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the whole world under one government, and thus facilitating the means of intercourse necessary for the propagation of the Gos pel; while, by the universal peace which then prevailed, she prepared the way for the advent of the "Prince of peace."

Having now brought the reader to the time of the personal appearance of the Messiah, the author, by a survey of the state of the world, shews that it was already ripe for a fuller Revelation; an event now become necessary, on the one hand, from the general moral degradation of the world, while on the other, mankind were more fit to receive and appreciate it, from the advanced state of literature, science, and the general cultivation of the human mind; external circumstances being, at the same time, favourable to its promulgation. The religious and moral instructions of Christ he arranges under three heads: 1. A further knowledge of God, the Persons of the Godhead, and their attributes; which, though partially known before, were now more distinctly disclosed. 2. Knowledge of a future state, now more clearly developed and set forth by the death and resurrection of the Redeemer. 3. The extension of the moral duties, by attaching a new and fuller, importance to many virtues, by calling into action the Christian graces of charity and humility, and by striking at the root of sin and impurity, in condemning the indulgence of sinful and licentious thoughts. He then adds some general observations on the gospel dispensation. The sanction which Christ always afforded to his precepts by his example; the peculiar characteristic of the Gospel, in being preached to the poor, and the lowly condition of Christ and his Apostles; which, while it precluded the use of violence, and appealed to the reason of mankind, prevented the Gospel from owing its success to human influence, and rendered necesşary extraordinary operations of Divine power. These last were afterwards succeeded by the unseen influences of the Holy Spirit, while religion was promoted by the palpable instruments of the Scriptures of the New Testament, the Priesthood, and the Sacraments. From this survey are deduced a few short inferences respecting the capacity of the Gospel for universal reception; its adaptation to the most advanced state of human reason, though at the same time applicable to the capacity of the simple, together with its general tendency to improve and exalt our fallen nature, and to lead us from a life of sense to a more spiritual state of existence.

: Notwithstanding the antecedent improbability of the Gospel to overturn the established religion of the world, arising from the lowly condition of its first promoters, its progress was no less rapid than remarkable. Before the close of the first cen

tury it had spread from Palestine to Asia Minor; thence to Europe, and the coasts of the Mediteranean; and in the fourth century was the established religion of the Roman empire. Here again may be traced a continuation of the same principle, by which human events had been shaped with a view to promote the cause of religion. To the period above alluded to, the Roman empire had been highly instrumental towards promoting this object, by uniting all the world under one government, and thus facilitating the means of intercourse between its several parts. Its continuance, subsequently to this period, would have been prejudicial to the interests of the Gospel. The tyranny and despotism of its governors; the licentiousness of its soldiery and people; the total want of stimulus, or check, afforded by the rivalry of other States, had nearly caused to disappear all that was great and good, and had given birth to countless evils, from which religion visibly suffered much. Hence the irruption of the northern hordes, though at first sight pernicious, and attended with great atrocities, was even tually productive of much good, by breaking up the overgrown and unwieldy mass of the Roman empire, and by thus opening the way to a new order of things. Meanwhile religion, which suffered much during the turbulent times that succeeded, was preserved, together with the knowledge of letters, in the monastic institutions. And it is at this period that we are led to perceive the wisdom of concentrating the ecclesiastical power in a single chieftain, to whom the disjointed members of Christianity might look as to a common bond of union. To the establish ment and increase of this (the papal) power, many circumstances contributed, particularly its central situation, and the removal of the seat of empire to Constantinople. Of whatever abuses it was subsequently guilty, it was at first productive of many beneficial effects, which secular power could not have produced; particularly in converting the heathen, and in softening the character of those barbarous times. Beginning, however, at length to realize almost every abuse, and being, like its political counterpart, chivalry, an institution of an extraordinary nature, suited to an extraordinary state of society-calculated to remedy the defect of a due dispensation of religion on the one hand, as chivalry, that of a due administration of justice on the other as incompatible with a state of knowledge and illumination, as chivalry with the regular dominion of law,-it faded at the approaching dawn of literature and science, which exposed its errors and abuses, and led the way to the Reformation.

Among the external causes which tended to promote this

event, we notice the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, and the invention of the art of printing.

"Of these, the first poured into the western states of Europe a number of men, capable of directing the newly awakened desire of knowledge, toward the acquisition of that language, which could not fail to have a considerable effect in reforming religion,-indirectly, by refining and purifying the taste, and directly, by exhibiting to view the sacred Scriptures in their genuine and original form. The second obviously tended to the increase of knowledge, and consequently of true religion, by rendering books more numerous, cheap, and accessible." P. 218.

Although, after this event, the human mind, freed from the shackles of superstition and priestcraft, ran into excesses of a different nature; the Reformation was indescribably beneficial to the interests of Christianity, by purifying the church of the corruptions it had contracted in the hands of the Romish clergy. As we approach nearer to our own time, we are obliged to proceed with more caution. But without attaching an undue importance to peculiar dispensations, it cannot be denied that the events of the last fifty years have had, and promise still further to have, the effect of advancing the Christian cause. This may be traced in the effect produced by the magnitude of the wars, in promoting intercourse between distant nations; while commerce, navigation, and the means of national intercourse, have made a corresponding advance.

In concluding this view of the external history of the church, our attention is directed to the important part which our own nation is visibly destined to bear in furthering the work of Providence, and the consequent duties and responsibility imposed

upon us.

After this sketch of the external progress of the Gospel, we proceed to trace its effects on the hearts of men, and its influence on society in general. Notwithstanding the tendency of familiarity and long enjoyment to weaken the perception of any blessing, Christianity has done much, even for those who reject it, merely by the force of habit and early education: nor can it justly be held responsible for those evils which have arisen from the abuse of it. It is probably the only cause that idolatry is not, at this day, the religion of the civilized world. Its beneficial effects upon society, and its advantages over idolatry, may be seen chiefly in the inseparable connection which it establishes between religion and morality; in the character of its priesthood; in the abolition of human sacrifice; and in its influence on international policy, the character of war, the civil government of nations, and the rights of man. If we turn to

private life, we perceive its effects in the reinstatement of the female sex in their proper rank in society; in its influence on the conjugal and parental relations, without diminishing the rights of either party, as well as on those of master and servant; and in the abolition of slavery. To this may be added its influence in soothing the passions of mankind, particularly in restraining the emotions of malevolence and revenge. If we compare the abstract model of perfection, which we suppose might be produced in the Christian school, with that produced in the purest system of ancient and moral philosophy, the superiority of the former is made still more manifest; and though the model be beyond the capability of human nature, many have attained to a high degree in its excellence.

It may be thought that Christianity has not made that progress which the sanguine expectations of its early professors might have anticipated. Great allowances, however, must be made for the glowing language of the old prophets, and for the natural impatience of mankind to witness the consummation of a scheme in which they are interested. And yet analogy, and the great length of the prior and introductory dispensations, would lead us not to expect a speedy completion of this. In addition to which, when we consider that since the days of the apostles and their early successors, the Gospel, though under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and with the solemn promise of God that it shall finally prevail, has been left to be advanced by man, trusted to fallible agents, and liable to be obstructed by human passions; we shall have less difficulty in accounting for the comparative slowness of its progress. Among the chief obstacles which have hitherto inpeded it, we notice in the East the Mohammedan apostasy, which owed much of its success to the political weakness of the Byzantine Empire and the errors of the Eastern church; while in the West, its want of success is mainly to be attributed to the corruptions of the papacy; the effects of which may yet be traced in the moral evils which still continue to accompany a national profession of the Romish creed. To these we may add the vices of other communities and individuals professing themselves Christians; which corruptions have done more towards obstructing the cause and influence of the Gospel than all the opposition of all its adversaries, from its earliest promulgation to the present day. These obstacles, while they serve to explain the comparatively slow advance which the Gospel has hitherto made, furnish at the same time experience and caution in regard to our views for the future. "Every error exposed is an accession to the cause of truth: every rock and quick-sand, marked upon

our moral chart, serves to direct our future course with greater safety." (p. 284.) Though the natural bias of human nature would preclude the possibility of an exemption from future obstacles; it must be confessed that those at least, which have hitherto operated, have long been on the decline. The light that is breaking in on Pagan, Mohammedan, and papal darkness; the immense progress made of late in the moral and physical sciences; the spirit of commercial enterprize, the facility of intercourse and rapid communication between distant countries; and above all the education of the lower orders of the community, lead us to form the most sanguine expectations on this interesting and important subject. Nor need we fear that those advantages, once gained, will ever be lost; or that just principles, once established, will ever become obsolete.

"If we believe that our holy religion is so founded on eternal truth, that every acquisition in real science will serve only to confirm and signalize it; if we believe that it is so intimately connected with the best interests of mankind, that whatever advances the general welfare of our species must also advance the cause of Christianity; it should seem that the progress of knowledge, and the farther and better cultivation of the human intellect, must tend to promote both the external profession, and, what is much more important, the operative influence of the Gospel." P. 294.

In thus far tracing the progress and developement of Divine Revelation, as it relates to this world, we perceive not only as it is in part accomplished, but tending apparently to a fuller accomplishment, its supreme and ultimate design to be introductory to a nobler order of things hereafter; to advance man to such a state of improvement in his human nature as he can receive; to restore him, as nearly as he can now hope to approach, to the similitude of God; and by this process, to make him once more meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light.

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"But still there is a question of paramount interest, that concerns us all individually and personally how far shall each of us partake of everlasting salvation? The kingdom of God may extend itself to the utmost limits of the earth; yet we, severally, may be shut out. It is only by a life of righteousness, by a life holy, just, and pure, in proportion to our allotted measure of knowledge and ability, that we can secure our own salvation, through the merits of the crucified Redeemer, And, as Christianity identifies the true interests of individuals with the interests of the general cause of religion, it is only by such a course that we can contribute our personal aid toward that great consummation, when, the earth being full of the knowledge of the Lord, it shall be ripe to be absorbed into another and a more glorious system, when

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