at are directly encountered in the course of its pages; and with respect to others, which are not so formally brought into view, there are principles discussed with peculiar clearness and force of conviction, which are well calculated to destroy their influence, and put an end to their flimsiness and folly. The work, in fact, may be regarded as disclosing what we may call the philosophy of religious affections; demonstrating the reality of Christian experience from the principles of the Bible, combined with established facts in the history of man; vindicating its phenomena from the charge of enthusiasm, and showing their most entire accordance with the soundest dictates of moral science thus teaching the Christian to think with vigour and accuracy, and inspiring him with the animating consciousness, in despite of the quibbles of infidelity, that in yielding up his heart to the sorrows and joys, the solicitudes and solacements of a religious life, he is but complying with the responsibilities of his nature, as placed under a dispensation of the grace of God. This is achieved in a style so masterly, that had the volume no other use, it might be regarded, on this ground alone, as of the highest importance; for the practice of exhibiting the philosophy of our nature, and the culture of revealed religion, as so much at variance, that the man who embraces the one is bound in consistency to abandon the other, has done incalculable injury, both to revelation itself, as a system of saving belief, and to a most interesting class of jealous inquirers, to whom it is offered for salvation. It is painful to think, that a practice so irrational has been too often countenanced by the friends of religion, as well as exemplified by

its foes. But of all men on earth, the Christian is the last who ought to look shy on the philosophy of morals; for in proportion as its genuine dictates are sought out, and defined, and multiplied, will they be found, not merely to tally with Christianity, but powerfully to support its essential principles, to the overthrow of infidelity, whether practical or speculative, and the establishment of " the kingdom of heaven" on the ruins of its hollow pretences. This department of science, no doubt, has been wofully mismanaged, and thus made to war against Christianity, although its just and natural ally; but for that very reason, instead of being disowned, it ought to be cherished and rescued: for men are born to be moral philosophers; we find that they are so in all ranks or conditions of society, whether barbarous or civilized, and if they are not taught to consecrate the subject to the interests of true religion, they will infallibly abuse it.

A more immediate tendency of this volume, is not merely to establish the Christian in the doctrines of his belief, but to teach him the sacred art of digesting doctrine into the nourishment of piety. With great force of practical argument, and instructive variety of illustration, does the Author call upon his reader to watch over the state of his heart, to scrutinize his religious attainments, to guard against deception in so momentous a concern, and to preserve the characteristics of decided scriptural piety habitually before his mind. These are things which give to the volume a standing importance at all times, and in all circumstances; but there are considerations, which render the re-appearance of it in our

The

times peculiarly seasonable. Whatever may be said of our liberality, or bustling public spirit, or whatever be the amount of sound and vital principle which is giving stimulus to our zeal, it cannot be concealed, that to a great extent we are a careless generation, engrossed with externals, and but little accustomed to look into our hearts. In the In the very aspect which the Christian world has now assumed, there is something to be dreaded, as well as something to be extolled. We are laudably active in doing good, on the arena of public benevolence; but just because we are so, is there danger of mistaking the pleasures of social effort for the emotions of Christian love; and to such a state of things there is something, nay, there is very much, in this searching performance, which is fitted to be a seasonable antidote. man who is constrained to be much in society, and has but little leisure for talking with his heart, will find it an excellent preservative from the snares of his situation. Besides, there are symptoms that religion is reviving among the children of our people. "The day-spring from on high" is visiting us afresh, in several places of the land. If these appearances increase, as we trust in God they will, we may reckon on it, that now, as formerly, they will be mingled in their progress with errors and excesses, which disturb the operation of gracious principle, and prove a cause of sorrow to every ingenuous Christian heart. But this very Treatise was written at a season of great religious, excitement, which was accompanied with many excesses in the Author's native country. It was the production of such a season on the scene of his pastoral labours in a far distant region,—it was

blessed there, at that time, as the means of extensive usefulness, and to a similar state of things among us, should it come forth, it will be found to be equally applicable.

No Christian on earth, however, be his talents or piety what they may, is always exempted from mistakes and although the penetration and accuracy, which so strikingly characterized the mind of Edwards, render it generally unsafe to controvert his statements, while the fact that he is no longer with us to vindicate himself, demands for his writings a charitable construction; yet there is one of his positions in the work before us, which cannot remain unnoticed, without leaving a stumbling-block in the way of many a sincere inquirer.-His second proposition under the third division of the work, is stated as follows: "The first objective ground of gracious affections, is the transcendently excellent and amiable nature of divine things, as they are in themselves, and not any conceived relation which they bear to self or self-interest." The same sentiment, in substance, is brought into view in the third proposition of the same series. Now it is not denied, that religious affections do arise sooner or later from the things here stated; although we cannot help doubting, whether the first emotions of genuine piety in the heart of any incipient convert, were ever such as are thus described. But the question is, whether the intrinsic excellence of divine things be the only ground of such emotions-or, whether every movement of affection which is truly gracious, terminate on "the intrinsic excellence of divine things;" while the person's own interest, or the feeling of gratitude

produced by a reception of the divine favour, has only" a secondary and consecutive influence," that is, such an influence, that it would not be gracious at all, but for the fact that it is preceded by a disinterested love of these things?

upon

Now, we hesitate very much about the propriety of giving to such a question an affirmative reply. We have heard, indeed, of persons who wished to see the happiness of heaven annihilated, and the flames of hell extinguished, that they might love God for his own sake; but we regard such language as the raving of religious frenzy, and are much inclined to think, that Edwards himself would have looked it in much the same light. In the very formation of such a wish, there is an irreverent impeachment of the existing state of things, as not so favourable to piety as it might have been; but the truth is, the person who forms it knows not what he is doing, and ought to be soothed into sobriety by persuasion, rather than reasoned with on general principles. Our Author's leading argument for the exclusion of self-love from gracious exercises, or at least for confining it in all cases to a secondary place, is, that it is a "natural principle." But this appears us to be inconclusive. We are to distinguish beThe former is not

to

tween self-love and selfishness. a natural principle, if by natural we mean sinful; for it is as true, that man was created to love himself, and is led to do so by the tendencies of his nature, as that he was created to love his Maker, and is bound to do so by the responsibilities of his nature. Besides, the capacity of loving for its own sake what is in itself excellent, is as really—although, perhaps, not