Use. This should enforce a necessity of cleansing ourselves in the hlood of Christ ; that is, in the death^of Christ, who hath satisfied the justice of God. Our natures are so foul in regard of the guilt and stain, that the blood of God-man, that is, the satisfactory * death of God-man, was necessary to breed reconciliation and atonement between God and us. ' And the blood of Christ, which by the eternal Spirit offered himself, must purge our con- sciences,' &c., Heb. ix. 14. Our consciences will not otherwise be pacified and cleansed in regard of guilt, but will clamour and cry still, much less will God be appeased. Neither God nor conscience will be pacified, but by the blood of him who by the eternal Spirit ofi"cred up himself ; and then it will in regard of the guilt and stain, then God and conscience will both be appeased. Therefore in Zech. xiii. 1, ' There is a fountain opened for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in.' And ' The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin,' 1 John i. 7. Blood is of a defiling nature ; but the blood of Christ cleanseth because it is a satisfactory blood. He died, and was a sacrifice as a public person for us all.
Then again, considering that we are all defiled, besides this cleansing from the guilt of sin, let us get our natures cleansed by the Spirit of Christ more and more. We are all defiled.
Use. And take heed of those that are defiled; take heed of sinners. Who would willingly lie with a leprous person ? Yet notwithstanding, for matter of marriage and intimate society there is a littlef conscience made ; men con- verse with leprous company, they join in the most intimate society with those that are leprous in their judgments. The life of nature we know, and are careful to avoid what may impair it ; but it is a sign "we have not the life of grace begun in us, because we do not value it. If we had, we would be more careful to preserve it, and to take heed of contagious com- pany. Who would go to the pest-house, or to one that hath ' Lord, have mercy upon us ' on the door ? (a) None but a madman. He might do so. And surely those that join with swearers and drunkards and filthy persons, and go to filthy places and houses (as many do, the more shame for them), they think they have no souls nor no account to make, they go to these places and infect themselves. It is a sign they have no life of grace ; all * That is, = satisfaction-giving. — G. t Qu. ' little ' ? — Ed.
THE church's complaint AND CONFIDENCE. 19l
companies are alike to them. Is this strength of grace ? No. They have no life of grace, they have nothing to lose ; for if they had the life of grace, they would preserve it better.
Sin is a filthy thing, more filthy than the leprosy, nay, than the plague itself ; for the plague or leprosy makes but the body loathsome, but the sin that we cherish and are loath to hear of makes the soul loathsome. The one makes unfit for the company of men ; but the other, sin and corruption and lusts, unfit us for the kingdom of God, for heaven, for life or death. Therefore it is worse. The leprosy of the body makes a man not a whit odious to God ; but the leprosy of the soul makes us hateful to him. We may have more intimate communion with God in the plague than out of the plague, because God supplies the want of outward comforts ; but in sin we can have no comfortable communion and society with God. Therefore this plague of the soul is many ways worse than the pestilence. But we want faith. God hath not opened our eyes to see that that we shall see and know ere long, and it is happy if we consider it in time.
To conclude this point concerning the corruption of nature. Take David's course, Ps. ii. 1, seq. When sinful actions come from us, or unsavoury words, or beastly thoughts, or unchaste and noisome desires that grieve the Spirit of God, let us go to the fountain. Alas ! my nature is leprous as far as- it is not purged. * I was conceived in sin, my mother brought me forth in iniquity.' The more we take occasion every day to see and observe the corruption of our nature, the less it is, and we cannot better take occasion than upon every actual sin to run -to the fountain, the filthy puddle from whence all comes, and be more humble for that than for particular sins. It is a mistake in men ; they are ashamed of an action of injustice, &c., but they should go to their nature and think I have a false, unclean nature, whereby I am ready to commit a thousand such if God should let me alone. I have the spawn of all sin as far as the Spirit hath not subdued it. It is a defect of judgment to be more humbled for parti- cular sins. Nature is more tainted than any action. That sowing, breeding sin, as the apostle saith, it is worse than the action, it breeds the rest. So much for that. They confess here, ' We are all as an unclean thing ' in ourselves.