As man is destined to an endless life, so he is susceptible of enjoying happiness and of suffering misery, both in the present life, and throughout the whole of his future and everlasting existence. The attainment of happiness in one shape or other, and the avoidance of misery, have been the great objects of pursuit, in every age and among every rank of human beings; but few comparatively have obtained their object, because they sought it where it is not to be found. Some expect to find happiness in the accumulation of wealth and riches, and in gratifying a selfish and avaricious propensity-some in intemperance and licentious pleasures, indulging in "rioting and drunkenness, chambering and wantonness -some in endeavouring to secure the friendship of the great and the wealthy-some in the giddy whirl of fashionable folly and dissipation, and in the pursuit of honour and applause-and some others in prosecuting the path of ambition, and the false glory connected with destroying armies and the devastations of war; but in none of these ways is true happiness to be attained. The miser is tormented with cares and anxieties and alarms, and with desires after wealth which can never be satisfied, and his riches frequently take to themselves wings and fly away. The licentious, even in the midst of their sensual gratifications, are often oppressed with mental agony and remorse of conscience, and their vicious pursuits ultimately tend to bring them to shame and poverty and ruin. The honours of this world are transitory and fleeting, and are found by their possessors to be mere empty bubbles, which leave the soul destitute of substantial enjoyment: the pride of illustrious ancestry, the splendour of equipage, the glory of warfare, and all the dazzling accompaniments of wealth and nobility, often leave their possessors to pine away in wretchedness from family feuds and contentions, wounded pride, and disappointed ambition; their riches and grandeur cannot shelter them from the inroads of disease, from the stroke of lightning, from mental anxieties, from the lashes of conscience, from the stroke of death, or from the terrors of an unknown futurity.

Where, then, it may be asked, is true happiness to be found? and how shall we obtain this inestimable treasure?

If

you

wish to search for this inestimable treasure, you will find the path to it pointed out in the Sacred Scriptures-a revelation from the God of Heaven to the inhabitants of this world, a revelation which has been confirmed by signs and wonders and astonishing miracles, and by the accomplishment

of numerous prophecies,-a revelation which contains the witness within itself that it is Divine, by its power over the consciences of men-by the sublime discoveries it has made of the perfections of Deity-by the pure and comprehensive system of morality it inculcates-by the effects it has produced on the minds of multitudes, in turning them from darkness to light, and from the dominion of vicious passions to the practice of every thing that is holy, just, and goodby the strong consolation and unspeakable joy which it has imparted to those who have believed its doctrines and imbibed its spirit-and by the powerful and beneficial effects it has produced in raising tribes and nations, once barbarous and unenlightened, to a state of knowledge and improvement, and to all the comforts of civilised life.

This revelation informs us that "God made man upright," but that he is now fallen from his state of innocence and bliss -that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"that "there is none righteous in his sight; no, not one"-that all the vices, diseases, calamities, and miseries which prevail in the world, are the natural consequences of sin—and that punishment awaits all the workers of iniquity, in the eternal world. It declares, that "the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God"—that "neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor effeminate, nor covetous, nor liars, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall enter the mansions of bliss"-and that they who are banished from these blessed abodes, "shall be cast into outer darkness, where shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth," to be "punished with everlasting destruction." It declares, at the same time, that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life"-that "he died for our offences, and was raised again for our justification;" and that "God hath set him forth as a propitiation to declare his righteousness in the remission of sins." Now the duty of every sinner is "to believe the record that God hath given of his Son." "This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment."

This faith, however, is not a mere speculative assent to a certain fact or proposition, or a sentiment which floats only in the intellect. It is an ever-active and operative principle, which pervades and animates the whole soul, and runs through every action in life. It receives the whole truths of the Bible as possessing the strongest claims upon the regard of immortal beings; and it manifests the sincerity of its reception by an accompanying consistency of practice. In this way it constitutes

the first element of real religion; and our present purpose is to describe some of the happy effects which would be produced, were the religion of the Bible generally received, and its sacred principles reduced to practice. In the first place, religion, when received into the heart, would invigorate the understanding and enlarge the capacity of the mind. It exhibits the most grand and diversified objects for the exercise of the intellectual powers. It presents to our contemplation the glorious perfections of God-his wisdom and goodness in arranging everything in consummate order for promoting the happiness of his creatureshis love and mercy in taking pity on our fallen race-his providential care over all the creatures he has made, and the provision he makes for all their wants-his universal presence throughout every part of his vast empire, directing and controlling all events-and his Almighty Power in upholding creation in existence, and moving with his hands the mighty worlds which compose the universe. It exhibits to our view

the origin of the world, the time and manner of its creation, the state of innocence in which man was created, and his subsequent fall into a state of misery-the scenes which attended the universal deluge the signs and miracles which were wrought in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness of Sinai the birth, life, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God, and the Saviour of men." It sets before us the operations of the Divine government in reference both to angels and to men-the powers and agencies of superior intelligences-the grand and awful scenes of the future world-the solemnities of the last judgment, the resurrection of the dead, the new heavens and the new earth which shall afterward be created, and the felicity and glory of the righteous throughout the ages of eternity. It directs us to the right study of the works of Creation and Providence. These, and thousands of subjects connected with them, when studied with seriousness and attention, are calculated to enlarge the capacity of the human mind, to invigorate the intellectual faculties, to present objects of sublime and delightful contemplation, and to prepare the soul for the nobler employments of the eternal world.

Again: Religion produces a powerful influence upon the heart and affections. It will lead the individual to love God with all his heart, as the supreme object of his affection, and as the original source of all blessedness; and were this love "perfect," and unalloyed with selfish aims and passions, there would be an end to all sin, and consequently to almost all the miseries and calamities which have followed in its train. It will constrain him to "love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," and to conse

crate all his powers and faculties to the service of "Him who died for him, and rose again." It will lead him to extend his benevolent and kind regards to all his fellow-men, to whatever rank or nation they may belong; and especially to those who bear the image of Christ, and who belong to "the household of faith." It will inspire him with new desires. While sinful objects, sensual gratifications, and the society of the wicked, were formerly the great objects of his delight and pursuit, he now "hungers and thirsts after righteousness;" he "hates the congregation of evil doers, and will not sit with the wicked;" he feels an appetite after more advanced degrees of knowledge, piety, and moral improvement; and longs to be a pure and triumphant spirit in the regions of immortality. It will animate him with new feelings and new principles of action. His selfishness will be changed into a noble liberality; his pride and vain-glory-those master-passions of the human frame-will be undermined and laid in the dust; and he will be clothed with profound humility in the view of his fellow-men, and in the presence of the "High and Lofty One who inhabiteth eternity;" and all his actions will be regulated by a desire to promote the glory of God, and the best interests of mankind. His views of eternity will be impressive and enlarged-such as will weigh down, in his esteem, all the objects of this lower world, and make them appear lighter than the small dust of the balance. He will reckon, with the Apostle Paul, that all the wealth and riches of this sublunary scene, and all "the sufferings of the present life, are not worthy to be compared with that exceeding great and eternal weight of glory which is about to be revealed." He will be filled with new hopes and joys; with a joy which the smiles of fortune and the favours of the great can never bestow, and which the world, with all its frowns and persecutions, can never destroy-and with a hope which centres not on anything here below, but is directed to the enjoyment of " an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." In short, under all the dispensations of Providence, whether prosperous or adverse, he will exercise patience and resignation to the will of God, knowing that "all things shall work together for his good." And in the prospect of dissolution, he will be enabled to commit the keeping of his soul into the hands of his Creator, in the confidence of being admitted into "the house not made with hands, which is eternal in the heavens," and of receiving "a crown of glory which fadeth not away."

Such are some of the effects produced on the affections by the influence of true religion. They constitute the only sure foundation of happiness, not only to man, but to all moral intelligences throughout the universe. Without the influence of

such leading principles, happiness cannot be enjoyed either on earth, or in any other world within the Divine empire, either in time, or throughout any succeeding period of infinite duration. Principles and affections in direct opposition to these must be the source of misery to those who indulge them, in every region of the universe where they may be placed; so that the wicked and irreligious man, by a law which governs the whole intelligent creation, and which is eternal and immutable, must be unhappy, and can never, at any period, or in any circumstances, feel the sweets of true enjoyment.

Again: Religion will produce an important and salutary influence upon the conduct of every one who imbibes its principles and feels its power; he will obey the Apostolic injunction, "Be diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." He will "provide things honest in the sight of all men;" and while he labours with diligence in the duties of his calling, and endeavours to acquire a competent portion of the good things of this life, he will not make riches the great object of his pursuit, but will desire them chiefly that he may have it in his power to devote a portion of them to relieve the wants of the needy, to promote the knowledge of God, the extension of his kingdom, and the present happiness and eternal interest of his fellow-men. He will "love his enemies, do good to them that hate him, and pray for them who despitefully use him." "If his enemy hunger he will feed him, if he thirst he will give him drink." In the relation of master or servant, father or son, husband or wife, ruler or subject, he will perform the duties which the Word of God inculcates in reference to these relations. Like his Divine Redeemer, he will "go about doing good," both to the bodies and souls of men, in so far as he has it in his power; and will act upon the heavenly maxim which he hath laid down, "it is more blessed to give than to receive." He will visit the abodes of poverty and affliction, and endeavour to soothe the downcast spirit. So far as his influence extends, he will endeavour to instruct the ignorant, to arouse the careless, to reclaim the dissipated, to convince the sceptic, to train up the young in the knowledge of God, and to encourage and animate every one who is inquiring the way to eternal life. In short, "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, and lovely, and of good report-if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, he will think on these things," and endeavour to abound in the practice of them, and in all "the fruits of righteousness."

We might have shown, in the last place, that true religion, were it universally known and practised, would soon regenerate