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work into judgment, Ecclef. xii. 14.. For God fhall bring every work into judgment, with every fecret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. But he has no where told us, that words and thoughts fhall go free. Nay, upon the contrary, he has exprefly told us, that we must give an account of idle words, Matt. xii. 36, 37. But I say unto you, faith the Amen and faithful witnefs, that every idle word that men fhall speak, they fhall give an account thereof in the day of judgment; for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. And in that forecited Jer. iv. 14. the removal of vain thoughts is indifpenfably required in order to the falvation of Jerufalem; which fays plainly, that an indulged courfe of them would inevitably ruine: for as the fpirit of God tells us, Prov. xxiv. 9. The thoughts of foolishness is fin. And indeed no wonder it is that they be repute fo by God the fearcher of the hearts, who knows the thoughts afar off; and be condemned by that word that is a difcerner of the thoughts of the heart, fince all evil flows from the thought, words and actions being but indications of the thoughts of the heart. And therefore, when Simon Magus is reproved by the apostle Peter in that 8th of the Acts, for his wicked defire to buy the holy Ghoft, or rather the power of conferring the gift of the holy Ghost by the impofition of hands, he is not rebuked for his words, though he fpoke it, but for his thoughts, because it was there fin began. Acts viii. 20. But Peter faid to him, thy money perish with thee, becaufe thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchafed with money. Thou haft neither part nor lot in this matter; for thy heart is not right in the fight of God. Repent therefore of this thy

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wickedness; and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. (2.) The law of God is broad, in that it extends to all forts of actions; not only to thefe which immediately respect God, and these which immediately respect our neighbour or ourfelves; but even to our natural actions, eating and drinking, and to our plowing, or fowing, or the like, which cannot fo eafily be reduced to any of thefe other claffes: for we are told by the spirit of God, that the plowing of the wicked is fin, Prov. xxi. 4. (3.) The broadness of God's law is confpicuous in its reaching all forts of perfons, young and old, rich and poor, high and low. All forts of perfons are bound to their duty by the law of God, children as well as others: and a deviation from it is taken notice of, even with refpect to children. We are told of their coming into the world in fin, of their being hapen in fin, of their being eftranged from the womb, and going aftray as foon as born, and of their dying for their fin. Behold, I was shap en in iniquity, and in fin did my mother conceive me, fays the man who had made God his truft from his youth up, Pfal. li. 5. And in that 58th Pfalm, we are told, that the wicked go aftray in infancy. The wicked are estranged from the very womb, they go aftray as foon as they be born. And the apoftle in that 5th to the Romans, from the 12 ver. proves even infants to be finners, by their fharing in thefe calamities which are the confe quents of fin: but this could not be, unless the law of God did extend unto, and even bind children as well as others. A fense of this extent of the law of God, even to children, made bleffed Auguftine, in that first book of his Confeffions, Cap. 7. bitterly lament, and bewail.the fins of his

childhood, even thofe which are laught at by moft; fuch as, untowardness and unwillingness to receive what was good for him, but even in that age, meaning his infancy, does he fay, "Was it not ill and fin, to feek with tears what "would have proven hurtful to me if it had been given? to be angry with these who were no ways obliged to be under my command, be"caufe they would not obey me? Nay, that even (( my parents would not obey me. Was it not "ill, that I endeavoured to strike even those who were every way my fuperiors, because they "would not obey me in these things wherein

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they could not have given obedience without "hurt either to me or fome other?" Thus we fee this holy man looks upon these things as fins, which are commonly laught at by others as innocent; and if God would give us fuch a discovery of the wickednefs of our natures, and of the extent of the law, as was given to him, then we would think fo too. But the truth of this might be proven at great length, were it requifite to fay any more than what has already been allege 1.

6. In fpeaking to every one of thefe three forts of perfons, we may have occafion to name many fins; and therefore, we fhall here at once prove all the particulars we fhall name under any of thefe heads to be fin, because it would divert us and detain us too long, to infift under every head, in adducing arguments, to prove every one of the particulars we are about to mention, to be finful. Now, that they are all fuch, ye will not queftion, if ye carry along, with what has been already faid, these three unquestionable fcripture. truths. (1.) That whatever is done, thought or faid, by one whofe heart is not renewed by grace,

is fin. This is the plain meaning of that affertion of our Lord's, Matth. vii. 18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Hence it is that not only the thoughts of the wicked, but his plowing, and his very facrifice is fin, Prov. xxi. 27. (2.) Whatever respects not the glory of God as its end, is fin, 1 Cor. x. 31. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (3.) Whatever has no refpect to Jefus Chrift, as the only one in whom our perfons or performances can be accepted, is fin, Col. iii. 17. Whatever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jefus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. All the particulars we fhall name, will be found cross to one or all of thefe three, and therefore finful: though we shall not always particularly infift in proving the finfulness of every one of them, or in naming the particular commands of the decalogue of which they are a breach.

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In the 7th and last place, we premife, that thofe of a middle age and of old1age are equally concerned in these fins which we are to lay to the charge of children, with the children themfelves, because they were once fuch. Young men and old men were once children, and therefore guilty of the fins of childhood. Old men were once youths, and therefore guilty of the fins of youthhood: and therefore ye are all, the oldeft of you, obliged to take heed what we fay to one or another, because those who are old have been young, and those who are young may be old.

The way being thus cleared, I fhall now proceed to fpeak particularly to, and endeavour the

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conviction of the children of the congregation which are now prefent.

Children and young ones, who are this day hearing me, take heed, I have a message from God to you. That God who made the heavens and the earth, who made you, and who feeds you daily, has fent me this day to you, to every one of you, as particularly as if I did name you, name and firname, to tell you fad and doleful news. The youngest of you all has finned and come short of the glory of God, that is, ye have done that for which God will certainly caft you, foul and body, into hell fire, if ye get not your peace made with God through Jefus Chrift. You have done that for which God is fo angry at you, that his heart will not pity you, his eye will not fpare you, unless you get Chrift; but as foon as ever your breath goes out, and none of you can tell how foon that may be, he will without mercy turn you into hell, there to be tormented for ever and ever. If ye were not foolish, ye would never play more, nor be merry, till ye got your peace made with God. Now to let you fee that it is true that I tell you, I fhall fhew you what fins ye are guilty of before God.

1. Ye were born finners, Pfal. li. 5. Your parents were all linners; and as your fathers were, fo are ye finners: For who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one, fays God by the mouth of Job xiv. 4. When ye came into the world, God might then have fent every one of you to hell, because ye were then all finners: and though God did not then fend you into hell, yet he may do it, and ye cannot tell how foon. If ye take heed, ye may every day hear of fome one or other dying, that was not long before as likely

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