5. Fifthly, This truth looks sourly and sadly upon those who, in- stead of being silent and mute under their afflictions, use all sinful ■shifts and ways to slti ft themselves out of their troubles ; ivho care not though they break with God, and break with men, and break ivith tin-it' own consciences, so they may but break off the chains that an upon them ; who care not by what means the prison door is opened, 80 /hey may but escape ; nor by what hands their bolts are knocked off, so they may be at liberty. Job xxxvi. 21, 'Take heed, regard not iniquity, for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.' He makes but an ill choice, who chooses sin rather than suffering ; and yet such an ill choice good men have sometimes made, as you may see by the proofs in the margin,2 when troubles have compassed them round about. Though no lion roars like that in a man's own bosom, — conscience, — yet some, to deliver themselves from troubles without, have set that lion a-roaring
1 Jobn Stow's ' Survey of London.' [Sab nomint. — G.]
- 1 Sam. xxi. 12-15 ; Gen. xii. 12, 15 ; xx. 13, 'JO ; xxvi. 7-9 ; Jonah i. 1. seq. ; 1 Sam. xwiii. throu'rliout.
Ps. XXXIX. 9.] UNDER THE SMARTING ROD. 323
within. Some, to deliver themselves from outward tortures, have put themselves under inward torments. He purchases his freedom from affliction at too dear a rate, who buys it with the loss of a good name or a good conscience.
Now, because there is even in good men sometimes too great an apt- ness and proneness to sin and shift themselves out of afflictions, when they should rather be mute and silent under them, give me leave to lay down these six considerations to prevent it.
(1.) First Consider, that there is infinitely more evil in the least sin than there is in the greatest miseries and afflictions that can 'possibly come upon you; yea, there is more evil in the least sin than there is in all the troubles that ever come upon the world, yea, than there is in all the miseries and torments of hell. The least sin is an offence to the great God, it is a wrong to the immortal soul, it is a breach of a righteous law ; it cannot be washed away but by the blood of Jesus ; it can shut the soul out of heaven, and shut the soul up a close prisoner in hell for ever and ever.1 The least sin is rather to be avoided and prevented than the greatest sufferings ; if this cockatrice be not crushed in the egg, it will soon become a serpent ; the very thought of sin, if but thought on, will break out into action, action into custom, custom into habit, and then both body and soul are lost irrecoverably to all eternity. The least sin is very dangerous. Cassar was stabbed with bodkins ; Herod was eaten up of lice ; Pope Adrian was choked with a gnat ; a mouse is but little, yet killeth an elephant if he gets up into his trunk ; a scorpion is little, yet able to sting a lion to death ; though the leopard be great, yet he is poisoned with a head of garlic ; the least spark may consume the greatest house, and the least leak sink the greatest ship ; a whole arm hath been impostumated with the prick of a little finger ; a little postern opened may betray the greatest city ; a dram of poison diffuseth itself to all parts, till it strangle the vital spirits, and turn out the soul from the body. If the serpent can but wriggle in his tail by an evil thought, he will soon make a surprisal of the soul, as you see in that great instance of Adam and Eve. The trees of the forest, saith one in a parable, held a solemn parliament, wherein they consulted of the innumerable wrongs which the axe had done them, therefore made an act, that no tree should hereafter lend the axe an helve, on pain of being cut down. The axe travels up and down the forest, begs wood of the cedar, oak, ash, elm, even of the poplar ; not one would lend him a chip. At last he desired so much as would serve him to cut down the briars and bushes, alleging, that such shrubs as they did but suck away the juice of the ground, and hinder the growth, and obscure the glory of the fair and goodly trees ; hereupon they were all content to afford him so much : he pretends a thorough reformation, but behold a sad deformation, for when he had got his helve, down went both cedar, oak, ash, elm, and all that stood in his way.2 Such are the subtle reaches of sin ; it will promise to remove the briars, and business of afflictions
1 James iii. 5, 11 ; Prov. viii. 35 ; 1 John iii. 4 ; i. 7 ; Rev. xxi. 8. If you consider sin strictly, there cannot be any little sin, no more than there can be a little God, a little hell, or a little damnation ; yet comparatively some sins may be said to be little.
2 Thomas Adams. See Works, vol. ii. page 359, Sermon, ' The Bad Leaven.' Brooks amplifies the fable. — G.
324 THE MUTE CHRISTIAN [Ps. XXXIX. 9.
«iiid troubles, that hinder the soul of that juice, sweetness, comfort, de- light, and content that otherwise it might enjoy. Oh ! do but now yield a little to it, and instead of removing your troubles, it will cut down your peace, your hopes, your comforts, yea, it will cut down your precious soul. What is the breathing of a vein to the being let blood in the throat, or the scratch on the hand to a stab at the heart ? No more are the greatest afflictions to the least sins ; and therefore, Chris- tians, never use sinful shifts to shift yourselves out of troubles, but rather be mute and silent under them, till the Lord shall work out your deliverance from them. But,
(2.) Secondly, Consider it is an impossible thing for any to sin them- selves out of their troubles. Abraham, Job, and Jonah attempted it, but could not effect it. The devils have experienced this near this six thousand years ; they had not been now in chains, could they but have sinned themselves out of their chains. Could the damned sin them- selves out of everlasting burning, there would have been none now a-roaring in that devouring unquenchable fire, Isa. xxxiii. 14. Hell would have no inhabitants, could they but sin themselves out of it. Ah ! Christians, devils and damned spirits shall as soon sin themselves out of hell, as you shall be able to sin yourselves out of your afflictions. Christians ! you shall as soon stop the sun from running her course, contract the sea in a nut-shell, compass the earth with a span, and raise the dead at your pleasure, as ever you shall be able to sin yourselves out of your sufferings ; and therefore it is better to be silent and quiet under them, than to attempt that which is impossible to accomplish. This second consideration will receive further confirmation by the next particular ; —