their bodies was not the whole of their punishment, any more than the fire which fell upon the men of Sodom was the last they were to feel. When the traitor Judas reflected on his guilt in selling his Master, he had such a hell in his bosom, that he could find no relief but in putting an end to his life: but, nevertheless, it is said, "He went to his own place." Oh! that dreadful place! Oh! that heavy word, "His own place!" For it is every impenitent sinner's own, as it were by right of purchase, but certainly by the just judgment of God; and he must go to it as naturally and necessarily as the flame mounts upward, or a stone falls to the ground. There, I say, is the curse of sin, and what you should ever keep in mind and lay to heart. We feel the plague of it in part in the troubles and sorrows of this world, in one loss after another of what is most dear to us, in the pains, sicknesses, and death of the body; but "the second death, in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone," the everlasting death of the soul, that is the power of God's wrath. Think what a sad thing it is to have our portion of it both in this life and the next, to feel it in some measure now, and lie under the weight of it for ever.

Now, seeing that sin is so abominable in the sight of God, the object of his heavy displeasure, and we have such warning from him of the destruction it will bring upon us, why do we fear it so little; why is it as nothing in our eyes; why do we generally live and die in it? It must be for one of these reasons, either you do not see your sin, or if you cannot wholly deny it, as it is impossible you should in great and plain cases, you deny or extenuate the guilt of it, and fly to the mercy of God in opposition to his justice: but whatever your blindness is owing to, whether it is ignorance of your sin, or dis belief of the word of God, great is your danger, and as yet you are in no condition to make use of the one sole

remedy of God's providing for sinners. I now tell you that Christ is that remedy; and I pray God prepare you for it by self-knowledge, and the belief of Scripture.

Let us look back a little, and consider what has been said: sins, both of omission and commission, we have innumerable, and the sentence upon all and every one of them, according to the law of God, is death. His curses are the declarations of his will to execute judgment upon us for the transgression of his law, and " he is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent," nor does he want power to effect his purposes. And again, his threatenings, though they take place oftener in this world than we imagine, yet relate chiefly to the eternal punishments of another. Alas! what shall we do in this extremity? What method can we find out of ourselves to escape his wrath, or where shall we go with our guilty souls? Go where you will with them, and do what you will for them, it is all in vain till you know that you are lost and undone in yourselves, and turn your eyes to "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world," yours and mine, and the sin of every man that shall be saved; that Lamb of God, and nothing else. If your "head were waters," according to the prophet's wish, Jer. ix. 1. and your "eyes a fountain of tears," to weep day and night, they would not wash away the guilt of one single sin. If it is but one, death it must have; and the blood which is to pay the price and redeem you from the curse of it, must be the blood of the Son of God.

You would, perhaps, stand amazed to hear of God's curses against sin; feel a strange uneasiness within yourselves while I was speaking of them, and would rather that I should preach smooth things to you than bring them to your remembrance. Indeed, my brethren, I think I do preach smooth things, and bring glad tidings

understand it more and more; esteem it as their best portion upon earth, and desire nothing so much as to live and die in the comfort of it. There is a sweetness in the knowledge of Christ crucified, which they can find in nothing else; and when they observe what a solid foundation there is for all their hopes in him, what rich mercy is offered them, how plainly it is declared, how often repeated, and how earnestly they are invited to accept of it, it takes possession of their hearts, and fills their minds with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Of the many passages of Scripture, which discover to us the desperateness of our condition, and the necessity of deliverance from it, with the manner in which it was wrought for us, and is conveyed to us, we have one now before us in the words of the text; and if it pleases God to give a blessing to what I have to say upon it, and open it to your hearts, you will perceive that there is a rich treasure of saving knowledge in it, and all the instruction you can desire, if there was not another such in the whole Bible. And I mention this to obviate an excuse which you are apt to take up, as a cover for your ignorance, and to the great prejudice of your souls, that, considering your station in the world, and want of time or learning, it cannot be expected that you should know much, and that you may hope well of your state, though you live and die in the darkness of unbelief. I say, here is a full answer to all such vain pretences; and if you would but ask yourselves the meaning of what St. Paul has delivered to us in these few words, if you would think of them with seriousness and godly concern, and especially if you would beg of God to explain them to you, they would give you such information in points of the greatest concernment to your present peace and everlasting welfare, as you would have cause to bless God for all the days of your lives. I do not mean that we should look no

farther, or sit down contented with the knowledge of one or two portions of Scripture. For it was all " given by inspiration of God, to make us wise unto salvation;" and, as I said before, it is the delight of all who are in earnest with God and their souls, to search and study it for this end; to treasure it up in their minds, to make it the subject of their prayers, and the cordial of their hearts; to observe how one part of it confirms or explains another, and how the whole of it is drawn to the single point of the redemption and recovery of lost mankind by the free grace of God in Jesus Christ. But, nevertheless, it is of singular benefit to persons of the weakest memories, meanest capacities, or busiest employments, and matter of thankfulness to all, that the whole design and method of our salvation is many times comprised in one single sentence; and if there are any who do not profit by the instruction it affords them, the fault is in their wills, and in the grossness of their hearts; it is because they thrust the word of life from them, and "love darkness rather than light." Let us endeavour to open the text in this view; for the words are weighty, carry life or death in them, and demand our most serious attention: "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

What is death? We know it is the separation of soul and body. But are they never to meet again? Is it only the utter extinction of our beings, or the loss of life, motion, and sense for ever? No; St. Paul has here prevented any such mistake; he tells us, that death has a sting in it, or something that makes it dreadful to think of.

I. We must consider what it is; it is sin.

But what then is sin; and from whence does it derive.

its power not only to kill the body, but to torment the soul after death, and give both soul and body up to eternal punishment in hell?

II. We must take notice of what is here farther told us, "that the strength of sin is the law."

And when once we are made duly sensible of our misery and helplessness, knowing that we all have that sin in us which is the sting of death, and stand condemned by the righteous sentence of the law, we shall see the great blessing and benefit of a Redeemer, cast a longing eye towards "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world ;" and,

III. Understand what reason we have to say with the apostle, "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

For it is not, as

I. We are here told, that "the sting of death is sin." Sin is the cause of death, and of all the calamities, pains, and sicknesses which lead to it. Sin brought death upon Adam, and all his posterity. some fancy, in contradiction to the Bible, that there must be somewhere such a world of imperfection and suffering as this, in their imaginary scale of being; but mankind have broken the law of their creation,, and brought evil upon themselves by a voluntary defection from the will of their Maker. Death was not the original design and appointment of God. He did not make death, nor us for it; and we may venture to affirm, that if there never had been sin in the world, there neither would have been death, nor suffering of any kind. A breathless corpse never would have been seen; a diseased body, bowed down to the earth, and broken with its infirmities, never would have been known; and when we follow