peace, comfort, and assurance of the soul. Satan will strive to enter in at the same door ; and by the same Delilah, by which he hath be- trayed and wounded the soul, he will do all he can to do the soul a further mischief. Satan will be still a-reminding of the soul of those former sweets, pleasures, profits, delights, and contents that have come in upon the old score, so that it wiU be a hard thing, even for a godly man, to keep himself from his iniquity, from his special or peculiar sin, which the fathers commonly call, though not truly, peccatum in deliciis, a man's special darling and beloved sin. Well, Christians, remember this once for all, viz., that sound conversion includes a noble and serious revenge upon that sin which was once a man's be- loved, bosom, darling sin: 2 Cor. vii. 11, ' Yea, what clearing of your- selves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge.' You see this in Cranmer, who when he had subscribed with his right hand to that which was against his conscience, he afterwards, as a holy revenge, put that right hand into the flames ; so Mary Magdalene takes that hair of hers. Of all sins, saith the sound convert, I am resolved to be avenged on my once beloved, bosom, darling sins, by which I have most dishonoured God, and wronged my own precious and immortal soul, and by which I have most endangered my everlasting estate.
Having thus cleared up my way, I shall now endeavour to lay before you some special remedies, means, or helps against cherishing or keep- ing up of any special or peculiar sin, either in heart or life, against the Lord, or against the light and conviction of a man's own con- science.
1. First, Cherishing or keeping up of any special or peculiar sin, either in heart or life, against the Lord, or against the light and conviction of a man's own conscience, will hinder assurance these several ways : —
[1.] First, It tvill abate the degrees of our graces, and so make them more undiscemible. Now grace rather in its degrees than in its sincerity, or simple being only, is that which gives the clearest evi- dence of a gracious estate, or of a man's interest in Christ. Sin, lived in, is like a vermin to the tree, which destroys the fruit. Grace can- not thrive in a sinful heart. In some soil, plants will not grow. The cherishing of sin is the withering of grace. The casting of a favour- able eye on any one special sin hinders the growth of grace. If a man has a choice plant or flower in his garden, and it withers and shrivels and is dying, he opens the ground and looks at the root, and there finds a worm gnawing the root ; and this is the cause of the flower's fading : the application is easy.
[2.] Secondly, The cherishing of any special peculiar sin, or the keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, and against the light of a man's own conscience, ivill hinder the lively actings and exercise of grace; it will keep grace at an under, so that it wiU hardly be seen to stir or act • yea, it will keep grace so down that it will hardly be heard to speak. When a special or peculiar sin is entertained, it will exceedingly mar the vigorous exercises of those graces which are the evidences of a lively faith, and of a gracious state» and of a man's interest in Christ. Grace is never apparent and sensible to the soul, but while it is in action ; therefore want of action
34 SEKIOUS AND WEIGHTY QUESTIONS
must needs cause want of assurance. Habits are not felt immediately but by the freeness and facility of their acts ; of the very being of the goul itself, nothing is felt or perceived, but only its acts. The tire that lieth still in the flint, is neither seen nor felt ; but when you smite it and force it into act, it is easily discernible. For the most part, so long as a Christian hath his graces in lively action, so long he is assured of them. He that would be assured that this sacred fire of grace is in his heart, he must blow it up and get it into a flame. But,
[3.] Thirdly, The cherishing of any special sin, or the keeping up of any known transgression in heart or life against the Lord and against the light of a man's own conscience, so blears, dims, and darkeTis the eye of the soul, that it cannot see its own condition, nor have any clear knowledge of its gracious state, or of its intey^est in 'Christ, &c. Some- times men in riding raise such a dust that they can neither see them- selves nor their dearest friends, so as to distinguish one from another : the application is easy. The room sometimes is so full of smoke that a man cannot see the jewels, the treasures that lie before him ; so it is here. But,
[4.] Fourthly, Cherishing of any special or peculiar sin, or the keep- ing up of any known transgression against the Lord or against the light of a man's own conscience, provokes the Lord to ivithdraiv him- self, his comforts, and the gracious presence and assistance of his blessed Spirit; without which presence and assistance the soul may search and seek long enough for assurance, comfort, and a sight of a man's interest in Christ, before it will enjoy the one or see the other. If by keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, you set the Holy Spirit a-mourning, which alone can comfort you, and assure you of your interest in Christ, you may walk long enough with- out comfort and assurance, Lam i. 16. ' The Comforter that should relieve my soul, is far from me ;' so in that 1 John iii. 21, it is sup- posed that a self-condemning heart makes void a man's confidence before God. The precious jewel of faith can be holden in no other place, but in a pure conscience ; that is the only royal palace wherein it must and will dwell : 1 Tim. i. 19, ' Holding faith and a good con- science:' BBh. X. 22, 'Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.' He_ that comes to God with a true, honest, upright heart, being sprinkled from an evil conscience, may draw near to God in full assurance of faith ; whereas guilt clouds, clogs, and distracts the soul, that it can never be with God, either as it would or as it should. Conscientia pura semper secura, a good conscience hath sure confi- dence. Conscience is mille testes, a thousand witnesses for or against a man. Conscience is God's preacher in the bosom. It is better, with Eyagrius, to lie secure on a bed of straw, than to have a turbulent con- science on a bed of down. It was a divine saying of Seneca, a heathen, viz., ' That if there were no God to punish him, no devil to toi-ment him, no hell to burn him, no man to see him ; yet would he not sin, for the ugliness of sin, and the grief of his own conscience.' But,
[5.] Fifthly, Cherishing of any special or peculiar sin, or the keep- ing up of any known transgression, in heart or life, against the Lord,
CLEARLY AND SATISFACTORILY ANSWERED. 35