(1.) The body may be diseased, and the conscience quiet. Isa. xxxiii. 24. "The inhabitant of the land shall not say I am sick." He should scarce teel his sickness, because sin was pardoned; but when the soul is sick of any reigning lust, the con- science is troubled. Isa. Ivii. ult. "There is no peace to the wicked, saith my God." When Spira had abjured his former faith, he was put IN LITTLE EASE, his con-
science burned as hell, and no Rjiiritual physic that divines did apply, could ever allay that inflammation.
(2.) A man may have bodily diseases, yet God may love him. "Asa was diseased in his feet," 2 Kings xv. 23. He had the gout, yet a favourite with God. God's hand may go out against a man, yet his heart may be towards him; diseases are the arrows which God shoots; pestilence is called God's arrow, Psal. xci. 5. This arrow (as Gregory Nazianzene saith) may be sent from the hand of an indulgent father: but soul diseases are symptoms of God's anger, as he is a holy God, he cannot but hate sin, " he beholds the proud afar off," Psal. cxxxviii. 6. God hates a sinner for his plague-sores: Zech. xi. 8. "My soul loathed them."
(3.) Sickness, at worst, doth but separate from the society of friends; but this disease of sin, if not cured, separates from the society of God and angels. The leper was to be shut out of the camp; the leprosy of sin, without the interposition of mercy, shuts men out of the camp of heaven. Rev. xxi. 8. This is the misery of them that die in their sins, they are allowed neither friend nor physician to come at them, they are excluded God's presence for ever, in whose presence is fulness of joy.
Use 1. Information. Branch 1. See into what a sad condition sin hath brought us; it hath made us desperately sick; nay, we die away in our sickness, till we are fetched again with the water of life. O how many sick bedrid souls are there in the world! sick of pride, sick of lust; sin hath turned our houses and churches into hospitals, they are full of sick persons. What David's enemies said reproachfully of him, is true of every natural man, Psal. xli. 8. "An evil disease cleaveth fast unto him." He hath the "plague of the heart," 1 Kings viii. And even those who are regenerate are cured but in part, they have some grudgings of the disease, some ebullitions and stirrings of corruption; nay, sometimes the king's evil breaks forth to the scandal of religion, and from this sin-sickness ariseth all other diseases, plague, gout, stone, fever, 1 Cor. xi. 29, 30. "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation
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THE SOUL'S MALADY AND CURE.
to himself; for this cause many are weak and sickly among you."
Branch 2. If sin be a soul-sickness, then how foolish are they that hide their sins; it is folly to hide a disease! Job xxxi. 33, 40. "If I covered my transgression as Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, let thistles grow instead of wheat," &c. The wicked take more care to have sin covered than cured; if they can but sin in private and not be suspected, they think all is well; there is a curse belongs to him who puts sin in a secret place, Deut. xxvii. 15. The hiding and concealing a disease proves mortal. Pro v. xxviii. 13. "He that covereth his sins, shall not prosper."
Branch 3. If sin be a soul-sickness, then what need is there of the ministry? Min- isters are physicians under God to cure sick souls; God hath set in his church pastors and teachers, Eph. iv. 11. The ministers are a college of physicians, their work is to find out diseases and apply medicines; it is a hard work, while ministers are curing others, they themselves are nigh unto death, Phil. ii. 30. They find their people sick of several diseases; some have poisoned themselves with error, some are surfeited with the love of the creature, some have stabbed themselves at the heart with gross sin. O how hard is it to heal all these sick gangrened souls ! many ministers do sooner kill themselves by preaching than cure their patients; but though the work of the ministry be a labor- ious work, it is a needful work ; while there are sick souls, there will be need of spiritual physicians. How unworthy then are they who malign and persecute the ministers of God! 1 Cor. iv. 9. O uid^ind world, thus to use thy physician ; can there be a greater injury to souls? would it not be a piece of the highest cruelty and barbarism, if there were an act made that all j)hysicians should be banished out of the land? and is it not worse to see multitudes of sick souls lie bleeding, and to have tlieir spiritual physi- cians removed from them, which sliould under God heal them? this is a wrath-pro- curing sin, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. "They mis- used his prophets, until the WTath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." See what is inscribed in Levi's