ferve to illuftrate and clear the righteousnefs of God in thy condemnation.

II. Ufe, for exhortation.

In the next place, the point naturally leads me to a vehement perfuafive unto all finners, of what rank or fize foever they be, to hearken to the voice of Christ, who takes them all within the compafs of his gracious invitation in the text, faying, If any man open, I will come in. Let all forts of finners blefs God for the extenfiveness of this invitation, and that they find themselves by it, as yet, within the reach and compass of the arms of a merciful Redeemer; and that there is nothing wanting to fecure their falvation, but the hearty confent of their wills to the reasonable and neceffary terms of the gofpel. Look over the whole book of God, and you fhall there find but one cafe abfolutely excepted from the poffibility of forgiveness; but one wound abfolutely incurable, of which Chrift fpeaks, Mat. xii. 31, 32. And what may be the reafon that this only is an incurable wound? Certainly it cannot be because the malignity of this fin exceeds the meritorious and pardoning virtue of the blood of Chrift; but rather, because there is no facrifice appointed by the Lord for it. God never defigned that the blood of Chrift fhould be an expiatory facrifice for that din, as the apostle plainly fpeaks, Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6, 7. All other fins and blafphemies fhall be forgiven unto men, faith Chrift; that is, they are capable of forgivenefs, upon fincere and actual repentance and faith; yea, they have been actually pardoned unto many: nov the greater any man's fins have been, the greater need he hath to haften to Chrift for pardon. There are fome of you greater funers than others; for though no fin be venial, light and trivial in iself, yet compared one with another, there is a vast difference found betwixt them in the weight and aggravations of them. Now, I will labour to fhew you by what rules men are to eftimate the geatness and aggravations of fin; and then, to convince you that the greatest of finners ftand yet fair for mercy as well as the lefer, and fometimes much fairer. "Publicans and "harlots go ino the kingdom of God before you," faith Chrift, Mat. xxii. 31. Now the rules to estimate the aggravations and greatnefs of fin y, are thefe:

1. There be ins of infirmity, committed out of weakness; and there are crying ins in the ears of the Lord. Of the former fort, fins of infirmity you read, Gal. vi. 1. where it is called a being overtaken in a fult. Here is no premeditation, nor deliberate confent, but a fuprize: these go not to the account of grofs and heinous enormitie, called in Scripture, crying fins, fuch is the fin of oppreflion, Hab. ii. 10, 11. "The stone shall cry out of

"the wall, and the beam out of the timber fhall answer it." The meaning is, that the injuftice and oppreffion which men have used in raising their own houses, fhall cry in the ears of the Lord for vengeance. The ftone in the wall fhall fay, I was digged out of. the quarry, hewn, and laid here by the unrewarded labours of the poor Mafon; and the timber out of the beam fhall fay, I was hewn, fquared, and placed here by the unrewarded hands of the poor Carpenter. This is a crying fin; fo alfo is the fin of murder, when our hands have been defiled with innocent blood. This makes a difmal cry to heaven; Gen. iv. 10. "The voice of thy " brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." A fin that makes a horrid outcry in both worlds at once; in heaven, and in the finner's confcience. Such alfo is the fin of unnatural lufts. The fin of Sodom made a cry which came up to heaven, Gen. xviii. 20. "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is great, and "their fin is very grievous." Compare these fins with the fins of common infirmity, which come by way of involuntary furprize, and what vaft odds will be found in the weight and aggravations of them?

2. You find in Scripture a great difference put betwixt fins committed against the clear fhining light of knowledge in the finner's confcience, and fins of ignorance, which are committed for want of knowledge. Chrift himself puts a great difference betwixt them, Luke xii. 47, 48. and fo doth the apoftle, James iv. 17. “To him "that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is fin." Sin with a witnefs!

3. There are fingle acts of fin, and continued or repeated acts of fin; fins committed after convictions, promifes, and refolutions. Now there is not fo much of guilt in a fingle act of fin as there is in a repeated and continued course of fin, called, Deut. xxix. 19. "The adding of drunkenness to thirft;" and Ifa. xxx. 1. Adding fin to fin.". For, as it is in numbering, fo it is in finning; if the first figure be 1, the fecond is 10, the third 100, the fourth 1000; and every addition makes a greater multiplication. O what a dreadful reckoning will there be for the confciences of poor finners!

4. Contrivers and studiers of fin are always in Scripture placed in the first rank of finners. The beft fervant God hath in the world may be surprized by the deceitfulness of fin, against the gracious bent and refolution of his foul; but the contrivance and plotting of fin is quite another thing; therefore it is faid of the wicked, Job. xv. 35. "They conceive mifchief, and bring forth vanity, " and their belly prepareth deceit." This fin, like the fetus in the womb, hath its time of conception, growth, and birth; and

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all this by the deliberate confent of the naughty heart and will, which fofters and cherishes it.

5. There are ring-leaders in fin, and single perfonal fins, which fpread no farther than ourselves: a ring-leader in fin, is in Scripture reckoned amongst the greateft finners; fo, Rev. ii. 14. "Thou haft them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught "Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Ifrael." Thus Jeroboam, the fon of Nebat, made Ifrael to fin. There is the fame difference betwixt thefe and fingle perfonal fins, as there is betwixt a chain-fhot, and a fingle bullet. Mind this, you that have induced others to fin by your counfel or example.

6. There are fins in which men glory and take pleasure; and fins for which men groan and mourn. Now, the more pleasure any man takes in fin, the greater doth the fin arife in its aggravation. We read of fome, Job xx. 12. " In whofe mouths wicked"nefs is sweet, and they hide it under their tongue." That is, they draw a great deal of contemplative delight before, and after the commiffion of fin, as well as in the commiffion of it. It is bad enough to fin and figh, to fin and weep; but to fin and boast, to fin and make a mock of fin, what a prodigious way of finning is this! O finner! what a heart haft thou, that canft play and sport with that which grieves God, crucified Chrift, and which, without deep and found repentance, will damn thine own foul!

7. The more bonds of restraint any man breaks afunder to commit fin, the greater and more aggravated always that fin is in the fight of God. There be fome perfons upon whom God hath laid more restraints to keep back their fouls from iniquity, than he hath upon others. The more mercies he hath bestowed upon you, the more reftraints from fin. So many mercies, fo many ties, Jer. ii. 5, 6. especially spiritual mercies; as light in your minds, pardons fealed to your confciences, love manifefted to your fouls. Such alfo are your own vows, promifes, and refolutions; Jer. ii. 20. "Thou faidft, I will no more tranfgrefs." Didft not thou promife me, faith God, more care and circumfpection for time to come? And fuch are all the examples and warnings God hath given us by his judgments upon others, 1 Cor. x. 11. These things put an accent upon fin, and make it out of measure finful. And now, my friends, what have I.been driving at all this while, in opening the greatness and aggravations of fin? The defign of all this is to fhew you the indifpenfable need of repentance, and faith, to carry you to Chrift.

Object. But I am the perfon upon whom these crying aggravated fins are found. You tell me of going to Chrift; alas! there is no hope of mercy for fuch a wretch as I am! There it fticks. Poor

finners think it is to no purpose, they had as good go on in fin; for, they conclude, there is no hope for them.

Anfa. Come finners, give me leave to tell you, you have a text before you, that clears the way of your duty and falvation at once; If any man, be he what he will, be his fins never fo great, yet if he bear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, faith Chrift. There is mercy in Jefus Chrift, for thee who art guilty of crying fins: for thee, that haft finned against light and knowledge: for thee, that haft added drunkenness to thirst: for thee, that haft contrived fin with deliberation : for thee, that haft induced others to fin, by counfel or example: for thee, that haft taken pleasure in iniquity, and made a sport of fin; yea, and for thee also, that haft broken afunder the bonds of mercies, vows and warnings, provided thou wilt now hear the voice of Chrift, and thy will open to him with a hearty firm confent, Ifa. lv. 4. You are great and heinous finners; but I fhew this day a great and Almighty Saviour, one that is able to fave to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, Heb. vii. 25. There is a facrifice laid out and appointed for thefe fins. O blefs God for that! they are no where excepted from the poffibility of forgivenefs. Nothing but the impenitency of thy heart, and obstinacy of thy will, can bar thee from a full and final pardon. JESUS CHRIST can fave thee to the uttermoft. Say not within thyfelf, Can the virtue of his blood extend itself to the remiffion of this or that fin? He can fave to the uttermost. Look round about thee to the uttermoft horizon of all thy guilt, and Chrift can fave thee to the uttermoft that the eye of thy confcience can difcern, yea, and beyond it too; but then thou must come unto him. You fpeak of the greatness of fin, and you have cause to have fad thoughts about it; but, in the mean time, you confider not, that your unbelief, by which you stand off from Chrift, your only remedy, is certainly the greatest of all the fins that ever you food guilty of against the Lord. This is the fin that binds the guilt of all your other fins upon you. Let me therefore addrefs myfelf, (1.) To you who cry out of the greatnefs of fin that dif courages you from going to Chrift. (2.) To leffer finners, who because they are clear of great enormities, fee not their need of Chrift.

1. This exhortation speaketh to you, whose consciences are feared with the horrid and hideous aggravations of your fins, by reafon whereof your own mifgiving hearts, affifted by the policy of Satan, difcourage you from all attempts to gain Chrift and pardon, in the way of repentance and faith. Let me, at this time, hint three or four confiderations to you, by way of encouragement. (1.) The fparing goodness of God till now, gives fome encouVOL. IV.

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ragement, that God may have a referve of mercy for fo great and vile a finner as thou art. O what a mercy is it, that thy life hath been fpared hitherto! Many of thy companions in fin are beyond hope and mercy, whilft thou art left. I confefs, this is no fure fign of God's gracious intention to thee, unless his goodness and forbearance do lead thee to repentance: Then the gracious intention of God, in prolonging thy life, would evidently appear. But, however, it is in itfelf a very great mercy, becaufe, without it, no fpiritual mercy could be expected.

(2.) It is matter of encouragement and hope, that though your disease be dreadful, yet it is not defperate and incurable. The text takes it within the compafs of mercy: O blefs God for that, If any man, &c.

(3.) As great finners as you have been have found mercy, 1 Tim. i. 16. and God would have it to be recorded for your encouragement. If now the Lord fhall make thy heart to break, and thy will to bow, whatever thy fins have been, they shall not bar thee from mercy and forgivenefs. But if thou refolve to go on in fin, or fit down defponding or discouraged, and wilt not come in at the invitation and call of Chrift, then thy wound is incurable indeed; and there is but one way with thee, thy mittimus is already made for hell; and that fcripture in 1 Cor. vi. 9. will tell thee whither thou art going. But God forbid that this fhould be the iffue of Chrift's gracious invitations to thee, and forbearance of thee. Seeing mercy is tendered to any man that will accept it upon Chrift's terms, exclude not thyfelf when he hath not excluded thee.

2. I will close up this use of exhortation to another fort of perfons, who are not of the notorious, infamous rank of profane finners, but their lives have been drawn more fmoothly through a courfe of civility. Thefe have as great need to be preffed to repentance and faith, as the most notorious finners in the world. These are a generation that blefs themselves in their own eyes, and thank God with the Pharifee, Luke xviii. 11. "They are "not as other men." They acknowledge converfion to be the duty of the profane; that fuch finners as I laft dealt with stand in apparent need of it. But, as for themfelves, they fcarce know where to find matter for repentance; nor do they feel any need of Christ. Now, I would lay three confiderations before fuch perfons, to convince them that their cafe is as fad and hazardous, yea, and in fome respect, more hazardous than the state of the most notorious finners in the world; and that a change muft alfo pafs upon them, or elfe it had been good for them they had never been born.

Confideration 1.Let the civilized part of the world lay this thought close to their hearts, That, though their fins be not fo grofs and