evils of ignorance and persecuting zeal, as in the days of the apostles; are made the instruments of propagating from country to country, the glad tidingsof the gospel, and of conferring upon the most barbarous nations, not only the sublime hopes of a happy futurity, but the blessings of moral and social order.

OF HAPPINESS OR THE CHIEF GOOD.

Happiness is the goal to which every one is hastening-; but alas; how few arrive at it-it is the Deity which claims universal homage; but most men are deceived by phantoms of innumerable hues and forms, which flit before the imagination, and are to be met with in every road of life, having the garb and aspect of pleasure-their entertainments are various, according to the passions of men-but after having been pursued with avidity, and embraced as the supreme good; they all leave a sting behind them, called disappointment-These spectres delude the human species by a power which they possess, of entering at pleasure, into the secret chambers of each man's imagery; and from the actual knowledge of the idol he adores, can assume the exact form and colour that will catch his affections-Perhaps we may be mistaken in supposing, that a plurality of spectres, are concerned in the performance of this comic-tragedyThe powers of transformation vested in a single phantom, might mislead creatures of our limited knowledge, into

this error-One mighty spirit of error and delusion, may possibly pervade this world of mind and matter; and although diversified in its appearances, its object may be one-to retain men in their native ignorance of the chief good; and to this end it is necessary, that the spectre should perpetually allure them to the streams of temporary pleasure-that if possible, their access to the fountain of eternal safety and delight, may be prevented, until they are finally plunged in the ocean of eternal sorrow for this spirit of delusion (which has long since presumed to erect itself into an independent Deity) is not ignorant, that supernatural light, once breaking in with its genuine refulgence upon the soul of man, discovers to the view, and renders hateful and ridiculous its multiplied impostures-and hence to use a common metaphor in conversation, no stone is left unturned by it, to divert man from the improvement of his nature; by representing to him as the supreme good-temporary and short lived pleasures.

To this end it will sometimes start into the form of a magnificent building, and will take the owner's humility in return-at others it will assume that of a Venus or Adonis; and by these instruments, will rob the victims of its seduction, of their reason and their peace-To the avaricious, it will condescend to appear in the form of a little ore beautifully molded; and by a strange sort of enchantment, will strip them of benevolence, and the power of doing good-To the votaries of Bacchus, she appears in the sparkling bowl, and with cheeks of vermillion, and a fascinating smile, invites them to drive

away sorrow, until having stolen from the dupes of her cunning, the power of governing their actions, she leads them to the stew; and when there, robs them of their money and their health; and they are particularly favoured, if they escape with life, to repent of their credulity.

In the lower walks of life, the spectre will stoop to entertain the imagination of the village Belle, in the variegated hues of a ribband; and even the clown is not unnoticed nor unamused by its vagaries

The devotee will thank God, that it has not yet approached the walls of the sanctuary; but let him not be overhasty in his conclusion-for not to mention the numbers who go there to see, and to be seen only; whose obvious conduct manifest how chearful and happy they are in the service of this demon; matter of fact obliges us to acknowledge, that thousands bow down to it with the most heartfelt devotion, while it stands before them in the pomp of heathenish worship; in the insifignicant forms of an antiquated relique-a cup of holy water-a string of holy stones---a bundle of holy bones---a suit of holy vestments,---and above all---the bodies of the holy men inside of them---as if all which the Almighty had created, and which his Son had redeemed, were not good in their place, without the finishing stroke of these supernumerary gods---monstrous powers! poor sinners would indeed look up to you with incalculable reverence; if they did not perceive without the help of a telescope, that you are sinners like themselves! -But in the decent and reformed sanctuaries, where this pageantry

is done away; you will say that here at least the dæmon of delusion has found no footing---Ah my reformed brethren, I fear the phantom will lead me a chace through your church on yonder hill, to the still more purified meeting-house below it in the valley-nothing. but grace can keep it out---for close your doors with ever so much caution, and it will not even ask the key hole for a passage---One cannot always tell how it enters, consistent with the doctrine: "There is no devil"---but truth obliges us to confess our belief, that even when the sons of God meet together, whether in the synagogue or the social party, the phantom of delusion will sometimes mix with them, in spite of all their caution; and travelling up the aisle in company with the foremost members, will seat itself on " the chief seats in the syna. gogues," and will engross to itself, "the uppermost rooms at feasts"---the pleasure which these distinguished members will derive, from the dancings of the phantom, in the various forms of posts of honour, "chief seats, and uppermost rooms," is better felt than expressed---but the misfortune is, that it is seldom of long continuance ! for some Mordecai at the temple gate, may chance to break the charm; or if the honored member gets home with his reverie unbroken---the news of a daughter, who has ran off with her father's footman; of a favourite child, who has been taken suddenly ill; of a ship at sea, which has been lost; or even a much slighter misfortune, may break the fascinating charm; and the man who ten minutes before, was exalted like a demi-god in the chief seat of the assembly, stands aghast with his mouth open;

his wig upon the floor; his eyes staring! and the broken links of his delusion in scattered fragments about his feet! blessed heaven, how metamorphosed! the saint has lost his seeses, and stands on the floor of his own house, a living proof of the short lived existence of all worldly glory! he brings to my recollection a passage in that book which never deceived any; "Yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but also heaven!" What, is heaven itself to be thus tumbled about our heels? and are its sons after having made the clouds their chariot, to be hurled from their exalted post, among the common mass of their fellow reptiles, to be employed with them in the labors of the field, to suffer with them the pains of mortality, and to receive for their wages the food of dogs and oxen, in exchange for the exhilerating nectar of the Gods? yes, this degradation is sometimes their portion, to shew them the uncertainty and short lived nature of all human happiness; and to prepare them by true humility, for the enjoyment of a crown, where the highest glory will be derived from the deepest, abasement, and where the presence of the Deity in his temple, will put to flight the spectres of false pleasure, having eradi. cated its perishable foundations, and established the building upon HimselfThen, and not till then, will the peace of God flow through man" as a river, and his righteousness as the waves of the sea"-Then and not till then, will he know, what the "chief good" meaneth-then and not till then, from his own experience, can he resolve the doubts of heathen philosophers on this subject-doubts, which in their own age were