SERMON XX. THE CORRUPTION OF HUMAN NATURE, AND THE NECESSITY OF A REDEEMER. LUKE V. 5. We have toiled all the Night, and have AND fo we fhall ever do, without thy grace and help, O Jefus. Enable me, therefore, I befeech Thee, to speak to the hearts and to the capacities of those that hear me. Let me learn, and be able, from the sense of my own corruption and frailties, to pity fuch as are ignorant of the danger they are in; to warn fuch as are careless; and to comfort and direct fuch as are weary with the burden of their fins, and lead them to Thee, their Redeemer; for thy merits' fake, O Bleffed Saviour. Amen. ROMANS Vii. 24, 25. O WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM! WHO SHALL DELIVER ME FROM THE BODY OF THIS DEATH? WHY; THE GRACE OF GOD, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.« THE meaning of these words will be fully ΤΗ understood, if we look back to fome verfes going before; particularly to verse 18: I know, (that is, I feel by fad experience) that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good a See Pfalm lxxxv. 9. Baruch iv. 4. John iii. 16. and xv. 4. vii. 18, &c. Gal. iii. 13. thing:, thing: for to will that which is good, is prefent with me; that is, I eafily perceive it; but how to perform that which is good, I find not; that is, of myself I am not able to do it. Now, it being thus with me, the good that I would, (that which my reafon approves) this I do not; but the evil which I would not, (which my confcience tells me I ought not to do) this I do. This troubles me, grieves me, and makes me afraid for myself, and even forces me to cry out, O wretched man that I am! who Shall deliver me from this body of death? (who fhall free me from these bodily appetites, which enflave me, and expofe me to ruin?) who shall deliver me? why; THE GRACE OF GOD, (vouchfafed unto mankind) THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD; this will deliver every man, who fincerely lays hold of it, from the flavery of those fins which do so easily beset us. Now I fhall take occafion, from these words, to lay before you, First; The great corruption of human nature. 2dly. The great danger we are in on that account. 3dly. This will fhew the neceffity and blessing of a Redeemer. 4thly. We fhall then fee plainly, the great love of God in fending his Son to redeem us. 5thly. We fhall confider the great obligations this love of God lays upon Chriftians. And And, latly, The dreadful condition of all fuch as neglect or despise this great mercy of God vouchfafed to men. Believe it, Christians, that what I am going to fay to you upon these heads will be worthy of your most serious attention. They are truths on which our falvation depends, and therefore I would prefs them upon your hearts with all imaginable plainness, as well as earneftness. I. Let us first confider the great corruption of our nature; the knowledge of this being the foundation of all true religion. They that be whole, (faith our Redeemer) need not a phyfician, but they that are fick: these, and these only, will defire and value the help that is offered them. Jefus Chrift, (faith the prophet Ifaiah, lxi. 1.) when he cometh, will preach glad tidings-but to whom? why, to the meek; for fuch only would be difpofed to receive his meffage: He would bind up the broken-hearted, for fuch only would be glad of help: He would proclaim liberty to the captives, for fuch only as are fenfible of the bondage of fin will be glad to be fet at liberty. It was fuch as these that our Lord invited, when he faid, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden with the burden of your fins, and I will give you reft. In short; wherever the gofpel was preached, all fuch as feared God, and were in fear for themselves, when they were told of a judgment to come; these received the gospel with a glad heart, as fhewing them the way to obtain pardon and happiness. Whilft all the proud, as the fame prophet fpeaks, and fuch as do wickedly, fearing no evil, to fuch the gofpel would be preached without effect. Now; my defign, in the first place, is, to raise in your hearts the fame concern and fear which the apostle fuppofeth every man will have, who fets himself seriously to confider his condition by nature, and without a Redeemer. Our first parents were moft certainly created innocent and upright, able and difpofed to obey any command that God fhould think good to give them. We are very fure it is not fo with us now. Every one for himself knows, that matters are wretchedly amifs with us, until by the grace of God our nature is changed for the better. Whoever will be at the pains to look into his own heart, will find this corruption of nature discovering itself upon all occafions. For inftance: we readily acknowledge the juftice of the laws of God, and yet we find an unwillingness in ourselves to obey them. We know that we want both knowledge, and grace, help, from God, and yet we afk them but feldom, and with indifference. We cannot but own, that we live upon God's bounty and bleffing, and yet we can hardly find in our hearts to be thankful. We profefs to believe, that God fees all our actions, and yet we and are are too apt to fin as prefumptuously as if he were an idol, who could neither reward nor punish us. In one word; we hear what he has threatened without fear, and fee his judgments upon others, without fo much as thinking how foon it may be our own case. These are defperate diforders, whatever people think of them. But these are not all the proofs of a corrupt nature. We are forced to struggle hard with ourselves to do what we know to be not only our duty, but our interest to do. The Lord our Maker, we confess, has a right to be loved, to be feared, to be depended upon. Can we fay with any truth that we are naturally difpofed to love, to fear, and to put our whole truft in him? Do we not find in ourselves too great an indifference for the glorious promifes God has made us; and do not we difcover a very little fear for his terrible threatenings? Our own experience may convince us, that we are apt to have a much greater concern for our bodies than for our fouls; for this life, than for that which is to come; for earth, than for heaven. If our reafon does fometimes get the better of our corrupt affections, and we refolve to do what we believe will please God, yet how foon do we forget our good refolutions! One day condemning ourselves for having done amifs; and the next day running into the fame miscarriages, and falling into the fins we fo lately repented of. If |