at her shrine-yield her not the homage of thy affectionspush the demon from thy heart-and pray to that Being who formed both the one and the other for himself to take possession of his rightful property." Agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison"-and who my soul is thy adversary?— it is offended justice, whose laws thou hast broken in innumerable instances-and who is thy judge?-it is Jesus Christ to whom all judgment is committed, who took thy nature upon him, knows thy infirmities, and therefore will not judge thee with rigour-on the contrary, he pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent; and accepteth those who yield sincere obedience to known duty-Oh my soul, choose him for thy portion; for he is a very present help in the time of trouble-he is a compassionate Saviour; and will therefore hear and receive thee, although thou may have revolted from him; but he is just also, and therefore will punish thee for thy backslidings—It may not be his pleasure to confer upon thee riches and honours-on the contrary, he may permit thee to fall both into poverty and disgrace-but know that all his dispensations are in wisdom, unerring wisdom; and it is thy duty, in the most trying of them all to say-"Not my will, but thine be done"Oh my soul choose him for thy portion, for the days of thy probation will soon be over; so shalt thou when the shades of death exhibit their sable drapery, feel no fear→ neither shall the transactions of thy life, like the ghost

of Brutus, appear before thee, as a frightful spectre in thy last agonies.

THE MERIT

OF

PUBLIC OPINION CONSIDERED.

There is nothing more certain, than that it is one of the most difficult things in the world, to ascertain the exact degree of merit or demerit that attaches to the actions of our fellow-creatures, as has already been remarked in a former contemplation of this work-to know the exact degree of either, we must be acquainted with their knowledge of good and evil; and with the circumstances which facilitate their adherence to the one-or allure them into the practice of the other.

It is far from being the object of this essay, to confound by speculative reflections, the eternal distinctions of right and wrong the gospel has established such immoveable barriers between them, that none but persons wishing to deceive themselves, can be mistaken-Heaven and hell lie to the right and left of these barriers in such conspicuous directions, as never to be misunderstood in the great points of morality-but may not a traveller set out from these sign-posts of religion, with full intention to reach the heavenly goal, and yet be seduced by many specious appearances from the right course, exhibited for

the purpose of ultimately engaging him in the wrongAlas! there is nothing more usual-Nature must frequently pass through a dreadful process of affliction, before it will part with known and flagrant evil-but in cases where this has been accomplished, how often has the common enemy gained his point at last, by some species of refined temptation-such as the love of independence the inordinate pursuit of wealth-the indulgence of evil tempers-the pressure of bodily, mental or family afflictions-worldly hope or fear-joy or despair-and, oh! what numbers of those enlisted under the banners of Christ, have been more or less fatally seduced by these, from the high road of gospel holiness, into the bye paths of error and unbelief!-Here I may lawfully take up my lamentation and say-How have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!-here from a feeling sense of interest in the doleful theme, I must lament the widely diffused ravages of hell, and although hope like the sun breaking through a cloud, sometimes illuminates the dreary prospect; yet the more frequent and general portion, is that of an heart deeply affected with a sense of its own miseries, and the miseries of a disordered world---but can the degrees of demerit attached to the deviations I have lamented, be comprehended by the multitude---by no means---there are a few stars in the religious firmament preserved in their station, who see and lament the fall of their fellows, and are given to know the cause---but even these are few---the great multitude of mankind are not invested with such vision--their opinion is like the voice of an ass, that brayeth to

F

every foreign sound---it is empty and imitative, and therefore undeserving of attention---it is never right but by accident; and therefore not to be depended on--marks of the strongest contempt are thrown out against it in holy writ---indeed it is natural it should be represented as evil there, since its current is generally in favour of splendid evil !---it is true it does run against that public exhibition of immorality, which carries an appearance of indecency to the human eye, but then it has also frequently opposed its torrent, to virtuous and praise-worthy characters and actions*---if this point is contested; instances enough from both sacred and profane history can

If the public sentiments of good and evil were according to the gospel-and if its praise and censures were regulated by that standard-would the gospel itself say-" Woe unto you, when all men speak well of you!"-How this anathema?-Is the gospel not only determined to shew men of sense, that they are to treat with contempt the opinion of the world, but does it moreover pronounce those accursed, and constitute them the worst of fools, who are universally well spoken of?-this apparent paradox requires solution, for indisputably every man. should so act as to deserve a good character-the case is thishuman nature is every where represented in Scripture (and experience proves the fact) as a thing greatly corrupted-man is there called a child of wrath-a hater of God, and consequently of all which bears his moral image-He is nevertheless ambitiousof glory; and hence performs wonders of destruction on the theatre of time-but the glories of eternity, and the self-denying path that leads to them, he never perceiveth, unless his eyes are miraculously opened his ignorance of true glory, appears in the homage, which the very grave and drab-coloured men of the creation pay to wealth-present them in your right hand a virtuous man in adversity, and in your left a favourite of fortune, and see which will first attract their attention-their first glance, will unfold to you the "merit of public opinion" and their ownIf in the breasts of these men, exist a sentiment of the value of virtue and talents, and of their superiority to the gifts of fortune, they are ashamed to own it-and this shame which is the parent of cruelty and injustice, furnishes one proof amongst many, of

be recited to prove it-The current of public opinion glides by the monuments of human pride; not merely with complacency; that is an expression but feebly descriptive of its homage---it swells with adulation,

the apostacy of man-for man in his primitive simplicity could not be capable of such a shame as this- -'tis true there are many ex

ceptions to this general rule-but for these exceptions, the world is not indebted to nature, but to religion and philosophy-Hence the true source of the condemnation passed upon the opinion of the world by Jesus Christ, in the persons of those who are the objects of its applause, is their ignorance of true glory-the actions which procure them applause, are frequently immoral actions, recommended by their public splendor, or by their suitableness in some shape or other to the human passions-but even where the actions performed, are in themselves useful or indifferent, if they have no reference whatever to the Deity-if they furnish in the sight of that being. no testimony of our loyalty to him, the woe remains-you may direct the whole of your actions to the preservation of a fair character, and you may so far succeed as to be universally well spoken of; but having no higher principle, your danger is not less than that of an open and profane sinner.-Man is to labor to the utmost to do his duty to his fellow creatures, in that station in which Providence has placed him-but it is because God has commanded him, that he is thus to labor-in the sight of that being before whom all hearts are manifest, the efforts of a man (possessing the most froward and unhappy nature) to fill up his social and relative duties, from a principle of obedience to his maker, is beyond all comparison preferable, to the most refined sentiments of philosophy, the utmost meltings of humanity, and the most extensive works of benevolence, separate from this principle-And why? because it is the first duty of a rational being to consult the will of its author-and this undone, nothing that follows can be right-it is equally the dictate of reason, that if it has offended this being by any breach of his laws, the concern of the creature, should be more on account of the goodness and majesty of the power it has offended, than the character which it may accidentally forfeit amongst men-to be otherwise affected, is rank idolatry to the opinion of the world; a servility of homage which no informed mind will pay-the consequences are also melancholy and awful-for as by this homage the Deity is robbed of his glory, so the soul by necessary consequence is robbed of his mercy-Man is by nature a fallen and depraved creature, and as such prone to sin-he can never be happy without an interest in the forgiving love of God-and this he is unfit to receive, untill be has a previous conviction of