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THE 
 
 ANALOGY OF RELIGION, 
 
 Natural antu Ktijcalcir, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 CONSTITUTION AND COURSE OF NATURE : 
 
 CONSISTING OF 
 
 A Criticism of Butler^s Treatise on the Suhjedf 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 A VIEW OF THE CO>>'EXION OF THE ARGUMENTS 
 
 OF THE ANALOGY WITH THE OTHER MAIN 
 
 BRANCHES OF THE EVIDENCES OF 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NOT NOTICED 
 
 IN butler's work. 
 
 BY DANIEL WILSON, D. D. 
 
 BISHOP OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 JAMES LORING, 132 WASHINGTON STREET. 
 
 1834. 
 
Digitizeel by the Internet A^hiv 
 
 in 2009 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/analogyofreligioOOwils 
 
ANALOGY OF REI^IGION, 
 
 Natural atiTr a^ebcaletr. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE DESIG^^ OP BISHOP BUTLF.r's 
 ANALOGY. 
 
 Bishop Butler is one of those creative 
 geniuses, who give a character to their times. 
 His great work, ' The Analogy of Religion/ 
 has fixed the admiration of all competent 
 judges for nearly a century, and will continue 
 to be studied so long as the language in which 
 _,, he wrote endures. The mind of a master 
 ^ '■ pervades it. The author chose a theme in- 
 finitely important, and he has treated it with 
 a skill, a force, a novelty and talent, which 
 have left little for others to do after him. He 
 opened the mine and exhausted it himself. 
 A discretion which never oversteps the line 
 of prudence, is in him united witli a penetra- 
 2 
 
6 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 tion which nothing can escape. There is in 
 his writings a vastness of idea, a reach and 
 generalization of reasoning, a native simpli- 
 city and grandeur of thought, which com- 
 mand and fill the mind. At the same time, 
 his illustrations are so striking and familiar as 
 to instruct as well as persuade. Nothing is 
 violent, nothing far-fetched, nothing pushed 
 beyond its fair limits, nothing fanciful or 
 weak : a masculine power of argument runs 
 through the whole. All bespeaks that repose 
 of mind, that tranquility which springs from'a 
 superior understanding, and an intimate ac- 
 quaintance with every part of his subject. 
 He grasps firmly his topic, and insensibly 
 communicates to his reader the calmness and 
 conviction which he possesses himself. He 
 embraces with equal ease the greatest and 
 the smallest points connected with his argu- 
 ment. He often throws out as he goes along, 
 some general principle which seems to cost 
 him no labour, and yet which opens a whole 
 field of contemplation before the view of the 
 reader. 
 
 Butler was a philosopher in the true sense 
 of the term. He searches for wisdom wher- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ever he can discern its traces. He puts forth 
 the keenest sagacity in his pursuit of his great 
 object, and never turns aside till he reaches, 
 and seizes it. Patient, silent, unobtrusive 
 investigation was his forte. His powers of 
 invention were as fruitful as his judgment was 
 sound. Probably no book in the compass of 
 theology is so full of the seeds of things, to 
 use the expression of a kindred genius, (Lord 
 Bacon) as the ' Analogy.' 
 
 He was a man raised up for the age in 
 which he Hved. The wits and infidels of the 
 reign of our Second Charles, (Butler was 
 born in the year 1C92,) had dehiged the lan# 
 with the most unfair, and yet plausible writ- 
 ings against Christianity. A certain fearless- 
 ness as to religion seemed to prevail. There 
 was a general decay of piety and zeal. Many 
 persons treated Christianity as if it were an 
 agreed point amongst all people of discern- 
 ment, that it had been found out to be ficti- 
 tious. The method taken by these enemies 
 of Christianity, was to magnify and urge ob- 
 jections more or less plausible, against par- 
 ticular doctrines or precepts, which were - 
 represented as forming a part of it ; and . 
 
8 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 which, to a thoughtless mind, were easily 
 made to appear extravagant, incredible, and 
 irrational. They professed to admit the 
 Being and Attributes of the Almighty ; but 
 they maintained that human reason was suffi- 
 cient for the discovery and establishment of 
 this fundamental truth, as well as for the de- 
 velopment of those moral precepts, by which 
 the conduct of life should be regulated ; and 
 they boldly asserted, that so many objections 
 and difficulties might be urged against Chris- 
 tianity, as to exclude it from being admitted 
 as Divine, by any thoughtful and enlightened 
 person. 
 
 These assertions Butler undertook to re- 
 fute. He was a man formed for such a task. 
 He knew thoroughly what he was about. He 
 had a mind to weigh objections, and to trace, 
 detect, and silence cavils. Accordingly, he 
 came forward in all the self-possession, and 
 dignity, and meekness of truth, to meet the 
 infidel on his own ground. He takes the 
 admission of the unbeliever, that God is the 
 Creator and Ruler of the natural world, as a 
 principle conceded. From this point he sets 
 forward, and pursues a course of argument 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 9 
 
 SO cautious, so solid, so forcible ; and yet so 
 diversified, so original, so convincing ; as to 
 carry along with him, almost insensibly, those 
 who have once put themselves under his 
 guidance. His insight into the constitution 
 and course of nature is almost intuitive ; and 
 the application of his knowledge is so sur- 
 prisingly skilful and forcible, as to silence or 
 to satisfy every fair antagonist. He traces 
 out every objection with a deliberation which 
 nothing can disturb ; and shows the fallacies 
 from whence they spring, with a precision 
 and acuteness which overwhelm and charm 
 the reader. 
 
 Accordingly, students of all descriptions 
 have long united in the praise of Butler. He 
 is amongst the few classic authors of the first 
 rank in modern literature. He takes his 
 place with Bacon, and Pascal, and Newton, 
 those mighty geniuses who opened new sour- 
 ces of information on the most important sub- 
 jects, and commanded the love and gratitude 
 of mankind. If his powers were not fully 
 equal to those of these most extraordinary 
 men, they were only second to them. He 
 was in his own line, nearly what they were 
 2* 
 
10 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 in the inventions of science, and the adapta- 
 tion of mathematics to philosophy founded 
 on experiment. He was of like powers of 
 mind, of similar calm and penetrating sagaci- 
 ty, of the same patience and perseverance in 
 pursuit, of kindred acuteness and precision 
 in argument, of like force and power in his 
 conclusions. His objects were as great, his 
 mind as simple, his perception of truth as 
 distinct, his comprehension of intellect nearly 
 as vast, his aim as elevated, his success as 
 surprising. 
 
 The ^ Analogy' was the work of Butler's 
 life. As early as the year 1713, when he 
 was a student of Divinity at Tewkesbury, 
 and only twenty-one years of age, his powers 
 of mind were already directed to this and 
 kindred subjects. The sagacity and depth 
 of thought displayed in his letters to Dr. S. 
 Clarke, in that year, attracted, though sent 
 anonymously, the Doctor's particular notice, 
 and brought on a friendly but most acute dis- 
 cussion, which has been annexed to all the 
 subsequent editions of Dr. Clarke's ' Demon- 
 stration of the Being and Attributes of God.' 
 From the year 1718, when he was appointed 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. H 
 
 preacher at the Roll's Chapel, to the year 
 1726, when he puhlished his Fifteen Ser- 
 mons, the subject of the ' Analogy' was ap- 
 parently uppermost in his mind. This vol- 
 ume contained in fact the germ of his great 
 work. At length, in the year 1736, when 
 he had attained the age of 45, the ' Analogy' 
 appeared, as the result of his maturest reflec- 
 tions during a series of theological studies of 
 between twenty and thirty years. In all his 
 subsequent writings, after his elevation to the 
 Episcopal Bench in 1738, till his death in 
 1752, the hke train of thought is observable ; 
 and even in the last of them, his charge to 
 the clergy of the diocese of Durham in 1751, 
 the one commanding subject which had oc- 
 cupied his life is still pursued. Thus a long 
 course of forty years was devoted by this 
 surprising man, with a depth of knowledge 
 and a strength of mind which were exactly 
 suited to so great a theme, to the illustration 
 of the truth of Christianity from the course 
 and order of God's natural providence. 
 
 The consequence is, nothing has ever been 
 advanced against his main argument. The 
 
12 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 infidel has never ventured a reply.* It has 
 long been in every one's hands ; and is one 
 of the few works which go into the elements 
 of every well-directed plan of education. 
 
 It has, however, been generally admitted, 
 that his argument, clear and convincing as it 
 is to a prepared mind, is not obvious in all 
 its parts to the young reader, whose experi- 
 ence of life being small, and his habits of 
 reflection feeble, has not always the furniture 
 necessary for comprehending at first the 
 thoughts and conclusions of such a mind. 
 
 * An attempt was made, fifteen years after his death, 
 to fix the charge of superstition on Bishop Butler. It 
 was even insinuated that he died in the communion of 
 the Church of Rome. These calumnies had no foun- 
 dation. They were refuted at the time by his friend 
 Archbishop Seeker, to the satisfaction of every one. 
 And when the accusation and the reply to it were re- 
 corded in Butler's life in the Biographia Britannica, 
 by Dr. Kippis, Bishop Halifax took occasion to sift the 
 matter again to the bottom, and published the result in 
 his edition of the ' Analogy,' in 1787. This set the 
 question completely at rest. The decided opposition 
 of Bishop Butler's sentiments to the errors and corrup- 
 tion of the Church of Rome, is indeed apparent in all 
 his writings ; and it is now not worth while, in fact it 
 would be obviously unjust, to enter into the details of 
 so wretched a misrepresentation. This subject is very 
 properly omitted altogether in the Oxford University 
 edition of 1807 ; nor would it have been alluded to 
 here, if the charge against Bishop Butler as well as its 
 answer, had not been revived since, in an article of a 
 widely circulated work, La Biographie Uniyerselle. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 13 
 
 The difficulty is increased by a style not al- 
 ways clear and accurate. His language, in- 
 deed, interests and delights those who are 
 accustomed to his manner, and seems to have 
 flowed from him without art or contrivance. 
 The familiar expressions and illustrations 
 vi^hich continually occur, are not without their 
 charm. Even the colloquial turn of some of 
 the phrases sits well upon the author. Still, 
 as a whole, the style is too close, too negli- 
 gent, too obscure to be suitable for the young. 
 It is marked with that carelessness into w^hich 
 many writers of the first-rate talents fall, when 
 intent only on their great theme, they pour 
 out their thou2:hts in the words which first 
 present themselves. More than one attempt 
 has therefore been made to aid the inexpe- 
 rienced reader, by short analyses of Butler's 
 argument. That prefixed by Bishop Hali- 
 fax to his edition of 1787, is the most valua- 
 ble, as it is the best known. In the follow- 
 ing Essay a more detailed review, or sum- 
 mary, of the work, is attempted, with a similar 
 design : wnth what success must be left to 
 the judgment of the public. If it aids in 
 forming some idea of the general reasoning 
 
14 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 of the Work, it will accomplish all that was 
 designed. It cannot, indeed ; for nothing 
 can give a just impression of Butler, but But- 
 ler himself. It is not intended to supersede 
 the mighty master, whom it only introduces. 
 But besides the obscurity which is found 
 in * The Analogy' by the youthful student, it 
 has been also remarked, that Bishop Butler's 
 statements of Christianity itself, from what- 
 ever cause, are somewhat restricted. The 
 impression is cold. The consolation and life 
 of it are absent. Whether this arises from 
 the nature of his argument, and the class of 
 opponents whom he addressed, or from the 
 turn of the Bishop's mind to retired and con- 
 templative, rather than vivid and popular, 
 descriptions of truth ; or from something of 
 the languor so generally complained of in the 
 Divinity of the era when he wrote, it is not 
 easy to say. Certain it is that there seems 
 some ground for the complaint. The full 
 and exuberant grace and consolation of Chris- 
 tianity in its particular doctrines, and its ap- 
 plication to the heart and life, were not, in- 
 deed, the topics of our great author ; but the 
 references which frequently occur to the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 15 
 
 scheme and end of revelation, would un- 
 doubtedly have admitted of some observa- 
 tions on these important points, which may 
 now be thought wanting. Will we be for- 
 given, if we suggest, in the proper place, 
 what we intend by this remark more at 
 length ? The eminent station which Butler 
 holds, makes it natural that we should offer 
 without fear, after an interval of nearly a cen- 
 tury, such reflections as honestly occur to us. 
 A Classic may always be commented upon. 
 
 In the following pages, therefore, it will 
 be our design — 
 
 I. To state the general argument which 
 Bishop Butler pursues in the Analogy ; and 
 to review the principal steps of his reasoning. 
 
 II. To point out the connexion of the 
 argument of the Analogy, with the other 
 main branches of the Evidences of Christiani- 
 ty ; to notice its use and importance ; and 
 to offer some remarks on Butler's particular 
 view of Christianity itself, and on the adapta- 
 tion of his argument to practical religion in 
 all its extent. Each of these divisions will 
 necessarily draw us into some length. 
 
16 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 We begin with a statement of the 
 
 GENERAL ARGUMENT OF THE ANALOGY. 
 
 The chief design of this great work is to 
 answer objections raised against Religion, 
 Natural and Revealed, and to confirm the 
 proof of it, by considering the analogy or 
 likeness which that system of religion bears 
 to the constitution and course of the world as 
 ruled by God's ordinary Providence. It com- 
 pares the known state and progress of things 
 in the natural world, with what religion teach- 
 es as to the moral world ; the acknowledged 
 dispensations of Providence, with the appoint- 
 ments of religion ; that government of God 
 which we actually find ourselves under here, 
 with that government of God which religion 
 binds us to believe and expect hereafter. 
 And it shows that these two schemes are in 
 many, very many respects alike, that they 
 are both vast and incomprehensible as to their 
 whole compass and extent, but that still they 
 may both be traced up to the same general 
 laws, a^nd resolved into the same principles 
 of divine conduct. It takes for granted that 
 there is an Intelligent Governor of the world, 
 a supreme and perfect Author of nature ; and 
 
WILSOi\'3 ANALOGY. 17 
 
 then argues from that part of his works and 
 dispensations which is known and acknowl- 
 edged, to that part which is denied or object- 
 ed to ; from the world of nature to the world of 
 revelation ; from the confessed order of Pro- 
 vidence to the disputed appointments of Grace; 
 from creation to Christianity. Its proper de- 
 sign is not to prove the truth o-f natural and 
 revealed religion by their direct evidences of 
 miracles and prophecies. The author of the 
 Analogy takes other ground. He supposes 
 all these usual proofs to remain, and remain 
 in all their force ; and he attempts to confirm 
 them in the minds of considerate men, who 
 may have been staggered by objections and 
 difliculties, by taking up the objector on his 
 own admission of the supreme rule of the 
 Almighty in the world, and showing him that 
 his objections have no real weight, because 
 they might be raised against the works of 
 God in his ordinary and confessed govern- 
 ment of the kingdom of nature, just as plausi- 
 bly as against the government of the same 
 God in the kingdom of religion. This is his 
 line of argument. lie reasons from that part 
 of the divine proceedings which comes under 
 3 
 
18 WILSON'S ANALOGY.. 
 
 our view in the daily business of life, to that 
 larger and more comprehensive part of these 
 proceedings which is beyond our view, and 
 which religion reveals. Thus he answers 
 and silences objections. God's ordering of 
 the affairs of men by his Providence is a fact 
 known and admitted, and present before our 
 eyes. Now if it can be shown that God's 
 ordering the conduct of men by the laws and 
 motives of religion is analogous to this, and 
 liable to no more nor other objections, then 
 we have a probable argument, in the first in- 
 stance, and independently of its direct evi- 
 dences, in favour of the truth of Christianity. 
 Thus objections are satisfactorily silenced^ 
 if not removed. The acknowledgment of a 
 perfect Creator and Ruler of the Universe, 
 connected with the fact that he does such 
 and such things, acts by such and such gen- 
 eral laws, brings about such and such effects, 
 attaches such and such consequences to men's 
 actions, deals with them in such and such a 
 manner in the daily and hourly appointments 
 of his Providence, gives us data to proceed 
 upon in answering what is objected against 
 the supposed rule of the same God in religion. 
 
\V I L S O .\ ' S A ?j' A I. O G Y. 1 Q 
 
 If men, indeed, will indulge in vain and 
 idle speculations, and form imaginary .models 
 of an universe, and lay down plans for ruling 
 the world in a way which they suppose bet- 
 ter than it is at present, there can be no ar- 
 guing with them. They profess themselves 
 to be wiser than God. They take up with 
 airy notions which have no foundation in facts. 
 This is to deny the natural government of 
 God, which was conceded by the hypothesis. 
 But if men will leave these presumptuous 
 conjectures, and come to facts — to the con- 
 stitution of nature, as it is actually made 
 known to us by experience, and as confess- 
 edly framed by an all-wise and gracious 
 Governor, they will find a surprising analogy 
 between Nature and Religion ; they will find 
 the probability weigh down strongly on the 
 side of the truth of Christianity, even prior to 
 its direct proofs and evidences; they will 
 find, that the system of Christianity is loaded 
 with no greater difficulties than the system of 
 nature is, and that it is no safer to spurn at 
 the scheme of religion, than to ridicule the 
 constitution of the same infinitely glorious 
 God, in his temporal government of mankind. 
 
20 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 In short, our author shows, that the dispen- 
 sations of Providence, which we are under 
 now, as inhabitants of this lower world, and 
 as having a momentary interest to secure in 
 it, are analogous to, and, in fact, of a piece 
 with, that further dispensation which relates 
 to us as designed for another world, in which 
 we have an eternal interest. The natural 
 and moral world are thus seen to be intimate- 
 ly connected together, and to be parts of one 
 stupendous whole, where our ignorance be- 
 trays us the instant we dare to speculate and 
 imagine things of ourselves, but where com- 
 mon sense and common prudence lead us on 
 securely, if we are modest, and practical, 
 and sincere. And the chief objections which 
 are urged against religion, are thus shown to 
 be false and frivolous ; because they might 
 have been equally urged before experience 
 had taught us, against the course and consti- 
 tution of nature, which are admitted on all 
 hands to have come from the ever-blessed 
 God. If, therefore, they are inconclusive 
 when raised against the external and obvious, 
 and, as it were, tangible order of things 
 around us, much more are they inconclusivej 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 21 
 
 when raised against the moral, and invisible, 
 and mysterious order of things which Chris- 
 tianity reveals. 
 
 It is true, this whole argument from analo- 
 gy is only a probable one. It does not 
 amount to demonstration. But then, it is a 
 probable argument of the highest kind, and 
 far stronger than those by which men are 
 every day guided in their most important 
 concerns. There are very hw things indeed 
 for which we have, or can have, demonstra- 
 tive evidence. For such feeble creatures as 
 we are, prohahiliiy is the guide of life. Every 
 thing turns upon it. Even a single, slight, 
 presumption may not be without its weight ; 
 but presumptions, however slight in them- 
 selves, if frequently repeated, often amount 
 to a moral certainty. Thus, if we acciden- 
 tally observe for one day the ebb and flow of 
 the tide, the observation affords only some 
 sort of presumption, and that perhaps the 
 lowest imaginable, that the same may happen 
 again to-morrow ; but the observation of this 
 event for so many days, and months, and 
 ages together, as it has been observed by 
 men in all places and countries, gives us a 
 .3* 
 
22 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 full assurance that it will happen to-morrow. 
 No man in his senses thinks otherwise. Thus, 
 also, no one doubts but that the sun will rise 
 to-morrow, and will be seen, if seen at all, 
 in the figure of a circle, and not in that of a 
 square. So again, we conclude that there is 
 no kind of presumption that there will not be 
 frost in England any given day in January 
 next ; that it is probable that there will on 
 some day of that month, and that there is 
 almost a moral certainty of it in some part or 
 other of the winter. In hke manner, when 
 we observe in human affairs generally, that 
 any thing does regularly come to pass, we 
 infer that other things which are like to it, or 
 have analogy with it, will also come to pass. 
 Human concerns are all carried on by this 
 natural process of reasoning. And yet we 
 have no demonstrative evidence in any such 
 cases. Thus we believe that a child, if it 
 lives twenty years, will grow up to the strength 
 and stature of a man ; that food will con- 
 tribute to the preservation of its life ; and the 
 want of food for a certain number of days be 
 its certain destruction. It is thus men go on 
 continually. They judge and act by what is 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 23 
 
 probable, and never dream of asking for fur- 
 ther evidence. The rule of their hopes and 
 fears, of their calculations of success in their 
 pursuits, of their expectations how others will 
 act in such circumstances, and of their judg- 
 ment that such actions proceed from such 
 principles, all these rest on the argument 
 from analogy, that is, on their having observ- 
 ed before the like things with respect to them- 
 selves or others. Especially, if any great 
 scheme of things is laid before men claiming 
 to be the plan of such and such a person, and 
 demanding certain efforts and duties, they 
 compare this scheme with the acknowledged 
 productions of that person, and judge by 
 analogy whether it is his or not. They 
 compare the part of this person's designs 
 which is known and familiar to them, with 
 the new scheme at present unknown, in order 
 to form a probable opinion. If, on considera- 
 tion, they can trace the same mind in both 
 plans, the same ends, the same sort of means, 
 the same general laws, the same benevolence 
 and wisdom, the same vastness of compre- 
 hension, the same apparent perplexity work- 
 ing the same good results, the same moral 
 
24 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 characteristics and features, and, above all, a 
 dependence and connexion between the two ; 
 they conclude that they both proceed from 
 the same author. And if objections should 
 be raised against the new and unknown 
 scheme, which, on calm inquiry, seem to lie 
 equally against the scheme already known 
 and acknowledged to come from the same 
 hand, these objections have no weight with 
 them, that is, they are answered by the analo- 
 gy or likeness which the one constitution and 
 scheme bears to the other. Persons who 
 doubt of the force of a probable argument in 
 religion, should consider in this way what evi- 
 dence that is upon which they act every day 
 with regard to their temporal interests. They 
 act in the daily course of life upon evidence 
 much lower than what is called probable. 
 In questions of the greatest consequence, a 
 reasonable man marks the lowest probabili- 
 ties, such as amount to no more than show- 
 ing that one side of a question is as supposa- 
 ble and credible as the other. And any one 
 would be thought mad who did not do so, in 
 many cases. Men not only guard against 
 what they fully believe will happen, but also 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 25 
 
 against what they think it possible may happen ; 
 they often engage in pursuhs when the pro- 
 babiHty is greatly against success ; they make 
 such provision for themselves as it is suppos- 
 able that they may have occasion for, though 
 the plain acknowledged probability is, that 
 they never will have such occasion. 
 
 Indeed it is a real imperfection in the 
 moral character, not to be influenced in prac- 
 tice by any degree of evidence, even the 
 lowest, when it is discovered. Men are un- 
 der a formal and absolute obligation to act ia 
 practical matters on the side of the least pre- 
 ponderating probability. As when we weigh 
 two things in a pair of true scales, the small- 
 est inclination of the beam enables us to see 
 which is the heavier, and binds us to act on 
 the fact that it is so : so, in matters of prac- 
 tice, the smallest degree of weight on one 
 side more than another, enables us to see what 
 is our duty, and binds us to act accordingly. 
 
 If, then, the analogy of nature only show- 
 ed us that there was the lowest presumption 
 of the truth of religion notwithstanding diffi- 
 culties, men would be formally and absolute- 
 ly bound to believe and obey it. But if this 
 
26 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 analogy shows that there is not merely a low 
 presumption, but the highest probability of 
 its truth, and that the very objections to it 
 rest on such matters as are apparently in- 
 conclusive, when applied to that system of 
 things in Providence which is acknowledged 
 to come from an All-wise and Almighty 
 Creator ; nay more, that these very objec- 
 tions may, for any thing we know, be really 
 benefits, yea, most important instances, upon 
 the whole, of the Divine goodness, the duty 
 of the obedience to it becomes still more im- 
 perative. And when it is considered that, 
 besides this argument from analogy silencing 
 our scruples, the numerous direct evidences 
 of Christianity remain what they were before, 
 unanswered and unanswerable, the obligation 
 to receive the Christian doctrine becomes, in 
 fact, the first and paramount duty of a rea- 
 sonable and accountable creature ; and the 
 rashness and guilt of rejecting it become cri- 
 minal and absurd, in a degree which no words 
 can express. 
 
 This, then, is the general design of Bishop 
 Butler. He undertakes to show, that men 
 cannot reject Christianity on the footing of 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 27 
 
 objections, without acting against those rules 
 of probability by which they have been guid- 
 ed all their lives in all their most important 
 concerns, and by which they are guided con- 
 tinually, and must be guided, however they 
 may act with regard to Christianity. Thus 
 our author leaves the unbeliever without ex- 
 cuse — condemned by his own conduct on 
 all like occasions — condemned by the uni- 
 versal experience of mankind — and acting 
 in the most important of all subjects in an 
 opposite manner to what common sense and 
 common prudence compel him to do every 
 day of his life, on the most momentous, as 
 well as the slightest occasions. Such is the 
 scope of this celebrated Treatise. If we 
 have dwelt longer than might seem neces- 
 sary in explaining it, let it be remembered, 
 that it is the key to all that follows. 
 
28 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF BISHOP BUTLER's ARGUMENT, 
 
 After this sketch of the design of the Ana- 
 logy, let us now proceed to give an idea, 
 
 so FAR AS WE MAY BE ABLE, OF THE SEVE- 
 RAL STEPS OF OUR author's ARGUMENT. 
 
 We say, so far as we may be able ; for it is 
 no easy task to compress and simphfy a series 
 of close and profound reasoning. However, 
 some assistance may be given. The reader's 
 patience is requested. Such an author de- 
 mands and rewards the utmost attention, and 
 cannot be understood without it. 
 
 The whole Treatise is divided into two 
 parts. In the First, the author shows, that 
 the things principally objected against natural 
 religion, are analogous to what is experienced 
 in the course of nature, and, therefore, in- 
 conclusive. In the Second, he shows the 
 same as to Christianity, or Revealed Reli- 
 gion. In the First Part, he considers, as we 
 shall presently see more at length, by a sepa- 
 rate review of each topic, that natural religion 
 teaches, 1 . That mankind is to live hereafter 
 in a future state. 2. That there every one 
 shall be rewarded or punished. 3. That 
 these rewards and punishments will be ac- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 29 
 
 cording to men's good or evil behaviour here. 
 4. That our present life is a probation, or 
 trial. 5. That it is a state of moral disci- 
 pline for a future life. 6. That the notion 
 of necessity forms no valid objection against 
 these truths ; and, 7. That as this plan of 
 religion is but very partially made known to 
 us in this world, no objections against its wis- 
 dom and goodness are of any real weight. 
 These points we shall consider in seven sepa- 
 rate chapters. 
 
 From this view of natural religion, we shall 
 proceed with Butler in the Second Part of 
 his work, to weigh, 1. The importance of 
 Christianity ; 2. The objections raised against 
 it, on the ground of its being miraculous ; 
 and, 3. Our incapacity of judging what w^as 
 to be expected in a revelation, and the credi- 
 bility that it would contain things apparently 
 open to objections. 4. We shall next have 
 to consider, Christianity as a scheme imper- 
 fectly comprehended ; then, 5. The particu- 
 lar system itself of Cliristianity, the appoint- 
 ment of a Mediator, and the redemption of 
 the warld by him ; and, 6. The want of uni- 
 versality in revelation, and the supposed de- 
 4 
 
30 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ficiency in the proof of it. After this, we 
 shall have to notice, 7. The objections against 
 the particular evidence for Christianity ; and 
 lastly, 8. The objections which may be made 
 generally against thus arguing from the anal- 
 ogy of nature to religion. These will be the 
 heads of eight chapters. The following re- 
 view will accordingly contain seven chapters 
 in the first division of it, and eight in the 
 second. 
 
 The author begins his Treatise (Part I. 
 Chap. I.) with that which is the foundation 
 of all our hopes and all our fears ; all our 
 hopes and fears which are of any considera- 
 tion — a Future Life. He takes for granted 
 that there is an Intelligent Author of Nature, 
 whose moral will and character is just and 
 good in the very highest degree. This Au- 
 thor of Nature formed the universe as it is, 
 and carries on the course of it as he does, 
 rather than in any other manner. Men, as 
 rational creatures, cannot but reflect on the 
 mysterious scheme of things in the midst of 
 which they find themselves ; and cannot but 
 inquire whence they came and whither they 
 are going, and what will be the end or issue 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 31 
 
 of the system in which they are placed. Now 
 it will appear, in the first place, from con- 
 sidering the analogy of nature, that there is 
 nothing improbable in what religion teaches, 
 that we are to exist in another life after death. 
 There is, indeed, a confused suspicion, that 
 in the great shock of the unknown event, 
 death, our living powers will be destroyed. 
 The sensible proof of our being possessed of 
 these powers is removed. Death is terrible 
 to us. Nature shrinks from it. Yet, when 
 we come calmly to consider these apprehen- 
 sions, we shall find them to be groundless. 
 
 1 . For it is clearly a general law of na- 
 ture, that the same creatures should exist 
 here in very difiTerent degrees of life and per- 
 ception. We see instances of this law in the 
 surprising change of worms into flies, and in 
 birds and insects bursting their shell, and en- 
 tering into a new world furnished with new 
 accommodations for them. The states also 
 in which we ourselves existed formerly in the 
 womb, and in the years of infancy, are wide- 
 ly different from the state of mature age. 
 Nothing can be imagined more different. 
 Therefore, that we are to exist hereafter in 
 
S2 WILSON'S ANALOGl. 
 
 a State as different from our present, as this 
 is from our former one, is only according to 
 the analogy of nature. 
 
 2. There is a probability, in every case, 
 that all things will continue as we now find 
 them, in all respects, except those in which 
 we have some positive reason to think they 
 will be altered. This is a general law. Na- 
 ture goes on as it is. This seems our only 
 reason for believing that the course of the 
 world will continue to-morrow, as it is to-day, 
 and as it has done, so far as experience and 
 history can carry us back. If then our liv- 
 ing powers do not continue after death, there 
 must be some positive reason for this, either 
 in death itself, or in the analogy of nature. 
 
 But there is no positive reason in death 
 itself for we know not what it is ; we only 
 know some of its effects, such as the dissolu- 
 tion of flesh, skin, and bones ; and these 
 effects in nowise appear to imply the destruc- 
 tion of the living agent. Sleep, or a swoon, 
 shows us that the living powers may exist 
 when there is no present capacity of exer- 
 cising them. In fact we know not upon what 
 the existence of our living powers depends. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 33 
 
 Nor does the analogy of nature furnish any- 
 positive reason to think that death is our de- 
 struction. For we have no faculties where- 
 with to trace any thing beyond, or through 
 death, to see what becomes of those powers. 
 Men were possessed of these powers up to 
 the period to which we have faculties for 
 tracing them ; it is probable, therefore, that 
 they retain them afterwards. 
 
 3. For our gross bodies are not ourselves, 
 and therefore the destruction of them may be 
 no destruction of ourselves. We see that 
 men may lose their limbs, their organs of 
 sense, and even the greatest part of their 
 bodies, and yet remain the same living agents 
 as before. Our organized bodies are mere- 
 ly large quantities of matter which may be 
 alienated, and actually are in a daily course 
 of succession and change, whilst we remain 
 the same living permanent beings notwith- 
 standing. As, therefore, we have already 
 several times over lost a great part of our 
 body, or perhaps the whole of it, according 
 to certain common established laws of nature ; 
 so when we shall lose as great a part, or the 
 whole, by another common established law 
 4* 
 
34 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 of nature, death, why may we not also re- 
 main the same? That the alienation has 
 been gradual in one case, and will be more 
 at once in the other, proves nothing to the 
 contrary. 
 
 4. But, more particularly, our bodies are 
 clearly only organs and instruments of per- 
 ception and motion. Our use of common 
 optical instruments shows that we see with 
 our eyes in the same sense, and in no other, 
 as we see with glasses. These glasses, which 
 are no part of our body, convey objects to- 
 wards the perceiving power, just as our bodi- 
 ly organs do. x\nd if we see with our eyes 
 only in this manner, the like may be con- 
 cluded as to all our other senses. So with 
 regard to the power of moving : upon the 
 destruction of a limb, the active power re- 
 mains ; and we can walk by the help of an 
 artificial leg, just as we can make use of a 
 pole to reach things beyond the length of the 
 natural arm. We may therefore have no 
 more relation to our external bodily organs, 
 than we have to a microscope or a staff, or 
 any other foreign matter, which we use as 
 instruments of perception or motion : and the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 35 
 
 dissolution of these organs by death may be 
 no destruction of the Hving agent. 
 
 6. But farther, our powers of reflection do 
 not, even now, depend on our gross body in 
 the same manner as perception by the organs 
 of sense does. In our present condition, the 
 organs of sense are indeed necessary for con- 
 veying in ideas to our reflecting powers, as 
 carriages, and levers, and scaffolds are in 
 architecture ; but when these ideas are once 
 brought in, and stored up in the mind, we 
 are capable of pleasure and pain by reflec- 
 tion, without any further assistance from our 
 senses. Mortal diseases often do not at all 
 affect our intellectual powers, nor even sus- 
 pend them. We see persons under those 
 diseases, the moment before death, discover 
 apprehension, memory, reason, all entire — 
 the utmost force of affection, and the highest 
 mental enjoyments and sufferings ; why then 
 should a disease, when come to a certain de- 
 gree, be thought to destroy those powers, 
 which do not depend on the bodily senses, 
 and which were not affected by that disease 
 quite up to that degree ? 
 
 6. Nay, our future existence may pro- 
 
36 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 bably be not the beginning, properly speak- 
 ing, of any thing new, but only the continu- 
 ance, the going on of our present life as 
 intelligent agents. Death may only answer 
 to our birth, which is not a suspension of the 
 faculties we had before, nor a total change 
 of the state of life in which we existed when 
 in the womb, but a continuance of both, with 
 such and such great alterations. And our 
 present relation to our bodily organs may be 
 the only natural hindrance to our existing 
 hereafter in a higher state of being and re- 
 flection. 
 
 7. But even if death suspends our living 
 powers, which does not appear, yet a sleep 
 or a swoon may teach us that the suspension 
 of a power and the destruction of it, are ef- 
 fects totally different. 
 
 8. On the whole, the analogy of nature 
 makes it probable, that as we are conscious 
 that we are now living agents, so we shall go 
 on to be such, notwithstanding the event of 
 death, which, it is likely, may only serve to 
 bring us into new scenes, and a new state of 
 life and action, just as naturally as we came 
 into the present. This will appear most pro- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 37 
 
 bable, if we would only leave off the delusive 
 custom of substituting imagination in the room 
 of experience, and would confine ourselves 
 to what we really know and understand. 
 
 Chapter II. A future state being once 
 granted, an unbounded prospect is opened to 
 our hopes and fears. The expectation of im- 
 mortality is not a matter of indifference, but a 
 subject of the deepest importance. For the 
 whole analogy of nature shows that there is 
 nothing incredible in the supposition that God 
 will reward and punish men hereafter for their 
 actions here. And it is infinitely unreasona- 
 ble in men to act upon any other supposition. 
 
 1. For in the present life, we see that 
 pleasure and pain are the consequences of 
 our actions, and that we are endued with 
 capacities of foreseeing these consequences, 
 and acting accordingly. This is the consti- 
 tution of the Author of Nature. By pru- 
 dence and care we may pass our days in 
 tolerable quiet ; by rashness, passion, wilful- 
 ness, or even by negligence, (which is very 
 observable) we may make ourselves as mise- 
 rable as we please. This is the general 
 
38 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 course of things. God's method as the Gov- 
 ernor of the universe, is clearly to forewarn 
 us of such and such things, and to give us 
 capacities of foreseeing, that if we act so 
 and so, we shall have such and such enjoy- 
 ments and sufferings. 
 
 2. It is then a simple matter of fact, that 
 we are under the dominion of God here, just 
 as we are under the dominion and rule of 
 civil magistrates ; because the annexing plea- 
 sure to some actions, and pain to others, and 
 the giving notice of this beforehand, is the 
 proper formal notion of government. We 
 are thus compelled to admit, that the Author 
 of Nature acts here as a Master or Governor : 
 there can, therefore, be nothing incredible 
 in the general doctrine of religion, that God 
 will act thus hereafter — that is, will reward 
 and punish men for their behaviour. 
 
 3. But as divine punishment is what men 
 chiefly object against, and are most unwilling 
 to allow, it is important to observe, not mere- 
 ly that there is a great deal of misery, in the 
 world, but that there is a great deal, which 
 men bring upon themselves, and which they 
 might have foreseen and avoided. Now the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 39 
 
 circumstances of these natural punishments 
 are such as these. — They are often the con- 
 sequences of actions which procure many- 
 present advantages, and bring much present 
 pleasure. Again, they are often much greater 
 than the advantages or pleasures of the ac- 
 tions which they follow. They are frequent- 
 ly delayed a great while ; sometimes till long 
 after the actions occasioning them are forgot. 
 They thill come, after such delay, not by 
 degrees, but suddenly, with violence, and at 
 once. They are often not thought of during 
 the actions themselves ; yet still they inevi- 
 tably follow. Thus habits formed in youth 
 are utter ruin for life ; though, for the most 
 part, this consequence is little thought of at 
 the time. 
 
 4. We observe further, that the natural 
 course of things gives us opportunities, which, 
 like the seed-time, cannot be recalled if we 
 once neglect them ; and that, in many cases, 
 real repentance and reformation are of no 
 avail to remedy or prevent the miseries natu- 
 rally annexed to previous folly ; that neglects 
 from mere inconsidcrateness and want of at- 
 tention, are often as fatal as from any active 
 
40 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 misconduct ; and that many natural punish- 
 ments are mortal, and seem inflicted either 
 to remove the offender out of the way of 
 being further mischievous, or as an example 
 to others. 
 
 5. Now these things are not accidental, 
 but are matters of every day's experience, 
 proceeding from general laws by which God 
 obviously is governing the world ; and they 
 are so analogous to what religion teaches us 
 concerning the future punishment of the wick- 
 ed, that both may be expressed in the very 
 same words. 
 
 6. Especially we see, that after men's neg- 
 lecting repeated warnings, and many checks, 
 in a course of vice — after these have been 
 long scorned — and after the worst conse- 
 quences of their follies have been delayed for 
 a great while ; at length their punishment 
 breaks in upon them irresistibly, like an arm- 
 ed force ; repentance is too late to relieve 
 their misery — the case is desperate; and 
 poverty and sickness, remorse and anguish, 
 infamy and death, overwhelm them, as the 
 effects of their own behaviour, beyond the 
 possibility of remedy or escape. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 41 
 
 7. Not that men are thus uniformly pun- 
 ished here in proportion to their vices, but 
 they often are : very many such cases occur, 
 and dreadful ones too — cases quite sufficient 
 to show what the laws of the universe may 
 admit, and to answer all objections against 
 future punishments, from the vain idea, that 
 the frailty of nature, and the force of tempta- 
 tions (as men sometimes speak) almost anni- 
 hilate the guilt of human vices. 
 
 8. Thus, on the whole, the particular final 
 causes of pleasure and pain distributed by 
 Almighty God here, prove that we are under 
 his government, in the same way as subjects 
 are under the rule of civil magistrates. And 
 future rewards and punishments are but an 
 appointment, analogous and of the same sort 
 with what we thus actually experience in this 
 world, in the regular course of universal Pro- 
 vidence. 
 
 Chap. III. But further ; this natural 
 government of God, under which we now find 
 ourselves, is a moral or righteous govern- 
 ment. It is not merely a government by re- 
 wards and punishments, like that which a 
 5 
 
42 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 master exercises over his servants, which in 
 human affairs is often exercised tyrannically 
 and partially, but one which renders to men 
 according to their actions, considered as mo- 
 rally good or evil. This is the next step in 
 removing objections against natural religion. 
 
 Men have no ground whatever to assert 
 that God is simply and absolutely benevolent 
 — this indeed may be so upon the whole — 
 but he clearly manifests himself unto us as a 
 righteous Governor. This government, in- 
 deed, so far as it is seen here, and taken 
 alone, is not complete and perfect ; but still 
 a righteous government is carried on here, 
 quite sufficiently to give us the apprehension 
 that it shall be completed in a future life. 
 We see now the clear beginnings, the rudi- 
 ments of a moral government, notwithstand- 
 ing all the confusion and disorder of the world. 
 This is enough to answer all objections against 
 the future judgment, which religion teaches 
 us to expect. 
 
 1. For as God is our Governor, no rule 
 of his government appears to creatures en- 
 dued with a moral nature as we are, so natu- 
 ral, so unavoidable, considering his infinite 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 43 
 
 perfections, as that of distributive justice. 
 The expectation then of this is not in itself 
 absurd or chimerical. 
 
 2. Next, as God has endued us with ca- 
 pacities of foreseeing the good and bad con- 
 sequences of our behaviour, and rewards and 
 punishes prudence and imprudence respective- 
 ly, this plainly implies some sort of moral 
 government. Tranquility and satisfaction fol- 
 low a prudent management of our affairs ; and 
 rashness and negligence bring after them many 
 sufferings. These are instances of a right 
 constitution of things here ; just as the correc- 
 tion of children, when they run into danger, 
 or hurt themselves, is a part of right education. 
 3. Again, the Author of Nature has so 
 appointed things, that vicious actions, as false- 
 hood, injustice, cruelty, he. must be punish- 
 ed, and are punislied as mischievous to so- 
 ciety. He has put mankind under a necessity 
 of thus punishing them, just as he has put 
 them under a necessity of preserving their 
 lives by food. Thus men are, in some re- 
 spects, unavoidably under a moral govern- 
 ment here, they are punished or rewarded as 
 being mischievous or beneficial to society. 
 
44 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 4. Again, we are so formed that virtue, 
 as such, gives us satisfaction, at least in some 
 instances ; vice, as such, and on its own ac- 
 count, in none. This is a proof not only of 
 government, but of moral government, begun 
 and established — moral in the strictest sense, 
 though not in that perfection of degree, which 
 religion teaches us to expect. The sense of 
 well and ill doing, the presages of conscience, 
 the love which men have to good characters, 
 and the dislike of bad ones ; honour, shame, 
 gratitude ; vexation and remorse, arising from 
 reflection on an action done by us, as being 
 wrong ; disturbance and fear, from a sense 
 of being blameworthy : and, on the other 
 hand, inward security and peace, compla- 
 cency and joy of heart, accompanying the 
 exercise of friendship, compassion, benevo- 
 lence ; — all this shows that we are placed 
 here in a condition, in which our moral na- 
 ture operates in favouring virtue and punish- 
 ing vice. Vice cannot at all be, and virtue 
 cannot but be, favoured on some occasions, 
 and for its own sake, by ourselves and others. 
 The one cannot but be miserable ; the other 
 cannot but be happy in itself, in some degree. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 45 
 
 And though the wicked are at times prosper- 
 ous, in some respects and externally, and the 
 righteous afflicted, this cannot, and does not, 
 drown the voice of Providence, plainly de- 
 claring, in the course of things, for virtue 
 upon the whole. For it is clear that these 
 disorders are brought about by the perver- 
 sion of passions, which were implanted in us 
 for other, and those very good purposes. 
 
 5. Once more, there is, in the natural 
 course of things, a tendency in virtue and 
 vice to produce their good and bad effects in 
 a greater degree than they do in fact produce 
 them. This is a very considerable thing. 
 Good and bad men would be much more 
 rewarded and punished here as such, were 
 not justice eluded by various artifices, were 
 not characters unknown, w^ere not many oth- 
 er hinderances presented by accidental caus- 
 es. But these hinderances may be removed 
 in a future state, and virtue enjoy its proper 
 and full reward. In the mean time, these 
 tendencies are declarations of God in his 
 natural Providence in favour of virtue. To 
 judge better of the tendency of virtue to pro- 
 duce happiness, let any one consider what a 
 .^ 5* 
 
46 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 nation would become, if all its citizens were 
 perfectly virtuous ; and that for a succession 
 of ages. Wars would be unknown ; passions 
 would be restrained ; crimes, factions, envy, 
 jealousy, injustice would be banished ; laws 
 and punishments would be unnecessary ; all 
 would contribute to the public prosperity, and 
 each would enjoy the fruits of his own virtue. 
 United wisdom would plan every thing, and 
 united strength execute it. Such a kingdom 
 would be like heaven upon earth. If any 
 think the tendency of virtue to produce these 
 results to be of little importance, I ask him 
 what he would think if vice had essentially 
 these advantageous tendencies. 
 
 6. The notion, then, of a moral righteous 
 government is suggested by the course of 
 nature, and the execution of it is, as we have 
 seen, actually begun ; and there is ground to 
 believe that virtue and vice may be rewarded 
 and punished hereafter in a higher degree 
 than they are here, because the tendencies, 
 to the perfection of this moral scheme are 
 natural ; whilst the binderances are only ac- 
 cidentaL 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 47 
 
 Chap. IV. If this be so — if there be this 
 moral government, then it implies, in the next 
 place, that our present life is a state of pro- 
 bation ; that our future interest is appointed 
 to depend on our behaviour, just in the same 
 manner as our temporal interest is appointed 
 to depend on our behaviour. And this state 
 of probation implies, in both cases, difficulty 
 in securing our happiness, and the danger of 
 losing it. 
 
 1. For we are clearly at present in a 
 state of trial as to this world, under God's 
 natural government. So far as men are 
 tempted to any course of action, which will 
 probably occasion them greater inconvenience 
 than satisfaction, they are in a state of trial as 
 to their temporal interests, and those interests 
 are in danger from themselves. Now, from 
 the course of things around us, we have in- 
 numerable temptations to forfeit and neglect 
 these temporal interests, and to run ourselves 
 into misery and ruin : thence arises the diffi- 
 culty of behaving so as to secure our tempo- 
 ral interests, and the hazard of behaving so 
 as to miscarry in them. And outward temp- 
 tations, concurring, as they always do, with 
 
48 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 inward habits and passions, as really put men 
 in danger of voluntarily foregoing their tem- 
 poral interests, as their future ones, and as 
 really render self-denial necessary to secure 
 one as the other : so analogous are our states 
 of trial in our temporal and religious capaci- 
 ties. 
 
 2. Again, as to both states we see that 
 some men scarcely look beyond the passing 
 day, so much are they taken up with present 
 gratifications ; that others are carried away 
 by passions against their better judgment, and 
 their feeble resolutions of acting better ; and 
 that some even avow pleasure to be their 
 rule of life, and go on in vice, foreseeing that 
 it will be their temporal ruin, and apprehend- 
 ing at times that it may possibly be their 
 future ruin also. Thus the dangers in both 
 states produce the same effects, as they pro- 
 ceed from the same causes ; that is, they are 
 analogous and alike. 
 
 3. Further, in both states our dangers are 
 increased by the ill behaviour of others, by 
 wrong education, bad example, corruption of 
 religion, mistaken notions concerning happi- 
 ness. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 49 
 
 4. Again, in both, men by negligence and 
 folly bring themselves into new difficulties, 
 no less than by a course of vice ; and by 
 habits of indulgence become less quali6ed to 
 meet them. For instance, wrong behaviour 
 in youth increases the difficulty of right be- 
 haviour in mature age ; that is, puts us in a 
 more disadvantageous state of trial. 
 
 5. In both, also, we are in a condition 
 which does not seem the most advantageous 
 for securing our true interests. There are 
 natural appearances of our being in a state of 
 degradation. Yet we have no ground of 
 complaint ; for as men may manage their tem- 
 poral affairs by prudence, so as to pass their 
 days in tolerable ease ; so with respect to 
 religion, no more is required than we must 
 be greatly wanting to ourselves if we neglect. 
 
 6. Once more, as thought, and self-denial, 
 and things far from agreeable, are absolutely 
 necessary for securing our temporal interests, 
 all presumption against the same being neces- 
 sary for securing our higher interests is re- 
 moved. 
 
 7. Had we not experience as our guide, 
 we might, indeed, in speculation, urge it to 
 
50 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 be impossible that any thing of hazard should 
 be put upon us by an Infinite Being, since 
 every thing which is hazardous in our con- 
 ception, is now already certain in his fore- 
 knowledge. And indeed this may well be 
 thought a difficulty in speculation, and cannot 
 but be so, till we know the whole, or how- 
 ever much more of the case. And if man- 
 kind, as inhabitants of this world, really found 
 themseh^es always in a settled state of secu- 
 rity, without any solicitude on their part, and 
 in no danger of falling into distresses and 
 miseries, by carelessness or passion, by bad 
 example, or the deceitful appearances of 
 things, — then it would be some presumption 
 against religion, that it represents us in a state 
 of trial and danger as to our future happiness. 
 But now the whole course of nature shows 
 us that we are in a state of extreme hazard 
 as to our temporal interests. And this con- 
 stitution of things is settled by Almighty God 
 as our natural Governor. It is as it is. This 
 is quite clear. And this is sufficient to an- 
 swer all objections against the credibility of 
 our being in a state of trial and difficulty, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 61 
 
 under the moral government of the same 
 God, as to our future and eternal interests. 
 
 Chap. V. If we go on to ask, how we 
 came to be placed in a probationary state of so 
 much difficulty and hazard, we have already 
 said that we can give no complete answer. 
 Possibly it would be beyond our faculties, not 
 only to find out, but even to understand the 
 whole reason ; and even if we had faculties, 
 whether it would be of service or prejudice 
 to us to be informed of it, it is impossible to 
 say. Still another question may be naturally 
 put, to which a satisfactory reply may be 
 given. If it be asked, What is our main duty 
 here, as placed in this state of trial and diffi- 
 culty ? analogy w^ill help us to answer. For 
 moral discipline, as preparatory to a future 
 state of security and happiness. The begin- 
 ning of life in the present world, considered 
 as an education for mature age, appears plain- 
 ly, at first sight, analogous to this trial for a 
 future one. 
 
 1. For our nature here corresponds to 
 our external condition, and what we call hap- 
 piness is the result of this nature and this 
 condition. Now as there are some determi- 
 
62 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 nate character and qualifications necessary 
 to men's enjoyment of the present life ; so 
 analogy leads us to conclude, that there must 
 be some determinate character and qualifica- 
 tions to render men capable of the future life 
 of the good hereafter. The one is set over 
 against the other. 
 
 2. In the next place, we see that the con- 
 stitution and facukies of men are such, that 
 they are capable of naturally becoming quali- 
 fied for states of life, for which they were at 
 first wholly unqualified. The human facul- 
 ties are made for gradual enlargement; habit 
 gives us new faculties in any kind of action, 
 and produces secret, but settled and fixed 
 alterations in our temper and character. As 
 habits of the body are produced by repeated 
 acts, so habits of the mind are produced by 
 carrying into act inward principles ; such as 
 obedience, submission to authority, veracity, 
 justice, charity, attention, industry, self-gov- 
 ernment. Habit forms men to these virtues ; 
 just as habit forms the archer to skill, the 
 porter to strength of arm, the racer to swift- 
 ness, the artizan in every kind of manufac- 
 ture, to adroitness and precision. Such is the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 6S 
 
 constitution of our nature. By accustoming 
 ourselves to any course of action, we get an 
 aptness to go on in it : the inclinations which 
 made us averse to it grow weaker ; the real 
 difficulties of it lessen ; the reasons for it offer 
 themselves of course ; and thus a new cha- 
 racter may be formed, not given us by na- 
 ture, but which nature directs us to acquire. 
 3. These capacities of improvement are 
 most important. i\Ian is left, considered in 
 his relation to this world only, an unformed, 
 weak, unfinished creature, wholly unqualified 
 for the mature state of life to which he is de- 
 signed. He needs the acquisitions of know- 
 ledge, experience, and habits, in order at all 
 to attain the ends of his creation. And he is 
 placed, in childhood and youth, in a coridi- 
 tion fitted for supplying his deficiencies. 
 Children from their birth are daily learning 
 something necessary for them in the future 
 scenes of their duty. The first years of life 
 are a course of education for the practice of 
 adult age. We are much assisted in it by 
 example, instruction, and the care of others, 
 but a great deal is left to ourselves to do ; 
 and diligence, care, the voluntary foregoing 
 
64 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 many things which we desire, and the setting 
 ourselves to many things to which we have 
 no inclination, are absolutely necessary to our 
 doing this. All this is clear. We see it 
 every day. In like manner, then, our being 
 placed in a state of moral discipline through- 
 out this life, as a state of education for ano- 
 ther world, is a plain providential order of 
 things, exactly of the same kind, and com- 
 prehended under one aod the same general 
 law of nature. 
 
 4. Nor would it be any objection against 
 this view of things if we were not able to dis- 
 cern in what way the present life could be a 
 preparation for another ; for we actually do 
 not discern how food and sleep bring about 
 tha growth of the body ; nor do children at 
 all think that their sports contribute to their, 
 health, nor that restraint and discipline are so 
 necessary, as we know they are, to fit them 
 for the business of mature age. 
 
 5. But we are, in fact, able to discern 
 how^ the present life is fit to be a state of dis- 
 cipline for another. If we consider that God's 
 government of us ns a moral one, and that 
 consequently piety and virtue are necessary 
 
WILj?0^^'S ANALOGY. 55 
 
 qualifications for a future state, then we may 
 distinctly see that the present course of things 
 is adapted to improve us in virtue, and pre- 
 pare us for a future world, just as childhood 
 is a natural state of discipline, and a neces- 
 sary preparation for mature age. Now how 
 greatly we want moral improvement by dis- 
 cipline is clear, from the gi^eat wickedness of 
 the world, and the imperfections of the best 
 men. This every one sees. 
 
 6. But all do not see that mankind, not 
 merely as corrupt, but as finite creatures, 
 need the habits of virtue, which discipline 
 goes to form, to keep them from deviating 
 from what is right. Men, from the very 
 constitution of their nature, before habits 
 of virtue are formed, are in danger. For 
 the natural objects of the affections, continue 
 to be such, whether tiiey can be obtained in- 
 nocently or not ; and such affections have a 
 tendency to incline us to venture upon unlaw- 
 ful means of obtaining them. The practical 
 principle of virtue is then the security against 
 this danger ; and this principle is strengthened 
 by discipline and exercise ; and thus guards 
 
56 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 against the danger arising from the very na- 
 ture of particular affections, 
 
 7. If such finite creatures as men, endued 
 with particular affections and moral under- 
 standing, had all these several parts upright 
 or finitely perfect, they would still be in dan- 
 ger of falling, and would require experience 
 and habits to improve them, and place them 
 in a secure state. As these habits strength- 
 en, their dangers would lessen, and their 
 security increase. For virtuous self-govern- 
 ment is not only right in itself, but improves 
 the inward constitution and character ; just 
 as vicious indulgence is not only criminal in 
 itself, but also weakens and depraves the in- 
 ward constitution and character. And thus 
 we may conceive how creatures without 
 blemish may be in danger of going WTong, 
 and may need the additional security of vir- 
 tuous habits. 
 
 8. But how much more strongly .must 
 this hold with respect to those who have cor- 
 rupted their natures. Upright creatures may 
 want to be improved ; depraved creatures want 
 to be renewed. Discipline is expedient for 
 the upright ; but absolutely necessary for the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 57 
 
 depraved — and discipline of the severer sort 
 too. 
 
 9. Now the present world is peculiarly 
 fitted to be a state of discipline for this pur- 
 pose. Temptation, experience of the deceits 
 of wickedness, our past faults, the vice and 
 disorder of the world — pain, sorrow, disap- 
 pointment, vexation — all have a tendency to 
 bring us to that moderation of temper which 
 is contrary to the violent bent to follow pre- 
 sent inclination, which may be observed in 
 undisciplined minds. Such experience gives 
 a practical sense of things. And possibly 
 the security of creatures in the highest state 
 of perfection may, in part, arise from their 
 liaving had such a sense of things as this 
 habitually fixed within them, in a state of 
 probation. Their having passed through the 
 present world with that moral attention which 
 a state of discipline requires, may leave ever- 
 lasting impressions of this sort upon their 
 minds. Now when the exercise of the virtu- 
 ous principle is continued, often repeated and 
 intense, as it must be in circumstances of 
 danger and temptation, the habit of virtue is 
 proportionably increased. Thus the present 
 6^- 
 
58 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 world, is peculiarly fit to be a state of disci- 
 pline, in the same sense as some sciences, by 
 requiring and engaging the attention, not, to 
 be sure, of such persons as will not, but of 
 such as will, set themselves to them ; are fit 
 to form the mind to habits of attention. 
 
 10. Accordingly we find there are some 
 persons who follow an inward principle of 
 piety, and to whom the present world is an 
 exercise of virtue peculiarly adapted to im- 
 prove it — adapted to improve it, in some 
 respects, even beyond what it would be by 
 the exercise of it in a perfectly virtuous so- 
 ciety. 
 
 11. That the present world does not 
 actually become a state of moral discipline to 
 the generality, is no proof that it was not in^ 
 tended to be so : for out of the immense 
 number of seeds of vegetables, and bodies of 
 animals which are adapted to improve to such 
 and such a point of natural maturity and per- 
 fection, we do not see that perhaps one in a 
 thousand does thus improve ; yet no one will 
 deny that those seeds and bodies which do 
 so attain to that point of maturity, answer the 
 end for which they were designed by nature^ 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 59 
 
 and therefore that nature designed them for 
 that perfection. And such an amazing waste 
 in nature, with respect to these seeds and 
 bodies, by foreign causes, is, to us as unac- 
 countable as, what is much more terrible, the 
 present and future ruin of so many moral 
 agents by themselves, that is, by vice. 
 
 12. Further, these observations on the 
 active principle of obedience to God, are ap- 
 plicable to passive obedience to his will, or 
 resignation, which is another essential part of 
 a right character. For though we may have 
 no need of patience in a future state, yet we 
 may have need of that temper, which pa- 
 tience has formed ; and the proper discipline 
 for patience and resignation is affliction. This 
 resignation, together with the active principle 
 ,of obedience, makes up the temper which 
 answers to God's sovereignty, to his rightful 
 authority, as supreme over all. 
 
 13. It cannot be objected to all this, that 
 the trouble and danger of this discipline might 
 have been spared us by our being made at 
 once the characters which we were to be- 
 come ; for we see by experience that what 
 we are to become is to depend on what we 
 
60 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 will do; and that the general law of nature 
 is, not to save us trouble or danger, but to 
 make us capable of going through it. 
 
 14. The world, further, is a state of pro- 
 bation, is a theatre of action for the manifes- 
 tation of persons' characters, as a means of 
 their being disposed of suitably to those cha- 
 racters, and of its being known to the crea- 
 tion by way of example that they are so dis- 
 posed of. 
 
 15. It thus appears clearly, on the whole, 
 that our present state of difficulty and trial is 
 intended to be a school of discipline for ac- 
 quiring the qualifications necessary for a fu- 
 ture state of safety and happiness. 
 
 Chap. VI. Nor does the opinion of ne- 
 cessity weaken the credibility of the general 
 doctrine of religion thus confirmed by Analo- 
 gy. For if any persons consider the notion 
 of universal necessity or fate to be reconcilea- 
 ble with the acknowledged condition of men 
 as under God's natural government now, (and 
 to such persons only does this whole treatise 
 address itself) they must also consider it to 
 be reconcileable with the scheme of religio n 
 
WILSON'S ANALOG Y. 6 1 
 
 1. For necessity clearly does not exclude 
 deliberation, choice, and the acting from cer- 
 tain principles to certain ends, as to the things 
 of this present world ; because all this is mat- 
 ter of undoubted experience. For if the in- 
 stance of a house be taken, the Fatalist as 
 well as others, would agree that it was de- 
 signed and built by an architect ; and they 
 would only differ upon the question, whether 
 the architect built it in the manner, which we 
 call necessarily, or in the manner which we 
 call freely. The idea of necessity does not, 
 then, at all destroy the proof that there is an 
 intelligent Author and Governor of nature, 
 any more than that the house was built by an 
 architect. 
 
 2. Nor does necessity destroy at all the 
 scheme of religion. For as to the things of this 
 world, suppose a Fatalist to bring up a child 
 in the idea that he is not a subject of blame 
 or praise for his actions, because he cannot 
 help doing what he does. The child would 
 be vain and conceited, and go on following 
 his will and passions till he became ^rst the, 
 plague of himself and family, and then insup- 
 portable to society ; and thus he would soon 
 
62 WILSON'S ANALOGY, 
 
 do something, for which he would be deliver- 
 ed over into the hands of justice. In this 
 way the correction he would meet with, and 
 the misery consequent upon it, w^ould soon 
 convince him, that either the scheme of ne- 
 cessity, in which he was educated was false, 
 or that he reasoned inconclusively upon it, 
 and somehow or other misapplied it to prac- 
 tice and common life. In like manner, what 
 the Fatalist experiences of the conduct of 
 Providence at present, ought in all reason to 
 convince him, that either his scheme of ne- 
 cessity is false, or that somehow or other it 
 is misapplied, when brought to practical duty 
 and religion in common life. Under the pre- 
 sent natural government of the world, we are 
 obviously dealt with as if we were free ; and 
 therefore the analogy of nature answers all 
 objections to our being dealt with as free, 
 with regard to another world. Thus the 
 notion of necessity, whether true or not in 
 speculation, is not applicable to practical sub- 
 jects. With respect to them it is as if it were 
 pot true., 
 
 3. Again, we find, by constant experi- 
 ence, that happiness and misery are not ne- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 63 
 
 cessary here, in such a sense as not to be the 
 consequences of our behaviour, for they are 
 the clear consequences of it ; and God exer- 
 cises over us tlie same kind of government 
 in this world, as a father does over his chil- 
 dren, and a civil magistrate over his subjects. 
 These are matters of fact, things of experi- 
 ence, which cannot be affected by the opin- 
 ion about necessity. In like manner, God's 
 moral government over men, as taught by 
 religion, cannot be affected by that opinion. 
 
 4. Besides, natural religion has an exter- 
 nal evidence, a positive foundation in facts 
 and data, which the mere opinion of neces- 
 sity cannot affect. 
 
 5. And, if men should say that. Necessity 
 being true, it is incredible that God should 
 govern us upon a supposition of freedom 
 which is false ; the plain answer is, that there 
 must be a fallacy somewhere in this conclu- 
 sion, for the whole analogy of nature proves 
 that God does govern us by rewards and 
 punishments as free agents. And the fallacy 
 lies, supposing necessity to be true, in taking 
 it for granted that necessary agents cannot 
 be rewarded and punished for their behaviour. 
 
64 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 6. Thus, the notion of necessity, sup- 
 posing it can be reconciled with the constitu- 
 tion of things, and what we experience under 
 God's rule here, is equally and entirely re- 
 concileable with the scheme of religion also. 
 
 Chap. VII. Still objections may be in- 
 sisted upon against the wisdom, equity, and 
 goodness of the divine government implied 
 in the notion of religion, to which analogy 
 (which can only show that such and such 
 things are credible, considered as matters of 
 fact,) can give no direct answ^er. But if 
 analogy suggests that the divine government 
 is a scheme or system, as distinguished from 
 a number of unconnected acts of justice and 
 goodness, and a scheme imperfectly compre- 
 hended, then this gives a general, though in- 
 direct answer to all objections against the 
 justice and goodness of that government. 
 
 1. Now in this present world and the 
 whole natural government of it, there is obvi- 
 ously a scheme or system carried on, whose 
 parts correspond to each other ; so that there 
 is no natural event so single and unconnected 
 as not to have respect to some other actions 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 65 
 
 or events : just as any work of art, or any 
 particular civil constitution of government, is 
 a scheme, and has various correspondent parts. 
 Nor can we give the whole account of any 
 one thing whatever in nature — of all its 
 causes, ends, and necessary adjuncts, with- 
 out which it could not have been. Things 
 seemingly the most insigni6cant imaginable, 
 are perpetually discovered to be necessary 
 conditions of other things of the greatest im- 
 portance. 
 
 2. The natural world, then, being such 
 an incomprehensible scheme, so incompre- 
 hensible that a man must really, in the literal 
 sense, know nothing at all, who is not sensi- 
 ble of his ignorance of it ; this strongly shows 
 the credibility that the moral world may be 
 so too. Indeed the natural and moral world 
 are so connected, as probably to make up 
 together but one scheme ; and thus the first 
 may be carried on in subserviency to the 
 second ; as the vegetable world is for the 
 animal, and the animal for the rational. 
 
 3. In this way every act of Divine justice 
 and goodness may look much beyond itself, 
 and may have some reference to a general 
 
66 WlLSON»S ANALOGY. 
 
 moral system ; yea, may have such respect 
 to all other acts, as to make up altogether a 
 whole, connected and related in all its parts, 
 which is as properly one as the natural world is. 
 And if so, then it is most clear that we are 
 not at all competent judges of this vast scheme, 
 from the small parts of it, which come with- 
 in our view in the present life, and that ob- 
 jections against any of these parts are utterly 
 unreasonable. Yet this ignorance, which is 
 universally acknowledged on other like occa- 
 sions, is, if not denied, yet universally forgot- 
 ten on the subject of religion where it is most 
 strikingly applicable. Even reasonable men 
 do not make allowance enough for it. And 
 this ignorance answers all objections against 
 religion ; because if religion be a scheme in- 
 comprehensible to us, some unknown rela- 
 tion, or some unknown impossibility, may 
 render the very things objected to, just and 
 good ; nay, just and good in the highest prac- 
 ticable degree. 
 
 4. But more particularly, we see in the 
 natural world, that as no ends are accom- 
 plished without means, so means very undesira- 
 ble are found to bring about ends so desirable 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. G7 
 
 as to overbalance much the previous disa- 
 greeableness — means which, before experi- 
 ence, we should have thought to have a con- 
 trary tendency. Thus, in the moral world, 
 things which we call irregularities may not be 
 so, but may be means of accomplishing wise 
 and good ends more considerable than the 
 apparent irregidarities ; yea, the only means 
 by which those ends are capable of being 
 accomplished. 
 
 5. This, however, is no argument to show 
 that it is not infinitely obligatory on us, and 
 beneficial to abstain from what is evil. For 
 thus, in the wise and good constitution of the 
 natural world, there are disorders, which 
 bring their own cures ; yea, some diseases, 
 which are remedies. As many men would 
 undoubtedly have died had it not been for 
 the gout or a fever ; yet it would be thought 
 madness to say that sickness is a better state 
 than health ; though men have asserted the 
 like absurdity to this, wiih regard to the 
 moral world and moral evil. 
 
 6. Again, the natural world is carried on 
 by general laws, and not by particular inter- 
 positions to prevent or remedy irregularities, 
 
68 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 as the moral world may also be ; and in both 
 there may be the wisest reasons for this 
 scheme, for any thing we know. Perpetual 
 interposition would, for instance, clearly en- 
 courage indolence, and render the rule of 
 life dubious, which is now ascertained by this 
 very thing, that the course of the world is 
 carried on by general laws. And if this be 
 the case, then the not interposing on every 
 particular occasion, is so far from being a 
 ground of complaint, that it is an instance of 
 goodness. This is intelligible and sufficient ; 
 and going farther seems beyond the utmost 
 reach of our faculties. It is to go on quite 
 at random and in the dark. 
 - 7. Thus our ignorance answers all objec- 
 tions against the scheme of religion, as we 
 have shown ; because it is not a total igno- 
 rance, as some have said, of the whole subject, 
 which would preclude equally all proof and 
 all objection, but a partial ignorance, which 
 allows us to understand that the end of the 
 scheme is moral, but does not allow us to 
 comprehend what means are best to accom- 
 plish this end. Therefore, our ignorance is 
 an answer to objections against Providence 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 69 
 
 in permitting irregularities, as seeming contra- 
 dictory to this end. Analogy shows that it 
 is not at all incredible, that if we could know 
 the whole, we should find the things objected 
 to consistent with justice and goodness, yea, 
 instances of it. Thus we do not argue from 
 our ignorance properly speaking, but from 
 something which analogy shows us concern- 
 ing that ignorance. For analogy positively 
 shows us that our ignorance of the various 
 relations of things in nature, makes us incom- 
 petent judges in cases similar to this of reli- 
 gion, in which we pretend to judge. 
 
 8. Finally, we are thus led to consider 
 this little scene of human life in which we are 
 so busy, as having a reference to a much 
 larger plan of things. Whether we are re- 
 lated to the more distant parts of the bound- 
 less universe, is altogether uncertain. But 
 it is evident that we are placed in the middle 
 of a progressive scheme, incomprehensible 
 with respect to what has been, what now is, 
 and what shall be hereafter. Thus all short- 
 sighted objections against God's moral gov- 
 ernment are answered ; and it is absurd — 
 absurd to the degree of being ridiculous, if the 
 7* 
 
70 WILSON'S ANALOG!. 
 
 subject were not of so serious a kind, for 
 men to lay any stress on these objections, 
 and think themselves secure in a vicious life, 
 or even in that immoral thoughtlessness into 
 which far the greatest part of men are fallen. 
 
 PART II.— Chap. I. The chief diffi- 
 culties against natural religion, as implying a 
 moral government, and a state of trial and 
 discipline preparatory for a future world, 
 being removed, we proceed to consider Chris- 
 tianity, and the objections raised against it. 
 And we begin by showing the vast impor- 
 tance of Christianity itself. 
 
 1. To say that mankind do not want a 
 revelation, is as extravagant as it would be 
 to say, that they are so completely at ease 
 and happy in the present life, that their con- 
 dition could not be made better. Those who 
 consider the state of religion in the heathen 
 world before revelation, and the present state 
 of it where revelation is unknown, cannot in 
 seriousness think revelation incredible, upon 
 pretence of its being unnecessary. 
 
 2. But many admit Christianity to be 
 true, but object to the importance of it, on 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 71 
 
 the ground, that to act on the principles of 
 natural religion is enough, as Christianity is 
 only designed to enforce the practice of vir- 
 tue. This is to suppose that it is a matter of 
 indifference whether we obey God^s com- 
 mands or not, of which there may be infinite 
 reasons with which we are not acquainted. 
 
 3. But the high importance of Christiani- 
 ty will appear, if we consider, 1st, That it is 
 a republication of natural religion, teaching it 
 in its genuine purity, investing it with the ad- 
 ditional evidence and authority arising from 
 miracles and prophecy, affording a proof of 
 God's general providence as Governor of the 
 world, with a degree of force to which that 
 of nature is but mere feebleness, erecting a 
 visible church, as a standing memorial to the 
 world of its duty to its Maker, giving men 
 the written oracles of God, which cast the 
 light of revelation on the darkness of nature, 
 as to the most important subjects ; and estab- 
 lishing a regular education of youth in the 
 principles and habits of piety. 
 
 4. If men object to this, that Christianity 
 has been perverted, and has had but little 
 good influence, we answer, that the law of 
 
72 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 nature has been perverted and rendered in- 
 effectual in the same manner ; and yet this is 
 allowed to be from God. And it may be 
 truly said, that the good effects of Christianity 
 have not been small ; nor its supposed ill ef- 
 fects, any effects at all of it, properly speak- 
 ing. Perhaps, too, the perversions them- 
 selves imputed to it have been aggravated ; 
 and if not, Christianity has often been only a 
 pretence ; and the same evils would have 
 been done, in the main, upon some other pre- 
 tence. However, they are no arguments 
 against Christianity. For one cannot pro- 
 ceed a step in reasoning upon natural reli- 
 gion, any more than upon Christianity, with- 
 out laying it down as a first principle, that 
 the dispensations of Providence are not to be 
 judged of by their perversions, but by their 
 genuine tendencies : not from what they ac- 
 tually effect, but from what they would effect, 
 if mankind did their part. 
 
 .5. Thus Christianity is most important, 
 and the guih of neglecting it is great, only 
 considered as a supernatural aid to decayed 
 natural religion, and a new promulgation of 
 God's general providence, as righteous Gov- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 73 
 
 ernor of the world. Especially as this neg- 
 lect further involves in it the omitting to do 
 what is expressly enjoined us by God, for 
 continuing the benefits of it to the world, and 
 transmitting them down to future times. 
 
 6. But, 2dly, Christianity contains be- 
 sides, an account of a dispensation of things 
 not at all discoverable by reason ; a dispen- 
 sation carrying on by the Son of God and the 
 Holy Spirit for the recovery of man, whom 
 the Scriptures every where take for granted 
 to be in a state of ruin. In consequence of 
 this, many obligations of duty, unknown be- 
 fore, are revealed ; and these obligations of 
 duty to the Son and Spirit, arise from the 
 offices which belong to these Divine Persons, 
 and from the relations in which they stand 
 to us ; and are infinitely important. For 
 these reasons, we are commanded to be bap- 
 tized in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost. By natural 
 religion we know the relation in which God 
 the Father stands to us ; and hence arises 
 the bond of duty which we are under to Him. 
 In Scripture are revealed the relations in 
 which the Son and Spirit stand to us ; and 
 
74 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 hence arise the bonds of duty which we are 
 under to them. It being once admitted that 
 God is the Governor of the world upon the 
 evidence of reason, and that Christ is the 
 mediator between God and man, and the 
 Holy Ghost our guide and sanctifier, upon 
 the evidence of revelation, it is no more a 
 question whether it be our duty to obey, and 
 5e baptized into the name of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost, than whether it be our duty 
 to obey, and be baptized into the name of the 
 Father. 
 
 7. The essence of natural religion may 
 be said to consist in religious regards to God 
 the Father ; and the essence of revealed re- 
 ligion, in religious regards to the Son and 
 Holy Ghost, to whom reverence, honour, 
 love, trust, gratitude, fear, hope, are due, 
 from the several relations in which they stand 
 to us. Thus Christianity appears most im- 
 portant. It informs us of something wholly 
 new in the state of the world and in the 
 government of it, of some relations in which 
 we stand, which could not otherwise have 
 been known. And these relations being real, 
 the neglect of behaving suitably to them will 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 75 
 
 be followed with the same kind of conse- 
 quences under God's government, as neglect- 
 ing to behave suitably to any other relations. 
 If Christ, then, be our Mediator, our Lord, 
 and our Saviour, the consequences not only 
 of an obstinate, but of a careless disregard to 
 him in those high relations, may follow in a 
 future world, as surely in a way of judicial 
 punishment, and even of the natural conse- 
 quences of vice, as those kinds of consequen- 
 ces follow vice in this w^orld. 
 
 8. Again, if the nature of man is corrupt, 
 and needs the assistance of God's Holy Spirit 
 to renew it, it cannot be a slight matter to 
 neglect the means appointed of God for ob- 
 taining this assistance. All analogy shows 
 us, that we cannot expect benefits without 
 the use of the commanded means — every 
 thing in God's government being conducted 
 by means. 
 
 9. The conclusion from all this is, that 
 Christianity being supposed credible, it is un- 
 speakable irreverence, and really the most 
 presumptuous rashness to treat it as a light 
 matter, and unimportant. 
 
 10. Before we go on to the next topic, 
 
76 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 we may stop here to point out the distinction 
 between what is positive and what is moral in 
 religion. Moral precepts are those of which 
 we see the reason — positive, of which we do 
 not: moral arise out of the nature of the case 
 ■ — positive from external command. But the 
 mere manner in which the reason of the pre- 
 cept, and the nature of the case are made 
 known to us, makes no difference in our duty. 
 Gratitude and love are as much due to Christ 
 as moral precepts, as they are due to the 
 Father ; though the Hrst are derived from 
 revelation making Christ known to us as our 
 Mediator ; the second, from reason teaching 
 us that the Father is our Creator, and the 
 Fountain of all good. 
 
 11. From this distinction between posi- 
 tive and moral precepts, we may observe, 
 that we see the ground of that preference 
 which the Scripture gives to moral precepts 
 over positive, if the two are incompatible. 
 We are to prefer the moral, because we see 
 the reason of them, and because the positive 
 are only means to a moral end, and are of 
 no value, except as proceeding from a moral 
 principle. Men are prone to place their re- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 77 
 
 ligion in positive rites, as an equivalent for 
 moral duty ; and, therefore, the Scriptures 
 always lay the stress on morals, where they 
 are mentioned, together wuth positive rites ; 
 and our Lord expresses the general spirit of 
 religion when he says, * I will have mercy, 
 and not sacrifice.' 
 
 Still we are not to omit positive institu- 
 tions ; because, when admitted to come from 
 God, they lay us under a strict moral obliga- 
 tion to obey them. 
 
 12. To these remarks should be added, 
 that the view we have thus given of Chris- 
 tianity, teaches us, not to determine before- 
 hand from reason what the scheme of it must 
 be, but to search the Scriptures for it ; for it 
 is no presumption against an interpretation of 
 Scripture, that it contains a doctrine which 
 the light of nature cannot discover, or a pre- 
 cept to which the law of nature does not 
 oblige. 
 
 13. All these considerations serve to 
 heighten the importance of Christianity, as 
 not consisting of positive commands merely, 
 but as revealing new duties resting on new 
 
 8 
 
78 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 relations, and being in the strictest sense 
 moral. 
 
 Chap. II. The importance of Christiani- 
 ty having been thus shown, let us next in- 
 quire what presumptions or objections there 
 appear to be against revelation in general, or 
 at least against miracles, as if they required 
 stronger evidence than other matters of fact 
 do. 
 
 These presumptions must arise either from 
 Christianity not being discoverable by reason 
 and experience, or because it is unlike the 
 course of nature as it now is. 
 
 1. But there is no presumption against it, 
 because not discoverable by reason ; for sup- 
 pose any one to be acquainted with what is 
 called the system of natural philosophy and 
 natural religion, he would feel that he knew 
 but a small part of them, and that there 
 must be innumerable things- of which he was 
 wholly ignorant. The scheme of nature is 
 vast beyond all possible imagination, and 
 what we know of it is but as a point in com- 
 parison of the whole. Therefore, that things 
 lie beyond the reach of our faculties in Chris- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 79 
 
 tianity, is no sort of presumption against it, 
 because it is certain there are innumerable 
 things in nature which do so. 
 
 2. Nor is there any presumption against 
 Christianity, from the present course of na- 
 ture, for analogy by no means leads us to 
 suppose, that the whole course of things un- 
 known to us, and evei'y thing in it, is like to 
 any thing in that course of things which is 
 known. Even in the natural course of the 
 world, we see things extremely unlike one 
 another. But the truth is, the scheme of 
 Christianity is not wholly unlike the scheme 
 of nature, as we shall show hereafter. 
 
 3. Nor is there any presumption from 
 analogy against some operations which we 
 should call miraculous, particularly none 
 against a revelation at the beginning of the 
 world ; for then there had been no course of 
 nature, and therefore the question of a reve- 
 lation, at that time, is only a common ques- 
 tion of fact. Creation was wholly different 
 from the present course of nature ; and 
 whether this power slopped after forming 
 man, or went on and gave him a revelation, 
 is a question of simple fact. 
 
80 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 4. Nor is there any presumption against 
 miracles, after the settlement of the course of 
 nature. For we have no single parallel case 
 of a world like our own, to deduce an argu- 
 ment from ; and if we had a case, an argu- 
 ment from the analogy of that single instance 
 would have litde weight. We require the 
 history of many similar worlds from which to 
 raise any thing like a presumption. 
 
 5. Besides, we know there is often a pre- 
 sumption against the commonest facts before 
 the proof of them, which yet almost any 
 proof overcomes. And we are in such igno- 
 rance, that it is not improbable, that 5 or 
 6000 years may have given scope for ade- 
 quate causes for miracles, even leaving out 
 the consideration of religion. But if we take 
 in the consideration of religion, we then see 
 distinct reasons for miracles, which give a 
 real credibility to them. At all events, mira- 
 cles must not be compared to common natu- 
 ral circumstances and phenomena, but to the 
 extraordinary phenomena of nature, — co- 
 mets, the powers of electricity, he. And 
 let any one reflect what would be the pre- 
 sumption, for instance, against the powers of 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 81 
 
 electricity, in the mind of one acquainted 
 only with the common powers of nature. 
 
 6. There is, therefore, no such presump- 
 tion against miracles as to render them, in 
 any wise incredible ; nay, there is a positive 
 credibility for them, where we discern rea- 
 sons for them ; and there is no presumption 
 at all from analogy, even in the lowest de- 
 gree, against them, as distinguished from 
 other extraordinary phenomena. 
 
 Chap. III. We come now to consider 
 objections against the Christian revelation in 
 particular, as distinct from objections against 
 miracles — objections drawn from things in 
 it, appearing to men ' foolishness ;' from its 
 containing matters of offence, leading, as it is 
 alleged, to enthusiasm, superstition, and ty- 
 ranny ; from its not being universal ; and 
 from its evidence not being so convincing as 
 it might have been. 
 
 1. Now it is credible from analogy that 
 we should be incompetent judges of a reve- 
 lation to a great degree, and that it would 
 contain many things appearing to us liable to 
 objection. There is no more ground to ex- 
 8* 
 
82 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 pect that Christianity should appear free 
 from objections, than that the course of na- 
 ture should. And the fact is, that men fall 
 into infinite follies and mistakes, when they 
 pretend to judge of the ordinary constitution 
 and course of nature, and of what they should 
 expect it to be. It is therefore probable that 
 men would err much more when they pre- 
 tend to judge of the extraordinary constitu- 
 tion and scheme of Christianity, and of what 
 they should expect it to be. For if a man, 
 in the things of this present world, is not a 
 competent judge of the ordinary government 
 of a Prince ; much less would he be so of 
 any extraordinary exigencies on which that 
 Prince should suspend his known and ordi- 
 nary laws. Thus objections against Chris- 
 tianity are really frivolous. If men fancy 
 there lie great objections against the scheme 
 of Providence in the ordinary and old laws 
 of nature, much more may they fancy there 
 lie objections against the scheme of Chris- 
 tianity in the extraordinary, and new laws of 
 rehgion. Both schemes are from the same 
 God. And the objections against Christiani- 
 ty go upon suppositions which, when applied 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 83 
 
 to the course of nature, experience shows to 
 be inconclusive. They mislead us to think 
 that the Author of nature would not act, as 
 we find by experience he actually does, or 
 would act in such and such a manner, as we 
 experience, in like cases, he does not. 
 
 2. For instance, we are no sort of judges 
 before-hand, by what laws, in what degree, 
 or by what means it were to have been ex- 
 pected that God would instruct us naturally 
 in his ordinary Providence ; how far he 
 would enable men to communicate it to oth- 
 ers ; whether the evidence of it would be 
 certain, highly probable, or doubtful ; whether 
 it would be given with equal clearness to all ; 
 whether at once, or gradually. In like man- 
 ner, supposing God afforded us an additional 
 instruction by a revelation, we must be equal- 
 ly ignorant beforehand whether the evidence 
 of it would be certain, whether all would 
 have the same degree of evidence, whether 
 it would be revealed at once or gradually, &;c. 
 
 Now if we are incompetent to judge be- 
 forehand of revelation, it is mere folly to ob- 
 ject afterwards against its being left in one 
 way rather than another. 
 
 ^ 
 
84 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 3. The only fair question is, whether 
 Christianity be a real revelation, and whether 
 the book containing it be of divine authority ; 
 and scarcely at all whether it be a revelatiqp, 
 and a book of such and such a sort. So 
 that, what men object against the Scriptures 
 as being obscure, as written in an inaccurate 
 style, as having various readings, and being 
 the subject of dispute, has no sort of force, 
 unless it can be shown that the sacred au- 
 thors had promised that the book should be 
 secure from these things. We are no judges 
 whether it were to have been expected that 
 these things should be found in it or not. In 
 human writings we should indeed be judges, 
 but not at all in divine. 
 
 4. However, if men will pretend still to 
 judge of the .Scriptures, and of Christianity, 
 by previous expectation, then the analogy of 
 nature shows, that probably they will imagine 
 they have strong objections against them. 
 For so, prior to experience, they would think 
 they had against the instruction afforded in 
 the ordinary course of nature. For instance, 
 it would have been thought incredible that 
 men should have been so much more capable 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 85 
 
 of discovering, even to a certainty, the gene- 
 ral laws of matter, and the magnitudes and 
 revolutions of the heavenly bodies, than the 
 cure of diseases, and many other things in 
 which human life is so much more nearly 
 concerned. The method of invention again, 
 by which men discover things of the greatest 
 moment in an instant, when perhaps they are 
 thinking of something else, which they have 
 in vain been searching after for years, would 
 be thought most irregular and capricious. 
 So likewise the imperfections attending the 
 only method we have of communicating our 
 thoughts to each other, language, would be 
 judged utterly incredible. It is inadequate, 
 ambiguous, liable to infinite abuse. Now no 
 objections against the manner in which Chris- 
 tianity teaches in the Scriptures, are of greater 
 weight than these, which analogy shows us to 
 have really no force at all. 
 
 5. To apply these remarks to a particu- 
 lar instance. The abuse of miraculous pow- 
 ers is made an objection against their being 
 really miracles ; but we see in the natural 
 course of things daily, that remarkable gifts of 
 memory, eloquence, knowledge, are not al- 
 
86 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ways conferred on persons who use them with 
 prudence and propriety. 
 
 6. Again, as in natural and civil know- 
 ledge, there are common and obvious rules 
 of conduct, and parts requiring very exact 
 thought ; so, in Christianity the necessary 
 matters of faith and practice are a plain and 
 obvious thing ; whilst many other parts de- 
 mand careful investigation. And as natural 
 knowledge is acquired by particular persons 
 comparing and pursuing obscure hints drop- 
 ped us by nature, as it were, accidentally, or 
 which seem to come into our minds by 
 chance ; so probably the entire scheme of 
 Christianity in the Scriptures will only be 
 gradually understood, by particular persons 
 attending to intimations scattered up and 
 down in it, and which most persons disre- 
 gard. Nor is it incredible that a book so 
 long known should contain many truths not 
 yet completely discovered ; for nature has 
 been open to the investigation of man for 
 many thousand years, and yet great discove- 
 ries are continually made. 
 
 7. And if men object against Christianity, 
 that it is not universally known, we reply, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 87 
 
 that many most valuable remedies for natural 
 diseases were unknown for ages, and are 
 known now but to few ; that probably many 
 are not known yet ; that the application of 
 them, when known, is difficult ; that if used 
 amiss, they often create new diseases ; that 
 they are often not effectual ; and that the 
 regimen required is often so disagreeable that 
 men will not submit to it, but satisfy them- 
 selves with the excuse, that if they did sub- 
 mit, it is not certain they should be cured. 
 These natural remedies are neither certain, 
 perfect, nor universal ; and the principles of 
 arguing which would lead us to conclude 
 they must be so, would not only be contrary 
 to fact, but would also lead us to conclude 
 that there would be no diseases at all. It is 
 therefore not at all incredible that the like 
 things should be found in the remedy for 
 moral diseases, Christianity, if it proceeds 
 from the same divine hand as natural reme- 
 dies do. 
 
 Chap. IV. The objections against Chris- 
 tianity are thus merely what we might have 
 expected. But further, these objections re- 
 
88 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ceive a full answer from the consideration 
 that Christianity is a scheme imperfectly com- 
 prehended, in which a system of means is 
 established, and which is carried on by gene- 
 ral laws ; just as objections against natural 
 religion were shown to be thus silenced. For 
 this shows that the things objected to may, 
 in each case, not only be consistent with 
 wisdom and goodness, but instances of them. 
 1. Now Christianity is a scheme quite 
 beyond our comprehension. It is a mysteri- 
 ous economy, still carrying on for the re- 
 covery of the world by a divine person, the 
 Messiah, who, after various preparatory dis- 
 pensations, became incarnate, and died as 
 a Sacrifice for sin. Parts likewise of this 
 scheme are the miraculous and ordinary mis- 
 sion of the Holy Ghost, Christ's invisible 
 government over his church, and his second 
 advent to judgment. Now the Scriptures 
 assert this to be a mystery ; indeed, what is 
 revealed of it, leaves so much unrevealed, 
 that one cannot read a passage but what it 
 runs up into something which shows us our 
 ignorance about it ; so that to all purposes of 
 objecting, we know as little of it, as we know 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 89 
 
 of the vast scheme of the natural world, 
 where every step shows us our ignorance, 
 short-sightedness, and incompetence to judge. 
 
 2. In the Christian scheme, again, as in 
 the course of nature, means which appear 
 foolish, though they may possibly be the very 
 best, are used to accomplish ends ; and their 
 appearing foolish is no presumption against 
 them, in a scheme so greatly beyond our 
 comprehension. 
 
 3. Christianity is also probably carried 
 on by general laws. The course of nature is 
 confessedly so ; and yet we know but little 
 of these general laws. We know not by 
 what laws, storms, famine, pestilence, Sic. 
 destroy mankind ; nor why men are born in 
 such places and times, and with such talents ; 
 nor how it is that such and such trains of 
 thought enter the mind. We therefore call 
 these things accidental ; though all reasona- 
 ble men believe there is no such thing as ac- 
 cident. We see but a little way ; and it is 
 only from seeing that the part of the course 
 of nature which is known to us, is governed 
 by general laws, that we conclude the whole 
 to be so governed, though the laws of innu- 
 
 9 
 
90 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 merable things are unknown to us. In like 
 manner, that miraculous powers should be 
 exerted at such occasions, for such reasons, 
 before such persons, under such circumstan- 
 ces, he, may have been also by general 
 laws though unknown to us, as the laws of 
 the things above instanced in nature are un- 
 known to us. And there is no more reason 
 to expect that every exigency as it arises 
 should be provided for by these general laws, 
 than that every exigency in nature should. 
 
 4. In the next place, let us see the 
 force of the common objection raised against 
 the whole scheme of Christianity, as being 
 what some are pleased to call a round-about 
 way, a perplexed contrivance for the salva- 
 tion of the world, as if God was reduced to 
 the necessity of using a long series of intri- 
 cate means to accomplish his ends. Now it 
 is obvious, that in the course of nature God 
 uses various means which we think tedious, 
 to arrive at his ends. Indeed there is some- 
 thing in this matter quite beyond our com- 
 prehension : but the mystery is as great in 
 nature as in Christianity. Perhaps many 
 things which we call means, may be ends. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. Ql 
 
 However, it is clear the whole natural world 
 is a progressive system, in which the opera- 
 tion of means takes up a great length of time. 
 One state of things is a preparation for an- 
 other, and that state the means of attaining to 
 another succeeding one. Men are for pre- 
 cipitating things ; but God in the natural 
 world appears ever deliberate, reaching his 
 ends by slow steps. The change of seasons, 
 the ripening the fruits of the earth, the growth 
 of a flower, the gradual advances of vegeta- 
 ble and animal bodies, and the progress of 
 knowledge in men with their growing facul- 
 ties and powers, are instances of this. Thus 
 in nature God operates as he does in Chris- 
 tianity, by making one thing subservient to 
 another, through a series of means which 
 extends backward and forward beyond our 
 utmost view. Objections, therefore, against 
 the whole plan of Christianity, as intricate 
 and round-about, and perplexed, have no 
 sort of force. 
 
 Chap. V. This general objection having 
 been answered, let us next consider the par- 
 
92 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ticular one most urged, namely, that against 
 the Mediation of Christ. 
 
 1. Now, in the first place, the visible 
 government of God in nature is carried on 
 by the instrumentality and mediation of oth- 
 ers. Every comfort of life comes to us in 
 this way. God appoints men as instruments, 
 that is, mediators of good or evil to us. So 
 that there is no presumption from analogy 
 against the general notion of a Mediator. 
 
 2. In the next place, it is supposable and 
 credible that the punishments which God in- 
 flicts as a moral governor, may be appointed 
 to follow wickedness in the way of natural 
 consequence ; in a like manner as a man 
 trifling upon a precipice, in the way of natu- 
 ral consequence falls down, and, without help, 
 perishes. 
 
 3. But it is most important to remark, that, 
 in the course of natural Providence, provision 
 is made that all the natural bad consequen- 
 ces of men's actions should not always actu- 
 ally follow. We might, indeed, presumptu- 
 ously have thought that the world would have 
 been so constituted as that there should not 
 have been any such thing as misery or eviL 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 93 
 
 But in fact we find that God permits it ; but 
 that he has provided at the same time relief, 
 and in many cases perfect remedies for it, 
 even for that evil which would have justly 
 ended in our ruin. If, indeed, all the con- 
 sequences of bad conduct had always follow- 
 ed, no one could have had a right to object ; 
 no one can say whether such a more severe 
 constitution of things might not yet have been 
 really good. But that, instead of this, pro- 
 vision is made by nature to remedy these 
 consequences, may properly be called mercy 
 or compassion in the original constitution of 
 the world, as distinct from goodness in gene- 
 ral. It is agreeable, then, to the whole analo- 
 gy of nature, to hope that provision may have 
 been made for remedying the natural conse- 
 quences of vice in God's moral government, 
 at least in some cases. There is a union of 
 severity and indulgence in the course of na- 
 ture ; there may possibly also be a union of 
 justice and compassion in the scheme of reli- 
 gion. 
 
 4. Some will wonder at this being made 
 a question of; for they neglect and despise 
 all ideas of future punishment. But as we 
 9* 
 
94 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 actually experience ill consequences from 
 wickedness and folly here, so the analogy 
 of the cases teaches us to apprehend worse 
 evil consequences hereafter, from disorders 
 committed by moral agents, presumptuously 
 introducing confusion and misery into the 
 kingdom of God, their Sovereign Creator. 
 Nay, it is by no means intuitively certain 
 whether these consequences could in the na- 
 ture of the thing, be prevented, that is, con- 
 sistently with the eternal rule of right. The 
 utmost we could hope for is, that there would 
 probably be some way in God's universal 
 government for preventing the penal conse- 
 quences of vice. 
 
 5. Further, it is not probable that any 
 thing we could do of ourselves, would pre^ 
 vent these ill consequences. For sorrow and 
 reformation will not of themselves prevent 
 the natural consequences of our disorders 
 here, and the assistaitce of others is often 
 indispensable to such prevention. The like 
 then may be the case under God's moral 
 government. In fact, it is contrary to all 
 our notions of government, as well as to the 
 course of nature, to suppose that doing well 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 95 
 
 for the future, should always prevent or re- 
 medy the consequences annexed to disobedi- 
 ence. And though men in the present day 
 boast of the efficacy of repentance, yet the 
 prevalence of propitiatory sacrifices over the 
 heathen world, shows that the general sense 
 of mankind is against the idea of repentance 
 being sufficient to expiate guilt. 
 
 6. In this darkness or light of nature, call 
 it which you please, revelation comes in, 
 teaches us our state of guilt, confirms every 
 fear as to the future consequences of sin, de- 
 clares that God's government will not pardon 
 «n mere repentance ; l^ut that still his govern- 
 ment is compassionate, and that He has mer- 
 cifully provided that there should be an in- 
 terposition to prevent the utter ruin of man. 
 God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish : gave his Son in the same 
 way of goodness to the world, as he affords 
 to particular persons the friendly assistance 
 of their fellow-creatures; when, without it, 
 their temporal ruin would be the certain con- 
 sequence of their follies ; in the same way of 
 goodness, I say, though in a transcendent and 
 
96 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 infinitely higher degree. And the Son of 
 God loved us and gave himself for us, with a 
 love which he compares to that of human 
 friendship ; though in this case, all compari- 
 sons must fall infinitely short of the thing in- 
 tended to be illustrated by them. 
 
 7. Now, if the constitution of things had 
 been such that the whole creation must have 
 perished, but for somewhat which God had 
 appointed should take place to prevent that 
 ruin, this supposition would not be inconsist- 
 ent in any degree w^ith perfect goodness and 
 compassion, whatever men may object. 
 
 8. Nor can men object to the Scriptures 
 as representing mankind by this whole scheme 
 as in a degraded state ; for it is not Chris- 
 tianity which has put us in this state ; and 
 all, even moralists, are compelled to acknow- 
 ledge the extreme wickedness and misery 
 which are in the world. And the crime of 
 our first parents bringing us into a more dis- 
 advantageous condition, is particularly agree- 
 able to all analogy. 
 
 9. The particular manner of Christ's me- 
 diation is by his becoming what the Scrip- 
 ture calls the Prophet of mankind, to declare 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 97 
 
 the Divine will ; the King, by founding and 
 governing a church ; and the High Priest^ 
 by a propitiatory sacrifice ; which sacrifice, 
 be it well noted, is not spoken of merely in 
 allusion to the Mosaic sacrifices, but as the 
 original and great sacrifice itself, to which 
 the Mosaic were themselves only allusions, 
 and of which they were types. The Scrip- 
 tures declare in all sorts of ways an efficacy 
 in what Christ suffered for us, beyond mere 
 example or instruction. 
 
 10. Further, as we know not by what 
 means future punishment would have been 
 inflicted on men, nor all the reasons why its 
 infliction would have been needful, if it had 
 not been prevented by Christ's sacrifice ; it 
 is most evident we are not judges, antece- 
 dently to revelation, whether a Mediator was 
 or was not necessary to prevent that punish- 
 ment ; and upon ihe supposition of a Media- 
 tor, we are not judges beforehand of what it 
 was fit to be assigned to him to do, nor of 
 the whole nature of his office. To object, 
 therefore, to any particular parts of this me- 
 diation, because we do not see the expedi- 
 
98 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ency of them is absurd. And yet men com- 
 monly do this. 
 
 11. Again; if men object to the satisfac- 
 tion of Christ, that it represents God as in- 
 different whether he punishes the innocent or 
 guilty, we answer, that they might equally 
 object to the daily course of natural Provi- 
 dence, in which innocent people are con- 
 tinually forced to suffer for the faults of the 
 guilty, and do suffer for them in various 
 ways ; whereas Christ's sufferings were un- 
 dertaken by him voluntarily. And though 
 upon the whole, and finally, every one shall 
 receive according to his deserts, yet during 
 the progress, and in order to the completion, 
 of this moral scheme, punishments endured 
 by the innocent in some way instead of the 
 guilty, that is, vicarious punishments, may, 
 for aught we know, be fit and absolutely 
 necessary. 
 
 12. Besides, there is an apparent tendency 
 in this method of our redemption by the sa- 
 crifice of Christ, to vindicate the authority of 
 God's law, and deter men from sin. 
 
 13. Let not, then, such poor creatures as 
 we are, object against an infinite scheme, 
 
WILSON'S AxNALOGY. 99 
 
 that we do not see the usefulness and neces- 
 sity of all its parts. The presumption of this 
 kind of objections seems almost lost in the 
 folly of them. 
 
 14. It heightens the absurdity of these 
 objections, that they are made against those 
 parts of Christ's mediation which we are not 
 actively concerned in. Now the whole anal- 
 ogy of nature teaches us not to expect the 
 like information concerning the Divine con- 
 duct, as concerning our duty. The objec- 
 tions are made, as we have seen, to God's 
 appointment of a Mediator, and to the Me- 
 diator's execution of his office ; not to what is 
 required of man in consequence of this gra- 
 cious dispensation, which is plain and obvi- 
 ous, and which is all we need to know. 
 Thus, in the natural world, it is almost an 
 infinitely small part of natural Providence 
 which men can understand, and yet they are 
 sufficiently instructed for the common pur- 
 poses of life. 
 
 Chap. VI. A principal objection against 
 Christianity, further, is, that it is thought to 
 rest on doubtful evidence, and that Us benefits 
 
100 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 are not universal ; which, in other words, is 
 as much as to say, that God would not have 
 bestowed upon us any favour at all, unless 
 in the degree which we imagine best, and 
 that he could not bestow a favour upon any, 
 unless he bestowed the same on all — an ob- 
 jection which the whole analogy of nature 
 contradicts. 
 
 1. For how doubtful is the evidence on 
 which men act in their most important con- 
 cerns in this world — how difficult to balance 
 nice probabilities, to make due allowances 
 for accidents and disappointments, to see on 
 which side the reasons preponderate. How 
 often do strong objections lie against their 
 schemes, objections which cannot be removed 
 or answered, but yet which seem overbalanc- 
 ed by reasons on the other side. And how 
 much are men deceived at last by the false- 
 hood of others, by the false appearances of 
 things, and the strong bias from within them- 
 selves to favour the deceit. And as to revela- 
 tion not being universal, we see the Author 
 of nature perpetually bestowing those gifts of 
 health, prudence, knowledge, riches, upon 
 some, which he does not on others. Yet, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 101 
 
 notwithstanding these uncertainties and varie- 
 ties, God does exercise a natural government 
 over the world and there is such a thing as a 
 prudent and imprudent course of conduct. 
 
 2. There have been different degrees of 
 evidence to Jews and Christians. The first 
 Christians had a higher evidence of miracles 
 than we, and a stronger presumption in fa- 
 vour of Christianity from the lives of Chris- 
 tians : and we or future ages may have a 
 higher evidence of the fulfilment of prophecy. 
 And the Heathens, Mahommedans, Papists 
 and Protestants, have now different degrees 
 of evidence of natural and revealed religion, 
 from the faintest glimmering of probability, 
 to the clear light of truth and conviction : but 
 all this most obviously resembles the constant 
 order of Providence as to our temporal af- 
 fairs. And we are to remember, that each 
 one will be judged at last, by what he hath, 
 and not by what he hath not, so that there is 
 no shadow of injustice in this constitution of 
 things, though what is the particular reason 
 of it, we are altogether in the dark about. 
 We know but little even of our own cases ; 
 scarcely any thing more than is just neces- 
 10 
 
102 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 sary for practice. We are in the greatest 
 ignorance as to what would satisfy our curi- 
 osity. We have only light to teach us our 
 duty, and encourage us in the discharge of it. 
 
 3. Besides, if revelation were universal, 
 men's different understandings, educations, 
 tempers, bodily constitutions, lengths of lives, 
 external advantages, would soon make their 
 situation perhaps as widely different as it is 
 at present. 
 
 4. But we may observe more particular- 
 ly, that the evidence of religion not appear- 
 ing certain, may be the especial trial of some 
 men's characters and state of mind. Men 
 may be as much in a state of probation with 
 regard to the exercise of their understanding 
 on the evidence of religion, as they are with 
 regard to their conduct. The same inward 
 principle which leads men to obey religion 
 when convinced of its truth, would lead them 
 to examine it, when they were first presented 
 with its evidences. Negligence about such 
 a serious matter as religion, is as criminal 
 before distinct conviction, as careless prac- 
 tice is after. That religious evidence, then, 
 is not forced upon men, nor intuitively true, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 103 
 
 but left to be collected by a heedful attention 
 to premises, may as much constitute religious 
 probation as any thing else. 
 
 5. Again, even if Christianity should be 
 supposed to be extremely doubtful to some 
 persons, yet it puts them in a state of proba- 
 tion as to character. For if Christianity be 
 once supposed by them to be possible, this 
 demands religious suspense, moral resolu- 
 tion, self-government, inquiry, abstinence from 
 what would be impediments, readiness to re- 
 ceive fresh light, care of what use they make 
 of their influence and example upon others. 
 For doubting is not a positive argument 
 against religion, but for it ; a doubt presup- 
 poses a lower degree of evidence, just as 
 much as belief does a higher. And in pro- 
 portion to the corruption of the heart, men 
 acknowledge no evidence, however real, if it 
 be not overbearing. 
 
 6. The difficulties which are said to be 
 found in the evidence of Christianity, is no 
 more a ground of complaint, than difficulties 
 from external temptation as to the practice 
 of it. Such speculative difficulties may, to 
 persons of a deep sense, and reflecting minds, 
 
104 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 and who have small temptations to gross out- 
 ward sins, constitute the principal part of 
 their trial. For we see, in the things of this 
 world, that the chief trial of some men is not 
 so much the doing what is right when it is 
 known, as the attention, suspense, care, the 
 being on their guard against false appearan- 
 ces, the weighing of contrary reasons, and 
 informing themselves of what is really pru- 
 dent. 
 
 7. In these remarks, we have taken it for 
 granted that men are not neglecting the sub- 
 ject of religion altogether, nor entertaining 
 prejudices against it. For if they never ex- 
 amine it in earnest, if they wish it not to be 
 true, if they attend more to objections than 
 to evidence, if they consider things with levi- 
 ty, if they indulge in ridicule, and put human 
 errors in the place of Divine truth, all this 
 will hinder men from seeing evidence, just as 
 a like turn of mind hinders them from weigh- 
 ing evidence in their temporal capacities. 
 And possibly the evidence of Christianity 
 was left, so as that those who are desirous of 
 evading moral obligation should not see it, 
 whilst fair and candid persons should. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 105 
 
 8. Further, the evidences of Christianity, 
 as they are, may be sufficiently understood 
 by common men, if they will only pay the 
 same sort of attention to religion which they 
 pay to their temporal affairs. But if men 
 will handle objections which they have pick- 
 ed up, and discuss them without the neces- 
 sary preparation of general knowledge, they 
 must remain in ignorance or doubt, just as 
 men who neglect the means of information in 
 common life do. 
 
 9. But, perhaps, it will be said, that a 
 prince would take care to give directions to 
 a servant which would be impossible to be 
 misunderstood or disputed. To this we an- 
 swer, that it is certain we cannot argue thus 
 as to God, because in point of fact he does 
 not aiford us such information as to our tem- 
 poral affairs, as a matter of course, without 
 care of our own. And if a prince wished 
 not merely to have certain acts done, but 
 also to prove the loyalty and obedience of 
 his servant, he might not always give his 
 directions in the plainest possible manner. 
 
 On the whole, the analogy of nature re- 
 futes all objections against Christianity as 
 10^ 
 
106 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 resting upon doubtful evidence, and as not 
 universal. 
 
 Chap. VII. The objections against the 
 particular scheme of Christianity being re- 
 moved, it remains that we consider what the 
 analogy of nature suggests as to the positive 
 evidence for it, and as to the objections raised 
 against that evidence. 
 
 Now, the evidence of Christianity em- 
 braces a long series of things, reaching from 
 the beginning of the world to the present 
 time, of great variety and compass, and mak- 
 ing up one argument, the conviction arising 
 from which is like what we call effect in 
 architecture, a result from a great number of 
 things, so and so disposed, and taken into 
 one view ; and this is the kind of proof on 
 which we determine questions of difficulty, 
 in our most important affairs in this world. 
 
 Let us then, 1st, consider the direct proof 
 of Christianity, from Miracles and Prophecy ; 
 and then, 2d, the general argument arising 
 from this proof, together with many collateral 
 things, as making up one argument. 
 
 I. — 1. The Scriptures of the Old and 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 107 
 
 New Testament afford us the same evidence 
 of the miracles wrought in attestation of reve- 
 lation, as it does of its ordinary history ; for 
 these miracles are not foisted into it, but 
 form a part of it, and are related in the same 
 unadorned manner as the rest of the narra- 
 tive, and stand on the same footing of histori- 
 cal evidence. And some parts of Scripture, 
 containing the account of miracles, are quo- 
 ted as genuine from the very age in which 
 they were said to have been written. And 
 the establishment of the Jewish and Chris- 
 tian religions are just what might have been 
 expected, if such miracles were wrought, and 
 can be accounted for on no other supposition. 
 The Scripture history, then, must be con- 
 sidered as genuine, unless something positive 
 can be alleged to invalidate it. Mere guesses 
 can prove nothing against historical evidence. 
 Further, the Epistles of St. Paul, being 
 addressed to particular churches, carry in 
 them a greater evidence of being genuine, 
 than if they had been merely narratives ad- 
 dressed to the world at large. And the first 
 epistle to the Corinthians is quoted by Cle- 
 mens Romanus, a contemporary, in a letter 
 
108 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 to the same church. And St. Paul men- 
 tions, in this epistle, the miraculous gifts, as 
 possessed by the very Christians to whom he 
 wrote ; and he mentions them incidentally, 
 and in order to depreciate them, and to re- 
 prove the abuse of them. He speaks of 
 them in the manner any one would speak of 
 a thing familiar, and known to the persons 
 he is writing to. Against this evidence, gene- 
 ral doubts have no force, because any fact 
 of such a kind, and of such antiquity, may 
 have general doubts thrown out concerning 
 it, from the very nature of human affairs and 
 human testimony. 
 
 Again, Christianity presented Itself to man- 
 kind at first, and was received, on the footing 
 of these miracles at the time when they were 
 wrought ; which is the case with no other re- 
 ligion. Mahommedanism was propagated by 
 the sword ; and Popish and Mahoramedan 
 miracles, said to be wrought after parties were 
 formed, and when power and political inter- 
 ests supported them, are easily accounted for. 
 
 Once more, the reception of such a doc- 
 trine as Christianity, demanding such a total 
 change of life, by such vast numbers, can 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY, 109 
 
 only be accounted for on the supposition of 
 their belief in the Christian miracles, which 
 ihey were fully competent to judge of, as mat- 
 ters of fact. For, credulous as mankind are, 
 they are suspicious, and backward to believe 
 and act against their prejudices, passions, and 
 temporal interest ; and education, prejudice, 
 power, habits, laws, authority, were all then 
 against Christianity. 
 
 Enthusiasm, indeed, may give rise to opin- 
 ions, and to zeal in support of them. But 
 there is a wide difference between opinions 
 and facts ; and testimony, though no proof of 
 enthusiastic opinions, yet is allowed, in all 
 cases, to be a proof of facts ; and there is no 
 appearance of enthusiasm in the conduct of 
 the apostles and first Christians, but quite 
 the contrary. And if great numbers of men 
 of plain understandings affirm, that they saw 
 and heard such and such things with their 
 eyes and ears, such testimony is the strongest 
 evidence we can have for any matter of fact. 
 The mere vague charge of enthusiasm, in 
 such a case, is frivolous. 
 
 However, as religion is supposed to be 
 peculiarly liable to enthusiasm, let us observe 
 
110 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 that prejudices, romance, affectation, humour, 
 party spirit, custom, little competitions, &ic. 
 influence men In common matters, just as en- 
 thusiasm may do ; and yet, human testimony, 
 common matters, is believed and acted on 
 notwithstanding. The fact is, mankind have 
 undoubtedly a capacity of distinguishing truth 
 and falsehood in common matters, and have 
 a regard to truth in what they say, except 
 when prejudiced, biassed, or deceived. And, 
 therefore, hitman testimony remains a natural 
 ground of assent, and this assent, a natural 
 principle of action, notwithstanding all the 
 error and dishonesty which are in the world. 
 People, therefore, do not know what they 
 say, when they pretend that enthusiasm de- 
 stroys the evidence for the truth of Chris- 
 tianity. It never can be sufficient to over- 
 throw direct historical testimony, indolently 
 to say, Men are so apt to deceive and be 
 deceived in religion, that we know not what 
 to believe. All analogy shows, that men do 
 not thus act in their temporal affairs. 
 
 Besides, the vast Impoi'tance of Christiani- 
 ty, and the strong obligations to veracity 
 which it enjoins, strengthen the presumption, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. HI 
 
 that the Apostles could not eithef intend to 
 deceive others, or be deceived themselves. 
 The proof from miracles, therefore, remains 
 untouched ; for there is no testimony what- 
 ever contradicting it, and strong historical 
 testimony in its favour. 
 
 2. As to the evidence from prophecy, a 
 few remarks may be made. If some parts 
 of it are obscure, this does not lessen the 
 proof of foresight from the fulfilment of those 
 parts which are clear. Thus, in a writing, 
 if part of it were in cyphers, and other parts 
 in words at length, and if, in the parts under- 
 stood, many known facts were related ; no 
 one would imagine, that if he could make 
 out the part in cypher, he should find thai 
 the writer did not know the plain facts which 
 he had related. 
 
 Again, if, from the deficiency in civil his- 
 tory, we cannot make out the minute fulfil- 
 ment of every prophecy, yet a very strong 
 proof of foresight may arise from a general 
 completion of prophecy, as illustrated by civil 
 history ; perhaps as nuich proof as God in- 
 tended should be alibrded by such prophecy. 
 
 Further, if a long series of prophecy is 
 
112 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 naturally applicable to such and such events, 
 this is, of itself, a presumptive proof that it 
 was intended of them. Thus, in mythologi- 
 cal and satirical writings, we conclude that 
 we understand their concealed meaning, in 
 proportion to the number of particulars clear- 
 ly applicable in such and such a manner. 
 
 Add to this, that the Jews applied the pro- 
 phecies of Christ to the Messiah before his 
 coming, in much the same manner as Chris- 
 tians do now ; and the primitive Christians, 
 those of the state of the church, and of the 
 world, in the last ages, in much the same 
 way as we do now, and as the event seems 
 to verify. This is important. 
 
 Nor is it any argument against all this, if 
 we suppose the prophets to have apphed 
 some of those prophecies, at the time, to 
 other immediate events ; for they were only 
 amanuenses, not the original authors of their 
 predictions^ that is, they merely wrote as 
 they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Thus, the argument from prophecy has 
 great weight, though we should not be^ able 
 to satisfy ourselves on every point. It is, in- 
 deed, very easy to determine at once with a 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 113 
 
 decisive air, and say, There is nothing in it : 
 and this suits the presumption and wilfulness 
 of men. But the true proof of modesty and 
 fairness is to say, There is certainly some- 
 thing in it ; and it shall have influence upon 
 us in proportion to its apparent reality and 
 weight. And this all analogy suggests to be 
 the reasonable course. 
 
 II. Let us now consider this direct evi- 
 dence of miracles and prophecy, in connex- 
 ion with those circumstantial and collateral 
 proofs, which go to make up one argument. 
 For thus, in daily Hfe, we judge of things by 
 evidence arising from various coincidences, 
 which confirm each other. And though each 
 of these things, separately, may have little 
 weight, yet when they are considered to- 
 gether, and united in one view, they may 
 have the greatest. The proof of revelation 
 is not some direct and express things only, 
 but a great variety of circumstantial things 
 also, in the result of which the proper force 
 of the evidence consists. 
 
 1. Now revelation may be considered as 
 wholly historical ; for prophecy is anticipated 
 history, and doctrines, and precepts, may be 
 11 
 
114 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 viewed as matters of fact. The general de- 
 sign of this history, is to give us an account 
 of the world, in this one single view, as God's 
 world ; and by this it is essentially distin- 
 guished from all other books. After the his- 
 tory of the creation, it gives an account of 
 the world in this view, during that state of 
 apostacy and wickedness which it represents 
 mankind to lie in. It considers the common 
 affairs of men, as a scene of distraction, and 
 only refers to them as they affect religion. 
 
 2. This narrative, comprehending a pe- 
 riod of nearly 6000 years, gives the utmost 
 scope for objections against it ; from reason, 
 common history, or any inconsistency in its 
 parts. And undoubtedly it must, and would 
 have been confuted, if it had been false, as 
 all false religions have been over and over 
 again ; and, therefore, that it has not been 
 confuted, nor pretended to have been con- 
 futed, during the lapse of so many ages, im- 
 plies a positive argument that it is true, 
 
 3. Further, the Scriptures contain a par- 
 ticular history of the Jews, God's peculiar 
 people — the promises of the Messiah, as a 
 Saviour for Jews and Gentiles — the narra- 
 
WILeON'6 ANALOGY. 115 
 
 live of the birth of this Messiah, at the time 
 foretold — and of the propagation of his reh- 
 gion — and of his being rejected by the Jew- 
 ish people. 
 
 4. Let us now suppose a person to read 
 the Scriptures thoroughly, and remark these 
 and other historical facts contained in them, 
 without knowing whether it was a real reve- 
 lation from Heaven or not. Then let this 
 person be told to look out into the world, 
 and observe if tlie state of things seem at all 
 to correspond with these facts. Let him be 
 informed how much of natural religion was 
 owing to this book, and how many nations 
 received it as divine, and under what circum- 
 stances. Then let him consider of what im- 
 portance religion is to mankind ; and be 
 5vould see that this supposed revelation hav- 
 ing bad this influence, and having been re- 
 ceived in the world as it was, is the most 
 conspicuous event in the history of mankind ; 
 «nd that a book thus recommended demands 
 his attention as by a voice from Heaven. 
 
 5. Let such a person be next informed, 
 that the history and chronology of this book 
 b not contradicted, but confirmed, by pro- 
 
116 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 fane history — that the narrative contains all 
 the internal marks of truth and simplicity — 
 and that the New Testament in particular, is 
 confirmed in all its chief facts by heathen 
 authors — and that this credibility of the com- 
 mon history in Scripture, gives some credi- 
 bility to its miracles, as they are interwoven 
 and make up one narrative. 
 
 6, Let him next be told that there was 
 such a nation as the Jews, whose existence 
 depended on the law said, in this book, to 
 have been given them by Moses — that at the 
 time when the prophecies had led this peo- 
 ple to expect the Messiah, one claiming to 
 be the Messiah appeared, and was rejected 
 by them, as foretold — that the religion was 
 received by the Gentiles on the authority of 
 miracles, and that the Jews remain as a sepa- 
 rate people to this present day, which seems 
 to look forward to other prophecies of their 
 future conversion. 
 
 Let him, I say, first gather his knowledge 
 entirely from Scripture, and then compare 
 it fact by fact with the corresponding history 
 of the world ; and the joint view must app^a? 
 to him most surprising. 
 
WILSON'S Ax^ALOQY. 117 
 
 7. All these points make up an argument 
 from their united, not separated, force. Then 
 add to these, the appearances of the world, 
 as answering still to the prophetic history, 
 and numerous other particulars, and the re- 
 sult of the whole must be allowed to be of 
 the greatest weight. 
 
 8. Then we should remember, that a 
 mistake in rejecting Christianity, is much 
 more dangerous in its consequences, than one 
 in favour of it ; and that in temporal affairs, 
 we always consider which side is most safe. 
 
 9. We should also bear in mind that the 
 truth of Christianity is proved, like that of 
 any common event, not only if any one of 
 the points adduced clearly imply it, but if the 
 whole taken together do, though no one 
 singly should. No one who is serious, can 
 possibly think these things to be of little 
 weight, if he considers the importance of col- 
 lateral things, and less circumstances, in the 
 evidence of probability, as distinguished in 
 nature from the evidence of demonstration. 
 
 10. It should be just observed, that the 
 nature of this evidence gives a great advan- 
 tage to persons who choose to attack Chris- 
 
 11'^ 
 
118 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 tianity in a short, lively manner in conversa- 
 tion ; because an objection against particular 
 points is easily shown, whereas the united 
 force of the whole argument, requires much 
 time and thought. 
 
 Chap. VIII. Lastly, some persons may 
 object to this whole argument, from the anal- 
 ogy of nature, and say, it is a poor thing to 
 solve difficulties in revelation, by asserting 
 that there are like difficulties in natural reli- 
 gion. 
 
 1 . Now men's wanting to have all diffi- 
 culties cleared in revelation, is the same for 
 any thing they know, as requiring to com- 
 prehend the divine nature. And it is no 
 otherwise a poor thing to argue from natural 
 to revealed religion, than it is a poor thing 
 for a physician to have so little knowledge in 
 the cure of diseases ; which is yet much bet- 
 ter than having no skill at all. Indeed, the 
 epithet poor^ may be applied as properly to 
 the whole of human life. 
 
 Further, it is unreasonable for men to 
 urge objections against Christianity which are 
 of equal weight, against natural religion, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY, 119 
 
 whilst they profess to admit the truth of natu- 
 ral religion. This is unfair dealing. 
 
 2. But again, religion is a practical thing, 
 and if men have the like reason to believe 
 the truth of it, as they have in what they do 
 in their temporal affairs, then they are so 
 much the more bound to act on it, as the 
 interest is infinitely greater. This is plainly 
 unanswerable. If they believe that taking 
 care of their temporal interest will be for 
 their advantage, then there is equal reason 
 for believing, that obeying Christianity, and 
 taking care of their future interests, will be 
 for their advantage. It is according to the 
 conduct and character of the Author of na- 
 ture, that we should act upon such probable 
 evidence. All analogy clearly shows this. 
 
 3. The design of the analogical argument 
 is not to vindicate the character of God, but 
 to show the obligations of men. Nor is it 
 necessary to prove the reasonableness of every 
 thing enjoined us in Christianity ; the rea- 
 sonableness of the practice of our duty is 
 enougli. And .though analogy does not pre- 
 tend immediately to answer objections against 
 the wisdoni and goodness of the doctrines 
 
120 WILSON'S ANALOGY, 
 
 and precepts of Christianity, yet it does this 
 indirectly, by showing that the things object- 
 ed against are not incredible. 
 
 4, It is readily acknowledged, that this 
 treatise is not what is called satisfactory — 
 very far from it — but then no natural institu- 
 tion of life would appear so, if reduced into a 
 system together with its proof. The unsatis- 
 factory evidence with which we put up in 
 common life, is not to be expressed. Yet 
 men do not throw away life on account of 
 this doubtfulness. And religion pre-supposes, 
 in all who would embrace it, some integrity 
 and honesty, a willingness to follow the pro- 
 bability of things ; just as speaking to a man 
 supposes him to understand the language in 
 which you speak. The question then is, not 
 whether the evidence of Christianity be what 
 is called satisfactory, but whether it be suffi- 
 cient to prove and discipline that virtue and 
 integrity of mind, which it pre-supposes, 
 though it be not sufficient to remove every 
 objection, or gratify curiosity. 
 
 5. As to the little influence which this 
 whole argument may actually have on men, 
 which is made- an objection to it, the true 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 121 
 
 question is, not how men will actually be- 
 have, but how they ought to behave. It is 
 no objection to this argument, that it may 
 fail of convincing men. Religion as a pro- 
 bation, has its end on all to whom it has 
 been proposed with sufficient evidence, let 
 them behave as they will concerning it. 
 
 On the whole, the proof of Christianity is 
 greatly strengthened by these considerations 
 from analogy ; though it is easy to cavil at 
 them, and to object that they are not demon- 
 strative, which it was never pretended they 
 were, nor could be. They are of the nature 
 of probable arguments ; but then they are so 
 forcible and just, that it is impossible to an- 
 swer them, or evade them fairly. 
 
 Conclusion. In this treatise we have 
 considered Christianity as a matter t)f fact 
 merely, and have argued with unbelievers on 
 their own ground. We have, therefore, nei- 
 ther argued from the liberty of man, nor 
 from the moral fitness of things ; both of 
 which would have strengthened my argu- 
 ment, and both of which we believe to be 
 true. But we have taken up things on the 
 
122 WII,80N*S ANALOGY. 
 
 lowest ground, and given every advantage 
 we could to our adversary. 
 
 In the first part, a view has been given of 
 natural religion, and the chief difficulties con- 
 cerning this have been answered by the anal- 
 ogy of God's government of the universe. 
 Thus, the objections against a future life of 
 moral and righteous retribution, wherein God 
 will reward or punish men according to their 
 behaviour here, and for which this world is^ 
 a state of discipline and preparation, have 
 been silenced, or refuted ; and the general 
 jQOtion of religion has been shown to be 
 Jhroughout agreeable to the obvious course 
 of things in this present worlds 
 
 For, indeed, natural religion carries in it 
 much evidence of truth, on barely being pro- 
 posed to our thoughts. To an unprejudiced 
 mind, ten thousand thousand instances of de- 
 .sign, cannot but prove a Designer. And il 
 IS Intuitively manifest, that creatures ought to 
 live under a dutiful sense of their Maker ; 
 and that justice and charity must be his laws, 
 to creatures such as we are, whom he has 
 formed social, and placed in society. The 
 neglect, therefore^ of men towards it, must 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 123 
 
 arise from objections against all religion gene- 
 rally ; which objections have been met in the 
 first part of this work. Natural religion has 
 been there cleared of its difficulties, and its 
 credibility shown. 
 
 In the second part, the particular scheme 
 of Christianity has been considered ; and the 
 objections against its importance, against the 
 miracles on which its evidence rests, and 
 against its provision of a Mediator, have 
 been proved to be invahd. The difficulties 
 raised concerning it, because it is not univer- 
 sal, and because its evidence is not overbear- 
 ing, have also been removed. Some obser- 
 vations have, lastly, been made on the objec- 
 tions to the special evidences of Christianity ; 
 as consisting of miracles, prophecies, and a 
 great many other collateral circumstances, 
 united in one argument. 
 
 Thus we have endeavoured to strengthen 
 the evidences of Christianity to those who 
 believe it to be true ; and to show its proba- 
 bility to those who do not believe it. The 
 treatise is especially addressed to those who 
 imagine that the evidences of natural and 
 revealed religion, if true, would have been 
 
124 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 Stronger than they are, or irresistible ; and 
 who think that doubting about Christianity, is 
 in a manner the same thing as being certain 
 against it. If these persons are not willing to 
 weigh seriously the force of the analogical 
 arguments we have produced, but will still go 
 on to disregard and vilify Christianity, there is 
 no reason to think they would alter their beha- 
 viour to any purpose ; though there were a 
 demonstration, instead of what there is, a high 
 probability, and moral certainty of its truth. 
 
 Such are the chief steps in the reasoning 
 of Bishop Butler, in this great work. 
 
 CONNEXION OF BISHOP BUTLEr's ARGUMENT WITH 
 OTHER BRANCHES OF EVIDENCE, THEO- 
 RETICAL AND PRACTICAL. 
 
 Having thus given a general draught of 
 the main argument, as well as of the particu- 
 lar reasoning of the Analogy, we come to the 
 second general division of this Essay, and 
 offer, as was proposed, some observations on 
 
 THE CONNEXION OF THIS ARGUxMENT WITH 
 THE OTHER BRANCHES OF THE CHRISTIAN 
 EVIDENCE, AND ON ITS PECULIAR USE AND 
 IMPORTANCE ; AND ALSO ON OUR AUTHOR's 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 125 
 
 VIEW OF PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY, AND ON 
 THE ADAPTATION OF HIS ARGUMENT TO THE 
 CHRISTIAN RELIGION IN ALL ITS EXTENT. 
 
 1. We begin with the connexion of the 
 Analogical argument with the other branches 
 of the Christian evidence, and on its peculiar 
 use and importance. For the argument from 
 analogy does not stand alone. It is rather 
 the completion, and, as it were, the crown of 
 all the other evidences for the truth of Chris- 
 tianity. It comes in to remove objections 
 after the usual proofs have been admitted. 
 For the External, the Internal, and what 
 I may call the Analogical evidences of 
 Christianity, are three distinct divisions of one 
 great argument. The external evidences 
 are those which should be first studied. In- 
 deed they are the only ones that can be con- 
 sidered in the first instance as essential ; be- 
 cause they undertake to show the credentials 
 of the messenger who professes to come with 
 a revelation from heaven. Christianity claims 
 a divine origin. I have therefore a right, in- 
 deed I am bound, soberly and impartially to 
 mquire what proofs she brings of this high 
 claim. And when she refers me to the holy 
 \2 
 
126 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 Scriptures as containing all her records, I 
 have a right to ask what evidence thepe is of the 
 genuineness and authenticity of these books, 
 and what footing they place the religion 
 upon, which they wish to inculcate on man- 
 kind. The answer to all these questions is 
 found in what we call the External Eviden- 
 ces of Christianity. These show the acknow- 
 ledged facts on which the religion rests. 
 They prove that the books were written by 
 the persons whose names tliey bear, and do 
 contain a true and credible history. They 
 prove that the revelation itself was founded 
 on unequivocal and numerous miracles ; that 
 it was accompanied (as it is accompanied 
 still) with the distinct fulfilment of an amaz- 
 ing scheme of prophecy, embracing all the 
 chief events of the world ; and that it was pro- 
 pagated in the face of opposition and difficulty 
 with a triumphant success, which nothing but 
 the hand of God could have effected. These 
 evidences also show the positive good effects 
 produced by this heavenly doctrine, and 
 which are still being produced, in the melior- 
 ation of society and the advancement of hu- 
 man happiness and virtue in all the nations 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 127 
 
 where it has been received. We have no 
 right to go further than this in the first place* 
 The moment the messenger is sufficiently 
 proved to have divine credentials, we have 
 but one duty left, that of receiving and obey- 
 ing his message, that of reading and medita- 
 ting on the revelation itself, in order to con- 
 form ourselves to it with devout and cheerful 
 submission. We have no right at all to ex- 
 amine tlie nature of the discoveries, or doc- 
 trines, or precepts of Christianity, with the 
 view of determining whether they seem to us 
 becoming the wisdom of God, and agreeable 
 to the reason of man. it is proved that the 
 revelation is from beavea, This is enough. 
 The infinitely glorious Creator and Sovereign 
 of the universe has full power to do what he 
 will with his own, and to lay down laws for 
 bis creatures. We have no business, strictly 
 speaking, witli the contents and tenor of tliese 
 laws, except to understand thera and obey 
 them. 
 
 Great mischief has been done to the Chris- 
 tian cause by taking^ another method. Men- 
 have allowed themselves to be entangled with 
 discussions on the possibility and credibility 
 
1^8 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 of a revelation being given to man, on the 
 nature and tendency of the Christian doc- 
 trine, on the reasonableness of its particular 
 injunctions — questions every one of them out 
 of place in examining the evidence of a divine 
 religion. Let it fairly be made out to come 
 from God, and it is enough. More than this 
 is injurious. We are sure, indeed, that the 
 contents of it must be most worthy of its per- 
 fect Author ; but we are no adequate judges 
 of what is worthy or what is not worthy of 
 an Infinite being. We have no right to call 
 the Almighty Creator to the bar of our feeble 
 reason, and suspend obedience to his com- 
 mands on the determination whether those 
 commands are in our opinion just and good 
 or not. To receive a revelation on the 
 ground of its proper credentials, and then to 
 trace out with reverence the wisdom and 
 goodness of its contents, is one thing ; but to 
 sit in judgment on those contents previously 
 to an examination of its credentials, and in 
 order to decide whether we shall receive the 
 professed revelation or not, is quite another. 
 We are competent to understand the simple 
 and commanding language of the Almighty, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 129 
 
 attesting by miracles and prophecy, and the 
 extraordinary propagation of the gospel and 
 its visible good effects on mankind, the truth 
 of a supernatural revelation ; and yet are no 
 competent judges whatever of the particular 
 things the Almighty may see fit to communi- 
 cate in that revelation. Evidences are level 
 to a candid and fair understanding ; divine 
 doctrines may not be so. Evidences are ad- 
 ,dressed to man's reason, and warrant the 
 modest exercise of it ; doctrines are address- 
 ed to faith, and demand not discussion, but 
 obedience. 
 
 The danger of acting in the way which I 
 am now venturing to condemn, is greater, 
 because the door being once opened to such 
 reasoning, it is quite certain that the minds 
 of men will too often employ it amiss. The 
 infidel is the person just the least capable to 
 act aright in such a case. The pious well- 
 trained judgment of a sincere Christian, might 
 indeed form a better estimate of the internal 
 character of a revelation from heaven : but 
 the unsubdued mind of an unbeliever can 
 only come to a wrong decision upon it. He 
 wants all the preparation necessary. 
 12* 
 
130 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 But although the External proofs of Chris- 
 tianity are thus all that, in the first examina- 
 tion, is required, yet the internal eviden- 
 ces may afterwards be profitably, most pro- 
 fitably studied. Christianity shrinks from no 
 scrutiny. She courts the light. When the 
 outward credentials of the heavenly messen- 
 ger have once been investigated, and the 
 message been received on this its proper foot- 
 ing ; then if it be asked, whether the contents 
 of the revelation seem to confirm the proof 
 of its divine original ; whether the sincere 
 believer will find them adapted to his wants ; 
 whether the morals inculcated, the end pro- 
 posed, the means enjoined are agreeable to 
 man's best reason and the dictates of an 
 enlightened understanding and conscience, 
 whether the character of Christ be worthy of 
 his religion, whether the influence of grace, 
 said to accompany Christianity, may be ob- 
 tained by prayer, whether the lives and deaths 
 of Christians as compared with those of pro- 
 fessed Infidels, illustrate the excellency of 
 their faith ; whether, in short, the promises 
 and blessings of Christianity are verified in 
 those wbo make a trial of them, by submit- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 131 
 
 ting to the means appointed for their attain- 
 ment : when such questions are put with 
 candour, by those who have embraced Chris- 
 tianity, we answer them by referring to the 
 Internal evidences of Revelation. These In- 
 ternal evidences are now our appropriate 
 study. They show us the adaptation of the 
 religion to the situation and wants of man, 
 the purity and subh'mity of its doctrines and 
 precepts, the character of its founder, the 
 sanctifying and consoling effect of the influ- 
 ence which accompanies it, the holy lives 
 and happy deaths of its genuine followers, 
 and the trial which every one may make of 
 its promises and blessings, by fulfilling the 
 terms on which they are proposed. Each of 
 these topics admits of large illustration. The 
 whole of the Internal evidences form an argu- 
 ment in favour of Christianity, as complete 
 and satisfactory in its particular province, as 
 the whole of the External. Indeed, they are, 
 in some respects, more persuasive, though 
 they come after them and are secondary to 
 them. The External evidences enforce con- 
 viction, the Internal induce to love. The 
 External bring to light the potent remedy, 
 
132 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 the Internal apply it to the sufferer, and pro* 
 duce the actual cure. The first require an 
 exercise of the understanding on plain facts 
 stated, the second the submission of the af- 
 fections to a benefit conferred. By the one 
 we know religion to be true, by the other we 
 feel it to be good. The External evidences 
 awaken attention to a new doctrine, the In- 
 ternal attract the heart to an incalculable 
 blessing. 
 
 Accordingly, no class of persons is ex- 
 cluded from that conviction of the truth of 
 Christianity which springs from a perception 
 of its effects in themselves and others. The 
 External evidences indeed are simple as they 
 are majestic ; but to the unpractised and un- 
 educated mind, they necessarily lose much 
 of their force. The great body of mankind 
 must be indebted to their instructers in a 
 large measure, for their faith in the historical 
 evidences of religion ; but they can feel it in 
 its sacred fruits as keenly, and perhaps even 
 more keenly, than any other description of 
 persons. They are incapable of following a 
 train of reasoning, or of judging of distant 
 and remote facts ; but they are quite capable 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 133 
 
 of perceiving the blessedness of obeying Chris- 
 tianity, and of relying on its promises. Thus 
 a source of faith is opened to them, abundant 
 in proportion as they advance in piety and 
 virtue. And though, as we have already 
 observed, the unbeliever has no right to sit 
 in judgment on the internal character of Chris- 
 tianity, but should, and must, in all reason, 
 be contented at first with the proper external 
 evidences that it really comes from God ; yet 
 when he has once received the Christian 
 doctrine aright, and has begun to be mould- 
 ed into its form, and take its impression, he 
 will discover to his surprise new traces of a 
 divine hand daily in all its parts, he will feel 
 that it is salutary in all its doctrines and in 
 all its precepts, in all its bearings and all its 
 tendencies, in all its discoveries and declara- 
 tions, in all its effects and fruits. Like the 
 light of the sun, it will speak its author and 
 source. The confirmation which the faith of 
 the sincere believer thus receives is indescri- 
 bable. He has now entered the temple, of 
 which he had before surveyed, from without, 
 the proportions and magnificence. He has 
 now partaken of the feast, of which he had 
 
134 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 before heard the tidings and listened to the 
 invitation. He has now experienced the 
 skill and tenderness of the Physician, of 
 whose fame and powers he had before been 
 convinced only by testimony. He has now 
 shared the unspeakable gift which had before 
 been offered to him. He was well persuad- 
 ed, on first embracing Christianity on its due 
 external authority, that every thing taught by 
 It would be found most agi-eeable to the attri- 
 butes and glory of its divine autlior. But he 
 has now a conviction resulting from the be- 
 nefits conferred, of a kind higher in its de- 
 gree, and more consoling in its efiects, than 
 any external proof could communicate, and 
 which, though incapable of being known, 
 from the nature of the case, previously to ex- 
 perience, yet when Once known, sways and 
 bears away the heart. 
 
 The two branches of evidence thus con- 
 curring to one result, the External proving 
 the truth of the messenger, and the Internal 
 confirming afterwards that truth by an expe- 
 rience of the excellency and suitableness of 
 the message itself, the Christian believer has 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 135 
 
 a continually growing conviction of the firm 
 grounds of his faith. 
 
 He is now prepared for considering, to the 
 best advantage, the third branch of the evi- 
 dences in favour of Christianity — that arising 
 
 from THE ANALOGY BETWEEN THIS RELI- 
 GION, AND THE CONSTITUTION AND COUKSE 
 
 OF NATURE. This brings us to the imme- 
 diate subject of Butler's treatise, of which we 
 have already given a review. We have no 
 right, indeed, (for the idea is too important 
 not to be repeated,) to call for this species of 
 proof, any more than we have a right to call, 
 in the first instance, for an examination of 
 the internal character of Christianity, or ra- 
 ther to call for it at all. All we have any 
 fair right to ask for, is the credentials of the 
 ambassador who professes to come to us in 
 the name of our absent, though ever-present, 
 Sovereign and Lord. It is perfectly true, 
 that the analogy of nature, as formed by the 
 same hand, will have traces of the same sys- 
 tem and scheme of Christianity, just as it is 
 true, that a revelation from heaven will pos- 
 sess every internal mark of holiness and good- 
 ness and truth j but we have no right to stop. 
 
136 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 and pretend to follow out all these matters, 
 before we receive the Christian doctrine as 
 divine. Christianity does not submit to plead 
 at such a bar. The capacity of receiving 
 advantage from these auxiliary evidences, de- 
 pends on our first admitting, on the plain 
 grounds of its miracles, and prophecies, and 
 propagation, and mighty effects, the truth of 
 the revelation by which these additional 
 proofs are to be created and communicated, 
 and without which they cannot be employed 
 to any purpose. 
 
 Still, after we have sincerely embraced the 
 gospel, we may humbly inquire, whether the 
 difficulties which are raised against it by un- 
 behevers, or which occur to our own minds, 
 may be relieved by an appeal to the works 
 of God in nature, and His order and govern- 
 ment therein. This is the argument from 
 Analogy, which rises still a step above the 
 two preceding branches of the subject, not as 
 in itself necessary to the first reception of 
 Christianity, but as furnishing the subsequent 
 confirmation of it, and removing scruples and 
 objections arising from the ignorance and pre- 
 sumption of man. It is, iijdeed, a glorious 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 137 
 
 thing thus to discern the harmony between 
 Christianity, the greatest of the Ahuighty's 
 works, and all the other known productions 
 of the same divine Architect. To see that 
 the natural and moral government of God are 
 parts of one stupendous whole, sums up, and 
 finishes, and absolves the subject. Nothing 
 more can be said. All is, what we might be 
 sure it would be, complete and adequate. 
 The force of External evidences is to com- 
 pel assent ; the effect of the Internal to pro- 
 duce love ; the chief efficacy of the Analogi- 
 cal to silence objections. By the first, a 
 message is proved to come from heaven ; by 
 the second, the salutary effects of this mes- 
 sage are felt and understood ; by the third, 
 it is shown to be, in itself, most agreeable to 
 all the known dispensations of the divine Au- 
 thor. The first is the proper evidence which 
 such a case indispensably demands ; the next 
 confirms, by actual experience, this satisfac- 
 tory ground of belief ; the last excludes all 
 contradictory assertions, and creates a silence 
 and repose of mind, when objections are 
 urged by others, or arise in our own thoughts. 
 External evidences, by their simple majesty, 
 13 
 
138 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 address the reason of mankind, and over- 
 whelm objections and surmises ; Internal, by 
 the influences of truth on the heart, indispose 
 men to listen to those objections ; Analogical, 
 by showing that such objections lie equally 
 against the constitution and course of nature, 
 deprive them of all their force, and turn them 
 into proofs of divine goodness and power. 
 
 In thus assigning to tlie three branches of 
 evidence a particular position, we are far 
 from insinuating that they may not be con- 
 sidered in a dijfferent ord3r. We merely 
 wish to claim for the external evidences the 
 rank to which they are entitled in fair argu- 
 ment, and to protest against the additional 
 and auxiliary evidences being improperly re- 
 sorted to, in the first instance, to the neglect 
 of the palpable credentials of the Christian 
 message. To maintain this is a matter of 
 real moment. It places the various branches 
 of the inquiry in their true and natural light. 
 Still we object not to any part of them being 
 separately considered, according to the dis- 
 position, age, talents, information, and cir- 
 cumstances of men. The Christian evidence 
 in each division, and each subdivision of it, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 139 
 
 is SO clear and convincing to a fair and sin- 
 cere inquirer, as to admit of a distinct discus- 
 sion and exhibition, if it be conducted with 
 good faith. But if men wish to seize what 
 seems to them a feeble part of the Internal 
 or Analogical argument, and press this out 
 of its place, disregarding the plain and direct 
 proofs of Christianity from miracles, pro- 
 phecy, &c. we then recall them to the con- 
 sideration of the real state of the argument. 
 We tell them they are no adequate judges of 
 what a divine revelation should contain. We 
 appeal to the proper and unanswerable proofs 
 of a divine religion, in the extraordinary mani- 
 festations of Almighty God in its favour. 
 And we bid them postpone the examination 
 of the subsidiary evidences, till they have 
 weighed the primary ones, and received the 
 religion which they attest. Thus to a seri- 
 ous candid mind, we are willing to open at 
 once any part of the wide subject of the evi- 
 dences of Christianity ; whilst to a captious 
 and unreasonable inquirer, we propose the 
 strict rules of debate, and demand the order- 
 I}'' examination of the eredentiab of the reli- 
 gion. 
 
140 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 If, however, after all, men will unreasona- 
 bly demand an exposition of the internal cha- 
 racter of Christianity in the first place, or 
 will dwell on objections raised against its par- 
 ticular constitution, we descend on the ground 
 they have chosen, and without relinquishing 
 our right to assume a higher position and to 
 insist only on the direct proofs of it, we meet 
 them where they stand, and show them the 
 inward excellency of our religion from the 
 Internal evidences, or the weakness and in- 
 conclusiveness of their objections from the 
 Analogical. Thus Christianity stoops, so far 
 as it can, to the fancies of men, and argues 
 with them on their own principles. This is 
 particularly the case with the evidence from 
 analogy. 
 
 It is indeed one of the most valuable 
 branches of the whole Christian argument, 
 because objections are the ground commonly 
 taken by unbelievers. For weak, and incon- 
 clusive, as these objections are, they are suffi- 
 cient, when listened to, to steel the heart 
 against the force of truth, and bar up the first 
 entrance to the Christian doctrine. The 
 young and inexperienced are thus gradually 
 
WILSON'S AKALOGY. 141 
 
 seduced and hardened. It is not that men 
 have found out that the External Evidences 
 of Christianity are insufficient, for the)'" have 
 never studied them — it is not that they have 
 discovered the fallacy of the Internal Evi- 
 dences, for they have never been in a situa- 
 tion to judge of them. But they have heard 
 bold things flippantly said against Christiani- 
 ty ; things which they were not sufficiently 
 informed on the subject to answer ; these 
 have sunk into their memories, and acquired 
 force by lapse of time ; and thus their minds 
 became gradually tainted and poisoned. 
 Their passions, impatient of the restraints of 
 Christianity, aided the delusion. Their pride 
 of intellect, ambitious of forsaking the com- 
 mon track, listened to the flattering tale. 
 The opinions and example of others, as little 
 competent to judge as themselves, attracted 
 them onwards. Ridicule, unanswerable ridi- 
 cule, came in to their overthrow. The love 
 of novelty was not without its force. They 
 had no inclination to the patient inquiry which 
 such a subject as religion demands ; whereas 
 an objection was seized at once. Thus, in- 
 sensibly, the impressions of a pious education 
 13* 
 
142 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 were effaced, and the unhappy youth entered 
 on the mazes of infidelity, and came, at last, 
 to scoff at the very religion which he once 
 reverenced, if he did not obey. 
 
 Here, then, the argument from analogy 
 may be of the greatest service. We insist 
 not with such a youth, on an examination of 
 the External Evidences of religion, to which 
 we see he would not attend, and we come at 
 once to his objections. We show him, in the 
 manner of the preceding treatise, that we 
 may well expect to find the same sort of cha- 
 racter in a revelation, proceeding from the 
 Author of nature, as is found in the constitu- 
 tion and order of nature itself; that our igno- 
 rance, with respect to natural things, is such, 
 that we cannot go on a single step, except as 
 facts and experiments lead us by the hand ; 
 and, that as this ignorance is the proper an- 
 swer to presumptions and difficulties, derived 
 from our opinion of things beforehand, so is 
 this much more the case in religion, where 
 we find only the same kind of difficulties 
 which meet us perpetually in the works of 
 the same hand in the course of nature. So 
 that, in short, he that rejects Christianity, on 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 143 
 
 account of these difficulties, may for the very- 
 same reason, deny the world to have been 
 formed by an intelligent Creator. Thus all 
 objections against the Scriptures, drawn from 
 what is similar or analogous in the order of 
 the world, which is acknowledged by the ob- 
 jector himself to proceed from an Almighty 
 Governor, are satisfactorily silenced ; and the 
 mind, freed from harassing and frivolous ob- 
 jections, is at liberty to weigh impartially the 
 direct proof of Christianity, and then to seek 
 the best confirmation of a wavering faith, in 
 its salutary effects in pardoning guilt, tran- 
 quilizing conscience, subduing pride, regula- 
 ting the affections and appetites, and changing 
 the whole character from that of a discon- 
 tented, captious, selfish creature, to that of a 
 patient, docile, thankful, benevolent one. 
 
 Thus all the several branches of the Evi- 
 dences of Christianity are ultimately studied, 
 though not in the order which the strict rules 
 of the case would lay down. The great ob- 
 ject is gained if the unbeliever is convinced : 
 but if, on the contrary, he refuses to listen to 
 our argument from analogy, or professes him- 
 self dissatisfied with it, we are still at liberty 
 
144 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 to remind him, that tlie only proofs which he 
 can claim in the first instance, are the direct 
 and proper credentials of miracles and pro- 
 phecy, and other External Evidences ; and 
 tliat his paramount duty is to submit to the 
 revelation thus attested, and not yield to ob- 
 jections and difficulties resting on mere con- 
 ceptions and opinions. 
 
 But the use and importance of the argu- 
 ment from analogy may be frequently observ- 
 ed in the case of the sincere Christian. How 
 often is the thoughtful believer harassed by 
 objections. The best men are still weak and 
 defective } and notwithstanding the clearest 
 deductions of reason, and the avowed subjec- 
 tion of the heart to the Gospel, doubts, and 
 embarrassments, and apprehensions, will haunt 
 the mind. There arc few who have not felt 
 this. The imagination roves on forbidden 
 topics — thoughts the most unwelcome intrude 
 — arguments fail to satisfy — exploded objec- 
 tions recur. Especially if circumstances re- 
 quire a Christian to treat with infidels, and 
 examine and refute their arguments, the in- 
 firmity of his faith will sometimes be an oc- 
 casion of surprise and distress to him. In 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 145 
 
 such seasons, no source of relief is more plen- 
 teous than that springing from the clear and 
 striking similarity between the objections 
 raised against revelation, and those which 
 may be raised against the government and 
 order of God in natural providence. When 
 the External and Internal Evidences of Chris- 
 tianity seem cold, and ineffective, and barren, 
 the Analogical precisely meet his feelings. 
 The full and adequate repose which they 
 inspire, is a calm after a storm. The relief 
 is more sensible from being unexpected. 
 For, somehow or other, the mind, at times, 
 appears quite hedged in with fears and specu- 
 lations. The state of misery in which the 
 world lies — the prevalence of moral evil — 
 the immense majority of the human race, 
 sunk in Pagan ignorance — the trials of good 
 men — the prosperity of the wicked — the 
 slow progress of truth and reason ; these, 
 and a thousand like matters, perplex, too 
 frequently, the benevolent and reflecting mind 
 of the Christian. He is quite astonished that 
 an all-wise and all-gracious Creator should 
 leave a revelation with so little efficacy at- 
 tending it. He thinks that he can never ob- 
 
146 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 tain satisfaction upon these questions. He 
 has forgotten the arguments which formerly 
 silenced liis scruples, and his faith is ready 
 to fail him. The analogical argument then 
 occurs to his distracted thoughts — he reads 
 it as if he had never read it before — it seems 
 new, forcible, conclusive — his proud reason- 
 ings sink — faith resumes her sway — humili- 
 ty acknowledges the ignorance and littleness 
 of man, before the incomprehensible plans of 
 the infinite God — his state of probation and 
 discipline, forces itself upon his notice — the 
 traces of the same divine Governor, in tlie nat- 
 ural and moral world, are again seen and recog- 
 nized — and tlie satisfaction he thus regains is 
 more than can be expressed* In proportion 
 as the difficulties appeared insuperable, is the 
 'removal of them consoling and vivifying. 
 
 There is this further to be noticed, as to 
 the importance of the argument from analogy, 
 that it is capable of indefinite ramification. 
 The fruitfulness of it is such, that each Chris- 
 tian, throughout the whole course of life, may 
 multiply his observations without exhausting 
 the inquiry. There is an inherent freshness 
 and Hfe in it, which makes it always new and 
 interesting. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 147 
 
 iDdeed, we must observe, before we quit 
 this topic, that the variety of the Christian 
 argument generally, is one striking confirma- 
 tion of its truth. The evidences for revela- 
 tion /nay be truly said to be diversified, and 
 extensive beyond any thing that could have 
 been conceived, we do not say, on a like 
 subject, but on any subject whatever. If a 
 man were allowed to point out beforehand, 
 the proofs of a divine religion to be addressed 
 to a reasonable and accountable being, he 
 could not name any different in kind from 
 those which we possess. For what could a 
 man demand, but either the conspicuous dis- 
 play of a clearly miraculous power in attesta- 
 tion of it, or the incontrovertible fulfilment of 
 prophecy — or the triumphant and superna- 
 tural spread of the doctrine itself — or the 
 visible and mighty effects on all who receive 
 it ? And where the revelation is admitted 
 and obeyed, what internal confirmation of its 
 truth could he desire, beyond the adaptation 
 of it to the state and wants of man — the 
 purity and sublimity of its doctrines and pre- 
 cepts — the untainted benevolence of its foun- 
 der — the attendant influence of grace — and 
 
148 WILSON'3 ANALOCr. 
 
 the actual accomplishment of its promises ta 
 all who apply duly for them ? And if objec- 
 tions be afterwards raised against this scheme, 
 what could he wish further,, than to see theni 
 extinguished by considerations derrved from 
 the ignorance of man, and the incomprehen- 
 sibility of God ? In this diversity of proof 
 all the attributes of the Almighty are pledged, 
 as it were, to the sincere believer. The 
 miracles give him the pledge of the sovereign- 
 power of God — the prophecies, of his Om- 
 niscience — the supernatural propagation of 
 the Gospel, of his supreme providence — the 
 effects produced, of his fidelity — the adapta- 
 tion to the state of man, of his wisdom — the 
 purity of the doctrine and morals, of his holi- 
 ness — the character of Christ, of his conde- 
 scension — the accompanying influence, of his 
 grace and goodness — the fulfilment of the 
 promises, of his veracity. Thus the eviden- 
 ces of Christianity have an impression of the 
 divine glory irradiating them.^ 
 
 * We are indebted for some thoughts in this part of 
 the Essay, to Mr. Davidson's admirable Warburtonian 
 Lectures — a work of deep research, and full of fine re- 
 flections ; especially on the structure of propliecy. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. HQ 
 
 But it is not merely the diversity of these 
 topics, but the dissimilarity of them from 
 each other, which gives them their in- 
 comparable weight. They are not all of a 
 kind. The impostor who could be imagined 
 to feign one branch of them, would be inca- 
 pacitated by that very attempt from feigning 
 the rest. They would each demand a sepa- 
 rate scheme, distinct powers, a new reach of 
 intellect, different combinations. The inde- 
 pendence of these different evidences upon 
 each other, indescribably augments their force. 
 In fact, the annals of mankind never exhibited 
 such a religion as Christianity surrounded 
 with her credentials, nor any thing like it. 
 The systems of Heathenism and Mahomme- 
 danism reflect a glory on revelation by the 
 contrast which they exhibit in these respects, 
 as well as in every other. 
 
 And yet the simplicity of these different 
 evidences of our religion is as remarkable as 
 their number and diversity. For they are 
 level to every understanding. They address 
 themselves to the faculty of judgment with 
 which we are endowed. The reader of his- 
 tory, the student of nature, the scholar, the 
 14 
 
150 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 contemplative philosopher, the uneducated in- 
 quirer, the candid mind of every class, may 
 find obvious and satisfactory proofs adapted 
 to his habits and capacities. If there is no 
 bad faith, every one that investigates this 
 great question, Vv^ill find the satisfaction he 
 seeks for. 
 
 We only observe, further, that the proper 
 force and strength of these evidences, lies in 
 the UNION of all the parts of the argument. 
 This Bishop Butler has pointed out, chiefly 
 in respect of the analogical argument ; but it 
 is important to be applied to the entire sub- 
 ject. One point may more forcibly strike 
 the conviction of one inquirer, and another 
 point of another ; a separate argument may 
 be weakly stated by the Christian advocate ; 
 mistakes may be made in deducing a particu- 
 lar historical proof, or alleging a particular 
 fact. But the cause of Christianity does not 
 rest on any one division of the subject, but 
 on the whole. Each separate branch is, in- 
 deed, firm enough to sustain the entire edi- 
 fice ; but we are not allowed to let it rest 
 there. We must remind the sincere inquirer 
 that it is the combined effect of the various 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 151 
 
 topics, which he is called on to observe. 
 And if this be done, we fear not to assert that 
 no such inquirer shall fail of all the satisfac- 
 tion which a moral certainty can produce. 
 The infidel attacks Christianity generally on 
 some single isolated point of evidence ; and 
 if he can contrive to obscure the brightness 
 of this, triumphs as if he had proved the reli- 
 gion to be fictitious. And not only so, but if 
 he can only raise a doubt about the truth of 
 this single, and perhaps subordinate point, he 
 turns this doubt into what he calls a positive 
 argument against Christianity. But this is 
 unfair and disingenuous. Christianity re- 
 poses on the entire structure of her evidences 
 — a structure which has never, as yet, been 
 fairly assailed, much less weakened or de- 
 stroyed ; and which rears its front in undi- 
 minished stability and glory, mocking at its 
 feeble and discomfited opponents. 
 
 Having thus given a view of the connex- 
 ion of the Analogical argument, with the 
 other branches of the Christian evidence, and 
 
152 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 of its particular use and importance, we now 
 proceed, 2dly, To offer some remarks on But- 
 ler^ s particular view of Christianity , and on 
 the adaptation of his argument to practical 
 relisaion in all its extent. 
 
 For the reader will have observed, that the 
 great argument of the analogy is designed 
 rather to silence objections, than to expound 
 or defend the minute and interior topics of 
 Christianity, on which the life and influence 
 of piety, as a practical principle, very much 
 depend. Indeed the end of all treatises on 
 the Evidences of religion, must be the estab- 
 lishment of the truth of it generally, and not 
 the particular development of its parts. Such 
 treatises meet the unbeliever, as much as 
 possible on his own ground, and attempt to 
 gain his assent to the credentials of the divine 
 doctrine, leaving the details of that doctrine 
 to the ordinary teachers of Christianity, or 
 the various practical works, which treat pro- 
 fessedly of them. The general features, 
 therefoVe, of the Christian religion are all that 
 it falls within the province of the writer on 
 Evidences to delineate fully ; taking car^ that 
 
VVILSON'a ANALOGY. 153 
 
 his allusions to tlie inward grace and power 
 of it be calculated to lead the reader on to 
 adequate views of the whole. These features 
 Bishop Butler has seized with a master's eye. 
 The moral government of God by rewards 
 and punishments, the state of discipline which 
 this world is for a future one ; the corruption 
 of man, the guilt of sin, the mediation of 
 Christ, the propitiatory Sacrifice of his death, 
 and his invisible government of his church ; 
 the assistance and grace of the Holy Spirit ; 
 the second advent of our Lord to judgment ; 
 the seriousness of mind which the subject of 
 religion demands — these commanding truths 
 are the first elements and characteristics of 
 Christianity, and are nobly defended and 
 cleared from objections by our Author. 
 
 At the same time, it cannot, and need not 
 be concealed, that the occasional hints which 
 fall from him, on the particular grace of the 
 Christian religion, and its operation on the 
 heart, are far from being so explicit. His 
 references to the precise nature of our justi- 
 fication before God — to the extent of the fall 
 and ruin of man by sin — to the work of the 
 Holy Spirit in regeneration and sanctification 
 14* 
 
154 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 — and to the consolatory, cheering, vivifying 
 effects of peace of conscience, and commu- 
 nion with God, and hope of rest and joy in 
 heaven, do not correspond with the largeness 
 of the case. They are partial and defective. 
 They might and should have embraced, in- 
 cidentally at least, some intimations of the 
 peculiar structure and design of spiritual reli- 
 gion. The powerful argument in hand should 
 at times have been carried out to its conse- 
 quences. The inexperienced theological stu- 
 dent would not then have been in danger of 
 drawing erroneous conclusions, on some prac- 
 tical points of great importance. 
 
 It is therefore to guard the youthful reader 
 from error as to the nature of practical Chris- 
 tianity, that the following reflections are offer- 
 ed, some of which will only go to explain 
 what may be misapprehended in our Author's 
 language and argument; others will attempt 
 to suggest some additional tfioughts on topics 
 which may appear deficient. Some notice 
 will then be taken of the easy adaptation of 
 his argument to the practice and experience 
 of religion in all its extent. 
 
 1. Let us first suggest a hint on the ncL'^ 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 155 
 
 ture and importance of JVatural Religion as 
 stated by Bishop Butler. Various mistakes 
 have arisen, both as to what is meant by this 
 term, and as to its efficacy, independently of 
 Christianity. Nor have there been wanting 
 those who have denied altogether its exist- 
 ence, and its subserviency to the Christian 
 doctrine. 
 
 By Natural Religion Bishop Butler under- 
 stands religion generally, as distinguished 
 from those modifications of it which revela- 
 tion superinduced. Natural Religion is that 
 service, and those religious regards to Al- 
 mighty God, which men owe to Him, as their 
 Creator and Benefactor, and which arise out 
 of the relations in which they stand to Him, 
 as the rational and accountable beings whom 
 he formed for his glory, and governs by his 
 law. These primitive obligations may plainly 
 be distinguished from Christianity, which is 
 an additional dispensation, revealing the di- 
 vine and stupendous scheme of the recovery 
 of man from his state of ruin and guilt, by 
 the Son and Spirit of God. Indeed Natural 
 jReligion is, properly speaking, distinct from 
 those anticipations of the Christian redemp- 
 
156 WILSON'S ANALOGY. ^ 
 
 tion, which the early revelations to our first 
 parents, to the patriarchs and to the Jewish 
 people comprised. The traditions, it is true, 
 of these early revelations, mingled with the 
 faint traces of man's moral nature which have 
 survived the fall, constitute the religion of 
 nature, as now seen in the various heathen 
 nations, where the bright light of the last reve- 
 lation, the Christian, has not reached. But 
 Butler, usually restrains the meaning of the 
 term to the doctrine of a future state, where 
 every one shall be rewarded or punished ac- 
 cording to his deserts ; and to those duties 
 which man owes to God, as his moral and 
 righteous Creator and Governor. 
 
 This religion was originally impressed on 
 the heart of man, as ' created in righteousness 
 and true holiness,' and consists of those habits 
 and acts of subjection, obedience, reverence, 
 love, adoration, gratitude, trust, prayer, com- 
 munion, resignation, and praise, which an 
 upright, but finite and dependent being, owed 
 to its Sovereign and its Benefactor, and the 
 reward consequent on which was to be eternal 
 life. This divine impression on the heart 
 was effaced by the fall ; and now these habits 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 157 
 
 and affections are only to be acquired by the 
 light and grace of Christianity. It is this 
 revelation which has repaired the ruins of the 
 fall, brought in a remedy for the apostacy 
 and wickedness of mankind, restored the en- 
 feebled, and almost extinguished powers of 
 natural religion, added surprising discoveries 
 of divine wisdom and mercy, in the sacrifice 
 of the Son of God, and the mission of the 
 Holy Spirit, enjoined important correspond- 
 ent duties and obligations ; and thus modified 
 the original scheme of religion by these new 
 characteristics. 
 
 It is therefore very fair for a Christian wri- 
 ter, like our Bishop*, to distinguish, in his course 
 of reasoning, the two series of habits and feel- 
 ings; those which constitute religion as spring- 
 ing from our relation to God, as our heavenly 
 Creator and Lord, and those which constitute 
 religion, as springing from our relation to 
 Christ, as our Meditator, and to the Holy Spirit 
 as our Sanctifier, and to our heavenly Father, 
 as being the Father of mercies, and the God 
 of all consolation. It is thus the apostle Paul 
 speaks of the Gentiles, which ' have not the 
 law, being a law unto themselves, which show 
 
158 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 the work of the law written in their hearts.' 
 It is thus the same apostle expounds the chief 
 truths to be learned froni the law, to be 
 ' God's eternal power and Godhead, which 
 might be clearly seen by the things which 
 were made ;' and charges the heathens with 
 * not liking to retain God in their knowledge,' 
 and with ' becoming fools, while professing 
 themselves to be wise ;' and, indeed, with 
 committing, and glorying in those vices, and 
 crimes, and passions, which ' they knew were, 
 by the judgment of God, worthy of death.' 
 The same apostle's argument at Athens, and 
 his discourse to the Lycaonians, proceed on 
 this supposition, that there was such a thing as 
 the light and religion of nature, independent- 
 ly, not of revelation, in the first instance, but 
 of the Christian, or last revelation by the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Accordingly, in the present age, as well 
 as in all preceding ones, the vestiges of natu- 
 ral conscience may be traced, however cor- 
 rupted. Some notion of a Supreme Being, 
 and of worship being due to him — some 
 ghmmerings of the doctrine of a future state 
 — some idea of the efficacy of sacrifices — 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 15^ 
 
 some acknowledgment of the obligations of 
 veracity and justice — some remains, in short, 
 of a moral sense, are discovered, in greater 
 or less force, amidst the scattered fragments 
 of the pagan superstitions. There is every- 
 where in man, the capacity of being restored 
 to ail that Christianity designs and promises. 
 All this is clear and unembarrassed ground. 
 The disputed territory lies beyond. For 
 when we come to inquire, whether men, since 
 the fall, ever discovered these natural truths 
 originally, or regained them when lost, or 
 acted upon them efficiently in their conduct, 
 we have a host of assailants to contend with. 
 And yet, surely, no doubt can be fairly said 
 to rest on these questions. All experience 
 declares, that natural religion, unless illumi- 
 nated and guided by the light of Christianity, 
 is impotent and helpless. All experience de- 
 clares, that men, destitute of Christianity, 
 grow worse and worse. No example has 
 been ever produced, either of a pagan nation 
 acting up to the scattered notices of religion 
 which it possessed, or recovering the purity 
 of it when once lost by the lapse of time, or 
 the progress of vice. And the high proba- 
 
160 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 bility is, setting aside, for the sake of argu- 
 ment, the testimony of Scripture, that the 
 faint h'ght which nature possesses, was an ir- 
 radiation from the first revelation of God to 
 man. 
 
 Butler is decidedly of opinion that this is 
 the case. He says, * As there is no hint or 
 intimation in history, that this system (of 
 natural religion) was first reasoned out ; so 
 there is express historical, or traditional evi- 
 dence as ancient as history, that it was taught 
 first by revelation.' He seems likewise, to hold 
 strongly, that such faint traces of this original 
 revelation as remain, aided by the fragments 
 of man's moral nature, are so inefficient, from 
 the want of essential parts, from the absence 
 of authority and sanction, and from the inter- 
 mixture of gross errors and idolatries, as 
 rather to strengthen than curb, much less 
 subdue, the passions and vices of mankind. 
 Those relics of truth, therefore, being thus 
 impotent of themselves, and being unaccom- 
 panied by any assurances of pardon, or any 
 promises of grace and assistance, only de- 
 monstrate, in every age, and in every quar- 
 ter of the world, by the state in which they 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 161 
 
 leave men, the indispensable necessity and 
 infinite importance of Christianity. 
 
 On the whole, there appears no objection 
 to the term Natural Religion in the sense 
 explained. Whether any better, and more 
 distinctive expression could have been de- 
 vised to convey the idea of essential and 
 primitive religion, as different from revealed 
 and superinduced religion, is scarcely worth 
 the inquiry. The use of the present term 
 has prevailed ; and it needs only to be em- 
 ployed aright, in order to stand U'ee from just 
 exception. 
 
 Natural religion, in subserviency to Chris- 
 tianity, is of great importance. It is every- 
 where taken for granted in Scripture, and 
 confirmed and strengthened by the manner 
 in which truth is addressed to man. All the 
 evidences of revealed religion appeal to our 
 moral nature, and meet precisely the faculty 
 of judging which we still possess; and would 
 have no medium of proof — and, therefore, 
 no authority to convince — if this moral sense 
 should be denied. IMorcover, it becomes 
 yet more important, in proportion as the light 
 of Christianity, dififused around it, illuminates, 
 15 
 
162 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 in some faint degree, its grosser darkness, 
 and dispels its baser corruptions and supersti- 
 tions. In Christian countries, men who re- 
 ject Christianity insensibly repair the decayed 
 and dilapidated temple of nature with the 
 materials which it supplies. And it is with 
 natural religion, in this form, that we have 
 chiefly to treat in this country. It then serves 
 to show men, that their consciences are bound,, 
 not only by the law of Christianity which 
 they spurn and reject, but by the law of na- 
 ture, of which they cannot divest themselves ; 
 not only by the infinite benefits and stupen- 
 dous discoveries of the revelation of the Gos- 
 pel, to which they ought to bow, but by the 
 truths impressed originally on the nature of 
 man, and sanctioned and enlarged in the 
 primitive revelations of the Creator to him — 
 revelations, of which every glimmering ray 
 of knowledge, every feeble emotion of con- 
 science, every remaining barrier between vir- 
 tue and vice, every impression of the respon- 
 sibility of man, every anticipation of future 
 judgment, every relic and trace of an im- 
 mortal and accountable spirit, are proofs and 
 consequences. Thus men are reminded,. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 163 
 
 that they do not escape from moral govern- 
 ment by rejecting Christianity, but fall back 
 on a ruined and unaided principle, which 
 leaves them just as responsible to God, the 
 Creator and Judge, as before — only vi^ith 
 the accumulated guilt of having spurned the 
 only way of pardon and grace which the in- 
 finite mercy of God had provided for them. 
 
 The consideration of natural religion is 
 also valuable, as it points out the grounds of 
 those exhortations, warnings, reproofs, invita- 
 tions, and commands which constitute so very 
 large a proportion of the whole Scriptures, 
 and on which revealed religion proceeds, and 
 by which it works. The duty of man re- 
 mains unaltered, notwithstanding his sinful- 
 ness and moral impotency ; his capacity of 
 receiving instruction, and being the subject 
 of persuasion and alarm, remains the same, 
 though he has fallen from his original recti- 
 tude ; his guilt in rejecting the invitations of 
 mercy, and the remonstrances of conscience, 
 remain undiminished, though his power of 
 complying with them must be sought for 
 from above. Further, the use of all the 
 means of grace as adapted to his reasonable 
 
164 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 and moral nature — the exhibition and apph*- 
 cation of all the terrors of the law, and of all 
 the grace of the Gospel, as the proper object 
 of his affections, together with the earnest- 
 ness and importunity with which these topics 
 should be enforced — all rest on the plain 
 footing, that some remains of feeling, and 
 conscience, and light, rest with man, by 
 which it pleases God to work in the dispen- 
 sation of his Spirit. 
 
 Nor is the religion of nature less impor- 
 tant, as fixing, in some measure, the ends, 
 and guiding the course, of that which is re- 
 vealed. All the chief abuses of the scheme 
 of grace in the Gospel would be guarded 
 against, if not excluded, if natural religion 
 were allowed its subordinate influence. Such 
 abuses spring from the desire, often laudable 
 in its apparent object, of carrying the doc- 
 trines of the Gospel to their full measure, and 
 applying them to the heart in their exuberant 
 consolation. Hence men come first to deny 
 natural religion — then to object to the prac- 
 tical exhortations of the Gospel ; next to as- 
 sert, that the state of death in trespasses and 
 sins in which men lie, makes all precepts 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 165 
 
 contradictory, and all warnings fruitless ; and, 
 lastly, to spurn the authority and obligation 
 of the moral law of God, and reject all the doc- 
 trines of Christian morals and Christian obedi- 
 ence. Thus an opening is made, insensibly, 
 to the worst abuses of the Divine mercy and 
 grace — abuses which a more implicit regard 
 to the Scriptures, on the subject of the essen- 
 tial nature of religion, would have prevented. 
 The end of Christianity is to make us holy 
 ■ — to bring us back to the purity from which 
 we fell — to make natural religion practicable, 
 possible, delightful ; to infuse into it the hu- 
 mility which becomes a fallen condition — 
 the faith in an atonement which the sacrifice 
 of the cross demands — the gratitude and 
 love which the benefits of that cross require 
 — the dependence on the blessed Spirit which 
 our feebleness makes indispensable — the joy 
 which the hope of heaven warrants and be- 
 stows. Thus Christianity modifies, indeed, 
 the essential religion first taught in the origi- 
 nal revelation to man, and impressed on his 
 heart; but never contradicts it — never swerves 
 from the same end — never releases from its 
 iP.ain obligations — never violates its primary 
 15* 
 
166 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 principles and dictates. Man is only bound 
 more strongly, by all the benefits of Chris- 
 tianity to the obedience which he was, by 
 nature, formed and designed to render to his 
 God ; and the moment he views those bene- 
 fits in a manner to loosen, instead of confirm- 
 ing, the bonds of this obedience, he may 
 conclude he is mistaking the whole end and 
 object of the Christian revelation. 
 
 2. But this leads us to make an observa- 
 tion on some of our great Author^ expressions 
 and sentiments, on the remains of JYatiiral 
 Religion, and on the grounds of our justifica- 
 tion and acceptance with God, ivhich seem 
 open to exception. For whilst we thus claim 
 for natural religion, what the Scriptures clear- 
 ly imply, or rather inculcate, and defend But- 
 ler on this point, we must cautiously avoid 
 the dangerous error of attributing to it a pow- 
 er, which, in the fallen state of man, it does 
 not and cannot possess, and which may mili- 
 tate against what the same Scriptures teach 
 of the extent of man's depravity, and the 
 necessity of divine grace, in order to his 
 doing any thing spiritually good. And, there- 
 fore, the language which occurs in some parts 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 167 
 
 of the Analogy, on the nature and powers of 
 man, may appear to be too strong, too gene- 
 ral, too unqualified. We speak here with 
 hesitation, because, considering the line of 
 argument pursued by this most able writer, 
 and the class of persons he addressed, it may 
 be doubted whether this remark is applicable 
 in fairness or not. Still we cannot but think, 
 that he sometimes attributes too much to the 
 unaided nature of man, allows too much to 
 his moral sense and feeling, dwells too large- 
 ly on his tendencies to virtue and goodness, 
 and speaks too ambiguously on the ground of 
 his justification before God. Such expres- 
 sions as the following, considering the con- 
 nexion in which they stand, are open to 
 abuse : ' IMoral nature given iis by God' — 
 * falling in with our natural apprehension and 
 sense of things' — ' There is nothing in the 
 human mind contradictory to virtue' — 'The 
 moral law is interwoven in our nature' — ' Men 
 may curb their passions for temporal motives 
 in as great a degree as piety commonly re- 
 quires' — « Natural religion is the foundation 
 and principal part of Christianity' — ' Men's 
 happiness and virtue are left to themselves, 
 
168 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 are put in their own power' — ' Religion re- 
 quires nothing which men are not well able 
 to perform' — ' The relation in which we 
 stand to God the Father, is made known to 
 us by reason.' Such language continually 
 occurring, together with the terms, ' virtue, 
 vice, honest man, satisfaction of virtue, vi- 
 ciousness of the world,' he. (instead of the 
 scriptural terras, ' holiness, sin, renewed man, 
 peace of conscience, corruption and wicked- 
 ness of the world,') may have the tendency 
 to exalt too highly the present fallen and cor-s 
 rupted powers of man, and prevent that deep 
 and thorough humiliation which are necessary 
 to a due appreciation and reception of the 
 grace of the gospel. They tend also to les- 
 sen the guilt of man before God, and lower 
 the standard of that holiness which the Chris- 
 tian doctrine requires and produces. Some 
 most excellent observations and statements 
 are indeed made, in the course of the work, 
 on the mediation of Christ, and the influences 
 of the Spirit, which go to correct the misap- 
 prehension to which I am referring ; but these 
 parts of the work bear but a small proportion 
 to the whole treatise ; wdiereas the expres-^ 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 169 
 
 sions in question occur perpetually, and in 
 every variety of form, and under each divi- 
 sion of the argument. They form the staple, 
 and enter into the contexture, and give the 
 colour, to the entire fabric. And thence 
 arises the danger which we venture to point 
 out. We do not dwell here on the fact, that 
 this light of nature is in Christian countries 
 reflected from Christianity, and is never found 
 where Christianity is unknown. Nor do we 
 stop to suggest, that natural religion, in its 
 best and oldest times, confessed its weakness, 
 and sought for help and aid. We are con- 
 tent to take things in their most favourable 
 construction ; and we still profess our con- 
 viction, that all language is reprehensible, 
 which, by fair inference, leads men to think 
 they can repent, and turn from sin to God, 
 without his special and effectual grace. And 
 in this view, we would caution the student 
 against affixing too strong a sense to the ex- 
 pressions which we have cited. 
 
 In connexion with this remark, we must 
 unequivocally declare our apprehension, that 
 the language used by our Author, in speak- 
 ing of the Almighty finally rendering to every 
 
170 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 one according to his works, and establishing 
 the entire rights of distributive justice, is open 
 to objection. Perhaps, if taken alone, it 
 might admit of a favourable interpretation ; 
 but, when joined with the overstatements 
 already noticed, on the powers of man and 
 the remains of natural religion, it becomes 
 decidedly dangerous. The great doctrine of 
 our justification before God, ' not by our 
 own works and deservings, but only for the 
 merits of our Lord Jesus Christ,' is too fun- 
 damental, and too important, to be under- 
 mined, even incidentally. We refer to such 
 expressions as the following : 'The advanta- 
 ges of Christianity will be bestowed upon 
 every one, in proportion to the degrees of his 
 virtue' — ' Divine goodness may be a disposi- 
 tion to make the good, the faithful, the hon- 
 est man happy' — ' We have scope and oppor- 
 tunities here, for that good and bad behaviour 
 which God will reward and punish hereafter, 
 — ' Religion teaches us, that we are placed 
 here, to qualify us, by the practice of virtue, 
 for another state which is to follow it' — ' Our 
 repentance is accepted to eternal life.' These, 
 and similar statements, occur throughout the 
 
WILSON'S A]\ALOGY. 171 
 
 work. Ill the second part, where the lead- 
 ing features of revealed religion are delinea- 
 ted, they ought, by all means, to have been 
 accompanied with those modifications which 
 the superinduced scheme of the gospel, and 
 the necessities of man, and the glory of the 
 cross of Christ, and the ends of self-know- 
 ledge and humility require. We say they 
 should have been accompanied by such mod- 
 ifications, because they are so accompanied 
 in the Holy Scriptures. The doctrine, that 
 ' every one shall receive the things done in 
 the body,' that ' they that have done good 
 shall rise to the resurrection of life, and they 
 that have done evil to the resurrection of 
 damnation,' is most true, and most important. 
 But the doctrines which accompany and 
 modify this fundamental truth, should never 
 be wholly lost sight of even in a treatise on 
 Evidences, when any reference is made to 
 the subject. We are taught in the New 
 Testament, that these works must spring from 
 faith and love to our Saviour Christ, and 
 must be renounced in point of merit, on ac- 
 count of the inherent evil which defiles the 
 very best of them, and must be accepted only 
 
172 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 through that Sacrifice which is the real foot- 
 ing of a sinner's deah"ngs with a holy God, 
 and must be regarded by those who perform 
 them, with that deep humihty, and almost 
 unconsciousness of having done them, which 
 is so strongly marked in the conduct of the 
 righteous, in our Lord's account of the last 
 day. Now, these modifications are so essen- 
 tial, that the language of our author, however 
 undesignedly, becomes really dangerous when 
 stripped of them. And man is so prone to 
 pride, self-confidence, reliance on his own 
 merits, and presumptuous ignorance of his 
 failings ; and the Aposile Paul insists so 
 warmly on the immense importance of the 
 doctrine of justification without works, that 
 too much caution cannot be used in the most 
 incidental representations given on such sub- 
 jects. 
 
 It is the more necessary to guard against 
 a false reliance on our own works and de- 
 servings, because a mistake here pervades 
 and corrupts every other part of religion. The 
 good works of the pious Christian, whose 
 mind is duly imbued with a becoming sense 
 of his fall and corruption, of his unutterable 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 173 
 
 obligations to the great propitiation, and his 
 entire dependence on the influences of the 
 Holy Spirit, are very different from the par- 
 tial, external, worldly, selfish, proud perform- 
 ances of the nominal professor of Christiani- 
 ty. The morality of the nominal Christian 
 rises very little higher than that of the unbe- 
 liever ; his rule is fashion ; his limit, con- 
 venience 5 his aim, to do as little as possible 
 in religion. He performs some actions, in- 
 deed, which agree, as to their form and ex- 
 ternal appearance, with the law of God ; but, 
 in truth, spring from habit, ambition, the love 
 of reputation, the regard to society, the re- 
 monstrances of conscience. He soon fills up 
 what he concludes to be intended by a pious 
 and virtuous life. He soon attains to his own 
 definition of a faithful honest man. He soon 
 satisfies himself that his virtues surpass and 
 overbalance his vices, and that, as he is to 
 be judged according to his works, he has 
 nothing to fear before the tribunal of Christ. 
 In the mean time, his heart is alienated from 
 God and true obedience to him ; faith and 
 love never visit his breast 5 and his religion 
 consists with prejudice, pcrhnps hatred and 
 16 
 
174 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 exasperation, against the real system of the 
 gospel. 
 
 The truly devout Christian, on the con- 
 trary, aims at holiness, and not merely at 
 what the world calls virtue ; endeavours to 
 subdue his passions, as well as regulate his 
 conduct ; labours to serve God, and adorn 
 Christianity, and do good to others, to the 
 very utmost of his power ; sjiends much time 
 and care in v»^atching over his motives, and 
 cultivating the inward principles of piety ; 
 devotes a portion of the day to the reading 
 of the Scriptures, to the public and private 
 calls of devotion, to self-examination, thanks- 
 giving, and religious regards towards the ever- 
 blessed God, and his Saviour and Redeemer, 
 Christ. And after he has done all, he ac- 
 counts himself an unprofitable servant, re- 
 nounces all merit in his own works, attributes 
 every good in them to the divine grace, and 
 places all his trust in the vicarious sacri- 
 fice of the Son of God. He is the publican 
 smiting on his breast, and saying, * God be 
 merciful to me a sinner ;' whilst all other 
 men, however pure in the eyes of the world, 
 are, in fact, like the Pharisee, swollen with 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 175 
 
 conceit and arrogance, dwelling fondly on 
 their own performances ; looking, perhaps, 
 with contempt on others, and placing no real 
 trust in the mercy of God. Thus, even if 
 all the separate expressions above adverted 
 to, could be defended, yet would they still 
 lead to a wrong end, because unattended 
 with these explanations which the Scriptures 
 carefully supply. We are to be ' judged ac- 
 cording to our works,' and shall be rewarded 
 or punished ^ according to the deeds done in 
 the body ;' but in a high and transcendent 
 sense in the case of the righteous, as their 
 works spring from faith, are the effects of 
 grace, and are accompanied with humility 
 and self-renunciation. 
 
 3. These observations lead me to notice a 
 general defect, as it seems to me, in our Au- 
 thor^s representation of the stupendous recov- 
 ery of man provided in the Gospel, For if 
 any doubt could be raised on the inexpedi- 
 ency of the above language, all such doubt 
 would be removed, when we find, on further 
 examination, that our Bishop's allusions to 
 the whole doctrine of redemption and salva- 
 tion, as revealed in the New Testament, are 
 
176 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 not sufficiently clear and comprehensive to 
 agree fully with the Scriptural statements of 
 our natural corruption, and of the operations 
 of grace as adapted to it. Let us not be 
 misunderstood. Bishop Butler is far from 
 omitting altogether the peculiar scheme of 
 the gospel. He states distinctly the insuffi- 
 ciency of repentance alone to restore us to 
 God's favour. He speaks with admirable 
 clearness on the Mediation and Sacrifice of 
 Christ. He quotes the passages in Scrip- 
 ture, which teach the vicarious nature of 
 Christ's sufferings, and insists on the benefit 
 of those sufferings being something much be- 
 yond mere instruction or example. On these 
 subjects, at least on some parts of them, no 
 complaint can be alleged against his brief 
 statements 5 they are luminous and adequate, 
 for an elementary treatise. Still the general 
 Tdea of the scheme of the gospel as a dispen- 
 sation of grace, which would be gathered 
 from the whole of his representations and 
 suggestions, would be erroneous. He calls 
 Christianity « a moral system ;' he speaks of 
 it as teaching us chiefly 'new duties, and 
 new relations in which we stand ;' he de- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 177 
 
 scribes it as ' an additional order of Provi- 
 dence.' These expressions are cold and in- 
 adequate. But we object most of all to the 
 following passage : * The doctrine of the gos- 
 pel appears to be, not only that Christ taught 
 the efficacy of repentance, but rendered it of 
 the efficacy which it is, by what he did and 
 suffered for us ; that he obtained for us the 
 benefit of having our repentance accepted 
 unto eternal life ; not only that he revealed 
 to sinners, that they were in a capacity of 
 salvation, and how they might obtain it ; but 
 moreover, that he put them into this capacity 
 of salvation, by what he did and suffered for 
 them ; put us into a capacity of escaping 
 future punishment, and obtaining future hap- 
 piness. And it is our wisdom, thankfully to 
 accept the benefit, by performing the condi- 
 tions upon which it is offered, on our part, 
 without disputing how it was procured on 
 his.' (Part II. Chap. V. § vi.) Surely this 
 is plainly deficient. Surely the salvation of 
 Christ proceeds on a different footing, and 
 includes much more than this. Surely the 
 great Sacrifice of the cross not only obtained 
 for the sincere believer, that his ' repentance 
 16* 
 
178 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 should be accepted to eternal life,' (a phrase 
 unscriptural in its very terms,) not only put 
 him in a capacity of salvation, not only pro- 
 posed certain conditions to be performed on 
 his part — all which places the stress of sal- 
 vation upon ourselves, makes the reception 
 and application of it to depend on our own 
 efforts, and leaves to (5ur Lord merely the 
 office of removing external hindrances af- 
 fording us some aid by his Spirit, and sup- 
 plying deficiencies — but purchased also sal- 
 vation itself, in all the amplitude of that 
 mighty blessing ; procured pardon, recon- 
 ciliation, justification, adoption, acceptance, 
 the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the promise 
 of everlasting life. Surely salvation brings 
 men from darkness unto light, reverses the 
 sentence of condemnation, and makes them 
 ' the righteousness of God in Christ ;' it places 
 them under a new covenant, and confers the 
 grace necessary for ' repentance towards God, 
 and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ ;' it 
 puts them on the footing, not of the law, but 
 of the gospel, not of works, but of grace ; not 
 of obtaining acceptance for their repentance, 
 but of receiving ' the gift of God, which is 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 1 79 
 
 eternal life.' Let Butler's summary of the 
 benefits of Christ's death be compared with 
 such summaries as the Apostle gives : — * We 
 have redemption through his blood, even the 
 forgiveness of sins' — ' By grace are ye saved, 
 through faith ; and that not of yourselves, it 
 is the gift of God ; not of works, lest any 
 man should boast ; for w^e are his workman- 
 ship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 
 which God hath before ordained, that we 
 should walk in them.' 
 
 With this defective view of the fruits of 
 our Lord's Propitiation, is allied a corres- 
 pondent defect as to the nature and impor- 
 tance of faith, by which the benefits of that 
 propitiation are received and applied. The 
 tendency of some of Butler's summary state- 
 ments, however undesigned, and arising per- 
 haps, in some measure, from his coldness in 
 pressing the particular course of his argu- 
 ment, is to lead the reader to suppose that 
 the effects of Christ's redemption are enjoy- 
 ed by all wdio profess the Christian religion, 
 and live a moral life ; that is, by all who 
 have that general belief in the doctrine of 
 Christianity, which springs from education 
 
180 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 and rational conviction, if they are free from 
 gross sin, cultivate virtue, aiid set a good 
 example to others, by a decent reputable 
 conduct. All these things are indeed inclu- 
 ded in the acts and fruits of a true and lively 
 faith, but they reach not those peculiar effects 
 and properties of it which prove it to be spir- 
 itual and salutary. Faith is ' the substance 
 of things hoped for, and the evidence of 
 things not seen.' It is a secret, cordial, holy 
 exercise of the understanding and affections, 
 in receiving God's testimony concerning 
 Christ, and in reposing all the trust and con- 
 fidence of the soul on the merits of that Sa- 
 viour for everlasting life. It is not merely a 
 general, cold, historical assent to certain 
 truths ; but a particular, affectionate, living, 
 practical belief of them, on the authority of 
 God, and an acting fully upon them, as infi- 
 nitely good and important. It is not simply 
 a notion, a creed, an established hereditary 
 sentiment ; but a holy principle, springing 
 from a personal sense of our lost condition, 
 and apprehending for ourselves the blessings 
 of Christ, and relying upon them for everlast- 
 ing salvation. Faith is the eye which looks 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 181 
 
 to Christ, as the brazen serpent which Moses 
 raised ; it is the foot which flies to Him, as 
 the man-slayer fled to the city of refuge, that 
 he might escape the avenger of blood ; it is 
 the hand which receives, as a needy beggar, 
 the inestimable gift of God, freely offered to 
 him ; it is the ear which hears, with eager 
 solicitude, the voice and invitation of mercy, 
 that it may live ; it is the appetite which 
 ' hungers and thirsts' after Christ, and feeds 
 on his flesh * and drinks his blood,' that it 
 may have eternal life. Faith, like Noah, 
 prepares the ark, and enters it for rescue ; . 
 faith builds on Christ the sure foundation ; 
 faith puts on Christ, as the robe of righteous- 
 ness, and the garment of salvation. Accord- 
 ingly, its effects correspond with its divine 
 origin, and the matchless benefits it receives. 
 It ' works by love,' it ' overcomes the world,' 
 it * sees Him who is invisible,' it ' glories in 
 tribulation,' it * purifies the heart,' it antici- 
 pates heaven, it ' quenches the fiery darts of 
 the wicked one,' it produces uniform, spiritu- 
 al, cheerful, willing obedience. Let any one 
 read what the Scriptures assert of faith, what 
 they ascribe to it, and the earnestness with 
 
182 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 which they enforce its necessity, and he will 
 be convinced, that it is totally different from 
 that dead, speculative assent to the Christian 
 scheme, which is often confounded with it. 
 Faith includes, besides the general reception 
 of Christianity, a particular conviction of our 
 own sins, a particular apprehension of our 
 own lost estate, a personal application for our- 
 selves of the offered blessings of the gospel, 
 and a distinct and spiritual reliance for our 
 own salvation, on the death and merits of our 
 Saviour Christ ; — and some reference should 
 have been made to all this by our Author ; 
 at least, no expression, however brief, should 
 have been inconsistent with it. 
 
 4. All main defects in our views of prac- 
 tical Christianity hang together. The same 
 kind of inadequate statements, therefore, seem 
 to us to he chargeable on our author'' s remarks 
 on the doctrine of the Holy Ghost. Indeed 
 we are not sure if serious omissions are not 
 to be found here — more serious than on 
 most of the preceding topics. Bishop But- 
 ler allows indeed distinctly, that the Holy 
 Spirit is our Sanctifier, and that the recovery 
 of mankind is a scheme carried on by the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 183 
 
 Son and Spirit of God. He speaks fre- 
 quently of the aid which the Spirit, affords to 
 good men. He acknowledges that man is a 
 depraved creature, and wants not merely to 
 be improved, but to be renewed ; and he 
 quotes the striking text, ' Except a man be 
 born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the 
 kingdom of God.' We would wish to give 
 the full benefit of these admissions in favour 
 of the Bishop, and against what we are about 
 to state. Nor do we doubt, that this re- 
 markable man implored the operations of the 
 Spirit, in his own case ; experienced his con- 
 solations, and ascribed every thing to his 
 grace. Still we conceive, his general lan- 
 guage in his Analogy, on this fundamental 
 subject, does not come up to the Scriptural 
 standard. He does not give even that pro- 
 minence to it which he does to the mediation 
 of Christ. He speaks of the Spirit as aid- 
 ing, but scarcely at all, as creating anew ; he 
 describes his assistances, but hardly ever his 
 mighty operations in changing the whole 
 heart ; he talks of his presence with good 
 men, but seldom, if at all, of his regeneration 
 and conversion of the wicked ; he allows co- 
 
184 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 operating, but not preventing grace — at least, 
 not clearly and distinctly, as the Scriptures 
 teach, and as the importance of the case re- 
 quires : he dwells on the help of the Spirit, 
 in subduing our passions, and qualifying us 
 for heaven, but passes over slightly the illu- 
 minating influences of the Spirit, in opening 
 the understanding, and his transforming pow- 
 er, in ' taking away the heart of stone, and 
 giving an heart of flesh.' We read little or 
 nothing in our author of the Holy Spirit's 
 work in awakening men, like those asleep ;: 
 quickening them, as those dead in sin ; de- 
 livering them from the power of Satan, as 
 those enslaved ; convincing them of sin, as 
 those ignorant and proud ; creating in them 
 a new and contrite heart, as those obdurate 
 and perverse ; and implanting in them the 
 first seeds of repentance, faith, love, and obe- 
 dience, as those needing a new and heavenly 
 birth. All this is of the greatest importance, 
 because, if the foundations of true obedience 
 are not laid in the Scriptural doctrine of an 
 entire renewal of the fallen heart, the subse- 
 quent building must be slight and insecure. 
 If men are not taught the necessity of a new 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 185 
 
 creation in Christ Jesus, in consequence of 
 the blindness of their understanding, as well 
 as the disorder of their affections, they must, 
 and will begin, and we find, in fact, they do 
 begin, their religion in a proud, self-depend- 
 ent temper ; in ignorance of their own wants, 
 and of the mighty change which must take 
 place in them. 
 
 The illumination of the Spirit is especially 
 important in this view. It is a doctrine hu- 
 miliating, indeed, to the proud reason of man, 
 but essential to any real knowledge of the 
 Gospel of Christ. Our Lord places the gift 
 of the Spirit at the very entrance of the 
 Christian life, and directs men to pray for it, 
 as the key and summary of all other bless- 
 ings, ' Ask and ye shall receive ; seek and 
 ye shall find ; knock and it shall be opened 
 to you. If ye, being evil, know how to give 
 good gifts unto your children, how much 
 more shall your Father which is in heaven, 
 give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?' 
 It might have pleased God, for any thing we 
 know, to have given us a revelation so framed 
 as to be intelligible to us in all its parts, with- 
 out further aid ; or it might have pleased him 
 17 
 
186 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 to have made the understanding of it, in all 
 its parts, plainly above our powers of mind, 
 and capacities of comprehension. In either 
 case we should then have had no need of the 
 illumination of the Spirit ; in the first, be- 
 cause the revelation would have been wholly 
 level to our natural powers ; in the second, 
 because it would have been wholly out of the 
 reach of them. But it has pleased God to 
 give us a revelation, containing much that is 
 plain, in its history, its facts, its external du- 
 ties, its sacraments, its morals; and much 
 that is mysterious and incomprehensible, in 
 its vast scheme, in the purpose and will of its 
 divine Author, in the attributes and glory of 
 the persons of the Godhead, in the miracu- 
 lous conception and incarnation of our Lord, in 
 the wonders of the cross, and the operations 
 of grace. And, at the same time, much also 
 that is of a mixed nature, being neither so 
 plain as to be level to our unaided understand- 
 ing, nor so elevated as to be wholly placed 
 above their compass and capacity ; butrequir- 
 ingthe special guidance and illumination of the 
 Holy Spirit, to be rightly apprehended and 
 employed : — such is the ruined state of man, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 187 
 
 the evil of sin, the nature of true conversion 
 to God, of faith, of love, of peace, of joy, of 
 communion with God, of new obedience; ali, 
 in short, that regards the application and use 
 of truth. These tilings cannot be understood 
 by man in his natural state, but must be 
 learned by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. 
 And thus the plan of Christianity is, in this 
 view, a further test of men's characters. 
 They must stoop at the very threshold, and 
 sue for a heavenly light, and take other mea- 
 sures of sin, and themselves, and God, and 
 repentance, and faith, and conversion, and 
 obedience, than nature can give, or they will 
 fatally err. The ignorance and prejudices 
 of the * evil heart of unbelief,' will infalHbly 
 betray them. Either no sense will be put 
 on the parts of the Scripture, relating to these 
 subjects, or a forced, low, insufficient sense 
 which evades, and explains away, instead of 
 implicitly receiving, the real meaning. Not 
 that we claim an illumination of the Spirit 
 which supersedes at all the use of the human 
 faculties in studying the Bible, or requires a 
 new sense to be put on ordinary language 
 and construction, or communicates new truths, 
 
188 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 not already revealed in the written word of 
 God ; or encourages or warrants enthusiasm 
 and human fancies ; or intrenches on the 
 miraculous powers conferred on the apostles ; 
 or alters the rule of duty, and the obligations 
 of man to obey it ; or acts in a way of force 
 and compulsion inconsistent with our reason- 
 able and accountable nature. What we main- 
 tain, is the necessity of the secret and imper- 
 ceptible influence of the Holy Spirit upon the 
 understanding, sought by diligent prayer, and 
 communicated gradually, in the use of ra- 
 tional means ; by which the mind is freed 
 from prejudice and aversion against truth, 
 and is opened to receive the instructions of 
 the wrhten word of God, in their full and 
 natural signification and use. 
 
 But we pause. This is not the place to 
 enter on a discussion of the work of the 
 Holy Ghost in man's sanctification. We 
 have said enough, if we have convinced the 
 theological student that the impression which 
 Butler gives of this subject is far too slight and 
 superficial. Let it be well remembered, that 
 God has given us a revelation of his will, 
 with the additional promise of his Spirit, to 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 189 
 
 make it effectual to its high purposes. The 
 light of heaven is not more necessary to our 
 discernment of natural objects and beauties, 
 than' the light of the Spirit to our discern- 
 ment of spiritual objects and fitnesses. The 
 characteristic of the New Dispensation, is 
 the promise of the Spirit. And with this 
 persuasion, we cannot dissemble our fears, 
 that the language of Bishop Butler may lead 
 to dangerous mistakes. 
 
 5. But, in truth, all these deficiencies, if 
 we are right in our judgment about them, 
 spring from an inadequate view of the fallen 
 state of man. We know the controversies on 
 this mysterious subject. We allow that state- 
 ments have too often been made, which go 
 to annihilate man's moral nature, and his 
 capacity of restoration ; which weaken his 
 responsibility and unnerve the exhonations 
 and invitations which the Scriptures address 
 to him ; which extinguish the faint light of 
 natural conscience, and repress effort and 
 watchfulness. But we cannot but know, at 
 the same time, that the errors on the side of 
 extenuating and lessening the Scriptural ac- 
 count of man's spiritual state since the fail, 
 17* 
 
190 WILSON'S ANALOGY, 
 
 are equally dangerous, and more prevalent. 
 We cannot therefore conceal our conviction, 
 that Butler's view of human depravity does 
 not fully meet the truth of the case, as deline- 
 ated in the inspired writings, and confirmed 
 by uniform experience. He speaks, we al- 
 low, occasionally of men ^ having corrupted 
 their natures,' having lost their ' original rec- 
 titude,' and as having permitted ' their pas- 
 sions to become excessive by repeated viola- 
 tions of their inward constitution.' He avows 
 that mankind is in 'a state of degradation, 
 however difficult it may be to account for it ; 
 and that the crime of our first parents was 
 the occasion of our being placed in a more 
 disadvantageous condition.' Yet, notwith- 
 standing these expressions, the sincerity and 
 importance of which, so far as they go, we 
 do not for a moment call in question, he- 
 dwells, in the course of his work, so copious- 
 ly on man's powers and capacities — on his 
 'favouring virtue' — on his 'having within 
 him the principle of amendment' — on 'its 
 being in his own power to take the path of 
 life' — on ' virtue being agreeable to his na- 
 ture' — on 'vice never being chosen for its 
 
WILSON'S a'nalogy. 191 
 
 own sake ;' that we cannot but consider the 
 result as dangerous. If these expressions 
 were qualified, as they are in Scripture, by 
 other and explanatory statements, the danger 
 would be less; but standing as they do, they 
 convey the idea, that man is not that incon- 
 sistent, weak, corrupt, perverse, depraved, 
 impotent creature which the Word of God 
 teaches us he is. The consequence of slight 
 impressions of this great truth infallibly is, that 
 men, not being duly instructed in their real 
 state before God, cannot feel that humility, 
 nor exercise that penitence, nor sue for that 
 renewal, which all depend on the primary 
 fact of a total moral ruin ; and which form 
 the adaptation between the real grace of the 
 Gospel, and the actual wants of man. Thus 
 all the great ends of Christianity are missed, 
 and inferior benefits only are derived from it. 
 Neither conversion on the one hand, nor real 
 obedience to God on the other, can be at- 
 tained ; and the arch, deprived of its key- 
 stone, as it were, loses both its beauty and 
 its strength. 
 
 The scriptural account of man is, that ' he 
 is born in sin and shapen in iniquity' — that 
 
192 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ' in him dwelleth no good thing' — that ' his 
 heart is deceitful above all things, and despe- 
 rately wicked' — that 'the very imaginations 
 of the thoughts of his heart are only evil con- 
 tinually' — that * he cannot, of himself, think 
 any thing that is good' — that ' he is dead in 
 trespasses and sins' — that 'he is by nature a 
 child of wrath,' — lost, enslaved, miserable, 
 ignorant, corrupt; — his heart 'at enmity 
 with God' — his passions and affections set on 
 * divers lusts and pleasures' — his whole moral 
 nature ' alienated from the life of God.' This 
 strong language is not contradictory to what 
 the Scriptures, from which it is taken, teach 
 of man's responsibility — his remaining sense 
 of right and wrong — his conscience — his 
 fears of judgment — his duty and his obliga- 
 tions ; but it plainly instructs us, that these 
 relics and fragments of a former rectitude, 
 are relics and fragments, and nothing more ; 
 and that as to any effective love of holiness 
 — as to any real return to God — as to any 
 positive efforts to recover or restore himself, 
 he can do nothing, except as God ' worketh 
 in him to will and to do of his good pleasure.' 
 The edifice is decayed throughout ; it must 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 193 
 
 be taken down and re-erected by the Divine 
 Architect. The leprosy has infected every 
 part ; it must be levelled with the ground 
 and built anew. Let this fundamental doc- 
 trine be understood, and produce its due 
 effects, and all will be easy and intelligible 
 in the Christian scheme of redemption ; every 
 thing will occupy its due place. The apos- 
 tacy and fall of man will prepare for salva- 
 tion by grace — for a free justification by the 
 merits of Christ — for an entire renovation by 
 the blessed Spirit — for a sincere and unre- 
 served obedience. And not only for obedi- 
 ence, but for love to God and man — cheer- 
 ful dedication to the service of Christ — a 
 temper of compassion and kindness towards 
 others — a distinterested, amiable, and active 
 benevolence — a zeal for the glory of God, 
 and the good of men, and a watchfulness 
 over the first risings of sinful passions and 
 appetites. All this will be connected with a 
 ' peace of God which passeth understanding' 
 — 'joy in the Holy Ghost' — 'patience in 
 tribulation' — delight in prayer, meditation, 
 and the contemplation of God and heaven — 
 a sense of happiness and tranquillity, in spi- 
 
194 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 ritual things — a moderation as to all earthly- 
 concerns, and a victory over the applause 
 and frown of the world. 
 
 6. For this is the next thing we shall pre- 
 sume to mention, as defective in the allusions 
 and statements of our Author, — his standard 
 of the effects of Christianity, in the holy, hap- 
 py lives of real Christians, is far too low. It 
 could not indeed be otherwise. The spiritual 
 life is a whole. If the glory of the Saviour, 
 and the operations of his Spirit, and the total 
 ruin of man, as requiring both, are not first 
 understood, it is impossible that the blessed 
 fruits of all this, in the new life and happi- 
 ness of the renovated, pardoned, and sancti- 
 fied heart, should be produced. There is, 
 however, such a thing as * the love of Christ 
 constraining a man to live no longer to him- 
 self, but to Him that died for him and rose 
 again ;' there is such a thing as the inward 
 experience of the grace of Christianity — 
 there is such a thing as a holy, happy, spiritual 
 life, which differs as much from a merely ra- 
 tional and moral one, as the rational life differs 
 from the animal, and the animal from the 
 vegetable. Not to have seized this idea, is 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. ' 195 
 
 to have missed one peculiar feature of true 
 Christianity. 
 
 7. In short, the whole of what we would 
 advance amounts to this, the standard of 
 Christianity, as applied to the heart and life 
 of man, which the readers of Butler woiddform 
 from his general language, is far below what 
 we conceive to be the standard of the Sacred 
 Scriptures. In our view of the scriptural 
 standard, we may be wrong ; but we think 
 every reader will perceive that the several 
 points on which we have offered remarks, 
 hang together. If the view we take of the 
 extent of the fall be in the main correct, then 
 the view of justification, of the grace of the 
 Gospel, of faith, of the work of the Holy 
 Ghost, of the peace and consolation of the 
 Christian's heart, and of the zeal and spiritu- 
 ality of his obedience, are probably correct 
 also. They are links of one chain. The 
 connection is indispensable. They rise or 
 fall together. — All we entreat of the reader, 
 is an impartial examination of the entire ques- 
 tion. We beg only that it may not be deter- 
 mined by matters irrelevant — by fashion, 
 prejudice, the spirit of party, temporal and 
 
196 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 subordinate interests. We beg only that the 
 introduction of tenets which we do not hold, 
 or of consequences which we abhor, may not 
 be mixed up with the discussion. The sim- 
 ple question is, Is the system which the lan- 
 guage we have been condemning seems to 
 favor, or the system which we have suggest- 
 ed in its stead, the true system of the New 
 Testament ? Which comes nearest to the 
 Bible ? Which has the apparent sanction of 
 the inspired oracles of God ? Which suits 
 the expressions and sentiments of the sacred 
 writers in all their parts ? Which takes in 
 naturally and without effort, not only the his- 
 torical parts of the Bible, not only the moral, 
 not only the prophetical, not only the devo- 
 tional — for there is here no dispute — but the 
 doctrinal and experimental ? It is no suffi- 
 cient proof of the truth of the system we are 
 opposing, that parts of it agree with the Scrip- 
 tures ; for it could not be otherwise. It 
 would not be a convincing proof of it, even 
 if the whole of its detached parts were to be 
 found separately in that perfect code. The 
 question is, does it take* in all that Scrip- 
 ture teaches, on the several subjects ; does 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 197 
 
 it adopt in their obvious and unadulterated 
 meaning, all the language and statements of 
 the Bible on the fall of man, on justification, 
 and on the other points in controversy ? And 
 here we boldly and fearlessly appeal to facts. 
 Those who preach and write in the temper 
 and on the scheme which we are opposing, 
 do not use naturally and habitually the lan- 
 guage of St. Paul and the other Apostles. 
 This language does not suit and fall in with 
 their system, does not express what they 
 mean ; and, therefore, except when compel- 
 led by circumstances, their theological scheme 
 avoids the Scriptural phraseology, and is 
 formed in a different school. Our objection 
 to Bishop Butler's language, is, that it is not 
 Scriptural. He substitutes weaker and more 
 ambiguous expressions. He lowers every 
 thing. This one point goes far to decide the 
 question with any candid mind. The sys- 
 tem which admits with ease, and reposes 
 upon, the very language and sentiments of 
 the inspired writers in all their instructions 
 and exhortations, must, in all probability, be 
 the nearest to the truth. It is thus men 
 judge in every similar case. And it is to be 
 18 
 
198 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 remember, thai the higher and more spi- 
 ritual system of Christianity, takes in and em- 
 braces the lower one ; whilst this lower one 
 rises not to the other, and thus reaches not 
 the extent and end of the Divine Revelation. 
 Again, we appeal to the hearts and conscien- 
 ces, to the trials and conflicts, to the feelings 
 and wants of the most devout and sincere 
 Christians, and we ask which view of truth 
 comes nearest to their cases, their necessities, 
 their indigence ? Which view of the state 
 of man is best descriptive of their own state ? 
 Which view of the scheme of pardon most 
 adequately supplies their importunate need ? 
 Which view of the doctrines of the Holy 
 Ghost affords the mighty aid which they are 
 conscious they require ? Which view of the 
 grace of Christianity corresponds most ex- 
 actly with their extreme misery ? Which 
 view of the spiritual obedience and love of 
 the Christian life is most closely allied to the 
 object at which they aim ? But we will not 
 press these questions. The confessions of 
 the very best and most holy men, are the 
 liveliest comment on the language of the 
 divine writers. And the misgivings and peni- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 199 
 
 tential acknowledgments, as death and eter- 
 nity approach, of many, who during life, 
 espoused the lower interpretation, speak loud- 
 ly enough on this subject. 
 
 We rather go on to ask this question — 
 Which system of divinity produces in the 
 largest measure those fruits and effects, which 
 are ascribed to the Gospel in the New Tes- 
 tament ? Now it will be conceded on all 
 hands, that ' by their fruits we are to know' 
 the true teachers, and distinguish them from 
 the false. Does, then, the lowering doctrines 
 of modern times on the fall and ruin of man, 
 and the redemption and grace of Christ, and 
 the kindred topics, awaken the souls of sin- 
 ners, reclaim the ungodly, arouse the care- 
 less, revive religion where it has decayed, 
 and preserve it where it flourishes ? Does 
 it not, on the contrary, first leave those who 
 preach it cold and inactive, and then fall 
 without efficacy on the ears of the hearers ? 
 Does it not prove insufficient for converting 
 the heart, turning it from the power of sin, 
 and raising it to the love and obedience of 
 God ? Does it not fail of comforting the 
 afflicted conscience, and inspiring a hope of 
 
200 WILSON»S ANALOGY. 
 
 heaven ? Does it not stop short of all the 
 mighty ends which primitive Christianity pro- 
 duced ? And is there not a constant tenden- 
 cy in it to deteriorate and sink lower and 
 lower, till the grace of the gospel is almost 
 excluded, and little remains beyond a tame 
 morality and an external form of religion ? 
 And does not the decay of spiritual religion 
 go on, till, by the mercy of God, a revival of 
 the great doctrines of salvation by grace in 
 the plain language and spirit of the Scrip- 
 tures, lakes place, and recalls man to the 
 true standard of faith and practice ? 
 
 The fact plainly is, as these inquiries are 
 designed to describe it. On the contrary, 
 the simple preaching of ' Christ crucified,' is 
 still the * power of God and the wisdom of 
 God.' Wherever the high standard of really 
 evangelical truth is raised, and the Saviour 
 is preached to a lost world, and the regene- 
 rating and sanctifying operations of the Spirit 
 are avowed, and the full consolation and joy 
 of faith expounded, and the elevated rule of 
 Christian morals sustained ; there, under 
 whatever incidental defects or disadvantages, 
 the effects of conversion, love, and obedience 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 201 
 
 are copiously produced ; man is indeed turn- 
 ed from sin unto God, the breast of the rebel 
 is subdued and softened, his whole character 
 is changed, and the seal of God is impressed 
 upon the declaration of his own truth, by the 
 displays of his own efficient grace and mercy. 
 It strongly confirms the conclusion we thus 
 come to, to consider that the Universal Church 
 of Christ has held these great truths which 
 are now so much opposed. Look to the 
 early Fathers of the Church, and you find 
 the doctrines of man's total apostacy, and his 
 salvation by grace only, to be the life of all 
 their instructions. As those mighty truths 
 were corrupted by human philosophy, or 
 overwhelmed by superstition, the power of 
 religion sunk, her glory in the conversion of 
 men was lost, and she fell back into a cold 
 controversial spirit, which brought on the 
 ages of darkness and spiritual tyranny. What, 
 we ask, was the doctrine of Cyprian in the 
 third century, of Ambrose in the fourth, and 
 Augustine in the fifth ? What gave life to 
 their exhortations, and influence to their la- 
 bours ? Was it not the pure evangelical light, 
 which, notwithstanding many subordinate er- 
 18* 
 
202 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 rors and much superstition, shone forth in 
 their laborious discourses and writings? Even 
 to the time of Bernard, the last of the Fa- 
 thers, the name and grace of Christ in the 
 full efficacy of his mercy, pervaded the the- 
 ology, and sanctified the hearts of them. It 
 was only as this healing doctrine was utterly 
 lost under the accumulation of superstition 
 and idolatry, that the melancholy desertion 
 and apostacy of the visible Church in the 
 West, took place. In the midst of this thick 
 darkness, however, it was the same truth of 
 grace which preserved, among the Albigenses 
 and Waldenses, the life and influence of the 
 Gospel. And at the Reformation, what was 
 it which Luther, and Melancthon, and Cran- 
 mer, and Zuingle, and Calvin, and Beza, and 
 Knox taught ? Did they not revive the old 
 Scriptural doctrines of original sin, justifica- 
 tion by faith, salvation by grace, regeneration 
 and communion with God by the Holy Spirit, 
 and spiritual obedience, as the fruit of all this 
 in the temper and life ? Some of these 
 truths, indeed, were held in a general and 
 loose manner by the church of Rome, but 
 they were enervated by distinctions and re- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 203 
 
 finements, and overwhelmed by superstitious 
 usages and rites. The reformers boldly ap- 
 pealed from the erroneous opinions of men, 
 to the infallible word of God. They set 
 forth the ruin of the fall in all its extent, they 
 insisted on the preventing grace of the Spirit, 
 as necessary to all true repentance, they glo- 
 ried only in the cross of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and in justification by his merits ; they 
 called men off from works of external morti- 
 fication and unauthorized penance, to the 
 good deeds, and virtuous habits, and divine 
 principles taught by the sacred writers. And 
 what was the effect ? In most of the^nations 
 of Europe, thousands and thousands were 
 really converted to the service and love of 
 God. The reformed doctrines spread with 
 the rapidity of lightning ; a pure form of 
 Christianity was established in many states, 
 and the Papacy was shaken to its base. 
 
 Let any one impartially read the Confes- 
 sions and Articles of the Reformed churches, 
 and those of our own church amongst the 
 very first ; and he will see that the high stand- 
 ard of sentiment and practice which we es- 
 pouse, was universally maintained. What is 
 
204 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 the language of these noble documents ? Does 
 it resemble the enfeebled and dubious strain 
 of modern theology ; or does it not rather 
 take the plain and strong ground of the an- 
 cient doctrine of the entire apostacy of man, 
 and the efficacious grace of God ? And in 
 all the Protestant churches since the Refor- 
 mation, mark the progress or decline of real 
 piety and holiness, and you will find them 
 uniformly to bear a relation to the pure doc- 
 trines of grace upheld or denied. Where 
 these doctrines have flourished, the presence 
 and mercy of God in the conversion of men 
 has attested the truth : where a decay has 
 taken place, and human morals, or a low 
 system of divinity, has usurped the place of 
 the unadulterated gospel, every thing has 
 fallen in proportion — men have remained 
 dead and unmoved in their sins ; the form 
 has extinguished the power of godliness; 
 cold and proud pretensions to orthodoxy have 
 been united with a worldly life ; the clergy 
 have deserted the lofty function of being her- 
 alds of salvation and examples to their peo- 
 ple, and have been lost in secular politics, in 
 human attachments to an established creed, 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 205 
 
 and angry controversies with those who point 
 out to them ' a more excellent way.' Thus 
 things have grown worse and worse, till God 
 has granted a revival, by the secret guidance 
 of his Spirit. Then the old and forgotten 
 tenets of human guilt and impotency, and 
 divine mercy and power, have been raised 
 up again as from the grave, the old standard 
 of truth again erected ; public opinion has 
 been gradually changed ; the former state of 
 decline admitted and deplored ; and the 
 wonted efficacy of Christian doctrine seen 
 once more, in its proper fruits of conversion, 
 holiness, and love. 
 
 But we are indulging ourselves in reflec- 
 tions which carry us too far from our imme- 
 diate design. The Analogy is a Treatise of 
 Evidences, and could only be expected to 
 allude generally to these momentous topics. 
 We would not assume the truth of the even- 
 gelical system of which we speak. We in- 
 vite only to inquiry ; we appeal boldly to 
 every kind of testimony which such a case 
 admits ; and we leave the result with confi- 
 dence to the judgment of every unbiassed 
 and enlightened theological student. One 
 
206 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 reason of our venturing to dwell on these 
 topics is the well-fixed persuasion, that our 
 writers on Evidences have grievously mista- 
 ken their own duty as advocates of Chris- 
 tianity, as well as the interests of truth and 
 religion generally, in not presenting the fair 
 and adequate account of the doctrines and 
 morals of the Gospel. We do not mean that 
 they should involve themselves in contro- 
 versy, nor even enter on the details of Chris- 
 tian doctrines and morals. Let them keep 
 to their own province, the defence and estab- 
 lishment of Christianity generally ; but let 
 the references to the contents and tenor of 
 that religion be, so far as they go, just and 
 complete. Let the little they do say, be ac- 
 curate. Let what is given to their readers 
 convey an idea of what the spirit and design 
 of the whole system is. Let the parts touch- 
 ed on, connect naturally with all the rest 
 which are not specifically treated. This con- 
 duct becomes the magnitude and importance 
 of the subject. It prepares the reader of 
 evidences to submit to the yoke of Christ. 
 It exhibits religion attractive, efficacious, en- 
 tire. It meets the feelings and wants of the 
 
WILSON'S AxNALOGY. 207 
 
 sincere and humble inquirer. It shuts out a 
 thousand misapprehensions and errors. It 
 insures the blessing of God in a larger mea- 
 sure, upon the triumphant evidences of our 
 faith. It is the most simple, upright, straight 
 forward course.* 
 
 Still we are far, very far from undervalu- 
 ing the labours of the Apologists and De- 
 fenders of Christianity. They have perform- 
 ed excellent service. Their acuteness and 
 skill, their penetrating observation, their inde- 
 fatigable researches, the force of iheir reason- 
 ings, and the depth of their knowledge, have 
 deserved highly of the sacred cause. The 
 External Evidences have naturally been most 
 adequately unfolded, because the interior 
 virtues and properties of the Christian scheme 
 came less within their scope. But we ad- 
 here, notwithstanding, to our conviction, that 
 all the summaries of the revealed doctrines, 
 which even the argument from external evi- 
 
 * We cannot here withhold our tribute of admira- 
 tion from the work of Mr. Sumner on the ' Evidence 
 of Christianity, as derived from its reception, and from 
 the nature of its doctrine.' This masterly treatise 
 forms an era in the history of writings in defence of 
 our faith. 
 
208 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 dences require, should be a part and parcel, 
 as it were, of the entire possession, should 
 resemble the apostolic examples, and be ex- 
 pressed as nearly as possible in the apostolic 
 language. We do not stop to say how much 
 more this should be the case in Treatises on 
 the Internal Evidences. We rather go on 
 to observe, that in the case immediately be- 
 fore us, the argument from Analogy, a simi- 
 lar fidelity to the full demands of the Chris- 
 tian scheme, would have had the very best 
 effect. That we do not depreciate the tal- 
 ents and labours of Bishop Butler, must have 
 been obvious to every reader of these pages. 
 We have even expressed the hope, the ra- 
 tional hope, springing from a judgment of 
 charity, that in his own mind he followed the 
 true doctrine, and that he was far from in- 
 tending to produce those consequences to 
 which his language may lead. We have 
 also fully admitted his correct and powerful 
 defence of the scheme of Christianity to a 
 certain extent. It is this very thing which 
 makes us the more regret, that he had not 
 carried his views on, and given a more full 
 and accurate idea, so far as his plan of argu- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 209 
 
 ment allowed, of all the efficacy and consola- 
 tion of the gospel. His work is cold. He 
 seems rather like a man forced to be a Chris- 
 tian, than one rejoicing in its blessings. . It is 
 impossible to calculate the additional good 
 which the Analogy w^ould have effected, if its 
 unnumbered readers had been instructed 
 more adequately by it in the spiritual death 
 and ruin of man in all his powers by the fall, 
 in the inestimable constitution of special grace 
 established by the gospel, in the gratuitous 
 justification of the sincere believer in the 
 sacrifice of Christ, in the divine nature and 
 properties of true faith, in the mighty opera- 
 tions of the Holy Ghost in illuminating and 
 sanctifying man, and in the consolation and 
 universal obedience which are the fruits of 
 faith. Probably there is no student in di- 
 vinity, during the last half century or more, 
 who has not read, and read with admiration 
 and profit, this astonishing work. How many 
 of these have been confirmed in a defective 
 theology, strengthened in prejudices against 
 truth, and persuaded to adopt a low system 
 of doctrine in the instruction of others, from 
 the incidental language, and hazardous ex- 
 19 
 
210 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 pressions which occur in it ! But so it is. 
 There are in human life few things complete. 
 What we meet with in one writer, we miss 
 in another. The union of rare and exquisite 
 talent with the highest tone of sacred feeling 
 and doctrine, was perhaps rarely ever witnes- 
 sed as it was in Pascal. And the good 
 which his masterly work, though posthumous, 
 and the writing of a Roman Catholic, has 
 produced, has been correspondent both in ex- 
 tent and in quality. The unexampled effects 
 of his ' Thoughts on Religion,' attest the soli- 
 dity of the main points to which we are now ad- 
 verting. Pascal surpasses all other writers on 
 Evidences, because he conjoins the most 
 lively and acute genius, and the finest powers 
 of reasoning, with the full admission of the 
 great fundamental tenets of the Christianity 
 which he defends. The single doctrine of 
 the entire corruption of man by the fall, sheds 
 a light on all his arguments, and meets the 
 state and feelings of every pious reader, whilst 
 it tends to instruct those who are as yet un- 
 acquainted with this most important truth. It 
 is thus that Pascal's great work, though not 
 free from many of the errors of his churchy 
 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 211 
 
 remains unrivalled in its class. And the work 
 of Bishop Butler would have been little infe- 
 rior to it, if it had united, with its profound 
 and just views of the order of God in his 
 natural government, and the correspondence 
 of his moral and religious order in revelation, 
 the full view of human depravity and of di- 
 vine grace, which that revelation opened be- 
 fore him. It is impossible not to see with 
 what ease a writer who has proceeded so far, 
 and conducted us so securely to a certain 
 point, would have gone on in the course he 
 was pursuing, till he had embraced the vast 
 compass of experimental and practical reli- 
 gion, and had thus left behind him a monu- 
 ment, not only of triumph over objections 
 against the general scheme of Christianity, 
 but of victory over those prejudices, and that 
 tame acquiescence which too often obscure 
 the real doctrine of our recovery, as we have 
 ventured to delineate it. 
 
 8. For this is the last topic on which we 
 shall presume to offer any remarks. We 
 observe, therefore, that the very same argu- 
 ments from the analogy of nature which silence 
 the objections raised against Christianity, as 
 
212 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 expounded by our author in a very mitigated 
 sense, would have served to meet the objections 
 raised against it, in its full Scriptural extent. 
 I. For instance, the doctrine of the fall 
 of our nature might have been defended in 
 its genuine form, quite as triumphantly as it 
 now is. The following is the conclusion of 
 Butler's argument : — ' Whoever considers all 
 these, and some other obvious things, will 
 think he has little reason to object against the 
 Scripture account, that mankind is in a state 
 of degradation ; against this being the fact, 
 how difficult soever he may think it to ac- 
 count for, or even to form a distinct concep- 
 tion of the occasion and circumstances of it. 
 But that the crime of our first parents was 
 the occasion of our being placed in a more 
 disadvantageous condition, is a thing through- 
 out, and particularly analogous to what we 
 see in the daily course of natural Providence.' 
 Part II. c. V. sec. 5. Surely, if the expres- 
 sions used by the inspired writers were sub- 
 stituted for the defective ones of this passage, 
 the argument would hold equally good. Nay, 
 it would have more force, from more exactly 
 corresponding with the facts of the case. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 213 
 
 For men, alas ! are not merely in * a state of 
 degradation' but of alienation from the life of 
 God, through the ignorance that is in them, 
 because of the blindness of their hearts ;' man- 
 kind were not only ' placed in a more disadvan- 
 tageous condition by the crime of our first pa- 
 rents,' but * by one man sin entered into the 
 world, and death by sin ; and so death pass- 
 ed upon all men, for that all have sinned ;' 
 as the inspired apostle declares. 
 
 II. Again, the argument of our author, 
 from our confessed ignorance of what a reve- 
 lation might be expected to contain, and of 
 what particular offices and duties might be 
 assigned to a Divine Mediator, is just as valid 
 when applied to the true view of the media- 
 torial grace of Christ, as we conceive it to be 
 revealed in Scripture (alw^ays supposing we 
 are right in that view) as to the hmited view 
 to which he actually applies it. The hope 
 which the order of Providence suggests of 
 the moral consequences of sin being in some 
 way remedied under God's government, re- 
 mains as it does. The inefficacy of mere 
 repentance and reformation, as apparent from 
 the course of natural things, remains as it 
 19* 
 
214 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 does. The intervention of Christ as the 
 great Mediator, by his one vicarious propitia- 
 tion and atonement, remains as it does. If, 
 then, the effects of this mighty sacrifice are 
 not merely the ^ procuring our repentance to 
 be accepted, and the putting us in a capacity 
 of salvation,' but the actual gift of pardon, 
 justification, and a title to eternal life, by 
 faith only — the inference is as firm, and the 
 analogy as clear, as in the present case. The 
 reasoning is even more close, if the facts, as 
 we contend they do- — that is, the real state 
 of man, the positive benefits received by the 
 sincere believer, and the decisive testimony 
 of Scripture on the subject — bear us out. 
 
 III. Nor can we discern any gap in the 
 argument, concerning faith being the instru- 
 ment of receiving Jesus Christ as the great- 
 est gift of God — if faith be interpreted in 
 that higher and transcendent sense in which 
 we have put it. The reasoning stands just 
 as it does. Only at present it applies to a 
 general indiscriminate belief in the truths of 
 revelation ; and, in the case as we would 
 propose it, it would embrace a particular, 
 personal, holy, affectionate obedience of the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 215 
 
 heart to the testimony of God to his Son, 
 and to life in Him. If objections are in- 
 valid or frivolous against the first, much 
 more must they be so against the second. 
 
 IV. In like manner, the admirable reason- 
 ing of our author, from the clear and particu- 
 lar analogy of nature, that a moral govern- 
 ment is going on in the world, and will be 
 completed in a future life — a government in 
 which every one shall be punished or reward- 
 ed according to his works — loses no part of 
 its force, if the grace of God, and the fruits 
 of faith flowing from it, are included in the 
 notion of the deeds of the righteous to which 
 the reward of endless life shall be assigned. 
 All depends on the primary question, What 
 is the real docti'ine of Scripture on the point? 
 Assuming this, which we are obliged to do 
 for the sake of argument, we must say, we 
 can see no different, or stronger objections 
 against a moral and righteous government 
 under the Christian dispensation being now 
 carrying on, if the true view of the character, 
 and works, and piety, and humility, and other 
 attendant virtues of the believer in Christ be 
 taken into the account of his general good 
 
216 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 deeds, than if the historical faith, and feeble 
 penitence, and defective motives, and partial 
 morality of the external Christian be mainly 
 regarded. On the contrary, the argument 
 gains incomparably in strength and exactness, 
 if the Scriptural hypothesis be adhered to. 
 
 V. Again, the full doctrine of the opera- 
 tions of the Holy Ghost, in the sense we have 
 given to it, is just as reconcilable with all we 
 see in the order of nature and just as free 
 from any valid objections, as that aid and 
 assistance to good men is, to which our au- 
 thor chiefly restricts it. It is no more con- 
 trary to any conceptions or expectations we 
 might have formed of Christianity, to find in 
 it a provision for restoring our corrupted na- 
 ture by an effective renewal, than to aid it 
 only by less supplies of light, and strength, 
 and consolation. The mystery of the Spirit's 
 operations is the same in both cases — the 
 danger of enthusiastic pretensions the same — 
 the manner of recovering man by the revela- 
 tion of a Divine Sanctifier, the same — the 
 obligations we owe to the Holy Spirit, in the 
 relation he stands in to us, the same. We 
 mean the same in kind — open to no other 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 217 
 
 objections ; proceeding on the same sort of 
 scheme. Indeed Butler actually uses, at 
 times, as we have had occasion to state, the 
 strongest language that could be required, 
 and quotes once the expression of our Sa- 
 viour, ' Except a man be born of the Spirit, 
 he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.' He 
 needed only to have pursued out these ad- 
 missions, and incorporated them into his di- 
 gest of the Christian code, in order to have 
 discharged the entire measure of his duty of 
 a theological instructer. 
 
 VI. The observations also, excellently 
 acute as they are, which Butler makes on 
 the system of means working to various high 
 ends, and on the moral discipline and proba- 
 tion which the state of things in this world 
 constitutes to the Christian, would retain all 
 their fitness, and would conclude as strongly, 
 if the spiritual nature of real obedience and 
 love to God, and of the peace and consola- 
 tion inspired, as we conceive, by the Gospel, 
 had been in his view, as they do now. The 
 force of habits, the progress men make from 
 one degree of character, and one capacity of 
 excellence to another — the discipline arising 
 
218 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 from the wickedness of the world, and the 
 trials to which piety and virtue are exposed 
 — the attainment of states of mind, and mea- 
 sures of knowledge and goodness by these 
 means, which could scarcely have been con- 
 ceived of in the first stages of the progress 
 — the preparation for future happiness and 
 security thus gradually made — the influence 
 of our present trials on our future condition, 
 in a way of natural consequence — these, and 
 many other of our author's finest remarks 
 will stand, whichever system of morals and 
 consolation we adopt. They apply, however, 
 with double propriety, if we retain the higher 
 standard of love, obedience, self-denial, watch- 
 fulness, and peace. Their force is thus aug- 
 mented. The occasions for them are more 
 striking ; whilst the difficulties remain for 
 substance the same. 
 
 VII. The only plausible objection which 
 we can suppose to be offered to the view of 
 the Christian scheme, as a scheme of grace 
 is, that it presents the Almighty as unequal 
 in the distribution of his gifts. For, undoubt- 
 edly, if the real corruption and disorder of 
 mankind by the fall be what we have stated — 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 219 
 
 if the remaining powers of natural religion be 
 so feeble and inefficient — if the operations of 
 the Holy Ghost be so mighty and distinguish- 
 ing — if the blessings flowing from the media- 
 tion and sacrifice of Christ be so exuberant 
 — if, finally, the standard of Christian love 
 and holiness be so high — then it follows that 
 man does not, in fact, begin with God in the 
 application and reception of the blessings of 
 Christ, but God begins with man ; then it 
 follows, that salvation is wholly of grace, and 
 not of human effort and choice in any degree : 
 and thus we arrive at the necessary confes- 
 sion, that there is, in the Gospel, a special 
 gift and collation of effectual grace, previous 
 to any saving effects being derived from the 
 death of Christ. And this confession we 
 scruple not to make. There is such a thing 
 as the special and effectual grace of God. 
 We do ascribe to Almighty God all the will 
 and the power which we have to do any 
 thing that is good. We do acknowledge, 
 that not only the means of salvation in the 
 sacrifice of Christ, are of God ; that not only 
 the offers of salvation in the doctrine of the 
 Gospel are of God ; but that also the grace 
 
220 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 to accept these offers — -the grace wliich illu- 
 minates, and persuades, and converts, and 
 sanctifies, and consoles — is of God. A mys- 
 tery this, which we attempt not to fathom ; 
 but the practical use of which we may clear- 
 ly discern. For, as this doctrine is never so 
 stated as to lessen the responsibility of man, 
 supersede the use of means, weaken the duty 
 of every one who hears the gospel, to repent 
 and obey it ; or excuse, in the slightest mea- 
 sure, the guilt of impenitence and disobedi- 
 ence ; so it manifestly tends to deep humility 
 of mind under a sense of our helplessness 
 and misery 5 to entire renunciation of our 
 own presumptuous and unaided efforts, and 
 to simple dependence on the influences of 
 grace, to enable us to comply with the calls 
 of the Gospel as addressed to us. That is, 
 it puts us in the attitude of suppliants. It 
 makes our feelings correspond with our real 
 situation. It guards us against false refuges, 
 and directs us to the true one. And it 
 teaches us to ascribe the glory of all we do, 
 where alone it is becoming, to the gracious 
 will and mercy of our compassionate God 
 and Father. 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 221 
 
 And surely the objection raised against 
 this inequahty of the Divine gifts, may be 
 moderated at least, and silenced, by the very 
 same arguments which our author so solidly 
 employs on similar subjects. We obviously 
 see, in the order of natural Providence, this 
 inequality ; that is, some men have advanta- 
 ges, opportunities, instructions, means of at- 
 taining benefits, endowments of mind and 
 body, facilities in their moral trial and proba- 
 tion, which others have not. The diversity 
 of cases is infinite. The general laws by 
 which they are produced, are to us unknown. 
 The speculative difficulties of comprehend- 
 ing the scheme of things in which they are 
 found, are insuperable. Still things are as 
 they are ; and all thoughts of harshness and 
 severity are excluded by recollecting, that 
 every one shall be judged at last by an infi- 
 nitely gracious Creator, who will not require 
 of any, more than what was committed to his 
 trust. ' Shall not the Judge of all the earth 
 do right,' is the question applicable to the 
 more profound mystery involved in the Scrip- 
 tural account of our salvation, as well as to 
 the ordinary irregularities of the gifts of Pro- 
 20 
 
222 WILSON'S ANALOGY 
 
 vidence, as defended by our author. We 
 cannot reasonably expect the sanie measure 
 of information concerning God's proceedings, 
 as concerning our own duty. The reasons 
 of the collation of grace are with God ; the 
 duty of seeking that grace, on the assured 
 promise that we shall obtain it, is with us. 
 The inequalities in the Divine gifts is a se- 
 cret of the Almighty ; the improvement and 
 right use of the abundant measure of these 
 gifts which we severally possess, is the obvi- 
 ous province of man. If the statement of 
 the Christian scheme, which we are defend- 
 ing, be scriptural, the argument from analogy 
 moderates and silences all objections which 
 are made against it, to every fair and con- 
 siderate mind. Wc say moderates and si- 
 lences them ; for it does not undertake to 
 answer them. The case, for any thing we 
 know, admits not of a satisfactory explana- 
 tion to finite creatures like us, at least in the 
 very small part of it as yet revealed. 
 
 VIII. Nay, further, if the profound and 
 incomprehensible subject of the Divine pre- 
 science and predestination should be con- 
 sidered as springing from the topic which we 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 223 
 
 have just been noticing, as it undoubtedly 
 does in one form or other, and as the articles 
 of the Reformed Churches explicitly make 
 it to do ; the very same arguments which 
 Butler employs to guard against the fatal 
 consequences deduced from the doctrine of 
 philosophical necessity, are applicable to any 
 dangerous consequences which might be 
 drawn from it. The Scriptural doctrine of 
 predestination (without determining, too mi- 
 nutely, what that doctrine is, for which this 
 is not the place) no more excludes or weak- 
 ens deliberation on our part, choice, the use 
 of means, the acting from certain principles 
 to certain ends, than the opinion of necessity 
 does. If the argument of analogy, from the 
 facts of God's natural providence and govern- 
 ment, silences the difficulties or abuses, call 
 them which you please, which spring from 
 the scheme of necessity ; much more does it 
 silence the difficulties which are sometimes 
 linked on the doctrine of predestination — a 
 doctrine, on all interpretations of it, essen- 
 tially milder and more intelligible than neces- 
 sity, and resting on totally different principles. 
 If, for example, a child who should be edu- 
 
224 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 cated by a Necessarian to imagine that he 
 was not a subject of praise or blame, because 
 he could not act otherwise than he did, is 
 refuted by matter of fact, by the inconvenien- 
 ces he brings on himself and occasions oth- 
 ers ; and is thus taught by experience, that 
 his applying this scheme of necessity to prac- 
 tice and common life, is reasoning inconclu- 
 sively from his principles, even supposing 
 them to be true ; how much more ought the 
 man who should deduce the Hke pernicious 
 inferences from the doctrine of predestina- 
 tion, to consider himself as refuted by matter 
 of fact, and be taught that he reasoned in- 
 conclusively in applying his principles to com- 
 mon life ? For the Divine predestination, as 
 revealed in the Scriptures, is not a blind fate, 
 or necessity ; but the prescience and fore- 
 ordination of events, according to the infinite 
 wisdom, goodness, mercy, and power of the 
 Sovereign Lord and Father of all. The 
 truth is, that on either scheme the application 
 of the rule of the divine will, to our duties in 
 life, is false, dangerous, and contrary to the 
 whole analogy of God's government over us, 
 as reasonable and accountable beings. On 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 225 
 
 either scheme, or notwithstanding either 
 scheme, it remains, as our author well ob- 
 serves, a fixed and fundamental truth, that 
 * God will finally, and upon the whole, in his 
 eternal government, render his creatures hap- 
 py or miserable, by some means or other, as 
 they behave well or ill.' 
 
 IX. The practical difficulties which still 
 remain, and which must remain, on these and 
 similar points, are, lastly, capable of being 
 entirely relieved or silenced, by carrying on 
 the admirable arguments of the bishop on the 
 ignorance of man, and the incomprehensi- 
 bility of the vast scheme of the divine govern- 
 ment to him, in his present state. Christianity 
 is obviously a plan only partially, very partially 
 revealed. We see but a small part of God's 
 ways in his natural providence, and we see 
 still less of them in his supernatural and stu- 
 pendous revelation of grace. The very things 
 which we think irregularities and defects, 
 may, for ought we know, be instances of sur- 
 prising goodness and wisdom. The relations 
 of each circumstance which now puzzles us, 
 may stretch beyond us infinitely, and be con- 
 nected with events, past, present and future, 
 20* 
 
226 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 in an endless series. The difficulties which 
 press upon religion, arise chiefly from our 
 presumption in wishing to understand and 
 reconcile God's acts and will ; not from our 
 inability to discern the path of our own duty. 
 Our obligations are clearly set before us ; it 
 is the divine government and purposes which 
 are not clear to us. And surely the deplo- 
 rable and pitiable ignorance in which we find 
 ourselves, as to the order of things in the 
 natural world, may reconcile us to the con- 
 sequences of the same ignorance, as to the 
 order of things in religion. It is one chief 
 act of faith, thus to bow before the majesty 
 of God; and it is one distinct test of humility, 
 to be willing so to do. They offend equally 
 against both these Christian graces, who, 
 on the one hand, deny or explain away the 
 divine prescience and fore-ordination, under 
 the notion of preserving man's free-agency 
 and responsibility ; or who, on the other, 
 weaken or undermine man's reasonable and 
 accountable nature, on the plea of magnify- 
 ing the grace of God. They offend equally 
 against faith and humility, who either wholly 
 conceal the mysteries of religion, with the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 227 
 
 view of preventing the abuse of them, or who 
 obtrude and overstate them, on the pretence 
 of discharging the calls of gratitude, and aba- 
 ting the confidence of man. The depth of 
 human ignorance should be ever impressed 
 on our minds, when we advance a step, 
 either in maintaining or impugning any doc- 
 trines which relate peculiarly to the ever- 
 blessed God. The rule of Scripture — its 
 terms, its spirit ; the proportion in which dif- 
 ferent truths are stated, the bearings and 
 relations of them to each other ; the conse- 
 quences deduced from them ; the manner in 
 which they represent man ; and the charac- 
 ter and attributes which they ascribe to al- 
 mighty God, should all be scrupulously ad- 
 hered to. Our ignorance enjoins this implicit 
 submission. And in this temper the scheme 
 of Christianity, as we conceive of it, is open 
 to no more difficulties than the scheme of it, 
 as stated by Bishop Butler. The argument 
 from analogy covers either. And the only 
 question that fairly remains, is, which ap- 
 proaches the nearest to the Holy Scriptures? 
 And on this question we cannot think any 
 doubt would long harass a candid mind, if 
 20** 
 
228 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 prejudice and prepossession were laid aside 
 and the study of the human heart, and prayer 
 for divine illumination, were connected with 
 the examination of the Sacred Volume. 
 
 But it is time for us to draw to a close this 
 too much extended Essay. We are far from 
 flattering ourselves that we shall succeed in 
 persuading our readers, generally of the truth 
 of all we have advanced. In the first divi- 
 sion of the Essay, indeed, we can anticipate 
 but one opinion. The admiration of the 
 genius of Butler is a national sentiment ; and 
 if we have at all succeeded in expressing, in 
 a shorter compass, his main arguments, we 
 shall not be thought to have written unneces- 
 sarily, at least for the young. On the connex- 
 ion, also, of the argument from analogy with 
 the other branches of the Christian evidence, 
 we hope we have advanced nothing which 
 will be thought open to controversy. It is in 
 the latter part of the Essay where we ex- 
 press our difference of opinion from our great 
 author, on the scheme and bearing of Chris- 
 tianity, that, we must expect opponents. The 
 case cannot be otherwise. Indeed, fair and 
 manly discussion in the temper which Chris- 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 229 
 
 tianity inspires, is far from being unfriendly 
 to the interests of truth. A calm and un- 
 meaning acquiescence is much more so. Tor- 
 por precedes death. We are exhorted to 
 * contend earnestly for the faith once deliver- 
 ed to the saints ;' and this exhortation im- 
 plies material differences of judgment amongst 
 professed Christians. Let me only earnestly 
 recommend that charity on questions really 
 doubtful, and that zeal and fervour on points 
 of fundamental import, which the whole ten- 
 dency of the work, which we have been en- 
 deavouring to illustrate, strongly enforces. 
 We are placed in this world in a mysterious 
 and progressive state of things. Darkness 
 and ignorance hang over much of our path. 
 Charity is therefore our peculiar duty in such 
 circumstances. Even the truths most directly 
 practical and fundamental, touch on others 
 which are less clearly revealed. To attain 
 uniformity of opinion on all subordinate points, 
 is a hopeless pursuit. The education of differ- 
 ent men, their prejudices, their various talents 
 and advantages — the party-spirit, the unfa- 
 vourable habits, and the defective measures 
 of religious attainments which are found 
 
230 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 amongst them — the mere ambiguity of lan- 
 guage will constantly occasion a diversity, a 
 great diversity of judgments. The only heal- 
 ing measures in the midst of these disorders, 
 is the spirit of love — love which rejoices to 
 hope the best of others, which interprets favour- 
 ably doubtful matters, which seeks the real 
 welfare and happiness of all — love which 
 bears and forbears, which reconciles and sof- 
 tens, which unites and binds together, which 
 consoles and blesses the hearts where- it 
 reigns. It is by this divine principle that we 
 shall most dispose persons of various senti- 
 ments to act in concert with us. It is this 
 which neutralizes and disarms opposition. It 
 is this which tends both to lessen the amount 
 of our differences, and to take away almost 
 all the evil of those which remain. Persons 
 who cannot altogether think alike, may join 
 in mutual love and good-will — may act as 
 one in points out of controversy — may grant 
 cheerfully the freedom of judgment which 
 they themselves require — may aim at nar- 
 rowing, instead of extending and widening 
 the grounds of separation ; and may beheve 
 others to be guided by a similar conviction 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 231 
 
 with themselves. It is surprising how rapidly 
 controversies would die away, if this course 
 were pursued ! The questions on which real 
 Christians substantially agree, are infinitely 
 more important to them, and more clear in 
 themselves, than those on whicli they differ. 
 Let us then reserve our zeal and fervour for 
 these uncontested matters. They demand 
 all our concern — all our time — all our care. 
 It is the magnifying of other points, beyond 
 all reason, and beyond Scripture, which has 
 occasioned the divisions in the church. Let 
 it be one effect of the study of Bishop But- 
 ler, to moderate our opinion of our own 
 knowledge and attainments, and to direct our 
 efforts and zeal into their only safe channel. 
 Humility is the proper effect of reading such 
 an author. We shall thus present the fairer 
 face of Christianity to such as doubt of its 
 truth. The eloquence of a consistent, be- 
 nevolent temper and life is never without its 
 effect. If, indeed, Christianity is robbed of 
 its characteristic glories, and its doctrines 
 and morals are gradually reduced to the 
 standard of a corrupt world, there is nothing 
 left to contend about. No charity can hope 
 
232 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 well of such a religion. But when the pecu- 
 liar truths of revelation are sincerely retained, 
 and the main doctrines and duties flowing 
 from the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 and the influences of his Spirit, are insisted 
 on, then it is that the correspondent temper 
 and behaviour are naturally required, and 
 become so incomparably important. The 
 most formidable objection against religion, 
 practically speaking, is the defective conduct 
 of those who profess it. The light of a holy 
 example shines around. The infidel must 
 be at times struck with the contrast between 
 the obvious benevolence and friendliness, the 
 self-denial and activity of the true Christian, 
 and the selfishness, pride, and indolence of 
 a worldly person. The amiableness and use- 
 fulness of the one, is in deep contrast with 
 the repulsive and self-indulgent tone of the 
 other. The effect of this contrast is una- 
 voidable.. The infidel and sceptic know the 
 human passions too well, not to estimate in 
 some measure what must be the force of the 
 principles which can overcome them. In 
 this peaceful victory of holiness and truth let 
 us persevere. The acknowledged excellence 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 233 
 
 of our conduct will add incomparably to the 
 evidences which we gather from Butler, or 
 other writers, when we are called on to state 
 them in argument. The spirit of love will 
 dispose an adversary to listen to a calm de- 
 fence of our faith. All arrogance — all airs 
 of superiority — all harshness of manner — 
 all over-statements will be banished from our 
 friendly and affectionate efforts, and the path 
 of truth be smoothed and rendered inviting. 
 Indeed all the stupendous doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity are designed to form us to that tem- 
 per of gratitude to God, and of benevolence 
 to man, from which the conduct we are re- 
 commending immediately flows. And it is 
 one main recommendation of those doctrines, 
 in their simple and native vigour, as we have 
 endeavoured to state them, that they, and 
 they only, produce the uniform Christian 
 temper. Without this seal and confirmation 
 of the truth, all our reasonings, however con- 
 clusive, will fail of convincing. With it, the 
 weakest and most defective statement of the 
 grounds of our faith, will often succeed. Re- 
 ligion is not so much a matter of intellectual 
 efibrt, as of the obedience of the heart and 
 
234 WILSON'S ANALOGY. 
 
 affections. Christianity, in all its discoveries, 
 and duties, and promises, is so adapted to the 
 state and wants of man, that it can only be 
 rejected when there is an inward aversion to 
 goodness. The form of argument which that 
 aversion may assume, has been sufficiently 
 refuted a thousand limes. The last resources 
 of it are cut off by the process of analogical 
 reasoning so admirably adopted by Butler. 
 Let this alienation of mind be overcome, and 
 man falls prostrate in adoration at the foot of 
 the cross. The doctrines of the Gospel suit 
 and meet his feelings and necessities. The 
 evidences of it are admitted to have their true 
 force. The fruits of holiness and consolation 
 soon begin to appear ; and these fruits in the 
 convert to the faith, being in harmony with 
 the same effects in the temper and spirit of 
 bis instructer, attest the identity of religion, 
 and increase in both of them the happy as- 
 surance that they have found the supreme 
 good of man — the real spring of truth and 
 felicity — the undoubted revelation of the di- 
 vine will — the exuberant source of pardon, 
 peace, and holiness — the most amazing dis- 
 covery of the mercy and grace of God — the 
 
WILSON'S ANALOGY. 235 
 
 correspondent parts of that vast scheme which 
 is impressed with the same features in the 
 works of nature and of grace, and which are 
 the pledge and guide to the eternal rest and 
 joy of heaven.