1. As it respects a man's religious opinions.-I do not assert, that if the state of a man's heart be right with God, his belief will be always right; but this I maintain, that the state of his heart will very much influence his faith: so that, if his heart be not upright with God, he will be greatly disposed to error; and, on the other hand, if the state of his heart be right, it will tend gradually to correct what was erroneous in his creed, and to give him just views of religious doctrines.

The influence of the heart on the understanding has frequently been the subject of remark A man will soon understand a subject on which he is interested: he will know all its bearings and connexions, be master of the arguments advanced in its support, and think accurately and clearly concerning it, though still it may be that side of the subject only to which his heart inclines which he fully understands. There will be a bias on the mind to think in a certain way and direction concerning it; for we think chiefly of what is pleasing and interesting to us. In like manner, there is a certain strain of doctrines in religion which corresponds to a certain state of the mind; so that a man who is in that particular state will at length fall into that corresponding strain of doctrine, however much external causes may for a time retard the natural influence of his feelings. A man, for instance, whose heart and life are corrupt, will naturally embrace that system of doctrines which would tend to justify or palliate his own conduct. He will, therefore, be disposed to think lightly of the evil of sin, to mitigate the strictness of the Divine Commandments, to enlarge his conceptions of the mercy of God, and to lower his views of his justice. His belief in Revelation itself will be very apt to be shaken, and his interpretations of it will be generally very loose and vague. On the other hand, where a man is influenced by a sincere desire to please and serve God, he will naturally be drawn to embrace a more correct and scriptural system of doctrines; his

sincere regard to the just authority of God, and his upright endeavours to please him will naturally induce him to dwell upon the reasonableness and equity of his commands, the purity and perfections of his nature, the evil and ingratitude of sin against him. He will be disposed, therefore, to erect a high standard in religion. In proportion as any man is truly upright, and consequently striving to do much in the service of God, he will perceive the more clearly how far he falls short of perfect obedience to the Divine commands. He will therefore be disposed to believe the doctrine of man's corruption, and the necessity of an atonement for sin, and thankfully to receive the glad tidings of a Saviour. This will also incline him to believe in the gracious assistance of the Holy Spirit. Thus also, where the heart is truly set upon serving God, it will dispose a man to read his word frequently and attentively, and to pay much attention to its declarations: and this will naturally tincture his mind with the views and principles which the Bible contains. In every point of view, therefore, we see the natural tendency which a right state of the heart has to produce a right system of belief. So true are our Saviour's words, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine. whether it be of God."

I am, however, very far from asserting, that a man's system of faith is the test of his sincerity. A man may be very orthodox, and yet his heart be very corrupt before God: and, on the other hand, a man may be truly upright before God, and yet his present creed may be very different from that which has been almost universally held by the most sincere and pious Christians. Much must be allowed for the bias of education, the force of prejudice, the association of long accustomed ideas, the pride of reasoning, or the influence of friends. I assert only, that it is the tendency of a right state of the heart to produce a right faith; that in proportion as a man is truly living with the desire to serve God faithfully, he will by degrees embrace all the fundamental VOL. II

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doctrines of Scripture, and think rightly as well as act rightly. Slighter errors may still remain even to the last. Alas! wh that knows the imperfection and the corruption of the human mind, can expect otherwise? But I cannot hesitate to assert, that there will, in no long time, be a coincidence among all real Christians in all the fundamental points of Christianity, and a tendency, even in lesser ones, to embrace more and more the true system of faith.

2. The state of the heart will greatly influence the state of the affections.-I mean, that if a man's real aim is to serve God, this will tend to bring all his affections and dispositions into a right state.

For let a man be truly desirous of pleasing God, the tendency of this desire will be first to lead him to a better acquaintance with the character and perfections of that Being whom he now honours as his Supreme Master. And where the heart is thus turned to the frequent contemplation of Him whose attributes are in finitely glorious, what must be the result but an increasing conviction that He alone ought to be feared,, and loved, and trusted? The comparison will be frequently made of this blessed Being with the other objects upon which the affections are most usually placed. They will be found to be in their own nature vain and unsatisfactory, perpetually exciting and perpetually disappointing expectation, difficult to be possessed, and when possessed, failing and transitory in their enjoyment. Hence by degrees the affections will be weaned from worldly things, and fixed upon higher and better objects. Love to God will now begin to direct and sweeten every religious service. What was before done only from a sense of duty will now be performed with the full and free choice of the heart. A pleasure of the purest kind will attend the performance of these services; not perhaps a rapturous and extatic joy, but the calm and rational delight of performing duty, the holy tranquillity of a renewed mind. The love of God will extend to the love of all goodness; to the love of

truth, justice, benevolence, piety. Devotion, when performed with the heart, will become the source of the noblest enjoyment. Every thing is tedious in which the heart is not engaged; every thing delightful in which it is interested. All the duties of religion will wear a pleasing and cheerful aspect. It will be the service of Him to whom we owe every thing that is truly great and valuable. Our happiness will become more and more of a spiritual nature. We shall rejoice in the contemplation of God's providence, appointing and directing all things with never-failing wisdom and infinite goodness. We shall rejoice in the rich provision made in the Covenant of Grace for all the wants of sinful man. We shall rejoice in the delightful hope, that there is a land of blessedness above, which pain, and sorrow, and sin, shall never be permitted to invade. Our hopes will be directed, not to transitory things, but to those which are spiritual and eternal. The favour of God will be the first object of our wishes and hopes; and the possession of eternal glory will be the noble aim of our highest ambition. In a mind so constituted the affections cannot entertain low and unworthy aims. Where one object engrosses the heart, which is, in its own nature, transcendently great and glorious, it tends to inspire the soul with its own greatness and glory; it assimilates it in some measure to itself, and renders it incapable of what is sordid and grovelling. God and mammon cannot reign in the same heart: they are incompatible objects of esteem. The heart may be attached to the one or to the other; but it cannot love both at the same time, any more than there can be light and darkness in the same place at the same instant. God may be the object of thought, or even of desire, at some transient moment, although such thoughts or desires may have no influence upon the affections. But in the case we suppose where the heart is right with God; where, of course, his perfections are daily contemplated; where he is daily worshipped in sincerity and truth: where the heart is really bent upon pleasing Him

and fulfilling his holy will; there the influence of such a principle cannot but be widely extended: it cannot tolerate a state of indifference; it must be itself extinguished, or it will extinguish, like the splendour of the sun, the lesser lights which before directed our dubious course. The Lord and Creator of the heart will assert his right, and the affections will bow to him as their Supreme Lord.

It is because the heart is not right with God that we see so frequently the affections wavering and unsteady in religion. There is no settled preponderancy of esteem of God and divine things. The understanding is enlightened, rather than the heart rectified: the mind is convinced, rather than converted. Hence the affections are sometimes directed to God, then again to the world. This unsteady principle renders every thing unsteady. "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.' His whole mind is a sea of fluctuations, of contrarieties, of uncertainty, of failure. It is like a ship at sea which has lost its rudder, and is carried on by the winds and the tide wherever they may chance to drift her. One steady principle must direct the whole man, if he would expect consistency and improvement.

3. The general conduct will be under a right influence wherever the heart is sincere towards God: that is, if a man's grand aim is to please and serve God, it will produce a course of moral conduct worthy of a religious profession.

If a man's heart is not right with God; that is, if he does not so truly aim to please God that every other principle gives way to this; his conduct however excellent in many points, will in some be greatly deficient. He cannot be depended upon in all things; he will still retain some besetting sin, which will continually overcome him; he will yield to temptation, when strong and pressing: he will not be uniform and consistent in his conduct: in secret he will often be a different person from what he is in public. There will be a lamentable unsteadiness in him which cannot be corrected till the