A Scripture-Map of the Wilderness of Sin, Treatise · Part 1 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III. Containeth the Explication of the third and fourth conſideration, ſhewing the diſmalneſs of wilderneſs ſin, becauſe ſolitary and companionleſs, deſolate and proviſionleſs.
3. Wilderneſs ſolitary.THirdly, The wilderneſs is ſolitary and companionleſs, ſo is the wilderneſs of ſin: This wilderneſs is companionleſs, miſtake me not, I do not ſay its void of paſſengers, but void of company; there are upon this road too many catch-poles and cut-throats, as you ſhall hear more when we come to open the deſtructiveneſs of the way; there are not wanting Lions, and Leopards, and Dragons, and Bears, and Wolves, and wilde Boars, and wilde Bulls, but there is no company for a man, as Job 38.26. It is termed The wilderneſs where there is no man: There you may meet with beaſts, ſavage beaſts, that make it their buſineſs to deſtroy one another, and thee too; but ſaith the Text, There is no man there: So in the ways of ſin, you may meet with Devils and Drunkards, Whoremongers, Sabbath-breakers, Murtherers, Thieves and Hypocrites, that make it their buſineſs to deſtroy one anothers ſouls, and thine too, but thou ſhalt meet with no good company to comfort thee, to direct thee,No God. Pſal. 5.4. No Chriſt or Spirit. 2 Cor, 6.15. No Angel. Pſalm 34.7. No Saint. Gen. 49.6. to ſecure thee, no not in all the wilderneſs; no God, no Chriſt, no holy Spirit there, no good Angel, no Saint ſo far as ſanctified: Oh! what diſmal travelling is here, here's ſcrieching of Owls, and the howling of Dragons, the roaring of Lions, the bellowing of Bulls, the yelling of Wolves, but not the voice of one Man; here's roaring, and ſwearing, and lying, and curſing, and blaſpheming, and back-biting, and evil-ſpeaking, but not a prayer, not a thankſgiving, not a gracious word: Oh! think what a terror it would be unto you to travel amongſt wilde ravenous beaſts all your days; ſuch are ſinners, ſcriprure uſually terms them ſo, Lions and Bulls of Baſhan, wilde Boars of the foreſt, wilde Aſſes of the wilderneſs, Beaſts of Epheſus, they are called foreign, Rom. 1.31. that is Brutes, and ſo expreſly conſtrued, 2 Pet. 2.12. Brute beasts made to be destroyed; ſo Jude 10. O Saints, ſince through the Lords grace (I ſcarce can imagine how) we live by them without being deſtroyed of them; O let us have as little converſe as poſſible, no ſinful converſe with them, leſt we be deſtroyed with them; Men do not uſe to converſe with wilde beaſts, except upon an advantage to tame them: Converſe thou as little as is poſſible with ſinners, unleſs upon opportunity to convert them. Homo homini lupus, one man is a wolf to another, a proverb moſt true in that ſenſe which is moſt ſpiritual. Thus is ſin a wilderneſs, a way for beaſts and not for men. How deſolate and diſmal are thy pathes, O ſinner? you have this character of the wilderneſs with the former, Jer. 9 12. A wilderneſs burnt up, that none paſſeth through: you ſay that's a dangerous ill road indeed, where there is never an honeſt man upon the way. O how ſolitary and wretched is the way of ſin then? where there's never a good paſſenger, none but roaring Lions, and ranging Leopards, and the like; I abhor that prophane ſpirit of that godleſs proverb, Spiritus Calviniſticus ſpiritus melancholicus, as if a pure ſpirit muſt needs be a dumpiſh ſpirit: Let me tell thee, O prophane heart, believe it if thou wilt, a Chriſtians heart is uſually fulleſt of joy, when his eyes are fulleſt of tears: Canſt thou think him Melancholick that hath ſo good company heaven-ward, whileſt thou art ſo jovial amongſt thy diſmal hell-bounded companions? But and if he weep, maiſt not thou tremble? If he be penſive that is coming up out of the wilderneſs leaning upon Chriſt, in the company of the Father, in the fellowſhip of the Spirit, in the Communion of Saints: O how ſhouldſt thou be diſmayed that art wandring in the wilderneſs, amongſt Lions and Leopards, and no company to reſcue thee, to ſecure thee, or to guide thee? Certainly if the Saint be over-penſive, its unbelief of this truth that makes him ſad; if thou be jovial, its thy diſmal unbelief of this diſmal truth that makes the merry.4. Wilderneſs deſolate and proviſionleſs.
Fourthly, The wilderneſs is deſolate and comfortleſs, deſtitute and proviſionleſs, Iſaiah 27.10. deſolate like a wilderneſs, Jer. 12.10. a deſolate wilderneſs, Zeph. 2.19. A deſolation like a wilderneſs: And God expreſſing the extremity of judgement when it ſhould be higheſt, threatneth Iſrael that he will make it deſolate, yea, more deſolate then a wilderneſs, Ezek. 6.14.
The wilderneſs is a deſolation, deſtitute and proviſionleſs, no houſing, no fire, no water, no bread, no clothing to be had, no not in all the wilderneſs; if you light of any food at all, it is wilde and unwholſome food, light and windy food: The Aſs of the wilderneſs is ſpoken of in ſcripture as feeding upon the wind, Jer. 2.24. Thus the wilderneſs is proviſionleſs, miſtake me not, I do not mean it is void of all proviſion, but that there is no comfortable, convenient, wholeſome, ſubſtantial proviſion: For the wilde Aſſes and ſavage Beaſts there is accommodation, but there is none ſuitable unto man; hear Iſraels complaint made of the wilderneſs, Numb. 21.5. Wherefore hast thou brought us to die in the wilderneſs, for there is no bread, neither any water, i. e. according to their dialect (for they did uſe to put bread and water, and ſometimes water onelyonly for all maner of comfortable accomodations, as in that Scripture, Gen. 37.22. v. 2. compared with Zach. 9.11. now ſay they, In this wilderneſs here is neither bread nor water; Manna they had, but that they accounted a light bread. What they in the ingratitude and hardneſs of their hearts ſaid of that Manna, we may truly ſay of this ſpiritual wilderneſs, here is neither bread nor water, i. e. no true ſubſtantial comfort, and our ſouls may loathe the light bread. Beloved, we may ſay of the wilderneſs of ſin, That it hath no food at all for us; I confeſs, if we will be beaſts (as Nebuchadnezzar was turned to be) then the wilderneſs can produce food for us; and upon the account of this truth, I dare affirm that that ſoul that takes up a reſolution to live upon ſin, may take up a reſolution to become a beaſt: What's an unclean perſon that lives upon luſt, better then a wilde goat? What other is a drunken gluttonous perſon that lives upon exceſs, then a ſwine? What difference 'twixt a crafty covetous wretch, and a ſerpent of the wilderneſs, that goes upon its belly, and feeds upon the duſt? Whats a perſecutor that feeds upon the blood of Saints, better then a Lion that feeds upon the blood of Lambs? What is a roaring, ſwearing, ranting wilde ſinner, better then the wilde aſs of the wilderneſs that ſnuffs up the wind at her pleaſure? If you wil live upon ſuch diet, you muſt turn beaſts; but if you wil be men, you muſt look after higher proviſions then the wilderneſs can afford you. The bread of the wilderneſs is light bread, thy ſoul muſt loath it: All the proviſions that the ſinner by ſin makes for himſelf, are wilderneſs proviſions, Eccleſ. 5.16, 17. He laboreth for the wind all his days, he eateth in darkneſs: The food that he takes all his labor and pains about (in the travel of ſin) 'tis at beſt windy food: Oh! Iſaiah complains of ſinners ſadly upon this occaſion, Iſaiah 55.2. Wherefore do ye ſpend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which ſatisfies not? If we had onelyonly bodies, ſin happily might ſatisfie us, though its meats be but light and empty proviſions; but we have ſouls, and ſouls will not be ſatisfied with ſuch light bread; I appeal to all your conſciences, were ye ever yet ſatisfied at a feaſt of the wilderneſs? I do not ask you, were you ever filled? I know this windy meat can fill, and clog and burthen, but ſatisfie it cannot: And hence it comes to paſs, that as its ſaid of the children of Iſrael, the longer they continued in the wilderneſs, the more their carkaſes ſhould waſte, Numb. 14.33. Your carkaſes ſhall waſte, and you ſhall fall in this wilderneſs, and you ſhall wander forty years, until your carkaſes be waſted: So this is Gods diſmal doom, upon impenitent ſinners, the Lord ſuffers them to live many a year, and the longer they live, the more do their ſouls waſte, till they come at length to be quite ſpent in ſin, and then they fall in the wilderneſs. Men that live upon ſin, the longer they live, the leaner and more carkaſe-like do their ſouls grow: HaueHave you not ſeen ſome Colchester carkaſes, ſo ſpent and waſted for want of proviſion, that although they were not quite dead, yet their hands were faint, their knees were feeble, ſo far ſpent, that they were grown quite mindleſs of food, they had not a tongue to ask it of the paſſers by, not a mouth or ſtomack to receive it: Oh! thus it fares with poor ſinners, that have fed out their time in the wilderneſs of ſin; at length they have not ſo much as an hand or a foor, or a heart to ſtrive, they have not ſo much as a tongue to beg, or a mouth to receive any of thoſe proviſions, that the Lord hath made for poor ſouls in Jeſus Chriſt: Thus is the wilderneſs proviſionleſs as for food.
As for raiment what you have, the wilderneſs, the thorns, the brambles can rend away, and tear from you, but all the wilderneſs cannot help you with one garment; So it is with ſin, if you have any cloathes on any good parts or good nature (as they call it) the thorns, and brambles, and temptations of ſin can tear them off (Oh! how many gallant parts and good natures hath ſin rent to pieces?) but if you be naked, you muſt walk naked for all ſin; ſin can ſtrip you, but it cannot clothe you; you are all naked whileſt you are bewildred, Ezek. 16.8. and there is none to help you: Therefore till you come out of the wilderneſs leaning upon Chriſt, and have gotten him up on whom you lean, to caſt his skirt over you, you walk naked, and God ſees your ſhame; there is no raiment to be had for the ſoul, but onelyonly where Chriſt keeps his Markets, Rev. 3.18. and ſo for other accommodations; all which being thus, makes me ſadly ſay, Sin is a wilderneſs, that is, proviſionleſs: O how evil is ſin to men? and which is ſaddeſt of all yet, yet are men kinde to ſin; Sin cannot feed you, and yet ſpeak your conſciences, do not moſt of you feed ſin, and cheriſh, and nouriſh ſin? ſin cannot clothe you; O what ſhall become of thoſe men for their courteſie that cover ſin? In a word, ſin cannot make proviſion for you; therefore I beſeech you cloſe with the Apoſtles counſel, Rom. 13.14. Make no proviſion for the fleſh to fulfil the lusts thereof.