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influence the heart in all its movements.. The head of man may be stored with learning and knowledge, may be able to accomplish works of skill and judgment, may be competent to advise even in cases of difficulty and danger, yet if the heart be not right within him, every temporal qualification will be of no avail. Too frequently does human life afford instances of this truth; too frequently are wit and wisdom, for want of this support, buried in one common ruin.

But the heart which possesses goodness, possesses all that this world can bestow. An explanation of the word cannot be given, it must be felt. By religion only, such as that word expresses, can that sweet peace, the consequence of well directed inclinations, be acquired, by religion only can it be enjoyed; not that religion which is to be found in forms and ceremonies, however effectual they may be in promoting this excellent end, but that which mixes itself with every thought and action, and becomes the reigning passion of the soul.

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N° XVII.

Effects of Religion in subduing the irregular Inclinations.

They sat them down to weep, nor only tears
Rain'd at their eyes, but high winds worse within
Began to rise, high passions, anger, hate,,
Mistrust, suspicion, discord, and shook sore
Their inward state of mind; calin region once
And full of peace, now tost and turbulent -

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MILTON.

Às no man, for recreation, would prefer a walk in a tempest to the enjoyment of a serene evening and a placid sky, so it is reasonable to imagine, that no one would willingly encounter the turbulence of irregular appetites and inclinations, in preference to the calm sensations, and tranquil pleasures of religious virtue, If we consider the nature of man as delineated by revelation, we shall find that he is not now what he once was. The region which he

once

once inhabited was calm and full of peace; now, alas! to suit the purposes of his present condition, it is tost and turbulent: The passions which flowed gently forward, and were originally intended to promote the happiness of man, are now violently agitated, and in a thousand instances are the parents of misery. But let not the perversion of these natural inclinations lead to a distrust of the divine benevolence. Blind though we are to numerous appearances both in the natural and moral world, ignorant of many. circumstances which puzzle and perplex us, here we do not want an interpreter. We cannot but know, that an attempt to conquer the malignant passions, through the divine grace, will be attended with success, and consequently rewarded by Him who hath thus wonderfully constructed the human heart.

This being the acknowledged state of human life, our next inquiry is, how this conquest must be atchieved? Ask the philosopher of modern days; he coldly refers you to reason. But experience shews us the weakness of reason in combating the pas sions.

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sions. If reason then cannot obtain the victory, what is his next resort? He plunges into all the mazes of inevitable necessity, and leaves the question to the next sceptic that will take it up. How much more genial, how much more satisfactory would all his reflections have been, had he turned to those pages where a merciful God unlocks his treasures, and, in the person of perfect innocence and virtue, exhibits the purest pattern of unruffled temper and subdued inclinations! "Learn of me," says Christ, for I am meek and lowly in heart, "and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Rest unto your souls! the very expression animates our endeavours: we are driven forward by an irresistible impulse to seek that state of tranquillity and peace. Christ in his human nature found it, and it was the great end of his appearance amongst men to recommend it to the world. He did not send his hearers, for this important knowledge, to search the records of past ages, or to investigate the reasoning faculties of man; these, he knew, were fallacious interpreters of the divine will. But he directs

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them to the study of the heart; he offers himself for their imitation, not in the vainglorious language of a self-taught philosopher, but in the spirit of lowliness and meekness, the true characteristics of the religion which he was then presenting to mankind.

As the passions are so intimately connected with the nature of man, and indeed are radically implanted in his breast, the direction of them, according to the original intentions of Providence, must necessarily form his perpetual and important employ ment. Negligence in this respect cannot but be fatal. It is like turning loose the untamed and ferocious animals of the desart, and spreading ruin and desolation on every side. But the subjugation of these turbulent appetites, as far as respects human enjoyment, in some measure rewards itself; and, which is of still greater importance, produces that happy disposition of mind which anticipates the blessedness of heaven.

Many a treatise on the passions, laboured with all the energy of reason, has been offered to the world; and no wonder; for

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