corruption of heart, and carries with it, to any dis- passionate mind, a conviction that the person who pursues that course has not within him the fear of God. This was the impression made on David's mind, when he said, " The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes."
In confirmation of this sentiment, I will shew,
I. How God interprets sin —
God views sin not merely as contained in overt acts, but as existing in the soul : and he judges of its malignity, not according to its aspect upon social happiness, but as it bears on himself, and affects his honour. Throughout the whole Sacred Volume, God speaks of it in this view. He represents sin as striking at the relation which subsists between him and his creatures :
1. As adultery —
[He is the Husband of liis Church ^ and claims our entire and exclusive regards'^. When these are alienated from him, and fixed on the creature, he calls it adultery'^: and hence St. James, speaking of those who sought the friendship of the world, addresses them as " adulterers and adulteresses ° ;" because, as the Spouse of Christ, they have placed on another the affections due to him alone.]
2. As rebellion —
[God, as the Governor of the universe, requires us to obey his laws. But sin is an opposition to his will, and a violation of his laws: and therefore God says respecting it, " The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be^." Here, let it be observed, it is not the overt act, but the disposition only, that is so characterized : and, consequently, if the very disposition as existing in the soul is an equivocal proof of the wickedness of the heart, much more must the outward act, and especially the constant habit of the life, be considered as a decisive evidence that the soul itself is corrupt.]
3. As idolatry —
[God alone is to be worshipped : and to put any thing in competition with him is to make it an idol. Hence the love of money is called idolatry ^ : and the indulgence of a sensual
b Isai. liv. 5. ^ Hos. iii. 3. ^ Ezek. xvi. 37.
« James iv. 4. ^ Rom. viii. 7. s Col. iii. 5.