I.] OBJECT & NATURE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. 31

us by His Son, and to reveal His nature, and the relation in which He chooses to stand with men ; we are brought out of darkness into marvellous light, if so be that we close not our eyes to the brightness thereof. "Our Father which art in heaven" is the sublime address which the Christ

ian is taught to present at the throne of grace: by the mediator Christ Jesus, Who taught and revealed all we know of God, the Christian is to approach Him, and he needeth no exterior help, if his mind be fixed upon his Saviour, for if any help be needed, there is this one offered, "The Spirit of God helpeth our infirmities with groanings that cannot be uttered."

When ye pray therefore, brethren, "use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking, [neither be ye captivated with the pomp of a vain worship, which turneth the mind from the Creator to the creature, and changeth the truth of God into a lie.] The ears of the Lord of Hosts are ever open to the prayers of His people, and your God knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him. Let no objects of sense intrude upon your devotion, nor any unworthy notions of that God ye address, worshipping Him with men's hands as though He needed any thing! "Ye ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto silver or gold, the work of men's

32 NATURE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. [LECT. I.

hands," or that any representation of him is necessary or even expedient in prayer. "Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen;""be ye not subject to ordinances after the commandments and doctrines of men; which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body;" but are altogether destitute of the real spirit of Christian prayer. "But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." And this, my brethren, is the God of the Christians, and this is the manner in which He is to be worshipped, in spirit and in truth.

LECTURE II.

HEATHEN MORALITY, ITS PRINCIPLES AND FINAL

RESULTS.

ROMANS ii. 14, 15.

For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law; these having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing, or else excusing one another.

IN

my last lecture I endeavoured to ascertain the degree of light and knowledge which it was possible to arrive at, with regard to the nature of God, and the manner in which He ought to be worshipped, according to the powers of human reason, as exemplified in the theology of heathen philosophers. We were then led to conclude, that unassisted reason was an insufficient guide in a subject so far beyond the reach of its utmost efforts, and hence the necessity of a divine re

D

34

VIRTUE IN THE LAW OF NATURE.

[LECT.

velation. I shall now inquire, as I proposed, into their system of ethics, especially their discoveries in the relative and social duties of life, upon what principles the practice of virtue was generally enforced, and how their moral lessons operated on the general good of mankind.

It is necessary to cultivate the practice of many virtues for the simple maintenance of social order, nor is it less indispensable to pursue a certain course of morality in order to ensure some tolerable share of personal welfare: and it is evident that a principle of self-preservation, amounting to something more than instinct, will carry a community or an individual to such a degree of morality as this; hence we may also discern that many excellent things will come within the compass of that system which we may call the law of nature. We cannot, therefore, be surprised to find in the writings of those wise men, who never knew any other law, specimens of the purest morality, nor in their lives, examples of praiseworthy virtues; nor is it impossible that several amongst them might even surpass some of us, who, although favoured with an exemplification of the Divine law, despise and daily transgress it. But partial contrasts like these, and a cursory view of accidental results, will not affect the general inquiry we are now about to institute for we have to look to the general issue and to

;

II.] VIRTUE ONLY SECURED BY PRINCIPLE. 35

see how those moral lessons operated in promoting the welfare of mankind.

It is not so much upon practical results that men differ, as it is upon the means and principles of arriving at them: hence, wherever virtue is found, it receives the approbation of mankind, who are not usually concerned in examining too closely the motive which has produced it. So long, for instance, as the outward moral duties of life are decently discharged, we are satisfied upon the principle which it may be supposed dictates them, and it is only when these are wanting that we begin to search for the radical cause of such deficiency. This holds equally true of an individual and of a community at large; wherever much vice prevails we hesitate not to ascend to real causes, and when we find them in institutions, whether political or religious, we conclude, that until certain defects be remedied in the system, it will be in vain to expect any more favourable results. That which is true of other things, must in this view be equally true in the matter of religion : admitting the universal depravity of mankind, or in less evangelical terms, the general prevalence of evil, and that certain portions of the multitude are in a better moral state than the rest, we can never rest satisfied, without inquiring into the real causes of the difference, and we might