piece of this visible creation, in whom more of himself was to be seen than in all the rest besides. But this peculiar excellence man has now lost; he has fallen short of that which made him the glory of God.

Second. Man has lost the glory he had as God's deputy in the world. He was made lord of God's works on earth.

Animals came to him

to pay homage, and receive names from him in paradise. But now the "crown is fallen from his head;" he has come short of this glory: the creatures refuse subjection to him."

Third. Man has come short of the glory he had in the enjoyment of God in paradise. He had the honour and happiness of conversing freely in Eden with his Maker. And what more could he want, while this blessed intimacy was kept up with the all-sufficient God? But of this he has now come short.

Fourth. Man has come short of the glory he had in prospect. He was originally well furnished for a journey to glory. But the expression, "falling short," contains more than this. Though at first we may suppose it to point only at the negative, yet it certainly includes the positive; and therefore it implies, not only that man has lost his original beauty and con

formity to the image of God, but that he is fallen and defiled by sin.

Fifth. Not only has man lost the dominion he had, but he is become a slave to sin. He who once was so exalted, is now debased to the image of Satan. He is now exposed to insult, and his life is in jeopardy, even from the meanest of the creatures that once yielded to him as their sovereign. He is now, as it were, scarcely capable of looking towards God, with whom he once enjoyed delightful and soul-refreshing communion. The sight of God, which once was his life, is now to him as death.

Sixth. Not only has man forfeited his title to future happiness, but by sin he has merited endless and inconceivable wo. From how high a hope, into what an abyss of misery, has man fallen by sin! Where now is the glory?

But this subject directs us to the source of all this misery. It flows from the guilt of Adam's first sin. By the wise, just, and holy appointment of God, Adam represented all his posterity. Had he stood, in him we all had stood; we should then have retained our innocence, and with it the love and the smiles of heaven. But by the disobedience of this one man we were all made sinners. Therefore, as by one

66

man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

It flows also from the natural depravity of man transmitted to us. We are shapen in iniquity. We cannot bring a clean thing out of an unclean. Our natures have an inclination to evil, "only evil continually." And it flows from abounding temptations. As our hearts are prone to evil, so every thing in this present disorder on account of sin, is suited to carry on the infection. The creatures, by reason of sin, are made subject to vanity. They are made subservient to the lust of men; and the devil and our corrupt hearts daily abuse them to this end. Thus all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

CHAPTER II.

THE SUBJECT DISCUSSED AND APPLIED.

SECTION I. The charge read and opened.The charge brought against you, reader, is not a slight misdemeanor, that may be atoned for "by a bare acknowledgment, or a heartless cry for mercy. It is one of awful magnitude, for it. is that of sin against the great Sovereign of the world. Sin is an ordinary word, and most men conclude that but little is comprehended in it. But in reality there is more in it than men or angels can ever fully unfold. Do not consider this a groundless allegation; but consider well the reasons upon which it is founded.

I. Your serious attention is first invited to some views of sin.

First. View it in the glass of God's law. The Most High and Holy God has exhibited his will in two tables, containing rules that are holy, just, and every way advantageous for the government of man. Here, you may see sin dashing in pieces these two tables, in a much worse sense than Moses did. Every sin throws them to the ground; for, "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of

all." Is it a small thing to trample under foot the holy and righteous law of God, that law which is the image of perfect holiness and spotless purity?

Second. Take a view of sin in the nature of God, the fountain of all glory, excellency, and majesty, and how hateful will it appear! Nothing in all the world, but sin, is opposed to God. The meanest creature, the crawling insect, has nothing in its nature really opposed to the nature of God. Sin, and sin alone, is opposed. With this he cannot dwell. "Evil shall not dwell with him, nor sinners stand in his sight." "O, do not this abominable thing that I hate."

Third. View sin in the threatening of God's law, and see how it is there estimated. All the power of heaven, and the wrath of God, are arrayed against sin. Take one instance in the seventh chapter of the book of Joshua. There, a people accustomed to victory retreat before. the enemy, and fall a prey to a people devoted. to destruction; and, more than this, God calls all the people accursed, and says, "Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." But why? what means this vengeance? There was a sin committed; Achan had taken some of the spoil, contrary to the Divine permission. Here a sin