to be holy. In all things, you are to abstain even from the appearance of evil. Hence in the New Teftament Chriftians are faid to be called with an boly calling: and are exhorted to be holy and unblamable: to have their fruit unto holiness; to perfect holiness in the fear of God b). Hence too it is folemnly declared, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord (i).

II. The next point for your confideration is this: Whether you have faithfully kept in every particular this holy law of God? Without hesitation, you confefs that you have not. You confefs that you have broken it times without number. You confefs that in thought, or in word, or in deed, you are breaking it every day. You confess that you have experienced the acquifition of that holinefs, which it requires, to be by your own ftrength unattainable; that although you fee and know the path of duty, you are continually deviating into a contrary courfe; that the good which you perceive that you ought to do, the good which you wish to do, you do not; that the evil which you difapprove, the evil which you are defirous of avoiding, you commit. You confess that fin befets you at

(b) 2 Tim. i. 9. Col. i. 22. Rom, vi. 22. (i) Heb. xii. 14..

2 Cor. vii. 1.

all

over you.

all times, on every side in a thousand shapes, and is perpetually gaining fome advantage You confefs that under the influence of a corrupt nature, and the force of temptation, you cannot hope to obey the law of God in any tolerable degree for the future, if you are left to yourself. Every one of us, my brethren, who has any knowledge of himfelf, and is capable of profiting by the leffons of his own experience, will make this confeffion with deep humility and felf-abasement. It is a confeffion which the scriptures declare to belong to every individual of the human race. They describe the nature which we have all inherited from our forefather Adam as fo thoroughly corrupted by his rebellion against God, and his fubmiffion to the enticements and the dominion of the devil; that of ourselves we not only are unable to fulfil the law of God, but are alienated from him, at enmity with him, averse to holiness, prone to fin. Moft truly therefore do they pronounce, that all bave finned and come short of the glory of God: that every mouth is stopped, and all the world is become guilty before God: and that by the deeds of the law there fhall no flefb be juftified in his fight (k).

(k) Rom. iii. 19, 20. 23.

Confider

Confider now the general nature of a law. A law points out certain duties to be performed; promises protection, perhaps reward, to those who fulfil its demands; and denounces wrath and punishment against all who shall in any point be guilty of disobedience. It is thus that the law of God deals with mankind. It enjoins on men the performance of all thofe duties, which are neceffary to conftitute perfect holiness; duties, many of which are disclosed to every man by the light of conscience, and all of them are clearly stated in the law itself. It promifes life to every perfon, who fhall fully perform the whole of that religious and moral holiness, which it exacts from all mankind. The man, it faith, that doeth them, fhall live by them (1). But what if a man falls fhort in some particular? He lofes the benefit of the promise; and must submit to the confequences of his tranfgreffion. Curfed, faith the fcripture, Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them (m). The law of God requires perfect obedience. To perfect obedience it promifes the reward of life. To those who tranfgrefs in any point it denounces the punishment of eternal death. Sin is the (m) Gal. iii. 10.

(/) Gal. iii. 12.

tranfgreffion of the law and the wages of fin is death (n).

Obferve then the fituation in which you, and I, and all men ftand by nature with refpect to the law of God. He has placed before us a law of perfect holiness; and has commanded us to obey it. We have not only fallen fhort of perfect obedience; but have become in numberless refpects miferable finners, full of iniquity, tranfgreffing daily in thought, in word, and in deed. We have become thus finful, not neceffarily, but wilfully not neceffarily; for St. Paul declares that even the Gentiles, who had not the written word of God in their poffeffion, were altogether inexcufable for their tranfgreffions, becaufe they liftened not to the law of God written in their confciences (6). We have become thus finful wilfully: having poffeffed not only the light of conscience, but the book of God; having knowingly difobeyed his law; having yielded with open eyes to the inftigation of our depraved nature, and the artifices of our fpiritual foe. We have failed, lamentably failed, as to that perfect obedience, to which alone the law promised the reward of life. We have continually committed, and are continually repeat(n) 1 John, iii. 4. Rom. vi. 23. (0) Rom. i. 19-21. 32.

ing, offences against the law; for every one of which the law denounces the penalty of eternal death.

The law promifed reward to perfect obedience: but it promifed not pardon to tranfgreffion. Man, ever inclined to prefumptuous murmuring againft God, is ready to exclaim that the law was rigorous and cruel. Rigorous and cruel, because it did not hold forth pardon to those who should wilfully break it! Do human laws hold forth pardon · to those who wilfully break them? Is it confiftent with the nature of a law to hold forth pardon to tranfgreffors? Would a law which promised pardon to those who should break it be likely to procure obedience? Would a wife legislator among men make fuch a law? Could you expect a wife and holy God to make fuch a law? The law of God denounces vengeance against all who break it: and you and I and all men have broken it. If we entertain any hopes of pardon, we muft look for it from fome other quarter. We must look for it, if we look for it at all, from the undeserved mercy of the Legislator: but in the law itself, it is unreasonable and impoffible to expect to find forgiveness.

But you complain that a single tranfgreffion should entail the forfeiture of all the bleff