[4.] Fourthly, When men ordinarily, habitually, do yield a quiet, free, willing, and total subjection to the authority and commands of sin, then sin is indulged. That man that is wholly addicted and devoted to the service of sin, that man indulges sin. Now in none of these senses does any godly man indulge any one sin in his soul. Though sin lives in him, yet he doth not live in sin. Every man that hath drink in him is not in drink. A child of God may slip into a sin, as a sheep may slip into the mire, but he does not, nor cannot wallow in sin as the swine does in the mire, nor yet keep on in a road of sin, as sinners do : Ps. cxxxix. 24, ' See if there be any way of wickedness in me.' A course, a trade of sin is not consistent with the truth or state of grace : Job x. 7, ' Thou knowest that I am not wicked.' He doth not say, Thou knowest that I am not a sinner, or thou knowest that I have not sinned. No ! for the best of saints are sinners, though the worst and weakest of saints are not wicked. Every real Christian is a renewed Christian, and every renewed Christian takes his denomina- tion from his renovation, and not from the remainders of corruptions in him ; and therefore such a one may well look God in the face and
18 SERIOUS AND WEIGHTY QUESTIONS
say, ' Lord thou knowest that I am not wicked ; ' weaknesses are chargeable upon me, but wickednesses are not chargeable upon me. And certainly that man gives a strong demonstration of his own up- rightness, who dares appeal to God himself that he is not wicked.
That no godly man does, or can indulge himself in any course or way or trade of sin, may be thus made evident.
[1.] First, He sins not with allowance. When he does evil, he disallows of the evil he does : Kom. vii. 15, ' For that which I do, I allow not.' A Christian is sometimes wherried ^ and whuled away by sin before he is aware, or hath time to consider of it. See Ps. cxix. 1, 3 ; 1 John iii. 9 ; Prov. xvi. 12.
[2.] Secondly, A godly man hates all known sin: Ps. cxix. 128, * I hate every false way.' True hatred is tt/jo? ra jevrj, against the whole kind. That contrariety to sin which is in a real Christian, springs from an inward gracious nature or principle, and so is to the whole species or kind of sin, and is irreconcileable to any sin what- soever. As contrarieties of nature are to the whole kind, as light is contrary to all darkness, and fire to all water ; so this contrariety to all sin arising from the inward man, is universal to all sin. He who hates a toad because it is a toad, hates every toad ; and he who hates a godly man because he is godly, he hates every godly man ; and so he who hates sin because it is sin, he hates every sin : Kom. vii. 15, ' What I hate, that do I.'
[3.] Thirdly, Every godly man would fain Jmve his sins not only pardoned hut destroyed. His heart is alienated from his sius, and therefore nothing will serve him or satisfy him but the blood and death of his sins, Isa. ii. 20, and xxx, 22 ; Hosea xiv. 8 ; Eom. viii. 24. Saul hated David, and sought his life ; and Haman hated Mordecai, and sought his destruction ; and Absalom hated Amnon, and killed him ; Julian the apostate hated the Christians, and put many thou- sands of them to death. The great thing that a Christian has in his eye, in all the duties he performs, and in all the ordinances that he attends, is the blood and death and ruin of his sins.
[4.] Fourthly, Every godly man groans under the hurden of sin : 2 Cor. V. 4, ' For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened.' Never did any porter groan more to be delivered from his heavy burden, than a Christian groans to be delivered from the burden of sin. The burden of afiliction, the burden of temptation, the burden of desertion, the burden of opposition, the burden of persecution, the burden of scorn and contempt, is nothing to the burden of sin. Ponder upon that Ps. xxxviii. 4, and xl. 12 ; Eom. vii. 24.
_ [5.] Fifthly, Every godly man combats and conflicts ivith all known sin. In every gracious soul there is a constant and perpetual conflict. ' The flesh will be still a-lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh,' Gal. v. 17 ; Eom. vii. 22, 23 ; 1 Kings xiv. 30, 31. Though sin and g^-ace were not born together, and though sin and grace shall never die together, yet whiles a believer lives in this world, they must ive together; and whilst sin and grace do co- habit together, they wiU still be opposing and conflicting one with another.
^ ' Tos83d • as in a ' wherrv.'— G.
CLEARLY AND SATISFACTORILY ANSWERED. 19
[6.] Sixthly, Every gracious heart is still a-crying out against his sins. He cries out to God to subdue them ; he cries out to Christ to crucify them ; he cries out to the Spirit to mortify them ; he cries out to faithful ministers to arm him against them ; and he cries out to sincere Christians, that they would pray hard that he may be made victorious over them. Now certainly it is a most sure sign that sin has not gained a man's heart, a man's love, nor his consent, but com- mitted a rape upon his soul, when he cries out bitterly against his sin. It is observable, that if the ravished virgin, under the law, cried out, she was guiltless, Deut. xxii. 25-27. Certainly such as cry out of their sins, and that would not for all the world indulge themselves in a way of sin, such are guiltless before the Lord. That which a Christian does not indulge himself in, that he does not do in divine account. But,
[7.] Seventhly, Tlie fixed purposes and designs of a godly man, is not to sin : Ps. xvii. 3, ' I am purposed that my mouth shall not trans- gress,' that is, I have laid my design so as not to sin. Though I may have many particular failings, yet my general purpose is not to sin : Ps. xxxix. 1, ' I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue ; I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.' Whenever a godly man sins, he sins against the general purpose of his soul. David laid a law upon his tongue. He uses three words in the first and second verses to the same purpose, which is as if he should say in plain English, ' I was silent, I was silent, I was silent ; ' and all this to express how he kept in his passion, that he might not offend with his tongue. Though a godly man sins, yet he doth not purpose to sin, for his purposes are fixed against sin. Holiness is his highway; and as sin is itseK a byway, so it is besides his way. The honest traveller purposes to keep straight on his way ; so that if at any time he miss his way, he misses his purpose. Though Peter denied Christ, yet he did not purpose to deny Christ ; yea, the settled purpose of his soul was rather to die with Christ than to deny Christ : Mat. xxvi. 35, ' Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.' Interpreters agree that Peter meant as he speaks. But,