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least relief or hope. How can such a constitution represent sin in its proper colors, and according to its true nature and desert, (as Dr. Taylor says it does) unless this be its true nature, that it is so bad, that even in the least instance it perfectly swallows up all the value of the sinner's supposed good deeds, let them be ever so many. So that this matter is not left to our metaphysics or philosophy; the great Lawgiver, and infallible Judge of the universe, has clearly decided it, in the revelation he has made of what is agreeable to exact truth, justice, and the nature of things, in his revealed law, or rule of righteousness.

He that in any respect or degree is a transgressor of God's law, is a wicked man, yea, wholly wicked in the eye of the law; all his goodness being esteemed nothing, having no account made of it, when taken together with his wickedness. And therefore, without any regard to his righteousness, he is, by the sentence of the law, and so by the voice of truth and justice, to be treated as worthy to be rejected, abhorred, and cursed for ever; and must be so, unless grace interposes, to cover his transgression. But men are really, in themselves, what they are in the eye of the law, and by the voice of strict equity and justice; however they may be looked upon, and treated by infinite and unmerited mercy.

So that, on the whole, it appears, all mankind have an infallibly effectual propensity to that moral evil, which infinitely outweighs the value of all the good that can be in them; and have such a disposition of heart, that the certain consequence of it is, their being, in the eye of perfect truth and righteousness, wicked men. And I leave all to judge, whether such a disposition be not in the eye of truth a depraved disposition?

Agreeably to these things, the scripture represents all mankind, not only as having guilt, but immense guilt, which they can have no merit or worthiness to countervail. Such is the representation we have in Matth. xviii. 21, to the end. There, on Peter's inquiring, How often his brother should trespass against him, and he forgive him, whether until seven times; Christ replies, I say not unto thee, until seven times, but until

seventy times seven; apparently meaning, that he should es teem no number of offences too many, and no degree of inju ry it is possible our neighbor should be guilty of towards us, too great to be forgiven. For which this reason is given in the parable there following, that if ever we obtain forgiveness and favor with God, he must pardon that guilt and injury towards his majesty, which is immensely greater than the greatest injuries that ever men are guilty of one towards another, yea, than the sum of all their injuries put together, let them be ever so many, and ever so great; so that the latter would be but as an hundred pence to ten thousand talents, which immense debt we owe to God, and have nothing to pay; which implies, that we have no merit to countervail any part of our guilt. And this must be, because if all that may be called virtue in us, be compared with our ill desert, it is in the sight of God as nothing to it. The parable is not to represent Peter's case in particular, but that of all who then were, or ever should be, Christ's disciples. It appears by the conclusion of the discourse, So likewise shall my heavenly Father do, if ye, from your hearts, forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Therefore how absurd must it be for Christians to object against the depravity of man's nature, a greater number of in nocent and kind actions, than of crimes; and to talk of a prevailing innocency, good nature, industry and cheerfulness of the greater part of mankind? Infinitely more absurd, than it would be to insist, that the domestic of a prince was not a bad servant, because though sometimes he contemned and affronted his master to a great degree, yet he did not spit in his master's face so often as he performed acts of service; or, than it would be to affirm, that his spouse was a good wife to him, because, although she committed adultery, and that with the slaves and scoundrels sometimes, yet she did not do this so often as she did the duties of a wife. These notions would be absurd, because the crimes are too heinous to be atoned for, by many honest actions of the servant or spouse of the prince; there being a vast disproportion between the merit of the one, and the ill desert of the other; but in no measure

so great, nay infinitely less, than that between the demerit of our offences against God, and the value of our acts of obedience.

Thus I have gone through with my first argument; having shewn the evidence of the truth of the proposition I laid down at first, and proved its consequence. But there are many other things, that manifest a very corrupt tendency or disposition in man's nature, in his present state, which I shall take notice of in the following Sections.

SECTION IV.

The depravity of Nature appears by a propensity in all to Sin immediately, as soon as they are capable of it, and to Sin continually and progressively; and also by the remains of Sin in the best of Men.

THE great depravity of man's nature appears, not only in that they universally commit sin, who spend any long time in the world, but in that men are naturally so prone to sin, that none ever fail of immediately transgressing God's law, and so of bringing infinite guilt on themselves, and exposing themselves to eternal perdition, as soon as they are capable of it.

The scriptures are so very express in it, that all mankind, all flesh, all the world, every man living, are guilty of sin; that it must at least be understood, every one that is come to be capable of being active in duty to God, or sin against him, is guilty of sin. There are multitudes in the world who have but very lately begun to exert their faculties, as moral agents; and so are but just entered on their state of trial, as acting for themselves. There are many thousands constantly in the world, who have not lived one month, or week, or day since they have arrived to any period that can be assigned from their birth to twenty years of age. And if there be not a

strong propensity in man's nature to sin, that should, as it were, hurry them on to speedy transgression, and they have no guilt previous to their personal sinning, what should hinder but that there might always be a great number of such as act for themselves on the stage of the world, and are answerable for themselves to God, who have hitherto kept themselves free from sin, and have perfectly obeyed God's law, and so are righteous in God's sight, with the righteousness of the law; and if they should be called out of the world without any longer trial (as great numbers die at all periods of life) would be justified by the deeds of the law? And how then can it be true, that in God's sight no man living can be justified, that no man can be just with God, and that by the deeds of the law no flesh can be justified, because by the law is the knowledge of Sin'? And what should hinder but that there may always be many in the world, who are capable subjects of instruction and counsel, and of prayer to God, for whom the calls of God's word to repentance, and to seek pardon through the blood of Christ, and to forgive others their injuries, because they need that God should forgive them, would not be proper; and for whom the Lord's prayer is not suitable, wherein Christ directs all his followers to pray, that God would forgive their sins, as they forgive those that trespass against them?

If there are any in the world, though but lately become capable of acting for themselves, as subjects of the law of God, who are perfectly free from sin, such are most likely to be found among the children of Christian parents, who give them the most pious education, and set them the best examples; and therefore such would never be so likely to be found in any part or age of the world, as in the primitive Christian church, in the first age of Christianity, (the age of the churches greatest purity) so long after Christianity had been established, that there had been time for great numbers of children to be born, and educated by those primitive Christians. It was in that age, and in such a part of that age, that the Apostle John wrote his first epistle to the Christians that then were. But if there was then a number of them come to understanding, who were perfectly free from sin, why does he

write as he does? 1 John i. 8......10. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and the truth is not in us."

If any should object, that this is an overstraining of things; and that it supposes a greater niceness and exactness than is observed in scripture representations and expressions, to infer from these expressions, that all men sin immediately as soon as ever they are capable of it. To this I would say, that I think the arguments used are truly solid, and do really and justly conclude, either that men are born guilty, and so are chargeable with sin before they come to act for themselves, or else commit sin immediately, without the least time intervening, after they are capable of understanding their obligation to God, and reflecting on themselves; and that the scripture clearly determines, there is not one such person in the world, free from sin. But whether this be a straining things up to too great an exactness, or not; yet I suppose, none that do not entirely set aside the sense of such scriptures as have been mentioned, and deny those propositions which Dr. Taylor himself allows to be contained in some of them, will deny they prove, that no considerable time passes after men are capable of acting for themselves, as the subjects of God's law, before they are guilty of sin; because if the time were considerable, it would be great enough to deserve to be taken notice of, as an exception to such universal propositions, as, In thy sight shall no man living be justified, &c. And if this be allowed, that men are so prone to sin, that in fact all mankind do sin, as it were, immediately, after they come to be capable of it, or fail not to sin so soon, that no considerable time passes before they run into transgression against God; it does not much alter the case, as to the present argument. If the time of freedom from sin be so small, as not to be worthy of notice in the forementioned universal propositions of scripture, it is also so small, as not to be worthy of notice in the present argument.

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