late the amount of misery which has thus been accumulated? It is more than probable, that the eighth part of the human race has been slaughtered by the wars and commotions which ambition has created; and, consequently, more than twenty thousand millions of mankind have become its victims; that is, twenty-five times the number of human beings which compose the present population of the globe. Along with the destruction of such a number of rational beings, we have to take into account the millions of mangled wretches whose remaining existence was rendered miserable, the numberless widows and orphans who were left to mourn the loss of every thing dear to them, the thousands of infants that have been murdered, and of females that have been violated, the famine and pestilence and the frightful desolations which destroying armies have always left behind them. Many spots of the earth, which were beautiful as Eden, have been turned into a hideous wilderness. The most splendid and magnificent cities have been set on flames or razed to their foundations, and "their memorials have perished with them." Even the lower animals have been dragged into battles, and have become sufferers amidst the fury of combatants and the wreck of nations. Such are some of the hideous desolations, and the vast amount of human misery which covetousness has created; for to avarice, leagued with ambition, is to be attributed all the wars, commotions, and devastations, which have ever visited the world.

Besides such wholesale robberies and murders, covetousness is accountable for numerous public frauds and mischiefs committed on a smaller scale by the public agents and others connected with the governments of every country. In the management of taxes, the collection of national revenues, in contracts for the supply of armies and navies, in claims for undefined perquisites, in the bestowment of places and pensions, in soliciting and receiving bribes, in the sale and purchase of government property, in these and numerous other instances, frauds and impositions are so frequently committed, as to have become notorious to a proverb. On such exuberant

sources of wealth, multitudes are rapidly enriched; and while nations are ground down under a load of taxation, and the industrious labourer and mechanic groaning under the pressure of poverty, a comparatively few are rolling in the chariots of splendour, fattening on the sweat and blood of millions, and feasting on the sufferings of mankind.

It is amazing with what ease and apathy, men calling themselves Christians, will talk of the prospect of war, in the view of enriching themselves with such public plunder. Scarcely any thing is more common, and yet nothing is more diabolical. To wish for war, that trade may revive and flourish, is to wish the destruction of ten thousands of our fellow-creatures, that we may add a few pounds to our hoarded treasures, or have the prospect of embarking in a profitable speculation. Yet such wishes have been indulged a thousand times, by many who profess to be the followers of Christ.

9. Covetousness prevents the extension of the Christian Church, and the general improvement of Society.

It is by means of the proper application of money, that the gospel is promulgated, sinners converted, the Bible circulated, and the tidings of salvation conveyed to heathen lands. Much still remains to be done in these respects; for more than 600,000,000 of mankind still remain enveloped in pagan darkness. If all the members of the Christian Church were to contribute according to their ability, this object, (the conversion of the world), however arduous and extensive, might ere long be accomplished. But avarice interposes, and withholds those resources which are requisite for carrying the plans of Divine Mercy into effect. If wealth were not hoarded by covetous professors of religion, or expended on their lusts, our Missionary and other Philanthropic Societies would soon have at their disposal, revenues twenty times, at least, their present amount. How many professed Christians are there, who are wallowing in wealth, and yet contributing nothing but the smallest fraction of their substance (and sometimes nothing at all), to the service

of God and the extension of the Gospel church! And how many others are there, who, at their death, leave twenty or thirty thousand pounds to their friends, and even to distant heirs, without bequeathing a single hundred-sometimes not a single guinea, for promoting the conversion of sinners, and the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom! Such persons evidently belie their Christian profession, and appear to have no Scriptural idea of their obligation to "honour the Lord with their substance," and of the great end for which wealth has been bestowed.

By such conduct, they virtually prevent the conversion of thousands, the reformation of the world; and the approach of that period, when "the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, and all flesh see his salvation." They declare, in point of fact, that the hoarding of thousands of pounds, (of which they do not stand in need,) is a matter of more importance in their eyes, than the universal propagation of religion, and the eternal happiness of thousands of immortal beings. Whatever profession they may make, whatever show of piety they may assume, they place a barrier in the way of the progress of Christianity, and too plainly indicate, that the love of the world occupies a higher place in their hearts,

than the love of God.

By such conduct, the general improvement of society is likewise prevented.

Before society arrives to that state of perfection, of which it is susceptible, much exertion and manifold reformations are required. The universal instruction of all ranks requires to be established on a more extensive and permanent basis than it has ever yet been. Seminaries for the education of the young, and likewise for those more advanced in life, require to be multiplied at least tenfold. Colleges and academies, of different descriptions, still remain to be established in such numbers as to afford an adequate supply of intelligent teachers and ministers of the Gospel, for diffusing both general and scriptural knowledge among all ranks of the community.

The physical condition of mankind, likewise requires

to be meliorated and improved. Many of our towns and villages require to be new-modelled, and rendered clean, airy, and salubrious; and the condition of the mechanic and the labouring poor, rendered more comfortable, and more conducive to moral and mental improvement. All which objects might, at no distant period, be fully accomplished, were the superfluous wealth of the professing Christian world properly directed, and applied to its legitimate objects. But all such designs are prevented from being brought into effect, by the avarice of those who profess to have renounced the world and its vanities, and to be looking forward to a heavenly inheritance. There can scarcely be a more glaring contradiction, than that which such conduct and such professións imply. But as this is a topic of peculiar interest, I shall take occasion to enter into more minute detail on another branch of our subject.

10. The evil of covetousness, will further appear, if we consider what would be the consequences were this impure affection UNIVERSALLY to prevail.

Every principle and every affection in human beings, ought to be tried by the ultimate consequences to which it naturally and necessarily leads. On this ground, it might be shown, that every violation of the Divine law leads to misery, in one shape or another, both to the violater himself, and to all with whom he is connected. And farther-that, if any one commandment of the law of God were reversed, or set aside, or universally violated, not only would the most appalling consequences ensue, but it would lead to the subversion of all order among intelligent agents, and would ultimately produce the extermination of the race of man.

The same, of course, may be affirmed of the covetous principle. Were it to reign supreme in the human heart, and to be universally acted upon, it would soon lead to the utter destruction of society. It would lead, in the first instance, to universal fraud, deceit and falsehood; so that no domestic nor public business, nor commercial arrangements of any description, could be carried on

with the least degree of confidence. It would next lead to universal rapacity and plunder, which would produce a scene of turbulence and horror in which no human being could enjoy for any length of time, either happiness or repose. The strong would seize upon the possessions of the weak and defenceless, without the least remorse, and deprive them of every thing that tends to enjoyment. Every one's covetous eye would be directed to the possessions of his neighbour; and, by a thousand insidious and malignant schemes, or by open violence, every thing would be seized upon, and appropriated for the purpose of gratifying the covetous appetite. No one's life would be secure for a single week, and murders would be daily committed for the purpose of obtaining the wealth and possessions of the opulent. Of course, peace, and harmony, and kindness, would be unknown among men; every man's covetous heart be filled with malignity, and set against the interests of his neighbour. In the progress of such rapacity and plundering, wars of the most ferocious nature would take place. One nation would invade the territories of another, for the purpose of plunder; and, in the midst of the contests for spoil, cities and towns would be demolished; fruitful fields transformed into a scene of desolation, and myriads of the human race slaughtered in every land. Amidst such dreadful commotions, the fields would be permitted to lie waste and uncultivated, and human beings would be gradually diminished by slaughter, and universal famine, till, in the course of a generation or two, the whole race would be extirpated from the earth.

Such would evidently be the progress and the dreadful effects of the covetous principle, were it to operate universally and unrestrained. Such effects, indeed, it has already, to a certain degree, produced; and the annals of every nation under heaven, bear witness to the melancholy truth. And, were it not, that it is counteracted and restrained in its operations by the overruling Providence of God, by the force of natural conscience, and by the influence of Christian principles and motives, it would soon transform this globe into an immense sepulchre, VOL. VI.

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