124 THIRD SERMON laid his axe to the root of every tree, to the radical and prevailing lust in every order of men ; to extor- tion in the publican, and to covetousness in the peo- ple, to violence in the soldiers, to carnal confidence in the pharisees, Matt. iii. 7. Luke iii. 9-14. and so Christ to the young man, " One thing thou wantest," Mark x. 21. and to the woman of Samaria, `° Go call thy husband," John iv. 16, when indeed he was an adulterer and not a husband. The reason of this care of repentance is : (1.) Because in godly sorrow the sin hath lain most heavy upon the conscience. Hereby God hath been most of all despised and dishonoured ; our consciences most wasted and defiled ; our hearts most hardened ; our affections most bewitched and entangled. It hath been a master sin, that hath been able to command and to draw in many other servile lusts to wait upon it. Many wounds, even after they have been healed, will against change of weather affect the part wherein they were with pain and aching ; and therefore men usually are more tender of that part, keep it warmer, fence it with furs and clothes; as the apostle saith, that on our dishonourable parts we bestow the more abundant honour, so on such an infirm and tender part we bestow the more abundant care ; and the like do we in those wounds of the soul which are most apt to bleed afresh. (2.) Hereby, as we said before, we testify our up- rightness. When we will not spare our beloved sin, nor roll it under our tongue, nor hide it in our tent, when we will not muffle nor disguise ourselves like Tamar, nor hide amongst the bushes and -trees like Adam, or in the sides of the ship with Jonah ; nor spare any wedge of gold with Achan, or any delicate Agag, any fatling sins with Saul ; but with David will
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