I. I propofe to give fome account of those grounds and motives, upon which the finner prefumes that he may act with concealment and impunity.

FIRST of all; men confider the fuccefs which perhaps they have had already, in the commiffion of fome fins. And this proves an encouraging argument to them, to commit the fame for the future; as naturally fuggefting this to their thoughts, that what they have done fo often, without either difcovery or punishment, may be fo done by them again. For nothing fo much confirms a man in the continuance of any practice, as frequent experience of fuccefs in what he does; the proper genuine refult of this, being confidence.

Some men indeed ftumble in their very first entrance upon a finful courfe; and this their disappointment frequently proves their cure; by making them to retreat and draw off timely, as being difheartened with fo unfortunate a beginning.

And it is, no doubt, the fingular mercy and indulgence of God to fuch, thus to crofs and turn them out of the paths of destruction; which had they found smooth

and

and pleasant, would have infallibly engaged them therein to their lives end:

All disappointment in the beginnings of a vicious course, is a check to the finner's confidence. And therefore, on the contrary, when God is pleased to leave a man under the full fway and power of any vice, and does not concern his providence to lay any impediment in his way, but fuffers him to go on and fucceed in his wickedness; this flushes him up, and makes him hard and infenfible; and that makes him venturous and daring; and fo locks him faft in the embraces of his fin, while he has not the leaft furmife of the fadness of the iffue, and that the present sweets of fin will be bitternefs in the end.

And having thus acquitted himself to his own mind, he is apt to flatter himself that God will acquit him too. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed Speedily (fays Solomon *), therefore the heart of the fons of men is fully fet in them to do evil This is the fecret reasoning of most finners hearts; because God does not confound them in the very act of fin, by some immediate

Eccl. viii. II.

diate judgment, therefore they refolve upon a more audacious progrefs in it.

ANOTHER ground upon which men are apt to perfuade themselves, that they shall efcape the ftroke of divine justice for their fins, is, their obfervation of the great and flourishing condition of fome remarkable finners in this world. This makes them question, whether God will ever concern himself to revenge that hereafter, which he feems fo much to connive at here: Especially, fince men are fo generally apt, to judge of things and perfons, according to the present face and appearance of them, that they make the prefent, the fole measure of the future; guide their hopes and their fears by what they actually fee and feel, and (in' fhort) make their outward fenfes the rule and ground of the determination of their judg

ment.

Flourishing finners are indeed plaufible arguments to induce men to fin: Buthowever; for a finner to spend, and to finish his days flourishing, is a privilege allowed by providence to very few; and those only fuch, who will hereafter be more grievously punished,

ANOTHER

ANOTHER fallacious ground of this fe curity, is, the opinion which many men have, of their own fingular art and cunning, to conceal their fins from the knowledge of the world. The eye of man, they know, is but of a weak fight, and a fhort reach; fo that he neither fees in the dark, not pierces into their retirements; and therefore they prefume, that they can contrive the commiffion of their wickedneffes, under fuch fure coverts of fecrecy, as to elude the inspection of the moft curious and exact inquirers.

FINALLY; The last and fureft ground (as they think) of promising themselves fecurity from the punishment of their fins, is a ftrong prefumption, that they fhall be able to repent, and make their peace with God when they pleafe. And this, they fully reckon, will keep them fafe, and effectually fhut the door against their utmost fears, as being a reach beyond them all.

For let a man be never fo deeply poffeffed, with a belief of God's fin-revenging justice; never so much perfuaded, that all the wrath which the fcriptures can threaten or inflict, is most certainly intailed, not upon fin only

in general, but also upon his own fin in particular; nay, let damnation be always in his thoughts, and the torments of hell continually prefent in his apprehensions ;yet all this fhall not be able to take him off from his refolution to fin, and his confidence of escape, because he has an argument in referve, which he thinks will answer all, to wit, an after repentance. For if this shall interpose between the commiffion of sin, and the punishment of it, he concludes, upon the ftock of all God's promises to the penitent, that he is past danger. And as he thus reckons, that repentance will fecure him, fo he doubts not but he can command that when he pleases. And so he imagines, he hath found out a way, to enjoy the pleasures and advantages of fin, without enduring any thing of the smart of it.

But now, how wretched an inference this is, for any man to form to himself, and thereby to mock and defy heaven; and yet how deep it lies in the hearts of moft finners, is moft evident to be obferved. For this is manifeftly the ftrong hold, which the foul hath provided for itself to repair to, whenfoever it hath a mind to fin both with delight

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