138 SEKMONSuponthe SERM.XVII- by nature are Children of Wrath, liable to this horrible Eftate that Path been de- fcribed to you ; but yet few run for Refuge, Heb. 6.18, to. Nor flee from wrath to come, Math. 3. y. Seek Peace upon each, Luk. 2. 14. Labour to be found of him in Peace, 2 Pet. 2. 14. How can a man óe at refl, 'till he be fecured, and can biefs God for an efcape ?' (2.) 'Want of ferions Confederation : The Scripture calleth for it every where, Pfal. 5o. 22. Confider this, ye that forget God : And Ifa. r. 3. My people will not confider : Many that have Faith, do not ail it, and let it a work by lively thoughts : When Faith and Knowledge are afleep, it differeth little from Ignorance or Oblivion, 'till Confideration awaken it ; carnal Senfualifts put off that they cannot put away, Amos 6. 3. Many that know themfely ?s wretched Creatures, are not troubled at it, becaufe they cafe thefe things out of their thoughts, and fo they fleep ; but their Damnation fleepeth not, it lyeth watching to take hold of them, they are not at .leifure to think of Eternity. (3.) Want of Clofe Application : Rom. 8. 31. What fhall we then fay to theft things? Job 5. 27. I¿noie this for thy good : Whether Promife or Tlrreatning, we mull urge and prick our hearts with it : Self love maketh us fancy an unreafonable Indul- gence in God, and that we t'hall do well enough, how fleightly and carelefly fòever we mind R& giou ; we do not lay the point and edge of truths to our own hearts, and fay, lit/. 2. 3. Has, ¡halt we efca e if we negletï:fo great Salvation? Thefe are the Cartes ; now there is no way to remedy this, but to get a fùurtd Belief of the World to come, and often to Meditate on it, and urge our own hearts with it. 2 Do &. That Vnprofitablenefi is a damning fig. If there were no more, this were enough to ruine us : By Unprofitablenefs I do not mean want of fuccefs ; to the befl, Gifts may be unprofitable, Ifa. 49. 4. I have laboured in vain, faith the Prophet Ifaiah ; but want of endeavour, omitting to do our Duty: The feope of the Parable is to awaken us from our negligence and (loath, that we may not prefer a loft, and cafe, lazje'Life, before the Service of God, and doing good in our Generation. Now becaufe we think Omilions are no fins; or light fins, I lliall take this occafion to fliers, the lrainoufnefs of them: Andkere I -í1a11 flrew tiro things. Fir /l, That there are fins of Omi /on : Sins are ufually dif}inguithed into fins of Omiíliotd and Commilfon ; a fin of Comrniffron is, when wedo thàt which we ought not; a,lin of Omiffton, when we leave that undone which we ought to do : But when we look more narrowly into thefe things, we (hall findboth in every -áaual fin : for in that we commit any thing againft the Law, we Omit our Duty, and the omitting our Duty can hardly or never fall out, but that fotnething is preferred before the Love of God, and that is a Commiflion. But yet there is ground for the difliuftion, becaufe when any thing is formally and directly committed againft the negative Precept and Prohibition, that is a fin of. Commillion, but when we direcc}ly fin againft an affirmative Precept, that is an Omiffion. We have an inflante of both in Eli and his Sons ; Ela's Sons' defiled themfelves with the Women that afembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congre- gation, t Sam. 22. Eli finned in that he refrained them not, t Sam. 3.13. His was an Omiilron, theirs a Commiffron. Secondly, That fins of Orni ion maybe great fins, appearerh, i. Partly by the nature of them : There is in them the general nature of all evil, that is, àa.w' a tranfgrefion of a Law, r Joh. 3.4. a dif'obedience and breach of a Precept, and fo by conlequence a contempt of Gods Authority : We cry out up- on Pharaoh, when we hear him (peaking, Exod. 5. 2. Who is the Lord, that I fbaold obey his voice ? By Interpretation we all fay fo ; this language is couched in every Sin that we commit, and every Duty we omit. Our negligence is not fimple negligence, but down -right difobedience ; becaufe 'cis a breach of a Precept, and the offence is the more, becaufe our nature Both more eafily clolè with Precepts than Prohibitions. Duties injoyned are perfef ive, but Prohibitions are as fo many yoaka upon us ; me take it more grievoufly for God to fay, Thou (halt not Covet, than for God to lay, Thou fhalt love me, fear me, and ferve me : We are contented to do much aphids the Law required], but to be limited and barred of our delights,' this
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