ever is hurtful and prejudicial. Yet continual Experience evinces, how palpably Men act against their highest Interest; and how ftrongly our Affections, the Tendency of which is to the Attainment of Happinefs in general, prompt us to the Profecution of finful Objects, at the fame time that we cannot but be fenfible upon the leaft Recollection, that nothing brings upon us more certain and substantial Mifery.

THE Senfualift in his cooler Thoughts cannot but condemn thofe Vices as odious, which through the Heat of Defire, he acts over with fo much Greediness ; and could he but fo regulate his Affections, as to fubmit them to the conftant Guidance of his Reason, Vice would ever appear equally deteftable; and the Danger and Baseness of Sin would fill his Mind with fuch glaring and affecting Apprehenfions of its Nature and Confequences, that he would live in an habitual Fear and Shame of falling into the Coinmiffion of it.

THE Holy Scripture is very large and frequent, in defcribing Sin under every Character and Allufion, that may pro

voke our Deteftation and Abhorrence: Thus, for Inftance, the Continuance in a State of Sin is called walking in the Night, the being in a State of Darkness; Circumftances full of Horror and Uncertainty, Confufion and Danger: Awake out of Sleep, and awake to Righteousness, fays the Apostle, intimating that Sin is a State of Sleep, a State of Infenfibility and Delufion.

BUT we need not go on to recount all the Particulars, wherein the Sacred Writings express the wretched Condition of Sin; the Words before us will be found to take in the whole Argument: For here the Apostle, under the Allegory of a Service, is fhewing the Reasonableness of performing our Duty in the most entire and chearful Obedience, and this is the Amount of his Reasoning: While we were under the Slavery of Sin, we yielded our Members Servants of Iniquity unto Iniquity; i. e. we gave up ourselves to fulfil every Luft and Affection; but being made free from that, and admitted into another Service, viz. that of Religion, we ought to yield our Members Q3 Servants

Servants of Righteousness unto Holiness; i. e. with the fame Fidelity and fincere Submiffion, we ought to fatisfy the Duties of Pure and Holy Living: And this will appear much more reasonable, if we reflect upon the different Characters, wherein thefe Services ftand recommended us: The fervice of God is truly lovely and beneficial; we thereby have our Fruit unto Holiness, and our End everlafting Life: But, on the contrary, the Service of Sin is unfruitful, it is scandalous, it is deftructive; and for Proof thereof, the Apostle appeals even to the Experience and Sentiments of those who have been engaged in that Service: What Fruit bad ye then of those things whereof ye are now afhamed? for the End of those things is Death.

Now the only Circumftances which are the true Grounds of Hatred, are either the Mischief which we do, or may receive from, or the inherent Foulness and Ugliness of the Objects, towards which we exercise this Affection: And how eminently these Circumstances agree with Sin; with what Fulnefs of Truth

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and Justice they are fet forth in the Words of the Text, it may be worth our while, in the following Difcourfe, to confider. And here, as was obferved before, we find Sin reprefented to us under three Characters.

I. IT is unfruitful; what Fruit had ye then of those things.

II. IT is shameful; whereof ye are now afhamed.

III. IT is deftructive; the End of thofe things is Death.

1 ft. THEN, Sin is unfruitful? What Fruit had ye then in thofe things?

What Fruit? i. e. what Profit, what Advantage had ye then of thofe Things then, even at the Time when ye were engaged in the Service of Sin?

THE only Circumftance, which Sin has to boast of, is prefent Enjoyment: And if even this Quality be found not to confift with Sin, then the whole Amiablenefs of it is entirely loft and removed. Now if we confider Sin in a general View, it has been fo far from providing for the Welfare

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Welfare of the World, that it has been productive of all the Calamities which Mankind has ever felt: It firft introduced Mifery into the World; and not content, through our firft Parents, to entail Afflictions upon all the Generations of Men, it goes on to load us with Variety of fresh Plagues. The neceffary Tendency indeed of Sin is Mifery; but befides thofe Punishments, which most Vices draw down upon us by their natural and immediate Confequences, all the fevere Judgments of the Almighty might have been entirely fpared, had not the Sin of Man made fuch Afflictions abfolutely neceffary. For an Inftance of this, we may look up to the most terrible Judgment, that, fince the Fall, was ever executed upon the World; when, in the Mightiness of his Wrath, God opened the Windows of Heaven, and broke up the Fountain of the great Deep, and deftroyed both Man and Beaft from the Face of the Earth by a general Deluge. The Reason of this heavy Displeasure is exprefly faid in the Holy Scriptures to have been the Wickedness of Man, be

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