N00302:517
Mercy magnified on a penitent prodigal, or A brief discourse, wherein Christs parable of the lost son found, is opened and applied, as it was delivered in sundry sermons, / by Samuel Willard teacher of a church in Boston in New-England. ; [Two lines from Luke]
printed by Samuel Green for Samuel Philips, 1684
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
He will not mince or extenuate, and go about to make them look little and small, but acknowledge them in their height & greatness; present them in their blackest and ugliest colours: so doth this Prodigal son resolve to go to his father, and so did.
Though every sin in its proper nature nakedly considered, as it is a Transgression of the Laws of God, an affront offered, and an offence given to the Majesty of Heaven, is on that account great; yet there are several circumstances with which it is clothed, which, if truly looked upon, do exaggerate or heighten the vileness of it: these the Hypocrite endeavours to cover over, and hopes thereby to excuse ⟨p. 219⟩himself â tanto, as the Pharisee, I am not thus and so: but contrariwise, in sound Repentance, when the sinner comes to humble himself before God, and confess his sins, he makes himself as vile as he can: Sin is made exceeding sinful. An hypocrite hopes to plead that he hath not been so bad, therefore he may hope for mercy; but Paul was of another mind, 1 Tim. 1. 25. Christ came to save sinners, of whom I am chief. And David, Psal. 25. 11. Pardon mine iniquity, for it is very great. Now the aggravations in our text are three, under which heads the most that can be said may be ranked; these let us a little look into.
1. He takes the whole blame upon himself: I have sinned; it is I have done this thing; so David calls it his own sin, Psal. 51. 9. q. d. Whatever blame or guilt there is in it, I take it all to my self: He confesseth it roundly, and plainly, without any excuse, or extenuations, or putting it off to any other cause, occasion, or tempter. And this is one difference between the repentance of an hypocrite and a true penitent; the one would put off his sin as much as he can, seek excuses, find others to lay it upon, and bear as little of the blame as possibly he may; he would divide the fault, that he may leave the least part of it to himself; and he finds many occasions, or causes to change it upon.
1. He throws it upon everlasting decrees, and would make the holy counsel of God to have a causal influence into his wickedness; and will say, if God had intended me so to have been, I should have been as holy as the Angels, but if he purposed me to be such a sinner, how could I help it? Such the Apostle confronts, Rom. 9. 19. Thus Hypocrites, like Spiders, suck poison out of the precious Doctrine of predestination.
1. He throwes it upon everlasting decrees, and would make the holy counsel of God to have a causal influence into his wickedness; and will say, if God had intended me so to have been, I should have been as holy as the Angels, but if he purposed me to be such a sinner, how could I help it? Such the Apostle confronts, Rom. 9. 19. Thus Hypocrites, like Spiders, suck poyson out of the precious Doctrine of predestination.
2. He will charge God himself for the Author of his Temptations: will say, Divine all-efficiency is the first mover, and if he had not assisted, I had not committed the sin: He presented the object or I had not followed, such the Apostle James sets himself against, Jam. 1. 13. &c.
2. He will charge God himself for the Author of his Temptations: will say, Divine allefficiency is the first mover, and if he had not assisted, I had not committed the sin: He presented the object or I had not followed, such the Apostle James sets himself against, Jam. 1. 13. &c.
3. Nay, he will blame the very goodness and kindness of God to him, and a curse, or at least a reason of his sin, and so God, in stead of being acknowledged for his favour, shall be upbraided: So Adam, Gen. 3. 12. The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, &c. God had given her for a meet help to him, he could not have done well without her, and yet if he abuse this favour, God is charged for it; and why then did he bestow her upon me?
4. He will turn it off upon those that were his Tempters; they solicited me, persuaded me, drew me in: This Adam lays the fault ⟨p. 221⟩upon the Woman, and she upon the Serpent; and thus men are oft ready to say, I may thank such an one, who drew me in, who would not let me alone, but followed me, and prevailed upon me with importunity; if it had not been for him, I had not been drawn away.
4. He will turn it off upon those that were his Tempters; they sollicited me, perswaded me, drew me in: This Adam layes the fault ⟨p. 221⟩upon the Woman, and she upon the Serpent; and thus men are oft ready to say, I may thank such an one, who drew me in, who would not let me alone, but followed me, and prevailed upon me with importunity; if it had not been for him, I had not been drawn away.
5. He will excuse and mince it with all diminutive circumstances, to make it look like a very little fault, as, 1. He did it ignorantly, he knew no sin there was in it but, thought that he had done well enough: Thus Saul excuseth himself for sacrificing, 1 Sam. 13. 11, 12. 2. He did but follow his natural inclination, it was, at worst, but a trick of youth, &c. 3. It was no great matter, a thing of no great consequence, and others frequently do the like. 4. He was provoked to it; yea, had many great provocations which bare him down. These, and many the like excuses, the corrupt heart of man is ready to frame: But when God sets sin home upon the soul with the right conception of it, he then lays the blame upon himself, and that with greatest aggravation, in which,
5. He will excuse and mince it with all deminutive circumstances, to make it look like a very little fault, as, 1. He did it ignorantly, he knew no sin there was in it but, thought that he had done well enough: Thus Saul excuseth himself for sacrificing, 1 Sam. 13. 11, 12. 2. He did but follow his natural inclination, it was, at worst, but a trick of youth, &c. 3. It was no great matter, a thing of no great consequence, and others frequently do the like. 4. He was provoked to it; yea, had many great provocations which bare him down. These, and many the like excuses, the corrupt heart of man is ready to frame: But when God sets sin home upon the soul with the right conception of it, he then layes the blame upon himself, and that with greatest aggravation, in which,
1. He acquits God; lays it not in the least to his charge, but declares him to be altogether blameless: David takes his sin to himself, that God may be righteous and justified, Psal. 51 4. q. d. I have nothing to accuse God of, he is holy and righteous.
1. He acquits God; layes it not in the least to his charge, but declares him to be altogether blameless: David takes his sin to himself, that God may be righteous and justified, Psal. 51 4. q. d. I have nothing to accuse God of, he is holy and righteous.
2. He looks not too much upon instruments and occasions; he lays not his own blame to another; doth not charge it as Satan's fault, that he yielded to the Temptation, but counts it his own; Peter blames Ananias, that Satan had tempted him, Deut. 5. 3. It was Satan's fault to tempt, but his to be tempted.
2. He looks not too much upon instruments and occasions; he layes not his own blame to another; doth not charge it as Satans fault, that he yielded to the Temptation, but counts it his own; Peter blames Ananias, that Satan had tempted him, Deut. 5. 3. It was Satan's fault to tempt, but his to be tempted.
3. Chargeth it upon his own vile heart and nature, that fountain and original of all actual Transgression: he is therefore led up to it, and made to bewail that before God, as the root of all, Psal. 51. 5. I was shapen in iniquity. q. d. Hence comes all this, here it is fountained; thus the Prodigal, Father, I have sinned, I asked my Portion, and was not content till I had it in mine own hands; I took at and went away into a far Country, and washed all there in riot,; I dishonoured my original by becoming a slave to a stranger, keeping swine, and feeding with them upon husks: I did all thus voluntarily without any compulsion; I did it against the law of nature, and bond of filial obedience; he doth not say, it was a trick of youth, and these good follows, pot companions, gamesters and harlots, drew me in, and so I did it. The truly, penitent, so sees his own guilt and wilful obstinacy, that he can look no where else: what ever his occasions or temptations were, yet still he sees that the Law of God was against it, which he ought ⟨p. 223⟩to have hearkened to notwithstanding all Temptation; and his heart was in it, else they could never have prevailed; he gave his consent, or else it had never been.
3. Chargeth it upon his own vile heart and nature, that fountain and originial of all actual Transgression: he is therefore led up to it, and made to bewail that before God, as the root of all, Psal. 51. 5. I was shapen in iniquity. q. d. Hence comes all this, here it is fountained; thus the Prodigal, Father, I have sinned, I askt my Portion, and was not content till I had it in mine own hands; I took at and went away into a far Country, and washed all there in riot,; I dishonoured my original by becoming a slave to a stranger, keeping swine, and feeding with them upon husks: I did all thus voluntarily without any compulsion; I did it against the law of nature, and bond of filial obedience; he doth not say, it was a trick of youth, and these good follows, pot companions, gamesters and harlots, drew me in, and so I did it. The truly, penitent, so sees his own guilt and wilful obstinacy, that he can look no where else: what ever his occasions or temptations were, yet still he sees that the Law of God was against it, which he ought ⟨p. 223⟩
2. He aggravates it in that it was against God. q. d. Had I only wronged a creature, it had not been so much, but this is it that renders it heinous; it was against Heaven: All sin is against God. Wrongs are valued according to the person wronged: A thing is counted Treason when done against a Prince, which would be a little fault if only done to a subject. It is remarkable, that in the Parable it self, the younger Son is brought in acknowledging his sin to be against Heaven, rather than against the Father: Nothing, that the wrongs we do to others are therein mostly to be bewailed, in that they are against God. Hence David Confesseth it with an emphasis, Psal. 51. 4. Against thee, thee only. It was against Uriah, against Bathsheba, &c. but that was little compared to, and therefore swallowed up in this. True Repentance runs sin up to the last object against whom it is, now all sin is against God in that it is,
2. He aggravates it in that it was against God. q. d. Had I only wronged a creature, it had not been so much, but this is it that renders it hainous; it was against Heaven: All sin is against God. Wrongs are valued according to the person wronged: A thing is counted Treason when done against a Prince, which would be a little fault if only done to a subject. It is remarkable, that in the Parable it self, the younger Son is brought in acknowledging his sin to be against Heaven, rather than against the Father: Nothing, that the wrongs we do to others are therein mostly to be bewailed, in that they are against God. Hence David Confesseth it with an emphasis, Psal. 51. 4. Against thee, thee only. It was against Uriah, against Bathsheba, &c. but that was little compared to, and therefore swallowed up in this. True Repentance runs sin up to the last object against whom it is, now all sin is against God in that it is,
1. Against the Law of God; for that is it which makes it to be sin, 1 Joh. 3. 4. It is not the hurt which another receives, nor what we our selves suffer, but what we do, that firstly demonstrates it sin; but it is the contrariety it ⟨p. 224⟩bears to the precept, and holy revealed will of God: He that breaks thy King's Laws, wrongs the King himself.
