all this by the deliberate consent of the naughty heart and will, which fosters and cherishes it.
5. There are ring-leaders in sin, and single personal sins, which spread no farther than ourselves : a ring-leader in sin, is in Scrip- ture reckoned amongst the greatest sinners; so, Rev. ii. 14. " Thou hast them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught " Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel." Thus Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, made Israel to sin. There is the same difference betAvixt these and single personal sins, as there is betwixt a chain-shot, and a single bullet. Mind tliis, you that have induced others to sin by your counsel or example.
6. There are sins in which men glory and take pleasure; and sins for which men groan and mourn. Now, the more pleasure any man takes in sin, the greater doth the sin arise in its aggrava- tion. We read of some. Job xx. 12. " In whose mouths wicked- " ness is sweet, and they hide it under their tongue." That is, they draw a great deal of contemplative delight before and after the commission of sin, as well as in the commission of it. It is bad enough to sin and sigh, to sin and weep ; but to sin and boast, to sin and make a mock of sin, what a prodigious way of sinning is this ! O sinner ! what a heart hast thou, that canst play and sport with that which grieves God, crucified Christ, and which, without deep and sound repentance, will damn thine own soul !
7. The more bonds of restraint any man breaks asunder to com- mit sin, the greater and more aggravated always that sin is in the sight of God. There be some persons upon whom God hath laid more restraints to keep back their souls from iniquity, than he hath upon others. The more mercies he hath bestowed upon you, the more restraints from sin. So many mercies, so many ties, Jer. ii. 5, 6. especially spiritual mercies ; as light in your minds, pardons sealed to your consciences, love manifested to your souls. Such also are your own vows, promises, and resolutions ; Jer. ii. SO. " Thou saidst, I will no more transgress. Didst not thou promise me, saith God, more care and circumspection for time to come ? And such are all the examples and warnings God hath given us by his judgments upon others, 1 Cor. x. 11. These things put an accent upon sin, and make it out of measure sinful.
And now my friends, what have I been driving at all this while, in opening the greatness and aggravations of sin ? The design of all this is to shew you the indispensable need of repentance, and faith, to carry you to Christ.
Object. But I am the person upon whom these crying aggravated sins are found. You tell me of going to Christ ; alas ! there is no hope of mercy for such a wretch as I am ! There it sticks. Poor
sinners think it is to no purpose, they had as good go on in sin ; for they conclude, there is no hope for them.
Ansrc. Come sinners, give me leave to tell you, you have a- text before you, that clears the way of your duty and salvation at once ; If any man^ be he what he will, be his sins never so great, yet if he hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, saith Christ. There is mercy in Jesus Christ, for thee who art guilty of crying sins : for thee, that hast sinned against light and knowledge : for thee, that hast added drunkenness to thirst ; for thee, that hast contrived sin with deliberation : for thee, that hast induced others to sin by counsel or example : for thee, that hast taken pleasure in iniquity, and made a sport of sin ; yea, and for thee aJso, that hast broken asunder the bonds of mercies, vows apd warnings, provided thou wilt now hear the voice of Christ, and thy will open to him with a hearty firm consent, Isa. Iv. 4. You are great and heinous sinners ; but I shew this day a great and Almighty Saviour, one that is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, Heb. vii. 25. There is a sacrifice laid out and appointed for these sins. O bless God for that ! they are no where excepted from the possibility of forgiveness. Nothing but the impenitency of thy heart, and obstinacy of thy will, can bar thee from a full and final pardon. Jesus Christ can save thee to the uttermost. Say not within thyself. Can the virtue of his blood extend itself to the re- mission of this or that sin ? He can save to the uttermost. Look round about thee to the uttermost horizon of all thy guilt, and Christ can save thee to the uttermost that the eye of thy conscience can discern, yea, and beyond it too ; but then thou must come unto liim. You speak of the greatness of sin, and you have cause to have sad thoughts about it ; but, in the mean time, you consider not, that your unbelief, by which you stand off from Christ, your only remedy, is certainly the greatest of all the sins that ever you stood guilty of against the Lord. This is the sin that binds the guilt of all your other sins upon you. Let me therefore address myself, (1.) To you who cry out of the greatness of sin that dis- courages you from going to Christ. (2.) To lesser sinners, who because they are clear of great enormities, see not their need of Christ.
1. This exhortation speaketh to you, whose consciences are seared with the horrid and hideous aggravations of your sins, by reason whereof your own misgiving hearts, assisted by the policy of Satan, discourage you from all attempts to gain Christ and pardon, in the way of repentance and faith. Let me, at this time, hint three or four considerations to you, by way of encouragement.
(1.) The sparing goodness of God, till now, gives some encoiu
ragement, that God may have a reserve of mercy for so great and vile a sinner as thou art. O what a mercy is it, that thy life hath been spared hitherto ! Many of thy companions in sin are beyond hope and mercy, whilst thou art left. I confess, this is no sure sign of God's gracious intention to thee, unless his goodness and forbearance do lead thee to repentance: Then the gracious in- tention of God, in prolonging thy life, would evidently appear. But, however, it is in itself a very great mercy ; because, without it, no spiritual mercy could be expected.
(2.) It is matter of encouragement and hope, that though your disease be dreadful, yet it is not desperate and incurable. The text takes it within the compass of mercy : O bless God for that. If any man^ &c.