J2. X^.oS', Srom i9)t £,i6rarg of (profeBBor ^amuef (gliffer in (glemori? of 3ubge ^amuef (Utiffer QBrecftinribge (Jjresenfeb 6p ^atnuef (Wttffer QSrecfttnrib^e feong fo f 3e fetfirarg of (Princeton S^eofo^icaf ^eminarj^ A PRACTICAL VIEW PREVAILING RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF PROFESSED CHRISTIANS, I IN 7 MI HIGHER AND MIDDLE CLASSES IN THIS COLTNTRY, CONTRASTEO WITH REAL C H R I S T I A N inz ^— ByWILhlAU WILBERFORCE, Efq; MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE COUNTY OF YORK. Seaich the Scriptures i John, v. 39. How charming is DIVINE PHILOSOPHY! Not harfti, and crabbed, as dull Foo's. iuppoft. But mufical as is Apollo's lute. And a perpetual feaft of i>e(Sar'c{ f-weets, Wheie no crude furfeit reigns. MitTOH, THE FOURTH EDITION. LONDON: Printed for T. Cad ell, Jun. and W. Da Tie*, (Succellbrs to Mr. C a n e l l) iri the Stiand. M.DCC.XCVII. ^ CONTENTS. Page Introduction. - r i Chap. I, Inadequate Conceptions of tife Importance of Clu-'ijiianity, - - - j Chap. IL Corruption of Human Nature, • 24 Chap. III. Chief Defeds of the Religious Syjiem of the bulk ofprofejfed Chrijiians, in what regards pur Lord fefus Chriji, and the Holy Spirit — ivith a Dijfertation concerning the ufe of the Paffions in Religion. - - 62 Chap. IV. On the prevailing inadequate Conceptions con- cerning the Nature and the Stri&nefs of Pradlical Chrijiianity, - - 139 CONTENTS, Chap, V. On the Excellence of Chrijiianky in certatn important Particulars. Argument ivhick refults thence in Proof of its Divine Origin, - ... - 34^ Chap, VL Brief Inquiry into the prefent State of Clu-ijii^ anity in this Gauntry ^ with fame of the Caufes isjhich have led to its critical Circumjiances^ Its Importafice to us as a political Community^ and pradlical Hints for which the foregoing Confiderations give occafion. - 364 Chap, VIL PraBlcal Hints to various Defcriptions of Perfons. -^ ^ ^ - 4^5 INTRODUCTION. IT has beeii^ for {everal years^ the earneft wi(h of the writer of the following pages to addrefs his countrymen on the important lubje6i: of Religion; but the various duties of his public ftation, and a. conflitution inca- {)able of much labour, have obftrufled the execution of his purpofe. Long has he been looking forward to fome vacant feafon, in which he might devote his whole time and attention to this interefling fervice, free from the interruption of all other concerns ; and he has the rather wifKed for this opportunity of undiflraded and mature reflexion, from a ■delire that what he might fend into the world might thus be rendered Icfs undeferving of the public eye. Meanwhile life is wearing away, and he daily becomes more and more convinced, that he might wait in vain for this feafon of complete vacancy. He muft, therefore, improve fuch occaiional intervals of leifure as may occur to him in the courfe B of ^ INTRODUCTION. of a bufv life, and throw himfelf on the Rea- der's indulgence for the pardon of fuch im- perfeftions, as the opportunity of undiverted and more mature attention might have en- abled him to difcovcr and corre6t. ' But the plea here iiiggefted is by no means intended as an excufe for the opinions ^^'hich he fliall exprefs, if they be found miftaken. Here, if he be in an error, it is however a deliberate error. He would indeed account hrmfelf unpardonable, if he were to intrude his -f rft thoughts upon the Public on a quef^ tioii of fuch importance ; and he can truly declare^ that what he fhall offer will be the jfefult of much reading, obiervation, and in- quiry j and of long, ferious, and repeated con- fider'atioii* - '-^It is no^t improbable that ' he may be ac- ^Vif^d 6£ deviating from his proper line, and of impertinently interfering in the concerns •of a profefilon to which he does not belong. If it were ncceilary, however, to defend him- felf againft this charge, he might (belter him- felf under the authority of many moft re- fpe INADEC^UATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE CHAP, much favours the general difFaiicn of the -• feiitim-ents of the higher orders. To a li-» milar ignorance is perhaps in no fmall de- cree to be afcribed the fuccefs, with which Chriil:ianity has been attacked of late years ill a neighbouring country. Had fhe not been whoiiy -unarmed for the conteft, however fhe might have been forced from her untenable pofts, and compelled to difembarrafs herfelf from her load of incumbrances, flie never could have been driven altogether out of the £eld by her puny aRailants, with all their cavils, and gibes, and farcafms; for in thefe confifted the main ftrength of their petty ar^ tillery. Let us beware, left we alfo fufFer from a like caufe ; nor let it be our crime and our reproach, that in ichools, perhaps even in Colleges, Chriftianity is almofl if not a.ltC2:ether nes-lecled. It cannot be expefled, that they who are fo little attentive to this great objeft in the education of their children, iliould be more fo in other parts of their conducl", where leis flrongly ftimulated by afFe61ion, and lefs ob- vioufly loaded with reiponfibility. They are of courfe therefore, little regardful of the ftrtte of Chriftianity in their own country ; and ftill more indifferent about communicating the light of divine truth to th? nations which, ^' ftill fit in darknefs," 5 But: IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. II But Religion, it may be replied, is not noify sand oftentatious ; it is niodefl and private in its nature ; it refides in a man's own bofom, and fliuns the obfervatioa of the multitude. Be it fo. From the tranfient aud diflant view then^ which we have been taking of thefe unaf- fuming Chriftians, let us approach a little- nearer, and liflen to the unreferved conver-!- fation of their confidential hours. Here, if any where, the interior of the heart is laid open, and we may afcertain the true prin- ciples of their regards and averfions ; the fcale by which they mealure the • good and evil of life. Here, however, you will difcover few or no traces of Chriftianity. She fcarcely £nds herfelf a place amidil the many obje6ls of their hopes, and fears, and joys, and for^ rows. Grateful, perhaps, (as well indeed they may be grateful) for health, and talents, and affluence, and other bleffin2:s belonsine to their perfons and conditions in life, they fcarcely reckon in the number this grand diftinguifhing mark of the bounty of Provi- dence ; or if they mention it at all, it is no-» ticed coldly and formally, like one of thofe obfoiete claims to which, though but of fmall account in the ellimate of our wealth or power, we think it as well to put in our title fron^ ta INADEQJJATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE CHAP, fi'om confiderations of family decorum or of !• national iifage. But what more than all the refl eftablifhes the point in queflion : let their converfation take a graver turn : here at length their re- liijion, modefl and retired as it is, muft be expected to difclofe itfelf ; here however you will look in vain for the religion of Jeliis, Their ftandard of rio^ht and wrong is not the ftandard of the gofpel: they approve and condemn by a different rule ; they advance principles and maintain opinions altogether oppolite to the genius and character of Chrif- tianity. You would fancy yourfelf rather amongfl the followers of the old philofophy ; nor is it eafy to guefs how any one could fa- tisfy himfelf to the contrary, unlefs, by men- tioning the name of fome acknowledged he- retic, he fhould afford them an occafion of demonftrating their zeal for the religion o£ their country. The truth is, their opinions on thefe flib- je6ts are not formed from the perufal of the word of God. The Bible lies on the fhelf un- opened ; and they would be wholly ignorant of its contents, except for what they hear oc- cafionally at church, or for the faint traces which their memories may flill retain of the lefTons of their earlieft infancy. TTow IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY* I^ How different, nay, in many refpeds, how contradidory, would be the two fyflems of mere morals, of which the one fliould be formed from the commonly received maxims of the Chriftian world, and the other from the fludy of the Holy Scriptures ! It would be curious to remark in any one, who had hi- therto fatisfied himfelf with the former, the aflonilhment which would be excited on his flrft introdudion to the latter. We are not left here to bare conje6lure. This was, in facl, the efFc6t produced on the mind of a late in- genious writer *, of whofe little work, though it bear perhaps fome marks of his cuftomary love of paradox, v/e muft at leafl: confefs, that it expofes, in a ftrong point of view, the po- verty of that luperficial religion which has been above condemned ; and that it every where difplays that happy perlpicuity and grace, which fo eminently charafterize all the compoiitions of its author. But after this willing tribute of commendation, we arc re- luctantly compelled to remark, that the \vork in queflion difcredits the caufe which it was meant to ferve, by many crude and extravagant politions ; from which no one can be fecure who forms a hafly judgement of a deep and • It is almoft fuperfluous to name Mr. S'oame j£Nyi>fs, comorehenfive t4 TlfADECtUATE CON-CEPTIONS OF THE comprehenfive fubjedl", the feveral bearing^ and relations of which have been imperfeftly fiirveyed ; and above all, it muft be lament^ ed, that it treats the great quefliion which it profefies to difcufs, rather as a matter of mere fpeculation, than as one wherein our ever- iafting interefls are involved* Surely the writer's obje61: ilioukl have been, to convince his readers of their o-uilt flill more than of their ignorance, and to leave them imprelTecl rather with a fenfe of their danger than of tiieir foUvi It were almoft a wade of time to multi- ply arguments in order to prove how criminal the voluntary ignorance, of which we hav^ been fpeaking, mud appear in the light of God. It mufl: be confefTed by all who believe that we are accountable creatures, and t0 fuch only the w^'iter is addreffmg himfelf^ that we fhall have to anfwer hereafter to the Almighty for all the means and occafions we have here enjoyed of improving our- felves, or of promoting the happinefs of others. And if, when fummoned to give an account of our ftewardfliip, we ihall be called upon to anfwer for the ufe which we have made of our bodily organs, and of the means of relieving the wants and necef- fities of our fellow creatures; how much more for the exercife of the nobler and more exalted IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN^ITV, ■ I5 exalted faculties of our nature, of invention, and judgement, and memory ; and for our employment of all the inflruments and op- portunities of diligent application, and feri- ous refle6lion, and honell decifion. And to what fubject might Y^'Q in all reafon be ex* peded to apply more earnell:ly, than to that wherein our eternal interells are at iflue ? When God has of his c-oodnefs vouchlafed o to grant us fuch abundant means of inftruc- tion in that which we are moft concerned to know, how great mufc be the guilt, and how aweful the pimilhment of voluntary igno- rance ! And why, it may be afked, are we in this purfuit alone to expecl" know ledge without inquiry, and iliccefs without endeavour ? The whole analogy of nature inculcates on us a different leflbn, and our own judgements in matters of temporal interefl: and worldly po- licy confirm the truth of her iiiggeftions. Bountiful as is the hand of Providence, its gifts are not fo bellowed as to feduce us into indolence, but to roufe us to exertion; and no one expe61s to attain to the height of learning, or arts, or power, or wealth, or military glory, without vigorous refolution, and ftrenuous diligence, and fleady perfever- ance. Yet we expe61 to be Chriftians without labour, fludy, or inquiry. This is the more prepbflerous. iS jNAbEQJTATE CONCiPtlONS tf "fllf prepoflerous, becaufe Chriftianity, being Sl revektion from God, and not the invention of man, difcovering to us new relations,- ■with their correfpondent duties ; containing' alfo do61rines, and motives, and pradical principles, and rules, peculiar to itfelf, and almofl; as new in their nature as fupreme in their excellence, we cannot reafonably ex- pert to become proficients in it by the acci- dental intercourl'es of life, as one might learn infenfibly the maxims of worldly policy^ or a fcheme of mere morals* Scripture The diligent penifal of the Holy Scrip- tures would difcover to us our pafl: igno- rance. We fliould ceafe to be deceived by fuperficial appearances, and to confound the Gofpel of Chrift with the fyftems of philo- fophers ; we fhould become impreffed with that weighty truth, fo much forgotten, and never to be too ftrongly infifted on, that Chrif» tianity calls on us, as we value our immortal fouls, not merely in general, to be religions and morale but fpecially to believe the doc* trines, and imbibe the principles, and pra6life the precepts of Chrift. It might be to run into too great length to confirm this pofitioii beyond diipute by exprefs quotations froni "Scripture. And (not to anticipate what be* longs more properly to a fubfequent part of the work) it may be fufficicnt here to remark in general •ITM-PORTANCE OF C H RI ST I A N I TV. I7 general, that Chriftianitv is alwavs reorefent- ed ill Scripture as the grand, the unparal- leled inftance of God's bounty to mankind. It was gracioufly held forth in the original promife to our lirft parents ; it was predicted by a long continued feries of prophets ; the fub- je61: of their prayers, inquiries, and longing expe6lations. In a world which oppofed and perfecuted them, it was their fource of peace, and hope, and conlblation. At length it approached — the Defu'e of all Nations — The long expe6led Star announced its prefence — A multitude of the heavenlv hoft hailed its introdu6i:ion, and proclaimed its chara6ler ; " Glory to God in the highef!:, on earth " peace, good will tov/ards men." It is every where reprefented in Scripture by fuch figures as may moft deeply imprefs on us a fenfe of its value ; it is ijioken of as light from darknefs, as releafe from prifon, as deliver- ance from captivity, as life from death. " Lord, now letteft thou thy fervant depart " in peace, for mine eyes have feen thy fal- " vation,'* was the exclamation with which it was w^elcomed by the pious Simeon ; and it was univerfally received and profefTed among the early converts with thankfulneis and joy. At one time, the communication of it is promifed as a reward, at another, the 3ofs of it is threatened as a punifhment. And, c fhort INADEQJJATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE fhort as Is the form of prayer tanght us by our blefTed Saviour, the more general ex- tenfioii of the kino-dom of Chrift conftitutes one of its leading petitions. With what exalted conceptions of the im- portance of Chriflianity ought we to be filled by fuch defcriptions as thefe ? Yet, in vain have we " line upon line and precept " upon precept." — Thus predi6i"ed, thus prayed and longed for, thus announced and chara6lerized and rejoiced in, this heavenly treafure poured into our lap in rich abun- dance we fcarce accept. We turn from it coldlv, or at beft polTefs it negligently, as a thins: of no account or ellimation. But a due {enCe of its value would be aiTuredlv im- prefTed on us by the diligent fludy of the Word oP Cod, that bleffed rcpolitory of di- vine truth and confolation. Thence it is that we are to learn our obligations and our duty, what we are to believe and what to praftife. And furely, one would think it could not be required to prefs men to the perufal of the facred volume. Reafon dic- tates. Revelation commands ; " Faith comes *' by hearing, and hearing by the word of «t God."—" Search the Scriptures" — " Be ^' readv to sfive to everv one a reafon of the " hope that is in you." Such are the de- clarations and injundlons of the irifjoired writers i HH^ORtANCE OF CflRlSTlANITV; fg writers; injun61:ions confirmed by commen- dations of thole who obey the admonition. Yet, is it not undeniable that with the Bible in our houfeSj We are ignorant of its contents ; and that hence, in a great meafure^ it arifes, that the bulk of the Chriflian world know fo little, and miflake fo greatly, in what regards the religion which they profefs } This is not the place for inquiring at large j whence it is that thofe who affent to the pontion, that the Bible is the word of God, and who profefs to reft their hopes on the Ghriftian balls, contentedly acquiefce in a ftate of liich lamentable ignorance. But it may not be improper here to touch on two Twofalfo kindred opinions, from which, in the minds "xpS. bf the more thoughtful and ferious, this ac- quieicence appears to derive much fecret fupport. The one is, that it iignifies little what a man believes ; loo/: to his pra£iice» The other (of the fame family) tJiat jfincerity is all in all. Let a man's opinions and con- du6l be v/hat they may, yet, provided he be fincerely convinced that they are right, how- ever the exigencies of civil fbciety may re- quire him to be dealt with amongfl men, in the light of God he cannot be criminal. It would detain us too long fully to fet forth the various merits of thefe favourite politions, c z of 2.0 INADEQJJATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE of which it is lurely not the fmalleft excel- lence, that they are of unbounded a])pUcation, comprehending within their capacious hmits all the errors which have been believed, and many of the mofl defperate crimes which ha.ve been perpetrated among men. THe former of them is founded altogether on that ,groisly fallacious afi^jmption, that a man's opinions will not influence his pradice. The latter proceeds on this groundlefs fup- pblition, tlitit the Supreme Being has not af- forded us fiifficient means of difcriminating truth from faliehood, right from wrong: and it implies, that b'e a man's opiilions or conduft ever fb wild and extravagant, we are to pre- iurne, that thej are as much the refult of irtfipartial inquiry and honeft convi6lion, as if his fsntiments and a61ions had been fcridly conformable to the rules of reafon and fobrietV. Never indeed Vv^as there a principle niorfe general in its ufe, more fovereign in its j>otency. How does its beautiful fmipticity alfo, and compendious brevity, give it rank before the laborious fubtleties of Bellarmin I Clement, and Ravaillac, and other worthie's of a fim^ilar ftam.p, from whofe purity of in- tention the \Vorld has hitherta withheld its due tribute of applaufe, would here have found a ready pica; and their injured innocence fhall now at length receive its full though tardy • >i vindication. IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 21- vlndicatlon. " Thefe however," it may be replied, " are excepted cafes." Certainly they are cal'es of which any one who maintains the opinion in queflion would be glad to difencumber himfelf; becaiife they clearly expofe the unfoundnefs of his principle. But it will be incumbent on fach an one, firfc to explain with precifion why they are to be exempted from its operation, and this he will find an impoffible talk ; for hncerity, in its popular icni'e, fo Ihamefuily is the term mif- applied, cant be made the criterion of guilt und innocence on no grounds, which will not equally ferve to jufrify the afiaffins who have been inftanccd. The conclufion cannot be eluded ; no man was ever more fully per- fuaded of the innocence of any action, than thefe men were, that the horrid deed thev were about to perpetrate was not lawful merely, but highly meritorious. Thus Cle- ment and Ravaillac being unqueftionably iincere, they were therefore indubitably inno- cent. Nay, the abfurdity of this principle might be fliev/n to be even greater thaii Vvdiat has yet been ftated. it would not be going too far to affert, thafwhilll: it fcorns the defence of petty villains, of thofe who fliill retain the ienfe of good and evil, it holds forth, like fome well frequented fanduary, a fecure afylum to thofe nacre finished crimi- c 3 ^als. 22 INADEQJJATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE nals, who, from long habits of wickednefs, are loft alike to the perception as to the prac- tice of virtue ; and that it felects a feared confcience and a heart become callous to all moral diftinftipns as the fpecial objeds of its pare. Nor is it only in prophane hiftory that inflances like thefe are to be found, of perfons committing the grtateft cripnes with a fincere convidlion of the rectitude of their Condu6l. Scripture will afford us parallels ; and it was furely to guard us againfl the very error which we have been now e^pofing, that pur bleffed Saviour forewarned his dif- ciples : " The time cometh, that whofoever " killeth you will think that he doeth God ^' fervice." True Sin- A principle like this mufl then be aban- '^"^^^' doned, and the advocates for lincerity muft be compelled to reilore this abufed term to its genuine fiojnification, and to acknowled,^e that it muft imply honefty of mind, and the faithful ufe of the means of knowledge and of improvement, the defire of being in- fLru6l;ed, humble inquiry, impartial confide- rr;non, and unprejudiced judgement. It is to t ^cic we would earneftly call you ; to thefe • (ever to be accom^panied with fervent prayers for the divine bleiiing) Scripture every where holds forth the moll: animating promifes. ^* Alk and ye Ihall receive, feek and ye Ihall IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 23 *' iind, knock and it fhall be opened unto '' you ; Ho ! every one that thirfteth, conne y-e '' to the waters ;" fuch are the comfortable alTurances, fuch the gracious encouragements to the truly fincere inquirer. How deep will be our guilt if we flight all thele ber.cvolent oilers. '* How many prophets and kings " have defu'ed to hear the thino;s tliat we *' hear, and have not heard them !" Great indeed are our opportunities, great aljb is our refponfibility. Let us awaken to a true fcnfe of our fituation. We have every conlldera- tion to alarm our fears, or to animate our induftry. Hov/ ioon may the brightnels of our meridian fun be darkened! Or, ihould the long futtering of God ftill continue to us the mercies whicli we lb much abufe, it will only aggravate our crime, and in the end enhance our punifhment. The time of reckoning will at length arrive. And when finally Himmoned to the bar of God, to give an account of our ftewardfhip, what plea can we have to urge in our defence, if we remain willingly and obilinately ignorant of the way which leads to life, with fuch tranfcen^ dent means of knowing it, and luch urgent jnotives to its purfuit ? c 4 Popular [ ^4 ] CHAPTER II. CORRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE. Sect, I. Inadequate Conceptions of the Corruption of Hwnan Nature. A FTER coniidering the defedive no- tions of the importance of Chriflia- nity in genera/, which prevail among the notions. higher orders of the ChriiHan world, the particular mifconceptions which firfl come under our notice refpetl the corruption and weaknefs of human nature, This is a topic on which it is poffible that many of thofe, into whofe hands the prefent work fhall fall, may not have beftowed much attention. If the cafe be fo, it may be requiiite to intreat them to lend a patient and a ferious ear. The fubjeft is of the deepeil: import. We fliould not go too far if we were to affert, that it lies at the very root of all true Reli- gion, and iliill more, that it is eminently the bafis and ground- work of Chriflianity. So far as the writer has had an opportunity of remarking, the generality of profeiTed Chriflians among the higher clafies, either altogether overlook or deny, or at leafl greatly extenuate COHRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE. 2^ extenuate the cormption and weaknefs here sect. ia question. They acknowledge indeed that J- there is, and ever has been in the world, a ' "^"^ great portion of vice and wickednefs ; that mankind have been ever prone to fenfuahty and feL^fhnels, in difobedience to the more refined and hberal jjrinciples of their nature; that in all ages and countries, in public and in private life, innumerable inftances have been afforded of oppreffion, of rapacity, of cruelty, of fraud, of envy, and of lYialice. They own that it is too often in vain that you inform the underilanding, and convince the judgemicnt. They admit that you da not thereby reform the hearts of men, Though they hww their duty, they Vv'ill not pradife it; no not even when you have forced them to acknowledge that the path of virtue is that alfo of real intereft, and of folid en^ joyment. Thefe fads are certain ; they cannot be difputed; and they are at the fame time fo obvious, that one v/ould have thought that the celebrated apophthegm of the Grecian fage, " the majority are wicked,'* would fcarcely have eftabliflied his claim to intcl- ledual fuperiority. But though thefe efFedls of human depra- yity are every where acknowledged and la- mented. ^6 IN A DEQJJ ATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE c K A P. mented, we mull not expedl to find them II' traced to their true origin. Caufa Jatet, vis eft notiffima. Prepare yourfelf to hear rather of frailty and infirmity, of petty tranfgreffions, of occa- fional faihngs, of fudden lurprifals, and of fuch other quahfying terms as may ferve to keep out of view the true fource of the evil, and, without fliocking the underflanding, may adminifter confplation to the pride of human nature. The hulk of profelfed Chrillians are ufed to fpeak of man as of a being, who, naturally pure, and inclined to all virtue, is fometimes, almofl involuntarily, diav/n out of the right courfe, or is overpowered by the violence of temptation. Vice with thera is rather an accidental and temporary, than a conflitutional and habitual diftemper ; a noxious plant, which, though found to live and even to thrive in the human mind, is not ^ the natural growth and production of the foil. rr ,„ ,, Far different is the humiliatine; lans:uao;e countprov- ^f Chriftianitv. From it we learn that man ed from ■' , . ^ . , Reafonand is an apoiiate creature, fallen from his high cnptuie. ^j.^g^j-^^1^ degraded in his nature, and depraved in his faculties; indilpofec] to good, and dif- pofed to evil ; prone to vice, it is natural and eafy to him ; difmclined to virtue, it is diffi- cult and laborious; that he is tainted v,'ith fip, not (lightly and fuperficially, but radically ^n4 CORRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE. IJ ?ind to the very core. Thcfe arc truths which, however mortifying to our pride, one would think (if this very corruption itfelf did not warp the judgement) none would be hardy enough to attempt to controvert, I know not any thing which brings them home lo forcibly to my own feelings, as the coniider- ation of what flill remains to us of our primi- tive dignity, when contrafled with our pre- fent ftate of moral degradation, <' Into what depth thou feeft, « From what height fallen." Examine firft with attention the natural powers and faculties of man ; invention, reafon, judgement, memory ; a mind " of ^' large difcourfe," " looking before and ■*' after,'* reviewing the pafl, and thence determining for the prefent, and anticipating the future ; difcerning, colle61ing, combining, comparing ; capable not merely of appre- hendino; but of admiring the beautv of moral excellence : with fear and hope to warn and animate ; with joy and forrow to folace and foften ; with love to attach, with fympathy to harmonize, with courage to attempt, with patience to endure, and xAih. the power of confcience, that faithful monitor within the breaft, to enforce the conclufions of reafon, and dire6l and regulate the pafiions of the foul. Truly we muil: pronounce him " ma- '' jeflic INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE " jf (tic though in ruin." " liappy, happy " world," would be the exclamation of the inhabitant of Ibme other planet, on being told of a globe like ours, peopled Vv'ith fuch creatures as thefe, and abounding with litua-. tions and occafions to call forth the multi- plied excellences of their nature. " Happy, " happy world, with what delight muft your *' great Creator and Governor witnefs your " condud", and what large and merited re-? *' wards await you when your term of pro- *^ bation fliall have expired. *' I, bone, quo virtus tua te vocat, i pede faufto, " Grandia laturiis meritorum prcemia." But we have indulo;ed too Ion 2; in thefe delightful f|3eculations ; a fad reverfe pre- fents itfeif on our furvey of the actual ftate of man, v/hen, from viewing his natural powers, we follow him mto pra&tce, and lee the ufes to which he applies them. Take in the v.' hols of the prolpecl, view him iiv every age, and climate,' and nation, in every condition and perio,d of fociety. Where now do yon difcover the charaders of his exalted nature ? " IIcw is the gold become dim, and . " the fine c^old chans:ed ?" How is his reafon clouded, his affedions perverted, his con- fcience flupified ! How do anger, and envy, and hatred, and revenge, fpring up in his wretched bcfom! How is he a flave to the meancfl; of his appetites ! What fatal pro- penfities; CORRUPTIONOF HUMAN NATURE. Co penfitics does he dilcover to evil! What in- secTw aptitude to good ! i. Dwell awhile on the ilate of the ancient world; not merely on that henighted part of it where all lay buried in brutifh ignorance and barbarifm, but on the feats of civilized and poiifhed nations, on the empire of tafle, and learning, and philofophy : yet in thefc chofen regions, with whatever luflre the fun of fcience poured forth its rays, the m.oral dar^cnefs was fo thick " that it mio-ht be •O " felt." Behold their fottifh idolatries, their abilu-d fuperftitions, their want of natural aiFeciion, their brutal exceffcs, their unfeel- ing pppreffion, their favage cruelty ! Look not to the illiterate and the vulgar, but to the learned and reiined. Form not yoyr ideas from the condu6l of the lefs retrained and more licentious ; you WJU turn away with difgufi and fhame from, the ^allowed- aAji familiar habits of the deceit and .the moral. St. Paul heft ftates the fafts, and furniilies t-hc explanation; " becaufe they did nOt like to " retain God in their knowledge, he .gave "'■ them over to a reprobate mind*:." Now * Exempla duo, quae pravltatis humanae vim aniino meo luculenter exhibcnt, non proferre ncn pofTum. Alte- rurn decens ille Viigilius, alterum Cicero, probus idem vcrique ftiidiofus, fuppeditat. Virgilius, innocuam certs pallorum vitam depitturus, ita incipit. " Formofum paftor Corydon ardebat Alexim.'* Cicero C^-V^eJ 56 INADECiUATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE CHAP. Now clireft your view to another quar- II' ter, to the inhahitants of a new hemifpherey where the baneful pra61ices and contagious example of the old world had never travel- led* Surely, among thefe children of nature we may expe6l to find thofe virtuous ten- dencies, for which we have hitherto looked in vain. Alas! our iearch will ilill be fruitlefs! They are reprefented by the hif- torian of America, (whofe account is morb favourable than thofe of fome other great authorities) a3 being a compound of pride^ and indolence, and felfiihnefs, and cunning, and cruelty*; full of a revenge which no- Cicero ill Ubro de OfHciis primo, ubi de adtionibus protit inter fe apte & convenientes fint, loci, temporis, & agentis ratlone habita, diflerit, argumentum fic illuftrat : " Turpe tft enim, valdeque vitiofum, in re fevera, convivio dignum, aut dclicatum aliquem inferre fermonem. Bene Pericles, quum haberet collegam in praetura Sophoclem poe'am, hi- que de conimuni officio conveniflent, & cafu formofus puer prseteriret, dixiffetque Sophocles, O puerum pulchrum Peri. cIq 1 At enim, inquit Pericles, praetorem Sophoclem decet non folum manus, kd etiam oculos abftinentes habere. Atqui hoc idem Sophocles, fi in athletarum probatione dixiliet, juj?a reprehenfione caruifet^ tanta vis g/?, fif loci U' te/nporis." Quomodo fefe res habuifTe necefle eft, eum vir antiquo- rum preftantiilimis adfcribendus, philofophiamj immo mores & officia tra£lans, talia doceret ! Qualem fibi ipfe virtutis normam propofuerat, fans liquet. Vide inter alia, Jujia Ti'-prekcnfionc^ &c. &c. & tanta vis ejl^ Sic, Sic, * Robertfon, Vol. II. p. 130. tiling CORRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE. 3* thing could fatiate, of a ferocity which no- thincr could foften ; ftranojers to the moft amiable fenfibilities of nature *. They ap- peared incapable of conjugal affection, or parental fondnefs, or filial reverence, or fo- cial attachment ; uniting too with their flate of barbarifin, many of the vices and weakneffes of polifhed fociety. Their hor- rid treatment of captives taken in war, on whofe bodies they feafted, after putting them to death by the moft cruel tortures, is fo well known, that we may Ipare the difguft- ing recital. No commendable qualities re- lieve this gloomy pi61ure, exce])t fortitude, and perfeverance, and zeal for the welfare of their little community ; if this laft qua- lity, exercifed and direded as it was, can be thought defervdng of commendation. But you give up the heathen nations as indefenfible, and wifli rather to form your eftimate of man from a view of countries which have been blefTed with the lisrht of revelation. — True it is, and with joy let us record the conceflion, Chriftianity has fet the general tone of morals much higher than it was ever found in the Pa2;an world. She has every where improved the chara6ler and multiplied the comforts of fociety, particu^ * Robertfon, Book IV. Se6l. 2, Head, Condition of Women, vol. ii. 8vo. 90, gi. larlv ^FsT-^ 32 INAD'ECLUATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE CKAP. larly to tlie poor ai)d the weak, whom from "• the beginning Hie profeiTed to tal^e under her Ipecial patronage. Like her divine Au- thor, " wiio fends his rain on the evil and " Oil the good," flie fhowers dovv^i vmnum- bered bleiii-ngs on thoufands who profit from her bounty," while they forget or deny her power, and fet at nought her authorit)'. Yet even in, this more favoure4 fituation vv'e fh^ll difcQver too many lamentable proofs of , the depravity of man. Nay, this depravity wjU now become even more apparent and Icfs de- niable. For what bars does it not now over- leap? Ox'^er what motives is it not now viclo- rious? Conddcr vv'ell the fuperior Ught and advantages which we enjoy, and then' appre- ciate the fuperior obligations which are im- pofid on US. Coiifider in how many cafes our evil propenfities are now^ kept from breaking forth, by the fuperior reiliraints under which vice is laid among us by ]:)oiiti"^/e laws, and by the amended flandard of public opinion ; and we may be afiiilcd in coiije<51uring what force is to be afiigned to thefe motives, by the dreadful proofs which have been lately exhibited in a neifi-hbourins: country, that when their inRuence is v/ithdra,wn, the moil atrocious c;i'imes can be perpetrated fhame- lefsly and- in the face of day. Confider then the fuj>e$"ior ©Kcfellence .of our moral code, the new principles of obedience furnilhed by the CORRUPTION OF HUMAM NATURE. J3 the gofpel, and above all, the aweful fan6tiori which the dodlrines and precepts of Chrifti- anity derive from the clear difcovery of a fiiture ftate of retribution, and from the an- nunciation of that tremendous ciay, " when ** we fhall ftand before the judgement feat of " Chrift." Yet, in fpite of all our know- ledge, thus enforced and prefTed home by this folemn notice, how little has been our progrefs in virtue ? It has been by no means fuch as to prevent the adoption, in our days, of various maxims of antiquity, which, when well conlidered, too clearly eftablifh the de- pravity of man; It may not be amifs to ad- duce a few inflances in proof of this ail'ertion. It is now no lefs acknowledged than hereto- fore, that profi>erity hardens the heart; that unlimited power is ever abufed, inftead of being rendered the inftrument of diffliiing happinefs : that habits of vice grow up of themfelves, whilfl thofe of virtue, if to be obtained at all, are of flow and difficult formation : that they who draw the fined piftures of virtue, and feem moft enamoured of her charms, are often the leaf): under her influence, and by the merefi: trifles are drawn afide from that line of condu<51, which they mofi: ftrongly and ferioufly recommend to others : that all this takes place, though r^ofl of the pleafures of vice are to be found JO with 34 INADEQJJATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE with lefs alloy in the paths of virtue ; whilfl:. at the fame time, thefe paths afford fuperior and more exquifite delights, peculiar to them- felves, and are free from the difeafes and bit- ter remorfe, at the price of which vicious gratifications are fo often purchafed^ It may fliffice to touch very flightly on: fome other arguments, which it would hardly be right to leave altogether unnoticed : one of thefe (the juftice of which, however denied by fuperficial moraliflis, parents of {tn£t prin- ciples can abulidantly teftify) may be drawn frorn the perverfe and froward dil]Doiitions^ perceivable in children, which it is the bufi- nefs and fometim.es the inefFedlual attempt of education to reform. Another may be drawn from the various deceits we are apt to pra6i:iie on ourfelves, to which no one can be a flranger, who has ever contem-^ plated the operations of his own mind with ferious attention. To the influence of this Ipecies of corruption it has been in a great degree owing, that Chriftianity itfelf has been too often difs:raced. It has been turned into an engine of cruelty, and amidft the bitternefs of perfecution, every trace has difappeared of the mild and beneficent Spirit of the reli- gion of Jefus. In what degree muft the taint have worked itfelf into the frame, and have corrupted CORRUPTION OF HUMAN" NATURE* corrupted the habit, when the moft whole- fome nutriment can be thus converted into the deadhefr poiion ! Wifhing always to argue from Inch premifes as are not only really found, but from fuch as cannot even be quef- tioned by thofe to whom this work is ad- dreifed, little was faid in repreienting the deplorable il:ate of the Heathen world, re- (})e6ling their defeftive and unwortliy concep- tions in what regards the Supreme Being, who even then however " left not himfelf *' without witnefs, but gave them rain and " fruitful i'eafons, filling their hearts with *' food and gladnefs." But furelv to any who call themielves Chrifticins, it may be juftly urged as an afloniilimg inftance of human depravity, that we ourfelves, who enjoy the full light of Revelation ; to whom. God has vouchfafed Rich clear difcoveries of what it concerns us to know of his being and attri- butes ; who profefs to believe " that in him " we live, and move, and have our being ;" that to him we owe all the comforts we here enjoy, and the offer of eternal glory pur- chafed for us by the atoning blood of his own Son ; (" thanks be to God for his un- ^' fj^eakable gift,") that we, thus, loaded with mercies, fhould every one of us be conti- nually chargeable with forgetting his autho- rity, 3ud being ungrateful for his benefits ; D 2 with is v. V ^6 INADEQUATE CONCEPTIONS OF Tuf CH.AP. with flighting his gracious propofals, or re* II. ceiving them at befl: but heartlefsly and coldly. But to put the queflion concerning the na- tural depravity of man to the fevereft tefl: : take the beft of the human fj^ecies, the watch- ful diligent felf-denying Chriftian, and let /lim decide the controverly ; and that, not by inferences drawn from the praftices of a thoughtlefs and diflblute world, but by an appeal to his perfonal experience. Go with him into his clofet, afk him /lis opinion of the corruption of the heart, and he will tell you that he is deeply fenlible of its power, for that he has learned it from much felf- obfervation and long acquaintance with the workings of his own mind. He will tell you, that every day ftrengthens this convic- tion ; yea, that hourly he fees frefh reafon to deplore his want of fimplicity in intention, his infirmity of purpofe, his low views, his felfifli unworthy delires, his backwardnefs to fet about his duty, his languor and coldnefs in performing it : that he finds himfelf obliged continually to confefs, that he feels within him two oppofite principles, and that " he *' cannot do the thins;s that he would.*' He cries out in the Ian2:ua2:e of the excellent Hooker, " The little fruit which we have " in CORRUPTIOK OF HUMAN NATURE. 57 ^' ill holiiiefs, it is, God knoweth, corrupt and ^' uiilound: we put no confidence at all in it, " we challenge nothing in the world for it, we " dare not call God to reckoning, as if we " had him in our debt books ; our continual ■^ fuit to him is, and muft be, to bear with our ** infirmities, and pardon our oiFences." Such is the moral hiilory, luch the condition of man. The figures of the piece may vary, and the colouring is fometimes of a darker, fometimes of a lighter hue; but the principles of the compoiition, the grand outlines, are €verv where the fame. Wherever we dire6l our view, we difcover the melancholy proofs of our depravity ; whether we look to ancient or modern times, to barbarous or civilized nations, to the condu6l of the world around us, or to the monitor within the breaft ; whether we read, or hear, or a6l, or think, or feel, the fame humiliating leffon is forced upon us, Juppiter eft quodcunque vides, quoeunque moveris. Now when we look back to the pi6lure- which was formerly drawn of the natural fozvers of mian, and compare this his attunl ftate with that for which, from a confidera- tion of thofe powers, he feems to have been originally calculated, how are w^e to account for the aftonifhins: contraft ! will frailtv or D 3 infirmity, 3S INADEQJJATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE infirmity, or occafional lapfes, or fudden liir- prifals, or any llich qualifying terms, coixvey an adequate idea of the nature, or point out the caufe of tiie diftemper? How, on any prin- ciples of com^mon reafoning, can we account for it, but by conceiving that man, fince he came out of the hands of hie Creator, has con- tra6i:ed a taint, and that the venom of this fubtlc poifon has been communicated through-. out the race of Adam, every where exhibit-^ ing inconteftible marks of its fatal malig- nity ? Hence it has arifen, that the appetites deriving new ftrength, and the powers of reafon and confcienee being weakened, the latter have feebly and impotently pleaded againfl: thofe forbidden indulo;ences which the former have folicited. Senfual 2:ratificar tions and illicit afFeftions have debafed our nobler powers, and indiipofed our hearts to the difcovery of God, and to the confidera- tion of his perfedions ; to a conftant willing fubmiffion to his authority, and obedience to his laws. By a repetition of vicious adls, evil habits have been formed within us, and have rivetted the fetters of lin. Left to the confe- quences of our own folly, the underftanding has grown darker, and the heart more obdu- rate ; reafon has at length altogether betrayed her trufl:, and even conlcience herfelf has aided 3 the CORRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE. 39 the delufion, till, inftead of deploring our mi- ferable flavery, we have too often hugged, and even orloried in our chains. o Such is the general account of the pro- crrefs of vice, where it is fuffered to attain to its full growth in the human heart. The circumftances of individuals will be found in- deed to differ; the fervitude of Ibme, if it may be allowed us to continue a figure fo exadly defcriptive of the cafe, is more rigorous than that of others, their bonds more galling, their degradation more complete. Some too (it will be remembered that we are Ipeaking of the natural flate of man, without taking Chrif- tianity into queftion) have for a while ap- peared almofl to have efcaped from their con- finement ; but none are altogether free ; all, without exception, in a greater or lefs de- gree, bear about them, more vifible or more concealed, the ignominious marks of their captivity. Such on a full and fair invefligation mufl be confefTed to be the ftate of fads ;, and how can this be accounted for on any other fup- pofition, than that of fome original taint, fome radical principle of corruption ? All other folutions are unfatisfadory, whilfl the potent caufe which has been ailigned, does abun- D 4 dantly. 40> ri^ADEQJJATE CONCEPTIONS OF THE dantly, and can alone fufficiently account for the efFe61:. Thus then it appears, that the corruption of human nature is proved by the fame mode of reafoning, as has been deerned conchafive in eftabhlliing the exigence, and afcertaining the laws of the principle of gra- vitation : that the do6lrine refls on the fame folid bafis as the fublime philofophy of New- ton : that it is not a mere fpeculation, and therefore an uncertain though perhaps an in- genious theory, but the fure I'efult of large and actual experiment ; deduced from incontefla- ble fafts, and flill more fully approving its truth, by harmonizing with the feveral parts and accounting for the various phaenomena, jarring other wife and inexplicable, of the great fyftem of the univerfe. Revelation, ho'wever, here comes in, and fuftains the fallible conjectures of our un- affifted reafon. The Holy Scriptures Ipeak of us as fallen creatures ; in almofl every page we fliail find fomething that is calculated to abate the loftinefs and filence the preten? fions of man. " The ima2;ination of man's " heart is evil from his youth.'* " What is *' man, that he Should be clean ? and he " which is born of a woman, that he iliould f be righteous *." " How much more abo- * Job, xy. 14, ^* minabic CORRUPTIOJJ OF HUMAN NATURE. 4I -" minahle and filthy is man, which drinketh ^' iniouitv hke water*? "The Lord looked " down from heaven upon the children of " men, to fee if there were any that did " underhand, and feek God. They are all " orone aiide ; thev are alt02;ether become *' filthy : there is none that doeth good, no *' not one^j-." " Who can fay, I have made my "heart clean, I am pure from my lin|?" " The Jieart is deceitful above all things, and " defperately wicked, who can know it/* *' Behold, I was fliapen in wickednefs, and in !" fui hath my mother conceived me." " We ^ were by nature the children of wrath, even " as others, fulfillins; the defires of the fiefh " and of the mind." " O wretched man " that I am, who fhall deliver me from the- *' body of this death !" — Paflages might be multiplied upon . palTages, which i|)eak the fame language, and thefe again might be illuf- tratcd and confirmed at large by various other coniiderations, drawn from the fame facred fource ; fuch as thofe which reprefent a tho- rough change, a renovation of our nature, as being neceffary to our becoming true Chrif- tians ; or as thofe alfo w^hich are fuggefted by pbferving that holy men refer their good dif^ pofitions and alte6lions to the immediate agency of the Supreme Being. ,* Job, XV. 16. t PCilm, xiv, 2, 3. % Prov. ?:x. q. t 4» J Section II. Evil Spirit, — Natural State of Man^ Evil Spirit. But in addition to all wliich has been yet ftated, the word of God inflruds us that we have to contend not only with our own natural depravity, but with the power of dark- nefs, the Evil Spirit, who rules in the hearts of the wicked, and whofe dominion we learn from Scripture to be fo general, as to entitle him to the denomination of *' the Prince of *' this world,'* There cannot be a ftronger proof of the difference which exifls between the religious i)'fl:em of the Scriptures, and that of the bulk of nominal Chriftians, than the proof which is afforded by the flibje6i: now in queftion. The exiflence and agency of the Evil Spirit, though fo difl:in61:ly and re- peatedly affirmed in Scripture, are alrnoft univerfally exploded in a country which pro- fefles to admit the authority of the facred volume. Some other Dodrines of Reve- lation, the force and real meaning of which are commonly in a great degree explained away, are yet conceded in general terms. But this feems almoft by univerfal confent to have been abandoned, as a pofl no longer tenable. It is re2:arded as an evanefcent prejudice, which it would now be a difcredit 10 DOCTRINE OF THE EVIL SPIRIT, iq.3 to any man of underftandiiig to believe. Like ghofts and witches and other phantoms, which haunted the night of fliperfl:ition,it can- not in thefe more enUghtened times ftand the teft of our feverer fcrutiny. To be fuffered to pafs away quietly, is as much as it can hope for; and it might rather expe6l to be laughed ofFthe flage as a juft obje6t of contempt and derilion. But although the Scripture dodrine con- cerning the Evil Spirit is thus generally ex- ploded, yet were we to confider the matter ferioufly and fairly, we fliould probably find ground for believing that there is no better reafon for its being abandoned, than that many abllird ftories, concerning fpirits and apparitions, have been ufed to be believed and propagated amongft weak and credulous peo- ple ; and that the Evil Spirit not being the ob- ject of our bodily eyes, it would be an in- flance of the iame weaknefs to o-ive credit to the doftrine of its exiflence and agency. But to be confident with ourfelves, we mieht al- moil: as well, on the fame principle, deny the reality of all other incorporeal beings. What is there, in truth, in the dodrine, which is in itfelf improbable, or which is not confirmed by analogy ? We fee, in fa6l, that there are wicked men, enemies to God, and malignant towards their fellow-creatures, who take • pleafure, and often facceed, in drawing in others g|4 NATURAL STATE OF MAN. Others to the commlfiion of evil. Why then fliould it be deemed incredible, that there may be one or more Ipiritual intclUgences of fimi- iar natures and propensities, who may in hke manner be permitted to tempt men to the pradice of lin ? Surely we may retort upon our opponents the charge of abfurdity, and juftly accufe them of grofs inconfiftency, in admitting, without difficulty, the exiflence and operation of thefe qualities in a material be- ing, and yet denying them in an immaterial one (in direfl contradidipn to the authority of Scripture, which they allow to be conclu- live) when they cannot, and will not pretend for a moment, tiiat there is any thing be^ longing to the nature of matter, to which thefe qualities naturally adhere, ■Vafjrai But to dilate no farther on a topic which, ^iRxi. however it may excite the ridicule of the in- confiderate, will fuggefl matter of ferious ap- prehenfion to all who form their opinions on the authority of the word of God : thus brought as we are into captivity, and expofed to danger ; depraved and weakened within, and tempted fi'om without, it might well fill our hearts with anxiety to refietl, " that the " day will come," Vv'hen " the Heavens being " on fu'e fhall be difiblved, and the elements '■* fliall melt with fervent heat ;" " when «' the Vm '-/-^mml NATURAL STATE OF lilAN. %f *' the (lead, fmall and great, fliall ftand before sect. " the tribunal of God," and we iliall have to ^^*