what is it that the creation groaneth under? Why, the fearful abuse that it is subject to, in serving the lusts of unsanctified men. And what is it that the creation groaneth for?Why, for freedom and liberty from this abuse : for the creature is very unwillingly subject to this bondage, Rom. viii. 19, 20, 21. If the unreasonable and inanimate creatures had speech and reason, they would cry out under it, as bondage insufferable, to be abused by the ungodly, contrary to their natures, and the ends that the great Creator made them for. It is a passage of an eminent divine, "The liquor that the drunkard drinketh, if it had reason as well as a man to know how shamefully it is abused and spoiled, it would groan in the barrels against him, it would groan in the cup against him, groan in his throat, in his belly, against him; it would fly in his face, if it could speak. And if God should open the mouths of the creatures, as he did the mouth of Balaam's ass, the proud man's garments on his back would groan against him. There is never a creature, but if it had reason to know how it is abused, till a man be converted, it would groan against him; the landwould groan to bear him, the air would groan to give him breathing, their houses would groan to lodge them, their beds would groan to ease them, their food to nourish them, their clothes to cover them, and the creature would groan to give them any help and comfort, so long as they live in sin against God." Thus far he. Methinks this should be a terror to an unconverted soul, to think that he is

a burden to the creation, Luke xiii. 7. Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground? If the poor inanimate creatures could but speak, they would say to the ungodly, as Moses to Israel, Must we fetch you water out of the rock, ye rebels? Num. xx. 10. "Thy food would say, Lord, must I nourish such a wretch as this, and yield forth my strength for him to dishonour thee withal? No, I will choke him rather, if thou wilt give me commission. The very air would say, Lord, must I give this man breath, to set his tongue against heaven, and scorn thy people, and vent his pride, and wrath, and filthy communication, and belch out oaths and blasphemy against thee? No, if thou but say the word, he shall be breathless for me. His poor beast would say, Lord, must I carry him upon his wicked designs ? No, I will break his bones, I will end his days rather, if I may have but leave from thee." A wicked man, the earth groans under him, and hell groans for him, till death satisfies both, and unburdens the earth, and stops the mouth of hell with him. While the Lord of hosts is against thee, be sure the hosts of the Lord are against thee, and all the creatures (as it were) up in arms, till upon a man's conversion, the controversy being taken up between God and him, he makes a covenant of peace with the creatures for him, Job v. 22, 23, 24, Hos. ii. 18, 19, 20.

III. The roaring lion hath his full power upon thee, 1 Pet. v. 8. Thou art fast in the paw of. that lion, that is greedy to devour: In the snare of the devil, led captive by him

at his will, 2 Tim. ii. 26, this is the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience, Eph. ii. 2. His drudges they are, and his lusts they do. He is the ruler of the darkness of this world, Eph. vi. 12, that is, of ignorant sinners that live in darkness. You pity the poor Indians, that worship the devil for their God, but little think that 'tis your own case. Why 'tis the common misery of all the unsanctified, that the devil is their God. 2 Cor. iv. 4, not that they do intend to do him homage and worship; they will be ready to defy him, and him that should say so by them; but all this while they serve him, and come and go at his beck, and live under his government : His servants ye are, to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, Rom. vi. 16. Oh, how many then will be found the real servants of the devil, that take themselves for no other than the children of God! he can no sooner offer a sinful delight, or opportunity for your unlawful advantage, but you embrace it. If he suggest a lie, or prompt you to revenge, you readily obey: if he forbid you to read or pray you hearken to him and therefore his servants you are. Indeed he lies behind the curtain, he acts in the dark, and sinners see not who setteth them on work; but all the while he leads them in a string. Doubtless the liar intends not a service to Satan. but his own advantage; yet 'tis he that stands in the corner unobserved, and putteth the thing into his heart, Acts v. 2, John viii. 44. Questionless, Judas when he sold his Master for money, and the Chaldeans and Sabeans, when they

M

plundered Job, intended not to do the devil a pleasure, but to satisfy their own covetous thirst; yet 'twas he that actuated them in their wickedness, John xiii. 27. Job i. 12, 15, 17. Men may be very slaves, and com. mon drudges for the devil, and never know it; nay, they may please themselves in the thoughts of a happy liberty, 2 Peter ii. 19.

Art thou yet in ignorance, and not turned from darkness to light? why, thou art under the power of Satan, Acts xxvi. 18. Dost thou live in the ordinary and wilful practice of any known sin? know that thou art of the devil, 1 John iii. 8. Dost thou live in strife or envy, or malice? verily he is thy father, John viii. 40, 41. O dreadful case! however Satan may provide his slaves with divers pleasures, Tit. iii. 3, yet it is but to roll them into endless perdition. The serpent comes with the apple in his mouth, Oh, but (with Eve) thou seest not the deadly sting in his tail. He that is now the tempter, will be one day thy tormenter. Oh, that I could but give thee to see how black a master thou servest, how filthy a drudgery thou dost, how merciless a tyrant thou gratifiest ! all whose pleasure is, to set thee on work to make thy perdition and damnation sure, and to heat the furnace hotter and hotter, in which thou must burn for millions of millions of ages.

IV. The guilt of thy sins lies like a mountain upon thee. Poor soul! thou feelest it not, but this is that which seals thy misery upon thee. While unconverted, none of thy sins are blotted out, Acts iii. 19, they

are all upon the score against thee: regener. ation and remission are never separated; the unsanctified are unquestionably unjustified and unpardoned, 1 Cor. vi. 11. 1 Peter, i, 2. Heb. ix. 14. Beloved, 'tis a fearful thing to be in debt, but above all in God's debt; for there is no arrest so formidable as his, no prison so horrible as his. Look upon an enlightened sinner, who feels the weight of his own guilt: Oh, how frightful are his looks, how fearful are his complaints! his comforts are turned into wormwood, and his moisture into drought, and his sleep departed from his eyes. He is a terror to himself, and all that are about him; and is ready to envy the very stones that lie in the street, because they are senseless, and feel not his misery; and wish ed he had been a dog, or a toad, or a serpent, rather than a man, because then death had put an end to his misery, whereas now it will be but the beginning of that which will know no ending.

How light soever you may make of it now, you will one day find the guilt of unpardoned sin to be a heavy burden. This is a mill stone that whosoever falleth upon it, shall be broken; but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder, Matth. xxi. 44. What work did it make with our Saviour? it pressed the very blood (to a wonder) out of his veins, and broke all his bones. And if it did thus in the green tree, what will it do in the dry?

Oh! think of thy case in time. Canst thou think of that threat without trembling,

i