believe, his word; to deal justly, kindly, and truly, with their fellow-men; to watch, and resist, their spiritual enemies within and without; and universally to respect the dictates of their own consciences. Men, habituated to such a course of life from the beginning, are often decent, amiable, and highly respected. Yet every such man, when convinced of sin, will, in unbosoming himself to a Minister of the Gospel, in whom he confides, freely confess, that he has never really done his duty in a single instance; but has always been a sinner merely; that he finds not in his heart a disposition ever to pray in such a manner, as his conscience tells him God requires, and much less a preparation of soul to perform his duty at large.

Men of profligate characters are in still more deplorable circumstances. They do not even attempt to perform their duty at all; find no struggle between conscience and inclination; slide down the declivity of sin without an effort to stop their dangerous career; and satisfied with the smoothness and slipperiness of their course, give themselves no concern about the gulf, which yawns at the bottom.

Whence do these things arise? Certainly not from external circumstances. The profligate has no more external difficulties than the conscientious man; and might, if he pleased, be equally decent and amiable. The conscientious man has no more external difficulties than the man of piety; and might, if he pleased, be a Christian also. The Christian has no more external difficulties at one time, than at another; and might, if he pleased, perform his duty with the same exactness and ease, and be always equally virtuous. By this I do not mean indeed, that, in the metaphysical sense, their external difficulties are precisely the same; but that they are so much the same, as in no case to prevent them at all from performing their duty, if they were suitably inclined; or, in other words, if they possessed the disposition of Angels. The heart undoubtedly is in each of these cases the only essential bar to obedience. Were the heart right with God, the Christian would be perfect at all times; the conscientious man would become a Christian; and the profligate would cease from his abandonment, and become not only decent and amiable, but a Christian also. This reluctance to duty, therefore, these difficulties found in attempts to abstain from sin, prove the character to be corrupt, and the heart to be sinful. As they attend all men; they prove the common nature to be polluted; and evince, unanswerably, the sinful character of all the children of Adam.

SERMON XXX.

UNIVERSALITY OF SIN PROVED BY MAN'S REJECTION OF THE WORD OF GOD.

JEREMIAH viii. 9.—The Wise Men are ashamed; they are dismayed and taken : le, they have rejected the Word of the Lord, and what Wisdom is in them?

"The Wise ones are confounded,

They are dismayed, and ensnared;

Behold, they have spurned at the Word of Jehovah;
And as for Wisdom, what is there in them ?"

Blayney's Translation.

IN my last discourse, I proposed to consider, at length, the following Scriptural doctrine:

That, in consequence of the Apostacy of Adam, all Men have sinned.

In pursuing this design I exhibited the Universality of sin,
I. From Revelation; and,

II. From Facts.

From each of these sources I adduced a series of proofs, which appeared to me to furnish a complete establishment of the doctrine. Still it will be useful to examine so important a subject in a variety of modes; and to learn in what manner other sources furnish evidence of this great Scriptural declaration. I propose, therefore, to illustrate the doctrine, at the present time, from another Fact; viz. the rejection of the Word of God by Mankind.

In the verse preceding the Text, the people of Judea are exhibited as saying, in the midst of all their apostacy and wickedness, We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us: that is, We are holy, or virtuous; and the Law of the Lord is possessed, understood, and obeyed, by us; is in our hands, in our minds and in our hearts. To this arrogant declaration the prophet replies, Lo, certainly in vain made he it! the pen of the Scribes is in vain; that is, "To you God has given his Law or Word, in vain; The false pen of the Scribes hath converted it into falsehood."* "The false interpretations of the Law by the Scribes have changed the Law itself in the form, in which they teach, and you receive it, into falsehood; and to you, therefore, notwithstanding its excellence, it is in vai

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The wise men, themselves, he proceeds to observe in the text, are by these means ashamed, or confounded, and taken, or ensnared, in their own false interpretations and reasonings on the Law; and can form no consistent, no safe, scheme either of doctrine or practice. Nay, their mode of understanding, and explaining, the word of God is, in effect, an absolute rejection of it. Consequently there is no Wisdom, no holiness, or virtue, in them. Their rejection of the word of the Lord is a plain proof, that they are totally destitute of all moral good.

What was true of these Wise men, or Scribes, is unquestionably true of all other men in the like circumstances. To the Scribes the word of God was offered; and was enjoined on them with divine authority. They disliked and rejected it. This conduct proved them to be void of holiness. In like manner it has been offered to immense multitudes of other men, who have disliked and rejected it also. The consequence follows irresistibly, that they as well as these Isrealites, are void of holiness.

Holiness is plainly the only virtue, or moral excellence; the only character, which can recommend Intelligent beings to God. The Scriptures know of no other; and, although they call this character by different names, such as holiness, righteousness, goodness, and wisdom, they still mean, always, the same thing. Nor can Reason devise any other excellence of this nature. Holiness and Virtue are, therefore, synonimous.

The Doctrine of the Text, then, generally expressed, is this: The Rejection of the Word of God, is decisive proof, that those, who reject it, are destitute of Virtue, or moral excellence. To illustrate this Doctrine, will be the object of the present Disand the illustration will be derived from three considera

course; tions.

1. The Nature of the Word, which is rejected:

II. The Manner, in which it has been rejected:

III. The Doctrines, which those, who have rejected it, have preferred to it.

I. The Nature of the Word which is rejected, strongly illustrates this doctrine.

Under this head I observe,

1st. The Word, which is thus rejected, is the Law, or preceptive Will, of the Creator, and Ruler, of all things.

As God created us, he has the highest possible property in us, and the most absolute right both to us and our services. This right can be bounded by nothing but his pleasure. Whatever is his, he has an unlimited right to dispose of as he pleases; nor can any one warrantably say to him, in this respect, What doest thou? Hence his right to prescribe the manner, in which we and all other creatures shall be employed and disposed of, is plainly supreme. If, then, we refuse to render to him the obedience, which he requires in all, or any, of the cases, or degrees, prescribed by him; VOL. I.

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we are guilty of refusing to render to him that, which is his own. No injustice, no fraud, no robbery, can be more palpable, or extreme, than this. No injustice to man can be compared with it: for nothing is man's, by a right, which can be compared with this right of God.

2dly. This Law, in all its requisitions, is perfectly reasonable and just.

It is contained in the two great commands, Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart; and Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself.

Both these precepts are in the highest degree, and in the most obvious manner, just and reasonable; and would demand our obedience with unanswerable propriety, if the nature of the precepts only were regarded. Men, in obeying them, would act in the best manner possible for themselves; and would most promote both public and personal happiness. Nay, there is no other manner, of acting, which can be justly called desirable. Every departure from conformity to these precepts is, of course, evil, and of malignant influence on the well-being of the universe.

God is infinitely excellent, as well as infinitely great and awful; and on account of this excellence most clearly deserves, and most justly claims, the highest Love of his Intelligent creatures. Nothing more is, therefore, demanded by this Law, than ought cheerfully to be done, if no such Law existed.

3dly. The Law of God is good, as well as just; profitable to those who obey, as well as honourable to him who is obeyed.

Obedience to this Law constitutes the only real worth of rational Beings; and is the sum of all those affections, and their consequences, which form the internal happiness of man; the most essential and valuable part of his happiness. The true loveliness, dignity, and excellence of Man is nothing, beside that state of the mind, which is exact conformity to this Law. From this character, and from this alone, spring the peace and self-approbation, the internal harmony and delight, which are the proper "prize of Virtue;" the independent and eternal possession of every good mind.

In the same degree is the Usefulness of rational beings formed. Man is useful, only when he is voluntarily useful. Obedience to the Law of God is all, that is intended by voluntary usefulness. Love to God, is the great and only source of usefulness to him, in his kingdom; and Love to Man is the only source of voluntary beneficence to Man. The Love, which is the fulfilling of the Law, is a vital and immortal principle of doing good to all men, both friends and enemies, at all times, and in every manner. Nor is there any real and voluntary beneficence, beside what springs from this principle. Rational Beings, wholly under its influence, would form a perfect state of happiness in any world; and such beings, freed from all restraints, would, if destitute of it, create consummate misery. He, then, who refuses obedience to this Law, is

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guilty of gross injustice to God, relinquishes all personal excellence, peace, happiness, and worth; and, renouncing all voluntary usefulness on the one hand, prepares himself, on the other, to become a nuisance to the Universe.

4thly. To this obedience an endless and perfect Reward is annexed.

Were the Law hard in its requisitions, and Obedience to it severe and distressing; yet, if crowned in the end with a reward ample and abundant, the whole of the Requisitions, taken together, would not be unreasonable, nor undesirable. The time, during which 1 we are here required to obey, is but a moment: the Reward, on the contrary, is eternal. The hardship of obedience must, therefore, be transient and trifling; while the reward would be endless, and therefore immense in its value.

To obedience, then, Reason and Wisdom direct, and urge, with motives of infinite power; and from disobedience, with similar motives, deter. Nothing, of course, can be a reason for disobedience, were our present happiness only concerned, except a disposition so depraved, as to prefer sin without a future reward, to holiness, with immortal glory.

5thly. To disobedience a Punishment is threatened, which is also endless.

Every creature who disobeys, therefore, chooses to hazard endless wo for the pleasure of disobeying, rather than to gain eternal life with the pain found, or supposed to be found, in obeying.

So plainly do Men choose death rather than life; and in sinning against God wrong their own souls.

In this state of sin and wretchedness, however, God did not leave them to perish, as they chose; but he sent his own beloved Son, the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, to become their Atonement, and Intercessor. Through his Mediation he proposed to them to repent of their former disobedience and to return to obedience, to virtue, and to his everlasting favour. On these conditions he promised to receive and bless them, notwithstanding their Apostacy.

In this situation he placed them in his word; and commanded them, in what may be called a New Law, a Law of grace and mercy, to believe in Christ, to repent of their sins, and return to holiness. The Gospel is a Law; and of equal authority and obligation with the moral Law. God commandeth all men every where to repent. And this, saith John, is his commandment, that we believe on him whom he hath sent. The proposals of the Gospel are, therefore, not merely declarations, or promises; but a Law; compliance with which is the highest duty of Mankind.

What, then, is the nature of this duty? In the most summary language, it is this: That we renounce our sins, and return to God, and to obedience; committing ourselves with an affectionate confidence to Christ, as our Instructer, Intercessor, and Lord; and as