Body of Divinity, Book 4 · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII. Of the Saints care to preserve themselves from sin, and especially their own iniquities.
GODS people must and will carefully preserve themselves from wickednesse.
2. They must bend their care most against their own sins.
The first Proposition is proved out of 1 Iohn 5. 18. Our Saviour saith,The Empresse Eudoxia sent Chrysostome a threatning message, to which he answered, Go tell her, Nil nisi peccatum timeo. Iudaeos à carne suilla abstinere Deus jussit, id potissimum voluit intelligi; ut se à peccatis at que immunditiis abstinerent. Est enim lutulentum hoc animal, & immundum; nec unquam coelum aspicit, sed in terra toto & corpore & ore projectum, ventri semper & pabulo servit. Lact. l. 4. divin. Instit. de vera saptentia. Vide plura ibid. Take heed to your selves of the leven of the Pharisees, and take heed of covetousnesse, take heed to your selves that your hearts be not oppressed with surfetting and drunkennesse. Paul bids Timothy to keep himself pure, 2 Cor. 7. 11. Among other fruits of godly sorrow the Apostle begins with care or diligence, which is the duty we are now speaking of, viz. a care not to sin, Psal. 119. I hid thy law in my heart, that I might not sinne against thee, I took pains to with-draw my self from sinne, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.
Reasons 1. Why the people of God ought to keep themselves in this manner. 2. Why they can and will do so.
First, They are bound to do so in divers respects:
1. Because of the many advantages which sinne hath against them, in regard of which they will be miserably overtaken with it, if they do not look to themselves:
1. A naughty nature within them by which they are apt to all sinne, as occasion, temptation, and their natural ability doth serve, which if it be not opposed will break forth very much.
2. We have an enemy the Devil, who doth observe and watch us with all subtilty and malice, with unwearied diligence, it is his businesse to draw us to sinne, to suggest evil fancies into us, and to work upon our corruption, we see how he impoisoned our first parents when they were not careful.
3. The world is stored with variety of means to draw a man to every sin, objects to every sense, incouragements, provocations, examples. Great danger of sinning requires great diligence to prevent the danger.
2. We must consider of the hurt that will befall us from sinne, if through our carelesnesse we suffer it to get the better of us, not to speak of the mischief of eternal death, a holy man may run into great sins, and shall surely do so without great care and watchfulnesse, and those will be very hurtful unto him, they will break off his communion with God, interrupt the peace of his conscience, deface Gods Image in him and disable him from praying or doing any good duty, and fill him full of doubts, fears and horrours, and make him grow worse and worse.
3. With due care and diligent observing of our selves; a godly man may much prevail to keep himself innocent from great transgressions, and unspotted of the world.
Secondly, The Saints can and will keep themselves from sin.
Reasons, 1. Because they have received the divine nature, by which they shun the pollutions that are in the world through lust, by which they are made sensible of the evil of sin, and framed to a loathing and hatred of sin; every true Christian hath the spirit which will make him lust against the flesh. The wisdom of the world is to keep themselves from misery, the wisdom of Saints is to keep themselves from that which is the cause of all misery, and the worst of all misery, from iniquity.
The godly will not only be carefull to abstain from evil acts, but to subdue their lusts, to crucifie sin in the thoughts and desires, Rom. 7 8, 9.
1. The chief dominion of sin is in the heart, there is the evil treasure, the root.
2. This is contrary to the chief part of the law; the letter of the law is against the acting of sin, the spirit of it is against lusting.
3. This is the strongest part of sin and hardliest subdued, 2 Cor. 10. 5.
The way to keep our selves from sin,A Reverend and Religious man had this written before his eyes in his study, saith Mr Gataker, Noli peccare, nam Deus videt, Angeli astant, diabolus accusabit, conscientia testabitur, infernus cruciabit. There were five men met together that asked one another what means they used to abstain from sin. The first answered, that he continually thought upon the certainty of death, and the uncertainty of the time of it, and that made him live every day as it were his last day. The second meditated of the severe account he was to give at the day of judgement, and of the everlasting torments of hell, and this kept him from sin. The third, of the vilenesse and loathsomnesse of sin, and of the excellency and beauty of grace, and this made him abhorre sin. The fourth, of the everlasting rewards and pleasures providest for those that abstain from sin, and this prevailed with him. The fifth and last continually meditated of the Lord Jesus Christ and of his love, and this made him not to sin against God. This last is the greatest motive of all. Mr Calamy on Ezek. 36. 32. If I were to preach one Sermon in all my life for the humbling of men for sin, I would take a text that might shew the great price that was paid for it, and therein open the breach that sin hath made between God and mans soul. Mr. Burroughes on Hos. 10. 12.
1. Often and earnestly call upon God to keep you by his Spirit of wisdom and strength, for you are not able to keep your selves.
2. Often renew and settle in your own hearts a resolution of not sinning, and that upon spiritual grounds and considerations taken out of Gods word, 1 Pet. 4. 11. David saith, I hid thy word in my heart that I might not sin against thee. This hiding the word is a calling to minde, and serious pondering the commandments, threats, promises, exhortations, examples and reasons of Gods word against sin in the generall, and against such and such sins in particular, and pressing them upon our selves till they have wrought in us a setled and determinate resolution, I will not sin, I will not do this and this evil.
3. It is requisite to observe and oppose the first rising of sin in the motions and desires thereof, in the thoughts of it, with a sigh, groan, ejaculation, calling to minde some text of Scripture against it, and stirring some detestation of it, and calling upon our selves to keep our former resolutions against it: The conception of sin is by the stirring and moving of ill desires within.
4. Shun the occasions of evil, Gen. 39. 10. Prov. 11. 14. all those things whichA Christian woman was possessed at a Theater, Satan giving this reason why at that time he entred into her, Quia invenerat eam in suo. Tertul. lib. de Spectac. Vide August. Confess. l. 6. c. 8. our selves have found in our experience to provoke and stir our corruptions and to give them advantage against us, Solomon saith, Look not on the wine when it is red, Prov. 23. 31.
Secondly, Our care of avoiding sin must shew it self specially against our own sins, Ezek. 18. Cast away all your transgressions by which you have transgressed, Psal. 18. 23.
Reasons,
1. Where the danger is greater, the care of preventing must be most used. Every man is soonest and most easily overtaken with these sins.
2. What will be a greatest proof of his truth and sincerity, and so the surest1 Sam. 22. 24. foundation of his comfort, that should he be most carefull to practise; this will make it appear that he strives against sin because it is sin, when he striveth against those evils that are most pleasing to him.
3. What will most further him in the works of sanctification and amendment of life, that ought he most diligently to indeavour; now in prevailing against ones corruptions he shall most further the work of grace and holiness in himself, kill that sin, and the rest will be more easily killed.
4. There we should bestow most pains, in which if we do not use care we lose our labour in other things.
Means were prescribed before to be used against sin in generall, you must apply these in particular against your particular sins.
Pray often against these, meditate and resolve most against these, observe and resist most the first rising of these, shun the occasions of these first. A diligent and constant care to resist a mans own corruption, is a sure proof of uprightnesse, and such a one shall enjoy the comfort of his sincerity in due time.