Chapter 8.

CHAPTER 8.

Consequences of the foregoing observations.

ALL crimes are founded upon those errors which are first embraced in theory, before they are adopted in practice. Overthrow these errors by opposing to them pure and incontrovertible doctrines, and you destroy sin in the bud. On the other hand, true virtue is produced by truth. Oppose a lie to this truth, and, if it be admitted, you destroy the seeds of virtue. So long as the first man had his heart penetrated with the certainty of this doctrine, “If I am ungrateful enough to disobey my Creator, I shall die,” so long he remained in a state of innocence. But to this doctrine the tempter opposed his false promises. “You shall not surely die,” said he; on the contrary, “you shall become [wise and happy] as gods.” No sooner were these delusive doctrines assented to on the part of Adam, but his understanding becoming necessarily clouded, his will was immediately beguiled: and thus, blindly following the temptation, he fell into an abyss of misery.

Doctrines, whether they be good or bad, still continue to have the same influence upon the conduct of men; and to suppose the contrary, is to suppose that light and darkness can never cease to produce their ordinary effects. The following doctrine, “Out of the pale of the Romish Church there is no salvation,” has filled Europe with fires, scaffolds, and massacres. Eradicate this doctrine from every prejudiced heart, and plant in its room the following Scriptural truth, “God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him,” and, in the place of streaming blood, we shall see streams of charity uninterruptedly flowing through every Christian kingdom.

The miser imagines that riches are the sovereign good, and that the highest pleasure consists in counting over and over his splendid hoards. The debauched youth is confident that the sovereign good consists in sensual gratification, and the highest gratification in the enjoyment of a frail beauty, destined to be the prey of worms. Destroy these groundless persuasions by solid doctrines: demonstrate to these infatuated creatures that God himself is the sovereign good, and that this good is offered to us in Jesus Christ; and that the highest enjoyment consists in having the heart penetrated with Divine love, and in looking forward with a lively hope of being one day eternally united to God. Convince them of these momentous truths, and the charms by which they have been captivated so long, will be immediately broken. Ah! how delightful is it to behold such sensual reasoners awaking from their deathful slumber, and crying out, with St. Augustine, “O eternal sweetness! Ineffable greatness! Beauty for ever new! Truth, whose charms have been so long unnoticed, alas, how much time have I lost in not loving thee!”

Sound reason must unavoidably submit to the force of these observations, the truth of which is demonstrated by the general conduct of mankind. But, perhaps, the best method of reasoning with the incredulous, is to point out the consequences of their own system. Imagine a man, who, instead of receiving the doctrines of the Gospel, publicly presumes to make the following declaration: “I believe not in God the Creator: I trust not in any Mediator, nor acknowledge any sanctifying Spirit. And, as I believe not in God, so I believe not in what is called his Church; nor do I look upon the communion of those who worship him in any other light than that of a mere chimera. I believe not in the remission of sins. I look for no resurrection, nor indulge any hope of everlasting life. Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.” Were any man seriously to repeat in your hearing such a confession of his faith, would you fix upon such a one for the management of your estate? Would you intrust him with the charge of your wife, or choose him for the guardian of your children? Would it be possible for you to depend upon his word, or confide in his honesty? Now, imagine this very infidel, in some future season, convinced of his former errors, and firmly persuaded that he acts under the eye of an omniscient God, who will bring “every work into judgment, with every secret thing,” Ecclesiastes 12:14: suppose him smiting upon his breast with the penitent publican, and determining, with St. Paul, to know nothing “among men save Jesus Christ and him crucified,” 1 Corinthians 2:2: would you not indulge a better opinion of this man, in his believing state, than when he rejected, with modern philosophers, the doctrines of Christianity? It could not possibly be otherwise: so true it is, that, in certain cases, your conduct will give the lie to your arguments against the utility of evangelical doctrines. J. J. Rousseau professes to have hated bad maxims less than evil actions: when, as a wise man, he should have detested the former as the cause of the latter. It is not sufficient that we profess to make the principles of virtue the ground of our conduct, unless that basis be established upon an immovable foundation. Without attending to this rule, we resemble those Indians, who suppose the world to be founded upon the back of an elephant, while that elephant is supported by the shell of a tortoise; and who, perfectly satisfied with such a discovery, attempt not to understand any more of the matter.

A system of morality, how beautiful soever it may appear, unless it be supported by doctrines of the utmost consistency and firmness, may be compared to a splendid palace erected upon the sands: in some unexpected storm it will assuredly be swept away, proving, at once, the disgrace of its builder, and the ruin of its inhabitant.