The great Evil and Danger of Little Sins. way to know whether our Confcieilces begin to grow dead and fiupid, than to obfervc what impreffions [malt Sim make upon them. If w~ are not very careful eo avoid all appearance of Evil, and to fhun whatfoevei looks like Sin; if we are not as much troubled at the vanity of our Thoughts and Words, at the riling up of !inful motions and defires in us, as we haVe been formerly; we may rhen conclude our Hearts ate hardned, and our Confciences ate fiupified; for a render Confcience will no more allow of /mall than of great Si1u, Secondly, Lnbo11r ahvap to keep ,:/i7.J~ ~pan your Hem'!! a.wful a~d reverent Thought I ofGod hi! Omniprefence and Omni}cunce; That there 15 no Sm fo fmall but he knows ir, though but a Sin in our Thoughts, ye~ e:uery _Though~ of ?ur Hearts iJ altogether kno1J.munto him. Call toremerp.brance h1s mfimte Punty and Holinefs whereby he hates every little Sin, evc;n with an infinite hatred as ~wel_l as the greaceft. Think of his Power whereby he can, and of his Truth,Juftice and Severity whereby he will punifh every little Siu with no lefs than Eternal Deftrucl:ion: And whilft you dms think of God, indulge .;:}'Our felves in little Sins if you can. The Pjalmift gives this very~'Pired:ion, Pf.· 4· ·+ Star~d in awe r.nd Sin not, that is, ·of the infinite glorious Majefiy of God. Have awful Thoughts and reverential Apprehenfions of Gdd abidi~g' u_pon your Hearts, and chaf wi11 keep you from finning: Stand in awe antl fin not. To look upon Sin through the Attributes of God, is to look upon it thfough a Magnifying Glafs ani! thus you may be;fi fee its ugly deformed Nature ; this is the beft ~ay eo reprefem the infinite guilt' that IS in it, and that contrariety that it bears to the Holy Nature of God. _And while ;you th~s fee Sin, comparing it with God, even the leaft Sin muft·appear heinous: And w{16nyou are Tempted to any Sin, wh!le you thu~ think, Y?u may repel_a Te~ptation as .Jofepb did ~is Gen. lf· Miftreji, How {hat/ I do thu grelit 1urckednejt andSm ngam{t God? :The World m., 9· deed councs it bur a little Sin, lfut looki_ng upon ic, and comparing it with the ' Holine!S and Purity of God, we muft cry out, How fhall We cOmmit this Sin, though accounted little by others, and fO provoke a great and holy God-? Thirdly, Get a more thorough acqUaintance 1vith the Spiritual {enfe and mcanin_g ef the Law. This was rhccaufe why the Pharifee did fo flight the commiffion of fmall ~im; becaufe he kept himfelf eo the Literal Senfe of the Law; and fo, becaufe there he was commandea not to Kill, not to com'mit Adultery, and the' like, thought, if he did abfta in from the outward Act of thofe Sins, he ohferved the Law ; yea, and obferved it fuffi.ciently. But now the.fpfritual meaning of the Law, that forbids not only the outward A&:, but it forbids \Vhatever tends to the outward Ad- ; inward Thoughts, Motions,Defrrys, Complacencies in Sin, that are prefenced eo the Fancy, with whatever tends eo, or belongs unto Sin, the fpiritual Senfe of the Law forbids all thefe. \Vhy, now grow more in acquaintance with the fpirirual fenfe andmeani.ng ofthe Law, and then you will think finall Sins, fuch as the Sins of the Thoughts, of the Defires," and of the Fancy, and the like, to be no lefS forbbiden by the Law, than Murder or Adultery, and other heinous Sins; the Law having as firitl:ly forbid the one as the other. Fourth~], and Laftly, · Be1vare 'JOt~ compare not Sins among them/elves. The Apoftlt fpeaks of fOme, 2 Cor. 10. 12. Who meafuring them{elvu by themfelves, and comparing thtm_{tlvts among them[tlves, "JJJtre not wife. Truly it is as great a Folly for qs to meafure Sin by Sin, or to compare one Sin with another. For as when we meafure ourfelves with others, our Pride is apt to fuggefi to us, That fuch and fuch are inconfiberable PerfOns in comparifoh of us: So, when we meafure one Sin by another, Com1ption is apt to fuggeft to us, fuch a Sin is a fmall_ and inconfiderable Sin in comparifon of another Sin; and therefore I m::y vemure upon it. Certainly, if we obferve it, there are two fad Events ufually follow upon our con~paring Sins among themfelves. Either, Firft, We make little Sins lefs than they are; or if we are beaten off fromfuch falfe Opini ons, by being lhewn how great an Evil there is in them ; then, Second/_!, We make it as good to commit the gteateftSin as the leaft. Thefe two fad Events always happen, if we compare one Sin with another. Compare not therefore Sin with it felf; ~ut compare Sin with thy Duty; compare the ltaf! ~in with the Holinefs of that God againft whom thou committeft it ; and thts 1s the way whereby you may be brought to ttccount no Sin to be fmall er littlr. Ffffz SERMON
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=