1. Boldness in sinning. When men begin to lose their tenderness and strictness, have not such a deep awe upon their hearts, but let loose the reins, and allow themselves to sin freely in thought, sometimes foully in word and act, the heart is not watched, the tongue is not bridled, nor the life regulated with that circumspection and care which becometh saints — the heart is suffered to remain full of envy, pride, and worldliness, and other evil affections ; the tongue overfloweth with
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idle, if not rotten and unsavoury speeches. In their lives men become vain and careless, more bold and venturous upon temptations and snares. Certainly then men grow weary of the restraints of religion; while they have any love to God, they have a lively hatred of sin, Ps. xcvii. 10. They deny the motions of sin with more resolution ; bewail the commission of it with more tenderness, Luke vii. 47 ; yea, bemoan themselves because of the relics of corruption, Kom. vii. 24. But when men lose their conscientious tenderness, wallow in sin without remorse, cast off their former strictness, not their fond scrupulosity, and enlarge themselves to all manner of vanity, they are grown weary of that exact- ness which religion calleth for.
2. More coldness in duties of worship. Either it is omitted, or per- formed perfunctorily, and in a careless, stupid manner. (1.) It is less frequent, as if they could live without God, Jer. ii. 31, 32, Job xxvii. 10 ; and need not such frequent converse with him, scarce keep an holy acquaintance. Usually this evil groweth upon us by degrees ; as the glory of the Lord in Ezekiel did remove not all at once, but by certain steps, from the holy place, the altar of burnt-offering, the outward court, the city, then rested on one of the hills which encompassed the city, as loath to be gone. So men grow cold towards God by degrees. God is first cast out of the heart, then out of the closet, then out of the family, then more indifferent to public duties ; then sin begins to manifest itself, till the sinner appear in his own colours. Therefore observe how this weariness and satiety grows upon you, when you sel- dom think or speak of God, Ps. x. 3, seldom converse with him, grow more strange to him, begin less to love and prize the ordinances and means of grace. God is neglected ; you have no mind to meet with him, as formerly you had. Ps. Ixiii. 2, David prayeth, ' That I may see thee, as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.' (2.) When there is less complacency and seriousness in worship. It is more tedious and irk- some, and we do not keep up a delightful communion with him, neither in the word nor prayer, nor is meditation of God so sweet as it was wont to be, but more grievous and troublesome. The word was the solace of your souls, ' sweeter than honey or the honeycomb,' Ps. cxix. 103 ; but now you are gospel-glutted and Christ-glutted ; manna loseth its relish with you ; prayer is looked upon as a task and a pen- ance, rather than a privilege. The throne of grace, which was the porch of heaven, is now neglected ; and though you were glad to meet together and call upon the name of God, now it is an heavy bondage to be tied to accustomed opportunities of meeting with God. You could say, as David, Ps. civ. 34, ' My meditation of him shall be sweet ; I will rejoice in the Lord.' Now thoughts of God rush into the mind like unwelcome guests ; you like not to retain them in your minds.
3. Less care and study to please God. Surely they who value and esteem his favour above all things make it their business and work to please him. Col. i. 10, Isa. Ivi. 4, 1 Thes. iv. 1, 2 Cor. v. 9. Now when it is a more indifferent thing to you whether God be pleased or dis- pleased, this is not so greatly minded ; onr intention is less sincere, and we more mind the pleasing of ourselves and the pleasing of men. We are grown weary of him. They that keep up that high esteem of him can be content to do anything and suffer anything rather than dis-
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please God and lose his favour. His love is their life, his displeasure as formidable as death itself to them, Gen. xxxix, 9. So also they are willing to suffer anything, Phil. iii. 8-10.
Fiftlily, What a sad estate of soul it is appeareth — (1.) By the lieinousness of the sin ; (2.) Terribleness of the judgment.
1. The heinousness of the sin.
[1.] It is an horrible contempt of God, after trial, to fall off from God, and return to our carnal pleasures and satisfactions again. Those that never chose him sin less than those that grow weary of him after choice ; for the apostle saith, 2 Peter ii. 21, ' Better they had never known the way of righteousness.' For they do in effect pronounce, after some trial and experience, that the world is better than God, or proclaim to the world that there is not in God what they expected in him.