Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n
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A66073
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Characters of a sincere heart and the comforts thereof collected out of the Word of God by Hen. Wilkinson.
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Wilkinson, Henry, 1616-1690.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing W2229; ESTC R27587
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61,872
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145
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Papists of venial and mortal sins is to be discarded altogether as a rotten distinction The Papists may rather according to their own practice call sins venal because they set sins to sale and grant Indulgences for money and so hope to make a good Market of Peoples bad lives thereby intending to inrich the Popes Coffers and the Priests Purses But they in the mean time presumptuously derogate from the Merits of Jesus Christ by presumptuously arrogating to themselves a power of forgiving of sins upon the payment of moneys for Indulgences Against them may be justly retorted the same censure which the Apostle pronounced against Simon Magus Acts 8. 20. for offering of money Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money As for Popish Pardons and Indulgences both Givers and Takers are abominable because they undervalue the pardoning Mercy of God in Jesus Christ It 's an undoubted sign of all those who love God to hate evil So saith the Psalmist Psal 97. 10. Ye that love the Lord hate evil And this hatred must be an universal hatred of all manner of sins without exception and it must be a perfect and irreconcileable hatred Deadly fewds such as Chronicles mention between Family and Family were barbarous and abominable and tended to the utter subversion of many Families But here a deadly fewd is lawful i. e. to perpetuate our hatred and enmity against all manner of sins and corruptions David declares his utter hatred and indignation against all the Enemies of God Psal 139. 23 24. I hate them O Lord that hate thee And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee I hate them with a perfect hatred I count them mine enemies David hated their sins rather than their persons though he loved their persons yet as they were God's enemies for their notorious rebellions against God he hated them with a perfect hatred It 's an universal charge enjoyn'd by the Apostle Rom. 10. 9. to all without exception Abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good Not only one Cockatrice but all the breed of Cockatrices are of a poisonous and destructive nature and mischievous to mankind and therefore not only such as come to maturity but those also which are in the Egg ought to be destroyed So every sin is of a poisonous and mischievous nature and therefore ought to be stifled in the firâ—â— conception and be prevented from proceeding to any ripeness For any Woman to stifle and destroy the fruit of her womb though the conception be very early is abominable murther in the sight of God and if such courses be practised they tend to the rooting out a succession of all mankind But as for all manner of sins and wickedness though newly committed and gone no further then a thought yet that very evil thought should be checkt and disallowed The School men have coyn'd quaint notions and amongst them are mention'd motus primo primi let them not mince nor extenuate sins by such Cob-web distinctions for those beginnings to speak more plainly which by them are call'd primo primi are sinful those first risings and motions as sinful are to be destroyed mourned for and never suffered to proceed to any further maturity Sect. 2 2. As there must be a refraining and 2. An endeavour to practise all Gods commands abstaining from all manner of sins so there must be an endeavour to obey all Commands and practise all Duties Hereupon the Psalmist professeth Psal 119. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments It is an infallible and undoubted sign of a gracious heart neither to divide in duties nor in commands neither to make exceptions and distinctions as if one grace was to be got and not another Neither may we plead a dispensation from any duty whether it be commanded in the first or second Table For instance whoever he be that pretends a strict observation of the Sabbath day I mean only the Lords day Sabbath and pretends a hatred of swearing and lying and of all manner of Idolatry and yet this man is dishonest and unjust in his dealings he is without doubt an errand Hypocrite and likewise whoever he be that pretends to deal justly and uprightly between man and man and to pay every one his own which is both necessary and commendable and yet this man makes no conscience at all of observing the Lords day nor of keeping his Word or Oath nor of using the Name of God with reverence such a man is but a meer formalist and a stranger to the power of godliness For the same God who commands one duty commands another and laies an equal obligation to yield ready and chearful obedience unto both Tables For the whole Law of God is copulative and Lex Dei est uta tota copulativa Illyric one Commandment is joyn'd to another as a link of the same golden Chain Hence it appears in Deuteronomy Deut. 5. 18 19 20 21. that there is a concatenation and connexion between all the Commandments of God Neither shalt thou commit adultery neither shalt thou steal neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour neither shalt thou desire thy neighbours wife neither shalt thou covet thy neighbours house his field or his man-servant or his maid-servant his ox or his ass or any thing that is thy neighbours From which Scriptures we conclude That there ought to be an equal regard unto one Commandment Qâ—jcquid 〈◊〉 cum si equaliâ—er sit as well as another for there is one only holy Lord God who commands one Commandment in the Decalogue as well as an other This was the very trade or grand employment which St. Paul did drive Acts 24. 16. To keep a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man The Apostle did not shift and put off this grand negotiation from himself as if he were unconcern'd and therefore left it to others but it 's said herein do 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I exercise my self Neither did the Apostle sit fast and loose and as we say exercise himself by fits and starts only but he made it his business exercise and imployment for it 's said alwaies Neither 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will any sort of conscience at a venture serve the turn because there are many bad consciences but the Apostle only values and exerciseth a conscience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 void of offence And such a conscience in its extent and latitude is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or an infallible note of the sincerity of that heart which in the Apostles language keeps a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men Farther the said Apostle makes mention of three significant Adverbs which comprehend the whole duty of man viz. soberly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 righteously and godly As to all commands and to all sorts of duties
an evil Thought may set the whole man in combustion sinful thoughts which are in embrione and not yet come to maturity yet being not crush'd not disallowed may in a short tract of time bring forth evil words and afterwards full-born actions of all sorts of abominations As soon as Goliah that insolent proud-daring Champion was brain'd and his Head with his own Sword sever'd from his shoulders then forthwith the whole Army of the Philistins was routed and utterly overthrown If then all Champion-reigning Sins such I call so which are darling bosome Sins be conquered and destroyed then all other sins which are of more than ordinary incursion will the sooner be vanquished and subdued We read that when the King of Syria went to joyn battle against Ahab King of Israel 2 Kings 22. 31. that he gave strict command to his thirty and two Captains that had rule over his Chariots saying Fight neither with small nor great save only with the King of Israel Now if the Question be made Why was the battle principally design'd against the King of Israel The Answer is at hand Because the King of Israel was the worst Enemy and most hating and most hated Although in our spiritual warfare we must valiantly encounter and fight against every sin yet in an especial manner we must with renewed strength fight against all bosome sins because the more they are delighted in and hugg'd in the bosome they prove more mischievous as Vipers and Serpents who being once received into the bosome suddenly destroy those who give them entertainment Questionless every sin is of a poisonous and destructive nature yet a beloved sin carries with it more aggravating circumstances and so proves more mischievous and destructive as may be abundantly evidenced by the sad consequences thereof as daily experience witnesseth abundantly Sect. 3 For a further illustration of the Assertion by a plain and obvious similitude Would any man though of an ordinary capacity habour Vipers Adders Scorpions Toads and such like noxious and hurtful creatures in his house would any entertain such kind of dangerous creatures in his bed and lay them in his bosome and so venture to sleep with them None can easily imagine that any there are who are so far sequestred from common sense and reason as to venture to give a bosome reception to such kind of creatures which are offensive and destructive unto mankind The chiefest of the Heathen Orators tells us That Principio generi animantium omni est a naturâ tributum utse vitam corpusque tueatur deelinetqâ—e ea quae â—ocitura videantur Ciâ— off Ib. 1. naturally all creatures must defend their life and body and avoid all those things which are hurtful Wherefore let 's consider seriously and after mature deliberation we shall confess that any beloved Sin is worse than any Viper Scorpion Adder or Toad in the bosome and whilst thou embracest and pleasest thy self in any beloved Sin thou takest a ready course to destroy both thy Body and Soul Wherefore Oh Christian if thou hast any love any regard or commiseration of thy immortal and heavenly-born being Soul give not thy self the least allowance or dispensation in any beloved Sin for if thou pleadest for thy Sins thou art the greatest Enemy to thy own Soul Let not any voluptuous man plead for his pleasures and sensual delights let not any unchaste man plead for his Strumpet or for any wanton lascivious carriage let not any vain frothy Jester and Scoffer plead for any wittily contriv'd lye collusion or any abusive carriage let not any Tradesman excuse his lying and overreaching in his Trade and vending of sophisticated wares and refuse commodities let him not flatter himself with vain pretences as if his lying equivocating and jugling would much conduce to his profit let him not pretend that he cannot keep open shop and maintain his family and if he should once leave his lying and swearing and couzening his family would be utterly undone All such kind of pleadings are odious and abominable in the sight of God Neither Antiquity nor Custom nor pleasure nor profit will excuse thee in the least nor relieve thee before the impartial Tribunal of Jesus Christ When thou shalt appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ then all sinful pleadings and all vain Apologies will be so far from extenuating or lessening thy sin at that great day as that they will aggravaâ—e them both as to the silth and guilt of them And then Christ will pronounce against thee that dreadful sentence of condemnation We read Matth. 25. that sins of omissions could not in the least excuse them And some in an especial manner have bewail'd their sins of omission how then shall the Bishop Usher late Primate of Ireland commissions of scandalous sins excuse thee at that great day of account and amongst other sins such as are beloved bosome and customary sins most pleasing to flesh and blood these will aggravate both thy sins and thy punishments at the day of Judgment CHAP. IX A desire and universal endeavour against all and every Sin is a Character of a sincere Heart and it 's accompanied with the Practice of all Duties Sect. 1 THe ninth Character of sincerity consists Charact. 9. A desire and endeavour against all Sins and for the practice of all Duties in a desire universally extensive and an equal endeavour against all manner and all sorts of Sins and a desire and endeavor as extensive to yield obedience unto all Command and to practice all Duties The desire and endeavour must be The desire and endeavour must be extensive against all sins extensive against all manner of all sins There must be a desire and endeavour to refrain from every evil way and not only from one sin but from all sins of all sorts and all manner of sizes though as considered comparatively they may not be pleaded for at all though less than others but they must be utterly abandoned and forsaken as well as others of a greater filth and guilt Thus the Psalmist professeth Psal 119. 101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way that I may keep thy word By feet we are to understand the whole course of our lives and conversations in a comprehensive sense taking in the whole duty of man And that we may keep the Word of God and keep close to his Statutes we must wage war against every sin and * Significat se bellum indixisse omnibus vitiis ut se Deo in obsequium dederet Calv. refrain our feet from every evil way There must then of necessity be an universal loathing and an universal leaving of every sin for in every sin even in such as some call a peccadillo there is poison and venome for which there is no other Antidote but the Bloud of Jesus Christ There is no sin which is in its own nature venial unless the Bloud of Christ make it so Wherefore that commonly received distinction amongst