temptations to vice are much fewer; their motives and encouragements to holiness are much stronger. Had the situations of each been reversed, and over these they had no controul, their conduct, and the consequences of their conduct, would also have been reversed. Are these to be eternally excluded from the occasions and situations, which might be productive of infinite advantages? Are such inequalities in the destiny of men to be everlasting? Is this to be expected from the univers! father; or consistent with that nice balance of distributive justice, which our future judge assures us will be observed in the world of retribution?Again,

The doctrine of the never-ceasing misery of the wicked, and also that of their final annihilation, plunges a large diversity of characters into one common ruin. Those who are not prepared for the perfection of bliss, must be consigned over to everlasting condemnation. A system this, in which no human intellect can discover either wisdom, justice, or mercy. All is confusion and amazement! No indemnification can be admitted for those unequal distributions of Providence, which are incessantly the subjects of surprise or complaint! No diversity of treatment, accord

ing to gradations of demerit! No opportunities of reform can be allowed to those, who, according to the declaration of our Saviour, would have repented, if such opportunities had been enjoyed! These doctrines terminate for ever the plan of Providence respecting the whole human race. They enable us to judge of the whole; and we cannot forbear lamenting its obvious imperfections. Even a peradventure is precluded by an assumed certainty, from which there can be -no appeal. A possibility of a more desirable issue would, at least, alleviate despair, suspend objections, and inspire some distant hope, that as the judge of all the earth must do right, this right will ultimately be beneficial to the whole universe of God.

If the eternal misery of any portion of the human species, or their final destruction, after sufferings to which there are no parallels upon earth, be doctrines according to truth, then is the propagation of the human species to be placed among the most atrocious of crimes. No man who pretends to justice or humanity would purchase a transient gratification, under the possibility of involving any other persons in absolute ruin. A probability of this, would render him highly culpable; and a certainty would excite

indignation. But for any one to expose his own offspring to such wretchedness, would be an enormity that wants a name. The malignity of vice consists in the evil it produces; and its malignity increases in exact proportion to the number, greatness, and perpetuity of these evils. A parent who seeks his own gratifications, to the cold neglect of his children, respecting the comforts of this life, is despised; and should he indulge himself, under a certainty of their being exposed to great and terrible misfortunes, he would be deemed a monster. But how trivial and insignificant the crime of inducing such evils, compared with that which is committed by the zealous advocates for the misery, or even the painful destruction, of myriads of the human race, when, by their connubial engagements, they augment the number? How shameful the indulgence of those passions, which bring into existence beings who are born under the wrath of God, and natural heirs of eternal damnation! It is well known that the grace of God does not operate according to blood. It is acknowledged, that the most religious education will not ensure the eternal welfare of their offspring; and, should their offspring be numerous, they cannot, in consistency with their principles, expect the salvation of all, or of the greater number. How

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more than rash, how sinful, must be their conduct, who seek their own personal gratifications, with such a risk, with such a barbarous foresight? with the moral certainty that they are propagating the misery of those very beings, for whom they feel such strong affections; and for whose felicity they would sacrifice their own lives! Let them compare the horrid evils they perpetuate, with the momentary injuries induced by the voluptuary, in his greatest excesses! If they appreciate character and conduct according to these principles, they will either be compelled to consider celibacy as an incumbent duty, or to renounce their creed! To conclude,

It is in the nature of benevolence to desire the happiness of others. It is in the nature of benevolence to expand to universality. It cannot be confined to parties, to numbers, to the rigid claims of right, or to our immediate connections in the social intercourse. Its sphere of action is unlimited; and it spreads in every direction, True benevolence, although it hath the least of Self in its motives, is more productive of self complacency than any other moral principle. This complacency accompanies our ardent desires to do good; it accompanies the perception of an adaptation of our plans to the accomplishment of the object; and it accom-,

panies the benefits derived from success. Should human weakness, or human imperfections, render our benevolent designs abortive, self-complacency will still remain to soothe our regret at the failure. A benevolent heart is the choicest gift of heaven; for it is most useful to others, and most conducive to the enjoyments of the possessor. What the Deity has thus communicated to man, he possesses and enjoys in the richest abundance. It constitutes the perfection of his character: and must be the choicest ingredient in his felicity. To imitate this attribute to the utmost in our power, is the only method in which we can attempt to obey the commands of our Saviour, "be ye perfect, as your father who is in heaven is perfect." When it is asserted that the Deity is independent of his creatures for happiness, and when his felicity is ascribed to the contemplation of his own perfections, it cannot be supposed that he would have been eternally and equally happy, had no creature existed, to whom he could have imparted happiness. For it is impossible to conceive from what sources his supreme felicity could be derived, exclusive of his relative character. Without this, he would dwell in solitude, inhabiting the immensity of space, immutably inactive, destitute of plan or