been born only of the flesh, and so is only flesh; who hath not been born of the Spirit, and so hath not the Spirit of Christ; whose character is given by the Holy Ghost, in Rom. viii. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." For that the Holy Ghost meant to comprehend all unregenerate sinners, is evident from the next words: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." So, then, all those, in whom the Spirit of God dwelleth not, are in the flesh; which is the character of every Christless sinner; for "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." So that by a sinner is meant, one who is dead in sin, and an enemy to God a character, in the sight of God, infinitely criminal; as is evident from this, that his law dooms persons of this character to eternal misery; which is a punishment infinitely dreadful.

4. By an impenitent, self-righteous sinner, is meant, a sinner who, being really of the character just stated, yet, instead of confessing and forsaking, is habitually disposed to cover his sins, and justify himself in his wickedness; even as our first parents covered their nakedness with fig-leaves, and did all they could to hide themselves from God, and said all they could to justify themselves. The last words which Adam spake when called before his Judge, previous to the sentence passed upon him, were designed to excuse himself, and to lay the blame upon God, who had given him such a tempter, and upon her who had tempted him. The words are very remarkable"The woman, which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." And yet Mr. M. represents Adam, in these words, as making "a full confession of his guilt," and as being so humbled, "as that he was prepared to receive a discovery of redeeming mercy with all his heart." It is a dangerous thing to flatter sinners into a good opinion of themselves. Adam first covered his nakedness with fig-leaves, before God came to call him to an account; for he could not endure to see himself. And when God came, he fled, and he hid himself from the presence of the Lord amongst the trees of the garden; for he could not endure to be seen by God; "for he that doth evil hateth the light." And when he was forced to come forth, and appear before his Judge, he came with guile in his mouth, saying, "I was afraid, be cause I was naked, and I hid myself;" for it was not the nakedness of his body, but a guilty conscience, which made him hide himself. But he could not bear to own his sin. He

dreaded to have it brought into view; and when closely examined and pinched to the very heart, so that he could not conceal the fact which he had done, yet then he would cunningly put into his confession every extenuating circumstance, that as much as possible the blame might be cast off from himself, wherever else it might fall. Ungrateful wretch! to blame his kind Creator and bountiful Benefactor! "The woman which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Nothing is owned, but merely the external act; the bad intention, the proud, wicked, rebellious heart, is kept out of view; their aspiring to be as gods; their believing the serpent's lies before the God of truth, etc. But here we have a specimen of the true nature of impenitence. This disposition to cover their sin took place in our first parents on their fall, and it has spread through all their guilty race. And mankind have proceeded so far, as even to invent new schemes of religion, not revealed in, but contrary to the Holy Scriptures, to cover their sins and to justify themselves in their wickedness. Nor may it be amiss to mention one or two schemes of this sort, that we may see how the charge exhibited in the divine law against the sinner is evaded, and himself freed from blame, and justified in his own conscience.

Thus, the charge exhibited in God's holy law against the sinner is, that he sins and deserves eternal damnation, for not continuing in all things written in the book of the law to do them. "The sum of the ten commandments is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself." But the Arminian pleads, and says, No man can be obliged to keep this law; for no man can exercise principles which he has not, for that implies a contradiction; * but we have lost our power "of yielding perfect obedience in Adam. We cannot love God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves. We are not to blame for not doing what we cannot do; and therefore we are not to blame, nor do we deserve the curse, for not continuing in all things

* By a principle of love is meant, a disposition to love, or a heart to love. But to say, I have no heart to love God, and therefore I am not obliged to love him, is to say, that the more depraved I am, the less to blame I am. He who has no heart at all to honor his father and his mother, is, on this hypothesis, blameless. Let the parents be ever so worthy, if the child has no heart to love and honor them, he is free. So a dishonest man, who has no heart to pay his debts, is not obliged; and a covetous niggard, who has no heart to give to the poor, is not bound. For, on this hypothesis, our inclination is our rule of duty, and not the law of God. Not what is right and fit, and as such is required by God, the sole Monarch of the universe, is my duty; but only that which suits my own heart. So Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord? I know not the Lord, nor will I obey his voice." Pharaoh had no principle of love and obedience, and so he was not obliged. So he felt. But the God of the Hebrews imputed it to him for sin.

written in the book of the law to do them. This law is too severe for a fallen world. Christ has died for us; and so the law is abated; and if we do as well as we can, we shall be saved; for it would be unjust for God to require more of us than we can do, and then damn us for not doing." Thus they reason, and thus they believe, and thus their sins are covered even from the sight of their own consciences, and they stand justified in themselves.

Again, the charge exhibited in God's holy law against the sinner is, that he sins, and deserves eternal damnation for not continuing in all things written in the book of the law to do them. "The sum of the ten commandments is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself." But the Antinomian pleads, and says, "This law is not in force with respect to fallen man at all; and so I am not in the least to blame for not continuing in all things written in it. For to love that character of God which is exhibited in his law, is the same thing as to love my own misery. But to love my own misery is to take pleasure in pain; which is an express contradiction, and in its very nature absolutely impossible; and even inconsistent with my continuing to exist as a sensible being and a moral agent. And, besides, it is contrary to the law of God, which requires me to love myself. That law, therefore, which was given to Adam in innocence, and which obliged him to love that character of God which was exhibited in it, is entirely set aside since the fall; and is binding on no child of Adam, more or less, as a rule of duty; for it is not the duty of any one to love that character of God which is exhibited in the moral law; nay, it is now, since the fall, contrary to the law of God to do it. For the law of God requires us to love ourselves; but to love that character of God which is exhibited in the moral law, is the same thing as to love our own misery; and, therefore, instead of its being a duty, it is a sin repugnant to the law of God, to love that character of God which is exhibited in the moral law; and so it ought not to be done. Moreover, no unregenerate unbeliever can love that character of God which is revealed in the gospel, because he doth not know it; for an unknown object cannot be loved. For to love an object of which we have no idea, is to love nothing, which is a contradiction, and in its own nature absolutely impossible. Wherefore, before Christ is discovered to the soul by the Spirit of God, while unregenerate, no man is in duty bound to love either the character of God exhibited in the law, or the character of God revealed in the gospel. Nothing, therefore, remains for unregenerate unbelievers to do,

as their present duty, but to reform their external practice, use the means of grace, and strive and do their utmost, as unregenerate sinners may do, while such. Of such therefore it may be said, that they forsake all known sin, and practise all known duty. Such then, who are come to a fixed resolution thus to do, are qualified to enter into covenant with God, and to attend sealing ordinances; for their being destitute of faith, repentance, and love, is their calamity, but not their sin." Thus Antinomians reason, thus they believe, and thus their sins are covered, even from the sight of their own consciences, and they stand justified in themselves. And thus we sce what is meant by an impenitent, self-righteous sinner, namely, a sinner obstinate in his disaffection to the Deity, who covers his sins, and justifies himself in his wickedness.

5. By a Christless sinner is meant, a sinner who doth not receive, but doth in his heart reject Jesus Christ; and so is not interested in him, and the blessings purchased by him; and so remains at present under the curse of the law and the wrath of God, as truly and really as if Christ had never died; according to John iii. 18, 36: "He that believeth not is condemned already; and the wrath of God abideth on him." But, in this sense, every impenitent, self-righteous sinner is a Christless sinner; for this plain reason, because they do not receive, but reject Christ; as it is written, (Luke v. 31,) "They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick;" for sinners never feel their want of Christ, or look to God through him for pardon in those things in which they justify themselves; or for divine assistance in those things which they think themselves not bound in duty to do. For instance, an Arminian, as he does not think himself to blame for not loving God with all his heart, so he never means to ask pardon of God in the name of Christ, as being to blame for this. He only blames himself, when he neglects to do as well as he can, in his own sense of the phrase; and feels guilt and need of pardon only in these instances. But as to the law of perfection, as he thinks himself not bound by that, so he thinks himself not to blame for not continuing in all things written in the book of the law to do them; and so no atonement, no sanctifier, no repentance, no pardon are needed in this case. So again, an Antinomian, as he doth not believe it to be his duty to love that character of God which is exhibited in his holy law, so he never confesseth his sin in not doing it, or asks pardon of God, or dreams that he needs any pardon in this case, or any Redeemer to atone for this sin, or any Sanctifier to enable him to do this duty; for, if it is not his duty to love that character of God

which is exhibited in his law, then he needs no assistance to do it; for we need divine assistance only to enable us to do our duty. And if it is not his duty to love that character of God which is exhibited in his holy law, then he is guilty of no sin in not loving it; and so needs no Christ, no atonement, no repentance, no pardon in the affair; and thus, that Christ, that pardon, that grace, which are offered in the gospel, he doth not need; and so doth not receive, but reject; yea, he rejects all as an abuse. For, to tell a sinner he needs a pardon in that in which he justifies himself, will affront him; he will think himself abused; he will think himself implicitly charged with guilt, in that in which he is not guilty; and so, instead of desiring the pardon, he will reject the offer as an abuse. And thus do all impenitent, self-righteous sinners, with respect to that pardon, and to that sanctifying grace, which the gospel offers. As they need neither the one nor the other, so they reject both, with all their hearts. For the whole need not a physician, but the sick.

And in every instance in which men justify themselves, they depend, so far as they have any dependence, for acceptance in the sight of God, not on the atonement of Christ, but on their own innocence; for their plea is, Not guilty. Here they join issue, and appeal to the judgment-seat of God. (Luke xviii. 9-13.) And therefore, if the divine law doth require mankind to be perfect, as our Father which is in heaven is perfect, notwithstanding our fallen state; if the law of God requires perfection of us as much as it did of Adam; if we are to blame, and deserve eternal death, for not continuing in all things, as really as Adam did for eating the forbidden fruit; and if, on this hypothesis, and in this view, Christ was made a curse to redeem sinners from this curse, yet, if we plead not guilty; if we affirm that we are not bound by this law; if we affirm that in our fallen state it is not possible that we should be bound by it; if we join issue on this point, and appeal to the judgment of God; if God brings us in guilty, at the great day, it will be too late then to shift our plea. It will be too late to say that our dependence was on the atonement of Christ. For it may be retorted, "If you were not guilty, you needed no atonement, but this was your plea, Not guilty; and you appealed to the judgment-seat of God. It is too late, therefore, now to pretend you depended on the atonement; your first plea precludes this." They must therefore have their trial, and stand or fall, for eternity, on their first plea of not guilty. And therefore it will come to pass, that every impenitent, self-righteous sinner will be condemned, unless they