prove everlasting, except the Partitionwall be removed, all must wither. and decay as without the Sun.

cent Adam, how one Sin made him fo vile, and spoiled him of the divine Nature; and fo the Root was made unclez, and the Branches must follow the Root, and fo are we all born and conceived in Sin, Pfal. li. 5. We carry in us original Corruption, flowing from the first actual Sin of Adam, and this maketh poor Children before they do Good or Evil, to be abominably- vile in God's Sight, even as the Child is fet out, Ezek. xvi. Every one cometh of evil Parents, all come of Adam the Rebel; what a loath fome Sight would a Child be to us fʊ defcribed, Caft out in the open Field, to the Loathing of its Perfon in the Day it is born; and what must it all be be fore God, who is of purer Eyes than to behold Sin? Secondly, Unto all this we have added innumerable actual Tranf greffions, as fo many filthy Streams flow. ing out at the Members, from the inward Puddle of original Corruption; and fo how much more vile are we all nor h fants can be, or Adam was in the Day he was caft out of Paradife? And thus, Rom. ii. from Ver. 10. are the Bran chès fet down, in Word, Thought and Deed; fo that all the Inclinations and Motions and Actions of the Man are on

Fifibly, Look on the Price paid for Sin, on the cleanfing that washeth in away, and you may fee unfpeakable Deformity and Vilenefs in it: The Redemption of the Soul is precious, Silver and Gold and precious Stones will not do it, that would be utterly contemned: What (faith God). prefumptuous Sinner, will thou give a Farthing in Payment of a Sum, which all the World fold at the deareft would not difcharge. Pfal. xlix. 7, 3. Pet. i. 18. It is no corruptible Thing, but the Blood of the Son of God. O what muft the Debt be, when the Price is fo infinite? The Son of God muft die; nay, It is not Sacrifice or Offering, lo, I come to do tby Will; it is .Chrift himself that is the Ranfom, Pfal. l. 6, 7. And it is not much Sope on Nitre, it is not much Repentance and Tears that will wash away this Filthinefs, no, it is of a deeper Die, It is Crimson ingrained Filthiness. Jer. ii. 22. And Ifa. i. 6. Blood of Bulls and Goats cannot do it, but only the Blood of the immaculate Lamb offered up by bimfelf, Heb. x. 4, 5. The Blood of him, who by the eternal Spirit offered uply evil continually. Every Man shall bimself without Spot unto God, Heb. ix. 14. What muft Sin be, that muft have fuch a Fountain opened for it? It must be ftrange Uncleannefs, when the Blood of Chrift only can cleanfe it, Zecb. -xiii. 1.

We all, &c. Mark, Secondly, Sin hath gone over us all, and made all Mankind unclean, Rom. iii. 22. and 10. Every one of Adam's Pofterity is born unclean, For who can bring a clean Thing out of an unclean, Job. xiv. 4. Confider first, How Sin defaced inno

find his Count paft counting; one Day's Faults would weary you, but what will your whole Life do? Known Sias are innumerable, what muft unknown be? Every Man's Heart is like the troubled Sea, that cafteth up Mire and Dirt daily, and cannot be at Reft. The Heart is daily flowing and ebbing in this Corrup tion, it cometh out daily to the Borders of all the Members; and there are fome high fpring Tides, when Sin aboundeth more. When in one Member of the Tongue a World of Evil is, what can be

dam's Sin, but of many Thousands be-,

Next, You must know the Infufficiency. of all Things imaginable, to wash away Sin's Filthinefs, except the Blood of Chrift. Since you are unclean, do you not ask, how hall we be washed? In deed many have an easy Answer, and pass it lightly. The Multitude know no Way to cleanse in, but the Tears of Repen rance and Mourning; and fo, many think thémfelves clean, when they run and pour out a Tear as Efau did for the Bleffing. But what faith the Lord? Tho

in all the Members? And what 'in the us all, who are not only guilty of Soul, that is more capable than all the World? Well then, every Man hath fin-ide. If one Sin have no much Loathned in Adam, and hath finned alfo in fomness in it, what must so many out of his own Perfon, and sealed Adam's firft Number, united in one Perfon, even as Rebellion, by fo many thousand Actions in us all? No unclean Thing can enter like it: Every Man hath approven the in Heaven above: Know this for a Sin that first ruined Man, and made Truth, you cannot fee God's Face in the himself much more loathfome nor Adam Cafe you are born into. You know nowas; therefore all Mankind may fay, thing of Sin, who wonder that any should: We all are as an unclean Thing. Now go to Hell. No, if you knew any Thing from all this, we would gladly discover of Sin, you would wonder that ever unto you what your Condition is by Sin; God fhould look on fuch cast out in the if the Lord would shine, how vile would open Field, in their Blood. you be? Always we muft declare this unto you in the Lord's Name, you are all unclean, not only born in Sin and Iniquity, not only have you a Body of Death within you, that hath all the Members; but all these Members have one Time or other acted and brought forth Fruit unto Death: How vile then must you be in God's Sight? It is a strange Love that you have to yourselves, that you cannot apprehend how God can hate you? But if he find Sin in you, wonder rather how he can look upon you; wethou wash thee with Nitre, and take would then have you to know this, that there can be no Fellowship between God and you in your natural Eftate: As Men cannot inhabit a vile Perfon's House, no more can God enter in your Souls. There is an abfolute Neceffity of washing, before you can be his House and Temple. Hath that one Sin of Adam made tha glorious Perfon fo deformed, that he could not look on himself, but cover himself? And hath it been of fo defiling a Nature, that it hath redounded in all the Pofterity; and as unclean Things under the Law defiled all they touched, fo hath that Sin fubjected all the Creatures to Corruption? O then imagine what an unspeakable Defilement must be on

thee much Sope, yet thine Iniquity is marked. Can fuch an ingrained Uncleannefs, can such an infinite Spot in the immortal Soul, be fo lightly dashed out? Many think Baptifm cleanseth them, but was not this People circumcifed, as ye are baptized? And Peter tells us, it is not the washing of Water, 1 Pet. ii. 21. Sacrifice and Offering will not do it: This People thought, fure they had fatisfied God, when they brought a Lamb, &c. but all this is Abomination. Would not many of you think yourselves cleanfed from Sin, if you offered all your Subftance, and the Fruit of your Body for the Sin of your Soul? Nay, but you muft fee an abfolute Neceffity of the Gggg

open"d

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SERMON XVI

Ifa. lxiv. 6, 7.

-All our Righteousnesses are as filthy

Rags, and we all do fade as a Leaf, and our Iniquities, like the Wind, have taken us away.

NOT

is now removed, and we are ftript naked of all Righteoufnefs: We covered our Filthinefs before with Duties, now both the one and the other is filthy. We would look upon two Sorts of Righte ousness, the natural Man's and the converted Man's, upon the one's Civility and fair Profeffion, and upon the other's real or true Grace in discharge of Duties; and we shall find good Reafon to con clude both the one and the other under Filthinefs, fo that there is no Ground of Boafting, no inherent Righteoufnefs can make us accepted before God..

OT only are the dire& Breaches of the Command Uncleannefs, and Men originally and actually unclean, but even our holy Actions, our commanded Duties: Take a Man's Civility, Religion, and all his univerfal inherent Righteoufnefs, all are filthy Rags. And here the Church confeffeth nothing, but what God accufeth her of, Ifa. lxvi. 3. and Chap. i. Ver. 11, 12, 13. &c. This People was much in ceremonial and external Duties; and therefore they cryed, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, as if this would have out cryed all their other Sins; therefore were they proud, and Lords in their own Eftimation and innocent, Jer. ii. 31, 35. They thought the many good Services they did to God, might compense ́all their Wrongs, Mic. vi. 6, 7. They gave a Price to Justice for their Sins, .even a Confeffion of it by offering a Lamb, &c. and a Purpose to amend. But lo, whathat is, unjustified Sinners; tho' they pray Senfe the Prophet hath of all this, Lord all our Righteousness is filthy likewife; albeit we have paid the Debt of Sins with Duties, yet now we fee all these are Sins themselves, and muft have another Sacrifice; fo that all Matter of Boafting

Firft then, whatever Men can do from natural Principles, all the Flower and Perfection of Mens Actions, both civil and religious, is but abominable before God, as long as their Perfons are unjustified. Every Performance is defiled by the Uncleanness of the Perfon; and therefore God beareth not Sinners, Joha viii.

much, yet God heareth them not. And this is lively expreffed by Hag. ii. 12, 13, 14. As the Prieft's holy Garments and Flesh could not make Bread or Pottage holy, but the unclean Body could make thefe unclean; fo this Nations and Gggg 2 Peoples

Peoples Performances and holy Duties, could not make them holy, and their Perfons clean; but their unclean Perfons and Actions made all their Performances unclean: The folemn Meeting and Sacrifice, &c. could not make them accepted, but their. unclean Perfons made their folemn Meetings and religious Duties vile and abominable in God's Sight: And thus, to the unclean all Things are unclean, even their Mind and Confcience, Tit. i. 15. The unbelieving Man, who is born unclean, and defiled with fo much original Corruption, and fo many actual Tranfgreffions, defileth all Things he toucheth; as a dead Body, or a leprous Garment under the Law, made all unclean it touched, and nothing could make it holy by touching of it: So all your Civility, all your Profeffion will never contribute to the Cleanfing of your Perfon; and your Per fons fhall defile all your moft clean Actions. God loveth not that Stock of Adam, and all that groweth on it must be hateful; he is only well pleased in Jefus Chrift, and with those who are tranfplanted out of rotten Adam, into the true Vine Jefus, it is fuch Fruit only that can be acceptable; therefore, until you be fprinkled with clean Water, and made clean according to the new Covenant way, you cannot pleafe God. Be lieve this, your Sins and your Duties are one, your Oaths and your Prayers are in the fame Account with God. What have you then to build upon, when all this is removed? You must once be stript naked of all Coverings; and will not your Nakedness then be great? The Pharifee went away unjustified, and the poor repenting Sinner juftified. What was the Reafon? There are not many of you have fuch a fair Venture for Heaven as

he had, fo many Prayers, Fastings, Alms, to ground your Hope on. Nay, but all this would never juftify his Perfor, becaufe once he was unclean, come of Adam, and had contracted more Uncleanne's, and all that is like the leprous Garment, defiling all that cometh near it; fo that whatever hath any Dependence on a Son of Adam, muft contract Filthinefs. Now, I ask your Confciences, have you fo many fpecious Coverings to adorn yourself with? Is not your Outfide fpotted, and not fo clean, as the young civil Man, and the religious Pharifee? Certainly, no; and yet you have no other Ground to plead the Acceptation of your Perfons upon, but only this, your Prayers, and Tears, or fome fuch Duty performed by you. Well, all is Uncleannefs, fince your Perfons were once unclean, no Sope nor Nitre can wash it, no holy Flesh make it holy, no good Withes nor Duties can make it acceptable. Did not this People think of their Duties as much as you do? And had more Reafon fo to do; for our Congregations have not so much Form of Godlinefs as they had, and yer God folemnly protesteth to them, that all their Works were defiled, even thefe which they took to wash themfelves with, fo your Repentance and Tears must be as filthy as the Sin you would wash by it.

Secondly, The Uncleannefs of Mens Practice maketh unclean Performances, Unclean Hands make unclean Prayers, Ifa. i. 15. When Men go on in Sin, and use their Members as Inftru-' ments of Unrighteoufnefs againft God, and Guiltinefs is above their Head unrepented of, and unpardoned, then whatever the Members act for God in religi ous Duties, it must be also abominable;

for