they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes." Rom. iii. 9-17. Which compare with Psalm liii. Now, since God the Spirit knew the hearts of his creatures, and has given this as a faithful portrait of the real character of every individual upon the face of the earth; it follows that all have that original sin, which is the fruitful source of all evil actions and dispositions.

Having now brought our testimony from the "three that bear witness in heaven,"-having heard from God the Father, that the imagination of man's heart is only evil from his youth;-from God the Son, that out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; that the corrupt heart, like a corrupt tree, can only bring forth corrupt fruit:-and from God the Spirit, that the carnal mind is enmity against God; that in us dwelleth no good thing:-let us now turn again to the words of our church,

and see whether she has received from scripture, this humbling doctrine of man's utter depravity. Of original or birth sin-Article 9.-' Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam' (as the Pelagians do vainly talk) but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil; so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated.' Of works before justification-Article 13.- Works done before the grace of Christ and the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ. For that they are not done as God both willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.' In the second Article, we are assured that Christ was a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for the actual sins of men.'

Now as to all those vain and curious questions which men, who would be wise above that which is written, have raised on the nature and causes of original sin, and how it is conveyed

from Adam to his fallen race-with all these I would have nothing to do. All I want to insist upon is the doctrine as it stands in every part of the Bible; as it is set forth in the Articles of our Church; as it is exemplified in the heart of every individual upon the face of the earth. In our own heart we cannot but find it, if we will let conscience do its office. Let then " every mouth be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God.” 1 Let us pray that the Spirit of truth would convince of what is written in the Word of Truth-that he would make the burden of original sin grievous and intolerable" to us for till we thus perceive the truth, so as really to groan under the weight of our corrupt nature, we shall not discover the necessity of that new and holy nature, without which we cannot enter the kingdom of God. "They that be whole need not a physician." They that be righteous desire not a Saviour. They that acknowledge sin in part, but not that they are wholly depraved-estranged from the womb,-these, not conscious that the whole garment is spotted by the flesh, will seek to patch new cloth on the old garment, and so will but make the rent

1 Romans iii. 19.

2 Matthew ix. 12.

2

1

worse:, they will seek to put the new wine into old bottles-and what wonder if the old bottles burst, and the wine run out, and the bottles perish? No-the whole man must be renewed; and such as feel not their need of this thorough renovation, have not yet made the first step towards the possession of eternal life. For how can we be alive to God without knowing that we were once "dead in sins?" How be restored to the Shepherd of our souls, without knowing that by nature we were as sheep going astray? How become children of grace, and yet not know that we "were by nature children of wrath even as others?"3 What should we think of the man, who was born blind; if, when he was restored to sight, he had professed to be ignorant that he was born blind? This cannot be therefore as in nature, so in grace. Those who have been really converted from a state of nature, all join in their confessions of that state. I was blind; but now I see. I was dead; but now I am alive. I was lost; but now am found. Nor do they think they can too often revive their sense of God's goodness, and their own misery, by thus looking back to "the rock from whence they were hewn-to

1 Ephes. ii. 1, 5.

2 Isaiah liii. 6. 3 Ephes. ii. 3.

the hole of the pit from which they were digged." I conclude this subject in the words of one of the brightest luminaries of our Churchhe has been called the judicious Hooker: had he lived in the present age, a far different title would have been allotted to him; for he is, of all authors I ever read, the most full and decisive upon what are called Calvinistic doctrines. It may seem something extreme which I will speak therefore let every one judge it as his own heart shall tell him, and no otherwise. I will but only make a demand,—if God should yield unto us, not as he did unto Abraham, if fifty, forty, thirty yea, or if ten good persons could be found in a city, for their sakes this city should not be destroyed: but, and if he should make us an offer thus large-search all the generations of men since the fall of our father Adam; find one man that hath done one action which hath passed from him pure without any stain or blemish at all; and for that one man's only action, neither man nor angel shall feel the torments prepared for both. Do you think that this ransom to deliver men and angels could be found to be among the sons of men?'

1 Isaiah li. 1.