pheming the name of God: nay, not only so, but not a few glory in their fhame, and boast of it that they can outdo others by fwearing more and greater oaths! Be astonished, O heavens! Be ye very defolate! Has any of the nations ferved their gods fo? The poor Americans, who worship the devil, will not treat him fo ill, as a fet of men called chriftians, nay more, reformed christians, proteftants, do the great God of heaven, O what a wonder of divine patience is it, that God does not dash down the world about the ears of fuch finners, that he fends them not alive into hell! O what hearts, what trembling hearts will these men have, when, ere it be long, they fhall find God fhaking the earth terribly, when he comes out of his place to punish them? Such monsters as have torn God's name by hellifh blafphemies, how will they look, when the almighty God fhall grafp them with his omnipotent arms, and tear them in pieces, and there fhall be none to deliver them, none that dare interpofe in their behalf? What hearts will they have, who by their monftrous oaths have made God's jealousy burn against them, when a little hence his wrath will flame fo high, as to diffolve the elements with fervent heat, and pour down the vifible heavens like fo much boiling lead upon the heads of fuch Goddaring finners? Would to God there were no fuch monsters in this congregation; none fuch hearing me this day, who boast of and glory in their fwearing. If there be any fuch monsters here, I do, by the authority of the great God, charge fuch either to repent of this impiety, or to be gone and leave this affembly. I know no place meet for fuch an one but hell. But it is like fome of you may blefs yourfelves in your own hearts when

ye

ye hear fuch things, and fay, ye do not fwear fuch monstrous and horrid oaths. Ay, but if ye fwear habitually the lesser oaths, we bid you, in the Lord's name and authority, lay, afide all pretences to faith. Some of you can fwear by your faith upon every turn, and yet pretend to faith in Chrift. They who have faith, will not dare to fwear by it. And fuch as do customarily fwear by faith, or by confcience, I dare affert to be unbelievers. A believer in Chrift will not make fo light of precious faith, as to baffle it upon every occafion; nor will he dare to make that an idol which is a grace; the chief glory whereof is, to abase the creature, and to exalt God. To fwear by faith or by confcience, is to put them in God's stead; and that is an indignity which Godwill by no means bear with, for he has faid, he will not give his glory to another. This fin is become fo common and cuftomary, that there is but little hopes of perfuading people to leave it, unless God by a ftrong hand do it. But fince we have occafion to fpeak of fwearing, I fhall only add a few words to fuch of you as are guilty. (1.) God has taken the punishment of fwearers into his own hand. Men commonly let fuch easily pass; but God has faid, he will not hold them guiltless. (2.) It is a fin that brings ruin not only upon particular perfons, but upon families. The flying roll that is twenty cubits long, and ten cubits broad, and full of curfes, enters into the houfe of the fwearer, and deftroys it with the timber and the stones thereof, and every one that is guilty fhall be cut off, Zech. V. 3, 4. (3.) It is one of the fins that brings defolating calamities upon nations, and makes the land mourn, Hof. iv, 2, 3. (4.) So hateful is this fin to God, that he threatens fuch as know

any

1

any to be guilty of it, and conceal the fin, Lev. 1.v.1. And if a foul fin, and hear the voice of fwearing, and is a witness whether he hath feen Sor known of it; if he do not utterit, then he shall bear his iniquity. It is not enough to forbear cfwearing, but we must profecute the guilty.

(2.) Unclean perfons, of which there are too many in this congregation, are all to be reckonced amongst the unbelievers. The defiled and the unbelieving are well put together. by the apostle, Tit. i. 15. The works of the flesh are enumerate, ¡Gal. v. 19. and uncleannefs leads the van. Such cof you as live in uncleannefs, are past all doubt in the flesh, yet under the power of unbelief; for they that do believe or are in Chrift Jefus, have ccrucified the fleshy with the affections and lufts thereof, Gal. . 24.

-m(3.) Drunkards, in vain do ye pretend to faith; eye are unbelievers, and fhall have your part eternally with them.. If ye look the forecited lift, ye ewill find your names amongst the reft. Ye are not in Christ Jefus; for they who are in Chrift Jefus, do not walk after the flesh, but after the fpirit, Rom. viii. 1. Now to this clafs of unbelievers belong, (1.) Such as do fpend and habitually throw away their time in alehoufes. Against thefe -there is a wo denounced, Ifalva,dr2. Wo unto them that rife up early in the morning that they may follow trong drink, that continue until night, till wine inflame them. And the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine are in their feafts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither confider the operation of his hands. Some, Sit may be, will not be put by themselves with drink, yet they spend their time ordinarily in the valehouse. Such perfons are to be reckoned a

mongst

mongst these unbelievers, whofe God is their belly, whofe glory is in their fhame, who mind earthly things. (2) Such as do abuse themselves fo with drink, that they lofe the ufe of their reafon. 1 A fin fo abominable, and more than beastly, that it is a wonder how a man can be guilty of it; it be ing fuch an evil that we cannot find the like of it! amongst the beafts. (3.) Such as go to that height, as to glory in their drinking, against them God pronounces a wo, Ifa. v. 21. Wo unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of ftrength to mingle ftrong drink. (4.) A fort of finners that feem to outdo all the reft belong to this clafs, and! that is fuch as have the heaven-daing boldness,. to tempt others to drink drunk, not fearing the curfe of God that is denounced against fuch, Hab. ii. 15. Wo unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that putteft thy bottle to him, and makeft him drunken alfo, that thou mayst look upon his naked-1 nefs. God threatens in the following verfe of that chapter, that the cup of his right hand, the cup of his fury, fhall be turned unto fuch. He will make them eternally to drink of the cup of his wrath, yea, the very dregs thereof. Whoever they are in this congregation that belong to this t fort of men, we charge you to lay afide all claim to faith. Unbelievers you are: and if ye do flatter yourselves that ye do believe notwithstanding, ye but deceive yourselves, and ruin your own fouls.

(4.) All liars are fcored by as unbelievers. They are not the children of God, but of the devil. They have his name upon their fore-head, and do.ex actly resemble him who was a liar from the begin ning. They have no likeness to the God of truth. Therefore every one that loveth and maketh a lie fhall be excluded from heaven, Rev. xxii. 15. Ini

Part II. do fo: well, others have both thought and faid fo, who yet are in hell. Our Lord tells us in Matth. vii. 21, 22. That many will meet with a fearful difappointment: he will not own them, nor their faith, but fend them and it together to the pit, telling them that he knows them not. But, 2. Some think they believe, because they have no doubts, and never had any, about the truth of the gospel, their pardon and acceptation with God through Jefus Chrift. But take heed to yourselves, that ye, do not flatter yourselves upon this ground, for it is a falfe one. Ye fay ye never doubted, therefore ye believe.

But,

(1.): What if we fhould fay that the contrary follows? ye never had doubts, therefore ye do not believe. We might fay fo on better grounds: for want of doubts may flow, (1.) from unconcernedness about the truth of the gospel. Perfons hear of a thousand things, and fcarce are at pains to be any ways fatisfied, whether they be true or falfe; because they are not concerned. If we hear that there is a man in America that has a vaft eftate, and a huge revenue, we will neyer fcruple the truth of it, especially, if they who tell us are but of ordinary credit: but if we understood, that we could never be maintained, unless we got a fhare of that estate, and that the owner is willing to impart to us what we needed for our ufe; we would foon begin to be a little more fcrupulous upon the point, and would not believe the report fo eafily, but be apt to entertain a thousand fufpicious thoughts about every circumstance of the matter. Juft fo is it with the most part of men and women in the matter before us; they do not know their need of Chrift; they do not know but they may be able to do