feffion of their own Sinfulness, from | ticulars, yet fuch Particulars as comprehend many others. And in this Confeffion, you may look on the Spirit's Work, having fome Characters of the Spirit in it. Firft, They take a general View of their Uncleannefs and loathfome Eftate by Sin; not only do they fee Sin, but Sin in the Sinfulness of it and Uncleannefs of it. Secondly, They not only conclude fo of the natural Eftate they were born into, and the Loathfomnefs of their many foul Scandals among them: But they go a further Length; to pafs as fevere a Sentence on their Duties and Ordinances, as God hath done, Isa. i. and lxvi. The Spirit convinceth according to Scripture Light, and not according to the dark Spark of Nature's Light; and fo that which Nature would have busked itfelf with as its Ornament, that which they had covered themselves with as their Garment, had fpread their Duties as Robs of Righteoufnefs over their Sins to hide them; all this now. goeth under the Name of Filthinefs and They fee themselves wrapt up in as Rags as they covered and hid; commanded Duties and manifest Breaches come in one Category: And not only is it fome of them which their own Confcience could challenge in the Time, but all of them and all Kinds of them, moral and ceremonial, Duties that were moft fincere, had moft Affection inthem, all of are filthy Rags now, which but of late were their RighteoufThirdly, There is an Univerfality,. nefs. not only of the Actions, but of Perfons; not only all the Peoples or Multitudes Performances are Abomination, but all of them, Ifaiah, and one and other, theholieft of them come in, in this Category and Rank: We are all unclean, &c. Tho' the People, it may be, could not. Ffff2 which Grounds they juftify God's pro- Sin. vile join join holy Ifaiab with themfelves, yet humble Ifaiab will join himself with the People, and come in, in one Prayer: And no doubt, he was as fenfible of Sin now, as when he began to prophecy; and growing in Holiness, he must grow alfo in Senfe of Sinfulness: Seeing at the first Sight of God's Holiness and Glory, he eried unclean, &c. Ifa. vi. 5. certainly he doth fo now, from fuch a Principle of Access to God's Holiness, which maketh him abhor himself in Duft and Afhes. Fourthly, They are not content with fuch a general, but condefcend to two fpecial Things, two fpiritual Sins, to wit, Omiffion, or shifting of fpiritual Duties, which contained the Subftance of Worhip: None calleth on thee, few or none, none to count upon calleth on thee; that is, careth for immediate Accefs and approaching unto God in Prayer and Meditation, &c. Albeit external and Temple-duties be frequent, yet who prayeth in Secret; or if any pray, that cannot come in Count, the Lord know. eth them not, because they want the Spirit's Stamp on them. This must be fome other Thing nor the general Conviction of Sin which the World hath, who think they pray all their Days; here People, who tho' they make many Prayers, Ifa. i. yet they fee them no Prayers, and no calling on God's Name now. But Fifthly, To make the Challenge the more, and the Confeffion more fpiritual and complete, there is discovered to them this Ground of their Slacknefs and Negligence in all Spiritual Duties, None fiirreth up bimfelf to take hold on thee. Here is the Want of the Exercile of Faith Faith is the Soul's Hand and Grip, Jobni. 12. Heb. vi. 18. 1 Tim. vi. 12. Ifa. xxvii. 5. No Body awaketh themfelves out of their Deadnefs and Security, to lay hold on thee: Lord thou art going away, and taking Good night of the Land, and no Body is like to hold thee by the Garment: No Jacobs bere, who will not let thee go, till thou bless them; none to prevail with thy Majefty, every one is like to give Chrift a free Pafport and Teftimonial to go abroad, and are almoft Gadarens, to pray him to depart out of their Coafts. There is a strange Loufness and Indifferency in Mens Spirits concerning the one Thing neceffary: Men ly by and dream over their Days, and never put the Soul's Eftate out of Question; none will give fo much Pains, as to clear their Intereft in thee, to lay hold on thee, fo as they may make Peace with thee. Now, can there be a more ample and lively Defcription of our Eftate, both of the Land and of particular Perfons of it. Since this must not be limited to the Nation of the Jews, tho' the Prophet fpake of the Generality of them; yet no doubt, all Mankind is included in the first fix Verfes; and any fecure People may be included in the feventh Verse, for Paul applyeth even fuch like Speeches (Rom. xiii.) that were spoken, as you would think, of David's Enemies only; yet the Spirit of God knowing the Mind of the Spirit, maketh a more general Ufe of their Condition, to hold out the natural Eftate of all Men out of Chrift Jefus. But there are in these two Verses, other two Things, befide the Acknowledgement of Sin; First, The Acknow ledgement of God's Righteoufnefs in punishing them, for now they need not quarrel God, they find the Cause of their fading in their own Bofom: They now join Sin and Punishment together, whereas in the Time of their Profperity, they fepa rated rated Punishment from Sin; and in the Time of their Security in Adverfity, they feparated Sin from Punishment; at one Time making bare Confeffion of Sin, without Fear of God's Juftice, at another Time freting and murmuring at his Judgments, without the Senfe of their Sin: But now they join both thefe, and the Sight and Senfe of God's Difpleafure maketh Sin more bitter, and to abound more, and to appear in the loathfome and provoking Nature of it, fo that their, Acknowledgement hath an Edge upon it. And again, the Sight and Senfe of Sin maketh the Judgment appear most righteous, and ftoppeth their Mouth from murmuring. In the Time of their Impenitency under the Rod, their Language was very indifferent, Ezek. xviii. 2. The Fathers' bave eaten four Grapes, and the Childrens Teeth are fet on edge; they have finned and we fuffer, they have done the Wrong and we pay for it: But it is not so now, Ver. 5. The Fathers have done Righteoufnefs in refpect of us, and thou was good unto them, but we are all unclean, and have finned, and fo we are punished. Secondly, They find fome Caufe and Ground in God of their general Defection, not that he is the Cause of their Sin, but in a righteous Way he punished Sin with Sin. God God hid his Face, denied fpecial Grace and Influence; and fo they ly fill in their Security and their Sin became a fpiritual Plague. Or this may be fo read, none calleth on thy Name, when thou hid thy Face from us, and when thou confumed us becaufe of our Iniquities; and fo it ferveth to aggravate their deep Security, that tho' the Lord was departing from them, yet none would keep him and hold him; tho' he did ftrike, yet they prayed not, Affliction did not awake them out of Security, and fo the laft Words, Thou haft.confumed us, &c. are differently exponed and read; fome make it thus, as it is in the Tranflation, Thou haft bid thy Face, and left us in a Spiritual Deadness, that fo there might be no Impediment to bring on deferved Judgment: If we had called on thee, and laid hold on thee, it might have been prevented, we might have prevailed with God, but now our Defence is removed, and thou haft given us up to a Spirit of Slumber, and fo we have no Shield to hold off the Stroke, thou haft now good Leave to confume us for our Sins. Another Senfe may be (thou haft fuffered us to confume in our Iniquity, thou haft given us up to the Hand of our Sins: And this is alfo a Confequent of his hiding his Face; because thou hid thy Face, thou letteth us perish in our Sins; there needeth no more for our Confumption, but only help us not out of them, for we can foon destroy ourfelves. First, Sin is in its own Nature Loathfome, and maketh one unclean before God Sin's Nature is Filthinefs, Vilenefs, fo doth Ifaiah speak of himself, Chap. vi. 5. when he faw God's Holinefs; fo doth Job abhor himself, which is the Affection which turneth a Man's Face off a loathsome Object, when he saw God, Fob xl. 4. and xlii. 6. Look how loathfome our natural Condition is holden out by God himfelf, Ezek. xvi. You cannot imagine any Deformity in the Creature, any Filthiness, but it is there. The Filthinefs and Vileness of Sin fhall appear, if we confider first: Sin is a Tranfgreffion of the holy and fpiritual Command, and fo a vile Thing The Command is holy and good, Rom. vii. And And fin violateth and goeth Alat contrary to the Command, Jobn iii. When fo juft and fo equitable a Law is given, God might have exacted other rigorous Duties from us, but when it is fo framed, that the Confcience must cry out, all is Equity, all is righteous, and more than righteous, thou might command more, and reward none; it is Justice to command, but it is Mercy to promife Life to Obedience, which I owe: What then muft the Offence be, against fuch a juft Command, and fo holy. If Holiness be the Beauty of the Creation, Sin must be the Deformity of it, the only Spot in its Face. contrary to him, contradicteth his Will, debafeth his Authority, defpifeth his Sove. reignty, vilipendeth his Truth. There is a Kind of Infiniteness in it; nothing can exprefs it but itself, no Name worke than itself to fet it out; the Apostle can get no other Epithet to it, Rom. xvii. 13. Sinful Sin; fo that it cometh in most direct Oppofition unto God. All that is in God, is God himself, -and there is no Name can exprefs him fufficiently; if you fay God, you fay more than can be expreft by many thousand other Words; fo it is here, Sin is purely. Sin, God is purely good and holy, without Mixture, Holiness itself; Sin is fimply evil, with out Mixture, Unholinefs ifelf; whatever is in it, is Sin, is Uncleannefs; Sin is an infinite Wrong, and an infinite and boundlefs Filthiness, because of the infinite Perfon wronged, it is an Offence of infinite Majefty, and the Perfon wronged aggravateth the Offence; if it be fimply contrary to infinite Holiness, it must be in that Refpect, infinite Unholiness and Unclean nefs. Secondly, Look upon Sin in the Sight of God's Holiness and infinite Majefty, and O! how hainous will it appear; and therefore no Man hath feen Sin in the Vileness of it, but in the Light of God's Countenance, as Ifa. vi. 5. Job xl. and xlii. God is of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity, he cannot look on it, Hab. i. 13. All other Things befide Sin, God looketh on them as bearing fome Mark of his own Image, All was very good, Thirdly, Look upon the fad Effects and and God faw it, Gen. i. and ii. Even Confequences of Sin, how miferable, how the baseft Creatures God looketh on them, ruinous it hath made Man, and all the and feeth himself in them; but Sin is Creation, and how vile muft it be? Firß, only God's Eye-fore, that his Holiness Look on Man's native Beauty and Excannot away with, it is most contrary cellency, how beautiful a Creature? But unto him; and as to his Soveraignty, it is Sin hath caft him down from the Top of an high Contempt and Rebellion done to his Excellency; Sin made Adam of a God's Majefty; it putteth God off the Friend an Enemy, of a Courtier with Throne, will take no Law from him, God an open Rebel. Was not Man's. will not acknowledge his Law, but (as it Soul of more Price nor all the World, fo were) fpitteth in his Face, and eftablish- that nothing, can exchange it? Yet hath eth another God. There is no Punish- Sin debafed it, and prostitute it, to all ment fo evil, that God will not own as vile filthy Pleasures; hath made the imhis Work, and declare himself to be the mortal Spirit dwell on the Dunghill, Author of it, but only Sin; his Soul ab- feed on Ashes, catch Vanities, lying Vahoreth it, his holy Will is against it, henities, pour out itfelf to them, ferve all will have no Fellowship with it; it is fo the Creatures; whereas it should have made made them Servants, yea a Slave to his own greatest Enemy, to the Ground he treadeth upon. O! what a degenerate Plant; it was a noble Vine once in Paradife, but Sin hath made it a wild one, to bring forth four Grapes. What is there in all the World could defile a Man? Mat. xv. 20. Nothing that goeth out or cometh in, but Sin that proceeded out of the Heart. Man was all Light, his Judgment shined into his Affections, and thro' all the Man; but Sin hath made all Darkness, clofed up the poor captive Understanding, hath built up a thick Wall of grofs corrupted Affections about it, fo that Light can neither get in nor out. The Soul was like a clear running Fountain, which yielded fresh clear Streams of holy Inclinations, Defires, Affections, Actions, and emptied itfelt in the Sea of immenfe Majefty, from which thefe Streams firft flowed; but now it is a standing putrified Puddle, that cafteth a vile Stink round about, and hath no Iffue towards God. Man was a glorious Creature, fit to be Lord over the Work of God's own Hands, and therefore had God's Image in a fpecial Manner, Holinefs, and Righteoufnefs, God's Nature; a Piece of Divinity was stamped on Man, which outfhined all created Perfections; the Sun might blush when it looked on him, for what was material Glory to the Glory of Holiness, and Beauty of God's Image? But Sin hath robbed poor Man of this glorious Image, hath defaced Man, marred all his Glory, put on an hellish Likeness on him; Holinefs only putteth the Difference between Angels in Heaven and Devils in Hell; and Sin only hath made the Difference between Adam in Paradise, and Sinners on the curfed Gronnd, Rom. iii. 23. Secondly, Sin hath fo redounded thro Man unto all the Creation, that it hath defiled it, and made it corruptible and fubject to Vanity, Rom. viii. 20, &c. So that this is a Spot in all the Creatures Face, that Man hath finned, and used all as Weapons of Unrighteousness, so that now the Creature groaneth to be de livered. Thirdly, It hath brought on all the Mifery that is come on Man, or that is to come; it hath brought on Death and Damnation as its Wages, and the Curfe of the eternal God, Gal. iii. 13. Rom. vi. 23. How odious then an Évil muf it be, that hath fo much Evil in it, yea all Evil in the Bofom of it: Hell is not evil in respect of Sin, for Sin deferveth Hell; it hath ruined Man, and made all the beautiful Order of the Creation to change. Fourthly, It feparateth Man from God, which is worft of all; and this is included in the Text, We are all as an unclean Thing, or Man, as a leprous Man fet apart, because of Pollution, that may not come to the Temple, or worfhip God, fo hath Iniquity separated be tween God and us, Ifa. lix. 2. And O! how fad a Divorcement is this, it maketh Men without God in the World, in whom we live and move and bave our Being, in whofe Favour is Life, and at whofe right Hand are Pleasures for evermore. Now poor Man is made miferable, deprived of his Felicity, which only confifted in Enjoyment of God: Sin as a thick Partition-wall is come in between, Enmity alfo is come in, and divideth old Friends, Epb. ii. 14, 15, 16, 17. And now no heavenly or comfortable Influence can break thorough; the Night of Darkness is begun, which must prove |