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hopeless task. I might talk to you, earnestly, of mysteries to be adored, but not to be examined,of opinions to be received, but not to be explained, of doctrines to be believed, but not to be understood; and you would turn away with judgments unconvinced, and expectations disappointed. Yes, the day of blind and implicit faith—if such a prostration of the understanding do, indeed, deserve the name of faith-is, with respect to a great portion of mankind, gone, for ever. They want something better than a religion which they cannot understand, doctrines which they cannot explain, and mysteries which they cannot solve. They need some more reasonable advocate than the assertor of unfounded prodigies, and the champion of antiquated and unchristian creeds. They ask some better authority for the divinity of the popular religion than the decisions of councils, the decrees of the legislature, or the 'statutes at large.' They need some better and more christian mode of reclaiming the unbeliever, than the philippic of a lawyer, or the chilling damps of a prison. They want to have the judgment convinced and the reason satisfied, and to see the Spirit of Christ reign in the hearts of his followers. I hesitate not to say, therefore, that, in examining the evidences of Christianity, I have as a Unitarian Christian, an easier and a pleasanter task to perform, than my reputed orthodox brethren would

Christianity is part and parcel of the law of the land.'-Legal

authority.

have, in going over the same ground, inasmuch as, I defend religion, and not mystery-practical piety, rather than modes of faith.

I request, therefore, your candid attention to what I shall advance, in the course of this discussion; and I pray the God of all grace, that the result may be, a stronger conviction of his goodness-a firmer faith in the pure doctrines of revealed religion-increased piety and love towards God, and a more diffusive charity for our fellow

men.

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It has occured to me that, previously to our entering on the consideration of the evidences of Christianity, we shall not spend our time unprofitably, nor employ it in a manner irrelevant to our main design, if we make a few prefatory remarks on religion in general, and on the means of determining, whether the precepts and doctrines that are propounded to us, really have her sanction. These, together with a brief notice of some of the leading causes of infidelity, will form the subject of our introductory lecture.

It will not be deemed necessary for me to premise much respecting what is the foundation of all religion, the existence of a Supreme Being; for Nature proclaims this fact throughout her wide domain. Day unto day, she uttereth speech, and night unto night, she showeth knowledge of him.' In the works of creation, we perceive every where the effects of a power uncontrollable in its operations, of a wisdom infinite in its arrangements, of a goodness unbounded in its bestowments. These effects must necessarily be ascribed to some cause

equal to the production of them. So also with the things which are in the world around us; they could not have created themselves. Those which are inanimate possess neither intelligence nor power, and those which are endued with animal life are frail, dependent, and transient, incapable even of self-preservation. Both rational and irrational beings, moreover, come into the world and pass out of it again, the passive creatures of an all-controlling will. Therefore, although we have 'neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape-although our finite minds cannot comprehend him, we are constrained to acknowledge that there is an intelligent Almighty Being, by whom, all things were created, and in whom, all things subsist. This Being we call God. At no time hath he left himself without witness; but he hath continually done us good, and hath bestowed upon us whatsoever we possess of blessing and enjoyment. Hence the natural foundations of our faith in God, of our reverence and love of him, our desire to do whatsoever we may deem to be well-pleasing in his sight.

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We have, moreover, many natural aids towards discovering the will of God. Seeing that he hath placed us in a world abounding with every thing necessary for our subsistence and enjoyment; and that he hath endowed us with faculties by which we are enabled, accurately, to notice the different effects which the use or the abuse of his blessings produce in us, we may, by due attention and reflection, clearly, perceive, that it is the will of God, that we should act, in all things, according

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to the suggestions of the reasonable nature with which we are distinguished—that we should use and not abuse the gifts of his love. Seeing that we are surrounded with creatures of like feelings, passions, wants, capacities, and frailties with ourselves, and perceiving that they in common with ourselves are the subjects of the Divine bounty, the dependents upon Providence-we may hence infer, that in order to please God, we must do justly and love mercy; or, in other words, we must do unto others as we would that they should do unto us. These views of God and of human duty, result from serious meditation, upon the things that are made,' and are a part of that religion which nature teaches.

But God has not left us to derive our knowledge of him, of our obligations to him, and of our duties as reasonable and social creatures, only by meditations upon the things which he hath made and the circumstances in which he hath placed us in the world. He who manifested himself to men, in early times, chiefly, through the operations of nature, continually doing them good and showering down his blessings upon them, gave them, moreover, a clearer knowledge of himself and of his merciful designs for their present and eternal happiness, by 'holy men who spake as they were moved by his spirit.'

Religion henceforth assumed a higher character and put forth greater pretensions. She was no longer reduced to the necessity of appealing only to nature, in order to prove that her laws were man's best guide, and that his observance of them

was essential to his welfare, but she delivered her precepts in the name of the Lord. She asserted a divine commission to make known to man, truths, which could not be discovered by the light of nature. He whom men worshiped as the ' unknown God,' was henceforth revealed as the Father of Mankind. Life and immortality were brought to light by the Gospel of Jesus. Mens' former inattention to the dictates of reason, and their culpable ignorance of the character and attributes of the Being, of whom, all nature testifies, were declared to have been overlooked. All men were commanded forthwith to repent, and to bring forth fruits meet for repentance; Because,' says the apostle, 'God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.'

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Thus what nature had testified of the Being and attributes of God-of man's duty to God, and to his fellow creatures, revelation confirmed; and it added thereunto, many new and most interesting facts. True religion, therefore, both natural and revealed, has for its object the encouraging of man to cherish a reverential regard to the Creator of the universe, and a deep feeling of his own accountability for the proper use of the privi leges and blessings which he hath bestowed upon him. Its laws are not compounded of mere arbitrary enactments, having little or no obvious reference to the powers, capacities, condition, and circumstances, of the beings for whose use and

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