rendering the whole current of thought foreign to recognition of such dependence; so that, even if an acknowledgement of it were made in words, it would be but a vapid and heartless admission of an unfelt truth.

Another cause, producing this state of mind is, that, in the machinery of government, second causes present a prominent and imposing aspect; so that the mind is in danger of resting in them. So much skill may be shown in bringing these second causes to bear on particular courses of policy, so much knowledge of human nature may be exhibited in touching the springs of society, so as to produce the desired effect, and so magnificent are sometimes the results of such skill and knowledge, that we are dazzled by the brilliancy of the display, and forget that "except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Thus the success of a plan of national policy, instead of leading to gratitude, often promotes self-confidence, and weakens or destroys the sense of accountability.

To the deplorable disposition to keep out of sight the relation of nations to God, as their governor, may be traced many prominent defects, both in the theory and the practice of legislation. A fair view of a subject can be taken only from a point which commands the whole field of investigation. If, in our theory of legislation, we leave God out of sight, our conclusions cannot fail to be incorrect. A striking illustration of this is furnished by those writers on political economy who have attempted to explain the respective duties of rulers and subjects, by referring to what they call the social compact. Forgetting or disregarding the declaration of holy writ, that "the powers that be are ordained of God," they labor to show that there is an implied contract between the individuals of a community, by which they have agreed to become an organized political body; and, as such, to submit to the restraints of government. The uncertainty and indefiniteness which mark this theory, and its utter want of power over the conscience, stand in vivid contrast to the simplicity, and definiteness, and power, which characterize the declarations of Scripture on this subject. Not less injurious is the influence of this principle on practical legislation. We see in it a fruitful cause of fickleness in the enacting of laws, and of temporizing and faithlessness in the execution of them. Instead of looking upon themselves as agents, commissioned by

the all-wise ruler of the nations to carry out his plans, and bound to act in accordance with the directions which he has given, legislators have, to a great extent, regarded themselves as the absolute originators of legislation. Systems of policy, instead of resting on the immutable and universal principles of moral rectitude, have been based on doubtful views of temporary expediency, or narrow notions of local advantage. The plan of God's government is uniform and consistent throughout; every part, adapted to every other part, and to the whole. Hence, its stability. When men fall in with that plan, something of the same stability will be found in human legislation. But so long as legislators form their plans and enact laws without considering whether they coincide or not with the plans of the infinite ruler, legislation will be of a confused, indefinite, piece-meal character; interposing an absurd statute here, to counteract the evils of an equally absurd one there; and apparently aiming to compensate by the quantity of legislation, for the deficiency in quality. When two separate plans, arranged on different principles, and aiming at different results, exert their influence upon the same subjects, their operation cannot be harmonious; and the plan which is formed with the greatest wisdom, and carried into effect with the greatest power, will of course, thwart the action of the other, whenever they come into collision. Thus it is that legislators are so often compelled by unforeseen occurrences to alter their plans; and, like the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, to interweave cycles and epicycles in order to explain intricacies, which exist not in the plan of the great Lawgiver, but only in the deviations of human systems from that plan.

The second leading idea of our author is, that God deals with nations as with individuals. This truth is happily exhibited and clearly illustrated, and the perfect unity of individual and national morality is presented in a striking light. It would be well, if it were more generally felt, that what is sin in one man is sin in a nation. We are prone to imagine, that when the guilt of a community is divided among the members of that community, the share of each individual must be very small. But in the view of God it may be, and doubtless, often is far otherwise. If the members of a community individually give their assent to any measure which involves national guilt;-how much, in the view of "him who searcheth the heart," does the guilt of each individual

differ from the whole amount of guilt attached to that measure? And although it is impossible for us to determine who or how many are involved in the guilt of any iniquitous national act, or to proportion the guilt rightly among the delinquents; yet, God is abundantly able to do so. The light of that day which will "try the secrets of every heart," will make the justice of his decisions manifest to the universe. It would, doubtless, be gross injustice to charge the guilt of every national sin on all the individuals of the nation by which that sin was committed. Still, such guilt is generally chargeable on many, besides the immediate actors. They whose influence has tended to create or strengthen in the public mind feelings leading to the commission of a particular national sin, or to increase that torpidity in the public conscience which encouraged and emboldened the immediate actors in it, unquestionably share in the guilt of it. Nor can those be acquitted, who saw the increasing corruption of public sentiment, and yet did not exert themselves to arrest the progress of national depravity. To contemplate the increase of national guilt without regret, and yet to be unwilling to make any effort to arrest it, indicates a state of feeling which Infinite Benevolence surely cannot regard as guiltless.

Our author next considers the manner in which nations are punished for their sins. In this connection, he first notices the relation of national sin and national ruin, as cause and effect; and then adverts to the judgments of God, inflicted on account of national transgressions. It cannot be doubted that there are national sins, which, when indulged, are surer agents of national ruin than any external causes. It was justly said of the Roman empire, that "she could not perish, till she had ruined herself;" and she did ruin herself most effectually. Our author happily illustrates the nature of national judgments, and the place which they hold in the government of God. The following remarks on the relation which successive generations in the same nation bear to each other, are highly appropriate :

"The life of a nation is a unity and continuity of generations. It is made up of a stream of existence, in which you cannot mark the point where one generation begins and another ends; like a woven fabric, in which you cannot tell where one thread ends or passes into another. There are habits of opinion, feeling and conduct, therefore, that belong to the same nation for ages, and in reference to which the whole continuous stream of generations, from beginning to end must be judged ;

just as the responsibility of every part of a man's course of conduct is his own, through his whole life."

In connection with these remarks, it is interesting to observe the correspondence between the dealings of God with nations and with individuals. In Jeremiah 18, God says, "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to płuck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them." In the 18th chapter of Ezekiel, we find the same principle stated in relation to individuals: "When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die." If the individuals of a nation defend the guilty acts of their ancestors, they are, in the eye of God, sharers in the guilt of those acts; and, therefore, deserve to be involved in whatever punishment that guilt incurs. On the other hand, if they regard the sins committed by their nation in an earlier period of its existence, as furnishing just cause for national humiliation, then do they place themselves, so far as those sins are concerned, in the posture of a penitent nation; and they may justly rely upon the promise made to Jeremiah. True, they may be guilty of other sins, which will draw down the judgments of God. He may even use the sins of their forefathers as instruments of their punishment; but the evils which would have been inflicted on account of those sins which they have forsaken, will be averted.

It is often regarded as mysterious, that individuals are not unfrequently involved in the punishment of sins, in which they had no part. Thus, in national punishments, the sins of a former generation are sometimes visited upon a succeeding one; or, in the language of holy writ, God "visits the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him." On this subject, Mr. Cheever justly remarks, that "in all such cases it is to be remembered that the suffering inflicted, though produced by the sins of others, falls not upon the guiltless, but upon those who deserve it all, and more than all, on account of

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their own sins, and oftentimes by similar transgressions." This view of the subject is very important in forming correct apprehensions of the divine administration. God is a sovereign, but not a despot. On the contrary, as was well remarked by the late Dr. Payson, "the will of God is the perfection of reason." Under the government of such a Being, punishment will be inflicted in such a way as will most effectually accomplish the object aimed at; but, at the same time, its infliction will be in perfect accordance with the principles of justice. Our Saviour told the Jews that on them would come all the righteous blood shed since the foundation of the world; but to these same Jews he said, that they "allowed the deeds of their fathers." They were not punished for the sins of their fathers, but for cherishing the same spirit and acting on the same principles, that led to the commission of those sins. By timely repentance and reformation they might have avoided that punishment; else, why did the Saviour say, "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace,' etc.? But there are instances in which judgments inflicted on the wicked, involve those who had no share in the sins. which were the procuring cause of those judgments. In relation to such cases, it should be borne in mind, as our author suggests, that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," and that, therefore, all deserve punishment; and God may rightly, if he sees fit, use the sins of one individual or nation to punish those of another individual or nation. He has often done so. Thus the sins of Saul not only brought ruin upon himself and his family, but spread desolation through the kingdom of Israel, as a just retribution for their wickedness in asking a king. When we see those who appear to us comparatively innocent involved in the punishments inflicted upon the manifestly guilty, we should remember that "God seeth not as man seeth," and that he may see hardened obstinacy and daring rebellion, where we see little or nothing to censure. And even where the blow falls on those who are reckoned among the excellent of the earth, we should guard, on the one hand, against the error of those who, in beholding such things, are ready to say, "The Lord hath forsaken the earth;" and, on the other, against that of Job's three friends, who regarded his afflictions as a sure indication of aggravated, but concealed guilt.