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phers, is to frame and fashion us into rational creatures; to make us men, and to teach us to act and live agreeable to our natures, by exalting reason into the throne, and rescuing the mind (that noble governing part of us) from the base and slavish tyranny of the flesh.

But when may we hope to see this excellent design in any tolerable degree accomplished? Is there room to compliment human nature upon any improvement, or advance towards perfection? Is it not sunk deeper into that degeneracy and corruption, which of old was so passionately complained of and lamented?

Wickedness and folly are of our constitution. Could we discover any one without this alloy, free from all impurity, with the image of God fresh and entire upon his soul, we must conclude him to be some other creature, not man. For who can say, I have made my heart clean? I am pure from my sin? In many things we offend all. There is none that doth good and sinneth not. This is a melancholy truth indeed; a truth of which every one carries a testimony in his own breast.

So it is; the very best of men are compassed about with infirmities; Paul and Barnabas declare themselves to be men of like passions. with those at Lystra. And to convince us that they were indeed men of like passions, in the very next chapter we read with what violence they broke out against one another; the contention (says the text) was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder the one from the other.

St. Peter's denial of Christ is also an instance. of our infirmity, and is therefore interwoven with the thread of our Saviour's sufferings, as a caution to us to beware of too much confidence in our own goodness.

Good use is to be made of the bad examples upon record in the holy scriptures; these things also are written for our admonition. There we read of the accomplished king of Israel, the man after God's own heart, whose character is made up of meekness and courage, wisdom and piety; and yet he buried all those glories in his neighbour's bed, and fixed a deep and indelible stain upon his honour with the blood of the innocent Uriah. So impotent, so frail a thing is man. One fleshly lust prevailing, throws down the tottering fabric of all his virtues. And what shall we do if such great men as these fall? If the cedars be shaken, how shall the reeds and bullrushes of religion stand?

Thus you see, that there is no mortal without sin; and in different men, different sins prevail. For instance, we find Cain stigmatized in scripture for murder: Simeon and Levi for treachery: Corah and his associates for profaneness and rebellion; Nebuchadnezzar's pride: the cruelty of Manasah; the covetousness of Balaam: the perfidy of Judas, are set forth for examples. And whoscever shall diligently observe to what point his desires lean; what his affections are most warmly provoked by; what thoughts spring up of themselves in his mind; what imaginations find the most

welcome entertainment in his breast; what objects affect him with delight, and immediately inflame his passions; I say, whosoever shall thus inspect into himself, will easily discover his darling lust; or, in the words of my text, the sin which doth so easily beset him.

I presume there is not one but carries about him plentiful matter of these temptations, which he must not expect to be free from 'till this corruptible shall have put on incorruption. But then, wicked thoughts (though continually obtruding themselves, if not consented to) are so far, I believe and hope, from being evil, that they are the exercise of our virtue, whose business is to check and repel them. Utterly to exclude and bar the door of our hearts against them is beyond the measure of flesh and blood, consequently not required of us. So that the difference between one man and another, in this respect, lies not herein, that the bad are subject to these lustings and the good exempted from them. Both are strongly plied with temptations adapted to their respectively prevailing lusts; but whilst the bad man is gently carried down the stream of his vicious inclinations, the good man tugs and rows with all his might against it,

'Tis matter of common observation, that the devil is daily watching to take advantage of us; suiting his temptations to the different tempers and circumstances of men; applying himself to the governing passions by the grateful objects of them. These are the feeble parts of our nature, and therefore the most advantageous

landing port of our spiritual enemy; here he finds us ready and disposed to receive him; our hearts are open, and our affections bid him welcome.

It were heartily to be wished that we were as careful to defeat his attempts, as we are not ignorant of his devices. But it goes against us to kill and crucify our beloved lust, which courts us with such bewitching tenders of satisfaction. To cut off the right hand, and pluck out the right eye (in a literal sense) is not a greater violence to nature. But, dear as our favourite sin is, I must proceed in the

Second place, To shew the extreme danger of indulging this our beloved lust.

Virtue has ever been esteemed a steady, constant, and uniform principle. Therefore, St. James tells us, that whosoever shall offend in one point (i.e. knowingly, wilfully, habitually offend) is guilty of all. Could a man, indeed, carry his obedience so far as to sin but in one point, (which is the case supposed by St. James) yet so long as he harbours one darling bosom vice, in hopes that the Lord will pardon him in this thing, all his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned; but in the trespass that he hath trespassed, and in the sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

'Till our duty comes in competition with some valuable interest, or prevailing passion, we cannot take the measure of it. But where our interest or pleasure stand in competition with our duty, how is every the most base and wretched thing preferred before Christ? How

often do we determine, as the Jews did heretofore, not this man but Barabbas? Such was the policy of the Gadarenes, who, for fear of losing their swine, besought Jesus that he would depart out of their coasts.

Is the sin (preferred before Christ) dear and useful as the right hand? Why, it is no extraordinary thing, when the right hand is likely to corrupt the whole body, to cut it off and cast it from us, that we may preserve the maimed trunk, and die a little later. And is, this severity not to be borne in order to save the soul, and secure it from the danger of infernal punishment? This is certain, to enjoy the present satisfaction of sin, and yet to escape damnation, are two things utterly inconsistent, and according to the word of God, impossible.

St. Paul has enumerated the several sins which exclude from the kingdom of God. Be not deceived, says he, neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God, It is not necessary, it seems, in order to the attainment of damnation, that we add to our intemperance, uncleanness; to uncleanness, idolatory; to idolatory, extortion; to extortion, envy, and the like; and so to complete the body of sin in all its parts: one beloved lust will supply the want of all the rest; and as surely bring to the same end, as if a multitude of other sins were called in to its assistance. So one

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