the law of sin.
The first thing, therefore, that sin aims at in its deceitful working, is to divert the mind from the discharge of its duty.
There are two things which belong to the duty of the mind in that special office which it has regarding the obedience God requires: -
1. To keep itself and the whole soul in such an attitude as may render it ready to all duties of obedience, and watchful against all enticements to the conception of sin.
2. In particular, carefully to attend to all particular actions, that they are performed as God requires, agreeably to his will; as also for the preventing the enticements of sin. In these two things consists the whole duty of the mind of a believer; and from both of them indwelling sin works to divert it.
1. The first of these is the duty of the mind in reference to the general frame soul; two things may be considered. That it is founded in a due, constant consideration, -
(1.) Of ourselves, of sin and its vileness;
(2.) Of God's grace and goodness: and sin labours to draw it off from both of these.
2. In attending to those duties which especially prevent the working of the law of sin.
1. (1.) It attempts to draw it off from an awareness of its own vileness, and its associated danger. A constant consideration of sin, in its nature, inits circumstances, in its tendencies, especially as represented in the blood and cross of Christ, ought always to abide with us: Jeremiah 2:19,
"Know therefore and see that it is a bitter and evil thing that you have
forsaken the LORD your God."
Every sin is a forsaking of the Lord our God. If the heart does not realise that it is a bitter and evil thing, - evil in itself, bitter in its fruit - it will never be secured against it. Besides, that frame of heart which is most accepted with God in any sinner is the humble, contrite frame: Isaiah 57:15,
"Thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the spirit of the contrite."
See also Luke 18:13, 14. This befits a sinner; no garment sits so decently about him. "Be clothed with humility," says the apostle, 1 Peter 5:5. It is what befits us, and it is the only safe frame. He who walks humbly walks safely. This is the design of Peter's advice, 1 Peter 1:17, "Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." After that he himself had stumbled by another frame of mind, he gives this advice to all believers. It is not a servile fear, perplexing the soul, but such as may keep men constantly calling on the Father, with reference to the final judgement, that they may be preserved from sin, whereof they were in so great danger, which he advises them to: "If you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." This is the humble frame of soul And how is this obtained? how is this preserved? No otherwise but by a constant, deep awareness of the vileness, and danger of sin. So was it done, so was it kept up, in the publican who was accepted. "God be merciful," says he, "to me a sinner." 'Sense of sin kept him humble, and humility made way for his access to a testimony of the pardon of sin.
And this is the great preservative through grace from sin, as we have an example in Joseph, Genesis 39:9. Upon the urgency of his great temptation, he recoils immediately into this frame of spirit. "How," says he, "can I do this thing, and sin against God?" A constant, steady
sense of the evil of sin gives him such preservation, that he ventures liberty and life in opposition to it. To fear sin is to fear the Lord; so the holy man tells us that they are the same: Job 28:28,
"The fear of the Lord is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."
So in the first place, the law of sin puts forth its deceit here, - namely, to draw the mind from this frame, which is the strongest fort of the soul's defence. It labours to divert the mind from an awareness of the vileness and danger of sin. It secretly insinuates excusing thoughts of it; or it draws it off from pondering on it so much as it ought, and formerly has been. And if, after the heart of a man has, through the word, Spirit, and grace of Christ, been made tender and deeply aware of sin, it comes to have fewer, or less affecting thoughts about it, the mind of that man is drawn away by the deceitfulness of sin.
There are two ways, amongst others, whereby the law of sin attempts deceitfully to draw off the mind from this duty and frame: -
[1.] It does it by a horrible abuse of gospel grace. In the gospel a remedy is provided against the whole evil of sin, the filth, the guilt of it, with all its dangerous consequences. It is the doctrine of the deliverance of the souls of men from sin and death, - a revelation of the gracious will of God towards sinners by Jesus Christ. What, now, is the genuine tendency of this doctrine, of this revelation of grace; and what ought we to use it for? This the apostle declares, Titus 2:11, 12,
"The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world."
This it teaches; this we ought to learn of it. Hence universal holiness is called a "lifestyle that befits the gospel," Philippians 1:27. It befits it, as what is answerable to its end, aim, and design, - as what it requires, and which it ought to be improved to. And accordingly it effect where
the word of it is received and preserved in a saving light, Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:20-24. But here the deceit of sin interposes itself: - It separates between the doctrine of grace and the purpose of it. It stays with theory, and will not proceed to practice. From the doctrine of the pardon of sin, it introduces heedlessness of sin. God in Christ makes the start, and Satan and sin make the conclusion. The deceitfulness of sin is apt to plead to a heedlessness of it, from the grace of God whereby it is pardoned; so the apostle declares in his detestation of such a thought: Romans 6:1, "What shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid." "Men's deceitful hearts," says he, "are apt to make that conclusion; but far be it from us that we should receive it." But yet that some have evidently improved that deceit to their own eternal ruin, Jude declares: Verse 4, "Ungodly men, turning the grace of God into licentiousness." And we have had dreadful instances of it in the days of temptation wherein we live.
Indeed, much of the wisdom of faith and power of gospel grace is against this deceit. Its effect is to cast the mind fully and habitually into the gospel truth about the full and free forgiveness of all sins in the blood of Christ, and keep the heart always in a deep, humbling sense of sin. This is the test and mark of gospel light: - If it keeps the heart aware of sin, lowly, and broken on that account, - if it teaches us to water a free pardon with tears, to detest forgiven sin, to watch diligently for the ruin of what we are yet assured shall never ruin us, - it is divine, from above, of the Spirit of grace. If it secretly makes men casual in their thoughts about sin, it is selfish and false.
Thus we see men walking in a bondage-frame of spirit all their days, having little light, grasping little of grace; so that it is hard to discern whether covenant in their principles they belong to, - whether they are under the law or under grace; yet walk with a more conscientious tenderness of sinning than many who are advanced into higher degrees of light and knowledge than they; - not that the saving light of the gospel is not the only principle of saving holiness and obedience; but that, through the deceitfulness of sin, it is variously abused to
countenance the soul in manifold neglect of duties, and to draw off the mind from a due consideration of the nature danger of sin. And this is done several ways: -
1st. The soul, having frequent need of relief by gospel grace against a sense of the guilt of sin and accusation of the law, comes at length to make it a common thing that may be easily done. Having found a good medicine, had experience of its efficacy, it comes to apply it carelessly, and rather skins over than cures its sores, A little less earnestness, a little less diligence, serves every time, until the soul, begins to secure itself of pardon in course; and this tends directly to draw off the mind from its constant and universal watchfulness against sin. He whose light has made his way of access plain for the obtaining of pardon, if he be not very watchful, he is far more apt to become careless in his work than he who, by reason of mists and darkness, beats about to find his way aright to the throne of grace; as a man who has often travelled a road passes on without regard or inquiry, but he who is a stranger to it, observing all turnings and inquiring of all passengers, secures his journey beyond the other.
2dly. The deceitfulness of sin takes advantage from the doctrine of grace by many ways and means to extend the bounds of the soul's liberty beyond what God has assigned to it. Some have never thought themselves free from a legal, bondage frame until they have been brought into the confines of sensuality, and some into the depths of it. How often will sin plead, "This strictness, this exactness, this solicitude is no ways needful; relief is provided in the gospel against such things! Would you live as though there were no need of the gospel? as though pardon of sin were to no purpose?" But concerning these pleas of sin from gospel grace, we shall have occasion to speak more hereafter in particular.
3dly. In times of temptation, this deceitfulness of sin will argue expressly for sin from gospel grace; at least, it will plead for these two things: -
(1st.) That there is not need of such a tenacious contending against it, as the principle of the new creature is fixed on. If it cannot divert the soul or mind wholly from opposing to temptations, it will attempt to draw them off as to the manner of their attendance. They need not use that diligence which at first the soul knows to be necessary.
(2dly.) It will be tendering relief as to the event of sin, - that it shall not turn to the ruin or destruction of the soul, because it is, it will, or may be, pardoned by the grace of the gospel. And this is true; this is the great and only relief of the soul against sin, the guilt whereof it has contracted already, - the blessed and only remedy for a guilty soul. But when it is pleaded by the deceitfulness of sin in compliance with temptation to sin, then it is poison; poison is mixed in every drop of this balsam, to the danger, if not death, of the soul. And this is the first way whereby the deceitfulness of sin draws off the mind from that sense of its vileness which alone is able to keep it in that humble frame that is acceptable with God. It makes the mind careless, as though its work were needless, because of the abounding of grace; which is a soldier's neglect of his station, trusting to a reserve, provided, indeed, only in case of keeping his own proper place.
[2.] Sin takes advantage to work by its deceit from the condition of men in the world. Men, in their younger days, have naturally their affections more vigorous, and active, more sensibly working in them, than afterward. They naturally decay, and many things befall men in their lives that take the edge off them. But as men lose in their affections, if they are not besotted in sensuality or by the corruptions that are in the world through lust, they improve in their understandings, resolutions, and judgements So if what had place formerly in their affections do not take place in their minds and judgements, they utterly lose them, they have no more place in their souls. Thus men have no regard for those things which their affections were set on with delight in their childhood. But if they come to be fixed in their minds and judgements, they continue a high esteem for them, and cleave as close to them as they did before; only, they have changed their seat in the soul. It is thus in things spiritual. The chief
seat of awareness of sin is in the affections. As these are great in natural youth, so are they spiritually in spiritual youth: Jeremiah 2:2, "I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals." Such persons are newly come from their convictions, wherein they have been cut to the heart, and so made tender. Whatever touches on a wound is thoroughly felt; so does the guilt of sin before the wound given by conviction is thoroughly cured. But when affections begin to decay naturally, they begin to decay also as to their actions in things spiritual. Although they improve in grace, yet they may decay in sense. At least, spiritual sense is not radically in them, but only by way of communication. Now, in these decays, if the soul take not care to fix a deep sense of sin on the mind, to perpetually affect the heart and affections, it will decay. And here the deceit of the law of sin gets in. It allows a sense of sin to decay in the affections, and diverts the mind from a constant consideration of it. Some people never progress in the ways of God beyond conviction. How aware of sin will they be for a season! How will they then mourn under a sense of the guilt of it! How will they heartily resolve against it! Affections are vigorous, and rule in their souls. But they are like a herb that flourishes for a day or two with watering though it has no root: for, a while after, we see that the more experience these men have had of sin, the less they are afraid of it, as the wise man says, Ecclesiastes 8:11; and at length they come to be the greatest despisers of sin in the world. There is no sinner like the one who has sinned away his convictions of sin. What is the reason of this? Sense of sin was in their convictions, fixed on their affections. As it decayed in them, they took no care to have it deeply fixed on their minds. The deceitfulness of sin deprived them of this, and so ruined their souls. In some measure it is so with believers. If, as the acuteness of the affections decay, if, as they grow heavy, great wisdom and grace be not used to fix a due sense of sin on the mind and judgement, to enliven and stir up the affections every day, great decays will follow. At first sorrow, trouble, fear, affected the mind, and would give it no rest. If afterward the mind do not affect the heart with grief, the whole will be cast out, and the soul be in danger of being hardened. And these are some of the ways that the deceit of sin draws it off from its constant watchfulness against sin and its effects.
(2.) The second part of this general duty of the mind is to keep the soul to a constant considering God and his grace. This lies at the spring-head of gospel obedience. The way that sin draws the mind from this part of its duty is sufficiently known, though not sufficiently watched against. Now, everywhere the Scripture declares this to be the filling of the minds of men with earthly things. It places this in direct opposition to that heavenly frame of mind which is the spring of gospel obedience: Colossians 3:2, "Set your affection", or your minds, "on things above, not on things on the earth". As if he had said, "You cannot be set on both together, so as to mind them both." And the affections to the one and the other, proceeding from these principles of minding the one and the other, are mutually incompatible: 1 John 2:15,
"Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
And actions following these affections are presented also as contrary: "You cannot serve God and mammon." No man can satisfy these two masters at the same time. So every minding of earthly things is opposed to that frame wherein our minds ought to be fixed on God and his grace in gospel obedience.
There are several ways where the deceitfulness of sin draws off the mind; but the chief is by pressing them on the mind on the pretext that they are lawful and necessary. So all those who excuse themselves in the parable from coming to the marriage-feast of the gospel, did it because they were engaged in their lawful callings, - one his farm, another his oxen, - ploughing in this world. By this plea the minds of men were drawn off from that frame of heavenliness which is required as we walk with God; and the rules of not loving the world, or using it as if we used it not, are neglected. What wisdom, what watchfulness, what serious frequent examination of ourselves is required to keep our hearts and minds in a heavenly frame in the use of earthly things, is not my present subject. But this much is clear; the
engine that the deceit of sin uses to turn the mind aside is the pretence of the lawfulness of the things it is pre-occupied with; and very few are armed against this with sufficient diligence and wisdom. This is the most general attempt that indwelling sin makes on the soul by deceit, - it draws away the mind from a diligent attention to its course in a due sense of the evil of sin, and a due and constant consideration of God and his grace.
CHAPTER 9.
The deceit of sin in drawing off the mind from a due attendance to duties of obedience, such as in meditation and prayer.
We have shown how sin by its deceit attempts to draw the mind from attending to that holy frame in walking with God where the soul should be kept safe. We will now show how it does the same work in reference to those duties by which its work and victory may be prevented. Sin, indeed, maintains an enmity against God in all those duties of obedience. "When I would do good," says the apostle, "evil is present with me;" - "Whenever I would do good, or whatever good I would do, (that is, good in reference to God), it is present with me to hinder me from it." And, on the other side, all duties of obedience lie directly against the actions of the law of sin; for as the flesh in all its actions lusts against the Spirit, so the Spirit in all its actions lusts against the flesh. So every duty performed in the strength and grace of the Spirit is contrary to the law of sin: Romans 8:13, "If you through the Spirit put to death the deeds of the flesh." Obeying the Spirit of grace in duties does this work. These two are contrary. But there are some duties which, in their own nature and by God's appointment, a particularly effective in weakening and subduing the whole law of sin in its principles and strengths; and the mind of a believer ought to attend to these principally. Sin in in its deceit attempts to draw off the mind from these. As in diseases of the body, some remedies have a specific quality against fevers; so, in this disease of the soul, there are some duties that have specific virtue against this sinful fever. I shall give only two examples, which seem to me to be of this nature, - that by God's designation they have a special ability to ruin the law of sin. And then we shall show the ways which the law of sin uses to divert the mind from attending to them. Now, these duties are, - first, Prayer, especially private prayer; and, secondly, Meditation. I put them together, because they are similar in their general nature and purpose, differing only in the manner of their performance; for by meditation I mean meditating on what the word speaks to our hearts that they may