actual transgressions against the law of God. According to the
covenant of works, "the soul that sinneth it shall die"; curst is that
man, be he what he may, be he who he may, that continueth not in all
things that are written in the book of the law to do them.

We are not only to do some things, but we are to do all things, and we
are to continue to do so, so that the least deviation from the moral
law, according to the covenant of works, whether in thought, word,
or deed, deserves eternal death at the hand of God. And if one evil
thought, if one evil word, if one evil action deserves eternal
damnation, how many hells, my friends, do every one of us deserve
whose whole lives have been one continued rebellion against God!
Before ever, therefore, you can speak peace to your hearts, you must
be brought to see, brought to believe, what a dreadful thing it is to
depart from the living God.

And now, my dear friends, examine your hearts, for I hope you came
hither with a design to have your souls made better. Give me leave to
ask you, in the presence of God, whether you know the time, and if you
do not know exactly the time, do you know there was a time when God
wrote bitter things against you, when the arrows of the Almighty were
within you? Was ever the remembrance of your sins grievous to you? Was
the burden of your sins intolerable to your thoughts? Did you ever see
that God's wrath might justly fall upon you, on account of your actual
transgressions against God? Were you ever in all your life sorry for
your sins? Could you ever say, My sins are gone over my head as a
burden too heavy for me to bear? Did you ever experience any such
thing as this? Did ever any such thing as this pass between God and
your soul? If not, for Jesus Christ's sake, do not call yourselves
Christians; you may speak peace to your hearts, but there is no peace.