ed minds, chiefly, that we are to expect the clearest and fullest confession of sin, both original and actual. Eliphaz says, "What is man that he should be clean, and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight; how much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinketh in iniquity like water!" David says, "Mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.-I will declare mine in iquity, I will be sorry for my sin.-Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head.-I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." The Prophet Isaiah cried out on beholding the glory and purity of his God, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags-Thou art wroth, for we have sinned-We all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, as the wind, have taken us away." Jeremiah confesses, "Our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee-We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us for thy name's sake." Daniel says, "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy judgments." So the church, in Micah, “That they may do evil with both hands, the prince asketh, &c.; and the great man uttereth his mischievous desire. The best of them is a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge.-I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him." Peter cried out, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Such are the expressions which have been wrung from the heart, and have dropped from the lips of men recorded in the scripture; and myriads, not recorded there, have uttered words equally strong, or stronger.

HUMAN LAWS.

It has always been judged expedient and necessary in all civilized nations, that there should be laws constructed and enforced by proper sanctions and penalties, for the better regulating of the different orders and degrees of men, that the virtuous and peaceable part of the community might uninterruptedly pursue their way, and enjoy their privileges undisturbed; and that the vicious and immoral might be laid under proper restraint, and compelled, from the fear of punishment, to keep within proper bounds. It is not my design to enter into a long detail of the nature and procedures of law, or I might shew how inadequate all these attempts are fully to bridle the evil propensities of men: all I intend is to shew, from the numerous laws and statutes which have been enacted, the existence of the evils they were framed to oppose. Many of these, it is true, imply an assumption of privilege which has little to do with morality; but this is far from being the case with a multitude of others. Whoever considers the bulk of the laws of this realm, must be constrained to acknowledge that sin is supposed to extend itself exceedingly wide, and to be extremely prejudicial, not only to individuals, but subversive of all decency, order, and tranquillity. With laws existing and enforced, what numerous delinquents! What then would be the situation of society, were they suspended? Were the numerous orders of magistrates and subordinate officers, who prove so great a terror to evil doers, set aside, who could live in safety? Were prisons and all their horrid apparatus demolished, we should soon have most lamentable proofs of human depravity. Every law, and every regulation made against vice, tends to prove my point, that sin has greatly prevailed, and would, without the most diligent care, prevail much more abundantly. On this same principle we ought to be grateful to God, who, in his wise providence, permits and sanctions such human endeavours as prevent the bursting forth of a flood, which is calculated to carry away and destroy every thing that is use

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ful and excellent in itself, and bring in its awful ravages, anarchy, misery, and death.

GENERAL COMPLAININGS.

WHILE a certain class of writers are studiously endeavouring to exalt our poor, fallen nature; and, in flat contradiction to the truth of God, to represent it as a compound of moral excellencies, how many are daily complaining of the evils they endure from the prevalence of vice; of ungrateful returns for repeated kindnesses; of refractory behaviour, idleness, wastefulness, impertinence, and injustice in servants; of disobedience, sullenness, self-will, neglect, and many provocations in children; of selfishness, deceit, backbiting, slandering, envy, pride, revenge, and unreasonableness in neighbours; of superciliousness, arrogance, forgetfulness of past services, and oppression in superiors; of lying, over-reaching, promise-breaking, defrauding, and hypocrisy in merchants and tradesmen; of treachery in friendship; of malicious attempts to wound or destroy person, property, or character in enemies; of tyranny and haughtiness in governors; and of discontent, sedition, and anarchy in the governed; of depredation and mischief from thieves and disorderly persons; of favouritism and partiality in relations; of mismanagement, extravagancy, and knavery in bankrupts; of expensive and unjust litigations; of corrup tion and bribery among men in office; of false vows, inconstancy, and dissimulation between the sexes; and a variety of other things of a similar nature, which, according to our rank in society, the party we espouse, the sentiments we hold, and the courses we pursue, we suspect or complain of in others, and of which, in their turns, they suspect or complain of in us. Each one feels the pressure of his own burden most; and where is there one who feels not, I had almost said, daily, some cause of complaint, frequently from the weakness, folly, ignorance, subtlety, and wickedness of his fellow-creatures?

CAUTIOUS PROCEEDINGS.

IF virtue and piety reigned among men, extending their influence over the mind, what little need would there be of that extreme caution which prevails among them! At present the generality.of persons conduct business, make bar♦ gains, take journies, and form their schemes, as though they had to do with no other than unprincipled characters. To use the prophet's words, it is indeed as though the good man were perished out of the earth, and there were none upright among men. What stamping, signing, sealing and witnessing, in our written agreements with each other; what shutting, bolting, and locking, for the defence of our persons, and security of our property; what societies and associations for mutual support and assistance; what varied and tiresome phrases in law; what multiplied words and terms to prevent the escape of designing men; what enquiries are made, lest we should be imposed on in our transactions; and what fear, lest after all our care and watchfulness, we should be deceived! We are at a loss to know to whom we shall confide the health of our bodies, the safety of our souls, or the security of our property. We have our suspicions, perhaps, both of the physician, the divine, and the counsellor. The greatest care must be taken how to dispose of our wealth, lest the persons to whom it lawfully belongs, should, after our decease, be wronged of it. Thus, from first to last, from the time we enter on the stage of life, till we are constrained to quit it, we are learning the lessons of prudence and caution, that we may not be injured or outwitted by individuals or companies, by dependants or acquaintances, by natives or foreigners, by professed friends or secret enemies, by those in the walks of science or works of art: all which clearly demonstrate the persuasion we entertain of the general want of moral and religious principle in all around us; and thus we have another proof of the prevalence of sin,

HISTORICAL RELATIONS.

ALTHOUGH it is readily admitted that the history of most nations in their commencement is enveloped in much darkness and fabulous matter, we may perceive the rank weeds of vice and immorality springing up on every hand, and choaking the little good that appeared among them. As knowledge increases, the facts recorded are clearer and better substantiated; and, in these ages, making allowance for the spirit of party, we will suppose the writers to be tolerably faithful and correct in their recitals of the motives and actions of men. Taking this for granted, of what does history inform us, with a few exceptions, but villainies, open and disguised, the arts of seduction, the bitter effects of unruly passions, assassinations, murderous and destructive wars, foolish and ambitious projects, great talents misapplied, bloody and diabolical persecutions under pretence of zeal, deep-laid schemes of hypocrisy under a religious garb, restless and factious spirits, the crimes of malefactors, high and low, with their apprehension, confinement, exile, or execution; of the animosities and unforgiving spirit of great families, of ferocious and murderous duels, of the ruin of opulent and respectable houses, by gaming, lewdness, and extravagance; of ill-gotten riches, from peculation, chicanery, oppression and falsehood; deep-laid schemes of political vengeance, the abuse of power and authority, intestine broils, divisions, and contentions; the various means of corrupting the mind, especially that of youth, by pernicious books, prints, and paintings; by irreligious education, infidel connexions, and graceless company? In short, a great part of history is a full confirmation of that scripture, which declares, that "all we, like sheep, have gone astray, and have every one turned to his own way"-that way which best suited our inclination, our situation in life, or the times in which we lived. Thus we observe how sin has prevailed, and confutes, by undeniable facts, the assertions of those who would persuade us that we are so naturally good, and