that planteth any Thing, neither he that watereth ; but God that giveth the Increase.

* Which of us by taking Thought can add one Cubit unto his Stature? or can make one Hair white or black?

* There is no King saved by the Multitude of an Hoft ; and a mighty Man is not delivered by much Strength.

Through God we shall do valiantly, but vain is the Help of Man in Trouble. For what is our Strength, that we should hope?

P The Wicked imagine mischievous Devices, which they are not able to perform. Let them take Counsel together, and it shall come to nought: Let them speak the Word, and it shall not stand. For God is with us.

The SINFULNESS of MAN.

9 By one Man Sin entered into the World; and by his Disobedience many were made Sinners.

God made Man upright; but they have sought out many Inventions.

s Our first Father hath sinned, and our Teachers have tranfgrefled against the Lord ; and all Flesh hath corrupted his Way upon the Earth.

? What is Man, that he should be clean? And he'which is born of a Woman, that he should be

a

W

righteous? Behold he was shapen in Iniquity, and in Sin did his Mother conceive him; and the Imagination of Man's Heart is evil from his Youth.

• We are a Seed of Evil-doers, who are risen up in our Father's Stead ; an Increase of sinful Men, to augment the fierce Anger of the Lord.

We have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our Fathers, from our Youth even' unto this Day: and we are all of us by Nature the Children of Wrath.

* The Children of Men are corrupt; they have done abominable Works: There is none that doth Good ; they are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doth Good, no not one.

y All we, like Sheep, have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own Way: All have finned, and come short of the Glory of God; and the whole World lieth in Wickedness.

z If we say that we have no Sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us: For there is none upright among Men; there is no Man that sinneth not; but in many Things we offend all; and it is impoflible but that offences will ;

Who then can say, I have made my Heart clean, I am pure from my Sin; when there is not a juft Man upon Earth, that doth good, and sinneth not?

· The Scripture hath concluded all Men, both Jews and Gentiles, under Sin; that every Mouth

come.

53. 6.

Gen. 8. 21.

u Irá. 1. 4. Pral. 51. So

Numb. 32. 14. w Jer. 3. 25.

y lfa. Eph. 2. 3.

* Psal. 14. 2, 1, 3• Rom. 3• 23. i John 5. 19. 2 1 John s. 18.

Prov. Micah 7. 1.

· Kings 8. 46. James 3. 2. Luke 17. 3. 20. 9. Ecclef. 7. 20. a Gal. 3. 22. Rom. 3. 9, 19.

may

may be stopped, and all the World may become guilty before God. For as many as are of the Works of the Law, are under the Curse ; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all Things which are written in the Law, to do them ; therefore by the Deeds of the Law there shall no Flesh be justified in the Sight of God. And now, for a long Seafon, a great Part

. of the Gentile World hath been without the true God, and without a teaching Priest, and without Law; and these have had their Conversation in the Lufts of the Flesh, fulfilling the Desires of the Fleth and of the Mind, and walking according to the Course of this World.

How abominable and filthy is Man, who drinketh Iniquity like Water?

c The Heart of Man is deceitful above all Things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

. Men love Darkness rather than Light, because their Deeds are evil.

. Because Sentence against an evil Work is not executed speedily; therefore the Heart of the Sons of Men is fully set in them to do Evil.

{ The Way of Man is froward and strange; and the Way of Peace have they not known.

& The Heart of the Sons of Men is full of Evil; and Madness is in, their Heart while they live, and after that they go to the Dead.

ܪ

In us, that is, in our Flesh, dwelleth no good Thing: For to will is present with us, but how to perform that which is good we find not. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the Flesh is weak: And though we delight in the Law of God, after the inward Man, yet there is another Law in our Members, which is continually warring against the Law of our Mind, in order to bring it into Captivity to the Law of Sin which is in our Mem. bers ; so that oftentimes what we would, that do we not; but what we hate, that do we: For the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the Flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other : so that we cannot always do the Things that we would: For the Good that we would, we do not; but the Evil which would not, that we do.

i Our Goodness is as a Morning Cloud, and as the early Dew it goeth away.

* We are all as an unclean Thing, and all our Righteousnesses are as filthy Rags.

When we shall have done all those Things which are commanded us, we are ftill unprofitable Servants; and we are not worthy of the least of all the Mercies which God hath fewed unto us.

m If thou, Lord, shouldst mark Iniquities, who shall stand ? In thy Sight, O Lord, shall no Man living be justified.

Every Way of Man is riglit and clean in his own Eyes; but the. Lord who pondereth the

we.

n

h Rom. 7, 18. Mat. 26. 41. Rom. 7. 22, 23, 15.

Gal. i Hof. 6.4. Rom. 7. 19.

k Ifa. 64. 6.

i Luke 17. 5. 17

in Proy. 10. Gen. 32. 10. m Pfal. 130. 8. Psal. 143. 2. Prov. 16. 2. E

Hearts, Hearts, and weigheth the Spirits, knoweth his Foolishness; and his Sins are not hid from him.

6. Let no Man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God tempteth not any Man ; but every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own Lufts and enticed: Then when Lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth Sin: and Sin, when it is finifhed, bringeth forth Death.

p Thou wilt say then, Since we cannot by Nature do the Things contained in the Law of God, why doth he yet find Fault ? Nay, but, O Man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the Thing formed say to him that formed it, Why halt thou made me thus ?

4 To the Lord our God belong Mercies and Forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him. And therefore we ought rather to say, Lord, what is Man that thou shouldst magnify him, and that thou shouldst fet thine Heart upon hiqn; and that thou shouldīt visit him every Morning, and try him every

Moment!

Prov. 16. 2.

Psal. 69. S. 9. 19.

| Rom. 2. 14.

• James 1. 13, 14, 15. P Rom, Rom. 9. 20.

9 Dan. 9. 9. Job

7: 17, 18.

CHAP.