faith. Try what ye hear by it, as the noble Bereans. did, for which they are highly commended.

(8.) Laftly, Be tender and holy in your walk. If any man will do his will, fays our Lord, John vii. 17. he fball know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I fpeak of myself. Where men are confcientious to practise known truth, there is hope of being led into. all truth; while otherwife the Spirit of the Lord being grieved departs.

Secondly, Our days are evil days, in respect of abounding fin. The generation wherein we live hath fignalized itself for looseness and licentioufnefs, and our iniquity is gone up unto the heavens, and the measure of it is faft, very faft filling up. Our land, we may fay, is filled with fin against the holy One of Ifrael, Jer. li. 5. The abounding of fin in our day appears in that,

1. Sins of all forts are to be found amongst us, whether against the firft or fecond table. The truth is, contempt of God and of religion hath made most fearful advances: the gofpel is defpifed, the holy laws. of God are violated, his bands are broken, and his cords caft away. The land is defiled with idolatry,, fuperftition, finful fwearing, Sabbath-breaking, unfaithfulness in all relations, murders, uncleanness, dishonesty and fraud, lying, and covetoufnefs. And what can be found among a people profeffing the name of Chrift to bring wrath on them, that is not to be found in Scotland at this day? Particularly, there are two figns of a generation pofting to ruin, that have appeared of late more than for many years before.

(1.) Horrid blafphemies, fhewing what height the generation is come to in contempt of God. Not only is there a fearful outbreaking of blafphemous principles, overturning the very foundations of Chriftianity; but many fearful blafphemies and blafphemous practices have been occafionally vented and fet up of late, to fill up the measure of the iniquity of the land. (2.) Rampant oppreffion, to fhew what a low pafs.

humanity

humanity is at in thefe dregs of time. I doubt if there be any alive that ever faw as much oppreffion in this land, when it was neither a time of war, nor of perfecution, as we have neither of them at this day. When was that so much verified as at this day, The people fhall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child fall behave himfelf proudly against the ancient, and the bafe against the honourable, lf. iii. 5. Thefe things can hardly mifs to fill our cup to the brim.

2. Corruption of manners has overfpread all ranks in church and ftate; and it is come to that, Gen. vi. 12. God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. Not only religion, but fobriety is almost gone out of fashion with thofe of the greater fort, fo that they have altogether broken the yoke, and burft the bonds; and the meaner fort follow the example, alas! too much; and there is a visible growing untenderness among thofe whofe character and office in the church obliges them to give a holy example to both. So that look after religion where you will, it will be found at a very low pass in the practice of it.

3. Religion is fo much on the declining hand,, that there is not fo much as a standing still and not mending, but a growing worfe and worfe ftill. The generation is still going forward in apostasy from God, and not going, but running further and further wrong. New caufes of wrath are still produced in the progrefs of time; and Satan's kingdom is visibly increasing. The evil are growing worfe and worfe and many fometime hopeful have taken off the mafk, and appear in their native colours.

4. The fins of fons and daughters are more and greater than ordinary. They are fo mixed with the men of the world, that they have learned much of their way, and have left their first love, Rev. ii. 4There is a cloud even upon them, fo that they have

B. 3

not that life, fpirit, and tenderness that fome times they had. And they that depart from evil make themselves a prey.

And what makes thefe days of abounding fin worse, is,

ift, That they are come in over the belly of much light. Our days have been days of much gofpel-light, but the truth has been in unrighteoufnefs, and men have rebelled again't the light: fo the light is grown weaker, and the works of darkness have got the upper hand.

2dly, Our national hazards and deliverances have been many and fignal; and behold the fruit of them, as if we had been delivered to do all thefe abominations. If either threatened judgements or merciful deliverances could have cured us, we had been in another cafe at this day: but all these things feem to have been blasted.

3dly, There are few, very few to stand in the gap, Ezek. xxii. 30. Few that have either heart or hand to oppofe themselves to the torrent of wickednefs: few mourners over the abominations done in the midst of us. I doubt not but there are some who truly figh and cry for the abounding fin of our day. But I doubt if our Zion these many years has afforded fewer of that fort., Thefe our provocations have been of fo long continuance, that though at their first appearance they were moving, yet the horror of them feems to be abated by cuftom; befides that many of the fometimes mourners in Zion are themfelves deeply involved in the backfliding courses of the day.

These things make our days evil days: for,

(1.) The difhonour done to God, and the provocation thereby given to the eyes of his glory, is great beyond expreffion: The name of God is blafphemed among the Gentiles, through you, fays Paul to the Romans, chap. iì. 24. Our land has been fingularly privileged, being married to the Lord in folemn cove

nank

nant, and her renown has fometimes gone through many nations: But, ah how is God difhonoured, and religion expofed, by fuch fearful departures from the Lord!

(2.) They are enfaaring days. O how hard is it for people to keep their feet in fuch a day, and not to be carried away with the ftream? Rev. iii. 5. How hard is it to keep up a due horror of fin, while on every hand of us it is fo lightly looked upon ? Temptation is strong in fuch a day.

(3.) They are days that while they laft, little good and great can well be expected in them. Hence faid the Lord by the man of God unto Eli, Them that honour me, I will honour; and they that defpife me, shall be lightly esteemed, 1 Sam. ii. 30. A generation fo much dishonouring God, it can little be expected that God will honour. We would fain hope that the Lord will yet bring glorious days; but it is very probable that many of us of the present generation fhallbe shovelled out of the way in the firft place. Hence faith the Lord, Ezek. xx. 37. 38. I will caufe you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that tranfgrefs against me.

(4.) The confequences of them can hardly mifs to be dreadful. Shall I not vifit for thefe things? faith the Lord: fhall not my foul be avenged on fuch a na tion as this? Jer. ix. 9. Where fin comes to fuch a height, readily fevere judgements quickly follow. And we can fee nothing that may give any hope that we fhall mifs to fee fad days, but that the Lord can pour out his Spirit, and turn us back: but, alas! in the mean time we look always the longer unlike such a merciful turn in our affairs.

(5.) Laftly, They have a fad afpect on pofterity. The Jews crucified Chrift above fixteen hundred years ago, and their children to this day are smarting under it. And fure I am, if matters continue in the courfe they are in at this day in this land any

long

long time, the fucceeding generation will be in miferable plight.

These things call aloud to redeeming of time. And, 1. Confider well your own ways, that you may fee if you be joined or not in the confpiracy against God with the generation; Hag. i. 5. Thus faith the Lord of hafts, Confider your ways. Alas! it may be easily seen, that most of us are deep in the fcore,. and none of us can wipe our mouths, and fay juftly, we have not finned, we have not had a hand in the general declining.

2. Beftir yourselves, and save yourselves from thie untoward generation, Acts ii. 40. Take another way than the common course of the day wherein you live. God is faying, Come out from among them, my people, be ye feparate, and touch not the unclean thing = Iftand at a diftance from their finful ways, and be not partakers with their fins, left ye partake of their plagues.

3. Live near God, and by your tender holy walking give a practical testimony against the abounding fin of the day.. Advert to the faying of the wife man, Prov. xxviii. 4. They that forfake the law, praife the wicked: but fuch as keep the law, contend with them.

4. Be mourners in Zion, wreftlers with the Lord in the cafe of the evil of the days. Mourn for your own fins and the fins of others.

5. Laftly, Strengthen and ftir up one another in the way of the Lord. The people of God had need to animate one another in duty, in a special manner when the torrent of fin runs high, that fo they may the better oppose it, and keep themfelves from be ing carried away with it. Follow the practice of the Lord's people who lived in a very declining time of the Jewish church, recorded Mal. iii. 16. Then they that feared the Lord fpake often one to another, and the Lord heartened and heard it, and a book of remem

brance