r. These I esteemed the
essentials of every religion; and being to be found in all the
religions we had in our country, I respected them all, though with
different degrees of respect, as I found them more or less mixed with
other articles, which, without any tendency to inspire, promote, or
confirm morality, served principally to divide us and make us
unfriendly to one another. This respect to all, with an opinion that
the worst had some good effects, induced me to avoid all discourse
that might tend to lessen the good opinion another might have of his
own religion; and as our province increased in people, and new places
of worship were continually wanted, and generally erected by voluntary
contribution, my mite for such purpose, whatever might be the sect,
was never refused.

Though I seldom attended any public worship, I had still an opinion of
its propriety, and of its utility when rightly conducted, and I
regularly paid my annual subscription for the support of the only
Presbyterian minister or meeting we had in Philadelphia. He used to
visit me sometimes as a friend, and admonish me to attend his
administrations; and I was now and then prevailed on to do so, once
for five Sundays successively. Had he been in my opinion a good
preacher, perhaps I might have continued, notwithstanding the occasion
I had for the Sunday's leisure in my course of study; but his
discourses were chiefly either polemic arguments, or explications of
the peculiar doctrines of our sect, and were all to me very dry,
uninteresting, and unedifying, since not a single moral principle was
inculcated or enforced; their aim seeming to be rather to make us
Presbyterians than good citizens.

At length he took for his text that verse of the fourth chapter of
Philippians, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honest,
just, pure, lovely, or of good report, if there be any virtue or any
praise, think on these things." And I imagined, in a sermon on such a
text, we could not miss of having some morality. But he confined
himself to five points only, as meant by the Apostle, viz.:--1.
Keeping holy the Sabbath day. 2. Being diligent in reading the holy
Scriptures. 3. Attending duly the public worship. 4. Partaking of the
Sacrament. 5. Paying a due respect to God's ministers.--These might be
all good things; but as they were not the kind of good things that I
expected from that text, I despaired of ever meeting with them from
any other, was disgus