Upon a survey of the condition in which man was placed, when created, there are two reflections which force themselves on our minds.

1. The goodness of God to the first man and to the race. Man was indeed fearfully and wonderfully made, as to the structure and constitution of his body, and, also, as to the intellectual endowments of his mind, being enriched with the noble faculties of reason, memory, and imagination. But, above all, the goodness of the Creator is manifest in stamping upon the soul of man his own moral image, and in communicating to him all that knowledge which was requisite for the performance of duty and the enjoyment of happiness. This goodness was also conspicuous in the external provision made for the supply of all his wants, and the gratification of all his innocent desires.

2. Comparing the condition of Adam in innocence with that of man now, we may form some idea of the greatness of our loss. A withering curse has fallen. upon the ground itself, man has lost his perfection of life and health, and has forfeited his immortality. But the heaviest part of the curse has lighted on his moral powers. The image of God, which was his beauty and dignity, has been effaced. Corruption and disorder have ensued; and, in the place of happiness, misery, in its multiform kinds, has seized upon him. Alas! the crown has fallen from his head, and the most fine gold has become dim!

CHAPTER XV.

LAW OF GOD.

FROM the relation which a rational creature sustains to his Creator, arises an obligation to perfect obedience. The right of the Author of our being to what he has made out of nothing, is the completest right of which we can form a conception. And, as God is infinitely excellent and glorious in his own nature, it is reasonable that he should require the supreme love of the rational creature. If we had any thing better than our love and gratitude to give, in return. for what we have received from our Creator and Preserver, we should be under obligation to render the best which we possibly could; but since pure love is the best offering of which we are capable, God requires that. But when perfect obedience is rendered, we do not repay our debt; this never can be done. When we have done all, we have only performed our duty, and as it relates to God, are "unprofitable servants." When man was created, he was endowed with the necessary knowledge of God, and his disposition was conformable to his law, which was written on his heart. But when man sinned, the image of God, as far as it consisted in moral likeness, was lost; but some knowledge of duty, and feeling of moral obligation remained. This, however, through ignorance and negligence, was soon so obscured, that except in regard to a few great enormities, men have generally lost sight of

the law of God as a rule of duty, reaching not only to the outward actions, but to the thoughts and affections of the heart. It became very necessary, therefore, that there should be a new revelation of the moral law, and such a specification of particular duties, as was suited to the people of Israel, to whom the revelation was made. This revelation was communicated by God himself from mount Horeb, in the midst of thunderings and lightnings and darkness and tempest, in a voice of tremendous majesty: and the Decalogue which contained the specifications of this moral law, was written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, after having been uttered in a voice of thunder from the midst of the fiery mountain.

The sum and substance of the moral law, as it relates to the inner man, is comprehended in two commandments, which are recognized by our Saviour as still in force, and as containing summarily all moral duty. The first of these is, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two hang all the law and the prophets."

As to the dispositions and affections of heart, required by this law, they are the same to all persons, and under all dispensations; but as to the external acts required, they vary according to the relations in which men are placed. While, therefore, the principles of moral obedience are simple, the acts which may be incumbent on moral agents, may be infinitely diversified. All, however, in every situation, are bound externally to reverence and worship God, and to exercise justice and mercy in their intercourse with their fellow men. And there are also moral duties which have respect to

ourselves. It is the duty of all, by lawful means, to seek their own welfare-the improvement of their minds, and the health and purity of their bodies; and to avoid every thing which has any tendency to injure themselves. The exhortation, " Do thyself no harm," is of general application, and is a moral duty of great importance.

It has been common to divide moral duties into three classes; such as we owe to God, to our neighbour, and to ourselves. From what has been said, it is evident, that there is some foundation, in the nature of the case, for this threefold distinction. But it seems scarcely correct to speak of owing duties to our fellow creatures, or to ourselves, as though we had more sovereigns than one. There is, strictly, but one Sovereign and one Judge, to whom we owe allegiance. We are bound to love our neighbour, because God enjoins it; and to promote our own welfare, for the same reason. We are under one moral law which is binding, because it is made known to us to be the will of God. It is obvious, that when all internal holiness is comprehended in love, this word must be taken in a generic sense, to include all right affections toward God, and toward our fellow creatures, such as reverence, trust, gratitude, &c.; and a like latitude should be given to it, in relation to our fellow men.

The law of God is perfect. It has been justly called a transcript of the moral perfections of God. It is the. highest standard of moral dignity and excellence, of which the creature is capable. It is also the measure of man's supreme happiness. We see then, not only. that it is just in God to require perfect obedience to the law, and that to require less would be a derogation from his holiness; but that his goodness is equally manifest in the requisition of all the love and obedience

of which the nature of man is susceptible; for it is that very state of mind, in which man's purest and sublimest happiness consists. And if we should, for a moment, suppose, that a less degree of love and obedience should be required, either as to intensity or constancy, where would we fix this degree? It is evident, that in proportion as man falls short of perfect love, or that degree of love to his Creator, of which he is constitutionally capable, so far he sinks in moral dignity and excellence. And no man can fix any other measure of love, which might not be, on the same principle, lowered more and more, until nothing was left.

But the law of God is also just, for it requires no more than what the creature, as he came from the hands of his Creator, had full power to render. In the case of all creatures, in innocence, the maxim is correct, that duty and ability must be commensurate. Accordingly, God does not require man to love or obey, with the powers of an angel, but to love the Lord his God with all his heart, mind, and strength. But this maxim cannot with propriety be applied to the case of those who by their own fault have lost the ability of rendering perfect obedience. The law of God cannot lower its demands in proportion to the inability of man, brought on by transgression. That blindness of mind, and that hardness of heart, and perversity of will, produced by sinning, are in themselves sinful, and cannot, therefore, furnish any excuse. In fact, these things constitute the root and core of our depravity, and are the very things for which man shall chiefly be condemned. The same is true of inveterate habits of sin, and errors which are the fruit of sin. These things cannot excuse, or there would be no blame any where. No moral change, however, affects the essence of the soul; its faculties remain the same