The Present Correction and Reproof of Sin, Text

The Present Correction and Reproof of Sin · Text

p. 1THE PRESENT CORRECTION AND REPROOF of SIN.

From 2 JER. 19. former part.

For thine own wickedneſs ſhall correct thee, & thy Backſlidings ſhall reprove thee.

THeſe words may be conſidered in relation to the Jews, and their cauſleſs revolt from the worſhip of the true God, and obedience to him. In the preceding verſes God acquits himſelf from the imputation of haveing ever given them or their Fathers any juſt occaſion for ſuch an Apoſtacy. Verſ. 5.What iniquity have your Fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity and are become vaine. And then upbraids them with their ingratitude and folly, in the following verſes. V. 11, 12, 13.Hath any nation changed their Gods which yet are no Gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be aſtoniſht, ô ye Heavens at this, and be horribly afraid, for my people have committed two evills, they have forſaken me the fountaine of liveing waters, and hewed them out p. 2ciſterns, broken ciſterns that can hold no waters. Therupon God charges them as the authors of their own ruine, as haveing brought upon themſelfs the calamities under which they ſmarted. V. 14.17.Is Iſrael a ſervant? is he an homeborn ſlave? why is he ſpoiled? Haſt thou not procured it unto thy ſelf, in that thou haſt forſaken the Lord thy God? In vaine therfore doſt thou ſeek for help to Aegypt, or have recours unto the King of Aſſyria: for thou ſhalt eat of the fruit of thine own ways, Thine own wickedneſs ſhall correct thee, and thy Backſlidings ſhall reprove thee.

Thine own wickedneſs ſhall correct thee, 7 Hoſ. 15.or thou ſhalt be bound and fetterr'd, and held in the chains of thine own ſins, as the original word doth ſometimes ſignifie. or rather, thou ſhalt beinſtructed and taught by thine own folly, 4 Job. 3.Job 3how evill and bitter a thing it is, to ſin againſt God. Which is the meaning of the word in other places, and therefore the Septuagint make uſe of a word in this place which ſignifies both, to teach and to chaſten.

And thy backſlidings ſhall reprove thee, or convince thee by argument and demonſtration. The fruit of thine Apoſtacy ſhall convince thee of the folly of it: in forſakeing the way of truth for lyeing vanities; the fountaine of living waters, for broken ciſterns. The miſerable effects & conſequences of ſin ſhall correct and reprove thee.

What is here ſpoken to a community, may be as truly aſerted of Individuals, and particular perſons, that the calamities they ſuffer are the fruits of their own folly; that p. 3they bring miſeries on them ſelv's in this world; and are ten times ſeverely corrected and chaſtened by their own wickedneſs. My preſent deſign is, to make it evident that it is ſo, by ſhowing in ſeveral inſtances, how ſinners are reproved & punnisht by their own ſin and folly, even in this Life, as well as in the next. And then ſhall improve this argument by ſome practical inferences, which may be gather'd from it. I ſhall endeavor to manifeſt this truth.

1. From the juſtice and righteouſneſs of God, which doth oftentimes proportion and ſuit temporal punishments to the ſins of men.

2. From the more immediate effects & conſequences of Sin, which in this life do ordinarily correct and reprove the ſinner.

1. We may conſider, how the Juſtice of God doth oftentims ſuit the puniſhment to the ſin even in this Life. This is evident, either on their own perſons who were guilty: or on their Relatives & poſterity. As to the former, 2 ways. Either when one ſin is the punniſhment of another: or when ſome calamity is inflicted which is anſwerable to the ſin.

1. God doth ſometimes correct ſinners in this world, in the puniſhment of one ſin by the permiſsion of more. Which may be either, by their own further ſin, or by the ſins of other men.

1. God doth ſometimes punniſh former ſins, by permitting the offending perſon to commit more and greater. That this is the ſevereſt punishment of ſin in this life, may eaſily p. 4be evinc'd. To be left of God to ſin on, & to commit more & greater abominations, is a kind of damnation, were there no other Hell to ſucceed it: for we know the the life of the Prodigal is dated from his Repentance, and not from his birth: This my ſon was dead, but is now alive. And that ſome of the heathens themſelv's have concluded any man to be more worthy of a publick lamentation, at the time of his debauchery, then of his death. Some ſins, 'tis true, have almoſt an inſeparable connection & dependance on each other, as luſt follows gluttony, and folly drunkenneſs: but God in righteous judgement may leave a man to the power of Temptation, & ſuffer him to encreas the number, and add to the meaſure of his former ſins, & ſo treaſure up wrath againſt the day of wrath. Thus he punniſht the wantoneſs of Solomon, by permitting him to fall into Idolatry: and the covetousneſs of Judas; by ſuffering him to betray his Lord, & Peter's firſt denial of Chriſt, by his forſwearing him afterward. The Jews, for killing the Prophets, were left of God, to crucifye the Meſstah; and Iſrael, when they committed wheredoms with the Daughters of Moab, 12 Numb. 1: 2.Num 1:2were left to be inſnared by their Idolatry. One ſin makes way for more; as the Idolatry of the golden Calf was uſhered by intemperance & Idleneſs: 32 Ex.The people ſat down to eat, & drink, and roſe up to play. Thus what men get by oppreſſion & acts of injuſtice, they oftentimes ſpend in pride & luxury. The wages of unrighteousneſs, or what they purchas'd by unlawfull p. 5means, is ſinfully imploy'd & waſted, and that ſo quickly ſometimes, as if they reſolved their ſilver and gold ſhould not tarry to witneſs againſt them. God ſuffers their treaſures of wickedneſs to melt away by intemperance & riotous living. Beſides when one ſin is made a cloak to conceal another, and to hide the shame, or avoid the punniſhment of one crime, they are ſufferr'd to commit more: as Joſeph's Brethren, after their cruelty to him, in ſelling him into Aegypt, they were as unkind & cruel to their aged Father in bringing him his bloudy coat, in revenge for his particular fondneſs & affection to their Brother. After the commiſſion of any wickedneſs God may juſtly leave us to excuſe it with a Lye. Which is the greateſt folly imaginable, as therby profeſſing that it is better to be really guilty of two faults, then to be thought guilty of one. And then you may proceed farther, to protect that Lye by on oath, and at length grow impudent & incorrigible. Therfore fear the beginnings of ſin.

2. Sometimes God corrects the ſins of one, by the ſins of another. Jacob the younger ſon ſtole his Father's bleſſing by the deceit of his elder Brothers garment: and not long after his Father in Law Laban, Geneſ. 27.29.Gen 27:29by a like fraud gives him Leah inſtead of Rachel, ſubſtitutes the elder ſiſter in the room of the younger, whom he loved, and ſerved an apprenticeſhip for. God by the faults of othermen repays us for our own. As David's ſecret adultery, p. 6by Abſolon's openinceſt, in laying with his Father's concubines: & by the luſt of his ſon Ammon towards his ſiſter Tamar. And when David neglected to execute juſtice on Ammon for that offence, Abſolon injuſtly ſlew him. David's treachery againſt Uriah was requited by the treaſon of his Son, and the rebellion of his own ſubjects, who joyn'd in conſpiracy with him againſt his Father. Thus God imployed the ambition of the King of Moab to punniſh the Idolatry of Iſrael, 3 Jud. 9.14.Judg 9:14& they became ſlaves for eighteen years to that people, with whoſe Idolatrous cuſtomes they had wickedly complied. Thus thoſe who were disobedient to their Parents are oftentimes punniſht by the undutifullneſs of their own children. Unfaithfull ſervants may meet with ſome hereafter who will be ſo to them.

2. God doth oftentimes in this world inflict ſome calamity that is ſuitable to the crime, and in ſome reſpect or other carries the reſemblance of it. And the Juſtice of God is more eſpecially viſible in the likeneſs & proportion between the ſin and the punniſhment in theſe four reſpects. 1. In the kind and quality. 2. In the quality and meaſure. 3. As to the time. 4. As to the place.

1. The kind and quality of the temporal punishment is oftentimes ſuited to the kind and quality of the ſin. As men ſow, ſo they reap, 8 Hoſ. 3.Hos 3and to every ſeed its own body. They plow wickedneſs, and ſow iniquity, & reap a punniſhment that is adapted to the ſin. They ſow the wind, and reap the whirlwind, p. 7as the Prophet ſpeaks. 14 Prov. 14.Prov 14The Backſlider in heart shall be filled with his own ways. And the fooliſh ſinner eat the fruit of his own doings, and be filled with his own counſells. 23 Numb. 32.Num 32And their calamity be ſo remarkable, that their ſin shall find them out.

There are ſome peculiar puniſhments that ordinarily attend ſome ſort of crimes: that follow the guilty perſons almoſt as conſtantly as giddineſs doth a drunkard, as that the ſpoiler ſhall be ſpoiled, he that defrauds others, ſhall be outwitted, the Lyar ſhall looſe his credit: the cenſorious talebearer be blaſted in his reputation, the oppreſſor be brought low: the proud be ſcorned, and deſpis'd: and he that ſtops his ears againſt the cry of the poor, ſhall want a friend to ſuccour him in diſtreſſe, ſhall cry himſelf and not be heard. That he that judgeth ſhall be judged: the ſlanderer be evil ſpoken of: that he that taketh the ſword ſhall periſh by the ſword: and that the Murderer ſhall not live out half his days. If Jacob deceive his old Father Iſaac, by the borrow'd garments of his Brother Eſaw; his own children, when he is old impoſe upon him by the bloudy garment of his beloved Joſeph. Abimelech ſlew ſeventy of his Brethren, 6 Jud. 9.5: 6.Judg 9:5Judg 9:6on one ſtone, and he himſelf was ſlaine by a piece of a millſtone. God ſometimes obſerves even an arithmetick proportion, demands, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: gives bloud for bloud, and burning for burning. 1 Jud. 9.6.Judg 9:6We have a pertinent example in Adonibezeck, who had his Thumbs and p. 8great Toes cutt off. And in the next verſe he owns that he had ſerved ſeventy Kings in the like manner. He was ſo affected with the equity and juſtice of his puniſhment, that he cries out, 1 Ex 15.12. c. 29.14. c. 23.Exod 15:12As I have done, ſo hath the Lord requited me. Pharoah reſolues to deſtroy the male infants of the Iſraelites, and the firſtborn in every family of the Aegyptians was cut off in a night. He gives order to the midwifes that they ſhould be drownd, and he and his mighty hoſt periſht in the waters. Joſeph's Brethren ſold him into Aegypt, that his dream concerning their sheaves bowing down to his, might not be accomplisht, and that was the very means to bring it about. The Jews crucifyed the ſon of God, that the Romans might not come, & take away their Land: and as the puniſhment of that crime, God ſends the Romans to deſtroy their Temple, citty, and Nation. Jeroboam thought to prevent the revolt of Iſrael to the King of Judah, by erecting calves in Dan and Bethel, near to Sechem, (where the Samaritans had their Temple, and where Abraham built an altar) and forbidding the people to goe up to Jeruſalem to worſhip, 2 Cron. 36.21.and by that wretched policy he and his poſterity loſt the government of Iſrael. The captivity of Iſrael for ſeventy years was the punniſhment God inflicted for their prophaning the ſeventhday Sabbath, and not ſuffering their Lands to reſt every ſeventh year. The unnatural luſt of the Sodomites, we read was punniſht by fire from Heaven. 19 Gen.The puniſhment is in ſuch caſes the very p. 9eccho of the ſin that brought it: Which honours the Juſtice of God, & renders it conſpicuous to all obſervers. If Abſolon take a pride in his hair, his deſtruction ſhall come by that means. If Nadab & Abihu offer ſtrange fire to the Lord, 2 Sam. 18: 9.2 Sam 18:9by fire ſhall they be conſum'd: as face anſwers to Face, ſo doth the puniſhment to the impiety, that brought it. 10 Levit.If David glory in the numbers of his men of war; ſeventy thouſand ſhall be ſwept away by a peſtilence, to diminiſh the number: that he may ſee cauſe of humiliation in the matter of his pride. Becauſe Solomon ſerved God with a divided heart, his Kingdom ſhall be divided, 1 Kings. 11: 30.1 Kgs 11:30& but a part of it deſcend to his poſterity. Becauſe the Iſraclites ſerved ſtrange Gods in their own land, God threatens that other Lords ſhould have dominion over them, & they ſhould ſerve ſtrangers, in a land that was not their own. Thus ſome herbs bear the marks of thoſe parts of the body, to which, if ill affected, they are medicinal; ſo doth the puniſhment & the calamity oftentimes deſcribe the ſin for which God ſends it. The ſinners Temporal Croſſe is formed as it were out of that forbidden Tree wherby he offended, or rather like the croſſe of Chriſt, carries on it in capital Letters an account of the crime, for which he ſuffers. Tho many of God's judgments, I confeſs, 36 Pſ. 6.Ps 6are of a great depth, paſt our ſounding, as to the grounds & reaſons of them, yet in ſeveral of them his Righteouſneſs is as the great Mountains, i: e. viſible & apparent to the dulleſt eye.

2. There is ſometimes a Suitableneſs in reſpect of the quantity & the meaſure. He that ſoweth ſparingly ſhall reap ſparingly, & he that ſoweth plentifully, ſo doth he reap. which is true of evil actions as well as good: Impudent & extraordinary ſinners ha… been ſignalized by as remarkable judgments & plagues from Heaven. God lays judgment to the line, & equity to the Ballan…, rewards them according to their works, & meaſureth out their calamities & ſorrows in proportion to their ſins. Tho ſentence be not all ways ſpeedily executed againſt great offenders, p. 10& ſometimes not at all in this world, but they are bound over to the laff Great Aſſize in the world to come: yet in all ages divine juſtice giues ſome inſtances how notorious & exemplary ſinners have had as extraordinary punniſhments.

3. There is ſrequently a proportion & reſemblance between the ſin & the Punishment in reſpect of Time. In that very hour, when Belshazar was quaffing & carowſing in the veſſells of the Temple, with his Princes, his Wives, & Concubines; & prayſing the Gods of gold & ſilver, the hand of the Lord was againſt him, 5 Dan. 3-6.Dan 3& he ſaw his Doom written on the wall; which made his countenance fall, & his Thoughts tremble, & the joynts of his loyns were looſed, & his knees ſmote one againſt an other. When Benhadad the Syrian, with the 32 Kings with him, were drinking themſelvs drunk in the Pavilions, 1 Kings. 20. c. 16: 19. v.1 Kgs 20the young men of the Princes of the Provinces of Samaria, came out againſt them, & ſlew every man his man, &c. Jonah is purſued by a Tempeſt, at that very Time, when he fled from the Commandment of God. Many who have been going out of God's way, have been arreſted & ſeited by ſome ſtrange rebuke of divine Providence: wherin the Circumſtance of Time hath been peculiarly remarkable.

God ſent the Prophet Jonah to Ninive, that exceeding great City, 3 Jon. 3.Jonah 3of three days journey, to deliver his terrible meſſage to that People: but he disobey'd his voice, & fled to Tarshish. 1 c. 3. v.For which God condemned him to be three days a Priſoner in the belly of a great Fish. The word whale is not in the original Hebrew, or ſeptuagint Greek.

The Jewish captivity for ſeventy years in Babilon, is attributed to the prophanati on of the Sabbath, as one principal provoking cauſe, as will appear by comparing thes following Scriptures, 2 Cron. 36. c. 17. — 22. v. 13. Nehem. 18: 17. Jerem. 27: 22. Ezek. 26. & 23. c. 38: 46. 't was at the time of the Paſſover, that the Jews put to death the Lord of Glory; & p. 11afterward about the ſame time of the year, the wrath of God came upon them to the uttermoſt for that ſin: their Temple, City, & Nation were deſtroy'd by the Romans. Nebucadnezar was admonisht of his Pride, & warned of that Judgment which afterwards befell him: And as the Punnishment in its kind was proportioned to his ſin, (his Brutish condition being a ſuitable Rebuke for his inſolence & vain glory,) the Time alſo of the execution of that Judgment is obſervable; it was juſt a twelve monethmonth from Daniel's interpretation of his dream concerning it, 4 Dan. 29: 30: 31. v. 12 Acts. 32 Exod.& took effect while the proud words were in his mouth, Is not this great Babilon that I have built, by the might of my power, & for the honour of my majeſty? So in the caſe of Herod: & of the Iſraëlites, in the caſe of the molten calf. Your own reading & obſervation may furnish you with examples of Blaſphemers, Swearers, Lyars, Murderers, & Sabbathbreakers &c. who have been either punisht in the act; or have been follow'd by ſome perticular judgment afterwards, at the ſame time of the year, the ſame day of the monethmonth, or week or hour of the day, when they committed the ſin. So that the very ſeaſon of their calamity, hath brought the ſin to remembrance for which they ſuffered. Several Villages, Towns, & Cities, have been taken notice of, to have ſuffered greatly by Fires, which broke out on the Lordsday, that were before obſerved & talk't of as infamous for the prophanation of the Sabbath, more then other places, & ſome of them forwarned of ſuch Judgments for that very Sin.

4. Oftentimes they meet with ſome Rebuke & Punishment in the ſame Place, where they commit their folly. As in that very houſe where Rahab hid the Hebrew ſpies, she & her kindred were afterward preſerved, as the Reward of her Faith: So divine Judgment doth frequently overtake men, in the very place where they acted their Wickedneſs. 10 Levit. 1: 2.Lev 1:2Nadab & Abihu are deſtroied by Fire from Heaven before the Lord, where they offered p. 10ſtrange fire, & they are ſaid to dye before the Lord. How often doth the Drunkard get his death in the ſame houſe, where he drank to Exceſs, by cauſleſs quarrelling? And the Adulterer loos his Life in the ſame room, where he committed Folly? Ahab, by the advice of Jezabel, murders Innocent Naboth, 1 Kings. 21. c. v. 13. v. 19. c. 22. v. 38.1 Kgs 21& his ſons: but the Lord had ſaid, that in the ſame place, where Dogs lickt the bloud of Naboth, shall Dogs lick thy Bloud, even thine. Which was not long after exactly full filled, in a Place of the ſame nature. A publick & common place, within the Territory of Samaria, but becauſe of his Humiliation, 2 Kings. 9. c. v. 23.2 Kgs 9it was more literally & expreſly accomplisht in the death of his ſon Joram. Who was ſlaine by Jehu, & caſt into the ſame plat of ground, v. 33.34. &c.to remaine unburied, as a prey for Dogs, according to the word of the Lord. And of Jezabel, for the ſame crime, ſpake the Lord, ſaying, The Dogs shalleat Jezabell, by the wall of Jezreel. Which was exactly verified.

This illuſtrates the Juſtice of God, & makes it conſpicuous to every Eye. As Publick Magiſtrates condemn notorious Criminals to be executed at or near the place, where the Fact was committed. That the very Place may make the Sin to be the better Remembred, & render the Equity of the ſentence the more manifeſt & obſervable.

2 We are to conſider thoſe temporal Punishments of ſin; which flow from the ſins themſelus. that are either inſeparable from, or doe commonly attend & follow them. Such as thes which follow,

§. 1. Shame. Aſſoon as our firſt Parents had ſinned, as if the color of the forbidden fruit had got into their faces, they blusht & were ashamed of their nakedneſs, & of their folly which brought it. And is it not in ſome meaſure thus, with their poſterity alſo? Such an inſeparable Shame is the fruit of ſin, that hardly any man will own himſelf guilty of the practice of any vice, till he hath changed its name: given it an honourable title, & varniſht it with ſome appellative of vertue: that ſo prudence & wiſdom, p. 11thrift & good huſbandry, friendſhip & good humour, valour & generoſity, may protect worldlineſs, covetouſneſs, debauchery, & fooliſh mirth, & conceal madneſs, fury, & pride. The like may be ſaid of other faults. If men are ſurprized in ſome acts of Impiety, what ſilly excuſes will they frame? what childiſh pretences, & frivolous evaſions will they make? what ſlender ſhifts & weak apologies, to juſtifie them ſelv's, to extenuate, or prevent the publication of their folly? their diſordered, & down caſt looks, or ſtupid ſilence, make it evident they are aſhamed. The ſhame of being thought guilty makes them ſhift, & turn, & try all methods, to excuſe them ſelv's, or defend what they have done: & ſo throw the blame on ſome what els, as on the temperament & conſtitution of their bodies which they cannot help, on the importunities of their Company which they could notreſiſt, on the temptations of the Devil; or rather then fail, with Adam, they'l charge God himſelf as acceſſory to their crimes, and reflect upon his holy Providence. Except among a few Savages like beaſts, there is no nation or people under heaven where filthineſs, and intemperance, & ſome groſſer ſins, are not reckon'd ſhamefull. The voice of nature it ſelf is againſt ſuch ſins, and we therby violate the modeſty of our own natures, and offend againſt an internal witneſs that condemns us. And when once we begin to do ſo, God may leave us to proceed, till we become publick ſpectacles of ſhame to all that know us, and wiſh us p. 12better. There are very few I hope who have ſin'd them ſelv's beyond all ſhame; tho more of late then ever, who work all uncleanneſs with greedineſs, and glory in their ſhame. Who boaſt of that which ſhould cover them with confuſion of face; but ſuch have ſinn'd them ſelv's within a ſtep of Hell; and being paſt feeling, are ſo far paſt all hope of being reclaim'd. None but ſuch Abſolons would commit lewdneſs on the houſe top, in the face of the ſun, and the view of the world. Tis a ſhame ſaith the Apoſtle, 5 Eph. 3.2.Eph 3:2to ſpeak of what ſome men do in ſecret. I wiſh ſuch ſins were ſecret ſtill, which were not then ſo much as to be named among Saints. i: e. not without need, and not without abhorrence. They that are drunk, ſaith the ſame Apoſtle, 1 Theſ. 5. c. 7.1 Thess 5are drunk in the night. The Heathens them ſelv's never celebrated the feaſts of a drunken Bacchus, but by night. So for uncleannes, The eye of the Adulterer waiteth for the twilight, 24 Job. 14:15:16.Job 14:15Job 14:16ſaying no eye shall ſee me, and he disguiſeth his face, in the dark they dig throthouſes, which they had marked for themſelv's in the day time: they know not the light. For the morning is to them even as the ſhadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. So for murder, and theft and other works of Darkneſs, to which ſhame is inſeparably annext. How ſhamefully are men disfigured by Drunkeneſs, How do thy talk and act like fools, when wine hath fill'd them with more Spirits then they are able to govern? how ill favor'd are their looks? and how ridiculous their carriage? betraying p. 13that folly in their drunken fits which afterwards they are aſhamed to think or ſpeak of, expoſing themſelves to the pitty of their friends & neighbours, to the contempt of children, and the ſcorn of their own ſervants. T'is ſad to conſider how the commonneſs of this, and other vices hath in great meaſure taken off the shame of committing it. So that we may ask the queſtion with the Prophet, Were they aſhamed, when they commitmitted all theſe abominations? and make the ſame anſwer, No, they were not at all ashamed, neither did they blush. If ever they reform, and return to God with all their hearts, they will then be heartily aſhamed, **E del mio vaneggiar vergogna e'l frutto, E'l Pentirſi, e'l conoſcer chiaramente, Che que quanto piace al mondo, è breve ſogno.when reflecting on their paſt folly, they ſhall aſk themſelv's, what fruit have we of thoſe things wherof we are now ashamed? But if a timely repentance do not bring them to holy ſhame and confuſion of face before they dye; they ſhall ariſe againe to shame and everlaſting contempt.

§. 2. The paine, and trouble, and ſlavery, and ſufferings, that wait upon ſin, do correct and reprove the ſinner. And this will appear if we conſider 1. the preparatories to the commiſſion of ſome crimes. 2. 12 Dan. 2.Dan 2The actual commiſſion p. 143. The conſequent trouble by diſaponitment. &c.

1. The preparations neceſſary to the commiſsion of ſome ſins. They who have had any tolerable education in the knowledg of Chriſtianity under Religious or ſober Parents cannot preſently adventure upon great Tranſgreſſions. They muſt firſt ſtifle their convictions, & debauch their reaſon, and baffle conſcience, and lay aſide conſideration and ſerious thoughts, forſake the miniſtry of the word, neglect the reading of the Bible and other good books, leave off ſecret prayer, entertaine looſe company, and admit ſome principles of Atheiſm or Sadduceiſm, before they can date to adventure. For the debauching of a young man well educated, is not to be done all at once; it is a work of ſome time, and muſt be effected by degrees, and many arts of the Devil are requiſite in order to it. And after all, t'is with reluctance at firſt, that they dare do as others, & run into the ſame exceſs of riot. And ſome groſſer villanies they boggle at ſtill, and are afraid to proceed. T'is a ſtrange expreſſion of the Pſalmiſt, (7 Pſal. 14.) They Travel with Iniquity, and conceive miſchief: are in as great pain almoſt as a woman in travell, and all this, to bring forth a Lye. The Law of God ſtares them in the face, and ſomething within tells them. It is better to forbear, and they ought to do otherwiſe: ſo that they are not eaſy, or free from diſtracting fears, till the way be prepared by leſſer ſins, and a gradual Apoſtacy.

p. 152. We may conſider the trouble they meet with in the actual commiſsion of ſome ſins. Not only as the demands of ſeveral luſts are contradictory and inconſiſtent, and Satan in ſuch a caſe muſt needs caſt out Satan, becauſe all cannot be gratifyed: but the very act of ſome crimes is a down right punniſhment. So that with equal reaſon a man might deſire a feaver, or choos to be ſcorcht upon the fire; to quench his thirſt with his own ſweat. One man eats out his own heart with Envy and malice, to ſee his neighbour proſper: another burns with impatient luſt, and cannot meet with the opportunity to acompliſh his laſcivious deſign. A nother is even choakt to death with thirſt for gold, and yet he labours in the fire, and cannot reach that eſtate he covets. Or if he do, he is ſtill as far from true content and ſatisfaction as he was before; yea farther, becauſe his drought increaſeth, his feaver grows upon him: the more he hath, the more he thinks is neceſſary to make him happy: like the horsleech, he will ſtill be crying, Give, Give, till the diſeas be cured. Moreover, to bring about a wicked purpoſe what pains do ſome men take, to contrive the model, to remove difficulties and objections, to obviate Rivals, and prevent disapointment, ſurprize, and diſcovery? what mean things muſt they ſtoop to? what baſe ſubmiſſions muſt they undergo? into how many different ſhapes muſt they be transformed? and into what an agony do they put themſelv's? their countenance altered, their eyes fiery, their hands trembling, their breath p. 16ſhort, and the whole man, body and ſoul, in diſorder. Wheras it were comparatively very eaſy, & the way plaine, to keep in the path of righteouſneſs, and obey God.

3. We may conſider the conſequent trouble upon the immediate commiſsion. The uneaſineſs & remorſe of a natural conſcience, and the fruſtration of their hopes, the injoyment falling ſhort of what they promis'd themſelv's, & eagerly expected. They look't for pleaſure and they meet with diſquiet, from the reflexions of their own minds on their diſapointment, and a conſciouſneſs to themſelv's that they have not done well. They promiſed themſelv's eaſe, and meet with disſatisfaction. What they ſought for, they do not find; but inſtead of their expected joy, regret; conſcience threatens them with an after reckoning: to ſtop its mouth, and ſilence its clamours, they have recours to company, & fresh pleaſures: & being weary of one ſort, they muſt change for another, by various methods endeavoring, tho in vaine, to appeas their boſome enemy. But more of this under another head. And is it not a ſhame, to conſider what pains men take to be undone, what Gibeonites they are in the Devil's ſervice? while we are ſuch lazy dreamers in the ſervice of God; whoſe yoke is eaſy, and whoſe burden is light. What and how many are the cares and fears, and difficulties of the Proud, and Ambitious? (who perhaps may take it ill I began not with him firſt,) to be filled with the wind; and applauded by the people, and honoured p. 17in the world? how jealous of every Rival; how watchfull of every advantage; & how diligent to improve, and make the moſt of it. When the favor of God, that is infinitely preferable, may be had at a cheaper rate. Why ſhall not we mind the things above, & our future intreſt, with the ſame eagerneſs, that ſinners do the ſatisfaction of a ſenſual luſt? why ſhall not we ſtrive to enter into Heaven, with the ſame diligence as others haſten to the Gates of Hell? why ſhall not we ſeek the Kingdom of God, and its righteouſneſs, with equal vigor and reſolution, as they the injoyment of a forbidden pleaſure? eſpecially, ſince inſtead of paine, and trouble, ſorrow & diſſatisfaction, which they meet with; the joy of the Lord would be our ſtrength, incouragement, and ſupport. For even in, as well as after, the keeping his commandments, there is great reward. His burden would be lighter too, the more we are accuſtom'd to bear it: & his yoke eaſier, the longer we have carried it.

§. 3. Sin corrects the ſinner in this world, by ſpoiling that peace, & concord, that love, and unity, among men and Chriſtians, which is neceſſary to our temporal happineſs. Whence come wars ſightings, tumults & diſorders, animoſities & diviſions, quarrells & contentions, but from luſt in the heart, & the fruits of it in the life? from what other original can we derive the unchriſtian heats and janglings, ſtrifes and perſecutions, among Profeſſors; the uncharitable fewds and hatred among neighbours, p. 18unneceſſary & tedious law ſuits, and the conſequent malice and contumelies of vexatious quarrelling, on which the impoveriſhing of particular perſons, and the ruine of whole families, is ſo often conſequent? did we but obſerve the Chriſtian rules of Juſtice, & charity, meekneſs, & humility; did we but indeavor, as much as in us lays to live peaceably with all men; being kindly affectioned one towards another; apt to be reconciled, and ready to forgive, reſtraining our exorbitant paſſions, and interpreting every thing of each other in the beſt ſens; with how different a face would the world appear, how happy would be the nation, the citty, the family, where the caſe were thus. But what contentions and enmities are cauſed every day by Pride, drunkenneſs, & Evilſpeaking? in every town, village, and neighbourhood, we might find Inſtances. Were it not for the corruption of mankind, and the ſad effects of that, there were no foundation in any ſens to call the ſtate of Nature the ſtate of War. And the peace and harmony, and conſequent happineſs of the world had not been deſtroy'd, but by the ſin of man. What Nation was ever ſet on fire within it ſelf or made deſolate by a forreign power; what battell was ever fought, (much leſs a Duel,) what war was ever commenc't or proſecuted, but on one ſide or the other or both, Ambition, or Pride, Raſhneſs, or Rebellion, Fury, or Revenge was at the bottom? hence they ſpring as from their grand ſource, by thes were they cheriſht as p. 19by their proper fuel: the great convulſions & deſolations that tear Provinces & Empires, and deſtroy Kingdoms, are cauſed by armies of Iniquities rather then of ſoldiers. 13 Pr. 10.Diſcord, contention and war, are the ſcumm of pride. Wheras, the meek ſhall inherit the earth, and be delighted with multitudes of Peace. Among the ſinleſs Angels, 37 Pſ. 11.Ps 11tho there be many Legions, we read of no wars. The Earth only is the ſeat of war; Jeruſalem above is free. If men would ceaſe to do evil, and learn to do well, Spears muſt be turned into ploughs hears, and ſwords into pruning hooks. And the inhabitants of the earth would learn war no no more, did they once forbear to be wicked. Princes would not then oppreſs and murder their Subjects; nor would Subjects rebel againſt their lawfull Souveraigns; a bleſſed univerſal peace would return to the earth, which is now ſo much a ſtranger to the far greateſt part of the inhabited world. So that the Reproof and Correction of ſin thunders in our ears by the noiſe of canon, and the Inſtruments of war; is as loud as the beating of Drums, and the ſound of trumpets: it ſhould peirce our hearts, as do the laſt cries of mangled ſoldiers: and affect us with a like reſentment, as do the tragical effects of a deſolateing War.

§. 4. Sin doth correct and reprove the ſinner in this world, by impoveriſhing his Eſtate. Gluttony and Drunkenneſs, Uncleanneſs and Luſt, Ambition and Pride, Contentions and Quarrelling, Prodigality, the Gameing humour, p. 20&c. have all a tendency to Poverty, and commonly effect it. If men will ſell themſelves to commit wickedneſs, they muſt ſell their eſtates, to make proviſion for their luſts. The Drunkard and the glutton ſhall come to poverty, 23 Pr. 21.and Idleneſs cloth a man with rags. He that loveth pleaſure shall be poor. 21 Pr. 17.28. c. 19.And he that loveth wine, & oyl, ſhall not be rich. And he that follows after vaine perſons, ſhall have poverty enough. Such men are not only unfitted for the works of their calling, wherby they ſhould ſubſiſt; but will pawn all they have, borrow all they can, and ſell all they are worth, to maintaine their vices. They mispend their time, and neglect their Imployments, which would otherwiſe find them a lively-hood, and ſo poverty comes upon them ere they are aware. For no man reſolves from a vaſt eſtate to make himſelf a Beggar; but at the long run how many do ſo? this needleſs expence is for their honour, or rather pride; and will not undoe them: that is for their pleaſure, and diverſion; and they think they may bear it, it will not ruine them: and ſo for others, no one of which alone brings poverty, but altogether in a little time do it. What large revenues have been waſted in vanity? how many conſiderable patrimonies devoured by luſt? men that had eſtates left them, almoſt ſufficient to maintaine an army, have been begger'd by a ritious courſe, and made as indigent as a disbanded foot ſoldier; reduced to a morſell of bread, and deprived of neceſſaries, and forc't to depend on thoſe, p. 21who were once their dependants. It would be endleſs to give a bill of all the coſt and charges, which ſome men are at, to maintaine and feed their luſts. How many have been forc't to feed on huſks, and ready to ſtarve, as the Prodigal, by following his luſtfull and riotous courſes. They that have gliſtered in ſcarlet, 4 Lam. 5.Lam 5have by this means imbrac't dunghills. Great eſtates have been turn'd into ſawce, to pleas a glutton, and he that once far'd deliciouſly every day, was choice in his dyet, and delicate in his food, and prodigal in his treats and intertainments, is at a loſſe where to find a dinner. His throat was an open ſepulcher, and his houſes, lands, and livings, and money too, have been buried in this tomb. So for other ſins, the poor and the Deceitfull man ſhall meet together i: e. the latter be brought as low, as mean, and miſerable, and indigent as the former. What the oppreſſor wrings from the Fatherleſs and widdows, or gets by over reaching his neighbours, 29 Pr 13.thro the little arts of cheating, which are called the myſteries of Trade, ſhall be put into a bag with holes. 1 Hag. 6.And methinks this reproof of ſin ſhould be very audible and affecting, that you cannot loos your ſouls, throw away your hopes of Heaven, and be miſerable and undone for ever, but you muſt part with your money too, and be begger'd here on earth. I might add under this head, that ſin doth impoveriſh the ſinner by conſuming his precious Time. God gives us other bleſſings with a larger hand, in a greater p. 22plenty and abundance at once: only our Time he diſtills by drops; and never gives us two moments at once, but takes away one, when he lends us another. To teach us the price of ſo rich a Jewel. And what opinion have ſick and dyeng perſons of the worth and value of their irrecoverable Time, which we prodigally conſume in ſin and folly: in vaine company, and ſinfull mirth; in ſenſual pleaſures, and diverſions; with the neglect of the great end and buſineſs, we ought to proſecute in this Life, in order to the felicity of the next. Forgetting that we haſten dayly to the end of time, and our final judgment, & that wither we ſleep or wake; wither we work, or are Idle; wither we prepare for death, and judgment, and our Everlaſting ſtate, or do it not; our glaſs runs, and we are haſtning to our laſt hour. Oh that we would think, with ſerious ſelf-Reflexions, what deſpairing ſouls beyond the grave would give for ſome of that Time, we know not what to do with, but ſpend in vanity, or what is worſe! or what we our ſelus ſhal ere long be willing to give for a little of it upon the ſame terms as now, when time is paſt, and t'is too late.

§. 5. Sin doth correct and reprove the ſinner in this Life, by blaſting his Reputation. There muſt be ſome appearance at leaſt of vertue, and goodneſs, of juſtice and honeſty, to render any thing honourable, and recommend it as praiſe worthy. The groſſer acts of wickedneſs are almoſt every where p. 23acounted of ill repute, hence it is that few arrive to that height of impudence and degeneracy, as to rail and ſpeak evil of others for being upright and religious, being honeſt men and good Chriſtians, but for being Hypocrites: for pretending to be what they are not: practical religion, and the power of godlineſs hath ſtill ſuch an invincible awe upon the minds of men, and commands that reſpect and inward reverence, which they cannot refuſe. So true is it, that they who honour God, ſhall be honoured. And t'is equally certaine and univerſal, that they who deſpiſe and forſake him, ſhall be lightly eſteem'd. 1 Sam. 2.30.1 Sam 2:30And we find by experience, that men expoſe themſelv's to contempt, & loos their reputation by forſakeing God. Luſt and Drunkenneſs cloud the reaſon, and weaken the underſtanding, corrupt the judgment, and deſtroy wisdom, and render men not only an abomination to God, and his holy Angels, but the contempt or pitty of all wiſe and ſober men. Their vices make them vile, Ecclips the glory of their birth, and the honour which their anceſtors, and families, or their own other good qualities would give them. The name of a Liar is a brand of disgrace, and a mark of dishonour, among the worſt of men who often reſent it ſo far, as to demand his bloud for reparation of the affront, who preſumed to call them ſo. Sin, ſayth a late Author, as ſome beaſts, hath a ſtinking breath, as well as deadly claws, and brings infamy and disgrace, as well as paine and trouble. If men degrade themſelves into p. 24ſwine by Intemperance, or into goats by laſciuiouſneſs, & luſt, they muſt not expect the reward of vertue, to be well reputed, and ſpoken of. If they are ſlaves to an Imperious luſt, they muſt bear the Infamy of being ſo. And no better are they in the practice of Impiety: for as Slaves are at the command of their Maſters, and blindly obey their wills, and are no gainers by what they do, and oftentimes feel the laſh and the whip, notwithſtanding their drudgery; ſuch is the caſe of ſinners, under the power of a domineering vice. Yea their ſervice is more dirty, and dishonourable, their chains ſtronger, and their recovery more difficult, as being leſs apprehenſive & ſenſible of their thraldom. And who can honour or eſteem ſuch voluntary ſlaves, under the worſt of Tyrants? they render themſelv's infamous & deſpicable; & can not expect better then to be ſcorned, or pittied. No man will eſteem or truſt one that is a known drunkard, and whoremaſter: a frugal honeſt man that hath but half the eſtate, is better lov'd, & will be farther truſted, then ſuch a one, tho he have twice as much. Who can think or ſpeak well of a drunkard any otherwiſe then of a cask or veſſell to be often filled and emptied. As of one that is a confident boaſter of himſelf, his own actions & undertakings: a ſlanderer & backbiter of others; one that is vaine and ſcandalous in company, foolishly babling all he knows, unfaithfully revealing the ſecrets of his friends, raſh and haſty in his reſolutions; extravagant in his projects, irregular in p. 25his actions; &c. And what reputation can ſuch a man expect? the like I might ſay of the Glutton, who ſpends his Life in carrying meat from the Table to the Dunghill; and ſo of others. The name of ſuch men ſhall rot, ſaith the wiſe man. It ſhall putrifie aſſoon as their bodies, and ſometimes long before. Yea ſome mens wickedneſs makes them infamous after they are dead, kills them to immortality, and poyſons their memory to future ages: they ſtand upon record as great Villains, and warnings to poſterity.

§. 6. Sin corrects and reproves the ſinner in this world by deſtroying his health. How doth gluttony and drunkenneſs correct men by evening vomits, and morning qualms, crudities of the ſtomach, pains of the head, and inflammations of the liver, rheums, gouts, dropſies, cholick, conſumptions, apoplexies, palſies, decay of ſight, want of appetite, loſſe of memory, and judgment: ſtupifyeing the braine, weakning all the members of the body, and haſtening old age and death? How many an healthy conſtitution hath been deſtroyed by intemperance? beſides that it inflames paſſion, and excites quarrells, makes men more apt to give affronts, & more unwilling to take them. On which acount ſaith Solomon. Who hath wo, who hath ſorrow, 23 Pr 29.who hath wounds without cauſe? they that tarry long at the wine &c. who can recount all the miſchiefs to the body, by an exceſs of eating and drinking? wheras abſtinence and a temperate p. 26life hath been proved by many to be the certaine cure of catarrhs, and gouts, and other diſeaſes, wherwith formerly they have been tormented. How many miſerable inſtances have we known, of men tortur'd by acute diſtempers, ſwoln with gouts, burn't with feavers, rackt by the ſtone, torn with cholicks, &c. and forc't to pine away a great part of their days in paine & miſery, by the effects of Intemperance and luſt. By this means Princes and great men have been forc't to own, that it is an evil thing and a bitter, to forſake God, ſuffering ſuch torments as the fruit of their Impieties, that have made them envy the condition of Peaſants, Slaves, and Beggars. How many ſacrifice their health, and ſtrength, to a beaſtly opportunity, and are puniſht by pains of the head; oppreſſions of the heart; conturbations of the ſtomach; gripeing of the bowells, continual thirſt; unſeaſonable and unquiet watchfullneſs; (when nature and digeſtion require reſt.) Beſides that horrible diſeaſe imparted by this vice, the moſt cruel, the moſt filthy, the moſt ſhamefull of all maladies: (from which no luſtfull perſon can be ſecure: Becauſe 'tis the nature of vice, and of this in perticular, to precipitate from one degree of exceſs to another.) A diſeas which anticipates the corruption and uncleanneſs of the grave; wherby ſinners meet with their Limbo, their Tophet here, as a ſad preface, without repentance to an everlaſting Hell.

p. 27§. 7. By an untimely Death. 'Tis true a natural Death is the fruit of ſin, we may conſider epidemical diſeaſes, and our common mortality, the trouble of ſickneſs, and the pains of dyeing, as ſome correction, and reproof of ſinners. Their tears and groans, and ghaſtly looks in a dyeing hour, their broken ſighs, their diſtorted members, their trembling languiſhing pulſe, their putrid breath, and laſt agonies, do all beſpeak us to conſider what ſin hath done. But a natural death being the punniſhment of the firſt tranſgreſſion, and common to all mankind; 'tis an untimely death, I am now to ſpeak of.

Without diſputeing wither the period of Life he mutable, or not, This is certaine, that God from the infinity of his nature muſt needs be preſent in all duration at once; and ſo cannot but foreſee and know how long we ſhall live. And t' is likewiſe evident from Scripture, reaſon, and experience, 55 Pſ. 23.Ps 23that ſome do not live out half their days, to which they might have arriv'd according to the cours of nature. The meek, & ſuch as are bleſſed of God, ſhall live long to inherit the earth, but the Transgreſſors ſhall be cutt off. 37 Pſ. 22.Ps 22The fear of the Lord prolongeth days; but the years of the wicked ſhall be ſhortned. Some think that Balaam when he deſired to dye the death of the Righteous, and that his laſt end might be like his, 23 Numb. 10.Num 10meant only the prevention of an untimely death, & that he might goe to his grave in a good old age. And God p. 28hath promiſed, among other temporal bleſſings, that the good man ſhall be gathered in peace to his Fathers like a ſhok of corn fully ripe: and crown'd with length of days; as well as with riches and honour. T'is true a ſhort Life, and an haſty death, are not allways a curſe, or the fruit of God's diſpleaſure. To a prepared ſoul, t' is a bleſſing, and as ſuch more deſireable, then to abide in the flesh, in order to our being with Chriſt, which is beſt of all. But how many are there whoſe impieties ſhorten their days, and **Hinc ſubitae mortes, atque inteſtata ſenectus, It nova nec triſtis per cunctas fabula coenas: Ducitur iratis plaudendum funus amicis.haſten their diſſolution. How many dye martyrs by the fire of luſt. By the ſtrange woman, many fall down wounded, and many ſtrong men are ſlaine by her. Her houſe is the way to the grave, & leads to the chambers of death. How many have extinguiſht their vital flame, by intemperate drinking, and brought thoſe diſeaſes, or furniſht the matter of them, by exceſs, wherof in a ſhort time they dyed. Beſides the many thouſand Murders which drunkenneſs hath cauſed: in a drunken fit men have murdered themſelv's, their beſt friends, and deareſt Relations. The riſe of moſt duels hath been from hence: the challenge ſent from the tavern, or the reſolution of fighting commenc't there. Not to mention, p. 29what every ſeſsions and aſsize may inform us, how many expoſe themſelv's to the penalty of humane laws by great Transgreſſions, & periſh by the ſword of the civil Magiſtrate. Which may be conſidered as another inſtance, wherby Sin doth correct and reprove the Sinner in this world.

§. 8. By troubleſome reflections, and horror of Conſcience. Rather then ſinners shall eſcape unpunniſht, they shall correct themſelv's: Conſcience that was privy to their Impieties, & keeps a regiſter of their crimes, & is more then a thouſand witneſſes, shall accuſe, condemn, & torture them, (& that it may be for ſecret ſins, which none of their acquaintance can charge them with,) shall be witneſs, Judge, and Executioner too, before their irreverſible doom at the day of judgment. Hence many are continually haunted by the Spectres of their former wickedneſs; & their own guilty minds frequently check them in their greateſt jollity, and make a ſad diſcord in their mirth: ſo that in the midſt of laughter, their hearts are ſorrowfull. They are always uneaſy, and walk in fear, leaſt vengence overtake them. As the firſt Murderer Cain, who was afraid of being ſlaine by every man he met, when he was ſure to meet with none, but Brethren & Nephews. What can we ſuppoſe should be able to give ſuch a man courage & ſupport? when he is dejected by his own fears, and caſt down by an inward ſens of guilt. They muſt needs have ſad hearts, not withſtanding chearfull countenances, from p. 30the biteings of this Tarantula within, which no outward applications will cure; any more then an inward bruiſe may be healed by a plaiſter upon the outer garment. Yea ſome from the horror of their own minds, have been ready to make away themſelv's, and become their own Executioners; as if the Worm, which never dyes, were more Intolerable then the fire, that never goes out. And certainly the moſt ſharp & terrible bodily pains are much inferior to the anguiſh of an awakened guilty Conſcience, under the apprehenſions of divine wrath. Did you neuer hear the outcries of a dyeing ſinner, after an impenitent wicked Life, convinc't of ſin, & ſenſible of Eternity, expecting within a few hours to appear before his glorious Judge? When his paſt Impieties ſtare him in the face, & Death, and Hell, and Gods Eternal vengence, are open & naked before him: Deſpairing now of the mercy of God, which all his Life before he ſlighted, and curſeing thoſe fugitive pleaſures, & vaine Companions, that intic't him to miſpend his time, & commit folly, and neglect his preparations for another world.

But many ſinners feel theſe rebukes of Conſcience in health, as well as ſickneſs; Terrors poſſeſs their guilty minds, & curdle all their delights. They tremble with tormenting fears, which they cannot get rid of: & not takeing the right method of cure, they at laſt ſigh away their fainting breath, in total deſpair. In the mean time what arts do they uſe, to drive away this evil ſpirit, which perpetually p. 31haunts them? but none of their tryed methods of running to company, & recreations, to drunkenneſs & riot, &c. have been found effectual for any conſiderable time. But ſtill they are dogged by their own guilt. In vaine do you think, to laugh & ſport & drink away your fears; they will ſoon return upon you with greater violence, when the company is broken up, & the heat of wine is over: Which like ſprightly muſick may raiſe a mans mind for the preſent, but will leave him more dumpish & melancholy afterward. Yea it makes farther work for Repentance, & ſo will but augment your terrors. Mirth & pleaſure, inſtead of giveing eas to an accuſing conſcience, will but aggravate and increas your trouble: you will ſpeed no better then the Philiſtins did, when they ſent for Sampſon, to make them ſport: who pull'd the houſe down upon their heads.

Backſliders, of all others, are perticularly reproved and corrected by ſin, in this inſtance: how many ſuch have been known, who when they come to themſelv's, and repent, are even diſtracted by the terrors of the Lord, thro remorſe for their apoſtacy? ſuch before Repentance haveleſs pleaſure in the commiſſion of ſin then others, who never had ſo much light, or knew ſo much of the common workings of the Spirit: And afterwards have more terrible apprehenſions of God's avenging Juſtice. Conſcience ſpeaks louder in their ears, and the flames of Hell flaſh oftener in their eyes. So that commonly they doubt, p. 32wither God will ever receive them to mercy; and ſometimes wither they have not committed the unpardonable Sin.

Backſliding Chriſtians, who have formerly rejoyc't in the light of God's countenance, and walk't in the comforts of the holy Ghoſt, (while they walk't in their Integrity) after the commiſſion of preſumptuous ſins, have dearly experienc't how evill & bitter a thing it is, to forſake God. Conſcience flyes in their faces, being commonly awakened by ſome afflicting providence) and ſetts their ſins, with the aggravations of them, in order before them; and writes bitter things againſt them. All their joy is turned to wormwood, and their very lives are become a burden, and yet they dare not dye. They read their Inditement, but cannot ſee a pardon, or ſcarce entertaine any hopes of one. They are covered as with ſackloth, and lay in the duſt, bewailing their folly, and confeſſing their guilt, with broken, bleeding hearts before the Lord. Oh vile Apoſtate that I am! after ſuch a profeſſion for ſo long a time, after ſo many convictions of the evill of ſin, and ſo much experience of the ſweetneſs and ſatisfaction of holy walking, thus to forſake my own mercies, diſhonour my profeſſion, and provoke God. It had been better for me never to have known the way of Righteouſneſs, then after haveing known, and try'd it, thus ſhamefully to revolt. Such a mans ſin appears with horror, and fills him with anguiſh: ſo that p. 33he would give all the world he had not been guilty of that apoſtacy he repents of. Lord! what a wretch, what a fool was I? will ſuch a man ſay, Thus willfully to offend thee, in ſpight of the cleareſt knowledg, & the moſt indearing kindneſs? againſt ſo many obligations, ſo many vows, & reſolutions, thoſe made upon the moſt weighty reaſons: what grace, what love, what mercy, have I trampled on, & ſinned againſt? whither ſhall I goe? what ſhall I doe? how dare I appear before that God, on whom I have thus perfidiously turned my back! how can I ever hope to regaine his loſt favour! Againſt thee only, holy God, have I ſinned, & done evill in thy ſight. Lord! I am unworthy to appear in thy preſence, I am ashamed & bluſh to look up to Heaven. How ſhall I eſcape thy juſtice, when I have deſpis'd thy goodneſs, & forfeited thy grace! What can I reply, if thou utterly forſake me, & refuſe to be intreated by my prayers, or accept my return? Eternal wrath is my due, Hell is my deſerved portion: & even there may I juſtly carry thes ſtings of conſcience; even there muſt I acknowledg I was juſtly condemned, & punniſht; & own the righteouſneſs of my doom, to unquenchable fire, with my flameing tongue & breath. Wretch that I am, who ſhall deliver, & ſave me! only the mercy of God, in Chriſt, whoſe bloud, cleanſeth from all ſin, can poſsibly relieve the exigence of my caſe. And wilt thou pitty, and pardon, and graciously receive ſuch a rebel? For Jeſus Chriſt his ſake, ſpare me, & give me repentance; blot out my transgreſsion, for it is great, and hide thy face from my ſin, from my ſin, which is ever before me. I cannot avoid the p. 34ſight of it; I cannot but remember it, and abhorr my ſelf in duſt & ashes, & goe mourning all the day long.

Thes are the thoughts, this is the language of an humble Penitent, under the ſens of former backſlidings. To this purpoſe, David tells us in one of his penitentiall Pſalms, 51 Pſ. 3.Ps 3that his ſin was ever before him. And in another, that his ſorrow was continually before him. The one as the cauſe, 38 Pſ. 17.Ps 17the other as the effect. His ſin as the reaſon of his ſorrow; & his ſorrow as the fruit of his ſin, was continually before him. This made him cry ſo earneſtly for pardon, O Lord, blot out my transgreſsions; and remember not my ſinns. i. e. I remember them, I acknowledg, I humbly confeſs them, they are ever in my view, & before my face. O do not thou remember them, but caſt them behind thy back. On this account, he complains of broken bones, & a wounded ſpirit. That the arrows of God ſtuck faſt in his ſoul, and his hand preſſed him ſore: that he roared all the day long: & watered his couch with his tears. Thes conflicts and terrors, this darkneſs & deſpondency, are the fruit of backſliding, and t'is well if it do not iſſue in the ſin unto death, in final incurable Apoſtacy. T' is true ſome who are fallen from ſo great an height, are raiſed againe: and God upon ſincere Repentance will pardon and ſave returning Backſliders, yet ſo as by fire, with great difficulty. And they may never recover their former tranquillity and peace, but walk heavily and ſoftly, under doubts and fears, and dejection of ſpirit, to their dyeing day. And likewiſe p. 35ſuffer ſmart Afflictions, to ſcour off the filth they have contracted by their revolt, and to humble them more deeply under the apphrehenſion of their agravated guilt. In thes, and other ſuch inſtances, as might be mentioned, ſin doth correct and reprove the ſinner in this world.

What remains, is to conſider what Inferences of truth & duty, may be collected from the preceding diſcourſe, for our inſtruction and practiſe; or what improvement we ſhould make of it. Which I ſhall diſpatch in thes following Propoſitions.

§. 1. That we ought thankfully to admire the wiſdom & goodneſs of God, who hath, in ſo great meaſure, connected our preſent duty & happineſs. That we cannot diſobey God without injuring our ſelv's, & feeling the ſmart of it, even in this Life. Let us thank him for hedging up our way to Eternal death, by the thorns & briars of temporal calamities. By makeing ſin ſo unreaſonable, painfull, ſhameful, troubleſome, & againſt our Intreſt, even on this ſide the Grave. In ſo much, that in many inſtances we can not be undone forever, without being miſerable now: nor loos the happineſs of the other world, without expoſeing our ſelv's to many ſorrows, & calamities in this. By our ſin & folly we make the Rod which corrects us: our own finger twiſts the cords, wherby we are rebukt & chaſtened: the web which inſnares & intangles us is ſpun out of our own bowells. And God in wiſdom & kindneſs ſo orders it, to prevent our perishing in both worlds.

p. 36§. 2. We ought hearthly to bleſs God for reſtraining us, by his grace, & providence, from Preſumtuous Crimes. That he was pleas'd to ſtop us in our way to ruine, & mercifully prevent us from running into thoſe exceſſes, which would have been attended with ſuch miſerable effects here, & at laſt have expoſed us to his condemning ſentence. Had he not ſometimes withheld us by his grace, when we were tempted: & prevented us, at other times, by his providence, from divers Temptations, by which others have fallen; we had ere this been deplorable ſpectacles of divine Juſtice, and ſeverely corrected by our own folly. And this is the favor, which God is pleaſed to vouchſafe to his Children, to ſuccor them when they are tempted, & to keep them from ſuch Temptations, as they would not be able to reſiſt. Not that he is a good man, who would live wickedly, if he were but tempted to do ſo, by thoſe ordinary trials that humane nature may expect: but he who prefers God, and the bleſſedneſs of the other world, before all things els; & lives agreable to ſuch a choice; if he ſo continue shall be ſaved: tho there might have been ſuppoſed a Temptation ſo ſtrong, as would have conquered his reſolutions, with that meaſure of Grace he then had, if it had not been fortified with new ſupplies. Therfore thank God for the care of his providence, which ſecures us from many dangerous Temptations: & for the aſſiſtance of his Grace in inabling us to come off wit victory, when we have been tryed.

p. 37§. 3. How much better then is a Life of holy Obedience to God, then the practice of ſin, if there were no reward to be expected after Death? If in this Life only we had hope (the caſe of cruel perſecution excepted: ſuch as St. Paul ſpeaks of 1 Cor. 15. And extreme Poverty, & bodily Pains, &c. becauſe under thes the hopes of a future bleſſedneſs are the chief ſupports: otherwiſe) We ſhould be ſo far from being of all men the moſt miſerable in this world, by obeying the Goſpell of Chriſt; that t' is apparently for our preſent Intreſt, to obſerve the precepts of natural & Chriſtian Religion: the Yoke of Chriſt is eaſier, & his burden lighter, & the ſervice of God leſs difficult, then the drudgery of Sin, with ſuch conſequences, as have been mentioned. Let me ſeriouſly appeal to your Experience, wither it be not evill & bitter to depart from God, & caſt off his fear? have you not found it ſo, to your coſt? have not you your ſelv's, & many others whom you know, been ſeverely chaſtened & reproved, by ſin? & what fruit have you, or they, or what fruit have you ever had, of the ſins you are now ashamed of, but ſuch as hath been deſcribed? what profit hath he, ſaith the Wiſeman, 5 Ecl. 16.who hath labor'd for the wind?

Bring in your acounts of what you have ever got by a wicked Live: & compare it with the preſent reward of holy liveing. Set down your income, & proceed to a reckoning, & ſee what the total ſumme amounts to. So much Shame & Fear; ſo much Care & Trouble; ſo much p. 38Loſſe & Damage; ſo much Ignominy & Disgrace; ſo much Disquiet & Disſatisfaction; ſo much Discredit & Disparagement; ſo many Fruſtrations & Disapointments; ſo many Difficulties & perplexities; ſo many Diſeaſes, Griefs, & Aches. An ill name, an empty purſe, a decayed Fortune, a distempered Body, a guilty accuſing Conſcience, &c. And all this for a little ſenſuall mirth & pleaſure, for wine, & women, for a feather, a fancy, an humour, a luſt. **Te miſeriae, te aerumnae premunt omnes, qui te Beatum, qui te florentem putas: Tuae libidines te torquent, tu dies noctesque cruciaris. Te conſcientiae ſtimulant maleficiorum tuorum, te metus exanimant judiciorum, atque legum quocunque aſpexiſti, ut furiae; ſic tuae tibi occurrunt incuriae, quae te reſpirare non ſinunt — Cicero.Wheras if you would ſeriously return to God, & walk humbly, & circumſpectly before him, you will quickly be able joyfully to relate from your own Experience, the contrary fruit of holy Obedience. Remember therfore the vinegar, and the Gall of former ſins, and return no more to folly. Eſpecially conſidering that,

§ 4. If ſin do thus correct the ſinner in this Life, how much more ſeverly will it do ſo in the next? If the conſequences of ſin in this world, are oftentimes ſo dreadfull, how much more intolerable will they be in that which is to come? never did any ſinner without Repentance eſcape the juſtice of God; but ſooner or later his ſin did find him out. You cannot ſwallow poyſon, but you p. 39will feel the effects of it. Even thoſe ſins you now juſtifye & glory in, ſhall be your Everlaſting puniſhment. Tho you ſhould not be ſcourged & chaſtened in this world, as many others are. Conſcience that is now aſleep, will ere long awake to purpoſe; & be faithfull to its office when the moſt ſtinging apphrehenſions of your own guilt, ſhall vex & torture your Souls, with a fruitleſs remorſe for paſt folly, & remedileſs despair under an intolerable wrath.

All thoſe inquities, which you deſignedly forget, are written down in God's book of Remembrance. And the day is haſtening when a ſtrict Reckoning will be demanded; & juſtice impartially executed, on thoſe who will not now believe a future Judgment; & on thoſe who live, as if they did not expect it.

It is obſeruable in the word of God, or may be infer'd from thence, to the glory of divine juſtice, that in the proceedings of the laſt day, God will ſuit & proportion the future punnishment of flagitions men, to their preſent ſin.

Every vice ſhall have its proper torment: & the miſeries which now correct men, as the Beginning of Hell, ſhall be then conſummate. Is not the Diſorder & Confuſion, the Everlaſting Pain & ſhame of Hell, begun to be inflicted on ſinners in this Life? ſome impieties are now troubleſome & painfull, the full wages will be exquiſite & intolerable anguiſh. As there is nothing more loath p. 40ſome then ſome crimes; there ſhall be ſtench in the lake of Brimſtone here after. Sinners are now in ſlavery to their luſts, & led Captive by the Devil; & in the priſon of Hell, there are chains of Everlaſting Darkneſs. They ſhall reap as they ſowed; & every man receive according to his works. God's Eternal curſe ſhall be the portion of the Impious ſwearer, & Blaſphemer. Outer Darkneſs is reſerved for the willfull deſpiſers of natural, & Euangelicall Light. The Atheiſts heart ſhall tremble under the vengeance of that God whoſe being & authority he denied. The Glutton's teeth ſhall gnash; The Laſcivions & unclean be tormented in unquenchable flames, & vainly ſigh for a drop of water to cool their tongues.

As they who were uſefull in the world, & did good to others, ſhall ſhine as ſtars in glory; the malicious, ſpitefull, & Envious, ſhall gnaw their own bowells. As the Lovers of Peace, ſhall ſee the God of Peace, & be bleſſed; Furious, Paſſionate, Angry, Turbulent ſinners ſhall rave & roar for ever under the wrath of God. As the mercifull shall find mercy; the Covetons, & uncharitable ſhall remember their loſt opportunites of doing good, with extreme regret; & the thoughts of their unimployed Riches be as Thorns in their ſides. As the meek & Humble shall be exalted; The proud ſhall be covered with Shame: & thrown down to the bottom of contempt. As the Diligent ſoul ſhall be rewarded with a glorious recompence; the ſlothfull ſhall lament their ſtupid neglicence; in trifling p. 41away their precious ſeaſons, without a poſſibility of retreiveing them. As holy Mourners shall then be comforted; the merry Jovial ſinner, who now laughs at ſerious piety, & derides Religion as a melancholy humour, shall weep & wail, for ever. Every impenitent ſinner shall after Death be condemned to a ſtate of unſpeakable miſery: not only far beyond the preſent punishments of ſin; but infinitely above all we can now apprehend or fear; to continue as long as God & Heaven indure. i: e. it shall be without the leaſt hope of an intermiſſion or Period. And this without unfeigned Repentance, you will find to your coſt, when 'tis too late, to be no groundleſs fancy, or melancholy Dream, no politick device, or fine contrivance to keep the world in awe; but the words of ſoberneſs, & the certaine truth of God. Therfore

§. 5 This may abundantly convince us of the great abſurdity & ſottishneſs of moſt ſinners, in the proſecution of their Luſts. Who turn the deaf ear to all thes loud reproofs & ſmart corrections of their own Sin. Tho God hath made the wages of Iniquity to be troubleſome & afflictive in this world, as well as threatned eternal ſorrows to the Impenitent hereafter; tho ſome crimes do not only merit punnishment, at the hands of Juſtice, but inflict it; yet foolish ſinners court their own miſery, with the refuſal of Happineſs. They will feed upon husks, when Manna is offer'd them: they forſake the Fountaine of liveing Waters, to purchaſe a Feaver: they neglect an Everlaſting p. 42Heaven, in the other world, for the Beginnings of Hell, in this. They forfeit & relinquish the favor of God, and peace of conſcience, & eternel Life, for the imbraces of an Harlot, for unjuſt gaine, for Drunkenneſs & Riot, & ſuch like follies, with the afflictive conſequences that attend them in this Life.

As if Paine were preferable to eaſe, & diſquiet to ſatisfaction, & contentment: as if Trouble were better than Peace: & Poverty than Riches. As if ſickneſs were more deſireable than health; & Disapointment than Certainty: and the horror & anguish of an accuſing Conſcience, then calmneſs & ſerenity of mind. As if a long and happy Life, with the Love of God, and the Teſtimony of a good Conſcience, and the joyfull proſpect of a future bleſſedneſs after this Life is ended, were leſs eligible than a miſerable, shamefull, and untimely Death. Is it like Men, who have rational Souls, to make ſuch a choice? But t' is more foolish and unreaſonable, if you are conſidered as profeſſing Chriſtians; to betray your God for a luſt; your Redeemer, with all the purchaſe of his death, for Paine, and Shame and loos your immortal Souls, redeemed by his precious Bloud, not for nothing only, but for what is worſe: and in order to be miſerable for ever, choos to be ſo for the preſent. Can you look upon Sin with all thes disadvantages; and hath it, can it poſſibly have, any beauty to intice & charm you? But you will object, it may be, that many who live in Sin, do not meet with thes miſcheivous effects & conſequences, p. 43upon the account wherof I would diſſuade you from it. Therfore

§ 6. We ought to conſider that 'tis very conſiſtent with the Juſtice of God, & reconcileable to his wisdom, that all wicked men should not equally receive the correction & punnishment of Sin in this world. Many men may ſo far bridle their luſts, or injoy the pleaſures of Sin with ſo much craft & cunning, as to eſcape many of thoſe rebukes & ſmart corrections, which others meet with. We have Inſtances of ſome who ſpend their days in Pride, & Cruelty, Luſt, & Luxury, & Rebellion againſt God, & yet leave this world without any remarkable ſtroke of his anger & Juſtice: to the wonder, & ſtumbling of Divers who obſerve it.

In all Ages this hath been a difficult objection againſt the Providence of God; & urged on all occaſions by Atheiſts & Sadducees in favor of their cauſe againſt the Worshippers of God. And 'tis more eaſy of the two, to give ſufficient reaſons of the perſecutions & ſufferings of good men, then to ſolve the Impunity & Proſperity of the Wicked. 21 Job 7: 8. & ſeqq.Job 7:8But neither can be done with clearneſs & ſatisfaction, without the belief of a Future Judgment; & both of thes are argumentative in their kind to perſuade that Belief. 12 Jer. 1.Jer 1David himſelf was puzled for a time with this myſtery of Divine Providence: till he went into the ſanctuary, 73 Pſ. 22.Ps 22& ſeriously conſidered the latter end of Sinners. And then he exclaims againſt himſelf, & cries out of his folly, How foolish was I & ignorant: I was as a Beaſt before thee. For the p. 44Conſideration of another Life, & a Judgment to come will abundantly ſatisfye us of the reaſons of divine Patience & long-ſuffering for the preſent.; Why Sentence againſt Evill doers is not ſpeedily executed, or not at all in this world. They are condemned by the holy Law of God, & bound over to his final Judgment; & tho the Execution be delayed for a while, they cannot eſcape the hand of Juſtice, ſince God is Omnipreſent, Allmighty, & lives for ever. And how short is the time of God's forbearance in this Life, if compared with an endleſs duration of miſery after the judgment day. We have little reaſon to envy them their preſent Proſperity, when we conſider that the day of Execution is apointed, & that they are haſtening to it; 2 Pet. 2:3.2 Pet 2:3for their Judgment doth not linger, & their Damnation ſlumbreth not, ſaith the Apoſtle. The honour of God's Juſtice will then be more publickly vindicated, & more openly manifeſt to all the world, then it could be by the preſent punnishment of all great offenders. It will not be long ere they feel the diſmal effects of that Allmighty vengence they now deride; ſee the Heaven they have loſt and ſcorned; & ſuffer thoſe intolerable & remedileſs torments which they will not now believe or conſider. In the mean time they are not all of them altogether unpunisht in this world, but feel the lashes of their own guilty ſelf-condemning thoughts, by inward horror & anxiety of minde, & continual fears of divine Juſtice: Which all their outward proſperity cannot remedy, any more than muſick p. 45can cure the ſtone or Gout, or a Crown of gold give eas to the headach. And thes very fears of an after reckoning are a mighty check & reſtraint upon thoſe, who are above the controul of humane laws, & have power to defend & juſtifye their crimes. The world would be fill'd with cruelty & bloud, & mankind be deſtroyed by the Luſts of Tyrants, & great Oppreſſiors, were they not in ſome meaſure reſtrained by the fears of a future Judgment, & punishments in another Life.

Some ſuch it may be are ſpared, in order to their Repentance & Amendment; for ſome Perſecutors, & Blaſphemers, & notorious Criminals have been called to Repentance; & afterwards have been inſtrumental to glorifie that God, whom before they affronted & provok't. Or it may be God forbears them, as the Executioners of his wrath upon others, as the ſcourges of the world, to punnish the wickedneſs of other men. And when they have done his work, they shall be ſeiz'd by his Juſtice, & their latter end be as exemplary & remarkable, as were their **Jam non ad culmina Rerum, Injuſtè creviſſe queror; tolluntur in altum, Ut lapſu graviore ruant.Impieties. Of this Inſtances may be given in the Roman Emperors, & others. For of nineteen or twenty Emperors, that paſs'd between Antoninus the Phyloſopher, & Claudius the ſecond, not one of them eſcap't a violent Death. Moreover, God p. 46may deſign to inſtruct us in our duty by his own Example, to teach us by his infinite condeſcention & patience toward thoſe who provoke him, how to exerciſe meekneſs & forbearance one toward another. It being impoſſible any injury we receive from our fellow-creatures should ever be heightned to ſuch a guilt, as our ſins againſt God are clothed with▪ But whatever be the reaſon of Divine Patience, it is ſo far from being an argument againſt his Providence, & a Future Judgment, that it may ſerve to eſtablish both. For ſome ſinners are now corrected, and purſu'd by his juſtice, leaſt we should queſtion wither he do at all concern himſelf in the affaires of mankind, or would ever call men to an acount for what they do: & all great offenders are not,, that there may be room for the exercize of Faith: & that we may the better ſee the need of a judgment Day, & believe the certainty of it: & that the threatnings of Everlaſting miſeries may have the more influence & effect upon us; becauſe ſome in great meaſure do eſcape the preſent punnishments of their Impiety. And no wonder if the Providence of God in the diſtribution of temporal good & Evil be now more dark & intricate then formerly; that we can not ſo clearly obſerve his displeaſure againſt the wicked by preſent punishment, or his approbation of the Righteous by proſperous Events: becauſe we have now leſs need of ſuch indications of divine favor or wrath: ſince the extraordinary revelation which he hath made of himſelf in p. 47the holy Scriptures, eſpecially in the new Teſtament, wherby we have a much clearer light to guide us & a fuller & more manifeſt aſſurance of Eternal Rewards & Punishments. But becauſe ordinarily men are chaſtened, & corrected by their wickedneſs in this world. Therfore

§. 7. Let us reſolve to avoid Sin, as ever we would avoid being meſerable in both worlds. The number is not great of thoſe who abhorr Evill by contemplating it meerly in the abſtract; or choos piety by viewing in only in a Metaphyſical dreſſe. Holineſs, 't is true, should be lov'd for it ſelf, as the image of God, the moſt Excellent & moſt perfect Being: & Sin hated for its own intrinſick Malignity, the Deformity, & Evill of its nature. But while we dwell in bodies; preſent ſufferings, & temporall calamities will very much affect us: & as they are the uſuall conſequents of Sin, may be likely to diſſuade us from it. Let us therfore gather grapes from thes thorns, & figs from thes thiſtles, & turn thes ſtones into Bread, by learning to be wiſe at a cheaper rate then others. Let the Juſtice of God upon them be mercy to us, for our Inſtruction & Warning: that we may not be corrected & reproved by our own folly.

Becauſe ſome have been impious without feeling all thoſe miſerable effects, or but very few of them; shall we therfore run the hazard? will we ſwallow a cup of poiſon, when we are foretold of the fatal conſequence, becauſe ſome have done ſo unawares & eſcap't with their lives? Becauſe ſome have been in a tempeſt, and not drown'd; would we choos to adventure our ſelv's in a ſtorm? will any Wiſeman rush upon the point of a ſword, becauſe it may poſſibly miſs his heart, & not mortally wound him? wheras in caſe, if it should not, yet the wound, will coſt him dear by Repentance; and the dearer ſtill, the longer he delays the remedy.

p. 48Be perſuaded therfore to receive inſtruction, before you taſte the bitter fruit of your own folly: & do not purchaſe Everlaſting ſorrows at the price of Temporal. Be not ſuch Enimies to your ſelv's, & to your own intreſt, as to run the hazard of being calamitous & afflicted now, to ſecure therby irrecoverable perdition hereafter. But if Sinners intice thee conſent thou not, 1 Prov. 10: 15.4. c. 15.5. c. 4.7, 8, 9, 10, 11.Prov 10:15Prov 10:4walk not in the way with them, refrain thy foot from their path. Avoid it, paſſe not by it, turn from it & paſſe away. For the end will be bitter as wormwood &c. Therfore avoid the occaſions of Sin, leaſt thou give thine honour unto others; & thy reproach be not wiped away; leaſt ſtrangers be filled with thy wealth; & thou mourn at the laſt, when thy Flesh and thy Body are conſumed, & ſay how have I hated Inſtruction, & my heart deſpiſed Reproof. Conſider the Reproof, and avoid the Correction of Sin, which now it gives you; that thes ſmaller drops may not preface a shower of vengence: that your final ruine be not the conſequent of your incorrigibleneſs under preſent chaſtiſement: that thes Temporal Punnishments may not introduce more terrible, inſupportable, & endleſs wrath. Eſpecially ſince our mercifull Saviour hath offered to deliver us from both: from the Temporal Punishments of Sin, by our preſent Obedience to his holy Goſpel; & from Everlaſting Deſtruction, by that Eternal Salvation, wherof he is the Author to All that obey him, and to none but them.

THE END.

ERRATA.

Beſides the literal faults & fals pointings, Page 3. line 3. read often. p. 4. l. 4. ſar the r. that. l. 24. … p. 20. l. 26. r. riotous. p. 36. laſt line r. with.

End of the text · John Shower, The Present Correction and Reproof of Sin (1685)