by, and God in his Providence gave me the Success I defired; why these Confiderations (let the Action in itself have been never fo bad) do fo buoy up a Man's Spirits against all the Reflections which otherwife his Confcience would be apt to make upon fuch an Action, that really he cannot call himfelf to account for it, nor confefs it before God as a Sin. But this is but another Way of covering of Sin; and he that ufeth it shall not profper. Let us all know and remember, that no Neceffity, no Conveniency, no good Ends, will ever juftify an Action that is bad in itfelf. St. Rom.3.8. Paul having long ago told us, That thofe which do Evil that Good may come, their Damnation is just.

3. But, Thirdly, A Man may be truly faid to cover his Sins, when he doth what he can to extenuate them; when, tho' he doth not justify them as in the former Cafe, yet he leffens them; when instead of reprefenting to God, or to himself, his own Wickedness, and manifold Mifcarriages in their juft Dimensions, and with their juft Circumftances, he is wholly intent upon thofe Points that take off from the Heinoufnefs of them, and would feem to render that which was a Crime to be but a venial Sin.

And thus really Men do frequently deal with God and with themfelves. They are apt to fay of their Sins as Lot, when he

faw

20.

faw Sodom on fire, once faid of the City Zoar, which he would have had preferv'd, Is it not a little one? and my Soul ball live. Gen. 19. To what Purpose but this were all thofe foft and genteel Terms invented by which we ufually cenfure great and notorious Sins both in ourselves and others? How ufual is it to reprefent Faults of a more than ordinary Malignity by fuch eafy Characters as fhall affright no Body from the doing of them? How many wilful deliberate Tranfgreffions are not only called, but thought to be Sins of Surprize, or pure Infirmity? A Courfe of Drunkenness and Debauchery paffes often for no more than an Excefs of Sociableness, or a little too much good Nature And the worft Brand of it is, that the poor Man who is guilty of it, is the leaft kind to himself. Do not many of us excufe our violent ungovernable Paffions, our furious, wrathful, quarrelfome, uneafy Conversation to all about us, by such foft Cenfures as thefe, that, alas! we are of fomething too hafty a Difpofition, and are too apt to be put out of Humour? Doth not intolerable Uncharitablenefs and Cenforioufnefs often pafs under no heavier a Name than of a little too much Freedom of Speech, without any other Mark of Infamy? What amongst a great many is Pride and Contempt of others, but only Refervedness of Temper? Covetoufnefs and Oppreffion, but only Frugality and careful

Manage

Management of one's Affairs? Uncleanness and Fornication, but only a Heat and Folly of Youth? And abundance of other Inftances of this kind may be given.

And as we thus lightly pafs Cenfures

upon the greatest Sins, whether of ourselves or others, in our Difcourfes, fo it is much. to be feared we have the fame Apprehenfions between God and ourselves, when we come to reflect upon them, and to exercife Acts of Repentance for them. Even in this Cafe how extremely apt are we to catch at every Twig, to take Advantage of every Circumstance that any ways feems to contribute to the alleviating the Sins that we find ourselves burden'd with? What new and uncouth Measures have we made to ourselves for the estimating the Greatnefs or Littleness of Sins? We do not make a Judgment of them by the Word of God, and the Rules of Reafon, but by other fantastick Rules, by the Commonness and Frequency of them among Mankind, by the Reputation they have in the World, by our own Inclinations and Tempers, and by the Powerfulness of the Temptations by which we were follicited to them.

As for Inftance; If we be among the Number of the common Sinners; if our Sins be of that Kind that we fee daily and every where practised among us, why then it naturally falls into our Minds that we are not the firft, nor the only Perfons, that are

guilty of this Fault. There are Thousands about us that are as deeply concerned in this Matter as we And fure, where fo many are concerned, the Punishment will not light fo heavy upon one. If it be a fashionable Sin we are engaged in, a Sin that hath gained Credit and Reputation among the Generality of Men, why ftill that doth more either vindicate us, or excufe us. For what Prudence is it for any Man in this Age to be fingular? Who can bear the Taunts and Derifions that will be thrown upon us for not complying with the Humour of the Times, but living like Men of another World? If we be in the Briskness and Gaiety of our Youth, when we thus fly out into extravagant Actions, why that is a Salvo for them all. A Trick of Youth is always at leaft excuseable: As our juvenile Heats wear off, and our Judgment encreases, we fhall of ourselves return to more fober Counfels. In the mean time both God and the World will pardon our youthful Extravagancies. If the Iniquities we labour under be thofe which we are prompted to by our particular Tempers and Inclinations, why fure we fhall never be called to a strict Account for them, fince it is not in any Man's Power to alter or new model his Constitution. At the worst, this is but an human Frailty, which every Man in our Circumftances is too apt to fall into.

But

But what are all these Pleas and Pretences, but fo many Inftances of covering our Sins? If we meant honeftly, and dealt with Uprightness between God and our Souls, we should not be thus fagacious in contriving Ways to mitigate our Offences, nor fo forward to make ufe of them if they were contrived to our Hands. A fincere &honeft Penitent would think of none of thefe Things, at least he would not regard them. The main Thing he would confider, would be his ftrict Duty, and what Obligations he had to perform it. What the Laws of God and Jesus Christ had obliged him to; and what Strength and Power he had to live up to thofe Laws, and how highly he was engaged, by the Oath he had taken to Jefus Chrift, fo to live. What folemn Vows and Refolutions he had made to renounce the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, and to yield up himself entirely to the Service of his Saviour. Such an honeft Man would not infift much on the Corruptions of the Times, and the bad Examples before him, and the Strength of natural Inclinations, and the like; but he would think seriously of his Duty, and what his Confcience had often fuggefted to him about it, and what Affiftances God in his Word had made over to him by his Holy Spirit for the performing of it, and how intolerably he fhould be felf-condemned if he did neglect it.