The great Evil and Danger of Little Sins. 401 common Filth and Pollutions of the World; yet is it nor poffible but that our Garments lhould be fometimes fpocced? An abfolute and perfect Stare is rather ro be wiJhed for than enjoy'd in this Life: The btmofi th~t we can attain to here, is not to commit great Sins, n.or to allow our felves m l~ttle ~ins, when through daily Infirmity we do commu them. Why, now thefe lmfeSnu that the beft of G<>d s Servants daily and hourly flip into, cann~t be pardon' cl without ,he Blood of a great and mighty Saviour. le is the fame precious Blood of }efus Chrift that farisfied Divine Juftice, for the Inceft of Lot, for the Dr~mk.ennejs of ND_.b, for the Adultery and Murd(r of David, and for t~e Perjt!ry of Pet et·! that stauft fatisfie ic alfo for thy vain Thoughts, and for thy foolifh anti tdle Word,, tf ever .hou arc faved: For without Blood there i1 no remif{un, Heb. 9· 22. .And 'JVithout nmi.lfion thtre is nojatvatio'R, ACb 26. 18. Th~ flme B~ood.that is a Propitiation Heb. ' · and Atonement for the 'l,re:lteft Sins of the Samtsnow In Heaven, many where- 22. of poflibly have been as great as ever were committed on Earth ; the fame Afu 25. Blood of Atonement mufi take from thee the Guilt of thy vain Thought 1 , and 18 • of thy 1dle Word1, or thou mutt for ever perifh under them. Founhly, If there be {o great evil and dangu in little ~im, henCe fee then Ufe IV~ what caufe we have to bemoan and humble our felves before God, with Tears in our Eyes, and Sorrow in our Hearts, even for our little Sim. We lhould never approach befo re the Throne of Grace in Prayer, but b7fore the tlofe thereof we Jbould in Confellion mourn over and beg ftrength agamft thofe that the World eaUs, and we accountfma/1 Sin1. Indeed it is impoffible to 'onfefsthem all particularly; who can reckon upon the v «in Thoughts and idle Words of one Day,. without a whole Day's time to recount them: .Foe indeed we do littleelfe in the Day: And who then can reckon up the Vain Thou.g ors and idle W..rJJ that he is gui tty of in his whole Life, without livi!1g over his whol~ Life ,to recount them: When we have therefore confefied the more ob!ervable Failings of every Day, we c;mght to wrap up the refi in a. general, b~t }' Ct in a ferious and forrowful Acknowledgment. T hus you find Davttl did , Pfalm P • where you have him confeffi ng his two foul Si.ns of ~dultery and Murder.. It is true one would think he /hould have been fo Intent upon the begging of Pardon for chafe Sins, as chat he could not fparea Petition to ask Pardon for any other Sins : But yet though chefe were his great Sim, yet he knew himfelf guiliy of other Tranfgrellions befides, though of a lefs Nature; and therefore fie fums up all together, a,nd heartily begs pardon for them in the heap, 'tier, 9 • Hide thy fa er from my fins, and blot out all my Iniqnitits, And fo truly we ought in our daily Prayers to God, after particular C.:onfeffion of thofe Sins chat do more nearly touch and gra te upon our Confciences, to bind up the reft in one general Petition, and fo prefent them eo God for Pardon in fome fuch Iike manner as this: Lord m1 own Conjciwce condemns me, and thou art greattr than my Con{cience, and kmnvejl all tbinge; I have obferved much Sin and guilt by my felf this Day, 14nd thou who (earchejf the Heart and trjef! the ReinJ, knoweft far more by me than 1 do by my (elf; but whatever I know by my felf,orwhaceverthouknowefi by me, Lord do thou freely pardon and forgive it all unto me. Only here take hee(l that when you thus make your ~nfeffions of your.Jmall Sins.in general, you do noc alfo make them overtly, flightly, and fuperficially, wh1ch is the common Fault ?f chafe that confefs _Sin by the heap.. As many littl~ Sim of an ordinary lntirmiry, do equal the Gmlt of one great S'n: So truly when We thus every Day confefs many of them together, we ought to be deeply affeCted wirh true godly Sorrow, and a11 earneftly pray for the pardon of them, and as impor• tunacely beg p~:nver and firength againfi.rhem~with the fame Tears,Groans,and holy Shame,as 1f that Day we had cornmmed Jome more grofs and heinous Sin. When therefore in your Prayers you come to this Requeit, Lord, pardon me the Sins and Failings of this Day, think with your felf, now I ought to be as fervem, as affectionate and penitent, as if I were confeffing Drunlun 11efs or Murder; for pollibly the little Sim and Failings that I have committed this Day i( they were all of them put together, the Guilt of them may amount to be as gr~ac as o~e ?f thofe ~rtr{s Sin1. Now upof! fuch a general Confeffion and Humiliation as t~l~ ts, God 1ffues out a Pardo_n .1n courfe for our common and ordinary In• lirmmes, and by one ACt of Oblmon, blots out many ACts of Provocation. F fff There>
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=