all its diversified bearings and ramifications, would be, to write a Body of Practical Morality, which would fill several volumes a work which is still a desideratum in Christian literature. I cannot conclude this chapter more appropriately than with the following excellent passage, extracted from Dr Dwight's "System of Theology."

"The divine law is wholly included in two precepts: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart; and thy neighbour as thyself. These are so short, as to be necessarily included in a very short sentence; so intelligible, as to be understood by every moral being who is capable of comprehending the meaning of the words God and neighbour; so easily remembered as to render it impossible for them to escape from our memory, unless by wanton, criminal negligence of ours; and so easily applicable to every case of moral action, as not to be mistaken unless through indisposition to obey. At the same time, obedience to them is rendered perfectly obvious and perfectly easy to every mind which is not indisposed to obey them. The very disposition itself, if sincere and entire, is either entire obedience, or the unfailing means of that external conduct by which the obedience is in some cases completed. The disposition to obey is also confined to a single affection of the heart, easily distinguishable from all other affections, viz. love. Love, saith St. Paul, is the fulfilling of the law. The humblest and most ignorant moral creatures, therefore, are in this manner efficaciously preserved from mistaking their duty.

"In the mean time, these two precepts, notwithstanding their brevity, are so comprehensive as to include every possible moral action. The archangel is not raised above their control, nor can any action of his exceed that bound which they prescribe. The child who has passed the verge of moral agency, is not placed beneath their regulation; and whatever virtue he may exercise, is no other than a fulfilling of their requisitions. All the duties which we immediately owe to God, to our fellow-creatures, and to ourselves, are, by these precepts, alike comprehended and required. In a word, endlessly varied as moral action may be, it exists in no form or instance in which he who perfectly obeys these precepts will not have done his duty, and will not find himself justified and accepted by God."

CHAPTER III.

ON THE MORAL LAW, AND THE RATIONAL GROUNDS ON WHICH ITS PRECEPTS ARE FORMED.

In the preceding chapters, I have endeavoured to illustrate the foundation of love to God, from a consideration of his attributes, and the relations in which he stands to his creatures. I have also illustrated the rational grounds of love to our neighbour, from a consideration of the natural equality of mankind, of the various relations in which they stand to one another, and of their eternal destination. The dismal consequences which would result from a total subversion of these laws, the beneficial effects which would flow from their universal operation, their application to the inhabitants of other worlds, the declarations of Scripture on this subject, and the various modes in which benevolence should display its activi ties, have also been the subject of consideration.

The two principles now illustrated, may be considered as two branches proceeding from the same trunk, and spreading into different ramifications. The first four commandments of the moral law may be viewed as flowing from the principle of love to God, and the remaining six as ramifications of the principle of benevolence, or love to man. In the following brief illustrations, I shall endeavour to show the reasonableness of these moral laws in relation to man, from a consideration of the misery which would necessarily result from their universal violation, and of the happiness which would flow from universal obedience to their requisitions.

These laws were published in the most solemn manner, to the assembled tribes of Israel in the wilderness of Horeb. While Mount Sinai was shaking to its centre, and smoking like a furnace; while flames of fire were ascending from its summit, and thick darkness surrounding its base; while thunders were rolling in the clouds above, and lightnings flashing amidst the surrounding gloom; and while the earth was quaking all around, and the voice of a trumpet waxing louder and louder, in the midst of this solemn and terrific scene, God spake the commandments with an audible articulate voice, in the hearing of the trembling multitude assembled round the mountain. A combination of objects and events more awful and impressive, the human mind can scarcely conceive; compared with which, the pretended pomp of Pagan deities, and

Jupiter shaking Olympus with his imperial rod, are lame, ridiculous, and profane and never, perhaps, since the commencement of time, was such a striking scene presented to the view of any of the inhabitants of this world. The most solemn preparations were made for this divine manifestation; the people of Israel were commanded to purify themselves from every mental and corporeal pollution, and strictly enjoined to keep within the boundaries marked out for them, and not to rush within the limits assigned to these awful symbols of the Deity. An assemblage of celestial beings, from another region of creation, was present on this occasion, to perform important services, to swell the grandeur of the scene, and to be witnesses of the impressive transactions of that solemn day.* Moses was appointed as a temporary mediator between God and the people, to explain to them in milder terms the words of the law, and the further intimations of the divine will. Yet so terrible were the symbols of the present Deity, that even Moses was appalled, and said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." In order that the impressive words which were uttered on that day might not be forgotten in future generations, they were written on tables of stone with the finger of God. They were not simply drawn on a plane, like the strokes of writing upon paper, but the characters were engraved, or cut out of the solid stone, so that they could not be erased. They were not written on paper or parchment, or even on wood, but on stone, which is a much more durable material. "The tables were written upon both their sides, on the one side, and on the other were they written; and the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables." This was intended to prevent the possibility of any thing being added to the law, or taken from it. The tables were two in number, the one containing the precepts which inculcate love to God, the other containing those which enjoin the love of our neighbour. These laws, thus engraven on the most durable materials, were deposited in the most sacred part of the tabernacle, in the ark of the covenant under the mercyseat. All the striking circumstances, now mentioned, were

* Stephen says, that the Jews "received the law by the disposition of angels. Grotius observes, on this passage, that the Greek preposition (eis) here signifies amidst, and that (diatagas agelon,) denotes troops of angels ranged in military order; and that there is a reference to Deut. xxxiii. 2. "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of his holy ones: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.”

+ Exod. xxxii. 45.

evidently intended to proclaim the Majesty and Grandeur of of the Supreme Legislator-the excellency and perfection of his law-that it is the eternal and unalterable rule of rectitude that it is of perpetual obligation on all the inhabitants of the earth-that it is the rule of action to angels and archangels, and to all other moral intelligences, as well as to the human race-and that the most dreadful consequences must ensue on all those who persist in violating its righteous precepts.

The proclamation of this law was prefaced by these words, "I am Jehovah thy God," which contain a ground and reason for our obedience. They evidently imply, that he is the Selfexistent and Eternal Being who brought the vast universe into existence, who "garnished the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth," and peopled all worlds with their inhabitants-that he has sovereign authority to prescribe a rule of action to his creatures-that he knows best what laws are requisite to preserve the order of his vast empire, and to secure the happiness of the intelligent creation-that he is the former of our bodies, the Father of our spirits, and the director of all the movements of nature and providence, from whose unceasing agency every enjoyment proceeds-and that all his regulations and arrangements are calculated to promote the present and everlasting felicity of all rational agents that submit to his authority. That these laws are not mere acts of Divine Sovereignty, but founded upon the nature of things, and are calculated to preserve the harmony and order of the intelligent universe, will appear from the following illustrations and remarks.

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

All the commandments, except the fourth and fifth, are expressed in a negative form: But But it is obvious, that every negative command includes a requisition of the duty which is opposed to the sin forbidden; and those which are positive include a prohibition of the conduct which is opposed to the duty required. This first commandment, therefore, though expressed in the negative form, must be considered as including a positive injunction to love God with all our hearts, to offer a tribute of supreme adoration to his perfections, and to exercise the graces of hope, gratitude, submission, and reverence. Having already considered the precept in this point of view, (pp. 85-95,) it is only necessary, in this place, to

attend, for a little, to the negative form of the command. The prohibition contained in this precept must be considered as extending not only to Polytheism, and the various objects of worship which have prevailed in the heathen world, but to every thing which is the object of our supreme affection and regard.

It is a dictate of enlightened and unprejudiced reason, that the Being to whom we are indebted for existence, on whom we every moment depend, who directs the movements of the system of nature, who daily loads us with his benefits, and on whom our hopes of eternal felicity entirely depend-should be contemplated with the most ardent affection and gratitude, regarded as the most excellent and venerable of all beings, and recognized as the Supreme Legislator, whose laws we are bound, by every tie of gratitude, to obey. Wherever such sentiments and affections pervade the mind, they constitute the first principles of piety, the source of all holy obedience, and the foundation of all true happiness. Were they universally felt, and acted upon by human beings, the Most High God, would be adored in every land, his image would be impressed on every heart, his righteous law would never be violated, grovelling desires and affections would be eradicated, and our world would be transformed into an abode of felicity, where joys similar to those of angels would succeed to scenes of wretchedness and wo.

On the other hand, where the unity and the attributes of the divine Being are not recognized, and where other objects are substituted in his place, the foundations of religion, and of moral order are completely subverted, and a door opened for the introduction of every absurdity, immorality, and vile abomination, that can degrade a rational intelligence. The command under consideration is placed on the front of the divine law as the foundation of all the other precepts; and, therefore, wherever it is violated, or not recognized, a regular obedience to the other subordinate injunctions of religion is not, in the nature of things, to be expected. Were its violation, in our world, complete and universal, it is impossible to say what would be the miserable condition of human beings in their social capacity. To its general violation, may be traced all the evils under which humanity has groaned in every age, and all the depraved passions, and shocking immoralities which now disfigure the aspect of the moral world.

There is nothing that appears more prominent in the history and the character of almost every nation under heaven, than an infringement of this first and fundamental law of the Crea