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his fon to feek and to fave that which was loft, Luke xix. 10. So of all other forts of finners, the fpiteful and revengeful are the most unlike and contrary to God.- Now purity of mind is a neceffary difpofition for the entertaining of God: for the perfons that shall be made happy, our Saviour tells us, are the pure in heart, Mat. v. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they fhall fee God; and Pfal. xv. 2. He that walketh uprightly and speaketh the truth in his heart; those fit a man in habit to fee God, Pfal. xxiv. 4. He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lift up his foul unto vanity, nor fworn deceitfully; he shall receive the bleffing from the Lord. Ifaiah xxxiii. 15. He that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly. So Rev. xxi. 27. There shall nothing enter into the new Jerusalem which defileth or maketh a lie, they are kept out of that place, Rev. xxii. 15. And Heb. x. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart, in full afsurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil confcience, and our bodies washed with pure water. For as a blemished eye doth very imperfectly fee and difcern; fo a defiled foul hath no right and true perception of God. For every faculty is receptive of the object according to its own capacity and difpofition. Every thing that is admitted, is admitted according to the difpofition and qualification of the receiver. The philofopher could tell us, that the naughtinefs and vicioufnefs of man's foul, doth quite marr and spoil the principles of the mind and understanding. It is nothing but an unclean fpirit, fuch as the devils are, that would beg and pray of our Saviour, that they might have leave to enter into swine: the fwine, whose character it is,

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to besmear itself in mire.-If any man will do his will, he fhall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, John vii. 17. If you are of good lives and practices, and pure minds, you fhall difcern divine truth; and the meek have the promife to be led unto truth, Pfal. xxv. 9. The meek will be guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way. For this is a rule which every where prevails, we have univerfal experience of it, that nothing can afcend higher in act than it is in itfelf in ftate and habit nothing can afcend higher, that is, be more perfect in product and action; it cannot afcend higher in the act, than it is in ftate, difpofition, habit, and temper of mind.

These two directions are as qualifications and dipofitions if you would have a right fenfe and apprehenfion of God, so as to be accomplished by him, fatisfied in him, and have full enjoyment of him, fuch as may make you happy. Thus have I given you an account of these words, to know and understand God.

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DISCOURSE LXXXVIII.

God hateth Wickedness.

PSALM V. 4, 5.

Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness; neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish fhall not ftand in thy fight; thou hateft all workers of iniquity.

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F we enquire how it comes to pafs, that man is fallen under God's difpleafure; man, that was made by God, in the image of God, whom God made for himself, to be employed about him, to be happy in attendance upon him, and in the enjoyment of him; how it comes to pafs, that he is fallen un. der God's displeasure and diflike: the text refolves it all into wickedness. This is that which makes the breach between God and us; yea this is the abomination that makes defolate, Dan. xi. 31. For this is an open affront to the maker and governor of the univerfe, a downright contradiction to him, a varying from that which is the quality and perfection of the divine nature. This is that which hath wrought all the mischief and diforder that ever hath been in the creation of God from the beginning; this is that which threw the bleffed angels out of heaven, and fo transformed them, that now they attend upon advantages to do us mifchief; this is that which turned

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man out of paradife; this is that which drowned the old world, and brought down fire and brimftone upon Sodom and Gomorrah; this is that which did diffolve the Jewish commonwealth, and threw down the glorious temple which Solomon built. This is that which hath fo funk and debased the nature of man, and made it fo unlike to the divine nature; this is that which from the beginning hath made a difference between God and his creatures; this is that which is matter of God's offence; and, until this is banished the world, the God of all grace and mercy,. may of his own goodness have pity and compaffion, but it is not poffible he should have complaifance or delight in his creature, being become fo unfuitable to him but his creatures must be grievous to him, not only as neceffitous and miferable, but as bafe and unworthy; he cannot but conceive displeasure, whenever he takes cognifance of his creatures, becaufe of their degeneracy, apoftacy and contradiction to the nature of God, and variation from the ftate in which God made them. Wickedness, this makes a man an abfolute enemy to God, and to all ways of goodness. By wickedness, a man paffes quite into another ftate and spirit, and becomes an hater of God, and is alfo hated by God.

Whofoever is in love with evil, cannot be in love with the ways of goodnefs and righteoufnefs; for these are contrary affections to things contrary in themselves; if we love evil, we cannot but hate what is good, because there cannot but be a contrary affection to a contrary object. Whofoever confents to iniquity, does voluntarily part with God, and God

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leaves him. Pfal. 1. 16. Unto the wicked God fays, what haft thou to do to take my word into thy mouth ? God will have nothing to do with him, nor does allow him to have any thing to do with what relates. to God. Though he bids us to call upon him, to pray unto him, yet we muft ceafe to do evil, and learnto do well, or he will not hear us. Holiness is the perfection with which God delights to cloath himself, he is often called in the old teftament, the holy one of Ifrael. Ifa. v. 15. God who is holy, shall be fanctified; in righteoufnefs, 2 Cor. vi. 14. There is no fellowShip between righteousness and unrighteousness, between Chrift and Belial. Wickedness is fatal to men, it is the bane of human nature. Eccl. vii. 17. Be not wicked over-much, neither be thou foolish; why shouldst thou die before thy time! Wickedness ends in death, Gen. xxxviii. 7. Er, Judas' first born, was wicked in the fight of the Lord, and the Lord flew him.

I will give you an account of this great truth from the book of Job, the Pfalms and the Proverbs; that fo we may be apprehenfive of the great danger we run into by confenting to iniquity: and I cannot take a more effectual courfe, than by fhewing you what we have in holy fcripture, the words of which are more commanding than any words contrived by man, Job x. 15. If I am wicked, woe unto me. Job xxi. 30. The wicked are referved to the day of deftruction, they fhall be brought forth to the day of wrath. The pfalms abound with expreffions to this purpose.

God is angry with the wicked every day.

Pf. vii. 11.

Pf. ix. 17.

The wicked fhall be turned into hell, with all that forget God. Pf. xi. 5. The wicked, the fons of violence, God's

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