I will close this with two inferences. First. Let me charge you highly to take care of your company. For though you are well refolved, that for your own felves you will do nothing but what is juft; yet if you be in company, and take pleasure; yea, I dare fay, by being filent, you will become obnoxious. Secondly. Let me advise every one when he enters into fecret to make his peace with God, that he then call to mind what company he hath been in, and what hath been done by his company and converse. Let us confider the iniquities of the vicinage, our relations, or perfons of our converse : fome of these may be in fome measure ours alfo; though not our personal acts. To justify, to countenance, and take pleasure in fin committed by another, is not lefs bad than to do it ourfelves. Now for this I will give you this account. It argues more of a depraved mind: for he that doth it, may be induced by the temptation of pleasure, or profit; but he that takes pleasure in it, fins without a temptation. To approve of, or take pleasure in what is ill done by another, is a greater fin than he that doth it is guilty of; because it is with a less temptation; for they are not induced at all by the temptation, either of pleasure or profit; but thefe men are of more havocked confciences, and more degenerate minds. 'Tis very likely that these men have more naturalized themselves to the malignity of naughty acts, and have by former base use, cuftom, and practice, alienated themselves from refpect toward God, and love of righteousness: fo that they have forced away all the ingenuity and modesty of

nature.

nature. For to approve of, and take pleasure in the impudency, madnefs and folly of others, is to fin either upon no, or a lefs temptation: whereas to fin by weakness, or upon a temptation, is the only colourable pretence and apology. And this is the account I give for this, that as a man may be guilty by participation, where he doth not actually do, fo in fome cafes, he that doth not do the act, but takes pleasure in it, may be the worst of the two.

DISCOURSE LXIV.

The direful Vengeance which falls upon the Souls of incorrigible Sinners.

Ro M. i.

Part of the 24th, the 26th, and the 28th verses. 24th. Wherefore God alfe gave them up to uncleanness. 26th. For this caufe God gave them up unto vile affections. 28th. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate 97 mind.

YOU

10.

may remember the order and method I proposed to myself, to treat of the remaining part of the chapter. Having given you an account of the dreadful miscarriages of apoftates, who, hold the truth of God in unrighteousness, and did not love to retain the knowledge of God in their minds; but

affected

affected to be atheists, that they might be arbitrary, lawless, and live without fear or controul; and other characters of them having been given, I now come to the second part, that is, the punishment of these finners, and horrid tranfgreffors, and that is on God's part. You have had an account of man's behaviour towards God, now take an account of God's ; and you have these forms of words to express them. God gave them up to uncleanness, to their own hearts lufts to vile affections, ver. 24. 26. To a reprobate mind, to do things which are not convenient, ver. 28. And to have God justified, they did but receive the recompence of their error, ver. 27. But before I fpeak to that that is consequent to voluntary confenting to known iniquity, or grofs neglect of God and themselves, which are the adequate oppofites to God, and religion; I find it requifite for God's honour, to give you an account what hand God hath, either in the fin of his creatures, or in the finner's mifery; because it is faid, God gave them up, &c. This truly

hath been one of the hardest questions in the world how evil came into the creation, fince God was good and made all good? To vindicate God from having any hand in the miscarriages of men, or being the cause of it, my bufinefs therefore fhall be to fhew you, that neither the evil of fin, nor the evil of punishment can be attributed to God. For if God be the first and chiefest good, as indeed he is, then evil is not from him, it is not that which he hath decreed or defigned or appointed, but it is consequen-, tial, neceffary, fatal; and by confequence infeperable from the miscarriages of finners. I fhall give you VOL. III. T

an

an account of the fadeft place in all the bible; Isa. vi. 10. Where you have it, make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and fhut their eyes, left they fee with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed. This place is no less than fix times referred to in the new teftament; you have it in all the four evangelifts, Mat. xiii. 15. Mark iv. 12. Luke viii. 10. John xii. 40. in the Acts of the apoftles, Acts xxviii. 27. and in the epiftle to the Romans, Rom. xi. 8. the fix first books in the new teftament. And the scripture never represents the forlorn state of finners, but it refers to this place. To give you fome account of this there is an excellent diftinction in one of the fathers, Chryfoftome he faith; that feeing they may fee, and not perceive, &c. that is, not that God had any fuch intention, or that God would have it fo: but it is confequential; fo it comes to pafs, fo it falls out; this is the natural iffue of mens not dealing ingenuously with truth; they are the worfe for their knowledge, if practice be not answerable. But more of that

hereafter. I am now to give you an account; that evil is not to be attributed to God: yet I find that the scripture doth frequently feem to attribute it to him; but you must understand that the fcripturenotion is this, because God is the first universal and general caufe of all things, therefore the fcripture attributes and aferibes all things that are to him. But when you come to an explication, there is as vaft a difference and diftinction as between God and the devil, heaven and hell, light and darkness, good and evil. Some things are by his efficiency, fuch as he

doth

If

doth by himself immediately; fome things by his affistance, which he doth, by commiffioning others, i.e. by second causes; and fome things by his permiffion; that is, he doth not hinder them. With this difference we must understand scripture attributing things to God. For certain we must refolve thefe two things: first, that God is no true cause of evil fecondly, that he doth what he will, where he will, when he will, how he will, and thinks not fit to hinder it. For nothing is more certain than that holiness and righteousness are the divine endowments; and holiness and righteousness make it altogether repugnant and morally impoffible for God to have a hand in evil; fuch evil whereunto turpidity, malignity and deformity are annexed. you attribute malignity, deformity, turpitude, the evil of fin to God, you deny his moral endowments, his prime perfections of goodnefs, holiness, and righteousness. Wherefore we will abfolutely con clude, that whatsoever God doth, by himself immediately, or in conjunction with any fecond cause, it is in itself throughly good, and worthy the first and chiefest goodness and if this be not true, let any man give me an account of thefe places of fcripture. Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid, Rom. ix. 14. If he be unrighteous, how can he judge the world? Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? God is holy in all his ways, &c. Gen. xviii. 25. He hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteoufnefs, Acts xvii. 31. What doth that intimate? Not by arbitrary will, but he will proceed according to a certain rule, fuch a rule that