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longing to the character of the wicked man, Prov. xii « The thoughts of the righteous are right; but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood; but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them." Nevertheless it is plain, that the wise man in his book, in his distinction of the righteous and the wicked, means the same as godly and ungodly. Only reading the two foregoing chapters will be enough to satisfy any of this. Observe chap. x. 3, 7, 16, 20, 21, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and xi. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 30, 31, besides innumerable other like texts all over the book. In chap. i. 16, it is said of sinners, "Their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood." This the apostle, in Romans iii. 15, cites as belonging to the description of all natural men. So in the description of the wicked, Prov. iv. 14....19, it is said, that "they sleep not unless they have done mischief; that they drink the wine of violence," &c. and yet by the wicked there is meant the same with the graceless man ; as appears by the antithesis, there made between him and the "just or righteous, whose path is as the shining light, which shineth more and more to the perfect day."

As a further evidence that by the wicked in this Psal. I. 16, is meant the same as the ungodly or graceless, it is to be observed, here is a pretty manifest antithesis, or opposition between the wicked and the saints, that shall be gathered to Christ at the day of judgment, spoken of verse 5. There God speaking of his coming to judgment, says, " Gather my saints together, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice :" And then, after shewing the insufficiency of the sacrifices of beasts, implying that that is a greater sacrifice by which these saints make a covenant with him, it is added, "But to the wicked" [that are not in the number of my saints] "God doth say, What hast thou to do, to take my covenant into thy mouth?" Approving of the covenanting of the former, but disapproving the covenanting of the latter. As to the gathering of God's saints, there spoken, if we consider the foregoing and following verses, it is evidently the same with that gathering of his elect, when Christ comes in the clouds of

heaven, which is spoken of, Matth. xxiv. 30, 31; and with that gathering of the righteous, as his wheat into his barn, at the day of judgment, spoken of Matth. xiii. And therefore there is as much reason to suppose, that by the wicked, which are opposed to them, is meant all graceless persons, as there is so to understand the doers of iniquity, spoken of in that Matth. xiii. as those that are opposed to the righteous, which shall then "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, ver. 43. And there is one thing more which still further confirms me in my construction of Psal. 1. 16, which is, That the plain reason here given against wicked men's taking God's covenant into their mouths, holds good with respect to all graceless men, viz. Because they do not comply with, but reject the very covenant, which they with their mouths profess to own and consent to. Ver. 17. "Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee:" As much as to say," Thou rejectest and hast a reigning enmity against my statutes, which thou declarest and professest a compliance with." And this is the spirit and practice of all who live in the sin of unbelief and rejection of Christ; they live in a way that is altogether inconsistent with the covenant of grace; for the sum and substance of the condition and engagement of that covenant is what every natural man is under the reigning power of enmity against, and lives in contradiction to. Therefore, I think, it follows, that they who know it is thus with them, have nothing to do to take God's covenant into their mouths; or, in other words, have no warrant to do this, until it be otherwise with them.

III. The nature of things seems to afford no good reason why the people of Christ should not openly profess a proper respect to him in their hearts, as well as a true notion of him in their heads, or a right opinion of him in their judgments.

I can conceive of nothing reasonably to be supposed the de*sign or end of a public profession of religion, that does not as much require a profession of honor, esteem and friendship of heart towards Christ, as an orthodox opinion about him; or why the former should not be as much expected and required

in order to a being admitted into the company of his friends and followers, as the latter. It cannot be because the former is in itself is not as important, and as much to be looked at, as the latter; seeing the very essence of religion itself consists in the former, and without it the latter is wholly vain, and makes us never the better; neither happier in ourselves nor more acceptable to God. One end of a public profession of religion is the giving public honor to God: But surely the profession of inward esteem and a supreme respect of heart towards God is as agreeable to this design, and more directly tending to it, than the declaring of right speculative notions of him. We look upon it that our friends do the more especially and directly put honor upon us when upon proper occasions they stand ready not only to own the truth of such and such facts concerning us, but also to testify their high esteem and cordial and entire regard to us. When persons only manifest their doctrinal knowledge of things of religion, and express the assent of their judgments, but at the same time make no pretence to any other than a being wholly destitute of all true love to God, and a being under the dominion of enmity against him, their profession is in some respects, very greatly to God's dishonor: For they leave reason for the public greatly to suspect that they hold the truth in unrighteousness, and that they are some of those that have both seen and hated Christ and his Father, John xv. 24. Who of all persons have the greatest sin, and are most to God's dishonor.

I am at a loss, how that visibility of saintship, which the honored author of The Appeal to the Learned supposes to be all that is required in order to admission to the Lord's supper, can be much to God's honor, viz. Such a visibility as leaves reason to believe, that the greater part of those who have it, are enemies to God in their hearts, and inwardly the servants of sin. Such a visibility of religion as this, seems rather to increase a visibility of wickedness in the world, and so of God's dishonor, than any thing else; i. e. it makes more wickedness visible to the eye of an human judgment, and gives men reason to think, there is more wickedness in the world, than otherwise would be visible to them: Because we have reason

to think, that those who live in a rejection of Christ, under the light of the gospel, and the knowledge and common belief of its doctrine, have vastly greater sin and guilt than other men. And that venerable divine himself did abundantly teach this.

Christ came into the world to engage in a war with God's enemies, sin and Satan; and a great war there is maintained between them; which war is concerning us; and the contest is, who shall have the possession of OUR HEARTS. Now, it is reasonable under these circumstances, that we should declare on whose side we are, whether on Christ's side, or on the side of his enemies.. If we would be admitted among Christ's friends and followers, it is reasonable that we should profess we are on the Lord's side, and that we yield OUR HEARTS (which the contest is about) to him, and not to his rivals. And this seems plainly to be the design and nature of a public profession of Christ. If this profession is not made, no profession is made that is worth regarding, or worth the making, in such a case as this is, and to any such purpose as a being admitted among his visible friends. There is no other being on Christ's side, in this case, but a being so with an undivided heart, preferring him to all his rivals, and renouncing them all for his sake. The case admits of no neutrality, or lukewarmness, or a middle sort of persons with a moral sincerity, or such a common faith as is consistent with loving sin and the world better than Christ. He that is not with me (says Christ) is against me. And therefore none do profess to be on Christ's side but they who profess to renounce his rivals. For those who would be called Christians, to profess no higher regard to Christ than what will admit of a superior regard to the world, is more absurd than if a woman pretending to marry a man, and take him for her husband, should profess to take him in some sort, but yet not pretend to take him in such a manner as is inconsistent with her allowing other men a fuller possession of her, and greater intimacy with her than she allows him. The nature of the case, as it stands between us and Jesus Christ, is such, that an open, solemn profession of being entirely for him, and giving him the possession of our hearts, renouncing all competitors,

is more requisite in this case, than a like profession in any other case. The profession of an intermediate sort of state of our mind, is very disagreeable to the nature of Christ's errand, work, and kingdom in the world, and all that belongs to the designs and ends of his administrations; and for ministers and churches openly to establish such a kind of profession of Christ as part of his public service, which does not imply a pre tence of any more than lukewarmness, is, I fear, to make a mere sham of a solemn public profession of Christianity, and seems to be wholly without warrant from the word of God, and greatly to God's dishonor.

It cannot be justly here pretended, as a reason why the opinion concerning doctrines should be professed, and not friendship or respect of heart, that the former is more easily discerned and known by us than the latter. For though it be true, that men may be at a loss concerning the latter, yet it is as true that they may be so concerning the former too. They may be at a loss in many cases concerning the fulness of the determination of their own inclination and choice; and so they may concerning the fulness of the determination of their judgment. I know of nothing in human nature that hinders the acts of men's wills being properly subject to their own consciousness, any more than the acts of their judgment; nor of any reason to suppose that men may not discern their own consent as well as their assent. The Scripture plainly supposes gracious dispositions and acts to be things properly under the eye of conscience. 2 Cor. xiii. 5. "Know ye not your own selves?" John xxi. 15. «Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" And many other places. Nor is the nature of godliness less made known, than the true doctrines of religion. Piety of heart, in the more essential things belonging to it, is as clearly revealed, as the doctrines concerning the nature of God, the person of the Messiah, and the method of his redemption.

IV. We find in the Scripture, that all those of God's professing people, or visible saints who are not truly pious, arc represented as counterfeits, as having guile, disguise, and a false appearance, as making false pretences, and as being de VOL. I.

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