there is no other way to fet men free from the curfe and condemnation of the law. The curfe of the law, like the fiery ferpents in the wildernefs hath fmitten every finner with a deadly stroke and fting, for which there is no cure but Chrift lifted up in the gofpel," as Mofes lifted up the ferpent in the wilderness," ver. 14. Neither doth Chrift cure any but thofe that, believingly, apply him to their own fouls. The result and conclufion of all you have in my text; "He that believeth in him is not condemned; but " he that believeth not is condemned already," &c. In this claufe which I have pitched upon we find these three parts;

1. The fin threatened, viz. Unbelief.

2. The punishment inflicted, viz. Condemnation..

3. The immediate relation of the one to the other? "he is con"demned already."

First, Let us take into confideration the fin which is here threatened, viz. unbelief; the neglecting or refufing of an exalted and offered Jefus. Unbelief is two-fold, viz. negative or pofitive. Negative unbelief is the fin of the Heathens, who never had the gofpel among them, nor the offers of Chrift made to them; these cannot believe on him of whom they have not heard. Pofitive unbe lief is the fin of men and women under the gofpel, to whom Chrift is actually opened and offered by the preaching of the gospel; but they make light of it, and neglect the great falvation: Receive not Christ into their hearts, nor confent to the fevere and felf-denying terms upon which he is offered. This is the fin threatened.

Secondly, The punishment inflicted, and that is condemnation: a word of deep and dreadful fignification; appearing, in this text as the hand-writing upon the plafter of the wall unto Beltefhazzar, Dan. v. 5. a word whofe deep fenfe and emphafis are fully underftood in hell. Condemnation is the judgment, or fentence of God, condemning a man to bear the punifhment of his eternal wrath for fin; the most terrible of all sentences.

Thirdly, The immmediate relation or refpect this punishment hath to that fin of unbelief. The unbeliever is condemned already, i. e. he is virtually condemned by the law of God; his mittimus is already made for hell; he is condemned, as a finner, by the breach of the first covenant; but that condemnation had never been his ruin except it had been ratified by the sentence of God, condemning him, as an unbeliever, for flighting and rejecting the grace offered in the second covenant. So that the believer is already virtually condemned by both, as he is a finner, and as he is an unbeliever; as he hath tranfgreffed the law, and as he hath refufed the gofpel; as he hath contracted fin the moral disease, and refused Chrift the only effectual remedy. He is virtually condemned, and will be, fententially, condemned in the judgment of the

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great day. Unbelief is his great fin, and condemnation is his great mifery. Hence the obfervation will be this:

Doct. That all unbelievers are presently, and immediately under the juft and dreadful fentence of God's condemnation. John' xii. 48. "He that rejecteth nie, and receiveth not my words, hath one "that judgeth him. The word that I have spoken, the fame fhall judge him in the last day." John iii. 36. "He that "believeth not the Son fhall not fee life, but the wrath of "God abideth on him."

Three things are to be opened in the doctrinal part of this point:

1. What unbelief, or the not receiving of Jefus Chrift is. 2. What condemnation, the punishment of this fin, is. 434 3. Why this punishment unavoidably follows that fin. #483 First, What the fin of unbelief, or not receiving Chrift is. By unbelief, we are not here to understand the relics or remains of that fin in the people of God, which is mixed with their imperfect faith; for there is fome unbelief ftill mingled with faith, in the best of hearts: He that can fay, "Lord, I believe," hath caufe enough to cry out with tears, "help thou my unbelief." However, this doth not bring the foul under condemnation, or into the state of wrath; the word condemns this unbelief in them, but doth not condemn their perfons for this unbelief: But the unbelief here spoken of, is the neglecting or refufing to take Chrift as he is offered in the gospel, and fo is exclufive of the faving act and effects of faith.

First, It is exclufive of the faving act of faith, which (as hath been already declared) is the due receiving of Chrift offered in the gofpel, confenting to take him upon his own terms. This, the unbeliever will by no means be perfuaded to do; he will be perfuaded to accept the promises of Chrift, but not to accept the perfon of Chrift: He is willing to accept Chrift in part, a divided Chrift, but not to accept Chrift entirely, in all his offices. He will accept the righteoufnefs of Chrift in conjunction with his own! righteoufnefs; but he will not accept the righteoufnefs of Chrift as the fole matter of his juftification, exclufive of his own righteoufnefs: he is willing to wear the crown of Chrift, but cannot be perfuaded to bear the crofs of Chrift. Thus Chrift and unbelievers part upon terms; God will come down no lower, and the unbeliever will come up no higher; God will not alter his terms, and the unbeliever will not alter his refolution; and fo Chrift is refused, falvation neglected, and in effect the unbeliever chuseth rather to be damned, than to comply with the fevere terms of felf

SERM. XXXII denial, mortification, and bearing the cross of Chrift. Thus it excludes the faving act of faith.

Secondly, It is exclufive of the faving fruits and effects of faith. Faith produces love to God, but the unbeliever doth not truly love him; "But I know you (faith Chrift to unbelievers) that the love

of God is not in you," John v. 42. Faith purifies the heart of a believer, but the hearts of unbelievers are full of all impurity. The believer overcomes the world, the world overcomes the unbeliever Faith makes the cross of Chrift fweet and eafy to the believer, unbelief makes Chrift, because of the crofs, bitter and diftafteful to the unbeliever. Thus unbelief excludes both the faving act and fruits of faith, and confequently bars the foul from the faving benefits and privileges of faith, viz. justification and peace with God.

Secondly, Next let us confider the punishment of this fin, which is condemnation. Condemnation, in the general, is the fentence of a judge awarding a mulct, or penalty to be inflicted upon the guilty perfon. There is a twofold condemnation,

1. Refpectu culpa, In refpect of the fault.

2. Refpectu pana, In refpect of the punishment.

Firft, Condemnation, with refpect to the fault, is the cafting of the perfon as guilty of the crime charged upon him: condemnation, with respect to the punishment, is the fentencing of the convicted offender to undergo fuch a punishment for fuch a fault; to bear a penal for a moral evil. This forenfic word, condemnation, is here applied unto the cafe of a guilty finner caft at the bar of God, where the fact is clearly proved, and the punishment righteously awarded. Thou art an unbeliever, for this fin thou fhalt die eternally. Condemnation, with respect to the fault, stands opposed to juftification, Rom. v. 16. Condemnation, with refpect to the punishment, stands opposed to falvation, Mark xvi. 16. More par, ticularly,

Firft, Condemnation is the fentence of God, the great and ter rible God, the omnifcient, omnipotent, fupreme, and impartial Judge, at whofe bar the guilty finner ftands. It is the law of God that condemns him now: he hath one that judgeth him, a great and terrible one too. It is a dreadful thing to be condemned at man's bar; but the courts of human judicature, how awful and folemn foever they are, are but trifles to this court of heaven, and confcience, wherein the unbeliever is arraigned and condemned.

Secondly, It is the sentence of God adjudging the unbeliever ta eternal death, than which, nothing is more terrible. What is a prifon to hell? What is a scaffold and an ax, to "go ye curfed into everlasting fire?" What is a gallows and a halter, to everlast ing burnings?

Thirdly, Condemnation is the final fentence of God, the fupreme judge, from whofe bar and judgment there lies no appeal for the unbeliever, but execution certainly follows condemnation, Luke xix. 27. If man condemn, God may justify and fave; but if God condemn, no man can fave or deliver. If the law caft a man, as a finner, the gospel may fave him as a believer: but if the gofpel caft him as an unbeliever, a man that finally rejects Jefus Chrift, whom it offers to him, all the world cannot fave that man. O then what a dreadful word is condemnation! All the evils and miferies of this life are nothing to it. Put all afflictions, calamities, fufferings, and miseries of this world into one scale, and this fentence of God into the other, and they will be all lighter than a feather.

Thirdly, In the next place, I fhall fhew you that this punishment, viz. condemnation, must unavoidably follow that fin of unbelief. So many unbelieving perfons as be in the world, fo many condemned perfons there are in the world; and this will appear two ways.

1. By confidering what unbelief excludes a man from.

2. By confidering what unbelief includes a man under.

Firft, Let us confider what unbelief excludes a man from; and it will be found, that it excludes him from all that may help and fave him. For,

First, It excludes him from the pardon of fin, John viii. 24. "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your fins." Now be that dies under the guilt of all his fins, must needs die in a state of wrath and condemnation for ever. "For the wages of fin is "death," Rom. vi. 23. If a man be faved without a pardon, then may the unbeliever hope to be faved.

Secondly, Unbelief excludes a man from all the faving benefits that come by the facrifice or death of Christ. For if faith be the only inftrument that applies and brings home to the foul the benefits of the blood of Chrift, as unqueftionably it is, then unbelief must of neceflity exclude a man from all thofe benefits, and confequently leave him in the state of death and condemnation. Faith is the applying caufe, the inftrument by which we receive the fpecial faving benefit of the blood of Chrift, Rom. v. 25. "Whom God "hath fet forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood." Eph. ii. 8. "By grace are ye faved through faith." So then if the unbeliever be acquitted and faved, it must be without the benefit of Christ's death and facrifice, which is utterly impoffible.

Thirdly, Unbelief excludes a man from the faving efficacy and operation of the gospel, by fhutting up the heart against it, and croffing the main scope and drift of it, which is to bring up men

to the terms of falvation. To perfuade them to believe, this is its great defign, the scope of all its commands, 1 John iii. 23. Mark i. 14, 15. John xii. 36. It is the scope of all its promises; they are written to encourage men to believe, John vi. 35, 37So then if the unbeliever escape condemnation, it must be in a way unknown to us by the gofpel; yea, contrary to the established order therein. For the unbeliever obeyeth not the great command of the gospel, John iii. 17. Nor is he under any one faving promife of it, Gal. iii. 14, 22.

Fourthly, Unbelief excludes a man from union with Chrift, faith being the bond of that union, Eph. iii. 17. The unbeliever therefore may as reasonably expect to be faved without Chrift, as to be faved without faith. Thus you fee what unbelief excludes à man from.

Secondly, Let us next fee what guilt and mifery unbelief includes men under, and certainly it will be found to be the greatest guilt and mifery in the world. For,

First, It is a fin which reflects the greatest difhonour upon God, 1 John vi. 10. "He that believeth on the Son of God, hath "the witness in himself. He that believeth not God, hath made "him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."

Secondly, Unbelief makes a man guilty of the vileft contempt of Chrift, and the whole defign of redemption managed by him. All the glorious attributes of God were finally manifefted in the work of redemption by Chrift; therefore the apostle calls him

the wifdom of God, and the power of God, i Cor. i. 23, 24. But what doth the carelcfs neglect, and wilful rejection of Chrift fpeak, but the weakness and folly of that defign of redemption by him.

Thirdly, Unbelief includes in it the foreft fpiritual judgment that is or can be inflicted in this world upon the foul of man; even fpiritual blindness, and the fatal darkening of the understanding by Satan, 2 Cor. iv. 4. of which more hereafter.

Fourthly, Unbelief includes a man under the curfe, and fhuts him up under all the threatenings that are written in the book of God; amongst which, that is an exprefs and terrible one, Mark xvi. 16. "He that believes not, fhall be damned." So that nothing can be more evident than this, that condemnation neceffarily follows unbelief. This fin and that punishment are faftened together with chains of adamant. The ufes follow:

Inf. 1. If this be fo, then how great a number of perfons are vifibly in the ftate of condemnation! So many unbelievers, fo many

i. e. Those things which accompany falvation. Editor.