from the Redeemer's veins; there she bids him wash and be clean. She
points him to "Mount Zion, the city of the living God, to an
innumerable company of angels, to the spirits of just men made
perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant," and urges him
to rise from the degradation of sin, renew his nature and join with
them. She shows a pattern so spotless and holy, so elevated and pure,
that he might shrink from it discouraged, did she not bring with her a
promise from the lips of Jehovah, that he would give power to the
faint, and might to those who have no strength. Learning may bring her
ample pages and her ponderous records, rich with the spoils of every
age, gathered from every land, and gleaned from every source.
Philosophy and science may bring their abstruse researches and
wonderous revelations--Literature her elegance, with the toils of the
pen, and the labors of the pencil--but they are idle tales compared to
the truths of Christianity. They may cultivate the intellect,
enlighten the understanding, give scope to the imagination, and refine
the sensibilities; but they open not, to our dim eyes and longing
vision, the land of crystal founts and deathless flowers. Philosophy
searches earth; Religion opens heaven. Philosophy doubts and trembles
at the portals of eternity; Religion lifts the veil, and shows us
golden streets, lit by the Redeemer's countenance, and irradiated by
his smile. Philosophy strives to reconcile us to death; Religion
triumphs over it. Philosophy treads amid the pathway of stars, and
stands a delighted listener to the music of the spheres; but Religion
gazes on the glorious palaces of God, while the harpings of the
blood-washed, and the songs of the redeemed, fall upon her ravished
ear. Philosophy has her place; Religion her important sphere; one is
of importance here, the other of infinite and vital importance both
here and hereafter.