A Sermon on Gal. 3· 1 o. it is, t::::l'j;l,N'7 J\Ton Jfabilet, doth not eftabli!h or rarifie. In the Septu(/gint ix. fp.!"hro, non permaner, doth nor continue. And according ro that Tranfiarion' tht:: Apofile both read and ufed them. However the Sente is the fame in borh. You ft:e then what an UniverfJl Curfe thefe Words denounce: A Curfe thJt fers its Mouth, and difchar.geth its Thunder, againft all the finful Sons of Admn: ACurfe it is which, as Zacbary tpeaks, Chap. 5. 3· Goes forth aver tbc flue qf the whole Eart!/ and will, if Mercy rebate not the Edge of it, cut off on et-·cry Side all thoii::: rha~ fiand in itsWav:, rh .1r is, all rhacareSinners; and all·arefo, tOr the Chara8:ers which the Apofile doth here give to thofe who are under the Curf~ of the Law are fo general and comprehenfive, rhar no Man living could polfibly efcape if God fhould judge him according to the Conditions of the Covenant of Works. For, Fir [I, It is fa id that every one is accurfed that doth not thofe Things which are written in the Book oft he Law; and this is a Curfe that cuts off on both Sides: On this Side it cuts oft'rhofe who are hut negatively Righteous; who ground all their Hopes for Heaven and· Happinefs upon what they have not done, and put into the Inventory of their Virtues that they have not been Vicious, no Extortioners) noun· juft Perfans, no Adulterers, f:/ c. Bur alas! this Account will r,Q[ pafs in the Day of Reckoning. The law requires rhee not only to forbear rhe grofs AUs of Sins, but to perfOrm the Duties of Obedience: And it cuts offon that Side all rh of~ who have done contrary to what is written in the Law; and that not only . fcandalous and outrageous Sinners, but even tbofe who have been leaft peccant, and rarher Sinners in J:hought and l~agination than in Pratlice; yer thefe alfo fall under the Curfe of the Law. Secondly, Thofe alfo who have not done all that is written in the Law are ftruck whh this Anathema, er Curfe: And where's the Man that dares lift up hi$ Face to ju!lifie himfelf again!\ this Charge 1 Is there no one Duty, either of the Fir!t or Se· cond Table, refpeEting either God or Man, that thou halt utterly negleaed? Is there no one Sin that thou hafr committed, either Ignorantly or Knowingly, either out of Weaknefs or Wilfulnefs, by Surprize, or upon Deliberation? Certainly the Law of God is fo vaftly large and comprehenfive, that we can fcarcely know all that is con~ rained in it; and our Impotence and Corruption fo great, that much lefs can we per4 form it; and yet in a Ca.le of the leafi: Failure in any one Particular we become obnoxious to the Cur(€: and Malediaion. But fuppofe that at fame Time or other thou lhouldefi have performed every particular DtJty, yet, Thirdly, HaU thou continued i11 all Things that are written in the Law to do them? Haft thou fpun an evim Thread of Obedience? Are there no Flaws, no Breaks. no Breaches, in it? Haft thou been always confiant in the highefi Fervour of thy Zeal for God> Halt thou been in the Fearoftbe Lord all the·Daysofthy Life? Have thy I1fte8:ions never languifh'd, thy Thoughts never turned afide, fo much as to glance upon Vanity? Didfi thou never drop one unfavoury Word, nor do any one AEl:ion, which both for the Matter anQ Manner of it was not perfeUly agreeable to the Law~ If otherwife (as indeed fuch an abfolute Perfe8:ion of Holinefs is to be found in no Creatures bur the glorified Spirits,) rhou art llill expofed to the Curfe of the Law; for curfed is every one that continueth not in all Things that are written in the Book of the Law to do them. No.w this Curfe is moft dreadful, iF we confider that it is Unhterfal, and extends itfdf not only over all Perfons, hut unto all Things~ eve~y Thing which a Siriner eirher-doth or bath is accurfea to him: Let us a hnle np up ·the Bowds of this Curfe that you may fee how much Rancour and Venom is comained in it, Firfl, He is accurfed in all his Temporal Enjoyments. His Br~ad is kneaded, .and his Ddnk mingled, wi~h a Curfe; his Table becomes a Snare to htm, and every Mor· fel he eats is dipp'd in the Bitternefs ofGod's Wrath and Curfe. In his Health his Food is poifo0ed with thi? ~urfe, and in his Sicknefs his Phyfick. He is curfed in every Place where he comes, and the Place curfed for his fake: Curfed in tbe City, an~ tm:feti in tbe fid~; curfed in bi~ Basket and Store;. cu~fed in the Fr~u"t of bi1 Body, and in the Ft·uu of his Land; m the IncreaJe oj bu Ktne, and of hu Flodu; mrfed wben be comerb in, and when be goeJb out; as we find this Bed· r?ll ofCurfes denounced againfi him, Deut. 28-. from the 15th to the 20th Verfe. Hts very Mer· cies'are CurJi;s unto him; as on the contrary, a tr"ue Believer's AffiiUions are Bleffings. Be is bleffed in Poverty, in SicknefS, in Perfecution, yea, in Death itfelf: So Uohe· liever's Mercies are all tuine<l into Plagues and Curfes: For as in an WJfound and corrupred
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