SERM. punishments, which in the next world will most certainly be the end and reward of sin and wickedness in this life.

LII.

They often see their children take loose and idle courses; they neglect and forbear to correct them, till sin and hell have got power over them; they suffer them to profane the Lord's day, to keep idle company, to lie, to take God's name in vain very often without reproof, and too, too often, set them an example of doing so.

And what can be the end of this? Why, a graceless family, prepared for every crime which the devil shall think fit to tempt them to, or their own wicked inclinations can lead them to.

If their children go out to service, they make no conscience of purloining, or cheating their masters; if they marry, they make their children and family as bad as themselves; if they fall into bad company, they are easily tempted to any wickedness which a lewd or thievish companion can propose to them. And all this comes to pass, for want of bringing children up in the fear of God, and of God's judgments upon wicked people.

The next great cause of the wickedness of this present generation is, the scandalous neglect of the ordinances of the Gospel, and profaning the Lord's day, which is the beginning of every sin.

People will not go to church, to learn their duty, and to know their danger if they neglect it. They will not hear the judgments which God has threatened in His holy Word against those that break His laws; they will not pray for His grace to defend them against the temptations of the devil, the world, and their own corrupt hearts. And what can this end in, but in forgetting the God that made them, and who has declared, that He will call them to an account, and will punish them according to their evil deeds?

All this might in a great measure be prevented, if parents would be persuaded to bring their children, and masters their servants, to church, more constantly, to worship God, and to learn their duty; and a sure blessing would attend it.

The next cause, and sure sign, of getting bread by unlawful ways, is an idle life, which brings men to poverty, so that they are tempted at last to steal to supply their wants.

A man that leads an idle life, who every day spends more than he earns, who has no visible way of getting what will answer his expenses, such a person must be supposed to steal : and all who entertain such persons must know, that they are encouragers and partners with thieves; and that they receive and eat the goods of honest men, which will certainly bring a curse upon all their other honest gains.

The next cause of the sin of stealing is, the common and growing sin of drunkenness, and the disorderly ale-houses which such people frequent: these are the very nurseries of thieves, and of disorderly servants; the keepers of them are the receivers of stolen goods, and will be as surely accountable before God, as they that stole them.

Had these sins of drunkenness, and the lewd houses which encourage such vices, had these been duly presented, as they ought to have been, and as they formerly have been, and as the law, and the oaths of wardens oblige them to do, it is more than probable, that some of those who are gone to account for their evil lives, might yet have been in the land of the living, and have repented, and lived to have brought forth fruits answerable to amendment of life.

All such as entice servants to give their masters' goods without their masters' knowledge, would take it ill to be ranked amongst thieves; but in truth they are no better than the thieves themselves, and lead the servants to greater crimes, and too often to greater punishments.

Graceless children, and unfaithful servants, generally begin with lesser crimes of this kind, and at first abhor the thoughts of such deeds as may bring them to an untimely end; but they should consider, that the same evil spirit, which has power to tempt them to pilfer, will in time lead them to crimes which will deserve death. But this is not so well considered as it ought to be.

There is another breach of this commandment, which though in the eye of the world it is not accounted so scandalous as these we have mentioned, yet it is as heinous as any of those sins for which other men lose their lives; and this is the sin of running of goods, and defrauding the nation of the rights and power of supporting itself. This we have borne testimony against, ever since it first began in this place; but, God knows, to very little purpose.

SERM.

LII.

Covetousness, which is the root of this and of all other evils, the desire of gain, though never so unrighteously gotten, and the great power which men suffer the devil to have over them, are the reasons and cause that this evil still continues.

And though many, very many more of these offenders have, as we all know, come to untimely ends, more than such as have died by the hand of justice, yet it is still pursued in defiance of God and of His visible judgments. And what is the most dreadful consideration, and makes their death more terrible than that of thieves and robbers, they die in their sins, and it is much to be feared, unrepented of.

These are some of the crying sins which this island labours under. Would to God we could as easily find out a remedy for them as we can name them! But something may be done to prevent the judgments of God from falling upon us; and to regain that worthy character which your forefathers deserved, of being an honest, harmless generation of people.

Now, there is nothing but the fear of God can effectually do this: nothing but what will reach and touch the heart, out of which proceedeth every evil thing, nothing else can put so effectual a stop to such growing evils.

Temporal punishments are certainly necessary to restrain those whom neither law, nor reason, nor religion, nor shame, nor fear, have power to reclaim from the wicked courses they have fallen into. And it is a duty which every man owes to God, and to his country, to bring offenders of this kind to punishment.

It is giving glory to God, by bringing evil men to a sense of their crimes; that, suffering in this world, they may, if possible, escape in the next.

It is a means to prevent such crimes in others, and to hinder the judgments of God from falling upon a sinful nation, when such sins do not escape unpunished.

It is necessary also, and for the good of private persons; for unless this be done, nothing that an honest man enjoys can be called his own; and what has been got by hard labour and honest industry, and many years' pains and care, may be taken from him in one night, and his life in danger.

But sure, the best and the most Christian way would be,

if possible, to prevent this, by planting the fear of God in the hearts of men. This would keep them honest, when no other method will do it.

Wicked men may hope to hide their ways, and escape shame and punishment by their friends, or by their craft and cunning; but a man who is persuaded that God will bring every evil thing to judgment, will hardly go about a work which he knows will be punished with eternal damnation.

And one would hope that the most careless observer would take notice, by what has so lately happened, how God brings these hidden works of darkness to light, by ways which nobody could foresee, and which the most artful villain could not prevent.

If once we could prevail with people to pray to God along with their families, this would go a great way to cure this growing evil; children would be bred up under a sense and fear of God, and parents would be ashamed to do an ill thing before their children, with whom they are to pray before they sleep. And where masters do the same, servants would, in all probability, keep at the greatest distance from pilfering and stealing their goods, which too often leads to greater sins.

There is another consideration, which cannot too often be pressed upon the hearts and consciences of all sorts of Christians; and this is, the absolute necessity, where it can possibly be done, of making restitution for the injury and wrong done to our neighbour, as ever we hope for salvation.

What a terrible consideration will this be when it comes into the minds of men that are going to do mischief! what a check upon those that are engaged in unjust ways of getting a livelihood! How can I make restitution for this injury? How can I make my neighbour satisfaction for this wrong I have done, or am going to do him? Must I do this, or be shut out of heaven for ever? If shame does not hinder me, yet perhaps it will not be in my power to make amends for the wrong I have done; and knowing this before, it may be, the very impossibility will not excuse me at the great day.

I pray God graft these considerations in all our hearts, that we may appear blameless before God at that great day.

SERM.

LII.

Numb. 32.

23.

Another means to prevent stealing will be, for such as are able to relieve the necessities of the poor, to do it with a liberal hand, that the poor may have no temptation to steal, to support themselves and their families. It is for this reason, amongst many others, that so many blessings are promised to such as help the poor, and so many encouragements in the Holy Scriptures to perform that duty cheerfully.

Lastly; if honest people would seriously reprove their friends and relations, when they see them take evil ways, keep bad company, spend more than they can honestly spare, this might often prevent the sorrow and the shame of seeing their relations come to an evil and shameful end.

And if such as keep disorderly ale-houses, who suffer people to drink and game in the night; who receive goods which they have reason to believe are not honestly come by, or buy them at under their value; if such people would but consider, that they are really accessary to the untimely deaths such people as they deal with do afterwards come to; if they would consider this, it would make their hearts to tremble to think of the account they must one day give for shortening their neighbours' lives; and, for aught they know, sending them to hell.

Would to God that the words of Moses were but often in the minds of sinners, and especially of those we are speaking of: "Ye have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out."

Not the most secret crime, not the cunningest contrivance, not the boldest thief, not the strongest combination of sinners, can secure themselves against Him whose eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good; and who will bring to light the hidden works of darkness; and who by His [1 Thess. 4. Spirit has declared, that He is the avenger of all such as 6.] defraud or wrong their neighbour in any matter.

And now, good christians, I have set before you the temptations which generally lead to these sins: Drunkenness, profaning the Lord's day, neglect of coming to the public worship, want of family religion, parents' neglect of correcting and instructing their children; masters not taking care of their servants' behaviour; wicked and profane companions, who root out of men's minds the fear of God and of His judgments;