For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

THE

HE whole revelation of the will of God to mankind, both in the Old Teftament and the New, proceeds upon the fuppofition that they are finners; that is to fay, tranfgreffors of his law, and liable to the ftroke of his juftice. This only can give meaning to the doctrine of redemption. None can underftand, at least none can relish or embrace it, unless they believe, and are perfuaded of this preliminary truth.

What I have now faid, appears from many exprefs paffages of the holy fcriptures; and is particularly evident from the general strain, and from the very structure of the epiftle to the Romans. In it the apoftle, who had never been at Rome, gives a full and particular account of the doctrine of Chrift; and he lays the foundation for this by a distinct and labored proof, that all mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, are under sin.. In imitation of his example, I intend to begin my discourses on practical religion, by endeavoring to impress your minds with a fenfe of the fame truth. This muft lead the way to the faving knowledge of the Redeemer; and as he only can build fecurely, who takes care that every part of the superstructure reft immediately or ultimately upon the foundation, it is as neceffary to be remembered by faints, as to be re-. ceived by finners.

It may perhaps, on a flight view, appear to be superfluous. All mankind,' fome will fay, are ready to ac'knowledge that they are finners; and there is great rea'fon to believe they are fincere in this confeffion.' But, my brethren, a little reflection may convince you, that thris general acknowledgment is either very infincere, or very imperfect and defective. It is plainly a light fenfe of in that enables the multitude to fleep in fecurity. It is plainly a light fenfe of fin that betrays men into the commiffion of it, and emboldens them to continue in it. It is plainly a light sense of fin that blunts the edge of all the threatenings in the word of God, and the admonitions of his providence. Is it not from a light fenfe of fin, that when the preaching of the gospel is not wholly deferted, its ineftimable truths are received without thankfulness, and heard without profit?

For these reasons, I propofe, through the affiftance of divine grace, to difcourfe a little on the words of the apoftle now read: "For all have finned, and come fhort of the glory of God:" And, in fo doing, fhall

1. Endeavor to confirm the truth contained in them, That all mankind are finners, or tranfgreffors of the law of God, and liable to his righteous judgment. And,

2. Shall make a practical improvement of the fubject.

I. In the first place, then, let us endeavor to confirm the truth contained in the text, That all mankind are finners, or tranfgreffors of the law of God, and liable to his righteous judgment. And here, my brethren, it puts me a little to a ftand, in what manner to handle this important fubject; whether in the way of reafon or affection; whe-. ther in the way of cool and conclufive arguments directed to the judgment, or pointed interrogatories directed to the confcience. Many, nay, innumerable, are the cavils that have been brought by men of corrupt minds against this. fundamental truth. The father of lies, indeed, feems to confider it, and juftly, as the corner-ftone of true religion, which, if he is able to weaken or undermine, it must end in the fall and ruin of the whole fabric. If there be any. among you, as poffibly there are, infected with the poifon

of infidelity, all exhortation and warning will be treated by fuch with difdain, while their objections, however weak, have not been brought into view. On the other hand, there are multitudes of finners borne away by luft and paffion, who are incapable of understanding the force of fpeculative reasoning, and who have an unhappy tendency to overlook, as what does not concern them, every thing that is treated in that way. I fhall be obliged, therefore, to have an eye to both: and oh! that it may please God to enable me fo to propofe to the judgment, and fo to prefs upon the confcience, this neceffary truth, as that fome careless persons may be awakened, and brought to an attention to the one thing needful; and that if any have hitherto taken up with imperfect notions of religion, and built their hope upon the fand, they may be perfuaded in time to diftruft that dangerous fituation, and to found it upon the Rock of ages.

For the reafon above affigned, it is difficult to determine, what use is to be made of fcripture-teftimony on fuch a fubject. The charge of guilt upon the finner, feems to be only preparatory to, and muft, as it were, pave the way for the reception of fcripture-truths. If the teftimony of God in fcripture is to be refted on, this one paffage is fufficient; but the unbelieving heart is ready to challenge and call in queftion every fuch fcripture-declaration. I find the worthy author of a well-known catechifin, commonly used in the inftruction of Children, joins together fcripture and experience, in the anfwer to that question, "How do you know, that you are born in a ftate of fin " and mifery ?" Anf. "God's word tells me fo. Befides, "I find my heart naturally backward to that which is good, "and prone to that which is evil." After this example, and confidering, that by the law is the knowledge of fin, we fhall not feparate them; the rather, that God is able to make his own word, even in the bare repetition of it, quick and powerful, Heb. iv. 12. In the further illuftration of this head, therefore, I fhall, firft briefly lay before you fome of the fcripture-declarations on this fubject; and, fecondly, confirm them from experience, the vifible ftate of the world, and the teftimony of our own hearts.

Firft, Allow me to lay before you fome of the fcripturedeclarations on this fubject. And that I And that I may avoid handling the fubject fyftematically, and tediously, I join together original and actual fin. Every one who is able to understand what I fay, is concerned in both: and indeed they are infeparable the one from the other. The deplorable wickednefs in which the world in general is overwhelmed, hath flowed in a continued ftream from the first fin of Adam; and the finfulnefs of every perfon's practice has the corruption of his nature as its fruitful fource. See the account given of the world, Gen. vi. 5. “And "God faw the wickednefs of man was great in the earth, "and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart "was only evil continually." This you may compare with Gen. viii. 21. "And the Lord faid, I will not "again curfe the ground any more for man's fake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." See alfo the confeffion of David, Pfal. li. 5. Behold, "I was shapen in iniquity; and in fin did my mother con"ceive me." In this the Pfalmift plainly and cleary teaches the original and univerfal corruption of our nature. What he afferts concerning himself, must be equally true of all the human race; otherwife, inftead of making a proper part of his confeffion, it would be an excuse or extenuation of his fin. Nothing can more plainly fhow the force of this text, than the aukward endeavors used by fome to evade or misinterpret it. For example, how mean a fubterfuge is it, to pretend, that David declared, he was fhapen in iniquity, and conceived by his mother in fin; becaufe he was the iffue of fome criminal commerce between his father and a maid-fervant, or between the wife of Jeffe and another man? This is plainly a profane invention, offered without any manner of proof, or the leaft infinuation in the hiftory of that great prince. Befides, it is evidently befide his purpose in the pfalm refered to, where he is confeffing his own finful nature, and not the finful deeds of his parents. If there be meaning. in words, his intention is, to humble himfelf before God, not only for his adultery and murder in the matter of Uriah, but as a transgressor from the womb.

To this you may add the teftimony of a greater than David, viz. our bleffed Lord and Saviour himself, John iii. 6. "That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and "that which is born of the Spirit, is fpirit." For understanding the proof drawn from his text, you may obferve, that though the word flesh has various fignifications in fcripture; fometimes, for example, fignifying the weakness of our mortal nature, unable to fupport itself, and liable to a variety of changes, which muft at last end in diffolution; yet here it evidently fignifies our nature as corrupted by fin. This appears from the oppofition of the two claufes for it is certain, that thofe who are regenerated, are still liable to all the weakness of mortality. It muft therefore bear the fame meaning in this place as in Rom. viii. 8. "So then they that are in the fiefh, cannot "please God." It is with a view to this great truth that Job, who pleads with fo much warmth his general integrity, yet fays, Job xiv. 3, 4. "And doft thou open thine eyes upon fuch an one, and bringest me into judgment, "with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.

With this agree many other fcripture-declarations, fome of which I fhall mention. Pfal. xiv. 2, 3. "The Lord "looked down from heaven upon the children of men; to "fee if there were any that did understand, and seek God. "They are all gone afide, they are all together become filthy: "there is none that doth good, no, not one." Pf. lviii. 3. "The wicked are eftranged from the womb, they go aftray

as foon as they be born, speaking lies." Ifaiah xlviii. 8. "Yea, thou heardst not, yea, thou knewest not, yea, from "that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that "thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and waft called a "tranfgreffor from the womb," Rom. iii. 9, 10, 11, 12, "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wife ; "for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under fin; as it is written, There is none " righteous, no not one: There is none that understand"eth, there is none that feeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unpro 3 F

VOL. I.