Farewell to the First Congregational Church in Norwalk, Conn. (bound with other addresses)

I. It is a mark of insanity to he insensible to the force of evidence. A sound mind is open to conviction, — perceives the proofs-submitted' to its examination, — estimates their value,— and regulates its conclu- sions according to their clearness and cogency. Wherever, therefore, an utter inapprehension of argument and testimony is- discovered, it is.; manifest that there folly has usmped the " intellteGtual' throne." If a man, in defiance of his consciousness, should asswt that^s own exis- tence was imaginary ; — that the sun did not shine, nor the seasons change, — or that the living and real world around hint, was, only a vast panorama of magical illusions, — the most unreflecting observer would, at once pronounce him insane. Bat the infidelj who d|jaounces reli- gion as an imposture, betrays an, infatuation equally unequivocal. He rejects the being and government of God ; denies the future existence and accountability of man ; discards, as baseless dreams, the momen- tous facts, sublime precepts, and stupendous disclosures of Revelation; and charges the beUever in these doctrines with a bUnd deyotion to absurd and incredible dogmas. But notwithstanding the confidence with which he avows his skepticism, a slight survey of the grounds on which it rests, will demonstrate that he has little claim to the boast of sagacity. The truths which he repudiates, are surrounded by a body of evidfence so decisive as to rendgr them no less certain and* irresistible than the plainest subject of pure intuitio% ^d has im- print£d his. signature.upon the-broad PYnansp-nf tVip nniiroi-oo -i?oy.+u • ; MORAL INSANITY OF IKREMGIOUS MEN, 271 'with its rarieS bvelmess and fertility — ocean, in the sublimity of its storms, and the majesty of its repose^^and heaven, with the me- 'chanism of its countless worlds, — proclaim his wisdom, power, and goodness. The whole creation, from the smallest flower that blushes in the valley, to the mightiest globe that wheels through the firma- nent, sends up a ceaseless anthem to its Maker and Governor ; and calls, with every voice of its unnumbered choir, upon revolted, ingrate man, to acknowledge and adore his perfections. Superadded to this 'testimony of external nature, God has implanted in the human bosom an innate consciousness of his existence and sovereignty — a feeling of responsibility to him — and a vivid presentiment of final retribu- tion — which,endure through every change, unextinguished and inex- tinguishable. Darkness cannot conceal, infideUty cannot stifle, the constant corrosion of sin cannot destroy them. Tbey live in the deep fountains of the soul; and there are moments in the history of the most hardened imbeliever, when they break, with irrepressible force, through all his opposing sophistries. Nor is this all. With a view to illustrate more fully what reason, instructed by his works, and the moral sense of his creatures might teach, and to disclose what lies beyond their vision, he has given to the world a perfect revelation of •all that is necessary for the subjects of his government to know during their earthly probation. He has unveiled, in the most luminous man- ner, his character and will ; his relation to men, and his claims to their obedience; their entire and universal apostasy from him, and exposure to the sentence of his violated law ; the provision of infinite love for their restoration to' his favor by the blood of his Son shed upon the cross ; the eternal felicity of those who embrace this mercir ful overture, and the inevitable perdition of all who neglect, it. The Volume, in which these aflfectihg disclosures are promulgated, is evinced to be of divine authority by. an overwhelming accumulation of the most conclusive proofs. Its agreement with secular history ; its accordarjge with the physical and spiritual coiidition of the world; its exact prediction of numerous events ages before their occurrence ; its impressive display of unquestionable miracles ; the holy lives, supernatural gifts, fervid zeal, untiring labors, and voluntary sufferings of its.writer|=; the ethereal beauty of its style; the moral elevation of its sentiments; the harmony, unearthly purity, and sanctifying influence of its doctrines ; all conspire to attest its heavenly origin. Thus inscribed with the name, and stamped with the seal of God, it has passed victorious through every trial of its troth, and every attempt to refute its pretensions. Deathless as the Eternal Spirit from i^hom it emanated— invulnerable as the sacred bush, burning but not consumed— 4t has survived, imharmed, the fires of persecutionj and the ravages, of time. Opposition, in every form, has been arrayed, against it. Wit and ridicuje — perverted learning and misguided talent — ^secret treachery aqi^ open malice — dungeons, racks, and flames — and ev&ry weapon which human ingenuity could devise, or .. .'-«".'.-j- ri Am'i-i- <5nT^.nir?~*;-a7e been combined, in one fell 272 THE NATIONAL PBEACHEK. assault, to sweep it from the earth. But, fixed on its immovable, basis, it has sustained the storm, imshaken as the fast-seated rock that hurls back the angry waves. Or if, for a moment, the swelUng flood has seemed to overflow it, it has arisen from the temporary submer- sion in serener majesty, and with more impregnable strength. If, then, the witnesses to the trulJi of reUgion are so numerous and irrefragable, how infatuated is the man who discredits their testimony. Such incredulity can proceed only from that madness of the soul which the text describes. In unison with this statement, an inspired writer declares, that ■" in his heart" — not in the deliberate conviction of his understanding — " the fool hath said. There is no God." And how universally is this declaration exemplified in the process by which infidels are made. By far the larger portion bf those who become such, have scarcely ever read the Bible, and know as httle of its contents as of the Koran or the Shaster. Delirious with the love of sin, and impatient of every check to its indulgence, they reject with- out ceremony a book, whose precepts contravene their inclinations, and whose sanctions reprobate their profligacy. And even the few who have pretended to examine it, have been so strongly biased by a laitent enmity to its doctrines, as to be utterly incompetent to pass upon it an impartial judgment. And when we see the young, the ignorant, and the abandoned, thus wilfully turning away from the light which beams, with overpowering splendor, from the .works and the word of God, merely because they hate it, and will not come to it, lest, in its all-disclosing radiance, their " deeds should be reproved," can we doubt the insanity of their hearts 1 They may exult in their unbelief as a proof of their triumph over vulgar prejudice, and glory in their freedom from the restraints of conscience and revelation ; but to the spiritually instructed mind their conduct appears inde- scribably preposterous. It is the madness of the mariner, who, casting away his chart and compass, and extinguishing every beacon that can guide or warn him, launches his vessel upon a sea wild with tempest, and covered with darkness. Nay more, it is the madness of the man, who, if he were able, would blot every limiinary from the sky, and shroud the universe in eternal midnight. II. It is a mark of insanity to be unconcerned while in a state of doubt with respect to momentous interests. If a man, wno considered his temporal circumstances in such a critical posture, that the next hour might sink him in the lowest poverty and disgrace, or elevate him to the pinnacle of wealth and honor, should make no exertions to remove their uncertainty, but recklessly leave them to take their course, he would be deemed utterly destitute of common sense and .prudence. And yet there are multitudes, who, with reference to the ■^elfare of- their souls, exhibit a similar fatuity. They are not abso- * lute unbelievers. They confess themselves unable to prove that religion is false ; but, at the same time, 'aver, that they find it equally impossible to demonstrate its reality, lliey waver between infidelity aaitd faith j, and j,ustify their indecision bv asserting: tliat eVerv thimr MORAL -ftjSANITY OF IHEELIGIO0S MEN. 273 connected with the spiritual world is enveloped in obscurity. That their only difficulty, however, lies in the waywardness and obliquity of their hearts, is evident from the fact, that while a sUght examina- tion would convince them of the* truth of the gospel, they refuse to investigate its claims, but treat the " great salvation" with contempt, when pressed upon their notice. They acknowledge that the period of their earthly sojourn, is brief and precarious — that a life, frail as a thread of gossamer, is the only barrier between them and heaven, or hell, or annihilation — and that death, which threatens them every moment, must, in a few years, and may, in a few days, place them, unchangeably and forever, jn one of these conditions. Their doubts^ therefore, are upon a subject of most tremendous consequence — a subject relatog, not to the affairs of their fugitive existence here, but to their eternal destiny beyond the grave. From this destiny it is in vain for them to turn aside their thoughts, as if they could avert it by denying it a place in their imagination. In spite of their heedlessness, it advances certainly and speedily; and soon the curtain which con- ceals it vrill be lifted, and disclose to their view an endless state of ineffable bhss, of burning agony, or of nothingness. Now, surely, in a dubious point of this solemn nature, it might be expected that every rational man would endeavor, if. possible, to obtain a rehef from his doubts ; and that he could not remain an instant at rest, while in suspense about a question of such transcendent importance, that, in comparison with it, every sublunary interest dwindles into insignificance. Impelled by . the stupendous magnitude of the problem to be determined, he would concentrate every faculty upon its solution, and manifest an all-absorbing sohcitude, till he had brought his inqui- ries to a satisfactory issue. But, instead of this, the individuals we are describing, take no pains to settle their doubts. They appear easy and composed with respect to them. They may even avow them with levity, and perhaps gratify their pride in professing them, as if it were an indication of superior wisdom to be uncertain whether their ultimate award sha:ll be a throne of joy, a rack of punishment, or a dreamless oblivion. What language can supply a name for such inconceivable folly ? Yet, in relation to worldly objects, you see them very different men. They use the utmost diligence to secure their property. They guard, with anxious care, against the remotest contingency of bodily suffering. They fear the smallest inconven- iences, see them as they approach, and feel them if they arrive. They pass whole days and nights in chagrin and despair at some frivolous disappointment in their secular pursuits, or some imaginary blemish in their reputation. And still. While they admit the appalhng possibility that the terrors of perdition hang over them, they contiaue without disquiet or emotion. This wonderful insensibility to condtns of the highest moment, and that, too, in minds so keenly alive to the meanest tril3es, is an astonishing prodigy-^a. preternatural hallucina- tioii— an unparalleled and deplor^e anomaly — which can be 274 THE NATIONAL PREACHEK. accounted for only by the fact, that " the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart."