Moses to Malachi, how unkindly did they treat the obedient children and faithful servants of their God! Hear, to this purpose, the address of our Saviour to their capital city, the seat of their religion and government; Luke xiii. 34, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee." Hear also the words of faithful Stephen, when going to his own martyrdom Acts vii. 51, 52, "Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears; ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them who shewed before of the coming of the just One." See, likewise, the representation given Heb. xi. 36, 37, where, speaking of those eminently good men in former ages, of whom the world was not worthy, the apostle says;

They had the trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment : They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were slain with the sword."

Nor was the only begotten Son of God himself, when he tabernacled in flesh and dwelt among men, more respected, or treated with less cruelty. He endured such contradictions and reproaches as can hardly be expressed. He was mocked; He was scourged; He was crowned with thorns; He was crucified. Thus lived, and thus died the man that is said to be God's fellow; the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person: One who might well say, "He that hateth me, hateth my Father also." Nor is it to be thought that those who hated the Saviour of the world with such mortal hatred, were worse by nature than other men. They thought as well of themselves as we do of ourselves, and as ill of their persecuting ancestors as we do of them. They built the tombs of the prophets, and garnished the sepulchres of the righteous; and said, "If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not

have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." The populace who cried out to Pilate, with such clamorous importunity, concerning Jesus, Crucify him, crucify him; and their rulers, by whose wicked hands he was put to death, no more thought that they should have stoned such godly men as Isaiah and Jeremiah, than the men of this generation now think that they should have joined in the cry against Christ, and in his crucifixion. This was but a specimen of the general temper of mankind toward God, and toward every one that is god-like. And indeed, the same temper was then acted out, for a long time, with unrelenting violence. The apostles, we know, were brought before rulers, imprisoned, and beaten with rods, for no other crime than propagating the gospel: and all of them, it is said, at last suffered martyrdom, in their Master's And within the first three hundred years after Christ, we are told in history of no less than ten general persecutions of the christians, throughout the whole Roman empire, designed to extirpate their very name from off the face of the earth. Thus "did the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing. The kings of the earth sat themselves, and the rulers took counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us."

cause.

4. That the carnal mind is still enmity against God, appears evident from the strange delight in profaneness, so natural to mankind.

The psalmist, complaining to God of the profligate workers of iniquity, says, "They speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain." And well may those be called the enemies of God, who do this; or who take pleasure in them that do it. When our neighbors speak lightly of us when they use our name as a proverb and a by

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word-when they make a mock of our serious instructions, counsels and admonitions, how do we take it? Certainly, not as a mark of their esteem and friendship, but of their hatred and contempt. But how common a thing is it among mankind, to treat the name, and word, and ways of God, in this contemptuous manner? How natural is it for the sons of men to be profane? to turn the sacred scriptures into ridicule-to curse and swear, and take the name of God in vain? It is so natural to them that nothing is more difficult than to keep little children from learning such language, when they are in the way of it, or than to break them of it when once they have learnt it. And how much pleasure do many appear to take in such discourse! how heartily will they laugh, without the least wit, only at uttering or hearing horrid oaths and imprecations! This often seems no less unaccountable, than shocking, to serious people. What pleasure there can be in this way of sinning, or what temptation there can be to it, many have been exceedingly at a loss to conceive. Perhaps the pride of being thought bold and fearless, may have some influence; though very little, one would think, when it is well known that the most despicable of all human beings, very commonly distinguish themselves by this sort of courage, as much as the great and noble, or any men whatever. Of this mystery, the doctrine in our text, I conceive, gives the only true and full solution.

Whence is it that men are so much disposed to revile and slander one another, and have generally such a relish for defamation? It is owing to general ill-nature, undoubtedly; and very often to a particular, personal enmity. The pleasure taken in profane discourse, it is very certain must proceed from a similar cause. It gratifies the enmity of the carnal mind against God and religion. Were it not for this enmity, such horrid profanation of sacred things, could afford no delight or entertainment to any mor

tal. Were men friendly to the Deity, it would, certainly, be most offensive and disgusting to them.

5. From the general love of sin, and hatred of the law of righteousness, this enmity plainly appears. "Ye that love the Lord," says the psalmist, "hate evil." Nor can any thing be more natural or necessary than that they should. Those who love God with complancency, will hate sin, for what it is in itself and those who love him with any friendly affection, will hate sin for his sake; or because of its being an offence and a dishonor to him. The observation of the apostle John is an obvious truth; "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not griev ous." On the contrary, therefore, men's not keeping the divine commandments, or their being grievous to them, is an evidence of hatred of God.

This is the proof made use of by the apostle of the truth of his assertion in our text. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." A natural man may do the external things which the divine law enjoins, in some instances; but it is by constraint, and not of a willing mind. His heart is never in it, nor subject to it; nor can it be until renewed by divine grace.

6. The enmity of the natural mind of man, against the very being of God, is evident from the aversion discovered to his absolute purposes and decrees, and to the gospel doctrines of grace. It is well known that these doctrines, like the sect of the Nazarines, are every where spoken against. "Being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth: Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one

vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" are hard sayings who can hear them? These texts, and others like them, give disgust to many in most congregations, as soon as they are named as subjects of discourse. Nor will this disgust be removed, unless the true sense of the texts be wholly explained away, or flatly contradicted. To show the reasonableness of them, and to guard against false inferences from them, of a dangerous tendency, does no good. The difficulties are not removed; the objections still remain. And remain they for ever will, as long as the carnal mind remains, unless the Most High will resign his throne. The reins must be given up to every one's own self-determining power, or the mind of man will not be satisfied. God must have no decrees-no sovereignty-no government of the moral world, or the haughtiness of man will be offended.

Some may be really afraid, perhaps, that the preaching of such doctrines, will make men think they are not free agents, or will encourage them in carelessness and sin. These doctrines may be perverted and abused to bad purposes, it is true; and so may every other doctrine of the gospel, and every thing else that is good. But, in general, the danger of this is not the bottom of the business. If it were, why is not as much opposition made to other divine truths, which are not more clearly revealed, or less frequently misimproved? Whatever may be the ostensible reason, the real objection is, men do not like that God should govern the world. They are not willing that his counsel should stand, or that his pleasure should be done. They would have Him have no purpose, which cannot be frustrated; or which is not perpetually liable to be altered, by every caprice of his giddy creatures. They would have Him determine nothing, without consulting them, and knowing first what is their will and pleasure. In short; man would be God, or he would have no God. For a God without decrees-without a plan,