SERMON XVIII.

THE FOLLY OF MOCKING AT SIN.

PROVERBS XIV. 9. (former Part)

FOOLS MAKE A MOCK AT SIN.

WISDOM and Folly, are Terms fre

quently made Ufe of in the holy Scriptures, as different Denominations for Religion and Wickedness. And Fools, and wife Men, are therein described by their Adherence to Vice, or their Attachment' to Virtue. This is fo well known to be the common Language of Scripture, that there is no great Occafion to multiply Paffages to prove it. Thus, in holy Job, the Fear of the Lord that is Wifdom, and to depart from Evil is Understanding; that is, in other Words, Religion is

the

the trueft Wisdom. Thus, alfo in the Royal Pfalmift; the Fool bath faid in his Heart, there is no God; that is, the wicked Man hath faid fo; for none but wicked Men would dare to be guilty of so much Prefumption. And thus alfo in the Words of my Text, wicked Men are described in a very particular Manner, as laughing at the Terrors of the Lord, and looking upon Sin to be a Matter of no Confequence. Fools make a Mock at Sin. But this is not the Language of Scripture only; it is alfo the Language of Reason. if to part with fome prefent trifling Advantage, for the Sake of fome infinitely greater Good in Reverfion, be the Part of a wife Man, then the religious Man is truly wife, who defpifeth the mean and fordid Pleasures of Sin, in Hopes of those great and noble Pleasures referved for him hereafter. And if to neglect fome distant Good of the highest Estimation, to procure fome prefent Good of the fmallest Value, be a Mark of Folly (as it undoubtedly is) then wicked Men are Fools indeed, who

For

prefer

prefer the fhort-lived and infignificant Pleafures of Sin, to the eternal Joys of Heaven. Indeed, all thofe who do not feek their own true and final Intereft, but fuffer themselves to be diverted from the Pursuit of it, by the Pleasures and Amusements of this Life are in fome Degree guilty of Folly. But the Fools with whom our present Concern is, are more emphatically fo. There are no Men but who are guilty of many and great Weakneffes and Imperfections ; but these do not entitle them to the Denomination of Fools. For those whom the Scriptures do in a more peculiar Manner call fo, are fuch as make a Mock at Sin. They do not embrace it through Mistake, or for Want of knowing better; neither do they fall into it through Surprize or Inadvertency; but it is their Choice; they commit it knowingly, and upon Confideration; and take Pleasure in it; and efteem it at the worst to be a very harmless Thing; a Matter of no Concern or Importance. These are the Men whom the Scriptures have distinguished by the Name of Fools.

And

And these are of various Kinds; for all Sinners do not arrive at the fame Heights of Folly and Impiety; but fome are guilty of more daring Degrees of Wickedness; and will (no doubt) be distinguished hereafter by greater Degrees of Punishment.

The first and lowest Clafs confifteth of thofe, who confefs that God hath commanded them not to Sin, but who are nevertheless not fufficiently convinced of the great Danger of a wicked Course, but make themselves easy in the Practice of Iniquity, and speak Peace to their Souls, by making fome faint and ineffectual Refolutions of future Repentance. They look They look upon God to be a kind and merciful Being, who will not be fevere to mark what is done amifs, but will be easily pacified for the Multitude of their Sins. These Men, though not open and profeffed Profligates, are nevertheless Fools, because they play with Sin, as though no Harm could accrue from it; and sport themselves with Death and Damnation. Now the Folly of these Men will appear, if we confider the Foundation on

which they build their Hopes of future Safety and Happiness. Their Defign is to enjoy the Pleasures of this World, and yet fecure the Pleasures of the next; to take their Fill of Sin and fenfual Delights, and at last by an easy and flight Repentance, to escape the Punishment due to Sin, and obtain the Rewards of Virtue. But is not this to deceive One's Self most miferably? One would imagine that these Men thought that the Power of Life and Death was in their own Hands. For did they confider how uncertain their Lives are; and that God may be provoked to call them away by immediate Death, without giving them Space for Repentance; they could never be fo stupid as to indulge themselves in a wicked Course, through the groundless Expectation of having Time enough allowed them to repent in, before Death feized upon them? To confefs that Virtue fhould be our Bufinefs, and yet to make Vice our prefent Choice, in Hopes of repenting and amending hereafter, is furely great Folly and Prefumption. What wife Man would run the

X

Hazard