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the benefit is future, that is no reafon to abate our zeal in profecuting it. I have obferved, that reafon does not prevail to flacken men's endeavours for their worldly gain: How unreasonable then must they be, who have the advantage of a better hope in their aims for another life, and yet neglec the means to attain that happy state? Again, it can be no excuse for a man to fay, that he cannot comply with that selfdenial, mortification, and other chriftian duties, which are acceptable to God thro' Jefus Christ, and without which the foul languifheth, is fick, and his faith is dead: for he cannot be ignorant of that plain rule of wisdom, to decline a prefent pleasure for one equal to it of longer continuance ; or to fubmit to a prefent inconvenience, to prevent one more lafting; or to obtain a more lasting good, tho' there should be no difference in the things themfelves, but only in their duration. A wife man will never refuse to go thro' a short course of phyfick in an ill habit of body, upon a fair profpect of procuring a regular state of health thereby; nor neglect to give a small fum of money in hand, upon fecurity of enjoying a good inheritance in a few years after: and shall he neglect to take proper care of his foul, to cleanfe it from all impurity, and to prepare it for the enjoyment of that bleffed ftate of eternal happiness, which is promised to all those who love God, and keep his commandments? Especially knowing that the most lafting things below bear no proportion to eternal happiness.

If we measure them with eternity, they are as nothing; Why eternal and a minute compared with our whole lives is happiness is no proportion in comparison of time and eternal defirable. duration. Therefore whatever is temporal is incapable of giving full fatisfaction, because it may be taken from us. So, when we are upon an inquiry after happiness, we may difcern at first, that earth fays, It is not in me; for every thing here is perifhing, and must foon have an end. Thus the continuance of happiness is the most fatisfying character of it; and the eternity of mifery the most bitter ingredient thereof. It is impoffible to be perfectly happy with the profpect of an end before one. This confideration would magnify inferior delights, to think that we should 5

never

never be deprived of them: and light afflictions, with eternity written upon them, could not be borne: What then thall we think of perfect happiness and complete misery, both of the highest kind, and both eternal, and in one of which mankind muft live for ever? Oh! then let us apply to ourselves the force and evidence of that queftion, What is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul? Or, what will a man give in exchange for his foul? Time bears no proportion to eternity. The mostexalted pleasures of this life, which at beft are but of a short continuance, can never compenfate for the lofs of that happiness, which God has prepared for them that love him. Yet there are too many, that make this fad choice. Not that any one chufes evil for the fake of evil, or prefers mifery before happinefs: but as he, that obeys the commandments of God, chufes life; fo he, that tranfgreffes them, chufes death; that death which God has threatened to the finner, even death eternal; for the wages of fin is death. Therefore,

IV. As the portion of the body at the last day must follow the condition of the foul, it is our greateft in- Perfuafives. tereft to confider the prefent state of human nature, to the care and the means by which alone it is poffible for us of the soul. to be made happy. For, if we neglect the disorders of the understanding, will and affections, which are the parts of the foul, the flesh will ruin us, at the very time it pretends to pleafe us; and the devil will gain many opportunities to beguile us, whilst the understanding is darkened and fhut to good inftructions, the will inclines to chufe the evil, and the affections are bent after the pleasures of fin. It is true, man was made holy and upright by God; but, having by his voluntary tranfgreffion, and wilful difobedience, fallen from him, did prefently fink into a the first cocorrupt and degenerate, into a miferable and curfed venant. condition, both in refpect to this life, and to that life which is to come; and the difobedience of our first parents involved their pofterity, and intailed a depravity of nature upon their defcendants; which depravity, though it is not a fin in us, till the will closes with it, and deliberately confents to it; yet it is certainly finful in itself, and confequently is fty

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led Original Sin. Therefore our church has rightly decreed, That

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Original fin ftandeth not in the following of Adam, but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is ingendered of the offspring of Adam ; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, ⚫ and is of his own nature inclined to evil; fo that the flesh lufteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore, in every perfon born into this world, it deferveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain; yea, in them that are regenerated. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptifed; yet the apostle doth confefs, that concupifcence and luft hath of itself the nature of fin.' So thus, by original fin, man is not only deprived of the image of God, but becomes liable to his juftice; and, as fuch, God cannot take pleasure in him and that man, that dies before he is reftored to his favour, must be separated from him, and be for ever miferable. And as man could not recover himself, nor raise himfelf out of his own ruin; and as no creature was able to do it; the mercy of God pitied our misery, and his wifdom devised this expedient to reconcile his mercy and justice, viz. that no man should on account of original fin be eternally miferable, except thro' his own fault: and his goodnefs refolved, that the Son of God fhould undertake this work, and fatisfy the offended juftice of the Almighty, and repair the ruined nature of mankind. Thus,

nant.

God did enter into a new covenant with man, by way of And of the remedy for what was paft and could not be unfecond cove done; which, as may be fully collected from the gofpel, was to this purpose: That, on condition of man's ftedfaft faith, fincere repentance, and perfect obedience, he should be reftored thro' Chrift to God's favour; and after death, to that life and happiness, which was promifed to our first parents, without tafting of death. And the condition on God's part of the covenant, the remiflion of fins, is always ready to be made good, if we fail not on our part of having worthily repented and reformed our lives. Our Saviour has

See the 9th Article of Religion.

made

made a full, perfect, and sufficient facrifice, oblation and fatisfaction for the fins of the whole world; he has fuffered a cruel and ignominious death upon the cross for our fakes, and by his death and sufferings has purchased this grace for us, that real repentance and fincere obedience shall be accepted instead of innocence. But without this repentance and renewed obedience we shall not be accepted upon any terms. The facrifice which he offered upon the crofs, altho' of infinite value, will be of no avail to us, unless, in conformity to his death and refurrection, we die unto fin, and rife again unto newness of life. Nothing but a good life will intitle us to the favour and love of God; and without his favour we are of all creatures the most miferable. Not that the condition of the gofpel-covenant is a perfect unfinning obedience, but a fincere endeavour to obey all the commands of God to the utmost of our power. Which commands, in their general and moft proper fenfe, are so far from being impoffible to be obferved, that on the contrary a man cannot eafily tranfgrefs them, without an hardened confcience and deliberate choice. And whenfoever God requires inore of us than we are naturally able to perform, he never fails to afford us proportionally great affiftance, to inable us to perform what he fo requires. And if through the frailty and infirmity of our nature we be at any time, notwithstanding our fincere endeavours to the contrary, furprifed into the commiffion of fin, God accepts real repentance and a renewed obedience, inftead of an uninterrupted course of holinefs. Hence it is abundantly evident, that as the true and only defign of the laws of the gospel is to make us holy and undefiled; fo it is poffible for us to be really holy according to the true intent and meaning of thofe laws. Wherefore, as the excellent nature and defign of our religion fufficiently recommend it to our judgment; fo the poffibility of obeying it is a moft powerful encouragement to us to fet in earnest about the practice of it. But then we must always confider, that as God requires nothing more of us, than a fincere obedience according to the gracious terms of the gofpel-covenant; fo he will not accept of any thing lefs: For, as it is poffible for us to be holy and undefiled, according to

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the true intent of the laws of our religion; fo God has made it the indifpenfable condition of our happiness, that we actually and in reality become fuch holy perfons. By the ineans I have mentioned, God and man are brought together again; and man is redeemed from a ftate of fin and eternal death, to a state of holiness, and to the inheritance of eternal life. And this was the end for which the Son of God cloathed himself with our flesh, that, as man, he might fuffer what our fins had deferved, and, as he was the Son of God, he might make a full, perfect, and fufficient oblation and fatiffaction to the Divine Juftice, for the fins of the whole world; who, for the joy of delivering fo many millions of fouls from mifery, endured the death of the crofs, and all the afflictions of his bitter paffion, which was the perfect facrifice whereby all mankind are restored to the favour of God, and put into a state of falvation: God having, for his Son's fake, will not be promised to pardon all fuch as fhall repent, and in vain. forfake their fins, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance; and to give his Holy Spirit to all fuch as fhall fincerely pray for the fame; and after death to make them eternally happy, if during this short state of trial, which is defigned to amend our corrupt and disordered nature, they endeavour to obferve the rules, which he has revealed in his word, and which are abfolutely neceffary to make them capable of eternal happiness in the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, feeing a good life is attended with so many advantages: if it will make us live happily; die comfortably, and at laft intitle us, through the merits holy life. of our Saviour Jefus Chrift, to an eternal inheri¬ tance in that kingdom, which he has purchased for us with his most precious blood; and if, on the other hand, guilt is its own punishment in this world, and everlasting misery will most certainly be the lot and portion of the wicked and impenitent in the next; what manner of perfons ought we to be in all holy converfation and godliness? and how ftedfaft and unmoveable fhould this make us in the ways of God's laws, and in the works of his commandments? With what indignation and abhorrence fhould we look upon fin, and with what fpeed fhould we fly from that dread

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