God would submit to them, and sacrifice the good of the universe to deliver them from deserved punishment. The devil had as good a desire, when he said to Christ, "I beseech thee, torment me not." It is of infinite importance that sinners should have a knowledge of heaven, and of their own hearts.

3. If the place and business of heaven be such as they have been described, then sinners may see what is the real and sole difficulty in the way of their going to heaven. They generally plead that they have not power enough to go, though they wish, desire, seek and strive to go. This is their most common, and they think the most forcible plea, when they are driven to make any excuse. But it is totally groundless. The truth is, they are too strong, instead of being too weak. They are stout hearted. They cannot bear the spirit and business of heaven. They know enough to hate heaven and its holy and benevolent inhabitants. And they have strength to avoid walking in the strait and narrow path to heaven; and to walk and even run in the broad road to destruction. It is not true that they have no strength, but that they have no heart, to go to heaven. The way of transgressors is hard. They put forth more strength, more courage, more resolution and more zeal, in travelling the forbidden paths to ruin, than others do in running their Christian race to heaven. If they would seriously, critically and impartially examine the exercises of their own hearts, they would find that Christ has told them what is the real difficulty in the way of their obtaining salvation: "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."

4. It appears from what has been said, that it is as easy for any to comply with the terms of salvation, as it is to be in heaven, and cordially unite with the heavenly hosts in their enjoyments and employments. When any specify the difficulties they find in embracing the gospel, they mention the hard conditions upon which it offers salvation. They seem to think that they are much higher than they need to be, and such as they cannot perform. But let us examine these terms distinctly, and see whether any that have ever been proposed are more difficult to be complied with, than to be willing to be in heaven, if God would actually take them there. Is supreme love to God a term of salvation? But can any be willing to be in heaven, unless they love God supremely? All the heavenly hosts love God supremely for what he is in himself, perfectly holy, just and good. And none can desire to be united with a holy society, without being united with them in affection. Is love to the decrees of God a term of salvation? But can any desire to be in heaven, where the decrees of God are most visibly carried into effect, and most joyfully admired and adored, without

believing and loving the sovereignty of God in forming and executing his decrees? Do some say that love to a damning God is a term of salvation? But does not a sincere desire to be in heaven necessarily imply a desire to see and adore God in casting the wicked into hell? All the heavenly hosts see, admire and praise God for doing this. Do some say that a willingness to be damned is a term of salvation? But is it any more difficult for any one to be willing to be cast off for ever himself, than to be willing to see others cast off for ever, though he has been nearly and tenderly connected with some of them through life? The holy angels have been willing to see the apostate angels cast off for ever. The spirits of just men have been willing to see those, with whom they had been intimately connected, cast off for ever. The eleven apostles have been willing to see Judas cast off for ever; and no doubt but David has been willing to see Absalom, his darling son, cast off for ever. Now, if there be nothing more hard or difficult in com- plying with the terms of salvation than there is in being really willing to be in heaven, then none have the least reason to complain of them; for certainly they cannot complain that God requires them to be willing to be in heaven, in order to his actually admitting them to dwell with him and his holy subjects, in that holy and happy place. The truth is, there is nothing which God requires men to do in this life, in order to go to heaven, that is harder to be done, than to be willing to be in heaven. The difficulty lies not in going, but in being there. A sincere desire to be in heaven will certainly carry any person there. Let no man deceive and destroy himself, by complaining of external difficulties in the way of going to heaven, for they all lie within himself; and nothing but his inwardly saying to God, Depart from me, I desire not the knowledge of thy ways, can shut him out of the kingdom of glory.

5. It appears from what has been said, that lowering the terms of salvation has no tendency to allure men to heaven. Let heaven be properly described, and let natural men really understand wherein its enjoyments and employments consist, and they would not be willing to comply with any terms that could be proposed, in order to obtain admission into it. Let external obedience, common honesty, or common decency, be substituted in the place of supreme love to God, a cordial approbation of his eternal purposes, and unconditional submission to his absolute sovereignty, and men be told that they need not believe and love such doctrines in order to be saved; they would no sooner comply with the lowest, than with the highest terms of salvation, in a clear view of heaven. The experiment of lowering the terms of salvation has often been made. But

what effect has it produced? The effect is well known. It has only made such as were ignorant of their own hearts, think that they desired to go to heaven, and were actually going there, while they possessed their natural heart, which is enmity against God, and totally unfitted them for heaven. This was the case in Christ's day; who told his disciples that except their righteousness exceeded the external righteousness which others had been taught to depend upon, they should in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is extremely dangerous for those who preach the gospel, to lower down the terms of salvation so as to please the natural heart. It may allure some to perform the externals of religion, and to enjoy a hope of escaping the wrath to come; but such a false hope is extremely dangerous, and instead of bringing men nearer to the kingdom of heaven, pushes them the fartherest from it, and must be removed in order to embrace the gospel.

6. It appears from what has been said, that a clear, realizing view of heaven, would put every sinner in the world out of doubt in respect to his spiritual state. Sinners often complain of doubts, and say they are troubled with fears. But let them realize the enjoyments and employments of heaven, and their doubts would vanish, and they would sensibly know that the love of God and of heaven is not in them, and that they are totally unfit to be united with saints and angels in glorifying and enjoying God. They would know, that if the gate of heaven were opened to them they would not enter into it. Their selfish hearts would shut them out. How many of the most amiable sinners have been brought to such a knowledge of their hearts, and found by painful experience that their hearts, and nothing but their hearts, were the obstacles in the way of embracing the gospel, and enjoying the happiness of heaven, which it promises to all that love God. Sinners often live upon their doubts, as others do upon their hopes. According to God's usual dispensations of grace, he removes the doubts of sinners, by showing them their hearts; and he shows them their hearts by showing them his true character, and the nature of heavenly enjoyments and employments. Careless sinners, and merely awakened sinners, pay but little attention to the nature of salvation, which they think they really desire. But their desires after mere happiness are unholy and unacceptable to God; and they can never obtain holy happiness without holy desires after holiness. It becomes them to inquire what manner of spirit they are of, and what is the supreme object of their desires, whether holiness, or mere happiness. As soon as they justly determine this point, they will have no doubt that they are in the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity.

7. This subject teaches all real christians that they have no just ground to doubt of their good estate. They often see what they imagine are just causes of their doubting; but if they would critically and impartially examine their own hearts, they would find that in them which would remove their doubts. They would find supreme love to God, and sincere desires after holiness and the enjoyment of God on earth and in heaven. Such views and feelings all have, who have passed from death unto life, and turned from sin to holiness. And such views and desires are positive evidence that their hearts are right, notwithstanding all the contrary views and desires which they too often experience. Though Paul found great moral imperfections cleaving to him, yet he could confidently say, "I delight in the law of God, after the inward man." And Peter, after he had denied his Master and lamented his conduct with tears, could appeal to Christ and say, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." Let christians carry their hearts to heaven, and there they will find an infallible standard by which they may safely determine that they are friends of God, and prepared to be with him, and with all the pure spirits in heaven, to see his glory and praise him for ever.

But after all, there may be a question in the minds of sinners which they wish to have answered. And though it has been often answered, yet they still desire to have it answered again: If it be so, that we have no desire to go to heaven because we have no desire to be there, what shall we do? The answer is short and plain: Renounce your enmity against God, which you have felt and expressed without a cause, and love him supremely. And then you may rely upon his promise: "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me."

SERMON XV.

THE CONSISTENCY OF THE DIVINE CONDUCT,

IN REWARDING OR PUNISHING CHILDREN ON THEIR PARENTS'

ACCOUNT.

FOR I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love

me and keep my commandments. - EXODUS, XX. 5, 6.

THIS is the reason annexed to the second commandment, which runs in this form: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments." The phrase visiting iniquity is often used in scripture, and always means punishing iniquity. God here threatens to punish disobedient children for the sake of their disobedient parents; and, on the other hand, he promises to bless obedient children for the sake of their obedient parents. This reason annexed to the second commandment, is probably much oftener read and repeated, than understood. It was designed to make a deep impression upon the minds of both parents and children. But it is not to be expected that it will make a deep impression upon the minds of any, who do not understand the meaning, the force, and propriety of it. I shall endeavor, therefore, in the present discourse, to explain it as clearly and