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more odious and criminal in proportion to the degree and obftinacy of his incurable and unalterable inclination to do evil.

It has been thought and urged by many, that fallen man cannot be wholly blameable for his moral depravity, because he has loft his power to do that which is good, and is wholly unable to change and renew his depraved heart. But what has been before obferved, muft be here kept in mind, that man has not loft any of his natural powers of understanding and will, &c. by becoming finful. He has left his inclination, or is wholly without any inclination to serve and obey his Maker, and intirely opposed to it. In this his In this his finfulness confifts; and in this lies his blame and guilt, and in nothing else, and the ftronger and more fixed the oppofition to the law of God is, and the farther he is from any inclination to obey, the more blameable and inexcufeable he is, as has been obferved and proved. So that when it is con fidered what must be meant by man's loofing his power, and having no ability to do right, if there be any real meaning, and any thing be, meant that is agreeable to the truth, the objection and difficulty vanishes intirely and it appears that man is under no inability to obey the law of God, but what confifts in his inclination to disobey, And it is eafy to fee that if inclination to difobey God, be it ever fo ftrong, will excufe difobedience, and render it blameless; then there cannot paffibly be any. fuch thing as fin and blame in the univerfe; unlefs creatures may commit fin contrary to all, their inclination and choice. 7e500 It is certain that every degree of inclination contracy to duty, which is and must be finful, neceffarily implies and involves an equal degree of difficulty, and inability to obey. For indeed, fuch inclination of the heart to difobey, and the difficulty or inability to obey, are precifely one and the fame. This kind of difficulty or inability

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abilty, therefore, always is great according to the ftrength and fixedness of the inclination to difobey; and it be comes total and abfolute when the heart is totally cor. rupt, and wholly opposed to obedience. But this inability to obey, being the fame in kind and degree with oppo fition of heart to obedience, does not excufe difobedience, or in the leaft remove the blame of it, unless oppofition of heart to obedience, renders difobedience no crime: Which none, it is prefumed, will affert or believe.

This leads to obferve, that the holy fcripture fpeaks frequently of this kind of inability, or want of power to do good; and always reprefents it as inexcufeable and blameable, Our Saviour faid, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath fent me, draw him." And yet apparently blamed the Jews for rejecting, and not coming to him, and said to them, "Ye will not come to me, that you might have life." From whence it appears that the cannot, the inability mankind are under to come to him, is precifely the fame thing with their unwillingness, or oppofition of heart to come to him, as the matter has been stated above. Nothing but the oppofition of the heart, or will of man, to coming to Chrift, is, or can be in the way of his coming. So long as this continues, and his heart is wholly oppofed to Chrift, he cannot come to him, it is impoffible, and will continue fo, until his unwillingness, his oppofition to coming to Chrift, be removed by a change and renovation of his heart by divine grace, and he made willing in the day of God's power. And yet this inability, and impoffibility to come to Christ, confifting wholly in the oppofition of his will or heart to Chrift, is the man's own fin, and he is criminal in proportion to the degree of his inability, or the strength and fixedness of the oppofition of his heart to Chrift.

This kind of inability, therefore, is fo far from being an excufe for not coming to Chrift, that it is in its own nature criminal, being nothing but fin, a ftrong fixed oppofition of heart to that which is most reasonable and right. No man can act contrary to his prefent inclination and choice. But whoever imagined that this ren dered his inclination and choice innnocent and blame. lefs, however wrong and unreasonable it may be ?

St. Paul fays, "The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not fubject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." None can think the Apostle means to excufe man's enmity against God, because it renders him unable to obey the law of God, and cannot be fubjed to it. The contrary is ftrongly expreffed, viz. that this enmity against God is exceeding criminal, in that it is directly opposed to God and his law, and involves in its nature an utter inability to obey the law of God; yea, an abfolute impoffibility.

On the whole, it is hoped that by what has been faid above on the apoftacy of man, it will appear that the decline of original fin has been stated and explained agreeable to the holy fcripture; and that it does not imply. any thing unreasonable and abfurd, or injurious to mankind; but is the refult of a conftitution which is per fectly agreeable to the nature of things, reasonable, wife and good; that the children of Adam are not guilty of his fin, are not punished, and do not fuffer for that, any farther than they implicitly or exprefsly approve of his tranfgreffion, by finning as he did: And that their total moral corruption and finfulness, is as much their own. fin, and as criminal in them, as it could be if it were not in confequence of the fin of the firft father of the human race, or if Adam had not firft finned: And that they are under no inability to obey the law of God, which does not confift in their finfulness and oppofition of

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heart to the will of God: Therefore are wholly inex cusable, and may juftly fufer the wages of fin, which is the fecond death.

III. THIS fubject of the introduction of fin into the world, and the total moral corruption of all the natural pofterity of Adam, cannot be properly finished without obferving, and more particularly confidering, what is the nature of sin, and wherein it confifts.

The most exprefs and concife definition of fin, which, perhaps, we have in the Bible, is in the following words, "Sin is the tranfgreffion of the law." Or, as it might perhaps more properly be rendered, Sin is a violation of the law; or a deviation from law. Sin fuppofes a law ; "For where no law is, there is no tranfgreffion." And every motion or exercife of the heart of a moral agent, which is not perfectly conformed to the law of God, which requires all to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love their neighbour as themfelves, is fin, as it is a deviation from this law. As the law requires love, and nothing but love, it may be determined with great certainty that fin confifts in that which is contrary to that love which the law requires, be it what it may. There can be no neutral moral exercifes, which are neither conformable to the law of God, nor contrary to it; therefore every exercife of the heart of a moral agent, which is not agreeable to the law of God, is contrary and opposed to it. It must be alfo obferved, and kept in mind, that fin, as does holiness, confift in the motions or exercifes of the heart or will, and in nothing elfe. Where there is no exercifes of heart, nothing of the nature of moral inclination, will or choice, there can be neither fin nor holiness. Nothing external or out of the heart, or will, and which has no connexion with that, can be of the nature of morality, either virtue or fin: External motions or exertions, in words and actions, are virtuous or finful, only as they

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are connected with the heart, and are the expreffions, fruits or effects of inclination, defign and choice; and all the virtue or fin confifts wholly in the latter. This ob fervation, the truth of which none can difpute, is made in order to direct us where to look for fin, even into the heart, and no where elfe; when we are inquiring after the nature of it, and wherein it confifls.

Therefore if we would find what fin is, and what is that in which it confifls, we must look for thefe exercifes of heart, that difpofition, inclination or choice, in which there is no love to God and our neighbour; and which are contrary to loving God with all the heart, and our neighbour as ourfelves. And if we can find, and on fure ground determine, what these are, we shall know what is the nature of fin, and wherein it effentially confills.

Love to God, and love to our fellow creatures, is of the fame nature and kind, and differs only as it is exercifed towards different objects. It confifts moft effentially in benevolence or good will to Being in general; In this is neceffarily included all virtuous love, or all the love which the law of God requires, fuch as love of complacency in moral beauty and excellence, and love of gratitude to benevolent beings, &c. Love to God, who is infinitely the greateft, and the fum of all Being, confifls. primarily and effentially in good will or friendship of heart towards him, in acquiefcing and rejoicing in his exiftence, glory and infinite felicity, and in fecking the promotion of his interest and honour, &c. And this im plies all the virtuous love required in the divine law: And where there is no degree of this kind, difinterested affection, there is no virtuous love to God or man. If this were not fo evident from the nature of things, it is capable of being proved from fcripture, many ways, The, Apostle John fays, "God is love." And then proceeds, immediately to fay, "In this was manifefted the love of

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