-- CHAPTER X: The main subject of this treatise
CHAPTER X:
The main subject of this treatise The main subject of this treatise, viz. that the Scriptures set the value and balance of the account of men's sinfulness upon the multitude of their sinnings.—The demonstrations of it; first from the judgments both of God and of Christ, either as they are judges in condemning men, or pardoners in forgiving
In those foregoing treatises about sins against knowledge, and the rest of that kind, I have set forth some aggravations that render sins heinous; I am now to speak of their number.
And this, which is the main proposition, orderly follows the former, viz. that in Scripture-account it is the number or multitude which God sets the value of men's sinfulness upon, and for the most part of mankind doth exceed the greatness of their heinous sins. And this doth clearly accord with Solomon's scope in this twenty-seventh verse. I shall give several demonstrations of it out of the Scriptures, as also reasons why God sets the chief value thereupon.
The demonstrations hereof will arise and appear, if we take either: 1.
God's own judgment declared in the case; or, 2. Of men in their conversations; or, 3. Of saints themselves after their conversion, in the humblings of themselves before God, whose judgment in these cases may well be taken, as supposed to have been directed by God therein, and to have judged righteous judgment of themselves in so confessing and judging of themselves by the multitudes of their sins.
The first demonstration of it is from the consideration, I. Of God's judgment herein, and of him considered; either, 1. As a judge, judging men for their sinfulness; or, 2. As a pardoner,
justifying of sinners.
1. Of God as a judge.
God himself, the 'judge of all the earth,' Gen. 18:25, did once cast up the whole world's accounts (after they had run out for 1656 years), and it was precursory to, and the semblance of the great day of judgment to come. Now what is it that God's own charge and indictment falls chiefly upon? but, as Gen. 6:5, 'God saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.' There were in that old world great sins for heinousness, circumstantiated with deep aggravations, which are instanced in that same chapter, as the apostasy of those that professed the true religion and purity of worship, &c. vers. 2, 4; as also that 'the whole earth was filled with violence,' or oppression, ver. 13; and all aggravated by this, that the Spirit of God had striven with them in the ministry and example of Enoch, Noah, and others their godly ancestors, ver. 3. But yet the grand reckoning, which God the judge accounts great above all, and laid heaviest to their charge, was, that 'every imagination of their thoughts were evil continually,' which was all one as to have said, that their smallest sins were infinite for number; and it is in that respect that he so complains, the wickedness of man was great, even in respect of number, through that constant, continual, and uninterrupted multiplication of them. And they are the smallest sort of sins he there mentions, imaginations and thoughts, which yet arose to a greater guilt than all their heinous iniquities; so as the numerousness, though of smaller sins alone, is the greatness here spoken of, and the word for great in the original serves to that sense also, as is well known.
He proceeded by the like measure in his account concerning the two captivities, both of the ten tribes of Israel and of Judah, into Babel, as appears both by the threatenings before, and during that captivity, and after in the acknowledgments of that church. 1. In the threatenings before, and during the captivity, God by Ezekiel justifies
his sentence pronounced, and the execution of that captivity then in part begun, chap. 16, by this, thou hast multiplied thy fornications, ver. 25, 29, and vers. 51, neither hath Samaria (viz., the ten tribes carried away before), 'committed half thy sins' (he computed the number we see, as it also follows), 'but thou hast multiplied thy abominations more than they.' And these last quotations do involve that former captivity of the ten tribes of Israel as well as this of Babylon, and shews that the ten tribes of Israel had been cast out for the multitude of their abominations also.
And, 2, after their captivity it is likewise put upon the same in the church's own acknowledgment; Lam. 1:15, 'For the multitude of her transgressions, her children are gone into captivity,' &c.
And this innumerable multitude it is, that when men's consciences are awakened once and convicted by God for sin, comes in upon them, and which they do profess themselves above all other most sensible of, as the cause of their punishment: Isa. 59:11, 12, 'We roar like bears, for our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and testify against us, and for our iniquities we know them,' God having set them in order before them.
2. Of God considered as a pardoner.
Consider God and Christ as pardoning. By which act of his we may as certainly estimate what rate or value he puts upon our sinnings as when he judgeth; for as David, Ps. 51, and the apostle after him,
Rom. 2: He pardoneth to the end he may be justified when he comes to judge; and to be sure God's divine nature inclineth him to reckon in, and with himself, with as much exactness then when he pardoneth, as when he punisheth; for he values his mercy, and the manifestation of it, at the higher rate; and his mercy in pardoning is to be rated and exalted by what he pardons. Now we find that when he hath pardoned the greatest sinners, he hath not reckoned so much by the greatness as by the number, as that part of the account whereby he chooseth to hold forth to us the infiniteness of his grace
in pardoning, and as that whereby he would draw forth our love to him again for pardoning. Upon the occasion hereof, says Christ (and it was as great a speech as he that was the Word itself hath uttered),
'her sins which are many are forgiven, because she loved much.' And he says it, you see, upon this occasion of his pronouncing pardon to a grievous sinner, and adds, 'And to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.' In which latter words, he interprets what he means by the little and the much, even the many, or the number of sins. Thus
Luke 7:47.
In like manner, when God would exalt Christ's righteousness to us, which is the price and ransom that was paid for all (and therefore we may warrantably estimate the one by the other), that also is greatened, not by the magnitude so much as by the multitude of sins forgiven, which are mentioned on that occasion. Thus speaking of the excelling merit of his obedience, 'the free gift and abundance of righteousness is for many offences to justification.' And again, the greatness of God's grace in conversion (when by any of us as an instrument, a sinner comes to be converted), is greatened, as by this, that it is the 'saving of a soul from death;' so, moreover, that it is the 'hiding of a multitude of sins,' James 5:20; as thereby setting forth the greatness of that salvation; and yet that sinner spoken of there was one whose sins were as heinous as sins pardonable can be supposed to be, even the sins of a professor backslidden and apostatised from the truth, ver. 19; and yet of the two it is the multitude there that alone is specified as the measure of his sinfulness, and thereby of magnifying God's grace in pardoning.
I will here return unto and enlarge a little more upon the instance of that both great sinner and great convert so famous in the Gospel, upon occasion and for comfort of whom it was that Christ uttered that former speech, but even now related, 'Her sins that were many are forgiven her.' And I place it here because it is a middling instance, which will aptly serve either this or the following demonstration, which shall be taken from new converts.
In the Gospel you read of a woman without a name, dwelling in the city Nain, Luke 7, who washed Christ's feet with her tears, &c., which woman was none of the Marys in the Gospel mentioned, for she was neither she of the city Magdala, Mat. 15:29, from whence that Mary called Magdalene had her appellation, and who was a woman of quality and riches, for she was one that ministered to Christ in his journeyings with all the train of his disciples, Luke 8:23; nor was this woman that other Mary of Bethany, who yet is recorded to have done the like things to him, John 11:2, who was the sister of Lazarus. I say, this woman was none of those two Marys, no, not the latter of Bethany (for which there is yet so much appearance), as would evidently appear, if we might without diversion insist on it, this alone sufficiently shews it, that this woman, Luke 7, was of another city, viz. Nain, vers. 7, 5, 11, and 37, and this matter of fact of anointing him, &c., was done by her in that city of Nain; and though in one
Simon's house, yet it was 'Simon the Pharisee,' Luke 7:36, 39, 40, 44; but that other anointing by Lazarus's sister though in some circumstances it was like to that of this other woman, was acted in the house of 'Simon the leper,' and by that appellation diversified from that other, the Pharisee, and in another town, namely, in Bethany, Mat. 26:6. This woman of Nain hath no other name recorded, but that foul and infamous one of her being 'a sinner,' known and notorious to all that city, as Simon's words do import, ver. 39. This as to her person.
Now, observe her posture and frame of spirit, and what it is Christ speaks of her, and which makes to the purpose in hand. She comes humbled, standing behind Christ's seat, in a silent deep mourning, speaks not one word, weeping in such abundance, as served to wash his feet, so much as they needed being wiped dry, which she did with her hair, that hair she had sinned withal. Now, what was that in her sinfulness which Christ the pardoner takes notice of, and would have her carry home with her, and us all to consider? ver. 48, 'Thy sins, which are many, are forgiven thee;' yea, and he indigitates it, to shew that it was that also which had broke her heart so deeply, even the many, the number of her sins; this Christ, that knew both what