sympathy and love he may find his sweetest solace, degrades her to be the minister of his sensual gratifications, it is not surprising that no high standard of morals should be observed by either sex. In Christian countries, just in proportion as the spirit of the gospel is infused into the laws and customs of society, and woman occupies her appropriate station, there is a higher reverence for virtue, the brightest examples of which are found in the gentler sex. Partaking, however, as they do, of a sinful and fallen nature, they may and often do fall from their high estate, and having once forfeited their place in society, and incurred the ban of excommunication, they become the tempters of others. Solomon refers to the abandoned woman, whose arts are employed to ensnare the unwary; and who being herself betrayed, becomes a betrayer in her turn. The loss of chastity is an evil not to be repaired, and from which the unhappy victim seldom emerges.

The dangers to which young men are exposed, in giving a loose rein to their licentious passions, are here strikingly portrayed, and the picture is one which suits all ages and countries. In large cities especially, how numerous are the temptations and facilities to vice of this kind; and when youth, impelled by passion, and unchecked by the restraints of religion, come within the vortex, how seldom do they escape! In such circumstances we can but raise the warning voice.

All the precepts of God's law, which require purity of heart, and the consecration of the body as an instrument of righteousness unto holiness, are violated by the unchaste. The soul which should bear the image of God, is defiled in its imaginations, and polluted in its affections, and t'e body, which should be

the temple of the Holy Ghost, partakes of the degradation and dishonour. This is a sin which perhaps more than any other, alienates the heart from God, and excludes it from communion with heaven. It is a sin against the best laws of human society, trampling upon the sacred relations of life, invading the peace of families, despoiling the heart of its best affections, and the mind of its noblest sentiments, creating discords and dissensions, and covering more than its perpetrators with shame and disgrace. To the soul it brings disquietude, anxiety, remorse, and the intolerable curse of God, and to the body, disease and death. It is a pregnant source of other flagrant crimes; drunkenness is its companion, and murder often stalks in its train; and what adds terrible emphasis to the description, it is a sin which is seldom repented of, and which more than any other damns the soul and peoples the regions of the lost! How dearly are its gratifications purchased! with what disquieting pains, loss of self-respect, injury to reputation, ruin to peace of mind! How terrible are the weapons it furnishes to conscience! what terrors does it gather around a dying bed! How deep the gloom it casts upon the future! It may for a season throw around itself a thousand fascinations, but sooner or later it will “ a fury frown." O young man, be warned and flee the danger. Beware of the seductions of the already initiated, flee youthful lusts, and solicit the aids of religion to shield thee from the danger.

My soul, remember the source of this sin. It has its origin in the heart, and there it must be encountered. "Lust when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." If

thou wouldst avoid the deadly result, thou must contend against the impure beginnings. The inward chamber of imagery must be purged; there must be no tampering with sin in thought, and a covenant must be made with the eyes. Appeal to a divine power for aid. God can pre-occupy the mind with holy thoughts, strengthen every virtuous attempt, and deliver thee from the snare of the fowler. Others have triumphed, so mayest thou. Aim to be holy as the angels, holy as God, and to all the blandishments of vice give Joseph's noble answer, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"

14*

CONTRITION AND OBDURACY.

HE that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Happy is the man that feareth always; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

ALL men, by nature, are in the same condition of sin, but all have not the same sense of this condition. To some it appears in its true colours, as one of fearful responsibility and danger; whilst to others it is a source of no painful apprehension. According to the divine testimony, the whole race of man is apostate from God, and exposed to his wrath and curse. Still most men are too insensible to be conscious of their guilt, too deaf to hear the thunders of Sinai, and too blind to perceive the terrible fate that awaits them. They will not be convinced that sin is their ruin, and they will not be persuaded to forsake it. Its false and deceitful pleasures have more charms for them than its punishment has terrors; hence they can turn a deaf ear to the expostulations of God and to the invitations of the gospel, and look without emotion on the scenes of Gethsemane and Calvary. Their conscience is perverted, and their heart, like an adamant, impenetrable. Such is the state of most men, and a truly awful one it is. They are surrounded by circumstances which might well awaken them, but they sleep on; and while the infinitely important concerns of eternity are disregarded, they indulge their lusts without compunction, and eagerly pursue the vanities of the world. Every

thing is viewed by them through a distorting medium, which magnifies temporal, and diminishes eternal things. They are not only indifferent, but obdurate. The fate of such is certain. If the dying man obstinately refuses the only medicine that can heal him, he hastens his own doom, and the fault is. his own; and if the sinner will not relent, but clings to his lusts, rejects the Saviour, incurs the forfeiture of heaven, and braves the wrath of God, he must miserably perish, and that without remedy.

Such, however, is not the character of all. The word of God finds an entrance into some hearts, the obstinacy of which becomes subdued by an humbling repentance. They obtain an insight into their own souls, and detect the deep depravity there; are convinced of the heinousness of sin, and become alarmed at their danger; turn their eyes to the cross, and seek an interest in the atoning blood of the Lamb. How different the light in which they now view themselves! They offer no vain apologies, and instead of covering, they confess their sins and forsake them. Repentance, to be genuine, must be founded on a conviction of the evil nature, as well as the evil consequences of sin; it must have respect to all sin, lead to its renunciation, and to a hearty endeavour after new obedience. As it implies on our part a return to God, so on his part it secures a restoration of his life-giving favour. A broken and a contrite heart is a sacrifice well pleasing in his sight; and while he beholds the proud and obdurate sinner afar off, he has respect to the lowly.

O my soul, thou hast reason for everlasting thankfulness, if thou hast been led to mourn over thy sinful condition, and repent of thy sinful practice. The Spirit