â—s small Sins yet they still plod on in â—he way to Hell and Destruction without any stop or interruption In sharp Diseases the violence of the Fit doth not â—ast so long as the Disease lasts at times â—here is an Intermission but still there is â— constant Distemper in the Body So when the pang of a violent Sin is well over yet still there remains a constant Distemper in the Soul which though it be not outragious yet still continues the Souls Disease and will bring it to its Death at last In the Fortification of a City or Town all the Ramparts are not Castles and Strong holds but between Fort and Fort there is a Line drawn thaâ— doth as it were joyn all together anâ— makes the place Impregnable So is â— in the Fortification of the Soul by Sin all Sins are not Strong holds of Sathan they are greater and grosser Sins but between these is drawn a line of smalleâ— Sins so close that you cannot find â— Breach in it and by these the Heart iâ— fenced against God Now is it nothing that your Little Sins fill up all the voiâ— spaces of your Lives Is it nothing thaâ— you no where lie open to the force and impression of the Holy Spirit He by his Convictions batters the greater and more hainous Sins of your Lives buâ— these Strong holds of Sathan are Impregnable and give him the repulse he seeks to enter in by the Thoughts but these are so fortified by Vanity and Earthly mindedness and a thousand other Follies that though they are but Little Sins yet swarms of them stop up the passage and the Soul is so full already that there is no room for the Holy Spirit to enter There 's not a sinner here that if he will make an Impartial search within him but will find the experience of this in his own breast When at any â—me you have flown out into the Commission of any boisterous and notorious Wickedness have you not afterwards â—und that you live in a more constant â—king and allowance of little Sins When â—nce a Man is stunn'd by some heavy â—ow a small nip or pinch is not then felt â—y him And when once Conscience is â—eadned by the stroak of some great and â—andalous Sin afterwards it grows less â—ensible of the guilt and evil that there â— in smaller Sins and thus you live in â—hem without pain and regret till you â—ll into some notorious Wickedness that â—ore hardens the Heart and more fears â—he Conscience and what is this but to â—n round from Sin to Sin from a small â—in to a great Sin and from a great Sin â—o a small Sin again till Hell put a peâ—iod to this Circle what is this now â—ut for the Devil to get ground upon â—ou by great Sins and to keep it by little Sins whereby he drives on and keeps up â—he trade of Sin and when God shall â—ast up your Accounts for you at the last Day you will find that the Trade hath â—gain'd you no small loss even the loss of â—our Immortal Souls Now although â—he evil and danger of committing little Sins hath been made very apparent in the forementioned particulars yet because Men are very prone to indulge and excuse themselves herein I shall add some farther Demonstrations of their aggravated Guilt in these following particulars Which will serve greatly for the confirmation of the truth of the Doctrine Little Sins usually are the damning Sins First Consider little Sins usually are the damning and destroying Sins There are more beyond comparison that perish and go down to Hell by the Commission of little Sins than by those that are more Notorious and Infamous here perisheth the Hypocrite and here the formal Professor here perisheth your honest civil neighbourly Man that is so fair and upright in his dealing that you can see nothing that is gross and scandalous by him Oh! but yet the blood of their precious and Immortal Souls runs out and is spilt for ever thorough those insensible wounds that little Sins do make Yea hereby commonly perisheth the Prophane Sinner also for it is usually but the Commission of one small Sin more that fills up the measure of their â—niquities and makes them fully ripe â—or Damnation sometimes indeed God â—oth by some signal Stroke of his Vengeance strike the sinner through and â—hrough in the Commission of some bold â—nd daring Sin but usually the last Sin â—f the worst of Men is but of the lesser â—ze and though God hath formerly â—orn many great impieties from such â—ersons yet is he at last so provoked by â—ome little Sin that he will wait no lonâ—er but snatcheth the sinner away in his â—rath and throws him down into Hell This is an Argument how dreadfully â—rovoking small Sins are that usually â—pon the Commission of one of them God puts an end to his patience and forâ—earance It is not all the great and crying â—ins of a Mans Life that brings so much misery upon him as a little Sin that â—nks him down into Eternal Torments â—oth Usually the last Sin that a sinner â—nters into Hell by is but a little Sin Take it therefore as a warning from God â—enceforth never more despise any Sin â—s slight because it is small We have a â—nown Proverb among us that when a â—east hath his full load one straw more will break his Back Believe it sirs it is most certainly true in the present Case many Christians have been a long time sinners against God and their own Souls adding iniquity to iniquity and some oâ— you may already have your full load â— beware how you ever venture upon thâ— Commission of another Sin though it bâ— but a little and a slight Sin yet this slighâ— and small Sin added to the rest may breaâ— and sink you for ever into Hell thiâ— little Sin may fill up the Ephah of youâ— iniquities and after this small Sin yoâ— may neither have time to Sin again noâ— to Repent of your Sin Little Sins what they want in weight they do more than make up innumber Secondly Consider this Small Sin what they want in weight usually they do more than make up in number and therefore are as pernicious to the Souâ— as the greatest Sins can be Hence David prays Psal 19.12 Who can understand his errours cleanse thou me from secret Sins Psal 19.12 Secret Sins must needs bâ— the least and smallest Sins seeing they are so small that he that commits then cannot discern them but yet as they are small so are they numerous whâ— knows how often he thus transgresseth whâ— can understand his errours Therefore cleanse thou me O Lord from these secret â—ins A Ship may have a heavy burâ—en of Sands as well as of Milstones and â—ay be as soon sunk with them And â—uly small Sins though they should be â— small as Sands yet commonly they â—e as numerous as the Sands too and â—hat odds then is there between
if a Man should therefore burn his House down about him because it wants repairing Is there none among us now that when we have sinned against light and against convictions sit down under this despairing temptation That it is in vain for us ever to make head against such a lust more it will prevail and why should we not therefore give up our selves to it truly what you have been tempted unto others have practised and because the stream of their corruptions is violent they therefore spread out their arms to it and suffer themselves to be carried down by it into the gulph of Perdition resolving to run after the stream and current of their own corruptions because they find it so strong despairing of ever subduing them having been so often overcome by them To despair of obtaining pardon for them Secondly The frequent commission of presumptuous sins makes Men despair of ever obtaining pardon for them and that hardens them in resolutions to continue in them and then they cry out with Cain My iniquity is greater than can be forgiven Despair of pardon oftentimes exasperates to more and greater offences as if a Thief when he is robbing of a Man should argue with himself if I am detected of this robbery it will cost me my life and if I murther him I can but lose my life just so do many argue My sins are already so many and so great that I cannot avoid damnation for them I see my Name pricked down among Reprobates it is but in vain for me to struggle against my own fate and God's decrees it is too nice a scruple since God hath given me up to the Devil for me not to give up my self to sin and so away they go to sin and sin at random desperately and resolvedly oh horrid hardness that when the thoughts of Hell use to quench and allay the wickedness of other Men when it is most furious yet these wretches never think of Hell but that that Eternal Fire inflames their lusts and the thoughts of their own destruction doth even confirm them in the practice of those very sins that destroy them and yet to this pass doth the commission of presumptuous sins bring many a wretched Soul in the World to Why now resolution to sin out of despair is to sin as the Devil sins indeed it is to give the Devil's image in the Soul it's last flourish The Devils and the damned Spirits as they lie always smothering and burning in Hell so they always hear that dreadful sound For ever thus for ever thus and because their Chains are made strong and eternal by an Almighty Decree this makes them implacable they fret and look upward and curse that God that hath plunged them into those torments from which Hell will never free them this makes them desperate in their resolutions to sin because they despair of ever bettering their condition beware therefore least you also by frequent commissions of Presumptuous Sins be given up to Hellish despair such as this is so to despair of mercy as at the same time to provoke and defie Justice and that 's the first great danger of sinning presumptuously it will make Men resolute either thorough security or thorough despair to continue in sin Secondly Presumptuous Sins make men impudent and shameless in Sin Presumptuous Sins as they steel the heart with most desperate resolutions so they also brazen the face with most shameless impudency All shame ariseth from the apprehension of some evil suspected of us or discovered in us and the eyes that can discover it are either the Eyes of God and Angels or the Eyes of Men like our selves Now all presumptuous Sinners are grown bold and impudent as to God and Angels though God be present with them in the closest secrecy though his Eye sees them in the thickest darkness yet this doth not at all over-awe them they dare sin even before his Face that must Judge them and if some of them be yet so modest as to conceal their wickedness from the notice of Men yet they are also so foolish and bold as not to regard God's seeing them in comparison of whom to sin in the sight of the whole World is but to sin in secret but yet the frequency of presumptuous sinning will also quickly cause them to abandon this shame too and to outface the Face of Men which they more dread than they do the Face of God or Angels The Lord himself takes notice of the impudency of such Men and certainly every Sinner hath cause to blush when God calls him impudent In Jeremy 6.15 says God there were they ashamed when they had committed all these abominations nay they were not at all ashamed neither could they blush and in Jer. 3.3 they have a Whores forehead and they refuse to be ashamed and in Isaiah 3.9 the shew of their countenance says God doth witness against them they declare their sin as Sodom Three degrees of shamelesness in sinning they hid it not There are three degrees of shamelessness in sinning to which many of our grosser Sinners do arise A committing foul sins publickly First Those that will dare to commit foul sins even publickly and knowingly Some Men lose half the pleasure of their sins unless others may know how wicked they are and how far they dare affront the Almighty the Swearer swears not in secret where none can hear him but in Company and calls Men to witness as well as God the Drunkard reels in our Streets in mid day and is ready to discharge his vomit in the faces of all that he meets with truly presumptuous sinning will at last grow to publick sinning not only at the last day that which hath been done in secret shall be divulged upon the house top but many times even in this life those sins that at first wicked Men darst not commit but in secret where no eye sees them after a while they are grown bolder and will act and own them before all Men. Secondly A boasting and glorying in sins when committed Others are advanced farther and not only sin openly but they boast and glory in their sins also the Apostle in Philippians 3.19 speaks of them whose glory was in their shame they boast as if they had done some notable exploit when alas they have only murthered a poor Soul of their own that lay drawing on towards its death before Thirdly A boasting in sins they dare not commit There are others so shameless that they boast of those very wickednesses that they never darst to commit As cowards brag of their exploits in such and such a combat which yet they never darst engage in so there are a generation in the World who dare not for the terror of their consciences commit a sin that yet will boast that they have committed it as if it were a generous and honourable thing to be called and accounted a daring Sinner shall I call these Men or
observe these following particulars First Consider this that we and all Mankind were in Adam not only as in our common Parent from whom we received our Being but as in our Common Head Surety and Representative from whom we were to receive either our well or our ill Being he was the Head of the Covenant both he and we were Parties in the Covenant he obeying we obeyed and he sinning we transgressed what he did as in this publick capacity was not alone his Personal Act but it was ours also Now what Right Adam had to Indent for his Posterity and to oblige them to the Terms of the Covenant I have long since opened to you on another occasion and I shall therefore pass it by now Secondly The Threatning annexed to the Covenant of Works was Death In the Day thou Eatest thereof says God thou shalt surely Die Gen. 2.17 Now there is a Threefold Death that by the violation of this Command Man was subject unto A Temporal Death onsisting in the Miseries of this Life and at last a separation of the Soul from the Body An Eternal Death consisting in the everlasting separation of the Soul from God and a Spiritual Death consisting in the loss and separation of God's Image from the Soul And upon Adam's Sin this Threefold Death was Threatned namely Temporal Spiritual and Eternal Of these Three the Spirituaâ— Death was presently inflicted upon Man's Fall consisting in the separation of the Image of God from the Soul Man waâ— immediately deprived of that Holiness and perfect Righteousness wherein the Image of God did consist Then Thirdly Observe No Action can be Holy that doth not flow from the Image of God in the Soul as from its principle Every Action is sinful that hath not the Glory of God for its end now no Action can have the Glory of God for its end that hath not the Image oâ— God for its principle and therefore Man being despoiled of this Image of God there is no Action of any Man in the state of Nature but what is sinful and corrupt And hence it is that in Regeneration God again stamps his Image upon the Soul not indeed so perfectly as at Man's first Creation but yet in such a degree as doth thorough Grace enable him to Act Holily and in some measure according to the will of God Fourthly Though Man be despoiled of the Image of God and cannot Act Holily yet he is a busie and active Creature and must and will be still acting he hath an active Nature and he hath active Faculties still left him though the Image of God that should make those Actions Holy is justly taken from him And here at last we have traced out the true cause of that strong propension that there is in all Men unto Sin While the Soul enjoyed the Image of God it sought especially to do all in reference unto God but now that it hath lost that Image it cannot any longer raise up its Actions to a suitableness to the Will of God and therefore now it sinks them and seeks only to please its own Carnal Desires and Appetite Take the whole resolution of it in Two or Three Words The Nature of the Soul makes it prone and inclined to Act for it is a busie active Creature and if it Acts it must Sin because it hath not the Image of God to raise its Actions to a Holy and Divine conformity to the Will of God and therefore now to be prone to act is to be prone to sin and this is the true ground of that strong Propension that is in all Men to that which is evil and sinful Quest But You will say if this proneness to sin be from the loss of God's Image how comes it to pass that those who are renewed again according to the Image of God do still complain of this strong proneness and propension to sin Answ To this I answer that those of fallen Mankind to whom God is pleased to restore his Image in regeneration accordingly as this Image is more or less perfect so is this proneness to sin more or less strong but because the best are but in part renewed therefore this sinful proneness is but in part destroyed in the best Grace weakens it but Grace doth not quite remove it and therefore the holiest Christian hath and shall have as long as he lives in this World ' cause to complain with the Apostle Romans 7. 23. I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind there is a carnal sensual inclination in him strongly swaying him to sin contrary to the bent and inclination of his renewed part and therefore he shall have cause still to cry out with the Apostle Oh wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death because the Image of God is but in part restored in him therefore there is partly also an inclination in him to sin Yea but you will say possibly this inclination in the best Christians may be to smaller and lesser sins Object but it cannot be thought that a Child of God who is renewed again according to the Image of God should have a strong proneness and inclination to those foul sins that the wicked of the World lie in To this I answer Answ the most that Grace doth in the best of God's Children in this life is to weaken and lessen that natural propension that is in a Child of God to every sin but not to destroy that Propension to any one sin at all no not to the foulest and vilest sins The Old Man in this life never loseth one limb though it be weakned and consuming away in his whole body Take a Child of God that before his Conversion had a strong Propension to any sin suppose what sin you will though never so foul and horrid the same Propension still remains It is not indeed so violent and raging as it was but there it is it is abated and overcome by Grace but still there is the same proneness to sin it may be a Christian is not so sensible of this Propension to sin not so frequently as formerly he hath but yet the experience of the best sometimes can inform them that even to the worst sins and most horrid temptations they find a faction and party in their hearts to promote them and it is as much work as Grace can do to subdue and quell these great sins I now come to enquire into the grounds and reasons why God should suffer this proneness to sin to continue in his dearest Saints and Children after their Conversion and Regeneration possibly some may think it would have been far more conducible to God's glory as well as their own peace and comfort if God had at once at their first Conversion utterly destroyed all the seeds and remainders of corruption in them and at first made them as perfectly holy as they shall be at last hereby God would not have been so
a Vessel that is full of new Liquor upon the least Vent given works over into foam and froth so truly our hearts almost upon every slight trivial Temptation makes that inbred Corruption that lodgeth there swell and boil and run over into abundance of Scum and Filth in our Lives and Conversations Have we not great cause therefore to be jealous and suspicious of our selves and to keep a watchful eye over all the motions of those Bosom-Traitors our own hearts He that trusteth to his own heart says Solomon is a Fool Prov. 28.25 Certainly it were the greatest Folly in the World to trust our Hearts after so frequent experience of their Treachery and Slipperiness venture them not therefore upon Temptations What Security have you that your sinful Hearts will not sin yea and it may be betray you into such great Abominations as you cannot now think of without horrour as Men presume upon the Mercy of God to pardon their lesser Sins so they presume also upon their own strength to preserve them from greater Sins they say of small Sins is it not a little one and our Souls shall live And they say of great Sins is it not a great one and our Souls shall never commit it Alas how know you but if once you lay your head in the Lap of a Temptation these Philistines will be upon you and you like Samson think to go and shake your selves as at other times but alas your great strength is departed from you and you left a Prey to the foulest and worsâ— of Sins whatsoever And thus now you have seen in David's Prayer the besâ— Saints proneness to the worst Sins The next Thing observable is The best Saints Weakness and Inability to preserve themselves without the assistance of Divine Grace and both these namely their proneness to commit Sin and their weakness to resist it are evident Demonstrations of the general Proposition the Almighty Grace of God is their best yea and their only Security Now as the Bottom and Foundation of this present Exercise I shall lay down this Point to be treated of Doct. That it is not a Christians own but God's Power only that can preserve him from the Commission of the most daring and presumptuous Sins Advantages that men have to keep themselves from presumptuous Sins And yet truly if any Sins are easie to be resisted and overcome they are the Sins of the grosser sort for many times it is with Sins as with over-grown Bodies the vaster the Bulk of them is the less is their force and activity The Soul hath great advantage to lay hold on great Sins and to keep them off at Arms length when less Sins flip in and seize upon the heart unperceivably For First Presumptuous Sins give warning to prepare for resistance Great and presumptuous Sins seldom make an assault upon the Soul but they give warning before-hand to prepare for resistance The Stratagems of War if they are but discovered they usually prove unsuccessful as strong Liquors taking vent lose their strength and spirits so is it in this holy War also the Soul may easily foresee gross Sins and therefore may more easily avoid them If a Man feels in himself sinful Thoughts stirring and sinful Desires strugling hereupon an Assault is made and the Devil hereby gives us warning what Sins we should especially watch against Are they lascivious Thoughts Beware of Vncleanness Are they wrathful Thoughts Beware of Murther Are they murmuring thoughts Beware of Blasphemy Are they worldly Thoughts and Desires Beware of Oppression and Injustice Thus these Giant-like Sins stand forth in view and send open defiance to the Soul and bid it prepare for the Combat sinful thoughts and sinful desires go before as Armour-bearers use to go before their Champions and proclaim what great Lust is about to make an Assault upon the Soul Now such fore-warnings as these are is a great advantage that we have to repel and subdue them Job 34.32 That which I see not teach thou me And what follows Why If I have done iniquity I will do so no more When a man sees his Enemy before him this is a mighty advantage either to avoid or to conquer This Advantage now we have not against smaller Sins we cannot so easily escape sins of Ignorance because we cannot see them nor yet the Sins of our Thoughts and Desires because we cannot foresee them Who of us all knows what Thoughts will next bubble up in our Hearts whether holy and gracious or whether sinful and prophane These strike without warning and as an Enemy within rise up in the midst of our Hearts unseen Sins are of two sorts either such by which we are tempted or such to which we are tempted The Devil makes use of one Sin to tempt to another of a less to tempt to a greater â—hus wicked Thoughts are at once sins â—n themselves and also temptations unâ—o wicked Actions Now it is very hard â—nd the best Christians find it so to keep â—hemselves free from sinful Thoughts â—ecause these spring up immediately in â—he Heart without any foregoing Temâ—tations to them but while the Devil â— tempting us to sinful Actions by sinful Thoughts then the Soul hath leisure to â—ecollect it self to muster up all its â—races to set its Guards to call in Diâ—ine Help and Assistance and upon â—hese Preparations it may more easily â—esist the Sin and overcome the Tempâ—tion and that 's one great Advantage â—e have to keep our selves from preâ—mptuous Sins Secondly Natural Conscience opposeth the commission of presumptuous Sins Natural Conscience also abâ—rs more and doth more oppose these â—trageous presumptuous Sins than it â—oth those Sins that it judgeth proceed â—ly from weakness and infirmity and this so gives us a mighty Advantage to keep â—r selves from them Little Sins do not â—uch disturb the peace and quietness of Man's Conscience and therefore the â—postle speaks of himself before his Conversion in Acts 23.1 I have lived says he in all good Conscience before God until this very day And so in Phil. 3.6 Touching the Law says he speaking oâ— himself before his Conversion I waâ— blameless How could that be What blameless and unconverted and in state of Nature Yes he was not guilty of notorious scandalous Sins and aâ— for lesser Faults his Conscience over look'd them and never blam'd him foâ— them and so truly is it with many moral Man his Conscience hath not word to say against all their small anâ— petty Sins let their Hearts be sensuaâ— and their Thoughts vain and their Diâ—course unsavoury and their Lives unprofitable yet still Conscience and the live very friendly together But let thâ— Devil tempt such a sober Sinner as thâ— is to Murther or Adultery or Drunkenness or some such branded Impiety Conscience then flings Fire-brands anâ— storms and cries out with Hazaeâ— What is thy Servant a Dog that he shouâ— do such things as these are As Subjecâ— pay to their
serious and pensive to think this is but the Pattern of what must befall themselves and that all this must shortly be acted upon them that they now see done unto others But since this Day presents us with no such Solemnity some perhaps may wonder that I have chosen this Text and Subject of Mortality to treat upon Indeed Custom hath made it almost improper to preach of Death without a Funeral and to speak to Men of their last End and Dissolution without setting before their Eyes an Example of it Look well therefore one upon another what are we all as it were but so many Corpses so many Spectacles of Mortality rather to be numbred among the Dead than among the Living every Day and Hour wears away part of our Lives and so much of them as is already spent so far are we already dead and buried This present moment is the longest measure of our Lives what is past is dead to us and what is to come is not yet born how soon God may put a final Period to our present state how few times more our Pulses may beat and this busie Breath in our Nostrils return to us again we know not so frail and so uncertain are our Lives that this may be truly a Funeral Sermon to some one of us before the close of it Since then we are all of us thus subject to the stroke of Death it can never be unseasonable to warn you that you be not surprized and taken by it unprovided In the Words now read you have the great Statute-Law of Heaven that Law that God hath passed upon all the Chil-of Men and that is That it is appointed to them once to die Now that I may make way to press upon you the serious consideration of your own Mortality let me briefly mark out some things that tend to the Explication of the Words And First In that the Proposition is laid down in the Text indefinitely It is appointed unto men it is that which is equivalent to an Universal and reacheth to all men It is appointed to all men once to die We read of two only in the whole Book of God that were exempted by an extraordinary Grace and peculiar Priviledge from this great Law of Dying and they were Enoch and Elias Of Enoch it is said Gen. 5.24 That he walked with God and he was not for God took him And of Elias it is said 2 Kin 2.11 That he went up by a Whirlwind into Heaven The great God after a strange and unusual manner tackt their temporal and eternal Life together making their Time run it self into Eternity without any period or interruption The Apostle also tells us 1 Cor. 15.51 52. That all shall not die to wit at the last Day at the last appearing of Jesus Christ there shall be a World full of Persons that shall not taste of Death All shall not die but all shall be changed in a moment in the twinckling of an Eye These are exempted and being excepted it is certain all the Generations of Men from the first Creation to the last Consummation of all things are all appointed by God unto Death Secondly All must die once All must die once but Believers do not die the second Death There is frequent mention made in Scripture of the first and second Death The first Death is the separation of the Soul from the Body The second Death is the separation of the Soul from God As the Union of the Soul and Body is the Life of Man so the Union of God with the Soul is the Life of the Soul Now Believers do not die this second Death Rev. 20.8 for on such as the Apostle speaks the second Death hath no power They are still united unto God after an unconceivable and ineffable manner As when Christ lay in the Grave though his Soul was truly separated from his Body yet both Soul and Body were hypostatically united to the Godhead so also though the natural Union between a Believer's Soul and Body be dissolved by Death yet both Soul and Body continue mystically united unto Christ even in their separation one from another It is not therefore this second but the first Death that all are appointed unto The Hand of Death must untie those secret and sweet Bands those vital Knots that fasten Soul and Body together must fall asunder one day in every Man All Men must die because Death is the punishment of Sin Thirdly It is appointed unto every Man to undergo this first Death It is decreed and ordained by God and that not upon the Account of any natural Necessity but for the Punishment of Sin The Apostle tells us plainly That by Sin Death entred into the World Death therefore is not so much a Debt due to Nature as a Debt due to the avenging Justice of God for though Man at first was created in pure Nature yet was he also created in a deathless State and Death siezeth upon us not as we are Men but as we are Sinners liable to the Curse of the Covenant of Works containing in it that Threatning In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die It is true Adam even before he sinned had in him the contemperation of the same contrary Qualities that we now have and so at least had also the remote Principles of Death but yet it is probable that he was created with such a Priviledge that he might by his own Will sway and over-rule the Jars and Discords of his elementary constitution and continue himself in Life as long as he should continue himself in Obedience however whether it was so or otherwise yet certain it is that Death came into the World as the punishment of Sin So then it is not primarily Man's Nature but Man's Sin and the Curse of the Law taking hold of him that brought in this necessity of dying Sin is not only the Sting but the Cause of Death and it gives it not only its Terrour but it s very Being also And therefore it is somewhat remarkable that among all the Creatures in the World Man only is termed Mortal most certain it is that other Creatures decay and perish as well as he yet among all perishing things Man only hath that wretched denomination of being Mortal and there is good reason for it since he alone of all perishing things being created immortal voluntarily subjected himself unto Death and by his own Fault brought upon himself that Name of Mortal as a Brand of perpetual Infamy And thus now I come to the Subject that I intend to insist upon and that is The Unavoidableness and Certainty of Death To go about to prove this were to lose so much time every one grants he must die All other Questions about Man are answered by Peradventures If it be demanded Whether such an Embryo shall see the Light What 's the Answer but perhaps it shall perhaps it shall not If it be
very dismal unto the minds of sinners yet is there far worse behind then all this still and that which carries in it far greater terrour and amazement and that is the sin that deserves Death and the Hell that follows it for as the Apostle says 1 Cor. 15.56 the sting of Death is sin And it s no wonder that Men who are conscious to themselves of condemning guilt dare not think of standing before the dreadful Tribunal of God and Death now is God's Serjeant to Arrest them and to bring them thither they cannot bear the thoughts of Eternal Vengeance and prepared Torments to be for ever inflicted on them by the Almighty Power of an incensed God and therefore it is no wonder that they put far from them the thoughts of Death because their Consciences tell them that that Day whensoever it comes will be to them an Evil Day Many more Reasons might be given of this brutishness of men in putting off the thoughts of Death and preparations for it but these shall suffice The next thing that I shall do shall be to lay down some Considerations that may fore-arm Christians against the Fears and Terrours of Death Considerations to arm men against the fears of Death and make them willing to submit unto this law of Dying unto which God hath subjected all men And First The soul is immortal and parting with this it enters into a better life If the Soul be immortal as certainly it is and that parting from this it enters upon a better Life than this we may well then be contented to Die upon that account No man says a Roman Author thinks Death is much to be avoided since Immortality follows Death I am very sensible how hard a task it is to perswade men to be willing to Die but yet let me ask you if you are believers for in this I speak only unto such what is there in Death that is so terrible to you I know it is monstrous and full of horrour if we consider nothing but the Corruption of the Flesh the gastly paleness the stiff cold and grim visage the distorted Eyes and trembling Limbs of Dying Persons And afterwards think of the stench and filthiness of the Grave and lastly the dissipation of the visible part of Man All these Considerations make Death very terrible and full of horrour to us But now he that shall consider after all this his spiritual invisible part what can he see in Death that is not very desirable to him the Body rests from its labours and the Soul enjoys its reward in Heaven If you are hereby taken away from conversing with men yet the Soul is elevated to an acquaintance with Angels that is still alive in its own Nature the Soul lives for ever being placed above the common Arrests of Death We find to this purpose after that God had tryed the patience of Job by the loss of all his substance and afterwards of all his Children also he restores to him double whatever he had taken from him Job 42. â—0 so we read in the Holy Story the Lord gave unto Job twice as much as he had before Now whereas at first Job had three thousand Camels God restores to him six thousand whereas before he had seven thousand Sheep God restores to him fourteen thousand and so of all the rest double the number of what he lost But when God comes to recompence to him the loss of his Children which doubtless were of far greater value than all the rest whereas he had seven Sons and three Daughters God restores to him the same number again not double in these as he did in all the rest And wherefore did God double his Camels his Sheep and his Oxen and not his Children why the Reason was because his Children were not so dead as were his Camels and the rest of his brute Creatures their Souls remain'd Immortal and Entire still after Death So that God in giving Job seven Sons and three Daughters did double them notwithstanding though he gave him no more than he had at first So here though we Die yet Death doth us no injury our better part survives and if we are Believers it survives in such unconceivable Joys as that all the pleasures of the World are but Misery and Wretchedness compared to them A Christian's Hope cannot be accomplished but by dying Secondly The whole Life of a Christian is founded upon a Hope that cannot be accomplished but by dying And if so that Mans Mistake must needs be inexcusable who abhors that which alone can bring him to the possession of his Hopes and Desires Christians what is it that you hope for Is it not to arrive at Glory with an innumerable Host of Angels and the Spirits of just Men made perfect to see God and to rejoyce in him at a nearer hand than you now do here below to be for ever blessed in the close Embraces of the sovereign Good And what other way is there of obtaining this but only by dying Death is now made to us an In-let to Glory the very Gate to Heaven It is therefore unreasonable to fear that which is the only way to obtain that we hope for Death is a quiet sleep Thirdly This Death though so much dreaded is no other than a quiet Sleep So the Scripture often represents it to us under the Notion of Sleep Them that sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him Sleep is the natural resemblance of Death Sleep and Death are very near a-kin When we are asleep we see not we hear not all our Senses are lock'd up from the enjoyment of any worldly Delights we take no comfort in our Friends in our Riches or Estates all these are cancell'd out of our Minds and what more doth Death do than cancel these things out of Men's Memories And yet the weary Labourer lays himself down with contentment to take his Sleep until the Morning and why may not we also lay down our selves with the same peace and contentment in our Graves to take our Rest and Sleep until the Morning of the Resurrection Indeed the Sleep of Death is different from natural Sleep since that deprives us of natural Light but this Sleep of Death brings us to the vision of true inaccessible Light What then is there in death that we should stand in dread of it Why should that be feared by those for whom the sting of it is already taken out Such may safely take this Serpent into their bosoms for though it hiss at them yet it cannot wound or hurt them nay instead of wounding them it is reconciled to them and become one of their party The Apostle therefore reckoning up the Inventory of a Christian reckons this among them 1 Cor. 3.22 Whether Life or Death all is yours And in another place he tells us Phil. 1.21 That to him to live was Christ and to die was Gain And well may a
Whoremonger or an Adulterer or a Murtherer These Sins make a Man a Scorn and a Reproach to all that pretend to Civility But now there are other Sins that are inward and spiritual Sins that are indeed more sinful though less scandalous such as Vnbelief Hypocrisie Hardness of Heart Slighting and Rejecting of Christ Resisting the Holy Ghost and the like Now herein lies the great mistake of the World in estimating of Sin At the naming of the former we are ready to tremble and so indeed we ought and not only so but we ought to shun and avoid those that are guilty of them as Monsters of Men. But now we have no such abhorrency against the latter if the Life be free from gross Enormities we look upon Vnbelief and Impenitency but as small and trivial sins Now those Sins that we thus slight are incomparably the greatest and the vilest Sins Murther Adultery Blasphemy and the rest of those crying Impieties could not damn the Soul were it not for Vnbelief and Impenitency It is not the Swearer or the Drunkard that perish but it is the Vnbeliever He that believes not is condemned already John 3.18 And so hating of God and a secret scorning and despising of Holiness and the Ways of God these are Sins that do not defile and pollute the outward Man and many doubtless are guilty of them that are of a fair and civil Life and Conversation and yet these are Sins that may out-vie with the most horrid Sins for the hottest and lowest place in Hell We see then what small heed is to be given to the Judgment of the World concerning small Sins Those that the World counts little Sins may be great and heinous in the sight of God for God judgeth not as Man judgeth he is a Spirit and therefore spiritual Sins and Provocations such as Inordinacy in the Thoughts Desires and Affections these are Sins possibly that are more heinous in God's Sight than more carnal and grosser Sins are Damnation for little Sins will be most into lerable damnation Seventhly and lastly Consider this Damnation for little Sins will be most aggravated and most intolerable Damnation Oh will it not be a most cutting Consideration to the Soul in Hell when it shall think here I lie and fry for ever in unquenchable Flames for the gratifying of my self in that which I call'd little Sins Fool that ever I was that I should account any Sin little that would bring to this place of Torment There 's another of my fellow-wretched Sinners between whom and me there was as much difference as there was between me and a true Saint He prophane and daringly wicked I honest and civil and yet for allowing my self in those Sins to which the World encouraged me and called little Sins the same Hell that holds him shall hold me for ever Oh the dreadful Severity of God! Oh wretched Folly and Madness of mine Oh insufferable Torments and Anguish Believe â—t thus will those that are damned for small and little Sins reflect upon their former Lives such will be their dismal Reflections and such will be yours also expect no other if being warned of the great Evil that there is in little Sins you will yet persist in them without Repenâ—ance And thus I have done with the Doctrinal Part of the Text I now come to make some Application of it Vse 1 And the First Use shall be by way of Corollary If so be that little Sins have in them so much danger and guilt as hath been demonstrated to you what shall we then think of great and notorious Impieties If Sands will sink a Man so deep into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone how deep then will their Hell be that are plunged into it with Talents of Lead bound upon their Souls Whilst I have been setting forth the Aggravations of the great Evil that there is in little Sins possibly some prophane Spirit or other may thus argue if little Sins be so dangerous and damning then since it is utterly impossible to keep our selves free from all Sins whatever what need I scruple the greatest Sin more than the least I am stated down under a necessity of sinning and I am told that the rate that every Sin will stand me in is eternal Death the least is not less and the greatest is no more It is but ridiculous Folly for a Malefactor nicely to shun the Dirt and pick out the cleaner â—ath when he is going to Execution â—nd so it is but a Folly for me to go the â—raiter and severer way to Hell and â—herefore since there is no difference beâ—ween Sins in the end but all alike lead â—own to the same Destruction I will put â—o difference between them in my praâ—tice But let such presumptuous Sinâ—ers know First That All Mens sins are not equal as all Mens Sins are not â—ual here so neither shall all Mens Torâ—ents he equal hereafter Some shall be â—aten with fewer others with more â—ripes some shall be chastised with â—hips others with Scorpions The Eâ—rnal Furnace shall be heated seven â—mes hotter for some than for others â—nd for whom is the greater wrath preâ—red but for the greatest Sinners In â—e blackest and hottest place in Hell â—ere is chained the great Devil that â—rch Rebel against God and after him â— ranked whole Clusters of damned â—irits each according to their several â—grees both of Sin and Torment He â—at suffers the least suffers no less than Hell but yet he is in a condition to be envied at by those whose daring and desperate Wickednesses have brought upon them far heavier and sorer vengeance these shall have cause to envy the state of little Sinners even as they do envy the state of glorified Saints in Heaven Do not therefore conclude that because the wages of the least sin is Death therefore the wages of the greatest Sin is no more nor no worse For though in a natural Death there is no being dead a little yet in the spiritual and eternal Death there are degrees As the Civiâ— Man was a Saint here on Earth in comparison of the Lewd and Debauched Sinner so shall he be happy hereafter in comparison of his Torments Let such therefore seriously consider how sad and infinitely wretched their Condition musâ— needs be since that no less than Damnation it self shall be judged a Happiness compared with what they shall suffer and what Wrath they shall lie under to Eternity In committing great sins we avoid not less sins Secondly Consider In the commissioâ— of great Sins you do not avoid the commission of less Sins but only add to thâ— guilt of them and to that Damnation that will follow upon them It is true if a meer Civil Man whose highest Attainments are but some commendable external Vertues if he could change the guilt of all the little Sins that he hath committed in his whole Life for the single guilt of some great and heinous Sin though I pretend
works upon Wicked Men and Reprobates as well as others Buâ— Sanctifying Grace that is special and belongs only to those who belong themselves to the Election of Grace Esaâ— whom the Scripture Notes as the greaâ— instance of Reprobation comes out against Jacob with a Troop of Four Thousand Ruffins intending doubtless to Revenge himself upon him for the loss oâ— his Birth-Right and Blessing but at their first meeting God by a secret work so mollifies his Heart that instead of falling upon him and killing him he falls upon his Neck and kisses him here God restrains him from that Presumptuous Sin of Murder not in a way of meer External Providence but with his own Hand immediately turns about his Heart and by seeing such a company of Cattel bleating and bellowing so many timorous Men and helpless Children all bowing and supplicating unto him he turns his Revenge into Compassion and with much urging receives a Present from him whom before he intended to make a Prey The same power of restraint God laid upon the Heart of Abimelech that Heathen King you have it in Geneses 20.6 when he had taken Sarah Abraham 's Wife intending to make her his Wife or Concubine God tells him in a Dream I with-held thee from â—inning against me therefore suffered I â—hee not to touch her Here was nothing visible to hinder Abimelech from so great â— Wickedness but God invisibly wrought upon his heart and unhinged his wicked Desires now from the instances of Esau and Abimelech we may clearly collect how Restraining Grace differs both from Restraining Providence and also from Sanctifying Grace From Providence it differs because usually when God Providentially restrains from Sin he doth it by some visible apparent means that doth not work by bringing any change or alteration on the Heart but only by â—aying an External Check upon Men's Actions but now by Restraining Grace God deals in a secret way with the very Heart of a Sinner though he doth not change the nature of his Heart yet he alters the present frame and disposition of it and takes away the desire of committing those Sins that yet it doth not Mortifie and from Sanctifying Grace it differs also in that God vouchsafes Restraining Grace to Wicked Men as you have heard but none partake of Sanctifying Grace besides the Children of God and the Remnant according to Election those whom he predestinates them he also calls that is them he Sanctifies as yoâ— have it in Rom. 8.30 Election Sanctification are of the self same bredth Electionâ— the cause of Sanctification Sanctificatioâ— is a sign of Election Those whom Goâ— will bring to himself in Glory he causeth a double separation to pass upoâ— them the one from Eternity when hâ— calls them out from the mass of thoâ— that he leaves to perish in their Sins anâ— the other in Time when those whom he hath set apart for himself by Election he brings home to himself by Conversion And therefore whatever measure of Restraining Grace God may aâ—ford to Wicked Men and Reprobates yeâ— Sanctifying Grace is the fruit only of Election and the portion only of thoâ— who are Elected And that is the firâ— difference In their Nature Essence Secondly They differ also in theiâ— Nature and Essence Sanctifying Gracâ— is a Habit wrought in the Soul by thâ— Spirit of God called therefore a writinâ— of the Law on the Heart and a putting God's fear into our inward parts Jer. 31. 33. And St. John terms it a Seed that remains John 1.9 These Expressions clearly denote it to be an internal Principle or Habit deeply rooted and fixed in the Soul and whatever Holy Actions a Saint performs as they are caused by a Divine influence without him so they flow also from a Holy Principle within him Hence our Saviour tells us in Mark 12.35 That a good Man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things that is out of that inward Habit and Principle of Grace that the Holy Ghost hath wrought in him in the work of Regeneration But Restraining Grace hath no such Habit and Principle implanted in the Soul but is only a Merciful Actual influence from God hindering the commission of those Sins to which Men's Natural Corruptions make them enclined in brief Sanctifying Grace is a Quality wrought in us but Restraining Grace is only an Action flowing from God Thirdly In the manner of their Operation Sanctifying and Restraining Grace differ in their manner of Working and Operation and here we may observe a Four fold difference Sanctifying Grace destroys Sin Restraining Grace only Imprisons it First Sanctifying Grace keeps the Soul from Sin by destroying of it but Restraining Grace keeps the Soul from Sin only by imprisoning of it God many times shuts up the sins of those in Prison whom notwithstanding he will at last shut up in Hell It is sanctifying Grace alone that can do execution upon them restraining grace may debar them of their liberty but it is only Sanctifying Grace can deprive them of their Life There may appear but little difference betwixt the Conversation of a Child of God whom Special Grace doth Sanctifie and one in a state of Nature whom common Grace doth only Restrain doth the one walk blamelessly without offence doth he avoid the grosser Pollutions of the World so doth the other a Star is not more like a Star than these Meteors may be like them But now here lies the difference Restraining Grace only ties the Hands but Sanctifying Grace stabs the old Man to the Heart It is one thing to bind a Thief to a Tree and another thing to Nail him fast to the Cross Restraining Grace only binds Corruption fast that it cannot stir not outwardly but still it hath as much strength as ever But now Sanctifying Grace that Crucifies it and Nails it to the Cross of Christ where it weakens and languisheth and hangs a dying Body of Death The Earth is as dry and hard in a frosty Winter as it is in a parching Summer yet there 's a great deal of difference in the cause of it in Summer the Sun dries up the moisture and in Winter the Frost binds it in Truly Restraining and Sanctifying Grace are for all the World like Frost and Sun the ways of those who have only a Restraint laid upon them may be altogether as fair and clean as the ways of those that are Sanctified are but there 's a great difference in the cause Sanctifying Grace dries up the Filth and Corruption in the Heart of the one but Restraining Grace only frezeth in and binds up the Filth and Corruption of the other Secondly Sanctifying Grace strikes at the Sins of the heart Restraining Grace only hinders the Sins of the Life Sanctifying Grace strikes especially at the Sins of the Heart but Restraining Grace usually only hinders the Sins of the Life An Unregenerate Man though never so Moral hunts his Sins only in
forth it self it is kept out from the thoughts when they are busied in holy Meditation it is kepâ— out from the affections when they are set upon heavenly Objects it is kept ouâ— from the life and conversation wherâ— the duties both of the general and particular calling are duely performed in their respective seasons the Apostle exhorts us in Ephesians 4.27 not to give place to the Devil truly when God's exciting Grace quickens our inherent Grace into continual exercise when every faculty is filled with holy actings and every season with holy duties the Devil can have no place to tempt nor corruption to stir it is the best security God can give from the commission of Sin to quicken to the performance of Duty when we pray or meditate or attend upon publick Ordinances we ought to bless God for his exciting Grace whereby we have not only performed a duty but also escaped some soul and notorious Sin that we might have committed had we not been so holily employed we who are here now present before the Lord this day had we neglected this present opportunity who of us knows what horrid temptations and foul sins we might have been exposed to in our own Houses which in the House of God we have avoided David when he walked idly upon the roof of his House he lies open to the Snares of the Devil and sins foully had he then been at his Harp or Psalms he might thereby have driven the Evil Spirit from himself as formerly he did from his Master Saul running Streams preserve themselves pure and clean when standing Pools soon grow corrupt and noisome and venomous creatures breed in them so is it with the heart whilest God's exciting and quickning Grace puts it upon continual act it is preserved from corruption but when once it grows sluggish and doth not freely flow forth into the actings of Grace and performance of Duties the spawn of all manner of sin breeds there and filthy lusts crawl to and fro in it without any disturbance and therefore we should continually pray that God would vouchsafe us the quickning influence of his Spirit that he would fill our sails with that wind that blows where it listeth arise O North Wind and come thou South Wind and blow upon our Gardens that the Spices thereof may flow forth for if the Spices do not the stench will Secondly As God by his exciting Grace hinders those Sins that might arise in the Heart so he also suppresseth those Sins that do arise There is the greatest contrariety imaginable betwixt inherent Sin and inherent Grace when the one is vigorous the other languisheth when the one is acted the other grows dull and sluggish Now both these opposite Principles have their seat and abode in the same Heart and both of them are in continual expectation of exciting influence to call them forth into act Indwelling Corruption that is usually rouzed up by Temptation when it stirs in the heart and is ready to break forth in the life Habitual Grace though it looks on yet is of it self so feeble that it can make no opposition till a kindly influence from the Spirit of God calls out some particular Grace that is directly contrary to that Sin that stirs and this resists and subdues it This Method God used in keeping the Apostle from sinning 2 Cor. 12. He was there under a sharp and pungent Temptation that is therefore called a Thorn in the Flesh v. 7. Satan buffets and the Apostle prays and God answers My Grace is sufficient for thee My Grace is sufficient not thy Grace that Grace that is in thee is but weak and helpless yea a very nothing if I withdraw my influence from it but that quickning Grace that flows from me that alone is sufficient to remove the Temptation and to prevent the Sin Why now while God's exciting Grace work'd upon the Apostle's inherent Grace this Temptation this Thorn in the Flesh only made him more watchful and more industrious against it but if God should have suspended this his Influence this Thorn in the Flesh would immediately notwithstanding all his Grace sadly have wounded his Conscience by the commission of some great and foul Sin Now as all manner of Sin lies couched in that Body of Sin that we bear about with us so all manner of Grace lies couched in that Principle of Grace that God implants in his own Children Now when the Devil by his Temptations calls forth some particular Sin God also at the same time by his exciting Grace calls forth a particular Grace to hinder the commission of that Sin Thus when they are tempted to Pride God calls forth Humility to prick that swelling puffing Bladder when they are tempted to Wrath and Passion he stirs up Meekness when to murmuring and repining against the dispensations of God he puts Patience upon its perfect work Briefly there is no Sin whatever that the Devil can by his Temptation stir up in the Heart but God also can stir up a contrary Grace to it to quell and master it This is the Method of God's exciting Grace in the preventing of Sin that when the Devil calls forth a particular Corruption out of the Stock of Corruption God calls forth a particular Grace contrary to it from the Stock of Grace But yet there are some particular Graces that are more especially employed about this Service and which God doth most frequently exercise and set on work to keep his Children from the commission of Sin First God hinders the commission of sin by keeping up the lively and vigorous actings of Faith Indeed if Faith fail all other Graces must fail by consequence Faith is the Soul's Steward that fetcheth in Supplies of Grace from Christ in whom is the Treasure of it and distributes them to all the other Graces of the Soul Therefore when Christ tells St. Peter Satan had desired to sift him by his Temptations lest he should be thereby discouraged and dejected presently he adds in v. 32. But I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not And wherefore his Faith rather than any other Grace but because other Graces must take their Lot with Faith and must be strong or weak victorious or languishing as Faith is and therefore it is called the Shield of Faith Ephes 6.6 Now the Office of a Shield is to defend not only the Body but the rest of the Armour also and so doth Faith when it is dexterously managed it keeps both the Soul and its Graces also from the Attempts of the Devil I might be large here in shewing you how Faith preserves from Sin as by deriving vertue and strength from the Death and Blood of Christ by pleading God's Engagements and Promises to tread Satan under our feet by urging and importuning Christ to fulfill in us the end of his coming into the World which was to destroy the Works of the Devil and many such Ways I might name by which Faith prevents Sin
and destroys it but waving them I shall only mention two Particulars wherein this energy of Faith in keeping Men from Sin is the most conspicuous First Faith preserves from Sin by bringing in and presenting to the Soul eternal Rewards and Punishments and that 's the peculiar Office of Faith These indeed are future unto Sense but they are present unto Faith for Faith is the substance of things not seen Heb. 11.1 It gives them a Being before they are and what we hope for or fear as to come by Faith it is enjoyed or felt as already present Why now what a mighty advantage is this to preserve men from sinning Would Sinners treat with the Devil or hearken to a Temptation if they should now see the whole World on flame Angels hastning them to Judgment and Christ upon his Throne here Heaven to receive and crown them there Hell with all its horrours to torment them would any of you dare to sin if all this were before your eyes Why believe it when Faith acts lively all this is as truly present to the Soul as it is certain it shall once be and therefore no more than we would commit a Sin if Sentence were now passing upon us either of Absolution or of eternal Damnation at the Judgment-Seat of God no more shall we sin while Faith sets these things evidently before our eyes and makes them as real to us as they are sure Secondly Faith preserves from sinning by representing that God who must hereafter be our Judge to be now our Spectator and Observer It is only an Eye of Faith that can discover things future as present and things spiritual as real Why now God he is a spiritual Being and therefore is invisible to the dull eyes of Flesh but the quick Eye of Faith that can see him who is invisible as it was said of Moses Heb. 11.27 it fixeth its eye upon the all-seeing eye of God and fills the Soul with awful Thoughts of God's Omni-presence and Omnisciency that all things are naked and bare before him in whose company we are where-ever we are and with whom we have to do whatever we are doing Why now consider with your selves Would I commit such or such a Sin to which possibly you are tempted if some grave person were in the room with you whom you did much respect And what shall the Presence of a mortal Man keep you from sinning and shall not the Presence of the Great God much more Shall we dare to sin when God's eye is fixed upon us when he views not only our outward Actions but also our inward Thoughts clearer than we can see the faces one of another It was the wise Counsel that a Heathen-Man gave to a Scholar of his That if he would preserve himself from doing any thing that was undecent he should suppose some sober and reverend man present with him and this would keep him from doing that which he would be ashamed to do before him Truly we need not make any such Supposition the great and holy God is present with us in reality and the eye of Faith discovers him so to be he is always looking on us yea always looking into us and certainly this to one that can exercise the discerning eye of Faith will be a more effectual means to keep a man from Sin than if all the eyes of Men and Angels were upon him Secondly As the exercise of Faith so the sprightly and vigorous exercise of Divine Love is an excellent Preservative against Sin Love will not willingly do any thing that may offend and grieve the Object loved Love it is an assimilating Affection it is the very Cement that joyns God and the Soul together in the same Spirit and makes them to be of one heart and of one mind it is the Load-stone of the Soul that toucheth all other Affections and makes them stand heaven-ward When once God hath wrought the Love of himself in our hearts this will constrain us to love what he loves and to hate what he hates Sin is the only thing that God hates and those that love him will not cannot but hate Sin their love to God will constrain them to do it Psalm 97 7. Ye that love the Lord hate evil And certainly the hatred of evil is the best security against the committing of it will any one take a Toad or Serpent into his bosome to lodge it there Truly as utterly impossible it is while the Exciting Grace of God stirs up and quickens our Love to him that we should ever embrace a vile lust and lodge it in our hearts since our sight of the beauty of Holiness hath made it ugly and our love to God hath made it hateful Thirdly To mention no more A Holy Fear and Caution least we should Sin is a most excellent preservative against Sin None are so safe as those that are least secure fear is the best preservative of Grace whereas those that are rash and venturous and confident of their own strength run themselves into many Temptations and come off with wounded and smarting Consciences Stand in awe says the Psalmist and Sin not Psalm 4.4 The timorous and trembling Christian stands firmest because such a one is apt upon every occasion to suspect his own strength and to call in God's And indeed when we consider the treachery of our own Hearts and the subtilty of the Devil this Holy Fear and Jealousie is no more than is needful and it is less than sufficient A Man that is to wade thorough a deep River will first try his Footing before he takes his step Why we are to wade thorough the depths of Satan as the Apostle calls them and certainly it is but a requisite caution first to try our ground before we venture upon it to look about and consider whether such and such an Action be grounded upon a Command and secured to us by a Promise whether if we do it we shall not lay our selves open to such and such Temptations or if we do lie open to them whether or not we are in God's way and may expect his Protection and Preservation Truly such circumspection as this is will prove our best security and though we are not able by all our own strength and diligence to preserve our selves yet when God sees us so industriously solicitous to avoid Sin he will then come in by his Almighty Grace that helps not the Sloathful but the Laborious and he will keep us from those Sins that we cannot keep our selves from Now for the Application of this if it be so that it is the Almighty Power of God only that can keep us from Sin This may then be Convictive of that Errour that now a Days is very rife in the World that ascribes our preservation in our standing not so much to the Almighty Grace of God as to the Liberty and Freedom of our own Wills Truly this is an Opinion that proceeds much from the Pride and Stomach