of being silent and mute under their afflictions, use all sinful shifts
as others did see, but would needs see more than others, saw just
nothing at all, through the just judgment of God upon him. And so it
is a just and righteous thing with God to strike such with spiritual
blindness, who will not be satisfied with seeing the reasons laid down
in the word why he afflicts them, but they must be curiously prying
and searching into the hidden and more secret reasons of his severity
towards them. Ah, Christian! it is your wisdom and duty to sit silent
and mute under the afflicting hand of God upon the account of
revealed reasons, without making any curious inquiry into those
more secret reasons that are locked up in the golden cabinet of God's
own breast, Deut. 29:29.
5. Fifthly, This truth looks sourly and sadly upon those who, instead
of being silent and mute under their afflictions, use all sinful shifts
and ways to shift themselves out of their troubles; who care not
though they break with God, and break with men, and break with
their own consciences, so they may but break off the chains that are
upon them; who care not by what means the prison door is opened,
so they may but escape; nor by what hands their bolts are knocked
off, so they may be at liberty. Job 36:21, 'Take heed, regard not
iniquity, for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.' He makes
but an ill choice, who chooses sin rather than suffering; and yet such
an ill choice good men have sometimes made, as you may see by the
proofs in the margin, when troubles have compassed them round
about. Though no lion roars like that in a man's own bosom,—
conscience,—yet some, to deliver themselves from troubles without,
have set that lion a-roaring within. Some, to deliver themselves from
outward tortures, have put themselves under inward torments. He
purchases his freedom from affliction at too dear a rate, who buys it
with the loss of a good name or a good conscience.
Now, because there is even in good men sometimes too great an
aptness and proneness to sin and shift themselves out of afflictions,
when they should rather be mute and silent under them, give me
leave to lay down these six considerations to prevent it.
Six considerations to prevent men
from using sinful shifts
and courses to deliver themselves
out of their afflictions
(1.) First Consider, that there is infinitely more evil in the least sin
than there is in the greatest miseries and afflictions that can possibly
come upon you; yea, there is more evil in the least sin than there is in
all the troubles that ever come upon the world, yea, than there is in
all the miseries and torments of hell. The least sin is an offence, to
the great God, it is a wrong to the immortal soul, it is a breach of a
righteous law; it cannot be washed away but by the blood of Jesus; it
can shut the soul out of heaven, and shut the soul up a close prisoner
in hell for ever and ever. The least sin is rather to be avoided and
prevented than the greatest sufferings; if this cockatrice be not
crushed in the egg, it will soon become a serpent; the very thought of
sin, if but thought on, will break out into action, action into custom,
custom into habit, and then both body and soul are lost irrecoverably
to all eternity. The least sin is very dangerous. Cæsar was stabbed
with bodkins; Herod was eaten up of lice; Pope Adrian was choked
with a gnat; a mouse is but little, yet killeth an elephant if he gets up
into his trunk; a scorpion is little, yet able to sting a lion to death;
though the leopard be great, yet he is poisoned with a head of garlic;
the least spark may consume the greatest house, and the least leak
sink the greatest ship; a whole arm hath been impostumated with the
prick of a little finger; a little postern opened may betray the greatest
city; a dram of poison diffuseth itself to all parts, till it strangle the
vital spirits, and turn out the soul from the body. If the serpent can
but wriggle in his tail by an evil thought, he will soon make a
surprisal of the soul, as you see in that great instance of Adam and
Eve. The trees of the forest, saith one in a parable, held a solemn
parliament, wherein they consulted of the innumerable wrongs
which the axe had done them, therefore made an act, that no tree
should hereafter lend the axe an helve, on pain of being cut down.
The axe travels up and down the forest, begs wood of the cedar, oak,
ash, elm, even of the poplar; not one would lend him a chip. At last
he desired so much as would serve him to cut down the briars and
bushes, alleging, that such shrubs as they did but suck away the juice
of the ground, and hinder the growth, and obscure the glory of the
fair and goodly trees; hereupon they were all content to afford him so
much: he pretends a thorough reformation, but behold a sad
deformation, for when he had got his helve, down went both cedar,
oak, ash, elm, and all that stood in his way.2 Such are the subtle
reaches of sin; it will promise to remove the briars, and business of
afflictions and troubles, that hinder the soul of that juice, sweetness,
comfort, delight, and content that otherwise it might enjoy. Oh! do
but now yield a little to it, and instead of removing your troubles, it
will cut down your peace, your hopes, your comforts, yea, it will cut
down your precious soul. What is the breathing of a vein to the being
let blood in the throat, or the scratch on the hand to a stab at the
heart? No more are the greatest afflictions to the least sins; and
therefore, Christians, never use sinful shifts to shift yourselves out of
troubles, but rather be mute and silent under them, till the Lord shall
work out your deliverance from them. But,
(2.) Secondly, Consider it is an impossible thing for any to sin
themselves out of their troubles. Abraham, Job, and Jonah
attempted it, but could not effect it. The devils have experienced this
near this six thousand years; they had not been now in chains, could
they but have sinned themselves out of their chains. Could the
damned sin themselves out of everlasting burning, there would have
been none now a-roaring in that devouring unquenchable fire, Isa.
33:14. Hell would have no inhabitants, could they but sin themselves
out of it. Ah! Christians, devils and damned spirits shall as soon sin
themselves out of hell, as you shall be able to sin yourselves out of
your afflictions. Christians! you shall as soon stop the sun from
running her course, contract the sea in a nut-shell, compass the earth
with a span, and raise the dead at your pleasure, as ever you shall be
able to sin yourselves out of your sufferings; and therefore it is better
to be silent and quiet under them, than to attempt that which is
impossible to accomplish. This second consideration will receive
further confirmation by the next particular;—
(3.) Thirdly, As it is an impossible thing, so it is a very prejudicial, a
very dangerous thing, to attempt to sin yourselves out of your
troubles; for by attempting to sin yourselves out of your trouble, you
will sin yourselves into many troubles, as Jonah and Jacob did; and
by labouring to sin yourselves out of less troubles, you will sin
yourselves into greater troubles, as Saul did; and by endeavouring to
sin yourselves from under outward troubles, you will sin yourselves
under inward troubles and distresses, which are the sorest and
saddest of all troubles; thus did Spira, Jerome of Prague, Bilney, and
others. Some there have been, who, by labouring to sin themselves
out of their present sufferings, have sinned themselves under such
horrors and terrors of conscience, that they could neither eat, nor
drink, nor sleep, but have been ready to lay violent hands upon
themselves.
And Cyprian, in his sermon de lapsis, speaks of divers who, forsaking
the faith to avoid sufferings, were given over to be possessed of evil
spirits, and died fearfully. O man! thou doest not know what deadly
sin, what deadly temptation, what deadly judgment, what deadly
stroke, thou mayest fall under, who attempts to sin thyself out of
troubles. What is it to take Venice, and to be hanged at the gates
thereof? It is better to be silent and mute under thy afflictions, than
by using sinful shifts to sin thyself under greater afflictions.
(4.) Fourthly, Consider it is a very ignoble and unworthy thing to go
to sin yourselves out of your troubles and straits. It argues a poor, a
low, a weak, a dastardly, and an effeminate spirit, to use base shifts
to shuffle yourselves out of your troubles. Men of noble, courageous,
and magnanimous spirits will disdain and scorn it, Dan. 3:8, 6, Heb.
11:24. As you may see in the three children, David, and those
worthies, in that 11th of the Hebrews, of whom 'this world was not
worthy.' Jerome writes of a brave woman, who, being upon the rack,
bade her persecutors do their worst, for she was resolved to die
rather than lie. And the prince of Conde, being taken prisoner by
Charles the Ninth, king of France, and put to his choice whether he
would go to mass or be put to death, or suffer perpetual
imprisonment, his noble answer was, that by God's help he would
never choose the first, and for either of the latter, he left to the king's
pleasure and God's providence.
A soul truly noble will sooner part with all than the peace of a good
conscience. Thus blessed Hooper desired rather to be discharged of
his bishopric than yield to certain ceremonies.
I have read of Marcus Arethusus, an eminent servant of the Lord in
gospel-work, who, in the time of Constantine, had been the cause of
overthrowing an idol temple; but Julian, coming to be emperor,
commanded the people of that place to build it up again. All were
ready so to do, only he refused it; whereupon his own people, to
whom he had preached, fell upon him, stripped off all his clothes,
then abused his naked body, and gave it up to children and school-
boys to be lanched3 with their penknives; but when all this would not
do, they caused him to be set in the sun, having his naked body
anointed all over with honey, that so he might be bitten and stung to
death by flies and wasps; and all this cruelty they exercised upon
him, because he would not do anything towards the rebuilding of
that idol temple; nay, they came so far, that if he would but give one
halfpenny towards the charge, they would release him, but he
refused it with a noble Christian disdain, though the advancing of an
halfpenny might have saved his life. And in so doing, he did but live
up to that noble principle that most commend, but few practise, viz.,
that Christians must choose rather to suffer the worst of torments,
than commit the least of sins, whereby God should be dishonoured,
his name blasphemed, religion reproached, profession scorned, weak
saints discouraged, and men's consciences wounded and their souls
endangered. Now tell me, Christians, is it not better to be silent and
mute under your sorest trials and troubles, than to labour to sin, and
shift yourselves out of them, and so proclaim to all the world, that
you are persons of very low, poor, and ignoble spirits? But,
(5.) Fifthly, Consider, sinful shifts and means God hath always
cursed and blasted. Achan's golden wedge was but a wedge to cleave
him, and his garments a shroud to shroud him. Ahab purchases a
vineyard with the blood of the owner, but presently it was watered
with his own blood, according to the word of the Lord. Gehazi must
needs have a talent of silver and two changes of raiment, and that
with a lie, I say with a lie; well! he hath them, and he hath with them
a leprosy that cleaved to him and his seed for ever, 2 Kings 5:22–27.
With those very hands that Judas took money to betray his master,
with those very hands he fitted a halter to hang himself. The rich and
wretched glutton fared delicately, and went bravely every day, but
the next news you hear of him, is of his being in hell, crying out for a
drop, who, when he was on earth, would not give a crumb. The coal
that the eagle carried from the altar to her nest, set all on fire.
Crassus did not long enjoy the fruit of his covetousness, for the
Parthians taking of him, poured melted gold down his throat.
Dionysius did not long enjoy the fruit of his sacrilege and tyranny,
for he was glad to change his sceptre into a ferule, and turn
schoolmaster for his maintenance. Ah! Christians, Christians, is it
not far better to sit quiet and silent under your afflictions, than to use
such sinful shifts and means which God will certainly blast and
curse? But
(6.) Sixthly and lastly, Consider this, that your very attempting to sin
and shift yourselves out of troubles and afflictions, will cost you dear.
It will cost you many prayers and tears, many sighs, many groans,
many gripes, many terrors, and many horrors. Peter, by attempting
to sin himself out of trouble, sins himself into a sea of sorrows: Mat.
26:75, 'He went forth and wept bitterly.'
Clement observes, That every night when he heard the cock crow, he
would fall upon his knees and weep bitterly; others say, that his face
was furrowed with continual tears. Were Abraham, David, Jacob,
and Jonah now alive, they would tell you, that they have found this to
be a truth in their own experience. Ah! Christians, it is far better to
be quiet and silent under your sufferings, than to pay so dear for
attempting to sin and shift yourselves out of your sufferings. A man
will not buy gold too dear, and why then should he buy himself out of
troubles at too dear a rate?
But now I shall come to that use that I intend to stand most upon,
and that is, an use of exhortation. Seeing it is the great duty and
concernment of Christians to be mute and silent under the greatest
afflictions, the saddest providences, and sharpest trials that they
meet with in this world: oh that I could prevail with you, Christians,
to mind this great duty, and to live up and live out this necessary
truth; which that I may, give me leave to propound some
considerations, to engage your souls to be mute and silent under
your greatest troubles and your saddest trials. To that purpose,