SERMON XLI. 585 in princes, or in the son of man in whom there is no help? His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day, his thoughts perish ; Ps. cxlvi. 3, 4. Man is too weak a thing to encourage or support our confidence." And: (4.) " What a necessary duty is it then to fix our constant dependence upon God, even in all thecommon affairs of life ! Let us not say therefore, that to -day or to-morrowwe will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and get gain; whereas ye know not what will be on the morrow? For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeared' for a little time, and then vanished' away ; for that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live to do this or that; James iv. 13--15. And it is the same inference that holyDavidmakes more than onceupon a sur- vey of the mortality of man, in the Psalms just before cited, Lord, rebat wait I for? My hope is in thee; Ps. xxxix. 11. Happy is he that bath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who keepetla truth for ever; Ps. xlvi. 5, 6. The Lord-is an everlasting friend, he lives when creatures die, and fulfils his word of truth, when the words of princes perish with their breath," 2. The death of mankind in general shews us the dreadful evil and desert of sin. Itdiscovers to us the awful holiness and terrible Majesty of God ; and it teaches us what a sublime value Le puts upon his own-law, and how fearfully he avenges thevio- lation of it. I join these three things together, because they . standso nearlyconnected in the divine economy. (1.) The universal. death of mankind shews cis, what a dreadful and heinous evil there is in sin, and, what wide destruc- tion it has deserved. By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passedupon all men, for that all have sinned ; Rom. v. 12. For the wages of sin is death; Rom. vi. 23. Man was made innocent, and while hecontinuedobedient, he was immortal : Transgression and death came in together: A. formidable pair ! Two dreadful names, big with mischief and ruin to human nature. When we see the dying agonies, of poor mankind, our fellow-creatures, our brethren in flesh and blood, let us remember the sin of our common father, that first subjected him and all his posterity to death; and let us,reflect upon the dreadful evil that is contained in the nature of every sin ; for it deserves death at the hand of God. Alas, how often has the best of us deserved to die, for ourtransgressions have been multiplied without number. (2.) The death of all mankind makes a solemn discovery to us ofthe terrible 'Majesty of God and the justice that attendshis government. Ilewill not pass by the guilt ofhis rebellious crea- tures, without a duo resentment of their crimes. And even
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