Noah, the imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually; and when we find the Israelites described by Isaiah, as resembling a body full of wounds and bruises, and having no soundness in it; and when we see this language employed to set forth the condition of the whole human race, in every age; it may fairly occur to us to inquire, whether this language was really meant to be applied in a manner so unrestricted. There certainly are grades of depravity among men who are alike without godliness; just as among the nations which encircled the promised land, some were more guilty, and reserved to a greater punishment than others, though all were sunk in the common guilt of heathenism.

Still, there must be a sense in which the strong language of scripture, in regard to the sinfulness of mankind, is manifestly just. It is affirmed of the human heart, in the most general view of it, that-It is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It is written,-There is none that doeth good, no not one, none that seek after God. We shall discern the propriety of these expressions, if we bear in mind that the sacred writers, while conceding to the moralist the possession of his morality, point out its never-failing DEFECTIVENESS, and its INTERMIXTURES OF EVIL ;-shewing, at the same time, that were the morality of such persons strictly perfect, it could at best be a part only, and much the SMALLER PART, of the obligation justly and necessarily resting upon us.

The morality of the worldly man, even in its most improved state, is an imperfect and sullied affair, if compared with that required in holy writ. The language of the divine law on this subject, not only prohibits the injury of our neighbour,— it enjoins that we love him :-love him as ourselves. And this it imposes as a constant obligation. In behalf of every child of Adam, and of every such nature through every moment of time, it demands this state of the affections; and the manifestation of it, in all those ways in which it should discover itself. This is the state of social existence in that better dwelling-place where the 'will of God is the only law. This was its state in Paradise; and only as we approach toward it now, do we begin to participate in the repose and the blessedness which are to constitute the future heritage of the faithful. Let the character of the most moral, the most humane of mankind, be weighed in this balance, and what has been done will appear little indeed in comparison with what remains undone. It may be ascertained, that he has conquered his selfishness in some instances; but those in which it has conquered him, will be found to have been. greatly more numerous and formidable. So far has he been from loving his neighbour-as himself.

We may add, that the mere moralist rarely extends his sense of duty toward others beyond the concerns of the body, and present life. He overlooks the mind in its relation to eternity:the scene, where infinite good, or infinite evil is

awaiting it! Hence, it is not only true that he has done little with regard to the present interests of his fellow men, compared with what he should have done, but, that had he done every thing in this way, and left eternity unprovided for, it must all, ere long, prove as nothing. So comprehensive, -so like its great Parent, is the morality of holy scripture; and so restricted, so like that of a race lost to the due exercise of their noblest perceptions, and of their noblest sympathies, are the systems of duty with which men are satisfied.

Defective, however, as this morality may be, it would be well if there were no more serious charge to be brought against it. It should never be forgotten, that we disclose a spirit of opposition to the will of the Most High, by declining the service which he enjoins, as certainly as by presuming to do what he has forbidden. But, passing over our sins of omission, in regard of what is due outwardly to man, the scriptures require the moralist to place his motives in the balances of the sanctuary, along with his actions. In the view of the gospel, it is not what a man does that determines his character: this depends, rather, on the state of mind from which his doings have proceeded. St. Paul assures us, that we may give all our goods to feed the poor, and our body to be burned, as an act of charity, and yet be without charity. The apostle clearly supposes, that men may proceed to extremes of this nature, from motives of so little worth as to resemble sounding brass, or a tinkling

cymbal, a thing of noise and emptiness. It is true, the better class of moralists contend, that men should add the realities of virtuous principle and feeling, to appearances of this kind;-that the actions which are good, should proceed from inward dispositions in keeping with them. Nevertheless, the imperfections we have noticed belong in practice to the best of these systems, leaving their best disciples guilty, in no small measure, concerning their brother.

Such men do not need be told, that the forms of religion may be very scrupulously observed, and that the whole object of the religionist may be to be seen of men. But it behoves these persons to remember, that this hypocrisy, which they have so often censured in pretenders to religion, mixes itself with the moralities of the world quite as much as with the observances of the church;-that there is a pride of moral character, as well as a pride of religious character, and that every character founded in pride, or in any other evil passion, is an abomination to the Lord. The requirement of the law is, that we should do to others as we would they should do to us; and that this should be done from a sincere love towards men, and in solemn deference to the authority of God. Now if we look from this broad rule to the conduct of the most scrupulous moralist, we see a few paltry fragments of obedience put into the place of the whole; and if we trace these fragments to their source, hard will it often be to discover a feeling that we may honour

as the sincere love of man, and harder still to find any thing approaching toward a due recognition of the authority of God. We see, on the contrary, that the appearances of benevolence frequently owe their existence to a refined calculating selfishness, and that the character of God, as revealed in the scriptures, is put far away.

It is not denied, then, that pride and vanity may sometimes lead to acts of what are called heroic virtue; such as could not well be surpassed by the zeal of the most devoted professors of the gospel. But it is insisted, that there is scarcely a comparison to be made between the self-denial which, after all, terminates in some other form of selfishness, and that which springs mainly from a supreme solicitude for the honour of God. Before an observing eye there must be a peculiar complexion distinguishing what is done from this peculiarity of motive. There may be a mixture of what is laudable even with the pride of the proud, and with the vanity of the vain; but such a state of mind includes a much stronger mixture of what is not laudable; for it is no less true of the system of duty taught in scripture, than of its system of truth, that its design is to hide pride from man, so that he who would glory, must glory in the Lord.

We must now observe, that the scriptures which institute this severe scrutiny into the pretensions of men who endeavour to establish a righteousness of their own, very clearly teach, that were it possible that an individual should prove himself to have