438 Vol. I. The Second this Text.n SERMON LXII The Sins of Men not chargeable upon God but upon themfelves. JAMES. I. 13, I4. Let no Man fay when he is tempted. I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any Man : But every Man is tempted, when 'he it drawn away of his own lull, and enticed. HEN I made entrance upon thefe Words, I told you, that next to the Belief of a God and a Providence, nothing is more funda- mentally neceffary to the Praftice of a good Life, than theBelief of thefe two Principles; That God is not the Author of the Sins of Men; and That every Man's fault lier at his own door. And both thefe Principles St. James does clearly and fully alert in thefe Words. Firff, God tempts no Man to Sin. Secondly, Every Man is his own greatefi Tempter. The firs of thefe I have largely fpoken to in my former Difcourfe ; and from what I then faid, I (hall only draw a few ufeful Inferences, before I proceed to the fecond, Viz. Thefe which follow. Firfi, Let us beware of all fuch Do trines, as do any ways tend to make God the Author of Sin; either by laying a Neceflty upon Men of Sinning, or by laying fecret Defigns to tempt and feduce Men to Sin. Nothing can be farther from the Nature of God, than to do any fuch thing, and nothing can be more dishonourable to him, than to imagine any fuch thing of him; he is of purer eyes than to behold evil; and can we think, that he who cannot endure to fee it, Mould have any hand in it? We find that the Holy Men in Scriptureare very care- ful to remove all thoughts and fufpicion of this fromGod. Flihu, Job ;6. 3. before he would argue about God's Providence with Job, he refolves in the firft place, to attribute nothing to God, that is unworthy of him. I will ( lays he) afcribe righteoufnefr to my Maker. So likewife St. Paul, Rom. 7. 7. What fhall we fay then? Is the LawSin? God forbid. Is the LawSin? That is, hath God given Men a Law to this end, that he might draw them into Sin? far be it from him. Gal. 2. 17. Is Chr1 the minjler of Sin? God forbid. You fee then how tender good Men have always been of afcribing any thing to God, that might feem to render him the Author of Sin. So that we have rea- fon to take heed of all Doitrines that are of this tendency; fuch as are the Do- Chines ofan abfolute and irrefpectivedecree to damn the greateft part of Mankind i -and in order to that, and as a Means to it, efficacioufly to permit Men to Sin. For if thefe things be true, that God hath abfolutely decreed to damn the greateft part of Men, and to make good this Decree, he permits them to Sin, not by a bare permiflion of leaving them to themfelves, but by fuch a permifíion as (hall be efficacious that is, he will fo permit them to Sin as they cannot avoid it; then thole who are under this decree of God, are under a necefïity of Sinning; which neceflìty, foce it dotes not proceed from themfelves, but from the decree of God, does by confequence make God the
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