revenge, are held forth as noble and honourable ; whilst the virtues of humility, meekness, forbearance, and forgiveness, are despised, as indications of a weak and cowardly disposition. As formerly neither the Greeks nor Romans had a word in their language whereby to express the true notion of humility, so now the very idea of humility, as enjoined in the Christian code, never enters into the mind of an unconverted man, unless it be to load it with ridicule and contempt.
Go we, further, to religion? That is considered as consisting in little more than a profession of certain tenets, and an observance of certain forms. The entire devotion of the soul to God is deemed a foolish and culpable excess, the effect of needless timidity or of enthusiastic ardour : and, to countenance these ideas, harsh and offensive names are used to charac- terize all true piety; whilst every thing contrary to the Divine commands, is palliated with soft names and plausible excuses.
In a word, the Scripture itself describes the heart of man in this precise view, as " calling evil good, and good evil ; as putting darkness for light, and light for darkness ; as putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter a."
Proceed we then, next, to observe, that the heart keeps out of view the tendency of things. Let us instance this in relation to sin. Who, on his first entrance on a sinful course, imagines whither his vicious propensities will lead him ? He thinks of a present gratification, but does not consider that sin is " like the letting out of water; ""and that the smallest breach in a bank opens the way for the most exten- sive inundation. If a thought of our final account occur to the mind, the heart suggests, that the sin may be repented of with ease, and that there is no just reason to be afraid of its consequences; notwith- standing its uniform tendency is, to harden the heart, to sear the conscience, to grieve and quench the Holy Spirit of God, and to rivet upon our souls the
a Isai. v. 20.