Chap. 30 Seventhly, sin is more opposite to mans good than affliction, because sin brings guilt upon
eternal, only wise God to be an enemy, and I the object of his hatred! Oh think of these things.
And Brethren, in these times it is to be feared you contract abundance of sin; you will have more to answer for before these * twelve days be gone, than you had before. Oh let this stop the course of some sin, that otherwise might be committed in these times of sensuality; therefore when you see some go on in sinful ways, do you stop and say, God forbid I should do as they do; I have been in such a place, and heard what sin is, heard how it is against God, and this might stop me; but this day I have heard how it is against me and my own soul, and how it destroys my own soul, therefore I will hate sin everlastingly.
CHAP. XXX.
Seventhly, sin is more opposite to mans good than affliction, because sin brings guilt upon the soul.
Seventhly, There is more evil in sin than in affliction, Because sin is more opposite against our own good than affliction, and that in this seventh respect, sin brings guilt upon the soul, it makes the creature stand guilty in the presence of God: Now guilt upon the soul is a greater evil than any affliction can be: that is the thing I am now to open.
Guilt, what is that? it is the binding over of the sinner to God's Justice, and to the Law, to answer, and be liable unto what the Law requires as punishment due to the sinner: so that then for a creature to stand bound over to God's infinite Justice, and the Law,
has more evil in it against mans good than all the afflictions and miseries in the world; this is the thing I am to make good.
A sinner goes up and down with the chains of guilt upon him; Iron chains grating upon the sore flesh of a man, is not so tedious and grievous as the chains of guilt upon conscience. Certainly this is one especial reason why many wicked men and women are so froward as they are, because they have much guilt upon their spirits, that as Iron chains would grate the raw flesh, so does that guilt lie upon conscience, and that makes them so froward & peevish as they are; froward against God, and against man.
Many men that you are to deal withal, you shall find them against the Word extreme froward, & perverse against their acquaintance, neighbors, & family, & nearest friends, & we cannot imagine sometimes what is the reason: Certainly this is one especial reason, there is much guilt upon their consciences, and spirits; and this does so disquiet and vex them, that they fling out at God, and his
Word, and every one; they can have no quiet they be so vexed and gauled with that guilt upon their spirits.
There is a great deal of cause to suspect much guilt to be upon those that be so outrageous, and can bear nothing; that have their hearts rise against the Word especially.
Brethren, if you see any one that has any light of conscience, and has made profession heretofore, if such an one shall frowardly fly out against the Word, and those that be godly, you may conclude there is some woeful guilt upon that mans spirit, he is so froward, and peevish, and disquiet as he is:.
And so we find it in Saul, he was a man at first of a very quiet spirit, and very moderate; but after, Saul being a man much enlightened, and had forsaken God, and had contracted abundance of guilt upon his soul, he was a most froward perverse spirit as any we read of in the Book of God; then how froward was he with David, and the
Priests of God, and so outrageous as that he slays them all; a bloody man after he had contracted much guilt.
Do you see men so froward, and outrageous, and bloody? Oh there is much guilt within upon their spirits, great breaches between God and their souls, and the guilt of sin within grates upon their hearts, and that makes them so outrageous as they are.
If guilt be upon the soul, it takes away al the comfort of every thing; that man or woman that has an enlightened conscience, and has guilt upon them, there's little comfort such a one can take in any thing they enjoy.
No affliction in the world can take away the comfort of what we enjoy, as guilt can do; if you have afflictions one way, you have comforts another.
If a man go abroad and meet with hard dealings, he comes home and has comfort it may be in his wife, a comfortable yoke-fellow, this rejoices him; or may be he has comfort in his Children, or in such or such a friend: But now let a man or a woman have guilt upon conscience, abroad he has no comfort, at home he has no comfort; yea, the more comfortable things he does enjoy, the more trouble there is in his spirit.
As thus, Take a guilty conscience, and when he comes and looks upon a comfortable family, comfortable estate, means coming in, a sweet yoke-fellow, good friends; Oh but if I had not some guilt upon my soul, I could rejoice in these; but that guilt that lies upon his conscience take away all the comfort of these; and if he sees others that enjoy these, Oh said he, this man may have comfort in a comfortable yoke-fellow, children, or friends, and a good estate; but he has not guilt upon his spirit, and that breach between his God and he as I have.
May be the world knows not where his shoe pinched him, and what saddens his spirit: many men that have comforts about them
(though they cannot be said to enjoy them) yet their hearts be troubled and disquieted, and nobody knows the matter; Oh there is guilt upon their spirits: they think within themselves, Oh, if it were with me as it is with such a one, it would be well, sure they have not that guilt I have, if they had they could not but be disquieted as I am.
Again, Guilt brings woeful fear upon the conscience; no affliction can bring such fear upon the conscience. Though there should be never such troubles and fears, and confusions in the world, alas this is not so terrible and fearful as that fear the guilty conscience has.
Take a man or woman whose conscience is delivered from the guilt of sin, such a one, though Heaven and Earth should meet, is not so much troubled. Certainly Brethren, in these great fears amongst us, that you be scared at everything, it is partly because you have not thoroughly made up your peace between God and your souls, and some guilt lies upon your spirits and consciences; and this indeed will make every thing terrible to you, if that lie there:.
Guilt upon the conscience makes God, the thoughts of God seem terrible. Now it is a greater evil for the creature not to be able to look upon God, & to have thoughts of God without being pierced with terror, than to be under any affliction in the world; sorrows, fears, and disgrace and persecutions are not so terrible as this, that I am in such a condition that I cannot look up to God, nor think upon God without having the thoughts of his Majesty to be terrible to me.
A guilty conscience cannot endure to have a thought of God, it is terrible to him, and therefore he labors by going into company, and sports, and business in the world, to take off the thoughts of God, because the thoughts of God pierce his heart. And so the presence of God is very terrible where guilt is upon the conscience, and the conscience of such a one cannot endure to come into God's
presence; nor into the Communion of Saints where God's presence is.
And he cannot endure to pray, the thoughts of that strike his heart; to go alone to pray, the presence of God when alone is extreme terrible. And this is a sadder condition than to be under any affliction: better be under any affliction than in such a case, as that the presence of God is terrible: the presence of God in Prayer, and so the presence of God in his Word.
Oh the Word is terrible to such a one, the Word of God speaks nothing but terror so long as guilt remains upon the conscience.
This is worse than affliction that that Word which is a treasure of sweetness, and goodness, and comfort to those that are gracious and godly, should be filled with terror to the soul of one that is full of guilt. Yea, to such a one all the ways of God's Providence are full of terror; if there be any Judgment of God abroad, Oh the terror that this brings upon his foul.
Brethren, sin is committed quickly, you have a temptation comes, and you fall upon the sin and act it; the sin, the act of it, is transient and quickly gone; the guilt that sticks to you.
When a man or woman has satisfied their lust in a sinful way, the guilt sticks behind: may be the time is gone for the pleasure of it; it was perhaps yesterday, or such a night or time thou hadest the pleasure of it, but now the sin is gone the pleasure of it, but the guilt sticks, and that abides upon thy Spirit to all eternity if thou look not to it.
Nay, certainly it must stick upon the Spirit, it is not in the power of any creature in heaven or in earth to deliver thee from it: yea the guilt so remains, that though thou feel it not now for the present, it may stick terribly many years after. But affliction is terrible only for the present, not for afterward; but guilt and sin lays a foundation for
many years after. Nay, many times it is grievous painful to the Soul long after it is committed: as it was in Joseph's Brethren.
We read of them that they committed that great sin against their Brother, and it troubled them not a great while; but twenty two years after when they were in an affliction, then the guilt of their sin comes a fresh, Oh then we sinned against our Brother; when they were in prison there: now it was twenty two years from the time they committed that sin to that time when they were in trouble there.
So you that have committed sin and think some slight sorrow may wash it away, know the guilt may abide upon your spirits perhaps twenty, may be forty years after. And you that are young take heed and know that sin is more evil than any affliction, for the sin that you commit when you are young in your Masters Families, the guilt may abide upon you, and youthful sins may prove ages terror.
It may be with you as with a man that gets a bruise, when he is young he feels it not, but when he is old than it ache in his bones, and puts him to terrible pain many times; so many young people feel not sin when their blood is hot, but afterward, the guilt of sin abides upon them, and is the torment of their souls when their blood is cold.
Now what evil is there in sin that may do a man mischief perhaps twenty or forty years hence. As it is with some poison, there are some poisons men have skill in, that they can give poison shall not work in three or four, perhaps not till seven years afterward, and yet they know certainly, That if that man be not cut off before (except
God work extraordinarily) he shall dye at the seven years end of that poison he took seven years before. So sin is such a thing that it will do a man a mischief many years after.
Again, The guilt of sin has this evil further in it, which appears in that difference between men that come to suffer with guilt, and
those that come to suffer without guilt: Take them that have come to the most grievous sufferings in the world, and had not the guilt of sin upon their consciences, who had all clear between God and their souls; their sufferings be joyful, and they can rejoice in tribulation and troubles, as the Martyrs in Persecution, how did they rejoice and glory in their sufferings? with what a Spirit of magnanimity did they come to their sufferings? But take those who suffer through guilt, as Malefactors, when they come to suffer, what shame and confusion is upon them!
Thus affliction is nothing to them that have no guilt, but those that have the guilt of sin upon them when they come to suffer their guilt is a thousand times more than their affliction. There is a great deal of difference between a man guilty of treason when he come to suffer for it, there is shame and confusion, and dismal darkness in the spirit where there is guilt: but let one be accused for treason, or any such horrible crime, and no guilt upon the spirit, such a one can go on with joy, and comfort, and peace; whatsoever can be done to him is very little or nothing when guilt is removed.
The truth is, there is no suffering can countervail the suffering that guilt makes. The guilt makes the suffering evil, otherwise not. If one man come upon another man with suffering, it is nothing without guilt.
So it is true, when God comes it is nothing if God and we be at peace: but now when God comes with any such affliction as the very affliction shall have the mark of the sin upon it, and so shall stir up conscience to accuse you for it, then the heart is ready to sink when the affliction shall bear the name of the sin together with it.
I remember the difference of David's Spirit at several times; one time, Though an Host encamp about me, yet will I not fear, and though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; Psal. 23. Another time he is afraid when he flies from Absolom; and when there was a breach between God and his soul, when he