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he be the instrument of exciting it in his SERM. creatures; but rather believe, what is evidently the case, that it is your own evil passions and desires, by which ye are led astray.

Here are two assertions-first, that God is not, cannot be, the author of our sins;secondly, that they arise from ourselves. Let us examine if this be not really the case. That God is not the author of sin, St. James assigns this as a reason—it is impossible he should be tempted to evil himself, and therefore it is not credible he should be the cause of it in his creatures.Both the light of nature and the scriptures. concur in representing the Almighty as a Being of infinite purity; he is the author of all that is right and good-he is, in himself, absolutely perfect-he has neither desires nor fears, and consequently cannot be tempted, for the gratification of the one, or, under the influence of the other, to a

SERM. deviation from the exact line of goodness: XV. but he is not only good in himself-he is

also an ardent lover of it in his creatures;

or, to express the same in other words, he is an hater of all manner of evil-he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. Add to this, that he is constantly set forth, in the scriptures, as anxious for the salvation of mankind; "He would not that any should

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perish, but that all should come to re

pentance; he desireth not the death of "a sinner, but rather that he should turn "from his wickedness and live." Now let me ask you-is it likely, or rather, is it not impossible, that such a Being as this, infinitely holy himself-of purer sight than to tolerate vice in his creatures—and likewise greatly desirous of the happiness of all men should himself be the means of enticing them into wickedness, which, in its issue, unavoidably leadeth to destruction -No-it is not likely-it is impos

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sible;-ye cannot but own it. But yet you SERM. will say, there seem to be several places, in scripture, in which God is described (at least so it appears to you) as instigating or over-ruling men to the perpetration of wicked actions;-to this I reply-consider all those places carefully, and examine accurately who the persons are, whom you think God is described as leading to wickedness, and you will find that they are not good and virtuous persons, but persons already impious and depraved; so that God does not tempt them originally from righteousness; but, as a punishment for their having already deserted it, he gives them up to their own depravity. Consider the case of Pharaoh; the Lord is often said to harden his heart to prevent his permitting the children of Israel to depart out of Egypt; but this was not before he had hardened his own heart, and it means therefore not that God infused

bad

SERM. bad qualities into him, but that he gave

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him up to those he already had, he withdrew from him the sense of his guilt and folly, and left him to himself, as a fit recompense for his prior obstinacy.

By the way, I should observe to you, that it is sometimes translated in our Bible, -"he hardened Pharaoh's heart," when it should be, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, so that in those places, it is manifest it was not God's doing, but his own; but it cannot mean, at any event, that God was actually the cause of his guilt.

Again, it is said, with respect to those nations of the Canaanites, who were extirpated by the children of Israel after their wanderings in the wilderness, it is said of them, that it was of the Lord to har den their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly; but what is the meaning of this? Surely, that as a punishment

for

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for their former iniquities, the measure of SERM. which was now full-iniquities, which arose not from God, but from themselves, providence did justly bring them into such circumstances as proved fatal to them.

In one word, we must never explain one or two detached passages of scripture, in such a manner as to make them contradict all the rest of it; when we are not able to reconcile them, we must attribute it to our own defect of understanding, which certainly is its true source. The scriptures every where assure us of the infinite holiness of God; it is impossible, therefore, that such a Being should be the author of any thing so foul as sin; and if there be passages, which appear at first sight to make him so, we must diligently examine them, and instantly acquiesce and rejoice in any other manner of interpreting them.

I have mentioned one way, in which God is sometimes represented in the scriptures

as

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