GIFT OF 
 

WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 PIETY THE ONLY FOUNDATION 
 
 TRUE AND SUBSTANTIAL JOY. 
 
 BY REV. J. B. WATERBURY, D.D. 
 q 
 
 AUTHOR OF "ADVICE TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN," ETC, 
 
 u Rejoice in the Lord always." 
 
 r , , . 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 
 
 150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. 
 
^ 
 
 Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 18.31, by TARED 
 B. WATKRBURY, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the South- 
 ern District of the State of New York. 
 
 Right of publishing transferred to the American Tract Society 
 

 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Piety vindicated from the charge of gloom, .... 7 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Piety gives more joy than it takes away, 13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The adaptation of religion to all the soul's desires, . . 19 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The joy of true piety, 24 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Pious joy enjoined in the Scriptures, 29 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The foundation of pious joy, 35 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The joy of believing in God, .40 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Pious joy connected with proper conceptions of the divine 
 
 character, 45 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The relation of pious joy to the doctrine of Providence, . 50 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The joy of salvation, 56 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Joyful promises, 62 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Joyful prospects, 68 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Obstructions to pious joy, . 73 
 
 438938 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Constant contact with the world unfavorable to pious joy, 78 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The same subject continued, 83 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The pursuit of riches unfavorable to a Christian's hap- 
 piness, 89 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Social and business pledges sometimes obstructions to a 
 
 Christian's joy. Social pledges, 95 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Business pledges, 10J 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The influence of light reading opposed to the progress of 
 piety, 107 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 The spirit of controversy opposed to the exercise of pious 
 
 joy, 113 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Circumstances favorable to the promotion of pious joy, 119 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The useful Christian happy, 125 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The joy of contentment, 130 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Submission, 136 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Joy in death, 142 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Conclusion, \.\cj 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN this small volume an attempt is made to an- 
 swer the question, " Who are the happy ?" Many 
 who are ignorant of the nature of true religion, who 
 have never personally experienced its joys or its 
 consolations, entertain the idea that it wars against 
 their felicity. Indeed, some go so far as to assert 
 that religion actually makes its votaries gloomy. 
 
 To repel this charge is the design of the first 
 part of this treatise. If the reader have indulged 
 such false and absurd notions, the perusal of these 
 pages, it is hoped, will convince him of his error, 
 and disclose to him the fact that piety is the only 
 foundation of true and substantial joy. 
 
 Another part of the work is adapted more espe- 
 cially to a class of young professors of religion, who, 
 in the present day, are peculiarly exposed to be 
 drawn aside from the path of Christian duty by 
 temptations addressed to their cupidity, their curi- 
 osity, and their love of excitement. If the writer 
 shall have succeeded in warning such against the 
 evils which threaten, or in fortifying them under 
 
; WFACE. 
 
 the actual assault, it will afford him the most heart- 
 felt satisfaction. 
 
 An eminent minister once said, that " some per- 
 sons have just religion enough to make them mis- 
 erable." The object of this treatise, on the con- 
 trary, is to urge its readers to seek for those attain- 
 ments in piety which shall be not only a solace 
 under the trials of life, hut which shall make their 
 felicity sure, and place it on a foundation which 
 can never be disturbed. j. B. w 
 
TTHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HETT YOTHCAIED FKOM THE CHARGE OF GDOO1L 
 
 * RELIGION makes men gloomy," says the thought- 
 less votary of the world. This allegation, if true, 
 would be at least a p1isiMj ground of prejudice 
 against true piety; but it is made, as we shall see, 
 
 'Without proper <ji SCTI TTI^ IM^VMBI TffiHFfffftTnff t\ift na^irff 
 
 ;He who brings this charge, judges merely from 
 the serious i pi i MM in of countenance which many 
 professors of religion wear, and from the voluntary 
 relinquifihments of the gayeties of life which is 
 observed to take place when they unite with the 
 church of God. 2fo estimation is made of the 
 grand equivalent which piety gives for the renun- 
 ciation of such vanities. Men look only at the 
 cross. They take their views from the self-denial 
 and the labors which he who bears it is called upon, 
 to meet. They have no standard by which to 
 judge but their own experience, or rather, they 
 
3 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 seem not to adopt any other ; and finding their 
 own joy, and, we may add, their only joy, to be 
 inseparable from the pleasures and the honors of 
 the world, they conclude, that he who for the 
 sake of religion voluntarily foregoes them, must 
 of necessity be condemned to a life of despondency 
 and gloom. 
 
 But has it never occurred to those who bring 
 this charge, that since they have not themselves 
 made a practical experiment of the influence of 
 piety, they are not properly qualified judges in the 
 case ? By the laws of God we are permitted to seek 
 the highest amount of true and permanent felicity 
 of which our nature is susceptible. Does this true 
 and enduring happiness lie in the path of the pleas- 
 urist and the worldling ? Then would the Chris- 
 tian be unwise for travelling out of it. He would 
 be warranted, it might almost be said, in retracing 
 his steps in hastening away from a region where, 
 according to the supposition, no sunlight falls upon 
 his path, nor fragrant flower blooms to enliven it ; 
 but where every step is planted with thorns to 
 pierce his feet as he explores his melancholy way 
 through the world. 
 
 While such is the picture of a life of piety which 
 fills the imagination of the gay world, their own 
 path, they would fiave us understand, is one per- 
 petual series of Delights. It is implied in their 
 

 PIETY NOT GLOOMY. 9 
 
 allegation, that no shadows fall around their para- 
 dise, nor a thorn obtrudes from that bed of roses on 
 which they profess to recline. We shall not stop 
 here to settle the question how far these scenes are 
 a mere fancy sketch, nor at present disallow the 
 claim to happiness which the pleasurist and world- 
 ling prefer. If they can, in the sincerity of their 
 souls, affirm that these pleasures make them as 
 happy as they desire to be, we shall not just now 
 put any questions, nor make any appeals with a 
 view to overshadow so agreeable a prospect. 
 
 The aim of the writer is rather to vindicate piety 
 from an unjust aspersion, namely, that she robes her 
 followers in gloom and sadness. That she makes 
 them serious, we do not deny ; but there is a wide 
 difference between sobriety and melancholy. So- 
 briety is not opposed to cheerfulness, though it is to 
 levity. Cheerfulness abounds everywhere in the 
 works of God, but levity nowhere, except in the 
 bosom and on the countenance of the thoughtless ; 
 and there, it is not the legitimate expression of God's 
 image, but the evidence and the effervescence of 
 sin. The lark is cheerful, as it mounts from its 
 grassy nest, and singing soars away to the heavens. 
 Cheerful also is the summer morning, revealing its 
 glad scenery, as the rising sun gilds one feature 
 after another of the landscape. Nature in all this 
 has a lesson for man. She seems to teach him 
 
10 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 that piety, in inculcating cheerfulness while shf 
 rebukes levity, responds to her own emphatic in- 
 structions. 
 
 They mistake, depend upon it, who interpret a 
 serious face as the index of a heavy heart. It is 
 excessive mirth that leaves the heart sad ; since, 
 in this latter case, the depression which invariably 
 succeeds, is but the repayment which nature de 
 mands for violence done to her moral powers. "We 
 might enlarge on this point, and show that the 
 perpetual draft which the pleasurist makes on the 
 excitability of the physical constitution is directly 
 adverse to happiness, if not destructive of health ; 
 and, on the other hand, we could easily make it 
 appear that the serenity and composure of the Chris- 
 tian are in unison with the physical improvement 
 as well as the moral condition of man. It might 
 in this way be proved, that upon striking the balance 
 of mere physical happiness between the serious 
 Christian and the gay, unthinking child of levity, 
 there would be a decided advantage in favor of the 
 former. 
 
 Thus it appears that piety is not to be blamed 
 for making her friends and followers serious, if 
 thereby she make them happier. Let her not again 
 be accused of making them gloomy. Religion maks 
 the soul gloomy ! There is nothing but this in the 
 wide universe which can really dispel its gloom. 
 
TIETY NOT GLOOMY. 11 
 
 If the heart be heavy and sad from the burden of 
 temporal affliction, or from the pressure of conscious 
 guilt, where can it find a remedy but in religion? 
 You may take that burdened heart to the haunts 
 of pleasure, and try to enliven it by sallies of wit, 
 by the fascinations of beauty, or by the excitement 
 of the revel. Vain will be your attempt. You are 
 not allaying, you are only aggravating the disorder. 
 There is but one influence which can effectually 
 reach and relieve that heart, or drive from that 
 anxious countenance its look of deep despondency. 
 Religion can do it. It is her province alone to 
 medicate the wounds of our disordered nature, and 
 to send the glow of spiritual health through the 
 soul. And when she comes to perform her work 
 of love and mercy, she first, like her great Author, 
 enters the polluted temple of the heart, and with a 
 scourge drives out the intruder, and then conse- 
 crates it by her presence and illuminates it by her 
 own heavenly smile. 
 
 Something, it is true, must be allowed for the 
 varying temperaments upon which piety exerts its 
 influence. The constitutionally lethargic man may 
 not exhibit his piety in so alluring a light as one 
 who by nature possesses a mirthful and elastic 
 mind. But even in the former, a close observer 
 will discover an attractive gleam which the Sun of 
 righteousness has flung upon the native dulness of 
 
12 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 the character ; while in the latter, the excessive 
 buoyancy is chastened into a reasonable and happy 
 flow of spirits. But in all, the influence of piety 
 is to spread cheerfulness over the soul ; and by 
 giving it the hopes and prospects of heaven, to 
 introduce into it some of its anticipated joys. 
 
PIETY INCREASES HAPPINESS. 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PIETY GIVES MORE JOYS THAN IT TAKES AWAY. 
 
 NOT to enlarge on the unreasonableness of expect- 
 ing that in every case piety will so alter the natural 
 disposition as to make the melancholy invariably 
 cheerful, and reduce the diversified temperaments 
 of men to one uniform tone, we may now consider 
 another point connected with the charge that " relig- 
 ion makes its possessors gloomy," namely, that it 
 requires them to forsake the pleasures and gayeties 
 of the world. 
 
 By these pleasures is meant the ordinary worldly 
 amusements which, with almost common consent, 
 Christians have felt it their duty to relinquish. 
 Some professors whose belief and practice are not 
 intended to be very strict, have, we know, mingled 
 unscrupulously in such scenes, and partaken of such 
 pleasures. But we are now speaking of the truly 
 pious, of those whose religion not only forbids, but 
 powerfully dissuades from their indulgence. In this 
 latter case, the relinquishment is not a forced but 
 a voluntary act. It is not so much the coercion of 
 stern duty as the sweet constraint of an honest, 
 heart-felt preference of better things. This is plac- 
 ing the subject in its true light; and in this way 
 
14 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 we maintain that piety gives more joys than it 
 takes away. 
 
 It is not the intention of the writer to assert, 
 that there is no felicity whatever in the pleasures 
 which a gay and thoughtless world have planned 
 and are pursuing ,* for if there were none, why 
 should they be sought, and why are they con- 
 tinued ? The aim of all is to secure in some 
 form that happiness which the soul of man natu- 
 rally craves. It is with the hope of satisfying this 
 desire of the heart, that the invention is tasked to 
 furnish a sufficient variety of social and animal 
 gratifications whereby the mind may be excited 
 and its depressing thoughts and anxieties driven 
 away. In part the plan is successful. There is a 
 certain amount of pleasure experienced in the antici- 
 pation and enjoyment of these things, although the 
 most eager votary, it is probable, would confess that 
 there is not so much real felicity as the inexperi- 
 enced generally imagine. But in this case the heart 
 has never tasted purer and more soul-satisfying 
 delights. The round of social festivity and amuse- 
 ment is the only circle in which it has revolved ; 
 and these artificial pleasures are the only or the 
 principal ones which it has been taught to covet 
 and appropriate. 
 
 Now, hpw impossible, that one schooled only in 
 these entertainments should be able to form a cor- 
 
PIETY INCREASES HAPPINESS. 15 
 
 rect judgment of the pleasures of true piety, since 
 the latter have not only never been enjoyed, but are 
 of a nature so different from those which have been 
 alluded to. It is as if you were to ask a native 
 of the frozen zone, who had never been out of 
 sight of the eternal snows which mantle those 
 repulsive regions, for an opinion of the warmer 
 climes where nature is so lavish of her charms. 
 He might expatiate on the attractions of his own 
 home, and talk of its superiority to all other scenes ; 
 and he might recoil at the idea of a transfer to a 
 more genial region ; but surely, if his foot never 
 trod the flowery path of the tropics, he would be a 
 very inadequate judge of the bright suns and fra 
 grant beauties which their inhabitants experience 
 
 Without denying to the pleasurist some of the 
 felicity which he claims alas, how inadequate ! 
 we ask him to correct his judgment as to the hap- 
 piness of the pious ; no longer to fling upon relig- 
 ion the unjust charge that she is the cause of gloom ; 
 nor to suppose that, because she calls us from the 
 region which he occupies to one more salubrious and 
 cheering, she thereby cuts us off from the felicities 
 of life. 
 
 But suppose even that piety abridged its disciples 
 of every earthly pleasure, and gave them only a 
 cup of suffering, still it might with reason be main- 
 tained, that in view of her eternal rewards, the 
 
16 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 disciple would be infinitely the gainer. Such was, 
 in a great degree, the case with the primitive Chris- 
 tians. But no gloom or despondency hung around 
 their brows. One of them could exclaim, " I glory 
 in infirmity." In view of heavy afflictions he could 
 say, " I do rejoice, yea, and ivill rejoice." The 
 point before us is, that piety gives more joys and 
 purer, than she takes away. We hope in the course 
 of our remarks this will appear ; and while it may 
 be our duty to expose the unworthy compromise with 
 the world which some professors of religion are 
 attempting to make, we shall aim to show that 
 there is nothing in piety to curtail our true felicity ; 
 but, on the contrary, that she bestows a glorious 
 equivalent for all the self-denials which she lays 
 upon her disciples. Too often is this feature of 
 our religion overlooked, and hence the incorrect 
 judgment which is sometimes formed of its influence 
 upon the happiness of man. 
 
 Religion is viewed by the unreflecting son and 
 daughter of pleasure, as a stern and forbidding 
 monster, who wears an iron visage, and holds in 
 his hand a rod of anger ; who comes to wither 
 every rational enjoyment, and to condemn the heart 
 to a state of isolated misery. How unworthy are 
 such impressions of that system of mercy which God 
 has devised to heal the sorrows and to cleanse the 
 pollution of the soul. But let the heart once feel 
 
PIETY INCREASES HAPPINESS. 17 
 
 the power of divine grace, and this imaginary mon- 
 ster is quickly transformed into a real seraph, yes, 
 a celestial visitant robed in purity, and dignified 
 with more than angel majesty. Her smile is the 
 sunshine of the soul. Her voice is the music of 
 heaven. She comes not to abridge, but to enlarge 
 the sphere of human felicity. For the joys she in- 
 terdicts she tenders others a thousand- fold more pure 
 and elevating. Communion with her makes the 
 heart sick of all inferior beauty. It has henceforth 
 lost in a great measure its relish for the low and 
 transient delights of the sensual and the gay. After 
 having tasted of so pure a fountain, why, indeed, 
 should it turn back to quaff' the muddy and turbu- 
 lent streams of earth ? Why, after a glimpse of 
 celestial glories, should it be interested in the arti- 
 ficial and unsatisfying round of this world's amuse- 
 ments ? 
 
 No ; piety takes nothing away that is worth re- 
 taining, nor does she withhold what is desirable 
 and necessary. She allows every pleasure that is 
 consistent with the good of our immortal nature ; 
 with her self-denials, even with the cross which she 
 imposes, she connects a felicity which her sincere 
 and faithful followers alone can understand and 
 appreciate. " Her ways," says Solomon, " are ways 
 of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Deny 
 this who may, they know it to be true who have 
 
 Wha are Happy \ 2 
 
18 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 walked in her ways and gathered along their bright 
 path the spiritual joys which she has furnished to 
 the pilgrim. 
 
 "The joys that fade are not for me ; 
 I seek immortal joys above : 
 There, glory without end shall be 
 The bright reward of faith and love.' 7 
 
RELIGION SATISFIES THE SOUL. J9 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 RELIGION ADAPTED TO THE SOUL'S DESIRES. 
 
 MAN may be said to possess four classes of desires, 
 comprehended under the terms, animal, social, intel- 
 lectual, and moral. 
 
 The animal desires he has in common with the 
 brute creation. These may be satisfied independent 
 of religion ; but they are to be under her control, 
 or they become inordinate and therefore sinful. In- 
 dulged beyond the boundaries which she has fixed, 
 they are the occasion of guilt and misery. Hence, 
 religion is all-important to restrain and guide these 
 passions, so that they may not consume their victim 
 by the intensity of their flame. 
 
 The social desires can be gratified without relig- 
 ion ; but never, as it appears to the writer, can they, 
 without its influence, be the source of all that hap- 
 piness which they were designed to afford. There 
 is much to mar the communion even of kindred 
 minds where true piety is not the cementing bond. 
 How often does envy prove the cause of coldness 
 and alienation ; and how small a circumstance will 
 at times imbitter and interrupt the intercourse which 
 had been commenced under high anticipations of 
 permanent friendship. Piety is a check to these 
 intervening barriers, and is ever ready not only to 
 
20 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 sweeten the fellowship of kindred minds, but to 
 counteract the causes of dissatisfaction and aliena- 
 tion. In her train comes charity, foremost of the 
 graces, who has a smile for every heart, and a tear 
 for every fault, and a look of generous forgiveness 
 even when her laws have been violated. Besides, 
 religion furnishes those pure, ennobling topics which 
 awaken kindred feelings, and which become addi- 
 tional ligatures to bind in closest affinity the souls of 
 the pious. 
 
 The pleasures also of the intellect may be enjoyed 
 without piety. In the varied field of investigation 
 which God has spread out to man, every taste may 
 be indulged, and every faculty of the mind em- 
 ployed and strengthened. Philosophy we know has 
 walked abroad over this scene of wonders, and 
 culled a thousand gems to adorn and to dignify 
 the mind of man. Poetry has explored every vale, 
 ascended every mountain height, winged her flight 
 to the visible heavens, plunged into ocean's bed, 
 penetrated nature's solitudes, left no spot unvisited, 
 in order to string her lyre with sweet chords that 
 should thrill on the soul's deep feelings. But who 
 does not see, that if religion be excluded from all 
 connection with such pleasures and pursuits, they 
 must lose much of the relish which they would 
 otherwise possess ? The intellect is too closely re- 
 lated to the moral powers to operate with its full 
 
RELIGION SATISFIES THE SOUL. 21 
 
 force, and to communicate by its exercise the highest 
 good, while that relation is unacknowledged. If, 
 as Dr. Young observes, " an undevout astronomer is 
 mad," surely an atheist poet, or one whose muse 
 never lifts her eye beyond earth's narrow bounds, 
 is no less so. But piety has spread wide her treas- 
 ures for the inquisitive mind ; and he who refuses 
 to examine them, must lose a rich harvest of intel- 
 lectual pleasure. 
 
 There is a fourth class of desires which we call 
 moral, or perhaps they may more properly be termed 
 immortal desires. Now we ask, What provision is 
 made for their gratification ? 
 
 The world has aliment for the animal desires ; 
 all nature is ransacked to administer to their indul- 
 gence. Even the law T s of God are trampled upon in 
 order to " sow to the flesh." The pampered appetite, 
 like a spoiled child, is asked what new variety can 
 now be furnished to suit its capricious longings. 
 
 The world has also cultivated the social affec- 
 tions, and made a liberal provision for their gratifi- 
 cation. What ceaseless rounds of amusement ! What 
 crowded assemblies ! What exciting collision of 
 wit and repartee ! How has the human invention 
 been tasked to produce new forms of social inter- 
 course, by which men of varying tastes may mingle 
 with some hope of reciprocal pleasure ! 
 
 Nor have men been neglectful of the intellect. 
 
22 'WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 In every department of taste and of learning, multi- 
 tudes are found whose pleasures rise above those 
 just named ; for we hold that next to the moral 
 affections, the improvement of the intellect is the 
 purest source of human felicity. 
 
 But one class of desires still remains the moral 
 or immortal desires; and we again ask, Has the 
 world made any provision for them ? No man but 
 an atheist will deny to us the possession of such 
 desires ; nor can any with reason deny that they 
 are the most important, if not the most importu- 
 nate of our wants. The highest glory of man is 
 not that he is an animal, and therefore his highest 
 pleasure cannot lie in the gratification of the senses. 
 Nor is it his highest dignity that he is a social 
 being, for even the brute creation are, in a sense, 
 assimilated to him in this respect ; nor even that 
 he has an intellect capable of enjoying the pursuits 
 of science. No, his highest dignity and glory con- 
 sist in his moral nature ; and his most important 
 wants are those which respect immortality. And 
 yet it is a melancholy fact, that no provision is 
 made by the world for this class of desires ; but, 
 on the contrary, every expedient is adopted to thwart 
 and to suppress them. Here is certainly a great 
 deficiency. One part of our nature, arid that con- 
 fessedly the most important, is, in the general pro- 
 vision of the world for human happiness, entirely 
 
RELIGION SATISFIES THE SOUL- 23 
 
 overlooked and neglected. No wonder man is not 
 happy in the indulgence of his passions, that even 
 social bliss meets not his large desires, and intellec- 
 tual pursuits still leave him craving after some- 
 thing else. It is the voice of nature, complaining 
 that her noblest aspirations are unheeded ; and tak- 
 ing retribution for the neglect by withholding that 
 satisfaction which the sinner is striving in vain to 
 secure. Ye men of the world, ye sons and daugh- 
 ters of pleasure, look at this deficiency in your 
 arrangements, and know that until it is supplied 
 you cannot be at peace. Now the Christian has 
 this advantage over you, that while piety permits 
 him to enjoy all the pleasures of sense that are 
 lawful, and social felicity, and intellectual pursuits, 
 and enhances even these sources of good to man, 
 she also gives him the bread of life for the soul. 
 The immortal desires more than all others she 
 meets with the requisite aliment. Is this no advan- 
 tage ; and are these joys of the spirit no increase 
 in the general average of human felicity ? Ah, in 
 the language of Cowper, Christians can say, 
 
 u Prom thee is all that soothes the life of man j 
 His high endeavor, and his glad success, 
 His strength to suffer, and his will to serve. 
 But 0, thou bounteous Giver of all good, 
 Thou art of all thy gifts thyself the crown ! 
 Give what thou canst, without thee we are poor; 
 And with thee rich, take what thou wilt away." 
 
24 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE JOY OF TRUE PIETY. 
 
 ENOUGH has been said, we trust, to rescue true 
 piety from the aspersion so often cast upon it, that 
 it produces gloom and despondency. We hope that 
 none of our readers will again indulge such a 
 thought ; but if they discover in the countenance or 
 conduct of its professors any thing of this nature, 
 they will refer it to the influence of something else 
 besides piety. It may be the individual tempera- 
 ment, which by nature sad, is gradually assuming, 
 under the influence of religion, a more cheerful 
 tone ; or it may arise from some passing cloud which 
 has temporarily overshadowed the believer's mind ; 
 or, what is not uncommon, it may be a pensive and 
 sorrowful feeling in view of the folly and madness of 
 the careless, unthinking sinner. Impenitent reader, 
 the gloom which you charge upon religion is often 
 the outward sign of compassion for your soul. In- 
 terpret that look aright. Ascribe it not to piety, 
 except as she teaches her followers to pity the lost. 
 
 We shall attempt in the subsequent pages to lay 
 open THE SOURCES OF JOY AND FELICITY which the 
 believer possesses, and endeavor to show, that if a 
 Christian is not happy, it is from no deficiency in the 
 
JOY OF TRUE PIETY. 25 
 
 provision, nor in the means of obtaining it. We shall 
 take as our motto the exhortation of the apostle, 
 " Rejoice in the Lord always ; and again I say, 
 rejoice." Here we are explicitly directed to be 
 cheerful, happy, yea, even joyful. We are required 
 to exhibit our religion under a pleasing aspect, to 
 wear a smile even when others would weep, and to 
 sing our song of triumph when others would sink in 
 despair. Is piety, then, at war with nature ? no, 
 she only sustains nature under the burdens which 
 our apostate state has laid upon it. Religion forbids 
 not the heart to melt for sorrows felt or witnessed. 
 The tears that dropped into the grave of Lazarus 
 affirm this. But the sympathies of the man only 
 set off to the more advantage the moral support of 
 the Christian; and while nature is dissolved in 
 grief, piety is near to wipe the falling tear, and 
 throw around the soul her all-supporting arms. 
 There is no stoicism in religion. But her joy is 
 calm, not boisterous ; and her sympathies deep in 
 proportion to the real amount of suffering experi- 
 enced or anticipated. 
 
 Nevertheless, it is the duty of all true Christians 
 to evince to the world that their religion has taken 
 off from the soul the garments of mourning, and 
 clothed it in the spirit of gladness. How little of 
 this rejoicing has been heard in the tabernacles of 
 the righteous. How few Christians have felt that 
 
26 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 the apostle's exhortation comes to them with any 
 thing like an imperative obligation personally to 
 rejoice. Hence it is not surprising that the notion 
 has obtained among the irreligious that Christians 
 are gloomy ; and now, if we would wipe off from 
 piety this aspersion, we must put on a new aspect, 
 and give vent to our religious feelings in songs of 
 praise and thanksgiving. But mark, Christian 
 reader, we are not in favor of a forced or artificial 
 joy. If our joy is in God, and is the natural efflux 
 of pious emotion, it will then give a right impres- 
 sion, and be admitted to come from a divine source. 
 It appears evident that piety, to have its full 
 effect upon the world, must come forth to the eyes 
 of men with more of its joyous spirit. By this we 
 do not mean that it must relax one iota of its strict- 
 ness, nor subtract one particle from the weight of 
 that cross which it imposes. It is not our aim to 
 exchange its cheerfulness for levity, nor its absti- 
 nence from worldly gayeties for a participation in 
 them. Its joy then would not surely be in God. 
 But we intend to urge the importance of having 
 the soul so imbued with the love of God and man, 
 ^o settled in its own confidence of salvation, so 
 full of heavenly hopes and anticipations, so dead 
 to the world and so independent of its delights, that 
 it shall wear something of a celestial air, and im- 
 press men with both the reality and the purity of 
 
JOY OF TRUE PIETY. 27 
 
 its joy. In our day it seems, alas, as if this bright 
 feature was but seldom fully developed. Where is 
 to be found the happy Christian? Where is the 
 soul whose devotions partake more of the rapturous 
 than the complaining spirit ? On whose face now 
 beams the smile of gladness ? Who lives so near 
 to heaven's bright regions as to have his features 
 gilded with its reflected glories ? Surely religion 
 is designed, and has the power thus to irradiate 
 every soul on whom her influence falls. She comes 
 from heaven, the region of felicity, to conduct the 
 soul out of these " dismal deeps and dangerous 
 snares," to fill it with joy unspeakable, and to guide 
 it where no sorrows can ever be experienced. Who 
 then should wear a brighter countenance than the 
 Christian ? Who has a right to sing such exulting 
 strains, or to indulge in such glorious anticipations ? 
 With all due allowance for the varying tempera- 
 ments of the pious, we still think that there is less 
 Christian joy than the Bible warrants and even 
 commands. 
 
 Look at the example of the apostle Paul, who, 
 though pressed with more care and encompassed 
 with more infirmities than any of his pious col- 
 leagues, exhibited this joyous spirit throughout his 
 whole Christian course. I will challenge the gayest 
 child of vanity to a comparison with him. Yiew 
 him when and where you will, he is the same buoy- 
 
28 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 ant and happy saint, whose deep, ardent piety, like 
 a talisman, doubles every joy, and converts even 
 the occasions of sorrow into seasons of spiritual tri- 
 umph. " Rejoicing in tribulation" was one of his 
 m ottos. What says earth's votary to this ? The 
 worldling can be happy when all goes well with 
 him. He can exult amid the prosperities of life ; 
 but cast him with the apostle into Philippi's dun- 
 geon, or place him at Nero's bloody tribunal, and 
 see if his joy will hold out there. 
 
 Piety has other signal triumphs to name. We 
 may, even in our day, point to a Legh Richmond, 
 whose soul for the most part sent forth notes "cheer- 
 ful as the bird of morning ;" or to Hannah More, 
 whose natural gayety of temper, sanctified by emi- 
 nent piety, diffused around her a most attractive 
 charm. Her example, were there no other, should 
 wipe away for ever two very unjust charges some- 
 times brought against piety, namely, that it influ- 
 ences only weak minds, and overshadows the soul 
 with gloom and despondency. 
 
PIOUS JOY ENJOINED. 29 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PIOUS JOY ENJOINED IN THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 As the writer is addressing principally professing 
 Christians, it is proper to inquire of them if they 
 have ever considered the numerous calls and com- 
 mands from Scripture to the exercise of pious joy ? 
 It must have occurred to every reader of the Bible 
 how often this duty is inculcated ; and it must have 
 rather puzzled him to find among all his Christian 
 acquaintance so partial a compliance. 
 
 In its very name, the religion of the gospel is 
 good tidings of great joy. All its promises and 
 prospects are gladdening to the soul. Every fea- 
 ture is radiant with heaven's brightness. The 
 highly figurative descriptions of it given us in scrip- 
 ture all represent its joyous tendency. It is a foun- 
 tain opened for the way-worn and thirsty traveller, 
 and mercy's angel seems to stand at its brink, cry- 
 ing, " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the 
 waters." Nor is this fountain unsealed merely to 
 refresh the soul, it is also designed as a healing 
 stream. Judah and Jerusalem are invited to come 
 and wash away their pollution in its purifying flood. 
 How strongly speak these figures of the joyous char- 
 acter of the gospel. Fully to appreciate them, we 
 
30 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 must go pitch our tent with the Arab in the desert, 
 whose parched lips have just touched the long- 
 sought stream ; or creep with the half-decayed 
 leper to the pool of Bethesda, where his foul dis- 
 order can be healed. 
 
 It is called "the day-spring from on high," than 
 which no symbol could be more lovely or cheering. 
 It is termed the "light to them that sit in dark- 
 ness ;" it is the " opening of the prison doors to 
 them that are bound." It is " life from the dead.' 1 
 It is "joy unspeakable and full of glory." How 
 rich is the Scripture in imagery setting forth the 
 gladdening influence of piety. It is natural, then, 
 to look for this effect, wherever it is experienced; 
 and it is no forced inference to say, that all these 
 figures imply, if they do not enjoin, the exercise of 
 pious joy. 
 
 I have alluded to Paul as a fine specimen of the 
 uniformly cheerful saint. I will join with him one 
 whose experience was not perhaps so uniform, but 
 whose pious joys rose occasionally, if not constantly, 
 quite as high. I mean the psalmist David. There 
 may have been something in the temperament of 
 David, on which religion acted with a peculiar and 
 impressive gracefulness. Judging from the account 
 given us of his early life, we should very naturally 
 conclude this to be the case. How lovely is his 
 deportment when first introduced to the notice, and 
 
PIOUS JOY ENJOINED. 31 
 
 taken under the patronage of Saul. What strength 
 of affection did he manifest towards Jonathan ! He 
 had evidently, too, a soul attuned to the contempla- 
 tion of nature. He was trained amid her glorious 
 works, and learned to sing, with a poet's exulta- 
 tion, of her heauties and her wonders. But all 
 these traits, which nature had so amply supplied 
 and adjusted, were sanctified by religion, and were 
 wholly enlisted in her service. From such a one, 
 I admit, we might expect a more than ordinary 
 amount of Christian cheerfulness. If we judge his 
 emotions hy the devotional strains which he has 
 indited, we shall say that he excels all others in 
 the rapturous and even sublime joy which, for the 
 most part, he evinces. " My soul shall make her 
 boast in the Lord : the humble shall hear thereof 
 and be glad. 0, magnify the Lord with me, and 
 let us exalt his name together." " I will rejoice in 
 thy salvation." Nor was he satisfied with express- 
 ing in such elevated strains his oivn gladness of 
 heart, but he calls upon others to join in this de- 
 lightful work. " Rejoice in the Lord, ye right- 
 eous, for praise is comely for the upright." " Let 
 them that love thy name be joyful in thee." " Let 
 the children of Zion be joyful in their King." And 
 when he has enlisted the voice and tongue of Zion's 
 children, he next invokes inanimate nature to unite 
 in the general concert of praise. " Let the sea 
 
32 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they 
 that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their 
 hands : let the hills be joyful together before the 
 Lord." 
 
 It is true, a plaintive and sometimes even a 
 deeply desponding tone is exhibited in the Psalms, 
 but the general tenor is that of confidence and of 
 joy. Even where, in some instances, the writer 
 commences in a mournful strain, ere his song is 
 ended the sentiment changes to one of heavenly 
 rapture. 
 
 With respect to David it may then be said, he 
 lived, for the most part, in a happy frame ; and 
 that his joy was derived from, and was connected 
 with the love and service of God. 
 
 Other instances of a uniformly joyful frame 
 might be gathered from scripture, and also from 
 among Christians in modern times ; but I would 
 ask the reader to look at a few passages of the 
 Bible setting forth the duty of manifesting a cheer- 
 ful, happy temper, as the legitimate effect of true 
 piety. 
 
 The Scriptures are so full of exhortations of this 
 nature that I scarcely know where to select. In 
 the book of Chronicles, Israel is commanded to 
 " glory in God's holy name;" and it is added, " let 
 the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord." In 
 Deuteronomy it is said, " Ye shall rejoice before 
 
PIOUS JOY ENJOINED. 33 
 
 the Lord your God." Says the prophet Joel, " Ye 
 children of Zion, rejoice in the Lord." Paul has 
 numerous exhortations to rejoice. In closing his 
 epistle to the Philippians he says, " Finally, my 
 brethren, rejoice in the Lord." " Rejoice in the 
 Lord always ; and again I say, Rejoice." 
 
 These examples and quotations make it plain 
 that the truly pious are not only authorized to put 
 on the air of gladness, but are required as the re- 
 deemed of the Lord to manifest this spirit before 
 the world. Every thing in the visible universe 
 calls the Christian to this duty. Nature, by audible 
 and inaudible strains, should provoke us to the 
 manifestation of our joy. The flower that has 
 slept beneath the dews of the night lifts up its 
 head and seems to smile as the sunbeam of morn- 
 ing falls upon it. The sky is bright and joyous 
 after the dark cloud has rolled away, and count- 
 less voices come to us from earth and air, whose 
 cheerful accents tell us that if their joy be transient 
 it is nevertheless sincere. Now, shall the Chris- 
 tian, whose soul has wept sweeter tears than the 
 dews of the night, and has been enlivened by a 
 brighter beam than the morning ray, shall he refuse 
 to look glad ? Shall he from whose prospects the 
 dark cloud of God's anger has passed away for ever, 
 give no sign of joy fulness ; nor, while listening 
 with the ear of faith to the melodies of heaven, in 
 
 Who are Happy t 3 
 
34 WHO ARE THE HAPPYT 
 
 which he hopes soon to unite, hegin the hallelujahs 
 on this side of his eternal rest ? Shall the power 
 of God awaken in the natural world such strains 
 of joy ; and shall this great merey he less influen- 
 tial in rilling the soul which it has blessed with 
 the praises of its God ? 
 
FOUNDATION OF PIOUS JOY. 35 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FOUNDATION OF PIOUS JOY. 
 
 EVERY effect has its cause ; and this principle is 
 as applicable to the emotions of the soul as to the 
 phenomena of the material world. If there be 
 exercised a pious joy, it must have some source or 
 origin. The apostle Paul has referred it to the true 
 and legitimate cause. He says, " Rejoice in the 
 LORD." The foundation, then, of pious joy is GOD, 
 the infinite source of all true felicity. The numer- 
 ous passages of Scripture already cited, especially 
 those from the psalmist, evince the same truth. 
 " Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous, and give thanks 
 at the remembrance of his holiness." 
 
 Pious joy is not confined to the redeemed chil- 
 dren of Adam, but is felt and manifested by all the 
 holy. The good angels are no less exultant than 
 the ransomed, who are associated with them in 
 singing the hallelujahs of heaven. But the source 
 of this gladness, both among angels and men, is the 
 same. It is the great and glorious God. 
 
 When Adam was created, and placed a pure 
 being in the garden of Eden, we may suppose that 
 as one of his first acts would be holy praise, so one 
 of his first emotions would be pious joy. But if we 
 
36 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 imagine that his joy came simply or principally 
 from the fragrant beauties which surrounded him, 
 we are greatly mistaken. Such a conception would 
 not he in harmony with the character of God his 
 Creator, nor with the exalted and unsullied char- 
 acter of Adam. His outward circumstances en- 
 hanced, doubtless, his happiness; hut this effect 
 they had as media, through which to trace the wis- 
 dom and goodness of God. We should infer from 
 the scripture account of our first parents, that 
 while their occupation was to dress and to keep 
 this earthly paradise, their purest and noblest satis- 
 faction consisted in intimate communion with God. 
 Earth was then but one form of heaven, adapted 
 indeed to the compound nature of man, but varying 
 not from heaven in the essentials of its happiness, 
 nor obstructing as now a free and familiar inter- 
 course with Jehovah. Hence, we find the Almighty 
 conversing with Adam as one converses with his 
 friend ; giving out his commands, promising his 
 favors, and affording the blissful light of his coun- 
 tenance. " In the cool of the day," by some pal- 
 pable manifestation he made himself known to his 
 new-created subjects, and filled their souls with 
 "joy unspeakable." It was doubtless to this glad 
 hour that our first parents daily looked with most 
 delightful anticipations, and in it felt their purest 
 rapture. But Eden was no longer bright or beau- 
 
FOUNDATION OF PIOUS JOY. 37 
 
 tiful when that hour became a season of dread, 
 and the guilty pair shrunk from the well-known 
 footsteps of their Creator. Their greatest happi- 
 ness 'before their fall, was in God ; and their keenest 
 misery after it, was, that they had " forsaken the 
 fountain of living waters." Milton has put into 
 the mouth of our maternal progenitor a very beau- 
 tiful and touching lamentation over her lost para- 
 dise. The poet, in this, has spoken the voice of 
 nature ; but it is, alas, the voice of fallen nature, 
 which is prone to be more touched by a deprivation 
 of the gift than by any deep sense of the forfeited 
 favor of the great Giver. 
 
 Since that sad event which drove man away 
 from his Maker, we have been striving to substi- 
 tute some other foundation of felicity; but never 
 can true and substantial joy revisit the soul, until 
 that soul regains its primitive portion, and finds its 
 all in GOD. 
 
 The remedial system which the gospel of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ presents, has in. view this very 
 object : the restoration of the divine favor, whereby 
 a permanent foundation is laid for human felicity. 
 It is true, this blessed gospel does not propose to 
 replant literally another Eden, and to embower 
 believers among its amaranthine shades ; but it 
 does what is infinitely better, it places under the 
 soul the original foundation of its joy; and by 
 
38 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 reclaiming it to God, gives it the promise and the 
 prospect of a brighter paradise above. And now 
 we may walk again with our Maker " in the cool 
 of the day," in the evening hour of meditation, or 
 at any time which the soul may choose, and feel 
 as real, if not as exuberant a joy as glowed in the 
 hearts of Eden's unfallen occupants. We may now 
 cast our eyes over the Creator's works, which, if 
 disrobed of primeval loveliness, are still his works, 
 and retain the signature of his hand in all their 
 outspread beauties and sublimities. We may sur- 
 vey these wonders, and rejoice in them as the 
 manifest indications of his godhead. We are in- 
 vited to come back from our unsatisfied wanderings, 
 and to rebuild on the original foundation of all true 
 joy and felicity. Ever since Adam was cast out of 
 the consecrated garden, man has not known where 
 to go for this pure and substantial joy. How many 
 streams have been tasted in the hope of finding 
 it ; how many countries have been explored ; what 
 a variety of pleasures have been pursued ! But 
 man is driven from the presence of God. This is 
 the true secret of all his cares and sorrows. This 
 explains the failure of his ten thousand experi- 
 ments. Until he gets back to the presence of his 
 God he has no right to rejoice, and he has in fact 
 no true foundation for joy. But Oh, what glad 
 tidings are these that fall on the ear ! Methinks I 
 
FOUNDATION OF PIOUS JOY. 39 
 
 hear again the renewed congratulations of the angel 
 band, assuring us that " the second Adam, the Lord 
 from heaven," has come to conduct us back to our 
 forfeited paradise ; or rather to reopen the celestial 
 Eden, and acquire for us a title to its imperishable 
 glories. Now God will dwell again on earth, and 
 the soul may find in him the broad foundation of 
 peace and happiness. And who is this that turns 
 aside th^ cherubic sword and allows us to pluck 
 the immortal fruits, and breathe once more the 
 atmosphere of heaven ? To whom are we so deeply 
 indebted for the restoration of our joy ? Ah, reader, 
 if you have never known this Friend of the help- 
 less, this almighty Saviour, you cannot know what 
 pure and perfect pleasure is. You have not yet 
 touched the vital spring of human felicity. But if 
 you know this Saviour, and feel him to be precious 
 to your soul, you have found your way to the well- 
 spring of life, and can " rejoice in the hope of the 
 glory of God," 
 
 " Dearer, far dearer to my heart, 
 
 Than all the joys that earth can give; 
 From fame, from health, from friends I'd part, 
 Beneath His countenance to live," 
 
40 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE JOY OF BELIEVING- IN GOD. 
 
 SINCE the joy of the Christian has its foundation 
 in God, the reader's attention may very properly 
 be directed to some particular aspects in which 
 this position is illustrated. 
 
 The first which shall be noticed is a very simple 
 one the habitual and practical conviction of the 
 divine existence. I am not disposed, in these pages, 
 to enter into any formal argument against atheism, 
 but would remark simply, that while the avowed 
 atheist is rarely to be met with, there is, among 
 many who style themselves Christians, a vast deal 
 of practical atheism. 
 
 The effect, in this latter case, on the happiness 
 of man, is very little less than where the disbelief 
 of a God is openly avowed. If the soul is wholly 
 absorbed from day to day, for a series of years, in 
 the mere business or pleasures of the world, it is 
 leading, so far, an atheistical life. The fact that 
 no profession of this monstrous doctrine is made, 
 abates but in a small degree the influence which 
 the practice of it exerts over the moral affections. 
 There is indeed this point of difference : in the one 
 case the individual feels but little check upon an 
 unrestrained indulgence of the evil passions, while 
 
JOY OF BELIEVING IN GOD. 41 
 
 in the other there is the power of conscience strength- 
 ening its rebukes by a vague impression of future 
 retribution. 
 
 Now we admit, that until the soul can have 
 some reasonable hope that God is its friend and 
 portion, the habitual conviction of the divine exist- 
 ence can hardly be supposed to produce pleasure, 
 much less joy. If the individual is conscious that 
 his course of conduct is such as God would not 
 approve ; or if his desires are such as he is unwill- 
 ing to lay before the omniscient eye, it must be 
 evident, that instead of finding in the idea of God's 
 eternal existence any thing agreeable, it is the 
 source of much disquiet and alarm. Hence it is 
 said of such in the Scriptures, that " they desire not 
 the knowledge of his ways." 
 
 But while the idea of God is shut out intention- 
 ally from the minds of those who may be termed 
 practical atheists, whose attention is confined to 
 the gifts, while it is impiously withdrawn from the 
 Giver, the pious soul delights in the very thought 
 of God, and finds in this grand fundamental fact a 
 substantial foundation of joy. 
 
 The conception of God, inadequate as it must of 
 course be, even where the Bible has taught it, and 
 the Spirit has cleared the " mental ray," is never- 
 theless one so well adapted to the soul's nature and 
 desires, that it produces a powerful augmentation 
 
42 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 of its happiness. This, I repeat, is the case only 
 where the soul has some reasonable hope that the 
 great Creator has become reconciled to it through 
 Jesus Christ. The truly pious, therefore, have, in 
 the habitual conviction of the- divine existence, a 
 sublime and glorious conception lying before the 
 mind at all times, and operating upon its powers 
 to enlarge them, and upon its desires to purify and 
 ennoble them. Here is an advantage in favor of 
 piety which is not often contemplated. Other men 
 may talk of their belief in God, but so long as they 
 aim to keep this grand idea away from their thoughts, 
 it does not exert even its natural effect to enlarge 
 and ennoble the powers. The Christian is in the 
 daily contemplation of this fact.- The grand con- 
 ception is operating perpetually, and must hence 
 give dignity and compass to the soul's faculties, 
 while at the same time the moral affections are 
 awakened and purified. 
 
 Every pious man delights in the idea of the 
 divine existence. It not only enlarges but rejoices 
 his heart. There is the accompanying conviction 
 that God is his portion, his father, and his friend. 
 This filial spirit abates the overpowering impression 
 which so great a truth would otherwise exert, and 
 enables him to mingle holy love with reverential 
 fear. It is with the good man an habitual, pervad- 
 ing impression. God is " in all his thoughts." 
 
JOY OF BELIEVING IN GOD. 43 
 
 The universe is to him illuminated with the divine 
 presence. He has lifted his contemplations above 
 the region where they used to dwell, and finds 
 himself searching for God in every event of life, 
 and marking his footsteps in all the changes which 
 take place in this mutable sphere. Who cannot 
 see that such a thought must necessarily afford a 
 ground of exultation to the Christian ? Let any 
 mind now buried amid earth's low cares and pleas- 
 ures, making all its calculations and laying all 
 its plans without a recognition of God, or even a 
 thought of his presence and government let this 
 mind come fully and habitually under the belief of 
 a God, and begin to acknowledge him in all its 
 ways, what a calm confidence will at once over- 
 spread it, and how soon will it evince a dignity to 
 which it was before a stranger. There is some- 
 thing sublime in the idea of an ever-present, all- 
 pervading God. It gives the soul that holds it a 
 stability which no vicissitudes of earth can under- 
 mine. It plants the feet upon a rock. It enables 
 the devout man to sing and to rejoice even when 
 the prospect is appalling. He goes forth, too, 
 among the works of this great Creator, and holds 
 converse with every thing which God has made. 
 Every such object has a tongue and a voice which 
 ministers instruction to the soul. Where the poet 
 sees only some fine combination in nature, he adds 
 
44 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 to it the vital breathings of the present and glo- 
 rious God. While the philosopher exults in the 
 newly discovered analysis, the Christian says, " Here 
 is the finger of God." Multitudes, "with brute, 
 unconscious gaze," are dwelling only on the in- 
 trinsic value of nature's gifts : the contemplative 
 Christian adds a new and moral charm by con- 
 necting them with that hand which " openeth to 
 satisfy the desire of every living thing." Is there 
 no advantage in all this ? Has not the pious soul 
 a greater and more sublime source of joy than those 
 grovelling minds who, while they deny not the 
 being of God in words, do practically eject him 
 from their thoughts. Atheistical conduct may exist 
 where an atheistical creed is not adopted ; but to 
 have a full perennial fountain of joy, we must have 
 the habitual conviction that there is a God, that 
 he is ever-present, and that he is our friend and 
 portion. 
 
JOY IN GOD'S CHARACTER. 45 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PIOUS JOY CONNECTED WITH PROPER CONCEPTIONS 
 OF THE DIVINE CHARACTER. 
 
 THE good man rejoices, not only in the existence 
 of God, but in his character as revealed in the 
 Bible. Taught by the Holy Spirit through the 
 medium of divine truth, his views of the Creator, 
 though inadequate, are nevertheless correct. 
 
 We may believe in a supreme Being, and yet so 
 wide from the truth may be our views of his nature, 
 attributes, and government, that the contemplation 
 of him shall produce horror and dismay rather than 
 pleasure. Such unworthy impressions of God arc 
 actually entertained in countries where the light of 
 revelation is not enjoyed. The thought of God 
 carries only terror to the soul, and his worshippers 
 are employed in deprecating his anger rather than 
 in supplicating his favor. The loveliest trait of the 
 divine character if it be not irreverent to institute 
 a comparison his beneficence, is unknown, and he 
 is considered as more disposed to injure than to bless 
 his creatures. 
 
 And even where men may know the true char- 
 acter of God where the Bible and the Sabbath 
 and the sanctuary exist very incorrect and un- 
 
46 WHO ARE THE. HAPPY? 
 
 worthy notions of him are entertained. Those " who 
 obey not the gospel, know not God." "With the 
 means of informing themselves abundantly within 
 their reach, tjiey prefer to remain in ignorance ; and 
 all the impressions which they obtain of his char- 
 acter, are such as come rather by the force of cir- 
 cumstances than by any prayerful and diligent study 
 of his word. 
 
 The impenitent sinner, even when contemplating 
 God, takes but a partial view of his character. Find- 
 ing that he has levelled his denunciations against 
 sin, and made ready his arrow against the workers 
 of iniquity, he is led to view him only as a God of 
 vengeance, and like the heathen, to associate with 
 him the idea of malignity rather than benevolence. 
 Hence, he is surprised that a Christian can have 
 any joy in the contemplation of the Deity; and 
 hence also, he strives to shu.t out the thought of God 
 from his own mind. But here is clearly a very 
 partial and incorrect notion of the Creator. 
 
 It is true that God will punish the workers of 
 iniquity who do not repent and trust for salvation 
 in his Son Jesus Christ ; but is this any objection 
 to his character ? Would you allege as an unworthy 
 trait against a civil magistrate, that he caused the 
 laws to be respected, and for their violation pun- 
 ished the delinquent ? It might be shown that, on 
 the principles of the strictest benevolence, it would 
 
JOY IN GOD'S CHARACTER. 47 
 
 be necessary for God to do in this respect ]ust as he 
 has done. Now, what the unreflecting sinner calls 
 severity in God, the Christian views as the essen- 
 tial and all-important attribute of justice ; and so 
 far from objecting to its existence or its exercise, 
 he looks upon it as the pledge of security to the 
 moral interests of the universe. He can and does 
 rejoice in God as holy and just, as well as good. 
 
 The views entertained of the divine beneficence 
 by those who are not taught of God, are often very 
 incorrect and unscriptural. Some make it wholly 
 indiscriminate, alleging that it covers all the sins 
 of all mankind, and in its ultimate action makes no 
 difference " between him that serveth God and him 
 that serveth him not." To exalt this trait, they 
 merge another equally important, his justice. This 
 is evidently a very distorted and erroneous view of 
 the divine character. Some can see no goodness 
 in God unless he heaps favors on themselves. The 
 measure of his blessings to them is the rule by 
 which they judge of the gracious acts of their Cre- 
 ator ; not reflecting that according to the Bible, he 
 may after all be giving them their good things only 
 in this life. 
 
 How much more comprehensive, as well as cor- 
 rect and scriptural, are the views of the pious soul. 
 His Bible teaches him that God is good, and that 
 he doeth good, and that " his tender mercies are 
 
48 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 over aJ his works. " He views him as benevolent, 
 and as exerting his benevolence to make his crea- 
 tures happy, yet not at the sacrifice of his justice 
 and his truth. He considers the divine Being as 
 acting on a great and comprehensive plan, in which. 
 though temporal favors are given to men with ap- 
 parent disregard to their moral character, yet all 
 things are working together for the good of the 
 pious ; while even temporal blessings are often so 
 perverted and abused by the wicked, that they be- 
 come at last the witnesses of God against them. 
 To the eye of a Christian, God sits regent over all 
 the universe, and conducts the affairs of his mighty 
 empire with a view to promote his own glory. It 
 is this enlarged conception which enables the Chris- 
 tian to exult in the fact, that " the Lord God on> 
 nipotent reigneth." Sovereignty is a glorious attri- 
 bute of God. Wisdom to devise the best plans, and 
 power omnipotent to secure their accomplishment, 
 and this too without destroying the accountability 
 of man, or lessening his dependence on divine aid, 
 are the grand and mysterious features of that govern- 
 ment instituted and administered by the Eternal 
 One. Is there here no room for joy ? Has the soul 
 no solid basis for praises in all this ? Have not 
 these views a direct tendency to establish the heart 
 in confidence, to make it feel that the temporary 
 obstructions to the triumph of truth and virtue 
 
JOY IN GOD'S CHARACTER 49 
 
 will only, in the end, and under the jurisdiction of 
 God, make that triumph the more complete and 
 glorious ? 
 
 To rejoice in God, we must view his character as 
 it is revealed in his holy word we must have 
 affections in unison with it we must feel that 
 inward approbation and submission and love which 
 result from the renewal of the Holy Ghost ; and 
 then, not only shall we entertain right views of 
 God, but the conception will act on the soul with 
 a cheering, as well as a sanctifying influence. 
 
 Who are Happy I 
 
50 WHO ARE THE HAITY ? 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE RELATION OF PIOUS JOY TO THE DOCTRINE OP 
 PROVIDENCE. 
 
 THE Bible teaches the doctrine of a particular 
 providence. " Not a sparrow," says Jesus, " shall 
 fall on the ground without your Father ;" and 
 " even the very hairs of your head are all num- 
 bered." " The steps of a good man," says another, 
 11 are ordered by the Lord." This doctrine is, by 
 the pious man, not only believed, but practically 
 recognized in all the business and events of life ; 
 and it is this practical recognition alone that con- 
 stitutes it a foundation of joy. 
 
 How many are there who do not sympathize 
 in the least with this view of divine providence. 
 They are willing to install the great Creator on the 
 universal throne, and pay him the homage due to 
 a distant and comparatively uninterested monarch 
 too lofty to stoop to the affairs of men, and too 
 much absorbed in his vast empire above, to inter- 
 fere in the concerns of this diminutive sphere. 
 Hence, we hear so much of chance, of fortune, of 
 second causes, and so little of the divine hand, in 
 the vicissitudes of nations and of individuals. 
 
 But what say ye, who thus think and act, to the 
 
JOY IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE. 51 
 
 view which, our Saviour gives us ? The bird that 
 folds its wing and falls to the earth, or that is 
 arrested by the archer's arrow and drops bleeding 
 to the ground, is directed in its fall by the hand of 
 God. Yea, even the hairs of our head, insignificant 
 as they may singly seem, are still noticed and num- 
 bered by the Almighty. Not a step that we take, 
 nor a purpose that we accomplish, do we take or 
 accomplish independent of him. What say ye to 
 this view of a divine providence ? This is the view 
 that brings God near ; that acknowledges his hand 
 in the minutest affairs of life, and yet derogates not 
 from his dignity as the maker and mover of the 
 spheres. He who lighted up the sun, formed the 
 moth that bathes its beauteous wing in the bright 
 sunbeam; and that insect existence as truly de- 
 monstrates the infinitude of his power, as does 
 the great fountain of light in whose radiance it 
 rejoices. 
 
 The pious mind embraces this scriptural doctrine 
 of a particular providence, and finds it both con- 
 solatory and encouraging. In all that relates to 
 the external world its physical changes, and its 
 great moral and political events the good man is 
 busy in interpreting the will of God. Where other 
 men are prying into second causes, and noticing 
 their influence alone, he traces the finger of Provi- 
 dence operating through these causes in the pro- 
 
52 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 duction of the highest good. Here, his advantage 
 must be conceded in having, above others, his 
 heart fixed on the great First Cause, whose fiat 
 is the law of the universe, and whose power, wis- 
 dom, and goodness, are pledges for the rectitude of 
 his government. Let then the clouds rise ever so 
 dark and disastrous ; "let the sea roar, and the 
 mountains shake with the swelling thereof," he 
 can sit calm amid the scene, and sing of Him 
 who, though " clouds and darkness be round about 
 him," makes "justice and judgment the habitation 
 of his throne." 
 
 But it is in view more especially of his own pri- 
 vate history that the Christian finds this idea of a 
 particular providence so productive of joy. From 
 his infancy onward he sees and acknowledges the 
 hand of his heavenly Father. He turns back to 
 the first page of his earthly existence, and loves to 
 read a lesson of gratitude in the parents whose 
 affectionate looks awakened the first infant smile. 
 He marks a hand divine thrown around him during 
 the reckless period of youth, and pointing out his 
 path as he emerged from youth into manhood. 
 Even disappointments which, at the time of their 
 occurrence, were so hard to bear, in the retrospect 
 he sees to have been ordained from a kind regard 
 to his real good. How often is he constrained to 
 sing, in the beautiful lines of Addison, 
 
JOY IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE. 53 
 
 " When all thy mercies, my God, 
 
 My rising soul surveys, 
 Transported with the view, I'm lost 
 In wonder, love, and praise. 
 
 " Thy providence my life sustained, 
 
 And all my wants redressed, 
 When in the silent womb I lay, 
 And hung upon the breast. 
 
 " To all my weak complaints and cries, 
 
 Thy mercy lent an ear, 
 Ere yet my feeble thoughts had learned 
 To form themselves in prayer. 
 
 "When in the slippery paths of youth 
 
 With heedless steps I ran, 
 Thine arm unseen conveyed me safe, 
 And led me up to man.' 7 
 
 It is a practical impression of this unseen hand 
 moving in all that happens to the heliever, admin- 
 istering the cup of joy and of affliction, and all for 
 his ultimate good, that throws over the soul a 
 quiet confidence, and enahles it in " every situation 
 therewith to be content." His heavenly Father is 
 at the helm, and no adverse wind that blows, or 
 threatening waves that rise, can excite a fear in 
 his trustful heart. If the wisdom that looked to 
 " the end from the beginning," that laid the plan 
 of the universe in all its minute circumstances, as 
 well as its grand results, is busied in shaping his 
 
64 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 lot in life ; and if the power that is omnipotent is 
 also, under the guidance of eternal love, employed 
 in carrying out these designs if this be so, as he 
 firmly believes, how calm and thankful, yea, even 
 joyous, must he his feelings. Then must every 
 blessing be viewed as from the hand of God ; and 
 even disappointment be interpreted as an inexpli- 
 cable yet certain token of the divine favor, which is 
 to be overruled for the greater good of the soul. 
 Now who can deny that such a doctrine puts the 
 language of praise as well as of prayer into the 
 lips, and enables him who believes it to " rejoice in 
 the Lord always ?" If the father of a numerous 
 family is known to be wise in all his domestic 
 arrangements ; exact in their accomplishment ; 
 blending patriarchal dignity with paternal love ; 
 ever seeking the good of his household ; and con- 
 triving a thousand affectionate ways to win their 
 confidence and increase their respect and affection ; 
 how certain that such a household will be pervaded 
 by a lovely and joyous spirit. Even the discipline 
 of that house will wear the aspect of tenderness, 
 and every inmate will be watching for the return- 
 ing smile upon the brow, as the signal for a renewal 
 of their gladness. If domestic trials come, all will 
 turn their confident expectations to the head. In 
 his wisdom they have a pledge that every thing 
 will be done which can be done ; and in his affec- 
 
JOY IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE. 55 
 
 tion an equally sure pledge that what is done will 
 have a respect to their interests. 
 
 Now this but faintly images the confidence in 
 God's providence which spreads such satisfaction 
 and joy over the soul of a pious man. As one of a 
 numerous family, he knows that while every inci- 
 dent is ordered and arranged by the great Head for 
 the good of the whole, yet each individual's good is 
 included in, and is conducive to the good of the 
 whole. He will therefore be ever deciphering, 
 among the vicissitudes of his journey, the tokens of 
 divine favor which blend in with all that he enjoys 
 and all that he suffers. In his passage to the 
 eternal rest, not one inch will be too thorny, nor 
 one moment too dark. No cup will be too bitter 
 when he is convinced that his heavenly Father 
 has given it to him to drink ; but breasting himself 
 against the flood of evils which he may be called to 
 meet, or rather strengthened by divine grace cheer- 
 fully to bear what divine Providence has justly 
 assigned, he will go on his way rejoicing in the 
 full belief that all things will at last work together 
 for his good. 
 
56 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE JOY OF SALVATION. 
 
 IN the remarks already made, it has been implied, 
 as the reader will perceive, that he who rejoices in 
 God is one who is through divine mercy reconciled 
 to him. In one word, he is in a state of salvation. 
 This new relation which the soul sustains to its 
 Creator and Sovereign is the grand source of its 
 highest felicities ; and the consciousness of this 
 change, together with the exercises which grow out 
 of it, affords the most heartfelt joy. This is the joy 
 of salvation. 
 
 It is this great change, together with the effects 
 of it on the heart and life, on the hopes and pros- 
 pects, that distinguishes the truly pious from those 
 who are unconverted. To know what this change 
 is, and properly to appreciate its benign effects in 
 the production of human happiness, it is necessary 
 personally to experience it. " The natural man," 
 says St. Paul, " receiveth not the things of the 
 Spirit of God." 
 
 Let those then speak of the blessedness of this 
 state who through divine grace have enjoyed it ; 
 and let none question the truth of their testimony, 
 nor the sincerity of their professions. 
 
JOY OF SALVATION. 57 
 
 The very term salvation implies subject matter 
 for joy and praise. But the depth of the emotion 
 must depend in some degree on the amount of evil 
 from which the soul perceives itself to have been 
 rescued. If a man is delivered from a state of 
 mere ignorance, he would naturally rejoice in the 
 change. Now, if the gospel simply revealed a 
 clearer dispensation, and unfolded some new moral 
 motives the only view, alas, which many take it 
 would cause, in a mind anxious to acquire religious 
 knowledge, a spring of fresh delight. But it will 
 be seen that, in this case, nothing more is conceded 
 to the gospel than an increase of moral light. The 
 joy, therefore, if real, cannot be so deep as it will 
 be according to another and more scriptural view 
 which we present. 
 
 Suppose the individual, in addition to being in a 
 state of ignorance, to be also in a state of guilt and 
 condemnation. He mourns not only that he is in 
 darkness, but that he is in the " bonds of iniquity." 
 He finds within an evil heart of unbelief, a heart 
 of stone, a deep-seated alienation from God, which, 
 according to the principles of the divine govern- 
 ment, renders him liable to everlasting death ; nay, 
 G od has already actually passed upon him the sen- 
 tence of condemnation. The individual, we say, 
 has a conviction of all this, which mars every 
 earthly pleasure, and fixes his thoughts intensely 
 
58 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 on his doom. It is a conviction which saddens and 
 depresses the soul, and incapacitates it for the enjoy- 
 ment of those things which the world covets and 
 esteems. Now, mark, this is not religion, but a 
 deep sense of the need of it. The indiscriminate 
 observer sometimes confounds this anterior state of 
 anxiety with religion. It is, however, only convic- 
 tion ; and we do not pretend there is any joy in 
 such a state of mind. But, as the sun shines the 
 brighter when the dark cloud is broken, and the 
 muttering thunders are dying away in the dis- 
 tance, so the soul that flies terror-struck from 
 mount Sinai, and comes in view of Calvary, re- 
 joices the more from the impressive contrast of its 
 emotions. 
 
 It is at the point of transition that we wish to con- 
 template it ; when it comes " out of darkness into 
 God's marvellous light." In proportion to the depth 
 of these convictions and the evils which they respect 
 must be the joy of deliverance. But who can meas- 
 ure these emotions ; or what mind, but that which 
 has felt them, can understand the oppressive nature 
 of these convictions ? Various and striking are the 
 emblems used in Scripture to denote this wretched- 
 ness from which the sinner by the gospel salva- 
 tion is delivered. It is called a " horrible pit" 
 a " state of darkness." The soul is said to be 
 " lost," to be under " condemnation ;" a prisoner in 
 
JOY OF SALVATION. 59 
 
 fetters ; " dead in sin ;" " sold under sin." Such, 
 are some of the scriptural representations of our old 
 state, in which we are previous to the great change 
 which brings the joy of salvation. Every true 
 Christian has felt deeply and practically the truth 
 of these representations. He has been bound under 
 the burden of sin. No incarcerated victim ever 
 felt more keenly the darkness and damps of his 
 dungeon. No galley-slave ever sighed more oppres- 
 sively under the weight of his chains. No wounded 
 hart ever panted with keener anguish under the 
 barbed shaft. It is in vain to attempt a sketch of 
 the sinner's convictions, as he comes in full view of 
 a violated law, an offended God, and an abused 
 gospel. But deep as are these sorrows, they are the 
 measure of that joy of salvation which succeeds. 
 
 Go with the redemption price in your hand, and 
 unlock the cell of the emaciated captive. As you 
 announce to him the liberty which he is permitted 
 to enjoy, mark well the emotions of his soul. Un- 
 clasp his fetters, and lead him forth to breathe 
 once more the air of heaven. Let him actually 
 feel that he is liberated, and that the beauties of 
 God's universe are once more his to contemplate 
 and enjoy : is it possible to describe or even to 
 conceive his joy? Or as Cowper, in an affecting 
 strain of self- apply ing verse, represents himself the 
 stricken deer, with arrow deep infixed, flying to the 
 
60 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 shady covert, and there meeting with one who had 
 himself heen shot by the archers, and who gently 
 drew out the dart and healed the wound ; so take 
 the poor wounded sinner, and go with him to the 
 great Physician. See how effectually, yet how 
 gently, the death -tipped arrow is withdrawn, and 
 the balm of Grilead is applied. 
 
 Can we paint the emotion of the wounded Israel- 
 ite, as, stung by the fiery serpent, and already ex- 
 periencing the cold convulsions of death, he casts 
 his languid eye towards yonder brazen emblem ? 
 Can we depict his joy as that eye rekindles and the 
 pulsations of life return ? Now, " as Moses lifted 
 up the serpent in the wilderness, even so has the 
 Son of man been lifted up ; that whosoever believeth 
 in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 there is nothing in nature, nothing in the release 
 from bodily pain, nothing in the bestowment of 
 temporal good, that properly illustrates the transi- 
 tion from a state of sin and condemnation to one of 
 hope and joy. Spring is beautiful as she puts forth 
 her virgin life after the apparent death which so 
 long had reigned over the face of nature. Her ten- 
 der blade, her half- expanded leaf, her timid flower, 
 her dewdrops, and her soft, calm skies, are all ani- 
 mating expressions of new-born joy ; but how much 
 more lovely is the soul that has just waked up to a 
 life of holiness, cast off its grave-clothes, come forth 
 
JOY OF SALVATION. 61 
 
 out of its sepulchre, and bears the mild impress of 
 God's renewing grace. . Here is a subject for the 
 joy of angels, and over it they do rejoice. All 
 heaven is moved at such a scene. The soul which 
 is the subject of this change is " full of joy with the 
 light of God's countenance." This is the joy of 
 salvation of salvation through Jesus Christ of 
 salvation from the curse of the law, 'from the do- 
 minion of sin, from the woes of the second death. 
 
02 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 JOYFUL PROMISES. 
 
 IF there is any thing on earth allied to the joys 
 of heaven, it is the smile on the countenance of a 
 new-born soul. The eye is more eloquent than the 
 tongue. The moisture that bedews it is no token 
 of sorrow. The storm is past, the winds are hushed, 
 and these tears are like the last drops of the shower 
 trembling and glistening in the joyous sunbeam. 
 Hope and love seem to vie with each other in 
 spreading a verdant path for the feet of the young 
 pilgrim. His skies are all bright, and his song is 
 only in exultant strains. This is the young con- 
 vert. His soul has just begun to beat with the 
 joys of salvation. 
 
 We could dwell with pleasure on this lovely pic- 
 ture ; but we are aware that these early joys are not 
 without some passing clouds, and that the soul in 
 its progress meets with vicissitudes analogous to 
 the varying incidents of an earthly pilgrimage. 
 But God has given the Christian a staff on which 
 to lean, and by which more potent than the magic 
 wand he is enabled to tread cheerfully and securely 
 his path to the skies. I refer to the promises of the 
 Bible. 
 
JOYFUL PROMISES. 63 
 
 When the Christian experiences the joy of sal- 
 vation, all these promises are, thenceforward, his 
 inheritance. He has now not only a chart delineat- 
 ing his course, hut these starry lights to cheer and 
 gukle him on his way. Not a dangerous pitfall 
 can occur, nor a venomous foe aim its fang against 
 him ; hut he has, in these promises, expedients and 
 antidotes effectual to ward off the danger. There 
 is ho situation into which even his own indiscretion 
 can throw him where they will not apply. "Great 
 and precious" are these promises, and well calcu- 
 lated to encourage and animate the pilgrim. 
 
 If we go back to our primitive state, we find that 
 while our first parents were bleeding under the 
 wounds which their sin had inflicted, and while 
 the note of condemnation was yet ringing in their 
 ears, a most precious promise came, like a healing 
 balm, from their injured Sovereign, " The seed of 
 the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." On 
 this promise the patriarchs lived ; and, in view of 
 it, arranged the altar and the sacrifice in order to 
 keep it the more vividly before the mind. Abra- 
 ham took the promise of Jehovah as his guiding 
 star in that pilgrimage which he prosecuted, until 
 he rested in the cave of Machpelah. He was " the 
 father of the faithful," and his confidence in these 
 assurances of the Almighty was such as to justify 
 the appellation. 
 
64 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 But the promises were not confined to a temporal 
 inheritance even in the case of Abraham and his 
 immediate posterity. They included Canaan, but 
 pointed to a brighter inheritance above. So also 
 with respect to believers in our own days, while 
 some of the promises of God appertain to "the life 
 that now is," the most of them refer to " that which 
 is to come." 
 
 There is no state of mind nor any outward situ- 
 ation in which we may not find some divine prom- 
 ise applicable to our wants. How many are the 
 fluctuations to which we are liable in this sinful 
 and changeful state. These vicissitudes are ap- 
 pointed by divine wisdom and goodness to test our 
 sincerity, to strengthen our faith, and to drive us 
 away from earthly supports to the simple and 
 solid basis of heavenly truth. We learn not its pre- 
 ciousness until we are in circumstances to apply it. 
 Hence, when the soul is perplexed and cast down 
 from the loss of its sensible joys, it has recourse to 
 the promises which declare, that " light is sown 
 for the righteous;" and " whoso walketh in dark- 
 ness and seeth no light, let him trust in the Lord 
 and stay himself upon his God." When temptation 
 presses and the believer seems ready to yield, he is 
 roused and sustained by the assurance that " God 
 will make a way of escape ;" and that if we " resist 
 the devil, he will flee from us." In sickness, the 
 
JOYFUL PROMISES. 65 
 
 Christian can pillow his head on the pledge, " Thou 
 wilt make all his bed in his sickness ;" and in the 
 hour of death that dread hour when mortal strength 
 gives way he has the consolatory assurance, that 
 though he walk through the valley of the shadow 
 of death, no evil shall befall him, since God is 
 with him, and his rod and staff are there to comfort 
 him. 
 
 The divine promises cover all the Christian's 
 earthly changes, and refer to all his earthly rela- 
 tions. They, are not only for him, but for "his 
 children" and seem to have a prospective bearing 
 on their temporal and eternal welfare, as if, in 
 paternal condescension, our heavenly Father in- 
 tended we should be exempt from an over-anxiety 
 respecting these dearest objects of earth. In the 
 loss of earthly friendships, in deepest poverty, in the 
 most threatening danger, under persecutions, and 
 when envy and malignity have sharpened their 
 arrows against him, the Christian can go to the 
 divine word and gather fresh strength to suffer, and 
 obtain new and glorious motives to persevere in the 
 path of duty. In the mighty conflict with self and 
 sin, to what can the soldier of the cross look, but to 
 these assurances of strength and of victory which 
 his great Captain and Leader has given him? 
 Here, in this armory, is a piece fitted for the soul 
 in every situation of attack and of defence. The 
 
 Who are Happy \ O 
 
66 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 panopfy is complete. Clothed in it, no weapon that 
 is formed against the Christian can prosper. It is 
 more impervious than that of the famed Achilles, 
 that left one mortal spot exposed, to which the 
 fatal arrow at last found access. The promises of 
 God secure the Christian from ultimate defeat, and 
 give him the pledge of final victory. 
 
 No wonder that Bunyan, in his beautiful alle- 
 gory, gave prominence to the scroll which Chris- 
 tian carried in his bosom, and by consulting which 
 in critical junctures he was enabled to go on his 
 way rejoicing. This scroll contained these " great 
 and precious promises." How joyfully may all suc- 
 ceeding pilgrims travel on to their rest with such 
 sweet encouraging assurances. What a contrast 
 does their state present to that of those who, amid 
 the storms and tempests of life, have no star to 
 guide, and no secure anchor to hold them. 
 
 But these promises not only solace and animate 
 the pious mind in view of its own personal state, 
 they also gild the distant future as it relates to the 
 prospects of Zion and the final triumphs of redemp- 
 tion. Over this fluctuating scene the believer can 
 look with a calm confidence that the Almighty is 
 at work to fulfil the great designs of his kingdom, 
 and give to his Son the universal sceptre. Are not 
 these promises joyful ? Can he who studies them 
 and trusts in them be the sport of varying winds 
 
.OYFUL PROMISES. 67 
 
 and adverse currents ? May he not plant his feet 
 upon the rock, and contemplate the billows that 
 beat harmless against it ? Above all, he can glance 
 his eye to that region where " there is no more 
 sea," and where the clouds which here had cur- 
 tained the footsteps of the Almighty, will have 
 cleared away and revealed the wisdom of his plans, 
 the benignity of his acts, the rectitude of his govern- 
 ment, and the triumphs of his mercy. 
 
58 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 JOYFUL PROSPECTS. 
 
 THE animating promises to which we have re- 
 ferred, naturally lead us to contemplate the blissful 
 prospects which they unfold. Most of them, as was 
 observed, relate to that world which is to come. 
 Their full accomplishment is to be experienced 
 when the soul has passed through its earthly dis- 
 cipline and reached its final and glorious rest. 
 
 The Christian fixes his eye on the end, and finds 
 his imagination busied there in combining the bright 
 visions of eternal felicity. 
 
 Now, whatever intermediate joys or sorrows a 
 person is destined to realize, yet is he cheered and 
 sustained if the end wears the aspect of predomi- 
 nant good. But by none, except the Christian, 
 can this end be contemplated with entire satisfac- 
 tion. We do not deny that even he has at times 
 his dark forebodings, nor do we assert that his faith 
 always mounts to a triumphant tone when he sur- 
 veys the certainty and the solemnity of death. But 
 his religion certainly does much to neutralize its 
 horrors. It gives him the promise of support in the 
 fearful crisis, and reveals to his faith the certain 
 and glorious prospects which lie beyond. It assures 
 
JOYFUL PROSPECTS. 69 
 
 him that when "flesh and heart shall fail, God 
 will be the strength of his heart and his portion for 
 ever." It declares that as now his greatest burden 
 is sin, hereafter that burden shall be felt no more ; 
 and that since his strongest aspirations here are for 
 greater degrees of holiness, his desire shall be satis- 
 fied when he awakes in the image and likeness of 
 God. 
 
 But exemption from the evils of this fallen state, 
 both natural and moral, including an amount of 
 good which no imagination can , picture, and the 
 positive addition of pure and satisfying pleasures, 
 as endless in duration as they are ennobling in 
 their influence on the soul, give us still higher im- 
 pressions of the Christian's future portion. " Eye 
 hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
 into the heart of man the things which God hath 
 prepared for them that love him." 
 
 It would ill become the writer to attempt any 
 description of what is indescribable. We some- 
 times try to give an absent friend some sketch of 
 natural scenery which has been particularly inter- 
 esting to ourselves. We labor to place before him 
 the distinct features of the landscape, to throw the 
 same glowing picture upon his conceptions which 
 has impressed itself on our own, but we feel that 
 our powers are inadequate to the task. We cannot 
 make the scene live and breathe before him. The 
 
70 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 freshness, the fragrance, the sweet sounds, the sooth- 
 ing, insinuating beauties which steal in through 
 every sense, and tranquillize or enrapture the heart, 
 we cannot infuse into the description. Now, if we 
 strive in vain to "sketch a scene from nature so as 
 to make an adequate impression, how poor must he 
 the most labored attempt to set forth the glories of 
 that world which we have not seen as yet, and of 
 which even the primeval earthly paradise was but 
 an emblem. 
 
 When we speak of joyful prospects, we look at 
 the end. Man lives more upon the future than 
 upon the present. Hope is the busy feeling or emo- 
 tion that gives elasticity to the soul's powers. 
 
 The heir to an estate expects soon to pass out of 
 his minority. He chides the leaden-winged hours 
 which move so slowly towards the period when he 
 is to take possession of his inheritance. His mind 
 is teeming with high anticipations of the pleasures 
 which will then be at his command. But what is 
 this prospect compared with that which the Chris- 
 tian entertains ? It is not to earthly and withering 
 joys that he looks forward, but "to an inheritance 
 incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not 
 away." 
 
 The warrior thinks of the civic crown which 
 admiring and grateful citizens are to place upon 
 his brow, and the prospect nerves his arm and sus- 
 
JOYFUL PROSPECTS. 71 
 
 tains his courage. It lights up the darkest scene 
 of conflict, and makes the severest toil easy to be 
 borne. The mariner far off on the deep lives on 9 
 the hope of a quiet haven, and the greeting of loved 
 ones, whose caresses are to make him forget the 
 boisterous winds and the impending dangers of his 
 voyage. But what are those prospects compared 
 with the immortal crown for which the Christian 
 contends, and which, if he is " faithful unto death," 
 will be given him amid the congratulations of heav- 
 en's blissful inhabitants ? What haven is so calm 
 as the* " haven of eternal rest ;" where, after being 
 tossed upon this troubled sea, the soul is at last 
 admitted, and moors itself along the banks of that 
 river of life which is clear as crystal, and which is 
 skirted by the immortal fruits of paradise ? Cheer- 
 ing prospects these. Surely the Christian can and 
 ought to rejoice. The intermediate events may not, 
 to the eye of sense, seem so auspicious as from his 
 admitted character we should anticipate ; but we 
 are to estimate his happiness not only by what is 
 visible and present, but by what is unseen, and 
 what is yet to be realized. 
 
 The pathway to our rest, if not all smooth and 
 verdant, is sufficiently so to give it a decided pref- 
 erence over those which the worldling and the sen- 
 sualist tread. But the great attraction lies in the 
 direction which it takes, and in the glories to which 
 
72 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 it leads. We can bear to traverse a rugged way, if 
 it terminate in a fertile country, or if it conduct us 
 to a splendid and well-furnished home. Now the 
 Christian's course is far from being a rugged one : 
 on the contrary, as appears from what has been 
 said, it has much to make the traveller elate and 
 joyful. But 0, its end ! See where it leads his 
 feet ; to what a calm and cloudless region it con- 
 ducts him ! HEAVEN is its termination. Its man- 
 sions of rest are ever in view. Like the never- 
 fading glory which Bunyan keeps before his hero's 
 eye, and which, though far in the distance, serves 
 to cheer him on through difficulties and dangers, 
 these promised scenes appeal incessantly to the eye 
 of faith, and sustain the spirit in its upward flight. 
 Here is a view of the Christian's prospects, which 
 even they who deny his claim to present felicity 
 must admit to be a joyful one. Ah, how often 
 does the child of vanity sigh to think that he can- 
 not have this world and heaven too ; and with 
 what gladness would he at last accept of the good 
 man's prospects and share his bright reward. But 
 to do this he must consent to take his cross, to bear 
 his burdens, to walk in the same path ; then, arid 
 not till then, may he indulge the hope that " his 
 last end will be like his." 
 
OBSTRUCTIONS TO PIOUS JOY. 73 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 OBSTRUCTIONS TO PIOUS JOY. 
 
 HAVING now developed some of the resources of 
 Christian cheerfulness, it is time to inquire whether 
 we avail ourselves of them, and are as joyful as our 
 religion is designed to make us. 
 
 The very statement of this question brings a sigh, 
 I fear, from the reader, who is conscious, perhaps, 
 that while there is no deficiency in his religion, 
 there is a very deep and criminal one in himself. 
 
 It is with the view to make the Christian under- 
 stand his privileges, and to improve them to the 
 furtherance of his happiness, that these pages are 
 indited ; and this cannot be effected without laying 
 open some of the obstructions which hinder the 
 soul from reaching that mount of clear vision and 
 bright prospects to which the blessed gospel in- 
 vites us. 
 
 It is a melancholy circumstance, especially in its 
 influence upon the unthinking world, that the joy 
 of the professors of religion seems so seldom to flow 
 directly from their piety. Some are scarcely dis- 
 tinguishable from the world in their apparent 
 sources of felicity. They drink eagerly at the same 
 fountains, and range as freely and as exultingly 
 
74 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 among the same pleasures. But little need be said 
 of such, since their preferences, and their associates, 
 and their habitual joys evince that it is very possible 
 to wear the name without realizing the blessings 
 of the Christian. 
 
 But we will take those who, in the judgment of 
 charity, " have passed from death unto life," and 
 see whether even among these there is not room 
 for improvement whether some serious obstruc- 
 tions do not exist to the full development of their 
 moral influence, and to the allowed exercise of their 
 pious joy. 
 
 In the world of nature, it is astonishing how 
 much attention and cultivation will do in advanc- 
 ing the strength and the beauty of her productions. 
 The plant that exhibited but a stinted growth when 
 wild and uncared for, or when overshadowed by 
 other vegetation, if removed from these uncongenial 
 circumstances and set in a more favorable position, 
 will soon erect its head, put on additional verdure, 
 and bear more abundant fruit. On the other hand, 
 the finest tree that grows in the rich fruitery, if 
 neglected by the husbandman, or transferred to a 
 less congenial region, will soon become dwarfish 
 and unsightly, even should it not actually wither 
 and die. Think ye it is the reverse of this in the 
 kingdom of grace ? Has Providence no moral les- 
 sons to inculcate by the analogies of nature ? Aro 
 
OBSTRUCTIONS TO PIOUS JOY. 75 
 
 there not obstructions as well as facilities to the 
 growth of grace, and can we be insensible to the 
 importance of ascertaining them ? 
 
 It is not the design of this little work to enter 
 minutely into Christian experience, and trace all 
 the varying symptoms of the soul under the action 
 of its remaining depravity. There are causes of 
 depression and fear which operate on the Christian 
 in every stage of his journey, but do not necessarily 
 hinder him in his course, nor for any length of time 
 deprive him of his spiritual joys. The power of the 
 great adversary is fatal somewhat in accordance 
 with the manner in which it is brought to bear 
 upon the soul. A sudden attack, however over- 
 whelming, is less injurious than the gradual but 
 certain relaxation of pious watchfulness. Apollyon, 
 when striding our path and brandishing his fiery 
 darts, is not so much to be dreaded as when, by 
 some of his subtle agents, he spreads a flowery path 
 for our feet, and invites us away from our prescribed 
 journey. In the former case the dread is but mo- 
 mentary ; and if the foe be faced and by grace 
 resisted, the Christian soldier, though intensely 
 beset, will come off conqueror and sing the song of 
 victory. This will add to his joys, instead of dimin- 
 ishing them. But in the other case, the approach 
 is so conducted, and with such well-concerted 
 schemes and appliances, that the Christian is off 
 
76 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 his guard, and listens to the tempter before he 
 is aware of his designs. The first wrong step 
 seems so easy, and to be so slight a deviation from 
 the " king's highway," that the Christian ventures 
 to take it ; but he soon finds, that to be out of the 
 path is more dangerous far, than while in it and 
 with his face towards Zion to meet the most 
 formidable of his adversaries. How surely, if not 
 speedily, will his joys fall off under these wander- 
 ings from the path of duty. Be his first emotions 
 as a young convert ever so pure and joyous, they 
 will not abide these subtle insinuations, but, like 
 the tender plant which can meet unhurt the rush 
 of the tempest, yet droops and hangs its head under 
 the silent but more fatal action of the frost, they 
 will fade under the seductive influence of worldly 
 pleasures. It will be in unison with the object of 
 this work, therefore, to consider the obstructions 
 which arise from this latter cause, inasmuch as in 
 our country, and in the present state of society, the 
 dangers to vital piety and to all its lovely fruits 
 are far greater from the action of earthly influ- 
 ences than from the sudden onset of the prince of 
 darkness. 
 
 Every age has its peculiarities by which the state 
 of the Christian church is greatly affected ; and it 
 is important to know what and how numerous are 
 the influences adverse to piety in this age, and how 
 
OBSTRUCTIONS TO PIOUS JOY. 77 
 
 certainly Christian character is modified by them. 
 An army is sometimes overthrown by a direct and 
 powerful assault, but more frequently perhaps by 
 stratagem. It will find itself marching on apparently 
 unresisted. The cities will seem to be flung open, 
 and the highway clear something like the onward 
 progress of Napoleon's grand army in Russia but 
 in the mean time the foe, though concealed himself, 
 is observant of his victim. The plot is at length 
 developed, and the dreadful discomfiture takes place ; 
 in which case, if the betrayed army make good its 
 retreat, it is with broken ranks and dispirited feel- 
 ings and trailing standards. Something like this 
 is to be apprehended in the influence of the world 
 upon the hosts of Israel at the present day. There 
 is great security on the part 'of Christians, and great 
 apparent yielding on the part of the world, in order 
 to accommodate and thus draw upon its own ground 
 the pledged soldiers of the cross. Here is the dan- 
 ger, and let every Christian look at it and inquire 
 whether he, as one of this great army, is not march- 
 ing in the wrong direction. 
 
78 WHO ARE THE HAFTY? 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CONSTANT CONTACT WITH THE WORLD UNFAVOR- 
 ABLE TO PIOUS JOY. 
 
 ONE part of " pure religion" is to keep " unspot- 
 ted from the world." How few reflect daily on 
 this feature of true piety, and how little danger is 
 felt by professors of religion from direct and con- 
 stant contact with the world. But look at this 
 beautiful allusion again. How carefully does the 
 delicate- hand adjust and guard the unsoiled gar- 
 ment, as the path becomes obstructed and the dress 
 exposed. One spot will mar its beauty and make 
 its owner sigh ; but if by rough contact with some 
 offensive object it should be denied, it will hence- 
 forth be laid aside as useless. Is the care which 
 we bestow upon the soul, or even on the Christian 
 character, to be compared with this ? And would 
 not some professors sigh over a soiled garment more 
 than at the gradual diminution of spiritual purity 
 which they are experiencing by constant intercourse 
 with the world? 
 
 But shall we therefore retire into obscurity, and, 
 like the ascetic, pass an act of non-intercourse with 
 society, while we pore in silent abstraction over our 
 own peculiar feelings ? We answer, that one ex- 
 
CONTACT WITH THE WORLD 79 
 
 treme, if dangerous, does not justify us in flying to 
 the other, if it be forbidden. Now our Saviour, in 
 his commands and counsels, has not advised to this 
 latter extreme, but has actually indicated his dis- 
 approbation of it, by declaring that his followers 
 are "the salt of the earth" and " the light of the 
 world ;" and by exhorting them to " let their light 
 shine before men," it is clear that he requires us to 
 live in the world, and to illustrate our religion be- 
 fore its eyes. In his intercessory prayer, also, he 
 says, "'I pray not that thou shouldst take them 
 out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them 
 from the evil." This is precisely in harmony with 
 the characteristic of pure religion to "keep unspot 
 ted from the world," and this is all we plead for : 
 that a Christian, if he would not let down his pro- 
 fession and part with his appropriate joy and felicity, 
 must walk carefully in a world so filled with objects 
 calculated to mar his high vocation. 
 
 There are extremes, namely, the ascetic life, and 
 the over-tasked and jaded spirit that passes its almost 
 entire existence in the busy and care- corroding world. 
 We shall not undertake to estimate the comparative 
 guilt and danger of these extremes, but simply ob- 
 serve, that in our times, if there be guilt in the life 
 of an ascetic, it is not very probable that many pro- 
 fessors of religion will incur it. The danger with us. 
 lies on the other extreme ; and assimilation ivith, 
 
80 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 rather than separation from the world, is likely to 
 involve us in guilt, and to take from us our confi- 
 dence and joy. 
 
 The world has almost given up its persecuting 
 spirit, either because Christianity has become so 
 predominant as fearlessly to ask the shield of the 
 law to protect her, or which it is feared is the 
 more palpable reason because there is so little of 
 her pure spirit manifested as not to excite opposi- 
 tion, and hence a sort of compromise has gradually 
 though not avowedly taken place. The world will 
 tolerate piety with such modifications in the con- 
 duct of her professors that it will not disturb the 
 fears of the worldling, 'but rather afford an apology 
 for his continued idolatry. The line of separation 
 having thus gradually faded, the professor is solic- 
 ited to part with his scruples, and to mingle indis- 
 criminately with men of all principles and pro- 
 fessions. 
 
 Now, what is the effect of this? In the first 
 place, the pious man is by these circumstances 
 thrown off his guard, and goes into the world with 
 almost as little fear of evil consequences as if he 
 were associating only with the good. The next 
 effect of such free and constant intercourse is, to 
 diminish the glow of pious feeling and to weaken 
 the power of conscience. At length the professor 
 can scarcely live out of the world. Its business, its 
 
CONTACT WITH THE WORLD. 81 
 
 politics, its stirring events, yea, even its pleasures 
 are gradually becoming topics of deep interest. His 
 joy is now derived from other sources than it was 
 wont to be. The place of retirement used to have 
 attractions, and the throne of grace used to be 
 visited as the soul's happy home. How many hours 
 of tranquil delight have been passed in secret, the 
 world shut out, and the spirit taking excursions to 
 the land of Beulah ; but now these joys are -gone. 
 Serious obstructions have occurred. The world 
 has put in its claim. It has gone to the Christian 
 and fastened on him anew its chain. It has required 
 of him what all tyrants do, that he should acknow- 
 ledge no other master. It says to him, " You may 
 exercise your religion on the Sabbath, when my 
 service cannot be performed, and I will allow you 
 a few moments of hurried and heartless prayer in 
 the morning and in the evening, but the rest of 
 your time and attention I claim for the purpose of 
 business, society, and pleasure." 
 
 We will not undertake to say how many pro- 
 fessors of piety are thus drawn away by the world 
 and live wholly amidst its exciting scenes. But 
 many are exposed to this course of life from the 
 peculiar state of society in our day and country. 
 Their business and their engagements render them 
 the easy victims of the world's temptations. It is 
 this constant contact with the world which we 
 
 Who arc Happy? 6 
 
S2 WHO ARE THE HAFPYf 
 
 deprecate, and which, more than any one cause, 
 we dread as undermining the vital principles of 
 piety. Is such a Christian happy? Is his joy 
 " the joy of the Lord ?" Ah, if he has ever tasted 
 of pious joy, he must feel the sad contrast in the 
 meagre and unsatisfying pleasures which are ten- 
 dered to him. Look at Denras. See his care-worn 
 brow that used to wear the smile of heaven, and 
 his sorrow-shaded face that seems to oay, " My 
 religious joys are gone ;" and yet he has too much 
 conscience left to appropriate without fearful mis- 
 givings the pleasures of the world. If he would 
 speak out, he would exclaim, " I was once a happy 
 man ; I lived on the promises of God, and gathered 
 my joys along the green pastures of his grace. I 
 loved to go alone and commune with my Maker, 
 and felt as if the world was hut a vanity. Alas, 
 what am I now? Day after day I am busied and 
 anxious about many things, while the " one thing 
 needful " is neglected. The business I have chosen, 
 and the engagements which I have made, drive me 
 on, against the remonstrating voice of conscience, 
 while my soul is oppressed with the fearful idea of 
 final apostasy and ruin!" 
 
CONTACT WITH THE WORLD. 83 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 
 
 THE lamentation of Demas, with which the last 
 chapter concludes, implies a fault too common 
 among professing Christians, especially those whose 
 business and engagements lead them into frequent 
 contact with the world. This obstruction to their 
 piety, and of course to their true felicity and joy, 
 is great in proportion to the time consumed and the 
 interest felt in earthly pleasures and connections. 
 
 We do not admit the impossibility of mingling 
 with the world and still retaining our peace of 
 mind, our Christian influence, und our pious joy. 
 Many might be named who keep "the garment 
 unspotted" and the soul unclogged amid the cares 
 of earth, and under the pressure of its daily toil. 
 It would be an argument against our religion if it 
 disqualified its possessor for the performance of any 
 duty, social, civil, or political, if it did not in fact 
 fit him the better to discharge these obligations. 
 It is in accordance with the spirit of Christianity to 
 meet cheerfully every occasion which Providence 
 furnishes for the promotion of the general good. It 
 is the duty of her professors to shrink from no bur- 
 den which may lawfully be borne, and to retreat 
 
84 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 from no station, if personally qualified, in which 
 they may serve their country without dishonoring 
 their religion. " Faith overcomes the world." This 
 is the testimony of heaven. But this victory im- 
 plies not a retreat from, but a conflict with the foe. 
 We are to pray not to be " taken out of the world, 
 but to be kept from the evil." 
 
 But while all this is true, it is nevertheless 
 equally true that mingling constantly with the 
 world is a perilous experiment, upon which few 
 can venture without detriment to their religion. 
 The danger arises from not fully understanding the 
 tendency of worldly influences upon the soul, and 
 also from not taking the proper precautions to coun- 
 teract it. One of these precautions is, to allot a 
 sufficient portion of time for the daily, habitual im- 
 provement of the pious affections. If this Were 
 done, there would be comparatively little danger 
 from the subtle foe. 
 
 The Christian is represented as a warrior clothed 
 in a panoply which he is to use both for attack and 
 for defence. Now this armor is to be on him con 
 tinually. It is also requisite that every day he 
 examine it, to see if it be well fitted and properly 
 polished, since not a day passes in which his enemy 
 is not watching to plant " an a^row between the 
 joints of the harness." But how can this be done 
 if the soldier is always on the field and never in 
 
CONTACT WITH THE WORLD. 85 
 
 his tent ? By mingling constantly with his foes, he 
 may be overpowered through weariness, and have 
 his armor stript from him ere he is aware of it. But 
 waiving figurative language, it must he confessed 
 that there is great negligence in many as to the 
 manner in which their closet duties are performed, 
 and a miserly appropriation of time to God and to 
 the soul. They live too constantly in the world to 
 alloiv of their living in it without great detriment 
 to their piety. To walk unharmed this dangerous 
 path, the Christian must duly contemplate his ex- 
 posedness, and so proportion his time between his 
 business engagements and the claims of devotion as 
 that the latter shall neutralize completely the in- 
 jurious tendency of the former. There must be 
 daily retirement, and enough of it, or the soul will 
 lose its joys, if not its piety, amid the bustling scenes 
 of earth. 
 
 It is a fixed law of our nature, that whateve) 
 most constantly appeals to the thoughts acts power- 
 fully upon the moral affections, and thus gives the 
 impress of itself upon the soul. All experience tes 
 tifies to this. Let, then, the Christian plunge into 
 the agitated sea of earthly cares, and from day to 
 day fix his thoughts upon the business, the plans, 
 the politics, and the pleasures of the world let 
 him give his mind intensely and habitually to these 
 things, and what will become of his religion ? "What 
 
86 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 judgment will men form of it ? But suppose, in 
 the mean time, but a very small portion of each day 
 is allotted to prayer and other devotional duties ; or, 
 what perhaps is possible, these duties are irregu- 
 larly and superficially performed ; where will be 
 the expression of his piety, and who in his case 
 would suppose that it was the mainspring of the 
 soul's felicity? Is it not easy to see that the world 
 must, under such circumstances, impress itself 
 strongly on the mind, and proportionably efface the 
 divine image of piety. 
 
 Let the Christian, on the other hand, consider 
 well his exposedness, and so arrange his affairs that 
 religion shall have its just claim in the apportion- 
 ment of his time. Let him not be in the world 
 except when duty and necessity call him there, and 
 let him prepare, by God's grace, for coming in con- 
 flict with it. It must be an habitual, daily prep- 
 aration. Some professors of religion who could be 
 named, appear to act on the principle of putting off 
 converse with their own hearts until old-age or 
 sickness compels them to it ; and they seem to 
 understand our Lord, when he says, " work while 
 the day lasteth," as calling them to an unremitted 
 effort for worldly good. Alas, such will bitterly 
 lament their course. The happy Christian gives a 
 due proportion of his time daily to his God. He 
 has his seasons of retirement, and will not allow the 
 
CONTACT WITH THE WORLD. 87 
 
 intrusive world to rob him of them. He is thus 
 prepared for the intercourse and collision of active 
 life, and is enabled to walk the fiery furnace un- 
 scorched by its flame. His mind is habitually 
 turned to God, and his religion sanctifying his 
 worldly business, makes it the occasion of a richer 
 development of his heaven-born nature. 
 
 Gams is called to bear as many and as oppressive 
 worldly burdens as any man. But his religion 
 suffers not by this necessity. Indeed it is his piety 
 which enables him so calmly to meet and to dis- 
 charge the arduous duties of his station. Wherever 
 you see him his countenance is calm, and he is 
 always ready to speak of higher joys, even when, 
 the world goes prosperously with him. He is evi- 
 dently a man of prayer. His earliest thoughts are 
 given to God, and ere the business of the day or 
 the engagements of social life clamorous as they 
 are for his attention have preferred their request, 
 he is settling the higher claims of the soul, and by 
 earnest prayer is equipping it for its daily conflict. 
 Gaius is no recluse. He is not indifferent to the 
 pleasures of life when they may be enjoyed with- 
 out the sacrifice of principle, nor is he backward in. 
 giving his influence and his toil in all that respects 
 even the temporal good of his fellow-men. But 
 one look at the man will tell you that his highest 
 qualification is that he is a Christian. His joys 
 
H8 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 are evidently those of true piety. He keeps the 
 private altar bright with the incense of devotion; 
 and by first making sure his walk with God, he is 
 enabled to go forth into the world with the calm 
 consciousness that he who has appointed to him its 
 duties and exposed him to its dangers, will assist 
 him in the discharge of the one, and will protect 
 him from the other. It is needless to add that he 
 is a happy man. 
 
THE PURSUIT OF RIGHES. 89 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE PURSUIT OF RICHES UNFAVORABLE TO A 
 CHRISTIAN'S HAPPINESS. 
 
 WHY is it that some Christians are found hi such 
 constant contact with the world ? Why are closet 
 duties abridged or neglected, while time is freely 
 and even lavishly given to business and to pleas- 
 ure ? Ah, it has been sadly answered in the almost 
 unbounded thirst for gain, which, like a sweeping 
 epidemic, has found its way into the habitations 
 and the hearts of the pious as well as among 
 others. There is nothing in modern times which 
 so fearfully threatens the cause of vital piety ; and 
 if Providence does not meet the evil by an over 
 whelming rebuke, it is impossible to calculate how 
 deep and wide-spread it may become. 
 
 The astonishing anomaly has been witnessed of 
 men professing to live above the world, wholly bent 
 on acquiring its possessions. Those who by their 
 vows renounce its pomps and its vanities, have 
 been seen foremost in plans to secure these distinc- 
 tions, and even ostentatious in the exhibition of 
 them. Now we would know if the self-denying 
 religion of Jesus authorizes this course, or if piety 
 is to be held responsible for conduct by which her 
 
90 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 principles are outraged and set at defiance. Alas, 
 her bosom has bled under this wound until her very 
 existence has been seriously threatened. 
 
 It will not be denied, I presume, that we are 
 under obligations to imitate our Saviour as well as 
 to believe in him. Indeed, we cannot truly believe 
 iviihout imitating him. 
 
 But must we imitate him in his poverty ? Must 
 we cast away our pillows of down and vacate our 
 comfortable mansions, that, like Jesus, we may 
 " not have where to lay our heads ?" Or must we 
 neglect to provide for our own, to place our fami- 
 lies in independent circumstances ? " Surely," says 
 the thrifty and money-making Christian, " piety 
 does not require this of us." Well, admit that she 
 does not admit that she allows us to sleep on our 
 soft pillows, to live in fine houses, to ride in splen- 
 did vehicles, and to feast on rich dainties, while he 
 whom we serve possessed none of these things ; or 
 admit, if your taste be such, that she allows you to 
 prefer plainer accommodations with the sweet con- 
 sciousness of more hoarded treasure and the con- 
 duct of many professedly pious would seem to claim 
 that religion does allow all this -admit it, and we 
 have still to ask what she disallows. Is there any 
 abridgment of our earthly desires which she de- 
 mands ? If there is none if we may embark in 
 the pursuit of riches with as unbridled an appetite 
 
THE PURSUIT OF RICHES. 91 
 
 as the professed votaries of the world, and vie with 
 them in the manifestation of external grandeur, it 
 must follow that Jesus did not mean what he said, 
 or that he was mistaken when he declared, " Ye 
 cannot serve God and mammon." There is some 
 difference between literally impoverishing ourselves 
 for the sake of being like Christ, and manifesting 
 a totally opposite character in a greedy and all- 
 absorbing pursuit of the world. There is not quite 
 so much danger in the former case of serving God 
 too much, as there is in the latter of not serving 
 him at all. It has not been the fault of Chris- 
 tians that they have been over-righteous in this 
 matter. 
 
 It is a subject for serious inquiry, how far the 
 pursuit of riches is consistent with true and genu- 
 ine piety ; and whether the changes, political and 
 social, which have taken place since Christ laid 
 down his self-denying rules, do really permit us to 
 overlook their obligation, and make common cause 
 with other men in all their prospects and their 
 plans of gain. In order to settle this point, we 
 seem to need, that, with his fan in his hand, Jesus 
 should corne to sift out the commingled opinions 
 and practices which have supervened ; and sepa- 
 rating the precious from the vile, to show who are 
 and who are not his genuine disciples. 
 
 But is there no criterion by which we can under- 
 
92 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 stand the mind of Christ on this subject ? Is there 
 no voice within that utters its verdict, and assents 
 or dissents to the position which is sometimes taken 
 on the question ? Hearest thou not something in 
 the secret soul that speaks of departed joys, and a 
 backslidden state, and overclouded hopes ? Is there 
 not in the Christian's experience a response to what 
 Jesus has said, "Ye cannot serve God and mam- 
 mon ?" How many are there who ran well the 
 first part of their race, who seemed to have their 
 eye on the heavenly prize with a fair prospect of 
 obtaining it, but who caught, as by a side glance, a 
 view of the tempting bait of riches, and all at once 
 their feet loitered in the course, their eye was 
 averted from the goal, and ere long they were 
 found running with equal, if not greater zeal, after 
 the rewards of mammon. But how has this diver- 
 sion of their interest and zeal operated upon their 
 spirits ? Has it had the effect to augment or to 
 diminish their joy ? Are they as happy in serving 
 mammon as they were formerly in serving God ? 
 But it is replied, " We have not given up our relig- 
 ion ; although it has not, we admit, the same influ- 
 ence upon our happiness as it once had. We have 
 not actually lost sight of its obligations nor inter- 
 mitted entirely its duties. We worship God in the 
 family if we do not in the closet, and we are found 
 in our seats in the sanctuary even if we have lost 
 
THE PURSUIT OF RICHES. 93 
 
 our interest in the social prayer-meeting. Besides, 
 by gaining more of the world we are enabled to 
 give more for the spread of the gospel, so that we 
 cannot be charged with an actual defection from 
 the ranks of the pious." Sad confession this, of 
 pious joy sacrificed on the altar of mammon. Poor 
 apology for relinquishing the crown of glory, and 
 turning aside after " the lust of the eye and the 
 pride of life." And what, after all, is the gain ? 
 Will it compensate for the loss of the soul's true 
 felicity ? Will it make up for the consciousness of 
 the disapprobation of heaven, which, even in mo- 
 ments of earthly prosperity, must be a heavy draw- 
 back on our joy ? Shall we run more fleetly on our 
 race after loading our pockets with golden weights, 
 or wrestle with more success against " principali- 
 ties and powers," when we have relaxed our moral 
 energies by earthly indulgences ? How easy it is 
 to find excuses for our sins. What specious but 
 sophistical arguments will Satan urge to set us upon 
 a pursuit of the world, and thus rob us of our peace 
 and joy. " All these will I give thee, if thou wilt 
 unchain thy affections from the gospel chariot and 
 link them to mammon's car ; and why should not 
 you have the means of enjoyment, and your chil- 
 dren the means of support, as well as others ? Then, 
 too, see how much good you can do with riches ; 
 what a field of benevolence they will open to you. 
 
94 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 "Why need you hesitate ? There is no church 
 censure can be passed upon you for this pursuit." 
 The reasoning seems good, says "the old man 
 which is corrupt," and I will act upon it. So 
 farewell the peace of God until I have gained the 
 peace which the " world giveth." 
 
SOCIAL PLEDGES. 95 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 SOCIAL AND BUSINESS PLEDG-ES OBSTRUCTIONS TO 
 A CHRISTIAN'S JOY. SOCIAL PLEDGKES. 
 
 THE Christian professor has an important prac- 
 tical point to settle, namely, how much intercourse 
 with the world is safe and allowable, and what 
 proportion of his time should be employed daily in 
 communion with God. , 
 
 Such are the varying circumstances and tempera- 
 ments of individuals, that one standard, it must be 
 evident, will not apply in all cases. But by a con- 
 scientious and quick-sighted Christian, the follow- 
 ing rule, or rather criterion, may be safely con- 
 sulted. If he finds his interest in the closet on the 
 ivane y and his interest in worldly business or social 
 pleasure gradually deepening, he should suspect that 
 too small a proportion of time is given to devotion. 
 In this case he is evidently too much in the world. 
 His happiness as a Christian is thereby endangered, 
 and he is called upon at once to retrieve lost ground. 
 His confession and his prayer must be, " Lord, I 
 have gone astray like a lost sheep : seek thy ser- 
 vant, for I do not forget thy commandments." 
 
 The great sources of temptation in our day are 
 social and business engagements. These are entered 
 
06 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 into sometimes without due reflection on their ten- 
 dency to weaken the divine life of piety in the soul. 
 Some Christian people seem to think, or rather seem 
 to act as if they thought, they can take " coals of 
 fire in the bosom and the clothes not be burned." 
 
 The pleasures of social life are tendered to the 
 Christian on the ground that they are innocent, 
 and therefore allowable ; and, without much dis- 
 crimination as to the forms they assume or the 
 deleterious ingredients accompanying them, he is 
 persuaded to indulge himself in them, even at the 
 expense of his pious joys. 
 
 The world knows well how to graduate these 
 social entertainments so as not to alarm the weak 
 conscience, nor at the outset to betray its designs. 
 But step by step is the unapprised soul led on, until 
 it can relish and even desire a scale of pleasurable 
 excitement, which once would have startled its fears 
 and driven it back to its peaceful and soul-satisfying 
 retirement. 
 
 An invitation comes to Theodosia, indited in the 
 usual complimentary strain, in which it is affirmed 
 that nothing more than a social few are to pass an 
 evening in a very quiet way. The plan is well- 
 adjusted, and the timid Christian is induced to 
 accede. But from this moment there is an unac- 
 countable perturbation in her mind. She has been 
 so long accustomed to the calm pleasures of home, 
 
SOCIAL PLEDGES. 97 
 
 and especially to the pure delights of communion 
 with God, that the bare anticipation of so different 
 a scene seems to have entirely unsettled her peace. 
 It is like the sudden inundation of a river which 
 a few hours before flowed with clear and gentle 
 stream, but is now rushing on with an impetuous 
 and turbid flood. The busy notes of preparation 
 are now heard, and the mind, torn from its- accus- 
 tomed topics, is forced to think of frivolities. How 
 hard it is now to read with fixed attention a chap- 
 ter in the Bible. How difficult to send the ' { thoughts 
 that breathe" to the mercy-seat above. Who can 
 doubt that a violent shock is felt through the soul. 
 Away flies this dove from the peaceful ark to dis- 
 port its wing over the agitated scene which is pre- 
 pared for it.' The scene is brilliant beyond antici- 
 pation, captivating to the senses, and impressive to 
 the youthful imagination. The quiet social con- 
 vention is wonderfully transmuted into the gay and 
 almost uproarious assembly. Forced smiles and 
 flattering compliments have usurped the place of 
 profitable conversation, and every thing in the com- 
 pany and in the arrangements seems adapted to 
 banish serious thought from the mind. Is Theo- 
 dosia happy in this gay circle ? There is in her 
 countenance something that seems to say, " I am 
 trying to be happy." It will be well for her if 
 this trial is unsuccessful. It will be to her praise, 
 
 Who are Happy 1 7 
 
AKE THE HAPPYf 
 
 and for her peace, if the next similar temptation ia 
 resisted. The danger is, that she may acquire a 
 fondness for that which at first was rather tolerated 
 than desired. To be out of society, it will be sug- 
 gested, is not her duty : as if society was found alone 
 where the crowded contact of frivolous minds exists. 
 Yes, the danger is that she may be induced to repeat 
 the experiment, and by being often in such circum- 
 stances, gradually to exchange her former joys for 
 those which are altogether empty and unsatisfying. 
 On the altar of mere social pleasure she may be 
 tempted to sacrifice sweet peace of conscience. Her 
 Bible, her closet, her walks of usefulness may be 
 neglected to attend to the calls of time's most cruel 
 murderers. "We again ask, Can she be happy? 
 
 The true and proper test of these social influ- 
 ences is to be found in their effect on the devo- 
 tional habits. If they break up the duties of the 
 closet, indispose the mind for meditation, and make 
 the Bible a dull book, we have reason to suspect 
 they are indulged to an unlawful extent. There is 
 then something in them positively injurious to piety 
 of heart, and we must at once restrict ourselves to 
 a more moderate and less exciting scale of pleas- 
 ures ; one which will leave us at least as favorably 
 disposed for Christian duty as it found us. 
 
 Let us not be understood by these remarks as 
 condemning all social entertainments, nor as argu- 
 
SOCIAL PLEDGES. 99 
 
 ing against a free interchange of thought and feel- 
 ing not strictly religious as wishing to convert 
 every circle of friendship into a prayer-meeting ; but 
 simply as putting the Christian on his guard against 
 the exciting and deleterious influence of those scenes 
 where the direct object evidently is to elicit the 
 sensual and to crush the spiritual feelings of man. 
 Young^ Christians should be cautioned against com- 
 mitting themselves in social engagements which 
 may embarrass their consciences, weaken their 
 moral strength, and extinguish their pious joys. 
 Having embraced the cross, and professed that their 
 superior attachments are found in true piety, they 
 must be careful to impress the world with the fact, 
 that having tasted of purer pleasures, they have no 
 longings after those which they have abandoned. 
 If they are easily drawn off to indulge in mere 
 earthly excitement, it will be inferred that they are 
 disappointed in the power of piety to make them 
 happy, and thus will their conduct confirm the 
 pleasurist in his fatal choice. Piety will make 
 them happy > if they do not introduce a rival to her 
 influence ; but how can any man expect that she 
 will continue to smile upon him, if he take to his 
 bosom her deadliest enemy, the world ? How can 
 the youthful professor just alluded to expect that 
 piety will follow her to scenes where its name is 
 never mentioned, or ^/"mentioned, is too often alluded 
 
100 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 to only by way of jest or ridicule ? How can she 
 expect that religion will fill her soul with its heav- 
 enly joys, when that soul is already preoccupied 
 with grovelling pleasures ? Let her take her stand 
 against the world's allurements, and find in God 
 and in his service her supreme delight, and then 
 will piety pour upon her its celestial smile ; and 
 then, like the dove with tired wing, will she find 
 a hand stretched forth from the ark to draw her in 
 and give her a resting-place that loses none of its 
 charms from its contrast with earth's tumultuous 
 and stormy scenes. 
 
BUSINESS PLr>GE. 101 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BUSINESS PLEDG-ES. 
 
 WHEN a Christian can mingle in general society 
 without injury to his piety or the sacrifice of his 
 peace, it may be proper for him to a certain extent 
 to indulge the social propensities ; but in this case 
 it is implied that his highest joys are not gathered 
 from such intercourse. Even when he practices it, 
 it must be on the principle of rendering the social 
 sympathies subservient to his usefulness, of laying 
 open opportunities to do good among those with 
 whom he associates ; thus making piety the end, 
 and social converse the medium, through which it 
 is promoted. But, after all, the Christian will find 
 that his happiest hours are passed " among the 
 saints and near his God," and that the interchange 
 of feelings with those who are walking the same 
 road, and aiming at the same mark, and encoun- 
 tering the same difficulties and dangers, is fraught 
 with more real satisfaction than mere social pleas- 
 ures, however refined the intercourse or intellectual 
 the conversation. 
 
 There is another point of no small importance 
 which deserves consideration, namely, the business 
 pledges or engagements into which Christians are 
 
1U;>! W^O AlV^THci HAPPY? 
 
 sometimes drawn, to the injury of their piety and 
 the extinguishment of their religious joy. 
 
 Prompted by the desire of success in their busi- 
 ness, or listening to injudicious counsel, good men are 
 sometimes sadly ensnared by the world. They will 
 enter into engagements which, at the time of mak- 
 ing them, they sincerely intend to fulfil, not calcu- 
 lating upon the possible reverses of the times, nor 
 the changeful nature of commercial affairs ; but 
 alas, they thus find themselves often sadly com- 
 mitted to men who have little sympathy with their 
 distress, and less regard still for their reputation as 
 Christians. Now for a professor of piety to see 
 himself in this snare, and to know that a thousand 
 tongues are busy in remarking on his situation, and 
 insinuating, perhaps, that "his religion has made 
 him no better than he should be," must oppress his 
 spirits and annihilate his peace of mind. It is the 
 worst policy imaginable for a pious man to stand 
 deeply pledged to those who are mere men of the 
 world. He should prefer even poverty to this ; nor 
 should any counsel of friends, real or pretended, 
 nor any hopes of worldly gain, however flatter- 
 ing at the time, influence him to such a course 
 as may, in the fluctuations of trade, place his char- 
 acter for integrity in a suspicious light, and lay 
 upon his soul a crushing anxiety. It is impossible 
 for a pious man to be happy amid such embarrass- 
 
BUSINESS PLEDGES. 103 
 
 merits, especially if they have come upon him in 
 consequence of reckless pledges made under a too 
 eager desire for the wealth of this world. 
 
 The man whose heart is weaned from earthly 
 attachments, or who has an habitual preference for 
 heavenly things, will not be likely to fall into this 
 snare ; but, satisfied with moderate success in his 
 worldly calling, he will so order his affairs as, if 
 possible, "to owe no man any thing" but love. 
 At all events, he will make no pledges which he 
 has not a fair prospect of redeeming, so that in any 
 event his religious character shall not be impugned, 
 nor his religious joys extinguished. Such a man 
 will retain his equanimity of soul, and go on his 
 way rejoicing even when others are "careful and 
 troubled about many things." 
 
 It has become "customary to prosecute enlarged 
 business enterprises by means of joint-stock com- 
 panies, and Christian men have found themselves 
 often very painfully committed by the operation of 
 some of these associations. A majority of the com- 
 pany, looking only at the gains which the ' asso- 
 ciation was formed to secure, feel it to be a matter 
 of small consequence if in the prosecution of their 
 enterprise the holy Sabbath is violated. This is la- 
 mentably true of railroad and steam-boat companies. 
 Now, at the hazard of being considered over-scrupu- 
 lous, Christians are called upon not to commit them- 
 
104 WHO AltE THE HAPPY? 
 
 selves in any combination whose acts shall conflict 
 with the laws of God. It will be of no avail to 
 say that "being in a minority they cannot control 
 this thing." This is a sort of apology which will 
 not stand the test of Christian casuistry, especially 
 if, while uttering it, they expect to receive a por- 
 tion of the price of desecrated Sabbaths. And if 
 Christians find themselves thus implicated in the 
 violation of God's holy day, it is their duty as 
 speedily as possible to cut loose from the alliance. 
 
 How many consciences have been burdened, by 
 these indiscreet connections, and how much Chris- 
 tian peace has been sacrificed to promote what is 
 called public spirit and general improvement. The 
 grand question for a pious man to ask and to settle 
 before he commits himself in any business transac- 
 tion is, whether it can be prosecuted without injury 
 to his conscience and the infraction of God's laws, 
 He has no right to sacrifice his joy as a Christian 
 for all the wealth which mammon can confer. He 
 must " seek first the kingdom of God." He " must 
 not touch any unclean thing." He must avoid not 
 only the reality, but even " the appearance of evil." 
 With these precepts before him, how can a pious 
 man enter with any reasonable expectations of suc- 
 cess upon a business, either on his individual respon- 
 sibility or as a member of a company, which is to 
 be prosecuted to the injury of public morals and in 
 
BUSINESS PLEDGES. 105 
 
 violation of the decalogue ? How can the mind of 
 a Christian be at peace wLile such an imputation 
 may be cast upon him ? To obtain and to pre- 
 serve true peace of mind, we must keep "a con- 
 science void of offence towards God and towards 
 men." And how can this be done, if Christians 
 will commit themselves to circumstances which 
 tend directly to embarrass conscience and to weaken 
 the moral force of divine institutions ? How much 
 more to be coveted is the condition of the pious but 
 untrammelled artisan, who, content with his daily 
 earnings, has none of these equivocal connections to 
 tempt him, and none of these implicated social and 
 business vices to sully his profession. He can sing 
 his hymn of praise at night, and offer his devout 
 thanksgiving to God, with no such drawback upon 
 his grateful feelings as must be experienced where 
 heaven's gifts are coveted and obtained under cir- 
 cumstances the morality of which is at least very 
 questionable. 
 
 Piety, after all, exerts its influence to make the 
 soul happy only where that influence is allowed to 
 predominate. It is unreasonable to ask any more 
 of it. It is requiring too much to expect that it 
 will kindle up its joys in the heart where every 
 counteracting influence is courted, or keep alive 
 on the altar the fires of devotion when the cold 
 flood of earthly cares and pleasures is continually 
 
106 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 poured upon it to extinguish them. Nor let piety 
 be blamed for that absence of felicity which char- 
 acterizes so many professors, when, if the case were 
 investigated, it would be seen that it is not piety, 
 but the want of it, which operates to dim the lustre 
 of their example. Let the Christian keep aloof 
 from those ensnaring connections to which we have 
 alluded ; and acting on the principle that " godli- 
 ness with contentment is great gain," let him seek 
 mainly and constantly the " one thing needful," 
 and his path, if it be less attractive to earthly 
 minds, will have the approbation of God, and lead 
 the soul to joys that are pure and unending. 
 
LIGHT READING OPPOSED TO PIETY. 107 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF LIQHT. EEADINO OPPOSED TO 
 THE PROGRESS OF PIETY. 
 
 THE apparatus which the great adversary has 
 brought into action in order to weaken the moral 
 influence of Christians, is varied and well applied. 
 To the sources of evil already enumerated, we must 
 add the flood of light and ephemeral productions so 
 constantly issuing from the English and American 
 press. 
 
 These are not of course intended for the eye and 
 the mind of the Christian, but are graduated in 
 their sentiments and style to the great mass of vol- 
 atile spirits who wish for something new and racy 
 to kill a heavy hour, and to kindle a little tempo- 
 rary excitement. 
 
 But, unhappily, they too often find their way 
 into those hands which ought to " handle" instead 
 thereof " the word of life." The universal cry is, 
 " Have you read this very interesting work ?" The 
 newspapers are lavish in their encomiums, the 
 review enlarges on the genius of its author, and the 
 fashionist seizes the volume yet reeking from the 
 press, in order to be among the first who " have seen 
 it." It is not to be wondered at, then, that this 
 
108 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 tempting bait should find its way into the library 
 of a Christian, or be seen among the chaster pro- 
 ductions which adorn his parlor table. What 
 "every body reads," it is inferred, "ought to be 
 read by me. I shall be singular not to have pe- 
 rused it when the whole town are -descanting upon 
 its merits." So, with a little such reasoning, 
 backed by that fondness for novelty and excite- 
 ment which piety may repress, but does not extin- 
 guish, the Bible is suddenly closed, and the flip- 
 pant volume is already riveting the attention. 
 
 It came at the hour of evening prayer. It 
 seemed as if the spiritual foe, anticipating the time 
 when the Christian was to have been on his knees, 
 taking by " violence the kingdom of heaven," sent 
 this light-armed enemy to divert his attention and 
 to deprive him of the hallowed enjoyment. But 
 will he allow the intruder to rob him of his devo- 
 tions ? Will not only the Bible but prayer be post- 
 poned until the exciting tale is ended ? Alas, it is to 
 be feared, when once the fascination has commenced, 
 that the charm will not be broken even by the 
 voice of conscience muttering in undertones of mis- 
 spent time and neglected duties. The midnight 
 hour has come, the last leaf is cut, and the book is 
 closed. Now ask the interested reader what are 
 his or her feelings ? Are they in tune for devotion ? 
 Does the excited mind, reconnijig the incidents and 
 
LIGHT READING OPPOSED TO PIETY. 109 
 
 revolving the whole scene, return with satisfaction 
 to communion with its Bible ? Is there not an 
 oppressive sense of wrong which scarcely admits of 
 even a hurried prayer ? Does not the soul, on the 
 succeeding day, carry somewhat of a depressed air, 
 as if violence had been done to its better feelings, 
 which, like a wound inflicted on the body, must bleed 
 for a season ere they can be healed. Conscience 
 is quick to perceive a wrong, and never fails to 
 administer its retributive reproofs. However ear- 
 nestly some may plead for the lawfulness of this 
 species of reading, all Christians will allow that 
 they are not the happier for its indulgence. Life's 
 hours are too precious, and its duties too serious 
 and responsible, to allow the one to be consumed 
 and the other to be postponed or set aside for such 
 vanities. 
 
 It is not worth our while here to discuss the 
 question, whether in no case these works may be 
 innocently perused. The object of these pages 
 being to promote the joys of piety, and to caution 
 its professors against whatever is likely to impede 
 them, the writer feels himself called upon to state 
 only the general injurious tendency of such pro- 
 ductions. He would recommend to the Christian 
 who wishes to avoid every means of deterioration, 
 habitual abstinence from this frivolous species of 
 reading. If we are singular in this respect, it 
 
HO "WIJO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 will be in exact accordance with the divine inten- 
 tion in redeeming us, "that we might be a peculiar 
 people." 
 
 There is an immense amount of light periodical 
 reading, embracing reviews, the periodical miscel- 
 lany, the daily and weekly newspaper, which would 
 urge itself upon the Christian's attention, and which 
 is designed to occupy only the interstices of his time. 
 But who has not felt the pernicious influence of 
 this ephemeral reading in absorbing not merely the 
 leisure hour, but valuable portions of the day, and 
 invading even the sacred season allotted to devo- 
 tion ? Where this is the case, it must be conceded 
 that they become serious impediments to the fruits 
 of piety, and that no Christian can look for peace 
 and joy from his religion, if he listen to these rival 
 claimants, and permit his mind to be the sport of 
 so many counteracting influences. Our time is too 
 precious to allow of such heavy drafts from these 
 importunate visitors, who, in many cases, have 
 nothing to recommend them but a fine dress and a 
 flippant tongue. A Christian mind cannot give 
 some of them audience without derogating from its 
 dignity, nor converse intimately with them without 
 acquiring an injurious taint from the contact. 
 
 The writer would be understood as admitting 
 exceptions ; and, far from a general proscription of 
 periodical works, he would recommend a judicious 
 
LIGHT READING OPPOSED TO PIETY. Ill 
 
 selection as highly important and useful. But in 
 this case he must urge the importance of giving 
 them their legitimate place as to the interest which 
 they claim, and the time which is employed in pe- 
 rusing them. If there is a fondness for such reading 
 which weakens our attachment to the Bible and to 
 works of practical piety, we have reason to suspect 
 that already their influence has become injurious. 
 If important Christian duties are neglected or post- 
 poned to gratify this thirst for news or the mere 
 indulgence of our taste, it is evident we have allowed 
 this reading a place which its comparative insig- 
 nificance and our Christian obligations will not 
 justify. We thus allow it to rob us of our peace of 
 conscience, the possession of which is indispensable 
 to our pious joy. How admirably does piety adjust 
 these varying claims, giving to man a scale by 
 which he can know how much importance to attach 
 to each, and in what place the several duties and 
 pleasures of life shall fall. If we attempt to reverse 
 this order, or fail to recognize the great principle on 
 which it is founded, to " seek first the kingdom of 
 God," we at once put " darkness for light and light 
 for darkness ;" we " fall into temptation and a 
 snare ;" our Christian peace is interrupted, and we 
 " pierce ourselves through with many sorrows. " 
 Aware of this, the truly devoted and happy Chris- 
 tian determines on a systematic life, in which every 
 
112 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 duty shall have precedence according to its impor- 
 tance ; time shall be so allotted as to meet and 
 settle the highest claims first, and even the inno- 
 cent gratifications shall have a place, but not such 
 a place as shall disqualify the soul for its great 
 work, or weaken its desires for the pure joys of 
 devotion. 
 
CONTROVERSY OPPOSED TO PIOUS JOY. H3 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF CONTROVERSY OPPOSED TO THE 
 EXERCISE OF PIOUS JOY. 
 
 THERE is but one more positive obstruction to 
 the joy of salvation which shall claim the consider- 
 ation of the reader it is the spirit of religious con- 
 tention. 
 
 " Offences must come," and differences of opinion 
 in relation to religious doctrines will exist, and 
 hence we may infer that the collision of opposing 
 sects, and of members of the same sect, with shades 
 of difference, will operate more or less among the 
 armies of Israel. This is owing in part to human 
 infirmity, but much more perhaps to human de- 
 pravity. 
 
 It is not in place here to enter fully into the cir- 
 cumstances which allow, and in some cases even 
 oblige good men to engage in the polemics of 
 religion. None can doubt that such occasions do 
 exist, and that Christians would betray their high 
 trust if they were to suffer in silence divine truth to 
 be impugned and souls to be endangered by its per- 
 version. But with this concession, how evident is 
 it that controversy is entered upon in many cases 
 where neither the amount of difference nor the 
 
 Who are Happy I O 
 
114 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 causes of provocation are sufficient to justify it. 
 All the sad consequences on the peace of Christians, 
 and in prejudicing religion in the eyes of the world, 
 are incurred when the diversity of belief is so unim- 
 portant as, by the judgment of both parties, invali- 
 dates not the claim of either to true piety. If all 
 such cases were at once withdrawn from the field 
 of conflict, and those left which regard only funda- 
 mental principles, what a sudden calm would suc- 
 ceed the now agitated and tempestuous scene. How 
 soon would the ark settle down upon its resting- 
 place, the waters abate, and the bow of promise 
 gladden our eyes. 
 
 If this spirit of controversy could be confined to 
 the mettlesome leaders in the affray, it would save 
 piety from a vast amount of injury. But when the 
 spirit of strife and contention is made to pervade 
 large sections of the church, and the humble Chris- 
 tian, even in his retirement, is compelled to hear 
 and to respond to the startling notes of the war- 
 trumpet, to buckle on his armor and rush to the 
 conflict, God's Israel becomes like a vast military 
 encampment, where nothing is to be heard but the 
 preparation-notes of battle, or the clangor of resound- 
 ing arms. 
 
 Now, as the deadliest strife among nations often 
 derives its origin from slight causes, so this ecclesi- 
 astical warfare is waged many times for the settle- 
 
CONTROVERSY OPPOSED TO PIETY. H5 
 
 merit of points where the actual difference is the 
 most difficult point of all to be ascertained. The 
 fierceness of the struggle, however, instead of being, 
 as one would suppose, proportioned to the magni- 
 tude of the errors, is often greater as the points of 
 difference diminish. How does piety languish, and 
 how do her joys fade away, before this collision of 
 excited minds ; in which, instead of provoking one 
 another to " love and to good works," the main 
 effort appears to be to enlist the greatest number of 
 suffrages to a party, and to wield the mightiest in- 
 fluence. The avenues of Zion, like the open gates 
 of Janus, are ringing with the tramp of combatants, 
 or echoing to the shouts of victory. Party leaders 
 seem resolved that no Christian shall stand neutral 
 in any given strife ; and that, be the points at issue 
 more or less important, each one must declare 
 openly for or against the party. They take their 
 stand on the high places, like Saul at Gibeah, and 
 hewing their sacrifice in pieces, send them abroad 
 over the land, declaring that " so shall it be done 
 unto " the man who rallies not under their standard. 
 The Christian who is enabled to stand aloof from 
 this warfare is privileged indeed. It is wholly ad- 
 verse to the growth of piety, and if participated in 
 to any considerable extent, must inevitably rob the 
 soul of its felicity. "Who can enumerate the topics 
 of religious strife which in various assemblies and 
 
116 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 through various publications are now thrust upon 
 the attention of the church ? How many combina- 
 tions are formed with a view to coerce almost the 
 Christian into their ranks. What various conflict- 
 ing claims are presented among members of the 
 same communion. The excitement which all this 
 produces cannot be friendly to the development of 
 spiritual religion. It cannot promote "the peace- 
 able fruits of righteousness," except on the principle 
 that God may overrule one of the greatest afflictions 
 of our Zion to the furtherance of her joy. 
 
 There is nothing in our religion which tends to 
 produce this spirit of contention. It is pacific in its 
 design and in its commands. The soul that has 
 felt its influence is full of love to all mankind. It 
 takes its tone from Him who came " not to destroy 
 men's lives, but to save them." 
 
 What a variety of beautiful texts might be cited 
 to show how opposite to this contentious spirit is 
 the whole tenor of the gospel* " A new command- 
 ment I give unto you, That ye love one another." 
 " Love worketh no ill to his neighbor ; therefore 
 love is the fulfilling of the law." " Be kindly affec- 
 tioned one to another with brotherly love ; in honor 
 preferring one another." " Be pitiful, be courteous." 
 " The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be 
 gentle unto all men." " While one saith, I am of 
 Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not 
 
CONTROVERSY OPPOSED TO PIETY. 117 
 
 carnal ?" " Be perfect, "be of one mind, live in 
 peace." " Charity is the bond of perfectness." 
 " Charity suffer eth long, and is kind. Charity is 
 not easily provoked, beareth all things, hopeth all 
 things, endureth all things." " And now abideth 
 faith, hope, charity, these three ; but the greatest 
 of these is charity" 
 
 In view of the manifest injury to the soul which 
 the spirit of religious controversy inflicts, and with 
 these passages of Scripture before us, how can we 
 expect to retain our Christian peace and joy while 
 mingling in the conflict ? 
 
 But it may be replied, " Truth must be main- 
 tained, and it is necessary that some individuals 
 should consent, even against their wish, to stand 
 forth as her champions." This has already been 
 conceded ; but with the concession it is still lament- 
 ably true that the present times are fearfully rife 
 with causes of contention which, in themselves com- 
 paratively unimportant, are magnified to that de- 
 gree, that the struggle is as heated and violent as if 
 the very ark of God was threatened with annihila- 
 tion. This spirit is breathed into the church all 
 over the land, and operates like the passage of a 
 tornado to uproot and desolate the verdant beauties 
 of Zion ; or, if this figure be too strong, we will call 
 it a kind of malaria which, insinuating itself into 
 every section of the church, causes cold ehiverings 
 
118 WHO ARE THE HAPPY ? 
 
 and feeble pulses in men who were wont to rejoice 
 in the full vigor of health. Such has been its effect 
 in our land, and piety has greatly declined in her 
 attractiveness, and been deprived of much of her 
 influences, while a scoffing world has felt at liberty 
 to cavil at our faith and to question the sincerity of 
 our professions. Piety has been blamed for that 
 which she has all the while been aiming to destroy, 
 a spirit of unholy contention ; and it becomes true 
 Christians to rescue her from these aspersions by 
 exemplifying the charity which she recommends. 
 
FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES. 119 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES FAVORABLE TO THE PROMOTION 
 OF PIOUS JOY. 
 
 IT will be seen from the foregoing pages, that 
 the charge which is sometimes -preferred against 
 religion is wholly without foundation : that if a 
 cloud rest upon a Christian's brow, or any gloom 
 pervade his soul, it is not piety that produces it, 
 but it comes, in most instances, from the obstruc- 
 tions alluded to, which prevent piety from exerting 
 its legitimate influence. 
 
 Only such hinderances have been noticed as are 
 prominent in our day, and peculiar somewhat to our 
 age and country. If Christians will avoid these, 
 and give to piety an unobstructed sway over the 
 soul, she will doubtless soon produce those lovely 
 fruits which in the Scriptures are ascribed to her 
 influence. " The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 
 peace, long- suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
 meekness, temperance." For illustration on this 
 point we may advert again to the analogy of nature. 
 When it is intended to cultivate the fruits of the 
 earth, or to call forth the flowers and foliage which 
 are to adorn it, the first important step is to remove 
 the obstructions and place -the desired vegetation in 
 
1UO WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 circumstances favorable for its growth. The nature 
 of the soil is carefully attended to. The exposed- 
 ness of the plant to boisterous winds or nipping 
 frosts is considered. Every precautionary method 
 is considered to prop or to bind it, to lay it open to 
 the sun, or to shield it from a too intense action o{ 
 his rays. It cannot be reasonably expected that 
 the plant will thrive and put on its lovely dress 
 without all this care and culture. If the soil is 
 overgrown with weeds and obstructed by stones, or 
 if this delicate plant is left to be beaten by the 
 winds or smitten by the sunbeam, how can we look 
 for the natural and proper development of its 
 beauties ? 
 
 Nor is it otherwise with the fruits of the Spirit. 
 The soul that is left exposed to every adverse influ- 
 ence will present a moral condition analogous to 
 that of the neglected plant. Chilling winds will in- 
 vade it. Blighting frosts will silently wither it, and 
 if it still retain some appearance of life, it will be 
 so stinted in its growth and so barren in its aspect 
 as to excite a melancholy feeling in the beholder. 
 On the other hand, if " God's husbandry" is prop- 
 erly cultivated, and the tender plants are shielded 
 from unfriendly influences if the culture is in any 
 degree proportioned to the importance and excel- 
 lency of the expected fruit, there will not be a 
 more attractive sight in the universe than these 
 
FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES. 121 
 
 " trees of righteousness " flourishing with well- 
 watered roots and un withering leaves. 
 
 If God has given us facilities in the one field, so 
 has he in the other ; and if in the one case the 
 reward is proportioned to the care and labor, it is 
 no less certain and generous in the other. 
 
 In the productions of the earth we have the rain 
 and the dew, the light and the shade, the heat and 
 the cold, all operating in such due proportion on the 
 soil as to warm into life and call forth into beauti- 
 ful forms that which is the object of our care. 
 And is it otherwise with the soul whose graces are 
 to be developed under a faithful spiritual culture ? 
 Has not God promised, with equal explicitness, 
 " Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also 
 reap ?" Has he not declared, that " as the rain 
 cometh down from heaven and returneth not 
 thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it 
 bring forth, that it may give seed to the sower and 
 bread to the eater, so shall his word be that goeth 
 forth out of his mouth ?" As certainly as the dew 
 distils on the flower, and the sunbeam falls upon 
 and enlivens it, so surely will God give his Spirit 
 to refresh, and the light of his countenance to cheer 
 that soul "who diligently seeketh him." 
 
 To this established connection between the use 
 of means and the certain production of pious fruits, 
 we must add the very extraordinary facilities for 
 
122 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 the full development of the Christian graces which 
 are found in" our highly favored land. 
 
 If the Christian does not daily advance in his 
 upward path, it will not be for the want of means 
 and appliances. If any obscurity rest upon his soul, 
 it will not be owing to a diminution of light in the 
 moral atmosphere. " The Sun of righteousness has 
 arisen upon us with healing in his wings." There 
 is a flood- tide of salvation poured down upon us. 
 No people on earth are more richly endowed in this 
 respect. The manna falls upon us daily, and in 
 great abundance. The pillar of cloud is before us 
 by day, and the pillar of fire by night. The silver 
 trumpet of the Levites is ringing continually in our 
 ears, and the cleft rock is pouring out at our feet the 
 waters of life. Is there any reason why we should 
 not joyfully march on our way ? 
 
 To constitute the happy Christian, two depart- 
 ments of labor must be occupied. The one respects 
 the duties which we owe to ourselves, and embraces 
 the exercises of the closet, such as prayer, self- 
 examination, and the study of the Scriptures. Theso 
 are of primary importance ; and it is out of the 
 question to expect pious joy where they are neglected 
 or discharged in a superficial manner.* But scarcely 
 less important, especially in forming the character 
 
 * These duties have been recommended and illustrated iu 
 a former work the "Advice to a Young Christian." 
 
FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES. 123 
 
 of the happy Christian, is the department of labor 
 which respects the good of others, which aims to 
 carry out our influence upon all whom it is possible 
 to reach and to bless. The spirit of the gospel is not 
 evinced nor its joys experienced, without a faithful 
 occupation of our talents and a conformity by self- 
 denying labors to Him " who went about doing good." 
 " To do good unto all men as we have opportunity," 
 is the grand rule ; estimating the pressure of the 
 obligation according to the nature of the good and 
 the ability and opportunity to bestow it. Now the 
 Christian who is faithful in the one department, 
 will be very likely to be faithful in the other. He 
 who lives near the private altar, and gathers there 
 his motives and feeds there his zeal, will be ready 
 to embrace every qpening to be useful which the 
 providence of God shall disclose. He will not be 
 " standing all the day idle," and crying, with folded 
 hands, " No man hath hired me." 
 
 It has pleased Providence to place before his 
 church in our day facilities for doing good, and for 
 extending the cause of truth and righteousness, 
 more numerous and in greater variety than per- 
 haps were ever known before. There is hence no 
 apology for indolence or inactivity. Not one in 
 the spiritual community can say, " There is nothing 
 for me to do." The work is graduated to the ability 
 of every saint, not excepting the most indigent. 
 
124 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 Each may, if he think proper, select that depart- 
 ment of benevolence which is best suited to his 
 circumstances. Such being the case, it is evident 
 that no pious person can be happy if he withhold 
 good from him that needeth, when God has put it 
 in his power to do this good ; for, " to him that 
 knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is 
 sin." 
 
THE USEFUL CHRISTIAN HAPPY. 125 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE USEFUL CHRISTIAN HAPPY. 
 
 IT is not intended to prescribe to the reader the 
 ways or methods which it is his particular duty to 
 adopt, in order to exert a proper Christian influence 
 upon others, but rather to exhibit the necessity of 
 uniting good works with devotional habits. This 
 union, we maintain, is indispensable to a full and 
 scriptural development of true piety. Without it, 
 we cannot fulfil the commands of God, nor tread in 
 the footsteps of our Redeemer. "To do good, and 
 to communicate, forget not ; for with such sacrifices 
 God is well pleased." It is therefore a settled prin- 
 ciple, that no Christian can be happy who is not 
 useful ; indeed, it would admit of a question, whether 
 any soul can be the subject of renewing grace, who 
 is not in some way engaged in direct acts of benevo- 
 lence. Yet it must be confessed, that many profes- 
 sors of religion seem to find some apology for inac- 
 tion in all that respects self-denying efforts to extend 
 the influence of piety. 
 
 The facilities for putting forth this influence have 
 been alluded to, and ought to be well considered by 
 all who have enlisted " as good soldiers of Jesus 
 Christ." It is needless to enumerate them, since 
 
126 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 they are familiar to all. They come to our very 
 doors, and tender themselves to our acceptance. We 
 can do good by our money, by our labor, by our 
 conversation, and by our prayers. We can do good 
 in the family, in the neighborhood, in the church, 
 and throughout the world . Numerous channels are 
 opened in the providence of God, through which we 
 can carry out Christian influence not only over our 
 own land, but to the most distant and degraded spot 
 on earth. Our charities can take wing and light 
 upon the very place where we think them most 
 needed. We may find the objects of our benevo- 
 lent regard already arranged and classified, so that 
 we have only to select where and upon whom that 
 benevolence shall flow, and the work may com- 
 mence. With such opportunities of influence, it is 
 clear that none but he who avails himself of some 
 of them, and endeavors to acquire and sustain the 
 character of a faithful servant,, can be a happy 
 Christian. God has done all this to invite us to 
 become coworkers with himself in accomplishing 
 the grand designs of his mercy. If we hold back, 
 or if we leave the work to others, while under the 
 influence of some futile apology we seek the things 
 of earth, it is a very dark sign against us, and we 
 may well tremble under the apprehension of being 
 addressed at last as " wicked and slothful servants." 
 On this subject, however, there is room for many 
 
THE USEFUL CHRISTIAN HAPPY. 127 
 
 modifications of personal duty and responsibility. 
 Christians are placed in very different circumstances 
 as to their means of usefulness and their opportuni- 
 ties for doing good. All these circumstances the eye 
 of heaven notices and considers. Some are poor, 
 and their responsibilities are modified by their lowly 
 condition. In them we look for the virtues of in- 
 dustry, frugality, and temperance, but cannot expect 
 them to give their time or their money, except as 
 they consider it a privilege to contribute their mite, 
 which it undoubtedly is even to the poorest. But 
 such can pray, can meekly reprove vice, can let the 
 light of their example- not the less attractive for 
 their poverty shine upon their ungodly neighbors. 
 Some are mothers deeply responsible and highly 
 useful condition with young immortals cast upon 
 their care, whose moral training no circumstances, 
 save those of dire necessity, should tempt them to 
 neglect. There is no province on earth more im- 
 portant than this. We will excuse the Christian 
 mother, under the pressure of maternal responsi- 
 bility, from many, if not all the conspicuous chari- 
 ties of the day. If she is, under God, moulding the 
 character of her offspring, in order to qualify them 
 for life's duties and for heaven's eternal joys, we 
 will say to her, " Go on, and God be with you ; 
 and although some may stand forth more in the 
 sunlight of observation, while you are laboring in 
 
128 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 the shade, the end will prove that your vocation 
 was at least as important as theirs." 
 
 The invalid and the aged are exempted, by the 
 providence of God, from some labors, but are under 
 obligation to perform others of which even their 
 circumstances may admit. The great and all- 
 important point is to have the spirit of doing good 
 an eye that watches for opportunities, and a hand 
 ready to seize on them as they are unfolded. With 
 this spirit in exercise, no Christian will be at a loss 
 for occasions to let his light shine, nor for subjects 
 on which to expend benevolent action. 
 
 We are not opposed to a division of labor, but we 
 do object to the method pursued by some Christians, 
 of selecting a favorite department of benevolence, 
 and aiming to carry it forward under the idea of 
 its paramount claims. Such a course can seldom 
 be pursued without prejudice to some other good 
 cause ; and if others who prefer a different depart- 
 ment adopt the same course, the whole subject of 
 public charities is placed before the world in a 
 prejudiced light. 
 
 A Christian's usefulness is not always in propor- 
 tion to the space he fills in the public eye, nor to 
 the amount of discursive influence which he may 
 be able to cast abroad over the wide field of exer- 
 tion. Some men may deem it their duty to sow 
 the seed by all waters. With native ardor of tern- 
 
THE USEFUL CHRISTIAN HAPPY. 129 
 
 perament, and with a zeal, kindled we trust by a 
 coal from heaven's altar, they may take wing and 
 visit a thousand places, and make their influence 
 felt over a boundless space. The seed which they 
 scatter may in some instances take root, but the 
 real amount of good accomplished in such cases 
 cannot be ascertained. Others may select for them- 
 selves a limited spot in the vineyard, and in humble 
 dependence on God, apply their energies to its cul- 
 tivation. In instances of this description the work 
 is with less public^ observation, but the amount of 
 actual good accomplished may exceed that of the 
 more brilliant and discursive laborer. It has this 
 advantage also, that the fruits are visible ; and the 
 moral change, as in the case of a barren spot in 
 nature reclaimed to fertility, is the more gratifying 
 from the recollection of its former disheartening 
 appearance. 
 
 Without, then, assigning to a Christian the pecu- 
 liar field which he shall cultivate, we would simply 
 urge him to be useful in the circumstances in which 
 God has placed him to shrink from no labor which 
 Providence seems to impose, nor to anticipate hap- 
 piness except in the diligent discharge of all his 
 duties. " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it 
 with thy might ; for there is no work, nor device, 
 nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither 
 thou goest." 
 
 Who nre Happy ! 9 
 
ISO WHC ARE THE 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII, 
 
 THE JOY OF CONTENTMENT. 
 
 " GODLINESS with contentment," says S-1. Paul, 
 " is great gain." It would seem from this declara- 
 tion as if godliness was not always accompanied by 
 contentment. There can be no doubt, however, 
 that the design and tendency of true piety is to pro- 
 mote a contented spirit, and where this effect does 
 not take place, we are obliged to suppose something 
 peculiar in the disposition of the individual to thwart 
 its influence. 
 
 Instances might be cited where the evidence of 
 piety is not wanting, and yet with such constitu- 
 tional peculiarities as to hinder its action in a given 
 direction. There is an " easily besetting sin" which 
 piety must combat for a great length of time ere it 
 be brought into habitual subjection. How intimate 
 the connection is between this " besetting sin" and 
 the physical weaknesses of the individual, it is not 
 easy to say ; but there is reason to believe thai some 
 sins acquire power from this connection. There 
 are also hereditary infirmities, and the secret influ- 
 ence of disease, which operate upon certain minds, 
 and counteract the tendency of religion to soothe 
 and to cheer them. 
 
JOY OF CONTENTMENT. 131 
 
 How diversified are the natural dispositions of 
 men. Some are impetuous and ardent, and others 
 are sluggish in their affections and feelings. Some 
 are restless in whatsoever situation they may be ; 
 and others, when once in a particular place or call- 
 ing, seem never to wish for any change. Now, 
 when piety takes effect on these varying dispositions, 
 it modifies, but does not completely change them. 
 The ardent disposition will evince itself in religion 
 as it did before in earthly pleasures, and the man 
 of a dull, lethargic spirit will be likely to move on 
 with timid pace in the new path which he has 
 begun to travel. The restless temper, ever seeking 
 some change, will find more difficulty in cultivating 
 the grace of contentment, even after embracing a 
 life of piety, than the even-tempered man, whose 
 very nature disinclines him to change. 
 
 It is clear also, that we cannot estimate truly the 
 strength of piety from a comparison of individuals 
 on a given point. The two cases alluded to afford 
 an illustration of this. In the one case, content- 
 ment would argue a higher degree of piety, because 
 strong constitutional tendencies are to be overcome. 
 In the other, it would furnish less decisive evidence 
 of piety, inasmuch as the constitutional tendencies 
 rather favor than oppose the exercise of this virtue. 
 In this latter case, godliness is as it were super- 
 added to contentment, and there is even under these 
 
132 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 circumstances "great gain." The life of such an 
 individual flows on in a noiseless current, and is on 
 the whole tranquil and happy. But in the former 
 example, if to godliness the individual can add con- 
 tentment, it is a still greater gain ; for it is the vic- 
 tory of religious principle over powerful constitu- 
 tional impediments, and the joys of the triumph are 
 added to the peaceful virtue which has been earned 
 after a hard-fought battle. 
 
 If we discover our besetting sin it is one impor- 
 tant point gained, and our duty is then plainly 
 before us, by God's grace, to enter the lists against it. 
 
 How many Christians are uneasy and restless 
 under the circumstances in which Providence has 
 placed them. If they have godliness, it is mani- 
 festly not accompanied as habitually as it ought to 
 be by contentment. It need not be said that pious 
 joy is inseparable from a contented frame of mind ; 
 nor that, where the soul is dissatisfied with its 
 allotment in life, there is envy and even secret 
 murmuring. 
 
 On no point, perhaps, are Christians more fre- 
 quently tempted than on this. They see other men 
 pursuing, with unobstructed and successful career, 
 the wealth and the honors of the world. They 
 look upon their outward estate, and wonder why 
 Providence should have made such a difference ; 
 not remembering that this very difference may be 
 
JOY OF CONTENTMENT. 133 
 
 in their favor, and that while the worldling is 
 receiving his good things in this life, God is pre- 
 paring something better for the Christian. Even 
 the psalmist was almost ready to call in question 
 the rectitude of the divine government, " when he 
 saw the prosperity of the wicked." But his " envy 
 at the foolish" vanished quickly when he "went 
 into the sanctuary of God." There he " saw their 
 end." He saw the " slippery places " of power and 
 wealth without godliness, and he condemned him- 
 self for being " ignorant" on a point so plain. 
 
 It has pleased God, for the good of his people and 
 in love to their souls, to appoint most of them a 
 lowly lot in life. He has thus exempted them from 
 "the deceitfulness of riches," and from many of the 
 corroding cares of the world. Full scope is thus 
 given for the development of their piety, and a com- 
 paratively unobstructed course is laid open to them 
 to run their Christian race. Shall any complain at 
 this, or sigh to think that God has not hedged up 
 their way to heaven by the conflicts of ambition or 
 the oppressive anxiety which is connected with 
 golden stores ? Only let them fully understand 
 their favorable position in life, and they will readily 
 perceive, that if piety is to be the fountain of theii 
 felicity, their situation is much the most favorable 
 for realizing its joys. In view of it one is ready to 
 exclaim, in the language of Virgil depicting the 
 
134 W HO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 happy state of the humble swain, and which is 
 even more applicable to humble and moderately 
 endowed Christians, " fortunatos nimium, sua si 
 bona norint" Thrice happy they who appreciate 
 the blessings of their lot. Happy indeed would 
 they be, if they could appreciate the good which 
 God has connected with their state, and learn that 
 divine lesson which Paul had learned, " in whatso- 
 ever situation he was, therewith to be content." 
 
 The state of mind which we are recommending 
 is not opposed to lawful exertion, put forth in order 
 to better our outward condition. Christianity in no 
 instance paralyzes the springs of activity and honor- 
 able enterprise. Nor does contentment imply the 
 duty of remaining in an inferior station when Prov- 
 idence plainly says, " Go up higher." A Christian 
 may make this advance without any discontent- 
 ment with his former, and perhaps inferior position. 
 If God has appointed to him the humblest occupa- 
 tion or the most obscure post of labor, he is bound 
 to be satisfied, and on the ground that it is God's 
 appointment ; but he is not compelled to remain in 
 it when the same sovereign hand opens before him 
 another and a wider field of influence. 
 
 Contentment is opposed to restlessness in a given 
 situation, accompanied by so strong a wish for a 
 better as disqualifies the soul in a great measure for 
 the discharge of its present obligations. This rest- 
 
3GY OF CONTENTMENT. 136 
 
 iessness is utterly opposed to true peace of mind. 
 It is a struggle against the manifest will of heaven. 
 No Christian can fee happy in the indulgence of 
 such a feeling. 
 
 The joy of contentment is a tranquil and happy 
 emotion. It enables the soul to- sit undisturbed 
 amid the fluctuations of this changeful scene. It 
 has a smile as bright in the cloudy as in the clear 
 day, and can sing its grateful song as well in a 
 lowly as in a lofty situation. The Christian surely 
 need not deprive himself of this joy. What to him 
 should be the ephemeral distinctions of earth, when 
 he is expecting, after a few revolving suns, to wear 
 a crown brighter than the jewelled toy that rests 
 upon an earthly brow, and to inherit a kingdom 
 richer in. its resources than all the kingdoms of the 
 world ? 
 
136 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 SUBMISSION. 
 
 DOES piety make her disciples only contented ? 
 Is this the extent of her triumphs ? Does she not 
 make them submissive and resigned, under the 
 deepest afflictions of life ? Her power to counter- 
 act the evils of this fallen state, appears most con- 
 spicuous amid the darkest scenes which Providence 
 gathers around her path. Then does she come to 
 illustrate that promise which, in view of every pos- 
 sible gradation of mortal suffering, declares, " As 
 thy days, so shall thy strength be." 
 
 There are but few Christians who live for any 
 length of time without some trials ; so few, indeed, 
 as only to form rare exceptions to that general in- 
 heritance of tribulation which our Lord decreed 
 should be the portion of his followers. " In the 
 world ye shall have tribulation." These afflictions 
 are various in kind and in degree. In particular 
 cases they are wholly of a spiritual kind, and have 
 reference to the inward conflicts of the soul. Some- 
 times this species of suffering is the most intense 
 and insupportable which can be conceived. But 
 more generally they have reference to the peculiar 
 outward state, temporal or social, in which God 
 
SUBMISSION. 137 
 
 places his children, with a view to the cultivation 
 of the passive virtues, such as gentleness, patience, 
 and submission. Poverty and persecution, disap- 
 pointed earthly expectations, alienated friendship, 
 sickness and bereavement, are among the principal 
 burdens which are laid upon the soul and body to 
 serve as the occasion of eliciting the lovely grace 
 of submission. The Christian's perfection, that is, 
 the completeness of his character, cannot be at- 
 tained without this suffering in some form, nor 
 without its effect in the development of patience 
 and submission. How else could he " fill up that 
 which is behind of the afflictions of Christ ?" 
 Where else, or under what other circumstances 
 could he know the "fellowship of Christ's suffer- 
 ings ?" Nature shrinks from the ordeal. The fiery 
 furnace is intimidating, and we dread to enter it, 
 even though we have the assurance that we shall 
 come forth unharmed, yea, even like gold purified 
 and brightened by the process. But an invisible 
 hand will arrange all these circumstances of trial, 
 and introduce us to them in such a way as to give 
 them their happiest effect upon the soul. God will 
 adjust the burden to the back, and give the staff of 
 his promise, and enable us to hold on our way even 
 over a dark and rugged path. 
 
 Let us contemplate the sufferer. There is a man 
 who has labored hard and long to acquire the means 
 
138 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 of temporal support, but one adverse blast after an- 
 other has swept away his property, until he begins 
 to look around upon his loved ones with actual 
 solicitude. Another glance at life's moving pano- 
 rama shows us the lone widow, with her orphans at 
 her knee, looking up into her anxious and sorrow- 
 shrouded face to ask why that tear is there. Here 
 is one nailed to the sick couch, and week after week 
 inquiring for some slight indication of a favorable 
 change. The physician's eye speaks no encourage- 
 ment. A mother is bending over the short-breath- 
 ing child, and kissing its burning brow. It is her 
 earthly all. A husband stands petrified over the 
 cold remains of her whom he loved from youth. 
 death, thou hast dipped thine arrows in the 
 deadliest venom ! Yonder sits one leaning mourn- 
 fully forward and brooding over violated vows. 
 Alas, credulous heart, those vows were but the im- 
 pulse of passion, whose flame was kindled at no 
 pure altar. The domestic circle, that promised 
 elysium, is not always the heaven that was antici- 
 pated. The friends who in sunshine wore such 
 complacent smiles, can pass on with averted eye, 
 now that life wears a dreary aspect. How diversi- 
 fied and deep are the afflictions which meet us in 
 our passage through this vale of tears ! 
 
 But there is one thing, and one only, which can 
 make the soul the better for them. It is true piety ; 
 
SUBMISSION. 139 
 
 and where this is in exercise, they become, under 
 God, the secret agents of ripening the sufferer for 
 the skies. When the soul submits to the dispensa- 
 tion with true Christian resignation, it can he even 
 "joyful in tribulation." By this we mean, that the 
 consolations may so preponderate as to give a de- 
 cided prominence to the peaceful and happy feel- 
 ings over that anguish which nature must ever feel 
 when the stream of her earthly pleasures is inter- 
 rupted. Hence, we often find the good man sitting 
 calm amidst circumstances calculated to work up a 
 tempest in the bosom. He has his eye not simply 
 on the affliction, but on the hand that has caused 
 it, and he experiences along with the wound the 
 healing balm which faith applies. 
 
 See, then, the advantage which piety gives in a 
 world like ours, where almost every avenue we 
 tread leads to some grievous disappointment or deep 
 affliction. When the shaft strikes the man of the 
 world, what has he wherewith to medicate the 
 rankling wound ? While exempt from personal 
 suffering^ and while his sources of happiness are 
 left open to him, he can wear as cheerful a coun- 
 tenance as the Christian. But invade the paradise 
 of his joys ; cut down his loved ones, and let the 
 elements consume his earthly substance ; bid mes- 
 senger after messenger, as in the case of Job, fly to 
 inform him of successive disasters, and at length 
 
140 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 touch his own body, and " make its beauty to con- 
 sume away like a moth" where is his joy now ? 
 What staff has he now to lean upon ? No min- 
 gling resignation is there to calm his troubled breast, 
 and no heart-felt submission to the divine will in 
 view of God's righteous dealings. The mind must 
 pore upon the dark picture, unrelieved by even a 
 ray from the opening heavens. 
 
 Now the Christian is authorized, and even com- 
 manded to " rejoice in the Lord always ;" to " glory 
 in tribulations ; knowing that tribulation worketh 
 patience ; and patience, experience ; and experi- 
 ence, hope : and hope maketh not ashamed, be- 
 cause the love of God is shed abroad in the heart." 
 
 On what a slender foundation rests the world- 
 ling's joy ! It is like the plant which springs from 
 the stony ground ; it seems for a season to shoot 
 forth with rank luxuriance, but it has no depth of 
 soil ; its roots are insufficient to support it. While 
 all is calm it may cast forth its shoots, and even put 
 on some appearances of beauty. But when the storm 
 rises and mingling elements are invading it, how 
 fares it then ? "I have seen the wicked in great 
 power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree. 
 Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not : yea, I 
 sought him, but he could not be found." 
 
 How permanent is the basis of a Christian's joy ! 
 Its roots are strongly imbedded like the cedar of 
 
SUBMISSION. 141 
 
 Lebanon ; no wind that blows can battle it down. 
 The very tempest that beats upon it only adds to 
 its stability, and rivets it more firmly to its founda- 
 tion. This joy grows not on earth, nor depends for 
 its aliment on the smiles which earth can bestow. 
 It is planted in heaven, and is watered by that 
 stream which makes glad the city of God. How 
 then can it wither? How can the failing sources 
 of this world endanger the extinction of that which 
 blooms on the eternal hills ? Why need the Chris- 
 tian despond, e.ven when all else is gone ? Why 
 may he not smile amid the wreck of his earthly 
 hopes, when he can look up and claim God as his 
 portion, and heaven as his eternal home ? 
 
142 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 JOY IN DEATH. 
 
 CHRISTIAN submission extends to all the dark 
 and trying dispensations of the present state. It 
 includes even the stroke of death. It says with 
 the last expiring breath, " Thy will be done." The 
 triumph is the greater, because the approach of the 
 destroyer is distinctly contemplated, and the conse- 
 quences of death both to the prepared and unpre- 
 pared are vividly before the mind. 
 
 The faith of the Christian invests the hour of 
 dissolution with a solemnity which respects not 
 merely all that is to be left behind, nor all that is 
 repulsive in the cold aspect of death, but what is 
 to be experienced when the soul is disengaged from 
 the body and goes to heaven's tribunal. The retri- 
 butions of eternity are full in view. The dying 
 saint as fully believes in a hell to which the wick- 
 ed will be driven, as he believes in a heaven to 
 which the righteous will be welcomed. He has no 
 more doubt that he who believeth not will be 
 damned, than he has that he who believeth will be 
 saved. His views on this great doctrine of eternal 
 retributions are clear and distinct, and he ap- 
 proaches the crisis under their full influence. He 
 has also the conviction, stronger now then ever be- 
 
JOY IN DEATH, 143 
 
 fore, that no native traits of amiableness nor self- 
 originated virtues can afford him the least hope of 
 acceptance before God. He sees, in the retrospect, 
 that these supposed virtues are deficient in motive, 
 and they vanish before the accumulated sins which 
 have attended him at every step of his mortal jour- 
 ney. What then gives him peace in death, or how 
 can he expect to triumph in that fearful hour ? 
 " The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin 
 is the law. But thanks be to God. which giveth 
 us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" 
 What gives poignancy to death's arrow is sin, and 
 what makes this sin so potent to destroy is the vio- 
 lated law; but in the case of the believer, "the 
 blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin,", and 
 this same Saviour " is the end of the law for right- 
 eousness to every one that belie veth." Leaning, 
 then, wholly on the " arm of his Beloved," the 
 Christian may come to this fearful point without 
 terror, or even apprehension. " Who shall separate 
 him from the love of God?" Shall " death ?" "Who 
 is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, 
 yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the 
 right hand of God, who also maketh intercession 
 for us." Here we have the strong foundation on 
 which the dying saint reposes. It is not in " works 
 of righteousness which he has done," but solely in 
 the " righteousness of Christ imputed to him, and 
 
144 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 received by faith alone." This is the rock on which 
 he rests as the dark flood rises around him. When 
 the body is a wreck, and is falling away under the 
 successive strokes of death's billows, to this rock of 
 salvation does the soul cling, until the command is 
 given that moors it safe on Canaan's happy shores. 
 
 Many do not contemplate death at all until they 
 are forced into the narrow pass, and then all is wild 
 amazement or downright insensibility. The hopes of 
 recovery occupy the mind until, by the action of the 
 disease, it is so far incapacitated for reflection as to 
 entertain no distinct notions of death or of its conse- 
 quences. In such cases, a willingness to die may be 
 mistaken for Christian resignation, and the stupid- 
 ity which precedes death is misnamed submission. 
 
 But piety does more than make the soul willing 
 to go, it often begets an intense longing " to depart 
 and to be with Christ, which is far better." Every 
 thing that relates to the closing scene is well 
 adapted to give the impression of its power to sus- 
 tain and to comfort the soul. " Come," said Addi- 
 son to a young nobleman, " and see how a Chris- 
 tian can die." And says Dr. Young, 
 
 " The chamber where the good man meets his fate 
 Is privileged beyond the common walk 
 Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven ! 
 His comforters he comforts ; great in ruin, 
 With unreluctant grandeur, gives, not yields, 
 His soul sublime." 
 
joy IN DEATH. 145 
 
 , <; Sweet peace, and heavenly hope, and humble joy, 
 Divinely beam OIL his exalted soul. 
 Destruction gild, and crown him for the skies, 
 With incommunicable lustre bright." 
 
 The triumph, of piety in the last hour is more evi- 
 dent in the positive desire to go, than in the mere 
 tvillingness to die. As Dr. Young has beautifully 
 expressed it, the Christian "gives, not yields, his 
 soul sublime." When a mere worldling is brought 
 to the bed of death, there may "be a constitutional 
 hardihood which sustains the mind in some degree 
 of equanimity, or there may be in the action of the 
 disorder such intense bodily sufferings as to extort 
 the wish that God would put an end to them even 
 by death. But is there any triumph here, or is 
 there in this case any desire to depart founded on 
 the bright visions of faith ? No ; alas, all is forced 
 submission, and the wish to die is grounded simply 
 on the insupportable suffering which is laid upon 
 the body. 
 
 How different are the Christian's emotions in 
 death. There is something of positive good beyond 
 the grave which engages his thoughts and awakens 
 the desire to be gone. It is a view of the new Jeru- 
 salem, the soul's happy home, that kindles in the 
 dying eye that almost supernatural light, and in- 
 fuses into the spirit such a sublime composure, as it 
 adjusts itself for its glorious flight. Who but the 
 
 Who are Happy 1 1 
 
146 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 Christian has ever been found longing to depart? 
 Others may submit to this necessity, but he rejoices 
 in the hour of liberation. Others may be willing 
 to die, because they have nothing to live for, or be- 
 cause they prefer death, regardless of its awful con- 
 sequences, to anguish so insupportable ; but the 
 Christian's views are of a sublimer cast. He has 
 the air of a conqueror. He often meets the last 
 enemy with alacrity, and says, with lips almost 
 cold in death, " Thanks be unto God, which giveth 
 me the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'* 
 
 Whatever disadvantages religion may be sup- 
 posed to have in health or in seasons of worldly 
 prosperity, her claims must be admitted when the 
 health is broken and that world of vanities is reced- 
 ing on the dying eye. But if her blessings are set at 
 naught in health, and when their adoption in view 
 of rival claims would prove the soul's decided pref- 
 erence and its well-founded hope, if then they are 
 despised and worldly pleasure is pursued, there is 
 little probability she will hear the dying sinner's 
 cry, and place under his sinking soul her eternal 
 arms. " If ye would die the death, live ye the life 
 of the righteous." You cannot travel in a different 
 road and reach the same glorious end. 
 
 But some may say, that while this triumphant 
 death is occasionally witnessed, there are many ex- 
 ceptions, and that Christians do not always pass the 
 
JOY IN DEATH. 147 
 
 dark valley with such exulting songs. It is true, 
 that God does not give his chosen ones a uniform or 
 an equal joy in death. Indeed, sometimes they are 
 hurried away without a moment's warning. There 
 are instances in which, from the influence of dis- 
 ease or some constitutional timidity, there will 
 seem to gather around the soul dark shadows to 
 obscure its vision. Nor can we anticipate the pre- 
 cise emotions of the pious soul until they are expe- 
 rienced. The life is the great criterion. But sel- 
 dom, however, do we see a Christian die without 
 some sweet intimations of his future felicity. If 
 faith is not triumphant, it is sufficiently strong to 
 give peace. If there are no enrapturing foretastes 
 of heaven, there is a good hope through grace of 
 its fruition. 
 
 When Bunyan's pilgrims are passing the river of 
 death, and have reached the midway current, Chris- 
 tian is represented as sinking, and Hopeful as hear- 
 ing him triumphantly along ; but soon they both 
 reach the opposite shore, and are welcomed by the 
 celestial messengers. The great allegorist intended 
 by this, no doubt, to represent the inequality of joy 
 and triumph which Christians experience in the 
 hour of death ; but the end with all is the same. 
 The dark waters may intimidate, but cannot over- 
 whelm the soul. There may be some misgivings, 
 but never can faith be disappointed, nor Christian 
 
H8 WIIO ARE THE HATTY? 
 
 hope sink in despair. All will be well at last. 
 The bright shores of heaven will be reached in 
 safety, and the soul, conducted by " shining ones,'* 
 shall enter the gates of the new Jerusalem, and 
 forget all its sorrows in the enjoyment of its ever- 
 lasting rest. 
 
 
CONCLUSION. 149 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Is not the reader prepared now to say, " Let me 
 both live the life and die the death of the right- 
 eous ?" Is it not evident, that if in a Christian's 
 death there is something to he coveted, there is also 
 in his life that which claims our imitation ? 
 
 "VYe have aimed to rescue piety from the charge 
 of making her votaries gloomy. We have endeav- 
 ored to exhibit her influence where it is allowed an 
 unobstructed sway, as producing in the soul a "joy 
 that is unspeakable." The impediments to this 
 joy, especially such as exist in our day and country, 
 have been dwelt upon principally with the design 
 of cautioning Christians against them; and some 
 circumstances favorable to the development of pious 
 joy have also been noticed, in order that they may 
 be fully appreciated and improved. 
 
 As the mind glances back over the whole ground, 
 what is the practical impression ? What benefit, 
 dear reader, is to accrue to thy soul from these 
 considerations ? Shall the book be closed without 
 one holy resolution or one renewed struggle for the 
 kingdom of heaven ? Shall it be like a vision of 
 the night that is gone when the eye opens upon 
 
150 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 earthly scenes, and that, whether joyous or sad, is 
 viewed only as a dream ? Do you expect, after its 
 perusal, to go forth into the world with the same 
 unguarded heart, or without breathing up to God 
 one additional prayer for his protection? Is this 
 little volume to plant not one fragrant flower in 
 your future path, nor brighten your spiritual hori- 
 zon with one beaming star ? Then indeed has it, as 
 it respects any good to you, been written and read 
 in vain. But we will hope " better things of you, 
 and things that accompany salvation." 
 
 Are you a professor of religion, one by whom the 
 sacred name of Christ has been named ? Then 
 may we hope that the perusal of these pages will 
 have strengthened what is good in the soul, and will 
 lead you to unremitted efforts under God for still 
 greater attainments. You must be convinced that 
 piety will not make you happy in life, nor trium- 
 phant in death, if you allow her not her legitimate 
 influence. She will not suffer the market-men and 
 money-changers to sit with her in the temple. She 
 must be the sole divinity, or she will not preside at 
 all. God and mammon can never occupy the same 
 heart. Settle it in your mind that all compromise 
 for worldly gain or pleasure is the death of pious 
 joy. That amaranthine flower grows only on Z ion's 
 hill, and he who plucks it must toil up the steep 
 ascent, and leave the dull earth far behind him. 
 
CONCLUSION. 151 
 
 If you have been led astray, now is the time to 
 retrace your steps. As the sigh of recollected but 
 departed joys heaves your bosom, seize the favored 
 moment to plead with God that these "joys of sal- 
 vation" may be restored. 
 
 It is time that Christians evinced more of the 
 attractive features of their religion. Its power to 
 make them happy is but seldom adequately tested. 
 We have to appeal too often to the fears only of the 
 impenitent. We ought to wear so heavenly an as- 
 pect as to convince them of our superior happiness, 
 and to compel them to admit, that in the comparison 
 their grovelling pleasures are empty and unsatisfy- 
 ing. How can we expect them to concede to the 
 beauty I had almost said to the reality of our 
 religion, if its loveliest fruits are not exhibited? 
 Are we willing that souls should be repelled from 
 the path of life because we have obstructed its en- 
 trance, and withered every fragrant plant that grew 
 around its gateway ? Shall that which was given 
 us to attract men to heaven, prove the perverted in- 
 strument of driving them down to hell ? Shall our 
 lamp go out, or burn so dimly as scarce to direct 
 our own steps, while for the want of its light thou- 
 sands are " stumbling on the dark mountains ?" 
 Christian reader, ask and answer these questions to 
 your own soul. 
 
 Or is my reader not only not a professor of relig- 
 
152 AY u A R K T H J<: H A J ' *' v ? 
 
 ion, but one the convictions of whose conscience 
 assure him that he is not a possessor of true piety ? 
 Allow me to ask, if the perusal of these pages has 
 not convinced you of at least one practical error : 
 I mean the very common impression that piety robs 
 us of joy and felicity ? Perhaps you have not fall- 
 en into this error. It may be that some very favor- 
 able specimens of living piety have come under 
 your observation, and convinced you that true and 
 substantial joy cannot be experienced apart from 
 religion. Is this your conviction ? Why then do 
 you remain where you are ? Why attempt to fill 
 yourself with husks, when " in your Father's house 
 there is bread enough and to spare ?" 
 
 But if you have stood off at a distance from re- 
 ligion, and taken your impressions of its influence 
 from some merely nominal professors, or from some 
 who, though truly pious, were afflicted with a con- 
 stitutional melancholy, it is to be hoped that you 
 will not any more charge upon religion what be- 
 longs to some accidental circumstance in connection 
 with it, or what belongs to our remaining depravity, 
 or what ought in some instances to be charged to 
 downright hypocrisy. You must have seen that 
 the Christian, with all his admitted failings, is the 
 only happy man. His religion, where it is not ob- 
 structed, pours sunshine into his soul ; it makes 
 life's joys doubly precious, and life's burdens easy 
 
CONCLUSION 153 
 
 to be borne. And in death, who has the advan- 
 tage then ? Whose dying pillow is softest ? Whose 
 dying eye is brightest ? Whose prospects for eter- 
 nity are the most alluring ? 
 
 Take what view you will of this subject, behold 
 the Christian when and where you will, it must be 
 admitted that to him belongs the only foundation 
 of true and substantial joy. With this concession, 
 let me ask you, what are your own expectations of 
 happiness ? Are you hoping to find it in the indul- 
 gence of the animal desires ? Do the pleasures of 
 sense put in a successful claim ? Ah, how often 
 has the cup been mixed ! Perhaps as it touched 
 the lip a momentary pleasure flashed through the 
 veins, but the soul exclaimed, " This is not happi- 
 ness." 
 
 You have tried social bliss. Under the excite- 
 ment of kindred minds you have seemed to enjoy 
 the scene ; but solitude has come, and in that soli- 
 tude there was a voice that still spoke of misery. 
 
 You have been impelled by the thirst of gain ; 
 your success has been all that you anticipated. 
 Or you have " loved the praise of men," and have 
 obtained it. But as the fancied reward came into 
 your hand, has not the unsatisfied soul still asked, 
 "Is^sall?" 
 
 Every path which you have trod has failed to 
 conduct you to the long-desired rest. Why is this ? 
 
154 WHO ARE THE HAPPY? 
 
 Because you have refused the only hand that can 
 conduct you to that rest. You have expected to 
 find happiness in indulgence, whereas it is to be 
 found in self-denial. You have looked for it in the 
 pleasures of the world, when it is to be obtained 
 by overcoming the world. You have shrunk from 
 the cross of Jesus, when that very cross leads him 
 who bears it to heaven's unending joys. The lowly 
 spirit you have not sought ; the tear of penitence 
 you have not shed ; the love of Jesus you have not 
 felt ; the hope of heaven has not dawned on your 
 benighted soul, nor the Spirit of God breathed his 
 peaceful influence there. How then can you be 
 happy ? " There is no peace, saith my God, to the 
 wicked." If you would be at peace, you must go 
 where alone it can be found ; and " forsaking all to 
 obtain all," you oust adopt the spirit of the Chris- 
 tian poet : 
 
 " Now I renounce my carnal hope, 
 
 My forid desires recall ; 
 I give my mortal interest up, 
 And m^ke my GOD my ALL." 
 
PUBLICATIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 
 
 These works are not exceeded in high evangelical charac- 
 ter, spiritual power, and practical worth by any similar col- 
 lection in any language. They have ben carefully selected 
 for the great body of intelligent readers throughout the coun- 
 try, and the most watchful parent may supply them to his 
 family or to others, not only with safety to their best and eter- 
 nal interests, but with hope of the richest spiritual blessings. 
 
 Owen on Forgiveness, or Psalm 130. 
 
 Gregory's (Olinthus, LL.D.) Evi- 
 dences of Christianity. 
 
 Riches of Bunyan. 
 
 Paley's Natural Theology, and Horsa 
 Paulinas. 
 
 Baxter's Reformed Pastor. 
 
 Baxter's Treatise on Conversion. 
 
 Dr. Spring's Bible Not of Man, or 
 the Argument for the Divine Ori- 
 gin of the Scriptures drawn from, 
 the Scriptures themselves. 
 
 Nelson's Cause and Cure of Infi- 
 delity. 
 
 Memoir of Summerfield. 
 
 Memoir of Mrs. Isabella Graham. 
 A new and standard edition. 
 
 Memoir of Mrs. Sarah L. Huntington. 
 Smith. 
 
 Sacred Songs for Family and Social 
 Worship. Hymns and Tunes 
 with a separate edition in patent 
 notes. Also, the Hymns separately. 
 
 Elegant Narratives, Select Tracts, 
 illustrated. 
 
 Willison's Afflicted Man's Com- 
 panion. 
 
 Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Re- 
 ligion in the Soul. 
 
 Edwards' History of Redemption. 
 
 Volume on Infidelity, comprising 
 five standard treatises: Soame 
 Jenyns on the Internal Evidence ; 
 
 D' Aubigne's History of the Reforma- 
 tion. A new translation, revised 
 by the author, in four volumes 
 12mo, with portraits. Price $1 75, 
 extra cloth. 
 
 Family Testament with Notes. 
 
 Baxter's Saints' Everlasting Rest, 
 12mo, in large type ; also I8mo. 
 
 Banyan's Pilgrim's Progress, 12mo, 
 in large type, and 18mo. Both 
 editions neatly illustrated. 
 
 Memoir of Jas. Milnor, D. D. 
 
 Mason's Spiritual Treasury, for every 
 day in the year. Terse, pithy, and 
 evangelical. 
 
 Flavel's Fountain of Life, or Re- 
 demption Provided. 
 
 Flavel's Method of Grace, or Re- 
 demption applied to the Souls of 
 Men. 
 
 Flavel's Knocking at the Door; a 
 tender, practical appeal. 
 
 Bishop Hall's Scripture History, or 
 Contemplations on the Historical 
 Passages of the Old and New Tes- 
 taments. 
 
 Alleine's Heaven Opened. 
 
 Bishop Hopkins on the Ten Com- 
 mandments . Three standard works 
 of the times of Baxter. 
 
 President Edwards' Thoughts on Re- 
 vivals. 
 
 Venn's Complete Duty of Man. 
 
Leslie's Method with Deists ;Lit- 
 tleton's Conversion of Paul ; Wat- 
 son's Reply to Gibbon and Paine. 
 
 Pike's Persuasives to Early Piety. 
 
 Pike's Guide to Young Disciples. 
 
 Anecdotes for the Family and the 
 
 Social Circle. 
 
 Universalism Not of God. 
 Dibble's Thoughts on Mission!. 
 The Bible True. 
 Songs of Zion. 
 
 Considerations for Young Men. 
 Who are the Happy ? 
 Letters on Universalism. 
 
 ELEGANT PRACTICAL WORKS. 
 
 Wilberforce's Practical View. 
 Hannah More's Practical Piety. 
 James' Anxious Inquirer. 
 Eliiah the Tishbite. 
 Nevins' Practical Thoughts. 
 Melvill's Bible Thoughjp. selected 
 
 by the late Rev. Dr. 
 
 mghjjs. sele 
 i r. Milnor. 
 
 CHRISTIAN MEMOIRS. 
 
 Harris' Mammon. 
 Gurney's Love to God. 
 Foster's Appeal to the Young. 
 Abbott's Young Christian. 
 Abbott's Mother at Home. 
 Abbott's Child at Home. 
 James' Young Man from Home. 
 
 Rev. Claudius Buchanan, LL.D., in- 
 cluding his Christian Researches 
 in Asia. 
 
 Rev. John Newton. 
 
 Rev. Henry Martyn. 
 
 Rev. David Brainerd. 
 
 Rev. Edward Payson, D. D. 
 
 Harriet L. Winslow, Missionary in 
 
 James Brainerd Taylor. 
 Harlan Page. 
 Nprmand Smith. 
 Richard Baxter. 
 Archbishop Leighton. 
 Matthew Henry. 
 Rev. Samuel Pearce. 
 Rev. Samuel Kilpin. 
 
 India. 
 
 OTHER SPIRITUAL WORKS. 
 
 Edwards on the Affections. 
 Baxter's Call to the Unconverted. 
 Alleine's Alarm to the Unconvertad. 
 Flavel's Touchstone. 
 Flavel on Keeping the Heart. 
 Helffenstein's Self-Deception. 
 Sherman's Guide to an Acqaint- 
 
 ance with God. 
 
 Pike's Religion and Eternal Life. 
 Baxter's Dying Thoughts. 
 Matthew Henry on Meekness. 
 Andrew Fuller's Backslider. 
 Scudder's Redeemer's Last Com- 
 mand. 
 
 Scudder'S Appeal to Mothers. 
 Burder's Sermons to the Aged. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. 
 
 Bogue's Evidences of Christianity. 
 Keith's Evidence of Prophecy. 
 Morison's Counsels to Young Men. 
 The Reformation in Europe. 
 Nevins' Thoughts on Popery. 
 Spirit of Popery, [12 engravings.] 
 The Colporteur and Roman-catholic. 
 
 POCKET MANUALS. 
 
 Mason on Self-Knowledge. 
 
 Sherman's Guide to an Acquaint- 
 ance with God. 
 
 Divine Law of Beneficence. 
 
 Zaccheus, or Scriptural Plan of Be- 
 nevolence. 
 
 Hymns for Social Worship. 
 
 Clarke's Scripture Promises. 
 
 The Book of Psalms. 
 
 The Book of Proverbs. 
 
 Daily Scripture Expositor. 
 
 Ten Commandments Explained. 
 
 Bean and Venn's Advice to a Married 
 
 Couple. 
 
 Hymns for Infant Minds. 
 Reasons of Repose. 
 Daily Food for Christians. 
 
 Chaplet of Flowers. 
 Heavenly Manna. 
 Cecil and Flavel's Gift for Mourn- 
 ers. 
 
 Daily Texts. 
 
 Diary, [Daily Texts interleaved.] 
 Crumbs from the Master's Table. 
 Milk for Babes. 
 
 Provision for Passing over Jordan. 
 Dew-Drops. 
 
BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. 
 
 MANY OP THEM BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 Gallaudet's Scripture Biography, 7 
 
 Yolumes, from Adam to David. 
 Gallaudet's Youth's Book of Natural 
 
 Theology. 
 Peep of Day. 
 Line upon Line. 
 Precept upon Precept. 
 Hannah More's Repository Tracts. 
 Mary Lundie Duncan. 
 Charlotte Elizabeth. 
 Martha T Sharp. 
 Fletcher's Lectures. 
 John D. Lock-wood. 
 Memoir of Caroline B. Smelt. 
 Gallaudet's Child's Book on the 
 
 Soul. 
 
 Anzonetta R. Peters. 
 The Night of Toil. 
 Advice to a Young Christian. 
 Madam Rumpff and Duchess de 
 
 Broglie. 
 
 Scudder's Tales about the Heathen. 
 Amelia, the Pastor's Daughter. 
 
 Trees, Fruits, and Flowers of the 
 Bible, [9 cuts.] 
 
 Jessie Little. 
 
 Isabel. 
 
 Walker's Faith Explained. 
 
 Walkers Repentance Explained. 
 
 Margaret and Henrietta. 
 
 Bartimeus. 
 
 Children invited to Christ. 
 
 The Dairyman's Daughter, etc. 
 
 Peet's Scripture Lessons. 
 
 Child's Book of Bible Stories. 
 
 Children of the Bible. 
 
 Amos Armfield, or the Leather-cov- 
 ered Bible. 
 
 The Child's Hymn-Book. Selected 
 by Miss Caulkins. 
 
 Scripture Animals, [16 cuts.] 
 
 Letters to Little Children, [13 cuts.] 
 
 Great Truths in Simple Words. 
 
 Pictorial Tract Primer. 
 
 Watt's Divine and Moral Songs. 
 
 With numerous similar works. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 Dr. Edwards' Sabbath Manual, Parts 
 1, 2, 3, and 4. 
 
 Dr. Edwards' Temperance Manual. 
 
 IN GERMAN 56 vols., various sizes, 
 including Earth's Church History, 
 Life of M. Boos, Rules of Life, 
 Lord's Day, Fabricius, Honey- 
 Drop, Christ Knocking at the 
 Door, and two volumes and pack- 
 ets of Books for Children, recently 
 published. 
 
 IN FRENCH Sixteen volumes. 
 
 IN SPANISH D'Aubigne's History of 
 the Reformation. Vol. I., Bogue's 
 
 Authenticity of the New Testa- 
 ment, Pilgrim's Progress, Illus- 
 trated Tract Primer, Primitive Ca- 
 tholicism, Andrew Dunn, Sabbath 
 Manual, Part 1, Kirwan's Letters, 
 Evangelical Hymns, Temperance 
 Manual, and Manual for Children. 
 
 IN WELSH Pilgrim's Progress, Bax- 
 ter's Saints' Rest and Call, Anx- 
 ious Inquirer, History of Redemp- 
 tion. 
 
 IN DANISH Doddridge's Rise and 
 Progress, Baxter's Saints' Rest 
 and Call. 
 
 ALSO, upwards of 1,000 Tracts and Children's Tracts, separate, bound, 
 or in packets, adapted for convenient sale by merchants and traders, many 
 of them with beautiful engravings in English, German, French, Spanish, 
 Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Welsh. 
 
 ICr" It is the design of the Society to issue all its publications in good 
 type, for the poor as well as the rich ; and to sell them, as nearly as may 
 be, at cost, that the Society may neither sustain loss nor make a profit by 
 all its sales. 
 
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OP 25 CENTS 
 
 WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
 WILL INCREASE TO 5O CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
 DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
 OVERDUE. 
 
 APR ' ^2 1939 
 
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