BOOK IV.

RELIGION.

OF DIVINE LAWS AND THEIR SANCTION.

CHAPTER I.

NATURAL RELIGION.

566. THE Moral State and Moral Progress of each man are maintained by his conviction of certain Truths which are the foundations of Morality; and among these Truths, one of the most important is this that the course of action which is his Duty, is also his Happiness, when considered with reference to the whole of his being (546). This conviction, men for the most part derive from Religion; that is, from their belief respecting God, and his government of Man. We believe God to be the Governor of Man, as a moral being (93). The Moral Law is his Command; Conscience is his voice; He sees and knows all the internal actions of which we ourselves are conscious; He possesses an unbounded power to determine the Happiness or Misery of every one of us; He exercises this power so as to give a sanction to his Laws; appointing misery as the punishment of transgressions, and making a conformity to his Laws lead us to Happiness; which Hap. piness will continue in another life when this life is past.

This is Natural Religion; but further, as we have seen (357), we require to be taught by Religion how, when we have transgressed, Repentance and Amendment can avail, as a remedy for the sin committed ; how they can restore the health of man's moral life, and avert from man's condition and destination the consequences of sin. We also (367) require from Religion the hope of some power, in addition to the ordinary powers of our own minds, which is to be exercised upon us, in order to enlighten and instruct our conscience, and to carry on our moral progress. These requirements are responded to by Revealed Religion.

567. The belief which constitutes Natural Religion, takes possession of men's minds, in the course of their intellectual and moral progress. The idea of God is unfolded and fixed, and the points of belief which we have stated, are established, by the intellectual and moral culture of the mind. The steps of thought, which lead to these points of belief, may be different in different minds, according to the course which their intellectual and moral culture takes. In the mode of arriving at a belief in God, and in his moral government, the procedure of one mind is not a rule for other minds. To some persons, the Truths of Natural Religion may seem to be self-evident; to other persons, they may becomie more evident, when connected by various steps of analogy and reasoning. We shall state some of the reasonings respecting God and his Government, which may prove the doctrines we have stated, to the satisfaction of those persons who require proofs

of them.

We proceed with these reasonings.

568. From the existence of the world, we ne cessarily infer the existence of a Supreme Being, who is the Cause of the world's existence. The Assemblage of things and events which we describe

by the abstract term Nature, directs us to a belief in an Author of Nature. Everything and every. event must have a Cause; that Cause again must have its Cause, and so on. But this Series must terminate there must be a First Cause. This Supreme Being, this Author of Nature, this First Cause, is God; the Creator of the World and of all that it contains, including Man.

569. But further; in many things which exist, and in many events which take place in the world, we see irresistible evidence, not only of a Cause, but of a Final Cause. We discern an End, an Intention, of the Creator of the world.

Things are constructed so as to answer a Purpose, and we cannot help believing that they were intended to answer this Purpose. The eyes are made so that we can see; and on examining their structure, we are irresistibly led to believe that they were made in order that we might see. In the same way by an examination of the structure of man's body, we are led to believe that the muscles were made in order to move the limbs; and that the nerves were made, among other purposes, in order to excite the muscles to action.

That we see with our eyes; that the nerves excite the muscles, and the muscles move the limbs ;these are Laws of our Nature. But these Laws indicate the Intention of the Author of Nature. They are his Laws; the manifestation of his Purpose; the expression of his Will.

570. The Structure of our Minds, as well as of our bodies, is the work of God the Creator. Our Appetites, Desires, Affections, Reason, are given to us by him, as well as our Organs, Muscles, Nerves, Brain. And in the structure of our minds, as in that of our bodies, the faculties were assigned with intention and purpose. It was intended that Appetite should operate for the preservation of the individual; that the Affections should collect men into

Families and Societies; that the Reason should di rect and control both the Appetites and the Affections; that the Sentiments of Approbation and Disapprobation should aid the Reason in this office. It was intended, for instance, that Shame should prevent our doing shameful actions.

571. Further; in virtue of his Reason, man seeks objects, as Means to Ends. We cannot believe otherwise than that it was intended, by his Creator, that he should do this; and should conform to Rules of action, derived from his doing this (18). It was intended, therefore, that he should conform to the Supreme Rule of Action; which is a necessary condition of these subordinate Rules (72). Consequently, this Supreme Rule of Action, namely the Moral Law, is the Law intended for him by his Creator. The Moral Law is the Law of God, and the Will of God.

572. The Moral Law is expressed by means of certain Moral Ideas, namely, Benevolence, Justice, Truth, Purity, and Order (232). These Ideas, therefore, express the Will of God, with regard to human actions. These Ideas were given to man, in order that he might, by them, direct his Actions. And when man frames his internal Standard of Action, his Conscience, in conformity with these Ideas, his internal Standard represents the Will of God; and his Conscience may be considered as the Voice of God (371).

573. But again; human action may be contemplated, not only as governed by Rules, successively subordinate to each other, and ultimately, by a Supreme Rule; but also, as directed to objects successively subordinate to each other, and ultimately to a Supreme Object (73).

The Supreme Object of human action is Happiness. Happiness is the object of human action contemplated in its most general form, and approved by Reason (544).