147 SERMON VIII. PROVERBS III. 17. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. A MONGST all the fubtle and im- SERM. pious endeavours of the adverfa ries of our holy religion to defame and difgrace it, there is not perhaps any scheme or artifice which has been fo univerfally, or indeed fo fuccessfully practifed, as their unwearied pains and industry in mifreprefenting and difguifing it to the ignorant and unwary; as they have painted it in the blackest colours which malice could invent, or hatred infpire, and prefented mankind L 2 with VIII. VIII. SERM. with the moft horrid picture their own gloomy imaginations could fuggeft; religion, if you will believe them, is a cruel and tyrannical mistress, who is perpetually chastifing and punishing her fervants; whofe cruel and favage difpofition would extort from them the unreafonable facrifice to her, of every pleasure, every comfort and fatisfaction in life, to attend on her commands, and pay a blind obedience to the feverity of her laws ; that she would perfuade us to give up all the blifs and enjoyment of this world, whilft the deludes us with idle dreams of promised happiness in another. But in a point fo folemn and fo important, methinks we should seriously consider the truth of these affertions: Is this the faith we adhere to, the religion we profess? or is it but the glofs of false reasoning and fpecicus argument; the wicked fuggeftions of bad men, defigned merely to alleviate VIII. alleviate thus their guilt, and palliate, if SERM. poffible, the bafenefs of their own ingratitude; or the artifice of perfidious rebels, to represent the fovereign whom they defert, as a tyrant and an ufurper, whose commands are grievous, and whofe laws unjuft; let us feriously confider the attributes of that divine Being whom we worship: Can this be the offspring of the God of long-fuffering, charity, love, goodnefs, and benevolence? Would he fet up fuch an idol in his ftead? Surely this is fo poor, fo unlike, so bad a copy, that it cannot poffibly deceive any who have ever had the leaft tranfient view or glimpse of the divine original. It will therefore be at leaft a pleafing and perhaps a neceffary task to ftrip religion of this unbecoming garb; to take off the bloody garment, and put on her the robe of peace; to wreft the fword of oppreflion L 3 |