N01369:54
The sad effects of sin. A true relation of the murder committed by David Wallis, on his companion Benjamin Stolwood: on Saturday night, the first of August, 1713. With his carriage oftener condemnation; his confession and dying speech at the place of execution, &c. : To which are added, the sermons preached at the lecture in Boston, in his hearing, after condemnation; and on the day of his execution, being Sept. 24. 1713.The sad effects of sin. A true relation of the murder committed by David Wallis, on his companion Benjamin Stolwood: on Saturday night, the first of August, 1713. With his carriage ofter condemnation; his confession and dying speech at the place of execution, &c. : To which are added, the sermons preached at the lecture in Boston, in his hearing, after condemnation; and on the day of his execution, being Sept. 24. 1713.
printed by John Allen for Nicholas Boone, 1713
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.
Fifthly, and Finally. I can show you a more Excellent Way, than all of this. There are those whom a Good God Withholds from Sin, by infusing into their Souls a Principle of Grace, which is contrary to Sin; A Principle under the power whereof, men cannot Sin like other men. A Principle of Piety does God shower down from Heaven, into the Souls of some; […] Principle of Respect unto all the Holy and Just and Good Laws of Heaven. By such a Principle the Dispositions to Sin in the Hearts of Good men are Mortified; & the Considerations which deter from Sin, are Entertained, with a most Lively Efficacy. Under the force of such a Principle, a man cannot but hate Sin, and Loath Sin, and refuse to Sin; and if he be pressed unto: Sin, he will say, Gen. XXXIX. 9•. How shall I do this Wickedness, and ⟨p. 16⟩Sin against God? O admirable way of being Withheld from Sin! To be inspired with an Antipathy to every known Sin. The New Nature in a Child of God says to him, No, Thou shalt not Sin; Oh! Do not the Abominable Thing, which is hated by the Soul of God! This lays a Glorious Restraint upon him. Oh! that we were more commonly Restrained so! But now,
Fifthly, and Finally. I can show you a more Excellent Way, than all of this. There are those whom a Good God Witholds from Sin, by infusing into their Souls a Principle of Grace, which is contrary to Sin; A Principle under the power whereof, men cannot Sin like other men. A Principle of Piety does God shower down from Heaven, into the Souls of some; 〈…〉 Principle of Respect unto all the Holy and Just and Good Laws of Heaven. By such a Principle the Dispositions to Sin in the Hearts of Good men are Mortified; & the Considerations which deter from Sin, are Entertained, with a most Lively Efficacy. Under the force of such a Principle, a man cannot but hate Sin, and Loath Sin, and refuse to Sin; and if he be pressed unto: Sin, he will say, Gen. XXXIX. 9•. How shall I do this Wickedness, and ⟨p. 16⟩Sin against God? O admirable way of being Witheld from Sin! To be inspired with an Antipathy to every known Sin. The New Nature in a Child of God says to him, No, Thou shalt not Sin; Oh! Do not the Abominable Thing, which is hated by the Soul of God! This lays a Glorious Restraint upon him. Oh! that we were more commonly Restrained so! But now,
II. The Mercy of our Good God, in thus Withholding us from Sinning against Him; This is what we are to wonder at; and what exceedingly bespeaks our Praises unto Him. This will appear immediately. For,
II. The Mercy of our Good God, in thus Witholding us from Sinning against Him; This is what we are to wonder at; and what exceedingly bespeaks our Praises unto Him. This will appear immediately. For,
First. We shall fall into Sin, yea, into all manner of Sin and Blasphemy, and such as would never be Forgiven too; if our God Withhold us not. We are every one of us Depraved with Original Sin; and this our Original Sin is the Original of Every Sin; it contains in it a propensity to every Sin. We must every one of us all confess, Behold, I was •hapon in Iniquity. We must every one of us make that Confession, ⟨p. 17⟩The whole Imagination of our Heart is only Evil continually. Our First Parents whom God justly made the Representatives of all Mankind, were made Mutable. And it was no unjust Thing in the Sovereign One to make them so: Immutability is the Prerogative of none but the Infinite GOD. These our Parents, abused their own Liberty, and brought upon themselves a most Sinful Pravity; which cannot but be derived now unto us their Unhappy Children […] A Seed of Evil Doers, Children that are Corrupters! We are born with Hearts whereof we read, Matt. XV. 19. There proceed out of them, Evil Thoughts, Murders, Adulteries, Fornications, Thefts, False witness, Blasphemies. There is no Heart among us, but if God should not withhold it, rapid streams of Sin would burst from it, and whole Torrents of Iniquity. Bring in a Catalogue of all the Crying Sins found any where among the Children of men, there is no Heart among us, but what would soon carry us into the worst of them all, if God Withheld us not. And if God should allow Satan to fill this Heart, an Heart that is of it self so desperately wicked, no man alive can imagine to how a desperate a ⟨p. 18⟩Degree of Wickedness we should be carried, and with how vehement an Impetuosity! An Evil Spirit not forbidden by God, will go forth, and persuade an Aha•, an• prevail also, to any thing in the World. If God should not Withhold our Adversary from hurting of us, his Devices would soon be too cunning for us: The Charms and Chains of Hell would soon bring the last Confusion upon us.
First. We shall fall into Sin, yea, into all manner of Sin and Blasphemy, and such as would never be Forgiven too; if our God Withold us not. We are every one of us Depraved with Original Sin; and this our Original Sin is the Original of Every Sin; it contains in it a propensity to every Sin. We must every one of us all confess, Behold, I was hapon in Iniquity. We must every one of us make that Confession,
Secondly. We are very Unworthy that God should withhold us from Sinning against Him; our Frequent Sinning has Left us in the greatest Unworthiness of such a Mercy! By our former Sins, we deserve to be left unto further Sins. The punishment of Sin with Sin, is no uncommon procedure in the tremendous Dispensations of God. Men Sin with Delight; They signalize their Love of Sin, their Choice of Sin. The Justice of God then passes this Doom upon them, Let them go on to Sin! They be not willing to be hindered! When people will not Hearken to the Voice of God, it is but a Righteous Thing with him, To give them up unto the Lusts of their own Hearts, and let them walk in their own Counsels, which you may be sure, will ⟨p. 19⟩he bad enough The Righteousness of God never shines brighter than in that black Event of wilful Sinning; Rom. I. 26. For this cause, God gave them up to vile Affections. If we are withheld from any Sin, that ever […] fell into, we must say, Lord, This is […] not worthy of! Tis, Mercy, Mercy, that withholds us from Sin; for we can plead no Merit of our own for such a Blessing. In begging to be withheld from Sin, our Style must be that; God be merciful tome a Sinner! Tis to be very Mercifully, that is to say, Undeservedly dealt withal.
Secondly. We are very Unworthy that God should withold us from Sinning against Him; our Frequent Sinning has Left us in the greatest Unworthiness of such a Mercy! By our former Sins, we deserve to be left unto further Sins. The punishment of Sin with Sin, is no uncommon proceedure in the tremendous Dispensations of God. Men Sin with Delight; They signalize their Love of Sin, their Choice of Sin. The Justice of God then passes this Doom upon them, Let them go on to Sin! They be not willing to be hindred! When people will not Hearken to the Voice of God, it is but a Righteous Thing with him, To give them up unto the Lusts of their own Hearts, and let them walk in their own Counsels, which you may be sure, will ⟨p. 19⟩
Thirdly, Tis a Great Mercy sure, to be Withheld from the Greatest Evil; If we are not Withheld from Sinning against God, we fall into the Greatest Evil in the world. Sin, tis the Greatest Evil. Our Saviour, who is the Good One, has called it, Joh. XVII. 5. The Evil. A […] Escape from some Extreme […] of perishing, we so with a shuddering Horror, look back upon it. We give a start, when the Thought of it suddenly darts into our minds; We almost […] away, when we Think what we […]. My Friend, When […] Withheld from Sin, 'tis an Escape, ⟨p. 20⟩which thy Soul may be well amazed in Reflecting on. Thou ma•st with a Transport of Joy cry out, My Soul is escaped, as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler: Oh! the Mercy, Oh! the Mercy of it! When our God says, I have withheld thee from Sinning against me, He does in Effect say, I have withheld thee from throwing thy self into many Sorrow•; I have withheld thee from wronging thy own Soul; I have withheld thee from the worst thing that could have befallen thee. To Sin, Tis to Deny the God that is Above. Tis a sad Thing to be left unto so vile a Thing. To Sin, Tis to do that for which the Wea•h of God comes. To be Withheld from Sin, 'tis to be withheld from stepping over a dismal Precipice; from tumbling down into a Devouring Fire, and Everlasting Burnings. O thou Saved of the Lord, Withheld from Sin, thy Song may be that; Lord, Thou deliveredst my Soul from Death, my Eyes from Tears, and my Feet from Falls. The Mercy cannot be too highly spoken of!
Thirdly, Tis a Great Mercy sure, to be Witheld from the Greatest Evil; If we are not Witheld from Sinning against God, we fall into the Greatest Evil in the world. Sin, tis the Greatest Evil. Our Saviour, who is the Good One, has call'd it, Joh. XVII. 5. The Evil. A 〈…〉 Escape from some Extream 〈…〉 of perishing, we so with a shuddering Horror, look back upon it. We give a start, when the Thought of it suddenly darts into our minds; We almost 〈…〉 away, when we Think what we 〈…〉. My Friend, When Witheld from Sin, 'tis an Escape,
I. There are some Occurrences in the World, that are very much to be wondered ⟨p. 21⟩at; But we now see the Reason of those Wondrous Occurrences. I will entertain you with the Mention of Two or Three Things, whereof we must now say, These are the Doings of the Lord, and they are marvellous in our eyes. If there were not a Good God, who withholds men from Sinning against Him, the World would not have such a Respite from such Wonderful Miseries, which I shall now tell you of.
I. There are some Occurrences in the World, that are very much to be wondred ⟨p. 21⟩at; But we now see the Reason of those Wondrous Occurrences. I will entertain you with the Mention of Two or Three Things, whereof we must now say, These are the Doings of the Lord, and they are marvellous in our eyes. If there were not a Good God, who witholds men from Sinning against Him, the World would not have such a Respite from such Wonderful Miseries, which I shall now tell you of.
First. We may Wonder that some Destructive Wickednesses are not ever now and then done in the World, by people that are Wicked enough to do them. There are people, who have nothing within them, to withhold them, from such Things as are too horrible to be spoken of. People there are, who would Stick at nothing, that they could see themselves able to do, that they may ruin others, and Enrich themselves. People there are, who if it came into their Minds, what they are capable of doing, and yet might Lie Concealed after all, and it may be Roast their own Eggs into the Bargain, would soon be the Actors of direful Tragedies! Many an honest man, is aware of Ways to do incredible Mischief, which if some ⟨p. 22⟩Wicked men should be as much aware of, they would be more perilous Creatures, than the Dragon of Hetruria, whereof Dion tells us, that after he had made fearful Devastations, he was killed with a Thunderbolt. The men are Devils, and very cunning and subtle Devils too; but they have Chains of Darkness upon them. They don't see what they can do: And would if they saw it. Prudence will direct, that I should not go too far in Explaining my self.—But this I may say; There are People that would make a very Light matter of a Perjury; they would make nothing for a small matter to Forswear themselves. Tis a wonder, that no more Naboths are Sworn out of their Lives, or at least out of their Vineyards, by them that have no Yoke upon them. Tis very strange! And so is another thing, that I will venture to speak of. He that is willing to throw away his own Life, may easily be master of Another mans. And yet, you have known many people set upon throwing away their own Lives. But you scarce ever knew one of these desperate Suicides disposed unto the killing of any besides themselves. What is the Reason of this? Our Good God has ⟨p. 23⟩acquainted us; I withheld them!
First. We may Wonder that some Destructive Wickednesses are not ever now and then done in the World, by people that are Wicked enough to do them. There are people, who have nothing within them, to withold them, from such Things as are too horrible to be spoken of. People there are, who would Stick at nothing, that they could see themselves able to do, that they may ruine others, and Enrich themselves. People there are, who if it came into their Minds, what they are capable of doing, and yet might Ly Concealed after all, and it may be Roast their own Eggs into the Bargain, would soon be the Actors of direful Tragedies! Many an honest man, is aware of Wayes to do incredible Mischief, which if some
Secondly. We may wonder, That this World is not an entire Aceldama, and that it Swims not with Blood, even up to the Horse-bridles. There are cursed Fires Latent in the Souls of men; Fires that have sometimes broke out, and burnt all round about, burnt unto the very Foundations of the Mountains, burnt down all before them. A very Little Thing will serve sometimes, to blow up these Fires; Maxima odia ex Levissimis causis! And then a whole Nation becomes a formidable Volcano; no more habitable than a Vesuvie. Our Apostle speaks, as if every man had the Heart of a Murderer in him; and Rom. III. 15, 16. Feet swift to shed Blood; Destruction and Misery in their ways. We see some Commit bloody Murders. Why don't they grow as common, as they did a little before the Final Catastrophe on Jerusalem! The Venomous Hearts of Men, have in them the Root, which all Murders grow upon. Sometimes a Cup of poison to be trembled at, has been put into the Hands of Nations; Then the Intoxicated Nations have run mad; ⟨p. 24⟩have been furiously set upon destroying one another; have sheathed their Swords in one another's bowels, with a Rage that has reached up to Heaven. The Passions have been of old called; The wild beasts of the Soul. if those Wild Beasts are once let loose, they make fearful Depredations▪ they turn Populous. Regions into a Wilderness! When a Kingdom is divided against it self, what Adonis, what Opiates are they, that keep under the worst of all Frenzies, that would soon bring all to Desolation! When Distracted People think themselves oppressed, what is it that keeps under the Massanello's, or keeps things in the Calm, which tis said, the French Salvages told a greater than themselves, was the thing which of all they had seen, they most admired at? Who is it that Stills the Noise of the Seas, and the Tumult of the People? Our Good God has acquainted us with the Reason of this; I withheld them!
Secondly. We may wonder, That this World is not an entire Aceldema, and that it Swims not with Blood, even up to the Horse-bridles. There are cursed Fires Latent in the Souls of men; Fires that have sometimes broke out, and burnt all round about, burnt unto the very Foundations of the Mountains, burn't down all before them. A very Little Thing will serve sometimes, to blow up these Fires; Maxima odia ex Levissimis causis! And then a whole Nation becomes a formidable Volcano; no more habitable than a Vesuvie. Our Apostle speaks, as if every man had the Heart of a Murderer in him; and
Thirdly. We may wonder, That there is any True People of God Left in the World; and that the Burning Bush is not Consumed. Our Lord-Redeemer has through' all Ages, a Church visibly Existing on the Face of the Earth; His Willing, ⟨p. 25⟩and His Holy People. The Generation of them that seek Him: A Generation which Condemns the World, and Offends it, and […] it, and must not marvel, if it be […] of the World Satan, who is the God of this World, and the Spirit that works in the Children of Disobedience, fills his Children with an implacable Aversion and Antipathy for this People of God. They will grant not only Liberties, but also Preferments, to Devils Incarnate […] yea, tho' they may differ very much among one another. But they will turn every Stone, that the Children of God may be Discouraged, and even Exterminated. The Persecution of Dissenters, has been in all Ages carried on; Always with most Unreasonable Barbarities, and sometimes, to an Extremity of cruel Dissipations; even such an Extremity, that the Dioclesians on the Thrones of Iniquity, have boasted, of a, Superstition Christiana deleta; That there was no more Christianity •eft in the World. But still the Church of our Lord, Our-lives the Attempts of all its Adversaries, yea, gains ground, grows great, & improves by those Attempts; and having Obtained ⟨p. 26⟩Help from God, it continues to this Day. The Song of the Church in all Ages hath been that; Psa. LXXVI. 10. Surely, The wrath of man shall praise thee, the Remainder of that Wrath shalt thou Restrain. We can hardly tell whence it is, That tho' the Wolves bring forth many more at a Litter, than the Sheep; and we seldom hear of a Wolf killed, when the Sheep is every day Led into the Shambles; yet there are a thousand times more Sheep known in the World than there are of those ravening Devourers. But I now propound a much stranger thing than this. The Faithful People of God, are Counted like sheep for the slaughter all the Day long. They are but a Little Flock, a very Little Little Flock; The Wolves, they, as it was of Old said about a Syrian Herd of them, Fill the Country. Now, Whence is it, that the Church is not utterly cut off; & the Name of it, no more had in Remembrance! Why have no Days of Purim, and of Bartholomew, nor Irish Massacres totally Extinguished it? Our Good God has acquainted us with the Reason of it; I withheld them. Oh!
Let us now Give to our Good God, the Glory of such Wonderful Dispensations.
II. A Lesson of Wondrous Thankfulness is to be now taught unto those, whom God has Withheld from Sinning against Him. Sirs, You are Thankful, no doubt, that you have been Withheld from Things that would have brought Sicknesses upon you, or Things that would have wounded you with incurable Reproaches; That you have been Withheld from Wants and Straits, by which your Lives would have been Embittered; That you have been Withheld from grievous Deaths, by frightful Accidents which have threatened them. You are very much to Blame, if you are not very Thankful for such Deliverances; Unholy, if Unthankful! But are you Thankful that you have been Withheld from Sinning against the Glorious GOD? This, O Redeemed Ones, This is a greater Cause for Thanksgiving, than any of the rest. It may be, some of you have been all your Days hitherto upheld, and withheld from doing any Thing, of a Scandalous Aspect; Like the Young man in the Gospel, You have been kept from your Youth up, from every Thing that may be called, Scandalous. Oh! Be very Thankful, for so rare a Mercy; so rich a Mercy! Or, if not so, ⟨p. 28⟩yet you have been withheld from such Scandals as you have seen Others fall into. God has not Left you to make your selves Prodigies of Sin; God has not hanged you up in Chains, among the Monuments of his Wrath; Others no worse by Nature than you, have been so. Even in This, you have Ground of Thankfulness. Tis a Mercy of God; And a mere Mercy it is! Yea, My Hearers, I believe there are very few of you, but what may call to mind, that you have been at some Time or other, just upon the point of doing some very horrible Thing! You have been very violently pushed on, to do some horrible Thing, which if it had been done, you had been the most Undone Things in the World; Undone for Both Worlds! You may make that Report; Psal. LXXIII. 2. As for me, my Feet were almost gone, my steps had will-nigh, slipped. But God stepped in, and saved you. O fall down before the Lord, and thankfully admire so obliging a Mercy; and say, Bless the Lord, O my Soul; I bless thee, O my God, for thou hast delivered my Soul, in delivering my Feet from the Falls I have been so near unto!
II. A Lesson of Wondrous Thankfulness is to be now taught unto those, whom God has Witheld from Sinning against Him. Sirs, You are Thankful, no doubt, that you have been Witheld from Things that would have brought Sicknesses upon you, or Things that would have wounded you with incureable Reproaches; That you have been Witheld from Wants and Straits, by which your Lives would have been Embittered; That you have been Witheld from grievous Deaths, by frightful Accidents which have threatened them. You are very much to Blame, if you are not very Thankful for such Deliverances; Unholy, if Unthankful! But are you Thankful that you have been Witheld from Sinning against the Glorious GOD? This, O Redeemed Ones, This is a greater Cause for Thanksgiving, than any of the rest. It may be, some of you have been all your Dayes hitherto upheld, and witheld from doing any Thing, of a Scandalous Aspect; Like the Young man in the Gospel, You have been kept from your Youth up, from every Thing that may be called, Scandalous. Oh! Be very Thankful, for so rare a Mercy; so rich a Mercy! Or, if not so,
I will make Two Remarks on the Gratitude which is now called for. The ⟨p. 29⟩One is this; In this thing it may so fall out, that you may give a shining Demonstration of your Sincerity before the Lord. It may be, 'tis by some sore and sharp Affliction upon you, that God has Withheld you from Sinning against Him. Well, Can you now so far heartily give Thanks to God for this Affliction; and can you heartily say, Lord, I bless thee, that thou wouldest rather, bind me in Affliction and Iron, and bring down my Heart with Labour, then let me run Loose in the broad way that Leads unto Destruction! He was a Saint of God, who could say; Psal. CXIX. 67, 71. Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I have kept thy Word. It is good for me, that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy Statutes. O Thou Sin-hating Soul; This would be a mark of Sincerity, that would have no less than on Evident Token of Salvation in it. The Other is this; You must not fall into a Dream, that a Negative Religion, will be enough to secure your Blessedness. Many men, because they have been Withheld from such Things as many others are chargeable withal, they fancy they have Religion enough. They ⟨p. 30⟩can say, I am not as other men, or as this Publican, and they fancy here is Religion enough to put them in Good Terms with Heaven. A very Grand Mistake! You read; Matth. III. 10. Every Tree that brings not forth Good Fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the Fire. Tis not enough, that you bring not forth Evil Fruit; You must bring forth Good Fruit; and by a Regenerating Work of God upon you, be made Good Trees in order to it; You must not only be Withholden from Sin, but also be Converted from Sin; else you go into a Fire to be trembled at! Not only Sins of Commission, but also Sins of Omission, will expose you to it.
I will make Two Remarks on the Gratitude which is now called for. The ⟨p. 29⟩One is this; In this thing it may so fall out, that you may give a shining Demonstration of your Sincerity before the Lord. It may be, 'tis by some sore and sharp Affliction upon you, that God has Witheld you from Sinning against Him. Well, Can you now so far heartily give Thanks to God for this Affliction; and can you heartily say, Lord, I bless thee, that thou wouldest rather, bind me in Affliction and Iron, and bring down my Heart with Labour, then let me run Loose in the broad way that Leads unto Destruction! He was a Saint of God, who could say;
III. Certainly, it becomes us to do what we can, that Others as well as Our selves, may be Withheld from Sinning against the Glorious God. This is very plain; If the Mercy of God be great, in Withholding men from Sinning against Him, Then they who Seduce or Invite others to Sin, are the worst Enemies they can have in the world. Yea, 'tis a Mercy to be Delivered from such Unreasonable men; to be kept out of the Paths of such Destroyers! I will first say this; My Son, ⟨p. 31⟩If Sinners Entice thee to be and to do like themselves, Oh! Consent thou not; Fly from them, as thou wouldest from the worst of Enemies; Make no Friendship with them, lest thou Get a snare to thy Soul. But O you, Enticers, what will be your Doom from God? What shall be given to you, or what shall be done to you, or, What shall be said of you. O ye Mischievous Ones? An Apostle of God once fixing his Eyes on one of your Tribe, said, O Full of all Mischief, Th•• Child of the Devil! Were such a Man of God now to speak, he would surely tell you, Wretches, The Devil is your Father; you do his work. You shall be punished with your Father, and they who will Curse the Day th•• ever they […] you, will give a dread […] Aggravation to your punishment. On the other side; Shall not we do what we can, to With•ld Others from Sin? Tis God-like: A most amiable Imitation of God; And, Oh! how acceptable to the Holy Lord! But what shall be done? Public Officers may do very much in the Execution of their Offices. These are Masters of Restraint. And Oh! that all such would […] themselves to think, What may I do, […] Sin may be more discountenanced? ⟨p. 32⟩God forbid, they should fall under that Blame, They have overpassed the Deeds of the Wicked. But Private Christians may also do much by their Faithful and Loving Admonitions. Oh! Let us Call upon one another, & Exhort one another daily, lest any be hardened, through' the Deceitfulness of Sin. Our Warrant, it is unquestionable; Lev. XIX. 17. Thou shalt Rebuke thy Neighbour, and not suffer Sin upon him. And, if we all owe this Duty to one another,; if none but the Children of Gain will say, Am I my Brothers keeper? O Parents, How much do you owe this Duty unto your own Children, To Withhold them from Sinning against God? Those Children of yours, […] like the Wild Asses Colt, & as Wild and Md, into what Sin will they run headlong, and headstrong, if you do not Withhold them?
And can you bear to see them Sinning against your God, and Theirs, and as Possessed Ones keep cutting & wounding themselves among the Monuments of the Dead? Oh! Be concerned for them. Instruct them; Advise them; Lay the Charges of God upon them; Enquire into their Manners; Do not suffer them in any Evil Manners; nor with Companions that may Corrupt ⟨p. 33⟩their Good Manners. Have you forgot the Vengeance of God, on the House of Eli, when his Children made themselves Vile, and he Restrained them not! If they do any Vile Things, from which you can Withhold them, Verily, you make their Guilt your own; and be it known to you, God will do such Things upon both of you, as your Ears might well tingle at the hearing of. I will now say but this; If the Children must go on as Children left unto themselves, and you will not Withhold them, they will bring you to Shame, and themselves to Hell, and your Indulgence that will not allow you to make them sensible, that it is an Evil Thing and a Bitter, to Sin against God, will be found, Bitterness in the Latter End.
And can you bear to see them Sinning against your God, and Theirs, and as Possessed Ones keep cutting & wounding themselves among the Monuments of the Dead? Oh! Be concerned for them. Instruct them; Advise them; Lay the Charges of God upon them; Enquire into their Manners; Do not suffer them in any Evil Manners; nor with Companions that may Corrupt ⟨p. 33⟩their Good Manners. Have you forgot the Vengeance of God, on the House of Eli, when his Children made themselves Vile, and he Restrained them not! If they do any Vile Things, from which you can Withold them, Verily, you make their Guilt your own; and be it known to you, God will do such Things upon both of you, as your Ears might well tingle at the hearing of. I will now say but this; If the Children must go on as Children left unto themselves, and you will not Withold them, they will bring you to Shame, and themselves to Hell, and your Indulgence that will not allow you to make them sensible, that it is an Evil Thing and a Bitter, to Sin against God, will be found, Bitterness in the Latter End.
IV. But what if we have not been Withheld from Sinning against the Holy God, who is of purer Eyes than to behold Evil, and who cannot Look upon Iniquity? On! Let us then mourn exceedingly before the Lord, and not withhold our Tears upon on Occasion so very deplorable! My Brethren, Let us look back on what is past, and Consider our Ways. It may be, we shall find, that we have grievously, ⟨p. 34⟩and heinously, perhaps notoriously Miscarried, in our Time What shall we now do, but Walk softly all our Days in the Bitterness of our Soul, from the Remembrance of our past Miscarriages. We would not have the Holy One to do it against us, but let us Remember against our selves, our Former Iniquities; and upon the Review thereof, Let our Lamentations be those; Lam. III. 19, 20. Remembering the Wormwood and the Gall, my Soul has them still in Remembrance, & is humbled in me. Have we been Left unto such as I may call. Sins of Distinction? It is a most humbling Remark that we have to make upon it. Other Dealings of God with us, be they never so Bitter Ones, may be but Paternal Chastisements after all. But when God leaves us to Sin against Him, This looks as if he dealt more Vindictively with us, Alas, Herein▪ He has wounded us with the wound of an Enemy, and with the Chastisement of a very Angry One. O dreadful, O dreadful, Indignation of God! We may now cry out, O Lord, Thou hast rebuked me in thy wrath; with wounds that stink & are corrupt, because of my Foolishness. The Wise man says concerning the Sins of Unchastity; They are the Abhorred of the ⟨p. 35⟩Lord, that fall into them! I may say unto you, Sirs, To be given up to Sin, 'tis a plague for a Devil! Oh, Plague a thousand times more horrible than the Pestilence that is the Terror of the Night: How can we be free from Terror, when we see our selves thus horribly plagued, and in so hot a Displeasure of God!
IV. But what if we have not been Witheld from Sinning against the Holy God, who is of purer Eyes than to behold Evil, and who cannot Look upon Iniquity? On! Let us then mourn exceedingly before the Lord, and not withold our Tears upon on Occasion so very deplorable! My Brethren, Let us look back on what is past, and Con•ider our Wayes. It may be, we shall find, that we have grievously,
Thirdly. We may wonder, That there is any True People of God Left in the World; and that the Burning Bush is not Consumed. Our Lord-Redeemer has thro' all Ages, a Church visibly Existing on the Face of the Earth; His Willing, ⟨p. 25⟩and His Holy People. The Generation of them that seek Him: A Generation which Condemns the World, and Offends it, and 〈…〉 it, and must not marvel, if it be 〈…〉 of the World Satan, who is the God of this World, and the Spirit that works in the Children of Disobedience, fills his Children with an implacable Aversion and Antipathy for this People of God. They will grant not only Liberties, but also Preferments, to Devils Incarnate 〈…〉 yea, tho' they may differ very much among one another. But they will turn every Stone, that the Children of God may be Discouraged, and even Exterminated. The Persecution of Dissenters, has been in all Ages carried on; Always with most Unreasonable Barbarities, and sometimes, to an Extremity of cruel Dissipations; even such an Extremity, that the Dioclesians on the Thrones of Iniquity, have boasted, of a, Superstitione Christiana deleta; That there was no more Christianity •eft in the World. But still the Church of our Lord, Our-lives the Attempts of all its Adversaries, yea, gains ground, grows great, & improves by those Attempts; and having Obtained ⟨p. 26⟩Help from God, it continues to this Day. The Song of the Church in all Ages hath been that; Psa. LXXVI. 10. Surely, The wrath of man shall praise thee, the Remainder of that Wrath shalt thou Restrain. We can hardly tell whence it is, That tho' the Wolves bring forth many more at a Littter, than the Sheep; and we seldom hear of a Wolf kill'd, when the Sheep is every day Led into the Shambles; yet there are a thousand times more Sheep known in the World than there are of those ravening Devourers. But I now propound a much stranger thing than this. The Faithful People of God, are Counted like sheep for the slaughter all the Day long. They are but a Little Flock, a very Little Little Flock; The Wolves, they, as it was of Old said about a Syrian Herd of them, Fill the Country. Now, Whence is it, that the Church is not utterly cut off; & the Name of it, no more had in Remembrance! Why have no Dayes of Purim, and of Bartholomew, nor Irish Massacres totally Extinguished it? Our Good God has acquainted us with the Reason of it; I witheld them. Oh!
III. Certainly, it becomes us to do what we can, that Others as well as Our selves, may be Witheld from Sinning against the Glorious God. This is very plain; If the Mercy of God be great, in Witholding men from Sinning against Him, Then they who Seduce or Invite others to Sin, are the worst Enemies they can have in the world. Yea, 'tis a Mercy to be Delivered from such Unreasonable men; to be kept out of the Paths of such Destroyers! I will first say this; My Son, ⟨p. 31⟩If Sinners Entice thee to be and to do like themselves, Oh! Consent thou not; Fly from them, as thou wouldest from the worst of Enemies; Make no Friendship with them, lest thou Get a snare to thy Soul. But O you, Enticers, what will be your Doom from God? What shall be given to you, or what shall be done to you, or, What shall be said of you. O ye Mischievous Ones? An Apostle of God once fixing his Eyes on one of your Tribe, said, O Full of all Mischief, Th•• Child of the Devil! Were such a Man of God now to speak, he would surely tell you, Wretches, The Devil is your Father; you do his work. You shall be punished with your Father, and they who will Curse the Day th•• ever they 〈…〉 you, will give a dread 〈…〉 Aggravation to your punishment. On the other side; Shall not we do what we can, to With•ld Others from Sin? Tis God-like: A most amiable Imitation of God; And, Oh! how acceptable to the Holy Lord! But what shall be done? Publick Officers may do very much in the Execution of their Offices. These are Masters of Restraint. And Oh! that all such would 〈…〉 themselves to think, What may I do, 〈…〉 Sin may be more discountenanced? ⟨p. 32⟩God forbid, they should fall under that Blame, They have overpassed the Deeds of the Wicked. But Private Christians may also do much by their Faithful and Loving Admonitions. Oh! Let us Call upon one another, & Exhort one another daily, lest any be hardened, thro' the Deceitfulness of Sin. Our Warrant, it is unquestionable; Lev. XIX. 17. Thou shalt Rebuke thy Neighbour, and not suffer Sin upon him. And, if we all owe this Duty to one another,; if none but the Children of Gain will say, Am I my Brothers keeper? O Parents, How much do you owe this Duty unto your own Children, To Withold them from Sinning against God? Those Children of yours, 〈…〉 like the Wild Asses Colt, & as Wild and M••d, into what Sin will they run headlong, and headstrong, if you do not Withold them?
