and condemn all the selfish feelings, desires, and pursuits of the most serious, devout, self righteous sinners. But his private discourses were often much more pointed. He stripped the amiable young man of all his boasted goodness and confident hopes, and sent him away sorrowful. He expressly said to some of the best of sinners, "I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you." Yea, he called them serpents, and a generation of vipers, and asked them how they could escape the damnation of hell. Human nature is still the same, and the character and conduct and condition of the most amiable sinners is still the same, in the sight of a holy God. The apostle, therefore, asks those who had too favorable an opinion of unbelievers, "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial?" He then addresses himself to such as had a disposition to overlook the total selfishness and depravity of sinners, and says, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord; and I will receive you and be a father unto you; and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." This representation is perfectly agreeable to Christ's declaration to his disciples: "I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Paul says that while he was a Pharisee, he was in his own opinion, in respect to the righteousness of the law, blameless. There are multitudes at this day, who entertain the same views and hopes that Paul did, who are under the reigning power of a totally selfish and depraved heart. Such a heart renders their religious performances altogether vile and odious in the view of a holy God, who will condemn and destroy them, unless they make them a new heart and a new spirit, and turn from selfishness to holiness.

5. If God be perfectly holy, then sinners have no reason to desire preachers to lower down the terms of salvation which he has proposed in the gospel. The terms which he has proposed require holiness of heart. The love he requires is holy love, the repentance he requires is holy repentance, the faith he requires is holy faith, the submission he requires is holy submission, and the obedience he requires is holy obedience. And he allows no substitute for holiness. Paul, who once thought that he could obey and please God without holy love, was thoroughly convinced of his fatal error and guilt, and has stated it in the strongest terms. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the

gift of prophecy, and understanding all mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." By charity here the apostle means pure holiness, or pure disinterested benevolence, which seeketh not its own. Without this, he says, men can do nothing pleasing to God, or that will secure the salvation of their souls. But they all desire to be excused from exercising such holiness of heart, and to substitute some external services in the room of it. And some preachers are willing to gratify them, and lower down the essential conditions of the gospel. They tell them that if they will only pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, they may safely omit the weightier matters of the law, justice, judgment and the love of God. But though this mode of preaching may please men for a while, yet it directly tends to destroy them for ever. For God is a holy God; and without holiness no man can please him, nor be admitted into his holy kingdom, nor enjoy the blessedness of it. The deceiver and the deceived must become holy, or eternally perish.

6. If God be perfectly holy, then all sinners may see in what consists their inability to embrace the gospel. They often lament their impotence to comply with the terms of salvation, and consider it as a great calamity. But if they would only look into their own hearts, they would see that their impotence lies within themselves, and arises solely from the selfish and sinful exercises of their own hearts; and that the terms of salvation are as low and easy as God could make them. He requires nothing but what they must have, in order to be happy in this world and in the world to come. It is morally impossible to save them without that holiness which consists in the free and voluntary exercise of holy love, which is impartial, universal and disinterested benevolence.

7. It appears from what has been said, that there can be no neuters in religion. Every person must either love holiness or hate it; and either love God, or hate him for his holiness; and either desire to go to heaven, or refuse to go. Life and death. are set before all; and they are commanded to choose life, and condemned if they choose death. Sinners are in a critical and dangerous situation. They are in the hand of a holy God, who has a power and right to save, or destroy; and none can take them out of his hand. Be not deceived; for God will not be mocked with any thing in the place of a holy heart. To all sinners he says, "Be ye holy; for I am holy."

VOL. VI.

48

SERMON XXIX.

SINNERS VAINLY ATTEMPT TO DISSOLVE THEIR OBLIGATIONS.

LET us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.-PSALM ii. 3.

THIS psalm contains a prediction of Christ's coming to set up his spiritual kingdom in this world; and of the opposition that should be made to his holy and gracious design by all characters and classes of men. 66 Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." By the Lord's anointed, David here means Christ, which name properly signifies anointed. Accordingly, he again calls him anointed in the forty-fifth psalm. "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest iniquity; therefore God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." The Father, Son and Holy Ghost were equally united and concerned in setting up the kingdom of Christ upon the earth. And therefore all the opposition of Jews and Gentiles, of rulers and subjects, of high and low, was pointed against the one God in three persons. The reason why sinners of all descriptions were united in opposing this holy spiritual kingdom, was, because it came clothed with divine power and authority, which laid them under infinite bonds to return to God from whom they had revolted, and to become reconciled to those bonds for ever. The idea of being bound they could

not endure; and unitedly engaged to free themselves, if possible, from their obligations to God. They said in words and actions, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." This is equally the spirit and language of sinners at the present day. They wish to break loose from God, and throw off every divine restraint. The plain import of the text may be expressed in this general observation,

That sinners endeavor to free themselves from all obligations to God. I shall show,

I. What obligations they are under to God;

II. That they endeavor to free themselves from such obligations; and,

III. That their endeavors will be in vain.

I. I am to show what obligations sinners are under to God. These are of various kinds.

1. They are under natural obligations to God. Their nature as dependent creatures, forms an intimate connection between them and their Maker. Their dependence is constant and absolute. They cannot exist a moment without the immediate exertion of divine power. When God brought them into being, he gave them no power to preserve themselves in existence. They are no less dependent on God for preservation than they were for creation. This is true of all created beings. They have no self supporting, or self preserving power. In God they live, and move, and have their being. There is precisely the same connection between God and all his creatures, as there is between cause and effect; and it is well known that an effect can exist no longer than the cause which produced it continues to operate. My hand supports my book, which would instantly fall if I should withdraw my hand. The hand of God supports my existence; and if he should withdraw his hand I should no longer exist. This is true of all the children of men. They are continually in the hand of God, and must be so as long as they exist. Their dependence is absolute and universal. It respects all their natural powers and faculties, whether corporeal or mental. They are not sufficient to think, or speak, or act of themselves, independently of the presence and efficiency of God. They are as near to God, and as dependent on him, as omnipotence can make them. This natural dependence is a natural bond, cord, or obligation, by which God binds them to himself as closely and strongly as possible. And there is no idea more familiar to their minds than this of dependence. It springs up in their minds in infancy, increases in childhood and youth, and becomes stronger and more familiar through every stage of life. As soon as any one realizes that he is a creature of God, he cannot help believing that he

is under a natural obligation to him, by reason of his entire dependence on him for life and breath and all things.

2. Sinners are under a moral, as well as a natural obligation to God. He is a being possessed of every natural and moral excellence. His heart is full of love and good will to all his creatures of every character, condition or capacity; and all his natural perfections are under the influence of his perfect and universal goodness. He has never said, nor designed, nor done any thing but what his perfect goodness dictated. And he never will do any thing contrary to the perfect benevolence of his heart. He never will feel nor express any justice but benevolent justice, nor any mercy but benevolent mercy, nor treat any creature in any other manner than a benevolent manner. His moral perfections are equal to his natural. He is as infinitely holy, just and good, as he is infinitely wise, knowing and powerful. And all these moral perfections he is every where displaying, before the eyes of all mankind, in all the works of creation and providence, which lay them under moral obligations to love, adore and obey him. So the apostle declares in the first of Romans. Speaking of the heathen themselves, who were destitute of divine revelation, he says, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse; because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful.” The moral perfections of God are supremely amiable, and bind all mankind to love him supremely. The supreme moral excellence of God lays every intelligent creature, who is capable of seeing it, under moral obligation to glorify him as God. As every sinner is capable of knowing that God is perfectly good, so he is under moral obligation to love him for his goodness. And as he is capable of seeing that all the favors he enjoys come from his kindness and beneficence, so he is under moral obligation to thank him for every blessing which he receives from his hand. The whole earth is full of the goodness of God; and all men feel the happy influence of it, which binds them to feel and express supreme love to his character, and cordial obedience to every intimation of his will.

3. Sinners are under legal, as well as natural and moral obligation to God. His absolute supremacy gives him an independent right to assume the character of lawgiver. It properly belongs to him to give law to all his intelligent creatures. This right he has exercised towards mankind. He has expressly required them to love him with all the heart, with all the soul,