity and peace of my mind, and by these J 
 means to recommend the Gospel to their* 
 esteem and regard. Condescend to favor 
 my wishes by thy wiseandgood Providence. 
 Strengthen my faith in this heavenly doc- 
 trine ; and may this faith become a more 
 active principle, and more fruitful of good 
 works. Let the kingdom of the Messiah 
 be extended and enlarged throughout the 
 earth. Let Christianity be purified from 
 all human inventions, and let its salutary 
 influence be every day more powerfully 
 and universally experienced. 
 
THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 
 
 Enlightened by the Gospel, 
 
 I have already learnt to tJiink and reason 
 with more clearness and precision on this 
 \ important doctrine. When a person has 
 once got into the path of truth, it becomes 
 easy for him to advance and pass on from 
 one truth to another. The ideas which the 
 Christian Religion has given me of God, 
 of his infinite perfections, of his eternal 
 love to men, of his mode of governing 
 moral agents, of his will and designs — all 
 these considerations lead me to entertain 
 the hope of immortality. The Gospel 
 raises this hope to the highest degree of 
 certainty. Reason and scripture unite to 
 confirm this delightful doctrine. 
 
 With a little reflection I can easily sat- 
 isfy myself, that what thinks Within me^ — 
 that my mind is of a nature totally differ- 
 ent from my jody^ — that it is a principle 
 
 E 
 
50 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 directed, not by mechanical, but by moral 
 laws. I think—but I can, without any 
 external impression, interrupt or contin- 
 ue my thoughts, divert them into another 
 channel, or fix them upon any particular 
 subject that pleases me. I put my body 
 in m.otion 3 but I can, without any exter- 
 nal obstacle, stop this motion, and give it 
 an opposite direction. I exercise my will, 
 and my v/ill alone moves a multitude of 
 bodies, in a great variety of ways. I com- 
 municate m.y thoughts to beings like my- 
 self, and by this means I can regulate 
 their thoughts, and influence their opin- 
 ions, designs and actions, without the least 
 infringement on their liberty. No mere 
 body can act in this manner, and thus 
 raise itself above the laws of mechanism. 
 
 That which thinks within me, then, is 
 somewhat totally different ivom my body. 
 I can lose a considerable part of my body 
 without losing one of my ideas. My body 
 is perpetually changing and renewing, 
 
hnmortality, #1 
 
 nevertheless, I always retain the sense of 
 my existence, and of my identity. How 
 intimately connected soever my body and 
 my mind may be, it does not follow that 
 the latter may not exist without the form- 
 er, and that the destruction of the body 
 will necessarily draw after it that of the 
 soul. Far from i^. The nature of my 
 soul is so different, and so superior, that I 
 am persuaded that it will not perish v>rith 
 the body, but exist after the body is dead. 
 
 The consideration of my mental facul- 
 ties, my present situation, and the relations 
 in which I stand, greatly confirm this be- 
 lief. I observe, m myself and others, the 
 precious seeds of a multitude of excellent 
 qualities, and exalted powers, which are 
 capable of perpetually unfolding and en- 
 larging their activity, and which yet are 
 incapable cf being fully unfolded and ex- 
 panded in the present state. To what nar- 
 row bounds are the faculties of my soul 
 confined by the continual wants and occu- 
 
52 Exercises of Pieiy. 
 
 pations of life. How often do these things 
 hinder me from making that progress 
 which I could wish in the knowledge of 
 truth, the practice of virtue, and the road 
 to happiness. The daily laborer, the me- 
 chanic, the manufacturer, Have they not 
 souls endued with tlic same facuhics with 
 the statesman to whom the welfare of a 
 nation is entrusted, or with the man of 
 learning versed in the sublimest sciences ? 
 Would not tlie former, placed in the samzC 
 circumstance? with tlie latter, be equally 
 capable of the same attainments ? And 
 where is the huma?! mind v/hich hatii re- 
 ceived all the cultivation of which it is sus- 
 ceptible, and which wT)uld not unfold still 
 more in more favorable situations ? And is 
 it possible that so many noble powers 
 should remain forever concealed, and never 
 arrive at all the improvement of which 
 they are capable ? — No — In the govern- 
 ment of a Being infinitely wise, there can ^ 
 be no such disproportion between the 
 
Immortality. 53 
 
 cause and the effect, tiie means and the 
 end. Every one of my faculties, then, is 
 a proof and a pledge of my future existence, 
 and of the great things which at some fu- 
 ture period I shall be able to perform for 
 myself and my brethren. — Every thing in- 
 forms me that my present state is a scene 
 of trial and discipline — that in this world 
 I do not attain the end for which I was 
 formed. Born into the world without 
 knowledge, I must incessantly labor to in- 
 form my mind, and I have never finished 
 learning. It is not without troublesome 
 exertion that I acquire a facility of em- 
 ploying my powers. Scarcely have I be- 
 gun to improve my faculties, to discover 
 the footsteps of truth, to distinguish reali- 
 ty from appearance, good from evil, hap- 
 piness from misery ; scarcely have I begun 
 to enjoy the advantages my knowledge 
 procures me, before the scene of discipline 
 and of mortal life closes. But is it to no 
 purpose, then, that I have informed my 
 
 E 2 
 
54 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 mind, and exercised my abilities ? Can T 
 never make use of the knowledge I have 
 acquired, and the faculties I have culti- 
 vated, with so much care ? Shall I never 
 reap the fruits of my labor and pains ? 
 Why all this provision, these many and 
 troublesome preparations, if it lead to no 
 end ? Can such a useless profusion exist 
 under the government of an infinitely wise 
 God ? Do not the schools in which youth 
 are educated, previously suppose a state of 
 society in which they are hereafter to be 
 usefully employed r is it to be imagined 
 that a race of creatures thus furnished and 
 fitted out, should vanish like bubbles in a 
 storm ? Can I believe that God alone acts 
 without an end, and without a plan ^ or, 
 that he is incapable of accomplishing the 
 end he proposes to himself ? No — if it be 
 evident that all I see below resembles the 
 means, rather than the end if aU is rath- 
 er begun than finished ; if it be certain that 
 I live in a state of -trial and discipline: it 
 
is no less clear that God will raise me, af- 
 ter this short life, to new opportunities for 
 making use of my faculties and talents, 
 and for attaining the perfection for which 
 he prepares me in this school of discipline. 
 
 What cheerful prospects open to my 
 view, when I think on the relations in 
 which I stand to God, and on the happi- 
 ness to be derived from union with the 
 Divinity. I earnestly desire better to know 
 my God, and to be more intimately united 
 to my Creator, and more and more to re- 
 semble him. And will God annihilate a 
 being animated with such desires, who 
 burns with love to him, and wishes to 
 love him eternally ? Will he annihilate a 
 child whom he has rendered caoable of 
 knov/ing, of serving, and of delighting in 
 him, and to whom he hath given so many 
 proofs of paternal tenderness ? No — he is 
 my father, and hath already done too 
 much, for me to harbor a fear that he will 
 ever abandon me. He will xiot leave his 
 
56 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 work imperfect. He alone could inspire 
 me with the ardent desire of uniting my- 
 self to him ; and, as he is truth itself, he 
 cannot fail to satisfy it. 
 
 But I am a Christian, and I have on 
 this head the most positive promises from 
 God, hich entirely remove every doubt. 
 Life and immortality are the consoling 
 truths which my Savior brought from 
 heaven. To confirm them he died on the 
 cross, and rose from the dead. 
 
 How happy am I in knowing the Gos- 
 pel — because he lives, I shall live also. — 
 Where he is, there shall his follower be — ^ 
 the more I imitate him on earth, the more 
 shall I resemble him in heaven. Yes, I 
 am immortal. The present is properly 
 but the infancy of my being. It is mere- 
 ly preparatory for, and introductory to, a 
 higher and happier state of existence. 
 
 O thou Eternal Source of being and of 
 life, accept of my sincere and devout thanks- 
 givings, for raising me to this reviving and 
 
Immortality, 57 
 
 iblime hope, and for giving me the full- 
 : evidence of its truth, by thy son Jesus 
 iirist. He is, in truth, the Resurrection 
 and the Life. He hath brought life and 
 1 mortality to light by his Gospel. He 
 ith conquered death, and dissipated the 
 fears and terrors it inspired. 
 
 How delightful is it now, for me to 
 think of Thee, O my God, and of the re- 
 lations in which I stand to Thee ! Now I 
 can hope to pass continually from one im- 
 mense theatre of thy power to another, to 
 be perpetually discovering nQw traces of 
 wisdom and goodness, and to be eternally 
 employed in admiring the works of thy 
 hands. 
 
 A new and ravishing prospect opens to 
 my eyes 3 a scene of more noble employ- 
 ments, of purer pleasures, and of a felicity 
 better suited to my desires and faculties. 
 Here below I see things through a glass, 
 darkly; there I shall see things as tliey 
 really are. Here I exert my powers but 
 
53 Exercises of Piety. 'I 
 
 in feeble endeavors ; there I shall exerciser! 
 them in the most certain and happy effect. 
 Here I think and act like a child — I judge, 
 I rejoice, and afflict myself like a child 3,1 
 there, arrived at maturity, I shall thi»k 
 and act as a perfect man. If my knowl- 
 edge be at present confined within narrow 
 bounds, I will not be distressed. I go 
 shortly into an eternal world, where I 
 shall make continual improvements in the 
 knov/ledge of truth. — The book of nature 
 shall not always be a book which I cannot 
 read ; nor the Temple of Truth be always 
 so inaccessible as I at present find it, I go 
 to a world where I shall learn better to 
 read the one and penetrate the other. — 
 How intimately is the present scene con- 
 nected with the future ! All that I think, 
 all that I do, all that actually befalls me, 
 has an influence on my eternal destiny. — 
 Now I sow. One day I shall reap. Now 
 I labor, endure and suffer. One day I shall 
 gather the fruit of my toils, and be re- 
 
Immortality. 59 
 
 qompensed for my sufFerings. Now I 
 prepare for enjoyment. One day I shall 
 be pat in possession. This is the time of 
 trial and discipline — that of retribution 
 shall soon arrive. And shall I confine all 
 my thoughts to the -present moment ? 
 Shall I choose and seek for nothing but 
 what will produce an imm.ediate gratifica- 
 tion ? Shall I be unconcerned about eter- 
 nity ? No — oh my God, I would live as 
 becomes my celestial destination, and think 
 and act as an immortal creature. 
 
 Oh my God ! Vv^hat is man — vvhat am 
 I, that thou shouldst condescend to render 
 me capable of eternal felicity ! O may the 
 idea of the dignity of my nature, the no- 
 bleness of my origin, and the grandeur of 
 my destination, be never effaced from my 
 mind. Never v/ill I forget that I am cre- 
 ated in thy image, and that I am thy child. 
 Never will I degrade my nature, and be- 
 come the willing slave of sin and vice. — 
 Assist me, O Heavenly Father, and let thy 
 
60 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 spirit sustain and strengthen mine, that, 
 properly estimating the advantages I en- 
 joy, I may learn rightly to improve them, 
 and thus become happier through eternity. 
 
 Let my body wither like the flower of 
 the field, and return to the dust, from 
 whence it was taken. It is a coarse cov- 
 ering which I resign to corruption without 
 regret. My mind, incorruptible, shall rise 
 above the dust, and return to God who 
 gave it. I shall one day be clothed with 
 a more perfect and durable covering — a 
 glorious and celestial body, resembling that 
 of my exalted Savior. 
 
 My days now fly away with npidityf 
 and my life disappears as a fleeting dream. 
 But what are a few days, and months, and 
 years — what is the whole life of man to 
 one who perceives himself to be immortal, 
 and who is hastening to eternity ? 
 
 No— neither death nor the grave cati 
 alarm or frighten me. O God, who hast 
 formed my mind, and made it capable of 
 
Immortality. 61 
 
 rising and still rising in the scale of being 
 towards thyself, thou wilt not leave my 
 saul in the grave. — Death is only a passage 
 to a better life. — Whether it come this 
 day or the next, I will commit my de- 
 parting spirit into thy hands. — If I die, O 
 my God, thou wilt receive me unto thy- 
 self. By death thou wilt bring thy child 
 from labor to repose, from combat to vic- 
 tory, and from the age of infancy to man- 
 hood. Sublime hopes — delightful pros- 
 pects, be ye always present to my mind ! 
 
ON LOVE TO GOD, 
 
 O GOD, thou art love itself ! TheW 
 book of nature, and the book of revelation 
 teach this truth; and my heart — that^^ 
 heart which thou hast formed to love Thee, 
 and which thou hast made capable of tast- 
 ing this exquisite pleasure — will not per- 
 mit me to doubt it. 
 
 Thou art the origin and source of all 
 the variety of beauties and perfections that 
 are dispersed throughout the earth : All 
 that is great and amiable unite in Thee. 
 To will, and to do good — this is thy di- i 
 vine essence. Thou regardest all the be- 
 ings thou hast formed with paternal affec- 
 tion. Thou takest care of them ; thou 
 doest them good. All that comes from 
 Thee, O thou Supreme ! All that proceeds 
 from thy hand, good and evil, pleasure 
 and pain, prosperity and adversity, favors 
 and chastisements, all tend to promote our 
 felicity, all are adapted to exalt us to great* 
 er perfection. 
 
Lolje to God, 63 
 
 I myself, who am so inconsiderable a 
 creature, who am as nothing w^hen com- 
 pared with the rest of thy creation, I can 
 every moment draw comfort from this in- 
 exhaustible source. In what intimate re- 
 lations do I stand to Thee ? Thou art my 
 Creator — I am the w^ork of thy hands. 
 Thou art my Sovereign, and I am thy 
 subject. Thou art my Father, and I am 
 thy child. Can I be connected v/ith Thee 
 by stronger and more endearing ties ? Can 
 any thing giveajuster claim to all the af- 
 fections of my heart than these natural 
 and indissoluble relations give ? And art 
 thou not the kindest, the most bountiful, 
 the tenderest and most affectionate Fa- 
 ther ?- Am I not indebted to Thee, for life 
 and breath, and all things ? 
 
 How various and great are the gifts and 
 benefits which thou hast heaped upon me, 
 and which thou still continuest to bestow ! 
 All that I am, all that I have, all that I 
 am capable of being, is the effect of thy 
 
64 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 munificence. Thy bounty provides for 
 the wants of my body and my soul. With 
 how many advantages, comforts, pleas- 
 ures and joys, hast thou strewed my path ? 
 What assistance dost thou grant to my 
 vweakness, with what indulgence dost thou 
 bear with my sins, and with what tender 
 solicitude dost thou recal me from my wan- 
 derings. With what wisdom, dost thou 
 4 conduct and direct my lot, and all that 
 shall befall me. 
 
 But how can I speak of the unmerited 
 and inestimable tokens of thy love which 
 Thou hast given me by Jesus Christ, 
 through whora thou hast taught me to 
 liope for the forgiveness of sins, the aids 
 of thy spirit, and everlasting life. 
 
 Yes, O my God, thou art essentially 
 bountiful and good, and wilt be so 
 forever. I find myself as much sur- 
 rounded with thy mercies as I am 
 With the light which shines around 
 me. I have daily experience, that to do 
 
Love to God. 65 
 
 good and to bless is thy eternal employ- 
 ment. 
 
 And shall I not love Thee with all my 
 heart, and soul, and mind, and strength ? 
 Shall not the idea of thy existence and 
 amiable attributes become the most nat- 
 ural, and most delightful and consoling 
 idea I am capable of forming. Can I 
 think of Thee, O my God — of Thee v^^ho 
 art my Creator, my Benefactor, my Fa- 
 ther, as well as of all other bei ngs— with-* 
 out experiencing the most delightful sat- 
 isfaction, vv'ithout feeling the most lively 
 transports of gratitude and joy r I rejoice 
 in Thee, O my God, I rejoice in thinking 
 that Thou existest, that Thou art an eter- 
 nal and infinitely perfect Being. I re- 
 joice in thinking of the close relations 
 which unite me to Tiice. I rejoice in 
 thinking on the ways of thy providence, 
 on the manner in v/liich thou liast ar- 
 ranH:ed all thin,^s in the natural and mor- 
 al world. I rejoice to think that every 
 
 F 2 
 
- 66 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 thing takes place by thy vvill, that it is 
 Thou who orderest and directest all things ; 
 that all is good and perfect in its kind ; 
 that all is the effect and proof of thine in- 
 finite love. It is in this light I would 
 henceforward see all things ; blessings and 
 afrtictions, pleasures and pains, all that be- 
 falls others and myself. I will not forget 
 that all things come from Thee, provided by 
 thy wisdom and bestovv^ed by thy love. My 
 joy, my happiness, shall ahvays consist in 
 loving Thee, in conforming my will to 
 thine, in resigning myself entirely into thy 
 hands as into the hands of the best of fa- 
 thers, and hereby strengthening more and 
 more the ties^ which unite me to Thee. 
 
 It is true my gross senses, and the dif- 
 ferent ties v»'hich unite m.e to the earth, do 
 not permit me so often to elevate my soul 
 to Thee, nor to perceive thine adorable 
 perfections and august presence in that 
 lively manner, my soul desires, in the mo- 
 ments consecrated to piety ; but I will 
 
Lo'De to God. 67 
 
 cherish the hope that I shall hereafter 
 know Thee better, adore Thee more wor- 
 thily, unite myself more closely to Thee^, 
 and love thee with more ardor ; and then 
 shall I experience, in contemplating Thee, 
 0 my God, the most pure and most rav- 
 ishing joy. 
 
ON LOVE TO JESUS CHRIST, 
 
 O MY Savior, when I read the 
 history of thy life, how is my admiration 
 excited, my gratitude enkindled, my love 
 inflamed and my faith confirmed ! Wheth- 
 er I mix in the crowd that follows Thee, 
 or join the small number of thy beloved 
 disciples, to listen to the instructions flovv' 
 ing from thy divine lips — whether I ac 
 company Thee to the temple^ mingle in 
 the company of thy friends or enemies, o: 
 go with Thee to the solitary mountains 
 or the peaceful town of Bethlehem— 
 whether I behold Thee surrounded with 
 little children, or the infirm, the diseased, 
 the poor and the distressed— whether I 
 hear those around Thee crying, Hosanna 
 to the Son of David, or crucify him, cru- 
 cify him— whether I contemplate Thee 
 acting or suffering. Thou appearest always 
 the same ^ meek and humble, patient and 
 resigned supplying the necessitous, re^ 
 
LoDC to Jesus Christ. 69 
 
 lieving the distressed, instructing the ig- 
 norant, and laboring with unwearied zeal 
 for the reformation and the happiness of 
 the human race. 
 
 How can I think of Thee without ex- 
 periencing the most lively admiration, the 
 most exalted gratitude and the purest love ? 
 Thou hast heaped on me innumerable fa- 
 vors ; thou hast brought me to the knowl- 
 edge of truths the most sublime and con- 
 solatory3 and hast guided me in the path 
 of light, where I find so much joy and sat- 
 isfaction. If I no longer groan in the 
 darkness of idolatry, and under the bond« 
 age of vice and superstition ) if I no lon- 
 ger tremble at the idea of God, as of a se- 
 vere master and inexorable judge 5 if I no 
 longer consider death with fear and ter- 
 ror, as the termination of my existence 
 and my happiness— it is to Thee I am in- 
 debted. Thou hast opened my heart to 
 the sweetest hopes, and hast disclosed to 
 the eyes of my faith the most cheering 
 
70 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 prospects. Art thou not my Savior ? 
 Am I not the object of thy compassion, 
 whom thou hast rescued from perdition ? 
 Yes. — It is by thy doctrine I am brought 
 from darkness to Hght, from misery to 
 happiness. Thou hast loosed my bonds ; 
 Thou hast set me free, and put me into 
 a condition of rejoicing in my hberty. He 
 whom thou hast freed, O Son of the Pvlost 
 High, is free indeed \ 
 
 Art thou not my forerunner and my 
 guide in the road of virtue and felicity ? 
 Am I not thy follower ; and ought I not 
 to walk in thy steps ? Thou hast smooth- 
 ed the path of life, and leadest me in the 
 way in which I should go. Conducted 
 by thy spirit, I shall walk with a firm and 
 steady step and shall finally arrive at the 
 mark to which thou callest me. What 
 acknowledgments do I owe Thee ! To 
 what height of felicity hast thou raised 
 me ; and how much happier still may I 
 become by thine assistance I 
 
Love to Jesus Christ, 7.1 
 
 But in order to procure all these advan- 
 tages and blessings for me and for my 
 brethren, how many hardships hast Thou 
 experienced, how many sacrifices hast 
 Thou made, to what humiliations hast 
 Thou submitted ! What a toilsome life 
 hast Thou led, and what grievous afflic- 
 tions hast Thou endured ! Thou hast gen- 
 erously sacrificed thyself for us. Thou 
 hast died that we might live, and be eter- 
 nally happy. Can there be a more con- 
 vincing proof of love than that of yielding 
 life for our friends ? And Thou, generous 
 Benefactor of mankind, Thou hast done 
 still more. Thou hast died for us who nei- 
 ther knew Thee nor loved Thee. 
 
 And shall I be so vmgratcful as not to 
 love Thee, who hast first loved me, and 
 who hast obtained such astonishing bles- 
 sings for me ? V/hen I muse on all these 
 things, I feel my heart burn within me ; 
 I am filled with gratitude and joy, and I 
 ardently desire more and more to resem- 
 
72 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 ble Thee. The thought that Thou art 
 my Master, my Guide, my Savior, ray 
 Lord, and my Xing, and that I am thy 
 disciple, thy follower, thy subject, shall be 
 my boast and my happiness. Constrain- 
 ed by thy love, I will cordially obey thy 
 laws, and cheerfully imitate thy example, 
 governed by the spirit of true affection, 
 every hardship is easy, every burden light. 
 Command me to any duty, however pain- 
 ful and laborious, I will v/elcome thy 
 will. Bid me take up my cross, and sac- 
 rifice my pleasures and earthly prospects, 
 I follow thy footsteps with resignation 
 and joy. I will take the liveliest inter- 
 est in all that Thou hast done, taught, 
 and suffered. I will rejoice in thy grace 
 and benevolence to the human race, and 
 will endeavor to make all around me ac| 
 quainted with our obligations to Thee. I 
 sincerely rejoice Thou art gone to the Fa- 
 ther, as our advocate and prevailing inter- 
 cessor And that Thou hast gone to pre- 
 
Lo'oc to Jesus Christ, 73 
 
 pare mansions of blessedness for those 
 who love thee, that where thou art they 
 may be also. 
 
 Blessed and glorious Savior, accept our 
 praise ! Blessing, and honor, and glory, 
 and power be unto Him who sitteth on 
 the throne, and unto the Lamb forever 
 and ever. 
 
 6 
 
ON LOVE TO MANKIND, 
 
 As God is Love itself, so his great' 
 commandment in nature and religion is 
 fraternal Love. We are formed by nature 
 to take a part in the pleasures and pain« 
 of pur fellov\^creatures s and the exercise 
 of this affection for others, is the source of 
 the purest and the sweetest pleasures to 
 ourselves. We cannot with a generous 
 heart assist our brethren, do them a kind - 
 ness, and bear, on their account,, a trouble 
 or a loss, without feeling an elevation 
 of mind, and an addition to our happi- 
 ness ; and never do we shut our hearts to 
 love- — never do we open them to envy, ha- 
 tred and enmity, without disturbing the 
 peace of our minds, and rendering our- 
 selves more or less unhappy. So clearly is 
 it thy will, O my God, that we should love 
 one another. So audible is the voice of 
 nature which speaks in favor of our breth^ 
 ren, and which resounds to the bottom of 
 the heart. 
 
Loi:e to Mankind. 75 
 
 Thou, O God, hast so interwoven our 
 reciprocal interests, our pleasures and our 
 pains, all our employments, labors, de- 
 signs and hopes : Thou hast so connect- 
 ed us together, that it is in the bosom of 
 society, and in the mutual exertion of our 
 powers, we can alone attain the end of our 
 existence, and enjoy all the happiness of 
 which we are susceptible. Could man- 
 kind be capable of existing in an independ- 
 ent state, or, what is the same, a state of 
 equality, the noblest affections of the hu- 
 man breast would lan2:uish and die with- 
 out an object for their exertion ; human 
 nature would degenerate into savageness, 
 and the solitary individual, lost to all sense 
 of what is great and liberal, would know 
 no happiness himself by having no inter- 
 est in the happiness of others. But in 
 that state of mutual dependence in which 
 Thou, the great Parent of m^ankind, hast 
 placed us, an intercourse of mutual good 
 offices is kept up, habits of reciprocal af- 
 
T6 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 fection are formed, and general order and 
 harmony promoted. 
 
 When I consider the relations which 
 subsist between my brethren and myself, I 
 am naturally led to consider what frater- 1 
 nal affection I should feel for them. — 
 Thou hast united us, O ray God, by a 
 thousand ties. The same blood runs in 
 our veins ; members of the same family, 
 we all descend from the first man whom 
 Thou createdst, and we all adore Thee as 
 our common Parent. We have all the 
 same origin, the same nature, and the same 
 destination. The small and great, subjects 
 and sovereigns, are all formed fro m the 
 same dust, and shall all, sooner or later, 
 return to it. But we have within us what 
 is more noble and divine ; a mind that 
 can raise itself to the knowledge of Thee, 
 and unite itself to Thee, who art the Fa- 
 ther of spirits. Endued with the same 
 faculties, v/ith the same corporeal and 
 mental powers > reason and liberty are our 
 
Love to Mankind, 77 
 
 greatest ornament. The traces of thy di- 
 vine image shine equally in the poorest 
 and richest, in the highest and lowest of 
 mankind. Subjected to the same wants, 
 we are united by a variety of ties. No 
 one can do without his brethren, or is 
 sufficient by himself ; no one can be ex- 
 clusively happy. Thou hast so interwov- 
 en our pleasures and pains, with the 
 pains and pleasures of others, that, with- 
 out reciprocal assistance, vve can neither 
 taste the one, nor sustain the other ^ and 
 whatever may be our external situation, 
 the great purpose of our being is the same. 
 This life is to each of us the school, the 
 scene of discipline and trial 3 and immor- 
 tality our common hope. 
 
 And shall I not love beings so closely 
 connected with me, and who resemble mc 
 in so many things ? Shall I be cold and 
 ; indifferent with respect to them ? Shall I 
 even permit myself to hate them r Shall 
 I not know them vv^hen I meet them in 
 
78 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 the garb of indigence, and the tatters of 
 poverty ? Shall I be ashamed of being 
 their relation, their companion, their 
 brother ? Shall I treat them as beings of 
 an inferior species, and withhold from 
 them the affection and concern which ! 
 owe them ? If this were the case, dare I 
 continue to boast of being a man ? Could 
 I say that I perceive, that I feel the dig- 
 nity of my nature ? 
 
 Can I, especially, sustain the character 
 of a Christian, if I am not actuated by a 
 sincere "and generous affection for all men ? 
 Is not the whole of Christianity summed 
 up in love ? Is not this the object which 
 all its instructions, all its precepts, all its 
 promises are employed to attain ? "By 
 this," says Christ, "shall all men know 
 that ye are my disciples, if ye love one an- 
 other." 
 
 Every man, then, whatever be his name, 
 ills rank, his station, his condition, his 
 country, or religion- — every man is my 
 
Loii€ to Mankind. 79 
 
 neighbor and my brother ; every man is 
 thy work and thy child, O thou Creator 
 of the human race ! Beloved and cherish- 
 ed by Thee, he ought to be so by me. No 
 one ought to be indifferent to me, no one 
 ought to be excluded from my affection, 
 *Far from despising and hating them, I 
 will regard them all with that benevolence 
 with which thou regardest them. 
 
 Nothing which relates to them, noth- 
 ing which happens to them, shall be in- 
 different to me. I will weep with them 
 that weep, and rejoice with them that re- 
 joice. What interests my fellowcreatures 
 shall be interesting to me. The evils they 
 suffer, the blessings they enjoy, are bles- 
 sings and evils common to human nature, 
 belonging equally to the great family of 
 which I am a member. KvA what sight 
 can be more pleasing to Thee, O Heaven- 
 ly Father, than that of thy children unit- 
 ed together in love, having but one heart 
 and one soul ? 
 
80 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 If I am animated with these sentiments, 
 my love will be neither barren nor un- 
 fruitful. It will direct me in all my con- 
 duct, and influence every action. I shall 
 do with pleasure \'^'hat it requires, and a- 
 void what it forbids. I shall harbor no 
 thought, I shall cherish no wish, I shall 
 utter no vv'ord, J shall pass no judgment, 
 I shall form no designs, execute no un- 
 dertaking, and enjoy no pleasures-, which 
 may be inconsistent with love. Influenc- 
 ed by this generous principle, I shall cheer- 
 fully sacrifice my own personal advantage 
 for the general good. I shall be will- 
 ing to labor and suffer for others. I 
 shall live to be useful to them, and to 
 return the kindnesses they have done me. 
 As far as I can, I will deliver them from 
 the burdens with which they are oppress- 
 ed, or lighten their weight. I will remove 
 from their path the stone of stumbling, 
 second their good intentions, befriend 
 their useful undertakings^ and do all in 
 
LoDe to Mankinds 81 
 
 my power to unite them more and more 
 to each other. I vvill countenance, as far 
 as depends on me, the progress of truth 
 and of virtue, of liberty 2ndi happiness 5 
 ,and spread, to the utm.ost of my abiUty, 
 content and joy in the chxie in which I 
 move. This is Vv hat love requires of me, 
 and to tliess cbject3 all my eiforts shall be 
 directed. 
 
 But \ti ihz Txow inquire what hath 
 hitherto been my conduct in this respect ? 
 What good or what evil have I done ? 
 Have I injured or aSicted any one ? Have 
 none of my brethren ^ ground of com- 
 plaint againct uie ? Is there no one weep- 
 ing under tL. Jiigs ^ have done him ? 
 Is there no pcor, unfortunate person, 
 whom I might have i-el'^ved, and to whom 
 I have refused assistance ? No feeble crea- 
 ture, no sinner, whose frailties and faults 
 I ought to have borne with ; whose a- 
 mendment I should have tried by frater- 
 nal remonstrances to have effected , and 
 
82 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 whom, instead of this, I have made to feel 
 the effects of my anger and wrath ? Is 
 there no one in a low condition whom I 
 have treated with haughtiness, no timid 
 and modest person whom I have tyran-|| 
 nized over and oppressed ? Is there no on© 
 who, at this moment, is lamenting my 
 conduct towards him ? Have I iudrred no 
 one with too moch severity, and reproach- 
 ed no one unjustly ? Alas ! If at this mo- 
 ment anv one of mv fellowcreatures is 
 shedding a tear on my account, or expe- 
 riencing some disappointment through my 
 misconduct, how. can I lock up to Thee, 
 my God ? How dare I call Thee Father, 
 and consider myself as thy child, if I have 
 hardened mjy heart against the distresses of 
 others ! Let me, then, draw to my bosom ' 
 my brother, whom I have injured or af- 
 flicted, take from him all occasion of dis- 
 satisfaction, wipe away all tears, and tes- 
 tify to him my repentance ! 
 
Loi:e to Mankind, 83 
 
 I will do what I can to repair the in- 
 jury. I will not be ashamed to acknowl- 
 edge my fault and to correct it, were it 
 my inferior, my servant, or the lowest per- 
 son upon earth that I have injured. For 
 the least as well as the greatest is my broth- 
 ei', the child of my heavenly Father, to 
 whom I owe as much affection as to oth- 
 ■ers. O God ! Confirm me in this pur* 
 pose and give me strength to execute it ; 
 and let the purest and the liveliest lov^ 
 penetrate and inflame my heart, and let it 
 make me more and more to resemble 
 Thee, v^'ho art Love, and who dwellest in 
 Love. 
 
LOVE OF LABOR ; OR, ATTACHMENT TO^ 
 THE DUTIES OF OUR CONDITION. I 
 
 Thou hast designed us. Oh God, 
 for action and labor, and Thou hast con- 
 nected the greatest advantages and the 
 sweetest pleasures with an active and in- 
 dustrious hfe. Woe to him who, forget- 
 ting the design of his being, gives himself 
 up to sloth and idleness. Peace and con- 
 tentment fly far from him. Dissatisfac- 
 tion and weariness attend his steps; shame 
 and misery will sooner or later be his por- 
 tion. 
 
 It is only when I make a proper use of 
 my abilities, when ' I fulfil with fidehty 
 and exactness the duties of my station, and 
 successfully contribute to the public good; 
 it is then, alone, I taste the pure pleasures 
 of existence ; it is then only I can with 
 comfort account to myself, and to Thee, 
 my Creator, for the employment of my 
 powers, my time, and my advantages. 
 Then alone I can look with an eye of sat- 
 
Love of Labor, 85 
 
 isfaction, at the close of each day, on the 
 employments in which I have been engag- 
 ed, and meet with cheerfulness, those of 
 the morrow ; and hope as the price of my 
 labor, for an abundant harvest. Then 
 alone, arrived at the end of my career, I 
 shall be able to recal the past without 
 confusion and regret ; and the idea, that 
 every day of my life has been marked by 
 some good action, by some virtuous ef- 
 fort, shall fill me with joy in the arms of 
 death. 
 
 Yes, Oh my God, I revere and adore 
 thy wisdom and goodness in the natural and 
 moral disposition of things. I perceive, 
 and I am convinced how indispensable is 
 the obligation I am under to lead an active 
 ana laborious life, and faithfully to falfi! 
 the duties of my station. May I never 
 forget this obligation, and endeavor every 
 day of my life more punctually to dis- 
 charge it. ' 
 
 H 
 
86 * Exercises of Flcty. 
 
 All my faculties, all my powers, O God, 
 all my abilities, all the means of service I 
 possess, are the gifts of thy bounty, are tal- 
 ents which Thou hast entrusted to my im- 
 provement. At the last day I shall be o- 
 bliged to give an account of the use I have 
 made of them. 
 
 Thou, who art the sovereign disposer of 
 all things, hast placed me in my present 
 station. Thou hast entrusted me with; 
 certain offices relative to the happiness of 
 thy children on earth. And shall I not be 
 heartily concerned worthily to fill my 
 place, to contribute all in my power to the 
 well being of thy great family, of which 1 
 am a member ? i 
 
 Thou hast connected me with my breth- 
 ren, by an infinite variety of ties. I can- ' 
 not do without their assistance. Every 
 day they perform for me the most im- 
 portant services, and shall I confine myself 
 to receiving and enjoying, without making 
 any return ? I could not live but by char- 
 
Lo'oe of Labor. 87 
 
 ity, and shall i repay my benefactors with 
 uigratitude ? 
 
 Indolence and sloth will only increase 
 the burdens of my employment, and ren- 
 der them more troublesome and difficult. 
 My power will decrease, and my faculties 
 be impaired, in proportion as I neglect to 
 use them. 
 
 What shame, what remorse, what pun- 
 ishment does not the indolent man pre- 
 pare for himself at the close of every day, 
 at the close of every year, and, above all, 
 at the close of a life entirely'spent in trif- 
 ling occupations, and lost beyond retrieve I 
 After having sown so little, after having 
 sov/n nothing but bad grain, what harvest 
 can be expected ! And if I have been the 
 parent of a family, what a wretched exam- 
 ple have I set to my children and servants, 
 by my dislike of labor, or my carelessness 
 in going through it. Those who surround 
 me are more or less influenced by my con- 
 
83 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 duct, and will find in my faults a pretext 
 to justify their own. 
 
 Can inactivity and idleness be consist- 
 ent v/ith love to God and men ? Are tliey 
 consistent with the character of a Chris- 
 tian, who takes a lively interest in the hap- 
 piness of others, who loves to labor, to 
 suffer and even to sacrifice himself for 
 them — of a Christian, who ought not to 
 content himself vvith a conduct merely cx- 
 em.pt from crimes, or a common virtue 
 but who . ought to distinguish himself, 
 from others, by the brightness of his vir- 
 tue, and to shine as a light in the world — , 
 of a Christian, the disciple of a Master,^ 
 v^'hose meat and drink it was to do the v^'ill 
 of his Heavenly Father, and whose conduct 
 was governed by this maxim j ''I miust 
 work whilst it is called today, for the night 
 Cometh wherein no man can work." 
 
 I cannot doubt, therefore, O my God, 
 that indclence is diametrically opposite to 
 thy will and designs. It degrades, it dis- 
 
Love of Labor, 89 
 
 graces, it unnerves a man. It is inconsist- 
 ent with our own happiness, and that of 
 " others. It makes us unworthy of the 
 name of reasonable creatures, useful citi- 
 zens, and true Christians. 
 
 Far then from me be the disgraceful 
 thouo-ht of indolence — the idea I entertain 
 of Thee, O my God ! The recollection of 
 my dignity as a man, and a Christian — the 
 remembrance of what I owe to Thee, and 
 to my brethren, all unite to engage me to 
 lead an active and industrious life, to em- 
 ploy my abilities in a manner the most 
 useful to others, and the most honorable 
 to myself. Oh my God ! Impress these 
 thoughts deeply in my heart; may these 
 motives frequently present themselves to 
 my mind, and duly influence my conduct 
 every day of my life. 
 
 H 2 
 
THE SAFEST RULE LV THE CONDUCT OF 
 LIFE, 
 
 What is the wisest use I can 
 make of the present life ? What road 
 oun;ht i to pursue, in order most safely to 
 attain the end cf ray existence ? How can 
 I most successrully prepare myself for a 
 more perfect and happy state afcer death ? 
 How diiTcrait are the paths in which men 
 walk ! lie vv opposite and contradictory 
 are the maAims they adopt, and the ends 
 they propose to themselves ! Nothing is 
 more common than to see them wander- 
 ing into forbidden paths, and failing of 
 the end ihev have in view ! To avoid fall- 
 inj^into ibcsame mistakes, I needasureand 
 safe rule which I may follow without dan- 
 ger, and an enlightened guide in whom 
 I m^ay entirely confide. But where shall 
 I find either the one or the other, unless in 
 the heavenly doctrine of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and the example which he hath left 
 
Rule of Life. 9i 
 
 us. Yes, He is the way, the truth, and 
 the life. To him we must continually 
 look, after him we must frame our lives ; 
 to his voice wc must be attentive and obe- 
 dient, and in his steps we must tread. 
 Whoever follows him with sincerity an.d 
 perseverance cannot go astray ; but will 
 finally attain the highest degree of perfec- 
 tion of which he is capable.. Mav it be mv 
 endeavor to become every day more like 
 him, conformed to his example, and obe- 
 I dient to his precepts ! 
 
 Grant me, O Merciful God, thine as- 
 sistance, and the aids of that spirit which 
 Thou didst shed so abundantly on thy well 
 beloved Son. Thus supported and pro- 
 tected, I shall surmount the greatest diiR- 
 culties, and shall find my greatest happi- 
 ness and glory in the practice of virtue, 
 and the progress of holiness. . 
 
 f. 
 
EXERCISES OF PIETY, 
 
 SUITED TO THE SEVERAL RELATIONS OF DOMESTIC 
 AND CIVIL LIFE. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY REMARK. 
 
 The duties of social life are an iai- 
 portant subject, en v;hich the enlightened 
 and virtuous Christian will reflect with the 
 closest attention, because that the just dis- 
 charge of these mutual obligations, which 
 in every age of the world have been held sac- 
 red, is absolutely necessary to personal in^ 
 tegrity, to the peace and order of families, 
 thestrength of civilcommunities,thedigni-i 
 ty, improvement, and welfare of mankind. 
 
 In reflecting on the various duties of 
 social life, it is proper to begin with those 
 of the married state, because this was ac- 
 V tually the first relation contracted, the first 
 special tie and bond of union established 
 in human life. It is the root of all others, 
 and has therefore, if we follow nature, a 
 claim to our chief attention and regard. 
 
FOR A MARRIED PERSON. 
 
 It is Thou, O God, v/ho hast in- 
 stituted marriage, that mankind, by this 
 means, may falfil thy designs on earth, 
 and cont ibute to the happines of each 
 other. He who without sufficient reasons, 
 or with criminal intentions refuses to en- 
 ter into this states he who seeks to grat- 
 ify his desires out of wedlock, manifestly 
 opposes thy will, and neglects to fulfil his 
 destination upon earth. He is a rebel- 
 lious subject of thy government, an ene- 
 my to human life and happiness. This 
 institution is assuredly one of those which 
 bears the plainest marks of thy wisdom 
 and benevolence. What connexion is 
 there which more closely unites the hu- 
 man race, and more powerfully engages 
 them to blend their interests and their 
 views, to participate in each othei's anxie- 
 ties and cares ? — What is there that more 
 exalts, ennobles, andmultiplies their earth- 
 
54 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 ly existence ? — What is there which fur- 
 nishes them with stronger motives to ex- 
 ercise and unfold their faculties and tal- 
 ents, and to discharge wnth unwearied zeal 
 the duties of their station ? What is there 
 which more strongly attaches them to 
 civil society, and makes them take a more 
 lively and active interest in its happiness ? 
 — What is there that promises more sup- 
 port and consolation in old age 3 what 
 opens more diversified sources of pleasur 
 and joy, and raises more delightful hopes, 
 with respect to the future, than the sa 
 cred and honorable state of marriage ? 
 
 Yes — this shall always be to me a sa- 
 cred relation. I will endeavor faithful-' 
 ly to discharge all its duties, and cheerful- 
 ly submit to any selfdenials it may render 
 necessary. Far from being ashamed of 
 the nuptial tie, or speaking of it with rail- 
 lery, and a blameable levity— far from 
 blushing at the sentiments of esteem and 
 tenderness with which it inspires me for 
 
Married Persons, 95 
 
 the person with whom I am united, I will 
 make it my boast and my pride to cherish 
 and love that person as another self, and 
 will never lose sight of the intimate rela- 
 tions w^hich subsist between us^ nor of the 
 duties which arise from them. Far from 
 choosing the state of marriage only that I 
 may enjoy greater liberty and independ- 
 ence, far from being directed in my choice 
 I by external advantages only, such as afflu- 
 ence and rank, as if the q ualities of the mind 
 and the virtues of the heart, which are the 
 most fruitful sources of domestic happiness 
 w^ere indifferent to me ^ I will pay the 
 principal attention to the moral charac- 
 ter, a sound judgment, a tender, virtuous, 
 and pious heart, as the most solid founda- 
 tiorv of conjugal felicity, and wall prefer 
 these advantages to all the lustre of exter- 
 nals. 
 
 Instead of suffering myself to be led 
 astray by ambition, avarice, the love of 
 ease and luxurv, so as to lose si[;htof the 
 
§5 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 chief end of marriage, and to consider 
 children, which are its most precious 
 fruits^ as a burden, I will, on the contrary, 
 believe, that the more creatures there are 
 susceptible of happiness, who by my means 
 are brought into existence, and whom I 
 have led into the read to felicity, the 
 better I have answered my design on earth, 
 and the more thankful shall I be for hav- 
 ing lived here belovv^. Far from expect- 
 ing to find nothing but what is agreeable 
 and delightful in this connexion, I will 
 never forget, that its pleasures are indis- 
 soiubly joined v/ith the tenderest anxieties 
 and cares and that it is only by a volmw 
 tary subjection to the latter, and bear* 
 ing them v/ith p^atience, that I can hope 
 to taste the former, v/ithout shame anc| 
 remorse, and enjoy them in ail their extenfl 
 The more diversified and intimate tfe 
 ties by which marriage unites me to ray 
 partner, to my family, and to society, the* 
 more zealous and active shall I be for 
 
Married Persons, 97 
 
 the personal and. general good of those to 
 whom I am related, and the more ambi- 
 tious shall I be to discharge the duties of 
 my station. There is no kind of labor, 
 application, and care, how burdensome or 
 easy soever I may find it, how great or 
 how trifling soever be its object, which 
 ought not to appear important and sacred 
 whilst it is capable of contributing to the 
 .happiness of those with whom I am con- 
 nected. My desire and endeavor shall not 
 be to make a figure in the great world, 
 but to become useful in the small circle 
 in w^hich I am placed, and to taste the 
 pure and tranquil happiness of domestic 
 life. If no one ought to think, act and 
 live for himself alone, how much less 
 should the person who lives in the conju- 
 gal union ? If he be acquainted v/ith his 
 obligations, he will share the blessings and 
 ^ afflictions of life with the person to whom 
 ? he is united. He will always open his 
 heart to her, and communicate all his sen- 
 
98 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 timents. He will endeavor to ease her 
 cares, to lessen her troubles, and avoid, as 
 far as possible, any occasion of discontent 
 and chagrin. Neither of them can be con- 
 tented or discontented, happy or unhappy, 
 without the other in some degree partakes. 
 Mutual confidence will be attended with 
 the most beneficial effects. A suspicious 
 disposition is the bane of all domestic bliss. 
 It is that poisonous leaven which infects 
 every comfort of life, and converts the cup 
 of happiness into a cup of poison, bitter 
 as the wormwood and the gall. Far be 
 from me, then, every illiberal suspicion. 
 I have- received a wife to be my partner 
 till death. She has left her father's shelter, 
 and her mother's love, and trusted herself to 
 mine. For the confidence she has reposed 
 in my faith, shall I show her none ? Shall I 
 wantonly grieve a bosom, that has no oth- 
 er receptacle for its ovv'n grief but mine. 
 
 Marriage makes it our duty to endeav- 
 or to correct each other's faults, and to 
 
Married Pvrsons. 
 
 99 
 
 make the road of virtue more smooth and 
 easy to each other ; and this is another 
 source of comfort which it opens to us.— 
 Of what efficacy ought not the examples, 
 the advice, the exhortations and prayers, 
 to be, between persons so closely united, 
 and filled with esteem and love for each 
 other ? — should aetiis guides and sup- 
 ports to each other, to warn one another, 
 'with the tenderest anxiety, of the dangers 
 which threaten 3 to assist each other in o- 
 vercoming temptations, and to encourage 
 each other in a course of piety and vir-- 
 tue. 
 
 May my partner and myself never for- 
 get, that it was before Thee, O my God, 
 that we first promised to be constant, kind 
 and true 3 that the vows then entered into 
 are not to be sported with, nor their obli- 
 gation profanely cast av^ay. A persua- 
 sion of this is the firmest bulwark of vir- 
 tue, and the surest foundation of mutual 
 happiness. 
 
100 Exercises of Piety » 
 
 May we never neglect to pray for thy 
 blessing on our mutual connexion. Unit- 
 ed together, in mutual affection, to pour 
 out our common prayer, as the offering 
 of one heart before Thee, who art Love 
 itself, and the Rewarder of those that love 
 Thee, is surely the highest circumstance of 
 satisfaction which the wise can fancy, or 
 the good can realize. Assisted by one an- 
 others virtue, our good dispositions will 
 be confirmed 5 and, Vvhere life, in other 
 circumstances, would be a burden, it v/ill 
 not be felt, as divided between us. We 
 shall pass through life, blessing and blest 
 and meet again, in another world, never 
 to aeparate, or to die any more. 
 
FOR A PARENT, 
 
 O GOD, the Creator of all men, 
 and the source of all happiness.. Thou 
 ^makest use of thy creatures as the instru 
 ment by whom thou communicatest thy 
 gifts, and even life itself, to other beings 
 of the same species 5 and by this plan thou 
 makest them partakers of thy supreme fe- 
 licity, in the divine and heavenly pleasures 
 ' of making others happy. 
 
 Thou hast permitted me to taste of this 
 happiness. Thou hast given mz chil- 
 dren, and committed them to my direction 
 and care.' What a valuable present of thy 
 bounty ! What an abundant source of 
 pleasure and joy for me ! Thou hast im- 
 planted in me the tenderest alfectioa to 
 my feeble offspring. Thou hast made me 
 as feelingly alive to their pleasures and 
 pains as to my ov^n. Thou hast not left 
 my children dependent on the cool dictates 
 of reason, but hast urged me to the full 
 I 2 
 
102 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 discharge of my duty by the stimulations 
 of an instinct more speedy and forcible in 
 its operations than any deliberate argu- 
 ments could possibly be. Thou hast en- 
 gaged and animated me to do them all the 
 good in my pov/er by every feeling of the 
 lieart. This affection which burns with- 
 in me is a spark of that love which thou 
 bearest to all thy creatures. But this pa- 
 rental affection ought to be, like thine, a 
 Vvdse and enlightened principle. Its object 
 should be, not an external and morr.enta- 
 ry happiness, but a true and permanent 
 felicity. 
 
 It is not merely to the subsistence of my; 
 children, to the growth and shape of thei 
 bodies, that I would devote my chief at- 
 tention, butj principally, to the culture of 
 their minds and hearts. It is my duty to 
 form them to rational men, sincere Christ- 
 ians, useful members of society, affection- 
 ate husbands and wives, tender parents, 
 good masters, faithful friends, and virtu- 
 
Parents, 103 
 
 I ous citizens. It is my duty to teach them 
 I to love their Creator above all, to love 
 their fellowcreatures as their brethren, 
 I and to rejdice in the persuasion that thou 
 , art our common Father. I should form 
 , them not only for time, but for eternity. 
 I This is one of the most noble and hen- 
 orable employments, one of the rSiost im- 
 portant and delightful duties which Thou 
 hast required of me. I will sacrifice every 
 thing the flattering pleasures and the sv/eet- 
 est enjoyments of life, to this important 
 task. No age, no state, no other relation 
 of life can set me free from so sacred an 
 oblio-ation. It is jnx'self w-ho must dis- 
 charge it ^ and I cannot, either wholly or 
 in part, make over this duty to another 3 
 since it is impossible that an hireling should 
 feel the same sentiments which animate the 
 breast of a parent, and should be suscepti- 
 ble of the same zeal and the same patience, 
 j If I am obliged to have recourse, in this 
 I important office; to the assistance and tal- 
 
lO'i Exercises of Piety, 
 
 ents of others, they can act only under 
 my direction, and as workers logethc 
 with me. 
 
 This duty is undoubtedly difficult and 
 laborious 3 but if, by thine assistance, O 
 my God, I acquit myself with success, 
 what a^ train of pleasures and advantages 
 will res\i!t from it to myself and society. 
 
 To guide feeble and ignorant creatures 
 in the road to happiness ^ to teach them 
 to make a good use of their powers ; to 
 contribute to the unfolding of the facul- 
 ties and dispositions with which they are 
 endued 3 to guard innocent beings from 
 error, vice and misery, who are exposed to 
 •^a thousand dangers and temptations 3 to 
 throw the seeds of truth, wisdom and vir- 
 tue into their young minds, as yet open 
 to every impression 3 to cherish and 
 strengthen more and more the good dispo- 
 sitions which begin to spring up in them 3 
 to bring them acquainted with the design 
 of their being, both present and future 3 
 
Parents, 105 
 
 I to Iceep them at a distance from the pois- 
 jonous sources of vice and folly, and to 
 open to them those oi wisdom, content- 
 ment, and joy ; to fit them for acting their 
 part on the great theatre of the world, with 
 credit to themselves and satisfaction to 
 their fellowcreatures.^ — What a noble and 
 sublime employment ! Vv'hat a recom- 
 pense v/ill attend it in this world and ari- 
 pther. May I be more penetrated v^^ith a 
 sense of its dignity and importance, that I 
 may acquit myself with a zeal that shall 
 ensure its success ! 
 
 Yes, to give my children a liberal and 
 Christian education shall be my principal 
 and my sweetest occupation. Every thing 
 animates me to this duty — nature, religion, 
 the happiness of my children, my own 
 i happiness, and that of society. 
 
 Am I not answerable for my conduct 
 with respect to them, to the tribunal of 
 i my own conscience, to society, and to God, 
 
 : who is the Father of my children ? Do 
 
 I • ' . 
 
 I 
 
106 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 not their usefulness or unusefulness in the 
 world 5 the good or evil they shall do 3 
 their happiness or misery, present or fu- 
 ture — do they not depend in a great meas- 
 ure on the education and cultivation I shall 
 have given them ? May I not form tlie 
 most delightful and rejoicing expectations 
 with respect to futurity, if I have zealously 
 endeavored to give them good instruction 
 On the contrary, must I not expect thei 
 most cutting sorrow if I have neglected 
 this duty, or have acquitted myself ill in it? 
 
 What wish shall I one day form, when 
 death shall separate me from them ? What| 
 Vvdll then console me, and enable me to go 
 v/ith tranquillity into the state of retribu- 
 tion v\^hich awaits me in another world ?, 
 V/ill it satisfy me to think that my child-' 
 ren are sufliciently advanced to do without 
 me s that I leave them a decent patrimony, 
 or even considerable riches , that they are 
 allied to opulent families ^ that I have 
 laid the foundation of their advancement \ 
 
Parents^ 107 
 
 that I have smoothed the way to import- 
 ant ofHces, dignities and fortune ? Will 
 all this make me easy respecting their fu- 
 itiire lot, and give me the consoling hope 
 .of meeting them again in the mansions of 
 ieternal felicity ? When the splendor and 
 pomp of this world shall vanish from my 
 sight, what shall I then wish with the 
 greatest anxiety ? Will it not be that my 
 cliildren may be wise and virtuous men, 
 and good Christians ; and that they may 
 persevere in the path of wisdom and vir- 
 tue ? In my last moments it will little 
 :oncern me whether they be in other i*e- 
 ppects rich or poor, elevated to the pinna- 
 cle of greatness, or lost in obscurity. — 
 With v/hat tranquillity shall I then be a- 
 jle to separate from them, and leave them 
 nder the direction of their Heavenly Fa- 
 ;her i And shall I not at present aspire, 
 Siall I not incessantly strive to obtain this 
 . j^d ? Shall I not do all in my povver to 
 ttain it, and to procure for myself so 
 
108 Exercises of Play. % 
 
 delightful a satisfaction on the bed or 
 death ? 
 
 It is true the most careful education 
 will not always succeed. The most pre- 
 cious seed may be choked by bad exam- 
 ples, by the seduction of the corrupters o[ 
 youth, or by the dominion of sensual ap- 
 petites and irregular passions. All my at- j 
 tention and care may be useless; butj 
 such instances are not frequent. Seldom i 
 does it happen that he who interests him-j 
 self in the education of his children with 
 a truly enlightened, active and indefatiga- 
 ble zeal is put to so painful a trial. Th( t 
 fruits of his labors may not often discovei ^ 
 themselves till late if he do not live t( ; 
 reap the fruits himself, they m^ay, never i 
 theless, one day comiC to m.aturity. Be 
 sides, when I have given up all my atten 
 tion to the education of my children, I hav 
 nothing with which to reproach mysel! 
 even though it shall have been of no us< 
 In this case I am not the author of thei i 
 
Parents, 109 
 
 misery ; I have net contributed to it. — 
 How great soever it may be, I ought not 
 to consider it as a punishment upon me, 
 but as a disaster I could not possibly pre- 
 vent. 
 
 Preserve me, O my God, if it may be, 
 from this greatest of all distress. Gracious 
 God ! Thou seest my beating, trembling 
 heart s hear the prayer of a parent ! Pro- 
 tect the feeble creatures Thou hast com- 
 I mitted to my care ! Surfer them not to 
 I become the deplorable victims of debauch- 
 ery and vice. Uphold and direct them, 
 that they may never go astray and be lost. 
 Make their path strait before them, — 
 Support them in the way of life ^ and let 
 innocence, truth, virtue and piety always 
 accompany and preserve them. Let them 
 be heirs of unfading glory j let them be 
 safe through eternity. O that my chil- 
 dren may be heirs of God, ana joint heirs 
 of jesiis Christ ! Should they be scon re- 
 moved hence, may it be into Abraham's 
 
 K 
 
liO Exercises of Piety, 
 
 bosom ; or should they longer be contin- 
 ued here, may they be gathered at last, as 
 a shock of corn, into the celestial garner. 
 
 Give thy blessing upon all ! have under- 
 taken with this view, and on whatever I 
 shall hereafter undertake. If my feeble 
 efforts are ill directed, they are at least sin- 
 cere. Supply my deficiencies, and grant 
 me Oh my God i more light and knowl- 
 edge, that I may choose the best means, 
 and not be discouraged in the discharge 
 of my important duty. Happy, inex- 
 pressibly happy, shall I be, if at the hour 
 of death, and in the day of judgment, I 
 may be reunited to my children, never 
 more to be separated ; and be able to say , 
 in the transports of joy, "Behold me, 
 Lord, and the children thou hast given me. 
 They have like me, happily finished their 
 course ; they have kept the faith, and per- 
 severed in their obedience ; and now they 
 humbly wait, with me, for the recompense 
 
Parenis, 111 
 
 which Thou hast promised to those who 
 have been faithful unto death." 
 
 With a view to all these blessings would 
 I bring them, in the arms of faith and 
 love, to the divine footstool, and resign 
 them to the disposal of Infinite Goodness 
 and Mercy. To that kind and gracious 
 God who gave them would I humbly com- 
 mit them, to be guarded by thy Provi- 
 dence, ministered to by thine angels, in- 
 fluenced by thy Spirit, conducted safely 
 through the dangers and evils of this 
 world, and preserved to thy everlasting 
 kit}:^dom in the other. 
 
FOR A CHILD. 
 
 In what a state of weakness and de- 
 pendence, O my God, are the children of 
 men born ! When they come into the 
 W'Orld they are much more feeble, much 
 more dependent, much m.ore exposed to 
 danpiers than the most senseless animals. 
 It is but slowly, and very late that they ac- 
 quire sufficient strength to stand alone, 
 without the assistance of their parents. 
 
 But this arrangement is the effect of thy 
 paternal bounty. Thou intendest we 
 should be raised above the brute creation, 
 and become intelligent and moral beings. 
 But such v/e cannot become but by a con- 
 stant intercourse, and the daily instructions 
 
 of oersons better informed than ourselves. 
 
 J, 
 
 And it is in order that we may enjoy this 
 society and instruction, that Thou hast so 
 closely united us to beings of the same na- 
 ture with ourselves, and placed us in such 
 a state of dependence on one another. 
 
Children. 113 
 
 I revere thy will, O my God and I 
 return Thee thanks for the ties which u- 
 nite me to my parents, and all the advan- 
 tages I derive from it. 
 
 Yes, I perceive how feeble and depend- 
 ent I am, and desire to think and act ac- 
 cordingly. Happy shall I think myself, if 
 filled with love and gratitude to my par- 
 ents, I fulfil my obligations to them witlv 
 a tractable and joyful heart. 
 
 How great are my obligations to them ! 
 What should I do without them ? Sur- 
 rounded from my birth with ten thous- 
 and dangers, I should probably not have 
 escaped any one of them, if the supporting 
 and watchful hand of a father, or a moth- 
 er, or of persons who supplied their place, 
 had not protected and snatched me from 
 the dangers which threatened me. Expos- 
 ed to a thousand wants, without the pow- 
 er of supplying them ; a prey to hunger 
 and thirst, to cold and heat, to sorrow and 
 disease, I should have fallen a victim to all 
 
 K 2 
 
114 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 these evils had it not been for the assiduous 
 attention of those who were around me, 
 and their care to supply my want of 
 knowledge and of strength. For how 
 long a time hath this state of weakness and 
 dependence (in which I still in a great de- 
 gree find myself) continued ? A stranger 
 to every thing, the least thing fills me with 
 fear and trouble. My mind, as feeble as- 
 my body, falters at every step, falls into a 
 thousand errors, and,, dazzled by a false 
 lustre, suffers itself to be easily led astrrry 
 by vain appearances. I have not yet ac- 
 quired sufficient experience to confide en- 
 tirely in myself. Today I judge totally 
 different of men and things from what I 
 did yesterday. Knowing but little of the 
 design of my being, and the means of at- 
 taining it, I cannot yet tread with a firm 
 and steady foot in the path of life. How 
 much do I need an enlightened and faith- i 
 ful STuide r Without such a director I run 
 the riscjue of straying into a thousand ob- 
 
Children. 115 
 
 scare bypaths, the victim of every im- 
 postor who wishes to abuse my credulity, 
 and the sport of every accident. 
 
 But who amongst mankind will guide 
 me with more kindness, prudence, and cir- 
 cumspection than a father or a mother ? 
 My parents are the first and surest guides 
 I can have in the journey of life, which is 
 to me at present an unknown road. They 
 
 will give me the benefit of their experience, 
 light and strength. They vv^ill warn me 
 of the dangers I run, and remove the obsta- 
 cles that lie in my way. They v;ill teach 
 
 1 me to distinguish reality from appearance, 
 and to form a right judgment of mankind 
 and the objects around me. They will 
 raise me when I fall, and encourage my 
 trembling steps. They will lead me in- 
 sensibly to wisdom and virtue, to the 
 knowledge of God and religion, which they 
 will teach me to study and to. follow, as 
 
 ] the noblest and most friendly guides to 
 
116 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 man, the most faithful and the surest con- 
 ductors to happiness. 
 
 How great then are my obhgations to 
 my parents ! How can I ever acquit my- 
 self to them, and sufficiently acknowledge 
 my gratitude ! How much have my mahi- 
 tenance, my early education, and the im- 
 provement of my mind already cost them ; 
 and how much anxiety, pain and labor 
 have I not occasioned them ! How many 
 convenienciesand pleasures, and accommo- 
 dations have they not given up on my ac- 
 count ! How many tears have I made 
 them shed for me ! How much disap- 
 pointment and distress have they experiJ 
 enced for me ! How much more have they 
 watched, labored, and lived for me, than 
 for themselves ! | 
 
 And have I never made a perverse re- 
 turn for their love ? Have I never repaid 
 their kindness with ingratitude ? Yet they 
 have never ceased to give me new proofs 
 
Children. 
 
 117 
 
 of their tenderness, and never ceased to 
 labor for my happiness. 
 
 Alas ! It is now I see my faults. The 
 idea of having occasioned them anxiety and 
 mortification, and of having grieved their 
 I Jiearts, afflicts and tears my own. I am a- 
 shamed that by obstinacy and disobedience 
 ' I have hindered their good intentions in 
 fny behalf, and failed in my duty to them. 
 
 I will try in future to repair these faults, 
 and to give them only satisfaction. To 
 this my best endeavors shall be directed. 
 .Filial piety shall direct and animate all my 
 conduct. I will say and do nothing that 
 shall displease them. I will make it my 
 greatest pleasure to obey them, to afford 
 I them every service and assistance in my 
 ^ power, and to become their consolation 
 ; and their joy. I will give myself up sin- 
 I cerely to their direction, instantly obey 
 their commands, and, if possible, even an- 
 ticipate their wishes. The end to which 
 I will direct all my efforts shall be to make 
 
118 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 a good use of all the means of instructioiv^ 
 they procure me, that I may become mor J 
 intelligent and wise, and hereby make thi 
 best return in my power for all their kind^ 
 ness. Thus will I endeavor to lighten, 
 their burdens, relieve their cares, and re<- 
 joice their hearts with the pleasing hope 
 that their labor has not been in vain. 
 
 Preserve me, Oh Merciful God, from 
 the levity and inconstancy of my age. Let 
 the idea of thy presence, and of thy 
 confirm me in every good resolution I 
 have formed, and do thou assist me to ex^ 
 ecutethem v/ith perseverance and fidelity fl 
 
TO YOUTH. 
 
 How pleasant is the season of 
 youth ! Like the fine days in the spring, 
 j it composes the prime of hfe, and promis- 
 es in future a rich harvest. But, alas ! 
 It passes away with the same rapidity, and 
 the hopes it raises are often as deceitful. 
 In the moral, as in the natural world, the 
 finest blossoms do not always produce the 
 fruit we had reason to expect : 
 
 " Fair is the bud his vernal morn brings fortb. 
 And fostering gales awhile the nursling fan. 
 O smile, ye Heavens, serene ! Ye mildew^s wan, 
 Ye blighting whirlwinds, spare its balmy prime," 
 
 In vain are our wishes ! Too often, blast- 
 ed by the hoar frosty or torn up by the 
 tempest, the fairest buds of hope, and the 
 most promising plants perish, with the 
 
 J precious seed which they enclose. 
 
 f How must it afflict the person, arrived 
 at the maturity of manhood, when he casts 
 
 I his eyes over the days of youth, if they 
 
120 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 have flown away without improvement — 
 if he has foohshly consumed them in tri- 
 fling occupations, or lost them in idleness. 
 What more distressing object can be held 
 up to the view of society than that of a 
 man whose faculties, instead of being un- | 
 folded and enlarged by exercise, are be- | 
 numbed by inactivity, or debilitated or < 
 worn out in the service of vice 3 carrying | 
 with him, into the maturer season, noth- | 
 ing but the disgraceful feelings of weak- I 
 ness, regret and remorse ? 1 
 On the other hand, What pleasure must 
 not a person experience in recalling to his * 
 mind the spring of life, who has employ- ^ 
 ed it in forming his mind and his heart, ' 
 in preparing himself for useful cccupa-l c 
 tions ; and who, having cultivated the ^ 
 precious seed which the Creator has sovv^n i 
 within us, can hope to reap for himself ^ 
 and others the most excellent fruits ? Kow 
 delightful is the sight of such a man to ^ 
 every sensible and virtuous person ! ^ 
 
ToutJu 121 
 
 Happy will it be for me if I may one 
 day taste this satisfaction, and procure it 
 for my parents and fellow citizens. Hap- 
 py for me if I entertain at present the same 
 , opinion of the important design of youth 
 ', as I shall certainly have in maturer years, 
 and in old age, in the hours of retirement 
 and recollection, and at the approach of 
 «• death. But ah! How different is the 
 \point of view in which manhood and old 
 age see the days of their youth, from that 
 in which they are beheld by the young 
 . man himself ! /^nd how much more likely 
 to be just is their opinion which is formed 
 on their own experience and that of oth- 
 ers ! Where is the man who ever repent- 
 ed of having well employed his youth ? — 
 Does not this period of life, when passed 
 in piety and innocence, procure us the 
 most valuable advantages, and the most 
 noble pleasures ? On the other hand, how 
 many deplore the loss or abuse of these 
 most favorable days of their lives, and bit-^ 
 
 L 
 
112 Excrcisjs of Piety o ' 
 
 terly lament over the unhappy consequen- , 
 ces of youthful errors ? Kow many are j 
 there who. in the flower of their lives, are 
 a prey to the infirmities of a premature 
 old age, become incapable of tasting thdj 
 pleasures and comforts of domestic life, oj 
 to whom these pleasures are embittercdv 
 and poisoned by remorse of conscience ? 
 
 And shall not these lessons and experi- 
 ences, soproper to instruct and encourage 
 me, make me more wise and prudent ?— 
 Shall they not engage me wisely to employ 
 the days of youth 3 to fly the steps of 
 those unfortunate persons whose very ap- 
 pearance terrifies me 1 to proceed with a 
 firm and persevering step in the path where 
 so many of my predecessors have reaped 
 the advantages they now enjoy, and bj 
 which they have become valuable men; 
 useful citizens, and wise and happy beings ; 
 
 The present is the season for sowing.— ^ 
 If, at a more advanced period, I wqu1( 
 not be reduced to the want of necessaries 
 
Touth. 12$. 
 
 if I would not be a burden to myself and 
 others ; if I would gather a rich and a- 
 bundant harvest, I must sow the good seed, 
 and carefully cultivate the ground which 
 receives it. I must adorn my mind with 
 wisdom, and my heart with virtue ; I 
 must lay in a store of useful knowledge, 
 and early acquire the habit of acting just- 
 ly. I must combat my evil thoughts be- 
 fore they gain the mastery ; I must extir- 
 pate my evil habits before they have taken 
 deep root ; I must endeavor to secure the 
 love and esteem of my fellow citizens, by 
 a rational, modest, attentive, regular con- 
 duct, that I may be able to depend in fu- 
 ture on their protection and support.-— 
 Youth is the time for discipline and prep- 
 aration ; in this season I should acquaint 
 myself with, and properly value, and ex- 
 ercise my faculties and powers, if I would 
 one day employ them with facility and 
 success ; I should acquire the information 
 and the talents for which I shall have oc- 
 
i^i Exercises of Piety, 
 
 casion in future life, and without which 
 I shall stumble at every step, and find my- 
 self involved in a thousand perplexing dif- 
 ficulties. I must accustom mvself to self 
 denials j to bear contradiction and oppo- 
 sition ; to endure fatigue, trouble, and 
 aflliction ; to subdue my passions ; to 
 conquer my sensual appetites ; if I would 
 not one day sink under the weight of ev- 
 ery duty and every triaL 
 
 How important then is the present sea-j 
 son of life ! Mere wishes, slothful and fee- 
 ble efiforts, will not suffice to fulfil its du- 
 ties and design. It is only by persevering 
 endeavors, by a constant application, and 
 by an unshaken firmness, that I can attain 
 the end which I propose. But need I be 
 discouraged and alarmed at the necessity 
 of diligence, application and resistance H 
 Will not the wages be proportioned to 
 the labor, and the triumph to the combat I 
 
 Shall I postpone to an uncertain hereaf- 
 ter that wliich I can and ought to do at 
 
Touth. 125 
 
 •present ? Is not the time I lose really lost 
 -forever ? Has not every future period of 
 my existence its particular employment ? 
 Will it be the time for sowing when the 
 season of gathering shall come, or for in- 
 ftruction when I shall be called to make 
 use of my knowledge ? What it is incum- 
 bent on me to do at this season, and which 
 I neglect because of its difficulties, will 
 become every year and every day more dif- 
 'ficult.. Notwithstanding the health and 
 strength I enjoy in the spring of life, may 
 I not lose my powers, and die in.the flow- 
 er of my days ? And what doom may I 
 expect in the future state, if I have fool- 
 ishly wasted the prime of life in the slave- 
 ry of irregular passions and the corruptions 
 of vice ? Let me watch continually over 
 myself, overall the secret motions of my 
 heart ; let me not suffer myself to be se- 
 duced by the vain premises of vice, by the 
 charms of an apparent liberty, or a treach- 
 ei'ousjoy. Wisdom raises her voice to 
 
 L 2 
 
123 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 tell me that the intoxication of sense en- 
 dures but for an instant ; that the enchant- 
 ^ ed cop of luxury shall not be always sweet 
 to my taste ; that the pleasure I find in 
 drinking it shall soon vanish, as a fleeting 
 ■dream from which we are fearfully awak- 
 ened 5 that the liberty with which I am 
 flattered by vice is nothing but the vilest 
 slavery, and that all its joys are poisoned 
 at their source. Whereas, no innocent 
 pleasures which I forego, from a principle 
 of virtue, shall be lest to me ; sooner or 
 later it shall be returned to me with inter- 
 est. A train of pure and lasting joys shall 
 recompense me, in manhood and old age, 
 for the destructive or vain gratifications 
 which I have prudently renounced. And 
 even when prevented, by an early death, 
 from gathering, in this world, the fruits 
 of a v/cll regulated youth, shall I not 
 reap a prodigious advantage if I am pre- 
 pared to enter a m.ore perfect abode, and 
 suiticiently qualified for the sublime em- 
 
ToutJu 12T 
 
 ployment and delicious pleasures which a- 
 wait the virtuous in a future existence ,^ 
 Yes, O my God, it is only by keeping 
 thy commandments — by making wisdom 
 and virtue, reason and religion his faith- 
 ful guides, that a young man can preserve 
 his innocence, look with calmness on the 
 beginning of his course, and advance near- 
 er and nearer to his supreme destination, 
 O may these faithful guides always ac- 
 company me in the journey of life ! Oh 
 Almighty and most merciful God, do thou 
 thyself conduct me, by thy spirit, in the-, 
 straight road. Preserve me, by thy grace, 
 from the wanderings of youth, and the ty- 
 ranny of passions. Let thy v/ise and good 
 Providence remove far from my path the 
 obstacles and temptations v/hich may oc- 
 casion my fall. Assist my endeavors to 
 become wise, and virtuous^ and holy ; and 
 accompany them v/ith thy blessing. Place 
 me in circumstances favorable to my im^ 
 provement. Give me faithful friends and 
 
I2B Exercises of Piety. 
 
 guides, and enable me to follow them in 
 the paths of goodness. 
 
 Thou delightest, Oh God, to grant the 
 desires which flow from a sincere heart, 
 and to second the efforts of those who se- 
 riously aspire after greater perfection. — 
 Supported and guided by Thee, I cannot 
 fail of attaining in this world the design 
 of my existence, and of arriving in the 
 ^ther at my supreme end. 
 
A PERSO.V AliRiyEJ AT MA:\IH00D. 
 
 It is rhrou^h thy go^daess, Oh my 
 iGoD, that I aTi bi ought thus far oa ia 
 the journsy of life — assist me to pursue it 
 according to thy will, and happily to finish 
 it» I am now arrived at the middle of 
 my coarse. Exposed, at the meridian of 
 life, to the rays of the burning sun, i no 
 longer enjoy the freshness of the morning. 
 The serene days of infancy and youth ars 
 fljd a\vay with all their playfulness and 
 thoughtless gaiety. More serious thoughts 
 and more important occupations, accom- 
 panied with solicitudes and fears, but aU 
 so interm'xed with nobler and more de- 
 lightful pleasures, have succeeded them.— ^ 
 I am now advanced to the hei:>:ht of man- 
 hood. My body and my mind have at- 
 tained all the strength of which they are 
 capable. I am no w able to bear heavy 
 burdens, to execute toilsome labors, to un- 
 deitake things difficult and complicated. 
 
130 Exercises of Piety,. 
 
 and overcome the greatest obstacles. The 
 difficuhies and dangers which terrify the 
 young and the old^ need not discourage 
 me. The obstacles which make then 
 stumble and fali;> ought not to stop me ir 
 my course. 
 
 A greater activity, more application, 
 more unshaken patience and fortitude 
 these are the true characteristics of man 
 hood ; these are the sources from whence 
 I must draw my means and advantages. — 
 Far be from n\t all sloth and inactivity^ 
 all indulgencies and weakness, and thef 
 shame which accompanies an useless and 
 effeminate life. 
 
 It is now time that I should make use 
 of the knowledge and abilities acquired in 
 youth. It is now that I should labor for 
 society, and return the good offices I have, 
 for so long a time, received from it. It is 
 now that I should become to others, what 
 my parents, instructors and guides, have 
 teen to me. The strength and wellbeing 
 
Manhood. 131 
 
 of the state are founded on the useful la- 
 bors, and benencicJ undertakings of those 
 arrived at maturity. It is for them to 
 take care of those members of society who 
 ^VQ yet young, feeble and inexperienced ; 
 land to procure rest, support and recom- 
 penses, to t'le respected old man, who has 
 labored for the public good. May no 
 fcmployment, and no station, appear to me 
 '^Sl burden, which tends to this end. 
 
 May I never lose sight of the difterent 
 ties which unite me to society^ as a father, 
 vE citizen, a friend, a child of God, and a 
 Christian. May I never allow in myself any 
 desire, any undertaking, any discourse, any 
 actions, inconsistent with these relations, 
 and contrary to the general good. l^Jiough 
 I make but a very small part of the society, 
 though I occupy but a single place, and 
 that, perhaps, but a very subordinate one, 
 -this does not put it out of my power to 
 'contribute to the welfare of that society of 
 which I am a member. The public wel- 
 
'i5'2 Exercises ef Ficty. 
 
 fare caa. only take place when each ■ 
 those who, compose it worthily Slls his st:> 
 tion, and faithfully discharires his ov n 
 peculiar duties. This shall be the olijec t 
 of my ardent and persevering endeavors. 
 J would perform the duties of my tunction 
 with a cheerful heart, and disinterested 
 views, uninfluenced by ambition, vanity, 
 avarice, or the desire of power ; but from 
 obedience to the will of God, from a prin- 
 ciple of conscience, from motives of hu- 
 manity, and the noble desire of attaining 
 the design of my present existence, ar;d of 
 preparing for niy future destiny. These 
 are the motives which shall animate me 
 in the discharge ot my duty, and make 
 that^duty itself the source of pleasure and 
 of joy. 
 
 The course I have yet to run appears 
 long to me. 1 form, peihrps, great and 
 extensive schcn.es. i crr.ploy njystif in 
 executing them witli as much zeal and 
 confidence as if 1 were sure of success. 1 
 
Manhood. 133 
 
 labor for my country, for posterity, for a 
 distant futurity. I plant, I build, I form 
 enterprises, I enter into new connexions, 
 I pursue various plans, I endeavor to en- 
 large the sphere of my activity, as if I had 
 many ages yet to live. To act thus, is 
 the will of thy providence, O God, which 
 has so closely connected one generation 
 with another, and which prepares, in the 
 present time, the most distant events. It 
 is for Thee, O Thou Sovereign of the 
 world, to determine (according to the 
 purposes of thy infinite wisdom) whether 
 I shall leave the execution of them to an- 
 other. Thou wantest neither means nor 
 resources to attain the ends Thou propos- 
 est to thyself. As for me, may it suffice 
 to acquit myself well in my station, and 
 to labor, vv'ith unceasing application, for 
 the public good, v;ithout disquieting my- 
 iself whether my life shall be long or short; 
 whether the success of my enterprises shall 
 
 M 
 
134 Exercises of Piety* 
 
 deceive my expectations* or crown my 
 wishes. 
 
 But whilst my strength, ability, and 
 success, answer all my expectations, let 
 me never forget the frailty of my nature, 
 the instability of worldly good, the uncer- 
 tainty of all my schemes, the mortality of 
 my body, and the immortal state into 
 which I must pass. — Far from concentrat- 
 ing all my affections in the pleasures of 
 this life, I would never lose sight of my su- 
 preme end. I will therefore wisely prefer 
 things invisible and eternal to those which 
 are seen, and temporal 3 and always hold 
 myself in readiness to quit m.y post at the 
 call of providence and to go into another 
 world, where, through divine grace I may 
 attain all the improvement of which I am 
 susceptible, and to prepare for vvhich I was 
 sent into the vvorld. 
 
TO OLD AGE. 
 
 O MY God, thou hast given me 
 life, and continued it to me throucrh a lon^: 
 series of years. After having carried me 
 through the successive stages of existence, 
 after conducting and protecting me in in- 
 fancy, in youth, and manhood, thou hast 
 brought me to the last period of life. — 
 How great, how innumerable are the bles- 
 sings and favors thou hast heaped upon 
 me ! O Thou Supreme Good ! With what 
 paternal tenderness hast Thou provided 
 for my bodily and spiritual wants, from 
 my birth to the present hour ! How many 
 sources of pleasure and delight hast Thou 
 
 opened to me in civil and domestic life ! 
 t. 
 
 How many lessons of wisdom and virtue 
 hast Thou given me ! How many dangers 
 hast Thou averted from me ; from how 
 many evils hast Thou preserved me ! How 
 many faults and sins hast Thou overlook- 
 
136 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 ed ! How many undertakings and labors 
 have I executed with success, through 
 thine assistance ! — Thy mercies have been 
 renewed to me every morning ; every day, 
 every hour of my life, have I witnessed 
 thy goodness. Accept, O merciful and 
 indulgent Father, my most sincere and 
 hearty thanks, for all the blessings thou 
 hast heaped upon me, for all the support 
 thou hast granted me, for all the divina 
 joys thou hast poured into my heart, ancr 
 for all the afflictions Vv'ith which thou hast 
 disciplined and benefited me. But how 
 can I sufficiently acknowledge and cele- 
 brate thy merciful kindness, and my own 
 unmerited felicity ! Blessed be God, a day 
 is approaching, when I hope distinctly to 
 recollect all thy favors, and to be more 
 sensible of their value. Then will the re- 
 membrance of my sufferings, as well as 
 my pleasures, aff'ord me joy. I shall ac- 
 knowledge it was thy paternal hand which 
 has guided me in the gloomy and the rug- 
 
Old Age, 157 
 
 ged, as well as in the bright and smooth 
 paths of life, in order to conduct me in the 
 surest way to felicity. Every day of my 
 life has been marked by some precious 
 effects of thy love. Through thy grace, I 
 have been upheld under the troubles of 
 life, discharged its duties, and tasted its 
 pleasures. I can now quit my post with- 
 out regret, and without fear. I have fin- 
 ished the work thou hast given me to do. 
 I have promoted, according to my ability, 
 the happiness of thy great family. Now 
 I am going to rest from my toils, and to 
 enjoy the fruit of my labors. Arrived at 
 the end of my journey, what pleasure do 
 I now enjoy in recalling to my mind every 
 good action which Thou hast enabled me 
 to perform. Happy, indeed, would it be 
 for me, if there had been no actions, the 
 recollection of which should cover me with 
 confusion. But alas 1 In reviewing the 
 course 1 have run, I perceive a multitude 
 of faults and transgressions which fill mc 
 
 M 2 
 
138 Exercises of Piety* 
 
 with shame and regret. If I can yet cor- 
 rect my errors, and in any measure repair 
 the injury I have done myself or my fel- 
 low creatures, I will do it without delay, 
 and with the greatest alacrity, whatever 
 shame it may occasion me, in order to re- 
 store peace to my mind before I quit this 
 state of trial, and appear before my Judge. 
 If I have neglected any duties, which I^can 
 yet discharge in m^y public or domestic re- 
 lations, I will immediately fulfil them, lest 
 death surprise me before I have complet- 
 ed my task. My sins and transgressions 
 would overwhelm m.e with sorrow, did I 
 not, O my God, consider thy mercy. — 
 Thou wilt pardon my faults, for Thou 
 art an indulgent Father to those wlio re- 
 pent and amenJ. The death and resur- 
 rection of Jesus Christ are the secj^ity and 
 proofs of it. How full of consolation is 
 this assurance ! What light does it diffuse 
 around me ! What hope and trust does it 
 inspire. I will constantly look unto Je- 
 
Old Age. 139 
 
 jius, the author and finisher of my faith, 
 my forerunner and my guide. I will en- 
 deavor to imitate his example, and tread 
 , in his steps. If I can be no longer useful 
 to saciety by my labors, I will try to be so 
 by my example. My children, my ser- 
 vants, my descendants, shall learn from 
 me to triumph over the fears of death, and 
 to die as becometh Christians. An old 
 man, who preserves to the decline of life 
 an amiable serenity, and easy cheerfulness, 
 who recalls to his mind the scenes of past 
 life, without remorse, and who contem- 
 plates the future without fear, such an 
 old man may still be useful to society. — 
 How much good may he do, how much 
 ^1 may he prevent, by his advice, by his 
 example, and even by his presence ! The 
 young, and those arrived at maturity, as- 
 semble around him to receive his instruc- 
 tions, to learn to live as he lived, and to 
 approach the close of life with the same 
 tranquillity of soul with which he meets 
 
140 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 his dissolution. V/hat deep and lasting 
 impressions may not the precepts, the ex- 
 perience, the exhortations, which are the 
 fruit of a long life, make upon the minds 
 of others. Oh that the torch of my life 
 may burn with a cheering and salutary 
 splendor, before it is extinguished, and 
 leave permanent and clear traces in the 
 hearts of those who are younger than my- 
 self. To this end, I will endeavor to be free 
 from the weaknesses and defects to which 
 old age is usually subject. Far from me 
 be all caprice, insensibility, austerity, mo- 
 roseness, all peevishness, and impatience. 
 May my principal, my last employment 
 on earth, be to ease and lessen the care 
 which my friends and others take of me, 
 to testify to them my acknowledgments, tc 
 lead them, by my conduct, to respect, and 
 love the religion of Jesus, and prepare fot 
 its highest rewards. About to separate 
 fi'om them, I commit them, vv^ith myself^ 
 into thy hands, O Heavenly Father, with 
 
Old Age. 141 
 
 an entire confidence. Be a father to my 
 children, and a friend to my friends. — 
 Take them under thy protection. Lead 
 them in the paths of piety and virtue. — 
 Preserve them from foolish and hurtful 
 lusts. Teach them to make a proper use 
 of thQ prese?2t life, and to prepare for a 
 future. Then, whatever be their lot, 
 whether prosperous x)r adverse ^ whether 
 they reach to my advanced age, or are cut 
 off by death, in the midst of their days, 
 they will not be less happy, and will be 
 finally united to me, never to separate or 
 to die any more. 
 
 Thus would I finish my course. Thus 
 would I spend the close of my life, reliev- 
 ing, benefitting, and blessing all around 
 me. Then shall I behold my end with 
 calmness and tranqulIUcy. Death will 
 conduct me to a better world, and will 
 therefore be 3 m^ssen ;er of joy. With 
 a serene mind 1 siiall j to a more perfect 
 state, where I hope to know truth with 
 
Ii2 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 greater certainty, to think more justly, to 
 worship more devoutly, to love more af- 
 fectionately, to act with greater freedom, 
 and to enjoy pleasure v/ithout mixtui'e or 
 alloy. Yes, Oh my God, thou wilt quick- 
 ly call me to thyself, and I will readily o- 
 bey thy voice, for thou callcst me to glory, 
 honor and immortality. Thy perfections 
 are my security ; and thy son Jesus Christ, 
 v/hose words shall never pass away, gives 
 me the most positive assurance of it. 
 
 With a heart deeply impressed with | 
 these sentiments, I will say as he did : ( 
 
 Father, into thy hands I commit my 
 spirit." 
 
DLTY TO RULERS AND SUPERIORS, 
 
 If mankind are placed in a state of 
 mutual dependence ; if they have different 
 posts assigned them in society j if some, 
 invested with authority and power, pre- 
 side ancl govern, whilst others are controll- 
 ed and obey if every one is obUged, for 
 the public good, to confine himself with- 
 in certain limits, to submit to certain bur- 
 dens, this arises from the diversity of our 
 understandings, abilities, and talents, and 
 the unavoidable effect of social life, and 
 is necessary to the general good, and ad- 
 vantageous to the human race. Without 
 this variety of conditions, how could the 
 union, order, security, peace, and wellbe- 
 ing of society be maintained ? How could 
 the members of society make their facul- 
 ties and talents useful to the public ? How 
 could they expand and exercise their pow- 
 ers, practice all the virtues of which they 
 are capable, provid for their common 
 
144 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 wants, and execute useful undertakings ? 
 And how feeble, and destitute of succor 
 should we be, without social connexion ? 
 Do not these connexions and relations 
 necessarily suppose a mutual dependence 
 and subordination ? 
 
 I here perceive, O God, thy wise dis- 
 posal and arrangement. I revere and sub- 
 mit to them, fully convinced they are e- 
 quitable and good ; that they tend to pro- 
 mote the general welfare of thy earthly 
 family, and, of consequence, my own pri- 1 
 vate happiness. 
 
 As those to whom thou hast entrusted 
 the administration of justice, the main- 
 tenance of lav/s, and the government of 
 nations, are men of like passions with my- c 
 self, and, on that account, frail and lim- ; 
 ited beings, a prey to error, and prone to -i 
 failings 3 liable to be deceived, and inca- \ 
 pable of seeing, knowing, and executing i; 
 every iLlng ) beings who, with the best : ; 
 mtentions, cannot do all the good they c 
 
Duty to Rulers. 115 
 
 may wish, nor slirmount all the obstacles 
 they may encounter ; I ought not to ex- 
 pect to find in them a wisdom and a vir- 
 tue beyond what human nature is capable 
 of. I must not be surprised if they some- 
 times commit mistakes ; if their measures 
 are not always so wise, nor so infallible, 
 nor their administration so free from re- 
 proach as it might be. Can I say, that 
 were I placed in the same circumstances I 
 should not be guilty of many greater 
 faults, be more deficient in the duties of 
 justice, equity and humanity, and more 
 frequently prefer my own interest and 
 pleasure to the general good. 
 
 All the arrangements and contrivances 
 of m.ortals bear, and always will bear, the 
 marks of human imperfection. If the 
 -advantages and good they produce more 
 than counterbalance the inconveniences 
 and evils to v/hich they expose us, I will 
 thankfully enjoy the former, and endeav- 
 or to lessen the latter, by bearing them 
 
 N 
 
146 Excrches of Piety, 
 
 with patience. I will not forget that the 
 obedience I owe to the magistrate is a du- 
 ty which God himself hath commanded, 
 the observance of which tends to the hap- 
 piness of society, and consequently to mine, 
 who make a part of it. 
 
 I will, therefore, respect my superiors, 
 and lawful rulers 3 and, whilst their laws 
 are not contrai^y to the laws of God, who 
 is my supreme Lawgiver, I will faithfully 
 observe them, not from a motive of fear, 
 but as the gospel teaches me, from a prin- 
 ciple of conscience, and a regard to the 
 general welfare. My obedience shall not 
 be that of a slave, but of a rational, free 
 and intelligent being, who acts from the 
 unconstrained impulse of the mind. I 
 will eive to those w ho are exalted above 
 me in authority and rank, the honors and 
 respect to which they are entitled. If in, 
 the station I fill, I can in any measure 
 contribute to the general good of scciety,| 
 I will do it v^'ith alacrity and pleasure — 
 
Duty to Rulers, 147 
 
 and, even when under no legal obligation, 
 will endeavor to give effect, according to 
 my abilities, to the useful and salutary in- 
 tentions of government. 
 
 Far be it from me to envy the great and 
 powerful. The places they occupy are as 
 dangerous as they are exalted and brilliant. 
 The path they tread may seem strewed 
 with flowers, but these flowers most fre- 
 quently conceal a multitude of briars and 
 thorns, from which my path is exempted. 
 They have also their burdens to bear, bur- 
 dens which are often more oppressive than 
 mine. 
 
 Besides, v^hether my condition here bs 
 high or low, bright or obscure, it will 
 not afl'ect my eternal state. My future 
 happiness will depend on the exactness 
 and fidelity v/ith v/hich I shall have execut- 
 ed the task which Thou, O my God, hast 
 given me. Whatever may be the station 
 ' Thou hast been pleased to assign me, if I 
 strictly endeavor to discharge its duties, it 
 
 1 
 
148 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 will prepare the way to perfection and fe- 
 licity. Grant me, O God, to this end 
 thine assistance. Father of Mercies, teach 
 me to do thy will, and to discharge my 
 duty, with all the attention and zeal of 
 which I am capable. Then shall I always 
 enjoy thy approbation, and in whatever 
 state I am shall learn therewith to be con- 
 tent. 
 
THE RICH MAN. 
 
 The affluence in which Thou, O 
 my God, permittest me to live, undoubt- 
 edly procures me great advantages, and a 
 variety of comforts and delights. It pre- 
 serves me from many occasions of painfi;! 
 anxiety ; it opens to me many sources of 
 pleasure and joy, which wdthout its aid, 
 would have been shut against me. It ex- 
 cites me to a more generous activity for 
 the public good. It furnishes me viitli a 
 thousand means of augmenting my own 
 happiness, and that of my brethren. Be- 
 neficent God ! It is to thy sovereign c^ood- 
 ness I am indebted for all these im.portant 
 advantages, and I return Thee my most 
 grateful acknowledgments. O teach me 
 to regard and employ my. riches suitably 
 to thy will and my own true felicity ! May 
 I never consider them as proofs of partic- 
 ular merit in myself, and of thy predilec- 
 tion towards me. How many of my 
 
 N 2 
 
150 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 brethren, plunged in the depths of poverty, 
 are more wise, vutuous, and deserving of 
 thy favors than I am ! May I never, in 
 future, estimate the value of riches by the 
 share I have of them, but by the wise, no- 
 ble and serviceable use I make of them. 
 
 If my condition hath its pleasures and 
 advantages, it hath also its inconveniences 
 and dangers. How many snares surround 
 the rich man ! With how many pretences 
 do riches furnish him for insolence, vani- 
 ty, pride, efteminacy, luxury and volup- 
 tuousness ! What risques does he run of ^ 
 violating the most sacred laws, of forget- 
 ting God, of indulging his sensual appe- 
 tites, of despising the poor, of oppressing 
 the Vvcak, of hardening his heart, of be- 
 coming insensible to the miseries of oth- 
 ers ? Kow many snares are laid for his in- 
 nocence and virtue r Assist me, O m.y 
 God, in the midst of these difficulties ! — 
 Enable me to escape these dangers, and 
 surmount all these obstacles to piety and 
 
The Rich Man. 15:1' 
 
 virtue. Ah, if my riches would remove 
 me to a greater distance from Thee, and 
 lead me astray into the paths of vice and 
 folly, rather take them from me. I would 
 infinitely rather be poor snd virtuous, than 
 live foolishly and wickedly in the bosom of 
 plenty. 
 
 Yes — if my riches are prejudicial to my 
 spiritual enjoyment, to my truest happiness 
 and the lasting felicity of my soul, then. 
 O mv GcD, c:ive me fortitude to free mv- 
 self from an uneasy burden, by consecrat- 
 ing, whilst still living, a considerable part 
 of it to support useful institutions \ to as- 
 sist the poor, and those of my friends who 
 are in need ; that the happy miediocrlty to 
 which I shall reduce myself by these gen- 
 erous sacrifices, may lessen the difficulties 
 and obstacles which retard or mislead me 
 in my course. 
 
 At least I am persuaded, and will al- 
 ways recollect, that I have difficult duties 
 to discharge^ that it becomes mc to take 
 
152 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 peculiar care to be on my guard against 
 the false splendor of external good 3 to re- 
 double my attention and vigilance over 
 myself, and never lose sight of those ties 
 which unite me to God and man ; that 
 by avoiding the snares which fortune 
 spreads for me, I may walk v/ith a firm 
 and sure step on so sHppery a road. 
 
 I will, then, inviolably observe the laws 
 which reason and religion dictate. If, in 
 the property I possess, there be any part 
 which 1 have acquired unjustly, I would 
 instantly resiore it to its proper owner 3 
 or, if none such can be found, I would 
 distribute it among the poor. How can 
 I enjoy with satisfaction, and apply w^ith-- 
 out shame and remorse to my cwjt use, 
 what is not mine but belongs to another. 
 
 Never will I make a parade of my rich- 
 es before the eyes of others in such a man- 
 ner as to humble or afRict them. Never 
 vviil I boast of them as an advantage which 
 advances me above them. Never will I 
 
The Rich Man. 153 
 
 despise the poor because they are poor.— 
 Never will I treat them with insolence and 
 cruelty, or forget that they are in many 
 respects my equals and my brethren. 
 
 My acts of charity shall never be per- 
 formed through vanity or ostentation. — 
 Far be it from me to reproach the poor 
 man I relieve. He shviil not be obliged 
 to purchase my kind offices by humilia- 
 tions and meannesses. I would never, in 
 an offensive manner, remind him of the 
 assistance he has received from me. A 
 look that speaks pity and affection doub- 
 les the gift, and makes the heart of mis- 
 ery rejoice. My hand and my counte- 
 nance, therefore, shall give together. — 
 Thus, when I am asked for bread, I shall 
 not give a stone along with it \ and when 
 I hear a fellow christian crying out with 
 his Divine Master when expiring on the 
 cross, ''Lo, I thirst!" I shall not have 
 the barbarity to mock his distress, and 
 double his complaints, by giving him vin- 
 
154 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 egar to drink mingled with gall. To do 
 good in secret, without a witness, without 
 hope of a return ^ to do it to those who 
 are ungrateful, and even to those who are 
 my enemies, Vv^hat ajdivine pleasure ! It 
 is to imitate thy bounty, Thou most be- 
 nevolent of beings, and to be merciful as 
 Thou, my Father in Heaven, art merci- 
 ful. 
 
 Riches shall not be the rule by which I 
 will estimate the merit of mankind, and 
 determine the share they shall enjoy of' 
 my esteem. I know full well a person^ 
 may be rich without any personal merit,; 
 and that poverty does not exclude the 
 most valuable qualities. Did not my' 
 blessed Lord pass his life in the bosom of! 
 poverty and indigence ? Let not me, then,' 
 his professed disciple, place my affections 
 on the goods of fortune, or consider them 
 as essential to my happiness. What is' 
 there more fleeting and uncertain, and 
 consequently less solid and lasting, than 
 
Ihe Rich Man. 155 
 
 the contentment and happiness they im- 
 part ? How seldom do we see a rich man, 
 truly contented and happy 3 andhovv ma- 
 hy persons enjoy real ease and comfort, 
 without the assistance of wealth ? 
 
 I will never consider the use I make of 
 riches as a matter of indifference. It is 
 my duty to employ them in a manner the 
 most wise and beneficial to society 3 and 
 it is much more difficult to discharge this 
 duty than is generally imaginedo I will 
 not leave a matter of this consequence to 
 chance and though in many cases I should 
 pay regard to the circumstances of the 
 [iioment, these circumstances shall not be 
 my only rule. I will often reflect on the 
 rood I can do I will advise with my most 
 /irtuous and judicious friends, and give 
 :he subject my closest attention and care. 
 The poor, the sick, and the unhappy, have 
 andoubtedly the first and most inccntesti- 
 ble claim to my assistance. But I ought 
 dso to take in hand the cause of inno- 
 
156 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 cence, the Interests of liberty, truth, vir- 
 tue, humanity, and public happiness.— 
 These interests I ought to support and de- 
 fend v/ith so much the more courage and 
 zeal, because I can do it with less risque 
 and more success than others. This is 
 my greatest honor, my most sacred duty, 
 and my highest felicity. 
 
 Thus, shall I lay up treasure for futu- 
 rity, become rich in good works, in gener- 
 ous sentiments, and virtuous actions. — y 
 And though inevitably exposed to be one' 
 day deprived of tem.poral riches, I shall 
 acquire others which shall last forever, 
 which even death itself shall not snatch 
 from me, and which will open to me in 
 the future world inexhaustible sources of 
 blessings and joys. 
 
THE POOR MAN, 
 
 Thou distributest as it pleases 
 Thee, Oh God, thy blessings amongst men, 
 according to laws suprePxiely wise, but 
 which are in a great measure unknown to 
 us. — " Thou exaltest him that is low, and 
 abasest him that is high ; Thou makest 
 poor, and makest rich ; Thou bringest 
 low, and liftest up." Nothing exists and 
 takes place without thy permission ; eve- 
 ry thing is directed by thy universal prov- 
 idence. Let thy will be done, great God, 
 for it is just and good. 
 
 Poverty ought not to quench my spirit, 
 hinder me from enjoying the pleasures of 
 existence, nor extinguish the sense of the 
 dignity of my nature. All that consti- 
 tutes human nature ; all that exalts man 
 above other terrestrial creatures ; all that 
 is essential to his true glory, and to his 
 proper and lasting perfection, falls to my 
 
158 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 lot as well as to the rich man. Have I 
 not the same faculties, the same abilities, 
 the same hopes, the same destination as 
 he ? Have we not each of us the same re- 
 lation to God, our Creator and Father, 
 and to Jesus, our Lord and Savior ? Are 
 we not to meet together before the same 
 tribunal which is to decide our fate ? — 
 Ought we not here to prepare ourselves 
 for the same fehcity ? Can I think that 
 Thou, O my God, lovest me the less be- 
 cause I am poor ; and that my poverty 
 will be an obstacle to my future and su- 
 preme happiness ? — Undoubtedly not. — 
 Thou hast, perhaps, foreseen that afflu- 
 ence and abundance v^'ould be hurtful to 
 me, that they would become fatal snares 
 to my virtue , in this case, thy paternal 
 bounty necessarily led Thee to refuse them 
 to me. Possibly my indigence is a neces- 
 sary means of preventing evils from which 
 Thou wouldest spare me, or of procuring 
 to my brethren, or the public, many con- 
 
The Poor Man. 
 
 159 
 
 slderable advantages, which ought to out- 
 weigh my own personal advantage. 
 
 I will never blush then at my poverty. 
 That poverty, which is not the effect of 
 bad conduct, is no disgrace to any one. — 
 It is of no consequence to me to be esteem- 
 ed by any one who would despise me only 
 because I am poor. It is not the person 
 such a man esteems or disregards, it is his 
 dress and externals. Do I not also know 
 that my indigence will not degrade me in 
 the eyes of that Great Being who know- 
 eth all things, whose judgment is infalli- 
 ble, and on whom alone my present and 
 future happiness depend ? Do I not also 
 know that, in the eyes of every considerate 
 person, an upright mind, and a sincere and 
 honest heart, is of more value than all tlic 
 silver and gold in the v/orld ? And if the 
 wisest and most virtuous of mankind es- 
 teem me, may I not be unconcerned at 
 the contempt of weak and foolish minds ? 
 
160 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 But if I have no occasion to be asham- 
 ed at my poverty, I ought not to seek to 
 conceal my indigence from the eyes of oth- 
 ers. It is by this that it becomes so op- 
 pressive and insupportable a burden to so 
 many persons, who wish to appear differ- 
 ent from what they really are, and to live 
 like people v/ho are in easy and afiiuent 
 circumstances, without the means of do- 
 ing it. Obliged continually to dissemble 
 and disguise, to speak and to act the re- 
 verse of Vv'hat they think, such persons pass 
 their lives under constraint and perpetual 
 uneasiness. They only make themselves 
 more contemptible in the eyes of all those 
 who see through their ridiculous vanity, 
 and deprive themselves of the esteem of 
 those who re2:ard merit more than fortune, 
 it shall give me no uneasiness, then, to 
 o\yn my poverty in all cases wherein this 
 acknowledgment will be necessary or con- 
 venient. By this means I shall free my- 
 self from a painful constraint, and from 
 
riie Poor Man. 161 
 
 many troublesome shackles ; I shall be at 
 my ease ; I shall live suitably to my con- 
 dition, and with tranquillity on the little 
 I possess. I can then, also, accept with 
 gratitude, and without shame, the assist- 
 ance which benevolent persons may be 
 disposed to give me. But this avowal of 
 my indigence shall always be accompanied 
 with a proper sense of my natural digni- 
 ty 5 it shall be the avovval of a man who 
 knows how to value himself, who judges 
 widely of the worth of things, and who has 
 learnt to be contented with his lot. 
 
 To support myself with dignity in thr 
 bosom of poverty, I must carefully avoid 
 contracting habits which are commonly 
 found in my condition, and falling into 
 errors into which poverty so easily be- 
 trays us. 
 
 Far from me be the idea of makino: use 
 of unlawful and disgraceful means of ex- 
 tricating myself from my indigence, or of 
 acquiring; riches : I should then lose the 
 
162 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 peace of my own mind, the esteem of good 
 men, and the approbation of my God — • 
 then, indeed, I should deserve the con- 
 tempt and disgrace which the prejudices 
 and false opinion of the senseless have at- 
 tached to my condition. Far from me be 
 all those indecent and bitter complaints 
 which poverty often utters against the dis- 
 pensations of Heaven, or the injustice and 
 cruelty of men. By these I should offend 
 my Creator and my Father, and exasperate 
 my brethren against me. By these I should 
 increase the difficulties in which I am in- 
 volved, and drive from me those who might 
 be disposed to assist me. 
 
 Far from me be all envy at the sight of 
 the real or imaginary advantages which 
 riches procure. Far from me be the con- 
 tempt and hatred by which the poor seek 
 to revenge themselves on the rich for the 
 want of their fortune. Would not this 
 be to pass judgment on the wise proceed- 
 ings of Providence, to accuse an infinitely 
 
The Poor Man. 163 
 
 wise and righteous Being of injustice, and 
 to open to myself the sources of affliction 
 and disappointment ? Far from me be that 
 discouragement, those painful apprehen- 
 sions, those anticipated uneasinesses to 
 which the poor sometimes give way. Lit- 
 tle is wanted for the support of a man 
 who knows hovv^ to confine himself to 
 simple necessaries, and who has shaken off 
 the yoke of artificial wants. And hast 
 Thou not, O my God, an infinite variety 
 of means to relieve my wants and extri- 
 cate me from my misery ? If I make a 
 prudent use of my abihties — if I labor 
 with persevering zeal and activity, can I 
 suspect Thou wilt ever forget "and forsake 
 me that Thou wilt permit thy creature, 
 thy child, to want what is necessary ? Be- 
 sides, how uncertain is that future period 
 about which I distress myself ! How short 
 and fleeting is the life of man ? V/hy then 
 should I give myself up a prey to inquie- 
 tudes about distant events, which I may 
 
164 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 never see ? Why should I disquiet myself 
 about what may never happen ? 
 
 However sharp and rugged soever be the 
 road I am called to travel, it will bring me 
 to the end I have in view with as much, 
 perhaps v/uh much more safety, than the 
 straightest and the smoothest road. Full of 
 filial confidence, therefore, O my God, I 
 yield myself up to thy direction, and sub- 
 mit to thy wiiL 
 
 Am I not daily drawing nearer to a bet- 
 ter life, where the poor shall no longer be 
 eclipsed by the rich, nor the little trampled 
 on and oppressed by the great — ^whereall 
 shall be tried by the Sovereign Judge of 
 the universe and the Father of mankind, 
 according to what they have done, and not 
 according to what they have possessed— 
 where every one will receive the rev^ards^ 
 or the punishments he hath deserved. In 
 that world those riches, Vv/hich are here so 
 much esteemed, will be of no value — 
 There, those things only wi!! be prized 
 
1:116 Poor Man. 
 
 165 
 
 which may be shared equally by all men, 
 the poor as well as the rich, and which 
 cannot be taken from us. The less I 
 have then of temporal riches the more I 
 should strive to obtain those which are e- 
 ternal. Happy shall I be, when I quit 
 this world, if I carry vvith me a fund of 
 wisdom, integrity and virtue — a heart full 
 of love to God and men. Then may I 
 rejoice in the hope of not having neglect- 
 ed the design for which I was sent into the 
 world. Then I shall be rich — rich in spir- 
 itual and incorruptible blessings, which 
 will alvvays increase and always improve. 
 O that, animated by these sentiments, I 
 may labor with unwearied industry to ac- 
 quire these invaluable and heavenly bles- 
 sings. 
 
 This, O my God, is the only prayer I 
 can address to Thee without restriction ^ 
 convinced that what I ask is advanta- 
 geous and useful for me, and that Thou 
 wilt not fail to grant it. 
 
A PERSON CONFINED BY SICKNESS. 
 
 It is in Thee, O my God, I liveJ 
 and move, and have my being. Heahh 
 and strength are derived from Thee. Thoui 
 dispenseth these blessings, like all other 
 earthly favors, as seemeth good in thy 
 sight. As to myself, Thou hast favored 
 me less, in this respect, than many of my 
 fellowcreatures around me. I feel it, 
 and have often wept over it with regret 5 
 especially when the weakness of my body 
 has lessened the activity of my mind, and ^ 
 prevented my contributing, according to! ;^ 
 my wishes, to the general good. ' ^' 
 
 But I check every rising murmur, and 
 say, with my heart, as well as with my' 
 lips, not my v/ill, but thine be done." p'- 
 
 If my own excesses and w^anderings in- 
 past life have produced that state of weak- 
 ness in which I languish, it is just I should • 
 experience the pernicious effects of my un- 
 gpverned passions and senseless conduct. — 
 
Sickness. 
 
 167 
 
 These effects are a salutary lesson to my- 
 self and others. Yes, O my God, even 
 when Thou stiikest I adore thy goodness^ 
 and acknowledge that Thou art the wisest 
 Master and the tenderest Parent. With- 
 ut these warnings and fatherly correc- 
 lons I had continued to walk in the road 
 f vice and folly, and thereby become still 
 more wretched than at present. 
 
 But if the weakness of my constitution 
 be not the effect of my own excesses, but 
 he consequence of circumstances which 
 nave not depended on me, I ought to re- 
 ard it as the result of thy wise arrange- 
 nents — as the effect of thy universal prov- 
 dence, v^diich concerns itself in the small- 
 st as well as in the greatest events, and 
 vhich makes all things work together for 
 he accomplishment of its glorious designs. 
 
 These designs are indeed impenetrable 
 y me 3 but I am persuaded they are as 
 vise as they are salutary, and sooner or 
 ater I shall see that they are so. Thou 
 
168 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 perceivest, at a glance of thine eye, the 
 whole of my existence : Thou perfectly 
 knowest all that I am and all that I shall 
 become, in the present and the future 
 state : Thou alone canst dispose of and 
 order my lot so as best to conduce to my 
 supreme felicity. And ought not this 
 idea to calm and compose my mind ? 
 
 But notwithstanding the narrow limita 
 of my knowledge, I can, in many cases, 
 perceive useful effects arising from the de- 
 cay of my health. Even this condition 
 may become to me a sourse of blessings j 
 if, instead of giving myself up to mur^ 
 muring and depression of spirit, I improve 
 it as v^isdom and religion direct. 
 
 Who knows but, if I had enjoyed ai 
 more established health, I might have be- 
 come the prey of imperious and disorderly 
 passions, and the slave of sensual appetites i 
 I should then perhaps have yielded my- o 
 self up to levity, to a taste for dissipation 
 to vanity, sensuality and luxury 5 and Vviti 
 
f 
 
 Sickness. 165 
 
 more strength, I might have done much 
 less good, and have discharged the duty 
 of my station with less zeal and sincerity. 
 
 Is it likely I should then have thought 
 as frequently and with so much advantage 
 as I have done on Thee, my God 5 on re- 
 ligion, the state of my soul, and a future 
 existence ? Would these thoughts have 
 .appeared to me so important as they now 
 do ? And would they have contributed so 
 much to have made me better and more 
 resigned, as they have done ? At present 
 the sense of my weakness engages me fre- 
 quently to consider these objects, and ren- 
 ders them interesting to my heart, and a 
 consolation to my mind. 
 
 Is it likely I should so well have knov/n, 
 tasted, and relished the innocent delights 
 of domestic life, the noble pleasures of re- 
 ligion, and the attractive charms of virtu- 
 ous friendship? Would my heart have 
 been so susceptible of compassion and of 
 pity ? Should I have felt so lively an inter- 
 p 
 
1 70 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 est in the happiness of others ? Might I 
 not rather have become proud, insensible 
 and cruel ? 
 
 Encouraged by a feeling of strength, 
 might I not have deferred to an uncertain 
 futurity the execution of things the most 
 important, instead of being sensible, as I 
 now am, of the uncertainty of life, and 
 therefore improving the present moment 
 with diligence ? 
 
 How dangerous is uninterrupted health 
 and a vigorous constitution ! How prone 
 are we to rely on our strength, and to sin 
 under the idea of security. Into what 
 excesses should we not run headlong with- 
 out the restraints of sickness and suffering. 
 Eager -ppetites, clamorous passions,heark- 
 €n to no other call. The voice of reason 
 cannot reach them. As full of suffering 
 as the Vv'orld is, men still find courage to 
 be wicked 5 and the little of virtue that 
 yet remains among us, is chiefly owing 
 to this salutary discipline. Blessed calam- 
 
Sickness. 171 
 
 itiesj that humble pride, that calm the pas- 
 sions, that curb each inordinate appetite ! 
 Blessed sicknesses, that meet the heart in 
 its wanderings, and bring it back to Thee, 
 the only centre of rest ! Blessed disappoint- 
 ments, which afflict but purify — tear and 
 harrow up the soul, but prepare it for the 
 seeds of virtue. 
 
 Without this weakness of constitution 
 should I have familiarized my mind to the 
 idea of death, and been armed against its 
 terrors ? Perhaps the most distant appre- 
 hension of my decease, the slightest fore- 
 bodings of dissolution, had filled me with 
 uneasiness and fear 3 and I should not have 
 beheld, without distress and terror, the 
 moment when my soul should quit this 
 terrestrial abode. 
 
 If my present state of languor and 
 weakness deprive me, on the one hand, of 
 some corporeal pleasures and advantages 
 -^if it sometimes expose me to sorrow 
 and sufferings > on the other hand it con- 
 
172 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 tributes to my internal and spiritual im- 
 provement : And this improvement is the 
 onlygood thing which will follow me in the 
 other world. ¥/hat thanks do I owe Thee, 
 O my Father, for tlie Gospel of thy beloved 
 Son, which in this scene of suffering com- 
 poses and enlivens my heart, with the cer- 
 tain prospect of a world where a body shall 
 be prepared for me like to Christ*s glorifi- 
 ed body, not subject to weakness and pain. 
 
 What a motive is tliis to live contented 
 and resigned, notwithstanding the daily 
 feeling of my weakness ! 
 
 No, O my God, I will offer no incon- 
 siderate prayer to Thee. I will not ask 
 for health, but with great submissicri to 
 thy will. Thou v/ilt always give me what 
 is necessary to my true happiness. It is 
 not for me, who am ignorant and blind, 
 to prescribe v/hat measure of health is fit 
 for me. 
 
 If I cannot extend the sphere of my ac- 
 tivity, I will at least endeavor, by thy grace,,: 
 
Sickness 4 175 
 
 not to neglect any thing by which I can 
 be useful. Far from me be all impatience 
 and peevishness. I will endeavor to les- 
 sen the cares of my friends for me, and to 
 express to them my gratitude for all the 
 concern they show me. The little good 
 I can do, I will do with all the zeal of 
 which I am capable. Though weak, I 
 am not entirely destitute of strength ^ arid 
 in the exertion of mv remainingr stren;2:th 
 I shall not be wholly useless to the world. 
 Thoa requirest from thy creatures no 
 more than Thou enablest them to perform. 
 To be what Thou wiliest I should be ^ 
 to perform what Thou wiliest me to per- 
 form 5 this is my duty, and my supreme 
 felicity. 
 
 my God, let tliese considerations, so 
 full of comfort, be never absent from my 
 mind. Let them dispel the darkness of 
 adversity, and influence all my sentiments 
 and actions. I shall then never sink un- 
 der the weight of mv suiTcrings ^ I shall 
 
174 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 never xease, in the depth of my afflictions, 
 to respect and love Thee as the wisest and 
 the best of fathers, and resign myself en- 
 tirely to thy disposal. 
 
ON THE DEATH OF FRIENDS. 
 
 It is Thou, great God, who hast 
 united men together by the closest ties. It 
 is Thou who hast in such various ways in- 
 terwoven our interests, our pleasures, and 
 our pains. Thou hast given us as assist- 
 ants, conductors, guides and supports to 
 each other. Thou hast inspired us with 
 sentiments of love for one another. The 
 tears, therefore, what we shed at the death 
 of those who were dear to us, cannot be 
 displeasing to Thee. It is thy w411 that 
 ^ v/e should love them, and Thou beholdest 
 thy children with an approving satisfac- 
 tion, when answering to thy paternal 
 views, they live in harmony and tenderly 
 love each other. 
 
 But Thou wouldst have our love to bsL 
 an enlightened and rational affection ; that 
 cur esteem and attachment should be pro- 
 portioned to the Beings vv^ho are the ob- 
 jects of them. Thou designest that v/e 
 
176 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 should love that which is perishable and 
 mortal as we ought to love such creatures ; 
 that we should reserve our supreme love 
 and chief regard for Thee alone, an eter- 
 nal and mfinite Being, the only inexhaust- | 
 ible Source of all beauty and perfection. 
 The beloved persons vvhose loss I de- 
 plore were doubtless mortal. Taken from 
 dust, they must necessarily return to it a- 
 gain ; strangers upon earth, like myself, 
 my parents, and my brethren, they must 
 return to their own country. This is 
 what I ought never to have forgotten — 
 this is what I ought frequently to have 
 repeated to myself, even in the moments 
 when I was tasting the pleasures of their 
 friendship ; in this manner should I have 
 regulated my attachment, and have pre- 
 pared myself for a sudden and inevitable 
 separation from them. So true is it that 
 if we were more attentive to the paternal 
 lessons Thou daily givest us, we should 
 have no occasion for that instruction in 
 
Death of Friends, 177 
 
 the school of afflictloa and misfortune, 
 Vv hich we might more easily leara from 
 our own reflections. 
 
 The loss I have lately sustained is un- 
 doubtedly painful and affecting. The 
 more intimate and sacred were the ties 
 which united me to these dear friends, the 
 greater strength and consistence time had 
 given them, and the more habitual they 
 were become to me, so much the more 
 cruelly must my heart be torn at the mo- 
 ment the arrow of death hath just cut 
 those beloved knots assunder, and the deep- 
 er and more painful v/ill be the wound 
 arising from them. But it is thus that 
 all the ties which bind me to the earth 
 will loosen and break away, that my pas- 
 sage from this world to another may not 
 be too painful for me. Those whom I 
 cordially loved have only preceded me a 
 few steps. Very soon, perhaps sooner 
 than I suspect, I shall follow them. Then, 
 the days and the years that I have passed 
 
178 Exercises of Piety » 
 
 in their absence will appear to me as a 
 fleeting dream, to which will have suc^ 
 ceeded the lustre of a beautiful day. Then 
 shall I soon forget all the afflictions and 
 all the pains of this short life, and I shall 
 be recompensed by the enjoyment of a 
 pure and lasting felicity. Then we shall 
 find ourselves reunited with wise and vir- 
 tuous men in the assembly of the just made 
 perfect in heaven. And if, to render our 
 felicity complete, it is necessary, as I can 
 scarcely doubt, that we should know again 
 the persons whom we here tenderly loved, 
 and should enter into new and closer rela- 
 tions, Thou, O heavenly Father, wilt not 
 deprive us of this sweet satisfaction. Yes, 
 v/e shall then advance from one degree of 
 improvement and felicity to another ; and ? 
 by imparting to each other, without the 
 shadow of jealousy and envy, all our 
 knowledge, our advantages and pleasures, 
 we shall multiply them to infinity, and 
 make the enjoyment of them more noble 
 
Death of Friends. 179 
 
 and delightful. Those friends whose loss 
 I deplore have fought the good fight and 
 finished their course, whilst I am yet oblig- 
 ed to struggle with difficulties here below. 
 They have run the race and reached the 
 goal, whilst I am still pressing towards it. 
 They now rest from their labors, and their 
 works have followed them. And shall I 
 not rejoice in their victory and their re- 
 w^ards, their felicity and glory ? Can I 
 wish to see them reenter the list, and be- 
 gin anew their painful labors — to see them 
 again expose themselves to the dangers 
 and the adversities of life. 
 
 No, dear departed friends ! Howxver I 
 valued you here, however sensibly I feel 
 your loss, I v/ish not to see you again 
 struggling beneath the burdens of mortal- 
 ity. I hail your safe arrival on that bless- 
 ed shore v^here the wicked cease from 
 troubling and the weary are at rest. 
 
 Thanks be to Thee, O my God, who 
 art their Father and mine, that thou hast 
 
180 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 sustained them in their combats, conduct- 
 ed them to the end, and introduced them 
 to the enjoyments of the just. But, per- 
 haps, like a forsaken orphan, I may be 
 apt to consider myself as a solitary indi- 
 vidual in the midst of a tumultuous crowd 
 of joyful, busy men. Perhaps I have lost 
 my principal support, my most generous 
 benefactor, and my faithful guardian and 
 guide. Alas ! it is now that I most sen- 
 sibly perceive my own weakness, depend- 
 ence and insufficiency. It is now that I 
 groan under the feeling of my wants ^ 
 and every difficulty I experience, every 
 dangler I meet with, now fills me with 
 fear and terror. 
 
 But am I really so forsaken and destitute 
 of help as I imagine ? How many wise and 
 virtuous Christians are there in the world 
 w^ho are disposed to conduct the feeble and 
 those who are destitute of help ? Am I 
 not, moreover, under the constant direc- 
 tion of thy providence, O thou Parent of 
 
Death of Friends. 131 
 
 mankind ? Canst thou forsake any one of 
 thy children who flies to Thee for refuge, 
 casts himself into thy bosom, and hum- 
 bly submits to thy will ? 
 
 But it is thy will that I should exercise 
 my powers and make greater efforts to 
 improve in virtue. It is thy will, that, no 
 longer leaning on the support of othersj I 
 should walk alone in the journey of life; 
 that I should be less influenced by the ex- 
 ample of others than by my own princi- 
 ples ; that I should accustom myself to 
 think and act with rnore steadiness and 
 consistency, that I may one day become to 
 my brethren' what those persons, whose 
 loss I deplore, were to me. These may be 
 among the reasons why thou hast taken 
 from me these supports and left me to 
 myself. 
 
 Teach me, O Lord, to do and bear thy 
 will, and to draw instruction from the 
 adversities of life. 
 
182 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 Are they innocent children, the objects 
 of my sweetest hopes, that death hath 
 snatched from me ? 
 
 Taken from this world in the age of 
 innocence to pass into a more perfect a- 
 bode, they are sheltered from the snares 
 and temptations of the present life -y they 
 have escaped a thousand evils and a thou- 
 sand dangers ; and Thou wilt not fail to 
 realize the hopes which they have raised 
 by their natural dispositions, and by the 
 excellent faculties with vv^hich Thou hast 
 endowed them. Yes, Thou art their true 
 Father, and wilt advance them much bet- 
 ter than I could possibly do. Thou wilt 
 conduct them with much more ease and 
 safety to the end of their existence than the 
 wisest and best of earthly parents could. 
 
 Is it the friend, the confident of my 
 heartj whose death I lament ? But was he 
 not at the same tim.e, and much more, the 
 friend of God, and the friend of all wise 
 and rood men r And must not death have 
 
Death of Friends. 153 
 
 extended the sphere of his aetlvity, enno- 
 bled his sentiments, and augmented his 
 happiness ? What a prospect for ever)^ 
 one who is capable of a generous disin- 
 terested friendship ! 
 
 Moreover, is not all friendship, found- 
 ed in truth and virtue, in its own nature 
 immortal ? Is it not as immortal as truth 
 and virtue ? In separating virtuous friends 
 death on]y purifies and exalts their friend- 
 ship. Like a tree transplanted into a more 
 fertile soil and milder climate, it shall 
 flourish again beyond the tomb and bear 
 immortal fruit. 
 
 When I moisten with my tears the 
 grave of my friends, it is not for them 
 but for myself I weep. It is only their 
 bodies in the tomb. Their im- 
 
 mortal souls are returned to their Creator 
 and their Father. Nothing that was 
 great and good, and amiable in tliem — 
 nothing that excited my esteem and love 
 
 for them is perished. Their souls con- 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 i 
 
18 i Exercises of Piety, 
 
 tinue to think, and think with greater 
 freedom and justness than ever. Their 
 inclinations and sentiments are the same, 
 excepting that they are more and more ex- 
 alted and refined. Even to me their most 
 excellent qualities are not lost. Often will 
 I recall to mind their precepts, their exam- 
 ples, their exhortations and advice, and 
 from thence derive wisdom and instruc- 
 tion. Their image, deeply impressed on 
 my heart, shall be often present to me ; 
 sometimes kindly to reprove me for my 
 faults, and at others to encourage me in 
 virtue. Possibly in a future life they shall 
 again be my instructors and my guides,; 
 and instate me in the important and re- 
 joicing employments which await me in 
 the heavens. Yes, O my God, the friends' 
 of my heart belonged to Thee, and they 
 will be eternally thine. Thou gavest 
 them to me. Thou hast taken them from 
 me, and blessed be thy Name. 
 
EXERCISES OF PIETY, 
 
 FOR THE L O R D's DAY. 
 
 l.^FVR THE MORNING. 
 
 Hail day of the Lord ! When my 
 body should rest frora its temporal employ- 
 ments ; but my soul^ endowed with intelligence 
 and formed for immortality, should display its 
 noblest activity ! The day consecrated to the 
 cilices of piety, tlie instructions of religion, and 
 the worship of God ; the day for preserving 
 the memory of tlie Creation of all things, and 
 foi' celebrating the redemption of the v.orld by 
 Jesus Christ ! 
 
 With what pleasing emotions do I cor.tem- 
 plate my fellow christians of all nations, in all 
 parts of the world, relieved from the burden of 
 their employments and the hurry of their busi- 
 ness, raising themAScives above the vain attach- 
 ments of earih, and seeking in tlie service and 
 love of God that happiness v. hich is no where 
 else to be found. And who can estimate the 
 many just refiections and noble ideas, the many 
 good sentiments and pious resolutions, hieh 
 this day produces and preserves among Cluis- 
 tians ! To the appointment and the observation 
 
 0^2 
 
136 
 
 Exercises of Piety. 
 
 of this solemn festival, the world is indebted, 
 more than to any other circumstance, for the 
 diffusion of the most important knowledge ; 
 for the advancement of social order, refinement, 
 and happiricss ; and for the continuance and 
 spread of the glorious gospel. Let us then, 
 venerate the salutary institution ! 
 
 Accept ruv thanks, OGob ! for this blessed 
 day, and for the valuable advantas-es I have de- 
 rived from it. How many times hath the pie- 
 ty of my fellov/ worshippers awakened and in- 
 flamed my own ! — How many times hath my 
 heart felt more calm, more impressed with the 
 truths of religion, more inflamed with the love 
 of goodness, the love of God, and the love of 
 man, Vvhcn in union with my christian breth- 
 ren I have bovv^ed before Thee, O thou Most 
 High! Hov^^ often hath the agreeable liglit of 
 truth, and the transporting image of virtue, left 
 the most lively impressions on my heart and 
 spirit, after engaging in the devotions and du- 
 ties of the smctnary ! Then have vanished all 
 the doubts that distressed me; then have dis- 
 appeared all the difHculties I had met in the 
 way of holiness and perfection ; and nothing 
 was feared to stop or slacken my pace. Then 
 I felt new strength and courage to pursue my 
 race, new zeal and hopes to gain the prize ! 
 
 O may this day produce in me like salutary 
 effects ! Filled with profound respect and true 
 filial confidence, I will draw nigh to Thee, my 
 Creator and Father, and join thy worshippers, 
 to offer the common sacrifice of praise and 
 
Morning, 
 
 187 
 
 thanksgiving which is due to Thee ! Penetrat- 
 ed with joy and gratitude, I shall feel by my 
 own experience the happiness of that man who 
 knows Thee, who loves Thee, who is united 
 to Thee ! Of that child whom thou dost direct 
 and govern, and who freely resigns himself to 
 thy paternal guidance. Inflamed with the most 
 generous affection for mankind, I shall rejoice 
 in the idea that we are all originally equal, all 
 invited to approach Thee together, and all heirs 
 of the same future blessedness* Filled with ho- 
 ly fervor, I will hear, with attention, those great 
 truths which shall be preached ; apply them to 
 my conduct, my necessities, my particular cir- 
 cumstances ; and open my heart to their heav- 
 enly influence. Far from me be all indifference, 
 luke u armness, or absence of mind ; all preju- 
 dice, every earthly idea, and carnal passion ; 
 every thing Vvhich might prevent my affording 
 an attentive ear to the voice of truth, or obstruct 
 its salutary efScacy on my mind and conduct. 
 
 I will also consecrate a part of the leisure 
 which this day secures to me, to converse with 
 myself, to examine carefully the state of my 
 soul, to reflect on Vv^hat I have heard or read, 
 and to turn it to the advantage of my true and es- 
 sential interests. The mind has need of nourish- 
 ment and strength, as well as the body ; and 
 this day is principally designed to obtain it. 
 The mind has need of relaxation from its tem- 
 poral engagements, and 1 ought this day to pro- 
 cure it such relaxation. — The more obstacles 
 and dangers lie in my way, the greater risk of 
 
188 ■ Exercises of Piety. 
 
 stumbling and being misled ; the more impor- 
 tant is it that I sometimes stop ia the midst of 
 my course, to enter into ni) self, to survey the 
 path 'I have trodden, and that which remains, 
 and to compare the one v/ith the other. This 
 is one of the tasks I propose this day to per- 
 form. I v\ ill rcriect with myself, that 1 may 
 learn the moral state of my soul ! 1 will endeav- 
 or to discover v. hat obstacles have prevented 
 my greater progress in knowledge and virtue, 
 in christian duty and felicity ; and I will dili- 
 gently incjuke what remains to be done to in- 
 crease my attainments and perfect my graces. 
 Grant me, O my God, thine assistance and 
 blessing, that allvvhichl may think, read, hear, 
 and do to day may subserve the great end of my| 
 spiritual advancement. I 
 And Oh may this day be improved and honJ 
 ored by multitudes of my brethren of mankind 1 
 and contribute to render them more wise, mor^ 
 virtuous, and more happy ! Let thy Spirit, 
 great God ! Animate and strengthen thy faith- 
 ful servants vA\o shall this day preach tli}' gos- 
 pel ; and may thy word have free cour:i>e and 
 edify ! I^flay error, and ignorance, and preju- 
 dice, yield to the light of knowledge, the con- 
 victions of truth, and the prcgress of Christian- 
 ity ; and thy name be known iii all the earth, 
 and thy kingdom come, and the whole v/orld 
 b« filled with thv Riorv ! Amen ! 
 
ll.-^FOR THE EVENING. 
 
 The day consecrated to religious rest, 
 and to the solemn adoration of the Supreme 
 Being, is closed ! May a day like this be use- 
 fully distinguished above all other days ! — Is 
 there a more noble, a more sublime, a more 
 transporting employment than the worship of 
 God ? Is there one which supposes higher fac- 
 ulties, or opens more pleasing prospects ? Is 
 there one which exalts us more above the 
 brutes, and brings us nearer to heavenly in- 
 telligencies ? 
 
 When my soul, O my God, is employed on 
 thee, it is engaged with all that is most beau- 
 tiful, most adorable, most amiable in the uni- 
 verse ; with all that can comfort, tranquillize, 
 and rejoice it; with all that can be desired on 
 earth or hoped in heaven for blessedness or 
 perfection. — When I unite with my brethren 
 in rendering the tribute of adoration and praise 
 due to Thee, I discharge the sublimestduty of 
 which a human creature is capable. 
 
 Now let me inquire of myself, whether I 
 have this day experienced how honorable is 
 this privilege, how delightful is this duty ! 
 Have I performed it v. illingly, or with reluc- 
 tance ? Was it with pleasure or uneasiness that 
 I joined my fellowcreatures in presenting to 
 our common Parent and generous Savior the 
 sacrifice of praise and the oblation of devotion ? 
 Did my heart and spirit truly take a part in 
 
190 
 
 Exercises of Piety, 
 
 this homage ? Was my adoration rational, mj 
 gratitude sincere ? Did no folly mingle v. ith it, 
 no harbored corruption render it impure ? Have 
 I realized that the Supreme Being could derive 
 no benefit from my religious exercises, that I 
 eould not acquire by them any right to his fli- 
 vors, and that all their utility is lelative to their 
 caect ? And have my devotions this day inspir- 
 ed me Vv ith new gratitude, humility, submission 
 andobedience? Havel realized more fully my own 
 helplessness, my entire dependence upon divine 
 Providence, my obligations for past favors, and 
 my need of present and future mercies.- — Have 
 1 been suitably alTected with the greatness of 
 my privileges and the sublimity of my hopes 
 as a Christian ? — What are the important re- 
 flections that have engaged me this day ? 1 o 
 w hat good dispositions have 1 been conscious ? 
 "What serious resolutions have I form.ed r What 
 truth hath particularly struck and affected me ? 
 What duty hath appeared peculiarly necessary 
 for my efforts to fulfil ? To what fault have I 
 felt a 1 i able n ess, to what vice a temptation ? Or 
 w^hat doctrines of eternal wisdom, what motives 
 to holiness and virtue, have made the deepes^ 
 impression on my mind and heart ? Have 1 
 gained new strength, new encouragement Xm 
 discharge my duty with exactness, and new inJ 
 citements towards christian perfection ? Am IJ 
 by this sacred relaxation and these spirituafl 
 pleasures, brought into a condition for resum- 
 ing tomorrow my employments and labors with 
 renovated vigor ? In a word, Have the solem- 
 
 L 
 
Evening, 191 
 
 nities of the day served to unite me more close- 
 ly to my God and Savior, and to bring me 
 nearer the glorious ends for which I am des- 
 tined ? 
 
 If they have produced these good effects, I 
 owe it, Heavenly Father, to the influence of thy 
 blessed Spirit ; and I would express my devout 
 and lively gratitude for thy grace. O may the 
 seeds of truth and virtue w'hich thou hast caus- 
 ed to fall into my heart this day, take deep root, 
 and yield abundant produce ! May this indeed 
 be a day of blessings to me ! May I find it to 
 have advanced me in preparedness for the abode 
 of the just, the assembly of the saints, and the 
 glorious reit v/hlch remaineth for the children 
 of God ; there I shall know Thee better, adore 
 Thee more worthily, and in communion with 
 Thee- find and -enjoy supreme and eternal fe- 
 licity. Amen ! 
 
Zollikojer on the Dignity of Man 
 
 JUST PUBLISHED, 
 
 By ISAIAH THOMAS, Jun. 
 
 And for Sale by him in Worcester, and by Thomas 8c 
 Whipple, Newburyport ; by Thomas 8c Tappan, 
 Portsmouth, in Two Volumes, Octavo, price Four 
 Dollars and Fifty Cents, handsomely bound-, 
 
 OERMONS on the DIGNITY OF MAN, 
 
 ^ and the Value of the obiects principally relating to 
 HUMAN liAPPINi:SS.~EA'om the German of the 
 late Rev, George Joachim Zollikofer, Minister of 
 the Reformed Congregation at Leipdck. 
 
 By the Reverend 
 WILLIAM TOOKE, F. R. S. 
 
 70 THE PUBLIC. 
 
 THE Sermons here presented to the Public, are tK 
 most popular v/ork of a Divine, who was preeminently 
 distinguished in Germany. They are upon the most 
 important subjects, and are celebrated throughout Eu- 
 rope. The English Reviews, in unqualified language, 
 speak of the excellence of the original, and recommend 
 the English translation as correct and elegant. For the 
 delineation of the Digkity of Man, and in the estimate 
 of Human Happiness, people of every country have an 
 interest. The Sermons are written in a popular style, and 
 are i.ddressed to the understandings and hearts of per- 
 sons of every description. From their perusal, every 
 discerning arid serious mind may derive entertainment, 
 instruction and moral im-provement. 
 
V