A religious and fervent exercise of some public act of religion, or a temper and disposition of the mind rightly affected with such exercises. It is also taken for certain religious practices which a person makes it a rule to discharge regularly. "Wherever the vital and unadulterated spirit of Christian devotion prevails, its immediate objects will be to adore the perfections of God; to entertain with reverence and complacence the various intimations of his pleasure, especially those contained in holy writ; to acknowledge our absolute dependence on and infinite obligations to him; to confess and lament the disorders of our nature, and the transgressions of our lives; to implore his grace and mercy through Jesus Christ; to intercede for our brethren of mankind; to pray for the propagation and establishment of truth, righteousness, and peace, on earth; in fine, to long for a more entire conformity to the will of God, and to breathe after the everlasting enjoyment of his friendship. The effects of such a spirit habitually cherished, and feelingly expressed before him must surely be important and happy. Among these may be reckoned a profound humility in the sight of God, a high veneration for his presence and attributes, an ardent zeal for his worship and honour, a constant imitation of our Saviour's divine example, a diffusive charity for men of all denominations, a generous and unwearied self-denial, a total resignation to Providence, an increasing esteem for the Gospel, with clearer and firmer hopes of that immortal life which it has brought to light."