that he may be avenged on his bo.som lusts, on his complexion sins, which have put out his two eyes, which have so blinded him that he has not for a long time been able to see God, or Christ, or the things that belong to his external, internal, or eternal peace. The next of kin in the law was always the avenger of blood, and to him it appertained to hunt after the murderer, to bring upon his head the innocent blood that he had shed. If therefore we will shew ourselves brethren or sisters of Christ, or anything of kin unto him, we must even be the avengers of his blood upon bosom sins, upon complexion sins ; for for them as well as others was his blood shed. O sirs ! what bosom sin is there so sweet or profitable that is worth a-burning in hell for, or worth a-shutting out of heaven for ? Surely none. This a gracious soul seriously weighs, and accordingly he sets himself against the toad in his bosom, against his darling sins, against his complexion sins. But now, unsound hearts are very favourable to bosom sins, to complexion sins. They say of them, as Lot of Zoar, ' Is it not a little one, and my soul shall live f Gen. xix. 20. And as David once said concerning Absalom, 2 Sam. xviii. 5, ' Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom ;' ' beware that none touch the young man Absalom,' verse 12. ' And the king said. Is the young man Absalom safe f verse 29. An unsound heart is as fond of his bosom sins, of his complexion sins, as Jacob was of his Benjamin ; or as Jehu was of his calves ; or as Naaman was of his idol Rimmon ; or as Judas was of bearing the bag ; or as Herod was of his Herodias ; or as Demetrius was of his Diana ; or as the Pharisees were of devouring widows' houses, and of having the upper- most seats in the synagogues, and of being saluted in the market places with those glorious titles. Rabbi, rabbi. The besotted sinner is most engaged to his bosom sins, his complexion sins ; and therefore it is as bitter a thing as death for him to part with them. He had rather part with burnt-offerings and calves of a year old ; he had rather part with 'thousands of rams, and with ten thousand rivers of oil ; yea, he had rather part with his first-born, than with his bosom sin ; he is ready to give the fruit of his body for the sin of his soul,' Micah vi. 6. Let God frown or smile, stroke or strike, lift up or cast down, promise or threaten, yet he will hide and hold fast his bosom sin ; let God set life and death, heaven and hell, glory and misery before him, yet will he not part with his bosom sins ; let God wound his conscience, blow upon his estate, leave a blot upon his name, crack his credit, afi&ict his body, write death upon his relations, and be a Magor-missabih, a terror to his soul, yet will he not let go his darling sins, Jer. xx. 3, 4. An unsound heart will rather let God go, and Christ go, and heaven go, and all go, than he -will let his darling lusts go. But now a sound Christian, a throughout Chris- tian, he sets himself most against the Delilah in his bosom, against the Benjamin, the son, the sin of his right hand. A sincere Christian looks upon bosom sins, upon complexion sins, as the most God-provoking sins. There are no sins so provoking to God's jealousies and justice as bosom sins ; he looks upon bosom sins, complexion sins, as the most dangerous sins ; he looks upon bosom sins, complexion sins, as the worst thing in all the world ; he looks upon bosom sins, complexion sins, as more ugly and horrid than the devil himself, or than hell itself ; he looks upon bosom sins as the great make-baits between God and his soul, and
360 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. II.
between his conscience and Ms comfort, Isa. lix. 1, 2, Lamen. iii. 8, 44 ; he looks upon bosom sins as those enemies that have provoked God often to turn a deaf ear to all his prayers ; he looks upon his bosom sins as so many Judases that have often betrayed him into the hands of the devil ; he looks upon his bosom sins as the waters of Marah, that has embittered all his mercies; he looks upon his bosom sins as the only things that have often clouded the face of God ; he looks upon his bosom sins as dead flies in the box of precious ointment, that spoils all, and accordingly with all his might he sets himself against them. (1.) He fights most against these ; (2.) he weeps most over these ; (3.) he watches and arms most against these ; (4.) he prays most against these ; (5.) he resolves most against these ; and (6.) he lays the axe of repentance most to these, &c.
But pray sir, before you close up this chapter, lay down some sure and infallible evidences of the goodness, graciousness, and happiness of their estates and conditions, who are but weak in grace, who are but babes of grace, that so they may have their portion, satisfaction, support, and consolation as well as others.
Ans. I shall endeavour to do it, and therefore thus : VI. Sixthly, True desires of grace is grace, true desires after Christ, and grace, and holiness, is grace. He who does sincerely desire to believe, he does really believe ; and he that does sincerely desire to re- pent, he does really repent ; and he that does sincerely desire to obey the Lord, and to fear the Lord, and to serve the Lord, he does really obey the Lord, and fear the Lord, and serve the Lord.* It is the first step to grace, for a man to see his heart void of grace ; and it is the first degree of grace, for a man to desire grace. Mark, all true desires of grace have the very nature and truth of grace in them, as there is true fire in a spark as well as in a flame, and true water in a drop as well as in a stream, and true light in a beam as well as in the sun, and true gold in the very filings of gold as well as in the whole wedge of gold ; the least of anything partakes of the nature of the whole, Isa. Iv. 1, 2, Ixv. 1 ; John vii. 37. True desires of grace argues a state of grace and salvation : Ps. xxxviii. 9, ' Lord, thou knowest all my desires, my groan- ing is not hid from thee.' Mat. v. 6, ' Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled ;' or as the Greek runs, after the participle of the present tense, they that are hungering and thirsting ; intimating, that wherever this is the present disposition of men's souls, they are blessed: Rev. xxii. 17, 'And let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.' Sincere desires of grace are those holy seeds, those divine beginnings of grace in the soul, out of which grace springs and grows up to its mea- sure and perfection.^ O sirs ! look, as no man can sincerely seek God in vain, so no man can sincerely desire grace in vain. A man may love gold, yet not have it ; but no man loveth God, but is sure to have him. Wealth a man may desire, and yet be never the nearer for it ; but grace no man ever sincerely desired and missed it. And why ? it is God that hath wrought this desire in the heart, and he will never