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fo bad as revelling and open profaneness. It is true, hypocrites fhall have a hot part in hell; but can one imagine that their throwing off the mask, and giving themselves the swing, will make an easier part? No; Rév. xxi. 8. "The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and forcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, fhall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimftone; which is the second death." No doubt the more light men fin againft, their condemnation will be the more aggravated; but certainly it will be forer for immoral Pagans than moral ones, for immoral Chriftians than moral ones, where the worm never dieth, and the fire is not quenched. Confcience will have lefs guilt, and not fo deep, to charge on the one as on the other.

II. The State of the Unregenerate World.

Having feen the parts of that world, we are next to view the state of these parts; and that is, the whole world lieth in wickednefs, the moral as well as immoral part, and the religious as well as the other. It is the common ftate of the whole unregenerate world; whatever differences are among them, they all agree in this, they are lying in wickednefs. In fpeaking to this, I fhall,

1. Confirm and evince the truth of it in the general. 2. Explain this ftate of the unregenerate world, their lying in wickedness.

FIRST, I am to confirm and evince the truth of the doctrine in the general.

First, Satan is the god of the whole unregenerate world; how can it mifs then to be wholly lying in wickednefs? 2 Cor. iv. 4. It is the honour and advantage of the regenerate, that God is their God, Heb. viii. 10.; but the unregenerate world is apoftate from God, and have taken Satan in his room, giving him

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the homage they owe to God. Now Satan is the god of the unregenerate world lying in wickedness.

1. In respect of his god-like power over them; which we may take up in these particulars.

(1.) The fovereignty of it. The unregenerate world is Satan's dominion, whereof he is prince, John xii. 31. and xiv. 30. Though he is under check and control of heaven, and the most fearful vengeance is abiding him from the Lord, yet he is a fovereign prince among them, ruling more abfolutely than any prince in this world doth his fubjects, 2 Tim. ii. 26. None of them all have their subjects fo much at their back, as he has the men of the world.

(2.) The rivalship of it, being fet up and managed juft to confront the kingdom of God among men. Though Satan is the most miferable thing of the whole creation; yet, by a peculiar pride and spite against God, he fets up directly, and immediately against God and his Son Jefus Chrift, whofe kingdom the regenerate are. And his rival kingdom is the unregenerate world. Between thefe is the lafting enmity, Gen. iii. 15. and these are the oppofite kingdoms that can never mix, Pfal. xii. 7.; and the defign of the gofpel is to pull down Satan's kingdom, Acts xxvi. 18. Col. i. 13.

(3.) The extent of it, reaching over the whole world, from one end of the earth to the other. All the power that ever the Chaldean, Perfian, Grecian, and Roman monarchs had, never reached but over a part of the world; but the power of the devil reaches over all countries where ever the unregenerate of men are.

(4.) The nature of it. He receives external worfhip from many in the world, having many whole nations at his devotion. But from the whole unregenerate world he receives the fubjection, homage, and obedience of the inner man; and that is pecularly due to God; Eph. ii. 2. " Wherein in time past ye walked according to the courfe of this world, according

cording to the prince of the power of the air, the fpirit that now worketh in the children of difobedience." Men of greatest eminency over others can only pretend to rule their outward man; the foul, the inner man, must be left to God; and that Satan ufurps in the unregenerate world. He entered into Judas moving him to betray Chrift, filled the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Ghoft, &c. 2. In respect of his prime origination of their corruption. As from God men have their nature, whereby they are men, and their new nature whereby they are regenerate men; fo from the devil men have all the corruption and fin of their nature, whereby they are unregenerate men; wherefore as men owe themfelves to God, as men and Chriftians; fo they are owing to the devil, as they are unregenerate men lying in wickedness, See John xiv. 30. He hath of his own in them. Hence,

(1.) The devil is the common father of the unregenerate world as fuch. It is owing to him as the procreating cause thereof. It was the fpawn of the old ferpent conveyed by the firft fin into human nature, that corrupted all mankind. Hence men are

faid to be of him, 1 John iii. 12. and of him as a child is of a father, John viii. 44. So the world lying in wickedness is called our father's house or fa`mily, Pfal. xlv. 10. And not only are notoriously wicked perfons, but all the unregenerate called children of the devil, 1 John iii. 10.; as bearing his image, John viii. 44. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lufts of your father ye will do."

(2.) Their continuation in that their state, they have from him alfo. God preferves by his providence all that his own hands made, and the divine prefervation is in effect a continued creation. But fince the corruption of the world is originally from the devil, not from God; the maintenance of it comes the fame way. So Satan upholds that world by his power, and he is inceffant in his working for that end.

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This gives a very difmal view of the unregenerate world; it is not God's world, but the devil's world, deriving its original from him, and over which he has the power of a god. Whence we must fee, that it is furely,

(1.) The mire of fin, in which the miferable inhabitants must be continually wallowing; for nothing doth fo much please the god of that world. He is an enemy to all good, and as far as his power reaches, no good can have place. The duft is his meat, and fo a life of fin is a wallowing in the mire.

(2.)The region of death and deftruction, which God will certainly deftroy, if once he had his own out of it. For Chrift came to deftroy the works of the devil.

Secondly, Spiritual darkness, thick darknefs, is over the whole of that world, Eph. v. 8. how can any thing but works of darkness be found in it? The Egyptian darkness was an emblem of this, they had a thick darkness, only in Gofhen there was light; fo the Egyptians rofe not from their place to do bufinefs, Exod. x. 22, 23. Confider,

1. The fun went down on all mankind in Adam's tranfgrefling the covenant; the light of God's countenance was then withdrawn, and fo there was a terrible eclipfe, witness Adam's hiding himself from the prefence of God, and all men naturally following his footsteps in that.

2. The unregenerate world remains as Adam left them, the Son of righteoufnefs Jefus Chrift is not yet arifen to them, Mal. iv. 2, 3. Though he has fpread abroad his light in the world, it is not yet come into their hearts. They know him not, they have not yet received the faving illumination of his Spirit.

Their ftate in point of darkness concludes them under fin, far from all good.

(1.) They are in darkness, Acts xxvi. 18. Every unregenerate man fits in darkness, Matth. iv. 16. He is like a captive or prisoner in a dark dungeon, where

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no light comes. The fmoke of the opened pit that was let into the world by fin, makes thick darkness there, and that is round about every man till converting grace fcatter it.

(2.) They are under the power of darkness, Col. i, 13. They are not like those that are in the dark, but can come out when they please into the light; but they are under the power of it, as in chains of darknefs. No human art can remove the darkness of a natural ftate, nay it retains its power over them in the midst of gofpel light. God alone can dispel it, 2 Cor. iv. 6.

vi. 12.

(3.) The powers of hell rule in that darkness, Eph. When the night comes on, the wild beasts come out of their dens, and range abroad; and fo the dark world is Satan's walk, where he goes about like a roaring lion. Hence it comes to pals, that if any light begin to peep in, Satan prefently ftops it, 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4. Thus convictions are ftifled, and refolves of reformation fly up as duft.

(4.) It is a darkness of blindness; they really bave not eyes to fee with, Deut. xxix. 4. A child of God may be in the dark at a time, but then he will come forth at length into the light, and will fee; but every unregenerate man is fpiritually blind, Rev, iii. 17. the darkness has blinded him, 1 John ii. 11. He wants a faculty of difcerning fpiritual things in their true natures, 1 Cor. ii, 14. Their understand ing is darkened.

(5.) The light in the unregenerate world is dark. nefs, Matth. vi. 23. That is, it is a falfe light which quite mifreprefents things, fo that they call good evil, and evil good. Hence to them the vanities of a prefent world are fubftantial, and the treasure hid in the field of the gofpel is but a trifle. And becaufe they think they fee, their cafe is more hopiefs, as Chrift faid to the Pharifees, John ix. 41. Mye were D3

blind

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