together. His fermons to young people are fcarce and valuable, and his "Chriftian Temper" is one of the best practical pieces in our language.

WRIGHT, has great fimplicity, and awful folemnity. His writings compofe the thoughts, and gradually elevate them. His heads are diftinct, and his sentences comprehenfive. His words are elegant and well chofen, but cadence is little regarded. He is always mafter of himself. He gives plain intimation of many thoughts fuppreffed. His fentiments are candid and rational. His "Book of Regeneration," is remarkably acceptable, and one of the most useful publications of the age. His "Deceitfulness of Sin" fhews great knowledge of mankind, and is admirably adapted to prevent the ruin of young people, many inftances of which were before his eyes. His "Great Concern" is very comprehenfive, and much preferable to the "Whole duty of Man." His fubfequent treatifes are not fo valuable, nor his collection of fcripture fo judicious as was expected.

WATTS, is exceedingly different from Wright. His ftyle is harmonious, florid, poetical and pathetick; yet too diffufe. He has too many words, especially in his laft works, and his former are rather overloaded with epithets, yet on the whole they are excellent. All his writings are worth reading, but I most admire his first volume of fermons, "Death and Heaven," "The Love of God," and "Humble Attempt," not to mention his incomparable "Lyrick Poems," and "Hymns."

GROVE refembles Watts, but is not equally poetical. He has many judicious and new thoughts, Vol. I. No. 4.

W

great ferioufnefs, and, in former pieces, fweetnefs; but his latter pieces are foured by his exceffive averfion to calvinifm. His "Friendly Monitor," "Book on Secret Prayer," and several fermons are very valuable; and also his book on the "Sacrament," though much exceeded by Henry and Earl, for common use.

HENRY, is very peculiar; his ftyle is concife and pointed, he has many antithefes and little fancies, his heads beginning with the fame letters, or chiming words, yet fometimes naturally. His has great seriousness, and many fprightly thoughts, digefted in very good order. His "Commentary" is excellent, though rather too large, and his interpretations, though judicious, have too much of the typical and allegorical. His "Notes on Hiftory," and the "Import of original Words," are the most entertaining things, taken from Patrick, Pool, Jofephus, Calvin, and many more; defpifed by thofe only, who do not know them. His difcourfes on "Meekness," "The Sacrament," and "Early Piety," are very good. His ftyle is formed on fcripture, to which he has many allufions.

EARL. Judicious and pathetick, and his ftyle laconick. He wrote little, excepting a treatise on the facrament, which is excellent. In the margin of his other pieces, he has many claffick quotations.

BRADBURY. His method is by no means accurate; but with many weak arguments, he has fprightly turns of wit, and num. berlefs allufions to fcripture. His "Chriftian's Joy in finishing his Courfe," and "Sermon on the 5th Nov." are his best performances.

BOYSE, is the diffenting Scat,

but much more polite. His lan guage is plain and more nervous, than Evans, elfe greatly refembling him. His matter is excellently digefted, and he has a vast number of thoughts. His fermons feem a contraction of fome judicious treatise, and often are fo. The fecond volume of his fermons, and his difcourfe on the "Four last things" are his chief practical works, and all deferve attentive and repeated reading.

BENNET is plain, ferious, and fpiritual, but flat. His "Quotations from Modern Writers," are good; his "Chriftian Orator" is almost his only piece, which had been better had it been lefs.

HARRIS was reckoned the greatest master of the English tongue among the diffenters. His ftyle is plain and eafy, his thoughts fubftantial, but feldom uncommon; he has nothing to blame nor very much to admire. See his "Difcourfes on the Meffiah."

JENNINGS, is methodical, plain, and ferious, has fome pretty turns of thought, and is very evangelical. On the whole he is the Flavel of the prefent age, only much more polite, and in a great meafure free from Flavel's faults; fee his "Sermons to young people," and alfo thofe in the "Berry Street Lecture," which are the glory of the book, and very much to the honour of the author.

GROVENER, was a most popular preacher, in whofe compofitions there is a strange mixture of the pathetick and familiar, with many ftrong figures of fpeech, efpecially dialogiíms beyond any writer of the age; fee his fermon on "The Temper and Name of Jefus," his "Mourner," and "Efay on Health."

To the above authors the tranfcriber adds,

DODDRIDGE; An author, who for juftness and fprightlinefs of thought, clearness of method, propriety and beauty of style is equal, if not fuperior, to any of the foregoing. His writings befpeak him to be a gentleman, a fcholar, and a lively christian. His free thoughts, written in a genteel and handsome manner, are a fine fpecimen of purity, and elegance of language. He is remarkably happy in the introduction of his pieces; his fermons on education, and that on perfecu tion, are the best on thofe fubjects; thofe on the evidences of chriftianity give an admirable, though compendious view of the argument; thofe On Regeneration are excellent, but his "Rfe and Progrefs" is most admired, and is indeed one of the best and most useful books, that this or perhaps any age has produced. His great work is the "Family Expofitor," in which both the fcholar and chriftian will find the richest entertainment. All his works have met with a most remarkable acceptance, many of them have been tranflated into feveral languages, and will doubtless be held in the highest eftimation, while good fenfe, candour or religion have any esteem among us. (To be continued.)

For the Panoplist. ON THE DANGER OF BEING HARDENED

THRO' THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN.

SIN is the oppofite of holinefs and, as the latter is often defcribed under the figure of light, the former is fitly reprefented by darkness. The deceitfulness of fin was made to appear, as foon as it was introduced into this

world. The tempter, the father of lies, faid to our first parents, "Ye shall not furely die." They ate, and no fooner did they eat, than they experienced the deceit fulness of fin. The alluring bait, laid before them, effected their ruin. In the moment of tranfgreffing, they loft, what all the world could not make up to them, the enjoyment of God. Instead of poffeffing uprightness of intention, they were brought under the influence of a "deceived heart." This deceived heart led them to fhun the light, and to refort to refuges of lies.

Viewing fin as that, which blinds the mind, it is eafy to conceive that it has a direct tendency to deftroy our happiness in this life, and to make us wretched in the life to come. Our minds are formed to be continually progreffing either in fin or holiness. If they are illuminated by the spirit of God, we grow in grace and in the knowledge of divine things; but, if they are under the influence of finful lufts, we are continually making advances in wickedness, and growing more and more hardened in the way of deftruction. While we are in a state of nature, unbelief is always gaining ftrength, and our hearts are gathering hardness, like the clay, which is expofed to the penetrating rays of the fummer's fun. With respect to our characters, we are never stationary. We are adding, every day of our lives, to that folemn account, which we muft fhortly render to Him, who has been dealing out mercies to us, from the commencement of our existence, and whofe faithfulnefs has been expreffed to us in seasonable warnings and corrections. With whatever scenes we are converfant, with whatever

company we affociate, and whatever are the exercises of our minds, our characters are continually forming. How great the danger of living only to fill up the measure of our iniquity, and of fuffering ourselves to be hardened through the deceitfulness of fin!

It may here be obferved,

1. There is danger, through the deceitfulness of fin, of our becoming hardened in oppofition to the effential doctrines of the gofpel.

Although the depravity of men has its feat in the heart, and not in the reafoning powers, yet, through the corruption of the heart, their understanding becomes

darkened. Whatever they are unwilling to believe, they are eafily perfuaded to reject. They will boldly reprobate, as unworthy of their belief, truths, which are infinitely interesting to them, merely because they are not congenial to their felfish hearts. It is owing to the deceitfulness of fin, that fo many of the prefent inhabitants of the earth are living in the belief of grefs errours. Light has been exhibited to the world; but, depraved men have loved darkness rather than light. Nations, which have been favoured with the pure and fublime truths of God's word, have exchanged them for errours, and plunged into the darkness of heathenifm. The truth of this obfervation is ftrikingly evinced by the history of the defcendants of Noah. This preacher of righteousness was in poffeffion of divine truth, and he faithfully proclaimed it to his children; but, they, at leaft the moft of his immediate defcend. ants, fuffered themselves to be hardened, through the deceitful.

nefs of fin. Of course, idolatrous nations foon fprang from his loins. This event is recorded on the pages of the infpired volume, as a monument of the unteachableness of men. We may learn from it what blindness fin infufes into the mind.

Blinded by fin, men are now putting darkness for light, and light for darknefs. While they profefs to receive the bible, as being a revelation from God, they explode many of its diftinguishing doctrines, and labour to modify others, until they make it contain little or nothing, which condemns the natural pride and selfishness of their hearts. The thought of departing from the truth may, at first, be alarming to them, and may fubject them to many painful upbraidings of confcience; but, through the deceitfulness of fin, they foon become hardened in oppofition to all the foul humbling doctrines of the gospel. It is furprifing to think with what greediness depraved men drink in errours, and how artfully and perfeveringly they labour to extinguish the light of divine truth. When they venture to take one ftep in the path of errour, they are infenfibly led to take others; until it becomes manifeft, that the effential doctrines of chriftianity no longer have a place in their

creed.

2. Men are liable, through the deceitfulness of fin, to be hardened in the neglect of plain and pofitive duties.

The influence of a religious ed ucation, on the confcience, is not commonly deftroyed at once. But, though it may, at first, give the wicked fome pain to neglect a plain and pofitive duty; yet, through the deceitfulness of fin, all this pain will foon be removed,

and the heart will become nearly as hard and unimpreffible as the flinty rock, though all duties are neglected. Thofe truths, which deeply affected the minds of the wicked, when they were young, are often heard, in their more advanced years, with few or no feelings of anxiety. They, who have grown old in fin, will fit and hear the most powerful preaching, without any apparent perturbation; while children and youth, under the fame inftruction, will tremble and burst into tears. This is an evidence of the increasing hardness of men's hearts. Sinners, who have paffed through the periods of childhood and youth, and whofe heads, by reafon of age, begin to incline toward the grave, have long been accustomed to hear the strictnefs of God's law, and the greatnefs of its penalty; they have long been accustomed to hear the plain and positive duties of the gospel ftated, and, through the deceitfulness of fin, they now hear them stated, without any special emotions. These duties, which were inculcated upon them in the houfes of their education, and which they, at first, neglected with pain, are difpenfed with, as they grow old in fin, without much remorse. Corresponding with this idea, affecting as it is, are the words of the divine Saviour to the unbelieving and hardened Jews. "For judgment am I come into this world: that they, which fee not might fee; and that they, which fee, might be made blind."

3. Through the deceitfulness of fin, there is danger of being hardened under the folemn warnings of Providence.

On all minds afflictions have one of two effects, they either harden or foften. Under the rod

of correction, perfons of humbled hearts are made more humble, while the wicked increase in ftupidity. Children and youth are often much more fenfibly impretfed on funeral occafions, and at the houses of the dying, than thofe, who are old in fin. The former, after attending the folemnities of a funeral, or witneffing the dying agonies of a fellow mortal, are often fo affected, as to have many ferious hours and fleepless nights. As they advance in years, and become more converfant with fuch fcenes, impreffions of this kind, through the deceitfulness of fin, are more faintly made. Hence there is great danger of living in the world, of feeing much, and of having much done for us, only to be hardened in fin.

4. Through the deceitfulness of fin, men are prone to be hardened in the practice of vice.

Sin, unless fubdued by the fpecial power and grace of God, is continually gaining strength, as we advance in life. No fooner do perfons begin to indulge in vice, than they begin to fee it lofe its frightful appearance. In the first inftances of yielding to temp. tation, they experience the fevere upbraidings of confcience, and feel the force of many restraints; but, by perfifting in vicious practices, they gradually ftifle their confciences, and become more and more blind to their characters, and to the danger, to which they are expofed. They become fo hardened, that they can deliberately do things, the thought of which would once have made them fhudder. How hardened, for inftance, the intemperate man appears, after he has, for fome time, practifed the fin of exceffive drinkng. When he first broke over

restraints, he had to struggle against many diftreffing feelings, occafioned by his folly, and he was tender and affected, when feriously addreffed on the fubject; but, by the repetition of the crime, he has become fo hardened, that nothing appears to touch his heart. The fame obfervations might be made in regard to all vicious practices; the longer they are indulged, the more blindness appears to be on the minds of thofe, who fuffer themselves to fall under their influence.

5. Through the deceitfulness of fin, there is danger of becoming hardened in view of the awful realities of a future day of judg ment.

Few perfons in this land of gofpel inftruction, pafs through the feafon of youth, without having their moments and hours of fober reflection. Their confciences are tender, and often greatly awakened. To think ferioufly of death, judgment, and eternity makes them feel folemn ; but, as they grow into years, though they may poffibly have more frequent feafons of meditat ing on these things, yet, if they remain under the dominion of fin, they generally meditate on them with lefs feeling. It is the nature of fin to make the heart more callous, and more unimpreffible. Therefore, unnatural as it may appear, as finners draw nearer to the judgment feat of Christ, their hearts, through the deceitfulness of fin, are gathering hardness.

The attentive and candid reader of this paper will, it is prefumed, call to mind, and feel the force of, the following words of the apostle Paul in his epiftle to the Hebrews. "But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; left any of you be hardened