You may Note further from hence;1 God takes notice not only of mens sins, but of the aggravation of their sins. Oh! let us do thus, do not only look upon your sins and acknowledge ⟨p. 512⟩your selves to be sinners, but look upon the Aggravations of your sins; Oh! this sin committed against so many Mercies, so many Prayers, and Resolutions, and Vows, and Covenants, and so many Deliverances that I have had; labour to lay the Aggravations of your sins upon your hearts, and this is the way to humble your hearts before the Lord. Indeed the Saints of God they need not seek to excuse their sins, be not afraid to lay the aggravations of sin upon your own hearts, according to what great aggravations there may be. Greaten your wickedness before the Lord, do not so as ordinarily people do, to extenuate your sins, for if there be any extenuation that possibly can be Jesus Christ will find out that in his pleading, Christ is your advocate who sits at the right hand of the Father, and it is his work to plead your cause, and therefore if there can be any thing to extenuate a sin he will do it; you know that when he was here in this world, when his Disciples did offend very much in that sleepiness of theirs, that when Christ was to suffer they could not watch with him one hour,2 that sin might have been aggravated with abundance of circumstances, but saith Christ, The flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing; he falls to extenuate and excuse. Now that which Christ did there, he will be ready to do in Heaven, for thou that art a Saint.
You may Note further from hence;1 God takes notice not only of mens sins, but of the aggravation of their sins. Oh! let us do thus, do not only look upon your sins and acknowledg ⟨p. 512⟩your selves to be sinners, but look upon the Aggravations of your sins; Oh! this sin committed against so many Mercies, so many Prayers, and Resolutions, and Vows, and Covenants, and so many Deliverances that I have had; labor to lay the Aggravations of your sins upon your hearts, and this is the way to humble your hearts before the Lord. Indeed the Saints of God they need not seek to excuse their sins, be not afraid to lay the aggravations of sin upon your own hearts, according to what great aggravations there may be. Greaten your wickedness before the Lord, do not so as ordinarily people do, to extenuate your sins, for if there be any extenuation that possibly can be Jesus Christ will find out that in his pleading, Christ is your advocate who sits at the right hand of the Father, and it is his work to plead your cause, and therefore if there can be any thing to extenuate a sin he will do it; you know that when he was here in this world, when his Disciples did offend very much in that sleepiness of theirs, that when Christ was to suffer they could not watch with him one hour,2 that sin might have been aggravated with abundance of circumstances, but saith Christ, The flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing; he falls to extenuate and excuse. Now that which Christ did there, he wil be ready to do in Heaven, for thou that art a Saint.
- 1Obs. 2.
- 2Matth. 26. 41. illustrated.
