Milk for Babes, Questions · Question 19
19. Q. Art thou able to keepe theſe Commandements?
A. No: let me doe what I can, yet I break them every day more then I can expreſſe.
Here thou makeſt a ſtrange accuſation againſt thy ſelfe. Indeed, Chriſt ſaith, that, out of the heart come evill thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, falſe witneſſes, Mat. 15.19.blaſphemies. They are not ſent into the heart, but ſent out of it, and ſuch an heart, ſurely, breaks the Commandements: And Paul ſaith, when he ſpake experimentally of his naturall heart, I know that in me, that is, Rom. 7.18, 19.in my fleſh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is preſent with me, but how to performe that which is good I know not: for the good, that I would, I doe not, but the evill which I would not, that doe I: and certainly he that ſtands in this ſtate cannot keepe the Commandements. Yet marke, that thou putteſt in an heavy indictment againſt thy ſelfe. I ſay, marke this, and marke it ſeriouſly. Haſt thou a ſtrange God to be thy God? Doeſt thou follow Idolatrous worſhip? Doeſt thou diſhonour the name of God, in thought, word, action? Doeſt thou neglect the Miniſtery of the word, and profane the Lords day? Doeſt thou rebell againſt Gods Ordinances for the orderly government of the world? Art thou a murderer, an whore, or whore-maſter, and a thiefe? Art thou a lyer, ſlanderer, or backbiter? Haſt thou a wicked luſtfull heart, which boyles with diſcontents becauſe it is better with thy neighbor then with thy ſelfe? If another body ſhould charge thee with all theſe things, thou wouldſt defie him, and be ready to ſpit in his face; yet thou ſai'ſt openly, that thou doeſt breake the Commandements every day.
I confeſſe it to be a truth, How we do break all the Commandements every day.yet muſt thou underſtand it according to the word of God, or elſe ſhame, and confuſion will lye upon thee more then upon other men, women, and children: know then, that thou breakeſt all the Commandements every day three wayes.
Firſt, in Adam, we were all in Adam when he ſinned, Rom. 5.and in his fall, ſinne went over all mankind, and ſo, over thee, as well as any body elſe. If a Carp eat of a baite, and be taken, and killed, not onelyonly ſhe dies, but thouſands of ſpaunes that are in her belly: ſo when Adam ſinned in eating the forbidden fruit, and died to God, we, that were in his loynes eate it, and died in him. He ſinned againſt a Sacrament. By eating the forbidden fruit, he made himſelfe unfit, and unworthy, to eat of the Tree of life. In ſinning againſt this Sacrament, he ſinned againſt the whole Covenant of Nature. For thou know'ſt that he that tears off the labels, and ſeales of a Bond, ſinneth againſt the vertue of the Bond, and makes it of none effect: ſo Adam ſinning againſt that Sacrament, the ſeale of the Covenant, he made it uſeleſſe. He was neither bound to God now by vertue of that Covenant (becauſe he had made himſelf unable) nor God to him (becauſe he had made himſefe unworthy). We therefore being in Adam, and ſinning in Adam, doe break all the Commandements in him, as we are in the firſt Adam.
Secondly, we breake all the Commandements in the proneneſſe of our nature to breake them. A Fox is chained up in the yard. If he doe not kill all the Poultry about the houſe, no thanks to him, but to his wary Maſter, who hath tied him up. So, no thanks to thee, if thou doe not break all the Commandements, but to God, who hath an hook in thy noſthrils, and reſtraines thee by his providence, before he renues thee by his Spirit: for thy nature is prone unto it. God looks upon the proneneſſe of nature, and according to that doth paſſe cenſure upon men, women, and children. Heb. 11.Abraham is ſaid to offer up his ſonne Iſaac by faith, though he did it not: becauſe from that principle of grace within him, his nature was now prone to doe it, and would have done it, Gen. 22.if God had not held his hands. Chriſt ſaith, That he that looks upon a woman luſtfully hath already committed adultery with her in his heart, Matt. 5.yet the woman is very chaſte, and untouched: becauſe Chriſt looks to the proneneſſe of the heart. So though thou have not broken any of the Commandements, but art as unrebukable concerning the letter of the Law, Phil. 3.as Paul was; yet ſo long as God ſees the proneneſſe of thy nature, that thou haſt a principle of wickedneſſe in thee, which makes thee as ready to break the Commandements as Cain, Achitophel, Peter, yea, Judas, he will adjudge thee a breaker of all the Commandements.
Thirdly, in breaking one of the Commandements, Jam. 2.10.we doe breake them all. Holy James ſaith, Whoſoever ſhall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all: and ſurely thou breakeſt ſome one of them every day, or elſe thou couldſt not be a ſinner; 1 Joh. 1.and he that ſaith he hath no ſinne is a lyer. The whole Law is one body of righteouſneſſe. Now, thou know'ſt, that if I ſinne againſt the leaſt member of thy body, I ſin againſt the whole. Let me cut off the leaſt joynt of thy little finger, or of thy little toe, I offend thy whole body; Thy eye weeps, thy mouth complains, thy whole body ſhrinks, becauſe touching is ſhot through thy whole body. So if thou breakeſt the leaſt part of Gods Commandements, all will feele, and call for wrath upon thee, becauſe thou ſinneſt againſt the whole body of righteouſneſſe. There is ſuch a linking of all the Commandements together, as is betwixt ten ſworn friends; abuſe one, and all will fall upon thee. Therefore Paul ſaith, Curſed is he that continueth not in all things that are written in the Booke of the Law to doe them. Gal. 3.Thou muſt have the Law, thou muſt know it, thou muſt doe it, thou muſt doe all things in it, thou muſt continue in doing it. thou muſt continue in doing all things that are in it, or elſe thou art accurſed.
Yet one thing may ſeeme ſtrange unto thee, that thou confeſſeſt thy ſelfe a breaker of all the Commandements every day, when one Commandement concerns the Sabbath of old, the Lords day now, which comes but once a week: how then canſt thou break this every day? I tell thee ſadly, that thou mayſt break it before it comes, and when it is gone Before it comes, by doing that upon the weeke day, which makes thee unfit to keep it when it comes. If I command a ſervant to doe ſome buſineſſe for me afarre off, put caſe he doe make himſelfe drunke by the way, and ſo, be unfit to doe my buſineſſe, he ſins againſt my command. So if thou doe that upon the weeke day, which makes thee unfit to keep the Lords day when it comes, thou breakeſt that Commandement. Thou ſeeſt many worldly men; they bury themſelves under the earth all the weeke, and they have neither life, nor leaſure to come to the Congregation of Gods people on the Lords day; or if they doe, they ſit like blocks upon benches, and have more mind of the world, then of the word, of their pence, then of their prayers. So thou ſeeſt many a wanton boy, and girle, who would nothing but play all the weeke, and when the Lords day comes they mind nothing elſe, and ſo, are diſgraces to the Aſſemblies where they are. Theſe ſinne againſt the Lords day before it comes, and ſo mayſt thou, and heed it not. Thou mayſt alſo break it when it is gone, by not anſwering the end of it. The Prophet Eſay, Eſa. 2.ſpeaking of theſe dayes, ſaith, That we ſhall encourage one another to goe up to the houſe of the Lord, that he may teach us his wayes, and we walke in his pathes. This ſhould be thy end, now, of keeping the Lords dayes. But when God doth not teach thee his wayes, and then thou doſt not walke in his pathes notwithſtanding all the teaching which ſhines about thee, then thou breakeſt the Lords day when it is gone. And thus thou now ſeeſt how thou breakeſt all the Commandements every day. And never wonder at it, ſeeing the Law exacts perfect obedience to juſtification, but is weake to give it, Rom. 8.3.becauſe of the fleſh. Indeed the Goſpel gives more ſtrength, ſo as by grace thou mayſt keep it in deſires, purpoſes, endevours, with all ſincerity, and willingneſſe for thy ſanctification, though not perfectly for thy juſtification: but I enquire yet of thy naturall ſtate, and of that thy anſwer is given and opened by me.
Vſe. Therefore (my child) ſeriouſly think upon it, that it may wound thy heart with the ſpirit of bondage ſo farre as to bring thee over to Jeſus Chriſt. Rom. 8.Moſt men are like Saul, who, when he ſaw Samuel after the deſtruction of Amalek, ſaid, 1 Sam. 15.Bleſſed be thou of the Lord, I have kept the commandements of God: ſo, they have kept them alſo, they are neither whore, nor thiefe, they keep their Church, and are good neighbours: and ſome men ſay as Shadrach, Dan. 3.Meſhech, and Abednego, to Nebuchadnezzar in another caſe, We are not carefull to anſwer thee in this matter, or to keep thy commandement: ſo they care not to enquire into it, or know whether they keep, or breake them. But as thou loveſt thy ſoul, let it not be ſo with thee. As I have asked thee carefully, ſo feele conſcionably thy anſwer, that thou breakeſt them, that thou mayſt lye down in ſhame, and confuſion, in thy ſelfe, that thou mayſt be prepared for Jeſus Chriſt. Think that thou wert in Adam, when he brake the whole Law of nature. Thinke how prone thy nature is to all ſinnes, even the worſt that ever were committed. Thinke how thou ſinneſt daily againſt the whole body of Juſtice in many petty ſinnes which makes thee groane and cry daily, forgive us our treſpaſſes. Thinke, that though there be but one Market day in ſeven, for proviſion for thy ſoule, yet thou ſinneſt againſt it before it comes, and when it is gone, as well as when it is, and ſo barreſt the bleſſing of it from thy ſoule. And, when thou ſeriouſly thinkeſt of theſe things between God and thy own ſoule, thinke again what will become of thee if thou die in thy ſinnes, and come to anſwer before a juſt God who cannot endure to behold iniquitie. It may be, that (if God bleſſe) thy conſcience may be rowzed to hearken further concerning thy eſtate, and never give over hearkening, and enquiring, till thou have found a way into Jeſus Chriſt. If thou wilt know more, tell me