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Much corrupt communication hath proceeded out of our mouths; that foolish talking and jefting which is not convenient, and little of that which is good, and to the use of edifying, and which might minister grace unto the hearers.

If for every idle word that men fpeak they must give an account, and by our words we must be jus. tified; and if by our words we must be condemned, woe unto us, for we are undone; for we are of unclean lips, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.

What would become of us, if God fhould make our own tongues to fall upon us?

2 Our fpiritual flothfulness and decay.

We have been flothful in the business of religion, and not fervent in fpirit, ferving the Lord.

The things which remain are ready to die, and our works have not, been found perfect before God. We have obferved the winds, and therefore have not fown, have regarded the clouds, and therefore have not reaped, and, with the fluggard, have frighted ourselves with the faney of a lion in the way, a lion in the streets, and have turned on our bed as the door on the hinges; ftill crying, Yet a little fleep, a little flumber.

We have loft our first love, and where is now the bleffedness we fometimes fpake of ?

Our goodness hath been as the morning cloud, and the early dew, which paffeth away.

And that which is at the bottom of all, is the evil heart of unbelief in us, which inclines us to depart from the living God.

7. We must acknowledge the great evil that there is in fin, in our fin; the malignity of its nature, and its mifchievousness to us.

1. The finfulness of fin.

O that fin may appear fin to us, may appear in its own colours, and that by the commandment we may

fee it to be exceeding finful, because it is the transgreffion of the law.

By every wilful fin we have in effect faid, We will not have this man to reign over us: And who is the Lord, that we fhould obey his voice? And thus have we reproached the Lord, and caft his laws behind our backs

2. The foolishness of fin.

O God, thou knoweft our foolishness, and our fins are not hid from thee: We were foolish in being difobedient, and our lufts are foolish, and hurtful. Foolishness was bound up in our hearts when we were children for, though vain man would be wise, he is born like the wild afs's colt.

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Our way hath been our folly, and in many inftances we have done foolishly, very foolishly.

So foolishly have we been, and ignorant, and even as beats before God.

3. The unprofitablenefs of fin.

We have finned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited us not.

What fruit have we now in thofe things whereof we have caufe to be afhamed, seeing the end of those things is death? And what are we profited, if we fhould gain the whole world, and lose our own fouls? 4. The deceitfulness of fin.

Sin hath deceived us, and by it flew us; for our hearts hath been hardened through the deceitfulness of fin; and we have been drawn away of our own luft, and enticed.

It hath promifed us liberty, but has made us the fervants of corruption; hath promised that we shall not furely die, and that we shall be as Gods; but it hath flattered us and spread a net for our feet.

The pride of our heart particularly has delivered us. 5. The offence, which by fin, we have given to the holy God.

By breaking the law we have difhonoured God, and have provoked the Holy One of Ifrael to anger,

moft bitterly. And many a thing that we have done hath displeased the Lord.

God has been broken by our whorish heart, and our eyes, that have gone a whoring after our idols.

We have tempted him, and proved him, and grieved him in the wildernefs, have rebelled, and vexed his holy fpirit, and preffed him with our iniquities, as a cart is preffed, that is full of theaves.

We have grieved the holy spirit of God, by whom we are fealed to the day of redemption.

6. The damage which by fin we have done to our own fouls, and their great interefts.

By our iniquities we have fold ourselves, and in finning against thee we have wronged our own fouls.

Our fins have separated between us and God, and have kept good things from us; and by them our minds and confciences have been defiled.

Our own wickedness hath corrected us, and backflidings have reproved us, and we cannot but know and fee that it is an evil thing, and bitter, that we have forfaken the Lord our God, and that his fear hath not been in us.

O what fools are they that make a mock at fin!

7. We must aggravate our fins, and take notice of those things which make them more heinous in the fight of God, and more dangerous to ourselves.

We bewail before thee all our fins, and all our tranfgreffions in all our fins.

1. The more knowledge we have of good and evil, the greater is our fin.

We bave known our master's will, but have not, done it, and therefore deserve to be beaten with many stripes.

We have known the way of the Lord, and the judgments of our God, and yet have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

We have known the judgment of God, that they which do fuch things, are worthy of death, and yet have done them, and have had pleasure in them that do them.

We have taught others, and have not taught ourfelves; and while we profefs to know God, we have in all works denied him.

2. The greater profeffion we have made of religion, the greater hath been our fin.

We call ourselves of the holy city, and ftay ourfelves upon the God of Ifrael, and make mention of his name, but not in truth and righteoufnels. For we have difhonoured that worthy name by which we are called, and given great occafion to the enemies of the Lord to blafpheine.

We have named the name of Christ, and yet have not departed from iniquity.

3. The more mercies we have received from God, the greater hath been our fin.

Thou haft nourished and brought us up as chil dren; but we have rebelled against thee.

We have ill requited thee, O Lord, as foolish people, and unwife: Though thou art our father, that made us, and bought us, and established us, yet our spot has not been the spot of thy children

We have not rendered again according to the benefit done unto us.

4. The fairer warning we have had from the word of God, and from our own confciences, concerning our danger of fin, and danger by fin, the greater is the fin, if we go on in it.

We have been often reproved, and yet have hardned our neck, and have gone on frowardly in the way of our heart.

Thou haft fent to us, faying, O do not this abominable thing which I hate; but we have not hearkened, nor inclined our ear.

The word of God hath been to us precept upon precept, and line upon line; and though we have beheld our natural faces in the glafs, yet we have gone away, and straightway forgot what manner of men

we were.

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5. The greater afflictions we have been under for fin, the greater is the fin, if we go on in it.

Thou haft ftricken us, but we have not grieved; we have refused to receive correction, and have madė our faces harder than a rock; and the rod hath not driven the foolishnefs out of our hearts.

Thou hast chaftened us with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men, yet we have not turned to him that fmiteth us, nor have we fought the Lord of hosts.

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When some have been overthrown as Sodom and Gomorah were, we have been as brands plucked out of the fire, yet have we not returned unto thee, O Lord. And when thy hand has been lifted up, we have not feen it.

6. The more vows and promifes we have made of better obedience, the greater has our fin been.

We have not performed the words of the covenant which we made before thee, but as treacherous dealers, we have dealt treacheroufly.

Did we not fay we would not tranfgrefs, we would would not offend any more? We did, and yet we have returned with the dog to his vomit; have returned to folly after God hath fpoken peace.

9. We must judge and condemn ourselves for our fins, and our ownselves liable to punishment.

And now, O our God, what fhall we fay after this, for we have forfaken thy commandments? We have finned, what fhall we do unto thee, O thou preferver of men ?

We know that the law curfeth every one that continues not in all things, that are written in the book of the law to do them; that the wages of every fin is death; and that for these things fake cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

And we are all guilty before God; the Scripture hath concluded us all under fin, and therefore thou mightest justly be angry with us till thou hadeft con

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