The application is that which we principally defigned in the choice of this subject; and therefore we have but named things in the doctrinal part. And now we come to improve the whole. That which we defign chiefly in the improvement of this, is an ufe of conviction. Some days ago, we came to you proclaiming the grace, mercy, and love of God in Chrift Jefus; now we come to accuse you as guilty of fin. The defign of our doing fo is indeed the advancement of the glory of Chrift, and in him of the grace and mercy of the Lord God. But our prefent work in itself is fuch, as doth not in its own nature look that way, though, by the infinite wisdom and goodness of God, it be made subfervient thereunto. "You are all here present before the Lord, to hear what God the Lord will fpeak unto you;" and, as Ehud faid to Eglon, king of Moab, fo we say to you, "We have a meffage from God to you," Judges iii. 20. A fad meffage, not much unlike to that which Ehud brought to Eglon, a meffage of death. We come this day to you, to implead you in God's name as guilty of fin. The meffage is not to fome particular grofs offenders, but to every foul now "prefent before the Lord;" to the child, to the young man and maid, to thofe of riper years, and to them who are old, and stoop under the weight of many years. "In the name, and at the inftance of the great, the terrible God, the King, the Lord of hosts," whose name is dreadful among the heathen, Mal. i. 14. " that confirm eth the word of his fervants, and performeth the counsel of his meffengers,” Ifa. xliv. 26. we are to implead, impeach, and accufe every foul here prefent as guilty of fin. Hitherto we have fpoken in the general, which, it may be, has been no better to you than Nathan's parable to David. It may be fome of you have been faying, that the foul that has finned has defervedly fallen fort of the glory of God, and fallen under the wrath of God: but now what we faid before in general, we come to fay in particular to every one of you, as Nathan did to David, "Thou art the man, thou art the woman, thou art the child, the young man, or the maid, who haft finned, and thereby come fhort of the glory of God." Now, that we may be fuccefsful in this work, and bring bring you, if poffible, to understand your state and condition, we shall, First, Read and open, as it were, the charge and indictment, we do in God's name bring against you. Secondly, Lead witneffes, whereby we fall prove it a gainst you all in general. Thirdly, Endeavour, particuiarly, by arguments to make our charge good, 1ft, Againit children and young men; 2d, Against thefe of a middle age; and 3d, Against old men and women. This we shall do, as it were, by taking you to the places, the companies, and occasions, where you have finned, and incurred the guilt now charged on you. Fourthly, Show what fatisfaction our great Lord demands against fuch traitors. And then, Fifthly, What reafon he has to require it. this account. First, The charge we lay against you, is not fome petty, fome fmall misdemeanour, that may be atoned for by a bare acknowledgment, by fome pitiful mock, God have mercy upon me. No; the charge draws deep, it is no less crime than that of fin, fin against the great Sovereign of the world. Ye all have finned. O! if ye knew what a world of evil is in that curfed thing, fin! When we say, Ye have finned, you are ready to fay, O! we know that well enough. Is this all ye have to say? When we heard of fuch a dreadful thing as a charge and indictment in the name of God against us, when we heard of leading wit neffes, and all the other parts of a trial, we did apprehend there was fome terrible thing a-coming, fome dreadful unheard of evil to be laid home to our door; but now we find there is nothing faid against us, but only that we are finners, and who will deny this? who knows it not? and this is but the common lot. "God be merciful to us," we are all finners; and there the repentance of moft is done; their fores are healed, and they can live,. and it may be die, without any fear in this cafe: such light apprehenfions have the most part of fin. Thefe, thefe, it may be, are the apprehenfions of not a few of you, upon hearing the charge: but if there be not blind minds, fhut eyes, deaf ears, and dreadfully hard hearts among us, ere all be done, fome of you will, it may be be, change your minds, and think this a very dreadful and heavy charge. If God would now concur by his Spirit, and enable us to manage our work to purpose, if he would let out the convincing influences of his Spirit, the weight of this charge would prefs you fo as to make your hearts fall and fink within you. Sin is an ordinary word, a little word, and most men do apprehend that there is but little in it: but mistake it not; there is much in it, more than angels or men can ever difcover, or fully unfold. Yet that all this that we have faid may not feem a groundless allegation, I fhall, 1st, Set up to you some glaffes, wherein you may get a view of fin's ugly face; or I fhall, as Balak did to Balaam, take you to fuch places, where you may get a fight of its formidable nature, power, and malignity. 2dly, I fhall tell you of fome dreadful and monstrous evils that are lodged in every fin, the leaft idle thought or word. And, zdly, I hall mention fome killing aggravations that your fins are clothed with, that put an accent upon thein, and enhance their guilt. And this will let you fee the great evil of fin; this will open your indictment. ft, We shall give you fome profpects of fin. It may be, many of you do think but very little of fin; but here I de fire you to come and look at it, 1. In the glass of God's law. See the holy, the high and exalted God, exhibiting his mind and will in two tables, tables containing fafe, good, holy, just, spiritual, and every way advantageous rules, for that creature whom God has taken fo diftinguishing and particular a care of. Well, what fhall we fee of fin here? Here, O here, you may fee fin breaking, nay dashing to pieces, these two tables, in a worse fenfe than Mofes did, Exod. xxxii. 19. Every fin, the least fin, throws them both to the ground; for, as the apostle James tells us, "Whofoever fhall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all," James ii. 10. Is it fmall thing to you to trample upon, to tread under foot, the holy, the righteous law of God, that is the perfect image and reprefentation of all his holiness and fpotless purity but if yet ye will not fee the curled nature of fin, then we bid you, in the 2d place, take a view of it in the nature of the great God, the feat of all majefty, glory, beauty, and excellency; and if if you look at it here, O how ugly will it appear! Nothing in all the world contrary and oppofite to the nature of God, but fin. The meaneft, the most apparently deformed creature in the world, the toad, the crawling infect, carries in its nature nothing really oppofite to the nature of God; fin, only fin, ftands in oppofition to him. This he cannot dwell with: "Evil fhall not dwell with him, nor finners ftand in his fight." Such is that abhorrence that God has at fin, that when he speaks of it, his heart as it were rifes against it, “Oh do not that abominable thing which I hate!" as in that fore-cited Jer. xliv. 4. And if yet ye will not fee its finfulness, I will take you where you may see more of it. Go take a view of it, 3. In the threatenings of the law, and fee there what eftimate God puts on it, and what a thing it is. All the pow er of heaven, the anger, the fury, the vengeance of God, all are levelled at the head of fin. Take but one inftance for all, in in that 7th of Joshua; there a people accustomed to victory turn their back before the enemy, fall a prey to a people devoted to deftruction; nay, moreover, God in the 12th verfe, calls all the people accurfed, and tells them, they cannot stand before the enemy, ❝ neither will I be with you any more," fays he. Why? what is the matter? wherefore is the heat of all this anger? what meaneth this vengeance? The matter was, there was a fin committed; Achan had taken fome of the spoils of the enemy. Thus you fee, one fin makes God breathe out threatenings against a whole nation. In fine, look through the book of God, and there you shall fee one threatening big with temporal, another with eternal plagues; one full of external, another of internal and spiritual woes; and all as it were levelled at the head of fin. And is that a fmall matter which never fails to fet out all the vengeance of hea. ven against the perfon that is guilty of it? But yet this is not all, you may fee more, if ye look at it, 4. In the judgments of God, that are abroad in the earth. Look we to one nation, there we fhall fee thoufands falling before the avenging enemy, the fword glutted as it were with blood; men who a little before were poffeffed of wisdom, courage, and all thole endowments which ferve to enhance the worth of the fons of men, are here laid heaps upon heaps: Go we to another, there we fhall fee no few er er carried off by fickness and diseases, and all wearing out by time. Go to church-yards, and fee what vaft havock thefe do make; there you may see the rubbish of many generations laid heaps upon heaps. Well, fee you nothing of fin in all this? What think you of all these lamentable evils, miferies, and woes? Why, fee you nothing of fin in them all? Sure you are blind if you do not. I ask you, as Jehu did when he faw the dead fons of Ahab, 2 Kings x. 9. "Who flew all these?" Who brought all thefe fons of pride, who not long ago were ftrangely ruf fling it out in the light of warlike glory, down to the fides of the pit? who filled your church-yards with heaps up. on heaps, fathers and fons, high and low, rich and poor, of all fexes, ranks, ages, and degrees? Surely fin has done this; for as "by one man fin entered into the world,' and death by fin; and fo death paffed upon all men, for that all have finned," Rom. v. 12. But if ftill you will look upon fin as a small and light thing, we have yet another glafs wherein you may have a further fight of it. 5. Enter the house of a foul under trouble of conscience ; look at a Heman, and you shall hear him making a heavy moan in that 88th Pfalm; there you fee a man that has a foul full of trouble, oppreffed with all the waves and bil. lows of the wrath of God, almost distracted with the terrors of God. Now if you faw one in this cafe crying out in anguish of fpirit, nay, it may be, tearing himself, beating his breast, ask him the reason of all this distress, he will tell you, that it is fin that has done all this. He has no rest in his bones for ills that he has done, Pfal. xxxviii. 3. And if yet ye have not feen enough of the finfulness and evil of fin, I fhall give you another profpect of it, 6. In the hateful, monstrous, and enormous crimes, that are committed in the world. Some fins there are which bring along with them infamy and difgrace, even before men. Human nature, as corrupt as it is, shrinks at some fins, they carry in them fuch an evident contrariety to the faint remains of natural light. Sins there are, which, as the apostle says, 1 Cor. v. 1. “are not fo much as named among the Gentiles." Now, if a man be guilty of any of thefe crying abominations, these crimson fins, then he be. comes odious in the world. Call a man a murderer, an inceftous perfon, an abufer of his parents, or the like, every fober |