SERMON XI.

THE PLEASANTNESS OF RELIGION.

PART II.

PROVERBS iii. 17.

HER WAYS ARE WAYS OF PLEASANTNESS, Aand all her PATHS

ARE PEACE.

It was proposed,

II. To evince the truth of the assertion contained in the text, as thus defined and explained.

That a life of religion is a life of pleasure, may be argued from the character of God; from the express declarations of His word; from the testimony of His people; from the beneficial influence of true religion on the innocent enjoyments of life in general; and from the nature of religion itself, which necessarily implies and creates new pleasures peculiarly and exclusively its own.

1. From the character of God.-Religion may be considered, in relation to God, under two distinct views:-as a solemn choosing of Him for our portion and chief good; and as a grateful and diligent employment of all our powers in His service. Consider it as a solemn and deliberate choosing of God for our portion; and then pronounce whether he who has Jehovah for his portion can be otherwise than happy. Do men find, in the enjoyment of worldly things, that which pleases and delights them; and are there no enjoyments for holy souls in Him who is the well of life, and the source of all pleasure? Is there sweetness in the creatures, and none in the Creator? If

even the distant streams afford some kind of refreshment and satisfaction, must not the Fountain from which they flow much more abound with blessing? Where is fulness of joy to be expected, if not in the all-sufficient God? And by whom is it to be obtained, if not by those to whom He imparts not only His gifts, but Himself? Nor is His disposition to make good men happy less evident from His character and perfections, than His ability. Consider religion as consisting in the service of God,-in a cheerful devotedness to His work and will. And is He a hard master, slow to acknowledge and reward labours of love performed for His name's sake? Does Satan reward his vassals with "the pleasures of sin for a season," and will our Master and King withhold from His subjects the present tokens of His favour and approbation? No! He is "the righteous Lord" that "loveth righteousness;" and "His countenance doth behold the upright." "The Lord taketh pleasure in His people," and sees to it that they shall not serve Him for nought. He will not leave any of His faithful servants to complain that it was better with them while they were employed in Satan's work than now, or tempt them to look back with regret on the vanities of the world which they have for His sake abandoned. Their "goodness," indeed, "extendeth not to Him;" but His shall not on that account be withheld from them. His heart is set upon them, and rejoices over them to do them good. On these grounds we are authorized to assert the pleasantness of religion. They who have God for their portion must in Him inherit all good things. They who serve such a Master cannot have to complain of any failure on His part to provide for their comfort and satisfaction.

"If there's a Power above,

(And that there is, all nature cries aloud

Through all her works,) He must delight in virtue;

And that which He delights in must be happy."

2. From the declarations of the word of God.-The infallible

* Addison.

oracles assure us that "light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart ;"-that those are eminently "blessed," or happy, who are "undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord;" who "keep His testimonies, and seek Him with the whole heart;" who "also do no iniquity," who "walk in His ways;"-that "they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of His house," and that He "shall make them drink of the river of His pleasures;" -that God "will clothe His priests with salvation," and make His "saints shout aloud for joy ;"-that "the righteous" should "be glad;" that they should "rejoice before God;" yea, that they should "exceedingly rejoice;"—that it is their privilege "with joy" to "draw water out of the wells of salvation ;"—that "the fruit of the Spirit is joy;" that "the kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Ghost;"-and, finally, that "whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." It is impossible to credit these assertions without being convinced that the ways of piety are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

3. From the testimony of the people of God.-These in all ages have been God's witnesses; and they unanimously set to their seal that He is true. They all attest that their happiness is in proportion to their purity; that when they are most holy, they have most enjoyment; that God is truly good to Israel, and His lovingkindness is better than life. "Thou hast put gladness in my heart," cries David, "more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased." "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom," exclaims Habakkuk, "neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." The primitive Christians, though "sorrowful," were "alway rejoicing;" yea, St. Peter asserts that they "rejoiced with

joy unspeakable, and full of glory." Christians, in all successive periods, of all ranks and conditions in life, and in all the vicissitudes to which human existence is liable, have spoken the same language, and borne the same testimony. That of the celebrated Colonel Gardiner is very impressive, and may serve to show that religion has not lost, by length of years, her power of conferring happiness; that the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and the joys of piety, were not confined to saints of ancient times; that the ways of godliness are still pleasant, yesterday, to-day, and for ever the same to those who zealously and steadily walk in them. Upon the Colonel's return to England, after his remarkable conversion to God, he contrived to meet a large party of his former companions at the table of a nobleman who was his friend; and, as soon as the cloth was removed, he begged their patience for a few minutes, while he plainly and seriously told them what notions he now entertained of religion, and on what considerations he had resolved to make it the care and business of his life. And he failed not, among other things, to bear testimony, from his own experience, that, after having run, as they knew, the widest round of sensual pleasure, he had never tasted anything that deserved to be called happiness till he made religion his refuge and his delight. He testified, calmly and boldly, the habitual serenity and peace which he now felt in his breast, and the composure and pleasure with which he looked forward to objects which the gayest sinner must acknowledge to be equally unavoidable and dreadful.* I doubt not that from among yourselves also a cloud of witnesses might be easily produced. And what can the adversaries of truth and piety say to these things? Such testimonies as those to which allusion has been made would be readily pronounced decisive and final in any other case. If adduced to prove any matter of fact in common life, they would, at any tribunal, be held sufficient, and more than sufficient. Why, then, are they not allowed their proper weight and influence in this case? It is

* Abridged from Dr. Doddridge's narrative.

mere trifling to seek to get rid of them by ascribing them to enthusiasm, or to the force of imagination. This is shifting the question, instead of answering it; evading a difficulty that cannot be rationally solved. We are not now speaking of the truth of religion, (which is to be defended on other grounds,— grounds on which we are not afraid to meet any man,) but of its pleasantness. We bring credible witnesses to attest that in their own experience religion is actually productive of solid pleasures. To say that these men are enthusiasts, is to allow the fact which they assert to be as they assert it. True, you attempt to account for this fact in a different way but still the fact itself is conceded; your very objection implies that you cannot contest its reality. Religion, you are forced to grant, does make its possessors happy. If that happiness be founded on mistake, still it renders their lot in the present world far better and more comfortable than that of others; and their condition in another world, we may at least affirm, will not be rendered worse by their superior felicity in this.

4. From the beneficial influence of religion on the natural and innocent gratifications of life in general:-for godliness prohibits not the moderate enjoyment of any pleasures which are consistent with a good conscience. The Christian is permitted, in common with mankind at large, to drink of the cup which the bounty of an indulgent Providence offers. So far from commanding him to dash that cup to the ground, religion infusès into it an additional and peculiar sweetness, which none but he can taste. Instead of destroying those agreeable perceptions which are common to man, she rather improves and exalts, multiplies and prolongs, purifies and refines them. Do men derive pleasure and entertainment from the contemplation of what is grand and beautiful in nature? The Christian in this respect has the advantage over all others. The wonders which he beholds are the means of raising his heart to God, the great First Cause of all; so that he not only experiences the emotions of admiration and pleasing astonishment of which men in general are conscious, but derives from