man as the Apostle is supposed by some to personate, coincided with his reason and conscience, approving the right, and condemning the wrong, he could not transgress, because all his powers of moral action would unite their forces on the side of obedience. If, again, his reason and conscience concurred in the rebellion of his will, he would have no remorse, because all his powers would be on the side of disobedience. In either case there could be no conflict. As reason and Conscience, therefore, are supposed to declare for the law of God, the will, in order to create a conflict, must declare against it. Such is the fact with respect to the misgivings and self-condemnations of an unrenewed man. But, then, this is not the man whom the Apostle describes: for he asserts peremptorily and repeatedly, that his will is on the side of the divine law-I WOULD do good-To WILL is present with me.

Further Carnal reason, or, which is the same thing, the reason of a carnal man, is as opposite to the spiriiuality of God's law, as carnal appetite to its obligation. The carnal mind is ENMITY against God, for it is NOT SUBJECT to the LAW of God, neither indeed CAN be. Many of the most provoking and destructive sins partake less of sense than of intellect; nay, are cherished by corrupt reason, and are even at war with the sensual appetite. Among the "works of the flesh," are, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, vain glory,† pride, &c.--most of which can be committed by the devils, who have no sensual appetites, but which suppose the corruption and the corrupt agency of the rational faculties. Carnal reason, therefore (that is, the reason of a carnal man) although it may condemn particular enormities, is itself a part of the flesh which we are commanded to crucify; and consequently, the Apostle cannot express, by this term, the sensual appetite, as distinguished from the rational faculty.

*Rom. viii. 7. † Gal. v. 20, 21, 29.

And if we allow him to interpret himself, he will contradict the sense which has been forced upon his words. In a passage which he addresses to Christians, as such, and which cannot, with any shew of argument, be applied to carnal men, he says, "The FLESH lusteth against the SPIRIT, and the SPIRIT against the FLESH, and these are CONTRARY the 'one to the other; so that ye CANNOT do the things that ye woULD. If the flesh, then, signifies sensual appétité in a carnal man, the spirit must mean his reason and conscience. And this would not only destroy all propriety of phrase, and the distinction between gracious and graceless character, but would involve the most absurd construction of Scripture. For example, the Apostle Jude describes the scoffers as SENSUAL, not having the SPIRIT.§ Now if spirit, opposed, as it certainly is here, to sensuality, be equivalent to reason and conscience, then the Apostle denies to scoffers the possession of rational or moral faculties. It will be of no avail to object, that he speaks of the spirit of God-The conclusion is still good, for that which is born of the spirit, is spirit; and whatever opposes him who begat, will equally oppose that which is begotten of him-So that if spirit does not mean reason and conscience, then flesh, which is contrary to the former, does not mean sensual appetite, as contrary to the latter.

In short, flesh, according to apostolic usage, is synonimous with the "old man," with the "body of sin," and the "body of death;" that is, it expresses the principle of depravity, as opposed to a principle of holiness-And by no other sense of it, can the word of God be rendered consistent with itself, or with the experience of his people.

[To be continued.]

"O TEMPORA! O MORES!"

O the Times! Alas! the Depravation of Morals!

T

[Extract from a Missionary Journal.]

HURSDAY, I was in

As I was coming

out of this village, I had a view of the following picture of the depravation of morals, and the low state of religion in this part of the country.

I passed two or three men in the street-I did not know them, but supposed they belonged to some of the adjacent settlements. They were drinking whisky tas I took it) out of a quart mug. One of them, in way of buffoonery, asked me to drink-Upon my refusing, he said, "Then go to hell!"--I was now inquiring at the stores for a Bible. There are four stores in this village, and these supply, not only the villagers, but the country for a considerable distance around, with their goods. I went to them all, but there was not a Bible to be found at one of them, though they were crowded with a fresh supply of goods. At the Jast store where I called, I found a man-whether belonging to the village, or some of the back settlements, I cannot tell he was standing in the door, and heard the merchant tell me he had no Bibles-He said, he wished he had his Bible there; he would sell it to me, for he did not want it. The keeper of this store said, he believed there never had been any Bibles brought into the place. Somebody, standing by, mentioned a particular store, which, when it was first opened, had Bibles for sale. This store was opened several years ago. One of the merchants belonging to it, had previously informed me, that he was quite disappointed in the sale of this part of his merchandise-that instead of a ready market, he found no sale for them, but kept them on hand for sometime, and then was obliged to let them go at first cost.

These things arrested my attention, in some measure while I was passing from store to store in pursuit of a Bible: But when I had gotten out of the village, I found my mind in a deeper study, pondering over the things which I had seen and heard. Such reflections as these arose in my mind-With what contempt is the word of God treated! God has been so kind as to give us a light to our feet, and a lamp to guide our way through this dark wilderness; but surely we have chosen darkness rather than light. The whole volume of divine truth, which teaches all things necessary for us to know, to render us useful here, and happy in eternity, can be bought for the small sum of eighty or a hundred cents; yet among so many hundred people as are dependent upon these stores, no one wants to buy. This is proved by the merchants not having them to sell, from year to year. This seems to be confirmed by the man who owns a Bible, which, perhaps, was given him by his good father, now offering to sell it, declaring he did not want it. What is the reason, said I, why people have no money to lay out in buying Bibles? What is the reason they have no more inclination to lay it out in this way? Here a recollection of the men with the mug of whisky, in part, furnished an answer to my difficulty. I am told, these merchants distil an amazing quantity of this liquor every year. This is all sold off-not a gallon is left over to another year. This, together with something to clothe and adorn the body, takes all the money. Besides, men who drink much of this intoxicating liquor, have not much taste for reading that holy book, which, with the weight of divine authority, commands them to be temperate in all things; and which expressly saith, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

My mind was led to reflect upon the great alteration which true Religion will make in every thing. Among other things, what an alteration it will make in merchants' stores. In the Millenium, will not our merchandise be holiness to the Lord? Will it not then consist more of such articles as manifest, that holy entertainment and real usefulness have taken the ascendancy of pride, fancy, and sensual delights? Millenium or not, this I am sure of, that if the good old practice of using the Scriptures in schools, and of furnishing our daughters with this invaluable part of furniture, at the time of their marriage, were still kept up, the merchants of would never bring another assortment of goods, without having Bibles in their invoice.

Extract from the Journal of one of the Missionaries in the new Settlements.

Monday.-I HAD intimate discourse with a man who has once professed religion, but who evidently lives without any now. There are a good many such cases in these new settlements, of persons who professed religion and kept up religious duties, in the places from which they removed, but upon coming into the wilderness, they have returned to their former prayerless way of living; as if God could not see through the thick groves. Such are commonly the most difficult men to deal with. They think they know all about what Christians call conversion. Such are twice dead and plucked up by the roots. They forget Christ's account of the stony ground hearers, and also of the foolish virgins, who had a lamp, but no oil in their vessels. Is not that a poor religion, which is lost in removing from New England into the woods of New-York? Is this like the religion of Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, and Paul?