Secondly, As the dominion of sin depraved and defiled the con- science, Tit. i. 15. wounded it to that degree, as to disable it to the performance of all its offices and functions ; so that it was nei- ther able to apply, convince, or tremble at the word : So, when the Spirit of holiness is shed forth, O what a tender sense fills the renewed conscience ! For what small things will it check, smite, and rebuke ! How strongly will it bind to duty, and bar against sin.
Thirdly. As the dominion of sin stiffened the will and made it stubborn and rebellious, so Christ, by sanctifying it, brings it to be pliant and obedient to the will of God. " Lord, (saith the sin- il ner) what wilt thou have me to do !" Acts ix. 6.
Fourthly, As the power of sin hardeneth the heart so that no- thing could affect it, or make any impression upon it ; when sane- lifieation comes upon the soul, it thaws and breaks it, as hard as
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it was; and makes it to dissolve in the breast of a sinner in godly sorrow, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. " I will take away the heart of stone out " of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." It will now melt ingenuously under the threatenings of the word, 2 Kings xxii. 19. or the strokes of the rod, Jer. xxxi. 18. or the manifestations of grace and mercy, Luke vii. 38.
Fifthly, As the power of sin misplaced and disordered all the af- fections, so sanctification reduces them again and sets them right, Psal. iv. 6, 7. And thus you see how sanctification becomes tlie rectitude, health, and due temper of the soul, so far as it prevails, curing the diseases that sin in its dominion filled the soul with. True it is, this cure is not perfected in this life ; there are still some remains of the old diseases in the holiest souls, notwithstand- ing sin be dethroned from its dominion over them : but the cure is begun, and daily advances towards perfection, and at last will be complete, as will appear in the cure of the next evil of sin , namely,
Thirdly, The inherence of sin in the soul : this is a sore disease, the very core and root of all our other complaints and ailes. This made the holy apostle bemoan himself and wail so bitterly, Rom. vii. 17. because of " sin that dwelt in him." And the same misery is bewailed by all sanctified persons all the world over.
It is a wonderful mercy to have the guilt and dominion of sin cured, but we shall never be perfectly sound and well, till the ex- istence or in-dwelling of sin in our natures be cured too : when once that is done, then we shall feel no more pain nor sorrows for sin : and this our great Physician will at last perform for us and upon us. But as the cure of guilt was by our justification, the cure of the dominion of sin by our sanctification : so the third and last, which perfects the whole cure, will be by our glorification : and till then, it is not to be expected. For it is a clear case, that sin like ivy in the old walls, will never be gotten out till the walls be pulled down, and then it is pulled up by the roots. This cure Christ will perform in a moment, upon our dissolution. For it is plain,
First, That none but perfected souls, freed from all sin, are ad- mitted into heaven, Eph. v. 27. Heb. xii. 23. Rev. xxi. 27.
Secondly, It is as plain, that no such personal perfection and free- dom is found in any man on this side death and the grave, 1 John i. 8. 1 Kings viii. 46. Phil. hi. 12. a truth sealed by the sad expe- rience of all the saints on earth.
Thirdly, If such freedom and perfection must be before we earn be perfectly happy, and no such thing be done in this life, it re- mains that it must be done immediately upon their dissolution, and at the very time of their glorification. As sin came in at the time
19^ THE METHOD OF GRACE, „ SERM. X.
of the union of their souls and bodies in the womb, so it will go out at the time of their separation by death ; then will Christ put the last hand to this glorious work, and perfect that cure which hath been so long under his hand, in this world ; and thenceforth sin shall have no power upon them, it shall never tempt them more, it shall never defile them more, it shall never grieve and sadden their hearts any more : henceforth it shall never cloud their evidences, darken their understandings, or give the least inter- ruption to their communion with God. When sin is gone, all these, its mischievous effects, are gone with it So that I may speak it to the comfort of all gracious hearts, according to what the Lord told the Israelites, in Deut. xii. 8, 9. (to which I allude for illustration of this most comfortable truth) " Ye shall not do " after all the things that ye do here this day, every man whatso- " ever is right in his own eyes, for ye are not as yet come to the " rest, and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth " you." Whilst you are under Christ's cure upon earth, but not perfectly healed, your understandings mistake, your thoughts wander, your affections are dead, and your communion with God is daily interrupted ; but it shall not be so in heaven, where the cure is perfect : you shall not there know, love, or delight in God in the manner you do this day ; for you are not as yet come to the rest, and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you. And so much as to the diseases of sin, and Christ's method of curing them.
Secondly, As sin is the disease of the saints, so also is sorrow ; the best saints must pass through the valley of Baclia, to heaven. How many tears fall from the eyes of the saints, upon the account of outward as well as inward troubles, even after their reconciliation with God ? Through much tribulation we must enter into the " kingdom of God," Acts xiv. 22. It would be too great a di- gression in this place, to note but the more general heads under which almost infinite particulars of troubles and afflictions are found ; it shall suffice only to shew, that whatever distress or trouble any poor soul is in, upon any account whatsoever, if that soul belongs to Jesus Christ, he will take care of it J'or the present, and deliver it at last by a complete cure.
First, Christ cures troubles, by sanctifying them to the souls of his that are under affliction, and makes their very troubles medici- nal and healing to them. Trouble is a scorpion, and hath a deadly <ting, but Christ is a wise physician, and extracts a sovereign oil out of this scorpion, that heals the wound it makes. By afflictions, our wise Physician purges our corruptions, and so prevents or nviYcs greater troubles by lesser ; inward sorrows by outward ones
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Isa. xxvii. 9. " By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be " purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his sin.11