*

entirely different from this.

Sinners not

only injure, or rather attempt to injure, their greatest benefactor, the God in whom they live and move, by whofe power and goodness they are fupported every moment; but his goodness to them in times. past, and the hope of its continuance, are the very things that embolden them to of fend him; and " because fentence against "their evil works is not fpeedily executed,

ર

therefore their heart is fully fet in them to "do evil."--Devils may be capable of this, but guilty of it they are not; their forlorn condition hath put it beyond their reach ; the immediate execution of the doom they had incurred, afforded them no opportunity of trampling upon the mercy of God: fo that, with regard to the act of fin, we plainly exceed them in this respect. O that men could be brought to view their conduct in its true light, I am fure they would loath and abhor themfelves on account of it. To burden God's patience because it is great; to load him with insults, because, out of pity to us, he is flow in refenting them; to harden our hearts by that

7

very mercy which fhould diffolve and foften them; this is worfe than devilish; there is fomething in this fo perverse, so monstrous, fo unnatural, that one would be tempted to fufpect, that fome malicious flanderer of human nature had forged the accufation, were we not all confcious of the truth of it, and more or lefs convicted, of this horrid bafeness by the teftimony of our own confciences.-Thefe confiderations, methinks, fhould be fufficient to deter us from burdening the patience of God any more. But I have further to add, in the

3d place, That the confequences of this abuse fhall, in the iffue, be most fatal to the finner himself. You cannot defeat

the purposes of God, nor impair his glory in any degree; the weapons of your rebellion muft recoil upon yourselves; for God will be magnified in them that perish, as well as admired in thofe who are faved. As the juftice of his nature renders his mercy more wonderful, fo mercy abused will make justice to fhine forth with greater fplendour. Sinners must stand speechlefs before the judgement-feat, and shall find

nothing

nothing to plead in their own defence, when the Judge fhall fay to them, “ Ye "would not come unto me, that you “might have life." Long did I stand at the door and knock, loudly did I call upon you to turn and live: but ye fet at nought all my counfel, and would have none of my reproof; therefore now eat the fruit of your own doings, and fill yourselves with your own devices. Be- ́ cause when I called, ye refused; when I ftretched out my hand, ye did not regard; therefore do I laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh, and leave you to inherit that wrath which you treasured up for for yourselves, while mercy courted your acceptance, but did not prevail.

Thus far I have spoken for the conviction and reproof of those who have hitherto been abufing the divine patience in the manner described in my text: and if fuch tranfgreffors ftill remain unmoved, it is not because the considerations I have suggested want weight, but because they want feeling. May the exalted Prince and Saviour, who

alone

alone can give the spirit and

pentance, open their eyes, and turn them "from darkness to light, and from the

power of Satan unto God, that they may "receive forgiveness of fins, and inheri-, "tance among them which are fanctified "through faith that is in him."

UPON the whole, let each of us give unto God the glory of his patience, and acknowledge, with humble gratitude, his fparing mercy towards himself in particular. O my friends! with what multiplied provocations are we all chargeable? Let us pitch upon the most innocent day of our life fince we came to the full exercise of reason, and fay, if we dare, that we are willing to have our final ftate determined by the behaviour of that one day, according to the measure of legal juftice. Can conscience remind us of nothing that needs forgiveness or pardoning mercy? Surely none of us will be fo hardy as to say this: our own hearts do, and must condemn us: how guilty then must we appear in the fight of that God who is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things? Were we chargeVOL. II.

able

1

able with nothing worse than omiffions of duty, yet thefe alone might juftly have stopped the current of his beneficence, nay brought down his wrath upon fuch unfaithful and negligent fervants; but when to these we add our many fins of commiffion, our fins against knowledge, conviction, and reproof, how great is their a mount? how heinous their demerit?How astonishing then is the patience of God! -The faints in heaven are amazed at "the fouls of them that were flain for "the teftimony which they held," who are better acquainted with the nature of God, and the order of his government, than we can be, are reprefented in the book of the Revelations, ch. vi. ro. as expreffing the greatest furprife at the flownefs of his wrath; nay, as being at a lofs to reconcile his patience with his holiness and truth.

it ;

They cry with a loud voice, faying, How "long, O Lord, holy and true, doft thou

not judge, and avenge our blood on them "that dwell on the earth?" And it can be owing to nothing but the groffeft infenfibility, if our hearts are not filled with a

mazement