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whom it is committed. It will generally be allowed, that an offence committed against a superi. or is more criminal, than the same thing would have been, had it been done against an equal; that it is more criminal, for instance, in a child to insult his father, than to insult one of his inferiors in the same manner. There was a greater degree of turpitude, in mocking the Lord Jesus and spitting upon him, than there would have been in doing the same thing to one of his disciples. So, also, it must be more criminal to disobey God, than to disobey the commands of civil rulers. On this principle, Peter and John, when forbidden by the Jewish high priest and rulers to speak any more in the name of Jesus, replied, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." It must be more criminal for us to prize our own honor and interest above those of our Maker, than to prize them above the honor and interest of a fellow mortal. These views of things naturally result from the apprehensions we all have, of superiority in the divine Being to any and all creatures.

Hence it must follow, that the higher conceptions we have of God, of the greatness of his being, and the glory and worth of his character, the greater evil will there appear to be in sin.

This being so, it must follow, that, as our conceptions of the glory, the worth, and excellence of the divine character, increase, the evil of sin will, in our view, also increase. And, as the pow. ers of our minds, and our knowledge increase, the more highly

shall we necessarily think of the glorious God. But the time never will, nor can come, when the divine character will cease to rise in the views of creatures; more especially, in the views of those, who are monuments of his saving mercy. Of course, the time can never come, when all the evil and malignity of sin will be discovered by creatures. the whole worth of the divine character can never be seen or comprehended; no more will the whole demerit, the whole evil, and turpitude of sin. When it is

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said, that sin is an infinite evil, what more can be meant, than that its evil is so great, that the whole of it will never be seen and comprehended by creatures? And what impropriety can there be, in speaking of it as an infinite evil, when it is manifest, that no created mind can ever arrive at a perfect knowledge and comprehension, of all the evil there is in it? But,

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2. If we estimate the evil of sin by the natural evil it tends to produce, and which it would in fact produce, were not its effects restrained and overruled by a superior power, we must questionably consider it as an infinite evil. Sin, if not restrained and overruled by a superior power, would necessarily disturb the peace, and destroy the com. forts of creatures. Could it ap. pear there was no power to restrain and prevent the natural effects of sin, all confidence in God must, at once, cease. the ground of confidence in him be taken away, the foundation of all comfort is, also, taken away. Restraints are taken off from creatures-and the right. eous, so long as any such remain,

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will lie at the mercy of the wicked. Thus manifest is it, that sin would put a final end to the happiness of creatures, were there not a Being, at the head of the universe, of almighty power and infinite goodness to prevent it.

We may observe, further, that sin has as direct and strong a tendency to destroy the happiness of God, as that of creatures: and, nothing but his infinite pow. er and wisdom prevent it. For, if the Deity could not govern his own world according to his will, and so as to subserve his own

glorious purposes and designs; if he could not cause the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder thereof restrain, his happiness would immediately be at an end. Christ's kingdom

would fall to the ground; and he would never see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. And all the felicity and joy, which will be the effect of his. coming and glorious work, would be eternally lost; and, universal disorder, confusion, and wretchedness for ever prevail.

That which would naturally and necessarily produce all these effects, if not restrained by almighty power-That, the whole evil of which can never be seen and comprehended by a finite mind; may, with the utmost propriety, be considered and spoken of as an infinite evil. That, which is, in its nature, subversive of infinite good, must, of necessity, be infinitely evil. W.

SELECTIONS.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION.

THERE are three things which, from a regard to our own wel. fare, we should labor to at. tain :-An interest in the divine favor, preparation for the heav. enly blessedness, and the present enjoyment of the comforts of religion. All these things are inseparably connected; no one of them can be possessed but in conjunction with the others; by no man is any one of them truly desired by whom either of the others is lightly esteemed.

An interest in the divine favor may now be secured; the glorious and blessed God, in whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our ways, has been provoked to anger by our innumer.

able offences; and by the foreboding fears with which the minds of sinners are haunted, and the judgments which have been executed upon the guilty, as well as by the express declarations of his word, his purpose of wrath is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Now, if God be our enemy, who can shield us from the effects of his displeasure?-the mightiest creatures must be instantly crushed by his ponderous arm. We must eternally sink miserable, helpless, hopeless, under his vengeance; but God, though able to destroy, is waiting to be gra. cious! Much as we deserve to

be made monuments of his wrath, he is ready, through the mediation of Jesus, to receive us into the arms of his love!

A few moments may dissolve our relation to this lower world. But what must thus become of our immortal souls ?-Shall they be received into the world of glory? or shall they be doomed to the regions of woe? shall they become the companions of holy angels, or the associates of accursed fiends?—If at death we be found endowed with righteousness and true holiness, with faith unfeigned, with love undissembled, we shall be allowed immediately to pass into glory, and be received in heaven with universal plaudits; but if, at the termination of our earthly career, we be found destitute of these excellent endowments, we must be thrust into the pit. For an unholy creature heaven would be a most unsuitable abode ; the introduction of an unholy creature into heaven would darken

its glory, would disturb its harmony, would embitter its bliss. An unholy creature would be equally unfit for mingling in the society, for engaging in the exercises, and for partaking of the pleasures of the high and holy place. The glorious presence of God and of the Lamb, would have no tendency to command his esteem, to bend his stubborn will, or to win his carnal heart." The wonderous scene which would be unfolded to his view, would only serve to irritate his corruptions, and increase his hatred. The presence of objects so contrary to his inclinations, would raise such a tempest of agonizing emotion in his soul, as would render him, amid ineffable

delights, completely wretched. But preparation for the heavenly blessedness may now be obtain. ed; the vilest sinner on earth may hope to become, through the power of divine grace, mete to be a partaker of the inherit. ance of the saints in light.

The human soul has capacities of enjoyment which this world will never be able to fill up. They who have possessed the most ample portion of worldly good things, have been con. strained to acknowledge with Solomon, that all is vanity. Men are incessantly secking the possession of happiness; but happiness still eludes their grasp. They seek it in sensual gratif. cations, more gross, or more re fined ; in the tender relations and soothing intercourse of do. mestic life, in the pursuits of business, in the investigations of science; or by resorting to nu merous and mixed assemblies; but how much soever their hopes may be sometimes flushed, dis appointment ultimately attends them in all their steps. There is still something better than all that they have yet experienced, for which they pant, but which they never enjoy. The end of all their researches is invariably found to be labor and sorrow; but there is a river of strong consolation, the streams of which make glad the city of God. Pure and undefiled religion is always accompanied, less or more, with solid peace, and with tranquil, if not with rapturous joy. While walking in the path of command. ed duty, God, in a gracious and sensible manner, draws near to the souls of his people, and admits them, in some measure, to enjoy the unspeakable endear.

ments of his love. He puts gladness into their hearts, more pure and more abundant than worldlings experience when their barns are full, and their vats overflow.

All who reflect on these three great objects of pursuit, must be convinced of their immense im. portance: and the more we con. template them, their immense importance will become the more ap. parent. Of all the other objects that solicit our attention, which can be reasonably allowed to come into competition with them? If these be secured, we may exult in the midst of all those evils which are dreadful to flesh and blood, and in the face of Death, arrayed in all his terrors.

If in these we be unable to claim an interest, we have reason of perpetual alarm, what advantages soever may otherwise promise to promote our joy. What is a man profited though he gain the whole world, if he lose his soul; what a joyful reception there. fore should the gospel universally obtain! With what persever. ing diligence should its ordi. nances be improved!

But do all to whom the gos. pel comes give it such a cordial reception? Would to God that this were indeed the case! Few, when compared with the number of those who are otherwise mind. ed, receive the truth in faith and love. Many treat the gospel with avowed insult; they regard it with contemptuous indiffer. ence, as a childish, or at best, a cunningly devised fable! Their minds, blinded by Satan, cannot admit the beams of that light which hath shined from above; their hearts, wedded to vanity, will not renounce these objects VOL. II. New Series.

of their delight for peace with God and the joys of Heaven! Resolved not to obey the gospel, they keep themselves at a distance from those places, and from that society in which its sound might be obtruded on their ears. They studiously gather objections to its heavenly origin, but attend not to the accumu. mulated evidence by which its truth is directly supported; and their endeavors to fortify themselves in infidelity, are often crowned with lamentable success they become, through the deceitfulness of sin, abundantly confirmed, at least during the continuance of health, in their irreligious principles: they learn to deride all attempts to convince their understanding, to awaken their hopes, or to alarm their fears!

All who call themselves Christians, profess to be persuaded of the immense importance of these things; and acknowledge that they should chiefly fill their thoughts, engross their affec tions, and employ their time. But does the practice of the greater number of them correspond to their professed persua sion? Do these things engage and occupy their minds when they sit in the house, and when they walk by the way, when they lie down, and when they rise up? How shall the truth be declared? Be astonished, ye Heavens and tremble thou Earth, to behold the indignity with which the gracious overtures of the eternal God are treated by the worms of his foot. stool!-they behave just as if they had been contriving how they might most provokingly pour contempt upon the blessed

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gospel and its glorious Author. They hear the word of salvation with frigid indifference. Every thing besides, may in its turn engross their attention: religion alone, the one thing needful,' is uniformly disregarded.

Ye worse than triflers, what madness possesses you? Is salvation the only thing which is unworthy of your care? Are ye alike insensible to the allure ments of love, and to the terrors of wrath divine? Are the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, the only objects worthy of regard? Will ye continue to sport unconcerned in the beams of vanity, till the day of grace be past, and your souls irrecoverably perish? will ye not be wise in time? You are wasting away with an inveterate distemper, which threatens every moment to cut you off; and will you not apply to the great Physician, who is able to expel disease from your frame, and to impart to you that delightful ease of heart, to which you now are strangers? Behold, now is the day of salvation!

Even among those who are in some measure impressed with a sense of this importance of things divine, what criminal negligence prevails! What indolent desire and feeble endeavors after the blessings of salvation! how remiss are they in their efforts to enjoy an assured interest in the divine favor, obvious meteness for the world of perfection, and an abundant measure of religious consolations! Where is that complete engagedness of soul in religion which might be expected in all its votaries? Where is

those who know something of their own imbecility, and of the bewitching allurements which menace their safety? And if these things be not found in us, can we free ourselves from the charge of criminal negligence? Is there an individual among us all who can say, "I am guilt. less?" Negligent indeed, we may not all be to the same de gree, but we may all be sensible how deeply a tendency to spirit. ual negligence is rooted in our nature. Be ashamed, ye who suffer yourselves to be overcome by spiritual negligence !-be grieved that your heaven-born souls should be so prone to cleave to the dust; labor to get your mind more deeply impressed with a sense of the incom. parable worth of spiritual and heavenly blessings. Call to mind that ardent longing for God, that holy carefulness to please him, that holy fear of offending him, which you felt at an earlier period of your christian course. Was it not then better with you than now ? The peace of God which passes all understanding, kept your hearts; your souls were cheered with the hope of immortality. But how is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed!' How

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different is the appearance of you now exhibit to the conscience and of God! Your negligence has eclipsed the glory of religion in your souls, and deprived you of all its joys! How much do ye now suffer from the inroads of dissatisfaction, and anxiety, and fear! how often are you constrained to cry out with Job, "Oh! that holy circumspectness of that I were as in months past!" conduct which should appear in

Remember therefore from whence

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