If there are any in the world-though but lately become capable of acting for themselves as subjects of God's law-who are perfectly free from sin; such are most likely to be found among the children of christian parents, who give them the most pious education and set them the best examples. And therefore such would never be so likely to be found in any part or age of the world, as in the primitive christian church, in the first age of christianity, (the age of the Church's greatest purity) so long after christianity had been established that there had been time for great numbers of children to be born, and educated by those primitive christians. It was in that age, and in such a part of that age, that the apostle John wrote his first epistle to the christians. But if there was then a number of them come to understanding who were perfectly free from sin, why should he write as he does? 1 John i. 8, 9, 10, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and the truth is not in us.*

Again, the reality and greatness of the depravity of man's nature appears in this, That he has a prevailing propensity to be continually sinning against God. What has been observed above will clearly prove this. That same disposition of nature which is an effectual propensity to immediate sin, amounts to a propensity to continual sin. For a being prone to continual sinning is nothing but a proneness to immediate sin continued, Such appears to be the tendency of nature to sin, that as soon as ever man is capable, it causes him immediately to sin, with.

* If any should object, that this is an overstraining of things; and that it sup poses a greater niceness and exactness than is observed in scripture representations to infer from these expressions, that all men sin immediately as soon as ever they are capable of it. To this I would say, that I think the arguments used are truly solid, and do really and justly conclude, either that men are born guilty, and so are chargeable with sin before they come to act for themselves, or else commit sin immediately, without the least tisne intervening, after they are capable of understanding their obligations to God, and reflecting on themselves; and that the scripture clearly determines there is not one such person in the world, free from sin. But whether this be straining things to too great an exactness or not; yet I suppose none that do not entirely set aside the sense of such scriptures as have been mentioned, and deny those propositions which Dr. T. himself allows to be contained in some of them, will deny they prove, that no considerable time passes after men are capable of acting for themselves, as the subjects of God's faw, before they are guilty of sin; because if the time were considerable, it would be great enough to deserve to be taken notice of, as an exception to such universal propositions as, in thy sight shall no man living be justified, &c. And if this be allowed, that men are so prone to sin that in fact all mankind do sin, as it were, immediately, after they come to be capable of it, or fail not to sin so soon that no considerable time passes before they run into transgression against God; it does not much alter the case as to the present argument. If the time of freedom from sin be so small as not to be worthy of notice in the forementioned universal propositions of scripture, it is also so small as not to be worthy of notice in the present argument.

out suffering any considerable time to pass without sin. And therefore, if the same propensity be continued undiminished, there will be an equal tendency to immediate sinning again, without any considerable time passing. And so the same will always be a disposition still immediately to sin, with as little time passing without sin afterwards as at first. The only reason that can be given why sinning must be immediate at first, is that the disposition is so great, that it will not suffer any considerable time to pass without sin: and therefore, the same disposition being continued in equal degree, without some new restraint or contrary tendency, it will still equally tend to the same effect. And though it is true, the propensity may be diminished or have restraints laid upon it, by the gracious dispo sals of providence or the merciful influences of God's spirit; yet this is not owing to nature. That strong propensity of nature by which men are so prone to immediate sinning at first, has no tendency in itself to a diminution; but rather to an increase; as the continued exercise of an evil disposition in repeated actual sins, tends to strengthen it more and more: agreeable to that observation of Dr. T.'s, p. 228. "We are apt to be drawn into sin by bodily appetites, and when once we are under the government of these appetites, it is at least exceeding difficult, if not impracticable, to recover ourselves by the mere force of reason." The increase of strength of disposition in such a case is as in a falling body, the strength of its tendency to descend is continually increased, so long as its motion is continued. Not only a constant commission of sin, but a constant increase in the habits and practice of wickedness, is the true tendency of man's depraved nature, if unrestrained by divine grace; as the true tendency of the nature of an heavy body, if obstacles are removed, is not only to fall with a continual motion, but with a constantly increasing motion. And we see that increasing iniquity is actually the consequence of natural depravity in most men, notwithstanding all the restraints they have. Dispositions to evil are commonly much stronger in adult persons, than in children when they first begin to act in the world as rational creatures.

If sin be such a thing as Dr. T. himself represents it, p. 69. "a thing of an odious and destructive nature, the corrup tion and ruin of our nature, and infinitely hateful to God; then such a propensity to continual and increasing sin must be a very evil disposition. And if we may judge of the perniciousness of an inclination of nature, by the evil of the effect it naturally tends to, the propensity of man's nature must be evil indeed: For the soul being immortal, as Dr. T. acknowledges, p. 94. S. it will follow from what has been observed above, that man has a natural disposition to one of these two things; either to an increase of wickedness without end, or till

wickedness comes to be so great, that the capacity of his nature will not allow it to be greater. This being what his wickedness will come to by its natural tendency, if divine grace does not prevent, it may as truly be said to be the effect which man's natural corruption tends to, as that an acorn in a proper soil truly tends by its nature to become a great tree.

Again, That sin which is remaining in the hearts of the best men on earth, makes it evident that man's nature is corrupt as he comes into the world. A remaining depravity of heart in the greatest saints may be argued from the sins of most of those who are set forth in scripture as the most eminent instances and examples of virtue and piety: and is also manifest from this, that the scripture represents all God's children as standing in need of chastisement. Heb. xii. 6, 7, 8. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth; and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.-What son is he, whom the Father chasteneth not? If ye are without chastisement, then are ye bastards, and not sons. But this is directly and fully asserted in some places; as in Eccles. vii. 20. There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not. Which is as much as to say, there is no man upon earth that is so just, as to have attained to such a degree of righteousness as not to commit any sin. Yea, the apostle James speaks of all christians as often sinning, or committing many sins; even in that primitive age of the christian. church, an age distinguished from all others by eminent attainments in holiness; Jam. iii. 2. In many things we all offend. And that there is pollution in the hearts of all antecedent to all means for purification, is very plainly declared in Prov. xx. 9. Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

According to Dr. T. men come into the world wholly free from sinful propensities. And if so, it appears from what has been already said, there would be nothing to hinder—but that many, without being better than they are by nature, might perfectly avoid the commission of sin. But much more might this be the case with men after they had, by care, diligence, and good practice, attained those positive habits of virtue whereby they are at a much greater distance from sin than they were naturally-which this writer supposes to be the case with many good men. But since the scripture teaches us that the best men in the world do often commit sin, and have remaining pollution of heart, this makes it abundantly evident that men, when they are no otherwise than they were by nature, without any of those virtuous attainments, have a sinful depravity; yea, must have great corruption of nature.

SECT. V.

The depravity of Nature appears, in that the general consequence of the State and Tendency of Man's Nature is a much greater degree of Sin, than Righteousness; not only with respect to value and demerit, but matter and quantity.

I have before shewn that there is a propensity in man's nature to that sin, which in heinousness and ill desert immensely outweighs all the value and merit of any supposed good that may be in him, or that he can do. I now proceed to say further, that such is man's nature in his present state, that it tends to this lamentable effect, that there should at all times, through the course of his life, be at least much more sin than righteousness; not only as to weight and value, but as to matter and measure; more disagreement of heart and practice from the law of God and from the law of nature and reason, than agreement and conformity. The law of God is the rule of right, as Dr. T. often calls it. It is the measure of virtue and sin: so much agreement as there is with this rule, so much is there of rectitude, righteousness, or true virtue, and no more; and so much disagreement as there is with this rule, so much sin is there. Having premised this, the following things may be here observed.

I. The degree of disagreement from this rule of right is to be determined, not only by the degree of distance from it in excess but also in defect; or in other words, not only in positive transgression, or doing what is forbidden, but also in withholding what is required. The divine Lawgiver does as much prohibit the one as the other, and does as much charge the latter as a sinful breach of his law, exposing to his eternal wrath and curse, as the former. Thus at the day of judgment, as described, Matth. xxv. The wicked are condemned as cursed to everlasting fire, for their sin in defect and omission; I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat, &c. And the case is thus, not only when the defect is in word or behaviour, but in the inward temper and exercise of the mind. 1 Cor. xvi. 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. Dr. T. speaking of the sentence and punishment of the wicked, (Matth. xxv. 41, 46.)says, p. 159. "It was manifestly for WANT of benevolence, love, and compassion to their fellow-creatures, that they were condemned." elsewhere, as was observed before, he says, that the law of God extends to the latent principles of sin to forbid them, and to condemn to eternal destruction for them. And if so, it doubtless also extends to the inward principles of holiness, to

And

require them, and in like manner to condemn them for the want of them.

II. The sum of our duty to God required in his law, is LOVE; taking love in a large sense, for the true regard of our hearts to God, implying esteem, honour, benevolence, gratitude, complacence, &c. This is not only very plain by the scripture, but it is evident in itself. The sum of what the law of God requires, is doubtless obedience to that law: No law can require more than that it be obeyed. But it is manifest, that obedience is nothing, any otherwise than as a testimony of the respect of our hearts to God: Without the heart, man's external acts are no more than the motions of the limbs of a wooden image: have no more of the nature of either sin or righteousness. It must therefore needs be, that love to God, the respect of the heart, must be the sum of the duty required in his law.

III. It therefore appears from the premises, that whoso ever withholds more of that love or respect of heart from God which his law requires, than he affords, has more sin than righteousness. Not only he that has less divine love than passions and affections which are opposite; but also he that does not love God half so much as he ought or has reason to do, has justly more wrong than right imputed to him, according to the law of God and the law of reason; he has more irregularity than rectitude, with regard to the law of love. The sinful disrespect of his heart towards God is greater than his respect to him.

But what considerate person is there, even among the more virtuous part of mankind, but would be ashamed to say and profess before God or men, that he loves God half so much as he ought to do; or that he exercises one half of that esteem, honour and gratitude towards God, which would be altogether becoming him; considering what God is, and what great manifestations he has made of his transcendent excellency and goodness, and what benefits he receives from him? And if few or none of the best of men can with reason and truth make even such a profession, how far from it must the generality of mankind be?

The chief and most fundamental of all the commands of the moral law requires us to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, aud with all our souls, with all our strength, and all our mind: that is plainly, with all that is within us, or to the utmost capacity of our nature. God is in himself worthy of infinitely greater love than any creature can exercise towards him; love equal to his perfections, which are infinite. God loves himself with no greater love than he is worthy of, when he loves himself infinitely; but we can give to God no more than we have. Therefore if we give him so much, if we love him to