Of Prifumptuous Sins. dull Eyes of Flefh; but the quick Eye of Faith, that can{ee him who is invifthlt, as it was fa id of Mo{es, 1-leb. II. 27. i t fixeth its Eye upon rhe all-feeing Eye of God and fills the Soul wirh awful Thoughts ofGod'sOmniprefenceand Omnifcimch char ~ll rhings arenaked and bare before him, in whofe Company we are whereever we are, and with whom we have ro d?wharever we are_domg: \~hynow, confider with your felves,.,Would I comm1t fuch or fuch a Sm,. t? wh1ch poffi.- bly you are remp.ted, iffome grave Pdfon were in the Room wuhyou, whom you did much refpec1 ? And what; fhall t~e Prefcnce of a mortal M tm keep you from finni ng and tha\1 nor rhe Prefence of the Great Gorl much more ? Shall we dare to fin \;hen God's Eye is fixed upon us, when he views nor only ouroutwardACti~ns hut alfO our inward Thoughts, clearer than we can fee the Faces one of anoth~r? It was the wife Counfel that the Heathen~Mimgave to a Scholar of his That if he would preferve himfelf from doing any thing thrtt W<ts unclecent 'he fhould fuppofe fome Sober and Reverend Man prefent with him; and this ~vould keep him from doing that which he fhould beafhamed to do before him. Truly, we need not make any fuch Suppofition; the Great and Holy God is prefent w~rh us in rea~ icy, and the Ey~ of_Faith difcovers hi1_n fo to _be; he is always lookmg on us: "Yc<t, always looktng mcous; and certamly th1s_, to one chat canex.ercHC rhe difcerning Eye of Faith, will be a more effectua lMcans to keep a Man from Sin, that if all the Eyes ofMen ~md Angels were upon him. Secondly, As the Exercife of Faith, {o the fprightly and "Vigor01n Exercife of Divine l...c"Ue is an cxcellmt Preforr-ative agtzini"! Sin. Love will nor willingly do an}' thing char may offend and grieve the ObjeCt loved . l...c"Ue, it is :m affimilaring AffeCtion. it is the very Cement rhat joyns God and the Sou l rogether in rhe fame Spirit, and makes them to be of one Heart ~nd of one Mind ; it is the Load-ftone of the:: Sou l, chat roucherh all orher Affetl:ions, and m:1kes rhem ftand Heaven-ward: When once God hath wroughtthe Love of himte tfin our Hea rts ; this wi\l conftrain us to 10\•e what he loves, and to hate whar he hates: Sin is che only r.b ing th:u God hates, and thofe that love him will nor, cannot but hate Sin; their Love eo God will conftrain them tO do it, P{trl. 97· 7· Ye that love the Lord bate Evil: And certainly the Ha tred of Evil is the beft Security againft the committing of it : Will any one take a Toad or Serpent into his Bofom to lodge ic there ? Truly, as utterly impoffible it is, while the t):ciring Grace of God, ftirs up aud quickens_ our Love to him, that we fhould ever embrace a vile Lufi, and lodge ir in our Hearts, fince our Sight of the Beauty of Holinefs hach made it ugly, and our Love to God hath made it hateful. Thirdly, To mention no more, A holy FMr ar.d Caution lef1wt fltot,!J fin_, is a mofo exuelmtPrefervntive agninft Sin. None are fofafe as thofe that are leaft fecure: Fearis the beft Pre1ervative of Grace; whereas rhofe that arc rafh, and venturous, and confident of their own Strength, run themfelves into many Temptations, and come off with wounded and finarting Confciences : Stand in awe, fays the P{almijf, and fin not, Pfal. 4· 4· The timorous and trembling Chriftian ftands firmeit, becaufe fuch a one is ape upon every Occafion to fufpect his own Srrengch, and to call in God's. And indeed, when we confider the Treachery of our own Hearts, and the Subtilcy of the Devil, this ho!J Fear and Jealorifie is no more than is needful, and it is lefs than fufficieiu. A Man that is to wade thorough a deep River, will firft try his Footing, before he takes his Seep : Why, we are ro wade thorough theDepthJ of Stttan, as the Apoftle calls them; and, certainly it is but a requilite Caution, firfr to try our Ground, before We venture upon it; to look and confider, whet her fuch and filch an ACI:ion b~ grounded upon a Comma11d, and fl! cured to us by a P1·omi{e; whether if we do rt' we fhaH noc lay our felves open ro fuch and fuch Temptations; or, if we do lie open to them, whether or noc we are in God's Way, and may expeCt his Protection and Prefervation? Truly li1ch CircumfpeCHon as rhis is, wi ll prove our beft Security ; and though we arc not ab!e by all our own Strength ;md Diligence to preferve our felvts, yet when God iCes us fo induf~rioufiy foliciwus w avoid Sin, he wiil then come in by his Almighty Grace, that he\ps not the Slothful, but the Laborious, and he will keep us from tho{C Sins that we cannot keep our ftlves from. Now for the Application of rhis; If it be fo, that it is the Almighty Power of God only that can keep us from Sin; This mar then brconviflive o(tbnt Error that 1\llmmm .:!. ~ now
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