greatest enemy, possesses only selfish affections. And the same
kind of selfish affections fills the hearts of all the enemies of
God. All unrenewed sinners are under the entire influence of
that self-love, which leads them to desire and seek to promote
their own interest supremely. They are, as the apostle says,
"lovers of their own selves." And Christ told his hearers that
there was no virtue or goodness in any of their internal exer-
cises or external conduct, while they acted from entirely selfish
and sinful motives. "If ye love them which love you, what
thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank
have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to
them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for
sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again." Christ
here represents sinners as altogether selfish. And on another
occasion he more plainly told them so.
"Jesus answered them,

and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not be-
cause ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves,
and were filled." Whatever sinners say, or do, or desire, they
are always governed by a selfish heart, which is full of evil.
They love no person nor object, only as that person or object
appears disposed or suited to promote their own good; and they
hate no person or object, only as that person or object appears
to be disposed or suited to oppose their own private interest or
happiness. As they are totally destitute of pure, disinterested
benevolence, so they are always actuated by mere selfishness,
in all their views, and feelings, and conduct. This leads me

to observe,

3. That their selfishness is perfectly malignant in its nature and tendency. Selfishness is in its very nature, diametrically opposite to benevolence. A selfish desire is always opposed to a benevolent desire. A selfish man is always opposed to a benevolent man. Solomon says, "An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked." Those who are under the sole influence of selfishness, and who desire and seek their own good solely, must be opposed to every person and object, that stands in the way of their selfish desires and designs. It is the dictate of reason, that the selfishness of sinners must be, in its nature and tendency, perfectly malignant. And this was the repeated declaration of Christ upon the subject. He calls the best of sinners, by appellations which denote the highest degree of malignity. "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers." He addressed the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were persons of the same character, in the same language. "O generation of vipers!

how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh?" Other inspired writers give the same representation of the selfish heart. When John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" The apostle Paul says, "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." This enmity he ascribes to the native depravity of both Jews and Gentiles, that is, to the native depravity of all mankind. "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." Such is the malignant nature and tendency of that total selfishness, which reigns in every sinner's heart. We find a similar description of the malignant nature and tendency of selfishness in the third chapter of the second epistle to Timothy. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” The nature and tendency of selfishness is to produce all these malignant effects. The most malignant feelings and conduct naturally flow from selfishness. This has been the primary source of all the sin and wickedness that has ever been committed in any part of the universe. It was selfishness that prompted Satan to rebel against God in heaven, and to spread sin and misery through the world. It was selfishness that moved Cain to kill Abel, Judas to betray Christ, and the Jews to crucify the Lord of glory. Selfishness has produced all the wars, and fightings, and persecutions, in which millions of the human race have imbrued their hands in each other's blood. In a word, selfishness has made all men, by nature, serpents and a generation of vipers. Neither serpents, nor vipers will show their malignity, when they have no

opportunity, nor provocation. But this is no evidence, that they have no malignity. So sinners will not show their malignity, when they have no provocation, nor opportunity. But this is no evidence, that they have no native selfishness and malignity. It is only when their designs and interests are touched, that they will feel and express their malignity. But still it is true that they are by nature, as selfish and malignant as Christ represents them to be, when he calls them serpents, and a generation of vipers, and says that they are of their father the devil, and his works they will do. Hence,

4. They are by nature children of wrath, and heirs of destruction; for they are by practice, children of disobedience and transgressors from the womb. Their native selfishness and malignity deserve eternal death. So Christ plainly declares. "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" Every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts, and every action of their lives is evil, and only evil continually. They do nothing but transgress the law of love, and "treasure up wrath against the day of wrath." They never have a right exercise of heart, nor do a right action. They are as complete enemies of God, by wicked works, as his first and greatest enemy, who walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; for they are as destitute of holiness, as entirely selfish, and as perfectly malignant as he is. They would, if they had equal power, and were placed under similar circumstances, do as much to oppose God, and destroy the good of the universe, as he has ever done, or ever can do. They as justly deserve eternal death for their total selfishness and malignity, as any of those malignant spirits that are now in the prison of despair. Accordingly Christ has plainly told them, that if they die in impenitence, and unbelief, he will doom them to the same punishment, that he has prepared for the devil and his angels. Such is the character and state of sinners, as delineated by him who perfectly knows their character and state. They are unholy, selfish, malignant, and deserving the damnation of hell. These dreadful traits are to be found in the character of every son and daughter of Adam, while in the state of nature.

This naturally leads us to show,

II. The importance of exhibiting the character of sinners in a clear and intelligible light.

Our Saviour saw the importance of laying open the depravity and malignity of the natural heart in a clear and intelligible manner, though he knew it would disturb the peace and destroy the hopes of many. And there is undoubtedly the same

importance of exhibiting the true character of sinners in a plain and intelligible light now, as there was then. For,

"No

1. Unless sinners are made acquainted with the total corruption of their hearts, they cannot understand the gospel. This is founded on the guilt and ill-desert of sinners, and what they cannot understand, without knowing the plague of their own hearts, and realizing their guilty and perishing condition by nature. While Christ was upon earth, he found it extremely difficult to make sinners understand the gospel, and the difficulty lay in their good opinion of themselves. They thought they were whole, and had no need of a physician. He therefore took a great deal of pains to show them the necessity and design of the gospel. He gave them a clear, concise and comprehensive view of it in the third chapter of John. man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Here Christ represents the gospel as taking rise from the guilty and perishing state of mankind. God so loved a lost and perishing world, as to give his Son to die for their salvation. But while the world are unacquainted with their depraved, guilty, and perishing state, they can see no need of his atonement, nor any wisdom and grace in the gospel. To this cause the apostle ascribes the opposition and contempt, with which the Jews and Gentiles treated the doctrines he taught. "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness."

It is impossible for any to understand the gospel, even in speculation, without a speculative knowledge of the total depravity and ill-desert of all for whom Christ died. For why should one die for all, unless all were dead? Why should the Lord of glory veil his divinity with humanity, and submit to all the sufferings he endured before and at his death on the cross, if sinners were not serpents and a generation of vipers, deserving the damnation of hell, from which they could not be saved, without the atoning blood of Christ? A knowledge of the universal depravity of mankind, and of their just desert of eternal destruction, is absolutely necessary in order to understand the way of salvation through the death and atonement of the divine Redeemer. On this account, it is necessary to

lay open the depravity and malignity of the human heart clearly and fully.

2. This is no less necessary in order to make men feel the need of the gospel. There are multitudes, who believe in speculation that the gospel is true, but yet remain insensible of their own perishing need of that salvation which it freely offers to them. The reason is, they do not believe and realize that they are totally depraved, and deserve the damnation of hell. It is necessary to make them feel, as well as believe, that they have not the love of God in them, that their hearts are full of evil, and that they are enemies to all righteousness, yea, that they are what Christ says they are, serpents and a generation of vipers. It is this character that renders them deserving of that eternal death which is the wages of sin. And whenever they feel this, they will feel their need of that pardoning mercy which the gospel offers to their acceptance. Thus the self-condemned publican felt, when he cried, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Thus the prodigal son felt, when he came to himself, when he made the resolution, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." Thus the three thousand felt, when they were pricked in their hearts by a sense of guilt and cried, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Thus it is necessary to teach sinners the total depravity of their hearts and their just desert of endless perdition, that they may feel their need of such a Saviour as God has provided, and of such a salvation as he offers to them in the gospel. Besides,

3. It is still more important to lay open, in the fullest and clearest manner, the depravity, guilt, and condemnation of sinners, in order to bring them to a cordial reconciliation to the terms of the gospel. They must see and love that justice which condemns them, before they can see and love that grace which pardons them. They must cordially accept the punishment of their iniquity, before they can cordially accept of pardoning mercy. Though sinners may fear destruction, and ever so much desire to be freed from it, yet they cannot accept forgiveness from God, before they forgive him for condemning them to eternal death. And they cannot forgive him until they pass the same condemnation upon themselves, and really feel as the penitent malefactor felt and said to his fellow malefactor, while under condemnation, "And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds." Without such a cordial selfcondemnation, no awakened and convinced sinner can really accept of forgiving grace. Christ came to save those whom