took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall, therefore, the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen and will give the vineyard unto others." This is a striking representation of the feelings and conduct of sinners in respect to their obligations to God, the owner and proprietor of the universe. They have always been unwilling to acknowledge their obligations to him, and have endeavored to free themselves from them, and become independent. If they could only do this, they vainly imagine the world would be their own. And it is still the desire and endeavor of all sinners to possess and govern the world, and to break every cord by which they are bound to God, and to make him their almighty servant. But,

III. All their desires and endeavors to get loose from their obligations to God will be in vain. And he has plainly told them So. "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision." Could their vain and presumptuous desires and designs be set in a more contemptuous and humiliating light? Solomon says, "A man's heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps." And again he says, "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." And God himself challenged those sinners who attempted to defeat his design and predictions, to do it if they could. "All the remnant of Judah shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs." God always has fulfilled his purposes, and always will, notwithstanding all the vain attempts of his enemies to defeat them. He set his king on his holy hill of Zion, notwithstanding all the efforts of Jews and Gentiles to prevent it. Who ever hardened themselves against God and prospered? Pharaoh did not. Ahab did not. Saul did not. And the crucifiers of Christ did not. Paul was constrained to bow to him whose name he had blasphemed. But still, sinners hope to succeed in breaking the bands which bind them to reconciliation and obedience to God. They must, however, be convinced of their folly and guilt, if they would seriously consider,

1. That they cannot destroy the existence of God. He exists in and of himself, independently of all other beings in the universe. He is infinitely above the reach of sinners. They cannot do any thing that has the least tendency to destroy

the existence of him who made them. Can the thing formed destroy him who formed it? Can all the enemies of God united, put forth a single effort to destroy him, if he only withdraws his supporting influence from them? But if they cannot destroy his existence, they can by no means dissolve their obligations to him. For as long as he exists, he will be their God, infinitely glorious and amiable, and worthy of all their love, obedience and homage. Their obligations to him are all founded in his being and perfections, and therefore must exist and remain in their full force as long as he exists and remains what he is. They will be dependent on him as long as he exists; they will be under moral obligation to love him supremely as long as he exists; and his holy and righteous law will bind them to obedience as long as he exists. They cannot break his bands, nor cast away his cords, any more than they can destroy his existence. It is then utterly in vain for them to desire, or endeavor to dissolve their natural, moral and legal obligations to their Maker. And now,

2. Let them consider that they cannot destroy their own existence. As they cannot destroy the existence of God, so they cannot destroy the existence of themselves, because he who gave them their existence at first can continue it for ever, and he has assured them in his word that he will do it. They may, indeed, dissolve the union between their souls and bodies, and put a period to their natural lives, but they cannot destroy their rational and immortal spirits. These are destined to exist after their bodies have decayed and crumbled to the dust from which they were taken. As they had no power to come into existence, so they have no power to go out of it. But if they cannot destroy their own existence, then they cannot destroy their obligations to God. For as long as they exist, their relation to him and his relation to them will exist, and this mutual relation will for ever support and enforce their obligations to him. So long as they exist they will be his creatures, and, as such, dependent on him, and under moral obligation to love his character, obey his law, and submit to his government. There is no more possibility of their destroying their obligations to God, than there is of their destroying both their own and the divine existence. The more they consider the grounds of their obligations to God, the more they must be convinced of the vanity and presumption, as well as guilt, of designing and attempting to break the bands and cast away the cords by which they are bound to love and glorify God, as God, and as their God, whose they are, and in whom they live, and move, and have their being. Let them read and ponder what God says to them upon this most solemn and interesting subject. "See

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now that I, even I, am he; and there is no God with me: I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of

my

hand."

IMPROVEMENT.

1. If sinners endeavor to free themselves from all their obligations to God, then we may see what is the great subject of controversy between them and their Creator. Ever since the first apostacy, there has been a serious and interesting controversy between God and his rebellious creatures here on earth. Though they began the controversy, yet he is willing to hear the ground of their disaffection and opposition, and to settle the dispute between them upon just and reasonable terms. This he declares in a loud and solemn manner. "Hear ye now what the Lord saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy; and ye strong foundations of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants. O my people, remember now what Balak, king of Moab, consulted; and what Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord." God knew that sinners would not dare to state the ground of their controversy with him; and therefore he states it for them, and appeals to all the world to decide on which side the blame lay, whether his or theirs. The point of controversy which he here states is this, whether he had injured them, or they had injured him; or whether he should bind them, or they should bind him. God claims the right to bind sinners; but they deny his right to bind them, in all cases whatsoever, and complain of his bands and cords as hard and unreasonable. So sinners in Babylon complained. They said, "The way of the Lord is not equal." The slothful servant made the same complaint. "He which had received the one talent, came, and said, Lord, I knew thee, that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not strewed." And sinners still keep up the same controversy with God. Their selfish hearts cannot bear the thought that he should reign over them, and bind them by infinite authority to love him supremely. They complain of the strictness, extent and spirituality of his first and great commandment, which requires them to love him with all the heart, with all the mind, and

with all the strength of their natural powers and faculties, upon pain of eternal death, when he knows that it is morally impossible that they should love him supremely without better hearts than they now have; and they say they can get no better. This leads them to murmur and complain of the hard and heavy bands by which God binds them to love, obedience and submission. They say they cannot and will not submit to the government of a being, who treats them so unjustly and cruelly. But God says they shall submit or die. Here the point of controversy is, who shall govern, whether God or they; or who shall submit, whether God or they. This is a most serious and interesting controversy. But there is no difficulty in seeing that God is on the right side of this question, and sinners are on the wrong. There is no ground to doubt whether God ought to govern, and sinners ought to submit. His laws, his bands and his cords are just such as they ought to be, and just such as sinners ought to submit to, cordially and cheerfully. This God knows to be true, and sinners will know it to be true, whether their criminal controversy finally terminates in their conversion or destruction.

2. Though sinners are naturally disposed to free themselves from their obligations to God, yet they are not always sensible of it. They commonly think that they have no such disposition to complain of the bands and cords by which they are bound to God, and to desire and endeavor to break and cast them away. And though they are told this is their disposition, they will seriously say that they were never conscious of it, and they cannot believe it is true; and therefore complain of the preacher who represents them as having it in their hearts to contend with their Maker. There is good reason to believe that many sinners, at many times, can truly make such declarations. For many sinners habitually live in great stupidity. God is not in all their thoughts. Or if they think of him, they think of him as a being that has nothing to do with them, and that they have nothing to do with him. Though they are actually under natural, moral and legal obligations to God, yet they do not feel that they are bound by these bands and cords, but imagine they are as free as if there were no God. They do, in their own apprehension, live without God in the world. Or if they believe in speculation there is a God, still they are willing that such a great, and wise, and powerful, and benevolent being should exist, so long as they imagine he intends to do them nothing but good as long as they live. But let them only awake out of their stupidity, and realize that God is displeased with them for their vanity, stupidity, impenitence and unbelief, and is disposed to punish them for ever; and they will soon

find within them a carnal heart, which is enmity against God, and not subject to his law nor government, nor indeed can be. They will then realize the bands and cords which bind them to God, and which they will desire and endeavor, with all their might, to break and cast from them. They will then regret and complain that God has given them a dependent existence, a conscience which reproves and condemns them, a heart which is corrupt and depraved, a soul that is immortal, and which he may save or destroy. Then all the love they ever had to God will turn into hatred, all the peace they ever had will turn into pain, and all the hope they ever had will turn into despair. It will then appear a fearful thing to be in the hands of God as the clay is in the hands of the potter; and there is none to deliver. This is no visionary representation. It may be realized by sinners who are now at ease in Zion, and saying in their hearts, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.

3. If sinners endeavor to free themselves from all their obligations to God, then we see why they are the most opposed to the most essential and important doctrines of the gospel. They can very patiently hear many doctrines and duties of Christianity taught and inculcated; but the principal and cardinal doctrines and duties of the gospel are very disagreeable to their hearts. They often feel, and sometimes manifest, a sensible opposition to the doctrine of total depravity, the doctrine of regeneration, the doctrine of divine sovereignty, the doctrine of election, and especially the doctrine of reprobation. The reason is plain and obvious, why these doctrines in particular are so displeasing to them. The reason is, these doctrines bring into view the bands and cords by which they are bound to God, and cannot get out of his hands. If they are totally depraved, then they are bound by the cords of their iniquities. If they must be regenerated, then they are dependent on sovereign grace. If election and reprobation be true, then God made the bands and cords by which they are bound, from all eternity. If all these doctrines be true, then they cannot themselves break the cords by which they are bound, nor can any created being break them; but they must be holden as long as God and they exist. And to be absolutely bound to a being whom they perfectly hate, without a possibility of breaking their bands, must be extremely distressing. It is not strange therefore, that they oppose the peculiar and essential doctrines of the gospel, which is a glass in which they cannot help seeing themselves in the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. Let a preacher only tell them that these doctrines are not true, and they feel at liberty and peace; and no other doctrines will disturb them. For the truth of this, I appeal to observation and experience. Do