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

III. Insanity is characterized hy false, perceptions. As the eye, clouded by disease, sees the objects^presented to it in vague and dis- torted attitudes ; so the mind, bereft of reason, mistakes what it per- Eeives, and gives an unnatural aspect to every thing "which it contem- plates. The same feature is eminently conspicuous in the views of the wicked with respect to religious subjects. They entertain erro- leo'us conceptions of God. Bhnd to the discoveries of his character md the proofe of his ubiquity, which meet them on every side, they regard him rather as the unknown sovenB^n of some distant world, svh'ose relation to themselves and whogi^claims to their^. services are remote and indefinite, — than as the Being in whom 'they live, by ivhose goodness they are sustained, by whose all-pervading presence :hey are surrounded, whose law they are sacredly boimd to obey, and it whose bar they must receive their final and irrevocable sentence, ilis dispensations and govermnent appear, to their darkened vision, in ;onifused and unreal colors. They consider him as cruel and tyran- nc.il, demanding what they have no power to perform, and he has 10 right to require; or else, as so lenient and flexible in his nature, md so indifferent to the conduct of his creatures, that he will never nflict upon them the punishment due to their sins. Thus they deem he holy and infinite Jehovah " altogether such an one as themselves." Equally absurd are their views of Christ. The adorable Redeemer, n whom every divine perfection is embodied, whose beauty is the ight and the bUss of heaven, and whose smile fills with inexpressible apture the bosom of the highest angel, — ^possesses, in their jaimdiced yes, no excellence to excite their admiration, and no charms to ittraet their love. His cross, around which, as their common centre, ill the glories of the Godhead cluster, has for them no interest. They ook upon his gospel as replete with severe restrictions, painful sa- rifices, and repulsive duties^revile its disciples as the votaries of a [loomy fanaticism — and scorn the heavenly graces it inculcates and iroduces, as the offspring of bigoted ignorance, or designing hypo- risy. Nor is the estimate which they form of their own condition and irospects, less unfounded and extravagant. Like the maniac, who, a the vagaries of his distempered fancy, imagines his cell a palace, lis rags a royal robe, his crutch a sceptre, and himself a king, they herish the fatal delusion, that they are pure in the sight of God, avested with a title to his favor, and travehng to the mansions of his Dve, while they are deeply stained with the guilt of Worgiven sin, ,nd hurrying, with ever-quickening speed, to the consummation of heir doom in the lake of fire. Now, when we see men, in other res- lec'ts clear sighted and sagacious, — gifted, it may be, with a keenness nd accuracy of perception, that enable them to penetrate, at a gTajMip. lie most difficult questions in secular affairs;— thus losing, w^iriPES" bieir attention is directed to reMfcoh.all their wonted acuteness, commSt- MOiAL INSANITY OF IRRELIGIOUS MEN. 275 ting the most egregious mistakes, confounding the most dissimilar things, and betraying an utter want of discrimination and judgment ;-it is impossible to resist the conclusion,, that some great moral derange- ment-has impaired their understanding, and blunted tl^ visual faculty of the soul. IV. It is a mark of insanity to waste noble powers upon trivial objects. The mam whose intellect is disordered, doei not distinguish between things which are important, and those that are frivolous ; and, consequently, employs himself as readily upon the 'latter as upon the former. Thus Shakspeare describes the frantic Lear as gathering straws with the hand that M^. wielded a sceptre, and devoting to the follies of driveling idiocy a mind which once gave laws to a kingdom. And, in like manner,, the sacred historian inform us, that the monarch of Babylon, when smitten with mental aberration, abandoned the occupations and abodes of men, and betook himself to the pursuits and the companionship of irrational animals. But however painM it may be to witness such a debasement of the human faculties, it is far more so to contemplate that to which depravity has subjected them : because the one, being involuntary, may exist without crime, and is limited in its effects to the present life ; while the other is wholly the result of a guilty choice, and in its consequences takes hold on eternity. Men are formed with capacities which render them susceptible of the knowledge and love of God, of increasing conformity to his will and devotion to his service,— till, being prepared, by the atoning and purifying grace of the Redeemer, "for the inheri- tance of the saints in light," they enter upon that infinite course of intellectual and moral improvement, in. which the glorified spirit, freed from the encumbrance of flesh, and the blinding influence of sin, shall learn more and more of its adorable Creator, exhibit an ever-growing resemblance to his character, and rise, through all the ages of its immortal career, to a higher and yet higher elevation in wisdom, holiness, and felicity. But these vast capacities — so legibly inscribed with the benign intention of their author — so expressive of the original dignity of man — and? so pregnant with bliss or wo to their possessor — the unconverted thoughtlessly neglect, or wantonly squander. Look abroad through society, and see, in what innumera- ble instances, the powers ani facilities, which God has conferred on men to enable them to obey his Gospel, promote his glory, and work out their own salvatiouj are lavished on the paltry objects of this sordid world. Behold, the vcrtaries of wealth, in their struggles for the gold that eludes their grasp,, or, when obtained, cankers and corrodes their bosoms, displaying an ardor, and diligence, • and carefulness, which, if devoted to the attainment of the " true riches," might give them a title to that "treasure in heaven," which no rust can soil, and no accafent destr&y. Observe with what a concentration of their ener- gii^iithe devotees of ambition toil for the fame which a breath creates, and a breath may extinguish— -evihciMa prudence and foi'ecast, a "-• Jvj^js, is.i'jL--^ sirjB'is^B of purpose, worthy of a 276 THE NATIONiX PREACHER, pp ' nobler aimj and which, employed upon the concerns of the soul, . would raise them to the glory and immortality of the sons of God. Survey, too, the crowds of giddy tpflers that flutter in the train of fashion, or coi\gregate at the shrine'bf gayety. See them expending upon the decoration of their persons, or in the pursuit of empty amusements, pains and labor, which, if directed to a religious end, might clothe their guilty spirits in the spotless robe of a Savior's righteousness, and fit them for that " presence in which there is fulness of joy," and for that " right hand where there are pleasures forever- more." These are only a few aihong the almost numberless examples of perverted talents and wasted opportui^ties, with which the hist^ of an apostate world abounds. And what pious and contemplative observer, when he views such examples, and sees the heirs of eternity degrading their lofty faculties from the glorious purposes for which they were given, to the vile service of vanity and sin, is not filled with amazement at their infatuation 1 Can they be intelligent and rational beings, who thus cherish the body, but neglect the soul — court the approbation of men, but disregard that of God — and drink at the streams of pollution, while they shun the pure fountains of life and joy? Are they endowed with minds designed for everlasting growth and expansion, and able to soar, with a strong and unfaltering wing, upward to their Eternal Source, and vie with angels in their flight 1 How mournful, then, is that madness of the soul, which palsies such ethereal powers, and chains to the dust a creature capable of such an exalted destiny ! V. Insanity betrays itself by an indifference to' happiness. Every sane man is prompted by the instinctive principle of self-love, to desire his own welfare. If, therefore, you saw an individual, in opposition to this impulse of his nature, careless alike whether he enjoyed or suffered, resisting every attempt to improve his circiun- stanc'es, and rejecting as worthless the richest blessings, you would justly consider him deprived of his senses. A similar, though far more fatal want of reason, is visible in the apathy of impenitent sin- ners with respect to their eternal happiness. The bodies, which they here inhabit, must soon be laid in the grave; but their imdying spirits, with all their mighty and evei^increasing susceptibilities of joy and of sorrow, will survive the stroke of death, and be ushered into the unchanging realities of heaven or hell. While unregenerate, they are at war with their Maker, and condemned by his righteous law to endless punishment. But to reclaim them from this guilty and perilous state, God has shed the blood of his own Son as an expiation for their sins, and, on the terms of repentance and faith in the Mediator, offers them full and free forgiveness, the consolations 1 of his grace on earth, and interminable bliss in his kingdom above. This overture of matchless compassion is urged upon their acceptance by the most impressive motives. In language of melting kJiJflness their Heavenly Father addresses them — ^points them to the sun-bright summit, where angelic thnpes a'^siit tbeir ?!?"iy='' — nrnfFera tVipm hio MORAL INSANITY OF IRRELIGIOUS MEN. 277