I. Scripture-light the most sure light ... delivered in three sermons on 2 Pet.…

First, When a man is humbled, truly humbled, the object of his grief, sorrow or trouble, is sin it self, as a dishonour done unto God: the object of discouragement is a mans own condition, or sin in order to his own condition, the ultimate object of discouragement being a mans own condition when a man is discouraged, you shall find still, that his trouble runs all out upon his own condition, O! saith a discouraged person, I have sinned, I have thus sinned, and therefore my condition is naught, and if my condition be naught now, it will never be better, Lord, what will become of my soul? Still his trouble is about his own condition. But when a man is grieved and truly humbled for sin, his trouble is about sin it self, as a dishonour done unto God. To clear this by scripture, you know Cain was discouraged, but Cain was not humbled: how may that appear? Cain was troubled about his condition ⟨p. 71⟩Ah! saith he, My punishment is greater than I can bear. on the other side, the poor prodigal was humbled, but not discouraged: how may that appear? his trouble was about his sin, and not about his condition: I will return unto my Father, saith he, and I will say unto him, I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, and I am no more worthy to be called thy Son, make me as one of thy hired servants. David sometimes was both discouraged and humbled, and then you find his repentance and humiliation to be very brackish: but if you look into the Psal. 51. you shall find David humbled, but not discouraged, for it is a penitential Psalm, therefore humbled and not discouraged, for still he did keep his Assurance, vers. 14. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness O God, thou God of my Salvation. But what was his repentance, his trouble about? It was about his sin, and not about his condition, read vers. 23. and so on, Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me, Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me, still ye see his eye is upon his sin, and not upon his condition only; So that I say, when a man is truly humbled and grieved for sin, the object of his grief is sin, as a dishonour done unto God: when a man is discouraged and not humbled, then his trouble is all about his condition, and what will become of him.