Excessive wickedness, the way to an untimely death. A sermon preached at Fairfield, in Connecticut, September 7th, 1768. At the execution of Isaac Frasier. / By Noah Hobart, A.M. Pastor of the First Church in Fairfield. ; [Four lines of Scripture texts] Hobart, Noah, 1706-1773. Approx. 43 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 24 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI : 2007-10. N08542 N08542 Evans 10926 APV5398 10926 99000766

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Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 10926. (Evans-TCP ; no. N08542) Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 10926) Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 10926) Excessive wickedness, the way to an untimely death. A sermon preached at Fairfield, in Connecticut, September 7th, 1768. At the execution of Isaac Frasier. / By Noah Hobart, A.M. Pastor of the First Church in Fairfield. ; [Four lines of Scripture texts] Hobart, Noah, 1706-1773. 24 p. Printed and sold by Thomas and Samuel Green., New-Haven: : [1768]

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eng Frasier, Isaac, 1740-1768. Thieves. Criminals -- Connecticut. Executions and executioners -- Connecticut -- Fairfield. Execution sermons -- 1768. 2006-04 Assigned for keying and markup 2006-05 Keyed and coded from Readex/Newsbank page images 2007-01 Sampled and proofread 2007-01 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2007-02 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

Exceſſive Wickedneſs, the Way to an untimely Death. A SERMON Preached at Fairfield, in Connecticut, SEPTEMBER 7th, 1768. AT THE EXECUTION Of ISAAC FRASIER.

By NOAH HOBART, A. M. Paſtor of the Firſt Church in Fairfield.

DEUTER. xix. 20. And thoſe which remain, ſhall hear and fear, and ſhall hence forth commit no more any ſuch evil among you. EPHES. iv. 28. Let him that ſtole, ſteal no more.

NEW-HAVEN: Printed and Sold by Thomas and Samuel Green.

Advertiſement.

AS this diſcourſe may poſſibly fall into the hands of ſome who have not ſeen the account of the Life and Crimes of Iſaac Fraſier, which was publiſhed on the day of his Execution, it is thought proper that ſome of the principal Facts relating to him ſhould be here inſerted.

He was born at North-Kingſton, in the Colony of Rhode-Iſland, Feb. 9, 1740. His Father died while he was a Child, and his Mother's poverty obliged her to bind him out as an apprentice at the age of eight Years. He was ſo unhappy as to be brought up in an irreligious Family, in which he was not ſo much as taught to read, nor had any religious Inſtructions given him: He was never ſent to any place of public Worſhip, tho' he lived near enough to have conſtantly attended it. In conſequence of theſe things he was entirely ignorant of the firſt Principles of Religion. He early diſcovered a thieviſh Diſpoſition. His Mother corrected him for this when he lived with her; but after he left her, he met with no reſtraints: On the contrary, his Miſtreſs would receive the things he had ſtolen, and even employ him to ſteal ſmall things for her.

A foundation being thus laid, as he advanced in years he grew in wickedneſs: From ſtealing Trifles he proceeded to ſteal things of Value. At length he went into the practice of breaking open and robbing Houſes; and was in near thirty Inſtances guilty of Burglary. He was firſt convicted of this Crime at New-Haven, and was whipt, cropt, and branded. After committing the ſame Crime in a number of Inſtances, he was proſecuted to a ſecond Conviction at Fairfield in Auguſt, 1766. He here received the ſame puniſhment as before, and was ſolemnly warned that death would be his puniſhment on a third Conviction: Yet he ſtill perſiſted in the Practice, and committed ten or a dozen Burglaries between his ſecond and third Conviction; at length he was committed to priſon for breaking up a Shop in Fairfield in the night, and robbing it of Goods to the value of an hundred pounds lawful money. Soon after his impriſonment, he ſet fire to the Goal at midnight, and conſumed it with the Goaler's appartment and the Court Houſe. He was tried at Fairfield, April 27, 1768, on two ſeveral Indictments, the one for Burglary in the third Inſtance, the other for burning the Goal, &c. found guilty on both, and received Sentence of Death.

The Government of Connecticut have always been remarkably tender of putting perſons to Death. Such was the lenity of the Judges in this Caſe, that the Warrant for Execution was not ſigned till four Months after Sentence. By this means opportunity was given the Priſoner to apply for mercy to the General Aſſembly, with whom the Power of pardoning ſuch offences is lodged. He petitioned accordingly; but his Offences were ſo many and great, that it was tho't neceſſary to leave him to ſuffer. During this Period he found means to break the Goal at New-Haven, which had been the Place of his Confinement ſince his burning that at Fairfield. The ſecond Night after his Eſcape, he broke open and robbed three Shops at Middletown. After committing ſeveral other Thefts, he was bro't back to the Goal from whence he eſcaped, and ordered to be executed at Fairfield on the 7th of September. As he had before broken out of five or ſix different Priſons, he ſeems to have flattered himſelf with the hope of making one more Eſcape. And this hope, 'tis tho't by many, did not leave him till the day of Execution. But when he found he muſt die, he behaved with decency and an appearance of Concern, both at the Sermon (which was preached at his deſire) and at the Place of Execution.

Exceſſive Wickedneſs, the Way to an untimely Death. ECCLESIASTES, vii. 17. "Be not over-much wicked; neither be thou fooliſh: "Why ſhouldeſt thou die before thy Time?"

AS the melancholy occaſion on which we are now aſſembled, requires a plain ſerious diſcourſe, ſuch an one as is adapted not to gratify curioſity, but to lead us to a religious improvement of the awful ſight now before our eyes; I ſhall not ſpend any part of the little time allowed me, in critical remarks on the words now read, or on their connection with thoſe that go before, or that follow them; nor ſhall I entertain you with the opinion of this or the other learned expoſitor concerning them. The plain and obvious ſenſe of the words, and what muſt immediately ſtrike the mind of every one that attentively hears or reads them is, That exceſs in wickedneſs is the height of folly, becauſe it tends to, and is likely to end in an untimely death. This is a truth worthy of our ſerious conſideration at all times, but eſpecially on ſuch an occaſion as this, when we are come together to ſee it verified in a particular inſtance. I hope therefore for your ſerious attention while I endeavour to illuſtrate this truth, by ſhewing,

I. When a man may be ſaid to be "over-much wicked." And,

II. That an untimely death is what this leads to, and is likely to end in—and while I apply theſe things to the preſent occaſion.

I. I am then, in the firſt place, to explain the expreſſion of being "over-much wicked;" or, to ſhew, when this may be ſaid of any perſon in particular. To which it may be ſaid,

1. A man may be "over-much wicked" in reſpect to the kind or ſort of ſin he commits.

Sin is juſtly ſtiled "the tranſgreſſion of the law." And the word tranſgreſſion implies exceſs or going too far; it means going beyond the bounds or limits preſcribed. All ſins of commiſſion, all offences againſt negative precepts, do therefore conſiſt in exceſs. When the divine law ſays, "Thou ſhalt not" do this or that, he that does it tranſgreſſes the law, he paſſes over or goes beyond the bounds ſet him. So that every tranſgreſſion may be ſaid to be over-much.

But yet all tranſgreſſions are not equal: Some have greater evil in them than others. He that commits one ſin, does indeed as really tranſgreſs the Divine Law as he that commits another; for the law allows of no ſin at all: But in ſome kinds of ſin the tranſgreſſion is greater, or there is a further departure from the rule of righteouſneſs; and conſequently ſome ſins do in their nature or kind imply greater exceſs than others. And a man may he ſaid to be "over-much wicked" on account of the ſort or kind of ſin he commits.

In ſins againſt the ſecond table of the moral law, the comparative evil, or the degree in which one ſin exceeds another, may be judged of by the damage or injury done either to a particular perſon or to the public. The Divine Law which requires me to "love my neighbour as myſelf," and forbids my hating any perſon, is tranſgreſſed by hatred expreſſed in reproachful and provoking words; but the tranſgreſſion is not ſo great, as when hatred is diſcovered by robbing him of his goods, burning his houſe, wounding his perſon, or taking away his life. In theſe caſes the tranſgreſſion or exceſs is proportioned to the injury done to a particular perſon. But then crimes are likewiſe to be conſidered as they affect the community. And in this view ſome of them have a greater degree of evil in them, or are more exceſſively wicked than others. Every thing that diſturbs the peace and ſafety of the public is evil. Now this is done by tattling, tale-bearing, lying and defamation; whence it is that theſe kinds of vices are puniſhable as breaches of the peace. But the happineſs of mankind, conſidered as formed into ſociety, is much more affected by robbery, burglary, burning houſes, and ſuch like crimes, which are therefore juſtly eſteemed greater tranſgreſſions. And indeed if men cannot be ſecure in their poſſeſſions, if they cannot reſt ſafely in their beds, but muſt be in continual danger of having their houſes broken open and plundered, or burnt over their heads, while they are aſleep, the happineſs of ſociety is at an end, and government is in effect diſſolved; for ſuch a ſtate is little, if at all, better than a ſtate of nature.

A perſon therefore who commits theſe greater offences, theſe more enormous tranſgreſſions, may well be conſidered as being "over-much wicked."

2. The man is over-much wicked who repeatedly and frequently commits the ſame crime.

The frequent repetition of any fault renders a perſon highly criminal. A man by the long and habitual practice of wickedneſs of the lower kinds, may contract greater guilt and expoſe himſelf to a more ſevere condemnation, than would have reſulted from the commiſſion of a much greater crime in a ſingle inſtance. A truth worthy of the very ſerious conſideration of all ſuch perſons as indulge themſelves in ſmaller ſins, and think they are ſecure ſo long as they abſtain from groſs and ſcandalous violations of the Divine Law.

Now if a man become "wicked over-much" by frequently repeating and living long in the practice of ſins of a lower kind, what amazing guilt muſt he contract, and what an awful condemnation has he to expect, who lives long in the habitual practice of great tranſgreſſions, or frequently repeats the ſame enormous crimes? When ſuch vices as imply great exceſs in the very nature of them, are frequently repeated and long lived in, it cannot be doubted that men are "over-much wicked." They are ſo in the ſight of GOD, the unerring Judge of the World. Hence that threatning, "But GOD ſhall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy ſcalp of ſuch an one as goeth on ſtill in his treſpaſſes."Pſalm lxviii. 21. All the enemies of GOD ſhall be deſtroyed, but this ſhall eſpecially be the caſe of him that goeth on ſtill in his treſpaſſes. The man that frequently commits the ſame ſin, or lives in the habitual practice of it, ſhall by no means eſcape. And hence appears the juſtice of thoſe human laws which inflict higher puniſhments on a ſecond or third conviction of the ſame crimes.

3. Men are "over-much wicked" when they perſiſt in their ſinful practices, notwithſtanding their having had plain and repeated warnings of their danger.

A man muſt be ſtupid to a degree that can ſcarce be ſuppoſed, who goes on for any conſiderable time, in the practice of groſs wickedneſs, without feeling ſome uneaſineſs in his own mind, on the account of it. There are ſeaſons in which conſcience muſt awake, and when it will be heard. Or, if the conſciences of ſinners are ever ſo hardened and even "ſeared with an hot iron," yet when they practiſe ſuch crimes as expoſe them to the ſtroke of human laws, they muſt ſurely have at ſome times very uneaſy apprehenſions, and even diſtreſſing fears of being detected. "In the dark they dig through houſes which they had marked for themſelves in the day-time: They know not the light. For the morning is to them as the ſhadow of death: If one know them, they are in the terrors of the ſhadow of death."Job xxiv. 16, 17. One would imagine, did not experience prove the contrary, that the thief who had been in great danger of being detected, and had felt theſe TERRORS OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, ſhould "ſteal no more, but labour working with his hands," for his ſupport. And his returning to ſuch practices after ſuch warnings, argues his being wicked over-much; it proves that he is to an awful degree under the power of ſatan and his own heart's luſts, and it is a dreadful token of his being given over to ruin and deſtruction.

In thoſe caſes in which human laws inflict higher puniſhments on a ſecond or third conviction, and eſpecially where death is the penalty on a third conviction, a perſon has ſtill plainer and more ſolemn warnings given him. Thoſe lower puniſhments are deſigned to reform the offender, and they are well ſuited to anſwer this deſign. He ought to look on them as warnings of more ſevere puniſhments to be expected if he refuſes to be reformed, and "ſtill goes on in his treſpaſſes." And he that being thus often reproved, hardeneth his neck, has nothing to expect but that he ſhall ſuddenly be deſtroyed, and that without remedy.

Theſe are the ways in which men render themſelves exceſſively vicious. When a man commits the groſſer kinds of ſin; when he frequently repeats the ſame vice; or when he perſiſts and hardens himſelf in his tranſgreſſions under ſolemn warnings; in each of theſe caſes a man may be ſaid to be "over-much wicked." But when all theſe circumſtances concur and unite in the ſame perſon; when his crimes are of the higher kinds greatly injurious to particular perſons, and utterly inconſiſtant with the ſafety and happineſs of the community; when ſuch crimes have been frequently committed and long lived in; and when lighter puniſhments, inſtead of detering and reforming the offender, do but render him more bold and preſumptuous; then is the perſon in a very high degree wicked over-much. His character is compleat and finiſhed: The meaſure of his ſins is filled up, and the man is ripe for deſtruction.

But I proceed to the ſecond thing propoſed, viz.

II. That an untimely death is what exceſſive wickedneſs tends to, and what it may reaſonably be expected to iſſue in.

This obſervation may be illuſtrated and confirmed by the following conſiderations.

1. Being "over much wicked" tends to ſhorten the life of a man, or to bring death ſooner than otherwiſe it would have come according to the ordinary courſe of things.

There is "a ſeaſon and a time for every purpoſe under the ſun," and God "has made every thing beautiful in his time:" Among other things "there is a time to die."Eccleſ. iii. 1, 2, 11. Old age is, according to the courſe of nature, the time to die. When nature is worn out, and can no longer diſcharge its functions, it is time they ſhould ceaſe: When the ſeaſon for either doing or getting good in this world is over, it is time to leave it: When the earthly houſe of this tabernacle is gone to decay, and is no longer a proper habitation for the rational ſoul to reſide in, and exert its noble powers and capacities, it is the proper time for its being diſſolved, and for the ſoul's entering upon another and more perfect ſtate of exiſtence, in which its capacities of Action and of Enjoyment ſhall no longer be clogged and prevented from exerting themſelves as they now are. And there ſeems to be a propriety and beauty in leaving this world when a man can no longer be either uſeful or comfortable in it; eſpecially if he be prepared for a more exalted and perfect ſtate of exiſtence. Hence we have that deſcription of the death of a good man in old age, "Thou ſhall come to thy grave in a full age, like as a ſhock of corn cometh in his ſeaſon."Job v. 26. Old age being thus the "time to die," according to the courſe of nature, the death of a perſon in youth or middle age, is ſtiled untimely, or a man is in ſuch a caſe ſaid to die before his time, that is, before the time which nature ſeems to point out for dying, or before the time, to which, according to the ordinary courſe of things under the government of Divine Providence, his conſtitution might have held out, and ſo he might have lived uſefully and comfortably.

Now exceſſive wickedneſs tends to an untimely death in this ſenſe. It has both a natural and a moral tendency to this: And the tendency is ſo ſtrong that it may reaſonably be expected, that this will be the iſſue and event.

Exceſs of any kind does in its own nature tend to weaken, wear out and deſtroy the human conſtitution: It introduces diſorders, pains and weakneſs, which all tend to the diſſolution of the body, and frequently bring on death ſooner than it would have come in the courſe of nature. This is eſpecially true of ſome particular kinds of wickedneſs, and perhaps of none more than Intemperance and exceſſive luſt. "Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart."Hoſea iv. 11. "They die in youth" whoſe "life is among the unclean."Job xxxvi. 14. And then all kinds of wickedneſs, eſpecially when practiſed in an exceſſive degree, tend to procure an untimely death as they provoke GOD, the ſovereign ruler of the world, to cut men off in the midſt of their days. Hence we have ſuch threatnings as theſe, "Bloody and deceitful men ſhall not live out half their days,"Pſ. lv. 23. and "he that getteth riches and not by right, ſhall leave them in the midſt of his days, and at his end ſhall be a fool."Jerem. xvii. 11. Theſe threatnings a righteous GOD carries into execution in various ways; ſometimes by diſeaſes, and at other times by accidents, all of which are under his direction and accompliſh his pleaſure. Again,

2. Being "over-much wicked" tends to an untimely death as it expoſes a man to capital puniſhment, or to be cut off by the ſword of civil juſtice.

It is commonly ſaid of one that has ſuffered death as a malefactor, that he came to an untimely end. And there is a propriety in the expreſſion; for ſuch an one dies ſooner than he would have done in the ordinary courſe of things; he dies while his ſtrength is firm in him, before his conſtitution is exhauſted and death become neceſſary according to the eſtabliſhed laws of nature: He dies before the ſeaſon which the wiſe man calls the "time to die;" and therefore when, humanly ſpeaking, he might have lived longer.

Now if we take the expreſſion of a man's dying before his time in this ſenſe, or underſtand by it his ſuffering a violent death from the hand of civil juſtice, it is true that being wicked over-much expoſes a man to it.

Civil Magiſtracy is an "ordinance of GOD," and a very important and neceſſary one. The great end and deſign of it, is the public good; or the ſecurity, the peace and happineſs of civil ſociety. This end cannot be attained unleſs magiſtrates are veſted with ſufficient power to puniſh malefactors, and that with ſuch a degree of ſeverity that others may be reſtrained from imitating them. Accordingly GOD has committed the ſword to the magiſtrate, and conſtituted him "the revenger to execute wrath on him that doeth evil."Rom. xiii. 4. Some crimes are ſo great and of ſo pernicious a nature that nothing can expiate them, or ſecure the public from the ruinous effects of them, but the death of the criminal: Accordingly GOD has, in mercy to the community, committed the ſword to the magiſtrate, and conſtituted him "a revenger to execute wrath" on ſuch perſons. It has in conſequence hereof been allowed in all ages and nations, that the civil magiſtrate has a juſt right in ſome caſes to inflict capital puniſhments, or to take away the life of a malefactor. One of the laws GOD gave to mankind in general was, "whoſo ſheddeth man's blood, by man ſhall his blood be ſhed."Gen. ix. 6. There can therefore be no doubt that murder is to be puniſhed with death: Nor is this the only crime that may juſtly be thus puniſhed. When GOD himſelf condeſcended to become the King of the Jewiſh nation, and in this character gave them a body of judicial laws, he ordered that ſeveral other crimes beſides murder, ſhould be puniſhed with death. Now, though the laws given peculiarly to the Jews, do not neceſſarily oblige other nations to whom they were not given; yet, ſince they came from GOD, it muſt be allowed that there was nothing unjuſt either in the laws themſelves, or in the penalties with which they were inforced.

Human laws, conſider crimes in a political view; and the ſcale by which the evil of them is meaſured and determined, is their tendency to deſtroy the public good, or the ſafety and happineſs of ſociety. If, therefore, there are crimes, the prevalence of which will certainly deſtroy the ſafety and ſecurity, and even the being of ſociety; and at the ſame time, men are not to be detered or reſtrained from practiſing them by any other method, it is lawful for the magiſtrate to put them to death. The right of ſelf-preſervation belongs to communities as well as to particular perſons. This right will juſtify a private man in taking away the life of one that aſſaults them, when he can no other way defend his own life againſt him; and it will as fully vindicate the magiſtrate in putting to death the criminal, againſt whoſe deſtructive practices the public cannot otherwiſe be ſecured and defended.

It can hardly be doubted, that a long continued courſe of houſe-breaking, and robbery is as deſtructive of the being and happineſs of civil ſociety, as a ſingle inſtance of murder; and more ſo than ſome crimes that were made capital by the Jewiſh law; and if this be granted, the juſtice of puniſhing it with death ſeems evident. By the law of Moſes a man was juſtified who killed the perſon he found breaking up his houſe in the night.Exod. xxii. 2, 3. It ſeems therefore that this crime did, in the judgment of the Divine Lawgiver, amount to a forfeiture of life. For as every man has a right to his life, it is murder to kill a man who has not forfeited his life: But in this caſe, the killing was allowed, and therefore the forfeiture muſt be ſuppoſed.

Now, if a courſe of houſe-breaking and robbery be juſtly puniſhable with death, it is plain that being in this way over-much wicked is the way for a perſon to die before his time.

I will but juſt add,

3. Death is always untimely to the perſon who is unprepared for it: And in this ſenſe he that is wicked over-much is in the utmoſt danger of dying before his time.

Death is untimely whenever it comes before that great and important deſign for which life was given, is anſwered: And it had been better not to have lived at all, than in this reſpect to have lived in vain. We are ſent into this world as probationers for an eternal ſtate. The great end for which life is given, and on the account of which it is worth having, is that men may obtain a right to, and the neceſſary qualifications for, a ſtate of complete and everlaſting happineſs, in that unſeen world into which they enter at death: That they may obtain the pardon of their ſins and acceptance with GOD through the blood of JESUS CHRIST his Son, and be made meet for the inheritance of the ſaints in light.

Being "over-much wicked" directly tends not to prepare men for heaven, but to render them "veſſels of wrath fitted for deſtruction." By frequently repeating ſinful actions, and perſiſting in them under warnings and reproofs, men treaſure up to themſelves wrath againſt the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of GOD. Nor can a man take a more direct way to die before his time, that is, before he is prepared for death, than by being over-much wicked. For reſolutely perſiſting, and going to great exceſs, in thoſe things for the ſake of which the wrath of GOD comes on the children of diſobedience, is by no means the way to obtain the mercy of GOD, through CHRIST to eternal life: But it is the way to harden men in ſin and impenitence, and to render them the proper objects of the everlaſting indignation and wrath of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.

But it is time to apply what has been ſaid to the preſent ſolemn occaſion. And how can I more properly do this, than by ſaying, "This day is this ſcripture fulfilled," before your eyes, and may your "eyes affect your hearts!" You have now before you a man that has been "over-much wicked;" one that has rendered himſelf notorious by the practice of great and enormous tranſgreſſions, ſuch acts of injuſtice and violence as are deſtructive of civil ſociety, and utterly inconſiſtent with the happineſs of the community. His crimes have been frequently repeated and carried to an aſtoniſhing exceſs: He has perſiſted in them under warnings and reproofs, and to an awful degree hardened his heart under rebukes and puniſhments. The lighter puniſhments inflicted on him, and even the ſentence of death and proſpect of execution, have been ſo far from bringing him to true repentance, that they have not reſtrained him from repeating his crime, and that in a number of inſtances. He has been a remarkable inſtance of impenitence: Seldom does the corruption of human nature ſhew itſelf in ſo ſtrong and affecting a light: Few men, it is to be hoped, have ſo entirely ſold themſelves to do evil. And now you all ſee the end of ſuch a courſe. He now ſtands before you in the character of a condemned malefactor, and one that is in an hour or two to receive the due reward of his evil deeds, even death from the ſtroke of public juſtice. He has to an awful degree been "over-much wicked," and is now agreeable to the threatening contained in my text, to "die before his time." He is to die while a young man, but twenty-eight years of age, and when according to the ordinary courſe of things he might have lived much longer. He comes to an untimely end, as he is to ſuffer a violent death, in the execution of a legal ſentence. And I pray GOD his death may not prove untimely in a ſtill worſe ſenſe, by coming upon him while he is unprepared for it.

So melancholy a ſpectacle ſuggeſts ſeveral uſeful reflections, and muſt ſurely engage our minds to fix and dwell upon them.

The whole world would be no conſideration at all to induce any one of us to ſtand in the place, or be in the condition of the criminal before us; ſhall we not then carefully avoid, and be continually on our guard againſt every thing that tends to bring us into ſo unhappy a ſtate? We all have the ſame corruptions of ſoul, the indulgence of which has rendered this man ſo exceſſively wicked, and brought him into the unhappy condition in which we now behold him. He therefore who gratifies any of the ſinful inclinations of his own heart, takes the direct road to ruin and deſtruction. Every indulgence of a vicious appetite ſtrengthens it, and renders it the more difficult for him afterward to ſubdue or even reſtrain it. Every act of ſin of any kind ſtrengthens the habit: And every ſtep a man takes in a courſe of vice, brings him nearer to that exceſs in wickedneſs of which we have ſo deplorable an example now before our eyes. Men grow extremely wicked by degrees. When they firſt engage in ſinful practices they intend to keep within ſome bounds, and to be but moderately vicious; and perhaps would tremble at the thought of committing thoſe greater crimes which they afterwards run into without remorſe or concern. By practiſing ſmaller ſins they are emboldened to commit greater iniquities. And this is what may reaſonably be expected, as it is exactly agreable to the 〈…〉 on of human nature. Every act of ſin ſtrengthens 〈…〉 inclination of the ſinner, and at the ſame 〈…〉 weakens the natural reſtraints from ſin, ſuch as the 〈…〉 of conſcience, a regard to reputation, fear of ſhame, and 〈◊〉 puniſhment. Now it is not to be wondered at 〈…〉 from one degree of wickedneſs to another until they arrive at the greateſt exceſs, when they are thus continually ſtrengthening their own vicious inclinations, and at the ſame times abating the force of all thoſe principles which were implanted in them on purpoſe to ſerve as natural preſervatives and reſtraints from ſin. Eſpecially conſidering that by the habitual practice of wickedneſs, though in a lower degree, men provoke an holy GOD to withhold from them the reſtraints of his Providence and Grace, and to leave them to be as vile as unbridled corruption can make them, and ſo to bring themſelves to an untimely death in this world, and to an awfully aggravated condemnation in the world to come.

This is the caſe particularly with regard to ſins of unrighteouſneſs or diſhoneſty. Men ſeldom, if ever, begin with the higher degrees of this kind, ſuch as houſe-breaking, robbery and murder; but they firſt practice the arts of cheating and defrauding; from thence they proceed to the lower kinds of pilfering and theft, and are by degrees brought •• der the power of ſatan, and hardened in ſin till they are prepared to commit all iniquity with greedineſs. "So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain" until at length "he taketh away the life of the owners thereof."Prov. i. 1 . And indeed it may generally be expected, that he who will be guilty of houſe-breaking and robbery, will (if reſiſted, or like to be apprehended) take away the life of a man.

Now, if this be the way in which men become "over-much wicked, ſo as to die before their time," of how great importance is it that their vicious inclinations inſtead of being gratified and ſtrengthened, ſhould be reſiſted and curbed in early life; and that thoſe principles in human nature, which ſerve to reſtrain men from groſs ſins, ſhould be kept alive and ſtrengthened? Much of this kind may be done by a regular and virtuous education: And a criminal neglect of family religion, inſtruction and government is frequently the means of bringing perſons to infamy and damnation. When family religion and inſtruction are neglected; when no order or government is maintained in private houſes; when the reins are thrown looſe on the necks of giddy and thoughtleſs youths; when children who have not diſcretion to govern themſelves, are not governed by others; and when maſters care not where their ſervants are, or how they are employed, in the night, ſo that they do but perform their daily taſk; what can be expected, but that they will go from lower to higher degrees of wickedneſs, until they arrive at the moſt infamous and the moſt ruinous exceſſes? The caſe is ſtill worſe when heads of families by their own vicious examples encourage their children and ſervants in thoſe evil practices, which all their authority ſhould be exerted in preventing and ſuppreſſing. To ſuch unnatural parents, to ſuch cruel maſters, (if any ſuch are now preſent) I muſt ſay, look on the criminal now before you, under ſentence of death and going to execution, and think ſeriouſly what agonies you would feel were you to ſee a child or a ſervant of your own, any one whom Providence had committed to your care, inſtruction and government, in his condition; and to reflect on yourſelves as having been inſtrumental in bringing him into it. And here I cannot help wiſhing that the miſtreſs of this unhappy perſon, who he ſays not only encouraged, but employed him, when a boy, in ſtealing things of ſmall value, were now preſent to ſee what ſhe was criminally inſtrumental in bring him to.

A principal deſign of public execution is, that others may fear and do no more ſo wickedly. Let the inſtance before us be improved with this view. Let it engage all who have the education and government of others committed to them, to bring them up in a virtuous, religious manner; to give them proper inſtruction, and to maintain a due government over them; to encourage in them every thing that is virtuous and praiſe-worthy; to curb the firſt appearances of vice in them; and to reſtrain them from ſuch practices, and ſuch company as lead to it. Let all beware of habituating themſelves to the lower kinds and degrees of wickedneſs, leſt they be hardened through the deceitfulneſs of ſin, and lead by inſenſible ſteps to the greateſt exceſs in wickedneſs, even ſuch as ſhall bring them into the melancholy condition of the unhappy perſon now before us.

It is owing to the reſtraining grace of GOD, that any ſinners are kept from the greateſt exceſs in wickedneſs. But this grace is ordinarily afforded in theſe ways; and therefore we ought to be careful and diligent in the uſe of ſuch means. And he that does not by the uſe of them endeavour to preſerve himſelf, and all committed to his care, cannot reaſonably expect that GOD will keep him or them.

After all, it muſt be owned that ſuch reſtraints as may be expected in theſe ways, will not abſolutely ſecure ſinners from the danger of being ſo exceſſively wicked as to die before their time. There is no ſafety in a ſtate of impenitence and unbelief. In order to a perſon's being in a ſtate of ſecurity, it is not ſufficient that his corruptions be under ſome preſent reſtraints, but they muſt be really ſubdued and even mortified by the ſanctifying operations of the Spirit of CHRIST. Nor indeed is habitual grace a complete ſecurity in this caſe; for though "he that is born of GOD doth not commit ſin"1 John iii. 9. ſo as to live in the practice of it, yet it is not impoſſible but he may in a ſingle inſtance commit a capital crime. The lively and continual exerciſe of grace is the only way to be ſafe and ſecure. Let ſinners then be awakened to flee for refuge to the hope ſet before them in the goſpel. Let the terrors of human, as well as thoſe of the Divine Law, excite and quicken them hereto. Let none reſt ſatisfied or think themſelves ſecure till they experience the regenerating and ſanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, changing them into the love and the image of GOD. And let not believers content themſelves with grace already received, but let them be careful to live in the exerciſe of it, and to grow and increaſe in it. Let it be their care to maintain a conſtant and lively ſenſe of the glorious perfections and the continual preſence of GOD. And 〈◊〉 them, in the ſteady practice of the duties of piety and devotion, maintain communion with GOD in CHRIST. In theſe ways they may expect to be kept from the evil that is in the world, and bro't ſafe to the enjoyment of eternal ſalvation.

I am now to finiſh my diſcourſe by applying it particularly to the unhappy perſon who has occaſioned it, and at whoſe deſire it is delivered.

Iſaac Fraſier, You now appear in this public manner, as one who has been "over much wicked" and as one who is now to die before his time." It is of the laſt importance that you be thoroughly convinced of all your ſins of heart and life; and particularly of the crime for which you are to ſuffer; that you be deeply humbled for the extreme evil and the amazing folly you have been guilty of; and that, under a ſenſe of your being a guilty and juſtly condemned creature, you make your flight to the hope ſet before periſhing ſinners in the goſpel, even to the infinitely rich, and infinitely free grace of GOD exerciſed through JESUS CHRIST, the all-ſufficient Mediator of the new Covenant. And it is of infinite importance that you do this immediately, ſince you are now within an hour or two of the eternal world.

Your ſins go before you to judgment. They have been too open and notorious to be denied, and too great and aggravated to admit of any ſort of excuſe. Beſides ſmaller crimes, of which your own conſcience muſt doubtleſs accuſe you, and which were the ſteps by which you proceeded to greater, you have in ſome very high inſtances tranſgreſſed the eternal law of juſtice and righteouſneſs, in violently taking away the property of other perſons. You have in a ſurpriſing number of inſtances, broken into their houſes, and robbed them of their ſubſtance, and in one inſtance ſet their dwelling on fire, waſted their goods, and endangered their lives. Your crimes of houſe-breaking and robbery have been frequently repeated: You have perſiſted in them after having been convicted and puniſhed a firſt and ſecond time; and that when you well knew, and was ſolemnly warned of it, that death was the penalty on a third conviction. Nay you have ſhewn yourſelf wicked and hardened to a degree we ſhould ſcarcely have thought human nature capable of, were we not convinced by the fact; for even after ſentence of death had paſſed upon you for this crime, no ſooner did you obtain liberty by breaking priſon, than you immediately returned to the practice of the ſame wickedneſs. Thus have you, though often reproved, hardened your neck, and now you ſee the conſequence, you are ſuddenly to be deſtroyed and that without remedy. The peace and well-fare of the public, and the ſafety and ſecurity of particular perſons render it neceſſary that your forfeited life ſhould be taken away. Juſtice requires that you ſhould ſuffer; and it is neceſſary that you be made a public example to deter others from committing ſuch wickedneſs.

And, if your crimes deſerve ſo awful a puniſhment from man, what do they deſerve from GOD? The bodily death you are now to ſuffer, is nothing when compared with the death of the ſoul, that eternal death which means an endleſs exiſtence in a ſtate of exquiſite miſery; and which your ſins juſtly deſerve. You have in an high-handed manner, tranſgreſſed the laws and trampled on the authority of GOD, the ſovereign ruler of the world: You have greatly offended and provoked HIM who is able to deſtroy both ſoul and body forever. The juſt penalty of the Divine Law, which you have broken, is that death which conſiſts in being caſt into the "lake of fire." And if death from the hand of man be ſo terrible, what muſt that be which comes immediately from the hand of the Lord GOD Almighty? If you can ſcarce ſupport yourſelf under the near proſpect of your approaching execution, how can your heart endure or your hands be ſtrong when GOD ſhall enter into judgment with you? "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living GOD."Heb x. 1. Well may your fleſh tremble for fear of HIM; well may you be afraid of his judgment. 'Tis neceſſary that you ſuffer the death to which human juſtice has condemned you; nor may you on any terms expect to eſcape it: But, bleſſed be GOD, there is a poſſibility of your eſcaping eternal death. Sufficient proviſion is made in the new covenant for the pardon and ſalvation even of ſo great a ſinner as you have been. The Blood of JESUS CHRIST cleanſes from all iniquity. The ſalvation procured by the Sacrifice of CHRIST; which comprehends pardon, ſanctification and eternal life, is by the goſpel offered to you. O! how infinitely great is the mercy of GOD in making you ſuch an offer after your many and great offences, your preſumptuous and aggravated tranſgreſſions! Admire, and be aſtoniſhed at his grace, and bow your ſoul to an humble, believing and thankful acceptance of it. Senſible of your aſtoniſhing guilt, and liableneſs to eternal condemnation; apply to and truſt in the righteouſneſs of CHRIST for pardon and acceptance with GOD. Senſible of the amazing corruption of your nature, that fountain of ſin in your heart from whence the ſins of your life have proceeded, apply to the blood of the REDEEMER for healing and cleanſing. Pray earneſtly to GOD through CHRIST, that he will be merciful to you, a guilty, condemned malefactor.

To conclude, You are now on the very brink of an awful, an endleſs eternity; in an hour or two you muſt enter on the unſeen world; and your everlaſting condition will be fixed and determined. This is the laſt ſermon you are to hear,—theſe are the laſt offers of pardon and ſalvation through CHRIST that are ever to be made you. O! accept them immediately, for your eternal happineſs depends upon it.

And now, may that GOD who is able to accompliſh thoſe things which are impoſſible with men, grant you repentance unto life, ſincere faith in HIS SON, and that holineſs without which no man ſhall ſee GOD. To his infinitely rich and free grace in JESUS the all-ſufficient Mediator of the new-covenant, we are now in our concluding prayers to commit and commend you.

FINIS.