A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…A cabinet of choice jevvels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…

Eighthly, Where the very prevailings of sin are ordinarily made serviceable to high and holy, to gracious and spiritual ends,¹ there certainly is a saving work of God upon that mans soul. As when they produce more Soul-loathing, Soul-humiliation, Self-judging; Self-abasement, Self-abhorring; or when they fill the Soul with a great […] admiration ⟨p. 109⟩of the freeness and riches of Grace, or when they keep down pride, and prevent the despising of others, or produce holy shame, or when they make the blood of Christ more precious and dear to the Soul, or when they engage a Christian so much the more to watch and pray, and pray and watch, that he may either be kept from the hour of temptation, or in the hour of temptation, or when every fall makes sin more bitter to the soul than ever, and Christ more sweet to the Soul than ever, and all the means of Grace more delightful to the Soul than ever, and heaven more desirable to the Soul than ever; or when sin is made the prevention of sin, or when sin through the over-ruling hand of Grace is made an occasion of more Grace; as that good man said, As I get hurt by my Graces, So I get good by my sins. You know all the falls and knocks, and blows, that children get that are learning to go, do but make them cleave the closer and hang the faster upon the Nurses skirts, or about the Mothers neck. So when all a Christians falls do but work him to cleave the closer, and hang the faster upon the strength of Christ, and to be still a drawing more and more virtue and power from Christ; then is the prevalency of sin made serviceable to holy and gracious ends; and where God ordinarily thus works, there is certainly a work of God in power upon that Soul, 2 Cor. 7.11. For behold, this self same thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of your selves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge, in all things you have approved your selves to be clear in this matter (this Scripture I have fully opened in my eighth sign of godly sorrow, in this book, and to that I refer you). The Mother by suffering the child to get one fall, keeps the child from many a fall, and so 'twas with these Corinthians. Adams fall was an inlet to abundance of grace;