3. How just is God in appointing eternal punishment as the fruit and reward of sin ! Consider, first, it is an eternal God and an eternal happiness that is despised by the sinner; and for what base things, and for what a vile price do men hazard the favour of God, and forfeit the hopes of the life to come? Heb. xii. 16, 'Not a profane person, as Esau, who sold his birthright for a morsel of meat.' And they that despise eternal blessedness, can you blame God if they suffer eternal misery ? Secondly, So great is the force of sensual allurements, that nothing is fit to break our inclination to them but eternal punishment. The flesh is importunate, the satisfaction present and at hand ; but the pleasure is but for a season, and the torment is eternal, that is the great check given to the lusts of the flesh. Chrysostom represents the case by the instance of a soldier upon his watch, very inclinable to sleep, but threatened with a lingering and slow torture if he gave way to it. Now be the man never so much inclinable to sleep, yet the fear of the torture keepeth him waking. So doth God deal with us, he counter- balanceth present delights with eternal torments. Thirdly, It is a
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man's own choice ; it is offered to ns, whether upon this condition we will venture to sin : Prov. viii. 36, ' He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul ; all that hate me love death.' Simply uo man loveth death or chooseth evil ; not directly, but interpretatively and consequentially ; but they swallow the hook that will swallow the bait, especially after due warning to the contrary. God sets both before us, life and death, eternal life and eternal death ; and none can blame God for giving us our choice.
4. If all sin be so odious, how much more a life of sin ! Every sin is an act of rebellion against God, but the state of sin is a state of re- bellion against God ; therefore they that live in a course of worldliness, or sensuality, or enmity to godliness, and will not be reclaimed, are not only bare sinners, but impenitent sinners ; there is obstinacy and hardness of heart added to their obliquity and defection from the rule of right- eousness. Now to wander, and love to wander, and keep out of the way, must needs render us more culpable. Every act of sin hath so much sinfulness in it that it is an amazing thing to consider it; but when this is our course and trade of life, there are not only many multiplied acts, but the person is involved and entangled in the curse of the law, and all this sin shall at last be charged upon him to his just condemnation.
5. The necessity of entering into the gospel-covenant. Now this is done by repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1.] Kepentance towards God. Now repentance is a breaking off from the former course of sin : Isa. i. 16, 'Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil, learn to do well.' The law leaveth a man sinful, guilty, disobed- ient, both by nature and by practice obnoxious to the wrath and curse of God. This course must be broken off if we will be saved. By the law is the knowledge of sin, both quoad naturam peccati, and inlicer- entiam subjecti, Kom. iii. 20, both what is sin, and who is the sinner. It worketh wrath, Rom. iv. 15 ; since the fall it doth condemn us ; it can never acquit us ; it doth convince of sin, and bind us over to death. Now out of this wretched estate we should come betimes : Dan. iv. 27, ' Wherefore, 0 king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee ; break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor.' He was a great oppressor, therefore Daniel preacheth righteous- ness and mercy to him. The true penitent sets himself against his former reigning sins, and alters the course of his former life. Sins of youth are dangerous, and may stick by us long after they are com- mitted : Job xiii. 7, ' Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me possess the sins of my youth ; ' and Ps. xxv. 7, ' Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.' An old bruise may be felt a long time afterwards.
[2.] Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to take away sin. We need both his renewing and reconciling grace to procure our par- don and heal our natures. To procure our pardon ; for sin is a greater evil than we can easily imagine, and therefore we should be more affec- ted with the pardon which Christ purchased for us, and in the cove- nant doth apply to us, Ps. xxxii. 1, 2. The necessity also of his renew- ing grace, or the gift of the sanctifying Spirit merited by Christ, Titus iii. 5, 6, that we may be prepared to obey God for the future, and to avoid so jrreat an evil as sin is.