II. When in the fultry glebe I faint, III. Tho' in the paths of death I tread, IV. Tho' in a bare and rugged way, SECT. SECT. IV. The WORSHIP of God. Religentem effe oportet, Religiofum nefas. Tis of the last importance to season tion, which feldom dies in a mind that has received an early tincture of it. Though it may feem extinguished for a while by the cares of the world, the heats of youth, or the allurements of vice, it generally breaks out and dif covers itself again as foon as difcretion, confideration, age, or misfortunes have brought the man to himself. The fire may be covered and overlaid, but cannot be entirely quenched and fmothered. A ftate of temperance, fobriety, and juftice, without devotion, is a cold, lifelefs, lefs, infipid condition of virtue; and is rather to be ftyled Philosophy than Religion. Devotion opens the mind to great conceptions, and fills it with more fublime ideas than any that are to be met with in the most exalted fcience; and at the fame time warms and agitates the Soul more than fenfual pleasure. It has been observed by fome writers, that man is more diftinguished from the animal world by Devotion than by Reafon, as feveral brute creatures discover in their actions fomething like a faint glimmering of reafon, though they betray in no fingle circumftance of their behaviour any thing that bears the least affinity to devotion. It is certain, the propenfity of the mind to religious worfhip, the natural tendency of the foul to fly to fome fuperior Being for fuccour in dangers and diftreffes, the gratitude to an invisible Superintendent which arifes in us upon receiving any extraordinary and unexpected good fortune, the acts of love and admiration with which the thoughts of men are fo wonderfully tranfported in meditating upon the Divine Perfections, and the universal concurrence of all the nations under heaven in the the great article of adoration, plainly fhew that devotion or religious worship must be the effect of a tradition from some first founder of mankind, or that it is conformable to the natural light of reafon, or that it proceeds from an inftinct implanted in the foul itself. For my part, I look upon all these to be the concurrent caufes, but which ever of them fhall be affigned as the principle of Divine Worship, it manifeftly points to a Supreme Being as the first author of it. I may take fome other opportunity of confidering thofe particular forms and methods of devotion which are taught us by Christianity; but fhall here obferve into what errors even this Divine Principle may fometimes lead us, when it is not moderated by that right reafon which was given us as the guide of all our actions. The two great errors into which a miftaken devotion may betray us, are Enthufiafim and Superstition. There is not a more melancholy object than a man who has his head turned with religious enthusiasm. A person that is crazed, tho' with pride or malice, is a fight a fight very mortifying to human nature; but when the diftemper arifes from any indifcreet fervors of devotion, or too intense an application of the mind to its miftaken duties, it deferves our compaffion in a more particular manner. We may however learn this leffon from it, that fince devotion itself (which one would be apt to think could not be too warm) may disorder the mind, unless its heats are tempered with caution and prudence, we should be particularly careful to keep our reafon as cool as poffible, and to guard ourselves in all parts of life against the influence of paffion, imagination, and conftitution. Devotion, when it does not lie under the check of reafon, is very apt to degenerate into Enthusiasm. When the mind finds herself very much inflamed with her devotions, fhe is too much inclined to think they are not of her own kindling, but blown up with fomething Divine within her. If the indulges this thought too far, and humours the growing paffion, she at laft flings herself into imaginary raptures and ecftafies ; and when once the fancies herself under the influence of a Divine Impulfe, it is no wonder |
