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
them â—d the greatest Sins Every thought â—ou thinkest and every word thou â—eakest in an unregenerate State and conâ—tion there is Sin in it and though most â— them possibly are but little Sins yet â— multitude of them alone are able to â—nk you down into the lowest Hell â—our Consciences start back and are â—frighted as indeed they ought at a â—emptation to Murder Incest Blasâ—emy or any of those more horrid Sins â—at are the prodigies of corrupt Nature â—ese Sins you dare not so much as comâ—it once And yet thousands of thouâ—nds of lesser Sins such as sinful Thoughts â—le Words petty Oaths commodious Lyes â—ese proceed from you without either â—riving against them or mourning for â—em Why now Sirs do you more fear â—tolerable and everlasting Wrath for â—e single Commission of a great Sin than you do for the frequent and repeated Commission of less Sins Truly â— cannot precisely tell you whether you had not as good Blaspheme God once aâ— take his Name in vain often whetheâ— it be not as good to Murder once as to hate always The frequency of little Sins makes their guilt so great and theiâ— punishment so intolerable that the vilest Sins you can imagine shall have nothing to exceed them in unless it be the horror of the Name of that Sin Anâ— yet it fares with us as it did with thâ— Israelites we tremble more at one Goliah than we do at the whole Army of thâ— Philistines One gross scandalous Siâ— makes Conscience recoil and go back when yet we venture upon the number less guilt of smaller Sins that have leâ— terror in their Name though united iâ— their guilt they bring far sorer Condemnation on the Soul than the single Commission of a great Sin What great diâ—ference is there whether your Eternaâ— burning be kindled by many sparks oâ— by one fire brand Whether you Die bâ— many smaller Wounds or by one greaâ— one Many little Items may make Debt desperate and the payment impossible And truly when God shall â—eckon up against us at the great Day many thousand vain Thoughts and as many superfluous idle Words with as many petty Oaths and Lyes that we â—ave been guilty of the account will be â—s dreadful and the Wrath that will â—ollow as insupportable as if Murder Blasphemy or the greatest outrage that â—ver was committed in the World were â—ingly charged upon us Thirdly It 's difficult to convince men of the evil of little Sins Consider it is very difficult â—o convince Men of the great Evil and Danger that there is in little Sins and â—herefore it is very difficult to bring them â—o Repentance for them Indeed this is â—he great and desperate Evil that there â—s in small Sins that Men will not be perswaded that they are Evil. Flagitious wickednesses are usually self condemning they carry that brand upon them that makes them evident to every Mans Conscience that they come from Hell and will certainly lead to Hell Rom. 1.33 and therefore the Apostle Rom. 1.33 after he had reckoned up a black Catalogue of Sins tells them in the last verse that though they were Heathens yet they knew the Judgments of God that they that committed such things were worthy of Death But now the guilt of little Sins is not so apparent the eye of a meer natural Conscience looks usually outward to the Life and Conversation and if that be plain and smooth it sees not or dispenseth with the lesser Sins of the Heart Hence is it that we so seldom confess or mourn for those that we call lesser Sins When is it that we are deeply humbled for the Omission of duties or for the slight and perfunctory performance of them these we look not upon as deserving Damnation and therefore we think they need no Repentance Nay are we not so far from judging and condemning our selves for them that we seek out pretences to excuse and lessen them calling them Slips Failings and vnavoidable Infirmities Gen. 19.20 And as Lot said of Zoar is it not a little one and our Souls shall live What can I think there is so much danger in a foolish Thought in a vain and inconsiderate Word Can I think that the great God will torment his poor creatures for ever for a Thought for a Word for a Glance yes believe it unless these Sins be done away in the Blood of Christ there is not the least of them but hath an infinite Evil in it and an infinite Wrath following of it If you will not now be convinced of it you shall be then when with dread and astonishment you shall hear God calling your little Sins by other Names than you now do you call them Failings and Infirmities but God will call them Presumptions and Rebellions What you say is but a vain Thought shall be arraign'd as Treason against God as Atheism and Soul Murder Then every formal heartless Duty that here you performed shall be accused of mocking and scoffing of God they are so interpretatively and in God's esteem and unless the guilt of them be done away by the Blood of sprinkling you will find them no less at the great and terrible Day of the Lord. Indeed the generality of Men have gotten a dangerous Method of doing away the guilt of their Sins great Sins they make to be little and little Sins they make to be none at all and thus they do away their Sins and so they Live in them customarily and Die in them impenitently and perish under them irrecoverably The least sin allow'd is a sign of an hypocritical Heart Fourthly Consider that the allowance anâ— cordial approbation but of the least Sin is â— certain sign of a most rotten and hypocriticaâ— Heart Be thy Conversation never sâ— blameless be thy profession never so glorious be thy Duties and Services never sâ— pompous yet if there be the secret reservation and allowance but of the leasâ— Sin all this is no more than so much vain show and pageantry Jam. 1.26 What says the Apostle Jam. 1.26 If any Man among you seem tâ— be Religious and bridleth not his Tongue that Man deceiveth himself his Religion is vain Why is it not strange that after so many prayers daily put up to God after an eminent profession and a considerable progress made in the ways of God that yet both the sincerity and success oâ— all this should depend upon so small â— thing as the tip of a man's Tongue If thaâ— be allowed to run at random into impertinencies not to say into Debaucheries and Prophaneness all your Duties all youâ— Prayers all your Profession is blown away by the same Tongue that uttered them and all your Religion will be in vain and let me add This seeming Religion will enâ— only in shame and confusion at the last when the Soul and Conscience of a sinner shall be ript open at the great Day before Men and Angels and that little Sin that kept God and Christ
So is it with the Law of God let Scribes and Pharisees corrupt it by their erroneous Glosses and false Interpretations â—utting what Forms and Shapes they â—ease upon it yet as it is in the corâ—ption of earthly Bodies not the least â—iece of Matter can perish or be annihiâ—ted so neither in their corrupting of â—he Law shall one jot or tittle of it fail â—ot but that the Law did fail of its obâ—ervation never yet was it exactly and â—unctually fulfilled by any except by â—ur Lord Jesus Christ but yet the Obâ—gation and binding Power of it is everâ—sting and shall continue while there â— an Earth and Men upon it yea while there is a Heaven glorified Saints â—â— it for the Moral Law is of an eternal â—alidity on Earth it is a perfect Rule â—et down in the Word in Heaven it is â— perfect Nature implanted in the Blesâ—ed from which all their Actions shall low and by which they shall all be guided to eternity This Assertion being laid down our Saviour proceeds to draw an Inference â—rom it and that he doth in the Words â—f the Text If every jot and tittle of â—he Law be of such a permanent and everlasting Obligation then whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and teach Men so he shall be called that is he shall be or he deserves to bâ— the least in the Kingdom of Heaven Opening of the Words And here before we can arrive at thâ— full and practical Sense of the Words we must enquire into Two Things First What is here meant by the least Commandment Secondly What is meant by being least in the Kingdom of Heaven What is meant by the least Commandment For the First of these When Christ speaks here of the least Commandment it must not be so understood as if one Commandment were less necessary to be observed than another God's Commands are all alike necessary and that with a twofold Necessity Necessitate Praecepti Necessitate Medii The one ariseth from the Authority of the Law-giver the other from the Requisiteness of Obedience to eternal Life One Command therefore is not less than another First No Command little in respect of God's Authority In respect of the Authority enâ—yning them The same holy and just â—od who hath commanded us to love â—nd fear him with all our Souls and with â—l our Might hath also commanded us â— abstain from every vain Thought â—nd from every idle and superfluous â—ord The least Command hath power â— bind the Conscience to Obedience as â—ell as the greatest because the least â— enacted by that Sovereign God to â—hom all Souls and Consciences are subâ—ct as well as the greatest It is not â—he greatness or smallness of the Coin â—ut the Image of the King stamp'd upon â— that authorizeth it and makes it â—arrant So truly the Holiness and Puâ—ty of God's Nature once imprinted upâ—n the least Command makes it fully as â—uthoritative and Obligatory as if it â—ere the highest and the chiefest Nor Secondly No Command less necessary to be obeyed is one Command less â—han another as if it were less necessary â—o be performed in order to Eternal Life The Breach of the least Commandment â—oth as certainly shut the Soul out of Heaven and shut it up under Wrath and Condemnation as the breach of the greatest In neither of these sences therefore must the Words be understood aâ— if our Obedience were required more râ—missly or left more arbitrary to the one than to the other or as if the observation of them all were not equally conducible unto Happiness or the transgression of them equally liable unto punishment When therefore Christ speaks oâ— the least Commandment the expression may admit of a twofold signification First That herein he alludes to thâ— common and corrupt Doctrine of the Scribes and Pharisees distinguishing God's Commands into great and small The great Commandments they held to be those only which concerned the external Acts of Religious Worship such as Fastings and Washings and Sacrifices and scrupulous Tithings with various Gifts and Offerings these were their great Commandments but for inward Concupiscence for unmortified Lusts for vain Thoughts and sinful Desires these they as a Generation corrupt in themselves and Corrupters of others taught as the Papists now do either to be no Sins at all or at most but venial so long as they did not break forth into Act and truly the greater part of this Chapter is spent in setting forth the evil of â—hose Sins that the Jews accounted to be â—â—ght and small Matth. 5.22 28 29. as to be angry with our â—rother to call him Racha or thou Fool â—erse 22. To harbour inward Motions â—f Concupiscence ver 28. To use Diâ—orce ver 29. Common Swearing ver 34. Private Revenge ver 39. Now says our â—aviour I am so far from destroying the Law and the Prophets either by my Doctrine or by my Practice as these Men falsly accuse and calumniate me â—hat contrariwise I teach that the violatiâ—n of those Commands which your Doâ—tors the Scribes and Pharisees account â—mall and little will bring with them â—n heavy guilt and sore condemnation or whosoever breaks those Commandments that are commonly vilify'd and called least shall be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven Secondly Those Commandments which â—re great in respect of the Lawgiver may yet be the least in comparison with other Commands of the same Law which â—re indeed thought greatest Now this comparative inequality in the Commandments is taken from the inequality of the Objects about which they are conversant some of them concern our Duty to God others concern our Duty to Man Now because Man is infinitely less than God therefore those Commands that relate to our Duty towards Man may be called less than those Commands that relate to our Duty towards God Hence when the Lawyer put a Case to our Saviour Matth. 22.36 Mat. 22.36 Master which is the great Commandment in the Law Our Lord answers him Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind This says he is the first and great Commandment Sometimes this inequality riseth from the Latitude that every Command hath in it Now this Latitude relateth to our Thoughts to our Words and to our Actions Now because a Thought may be said to be less than a Word and a Word may be said to be less than an Action therefore that part of the Commandment that requires Holiness in our Thoughts may be said to be less than that which requires Holiness in our Speech and that part of the Commandment which requires Holiness in our Speech than that which requires Holiness in our Lives and Actions Now says our Saviour he that sins against Man as well as he that sins against Gâ—d he that sins in a Thought in a Word as well as he that sins in his Actions and Conversation He that breaks
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
Prince in many little Sun without grudging that which were exacted from them all at once in oâ— great Tax would make them repine if â—ot rebell so is it with us we stand â—ot with the Devil for small sins but â— he tempts us to greater abominations â—hen Conscience makes an alarm and upâ—oar in the Soul and will not nay cannot consent to damn it self by wholeâ—ale certainly that Man that can as our Saviour speaks of the Pharisees swalâ—ow Camels sins of a huge bulk and size without any check or straining at them must needs have a Conscience as wide mouth'd as Hell and he who hath so â—arge a Conscience hath no Conscience at all and that 's another advantage we have against presumptuous Sins Thirdly Fear of shame and infamy a remedy against presumptuous Sins The fear of Shame and of Infamy in the World many times puts a great restraint upon the Lusts of Men and keeps them from breaking out into those daring and presumptuous Wickednesses that otherwise they would do Therefore our Saviour describes the unjust Judge to be one of a strange temper that neither feared God nor regarded Man Luke 18.2 Why those that have worn off all fear of God from their Hearts yet usually have some awe of Man still lest them though the are so hardned that they fear not God Judging them yet they are withal â— Childish that they fear Man's Censurinâ— them loath they are that their Name should be tossed to and fro from Tonguâ— to Tongue that the World should say of them this Man is a Drunkard anâ— that Man is an Vnclean Person anâ— that Man is a Thief Tell me O Sinner why else dost thou seek Corners tâ— hide thy Wickedness in why dost thoâ— not do it in the face of the Sun and before the Eyes of the whole World why that very shame that makes Men scull in secret when they Sin had they nâ— secrecy to hide themselves in from the notice of Men it would keep them also from the Sin it self It doth not terrifie Men to Consider that God write down all their Sins in his Book of Remembrance but should he write alâ— their Sins upon their Foreheads in visible Letters that all the World might Read them where is the Wretch so impudent that would dare to be seen abroad our Streets would be desolate and your Pews would be empty and the World would grow a Wilderness and those that we took for Men would appear to be but very Monsters and Beasts such woful transformation hath Sin made in the World how many Swines are there â—wallowing in their own Vomit how many Goatish sensualists are become Brutish in Filthy Pleasures how many Earth Worms are there crawling up and down in the Muck of this World loading themselves with thick Clay certainly if every Sinner should be seen in his own shape we should meet with very few Men in the World Why now Wicked Men are ashamed to be seen abroad in such disguises as these are and therefore they study to Sin in secret or if that cannot be they force themselves to abstain from Sin unwilling they are to be pointed at in the Streets there goes a Drunkard or an Extortioner there a Cheater or an Adulterer and the like and for very fear hereof sometimes they are kept from the commission of those infamous Sins that would make them a Reproach to all their Neighbours And that is another advantage The Laws of Men keep Men from Sin Lastly The fear of Humane Laws and Penalties doth many times keep Men from the committing many great and horrid Impieties such as would fall undeâ— the notice of the Law It is a great Mercy that God hath Instituted Magistracy that may be a Terrour to Evil Works as the Apostle speaks Rom. 3.13 were it not more for fear of Humane Laws the inflicting of Corporal Punishment upon Men more than God's Threatning of Eternal Punishments the wholâ— World would become worse than a Savage Wilderness within would be Fear and Tumults without would be Ragâ— and Violence our Dwellings our Persons our Possessions would be all exposed to the furious lusts of ungodlâ— Men and by swearing and lying anâ— killing and stealing and committing aduâ—tery Men would break forth till blooâ— toucheth blood as the Prophet speaks Hoâ— 4.2 but the wise Providence of God who hath subdued the Beasts of the Eartâ— to Man hath also subdued Man whâ— else would become more wild and brâ—tish than they to Man God hath therâ—fore subdued Man to Man so that thoâ— that stand not in any awe of the Goâ— of Heaven yet are they awed by the Gods of the Earth and they whom the thoughts of Hell and Eternal Wrath cannot scare from sin yet many times the thoughts of a Prison and Gibbet doth Now this fear is of great advantage to keep Men from the commission of presumptuous Sins which they have not to keep them from the commission of lesser and smaller sins and what is not this security enough against them is there need of any more were it not strange if that warning given before-hand to prepare for resistance if the reluctancy of natural Conscience if the shame of the World and the fears of humane Laws and Penalties should not be sufficient to preserve us from them Were not this strange Yes it were so yet so it is notwithstanding all these advantages still we have great cause to pray with David Lord keep back thy servants from â—resumptuous Sins all other defence is â—ut weak and all other security is but â—nsafe Lord therefore do thou keep us â—nd this I shall endeavour to demonstrate â—nto you by two particulars the one â—rom Scripture and the other from Experience First from Scripture All our ability whether for the performance of duties or for the opposing of corruption is in Scripture entirely ascribed unto the power of God thus the Apostle exhorts the Ephesians in Chap. 6.10 My Brethren says he be strong but in whom what in your selves no says he but be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might for in his Almighty Power though mighty corruptions rush in upon you and threaten your ruin though the Devil and the Powers of Hell push sore at you to make you fall yet God calls upon you to stand and to withstand them all stand alas how can we Such poor weak feeble creatures as we are how can we stand Why says the Apostle be strong in the Lord there 's your security against all the force of your Spiritual Enemies lay hold on his Almighty Power and engage that for you and this will bring you off the Field with victory and conquest So again in 2 Cor. 5. and 3. We are not sufficient says the Apostle of our selves to do any thing as of our selves not sufficient to think a good thought and therefore not sufficient to resist an evil thought for our resisting of an evil thought must be by thinking a good
one if an evil thought rise up in our hearts we cannot of our selves so much as think that that thought is evil nor think that it ought to be suppressed and stifled and much less can we then of our selves suppress any sin and what should we do under this utter impotency and inability but call in Divine help and assistance our sufficiency is of God Why now yet in this we cannot think our sufficiency to be of God nor can we depend upon the sufficiency of God to enable us to do it for it is God says the Apostle that worketh in us both to will and to do of his own good pleasure both to think and to act so you have it in Philippians 2.12 so that it is most evident to all that will not willfully shut their eyes against the light of truth that both the first motions and the whole succeeding progress of the Soul either to the performance of duty or to the resistance of sin is wholly from God's Almighty power engaged for them and strengthning them to the one and for the other Secondly Another demonstration of this truth shall be from the common experience of all have you not found sometimes that you could with holy scorn and disdain reject those very Temptations to sin that at other times when God hath absented himself from you when he hath withdrawn his Power and Grace they have sadly prevailed upon you it may be to the commission of some daring and presumptuous sin have you not found it to be so what else is this but an evident argument that it is not your own but God's Power that keeps you from the worst sins We may conclude by our falls when God doth forsake us that when we stand we stand not by our own strength but by his â— Why do you not always fall or why do you not always stand Will you say it is because we are not always alike tempted if you be not why then since the Devil is always alike malicious Even herein appears the Mercy and Power of God who almightily rebukes him but when you are alike tempted whence proceeds it that sometimes you yield and sometimes you resist and conquer but only from hence sometimes God is present to assist you and sometimes he departs from you to humble you he is present sometimes that you might not utterly sink and perish under your sins and he absents himself sometimes that you may be sensible by your falls that formerly it was not your own but his Power that preserved you and this may suffice for the demonstration of the truth that it is not in the power of the best Christians to keep themselves from presumptuous Sins but God's power only Now by this time possibly it may arise up in the hearts of some profane ones Object to make the same Objection as some did in the Apostles days against the Doctrine of Election if it be so that it is not in my own power to keep my self from the commission of sin yea of the greatest and worst sins but only God's Power why doth he yet complain why doth he yet find fault with us for doing that which we cannot but do unless he himself preserve us from it I might here take occasion to vindicate the Equity and Righteousness of Answ God in requiring from us the exercise of that Power that he bestowed upon our natures at first and which we lost only through our own willful default but I have done this divers times already and therefore I shall only at present briefly consider what Power Men have still lest them both in a State of Nature and in a State of Grace to keep themselves from the commission of Sin and that in a few particulars briefly First then Clear it is that whatever Power Men have either to naturals or to spirituals yet they cannot act or exercise that Power without exciting influence from God to quicken and rouze it who will say that a Man that sits hath not power to rise and that a Man that stands hath not power to walk and yet it is certain he neither shall rise nor walk unless God move and excite and rouze that power of his and put it upon that work for in him as we live so we move and have our being so then the power to use our power is from God's quickning enlivening and actuating of us Secondly A Child of God who is regenerated and born again hath a power to do some thing that is not sin because he hath a gracious Principle wrought within him and he acts for a right end even the Glory of God in the Salvation of his Soul but yet this withal must be supposed that he shall never so act without the special aid and assistance of God quickning and stirring up his Graces Thirdly a Man in a State of Nature hath no power to keep himself from sin in general that is he hath no power to do any thing but what is sinful for whatever action is not sinful must flow from a gracious Principle and must be directed to a right end which no action of a wicked Man can be for both the first Principle and also the last end of every action that a wicked Man doth is carnal self Fourthly Though wicked Men have not a power to do that which is not sinful yet they have a power to resist this or that particular sin They are sadly necessitated to act within the sphere of sin that is whatever they act is sinful but yet they may as it were chuse which sin they will act neither doth this overthrow what was delivered before for when they chose a less sin rather than a greater when they avoid the commission of a daring and presumptuous sin and chose rather to perform a duty this proceeds not meerly from their own power but from the power and influence of God raising and exciting their power that Men chuse to feed upon wholsome meat rather than upon poyson though they have a free will to do so yet this doth not merely proceed from their free will but from God's guiding and exciting that free will to chuse wholsome food rather than poyson so is it here what sin Man avoids is not to be ascribed to his own power though a power he hath but it is to be ascribed only to God's common or to his special Grace and Influence whereby that power that would otherwise lie dead and unacted is quickned and actuated in us what difference is there betwixt a Man that hath no power and a Man that hath a power but yet cannot use it Truly such are we what power we have against sin we cannot make use of it till God raise and act us by his exciting Grace therefore have we still need to pray with David Lord do thou keep me from sin for though I have a power yet it is but a latent and sleepy power and will not be available till thou dost awaken