James iii. 2., " In many things we of- fend ail." Man in his primitive state of innocency "'hs endowed with ability to keep the wlioie moral law; Adam had rectitude of mind, sanctity of will, perfection of power ; Adam had the copy of God's law written on his heart ; no sooner did God command, but he did obey ; as the key is suited to all the wards in the lock, and can open them, so Adam had a power suited to all God's commands, and could obey them. Adam's obedience did exactly run parallel with the moral law, as a well-made dial goes exactly with the sun. Man in inno- ence was like a well-tuned organ, he did sweetly tune to the will of God; he was adorned with holiness as the angels, but not confirmed in holiness as the angels ; Adam was holy but mutable ; he fell from liis purity, and we with him. Sin cut the lock of original righteousness where our strength lay ; sin hath brought such a lan- guor and faintness into our souls, and hath so weakened us, that we shall never recover our full strength till wc put on immorta- lity. The thing I am now to demonstrate, is, that we cannot yield perfect obedience to the moral law : " In many things we of- fend all."
\st. The case of an unregenerate man is such, that he cannot perfectly obey all God's
commands ; he may as well touch the stars, or span the ocean, as yield exact obedience to the law. A person unregenerate cannot act spiritually, — he cannot pray in the Holy Ghost, — he cannot live by faith, — he can- not do duty out of love to duty, — and if he cannot do duty spiritually, then much less perfectly. Now, that a natural man cannot yield perlect obedience to the moral law, is evident : I. Because he is spiritually dead, Epii. ii. 1. And being so, how can he keep the commandments of God perfect- ly ? A dead man is not fit for action. A sinner hath tlie symptoms of death upon him: (I.) He liatli no sense; a dead man hath no sense ; \u\ hath no sense of the evil of sin, of God's holiness and veracity ; therefore he is said to be without feeling, Eph. iv. 19. (2.) He hath no strength, Rom. V. 6. What strength hath a dead man ? A natural man hath no strength to deny himself, to resist temptation; he is dead, and can a dead man fulfil the moral law ? — 2. A natural man cannot perfectly keep all God's commandments because he is so interlarded with sin ; he is born in sin, Ps. li. 5. Job xv, 16., " Which drink- eth iniquity like water." All the imagi- nations of his thoughts are evil, and only evil. Gen. vi. 4. Now the least evil thought is a breach of the royal law ; and, if there be defection, there cannot be perfection. And, as a natural man hath no power to keep the moral law, so he hath no will. He is not only dead, but worse than dead ; a dead man doth no hurt, but there is a life of resistance against God goes along
S40
MAN'S INABILITY TO KEEP THE MORAL LAW.
with tlic dcatli of sin. A natural man not only cannot keep tlie law tliroutrli weak- ness, but lie breaks it throufrli wilfulness, Jcr. xliv. 17., " We will do wliatsoever go- etb forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to tlic queen of heaveii."
2d. As the unrogencrate cannot keep the moral law perfectly, so neither the regen- erate: Eccl. vii. 20., " There is not a just man upon tlie earth, tliat doeth good and sinneth not;" nay, that " sins not in doing good." There is that in tlie best actions of a righteous man that is damnable, if God should weigh him in the balance of justice. Alas, how are his duties fly- blown ! He cannot pray without wandering, nor believe without doubting : Rom. vii. 18., " To will is present with me, but how to perform I find not." In the Greek it is, " How to do it thoroughly I find not." Paul, thotigh a saint of the first magnitude, was better at willing than at performing. Mary asked where they had laid Christ : she had a mind to liave carried him away, but she wanted strength : so the regenerate have a will to obey God's law perfectly, but they want strength ; their obedience is weak, and sickly ; the mark they are to shoot at, is perfection of holiness ; but though they take a right aim, yet do what they can, they shoot short : Rom. vii. 19., " The good that I would, I do not." A Christian, while he is serving God, is hiiidered ; like a ferry- man, that plies the oar, and rows hard, but a gust of wind carries him back again : so saith Paul, " The good that I would, I do not," — I am driven back by temptation. Now, if there be any failure in our obedi- ence, we cannot make a perfect commentary vipon God's law ; no Christian alive can write a copy of holiness without blotting. The Virgin Mary's obedience was not per- fect, she needed Christ's blood to v/ash her tears. Aaron was to make atonement A)r the altar, Exod. xxix. 37., to shew that the most lioly offering hath defilement in it, and needs atonement to be made for it.