A practical exposition on the 130th Psalm

Fourthly, It hath in the first place, respect unto the Law of God. There can be no due consideration of sin, wherein the Law hath not its place. The Law calls for the sinner, and he willingly gives up his sin to be judged by it. There he sees it to be exceeding sinful, Rom. 7. 17. Though a Believer be less under the power of the Law than others, yet he knows more of the Authority and nature of it than others. He sees more of its spirituality and holiness. And the more a man sees of the excellency of the Law, the more he sees of the vileness of sin. This is done by a soul in its first endeavour for a recovery from the entanglements of sin. He labours throughly to know his disease, that he may be cured. It will do him no good, he knows, to be ignorant of his distemper, or his danger. He knows that if his wounds be not searched to the bottom, they will stink and be corrupt. To the Law then he brings himself and his sin. By that, he sees the vileness of the one, and the danger of the other. Most men lye still in their depths, because they would willingly escape the first step of their rising. From the bottom of their misery, they would fain at once be at the top of their felicity. The soul managed in this work by the Holy Ghost doth not so. He converseth with the Law; brings his sin unto it; and fully hears the sentence of it. When the sin is throughly condemned, then he farther takes care of the sinner. As ever you desire to come to rest, avoid not this ⟨p. 58⟩entrance of your passage unto it. Weigh well, and attend unto what the Law speaks of your sin and its desert, or you will never make a due application to God for forgiveness. As ever you would have your souls justified by Grace, take care to have your sins judged by the Law.

Secondly, There is a respect in it to the Love of God. And this breaks the heart of the poor returning sinner. Sorrow from the Law, shuts it self up in the soul, and strangleth it. Sorrow from the thoughts of the Love of God opens it, and causeth it to flow forth. Thoughts of sinning against the Love of God, managed by the Holy Ghost; what shall I say? their effects in the heart are not to be expressed. This made Ezra cry out, O my God I blush and am ashamed to lift up my face to thee, Chap. 9. 6. and v. 10. What shall we say after this? After what? why all the fruits of love and kindness they had been made partakers of. Thoughts of love and sin laid together, make the soul blush, mourn, be ashamed and confounded in its self. So