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 From the Biblical Repertory of January, 1829. 
 
 IXTRODUCTORY liECTURE, 
 
 DELIVERED IS THE 
 
 THEOIiOGICAIi SEMINARY, 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. NOV. 7, 1828. 
 
 BY CHARLES HODGE. 
 
 Connolly k Madden., Printers. 
 
LECTURE, 
 
 ADDRESSED TO THE STUDENTS 
 
 OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 
 
 My Dear Brethren, 
 
 In entering anew upon my duties in this institution, I feel 
 constrained to acknowledge the goodness of God, by which 
 I have been so kindly preserved, and restored to the field of 
 labor to which he has called me. As it was a desire to be- 
 come more useful to you, that led me to leave, for so pro- 
 tracted a period, my friends and country, my heart has been 
 constantly turned towards this institution ; and it frequently 
 occurred to me, that should I live to return to my native land, 
 I would endeavour to impress upon your minds, the practi- 
 cal truths which the circumstances of foreign states and 
 countries, had deeply impressed upon my own. It is true, 
 the vividness of these impressions has faded away, but the 
 convictions in which they resulted, remain. Although the 
 truths referred to, are obvious, and their importance admitted; 
 and although I may fail to bring before your minds, the vari- 
 ous circumstances which impress them upon the mind of 
 an American Christian in Europe, it may still be useful to 
 state some of these points, and some of the grounds on which 
 the opinions entertained respecting them, are founded. 
 
 I. One of the most obvious lessons which an American 
 Christian is taught, by a residence in Europe, is, the great 
 importance of civil and religious liberty. 
 
 We are apt, I know, to indulge in unthinking declamation 
 on this subject, and to cherish exaggerated notions of our pe- 
 
4 
 
 culiar advantages in these respects. Nor can it be question- 
 ed, that much of our disUke of the pecuUar forms of foreign 
 governments, arises from no very pure feeling. The im- 
 pressions, however, commonly entertained regarding the 
 amount of personal liberty, enjoyed under these govern- 
 ments, are doubtless erroneous. In many cases, the most 
 distinguished stations in every department are accessible to 
 all classes, and there is no doubt, that in some of the more 
 despotic even of these governments, the laws are made with 
 as pure a regard to the best interests of the community, and 
 are administered with as much impartial justice as they ever 
 have been, or are likely to be in our own. It is clear too, 
 that when the authority is vested in the hands of one indi- 
 vidual, good may be much more promptly effected than 
 when it is lodged in the mass of the people. Is it not a sub- 
 ject of constant complaint among us, that measures designed 
 and adapted to the mental and moral improvement of the 
 people, cannot be carried into effect, because the least enlight- 
 ened portion of the community is opposed to them ? It is, 
 however, very far from my design, and would be very unsuit- 
 able to the present occasion, to enter upon any discussion 
 of the comparative advantages of different forms of govern- 
 ment. I merely wish to state, what I think would be the im- 
 pression made upon any candid individual on this subject. 
 He would doubtless see, and be ready to admit, that many of 
 his early opinions were unfounded ; that there are advan- 
 tages attending the European systems which he had not pre- 
 viously properly appreciated, and yet, he would be deeply 
 convinced of their general evil tendency, and of the inesti-. 
 mable blessing which we enjoy in our own. The great 
 advantage which constitutes in the eye of the Christian the 
 value of our system, is its elevating effect upon the mass 
 of the population. Where the people have nothing to oc- 
 cupy and excite their minds beyond the mere routine of 
 their daily labor ; where they are never called upon to think 
 and act in reference to important and general objects; where 
 
5 
 
 passive obedience is substituted for active co-operation; 
 there the mind inevitably sinks — a heavy unexcitable cha- 
 racter is induced which nothing can change. Notwithstand- 
 ing, therefore, the advantage which in some countries of 
 Europe the people enjoy of early education, yet returning 
 at an early age to the dull duties of a peasant's life, they 
 soon relapse into a state of unthinking apathy and sluggish- 
 ness. The contrast between them and the cultivators of the 
 soil in our own country is immense. This mental inactivity 
 is itself a great evil — man is degraded — he is less an intel- 
 lectual being, and less susceptible of moral or intellectual 
 impressions. It is in this light and for this reason, that 
 we are called upon as the friends of religion, and human im- 
 provement, to rejoice in the free institutions with which God 
 has blessed our happy country. 
 
 I have already, however, dwelt longer than 1 intended 
 upon this part of the subject. The view in which liberty is 
 most interesting to us, is in reference to the church. The 
 kingdom of Christ is not of this world, but it constitutes in 
 the world, a self-existent and independent society, and as such 
 has all the rights of self-government. Among these essen- 
 tial rights, which the church can never resign and which can 
 never be lawfully taken from her; are the rights of deciding 
 upon the terms of membership, selecting and ordaining her 
 own officers, regulating her internal concerns, the exercise 
 of discipline, and in short, all those rights which arc inherent 
 in a voluntary association recognised by the laws. When 
 the church is so united to the state as to lose this individuality 
 of character, and resign the rights of self-government, it be- 
 comes a mere branch of a secular system. The head of the 
 state is the head of the church, and exercises, as such, either 
 directly or indirectly, the governing power. Under such a 
 system, ministers of the gospel, are servants of the crown, 
 {Staatsbeamten, as they are called in the Prussian laws,) 
 appointed for the instruction of the people in religion, as 
 judges and civil officers are appointed for the administration 
 
6 
 
 of the laws. The church is governed by men appointed by 
 the civil authority, it cannot choose its own officers, make 
 its own laws, nor cast out unwholesome members. 
 
 However beautiful it may be in theory, to regard the king 
 as the father of a great family ; and as such, bound and 
 authorized, to provide for all its wants, secular and spiritual ; 
 it never can, in the present state of the world, be carried 
 into practice, without either making the state subservient to 
 the church, or the church an engine of government to the 
 state. The former has been the result in Catholic, the lat- 
 ter in Protestant countries. 
 
 The evils resulting from this union are obvious, and una- 
 voidable. The church being put into the hands, and under 
 the direction of statesmen, is of course, used for attaining the 
 object which the state, as such, has in view, viz. the tempo- 
 ral well-being of society. They require in its officers, no 
 other qualifications than such as this object demands ; they 
 take cognizance of no offences but such as obviously militate 
 against it. When the church is thus secularized, that the 
 clergy should become worldly, would seem inevitable. Be- 
 sides this, civil rulers, were they ever so well qualified to 
 exercise the governing power in the church, in many cases, 
 cannot do it without injustice, for in their hands ecclesiasti- 
 cal discipline becomes a secular punishment. To depose a 
 man from the ministry, is often virtually to banish him his 
 country ; to prevent a profligate parent from presenting his 
 child for baptism, is to deprive that child of most of tlie 
 rights of citizenship. It is next to impossible to preserve 
 cither purity of faith or practice, under such circumstances. 
 When the church has once fallen in errors however serious, 
 how is the evil to be remedied? Should a number of scattered 
 ministers become orthodox and pious, what can they do t 
 They can preach and write, but having no authority, they 
 cannot stop the tide of irreligious men constantly flowing 
 into the sacred office. They are completely fettered, and 
 weep in silence over the desolations which they cannot re- 
 
store. A free community is a living community, it can 
 throw oflits own impurities, and if it fall can rise again. 
 
 One of the most striking illustrations of the advantages of 
 self-government in religious societies, is exhibited in the case 
 of the Moravians in Germany. During all the desolating 
 reign of infidelity in that country, they have retained their 
 fdith and piety, in some instances, the fervor of religion has 
 declined among them, but the vital principle remained, and 
 the society as a whole, is probably to this day in as favor- 
 able a state as any other equal portion of the Christian 
 church. Their settlements, even in their external appear- 
 ance, from their order and neatness, and the elevated charac- 
 ter of the people, are like verdant spots in the desert. And 
 while infidelity prevailed all around them, here the gospel 
 was still preached and loved. Another equally striking 
 example may be cited in the Dissenters of England. I am 
 aware that eflfects of this nature are seldom attributable to 
 any one cause, but I am persuaded, that among the various 
 causes which combine in the production of the effect now 
 referred to, that of self-government is one of the most im- 
 portant. It is, at least, an important fact, that the freest 
 churches are the purest. In those sections of Prussia, where 
 the church has retained most of its rights, it has retained 
 most of its purity. In the Rhine Provinces, the reformed 
 churches, surrounded by a CathoHc population, were allow- 
 ed by their Catholic sovereigns, to manage their own affairs, 
 and, since their union with Prussia, have retained more or 
 less of their power. Here the influence of infidelity was the 
 least felt, and the soonest thrown off: and here religion is 
 in a more flourishing condition than in any other part of 
 the country. The same may be said with some limitation 
 of sev-eral cantons of Switzerland. The clergy of the can- 
 ton of Basle, arc as a body orthodox and pious ; a large 
 portion of those in the canton de Vaud, is of the same char- 
 acter. But with regard to Switzerland, it is diflicult to 
 
8 
 
 speak. We are in the habit of regarding it as the land of 
 liberty ; but in ecclesiastical affairs, there is a great deal of 
 constraint. In the Catholic cantons no Protestants, until 
 recently, were tolerated, and in those purely Protestant, the 
 laws were equally severe against the Catholics. The form 
 of government in each canton, is peculiar to itself. In most, 
 it is more or less aristocratical, and in all the Protestant can- 
 tons, I believe, the magistrates have a dominant influence in 
 the affairs of the church. The same may be said of the 
 free cities of Germany, as Frankfort, Bremen, and Ham- 
 burg ; and therefore the decline of religion in such cities, 
 cannot fairly be cited as examples of the decline of indepen- 
 dent churches. In the last named city, the evil of magistrates 
 having authority in the church, is deeply felt at the present 
 moment ; the clergy have been prohibited from preaching 
 on the points in dispute between the orthodox and the ra- 
 tionalists ; permission has been refused to the advocates of 
 the truth to publish on these subjects, and in various ways, 
 the reviving spirit of piety has been repressed and opposed. 
 This is a deeply interesting subject. The great question 
 whether the church can sustain itself without the aid of the 
 state, has never perhaps been subjected to so fair and extended 
 a trial since the fourth century as at present in our own coun- 
 try. As far as the experiment has hitherto been made, the re- 
 sult is as favorable as the friends of religious liberty could 
 reasonably expect. Two centuries have elapsed since the 
 first persecuted settlers of New-England set their feet upon 
 these shores, to rear a church in all the liberty wherewith 
 Christ has made us free. The population of that section of 
 the country has increased from a few individuals to eighteen 
 hundred thousand, and there is now one minister to every 
 thousand souls ; a proportion greater than in some of the 
 oldest countries of Europe ; and there is doubtless, no equal 
 population upon earth to whom the gospel is administered 
 with greater fidelity and purity. The same may be said of 
 
our own church, and of various sections of our country and 
 denominations of Christians. In estimating the success of 
 this experiment, there are two important circumstances 
 which should be taken into account. The one is the rapid 
 increase of our population. The American churches have 
 had to supply the means of religious instruction, not merely 
 to the regular and natural increase of their number, but to 
 keep pace with a population which doubles itself in twenty- 
 five years. The other circumstance is, that in many parts 
 of our country, the population is so sparse, that to bring the 
 ordinances of religion within the convenient reach of every 
 family, would require one minister to every few hundred 
 individuals. Taking these circumstances into consideration, 
 I think that it may safely be asserted, that quite as much 
 has been accomplished towards supplying the people with 
 religious instruction, as in countries where this duty rests 
 upon their governments, and quite as much as would have 
 been accomplished by any church establishment ; and to 
 unspeakably better purpose. Still, the experiment is but in 
 progress, and the eyes of the friends of religion, and of reli- 
 gious liberty, are watching its advance with the most intense 
 anxiety. Every effort made by the free churches in Ame- 
 rica, to supply the gospel to their destitute brethren, fills 
 their hearts with joy. Nor are they alone in the interest 
 which they take in the state of things in this country. Those 
 who differ from them in opinion on this subject, are watch- 
 ing us too, and often appeal to what they deem the failure 
 of the experiment, in America, of a church standing with- 
 out the aid of government. The accounts so often pub- 
 lished among us, of extensive regions destitute of the means 
 of grace, are produced as evidence of this failure. The 
 amount of good really accomplished, and the greatness of 
 the task imposed on the American churches, they cannot 
 appreciate, and are thus unfortunately led to argue, from 
 our experience, against the expediency of releasing the 
 
 B 
 
10 
 
 struggling church, in their own country. I have heard dis- 
 tinguished men affirm, that if the king of Prussia should with- 
 draw his hand from the church in his dominions, it would 
 fall at once; and that, at the expiration of a century, they did 
 not believe there would remain a trace of Christianity in the 
 land. But can this be so ? is the gospel so powerless ? must 
 the kingdom of Christ be propped and supported by human 
 power, or fall to the ground ? must the church submit to the 
 contamination, unavoidable on her union with the state, or 
 cease to exist? For the honor of Christ and his gospel, let 
 this never be said. But let us, brethren, awake to the full 
 interest and importance of the task to which God has called 
 us. If the sad tale be to be told, in every Christian country, 
 and at every Christian fire-side, (for the interest taken in this 
 subject is well nigh universal,) that the American church has 
 fallen, that the grand experiment has failed, let it not be in 
 consequence of the remissness of the present generation. 
 Our fathers have effected much in this work, and have left 
 the rapidly increasing task to us ; and a more sacred duty, 
 a duty more vitally involving the interests and honor of re- 
 ligion, cannot be conceived, than that of supplying the ordi- 
 nances of the gospel to the rapidly increasing population of 
 our country, without being brought to the sad necessity of 
 resigning liberty for life. For we may rest assured that, if 
 the state support the church, she will govern it. Then, fare- 
 well to the purest glory of this Western Hemisphere. Ame- 
 rica will have failed of her destiny, and left her grand vocation 
 unaccomplished. 
 
 II. Permit me now to introduce another subject scarcely 
 less important, as the second point I would mention, in 
 which the mind of an American Christian would be deeply 
 interested from a residence in Europe, viz. the training of 
 youth in knowledge and religion. 
 
 The comparison between the state of things in our coun- 
 try, and that existing in Europe, respecting the church, is 
 
11 
 
 most decidedly to our advantage ; but in reference to the point 
 now brought forward, I am afraid it is the reverse. I shall in 
 a very few words, state the system pursued in Prussia, both 
 because I had better opportunities of learning its character, 
 and because I presume it is at least equal to any other in 
 general use. And first, the schools are divided into three 
 classes ; the higher schools or gymnasia, designed for men 
 intended for one of the learned professions ; the schools 
 for merchants and higher order of mechanics ; and those for 
 the peasantry. Teachers for all these are regularly educated 
 for their business. Those intended for the gymnasia, after 
 having spent seven or eight years in one of these institutions, 
 proceed to the university, where they remain from three to 
 five years, attending the lectures on the branches in which 
 they are to become teachers. Having completed this course, 
 they are subjected to a rigorous examination, which, if they 
 satisfactorily sustain, they are eligible to the office of instruc- 
 ters in the higher schools, commencing with the lower 
 classes and rising according to merit. Those who are de- 
 signed for the second class of schools, have an entirely diffe- 
 rent training ; for this purpose, there is in each of the ten 
 provinces at least one large seminary. In these institutions 
 the future teachers, are instructed, not only in the branches 
 they are themselves to teach, but also in the art of teaching ; 
 the whole object being to prepare and discipline them for 
 their work. It is not until they have completed this course, 
 and have sustained an examination by the proper authorities, 
 that they are allowed to enter upon their duties as instructers. 
 For the preparation of teachers of country schools, for which 
 such a thorough course of discipline is not considered neces- 
 sary, there are smaller institutions, several in each province, 
 all under the direction of government. These teachers are 
 also examined as to their moral and mental qualifications, 
 before they are allowed to enter even on the lowest grade of 
 elementary instruction. With respect to the mode by which 
 
12 
 
 the schools are supported, it must be remarked that it is 
 different in different cases. The gymnasia, as they are 
 designed for the higher classes of the people, are either sup- 
 ported by their own funds, (for some of them are very exten- 
 sive establishments which have been in operation for centu- 
 ries ; the one in Nordhausen being I think, 300 years old) or 
 by the usual tuition fees. The lower schools are supported 
 by tax, where there is no adequate provision already existing; 
 very much as in Massachusetts. The whole country is 
 divided into districts, and the property in each district is 
 assessed for the support of its school. This is the simplest 
 and most efficacious plan. The schools are then not only 
 free, but every parent is required under pain of fine or im- 
 prisonment to send his children. This law extends to the 
 Jews, Protestants, and Catholics. If the Jews in any one 
 place be sufficiently numerous, and have property enough, 
 they have schools of their own. If this be not the case, 
 they must send their children to those of the Chri stains. 
 The Catholics have their own seminaries for the preparation 
 of teachers, and their own schools supported in the same 
 manner, and under the same regulations with those of the 
 Protestants. 
 
 As to the course of instruction pursued in these several 
 institutions, my time will allow me to say very little. In 
 the gymnasia, there is a very thorough course, in the ancient 
 languages, in several of the modern tongues, in mathematics, 
 geography, history, &:c. The leading features of the system 
 pursued, are, having a great number of teachers, generally 
 in the proportion of one to every ten or fifteen students ; 
 and combining constancy with variety of occupation. Dur- 
 ing most days of the week, the pupils have from seven to 
 eight exercises, on as many different subjects, passing from 
 one teacher to another. It is in these institutions that the 
 German literati lay the foundation of their future eminence. 
 The course is from five to eight years. In schools of 
 
13 
 
 the second class, the ancient languages are omitted, but most 
 of the other branches are attended to. In those of the third 
 class, only the elementary branches, reading, writing, and 
 arithmetic are taught. In all these schools, music is a regu- 
 lar matter of instruction. But the most interesting feature 
 of this whole system, is, that religion is as regularly and as 
 systematically taught as any other subject. Each class of 
 schools has its regular text-books on this subject ; and in 
 all, the history and leading principles, both in doctrines and 
 morals, of the scriptures, are inculcated. The nature of this 
 instruction, depends of course, very much on the individual 
 character of the man to whom it is committed, and it is too 
 often the case, that it embraces little more than the leading 
 fects and moral principles of the Bible, still even this is of 
 immense advantage. 
 
 It would be interesting and instructive, did our time per- 
 mit, to compare in detail the plan now described, with those 
 adopted in different parts of our own country. We should 
 find, I think, with regard to thoroughness of instruction in 
 the higher schools, to the means taken to prepare suitable 
 teachers, and the plan adopted for the support of the schools 
 and securing regular^attendance on the part of the children, 
 that we have still much to learn from the experience of 
 older countries. As this is a subject which is so intimately 
 connected with the best interests of men, it demands the 
 attention of all the friends of knowledge and religion. 
 
 There is one point suggested by what has been said, 
 worthy of particular consideration. Is it not possible in 
 this country, to have the Christian religion taught in 
 tlie common schools f The great difficulty is, the clashing 
 views and interests of the different religious denominations ; 
 and the principle that the state can in no way interfere on 
 the subject of religion. With regard to the latter, it may 
 easily be gotten over, for the government has nothing to do, 
 either with the selection of the teacher, or with the course 
 
14 
 
 of instruction. This depends on the commissioners of the 
 several districts. If public opinion once be brought to de- 
 cide for the measure, it can be accomplished ; and in many 
 places where the people are of the same denomination, the 
 more serious difficulty, arising from sectarian jealousies and 
 opinions, may be avoided. But even in districts where the 
 several denominations are nearly equally numerous, cannot 
 this important object be attained ? The various sects are 
 uniting, not only to distribute the Bible, but also to circulate 
 doctrinal tracts ; may they not be induced to unite, in the 
 preparation of religious school books, books in which the 
 historical facts and essential doctrines, in which all evangeli- 
 cal denominations agree, may be taught and inculcated ? If 
 such books could receive the sanction of the ruling bodies of 
 the various sects among us, there would be no difficulty to 
 their being generally introduced. If this cannot be accom- 
 plished, cannot at least the Bible be introduced? Not merely 
 to be read, but regularly studied, as in our Sabbath schools. 
 Experience has taught, that no instrument is better adapted to 
 the education of children. It calls into exercise all their fa- 
 culties, interests their feelings, and cultivates their moral pow- 
 ers. This truth is so obvious, that in the country of which we 
 have been speaking, men who have no regard for the Bible, 
 as the word of God, on mere philosophical principles, urge 
 its being made the great instrument in the education of the 
 young. If the Bible have all these advantages for calling 
 forth and exercising the faculties of children, it would seem, 
 that nothing short of a dread of its effiict in cultivating the 
 moral and religious feelings, could lead to its being thrown 
 aside, and the miserable fables commonly employed, adopted 
 in its stead. How different would be the state of Christen- 
 dom, had Christians taught their children the Bible as faith- 
 fully as Mussulmans have taught the Koran. 
 
 Unless some plan can be adopted of introducing religious 
 instruction into the common schools, we must consent to 
 
15 
 
 see a large portion of our population growing up in igno- 
 rance of the first principles of moral and religious truth. 
 For if this matter be left entirely to parents or pastors, it 
 can be but imperfectly attended to. There will always be 
 a large number of the people, who belong to no denomina- 
 tion and come under the care of none. There is said to be 
 70,000 of such persons, in the single city of New- York ; 
 and we need not go many miles from our village to find 
 individuals who hardly know that there is a God. What 
 the result will be, of thus neglecting the moral education of 
 the people, it requires no prophetic spirit to foretel. If 
 pulilic virtue be necessary to the existence of free institu- 
 tions ; if reason and experience teach, that religious know- 
 ledge and culture are essential to virtue ; to leave the peo- 
 ple destitute of this knowledge and this culture, is to secure 
 the destruction of our civil liberty. Experience has shown, 
 that a free government cannot exist, where the mass of the 
 population is ignorant and immoral, and the term of its con- 
 tinuance amongst us is fixed to the period, when the unedu- 
 cated and vicious shall constitute the majority of the people. 
 It is enough to contrast the degradation of men who have 
 had no moral instruction in their youth, with the character of 
 those who have been brought up under the influence of the 
 gospel, to have the heart filled with zeal for the extension of 
 the blessings of religious education, even if this world were 
 the only theatre of man's existence. But when we consider 
 that these men, whom we thus desert to ignorance of God 
 and his word, are forming their character for eternity, the 
 importance of this subject is seen and felt to be infinite. 
 
 The success which in other countries has attended the 
 efforts to render religious education universal, should en- 
 courage us to make the attempt here. So thoroughly is the 
 system, just detailed, carried through in Prussia, that 1 never 
 met a poor boy selling matches in the streets, (and I made 
 several experiments of the kind,) who could not answer any 
 
16 
 
 common question, on the historical parts of the Old and 
 New Testaments. And one of the school commissioners af 
 Halle, (a town containing twentj-four or twenty-six thou- 
 sand inhabitants,) told me that a recent investigation led to 
 the discovery of only fifty or sixty children who had hitherto 
 neglected to attend the schools. Do not let us calmly sit still, 
 therefore, and suppose that nothing can be done. If we cannot 
 introduce religious instruction at once, into all the schools 
 in our country, nor throughout a whole state, we may at 
 least, endeavour to eJEFect the object, in our own immediate 
 neighborhoods. 
 
 The course we are pursuing in this country, is much the 
 same as that which has been so long pursued in England. 
 They build churches and erect school-houses. Those who 
 choose to seek religious knowledge may find it ; but there is 
 no provision made for the instruction of all the people in 
 the principles of Christianity, and the consequence is, that 
 an alarming proportion of them, is left in utter ignorance on 
 the subject. This is the great cause of the dreadful amount 
 of crime in that country. The commitments in England 
 and Wales are four to one in proportion to the population, 
 to what they are even in France, and I presume they are 
 six or eight to one to what they are in Prussia. Brethren, 
 bear this subject in mind, remember how much depends 
 both in time and eternity on the instruction of the young. 
 
 There is another subject connected with religious educa- 
 tion, which must not be passed over, and that is, pastoral 
 attention to the young. I have received the impression 
 that this is carried to a much greater extent, in some of the 
 continental churches, than it is among ourselves. In the 
 Lutheran church, as you probably know it is customary, 
 that boys at the age of fourteen and girls at fifteen, should 
 be confirmed ; that is, be called upon to assume their baptis- 
 mal vows, and solemnly recognise themselves as members of 
 the church. That there are serious evils attending this usage. 
 
17 
 
 is very obvious, but that much good is effected by the pasto- 
 ral attention to the young, which it occasions, cannot be 
 denied. The candidates for confirmation each year, are 
 formed into a class or classes, to which it is the pastor's 
 duty to devote several hours in every week, instructing them 
 in the principles of the gospel and of their own particular 
 church. This course of instruction continues through the 
 year ; and as every child must be confirmed, the whole mass 
 of the people, rich and poor, from the king's son to the 
 children of the peasant, are regularly indoctrinated in the 
 christian system. The degree of fidelity with which this 
 duty is performed, depends on the character of the pastor : 
 but it may be remarked that even the Rationalists, in general, 
 retain the use of Luther's catechism and other evangelical 
 formulas in the instruction of the young. I have witnessed 
 few scenes more impressive than the induction of one of 
 these little flocks of the lambs of Christ, into his sacred 
 fold. On the day appointed for this service they came to 
 the church, with their pastor at their head. Their entrance 
 was greeted with a burst of cheerful music, in which all 
 hearts and voices joined. Arranged before the pulpit, the 
 pastor proceeded to explain to them the situation in which 
 they stood. Consecrated to God in baptism, they had been 
 given to the church by their parents ; but having now 
 attained an age at which they were capable of acting for 
 themselves; having been instructed in the doctrines and 
 requirements of the Christian religion, and in the faith and 
 discipline of their own church ; they were to decide whether 
 they would remain in that church, receive its doctrines and 
 submit to its watch and care. For the satisfaction of those 
 present, their pastor examined them on the history and doc- 
 trines of the Bible, received their profession of faith, and 
 solemn assent to be regarded as under the guardianship 
 of the church. They knelt before him, the name and bles- 
 sing of God was invoked upon them, and they arose in a 
 new relation to the household of faith. 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 I am not, brethren, appearing here as the advocate of con- 
 firmation ; for I am persuaded, that permitting children, and 
 all children thus to grow up into the church as a matter of 
 course, and thus break down the distinction between the 
 church and the world, would more than counterbalance all 
 the good, effected by this regular course of religious instruc- 
 tion. I merely state these facts to call your attention to the 
 subject, and to have the opportunity of inquiring whether 
 sufficient pastoral attention is devoted to the young ? whether 
 something more might not be done, to secure their regular 
 indoctrination in our faith and discipline, and to destroy the 
 indefinite relation in which they now grow up, to the church ? 
 whether they might not be formed into a nursery, to be tended 
 with peculiar care, from which the plants, from time to time 
 might be transplanted into the garden of the Lord ? As this 
 is a subject so immediately connected with Pastoral Theo- 
 logy, I refer you to the solemn lessons, which await you on 
 this point, in a more advanced stage of your course. 
 
 III. A third great truth which an observation of the state 
 of European churches, is adapted to impress upon the mind, 
 is, the intimate connexion between speculative opinion^ 
 and moral character. 
 
 There is no sentiment more frequently advanced, than 
 that a man's opinions have little to do with his moral charac- 
 ter, and yet there is none more fundamentally erroneous. 
 The fact is, that opinions on moral and religious subjects 
 depend mainly on the state of the moral and religious feel- 
 ings. Mere argument can no more produce the intimate 
 persuasion of moral truth, than it can of beauty. As it de- 
 pends on our refinement of taste, what things to us are beau- 
 tiful, so it depends upon our religious feelings, what doctrines 
 for us are true. A man's real opinions, are the expression 
 of his character. They are the forms in which his inward 
 feelings embody themselves, and become visible. The 
 secret conviction of this truth, is the reason, that the ascrip- 
 tion of obnoxious opinions, is always regarded as an asper- 
 
19 
 
 sion on character. Why is the denial of God's existence 
 regarded with horror, by all classes of men, but because it 
 presupposes a heart dead to all the manifestations of his glory 
 in creation, in our own nature, and in his word ? The denial 
 of Gods justice is aproof of insensibility to sin; the rejection 
 of Jesus Christ, of blindness to his moral loveliness. It is 
 therefore, an important truth, that no serious religious error 
 can exist, without a corresponding perversion or destruction 
 of religious feelings. 
 
 To prevent misapprehension, it may be proper to remark 
 that while it is asserted, that if a man's feelings be in a pro- 
 per state, he will embrace and believe the truth as soon it is 
 presented; it is freely admitted, that a man's opinions may be 
 correct, and yet his moral character corrupt. But in this 
 case, these opinions are merely nominal, they form no part 
 of the intimate persuasion of his soul, and hence, are no ex- 
 pression of his character. 
 
 In support of the point we are considering, we might refer 
 to the different systems of religion, throughout the world, 
 and observe their correspondence with the peculiar charac- 
 ter of the people who embrace them. The contemplative and 
 effeminate systems of Eastern Asia ; the mixture of loftiness 
 and sensuality in the religion of Mohammed ; the refinement, 
 licentiousness and general disregard of principle in the theo- 
 logy of the Greeks ; the more rigid features of the religion 
 of the early Romans ; or the sanguinary creed of the war- 
 like nations of Northern Europe. Or we might refer to 
 the characteristic traits of the various sects in Christendom, 
 and observe how the leading features of each are expressed 
 in their peculiar opinions. Those in whom the imagination 
 predominates, who have liveliness without depth of religi- 
 ous feeling and but little reflection, have a rehgion of pomp 
 and splendid forms, of fasts and festivals and of easy means 
 of satisfying the conscience. All those in whose systems 
 the sovereignty of God, the helplessness and dependance 
 of man, his depravity and solemn responsibility occupy the 
 
20 
 
 leading parts ; have been distinguished for severity, strict- 
 ness, separation from the world, depth of feeling and fixed- 
 ness of purpose : a strong determined character, whose 
 tendency is to make the severer, prevail over the milder 
 features of religion. The Armenian system is the natural 
 expression, of feelings less strongly marked, of less reve- 
 rence for God, less humihating views of man, and in general 
 of less prominence and depth of religious character. Those 
 who have no inward necessity for the doctrines of the 
 gospel, no apprehension of God's holiness, no fear of his 
 justice, no adequate sense of sin, need no atoning Saviour, 
 and no sanctifying Spirit, and thus easily satisfy themselves 
 with the doctrines of natural rehgion. Another proof of 
 this point is, that whenever a change occurs in the religious 
 opinions of a community, it is always preceded by a change 
 in their religious feelings. The natural expression of the 
 feelings of true piety, is the doctrines of the Bible. As long 
 as these feelings are retained, these doctrines will be retain- 
 ed ; but should they be lost, the doctrines are either held for 
 form sake or rejected, according to circumstances ; and 
 if the feelings be again called into life, the doctrines return 
 as a matter of course. The proof of this remark must be 
 sought in ecclesiastical history. Its truth can only be ob- 
 served, however, where there is freedom of opinion ; where 
 the mind is left to assume its natural form, and adopt opinions, 
 most congenial with its state. When every thing is fixed 
 and immoveable, as in the Catholic church, there will, of 
 course, be little change visible, whatever may actually take 
 place beneath the unvarying surface. But in Protestant 
 countries we see abundant evidence of the correctness of the 
 remark. In Scotland, the doctrines of the church are re- 
 tained only by those who retain the spirit of the framers of 
 their confession. In Geneva the system of Calvin did not 
 survive the spirit of its author. The same may be said of 
 France, and all parts of Germany. In this latter country 
 the truth of our remark is more observable, because more 
 
21 
 
 violent changes have there occurred than in any other por- 
 tion of Christendom. 
 
 After the struggle against infidelity had been sustained in 
 England, it passed over into France and thence into Ger- 
 many. Here it achieved its greatest triumph. Christianity 
 had well nigh ceased to be even the nominal religion of 
 the land — men began to talk of the introduction of a new 
 Bible — of the abolition of tne clergy — and of the very form 
 of the church. To this remarkable event, this distressing 
 fall of so large and important a part of Protestant Christen- 
 dom, the eyes of all interested in religion have been natu- 
 rally turned, and a general demand made, what could have 
 been the cause of so general and lamentable a defection. 
 Much has been written on this subject, and a thousand causes 
 assigned, while the most obvious has been the least regarded. 
 The simple fact is, that vital religion had been long declin- 
 ing. There seem to be certain cycles, through which almost 
 every church, is more or less regularly passing. During 
 one age, there are many revivals of religion, and a general 
 prevalence of evangelical spirit and exertion ; to this suc- 
 ceeds a period of coldness and declension ; and to this, either 
 a period of revival or of open departure from the faith. In 
 Germany, at the period of the reformation, there was a 
 general revival of religion ; to this succeeded a period of 
 cold orthodoxy brought about principally by perpetual con- 
 troversy on unimportant subjects. This long period, was 
 but partially interrupted by the revival under Frankc and 
 Spener. After which, things relapsed into their former 
 course. The preaching of the gospel was so tiresome and 
 controversial that it could produce little effect upon the 
 people. Practical religion was no necessary requisite for 
 admission into the ministry ; and the clergy soon became as 
 little distinguished for piety, as any other class of men. This 
 being the case, their holding or rejecting the doctrines of the 
 gospel, was a mere matter of circumstance. As long as 
 their interest, or standing depended upon their nominal 
 
22 
 
 faith, they retained it ; but as soon as fashion and interest 
 was on the side of rejecting it, they rejected it. Under 
 Frederick the Great, mfidehty became the fashion; no oppro- 
 brium was attached even to the clergy, declaring themselves 
 superior to the opinions and prejudices of darker ages. 
 They had lost their hold on the doctrines of the gospel and 
 stood ready to be carried away by the first blast that blew. 
 
 The fact, that at this juncture, the philologians, Heyne 
 and Wolf, gave a new spring to historical criticism, and com- 
 menced distinguishing on critical grounds, the genuine from 
 the spurious parts of the ancient classics ; led Semler and 
 his school to follow the same course with regard the to 
 Bible. And as they had no inward necessity for believ- 
 ing, their fancying, that they discovered critical grounds 
 for the rejection of this or that book of scripture, or the 
 whole, led them to renounce their faith in the word of God. 
 New systems of philosophy now making their appearance, 
 moulding religion into a hundred different shapes, completed 
 the effect, of turning the already really unbelieving clergy 
 and others, into the ranks of open infidelity. It was not 
 until severe national and private afflictions began to turn the 
 minds of all classes of men towards God, and awaken feel- 
 ings which found no appropriate objects in the barren sys- 
 tems of philosophical religion, that men began to return to 
 the doctrines of the Bible. And just in proportion as this 
 revival of religion has advanced, has been the return to 
 orthodoxy. Thus as irreligion preceded infidelity, the revi- 
 val of religion has preceded a return to soundness of faith. 
 It is this vital connexion between piety and truth, that is the 
 great and solemn lesson, taught by the past and present state 
 of the German churches. 
 
 This correspondence between opinion and character, is 
 strikingly observable in the various religious parties in that 
 section of the church. The leading parties, are the Orthodox, 
 the Rationalists and the Pantheists. Wherever you find 
 vital piety, that is, penitence, and a devotional spirit, there 
 
23 
 
 you find, the doctrines of the fall, of depravity, of regene- 
 ration, of atonement, and the Deity of Jesus Christ. I 
 never saw nor heard of a single individual, who exhibited a 
 spirit of piety, who rejected any one of these doctrines. There 
 are many who have great reverence for Jesus Christ and 
 regard for the scriptures, but having no experience of the 
 power of the gospel, they have no clear views nor firm con- 
 viction of its doctrines ; they are vacillating on the borders 
 of two classes in opinion, exactly as they are in feeling. 
 
 The Rationahsts as a body, are precisely like common men 
 of the world. In general, orderly in their lives, but without 
 the least semblance of experimental piety. They regard it 
 as mysticism, exaggeration, enthusiasm, or hypocrisy. Some 
 few, from the natural turn of their minds, have something of 
 the poetry and sentimentality of religion, but nothing of vital 
 godliness. In Pantheism there is room and expression for 
 a variety of character. Some men of elevated intellects, 
 discourse much, of the sublimity and grandeur of the infinite, 
 and bow with a sort of adoration, before the living universe. 
 But as this infinite is not a person, is neither moral nor intel- 
 ligent, this system, while it inflates the imagination, gives no 
 object for the moral feelings : and hence, when men who 
 have much of these feelings fall into its snares, they are in tor- 
 ment until they find dehverance. Others of this class, from 
 the idea, that the all pervading principle, is most completely 
 developed in intelligent beings, and most of all, in those who 
 have come to a consciousness of their identity with this prin- 
 ciple, are filled with the most amazing pride j they are God 
 in the highest state of his existence. These are self-idola- 
 ters. Others again, of a different cast, love to feel themselves 
 a part of an illimitable whole, which moves on and must 
 move on, through its vast cycles, without their co-operation 
 or responsibihty, and look forward with complacency, to 
 going out, like a spark in the ocean, unnoticed and unre- 
 membered in the infinitude of being. 
 
 Now, brethren, if these things be so, if a man's religious 
 
24 
 
 opinions are the result and expression of his religious feel- 
 ings, if heterodoxy be the consequence rather than the cause 
 of the loss of piety, then "keep your hearts with all dili- 
 gence, for out of them are the issues of life." Reniember 
 that it is only in God's light that you can see light. That 
 holiness is essential to correct knowledge of divine things, 
 and the great security from error. And as you see, that 
 when men lose the life of religion, they can believe the most 
 monstrous doctrines, and glory in them ; and that when the 
 clergy once fall into such errors, generations perish before 
 the slow course of reviving piety brings back the truth ; 
 " what manner of men ought you to be in all holy conver- 
 sation and godhness." Not only then for your own sake, but 
 for the sake of your children, and your children's children, 
 forsake not your God ; w!io is our God, because he was 
 the God of our fathers. The fate of future ages, rests 
 with every present generation. 
 
 Again, beware of any course of life or study, which has a 
 tendency to harden your hearts, and deaden the delicate sen- 
 sibility of the soul to moral truth and beauty. There are 
 two ways in which this may be done, a course of sin, and 
 indulgence in metaphysical speculations on divine things. 
 The reason, why such speculations produce this etFect, is, 
 that the views of truth thus taken are not of its moral nature, 
 and of course produce no moral feeling, but the reverse. 
 Let a man, when contemplating the grandeur of alpine 
 scenery, begin to examine the structure of the mountains, 
 and study their geological character ; what becomes ©f 
 his emotions of sublimity 1 Thus also religious truth, 
 viewed in the general, produces devotion ; metaphysically 
 analyzed it destroys it. Where is our reverence and awe 
 of God, while prying into his essence or scrutinizing his 
 attributes? Where are our feelings of penitence, when dis- 
 puting on the origin of evil ? our sense of responsibility when 
 discussing free-will and dependence ? That it may be neces- 
 sary to attend to these subjects, and get as far as possible defi- 
 
25 
 
 nite ideas respecting them, no one will deny ; but when our 
 habitual views of truth, are of this nature, there is an end 
 of all feeling on the subject. There is another remark,, 
 which may here be made. When a man prefers examining, 
 the geological structure of a mountainous region, to the con- 
 templation of its grandeur ; he only prefers the acquisition, 
 of knowledge to the enjoyment of an elevating emotion ; 
 but as the objects of his examination are external, and have 
 no connexion with the emotions of his mind, his insensibility 
 is no obstacle to his progress. But with regard to moral 
 subjects the case is far different ; the feelings destroyed by 
 metaphysical investigation, are the very objects to be inves- 
 tigated, for their moral quality is their essence. If this be 
 weakened or destroyed, there is nothing left; and a man in 
 this state is no more qualified to speak on these subjects, 
 than the deaf to discourse on music. This is the reason 
 that metaphysicians so often advance doctrines, which the 
 whole world know to be false, because they contradict the 
 strongest moral feelings of the soul; Will the mass of pious 
 people ever be brought to believe, that God is the author of 
 sin ? that man is not free, and consequently not accountable ? 
 that sin is not a moral evil, but mere imperfect develope- 
 ment ? or the still more horrible opinion, that God himself, 
 is merely the blind instinctive principle, which animates and 
 constitutes the universe, of which neither moral nor intellec- 
 tual qualities can be predicated ? Yet metaphysicians teach 
 all these doctrines. Look around you, brethren, and see if 
 these things be not so. As far as my observation extends, 
 it is the uniform tendency of such speculations to deaden 
 the moral sensibility of the soul. Beware then of unhal- 
 lowed speculations on sacred subjects. Bring all your doc- 
 trines to the test of God's word and of holiness. Go with 
 your new opinions to the aged children of God, who have 
 spent years in close communion with the Father of lights. 
 Propose to them your novel doctrines, should thej shock 
 their feelings, depend upon it, they are false and dangerous. 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 The approbation of an experienced Christian of any purely 
 religious opinion, is worth more, than that of any merely 
 learned theologian upon earth. 
 
 Finally, lean not to your own understanding. If there 
 be any declaration of the Bible, confirmed by the history of 
 the church, and especially by the recent history of European 
 churches, it is that " he that leaneth to his own understanding 
 is a fool." When men forsake the word of God, and profess 
 to be wise above that which is written, they inevitably and 
 universally lose themselves in vain speculations. Look at 
 the state of things, when every man is following the light of 
 his own reason. Each boasts that he alone has the truth, 
 and yet each is often a miracle of folly to every man but 
 himself.* True, such men are often men of great intellect ; 
 but can mere intellect perceive moral truth ? Can man by 
 wisdom find out God ? can he find out the Almighty unto 
 perfection ? No man knoweth the Father but the Son and 
 he to whom the Son shall reveal him. Submit yourselves, 
 therefore, to the teaching of him, in whom "are all the 
 treasures of wisdom and knowledge." It is only when thus 
 taught, that you will be able to teach others also. 
 
 One word more — keep as you would your hold on heaven 
 your reverence for Jesus Christ. Reverenqe for the Re- 
 deemer of sinners, is the very last feeling which deserts a 
 falling Christian, or a sinking church. When all other evi- 
 dence, and all other arguments for the Bible had lost their 
 force, this solitary feeling has held up the soul from sinking 
 into infidelity and thence into perdition. When this is lost, 
 all is lost. The soul that is insensible to the glory of the 
 Son of God, is " as a tree twice dead and plucked up by the 
 roots." 
 
 ♦ J^ihil tarn absurde did potest, quod non dicalur ah aliqtio philoto- 
 phontm. — Cicero. 
 
 4>ao'xovisj si'vai docpol iiiu^av^vidav, — Paul.