angels....the joy of the heavenly world. The Psalmist said, Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides thee....Psalm lxxiii. 25; and well might he say so: but to be inclined, when we are secure in sin, and not terrified with, hell, to love and desire any thing upon earth more than God-and, when under terrors and fearful expectations of wrath, to desire pardon, peace, and (an imaginary) heaven, and any thing to make us happy, but God himself, is surely infinitely vile. We do hereby prefer that which is not God, above God himself, as if it was really of more worth; and so cast infinite contempt upon the ocean of blessedness, and fountain of all good. And besides, in this, as well as the former particular, we go directly contrary to the express command of the great Governor of the whole world. Finally, to be disposed to an inordinate (and so to a groundless) self-love, and to be swallowed up in selfish views and designs, instead of a tender love, and cordial benevolence to all our fellow-men, loving them as ourselves, is evidently contrary to all the reason and nature of things, and to the express command of God, which is infinitely binding; and so this also is infinitely sinful: And thus, these, our native propensities, are directly contrary to the holy law of God, and exceedingly sinful.

But here it may be enquired" If a disposition to love our"selves supremely, live to ourselves ultimately, and to delight in "that which is not God wholly, be so exceedingly sinful, whence "is it that men's consciences do not any more accuse and condemn "them therefor?" To which the answer is plain and easy; for this is evidently owing to their intolerably mean thoughts of God. Mal. i. 6, 7, 8.... A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: If, then, I be a father, where is mine honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name: and ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; (and so ye despise me :) and (yet) ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? (I answer) In that (in doing so) ye (practically) say, The table of the Lord is contemptible: (and so you treat me

with contempt.) And yet their consciences did not smite them, and therefore the Lord adds-And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? (or am I so mean and contemptible, that to do so ought not to be looked upon as an affront? I appeal to the common sense of mankind,) Offer it now unto thy Governor, will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts; (and if your Governor will take it as an affront, much more may I,) for I am a GREAT KING, saith the LORD of hosts, (ver. 14.) Here it is plain that it was their mean and contemptuous thoughts of God which made them think it would do to turn him off any how, and with any thing: And just so it is in the case before us: men's thoughts of God are infinitely mean.... he is very contemptible in their sight; and hence, although they love themselves, their own honor and interest, above the Lord and his glory, and prefer other things, and take more delight in that which is not God, than in God himself, yet they say "Wherein do we despise the Lord, affront his majesty, or cast" " contempt upon him? We pray in secret and in our families.... "we go to meeting and to sacrament, and help to support the

gospel; and is not all this to honor the Lord? And wherein "do we despise him?"-Just as if going into your closet twice a day, to quiet your conscience, and saying over the old prayer, by rote, in your family, that you have repeated morning and evening ever since you kept house; and, in a customary way, going to meeting and to sacrament, and paying your minister's rate, (and, it may be, not without grudging,)—just as if this was an honoring of God, when, at heart, you do not love him one jot, nor care for his honor and interest at all, nor would do any thing in religion but for the influence of education and common custom, or from legal fears and mercenary hopes, or merely from some other selfish consideration: Yea, just as if this was an honoring of God, when, all the time, you cast such infinite contempt upon him in your heart, as to give your heart to another to that which is not God-to yourself, and to the world! Let a woman treat her husband so, will he be pleased with it, and

will he accept her person? If she does not love her husband at all, or delight in his person, or care for his interest-if she loves another man....has a separate interest of her own, and does nothing for her husband but to serve her own views, will he now think she is a good wife, because morning, noon, and night, she prepares his food, though she does it carelessly, the victuals always cold and poorly dressed, hardly fit to eat....and he knows it is all from want of love? And besides, she thinks she does a great deal for him, and expects her pay, like a hired maid!—and she says to her husband, "Wherein do I despise you? Am "not I always doing for you?" And she does not feel herself to blame, because her husband looks so mean and contemptible in her eyes; and she cares so little for him, that any thing seems good enough for him, while, all the time, her adulterous heart is doating on her lovers. "You do not love me," says her husband, "but other men have your heart, and you are more a wife "to them than to me :" But says she, "I cannot love you, and "I cannot but love others ;" and now she seems to herself not to blame: So, a wicked world have such mean thoughts of God, that they cannot love him at all, and have such high thoughts of themselves, that they cannot but love themselves supremely : they have such mean thoughts of God that they cannot delight in him at all; but they see a glory in other things, and so in them they cannot but delight wholly: And because they are habitually insensible of God's infinite glory, hence they are habitually insensible of the exceeding sinfulness of these native propensities of their hearts: So that we see that mean, contemptuous thoughts of God are the very foundation of the peace, and quiet, and security of men, in a mere form of religion. If they did but see who the Lord is, they could not but judge themselves and all their duties to be infinitely odious in his sight. Psalm 1. 21, 22.... These things hast thou done, and I kept silence-thou thoughtest I was altogether such an one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes....Now consider this, ye that forget God. Men have such mean thoughts of God, and so little regard him, that they are naturally inclined to for

none.

get that there is a God, and to feel and act as if there were Hence (Psalm xiv. 1.)—The fool saith in his heart, there is no God; i. e. he is inclined to feel and act as if there was none; and, therefore, it is added in the next words-Corrupt are they. So, the children of Eli, who treated the worship of God with great contempt, are said to despise the Lord, and kick at his sacrifice; and yet their consciences did not smite them : and the ground of all was their mean, contemptuous thoughts of God. I. Sam. ii. 12, 29, 30.... The sons of Eli were sons of Be lial, they knew not the Lord. And thus we see that our native disposition to love ourselves supremely, live to ourselves ultimately, and delight wholly in that which is not God, is (wheth er we are sensible of it, or not,) directly contrary to God's holy law, and exceedingly sinful. And I add,

This native bent of our hearts is the root of all sin, (the posi tive root, I mean, in opposition to a mere privative cause) of all our inward corruptions and vicious practices....both of those which are contrary to the first and to the second table of the law-of those which more immediately affront God, and of those which more especially respect our neighbor.

From this root arises all our evil carriage towards the Lord of glory. This is the root of a spirit of self-supremacy, whereby we, in our hearts, exalt ourselves and our wills above the Lord and his will, and refuse to be controuled by him, or be in sub jection unto him. Jehovah assumes the character of most high God, supreme Lord and sovereign Governor of the whole world, and commands all the earth to acknowledge and obey him as such; but we are all naturally inclined, Pharaoh-like, to say, Who is the Lord, that we should obey him? we know not the Lord, nor will we do his will: And hence mankind, all the world over, break God's law, every day, before his face ; as if they despised his authority in their hearts. And when he crosses them in his providences, they, as though it was not his right to govern the world, quarrel with him, because they cannot have their own wills, and go in their own ways: This was always the way of the children of Israel, those forty years in

the wilderness, whose whole conduct exemplifies our nature to the life, and in which glass we may behold our faces, and know what manner of persons we naturally are. Men love themselves above God, and do not like his law, and hence are inclined to set up their wills above and against his; and if they can, they will, have their wills, and go in their ways, for all him; and if they cannot, they will quarrel with him: And hence the apostle says, The carnal mind is enmity against God—is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be....Rom. viii. 7.

And, from this root, arises a spirit of self-sufficiency and independence, whereby we are lifted up in our own hearts, and hate to be beholden to God; and, having different interests and ends from him, naturally think it not safe, and so, upon the whole, not liking to trust in him, choose to trust in ourselves, or any thing, rather than him. We have a better thought of ourselves than of God, as knowing we are disposed to be true to our own interests and ends, and therefore had rather trust in ourselves than in him; and besides, we naturally hate to come upon our knees to him for every thing: Hence, that in Fer. ii. 31. is the native language of our hearts-We are lords, we will come no more unto thee. We love to have the staff in our own hands, for then we can do as we will; and hate to lie at God's mercy, for then we must be at his control; yea, we had rather trust in any thing than in God, he being, of all things, most contrary to us: And hence, the Israelites, in their distress, would one while make a covenant with Assyria, and then lean upon Egypt; yea, and rob the treasures of the temple to hire their aid, rather than be beholden to God: Yea, they would make them Gods of silver and gold....of wood and stone, and then trust in such lying vanities, rather than in the Lord Jehovah: And as face answers to face in the water, so does the heart of man to man....Prov. xxvii. 19. This is our very nature.

Again, from the same root arises a disposition to depart from the Lord; for other things appear more glorious, and excellent, and soul-satisfying than God-wherefore the hearts of the children of men secretly loathe the Lord, and hanker after other