Excerpt from Sermons, Vol. 2 Here we see that religion, though founded on a belief of doctrines, and cherished by the exercises of devotion, diffuses its influence over the entire character of man, and through the whole range of society. It is the belief, the love, the worship, the imitation of the Deity. It is sound morality, animated and sanctified by the spirit of true devotion. Such religion contains the germ of every social excellence, the seminal principle of virtue in every relation in life it maintains an incessant struggle with whatever is selfish, barbarous, and inhuman; by unveiling futurity it clothes morality with a divine sanc tion, and harmonises utility and virtue in every state of existence, and every combination of events. To man, as regards his personal character, it prescribes, not only homage to God, but self-government and self respect; and it follows him into the domestic circle, the fellowship Of the church, and every combination which he forms in the great community Of his country, or in the citizenship of the world; binding upon him the duties which are appropriate to his station, whatever it may be, and calling on him to acknowledge the claims which reach him from every quarter. As with the flaming sword of the cherubim, it guards all the social interests of man, protecting the throne from the turbulence and anarchy of the people; and the rights of the people from the encroachments of the throne; the rich from the invasion and spoliation of the poor; the poor from the insults and Oppression of the rich it teaches justice to the master and fidelity to the servant; ordains equity and truth as the rules of commercial transactions nerves the arm with industry, and melts the bosom to compassion; carries the authority of God into recesses too deep and distant to be reached by the institutes of. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.