Sect. III. S

vails, and has the Afcendant in them; I would fay further, That

I prefume it will be allowed, that if there is in Man's Nature a Tendency to Guilt and Iil-Defert, in a vaft Over-balance to Virtue and Merit; or a Propenfity to that Sin, the Evil and Demerit of which is fo great, that the Value and Merit that is in him, or in all the virtuous Acts that ever he performs, are as Nothing to it; then truly the Nature of Man may be faid to be corrupt and

evil.

That this is the true Cafe, may be demonstrated by what is evident of the infinite Heinousness of Sin against God, from the Nature of Things. The Heinousness of this must rise in some Proportion to the Obligation we are under to regard the divine Being; and that must be in fome Proportion to his Worthiness of Regard; which doubtless is infinitely beyond the Worthiness of any of our Fellow-Creatures. But the Merit of our Respect or Obedience to God is not infinite. The Merit of Refpect to any Being does not increase, but is rather diminished, in Proportion to the Obligations we are under in ftri&t Juftice to pay him that Refpect. There is no great Merit in paying a Debt we owe, and by the highest poffible Obligations in ftrict Juftice are obliged to pay; but there is great Demerit in refufing to pay it.

That on fuch Accounts as thefe, there is an infinite Demerit in all Sin against God, which must therefore immenfely outweigh all the Merit which can be fuppofed to be in our Virtue, I think, is capable of full Demonftration; and that the Futility of the Objections which fome have made against the Argument, might mcft plainly be demonftrated.

D 2

But

But I fhall omit a particular Confideration of the Evidence of this Matter from the Nature of Things, as I ftudy Brevity, and left any should cry cut, Metaphyficks! as the Manner of fome is, when any Argument is handled against any Tenet they are fond of, with a clofe and exact Confideration of the Nature of Things. And this is not fo neceffary in the prefent Cafe, in as much as the Point afferted, namely, that he who commits any one Sin, has Guilt and Ill-Defert, which is fo great, that the Value and Merit of all the Good which. it is poffible he should do in his whole Life, is as Nothing to it; I fay, this Point is not only evident by Metaphyficks, but is plainly demonftrated by what has been fhewn to be Fait, with refpect to God's own Conftitutions and Difpenfations towards Mankind: As particularly by this, that whatever Acts of Virtue and Obedience a Man performs, yet if he trefpaffes in one Point, is guilty of any the leaft Sin, He, according to the Law of God, and fo according to the exact Truth of Things, and the proper Demerit of Sin, is exposed to be wholly caft out of Favour with God, and fubjected to his Curfe, to be utterly and eternally deftroyed. This has been proved; and fhewn to be the Doctrine which Dr. T. abundantly teaches. But how can it be agreeable to the Nature of Things, and exactly confonant to everlafting Truth and Righteoufnefs, thus to deal with a Creature for the leaft finful Act, though he should perform ever fo many Thousands of honest and virtuous Acts, to countervail the Evil of that Sin? Or how can it be agreeable to the exact Truth and real Demerit of Things, thus wholly to caft off the deficient Creature, without any Regard to the Merit of all his good Deeds, unless that be in Truth the Cafe, that the Value and Merit of

all

all thofe good Actions, bear no Proportion to the Heinoufnefs of the leaft Sin? If it were not fo, one would think, that however the offending Perfon might have fome proper Punishment, yet feeing there is fo much Virtue to lay in the Ballance against the Guilt, it would be agreeable to the Nature of Things, that he fhould find fome Favour, and not be altogether rejected, and made the Subject of perfect and eternal Destruction; and thus no Account at all be made of all his Virtue, fo much as to procure him the leaft Relief or Hope. How can fuch a Conftitution reprefent Sin in its proper Colours, and according to its true Nature and Defert, (as Dr. T. fays it does) unless this be its true Nature, that it is fo bad, that even in the least Inftance it perfectly fwallows up all the Value of the Sinner's fuppofed good Deeds, let them be ever fo many. So that this Matter is not left to our Metaphyficks, or Philofophy; the great Lawgiver, and infallible Judge of the Universe, has clearly decided it, in the Revelation he has made of what is agreeable to exact Truth, Juftice, and the Nature of Things, in his revealed Law, or Rule of Righteousness,

He that in any Refpect or Degree is a Tranf greffor of God's Law, is a wicked Man, yea, wholly wicked in the Eye of the Law; all his Goodness being efteemed Nothing, having no Account made of it, when taken together with his Wickednefs. And therefore, without any Regard to his Righteoufnefs, he is, by the Sentence of the Law, and fo by the Voice of Truth and Justice, to be treated as worthy to be rejected, abhorred, and curfed for ever; and must be fo, unless Grace interpofes, to cover his Tranfgreffion. But Men are really, in themfelves, what they are in the Eye

D 3

of

of the Law, and by the Voice of strict Equity and Juftice; however they may be looked upon, and treated by infinite and unmerited Mercy.

So that, on the whole, it appears, all Mankind have an infallibly effectual Propenfity to that moral Evil, which infinitely out-weighs the Value of all the Good that can be in them; and have fuch a Difpofition o Heart, that the certain Confequence of it is, their being, in the Eye of perfect Truth and Righteoufnefs, wicked Men. And I leave all to judge, whether fuch a Difpofition be not in the Eye of Truth a depraved Difpofition?

Agreeable to these Things, the Scripture reprefents all Mankind, not only as having Guilt, but immenfe Guilt, which they can have no Merit or Worthiness to countervail. Such is the Reprefentation we have in Matth. xviii. 21. to the End. There, on Peter's enquiring, How often his Brother fhould trefpafs against him, and be forgive him, whether until feven times? Chrift replies, I fay not unto thee, until feven times, but until feventy times Seven; apparently meaning, that he should efteem no Number of Offences too many, and no Degree of Injury it is poffible our Neighbour should be guilty of towards us, too great to be forgiven. For which this Reason is given in the Parable there following, that if ever we obtain Forgiveness and Favour with God, he muft pardon that Guilt and Injury towards his Majefty, which is immenfely greater than the greatest Injuries that ever Men are guilty of one towards another, yea, than the Sum of all their Injuries put together, let them be ever fo many, and ever fo great; fo that the latter would be but as an hundred Pence to ten thoufand Talents, which immenfe Debt we owe to

God,

Sect. III. S

God, and have nothing to pay; which implies, that we have no Merit to countervail any Part of our Guilt. And this must be, because if all that may be called Virtue in us, be compared with our ill Defert, it is in the Sight of God as Nothing to it. The Parable is not to represent Peter's Cafe in particular, but that of all who then were, or ever hould be, Chrift's Difciples. It appears by the Conclufion of the Difcourfe, So likewife fhall my heavenly Father do, if ye, from your Hearts, forgive. not every one his Brother their Trefpaffes.

Therefore how abfurd must it be for Chriftians to object against the Depravity of Man's Nature, a greater Number of innocent and kind Actions, than of Crimes; and to talk of a prevailing Innocency, good Nature, Industry, and Chearfulnefs of the greater Part of Mankind? Infinitely more abfurd, than it would be to infift, that the Domeftic of a Prince was not a bad Servant, becaufe tho' fometimes he contemned and affronted his Mafter to a great Degree, yet he did not fpit in his Master's Face fo often as he performed Acts of Service; or, than it would be to affirm, that his Spouse was a good Wife to him, because, although the committed Adultery, and that with the Slaves and Scoundrels fometimes, yet fhe did not do this fo often as fhe did the Duties of a Wife. Thefe Notions would be abfurd, because the Crimes are too heinous to be atoned for, by many honest Actions of the Servant or Spoufe of the Prince; there being a vast Difproportion between the Merit of the one, and the Ill-Defert of the other: But in no Measure fo great, nay infinitely lefs, than that between the Demerit of our Offences against God, and the Value of our Acts of Obedience.

t