act such particular sanctions, and to execute them, as a part of that system of influence, which is indispensable to the end to be secured the greatest general good. For it is in this way his own blessedness is to be secured. There is a rule of right and wrong for Him, a law of moral action, as truly as there is for us; and could the supposition be admitted, that he should go contrary to it, he could no more avoid self-reproach than do his subjects, when they violate their obligations. This law is, that he should make known to his subject the true method of securing his highest happiness, and aid him in accomplishing it, so far as the general good allows any particular interposition of his own. Beings who are moral agents, must be created, or there cannot be that high state of happiness possible both in their welfare enjoyed, and in the consciousness to him of imparting it. In such beings, of necessity there must be a conscience or moral sense, and thus happiness, the highest degree possible, is put within the reach of every intelligent creature. But He who is infinitely above all, can in no way communicate or impart so great a degree of good, as in presenting himself to be loved, for he is worthy of supreme affection. Then is the measure of felicity full to overflowing, when such a harmony exists between man and his Maker; for in proportion to the worth of an object, in other words, in proportion to the tendency to promote good, must be the regard cherished for it, if we would be happy. The absolute perfection of the Deity, secures against the possibility of mistake or deception. His will, however expressed to us, is the highest testimony within our reach. Were there no moral governor, no rule of action thus set forth, the finite being might mistake from deficiency of knowledge in specific cases. God, then, is not to be blamed, but to be loved and honored, for proclaiming and enforcing his law. It is just what an infinitely perfect being must do, or forfeit his claim to perfection. He has imposed on his creatures nothing as duty, even in specific enactments, but what would exist were there no published law; provided any way existed in which the relation of the action performed or forbidden to his highest welfare, could be in any way ascertained. Even in cases of positive enactments, where some specific action is commanded, the wisdom or the tendency of which to promote the highest welfare cannot be seen by us, finite as we are, or in which the whole tendency seems to impair happiness, the moral obligation to perform it rests on the same great foundation as in any other case; for the competency of God to judge respecting it, we cannot doubt, so far as the means of knowledge are fur

nished us, renders it certain, that though we do not see it, yet he sees the particular thing prescribed, to have such a bearing on the highest happiness, and for this reason prescribes it. It may be, the specific act is part of a system of means to accomplish some end, which end we may be able to discover to be subordinate, and hence a means to the great ultimate end; but whether or not we can so discern the connection, either of the act to the subordinate end, or the subordinate end to the great ultimate one, the very fact, that he requires it, places it on the same ground of moral obligation.

Let it be supposed, that God exercised no moral government over us could he be blessed as he now is? could we be as happy as we now are? He must know, that a vast number of intelligent creatures existed with capacities to be under such a government, to whom it was in his power to impart the conviction, that they were under a righteous moral governor, and yet he refused to do it, and he must reproach himself for a want of benevolence. His creatures must be left the sport of caprice, in some instances ignorant, it may be culpably so, of what was the true tendency of actions, and hence left to mar each other's welfare, without any rectification of their conduct. Auarchy, instead of order, might be the result, and the wondrous spectacle might be exhibited of a universe all wrong, both the Creator and the creatures. From such an abhorrent supposition the fact of a moral government relieves us. Order is restored. God is on the throne, an infinitely perfect, all-wise and benevolent being, and it is the privilege of his creatures to know, that their highest happiness consists in following the path of obedience which he points out to them. They need not err, if they read his counsels aright; for passion cannot blind him, ignorance cannot prevent him from seeing the truth, and evil desires cannot move him to withhold it. The same remark we have made with regard to God's great moral government applylimited as the limitation in perfection is to every species of moral government. All these are the means to the great end, and are to be regarded accordingly. Society is thus constituted according to our Creator's wise ordinance on successive and subordinate developments of the same great principle which he himself follows out in his universal moral government. All the authority of the subordinates is from him, and for the same end they are held responsible.

Another point of interest, and closely connected with the former, is the supremacy of God's universal government. There is no being throughout the wide universe like him, in infinite

perfection and blessedness. There is no one else to whom belongs creating and preserving power, or who with the glance of his omniscient ken, can look through all things from their beginning to their end, and discern the bearings they possess on the universal good. He it is, who has fashioned all intelligent agents, and written in their very constitutions the decisions of truth, so as forever to leave them without excuse, if they depart from the line of conduct which is there prescribed them. He it is, who has created a vast system of moral government, beneath the influences of which are gathered moral beings of various degrees of capacity, from the archangel and seraph, to the inhabitant of this our world. Throughout all these ranks of intelligent being, he has spread abroad the claims of his supremacy, nor is there one other who can arrogate the homage which is his due. The reasonableness of his demands are incontestible, and with that knowledge which qualifies him to discern, and that benevolence which assures us of justice, he, by his arrangements of creation and providence, has constituted society and government, and bound to his throne all the sources of authority under him; making it our duty to render obedience to those who rule over us, because he demands it of us, and he is the supreme authority and the moral governor of all. Fearful, therefore, are the responsibilities of those who are set over others of rulers, parents, masters, and guardians; for they are to bear a part in the great system of moral influences to carry forward moral beings every where to their perfection. To violate the law of moral action, and to withhold from happiness, it may be, myriads, as they do who act from passion or party-feeling unmindful of the commandments of heaven, imposes upon them a dreadful load of wrong to be answered for in the day of final retribution.

So is it in a measure, too, with every moral being. His responsibilities to the supreme authority, reaches farther than he can now fully estimate. The great law of his Maker and moral governor is binding upon him; in every variety of situation, the law of love to God and love to his fellow creatures throws out its thousand-fold claims, for he is in a universe of moral beings, and under the government of an infinitely perfect ruler. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without the notice of that God. His wakeful eye is on every creature he has formed and sustains, and it is for the purpose of directing and urging them on to the fulfillment of the true end of their moral being, that he provides and governs. Every duty then, every design, every hope and every desire of those beings, is connected with the inter

ests of his supremacy. The true tendency of every mora action should be to uphold it; the highest reach of the spirit, in its immortal longings to become more closely identified with its glories; and the blissful reality promised in that spirit's hopes should continually waken his energies to press forward to this mark for the prize of his high calling in God. It is the path, and the only true path of his happiness, to acknowledge and to feel the claims of the great moral governor; for he who has unerringly scanned all that such a being can do to become perfect in happiness, sits on the throne of dominion to order the circumstances of existence, if possible, to bring out such a correspondence of universal action with what is true. It is on this account, that obedience is directly urged upon us as our duty, and we are surrounded every where with monitors to remind us of our obligations to serve him. It would be a departure from all the principles of right moral action, to give the highest place to any other; for no other is so worthy; no other has done so much for us; no other can so bless us; no other is supreme. It is when the supremacy of God is allowed to hold its proper place in the affections of every moral being, that all are blessed. It is then, that the minds and hearts which reach forth to secure their appropriate aim, find it and rest contented and secure. No evil can harm a universe which thus lies sleeping in the hollow of his hand; and around which, when they go forth to perform his bidding, is ever thrown the guardianship of his almighty power. The motives which call forth their energies and prompt activity, are set in order and directed by his wisdom. His love lets fall upon them, as they gratefully look up to the source of every blessing, new tokens of his bounty, and pours into their bosoms the sweet reflection, that all is in harmony at home and abroad, between their fellow beings and their Creator. Such is the practical influence of God's supremacy, when rightly seen and universally acknowledged.

Another practical bearing of the view we have maintained, relates to the evil of sin. Sin is indeed a violation of God's law, a spirit of disregard for his authority. It is evil, wholly evil. But the reason of this is, that it strikes deeper than a mere renunciation of the authority of the moral governor. It is because the authority and government of God bear such a relation to the happiness of all beings,—a relation of the indispensable means to the highest end. The foundation of obligation to obedience goes down into the fundamental nature of all moral agency, and the tendency of actions to promote or destroy the highest happiness of the moral being,-of every moral

being. Renunciation of God's authority in the case supposed, would, if followed out, lead to such an utter disruption of society. Sin is therefore the doing that, the whole appropriate bearing of which is to destroy a fundamental principle of moral being. It is,-viewing the act in its true relations,-the breaking up of the order of our very constitution as moral agents, and rejecting our own and the highest welfare of all; thus subjecting us to the self-reproach which we must sooner or later feel. The connection and the consequences are as sure as existence itself. Let the true bearings of actions be seen and known, and, so long as persisted in, God himself could not make such a moral being happy. For heaven, or any other place in the universe, could not relieve the moral being thus situated from the self-reproach which in the nature itself of moral agency he must feel, knowing that he had chosen to slight the means of being as happy as he might be. What an evil then is sin! Were it merely the violation of an enactment proclaimed by some other being, and thus resting on arbitrary will, the transgressor might seek a relief for conscience in the idea, that there might be no reason for the command. But every enactment of God is based on the tendency to promote happiness. It is goodness urging the moral being to be as happy as possible. This conviction then clings to the transgressor wherever he goes. It will point the shaft, and drive it deeper into his bosom, that he might have been as happy as his nature would allow, but he has thrown away from him the hand that was proffered to guide him, and stifled, so far as he could, the voice that made known the way of life. Can any evil be too great for those who incorrigibly persist in so maddened a purpose of self-destruction? The tendency is to the annihilation of all good in moral beings. Nothing short of the finally realizing of this result in his own case, would seem the appropriate punishment.

Perhaps it may here be said, If this is the evil of sin,-the disregard of the agent's highest welfare,-and if this oftentimes results from a state of ignorance, then the only remedy necessary is to supply the requisite knowledge,-to enlighten the mind. Such assertions have been repeated time and again; but their speciousness consists simply in overlooking the great fact of the constitution of a moral being, that his highest welfare can only be secured by promoting the welfare of others, and the fundamental principle, that in no state of moral agency can there be so much ignorance, that some degree of knowledge does not exist as to this great law of moral action. Con