Secondly, Thou must not onl)' endeavom- asjainst all sin, but that on nohle princij^les ; here lies the power of holines.s. Many forbear to sin upon such an unworthy account that God will not thank them for it another day. As it is in the actions of piety and charity, God makes no account of them, except he be interested in them ; when we fast or pray, God asks, 'Do you fast and pray to me, even to me?' Zech. vii. 5. When we give alms, 'a cup of cold water,' for his sake, given in the 'name of a disciple,' is more valued by him, than a cup of gold for private and low ends, Matt. x. 42; so in sin, God looks that his authority should conclude, and his love constrain us to renoimce it. Before the commandments, as princes before their proclamations prefix their arms and royal names, God sets his glorious name : 'God spake all these words, and said,' &c., Exod. xx. ; and why this? but that we should sanctify his name in all we do. A master may well think himself despised by that servant that still goes on, when he bids him leave off such a work, but has done presently at the entreaty of another. O how many are there that go on to sin, for all that God says to the contrary ! but when their credit bids, for shame of the world, to give over such a practice, they can cease presently ; when their profit speaks, it is heard and obeyed. O sirs, take heed of this ! God expects his servants should not only do what he commands, but this at his command, and his only. And as in abstaining from evil, so in mourning for sins committed by us ; if we will be Christians indeed, we must take in, yea, prefer God's concernments before our own. Indeed it were to be wished, that some were so kind to their own souls, as to mourn for themselves when they have sinned; that they would cry out with Lamech, Gen. iv. 23, ' I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.' Many have such brawny consciences, they do not so much as complain they have hurt themselves by their sins, but little of the power of holiness appears in all this ; there may be a great cry in the con- science, I am damned ! I have undone myself ! and the dishonour that is cast upon God by him not laid to heart. You remember what Joab said to David, taking on heavily for Absalom's death ; ' I perceive,' said he, ' if Absalom had been alive, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well,' 2 Sam. xix. 6. Thus we might say to such selfish mourners. We perceive that if thou couldst hut save the life of thy soul from eternal death and damnation, thougli the glory of God miscarried, thou couldst be pleased well enough. But know that a gracious soid's mourning runs in another channel : 'Against thee, thee only have I sinned,' is holy David's moan. There is a great difference between a servant that works for another, and one that is his own man as we say : the latter puts all his losses upon his own head — so much, saith he, I have lost by such a ship, so much by a bargain ; but the servant that trades with his master's stock, he, when any loss comes, puts it on his master's account — so much 1 have lost of my master's goods. O Christian, think of this ; thou art but a servant, all the stock thou tradest with is not thine, but thy God's ; and there- fore when thou fallest into any sin, bewail it as a wrong to him : So much, alas ! I have dishonoured my God, his talents I have wasted, his name I have wounded, his Spirit I have grieved.
Thirdly, He must not only abstain from acting a sin, but also labour to mor- tify it. A wound may be hid, when it is not healed ; covered, and yet not cured ; some men they are like unskilful physicians, who rather drive in the disease, than drive out the cause of the disease : corruption thus left in the bosom, like lime imslaked, or a hinnour unpurged, is sure at one time or other to take fire and break out, though now it lies peaceably, as powder in the barrel, and makes no noise. I have read that the opening of a chest where some clothes were laid up, not very well aired and cleared from the infection that had been in the house, was the cause of a great plague in Venice, after they had lain many years there, without doing any hurt. I am sure we sec for want of true mortification, many, after they have walked so long unblamably, as to gain the reputation of being saints in the opinion of others, upon some occasion, like the opening of the chest, have fallen sadly into abominable prac- tices ; and therefore it behoves us not to satisfy ourselves with anything less than a work of mortification, and that followed 07i from day to day. ' I protest,' saith Paul, ' by my rejoicing in Christ, 1 die daily ;' here was a man who walked in the power of liolincss. Sin is like the beast, Rev. xiii. .'5, which seemed at one
gQg AND HAVING ON