The power of conscience is manifestly feeble. A few years ago, we heard, on every hand, the loud congratulations of a prosperous and happy people. Christians seemed to think the millenium just at hand. Visions of national glory, and of spiritual conquests, dazzled the eyes, and inflamed the hearts of the coldest among us. Now we see the land prostrate.
Christian energy lies dormant.
The present is comfortless and the future offers little encouraging, except to the eye of faith. Under these circumstances, it becomes all, but especially the disciples of Christ, to inquire whether there be not some deep-rooted evil in the body politic, of which we are experiencing the bitter fruits. And whether the church of Christ has done her duty in calling upon the commonwealth to give the honour and the praise to Him who rules the nations Jesus Christ the Mediator. Unless the root of the evil is discovered, and the remedy applied there, ail our efforts will be productive of no permanent effects. It is the design of this Essay, to endeavour to cast some light upon this subject to aid in these inquiries.