him to do, where the public interest of the Church lay at stake: but this was his infirmity; and even the best of men will be subject to human frailties.

It would be endless to enumerate all the offences of the tongue, which men are liable to. It is a difficult matter to talk much and well: great talkers offend often; and they who say the least are generally the most innocent.

Yet there may be a fault sometimes in being too reserved, shy, and silent: as when a man neglects to exhort or reprove his neighbour, as occasions offer, or when he can patiently sit by, and hear the name of God dishonoured, or an innocent absent man abused, without opening his mouth in defence of either. Such reservedness, in some cases, may rise no higher than a sin of infirmity: but for the most part, we may more justly call it a wilful neglect; betraying meanness of spirit, at least, or something worse.

But enough hath been said of sins of infirmity, so far as relates to speech.

3. I come now in the third place to the most material article of all, which concerns our outward actions: and here also we may offend two ways; either as neglecting to do what we ought, or as doing what we ought not.

Sins of infirmity are mostly seen in our manifold omissions and neglects, either forgetting what duties are incumbent upon us, or performing them but in part. Who can say how oft he offendeth in this kind? Who can say that he hath acquitted himself perfectly in every instance of duty towards God and towards his neighbour? to his king or to his country, to his family or relations, to his friends and to his enemies, to high and low, to rich and poor, to every man he has relation to or concern with? any Hard would be our circumstances, were we to give a strict account of all our omissions; or if much the greater part of them were not kindly overlooked by an all-merciful God, as pitiable frailties. Yet let not any man set light by omissions. Wilful omissions of known duties are wilful and presumptuous sins: and there are some kinds of omissions which will be always charged as wilful, and will be

enough to exclude us from the kingdom of heaven: particularly, if we omit or neglect to worship God, or to do good to man, as our opportunities and abilities permit. If we neglect to" feed the hungry," or to "clothe the na"ked," or to "visit the sick," or to "comfort the afflict"ed;" our blessed Lord himself hath told us, that we shall not be admitted into the kingdom of heaven: and further, if we neglect or omit to "forgive our enemies," we can have no forgiveness at the hands of God. Briefly then, though many of our omissions, or neglects, amount only to sins of infirmity; yet there are sins of omission which are both wilful and dangerous, as any other sins are, and which will admit of no excuse upon any pretence of human frailty.

I come next to speak of sins of commission, the doing what we ought not to do. Sins of this kind are mostly wilful: but some there are which may be justly looked upon as sins of infirmity. Drunkenness in righteous Noah, once only, might be a sin of infirmity. He was not aware of the effects of wine: he had not till then had experience of it: he was overtaken unawares, and surprised into it. I know not whether the like favourable excuse may not be admitted for others who may once unhappily fall into the like excess unawares. But, generally speaking, as the world now stands, a man can scarce be surprised into such excess, or overtaken without his fault. Many perhaps will say, that they did not, or do not, design to drink so far as to be drunken: that may be true; but still they are wilful sinners and drunkards, for not designing and resolving to be constantly sober, and for not using the proper means to avoid the temptation.

Some have been weak enough to plead human frailty even for crying and scandalous sins; such as fornication or adultery, or other sinful lusts: but all such pretences are vain. Sins of that kind never are, never can be, committed without great degrees of wilfulness. It is not surprise nor inadvertency which brings a man into the commission of such offences; but they are chosen and preme

ditated sins, and a man is drawn into them through lust. and wantonness, by several steps and degrees, with full consent of a depraved will. Slight offences a man may be drawn into by surprise or incogitancy; but hardly into the great ones. The mind starts, and conscience generally gives the alarm beforehand, that a man must take some pains with himself, generally, before he can reconcile himself to any great and scandalous vices. Such offences, therefore, are not sins of infirmity, but they are deliberate, presumptuous, damning sins. If it be pleaded, that the object is inviting, and the temptation strong, violent, irresistible; that is just such a plea as any common thief or robber might make for invading property or making an assault. No doubt but that such persons are violently tempted to commit such outrages, or they would not do them: the temptation, probably, in that case, is stronger than in the other; for a thief or a robber does it at the utmost peril, and ventures his life in it; whereas it is more than probable, that if fornication or adultery were as severely prohibited, and punishable by the laws of the land, it would be found that the men of pleasure could command themselves, and resist the temptation but they are encouraged, after they have laid aside the fear of God, by the hopes of impunity from man; and then being got above restraint, they commit all uncleanness with greediness.

There are some other kinds of sins for which human infirmity is sometimes pleaded, and with very little reason. Acts of hostility, assaults, beating, striking, wounding, and the like. It is said by way of excuse, that they were provoked to it, and that flesh and blood could not forbear in such cases. But these are pretences only of vain men, who have not yet learned any thing of Christian meekness, but who have hearts too proud and stubborn to submit to the rules of the Gospel. Sins of infirmity, properly so called, are sins of quite another kind than those I have now mentioned. Good men run sometimes into excessive warmth and zeal in the discharge

of a duty, or execution of an office: they may be guilty of indiscreet rigours, and push things too far; may be so afraid of not doing enough, that they will even over-do, and be too officious or too severe, exceeding the bounds of Christian prudence, and doing hurt, when they intended good.

These and other the like indiscretions of good men are properly sins of infirmity, owing to inadvertency, or surprise, or to some natural weakness adhering to their particular temper, complexion, and constitution.

From what hath been said, every intelligent hearer may competently judge which are sins of infirmity, and which not and I thought it of moment, to be as distinct and particular as possible on this head, to prevent mistakes; by which means this part has been drawn out into a greater length than I at first supposed; and I have no room left for the two other articles I proposed to treat of. I shall therefore break off for the present, and, with your good leave, defer the remainder to another opportunity.

SERMON X.

The Nature and Kinds of Sins of Infirmity.

The Second Sermon on this Subject.

MATTH. xxvi. 41.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. IN a former discourse upon this text, I undertook to open and explain the nature of sins of infirmity; and to consider the most material points, which might either fall within the subject or relate to it: and, that I might do this in some order and method, I proposed to throw the substance of what I intended into three general heads, which were these:

I. To consider what kind of sins are properly sins of infirmity.

II. To inquire how our spiritual state and condition are affected thereby.

III. To show what kind of management on our own

part may be prudent or proper in regard to them. Upon the first of these heads, I found myself obliged to be so distinct, large, and particular, that I had no room left for prosecuting the other two. I considered of what importance it might be to us, to distinguish carefully and accurately between sins of infirmity and presumptuous sins and therefore made it my business to show, by what marks and tokens we may readily distinguish one from the other and I endeavoured, further, to illustrate the