education, no ufe and improvement of his natural powers and faculties; or elfe, he hath been inadvertent and regardless. And thus many live, as it were, without God in the world; forget God, not having their fenfes exercised to perceive and difcern; having no affection nor devotion towards him; have no regard to their future glory, nor to their foul's immortality; do good and bad, without difference or diftinction; confound the sense of good and evil; they think not on the future account, nor upon eternity. Thus did not David; for he tells us, Pfal. cxix. 59. That he confidered his ways, and turned his feet unto God's teftimonies. The wicked, on the contrary, are faid to forget God, Pfal. 1. 22. Job viii. 13. They call not on his name, Pfal. lxxix. 6. They live but to gratify fenfe, pamper their flefh, and feed the beaft, Rom. xiii. 14. They make provifion for the flesh to fulfil the lufts thereof. They make it the business and employment of their mind and understanding to cater for the body. their reasonable fouls only ferve for falt to keep the body from ftench and putrefaction.

3. Vainly fraught, and poffefs'd, fo as to flatter themselves, deceive their own fouls, put themselves into a fool's paradise, live in a lie, go on blindfold to destruction. Fancy and humour, and not the reafon and truth of things rule in their lives. Or elle,

4. They are wilful and defperate, cafting off all obligations to God, and hold the truth in unrighteouf nefs; make havock of confcience; turn the grace of God into wantonnefs, and contract reprobacy of mind, and fay with them, i Cor. xv. 32. Let us eat

and

and drink, for to morrow we must die. Come, fay they, fetch wine, and we will fill our felves with strong drink, and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant, Ifa. Ivi. 12..........

Thus have you had an account of the caution, and admonition: be inftructed.

II. Now for the inforcement. Left my foul depart from thee left I make thee defolate, a land not inhabited.

Left my foul depart from thee; these words are a metaphor taken from a member put out of joint, that cannot be fet again; it is of the fame import with that we read, Ezek. xxiii. 18. So fhe difcovered her whoredoms, and my mind was alienated from her : and Heb. x. 38. My foul shall have no pleasure in him. The meaning of God in all fuch expreffions, is, that we fhould return unto him; therefore here obferve, how hardly doth God forget his relation to his people? how doth he inforce his arguments ? he gives admonition; and how doth he inforce and back it, that they may take notice, God's meaning is, they fhould return to him, because of his forwardness to admonish? in these words you have a double argument.

Argumentum amoris, &

Argumentum timoris.

1. An argument of love and good will, left my foul depart from thee. 2. An argument from fear, left I make thee defolate. A double argument is as a double teftimony, by which every word is established, 2 Cor. xiii. 1. Here is an obligation upon ingenuity; and the constraints of neceffity. This double argument fhews us two things.. 1. The

1. The ftupidity and fenselessness of those who are made to the perfection of reafon and understanding,. and yet act contrary to it.

2. The impiety and unrighteoufnefs of finners, who are a real offence to God, cause his displeasure, and bring upon perfons and places, ruin and deftruction. For can any one imagine that it is a matter of nothing, that man, who is endued with mind and understanding, and so made capable of God, to live in a conftant neglect of God, and abuse of those principles, whereby he is capable to serve God?

Since all the ways of God, are ways of righteouf nefs, judgment and truth, in whom there is fulness of power and liberty; yet cannot by power pervert that which is right is it to be endured by the Governor of the world, that a limited creature, of bounden duties, fhould extend liberty to the confounding of order and right, and all difference between good and evil? that he should take liberty to the introducing of all confufion and disorder in the family of God (for the whole world is his family) and live in the violation of all the laws of righteoufnefs, goodness and truth, which are the laws of heaven. Let us think impartially, and judge. righteous judgment.

Now because fome think that fin is a trifle, and wonder that God fhould think himself concerned to restrain and limit his creatures, in what they have amind to do; that God fhould refufe to let them enjoy that liberty; that God should deny his creatures fatisfaction. I fhall therefore fhew that those things which we call finful, have an intrinfick

malignity

malignity in them; and therefore are forbidden by God, because of their naughtiness.

And for further fecurity to us against such poifon, God (out of his care for us) hath fuperadded the use of his own authority over us, and our intereft (which in all reafon ought to prevail with us) that we should not do ourfelves that mifchief; that we fhould not meddle with what is fo hurtful and dangerous.

This may be faid concerning the liberty, that by our Saviour we are Brought into that in the ftate of the gospel, I know nothing forbidden, which one of true reafon would defire to have liberty to do. There is intrinfick rancour, venom, and malignity in every fin, tho' in several degrees and this I will thew in four particulars.

1. Sin is a variation from the law and rule of God's creation: It is contrary to the order of reason: and when I fay this, I fay as bad as can be spoken. Every fin is against the order of reafon, against the law and rule of God's creation; and it is unnatural to the state of a creature. What other creature in nature doth vary from the ftate of it's creation, but man? who ought to be most regular, conftant and uniform. If the reft of the creatures fhould do fo, the world would foon be turned into a chaos and confufion. If the fea fhould do fo, it would foon overflow all its banks. If the fun should give no more light, but be the cause of stench and putrefaction; that instead of the fplendid rays, which he casts upon the world, and revives thofe things by, which are below, it should fend forth noifom vapours, how would the universe be unfurnished and difordered ?

The

C

The like may be faid of all other creatures, which if they should act as irregularly, and unnaturally as man, every thing would be brought into disorder and confufion, and the world turned into a chaos. What is it in human nature to do contrary to the order of reafon, and law of heaven? It is a phrase characteristical of venom and malignity; to which there can be no comparison.

2. In fin, there is open and manifeft neglect of God, to whom all reverence and regard is most due. For whofoever converts himself inordinately to the creature, averts himself from God; and then, what becomes of our due acknowledgements to God, and thankfulness, than which, nothing in the world is more reasonable; for, the ox knoweth his owner, and the afs, his mafter's crib, Ifa. i. 3.

3. By fin, there is a disturbance in God's family: (as the whole world is.) It is an interruption of that intercourse and communication there ought to be amongst creatures; for every finner deftroys much good. Wherever there is irregular motions, agents will interfere; and hence arise exasperations, contradiction and offence. Were mankind regular in their motions, and confined themselves to warrantable actions, there would be nothing of displeasure, paffion, provocation or offence found among men.

4. By the practice of iniquity we marr our spirits, fpoil our tempers, and acquire unnatural principles, and difpofitions. By fin, we part with the modesty and ingenuity of our natures. Now therefore let the atheistical and profane perfon be aggrieved if he can, or find fault with God, that he should cut