their hearts among the creatures; they find it not, but a thousand difappointments cause them not to give over. They are like a fick man on his bed, turning every where for eafe, and toffing; only never turning to God in Chrift. The fick heart has this and the other fair promife made to it, to give it ease; for that end the world makes a mighty stir about meat, clothes, building, planting, doing and undoing again, turning upfide down, changing and tacking about; and all in vain, without finding reft.

4. Natural enmity against God, Rom. viii. 7. The unregenerate world is, in the language of the Holy Ghoft, a generation of vipers, Matth. iii. 7., And the feed of the ferpent have all their venomous nature unchanged in them, whatever shapes a form of religion, or morality has caft them into. And this their natural enmity against God appears in two things. (1.) A reigning enmity against the power of godlinefs, wherever it appears, Acts xiii. 10. Unrenewed profeffors of religion may very well like religion of the ftamp of their own, and may have as much zeal as could burn up others that are not of their way; but to heaven fhall hell be as foon recon-* ciled, as they to real godliness in the power thereof, as it expreffeth the image of Chrift. And therefore there are none more virulent against the most serious' godly than they, against those whofe life is likest Chrift's on earth,

(2.) An irreconcileable enmity to the law, and the holinefs it requires, Rom. viii. 7. The image of God was most lively expreffed on the man Chrift, and in his holy life when on the earth the world saw it; and it no fooner appeared, than the natural enmity of the unregenerate world appeared against God, in the treatment they gave to him, until they had him perfecuted to the death. Now the most lively expreffion of the image of God, to be feen on earth, is in the holy law; but darkness and light may as foon

be

be reconciled, as the unregenerate heart to the law. This appears, if ye confider,

(r.) There is never an unrenewed heart for the whole law, but at moft to pick and chufe in it. Their fhoulders can never away with the whole yoke of Christ. Seek all the unregenerate world, ye fhall no fooner find one that is for fulfilling all God's will, than one after God's own heart, Acts xiii. 22. Some or other of his commands are always grievous to them, and that they can by no means bear.

(2.) The law brought clofe home to the unregenerate has an irritating power on them, Rom. vii. 9. The more they are girded with the holy commandment, the more they fling againft it; the clofer it is applied to them, the farther they flee from it. It is like the ftirring of the ant's neft, and the fretting of the ferpent, that caufes it fpit its venom. Hence the more means of grace many have, they are the more vile; as the more the fun beats on the dunghill, its flench is the greater.

(3.) A-kin to this is the enmity of the world against the minifters of Chrift, which all ages and places have given pregnant inftances of. The true reafon of it is their office, an office ungrateful to the world, to declare the laws of Heaven, John xv. 20, 21. "Remember the word that I said unto you, The fervant is not greater than his lord. If they have perfecuted me, they will alfo perfecute you; if they have kept my faying, they will keep yours alfo. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's fake, because they know not him that sent me. "Hence the current of fpite against them, as againft ftewards who are to execute in a family the orders of the head - thereof which are very unacceptable. Thus men being touched in their fore places, are irritated; yea, if providence frown upon men, their ill nature is ready to appear against them; because the unhumbled heart

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frets

frets against the Lord, and fo it rebounds on his fervants standing in that relation to him.

5. Selfishness, 2 Tim. iii. 2. Men fhall be lovers of their own felves. It is among the first lessons Chrift puts in the hands of his scholars, to deny themfelves; importing that all unregenerate men are overgrown with selfishnefs. Man falling off from God, fet up for himself as his chief end; and hence comes no due concern for the honour of God, nor for the good of others; but all fwallowed up in concern for themselves; driving forward to that end over both the one and the other. Now grace corrects this difpofition, bringing men out of the circle of felf in which they were confined. This selfishness appears,

(1.) In their worldly management, where it fwallows up neighbour-love, as in a devouring gulf, Phil. ii. 20, 21. Hence no due fympathy with the afflicted, their forrows no allay to their joys; yea a secret fatisfaction in the croffes, loffes, and afflictions of others, that the forrows of others are matter of joy and triumph to them, Prov. xxiv. 17, 18. Envying and grudging at the profperity of others, undermining them in their affairs, not ftanding to drive on their own intereft on the ruin of their neighbours; a scandalous cruel practice, which God is this day visibly contending for.

(2.) In their religious management, where it swallows up the love of God and Christ, like a devouring gulf, Phil. ii. 21. Hence no due concern for the honour of God in the world, no mourning for the fins of others, but a carelefs Gallio like temper whether the interefts of religion fink or swim. No rejoicing in the glorifying of God, where they themselves cannot pretend to a fhare; an ill eye on the good of others, and hardly a good word to spare for it, but a readiness to detract from it and fully it, unless they be of their party and way; in that cafe they find room for it, becaufe there is room for felf there, Phil. i. 15,-18.

6. Laftly,

6. Laftly, Unbelief. This is the common fin of all the unregenerate world (John iii. 18, 19.) that hear the gospel. They may efcape many a mire of pollution, that others fall into, who are yet funk over head and ears here. It is a fin that is the need-nail to all others, John viii. 24. and yet fuch a fpiritual fin, that it is hardly discerned; it not being of the nature of those fins that a natural confcience boggles at. But all the unregenerate live in it.

(1.) They do not truly believe the gospel, If. liii. 1. There is a report fent from another world, of life and falvation for finners through Chrift; they do not contradict, they say they believe it, nay they think they believe it; but in reality they believe it not. For to quit the enjoyment of their lufts, and the purfuit of the vain world, the luft of the flesh, the luft of the eye, and the pride of life, is in their eyes to quit certainty for uncertain hope. Any faith they have of it is but fuperficial; for it is rifen without the root of faving illumination, and the demonstration of the Spirit, 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5. Matth. xvi. 17.

(2.) They have never been brought freely away to Chrift, in the way of believing, for all, John i. 12, 13. All the propofals of the gofpel made to them, have never prevailed farther than to make them almost Christians, they have not felt the day of power to make them willing, Pfal. cx. 3. Men have drawn them, confcience has preffed them; but they have not felt the Father's drawing yet. Two things evince this.

(1.) They are not yet come freely away out of themselves, to Christ, for a rest to their confciences, Phil. iii. 3. They have never yet died to the law, and therefore cannot be married to Chrift, Rom. vii. 4. They are not poor in spirit, Matth. v. 3. There is fomething left them ftill of their own, which though they cannot truft to before God for altogether, yet they can in part. They are never brought freely out of their own righteousness, Rom. x. 3. (2.) They

(2.) They are not come freely away from the creature into Chrift, for a reft to their hearts, Heb. iv. 3. They have never feen the fulness in Chrift, that he fhould be the one thing defired by them; but in their way Chrift may bear the weight fomewhat for a reft to their confciences, but the heart can have no rest but in the creature; for they say, as Ifa. iv.

I.

"We

will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach." He is not the one pearl to them, for which all is to be fold.

(3.) They do not live by faith, which is the only true Chriftian life, Gal. ii. 20. So far from it, that,

(1.) Senfe, and not faith, is their guide in their way, quite contrary to the Chriftian courfe, 2 Cor. v. 7. "We walk by faith, not by fight." The conftant cry of the unregenerate world is, "Who will fhew us any good?" Pfal. iv. 6. and nothing is good in their eyes but fenfible good. So the things that are seen, and prefent, are valued and purfued; things that are not feen, and future, are flighted as uncertain.

(2.) Self, and not Chrift, is what they lean to for carrying them on their way. The life of faith is a leaning on Chrift, Cant. viii. 5. But instead of that, the unregenerate lean on their own stock, their felf-wisdom for management, their felf-ftrength for performance, and their felf-worth for acceptance.

Thus it appears, that they ftill live in the allowed practice of some fin or other. Now,

1. The effect thereof is, that that one thing mars all to them, in point of acceptance; and keeps them in a state of death, Mark x. 21. While one fin is allowedly kept, no good they do can be accepted of God, Pfal. Ixvi. 18. It is as poifon poured into a cup, which goes through all. And it effectually concludes them in a state of death; for an offending right eye or right hand puts the whole body in hazard of perishing, Matth. v. 29, 30. One leak may fink the