CHAP. 59 Use 8. If there be so much Evil in sin, then every soul is to be humbled for sin.
twelve of the servants of David, and they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellows side, so they fell down together: and this was their play.
So it is with young men, many times when they come into company, young profane men, they come to play, and make sport, but it is in the furtherance of sin one in another; and they do but as it were take the sword and thrust it in one another's bowels, and what in them lies, to be their ruin and eternal destruction for ever.
CHAP. LIX.
Use 8. If There be so Much Evil in Sin, then Every Soul is to be Humbled for Sin.
Use VIII. IF there be so much Evil in sin as you have heard, Hence the Consideration of what has been delivered, should cause al your hearts to be humbled for the sins your consciences tells you, you be guilty of: not only those that are so full of sin, but every woman's
Child has cause to apply what has been said, and to be humbled in their souls before the Lord for that woeful guilt they have brought upon themselves. And now I speak to every soul, for there is none here but have much sin, they be guilty of.
Now Oh thou sinner whosoever thou art, charge upon thy soul what thou rememberest concerning the evil of sin, charge it upon thy own heart, labor to bring it with power upon thy own spirit; bring thy sin with all the aggravations of it that possible thou canst, and lay it upon thy heart, and labor to burden thy heart, to make thy spirit sensible of it: open thy conscience, and let in all these Truths thou hast heard, suffer the Law to come with power, and though it does slay thee (as Paul said, when the Law came, sin revived, and I
died) though it slay thy soul, open thy bosom, and let it come: go to the very pits brink that sin endeavors to plunge soul and body in eternally; be willing to go to the pits brink, and see what there is in the very pits brink, and upbraid thine own heart for the hardness of it, and think with thy self thus, Lord, what a heart have I? I can be troubled for every little loss and affliction, but Oh the hardness of my heart, for sin I cannot be affected, it yields and stirs not; for any petty loss, or if any cross me, what a disturbance is there in my spirit then? but little or nothing for my sin; Oh what shall become of this heart of mine? what shall I do with this heart of mine, thus hardened from the fear of the Lord? what? will sin bring confusion upon the whole Creation? what shall then become of my soul, if ever I come to answer for my sin myself?
Certainly my Brethren, God must have glory, and therefore we must be humbled for sin, seeing there is so much evil in it: it cannot possibly be, but that God must expect to see all his poor creatures that have been so guilty, to lie down abased, and humbled, as poor, wretched, miserable, forlorn undone creatures by reason of sin. It is a mighty dishonor to God that ever we have sinned thus against him, as we have done: but that we should not be sensible of it; this ads as great dishonor unto God as the former sin did.
When a man or a woman commits sin, they dishonor God in that; but being not sensible of it after committed, is a greater dishonor to God than the commission of it was: and the longer they continue insensible of their sin, the more desperate their sin against God grows: for if thou hast not any sense of sin, but goest on, in a little time thou maiest come to be past feeling, as the Scripture has the Phrase, being past feeling: So many men and women, first they begin not to be troubled for sin, and put it off; at length they come to be past feeling, and if thy heart be insensible of the evil of it, then sin grows exceedingly: So said the Scripture, Being past feeling they give up themselves with greediness to all lasciviousness, and wantonness. What is the reason men and women give up their souls to sin, to lasciviousness and wantonness with greediness? Because
they be past feeling. Oh the hardness of the heart in sin; the stone in the heart, is worse than the stone in the bladder.
Object. But you will say, If I labor to bring the weight of sin upon my soul, you have told us there is so much evil in sin, that if God should but bring, and set it upon my heart, it would sink my heart, and bring me to despair; we had need labor to put off the weight and burden of it then; and yet now, after you have told us the heavy weight of it, do you labor now to bring the weight and burden of it upon our souls?
Answ. Yes Brethren, To bring the weight and sense of sin, is that I labor for; not to bring more guilt, but the sense and burden of sin; and this is not the way to bring you to despair. But first learn what I mean by this, that you may learn, not to be so shy of bearing the weight of sin, as before you have been; but to be willing to take up the burden; for there is no danger of despair in this: If there come despair, it is rather when God shall force the burden of sin upon your souls; but if God see a man and woman free and willing to lay the weight and burden of sin upon themselves; to that end that they may be humbled before the Lord, and give glory to God: Certainly
God will take care of that soul, it shall never sink under the burden of sin.
This now, as in the name of the Lord, I pronounce to you; every soul that is willing to bring the weight of sin upon himself, to that end that it may be humbled, and give glory to God; my life for that soul, that soul shall never sink under the burden of sin; certainly God will take care of such a soul, that it shall not sink under that burden: therefore be as willing as you will, to let as much weight of sin as will, be upon your heart, and the more willing you be, the greater is the care of God over that heart, that it shall not perish.
But 'tis the way to despair, if you upon the hearing of these things, come to be shy of meditating upon sin, and be loth to entertain those meditations, that may work the weight of sin upon your own