him the Gospel i. e. a more full and clear discovery of the way of Salvation by Christ than before That the light in both senses is come into the World and finds no better reception This is The condemnation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the judgment according to the proper acception of the word but here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Judgment for Condemnation by an usual Synechdoche and so our Translators have rendered it looking rather at the sense than at the immediate propriety of the word Again This is The condemnation that is by a Metonymy the cause of condemnation that which deserves meritoriously procures and brings on condemnation Lastly This is The condemnation not solely and exclusively as to all other things but in the sense that shall be afterwards mentioned when I come to speak to that particular The words of my Text not to spend time in any unnecessary Preface to what I have to say we may conveniently resolve into these four Propositions 1. That light is come into the world 2. That men love darkness rather than light 3. That the reason why men love darkness rather than light is because their deeds are evil 4. That this is the condemnation that though light be come into the world yet men love darkness rather than light Passing by the three former the last of these Propositions is that which I intend at present to insist on as being the chief thing intended in this portion of holy Scripture Concerning the sense of which Proposition a few words will be necessary to be premised before I proceed to lay down the grounds thereof This is The condemnation not solely and exclusively as to all other things as if nothing else could condemn a man but signally and emphatically 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great meritorious cause of the severest punishment I say the rejection of the light of the Gospel or not giving it due entertainment is not the only thing that condemns men For 1. Those Heathens unto whom the light of the Scriptures never came shall not therefore be exempted from punishment The Apostle hath taught us That as many as have sinned without the law Rom. 2.12 shall also perish without the law Their sins against their natural light and the Law of Nature written in their hearts shall condemn them there shall be no need of calling in the assistance of the Law externally promulged and written in Tables of Stone much less of the Gospel to give evidence against them 'T is true if the Gospel were never offered them and they shut up under a moral impossibility of being acquainted with it we cannot apprehend how their not believing should be charged upon them as their sin Aquinas hath rightly stated this matter 22dae Quaest 10. Artic. 1. Si infidelitas sumatur secundum negationem puram si cut in illis qui nihil audiverunt de fide non habet rationem peccati pure negative infidelity or a meer not believing in those who never heard any thing of the Gospel hath not the nature of sin And this was likewise St. Austin's judgment as appears by the Exposition he gives of the words of our Saviour John 15.22 If I had not come unto them they had had no sin Loquitur de peccato quo non crediderunt in Christum Our Saviour speaketh saith he of the sin of not believing in Christ Though they had been guilty of many other sins yet their not believing had not been imputed to them And the reason hereof is evident because they had never a power in Adam of believing that which was never made known unto them there being a simple incompossibility and repugnancy in the nature of the thing that a man should by faith assent to and embrace that which he was never in the least acquainted with which was never as much as propounded to him to be the object of his faith How shall we believe on him of whom we have not heard Rom. 10.14 'T is a question that cannot be answered Adam himself with all that strength which he received from God could not have done it and therefore neither can that be required of his Posterity which he himself never received 2. As for such as have the Gospel published to them and finally persevere in unbelief neither is their unbelief the only sin for which they are condemn'd What sober man can think that one sin can expunge another that mens unbelief should take off and extinguish the guilt of all their other sins so as none of them should at all come under consideration when Christ pronounceth the condemnatory Sentence They who should entertain so wild a phansy must have forgotten the form of the Proceedings at the last day as Christ himself hath described it Matth. 25. where express mention is made of other sins as the ground of the Sentence to be then pronounced Yet I deny not but that in a limited sense wicked men living under the light of the Gospel may be said to be condemned only for their unbelief because if they had believed none of their other sins should have condemned them But now they not believing the guilt of all their other sins against the Law abideth on them and besides there is an addition of further guilt by their great sin against the Gospel and this their sin against the Gospel is that which presseth them most heavily and hath the sorest influence upon the final Sentence for the inflaming and heightening of it So then these things being thus premised we have the sense of the Proposition before us This is The condemnation the matter and meritorious cause of the most sore and dreadful condemnation that light being come into the world the Gospel being published and Christ in the Gospel being tendered to the Sons of men they slight and refuse this light preferring darkness before it and chusing rather to continue in their sins though it cost them dear than to embrace Christ to their everlasting bliss and happiness Now the grounds of the Proposition together with the equity of that severity which it imports will further appear unto us if we take into consideration these ensuing particulars 1. 'T is light that is refused and refused with an affront put upon it darkness being preferred before it Now in this alone there are several things which do not a little aggravate a man's sin and by consequence heighten his punishment 1. When a man goes on against light there is more of the formality of sin than where light is wanting There is a direct and plain opposition against the Rule an intentional 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or irregularity whereas in case of ignorance the Rule indeed was violated materially but not formally and wittingly as such Our Saviour lays much stress upon this for the greatning of a man's sin Joh. 9.41 If ye were blind ye should have no sin that is none in comparison of what now you have
stripes One stripe the more for every beam of light which was not improved to the ends for which it was afforded I speak not this to disparage knowledge which is an excellent gift of God and a principal part of his Image in man much less to dishearten any in their pursuit of it but to provoke them to a joint endeavour after grace and knowledge according to the Apostle's Exhortation 2 Pet. 3.18 It was said of Galba who had a fine Wit but a deformed Body Ingenium Galbae malè habitat Galba's good Wit hath but an ill habitation The same may I say of excellent Gifts in a corrupt mind 'T is a thousand pities that so noble a Guest should have no better Lodgings Get your Soul adorned with grace and then it will be fitter to entertain Gifts And to press this a little more upon you let me leave with you only these three Considerations 1. If Knowledge be excellent and desirable Grace is much more excellent and much more worthy to be the Object of our most raised desires After the Apostle had been discoursing of those extraordinary and miraculous Gifts which in the Primitive times God was pleased to pour out upon Believers he makes way to his following Discourse of love and grace by this commendatory Preface 1 Cor. 12.31 Yet shew I unto you a more excellent way You are digging and searching after Knowledge as after hid Treasure and why not then much more after Grace Luke 16.11 which is the most precious and invaluable Treasure the only true Riches Matth. 23.23 This ye ought to have done and not to have left the other undone as our Saviour speaks in another case Yea this ye ought much rather to have done in comparison whereof your pursuit of knowledge is but as the tything of mint and cummin compared with the most weighty matters of the law 2. The more Knowledge you have the more Grace you need A little Grace will not suffice you to manage a large stock of Knowledge Your Knowledge is one of your chiefest Talents for which you must be accountable and 't is impossible you should so imploy it as to be able to give a comfortable account thereof without a proportionable measure of Grace The higher any man is lifted up in parts and gifts the more is he exposed to the violent assaults of manifold Temptations Temptations to Pride Self-confidence overvaluing of himself contempt of others wicked abuse of his knowledge and parts to the service of Satan and the disservice of God and his Church And therefore no man hath more need of grace of a plentiful measure of grace than he that is most accomplisht with knowledge 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The more knowledge we have the greater is our danger saith Clem. Alex. in the 4th Book of his Stromates 3. Unless you have grace together with your knowledge the time will come when you shall wish that you had been as ignorant as you are graceless Quà m nescirem literas How could I wish that I had never learnt to write or read was the mild and compassionate Speech of an Emperor when he was desired to set his Hand for the Execution of a Malefactor What he said out of a tender and merciful regard to the Life of another man that shall the graceless and finally impenitent knowing man one day say out of the anguish and horror of his own Soul Vtinam nescissem literas Oh that I had never known my Letters and that my Parents had never set me to School Oh that I had been confined all my days to some poor Cottage or dark Corner where I might scarce have known my right Hand from my left that I had been the most silly ignorant contemptible Creature in the World a meer Idiot or natural Fool rather than by my sins against so much knowledge to have procured to my self this direful access to my Torments You may have heard of a poor Idiot who having never uttered one serious word before was heard to utter this short and pertinent Petition when he was going out of the World Lord require no more of me than thou hast given me The ungodly knowing man the profane Wit the learned Atheist will have his mouth stopt he will not be able to find so good a Plea for himself as that poor Idiot had He hath received much from the hand of God and much shall be required of him And so I go on to what followeth in the 20th Verse PART II. Verse 20. Every one that doth evil hateth the light THE words are a Proposition so clearly and plainly exprest that to endeavour to make it plainer were but to lose time Seeing therefore I cannot express it in clearer terms nor cast it into a better form I shall even take it as it lyes and so handle it Every one that doth evil hateth the light The Truth of which Proposition I know not how I can better demonstrate than by shewing what influence the light hath upon men in reference to sin and withal how men stand affected towards their sin 1. The light I mean principally the light of the Gospel of which our Saviour here speaks discovers sin There is a threefold light which discovers sin the light of Nature the light of the Law and the light of the Gospel 1. The very light of Nature doth in some measure discover sin The Gentiles who have not the law Rom. 2.14 15. do by nature the things contained in the law their consciences in the mean while accusing or excusing them according as their actions are more or less conformable to the dictates of the light of nature in them This light was full and perfect as it was at first set up in man by his Creator but is by the fall now become weak and imperfect so that in many things it leaves a man at a great loss That first light represented things to man exactly according to their nature so as by the help of it he could clearly and perfectly discern between good and evil but now that Primitive light being in great part extinguished the weak remainders of it represent good and evil in a dark and obscure manner so as by this light alone a man sees many times little better than he who saw Men as Trees Mar. 8.24 yea worse a great deal taking good for evil and evil for good light for darkness Isa 5.20 and darkness for light as the Prophet speaks 2. The light of the Law of God written goes further in the discovery of sin in which respect the Apostle ascribes the knowledge of sin to the Law Rom. 3.20 The Law exceeds the light of Nature as to the discovery of sin in a double respect 1. The Law discovers more sins than the meer light of Nature could I had not known sin saith the Apostle Rom. 7.7 unless the law had said Thou shalt not covet He had not known the sinfulness of the inward
motions to sin at least such of them as go before the consent of the will the motus primo primi as the Schools call them 2. The Law makes a more full and clear discovery of those very sins which were in some measure known by the light of Nature 3. The light of the Gospel goes yet further in the discovery of sin and in some respects as much exceeds the Law herein as the Law doth the light of Nature For 1. The light of the Gospel as 't is far greater and clearer so 't is of a more piercing and penetrating nature to find out and discover sin as the Noon-day light looks into many a dark corner and exposeth those things to our view which before could not be discerned 2. Gospel Administrations are accompanied with a more full Effusion of the Spirit than was ordinarily under the Law Now one special part of the Spirits work being to convince of sin John 16.8 we may well conclude that the Spirit 's Discovery and Convictions of sin under the Gospel are more full and effectual 3. The Gospel furnisheth us with several Glasses in which we may behold sin represented to us in a more lively manner than by the Law alone and this whether we consider the filthiness or the heinousness of sin These Glasses are the Holiness and the Justice of God 1. The Holiness of God is so displayed and set forth in the Doctrine of the Gospel and in the Life of Christ as never before Hence it is that the Scripture seems so to speak of this matter as if God were little known until Christ by his Heavenly Doctrine and Holy Conversation revealed him No man hath seen God at any time John 1.18 the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father John 12.45 46. he hath declared him He that seeth me seeth him that sent me I am come as a light into the world that whosoever believeth in me should not abide in darkness Mat. 11.27 No man knoweth the Father but the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him 2 Cor. 3.18 And the Apostle discoursing of the Glory and Excellency of the Evangelical Administration beyond the Legal saith That whereas they of old had a vail upon their Hearts and saw things but darkly we all with open face as in a glass behold the glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ And that he there chiefly intends the Glory of his Holiness we may collect from what followeth and we are changed saith he into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Now contraries affording mutual light to one another the more we discern of the Holiness of God the more filthy and loathsome will sin appear to us This we see exemplified in the Prophet Isaiah Isa 6.3 5. who when he had seen the Lord sitting upon his Throne and heard his Holiness proclaimed by one of the Seraphims crying Holy holy holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole earth is full of his glory in the sense of his sinfulness he cries out Wo is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips 2. Another Glass to behold sin in is the Justice and Severity of God against sin As the Holiness of God shews us the filthiness of sin so doth his Justice and Severity shew us the Heinousness and abominable nature of it But now the Justice and Severity of God against sin was never so much discovered by all the dreadful Threatnings of the Law and terrible Judgments that have been inflicted upon Sinners ever since the Fall of Adam to this day nor will ever be so much discovered by all the Sufferings of Millions in Hell to Eternity as by what God for our sins hath laid upon his own Eternal and most dearly beloved Son who is over all God blessed for ever The reason hereof is manifest and undeniable for the Creature will never be able fully to satisfie the Justice of God by its endless Sufferings in Hell if it could why might it not be released and let out of Prison But Christ hath made full satisfaction to his Father's Justice so that we have in that satisfaction which he hath presented to his Father in that satisfaction of infinite value and in that alone an exact and adequate measure by which we may take the full dimensions of the heinousness of Man's sin Indeed what higher thing is imaginable by which we might be led to the sight of the heinousness of sin than that unparallel'd severity of the most Righteous Judge of all the Earth against it which induced him to lay such a weight of punishment upon his only begotten Son who is of the same Divine Essence with himself when having taken our Nature on him he undertook to bear what was due to us for our sins By what hath been said we see that the Gospel not only discovers sin but also doth it in a very signal way making such lively representations of the filthiness and heinousness thereof as neither the light of Nature nor the Law of God nor all the dreadful Examples of God's Justice and Severity that ever have been or ever shall be can make Let us now in the next place add hereunto That men are naturally most unwilling to see their sins and to be convinced of them and then it may be presumed we will easily grant that the light must in that respect be very unacceptable to them Such is every man's natural Pride and Self-love that he hath no mind to know how bad he is He is willing if it be possible to shut his Eyes against his own deformities that he may be able to hold up a good Opinion of himself Besides as men desire not to know too much of their own defects so they would not have them known to others Seeing therefore the same light that discovers them to themselves doth also lay them open to others it is a thing not at all strange that men as long as they are wicked and indulge themselves in sin should be no great Friends to the light It concerns those who have bad Wares to get them into dark Shops which may not discover the faultiness of them And so much of that first thing The light especially that of the Gospel makes discovery of mens sin and that is it which they cannot endure 2. The light of the Gospel doth not only discover mens sin but calls upon them to leave it Mat. 3.2 Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand was the substance of his Preaching who prepared the way for Christ and ushered in Evangelical light Though God never in the least approved of sin yet in former Ages before the coming of his Son into the World he much winked at it at least in the Gentile World but now he commandeth all men every where to repent He lets the World know Acts 16.30 that in times of Gospel-light men
may have reflected more Dishonour upon the Name of God than many of those Sins in others which have otherwise had much more Flagitiousness and Enormity in them And as for the latter sort who may seem to have gained by their Losses If that be the Condition of any amongst us let them not be too forward thence to conclude their Innocency God may pull down in Anger and wound in highest Displeasure and yet such is his admirable Goodness and Compassion that he may anon repent him of the Evils which he hath for our Sins most justly brought upon us and with Advantage rebuild what he had pulled down and so fully heal the Wounds that he had made as to leave us in a better Condition of Health and Strength than he found us in God by the Prophet Ezekiel foretelling the Return of the Israelites from Babylon and their Re-establishment in their own Land promised to settle them after their old Estates and to do better unto them than at their beginning Ezek. 36.11 Now what think you Might they when God had made good this Promise thence infer that God was never angry with them for their Sins and that their Sufferings in Babylon were never intended as their Punishment Their Case may be yours God hath it may be since the Fire dealt better with you than at the beginning you are in some Respects perhaps in a better Condition than formerly perhaps your Trade is doubled Will you therefore now wipe your Mouths and say you were innocent you never offended God so as to have had any Hand in procuring his Judgments to be poured out upon this Place Far be it from you to draw such a proud Conclusion from God's gracious Providence towards you Though God hath not only built you up again but adorned and beautified you and advanced you to a more splendid Condition than before yet cease not you still to acknowledge and give glory to the righteous hand of God in pulling you down and emptying you Amid all your present Mercies and Advantages be you still found putting your mouths in the dust loathing and abhorring your selves for your evil ways and from your hearts professing That as you were most justly pluckt down so you might still as justly have lain in Ruins and Ashes and have been made perpetual Desolations as God once threatned the Land of the Chaldaeans Jer. 25.12 a place never to be inhabited any more And so much concerning the second thing observable from this first aggravation of their sins The Third Particular thence observable is That to return to sin after we have been severely punished for it and grievously smarted for it doth much heighten our sin and render it much more provoking in the sight of God This is clearly implied in the form of speech which Ezra useth After all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass should we again break thy commandments As if he had said This were a provocation of an high nature far be it from any of us to be guilty of it There are these three things that greaten and aggravate our sins committed against God and notwithstanding former great Severities against those our sins 1. To sin again in the same kind after that we had grievously smarted for sin argues a great degree of hardness of heart The scalled Child dreads the fire and the very bruit Beasts are afraid of medling with that for which they have been soundly beaten And were there any tenderness upon the heart of man he would not again easily be drawn to venture on that which he hath already paid so dearly for 2. It argues an heart strongly ingaged to sin and desperately bent after it which no former Severities will restrain or hold in It shews a man is mad in love with sin that will out after it whatever it cost him 'T is as much as if he said 'T is true I have already tasted of the bitter fruits of sin I can tell by experience what 't will cost me But however I must please my self I must gratify my sinful desires my sensual and brutish Lusts and I will I am resolved to do it come what will of it 3. It argues a slighting of the Anger and Displeasure of the Almighty and a contempt of his Rod. Herein a man's carriage towards God is like that of a stubborn and incorrigible Child against him that chastens him Though you make him smart he cares not correct him as long as you will he is still the same and will do what he pleaseth do you what you will or can to reclaim him Take heed of this aggravation of your sins you who have been Sufferers by the Fire and all you who have any other way been severely handled for your sins Beware how you have any more to do with those sins against which the fierce indignation of the Lord hath been so discovered and his Word as it were revealed from Heaven Keep at the greatest distance from those Sins come not near the Borders or Confines of them run away from all temptations to them And that you may be preserved from them 1. Labour to know what they be 'T is now a good while since the dreadful Fire though you were then in a miserable hurry full of dread distractions and confusions so as you had scarce the command of your own thoughts though then you had not so much sedateness and composedness of spirit nor so much freedom and liberty as to sit down and consider as to reflect and enquire into your self as to call your self to an account and find out the causes of God's fierce Indignation yet since you have had time enough to do it Have you done it Have you gotten a sight of all those your particular Sins by which the Wrath of God had been so highly incensed against you If you have not if this work hath so long been neglected if to this day you have never set about it if still you be strangers to the reasons of God's contending with you yet be now at length persuaded to make a narrow search after all those Sins which have been the procurers of so much misery to your selves and this place 2. Having found out those sins have them often in your thoughts and if it be possible carry always upon your heart the impressions of that terrible Judgment at least be sure that you often call it to mind and renew the lively remembrance of it and labour to preserve the images and representations of all the dismal circumstances of it in your mind and then say with Ezra here in the Text After all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass shall we again break thy commandments So say in reference to all your particular sins your filthiness and uncleanness your drunkenness and swearing your profanation of the Lord's Day and Ordinances your pride and gallantry your covetousness and earthly-mindedness your
chastning for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable Fruit of Righteousness to them that are exercised thereby Afflictions are spiritual Physick Now Physick we know at present often discomposeth and disturbs Nature and puts the whole Body out of Frame it makes the Patient sick before it cures him And so it is with the Physick of the Soul you cannot discern the Benefit of it till it hath done working It makes you sick for the present but afterwards you come to see it was a good Sickness that made way for Health and ended therein 7. In the mean time that you see not that you in some measure profit by your Afflictions and that they are by degrees doing you good is very much your own Fault 1. You have a Prejudice against your Afflictions you have an ill Opinion of those Courses which God takes with you for your Good and this much hinders the kindly Operation of them upon you as an ill Opinion of your Physician or his Prescriptions hinders the working of your Physick and deprives you of much of the Benefit thereof 2. While you are under these Prejudices and perverse Misapprehensions you do not apply your self to endeavour to profit by your Afflictions improving God 's Providences and doing what in you lies to further the Success of the Means which he applies and makes use of for the Cure of your Soul While your Prejudices continue and you are thereupon still sluggish and unactive how can you expect to be sensible of the Benefit of your Afflictions Cast off your Prejudices have good Thoughts of God's Methods of Cure firmly believe that the Course which he takes with you is the best and fittest to do you good arise and be doing what you can towards the promoting of God's Design in afflicting you search your Heart try your Ways endeavour to get a Sight of your Sins a true Hatred of them serious and firm Resolutions to forsake them renew these your Resolutions often still endeavour to confirm and strengthen them more and more and above all be earnest and uncessant in Prayer to God that he would be pleased to bless your Endeavours and then say if you see any Cause of complaining that your Afflictions are such as can never do you any Good The Ninth Sermon LAM 3.40 Let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord. I Am now fallen upon the second part of the Text setting before us our Duty in time of Affliction Let us search and try our VVays and turn again to the Lord. The Duty is twofold First That we search and try our VVays And secondly That we turn unto the Lord. The former of these Duties as 't is first in the Order of the Text so 't is in Nature We must search after our Sins find them out and discover them and then turn away from them 'T is impossible that we should forsake them until we have a sight of them He who sees not his Sins what should he else do but still go on boldly and fearlesly in the practice of them What hath he to hinder him or reduce him I shall speak something of both these Duties and first of that which hath the first place in the Text. But before I come to speak of the Duty it self of searching and trying our Ways in time of Affliction in order to the finding out of those our Sins for which God hath laid his Hand upon us I shall speak a little in a more general way of that which is near of kin unto the Duty of the Text I mean of Self-reflection or a looking back upon our selves and a reviewing and consideration of our Thoughts Words and Ways And that which I shall say concerning it shall be touching the Excellency and great Usefulness thereof and touching the Mischiefs of the neglect of it I. As touching the Excellency of Self-reflection or reviewing of our Thoughts Words and Actions I need say no more than that 't is a Perfection which only Men and Angels are capable of All other Creatures even those of them which are most perfect in their Kind and seem to have as it were some Shadow and Resemblance of Reason in them yet fall short of this excellent Perfection They cannot review what they have done or take into consideration the Quality of their past Actions they cannot reckon with themselves and call themselves to an account of them And indeed they need not do it for they are under no other Rule or Law beside that of their Nature and those natural Instincts which God hath put into them by these they are ruled and swayed and according to these they act They are under the Command of no moral Law and consequently their Actions are not capable of moral Good or Evil. But Man being under a moral Law and accountable to his Creator for the Breaches thereof for the better regulating and ordering of his Thoughts Words and Actions according to the Prescriptions of that Law God hath endowed him with a Faculty of reviewing his Actions and of considering them with relation to the Rule to the end that where he finds he hath done well he may be comforted and encouraged and where he hath done ill he may be humbled and reformed Thus hath he a Tribunal within his own Breast before which he can as often as he pleaseth summon himself to appear demand an account of all that hath been done by himself whether good or evil At this Tribunal he can judg and pass Sentence acquit or condemn himself according to the moral Nature and Quality of his Actions Here he can rebuke and admonish as there shall be cause recal and reduce himself where he hath gone astray and lay stricter and severer Charges and Injunctions on himself of greater Care and Watchfulness for the future as in respect of his former Negligence and Remissness shall be necessary A most excellent and never-sufficiently-admired Faculty of Man's Soul What a rich Treasure have we herein if we knew how to value it and make use of it But alas how little Improvement do we make to our selves of this noble Faculty And this brings me to the second thing the great Usefulness of Self-reflection I have already in what hath been spoken on the former Head said something of the Usefulness of it in general I shall now descend to some Particulars and speak briefly to them 1st By reflecting on our selves and taking a view of our past Actions we come to know our selves We understand the State and Condition of our Souls what Case we are in and what Opinion we ought to have of our selves Hereby we come to be acquainted with our spiritual Concernments whether we be in the State of Nature or in the State of Grace whether we be in the Way to Heaven or in the Way to Hell Hereby we come to know what our Declinings and Decays what our Advances and Improvements in