their darling sins, and therefore what iniquity is it to account and call them hypocrites, deceivers, dissemblers, that pretend they have a great deal of love to Grod, and love to Christ, and love to his word, and love to his ways ? and yet for all this they have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins. Surely these men's hearts are not right with God : with much more to the same purpose.
[4.] Fourthly, If Christ he really the saints' beloved, then sin is not their beloved. But Christ is the saints' beloved, as I have formerly clearly proved ; and therefore sin is not the beloved. A man may as well serve two masters, as have two beloveds — viz., a beloved Christ and a beloved lust.
[5.] Fifthly, Those supernatural graces or those divine qualities that are in/used into the soul at first conversion, are contrary to all sin, and opposite to all sin, and engages the heart against all sin ; and therefore a converted person can have no beloved sin, no bosom sin, no darling sin. Seriously weigh this argument.
[6.] Sixthly, This opinion may fill many weak Christians with many needless fears, doubts, and jealousies about their spiritual and eternal conditions. Weak Christians are very apt to reason thus : Surely my conversion is not sound ; my spiritual estate is not good ; my heart is not right with God ; a saving work has never yet passed upon me in jx)wer ; I fear I have not the root of the matter in me ; I fear I have never had a thorough change ; I fear I have never yet been effectually called out of darkness into his marvellous light ; I fear I have never yet been espoused to Christ ; I fear the Spirit of God hath never taken up my heart for his habitation ; I fear that after all my high profession I shall at last be found a hypocrite ; I fear the execution of that dreadful sentence. Mat. xxv. 41, 'Go ye cursed,' &c. And why all this ? 0 poor soul answer [not] i because I carry about with me my beloved sins, my bosom sins, my darling sins. Ministers had need be very wary in their preaching and writing, that they don't bring forth fuel to feed the fears and doubts of weak Christians, it being a great part of their work to arm weak Christians against their fears and faintings. But,
[7.] Seventhly, This opinion that is now under consideration, is an opinion that is very repugnant to sound and sincere repentance ; for sound, sincere repentance includes and takes in a divorce, an aliena- tion, a detestatijon, a separation, and a turning from all sin, without exception or reservation. One of the first works of the Spirit upon the soul, is the dividing between all known sin and the soul ; it is a making an utter breach betwixt all sin and the soul ; it is a dissolving of that old league that has been between a sinner and his sins, yea, between a sinner and his beloved lusts. One of the first works of the Spirit is to make a man to look upon all his sins as enemies, yea, as his greatest enemies, and to deal with his sins as enemies, and to hate and loathe them as enemies, and to fear them as enemies, and to arm against them as enemies. Seriously ponder upon these scriptures, Ezek. xviii. 28, 30, 31 ; Ezek. vi. ; 2 Cor. vii. 1 ; Ps. cxix. 101, 104,
^ The ' uot,' which I place in parenthesis, seems to have been dropped out, inasmuch as Brooks is arguing against any such answer.— G.
26 SERIOUS AND WEIGHTY QUESTIONS
128. _ True repentance is a turning from all sin, without any re- servation or exception. He never truly repented of any sin, whose heart is not turned against every sin. The true penitent casts' off all the rags of old Adam ; he is for throwing down every stone of the old building ; he will not leave a horn nor a hoof behind. The rea- sons of turning from sin are universally binding to a penitent soul. There are the same reasons and grounds for a penitent man s turnino^ from every sin, as there is for his turning from any one sin. Do you turn from this or that sin because the Lord has forbid it ? Why ! upon the same ground you must turn from every sin ; for God has forbid every sin as well as this or that particular sin. There is the same authority forbidding or commanding in all ; and if the authority ot God awes a man from one sin, it will awe him from all. He that turns from any one sin, because it is a transgression of the holy and righteous law of God, he will turn from every sin upon the same ac- count. He that turns from any one sin because it is a dishonour to God, a reproach to Christ, a grief to the Spirit, a wound to religion &c., will upon the same grounds turn from every sin. '
Quest. But luherein does a true penitential turning from all sin consist? Ans. In these six things; —
First, In the alienation and inivard aversation and dratvinq off of the soul from the love and liking of all sin, and from all free and voluntarij subjection unto sin, the heart being filled with a loathino- and detestation of all sin, [Ps. cxix. 104, 128,] as that which is most contrary to all goodness and happiness.
Secondly, In the zmll's detestation and hatred of all sin When the very bent and inclination of the will is set against all sin, and op- poses and crosses all sin, and is set upon the ruin and destruction of ail sm, then the penitent is turned from all sin Rom vii 15 19 21 23; Isa XXX. 22; Hosea xiv. 8, When the will stands upon such terms o defiance with all sin, as that it will never enter into a league of friendship with any sm, then is the soul turned from every sin
Ihirdly In the judgments turning away from all sin, by disap- proving, disallowing, and condemnirig all sin Rom vii 15 Oh ! saith the judgment of a Christian, sin is the greatest evil' in all the world ; it is the only thing God abhors, and that brought Jesus Christ to the cross, that damns souls, that shuts heaven, and that has laid the foundations of hell ! Oh ! it is the pricking thorn in my eye, the deadly arrow m my side, the two-edged sword that hath wounded mv conscience and slain my comforts, and separated between God and my soul. Oh ! sin is that which hath hindered my prayers, and imbittered my mercies, and put a sting into all my crosses ; and therefore I can't but disapprove of it, and disallow of it, and condemn it to death yea to hell, from whence it came. " w >
Fourthly, In the purpose and resolution of the soul; the soul sin- cerely purposing and resolving never willingly, wilfully or wickedlv
fll^iTif? T"T'/f ""^- '• ^^^ S-^'^1 purpose and res^ tion of my heart is not to transgress. Though particular failings may attend me, yet my resolutions and purposes are firmly set Sgainst
.3 fT ' ?'lf ^""'V; ^^' true penitent holds up his purposes and resolutions to keep off from sm, and to keep close with God, though he
CLEARLt AND SATISFACTORILY ANSWERED. 27
be not able in everything and at all times to make good his purposes and resolutions, &c. But,