Fifthly, Sinning against the light, argues a love to sin, as sin ; to naked sin, without any disguise or cover. It is nothing near so bad for a man through a mistake of judgment, when he thinks that to be lawful, which is indeed sinful ; he doth not now close with sin, as sin, but he either closes with it as his duty, or at least his liberty. It is hard for Satan to persuade many men to em- brace a naked sin ; and therefore he clothes it in the habit of a duty, or liberty, and thereby deceives and draws men to the com- mission of it. But if a man have light shining into his conscience, and convincing him that the way he is in, is the way of sin, quite contrary to the revealed will of God, stripping the sin naked before the eye of his conscience, so that he hath no cover or excuse, and yet will persist in it ; this, I say, argues a soul to be in love with sin, as sin. Now, as for a man to love grace as grace is a solid argu- ment to prove the truth of his grace ; so on the contrary for a man to love sin as sin, doth not only argue him to be in the state of sin, but to be in the fore-front, and amongst the highest rank of sinners.
Sixthly, The greater and clearer the light is, under and against which men continue in sin, the more must the consciences of such sinners be supposed to be wasted and violated by such a way of sin- ning : For this is a sure rule, * that " the greatest violation of " conscience, is the greatest sin." Conscience is a noble and tender part of the soul of man : it is in the soul, as the eye in the body, very sensible of the least injury ; and a wound in the conscience is like a blow in the eye : But nothing gives a greater blow to con- science, nothing so much wastes it and destroys it as sins against the light do. This puts a plain force upon the conscience, and gives a dreadful stab to that noble power, God's vicegerent in the soul. And thus you see the first thing made good, that light puts deep guilt and aggravation into sin.
Secondly, In the next place, let us examine why sin, so aggravated by the light, makes men liable to the greater condemnation : For that it doth so, is beyond all debate or question ; else the apostle Peter would not have said of those sinners against light, as he doth, 2 Pet. ii. 21. "that it had been better for them not to have known " the way of righteousness." Nor would Christ have told the in- habitants of Chorazin or Bethsaida, that it should be more tolera-
* Maxima violatio conscientia est maximum peccatum.
SERM. XXXIII. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 445
ble for Tyre and Sidon at the clay of judgment than for them. There is a twofold reason of this.
1 . Ex parte De'u on God's part.
2. Ex parte pcccatoris, on the sinner's part.
First, Ex parte Dei, on God's part, who is the righteous Judge of the whole earth ; and will therefore render unto every man ac- cording as his work shall be; For shall not the Judge of the whole earth do right ? He will jud^e the world in righteousness, and righteousness requires that difference be made in the punishment of sinners, according to the different degrees of their sins. Now that there are different degrees of sin, is abundantly clear from what we have lately discoursed under the former head; where we have shewed, that the light under which men sin, puts extraordi- nary aggravations upon their sins, answerable whereunto will the degrees of punishment be awarded by the righteous Judge of hea- ven and earth. The Gentiles who had no other light but that dim light of nature, will be condemned for disobeying the law of God written upon their hearts : but yet, the greater wrath is re- served for them who sin both against the light of nature, and the light of the gospel also : And therefore it is said, Rom. ii. 9. " Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil ; " of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile." Impenitent Jews and Gentiles will all be condemned at the bar of God ; but with this difference, to the Jew first, i. e. principally and especially, be- cause the light and mercies which he abused and violated were fax- greater than those bestowed upon the Gentiles, " because unto " them were committed the oracles of God ;" And God hath not dealt with any nation as with that nation. Indeed, in the re- wards of obedience, the same reason doth not hold ; he that came into the vineyard the last hour of the day, may be equal in reward with him that bare the heat and burthen of the whole day ; be- cause the reward is of grace and bounty, not of debt and merit : But it is not so here, justice observes an exact proportion in distributing punishments, according to the degrees, deserts, and measures of sin : And therefore it is said concerning Babylon, Rev. xviii. 7. " How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously ; so " much torment and sorrow give her."
Secondly, Ex parte peccatoris, upon the account of sinners ; it must needs be, that the heaviest wrath and most intolerable tor- ments should be the portion of them who have sinned against the clearest light and means of grace : For we find, in the scripture ac- count, that a principal and special part of the torment of the damn- ed, will arise from their own consciences. Mark ix. 44. " Where " their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." And no- thing is more manifest than this, that if conscience be the tormen-
416 THE METHOD OF GRACE. SERM. XXXIIf.
tor of the damned, then sinners against light must needs have the greatest torment. For,
First, The more knowledge any man had in this world, the more was his conscience violated and abused here by sinning against it : And O what work will these violations and abuses make for a tormenting conscience in hell ! With what rage and fury will it then avenge itself upon the most stout, daring, and impudent sin- ner ! The more guilt now, the more rage and fury then.
Secondly i, The more knowledge, or means of knowledge any man hath enjoyed in this world, so much the more matter is prepared and laid up for conscience to upbraid him with in the place of tor- ment ? And the upbraidings of conscience are a special part of the torments of the damned. O what a peal will conscience ring in the ears of such sinners ! " Did not I warn thee of the issue of such " sins, undone wretch ? How often did I strive with thee, if it " had been possible to take thee off from thy course of sinning, " and to escape this wrath ? Did not I often cry out in thy bosom, " Stop thy course, sinner ? Hearken to my counsel, turn and live ; " but thou wouldst not hearken to my voice ! I forewarned thee of " this danger, but thou slightest all my warnings ; thy lusts were " too strong for my light, and now thou seest whither thy way * tended, but, alas, too late !"