Let us reflect for a few moments, while the reflection may yet be turned to good account, what would be our condition if this day, in which we are performing our bounden duty to our Creator, in his holy houfe, in full health and vigour, thould be the laft of the mortal pilgrimage of any individual prefent in this congregation. Are we all poffeffed of thofe pious difpofitions,-do we all live in fuch a virtuous and chriftian courfe of life as may fit us to appear in the prefence of our great and awful Judge? Is it not much rather to be feared, that confeffedly frail and finful as is every fon of fallen Adam, we should have many unmortified fins holding an unreftrained empire in our hearts, many favourite vices which "do moft eafily befet us," many fins of omifion, as well as thofe of commiffion, which would rife up in judgment against us, and condemn us. If this fhould be the cafe in any inftance, how woefully, yet, how vainly should we lament our paft folly, and how bitterly regret the mifapplication of the important hours of our prefent life, which were lent us for the express purpose of fecuring the reverfionary glories of the world to come.

Now, in order to obviate these fad effects of a fudden call to judgment to which all are expofed, it will effentially contribute to pay great attention to the three following things:-To live in the continual expectation that this event poffibly may happen to us :-To be properly prepared if it fhould really come on us:-And, to fubmit ourselves and all our concerns to the All-wife direction of that Almighty Being who knows perfectly well what is beft for us.

It may, perhaps, be objected, that a perfect acquiefcence of our own will, to that of Him who made us, is, indeed, moft ardently to be defired, but can scarcely be expected from any of the finful fons of men in its fulleft extent. This, however, appears an opinion somewhat rafhly stated, and, in confiderable oppofition to both hiftory and experience. In the inftance of Saint Paul, who faid that "to die is gain :" In that of Mofes, who received the fummons of God to go up to Mount Nebo and die there with the most perfect calmnefs and fubmiflion; and, in the cafe of many pious and exemplary characters, who have lived in or near our own times, and have fubmitted themfelves in all things to the difpofal of their Creator, we find that they have with the utmost readiness prepared themfelves, at the will of their Creator, to depart from this tranfitory state to an enduring and perfect one in the heavens above. If, in our particular case, this holy fubmiffion is not yet fully effected; if our too great attachment to the things of this world; our unfubdued paffions or appetites; or any other cause whatsoever should make us caft a look of lingering regard on this world, when a near profpect of the other is held up to our view; let us endeavour to conquer these unchriftian, these carnal attachments, and, try to "fet our affections on things above, not on things on the earth." Affuredly, wherefoever our treasure is, there will our heart be alfo; if we can, therefore, inftil into our minds a regard for heavenly things, and a correfponding indifference for things of the earth, a doctrine very frequently and very warmly preffed upon us in the facred writings, we shall find this neceffary duty will foon become both easy and pleasant to us.

It may ferve confiderably to render the performance of this duty easy to us, properly and frequently to reflect, that the Almighty Creator who ordereth all things, is poffeffed of the prerogative of knowing every thing which can befal us; and, that he is alfo endued with perfect

wifdom

ifdom and perfect goodness, the former of which will enable him to difcern what is beft for us, and the latter will dispose him to put in execution the refult of that wife forefight in our favour. If it should, therefore, be likely to ferve any good purpofe, either temporal or eternal, for us to remain longer in this prefent life, no doubt our exiflence will be prolonged by him who lent it to us; if we are arrived at that exact period of the mortal course when it would be best for us to die, furely we are deeply indebted to the Almighty for conferring upon us a blefling, even though it hould appear to thofe who fee only the furface of things a fevere difpenfation.

The fum and fubftance of the whole argument, appears to be this, that, from a deep and proper sense of the uncertain duration of our mortal exiftence, we should bend all our thoughts, our wishes, our endeavours to be conftantly properly prepared to render up the loan of life; and then, whether by the flow and gradual decay of our mortal part, or by the quick and fudden approach of the King of Terrors, we are called to depart this life, we may readily and chearfully obey the fummons. Perfectly, therefore, let us repose our truft in the God of our Salvation, and readily refign ourselves up to his all-wife direction. If we are ordained to remain long in this world, let us make the most of the precious moments allotted to us; if we are to depart foon, let us chearfully fubmit to the decree.

I am, Gentlemen, your most obedient, and very humble servant, Jan. 6, 1803. OBSERVATOR.

TO THE EDITORS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE. GENTLEMEN,

THE following letter was fent to the Editors of the Anti-Jacobin Review,

but not inferted in their work; I request the favour of you, therefore, to infert it in your's. I entertain a great refpect for the Editors of the Anti-Jacobin Review, and a high opinion of the utility of their work; but I cannot help thinking, that, after the charge which they had alledged against me, they ought to have afforded me the earliest opportunity of vindicating myself. To render my letter more intelligible to thofe who may not have seen the criticism referred to, I find it neceffary to make a few verbal alterations, and to infert a few additional paffages. I am, Gentlemen, yours, &c.

Rempftone, Jan. 6, 1803.

E. PEARSON.

TO THE EDITORS OF THE ANTI-JACOBIN REVIEW.
GENTLEMEN,

IN your number for November, 1802, p. 263, where you review my Annotations on Dr. Paley's Philofophy, after quoting my recommendation of a paffage in Bishop Butler's fermon on Refentment, you add, "We call upon Mr. Pearfon-we most folemnly call upon him, to explain himself. Unquestionably God made man in his own image; but man fell! and his fall was a total degradation of his nature. At first, he was all purity! he was afterwards all corruption!! But we cannott-we difdain to proceed." The respect which I entertain for you, induces me to pay that attention to your call which I fhould not pay to the call of the conductors of every review, and to engage in the attempt to explain myself.

The paffage to which you refer is this: "I recommend the attentive perufal of thefe fermons (meaning Dr. Hey's two fermons on the nature of Malevolent Sentiments, and Bishop Butler's fermon on Resentment), and more especially of the laft, to those pious and well-meaning writers of the prefent day, who, in their zeal against vice, are fo apt to indulge them felves in invectives against human nature. I do not mean any offence, when I advise them to keep the following paffage, in particular, written in letters of gold, always hanging before their eyes in their feveral places of study: "Men may speak of the degeneracy and corruption of the world, according to the experience they have had of it; but human nature, confidered as the Divine workmanship, should, methinks, be treated as facred, for in the image of God made he man."

My meaning here was, and probably the meaning of Bishop Butler was the fame, not to deny the depravation of human nature by the fall, but merely to guard against thofe mifreprefentations refpecting it which frequently occur in Calviniftic writers, and by which, at the expence of the gratitude due to the gracious Author of our being, they furnish men with excufes for their own voluntary faults; nor have I any hefitation in saying, that the pious and well-meaning writers (for fuch I really confider them) whom I had more particularly in view, when I recommended this paffage, were Mr. Wilberforce and Mrs. Hannah More. When, even in countries profeffing Chriftianity, we fpeak of men as they actually are, we can fcarcely, I think, defcribe their degeneracy and corruption in terms too ftrong for the occafion; for, while I have a better opinion of human nature than the Calvinifts feem to have, I probably have a worse opinion of men themselves, even in what is fometimes mifcalled their functified ftate. Notwithstanding the many happy effects of the gofpel relation, the defcription which St. Paul has left us of the heathen world may with too much justice be applied to the world as it is at prefent. But, when we fpeak of human nature as the "divine workmanship," that is, when we fpeak of men as they are born into the world, before they fuffer themselves to be corrupted by bad examples, or "drawn away of their own lusts, and enticed," we ought to hold a different language, and to have regard to the caution which St. James has given us, not to caft the blame of our fins on our Maker. Though the image of God in man was defaced by the fall, it was not entirely destroyed; and, if you had recollected, that, fubfequently to the fall, and even to the deluge, the fcriptures (Gen. ix. 6.) apply this honourable defcription to man, you would not have been fo indignant at the prefent application of it, nor have seen any just reason for “difdaining to proceed."

I adopted and recommended, then, the fentiment of Bishop Butler, because I supposed him to have the fame notions refpecting human nature as I fuppofe our Saviour to have had, when, fpeaking of little children, he said, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." Our Saviour urges on men the neceffity of converfion, in order to their becoming worthy members of that kingdom, from the confideration of their being to unlike to what they were when they came into the world: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye fhall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” This he would hardly have done, if he had confidered human nature to have fuffered according to the strong terms used by you on the occafion, a "total degradation," and to have been made "all corruption" by the fall. I have, however, no difinclination to adopt the language of the

prefent

prefent Bishop of London on this fubject, in the twelfth of his very excellent lectures: "The imbecility and corruption introduced into our moral frame by the fall of our first parents, is in fome measure felt by all; but undoubtedly in different individuals thows itself in different degrees, and that from their very earliest years."

With respect to the general tenor of your criticisms on my Remarks and Annotations on Dr. Paley's work, I have only to fay, that, fince the fciences of morality and politics admit not of demonftration, I do not fee how improvements in them can be made, or a knowledge of them acquired, but by an examination and comparison of different opinions. By thofe who are in fearch of real knowledge, or who with to extend the bounds of fcience, no one's ipfe dixit ought to be implicitly received; and furely it is not in perfect confiftence with your own endeavours (often exerted with fuccefs) to correct the errors of writers on moral and political fubjects, that you reprobate me for doing the fame; more efpecially when it is confidered, that my endeavours are employed in correcting the errors of a writer, who, in these fubjects, is admitted as the guide of academic youth. It is a fact, and a fact for which I am not accountable, that Dr. Paley's Philofophy is the work in which the University of Cambridge chooses to examine the candidates for a b. A. degree. This being the cafe, it was my duty, as tutor of a college, while I called upon my pupils to read Dr. Paley's work, to guard them, as well as I could, against the errors which I conceived to be contained in it. If, by the publication of my cautions, they should happen to be extended beyond the precincts of the Univerfity, I cannot feel apprehenfive of their doing any harm. Dr. Paley's work is already very generally read, and many of its readers, I believe, whofe education is fuppofed to be finifhed, stand in need of being put on their guard in reading it. The various excellencies, with which it confeffedly abounds, may easily render them inattentive to its errors and defects

With refpect to "critical cafes of confcience, curious niceties, and cafuiftical distinctions," by which you fuppofe both Dr. Paley and myself are fowing the feeds of mifchief," it is obvious to remark, that, in many cafes, to make diftinctions is the proper business of the moralift. It often happens, that he can no otherwife fo well point out the path of duty, or contribute fo much to the welfare both of individuals and of fociety. It is then only reasonable to alledge this as an objection to him, when it can be fhewn, that the diftinctions which he makes are not just.

On the fubjects of refentment, revenge, &c. I beg leave to refer you to a work lately published, entitled, "Difcourfes on the Malevolent Sentiments, by John Hey, D. D." being an enlargement of the two fermons already mentioned. I am of opinion, that an attentive perufal of them will induce you to bring these fubjects before the public in a different, and (permit me to add) a more correct and beneficial point of view. I am, Gentlemen, yours, &c,

Rempftone, Dec. 4, 1802.

E. PEARSON.

P. S. That the idea of man's being made in the image of God, even confidering man as he is in his fallen ftate, is recognised by our Church, appears pretty plainly from a paffage in the marriage service, in which man is faid to be created after God's own image and fiurilitude;" otherwise, the application of it would be entirely irreverent to the occafion.

The

The following ingenious Jeu d'efprit we extract, from a periodical Journal, with great Satisfaction, as falling in exactly with our own Sentiments of a most excellent Society, and a worthy Individual, to whofe Exertions in the Defence of pure Morals and found Principles in this awful Season of Declenfion, the public Gratitude is eminently due.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE KENTISH CHRONICLE.
SIR,

HAVING, at a late hour one evening last week, read a curious letter addreffed to the Editor of "The Morning Chronicle," dated from Nottingham, and figned by a late mayor, and two brothers, aldermen, as his fupporters, on the Election Pamphlet, written by John Bowles, Efq. I fell into a reverie on the subject of it, (for I am an old man, Mr. Editor, and apt to let little things dwell on my memory.) When I awoke, I felt extremely diverted with the letter, and thought much might be faid upon it. It brought to my mind a witty poem written many years ago, which I met with on a book-stall, addressed to the inhabitants of your ancient city. It was called " The Gamefters," and began

"Hail thou who fitt'ft in th' Magisterial Chair!
Whofe high ambition 'twas to be a mayor!

To fwagger precepts, and to furnish rules,
And fit the foremost in a club of fools."

I thought the office of mayor a very honorable, but a very dangerous one, for, if the mayor happen not to be a fenfible man, at a time when trials of his judgment are to be made, he may not only do many foolish things himself, but lead the aldermen to follow his example.

It appears clearly, I think, that fome errors were committed at Nottingham, during the election there, and that dame Nature was the goddess they worshipped; whether dressed or undressed seems to be the only matter in difpute. Many mayors, Mr. Editor, we know, have admired females, and fome too have been fond of a variety. Mr. Bowles, it seems, has written on "Female Manners," and has an utter averfion to any thing like French Indecency. He is an uncommon man, and abides by the old orthodox doctrine of matrimonial unity.

You must excuse the garrulity of an old man, Mr. Editor, and his attachment to old cuftoms. Befides the merriment of the Christmas-holidays has made me more than commonly inclined to be facetious. I cannot help looking backwards, and forwards, and on all fides of me, and I feel, as the fpectator did, who, when in St. Paul's, and afking for the monument of the great architect, was told to look round him,-juft fo, I ask, who is Mr. Bowles? and I find, that by his works I shall know him.

I have lately become a member of an excellent " Society for the Suppreffion of Vice.," of which, he is one of the committee; there alfo I find his active fpirit in motion, as well as that of our prefent admirable lord mayor, who is likewife a member of that society. I hold in high estimation the character of a good mayor, Mr. Editor, and I defpife bad ones. I feel pity for the poor misled freemen, who choose them, becaufe, in dangerous times, it is a material point to have a worthy city magiftrate. We must all remember the horrors of the year 1780, when one half of London was in a blaze. Having long been an inhabitant of the metropolis, I recollect

many