2. Sin is ftronger than affliction, no rod will drive it away; Ifa. xi. 13. "The people turn not to him that fmites them, neither do they feek the Lord:" nay, they are apt to revolt more and more; Ifa. Ivii. 17. For the iniquity of his covetoufnefs was I wroth, and fmote him; yet he went on frowardly in the way of his heart."

3. As it is ftronger than affliction, so it is stronger than conviction. Many go to hell with a bofom-full of convictions and, does not fin hurry people to run its errands by a multitude of wicked actions, and that over the belly of a thoufand convictions, confcience flying in their face for omitting fuch a duty, or committing fuch a trefpafs; yet fin mafters it.

4. Sin is ftronger than warnings, calls, and all external means; for it makes men flight all these as trifles, and stand out against them. Sin is not daunted with the threatenings of hell and wrath; "Becaufe fentence again't an evil work is not fpeedily executed, therefore the heart of the children of men is fet in them to do evil." Neither can it be allured with the promises of the gofpe!; "Who hath believed our report?" Again,

5. Sin is ftronger than refolutions, vows, and promifes. Perhaps you have refolved an hundred times, and folemnly vowed against such fins; but all your vows and refolutions have been but like flax or tow before the fire of a new temptation. Your legal weapons of warfare againft fin are too weak; your leviathan lufts, they but laugh at the fhaking of your spear. Again,

6. Sin is ftronger than the world. The frowns and flatteries of the world are very strong, very deceitful and enfnaring; but fin in the heart is yet more strong and deceitful: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Sin is ftronger than all the good examples and good education of the world, let be the evil things in it.

7. But no wonder that it be stronger than the world; for it is ftronger than the devil, the God of this world. The devil may tempt, but he cannot compel, as fin does; he may work upon the fancy, but he cannot conquer the will, as fin does: fin does all that work to his hand, and fo his work is the more easy.

8. Sin is ftronger than death and the grave. Death itfelf cannot kill fin: death hath deftroyed millions of millions of men and women, but it never deftroyed one fin. The power of death is very great, infomuch that none among mere men could ever yet either withstand the arreft of death, nor break the prison of death, which is the grave; yet it is easier to bring a dead body out of the grave, and to raife it to life; than to raise a dead foul out of the grave of fin. The dead bodies will not refift, as the foul dead in trefpaffes will do. Yea,

9. Sin is ftronger than hell; for all the flames of hell cannot burn out the drois of fin and corruption: all the torments of the damned will not make them ccafe from blafpheming the name of God, Rev. xvi. 9. 11.; where you may learn, that all the torments of hell will not make a man repent, but rather increafe his impenitency and augment his blafphemy. What fhall I fay?

10. Sin is not only ftronger than the fufferings of hell, but ftronger than the fuburbs of heaven; I mean, it is ftronger than real grace, which is the beginning of hea

ven.

It is not only fironger than common grace, for common grace can hardly ftand before a common temptation; but ftronger than real habitual grace. Peter had a large ftock of habitual grace, yet fin was ftronger, and brought him down to the ground by a bafe denial of his Lord: Paul had a great measure of true grace, and yet he was led captive to the law of fin that was in his members, Rom. vii. 23. till a new recruit of auxiliary grace came from the Lord Jefus to him. Sin is not only stronger than the common motions of the Spirit, which men through the power of fin do refift every day; but it is stronger than fpecial influences, formerly received, till new fupplies of influences come from the glori ous Head; stronger than former influences, till a new communication come; ftronger than former communications, till once a new manifeftation come; fronger than former manifeftations, till new divine aids fill fucceed. Thus it is stronger than the very fuburbs of heaven; and you need not think ftrange of this: for, what if I fhall fay, and prove, that fin is ftronger than perC 3

fe&t

fect holiness, and the formal immediate vision of God in heaven, when it is poflible for fin to get in its hand there, as you know it did once among the glorious angels? Notwithstanding of the ftrong bulwark of perfect holiness and formal vifion of God that they were bleffed with, fin brake in upon them, and brought down legions of them: it overcame them, fo as now they are devils, under the rule and government of fin. If fin then brought devils and men from their excellency while they were in their best eftate, you need not think strange that we fay fin is ftronger than that which may be called the fuburbs of heaven; and therefore, little wonder that you find fin to be fo ftrong, that it is much fronger than your prayers and tears: may be, for this you befought the Lord thrice, as Paul did in a like cafe; yea, perhaps, three hundred times, and yet the bow of fin abides in ftrength. Alas! fin is ftronger than prayers and tears, ftronger than fighs and groans; it is ftronger than afflictions and enlargements, ftronger than fermons and facraments. Oh! a greater ftrength than all that, is requifite for pulling down the ftrength of fin; and if you get a view of the ftrength of fin this day, fo as to be led out of yourself, and out of your duties, and a little further than means and ordinances to the ftrength of the Redeemer, it would be a very good communionfeafon.

[3] Confider the ftrength of fin fuperlatively, or in the fuperlative degree. I must tell you, fin is not only a firong thing, and ftronger than many things that I have named, but alfo it is the strongest thing in nature, the frongeft thing in hell, and the firongeft thing out of heaven. Particularly,

1. Sin is the strongest weight and burden, the ftrongeft preffure that ever was, the moft burdenfome thing in the world; for it is a burden to the great God: No wonder then that the whole creation groan under the burden of it; for it is a burden to God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft: God is faid to be weary with it, fpeaking after the manner of men; "Ye have wearied me with your iniquities," Ifa. xliii. 24. It was a burden to Christ, that made him fweat great drops of blood; it is a burden

to

to the Holy Ghoft, therefore called a vexing, grieving, and doing despite to him. What a burden will it be to men that die in it? And what a burden do the people of God find it? Nothing preffes them down fo much as

this?

2. Sin is the firongeft fling, the firongeft torment: it is the fling of all ftings, the fting of forrow, the fting of affliction, the fting of defertion, the fting of death, as here in the context, The fting of death is fin. The pains of death are nothing to the fting of death: the pain is tolerable, but the fting is intolerable.

:

3. As it is the ftrongeft fting, fo it is the ftrongeft poifon if but a drop of that poifon could poffibly get into the nature of God, he would ceafe to be, as I formerly noticed. What a mighty poifon would it be, that if one drop of it were caft into the ocean, it would poifon the whole ocean? So it is here; and little wonder then, when fome of this poifon entered the human and angelical natures, it poifoned them, and turned them to devils and monfters. There is no antidote against it, but the blood of Chrift.

4. Sin is the ftrongeft plague and disease that ever was; you that know the plagues of your own hearts, will know this. Sin is the mother of all maladies and foul-difeafes, and is a compound of all. The worst fever in the world. is the inflamed lufts of the flesh; the most dangerous tympany is the towering pride of the heart, and fwelling of the vain mind; the most fearful flux is the bloody flux of fin and corruption. O what divine power is requifite for drying up this bloody iffue! What dropfy is fo deadly as that of drinking in iniquity as the ox drinketh water? What apoplexy and pally is fo direful as that by which people fall into mifchief, and hinders all fpiritual breathing and motion! And what lethargy fo lamentable as that of spiritual fecurity and ftupidity! The world is an hofpital of difeafed fouls. O if the Phyfician Jesus Chrift would come and heal!

5. Sin is the firongest tyrant, and the moft cruel. It hath a tyranny moft lawless and intolerable. There is not any other oppreffor but will give fome reft fometimes, at leaft to thefe that are under his flavery; as cruel Pha

raoh gave the Ifraelites leave to refresh themfelves with meat, and drink, and fleep: but fin gives no reft to its miferable captives and flaves; for, whether they eat, drink or fleep, it always exacts of them the fervice of fin. Auguftine fpeaking of the tyranny of fin, even over the people of God, "Many times, fays he, fin does that "when they are fleeping, that it cannot do when they "are waking." And if fin be fo tyrannical towards the children of God, how great is its tyranny towards its flaves? Surely there is no peace to the wicked, no rest for them. Satan put it in Judas's heart to betray Jefus; and behold he would not let him reft till he had performed that evil fuggeftion: the devil was fo ftrict with him, that he would not let him eat his meat, but haftened him from the table to the treafon. Thus Amnon, being incited by his own devilifh lufts to defile his fifter Tamar, was fo inwardly vexed, that his very flesh wore away, and his mind had no reft; he could not eat, or drink, or fleep, till he had fatisfied his luft. What an intolerable tyrant is the man's inordinate affections, giving him no reft day nor night! As it is faid of fome, Prov. iv. 16. They fleep not, except they have done mifchief; their fleep is taken away, unless they caufe fome to fall.

6. Sin is the ftrongest witchcraft; Gal. iii. 1. “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, fays the apoftle, that you should not obey the truth, before whofe, eyes Chrift hath been evidently fet forth crucified among you?" People think it a terrible thing to hear that fuch a body is bewitched or poffeft of the devil; but I must tell all you who will not receive the gofpel, you are bewitched; fin hath bewitched you and to be bodily poffeft with a legion of devils, is not fo great a mifery, as to be under the power of one fin. A man poffeft is an object of pity: thus Chrift pitied the man whofe name was Legion: but fin makes a man the object of Chrift's hatred. When God gave up Job's body to the devil, why did not the devil take poffeffion of him, fays one of the fathers?" Why, fays he, becaufe, though he had taken poffeffion of "his body, and made him fret and tear himself, it had "not been his fin, but his affliction: whereas, to bring

him to fin, and curfe God, was the great thing he

"fought