bear witnefs for God, that all of them have finned. (2.) We give a teftimony to this truth, That ye have finned, in as far as we do proclaim to you in God's name, and by the warrant of his word, That ye have finned, and thereby come fhort of the glory of God. (3.) We give a testimony to this great truth, when we preach Christ to you; for the whole gofpel revelation goes upon this fuppofition, That all have finned. When we offer you a Saviour we affert that you are loft; When we prefs you to employ a physician, we affert that you are fick; when, in Christ's ftead, we intreat and beseech you to be reconciled to God, we declare you are enemies; in fine, when we proclaim to you remiffion of fins, we clearly give teftimony against you, that ye are finners, who stand in need of pardon. (4.) The iffue of our work will prove you all finners. One of two will infallibly be the iffue of our work among you; either we will obtain your confent to the bleffed gospel contrivance for the falvation of finners, or ve fhall have a refufal giyen us: and what foever way it go, we fhall in the iffue give in a testimony to this truth: if we obtain a favourable anfwer, then we must bear teftimony that you did receive Christ our Lord upon his own terms, and therefore were finners; if you reject the counsel of God against yourselves, then we must bear witness that you are guilty of the greateft fin which any of the fons of Adam can be guilty of, unbelief, which makes God a liar, as the apostle John has it, I John v. 10. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son; and this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son Moreover, in the

7th Place, The whole creation afferts this truth, That all have finned and come short of the glory of God; and confequently that part of it which ye ufe, afferts no lefs of you in particular. The apostle, Rom. viii. 22. tells us, That the whole creation groneth, and travaileth in pain together until now. Thefe creatures you daily ufe, they grone. If your ears were not deafened by fin, you might hear the grones of the ground you tread upon, of the food ye eat, and of the raiment ye put on. Well, what is the matter? what occafions thefe grones? The apoftle tells us in the 20 and 21 ver. of that chaper, it is made fubject to vanity, and to the bondage of corruption, for the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reafon of him who hath fubjected the fame in hope: because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God, Here the apoftle afferts, (1.) That the creature is made fubject to vanity, that is, is liable to be abused by men to other ends than it was at first designed for: it is fubject to this vanity, of falling fhort of the defign of its creation, which was the glory of God, and of being abused to his difhonour through the corruption of man. (2.) He afferts that it was not willingly made fubject to it. Ofhame, the brute creatures condemn man. Man was willingly fubject to vanity, did willingly defift from the profecution of that which was the design of his creation. The reft of the creatures are paffive in it; it is a fort of a force put upon them. It is a violence done to the creatures, when they are abufed to the fervice of fin: it is contrary to their very natures; for they ftill continue according to the laws which God fet them in the beginning.

(3.) The only thing that makes them continue in being when they are fo abused by man, is the appointment of God. God continues them in being, not for this end, to be abused to a fubferviency to the lufts of men, though they make this ufe of the goodness of God; but that by the continued effects of it, and proofs of undeserved kindnefs, he may lead them to repentance. (4.) The apostle afferts, That the creation fhall be a fharer with the fons of God in their glorious delivery from the bondage of corruption, that is, When the children of God, these who have received Chrift, and by him power to become the fons of God; fhall be fully freed from the remainders of the guilt, power, and pollution of fin, then the creature shall no more be used contrary to God's defign in its creation, but fhall, in the hand of the rational creature, again become an instrument for fhewing forth the glory of God, as it was at first defigned to be. And to fhew that the condition of the creature requires this, He, (5.) in the 22 ver. afferts, That the whole creation groneth, that is, complains of its hard ufage, of its being abused by mens fin: and he extends this to the whole creation, that there may be no accefs for any who ufe the creatures to free themselves of that which the complaint runs againft, to wit, fin. How can any free himself of fin, while all his enjoyments witness against him that he has finned? O finners, the Sun that shines upon you grones that it must give light to a finner, one who ufes the light for an encouragement to fin against God. The ground ye tread upon grones with the weight of finners. The food that feeds you, complains that it must be fo horribly perverted, as to ferve the lusts of a

finner,

finner, as to furnish one with ftrength to fin against God. See Hab. ii. 11. Jam, v. 3.

8. The judgments of God bear witness against you. As many rods as have ever been upon you, as many witneffes are there of this fad truth. The rod of God fpeaks; for we are commanded to hear the rod, Micah vi. 9. The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom fhall fee thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. Every stroke that the hand of God lays upon us, fpeaks; and the first thing it fays, is, re have finned and come fhort of the glory of God. For affliction doth not fpring out of the ground, nor doth trouble arife out of the duft. And here we may boldly with Eliphaz in that iv. of Job and 7. challenge you to give one inftance of any innocent who ever fuffered the leaft wrong or trouble. Remember, I pray thee, fays he to Job, who ever perished being innocent? or where were the righ teous cut off? As if he had faid, Search the records of ancient times; rub up by thy memory, and give me but one inftance of any perfon who fuffered and was not a finner. I defy thee to give me one inftance. Indeed he was out in the application of that unquestionable truth; for he did thence endeavour to infer that Job was a hypocrite. As to the application, we are not concerned in it; but for the truth itfelf, that we own, and challenge you to inftance any. Our bleffed Lord indeed was free of perfonal failings, but not fo of imputed ones; for the Lord laid upon him the iniquities of us all, and he was wounded for our tranfgreffions. And therefore, his fufferings are no ways inconfiftent with this truth, That none fuffer but finners; and therefore, your fuf ferings are à proof, and do teftify that ye have

finned;

finned; for God doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men, Lam. iii. 33. He takes not pleasure in afflicting his own creatures; but when he does it, it is for their fins. What God, in his fovereignty, may do, as to the punishing, or rather afflicting of an innocent creature, we fhall not determine. Learned men have learnedly, I may fay, played the fool, or trifled in debating this point, the determination whereof makes nothing to edification, were it poffible to determine it fatisfyingly. If any should ask me, Can God punish or afflict an innocent creature? I fhould answer, (1.) That questions about what God can do, are dangerous, and may for moft part be forborn. (2.) Punish an innocent creature he cannot, for that prefuppofeth such a fault. (3.) God in the first formation of his creatures did fet them fuch a law for their rule, as did lead them directly to the highest perfection their natures were capable of; and they walking accord, ing to that rule, i, e. being innocent, it is hard to conceive how they could fall fhort, or in any mea fure fwerve from the end. If it be ftill enquired, whether God may not in his abfolute fovereignty pafs over this, which feems to be the fixed and fettled order of his conduct towards the creatures, and afflict them, or fuffer them to meet with inconveniences, while they hold close to the rule that God has fet them; if I fay any ftate the queftion thus, Then, (4.) I shall only propose another question to the enquirer, Can there poffibly fall within the compafs of God's knowlege, a defign which will make it worthy of his infinite wif dom and goodness to do fo, to break this law of nature, which is every way fuited to his wifdom and goodness? If he fay there may, then he is o