Eighteen sermons preached in Oxford 1640 of conversion, unto God. Of redemption, & justification,…

Now in handling hereof, I will first show how death in general must of necessity follow sin, that thou who hast forsaken the fountain of life, art liable to everlasting death. And for this see some places of Scripture, Rom. 6.2, 3. The wages of sin is death. Consider then first what this wages is. Wages is a thing which must be paid: If you have an hireling, and your hireling receive not his wages, you are sure to hear of it, and God will hear of it too, James 5.4. He which keeps back the wages of the labourer, or of the hireling, their cry will come into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. As long as hirelings wages are unpaid, Gods ears are filled with their cries, Pay me my wages, pay me my wages. So sin cries, and it is a dead voice, Pay me my wages, pay me my wages, the wages of sin is death. And sin never leaves crying, never lets God alone, never gives him rest till this wages be paid. When Cain had slain Abel, he thought he should never have heard any more on't; but sin hath a voice, The voice of thy brothers blood cries unto me from the ground. So Gen. 18.20. the Lord saith concerning Sodom, Because the cry of Sodom is great, and their sin very grievous, therefore I will go down and see whether they have done according to the ⟨p. 111⟩cry that is come up into mine ears. As if the Lord had said, It's a loud cry, I can have no rest for it, therefore I will go down and see, &c. If a man had his ears open, he would continually hear sin crying unto God, Pay me my wages, pay me my •ages, kill this sinful soul: And though we do not hear it, yet so it is. The dead and doleful sound thereof fill• Heaven: it makes God say, I will go down and see, &c. Till sin receive its wages, God hath no rest. Again, see Rom. 7.11. Sin taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. I thought sin not to have been so great a matter as it is. We think on a matter of profit or pleasure, and thereupon are enticed to sin; but here's the mischief, sin deceives us. I• is a weight, it presses down, it decees men, it's more then they deemed it to be. The committing of sin is as it were running thy self upon the point of Gods blade. Sin at first may flter thee, but it will deceive thee: It's like Joabs kiss to Amasa. Amasa was not aware of the spear that was behind, till he smote it into his ribs that he died.