The blood of Abel, and the blood of Jesus considered and improved, in a sermon delivered at Taunton, December the first, 1763. Upon the day of the execution of Bristol, a Negro boy of about sixteen years old, for the murder of Miss Elizabeth McKinstry. / By Sylvanus Conant, A.M. Pastor of the First Church in Middleborough. ; [Four lines of Scripture quotations]

A SERMON, &c.

HEB. XII.24.

— And to the Blood of Sprinkling, that speaketh better Things than that of ABEL.

IT is well known to this numerous Audience, that the sad and melancholy Occasion of our assembling this Day, is, to see the Execu|tion of Justice upon the condemned Cri|minal here present: And, as our Design in coming into the House of GOD this Morning, is, to give Him one more Opportunity of hearing a Message from the Oracles of GOD, and so from the Throne of Grace; as also to present our united Supplications to the ALMIGHTY in his Behalf, and to hear what GOD the LORD has to say unto us upon this solemn and affecting Occasion,

I shall therefore address myself immediately to the Consideration of some Things, suitable, both to employ the Thoughts of the Criminal, (whose immortal Soul, before Night, will be re|quired of him) and also to assist the Meditations, and animate the Devotion of us all.

But, who of us can think of the guilty Cause of this general Concourse, without feeling our Heart struck, and deeply too, with the different Sensations of severe Indignation, and tender Com|passion? Indignation, at the black and horrid Crime; but Compassion to the abandon'd Crimi|nal? For we ought to pity his Person, tho' he is justly condemn'd to Death; and to pray for the Salvation of his immortal Soul, tho' we greatly abhor his Action.

However; all our Pity, our Prayers and best Endeavours to recover him to a thoro' Repen|tance, and to the Mercy and Favour of GOD, would be absolutely vain and without the least Hopes of Success, were it not for the Consideration of, The BLOOD of SPRINKLING, that speaketh bet|ter Things than the BLOOD of ABEL. Here is the Encouragement we have, to persevere in using Means with Him, or indeed with any other Transgressor: And since it has pleased the infi|nitely merciful GOD to provide this sovereign and powerful Remedy, for the Salvation of Sin|ners that have destroy'd themselves; therefore, as long as Life and Breath last, and as long as the Gospel sounds in our Ears, we should be striving, using Means, &c. Because, so long as we are favoured with Life, Reason, and the Gospel, we have the rich Blessings of Pardon and Re|demption held forth to us all, and freely offered to our Acceptance, thro' the virtuous Blood of Christ. Nevertheless; our Malady is to be set before us, antecedent to our Remedy; for the whole need not a Phisician, but they that are sick; and the Words of Scripture I have now read to you, as they refer to the Blood of Abel and the

Blood of Jesus, (in which Light I consider them) do furnish us with suitable Matter, to answer both these Ends in general, and to answer the present Occasion in particular; for,

I think, we can hardly mention, or hear men|tioned, the Blood of ABEL, without bringing a|fresh to our Minds, the horrible Murder that was perpetrated upon him by his Brother Cain; which Murder of Abel, as it was committed in|tirely without a great many of those external Causes, Provocations, and Motives, that have oftentimes embolden'd, and hurried on other au|dacious Sinners to the like guilty Act; on this Account, it seems nearly related, and a good deal similar to the Murder we now deplore, and for which the Murderer is soon to be executed.

Among the various Kinds, or Denominations of Homicide or Man-killing, I can think of but three Things that will free the Agent from the Guilt of innocent Blood in such Instances, viz. either profound Ignorance, or what is called Ac|cident, or Self-Defence; in all which Cases, it is supposed that the Actor may be innocent, and accordingly Provision is made for his Safety, both in the Law of GOD and Man. These Cases excepted, there is no Excuse for the Murderer; he must die, or the Guilt of Blood will lay upon the Community.

As for Suicide (or Self-Murder) which is the worst of all; nothing but Ignorance, or Accident leave us any Ground to hope favorably of the Self-Destroyer. But as this is not the Crime un|der Consideration, I shall say nothing about it: Neither shall I insist or enlarge upon the Eviden|ces, which prove, that Murder is a Sin of the

most enormous Size that we can commit against our Fellow-creatures, since the Evidences hereof are so deeply stampt, in the Laws of Nature, of GOD, and of Man.

What I have mainly in my View, at the pre|sent, is, to make some Representation of the Hor|ribleness of the Crime of Murder, and also of the only Remedy provided by GOD for the Sal|vation of the penitent Criminal; both of which Cases will be toucht upon, if we attend to what is referred to in the Text: And accordingly I propose, with Brevity, to consider the two fol|lowing Things, viz.

1. What the Things were, that the Blood of ABEL spake. 2dly. What the better Things are, that the Blood of JESUS speaks: Which done, the Way will be open, 3dly. For a pointed Address to the Criminal in particular. And 4thly. A Word of Admonition and Exhortation to all in general. And may the SPIRIT of GOD be with us, to assist the Speaker and the Hearers; by whose gracious Influence also, may we all be thoro'ly convinced of Sin, and have that Blood of Sprinkling applied to us, which speaketh bet|ter Things than that of ABEL.

I. We are to consider what the Things were, that the Blood of ABEL spake: In doing which, we shall naturally be led back to view the tragic Scene that open'd to the World, the first Instance of Murder;* 1.1 and also the Process of Justice a|gainst the audacious Criminal.

You well remember the affecting History, by which we are informed that the Blood of Abel

was shed by the Hand of his own, and only Bro|ther Cain, with whom he was bro't up and lived in Peace; against whom he had no Quarrel, and to whom he gave no Cause of Offence. Cain was the abandoned Wretch, who (instigated by Satan, and led on by the Envy, Malice, and Hatred of his own Heart) sought, and found an Opportu|nity to vent the Rage and Malice of his Heart in the Murder of his Brother: Cursed be his Anger for it was fierce, and his Wrath for it was cruel; cruel to the last Degree, for nothing could allay the groundless Anger of his guilty Heart, or calm the raging Storm of unprovok'd Wrath and Envy in his troubled Breast, but the Death of his loving and harmless Brother. Unnatural Cain! to point his deadly Hatred and Fury against his pious Brother. But this he did, and his furious Passion rose, and flam'd higher and higher, 'till it burst forth, and impetuously drove him on to commit the horrid Deed. He rose up against his Brother—all of a sudden and in a Rage he smote him—the Blow was fatal—instantly the Blood gushes forth, and runs from his wounded Body, and his Life transpires with his Blood—Abel is dead—the Deed is done, and it can neither be recall'd or cancell'd; for tho' Abel himself could not speak, yet his Blood spake, and spake with a Voice so loud, that it piere'd Heaven, and enter'd into the Ears of that holy LORD GOD to whom Vengeance belongs. And,

Inasmuch as there were no Courts of Judica|ture in the World then, as there are now; GOD himself, the righteous Judge, in some more imme|diate Way and Manner than now he does, ap|peared to make Inquision for Blood, and to pro|secute

the Criminal: Accordingly Cain was ar|raigned before GOD; he was examined, convict|ed, and condemned: An Account of which Pro|cess we have recorded in Genesis, Chap. the 4th.

What a Hell of inward Anguish, Horror and Guilt must the Murderer feel in his Breast, when he came under the immediate Eye, and Examina|tion, and Sentence of GOD! and yet he was so far from Repentance, and so incorrigible in his Wickedness, that even when the omniscient JUDGE ask'd him the Question, Where is Abel thy Brother? The vile Miscreant had not only the Confidence, to tell a down right Lie, and say I know not, but also he had the Impudence, by Way of Reflection and Insult, to ask his Maker that impertinent Question, Am I my Brother's Keeper? As if he had a Mind to controvert the Point, and maintain his guilty Cause, against the great Searcher of Hearts. And alas! is it not too common a Thing in our Day, for those Per|sons who have committed an high Crime, to en|deavour to cover and secrete it with a Lie, and to insult those that examine them too, and even to persevere in their Falshood, 'till the Witness of their Crime is call'd and heard? Thus obstinate was Cain, 'till the Witness of his Murder (i. e. the Blood of Abel) was refer'd to and mentioned, as it was by the Mouth of GOD himself. But O how must it pierce his guilty Heart to hear the Almighty pronounce, with a Tone awfully ma|jestic, and full of holy Resentment, and say, point|ing his Address to Cain, The Voice of thy Bro|ther's Blood crieth unto me from the Ground? As if the Almighty had said to him,

See—there runs the Blood of thy innocent Brother, shed by thy guilty Hand—Behold it thrilling from his wounded Body, and soaking into the soften'd Earth, which has open'd her Mouth to receive his Blood from thy Hand. Know thou, that tho' he is dead, yet his Blood speaks and cries to me from the Ground: This is the Witness of thy Murder; the Earth also testifieth against thee▪ and thy guilty Consci|ence ecchoes to the Cry of both; and now hear the righteous, but terrible Sentence from the Mouth of thy Judge—Thou art cursed from the Earth—

We see that the Blood of Murder speaks loud; it has a Voice that pierces Earth and Heaven; it reaches the Seat of Justice and the Throne of God: The Blood of Abel did so; and tho' there was no other human Eye that was a living Wit|ness to the Murder, but the Eye of Cain; yet as an ancient Writer saith, † 1.2

The Earth was a Witness, and the Heavens too, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars,

&c. And GOD himself be|ing the Judge, He well understood the Testimony that these Witnesses gave.

But more immediately to the Point in Hand. The Blood of Abel spake many Things plain and easy to be understood; particularly, it spake not only who his Murderer was, pointing to his Brother against whom his Blood cried: It spake not only the enormous Guilt and Cruelty of his Brother, who, in committing the black Crime, laid aside, and supprest the acting of all the Principles of Humanity, brotherly Affection, and every generous Sentiment; and abandon'd himself to

the contrary Principles of gnawing Envy, dead|ly Malice, and cruel Hatred; the Influence of which he followed, 'till he violently broke thro' all the Laws of Relation, Connection, Humanity, Justice, and of GOD himself; and made a bloo|dy Victim of his innocent Brother: I say, the Blood of Abel not only spake this, but also,

It spake for Judgment, and a perfect Sentence a|gainst the Murderer, without the least Variation from strict Justice and the established Law of Heaven.

Also, it spake for Vengeance to be executed to the full, without the least Mercy or Mitigation: And there was the highest Reason that the Voice of his Blood should be heard and answered, for the Criminal had violated all the Laws of Nature, and of Nature's GOD.

These Things spake the Blood of Abel: And, the Blood of Murder speaks the same Things for Substance now, and has spoke the same Things thro' all Ages of the World, that the Blood of Abel did: Nor has the Earth been a Stranger to the Repetition of the like Crime, and the like Cry; for she has, from Time to Time, open'd her Mouth to receive the Blood of Murder from the Hands of wicked Men.

But tho' the Sin of Murder is a Sin that wears the Colour of Scarlet and Crimson, and brings the most aggravated Guilt upon the Criminal; still, the Greatness of this Sin don't lessen the evil Nature and Consequence of other Sins; for every Sin (tho' not so aggravated as this, yet) is really wounding and destructive to the Soul as this is; because every Sin is a Violation of the same per|fect Law of GOD, and renders the Sinner obnoxi|ous to the Malediction of the Law; for the Law

being unalterably just and good, it must, as it does, speak aloud for Judgment and Vengeance against the Transgressor; and the Author of the Law pronounceth, (let us hear the Sentence and lay it to Heart) The Soul that sinneth shall die; nor will the Almighty alter a Tittle of his Law, or do any Thing that will stain his glorious Throne, for the Sake of saving a guilty Creature from deserved Death and Destruction: And if this is the Case, all of us have Reason to be alarm|ed; for, who of us can say we are without Sin, or that we have not transgressed the perfect Law of God in Thought, Word, or Deed, Times with|out Number? Indeed, thro' the restraining Good|ness of GOD, we may be kept back from those flagrant Acts of Wickedness, which expose us to the Observation and Punishment of human Laws: But we must remember that our eternal JUDGE is not limited to those Laws in proceeding with us—far from it—he is limited only by his own perfect and eternal Law, to which he strictly attends in dealing with us: And this Law is so pure, spiritual, and extensive, that it reaches the Tho'ts and Motions of the Heart, as well as the Actions of the Life: Accordingly we find that it declares us Murderers for hating our Brother, as well as for taking away his mortal Life; and so of every other Sin; the Law condemns us for the in-dwelling, as well as for the out-breaking of it. And,

If there was no Provision made for our Pardon and Redemption, but what is reveal'd in the pure and perfect Law of GOD; not only the Criminal here present, but also every Soul of us must be condemn'd and damn'd to all Eternity; for we

being Transgressors of the Law, it calls as loud for Vengeance against us, as the Blood of Abel did for Vengeance against Cain; Cursed is every one that continueth not in all Things written in the Book of the Law to do them; instead of continu|ing in all Things, we have fail'd in all Things, nor is it possible for us, by any Offerings we can make, or Works of Righteousness that we can do, ei|ther to atone for our Offences, or to escape the Vengeance of GOD, to which we are condemn'd by his holy Law.

The Cry of the Blood of Abel against Cain, represents the Spirit and the Language of the Law against the Transgressor; so that if we Sinners, think to obtain the Favour of GOD our Judge, by the Deeds of the Law, we shall meet with the most amazing Disappointment; for instead of hearing any Thing in our Favour, we shall hear the Law denounce against us, Death and Damna|tion, and the glorious Author of the Law will ra|tify the Sentence.

But, through the tender Mercies of our GOD, (blessed be his Name) we hear a different Voice from the Gospel, and a different Cry from the Blood of HIM who offered himself a Sacrifice for our Sins; who was wounded for our Transgressi|ons; who bled to wash us from our Guilt and moral Pollution; who died that we might live for ever. The Scene now changeth from Dark|ness to Light; and O! that the Light of the Glory of GOD, in the Face of JESUS CHRIST, may shine into our Hearts, and raise us up to the lively Hope of Pardon and eternal Life! We are now call'd from a particular Attention to those Things that the Blood of Abel spake, and we are invited,

II. To consider the better Things that the Blood of JESUS speaks.

I take the Blood of Sprinkling, which is here set in Contrast with the Blood of Abel, to intend the Blood of Jesus; to the Voice of which, let our Ears and Hearts be open and attentive.

If we consider what we are to understand by the Blood of Jesus; why it is call'd the Blood of Sprinkling; and, what the Things are that it speaks; we shall see how much better Things it speaks than the Blood of Abel.

The Subject is very copious, and affords Matter of the strongest Consolation to Sinners, whose Consciences are stung with a Sense of Guilt, and with the Fear of deserved Vengeance from the almighty GOD: But the present Circumstances oblige me to as much Brevity as is consistent with Perspicuity. Here then,

1st. By the Blood of Jesus, we are to under|stand, not meerly the material Blood that ran from his wounded Side, or any other Part of his wounded Body: but rather, the whole of those Actions and Sufferings of His, which, as a a Surety, and Mediator between GOD and Man, he passed thro' in his Humiliation State, for the Redemption of Sinners to God: The Merit or Vertue of those Actions and Sufferings are signi|fied by his Blood: Hence the whole Redemption of those that are finally sav'd, is ascribed to his Blood; so their grateful Song runs, Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to GOD by thy Blood: Whence it is plain, that the virtuous Cause of our Pardon and Cleansing; as also of our Justificati|on, and full Redemption, is to be found in his Blood. To this Purpose are those Passages of

Scripture, Eph. 1.7.—We have Redemption tho' his Blood, the Forgiveness of Sins.—1 John 1.7.—The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all Sin. Christ the Son of GOD, being himself truly GOD, and truly Man in one Person, his Blood is of sufficient Virtue to cleanse us from the Guilt and Turpitude of all Sins, the greatest as well as the least, and also to render us righte|ous and holy in the Sight of God: And inas|much as his Blood answers these great Ends, it must intend the Value, Virtue, or Merit of all that he acted and suffered for the Salvation of Sinners, in his Humiliation-State.

2dly. It is call'd the Blood of Sprinkling, from those ceremonial Practices in the Hebrew Wor|ship, which had Reference to the Blood of Christ, and the Use of it.

You are sensible that the Sprinkling of the Blood of Sacrifices in old Times, had a different Meaning and Signification, according to the diffe|rent Objects that were sprinkled. For Instance, when the Blood was sprinkled upon the Mercy-Seat and before it; upon the Altar, and upon the Book of the Law, it signified Atonement. * 1.3 When it was sprinkled on the Persons who had committed any Fault, it signified Pardon and Pu|rification.† 1.4 In Answer to these Shadows, the Blood of Jesus, which, as our Surety he shed, has sprinkled the Throne of GOD, the Altar of Justice, and the Book of the divine Law; by the sprinkling of which, our Sins are aton'd for; the Law of GOD is magnified; his Justice is satisfied; his Wrath is appeas'd; and thro' this Medium the Throne of GOD is a Throne of Grace, to which

we are invited. And furthermore; the same Blood being sprinkled upon us, or applied to our Persons and Consciences, effectually removes our Guilt, and renders our Persons righteous in the Eye of GOD; also it purges our Hearts from moral Defilement, and renders our Natures holy; so the Apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews ar|gueth: If the Blood of Bulls and Goats, and the Ashes of an Heifer, sprinkling the Unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the Flesh; how much more shall the Blood of Christ, who thro' the eternal Spirit, offered himself without Spot to GOD, purge your Consciences from dead Works, to serve the living GOD!

3dly. The Things that the Blood of Jesus speaks are many, and very comfortable. The Import of what it speaks is; that the full Price of our Redemption from Sin, Wrath and Ruin, is paid down; and that the Way to GOD and Glory is laid open, by Virtue of it. Also it speaks the Language of Pardon, Mercy, and Grace, to the most guilty and miserable Sinner; for his Blood speaks the same Language that dropt from his sacred Mouth when he hung upon the Cross, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. This he spake in Favour of his cruel Mur|derers, while they were perpetrating the horrid Act. O Love! beyond all Degrees of Compa|rison, to cry for Pardon to be given to his Cru|cifiers, even in his Crucifixion-Pangs! For the like Blessing, his Blood speaks now; it cries for pardoning Mercy for the greatest Criminals, and pleads for their Admission to the Favour of GOD: "When Justice calls for Sinners Blood, the Sa|viour shews his own" thro' the Virtue of which,

the believing Sinner is accepted of GOD, and justified from all Things, from which he could not be justified by the Law of Moses. Further|more; the Import of what it speaks, abundantly assures us, that it is an effectual Means, being ap|plied to cleanse us from the deepest Stains that Sin has fix'd in our Souls: Sprinkled with his Blood, the Eyes of our Understandings are open'd to behold the Glory of GOD in the Face of Christ, our Hearts too are soften'd into evangelic Repentance; our Consciences are purged from dead Works; our Passions are renewed, and our whole Souls begin to shine in moral Purity. In a Word; his Blood speaks, healing to the broken-hearted—Deliverance to Captives— the opening of the Prison to them that are bound, and Salva|tion, with eternal Glory to them that deserve Damnation and eternal Misery. His Blood speaks and pleads with GOD, for Mercy to be granted to Sinners; and it speaks and pleads with Sin|ners, to come and wash in the healing Fountain of it; and to look unto Him for Salvation; promising them an Admission into the Kingdom of Grace here, and into the Kingdom of Glory hereafter.

These are some of the comfortable Things that the Blood of Jesus speaks; and O! how much better are they, than the Things that the Blood of Abel, or the Blood of Murder, or the violated Law of GOD speak to the Trans|gressor. These latter speak for the Judgment of Condemnation against the guilty; but the Blood of Jesus speaks for Pardon, Acquittance, and eternal Life: These, speak for Vengance, without Mercy, to be poured upon the Criminals; but

the Blood of Jesus pleads the contrary; it cries with an interceeding Voice before the Throne of GOD;

Spare the Rebels—forgive the Trans|gressors—receive them to Favour and immor|tal Bliss; Here is Blood to atone for their Offences—to magnify the violated Law—and to satisfy the Justice of Heaven; Her is Blood to wash their spotted Souls, and to cause them to shine in all the Beauties of Holiness.

What a sovereign Remedy is here, for the most threatning Maladies and Miseries of a guilty Soul! and, blessed be GOD▪ to this same Blood of Sprinkling, we are all invited, by the soft and alluring Voice of the Gospel; the general Im|port of which is, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sin of the World! And now; having endeavoured briefly to make Representa|tion of the Things that the Blood of Abel spake; and the better Things that the Blood of Jesus speaks, the Way is open,

III. To Address myself to the Criminal here present, who is justly condemned to Death, for a bloody Crime that speaks against him the same Language that the Blood of Abel did against his cruel Murderer.

But, how shall I speak to the poor Malefactor, who is prest under the Weight, both of his own Guilt, and the Sentence of Death—just going into Eternity, and never more to hear a public Address from the Oracles of GOD? There is a Sensibility in human Nature—if we don't feel for him, we are stupid—if he don't feel for him|self, he is more so.

May GOD of his infinite Mercy touch all our Hearts with a suitable Concern for him! May

the Holy Spirit assist me in addressing him, and give to him a composed, attentive and believing Mind, that he may hear, so as that his Soul shall live!

Poor unhappy Bristol! The Day of your Death is now come, and you have but a very few Hours more to live. The Laws of the Land and the Laws of GOD, call for the Destruction of your mortal Life; Whoso sheddeth Man's Blood, by Man shall his Blood be shed† 1.5: This is the Decree of Heaven, and it is to be executed by Man, nor have you the least Ray of Hope that you shall escape; for the Sentence is past, not to be revok'd—the Day of Execution is come—the Guard is about you—the Instruments of Death are made ready—your Coffin and your Grave are open—

Alas! to what a wretched and forlorn Condi|tion hath your own extravagant Folly and Wick|edness bro't you? And with what severe Reflec|tions and bitter Repentance ought you, once more, to survey your vile Heart, your bloody Crime, and the Aggravations of it? That, self-condemned, you may prostrate your guilty Soul at the Foot of the Cross of Christ, and plead for the Application of his Blood, which, alone, can save you from everlasting Death, and the Ven|geance of an angry GOD.

You are not to imagine, that you are treated with any greater Severity meerly because you are a black Boy, and bro't from your native Country among us, for you are not: If any of us had done such a horrid Thing as you have, we should be treated as you are: Your being of a different

Colour from us, makes no Odds in this Matter. You have not only an immortal Soul as we have, but you are of the same Kind of Flesh and Blood that we are; for GOD hath made of one Blood, all Nations of Men, for to dwell on all the Face of the Earth: * 1.6 Hence you are under the same general Laws of GOD and of Man that we are; † 1.7 both of which Laws you have broken, in the most daring and unmerciful Manner.

You have done a most wicked Thing, and your Crime is of the blackest Nature; for, without Provocation, you have shed innocent Blood: Nor had you any Compassion upon the poor unfor|tunate young Lady, against whom your deadly Hatred was vented; for in a Fit of Malice you suddenly destroy'd her Life, without giving her a Moment's Time to prepare for Eternity. How differently have you been treated by your kind Master and Mistress, and by the Civil Authority; who, out of Charity, lengthen'd out your Life; and by Numbers of others, who have taken much Pains to instruct, and prepare you for Death? I say, how differently have you been treated, from your Treatment of the unhappy Victim of your cruel Rage and Passion. She had not Time to cry to Heaven for Mercy: But tho' she is dead, yet her Blood cries for Vengeance against you:

And O! what Horror and amazing Anguish will seize you, if you meet and hear that Blood cry against you at the Bar of God, where you will will presently appear!

You can't plead Ignorance; for not only your own Conscience told you it was a great Sin, but your Education told you the same; for you had the Privilege of being cast into Families of Repu|tation and Religion, from whom, we doubt not, but you was well instructed and cautioned; par|ticularly, I have good Assurance, that the last worthy and virtuous Family in which you served, took Pains to make you sensible of the Evil of Sin, how hateful it is to GOD, and how hurtful to you, and also to recommend to you a religious and virtuous Life; so that you are wholly with|out Excuse: And not only without Excuse, But,

Your Crime is attended with the most aggra|vating Circumstances; and you have Reason to fear an aggravated Punishment. Your Sin points every Way, and calls for Vengeance from every Quarter. You have sinned against the holy GOD before whose awful Bar you must appear and be judged: You have sinned against the Light of your Conscience—against the Light of Instruction, and against your own Soul; and you must un|avoidably suffer the Vengeance of eternal Fire, unless you have Repentance and Redemption thro' the Blood of Christ: You have sinned against the Laws of Man, that are founded on the divine Law: You have sinned most sensibly against your Master and Mistress, and filled them with inex|pressible Grief and Sorrow; tho' you can't but own that they have treated you with Christian Care and Tnderness: In a Word, you have sin|ned

against all Mankind; and against all the Laws of Nature; and your Iniquity has found you out, nor can you hide any of the Circumstances of it from the all-seeing Eye of your great Judge.

Now you find, by painful Experience, that the Blood of Murder cries with a loud Voice, and that it is heard afar off as well as near: It pur|sued you swiftly when you fled, and call'd you back to Prison, and laid you in Chains: It follow|ed you to the Bar of Justice, and there cried for Judgment against you; and your own Confession implicitly call'd for the same: Accordingly, the solemn Sentence was pronounced by the just, tho' tender-hearted Judge; and now there is nothing remaineth, but the still more gloomy and dread|ful Scene of Execution; to prepare you for which, you have no where to look but to the GOD whose Anger you have provoked, and whose Vengeance you deserve.

But notwithstanding the Greatness of your Sin, which calls aloud for the Destruction of your mortal Life, and of your immortal Soul too; yet (blessed be God) there is a sweet and sove|reign Voice sounding in your Ears from the Throne of Grace, thro' the Gospel of our Salva|tion, proclaiming Pardon, Peace, and eternal Re|demption to Sinners, and even to you, thro' the precious Blood of Christ, which is of sufficient Virtue and Power to atone for this and all your Sins—to wash your Heart from Wickedness, and to present you with Acceptance before the Pre|sence of your final Judge.

The infinitely merciful GOD earnestly calls and encourages you to Repentance: Hearken, and you will hear him speak from his holy Oracles,

As I live, saith the LORD, I have no Pleasure in the Death of the Wicked, but that the Wicked turn from his Way and live; turn ye, &c.

Again, the Saviour of the World invites you to run into his Name, and under the Wings of his Righteousness, for Protection; and to his virtu|ous Blood for Pardon and Cleansing: O, turn to this strong Hold, thou Prisoner of Hope! And once more; we beseech you to give up your Soul to the only Redeemer; we beseech you by the Mercies of God—by the gracious Encourage|ments of the Gospel—by the Terrors of the Law—by the Solemnities of the Judgment Seat, to which you are going—by the Worth of your immortal Soul, that must be filled with inexpres|sible Pleasure or Pain for ever—by the Horrors of Hell, and by the Joys and Happiness of Hea|ven; by all these important Considerations, we beseech you to be reconciled to GOD, by a hear|ty and speedy Embracement of Jesus Christ: He yet waits to be gracious, and yet calls for Ad|mission into your Heart; Behold I stand at the Door and knock, &c. O! that he would make a triumphant Entrance into your Heart, and enable you humbly and joyfully to receive him, and to make a faithful Surrender of your forfeited Life, and your guilty Soul, into his almighty and mer|ciful Hands!

You have not a Moment to loose; for your Feet stand upon a slippery Place—tottering on the outmost Verge of Time, and over the amaz|ing Gulph of an unbounded Eternity, into which you must plunge in a few Moments. O danger|ous Situation! your Soul is the only Thing you have to care for, and Christ is the only Saviour

that can befriend you in this important Point. Now, in an eminent Manner, is the accepted Time with you—Now is the Hour of Salvation: And, to encourage and persuade you to believe on Christ with all your Heart, He not only invites you to come to him, but promises to receive you graciously, to forgive you freely, to wash you thoro'ly, and to save you eternally: Come now and let us reason together, saith the LORD, tho' your Sins be as Scarlet, they shall be white as Snow; tho' they be red like Crimson, they shall be as Wool. Here, guilty Bristol! is a Fountain of Grace open, to wash you from the Guilt and Stain of your scarlet and crimson Sins; and the LORD himself bids you welcome, for to you he calls, with the soft Voice of Invitation, Come un|to me, hear, and your Soul shall live!

Wherefore, now collect all your Thoughts— rouse all the Powers of your Soul, and, without Delay, center your Faith, Hope and Confidence intirely in Christ: Rest upon his unbounded Me|rits and almighty Power to remove your Guilt; to renew your Nature; to support you thro' the gloomy Scene of Death; and to present you with Acceptance before the glorious Presence of the eternal God: to whose infinite Grace we com|mend you, and in his sovereign Hands we leave you; earnestly beseeching him to ransom your Soul from Destruction, and receive you to his ever|lasting Mercy.

IV. I shall close, with a few Words, by Way of Admonition and Exhortation to this whole Assembly; every Individual of which, is as cer|tainly appointed to Death, by the Determination

of GOD, as the Criminal before us is, by the just Determination of Man.

May GOD impress our Hearts with the solemn Instructions and Warnings that are suggested to us, by this Instance of Murder that is fresh in our Minds, and by the wretched Condition of the Murderer!

If I have been rightly informed; this Negro Boy is the first Instance, of a Criminal, that has been convicted, and condemned to Death for Murder in this County, since This was made a Shire-Town, and for a great Number of Years before; would to GOD it may be the last! Within this Province also, this is the first Instance of a capital Offender that has been executed for more than six Years past. But unless the Work|ers of Iniquity and bold Transgressors do receive some Check, and are reduced to more Caution and better Behaviour, we have Reason to fear that it will not be the last for six Years to come; for wicked and extravagant Men are apt to grow worse and worse, till they are violently seized by the high Hand of Justice.

The present affecting Instance of Justice, upon a capital Offender, is like a flaming Beacon, set up before our Eyes, solemnly warning us to see, and hear, and fear, and not do so wickedly as he has done; for altho' this Instance of Wick|edness and Punishment seems to speak, in a par|ticular Manner, to you that are Servants and Slaves, (as it really does, and loudly warns you to oppose every Temptation or Inticement to do a wicked Thing; to guard against sudden Fits of Passion; against secret Envy, Malice, Hatred and a revengeful Spirit; and against open Violence:

to be faithful, attentive, and dutiful to those whom you serve, and to behave in a modest and peaceable Manner to every Body,) yet this In|stance speaks an Admonition to us all, as well as to Servants; and therefore,

1. Let us all take Warning, and strictly guard against the out-breaking of any of the vile and violent Passions: Neither let us think, that the Warning is needless; for we have the same vici|ous Seeds of Enmity, Prejudice, Wrath, Malice, Envy, Hatred, and the like in our Hearts, that were the guilty Cause of the Murder we now la|ment; and if we give License to these Principles, they will lead us on to the Commission of some enormous Wickedness, that will destroy either our Name, or mortal life, or immortal Soul, or destroy them all together: for, from within, out of the Heart, proceed evil Thoughts, Murders, Adulteries, Fornications, Thefts, False-Witness, Blasphemies: And 'tis dangerous giving Way to these evil Habits, and following their Dictates; for they will involve us in Destruction and Per|dition. It is for these and the like Things that the Wrath or GOD cometh down on the Chil|dren of Disobedience. And I must tell you, my Hearers! that if you will not feel, nor yield At|tention to the Force of wholesome Instructions, Counsels and Warnings, you must feel the Force of executive Justice, and deserved Punishment; for he that bring often reproved, hardneth his Neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that with|out Remedy.

If those of you who live a prophane, intem|perate, debauched, irreligious and vicious Life▪ or that indulge an envious, angry, and revenge|ful

Temper against any Body, imagine that you shall come off with Impunity, you are very great|ly mistaken; for if thro' your cunning Crafti|ness, you do happen to escape deserved Punish|ment from Men, yet the LORD our GOD will not suffer you to escape his righteous Judgments.— If you are not arraigned before the Judgment-Seat of Man, to answer for your Faults, you must be arraigned before the Judgment-Seat of Christ, from whose Eye you can hide none of your evil Purposes or Practices; and from whose almighty Power you cannot escape the just Punishment of your vicious and irreligious Life. Wherefore,

Cease to do Evil, and learn to do well: Let the Examples of revenging Justice, from the civil Authority, upon bold Transgressors, deter you from open Wickedness; and let the infinitely heavier Vengeance of GOD, upon the incorrigi|ble Sinner, deter you from the Indulgence of any Sin in Heart or in Life. Guard against every Temp|tation to Sin, and crush the first Motions of En|vy, Malice, and every evil Disposition; and that you may succeed in your Attempts to purge your Heart and your Life from these moral Evils, ap|ply to Christ our Prince and Saviour; thro' Faith in whose Blood, and in no other Way, you can obtain the Forgiveness of Sins, Victory over Temp|tations, and Strength to crucify the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts.

2. Let us remember, that altho' (thro' the good Hand of our GOD upon us) we have been preserved from capital Offences against the Laws of Men, yet we have transgressed the infinitely higher Law of GOD, by which we shall be judged at the last. And since it is plain, that GOD will

not vary, in the least, from his perfect Law, in proceeding with us: Since also it is true in Fact, that we have transgressed his Law in numberless Instances, and are justly condemn'd to Death by the Sentence of it; we have Reason therefore, to be greatly alarm'd, and the more so, because we can neither atone for any of our Sins, nor wrench ourselves out of the almighty Hand of the sove|reign and sin-revenging GOD, who, out of Christ, is a consuming Fire to the Transgressor.

You see and hear what terrible Things the Blood of Murder, and the Laws of Men speak against the Criminal, and you ought to be affect|ed therewith, tho' they don't speak directly against you: But tho' they don't, yet, against every one of you, who have not come by a living Faith to Jesus Christ, nor been sprinkled with the Merits of his precious Blood, which alone can take away Sin; against you, the holy Law of GOD speaks, and denounces as terrible Things as ever the Blood of Abel did against Cain; for you being a Transgressor of the Law, it breathes out no|thing but Woes, Curses, Condemnation and eter|nal Death against you; and the Sentence of the Law is ratified by GOD himself, who declares, The Soul that sinneth shall die: And had it not been for the Death of Christ, our Surety, there would be no Hope for us. But since, by his Obedience to the Death, he has fully aton'd for our Sins, answered the Demands of the divine Law, and opened, for us, a Door of Hope,

Therefore,

3. Sensible that we are Transgressors of the Law of GOD, and that we have guilty and pol|luted Hearts, Let us come to Jesus the Mediator

of the New Covenant, and rely intirely upon the Power and Virtue of his Blood, for the Pardon of our Sins, for Reconciliation with GOD, and for the cleansing of our rational Nature from mo|ral Defilement; that so we may be holy in Heart, and for the future, may walk in Newness of Life, and always exercise ourselves to keep a Conscience void of Offence toward GOD and toward Man: Thus living, we shall neither come to an untime|ly and violent End thro' overmuch Wickedness, nor have Cause to fear with any Amazement when the Time of our Departure from this mor|tal Life shall come; but shall die in Peace—fall asleep in Jesus, and enter into everlasting Rest.

And now in Behalf of the Criminal, let me call upon you all, not to cease praying for him, 'till he ceases to be a Subject of Prayer: Tho' he is a bloody Malefactor, yet 'tis cruel and un|christian to deny him your Prayers in the last Moments of Life. O, send up your fervent and incessant Supplications to the Throne of Grace, for Mercy on him, 'till his mortal Life transpires, and his immortal Soul returns to GOD who gave it.

Finally; Let us all in a religious Manner, hum|bly deplore this awful Judgment of GOD, in suffering such a horrible Murder to be committed among us; and let it alarm us all to stand in Awe and not sin. In a special Manner, let me ear|nestly warn and admonish you all, to watch and guard against all Indecencies, Rudeness, Vanity, and unbecoming Behaviour; which, upon this solemn Occasion, will be most highly provoking to the holy GOD, a faint Resemblance of whose revenging Justice upon the incorrigible Sinner, is

set before us this Day. Therefore be exhorted to behave soberly and decently, and to be earnest in your Prayers to almighty GOD, that he would keep you now, and at all Times, hereafter, from every wicked Thing. In a Word, let us live as the Grace of GOD teaches—let us lay aside Anger, Wrath, Malice, and every Sin that most easily besets us; and let us live soberly, righteously, and godly, looking for the blessed Hope, and glorious Appearing of the great GOD and our Saviour Jesus Christ, that when he shall appear, we may see him with Joy, and be admitted to dwell in his immediate Presence and heavenly Kingdom for evermore.

AMEN.

Notes

• * 1.1

  From that Time Virtue dates her Persecution from Vice. Bishop of Meaux's Uni. Hist. Vol. I.
• † 1.2

  Cornelius a Lap: Com: in Pent:
• * 1.3

  Levit. 16.15—19.
• † 1.4

  Exod. 24 8. Heb. 9.19—22.
• † 1.5

  Gen. 9.6.
• * 1.6

  Acts 17.26.
• † 1.7

  Men by Nature are equal, being composed of the same essential Parts: Whence, every one ought to treat every other as equal|ly a Man with himself. This was known among the Pagans. Alexander Severus was so delighted with this Maxim,

  Do not to others what you would not have done to yourself.

  That he ordered it to be proclaimed aloud by a public Crier, when he was about to correct or animadvert upon any Person. Also he ordered it to be inscribed every where in his Palace, and on all his public Works.—Turnbull's Notes on Heinec's Uni. Law, Vol: 1. Chap. 7. Sect. 177.