Branch 6. If sin be so great an evil, then what may we judge of them who make light of sin as if there were no danger in it ; as if God were not in earnest when he threatens sin ; or as if ministers were about a needless Avork, when they preach against sin ? Some people make nothing of breaking a commandment ; they make nothing of telling a lie, of cozening, of slandering ; no- thing of living in the sin of uncleanness. If you weigh sin in the balance of some men's judgments, it weighs very light ; but, who are those that make so very light of sin? Solomon hath described them, Prov. xiv. 9,, " Fools make a mock at sin." Stul- tus in vitia cito dilahitur, Isidor. Who but fools would make light of that which grieves the Spirit of God? Who but fools would put such a A^iperous thing in their bosom ? Who but fools would laugh at their own ca- lamity, and make sports while they give themselves poison ?
Branch 7. If sin be so great an evil, then I infer, that there is no good to be gotten by sin ; of this thorn we cannot gather grapes. If sin be so deadly an evil, then we cannot get any profit by it ; no man did ever thrive upon this trade. Those Atheists said, Mai. iii. 14., " It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it?" But we may say more truly, What profit is there in sin? Rom. vi. 21., " What fruit had ye then in those thinjrs whereof ye are now ashamed?" Where are your earnings ? What have you
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gotten by sin ? It batli sliainc for its com- panion ; and death for its waji^es. What profit had Aclian of his wedge of gold? That wedge seemed to cleave asunder liis soul from God. What profit had Aliah of the vineyard he got unjustly ? Tlie dogs licked his blood, 1 Kings xxi. 19. What profit had Judas of his treason? For thirty pieces he sold his Saviour, and bought his own damnation. All the gain men get by their sins, they may put in their eye ; nay, they must, and weep it out again.
Branch 8. If sin be so great an evil, see then the folly of those who venture upon sin, because of the pleasure they have in it, 2 Thess. ii. 12., " But had pleasure in un- righteousness." As for the pleasure of sin, 1. It is but seeming, it is but a pleasant fancy, a golden dream. 2. And besides, it is a mixed pleasure, it has bitterness inter- mingled, Pro v. vii. 17., " I have saith the harlot perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon." For one sweet, here are two bitters; cinnamon is sweet, but mjTfh and .ilocs are bitter ; the harlot's pleasure is mixed. There are those inward fears and lashes of conscience, as imbittcr the pleasure. 3. If there be any pleasure in sin, it is only to the body, the brutish part ; the soul is not at all gratified by the pleasure, Luke xii. 19., " Soul, take thy ease ;" he might have more properly said, " Body take thy ease ;" tlie soul cannot feed on sensual objects. 4. In short, that pleasure men talk of in sin, is their disease. Some take plea- sure in eating chalk or coals, this is from their disease : so, when men talk of pleasure in eating the forbidden fruit, it is from the sickness and disease of their souls, " thcv put bitter for sweet," Isa. v. 20. O what folly is it, for a cup of pleasure, to drink a sea of wrath ! Sin will be bitter in the end, Prov. xxiii. 31, 32., " Look not on the wine when it is red, when it gives its colour in the cup ; at last it bites like a serpent." Sin will prove like Ezekicl's roll, sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the belly, — mel in ore.^fel in corde. Ask Cain now how he likes his murder? Achan, how he likes his golden wedge ? O remember that saying of Austin, Momentnrnm est quod delcctnt, cBter- nnm qwxi cruciat ! The pleasure of sin is soon gone, but the sting remains.
Branch 9. If sin be so great an evil, tlien, what wisdom is it to depart from evil ! Job xxviii. 28., " To dcpait from evil is under- standing." To sin, is to do foolishly : there- fore, to depart from sin, is to do wisely. Solomon saith, Prov. xxix. 6., In every transgression is a snare. Is it not wisdom to avoid a snare ? Sin is a deceiver, it cheat- ed our first parents ; instead of being as gods, they became as the beasts that perish, Ps. xlix. 20. Sin hath cheated all that have meddled with it ; is it not wisdom to shun such a cheater? Sin hath many fair pleas, and tells how it will gratify all the senses \vith pleasure: " But," saith a gracious soul, " Christ's love is sweeter, — peace of conscience is sweeter, — what are the plea- sures of sin to the pleasures of paradise?" Well may the saints be called wise virgins, because they spy the deceits that are in sin, and avoid the snares. " The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to depart from evil, is understanding."