That God knows the hearts of sinners better than they do themselves.

Sinners know something about their own hearts, otherwise they would never feel self condemned; but they do not know so much about them as they might know; for they endeavor to misinform, or silence conscience, which would, if properly consulted and allowed to speak, condemn them for every evil imagination of their evil hearts. Conscience always judges of the moral exercises of the heart according to evidence. This sinners know; and therefore to prevent its bringing in a verdict against them, they either misinform it, or neglect to consult it. Open, profligate, hardened sinners restrain conscience from speaking, and stifle all sense of remorse and self condemnation. Moral sinners take a different course, and endeavor to pacify conscience by their amiable conduct and sophistical reasoning, as Paul did before his conversion. He made his conscience believe that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus, and that he was doing God service while he was persecuting the church of Christ. By some such means as these, sinners try to live in ignorance of their own hearts; and all secure sinners generally attain their object; though it is true that their hearts sometimes condemn them, notwithstanding all their efforts to ward off convictions. No sinners, however, whether moral or immoral, whether secure or awakened, know so much about their own hearts as God does, who is greater than their hearts, and knows all things. For,

1. God has a more extensive view of the exercises of their hearts, than they ever have. "The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all imaginations of the thoughts." He knows their down sitting and up rising. He understands their thoughts afar off. He compasses their paths, and is acquainted with all their ways. He knows all that passes in their hearts and drops from their lips, every moment. They have a multitude of moral exercises, of which they take no notice while passing through their minds; and many of those of which they do take notice, they soon forget. So that when they endeavor to recollect the past exercises of their hearts, it is but a very small number of the whole that they can possibly remember. Who can recollect all his internal exercises, and external actions, for days, for weeks, for months, for years past? The minds of men are too weak and feeble to take such an extensive view of their hearts and lives. But God not only sees and marks all the thoughts, words and actions of every sinner, but remembers them all. This is what all sinners are extremely prone to forget, for which God justly blames them. Though they cannot remember all their sins, yet they ought to remem

ber that God remembers them all. Hence he complains of them, and says, " They do not consider in their hearts, that I remember all their wickedness." But even God could not remember all the wickedness of sinners, if he did not remember all the exercises of their hearts, and all the motives of their conduct, through every moment of their lives. If these were all reckoned up, they would amount to an immense multitude, more than the old, or even the young, could enumerate and distinctly comprehend. Though this be not possible with men, yet it is possible with God, who numbers the hairs of our heads, and the stars of heaven, and calls them by their proper names. It is, therefore, a very serious and interesting truth, which sinners are capable of understanding and remembering, that God knows and remembers all the moral exercises of their hearts, and, consequently, all their wickedness in thought, word and deed. His knowledge of their hearts is, therefore, unspeakably more extensive than their own.

2. God sees all the moral exercises of their hearts at one intuitive and comprehensive view; which is a far more perfect knowledge of them than they ever have. They gain all the knowledge they have of their hearts, gradually and slowly, which renders it extremely imperfect. They cannot trace the whole series of their moral exercises intuitively and spontaneously. The most that they can do is, to recollect some of the exercises of their hearts, which they have had at different times, and under different circumstances. They may possibly recollect some of the moral views and exercises which they had in childhood, some which they had in youth, some which they had in manhood, and some which they have had in later periods of life. But after all, they can recall but a very few of the innumerable thoughts, purposes and affections, which have occupied and gained the attention of their hearts. And even this interrupted and disconnected view of their hearts, they have gained gradually and slowly, which can give them but a very faint and imperfect knowledge of their whole moral character. But God, who looks not merely on the outward appearance, but on the heart, sees the whole connected train of all their internal views and feelings, as well as external actions. Their thoughts, and of course their intentions, volitions, and actions, have run in a train. One thought has led to another thought, one volition to another volition, and one action to another action, through the whole course of their lives. They have never had one solitary unconnected thought, nor one solitary unconnected intention, nor done one solitary unconnected action. A certain, though not always a perceptible connection, has run through all their thoughts, intentions, words and actions. God

sees all the links in this mental chain, at one intuitive and comprehensive view; and the hearts of sinners, as composed of this combination of moral exercises, appear very different from what they do to sinners themselves, who do not see, or overlook this connection in their thoughts, words and actions. They are ready to imagine that they only now and then have an evil thought, or an evil intention, or do an evil action. But God sees their whole hearts at once, which are full of evil and nothing but evil, and which produce a constant and connected course of evil conduct. He knows, therefore, a vast deal more about their hearts, than they do themselves.

3. God knows the moral quality of all the exercises which compose the hearts of sinners, as well as their connection with each other, and with the external actions which flow from them. This God claims as his peculiar prerogative. "I, the Lord, search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Though sinners have a carnal mind, which is enmity against God, not subject to his law, neither indeed can be; though all the exercises of their hearts are selfish and criminal; and though they have a conscience which can distinguish the moral quality of all their moral exercises; yet they are extremely ignorant of the entire criminality of their selfish hearts. They are so far from consulting conscience with respect to the nature of their moral exercises, that they are not willing that it should do its office, but restrain it from distinguishing and condemning their selfish exercises. If they would consult conscience in respect to the motives of their conduct, it would always tell them that they are selfish and sinful. But as they generally neglect and silence conscience, they generally think that the most of their moral exercises and motives are good. It is only when they externally neglect what God expressly requires, or externally do what God expressly forbids, that they charge themselves with guilt. At all other times, and in all other cases, they consider themselves as innocent, if not virtuous. Paul lived so; the Pharisee that went to the temple to pray, lived so; Judas probably lived so, while he followed Christ with his other disciples; and the very worst of sinners generally live so. They think they generally do right, and that they only now and then do wrong, and act from selfish and sinful motives. But how different is this view of their hearts and conduct from that which God has of them! He views all their moral exercises and motives of action, as constantly and perfectly selfish and sinful. He sees every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts, as they rise in their minds, to be evil, and only evil continually. He knows that they never feel right, nor act right, in 45

VOL. VI.

a single instance. He knows, better than any other being, the essential difference between selfishness and benevolence, virtue and vice, holiness and unholiness. As he always sees all the moral exercises in the hearts of sinners, so he always marks the moral quality of every one of their moral exercises. He never mistakes selfishness for benevolence, nor mere natural affections for holy affections. He knows and condemns all the moral exercises of sinners, as totally selfish and criminal. Sinners always wish to hide their hearts from God, and from their own consciences. They imagine they have a thousand good exercises of heart, but God knows they have none. He knows their hearts, therefore, infinitely better than they do themselves.

4. God knows how vile and guilty sinners are, for all the evil exercises of their hearts which they inwardly cherish, and outwardly express. Though their own conscience tells them that they are guilty, and more or less condemns them for their sinful exercises of heart, whether they act them out or not; yet they are far from having a clear and adequate idea of the great criminality and guilt of every evil affection and emotion of their hearts. They view a multitude of their sinful thoughts, words and actions as mere venial evils, which do no hurt, and deserve no blame. They make a mock at what they deem small sins, and blame themselves only for great overt acts of wickedness, which are visible and reproachful in the eyes of the world. They have, perhaps, no sense of guilt for one of a thousand of their internal transgressions. But God, who looks directly on their hearts, sees all their vain and sinful thoughts, intentions and designs, and condemns them all, whether they ever do, or do not express them in their external conduct. The history of every sinner's heart, could it be written,, would appear very different from the history of his life. This secret, unwritten history, God reads every moment. He views no sins as small, though he views some vastly greater than others. Sin and guilt are inseparably connected; and the greater the sin, the greater is the guilt, or ill desert attached to it. God is the only being in the universe who knows how to weigh the sins of men in a perfectly just and even balance, and exactly to measure the guilt of every sinful thought, word and action. He views the least sin as unspeakably more vile and guilty than sinners do the greatest. He views every selfish exercise of the heart as diametrically opposed to every benevolent exercise of the heart, and as having a direct or indirect tendency to destroy all good; and, therefore, as being more criminal than any created being can conceive. The first selfish affection in the heart of Lucifer had an indirect if not a direct

tendency to produce rebellion in heaven. And we know that the first selfish affection in the human heart, did produce the apostacy of the whole human race. None but a being of perfect holiness and perfect knowledge, can justly and fully estimate the sinfulness of sin. Sinners are perfectly selfish, and love selfishness. God is perfectly benevolent, and loves benev olence. He is the only being who is perfectly disposed, and perfectly capable of distinguishing every selfish exercise of heart from every benevolent affection of heart. And as he sees all the exercises in the hearts of sinners to be entirely selfish, so he views their hearts, in respect to criminality and guilt, infinitely different from what they do themselves. Indeed, he views them more guilty for every one of their sins, than they do for all their sins together.

5. God knows all the evils which the corrupt hearts of sinners would prompt them to do, if he did not continually restrain them. They are ready to think that their hearts are no worse than their lives, because they judge of their hearts by their external actions. They are all conscious that they do not act so bad, as they have natural power and capacity to act. They extenuate the badness of their hearts, by the good things they do and the evil things they refrain from doing. The moral sinner exults in the thought that he is not as many others are, but much more harmless and circumspect in the general course of his life. The vicious sinner imagines he has no more corruption of heart, than he discovers by his irregular conduct. Neither of them is disposed to reflect upon the innumerable evils which his wicked heart has prompted him to do, and which he would have done, if God had not laid his restraints upon him. We know of some instances, in which God has restrained men from acting out the corruption of their hearts. He restrained Esau from destroying his brother Jacob and his family. He restrained David from imbruing his hands in the blood of Nabal. And he restrained those from effecting their purpose, who bound themselves by an oath to kill Paul. We have reason to think that he does, in ten thousand instances, restrain wicked men from the evils they would do, if he did not internally, or externally restrain them. He knows their thoughts afar off, and long before they rise in their hearts; and he can, in innumerable ways unknown and unperceived by them, alter their purposes, or restrain them from action. Though a man's heart deviseth his way, yet the Lord always directs his steps. But the restraints which God lays upon the hearts of sinners, do not destroy, nor even diminish the guilt of their sinful thoughts, desires, and designs. Sinners appear vastly less