Considerations to Prevent Men from Using Sinful Shifts to Deliver Themselves out of Their Afflictions

Now, because there is even in good men sometimes too great an aptness and proneness to sin, and shift themselves out of afflictions, when they should rather be mute and silent under them, give me leave to lay down these considerations to prevent it.

(1.) Consider, that there is infinitely more evil in the least sin, Jam. iii. 5 — 10, than there is in the greatest miseries and afflictions that can possibly come upon you; yea, there is more evil in the least sin, than there is in all the troubles that ever came upon the world, Prov. viii. 36; 1 John iii. 4; Rev. xxi. 8; yea, than there is in all the miseries and torments of hell. The least sin is an offence to the great God, it is wrong to the immortal soul. It is a breach of a righteous law, it cannot be washed away but by the blood of Jesus, it can shut the soul out of heaven, and shut the soul up a close prisoner in hell for ever and ever. If you consider sin strictly, there cannot be any little sin, no more than there can be a little God, a little hell, or a little damnation; yet, comparatively, some sins may be said to be little. The least sin is rather to be avoided and prevented, than the greatest sufferings. If this cockatrice be not crushed in the egg, it will soon become a serpent, the very thought of sin, if indulged in, will break forth into action, action into custom, custom into habit, and then both body and soul are lost irrecoverably, to all eternity. The least sin is very dangerous. The least spark may consume the greatest house, and the least leak sink the greatest ship. A little postern opened may betray the greatest city. A dram of poison diffuseth itself to all parts, till it strangle the vital spirits, and turn out the soul from the body. If the serpent can but wriggle in by an evil thought, he will soon make surprisal of the soul; as you see in that great instance of Adam and Eve. The trees of the forest, saith one in a parable, held a solemn parliament, wherein they consulted of the innumerable wrongs which the axe had done them; therefore they made an act, that no tree should hereafter lend the axe a helve, on pain of being cut down. The axe travels up and down the forest, begs wood of the cedar, oak, ash, elm, even of the poplar; not one would lend him a chip. At last he desired so much as would serve him to cut down the briers and bushes, alleging, that such shrubs as they did but suck away the juice of the ground, and hinder the growth and obscure the glory of the fair and goodly trees. Hereupon they were all content to afford him so much: he pretends a thorough reformation, but, behold a sad deformation; for when he had got his helve, down went both cedar, oak, ash, elm, and all that stood in his way. Such are the subtle reaches of sin, that it will promise to remove the briars and bushes of afflictions and troubles, that hinder the soul of that juice, sweetness, comfort, delight, and content, that it might otherwise enjoy. But now yield a little to it, and, instead of removing your troubles, it will cut down your peace, your hopes, your comforts, yea, it will cut down your precious souls. What is the breathing of a vein to the being let blood in the throat? or a scratch in the hand to a stab at the heart? No more are the greatest afflictions to the least sins; and therefore, christians, never use sinful shifts to get yourselves out of troubles, but rather be mute and silent under them, till the Lord shall work out your deliverance from them. But,

(2.) Consider, it is an impossible thing for

7# any to sin themselves <out of their troubles. Abraham, Job, and Jonah attempted it, but could not effect it. The devils have experienced this nearly six thousand years; they had not been now in chains could they but have sinned themselves out of their chains: could the condemned sin themselves out of everlasting burnings, Isa. xxxiii. 14, there would have been none now roaring, in that devouring, unquenchable fire; hell would have no inhabitants could they but sin themselves out of it. Ah, christians! devils and condemned spirits shall as soon sin themselves out of hell, as you shall be able to sin yourselves out of your afflictions. Christians, you shall as soon stop the sun from running her course, contract the sea in a nutshell, compass the earth with a span, and raise the dead at your pleasure, as ever you shall be able to sin yourselves out of your sufferings; and, therefore, it is better to be silent and quiet under them, than to attempt that which it is impossible to accomplish. The second consideration will receive further confirmation by the next particular.

(3.) As it is an impossible thing, so it is a very prejudicial, a very dangerous thing, to attempt to sin yourselves out of your troubles; for, by attempting to sin yourselves out of one trouble, you will sin yourselves into many troubles, as Jonah did; by laboring to sin yourselves out of less troubles, you will sin yourselves into greater troubles, as Saul did; and, by endeavoring to sin yourselves from under outward troubles, you will sin yourselves under inward troubles and distresses, which are the sorest and saddest of all troubles. Some there have been, who, by laboring to sin themselves out of their present sufferings, have sinned themselves under such horrors and terrors of conscience, that they could neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep, but have been ready to lay violent hands upon themselves.

Cyprian, in his sermon De lapsis, speaks of divers, who, forsaking the faith to avoid sufferings, were given over to be possessed of evil spirits, and died fearfully. Oh, man! thou dost not know what deadly sin, what deadly temptation, what deadly judgment, what deadly stroke, thou mayst fall under, who attemptest to sin thyself out of troubles. What is it to take Venice, and be hanged at the gates thereof? It is better to be silent and mute under thy afflictions, than, by using sinful shifts, to sin thyself under greater afflictions.

(4.) Consider, it is a very ignoble and unworthy thing, to go to sin yourselves out of your troubles and straits; it argues a poor, a low, a weak, a dastardly, and an effeminate spirit, to use base shifts, to shuffle yourselves out of your troubles. Men of noble, courageous, and magnanimous spirits, will disdain and scorn it; as you may see in the three Hebrews, Dan. iii. 8-30, and in Daniel, and those worthies, in the 11th of the Hebrews, of whom this world was not worthy. Jerome writes of a brave woman, who, being upon the rack, bade her persecutors do their worst, for she was resolved to die, rather than lie. And the prince of Conde being taken prisoner by Charles IX. king of France, and put to his choice, whether he would go to mass, or be put to death, or suffer perpetual imprisonment, his noble answer was, That, by God’s help, he would never choose the first, and, for either of the latter, he left it to the king’s pleasure and God’s providence.

A soul truly noble, will sooner part with all than the peace of a good conscience. Thus, blessed Hooper desired to be rather discharged of his bishopric, than yield to certain ceremonies.

I have read of Marcus Arethusus, an eminent servant of the Lord in gospel work, who, in the time of Constantine, had been the cause of overthrowing an idol temple; but Julian, coming to be emperor, commanded the people of that place to build it up again. All were ready so to do, only he refused it; whereupon his own people, to whom he had preached, fell upon him, stript off all his clothes, then abused his naked body, and gave it up to children and schoolboys to be lanced with their penknives; but, when all this would not do, they caused him to be set in the sun, his naked bodyanointed all over with honey, that so he might be bitten and stung to death by flies and wasps; and all this cruelty they exercised on him, because he would not do any thing towards the rebuilding of that idol temple, nay, they came so far, that, if he would give but one halfpenny towards the charge, they would release him; but he refused it with a noble christian disdain, though the advancing of one half penny might have saved his life. And, in so doing, he did but live up to that noble principle that most commend, but few practise, namely, That christians must choose rather to suffer the worst of torments, than to commit the least of sins, whereby God should be dishonored, his name blasphemed, religion reproached, profession scorned, weak saints discouraged, and men’s consciences wounded, and their souls endangered. Now, tell me, christians, is it not better to be silent and mute under your sorest trials and troubles, than to labor by sin to shift yourselves out of them, and so proclaim to all the world that you are persons of very low, poor, and ignoble spirits? But,

(5.) Consider, sinful shifts and means God hath always cursed and blasted. Achan’s golden wedge was but a wedge to cleave him, and his garment a shroud to shroud him. Ahab purchases a vineyard with the blood of the owner, but presently it was watered with his own blood, according to the word of the Lord. Gehazi must needs have a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment, and that with a lie. Well, he hath them, and he hath with them a leprosy that cleaved to him and his seed forever, 2 Kings v. 20 — 27. With those very hands that Judas took money to betray his master, he fitted a halter to hang himself. The rich and wretched glutton fared delicately, and went bravely every day, but the next news you hear of him is of his being in hell, crying out for a drop, who, when he was on earth, would not give a crumb.

The coal that the eagle carried from the altar to her nest, set all on fire.

Crassus did not long enjoy the fruit of his covetousness, for the Parthians taking him, poured melted gold down his throat.

Dionysius did not long enjoy the fruit of his sacrilege and tyranny; for he was glad to change his sceptre into a ferula, and turn schoolmaster for his maintenance. Ah, christians, christians! is it not far better to sit quiet and silent under your afHictions, than to use such sinful shifts and means, which God will certainly blast and curse? But,

(6.) Lastly, consider this, that your very attempting to sin and shift yourselves out of troubles and afflictions will cost you dear; *

* A man may buy any thing too dear, but Christ, grace, his own soul, and the gospel.

it will cost you many prayers, many tears, many sighs, many groans, many terrors, and many horrors. Peter by attempting to sin himself out of trouble, sins himself into a sea of sorrows; “He went forth, and wept bitterly,” Matt, xx vi. 75.

Were David, Jacob, and Jonah now alive, they would tell you that they have found this to be a truth in their own experience. Oh, christians! it is far better to be quiet and silent under your sufferings, than to pay so dear for attempting to sin and shift yourselves out of your sufferings. A man will not buy gold too dear, and why, then, should he buy himself out of troubles at too dear a rate?