Chapter IX
That the judgment of their swfulness at the great day, as also often in tins
life before that day, hath the style of an account given it in scriptures. That the Scriptures do reduce this account unto two heads, the heinousness, and the multitude of sins.
In the prosecution of the subject proposed in the former exposition, I
shall begin to shew out of other scriptures that God s reckoning with men
for sins, whether in this life upon repentance (as with Solomon) or at the
day of judgment, hath very commonly the style of the account, or an account
put upon it, which I shall briefly shew, not only to verify Solomon s use of
the word in that sense, and my interpretation given, but further as being
necessarily introductory unto the following discourse.
I. That the judgment and work of the great clay hath frequently the title
of an account (even as Solomon s audit here held with God about his sins, to
prevent his being so judged, hath), is evident bolh in the Old Testament and
in the New. Ps. 1. (throughout which psalm, God s coming to, and process
CHAP. IX.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 469
in judgment at that day is set out) in the close thereof, this account is signi fied by a setting of sins in order before men, ver. 21, which Solomon in the last chapter of this book termeth a bringing to judgment every work, &c. And in the New Testament it is styled, in terms synonimous to Solomon s expression, an account, or a giving an account of a man s self; so Rom. xiv. 12, and that whether of the good done, all of which is reckoned
fruit to our account (as Philip, iv. 17, the phrase is), or of the evil we have done or spoken
: Mat. xii. 36, I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judg ment ; and in the same style it runs up and down in the epistles, of an
account, then to be made of whatever things had been committed to our
* must give an account of the souls committed to them, Heb. xiii. 17. Also of others, an account of their stewardship, Luke xvi. 2. Hence Christ himself, who
trust. Hence of ministers it is said, they are those that
is appointed the judge, hath the title of ngos ov o Xoyo;, to whom the account
is to be given (so in the original), Heb. iv., an account even unto every thought and intention of the heart, ver. 18, which title of his there is and may fully be explained by that, 1 Peter iv. 5, We shall give an account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
1. Christ is God s great auditor or accountant for him, and is perfect in
* ready, hath them all before him, and at his fingers ends (as we say), which in the same place, to the Hebrews, is thus expressed,
every man s accounts,
All things are naked and opened to him, to whom the account is to be.
Moreover, 2, the Scriptures, they are as books of this art of Christ s
arithmetic, setting forth the rules and proportions by which this account is
to be cast up, according to which we shall be judged at that day, John
xii. 48.
And, 3, our consciences, they are God s records or count-books (as we
call them) for matters of fact, wherein the particulars are written, Rom. ii., and both these books are said to be opened at that day, Rev. xx. 12.
4. Yea, and God s bringing men to see their sins in this life, upon any
special occasions, is in like manner styled an account, as being preparatory to the account at the day of judgment, and indeed are but lesser days of
judgment. And of this latter sort of reckonings is that parable to be under
* Therefore is the kingdom of heaven
stood : Mat. xviii., from vers. 23 to 27,
likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. Ver. 24, And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents : but forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. This
account is not that final one at the latter day, or after death in hell (though some foregoing exemplar thereof), but such as God begins, as the phrase
is, ver. 24, to hold in his church, which he calls the kingdom of heaven,
whilst some souls being arrested by the powerful ministry of the word, are
brought in to God, as ver. 24, and are so far wrought upon thereby, as to
acknowledge unto God their fore-passed sinfulness, and debts they have
incurred, with deep conviction of conscience, and oftentimes with terrors
joined thereto, and resolution for the future to make amends; for so it is
spoken of this accomptant or servant brought in here, ver. 26 ; and there
fore is not that final great account. Which is further evidenced by this,
that this account is that which men make to God through conviction and
confession when they repent, and promise amendment, as this man did, and when God gives time and patience to them, upon trial of what they will do
? S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK XI.
470 AN UNREGENERATE MAN
for the future. Thus expressly, ver. 26 ; and besides, it is said, that after
* this servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, that owed him an hundred pence, &c., and his cruel dealing with him you know and
this,
read, ver. 27, &c., which argues this to have been transacted in this life, for
at the latter day there is no room for such a supposition. And thereupon, and after all, it is that that other final account of this merciless servant is
said to follow, ver. 34, The lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tor
mentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So that this reckon
ing was but a forerunning account ; God s first beginning to account with a man, as that, ver. 24, expressly termeth it. And these accounts, either of them, first, that at the latter day, is not to be made only of the quality of the actions, but of the number also, even to a
farthing, Mat. v. 26 ; as likewise that other in this life, Mat. xviii. was, for a sum is set down,
* An hundred thousand talents/ And the reason why the Scriptures pursue this metaphor is, because, in deed and in reality, our sins are considered not only as crimes committed
against God, as he is judge of all the world (as all legal crimes use to be in
dicted as against the king), but further they are considered as so many debts
against God as a creditor, who stands out of purse in point of honour, riches of patience, &c. Thus expressly, Mat. vi. 12 and Mat. xviii. 23, God
is said Guvaoat Xoyov, to compute with, as men do with debtors by mutual
reckonings on both parts, and the balance of that man s account there reck
oned, is said to be ten thousand talents, ver. 24, as being a sum of debts. And reckoned they are both by multiplication and addition. The phrase for
the first is frequent in Job and the prophets, Thou hast multiplied thy abominations, Ezek. xvi. 51 ; the other, by addition, is used of Herod s
* He added this to all the
putting the Baptist to death, whereof it is said,
evils he had done, Luke iii. 7 ; and of all together it is spoken as of debts which do make up a total sum, and therefore are said to abound to account,
Philip, iv. 17. Thus much for the first assertion, as also to justify our in
terpretation of Solomon s using the word account unto this our sense, which
in the exposition we so largely pursued. II. These Holy Scriptures do hold up before the consciences of men two main considerations about their sinfulness.
1. The quality or heinousness of eminent sins.
2. The multitude of sins, both small and great, cast up together into one sum. To the end that under these (as two general heads) we ourselves
might know how to marshal and order our otherwise confused or rather con founded thoughts therein.
Like as the praise of the glory of God in his works is set forth by these
* Lord, how great are thy works, Ps. xcii. 5 ; and then,
* Lord, how manifold are thy works, as Ps. civ. 24 ; and both set together are cele
two,
brated, Job ix. 20, Who doth great things past finding out ; yea, and won
derful ivithout number. Even so the sinfulness of man s dishonouring God, or of man s works against God.
Eliphaz, seeing Job s miseries so extraordinarily to exceed the proportion of God s dealing with other saints, and knowing that the way to humble nim was to make Job apprehensive of his sinfulness, he doth suitably, accord
ing to what his own apprehensions were about Job s condition (judg
ing that he was an unregenerate man), call upon Job to consider these
very two things about his sinfulness, or these two heads of account specified, Job xxii. 5.
1. Whether he had not been guilty of heinous sins. This in that first
query, Is not thy wickedness great ? His meaning is in a respect of
CHAP. X.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 471
grosser crimes ; for he instanceth in the worst of sins towards man, both of
omission, ver, 7, 9, and of commission, ver. 6. And then, 2. Are not thine iniquities infinite ? that is, for number. Then again David, Ps. xix., takes into consideration these two; first,
great transgressions, such as presumptuous sins, ver. 13 ; great, that is, for heinousness ; and then withal the known and unknown multitudes of other
sins: ver. 12, Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from
secret faults.
In like manner Ezra, chap, ix., in his confession, first humbleth himself
for the multitude of their sins, Our iniquities are increased over our heads, ver. 6 ; and then, ver. 7, for their sins that were most heinous, We have been in a great trespass unto this day, that eminent sin of marrying strange wives.
Our Saviour Christ (-rgos ov 6 Xoyo;) doth in like manner speak of sin?, some that are as camels for greatness, and some as gnats (that by troops in those hot countries used to pester travellers every step they
took), also of beams and motes, likewise talents and farthings, Mat. xv. 26, Luke vii. 24 ; whereof the one signifies great sins for quality, the other small,
yet exceeding in number.