5. It is a contempt of God's holiness and purity, as if he were indif- ferent to good and evil, and stood not upon his law, whether men broke it or kept it, and would not call them to an account, and judge them for it. Whereas God standeth punctually and precisely upon his law ; the least point is dearer unto him than all the world in some sense : Mat. v. 18, ' But not one jot or tittle of the law shall pass away.' God maketh great reckoning of it, but we make little reckoning of it when we do so freely break it. He hath given a law to be kept to a tittle, and we break it in every tittle. God hath been peremptory and precise, and showed himself a holy and jealous God when it hath been broken in a small and inconsiderable circumstance, as we would think. Wit-
VeR. 4.] SERMONS UPON 1 JOHN III. 503
ness the breach made upon Uzzah, and upon the men of Bethshemesh, 1 Sam. vi. 19 ; a poor man that gathered sticks on the sabbath-day was struck dead ; the turning of Lot's wife into a pillar of salt ; the striking of Zacharias, John's father, dumb ; the hindering Moses from entering into Canaan, for smiting the rock twice. And after all this, we think we may venture, and no harm will come of it. Surely we cannot be* too tender of the law. "We are bidden to keep it as the apple of the eye, Prov. vii. 2. The eye is a tender place, and is offended with the least dust ; now as we would be chary of the eye, so should we be of the law of God.
6. It is a denial of the goodness of God, as if he were envious of the happiness and welfare of mankind, as if he had planted in us desires which he would not have satisfied, only to vex and torment us, and had fettered us and restrained us unreasonably, and his commands were grievous, and his yoke intolerable ; yea, ensnared us by keeping us from that which is good and comfortable for us. The devil inspired this thought into our first parents, in the first sin that ever was com- mitted. And the first in every kind is the measure of all the rest, Gen. iii. 4, 5. Is God so kind, and yet deals unkindly with man, to put him into a garden, and plant trees on purpose to anger him ; that he might have that continually in his eye which he might not enjoy ; to deny him the use of that fruit which only had the virtue to make him truly happy ? These were the insinuations of Satan, by which he undermineth their obedience. You see his battery is against God's goodness and kindness to man, which he endeavoureth to discredit, and make man doubt of, by all the ways he can; so still the same thing is implied in every sin, that God is envious, and therefore we are impatient of his restraints. Though but one tree reserved, Satan thinketh this a fit occasion of raising a jealousy, as if that which he had withheld from man had been far better than that which he granted to him. If he prevailed so much upon our first parents in their estate of innocency, no marvel if he prevails so easily upon their posterity in this state of corruption. We are too impatient of his yoke : Ps. ii. 4, • Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us ; ' 1 And the carnal mind is enmity to the law,' Horn. viii. 7. They can- not endure to have their liberty infringed, and to resign up their wills to the will of God, though he requireth nothing but for our good, Deut. vi. 24. And therefore his sovereignty should not be disclaimed by man, nor the exercise of it be grievous to him. Men would fain cast away bonds and cords, as if the crossing of their humours were an infringing of their happiness.
7. It is a depreciation and contempt of God's glorious majesty. What else shall we make of a plain contest with him, and a flat con- tradiction to his holy will ? for while we make our carnal and depraved will the rule and guide of our actions against God's holy will, we plainly contend with him, whose will shall stand, his or ours, and so cast off God's authority, and seek to jostle him out of his throne ; we pluck the crown off his head, and the sceptre out of his hands, usurping his authority, and so slight the eternal power of this glorious king, as if he were not able to avenge the wrongs done to his majesty, but that we could make our part good against him : 1 Cor. x. 22, ' Do we pro-
504 SERMONS UFON 1 JOHN III. [SeR. VII.
voke the Lord to jealousy ? are we stronger than he ? ' Isa. xlv. 9, ' Woe unto him that striveth with his maker.' Such a perfect dis- agreement with the almighty and holy God argueth an entering into the lists with him, as if we could carry our cause, or endure his greatest terrors. And will God be despised by man who is a worm, who is nothing but what God maketh him to be ? Shall a silly worm dare enter into a contest with the almighty God, who can chastise him, and do justice upon him in a moment? For still the world is upheld by his providential influence and sustentation. We may escape men, either get out of their reach, or else outlive their wrath ; but who can fly from God ? Ps. cxxxix., and ' it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,' Heb. x. 31. We should think of these things. We carry it so as if we had courage and strength enough to withstand God's judgments : Ezek. xxii. 14, ' Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong in the days that I shall deal with thee ? '