ing violently on our neighbour's possessions, we must not so much as banker after them. The most secret wish for another man's wife violates this precept: but to desire an union with an unmarried woman only becomes sinful when it is excessive, and when the will of God is not submitted to, if he render it impracticable. We may desire that part of a man's property which he is inclined to dispose of, if we only think of equitable terms; but what he chooses to keep, we may not covet. The poor man may desire moderate relief from the rich, but he must not hanker after his affluence, or repine, even if he do not relieve him. Men exposed to equal hazards may agree to a proportionable contribution to him that suffers loss, for it accords with the law of love to help the distressed; and this exculpates insurance when fairly conducted; but all gaming, public or private, is coveting our neighbour's goods to increase our wealth by his loss, and is therefore a direct violation of the command. In fine, discontent, distrust, love of wealth, pleasure, and grandeur, desire of change, the habit of wishing, and every inordinate affection, are the evils here prohibited; and we know them to be the sources of all other crimes, and of man's misery; and the command requires moderation in respect of all worldly things, submission to God, acquiescence in his will, love to his commands, and a reliance on him for the daily supply of all our wants, as he sees good. We cannot close this explication of the law

• Not excepting lotteries, or even tontines: these latter constitute a kind of complicated wager about longevity, to be decided by Providence in favour of the survivors; and must, therefore, be equally culpable with other games of chance. Coveting other men's property, contrary to the law of love, and enriching the survivors, commonly at the expense of the relatives of the deceased, are intimately connected with them; whilst they lead men into strong temptations secretly to wish for the death of others, for the sake of advantages which they inordinately desire, and irregularly pursue.

(in which we find nothing redundant, defective, or injurious, but all things holy, just, and good) more properly than by the words of our church-service: "Lord, have mercy upon us" (forgiving all our past transgression), " and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee."

ESSAY V.

ON MAN'S SITUATION, AS A SINNER, IN THIS
PRESENT WORLD.

"By

37

THE apostle defines "sin to be the transgression of the law" (1 John iii. 4); and whatever in any respect or degree deviates from this perfect rule is sin, and exposes a man to condemnation. the law," therefore, "is the knowledge of sin,' (Rom. iii. 20): the better we understand the holy, just, and good commandments of God, the more enlarged will be our acquaintance with the vast variety of sins that are continually committed, as well as with the evil and desert of every transgression; and a comprehensive knowledge of our whole duty is essential to a just estimate of our own character, or our situation in respect to the eternal world.

But we should not only attend to the requirements and prohibitions of the divine law; its sanctions also demand our most serious consideration. Indeed the law, strictly speaking (as distinguished from the gospel), is merely a rule and a sanction: a rule formed by infinite wisdom, holiness, and goodness, and enforced by supreme authority; a sanction to be awarded by immutable justice and almighty power, according to the declarations of eternal truth. Repentance and amendment are right, and accord to the spirit of the command

ment; but they make no compensation for transgression, and are not noticed by the law: and the mercy exercised by the lawgiver has reference to the provisions of another covenant. Perfect obedience is the uniform demand of the precept; condemnation inevitably follows transgression. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James ii. 8—11); even as a man is condemned for violating one of the many statutes of the realm, in a single instance, though no other offence be charged upon him.— The apostle therefore declares, that "as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not" (during his whole life)" in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Deut. xxvi. 15, 16; Gal. iii. 10); and the moral law must be included at least in this general language. They alone who have at all times perfectly kept the whole law are entitled to the reward according to it, for "the man that doeth them shall live in them, but the soul that sinneth shall die;" and as "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," (of rendering to him the glory which is due to his name), so in this respect "there is no difference," but "every mouth shall be stopped, and all the world shall become guilty before God" (Rom. iii. 9—23); though an immense difference subsists between some men and others, in respect of the nature, number, and aggravations of their offences. All attempts, therefore, in a sinner to justify himself, must result from ignorance of God and his law, and of himself; or from a disposition to impeach the strictness of the law, and the justice of the lawgiver. Our Lord explains the import of the curse of the law (from which he redeemed his people by becoming a curse for them), when he forewarns us that he will say to the wicked at the day of judgment," Depart

from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ;—and these shall go away into everlasting punishment, (Matt. xxv. 41-46). We are constituted of body and soul; the soul purposes the act of disobedience, and the body executes its purpose; so that it is reasonable to suppose that the soul will at least share the punishment which the law denounces against the offender. When, therefore, the apostle reminded his brethren of their obligations to the Lord Jesus, he says, "who delivered us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess. i. 10): whence it is evident that he considered himself, and all the Christians in the world, to have been previously exposed, not only to present effects of the divine displeasure (from which Jesus does not deliver his people), but also to future condemnation. The original transgression (through which by "one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,") was indeed a violation of a positive injunction; but love to God, himself, and his posterity, absolutely required Adam to obey it: and, therefore, by disobedience, he fell under the curse of the law; and the event sufficiently proves that all his posterity were interested in that transaction, and fell with him; for it is an undeniable fact, that men are universally prone to break the law of God, and universally liable to pain, suffering, and death. All that believe the Bible will rest satisfied with the scripture account of this mysterious subject; others will never be able to account for the state of the world on any principles that are more rational: and the proper answer to those who object to an evident fact as inconsistent with divine justice, wisdom, and goodness, has been already given by the apostle, "Nay, but, O man, who art thou, that repliest against God?"

But our situation as sinners, in this present world, will not here be considered so much the

effect of Adam's sin as of our personal transgressions; for whatever we might argue concerning those "who have not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression," by willingly and knowingly preferring their own inclinations to God's express commandment, such as are capable of reading this essay will hardly pretend that they never once sinned in this manner. It is evident, that "it is appointed to all men once to die :" the sentence," dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return," overtakes every one: no vigour, power, wisdom, learning, wealth, efforts, or virtue, can rescue any man from this common lot of our fallen race. Only two exceptions have hitherto been made to the general rule; no more are to be expected till the coming of Christ, and few have ever been so absurd as to think of eluding or overcoming this universal conqueror. But "after death is the judgment;” and though few are willing to believe the solemn truth, yet it would have been found equally impossible for any sinner to escape condemnation at that decisive season, had not mercy brought in another hope by Jesus Christ.

If we judge of dispositions and actions by the holy law of God, we shall not long be able even to doubt but that men are born in sin, and by nature propense to evil and averse to good: "that which is born of the flesh is flesh;" and the carnal mind, which is natural to us, is "enmity against God" (Rom. viii. 5-9). It is the universal law of the whole creation, that every plant or animal possesses the properties of that from which it was derived. When Adam became a sinner, he begat sons" in his own likeness;" that which the Creator had pronounced very good soon became very bad; "the imaginations of men's hearts were only evil continually ;"" the earth was filled with violence" and wickedness, and so it evidently continues to this day. If men argue, that all this re..