Sermons and Discourses Volume 8, Sermon 6
SERMON VI.Serm. 6. The Shamefulneſs of Sin, an Argument for Repentance. The Second Sermon on this Text.
ROM. VI.21, 22.
What fruit had ye then in thoſe things, whereof ye are now aſhamed? For the end of thoſe things is death. But now being made free from ſin, and become Servants to God, ye have your fruit unto Holineſs, and the end Everlaſting Life.
IN theſe words the Apoſtle makes a compariſon, between an Holy and Virtuous, and a Sinful and Vicious courſe of Life, and ſets before us a perfect enumeration of the manifeſt inconveniences of the one,Vol. 8. and the manifold advantages of the other.
I began with the Firſt of theſe, viz. to ſhew the manifeſt inconveniences of a ſinful and vicious courſe. I am upon the Second inconvenience of a ſinful courſe, viz. That the reflection upon it afterwards is cauſe of great Shame and Confuſion of face to us; and that
Firſt, in Relation to our ſelves. Which I have diſpatch'd, and proceed now in the,
Second Place, to conſider Sin in reſpect of God, againſt whom, and in whoſe ſight and preſence it is committed; and upon examination it will appear, to be no leſs ſhameful in this reſpect than the other.
There are ſome Perſons before whom we are more apt to be aſhamed and bluſh, than before others; as thoſe whom we reverence, thoſe to whom we are greatly oblig'd, and thoſe who are clear of thoſe faults which we are guilty of; and thoſe who hate or greatly diſlike what we do; eſpecially if they be preſent with us, and in our company; if they ſtand by us and obſerve, and take notice of what we do, and are likely to publiſh our folly and make it known, and have Authority and Power to puniſh us for our faults; we are aſhamed to have done any thing that is vile and unworthy before ſuch Perſons. Now to render Sin the more Shameful, God may be conſider'd by us under all theſe Notions, and in all theſe reſpects.
1. Whenever we commit any Sin, we do it before him, in his preſence, and under his eye and knowledge, to whom of all perſons in the world we ought to pay the moſt profound reverence. I remember Seneca ſomewhere ſays; that There are ſome Perſons, quorum interventû perditi quoque homines vitia ſupprimerent, that are ſo awful and ſo generally reverenc'd for the eminency of their Virtues, that even the moſt profligate and impudent ſinners will endeavour to ſuppreſs their Vices, and refrain from any thing that is notoriouſly bad, and uncomely, whilſt ſuch Perſons ſtand by them, and are in preſence. Such an one was Cato among the Romans. The People of Rome had ſuch a Regard and Reverence for him, that if he appeared, they would not begin or continue their uſual ſports, till he was withdrawn from the Theatre, thinking them too light to be acted before a Perſon of his Gravity and Virtue: And if they were ſo much aw'd by the preſence of a Wiſe and a Virtuous Man, that they were aſhamed to do any thing that was unſeemly before him; how much more ſhould the preſence of the Holy God, who is of purer eyes, than to behold iniquity, make us bluſh to do any thing that is lewd and vile in his ſight, and fill us with ſhame and confuſion of face at the thoughts of it? Now whenever we commit any Sin, God looks upon us; and he alone is an ample Theatre indeed. That he obſerves what we do, ought to be more to us, than if the Eyes of all the World beſides were gazing upon us.
2. He likewiſe is incomparably our greateſt Benefactour, and there is no Perſon in the World, to whom in any degree we ſtand ſo much oblig'd, as to him; and from whom we can expect and hope for ſo much good, as from him; the conſideration whereof muſt make us aſhamed, ſo often as we conſider, and are conſcious to our ſelves, that we have done any thing that is grievous and diſpleaſing to him.
We are wont to have a more peculiar Reverence for thoſe to whom we are exceedingly beholden, and to be much aſhamed to do any thing before them, which may ſignifie diſreſpect, and much more enmity againſt them; becauſe this would be horrible ingratitude, one of the moſt odious and ſhameful of all Vices. And is there any one to whom we can ſtand more obliged, than to him that made us, than to the Author and Founder of our Beings, and the great Patron and Preſerver of our lives? And can there then be any before whom, and againſt whom we ſhould be more aſhamed to offend? When the Prodigal in the Parable would ſet forth the ſhamefulneſs of his Miſcarriage, he aggravates it from hence, that he had offended againſt and before one to whom he had been ſo infinitely obliged. Father, ſays he, I have ſinned againſt heaven and in thy ſight.
3. We are aſhamed likewiſe to be guilty of any fault or crime before thoſe Perſons who are clear of it, or of any thing of the like nature themſelves. Men are not apt to be aſhamed before thoſe who are their fellow-Criminals, and involved with them in the ſame guilt, becauſe they do not ſtand in awe of them, nor can have any reverence for them. Thoſe, who are equally guilty, muſt bear with one another. We are not apt to fear the cenſures and reproofs of thoſe, who are as bad as our ſelves: but we are aſhamed to do a foul and unworthy Action, before thoſe who are innocent and free from the ſame, or the like Sins and Vices which we are guilty of.
Now whenever we commit any Sin, it is in the preſence of the Holy God, who hath no part with us in our crimes, whoſe nature is removed at the fartheſt diſtance from Sin, and is as contrary to it as can be. There is no iniquity with the Lord our God. And therefore of all Perſons in the World we ſhould bluſh to be guilty of it before him.
4. We are apt alſo to be aſhamed to do any thing before thoſe who diſlike and deteſt what we do. To do a wicked Action before thoſe who are not offended at it, or perhaps take pleaſure in it, is no ſuch matter of ſhame to us. Now of all others, God is the greateſt hater of Sin, and the moſt perfect Enemy to it in the whole World. Hab. 1.13. Thou art of purer eyes, than to behold evil, and canſt not look on iniquity, i. e. with patience, and without an infinite hatred and abhorrence of it. Such is the unſpotted Purity and Perfection of the Divine Nature, that it is not poſſible that God ſhould give the leaſt countenance to any thing that is Evil. Pſal. 5.4, 5. Thou art not a God, ſays David there to him, that haſt Pleaſure in iniquity, neither ſhall evil dwell with thee: The wicked ſhall not ſtand in thy ſight; thou hateſt all the workers of iniquity.
5. We are aſhamed likewiſe to do any thing that is Evil and unſeemly before thoſe, who we are afraid will publiſh our faults to others, and will make known and expoſe the folly of them. Now whenever we Sin, it is before him who will moſt certainly one day bring all our works of darkneſs into the open light, and expoſe all our ſecret deeds of diſhoneſty upon the publick Stage of the World, and make all the vileſt of our actions known, and lay them open, with all the ſhameful Circumſtances of them, before men and Angels, to our everlaſting Shame and Confuſion. This is the meaning of that Proverbial Speech, ſo often uſed by our Saviour, There is nothing cover'd, that ſhall not be revealed, neither hid that ſhall not be made manifeſt. All the Sins which we now commit with ſo much caution, in ſecret and dark retirements, ſhall in that great day of Revelation, when the ſecrets of all hearts ſhall be diſcloſed, be ſet in open view, and in ſo full and ſtrong a light, that all the World ſhall ſee them; and that which was plotted and contrived in ſo much ſecrecy, and hardly whiſper'd in this World, ſhall then be proclaimed aloud, and as it were upon the Houſe-tops.
6. and Laſtly, We are aſhamed and afraid to commit a fault before thoſe, who we believe will call us to an account for it, and Puniſh us ſeverely. A Man may ſuffer innocently and for a good Cauſe; but all ſuffering in that caſe, is by wiſe and good men eſteemed honourable and glorious, and tho' we are Condemned by men, we are acquitted in our own Conſciences: But that which is properly called Puniſhment is always attended with Infamy and Reproach; becauſe it always ſuppoſeth ſome fault and crime, as the ground and reaſon of it. Hence it is that in this World, men are not only afraid, but aſhamed to commit any fault before thoſe, who they think have Authority and Power to puniſh it. He is an impudent Villain indeed, that will venture to cut a Purſe in the preſence of the Judge.
Now when ever we commit any Wickedneſs, we do it under the Eye of the great Judge of the World, who ſtedfaſtly beholds us, and whoſe Omnipotent Juſtice ſtands by us ready armed and charged for our Deſtruction, and can in a moment cut us off. Every ſin that we are guilty of, in thought, word, or deed, is all in the preſence of the Holy, and Juſt, and Powerful God; whoſe Power enables him, and whoſe Holineſs and Juſtice will effectually engage him, one time or other, if a timely Repentance doth not prevent it, to inflict a terrible Puniſhment upon all the Workers of iniquity.
You ſee then by all that hath been ſaid upon this Argument, how ſhameful a thing ſin is, and what Confuſion of face the reflection upon our wicked Lives ought to cauſe in all of us. What fruit had ye then in thoſe things, whereof ye are now aſhamed? If ever we be brought to true Repentance for our ſins, it cannot but be matter of great Shame to us.
We find in Scripture that ſhame doth continually accompany Repentance, and is inſeparable from it. This is one Mark and Character of a true Penitent, that he is aſhamed of what he hath done. Thus Ezra, when he makes Confeſſion of the ſins of the People, he teſtifies and declares his Shame, for what they had done; I ſaid, O my God! I am aſhamed and bluſh to lift up mine Eyes to thee my God; for our iniquities are increaſed over our Heads, and our treſpaſſes are grown up to the Heavens, Ezra 9.6. And may not we of this Nation at this day take theſe words unto our ſelves, conſidering to what a ſtrange height our ſins are grown, and how iniquity abounds among us? So likewiſe the Prophet Jeremiah, when he would expreſs the Repentance of the People of Iſrael, Jer. 3.25. We lye down (ſays he) in our ſhame, and our Confuſion covereth us, becauſe we have ſinned againſt the Lord our God. In like manner the Prophet Daniel, after he had in the Name of the People made an humble acknowledgment of their manifold and great Sins, he takes ſhame to himſelf, and them for them. Dan. 9.5. We have ſinned, ſays he, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled in departing from thy Precepts, and from thy Judgments. O Lord, righteouſneſs belongeth to thee; but unto us confuſion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jeruſalem, and unto all Iſrael, that are near and that are far off, through all the Countries whither thou haſt driven them, becauſe of their treſpaſs, which they have treſpaſſed againſt thee: O Lord! To us belongeth confuſion of face, to our Kings, to our Princes, and to our Fathers, becauſe we have ſinned againſt thee. By which we may judge, how conſiderable and eſſential a part of Repentance, this Holy Man eſteemed ſhame, for the ſins they had been guilty of, to be. And indeed upon all occaſions of ſolemn Repentance, and Humiliation for ſin, this taking ſhame for their ſins is hardly ever omitted, as if there could be no ſincere Confeſſion of ſin and Repentance for it, without teſtifying their ſhame, and Confuſion of face upon the remembrance of their ſins.
Now to ſtir up this affection of ſhame in us, let me offer to you theſe three Conſiderations.
I. Conſider what great reaſon we have to be heartily aſhamed of all the ſins and offences which we have been guilty of againſt God. It was a good old Precept of Philoſophy, that we ſhould reverence our ſelves, i. e. that we ſhould never do any thing, that ſhould be matter of Shame and Reproach to us afterwards, nothing that misbecomes us, and is unworthy of us.
I have ſhewn at large, that all Sin and Vice is a diſhonour to our Nature, and beneath the Dignity of it; that it is a great reproach to our Reaſon, and directly contrary to our true and beſt Intereſt; that it hath all the aggravating circumſtances of Infamy and Shame; that every ſin that was at any time committed by us, was done in the preſence of one, whom of all Perſons in the World we have moſt Reaſon to reverence, and againſt him, to whom of all others we ſtand moſt obliged for the greateſt Favours, for innumerable Benefits, for infinite Mercy and Patience and Forbearance towards us, in the preſence of the Holy and Juſt God, who is at the fartheſt diſtance from ſin, and the greateſt and moſt implacable Enemy to it in the whole World, and who will one day puniſh all our faults, and expoſe us to open ſhame for them, who will bring every work into judgment, and every ſecret ſin that ever we committed, and take Vengeance upon us for all our iniquities. So that whenever we ſin, we ſhamefully entreat our ſelves, and give the deepeſt wounds to our Reputation in the eſteem of him, who is the moſt competent Judge of what is truly Honourable and Praiſe-worthy, and cloath our ſelves with ſhame and diſhonour.
We are aſhamed of Poverty, becauſe the poor Man is deſpiſed, and almoſt ridiculous in the Eye of the proud and covetous rich Man, whoſe riches are his high Tower, and make him apt to look down upon the poor Man that is below him, with contempt and ſcorn; we are aſhamed of a dangerous and contagious Diſeaſe, becauſe all men fly infectious company: but a Man may be poor or ſick by misfortune; but no Man is wicked, but by his own fault and wilful choice. Ill-natur'd and inconſiderate men will be apt to contemn us for our poverty and affliction in any kind: but by our Vices we render our ſelves odious to God, and to all good and conſiderate men.
II. Conſider that ſhame for ſin now, is the way to prevent Eternal Shame and Confuſion hereafter. For this is one great part of the Miſery of another World, that the ſinner ſhall then be filled with everlaſting ſhame and confuſion at the remembrance of his faults and folly. The Eternal Miſery of wicked men is ſometimes in Scripture repreſented, as if it conſiſted only or chiefly in the Infamy and Reproach which will then overwhelm them, when all their crimes and faults ſhall be expoſed and laid open to the view of the whole World. Dan. 12.2. where the general Reſurrection of the juſt and unjuſt is thus deſcribed; Many of them that ſleep in the duſt of the earth ſhall awake, ſome to everlaſting life; and ſome to everlaſting ſhame and contempt: Where everlaſting life and everlaſting ſhame are oppoſed, as if Eternal ſhame were a kind of perpetual Death.
In this World ſinners make an hard ſhift, by concealing or extenuating their faults, as well as they can, to ſuppreſs or leſſen their ſhame; they have not now ſo clear and full Conviction of the evil and folly of their ſin; God is pleaſed to bear with them and to ſpare them at preſent, and they do not yet feel the diſmal effects and conſequences of a wicked life: but in the next World, when the righteous judgment of God is revealed, and the full Vials of his wrath ſhall be poured forth upon ſinners, they ſhall then be cloathed with ſhame, as with a garment, and be covered with confuſion; then they will feel the folly of their ſins, and have a ſenſible Demonſtration within themſelves of the infinite Evil of them; their own Conſciences will then furiouſly fly in their faces, and with the greateſt bitterneſs and rage upbraid and reproach them with the folly of their own doings; and ſo long as we are ſenſible, that we ſuffer for our own folly, ſo long we muſt unavoidably be aſhamed of what we have done. So that if ſinners ſhall be everlaſtingly tormented in another World, it neceſſarily follows, that they ſhall be eternally Confounded.
Is it not then better to remember our ways now, and to be aſhamed and repent of them, than to bring everlaſting Shame and Confuſion upon our ſelves, before God, and Angels, and Men? This is the Argument which St. John uſeth, to take men off from ſin, and to engage them to Holineſs and Righteouſneſs of Life. 1. Joh. 2.28. That when he ſhall appear, that is, when he ſhall come to judge the World, we may have confidence, and not be aſhamed before him at his coming.
III. And laſtly, Conſider that nothing ſets men at a farther diſtance from Repentance, and all hopes of their becoming better, and brings them nearer to Ruin, than Impudence in a ſinful courſe. There are too many in the World, who are ſo far from being aſhamed of their Wickedneſs, and bluſhing at the mention of their faults, that they boaſt of them, and glory in them. God often complains of this in the People of Iſrael, as a ſad preſage of their Ruin, and an ill ſign of their deſperate and irrecoverable Condition; Jer. 3.3. Thou hadſt a whore's forehead, and refuſedſt to be aſhamed; and Jerem. 6.15. Were they aſhamed when they committed abominations? Nay, they were not aſhamed, neither could they bluſh: therefore they ſhall fall among them that fall, and in the time that I viſit them, they ſhall be caſt down. Hear likewiſe how the Apoſtle doth lament the caſe of ſuch Perſons, as incurable and paſt all remedy. Philip. 3.18, 19. There are many of whom I have told you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are enemies to the Croſs of Chriſt, whoſe end is deſtruction, whoſe God is their belly, whoſe glory is in their ſhame. Such Perſons who glory in that which ought to be their ſhame, what can their end be but deſtruction?
There is certainly no greater argument of a degenerate Perſon, and of one that is utterly loſt to all ſenſe of goodneſs, than to be void of ſhame; and as on the one Hand, they muſt be very towardly, and well diſpoſs'd to Virtue, who are drawn by ingenuity, and meer ſenſe of Obligation and Kindneſs; ſo on the other hand, they muſt be very ſtupid and inſenſible, who are not wrought upon by Arguments of fear, and ſenſe of ſhame. There is hardly any hopes of that Man, who is not to be reclaimed from an Evil courſe, neither by the apprehenſion of danger, nor of diſgrace, and who can at once ſecurely neglect both his Safety and Reputation.
Hear how the Prophet repreſents the deplorable Caſe of ſuch Perſons, Iſa. 3.9. The ſhew of their countenance bears witneſs againſt them; in the Hebrew it is, The hardneſs of their countenance doth teſtifie againſt them, and they declare their ſin, as Sodom, they hide it not. Wo unto their Souls, for they have rewarded evil to themſelves. When Men are once arrived to that pitch of Impiety, as to harden their Foreheads againſt all ſenſe and ſhew of Shame, and ſo as to be able to ſet a good face upon the fouleſt Matter in the World; wo unto them, becauſe their Caſe ſeems then to be deſperate, and paſt all hopes of Recovery. For who can hope, that a Man will forſake his Sins, when he is not ſo much as aſhamed of them? But yet one would think, that thoſe that are not aſhamed of their Impiety, ſhould be aſhamed of their Impudence, and ſhould at leaſt bluſh at this, that they can do the vileſt and the moſt ſhameful things in the World without bluſhing.
To conclude this whole Diſcourſe, let the Conſideration of the evil and ſhamefulneſs of Sin have this double effect upon us, to make us heartily aſhamed of the paſt Errors and Miſcarriages of our Lives, and firmly reſolved to do better for the future.
I. To be heartily aſhamed of the paſt Errors of our Lives. So often as we reflect upon the manifold and heinous Provocations of the Divine Majeſty, which many of us have been guilty of in the long courſe of a wicked Life, together with the heavy Aggravations of our Sins, by all the circumſtances that can render them abominable and ſhameful, not only in the Eye of God and Men, but of our own Conſciences likewiſe; we have great reaſon to humble our ſelves before God, in a penitent acknowledgment of them, and every one of us to ſay with Job, Behold I am vile, what ſhall I anſwer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth, I abhor my ſelf, and repent in duſt and aſhes; and with Ezra, O my God! I am aſhamed, and bluſh to lift up my face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increaſed over our heads, and our treſpaſs is grown up unto the heavens: And now, O my God, what ſhall we ſay after this? for we have forſaken thy commandments; and with holy Daniel, We have ſinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly; O Lord! Righteouſneſs belongeth unto thee, but unto us confuſion of face. Thus we ſhould reproach and upbraid our ſelves, in the Preſence of that Holy God, whom we have ſo often and ſo higly offended, and againſt whom we have done as evil things as we could, and ſay with the prodigal Son in the Parable; Father, I have ſinned againſt heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy Son.
If we would thus take ſhame to our ſelves, and humble our ſelves before God, he would be merciful to us miſerable Sinners; he would take away all iniquity, and receive us graciouſly; and ſo ſoon as ever he ſaw us coming towards him, would meet us with joy, and embrace us in the Arms of his Mercy. And then,
II. As we ſhould be heartily aſhamed of the paſt Errours and Miſcarriages of our Lives, ſo we ſhould firmly reſolve, by God's Grace, to do better for the future; never to conſent to Iniquity, or to do any thing which we are convinc'd is contrary to our Duty, and which will be matter of Shame to us, when we come to look back upon it, and make our Blood to riſe in our Faces at the mention or intimation of it, which will make us to ſneak, and hang down our heads, when we are twitted and upbraided with it, and which, if it be not prevented by a timely Humiliation and Repentance, will fill us with Horror and Amazement, with Shame and Confuſion of Face, both at the Hour of Death, and in the Day of Judgment.
So that when we look into our Lives, and examine the Actions of them, when we conſider what we have done, and what our Doings have deſerved, we ſhould, in a due ſenſe of the great and manifold Miſcarriages of our Lives, and from a deep Sorrow and Shame and Deteſtation of our ſelves for them, I ſay, we ſhould, with that true Penitent deſcribed in Job, take Words to our ſelves, and ſay, Surely it is meet to be ſaid unto God, I will not offend any more; That which I know not, teach thou me; and if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. And thus I have done with the ſecond Inconvenience of a ſinful and vicious Courſe of Life, viz. that the reflection upon it afterwards cauſeth Shame; What fruit had you then in thoſe things, whereof ye are now aſhamed?