contempt in riper years. Thus by the dis covery and enjoyment of things more excellent, not by stoickal disdain, or monkish selfdenial, Christians overcome the world. The grace of God, by bringing salvation to the soul, teaches them to deny worldly lusts. "We all," (says the apostle, describing the faith of the church and its effect) "beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord," 2 Cor. iii.

From hence appears the dangerous mistake of fancying we belong to Christ, though worldly lusts still hold dominion over us. Yet how prone are we thus to deceive ourselves! We "were once darkness," many will say, "but now are we light in the Lord." All preaching for a course of years was the same to us, we received no benefit from it. But now we know the doctrines of grace; we delight to attend where they are displayed, and indeed can bear no other divinity. Does not this sufficiently prove, that we are the people of God?

I answer, this is no proof the world is con quered, or our minds renewed. We may say and do this, yet be greedy, like Judas, of filthy lucre, and as hard-hearted to the cry of

the poor, thirst after worldly honours, indulge childish fondness for dress and diversions, be in love with pomp, and even vex every one about us by our evil tempers. All this may be said and done, yet our delight be only in sensual pleasures, our hearts elevated by worldly successes, or depressed by worldly fears alone, and we differ in nothing from scoffers who walk after their own lusts, but violent zeal for certain articles of the Christian faith, which in corrupt minds do much harm.

Do we then profess faith, and mean not to impose upon others, or deceive ourselves? Our victory over worldly lusts must be the indisputable proof that we partake of redemption. The excellency of our religious principles must shine in our business and station. Our spirit must not only be above roguery or fraud, but above covetousness also, and eagerness to get gain. And if wealth and affluence be our lot, we must conquer the enchantments of earthly and sensual gratifications. For without this substantial fruit of divine knowledge, zeal for doctrines is but a burning fever, not the genial warmth which flows from the love of God: devotion is superstition, not the worship of him in spi rit and in truth.

What so much emboldens revilers of the doctrines of grace? Professors, whose covetousness and treachery, marked with demure appearance and religious talk, evidently render it unsafe to trust them. Who from a wicked imagination that the election of grace is their sanctuary, and the righteousness of Christ their robe of salvation, conclude that deadly thing, sin, can do no hurt to their souls. Did not the scripture affirm there must be such offences, and were there not many whose Christian life and doctrine perfectly accord, we should be almost ashamed of the gospel itself, from the scandalous selfishness of numbers who profess it. And though the only lawful conclusion from such melancholy instances is, that "If any man say I know him, and keep not his commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him ;" yet these false professors will be loudly urged by the enemies of the truth, to make it odious.

O ye self-deceived professors, enslaved by worldly lusts, hear this, and tremble, and turn from your evil ways. Ye are answerable for all these sad consequencess before God; answerable for strengthening their hands who revile Christ; for aiding them to seduce others into their wicked errors; for fixing them in contempt of what God has revealed.

And to imagine you can be members of Christ, and safe in him, whilst your conduct lays a stumbling-block in the way of the gospel, is an infatuation one would not believe possible, was it not often seen.

The terrible doom awaiting those, who persist to the last in such a mistake, is awfully denounced. "Woe unto the world, because of offences, (at which they catch, and plead to their own undoing;) for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh: it were better for him that a millstone was hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea."

CHAP. XV.

ON THE NATURAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN.

ANOTHER enemy into whose hands we are fallen, is generally called in scripture, the flesh a word used to express the debased, corrupt state of our nature, which in its actings and tendency, is perfectly contrary to the law and holy nature of God. And this is called flesh, because a corrupt and sinful nature is what properly belongs to mankind, to all flesh, as they are in themselves. For man's nature, forsaken of divine and holy principles, of itself became exceedingly cor

rupt, and utterly depraved. See what detestable deeds! See what infernal tempers are the works of the flesh! "Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, strife, sedition, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revellings, and such like," Gal. v. 21.

Every one of these wickednesses, if left to ourselves in an hour of temptation, we are capable of committing. The charge of such total depravity of nature, must be denied and highly resented by creatures so corrupt. We could not be so vile, as God declares we are become by the fall, were we naturally disposed to plead guilty to this charge. For pride, one great part of our disease, so intoxicates, that many who are a curse to society, by their evil example, are far from holding a mean opinion of their own goodness. Hence it should not surprise us to find the violent assertors of man's native innocence, amongst the licentious in principles or practice.

In order to prove we are in the hands of this enemy, a debased, corrupt nature, I shall produce the concurrent testimony of the word of God, with the confessed condition of every man living, even of those who have diligently used all possible means to extirpate this corruption.