firmness, and justice, with candour and clemency in his public conduct; to manifest a disinterested impartial spirit; to be the patron of the poor, the oppressed, and the friendless; without respecting the persons, or fearing the unmerited displeasure of the rich and powerful; and to cleave to what is right, without warping, even when his conduct excites the censures and clamours of an ill-judging multitude. His principles will influence him "to love righteousness and hate iniquity;" to promote to the utmost the peace of nations, the good order of the community, and the temporal advantage of all ranks of men in it. But they will also

dispose him to render all this subservient to still more important purposes; and to aim "to adorn" and recommend "the doctrine of God our Saviour;" to soften men's prejudices, and silence their clamours, and to win their attention to it by making them feel its benign effects. He will not indeed attempt to compel any man to assent to his creed, or conform to his mode of worship; for this can only make hypocrites: but many things may be done by those in authority, to promote religion, consistent with the most complete toleration. They may very properly repress, by the power of the magistrate, various kinds of vice and impiety, and endeavour to exterminate the seminaries and haunts of profligacy and villany, and the schools of blasphemy and profaneness: they may furnish the endowed seats of learning with teachers of sound principles and good morals; and countenance every reasonable plan for the good education of youth, and especially for instructing the children of the poor: they may protect from insults, and liberate from restraints, such ministers of the gospel "as labour in the word and doctrine," and favour their being placed in extensively useful situations: they may select young persons, who give hopeful evidences of piety and

ability, and assist them in obtaining that learning from which their circumstances excluded them: they may render the admission into the ministry open to able, conscientious men, and close it against the vicious, the ignorant, and the mercenary: they may show a decided regard to upright, diligent, and pious ministers, who differ from them in some forms or sentiments, and a marked disapprobation of the negligent and profligate, who pretend to be of their judgment. Thus authority may be improved as a talent, in promoting the cause of truth and piety; in the religious instruction of the people at large; in preventing the effects of the indolence, carelessness, ignorance, and vice of those who ought to instruct them; and in countenancing such as would do all in their power for this purpose. Books may also be dispersed, and multitudes taught to read; the attendance on divine worship may be encouraged, and every thing discountenanced that tends to keep men from it; prisons, workhouses, hospitals, the army, the navy, &c. may be supplied with diligent, able, and pious teachers; and various societies and plans may be formed, and adopted, to promote this great end, by rulers and magistrates who are zealous for the honour of Christ, and the interests of pure and undefiled religion: and yet every man may be allowed to worship God according to his conscience; and care also taken not to allure mercenary men to an unprincipled conformity. Thus the pious rulers of Judah, according to the dispensation under which they lived, restrained vice and idolatry, and supported the worship of Jehovah, from Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and David, even to Nehemiah; and true religion uniformly flourished in proportion to their prudent and pious endeavours. Nor would it be easy to assign a reason, why the same talent may not be improved to similar purposes by Christian rulers,

according to the genius of the new dispensation; except it be thought, that because many have abused it by intolerance and tyranny, all the rest ought to bury it in the earth-a conclusion well suited to the lukewarm indifference which in this age hath succeeded to fiery zeal and cruel bigotry, and assumed the dignified name of moderation! But all judicious Christians will, nevertheless, continue to beseech the Lord to make all kings and rulers like Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah, that they may be "nursing fathers to the church;" and neither spare pains nor expense to disperse the knowledge of God's word by able, faithful men, through whole nations (2 Chron. xvii. 710; xxix.-xxxii.; Neh. viii.). But let this suffice on a subject, coincident indeed with the plan, but in some respects, perhaps, out of the sphere of these Essays.

II. Natural abilities, and acquired knowledge, constitute a talent of great importance, as they confer a distinguished reputation, and as they qualify a man to propagate with effect whatever principles he adopts. Nor is there any essential difference, in this respect, between the more solid and the more showy kinds of genius and accomplishment, for each gives a proportionable degree of influence in different circles. Philosophers, poets, orators, historians, and other learned and ingenious men, possess a peculiar advantage for giving a good or bad bias to the sentiments and conduct of mankind; though less ability will enable a man to do extensive mischief than is requisite for enlarged usefulness; because our fallen nature powerfully inclines to that side. But, alas! it has been abundantly proved, that far more abuse such distinguished talents, than make even a tolerable improvement of them; and the fatal success with which the deformity of vice, and the unreasonableness of impiety and infidelity, have

been varnished over, by vain reasonings, ingenious misrepresentations, and empty declamations, set off with all the charms of style and the authority of deep erudition; and in which the violations of God's law, the neglect of his worship, and the contempt of his gospel, have been disseminated by men of genius and learning, in books of all kinds and on all subjects, can never be sufficiently lamented. Nor has superior eminence in painting, sculpture, or other elegant arts; and the charms of engaging conversation; or the fascinating powers of music; or the talent for fine speaking, or that for theatric imitations of natural and real life, been less fatally abused. If then every one must give an account to God for the use he makes of his natural and acquired endowments, and for the consequences of all his actions; such as have employed "talents angel-bright," during their whole lives, in doing the work of fallen angels, by poisoning the principles, and corrupting the morals of whole nations and of successive ages, will one day receive a dreadful recompense for those works which have given them the most flattering celebrity among their ill-judged fellow mortals! But a man may employ such endowments in a comparatively inoffensive manner, and yet fall very short of improving his talents. He may so yield to indolence, diffidence, and love of retirement, or be so incapable of coming up to the standard of excellency which he hath fixed for himself, that he may totally slip his opportunity of usefulness, waste the day of life in doing nothing to any purpose, live plausibly to himself, and, instead of “occupying with his Lord's money," or even "giving it to the exchangers," he may "hide it in a napkin," and "bury it in the earth." We may not indeed conclude, that all who are reprehensible in this way are "wicked and slothful servants" in their whole character; yet our Lord's language on this

subject, and the examples of those who on a deathbed have mourned over the opportunities of usefulness which were then for ever gone, should teach every disciple to "be diligent while the day lasteth, and before the night cometh, in which no man can work."

But evangelical principles will influence the consistent believer, whilst he is careful not to overrate his talents, seriously to inquire what advantages they give him for glorifying God and doing good; and to endeavour to avail himself of them, without yielding to inactivity, depsondency, fear of difficulties, or regard to the praise of men. A person of this character, who is held in estimation for learning or genius, may be very useful, even by sanctioning with his decided approbation the faithful ministers of Christ; by recommending useful publications; and by professing and pleading for the doctrines of genuine Christianity, answering objections to them, and stating them in a clear and scriptural manner. His character will introduce him to numbers from whom his undistinguished brethren are excluded; and give him a sphere of activity, in which he may subserve the temporal interests of mankind: and his principles will influence him to improve these advantages with prudent zeal, to recommend the gospel to them. As books written by ministers of religion are read with an absurd prejudice, (for who objects to a treatise on medicine, because it was written by an eminent practitioner of physic?) so the learned and ingenious may do good service, by a testimony from the press to the truths of religion, which will not have this prejudice to encounter: and the poor especially will be exceedingly prepossessed in favour of such plain tracts as men of this character condescend to write and disperse among them. Nor can superior talents be better employed than in recommending those things that "angels desire to look