Gospel-conversation

let me discover the temptation to sin, that I may endeavour to avoid all temptations to sin, because God hath given such a testimony from Heaven against sin, Oh it is a loud testimony indeed that God hath given from heaven against sin in the death of his Son, Oh then let my Conversation be such as I may make it appear that I am afraid of the beginnings of sin, of the first whispering and motions to sin, Oh set me not stand dandling of sin in my thoughts, and roll it as a sweet morsel under my tongue, let me not entertain it in my affections in the least degree, as to love it, to approve it, to delight in it, but as soon as ever it enters into thy heart cast it out presently, let it not lodge within thy doors one moment, raise up all the power of thy soul against it, follow it with Hue and Cry, till thou hast overtaken it, and then do justice and judgment upon it, what though it may be a Delilah, yet cut it off; Oh let me take heed of lying in any sin, have I bin overtaken in my sin? Oh let me be willing rather to shame and condemn my self, to deny any thing in the world rather than to continue in that sin, the Lord forbid that if I have been once drawn to any sin, that I should think to cover it by another sin, by adding one sin to another, to think to shift for my credit or esteem by adding more sin to that already committed, Oh no, the Lord in his mercy hath made known unto me in the Gospel of Christ what sin means, the evil of sin, and therefore I have learned rather to endure any thing than to multiply iniquity; Indeed before I came to understand Jesus Christ, I thought sin was an evil thing, and I abstained from gross sins by that dim light of Nature that is within me; but since I came to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the great mystery of godliness in his Son, & the dealings of the Father with his Son, the Lord knows now I abhor a sin in secret (though I were sure no body in the world should ever know it) more than I do abhor Hell its self; ⟨p. 84⟩I such a Conversation as would manifest such a work of God upon the heart as this is would become the Gospel of Christ indeed.

let me discover the temptation to sin, that I may endeavour to avoid all temptations to sin, because God hath given such a testimony from Heaven against sin, Oh it is a loud testimony indeed that God hath given from heaven against sin in the death of his Son, Oh then let my Conversation be such as I may make it appear that I am afraid of the beginnings of sin, of the first whispering and motions to sin, Oh set me not stand dandling of sin in my thoughts, and roul it as a sweet morsel under my tongue, let me not entertain it in my affections in the least degree, as to love it, to approve it, to delight in it, but as soon as ever it enters into thy heart cast it out presently, let it not lodge within thy doors one moment, raise up all the power of thy soul against it, follow it with Hue and Cry, till thou hast overtaken it, and then do justice and judgment upon it, what though it may be a Delilah, yet cut it off; Oh let me take heed of lying in any sin, have I bin overtaken in my sin? Oh let me be willing rather to shame and condemn my self, to deny any thing in the world rather than to continue in that sin, the Lord forbid that if I have been once drawn to any sin, that I should think to cover it by another sin, by adding one sin to another, to think to shift for my credit or esteem by adding more sin to that already committed, Oh no, the Lord in his mercie hath made known unto me in the Gospel of Christ what sin means, the evil of sin, and therefore I have learned rather to endure any thing than to multiply iniquity; Indeed before I came to understand Jesus Christ, I thought sin was an evil thing, and I abstain'd from gross sins by that dim light of Nature that is within me; but since I came to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the great mystery of godliness in his Son, & the dealings of the Father with his Son, the Lord knows now I abhor a sin in secret (though I were sure no body in the world should ever know it) more than I do abhor Hell its self;