Page:A Compendium of the Chief Doctrines of the True Christian Religion.djvu/169

Rh The great end of religion is to render man useful and happy, both in this life, and in that which is to come. But the true christian religion, above all others, is capable of producing this effect; because, being derived immediately from the God of heaven, whose adorable name it carries on it's front, it contains a full display of his divine person, attributes, and perfections; and lays down, in the clearest and plainest manner, those rules of life, which, if attended to in sincerity and faithfulness, according to the light received, cannot fail to qualify for the full enjoyment of everlasting bliss.

Many are the particular truths included in the great doctrines submitted, in this little volume, to the perusal of the serious and candid reader, which the limits of our plan would not permit to be distinctly enlarged upon: but we trust, that enough has been advanced to engage, not merely his curiosity, but the best affections of his heart, in the pursuit of subjects, which confessedly carry with them the highest interest, because they are so intimately connected with his final destiny. Let no one, therefore, either on account of the apparent novelty of some of the sentiments above stated, or the obscurity and weakness of the instruments made use of to publish them to the world, treat with contempt what may not at first be clearly understood: for it is confirmed by universal experience, that many things, which have been disapproved of, and even rejected, at one time, have at another, and in a different state of mind, been acknowledged and cordially embraced as the very truth of heaven. The surest qualification for the discovery and enjoyment of genuine truth, is not the cultivation of the understanding only, but the regulation and improvement of the will, with it's various affections; these