You will say, How can this be?

You will say, How can this be?

Thus, There may be some sins that they have among them that may have greater aggravations than any sins that other people have, that may make their condition (all things considered) worse. We here in this Land have much rejoiced heretofore in this, that we have had the doctrine of religion so pure among us as no people more, and certainly except it has been through some few that of late days have sought to corrupt it, certainly that must be said, that the doctrine has been kept very pure, as the main things of religion, and in some things we have gone beyond other reformed Churches, as in the point of the Sabbath a great deal beyond them; and so there has been here in England for family duties, never had God more honor from any people in the world than he has had from us in many respects; but yet for all this it seems by God's dealings with us at this day, that God is more provoked with us than with other people, and the truth is, take these one or two things and I think that no people upon the face of the earth can parallel our guilt, not only no people that are now, but never any people since the world began, as that bitterness of spirit in the hatred of the power of godliness and the opposing of it, and persecuting of it, never was any people so guilty as we have been; in other reformed Churches men may be as forward and zealous as they will and they are not persecuted as they are here, & though they kept the Sabbath more loosely, yet they never persecuted men that kept it strictly, & there was never heard that stopping of the mouth of the faithful ministry so generally as here in England, if there were but any stirring ministry in any place, presently fly upon them; and so it may well be said to us at this day, Rejoice not as other people. God has spit in our faces, to tell us that our condition is worse than the condition of other people.

Yes but still, If we be idolaters (would the ten Tribes say) they are so too.

Here was one particular aggravation upon Israel that was not among other people, and that was this, There was no other people would forsake their gods as Israel had forsaken theirs (Jeremiah 2:10). There was never such a thing as for a land to change their god, (the worst people, for Kedar was the worst sort of people, they were a vile people, and yet) go to Kedar and see and search diligently whether any nation has ever forsaken their gods, But you have forsaken Me. And from there there may be this note.

That to be constant to ill principles is not so great an evil, as to be false against good principles. (I say) God accounts it not to be so great an evil for men to be constant to their principles though they be evil principles as for men to forsake good principles; as now if a man has been brought up all his days in superstition and thinks verily this is the right, certainly this man is not so guilty before God as another that has been educated in the true worship of God, and has made profession of the contrary and yet afterward does apostatize, and backslide. God had rather that men should keep to their principles though they be evil, than entertain good principles and forsake them. There are none so vile in God's eyes as apostates, there is not so much sordidness and baseness of spirit in those men that will keep constant to their principles though they be evil as in such as will betray their principles that are good.

And then the principal observation is this: That the sins of God's people are the greatest sins of all; the sins of the saints are the greatest sins of all, and they are to mourn more than any. In Amos 3:2, You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore will I visit you for your iniquities; your sins are greater. And that in (Romans 2:9), Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that does evil, of the Jew first, and also the Gentile. And we have these two excellent texts in Jeremiah 18:13, Ask you now among the heathen, who has heard such things? the Virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing; that's the aggravation that it is the Virgin of Israel that has done such a horrible thing. But especially that text in Jeremiah 32:30, For the children of Israel, and the children of Judah have only done evil from their youth. Now Hierom has such a note upon this. What, the children of Israel (says he) and Judah only done evil from their youth? What, has none done evil but they? He gives this answer, He that has the knowledge of God and goes from it, he alone sins in the eyes of God, as for unbelievers they sin too but it is as if God saw it not, and as if God minded it not, as he says in the Acts, that he winks at the days of their ignorance, but they only sin that have had the knowledge of God. We read of these Philistines that they ventured to carry the Ark upon carts; God did not manifest himself provoked against them that carried the Ark so, but when the Levites would presume to carry it upon carts, the Lord makes a breach upon them and strikes Uzzah with death; he did bear with it in the Philistines, which was a little before, and it may be they presumed and thought the Philistines carried the Ark upon a cart, why may not we? That which God will bear from others he will not bear from his own, their sins are against covenant, and that's a special thing, there has not been that solemn covenant between me and other people as between you and me. This is a mighty aggravation against the sins of God's people, more than against any people in the world, that they are against covenant.

Oh! remember this, you that do often covenant with God, when you are in Prayer, Oh! how do you renew your Covenant with Grace with God? What promises do you make with God in Prayer, and yet you grow again loose, and false, and vile afterwards? Oh! you must not rejoice as other people; you look upon a drunkard that reels in the streets, and hear a swearer blaspheme the name of God, yes, but that may not be so great an evil as the vanity of your spirit, and why? The looseness of your heart, and those secret sins you are guilty of, because you have so covenanted and bound yourself to God: the drunkard was never made sensible of his sin and wrath of God upon his conscience; but the wrath of God has been upon your conscience, and you have engaged yourself to God, if he would show mercy, Oh! you would walk holily and strictly before him. Now do you think that your sins are as the sins of other people? They never had such soul-quickening ordinances, but go up and down to taverns and alehouses, and never know what a powerful sermon meant upon their hearts, and had they such means as you have, then it is like it would be with them far better than now; and the name of God is not so much polluted by them as by you; you that are a professor of religion the eyes of all men are upon you, and in your sin you do not only disobey God, but you do pollute the name of God, you are a stumbling block to others, and the cause of the hardening of many hundreds in their sins, and therefore your sin certainly is worse than others. This would be a great point to show how the sins of the professors of religion are worse than others, and therefore it is not enough for you to say, We are all sinners: No, we must not excuse ourselves in this, that others are guilty as well as we, Oh! but consider what aggravations there is of your sin more than there is of the sins of others. It is a sign of a very carnal heart to think to go away thus, it is true, I sin, and others sin as well as I do; yes, but a true penitent heart will not only consider that he is a sinner, but what aggravations are there upon his sin more than upon the sins of others? And so will lay it upon their hearts, It is true, such and such sin, but had they what I have had, it would not be so with them; my sin that has broken through so many terrors of conscience, and that God has sought by such means to keep me from my sin, it is a sign of the violence of my spirit indeed that has broken through so much as I have done. It is therefore an abominable thing to make our profession in holy duties a medium to make our sins less, do you think that this is a means to make you escape that wrath? Certainly this is a great aggravation of your sins.

We have a generation of men among us, that because they are believers, therefore they need no sorrow for their sin, they must have only joy. Now certainly your being a believer may aggravate your sin so much the more, and may make it so much the more vile, and may pierce your heart so much the more; for if you are a believer you know what the pardon of your sins cost; therefore, certainly God's mercies towards you are the aggravation of your sins. The truth is, suppose our sins were not so great as the sins of some other people are, yet it is not always an argument that we may rejoice as other people.

Why so? (you will say.)

Thus: Suppose our sins be but equal, or less than the sins of other people, yet it is more than we know whether God will pass by our sins so much as by the sins of others. What if God out of his prerogative damn you for a little sin, and save others that have committed great sins? We have such examples in Scripture, as in the example of Saul, the thing that God cast away Saul for, in its self it was not so much as that which David had been guilty of, he had been guilty of grosser sins than that which God cast away Saul for, Saul might have said, this is an offence, but is this like murder and adultery? What if it be not, God will pardon David, and cast away Saul. Oh! do not you think to rejoice as other people do; why, may not God do with his mercy as he pleases, it is his own; God may pardon one, and damn you eternally. And therefore let no sinner please himself with what others do, for he is not to do as others do. Now it follows.