TIIE RELIGION OF THE DAY.
N every age of Chrlstianlty, since it was first preached, there has been what may be called a «eligio, of world, which so far imitates the one true religion, as to deceive the unstable and unwary. The world does hot oppose religion as sueh. I may say, it never bas opposed it. In particular, it has, in all ages, acknowledged in one sense or other the Gospel of Christ, fastened Ch one or other of its characteristics, and professed to embody this in ifs practice; while by neg'lecting the other parts of the holy doctrine, it bas, in fact, distorted and corrupted even that portion of it which it has exclusively put forward, and so bas contrived fo explain away the whole;—for he who cultivates only one precept of the Gospel to the exclusion or" the rest, in reality attends fo no part at all. Our duties balance each other; and though we are too sinful to perform them all peri"ectly, yet we may in some measure be performing" them all, and lreserving the balance on the whole; whereas, to give ourselves only to this or that commandment, is fo incline our minds in a wrong direction, and af length to pull them dovn to the earth, which is the aire of our adversary, the Devil. If is his aizt fo break our strength; to force us down to the earth,—to bind us there. The world is his instrument ibr this æurpose; but he is too wise to set if in open opposition to the ,Vord of God.:No! he affects to be a prophet like the prophets of God. He calls his servants also prophets; and they mix with the scattered remnant of the truc Church, with the solitary Micaiah. who are left upon the earth, and speak in the naine of thc Lord. And in one sense they speak the truth; but it is not the whole truth; and we know, even from the c,)mmon experience of life, that half the truth is often thc most gross and mischievous of falsehoods. Even in the first age of the Church, while persecution still raged, he set up a counter religion among the philosophers of the day, partly like Christianity, but in truth a bitter foc to it; and it deceived and ruade "shipwreck of the faith of those who had not the love of God in their hemoEs. Time went on, and he devlsed a second idol of the truc Christ, and it remained in the temple of God for many a year. The age was rude and tierce. Satan took the darker side of the Gospel: its awful mysteriousness, its fearful glory, ifs sovereign inflexible justice; and here Iris picture of the truth ended, "' God is a consuming tire;" so dec]ares the text, and we know it.:But we know more, riz. that God is love a]so; but Satan did hot add this to his religion, which became one of fear. The religion of the world was then a fearful religion. Superstitions bounded, and crucifies. The noble firrnness, the g'raeeflfi austerity of t.he t.rue Christian were superseded by forbidding speetres, harsh of eye, and haug'hty of brow; and these were the patterns or the tyrants of a beguiled people. ]Vha is Satan's deviee in this day? far differen one; but perhaps a more pernicious. I will attemp to expose if, or rather fo sugg'est some remarks towards its exposure, by those who think if worfl while to at.temp iL; for the subjeet is too grea and too ditï]cuit fi»r an occasion sueh as tbe presen, and, zfter all, no one en detee fiflsehood for another;—every man mus do if for himsêlf; ve ean but heljo eaeh other. Whatis the wor]d's religion now? It has taken the bl'ighter side of the Gospel,its t.iding, s of comfort, ifs preeepts of love; all davker, deeper views of man's condition and prospeets hein.g" eomparatively forg'otten. This is the religion ,a[t«ral t eivilized age, and well bas 8atnn dressed and eompleted if into an idol of the Truth. As the tesson is eultivated, the taste formed, the ffeetions and sentiments refined, general deeeney and graee will of course spread over the tïaee of soeiety, quite independently of the influence of leveltion. That beauty and delieaey of thought, which is so ttraetive in books, t.hen extends fo the eondue of lire, fo all we have, all we do, zll we are. Out manners are eourteous; we avoid giving" pain or offenee; out vords beeome correct; our relative duies are earefully performed. Out sense of propriety shows itself even in out domestie arrangements, in he embellishments of our houses, in
3 T/e Re@ioz of t/e our amusements, and so a|so in our religions profession. Vice now beeomes unseemly and hldeous fo the imagination, or, as iL is sometimes familiarly said, "out of faste." Thus eleganee is gradually ruade the test and standard of virtue, which is no longer thought to possess an intrinsic claire on our hearts, or fo exist, d"titiller iL leads to the quiet and comfort of others. Conscience is no longer recognized as an indcpendent arbiter of actions, ils authority is explained away; partly iL is superseded in thc minds of men by the so-called moral sense, which is regarded merely as the love of the beautiful; partly by the rule of expediency, which is forthwith substituted for iL in the details of conduct. Now conscience is a stern, gloomy principle; iL tells us of guilt and of prospective punishment. Accordingly, whcn ils terrors disappear, then disappear also, in the creed of the da3-, those fearful images of Divine wrath with which file Scriptures abound. They are explained away. Every thing is bright and cheerful. Ileligion is pleasant and easy; benevolence is the chier virtue; intolerance, bigotry, excess of zeal, are the first of sins. Austerity is an absurdity;—even iïrmness is looked on with an unfriend]y, suspicions eye. On the other hand. all open profligacy is discountenanced; drunkenness lS accounted a disgrace; cursing and swearing are vulgari- Lies. Moreover, fo a cultivated mind, which recreates itself in Lhe varieties of literature and knowledge, and is interested in the ever-accumulating discoveries of science, and the ever-fresh accessions of infolmaation, political or otherwise, from foreign countries, religion will eommonly seem fo be dull, from want of novelty.
The 2eli«iou of the Day. 3 3 I-Ienee exeltements are egerly sough ou and rewarded. 1Vew objeets in religion, new systems and 1,1ans, new doctrines, new preachers, are necessary fo satisfy that craving whch the so-c,llcd spread of knowledge has created. The mlnd becomcs morbidly sensitive and fastidious; dissatistied wifla things as tley are, desirous of a change as sue]t, as if alteration must of itself be a relief. Now I would bave you put Chrlstianity for an inst.qnt out of your thoughts; and eonsider whether sueh a state of refinement as I bave attempted to deseribe, is hOt that fo whieh men might be brought, quite independen of relig'ion, by the mere influence of edueation and eivilization; and then ag'ain, whether, neverthe]ess, this mere relînement of mind is hOt more or less all that is ealled religion af this day. In other words, is it hot the case, that 8atan bas so eomposed and dressed ou what is the mere natural produee of the human heart under certain eireumstanees, as to serve his purposes as the eounterfeit of the Truth? I do no af all deny tha this spiri of the world uses words, and makes professions, whieh if would hot adopt except for the suggestions of Serlpture; nor do I deny that i takes a general colouring- from Christianity, so as really to be modified by if, nay, in a measure enlghtened and exalted by i. _A_galn, I fully grant that many persons in whom this bad spiri shows itself, are but parfially infeeted by if., and a bottoln, good Chrlstians, though imperfeet. Still, after all, here is an exisfing teaehing', only partially evangelieal, built upon worldly prlnciple, yet pretending fo be the Gospel, dropping one whole
314 Te Religioz of te Day. side of the Gospel, ifs aust.ere eharaeter, and eonsldering" if enough fo be benevolent, eourteous, eandid, correct in eondne, delieate, nthough if ineludes no truc fear of God, no fervent .eal for His honour, no deep hatred of sin, no horror af the siht of sinners, no indignation and compassion af thc blasphemies of hereties, no jealous adherenee fo doet.rinal truth, no especial sensitiveness about thê particular means of gaining" ends, provided the ends be good, no loyalty to thê Holy Apostolie Church, of which the Creed speaks, no sensê of the authority of religion as external fo thê mind: in a word, no seriousness,—and thcreforê is neither hot nor co]d, but (in Scripture language) l«,'ewar»,. Thus thc present age is the vcry eontrary to what are commonly dalled the dark ages; and togethcr with the faults of thosê ages we have lost their virtues. I say their virtues; for even the errors then prevalent, a persecufing spirit, for instance, fear of religious inquiry, bigotry, thesê were, after all, but perversions and exeesses of real virlues, sueh as zeal and revereneê; and we, instead of limiting and purifying them, bave taken them away foot and branch. Yhy? because we bave hot acted from a love of the Truth, but from the influence of the Age. OEhe old generation has passêd, and its eharaetêr with it; a new order of thing's has arisen. Human society bas a new framework, and fosters and developês a new eharacter of mind; and this new charaeter is ruade by the enemy of out souls, to resemble thê Christian's obedienee as near as if may, ifs likeness all the rime being but aeeidental. M:eanwhile, thê Holy Church of God, as from thê beglnning', continues ber course heavenward; despised by tlm world, yet influenein i, partly eorreeting it, partly restraining" if, and in some happy cases reelaimin its vietims, and fixing them firmly and for ever within he lines of the faithful host militant here on earth, whieh journeys towards the City of the Great King. Goal give us graee to seareh our hearts, lest we be blinded by the deeeitfulness of siu! lest we serve Satan transformed into an Angel of Iight., while we tlfink we are pursuing true knowledge; lest, over-looking and ill-treating the elect of Christ hcre, we bave to ask that awful question at the last day, while the truth is bursting upon us, "Lord, whe, saw we Thee a stranger and a prisoner?" when saw we Thy sacred Word and Servants despised and oppressed, "' and did hot minister unto Thee ?":Nothing shows more strikingly the power of the world's religion, as now described, than to consider the very different classes of men whom it influences. It will be found to extend its sway and its teaching, both over the professedly rcligious and the irreligious. l. Iany religious men, rightly or hot, bave long been expecting a millennium of purity and peace for the Church. I will hot say, whether or hot with reason, for good men may well differ on such a subject.:But, any how, in the case of those who bave expected it, it bas become a temptation to take up and recognize the world's religic, n as I have already delineated it. They bave more or less identified their vision of Christ's kingdom with the elegance and refinement of mere human eivflization;
and have hailed every evidenee of improved deeeney, every wholesome civil regula.tion, every benefieent and enlightened aet of state poliey, as signs of their eoming` Lord. Bent upon achieving" their object, an extensive and glorious diffusion and profession of the Gospel, they have been little solicitous about the mean, employed. They have countenanced and aeted with men who openly pl'ofessed uncht'istian principlcs. They bave accepted.and dcfcnded what they considered to be reformations and ameliorations of the existing" state of thing's, though injustice must be perpetrated in order to effect them, or long" cherished rules of conduct, indifferent perhaps in their oriffin but consecrated by long" usage, must be violated. They have sacrificed Truth fo expedience. They ha.ve strangely imagined that bad men are fo be the immediate instruments of the approachin advent of Christ; and (like the deluded Jews not many years since in a foreign country) they have taken, if not for their Messah (as the Jews did), af least for their Elijah, their rcforming Baptist, the Herald of the Christ, children of this world, and sons of Belial, on whom the anathema of the Apostle lies from the beginning', deeIaring, "If any man love hOt the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha. t." g. On the other hand, the fol'm of doctrine, which I have called the religion of the day, is especially ada.pted to please men of sceptical minds, the opposite extreme fo those just mentioned, who have never been careful to obey their conscience, who cultivate the intellect without disciplining the heart, and who allow themselves to speeulate fl'eely about wlmt religion o«(j]l to e, without going fo Scripture to discover what it really is. Some persons of this character ahnost consider religion itself to be an obstacle in the advanee of our social and political well-being-. But they know human nature requires it; therefore they select the most 'atioal form of rclig'ion (so they call if) which they can find. Others arc far more scriously disposed, but are corrupted by Lad examplc or other cause. But they ail discard (what they call) gloomy views of religion; they all trust themselvcs more than God's word, and thus may be classed together; and are ready to embrace pleasant consoling religon natural to a polishcd age. 'hey lay much stress on works on 33«taral ']eolog#, and think that all religion is contained in these whereas, in truth, there is no greater fallacy than to suppose such works to Le in themselves in any true sense religious at all. Religion, it bas been well observed, is something" relative to us; a system of commands and promises from God towards us. But how are we concerned with the sun, moon, and stars? or with the laws of the universe? how will they teach us out duly? how will they speak to sinners? They do hOt speak sinners at all. They were created belote Adam fell. They « declare the glory of God," but hot His wilL They are all perfect, all harmonious; but that brightness and excellence which they exhibit in their own creationç and the Divine benevolence therein seen, are of little moment to fallen man. We sec nothing there of God's wrat], of 'hich the conscience of a sinner
318 The teli,«ion of the loudly spe,ks. So tha here eanno be a more danerous (thoug'h a eommon) deviee of Safari, han fo earry us off ffom out own seere thouhts, fo make us fore out own hearts, whieh tell us of a God of justice and holiness, and fo fix our atention merely on the God who ruade he hea.vens; who is our God indeed, bu no God as manifesd fo us sinners, bu as He shines forth fo His Anels, and fo His elee hereaffer. When man has so far deeeived himself as fo (rus his destiny (o wha he heavens tell him of i, instead of eonsultin and obeyin his conscience, wha is the eonsequenee? ha a once he misinterprets and perverts he whole enor of Seripture. If eanno be denied tha, pleasan as reliious observances are deelared in Serip- ure o be fo the holy, ye fo men in eneral they are said to be dicult and distasteful; to all men taturally impossible, and by few fulfilled even with the assistances of grace, on accoun of their wilful corruption. Religion is pronounced to be aains nature, to be aainst our ori8'inM will, to require G's aid to make us love and obey it, and to be commonly refused and opposed in sl»ite of that aid. We are expressly told, that "strai is the gate and narrov the way tha leads to life, and few here be that find if;" that we must "stri'e'" or strug'gle "to enter in at the strait g'ate,'" for that "many shall seek to enr in,'" but that is hOt enoug'h, they merely seek and therefore do hot find; and further, that they who do hot obtain everlasfinglire, "shall go into everlasting punishment This is the dark side of religion; and the men I have been describing cannot bear to think of it. They shrink from it as too terrible. They easily get themselves to believe that those strong declarations of Scripture do hot belong to the present day, or that they are figurative. They have no language within their heart responding" to them. Conscience has been silence& The only information they have received concerning God has been from Natural Theology, and that Slcaks only of benevolence and harmony; so they will hot credit the plain word of Scripture. They seize on such parts of Scripture as seem to countenance their own opinions; they insist on its hein F commanded us fo "rejoice evermore;" and they argue that itis our duty to solace ourselves here (in moderation, of course) with the goods of this life,—that we bave only to be thankful while we use them,—that we need hot ala.rm ourselves,m that God is a merciful God,—that amendment is quite sufi3cient fo atone for our offences,—that though we have been irregular in our youth, yet that is a thing gone by, —çhat we forger it, and therefore God forgets it,—that the world is, on the whole, very well disposed towards religion,—that we should avoid enthusiasm,—that we should hot be over serious,that we should have large views on the subject of human nature,and that we should love all men. This indeed is the creed of shallow men, in eve age, who reason a little, and feel not at all, and who think themselves enlightened and philosophical. Part of what they say is false, part is true, but misapplied; but why I bave noticed it here, is to show how exactly it fits in with what I bave already described as the leculiar religion of a civflized age; it fits in with it equally well as does that of the (so called) reli,ious world, which is the opposite extreme. One thrther renmrk I will make about these professedly rational Christians; who, bê if observed, offen go on to deny the mysteries of the Gospel. Let us take the text:" Out God is a consuming" tire." Now supposing these persons tbll upon these words, or heard them urged as an arg'umcnt ag'ainst their own doctrine of the unmixed satisfictory character of our prospects in the world fo corne, and supposing they did hot know what part of the Bible they occurred in, what would they say? Dofl»t.Iess they would eonfidently s,%v that they applied only to the Jews and hot fo Christians; tha they only described the Divine Author of the Mosaie Law; that God fbrmerly spoke in terrors to the Jews, because they vere a gross and brutish peop]e, but that eivilization has ruade us quite other men; that out reaoz, not ourfear, is a.ppealed fo, and that the Gospel is love. And yet, in spite of all this argument, the text oceurs in the Epistle fo the tIebrews, written by an Apostle of Christ. I shall eonclude with stating more flflly what I mean by the da.rk side of religion; and what judgment ought. fo be passed on the superstitious and gloomy. Here I will not shrink ff'oto uttering my firm convietion, that if would be a gain to this country, were if vast]y more superstieious, more bigoted, more gloomy, more tierce in ifs religion, than af present if shows itself to be. Not, of coin'se, tht I think the tempers of mind herein implied desirable, whieh would be an eviden absurdigy; bue I t.hink theln infiMtely more desirable and more promisiu than a heathen obdnraey, ad a eold, self-sucient, self-wise tranquillity. Doubtless, peaee of mind, a quie eonseienee, and a eheerfil eountenanee are the g'it of the Gospel, aud the sig'n of a Christiau; bug ghe saine eltbcts (or, rather, whag appear fo be the saine) may arise from very ditîerent causes. Jonah slept in the storm,so did our Blessed Lord. The oue slel-,t in an e'il seeurity: the Otber in the "peaee of whieh passeth ail uuderstanding." The two states nog be eonfounded together, they are perfeetly distinet; and as disine is the eahn of the man of the world ri'oto rime of the Christian. Now lake the case ¢,f the sailors on board the 'essel; they eried fo Jonah, " Wha memesg thon, 0 sleeper?"so the.kpostles said to Crist; '" Lord, we perish." This is the ease of the superstitious; they stand between the fidse peaee of Jonah and the truc peaee of Christ; they are better than the one, thouh thr below he Other. Applying this to the present relig'ion of the edueated world, fitll as ig is of seeurity and eheerfulness, and deeorum, aad benevolenee, I obscrve thag these appearanees may arise either from a grea.t deal of religioa, or froln the absence of le; they may be the ti'uits of shallowness of mind and a blinded eonseieaee, or of thag tith whieh has peaee with God throag'h our Lord Jesus Christ. MM if this alternaLive be proposcd, I might leave le fo the eommon sense of men to deeide (if they eould g'eg themselves fo ghink seriously) fo vhieh of the two the retaper oi" the ae is fo be referred. For myself I eannog doubg seeing whag I see of the wofld, tha i arises from he sleep of J«.nah; and i is theret'ore bu dream of religion, far infcrior in worth fo the vell-rounded alarm of the superstitious, who are awakened and sec their duner, hough they do atain so fir in faith a.s fo embrace the remedy of Thinl¢ of this, I beseeeh Sou, my brethren, and lay to heart, as th.r as you go with me, as vou will answer tbr having heard i af he las day. I would no willinly be lmrsh; bu knowinff "tlm thc world lieth in wickedness," think i highly probable tha you, so far as you are in if (as you must be, and we ail must be in our deg'ree), are, mosL of you, partially inbcted with its existing" error, that shallowness of rclig'ion, which is the result of a blinded conscience; and, thcrefore, I speak earnestly to you. Believing in the existence of a. general plaque in the land, ] judgc that you probably have your share in the sufferings, the vohmtarv sufferings, which it is spreadin anmn us. The fcar of God is the beginnin of wisdom; till you see Him to be a consuming" tire, nnd approach IIim with reverence and godly fear, as being sinners, you are not even in siffht of the strait g'ae. I do hot wish you to be able fo point to any particutar rime when you renounced the world (as it is ealled), and were converted; this is a deceit. Fear and love must g"o toether; always fear, always love, fo your dying" day. I)oubtless;—still 3-ou must know what if is to sow in tears here, if you would reap in joy here-:tfter. Till you know the weight of your sins, and that hot in merc i,naination, but in practice, hot so as mcrely fo confess it in a for,nal 1,hrase of lamentation, but daily and in your hcart in secret., you cannot embrace the offcr of mcrcy hcld out fo you in the Gospcl, fln'ough the dcath of Christ. Till you know what itis to fear wifl the tcrrified sailors or the Apostlcs, you cannot sleep with Christ at your tleavenly Father's feet. Miserable as were thc superstitions of the dar]¢ ag'es, rcvolting as are the tortures now in use among the heathen of the East, better, far better is if, fo torture the body all one's days, and fo make this lire a hell upon earth, than fo remain in a brief tranquillity herc, till the pif af length opens uuder us, and aw,'tkens us fo an eternal fruitless consciousness and remorse. Think of Christ's own words: "Vhat shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Aaiu, He says, " Fear IIim, who after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fcar IIim." Dare hot to 'thiak you have g'ot to the bottom of your hearts; you do hot knogr what evil lies fhere. How long" and earncstly nmst you pray, how many years must you pass in careful obedience, betbre you have any ri,-t fo la3" aside sorrow, and to rejoice in the Lord? In one sense, indeed, you may take comfort from the first; for, thoug'h you dare not yet anticipate you are in the number of Christ's true elcct, yet from the first you know He desires your salration, has died for you, has washed away your sins by baptism, and will ever help you; and this thought must cheer you while you go on to exanaine and review your lives, and to turn to God in self-denial. But, at the same rime, you never can be sure of salvation, while you are here; and therei%re you must always fear -hile you hope. Your kno-lcdgc of your sins increases with your view if God's meriy iu Chri.t. And this is thc truc
Christian state, and the nerest approaeh to Christ's cahn and placid sleep in the tempest;—hot perfect joy and certainty in heaven, but a deep resignation to God's will, surrendr of ourselves, soul and body, to tIim; hoping indced, that we shall be stved, but fixing out eyes more earnestly on tIim than on ourselves; that is, tctin for His glory, sceking to please Him, dcvoting ourselves o IIim in all manly obedience and strenuous good works; and, when we do look within, thinking" of ourselves with a certain abhorrenee and eontempt as being sinners, mortifying our flesh, seourging out appetites, and eomposedly awaiting that rime when, if we be worthy, we shali be stripped of out present selves, and new ruade in the kingdom af Christ.