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men and devils can invent and inflict, than to commit the least sin, whereby God should be dishonoured, our conscience wounded, religion reproached, and our own souls endangered.'

Rem. 6. Seriously consider, that the soul is never able to stand under the guilt and weight of the least sin, when God shall set it home upon it; the least sin will press and sink the stoutest sinner as low as hell, when God shall open his eyes, and make him see the horrid filthiness, and abominable vileness of sin. What so little, base, and vile creatures as lice or gnats? And yet by these poor little creatures, God so plagued stout-hearted Pharaoh, and all Egypt, that fainting under it, they were forced to cry out, This is the finger of God,' Ex. viii. 16-19. When little creatures, yea, the least creatures, are armed with power from God, they press and sink down the greatest, proudest, and stoutest tyrants that breathe: so when God casts a sword into the hand of a little sin, and arms it against the soul, it will faint and fall under it.

Mr. Perkins mentions a good, but very poor man, who being ready to starve, stole a lamb, and being about to eat it with his poor children, and (as his manner was before meat) to crave a

* The tyrant Maximinus, who had set forth his proclamation engraven in brass, for the utter abolishing of Christ and his religion, was eaten of lice.

† One drop of an evil conscience swallows up the whole sea of worldly joy.

blessing, durst not do it, but fell into great perplexity of conscience, acknowledged his fault to the owner, promising payment if ever he should be able.

Rem. 7. Solemnly consider, that there is more evil in the least sin, than in the greatest affliction; and this appears as clear as the sun, by the severe dealing of God the Father with his beloved Son, who let all the vials of his fiercest wrath upon him, and that for the least sin, as well as for the greatest.

'The wages of sin is death;' of sin indefinitely, whether great or small. Oh! how should this make us tremble, as much at the least spark of lust, as at hell itself? Considering that God the Father would not spare his bosom Son, no, not for the least sin, but would make him drink the dregs of his wrath.

CHAPTER IV.

The fourth Device that Satan hath to draw the soul to sin, is,

BY presenting to the soul the best men's sins, and by hiding from the soul their virtues; by

In a

Death is the hire of the least sin; the best wages that the least sin gives his soldiers, is death of all sorts. strict sense, there is no little sin, because no little God to sin against.

shewing the soul their sins, and by hiding from the soul their sorrows and repentance; as by setting before the soul the adultery of David, the pride of Hezekiah, the impatience of Job, the drunkenness of Noah, the blasphemy of Peter, &c. and by hiding from the soul the tears, the sighs, the groans, the meltings, the humblings, and repentings of those precious souls.-The remedies against this device of the devil are these:

6

Remedy 1. Seriously consider, that the Spirit of the Lord hath been as careful to note the saints rising by repentance out of sin, as he hath to mark their fallings into sin. David falls fearfully, but by repentance he rises sweetly: Blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin: for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow, deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation.' It is true,

·

Hezekiah's heart was lifted up upon the abundance of mercies God had given him, and it is as true that Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon him, nor upon Jerusalem, in the days of Hezekiah.' It is true, Job curses the day of his birth, and it is as true, that he rises by repentance. Behold I am vile,' saith he,

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"what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth: once have I spoken, but I will · not answer, yea twice, but I will proceed no further. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye seeth thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes,' Job xl. 4, 5, xlii. 5, 6. Peter falls dreadfully, but rises by repentance sweetly, a look of love from Christ melts him into tears; he knew that repentance was the key of the kingdom of grace. As once his faith was so great that he leaped into a sea of waters to come to Christ; so now his repentance was so great, that he leaped into a sea of tears, for that he had gone from Christ.*

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Clement notes, That Peter so repented, that all his life after, every night when he heard the cock crow, he would fall upon his knees, and weeping bitterly, would beg the pardon of his sin.' Ah souls! you can easily sin as the saints! Many can sin with David and Peter, but cannot repent with them, and so must perish for ever.

Theodosius the emperor, pressing that he might receive the Lord's supper, excuses his own foul act, by David's doing the like, to which Ambrose replies, Thou hast followed David trans

* Luther confesses, that before his conversion he met not with a more displeasing word in all his study of divinity, than repent, but afterwards he took delight in the work. "To sorrow for his sin, and then to rejoice in his

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gressing, follow David repenting, and then think thou of the table of the Lord.'

Rem. 2. Consider also, that these saints. did not make a trade of sin; they fell once or twice (and rose by repentance) that they might keep closer to Christ for ever; they fell accidentally, occasionally, and with much reluctancy; and thou sinnest presumptuously, obstinately, readily, delightfully, and customarily; thou hast, by making a trade of sin, contracted upon thy soul a kind of a cursed necessity of sinning; 'that thou canst as well cease to be, or cease to live, as cease to sin:' sin is by custom beco ne as another nature to thee, which thou neither canst nor will lay aside, though thou knowest, 'That if thou dost not lay it aside, God will lay thy soul aside for ever;' though thou knowest, That if sin and thy soul do not part, Christ and thy soul can never meet;' if thou wilt make a trade of sin, and cry out, Did not David sin thus, and Noah sin thus, and Peter sin thus? &c. 2 Pet. ii. 14. Prov. iv. 16. No, their hearts turned aside to folly one day, but thy heart turns aside to folly every day; and when fallen, they rise by repentance, and by the faith of a crucified Christ; but thou fallest, and hast neither strength nor will to rise, but wallowest in sin, and wilt eternally die in thy sins, unless the Lord be merciful to thy soul. Dost thou think, oh soul! this is good reasoning? Such a one tasted poison but once, and narrowly escaped;

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