26o SERMONS upon Serm,2g: Rom. 2. r5. Which them, py'v wri.ta, the Work of the Law written in their Heart, their Confeience alfo bearing Witnefr, and their.'houghts in the mean while accwfng, or elfe excu- fng one another. Now the Word is the fecond Edition of God's Will, wherein Duties are better known and Cet forth, not only Sins but Lutts are forbidden. Luft, is Adul- tery, Mat. 5, 28. Whofoever (hall look on a Woman to luf after her, bath committed Aries'- eery with her already in hi, Heart. In Worttrip, and other Duties, not only the A &, but the Frame of the Heart is regarded ; Mat. 22. 37. Thou pall love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Mind. Yea, there are Precepts that go againft the bent and hair of Nature, Man's Heart could never have deviled them; as to love our Enemies, Mat. 5. 44, 4.5. Love your Enemie,, blef, them that curfe you, do good to them that hate yon, and pray for them that defpitefnlly aft yon, and perfecute you. That ye may be the Children of your Father that u in Heaven ; for he maketh hir Sun to rift upon the Evil and the Good, and findeth Rain on the ynfi and on the 7.Inpef4. To wean Men from the World, that it is a fin to walk as Men. r Cor. 3. 3. For ye are yet carnal ; for whereas there is among you Envying, and Strife, and Divifon,, are ye not Carnal, and walk a, Men ? Chriflians are trained up in an higher School. So to. deny our felves, a Leffon proper to Chrif s School; Mat. 16. 24.. If any Man will come after me, let him deny bin: fill; and take up the Crof, and follow me. To depend on God, renouncing our fufficiency, &c. 2. The Promifes of the Word, they hold forth the higheft Happinefs that Man is capable of. Philofophy wasto feek of a fit Reward and Encouragement of Vertue; the chief Good is only revealed in the Scriptures ; Men are at a puzzle and lots, till they take this Light along with them. PCal. 4. 6. There are many that fry, Who will thew unto us any good ? There is a difpofition and inftin& of Nature towards Happi- nefs, yea, towards Eternal Happinefs : All Men would be happy. Man's Soul is a Chaos of Defires,like a Spunge it defireth to fill it Celf, it is thirfey, and feeketh to be fatisfied. ,Aufin fpeaketh of a Jefter, that at the next Shew, would undertake to thew every one what they did delire; and when there was a great Confluence and Expe&ation, he told them, Hoc owner vultìr, vili emere, & can vendere. Another Paid, Te all defre to be ?railed. But Auftin faith rightly, thefe were but foolifh Anfwers, becaufe many . good Men delire neither, the one being againft Juftice, and the other againft Sincerity ; but (faith he) Si dixijt, owner beati effe vultìr, he had laid right : every one may find this difpofition in his own Heart, to an eternal infinite Happinefs. This Stock was left in Nature, on which Gracebath grafted. Alta 57.26. That they may fiek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him and find him, the he be not far from every one of my. They groped after God, like the blind Sodomites about Leis Door. When we have all outward Blefiings, the Soul of Man is not filled, but this Sore runneth. Feci- fii nor, Domine, proper te, & idea irrequietum ell cor meant, donee requiefat in te. There is a natural poile in the Soul, that bendeth it that way, fo that we cannot be quiet without God. We may make Experiments, as Solomon did, but 11111 we thall want an infinite eternal Recompence after this Life, for we can never be happy here ; as the Heathens dreamed of Elyfian Fields. This is fit for God to give, and for us to re- ceive ; the infinite eternal God will give like himîelf, 2 Car. 4. 17. A for more exceed- ing and eternal weight of Glory ; as lraunah gave like a King to the King, 2 Chron: 24. 24. a Royal Gift. There is a time when God will give like himfelf. The Scripture giveth this manifeftation of Eternal Happinefs. 3. The Do &rines of the Word, of Sin, Righteoufnefs, and Judgment, they are all fublime. John 16. 8. When the Spirit is come, he will reprove (or convince) the World of Sin, of ighteoufnefr, and of Judgment. Without a Revelation fromGod,they could not enter into the Heart of Man ; Do &rines of Sin, to humble the Creature; of Righteoufnefs, to raife him and comfort him; of Judgment, to awe him unto Holanefs. Of Sin, as of the Fall : the Heathens knew nothing of this, they complained of Na- ture as a Stepmother ; Vitia etiam fine Magflro dfcmrtur ; Man cometh into the World crying, as into a place of Mifery, the Caufe they could not tell. The Scriptures thew us how we finned in Adam; our Natures are Evil, more fuiceptive of Bad than of Good, never weary of Sin, becaufe this is molt fuitable to us. Then there are Do- &rines of' Righteoufnefs, and there indeed corne in many Mytteries, Trinity of Per- fons, Union of the two Natures in Chriff's Perfon, a Child born of a Virgin ; but all thefe, tho above Nature, yet not againft it. All Religions aim at this, to bring Men to God; Nature is fenfible of a Breach, there are vain Offers elfewbere to make up this Breach ; but the Scriptures thew the way, therefore there is no realon to fufpe& the
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