Because of your great wickedness

Because of your great wickedness.

The word is, Because of the wickedness of your wickedness, so the Hebrews express the superlative degree, by a genitive case, the evil of the evil, the wickedness of the wickedness. From where observe,

Other sins are great sins, but this of false worship indeed is THE great sin that God is provoked against a people for. From where, let us not make light account of the worship of God, for how little soever God's worship is in our eyes, yet it is a great matter in God's eyes, and though you think that the sins against God in the matter of his worship be but small, yet God says, it is the great wickedness, it is the wickedness of wickedness. And great wickedness it may be call'd not only in respect of the nature of it, but from many aggravations, and long continuance in it, notwithstanding all their means.

You may note further from hence: God takes notice not only of men's sins, but of the aggravation of their sins. Oh! let us do thus, do not only look upon your sins and acknowledge yourselves to be sinners, but look upon the aggravations of your sins; Oh! this sin committed against so many mercies, so many prayers, and resolutions, and vows, and covenants, and so many deliverances that I have had; labor to lay the aggravations of your sins upon your hearts, and this is the way to humble your hearts before the Lord. Indeed the saints of God they need not seek to excuse their sins, be not afraid to lay the aggravations of sin upon your own hearts, according to what great aggravations there may be. Greaten your wickedness before the Lord, do not so as ordinarily people do, to extenuate your sins, for if there be any extenuation that possibly can be, Jesus Christ will find out that in his pleading, Christ is your advocate who sits at the right hand of the Father, and it is his work to plead your cause, and therefore if there can be any thing to extenuate a sin he will do it; you know that when he was here in this world, when his disciples did offend very much in that sleepiness of theirs, that when Christ was to suffer they could not watch with him one hour, that sin might have been aggravated with abundance of circumstances, but says Christ, The flesh is weak, but the spirit is willing; he falls to extenuate and excuse. Now that which Christ did there, he will be ready to do in Heaven, for you that are a saint.

And then further, According to greatness of sins so is the greatness of wrath; great wickedness and great wrath they go together, and therefore according to the greatness of sins should the greatness of our humiliation be. For so it is said of Manasseh, that he humbled himself greatly, and in (Lamentations 1:20) where the Church is humbling itself before God for the great wickedness and the great wrath that was upon them. Behold, Oh Lord, for I am in distress; my bowels are troubled, mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled. Mark, here you have these two points together, the Church aggravates her sin, I have grievously rebelled; and what then? Oh Lord, I am in distress; my bowels are troubled, my heart is turned within me. Oh! remember this text you whose consciences do tell you of grievous rebellions.

The last words follow;