which I call his moral image, we bear no resemblance to him whatever. Our understanding is blinded, so that, instead of approving God's revealed will, we turn away from it with dislike. His law, as contained in the Ten Commandments, is deemed by us unne- cessarily strict ; and the sanctions by which it is enforced are regarded as needlessly severe. His very Gospel, which is the result of his eternal counsels, and contains in it " all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge^" is treated by us as a cunningly devised fable. To the self-righteous amongst us, it is a stumbling-block ; and to those who are wise in their own conceit, it is mere foolishness. We are, both in heart and life, altogether opposed to it. In our eyes sin has no deformity, and holiness no beauty. Com- munion with God affords us no pleasure. Prayer and praise are exercises which are a burthen to us, rather than a delight ; and instead of walking in constant and familiar intercourse with God, as Adam did before the fall, we flee from him, as Adam did after his transgression, and rather hide ourselves from him as an enemy, than go forth to meet him as a friend.
But " is it 1 who say this ; or saith not the Scrip- ture the same alsoh?" God's own account of us is, that " when he looked down from heaven upon men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek after God, they were all gone aside, they were all together become filthy, there was not one that did good, no, not one1." He further adds, that " every imagination of the thoughts of men's hearts was only evil continually1"." Nor let it be supposed that this was descriptive only of some more flagrant trans- gressors who lived at one particular age or place : for the Apostles themselves, previous to their conversion, were of this very character, as St. Paul most candidly confesses. Speaking of those " who walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in all the children of disobedience," he says, " Among
b Col. ii. 3. h 1 Cor. ix. 8.
1 Ps. xiv. 2, 3. with Rom. iii. 10—18. k Gen. vi. 5.