germ. LX. in proportion to our J(notnledgè. 425 our obedience tohis Laws ? So that ifwe know thefe things to be theWill of God, we have the greateft obligation to do them, whether we confider the Authority of God, or our own intereft ; and if we negle& them, we have nothing to fay in our own excufe. We knew the Law, and the advantage of keeping it, and the pe- nalty of breaking it, and if after this wewill tranfgrefs, there is no Apology tobe made for us. They have fomething to plead for themfelves, who can fay, that tho' they had fome apprehenfionoffome partsof their Duty, and their Minds wereapt to di&ate to them that they ought to do force things, yet the different apprehen- lions of Mankind about feveral of thefe things, and the doubts and uncertainties of theirown Minds concerning them, made themeafe to becarried off from their Du- ty, by the vicious inclinations oftheir own Nature, and the tyranny ofCuftomand Example, and the pleafant temptations of f-le(h and blood ; but had they had a clear and undoubted Revelation fromGod, and had certainlyknown thefe things to be his Will, this would have conquered and born down all Objections and Temptations to the contrary ; or if it had not, would have ftopt their mouths, and taken away all excufe from them. There is force colour in this plea, that in many cafes they did not know certainly what the Will of God was, but for us who own a clear Revelation from God, and profefs to believe it, what can we fay for our felves, to mitigate the feverity of God towards us ; why he fhould not pour forth all his wrath, and execute upon us the fiercenefs of his anger ? Thirdly, The negle&of God's Will when we know it, cannot be without a great deal of wilfulnefs and contempt. If we know it, and do it not, the fault isfolely in our Wills, and the more wilful any fin is, the more hainoufly wicked is it. There can hardly be a greater aggravation of a Crime, than if it proceed frommeer obftinacy and perverfnefs ; and if we know it to beour Lord's Will, and do it not, we are guilty of the higheft contempt of the greaten Authority in the World. And do we think this to be but a fenall aggravation, to affront the great Sovereign and Judge of the World ? not only to break his Laws, but to trample upon them and defpife them, when we know whofe Laws they are ? Will we provoke the Lord to jealoufie ? are we fironger than he ? We believe that it is God who faid, Thou /halt not commit Adultery ; thou(halt not Steal ; thou ¡halt not bear fall tnitnefr againfl thy Neighbour ; thou ¡halt not hate, or opprefs, or defraud thy Brother in any thing; but thoufhalt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf; and will we notwithftanding venture to break thefe Laws, knowing whole Authority they are ftampt withal ? After this contempt of him, what favour can we hope for from him? What can we fay for our felves, why any one of thofe many (tripes whichare threatned fhould be abated to us? Ignofci aliquatenus ignorantin potef%; contemptus veniam non habet ; " Somethingmay be pardoned to ignorance ; " but contempt can expeEt no forgivenefs. He that ftrikes his Prince, not know- ing him to be fo, hath fomething to fay for himfeif, that tho' he did a difloyal . alt, yet it did not proceed from a difloyal Mind: but he that firft acknowledgeth him for hisPrince, and then affronts him, deferves to be profecuted with the ut- moft feverity, becaufe he did it wilfully, and in meer contempt. The know- ledge of our Duty, and that it is the Will of God which we go againft, takes away all poffible excufe from us ; for nothing can be faid, why we fhould offend him who bath both Authority to command us, and Power to deftroy us, And thus I have, as briefly as I could, reprefented to you the true ground and reafonof the aggravationof thofe Sins, which are committed againft the clear knowledgeof God's Will, and our Duty ; becaufe this knowledge is fo great an advantage to the doingof our Duty ; fo great an obligation upon us to it; and becaufe the negleft of our Lord's Will in this cafe, cannot be without great wil- fulnefs, and a downright contempt of his Authority. And (hall I now need to tell you, howmuch it concerns every one of us, to live up to that knowledge which we have of our Lord's Will, and to prepare our felves to do according toit; to bealways in a readinefsand difpofition to do what we know to be his Will, and a&ually to do it, when there is occafion and opportunity? And it concerns us the more, becaufe we, in this Age and I i i Nation,
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