Chap. 39 He that sins, wrongs, despises, and hates his own Soul. Use 1 Then see the maliciousness th
CHAP. XXXIX.
He that sins, wrongs, dispises, and hates his own soul.
Use 1. Then see the maliciousness that is in sin. Use 2. To pity those that go on in sinful ways. Use 3. Let sin be dealt hardly with.
Thus we have Discovered how sin makes more against our good, than affliction does. Now there be divers things which follow hence as Consequences: I spoke of one or two before, I will name them no more: But only thus far, Hence we see that sin makes more against our selves, than any thing else; Therefore it is the worst way for any to provide for themselves by giving way to live in any sinful course.
And for this I shall ad Two or Three Scriptures I spoke not of before, to shew how men go against themselves, and those men that think to provide best for themselves, the truth is in the ways of sin, they go most against themselves: You have these Three notable
Expressions for this in Scripture:
First, That men by sin, wrong their own Souls.
Secondly, That they Despise their own Souls.
Thirdly, They Hate their own Souls.
If I should Charge these Three things upon the most vile sinner at this present before the Lord; Oh thou dost wrong thy own soul,
Thou dost despise thy own soul, Thou hatest thy own soul, he would be loth to yield to it; and yet the Scripture chargeth this upon sinners, Prov. 8. 36. He that sins against me, wrongs his own soul.
He does not only wrong God, that was in the first thing we opened; but by sin he wrongs his own soul:
You will say sometimes, I do no body wrong, I thank God none can say I wrong them; but thou wrongest thine own soul, and certainly it is as great an evil to wrong thy own soul, as to wrong the Body of another, and a great deal more.
Nay further (mark) All they that hate me (that is, wisdom and Instruction, the Rule of Lise) they love death: It is a strange expression; if any Minister should say thus to you, you love death, you would think it a rash speech from us: the Holy Ghost said so of al that hate Instruction.
If there be any Truth of God revealed against sin, and thy heart rise against it, thou lovest death, thy own ruin, and thy own destruction:
And what pity is it for men and women to die? who can pity them that die eternally, when as they love death? if they love death, they must have it: So the Holy Ghost said, they wrong their souls, and they love death; and Prov. 15. 32. He that refuseth Instruction, detests his own soul.
When you come and hear any instruction against any sinful way, and refuse it, you despise your own souls; as if your own souls were worth little. Hence it is that men and women, though they hear sin tends to the death of their souls, to their eternal ruin, yet if they have but any temptation, but to get a groat or sixpence, they will venture upon it: what is this but to despise thy soul? that is to despise a thing, to account it little worth.
Though thy soul be worth a whole world. There is none so poor in this place, the meanest boy, servant; or girl, but has a soul more worth than Heaven and Earth; but though the meanest here has a soul more worth than the world, yet we see it ordinary, that to get twopence or a groat, they will venture the ruin of their souls: Is not this to despise their souls? as if they were not worth a groat or sixpence; and they will lie or steal to get that which is less.
Nay, not only so, but they are haters of their own souls; and this you have Prov. 29. 24. He that is partner with a Thief, hates his own soul: there is an instance in that one sin, but it is true of every sin; for this must be taken as a rule to help you to understand the evil of sin, Know what is said of any one sin, is virtually true of all; that evil which is in any one sin, is virtually in any sin, he hates his own soul that goes on in any one sin: therefore if you will provide for your own good, you must abandon sin.
Object. But it may be said, Is that Lawful for a man to abstain from sin out of self respects? for this I am upon, I am shewing how sin is against our selves, and therefore urge you to abandon, and take heed of sin as it is against our selves; then this Question arises,
What should we abstain from sin out of self respects? what good is in this? is that from grace?
To that I answer three things.
Answ. 1. That at first when God does begin to work upon the soul, God does usually move us from self most; and these self grounds works most to take men and women off from the acts of their sin
(from outward acts at least) and to stop them from the commission of sin and bring them to the means of grace; self motives God makes use of at first: but yet the work is not done till the soul goeth beyond these: it is good for men and women to abstain from sin upon any grounds; there is so much evil in sin, that upon any grounds men and women abstaining from sin, it is well, but only except it be such a ground, that the ground it self be a greater sin than the sin I abstain from. But yet the work is not done: Therefore
Know, That though when grace is come into the soul, God uses self arguments, and self motives to further the abstaining from sin (and it is Lawful to do so) yet self motives, and self arguments be not the chief and highest of all. But
That which I most pitch upon, and most fully answers this Question is this; That if we did but know wherein our self good consists, which is certainly to live to God; our self good is in this, not only the glory of God, but our own good and happiness; our self good is in our living to God, that infinite first-Being of all things. Now if we understand this, I say, that thing which is our self good, we may make to be our highest aim in abstaining from sin, and in doing any good; that thing which is our self good: but we must not make it our highest aim as it is our self good, we must look to God above our selves; but still the same thing that is our self good, our own good, may be made our highest aim of all, which is our living to God and his praise. Thus God has connected our good and his glory together, that the same thing which is the highest end of all I must aim at, to wit, God's glory and his praise, that is also our highest good; and so we may aim at it in our chief aims.
Secondly, If sin make so against us, I shall give you Three uses of it.
Use 1. Then we from hence see the desperate maliciousness that is in sin. It follows thus: What for a creature to sin against the blessed
God, and to get no good to himself neither, yea, to do hurt to himself too; this is horrible mischief and malice. We account it horrible malice against man, if any man be so notoriously malicious, that he seeks to do mischief to another man though he get no good, yea, though he hurt himself by it, yet he will do another man a mischief: certainly if this be maliciousness against man, then there is certainly malice in sin against God.
For when thou sinnest against God; suppose thou shouldest get never so much good, suppose thou by sin, one sin, couldest get the the greatest good that ever any creature had, yet thou must not commit it; it were wickedness to do it: But what sayest thou to this, that when thou sinnest against God, thou mischief thy self; not only gettest no good, but doest that which is the greatest wrong and evil to thy self, and yet wilt thou go on in sin against God? Oh what dost thou think of God? and what hurt has God done to thee that thou
shouldest be so malicious against him? that thou wilt dishonor him, and strike at him? though thou gettest nothing thy self, nay, though thou doest undo thy self by it: men will rather go on in that way that is dishonorable to God though they venture their own damnation to do it.
It is one of the highest expressions we can have against our Enemies, I will be even with him, I will have my mind of him, or I will spend all I have to a groat; this is desperate malice in man, we account it so. Thou dost more against God, though thou saiest not so, it may be, in word, yet God sees that there is this language in it, well, I will do that which the Word forbids though I undo my self, I will venture my own perishing, my own eternal destruction, rather than that shall not be done that I hear God will not have done,
There is this in every sin. Brethren, because we do not examine what is in sin, we think it but a little, we see but the outside; but when God comes to unravel out sin, and to pick out all that his
Omniscient eye seeth in sin, then it will appear to be evil, transcendently evil.
Use 2. If sin have so much evil in it more than affliction as against our selves, Then it should teach us all to look with pity, and abundance of commiseration upon men and women that go on in ways of sin. Ah poor creatures, they undo themselves, their ways are against themselves, and they will work their own ruin and misery by these ways of theirs: You that are Tradesmen, if you see a man going on in way of Trading, so that you know certainly that he will undo himself, you look upon him with pity; poor young man, he goes on in such a way as he will undo himself; you pity him upon that ground, because he undoes himself: the more hand a man has in doing himself hurt, the more he is to be pitied.
As you mariners, if you see one at Sea, go through ignorance, so that he will be by and by split into the Sea, or you know he will be by and by upon the Rocks and Sands, and he is wilful in his way, you pity
him, he is an object of pity Doest thou see any man or woman, thy father or mother, brother or sister, husband or wife, or any thou lovest dearly, going on in ways of sin, Oh pity them; let thy heart bleed over them poor wretches, they will undo themselves, split themselves eternally.
If thou shouldest see a company of men stab and murder themselves, and lying dead in the streets, if it should be asked how came they dead? and it should be answered every one of them murdered himself; were it not an object of pity? if you see men & women go on in sin, every one stabs, and murders, and mischiefs themselves, and cuts their own throats, this is the way of sin: and though they do not see it themselves, yet if God open their eyes they will see it; and certainly they shall see it ere long, and they will be forced to cry out in the bitterness of their souls, Woe to me, woe to me, I am lost and undone, and I have undone myself.
Therefore brethren we should not look upon sinners now as they are in the height of their prosperity and the roof of their pride, but look upon them as within a little time they will be; look upon them in their end, and then learn to pity them. Although sinners go on conceitedly, and boast themselves in their evil ways for the present, pity them so much the more, for the more any sinner is conceited and boasts in his way, the more dangerous is his condition, the more dangerous sign the seal of God is upon him to seal him to destruction. The more conceited any man is in any thing that will ruin him, the more lamentable is the object therefore. Though we many times when we see men under grievous afflictions, you go to your neighbors and see them lie under God's hand, grievous pains and tortures of body, Crying out dolefully, it makes your hearts bleed, and draws tears from your eyes; and you say, Oh the lamentable condition this man or woman is in; you pity them in affliction, because they are in such grievous pain.
But now you have another neighbor by, and you hear him swearing, certainly though you pity the other neighbor under affliction, yet to
hear him swear is more pitiful than to hear the other roar out in the most grievous torture that any man or woman was ever in▪ When we hear them in torture, we have our hearts bleed, and are not affected with their sinning, this is a sign we know not the evil of sin.
Further, if you should hear one in the anguish of conscience crying out, I am undone, I am damned, I am damned; in the anguish of his conscience thus crying out, of hell, and of the devil, you look upon such with pity.
Now this I say, Those that are in the greatest torment of conscience for their sin, they are in a better Case than those that go on most conceitedly, and boasting in their sin. Do you see one that is your neighbor, or in your family, or friend, when he is rebuked or reproved for any sin, that is careless and hardened in sin; I say, This man or woman, servant or child, is in a worse condition and a more lamentable object than if you should see another in the greatest horror, and anguish, and trouble of conscience, crying out most bitterly of sin: For there is a great deal more hope of this man or woman that cries out in anguish of conscience for sin, he may be saved, and not eternally ruined by sin, there is more hopes a great deal; therefore learn who is to be pitied; for sin is more against our own good, than any affliction.
Use 3. If sin be so much against ourselves, Then learn to have sin hardly dealt withal: For thus it follows, That which we look upon as our own enemy, we are willing should be hardly dealt withal: Now, nothing such an enemy to our good, as sin is.
If you apprehend any one has done you hurt, or intends to do you hurt, you think you may take liberty to let out your self to the utmost to revenge your self; but this is sinful, and the distemper of your hearts to do so: But you men and women that have your hearts filled with revenge, because you conceive others have done you hurt; here is an object God gives you leave to let out your revenge to the full upon; other men do you hurt, therefore you think you may
let out revenge, that is your wickedness, for vengeance belongs to God; but sin does you hurt more than any man can, and in this God lets you have leave to revenge yourselves upon sin.
Revenge yourselves as much as you can; look upon it as most mischievous. There be some such spiteful and revengeful men, revengeful and spiteful dispositions that have it lie moldering at their hearts, because they cannot let it out upon objects, so much as they would.
Now here is an object you may let it out as much as you can, to revenge yourselves, and to seek the ruin and destruction of sin; and to labor to use it as hardly as possibly you can: yea, it is made in Scripture a sign of true Repentance to be willing to revenge ones self upon sin, 2 Cor. 7. 11. when they had committed sin, what revenge was there, said the Apostle; they manifested their repentance by revenge upon sin: follow thy sin with a deadly hatred if thou wilt; thou hast a hateful disposition against others, follow sin with as deadly a hatred as thou canst. It was an Argument of David's heart cleaving to Absalom when Joab was to go against him,
Use the young man kindly for my sake, said he; this was an argument David's heart was with him: So when you would fain have sin used kindly, gently. It is an argument your hearts are not set against sin so much as they should: No, you should not say, use sin kindly, but roughly and hardly.
As the Prophet said of one that came to destroy him, use him roughly when he comes at the door: so when sin comes to the door, when temptations be seeking to have entrance, use them roughly at the door, and say, Let the righteous smite me, Oh that the Word might come as a two edged Sword to stab and slay my sin; Oh that when I go to hear the Word, I might meet with some hard thing against sin.
Thus we should come when we come to the Word, and when sin has got a blow by the Word of God, bless God, and say, blessed be God,