"to receive thy brother's blood from thy "hand; when thou tillest the ground, it “shall not henceforth yield unto thee her "strength; a fugitive and a vagabond ❝ shalt thou be on the earth.'

We find by this decree, that in the early days of guilt, the conscious shame of having so highly offended the Majesty of Heaven, in shedding man's blood, seemed to the Almighty a sufficient punishment for the crime; but in process of time, when this vice became more frequent, and mankind more insensible to the checks of conscience, and less susceptible of the nicer feelings of humanity, nothing less than the death of the offender could atone for the offence; and it appeared to God a necessary and reasonable law," that whoso sheddeth man's blood,

by man shall his blood be shed." This naturally accounts for the necessity of

God's command-" Thou shalt do no

"murder."

Among the numberless injuries offered to society in general, and individuals in particular, none is heaped up with so many aggravating circumstances as this of murder. There are few other acts of violence or injustice, which may not in some measure be repaired; but this, from the very moment of its execution, utterly excludes all possibility of redress. No after-repentance, no restitution, no human aid can ever recall the life that is once past. Nor is the loss of life the only evil attending the unhappy sufferer: many may be rendered miserable by his single death, even though there may be no widow to bewail her hapless, state-no orphaned children reduced to beggary and wretchedness, yet some friends are left to feel irreparable loss; for no member of

society dies unmissed and unlamented

of all.

But the heaviest calamity is yet to come:-perhaps he is hurried away in the moment when he is least prepared to encounter death-with all his sins unrepented of all his imperfections on his head; and who is he amongst the best of men, that is at all times prepared to die?-at all hours ready to receive such an unwelcome guest? Alas! in whatever shape it comes, or however attended; whether by long sickness, or ripe old age, or any of the common infirmities and decays of nature, it will appal the purest conscience; after the longest warning and wisest preparation, it is a terror to the steadiest mind. With what horror then must it affect a man of reflection, to think that he is liable to be cut off by the hand of violence, in his most unguarded moments-that while he is walking, as he

flatters himself in perfect security with his friends, or sleeping calmly in his bed, he may be suddenly hurried out of the world by the ruffian's merciless stroke; and find himself at the bar of God's justice without the least notice or preparation his trial. Let us hope there is mercy in store for those who are victims to the cruelty of a fellow-creature.

Though it may be unnecessary to dwell upon a subject of the utmost horror, as we may charitably suppose that no one who hears me has a conscience sullied with such a crime, or a nature capable of being provoked to the commission of it; yet it may not be altogether useless to point out those depraved appetites and unlawful passions of the human breast, which too often prepare the heart for the reception of evil thoughts, and pave the way to the last desperate act of inhumanity.

Almost every appetite, when indulged to a vicious excess, if not criminal in itself, may, in its consequences, lead to this fatal end-particularly drunkenness ; which, besides the numberless mischiefs it brings to society, and the various accidents with which it is constantly attended, is oftener productive of murder than any other passion of the human breast; by inflaming the spirits, it raises the mind to such a degree of madness, as to render it not only capable of, but ripe too for every act of violence and desperation.

Those of an inferior rank in life, who are of all others most liable to the dangerous excess of this vice, are apt to flatter themselves that intoxication is in itself an excuse for the many outrages committed under its influence; not considering, that even the human laws declare it an aggravation of every crime it produces, and how will the all-wise and all-seeing eye