The Fall of Man hath indeed greatly deform'd, yet not quite obliterated those Characters, hath confounded those Images, which did at first fully reprefent to us the Whole of our Duty; but fomething is yet preferved within, which ftrongly fuggests to us, in many respects, what we ought to do, and what not; and that Principle, however weaken'd and obfcured, is nevertheless, as far as it can exert itself, Divine. These Suggestions are, as was mentioned, call'd the Law of Nature; but the Law could receive its Being and Authority only from the God of Nature, who hath thus declared his Will to Man, by ftamping his own Image and Likeness upon him. But this, tho' a Declaration of the Divine Will under this his lapfed Condition of Ignorance and Defilement, is plainly not a fufficient one; it hath therefore graciously pleased the Almighty to add what we call his reveal'd Will, in order to fupply for those Defects which our Corruptions had occafioned, and our Weakneffes were not able to remedy: The Declarations of this. Branch of God's Will were at firft made

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by the immediate Converses of God himfelf with particular Perfons; all that is neceffary for us to know of thofe Converfes were reduced to Writing by Mofes : The Divine Revelations were continued on in Writing by him and all the Prophets fucceffively, and were at laft fully compleated by the Preaching of the Bleffed Jefus, and the Writings of the Apoftles. That the Holy Scriptures are a Branch of the Divine Law is evident from thofe Marks of Divine Miffion which accompanied the Writers of those Books, viz. Prophecies and Miracles, and from the concurrent Teftimony of all intermediate Ages, who have handed those Writings down to us with the greatest Fidelity and Exactness. That they are the only reveal'd Will of God to Man is evident, from the Sufficiency of them to inform us in all things neceffary to Salvation, and from the Uncertainty Man would lie under with respect to any other Methods of conveying the Divine Will to us; fo that we must esteem all traditional Laws of God to be legendary, and all Pretences to immediate Revelation to be enthu

fiaftic.

fiaftic. Whatever therefore are the pure and certain Dictates of our natural Conscience, whatever are the express Declarations of the Holy Scriptures, and whatever can be directly and evidently deduced by right Reafon from fuch the Dictates of the one, and the Declarations of the other, are abfolutely the Will of God, which is the Rule of our Actions, and confequently the Law intended in the Words of our Text; and whosoever tranfgreffeth this Law, i. e. whofoever acts contrary to, deviates from, does not come up to, this Law, committeth Sin ; for Sin is the Tranfgreffion of the Law. From this Definition of Sin thus explain'd, it may not be improper, tho' it does not abfolutely and directly fall in with the first Design and Purpose of our Text, to raise these few following Obfervations; As,

ft, THAT Sins of Omiffion are Tranf greffions of the Law, as well as those of Commiffion; inafmuch as it is as plainly contradictory to the Will of God to omit doing what he commands, as to do what He forbids; and this makes all Neglects of our Duty to him, all Forbearances of

Good

Goodness and Beneficence to one another, all Non-improvements of our Talents, with refpect to our Growth in Grace, and increasing in the Work of the Lord, Tranfgreffions of the Law.

2dly, THIS Definition extends to our very Affections; Concupifcence, tho' it does not break out into Action, hath in it the Nature of Sin, inafmuch as it is the Swelling of an inferior Faculty beyond its due Bounds, and whatever is inordinate must bear a Contrariety to the holy and perfect Will of God. This Confideration may ferve to reconcile us to that seemingly fevere Declaration of our Church, that Original Sin in every Perfon born into the World deferves God's Wrath and Damnation; for however we are affured that Chrift's Merits do remove the Guilt and Punishment of Original Sin from those who do not by actual Offences make Original Sin more particularly their own, and efpecially from those who believe and are baptized; yet as what we call Original Sin does confift in Concupifcence, and as Concupifcence is a Tranfgreffion

greffion of the Law, it must be in its own Nature damnable.

3dly, THIS Definition of Sin, inafmuch as it takes in all Sorts of Sin whatever, will explain to us that Text of Scripture which hath been made Matter of Difficulty and Offence to many Persons; He who keepeth the whole Law, and offendeth in one Point, is guilty of all; becaufe every Sin, as it is a Tranfgreffion of the Law of God, must be a Contempt of that common Divine Authority which hath enacted the whole Law, and hath therefore made an entire Obedience our indispensable Duty.

4thly, As Sin is the Tranfgreffion of the Law of God, and as the Holy Scriptures are Part of that Law, it follows that the difregarding and not fully affenting to Articles of Faith, is likewife finful : our Obedience is as much fhewn by believing what God hath reveal'd, as by doing what He hath commanded; and that Pride of Reason, which magnifies itself against the Divine Doctrines, is certainly as great a Contrariety to the Will of God, as those Corruptions are in Point of Practice, which

oppose