towards God. The works of the flesh are finful: hence, fays the fame apoftle, the carnal mind, or the minding of the flesh, Oporn'μa σapro's, Rom. viii. 7. is enmity against God; it is not fubject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: fo then they that are in the flesh, or under the power of a carnal mind, cannot pleafe God. Rom. viii. 8. because, whatever seeming acts of obedience they perform, and whatever appearances of friendfhip they put on, they are at heart enemies to God, and therefore cannot please him, who fearches their heart, and fees the fecret principle of their actions. Hence alfo St. James tells us, that if any man would be a friend to the world, he is the enemy of God, because the friendship of the world is enmity against God. Jam. iv. 4. For the world enflames the lufts of men, and occafions much fin; and if we love the tempter, we love the fin to which it would allure us; and if we love the fin, we are the enemies of God; and therefore the friendship of the world is enmity againft God. This then is an established maxim, without ftraining the matter too far, that as far as you love any fin, fo far are you enemies to God. The love, as well as the fervice of fuch oppofite mafters, is utterly inconfiftent. Now, do not your own confciences witness against you, that you have indulged, and still do habitually indulge the love of fome fin or other? Whether it be covetoufnefs or fenfual pleasure, or ambition, or fome angry paffion, or whatever fin it be, as far as you love it, fo far you are enemies to God; and if you take a view of your temper and practice, muft you not unavoidably be convicted of this dreadful guilt? Horrible as the crime is, is it not an undeniable matter of fact, that you do really love fome fin, and confequently hate the infinitely amiable and ever bleffed God? and therefore you are the perfons I have to deal with, as needing reconciliation with God.

Farther, Take a view of your general manner of ferving God in the duties of religion; your manner of praying, meditation, hearing the word of God,

and

and other acts of devotion, and then inquire, Do you perform this service as the willing fervants of a master you love? Do you not enter upon fuch fervice with reluctance or liftlefinefs, and perform it with langour and indifferency, as a bufinefs to which you have no heart? But is this your manner of performing a labour of love to a friend? Will your own reason fuffer you to think you would be fo luke-warm and heartlefs in the worship of God if you fincerely loved him? No; love is an active principle, a vigorous fpring of action; and if this were the principle of your religious fervices, you would infufe more fpirit and life into them, you would exert all your powers, and be fervent in fpirit, ferving the Lord. Rom. xii. 11.

But when you have performed offices of devotion with fome degree of earneftnefs, which no doubt you have fometimes done, what was the principle or fpring of your exertion? Was it the love of God? or was it purely the low principle of felf-love? Why did you pray with fuch eager importunity, and attend upon the other means of grace with fo much seriousness, but because you apprehended your dear felves were in danger, and you were not willing to be miferable for ever? This fervile, mercenary kind of religious earneftness will not prove that you love God, but only that you love yourfelves; and this you may do, and yet have no more true goodness, or genuine love to God, than an infernal fpirit; for there is not a fpirit in hell but what loves himself. Indeed felf-love is fo far from being an evidence of the love of God, that the extravagant excefs of it is the fource of that wickedness that abounds among men and devils. I do not mean by this utterly to exclude self-love out of genuine religion; it must have its place in the most excellent and beft beings, but then it must be kept in a proper fubordination, and not advance the creature above the Creator, and dethrone the fupreme King of the univerfe. His love must be uppermost in the heart, and when that has the highest place, the indulgence of

felf

felf-love in purfuing our own happiness is lawful, and an important duty. Now, do you not find from this view of the cafe, that you are not reconciled to God, even in your moft devout and zealous hours, much lefs in the languid inactive tenour of your lives? If fo, place yourselves among thofe that I have to do with to-day; that is, the enemies of God.

So alfo, when you perform good offices to mankind; when you are harmless, obliging neighbours; when you are charitable to the poor, or ftrictly juft in trade; is the love of God, and a regard to his authority, the reafon and principle of your actions? actions? That is, do you do these things becaufe God commands them, and because you delight to do what he commands? or rather, do you not do them merely because it is your nature to perform humane and honourable actions in fuch inftances; or because you may acquire honour, or some selfish advantage by them? Alas! that God fhould be neglected, forgotten, and left out of the queftion, as of no importance, even in those actions that are materially good! that even what he commands fhould be done, not because he commands it, but for fome other fordid selfish reafon! O! if you did really love God, would you thus difregard him, and do nothing for his fake; not only when you are doing what he forbids, but even when you are performing what he has made your duty! Would he be fuch a cypher, a mere nothing in your practical esteem, if your hearts were reconciled to him as your God? No; fuch of you must look upon yourfelves as the very perfons whom I am to pray, in Chrift's ftead, to be reconciled to God.

I might thus, from obvious facts, lay before you many more evidences of your difaffection to the great God; but I muft leave fome room for the other part of my address to you, in which I am to perfuade you to accept of the propofal of reconciliation; and therefore I fhall add only one more teft of your pretended friendship, a test which is established by the great

Founder

Founder of our religion, as infallibly decifive in this cafe; and that is, obedience, or the keeping of the commandments of God. This, I fay, is established in the strongest terms by Jefus Chrift himself, as a decifive teft of love, If you love me, keep my commandments. John xiv. 15. Then are ye my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you. John xv. 14. If any man love me, he will keep my words. He that loveth me not, keepeth not my faying. John xiv. 23, 24. This is the love of God, fays St. John, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous. I John v. 3. that is, they are not grievous when love is the principle of obedience. The fervice of love is always willing and pleafing. Now, my brethren, bring your hearts and lives to this ftandard, and let confcience declare, Are there not fome demands and reftraints of the divine law fo difagreeable to you that you labour to keep yourselves ignorant of them, and turn every way to avoid the painful light of conviction? Are there not several duties which you know in your confciences to be fuch, which you do not so much as honeftly endeavour to perform, but knowingly and wilfully neglect? And are there not fome favourite fins which your confciences tell you God has forbidden, which yet are fo pleafing to you, that you knowingly and allowedly indulge and practise them? If this be your cafe, you need not pretend to plead any thing in your own defence, or hesitate any longer; the cafe is plain, you are, beyond all doubt, enemies to God; you are undeniably convicted of it this day by irrefiftible evidence. You perhaps glory in the profeffion of Christians, but you are, notwithstanding, enemies of God. You attend on public worship, you pray, you read, you communicate, you are perhaps a zealous churchman or diffenter, but you are enemies of God. You have perhaps had many fits of religious affection, and ferious concern about your everlafting happiness, but notwithstanding you are enemies of God. You may have reformed in many things, but you are ftill enemies

enemies of God. Men may esteem you Chriftians, but the God of Heaven accounts you his enemies. In vain do you infift upon it, that you have never hated your Maker all your life, but even tremble at the thought, for undeniable facts are against you; and the reason why you have not seen your enmity was, because you were blind, and judged upon wrong principles: but if you this day feel the force of conviction from the law, and have your eyes opened, you will fee and be fhocked at your horrid enmity against God, before yonder fun fets.

And now, when I have fingled out from the rest those I am now to befeech to reconciliation with God, have I not got the majority of you to treat with? Where are the fincere lovers of God? Alas! how few are they! and how imperfect even in their love, so that they hardly dare call themselves lovers of God, but tremble left they should still belong to the wretched crowd that are ftill unreconciled to him!

Ye rebels against the King of Heaven! ye enemies against my Lord and Mafter Jefus Chrift! (I cannot flatter you with a fofter name) hear me; attend to the proposal I make to you, not in my own name, but in the name and ftead of your rightful Sovereign; and that is, that you will this day be reconciled to God. "I pray you in his ftead (that is all I can do) "be ye reconciled to God." That you may know what I mean, I will more particularly explain this overture to you.

If you would be reconciled to God, you must be deeply fenfible of the guilt, the wickedness, the basenefs, the inexpreffible malignity of your enmity and rebellion against him. You muft return to your rightful Sovereign as convicted, felf-condemned, penitent, broken-hearted rebels, confounded and afhamed of your conduct, loathing yourselves because you have loathed the fupreme Excellence, mourning over your unnatural difaffection, your base ingratitude, your horrid rebellion against fo good a King. And what do you

U

fay