ther, who was fo full of grace and of truth, whofe divine nature daily beamed, as it were, through that of his human, in miraculous operations, works and words, which none but God could do, none but God could speak. And no lefs was the power of fin feen, when it hurried men headlong into that heaven-daring pitch of impiety, to im-. brue their hands in the blood of God. O finners, would you fee what fin is? look at it with its hands reeking in the gore and blood of God, and tell what you think of it. But it is like, fome of you may fay, What is this to the purpose ? This is not the fin that we are guilty of. We have never imbrued our hands in the blood of God, and fo herein we cannot fee our crimes. This makes nothing to that which now you are doing, the unfolding the hainous nature of that crime you now implead us as guilty of before God. To this we answer, (1.) Should we grant what is alledged as to your innocency in this matter, to be true, yet herein there is much of the nature of your fin to be feen, fince it partakes of the common nature of fin with that of the murder of God; and fince it is every equal way to, if not that very fame, against which God did evidence his hatred in fo wonder. ful a manner, in the death of his only begotten fon, whom he fpared not, but gave to the death, when he laid on him the iniquity of the elect world. But, (2.) We fay that very fin lies at your door, O finners; and if you deny it, I would only ask you one queftion, Dare you hold up your faces, and in the fight of God fay, That you did receive Jefus Chrift the first time ever there was an offer of him made to you? If not, then you are guilty in that D 2 you 1 you practically determine the putting him to death (3.) Either you are believers or unbelievers; if believers, then it was your very fins which killed Chrift, it was for your iniquities he was bruifed. But he was wounded for our tranfgreffions, he was bruifed for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his ftripes we are healed. All we like loft sheep have gone aStray we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all, faith the prophet in the name of all the elect, Ifa. liii. 5, 6. If you be unbelievers, then you do not believe the witnefs that Chrift gave of himself, that he is the fon of God; and therefore, do praEtically declare him an impoftor, and worthy of death, and fo may fay of yourselves, with respect to the Jews cruelty, that when they condemned him, they had your confent to what they did. Now, what think ye, O criminals, when we have in thefe eight different glaffes given you a profpect of the crime we implead you of? Is it not a fear a fearful one? If you be not ftrangely ftupified, fure you muft own it fo: but left there fhould be any fo blind, as not to difcern what it is we accufe them of, we fhall, Secondly, Proceed to mention fome great evils that are all implied in the leaft fin, in every pro vocation. This charge which we intent againft you is no mean thing. For, 1. It has atheism in it. An Atheist who denies the being of a God, is a monfter in nature; a creature fo extremely degenerate, that fome have doubted, whether there ever was, or could be, any of the fons of Adam fo debauched as in principle to avouch this monftrous untruth. But there are practical atheists, fuch as the apostle mentions and characterifeth, Tit. i. 16. who profefs to know God, but in works deny him, being abominable and difobedient; or, as it is in the firft language, chil dren of unperfuafion, or imperfuadible, and to every good work reprobate: that there are fuch none can deny, fince every finner is in fome fort fuch, for every fin has atheifm in it. In the 14. and 53 Pfalms we have a defcription of the natural state of man; and look to the spring of all the impieties, in the Iver. The fool bath faid in his heart there is no God; and then a train of lamentable practical impieties follow; they are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doth good. The Pfalmift doth not there difcourfe of fome profligate wretches among the Jews, or of the Gentiles who knew not God, but of the whole race of Adam, Jew and Gentile, as the apostle proves in the 10,11 and 12 verfes of this chapter wherein our text lies, when he adduces teftimonies from this Pfalm to prove all and every one to have finned and come short of the glory of God. And Part I. tongue walk through the earth, fparing neither God nor man; but these alfo are blafphemers, who do in their actions reproach God, Numb. xv. 30, 3. The foul that doth ought prefumptuously, the fame reproacheth the Lord; and that foul fhall be cut off from among bis people, because he hath defpifed the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment; that foul shall be utterly cut off: his iniquity fhall be upon him. Is it a small thing to you, O finners, that you have broken the command of God? It may be light and easy in your eyes, but fee to it, whether God's word or yours fhall stand. You call it a light thing; but God looks upon himself as reproached by it; and indeed he juftly looks upon it as a reproach; for every fin charges him, (1.) with folly. God in giving laws to men to walk by, defigned the manifeftation of his wifdom in making fuch laws as became the infinite wifdom of the fupreme governor of the world: but the finner by every fin fays practically, that God's laws are not wife; his own will which he follows in the commiffion of fin he thinks better. (2.) It reproaches his goodnefs. The finner fays by his practice, That neither God's laws nor himself are good, but that God has either through ignorance, or folly, or ma lice, retrenched him of what might have conduced to his good; that his laws are not calculate to (the advantage and real good of his fubjects. (3.) He hereby likewife reproaches the righteousness and holinefs of God, in as far as thefe are ftampt upon the law which he not only rejects but tramples upon, as one that believes not God calls him a liar, 1 John v. 10. So he that obeys him not, ac cufes him either of unrighteoufnefs or folly. Now this branch of the charge rifes higher than avowed atheism; atheifm; for the atheift intirely difowns God, and fo entertains not fuchanfuitable thoughts of him as he doth who owns him, and yet accufes him by his practice, of ignorance, folly and impurity. But this is not all that is in the crime laid against you: For, 4. Every fin has robbery in it. It is a rape committed, an endeavour to carry away fome one or other of the crown jewels of heaven. God has faid, he will not give his glory to another; and one darling part of this glory is that of his abfolute dominion. Now every finer endeavours to rob God of this, and that to clothe either Satan or fin with it. The commanding power it would have taken from God, and given to itself, or fome other, than which there can be no greater robbery. Again, the glory of God's fovereignty is due to him in a Functual obedience to every one of his commands. He that obeys the command, gives God the glory of his authority, and owns him governor of the world, and this is a part of God's property; it is the revenue that he requires of the world, and the finner by every fin he commits, attempts to rob him of this glory, invades his property. We find God himfelf managing the charge of robbery against a people called by his name, Mal. iii. 8, 9. Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me but ye fay, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are curfed with a curfe; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. So I fay to you, You have robbed God: but you will fay, wherein have we robbed him? I answer, In that which is far more valuable than tithes and offerings; you have robbed him, and in every fin do rob him, of that obedience which to him is better than facrifice. Hath the |