from him Of our selves we cannot conceive a good Thought through Christ strengthening us we can do all things Spiritual Blessings he purchas'd for us by his Humiliation and confers in his Exaltation He gave himself for his Church that he might sanctify it and cleanse it by the washing of Water and the Word Being risen and ascended he received of his Father Divine Gifts and gives Grace unto Men. He gives Repentance which principally consists in the mortifying Sin he blesses us in turning us from our Iniquities The Mortification of Sin is peculiarly attributed to his Death 1. With respect to its meritorious Causality that reconcil'd God to us and obtain'd of him the sanctifying Spirit that is the Seal of his Love to communicate the Divine Nature to us by which we escape the Corruption that is in the World through Lust. The Redemption of a Captive may illustrate the Redemption of Sinners for as in restoring a Captive to Liberty there must be the payment of the Ransom and the breaking of his Chains so in redeeming a Sinner there was the price laid down the unvaluable Blood of the Son of God to procure our spiritual Freedom for the ignominious and cruel Bondage under Satan was the penal Effect of the first Transgression and the invisible Chains the Darkness of Mind the Hardness of Heart the Rebellion of Will the Disorder of Affections and all the vicious Habits that kept him in the Bondage of Satan are to be broken and removed For this reason 't is said God sending his Son in the likeness of sinful Flesh and for Sin condemning Sin in the Flesh that is Christ dying as a Sacrifice for Sin reconciled God and the Fruit of that Reconciliation is the breaking the Tyrannous Empire of Sin under which we were involv'd that we may enjoy the Liberty of the Sons of God. Sin brought our Saviour to the Cross and he brought Sin to the Cross when he dy'd naturally Sin dyed legally that is was condemn'd to lose its Power in the Hearts and Lives of Believers The excellent Ends of our Saviour's Death are express'd by the Apostle He gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity abolish the guilt of Sin and purify unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works 2. By way of Representation As Christ died for Sin we must die to Sin He expiated the guilt of all Sin for penitent Believers and a universal crucifixion of Sin is the imitation of his Death The Apostle insists on this as a Truth of the clearest Evidence to Christians Know ye not that so many as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his Death Therefore we are buried with him in Baptism that as Christ was raised up from the Dead by the Glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of Life For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his Death we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection Knowing this that our Old Man is crucified with him that the Body of Sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve Sin. The sum of which Reasoning is that our crucifying the corrupt Nature with all its various Affections and Lusts is a lively resemblance of the Death of Christ which was design'd both to be operative in us of the Death of Sin and to be significative of it From whence it follows 't is the indispensable Duty of all Christians to transcribe the Copy of his Death in their Hearts and Lives 3. The Death of Christ mortifies Sin by moral Influence as 't is an Expression of God's transcendent Love to us and his Righteous and Holy severity against Sin both which are such powerful Motives to destroy Sin that whoever does not feel their Efficacy is dead as the Grave without the least vital Spark of grateful Love to Christ. Now the unfeigned belief of the meritorious and efficacious Sufferings of Christ is the means by which the Value of his Death is applied and the Vertue of it derived to us for the killing of our Sins 'T is by Faith we are united to him as our Head the Fountain of Spiritual Sense and Active Power He dwells in our Hearts by Faith and by the eminent Operations of his Spirit strengthens the inner Man. Faith excites us to mortify the inhabiting Corruption by arguing from the Love of Christ in dying for us He left Heaven for us shall not we leave Earth for him He denied his natural innocent Wills to submit to the Death of the Cross for our Salvation Shall not we deny our depraved rebellious Wills for his Glory And unless desperate Sinners who are fallen as low as Hell who can resist such melting Perswasions The Apostle speaks with the most feeling Expressions The Love of Christ constrains us has an absolute invincible Empire over us because we thus judg that if one died for all then were all dead that henceforth we should live to him who died for us And 't is the noble and sensible Effect of quickning Grace to mortify Sin. Faith as it obliges so it encourages to subdue our Sins by reflecting upon the End of Christ's Death which shall certainly be accomplish'd St. Paul in his conflict with an uncessant Enemy was fortified by an Assurance from God My Grace is sufficient for thee The Temptation was not presently removed but strength conveyed by which he was superior to it Our special Sins so easily encompass us that considering our imminent danger we may fear the Issue of the Fight but the believing remembrance of our Saviour's Death inspires new Life and Heat into us knowing that he hath not died in vain Faith raises the drooping Spirit by reflecting upon the compassionate willingness of Christ to relieve and strengthen us in the Holy War. When he was upon Earth he prayed his Father to keep us from the Evil of the World. This was the Copy of his continual Intercession for us in Heaven from whence we are infallibly assur'd that he is most tenderly inclin'd to assist us and preserve us from the malignant influence of the World. For these Reasons Faith in Christ has a cleansing Vertue a victorious Efficacy attributed to it Faith purifies the Heart and overcomes the World. A sincere Believer that makes use of the Divine Ordinances Prayer hearing the Word the confirming Sacrament and other holy Means for the subduing his Corruptions shall certainly obtain a final Victory and the reward of it a triumphant Felicity FINIS Some Divinity Books printed for and fold by Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard MR. Pool's Annotations on the whole Bible in which the whole Sacred Text is inserted in two Volumes in Folio Useful for Families and Closets Dr. Goodwin's Works In two Volumes in Folio Viz. on the Ephesians Revelations The Kowledg of God the Father Election c. His Treatise of the Punishment of Sin in Hell In 8o. Dr. Manton's
Nature exprest such Vertues upbraid Christians who are Servants to their Corruptions in the Light of Divine Revelation If by the practice of Philosophy they kept themselves from the Dominion of their Carnal Appetites shall not Christians by a supernatural Aid obtain a clearer Victory over them In vain do Men pretend want of strength to vanquish their stubborn Lusts for if they sincerely seek for Divine Grace and are faithful in the use of Means proper to that End they shall obtain a blessed freedom from the Power of Sin. 3. The subduing the ruling Lust will make the Victory over other Sins more easy Our Commission against Sin is like that of Saul against the Amalekites to destroy them all if any one be spared it will prove as fatal to us as the Amalekite that dispatch'd Saul who suffer'd him to live when the whole Lineage was doom'd to utter Excision Now amongst the divers Lusts that war against the Soul some are the Leaders that give vigour to the rest that recall them when withdrawn rally them when scattered and renew the Fight against us As the Vertues of the sanctified Mind so the Passions of the carnal Appetite assist one another therefore when the corrupt Passion that was so dangerously influential upon the rest is subdued by Divine Grace they necessarily decline and are easily mortified The Temperamental Lust is the Root from whence many others spring and are fed and the eradicating of that takes away the Strength and Life of other vicious Affections The King of Syria commanded his Captains not to fight against Small or Great but only against the King of Israel and after he was slain the Victory over his Army was presently obtain'd Let us direct our Zeal against the leading Lust for all the servile Lusts must fall and die with it When Mithridates the King of Pontus a fierce implacable Enemy of the Romans was kill'd their Joy was exuberant in Sacrifices and Feasts esteeming that an Army of Enemies were extinguish'd in his Death Besides one Victory inspires Courage to atchieve another When David was to encounter with Goliah he derived Confidence from his Experience The Lord that delivered me out of the Paw of the Lion and out of the Paw of the Bear he will deliver me out of the Hand of this Philistine The visible Expresses of the Divine Power in conquering the former Enemies of the Church were the support of their Faith Awake awake O Arm of the Lord and put on strength art thou not it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon Pharaoh and the Egyptian Army In our Spiritual Warfare experience of the Divine Assistance is a Cordial that fortifies the Spirits If the strongest and fiercest of our Corruptions lie bleeding ready to expire we shall not fear the rest The same Grace that has subdued the reigning Lust will make an impression of Obedience upon other Affections that are less powerful in us 4. Consider how dearly our Sins cost our Saviour his Sacred Blood to reconcile us to God and to set us free from their Dominion This is an Argument purely Evangelical and most worthy the Breast of a Christian. He dearly purchas'd a Title to our Love and the serious contemplation of his Passion has an admirable efficacy to inspire the Flame and consequently to make Sin odious that must be expiated and purged away by such bitter Sufferings Our Sins brought our Saviour to the Cross and can we entertain them in our Hearts with the Crimson Guilt that cleaves to them Can we live in the practice of them and crucify him afresh He came to redeem us from all Iniquity and purify us to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works How can we defeat the End and disparage the efficacy of his Death How can we violate such dear Obligations To cherish any Sin is the most ungracious and unkind return to his bleeding dying Love who valued our Souls more than his most precious Life Were it not visible by daily Experience that many are so prodigiously wicked it would raise our wonder how it is possible that any Christian to whom the Love of the Son of God in dying for our Sins is revealed should indulge himself in any Sin. If we did frequently and with solemnity and seriousness remember the Death of our Saviour and his blessed Intention in it we should find that change in our Hearts in regard of our Sins as Amnon did in his Affections to his Sister Tamar His incestuous Love to her at first was a secret Fire that consum'd him but after he had dishonour'd her and polluted himself his Hatred of her was more extream than his Love before Thus the Sins that have been as near to us as our Bosoms as pleasant as our corrupt Inclinations as familiar and intimate as Custom that have deeply defil'd our Souls we should with stronger detestation reject them than ever with delight we committed them 5. The blessed Reward of Uprightness is a powerful Motive to excite us to keep our selves from our Sins The Firmament is not sowed thicker with Stars than the Scripture with precious Promises to the Upright They have a peculiar Interest in the Love of God that is the Fountain of Felicity The Prayer of the Upright is his delight He is most graciously ready to supply all their Wants satisfy their Desires allay their Sorrows overcome their Fears The Lord is a Sun and a Shield He will give Grace and Glory and no good thing will he withhold from those that walk uprightly A comprehensive Promise of the Blessings of Time and Eternity The highest Honour is the Reward of subduing our rebellious Lusts. He that is slow to Anger is better than the Mighty and he that ruleth his Spirit than he that taketh a City The Quality of the Enemy makes the Victory more illustrious Now the rebellious Passions that war against the Soul are Enemies infinitely more dangerous than those who destroy the Bodies and Estates of Men. The Conquest of Armies and Cities is atchieved by Boldness and Strength that are not the peculiar Excellencies of Man for the Horse and the Lion are superior to him in those respects but the reducing his unruly Affections into Holy Order is the Effect of Divine Grace wherein we resemble God. How many of the famous Heroes in the World's account were worse than wild Beasts Enemies to Humanity that unnaturally and barbarously spilt the Blood of thousands to purple their usurp'd Royalty But in subduing the tyrannous Passions of Lust and Anger under the Sovereignty of the renewed Mind there is the happy union of Innocence and Victory There are degrees in the exaltation of the Saints as the Passions their inward Enemies which they subdued were more stubborn and hardly to be overcome In some there is such a concord of Humours such a placid mild Temper that they enjoy a pacifick possession of themselves But this is the Benefit of Nature not
of victorious Grace Where there is little Resistance there is no Honour to overcome where there is no Matter of Triumph there is no Glory in triumphing But when in the natural Temper there are Seeds of Incitation to fierce Anger and inordinate Lust and when those Propensities are inflam'd by Temptations if we subdue those disorderly and violent Passions 't is the most noble Effect of Divine Grace On the contrary the Sinner that yields himself to the sway of the Carnal Appetites is the Servant of Corruption is defil'd and debas'd in such a manner that he is sunk below the Beasts that perish For what is baser than Corruption except the Sinner that obeys it The Peace and Joy that is the Reward of Victory over our Sins cannot be understood but by Experience What a savour of Life is the Death of a reigning Sin What an Angelical Comfort was it to Joseph and the blessed Mother of Christ when the Advice was brought from Heaven to them in Egypt Arise for they are dead that sought the young Child's Life What Consolation does it afford when the Holy Spirit witnesses with our Spirits that the Enemy in our Bosoms that sought the Life of our Souls is mortified by Repentance The Psalmist tells us Light is sown for the Righteous and Joy for the upright in Heart The present sense of God's Favour and the future Hope of Glory sheds abroad that bright serenity in their Breasts that is a reflection of Heaven In our Extremity when a good and quiet Conscience will be more valuable than Crowns and Scepters and solid Comfort more worth than the World how refreshing will the inward Testimony be of our Uprightness When Hezekiah was under the Sentence of Death and his Kingdom could afford him no Comfort this allayed his Sorrows Remember O Lord that I have walk'd before thee with an upright Heart This Testimony of Conscience will calm our Agonies and expel the Terrors of that last Enemy this when we are ready to die will assure us that our Redeemer lives The two substantial Joys how Divine the one from the reflection upon the past Life the other from the prospect of Eternal Life are the blessed Reward of Uprightness In short the sum of Felicity is expresly assur'd to them The Upright shall dwell in thy presence where is fulness of Joy and Rivers of Pleasure flow for ever 6. Consider the woful Effects of indulging the Lusts that by Pleasure or Profit bribe Men to give consent to their Commission The naked Light of Reason discovers Sin and makes it uneasy to Conscience but a strong Light arm'd with Terrors the Law of God with the Doom annex'd to the Precept against rebellious Sinners makes it fearful The Command is peremptory and universal with respect to all Temptations and Allurements to Sin be they as dear and difficult to be parted with as the right Eye or right Hand the most useful and precious Instruments of Life yet they must with abhorrence be cast from us or the whole Man will be cast into Hell Fire where the Worm dies not and the Fire is not quenched This terrible Threatning is sadly repeated by our Saviour three times to make the more powerful impression upon Sinners The guilty accusing Conscience begins the everlasting Hell here Our Saviour saith That a Woman when she is in travail hath sorrow because her hour is come but as soon as she is delivered she remembreth no more the anguish for joy that a Man is born into the World But a Sinner after he hath brought forth his Sin with pleasure is struck with horror at the monstrous Birth When Conscience is strongly awaken'd it arraigns and condemns without partiality the Sinner is the Executioner of the Sentence upon himself The Torment of the Spirit is invisible to others and in that the liker Hell and unavoidable 'T is as the cruel practice of the Tyrant related by the Poet who fasten'd a dead Body and a Living together that the putrefaction and stench of the one might cause a lingring death in the other this is a little resemblance of the Effect of the guilty Conscience charg'd with dead Works and inseparable from the Sinner All the Pleasures of the World cannot stupify the Sense or mitigate the Torments of the wounded Spirit In the approaches of Death the Sins Men have indulgently committed return to the Memory and the ghastly Apparition strikes them into consternation the Thoughts are fearfully transferr'd from the sick Body to the guilty Soul from the consideration of the first Death to the second that immediately attends it In vain they desire to live for Time is irrevocably past and the Season of Mercy expir'd in vain they desire to die intirely and put an end to their Misery for Immortality is the inseparable but fatal Privilege of their Nature If they look upward revenging Justice is ready to pass a heavy Doom if beneath a fearful Depth is ready to swallow them up Who can express the Agonies and Throws of the guilty Conscience the dismal Degrees of the tormenting Passions in the Wicked under the apprehensions of Eternal Judgment Yet the most fearful Apprehensions are not commensurate to the prepared Plagues by vindictive Justice for impenitent Sinners Who knows the Power of God's Wrath The chosen Expressions in Scripture to represent it will be verified in higher degrees than can be inflicted from the most vehement and terrible things in the World. Fire is so tormenting to Sense that no Man can endure the point of the Flame of a Candle upon his Flesh Who then can dwell with devouring Fire and with everlasting burning Besides the Damned are not only passive but active in their wretched State there is a Hell of Rancor and Indignation within and of Fire and Brimstone without them What furious Reflections will they make upon their votary Madness that for the seeming Pleasures of Sin that were but for a season they should continue their Rebellion against the Omnipotent Deity and bring upon themselves his fierce and unchangeable Displeasure This infinitely aggravates their Misery after a Million of Years the intire Sum remains that revenging Justice will exact for ever The Righteous Judg will never so far be reconciled as to annihilate them Perfection of Misery Desperate Sorrow A Life in Torments that never dies a Death that never ends Now it is impossible for Men that have reasonable Minds to choose the Pleasures of Sin that are like Bubbles on the Water that presently break and vanish when attended with Misery that admits no Ease or End Is there any possible Comparison between them The serious belief of Hell cannot consist with the knowledg and purpose of Sin and the delightful Practice of it Either the belief of it will infuse and impress such efficacious Vertue into Mens Minds that will restrain them from Sin or the habitual course of Sin will extinguish or eclipse the belief of the Punishment 'T is
the other so according to the excess of Love will be the excess of Grief Of this we have an eminent Instance in David whose Sorrow for the Death of his rebellious Son was as immoderate as his Love the Cause of it 2. I shall now consider the moral Causes of habitual Sins the various Circumstances of our Lives that are influential to give a Custom to Nature and Viciousness to Custom As the Sea has Rocks and Sands Gulphs and Currents Tempests and Calms so the present Life has symbolically in its different States that endanger us in our Passage to the next World. The different Conditions of Life I will consider under four Heads 1. The several Callings wherein Men are ingag'd 2. The opposite states of Prosperity or Adversity that are attended with suitable Temptations 3. The Society with whom we are conversant 4. The Quality of the Times wherein we live 1. Let us search for the predominant Sin in the Callings wherein we are ingag'd for according to their Quality Temptations surround us and are likely to surprize us The Spider spins his Web where Flies usually pass to entangle and destroy them so the subtile Tempter lays his Snares in our Callings wherein we are conversant John the Baptist therefore when the Publicans addrest to him for Instruction Master What shall we do said to them Exact no more than what is appointed you And to the Souldiers he said Do Violence to no Man neither accuse any falsly and be content with your Wages He warns them against Rapine and Force and injurious Accusing others of which Sins Publicans and Souldiers were usually guilty I will to be the more instructive particularly consider some Callings and the Sins that evidently attend them The Sacred Calling of Ministers does not secure them from Temptations but such is the corruption of their Hearts and of the World that it exposes them to dangerous Temptations The Devil scales us on the Temple-side and often gets possession of our Hearts Ministers are often guilty of a spiritless formality in the managing Holy Things In the composing of Sermons the Mind is exercised about the Matter Order and Expressions without Holy Affections suitable to Divine Truths partly because from Custom the most solemn and concerning Things pass through the Soul without serious Regard and Application and partly because the Ministerial Office obliging us to furnish our selves with the knowledg of the admirable Mysteries of Godliness for the instruction of others we are apt to make that the only End of our Studies like Vintners that buy great quantities of Wine for sale and not for their own use There is not in many Ministers a spark of that Heavenly Fire which the reflexive Meditation on Spiritual and Eternal Truths inspires into the Soul which our Saviour came to kindle Their Knowledg is not lively and operative but like a Winter's Sun that shines without vital Heat If they are inrich'd with rare Talents they are apt to prophane that Holy Ordinance of Preaching by secret Aims and Desires of Vain-glory The Temptation is more dangerous because esteem and praise for Intellectual Excellencies that are peculiar to Man and wherein the Eminence of his Nature consists is very pleasing even to those who are of an unspotted Conversation and free from Carnal Pollutions Chrysostom confesses of himself That when he preach'd to a thin Auditory his words dy'd on his Lips and his Spirit was quench'd but when he was encompass'd with a numerous full Assembly his Spirit was enflam'd and he breath'd Fire The attention and applause of the Hearers the regarding one another with Wonder as if never Man spake better the reigning over the Spirits of Men by powerful Oratory are apt to inspire vain-glorious Conceits into the Preachers And many carried along by the Current of their injudicious Auditors are curious to bespangle their Discourses with light Ornaments to please the Ear and are not studious to preach Christ and him Crucified in a stile distant from all shadow of vanity to save the Soul. Another Temptation attending that Holy Calling is from Humane Passions which Ministers often bring up into the Pulpit with them and with a counterfeit Zeal vent their Animosities against those of whom they are jealous as diminishing their secular Interests God under the Law severely forbids the offering up Sacrifices by common Fire but only by Celestial that was preserved Day and Night upon the Altar by the Priests 't is symbolical that the reprehension of Sinners by the Servants of God should not be exprest with heat of Anger against their Persons but with holy Zeal that Love to their Souls should be the pure Motive of the severest Rebukes Lastly The great danger is lest Ministers have a respect more to the temporal Reward of their Office than the divine End of it Therefore St. Peter with that Solemnity enjoins Evangelical Pastors to feed the Flock of God taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for filthy Lucre but of a ready Mind Neither to act as Lords over God's Heritage but to be Ensamples to the Flock 'T is true the Labourer is worthy of his Reward and if we sow Spiritual Things is it a great Matter as the Apostle saith if we reap your carnal Things But tho 't is natural and regular to eat to live yet to live to eat is prodigiously brutish so 't is a most guilty vile Intention to use the Sacred Ministry for obtaining secular Things This will corrupt the Heart and hinder the discharging the Office with sincerity and constancy For the End is the Rule and Measure of the Means and a worldly Minister will frame his Sermons and order his Affairs to obtain the World. If it be for his Secular Interest he will appear as an Apostle full of Zeal against Errors and Sins but if the preaching the Doctrines of Truth and Holiness be prejudicial to his worldly Designs he will neglect his Duty to preserve the Minds of Men untainted from destructive Errors he will mollify the Threatnings of Scripture rebate their Edg and thereby harden the Hearts of presumptuous Sinners As 't is observed of the Vines if they are supported upon crooked Stakes they will grow so so carnal Preachers will conform themselves according to the Humours of those upon whom they servilely depend In Courts of Judicature the Temptations are intimated in the wise Advice of Jethro to Moses That he should chuse Men fearing God and hating Covetousness Without the over-ruling Fear of God Judges will not do their Duty evenly and couragiously Humane Respects will tempt them to bend the Rule to the obliquity of their Minds and Desires When they are influenc'd by the Fear or Favour of Men they will part with Justice and Conscience and true Honour and their Souls And how often does the weight of Gold turn the Scales in Judgment and preponderate the Reason of the Cause with those who are most solemnly obliged to universal
which we are most inclinable and that often foil us Constancy is inseparable from Sincerity If we neglect the humbling of our Souls for unavoidable Infirmities the earnest seeking for the Divine Mercy and Grace and a careful watching against them we so far decline from Uprightness 2. It implies the mortifying the inward Affection to that Sin. The Rule of our Duty requires this Cleanse your Hands ye Sinners purify your Hearts ye double-minded The Will is the proper Principle of Sin and from the depravation of the free Faculty actual Sins proceed As the Love of the Subject is the Strength of the Prince so the Love of any Sin preserves its Dominion There may be a concurrence of Circumstances to hinder the actual commission of Sin of which the Heart is guilty An unclean Person when separated from the Object of his impure Desires may languish in his Lusts and by contemplative commission be guilty before God. A malicious Person may keep the Fire of Malice in his Breast without the least discovery by a Spark or Smoak in his Words or Actions waiting for an opportunity that he may take his full Revenge and is a Murderer in his Wishes The rapacious desire of anothers Goods without actual Robbery induces the Guilt of Thest. There may be an invincible Bar between the sinful Affection and the Object Sickness or Age may so waste the vigour of the Body that we cannot perform the gross Acts of Sin But this Abstinence has no moral Value for it only proceeds from the disability of the Instrumental Faculties If one in a Consumption leaves his Revelling and Licentiousness 't is no sign of Divine Grace but of wasted Nature As in a sick Person the Appetite fails the Soul abhors dainty Meat but if he recovers his Appetite revives and is more craving for his Abstinence Thus many who could not enjoy their pleasant Lusts in the time of Diseases being restored to strength their vicious Affections are reincited by new Temptations and with greater excess act over their old Sins as if they would pay Interest for their impatient forbearance An old Sinner may retain and cherish the Fire of Lust in his Heart when Age has snow'd upon his Head As in Mount Aetna the sulphurious Fire and Snow are near together But as the Philosopher observes If a young Eye were put into an old Man's Head he would see as clearly as ever So if natural strength were restor'd in an unconverted Sinner he would be as ardent and active in prosecuting his carnal Desires as before Terrors of Conscience may stop the current of Mens Lusts Fear has Torment and is inconsistent with the Pleasures of Sin the fear of visible Vengeance that sometimes strikes the Wicked or the apprehension of Judgment to come may controul the licentious Appetites from breaking forth into actual commission of Sins But as when the Lions spared Daniel it was not from the change of their wild devouring Nature for they destroyed his Accusers immediately but from the suspending their hurtful Power so when a strong fear lays a restraint upon the active Powers yet inward Lust is the same and would licentiously commit Sin were the Restraint taken away The keeping ones self from Sin that is the sign of Uprightness proceeds from the mortification of the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts thereof The Apostle tells us Carnal Circumcision without the Circumcision of the Heart was of no avail to obtain the Favour of God So the outward forbearance of Sin without inward Purity can never commend us to the Divine Acceptance A Rebel may be driven from the Frontiers but so long as he keeps the Royal City he is unsubdued So if a Lust keeps possession of the Heart tho the executive Powers may be retained or disabled from the outward Acts it still reigns 3. I shall now prove that the keeping a Man's Self from his special Sin is an undeceiving evidence of Sincerity 1. God approves it I was upright before him God has not Eyes of Flesh he doth not see as Man sees The deepest Breast is as clear as Christal in his sight He weighs the Spirits of Men and exactly knows what is true Gold and what is counterfeit He is the Searcher and Judg of our Hearts and his approbation is the strongest Seal of our Uprightness As God said to Abraham Now I know thou fearest me in that thou hast not withheld thy Son thine only Son from me So if we Sacrifice at his Command the Sin that is as dear to us as Isaac was to his Father the Sin of our Love and Delight the Sin that is ours by Choice and Custom then we shall hear the blessed Testimony from Heaven that we love God in sincerity he will own us as his Friends Sincere Christians can appeal to God in the Psalmist's Language and with his Affections Lord search me and try me and see whether there be any way of Wickedness in me they are not conscious of any indulged course of Sin which would make them fearful of his pure and piercing Eye 2. It will appear that the keeping our selves from our peculiar Sins is an infallible proof of Uprightness by considering in what it consists In Scripture Uprightness is equivalent to Perfection and Integrity and opposite to Guilt 1. 'T is equivalent to Perfection Mark the perfect Man and behold the Upright for the End of that Man is Peace The absolute perfection of Holiness is not attainable upon Earth none are refin'd to a height of Purity without Mixtures and Allays But according to the mitigation of the Gospel the Saints whose Aims Desires and Endeavours are to obtain Perfection are accepted in the Blessed Mediator as perfect Now the indulgence of any darling Sin is utterly inconsistent with Perfection in the mild sense of the Gospel and consequently with Uprightness This will be more evident by considering that Uprightness is equivalent with Integrity The Psalmist prays Let Integrity and Uprightness preserve me Integrity implies an uniform equal respect to all the Divine Commands When Conscience of our Duty to God and the reverence of his Authority shining in his Law inclines us to obey all his Will we are upright Partial Obedience that divides the Precepts and complies with those that are agreeing with our Carnal Affections and Interest and neglects the rest is an inconsistent with Sincerity as Death and Life As the Soul in the natural Man is a vital Principle from whence all the Actions of Life and Sense proceed so renewing Grace is a Principle of Universal Obedience Herod did many things gladly upon the preaching of John the Baptist but he would not part with Herodias his charming Lust still had dominion in his Heart The young Man observed other Commands of the Law but when our Saviour tried his Integrity by commanding him to sell all and to give it to the Poor and he should have Treasure in Heaven 't is said he went
recorded of Craesus when pursued by the Army of the Persians he fill'd a straight Passage between the Mountains with Boughs of Trees and set fire to them and thereby secur'd his Retreat If Men were so wise as to set the Fire of Hell between the Temptations of Sin and their Affections it would be a sure defence from their Spiritual Enemies But the Scene of Torments prepared for unreform'd Sinners is little understood and less believed by Men whilst they are in Prosperity tho the Saviour of the World has in great Mercy revealed them in such Expressions as may terrify even secure Carnalists that only live to Sense Infidelity lies at the bottom and renders the most terrible Truths ineffectual There is such a Riddle in the Tempers of Men they are not sensible of Divine Mercies till deprived of them nor of Divine Judgments till they feel them But if right Reason were attended to they must be convinced of unseen Rewards and Punishment to be dispensed in the next State. For the Light of Nature discovers an essential Difference between Moral Good and Evil From hence proceeds the Reflections of Conscience either approving or condemning our own Actions and making a Judgment upon the Actions of others by that common Rule according to which all acknowledg that Men ought to live This Truth is so engraven in the Humane Nature that even the most wicked Sinners who endeavour if it were possible to make Conscience so blind as not to see and stupid as not to feel yet cannot totally exclude the Application of it to themselves and will acknowledg the Obligation of it in the general and with respect to others Now the Law of God written in Mans Heart necessarily infers a Judgment upon the Transgressors of it and the Judgment includes a Punishment becoming the Majesty of the Lawgiver that ordains it and the extent of his Power that executes it Divine Revelation makes this Truth much more clear and certain The Apostle tells us If we live after the Flesh we shall die and will God cease to be holy and just and true that impenitent Sinners may escape Punishment But there are some poisonous Principles infus'd into the Hearts of Men that encourage them in their Sins notwithstanding their Assent to the Doctrine of a future Judgment Some cannot perswade themselves that God will be so strict and severe that for a single forbidden Pleasure when they respect other Commands of his Law he will condemn them for ever The secret Presumption that one Transgression will not provoke their Judg to extream Wrath hardens them in a sinful course But St. James declares He that offends in one Point is guilty of all One known allowed Sin that a Man habitually commits involves him in the Guilt of Rebellion against the Divine Authority that made the Law. It was observ'd before Herod did somethings according to John's Divine Instructions but he would not part with Herodias and that one Sin denominated him wicked Many are like him they observe some Rules of Religion perform some Duties are zealous against some Sins but there is an Herodias a Sin pleasant to the Taste of their Temper that they will not relinquish and without any Promise nay against the Threatnings of God they believe he will be merciful to them notwithstanding their Wickedness This Presumption is an unnatural abuse of God's Mercy This exasperates that high and tender Attribute For what can be more provoking than to imagine that the Divine Mercy should encourage Sin and protect unceform'd Sinners from the Arrests of Vindictive Justice The Blood that Ahab spar'd in Benhadad induc'd a deadly Guilt as that he spilt of Naboth as God spake by the Prophet to him Because thou hast spared that Man whom I appointed to Destruction thy Life shall go for his Life The Application is easy to spare the Life of Sin will cost the Life of the Sinner One Lust that adhering Custom or the closer Nature or any carnal Interest so endears to Men that they do not sincerely desire and endeavour to mortify and forsake will be fatal to them for ever Some habitual Sinners when terrified with the Apprehension of future Judgment for God sometimes thunders in the Conscience as well as in the Air endeavour to quiet their Fears by presuming that the Death of Christ will reconcile offended Justice and his Blood cleanse them from all Sin. They will lean upon the Cross to save them from falling into the bottomless Pit but not crucify one Lust on it The Vanity of this has been shewed before I shall only add that 't is most opprobrious to the Son of God and most destructive to Sinners for 't is to make him the Minister of Sin as if he came into the World to compose a Church of rotten and corrupt Members and unite it to himself Such a Mystieal Body would be more monstrous than Nebuthadnezzar's Image of which the Head was Gold and Feet were Miry Clay And this will be most destructive to their Souls for by turning the remedy of Sin into an occasion of sinning they derive a woful Guilt from the Death of Christ instead of the precious Benefits purchased by it for true Believers For an unreformed Sinner to oppose the Blood of Christ to the Fears of Damnation renders his Condition desperate The most who continue in a sinful course strive to elude the Warnings of Conscience by resolving that after the Season of sinning is past they will reform and apply themselves to seek the Favour and Grace of God. But how hazardous how incongruous is the delay of serious Repentance How hazardous The Lives of Sinners are forfeited in Law their time is a Reprieve depending meerly upon the Favour of the Judg how can they have a Warrant for a day But they are young and strong and think the day of Death and their last Account to be at a great distance Vain Security as if Death were not in every place and every hour as near Rebellious Sinners as their Sins that deserve it If thou doest Evil says God to Cain Sin is at the Door Damnation is ready to tread upon the Heels of Sinners and if Divine Clemency and Patience did not interpose would immediately seize upon them God sometimes shoots from the Clouds and breaks the strongest Buildings into Ruins it is not the Error of his Hand but his Pity that impenitent Sinners escape his visible Vengeance But who can assure them of future time Besides suppose that Sinners who hate to be reform'd whilst present Temptations are so inviting had a Lease of Time can they command the Grace of God They now suppress the Motions of the Spirit and in effect say to him as Felix to St. Paul awakening his Conscience with a Sermon of Righteousness and Temperance and Judgment to come Go away for the present when it is a convenient season I will call for thee But will the holy Spirit assist them at Death who have always resisted him
in their Lives Without his powerful quickning Grace they will be unrelenting in their guilty polluted State and can they have any regular hope to obtain Repentance unto Life when they have so often quench'd his warm Excitations Delay proceeds from Hardness of Heart and merits final Desertion from God. How incongruous is it to expect that Divine Mercy will accept of a Death-bed Repentance that is meerly by constraint of Fear and a Resolution to live well when they know they can live no longer To continue in Sin upon this Conceit that God will easily be reconciled to Sinners at the last that Confession with the mixt Affections of Sorrow and Fear for the sensible Effects of Sin in Pains and Sickness and worse that immediately attend it in the next State will obtain a total and final acquittance from our Judg is an extream Dishonour to his ruling Wisdom his unspotted Holiness his incorruptible Justice and inviolable Truth The Mercy of God that will justify all unfeignedly repenting believing Sinners for Christ's sake will justify God in the condemning wilful obstinate Sinners who render themselves eternally unworthy of it To conclude the Motives if we desire the Favour of God that is better than Life if we fear his Wrath that is worse than Death if we would obtain Heaven or escape Hell let us mortify our respective Sins I shall now propound the Means that are requisite for the preserving us from our special Sins If the following Rules seem harsh and distasteful to the Carnal Mind it is to be considered that Medicines for the Recovery and Preservation of Health are not sweet Meats of a pleasant Relish 1. In order to the keeping our selves pure and upright we must be inquisitive to understand intimately and distinctly what are the Sins to which we are most liable For he that doth not know what he should fear is careless and secure easily disorder'd and vanquish'd by a Temptation Some Lusts are open and notorious in the gross Commission others lie deep and are of a harder Disclosure Ignorance is the strong defence of Sin it begins in inward Darkness the Captive is kept securely in the Dungeon The Understanding directs the Will the Will commands the Practice if the Sin be undiscovered we are not acquainted with our danger and shall not avoid it A principal part of our Knowledg is terminated upon our selves what is the weakest part with respect to our Natures Minds and Affections otherwise not provided of Defence we shall be overcome without Resistance Now by applying the Rules that have been largely insisted on in explicating the Doctrinal Point we may understand our peculiar Sins If we consider our Constitution we may know what Sins are suitable to our Tempers Our frequent Lapses are a sensible Discovery how the weight of Nature inclines us The reflecting upon the several Ages of Life and our Conditions in the World will be an Indication what Sins indanger our Souls The Young are strongly dispos'd to Pleasures the Old to Avarice the Healthful and Prosperous to Intemperance in the use of Worldly Things the Sick and Afflicted to Impatience the Rich to Security the Poor to Envy When the special Sin is found strip'd off its flattering Colours devest it of its alluring Dress that it may appear in its foul Deformity and kindle an Aversation in your Breasts against it The correcting vicious Errors begins in the inlightned Mind that discovers them and our proneness to them And since we are so apt to disguise our darling Sins and to be partial to our selves let us with the Psalmist pray to the Father of Lights That he would search us and try us and see whether there be any way of Wickedness in us to discover it to us by the Light of his Word and cover it with his pardoning Mercy and lead us in the way everlasting 2. Diligent Watchfulness and Circumspection is an effectual Means to keep our selves from the Sins that easily encompass us This implies Prudence to discover dangers and the exercise of the Spiritual Powers to prevent and resist them Watchfulness is a universal Duty of constant Revolution There are respective Duties that belong to Persons according to their Relations and several Conditions there are Duties of stated Times and Seasons but the Duty of Watchfulness to prevent Sin extends to all in this frail State according to our Saviour's Command to his Disciples What I say unto you I say unto all Watch And at all times for tho we are not always ingaged in actual Fight we are always in the Field liable to manifold Temptations that are ready to surprize us upon careless neglect of our Duty Habitual Grace if it be not drawn forth into Exercise by constant Watchfulness cannot fortify us against Sin. A Saint that is humble and watchful preserves himself from the Power and Infection of Sin that another who in degrees of Grace excels him but relaxes his Watch is sadly foiled by Joseph a young Man by Vigilance and avoiding the Temptation kept himself untainted from the impure Sollicitations of his Mistress David tho of great Experience in Religion and of eminent Holiness yet when he intermitted his Watch how suddenly was he surpriz'd From a careless glance Curiosity past into Complacence Complacence into Lust Lust into Adultery and is an eternal Example to excite our Fear and Caution If there be not a continued Diligence the same holy Person that with Defiance and Indignation has resisted the Tempter at some times has been vanquish'd at other times Lot was Righteous in Sodom but how foully and wofully he fell in the Mountain Now our chief care must be directed to avoid our special Sins 'T is a Fundamental Rule in the Christian Life that our weakest part is to be guarded with most Jealousy and fortified with the strongest defence for the most frequent and dangerous Assaults are on the side that is most open to surprize The subtile Tempter addresses his Insinuations in compliance to our Affections he knew the softness of Adam towards his Wife and chose her to be the Instrument of persuading him to eat the forbidden Fruit. Every one has a carnal part that like Eve the Mother of our Miseries is prevalent to corrupt us and accordingly he suits his Temptations 'T was the crafty Counsel of Balaam to Balac not to encounter the Israelites with armed Souldiers but with the Allurements of Women by whom they were corrupted and seduced to Impurity and Idolatry and thereby provok'd God's Wrath and were devested of his Protection When Ulisses was employed to discover Achilles who was conceal'd in the Habit of a Virgin amongst the Maids of Honour he carried a * pack of Toys and a Lance and whilst the Women were looking upon the Ribbons and Lace and Glasses Achilles takes up the Lance that was suitable to his Martial Spirit and so was discovered and drawn to the Trojan War that prov'd fatal to him Thus the Tempter