God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations; and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature, more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up to vile affections. And as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, (that they which commit such things are worthy of death) not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.'

Of the Jews, the same apostle says, Rom. iii. 9, What then, are we better than they? No, in no wise; for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. There is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God; they are all gone out of the way; they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one. Their mouth is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know, that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth might be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God.' Therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh living be justified.'

Such is the character of men, given in form, and in the course of the most important logical discussion contained in the Scriptures, by the apostle Paul. Consonant with this representation, are all the exhibitions made in the Old and New Testament, of this subject. The depravity represented, is not only declared to be universal, but also to be of this high and dreadful malignity. Mankind are not exhibited as prone to one sin only, but to all these, and all other sins; and not prone

to these sins merely, but filled with them as attributes, and executing them swiftly and dreadfully as practices.

II. The same truth is evident to every man, if he examines the subject faithfully, from the state of his own heart and life.

This very extensive field of evidence can now be explored only in a very imperfect manner: but a little attention to it will in no small degree illustrate and prove the doctrine.

1. Every man who scrutinizes his own heart at all, knows, that naturally, he in no sense obeys the first and great command of the law of God; Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.

This is the first, and altogether the most important duty of intelligent creatures; and is plainly that duty, separated from which, no other can be performed. All possible motives in the highest possible degrees conspire to induce a rational being to perform it. If then these motives do not influence the heart; if we love not our Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor, the author of all good, and himself the Infinite Good; we cannot be imagined to love with right principles any other being. If we perform not our plain duty to Him, we cannot be supposed to perform our duty to any other.

2. All men are daily reproached by their own consciences, as being greatly and continually guilty of sin.

The fear of the anger of God, and of future punishment, and the pride which every man feels in thinking himself of a good and honourable character, are biasses which strongly influence us to reject, as much as possible, so humiliating a doctrine as this. But in spite of both, our consciences irresistibly impelled by the truth, declare the greatness of our depravity every day; and we cannot hide our eyes from the humiliating declaration. Were it possible to avoid the acknowledgment, we should certainly avoid it; but the truth is so obvious, and so undeniable, that we cannot escape.

The only exception to this remark proves the truth of the doctrine still more strongly. The man whose conscience does not thus testify, is plainly of a peculiarly depraved character; not merely because his conscience does not thus testify, but because he is always guilty of gross sin in various other respects. So common, or rather so universal is this fact, as to

become the subject of proverbial remark. He therefore who is thus situated, is still more depraved than mankind in general.

3. The stupidity of mankind, and their hardness of heart, are strong exhibitions of the same doctrine.

That men should be thus guilty, and yet be insensible to the nature and degree of their depravity, is an event, certainly not to have been expected from the reason, of which we so continually boast. Our sins are committed against the Infinite God, the eternal, unchangeable enemy of sin; and are therefore the means of exposing us in an awful manner to his wrath and vengeance. At the same time, the character is in itself debased, deformed, and hateful beyond expression. Who then can be supposed to possess any share of reason, and not be humbled beyond measure at the latter of these considerations, and equally alarmed by the former? Yet mankind by nature are universally, not only not humbled, but haughty; not only not alarmed, but stupid, as to their danger; and cheerful, gay, exulting, and insolent, in the career of their iniquity.

In the mean time, no warnings are sufficient to awaken them to a sense of guilt, danger, or duty; no counsels to persuade them to return to obedience, no motives to deter them from sin. The heart is like the nether millstone, incapable of any useful, serious, divine impression; daily becoming more and more guilty, stupid, and hardened; and wandering farther and farther from duty and from God, from hope and from heaven.

Eternal life is offered, and has been offered to those now before me, ten thousand times. Who has accepted the offer? Their sins have been ten thousand times reproved and condemned. Who has repented, and forsaken them? Their duty has in countless instances been pressed upon them. Who has obeyed? God has called, Christ has entreated, the Spirit of grace has striven. Who has listened, complied, and yielded? To continue in sin, is to be exposed to endless misery. To repent and return to God, is to secure endless life. Every hardened, impenitent sinner declares therefore, that in his view, sin with endless misery for its reward, is more to be chosen than holiness or obedience, with endless life. What greater proof of dreadful depravity can be given or demanded?

III. The same doctrine is most affectingly evinced by the whole course of human conduct.

This evidence will advantageously appear,

1. From the Private Conduct of mankind, as individuals. I shall not here insist at large on the most private and retired scenes of life, where we see, in multitudes of instances, notwithstanding all the concealment and disguise with which vice hides itself from the observation of the world, innumerable forms and degrees of corruption acted out in a very painful and humiliating manner. In spite of the veil which night and solitude cast over the innumerable perpetrations of the human race, how many kinds of deformity rise up daily to our view? How many early, bitter, and unnatural contentions, even of little children. What affecting tokens even of infantine selfishness, wrath, revenge, and cruelty. How many proofs of filial impiety, ingratitude, and rebellion, in the morning of life. What unbrotherly and unsisterly coldness and alienation; what unkind and unforgiving hearts appear in those, 'who are bone of the same bone, and flesh of the same flesh.' How many jealous, hard-hearted, little, base sentiments and actions afflict the bosom of parental tenderness in those, whom nature makes inexpressibly beloved, in spite of every fault, as well as of every folly!

What a task is it to rear a single family, without leaving such faults unextirpated, as are open and infamous. How vast a labour to train up even one child to virtue and to duty; or even to prevent one from becoming grossly sinful, and finally lost. What toils and pains, what cares and watchings; how many reproofs, restraints, and corrections; how many prayers, and sighs, and tears, are employed and suffered, before this hard task can be accomplished. How rarely is it accomplished at all. What then must be the corruption of that heart which makes all these efforts necessary; and which can resist and overcome them all!

From this summary view, let us turn our thoughts to the obvious conduct of men; as it exists in our own and every other country. What amazing selfishness visibly appears in the general conduct of mankind; and how little are they, amidst all the culture of education and humanity, all the restraints of law, and all the illuminations, injunctions, and threatenings of religion, disposed to act agreeably to the dic

tates of truth, righteousness, and benevolence towards each other. A little property, a little power, a very humble office, or some other trifling object of ambition, will at any time make those who have been for life bosom friends, vehement and irreconcileable enemies. A furious and long continued lawsuit is resorted to, in order to decide the unsettled property; a lawsuit, carried on with bitterness, fraud, and perjury; and terminated in insolent victory and sullen defeat, in riveted hatred and gloomy retaliation. The place of honour and power is sought for with electioneering, caballing, slander, fraud, and falsehood; and is enjoyed with insolence, or lost with envy, malice, and secret resolutions of future revenge.

In the common bargains between men, how rarely is it the design to exchange an equivalent for that which is received; although the only possible rule of honesty; and how generally, to make what is called a good, and what is in reality a fraudulent, bargain. How perpetual are the efforts to impose on our neighbours commodities of less than the professed value; commodities imperfect, corrupted, and decayed. How many persons obtain their whole living, and spend their whole lives, in this kind of fraud. What pains are also taken to conceal or belie, the state of the markets; of our own circumstances, our real intentions, or our ability to fulfil the engagements into which we enter. What base deceptions are practised in cases of bankruptcy; and what frauds perpetrated, in order to attain legally the character and immunities of a bankrupt. How difficult has it been even to make a law, which can at all secure to creditors an equitable share in the actual remains of a bankrupt's property. How strange would the observations, which I am now making, appear in a world of honest, virtuous beings!

Friendship is plainly one of the things, most to be looked for among rational beings; as it is one of the most profitable, and most pleasing, of all those which are in our power. To this union of affections, this perpetual correspondence of hearts, this delightful harmony of life, all our interests strongly lead us, with motives highly noble and affectingly persuasive. Yet Solomon could say, and with plain propriety could say, A faithful man who can find?' Not a small part of our conversation, or of our writings, is filled with bitter complaints of frail, alloyed, treacherous, broken