And the apostles, in their instructions to every nation, and to every class of men, laid down the following positions as the foundation of every moral duty. "Repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ."

IX. From the preceding illustrations we may learn, that no merit, in the sense in which that term is sometimes used, can be attached to human actions in the sight of God; and that the salvation, or ultimate happiness of sinners, is the effect of the grace or benevolence of God.-That the good works of men are meritorious in the sight of God, is a notion, as unphilosophical and absurd, as it is impious and unscriptural. They are requisite, and indispensably requisite, as qualifications, or preparations for the enjoyment of felicity, without which the attainment of true happiness either here or hereafter, is an absolute impossibility; but the actions of no created being, not even the sublimest services and adorations of the angelic hosts, can have the least merit in the eyes of the Creator. "Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art, and thy righteousness may profit the son of man ;" but "if thou sinnest, what dost thou against God; or, if thou be righteous, what givest thou him? and what receiveth he of thine hand ?"* "Thy goodness extendeth not unto him," and he that sinneth against him wrongeth his own soul."-What merit can there be in the exercise of love, and in the cultivation of benevolent affections, when we consider, that these affections are essentially requisite to our happiness, and that the very exercise of them is a privilege conferred by God, and one of the principal ingredients of bliss? What merit can be attached, in the presence of the Most High, to the noblest services we can perform, when we reflect, that we derived all the corporeal and intellectual faculties by which we perform these services, and all the means by which they are excited and directed from our bountiful Creator? What merit can there be in obedience to his law, when disobedience must infallibly lead to destruction and misery? Is it considered as meritorious in a traveller, when he is properly directed, furnished with strength of body and mind, and provided with every necessary for his journey, to move forward to the place of his wished-for destination? Our benevolent affections, and the active services to which they lead, may be meritorious in the eyes of our fellowmen, in so far as they are the means of contributing to their enjoyment; but in the presence of Him who sits on the throne of the universe, dispensing blessings to all his offspring, we

Job, xxxv. 6, 8. Psalm xvi. 2, &c.

shall always have to acknowledge, that "we are unprofitable servants." It is probable, that, if the great object of religion were represented in its native simplicity, if the nature of salvation were clearly understood, and if less were said on the subject of human merit in sermons, and systems of divinity, the idea which I am now combating, would seldom be enter tained by any mind possessed of the least share of Christian knowledge, or of common sense.

That the eternal salvation of men, is the effect of the love and the grace of God, is also a necessary consequence from what has been now stated. For every power, capacity, and privilege we possess, was derived from God. "What have

we that we have not received?" Even our very existence in the world of life, is an act of grace. We exerted no power in ushering ourselves into existence: We had no control over the events which determined that we should be born in Britain, and not in Africa; which determined the particular family with which we should be connected; the education we should receive; the particular objects towards which our minds should be directed, and the privileges we should enjoy. And, when we arrive at the close of our earthly career, when the spirit is hovering on the verge of life, and about take its flight from this mortal scene, can it direct its course, by its own energies, through the world unknown? can it wing its way over a region it has never explored, to its kindred spirits in the mansions of bliss? can it furnish these mansions with the scenes and objects from which its happiness is to be derived? can it re-animate the body after it has long mouldered in the dust? can it re-unite itself with its long-lost partner? can it transport the resurrection-body, to that distant world where it is destined to spend an endless existence? or can it create those scenes of glory and magnificence, and those ecstatic joys which will fill it with transport while eternity endures ? If it cannot be supposed to accomplish such glorious objects by its own inherent powers, then, it must be indebted for every entertainment in the future world to the unbounded and unmerited love and mercy of God. To Him, therefore, who sits upon the throne of the heavens, and to the Lamb who was slain and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, let all praise, honour, dominion and power, be ascribed now and forever. Amen.

Having now finished what I proposed in the illustration of the principles of love to God and to man, and of the precepts of the Decalogue, in the following chapter, I shall take a bird's eye view of the moral state of the world; and endeavour to ascertain, to what extent these principles and laws have been recognised and observed by the inhabitants of our globe.

CHAPTER IV.

A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE MORAL STATE OF THE

WORLD;

OR, AN EXAMINATION OF THE GENERAL TRAIN OF HUMAN ACTIONS, IN REFERENCE TO ITS CONFORMITY WITH THE PRINCIPLES AND LAWS NOW ILLUSTRATED.

THE discoveries of modern astronomy have led us infallibly to conclude, that the universe consists of an immense number of systems and worlds dispersed, at immeasurable distances from each other, throughout the regions of infinite space. When we take into consideration the Benevolence of the Deity, and that the happiness of the intelligent creation is the great object which his Wisdom and Omnipotence are employed to accomplish-it appears highly probable, that the inhabitants of the whole, or at least of the greater part, of those worlds whose suns we behold twinkling from afar, are in a state of moral perfection, and consequently, in a state of happiness. At any rate, it is reasonable to conclude, that the exceptions which exist are not numerous. Perhaps this earth is the only material world where physical evil exists, where misery prevails, and where moral order is subverted; and these dismal effects may have been permitted to happen, under the government of God, in order to exhibit to other intelligences, a specimen of the terrible and destructive consequences of moral evil, as a warning of the danger of infringing, in the least degree, on those moral principles which form the bond of union among the intelligent system.

Could we trace the series of events which have occurred, in any one of those happy worlds, where moral perfection prevails, ever since the period when it was replenished with inhabitants, and the objects to which their physical and rational powers have been directed, we should, doubtless, be highly delighted and enraptured with the moral scenery which the history of such a world would display. Its annals would uniformly record the transactions of benevolence. We should hear nothing of the pomp of hostile armies, of the shouts of victory, of the exploits of heroes, of the conflagration of cities, of the storming of fortifications, of the avarice of merchants and courtiers, of the burning of heretics, or of the ambition of princes The train of events, presented to our view, would be

directly opposed to every object of this description, and to every thing which forms a prominent feature in the history of mankind. To beautify and adorn the scenery of nature around them, to extend their views of the operations of the Almighty, to explore the depths of his wisdom and intelligence, to admire the exuberance of his goodness, to celebrate, in unison, the praises of the "King Eternal," the Author of all their enjoyments, to make progressive advances in moral and intellectual attainments, to circulate joy from heart to heart, to exert their ingenuity in the invention of instruments by which their physical powers may be improved, and the wonders of creation more minutely explored; to widen the range of delightful contemplation, to expand their views of the Divine perfections, and to increase the sum of happiness among all their fellow-intelligences, will doubtless form a part of the employments of the inhabitants of a world where moral purity universally prevails. One circumstance which may probably diversify the annals of such a world, and form so many eras in its history, may be, the occasional visits of angelic or other messengers, from distant regions of creation, to announce the will of the Almighty on particular emergencies, to relate the progress of new creations in other parts of the Divine Empire, and to convey intelligence respecting the physical aspects, the moral arrangements, and the history of other worlds, and of other orders of intellectual beings. Such visits and occasional intercourses with celestial beings, would, undoubtedly, have been more frequent in our world, had not man rendered himself unqualified for such associations, by his grovelling affections, and by the moral pollutions with which his character is now stained.

When we turn our eyes from the transactions of such a world, to the world in which we live, how very different a scene is presented to the view! The history of all nations embraces little more than

A RECORD OF THE OPERATIONS OF MALEVOLENCE.

Every occurrence has been considered as tame and insipid, and scarcely worthy of being recorded, unless it has been associated with the confused noise of warriors, the shouts of conquerors, the plunder of provinces, the devastation of empires, the groans of mangled victims, the cries of widows and orphans, and with garments rolled in blood. When such malevolent operations cease for a little, in any part of the world, and the tumultuous passions which produced them, subside into a temporary calm, the historian is presented with a blank in the annals of the human race; the short interlude of peace and of