that were in a manner dead before, are revived, and have a refurrection.

4. By finful thoughts, a man may fin that fin, in ef fect, which he never did commit in act; and fo the Lord may punish him for it. As the Lord faid to David in another cafe; "Becaufe it was in thine heart to build me an houfe, I will build thy houfe." So faith God to a man, in a way of punishment, Because it was in thine heart to do this evil, though thou didit it no', I will punith thee for it. By the fins of our hearts and thoughts, a man may fin that fin, in effect, which he never did commit in act. Chrift reckons the adulterous thought, adultery; the malicious thought, murder. Alas! how will the day of judgment give other views of fin than now we have, when the whorish thoughts will be judg ed whoredom; and the adulterous intention, adultery; and the malicious thoughts, murder, tho' it was never actually committed !

5. By finful thoughts, a man doth repent of his repentance. A man fins, and afterwards is forrowful for, and repents thereof; and then after his repentance, he thinks on his fin with delight. What is this but to repent of his repentance? As by your repentance, you are forrowful for your fin; fo, by mufing on your fin, with delight, your repent of your repentance: now, Is it not a great evil for a man to repent that he repented?

6. That filthy mud, that cannot be fearched to the bottom; that deep myftery of iniquity, that cannot be founded, it is fo deep, must be very great and fo it is with the fin of the heart; "It is deceitful above all things, and defperately wicked, who can know it?" Jer. xvii. 9. In a word, "Out of the heart proceedeth all manner of evil thoughts, murders, adulteries," &c. Matth. xv. 18, 19.

(3) The impurity and pollution of our lives and practices, especially, under the gofpel, is what we are to take with, and be convinced of. And fins under the gofpel, are great fins. Why?

1. Sins under the gospel, are fins against the remedy: and of all fins, fins against the remedy are the greatest. The great remedy against fin, is the gofpel of the grace VOL. I.

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of God; the good news of a crucified Chrift, a Saviour, whofe name is Jefus, becaufe he faves his people from their fin. The promises are the remedy alfo: and therefore, to fin under the gofpel, is to fin against the remedy; yea, it is a finning against the greatest obligations of mercy and grace that are offered: and fo, by our finning against thefe, we engage the very mercy and grace of God, our greatest friends, to become our greatest adverfaries.

2. The more repugnancy there is between the fin and the finner, the greater is the fin; even as it is worfe for a judge to be unjuft, than another man. Nw, there is here a great repugnancy between the gospel, and the man that finneth under the gofpel; for he profefles the contrary.

3. Sin under the gofpel, is the most hurtful and mifchievous, both to ourselves and others. To ourfelves as poifon that is taken in fack, or fomething that is warm, is the moft venomous; fo, fin under the golpel is the deadlieft poifon: why? because it is warmed with gofpel-heat. And to others it is hurtful; because they are the more hardened thereby.

4. Sin under the gofpel is moft deceitful, having specious pretences and defences; and fo it is the worse. A man under the gofpel, hath readily many fhifts for his fins; many diflinctions to palliate his fin; much knowledge to cover his fin. And by this knowledge, perhaps, he is able to defend his fin, by many diftinctions as, that it is a fin of infirmity; it is an occafion for grace and mercy to abound; and many fuch ways may grace be abused to the encouraging of fin. Now, thofe bred under the gofpel, are able to defend themfelves by knowledge fetched from the gofpel; therefore they are the worst.

5. Sins under the gofpel throw contempt upon the great things of God: even the glory of God, the grace of God, offered in the gofpel. And how great is that fin that cafts contempt upon the greatest love, the richest mercy, the fweeteft offers, and upon the great falvation! 6. Sin under the gofpel is the most dangerous fin; and therefore it is great. How fhall we escape, if we neglect

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neglect fo great falvation?" Heb. ii. 3. He that finneth under the gofpel, cannot fin at fo cheap a rate as others, though he fins the very fame fins that others commit, who are not under the gofpel. Why? "He that knoweth his mafter's will, and doth it not, fhall be beaten with many ftripes." O Sirs, be convinced of thefe fins, and the evil of them: the fin of your nature, the fin of your heart, and the fin of your way under the gofpel; for they are great fins and impurities.

[2.] I would produce fome witneffes, for proving of the great want of purity, whether total or partial. Many witneffes may be brought in to prove the charge.

1. The first witness is the power and prevalency of fin. Where fin is up, holine's is down. Are fins and corrup tions as many and as flrong with you, as they were ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, notwithstanding of all the means you have enjoyed, and fermons you have heard, and engagements you have made? The power of fin doth witnefs and evidence either the want or weakness of purity.

3. The third witnefs is the eafy and frequent falling before temptation and motions to fin. When temptation touches, it takes. No fooner are you tempted than you are conquered. Does not this discover the want of purity; and that it is either wholly wanting, or at a low ebb? Thofe that were eminent in holiness, in Scripture, were eminent in refifting temptation; as Jofeph, Daniel, and others. When a man needs little, or has no temptation to lead him to fin, it witneffeth against him, that he is impure.

4. The fourth witnefs is fears and faintings in a day of adverfity; “If thou faint in the day of adverfity, thy ftrength is fmall," Prov. xxiv. 16. Do you fret under affliction, or faint under adverfity? That is an evidence of the want of purity, and the weaknefs of grace.

5. The next witness is barrennefs and foul-leanness ; Ifa. xxiv. 16. "I faid, my leannefs, my leannefs; wo unto me!" Look to them that have my grace, and fee what poor and lean graces they have: how little faith, how little love, how little zeal, how little repentance, how

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little knowledge; how much unbelief, how much ignorance, how much untenderness in their walk, how much neglect of duty, how much of a legal spirit in duty, &c.; how much laxnefs of principle, and levity of fpirit; how much pride of duty, how much pride of preaching, pride of praying; how much apoftafy, unftedfaftnefs, and unconftancy; the goodnefs of many is like the morning cloud, and early dew, that paffeth

away.

6. Another witnefs is indifferency. The great indifferency that is among many profeffed Chriftians, fhews their want of purity; they are indifferent whom, and what they hear; indifferent whether they perform duty or not; whether they attend ordinances or not: "Galio cared for none of thofe things." Surely, where there is much indifferency, there is little holinefs, little purity.

7. The feventh witnefs is grofs immortality. And here, will not the grofs abominations of the day and generation, and of the congregation witnefs againft them, that they are not wafhen from their filthinefs?-Is the drunkard washen from his drunkennefs? Is the whoremonger wafhen from his whoredom? Is the adulterer wafhen from his adulteries? Is the malicious man wafhen from his malice?—Are not many become fhameless in finning, when the Lord is calling for mourning? "And in that day did the Lord God of hofts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with fackcloth; and, behold! joy and gladnefs, flaying.oxen, and killing fheep, eating flefh, and drinking wine; let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we fhall die," Ifa. xxii. 12, 13. There were a pack that made a jest of dying, and made a mock of a future ftate: "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we muft die ;" if we must have a fhort life, let us have a merry one. Here is atheifm rampant; denial of a future ftate lying at the root of their brutish fenfuality. Many difcover their grofs immorality by mock-confeffion; like the French king that carried a crucifix in his hat, and when he had done any thing amifs he would kifs that, as a fufficient atonement. Many who call themselves Chriftians, when they have committed any grofs fin, they confess it, with a 'God forgive

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me; returning with the dog to the vomit.-They evidence their immorality by their unreproveablenels; as is manifeft from their carriage to them that admonish them do they count them their best friends? Nay, their heart rifes and rages against them. How fland they affected towards the word, when it reproves them, and rubs upon their lufts, and croffes their delights? They count it enmity and folly.-They evidence their grofs immorality by their filthy communications, and filthy converfations, Col. iii. 8. 2 Pet. ii. 7.

8. The eight witnefs is careleffnefs about, and contempt of the means of purity. Doth the neglect of the means of purity witnefs against you? For example, prayer is a mean; fecret prayer, focial prayer, family prayer, fellowship prayer: do you live in the neglect of thefe? Yea; then doth not this witnefs your impurity?--The word is a mean; hearing the word attentively, reading the word diligently, hiding the word in your heart carefully, like David; "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not fiu against thee." Now, what diligent ufe do you make of the word? Are you carelefs in hearing, efpecially on week-days, notwithstanding of convenient oppor tunity? Are you careless in reading the Bible from Sabbath to Sabbath? Why, the very duft of your Bibles will witness against you. I have read of one, that prefented Antipater, the king of Macedon, with a book, that treated of happiness; he refufed it, faying, 'I am not at leifure. Many have the book by them; yea, prefented to them by Chrift, that treats of everlafting happinefs, but they flight the prefent: I am not at leifure,' fay they. They have opportunity of hearing the word opened on weekdays, as well as Sabbath-days; but they are not at leifure. They have means of knowledge, diets of catechifing, for clearing the fame word; but they are not at lei. fure. They have many precious feafons of grace, feafons of prayer, feafons of duty; but they are not at leifure. They take leisure to their own work, their worldly work, yea, for idle converfation; but they have no leifure for God's work, their foul's work, eternal work.

What are not these things fo many witneffes against you, that you are impure? I might produce multitudes

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