Four Sermons Author:John Wilkinson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SERMON III. Preached at the Chapel, Redcross-street, Union-street, Oct. 21,1832. Sin is the transgression of the law; love is the fulfilling of the law; Go... more »d is love, sin is therefore a direct act of rebellion against God. By nature we do not love God. It may indeed, require some particular circumstances, fairly to exhibit our natural tendency to disobedience to God, and our hatred of his law; but whenever these occasions occur to an unregenerate mind, rebellion doth not fail to exhibit itself; there is direct opposition to the law of God, which is the law of love ; and therefore, by nature we are children of wrath, my beloved friends, even as others. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God; the unregenerate man is continually sinning; but the law of God when made known to him, and when recollected by him, is in opposition to his inclinations and dispositions, and inasmuch as he is conscious of the law of God and of its requirements he feels it a restraint upon him. How often do poor weak corrupt creatures feel as if they should be heartily glad if they could but throw off all restraints, thatthey might enjoy themselves, that they might have those satisfactions which they cannot imagine, but that it is some harshness and improper severity that they should be restrained from. Besides, if there were not so many restraints, they are ready to think sometimes that they should not feel so much tendency to run into those things which ara forbidden. Thus take man any way he seems to be dissatisfied ; but if there were no restraints, or if he could fancy there were no outward restraints upon him, and that he should not be called to an account, and if under that idea he runs into the indulgence of all his inclinations, he soon finds that he is restrained by the very natur...« less