A Sermon on John 7· 1 9· And the Prophet confel\~th the Corruption of our Narures, and the lmperfeaion of o~r beft Petformanccs, lfa. 64. 6. We are Ail as an unclean T b:ng, and all our R tghreoitjne.ffu are as jilt~! Rags. Solomon, ch~~lengerh the belt and hulieft upon this Poinr, Prov. 20. 9. Who fan f ay I have made nmu lieart clean, I am pure from my Sin? Many other Places may be alledged to the fame Purpofe; as r J,];n r. 8. lj w' fay tbat we have no Sin we dccei~e our felves, .and tbe Trut!J is n01 in tu. And Verfe I o. If we foj that we have .not finned we t!Jai:e him a L1ar. And all thefe E;honario~s which We find in Scriprure ro confefs our Sins, to repept of tht:m, to watch and ft~ive againft: them, do all clea'rly beat down the infol.enr Pride of thofe who excep t themfelV~s our of the Numh~r of!ranfweff'~rs and O~e~e. ets. And ~ s ic noc very fl_range, tha~ after fo ~any e~pr~fs Teft~momes of Scnpt~re; than wb1ch nothing can b~ J!lOie plam a.nd_pofiuvc, notwnhfia~dmg that every Day and_ Hour_might Adminifier abundant Conv1Ehon to them, yet there f110uld be a Generatwn of Men fo impuCDllc. TriJ. demly Vain-glorious as to hoail of an abfolure Perff£lion in this Liff:? And yet this: Sef.6.c.tx. is the DoEl:ri ne of the Popijls, that a Man may all hli Lifc·time cjcbcw every .A1ortal Sin, and do .a/1 that the Law of God requires of bidt. And not only fo, but as if &lfar. de God's Laws were not a Rule firiEl: enough for them to walk by, they hold, be rtJoiJ d(J ~rrllf. Grar.mucb more than be 11 ohlig'dunto, and fiipererrogau, antlmtrit for othtrt tcbo [ail./hort Na~·Jo~t~· of Puje8io11, and lay the .Alms of his gMd Works into the common Stocks t~.nd Trca[ 11ry mw1~om- of theCb11r~b, to be gra.nte~ ou~ to others tb_at wakt tb~m. And although they affirm, muntun~ that a Jufli}ied Perjon 1J .ftzll liable tOCO!J!11llt Vemal Srnr, yer they rnake th~:fe v~ni · fenfu. ptc~ al Sins ro be of fo flight a Nature that they are not repugnant to Grace, interrvpt J:~ ~4not our f,.itndjhip with God, diferve rtot Etcrnai,Punijhmmts, require neither Conje.f · naturt~{IUt [ton nor Repe11tance, and ore of fo barmleJs a ]\laturc, tbat be tbtJt diethin them may r.on indig- Jet notwitb{landin$ be fav~d. Cenainly thefc be ftrange kind ?f Sins, r~at do not of- ~um.rta'dtr fend God, nor deferve Pumilimenr, nor need Repentance; and tf a Man live free from ~~J;i~"h~i all thefe, I think he may readily conclude that he may live free fior'll all Sin; for as & Mortis "they defcribed tbefe V ental Sins they can be 1'16n~. f ea, fome of them grant, that £ttrn4 re- hy thcfpecial Grace of God a Man may live free fro~ the Taiflt, not only of .Mortal Jlm. but ofVenial,Sinr too, andfo attttin to afpotlefs PetjcUion. And this proud Concei~ ofPe&Elion is not only entertained by Papijls, but by a Son of Frantick People among us, who yet exclaim againft all others as: Popijh and .dnticbrifiian, but pei~ ceive notwhofe Craft hath taught theni both that and many other Popifh Doctrines; as Juflification by Works, the Injiif}icimq of tb' Scripturu, and lnfallibilityjcated i11 4ny Humarte Breujl: Certainly th' Hand of Joab is in 41/this. Concerningthefe I !hall fay no more but what the Wife Man obferved offuch a Race of confident Self-Ju!!iciaries in his Days, Prov. 30. 12. Thtre is a Generation that are Pure in their own Eyu and yet arc not wafhedfrom their Filtbinifs. B~t what! Are then the Laws of God impoffible to be fulfilled ' Is it not our Imputation to the Equity and Wifdom of God that he lhould command that which we are not able w ~erforrn ? . I Anfwer, Fir.fl, The Laws of God are in rhemfelves poflible as well as ju!l; and there is nothing which he now requires of us: which he dtd no[ endow us with Suength in our Creation tQ perform. SuondfJ, In this our fallen and corrupted Efiate our perfect Obedience is become impoffible; not becaufe the Law is more firia and rigorous, but becaufe we are grown weaker, and more averfe. Thirdly, lr is no lnju!lice in God to require ,.bar is impoflible for us to perform, when that lmpoffibility rifeth from our own Default. It IS: not God, but our felves, who' have made the Obfervarion of his Laws impoflible. And alrho' we have wafted our Swck, and are become Bankrupts, yet he may righteoully exaEl horn us the Debt of Obedience which we owe him. Fourthly, Although a perfect and confummate Obedience be now impoffible, yer an · inchoate and fincere Obedience is poJiible through the Affifiance of Dtvme Grace. And certainly that Law which commands ahfOlute PerfeEHon from us, requires us to endeavour afrer the highe!l Degree that is attainable. So that thefe Commands which exceed our prefem Power are neither vain nor unjuft:: For they engage us to exert our Strength to the urmoft, whereby we !hall certainly ar_tain onto a far greater PerfeElion in our Obedknce, rban if we were enjoined that which were eafie, or meer· ly poffible tp perform; and fuch is the Difingenuiry of _our Temper, that as much as the Law were relaxed of its Severity, fo much proporuonably we alfo lhoul~ · remit
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=