Sermons, pages 222–235
Men naturally G o d's Enemies. August, ii%6.
SERMON, VII. ROMANS
For if when we were Er.ermcs, we were reconciled to Godbj the Death of his Son.
W W St H E apostle, from the beginning of the e i piflle, to the beginning of this chapter, fa
had infixed on the Do rine of Justification by faith alone. And having particularly spoken to that, in chis chapter he goes on to confider the benefits that are confcquent on Jofti-
2 fication.
And there are three that flow from juftifica-
viz. Peace with God, Hi.j)e glory. Peace viilh of and Prefcnt hnppihcf?, " first verse. Therefore bethe God is mentioned in with through have peace xue God, faith, ing jiilli'ied by In the following verses he our Lord Jcfus Christ.'*
tion,
which arc here spoken of,
of prefcnt blcftcdncfs. and hope of glory, as " By whom alio bcncHts accompanying jufliscation. this wherein we into grace, faith by acccls we have glory the God. hope of of joicc in and n fland, fpcaks
And concerning this benefit of the hope oj glory
apoQlc docs particularly take notice of two things, viz. the blcdcd nature of this hope, and ih furc gro\ind
Men naturaJly God's EnemieT.
He infifls on the blefted nature of this hope, in
This excelthat it en ibles us to glory in tribulaiions. lent namre of ttuechriftian hope is described in the following Words.
tribuluticns also,
And not only so, but we glory in
knowing ihat tribulation workeih pa-
tience ; and patience experience, and experience hope;
and hope maketh not ashamed. because the love of God which is shed abroad in our hearts by the lioly Ghod, blcfted is given unto us.'' % Q D. Through hope of a abundantly more than make up for all tribulation, we nre enabled to bear tribulation with patiently bearing, and patiently waiting for patience the reward. And patience works experience; for when reward,
that will
we thus bear tribulation with patient waiting for the reWard, this brings experience of the earnest of the reward, viz. the earnest of the spirit, in our feeling the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
So that our hope don't make us ashamed tho' we do bear tribulation, our hope is not disappointed Gholl.
for in the midst of our tribulation,
we experience thofe
blered incomes of the spirit in our souls, that make even a time of tribulation sweet to us and is such an and so expeearnefl as abuntiantiy confirms our hope ;
rience wc*-ks hope: 2. The apostle takes notice of *the sure and abundant ground there is for this hope ; or the abundant evidence we have, that we shall obtain the glory hoped for, in that peace that we have with God, in our juftiiication through Christs blood; because thar whije we were wiihout rtrength. in due time Chri died for us; while we were ungodly and sinners, enemies to God and Chrifl, § The apolile's argument is exceeding clear and That if God has done already {o great a thing strong. for us, as to give us Chrifl, to die and filed his precious blood for us, which was valliy the greatefl thing, we need' not doubt but that he will beflow life upon us, af-
ter I; Ver.
Men naturally God* s Enemies.
lo6 ter
this
'Tls
already done.
Ser. VII. small
thing for God a61ually to bestow eternal life, after it is'
purchased die,
to what it is for him to give his own Son to
The giving Chrifl to purchase it,
topiirchafc it.
was vertualiy all in salvation.
It included the whole grace
When Chrifl had purchased salvation at
such a dear rate,
all the difficulty
was vertualiy over and done.
was got through,
'Tis a (mall
thing,
compnrifon, for God to beflow salvation, after it has Sinners tliat arc been thus purchased at a full price.
by the death of Chrill. are already vertualiy
juftificd
saved: the thing is, as it were, done
What remains,
no more than the necessary consequence of what is Christ when he died made an end of (in And done. when he rose from the dead, he did vertualiy rife with He brought them up from death with him, theele t And therefore, and alcended into heaven with them. when this is already done, and we are thus reconciled to God through the death of his son, we need not fear The love of but that we fiiall be saved by his life. is
God appears much more in his giving his son to die for than in giving eternal life after Chrifl's death.
(inners,
The giving of Christ to die for us is here spoken of as a much greater life,
thing,
than the aflual beftowment of
on two accounts.
That this is all that has any difficulty in it.
When God did this for us, he did it for us, as
(inners and enemies.
But in actually bcftowing falva-
tion on us after wc are jullified, we arc not looked us)(in as finntrs.
After we are juflified,
on us any longer as pcrfons
sinners,
God don't look
but as perfc£lly righteous
be beholds no iniquity
more enemies, for then we are reconciled.
We are no When God
give Chrifl to die for the c\qC(, he looked on them as chey are in themselves; but in aftually bestowing eternal life, he dont look on them as they are in themfclves, but as they arc in Chrilt.
There
Men afurally God's Enemies,
Ser. VII.
There are three epithets used in the text and context, as appertaining to (inners as they are in themselves. 1
They are without j}rength,i\\ty can t help ihcm-
They are ungodly orfinners, They are enemies as in the text. :
DOCTRINE. Natural men are Cod's Enemies.
God, tho'
the creator of all things, yet has some
fenemies in the world.
Men in general will own, that they
or have been whose consciences are so blinded as not to be sensible they have been guilty of sin. And mod: sinners will own that They will own that they don't they have bad hearts. love God so much as they fliould do and that they finncrs.
There are few,
if any at all,
ben't
o thankful
and that in many
they ought to be for mercies Things they fail. And yet few of as
They
them are sensible that they are Godls enemies.
don't see how they can be truly so called : they are not sensible that they wilh God any hurt,
or endeavour to
do him any. But we see that the scripture speaks of them as ene-* So in our text, and elsewhere. *' And mies to God. you that were sometime alienated, and enemies in your minds by wicked works." § '* The carnal mind is enmity against God."t
And that all natural, or unrcgenerate men arc indeed what I shall endeavour now particularly to shew. Which I propose to do in the following method. sb, is
Ihall fliew,
in what refpe£ls they are enemies
To how great a degree they are enemies. 3.
Col,
vii.
Men naturally Gnd's Enemies,
Sex. VII.
Why they are enemies.
I shall answer Tome objc£lions.
I am to shew, In what refpe ls they are enemies
Their enmity appears in their judgments; in They have a very mean esteem of God. Men are ready to entertain a good esteem of thofc with whom they are I.
the judgment and esteem they have of God.
They are apt to think highly of their quali-
friends:
ties, to give them their
due praifcs
and if there be de-
But thofc to whom ihey are cnemies, they are disposed to have mean thoughts of; fers, to cover them.
they are apt to entertain a difhonourable opinion of them: they will be ready to look contemptibly upon any thing that is praise- worthy in them. So is it with natural men towards God. They entertain very low and contemptible thoughts of God. Whatever honour and refpe£l they may pretend and make a (hew of towards God, if their pra£lice be exawill shew, that they do certainly look upon be to a being, that is but little to be regarded. They think him one that is worthy of very little honor and refpeft, not worthy to be much taken nocice of. The language of iheir hearts is, *' Who is the Lord, that 1 should obey his voice?'** " What is theAlmighly, that we should serve him? and what profit fiiould
mined,
we have if we pray unto him ?"t They count hin: worThey dare not thy neither to be loved nor feared. behave with that flight and disregard towards one of their fellow creatures, but a little raised above them in power and authority, as they dare, and do towards God, They value one of their equals much more th.m God, and are ten times more afraid of oft'ending such an one, than of displeasing the God that made ibcm. They cast such exceeding contempt on God, a Exod.
Job, xxl.
prefer
M:n naturally God's Enemies, every vile lust before him.
And every
worldy enjoyment is set higher in their eftecm, than God. A morsel of meat, or a few pence of worldly gain,
preferred before him.
in the eQeem of natural
efl:
God is set last and Jow-
men.
Thiy are enemies in the natural relish of their
They have an inbred distaste and difreliqi of God is not such a sort of being as God's perse£iions. Tho' they are ignorant of God they would have. yet from what they hear of him, and from what is manifefl by the light of nature of God, they don't like him. By his being endowed with such attributes as he They hear God is is, they have an averdon to him. »n infinitely holy, pure and righteous Being, and they don't like him upon this account they have no relish of such kind of qualifications: they take no delight ia contemplating them. It would be a mere task, a bondage to a natural man, to be obliged to set himself to contemplate these attributes of God. They see n« manner of beauty or love incfs, nor tafle any sweetness in them. And upon the account of their diftadc of these perse<5lions, they difllke all the other of his attributes. They have greater aversion to him because he is omni' souls.
fcient
and knows all things; because his omniscience is
They are not pleased that he is omnipotent, and can do whatever he pleases because
an holy omniscience.
They are enemies even to his mercy, because it is a holy mercy. They do not
a holy omnipotence.
because by this he never will be otherwise than he is, an infinitely holy God.
like his immutability,
'Tis from this disrelish that natural men have of the attributes of God, that they don't love to have much to
do with God.
The natural tendency of the heart of
God, and keep at a distance from poflible from God. A natural man is averse to communion with God, and is naturally difinclincd tothofe exercifcs of religion, whereis
to fly from
him; and to get
as far off as no Men fjaturally Cod's Enemies.
be has immcJiatcly to do with God. It is said of wicked men, " God is not in alibis tbougbts.' § 7 is .evident tbat tbe mind of man is naturally averse to tbiiiking about Gnd: And bcnce if any thoughts of God be fuggcilcd lo the mind, they loon go away flich thoughts be not apt to reft in the minds of natural men. If any thing is (aid to them of God, they are in
apt to forget it paih, f(/on
don't at
feed that falls upon the hard
'tis
like
enter
catch it away
and the fowls of the air
or like feed that fails upon a rock.
Other things will Hick but divine things, do, as it and if they are cad into the mind, they were, rebound meet with that there which soon ihrufls them out again: they meet with no suitable entertainment, bur J re soon ;
chafed away.
Hence also it
that
natural
men arc so difficultly
perfwaded to be couOant in the duty of secret prayer. They would not be so averse to spending a quarter of an hour, night and morning, in some bodily labour; but *tis because they are averse to a work, wherein ihey have so immediately to do with God
and they
naturally love to keep at a diqancefrom God. 3.
Their wills are contrary to his will.
will and ther. nioft
God's
are exceeding cross the one lo the o
God wills thofc things averse to; and
they hate, and are
that
they will thofe things that God
Mence they oppose God
in their
wills: they
up their wills againil the will of God.
There is a
hates. fct
their's,
dreadfiil,
violent and oblVmate opposition of the will of
natural men to the will of God.
They arc very opposite to the commands of God. enmity of the will, that *' the carnal mind is not fubjcdl lo the law of God, neither indeed Hence natural men are enemies to God's can be "" They are not loyal fubjc< s but enemies government. 'l is from the
Rom.
vii.
Ser. VIL
Men naturally God*s enemies.
to God, considered as lord of the world.
They are en-
God's authority. 4. They are enemies to God in their affections. There is in every natural man a feed of malice against God yea, there is such a feed of this, rooted in the And it does often dreadfully heart of man naturally. Tho' it may in a great meabreak forth and appear.
tire enemies to
sure lie hid in secure times, when God lets men alone,
and they meet with no great diflurbance of body or mind yet, if God does but touch men a little in their consciences, by manifelling to them a little of his wrath for their sins, this oft times brings out the principle of malice against God, which is exercised in dreadful heart? risings, inward wranglings and quarrellings, and blasphemous thoughts: wherein the heart is like a viper, hilfing, and spitting poison at God. There is abundance of such a principle in the he rt. And however free from it the heart may seem to be, when let alone and secure, yet a very little thing will set it in a rage. ;
Temptations will shew what is in the heart.
The aU
teration of a man's circumstances will often discover the a change of circumstance will bring that out which was hid before. Pharaoh had no more natural enmity against God than other men and if other natural men had been in Pharaoh s circumstances, the same corruptions would put forth therafelves in as dreadful a manner. The Scribes Pharafees had naturally no more of a principle of malice in their hearts against: Christ.than other men and other natural men would,in
heart
and having as little restraint, exercise as much malice against Christ as they did. When wicked their
cafe,
fnencome to be caftinto hell, then their malice against God will appear. Then will it appear what dreadful malice they have In their hearts.
Then their hearts
m\\ appear as full of malice, as hell is full of fire. Buc ''hen wicked men come to be in hell; there will be no nc\y new corruptions put into their heart will
then break torth
but only old onet
without restraint.
the difference between a wicked
Ssr.VIL That
man on earth, and a
wicked man in hell, that in hell there will be more to up the e crciPj of corruption, and less to rclirain it than on earth but there will be no new corruption put in. A wicked man will have no principle of cor-
flir
hell,
ru :)tion in
but 'what he carried to hell with him.
There arc now the feeds of all the majice that will be excrciied then.
The malice of damned spirits is but a
branch of the root, that is in th« hearts of natural
A natural man has a heart
now. devil
like the heart
men of a
but only as corruption is more under reflraint in
man than in devils. 5 They are enemies walk contrary to him."*
They Gud don't lie (fill, but they are exceeding a ive in it. They in their '1
pra£lice.
heir enmity
against
arc engaged in a war against God.
Indeed they can'c but yet they do what they can. They oppose themselves to his honor and glory they oppolc themselves to the intercd of his kingdom in the world t ey oppose themselves to the will and command of God and oppose him in his government. They oppose God in his works, and in his declared defi*?ns; while God is doing one work, they arc doing the contrary, and as much as in them lies. Counterworking. God fceks one thing, and they seek dire fly the contrary. They lill under Satan's banner, and are his willing soldiers in his opposing the kingdom of God. 1 proceed now, hurt God, he is so much above them
To say something with refpe£l to the degree of
tending in some measure to ihcw, how great enemies natural men arc to God. fhis enmity
They
have no love to God;
their
mere enmity without any mixture of love.
enmity
A natural man man is wholly destitute of any principle of love to God, and never had ihe least excrcife of this love. Some natural men have better natural tempers than others and ;
Tome are better educated than others and some live a great deal more soberly than others: but one has no more love to God than another for none have the least The heart of a n-vtural man is as deftifpark of that. fute of love to God, as a dead, fliff, cold corpse is of " I know you, that yc havq not the love vital heat. of God in you."| ;
2. Every faculty and principle of aftion is wholly under the dominion of enmity againfl: God. The nature of man is wholly infc6led with this enmity against God. He is tainted with it throughout, in all his faculties and principles. And not only so, but every faculty is entirely and perfectly subdued under it, and cnflaved to it. This enmity against God, has the absolute pofleflion of the man. The apoftlc Pfl«/,speaking of what he was naturally, says, ''I am carnal, fold under sin, The understanding is under the reigning power of this enmity against God, so that it is entirely darkned and blinded with regard to the glory and excellency of GodThe will is wholly under the reigning power of it. All the affedlions arc governed by enmity against God : there is not one affedion, nor one desire, that a natural man has, or that he is ever ftircd up to a< from, buc that contains in it enmity against God. A natural man is as full of enmity against God, as any viper, or any ii
venemous t)ealt, is full of poison. 3.
Th e power of the enmity of natural men against
God, is
so great,
power.
It has too great and strong a pofllition of the
Ticart, to
be overcome by any created povver.
that ' Us infupfortable by
Rom. vii.
any finite Natural
Men naturaUy God's Enemies.
Sex, VII.
men can't overcome their own enmity, let them drive never so much with their own hearts. Indeed, a natural man never sincerely drives to root out his enmity againllGod his endeavours are hypocritical he delighrs in his enmity, and chooses it. Neither can others do it, iho' they (iiKcrely, and to their utmofl: endeavour to overcome this enmity. If godly friends and neighbours labour to perfwade them to cafl away their enmity, and become friends to God, they can't perfwade ihem to it. Tho' miniflcrs ufc never so many arguments , and entreaties, and ftt forth the lovelinels of God and tell them of the goodness of God to them, and hold forth to them God s own gracious invitations, and intreat them never so earnestly to cast off their op:
position and enmity,
and to be reconciled, and become
yet they can't overcome it
friends ;
dill
they will
be as bad enemies to God, as ever they were. The tongue of men or of angels can't perfwade them to relinquifli their opposition to God.
Miracles will not do
How many miracles did the children of Israel see
in the wilderness
yet their enmity againfl God remain-
as appeared by their often murmuring.
-And how
often did Christ ufc miracles to this end without esse l,
but thcjews yet obRinately dood our.
O Jcrufalem,
Jcrufalem, thou that killcft the prophets,
and lioncfl
them which are sent unto thee, how often would 1 have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gaihereth her chickens under her w\ngs, and ye would not.'*'\\ And
how great did the enmity of these people appear to be after all
how spiteful and venemous were their hearts
towards Chrifl,
as appears by their cruel treatment of him, in his Jaft fulfcrings !
They i. e. 4. They are mortal enemies to God have that enmity in their hearts, that flrikcs at the life of God. A man may be no friend to anolhcr,and may have ;
Matxxiii 37.
and yet not be his mor" have an ill spirit Cowards him his enmity will be satisfied and gluted with tal enemy something (hort of the death of the person. But it is not so with natural men, with refpe t to God they are mortal enemies. Indeed, natural men can't kill God, They have no hope of it, and so make no attempts : It has ever been looked upon so much abwve their power, But that is no that, it may be, it is not thought of. argument that this is not the tendency of the principle. Natural men are enemies to the dominion of God j and their nature shews their good will to pull him down out of heaven, and dethrone him if they could Yea, they are enemies to the Being of God, and would be glad if there was no God. And therefore it neceftarily follows, that they would kill him, and cause that there, ;
should be none, if they could.
" The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God."f This saying in his heart, There is no Gi» ,imples in it, not only an aprncfs to question the Being of God ; it
implies, that he inclines
says,
should be so.
His heart
The words in the ''The fool hath said in his heart,
his inclination says.
ginal arc thus,
ori-
The words, there is, are not in the original,
but were put in by the translators.
Now if we read
the words so,*'The fool hath said in his heart,NoGod,"
they will perhaps (hew the Pfalmifl's meaning more fully, than as they are now tranftated. "The fool hath said in his heart.
No God''
That is, "1 would have
none, I don't desire any, I wifti there was none; that would suit my inclination bed." That is the language of the inclinations of a natural man ; no God. Lee there be no God for me, let me have no God : Let the
world be emptied of a God, he (lands in my way." And hence he is an Atheist in his heart, he is ready to think there is none ; and that also is ready to be language of his heart, ** There is no God.'*
xiv.
S R. VIL
Men naturally Go(ss Enemies.
The vipfr's poison is deadly poison bites, he fceks ihc precious life.
and when he And men are in this
refpeft a generation of vipers.
Their poison, which is
againll God, seeks the life of God.
enmity tion of vipers.''!
womb
— Their poison
like the poison of a serpent.'*||
their vine is the rinc of Sodom, and
"For of Gomorrah
O genera-
"The wicked arc eltrangcd from the of the fields
ihcir grapes are the grapes of gall, their
Their wine is ihc poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.\ The divine nature being immortal, and infir.itciy out of our reacii, there is no other trial j)o(rible,whether the enmity that is natural'y in the heart against God, be mortal or no, but only (or God to take on him the human nature, and become man ; sb as to come within man's reach, that they fliould be capable of killing him. There can be no other experiment but this. And this And what has been the event ? trial there has been. becanie man, and came down to once God when AVhy, iuch vipers as fallen men, they hated among here, dwc'l him and never left 'till they had persecuted and him, blood. in his There was a mulhands their imbrued combined that appeared in this design. them of titude Nothing would do, but he must be put to death. All Away wi;h him.'* cry out, '' Crucify him, crucify him.
cluflcrs are bitter.
They had rather Barrabbas, who greatly defervcd death, Nothing would rcfhould live, than he fliould not die. even all his preaching and all his strain them from it but they would kill him. Aw it was not the miracles ;
ordinary kind of execution that would satisfy them but it mud be the mofl cfuel, and most ignominious they possibly could invent. And they in the time of it, add:
ed to it, and aggravated ir as much as ever they could, by mocking him, and spiting on him, and scourging him.
This lliews what the nature and t.cndency of man's enmity against God is
here
appeared
in its
true co-
5. Naturat.
lours. iii.
Pral.
Ivlii,
Men naturally God*s Enemies.
Natural men arc greater enemies to God, than
Natural men they arc to any other being whatsoever. may be very great enemies to their fellow creatures There is no other but not so great as they arc to God. being that fbmuch (lands in (inners way, in thofc things that they chiefly set their hearts upon,
as God.
arc wont to hate their enemies in proportion
things, viz. their opposition to what they look upon to
and their power and ability. One be their interest, that is looked upon a great and powerful enemy, will be more hated, than one that is weak and impotent. But none of their enemies is so powerful as God. Man's enmity to other enemies may be got over : time may wear it out, and they maybe reconciled, and be friends. But nitural men, without a mighty work of God to change their hearts, will never get over their enmity against God. They are greater enemies to God, than they be to the devil. Yea, they treat the deviJ as their friend and master, and join in with bira against God. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father yc will do : he was a murderer from the beginning. .
SERMON, * Joh.
viii.