forth it self it is kept out from the thoughts when they are busied in holy Meditation it is kepâ— out from the affections when they are set upon heavenly Objects it is kept ouâ— from the life and conversation wherâ— the duties both of the general and particular calling are duely performed in their respective seasons the Apostle exhorts us in Ephesians 4.27 not to give place to the Devil truly when God's exciting Grace quickens our inherent Grace into continual exercise when every faculty is filled with holy actings and every season with holy duties the Devil can have no place to tempt nor corruption to stir it is the best security God can give from the commission of Sin to quicken to the performance of Duty when we pray or meditate or attend upon publick Ordinances we ought to bless God for his exciting Grace whereby we have not only performed a duty but also escaped some soul and notorious Sin that we might have committed had we not been so holily employed we who are here now present before the Lord this day had we neglected this present opportunity who of us knows what horrid temptations and foul sins we might have been exposed to in our own Houses which in the House of God we have avoided David when he walked idly upon the roof of his House he lies open to the Snares of the Devil and sins foully had he then been at his Harp or Psalms he might thereby have driven the Evil Spirit from himself as formerly he did from his Master Saul running Streams preserve themselves pure and clean when standing Pools soon grow corrupt and noisome and venomous creatures breed in them so is it with the heart whilest God's exciting and quickning Grace puts it upon continual act it is preserved from corruption but when once it grows sluggish and doth not freely flow forth into the actings of Grace and performance of Duties the spawn of all manner of sin breeds there and filthy lusts crawl to and fro in it without any disturbance and therefore we should continually pray that God would vouchsafe us the quickning influence of his Spirit that he would fill our sails with that wind that blows where it listeth arise O North Wind and come thou South Wind and blow upon our Gardens that the Spices thereof may flow forth for if the Spices do not the stench will Secondly As God by his exciting Grace hinders those Sins that might arise in the Heart so he also suppresseth those Sins that do arise There is the greatest contrariety imaginable betwixt inherent Sin and inherent Grace when the one is vigorous the other languisheth when the one is acted the other grows dull and sluggish Now both these opposite Principles have their seat and abode in the same Heart and both of them are in continual expectation of exciting influence to call them forth into act Indwelling Corruption that is usually rouzed up by Temptation when it stirs in the heart and is ready to break forth in the life Habitual Grace though it looks on yet is of it self so feeble that it can make no opposition till a kindly influence from the Spirit of God calls out some particular Grace that is directly contrary to that Sin that stirs and this resists and subdues it This Method God used in keeping the Apostle from sinning 2 Cor. 12. He was there under a sharp and pungent Temptation that is therefore called a Thorn in the Flesh v. 7. Satan buffets and the Apostle prays and God answers My Grace is sufficient for thee My Grace is sufficient not thy Grace that Grace that is in thee is but weak and helpless yea a very nothing if I withdraw my influence from it but that quickning Grace that flows from me that alone is sufficient to remove the Temptation and to prevent the Sin Why now while God's exciting Grace work'd upon the Apostle's inherent Grace this Temptation this Thorn in the Flesh only made him more watchful and more industrious against it but if God should have suspended this his Influence this Thorn in the Flesh would immediately notwithstanding all his Grace sadly have wounded his Conscience by the commission of some great and foul Sin Now as all manner of Sin lies couched in that Body of Sin that we bear about with us so all manner of Grace lies couched in that Principle of Grace that God implants in his own Children Now when the Devil by his Temptations calls forth some particular Sin God also at the same time by his exciting Grace calls forth a particular Grace to hinder the commission of that Sin Thus when they are tempted to Pride God calls forth Humility to prick that swelling puffing Bladder when they are tempted to Wrath and Passion he stirs up Meekness when to murmuring and repining against the dispensations of God he puts Patience upon its perfect work Briefly there is no Sin whatever that the Devil can by his Temptation stir up in the Heart but God also can stir up a contrary Grace to it to quell and master it This is the Method of God's exciting Grace in the preventing of Sin that when the Devil calls forth a particular Corruption out of the Stock of Corruption God calls forth a particular Grace contrary to it from the Stock of Grace But yet there are some particular Graces that are more especially employed about this Service and which God doth most frequently exercise and set on work to keep his Children from the commission of Sin First God hinders the commission of sin by keeping up the lively and vigorous actings of Faith Indeed if Faith fail all other Graces must fail by consequence Faith is the Soul's Steward that fetcheth in Supplies of Grace from Christ in whom is the Treasure of it and distributes them to all the other Graces of the Soul Therefore when Christ tells St. Peter Satan had desired to sift him by his Temptations lest he should be thereby discouraged and dejected presently he adds in v. 32. But I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not And wherefore his Faith rather than any other Grace but because other Graces must take their Lot with Faith and must be strong or weak victorious or languishing as Faith is and therefore it is called the Shield of Faith Ephes 6.6 Now the Office of a Shield is to defend not only the Body but the rest of the Armour also and so doth Faith when it is dexterously managed it keeps both the Soul and its Graces also from the Attempts of the Devil I might be large here in shewing you how Faith preserves from Sin as by deriving vertue and strength from the Death and Blood of Christ by pleading God's Engagements and Promises to tread Satan under our feet by urging and importuning Christ to fulfill in us the end of his coming into the World which was to destroy the Works of the Devil and many such Ways I might name by which Faith prevents Sin
So is it with the Law of God let Scribes and Pharisees corrupt it by their erroneous Glosses and false Interpretations â—utting what Forms and Shapes they â—ease upon it yet as it is in the corâ—ption of earthly Bodies not the least â—iece of Matter can perish or be annihiâ—ted so neither in their corrupting of â—he Law shall one jot or tittle of it fail â—ot but that the Law did fail of its obâ—ervation never yet was it exactly and â—unctually fulfilled by any except by â—ur Lord Jesus Christ but yet the Obâ—gation and binding Power of it is everâ—sting and shall continue while there â— an Earth and Men upon it yea while there is a Heaven glorified Saints â—â— it for the Moral Law is of an eternal â—alidity on Earth it is a perfect Rule â—et down in the Word in Heaven it is â— perfect Nature implanted in the Blesâ—ed from which all their Actions shall low and by which they shall all be guided to eternity This Assertion being laid down our Saviour proceeds to draw an Inference â—rom it and that he doth in the Words â—f the Text If every jot and tittle of â—he Law be of such a permanent and everlasting Obligation then whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and teach Men so he shall be called that is he shall be or he deserves to bâ— the least in the Kingdom of Heaven Opening of the Words And here before we can arrive at thâ— full and practical Sense of the Words we must enquire into Two Things First What is here meant by the least Commandment Secondly What is meant by being least in the Kingdom of Heaven What is meant by the least Commandment For the First of these When Christ speaks here of the least Commandment it must not be so understood as if one Commandment were less necessary to be observed than another God's Commands are all alike necessary and that with a twofold Necessity Necessitate Praecepti Necessitate Medii The one ariseth from the Authority of the Law-giver the other from the Requisiteness of Obedience to eternal Life One Command therefore is not less than another First No Command little in respect of God's Authority In respect of the Authority enâ—yning them The same holy and just â—od who hath commanded us to love â—nd fear him with all our Souls and with â—l our Might hath also commanded us â— abstain from every vain Thought â—nd from every idle and superfluous â—ord The least Command hath power â— bind the Conscience to Obedience as â—ell as the greatest because the least â— enacted by that Sovereign God to â—hom all Souls and Consciences are subâ—ct as well as the greatest It is not â—he greatness or smallness of the Coin â—ut the Image of the King stamp'd upon â— that authorizeth it and makes it â—arrant So truly the Holiness and Puâ—ty of God's Nature once imprinted upâ—n the least Command makes it fully as â—uthoritative and Obligatory as if it â—ere the highest and the chiefest Nor Secondly No Command less necessary to be obeyed is one Command less â—han another as if it were less necessary â—o be performed in order to Eternal Life The Breach of the least Commandment â—oth as certainly shut the Soul out of Heaven and shut it up under Wrath and Condemnation as the breach of the greatest In neither of these sences therefore must the Words be understood aâ— if our Obedience were required more râ—missly or left more arbitrary to the one than to the other or as if the observation of them all were not equally conducible unto Happiness or the transgression of them equally liable unto punishment When therefore Christ speaks oâ— the least Commandment the expression may admit of a twofold signification First That herein he alludes to thâ— common and corrupt Doctrine of the Scribes and Pharisees distinguishing God's Commands into great and small The great Commandments they held to be those only which concerned the external Acts of Religious Worship such as Fastings and Washings and Sacrifices and scrupulous Tithings with various Gifts and Offerings these were their great Commandments but for inward Concupiscence for unmortified Lusts for vain Thoughts and sinful Desires these they as a Generation corrupt in themselves and Corrupters of others taught as the Papists now do either to be no Sins at all or at most but venial so long as they did not break forth into Act and truly the greater part of this Chapter is spent in setting forth the evil of â—hose Sins that the Jews accounted to be â—â—ght and small Matth. 5.22 28 29. as to be angry with our â—rother to call him Racha or thou Fool â—erse 22. To harbour inward Motions â—f Concupiscence ver 28. To use Diâ—orce ver 29. Common Swearing ver 34. Private Revenge ver 39. Now says our â—aviour I am so far from destroying the Law and the Prophets either by my Doctrine or by my Practice as these Men falsly accuse and calumniate me â—hat contrariwise I teach that the violatiâ—n of those Commands which your Doâ—tors the Scribes and Pharisees account â—mall and little will bring with them â—n heavy guilt and sore condemnation or whosoever breaks those Commandments that are commonly vilify'd and called least shall be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven Secondly Those Commandments which â—re great in respect of the Lawgiver may yet be the least in comparison with other Commands of the same Law which â—re indeed thought greatest Now this comparative inequality in the Commandments is taken from the inequality of the Objects about which they are conversant some of them concern our Duty to God others concern our Duty to Man Now because Man is infinitely less than God therefore those Commands that relate to our Duty towards Man may be called less than those Commands that relate to our Duty towards God Hence when the Lawyer put a Case to our Saviour Matth. 22.36 Mat. 22.36 Master which is the great Commandment in the Law Our Lord answers him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind This says he is the first and great Commandment Sometimes this inequality riseth from the Latitude that every Command hath in it Now this Latitude relateth to our Thoughts to our Words and to our Actions Now because a Thought may be said to be less than a Word and a Word may be said to be less than an Action therefore that part of the Commandment that requires Holiness in our Thoughts may be said to be less than that which requires Holiness in our Speech and that part of the Commandment which requires Holiness in our Speech than that which requires Holiness in our Lives and Actions Now says our Saviour he that sins against Man as well as he that sins against Gâ—d he that sins in a Thought in a Word as well as he that sins in his Actions and Conversation He that breaks
them â—d the greatest Sins Every thought â—ou thinkest and every word thou â—eakest in an unregenerate State and conâ—tion there is Sin in it and though most â— them possibly are but little Sins yet â— multitude of them alone are able to â—nk you down into the lowest Hell â—our Consciences start back and are â—frighted as indeed they ought at a â—emptation to Murder Incest Blasâ—emy or any of those more horrid Sins â—at are the prodigies of corrupt Nature â—ese Sins you dare not so much as comâ—it once And yet thousands of thouâ—nds of lesser Sins such as sinful Thoughts â—le Words petty Oaths commodious Lyes â—ese proceed from you without either â—riving against them or mourning for â—em Why now Sirs do you more fear â—tolerable and everlasting Wrath for â—e single Commission of a great Sin than you do for the frequent and repeated Commission of less Sins Truly â— cannot precisely tell you whether you had not as good Blaspheme God once aâ— take his Name in vain often whetheâ— it be not as good to Murder once as to hate always The frequency of little Sins makes their guilt so great and theiâ— punishment so intolerable that the vilest Sins you can imagine shall have nothing to exceed them in unless it be the horror of the Name of that Sin Anâ— yet it fares with us as it did with thâ— Israelites we tremble more at one Goliah than we do at the whole Army of thâ— Philistines One gross scandalous Siâ— makes Conscience recoil and go back when yet we venture upon the number less guilt of smaller Sins that have leâ— terror in their Name though united iâ— their guilt they bring far sorer Condemnation on the Soul than the single Commission of a great Sin What great diâ—ference is there whether your Eternaâ— burning be kindled by many sparks oâ— by one fire brand Whether you Die bâ— many smaller Wounds or by one greaâ— one Many little Items may make Debt desperate and the payment impossible And truly when God shall â—eckon up against us at the great Day many thousand vain Thoughts and as many superfluous idle Words with as many petty Oaths and Lyes that we â—ave been guilty of the account will be â—s dreadful and the Wrath that will â—ollow as insupportable as if Murder Blasphemy or the greatest outrage that â—ver was committed in the World were â—ingly charged upon us Thirdly It 's difficult to convince men of the evil of little Sins Consider it is very difficult â—o convince Men of the great Evil and Danger that there is in little Sins and â—herefore it is very difficult to bring them â—o Repentance for them Indeed this is â—he great and desperate Evil that there â—s in small Sins that Men will not be perswaded that they are Evil. Flagitious wickednesses are usually self condemning they carry that brand upon them that makes them evident to every Mans Conscience that they come from Hell and will certainly lead to Hell Rom. 1.33 and therefore the Apostle Rom. 1.33 after he had reckoned up a black Catalogue of Sins tells them in the last verse that though they were Heathens yet they knew the Judgments of God that they that committed such things were worthy of Death But now the guilt of little Sins is not so apparent the eye of a meer natural Conscience looks usually outward to the Life and Conversation and if that be plain and smooth it sees not or dispenseth with the lesser Sins of the Heart Hence is it that we so seldom confess or mourn for those that we call lesser Sins When is it that we are deeply humbled for the Omission of duties or for the slight and perfunctory performance of them these we look not upon as deserving Damnation and therefore we think they need no Repentance Nay are we not so far from judging and condemning our selves for them that we seek out pretences to excuse and lessen them calling them Slips Failings and vnavoidable Infirmities Gen. 19.20 And as Lot said of Zoar is it not a little one and our Souls shall live What can I think there is so much danger in a foolish Thought in a vain and inconsiderate Word Can I think that the great God will torment his poor creatures for ever for a Thought for a Word for a Glance yes believe it unless these Sins be done away in the Blood of Christ there is not the least of them but hath an infinite Evil in it and an infinite Wrath following of it If you will not now be convinced of it you shall be then when with dread and astonishment you shall hear God calling your little Sins by other Names than you now do you call them Failings and Infirmities but God will call them Presumptions and Rebellions What you say is but a vain Thought shall be arraign'd as Treason against God as Atheism and Soul Murder Then every formal heartless Duty that here you performed shall be accused of mocking and scoffing of God they are so interpretatively and in God's esteem and unless the guilt of them be done away by the Blood of sprinkling you will find them no less at the great and terrible Day of the Lord. Indeed the generality of Men have gotten a dangerous Method of doing away the guilt of their Sins great Sins they make to be little and little Sins they make to be none at all and thus they do away their Sins and so they Live in them customarily and Die in them impenitently and perish under them irrecoverably The least sin allow'd is a sign of an hypocritical Heart Fourthly Consider that the allowance anâ— cordial approbation but of the least Sin is â— certain sign of a most rotten and hypocriticaâ— Heart Be thy Conversation never sâ— blameless be thy profession never so glorious be thy Duties and Services never sâ— pompous yet if there be the secret reservation and allowance but of the leasâ— Sin all this is no more than so much vain show and pageantry Jam. 1.26 What says the Apostle Jam. 1.26 If any Man among you seem tâ— be Religious and bridleth not his Tongue that Man deceiveth himself his Religion is vain Why is it not strange that after so many prayers daily put up to God after an eminent profession and a considerable progress made in the ways of God that yet both the sincerity and success oâ— all this should depend upon so small â— thing as the tip of a man's Tongue If thaâ— be allowed to run at random into impertinencies not to say into Debaucheries and Prophaneness all your Duties all youâ— Prayers all your Profession is blown away by the same Tongue that uttered them and all your Religion will be in vain and let me add This seeming Religion will enâ— only in shame and confusion at the last when the Soul and Conscience of a sinner shall be ript open at the great Day before Men and Angels and that little Sin that kept God and Christ
Alienation and Estrangement between God and the Soul But now Pardon of Sin removes these Obstructions and causeth the intercourse betwixt God and the Soul to pass free because it gives the Soul a Holy and yet Awful Boldness in Conversing with the Great and Terrible Majesty of God So much sence of Pardon and Reconciliation as we have so much boldness shall we have ordinarily in our Addresses to God What 's the Reason the Consciences of Wicked Men drag them before God and they come with so much Diffidence Dejectedness and Jealousie Why it is because they are Conscious to themselves of guilt that lies upon them and this makes them look on God rather under the Notion of a Judge than of a Friend or Father and this makes them perform their Duties so distrustfully as if they would not have God take any notice that they were in his Presence But when a Pardon'd sinner makes his Addresses to God he may do it with a Holy freedom the Face of his Soul looks chearfully and he Treats with God with an open Heart What ground is there now for such a Confidence as this is For poor vile Dust and Ashes to appear thus before the great God of Heaven and Earth Yes there is for Guilt is removed his Peace is made in the Bloud of Christ all Enmity is abolished all Quarrels are decided and it becomes not him to serve God with such Suspiciousness as Guilty Sinners do Hence we have that Expression of the Apostle Heb. 10.22 Let us draw near to him in full Assurance of Faith having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience That is from a Guilty and an Accusing Conscience Now when the Heart and Conscience is sprinkled with the Bloud of Christ whereby this Guilt is taken off then hath a Man good ground to draw near to God in full Assurance of Faith Fourthly Pardon of Sin lays a good ground for Peace in a Man 's own Conscience I do not say that Peace of Conscience is always an inseparable Attendant upon Pardon of Sin For doubtless there are many so unhappy as to have a Wrangling Conscience in their own Bosoms when God is at Peace with them But this is certain That Pardon of Sin lays a solid ground and Foundation for Peace in a Man 's own Conscience and were Christians but as industrious as they should be in clearing up their Evidences for Heaven they might obtain Peace whenever they are pardon'd What is there that disquiets Conscience but only Guilt nothing but the Guilt of Sin doth it this is that which rageth and stormeth in Wicked Men and is as a Tempest within their Breasts this is that unseen Scourge that draws Bloud and Groans at every Lash this is that Worm that lies perpetually gnawing at the Heart of a Sinner this is that Rack that breaks the Bones and disjoynts the Soul it self In a word Guilt is the Fuel of Hell and the Incendiary of Conscience were it not for Guilt there were not a more pleasant and peaceable thing in all the World than a Man 's own Conscience Now Pardon of Sin removes this Guilt and thereby makes Reconciliation between us and our Consciences and therefore says our Saviour Matth. 9.2 to the Paralytick Man Son be of good chear thy Sins are forgiven thee why might not some say this is an Impertinent Speech to say to one that was brought to be cured of a sad Infirmity of Body That his Sins were forgiven him whilst yet his Disease was not cured Not but our Lord Christ knew that there was infinitely more cause of Joy and Chearfulness to have Sin Pardon'd than to have Diseases cured To have all calm and serene within not to have a Frown or Wrinkle upon the Face of the Soul to have all smooth Thoughts and peaceful Affections this is some faint resemblance of Heaven it self and is never vouchsaft unto any but where Pardon and the sence of it is given to the Soul Pardon of sin takes away the Curse of every Affliction Fifthly He whose Sins are Pardon'd may rest assured that whatever Calamities or Afflictions he may lie under yet therâ— is nothing in them of a Curse or Punishment It is Guilt alone that diffusetâ— Poison through the Veins as of all ouâ— Enjoyments so of all Afflictions also and turns them all into Curses Buâ— Pardon of Sin takes away this Venome and makes them all to be Medicinaâ— Corrections good profitable and advantagious to the Soul See how God by the Prophet expresseth this Isa 33.24 The Inhabitants shall not say they are sick Why so For the People that dwell therein shall be forgiven their Iniquities When Sin is Pardon'd outward Afflictions are not worth complaining of The Inhabitants shall not say We are Sick A Disease then becomes a Medicine when Pardon hath taken away the Curse and Punishment of it God hath two ends with respect of himself for which he brings Punishments upon us the one is the Manifestation of his Holiness the other is for the satisfaction of his Justice And accordingly as any Affliction tends to either of these ends so is it properly a Punishment or barely a Fatherly Chastisement If God intends by the Afflictions he lays upon thee the satisfaction of his Justice then thy Afflictions are properly Punishments and they flow from the Curse of the Law but if the manifestation of his Holiness be all he intends by them then are they only Fatherly Corrections proceeding from Love and Mercy First Those whose sins God hath pardon'd he may afflict for the declaration of his Holiness that they may see and know what a Holy God they have to deal with who so perfectly hates sin that he will follow it with Chastisements even upon those whom his free Grace hath pardon'd Secondly God inflicts no Chastisements upon those whom he hath pardon'd for the satisfaction of his Justice and therefore they are not Curses nor properly Punishments but only Corrections and Fatherly Chastisements Christ hath satisfied the demands of Justice for their Sins and God is more just than to exact double satisfaction for the same Offence one in Christ's Punishment and another in theirs The Apostle tells us Gal. 3.13 Christ hath Redeemed us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us It is not the Evils that we suffer that makes them Curses or Punishments be they never so great but only the Ordination of these Evils to the satisfaction of Divine Justice upon us And therefore Christ in Scripture is said to be made a Curse not simply because he suffered but because he was adjudged to his Sufferings that thereby satisfaction might be made unto the Justice of God Hence therefore with what calmness and peace may a Pardoned Sinner look upon any Afflictions though they are sore and heavy tho they seem to carry much of God's Anger in them yet there is nothing of a Curse or of the nature of a Punishment the Sting was all