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EXERCISES
PIETY.
[price three shillings, unbound.]
EXERCISES
PIETY.
FOR THE USE OF
ENLIGHTENED AND VIRTUOUS CHRISTIANS.
sr
G. J. ZOLLIKOFRE,
PASTOR OF THE REFORMED CHURCH AT LEIPSIC.
Translated from the French Edition^
BY
JAMES MANNING.
JPASTQR OF THE UNITED CONGREGATIONS OF DISSEN-
TERS IN EXETER.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD.
1796.
ADVERTISEMENT BV THE TRANSLATOR.
X HE following Exercifes of Piety are the
production of Mr. G. J. Zolikofre, the wor-
thy paftor of the reformed church at Leipfic.
They made their firft appearance in the Ger-
man language, but were lately publifhed in
French, at Francfort. The French edition*
from which thefe Exercifes were tranflated, is
printed in two volumes, of which the devo-
tional fervices, now publifhed, make but an
inconfiderable part, and are chiefly taken
from the fecond volume.
The enlightened and virtuous Chriftian, for
whofe ufe they are principally intended, will
here find fomething exactly fuited to his ex-
ternal circumftances, and the devotional feel-
ings of his mind.
The lefs perfect Chriftian, who has not yet
made fuch progrefs in the fchool of Piety as
the former, may alfo reap confiderable benefit
'J A
from fuch a book of devotion. It will tend
to improve him in knowledge and practice,
A 3 and
vi ADVERTISEMENT.
and be a ufeful book of inftruction as well as
o devotion. He may here be led to form
juft notions and holy defires, fuch as cannot
but have confiderable influence on his prayers
and on his conduct.
The idea of tranflating them was fuggefted
by reading Dr. Fordyce's AddrefTes to the
Deity, to which they appeared to be a pro-
per companion, as they are compofitions of
the fame kind, " a fpecies of pious contem-
plation, where the foul, infpired by a lively
fenfe of the Divine Prefence, expreifes, with
humility and ardor, her very inmoft thoughts,
affections and defires, on different fubjects."
Mr. Zolikofre has fo clearly explained his
views in the following Preface, that it ap-
peared highly proper to prefix it to a felec-
tion from his work.
THE
C vii 1
THE PREFACE.
ii, VERY writer, who wouid not be disap-
pointed of his object, fhould confine hU
attention, at the time of compofing his Work,
to fome particular clafs of readers, and never
lofe fight of their fituation and wants.
Thefe Exercifes of Piety were drawn up
folely for the ufe of enlightened and virtuous
Cbrijiians, As they alone are fufceptible of
true, and genuine piety, they alfo are the
only perfons who can enter thoroughly into
the ideas and fentiments which I have en-
deavoured to exprefs in this book. Perfons
of this defcription will, I truft, find nothing
here incompatible with their mode of think-
ing and feeling nothing but what will more
or lefs intereft their understanding and their
hearts.
But it is neceiTary for me to point out,
more diftinttly, the clafs of readers I have
chiefly had in view throughout this work.
A 4 By
vm THE PREFACE.
By enlightened Cbriftians I underftand thofe
who (far from contenting themfelves with
the imperfect inftructions of infancy and early
youth, and adopting the doctrines of their
feveral churches, blindly and without exa-
mination) reflect on what they have heard,
read, and been taught, enquire for them-
felves, and are continually making new pro-
grefs in the knowledge of truth. I mean by
this term, perfons who have been long a
prey to doubts, and perplexed with difficul-
ties, but who have at length determined to
leave all contefted opinions, all thofe fubjects
of controverfy which have embittered and
divided the Chriftian world, to be fettled by
thofe who are fond of difputes, and to be
intent on thofe only which are effential to
religion, in which all Chriftians believe and
are agreed ; and who endeavour to be more
and more eftablifhed in the conviction of
thofe great and univerfally intererting truths-
Accuftomed to reflection, they fufpend their
judg-
PREFACE. lx
judgments on things above their compre-
hension, or not clearly revealed, without
fuffering this indecifion of mind to difturb
their peace, or impair their virtue.
By the other term of "virtuous Chriftians, I
underftand thofe perfons who regard Chris-
tianity as a fyftem the moft important and
indifpenfable to the Satisfaction and peace of
their minds, who attend upon, and return
to, the Exercifes of Devotion, lefs from a
principle of duty than from tafle and affec-
tion ; in whom reafon rules over the fenfual
appetites ; in whom the love of God, the
love of man, and the love of all that is true,
lovely, venerable, and of good report, pre-
vail over every other inclination. I mean,
by this expreflion, fuch Chriftians as may
indeed fuller themfeives to be fometimes de-
luded, and fall into errors, but who do not
voluntarily tranfgrefs who may be occa-
sionally off their guard in the courfe of vir-
tue.
x PREFACE.
tue, but who are not entirely uncon-
cerned about their duty, and who, even
when they are fo unhappy as to tranfgrefs,
foon return to the good way from which
they had ftrayed. Perfons of this character
cannot think and fpeak juft as thofe whofe
difpofitions and inclinations are ungoverned
and depraved, who, by the frequent commif-
fion of wicked actions, become 9. conftant
prey to remorfe and fear.
How common foever it may be in books
of devotion to confider men in an indifcri-
minate light, it is not the lefs incompa-
tible with the fpirit and defign of Chriftia-
nity, and the difpofitions and conduct of
Chriftians who are both enlightened and
virtuous. Thofe exercifes of devotion which
have not truth for their bafis, cannot be
highly cftimable in the fight of God, who
does not encourage us to entertain a falfe
opinion of our own chnracter, and to declare
our-
PREFACE. xi
ourfelves in "his prefence to be more criminal
than we really are.
This mode of thinking may appear to
many perfons the effecT: of a blameable pride.
But pride hath falfhood, and not truth, for
its fource ; and the more enlightened, wife,
and virtuous a Chriftian is, the lefs is he
capable of pride. No one is more ready than
fuch a Chriftian to acknowledge, that what-
ever good there is in him proceeds from
God. How then can fuch a perfon cherifti
pride ? True piety and pride are as inconiirl-
ent as light and darknefs.
Such are the enlightened and virtuous
Chriftians I have principally had in view,
whilft composing thefe Exercifes of Piety.
Though fuch Chriftians will not fervilely
bind theinfelves to forms, they may occasion-
ally need a guide to afTift and animate them
in their reflections, and to make this em-
ployment more eafy to them. We are net
always equally difpofed for meditation and
I prayer-
xii PREFACE.
prayer the bufmefs and the avocations of
life will often deaden the devotional feelings,
and throw obflacles in our way. Befides, do
we not like to have a friend who fhall join
with us in honouring God and Jefus Chrift,
who fhall call up our attention to our
fpiritual wants and common interefts ; who
fhall invite us to collect our thoughts, enter
into ourfelves, and excite thofe ideas and fen-
timents, whofe truth and comfort we have
already often felt.
Would to God I may become fuch a
friend to the greater part of my readers !
If inconfiderate and vicious perfons mould
look into this book, they will foon find fen-
timents expreffed in it to which they are in
a great meafure ftrangers : but they will not
be able to deny, that the fentiments are fitted
to contribute, many ways, to the improve-
ment, tranquillity, and happinefs of thofe
who are penetrated with them ; and this may
be the means of leading them to reflect on
them-
PREFACE. xiii
theinfelves in their moments of retirement
and recollection ; and to awaken in them,
through the grace of God, diipofitions more
favourable to virtue.
But, that my readers may judge fairly of
this book, and ufe it properly, I befeech them
not to forget that it is written for enlight-
ened and virtuous Chriftians.
INDEX.
[ 3
I N D E X.
PAGE.
Introduction i
Reflections on the Exiftence of God 5
Providence x 3
On Faith in Jefus Chrift 25
The Immortality of the Soul 36
Love to God 48
Love to Jefus Chrift t 55
Love to Mankind 62
Love of Labour "]l
The fafeft Rule in the conduft of Life - 81
Exercifes of Piety fuited to the different Relations in do-
meftic and civil Society 87
Married Perfons 89
Parents 97
Childhood 107
Youth 1 3
Manhood > 122
Old Age 128
Subjeft I3 6
Rich Man - < H 2
poor Man 15
A Perfon confined bySicknefs 159
Death of Friends .... v 215
EXERCISES OF PIETY:
OR,
MEDITATIONS
ON THE
PRINCIPAL DOCTRINES AND DUTIES OF RELIGION.
Reflection is the mother of wifdom,
the faithful companion of Virtue, and the
principal fource of human felicity. The
wifeft and mod virtuous of men have al-
ways confidered it in this view, and to this
day no one calls in queftion the truth of the
encomium.
But, notwithstanding the acknowledged ad-
vantages of reflection, many perfons fcarcely
ever reflect at all ; and the greater part of
mankind regard this employment as difficult
and burthenfome. We think continually,
and without intermiffion. Thought is as
neceffary to the life of the foul as motion is
B to
z INTRODUCTION.
to that of the body. They are both equally
involuntary. It is as impofiible entirely to
banirn thought as to ftop the circulation of
the blood. The objects which furround us,
and the changes which take place within us,
are continually making impreffions upon us,
which the mind prefents to itfelf with more
or lefs diftinctnefs, and which it approves
or difapproves. And this operation is per-
formed in fleeping and waking, at reft and in
action, in ibciety and in folitude. We never
eeafe, therefore, to think, any more than we
ceafe to breathe. But we generally think with
fuch rapidity and inattention, that our ideas are
effaced as ealily as they are produced, and
leave no fenfible traces behind them.
We often think, then, without rcfieBing ;
and it is feldom we examine with attention
what have been our thoughts. Hence arife
the little certainty, order, and confiftency we
obferve in our ideas hence the flight con-
viction they produce ; the inconfiftency and
ficklenefs of our opinions and judgments,
and the oppolition that is often feen between
our light and our conduct, our manner of
thinking and manner of acting. To remove
thefc
INTRODUCTION. 3
thefe defeats, it is neceffary to habituate our-
felves to reflection, and to familiarize our
minds to fo noble and ufeful an employ-
ment. To reflect, as the very expreffion
intimates, is to throw back the thoughts
upon themfelves, to return to a thought we
have already had, and to think upon it a
fecond time. A perfon who reflects, flops,
and fixes upon one idea confiders it at lei-
fure, and with attention analyzes it in or-
der to difcover, more diftinctly, the nature
of the object on which he meditates, to trace
it in its caufes and effects, and to draw con-
fequences from it relating to his conduct and
happinefs.
It is by means of fuch reflection our ideas,
and the knowledge we have acquired, be-
come more clear, compleat, certain, intereft-
ing, and ufeful to us : and fuch will be the
daily employment of every one who zea-
loufly afpires after wifdom, virtue, and hap-
pinefs.
Properly fpeaking, there is no fubject upon
which we cannot reflect. The field of con-
templation is immenfe. The heavens and
the earth, creatures animate and inanimate ;
B 2 the
4 INTRODUCTION.
the prefent and the future every thing
invites to reflection ; and happy is that
man, whofe faculties of mind, and whofe
leifure, permit him to meditate on all the
variety of objects around him, and to tafte
the pleafures of reflection, to the greateft
extent. But this can be only the privi-
lege of a few ; it therefore becomes necef*
fary for us to make a judicious felection,
and choice of fubjects on which to fix our
attention ; for every exercife of reflection
cannot be equally necefTary and ufeful for
us.
What then are the objects which it mofl
concerns us to be acquainted with, and what
are the fubjects on which it chiefly concerns
us to reflect?
If we would fix our attention on fubjects
which are moll interefting, we muft reflect
on the exiftcnce and providence of God, on
Jefus Chrift and chriftianity, on the immor-
tality of ihe foul, and a future ftate of retri-
bution.
REFLEC-
[ 5 ]
REFLECTIONS
ON THE
EXISTENCE OF GOD.
WHAT is the eternal and inexhauftible
fource, whence flow the ftreams of light and
life, which difFufe themfelves over all worlds,
and all the orders of beings which inhabit
them ? What is the univerfal and inceflantly
active principle which animates and gives life
to all, from which the powers of nature pro-
ceed, and which continually renews them ?
Where is the firft caufe of all that I be^
hold ? I fee nothing around me but effects
which owe their origin to other effects.
Every thing is produced by another, and is
itfelf produced in its turn by others. All
things are connected and linked together. *
Does not this connection neceffarily lead me
up to a firft caufe, eternal, independent, felf-
exiftent ; who always did, and always will,
continue to exift ? Where is the firft link of
B 3 this
6 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
this immenfe chain, and the Almighty Hand
that holds it ?
Can I doubt that this firft caufe is infinitely
wile, intelligent and good ? Do I not every
where fee the fenfible and ftriking traces of
intelligence, wifdom, and benevolence the
appearances of order, harmony, beauty, de-
fign, and means proper to execute thofe de-
figns ? Who hath affigned to the fun, the
moon, the ftars, and all thofe thoufands of
worlds with which I am furrounded, the
places they occupy, and the circles they run ?
Who hath fo magnificently adorned the place
of my abode, and fpread fo much life and
pleafure amongft its inhabitants? What a
variety and multitude of plants, infects, and
animals, cover the face of the globe, all of
which, by their ftructure, their inftincts,
their modes of life, their labours, and their
relation to each other, proclaim the confum-
mate ability, and perfect wifdom, of Him who
created them ! How wonderful the manner
in which they multiply themfelves from age
to age, without ever altering or confounding
their fpecies ! Mull: I not do violence to my
imderftanding, to confider all this as the
2 effect
EXISTENCE OF GOD. 7
effect of chance, or of a blind and unintelli-
gent caufe?
And where is the firft, fupreme intelli-
gence, the Father of Spirits, who hath crea-
ted me, and all other thinking and reafonable
creatures ? For I have not always thought.
I have exifted but a fhort time, and am
equally ignorant how I think, and how I
began to think. I am fenfible it is not in my-
felf that I mult feek for the true caufe of my
exiftence. It is not to the immediate authors
I am indebted for it. They know not how
I exift, and the caufe of their own exiftence is
no more in themfelves than mine is in me.
Every thing informs me alfo, that my intel-
ligent nature cannot be the work of chance,
the effect of the fenfible objects w T hich fur-
round me, or of the grofs materials to which
I am united. The order, the connection, and
the harmony which prevail in my thoughts,
will not fuffer me to believe it. I cannot but
obferve, that my mind is of a much nobler
origin, and is of a nature far fuperior to the
body which ferves for its covering. I per-
ceive that my foul is the work of a Being fu-
perior to all thofe which I fee around me
13 4 that
8 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
that it proceeds from an immaterial, intelli-
gent principle, by whom it lives and thinks,
and to whom it is moft intimately related.
To believe that there is a firft, eternal caufe
of all things, an intelligence fupreme and per-
fect, is to admit a truth, the conviction of
which is neceflary to relieve and tranquillize
my heart ; and the clearer my ideas on this
fubject, and the more attention I pay to what
pafles within and without me, the more clearly
I hear the voice of nature, which announces
to me a Deity.
O thou Being of Beings, infinite, eternal,
heaven and earth proclaim thy exiftence !
every leaf, every plant, every tree, every
infect, every worm that crawleth on the
ground, every living and rational creature
fpeaks of Thee. Every thing that exifts and
thinks celebrates thy praife. I behold Thee in
the brightnefs of the firmament in the mild
light which furrounds, and in the vital heat
which pervades all animate beings ! It is
Thee I hear in the foft murmurs of the air,
in the falutary blowing of the winds, in the
ruftling noife of the leaves, in the melodious
fong of birds, in the intelligible language of
men.
EXISTENCE CE GOD. 9
men, in the roaring waves of the fea, and in
the thundering voice of the temper!:. It is
Thee whom I perceive in the impreflion
which external objects make upon me, and in
the plealing, and fometimes rapturous feel-
ings which arife from the knowledge of truth,
the practice of virtue, and the expectation of
a happy futurity.
All that exift, live, think, and act, inform
me there is a God, an univerfal principle, an
eternal fource' of life, motion and thought.
Yes, great God ! thou waft, and art, and art
to come, from everlafting, and to everlafting.
How happy am I in knowing Thee, and in
being able, on the wings of thought, to ele-
vate myfelf to Thee ! What would the whole
world be without Thee ? a confufed, inex-
plicable myftery. Our intelligent minds
would be involved in frightful darknefs, and
all our thoughts, knowledge, actions and en-
joyments, would lofe all their charms, toge-
ther with all their ufe. If all were but the
fport of chance, what hopes could we cherifh
in our bofoms ; to what fears fhouid we not
become the prey ? On what could we, with
any confidence, rely ? What principles could
fafely
jo EXERCISES OF PIETY.
fafely guide us in the fearch of truth, and in
the conduct of life ?
If I did not know that thou, O God, doft
exift, I could fcarce reftrain myfelf from en-
vying the brutes. In this cafe, the power of
thinking, and of afcending from effect to
caufe, would be to me a fatal prefent, and life
a burthen. No it is fuch a Being as thyfelf
alone which could give me a mind capable of
conceiving of Thee, and a heart burning with
defire to know Thee, without whom I can
enjoy no true felicity.
By believing in thy exiftence, 1 perceive the
whole value of my own. The idea that I am, that
I think and live, and that I owe thefe advan-
tages to Thee, fills me with joy unfpeakable.
I am no longer an unconnected individual,
loftamidft the multitude of living beings I am
no longer an effect without a caufe. I am the
workmanfhip of fovereign wifdom and bene-
volence, the creature of Him who hath crea-
ted, and who preferves all beings, and all
worlds ; the child of the common parent, of
the immenfe family which fills the heavens
and the earth.
Yes,
EXISTENCE OF GOD. n
Yes, O my God, little as I appear in com-
panion with the vaft univerfe, I am as much
thy work as the fun, and all the worlds which
revolve in the immenfity of fpace. I am as
much thy child as the moft exalted intelli*
gences which encircle thy throne. To thine
eyes, thou eternal and infinite Being, all the
diftinctions which are made by men between
what they call great and little, difappear. All
that comes out of thine hands is worthy of
Thee, and bears the impreffion of thy infinite
wifdom and power.
What a light is now reflected on all things
around me. All is good and perfect in its
kind. Every thing is what it ought to be in
the place it occupies, and according to its de-
fign, for all that exifts is the work of the
wifeft, and the beft of Beings. The univerfe
is an immenfe whole, all whofe parts, clofely
connected together, promote the wifeft and
moft important ends.
What contentment and tranquillity now
reign in my heart? I know the object of my
faith and hope. I know from whence I came,
by whom I exift, in whom I may rejoice, and
on whom I can rely. I know that thou liveft,
Omy
12 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
O my God ; that thou art my Creator and my
Father, and the Creator and Father of all men,
and of all beings, and will be for ever. May
nothing ever deprive me of this lively and de-
lightful * conviction. Father of Mercies !
ftrengthen and encreafe my faith. May I be
daily more and more convinced of thine exis-
tence, and adorable perfections ; and, filled
with this idea, may it become to me a con-
ftant fource of happinefs !
ON
t 13 ]
ON
PROVIDENCE.
IF God exifts and can I doubt of it whilft
the heavens and the earth, all that is within
me and without me, proclaims this truth?
If there is a firft eternal caufe, a Creator
of the univerfe, there is alfo a Providence
which preferves, governs, and directs the
feveral creatures to their refpective ends,
and to a perpetually encreafing perfection
and felicity.
The idea I form to myfelf of the Supreme
Being necefTarily convinces me of the truth
of this doctrine ; and what falls under my
notice of the frame and conftitution of all
things confirms my faith in it.
How can he who knows all things be ig-
norant of what paries in any part of his
l^aft dominions? Mull he not know the
qualities, the abilities, the effects, the com-
binations of his creatures, animate as well as
inanimate ?
i 4 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
inanimate ? Muft he not know exa&ly their
wants, their fituation, their wifhes, their en-
deavours ? Are they not all in his hands ?
Can any thing exift, live, be happy, or un-
happy, without his will or permiflion ? Do
not all the powers of nature proceed from
Him who is the eternal and inexhauftible
fource of motion and of life ; from Him
who is the Father of our fpirits, and the
God of the fpirits of all flefh ? And can I
believe that God, defpifing the work of his
hand, will abandon his children to the ca-
price of chance, and to the weaknefs of na-
ture ? Can I think a Being of perfect be-
nevolence can be an indifferent fpectator of
the feries of events, and infenfible to the
happinefs and mifery of his creatures ; that
eternal wifdom acts without an end, or cannot
attain the end it propofes ; or that Infinite
Goodnefs will not do all the good that is in
its power ?
I need not be furprifed if the princes of
the earth neglect the people over whom they
are placed, if their meafures are not alwa)^
wife, or their adminiftrations free from re-
proach ; and if, with the bell intentions,
they
ON PROVIDENCE. i$
they frequently commit the greateft faults.
Sometimes they are deficient in underftanding
and knowledge, at others in power or be-
nevolence. Sometimes they are mifled by
error, at other times they are blinded by
paffion ; and they almoft always fink under
the burden that overpowers them. Their
feeble light cannot take in fo large a field at
once ; and neither their heads nor their hearts
are equal to fo many objects. But the eye
of the Supreme takes in all things at one
view. His underftanding is infinite ; his
love and paternal kindnefs are boundlefs.
He cannot be deceived by falfe appearances
to him nothing is difficult ; his ftrength is
never weakened, and there is no place which
his arm cannot reach. He fees all things as
they really are. The material and fpiritual
worlds are equally fubjected to him. He
fpeaks and it is done ; he commands and it
ftands faft. He doeth whatfoever he pleafeth
in heaven and earth. No one can ftay his
hand, and fay unto him, What doeft thou ?
We have every reafon to be fatisfied that it
is infinite wifdom, power, and goodnefs
which preferve, direct, and govern the
world ;
%6 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
world ; all things proceed from him, all
things exift by him and for him. The per-
fections of the Divine Nature prove this de-
lightful and important doclxirte ; and what
falls under our notice of the frame and con-
ftitution of the world, eftabliihes it beyond
all uncertainty and doubt.
Are not we, and all that furrounds us, as fee-
ble and dependent this day as we were the for-
mer ? Are we not as incapable of prolonging
our exiftence for a fingle moment as we wei/e
of giving ourfelves exiftence at firft? Can that
which is dependent become independent, and
fubfift by itfelf ? Can the brook continue to
run without its iburce, or the weak and feeble
infant fupport itfelf without the tender care of
its mother ? Is it not neceffary that the Al-
mighty Will, which gave us our being,
fhould be continually exerted to prevent our
finking into our original nothingnefs ? Yes,
Gh my God ! every thing convinces me that
my faculties, my ftation, and the duration of
my exiftence do not depend on my will.
It is thou who by a fecret and abfolute power
maintaineft my ftrength, motion and exift-
ence. If my breath is not flopped if my
blood
ON PROVIDENCE. , 7
blood circulates if my limbs have not loft
their activity if the organ of my fenfes
have preferved their delicacy if in this in-
ftant I have the faculty of thinking, and the
ufe of my reafon, it is to Thee alone that
I am indebted for this continued bleffing.
Thefe expreffions in thy holy word then are
as true as they are beautiful. " All thy crea-
tures wait upon thee, and thou giveft them
their meat in due feafon that thou giveft
them they gather ; thou opened thy hand, they
are filled with good ; thou hideft thy face,
they are troubled ; thou takeft away their
breath, they die and return to their duft ;
thou fendeft forth thy fpirit, they are
created, and thou renewed the face of the
earth."
What does the invariable order which
reigns in nature teach me ; the regular and
conftant courfe of the (tars, the wonderful
harmony of their motions, notwithstanding
their innumerable multitude, and the differ-
ence of their magnitude ? What does the
continual and well-regulated fuccefhon of
days, and feed-time, and harveft, and the
inexhauftible fertility of nature teach me,?
Of what am I informed by the unchangable
C relations
IS EXERCISES OF PIETY.
relations which fubfift between the different
kinds of plants, animals, and men ; and by the
exact proportion which takes place between
life and death, between what is deftructive
and prefervative, between the means and the
end. If chance, or a blind neceffity, could
not produce this fuprizing and harmonious
order, neither could they preferve and main-
tain it. Such conftant regularity can only be
the effect of an ever-active Intelligence,
which embraces and actuates all.
Great God ! I humbly proftrate myfelf
before Thee. Thou art the fovereign lord
of the univerfe, and great difpofer of events ;
the preferver and father of all thy creatures.
This is what all nature proclaims to me ; but
thy fon, Jefus Chrift, hath more efpecially
taught me to confider Thee under ihefe glo-
rious and confolatory relations. It is in
Thee, my God, I live, and move, and have
my being. If thou fufpendeft thine influ-
ence I languifh, if thou takeft away my
breath, I die. Thou haft afligned to every
one the place he occupies in thy kingdom,
and haft determined the number of his days.
Thou knoweft all my wants, and thou pro-
vided for them with a wifdora and liberality
truly
ON PROVIDENCE. 19
truly paternal, j Thou perceiveft all our.
thoughts, thou heareft all our fighs, and thou
weighed all our actions. Thou difcovereft
all the mod fecret wifhes that are formed in
our hearts, and there is nothing fo concealed
as to be unfeen by Thee. Thou dwelleft in
light, and all is light in thine eyes. The
darkeft night is the fame to Thee as the
brighter]: day ; the obfcurity of the grave is
to Thee as the fplendour of the firmament.
Thou art the ever-prefent eternal life, whofe
vital energy and power animate and pervade
the whole univerfe. In the heavens and in
the earth, in every being, in every intelli-
gence, and in the heart of man we perceive
the conftant agency of Thee, the omnipotent
Jehovah, of whom, and through whom,
and for whom are all things ; to whom be
glory for ever.
Thou neglecteft nothing in thy vaft em-
pire ; thou takeft care of the fmalleft as well
as the greateft of thy works, of the parts as
well as the whole. All are thy works, all
are equally prefent to thy fpirit, all are
clofely bound and fubjected to thy laws. All
are perfect in their kind, all contribute to
C.2 . promote
io EXERCISES OF PIETY.
promote the greateft poflible perfection and
happinefs in the univerfe. It is thou that
cloatheft the flowers in all their magnifi-
cence ; thou giveft to the beaft his food, and
the young ravens which cry. Not a fparrow
falls to the ground without thy permiflion.
Thou preferveft and guideft the worm that
crawleth on the ground, and the fun which
fhines in the firmament ; the frail children of
the earth, and the fublime inhabitants of
heaven.
How low foever be the rank we fuftain
among rational creatures, this does not pre-
vent thee from being our Father, and from
watching continually for our prefervation
and happinefs. Nothing can befall us which
thou haft not forefeen, and which hath not
made a part of thy plan as a caufe or an
effect Thou upholdeft all that fall, and
raifeft up all thofe that be bowed down ; thou
makeft poor, and thou makeft rich ; thou
killed, and thou makeft alive ; thou woundeft,
and thou healeft, neither is there any that
can deliver out of thine hand : the very hairs
of thy fervants heads are numbered by Thee.
Thou determineft our deftiny, and the fate
of
ON PROVIDENCE. 2I
of kingdoms and of worlds, and all that
thou ordereft is righteous and good.
However great the plans, and however
exalted the ends of thy providence, thou
wilt not fail to execute the one and attain
the other. How oppofite foever the powers
of nature may appear, how contradictory
foever the wifhes, thoughts, defigns, and
endeavours of men, what thou haft refolved
on fhall take place, thy will fhall be accom-
plifhed ; and from all thefe contradictions,
real or apparent, the moft perfect harmony
fhall finally refult.
How happy mould I efteem myfelf in
being the object of the wife care and atten-
tion of the beft and moft tender of fathers.
How happy is it for me that I am not left to
myfelf, to the weaknefs of nature and the
extravagance of paflions ; that my fate is
not governed by my childifh and fenfelefs
wifhes, but by the laws of thine adorable
wifdom ; that it is thou, a being of infinite
knowledge and goodnefs, who governeft and
directeft my lot, and not myfelf, a weak and
blind mortal.
C 3 With
22 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
With what calm fearlefsnefs cm T now
contemplate the molt extraordinary and fright-
ful revolutions in nature and in fociety !
With what firm aflurance can I look forward
to all future events ! I know that thine hand
dire&s every event, and that nothing can
take place without thy fovereign will.
With filial confidence I commit into thy
paternal hands my lot in life, and all that
lhall befall me. Foolim and thoughtlefs
fhould I be to prefume to prefcribe to Thee
the manner in which Thou fhouldft regulate
my lot, the lot of my friends, or of all thy
children fpread over the face of the earth.
Thou knoweft and Thou loveft us all better
than we do ourfelves. Thou alone knoweft,
with certainty, what would be proper for
each of us in our refpective ftations and our
feveral relations. Little doth it fignify
whether the path by which thou conducted:
us be obfcure or light, troublefome or eafy,
fo long as it leads us to perfection and hap-
pinefs. This confideration alone mould
compofe my mind, and make me fay, with
refignation, in all imaginable cafes " It is
the
ON PROVIDENCE.
n
the Lord, let him do what feemeth him
good."
It is true thy thoughts are not as our
thoughts, nor thy ways as our ways. Our
views are bounded by a fmall circle of objects,
and we behold but a fmall part of the univerfe.
But thou takeft in at one view, all times and
all places; all that is pomble, and all that
really exifts, the paft as well as the moll
diftant futurity. Thou feeft at one glance
of thine eye the immenfe chain of caufes
and effects in all ages and in all worlds.
What we confider as ends, are often no
more than means to attain more important
ends. What w r e regard as evil is often only
a prefervative from evil, much more con-
fid erable, and even a fruitful fource of new
bleflings.
Far, then, from permitting the Ieafl mur-
mur againft the unfearchable ways of Pro-
vidence, I put my hand upon my mouth
and fay Father, not as I will but as thou
wilt. The time is coming when my faith
ihall be turned into fight : then mail I be
enlightened with heavenly light : then what
I here faw through a glafs darkly ihall be
C 4 perfectly
2+ EXERCISES OF PIETY.
perfectly revealed. Though clouds and
darknefs are now round about the proceed-
ings of the Moft High, I fhall then fee,
without an intervening cloud, thy fublime
defigns, the wifdom of the means by which
they were accomplifhed, and their connec-
tion with my happy lot. Then I fhall fing,
with all glorified fpirits, Hallelujah the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth All that the
Lord hath done is good Praife ye the Lord !
ON
[ *5 3
ON
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.
IT is a true and faithful faying, that Jefus
Chrift came into the world to fave fmners.
The dignity of his character, the beneficence
and innocence of his life, the fublime and
confolatory nature of his doctrines, the dif-
interefted manner in which he and his apof-
tles taught them to mankind, the remarkable
and unheard of treatment which Jefus met
with, his death and refurrection, the happy
change which his religion produced in the
world thefe are fo many plain and well-
known facts, refting on evidence which mufl
be more than fufficient to obtain for them
an entire credit and a fixed belief. And this
belief is abfolutely neceffary for thofe who
earneftly long for the knowledge of truth,
and a fatisfadtory aflurance on points the
molt important ; and who earneftly defire to
be
26 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
be confirmed in virtue, and enjoy a durable
tranquillity.
How deplorable was the condition of the
human race before Jefus Chrift brought into
the world the light of truth ! How many
errors were embraced even by the wifeft and
moll enlightened of mankind ! From what
fource could they derive that fteady convic-
tion, that firm affurance, that folid peace,
thofe exalted hopes, that delightful confi-
dence in God which are the portion of the
Chriftian. The molt abfurd idolatries and
fuperftitious cuftoms, the , moft dangerous
incredulity and fcepticifm, the grolfeft fen-
fuality, the moft dreadful mifery and defpair,
had extended on all fides their dominion
over the earth. And who will venture to
deny, that the doctrine of Jefus Chrift hath
produced in thefe refpects the greateft and
happieft revolution in the world : a change
which all the wilhes and all the efforts of
the heathen philofophers could not effect. ?
Is it not Jefus who hath marked out and
cleared the path of truth, of virtue, and of
happinefs, which fo many mortals fought
before him but could never find ? How
many
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. %j
many thoufands and millions of men have
arrived by this path into that firm perfua-
fion, that precious liberty, that noble con-
queft over themfelves to that fweet peace
of min4, to that contentment and internal
felicity after which they had fo long afpired.
How many are there at the prefent day who
walk with a ferene mind and an unihaken
confidence in this road, and approach nearer
and nearer to perfection. Is it not now
much eafier for mankind to improve them-
felves, to attend to the voice of nature, to
confult their reafon, and to avoid, by the
light of this heavenly torch, the dark and
crooked paths into which men formerly
wandered \
How much am I myfelf indebted to the
chriftian doctrine ! And how much happier
may I not yet become by its aihitance ? I
am brought acquainted with God I know
that he is my father, the only living and
true God ; a Being eternal, infinitely wife
and good ; the Creator, Prefer ver, and Go-
vernor of all things ; the King of heaven
and earth. I know that he is merciful and
kind, even to the greateft of fmners ; and
when
*8 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
when they repent and amend, will forgive
their fins and receive them into his favour.
I know that my foul is immortal, and that
after the prefent life a more perfect and
happy ftate, a ltate of retribution, awaits me.
But I mould have been unacquainted with
all thefe things, how agreeable foever I now
find them to the light of reafon, or I iliould
have known them but imperfectly, if Jefus
Chrift had not revealed them to mankind by
commiffion from his Father. And how
could I be fo ferene and happy as I now am
if I had been ignorant of thefe doctrines, or
called in queftion their certainty and truth.
Do they not fpread a cheering light on all
my being, and on all the events of my life ?
Do they not give more liability, a better
foundation, and a greater importance to my
thoughts, principles, and actions ? and if I
obey the precepts of Jefus, if I imitate his
example, if I am animated by his fpirit,
how wife, good, peaceful, and happy ihall
I become ? How eafy will the practice of
my duty be to me ? It will then colt me
but little to gain the conqueit of myfelf, and
to live and die contented. With what zeal
mail
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. 29
fhall I do good ; what peace will reign in
my heart ; what agreement and harmony in
my fentiments, inclinations, and conduct ?
With what joy fhall I think of God ; with
what feelings of benevolence and charity
fhall I regard my fellow-creatures ; with
what noble confidence fhall I look forward
to death and an eternal world ?
And fhall I yet doubt, after all that my
experience teaches me, whether this doctrine
come from God, the Father of light, the
Author and fource of all happinefs ? Shall
I ftill doubt whether it be the fafeft and the
fhorteft road to perfection and felicity ? Shall
I not embrace, with a lively faith, a religion
which in all refpects bears the evident marks
of a celeftial origin, and which muft appear
fo defirable to every man whofe mind is free
from prejudice, and whofe heart is uncor-
rupted a religion which is fo necefTary to
my tranquillity and peace ? Shall I not re-
gard it as the moft precious gift of Heaven
to mankind ? Shall I not acknowledge Jefus
to be the organ of truth, the moft generous
and powerful Saviour that God hath fent
into the world, the greateft Benefactor of
humanity ?
$o EXERCISES OF PIETY.
humanity And mail I not teftify the fin-
cereft gratitude for all that he hath under-
taken and fuffered for us ? Shall I not obey
him with my whole heart ? Shall I not
cheerfully follow his fteps, and endeavour
more and more to refemble him, that I may
be exalted to the fame glory and felicity he
enjoys in Heaven ? Nothing mall deprive
me of fo fublime and comfortable a belief.
Nothing can leffen the refpect and love I
bear to Jefus. I find too much light, en-
couragement in virtue, peace and happinefs
in the chriftian religion, ever to induce me
to forfake it, or to give the preference to any
fyftem of human wifdom, whatever it may
be ; in which I mould vainly feek for fuch
important advantages. The fyftem of Chrif-
tianity fliall not be to me a fyftem of fpecu-
lation, a barren theory, a mere external dif-
tinction, much lefs a fubjecT: of controverfy,
difpute, and divifion between me and my
brethren ; but it fhall be the conftant rule of
my conduct, a principle of action, my in-
ftruclor and guide.
Let the unbeliever, then, raife a multitude
of difficulties and objections againft religion.
2 They
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. 31
They are nothing to me, who am attached
only to what is eflential to Chriftianity, and
who know by experience how proper this
fyftem is to make me both happier and bet-
ter. They can embarrafs thofe only who
make of Chriftianity a complicated fyftem,
incomprehenfible and contradictory, from
fcholaftic fubtleties and diftinctions. As for
me, to know the only true God and Jefus
Chrift, whom he hath fent, to honour God
as my Father, and Jefus Chrift as my Sa-
viour and Mafter; to be perfuaded of the
mercy of God to men, of his univerfal
providence, of his protection and indulg-
ence ; to cherifh the certain hope that by
walking in the paths of virtue, and even of
an imperfect and defective virtue, I mail
attain to an eternal felicity This is my
Chriftianity. The more plain and fimple it
is, and the more agreeable to reafon, the
lefs hath it to fear from the aiTaults of the
unbeliever, and the better is it able to fuf-
tain and to repel them.
Is is no lefs true that Chriftianity hath
been often abufed, or rather what hath been
falfely
32 EXERCISES OF PtETY\
falfely called Chriftianity, and that it Is ftill
abufed. But what is there in the natural
or moral world, what gift of God is there
that mankind have not abufed, and made
fubfervient to the worft defigns ? God gave
religion as he gave the earth to man, that in
peace and comfort he might cultivate and
reap the fruits of it. Inftead of fo doing,
man lays it wafte and drenches it m blood.
Can we blame God, or the earth, or re-
ligion ? No to man alone the blame is
due, on him alone let it then be laid*
It is alfo true that Chriftianity has not
produced all that might be expected from
it. It was foreknown, it was foretold that
it would not. Nothing has fallen out new ;
nothing contrary to the expectations of its
divine Author and his fervants. Chriftianity
would have all men to be temnerate, in-
duftrious, meek, peaceable, juft, loving ; in
which cafe Paradife would again fpring up
among us, and earth would be a lively
image of Heaven.
Chriftianity hath not produced all the
good effects that may be expe&ed from it.
But
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. 33
But what good may it not yet effect in the
courfe of time ; either directly, in fpreading
its peculiar truths, or indirectly, in con-
firming and clearing thofe of reafon ? If
the ill ufe which hath been hitherto made
of it hath produced great evils in the world,
the time is coming when this abufe of it
(hall entirely ceafe. And who can eftimate
all the falutary effects that the Chriftian re-
ligion, better underftood, and more faith-
fully obeyed, will produce in all the future
ages of the world ?
O God, who art the Father of our Lord
Jefus Chrift, accept my praifes and thanks-
givings for having called me to the know-
ledge of the Gofpel, and for difclofing to
me, in the Chriftian doctrine, fo much light,
encouragement, confolation, and happinefs.
Every good and perfect gift cometh down
from above, from the Father of Lights, 'and
confequently Chriftianity which imparts to
us fuch juft and certain knowledge of thy
nature and will ; which infpires fuch perfect
confidence in thy paternal bounty ; which
gives us the affurance of thy grace and
mercy ; which frees us from all fuperftitious
D and
EXERCISES OF PIETY.
md fervile fear; -which communicates fuch
elevated fentiments, fuch a glorious liberty^
and which raifes us to the fublime hope of
immortality. Chriftianity, which is the
greateft of all bleflings, and the moft perfect
of all thy gifts, can proceed from Thee
alone. The falutary effects it produces, fuf-
iiciently prove its celeftial origin ; and the
nature of the benefit is fufficient to make
known to us the benefactor. So pure a
itream, from which we draw fuch comfort
and fupport, can only be derived from a
divine fource. Yes, it is at this fountain of
living waters that I can quench my thirfl,
and draw the knowledge of truth, wifdom,
virtue, and happinefs. May no tormenting
doubts, no tumultuous paflions ever difturb
fo pure a fpring, and make me diftafte thefe
wholefome waters of life ! The moll ardent
wifh of my heart, O my God, fhall be to
deferve, by my conduct, the title of Chrif-
tian ; to feel, more and more, the power of
the Gofpel ; to enjoy its privileges with
gratitude ; to diftinguifh myfelf from un
believers by wifdom and virtue, the ferenity
,md peace of my mind, and by thefe means
to
FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. 35
to recommend the Gofpel to their efteem
and regard. Condefcend to favour my
wifhes by thy wife and good providence.
Strengthen my faith in this heavenly doc-
trine ; and may this faith become a more
active principle, and more fruitful of good
works. Let the kingdom of the MefTiah be
extended and enlarged throughout the earth.
Let Chriftianity be purified from all human
inventions, and let its falutary influence be
every day more powerfully and univerfally
experienced.
u>
[ 3* 1
ON THE
IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.
Enlightened by the Gofpei, i have
already learnt to think and reafon with more
clearnefs and precifion on this important doc-
trine. When a perfon has once got into the
path of truth, it becomes eafy for him to ad-
vance and pafs on from one truth to another.
The ideas which the Chriftian religion has
given me of God, of his infinite perfections,
of his eternal love to men, of his mode of
governing moral agents, of his will and de-
figns ; all thele confederations lead me to en-
tertain the hope of immortality. The Gofpei
raifes this hope to the higheft degree of cer-
tainty. Reafon and fcripture unite to con-
firm tins delightful doctrine.
With a little reflection I can eaiily fatisfy
myfelf, that what thinks within me that mv
mind is of a nature totally different from mv
body that it is a principle directed, not by
mechanical,
IMMORTALITY. 37
mechanical, but by moral laws. I think
but I can, without any external impreffion,
interrupt or continue my thoughts, divert
them into another channel, or fix them upon
any particular fubjecl: that pleafes me. I put
my body in motion ; but I can, without any
external obftacle, ftop this motion, and give
it an oppofite direction. I exercile my will,
and my will alone moves a multitude of bo-
dies, in a great variety of ways. I commu-
nicate my thoughts to beings like myfelf, and
by this means I can regulate their thoughts,
and influence their opinions, defigns, and
actions, without the leaft infringement on
their liberty. No mere body can act in this
manner, and thus raife itfelf above the laws of
mechanifm.
That which thinks within me, then, is
fomewhat totally different from my body. I
can lofe a confiderable part of my body with-
out lofing one of my ideas. My body is per-
petually changing and renewing, neverthelefs
I always retain the fenfe of my exiftence, and
of my identity. How intimately connected
foever my body and my mind may be, it
does not follow that the latter may not cxiit
D 3 without
38 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
without the former, and that the deftrudtion
of the body will neceffarily draw after it that
of the foul. Far from it. The nature of my
foul is fo different, and fo fuperior, that I am
perfuaded that it will not perifh with the body,
but exift after the body is dead.
The confideration of my mental faculties,
my prefent lituation, and the relations in
which I ftand, greatly confirm this belief. I
obferve, in myfelf and others, the precious
feeds of a multitude of excellent qualities, and
exalted powers, which are capable of perpe-
tually unfolding and enlarging their activity,
and which yet are incapable of being fully
unfolded and expanded in the prefent ftate.
To what narrow bounds are the faculties of
my foul confined by the continual wants and
occupations of life. How often do thefe
things hinder me from making that progrefs
which I could wifh in the knowledge of truth,
the practice of virtue, and the road to hap-
pinefs. The daily labourer, the mechanic,
the manufacturer, have they not fouls endued
with the fame faculties with the ftatefman to
whom the welfare of a nation is entrufted,
or with the man of learning verfed in the fub-
lirneit
IMMORTALITY. , 9
iimeft fciences? Would not the former, placed
In the fame circumftances with the latter,
be equally capable of the fame attainments ?
And where is the human mind which hath
received all the cultivation of which it is fuf-
ceptible, and which would not unfold ftill
more in more favourable fituations ? And is
it poffible that fo many noble powers mould
remain for ever concealed, and never arrive
at all the improvement of which they are
capable I Nc In the government of a Being
infinitely wife*, there can be no fuch difpro
portion between the caufe and the effect,
the means and the end. Every one of my
faculties, then, is a proof and a pledge of my
future exiflence, and of the great things
which at fome future period I (hall be able
to perform for myfelf and my brethren.
Every thing informs me that my prefent ftate
is a fcene of trial and difcipline that in this
world I do not attain the end for which I was
formed. Born into the world without know-
ledge, I muft inceflantly labour to inform my
mind, and I have never hnidied learning. It
is not without troublefome exertion that I
acquire a facility of employing the powers of
D 4 my
40 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
my mind. I inftrud myfelf, and fcarcely
have I begun to improve my faculties, fcarcely
have I difcovered the footfteps of truth, be-
fore I am obliged to leave this profitable
fchool. I cultivate -my talents, I become able
to diflinguifh reality and appearance, good
and evil, happinefs and mifery ; and fcarcely
have I begun to enjoy the advantages my
knowledge procures me, before it all vanifhes
from before my eyes. Is it to no purpofe,
then, that I have informed my mind, and ex-
ercifed my abilities ? Can I never make ufe
of the knowledge I have acquired, and t,he
faculties I have cultivated, with fo much care?
Shall I never reap the fruits of my labour and
pains? Why all this provision, thefe many
and troubleiome preparations, if it lead to no
end ? Can fuch a ufelefs profufion exift un-
der the government of an infinitely wife God?
Do not the fchools in which youth are edu-
cated previoufly fuppofe a Mate of fociety in
which they are hereafter to be ufefully em-
ployed ? Is it to be imagined that a race of
creatures thus furnifhed and iitted out, mould
vanifh like bubbles in a florin ? Can I believe
that God alone acts without an end, and with-
out
IMMORTALITY. 4 i
out a plan ; or, that he is incapable of ac-
complifhing the end he propofes to himfelf?
No. if it be evident that all I fee below re-
fembles the means, rather than the end; if
all is rather begun. than rmifhed ; if it be cer-
tain that I live in a ftate of trial and difci-
pline ; it is no lefs clear that God will raife
me, after this fhort life, to a more perfect
ftate, in which I fhall make ufe of all my fa-
culties and talents, and attain the perfection
for which he prepares me in this fchool of
difcipline.
What chearful profpedts open to my view,
when I think on the relations in which I ftand
to God, and on the happinefs to be derived
from union with the Divinity. I earneftly
defire better to know my God, and to be
more intimately united to my Creator, and
more and more to refemble him. And will
God annihilate a Being animated with fuch
defires, who burns with love to him, and
wifhes to love him eternally? Will he anni-
hilate a child whom he has rendered capable
of knowing, and of loving him, and to whom
he hath given fa many proofs of paternal ten-
dernefs?
4* EXERCISES OP PIETY.
dernefs? No he is my father, and hath
already done too much for me to harbour a
fear that he will ever abandon me, or ceafe to
do me good. He will not leave his work
imperfect. He alone could infpire me with
the ardent defire of uniting myfelf to him ;
and, as he is truth itfelf, he cannot fail to
fatisfy it.
But I am a Chriftian, and I have on this
head the molt pofitive promifes from God,
which entirely remove every doubt. Life and
immortality are the confoling truths which
my Saviour brought from Heaven. To con-
firm them he died on the crofs, and rofe from
the dead. As furely as Jefus Chrift was dead
and rofe to life again, fo certain is it that my
foul fhall live, and rife eternally, from one
degree of improvement and happinefs to ano-
ther.
How happy am I in knowing the Gofpel
becaufe he lives I fhall live alfo. Where he
is there fhall his follower be the more 1 imi-
tate him on earth, the more fhall I refemble
him in heaven. Yes, I am immortal. The
prefent is properly but the infancy of mv
being.
IMMORTALITY. 43
being. It is merely preparatory for, and in-
troductory to, a higher and happier ftate of
exiftence.
O thou Eternal Source of being and of life,
accept of my fincere and devout thankfgiv-
jngs, for raifing me to this reviving and fub-
lime hope, and for giving me the full eft evi-
dence of its truth, by thy fon Jefus Chrift.
He is, in truth, the Refurrection and the Life,
He hath brought life and immortality to
light by his Gofpel. He hath conquered
death, and diffipated the fears and terrors it
infpired.
How delightful is it now, for me to think
of thee, O my God, and of the relations in
which I ftand to thee ! Now I can hope to
pafs continually from one immenfe theatre of
thy power to another, to be perpetually dis-
covering new traces of wifdom and goodnefs,
and to be eternally employed in admiring the
works of- thy hands.
A new and ravifhing profpecl; opens to my
eyes ; a fcene of more noble employments,
purer pleafures, and a felicity better fuited to
my defires and faculties. Here below I fee
tilings
44 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
things through a glafs, darkly ; there I fhall
fee things as they really are. Here I exert
my powers but in feeble endeavours ; there I
fhall exercife them with the moft certain and
happy effect. Here I think and act like a
child I judge, I rejoice, and afflict myfelf like a
child ; there, arrived at maturity, I fhall think
and act as a perfect man. If my knowledge
be at prefent confined within narrow bounds,
I will not be diftreffed. I go fhortlv into an
eternal world, where I fhall make continual
improvements in the knowledge of truth.
The book of nature fhall not always be a book
which I cannot read ; nor the Temple of
Truth be always fo inacccfTible as I at prefent
find it. I go to a world where I fhall learn
better to read the one and penetrate the other.
How intimately is the prefent fcene connect-
ed with the future ! All that I think, all that
f do, all that actually befals me, has an in-
fluence on my eternal deftiny. Now I low.
One day I mall reap. Now I labour, endure
and fuffer. One day I mall gather the fruit
of my toils, and be recompenied for my
i'ufFe rings. Now T prepare for enjoyment.
One dav I mall be put in pofTemon. This
is
IMMORTALITY. 45
is the time of trial and difciplinc that of re-
tribution {hall foon arrive. And {hall I con-
fine all my thoughts to the prefent moment?
Shall I choofe and feek for nothing but what
will produce an immediate gratification ? Shall
I be unconcerned about eternity? No oh my
God, I would live as becomes my celeftial
deftination, and think and acl as an immortal
creature.
Oh my God ! what is man what am I,
that thou fhouldft condefcend to render me
capable of eternal felicity ! O may the idea
of the dignity of my nature, the noblenefs of
my origin, and the grandeur of my deftina-
tion, be never effaced from my mind. Never
will I forget that I am created in thy image,
and that I am thy child. Never will I de-
grade my nature, and become the willing
Have of iin and vice. Afiift me, O Heavenly
Father, and let thy fpirit fuftain and ftrengthen
mine, that, properly eftimating the advan-
tages I enjoy, I may learn rightly to improve
them, and thus become happier through
eternitv.
Let
46 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
Let my body wither like the flower of the'
field, and return to the duft, from whence it
was taken. It is a coarfe covering which I re-
fign to corruption without regret. My mind, in-
corruptible, fhall rife above the duft, and
return to God who gave it. I fhall one
day be cloathed with a more perfect and
durable covering a glorious and celeftial
body, refembling that of Jefus.
My days now fly away with rapidity,
and my life difappears as a fleeting dream.
But what are a few days, and months* and
years what is the whole life of man to one
who perceives himfelf to be immortal, and
who is haftening to eternity ?
No neither death nor the grave can alarm
or frighten me. O God, who haft formed my
mind, and made it capable of rifing and ftill
rifing in the fcale of being towards Thyfelf,
Thou wilt not leave my foul in the grave.
Death is only a palTage to a better life.
Whether it come this day or the next, I will
commit my departing fpirit into thy hands.-
If I die, O my God, thou wilt receive me
unto thyfelf. By death thou wilt bring
thy
IMMORTALITY. 47
thy child from labour to repofe, from com-
bat to vidory, and from the age of in-
fancy to manhood. Sublime hopes de-
lightful profpeds, be ye always prefent to
my mind.
FA'F.K-
I 48 )
EXERCISES OF PIETY,
OR,
MEDITATIONS
ON THt
PRINCIPAL VIRTUES.
ON
LOVE TO GOD.
O GOD, thou art love itfelf! The book
of nature, and the book of revelation teach
this truth ; and my heart that heart which
thou haft formed to love Thee, and which
thou haft made capable of tailing this ex-
quifite pleafure will not permit me to doubt
it.
Where is the being that is more excellent,
more venerable, more amiable than my God ?
Doft
LOVE TO GOD. 49
Doft thou not comprize in thy fejf whatever
is beautiful, goodj and perfect ? , r ; Art thou
not the origin and fource of all the -variety;
of beauties and perfections that are difperfed
throughout the earth .? All that is great and
amiable unite in Thee. To will, and to do
good this is thy divine eflence. Thou re-
garded all the beings thou haft formed with
paternal affection. They are all thy chil-
dren ; and, however great or fmall the de-
gree of perfection they have attained, thou
loveft them all, thou takeft care of them,
thou doeft them good, and wilt do it eter-
nally. Having defigned them for happinefs,
thou wilt conduct them into the path which
leads to it. All that comes from, Thee, thou
Supreme Good! all that proceeds from thy
hand, good and evil, pleafure and pain,
profperity and adverfity, rewards and punifh-
ments, favours and chaftifeinents, ail tend to
promote our felicity, all are adapted to exalt
us to greater perfection. It is Thou who
poureft forth the ftreams of light, life, joy,
and happinefs through all the different parts
of thy immenfe dominions.
E I mvfelf
5 o EXERCISES OF PIETY.
I myfelf* who am fo inconfiderable a
creature, who am as nothing when compared
with the reft of thy creation, I can every
moment draw comfort from this inexhauftible
fource. In what intimate relations do I
ftand to Thee ? Thou art my Creator I am
the work of thy hands. Thou art my So-
vereign, and I am thy fubjecT:. Thou art
my Father, and I am thy child. Can I be
connected with Thee by ftronger and more
endearing ties I Can any thing give a jufter
claim to all the affections of my heart than
thefe natural and indiflbluble relations give I
And art thou not the kindeft, the moft bounti-
ful, the tendereft and moft affectionate Fa-
ther ? Am I not indebted to Thee for life
and breath, and all things ? Amidft the
multitude of beings thou haft created I fhall
not be overlooked. Thort feeft all things,
and from Thee nothing can be hid. Thou
watcheft over me with as much care and
attention as in the prefervation of the worlds
with which thou haft filled the nnrverfe.
How various and great are the gifts and
benefits which thou haft heaped upon me,
and
LOVE TO GOD. 51
and which thou ftill continued: to beftow !
All that I am, all that I have, all that I am
capable of being, is the effect of thy mu-
nificence. Thy bounty provides for the
wants of my body and my foul. With how
many advantages, comforts, pleafures, and
joys haft thou ftrewed my path ? What
afliftance doft thou grant to my weaknefs,
with what indulgence doft thou bear with
my fins, and with what tender folicitude doft
thou recal me from my wanderings. With
what wifdom doft thou conduct and direct
my lot, and all that fhall befal me. If
fometimes thou oppofeft the accomplifhment
of my foolifh wifhes, thou wilt never fail to
beftow upon me all the bleffings I ftand in
need of, even when I do not defire or afk
them.
But how can I fpeak of the unmerited and
ineftimable tokens of thy love which Thou
haft given me by Jefus Chrift, through whom
thou haft taught me to hope for the forgive-
nefs of fins, the aids of thy fpirit, and ever-
lafting life.
Yes, O my God, thou art eflentially
bountiful and good, and wilt be fo for ever.
E 2 I find
5 i EXERCISES OF PIETY.
I find myfelf as much unrounded with thy
mercies as I am with the light which mines
around me. I have daily experience, that
to -do good and to blefs is thy eternal em-
ployment.
And fhall I not love Thee with all my
heart, and foul, and mind, and ftrength ?
Shall not the idea of thy exiftence and ami-
able attributes become the raoft natural, and
mod delightful and confoling idea I am ca-
pable of forming. Can I think of Thee, O
my God of Thee who art my Creator, my
Benefactor, my Father, as well as of all
other beings without experiencing the moll
delightful fatisfaction, without feeling the
moft lively tranfports of gratitude and joy ?
I rejoice in Thee, O my God, I rejoice in
thinking that Thou exifteft, that Thou art an
eternal and infinitely perfect Being. I re-
joice in thinking of the clofe relations which
unite me to Thee. I rejoice in thinking on
the ways of thy providence, on the manner
in which thou haft arranged all things in
the natural and moral world. I rejoice to
think that every thing takes place by thy
wili.
LOVE TO GOD. 53
will, that it- is Thou who ordered and di-
rected all things ; that all is good and perfect
in its kind ; that all is the effect and proof of
thine infinite love. It is in this light I would
henceforward fee all things ; blefTings and
afflictions, pleafures and pains, all that be-
fa!s others and myielf. I will not forget
that all things come from Thee, and that it
is thy wifdom and thy love which difpenfes
good and evil. My joy, my happinefs,
mall always confift in loving Thee, in con-
forming my will to thine, in refigning my-
felf entirely into thy hands as into the hands
of the belt of fathers, and hereby ftrength-
ening more and more the ties which unite
me to Thee,
It is true my grofs fenfes, and the dif-
ferent ties which unite me to the earth, do
not permit me fo often to elevate my foul
to Thee, nor to perceive thine adorable per-
fections and auguft prefence in that lively
manner my foul defires in the moments
confecrated to piety ; but it is thy goodnefs
has thus limited my perceptions of Thee.
I am not yet what I mould be. I mall
E 1 here-
54 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
hereafter know Thee better^ adore Thee
more worthily, unite myfelf more clofely
to Thee^ and love Thee with more ardour ;
and then {hall I experience, in contemplating
Thee, O my God, the pureft and moft ra-
vifhing joy.
ON
f 55 1
LOVE TO JESUS CHRIST.
WHAT man is there, who is fenfible to
the charms of innocence and virtue, whe-
ther Chriftian or not, that can follow Jefus
through the courfe of his life in this world
hear him fpeak and fee him act without
admiring his zeal for truth, his love for the
human race, his difinterefted undertaking,
and the greatnefs of his mind ? Who can
attentively confider the actions of Jefus, com-
pare them together, and juftly eftimate their
value, without perceiving in him that perfect
innocence, that eminent fanctity and incor-
ruptible integrity which endeared him to his
difciples, and which enabled him with a
noble confidence to afk his enemies, u Which
of you accufes me of fin ?" Who can be-
hold all the train of virtues which accom-
panied him wherever he went, and which
animated all his difcourfes and all his actions,
E 4 without
56 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
without regarding him with admiration as
the completed model of human dignity and
excellence ?
. Yes, my Saviour, when I read the hiftory
of thy life, which bears on it the ftrong im-
preflion and ftamp of truth, I read the hif-
tory of innocence, virtue, and piety perfoni-
fied. Whether I mix in the crowd that
follows Thee, or join the fmall number of
thy beloved difciples, to liften to the in-
ftructions flowing from thy divine lips
whether I accompany Thee to the temple,
mingle in the company of thy friends or
enemies, or go with Thee to the folitary
mountains or the peaceful town of Bethle-
hem whether I behold Thee furrounded
with little children, or the infirm, the di-
feafed, the poor, or the ctiftrefTed whether
I hear thofe around Thee crying, Hofanna
to the Son of David, or crucify him, crucify
him whether 1 contemplate Thee acting or
fuffering, in flrength and vigour, or in thy
fullering and agony, Thou appearcft always
the fame; .always full of reverence to God
and fubmimon to his will ; always employed
in communicating to men the light of truth;
always
LOVE TO JESUS 'CHRIST. 57
always the declared enemy of hypocrify and
vice; always the moft tender friend to the
unhappy ; always difpofed to fuccour and
relieve the fufferings of; human nature ; to
bear, with indulgence and companion, the
faults and injuftice of men ; to inftrucl: with
unwearied zeal the ignorant and fuperftitious
multitude, and to labour for the happinefs
of the human race.
How can I think of Thee without ex-
periencing the moft lively admiration, the
moft delightful tranfports of joy and the
pureft love ? Thou haft heaped <*n me in-r
numerable favours ; thou haft brought me
to the knowledge of truths the moft fub-
lime and confolatory, and haft guided me in
the path of light, where I find, fo much joy
and fatisfa&ion. If I no longer groan in the
darknefs of idolatry, and under the bondage
of vice and fuperftition ; 'if I no longer
tremble at the idea of God, as^pfhaj fevere
mafter and inexorable judge; if I no; longer
confider death with fear and terror, as the
termination of my exiftence and my hap-
pinefs- it is to - Thee I am indebted. : Thou
haft
%% EXERCISES OF PIETY.
haft taught me to fee nothing in God, but a
tender Father ; and nothing in death but a
pafTage to a better life. Thou haft opened
my heart to the fweeteft hopes, and haft
difclofed to the eyes of my faith the moft
cheering profpe&s into futurity. Art thou
not my Saviour ? Am I not the object of
thy companion, whom thou haft refcued
from perdition ? Yes. It is by thy doc-
trine A am brought from darknefs to light,
from mifery to happinefs. Thou haft loofed
my bonds ; Thou haft fet me free, and put
me into if condition of rejoicing in my li-.
herty. He whom thou haft freed, O Son
of the Moft High, is free indeed !
Art thou not my forerunner and my guide
in the road of virtue and felicity? Am I
not thy follower ; and ought I not to walk
in thy fteps ? Thou haft fmoothed the path
of life, and leadeft me in the way in which
'I ihould go. Conducted by thy fpirit, I
fhall walk with a firm and fteady ftep, and
mall finally arrive at the mark to which thou
calleft me. What acknowledgments do I
owe Thee ! To what height of felicity haft
thou
LOVE TO. JESUS CHRIST. 59
thou raifed me ; and how much happier ftill
may I become by thine afliftance 1 v
But in order to procure all thefe advan-
tages and bleflings for me and for my bre-
thren, how many hardfhips haft Thou ex-
perienced, how many facrifices haft Thou
made, to what humiliations haft Thou fub-
mitted ! What a toilfome life haft Thou led f
and what grievous afflictions haft Thou en-
dured ! Thou haft generoufly facrifieed
thyfelf for us. Thou haft died that we
might live, and be eternally happy. Can
there be a more convincing proof of love
than that of yielding life for our friends?
And Thou, generous Benefactor of man-
kind, Thou haft done ftill more, Thou haft
died for us who neither knew Thee nor
loved Thee.
And fhall I be fo ungrateful as not to love
Thee, who haft firft loved me, and who haft
obtained fuch aftoniihing bleflings for me?
When I mufe on all thefe things, I feel my
heart burn within me ; I am filled with
gratitude and joy, and I ardently defire more
and more to refemble Thee. The thought
that
3
60 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
that Than artmy Mafter, my Guide, my Sa-
vior, my Lord, and- my King, and that - 1
am thy ^i&iple, thy follower, thy Tub j eel,
{halite my boaft and my happinefs. Con-
ftrai ftsd by thy love, I will cordially obey
thy laws, and chearfully imitate thy-' exanu
pie, governed by the fp'irit of true affection,
jevery hardfhip is eafy, every burthen light.
The afield of duty mail be to me the field of
pleafure. Command me to any duty, how-
ever painful and laborious, I will welcome
thy wilkq Bid me- take up my crofs, and
facrifice my- pleafures and earthly profpecls,
I follow thy footfteps with refignation and
joy.' I will take trie livelieft intereft in all
that Thou haft done, taught, and fufFered. I
will rejoice in what Thou haft fo richly merit-
ed of mankind, and that the work which Thou
haft undertaken on earth has had fuch falutary
efFe&s,' which ftill continue, and will endure
for ever. I will rejoice in thy grace and
benevolence to the human race, and will
endeavour to make all around me acquainted
with our -obligations to Thee. I fincerely
rejoice. Thou art gone to the Father, and
will
LOVE TO JESUS CHRIST. <5 1
will exult in thy glorious vi&ory over death
and the grave.
Salvation unto our God who fitteth on
the throne, and unto the Lamb. Bleffing,
and honour, and glory, and power be unto
Him who fitteth on the throne, and unto
the Lamb. for ever and ever.
, LI
ON T
6 z EXERCISES OF PIETY.
. -
LOVE TO MANKIND.
AS God is Love itfelf, fo his great com-
mandment in nature and religion is fraternal
Love. We are formed by nature to take a
part in the pleafures and pains of our fellow-
creatures ; and the exercife of this affection
for others, is the fource of the pureft and the
fweeteft pleafures to ourfelves. We cannot
with a generous heart aflift our brethren, do
them a kindnefs, and bear, on their account,
a trouble or a lofs, without feeling an ele-
vation of mind, and an addition to our hap-
pinefs ; and never do we fhut our hearts to
love never do we open them to envy,
hatred and enmity, without difturbing the
peace of our minds, and rendering ourfelves
more or lefs unhappy. So clearly is it thy
will, O my God, that we lhould love one
another. So audible is the voice of nature
which fpeaks in favour of our brethren, and
which refounds to the bottom of the heart.
Thou,
LOVE TO MANKIND. 6 ;
Thou, O God, haft fo interwoven our
reciprocal interefts, our pleafures and our
pains, all our employments, labours, defigns,
and hopes ; Thou haft fo connected us to-
gether, that it is in the bofom of fociety,
and in the mutual exertion of our powers,
we can alone attain the end of our exig-
ence, and enjoy all the happinefs of which
we are fufceptible. Could mankind be ca-
pable of exifting in an independent ftate, or,
what is the fame, a ftate of equality, the
nobleft affections of the human breaft would
languifh and die without an object for their
exertion ; human nature would degenerate
into favagenefs, and the folitary individual,
loft to all fenfe of what is great and liberal,
would know no happinefs himfelf by having
no intereft in the happinefs 1 of others. But
in that ftate of mutual dependence in which
Thou, the great Parent of mankind, halt
placed us, an intercourfe of mutual good
offices is kept up, habits of reciprocal af-
fection are formed, and general order and
harmony promoted.
When I confider the relations which fub-
fift between my brethren and myfelf, I am
naturallv
64 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
naturally led to confider what fraternal .af-
fection I inould feel for them. Thou haft
united us, O my God, by a .thoufand ties.
The fame blood runs in our veins ; members
of the fame family, we all defcend from the
firft man whom Thou createdft, and we all
adore Thee as our common Parent. We
have all the fame origin, the fame nature,
and the fame deftination. . The fmall and
great, fubjects and fovereigns, are all formed
from the fame duft, and mall all, fooner or
later, return to it. But we have within us
what is more noble and divine : a mind that
can raife itfelf to the knowledge of Thee,
and unite itfelf to Thee, who art the Father
of fpirits. Endued with the fame faculties,
with the fame corporeal and mental powers ;
reafon and liberty are our greateft ornament.
The traces of thy divine image mine equally
in the pooreft and richeft, in the higheft and
loweft of mankind. Subjected to the fame
wants, we are united by a variety of ties.
No one can do without his brethren, or is
fufficient by himfelf ; no one can be exclu-
sively happy. Thou hall fo interwoven our
pleafures and pains with the pains and plea-
fures
LOVE TO MANKIND. 6;
fures of others, that, without reciprocal af-
fiftance, we can neither tafte the one, nor
fuftain the other ; and whatever may be our
external fituation, the great purpofe of our
being is the fame. This life is to each of
us the fchool, the fcene of difcipline and
trial ; and immortality, joined to a con-
ftantly increafmg perfection, fhall be our
common deftiny in the future life. This
great, this invaluable advantage, and the
only one that fhall laft for ever, belongs
equally to the rich and the poor, the learned
and illiterate; it is the chief property and
prerogative of man, it conftitutes all his
dignity and fuperiority.
And fhall I not love beings fo clofely
connected with me, and who refemble me
in fo many things? Shall I be cold and
indifferent with refpect to them ? Shall I
even permit myfelf to hate them ? Shall I
not know them when I meet them in the
garb of indigence, and the tatters of poverty?
Shall I be afhamed of being their relation,
their companion, their brother ? Shall I
treat them as beings of an inferior fpecies,
and withhold from them the affection and
F concern
66 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
concern which I owe them ? If this were
the cafe, dare I continue to boaft of being a
man ? Could I fay that I perceive, that I
feel the dignity of my nature ?
Can I, especially, fuftain the character of
a Chriftian, if I am not actuated by a fin-
cere and generous affection for all men ? Is
not the whole of Chriflianity fummed up in
love ? Is not this the object which all its
inftructions, all its precepts, all its promifes
are employed to attain ?
What virtue fhone, with the greateft luftre,
in Jefus Chrift ? What virtue has he more
exprefsly required of his difciples ? What
virtue has rendered the Chriftian religion
more worthy of reception, and procured it
more profelytes than this charity, this fra-
ternal love which reigned amongft the firfl
Chriftians ? No : there is no virtue more
^flential to Chriflianity : and to pretend to
be a Chriftian, without a fincere and active
charity, is to pretend to what is impoffible
and contradictory. " By this," fays Jefus
Chrift, " fhall all men know that ye are my
difciples, if ye love one another."
Every
LOVE TO MANKIND. 67
Every man, then, whatever be his name,
his rank, his ftation, his condition, his coun-
try, or religion every man is my neighbour
and my brother ; every man is thy work
and thy child, O thou Creator of the hu-
man race ! Beloved and cherifhed by Thee,
he ought to be fo by me. No one ought to
be indifferent to me, no one ought to be
excluded from my affection. Far from def-
pifing and hating them, I will regard them
all with that benevolence with which thou
regardeft them. I will rejoice in thinking of
the exalted powers with which Thou haft
endued them, on all the multitude of ad-
vantages with which Thou hall enriched
their bodies and their fouls. May no envy,
jealoufy, or fordid intereft ever lead me to
defpife or flight thofe gifts and advantages
which thou haft bellowed en them. May
thefe pafhons never lead me to behold witR
indifference the happinefs of my brethren.
I will rejoice to think on their different
talents, their amiable qualities, and virtuous
conduct ; and on all tle well-earned riches
and innocent pleafures they enjoy. God
forbid I mould ever difturb them in the
F 2 poffeffion
68 EXERCISES OF T1ETY.
pofTeflion of their riches, or the enjoyment
of their pleafures. I will rejoice in think-
ing of the relations which fubfift between
uSj and the affiftance I may derive from
them. Thefe relations fhall be always facred
to me, and the hope of this affiitance fhall
animate me to render them every fervice in
my power. I will" rejoice in thinking of
the happinefs provided for them in a future
world, and in whatever may tend to con-
duct them towards it. Never will I feek to
impede their progrefs, never will I throw
obftacles in their road to perfection and
happinefs.
No nothing which relates to them, no-
thing which happens to them, fhall be in-
different to me. I will weep with them that
weep, and rejoice with them that rejoice.
What interefts my fellow-creatures fhall be
Interefting to me. The evils they fuffer,
the bleffings they enjoy, are bleffings and
evils common to human nature, belonging
equally to the great family of which I am
a member. And what fight can be more
pleafmg to Thee, O Heavenly Father, than
that
LOVE TO MANKIND. 6 9
that of thy children united together in love,
having but one heart and one foul ?
If I am animated with thefe fentiments,
my love will be neither barren nor unfruit-
ful. It will direct me in all my conduct,
and influence every action. I fhall do with
pleafure what it requires, and avoid what it
forbids. I fhall harbour no thought, I fhall
cherifh no wifh, I fhall utter no word, I
fhall pafs no judgment, I fhall form no de-
figns, execute no undertaking, and enjoy no
pleafures, which' may be inconfiflent with
love. Influenced by this generous principle,
I fhall cheerfully facnlice my own perfonal
advantage for the general good. I fhall be
willing to labour and fufFer for others. I
fhall live to be ufeful to them, and to return
the kindnefles they have done me. As far
as I can I will deliver them from the burthens
with which they are opprefled, or lighten
their weight. I will remove from their path
the ftone of {tumbling, fecond their good
intentions, befriend their ufeful undertakings,
and do all in my power to unite them
more and more to each other. I will coun-
tenance, as far as depends on me, the pro-
F 3 grefs
7 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
grefs of truth and of virtue, of liberty and
happinefs ; and fpread, to the utmoft of ray
ability, content and joy in the circle in
which I move. This is what love requires
of me, and to thefe objects all my efforts
fhall be directed.
But let me now enquire what hath hitherto
been my conduct in this refpect ? What
good or what evil have I done ? Have I
injured or afflicted any one ? Have none of
my brethren a ground of complaint againfl
me ? Is there no one weeping under the
wrongs I have done him ? Is there no poor,
unfortunate perfon, whom I might have re^.
lieved, and to whom I have refufed affift-
ance ? No feeble creature, no finner, whofe
frailties and faults I ou^ht to have borne
with ; whofe amendment 1 mould have tried
by fraternal remonftrances to have effected ;
and whom, inilead of this, I have made to
feel the effects of my anger and wrath ? Is
there no one in a low condition whom I
have treated with haughtinefs, no timid and
modeft perfon whom I have tyrannized over
and opprefTed ? Is there no one who, at
this moment, is refenting my conduct to-
wards
LOVE TO MANKIND. 71
wards him ? Have I judged no one with
too much feverity, and reproached no one
unjuftly ? Alas ! if at this moment any one
of my fellow-creatures is fhedding a tear on
my account, or experiencing fome difap-
pointment through my mifconduct, how can
I look up to Thee, my God ? How dare I
call Thee Father, and confider myfelf as thy
child, if I have hardened my heart againft
the diftrefTes of others ! Would to God I
could, at this moment, draw to my bofom
my brother, whom I have injured or afflicted,
take from him all occafion of diffatisfa&ion,
wipe away all tears, and teftify to him my
repentance !
Yes, O my God, if my confcience re-
proach me with any faults of this kind, and
if thou allow me but another day to live,
I will do what I can to repair the injury.
I will not be afhamed to acknowledge my
fault and to correct it, were it my inferior,
my fervant, or the lowed perfon upon earth
that I have injured. For the leaft as well as
the greateft is my brother, the child of my
heavenly Father, to whom I owe as much
affection as to others. O God ! confirm me
F 4 in
7 2 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
in this purpofe, and give me ftrength to ex-
ecute it ; and let the pureft and the livelieft
love penetrate and inflame my heart, and
let it make me more and more to refemble
Thee, who art Love, and who dvrelleft ia.
Love.
THE
[. 73 1
THE
LOVE OF LABOUR;
ii
OR,
ATTACHMENT TO THE DUTIES OF OUR CONDITION.
THOU haft defigned us, Oh God, for ac-
tion and labour, and Thou haft connected the
greateft advantages and the fweeteft pleafures
with an active and laborious life. Woe to
him who, forgetting the defign of his being,
gives himfelf up to floth and idlenefs. Peace
and contentment fly far from him. DifTatis-
faction and wearinefs attend his fteps ; fhame
and mifefy will fooner or later be his por-
tion.
Whilft the beafts of the field receive from
thy hands their cloathing and their food,
without labour and toil ; whilft they eafily
procure all they ftand in need of, and live
free from anxiety and fear, with refpect to
the future ; we, Oh God ! who are thy no-
bleft work on- earth, are fubjected by thy
Providence
74 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
Providence to a multitude of indifpenfible
wants, which we can only fupply by labour
and pains. Thou expofeft us in the journey
of life to a thoufafid difficulties and obftades
which require continual exertions to fur-
mount and overcome. We mud purchafe
what is neceffary, ufeful and agreeable ; our
daily bread, our cloathing, and our pleafures,
at the expence of induftry and pains, and
with the fweat of our brow. How can we
forget that we are deftined to labour, or
help acknowledging the wife and paternal
views Thou haft had in faying thy children
under this neceffity ?
Thou haft endued us with many exalted
faculties, which raife us much above the brute
creation. But it is- only by making ufe of
thefe faculties and powers* that we can en-
large and improve them, become wife and
virtuous, and be prepared to enter, after
death, into a more perfect and happy ftate.
--It is for this pufpofe Thou haft ap-
pointed us to lead an active and laborious
life, and excited us to it by the moft power-
ful motives. It is only by the exercife of
pur faculties that we can prefefve our fn^
2 perioritv
LOVE OF LABOUR. 75
periority over inferior creatures, attain the
great end of our exigence, and become, in
this world, and another, all that beings,
created in thy image, rational creatures, ca-
pable of infinite improvement, can, and ought
to become.
Every kind of work, every employment,
every fort of life in which thou haft placed
us, is fuited to produce this effect. Every
thing ferves to exercife our powers, to teach
us to reflect, to be mailers of ourfelves, to
pay Thee a filial obedience, to love mankind
as our brethren, to improve in wifdom, and
to practice virtue. Whether the objects about
which we are engaged be of great or of little
confequence, in every thing we do we mould
fhew ourfelves attentive, affiduous, faithful,
firm, upright, and confcientious, What is
molt important is, not the thing about which
we are employed, but the manner of our per-
forming it. Our employments here below,
far from being the fupreme end of our exis-
tence, are only the means of attaining the
fupreme end. No labour that in the leaft
unfolds, expands, and exercifes our intellec-
tual faculties, which makes us wiier and bet-
ter,
76. EXERCISES OF FIETY.
tcr, is loft to us, how fmall foever the cre-
dit, advantage, and pleafure, we may, in
ether refpects, derive from it.
The obligation to labour {hall not be to
rnc a troublefome and oppreffive burthen,
from which I will feek to free myfelf. So
far from it, that this obligation which Thou,
fupreme in goodnefs, haft laid me under,
being a means employed by Thee to con-
dud: me to a more eminent perfection, fhall
always be dear and delightful to me. In
fulfilling it I find the fweeteft recompence
for my exertions. It is only when I make
a proper ufe of my abilities, when I fulfil
with fidelity and exactnefs the duties of my
ftaticn, and fuccefsfully contribute to the
public good j it is then, alone, I tafte the
pure pleafures of exiftence ; it is then only
I can with comfort account to myfelf, and
to Thee, my Creator, for the employment
of my powers, my time, and my advan- -
tages, Then alone I can look with an eye
of fatisfaclion, at the clofe of each day, on
the employments in which I have been en-
gaged, and meet, with cheerfulnefs, thofe of
the morrow ; and hope, as the price of my
labour,
LOVE OF LABOUR. 77
labour, for an abundant harveft. Then alcnc,
arrived at the end of my career, I mall be
able to recal the paft without confufion and
regret ; and the idea, that every day of my
life has been marked by fome good a&ion,
by fome virtuous effort, fhall fill me with
joy in the arms of death.
Yes, Oh my God, I revere and adore thy
wifdom and goodnefs in the natural and mo-
ral difpofltion of things. I perceive, and I
am convinced how indifpenfible is the obliga-
tion I am under to lead an active and labori-
ous life, and faithfully to fulfil the duties of
my ftation. May I never forget this obliga-
tion, and endeavour every day of my life more
punctually to difcharge it.
Yes, I will love labour in itfelf, indepen-
dently of the external advantages it procures
me. To be rationally, lawfully, and ufefully
employed, whatever may be in other refpe&s
the apparent fuccefs of my labours, is the
nobleft life ; it is the life of the foul.
All my faculties, all my powers, O God,
all nvy abilities, all the means of fervice I pof-
fefs, are the gifts of thy bounty, are talents
which Thou hail entrufted to my improve-
ment*
73 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
merit. At the Iaft day I fhall be obliged to
give an account of the ufe I have made of
them.
Thou, who art the fovereign difpofer of all
things, haft placed me in my prefent ftation.
Thou haft entrufted me with certain offices
relative to the happinefs of thy children on
earth. And fhall I not be heartily concerned
worthily to fill my place, to contribute all in
my power to the well-being of thy great
family, of which I am a member ?
Thou haft connected me with my brethren,
by an infinite variety of ties. I cannot do
without their affiftance. Every day they per-
form for me the mod important fervices, and
fhall I confine myfelf to receiving and enjoy-
ing, without making any return ? I could
not live but by charity, and fhall I repay my
benefactors with ingratitude ?
Indolence and floth will only encreafe the
burthens of my employment, and render them
more troublefome and difficult. My power
will decreafe, and my faculties be impaired,
in proportion as I neglect to ufe them.
What fhame, what remorfe, what punish-
ment does not the indolent man prepare for
himfelf
LOVE OF LABOUR. 79
himfelf at the clofe of every day, at the clofe
of every year, and, above all, at the clofe of
a life entirely fpent in trifling occupations,
and loft beyond retrieve ! After having fown
fo little, after having fown nothing but bad
grain, what harveft can be expected ! And
if I have been the parent of a family, what a
wretched example have I fet to my children
and fervants, by my diflike of labour, or my
careleffnefs in going through it. Thole who
furround me are more or lefs influenced by
my conduct, and will find in my faults a pre-
text to juftify their own.
Can inactivity and idlenefs be confiftent
with love to God and men ? Are they con T
fiftent with the character of a Chriftian, w T ho
takes a lively intereft in the happinefs of
others, who loves to labour, to naffer, and
even to facrihce himfelf for them of a Chrif-
tian, who owght not to content himfelf with
a conduct exempt from crimes, or a com-
mon virtue, but, who ought to diitinguifh
himfelf from others, by the brightnefs of his
virtue, and to fhine as a light in the world'
of a Chriftian, the difciple of a Mailer, whofe
meat and drink it was to do the will of his
Heavenly
So EXERCISES OF PIETY.
Heavenly Father, and wh'ofe conduct was go-
verned by this maxim : " I mult work whilft
it is called to-day, for the night ccmeth where-
in no man can work."'
I cannot doubt, therefore, O my God, that
Indolence is diametrically oppofite to thy will
and deligns. It degrades, it difgraces, it un-
nerves a man. It is inconfiftent with our
own happinefs, and that of others. It makes
us unworthy of the name of reafonable crea-"
tures, ufeful citizens, and true Chriftians.
Far then from me be the difgraceful thought
of indolence the idea I entertain of Thee,
O my God ! the recollection of my dignity
as a man, and a Chriftian the remembrance
of what I owe to Thee, and to my brethren,'
all unite to engage me to lead an active and
induftrious life, to employ my abilities in a
manner the moft ufeful to others, and the
molt honourable to myfelf. Oh my God !
imprefs thefe thoughts deeply in my heart ;
may thefe motives frequently prefent them-
felves to my mind, and duly influence my
conduct every day of my life.
THE
t 81 ]
THE
SAFEST RULE
in THE
CONDUCT OF LIFE.
VjH my God, in whom I live and move,
and have my being, what is the wifeft ufe I
can make 1 of the prefent life? What road
ought I to purfue, in order moft fafely to
attain the end of my exiftence ? How can I
moft fuccefsfully prepare myfelf for a more
perfect and happy ilate after death ? How
different are the paths in which men walk !
How oppofite and contradictory are the
maxims they follow, and the ends they pro-
pofe to themfelves ! Nothing is more com-
mon than to fee them wandering into for-
bidden paths, and failing of the end they
have in view ! To avoid falling into the
fame miftakes, I need a fure and fafe rule
which I may follow without danger, and an
G enlightened
ti EXERCISES OF MET?.
enlightened guide in whom I may entirely
confide. But where fhall I find either the one
or the other, unlefs in the heavenly doctrine
of thy fon Jefus Chrift, and the example
which he hath left us. Yes, He is the way,
the truth, and the life. Thou haft given us,
in his perfon, the moft perfect model. To
him we muft continually look, after him we
muft frame our lives $ to his voice we muft
be attentive and obedient, and in his fteps we
muft tread. Whoever follows him with fm-
cerity and perfeverance cannot go aftray ;
but will finally attain the higheft degree of
perfection of which he is capable. "Would
to God I may become every day more like
him.
The idea of Thee, hife and our Heavenly
Father, was the firft and laft thought that
engaged his attention. To do thy will with
pleafure, to contribute to the execution of thy
benevolent purpofes, to fulfil the work thou
gaveft him to do this was his meat and
drink, this conftituted his happinefs, and was
the governing rule of his conduct. To be
ufeful to mankind was his favourite and con*
ftant employment. CompafTion, benevo-
4 lence,
RULE OF LIFE. 8$
knee, and charity > followed him every where,
and animated all his difcourfes. The pureft
virtue, and the fublimeft piety, were his
faithful companions in folitude, and in the
intercourfe of life. He did not compel man-
kind to receive his inftructions, and em*
brace his doctrines ; but he earneftly and zea-
loufly made ufe of all opportunities for in-
ftructing and enlightening them, for leading
them to reflection, and for fowing in their
hearts the feeds of virtue. Delighting to
do good in fecrecy and filence, he carefully
avoided all appearance of oftentation and vain
glory. But, when his duty required him to
act openly and publicly, then no obftacle, no
difficulty, no danger, reftrained him ; and,
far from fearing the judgments of men, he
expofed himfelf to their cenfures, by boldly
oppofing their prejudices. Never did he
prefer his own eafe and perfonal advantage
to the welfare of his brethren ; never did he
refufe his afliftance to thofe who applied to
him ; never did he defer, till the morrow,
the duties of the prefent day, and thus loie
an opportunity of performing fome good
work ; never did he fuffer himfelf to be dif-
G 2 couraged
4 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
couraged by the ingratitude of men, or by
the abufe they made of his favours ; never did
he indulge the leaft complaint of a life {o
laborious ; fo forrowful, and fo entirely de-
voted to the falvation of the human race ;
never did he regret the time and labour he
beftowed on this great work, even when his
labours and good offices did not produce the
effects which ought to have attended them.
It was thus that Jefus went about doing good
at all times, on all occafions, and to all men ;
to his enemies as well as to his friends, in
the raoft difcouraging as well as the moil
favourable circumftances. It was thus he
parTed the days of his fhort life, in the bofom
of innocence, and in the exercife of virtue.
All were confecrated to the glory of God,
and the happinefs of men ; all were full of
good works, and marked by virtuous endea-
vours. Never had he reafon to blufh at the
ufe he made of his time, or to regret its lofs ;
never did he form the ufelefs wifh of recal-
ing the day that was palled, or of blotting out
its recollection. All the days of his life were
the monuments of his integrity, his piety,
and his charity, the review of which rejoiced
his
RULE OF LIF. 85
his foul. All promifed him a rich and abun-
dant harveft ; and it was the remembrance of
the good ufe he had made of them which
made him fay, with a firm confidence, at the
end of his career, " It is finifhed."
And fuch alfo, O my God, is the ufe I
ought to make of my days. I ought to con-
tinue thy work upon earth, and fupply, in
fome meafure, the place of my Lord and Maf-
ter, in the midft of my brethren. His fpirit
ihould animate me, his conduct mould be the
pattern for mine. What a grand and import-
ant vocation! May I never lofe fight of it,
but walk with refolution and conftancy in the
path which Jefus hath marked out, and by
which he himfelf arrived at immortal happi-
nefs.
Yes, I will look unto Jefus, and follow
his fteps with chearfulnefs and perfeverance,
I will think and live like him, be guided by
his precepts and example, and make my feli-
city and my glory to confift in becoming
more and more like him. Grant me, O Mer-
ciful God, thine affiftance, and the aids of
that fpirit which Thou didft fried fo abun-
dantly on thy well-beloved Son. Thus fup-
G 3 ported
*5 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
ported and prote&ed by Thee, Almighty
Cod, I {hall, like Jefus Chrift, furmount the
greater!: difficulties, and, like him alio, fhall
find my greater!: happinefs and glory in the
practice of virtue. ,
EXER-
/"';['- -&T- 1
^C
:,.-._.
EXERCISES OF PIETY,
SUITED TO THE b&&
SEVERAL RELATIONS
or
DOMESTIC AND CIVIL LIFE.
THE duties of focial life are an important
fubject, on which the enlightened and virtu-
ous Chriftian will reflect with the clofeft at-
tention, becaufe that the juft difcharge of
thefe mutual obligations, which in every age
of the world have been held facred, is abfo-
lutely neceifary to perfonal integrity, to the
peace and order of families, the ftrength of
civil communities, the dignity, improvement,
and welfare of mankind.
In reflecting on the various duties of fo-
cial life, it is proper to begin with the duties
of the married ftate, becaufe this was actu-
ally the firft relation contracted, the firft
G 4 lpecial
U EXERCISES OF PIETY.
fpecial tie and bond of union eftablifhed in
human life. It is the root of all others,
and has therefore, if we follow nature, %
claim to our chief attention and regard.
t 89 ]
EXERCISE OF PIETY
FOR
A MARRIED PERSON.
IT is Thou, O God, who haft inftituted
marriage, that mankind, by this means, may-
fulfil thy defigns on earth, and contribute to
the happinefs pf each other. He who with-
out fufficient reafons, or with criminal inten^
tions refufes to enter into this ftate ; he who
feeks to gratify his defires out of wedlock,
manifeftly oppofes thy will, and neglects to
fulfil his deftination upon earth. He is a
rebellious fubjec~t of thy government, an
enemy to human life and happinefs. This
inftitution is alfuredly one of thofe which
bears the plaineft marks of thy wifdom and
fupreme benevolence. What connection is
there which more clofely unites the human
3 race,
55 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
race, and more powerfully engages them to
blend their interefts and their views, to partis
cipate in each others anxieties and cares?-*-'
What is there that more exalts, ennobles, and
multiplies their earthly exiftence ? What is
there which furnifhes them with ftronger mo-
tives to exercife and unfold their faculties and
talents, and to difcharge with unwearied zeal
the duties of their ftation ? What is there
which more ftrongly attaches them to civil
fociety, and makes them take a more lively
and aclive intereft in its happinefs ? What
is there that promifes more fupport and con-
folation in old age; what opens more diver-
fified fources of pleafure and joy, and raifes
more delightful hopes, with refpect to the
future, than the facred and honourable ftatc
of marriage?
Yes this mail always be to me a facred
relation. I will endeavour faithfully to dif*
charge all its duties, and chearfully fubmit
to any felf-denials it may render neceflary.
Far from being afhamed of the nuptial tic,
or fpeaking of it with raillery, an$ a blame*
able levity far from blufhing at the fentl*
ments of efteem and tendernefs with which
it
MARRIED PERSONS. :; w
it infpires me for the perfon with whom J.
am united, I wilj make it my boaft and my
pride to cherifh and love that perfon as ano-
ther felf, and will never lofe fight of the in-*
timate relations which fubfift between us, nor
of the duties which arife from them. Far
from choofmg the ftate of marriage only
that I may enjoy greater liberty and inder
pendence *-far from being directed in my
choice by external advantages only, fuch as
affluence and rank, as if the qualities of the
mind, which are of the mod fruitful fources
of domeftic happinefs or mifery, were indifr
ferent to me ; I will pay the principal atten-
tion to the moral character, an honeft mind,
a found judgment, a liberal manner of think-
ing, a tender, virtuous, and pious heart, as
the molt folid foundation of conjugal felicity,
and will prefer thefe advantages to all the
luftre of externals.
Inftead of fuffering myfelf to be led aftray
by ambition, avarice, the love of eafe and
luxury, fo as to lofe fight of the chief end of
marriage, and to confider children, which are
its moft precious fruits, as a burthen, I will,
on the contrary, believe, that the more crea-
tures
9 z EXERCISES OF PIETY.
tures there are fufceptible of happinefs, who
by my means are brought into exiftence, and
whom I have led into the road to felicity, the
better I. have anfwered my' defign on earth,
and the more thankful mall I be for having
lived here below. Far from expecting to find
nothing but what is agreeable and delightful
in this connection, I will never forget, that
its pleafures are indifTolubly joined with the
tendered anxieties and cares ; and, that it is
only by a voluntary fubjection to the latter,
and bearing them with patience, that I can
hope to tafte the former, without fhame and
remorfe, and enjoy them in all their ex-
tent.
The more diverfified and intimate the ties
by which marriage unites me to my wife,
(hufband) to my family, and to fociety, the
more zealous and active mall I be for the per-
fonal and general good of thofe to whom I
am related, and the more ambitious mail I be
to difcharge the duties of my ftation. ^There
is no kind of labour, application, and care,
how burthenfome or eafy foever I may find
it, how great or how trifling foever be its
object, which ought not to appear important
and
MARRIED PERSONS. 9>
and facred whilft it is capable of contributing
to the happinefs of thofe with whom I am
connected. My defire and endeavour mall
not be to make a figure in the great world,
but to become ufeful in the fmall circle
in which I am placed, and to tafle the
pure and tranquil happinefs of domeftic
life. If no one ought to think, act, and
live for himfelf alone, how much lefs
mould the perfon who lives in the conju-
gal union ? If he be acquainted with his
obligations, he will fhare the bleflings and
afflictions of life with the perfon to whom
he is united. He will always open his
heart to her, and communicate all his fen-
timents. He will endeavour to eafe her
cares, to lefTen her troubles, to remove
every ftone of Humbling, and avoid, as far
as poflible, any occafion of difcontent and
chagrin. Neither of them can be con-
tented or dicontented, happy or unhappy,
without the other in fome degree partak-
ing his feelings. This mutual confidence
will be attended with the moft beneficial
effects. A fufpicious difpofition is the bane
of
94 EXfcfcCISES OF ftETV.
of all domeftic blifs. It is that poifonous
leaven which infects every comfort of life,
and converts the cup of happinefs into a
cup of poifonj bitter as the wormwood and
the gall. Far be from me, then, every
illiberal fufpicion. I have received a wife
to be my partner till death. She has left
her father's fhelter, and her mother's love,
and trufted herfelf to mine. For the con-
fidence fhe has repofed in my faith, fhall
I fhew her none ? Shall I wantonly grieve
a bofom, that has no other receptacle for its
own grief but mine.
Marriage makes it our duty to endea-
vour to correct each other's faults, and to
make the road of virtue more fmooth and
eafy to each other; and this is another
fource of comfort which it opens to us. Of
what efficacy ought not the examples, the
advice, the exhortations, and prayers, to be,
between perfons fo clofely united, and fil-
led with efteem and love for each other \ <
We mould act as guides and fupports to
each other, to warn one another, with
the tendered anxiety, of the dangers
which
MARRIED PERSONS. 9 $
which threaten ; to aflift each other iu
overcoming temptations, and to encou-
rage each other in a courfe of piety and
virtue.
May my partner and myfelf never for-
get, that it was before Thee, O my God,
that we firfl promifed to be conftant, kind,
and true : that the vows then entered into
are not to be fported with, nor their obli-
gation profanely call: away. A perfuafion
of this is the firmeft bulwark of virtue, and
the fureft foundation of mutual happir
nefs.
May we never neglect to pray for thy
bleffing on our mutual connection. Uni>
ted together, in mutual affection, to pour
out our common prayer, as the offering
of one heart before Thee, who art Love
itfelf, and the Rewarder of thofe that love
Thee, is furely the higheft circumftance of
fatisfa&ion which the wife can fancy, or
the good can realize. AfTifted by one
another's virtue, our good difpofitions will
be confirmed ; and, where life, in other cir-
cumftances, would be a burden, it will not
be
96 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
be felt, as divided between us. We fhall
pafs through life, blefling and bleft ; and
meet again, in another world, never to fepa-
*ate, or to die any more.
E 97 1
AN EXERCISE OF PIETY
FOR
A PARENT.
(J GOD, the Creator of all men, and the
Source of all happinefs, Thou makeft ufe of
thy creatures as the inftrument by whom
thou communicateft thy gifts, and even life
itfelf, to other beings of the fame fpecies ;
and by this plan thou makeft them partakers
of thy fupreme felicity, in the divine and
heavenly pleasures of making others happy.
Thou haft permitted me to tafte of this
happinefs, and I am an inftrument in thy
hands, by whom Thou conveyeft life and
happinefs to thy creatures upon earth.
Thou haft given me children, and com-
mitted them to my direction and care. What
a valuable prefent of thy bounty ! What
an abundant fource of pleafure and joy, of
perfection and of happinefs, for me and for
H fociety
<?8 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
fociety ! Thou hall implanted in me the
tendereft affection to my feeble offspring.
Thou haft made me as feelingly alive to
their pleafures and pains as to my own.
Thou haft not left my children dependent on
the cool dictates of feafon, but haft urged
me to the full difcharge of my duty by the
ftimulations of an inftinct more fpeedy and
forcible in its operations than any deliberate
arguments could poffibly be. Thou haft
engaged and animated me to do them all the
good in my power by every feeling of the
heart. This affection which burns within
me is a fpark of that love which thou beareft
to all thy creatures. But this parental af-
fection ought to be, like thine, a wife and
enlightened principle. Its object fhoujd be,
not an external and momentary happinefs, but
a true and permanent felicity.
It is not merely to the fubfiftance of my
children, to the growth and fhape of their
bodies, that I would devote my chief atten-
tion, but, principally, to the culture of their
minds. It is my duty to form them to ra-
tional men, fincere Chriftians, ufeful mem-
bers of fociety, affectionate hufbands and
wives.
PARENTS. 99
WiVes, tender parents, good matters, faithful
friends, and virtuous citizens. It is my
duty to teach them to love their Creator
above all, to love their fellow-creatures as
their brethren, and to rejoice in the perfua-
fion that thou art our common Father. I
fhould form them not only for time, but for
eternity.
This is the moft noble and honourable
employment upon earth. This is the moft
important and the moft delightful duty Thou
haft required of me. I will facrifice every
thing, the flattering pleafures and the fweeteft
enjoyments of life, to this important tafk.
No age, no ftate, no other relation of life
can fet me free from fo facred an obligation.
It is myfelf who muft difcharge it ; and I
cannot, either wholly or in part, make over
this duty to another; fince it is impoffible
that an hireling mould feel the fame fenti-
ments which animate the breaft of a parent,
and mould be fufceptible of the fame zeal
and the fame patience. If I am obliged to
have recourfe, in this important office, to the
affiftance and talents of others, they can act
H 2 on!v
ioo EXERCISES OF PIETY.
only under my dire&ion, and as workers
together with me.
This duty is undoubtedly difficult and
laborious ; but if, by thine afliftance, O my
God, I acquit myfelf with fuccefs, what a
train of pleafures and advantages will re-
fult from it to myfelf and fociety.
To guide feeble and ignorant creatures in
the road to happinefs; to teach them to
make a good ufe of their powers; to con-
tribute to the unfolding of the faculties and
difpofitions with which they are endued ; to
guard innocent beings from error, vice, and
mifery, who are expofed to a thoufand dan-
gers and temptations ; to throw the feeds of
truth, wifdom, and virtue into their young
minds, as yet open to every impreffion ; to
cherifh and ftrengthen more and more the
good difpofitions which begin to fpring up
in them ; to bring them acquainted with the
defign of their being, both prefent and fu-
ture ; to keep them at a diftance from the
poifonous fources of vice and folly, and to
open to them thofe of wifdom, contentment,
and joy ; to fit them for acting their part on
the great theatre of the world, with credit
to
PARENTS. ioi
to themfelves and fatisfa&ion to their fellow-
creatures. What a noble and fublime em-
ployment ! What a recompence will attend
it in this world and another. May I be
more penetrated with a fenfe of its dignity
and importance, that I may acquit myfelf
with a zeal that fhall enfure its fuccefs !
Yes, to give my children a liberal and
Chriftian education fhall be my principal and
my fweeteft occupation. Every thing ani-
mates me to this duty nature, religion, the
happinefs of my children, my own happinefs,
and that of fociety.
Am I not anfwerable for my conduct with
refpecl: to them, to the tribunal of my own
confcience, to fociety, and to God, who is
the Father of my children ? Do not their
ufefulnefs or unufefulnefs in the world ; trie-
good or evil they mall do ; their happinefs
or mifery, prefent or future do they not
depend in a -great meafure on the education
and cultivation 1 fhall have given them ?
May I not form the moft delightful and re-
joicing expectations with refpect to futurity
if I have zealoufly endeavoured to give them
a good education ? On the contrary, muft
H3 " I not
ios EXERCISES OF PIETY.
I not expert the moft cutting forrow if I
have neglected this duty, or have acquitted
myfelf ill in it ?
What wifh fhall I one day form, when
death fhall feparate me from them ? What
will then confole me, and enable me to go
with tranquillity into the ftate of retribution
which awaits me in another world ? Will it
fatisfy me to think that my children are fuf-
ficiently advanced to do without me ; that I
leave them a, decent patrimony, or even
confiderable riches ; that they are allied to
opulent families ; that I have laid the found-
ation of their advancement ; that I have
fmoothed the way to important offices, dig-
nities, and fortune ? Will all this make me
eafy refpecting their future lot, and give me
the confoling hope of meeting them again in
the manfions of eternal felicity I When the
fplendor and pomp of this world fjiall vanifh
from my fight, what fhall I then wifh with
the greateft anxiety ? Will it not be that
my children may be wife and virtuous men,
and good Chriftians ; and that they may
perfevere in the path of wifdom and virtue ?
In my laft moments it will little concern me
whether
PARENTS. 103
whether they be in other refpects rich or
poor, elevated to the pinnacle of greatnefs,
or loft in obfcurity. With what tranquillity
fhall I then be able to feparate from them,
and leave them under the direction of their
Heavenly Father ! And fhall I not at preient
afpire, lhall I not inceflantly ftcive to obtain
this end ? Shall I not do all in my power
to attain it, and to procure for myfelf fo
delightful a fatisfaction on the bed of death ?
It is true the moft careful education will
not always fucceed. The moft precious feed
may be choaked by bad examples, by the
feduclion of the corrupters of youth, or by
the dominion of fenfual appetites and ir-
regular paftions. All my attention and care
may be ufelefs, but it is not often fo. Sel-
dom does it happen that he who interefts
himfelf in the education of his children with
a truly enlightened, active, and indefatiga-
ble zeal is put to fo painful a trial. The
fruits of his labours may not often difcover
themfelves till late : if he do not live to reap
the fruits himfelf, they may, neverthelefs,
one day come to maturity in this life or the
future. Befides, when I have given up all
H 4 my
104 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
my attention to the education of my chil-
dren, I have nothing with which to reproach
my felt, even when it mail have been of no
uie. in this cafe I am not the author of
their mifery : I have not contributed to it.
How great foever it may be, I ought not to
conficier it as a punifhment upon me, but as
a difafter I could not poffibly prevent.
Preferve me, O my God, if it may be,
from this greateft of all diflrefs. Gracious
God ! Thou feeft my beating, trembling
heart ; hear the prayer of a parent ! Protect
the feeble creatures Thou haft committed to
my care ! Suffer them not to become the
deplorable victims of debauchery and vice.
Uphold and direct them, that they may
never go aftray and be loft. Make their
path ftrait before them. Support them in
the way of life ; and let innocence, truth,
virtue, and piety always accompany them.
Let them be heirs of unfading glory; let
them be fafe through eternity. O that my
children may be heirs of God, and joint-
heirs of Jefus Chrift ! Should they be foon
removed hence, may it be into Abraham's
bofom ; or mould they longer be continued
here.
PARENTS.
105
here, may they be gathered at laft, as a
fliock of corn, into the celefdal garner.
Give thy bleffing upon all I have under-
taken with this view, and on whatever I
fhall hereafter undertake. If my feeble
efforts are ill-directed, they are at leaft fin-
cere. Supply my deficiences, and grant me,
Oh my God ! more light and knowledge,
that I may choofe the beft means, and not'
be difcouraged in the difcharge of my im-
portant duty. Happy, inexpreffibly happy,
fhall I be, if at the hour of death, and in
the day of judgment, I may be reunited to
my children, never more to be feparated ;
and be able to fay, in the tranfports of joy,
" Behold me, Lord, and the children thou
haft given me. They have, like me, hap-
pily finifhed their courfe ; they have kept
the faith, and perfevered in their obedience;
and now they humbly wait, with me, for
the recompence which Thou haft promifed
to thofe who have been faithful unto death.'*
With a view to all thefe bleflings v/ould
I bring them, in the arms of faith and love,
to the divine footftool, and refign them to
the difpofal of Infinite Goodnefs and Mercy.
To
io6 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
To that kind and gracious God who gave
them would I humbly commit them, to be
guarded by thy Providence, miniftered to by
thine angels, influenced by thy Spirit, con-
dueled fafely through the dangers and evils
of this world, and preferved to thy ever-
iafting kingdom in the other.
-AX
C 107 1
AN EXERCISE OF PIETY
FOR
A CHILD.
1 N what a ftate of weaknefs and depend-
ence, O my God, are the children of men born!
When they come into the world they are
much more feeble, much more dependent,
much more expofed to dangers than the mod
fenfelefs animals. It is but flowly, and very-
late that they acquire fufficient ftrength to ftand
alone, without the affiftance of their parents.
But this arrangement is the effect of thy
paternal bounty. Thou intendeft we mould
be raifed above the brute creation, and be-
come intelligent and moral beings. But
fuch we cannot become but by a conftant
intercourfe, and the daily inftructions of
perfons better informed than ourfelves. And
it is in order that we may enjoy this fociety
and inftruclion, that Thou haft fo clofely
united us to beings cf the fume nature with
ourfelves,
ioS. EXERCISES OF PIETV.
ourfelves, and placed us in fuch a ftate of
dependence on one another.
I revere thy will, O my God ; and I re-
turn Thee thanks for the ties which unite
me to my parents, and all the advantages I
derive from it.
.Yes, I perceive how feeble and dependent
I am, and defire to think and act accordingly.
Happy fhall I think myfelf if, filled with
love and gratitude to my parents, I fulfil my
obligations to them with a tradable and
joyful heart.
How great are my obligations to them !
What fhould I do without them ? Sur-
rounded from my birth with ten thoufand
dangers, I mould probably not have efcaped
any one of them, if the fupporting and
watchful hand of a father or a mother, or of
perfons who fupplied their place, had not
protected and fnatched me from the dangers
which threatened me. Expofed to a thou-
fand wants, without the power of fupplying
them ; a prey to hunger and third, to cold
and heat, to forrow and difeafe, I fhould
have fallen a vi&im to all thefe evils had it
not been for the afliduous attention of thofq
who
CHILDREN. 109
who were around me, and their care to
fupply my want of knowledge and of
ftrength. For how long a time hath this
ftate of weaknefs and dependence (in which
I (till in a great degree find myfelf) conti-
nued ? A ftranger to every thing, the leaft
thing fills me with fear and trouble. My
mind, as feeble as my body, ftumbles at
every ftep, falls into a thoufand errors, and,
dazzled by a falfe luftre, fuffers itfelf to be
eafily led aftray by vain appearances. To
this day I have not acquired fufficient ex-
perience to' confide entirely in myfelf. To-
day I judge totally different of men and
things from what I did yefterday. Knowing
but little of the defign of my being, and the
means of attaining it, I cannot yet tread
with a firm and fteady foot in the path of
life. How much do I need an enlightened
and faithful guide ? Without fuch a director
I run the rifque of ftraying into a thoufand
obfcure bye paths, the victim of every im-
poftor who wifhes to abufe my credulity,
and the fport of every accident.
But who amongft mankind will guide me
with more kindnefs, prudence, and circum-
3 fpeclion
no EXERCISES OF PIETY.
fpection than a father or a mother? My
parents are the firft and fureft guides I can
have in the journey of life, which is to me
at prefent an unknown road. They will
give me the benefit of their experience,
light and ftrength. They will warn me of
the dangers I run, and remove the obftacles
that lie in my way. They will teach me to
diftinguifh reality from appearance, and to
form a right judgment of mankind and the
objects around me. They will raife me
when I fall, and encourage my trembling
fleps. They will lead me infenfibly to wif-
dom and virtue, to the knowledge of God
and religion, which they will teach me to
ftudy and to follow, as the nobleft and raoft
friendly guides to man, the moil faithful and
the fureft conductors to happinefs.
How great then are my obligations to my
parents ! How can I ever acquit myfelf to
them, and fufficiently acknowledge my gra-
titude. How much have my maintenance,
my early education, and the improvement of
my mind already coft them ; and how much
anxiety, pain, and labour have I not occa-
iioned them ! How many conveniences,
and
CHILDREN. in
and pleafures, and accommodations have they
not given up on my account ! How many
tears have I made them fried for me ! How
much difappointment and diftrefs have they
experienced for me ! How much more have
they watched, laboured, and lived for me,
than for themfelves !
And have I never made a perverfe return
for their love. Have I never repaid their
kindnefs with ingratitude ? Yet they have
never ceafed to give me new proofs of their
tendernefs, and to labour for my happinefs.
Alas ! it is now I fee my faults. The
idea of having occafioned them anxiety and
mortification, and of having .grieved their
hearts, afflicts and tears my own. I am
afhamed that by obitinacy and dilbbedience
I have hindered their good intentions in my
behalf, and failed in my duty to them.
I will try in future to repair thefe faults,
and to give them only fatisfa&ion. To this
my beft endeavours fhall be directed. Filial
piety mail direct and animate all my con-
duct. Burning with defire to mew my fenie
of obligation, I will fay and do nothing that
fhall difpleafe them. I will make it my
greateft
lit EXERCISES OF PIETY.
greateft pleafure to obey them, to afford
them every fervice and affiftance in my
power, and t become their confolation and
their joy. I will give myfelf up fincerely
to their direction, inftantly obey their com-
mands, and, if poflible, even anticipate their
wifhes. The end to which I will direct all
my efforts mail be to make a good ufe of
all the means of inftruction they procure
me, that I may become more intelligent
and wife, and hereby make the beft return
in my power for all their kindnefs. Thus
will I endeavour to lighten their burthens,
relieve their cares, and rejoice their hearts
with the pleafing hope that their labour has
not been in vain.
Preferve me, Oh Merciful God, from the
levity and inconftancy of my age. Let the
idea of thy prefence, and of thy will, con-
firm me in every good refolution I have
formed, and do thou aflift me to execute
them with perfeverance and fidelity !
AN
t US 1
AN EXERCISE OF PIETY
TO YOUTH.
H.OW pleafant are the days of youth!
Like the fine days in the fpring, they Com-
pofe the prime of life, and protnife in fu-
ture a rich harveft. But, alas ! they pafs-
away with the fame rapidity, and the hopes
they raife are often as deceitful. In the
moral, as in the natural world, the fineft
bloffoms do not always produce the fruit we
had reafon to expect :
" Fair is the bud his vernal morn brings forth,
" And foftering gales awhile the nurfeling fan.
" fmile, ye Heavens, ferene ! ye mildews wan,
" Ye blighting whirlwinds, fpare his balmy prime."
In vain are our wifhes ! Too often, blafted
by the hoar-froft, or torn up by the tempeft,
the faireft buds of hope, and the moft pro-
I raifing
u 4 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
mifing plants perifh, with the precious feed
which they enclofe.
How muft it afflict the perfon, arrived at
the maturity of manhood, when he cafts his
eyes over the days of youth, if they have
flown away without improvement if he has
foolifhly confumed them in trifling occupa-
tions, or loft them in idlenefs. What more
diftreffing object can be held up to the view
of fociety than that of a man whofe faculties,
inftead of being unfolded and enlarged by
xerciie, are benumbed by inactivity, or de-
bilitated or worn out in the fervice of vice ;
carrying with him, into the maturer feafon,
nothing but the difgraceful feelings of weak-
nefs, regret, and remorfe.
On the other hand, what pleafure muft
not a perfon experience in recalling to his
mind the fpring of life, who has employed
it in forming his mind and his heart, in pre-
paring himfelf for ufeful occupations ; and
who, having cultivated the precious feed
which the Creator lias fown within us, can
hope to reap for himfelf arid others the molt
excellent fruits. How. delightful is the fight
of
YOUTH. tij
of fuch a man to every fenfible and virtuous
perfon !
Happy will it be for me if I may one
day tafte this fatisfadtion, and procure it for
my parents and fellow-citizens. Happy for
me if I entertain at prefent the fame opinion
of the important defign of youth as I fhall
certainly have in maturer years, and in old
age, in the hours of retirement and recol-
lection, and at the approach of death.
How different is the point of view in
which manhood and old age fee the days of
their youth, from that in which they are
beheld by the young man himfelf ! and how
much more likely to be juft is their opinion
which is formed on their own experience
and that of others. Where is the man who
ever repented of having well-employed his
youth ? Does not this period of life, when
pafTed in piety and innocence, procure us
the molt valuable advantages, and the nobleft
pleafures ? On the other hand, how many
deplore the lofs or abufe of thefe moft fa-
vourable days of their lives, and bitterly la-
ment over the unhappy confequences of
youthful errors ? How many are there
I 2 who,
n6 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
who, in the flowerof their nves, are a prey
to the infirmities of a premature old age,
become incapable of tailing the pleafures and
comforts of domeftic life, or to whom thefe
pleafures are embittered and poifoned by re-
morfe of confcience ?
And mall not thefe lefTons and experiences,
fo proper to inftrucT: and encourage me,
make me more wife and prudent ? Shall
they not engage me wifely to employ the
days of youth ; to fly the fteps of thofe un-
fortunate perfons whole very appearance
terrifies me ; to proceed with a firm and
perfevering ftep in the path where fo* many
of my predeceffors have reaped the advan-
tages they now enjoy, and by which they
have become valuable men, ufeful citizens/
and wife and happy beings ?
The prefent is the feafon for fowing. If,
at a more advanced period, I would not be
reduced to the want of necelfaries ; if I
would not be a burden to myfelf and others j
if I would gather a rich and abundant har-
veft, I mult low the good feed, and carefully
cultivate the ground which receives it, I
mull adorn my mind with wifdom, and my
heart
YOUTH. 117
lieart with virtue ; I muft lay in a ftore of
ufeful knowledge, and early acquire the
habit of acting juftly. I muft combat my
evil thoughts before they gain the maftery ;
I muft extirpate my evil habits before they
have taken deep root. I muft endeavour to
fecure the love and efteem of my fellow-
citizens, by a rational, modeft, attentive,
regular conduct, that I may be able to de-
pend in future on their protection and fup-
port. Youth is the time for difcipline and
preparation : in this feafon I mould acquaint
myfelf with, and properly value, and ex-
erciie my faculties and powers, if I would
one day employ them with facility and
fuccefs ; I fhould acquire the information
and the talents for which I fhall have occa-
lion in future life, and without which I fhall
{tumble at every ftep, and find myfelf in-
volved in a thoufand perplexing difficulties.
I muft accuftom myfelf to felf-denials ; to
bear contradiction and oppofition ; to en-
dure fatigue, trouble, and affliction ; to fub-
due my paffions ; to conquer my fenfual
appetites ; if I would not one day fink
I 3 under
fig EXERCISES OF PIETY.
under the weight of every duty and every
trial.
How important then is the prefent feafon
of life ! Mere wifhes, flothful and feeble
efforts, will not fuffice to fulfil its duties and
defign. It is only by perfevering endea-
vours, by a conftant application, and by an
unfhaken firmnefs, that I can attain the end
which I propofe to myfelf. But need X
be difcouraged and alarmed at the neceffity
of diligence, application, and refiftance ?
Will not the wages be proportioned to the
labour, and the triumph to the combat ?
Shall I poftpone to an uncertain hereafter
that which I can and ought to do at prefent ?
Is not the time I lofe really loft for ever ?
Has not every future period of my exiftence
its particular employment ? Will it be the
time for fowing when the feafon of gather-
ing mail come, or for inftrudtion when I
fhall be called to make ufe of my knowledge ?
What it is incumbent on me to do at this
feafon, and which I negledt becaufe of its
difficulties, will become every year and every
day more difficult. Notwithstanding the
health and ftrength I enjoy in the ipring of
life,
YOUTH. a 9
life, may I no! lofe my powers, and die in
the flower of my days ? And what doom
may I expedt in the future life, if I have
foolifhly wafted the prime of life in the
flavery of irregular paflions and of viee ? I
will watch continually over myfelf, over all the
fecret motions of my heart ; I will not fufFer
myfelf to be feduced by the vain promifes of
vice, by the charms of an apparent liberty,
or a treacherous joy. Wifdom raifes her
voice to tell me that the intoxication of fenfe
endures but for an inftant ; that the en-
chanted cup of luxury fhall not be always
fweet to my tafte ; that the pleafure I find in
drinking it fhall foon vanilh, as a fleeting
dream from which we are fearfully awakened ;
that the liberty with which I am flattered by
vice is nothing but the vileft flavery, and
that all its joys are poifoned at their fource.
Whereas, no innocent pleafure which I fore-
go, from a principle of virtue, fhall be loft
to me : fooner or later it fhall be returned to
me with intereft. A train of pure and laft-
ing joys fhall recompence me, in manhood
and old age, for the deftructive or vain joys
which I have prudently renounced. And
I a even
F20 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
even when prevented, by an early death,
from gathering, in this world, the fruits of a
well-regulated youth, {hall I not reap a pro-
digious advantage if I am prepared to enter
a more perfect abode, and fufficiently qualk
fled for the fublime employment and deli-,
cious pleafures which await me in a future
exiftence ?
Yes, O my God, it is only by keeping thy
commandments -by making wifdom and
virtue, reafon and religion his faithful guides,
that a young man can preferve his innocence,
look with calmnefs on the beginning of his
courfe, and advance nearer and nearer to his
fupreme deftination. O may thefe faithful
guides always accompany me in the journey
of life ! Oh Almighty and mod merciful
God, do thou thyfelf conduct me, by thy
fpirit, in the ftraight road. Preferve me, by
thy grace, from the wanderings of youth
and the tyranny of pafTions. Let thy wife*
and good Providence remove far from my
path the obftacles and temptations which may
occafion my fall. Afliil my endeavours to
become wife and virtuous, and accompany
them with thy blefling. Place me in cir-,
cumittftces
YOUTH. in
cumftances favourable to my improvement.
Give me faithful friends and guides, and
enable me to follow them in the paths of
wifdom and of virtue.
Thou delighteft, Oh God, to grant the
defires which flow from a fincere heart, and
to fecond the efforts of thofe who ferioufly
afpire after greater perfection. Supported
and guided by Thee, I cannot fail of at-
taining in this world the defign of my ex-
iftence, and to obtain in the other my fu-
preme end.
AN
[ H* }
EXERCISE OF PIETY,
FOR A
PERSON ARRIVED AT MANHOOD.
IT is through thy goodnefs, Oh my God,
that I am brought thus far on in the journey
of life affift me to purfue it according to thy
will, and happily to nnifh it. I am now
arrived at the middle of my courfe. Expo-
fed, at the meridian of life, to the rays of
the burning fun, I no longer enjoy the frefh-
nefs of the morning. The ferene days of
infancy and youth are fled away with all their
playfulnefs and thoughtlefs gaiety. More
ferious thoughts, and more important occu-
pations, accompanied with folicitudes and
fears, but alfo intermixed with nobler and
more delightful pleafures, have fucceeded
them. The fhoot, concealed beneath the
bloffom,
MANHOOD. 123
bloflbm, appears, unfolds, increafes, and pro-
. duces fruit, which will foon arrive at matu-
rity. I am now advanced to the height of
manhood. My body and my mind have
attained all the ftrength of which they are
capable : the torch of reafon is lighted up in
my mind, the fire of fentiment is kindled in
my heart, and my animal fpirits communi*
cate to all my members a manly and vigo-
rous activity. The ftrong feeling I now have
of my exiftence and my powers imparts the
livelieft fenfations of joy, and fills me with
fortitude and confidence. It is to Thee, O
God, the giver and preferver of my life, I
owe this delightful feeling, this manly cou-
rage and afiurance. May they excite me
more and more to make a good ufe of my
faculties and powers, and to difcharge my
duty with indefatigable zeal. I am now able
to bear heavy burthens, to execute toilfome
labours, to undertake things difficult and
complicated, and overcome the greateft ob-
ftacles. The difficulties and dangers which
terrify the young and the old man, need not
llifcourage me. The obftacles which make
X them
1 24 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
them (tumble and fall, ought not to flop me
in my courfe.
A greater activity, more application, a.
more unfhaken patience and fortitude j thefe
are the true characterrftics of manhood ; thefe
are the fources from whence I muft draw the
trueft riches and felicity for myfelf and others.
Far be from me all floth and inactivity, all
indigencies and weaknefs, and the fhame
which accompanies an ufelefs and effeminate
life.
It is now time that I mould make ufe of
the knowledge and abilities acquired in youth.
It is now that I mould labour for' fociety, and
return the good offices I have, for o long a
time, received from it. It is np\t;.that I
fhould become to others, what myL parents*
inftru&ors, and guides, have been, to me.
The ftrength and well-being of .the ft^te are.
founded on the ufeful labours, and beneficial
undertakings of thofe arrived at maturity
It is for them ; to take care of thofe members
of fociety who are yet youngs feeble, and
inexperienced; and to procure reft, fupport,
and recompences, to the reflected old man,
who has laboured for the public good. May
no
MANHOOD. 125
no employment, and no flation, appear to
me a burthen, which tends to this end.
May I never lofe fight of the different ties
which unite me to fociety, as a father, a citi-
zen, a friend, a child of God, and a Chris-
tian. May I never allow in myfelf any defire,
any undertaking, any difcourfe, any actions,
inconfiftent with thefe relations, and contrary
to the public good. Though I make but a
very fmall part of the fociety, though I oc-
cupy but a fingle place, and that, perhaps,
but a very fubordinate one, this does not put
it out of my power to contribute to the wel-
fare of that fociety of which I am a member.
The public welfare can only take place when
each of thoie who compofe it worthily fills
his ftation, and faithfully difcharges his own
peculiar duties. This fhall be the object of
my ardent and perfevering endeavours. I
would perform the duties of my function
with a chearful heart, and difinterefted views,
uninfluenced by ambition, vanity, avarice,
or the defire of power, but from obedience to
thy will, and from a principle of confeience,
and from motives of humanity, and the noble
defire of attaining the defign of my prefent
exiftence,
i 2 6 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
exiftence, . and of preparing for my future
deftiny. Thefe are the motives which {hall
animate me in the difcharge of my duty, and
make that duty itfelf the fource of pleafure and
of joy.
The courfe I have yet to run appears long
to me. I form, perhaps, great and extenfive
fchemes. I employ myfelf in executing them
with as much zeal and confidence as if I were
lure of fuccefs. I labour for my country, for
pofterity, for a diftant futurity. I plant, I
build, I form enterprizes, I enter into new
connections, I purfue various plans, I endea-
vour to enlarge the fphere of my activity, as
if I had many ages yet to live. To adt thus,
is the will of thy providence, O God, which
has fo clofely connected one generation with
another, and which prepares, in the prefent
time, the moft diftant events. It is for Thee,
O thou Sovereign of the world, to determine
(according to the purpofes of thy infinite
wil'dom), whether I fhall leave the execution
of them to another. Thou wanted neither
means nor relburces to attain the ends Thou
propofeft to thyfelf. As for me, may it fuffice
to acquit myfelf well in my ftation, and to
labour,
MANHOOD.
1*7
labour, with unceafing application, for the
public good, without difquieting myfelf whe- .
ther my life mall be long or fhort ; whether
the fuccefs of my enterprizes fhall deceive my
expectations, or crown my wifhes.
But whilft my ftrength, ability, and fuc-
cefs, anfwer all my expectations, I will never
forget the frailty of my nature, the inftability
of worldly good, the uncertainty of all my
fchemes, the mortality of my body, and
the immortal ftate into which I mull pafs.
Far from concentrating all my affections to
the pleafures of this life, I would never lofe
fight of my fupreme good. The improve-
ment of my mind fhall intereft me more than
any external good. I will prefer things invi-
fible and eternal to thofe which are feen,
and temporal ; and I will always hold myfelf
in readinefs to quit my poft, and to go into
another world, where I fhall attain all the
improvement of which I am fufceptible, and
to prepare for which I was fent into the
world.
r *** i
Am
EXERCISE OF PIETY
SUITED TO
OLD AGE.
O niy God, thou haft given me life, and
continued it to me through a long feries of
years* After having carried me through the
fuccefTive ftages of exiftence, after conducting
and protecting me in infancy, in youth, and
manhood, thou haft brought me to the laft
period of life. How great, how innumer-
able are the bleffings and favours thou haft
heaped upon me ! O thou fupreme Good I
with what paternal tendernefs haft Thou pro-
vided for my bodily and fpiritual wants, from
my birth to the prefent hour ! How many
fources of pleafure and delight haft Thou
opened to me in civil and domeftic life !
How many lefTons of wifdom and virtue haft
Thou
OLD AGE. u 9
Thou given me ! How many dangers haft
Thou averted from me ; from how many evils
haft Thou preferved me ! How many faults
and fins haft Thou overlooked ! How many
undertakings and labours have I executed
with fuccefs, through thine affiftance !
Never no, never have I been deprived of
thy grace and prefence. Thy mercies have
been renewed to me every morning ; every
day, every hour of my life, have I witnefTed
to thy goodnefs. Accept, O merciful and
indulgent Father, my moft (incere and hearty
thanks, for all the bleffings thou haft heaped
upon me, for all the fupport thou haft granted
me, for all the divine joys thou haft poured
into my heart, and for all the afflictions with
which thou haft difciplined and benefited me.
But how can I fufficiently acknowledge and
celebrate thy paternal kindnefs, and my own
felicity ! Blefled be God, a day is approach-
ing, when I hope diftinctly to recollect all thy
favours, and to be more fenfible of their
value. Then will the remembrance of my
fufFerings, as well as my pleafures, afford me
joy. I mall acknowledge it was thy paternal
k hand
i 3 o EXERCISES OF PIETY.
hand which has guided me in the gloomy and
the rugged, as well as in the bright and fmooth
paths of life, in order to conduct me in the
fureft way to felicity. Every day of my life
has been marked by fome precious effects of
thy love. Through thy grace, I have been
upheld under the troubles of life, difcharged
its duties, and tailed its pleafures. I can now
quit my poll: without regret, and without
fear. I have finifhed the work thou haft
given me to do. I have promoted, accord-
ing to my ability, the happinefs of thy great
family. Now I am going to reft from my
toils, and to enjoy the fruit of my labours.
Arrived at the end of my journey, what
pleafure do I now enjoy in recalling to my
mind every good action which Thou haft en-
abled me to perform. Happy, indeed, would
it be for me, if there had been no actions,
the recollection of which fhould cover me
with confufion. In reviewing the courfe I
have run, I perceive a multitude of faults and
tranfgreilions which fill me with fhame and
regret. If I can yet correct my error?., and
in any meafure repair the injury I have done
myfelf
OLD AGE. j 34
myfelf cr my fellow-creatures, I will do it
without delay, and with the great eft alacrity,
whatever fhame it may occafion me, in order
to reftore peace to my mind before I quit this
ftate of trial, and appear before my Judge.
If I have neglected any duties, which I can
yet difcharge in my public or domeftic rela-
tions, I will immediately fulfil them, left
death furprize me before I have compleated
my tafk. My fins and tranfgreffions would
overwhelm me with forrow, did I not, O
my God, confider thy mercy. Thou wilt
pardon my faults, for Thou art an indulgent
Father to thofe who repent and amend. The
death and refurre&ion of Jefus Chrift are the
fecurity and proofs of it. How full of con-
folation is this affurance ! What light does it
diffufe around me! What hope and truft does
it infpire. I will conftantly look unto Jefus,
the author and fmiiher of my faith, my fore-
runner and my guide. With what calmnefs
and fortitude did He encounter the terrors ot
death. I will endeavour to imitate his ex-
ample, and tread in his ftcps. If I can be
no longer ufcful t fociety by my labours, I
1\ 2 Will
j 32 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
will try to be fo by my example. My chil-
dren, my fervants, my defcendants, fhall
learn from me to triumph over the fears of
death, and to die as becometh Chriftians.
An old man, who preferves to the decline of
life an amiable ferenity, and eafy cheerfulnefs,
who recals to his mind the fcenes of paft
life, without remorfe, and who' contemplates
the future without fear, fuch an old man may
ftill be ufeful to fociety. How much good
may he do, how much evil may he prevent,
by his advice, by his example, and even by
his prefence ! The young, and thofe arrived
at maturity, affemble around him to receive
his inftructions, to learn to live as he lived,
and to approach the clofe of life with the
fame tranquillity of foul with which he meets
his diffolution. What deep and lading im-
preflions may not the precepts, the expe-
rience, the exhortations, which are the fruit
of a long life, make upon the minds of
others. Oh that the torch of my life may
burn with a cheering and falutary fplendour,
before it is extinguished, and leave permanent
and
OLD AGE* 1 33
and clear traces in the hearts of thofe who are
younger than myfelf. To this end, I will
endeavour to be free from the weaknefles
and defeats to which old age is ufually fub-
ject. Far from me be all caprice, infenflbi-
Hty, aufterity, morofenefs, all peevifhnefs,
and impatience. May my principal, my laft
employment on earth, be to eafe and leffen
the care which my friends and others take of
me, to teftify to them my acknowledgments,
to lead them, by my conduct, to refpect and
love the religion of Jefus, and prepare for its
higheft rewards. About to feparate from
them, I commit them, with myfelf, into thy
hands, O Heavenly Father, with an entire
confidence. Be a father to my children, and
a friend to my friends. Take them under
thy protection. Lead them in the paths of
piety and virtue. Preferve them from fooliih
and hurtful lufts. Teach them to make a
proper ufe of the prefent life, and to prepare
for a future. Then, whatever be their lot,
whether profperous or adverfe ; whether they
reach to my advanced age, or are cut off by
K 3 death,
134 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
death, in the midft of their days, they will
not be lefs happy, and will be finally united
to me, never to feparate or to die any
more.
Thus would I finifh my courfe. Thus
would I fpend the clofe of my life, relieving,
benefiting, and blefling all around me. Then
fhall I behold my end with calmnefs and
tranquillity. Death will conduct me to a
better world, and will therefore be a meffen-
ger of joy. With a ferene mind I fhall go to
a more perfect Hate, where I hope to know
truth with greater certainty, to think more
juftly, to worfhip more devoutly, to love
more affectionately, to act with greater free-
dom, and to enjoy pleafure without mixture
or alloy. Yes, Oh my' God, thou wilt quickly
call me to thyfelf, and I will readily obey
thy voice, for thou called me to glory, ho-
nour, and immortality. Thy perfecti-
ons are my fecurity ; and thy fon Jefus
Chrift, whofe words fhall never pafs
uway, gives me the moft pofitive afTurance
of it.
With
OLD AGE. 135
With a heart deeply imprefied with thefe
fentiments, I will fay as he did : " Father, not
" as I will, but as thou wilt. Into thy hands
" I commit my fpirit."
K 4 THE
[ 136 ]
THE SUBJFXT.
IF mankind are placed in a ftate of mutual
dependence ; if they have different pofts af-
figned them in fociety ; if ibme, inverted with
authority and power, prefide and govern,
whilft others are controuled and obey ; if
every one is obliged, for the public good, to
confine himfelf within certain limits, to fub-
mit to certain burthens, this arifes from the
diverfity of our understandings, abilities, and
talents, and the unavoidable effed: of focial
life. However oppreflive this difference of
llation may be to thoufands of individuals, it
is neverthelefs neceffary to the general good,
and advantageous to the human race. With-
out this variety of conditions, how could the
union, order, fecurity, peace, and well-being
of
THE SUBJECT. t z y
of fociety be maintained? How could vthe
members of fociety make their faculties and
talents ufeful to the public ? How could they
expand and exercife their powers, practice all
the virtues of which they are capable, pro-
vide for their common wants, and execute
ufeful undertakings ? And how feeble, and
deftitute of fuccour mould we be, without all
focial connection ? Do not thefe connections
and relations neceflarily fuppofe a mutual
dependence ?
I here perceive, O God, thy wife difpofal
and arrangement. I revere and fubmit to
them, fully convinced they are equitable and
good ; that they tend to promote the general
welfare of thy earthly family, and, of confe-
quence, my own private happinefs.
Thofe to whom thou haft entrufted the ad-
miniftration of juftice, the maintenance of
laws, and the government of nations, are
men of like paffions with myfelf, and, on that
account, frail and limited beings, a prey to
error, and liable to failings ; beings often as
feeble, inattentive, and indolent, as myfelf;
liable to be deceived, who are incapable of
feeing, knowing, and executing every thing ;
beings
1^8 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
beings who, with the beft intentions, cannot
do all the good they may wifh, nor furmount
all the obftacles they may encounter. I ought
not to expect to find in them a wifdom
and a virtue beyond what human nature is
capable of. I muft not be furprifed if they
often commit miftakes and faults ; if their
meafures are not always fo wife, nor fo in-
fallible, nor their, administration fo free from
reproach as they might be, and if they
fometimes opprefs their inferiors and Sub-
jects, to how many more obftacles and diffi-
culties, fnares and dangers, are they expo-
fed than others. How much do their edu-
cation, rank, and the conduct of thofe about
them, contribute to render the practice of
virtue in them more difficult and arduous.
Can I fay, that were I placed in the fame
circumftances I mould not be guilty of many
.greater faults, be more deficient in the du-
ties of juflice, equity and humanity, and
more frequently prefer my own intereft and
pleafure to the general good.
All the arrangements and contrivances of
mortals bear, and always will bear, the marks
of human imperfection. If the advantages
and
THE SUBJECT. t 3f
and good they produce more than counter-
balance the inconveniences and evils to
which they expofe us, I will thankfully en-
joy the former, and endeavour to leflen the
latter, by bearing them with patience. I
will not forget that the obedience I owe to
the magiftrate is a duty which God himfelf
hath commanded, the obfervance of which
tends to the happinefs of fociety, and con-
fequently to mine, who make a part of it,
I will, therefore, refpecT: my fuperiors, and
lawful mailers ; and, whilft their laws are
not contrary to the laws of God, who is
my lupreme Lawgiver, I will faithfully ob-
ferve them, not from a motive of fear, but
as the Gofpel teaches me, from a principle
of confcience, and a regard to the general
welfare. My obedience mall not be that of
a Have, but of a rational, free, and intelli-
gent being, who acts from the unconftrained
impulfe of the mind. I will give to thofe
who are exalted above me in authority and
rank, the honours and refpecl: to which they
are entitled. But never will I debaie mvfelf
before them, or flatter their vanity. Never
will I treat them as beings of a higher fpe-
cies.
)4 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
cies, or forget that they are by nature my
equals. My thoughts, my words, my acti-
ons, mall be fuited to the common nature I
partake with them. If, in the ftation I fill,
I can in any meafure contribute to the gene-
ral good of fociety, I will do it with alacrity
and pleafure ; and, when I am under no legal
obligation, I will endeavour to give effect,
according to my abilities, to the ufeful and
falutary intentions of my fuperiors*
Far be it from me to envy the great and
powerful. The places they occupy are as
dangerous as they are exalted and brilliant.
The path they tread is ftrewed with flowers,
but thefe flowers moft frequently conceal a
multitude of briars and thorns, and ftones of
ftumbling, from which my path is exempted.
They have alfo their burdens to bear, burdens
which are often more oppreflive than mine.
Befides, whether my condition here be
high or low, bright or obfcure, it will not
affect my eternal Mate. My future happinefs
will depend on the exactnefs and fidelity with
which I fhall have executed the talk which
Thou, O my God, haft given me. Whatever
may be the ftation Thou haft been pleafed to
aflign
THE SUBJECT. H*
aflign me, if I ftridly endeavour to difcharge
its duties, it will pave the way to perfection
and felicity. Grant me, O God, to this end
thine affiftance. Father of Mercies, teach
me to do thy will, and to difcharge my duty,
with all the attention and zeal of which I am
capable. Then fhall I always enjoy thy ap-
probation, and in whatever Hate I am fhall
learn therewith to be content.
THE
[ Hi ]
THE
RICH MAN.
1 HE affluence in which Thou, O my
God, permitteft me to live, undoubtedly
procures me great advantages, and a variety
of comforts and delights. It preferves me
from many occafions of painful anxiety ; it
opens to me many fources of pleafure and
joy, which, without its aid, would have
been fhut againft me. It excites me to a
more generous activity for the public good.
It furnifhes me with a thoufand means of
augmenting my own happinefs, and that of
my brethren. Benejicent God ! it is to thy
fovereign goodnefs I am indebted for all thefe
important advantages, and I return Thee my
moft grateful acknowledgements. O teach
me to regard and employ my riches fuitably
to thy will and my own true felicity ! May
I never confider them as proofs of partieu-
lar merit in myfelf, and of thy predilection
4 towards
THE RICH MAN. I43
towards me. How many of my brethren,
plunged in the depths of poverty, are more
wife, virtuous, and deferving of thy favours
than I am ! May 1 never, in future, eftimate
the value of riches by the fhare I have of
them, but by the wife, noble, and fervice-
able ufe I make of them.
If my condition hath its pleafures and
advantages, it hath alfo its inconveniences
and dangers. How many fhares furround
the rich man! With how many pretences
do riches furnifh him for infolence, vanity,
pride, effeminacy, luxury, and voluptuouf-
nefs ! What rifques does he run of violating
the moft facred laws, of forgetting God, of
indulging his fenfual appetites, of defpifing
the poor, of oppreffing the weak, of harden-
ing his heart, of becoming infenfible to the
miferies of others ? How many fnares are
laid for his innocence and virtue ? Afhll
me, O my God, in the midfl of thefe diffi-
culties ! Enable me to efcape thefe dangers,
and furmount all thefe obitacies to piety and
virtue. Ah, if my riches would remove me
to a greater diiiance from Thee, and lead
mc aftray into the paths of vice and folly,
i 4 4 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
rather take them from me. I would infi-
nitely rather be poor and virtuous, than live
foolifhly and wickedly in the bofom of
plenty.
Yes if my riches are prejudicial to my
fpiritual enjoyment, to my trueft happinefs
and the lading felicity of my foul, then, O
my God, give me fortitude to free myfelf
from an uneafy burthen, by confecrating,
whilft itill living, a confiderable part of it to
fupport ufeful inftitutions ; to affift the poor,
and thofe of my friends who are in need ;
that the happy mediocrity to which I fhall
reduce myfelf by thefe generous facrifices,
may leflen the difficulties and obflacles which
retard or miflead me in my courfe.
Although fuch a refolution may expofe me
to the ridicule of mankind, and lead many
to tax me with weaknefs and folly, it is not
the Jefs a proof of a great and vigorous
mind, and a more heroic and virtuous con-
duct, than the exploits of fo many conque-
rors who ravaged the world and deluged it
in blood.
At leaft I am perfuaded, and will always
recoiled, that I have difficult duties to dik
charge,
THE MCI! MAN: 145
charge, tfiat it "becomes me to take peculiar
care to be on my guard againft the falfe
fplendor of external good ; to redouble my
attention and vigilance over' myfelf, and ne-
ver lofe fight of thole ties which unite me
to God and man ; that by avoiding the
fnareS which fortune fpreads for me, I may
walk with a firm and fure ftep on fo flippery
a road.
I will, then, inviolably obferve the laws
which reafon and religion dictate. If, in
the property I pofTefs, there be any part of
it which I have acquired unjuftly, I would
inftantly reftore it . to its proper owner ; or,
if none fuch can be found, I would diftribute
it among the poor. How can I enjoy with
fatisfa&ion, and apply without fhame and
remorle to my own ufe, what is not mine
but belongs to another.
Never will I make a parade of my rich eg
before the eyes of others in fuch a manner
as to humble or afflict them. Never will I
boaft of them as an advantage which ad-
vances me above them. Never will I def-
pife the poor becaufe they are poor. Never
will I treat them with infolence and cruelty,
L or
145 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
or forget that they are in many refpects my
equals and my brethren.
My ads of charity mall never be per-
formed through vanity or oftentation. Far
be it from me to reproach the poor man I
relieve. He fhall not be obliged to pur-
chafe my kind offices by humiliations and
meannefies. I would never, in an offenfive
manner, remind him of the affiftance he has
received from me. A look that fpeaks pity
and affection doubles the gift, and makes the
heart of mifery rejoice. My hand and my
countenance, therefore, fhall give together.
Thus, when I am afked for bread, I fhall
not give a ftone along with it ; and when I
hear a fellow-chriftian crying out with his
Divine Mafter when expiring on the crofs,
M Lo, I thirft!" I iliall not have the barbae
rity to mock his diitrefs, and double his
complaints, by giving him vinegar to drink
mingled with gall. To do good in fecret,
without a witnefs, without hope of a return ;
to do it to thofe who are ungrateful, and
even to thofe who are my enemies, what a
divine pleafure ! It is to imitate thy bounty,
Thou mod benevolent of beings, and to be
merciful
THE RICH MAN. - v 147
merciful as Thou, my Father in heaven, art
merciful.'
Riches fhall not be the rule by which I
will eftimate the merit of mankind, and de-
termine the mare they fhall enjoy of my
efteem. I know full well a perfon may be
rich without any perfonal merit, and that
poverty does not exclude the mofl valuable
qualities. Did not Jefus Ghrift, the moll
perfect of mortal beings, the mofl perfect
model of human perfection did he not pafs
his life in the bofom of poverty and indi-
gence ? I will not place my affections on
the goods of fortune, or confider them as
effential to my happinefs. What is there
more fleeting and uncertain, and confequent*
ly lefs folid and lafting, than the content-
ment and happinefs they impart ? How un-
commonly do we fee a rich man contented
and happy ; and how many perfons are both
contented and happy without the affirtance of
wealth ?
I will never confider the ufe I make of
riches as a matter of indifference. It is my
duty to employ them in a manner the mofl;
wife and beneficial to fociety ; and it is
L z much
148 EXERCISES QF PIETY.
much more difficult to difcharge this duty
than is generally imagined. I will not leave
a matter of this confequence to chance ; and
though in many cafes I mould pay regard to
the circumftanccs of the moment, , thefe cir-
cumftances mall not be my only rule. I will
often reflect on the good I can do ; I will
advife with my moft virtuous and judicious
friends, and give the fubjccl: my clofeft at*
tention and care. The poor, the fick, and
the unhappy, have undoubtedly the firft and
moft incanteftible claim to my affiftance.
But I ought alfo to take in hand the caufc of
innocence, the interefts of liberty, truth,
virtue, humanity, and public happinefs.
Thefe interefts I ought to fupport and defend
with fo much the more courage and ^ea^,
becaufe I can do it with lefs rifque and more
fuccefs than others. This is my greater
honour, my moft facred duty, and my high-
eft felicity.
Thus, iliall I lay up treafure for futurity,
become rich in good works, in generous
fentiments, and virtuous actions. And
though inevitably expoied to be one day
deprived
THE RICH MAN. 149
deprived of temporal riches, I fhall acquire
others which fhall laft for ever, which
even death itfelf fhall not fnatch from me,
and which will open to me in the future
world inexhauftible fources of bleflings and
joys.
L ,3 THE
f 150 I
THE
POOR MAN.
THOU diftributeft as it pleafes Thee, Oh
God, thy bleffings amongft men, according
to laws fupremely wife, but which are in a
great meafure unknown to us. " Thou ex-
alteft him that is low, and abafeft him that
is high ; Thou makeft poor, and makeft
rich ; Thou bringeft low, and lifteft up."
Nothing exifts and takes place without thy
permiflion ; every thing is directed by thy
univerfal providence. Let thy will be done,
great God, for it is juft and good.
Poverty ought not to quench my fpirit,
hinder me from enjoying the pleafures of
exiftence, nor extinguifh the fenfe of the
dignity of my nature. All that conftitutes
human nature ; all that exalts man above
other terreftrial creatures ; all that is eflential
to his true glory, and to his proper and
lafting perfection, falls to my lot as well as
to
THE POOR MAN. 151
to the rich man. Have I not the fame fa-
culties, the fame abilities, the fame hopes,
the fame deftination as he has ? Have we
not each of us the fame relation to God, our
Creator and Father, and to Jefus, our Lord
and Saviour ? Are we not to meet together
before the fame tribunal which is to decide
our fate ? Ought we not here to prepare
ourfelves for the fame felicity ? Can I think
that Thou, O my God, loveft me the lefs
becaufe I am poor ; and that my poverty
will be an obftacle to my future and fupreme
happinefs? Undoubtedly not. Thou haft,
perhaps, forefeen that affluence and abun-
dance would be hurtful to me, that they
would become fatal fnares to my virtue ; in
this cafe, thy paternal bounty neceffarily led
Thee to refufe them to me. Poffibly my in-
digence is a necefTary means of preventing
evils from which Thou wouldft fpare me, or
of procuring to my brethren, or the public,
many confiderable. advantages, which ought
to outweigh my own perfonal advantage.
I will never blufh then at my poverty.
That poverty, which is not the effetft, of bad
conduct, is no difgrace to any one. It is of
L 4 no
ij* EXERCISES QF PIETY.
no confequence to me to be efteemed by any
one who would defpife me only becaufe I
am poor. It is not the perfon fuch a man
efteems or difregards, it is his drefs and ex-
ternals. Do I not alfo know that my indi-
gence will not degrade me in the eyes of
that Great Being who knoweth all things,
whofe judgment is infallible, and on whom
alone my prefent and future happinefs de-
pend ? Do I not alfo know that, in the eyes
of every confiderate perfon, an upright
mind, and a line ere and honeft heart, is of
more value than all the filver and gold in
the world ? And if the wifeft and moft vir-.
tuous of mankind eiteem me, may Inot be
unconcerned at the contempt of weak and
foolifh minds :
But if I have no occahon to be afhamed
at my poverty, I ought not to feek to con-
ceal my indigence from the eyes of others.
It is by this that it becomes fo oppreflive and
infupportable a burden to fo many perfons,
who wifh to appear different from what they
really are, and to live like people who are in
eafy and affluent circumftances, without the
means of doing it. Obliged continually to
diflcm-
THE POOR MAN, 155
diflemble and difguife, to fpeak and to aft
the reverfe of what they think, fuch perfons
pafs their lives under conftraint and perpetual
uneafmefs. They only make themfelves
more contemptible in the eyes of all thofe
who fee through their ridiculous vanity, and
deprive themfelves of the efteem of thofe
who regard merit more than fortune. It
(hall give me no uneafmefs, then, to own
my poverty in all cafes wherein this acknow-
ledgement will be neceffary or convenient.
By this means I mall free myfelf from a
painful conftraint, and from many trouble-
fome fhackles ; I lhall be at my eafe ; I mall
live fuitably to my condition, and with tran-
quillity on the little I poffefs. I can then,
alfo, accept with gratitude, and without
fhame, the afliftance whieh benevolent per-
fons may be difpofed to give me. But this
avowal of my indigence iliall always be ac-
companied with a proper fenfe of my natural
dignity ; it lhall be the avowal of a man
who knows how to value himfelf, who judges
wifely of the worth of things, and who has
learnt to be contented with his lot.
To
ij4 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
To fupport myfelf with dignity in the
bofom of poverty, I mull carefully avoid
contracting habits which are commonly found
in my condition, and falling into errors into
which poverty fo eafily betrays us.
Far from me be the idea of making ufe
of unlawful and difgraceful means of ex-
tricating myfelf from my indigence, or of
acquiring riches : I mould then lofe the peace
of my own mind, the efteem of good men,
and the approbation of my God then, in-
deed, I mould deferve the contempt and dif-
grace which the prejudices and falfe opinion
of the fenfelefs have attached to my condi-
tion. Far from me be all thofe indecent and
bitter complaints which poverty often utters
againft the difpenfations of Heaven on the
injuftice and cruelty of men. By thefe I
fhould offend my Creator and my Father,
and exafperate my brethren againft me. By
thefe I mould encreafe the difficulties I am
involved in, and drive from me thofe who
might be difpofed to afTift me.
Far from me be all envy at the fight of
the real or imaginary advantages which riches
procure. Far from me be the contempt and
hat: .
TOE POOR MAN. 155
hatred by which the poor feek to revenge
themfelves on the rich for the want of their
fortune. Would not this be to pafs judg-
ment on the wife proceedings of Providence,
to accufe an infinitely wife and righteous
Being of injuftice, and to open to myfelf
the fources of affliction and difappointment ?
Far from me be that difcouragement, thoie
painful apprehenfions, thofe anticipated un-
eafinelfes to which the poor fometimes give
way. Little is wanted for the fupport of a
man who knows how to confine himfelf to
fimple neceffaries, and who has fhaken off
the yoke of artificial wants. And haft Thou
not, O my God, an infinite variety of means
to relieve my wants and extricate me from,
my mifery ? If I make a prudent ufe of
my abilities if I labour with perfevering
zeal and activity, can I fufpect Thou wilt
ever forget and forfake me ; that Thou wilt
permit thy creature, thy child, to want what
is neceflary ? Belldes, how uncertain is that
future period about which I diftreis myfelf!
how fhort and fleeting is the life of man ?
Why then mould I give myfelf up a prey
to inquietudes about distant events, which I
may
156 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
may never fee ? Why fhould I difquiet my-
felf about what may never happen ?
I will fubmit myfelf entirely to thy will,
O God, as to that of the wifeft and molt
tender of parents. I will build all my hopes
on Thee, convinced that thy Providence will
beflow upon me all that is truly neceflary
and advantageous to me.
All that happens is the confequence of
the wifeft arrangement of things. Thou di-
rected: and overruleft all things. The indi-
gent condition in which I am placed un-
doubtedly tends to my own and others hap-
pinefs, and will fooner or later promote thy
great defigns defigns of which I fhall one
day have a more perfect knowledge, and the
wifdom and goodnefs of which I fhall adore,
though at prefent I am but imperfectly ac-
quainted with them. However fharp and
rugged be the road thou calleft me to travel,
it will bring me to the end I have in view
with as much, perhaps with much more
fafety, than the ftraiteft and the fmootheft
road. Full of filial confidence, therefore, O
my God, I yield myfelf up to thy direction,
who
THE POOR MAN. r 57
who wilt certainly conduct me to true hap-
pinefs.
Am I not daily drawing nearer to a better
life, where the poor fhall no longer be
eclipfed by the rich, nor the little trampled
on and oppreffed by the great where all
mail be tried by the Sovereign Judge of the
univerfe and the Father of mankind, accord-
ing to what they have done, and not accord-
ing to what they have poffefTed where
every one will receive the rewards or the
puniihments he hath deferved. In that
world thofe riches, which are here fo much
efteemed, will be of no value There, thofe
things only will be prized which may be
fhared equally by all men, the poor as well
as the rich, and which cannot be taken from
us. The lefs I have then of temporal riches
the more I fhould ftrive to obtain thofe
which are eternal. Happy fhall I be, when
I quit this world, if I carry with m : a fund
of wifdom, integrity, and virtue -a heart
full of love to God and men. 7 'hen may I
rejoice in the hope of not having neglected
the defign for which I was lent into the
world. Then I fhall be richrich in fpi-
4 . ritual
158 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
ritual and incorruptible bleflings, which will
always encrcafe and improve. O that, ani-
mated by thefe fentiments, I may labour
with unwearied induftry to acquire thefe in-
valuable and heavenly bleflings.
This, O my God, is the only prayer I can
addrefs to Thee without reftricl:ion ; con-
vinced that what I afk is advantageous and
'ufeful for me, and that Thou wilt not fail to
grant it me.
am
I '59 I
AN
EXERCISE OF PIETY
FOR
A PERSON CONFINED BY SICKNESS.
IT is in Thee, O my God, I live, and
move, and have my being. Health and
ftrength are derived from Thee. Thou dif-
penfeth thefe bleflings, like all other earthly
bleflings, as feemeth good in thy fight. As
to myfelf, Thou haft favoured me lefs, in
this refpect, than many of my fellow-crea-
tures around me. I feel it, and have often
wept over it with regret ; efpecially when
the weaknefs of my body has leffened the
activity of my mind, and prevented my con-
tributing, according to my wifhes, to the
general good.
But I check every rifing murmur, and fay,
with my heart, as well as with my lips,
* s not my will but thine be done."
If
i6o EXERCISES OF PIETY.
If my own excefles and wanderings in paft
life have produced that ftate of weaknefs in
which I languish, it is juft I mould experi-
ence the pernicious effects of my ungoverned
paffions and fenfelefs conduct. TKefe effeds
are a falutary lefTon to myfelf and others.
Yes, O my God,, even when Thou ftrikeft
I* adore thy goodnefs, and acknowledge that
Thou art the wifefc Matter and the tendereft
Parent. Without thefe warnings and fatherly
Corrections I had continued to walk in the
road of vice and folly, and thereby become
frill more wretched than at prefent*
But if the weaknefs of my conftiiution be
not the effect of my own exceffes, but the
confequence of circumfkanees which have not
depended on me, I ought to regard it as the
refult of thy wife arrangements as the effecl;
of thy univerial providence, which concerns
itfelf in the fmalleft as well as in the greater):
events, and which makes all things work to-
gether for the accompliihment of its glorious
defigns.
Thefe defigns are indeed impenetrable by
me ; but I am perfuaded they arc as wife as
they are falutary, and fooncr or later I mall
fee
SICKNES& i6i
fee that they are fo. Thou perceiveft, at a
glance of thine eye, the whole of my exift-
ence : Thou perfectly knoweft all that I am
and all that I mall become, in the prefent
and the future ftate : Thou alone canft dif-
pofe of and order my lot fo as beft to con-
duce to my fupreme felicity. And ought
not this idea to calm and compofe my
mind ?
But notwithstanding the narrow limits of
my knowledge, I can, in many cafes, per-
ceive ufeful effects arifing from the decay of
my health. Even this condition may become
to me a fource of bleflings ; if, inftead of
giving myfelf up to murmuring and depref-
fion of fpirit, I improve it as wifdom and
religion direct.
Who knows but, if I had enjoyed a more
eftablifhed health, I might have become the
prey of imperious and diforderly pafiions,
and the Have of fenfual appetites ? I mould
then perhaps have yielded myfelf up to levi-
ty, to a tafte for diiTipation, to vanity, fenfu-
ality and luxury ; and with more ftrCngth, I
might have done much lefs good, and have
M dif-
i6z EXERCISES OF PIETY.
difcharged the duty of my ftation with lefs
zeal and fincerity.
Is it likely I mould then have thought as
frequently and with fo much advantage as I
have done on Thee, my God ; on religion,
the ftate of my foul, and a future exiftence ?
Would thefe thoughts have appeared to me
fo important as they now do ? and would
they have contributed fo much to have made
me better and more refigned, as they have
done ? At prefent the fenfe of my weaknefs
engages me frequently to confider thefe ob-
jects, and renders them interefting to my
heart, and a confolation to my mind.
Is it likely I fhould fo well have known,
tafted, and relifhed the innocent delights of
domeftic life, the noble pleafures of religion,
and the attractive charms of virtuous friend-
ihip ? Would my heart have been fo fufcep-
tible of companion and of pity ? Should I
have felt fo lively an intereft in the happinefs
of others ? Might I not rather have become
proud, infenfible, and cruel ?
Encouraged by a feeling of ftrength, might
I not have deferred to an uncertain futurity
the execution of things the moft important,
inftead
SICKNESS. id j
inftead of being fenfible, as I now am, of
the uncertainty of life, and therefore im-
proving the prefent moment with diligence?
How dangerous is uninterrupted health
and a vigorous conftitution ! How prone
are we to rely on our ftrength, and to fin
under the idea of fecurity. Into what ex-
cefTes fhould we not run headlong without
the reftraints of ficknefs and fuffering. Eager
appetites, clamorous paflions, hearken to no
other call. The voice of reafon cannot reach
them. As full of fuffering as the world is,
men ftill find courage to be wicked ; and the
little of virtue that yet remains among us, is
chiefly owing to this falutary difcipline.
Blefled calamities, that humble pride, that
calm the paflions, that curb each inordinate
appetite ! Blefled ficknefles, that meet the
heart in its wanderings, and bring it back to
Thee, the only centre of reft ! Blefled dis-
appointments, which afflict but purify tear
and harrow up the foul, but prepare it for
the feeds of virtue.
Without this weaknefs of conftitution
fhould I have familiarized my mind to the
idea of death, and been armed againft its
M 2 terrors ?
i#4 ; EXERCISES OF PlETY.
terrors ? Perhaps the mod diftant apprehen-
fion of my deceafe, the flighteft forebodings
of diilblution, had filled me with uneafmefs
and fear ; and I mould not have beheld,
without diftrefs and terror, the moment
when my foul mould quit this terreftrial
abode.
If my prefent ftate of languor and weak-
nefs deprive me, on the one hand, of fome
corporeal pleafures and advantages if it
fometimes expofe me to forrow and fuffer-
ings ; on the other hand it contributes to my
internal and fpiritual improvement : and this
improvement is the only good thing which
will follow me in the other world. What
thanks do I owe Thee, O my Father, for
the Gofpel of thy beloved Son, which in
this fcene of fuffering compofes and enlivens
my heart, with the certain profpect of a
world where a body ihall be prepared for
me like to Chrift's glorified body, not fubjeft
to weaknefs and pain.
What a motive is this to live contested
and refigned, notwith (landing the daily feel-
ing of my weaknefs !
No,
SICKNESS. 165
No, O my God, I will offer no inconfl-
derate prayer to Thee. I will not alk for
health, but with great lubmifflon to thy will.
Thou wilt always give me what is neceflary
to my true happinefs. It is not for me,
who am ignorant and blind, to prefcribe
what meafure of health is fit for me'.
If I cannot extend the fphere of my ac-
tivity, I will at leaft endeavour, by thy grace,
not to neglect any thing by which I can be
ufeful. Far from me be all impatience and
peevifhnefs. I will endeavour to leffen the
cares of my friends for me, and to exprefs
to them my gratitude for all the concern they
fhew me- The little good I can do I will
do with all the zeal of which I am capable,
Though weak, I am not entirely deftitute of
ftrength ; and in the exertion of my remain-
ing ftrength I lhall not be wholly ufelefs to
the world. Thou requireft from thy crea-
tures no more than Thou enableft them to
perforin. To be what Thou willeft I fhould
be ; to perform what Thou willeft me to
perform ; this is my duty, and my lupreme
felicity.
M 3 O, my
J 66 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
O, my God, let thefe confiderations, fo
full of comfort, be never abfent from my
mind. Let them difpel the darknefs of ad-
verfity, and influence all my fentiments and
a&ions, I {hall then never fink under the
weight of my fufFerings ; I fhall never ceafe,
in the depth of my afflictions, to refpect and
love Thee as the wifeft and the beft of fa-,
thers, and refign myfelf entirely to thy dik
pofai
{ *7 I
AN EXERCISE OF PIETY
Olf THE
DEATH OF FRIENDS.
IT is Thou, great God, who haft united
men together by the clofeft ties. It is Thou
who haft in fuch various ways interwoven
our interefts, our pleafures, and our pains.
Thou haft given us as afliftants, conductors,
guides and fupports to each other. Thou
haft infpired us with fentiments of love for
one another. The tears, therefore, that we
fhed at the death of thofe who were dear to
us, cannot be difpleafmg to Thee. It is thy
will that we mould love them, and thou be-
holdeft thy children with an approving fatis-
faction when, aniwering to thy paternal
views, they live in harmony and tenderly
love each other.
But Thou wouldft have our love to be an
enlightened and rational affe&ion ; that our
efteem and attachment mould be proportioned
M 4 to
1 68 EXERCISES OF PIETV.
to the Beings who are the objects of them,
Thou defigneft that we fhould love that
which is perifhable and mortal as we ought
to love fuch creatures ; that we mould re-
ferve our fupreme love and chief regard for
Thee alone, an eternal and infinite Being,
the only inexhauftible Source of all beauty
and perfection.
The beloved perfons whofe lofs I deplore
were doubtlefs mortal. Taken from duft,
they muft necefTarily return to it again ;
ftrangers upon earth, like myfelf, my parents,
and my brethren, they muft return to their
own country. This is what I ought never
to have forgotten this is what I ought fre-
quently to have repeated to myfelf, even in
the moments when I was tafting the plea-
fures of their friendfhip ; in this manner
fhould I have regulated my attachment, and
have prepared myfelf for a fudden and ine-
vitable feparation from them. So true is it
that if we v/ere more attentive to the pater-
nal leflbns thou dally givtlt us, we mould
have no occafion for inflruction in the fchooi
of affliction and misfortune, which we might
more cafily learn from our own reflections.
The
DEATH OF FRIENDS; 165
The lofs I have lately fuftained is undoubt-
edly painful and afFe&ing. The more inti-
mate and {acred were the ties which united
me to thefe dear friends, the greater
ftrength and confiftence time had given them,
and the more habitual they were become to
me, fo much the more cruelly muft my
heart be torn at the moment the arrow of
death hath juft cut thofe beloved knots
afunder, and the deeper and more painful
will be the wound arifing from them. But
it is thus that all the ties which bind me to
the earth will loofen and break away, that
my pafTage from this world to another may
not be too painful for me. Thofe whom I
cordially loved have only preceded me a few
ffceps. Very foon, perhaps fooner than I
fufpedt, I fhall follow them. Then the days
and the years that I have pafTed in their ab-
fence will appear to me as a fleeting dream,
to which will have fucceeded the luftre of a
beautiful day. Then fhall I foon forget all
the afflictions and all the pains of this fhort
life, and I mall be recompenced by the en-
joyment of a pure and lafting felicity. Then
we fhall find ourfelves reunited with wife
and
170 EXERCISES OF PIETY.
and virtuous men in the aflembly of the jufl
made perfecl in heaven- And if, to render
our felicity compleat, it is neceffary, as I can
fcarcely doubt, that we fhould know again
the perfons whom we here tenderly loved,
and mould enter into new and ciofer rela-
tions, Thou, O heavenly Father, wilt not
deprive us of this fweet fatisfation. Yes,
we mall then advance from one degree of
improvement and felicity to another; and by
imparting to each other, without the fhadow
of jeaioufy and envy, all our knowledge,
our advantages and pleasures, we fhall mul-
tiply them to infinity, and make the enjoy-
ment of them more noble and. delightful.
Thole friends whofe lofs I deplore have
fought the good fight and finifhed their
courle, whilft I am yet obliged to ftruggle
with difficulties here below. They have run
the race and reached the goal, whilft I am
ftill preffing towards it. They now reft
from their labours, and their works have fol-
lowed them. And fhali I not rejoice in their
victory and their rewards, their felicity and
glory ? Can I wifh to fee them re-enter the
lilt, and begin anew their' painful labours
tQ
DEATH OF FRIENDS. j 7 i
to fee them again expofe themfelves to the
dangers and the adverfities of life.
No, dear departed friends ! however I
valued you here, however fenfibly I feel your
lofs, I wifli not to fee you again ftruggling
beneath the burthens of mortality. I hail
your fafe arrival on that bleffed more where
the wicked ceafe from troubling and the weary
are at reft.
Thanks be to Thee, O my God, who art
their Father and mine, that thou haft fuf-
tained them in their combats, conducted
them to the end, and introduced them to the
enjoyments of the juft. But, perhaps, like
a forfaken orphan, I may be apt to confider
myfelf as a folitary individual in the midft of
a tumultuous crowd of joyful, bufy men.
Perhaps I have loft my principal fupport,
my moft generous benefactor, and my faith-
ful guardian and guide. Alas ! it is now
that I moft fenfibly perceive my own weak-
nefs, dependence and infufficiency. It is
now that I groan under the feeling of my
wants ; and every difficulty I experience,
every danger I meet with, now fills me
with fear and terror.
But
i 7 1 EXERCISES OF PIETY,
But am I really fo forfaken and deflituta
of help as I imagine ? How many wife and
virtuous Chriflians are there in the world
who are difpofed to conduct the feeble and
thofe who are deftitute of help ? Am I not,
moreover, unde? the conftant direction of
thy providence, O thou Parent of mankind ?
Canft thou forfake any one of thy children
who flies to Thee for refuge, calls himfelf
into thy bofom, and humbly fubmits to thy
will?
But it is thy wili that I mould exercife my
powers and make greater efforts to improve*
in virtue. It is thy will that, no longer
leaning on the fupport of others, I fhould
walk alone in the journey of life ; that I
fhould be lefs influenced by the example of
Others than by my own principles ; that I
fhould accuftom myfelf to think and act
with more fteadinefs and confiftency, that I
may one day become to my brethren what
thofe perfons, whofe lofs I deplore, were to
mc. Thefe arc the reafons why thou haft'
taken from me thefc fupports and left me to
ayfeJf.
Teach
DEATH OF FRIENDS. n f
Teach me, O Lord, to do and bear thy
will, and to draw inftruction from the ad-
verfities of life.
Are they innocent children, the objects of
my fweeteft hopes, that death hath matched
from me?
Taken from this world in the age of inno~ :
cence to pafs into a more perfect abode, they
are fheltered from the fnares and temptations
of the prefent life ; they have efcaped a
thoufand evils and a thoufand dangers ; and
Thou wilt not fail to realize the hopes which
they have raifed by their natural difpoiitions,
and by the excellent faculties with which
Thou haft endowed them. Yes, Thou art
their true Father, and wilt advance them
much better than I could poffibly do. Thou
wilt conduct them with much more eafe
and fafety to the end of their exiftence
than the wifeft and bell of earthly parents
could.
Is it the friend, the confident of my
heart, whole death I lament ? But was he
not at the fame time, and much more, the
friend of God, and the friend of all wife
and good men ? And mull not death have
extended
^74 EXERCISES OF PIEf Y;
extended the fphere of his activity, ennobled
his fentiments, and augmented his happinefs ?
What a profpect for every one who is capa-
ble of a generous difinterefted friendfhip !
Moreover, is not all friendfhip, founded
in truth and virtue, in its own natiure inv*
mortal ? Is it not as immortal as truth and
virtue ? In feparating virtuous friends death
only purifies and exalts their friendfhip* Like
a tree tranfplanted into a more fertile foil and
milder climate, it fhall flourifh again beyond
the tomb and bear immortal fruit.
When I moiften with my tears the grave
of my friends, it is not for them but for
myfelf I weep. It is only their bodies that
lie in the tomb. Their immortal fouls are
returned to their Greator and their Father*
Nothing that was great and good, and amia-
ble in them nothing that excited my efteem
and love for them is perimed* Their fouls
continue to think, and think with greater
freedom and juftnefs than ever. Their incli-
nations and fentiments are the fame, except-
ing that they are more and more exalted and
refined. Even to me their moft excellent
qualities are not loft. Often will I recal to
4 mind
DEATH OK FRIENDS. 175"
mind their precepts, their examples, their
exhortations and advice, and from thence
derive wifdom and inftruction. Their image,,
deeply impreffed on my heart, mail be often
prefent to me ; fometimes kindly to reprove
me for my faults, and at others to encourage
me in virtue. Poflibly in a future life they
fhall again be my inftructors and my guides,
and inflate me in the important and rejoicing
employments which await me in the heavens.
Yes, O my God, the friends of my heart
belonged tq v Thee, and they will be eternally
thine. Thou gaveft them to me, Thou haft
taken them from me, and bleffed be thy
Name,
FINIS.
LATELY PUBLISHED,
And Sold Ij J. John - son, St. Paul's Church-Yard*
x. A Sketch of the Life and Writings of the Reverend
Micaiah Towcoob.
By JAMES MANNING.
2. A SERMON,
Preached at Exeter on the late Faft, with the Devotional
Services of the Day.
( Publifhed at the Requefl of the Audience. )
By the Same.
3. A SERMON,
Delivered before an AfTembly of Minifters at the Opening
the New Meeting at Bridport, and publifhed at their
Requefl. Second Edition.
Bv the Same.
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