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
Here is the Pardon it self which for the greater Confirmation of our Faith and Hope is redoubled I even I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions and will not remember thâ— sins Thirdly Here are the Motives or impulsive cause that prevailed with God thiâ— to proclaim pardon unto guilty Malefactorâ— and that is for his own sake I am hâ— that blotteth out thy Transgressions for mâ— own sake 1. As for the first particular I even â— am he we may observe That God seems more to triumph in the Glory oâ— his pardoning Grace and Mercy thaâ— he doth in any other of his Attributes I even I am he Such a stately Preface must needs usher in somewhat wherein God and his Honour is much advanced Is it therefore I am he that spread forth the Heavens and martial'd all their Host that hang up the Earth in the midst of the Air that breath'd forth all the Creatures upon the face of it that poured out the great Deeps and measur'd them all in the hollow of my hand that ride upon the wings of the Wind and make the Clouds the Dust of my Feet This though it might awe and amuse the hearts of Men yet God counts it not his chiefest Glory but I even I am he that blotteth out Transgression and forgive Iniquities So we find when God condescended to shew Moses his Glory he proclaims not the Lord Great and Terrible that formed all things by the Word of his Mouth and can destroy all things by the Breath of his Nostrils No but he passeth before him with a still voice and proclaims himself to be The Lord the Lord God Gracious and Merciful long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth forgiving iniquity transgression and sin So that when God would be seen in his chiefest State and Glory he reveals himself to be a sin-pardoning God I even I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions and will not remember thy sins 2. As for the pardon it self Blotting out of sin implys two things that is expressed in two things I am he that blotteth out and will not remember Blotting out implys First That sin is written That our Transgressions are written down and written they are in a two-fold Book the one is in the Book of God's Remembrance which he blots out when he justifies a sinner The other is the Book of our own Consciences which he blots out when he gives us peace and assurance and oftentimes these follow one upon the other When God blots his Remembrance-Book in Heaven that blot diffuseth and spreads it self even to the Book of Conscience and blots out all that is written there also Man blots his Conscience by committing sin but God blots it by pardoning it He lays a blot of Christ's Bloud upon a blot of our guilt and this is such a blot as leaves the Conscience of a sinner purer and cleaner than it found it Secondly Blotting out of Transgression implies a legal discharge of the Debt A Book that is once blotted and crossed stands void in Law whatever the Sum and Debts were before yet the crossing of the Book signifies the payment of the Debt So is it here I will blot out thy Transgressions that is I will acquit thee of all thy Debts I will never charge them upon thee I will dash them all out I will not leave so much as one Item not one sin legible against thee This is the proper meaning of this Expression and Notion of blotting out of Transgression and Sin And this is one thing that pardon of sin is expressed by It follows in the next words and I will not remember thy sins Not that there is truly any forgetfulness in God no his Memory retains every sin we have committed surer and firmer than if all our sins were written in Leaves of Brass but God speaks here as he doth elsewhere frequently in Scripture by a gracious Condescension and after the manner of Men and it is to be interpreted only by the Effects I will not remember their sins that is I will deal so mercifully with them as if indeed I did not remember the least of their Provocations I will be to them as one that hath utterly forgotten all their injuries So that this not remembring of sin denies not the eminent Act of God's Knowledge but only the transient Act of his Justice and is no more than his promising not to punish sin as if God had said I will not be avenged on them nor punish them for their sins And here we may see what abundant security God gives his People that they shall never be impleaded for those sins which once they have attained the pardon of they are blotted out of his Book of Remembrance and that they may not fear he will accuse them without Book he tells them That they are utterly forgotten and shall never be remembred by him against them any more Thirdly Consider the impulsive cause that moves God's Hand as it were to blot out our Transgressions and that is not any thing without himself but says God I will do it for my own sake This admits of a two-fold sence efficient and final First For my own sake That is because it is my pleasure I will do it because I will do it And indeed this is the Royal Prerogative of God alone to render his Will for his Reason for because his Will is altogether Soveraign and Independent that must needs be most reasonable that he wills If any should question Why the Lord past by fallen Angels and stoopt so low as to take up Fallen Man And why among Men he hath rejected many Wise and Noble and hath chosen those that are mean and contemptible Why he hath gathered up and lodged in his own Bosom those that wallowed in the filth and defilement of the worst sins when others are left to perish under far less guilt The most reasonable Answer that can be given of all is this I have done it for my own sake I have done it because it is my Will and Pleasure to do it even the same Reason that God gave unto Moses I will be gracious because I will be gracious and I will shew mercy because I will shew mercy Exod. 33.19 Which was the same Answer our Saviour gave to himself Luke 10.21 Even so Father because so it seemed good in thy sight Secondly For my own sake we may take it in a final sense that is I will do it because of that great Honour and Glory that will accrue to my great Name by it The ultimate and chief end of God in all his Actions is his own Glory God bestows Pardon and Salvation upon us chiefly for the manifestation of his own Glory even the Glory of his Mercy and free Grace Our Salvation is therefore accomplished that it might be a means to declare to the World how Merciful and Gracious God is not so much for our good as for his Glory not for our sakes
he intends to sin and therefore by crossing an erroneous Conscience though possibly he doth well in the Action yet he sins in Intention since he doth that that he himself thinks doth cross the Rule by which he should walk Secondly Another Reason is this because by acting contrary to Conscience though mis-informed and erroneous we do contemn the Authority and Will of God and therefore it is Sin We are all to guide our Consciences by the Word that is God's written Will and we are all to guide our Lives by our Consciences No man thinks his Conscience to be erroneous but thinks it to be according to the Will of God Now if we do not act accordingly we sin as much as if indeed it were informed according to the Will of God Conscience is God's Deputy and Vice-gerent in the Soul and what Conscience saith we think it is God that commands whether it be or not and to act contrary to it is vertually and implicitely to disobey God because we think what Conscience speaks God speaks and therefore it is very sad to fall under the entanglements of an erroneous Conscience for then we are under a sad necessity of sinning on both hands if we act according to it we sin and if we act not according to it we sin We should therefore above all things heartily beg and desire of God who is the Lord of Conscience that he would rightly inform our Consciences in those things that are our Duties that so by guiding our Lives by our Consciences we may guide them also according to his Will These Three Positions now respect those things that appear evil to our selves but then there are other Things that have a good Appearance unto us that yet may have an evil Appearance to others they may scruple and be offended at what we do though for our own parts we our selves are sufficiently satisfied in the Lawfulness of it And indeed our Times what through different Customs and Interests have brought Men's Consciences also to such different sizes that it is utterly impossible but some will condemn what others allow as lawful yea what others not only allow but stiffly maintain to be necessary and our Duty How then should we behave our selves in this Case What Rules must we walk by so as to keep Consciences void of offence not only to God but as far as is possible towards Men also In this if any thing that belongs to Christianity there lies a great deal of difficulty to state the Case aright or aright to practise it and the Difficulty is increased from these two Considerations which I shall lay down as general Premises to the following Discourse First If we give no power to the scrupulous Judgments of weak and tender Consciences to oblige us to Duty to abstain from what appears evil to them then we shall sin evidently against the Law of Charity and against many Apostolical Injunctions and Commands that we should have respect to their Opinions and Censures especially in Rom. 14. and in 1 Cor. chap. 8 10. almost throughout Indeed there is scarce any one thing belonging to Christianity that hath more Rules and Prescripts oftner prescribed by the Apostle to us than this of abstaining from offending the weak Consciences of others Secondly If we make other Mens Consciences the Rule of ours and if we lay down this for a Maxim That we ought to do nothing that appears evil to another This First would be utterly impossible since Men are of such contrary Perswasions that if the doing of an Action appear evil to one the omission thereof appears as evil to another so that unless we can at once both do it and not do it some will unavoidably take offence at it and be scandalized at us Secondly This would abridge yea utterly destroy all Christian Liberty in things indifferent because if nothing should be lawful that another scruples then almost every thing would become sinful since almost every thing is scrupled by some or other In vain therefore is it to reckon it as our Priviledge that we are freed from the Old Ceremonial Law and that heavy Yoke of Ordinances that none were able to bear if yet Christian Religion brings our Consciences under the most imperious Laws of mens Humours Censures and Opinions it were far easier to abserve all the Levitical Law from one end of it to the other than to be bound to those worldly Rudiments as the Apostle calls them in Col. 2. Touch not taste not handle not wear not speak not if such a Person be offended at it and count it unlawful Now from the consideration of these Two Particulars I shall lay down this Fourth Position concerning Abstinence from the Appearance of Evil in respect of others and that is if the Appearance of Evil is to others and not to our selves then in some Cases we are bound in Duty and Conscience to abstain from it and in others not Whatever hath the Shew or Appearance of Evil in it it must either be commanded and so it is necessary or else it is left indifferent and arbitrary and accordingly we may take these following Rules First If so be those things that appear evil only to others either are in themselves or at least they appear to us to be commanded and so necessary we are bound not to regard yea we are bound to despise and scorn the Scruples of all the World if they will be offended at us for doing of that which is our duty let them be offended we may in this case use the same Plea that the Apostles did Acts 4.19 Whether it be right before the Lord to obey Men rather than God judge ye To perform a Duty can be but a Scandal to men at the most and those also usually of the prophaner sort but to omit a Duty for fear of Scandalizing men is a Scandal and an Offence even unto God himself It is most preposterous Charity to run upon Sin in our selves only to prevent Scandal in others Though all the World censure Holiness and Strictness of Life to be only a soure and rigid humour and an affectation of Singularity yet must we not upon any pretence of gratifying their humour or winning upon them remit the least part of that severity that the Law of God and our Consciences require from us But what if suppose as too often it happens that this strictness and holy severity proves to be an occasion of Sin unto others accidentally what must we do in that case What is it that makes so many hate Religion and scoff at the Professors thereof but only their Lives are too morose and reserved Duties are too frequent and tedious so that some laugh and mock others storm and rage and all are frighted from the embracing of that Profession that requires so much Rigour and Severity Why be it so yet we must not abate any thing of our Duty nor sin our selves to keep others from sinning Is it your duty