But now graceless men are much more willing to be rid of their afflictions than to be rid of their sins. Witness Pharaoh, who cries out, Take away the frogs! see Exod. x. 17 : Exod. viii. 8, 'Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said. Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people ; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.' It is not. Entreat the Lord, that he would take away this proud heart, or this hard heart, or this besotted heart, or this blind mind, or this perverse will, or this benumbed conscience that is in me and my people ; but Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me and my people. A graceless heart is more abundantly willing to be freed from punish- ment, the effect of sin, than it is willing to be freed from sin, the cause of punishment. A gracious heart sees more filthiness in sin than iu frogs, and had rather be rid of his sins than of all the frogs or toads that be in the world. See what a sad spirit was upon the children of Israel, in that Num. xxi. 6, 7, ' And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people ; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said. We have sinned ; for . we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee : pray unto the
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Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.' ^ Now, mark, in the fifth verse you have them murmuring against God, and Moses, and divine dispensations, and nauseating of the wheat of heaven as light meat, because they came Hghtly by it ; they distrust the providence of God, they let fly at God ; their spirit swells against the Holy One of Israel, and they scorn, deride, revile, and contumeliously and despite- fully speak against Moses ; and though they had often smarted for these sins, yet they are at them again. Upon this, God sends an army of fiery serpents among them, and they bite and devour many of them. And now they run to Moses, who but a little before they had despised, and are very importunate with him to pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from them. They do not desire Moses to improve his interest in heaven, that God would take away their proud hearts, their distrustful hearts, their murmuring hearts, &c., but that God would take away the serpents ; they were much more desirous to be_ rid of their serpents than they were to be rid of their sins. So those in Jer. XXX. 15, ' Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity : because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.' They do not cry out of their sins, but they cry out of their afflictions. Why criest thou for thine afflic- tion ? Unsound hearts are more ready and willing to be rid of their afflictions than they are willing to have their souls bettered, or their lives mended, or their lusts subdued by them.
Pilate was unwilling to condemn Jesus ; witness his seeking to re- lease him, and his washing his hands, and his pleading his innocency, &c.. Mat. xxvii. 17, 18, 22-24 ; but yet the prevailing part of his will carried him forth to deliver up Jesus to be scourged and crucified, ver. 26. So Herod was unwilling to behead John Baptist ; witness that word, ' The king was exceeding sorry,' Mark vi. 26 ; but yet the pre- vailing part of his will carried him forth to cut off John s head, ver. 27, whose head was more worth than Herod's kingdom. So Darius was very unwilling to cast Daniel into the lions' den ; witness his being sore displeased with himself, and witness his setting his heart on Daniel to deliver him, and witness his great unquietness of spirit ; for he could neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep, the night after he was cast into the lion's den ; and witness his great joy at Daniel's safety, Dan. vi. 14, 18- 20 : all which did clearly argue a very great unwillingness that Daniel should suffer ; and yet the prevailing part of Darius, his will, carried him forth to sacrifice Daniel to the lions, yea, to that which was worse, viz. the lusts of his enemies, ver. 16, l7. By all these instances, it is most evident that the prevalent part of a wicked man's will stands most strongly biased towards sin ; but now the prevalent part of a Christian's will is to be rid of sin. If the Lord should say to a gracious Christian, Ask what thou wilt, O Christian, and it shall be granted to thee ; the answer would be : Lord, rid me of my sins ; Lord, take away mine iniquities ; Lord, mortify my corruptions ; Lord, whoever lives, let these lusts die ; Lord, drown these Egyptians in the sea of thy Son's blood, who have so violently and unweariedly pursued after the blood of my precious soul ; Lord, kill and crucify all tliese sinful evils that
* Heb. burning serpents. Thus they are called from the effect of their biting;, which caused a mortal burning, and consequently such an excessive thirst as killed them.
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have killed and crucified the Lord of life and glory ; ' Lord, wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin,' Ps. li. 2, 7 ; ' Lord, purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow ;' Lord, carnal reason, and flesh and blood, would t\iin have such and such pleasurable sins, and such and such profitable sins, indulged and spared ; but. Lord, the earnest, the ardent desires of my soul are, that I may be rid of them, and that justice to the height may be done upon them ; Lord, be but the death of my sins, and my soul shall say, ' My lot is fallen in a pleasant place,' and ' verily I have a goodly heritage ;' Lord, cleanse me but from all filthi- ness, both of flesh and spirit, and I shall cry, ' Hosanna' to thee. Mat. xxi. 9 ; Lord, let me but outlive my lusts, and follow them to the grave before others follow me to my grave, and I shall say it is enough, Ps. xvi. 6 ; 2 Cor. vii. 1. And thus every gracious soul is more willing to be rid of his sins than he is to keep his sins. A porter cannot be more wiUing to be rid of his burden, nor a sick man to be rid of his disease, nor a beggar of his nasty lousy rags, nor a prisoner of his chains, than a gracious soul is willing to be rid of his lusts, &c.