lives without scruple in the field of battle; especially in offen. sive hostilities, in which the privileges of self-defence cannot be pleaded with any appearance of truth and still more difficult to explain, how, in such, or in any circumstances, prodigality of life can be a virtue, if the preservation of it be a duty of our

pature.

This whole reasoning sets out from one error, namely, that the state acquires its right over the life of the subject from the subject's own consent, as a part of what originally and personally belonged to himself, and which he has made over to his governors. The truth is, the state derives this right neither from the consent of the subject, nor through the medium of that consent; but, as I may say, immediately from the donation of the Deity. Finding that such a power in the sovereign of the community is expedient, if not necessary, for the community itself, it is justly presumed to be the will of God, that the sovereign should possess and excercise it. It is this presumption which constitutes the right; it is the same indeed which constitutes every other; and if there were the like reasons to authorize the presumption in the case of private persons, suicide would be as justifiable as war, or capital executions. But, until it can be shown that the power over human life may be converted to the same advantage in the hands of individuals over their own, as in those of the state over the lives of its subjects, and that it may be entrusted with equal safety to both, there is no room for arguing, from the existence of such a right in the lat ter, to the toleration of it in the former,

BOOK V.

DUTIES TOWARDS GOD.

CHAPTER 1.

DIVISION OF THESE DUTIES.

IN one sense, every duty is a duty towards God, since it is his will which makes it a duty; but there are some duties of which God is the object, as well as the author; and these are peculiarly, and in a more appropriated sense, called duties towards God.

That silent piety, which consists in a habit of tracing out the Creator's wisdom and goodness in the objects around us, or in the history of his dispensations; or of referring the blessings we enjoy to his bounty, and of resorting to his succour in our dis tress; may possibly be more acceptable to the Deity than any visible expressions of devotion whatever. Yet these latter (which although they may be excelled, are not superseded by the former) compose the only part of the subject which admits. of direction or disquisition from a moralist.

Our duty towards God, so far as it is external, is divided into worship and reverence. God is the immediate object of both; and the difference between them is, that the one consists in action, the other in forbearance. When we go to church on the

Lord's day, led thither by a sense of duty towards God, we perform an act of worship; when we rest in a journey upon that day, from the same motive, we discharge a duty of rever

ence.

Divine worship is made up of adoration, thanksgiving, and prayer. But as what we have to offer concerning the two former may be observed of prayer, we shall make that the title of the following chapters, and the direct subject of our consideration.

CHAPTER II.

OF THE DUTY AND OF THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER, SO FAR AS THE SAME APPEAR FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE.

WHEN one man desires to obtain any thing of another, he betakes himself to entreaty; and this may be observed of mankind in all ages and countries of the world. Now what is universal, may be called natural; and it seems probable that God, as our supreme governor, should expect that towards himself, which by a natural impulse, or by the irresistible order of our constitution, he has prompted us to pay to every other being on whom we depend.

The same may be said of thanksgiving.

Again, prayer is necessary to keep up in the minds of mankind a sense of God's agency in the universe and of their dependency upon him.

But, after all, the duty of prayer depends upon its efficacy: for I confess myself unable to conceive, how any man can pray, or be obliged to pray, who expects nothing from his prayer; but who is persuaded, at the time he utters his request, that it cannot possibly produce the smallest impression upon the Be

ing to whom it is addressed, or advantage to himself. Now the efficacy of prayer imports that we obtain something in conse quence of praying, which we should not have received without prayer; against all expectation of which, the following objec tion has been often and seriously alleged :-"If it be most agreea"ble to perfect wisdom and justice that we should receive what

we desire, God, as perfectly wise and just, will give it to us "without asking; if it be not agreeable to these attributes of "his nature, our entreaties cannot move him to give it us, and "it were impious to "expect they should." In fewer words,

thus; "If what we request be fit for us, we shall have it with"out praying; if it be not fit for us, we cannot obtain it by "praying." This objection admits but of one answer, namely, that it may be agreeable to perfect wisdom to grant that to our prayers, which it would not have been agreeable to the same wisdom to have given us without praying for. But what virtue, you will ask, is there in prayer, which should make a favor consistent with wisdom, which would not have been so without it? To this question, which contains the whole difficulty attending the subject, the following possibilities are offered in reply :

1. A favor granted to prayer may be more apt, on that very account, to produce good effects upon the person obliged. It may hold in the Divine bounty, what experience has raised into a proverb in the collation of human benefits, that what is obtained without asking, is oftentimes received without gratitude.

2. It may be consistent with the wisdom of the Deity to withhold his favors till they be asked for, as an expedient to encourage devotion in his rational creation, in order thereby to keep up and circulate a knowledge and sense of their dependency upon him.

3. Prayer has a natural tendency to amend the petitioner himself; and thus to bring him within the rules which the wis dom of the Deity has prescribed to the dispensation of his fa

vors.

If these, or any other assignable suppositions, serve to remove the apparent repugnancy between the success of prayer and the character of the Deity, it is enough; for the question with the petitioner is not from which, out of many motives, God may grant his petition, or in what particular manner he is moved by the supplications of his creatures; but whether it be consistent with his nature to be moved at all, and whether there be any conceivable motives which may dispose the divine will to grant the petitioner what he wants, in consequence of his praying for it. It is sufficient for the petitioner, that he gain his end. It is hot necessary to devotion, perhaps not very consistent with it, that the circuit of causes, by which his prayers prevail, should be known to the petitioner, much less that they should be present to his imagination at the time. All that is necessary is, that there be no impossibility apprehended in the matter.

Thus much must be conceded to the objection; that prayer cannot reasonably be offered to God with all the same views, with which we oftentimes address our entreaties to men, (views which are not commonly or easily separated from it,) viz. to inform them of our wants or desires; to tease them out by impor tunity; to work upon their indolence or compassion, to persuade them to do what they ought to have done before, or ought not to do at all.

But suppose there existed a prince, who was known by his subjects to act, of his own accord, always and invariably for the best; the situation of a petitioner, who solicited a favour or pardon from such a prince, would sufficiently resemble ours: and the question with him, as with us, would be, whether, the character of the prince being considered, there remained any chance that he should obtain from him by prayer, what he would hot have received without it. I do not conceive that the character of such a prince would necessarily exclude the effect of his subject's prayer; for, when that prince reflected, that the earhestness and humility of the supplication had generated in the suppliant a frame of mind, upon which the pardon or favour asked