Front matter (continued, part 30)
(5.) Fifthly, The true penitent does not only distinctly and particularly confess his sins—but he does very highly AGGRAVATE his sins, by confessing not only the kinds and acts, so far as he knows and remembers them—but the circumstances of them also, Psalm 32:5, Lev. 16:21. There are sometimes some circumstances that
may somewhat lessen a penitent man's sins. Now these he readily and easily passes over. But then there are other circumstances which do exceedingly heighten and aggravate his sins, and that makes them more heinous and dangerous; and these he carefully and faithfully acknowledges. The penitential confessions recorded in the Old and New Testament are full of exaggerating expressions, as is evident in these instances: Ezra at once heightens and aggravates their sins by this circumstance, that they had been committed against manifold experiences that they had—both of the severity and also the mercy of the Lord, Ezra 9. And so does Nehemiah also, Neh. 9.
The like instance you have in Daniel, chapter 9:5-6, "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from your precepts, and from your judgments; neither have we hearkened unto your servants the prophets, which spoke in your name, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land." In these words you have seven circumstances that Daniel uses in confessing of his and the people's sins, and all to heighten and to aggravate them.
First, "We have sinned;"
secondly, "We have committed iniquity;"
thirdly, "We have done wickedly;"
fourthly, "We have rebelled against you;"
fifthly "We have departed from your precepts;"
sixthly, "We have not hearkened unto your servants;"
seventhly, "Nor our princes, nor all the people of the land."
These seven aggravations which Daniel reckons up in his confession, are worthy of our most serious consideration.
The same spirit you may find working in Peter: Mark 14:72, "When he thought thereon he wept;" or nearer the original, "When he cast all these
things one upon another, he wept." Ah wretch! that ever I was born, that ever I should deny the Lord who bought me; that ever I should deny him who has not only externally—but also internally, called me; that ever I should deny him who made me an apostle, that fed me at his table, that beautified me with his grace, and that in the mount showed me some glimpses of his glory; that ever I should deny him who has brought me out of a state of death and wrath, into a state of life and love; that ever I should deny him who has been the best, the wisest, the holiest, the tenderest, the faithfullest, and the noblest master that ever man served. Ah wretch that I am! he forewarned me of this sin beforehand, that I might be not only cautioned but armed against it—and yet I denied him! I promised him beforehand, that I would never deny him, that I would never forsake him, that I would never turn my back upon him, and yet like a base coward, I have denied the Captain of my salvation! Yes, this very night—did I say again and again, that I would not deny him, and yet now, even now, I have most shamefully denied him! Yes, I told him, that though all others should deny him—yet would not I deny him, and yet in all the world there is not such another to be found, that has so sadly, so desperately denied him, as I have denied him, and that before a silly maid! Nay, more—beast that I am! to my denying of him, I have added a most incredible lie, saying, I know not the man, when there was not a man in all the world that I was so well acquainted with as I was with Christ, feeding constantly at his table, and drinking constantly of his cup, and living constantly upon his purse, and waiting constantly upon his person, and being a constant eye-witness of all the famous miracles that were wrought by him! Nay, yet more— monster that I am, I did not only lie—but I also bound that lie with a hideous oath; I did not only say that I knew not the man—but I also swore that I knew not the man! Nay—yet more than all this, I did not only basely deny him, I did not only tell an incredible lie against my own light and conscience. I did not only bind a fearful lie with a hideous oath—but I also fell a-cursing and damning of myself (for so much the Greek word imports) I wished that the curse, the wrath, or vengeance of God might fall upon me if I knew the man, I wished myself separated from the presence and glory of God if I knew the man! And woe and alas to me! all this I did when my Lord and Master was near me, yes, when he was upon his trial; yes, and yet more, when all the world had forsaken him; yes, and yet more, when I had the greatest
and loudest call that ever I had to have stood by him, and to have given my testimony for him! And thus Peter, casting up all these circumstances and aggravations together, and meditating seriously on them, "he went out and wept bitterly."
Another famous instance of this you have in Paul, "Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many of the believers in Jerusalem to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. Many times I had them whipped in the synagogues to try to get them to curse Christ. I was so violently opposed to them that I even hounded them in distant cities of foreign lands." Acts 26:10-11. In these two verses the apostle lays down no less than eight aggravations of his sins, and all to greaten and heighten them, that his soul might be the more ashamed and humbled in him, etc.
First, That they were not the worst men—but the best of men, namely, saints; that they were not sinners but saints; that they were not drunkards, swearers, adulterers, murderers, oppressors—but saints; saints by calling, saints by their high and holy calling, saints by profession, saints by a gospel-living. "The saints have I cast into prison."
Secondly, To cast a man into prison for theft, for murder, for perjury, is no iniquity. Ay—but says he, many have I cast into prison for "professing the name of Jesus of Nazareth." Oh! it is dreadful to persecute men merely for professing of Christ! and yet this I did. Though their profession and practice went together; though they lived as they professed; though I had nothing against them—but in the matters of their God—yet upon that very single account I did persecute them.
Thirdly, If it had been but one, or two, or three, or five, or ten saints that I had persecuted, the matter had not been much. Oh! but they were a great number; "many of the saints did I cast into prison." I have been a cruel ravening wolf, who has sucked the blood, not of a few—but of many of the precious lambs of Christ; I have neither spared nor pitied any gender— but have broken into every house, hauling and dragging both men and women to prison. Acts 8:3, "Saul was going everywhere to devastate the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into jail."
Fourthly, Though he had cast them into prison—yet if he had given them but some liberty in a prison, as Joseph had, and as others have had, and as he himself once had when he begot Onesimus in his bonds, Philem. 10, and when Onesiphorus oft refreshed him, and was not ashamed of his chains, 2 Tim. 1:16, etc., or as the primitive Christians had—the matter had not been so great. Oh! but I kept them close prisoners; "Many of the saints did I shut up in prison." I shut them up from friends, from relations, and from all comfortable accommodations; and thus he further aggravates his sin, Acts 9:1-2.
Fifthly, If he had rested there, if he had proceeded no further, the matter had not been so bad; Oh! "but I gave my voice against them to put them to death." My heart and my hand was not only against them—but my tongue also. If I could not kill them with my hand, I was ready and willing to kill them with my tongue; if the casting voice fell upon me, I would be sure to give it against them; I never lacked a word to do them mischief. If they needed a word, instead of a knife, to cut their throats—I would be sure to lend them one.
Sixthly, He rises yet higher, for he does not only severely punish their bodies—but he does what he can to damn their souls; I compelled them to blaspheme—like that Italian, who first made his enemy deny God, and then stabbed him, and so at once murdered both body and soul. As there is no love compared to soul love, so there is no cruelty compared to soul cruelty; and as there is no mischief compared to soul mischief, so there is no murder compared to soul murder; and yet in this murder had Paul a hand. It is sad to compel a man to bear a burden beyond his strength, to lie in chains, to forsake his own country, etc.—but it is infinitely more sad to compel a man to sin, to the least sin; but saddest of all to compel a man to blaspheme, "And yet this I did," says Paul, etc.
Seventhly, He yet further aggravates his sin by his madness, by his exceeding madness against the saints, in those words: "and I was exceeding mad against them." He was mad with rage and wrath, he was exceedingly mad with passion and fury against the dear saints of God. Madmen think madly, and madmen speak madly, and madmen act madly against those they are mad with; and so did he against the saints. The Alcoran says, that God created the angels of light, and the devils of flame.
Certainly, as God's children are children of the light, so Satan's children are furious children, wrathful children, children of the flame, children of madness; and such a one was Paul, etc.
Eighthly, and lastly, "I did persecute them to strange cities;" them I did not kill I did scatter; I forced them to leave both house and home; them whom God had joined together I put asunder: I made the husband run one way, and the wife and children another way, and all of them glad to hide their heads in a corner.
And thus you see, that true penitents, in the confession of their sins, so clothe their sins with the highest aggravations imaginable. A penitent in his confession of sin cries out, Oh the sparing mercies, the preventing mercies, the supporting mercies, the sustaining mercies, the renewing mercies, the delivering mercies—which I have with a high hand sinned against! Oh that clear light! oh that free love! oh that gospel grace! oh those affections of mercy—which I have sinned against! Oh the fatherly corrections, the dreadful warnings, the high resolutions, the serious protestations, the frequent vows and promises—which I have desperately sinned against! Oh the checks of conscience, the rebukes of conscience, the lashes of conscience, the wounds of conscience, and the frequent motions of the Spirit, and strivings of the Spirit—which I have sinned against! etc.
But now wicked men confess their sins slightly, carelessly, triflingly. They are careful and skillful to hide their sins, to cloak their sins, and to extenuate and lessen their sins; and with the unjust steward, for an hundred to set down fifty, Luke 16:6. All wicked men do commonly flatter themselves, that either their sins are not sins—when indeed they are; or that they are not great and grievous sins—when indeed they are; or that they are not so great and grievous as other men's sins are—when indeed they are more grievous and heinous than other men's sins are—so far are they from aggravating of their sins. The truth is, wicked men are so far from aggravating of their sins, that they are still extenuating of them, and that by blaming of them, sometimes upon their constitutions, sometimes upon bad company, sometimes upon their callings, sometimes upon Satan, and sometimes upon chance, as they call it, etc. But no more of this; enough is as good as a feast.
(6.) Sixthly, The true penitent confesses his sins HUMBLY, SORROWFULLY. In his confessions he appears before the Lord with ropes about his neck, as Benhadad's servants—and with tears in his eyes. His confessions savor of contrition of heart, and not of ostentation of spirit. Contrition of heart, and confusion of face, is the common result of a penitential confession, Lev. 23:27-28. David waters his couch with his tears, Psalm 6:6; and he mingles his food with his tears, Psalm 42:3; and Ezra and Daniel confess their sins with wet eyes and blushing cheeks, Ezra 9, Daniel 9.
Confession without contrition neither pleases God—nor profits man. Confession is the language of the tongue, contrition is the language of the heart, and God looks for both. The publican does not only confess his sins —but he smites also upon his bosom, as a man full of grief and sorrow, Luke 18:13. Lying in the dust, and rending of garments, and putting on sackcloth and ashes, were of old required of those who confessed their iniquities. The spirit of repentance is a spirit of mourning.
Penitential confessions are commonly attended with grief in the heart, and with shame in the face. Psalm 38:18, "For I will declare my iniquity, I will be sorry for my sin. [Compare these scriptures together: Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 61:1, and 57:15; Job 16:20; Psalm 119:1, 36; Jer. 9:1, 31:18-19.] He tells you not only that he will declare his iniquity— but he tells you also, that he will be sorry for his sin. The same spirit you may find working in Jacob, Hosea 12:4; yes, he had "power over the angel and prevailed, he wept and made supplication unto him." The people of God, in the day of their confession, do not only say, We have sinned—but they also draw water and pour it out before the Lord in token of contrition, 1 Sam. 7:6. Every sin is as a sword in a penitent man's bosom, and therefore while confessions are in his mouth—you shall mostly find either tears in his eyes or sorrow in his heart. And indeed, true confession of sin is many times rather a voice of mourning than a voice of words.
Sometimes a penitent man's eyes will in some way tell what his tongue can in no way utter. Many times the penitent is better at weeping than he is at speaking: Psalm 39:12, "Hold not your peace at my tears." Tears have a voice as well as blood has—and are very prevalent orators with
God: Psalm 6:8, "The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping." Penitent tears are undeniable ambassadors, and they never return from the throne of grace without an answer of grace. Tears area kind of silent prayers, which though they say nothing—yet they obtain pardon; they prevail for mercy, and they carry the day with God, as you may see in that great and clear instance of Peter. He said nothing, he confessed nothing that we read of—but "went out and wept bitterly," and obtained mercy.
That prescription that God gave to the leper in the law is worthy of your most serious consideration. Lev. 13:45, "And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be torn, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean!" In these words the leper stands charged with four things:
(1.) to go in torn garments, to note that there must be brokenness and sorrow of heart joined with confession of sin;
(2.) to go bareheaded, and that partly that men might not mistake him— but mainly to show his humility under his present misery;
(3.) to put a covering upon his upper lip, some read it, upon his moustache. The Jews in their mournings used this ceremony among the rest—of covering their chin, mouth, mouchaches, all under the nose. Now, the use of this ceremony in lepers, was partly to preserve others from being infected by his loathsome breath, and partly to show that God takes no pleasure nor delight in the breathings, the prayers of spiritual lepers, of wicked men,—God loves not to hear good words drop from an evil mouth—and partly to note that shame that must be mingled with his sorrow.
(4.) Twice to proclaim his own uncleanness, "Unclean, unclean!" And thus you see that there was to be a close connection between the leper's confession and his contrition; and thus it is with the true penitent; he does not only cry out, Unclean, unclean!—but he also rents and tears his garments, that is, he joins contrition to his confession.
But to prevent mistakes, and that I may not shoot an arrow, instead of giving a cordial, to the weak and weary soul; let me only give you this
short hint, namely—that when the true penitent cannot pour out his soul in heart-melting confessions before the Lord—yet then he can mourn over his own hardness of heart. When he is at worst—he can grieve that he cannot grieve, and mourn that he cannot mourn, and melt that he cannot melt, and break that he cannot break; and he can bless God for every rod, and every stroke, and every word, and every work, and every ordinance, and every frown, and every reproof, and every cross, and every comfort—which has the least tendency to the melting and mollifying of his soul.
The true penitent always sets a very high price and value upon a broken heart—though he has not the happiness always to have his heart broken. I know that sometimes the penitent soul is so shut up, that if he might have all the world he cannot mourn; he can only sit down and sigh, and groan; nay, if all the joys and delights of heaven were to be bought for one single tear, he cannot shed it. And yet all this time he can grieve that he cannot grieve for sin, and he can be sorry that he cannot be sorry for sin; and without all question, this is in a measure true godly gospel sorrow for sin, etc.
But now wicked men confess their sins—but they never grieve for their sins. They confess their sins—but they are not ashamed of their sins; they confess their sins—but they cannot blush for their sins. [Compare these scriptures together, Jer. 6:15, 8:12; Zeph. 3:5; Isaiah 3:9, 42:23; Heb. 6:6. Caligula used to say of himself, that he loved nothing better in himself, "than that he could not be ashamed, etc.] Though men of good names, and of good natures, would be ashamed to be found doing base things, things which are below them, which are not worthy of them—yet the generality of sinners are so bold and base, so ignorant, arrogant, and impudent, so without shame, and graceless, etc., that they are no ways ashamed, no, not of those very sins that has put Christ to an open shame, yes, that has put the sun and moon to a blush.
Most sinners in these days have brows of brass, and whores' foreheads— which cannot blush. They are so far from being ashamed of their sins, that they think it a shame and disgrace not to sin, not to swear, and whore, and curse, and be drunk, and despise ordinances; yes, there are many who are so far from being ashamed of their abominations, that they
even glory in them, like those in that Philip. 3:19. They show their sins as Sodom, they make both a sport of sinning, and a jest of confessing their sins. "Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush!" Jeremiah 6:15
Thus Austin confesses that it was sometimes with himself before the Lord wrought upon him—I was stricken with such blindness, as that I thought it a shame unto me to be less vile and wicked than my companions whom I heard boast of their lewdness, and glory so much the more, by how much they were the more filthy! Therefore, lest I should be of no account, I was the more wicked; and when I could not otherwise match others, I would feign that I had done those things which I never did, that I should seem so much the more vile. [Augustine, Confess. lib. 2:cap. 3.] But for a close remember this, the true penitent knows, that the more God has been displeased with the blackness of sin, the better he will be pleased with the blushing of the sinner; and therefore he cannot but blush when either he looks upon sin within him, or God above him. But,
(7.) Seventhly, Penitential confession, it is BELIEVING and authentic; it is mixed with some faith, though not always with a strong faith, Hosea 14:2. It is not like the confession of a malefactor to the judge—but like the confession of a child to his father, or like the confession of a sick man to his physician. As a penitent man has one eye of sorrow upon his sin, so he has another eye of hope upon pardoning grace. Thus David, though he had sinned greatly—yet he hangs upon free mercy, and begs his pardon believingly, Psalm 51. Thus Daniel, "To the Lord our God belongs mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him," Dan. 9:9. Thus Shechaniah, Ezra 10:2, "And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra—We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing." If it were not for hope, the heart would break. There was hope among them that Israel would repent, and there was hope among them that God would have mercy upon their repentance.
And the same spirit was working in the prodigal: "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you," Luke 18:18. Though he was a prodigal—yet he would go
to God as to a father—who knew how to pity and forgive the mourning and repenting child. When confessions of sin are mingled with hopes of mercy, and the soul draws near to God as a father—then the heart breaks most and melts and mourns most. That confession of sin which is not mixed with some hope of pardon, and with some faith in the mercy of God, is not penitential—but desperate. Cain in some sort confesses—but then he flies into the land of Nod, and there he falls a-building and planting, partly in contempt of the dreadful doom God had passed upon him, and partly to drown the noise of his conscience, and despairing of ever obtaining pardon in this world, or enjoying a house not made with hands in another world, Gen. 4:16, 2 Cor. 5:1-2. Judas likewise confesses his most heinous sins, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood," Mat. 27:3-4; but having no hope of pardon, no faith in that innocent blood he had shed, he goes out and hangs himself. Judas had no faith to mingle with his confession; he confesses despairingly, not believingly, and so goes forth and strangles himself.
Since Adam fell in paradise, there has not been one wicked man in the world, continuing in that state, who has ever mixed faith with his sorrows, believing with his confessing. It is only the penitent man who confesses sin believingly, and that is pardoned graciously. The confessing penitent reasons thus with God: Lord, though I am a sinful creature—yet you are a merciful God; though I am unworthy of mercy—yet you forgive sins freely; though my sins reach as high as heaven—yet your mercies reach above the heavens; I am here ready and willing to accuse and condemn myself; and therefore you are as ready and as willing to absolve me, and forgive me. O Lord! though my sins are very many—yet your mercies are exceeding more; though I have multiplied my sins—yet you can multiply your pardons; though I am a sinner, a very great sinner—yet there is mercy with you, that you may be feared and loved, served and trusted; and therefore in the face of all my sins, provocations, and unworthiness, I will look up for mercy, and wait for mercy. But,
(8.) Eighthly, and lastly, True penitential confession is joined with reformation. That confession of sin which carries forgiveness of sin with it—is attended with serious desires, and earnest endeavors to reformation, Psalm 51:10; therefore forsaking of sin is annexed to
confession of sin. Proverbs 28:13, "He who covers his sins shall not prosper; but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy." Confession of sin must be joined with confusion for sin—or all is lost. God will never cross the book—he will never draw the red lines of Christ's blood over the black lines of our transgressions—unless confessing and forsaking go hand in hand. He who does not forsake his sin, as well as confess it, forsakes the benefit of his confession. And indeed, there is no real confession of sin, where there is no real forsaking of sin. It is not enough for us to confess the sins we have committed—but we must unmistakably resolve against the committing again the sins we have confessed. We must desire as freely to forego our sins, as we do desire God to forgive us our sins.
Confession of sin is a spiritual vomit. Now you know, a man who is sickened in his stomach, is heartily willing to be rid of that load on his stomach which is sickening him. And so a man who is real in his confession of sin, is as heartily willing to be rid of his sin, which lies as a sickening load upon his conscience, as any sick man can be heartily willing to be rid of that sickening load which lies upon his stomach. The penitential confessor does as heartily desire to be delivered from the power of his sins, as he does desire to be delivered from the sting and punishment of his sins. This is observable in the confession of good Shechaniah: Ezra 10:2-3, "We confess that we have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But there is hope for Israel in spite of this. Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children. We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God. We will obey the law of God." And this was the former practice of the children of Israel, who joined reformation with their confession, as you may see in that Judges 10:15, "We have sinned;" verse 16, "So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord."
That Job 34:31-32, is observable, "I am guilty but will offend no more. Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again." And the same spirit you may find working in those who were once given up to sorcery and witchcraft: Acts 19:18, "Many who became believers
confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing magic brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars."
Penitential confession leaves a holy awe and dread on the soul, to take heed of committing sins confessed. Though a godly man may, in an hour of temptation, or in a day of desertion, or in a season of God's withholding the gracious influences of heaven from falling upon his soul —commit a sin which he has seriously confessed and sadly bewailed—yet he retains in his course and practice such a holy fear and awe upon his heart, as in some measure proves armor of proof against future commissions of sin.
But now wicked men are very ready, bold, and venturous to commit the same sins they have confessed, as you may see in Saul; one time you shall have him confessing his sinful injuries against David with tears; and soon after you shall find him pursuing of him in the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men at his heels. The same evil spirit was predominant in Pharaoh; one day you shall have him confessing his sin, and promising to let Israel go, and the next day you shall find his heart hardened, and he urgently resolved that Israel shall not go. [Compare 1 Sam. 24:16, 17, with chap 26:2-4; Exod. 9:27-34.] And so the harlot made the confession of her sin to be but a provocation to more sin, Proverbs 7:14.
The wicked sometimes confess their sins—but they never forsake their sins; after confession they commonly return with the dog to the vomit, as Fulgentius has worthily observed. "Many," says he, "being pricked in conscience, confess that they have done ill, and yet put no end to their ill deeds; they humbly accuse themselves in God's sight of the sins which oppresses them, and yet with a perverse heart rebelliously heap up those sins whereof they accuse themselves. The very pardon which they beg with mournful sighs, they impede with their wicked actions; they ask help of the physician, and still increase matter to the disease, thus in vain endeavoring to appease him with penitent words, whom they go on to provoke by an impenitent course."
Well, remember this—real confession of sin is always attended
with real endeavors of turning from sin. Look! as the patient lays open his diseases to the physician for this very purpose that he may be cured and healed, so the penitent soul confesses his sins to the physician of souls on purpose to be cured and healed. The daily language of the penitent soul is this, "Lord, when will you heal the maladies of my soul? When will you heal my unbelief, and heal my pride, and heal my vainglory, and heal my hypocrisy, and heal my impurity, and heal my hardheartedness, and heal my carnalness, and heal my worldliness, and heal my selfishness? etc. Lord! I do as earnestly beg grace to heal my soul, as I do mercy to pardon my soul." And let thus much suffice for the second part of true evangelical repentance.
3. The third part of true repentance lies in turning from all sin to God. That great and precious promise of forgiveness of sin is made over to those who are repenting and turning from sin. All who truly repent of their sins, and turn from their sins, shall receive the forgiveness of their sins. Pardon of sin is for that man, and that man is for pardon of sin—who truly repents and returns from his sin. Four things speak out this, etc.
[1.] First, Scripture exhortations to repent, that so our sins may be forgiven: Ezek. 18:30, "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin." Acts 2:38, "Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins." Verse 19, "Repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out," etc.
[2.] Secondly, Express promises that our sins shall be forgiven upon our repentance: 2 Chron. 7:14, "If my people shall turn from their evil way, then will I forgive their sin." Proverbs 28:13, "Whoever confesses and forsakes his sin shall find mercy." Ezek. 18:21, "If the wicked will turn from all his sins which he has committed, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die;" verse 22, "All his transgressions which he has committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him."
[3.] Thirdly, A most certain assurance of the forgiveness of sins, upon repentance, though they have been ever so great and
heinous: Isaiah 1:16-18, "Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil. Learn to do what is good. Seek justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool."
[4.] Fourthly, Express records and instances of forgiveness unto such as have repented and turned from their sins: 2 Sam. 12:13, "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord; and Nathan said to David, The Lord has also put away your sin." Jer. 31:1820, "I have surely heard Ephraim's moaning: 'You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the Lord my God. After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.' Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him, declares the Lord."
Luke 7:38, "And she stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head; and kissed his feet, and anointed them with ointment." Verse 47, "Therefore, I say, her sins, which were many, are forgiven." Chapter 15:18-20, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no more worthy to be called your son. And he arose, and came to his father; but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran and fell upon his neck, and kissed him."
Question. But what are the properties or qualifications of that right turning from sin, which brings poor sinners within the compass of the promise of forgiveness of sins? Now, to this great question I shall give these four following answers:
Answer 1. First, That turning from sin which brings a man within the compass of the promise of forgiveness of sin, is a HEART turning from sin: Joel 2:12, "Turn, even to me, with all your
heart." 2 Chron. 6:38-39, "If they return to you with all their heart, and with all their soul—then hear you from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and forgive their sins." Deut. 30:10, "If you turn unto the Lord your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul," etc. Jer. 3:10, "In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense." Chapter 24:7, "And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart."
Wicked men are serious and hearty in their sinning, and they must be as serious and cordial in their returning—or they are lost and undone forever. The true penitent turns from sin with his heart, with all his heart, and with all his soul. He is truly turned from his sins—whose heart is turned from his sins. If the heart turns not—all is bad, all is stark bad. He who turns from sin—but not with his heart, turns but in pretense, partially, hypocritically, deceitfully. God is a jealous God, and he will never endure co-rivals or co-partners in the throne—the heart of man. A holy God will never share with an unholy devil. The true God is a righteous God, and he will never share his glory with another. The true God must be served truly, heartily; he loves neither halting nor halving. Such as divide the rooms of their souls between God and sin, God and Satan, God and the world; who swear by God and Molech; who sometimes pray devoutly, and at other times curse most hideously; who halt between God and Baal—are mere hypocrites in religion, and such whom God abhors. When a man's heart gives a bill of divorce to his sins, when his heart breaks the league with sin, when his heart casts it off, and casts it out as an abominable thing—then the heart is turned from sin really, effectually, etc. If, notwithstanding all the professions that a man makes against his sins, his heart still loves them, and delights in them, and he will still retain them, and welcome them, and cleave to them, and make provision for them, etc.—his repentance is but pretense—and not real, etc. But,
Answer 2. A true penitential turning is an UNIVERSAL turning, a turning not from some sins—but from all sins: Ezek. 18:30, "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions." Verse 31, Cast away from you all your transgressions." 2 Cor. 7:1, "Let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness, both of flesh and spirit." Psalm 119:101, "I have refrained my feet from every evil way." Verse 128, "I hate every false way." Ezek. 14:14, "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God, Repent, and turn from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations." Chapter 18:28, "Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die."
True repentance is a turning from all sin, without any reservation or exception. He never truly repented of any sin, whose heart is not turned against every sin. The true penitent casts off all the rags of old Adam; he throws down every stone of the old building; he will not leave a horn nor a hoof behind. That which Nehemiah speaks of himself in that Neh. 13:78, is very observable to our purpose. "And I came to Jerusalem, and I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased," (but he rests not there; but goes further); "therefore I threw all of Tobiah's belongings out of the room." Thus the true penitent, when he considers all the evil that sin has done, how it has taken up not only one chamber— but every chamber in the soul, and how it has for many years quite shut out God, and Christ, and the Spirit, and everything that is good; he is greatly displeased, and so falls upon the purging out of every lust; being highly resolved that neither Satan nor any of his retinue shall ever find the least entertainment in his soul any more.
Such as are resolved against turning from any sin, are horribly profane; such as turn from some sins—but cherish others, are hideous hypocrites. Such as turn from one sin to another, or change their sins as men do their fashions—are most sadly blinded, and desperately deluded by Satan. But such as turn not from some sins—but from every sin, are sincerely penitent.
And certainly there are very great reasons why the true penitent does turn, and must turn from sin universally. As,
[1.] First, It is to no purpose for a man to turn from some sins, if he does not turn from all his sins: James 1:26, "If any man seems to be religious, and bridles not his tongue—but deceives his own heart,
this man's religion is in vain." This at first sight may seem to be a hard saying, that for one fault, for one fault in the tongue, all a man's religion should be counted vain; and yet this you see the Holy Spirit does insistently conclude. [One stab at the heart kills; one act of treason makes a traitor; one spark of fire sets the house on fire; one flaw in a diamond spoils the price of it; one puddle, if we wallow in it, will defile us; one head of garlic will poison a leopard, say the naturalists.] Let a man make ever so glorious a profession of religion—yet if he gives himself liberty to live in the practice of any known lust, yes, though it be but a sin of the tongue—his religion is in vain, and that one lust will separate him from God forever.
If a wife is ever so kind to her husband in many things, and though she gives him contentment in several ways—yet if she entertains any other lover into his bed besides himself, it will alienate his affections from her, and forever separate him from her. The application is easy. To turn from one sin to another, is but to be tossed from one hand of the devil to another; it is but, with Benhadad, to recover from one disease and die of another, it is but to take pains to go to hell. If a ship spring three leaks, and only two be stopped, the third will sink the ship; or if a man has two grievous wounds in his body, and take care only to cure one, that wound which is neglected will certainly kill him. It is so here; if a man who has divers lusts fighting against the life of his precious soul, shall only mortify and slay some of them, the rest will certainly destroy him, and all his pains in subduing some of them will be lost.
I have read of a devout man, who had among many other virtues the gift of healing, unto whom divers made resort for cure; among the rest, one Chromatius being sick, sent for him. Being come, he told him of his sickness, and desired that he might have the benefit of cure, as others had before him. I cannot do it, said the devout person, until you have beaten all the idols and images in your house to pieces. Oh that shall be done, said Chromatius; here take my keys, and where you find any images let them be destroyed, which was done accordingly. To prayer went the holy man—but no cure was wrought. Oh, says Chromatius, I am as sick as ever! Oh I am very weak and sick! It cannot be otherwise, replied the holy man, nor can I help it; for certainly there is one more idol in your house
undiscovered, and that must be destroyed too. True, says Chromatius, there is so indeed; there is one all of beaten gold, and very costly, I would like to have saved it; but here take my keys again, you shall find it locked up fast in my chest, take it and break it in pieces; which done, the holy man prayed, and Chromatius was healed.
The moral of this story is this: we are all spiritually sick, full of wounds and putrefied sores; Christ our spiritual physician tells us, that if we will be cured, we must break off our sins by repentance. Now this we are willing to do in part—but not in whole; we would like to keep one Delilah, one darling beloved sin—but it must not be; there must not be one sin unrepented of; we must repent as well for our Achans as our Absaloms, our Rimmons as our Mammons, our Davids as our Goliaths, our covert as well as our open sins, our beloved as well as our loathed lusts, our heart abominations as well as our gross transgressions, our babe iniquities as well as our giant-like provocations. Our repentance must be universal, or it will be to no purpose.
Herod turned from many evils—but would not turn from his Herodias, and that was his ruin, Mat. 6:18-20. Judas' life was as fair and as free from spots and blots as the lives of any of the apostles; no scandalous sin was to be found upon him; only that golden devil 'covetousness' was his sin, and his everlasting ruin. His apostleship, preaching, working of miracles, hearing of Christ, and conversing with him, etc., was to no purpose, because of that serpent he kept in his bosom, which at last stung him to death.
If a man lives in the practice of any known sin, the union between sin and his soul is not dissolved; and if that union be not dissolved, Christ and his soul were never united, and therefore such a person can never be saved. Saul spared Agag and the witch of Endor, whom he should have destroyed—and so lost his crown, his kingdom, and his soul, which was saddest of all. Gideon had seventy sons, and but one bastard son, and yet that one bastard destroyed all the rest, Judges 8:13. The Jewish Rabbis report, that the same night that Israel departed out of Egypt towards Canaan, all the idols and idolatrous temples in Egypt, by lightning and earthquakes, were broken down; so, when a man truly repents, all the idols that were set up in his soul are cast down. But,
[2.] Secondly, God has so joined the duties of his law one to another, that if there be not a conscientious care to walk according to all that the law requires, a man becomes a transgressor of the whole law, according to that of James, chapter 2:10, "Whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all." [He who prevaricates with God as to any one particular commandment of his, his heart is bad, stark bad—and he is guilty of all. He has no real regard to any of the commandments of God—who has not a regard to all the commandments of God, etc.] The bond of all is broken, the authority of all is slighted, and that evil disposition, that sinful frame of heart—which works a man to venture upon the breach of one command, would make him venture upon the breach of any command, were it not for some infirmity of nature, or because his purse will not hold out to maintain it; or for shame, or loss, or because of the eye of friends, or the sword of the magistrate, or for some sinister respects; and might the breach of any other of the commands of God serve his turn, and advance his ends, he stands as strongly pressed in spirit to transgress them all, as to transgress any one of them.
He who gives himself liberty to live in the breach of any one command of God, has a disposition of heart to break them all. Every single sin contains virtually all sin in it. He who allows himself a liberty to live in the breach of any one particular law of God, he casts contempt and scorn upon the authority of God, who made the whole law—and upon this account breaks it all. And the apostle gives the reason of it in verse 11, "For he who said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now, if you commit no adultery—yet if you kill, you have become a transgressor of the law." Not that he is guilty of all individually—but collectively; for the law is connected; there is a chain of duties, and these are all so linked one to another, that you cannot break one link of the chain—but you break the whole chain. All the precepts of the law are, as it were, a string of pearls strung by the authority of God. Now break this string in any place, and all the pearls fall to the ground. No man can live in the breach of any known command of God—but he wrongs every command of God. This at last he shall find to his cost—without sound repentance on his side, and pardoning grace on God's. But,
[3.] Thirdly, One sin never goes alone. Cain's anger is seconded with murder. Ahab's covetousness is attended with bloody cruelty. Jeroboam's rebellion is attended with idolatry. Judas' thievery is attended with treason. I might give instances of this in Adam and Eve, and in Lot, Abraham, Noah, Jacob, Joseph, Job, David, Solomon, and Peter, etc.— but a touch on this string is enough. One sin commonly disposes the heart to another sin. A small sin many times draws the heart to a greater, and one great sin draws the heart to another great sin, and that to a greater—until at last the soul comes to be drowned in all excess.
Augustine relates the story of Manicheus, who being tormented with flies, was of opinion that the devil made them and not God. "Why then," said one who stood by, "if the devil made flies, then the devil made worms, and not God, for they are living creatures as well as flies." "True," said he, "the devil did make worms." "But," said the other, "if the devil made worms, then he made birds, beasts, and man." He granted all. And thus, says that old man, by denying God in the fly, he came to deny God in man, and so consequently the whole creation. And thus yielding to lesser sins, draws the soul to the commission of greater, yes, often to the greatest of all.
I have both heard and read a story of a young man, who being often tempted by the devil and his own wicked heart, to commit three sins, namely, to kill his father, to lie with his mother, and to be drunk; the two former sins, his heart would not yield to, as being things abhorrent to the light and law of nature, and therefore to free himself from the temptation, he yielded to the last and least; but when he was drunk, he killed his father, and ravished his mother. Thus these two abominable sins, murder and incest, were ushered in by one that was not of so deep a dye.
There is something in sin, like the growing principle which is in the seed of herbs and plants. The seed is but a small inconsiderable thing in itself —yet let it be but cast into the ground, and there rests quietly a time, and it will take root, and grow up to a great stock, and bring forth many flourishing branches. Like the grain of mustard-seed, Mat. 13:31-32, which though it be the least of seeds—yet being cast into the ground, grows up to be the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Satan will be sure
to nest himself, to lodge himself in the least sins, as birds nest and lodge themselves in the smallest branches of a tree, and there he will hatch all manner of wickedness.
A sinful thought, if it is not rejected, will procure consent; and consent will break forth into an act; and one act will procure another act, until the multiplying of acts have begotten a habit, and that habit has choked and stifled conscience; and when once conscience is stifled and benumbed, it will be ready upon all occasions to lay the soul open, and to prostrate it to the basest and worst of sins.
Oh there is a prodigious evil in the least of sins; it will quickly multiply itself into all manner of evils. Unless sin be cut off in the first motion, it will proceed to action, and from action to delight, and from delight to custom, and from custom to a habit; and so the soul will be in eminent danger of being undone forever. A little thief put in at the window, may open the doors for stronger and greater to come in—who may take away both life and treasure at once. A little wedge makes way for a greater, and so do little sins make way for greater.
Satan and our own hearts will be modest at first, and therefore they are often in a combination, first to draw us to lesser sins and then to greater, and so from sins less obnoxious to sins more scandalous, until we come to be abominable to God, hateful to others, and a terror to ourselves. Such as live in one sin, God will in justice give over to other sins. The Gentiles gave up themselves to idolatry, Romans 1:23; "And God gave them up to uncleanness," verse 24. It is impossible for any man to take one sin into his bosom, and to shut all others out. He who lives but in the allowance of himself in one sin, will find that sin at last to shut the door of heaven against him, and therefore the true penitent turns from sin universally.
[4.] Fourthly, The reasons of turning from sin, are universally binding to a penitent soul. [As in a harp, to make the music good and harmonious, it is not enough that all the strings be right tuned except one; one string that jars will spoil the sweetest music. The application is easy, etc.] There are the same reasons and grounds for a penitent man's turning from every sin, as there is for his turning from any one sin. Do
you turn from this or that sin, because the Lord has forbidden it? Why, upon the same ground you must turn from every sin, for God has forbidden every sin—as well as this or that particular sin. There is the same authority forbidding or commanding in all; and if the authority of God awes a man from one sin, it will awe him from all. There is one and the same Lawgiver who gives all of the commandments. He who gave one commandment gave also another; therefore, he who observes one commandment in obedience unto God, whose commandment it is, will observe all, because all are his commandments.
And he who slights one commandment is guilty of all, because he despises the authority and will of him who gave them all. Even in those commands which he does observe, he has no respect to the will and authority of him who gave them. Therefore, there is no obedience towards God, where there is not a uniform endeavor to please God, as well in one thing as in another. The same God who has prohibited one sinful act, has prohibited every sinful act; and, therefore, he who out of conscience and respect to God's will, and word, and authority, turns from any one sin, or abhors any one sin—he will out of conscience of the same will, and word, and authority, turn from every sin, and abhor every sin— because the same God in his word has alike forbidden all sins.
O sirs! A man who truly repents of this or that sin, because it is contrary to the law, will, and authority of God—he will surely repent of whatever he knows to be contrary to the law, will, and authority of God. He who turns from any one sin because it is a transgression of the holy and righteous law of God—he will turn from every sin upon the same account. He who turns from any one sin, because it is a dishonor to God, a reproach to Christ, a grief to the Spirit, a wound to religion, etc.—he will upon the same grounds turn from every sin. He who turns from any one sin, because of the curse, the threatenings, the judgments, the wrath, the hell which hangs, as it were, over the head of that sin—he will turn from every sin, because the curse, the threatenings, the judgments, the wrath, the hell, which hangs over the head of that one sin, hangs over the head of every sin.
By these hints it is most evident, that the reasons of turning from sin, are universally binding to a penitent soul; and therefore he turns not only
from some sins—but from every sin. He says not to one idol—but to all his idols, "Get you hence, for what have I any more to do with you!"
[5.] Fifthly, One sin allowed, wallowed and tumbled in—is sufficient to deprive a man forever of the glorious presence of God. Moses came within the sight of Canaan; but for one sin, namely, not sanctifying God's name at the water of Meribah, he was shut out, Exod. 22; for him to be so near the holy land, and yet so far off from entering into it, was doubtless of all strokes the hardest that ever he felt. In the law, the leper who had the spot of leprosy in any one part of his body was accounted a leper, although all the rest of his body was sound and whole, and accordingly he was to be shut up, and shut out from the society and company of the people of God, Lev. 13. Just so—one sin, one leprous spot, allowed and beloved—will forever shut a man out from the glorious presence of God, Christ, the Spirit, angels, and the "spirits of just men made perfect."
One sin wallowed in, will as certainly deprive a man of the blessed vision of God, and of all the treasures, pleasures, and delights which are at God's right hand—as a thousand sins. It was a sore vexation to king Lysimachus, that he should lose his earthly kingdom for one draught of water. O sirs! it will be an everlasting vexation to such, who for one lust shall at last lose not an earthly kingdom—but a heavenly kingdom!
One sin stripped the fallen angels of all their glory! One sin stripped our first parents of all their dignity and excellency, Gen. 3:4-5. Satan, by one loud lie to Adam and Eve, made fruitless all that God had preached to them immediately before. To turn from some sins—but not from all, is gross hypocrisy, Job 20:13. One cherished sin will keep Christ out of his throne. It speaks sin to be rampant, and Satan to be victorious; and what can be the outcome of these things but ruin and damnation? Romans 6:16. One fly in the box of precious ointment spoils the whole box. One thief may rob a man of all his treasure. One disease may deprive a man of all his health. One strong wind may blow down and blow away all a man's comforts. Just so—one sin delighted and wallowed in, will make a man miserable forever! Though this or that particular sin be very pleasant to the flesh, and delightful to the fancy—yet he is the wisest man, and he is the best man, and the only blessed man in all the world, that keeps
furthest from it; and therefore the true penitent turns not merely from this or that sin—but from every sin.
[6.] Sixthly, The principle of regeneration, and seed of grace, which God lays into the soul of every penitent person at first conversion, is a universal principle, a principle which spreads itself over all the faculties of the soul, and over all the members of the body, 1 Thes. 5:23: Psalm 45:13, "The king's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold." In regeneration there is infused the habits or principles of all grace, which like a divine leaven spreads itself over the whole man, Mat. 13:33. Look! as Absalom's beauty was spread all over him, even from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, 2 Sam. 24:25; so grace spreads itself over every faculty of the soul, and over every member of the body. Look! as Solomon's temple was all glorious both within and without—so that grace which a man receives at first conversion, makes him all glorious both within and without. Look! as Adam's sin spread itself over the whole man—so that grace which we receive from the second Adam spreads itself over the whole man, John 1:16. And as that grace which was in Christ, did diffuse and spread itself over all of Christ—so that grace which is in the true penitent does diffuse and spread itself all over the penitent. Now look, as heaven is contrary to all of hell, and as light is contrary to all darkness, and heat to all cold—so that divine, that noble, that universal principle of grace, which God at first conversion infuses into the penitent's soul, is contrary to all sin; and therefore the penitent turns from all sin. But,
[7.] Seventhly, The true penitent would have God to forgive him, not only some of his sins—but all his sins; and therefore it is but just and equal that he should turn from all his sins. "If God is so faithful and just to forgive us all our sins—we must be so faithful and just as to turn from all our sins." The plaster must be as broad as the sore, and the surgeon's knife as long and as deep as the wound. It argues horrid hypocrisy, damnable folly, and astonishing impudency—for a man to beg the pardon for those very sins that he is resolved never to forsake!
Look! as he who has any one sin forgiven has all sins forgiven—so he who has sincerely turned from any one sin, he has turned from every sin. And
he who has not repented of all known sin, he has not yet sincerely repented of any known sin, nor as yet experienced the sweetness of forgiveness of sin. He who will not renounce those sins that he would have God to remit, shall be sure to have a hell of guilt in his conscience. Of all fools there is none compared to him who is very importunate with God to forgive those sins which he is resolved beforehand to commit; for what prince, in his wits, will pardon the treasons of a person, who is resolved to continue a traitor? or what judge will forgive thievery of a person, who is decidedly determined to continue as a thief? Or what husband will pardon his wife—who is resolved to defile his bed with other lovers? Such as continue in the practice of those very sins, which they beg a pardon of, shall certainly go without their pardon!
Pardon of sin is for that man, and that man is for pardon of sin—who is as truly willing to forsake his sins as he is to receive the pardon of his sins. Who would not look upon that man as a madman, who would earnestly beg his pardon, and yet before his pardon is sealed would afresh steal purses, and murder people before the eyes of the judge? The pardoned soul is the repenting soul, and the repenting soul is the pardoned soul! Psalm 32:2, "Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." He who begs pardon of sin, and is resolved not to turn from sin, shall find no more sweetness in that grand promise of pardon, Proverbs 28:13, than devils or damned spirits do. Look! as one sin unforgiven will as certainly undo a man as a thousand, so one sin unforsaken will us certainly undo and damn a man as a thousand. The true penitent is as willing to turn from all his sins, as he is willing that God should pardon all his sins. But,
[8.] Eighthly and lastly, There is in every penitent a sincere hatred of sin, a universal hatred of sin: Psalm 97:18, "You who love the Lord, hate evil." Proverbs 8:13, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." Amos 5:15, "Hate the evil and love the good." Psalm 119:104, "Through your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way." Verse 128, "Therefore I esteem all your precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way." Verse 113, "I hate vain thoughts—but your law do I love." Verse 163, "I hate and abhor lying—but your law do I love." True hatred is universal—it is to the whole kind. He who hates a
toad because it is a toad, hates every toad; he who hates a serpent because it is a serpent, hates every serpent; he who hates a wolf because it is a wolf, hates every wolf; he who hates a man because he is holy, hates every man who is holy; and so he who hates sin because it is sin, hates every sin, and therefore he cannot but turn from it, and labor to be the death and ruin of it. Holy hatred is an implacable and an irreconcilable affection. You shall as soon reconcile God and Satan together, Christ and antichrist together, heaven and hell together—as you shall be able to reconcile a penitent soul and his sin together. A true penitent looks upon every sin as contrary to the law of God, the nature of God, the being of God, the glory of God, and accordingly his heart rises against it. He looks upon every sin as poison, as the vomit of a dog, as the mire of the street, as the menstruous cloth, which of all things in the law was most unclean, defiling and polluting—and this turns his heart against every sin.
He looks upon every sin as having a hand in apprehending, betraying, binding, scourging, condemning and murdering his Lord and Master Jesus Christ; and this works him not only to refrain from sin—but to forsake it, and not only to forsake it—but also to abhor it, and to loathe it more than hell itself! The penitent soul will do all he can to be the death of every sin that has a hand in the death of his Lord and Master. He looks upon the sins of his body to be the tormentors of Christ's body; and the sins of his soul to be the tormentors of Christ's soul, to be those which made his soul heavy to the death, and which caused the withdrawings of his Father's love from him, and which forced him in the anguish of his soul to cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mat. 27:46. And this raises up in him a universal hatred of sin; and a universal hatred of sin always issues in a universal turning from sin.
Now these eight arguments do sufficiently prove, that a true penitential turning is a universal turning; a turning not from some sins—but from all sins.
Objection. But some may be ready to object, and say, Sir, this is a hard saying—who can hear it, who can bear it, who shall then be saved? For if a man repents not unless he turns from every sin, then there is not a man to be found in all the world who repents; for there is not a man in all the world who turns from every sin, who forsakes every sin, etc.: 1 Kings
8:46, "For there is no man who sins not." Proverbs 20:9, "Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" It is a question that implies a strong denial. Who can say, and say it truly, that he is pure from his sin? Surely none. [Job 9:30-31; Psalm 130:3; 2 Chron. 6:36; Job 14:4; Psalm 51:5; ponder upon these scriptures, etc.] He who shall say that he has made his heart clean, and that he is pure from his sin, sins in so saying; and commonly there are none more unclean than those who say they have made their hearts clean, nor none more impure than those who say they are pure from their sin.
Eccles. 7:20, "For there is not a just man upon the earth, that does good and sins not." These words, in their absolute sense, are a full testimony of the imperfection of our inherent righteousness in this life, and that even justified people come very short of that exact and perfect obedience which the law requires.
James 3:2, "We all stumble in many ways." It is a metaphor taken from travelers walking on stony or slippery ground, who are very apt to stumble or slide. This apostle was worthily called James the Just, and yet he numbers himself among the rest of the sanctified ones, that in many things offend all. The apostle does not say, in many things they all stumble—but in many things we all stumble. We who have more gifts than others, we who have more grace than others, we who have more assurance than others, we who have more experiences than others, we who have more preservatives to keep us from sin than others—even we in many things all stumble. Nor the apostle does not say, in some things we all stumble—but in many things we all stumble; the apostle speaking not of the singular individual acts of sin—but of the divers sorts of sin. Nor the apostle does not say, in many things we may all stumble—but in many things we do all stumble.
1 John 1:8, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The apostle does not say, If you say you have no sin, you deceive yourself, as if he spoke to some particular person only; but if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. Nor the apostle does not say, If you say you have no sin, you deceive yourselves, as if he intended weak or ordinary Christians alone—but if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves; we apostles, we that in all grace, and in all holiness, and in all
spiritual enjoyments exceed and excel all others—even we sin as well as others. He who is so ignorant and so impudent, so saucy and so silly, as to say he has no sin—sins in saying so, and has no sincerity, no integrity, nor any ingenuity in him: Verse 10, "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." As much as in us lies we make God a liar—if we say we have not sinned. He who says he has no sin—he does by consequence charge God with falsehood, who has frequently told us in that word of grace, which cannot deceive us, that all men are sinners, and that they have all gone astray, and that they all need pardoning and purging grace, and that upon these very accounts he sent his beloved Son to lay down his dearest life, and to make himself an offering for sin, Isaiah 53:3, Romans 10:23 and 5:12, etc.
Now, from these scriptures these two things are most evident: first, that sinful qualities do remain in the most sanctified people; secondly, that these sinful qualities are sometimes very prevalent over the most sanctified people, and therefore I shall answer the objection thus, namely —that a true penitential turning from all sin consists in these six things:
(1.) First, In the alienation and inward averseness and drawing off of the soul from the LOVE and liking of all sin, and from all free and voluntary subjection unto sin—the heart being filled with a loathing and detestation of all sin, Psalm 119:104, 128, as that which is most contrary to all goodness and happiness.