On the

ed to the confcience. Many, nay, innumerable, are the cavils that have been brought by men of corrupt minds against this fundamental truth. The father of lies, indeed, feems to confider it, and juftly, as the corner-ftone of true religion, which, if he is able to weaken or undermine, it mult end in the fall and ruin of the whole fabric. If there be any among you, as poffibly there are, infected with the poison of infidelity, all exhortation and warning will be treated by fuch with dildain, while their objections, however weak, have not been brought into view. other hand, there are multitudes of finners borne away by luft and paffion, who are incapable of understanding the force of fpeculative reafoning, and who have an unhappy tendency to overlook, as what does not concern them, every thing that is treated in that way. I fhall be obliged, therefore, to have an eye to both and oh! that it may please God to enable me fo to propofe to the judgment, and fo to prefs upon the confcience, this neceffary truth, as that fome careless perfons may be awakened, and brought to an attention to the one thing needful; and that if any have hitherto taken up with imperfect notions of religion, and built their hope upon the fand, they may be perfuaded in time to diftruft that dangerous fituation, and to found it upon the Rock of ages.

For the reafon above affigned, it is difficult to determine, what ufe is to be made of fcripture-teftimony on fuch a fubject. The charge of guilt upon the finner, feems to be only preparatory to, and muft, as it were, pave the way for the reception of fcripture-truths. If the teftimony of God in fcripture is to be refted on, this one paffage is fufficient; but the unbelieving heart is ready to challenge and call in queftion every fuch fcripture-declaration. I find the worthy author of a well-know catechifm, commonly used in the inftruction of children, joins together fcripture and experience, in the anfwer to that question, "How do you know, that you are born in a flate of fin "and mifery?" Anf. "God's word tells me fo. Befides, "I find my heart naturally backward to that which is good, "and prone to that which is evil." After this example, and confidering, that by the law is the knowledge of fin, L 1

VOL. I.

we fhall not separate them; the rather, that God is able to make his own word, even in the bare repetition of it, quick and powerful, Heb. iv. 12. In the further illuftration

of this head, therefore, I fhall, firft briefly lay before you fome of the fcripture-declarations on this fubject; and, fecondly, confirm them from experience, the vifible fiate of the world, and the teftimony of our own hearts.

First, Allow me to lay before you fome of the fcripturedeclarations on this fubject. And that I may avoid handling the fubject fyftematically, and tediously, I join toge ther original and actual fin. Every one who is able to understand what I fay, is concerned in both and indeed they are infeparable the one from the other. The deplo. rable wickednefs in which the world in general is overwhelmed, hath flowed in a continued ftreain from the firft fin of Adam; and the finfulness of every perfon's practice has the corruption of his nature as its fruitful fource. See the account given of the world, Gen. vi. 5. "And "God faw the wickednefs of man was great in the earth, "and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart "was only evil continually." This you may compare with Gen. viii. 21. "And the Lord faid, I will not "again curfe the ground any more for man's fake; for the "imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth."

"Behold,

See alfo the confeffion of David, Pfal. li. 5. "I was fhapen in iniquity; and in fin did my mother con "ceive me." In this the Pfalmift plainly and clearly teaches the original and univerfal corruption of our na ture. What he afferts concerning himself, must be equally true of all the human race; otherwise, instead of making it a proper part of his confeffion, it would be an excufe or extenuation of his fin. Nothing can more plainly fhow the force of this text, than the aukward endeavors used by fome to evade or misinterpret it. For example, how mean a fubterfuge is it, to pretend, that David declared. he was fhapen in iniquity, and conceived by his mother in fin; because he was the iffue of fome criminal com. merce between his father and a maid-fervant, or between the wife of Jeffe and another man? This is plainly a profane invention, offered without any manner of proof, or

the leaft infinuation in the hiftory of that great prince. Befides, it is evidently befide his purpose in the pfalın referred to, where he is confeffing his own finful nature, and not the finful deeds of his parents. If there be meaning in words, his intention is, to humble himfelf before God, not only for his adultery and murder in the matter of Uriah, but as a transgressor from the womb.

iii. 6.

To this you may add the testimony of a greater than David, viz. our bleffed Lord and Saviour himfelf, John "That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and "that which is born of the Spirit, is fpirit." For underftanding the proof drawn from his text, you may obferve, that though the word flesh has various fignifications in fcripture; fometimes, for example, fignifying the weaknefs of our mortal nature, unable to fupport itself, and liable to a variety of changes, which muft at laft end in dif folution; yet here it evidently fignifies our nature as corrupted by fin. This appears from the oppofition of the two claufes for it is certain, that thofe who are regenerated, are still liable to all the weakness of mortality. It muft therefore bear the fame meaning in this place as in Rom. viii. 8. "So then they that are in the flefh, cannot "please God." It is with a view to this great truth that Job, who pleads with fo much warmth his general integrity, yet fays, Job xiv. 3, 4. "And doft thou open thine "eyes upon fuch an one, and bringest me into judgment, "with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out of an un"clean? Not one."

Pf.

With this agree many other fcripture-declarations, fome of which I fhall mention. Pfal. xiv. 2, 3. "The Lord "looked down from heaven upon the children of men: to "fee if there were any that did understand, and feek God. They are all gone afide, they are all together become filthy there is none that doth good, no, not one." lviii 3. "The wicked are estranged from the womb, they "go aftray as foon as they be born, fpeaking lies." Ifaiah xlviii. 8. "Yea, thou heardft not, yea, thou knewest not, "yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for "I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacheroufly, and "waft called a tranfgreffor from the womb." Rom. iii. 9.

10, 11, 12. "What then? are we better than they? No, "in no wife for we have before proved both Jews and "Gentiles, that they are all under fin; as it is written, "There is none righteous, no not one: There is none "that understandeth, there is none that feeketh after God. "They are all gone out of the way, they are together be

come unprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not "one." To thefe, I only add that clear and firong paf fage, Eph. ii. 1, 2, 3. "And you hath he quickened who "were dead in trefpaffes and fins, wherein in time past ye "walked according to the courfe of this world, according "to the prince of the power of the air, the fpirit that now "worketh in the children of difobedience. Among whom "alfo we all had our converfation in times paft, in the "lufts of our flesh, fulfilling the defires of the flesh, and of "the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, "even as others."

In this fummary view of the declarations of fcripture upon this fubject, I have confined myfelf to fuch paffages as have an afpect upon the ftate of our nature in general. And, indeed, as conclufive a proof of its being the doctrine of fcripture, may be drawn confequentially as directly. With this view, not to mention many other arguments, I beg your attention to the two following; 1. The tenor of the gofpel-meffage, particularly the extent of the com. miffion, and the language ufed through the whole: Mark xvi. 15. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel "to every creature." John iii. 16. "For God fo loved "the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who"foever believeth in him, fhould not perifh, but have "everlasting life." Examine the import of this truth? Whom did the Father love? or to whom did he fend the Saviour? To the world, and to every creature. For what end did he love them, and for what purpose did the Redeemer come? To fave them from perifhing. But why were they in danger of perifhing? Doubtlefs, because they were in fin. In vain, then, do men exercile their ingenuity in explaining away particular paffages.This truth does not reft upon an expreffion or two, the meaning of which muft be afcertained by critical skill, but

upon the whole of the gospel. If we do not throw aside the Bible altogether, Chrift Jefus came into the world to obtain forgiveness for the guilty, to fave the miferable, and to redeem the flave.

The other argument is drawn from the feals of the covenant of peace; and particularly the initiating feal, both under the Old Teftament and the New, of which infants were admitted to be partakers. If they received these feals before the commiffion of actual guilt, it cannot be but the nature itself muft be defiled; efpecially as baptifm is exprefsly called the baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins, Mark i. 4.

Thus I have laid before you what the fcripture teaches us on the finfulness of our nature, including all the pofterity of Adam, without exception. I befeech you, therefore, iny beloved hearers, to confider the concern you have in it, as a part of the whole. If you have any belief of the truth of the fcriptures as the word of God, attempt not to warp or pervert them when speaking contrary to your fond prejudices. Defire not that minifters fhould fpeak unto you smooth things, and prophefy deceit; but receive with humility and fear the divine will, however heavy a fentence of condemnation it may carry against yourselves, viz. that you are finners by nature; that your hearts are eftranged and alienated from the love of God; and that, if you die in that condition, you fhall not fee his face in mercy.

I now proceed to the second branch of this head; which was, to confirm the account given in fcripture from experience, that is to fay, from the visible state of the world, and the teftimony of our own hearts.

Let us then fee what evidence is afforded us from the visible state of the world, that all have sinned, &c. And here, my brethren, what an inftructive leffon, but at the fame time what a humbling and melancholy prospect, opens to our view! There are many remarks which might be profitably made on the ftate of the world in every age, to fhew how much fin hath reigned in the hearts of men, and what defolation it hath wrought in the place of their abode. The great difficulty is, to range them in