to admit that it was fo: yet he tells us, that this vain-glorious creature carried nothing away with him but his felf-conceit: he returned to his own house without the bleffing of God: "For "every one that exalteth himself, fhall be "abafed; whereas he that humbleth himself, "fhall be exalted."

This, my brethren, is one main caufe why the preaching of the gospel hath fo little effect. Could we bring men to a sense of their guilt and mifery, they would gladly liften to the tidings of a Saviour. But this is difficult work indeed. We can scarcely perfuade the most profligate wretch to think himself in danger, till God lay his hand upon him, and fet death. before his eyes. Judge, then, how hard a task it must be, to convince the more clofe and referved finner! who probably has got beneath him fome empty forms of duty, upon which he leans, and confidently prefumes that all fhall be well with

him.

I have frequently obferved, that no fermons are so tastelefs to many hearers, as those which treat of the Saviour: they can liften to other fubjects; but when we talk of Jefus Chrift, and of that great falvation" which angels defire to "look into," they difmifs their attention, and perhaps make a fhift to fleep in their feats; when, God knows, were they aware of the thoufandth part of their danger, they would find it difficult enough to fleep on their beds.-Did we really see ourselves in a juft light, could we diveft ourselves, for a little, of our pride and prejudice, till we got one serious and impartial

view of our natural condition, this would render a Saviour fo neceffary, that we should never be at reft till we had fecured his friendfhip: But, as our Lord himfelf hath told us, "they that "are whole have no need of the phyfician, but "they that are fick," I fhall therefore proceed to fhew, in the

Second place, That all men, without exception, are guilty before God; and that who. ever attends to the Scriptures of truth, or gives ear to the testimony of his own confcience, may foon discover fuch plain convincing evidence of guilt, as is fufficient to ftop his mouth, and to render him speechlefs and felf-condemned in the prefence of a juft and holy God. This propofition is perfectly confiftent with the former: for the difficulty of bringing men to a right sense and acknowledgment of their guilt and mifery, doth not arise from any want of evidence, but is purely owing to their own inattention and pride: the fad truth is clear as noon-day; but they fhut their eyes, and will not fee it.

As the teftimony of Scripture is full and explicit, fo the fhort abstract contained in the foregoing verfes, fpeaks upon this head with the utmoft poffible precifion. "There is none righ

"teous, no not one: there is none that under"ftandeth, there is none that feeketh after God. "They are all gone out of the way, they are "together become unprofitable, there is none "that doeth good, no not one. Their throat " is an open fepulchre; with their tongues they "have used deceit; the poifon of afps is under "their lips; whose mouth is full of curfing and "bitterness.

"bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. "Destruction and mifery are in their ways: and "the way of peace have they not known. There " is no fear of God before their eyes." And these things, the Apostle inform us, were written, not merely to stop the mouths of fome nctorious offenders, who proclaim their fins as Sodom, and hide them not: but that every mouth. might be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. Accordingly, at the 23d verie of this chapter, he concludes upon the whole evidence in the following words: " For all have finned, "and come short of the glory of God."

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This truth hath been attefted by the most eminent faints that ever lived upon earth. hold, I was shapen in iniquity," said David, “and in fin did my mother conceive me:" And therefore he pleads in another place, " Fnter not "into judgment with thy fervant, O Lord; for in "thy fight fhall no man living be justified.' “We are all as an unclean thing," faid the phet Ifaiah," and all our righteoufneffes are "as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have carried us -Neither have the faints under the New-Teftament difpenfation been any whit behind them in penitent acknowledgments of their guilt. Paul ftyles himself "the chief of finners;" and the beloved difciple declares, in express terms, that all pretenfions to innocence are not only falfe, but blafphemous: "If we fay "that we have no fin, we deceive ourselves, and "the truth is not in us."-Nay, "if we fay "that we have not finned, we make God a liar, "and his word is not in us." 1 John i. 8, 9.

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This further appears from the various kinds of mifery which abound in the world, efpecially death, from which none of Adam's pofterity are exempted. Thefe do neceffarily fuppofe guilt; for it is not agreeable to the juftice of God to af flict and punish innocent creatures.---Now, this mean of conviction is fo plain and obvious, that a man muft do great violence to his reafon, before he can refift the evidence it affords. Goodnefs and justice are attributes which are univerfally confidered as most effential to the Supreme Being; and yet it is impoffible to account for the prefent calamitous ftate of mankind, in a confiftency with these perfections, upon any other fuppofition than this, that " all have finned," and thereby incurred his righteous difpleasure.

So that you fee there is no penury of witneffes upon this head. The Scriptures expressly declare, that all are finners;-the most eminent faints under both dispensations have attested the truth of this affertion;-and the many awful tokens of the divine difpleafure, which we daily behold and feel, render it abfurd to suppose the contrary.

But there is yet another witness behind, whofe teftimony can be liable to no objection; a wit nefs which every man will find within his own breaft; I mean, confcience, to which I now appeal for the truth of this matter. And here I fhall renew the question which Solomon propofed many ages ago: "Who can fay I have made my heart "clean, I am pure from my fins?" Can you dif cover nothing amifs in your temper and practice? Do they in all points agree with the rule of God's word? Dare any of you appeal to the juftice of

God

God for acquittance? and claim happiness as the due reward of your obedience? Say, O man! haft thou no need at all of pardoning mercy ? Wilt thou give it under thy hand, that thou fhalt never plead the merits of a Saviour for thy juftification? that at the hour of death, or in the day of judgment, thou fhalt never once implore his help, nor cry for mercy, but ftand upon the foundation of thy perfonal righteousnefs before his impartial tribunal?--Or rather, my brethren, are you not confcious of innumerable inftances of guilt, wherein you have acted in direct oppofition, not only to the written law, but to the inward fenfe and authority of your own minds; doing what ye knew was difpleafing to God?-and that, not by the mere force of fudden temptation, but coolly and deliberately, in the face of thofe arguments which ought in all reason to have reftrained you from them?I think I may venture to affirm, that there is not one perfon here present who is not able to recollect feveral inftances of this kind: And if our own blind and partial hearts do now condemn us, alas! how fhall we juftify ourselves at the bar of that God "who is greater than our hearts, " and knoweth all things?"This leads me to

obferve, in the

Third place, That one great end of the law is, to humble the pride of men; that, from a conviction of their guilty and miserable estate by nature, they may, as it were, be compelled, by a happy neceffity, to flee for relief to the gospel. method of falvation through Christ.