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never be . superseded by any change of condition . In fact , religion , if thereby is la be understood the proper application of Christian principles , is neither more nor less than acting under the habitual impression of the great discovery of the
gospel , —the assurance of future retribution and immortality . And can there be any occurrence in human life which ought to exclude the prospect of future existence ? Or , can it ever be reasonable to encourage a frame of mind which is
inconsistent with the indulgence of such au expectation ? Agreeable events will necessarily excite pleasing- ideas and sensations ; but to be affected with delight is one thing , and to be intoxicated with giddy transport is another , Aud if ever the
tumult of joy rises to such a height as to render religious contemplation uninteresting * , and to indispose the mind for reflection on out immortal character and expectations , it has exceeded the bounds which reason has constituted , and requires to he curbed and moderated . And even
independently of religious considerations , the indulgence of extravagant mirth , and the encouragement of such wild and thoughtless rapture as is unfavourable to the calm and useful exercise of reason , is indecorous In a being who was particularly formed for the exercise of the understanding , and is also unsuitable to the condition and
circumstances of human life . In this variable scene , joy and grief sometimes follow each other in rapid and unexpected succession ; the season of prosperity may , in an instant , give place to an hour of calamity and
sorrow ; the transport of delight may , in a moment ^ be exchanged for a paroxysm of grief and anguish . And ought not a sense of the uncertainty of our enjoyments to be so present to the mind , as to check those sensations which would otherwise
rise to a height inconsistent with our real situation and character ? " Not that it becomes us to corrupt the rational enjoyment of present good , by perpetually anticipating evil that may never come ; not that it is desirable to
encourage dark and gloomy views of human life , and to reject or undervalue its pleasures , because they may quickly be followed by pain and sorrow ; but , it certainly is the part of reason to remember the condition to which we arc born , and to govern our feelings by a just and extensive view of the circumstances in which
we are situated . And if to a sense of the uncertain tenure of our pleasures there be supcradded the consideration that we are born for eternity , the mind will be furnished with the strongest imaginable motive to restrain all immoderate feelings and expressions of joy , and to cultivate sobriety in the happier moments of life . < c But while religion discourages every
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thing like giddy and tumultuous ifliFth , i is friendly to that cheerful frame of mind which is infinitely more rational and valuable , It allows and even requires us to cultivate , as far as we are able , an easy and happy temper , and to take the offered blessing-s of Providence with a thankful
heart . Is any merry , ' says our apostle , c let him sing psalms . * This is not to prohibit but to direct the expression of pleasurable feelings ; the admonition does not insinuate that it is culpable to be happy ; but suggests , that joy may be
tempered with piety ; that it may be kept within reasonable bounds , and even turned to the great purposes of virtue by being blended with religious contemplation . Nor is there any pleasure in- human life , which is fit for an accountable and immortal
being to enjoy , which may not be even improved and heightened by gratitude to God , and by meditating on the prospects of the gospel . If the occasion of our mirth or transport will not bear that the
mind be directed to the principles of such , a religion as the Christian , it is a certain proof that we are transgressing the limits of virtue , and that our joy is pernicious and ill-founded That which will not
allow us to think with pleasure of our relation to God , or of our expectations as immortal beings , cannot be consistent with our situation and character , and ought to be most cautiously guarded against aud avoided . I . 194—198 .
r Sermon " On the Influence of Christianity" ( Ser . IV . Vol . II . ) , is in a similar strain . The preacher observes truly , that the conduct will invariably follow the affections , and in this view draws the distinction
between the true Christian and the man of this world ; " the one thinks and feels and acts as a hein ^ who is shortly to be no more , the other as a being who is to live for ever . " II . 88 , 89-In another place ( Ser . XVJIi . Vol . I . ) , the preacher represents the affections , and thereby the conduct , as under the influence of tlie intellectual
faculty , and hence argues the " Value of Religious Knowledge . " u trace the influence of devotion and benevolence on all the fiabils and affections of the mind ; to learn how every relative duty resolves itself into the principle of love ; to investigate how far the
personal duties of temperance , sobriety and chastity are obligatory on the score not merely of private but of public advantage , and are therefore branches of the great law of charity , —are exercises of the intellectual faculty in themselves highly pleasing , and which will charm every heart that is disposed to virtue . -A na
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324 Review . — Cogans Sermons .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1819, page 324, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1772/page/44/
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