From  what  has  been  said,  we  may  clearly  per-
ceive how  groundless  all  those  prejudices  are,
which  some  conceive  against  religion,  as  if  it  were
a  peevish,  morose  scheme,  burdensome  to  human
nature,  and  inconsistent  with  the  true  enjoyment
of  life.  Such  sentiments  are  too  apt  to  prevail  in
the  heat  of  youth,  when  the  spirits  are  brisk  and
lively,  and  the  passions  warm  and  impetuous ;  but
it  is  wholly  a  mistake,  and  a  mistake  of  the  most
dangerous  tendency.  The  truth  is,  there  is  no
pleasure  like  that  of  a  good  conscience ;  no  real
peace  but  what  results  from  the  sense  of  the  divine
favour.  This  strengthens  the  mind,  and  can
alone  support  it  under  all  the  various  and  unequal
scenes  of  the  present  state  of  trial.  This  lays  a
sure  foundation  of  an  easy,  comfortable  life ;  of  a
serene,  peaceful  death,  and  of  eternal  joy  and
happiness  hereafter :  whereas  vice  is  ruinous  to
all  our  most  valuable  interests ;  spoils  the  native
beauty,,  and  subverts  the  order,  of  the  soul ;  ren-
ders us  the  scorn  of  man,  the  rejected  of  God,
and,  without  timely  repentance,  will  rob  us  of  a
happy  eternity.  Religion  is  the  health,  the  li-
berty, and  the  happiness  of  the  soul ;  sin  is  the
disease,  the  servitude,  and  destruction,  of  it
Nos.  25  &  26.
