[6.] Sixthly, He that abstains from sin, he whose heart rises against sin, he that sets himself against sin, because of the evil nature of sin, because of that vileness and Jilthiness that is in sin, he certai)ily has a pHnciple of grace, a seed of God in him. He who refrains from sin, and whose heart rises more against sin, because of the purity of the law which forbids sin, than because of the severity of the law which con- demns sin, is certainly under the power of renewing grace, of saving grace : Ps. cxix. 140, ' Thy word is very pure, therefore thy servant
816 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. IT.
loveth it' It is only pure grace that can enable a man to love the word for its purity.^ The apostle, to set forth the formidable evil that is in sin, expresses it thus, Kom. vii. 1 3, ' That sin might appear to be sin.' He could find nothing more evil and odious to express it by than itself Sin is so great an evil, that it cannot have a worse epithet given it. Paul can call it no worse than by its own name, sinful sin. Had the apostle said that sin might appear to be a snare, a serpent, a viper, a toad, a plague, a devil, a hell, &c., he had said much, but yet not enough to set forth the transcendent evil that is in sin, and therefore he calls it sinful sin. All other evils are but outward, they only reach the name, the body, the estate, the life, but sin is an inward evil, a spiritual evil, an evil that reaches the precious and immortal soul, and therefore is the greatest evil. Death puts an end to all other troubles, viz., poverty, sickness, disgrace, scorn, contempt, crosses, losses, &c. ; but sin is so great an evil, that death itself cannot put an end to it ; eter- nity itself shall never put a stop, a period, to this evil of evils. All out- ward evils can never make a man the subject of God's wrath and hatred. A man may be poor, and yet precious in the eyes of God ; he may be greatly abhorred by the world, and yet highly honoured by God ; he may be debased by men, and yet exalted by God, But now sin is so great an evil, that it subjects the sinner's soul to the wrath and hatred of God. All other evils do but strike at a man's present well-being, but sin strikes at a man's eternal well-being ; all other evils can never hinder a man's communion with God. A man may have communion with God in poverty, in sickness, in prison, in banishment ; but sin is so great an evil, that it interrupts communion with God, it cuts off communion with God. All outward evils are God's creatures : * Is there any evil in the city that the Lord hath not done V But sin is the devil's creature,! it is a brat of his own begetting ; yea, it is worse than the devil, it is that which has turned glorious angels into infernal devils. All other evils do not fight against the greatest good, but sin is that grand evil that fights against the greatest good ; it fights against the being of God, the essence of God, the glory of God. Peccatum est Deicidiuni, sin is a killing of God, it is a murdering of God. Sin is a universal evil, it is all evil, it is nothing but evil ; there is not one drop, one spark of good to be found in any sin, but now in all outward evils there is some good ; there is some good in poverty, in sickness, in war, in death, but there is not the least good in sin. Sin is the sole object of God's hatred ; he hates nothing but sin ; he is angry with nothing but sin ; he has forbid nothing but sin ; he has revealed his wrath from heaven against nothing but sin ; so great an evil is sin. Sin is that grand evil that has midwived all other evils into the world. It was sin that drowned the old world with water ; it was sin that destroyed Sodom with fire and brimstone ; it was sin that laid Jeru- salem in heaps ; it was sin that lias midwived sword, famine, and pestilence into the world ; it was sin that laid the foundation of hell,
' 2 Cor. vii. 1. I have read of the ermine, that she will rather die than be got into the dirt to defile her beautiful skin. And rather tlian Joseph will defile his beoutiful Boul by defiling his master's bed, ho will to a dirty dungeon. Ho had rather that the irons should enter into his soul, Ps. cv. 18, than that sin should enter into his con- science. He had rather that his chains should eat into his flesh, than that sin should pollute his soul. Isa. lix. 1,2; Amos iii. C ; Acts v. 39.
Chap. II. ] a cabinet of jewels. 317