Chap. 12 How sin wrongs God in his personal Relations. 1 The Father. 2 The Son. 3 The Spirit
How doest thou think the mercy of God should plead for thee when thou doest it such infinite wrong? when thou venturest upon sin because God is a merciful God. Thus you wrong the attributes of God by sin.
CHAP. XII.
How sin wrongs God in his personal Relations. 1 The Father. 2 The Son. 3 The Spirit.
Secondly, Now for the Personal Relations of God; Father, Son, and holy Ghost; how they be wronged in way of sin.
First, God the Father. Consider of these in those operations most proper, and especially attributed to them. As now, that attributed to the Father, is the work of Creation: now thou wrongest God the Father in this especial operation, In that thou abusest the gifts God has given thee; that body and soul God has made, thou abusest it to God's dishonor; abusest his creatures; takest God's own creatures, and abusest them to his dishonor: yea, thy own members that God made thee to honor him withal, thou takest them, and with his own weapons fightest against himself: not only fightest against him, but with his own weapons, faculties and gifts he has given thee, thou fightest against him. Thus thou wrongest God the Father in his work of creation.
Secondly, Thou wrongest Christ in the Work of Redemption.
1 Because the least sin thou committest (if ever it be pardoned) it is that which stabbed Jesus Christ to the very heart: I say, thy sin was that which pierced Christ, and brought forth blood and water from
him; it was that which whipped Christ; it was that which put Christ to death, that shed the blood of Christ, that crucified Christ.
I may say to every sinner that expects to be saved by Christ, as Peter in the 2. Acts said to those Jews, Whom you have crucified, and the text said, that then they were pricked to their hearts. Certain it is, thou sinner (man or woman, whosoever thou art) that dost expect to have part in the blood of Christ, Thy sin crucified Christ, made
Christ cry out upon the Cross, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? What dost thou think of thy sins now? And if thou be such an one as has never been affected with the Blood of Christ that was shed for thy sins, then thou wrongest the Blood of Christ more, for then thou dost trample the Blood of the everlasting Covenant under thy feet, and accountest it a common thing. Most men and women be such that live under the light of the Gospel, that like
Swine trample the very blood of Christ under their feet, and make nothing of the Blood of Christ, go to the Sacrament hand over head unprepared, and so come to be guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ. Certainly these be not strains of wit above the truth and reality of things; there is a reality in it, that thy soul is charged from God this day of wronging Christ the second Person of the Godhead.
Thirdly, Thou wrongest the Spirit of God, in defacing of the work of Sanctification (what in thee lies) in opposing the work of God's
Spirit in thy soul, in resisting the motions of God's Spirit. Who is there but is guilty of resisting the motions of the Holy Ghost? Who is there but at some time or other when they have been at the Word, but they have had some stirrings of the Spirit of God within them, when they have heard such and such truths of God? But they have gone to company, and laughed it away, drunk, and played it away talked it away. What a wrong is this to the Holy Ghost? thou wrongest the Holy Ghost by defiling thy Body, which should be the Temple of the Holy Ghost.