night and he had nothing else upon him to make him sweat but the burden of sin and the weight of the wrath of God being upon him he being under that burden sweat and such a sweat as made the very blood break through his very Veins and run to Clodders and so run down upon the ground Clodders of Blood and all this but upon the apprehension of the wrath of God his Father against him for our Sin Now you know when Porters be under great Burdens somtimes they sweat but never did any sweat like this sweat of Christ being under the weight of mans Sin sweat so as Clodders of Blood should fall from him One would think fear should rather draw in the Blood fear naturally draws in the blood to the heart therefore it is that men and women when they are skar'd and are afraid they are so pale in their Countenance fear causeth paleness in the outward parts because the blood retires to the heart when they be afraid But such was the amazement upon Christ upon the apprehension of the wrath of his Father for Sin that it sends out blood in Clodders trickling down his sides 3 And then a third expression which shew the effect of Gods wrath on Christ is the Prayer of Christ Christ doth as it were shrink under this weight and burden of sin and cries to God if it be possible let this Cup pass from me When we cry with vehemency we say if it be possible let it be thus or thus but Christ cries out so three times We may apprehend Christ taking as it were the Cup of the wrath of his Father in his hand and because he knew it was the end wherefore he came into the world that he must drink of it for satisfaction for mans Sin and being willing to save Man-kind that he knew could not be saved but he must drink the Cup he takes it in his hand readie to drink it but beholding the hidiousness and dreadfulness of this Cup and knowing what was in it he puts it away and cries Father if it be possible let this Cup pass but now he sees if he did not drink it all the Children of men must be eternally damned for such was our miserie if Christ had not drunk this Cup we had all eternally perish't therefore Christ puts it to his mouth again as it were the second time but yet seeing what dreadfulness was in this Cup and he knowing it he takes it away again and cries If it be possible let this Cup pass but yet having love to Man-kind being loth to see so many thousands of poor Creatures perish eternally he puts it to his mouth again a third time and yet seeing the dreadfulness of it puts it away again and yet saith If it be possible let it pass This might make a man tremble to think that he shall as Job saith 21. Job drink of the wrath of God Thus it was with Christ and all this while he did not drink it But afterwards when he comes to the Cross there he drunk the Cup of Gods wrath and there he cries out with another cry more bitter than all the other and that is My God my God why hast thou forsaken me so that he apprehends himself forsaken Oh the wrath of the Almighty that then was upon the Spirit of Jesus Christ at that time What! for the son of God blessed for evermore thus to cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Oh you Heavens how could you be able to behold such a Spectacle as this was or the Earth be able to bear it Truly neither Heaven nor Earth were able for the Scripture saith that the Sun withdrew his light and was darkened so many hours it was from twelve to three that the Sun withdrew his light and did not shine but there was dismal darkness in the world as not being able to behold such a Spectacle as this and the Earth shook and trembled and the Graves opened and the Rocks clove in sunder the very stones themselves were affected with such a work as this and the vale of the Temple rent asunder these things were done upon Christs bearing of the Wrath of his Father for Sin Here you have the fruits of Gods displeasure for sin and in this you may see surely sin must needs be a vile thing that causeth God the Father thus to deal with his own Son when he had mans sin upon him Thirdly Consider yet further for there is much in it and if this do not shew the evil of sin and cause you to fear and tremble those that be guilty of sin and their consciences tell them so if their hearts tremble not certainly their hearts be hard and their minds be blinded and little hopes can they have for the present of ever having their parts in these sufferings of Christ what shall Christ suffer such sufferings and wilt thou go away and have slight thoughts of sin shall sin be so great a burden to Christ and wilt thou be so merry under it Certainly you see it is more than you were aware of for you to say I trust in Jesus Christ and hope to be saved by Jesus Christ you see how Christ felt sin the Scripture saith he was made a Curse Were it not we had it from the holy Ghost no man or Angel durst say so that Christ should be made a Curse in the abstract not Cursed but made a Curse What! he that was God and Man by the sin of man was made a Curse Oh the displeasure of God against sin But yet to give it you a little more fully see these Aggravations and you will say certainly the displeasure of God was great against his Son 1 As first All that Christ suffered he perfectly knew it long before he suffered and yet it was so dreadful unto him Oh Brethren there be many men and women understand nothing at all of the wrath of God against sin these think there is no great matter in it Of all the men and women in the world when they come to suffer this wrath it will be dreadful to them because it come unexpectedly they that went on merrily and cheerfully in the waies of sin and for the wrath of God never thought of it now then when the wrath of God comes on them it will be more dangerous and intollerable This is the reason why many people when their consciences are awakened upon their sick Beds then they despair crying and roaring under Gods wrath and rage with despair Why Because they never in their lives came to understand the danger of sin and of Gods wrath for sin and because it comes now suddenly upon them they be not able to bear it But it was not so with Christ Christ understood this long before he knew what it would be before he took our Nature and he knew what it would be when he came in humane Nature to undertake it Those men and women that know
under Sin They can go to God and tell God their Afflictions and Challenge God with a holy boldness in Afflictions but who can go to God and Challenge God because he hath told a Lye or the like Doth this make them go with a holy boldness to God and Challenge Gods Promise because I have committed such and such a sin Secondly When Affliction doth come a gracious heart can kiss the rod and accept of the punishment of his sin but now a gracious heart can never be well pleased with his sin can never accept of sin though God punish one sin with another sometimes yet I say there cannot be a well pleasedness with sin and a kissing of that Thirdly A gracious heart may rejoyce in Affliction and have abundance of comfort in Afflictions account it all joy saith the Holy Ghost when you fall into trials and afflictions but now he can never rejoyce in sin no man can rejoyce in sin though God should turn sin to never so much good one cannot rejoyce in sin and have that comfort he may in affliction Fourthly A gracious heart may bless God for Afflictions bless God that ever he did Cast him into an afflicted estate but he can never bless God for putting him into a sinful estate though God do work good out of it Nay further That good a gracious heart hath sometimes by afflictions may incourage him to be more willing to go into affliction again when God calls him to it but if a gracious heart should get good occasionally by sin yet this good cannot incourage him to fall into sin again this were a desperate wickedness if he should Fifthly A gracious heart may desire of God that he would not take away Affliction till it be sanctified and that he would continue it till it be sanctified but no man may or ought to pray thus Lord continue me in this sin till I am humbled therefore you see there is abundance of difference between affliction and sin one hath a great deal of good annexed to it and the other hath none at all 5. Sin it is so evil that it is not capable of any good at all the air though it be dark yet it is capable of light that were a dismal darkness that were not capable of light to come to it and that which is bitter though never so bitter yet it is capable of receiving that which will sweeten it that which is never so venemous yet is capable of such things as will make it wholsom but sin is so dark that it is uncapable of light so bitter as there is no way to make it sweet so venemous as it is no way capable of any wholsomness now for the clearing of this consider these three Things 1. Put all the good in heaven and earth and in all the Creatures in heaven and earth together Suppose the quintiscence of all the good of all the Creatures of heaven and earth were put together and bring that to sin and ad it to it it would not make it good no sin would remain still as evil as before it was Now that must needs be poyson indeed that bring all the soveraign things in the world and put to it yet there would not be a deminishion of the least strength of that poyson and so it is with sin Therfore I beseech you Brethren observe it those men and women be mightily mistaken that think I have been a sinful creature indeed but now I wil amend and reforme and be better that by adding some good to their former sinful Lives it will make all good Oh! know that there is so much evil in sin that the addition of all the good of all the creatures in heaven and earth cannot make it less evil than before so that you must not only now think to live better ad good unto your former evil but you must take a course for the taking away of the former evil for the delivering you from the guilt and stain and filth of your former sin 2. Sin is not capable of good All those good ends that any men have in the Cōmission of sin yet do not make their sin the better that cannot make sin good because they have good ends as thus There may be Three good ends some may think they have in the Commission of sin 1 They may perhaps think that by Commission of some sin they may further some grace do good to others or glorifie God there may be such deceit in the heart as thus 1 They may think such a sin will help such a Grace and help against such a temptation and such a sin may help my humility and it is ordinary this temptation when in trouble of Conscience make away thy self and then thou wilt sin no more for so long as I live I shall sin against God therfore make away thy self and so cease to sin But know if thou lay violent hands upon thy self and think thou shalt have this good by it to sin no more yet thy sin is wicked and abominable though thou put this good end upon it though it were possible to in crease Grace never so much by the least sinful thought we must not commit this least sinful thought for never so good an end as to help forward such a Grace 2 A Second end may be to do good to others and I say if it were possible if a man might be a means to save the whole world if he would commit one sin if he could save the whole world from eternal Torments by the Commission of one sin you should suffer the whole world to perish rather than commit one sin there is so much evil in sin It is the expression of Augustine in a Tractate of his concerning an officious Lye a friend of his wrote to him to Answer this Question about telling of a Lye Whether he might not tell a Lye to do good to another man Many think What though I do tell a Lye so I do another good indeed if I may do hurt then I must not but if I may do good may I not tell a Lye well this Question was brought to Augustine and saith he Thou must not tell a Lye to save the whole world this was his Answer Suppose that the Soul of thy Father Mother or Child this is but a supposition or the like should lie upon it to be saved or damned if thou wilt commit one sin suppose such a temptation should come thou must not commit one sin though the soul of thy father or mother or all the world lay upon it now it is another manner of thing to commit a sin to gain a groat Oh now by a deceitful word I may have this gain if it were twenty shillings thou must not venture upon sin to save the world therefore not to gain six pence or a shilling Certainly these be the truths of God and for one to come and speak these things in a solemn manner in
take a man that lies as it were scalding in Gods wrath his conscience burning and bringing even Hell to him that he cries and roars in the anguish of his soul for sin one would think certainly this man will never have to do more with sin that is in this horror and anguish and trouble for sin certainly he will never keep company be drunk be unclean or cozen any more But this may be to the admiration of Men and Angels to see how men and womens hearts are set upon sin that notwithstanding al that anguish and horror that they have many times for it yet they will to it again and that as greedily as ever yea and somtimes more greedily for if once a man consider I beseech you what I say hath overcome the trouble of conscience for Sin and fallen to it again he will then be more greedy he will slight conscience then and scorn at conscience then and make nothing of it if once he have out stood conscience As an unruly horse if he have but once cast his Rider then let him come on his back he cares not for him he contemns him he will quickly throw him off again So when the stubborn unruly lusts of a mans heart have once cast off conscience that a man or woman have been once under terrors of conscience for sin and yet fall to it again such a mans condition is very lamentable Iâ— say not wholly desperate I dare not say so for Gods thoughts are higher than ours as high as the Heaven is above the Earth but this mans condition is very lamentable there is this strength in sin in the soul that all the terrors in the world will not breed a devorce between sin and the soul But when once the soul can come to say with David Against thee against thee only have I sinned in my Sins I have gone against that God who is so infinitely above all praise and glorie This is the humiliation if any thing make a devorce between Sin and the Soul this will do it This is the third Corollarie That therefore there be verie few humbled for Sin aright because not thus humbled CHAP. XVIII The Fourth Corollarie Admire the Patience of God in seeing so much Sin in the World and yet bear it FOurthly If this be so that sin is so much against God doth so much wrong God Hence then we have all cause to stand and admire at the infinite patience of the great God that shall behold so much sin in the world from such poor wretched vile Creatures and yet shall bear it 'T is true those that do not know how sin doth make against God strikes at him and wrongs him they are not so much taken with the patience of God and with the long suffering of God But now that man or woman that comes to know how sin wrongs God and comes to understand this such a one cannot but to amazment stand and wonder at Gods infinite patience that such a great God who seeth himself so struck at fought against opposed and wronged by such wretched Creatures that yet he doth forbear crushing them too pieces presently I beseech you Brethren consider do but take along with you what I have said about Sin how it is against God and then consider how all sins that are committed God is present at it stands and looks upon it Do but think somtimes with your selves when you are among a great concourse of people among a company of prophane wretched people as in Markets Fairs Taverns Inns and Ale-houses how is Gods Name blasphemed there What daring of the blessed God what scorning and contemning of his Word and Sacraments and Ordinances well and now carry along that thought how God is wronged in all these struck at in all this and what an infinite God this is and then think how God stands by them heareth every Oath seeth every filthy act of Uncleanness seeth every Drunkard and yet when the least word of his mouth were enough to sink them to the bottomless-pit yet God is patient the first second and third time yea a hundred times Perhaps thou hast been a Blasphemer twenty years forty years a Swearer and when thou comest in company Oh the wicked Oaths that come from thee and hidious Uncleanness and abominable wickedness and yet God stands by and looks upon the Swearer and is patient all the while Certainly Brethren there is no man in all the world that is wronged as God is and yet man is not able to bear wrong from his equal if he have power in his hand to prevent it What! Shall he wrong me I will make him know what it is to wrong me You cannot bear any wrong from your fellow Creature Oh consider what wrong God hath born from you and others stand and admire at the infinite patience and long-suffering of the Lord Truly Brethren when any mans Conscience comes to be inlightened and awakened then the greatest wonder in the world to such a Conscience is the Patience and long-suffering of God Oh! that God should be so patient and long-suffering unto me all this time of my life that I am out of Hell he stands and wonders that he is out of Hell and wonders at others that others should not be affected with the patience of God Certainly brethren that wrong is done unto God by sin as that if any one man that had all the patience of all the men and women in the world put into his heart all the patience and meekness that ever was in all the Saints since the beginning of the world if it were all distilled into the heart of one man or woman and suppose that this man or woman were but wronged as God is it were impossible but that that man or woman should break forth with revenge against those wrongs done to him or her it were impossible for such an one to bear so far as he can see himself able I mean to right himself so far he could not bear the wrongs done to him But now God shews himself here to be infinite in patience and long-suffering as well as infinite in any other Attribute of his Brethren it wil be an especial part of the glory of the great day of Judgment that when all the wrong that ever was done to God from the beginning of the world by sinners shal then be opened at the day of Judgment Alas we see but little wrong done to God now we look upon notorious wretches and think they wrong God now we see but little but at the day of Judgment then all the secret villanies and wickedness that ever was committed in secret places since the beginning of the world in all places of the world then shal it all appear And then how will it appear to Men and Angels how God was wronged by his Creature and then there will be the patience of God seen that he should be so patient so many thousand years together notwithstanding
Man-kind The dreadful giving of the Law His dreadful Judgments for smal sins And examples of his wrath abroad in the world And the eternal torments in Hell Put all these six together and yet I say all these six is not so much to manifest the displeasure of God against sin as this one that now I shall tell you of and if there be any thing in the world that should make us to see the evil of sin it should be this if any thing make our hearts to shake and tremble at the evil of that sin of which it is so much guiltie then this I say that now I speak of should do it and that is this The dealings of God the Father with his Son when Jesus Christ that was the second Person of the Trinity God blessed for ever came to be our Mediator and to have but our sins imputed unto him and according to Scripturs phrase to be made sin Do but then take notice how God deals with him how God manifests himself to his own Son when his own Son did but take mans sin upon him to answer for it do but then consider how God the Father did deal with him The Scripture saith he did not spare his Son but let out the vials of his wrath upon him in a most dreadful manner If we do but consider First that Christ God blessed for ever should come and be in the form of a Servant should be a man of sorrows as the Scripture speaks that in the whol course of his life should live a contemptible life before men and undergo grievous sufferings But because I must hasten do but look upon Christ in his Agony and upon the Cross at his death and there you will see the dreadful displeasure of God against sin and in nothing more than that True there is the bright glass of the Law wherein we may see the evil of sin but there is the red glass of the sufferings of Christ and in that we may see more of the evil of sin than if God should let us down to Hell and if there we should see all the tortures and torments of the damned in Hell see them how they lie sweltring under Gods wrath there it were not so much as beholding sin through the red glass of the sufferings of Jesus Christ and that of his Agony And give me leave a little to shew to you how God let out himself against his Son when he came into the Garden and a little before when he was to die and suffer upon the Cross And for this consider these two things First The several Expressions the holy Ghost useth in the several Evangelists for the setting out of those dreadful things Christ suffered as a fruit of Gods displeasure upon him 1 One Evangelist saith that Christ was very sorrowful even to the death Mat. 26. 38. he began to be the word in the Original signifies compassed about with sorrows to have sorrows round about him and as it were beset and besieged with grief and it was to the very death usque ad mortem sorrowful to the very death What was it for upon the apprehension of the wrath of his Father which he was to endure for the sin of man he was sorrowful to the death in the apprehension of it You it may be upon the sight of sin content your selves with some slight little sorrow You will it may be when you are told of sin cry Lord have mercy upon me I am sorry for it and so pass it away But Christ when God comes to deal with him he makes his soul to be compassed about with sorrows sorrowful to the death for our sins 2 Another Evangelist tels us he began to be amazed Mark 14. 33. that is when Christ came to drink the Cup of the wrath of his Father due for our sins he stood amazed at the sight of the dreadfulness of that Cup he was to drink of because he knew what Gods wrath was he understood what it was before he drunk of it and this made him stand amazed at it Many sinners hear Gods wrath and this makes them fear but they be not amazed at it they can pass it away and they be not affected with it afterward because they understand it not they know not what it is for a Creature to stand before the wrath of an infinite Deity Who knows the power of thy wrath saith the Scripture therfore they be not amazed But Christ that knew full well what the wrath of God was and saw to the bottom of it he understood to the dregs what that Cup was and he stood amazed at the sight of it when he was to drink it 3 Another Evangelist hath this Expression 't is in Luke 22. 44. Christ began to be in an Agony Now the word Agony signifies a strife a combat it is taken from the word that stgnifies a combate in Battel Christ was in an Agony in a Combate Combate with what with whom With the Wrath of God he saw coming out upon him to sink him he saw the Curse of the Law come out upon him he saw the infinite Justice of God of the infinite Deity come out upon him and he was in an Agony in combate with the infinite Justice and wrath of God and the dreadful Curse of the Law and so Christ came to be in an Agony These be the three Expressions of the Evangelists Secondly Consider the Effects of Christs being in an Agony and apprehending the wrath of his Father for sin 1 One Effect was this you shall find it in the story of the Gospel that the text saith he fell grovelling upon the ground upon the apprehension of Gods wrath and displevsure upon him for sin which he was to suffer he fell down grovelling upon the ground When he that upholds the Heavens and the Earth by his Power now falls grovelling upon the Earth having the weight and burden of mans Sin upon him he falls upon his face he falls to the ground Certainly Brethren Christ had that weight and burden upon him that would have prest all the Angels in Heaven and Men in the World down to the bottomless gulf of despair If all the strength of all the men that ever were since the beginning of the world and all the Angels in Heaven were put into one and he had but that weight upon him that Christ had it would have made him sink down into eternal despair for had not Christ been God as well as Man he could never have born it but would have sunk down eternally But the burden and weight was so great that he sinks down to the ground 2 A second effect of Christs bearing the wrath of God for Sin is this He sweat great drops of blood the word in the Original is Clodders of Blood Blood thickned into Clods Never was there such a sweat it was in the Winters night a cold night abroad upon the ground in a cold Winters
one person to another Christ comes in and he puts on the Sentence of Condemnation for thee that hast it passed against thee so that the Sentence is not properly nullified but transferred to Christ Eccles 8. 11. saith the text there Because Sentence against an evil Work is not speedily executed therefore the heart of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil Mark the Sentence against an evil work is not speedilie executed so that it appears there is a Sentence against every evil work The Sentence is out Brethren thou goest and art drunk or to the commission of such a sin I say presentlie the Sentence of death is clapt upon thee the Sentence is out against all sinners You see men go on and live in prosperitie a great while in the world but they be under the Sentence all the while sin is not removed by the blood of Christ and all the comforts I beseech you observe that that any man or woman have in the world that are in their natural condition and are not delivered from Condemnation by Christ they are all but just as meat and drink and some refreshments that are grantnd to a condemned Malefactor before Execution Suppose a Malefactor is condemned but now Execution is not till two or three daies after in that space of time he hath granted unto him libertie to have meat and drink and friends come to him and he may refresh himself in those two or three daies but he hath forfeited all his Estate and the tenure now upon which he holds any comfort it is not the same which he had before but meerly through the bountie of the Prince it is that he hath comforts So here wicked men have committed sin and the Sentence of death is out against them and they have forfeited all the comforts of their estates and of their lives only God in patience grants unto them some outward comforts here a few daies before Execution and upon this tenure do all wicked men hold their Estates I will not say that every wicked man is an Usurper of their Estates as some perhaps have held that they have no right at all before God some right he hath as you cannot say a Malefactor hath no right when he is condemned to meat and drink before Execution he hath right to what is given to him of Donation and Bountie but not that right which he had before So I say for wicked men that have Estates in this world they have a kind of right to that they have but how Just that right that a condemned man hath to his dinner or supper before Execution this is the right of wicked men to their Estates that is God of his bountie grants a little while before Execution they shall have a few comforts to them in this world And this is the evil of sin and the least sin there is not any one sin but the fruit of it is Condemnation And Brethren you must not mistake to think that wicked men are never condemned until they come before God in the day of Judgment they be condemned here mark that John 3. 18. He that beleeves not is condemned already now condemned not hereafter but a condemned man already this is a sad condition indeed If a man had the Sentence of death so past that the whol Parliament could not help him you would think that man in a sad condition Now let me speak it and God speaks it to the conscience of every sinner I say thou that standest before God in any one sin and not delivered through the blood of his Son Christ thou standest so under the Sentence of condemnation as all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth cannot help and deliver thee thou must have some help beyond the help of all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth to deliver thee When Paul would comfort the Saints against all troubles and afflictions they meet withal Rom. 8. he begins thus There is no condemnation to them in Christ Jesus as if he should say this is the comfort no Condemnation If I know I am delivered from the Sentence of Condemnation let what will fall out I am well enough but this be sure of there is Condemnation to those that are not in Christ I remember Luther had this Speech when he had got assurance of pardon of sin that he was freed and absolved by God he cries out Lord strike Lord now strike for I am absolved from my sins thou hast delivered me from sin now strike now let any affliction befal that possibly can let never so much trouble attend I am absolved from sin now Lord strike This is the Eighth Sin is more opposite against the good of man than Affliction for it brings them under the Sentence of Condemnation CHAP. XXXII Ninthly Sin is a greater Evil to man than Affliction because it breaks the Vnion between God and the Soul NInthly Sin is a greater evil than Affliction in this In that it is the very thing that breaks the Vnion between God and the Soul It is that doth it and no Affliction doth it Now Brethren this I confess might seem to be less than that of Hatred and might have come before it but now I bring it in here That it breaks the Union between God and the Soul Isa 59. 2. Your Sins have separated between you and your God! We are to know The Souls of men are capable of a very near and high Union between God and them the more spiritual any thing is the more power hath it to Unite and the more neer the Union As thus The beams of the Sun because they be very spiritual they can Unite a thousand of them into one Point as it were but grosser things cannot so Unite themselves together So Brethren God being a Spirit and our Souls being Spirits they come to be capable of a most neer Communion one with another And the Souls of men are neerer a glorious Union with God in this regard more neer than any Creature but the Angels Because the Object of mans Understanding is not any particular truth but Veritas truth in general truth it self in the whole latitude is the Object of mans Understanding So the Object of mans Will Is not this good or that good in particular but Bonitas good in general in the full latitude of it It is not so with other Creatures they have their Objects in some particular thing in such a limit and compass and they can work no further nor higher But it is otherwise with mans Soul God hath made man in such a kind that the Object of his Soul should be Truth and Goodness in the full latitude in the infinitness of it take it in the utmost extent that can be yet still it is the Object of the Soul of man Now hence it is that the Soul of man is of such a wonderful larg extent even capable of God himself of enjoyment of Union and Communion with God himself
know not the Excellency of man they know not wherein the excellency of the Rational Creature consists and therefore they are not ashamed of that which brings them under the excellency of the Rational Creature Besides They know not Gods infinite Holiness therefore are not ashamed They be now among other sinners and they think though some seem to be Religious yet they think others are as bad as themselves in their hearts at least though not in Practice As Nero because he was bad he thought others were as bad as himself So a wicked man when he cannot see others break out in such great sins as he doth yet he thinks they are as bad some other way and have some other sins as great And because they live among them that are as bad as themselves and live in the same sins therefore they are not ashamed For as a Collier living among Colliers is not ashamed but if he lived among Princes and Noblemen he would be ashamed So wicked men in this world because they live in this world among sinners they conceive to be sinners like themselves they be not ashamed but when God shall come to open what sin means and what the Holiness of God means and they see themselves stand in the presence of the holy God then they will be ashamed But certainly sin is a greater-shame than Affliction none need be ashamed of Affliction any further-than it hath a Connexion to some great sin but sin in the greatest prosperity hath shame with it CHAP. XXXIX He that Sins wrongeth dispiseth and hateth his own Soul Use 1. Then see the malitiousness that is in Sin Use 2. To pitty those that go on in sinful wayes Use 3. Let Sin be dealt hardly with THus we have Discovered how Sin makes more against our good than Affliction doth Now there be divers things which follow hence as Consequences I spake of one or two before I will name them no more But only thus far Hence we see that sin makes more against our selves than any thing else Therefore it is the worst way for any to provide for themselves by giving way to live in any sinful course And for this I shall ad Two or Three Scriptures I spake not of before to shew how men go against themselves and those men that think to provide best for themselves the truth is in the wayes of sin they go most against themselves You have these Three notable Expressions for this in Scripture First That men by Sin wrong their own Souls Secondly That they Dispise their own Souls Thirdly They Hate their own Souls If I should Charge these Three things upon the most vile sinner at this present before the Lord Oh thou dost wrong thy own soul Thou dost despise thy own soul Thou hatest thy own soul he would be loth to yeild to it and yet the Scripture chargeth this upon sinners Prov. 8. 36. He that sins against me wrongs his own soul he doth not only wrong God that was in the first thing we opened but by sin he wrongs his own soul You will say somtimes I do no body wrong I thank God none can say I wrong them but thou wrongest thine own soul and certainly it is as great an evil to wrong thy own soul as to wrong the Body of another and a great deal more Nay further mark All they that hate me that is Wisdom and Instruction the Rule of Lise they love death It is a strange expression if any Minister should say thus to you you love death you would think it a rash speech from us the Holy Ghost saith so of al that hate Instruction if there be any Truth of God revealed against sin and thy heart rise against it thou lovest death thy own ruine and thy own destruction And what pitie is it for men and women to die who can pitie them that die eternally when as they love death if they love death they must have it So the Holy Ghost saith they wrong their souls and they love death and Prov. 15. 32. He that refuseth Instruction destiseth his own soul when you come and hear any Instruction against any sinful way and refuse it you despise your own souls as if your own souls were worth little Hence it is that men and women though they hear Sin tends to the death of their souls to their eternal ruine yet if they have but any temptation but to get a groat or sixpence they will venture upon it what is this but to despise thy soul that is to despise a thing to account it little worth though thy soul be worth a whol world There is none so poor in this place the meanest boy servant or girl but hath a soul more worth than Heaven and Earth but though the meanest here hath a soul more worth than the World yet we see it ordinarie that to get twopence or a groat they will venture the ruine of their souls Is not this to despise their souls as if they were not worth a groat or sixpence and they will lye or steal to get that which is less Nay not onlie so but they are haters of their own souls and this you have Prov. 29. 24. He that is partner with a Thief hates his own soul there is an instance in that one sin but it is true of everie sin for this must be taken as a rule to help you to understand the evil of sin Know what is said of any one sin is vertually true of all that evil which is in any one sin is vertually in any sin he hates his own soul that goes on in anie one sin therefore if you will provide for your own good you must abandon sin Object But it may be said Is that Lawful for a man to abstain from sin out of self respects for this I am upon I am shewing how sin is against our selves and therfore urge you to abandon and take heed of sin as it is against our selves then this Question ariseth What should we abstain from sin out of self respects what good is in this is that from grace To that I answer three things Answ 1. That at first when God doth begin to work upon the soul God doth usually move us from self most and these self grounds works most to take men and women off from the acts of their sin from outward acts at least and to stop them from the commission of sin and bring them to the means of grace self motives God makes use of at first but yet the work is not done till the soul goeth beyond these it is good for men and women to abstain from sin upon any grounds there is so much evil in sin that upon any grounds men and women abstaining from sin it is well but only except it be such a ground that the ground it self be a greater sin than the sin I abstain from But yet the work is not done Therefore 2. Know That though when grace is come
is the first Your Sin is opposite to al Good spoils al Good Secondlie Sin brings a Curse upon all I opened before how it puts man under a Curse but now I am to shew how it brings a Curse upon the whol World Gen. 3. Cursed shall the Earth be for thy sake and so by the same reason upon the whol World that thou hast to do withal not only the Sinner but through mans sin the world is under a Curse and therefore it is a most dangerous thing for any man or woman to seek after happiness in the things of the world when as the whol world is under a Curse and wilt thou seek thy happiness in that which is under a Curse no mervail though the Devil himself be called the god of this World why because the world is accursed through the Sin of man Sin brings a Curse upon the whol World Thirdly Sin is a burden to Heaven and Earth to all Creatures Rom. 8. 22. The whol Creation groans and travels in pain to be delivered and that through the Sin of man Now what is the evil of Sin when it is so weightie that it makes the whol frame of Heaven and Earth to groan to bear the burden of it It may be thy Sin is light to thy Soul thou earriest it lightlie but as light as it is to thee it is such a heavie burden to Heaven and Earth and the whol Frame of the Creation that if God did not hold it by his mightie Power it would make it not only shake but fall down Fourthly Sin turns the greatest Good into the greatest Evil therefore opposite to all Good As thus Take the greatest good of man in prosperitie the more prosperitie thou hast though a fruit of Gods Bountie yet thy Sin turns it to the greatest evil to thee As if Poyson get in Wine it works more strongly than in Water so Sin in a prosperous Estate usually works more strongly to turn it to a greater evil than Sin in a lower Estate Poor men by Sin have their Water poysoned and rich men by Sin have their Wine poysoned Now poysoned Wine hath more strength than poysoned Water And it turns not only prosperitie but the best means not only the means of grace but the better any means is thou injoyest the more evil it is turned into to thee except the means take away the sinfulness of thy heart if thou retainest the sinfulness of thy heart the more powerful Sermons thou hearest and the more glorious Truths laid open the worse will be thy condition and thou wilt one day curse the time that ever thou hadst such means Yea Sin turns God to be the greatest evil and makes him the greatest evil in all his Attributes And Christ himself though infinitely good to be the greatest evil Christ is a stumbling stone to wicked men and laid by God a stumbling stone What! Christ the precious Corner stone that hath infinite Treasures of all Excellencie in whom the Fulness of the God head dwels bodilie yet this Christ a stumbling stone and the greatest evil through sin to wicked men so that one day they will curse the time that ever they heard of Christ So Sin is opposite to all good because it turns the greatest good to the greatest evil Fifthly and Lastly Sin is the greatest evil Because if let alone it would bring all things to Confusion Therfore it is said by Christ all things subsists were it not for Christ who sets himself against the evil of sin al things would be brought to Confusion 1 Joh. 5. 19. The whole world lies in wickedness Just as a Carrion lies in slime and filth and there rots so the whol world would be in the same case that the Carrion is that lies in filth and brought to confusion were it not that God hath his number of Elect and they keep the world from confusion Now put all these together sin spoils all brings a Curse upon all is a burthen to heaven and earth turns the greatest good to the greatest evil and would bring all things to Confusion if let alone This is the evil of sin in Opposition to all good There be but Three more and they be 1 To shew how sin is the evil of all evils whatsoever 2 Hath a kind of infiniteness in it And 3 It hath Reference to the Devil But these I cannot come to in this Chapter but shall in the following to conclude all much you have read of the evil of sin and how it is above all afflictions afflictions are of a lower nature Oh Brethren This is that we should seek for and prise to injoy those means that may lessen sin and oppose wickedness among us And of all others these be the two great means to crush sin and bring down or make it less in all places the great Ordinance of the Magistracy and the great Ordinance of the Ministry Now as I told you before Reproach hath come to our Nation through sin and from whence is it sin hath grown to that height it hath but because there hath been corruption in both great Corruption in Magistracy and Ministery among us As we read of Dan and Bethel two Calves set up there Dan signifieth Judgement and Bethel The house of God So there was great Corruption in Dan and Bethel places of Judgement Magistracy and Bethel the house of God in the Ministry Now it hath pleased God of late to begin to be merciful to us this way through that great Ordinance of good he hath appointed for us The Assembly of Parliament to purge both Dan and Bethel Magistracy and Ministry to cast out Corruption from places of Judgement and the House of God And as we are to bless God for this so we are to further this work of theirs and stand by them to the utmost that we are able in all good wayes those Worthies of God in that great Assembly for the finishing of that Work which they have begun and that our sins and wickedness may be done away from among us And for that which hath been done certainly God hath received much praise and we have cause to bless God for it And those that have gone on in a good way according to what the Law doth permit them they are to be incouraged And in a more especial manner you that be the especial means of good to this Land I mean in regard of Safety and your imployment the Marriners in whom much of the Strength of this Nation consists for our Walls be Water and Wooden Walls Seas and Ships be the Walls of this Land and therefore much of the Good and of the Safety and Prosperity of this State depends upon those And if God stir up their hearts to the maintainance of their Protestation and Parliament and Liberties and to set themselves against Popery and Superstition and to incourage the Parliament in their good way this is that we be to bless God for and incourage you in We
there is required an infinite price to make an attonement nothing can make an attonement between God and a sinner but an infinite price paid You may think when you have sinned it may quickly be made up again Every Fool can sin can be drunk be unclean and wicked but when you have sinned how will you get it away All the Angels in Heaven and Men in the world cannot do it all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth connot get away one sin You let out your thoughts idlely take the guilt of one sin of an idle thought I say it is beyond the power of al the Angels in Heaven and Creatures in the World to get away that Sin it must be an infinite price there must be more done for to get away the guilt of this sin than if God should say here is a poor Creature hath sinned and is guilty I will make ten thousand worlds for his or her sake and they shall be all given that I may manifest my mercie towards them Now if God do but deliver thee from one Sin he doth more for thee than if thou shouldest hear him speak from Heaven and say he would do all that for thee for you know what the Apostle saith 1 Pet. 1. 18. For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as Silver and Gold from your vain Conversation received by tradition from your Fathers but with the precious Blood of Jesus Christ as of a Lamb without spot or blemish not with Gold and Silver if it were Gold and Silver all the Gold and Silver in the world would not redeem one but it was with an infinite price with which you were redeemed and mark from your vain Conversation he doth not say your vain wicked notorious Idolatry but vain Conversation yea and that vain Conversation which you might have some plea for received from the tradition of your fathers you will keep your old Customs you received from your Fathers received a great while ago you crie out of new things new kind of waies now I am sure I have lived this thirtie or this fourtie years and I never knew such things and heard of such things and so you will rest on the Traditions of your Fore fathers Mark what the Scripture saith speaking of those that were delivered from their vain Conversation and the vanities received by Tradition these were redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ not with Gold and Silver though you stick to them as being such as you received from your Fathers yet know all the world cannot deliver you from the guilt of one of these vain Conversations If you knew all you would see there were so much evil in one sin as required a price to ransom you from itâ— of more worth than Heaven and Earth yea than ten thousand Heavens and Earths there must be a price laid down of infinite worth And observe this before you go away there may be a price laid down to ransom a Captive and this price may Note not so much the greatness of the deliverance as the worth of the person for whom this price is laid down because the person is worthy not from the miserableness of the bondage but the greatness of the person But it is not so here the reason of the greatness of the price for your ransom is not from the worthiness of the person we be poor vile dirt and dross and filthy before God what if you were all buried to all eternity what great matter were it But God hath paid a great price to note the greatness of your misery and evil you have brought upon your selves by reason of sin and therefore this is the price of our ransom This is the third thing wherein the infiniteness of sin appears A Fourth thing to discover a kind of infiniteness of evil in Sin is this That Sin it is so evil that let there be never so much hatred against it in thy soul let there be as much hatred against it as possibly can be yet there is enough evil in sin to raise this hatred higher and higher if it were possible to an infinite hatred therefore there is a kind of infiniteness in it If Sin were but a meer finite Evil then there might be some bounds and limits set to the hatred of our sin but that cannot be there can be no bounds nor limits set to the hatred of our sin but we are to hate it more and more still and if we could grow to an infinite hatred therefore there must be some kind of infinite Evil in it Other things be not so we may set bounds to our hatred in other things but when it comes to sin there is no limits to be set to the hatred of it As Brethren thus It doth note the infiniteness of goodness that there is in God why Because we are to love God and our love to God must be without any bounds at all we love him thus much and still our love is to go further and higher and higher and if possible to raise our love to be infinite because he is an infinite good who is the object of our loves So hatred on the other side we are to hate sin we are to hate it more and more and still grow up in hatred and never set bounds to our hatred why doth not this as well argue a kind of infinitness in fin And here then Brethren by the way you may have a note of your true love to God and true hatred against Sin whether it be right or no as now If you will know if you love God truly then you set no bounds to your love not only to your love to him but to your love to his waies and your love to Grace and Christ and the like you set no bounds That man or woman that would be Religious but so far and saith why will you be so strict and so hot and sets bounds to the working of their hearts in Religious waies let such men and women know their Religion is in vain it is but meerly a Natural one I remember a Speech Seneca a Heathen hath though he applies it another way yet he makes it appear he had some understanding of this Truth saith he Would you know when desires be Natural and when not Natural If they be Natural then they be in bounds and you set limits to them but when they break bounds then they be no more Natural But he applies it to sinful desires for he knew no better than desires at the highest as they had some Naturalness in them and saith he speaking of sinful desires so long as you keep your desires in certain bounds they be Natural and good but when once you let them out beyond bounds they be no more Natural We may very well applie it to speak of the Work of Nature and the Work of Grace Would you know whether the ground of your desires or work be Natural or Supernatural
as out of measure sinful never till sin be seen and sorrowed for as the greatest evil wil Christ be seen and rejoyced in as the greatest good were we once throughly convinced of the infinite evil in sin as containing in it the Evil of all Evils nothing being an evil indeed properly but as it hath the bitter ingredient and cursed sting of sin in it how would sin be hated and shunned more than the most deadly poyson and feared more than the Devil more than Hell it self seing nothing hath made and founded Hell but sin nor made the Devil such a black feind but sin nay nothing is so much a Hell I mean a Torment as sin it self nothing binds the Creature in such chains of misery as when it is held in the cords of its own sin Prov. 5. 22. Men look upon sin through false Mediums and beleeve the reports and interpretations which the world and the flesh gives of sin and thus are cheated to their own destruction Could we but a little lay our Ears to Hell and hear the howlings and yellings of those damned spirits aggravating sin we should then have a true Comment upon the Subject in hand Afflictions in this world now and then awaken the conscience reviving the sight and sence of sin by some grievous pains but one half hour in Hell being separated from the comfortable presence of all good and blessedâ—… will make the evil of sin rightly understood Certainly there 's an evil in sin beyond what the largest Created Understanding is able to fadam sin being one of those things which can never be punished enough which appears in that all those unspeakable unsufferable torments inflicted upon the damned through all Eternity is but a continual paying this sad debt and giving satisfaction to Divine Justice for the wrong which sin hath done in regard Divine Justice shall not otherwise sufficiently in time have taken it's due out of the sinner Now the Judg of all the world who is the Standard of Justice it self neither can nor will do any wrong to his Creature in punishing it more than it's iniquity deserves Reader I shall say no more now but beseech the Lord to carry home these Truths by his Spirit into thy bosom that there may be a Divine Impression made upon thy heart in reading sutable to the Authors in preaching and that thou mayest out of love to Holiness so fear and hate sin now that thou mayest never suffer the vengeance of Eternal Fire the wages of sin hereafter Which is the unfeigned and earnest desire of Thy Souls Well-wisher in Christ Jesus John Yates THE CONTENTS CHAP. 1 That it 's a very Evil Choice To Choose Sin rather than Affliction Page 1 Chap. 2 The Servants of God have Chose the most dreadful Afflictions rather than the least Sin 5 Chap. 3 There is some good in affliction but none in sin First No good of Entitie Secondly No good of Causalitie Thirdly No good Principle from whence sin can come Fourthly No good anexed as is to afflictions viz. 1 Of Promise 2 Of Evidence 3 Of Blessing Also Five different workings of the hearts of the Saints under sin and under affliction Fifthly It 's not capable of any Good 1 Adde all the good to sin that all the Creatures in heaven and earth have yet it cannot make sin good 2 Good ends though 1 To help against temptation 2 To do good to others 3 To glorifie God cannot make sin good 4 God cannot make sin good Sixthly It 's not comparatively good 10 Chap. 4 Vses And Nine Consectories of excellent use viz. 1 Sin is not the work of God 2 Sins promises are all Delusions 3 Sin cannot be the Object of a rational Creature 4 Nothing that 's good should be ventured for sin 5 Nothing that 's good to be made serviceable to sin 6 The mistake of making sin the chiefest good 7 Time spent in sin lost 8 The wicked useless members 9 Sin needeth no debate whether to be done or not 23 Chap. 5 There is more Evil in the least sin than in the greatest affliction Opened in six Particulars being the General Scope of the whole Treatise 30 Chap. 6 Sin most opposite to God the chiefest Good Opened in Four Heads 1 Sin most opposite to Gods Nature 2 Sin opposite in its working against God 3 Sin wrongs God more than any thing else 4 Sin strikes at Gods Being 33 Chap. 7 Sin in it self opposite to God shewed in five things 1 Nothing directly contrary to God but sin 2 God would cease to be God if but one drop of sin in him 3 Sin so opposite to God that he cease to be God if He did but cause sin to be in another 4 He should cease to be God 〈◊〉 he did but approve it in others 5 Sin would cause God to cease to be if he did not hate sin as much as he doth 35 Chap. 8 The workings of sin is alwayes against God The Scripture cals it 1 Enmity 2 Walking contrary 3 Fighting 4 Resisting 5 Striving 6 Rising against God 41 Chap. 9 How sin resist God 1 It 's a hating of God 2 It 's rebellion against God 3 It 's a despising of God 42 Chap. 10 Sin is a striking against God 1 The sinner wisheth God were not so Holy c. 2 It seek the destruction of God Also sin is a wronging of God 50 Chap. 11 How sin wrong God 1 In his Attributes 2 Relation of Father Son and Holy Ghost 3 His Counsels 4 In the End for which God hath done all he hath done And First Sin wrong Gods Attributes 1 His All-sufficiency shewed in Two Particulars 2 It wrong his Omnipresence and Omnisciency 3 Sin wrong his Wisdom 4 Wrong his Holiness 5 Sin wrong-God in setting mans Will above Gods 6 Sin wrong Gods Dominion 7 Sin wrong Gods Justice 8 Sin wrong God in his Truth 57 Chap. 12. How sin wrongs God in his personal Relations 1 The Father 2 The Son 3 The Spirit 69 Chap. 13 Sin wrong the Counsels of God in setting that Order in the world that he hath set 72 Chap. 14. Sin wrong God in the End for which he hath made all things 75 Chap. 15 The First Corollary It appears by this That but few men know what they do when they sin against God 80 Chap. 16 The Second Corollary The necessity of our Mediators being God and Man 82 Chap. 17 The Third Corollary That but few are humbled as they should for sin 1 It will not be deep enough except it be for sin as it 's against God 2 It will not Sanctifie the Name of God 3 It will not be lasting 4 Else it will never make a devorce between sin and the soul 84 Chap. 18 The Fourth Corollary Admire the Patience of God in seeing so much sin in the world and yet bear it 92 Chap. 19 The Fifth Corollary Hence see a way to break your hearts for sin And also to keep you from
Temptation 96 Chap. 20 A Sixt Corollary If sin be thus sinful it should teach us not only to be troubled for our own sins but the sins of others 103 Chap. 21 A Seventh Corollary If sin hath done thus much against God then all that are now converted had need do much for God 109 Chap. 22 The Eight Corollary If sin doth so much against God hence see why God manifest such sore displeasure against sin as he doth 1 Against the Angels that sinned 2 Against all Adams Posterity 3 See it in Gods giving the Law against sin 4 See it in Gods punishing sins that are accounted smal 5 See it in Gods destroying all the world for sin 6 See his displeasure in punishing sin eternally 112 Chap. 23 A Seventh Discovery of Gods displeasure against sin opened from the sufferings of Christ First See the several expressions of Scripture 1 He was sorrowful to death 2 He began to be amazed 3 He began to be in an Agony Secondly See the effects of Christs being in an Agony 1 He fell grovelling on the ground 2 He swet drops of Blood 3 He cries to God if it be possible to let this cup pass from me Thirdly There is eight Considerations of Christs sufferings 123 THE SECOND PART Sin is most opposite to Mans Good and far more opposite to the Good of man than Affliction Chap. 24 First Sin make a man evil but no affliction can make him so 1 Those that are in affliction are not the worse 2 But those that are wicked are vile persons though they be the greatest Princes 140 Chap. 25 Secondly Sin is more opposite to the good of man than Afflictions because most opposite to the Image of God in man Three Particulars instanced and a Question resolved 145 Chap. 26 Thirdly Sin is opposite to the Life of God in Man 151 Chap. 27 Fourthly Sin is opposite to mans good because it is most opposite to the last End for which man was made 258 Chap. 28 Fifthly Sin is more opposite to mans good than Affliction because 't is a defilement of the Soul 1 It defiles all a man medleth with 2 Sin is the matter the worm shall gnaw upon to all Eternity 262 Chap. 29 Sixtly Sin is more opposite to mans good than affliction because sin is the object of Gods hatred but God hateth not any for affliction 265 Chap. 30 Seventhly Sin is more opposite to mans good than affliction because sin brings guilt upon the soul 269 Chap. 31 Eightly Sin is a greater evil to man than Affliction because it 's that which put the Creature under the Sentence of Condemnation 277 Chap 32 Ninthly Sin is a greater evil to man than affliction because it breaks the Vnion between God and the Soul 282 Chap. 33 Tenthly Sin is more against mans good than Affliction for that it stirs up all in God to come against a sinner in way of enmity 285 Chap 34 XI Sin is more opposite to mans good than affliction for that sin makes all the Creatures of God at enmity with a sinner 288 Chap. 35 XII Sin is a greater evil to man than affliction because it puts a man under the Curse of God 291 Chap. 36 XIII Sin is the Seed of Eternal Evil therefore more hurtful to man than affliction An Use thereof Then see that those men are deceived that think to provide well for themselves by sin Use 2 The Ministry of the Word is for our good as well as Gods Glory 293 Chap. 37 XIV Sin is worse than affliction because it hardens the heart against God and the means of Grace 297 Chap. 38 XV. Sin is worse to us than affliction because sin brings more shame than affliction 303 Chap. 39 He that sins wrongeth despiseth and hateth his own Soul Use 1 Then see the maliciousness that is in sin Use 2 To pitty those that go on in sinful wayes Use 3 Let sin be dealt hardly with 308 THE THIRD PART Chap. 40 Sin is opposite to all good and therefore a greater evil than any affliction opened in five things 1 Sin take away the excellency of all things 2 It brings a Curse upon all 3 Sin is a burden to Heaven and Earth and all Creatures 4 Sin turn the greatest Good into the greatest Evil 5 Sin if let alone would bring all things to confusion 319 THE FOURTH PART Chap. 41 That Sin is the Evil and Poyson of all other Evils shewed in several Particulars First It 's the strength of all Evils Secondly It 's the sting of Affliction Thirdly It 's the Curse of all Evils opened in Five Particulars Fourthly Sin is the shame of all Evils Fifthly The Eternity of all Evil comes from Sin 327 THE FIFTH PART Chap. 42 Sin hath a kind of Infiniteness in it Opened in Seven Particulars First Because nothing but an Infinite Power can overcome it Secondly Sin hath a kind of infinitness because it hath an infinite desert in it expressed in Three Particulars 1 The desert of the loss of an infinite Good 2 It deserves to put an infinite distance between God and thee 3 It deserves infinite misery Thirdly Sin hath a kind of infinite Evil because there is required an infinite Price to make an Attonement between God and Man Fourthly There is a kind of infinit Evil in Sin because we must hate it infinitely Fifthly Sin is an infinite Evil because it is the Vniversal Cause of all Evil. Sixthly The Scripture make use of Evil things to set out the Evil of Sin Seventhly There 's an infiniteness in Sin because the Scripture set out Sin by Sin it self 344 THE SIXT PART Chap. 43 Sin makes a man conformable to the Devil opened in Six Particulars First Sin is of the same Nature with the Devil Secondly Sin is from the Devil Thirdly Sin is a furtherance of the Devils Kingdom in the World For 1 By Sin we oppose Christs destroying the Devils Kingdom in the World 2 By Sin thou opposest thy prayers when thou prayest Thy Kingdom come 3 By going on in a way of sin thou becomest guilty of all the sin in the World Fourthly Sinning is a fulfilling the will of the Devil Fifthly Sin sells the Soul to the Devil Sixtly Sin it turns the Soul into a Devil 357 Corollaries and Consequences from all the former Particulars Chap. 44 The First Corollary It 's worse for a man to be sinful than to be turned into a Beast 370 Chap. 45 The Second Corollary It 's worse to be sinful than to be afflicted with Temptation from the Devil 372 Chap. 46 The Third Corollary It 's worse to be under sin than to be haunted by the Devil 374 Chap. 47 The Fourth Corollary It 's worse to be given up to any way of sin than to be given up to the Devil Quest How the delivering up to Satan can be for the saving of the Soul 376 Chap. 48 The Fifth Corollary It is worse to be given up to one sin than to be actually
their Choice Many of you when it comes to it wil be loather to loose a groat than commit a sin loather to endure the least shame or a nick-name than to commit a sin Are there not many Servants here or Children wil tel a Lye when they have done an evil rather than suffer a little shame in the Family from their Parents or Masters or fellow Servants and Children What a difference is there between thy heart and the heart of the Martyrs they could endure al tortures on their Bodys that could be devised rather than to commit any known sin against their Consciences and thou wilt venture to commit a known sin against thy Conscience rather than to be found out in some fault and have an angry word or a little shame If it be but to gain two pence they wil tel a Lye and are willing to chuse sin rather than endure the least trouble a mighty difference between thee and them You know how it was with Paul when he speaks of Afflictions these be his Expressions but light and momentary but for a moment but they work an exceeding weight of Glory mark light Afflictions what were they you would account them heavie if they were upon you Blessed Paul that great vessel to bear the name of God as great an instrument of Gods glory as any in the world except Christ himself and yet this Paul was whipt up down as if he had been a Rogue put into the Stocks had not Cloaths to cover his nakedness had not Bread to eat and was accounted the off scouring of the world and yet he accounts all this but Light But when he comes to Sin that is heavie Oh wretched man that I am Thus he gives a dreadful shreek at sin see what a difference he makes between Affliction and Sin and accounts it abundantly more evil to be in sin than in affliction And so Christ himself that is the Wisdom of the Father and therfore could not chuse but judge right and yet he was content for the sake of poor Souls to come and under go al kind of Affliction and Pain and Sorrow so as to be made a man of Sorrows according as the Scripture speaks How was he content to have his Body whipt and scourged was laughed at and scorned and though he was possessor of Heaven and Earth yet had not a house to put his head in yea to bear the wrath of God for the Sin of man to be made a Curse for man under the Curse of â—he Law and to be under that pain extremity through the wrath of his Father when he sweat great drops of Bloud all this Christ would endure But now if it had been to have committed the least sin to have saved al the World Christ would never have done it though Christ could be content to suffer all kind of Miseries yea the wrath of his Father yet had it been to have committed the least sin Christ would have let al the World be Damned eternally rather than he would have done that there is so much evil in it Afflictions taken in the strength and latitude of them yet they have no greater evil in them then Christ is capable of I say take them in the strength and latitude of them certainly there was never any Affliction since the world began endured like Christs and yet these be no other than Christ God and Man is capable of and it may stand with the blessedness of his Divinity That that person both God and Man could be under such Afflictions Christ was content with these He made his Soul an offering for Sin But sin is so great an evil that Christ is not capable of it Christ never entertained the least thought of it but cast it off if it came to him therfore certainly there is more evil in the least Sin than there is in the greatest Affliction The Afflictions that Christ indured though they were not every way the same with the damned in hell yet certainly there was the wrath of God as really and truly upon Christ as truly as upon the damned in hell as really though I say not in every kind in the same way and manner and therefore see Christ was Capable of that evil of the wrath of the Almighty upon his Soul and yet not capable of Sin he was willing to undergo that and yet not to have the least guilt of Sin applied to him and therefore certainly there is more evil in the least Sin than in the greatest Affliction CHAP. III. There is some good in Affliction but none in Sin First no good of Entitie Secondly No good of Causality Thirdly No good principle from whence Sin can come Fourthly No Good anexed as is to Afflictions viz. 1 Of Promise 2 Of Evidâ—nce 3 Of Blessing Also Five different workings of the hearts of the Saints under Sin and under Affliction Fifthly It 's not capable of any Good 1 Adde all the good to sin that all the Creatures in heaven and earth have yet it cannot make sin good 2 Good ends though 1. to help against temptation 2. to do good to others 3. to glorifie God cannot make sin good 4 God can not make sin good Sixthly It 's not comparitively good WEL for further Arguments though this one thing were enough to stop all mouths in the world and make every Soul subscribe and acknowledg that there is greater Evil in the least Sin than in any Affliction I shal be large in this Argument because it is of wonderful Concernment to stop men in their course of Sin and to humble them for sin and make them resolve against sin and to see their miserable estate in sin and so see their need of Christ First I shall fully make it out That Affliction is to be chosen rather than sin 1 First Because there is some good in Affliction but none in Sin 2 Because Sin hath more Evil in it than Affliction This Second I shal shew in the following Chapters First Affliction hath some good in it but sin hath none You know what David saith Ps 119 71. It is good for me that I have been Afflicted thus he spake of Affliction But when St. Paul speaks of Sin he saith In me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good Rom. 7. as if he should say So far as I am Unregenerate in my Unregenerate part there is no good at all he cals sin by the name of flesh there is no good at all in Sin First There is no good of Entity or Being all things that have a Being there is some good in them for God hath a Being and every thing that hath a being hath some good in it because it is of God but Sin is a Non Entity a no being It s rather the deprivation of a Being then any being at al here is a great mystery of Iniquity That that which is a Non-entity in it self yet should have such a mighty efficacy to trouble heaven
forgive them they know not what they do poor Creatures they know not what they do they never imagined what the greatness of the glory of God is CHAP. XVI The Second Corollarie The Necessity of our Mediators being God and Man SEcondly Hence appeareth The Necessity that our Mediator between God and us must be God as well as Man great is the mysterie of godliness that God is manifest in the flesh Well but what is the reason of this Mysterie of godliness How comes it to pass that there is a necessity of such a mysterie of godliness for saving of poor Souls That God must be manifested in the flesh That God must be Man That all the Angels in Heaven and men in the World could not be a Mediator between God and us but our Mediator must be truly and verily God as wel as man What is the reason of this That that I have been speaking of gives a full reason of it our sins have so wronged God hath been so much against God that it is only God can make up the wrong onlie such a Mediator as Christ that is both God and Man that can make it up I suppose most of you know so far in your Catechism That Christ is God and Man but suppose I should put this Question to you you say Christ is God and Man but give me a sound Reason Why it is necessary that Christ must be God and Man Why cannot man be saved by any Savior but such a one as must be verily and truly God and man I suppose you will give a sound substantial Reason and say God Appointed and hath Ordained it should be so but though it be Gods will and God hath ordained it yet there is another Reason and this it is You may say when you hear Christ was God and Man that mighty Savior here is the Reason of all that Because sin doth so wrong and strike at God and oppose God that of necessity whosoever comes to be a Mediator between God and us must be God as well as man Therefore the Scripture saith of Christ his Name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor the mighty God Isa 9. 6. Christ is the mighty God and the mighty God in the work of Reconciliation in reconciling God and us together then he shews himself mighty Because if all the world had undertaken to meditate between God and us such is the breach between God and us that all the men in the world could have done no more than if so be you had gone and put a picec of paper to a mighty flame as if one had a mighty flame coming upon him and he puts a piece of paper to keep it off we know that will quickly burn it he must put some Brass or Iron So that wrong is done to God by the sin of man That if all the men in world all the Created Powers in Heaven and Earth had come to have stood between God and us to have satisfied God for that wrong sin did to him it had been but just like a piece of brown paper against a mighty flame But whosoever comes to stand between God and us must be one infinite as well as that Person is infinite against whom we have offended and that is Christ the Mediator the mighty God God and Man Oh know the Mediator by which you must be saved must be very God and the Reason is Because sin hath done such infinite wrong to God CHAP. XVII The Third Corollarie That but few are humbled as they should for Sin 1 It will not be deep enough except it be for Sin as it s against God 2. It will not Sanctifie the Name of God 3 It will not be lasting 4 Else it will never make a divorce between Sin and the Soul THirdly That which follows hence That Sin is so much against God as hath been shewed We see that there are but very few that are humbled for sin aright It will follow from hence I shall make it out from the Point That if Sin be of this nature so much against God as you have heard certainly there are few people in the world are humbled for sin aright There are many people that are troubled for sin and will cry out of their sin are struken with many feares and terrors for sin and yet never humbled for sin aright and it is clear from that you have heard out of this Point Why Because that Humiliation for sin that is aright it must needs be an humiliation for it as it is the greatest evil of all and it is the greatest evil as it is against God himself Now the humiliation of most in the world it is not so much for this because sin is so much against God because it opposeth God strikes at God and wrongs God so much This is not the thing that doth usually take the hearts of men and women in their trouble for sin but for the fear of the wrath of God and of Hell and an accusing Conscience that doth flash the very fire of Hell in their faces this troubles them And well were it for many that they were but troubled so far true this trouble is that which God doth many times bless and there is great use of it but this is not all no nor the chief trouble of the Soul for sin These fears and horrors I say are not the chief the chief of all is the humiliation of the soul for sin as it is against God then is the heart humbled aright for sin when it apprehends how by sin the soul hath been against the infinite glorious first-Being of all things All other humiliations in the world is not sufficient without this For 1 It is not deep enough there can be no humiliation deep enough except the soul be humbled for sin as it hath sinned against God yea though the heart be so burdened with fears and horrors as to be sunk down into despair yet I do not call that a depth of humiliation it is not from the depth of humiliation that the soul despairs for certainly consider what I say Brethren there is a mistake in this to think that those that despair are humbled too much no despair is for want of humiliation for despair and pride may stand both together for the Devil is proud you will say as proud as Lucifer The Devils despair they be the most despairing Creatures in the world and yet the most proud Creatures in the world therefore despair doth not come from the depth of humiliation but rather from the want of humiliation Certainly the hearts of men and women in despair fly against God many times flies most desperately and proudly against God in despair therefore the heart is not humbled enough when it hath only terrors and fears except it be humbled for sin when it seeth it against the Majestie of God as here hath been opened to you nothing doth cast down the soul so low in true humiliation as the
of the Law when it was first given That was only to set forth thus much to us That if the Law that God gave be broken that then God will be very dreadful to those that break it therefore he gives it at first in such a dreadful manner It may be many bold presumptuous sinners think it nothing to break the Law of the infinite eternal God but in that God gives the Law in such a dreadful manner as you may read in the 19. of Exodus how dreadfully God gave the Law God doth thereby declare to all the world how dreadful sinners are to expect him to be if they do break the Law But especially consider that dreadful Curse annexed to the Law Cursed is every one that abides not in every thing that is written in the Law to do that which the Law of God pronounces to be done a curse to every one that doth any thing at any time that shall break it That there should be such a dreadful Curse annexed this manifests the sore displeasure of God against sin Fourthly A fourth Manifestation of the sore displeasure of God against sin all this but to shew you further how Sin is a greater evil than Affliction the Manifestation I say of Gods displeasure against sin is seen in that we find in Gods word God hath so severely punâ—sh'd some sins that do appear to us to be very smal little sins and yet God hath been exceedingly severe against those sins which appear to us to be exceeding smal To instance in three 1 In 1 Sam. 6. 19. there you have this example that the men of Beth-shâ—â—esh when the Ark came to them they did but look into the Ark out of curiositie for ought we know for no other end but meerly out of curiositie Now because the Ark was a holy thing and none but the Priests of God were to meddle with it God did presently at an instant slay fiftie thousand and three score and ten men of them Upon this the text saith these men beholding this severitie of God for this offence they all said Oh! who shall stand before the holy God! If God be so holy that he cannot bear so smal a sin as this did appear to men that but for looking into the Ark so many thousands shall be slain presently who can stand before the holy Lord Many of you have slight thoughts of the Lord and his Holiness and think you may be bold and presumptuous you venture upon greater offences than this was but these men upon the venturing upon this one thing above fiftie thousand are slain presently This is the displeasure of God against sin though very smal to our thoughts 2 Again A second example you have in Uzzah that did but touch the Ark out of a good intention as being ready to fall yet that not being according to the Law God struck him with death presently it cost him his life he was struck with sudden death We are terrified when we see one fall down suddenly now upon that offence though he had a good meaning and good intention yet God brake in upon him with his wrath and struck him dead presently Consider this you that think you have good meanings and good intentions yet not doing according to the Law the least breach of the Law though we have a good meaning doth provoke the wrath of God and God when he pleaseth lets out this his wrath 3 A third example you have in that poor man that we reade of who did but gather sticks upon the Lords day and by the Command of God from Heaven this man must be stoned to death You would think these things little matters Alas poor man he might have need of them How many of you venture upon other manner of things upon the Lords Day profaning of it and yet God speaks from Heaven and gives command to have this man stoned to death Now Brethren though it be true that God doth not alwaies come upon men for such little sins it may be to make known his Patience and long-suffering Perhaps the Lord doth let others go on for a long time in greater sins but yet God by a few such examples doth declare to all the world what the evil of the least sin is and how his displeasure is out against the least sin If he do forbear that is to be attributed to his patience and long-suffering but not to the littleness of the sin or the littleness of the evil that is in that sin This is a Fourth Fifthly A fifth thing wherein God manifests his displeasure against sin is in those dreadful and hidious Judgments that the Lord executes abroad in the world that we have the stories of in the Scripture and all Ages As that God should come and drown a whol world except eight persons all the whol world swept away and drowned And so that God should command fire and Brimstone to come down from Heaven and burn and consume whol Cities Sodom and Gomorrah and the Cities adjoyning yea and all the men women and children but only Lot and those few with him And so the fire to come down upon those Captains and their Fifties 2 Kings 1. And the Earth swallowing up Corah Dathan and Abiram There is no Age but hath some one or other dreadful example of His Judgments against Sin The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousness Now Brethren though some people have scaped and these manifestations of Gods Judgments are not so general and ordinary yet when they are but now and then God manifests what his displeasure is against Sin and what might be to all that Sin against him Sixthly A sixt manifestation of Gods displeasure against Sin is in those eternal torments and miseries in Hell that the Scripture speaks of the worm that never dies and the fire that never goes out when you hear Ministers speak of fire that never is quenched for poor people to lie burning in fire thousands of thousands of years in eternal flames scalding under the wrath of God you stand agast at the dreadfulness of these expressions Certainly these are only to reveal the displeasure of God against sin because there is no finite time can be sufficient to manifest to the full the displeasure of God against sin therfore those that perish must perish eternally CHAP. XXIII A Seventh discovery of Gods displeasure against sin opened from the sufferings of Christ First See the several expressions of Scripture 1 He was sorrowful to death 2 He began to be amazed 3 He began to be in an Agony Secondly See the effects of Christs being in an Agony 1 He fell grovelling on the ground 2 He swet drops of blood 3 He cries to God if it be possible to let this cup pass from me Thirdly There is eight Considerations of Christs sufferings SEventhly And that is greater than all that hath been said Put all the former six together His dealings with the Angels and with
not what storms and tempests are it is grievous to them when they come to know them suddenly when they are in the midst of a storm or tempest at Sea Oh they are grievous but Marriners that know beforehand what they are like to meet withal it is not grievous to them But Christ though he knew it beforehand yet how dreadful was it to him when it came 2 Consider Christ had no sin in himself to weaken his strength and take away his strength and so make the burden greater he had no sin but only by imputation But now when the wrath of God comes upon us we having so much sin in our Natures this weakens us and will therefore make the burden of Divine wrath so much the more intollerable to us For as it is with a sound man If a great weight be laid upon a man healthful and strong he feels not the burden of it but if you lay the same weight upon a man very sick and weak through distemper of body it is grievous to him So here If the weight of Sin were so grievous to Christ that had no distemper of weakness how grievous will it be to a sinner that is distempered and so weakened with sin If the shoulders of a Porter be sore and all the Skin off and a boyl upon his shoulder how grievous would the burden be then So it is with us when God comes to lay the burden of his Wrath upon us we be but weak Creatures at the best but through the distemper of sin in our hearts we are more weak and more unable to bear because we be sore and have boyls of sin this makes Gods wrath much more dreadful but it was not so with Christ 3 Christ had absolute perfect Patience there was not the least impatiency in Christ therefore when Christ that had perfect Patience and yet did thus cry out and sweat and was thus sorrowful under it surely there was some fearful burden in this Some men and women will lie and roar out under some pains and it may be it is great but had they perfect patience they would not make such dolor and out-cries it is through the weakness of their Patience that they make such out-cries and manifest such sence of their affliction But Christ made not such out-cries through impatiency 4 Consider Christ had the strength of an infinite Deity to support him He had the strength of God he was God and Man he had the strength of the Divine Nature to support the Humane Nature which no Creature can have as Christ had for there was an Hypostatical union between the Divine and Humane Nature at that time and yet notwithstanding the Hypostatical union of both Natures yet Christ expresseth himself thus and is thus sensible of the Wrath upon him for the sin of Man 5 Consider Christ was the Captain of all that were to suffer hereafter and therfore he would if he had had no more upon him than that which the humane Nature could have born have manifested one would think abundance of Resolution and Magnanimity and not have cried out so and surely had there not been the suffering of the Wrath of the Deity and the Curse of the Law in it certainly he that was the Captain of all that were to suffer he would have manifested it to be a light burden he met withal for there be many Martyrs have suffered outwardly as great Extremities as ever Christ did for outward torture and born them with joy therfore seeing the Martyrs many of them suffering greater tortures to their bodies and have born them with Joy no sorrow nor crying out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me nor If it be possible let this cup pass but endured them with a great deal of Joy Now how comes it to pass that the Martyrs did bear them with such joy and Christ the Captain of them all falls to the Earth and cries out so Certainly there was more in Christs sufferings than in all the sufferings in the world more of the displeasure of God 6 Consider That it was through the strength of Christ that all that ever did suffer were inabled to suffer what they did undergo Now if Christ had that strength that through him all the Martyrs were inabled to suffer what they did certainly Christ had abundance of strength in himself to suffer when he came to it How comes it to pass then that the strength whereby they were inabled to suffer being from Christ they manifested not that horror and trouble that Christ himself did Certainly therefore Christ suffered other manner of things than they did 7 Consider this Christ did know what an infinit good his sufferings would do that by suffering he should save so many thousands reconcile God and man glorifie his Father that he should do the greatest work for God and his Father that ever was that by his sufferings there should be that work done that should be matter of eternal praise and Hallelujahs of the Saints and Angels eternally in the Heavens And yet though Christ knew and understood what good should be done by his sufferings yet see how sensible he was of the greatness of it One would have thought the good he saw to be done should much have lightened it and so certainly it did 8 Consider Christ did know his sufferings were to continue but a litle while though they were extream yet that they should last but for a few hours and then he should be glorified And yet though he did understand his sufferings were to last but a few hours and then himself should come to glory yet for all this they were thus hidious and dreadful to him Oh Lord then how hidious shall the sufferings of the damned be to them when as every damned soul that goes to Hell knows certainly how he must lie to all eternity after thousands of thousands and ten thousand millions of years after so many thousands of years as there be drops in those mighty Waters which you sail over yet the time is no more expired than the very first moment they enter'd into those miserable torments Consider of this thus you that have to do in the great Waters consider how many drops there might be in the Sea as big as the bill of a Bird could carry and that this Bird should be supposed once in a thousand years to carry away one drop yet this Bird would sooner empty that mighty Sea than the torments of the damned should be at an end Oh how dreadful will it be to them when as Christs tortures which he did endure but a little while made him to cry out so Oh Brethren put all these together and then know the evil of sin Oh that we could apprehend it now before we come to feel it For this is the end for which I speak of these things and present them before you that you may now know them and never come to feel experimentally what they be Blessed
know a man takes delight in looking upon his own Image where ever he seeth it so God takes delight in looking upon his own Image there is nothing in all the world can take the Eye of God so much as looking upon Angels and the Souls of men and God sees the very same thing in the souls of men as he did in his Angels The most glorious object God hath to behold is to behold himself in the Creature the more God seeth of himself in any Creature the more delight must he needs take in viewing and looking upon that Creature Now no Creature in this inferior world had so much of Gods work in it as Man-kind had having the Image of God 3 Hence it follows That all the Creatures in the world were brought under the Dominion of Man to be serviceable unto Man why Because he had so much of the Image of God in him upon that all Creatures in the world were to lie under his feet to be perfectly subject to the Dominion of Man Now if the Image of God be such a glorious thing as it is then what would you say of that which doth deface this Image that must needs be an evil thing and do much to the hurt of man that shall deface such an ezcellency as this is Now certainly sin doth so sin doth cast dirt into this Image of God and doth deface it and therefore in the 3. Col 10. the Apostle there speaking of renewing grace sanctifying grace it is said by it we come to have the Image of God renewed by grace then it is apparent by sin the Image of God is defaced Now Prethren if a man did take delight in a curious piece as there be some men that will give five hundred pounds a thousand pounds for some curious thing drawn with Art suppose such a one that prizeth such a piece and there should come one and quite deface it would he not account this a great evil and his heart rise against him Thus it is in this case the Image of God in the soul of man is the curiousest piece that ever was drawn in the world by the finger of Gods Spirit all Creatures in Heaven and Earth could never draw such a piece but sin defaceth it nay such is the evil of sin that one sin is enough quite to deface and take away the Image of God As we know in Adam that was made according to the Image of God one sin quite defaced the Image of God As we account a House quite defaced and demolished though here and there a little rubbish and stones remain as in your Monasteries or Abbies that are demolished though there be a few stones and rubbish left yet the House is demolished So all that is left in Man of Gods Image is but as the little rubbish of such a house left after its demolishing yea that which is left according to the Opinion of many of the Learned is not a remainder of the Image of God in man that he had at first Creation but rather a smal pittance of some common gifts of Gods Spirit For many wise and godly men hold that the remainders of that which we usually conceive to be the ruines and remainders of Gods Image since the Fall is not the remainders of what is left but that which God for societie sake in the world and that he may have a Church in the world was pleased by some givings out of his Spirit to renew somwhat in those that shall not be saved and so they come to have some light of knowledg even by Jesus Christ himself Christ enlightens every man that comes into the world saith the Scripture that is if a man have common light Christ enlightens that man if a man have saving light Christ enlightens that man with saving light so that the Image of God was quite defaced by one sin Oh the evil and venom of sin that one sin quite takes away the Image of God Quest But you will say Why is it not so now for in the Regenerate there is the Image of God in part renewed in them and yet they commit many sins how comes it to pass sin quite defaceth not the Image of God in those Regenerate that have it not perfectly as well as the Image of God in man that had it perfectly at first Answ To this I answer This is not from a any reason of want of malignity in sin for sin would do it but because of the strength that is in the Covenant of Grace that God hath made in Christ hence God preserveth his Image in those that be Regenerate notwithstanding they commit many sins and it is a demonstration of the infinite power of God that notwithstanding there is so many sins in those Regenerate that yet there should be preserved the Image of God in man which was not in Adam Because God entred not into such a gracious Covenant with Adam to preserve him therefore God leaving Adam to a common course of Providence and had to do with him in a Covenant of works therfore God leavs that for sin to do in him that it should not in us But now there is more strength in the Covenant of Grace and therefore it is that 't is not every sin we commit that doth deface the Image of God but this is no thank to sin nor doth it argue the less evil in sin But be it known unto you that be sanctified when you give liberty to sin there is this in it that in its own Nature it would quite take away all the Image of God renewed in you And certainly thofe that understand what a blessing there is in this to have Gods Image renewed in them cannot but see that there is greater evil in sin than in any thing in the world that I should commit that which in its own Nature would quite deface the whol Image of God in me And this is the second Argument to declare the evil of sin against mans good CHAP. XXVI Thirdly Sin is opposite to the Life of God in Man A Third Particular to discover the evil of Sin as opposite to mans good is this Because sin is opposite to the Life of God in Man Before I shewed sin strikes at the Life of God in Himself now I am to shew you how sin strikes at the Life of God in Mans Soul For Brethren certainly this is the happiness of the Children of men above other Creatures that God did make them to be of such a Nature that they should live that life the Lord himself lived in a kind and so the Scripture is very plain Ephes 4. 18 the text saith there That they were alienated from the life of God through the darkness of their minds it was the sinfulness of their hearts that did alienate them from the life of God therefore it is apparent that they were capable of the life of God and the life of God is the excellency of the Children of
pervers against their acquaintance neighbors family neerest friends we cannot imagine somtimes what is the reason Certainly this is one especial reason there is much guilt upon their consciences and spirits and this doth so disquiet and vex them that they fling out at God and his Word and every one they can have no quiet they be so vexed and gauled with that guilt upon their spirits there is a great deal of cause to suspect much guilt to be upon those that be so outragious and can bear nothing that have their hearts rise against the Word especially Brethren if you see any one that hath any light of Conscience and hath made profession heretofore if such an one shall frowardly flie out against the Word and those that be godlie you may conclude there is some woful guilt upon that mans spirit he is so froward and peevish and disquiet as he is And so we find it in Saul he was a man at first of a very quiet spirit and very moderate but after Saul being a man much enlightened and had forsaken God and had contracted abundance of guilt upon his soul he was a most froward perverse spirit as any we reade of in the Book of God then how froward was he with David and the Priests of God and so outragious as that he slaies them all a bloody man after he had contracted much guilt Do you see men so froward and outragious and bloodie Oh there is much guilt within upon their spirits great breaches between God and their souls and the guilt of sin within grates upon their hearts and that makes them so outragious as they are if guilt be upon the soul it takes away al the comfort of every thing that man or woman that hath an enlightened conscience and hath guilt upon them there 's little comfort such a one can take in any thing they enjoy No affliction in the world can take away the comfort of what we enjoy as guilt can do if you have afflictions one way you have comforts another if a man go abroad and meet with hard dealings he comes home and hath comfort it may be in his wife a comfortable yoke-fellow this rejoyceth him or may be he hath comfort in his Children or in such or such a friend But now let a man or a woman have guilt upon conscience abroad he hath no comfort at home he hath no comfort yea the more comfortable things he doth enjoy the more trouble there is in his spirit As thus Take a guiltie conscience and when he comes and looks upon a comfortable familie comfortable estate means coming in a sweet yoke-fellow good friends Oh but if I had not some guilt upon my soul I could rejoyce in these but that guilt that lies upon his conscience take away all the comfort of these and if he sees others that enjoy these Oh saith he this man may have comfort in a comfortable yoke-fellow children or friends and a good estate but he hath not guilt upon his spirit and that breach between his God and he as I have May be the world knows not where his â—hoo pincheth him and what sadens his spirit many men that have comforts about them though they cannot be said to enjoy them yet their hearts be troubled and disquieted and no bodie knows the matter Oh there is guilt upon their spirits they think within themselves Oh if it were with me as it is with such a one it would be well sure they have not that guilt I have if they had they could not but be disquieted as I am Again Guilt brings woful fear upon the Conscience no affliction can bring such fear upon the Conscience Though there should be never such troubles and fears and confusions in the world alas this is not so terrible and fearful as that fear the guiltie conscience hath Take a man or woman whose conscience is delivered from the guilt of sin such a one though Heaven and Earth should meet is not so much troubled Certainly Brethren in these great fears amongst us that you be skar'd at everything it is partly because you have not throughly made up your peace between God and your souls and some guilt lies upon your spirits and consciences and this indeed will make every thing terrible to you if that lie there Guilt upon the conscience makes God the thoughts of God seem terrible Now it is a greater evil for the creature not to be able to look upon God to have thoughts of God without being pierced with terror than to be under any affliction in the world sorrows fears and disgrace and persecutions are not so terrible as this that I am in such a condition that I cannot look up to God nor think upon God without having the thoughts of his Majesty to be terrible to me A guilty Conscience cannot endure to have a thought of God it is terrible to him and therefore he labors by going into company and sports and business in the world to take off the thoughts of God because the thoughts of God peirce his heart And so the presence of God is very terrible where guilt is upon the Conscience and the Conscience of such a one cannot endure to come into Gods presence nor into the Communion of Saints where Gods presence is And he cannot endure to pray the thoughts of that strike his heart to go alone to pray the presence of God when alone is extream terrible And this is a sader condition than to be under any affliction better be under any affliction than in such a case as that the presence of God is terrible the presence of God in Prayer and so the presence of God in his Word Oh the Word is terrible to such a one the Word of God speaks nothing but terror so long as guilt remains upon the Conscience This is worse than Affliction that that Word which is a treasure of sweetness and goodness and comfort to those that are gracious and godly should be filled with terror to the soul of one that is full of guilt Yea to such a one all the wayes of Gods Providence are full of terror if there be any Judgment of God abroad Oh the terror that this brings upon his foul Brethren Sin is committed quickly you have a temptation comes and you fall upon the Sin and act it the Sin the act of it is transient and quickly gone the guilt that sticks to you When a man or woman hath satisfied their Iust in a sinful way the guilt sticks behind may be the time is gone for the pleasure of it it was perhaps yesterday or such a night or time thou hadest the pleasure of it but now the sin is gone the pleasure of it but the guilt sticks and that abides upon thy Spirit to all eternity if thou look not to it Nay certainly it must stick upon the Spirit it is not in the power of any Creature in heaven or in earth to deliver
thee from it yea the guilt so remains that though thou feel it not now for the present it may stick terriblely many years after But Affliction is terrible only for the present not for afterward but guilt and sin laies a foundation of Mis◅ for many years after Nay many times it is grievous painful to the Soul long after it is committed as it was in Josephs Brethren we reade of them that they committed that great Sin against their Brother and it troubled them not a great while but twenty two years after when they were in an affliction then the guilt of their sin comes a fresh Oh then we sinned against our Brother when they were in prison there now it was twenty two years from the time they committed that sin to that time when they were in trouble there So you that have committed sin and think some slight sorrow may wash it away know the guilt may abide upon your spirits perhaps twenty may be forty years after And you that are yong take heed and know that sin is more evil than any affliction for the sin that you commit when you are yong in your Masters Families the guilt may abide upon you and youthful sins may prove ages terror It may be with you as with a man that gets a bruis when he is yong he feels it not but when he is old than it ach in his bones and puts him to terrible pain many times so many yong people feel not sin when their bloud is hot but afterward the guilt of sin abides upon them and is the torment of their souls when their bloud is cold Now what evil is there in sin that may do a man mischief perhaps twenty or forty years hence As it is with some poyson there are some poysons men have skill in that they can give poyson shall not work in three or four perhaps not till seven years afterward and yet they know certainly That if that man be not cut off before except God work extraordinarily he shall dye at the seven years end of that poison he took seven years before So sin is such a thing that it wil do a man a mischief many years after Again The guilt of sin hath this evil further in it which appears in that difference between men that come to suffer with guilt and those that come to suffer without guilt Take them that have come to the most grievous sufferings in the world and had not the guilt of sin upon their Consciences who had all cleer between God and their souls their sufferings be joyful and they can rejoice in tribulation and troubles as the Martyrs in Persecution how did they rejoyce and glory in their sufferings with what a Spirit of magnanimitie did they come to their sufferings But take those who suffer through guilt as Malefactors when they come to suffer what shame and confusion is upon them Thus Affliction is nothing to them that have no guilt but those that have the guilt of sin upon them when they come to suffer their guilt is a thousand times more than their affliction There is a great deal of difference between a man guilty of treason when he come to suffer for it there is shame and confusion and dismal darkness in the spirit where there is guilt but let one be accused for treason or any such horrible crime and no guilt upon the spirit such a one can go on with joy and comfort and peace whatsoever can be done to him is very little or nothing when guilt is removed The truth is there is no suffering can countervail the suffering that guilt makes The guilt makes the suffering evil otherwise not If one man come upon another man with suffering it is nothing without guilt so it is true when God comes it is nothing if God and we be at peace but now when God comes with any such affliction as the very affliction shall have the mark of the sin upon it and so shall stir up Conscience to accuse you for it then the heart is ready to sink when the affliction shall bear the name of the sin together with it I remember the difference of Davids Spirit at several times one time Though an Host incampe about me yet will I not fear and though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil Psal 23. Another time he is afraid when he flies from Absolon and when there was a breach between God and his soul when he had brought guilt upon his spirit then David was quickly cooled and upon any occasion of trouble David was quickly frightened This is a seventh thing wherein sin appears to be a greater and more evil thing than Affliction because it makes the soul guiltie before God CHAP. XXXI Eighthly Sin is a greater evil to man than affliction because it 's that which put the Creature under the Sentence of Condemnation EIghthly Sin is a greater evil than Affliction Because it is that which puts the Creature under the Sentence of Condemnation and so makes more against the good of man than any affliction can do For a poor Creature to see himself stand before the great Judg of all the World and have the Sentence of Condemnation come out against him this is a greater evil than to have any affliction that all the Creatures of Heaven and Earth could bring upon him As now take a Malefactor that is to stand before Mans Judgment Seat and to receive Sentence of Condemnation is not this a greater evil unto him than if he should hear of loss in his estate than if he had sickness in his bodie any pain in his limbs to stand thus to receive the Sentence he looks upon it as a greater evil than possibly can befal him in this world otherwise But then when the soul shal see it self stand before the infinite glorious eternal first-Being of all things and looks upon God sitting upon his Tribunal passing Sentence of Eternal Death upon him this is another manner of evil than any affliction and suffering that can befal him But now know there is not any one sin that thou committest but if you look upon it as in it self God sits I say upon his Trone and passeth Sentence of death upon thee for it as really as ever he will do at the great day of Judgment it is done now as really and as truly in this world as ever it shall be at the day of Judgment only here is the difference then it is irrecoverable nay shall I say it cannot be recalled here no certainly it shall not only it may be transmitted to Christ he must bear it he must have the sentēce so that it is not properly recalled God doth not as a Judg that passeth Sentence and afterward nullifies it no but God passeth Sentence and condemns the sinner only Christ comes in and takes the Sentence upon himself so that the Sentence goeth on still only it is transferred from
is more pitiful than to hear the other roar out in the most grievous torture that any man or woman was ever in When we hear them in torture we have our hearts bleed and are not affected with their sinning this is a sign we know not the evil of sin Further if you should hear one in the anguish of Conscience crying out I am undone I am damned I am damned in the anguish of his Conscience thus crying out of hell and of the devil you look upon such with pity Now this I say Those that are in the greatest torment of Conscience for their sin they are in a better Case than those that go on most conceitedly and boasting in their sin Do you see one that is your neighbor or in your family or friend when he is rebuked or reproved for any sin that is careless and hardened in sin I say This man or woman servant or child is in a worse condition and a more lamentable object than if you should see another in the greatest horror and anguish and trouble of Conscience crying out most bitterly of sin For there is a great deal more hope of this man or woman that cryes out in anguish of Conscience for sin he may be saved and not eternally ruined by sin there is more hopes a great deal therefore learn who is to be pitied for sin is more against our own good than any affliction Vse 3. If Sin be so much against our selves Then learn to have sin hardly dealt withal For thus it follows That which we look upon as our own enemy we are willing should be hardly dealt withal Now nothing such an enemy to our good as sin is If you apprehend any one hath done you hurt or intends to do you hurt you think you may take liberty to let out your self to the utmost to revenge your self but this is sinful and the distemper of your hearts to do so But you men and women that have your hearts filled with revenge because you conceive others have done you hurt here is an object God gives you leave to let out your revenge to the full upon other men do you hurt therefore you think you may let out revenge that is your wickedness for vengeance belongs to God but sin doth you hurt more than any man can and in this God lets you have leave to revenge your selves upon sin Revenge your selves as much as you can look upon it as most mischievous There be some such spiteful and revengful men revengeful and spiteful dispositions that have it lie mouldring at their hearts because they cannot let it out upon objects so much as they would now here is an object you may let it out as much as you can to revenge your selves and to seek the ruine and destruction of sin and to labor to use it as hardly as possibly you can yea it is made in Scripture a sign of true Repentance to be willing to revenge ones self upon sin 2 Cor. 7. 11. when they had committed sin what revenge was there saith the Apostle they manifested their repentance by revenge upon sin follow thy sin with a deadly hatred if thou wilt thou hast a hateful disposition against others follow sin with as deadly a hatred as thou canst It was an Argument of Davids heart cleaving to Absalom when Joab was to go against him Vse the yong man kindly for my sake saith he this was an argument Davids heart was with him So when you would fain have sin used kindly gently it is an argument your hearts are not set against sin so much as they should No you should not say use sin kindly but roughly and hardly as the Prophet said of one that came to destroy him use him roughly when he comes at the door so when sin comes to the door when temptations be seeking to have entrance use them roughly at the door and say Let the righteous smiteme Oh that the Word might come as a two edged Sword to stab and slay my sin Oh that when I go to hear the Word I might meet with some hard thing against sin Thus we should come when we come to the Word and when sin hath got a blow by the Word of God bless God and say blessed be God my sins this day have got a blow this sin of mine that hath done me so much hurt and so pestered me and so hindred my peace and comfort blessed be God this day it hath got a blow thus we should do because Sin makes so much against our selves And thus we have finished the Two First Heads of Sins being against God and against our selves Now there be Four more THE THIRD PART OF THIS TREATISE CHAP. XL. Sin is opposite to all Good and therefore a greater evil than any Affliction opened in five things 1 Sin take away the Excellency of all things 2 It brings a Curse upon all 3 Sin is a burden to Heaven and Earth and all Creatures 4 Sin turn the greatest Good into the greatest Evil 5 Sin if let alone would bring all things to confusion THirdly Sin is opposite to all Good in General Sin is opposite to God and to our selves and I say in the third place It 's against all kind of Good and therefore a greater evil than any affliction Now for that there be five things to be opened only in the general take this sure Rule There must needs be more evil in Sin than in any Affliction because there is no other evil but is opposite to some particular good an Affliction is opposite to the particular good contrarie to that affliction but Sin is opposite to everie good not only is Sin opposite to the contrarie vertue but it is opposite to everie good so Divinitie teacheth us though Heathens in Moralitie teacheth that one Sin is opposite to the contrarie vertue but Divinitie teacheth that one Sin is opposite to everie Vertue and everie Good which appears in Five things First Sin spoils all Good takes away the Beauty and Excellency of all Good whatsoever It may be said of any thing that hath an Excellencie when Sin comes as it s said of Reuben Gen. 49. 4. His Excellency is gone is departed he shall not excel therefore Rom. 8. 20. it is said through the Sin of man All Creatures be subject to vanity the whol world is put under vanitie through mans Sin Now then it appears by that that the Lustre and Beautie and Excellencie of Glorie of all things in this world are spoiled by the Sin of man for all is put under vanitie by Sin and Sin not only makes the heart vain and so is against our selves but all things in the world is put under vanitie by Sin the Excellencie of thy Estate of thy Parts the Excellencie of any Creature thou doest enjoy all is spoiled through Sin therfore Tit. 1. 15. it is said All things be unclean to the sinner saith he To him that is unclean al things are unclean This
reade in Judges 5. several Tribes when the People of God were in straits would not go up but had many excuses others did go to help in the Cause of God Judg. 5. 14. See how many excuse themselves but especially in the 16. Vers Why abodest thou among the Sheep-folds to hear the bleatings of the â—locks Oh Ruâ—en said We must not leave House and Cattel we must not go out And Giliad abode beyond Jordan and Dan abode in Ships some think Dan did not live neer the Sea but thought they ran to Ships and abode there And Asher continued by the Sea shore and abode in his Breaches He pleads thus We must continue our business in making Fences against the Sea we have many Breaches and we must continue there and look to our business But Zebulon and Naphtali they jeoparded their lives to the death in the high places of the field Who be those two Zebulon and Naphtali that were full of courage and zeal when others were-full of Pleas and would not venture their lives Who be these that ventured their lives These two were the especial Tribes of Marriners that were forward rather than others That these were Marriners appears Matt. 4. 15. The Land of Zebulon and Nephtali by the way of the Sea beyond Jordan these that lived by the Sea Others would not stir that lived by the Sea but Zebulon and Nephtali these joparded their lives Now mark God seems to remember this they did not jeopard themselves in a good Cause in vain God remembers it many hundred years after When Christ comes the first Tribes that seem to be inlightned were these the people that sate in darkness saw a great light and to them that sate in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up they sate in darkness a company of poor Marriners exceeding ignorant of the ways of God and Christ comes first to them and brings light to them It may be God might aim to shew Mercy to these Tribes the rather for this that they did in appearing in a good Cause though it were with jeopardy to themselves So go you on and in a good Cause appear and venture your selves to assist these Worthys of ours in whom so much of our good conssists and God will remember this in Spiritual Mercies Would you have the means of Grace continued and the means of Light come to them that sit in darkness if you would have the blessing of Zebulon and Nephtali then be Zebulons and Nephtalies to go out whatsoever excuses others have and jeopard your selves for the good of this Common-wealth THE FOVRTH PART OF THIS TREATISE CHAP. XLI That Sin is the Evil and Poyson of all other Evils shewed in several Particulars First It s the strength of all Evils Secondly It s the sting of Affliction Thirdly It s the Curse of all Evils opened in Five Particulars Fourthly Sin is the shame of all Evils Fifthly The eternity of all Evil comes from Sin THere are Four Things which except we be well instructed in and know we know nothing to Purpose Except we know God and Sin and Christ and Eternity These are the Four great Things that you had need to be well instructed in The knowledge of Sin I have endeavored to set before you In this Argument I have shewed you the evil of fin above al affliction The next thing I am to Open to you is the Fourth General Head Propounded in the Fifth Chapter Fourthly Therefore that Sin is the Evil of all other Evils It is the very pith of all other Evils there 's nothing that would be scarce worthy the name of Evil if Sin were not in it That it is the evil of all other evils will appear in these Particulars First It is the strength of all other Evils The strength the prevailing strength that any evil hath against man it is from Sin There is no Evil would have any prevailing strength to do us any hurt were there not Sin in it That is certain nothing in heaven or earth or hel would do any of the Children of men any hurt were it not for Sin if there were not Sin to give it strength The strength of any evil that can do us any hurt is from Sin Let the evil be never so smal yet if it come armed with the strength of the guilt of Sin it is enough to undo any man or woman in the world This is the Reason of the difference of the power the prevailing power of any cross and affliction in some more than in others you shall have some that let there be but the least cross and affliction upon them it sinks their hearts they are not able to stand under it others that have a hundred times more upon them they go under it with joy this is the especial difference one having the guilt of sin in â—he evil and the other being delivered from it It is a Comparison I remember of a learned man to express the difference of afflictions Afflictions are like water and a little water upon a mans shoulder in a Leaden vessel is a great deal heavier than much more water in a vessel of Leather or Wood take a Leather Bucket filled with water it is not so heavie as a little water in a Leaden vessel so a little affliction where there is much guilt of sin is abundantly more heavie than a great deal of affliction where there is not the guilt of sin Haman could not stand before such a pettie Cross as that Mordacai would not bow his knee being a wicked man that Cross being with sin troubled him sore and Achitaphel when he was crossed in his way could not bear it Therfore Brethren if you would bear afflictions this is your way your wisdom is to labor to know wherein the strength of an affliction lies if you would overcome it As you know the Philistims that desired to overcome Sampson their great care was to know wherein his strength lay if they could by Dalilahs means find out the strength of Sampson they thought they might easilie overcome him So certainlie if you could but find out where the strength of your afflictions â—lie it is easie then for you to have fears and disquiets taken away the reason why fears and disquiets overcome you as they do is because you find not out the strength of them if that were found out and gotten away you might quicklie overcome afflictions and they would be light to you The prevailing strength of all afflictions is from sin this is the first thing to shew sin is the evil of all evils Secondly Not only the prevailing strength But the bitterness the sting of Affliction that which makes it bitter to the Spirit is sin Sin makes it come like an Armed man with power And besides Sin makes it inwardly gaul at the very heart sting like a Serpent as the Apostle 1 Cor. 15 56. saith of death The sting of Death is sin saith the Apostle so that which
nothing else but the wrath of God working through that channel and let out through that though now thou die and the matter of the disease be gone yet when thou comest to hell there thou shalt meet with the same grievous pain only in another way That is The wrath of God shall let out this evil immediately through his wrath which was mediately through the Creature before and now it is immediately from himself And this meditation rightly considered is enough to bring down the proudest stoutest sinner on the earth to Consider how the Wrath of God is all that evil to a sinner that all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth are able to convey and much more And thus you have this opened how Sin is the evil of all evils THE FIFTH PART OF THIS TREATISE CHAP. XLII Sin hath a kind of Infiniteness in it Opened in Seven Particulars First Because nothing but an Infinite Power can overcome it Secondly Sin hath a kind of infiniteness because it hath an infinite desert in it expressed in Three Particulars 1 The desert of the loss of an infinite Good 2 It deserves to put an infinite distance between God and thee 3 It deserves infinite misery Thirdly Sin hath a kind of infinite Evil because there is required an infinite Price to make an Attonement between God and Man Fourthly There is a kind of infinite Evil in Sin because we must hate it infinitely Fifthly Sin is an infinite Evil because it is the Vniversal Cause of all Evil. Sixthly The Scripture make use of Evil things to set out the Evil of Sin Seventhly There 's an infiniteness in Sin because the Scripture set out Sin by Sin it self A Fifth General Head that was Propounded in the beginning is this Sin hath a kind of Infiniteness of Evil in it It is true we must acknowledg that nothing but God can be properly said to be infinite There is not an infiniteness in a strict sense in sin for then certainly all the Mercy of God and all the Power of God could never overcome it if properly and absolutely sin had an infiniteness in it therefore I do not say it is properly infinite Well but there is a kind of infiniteness it comes exceeding neer to infiniteness if we may so speak though it is somwhat improper to say it comes neer but we must speak so as we can to our own apprehensions you shall see in the opening what I mean As thus There is a kind of infiniteness of evil in sin beyond all bounds First Because there is nothing but infinite Power can overcome it Take the least sin that any man or woman lies under the power of nothing but the infinite Power of God can overcome that sin and this is the reason that many that have had many convictions of conscience of the evil of sin many resolutions against sin many Vows and Covenants and Promises they have made against sin Oh when they are sick now they see the evil of sin now they promise if God will restore them they will never do the like and they speak from their hearts they do not only dallie but they do verily think they will never come in companie more and commit sin more because it is so evil but when they be well they be under the power of sin as before and al their resolutions and experiences and all their own strength and power and all the means they have are nothing though sin be opened to be never so vile and they be convinced thereof yet al comes to nothing Certainly there is more dreadful evil in sin than we be aware of and all the pleasure and profit we have by sin can never countervail that evil that is in sin and this they see and therefore promise and hope they shal never commit such sins again Perhaps there hath been such thoughts in your hearts may be God hath had some beginnings to come in by his Power into your souls this is the way of Gods coming in to the hearts of men and women when he comes to convince and give them such resolutions But know all thy resolutions cannot overcome sin perhaps you may forbear for the present the acts of sin a while may be restrained but nothing but the infinite Power of an infinite God can overcome any one sin any one lust Sin shall not have Dominion over you Rom. 6. 14. for you are not under the Law but under Grace saith the Holy Ghost as if he had said if you be not now under the Grace of the Gospel in which the infinit Power of God comes upon the soul to deliver them from the Dominion of Sin Sin would for ever have Dominion over you but sin shall not have Dominion over you because you be not under the Law but under Grace It is the Grace of the Gospel through which this infinite Power of God comes upon your hearts that keeps sin from having Dominion over you This is the first there is a kind of Infiniteness in it because nothing but the infinite Power of God can overcome it Secondly There is a kind of Infiniteness in it Because it hath an infinite desert it doth deserve that which is infinite There is an infinite desert in it therefore a kind of infiniteness in it As thus the infinite desert of Sin may be set out in these three Particulars 1 The desert of the loss of an infinite Good all the good in God By every sin thou dost deserve to be deprived of that good there is in God that desert comes upon thee to lose all the good there is in the infinite God not in this or that particular good but in the Infinite God and all the good in him 2 Every Sin doth make an infinite breach between God and you not only you do deserve to lose all the good in God but it puts an infinit distance between God and thee Abraham could say to Dives when Lazarus was in his bosom there is a great gulph between you and us There is a great gulph between the sinner and those that are godly but what a gulf is there between God himself and a sinner If there be such a gulf between Abraham and Dives surely a greater gulf between God himself and a sinner 3 The desert of Sin is Infinite In regard of the Infiniteness of misery and pain and tortures that sin deserves which becaus they cannot possibly be infinit in degree for it is impossible for a finite Creature to bear any one moment pains infinite in degree But because it deserves infinite torment it must therefore be infinite in time because it cannot be infinite in degree and so it is infinite this way in duration because it cannot be infinite in degree thus sin is infinite Certainly that which makes such an infinite loss and such an infinite breach and brings such infinite tortures this must be an infinite evil in a kind Thirdly Sin is a kind of infinite evil Because
calveth and casteth not her calf They send forth their little ones like a flock and their children dance They take the timbrel and harp and rejoyce at the sound of the organ They spend their daies in wealth They live merrie brave lives therefore their hearts be hardened in sin that they say to the Almightie depart from us what need we the knowledg of God what need so much preaching and so much ado we desire not such things I beseech you mark and observe what kind of men those are that so slight the Word of God and disesteem of it and that in their carriage and actions do as it were say unto God himself depart from us for so it is though it may be they think not so when the Word and Ordinances depart yet they do as much as if they should say to God depart from us we desire not the knowledg of thy way I say observe what kind of men these are not men under Gods wrath or afflictions observe what men they are and when they say so I say not when they be under Gods wrath but those that live in Authoritie and flourish and have delights and contentments to the flesh these say depart I confess many poor people that know nothing of God and that be meer Atheists that live all their daies in meer Atheism to hear them say so it is no wonder But I speak of men inlightened and where almost have you anie so readie to say depart from us let the Word and Ordinances depart and that slight God in his Ordinances as men do that are in the greatest Prosperitie that enjoy comforts and brave lives and have the world at will Now let all such know That though they may bless themselves and the world may bless them yet wo to them when God saith let them prosper in sin Hosea 4. 14. I will not punish your daughters when they commit iniquity God threatens it as a Judgment not to afflict them I remember Origen upon that Text hath this note Will you hear the terrible voice of God God speaking with indignation I will not visite when you sin this he calls the terrible voice of God speaking with indignation This is the most extream of Gods anger when thus he speaks And so Luther hath such an expression Wo to those men at whose sins God doth wink and connive and that have not afflictions as other men And so Jerom in writing to a friend that prospered in wicked waies saith he I judg thee miserable because thou art not miserable So certainly those men are therefore miserable because they be not miserable and it were a thousand times better for these men to lie under some heavie and dreadful affliction in this world And this is the Second Use If there be so much evil in Sin then a man may be a miserable man though he be not an afflicted man because there is evil enough in sin alone to make a man miserable without affliction CHAP. LIV. Use 3. If there be so much evil in sin then it 's a mighty mercy to get the pardon of sin Use III. IF there be so much evil in Sin as you have heard of then certainly this must needs follow That to get pardon of sin is a mighty mercy It must needs be a wonderful thing to have the pardon of sin to get to be delivered from that which hath so much evil that is so dreadful it must needs be very hard to be obtained grievous diseases be very hardly cured Certainly Brethren those men and women that do think that to get pardon of and power against sin is a little or light matter I dare charge them as in the presence of God they never yet knew what sin meant and all that I have delivered about the evil of sin hath been but as the beating of the air to them to no purpose that yet make but light of the great work of procuring pardon for sin and making peace with God for their sin If all the world were in a confusion turned into a Chaos we should think it a great work of God to bring all in frame and oâ—der again Certainly it is a greater work of God for to deliver the soul from the evil of sin and free the soul of it than it would be for to raise up the frame of Heaven and Earth again if all were turned into a Chaos Therefore Numbers 14. 17 19. verses where Moses speaks of pardon of Sin see how Moses speaks of it there And now I beseech thee saith he let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken saying What was this concerning which God had spoken that he would shew his great power in See the 19. verse Pardon I beseech thee the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy mercy Mark let the power of my Lord be great and then pardon the iniquitie of thy people as if Moses should say Oh Lord this requires great power the Almightie power of God is required for pardoning of iniquitie as well as the infinite mercy of God Oh consider this you that think lightly of getting pardon of sin this is the greatest business in the world and certainly that soul that God doth set in good earnest about this work to get the pardon of sin that soul is the most busie Creature in all the world never was the soul taken up about a more blessed work since it had a being than this is if it understand what it is about it takes up the whol strength of soul and bodie when the soul is about so great a work therefore you that come to have some inlightenings to shew you the evil of sin and you be about that work of getting pardon Oh you had need intend it and work mightily and strongly indeed for know this you are about the greatest business the greatest work that ever Creature was about in the world there is no creature in all the world was ever about so great a work as thou art about when thou art about the getting pardon of sin thou hadst need mind it and follow it and not have thy heart taken up about other things for it is the great work of the Lord that infinitely concerns thee Oh that men and women had cleer apprehensions about the sweetness of this work 't is true Gods mercie is above all our sins and he is readie to pardon and to forgive but the Lord will have his Creatures know that it is the greatest work that ever he did yea and take altogether Justification of a sinner is as great a work as ever God did the means that tend to it and the work of a soul about procuring pardon is the greatest work that ever soul was about so you must understand it and you cannot but understand it if you understand what hath been delivered This is the Third Use CHAP. LV. Use 4. If there be so much evil in sin this justifie the
and lay the burden of it upon your spirits then to let you sink under the burden of it for God to behold you sweltring under the burden of it without pittie and compassion and your own Conscience will be readie to tell you so yea now the weight of Sin is upon me but is forced whether I will or no now God may justlie let it lie This is a sad and a sinking thought and if anie thing let sin lie upon the soul that it shall never be purged it will be this When the Spirit would have brought Sin in the weight of it upon my Conscience I put it off and now God puts it upon me and therefore it troubles me thus Therefore be willing to be humbled and know if you be willing Jesus Christ is appointed for that end to raise you up and there is as much power in the Gospel to raise your heart as there is in sin to press down your heart if you be rightlie burdened with it CHAP. LX. Use 9 If there be so much evil in sin this should be a loud cry to stop men and turn them from sin Use IX ANother Use is this If there be so much evil in Sin Then the consideration and meditation of all that hath been said should be a mighty cry unto all to turn back and stop in the waies of sin Oh thou Sinner whosoever thou art in whatsoever place of the Congregation thou art God hath brought thee by his providence to hear or reade these Sermons concerning the evil of Sin know that all these Sermons that have been preached unto thee they be all but as one loud loud crie to thy soul stop stop Oh Sinner in thy sinful courses stop here turn turn Oh Sinner out of thy sinful waies turn turn why wilt thou die why wilt thou die Oh wretched sinful soul thou art lost cursed undone and wilt perish eternally in that way thou art in turn turn while thou hast time God cries his Word cries his Ministers cries Conscience cries all those that have known what the evil of sin means cry to thee unless thou wilt destroy thy self undo thy self eternallie stop in that way for it is a dangerous desperate way thou goest in the verie road way to the Chambers of eternal Death As ever thou wouldest be willing God shall hear thy crie upon thy sick bed in the anguish of thy soul thou wilt then crie now Lord have mercie upon a poor wretched sinful soul Thou wouldest be glad I say that the Lord should hear thy crie upon thy sick bed and death bed Now then as ever you would have God hear your crie when you are in the greatest anguish of your souls upon your sick bed and see death before you be willing to hear the crie of God to your souls at this present and know if you do not hear the crie of God that cries to you to stop you in sinful waies then these verie words I have spoken to you at this present may come in your mind when you crie for mercie and then you may think Oh wretch now I crie to God for mercy but do I not remember such a time was there not a loud crie in my Ears and Conscience as from God that I should stop in my sinful waies and courses and was not I then charged as in the Name of God and as ever I expected God should hear my crie in such a time that I should hear his voyce Oh it will be dreadful for you to hear such a voyce as this Because you would not hear me therfore I will not hear you Therfore behold I crie again in the Name of God stop stop turn thee Oh sinful soul alas whether art thou going from God from Comfort from Life from Happiness from all good whatsoever thou art going I call Heaven and Earth to record that these things that I have delivered to you concerning the evil of sin are the Truths of God and have been the Truths of God And certainlie what I have delivered and you read concerning the evil of sin it will come and rise up one day against everie sinful man and woman that doth go on in anie known way of Sin and it will prove as scalding lead in thy Conscience Everie Truth thou hast heard and everie Chapter thou hast read concerning the evil of Sin I say if yet thou goest on in any one known way of Sin it will one day be as scalding lead in thy Conscience the dropping of scalding lead in the eyes of a man will not be more terrible to him than the droppings in of these Truths will be in thy Conscience another day Now it will be a sad thing my Brethren if God should send me amongst you by his Providence onlie to aggravate anie of your Condemnations God forbid there should be this Errent sent amongst you that anie of his Messengers should be sent for this end to aggravate your condemnation this is that which is the prayers of my soul that this may not be the Errent I am sent for if possible not to seal the condemnation of anie one soul But this I know except there be great reformation among manie certainlie the verie Errand God intended in the conclusion though I do not say that is the primarie and first end but it is that which will prove so in the conclusion through the stubbornness of the hearts of sinners that will prove the Aggravation of their condemnation Wherefore yet let me labor with your souls who knows whether anie of you shall hear me preach anie one Sermon more whether ever God will call after you any more to stop or turn in the waies of Sin whether ever you shall hear the Word more Perhaps God will sear your conscience and say to him that is filthie let him be filthie God now speaks to you and cries after you if you harden your hearts now it is more than Angels or men know whether ever you will have one crie more Therefore let me abide here tell me Oh Sinner what is it thou gettest in waies of sin that thou wilt dwel here what is it the world hath to draw thy heart from the strength of all these Truths delivered in these Sermons Sure it must be some mightie thing when such Truths as these backed with Arguments from Scripture strength of Reason as all these be cannot restrain thee Sure it must be some wonderful thing that must over ballance all these Sermons and all these things what hast thou such a heart that is set upon any sinful way anie secret hant of Sin that thou findest such good in it that by it all these Truths are over ballanced Certainlie there is no such good in the world if all Creatures in the world should joyn together to give some comfort to ballance these Truths delivered concerning the evil of sin all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth could not give such things as would ballance it Therefore certainlie
Christ said to the Pharisees Who hath forwarned you to fly from the wrath to come So God will say Why what is the matter who told you this I hope some poor soul will have experience of this when you go to pray for Christ and you shall Pray after another manner than formerlie when your Prayers shall be even cries to heaven when God shall say Why what is the matter why cry you more than before I hope some poor souls can give a good account of it and say I see my self lost and undone without Christ better be a Dog or a Toad or anie thing than a man if I have not Christ because they are not capable of sin and my heart is full of sin and I have heard the evil of it and therefore Oh give me Christ or I am undone Oh! such a Soul will be exceeding acceptable unto God And therefore to such a soul I propound in the name of the Lord the Doctrine of Life and Salvation and Peace be it known therefore to you God the Father looking upon the sinful Children of men and seeing them all in a perishing condition by Sin out of infinite bowels of tender compassion he hath provided a glorious way of Mediation of Propisiation for Sin and to that end he hath sent his onlie beloved Son out of his bosom that hath taken mans Nature upon him united in a personal union to that end that he might be a fit Mediator to stand between a provoked God and sinful souls and this Christ hath born the full vials of the wrath of his Father the curse of the Law due to sin satisfied infinite divine Justice made a full Attonement between God and sinful man Onlie upon these terms now he doth tender and offer to everie poor wearied distressed soul al that his Son hath purchased by his blood all his merits that they might be an attonement for thy sin a Propisiation for thy soul to discharge all thy sin that thou mightest come through him to stand acquited before the father for ever more This is the sum of the Gospel and this I present and Preach it and offer it to you and this not onlie to the least sinner but to the greatest sinner in the world this I present as in the name of God that is the message we have in the name of God to deliver unto you and now whatsoever your sins have been heretofore God onlie requires that your souls should now stand admiring at the infinite riches of his Grace in his Son and that your souls should be taken off from the Creature and Sin and live upon Christ surrender your souls to him and cast your souls on that infinite rich grace of God in him and upon that instant every one of your sins though never so great and hainous yet I pronounce in the Name of the Lord everie one of them is pardoned and all done away as if they had never been committed This is the Sum of the Gospel unto those that come to see their Sins and be sensible of their need of Christ by their Sin Object But you will say This makes all you have done but a little matter if Sin may be done away thus what need all this discovery of the evil of Sin it is not so great an evil if it may be thus wash't away Answ Ah poor carnal heart that speaks thus Is this a light or little matter True it is in a few words in the end of a Sermon but be it known to you There is more in these words I have spake in this last half quarter of an hour there is more of the glorie of God in them than in Heaven and Earth beside not because they come from me but because I have spoken that which is the Sum of the Gospel and in truth in one Sentence of the Gospel there is more of the glorie of God than in all Heaven and Earth besides You must be convinced of this and know it is so and if ever you come to be partakers of the good of the Gospel you will see it to be so Oh Brethren in that I have said there is the glorious Mysterie of Godliness great is the Mysterie of Godliness God manifest in the flesh the great Counsel of God working from all Eternitie is in this in the Sum of the Gospel The greatest work that ever God did was in sending his Son and in the offer of his Son to Sinners that their sins might be pardoned Therefore think it not a smal thing and hear when I call upon Sinners to come and cast their souls upon Christ It is one of the gloriousest works that ever was done for a sinful soul to come and close with Christ the Mediator and if once you come in your hearts will be so full of the glorie of God that presentlie all the glorie of the Creature will be darkned in your eyes and you will be so filled with the glorie of God that you wil come to see the filthiness of Sin this way as much as in anie way All the Sermons I have delivered concerning the evil of sin will not set out the filthiness of Sin to you as that glorie of God that your hearts will be filled withal as soon as you come to close with God in this Mysterie of the Gospel Perhaps it is not so apparant to everie soul but wait a while and there will more of the evil of sin be discovered in this than in anie way Vse XI And then the Use that I shall make of it is this If there be such evil in sin then bless bless God for Christ Blessed is that man and woman whose sin is pardoned Psalm 32. Oh blessed is he whose sin is forgiven Certainly it is a blessed thing that sin should be forgiven this requires a whol Sermon by it self I shall but name it now because I shal it may be hereafter speak of this particularly of the great Blessedness of the Pardon of Sin onlie take notice of it any that hath a comfortable assurance of their sin being pardoned go away rejoycing Son Daughter rejoyce your sins are pardoned there is enough in that word to bring comfort and joy to your souls CHAP. LXII Use 12. If there be so much evil in sin then it is of great concernment to be Religious betimes and there by prevent much sin Use XII AGain One Use more If there be such evil in Sin Then it is of great use to begin to be Godlie and Religious betimes for yong ones to come to be godlie betimes why Because they may come to prevent so much evil and so much Sin Oh happie those that begin to be godlie when yong you prevent a thousand sins that others commit by their not knowing sin betimes True if there were no other use of Godliness than meerlie to bring you to Heaven then you might stay till your sick and death beds and then be Religious it were enough but besides bringing
Nation wherein is shewed how to Cure a mans self of most Diseases incident to mans Body with such things as grow in England and for three pence charge 5 The Anatomy of the Body of Man wherein is exactly described the several parts of the Body of Man illustrated with very many large Brass Plates 6 A New Method both of studying and practising Physick Six Sermons Preached by Doctor Hill viz. 1 The Beauty and Sweetness of an Olive Branch of Peace and Brotherly Accommodation budding 2 Truth and Love happily married in the Churches of Christ 3 The Spring of strengthning Grace in the Rock of Ages Christ Jesus 4 The strength of the Saints to make Jesus Christ their Strength 5 The Best and Worst of Paul 6 Gods eternal preparation for his dying Saints The Bishop of Canterbuâ—â—es Speech on the Scaffold The Kings Speech on the Scaffold King Charles his Case or an Appeal to all Rational Men concerning his Tryal A Congregational Church is a Catholick visible Church By Samuel Stone in New-England Mr. Owens stedfastness of the Promises Mr Owen against Mr Baxter A Vindication of Free Grace By John Pawson The Magistrates support and Burden By John â—ordel The Discipline of the Church in New-England by the Churches and Synod there A Relation of the Barbadoes A Relation of the Repentance and Conversion of the Indians in New-England by Mr Eliot and Mr Mayhew An Exposition on the Gospel of the Evangelist S. Matthew by Mr Ward Clows Chyruâ—geâ—y Marks of Salvation An Exposition of the whol first Epistle of Peter by Mr. John Rogers of Dâ—… in Essex Christians Engagement for the Gospel By John Goodwin Great Church Ordinance of Baptism Mr Love's Case containing his Petitions Narrative and Speech Vox Pacifica or a Perswasive to Peace Dr Prestâ—â—s Saints Submission and Satans Overthrow A Treatise of the Rickets Published in Latin by Dr Glisson Dr Bate and Dr Regemorter now translated into English Mr Symsons Sermon at Westminster Mr Feaks Sermon before the Lord Major Mr Phillips Treatise of Hell Of Christs Geneology Mr Eaton on the Oath of Allegiance and Covenant shewing that they oblige not THE ALPHABETICAL TABLE A Addition NO addition to sin can make it good Page 18 Affliction Affliction is better than sin 3 It 's light ibid Christs the greatest 8 Some good in it 11 It is instrumentally good 12 It is sanctified to the Soul ibid A fruit of Gods love 13 Good annexed to it 14 Good of Promise ibid Good of Evidence 15 Good of Blessing ibid Affliction cannot make a man evil 140 Affliction may stand with Gods love 266 Affliction to sinners the beginning and forerunner of all evil 336 337. Ripens them for destruction 337 It is not mercy to be delivered from affliction when we are in a sinful way 439 It is sometimes a judgement not to be afflicted 443 Approve God approves no sin 38 Abstain Some abstain from sin for fear of Affliction only 523 Avoid Some sin to avoid affliction 526 Authority Sin resists Gods Authority 65 Attributes Sin wrongs God in his Attributes 58 They plead against sinners 67 Alsufficiency Sin wrongs God in his Alsufficiency 59 B Beams Beams of Gods wisdom in the light of nature 63 Bitterness Sin makes affliction bitter 330 Bless Saints bless God for afflictions 16 Not for sin ibid Bless God for Christ 482 Burden Christs burden 127 Sin a burden to heaven and earth 321 Beast A sinner worse than a beast 370 371 Bondage Sinners in bondage to the Devil 264 265 Bounds No bounds to be set to our love of God and hatred of sin 350 351 352. C Capable Sin is not capable of good 17 Men and Angels only capable of sin 73 Charge Job's false charge 1 Saints must charge their hearts 54 Choice Sin a worse choice than affliction 2 The wicked choice 60 Conscience Conscience must not be strain'd 21 Trouble of Conscience being overcome if men return to sin they are worse 91 Make Conscience of all sins 450 Conscience troubled for sin what 385 c. It is the beginning of the second death 399 409 Cry Saints cry unto God 16 Creator Sin wrongs God as a Creator 69 Contrary Nothing contrary to God but sin 35 Contraries seek the destruction one of another 53 Cause God no cause of sin 37 Creature Creature comforts in order to God 38 All Creatures against sinners 289 The Devil the lowest Creature 364 Curse Christ made a Curse 131 Sinners under the Curse 291 Sin is a Curse ibid Sin brings a Curse upon the whole world 321 Sin brings a Curse upon al evil 331 Comforts Of wicked men what 279 No comfort by sin 432 Confusion Sin would bring all to confusion 323 Conformity To Christ in sufferings to the Devil in sin 355 356 357 358. Condemnation Sin brings men under the sentence of it 277 Condemnation not recalled but transmitted to Christ 278 Communion With God what 254 Converse They fit to converse that live the same life 254 255 Covenant The Covenant of Grace keeps sin from taking away the Image of God in the regenerate 256 Consequence Of the Law and Gospel 492 Course Some get from affliction by sinful courses 534 D Death Sin the Death of the soul 255 Deliberation Sin needs no deliberation because wholly evil 29 Disease Sin compared to a disease 257 Despise Sin is despising of God 46 Who despise their souls 310 Destruction Sin seeks Gods destruction 54 Devil The Devil better than a base lust 61 Sin is Originally from the Devil 358 359 Lay not all upon the Devil 360 Sins reference to the Devil 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 Do Few men know what they do when they sin against God 8 Deceive The way of the wicked deceiveth 294 Deliver Delivering up to Satan what 377 Some bless themselves in sins after their deliverance from Affliction 536 Dealings God 's dealings with the wicked and godly are different 440 Draw Draw not others to sin 492 Defile Sin defileth the soul 262 It defileth all things man meddleth with ibid Delight vide Joy Delight in sins dreadful 462 463 c. God takes delight in the souls that converse with him 255 Departing Sin a departing from God 285 Despair Despair is not from the depth of humiliation 86 But from want of it ibid Divorce It is hard to make a divorce between sin and the soul 90 Displeasure Gods displeasure against sin 113 Against Angels 114 Against Men 117 Manifested in his law 118 In its Terror and Curse 119 In his severity against smal sins 119 120 121 His Wrath Hell 122 Gods dealing also with his fore-shews his displeasure against sin 123 124 c. Gods displeasure with his people 438 439 Deceit Against deceit 466 E Enemy Who Gods enemies 48 To whom God an enemy 285 286 All the Creatures are enemies to sinners 288 289 Encourage Saints encouraged to bear afflictions 17 End Men think of three good ends in committing of sin 18 No good
and earth This is a great Mystery Secondly It hath no good of Causallity that is Sin is so evil as it can bring forth no good Afflictions bring forth good Sin is such an evil as it cannot be made good not an instrument for good Afflictions are made instrumental for good Object No wil you say Cannot God bring good out of sin And doth not God bring good out of sin Answ To this I Answer True God brings good out of sin that is Occasionally but not Instrumentally He may take occasion to bring good out of sin committed but mark God never makes sin an instrument for good for an instrument comes under somwhat as an Efficiency for an instrument gives some power towards the Effect but thus God never useth sin God never made sin an instrument of any good that is that sin should have any power any influence into that good effect that God brings out of it as Afflictions have God doth not only take occasion by Afflictions to do his people good but he makes them Channels to convey the Mercies to their Souls And thus Afflictions have an instrumental efficacy in them to do men good Therefore saith the Holy Ghost in Heb. 12. He Chastens them for their profit that they might be partakers of his holiness The greatest good the Creature is capable of Affliction is made oftentimes the instrument to convey And in Isa 27. By this the iniquity of Jacob shal be purged That is by this as an instrument but sin is never thus Sin is never sanctified by God to do good to any Soul Afflictions are sanctified by God to do good therefore sin is a greater evil than affliction sin is so evil that it is not capable of any work of God to sanctifie it for good but no Afflictions are so evil but that they are capable of a work of God to sanctifie theâ—…r abundance of good This is the Second Thirdly Sin hath greater evil than Affliction in the rise of it there is no good principle whence sin comes but there are good principles from whence Afflictions arise as thus Whom he loves he chastens he chastens every Son whom he receives so that Chastisement hath a principle of Love but it cannot be said whom God Loves he suffers to fal into Sin that this can be a fruit of his Love it can never be said that it is a fruit of Gods love that such a man or woman commits sin but it may be said it is a fruit of Gods Love that such a man or woman is afflicted therefore there is more good in Afflictions than there is in Sin Nay observe this Many times God doth not afflict a man or woman because he doth not Love them but it can never be said God suffers not a man or woman to sin because he doth not love them I say There is many a man or woman goeth on in a prosperous Condition and they meet not with such Afflictions as others meet withal and the Reason is Because God hath not such a love to them as to other men but it cannot be said thus That there be such men that keep them selves from such sins that others do wallow in therfore they do it because God hath not such a love to them as to others it cannot be said so but it may be said such be not afflicted so much as others because God doth not love them as well as others It is a dreadful fruit of Gods hatred that he doth not afflict them but it is not a fruit of his hatred â—ot to let them fall into sin I remember a Speech an Ancient hath upon that place of Hosea I will not punish their Daughters when they commit Adultery Hos 4. 14. saith he Oh dismal wrath of God that God will not afflict them and punish them But now if this be so that want of afflictions may come from Gods wrath and the being put into affliction may come from Gods love certainly then there is not so much evil in affliction as is in sin for it can never be said so of sin Fourthly There is no good anexed to sin as is to affliction as thus 1 Not the good of promise 2 ly Not the good of Evidence 3 ly Not the good of Blessing anexed to Sin as is to Affliction 1. As now Afflictions hath abundance of Promises I wil be with you in the Fire and in the Water And by this shal the iniquity of Jacob be purged and I could spend the remainder of the Book to open the many great Promises God hath annexed to Afflictions but God hath not annexed any Promise of good to Sin when God afflicts then you may challenge Gods Promise Psal 119. 75. saith David In very faithfulness hast thou afflicted me O Lord this is but a fruit of thy Promise Afflictions and thou art faithful in Afflicting but sin hath no Promise annexed to it Yet it may be you wil say that all shal work together for the good of them that love God But this doth not go in way of a Promise this Scripture will not beat it though it be true God may occasionally work good to his people by Sin but this Scripture cannot bear it that there is any Promise for it in that place For First it is against the Scope of that Text for the Scope of that place is to uphold the hearts of Gods people in Afflictions For he saith All things but Sin is no thing and all things work together and so he speaks of that which hath an Efficacy in it that will together with God work for good but sin hath not any Efficacy to work on for God will not work by that That is one thing then Affliction hath the good of Promise annexed to it but so hath not Sin therefore there is some good in Affliction but none in Sin 2 ly Affliction hath the good of Evidence God makes our Afflictions signs of our Son ship and Adoption If you be not afflicted then are you Bastards and not Sons And Phil. 1. Be not troubled or terrified trouble of the Saints is an evidence of Salvation to them but a token of their perdition who are the terrifiers or troublers of them but a sign of your Salvation But it is not so of sin 3 ly Further There is a Blessing propounded to Afflictions Blessed be those that mourn and blessed be the man whom thou Chastisest and teachest in thy Law but there is no blessing allowed to Sin it is not capable of it there is not that good annexed to sin that is to affliction and therefore Affliction is to be Chosen rather than Sin And from hence see the different working of the hearts of the Saints under their Sin and under their Affliction That follows from this Head That there is some good annexed to Affliction that is not to Sin 1. First Hence it follows That the Saints can Cry to God with Liberty of Spirit under Affliction but they cannot
be those that in hearing tremble and beleeve and do not come to know by experience that dreadful evil in them If God should in his infinite wisdom have studied as one may so speak from all Eternity to have found out a way to have presented sin to be dreadful to the Children of men we could not conceive how infinite Wisdom should from all eternity have found out an Argument to manifest the evil of sin more or so much as in the sufferings of Jesus Christ So that in them God doth as it were say Wel I see wretched Men and Women will not beleeve the evil of sin well among other Arguments I will have one that if possible shall Convince all wicked hard hearts in the world to make them see what sin is and that is in my Son in my dealings with my Son and that wrath of mine I shall lay upon my Son this shall make it appear to them what sin is Now if God have done this on purpose to render Sin odious and abominable and a most dreadful Evil Oh wo then to that Soul that after all this shall go on in waies of Sin pleasingly and delightfully and easily entertain Sin THE SECOND PART OF THIS TREATISE Sin is most opposite to Mans Good and far more opposite to the Good of man than Affliction IT may be by all that hath been said of Sins being against God the hearts of some at least may not be so much as turned therefore now we come to shew how sin is against the Good of Man not only against God but against our selves Certainly Brethren Sin makes the Sinner to be in an evil case from that which hath been said we may conclude That of a truth a sinner a wicked man or woman must needs be in an evil case This is the Subject which I am to open What an evil case sin brings our selves into and thereby we shall see that sin is a greater Evil than Affliction Though we have spent divers Exercises upon this yet it is as various as if we had several Texts Now this is the Argument to demonstrate That a sinner doth not only dishonor and strike at God but sin is against his own soul against his own life against his own peace and comfort against his own happiness he doth undo himself by sin This is that which I am now to declare to you and for the opening of this divers Particulars offer themselves to be handled CHAP. XXIV First Sin make a man evil but no affliction can make him so 1 Those that are in affliction are not the worse 2 But those that are wicked are vile persons though they be the greatest Princes FIrst more Generally thus Sin is against Man more than any Affliction For First Sin makes a man to be evil no Affliction makes him to be evil but only Sin I beseech you observe it a man or woman is not a worse man or woman because afflicted not worse than they were before but sin makes the man or the woman to be worse and there is a great deal in this to shew the evil of sin to be beyond the evil of affliction Take a man that is never so sorely afflicted suppose the affliction to be as grievous as the afflictions of Job suppose a man scraping off his Sores upon the dunghil as Job did this Affliction makes him not a worse man than he was before only it may occasion sin somtimes and so make him worse but take Job considered in his afflictions only and he was not a worse man than in the greatest prosperity when the Candle of the Lord shined upon him and all his parts only it occasioned some sin in Job otherwise he had not been the worse and in conclusion he was not the worse for as it occasioned some sin so it stirred up a great deal of grace as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 8. 8 9. For neither if we eat are we the better neither if we eat not are we the worse So I may say of all outward things in the world If a man have riches it makes him not the better if he be in poverty it makes him not the worse if he have honor he is not better if disgrace he is not worse his condition may be worse but himself not at all the worse Therfore you shall observe it that when the Scriptures speaks of Gods people afflicted yet it speaks of them as most honorable and in a most excellent condition notwithstanding their afflictions but when it speaks of some in great prosperity but wicked it speaks of them as most contemptible and vile I will give you an example of each the most remarkable in all the Book of God 1 Those that are most sorely afflicted yet to shew that they are not the worse for their afflictions see the 11. Heb. 36 37 38. verses I suppose you that are acquainted with the Word of God know the story that the Christians went up and down the world in Sheep Skins and Goats Skins Persecuted and afflicted and dwelling in the Caves of the Earth they had tryals of cruel mockings and scourgings yea moreover of bands and imprisonment they were stoned they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the sword they wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins being destitute afflicted tormented What can be said be more of affliction if affliction can make a man miserable surely these must needs be miserable They were mocked and slouted and made the off-scouring of the World driven from house and home and went in sheep skins and goat skins many think themselves miserable if they cannot go fine and brave these went in sheep skins and goat skins and were sawen asunder miserably tormented and afflicted It may be some will say certainly these were in a most miserable condition now mark the next words of the holy Ghost Of whom the world was not worthy they were under such sore afflictions and yet they were such excellent persons as the world was not worthy of them in their worst condition they were so excellent that the world was not worthy of them They were thought to be such as were not worthy to live in the world thus the evil world thought of them but mark the difference of the Judgment of God from the Judgment of the World the World thinks they are so vile that they are not worthy to live in the World and God thinks they are so excellent that the World is not worthy that they should live amongst them I remember Chrysostom hath this upon it That they were so excellent as all the men in the world were not worth one of them put all the other men in the world together and they were not worth so much as at least a few of these afflicted persecuted tormented Christians as if he should say do you see a company of poor Creatures walking in sheep skins and goat skins and live in caves and dens of the Earth look upon
them and take all the men of the World Kings Princes and Monarchs rich men and mighty Captains of the World all other men and put them all together they are not all worth these few poor Creatures that go up and down in sheep skins and goat skins Thus afflictions make not a man a pin the worse Man he is exceeding glorious in Gods eyes notwithstanding Afflictions 2 But now secondly Come to Sin let there be Sin although a man have never so much outward prosterity and glory in the world he is a most vile abominable Creature when sinful See one famous example for this parallel to this on the other side in the Prophesie of Daniel 11. Dan. verse 2. And there shall stand up a VILE Person Now who is this Vile Person that the holy Ghost speaks of It is according to Interpreters Antiochus Epiphanus the great King of Assyria and his very name signifies Illustrious so the word Epiphanus signifies Illustrious Famous Glorious so that he hath these two Titles the great King of Assyria and the great King Famous Illustrious Glorious And Josephus writing of this man hath this story That the Samaritans when they saw how he persecuted the Jews they sought his favor and would not own themselves Jews and they writ to Antiochus the mighty God this was their Title in a Letter they sent to him Antiochus the mighty God Well now see here is one that hath outward glory enough the great King of Assyria Antiochus Famous Illustrious that hath the Title of the mighty God but now because he is a wicked man the Scripture saith there shall a vile Person arise a vile Person notwithstanding his greatness let him be never so glorious a King and called the mighty God yet a vile Person I beseech you in your thoughts put these two Scriptures together these that go up and down in sheep skins and goat skins are such that the World is not worthy of and Antiochus the gloriousest King in the World in Gods Judgment is a vile Person Thus you see Afflictions make not a man worse but under them he may be as good as he was before and prosperity makes not a man better but he may be as vile in prosperity as he was before therfore though a man may have his Estate encrease and his Estate bettered yet he is not better We speak of such or such Oh he is the best man in the Parish or the best man in the Town What do you mean by that Oh he hath so much by the year and so great a stock at Sea he is Owner of Ships and hath part of so many Ships and he is a great man worth so much true his Estate is worth somthing but he if he be a wicked man is worth nothing In the mean time Oh he is worth so much Yea but you are deceived his Mony or his Land is worth so much or his Ships are worth so much but he is worth nothing himself therfore the Scripture speaks of the wicked Prov 10. 20. The heart of the wicked is little worth Now the Heart of a man that is his Soul and that is the man the Mind of a man is the man the Spirit that is the man now the heart of the wicked is little worth his house and his Land may be worth somthing but the heart of the wicked he himself is worth nothing So that Sin makes a man an evil man but Afflictions doth not make him Evil therefore Sin is more against the good of a Man than Afflictions possibly can be This is the first CHAP. XXV Secondly Sin is more opposite to the Good of man than Afflictions because most opposite to the Image of God in man three Particulars instanced and a Question resolved SEecondly This will come more close and particularly to demonstrate it more plainly to you how that Sin is more against the good of a man than ever Afflictions and troubles can be Because sin is most against the Image of God in man most opposite unto the Image of God in man it defaceth that Image therefore it must needs be a greater evil than Afflictions For Brethren of all Creatures in the world that God made Angels and Men were the only Creatures that God stamped his Image upon for as it is with Princes they use not to stamp their Image if they be glorious magnificent Princes they use not to stamp their Image upon Brass or Copper or Leather upon base Mettals but upon pure Mettals Gold or Silver and it is a sign the State grows low when the Kings Image must be stamped upon lower Mettals So here God would have his Image stamped upon some of his Creatures now he would not take the lowest meanest Creatures but God takes the most excellent Creatures as I may so say Gold and Silver the Angels I may compare to Gold and the Children of Men to Silver and God makes the same Image as the same Image that is upon the Gold is upon the Silver God makes the same upon Man that is upon the Angels the same Image of God that makes the Angels glorious Creatures doth make Man kind to be glorious too in the same Image and our Natures be capable of the very same Image of God that the Angels themselves have and this is the excellency of Man-kind Now it is needful to shew the excellency of Gods Image in man that so I may shew you the evil of Sin in that it defaceth such an excellency of man and therfore it is more against the good of man than any affliction can be 1 Now the Image of God in Man is a glorious excellency for it is that whereby men come to resemble God in his highest excellency it is not a likeness unto God in some inferior thing for though it be true all in God is alike glorious yet to our apprehensions some things appear more glorious than other now the Image of God in Man is that whereby Man resembles God in that which doth appear to be the highest Excellency in God himself For as in an Image or Picture of a Man when I draw the Image of a Man I draw not the resemblance of a Man in in some inferior thing but I labor to draw the lively countenance in that is the greatest excellency of a man And so in the Image of God now the Image of God is the Holiness of God and so in mans soul the impression of Gods own Holiness that is the Image of God in man and by that man comes to resemble God in the top of his glory and excellency Now this must needs be glorious for the Creature to come so neer unto God as is possible for the Creature for there is no excellency any Creature is capable of higher than the Image of God only that Hypostatical union of the two Natures 2 Upon this God must needs take an infinite delight in looking upon the souls of the Children of men as you