is profecuted with all that care and attention which ought to have been employed for its utter destruction?

2. In the fecond place, The deceitfulness of fin, appears from its forming excufes for itself, and thereby extenuating its guilt. That it is natural for finners to form excufes for themselves, and endeavor to extenuate their guilt, daily experience is a fufficient proof. Nay, it is ufual to obferve, how able, and ingenious, perfons, otherwife of no great capacity, are in this art; even children discover the greateft quicknefs and facility in it, and are no fooner challenged for any thing that is amifs, than they are ready to produce an apology. The difpofition, indeed, feems to be hereditary, and to have been handed down to us from the firft parents of the human race. On their being challenged for their disobedience, each of them confeffes the fact, but immediately adds an excufe, Gen. iii. 11, 12, 13. "I commanded thee, that thou fhouldeft not eat; And "the man faid, the woman whom thou gaveft to be with "me, fhe gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the "Lord God faid unto the woman, what is this that thou "haft done? And the woman faid, the ferpent beguiled "me, and I did eat." You will eafily be fenfible, that it is impoffible for me to enumerate the several excufes, or diftinct alleviating circumftances, that may be pleaded in favor of particular fins, because these are infinitely various. I intend, therefore, only to mention fome of the chief confiderations that are offered by pretended reafoners, or which have a fecret influence upon the mind of the finner; and which leffen the impreffion of the evil of fin in general.

"Haft thou eaten of the tree, whereof

(1.) One excufe, which, however weak, has no fmall influence in fetting men's minds at eafe in the commiffion of fin, is no other than the commonnefs of it; and that there are multitudes of others in the like condition. It is wonderful to think what boldness finners often derive from this circumftance, and how hard it is to perfuade them of the danger of what is common and generally practifed. Even good men are often carried away with prevailing and epidemical fins. We may take the illuftra

How ready are men following manner? fingular in it; there They feem to look

tion of this from any particular fin. to think, and even to speak, in the If this be a fin, I am fure I am not are many others guilty as well as I. upon the practice of others, as a fort of fupport and justification of their own conduct.

But, my brethren, I befeech you to confider how delufive and dangerous these thoughts are to your immortal fouls. If any credit is to be given to the fcripture representation, the human race, in general, is under guilt: and therefore, the commonnefs, nay, the universality of any practice, is not fufficient to give it a fanction, as lawful and safe. Will the law of an unchangeable, God be altered or abated in favor of his apoftate creatures, becaufe of their number? Is there fuch a number of offenders, as to be able to make head against their almighty Creator? Sometimes, indeed, the tranfgreffors of human laws are fo numerous, as to be formidable to their very judges; but no fuch thing can take place here. Or will it, in truth, be any confolation to the fufferers in hell, that they have fociety in their torment? Were a great number of malefactors to be executed together, would this alleviate the punishment to any one of them? I apprehend it would rather increase it, fince they would, in a good measure, feel each others fufferings; as it certainly would add greater horror to the fight. Wherefore, my dear brethren, I befeech every one of you, to confider the neceffity of reconciliation and peace with God, and that it is not lefs important and neceffary to you, on account of the multitudes fee around you fo faft afleep in fecurity and floth.

you

(2.) Another excufe that men often make for their fins, is, that they are comparatively finall. When they see, think, or hear of the monftrous and atrocious crimes of others, they are ready to blefs themselves in their fecurity, and to reckon upon their lefs degree of guilt, as a fpecies of innocence. Believe it, my brethren, I have found, with concern, perfons in a dangerous fickness, or the profpect of death, taking comfort to themselves, and mentioning, with much fatisfaction, that they were not so bad as fome others; that they had never committed this or the

other heinous crime; that they had never done as this or the other desperate profligate had done, with whom they were acquainted. To all fuch we may juftly apply the words of the apostle, 2 Cor. x. 12. "For we dare not make "ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with fome "that commend themselves: but they, meafuring them"felves by themselves, and comparing themfelves amongst themselves, are not wife."

There is a wonderful propenfity in the proud fpirit of man, to gratify itfelf by comparifon with others. Comparifon, indeed, is the very fuel of pride; for of what are we proud, but of fomething in which it is fuppofed we excel. Is there any thing more common in conversation, when any instance of the fin or folly of others is narrated, than for the hearers, every one, to take the benefit of it to himself, and to fay, I am fure I should never have done fo and fo, had I been in his cafe. Scarce any man finds fault with another for his conduct in his ftation, without blazoning and displaying his own real or imagined excellence. I do not fay, that good men are wholly free from this fault; yet, as the principles of fin and grace are directly oppofite, in general, the fame views that make a bad man proud, tend to make a good man humble.— The grofs fins of others, which incline carelefs perfons to glory, that they are free from the charge, often tend to discover to the Chriftian the finfulness of his nature, which is capable of fuch impiety. They fill him with humble adoration, and thankfulnefs to that gracious God, who only maketh him to differ. He knows, that had he been left to himself, he might have exceeded the most abandoned profligate within the compafs of his knowledge.

Let me therefore, my brethren, caution you and myself againft all excufes drawn from comparifon in any form. For, not to mention how ready we are to miftake and be partial to ourselves in making the comparison: not to mention that, though we were ever fo impartial, as the hearts of others are not open to us, nor the motives of their conduct, we cannot make it with certainty: I only infift, that all comparisons, whether they be juft or unjuft, are unfpeakably pernicious. It is not your being better

or worse than others, that will juftify you before God, or be the matter of inquiry at the laft day. You will not then be asked, whether you were as profane a blafphemer as fuch a perfon? as great a liar as another? as great a drunkard as another? as great a whoremonger as another? No. You must be weighed in the balance of the fan&tuary, and all that are there found wanting, fhall be caft into the lake of fire. You may leave it to a wife and righteous God to proportion the severity of his judgment to the atrocioufnefs of the finner's guilt. "But except a man "be born again, he cannot fee the kingdom of God." A man may be drowned in five fathom water, as well as in five thousand; and, therefore, let none foolishly flatter themselves with the hope of fecurity, even though they really see many (to fpeak in the language of fcripture) "tenfold more the children of hell than themfelves."

(3.) Sinners are apt to look for another fource of excufes for their fins in themselves. They are frongly inclined to make a merit of any actions they have done that are materially good, and think that fome indulgence is due to their faults and mifcarriages on that account. They fet their good works and their faults, as it were, in oppofite columns, as if they intended, in that manner, to ftrike the balance. There is very much of this difpofition in the natural unenlightened mind. We find many fentiments fimilar to this in the heathen world. Eve 'ry man,' fays a certain author, has fome virtues, and 'fome faults; he that hath more virtues than faults, is a ' good man; and he that hath more faults than virtues, is a 'bad man.' I am fenfible there might be fome juftice in fuch a comparison, after a perfon has really been brought to the fervice of God upon genuine principles. It might then ferve to fhew whether God or the world hath most of our prevailing love, and our habitual fervice. But this rule is highly pernicious, when an ignorant or vicious man endeavors to apply it for, first of all, these very actions, which they fuppofe to be good, not flowing from a real principle of obedience to God, are falfely reckoned virtues in them. O that felf-righteous perfons would but faithfully examine the motives from which many of their

boafted virtues flow! The more they knew of themselves, and their own real character, the lefs would they be inclined to glory in its excellence and perfection. It is certain, that even in the world, the more a man prefumes to commend himself, the less others are disposed to esteem him; and is it not ftrange, that the felf-juftification, which is infufferable to our fellow creatures, fhould be the foundation of our hope before a holy and heart-fearching God?

But, befides, I beseech your attention to the following circumstance: even the falfe fuppofition, juft now mentioned, proceeds upon an abfolute mistake of the nature of moral obligation. There is no proper merit in the obedience of a creature, neither hath it, in the leaft degree, any title or tendency to extinguifh the guilt of crimes. If esteem, love, and obedience, all in the highest degree, be truly and properly due unto God, no reward can be pleaded for on account of the performance, much lefs can it have the effect of procuring pardon where duty hath been neglected. Let me beg of you to reflect upon a matter of experience, which is but feldom attended to. Does the general goodness of a man's character incline even the world to indulge him in more bad actions than another? It does juft the contrary. A man, who hath been eminent in piety during a long courfe of years, if he goes aftray in any one inftance, will be more deeply reproached, and his character will fuffer more by it, I may even fay, it will fuffer an hundred-fold more for the same action, than the character of another whofe conduct has been more imperfect and unequal.

I look upon it as the duty of a minifter to bend his whole force against a difpofition to felf-righteoufness. And, indeed, whether we take it from fcripture or reason, we fhall fee that the hope of a finner must arise not from extenuation, but confeffion; not from human merit, but from the divine mercy. This is fo plain, that had men but any real and juft convictions of their obligations and duty to God, fuch a plea would never come into their minds. Suppofe any person were challenged for a debt which he really owed, and he should anfwer in this man