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39.

SERMON II.

ECCLESIASTES Viii. 11,

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Becaufe fentence against an evil work is not executed speedily; therefore the heart of the fons of men is fully fet in them to do evil.

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that

Hough God had not favoured us with an explicit revelation of his will, yet absolute perfection which reason must attribute to the Supreme Being, would naturally lead us to conclude, that he cannot look upon fin without the greatest abhorrence'; and in confequence thereof, that his impartial juftice, and almighty. power, will not always fuffer that abominable thing which he hates, to pass unpunished. Accordingly we find, that the confcience of man, till a long habit of finning hath rendered it callous and infenfible, gives a reluctant affent to the equity of fuch punishment, by that anguifh which it raiseth in the finner's mind

upon

upon the commiffion of any grofs and heinous tranfgreffion. This made Judas to cry out after his vile treachery, "I have "betrayed innocent blood." Nay, fo powerfully was his heart fmitten with a sense of the demerit of his crime, that, defpairing of pardon, he in a manner anticipated the sentence of condemnation, and became the executioner of Divine justice, by laying violent hands upon himself. And the Apostle Paul teftifies concerning the Gentile world, that even they, by the light of nature, and the dictates of unaffifted reafon, "knew "the judgement of God;" and univerfally acknowledged, with refpect to many acts of atrocious wickednefs, "that they who "committed fuch things were worthy of "death."

But the facred records have put this matter beyond all uncertainty. There" the "wrath of God is revealed from heaven "against all unrighteoufness and ungodli"nefs of men:" and a curfe is denounced against every one, without exception," who "continueth not in all things which are "written in the book of the law to do them."

So

So that a fentence is paffed, and ftands in force, against every evil work: and the words of Solomon, which I have chofen for the fubject of the following discourse, reprefent to us, on the one hand, the marvellous patience of God in fufpending the execution of this righteous fentence;—and, on

the other hand, mens vile abuse of this unmerited goodness. Inftead of being led to repentance, they grow bolder in fin; and because fentence against their evil works is "not speedily executed, therefore their heart "is fully fet in them to do evil.”

There is an awful emphafis in the laft of thefe expreffions: it denotes the extreme wickedness that finners may arrive at; not only to commit fin when affaulted with violent temptations, but to make an habitual trade of it; nay, to employ themselves in it with delight. Their heart is fo fully fet in them to do evil, that all their faculties bend that way. Thus we read of fome "who drink iniquity like water;"-" who "devife mifchief upon their beds, and fet "themselves in a way that is not good;" nay, who put themfelves to incredible pains,

VOL. II.

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and

and hard labour, as it were, that they may exceed in wickednefs: "They weary them"felves to commit iniquity;" and "fin as "with a cart-rope."

It must no doubt appear an incredible abuse of the divine goodnefs, to pervert that patience which fhould lead men to repentance, into an encouragement to fin more prefumptuously: yet fo it hath been in times past; and there is too just cause to complain, that it continues to be fo ftill. Indeed, "when God's judgements are in the "earth," the inhabitants thereof do fometimes" learn righteoufness;" at least, so long as the rod lies heavy upon them, they may refrain from thofe fins which they imagine have fubjected them to it; but no fooner is the rod laid afide, than they quickly relapfe into their former courfe of living, agreeably to what the Prophet Ifaiah obferves, "Let favour be fhewed to the wicked, yet "will he not learn righteoufnefs: in the "land of uprightnefs will he deal unjustly, "and will not behold the majefty of the "Lord." What is written, Luke xii. 45. is too just a picture of the temper and practice

of

of the bulk of mankind: "They say in their "heart, The Lord delayeth his coming; and

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thereupon prefume to beat their fellow

"fervants, and to eat, and drink, and to be "drunken:" yea, not the foolish virgins only, but even the wife, are in danger of flumbering, while the bridegroom tarrieth, as we read, Matth. xxv. 5.

There is an unhappy tendency in our nature to forget God. The best find enough ado to overcome it; but the wicked give full fcope to it; and nothing but chaftifement, fevere and prefent chastisement, will bring them the length even of a feigned fubmiffion to God. Hence the obfervation is drawn, that times of adverfity have always been moft friendly to religion; and they must know little of the history of the world in general, and of their own country in particular, who do not agree in this remark. National profperity is certainly moft defirable; we regard it as a bleffing, we pray for the continuance of it; and it is our duty to do fo: yet if we examine the annals of former times, and do not turn away our eyes from the real ftate of our

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