the two main pillars of it, and, breaking them, down came the house.
Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and to destroy by
converting grace, as well as by redeeming blood. Now, sin swarms, and
lieth by legions, and whole armies, in the souls of the biggest
sinners, as in garrisons;14 wherefore, the way, the most direct way, to
destroy it, is first to deal with such sinners by the word of his
gospel, and by the merits of his passion.
For example, though I shall give you but a homely one; suppose a family
to be very lousy, and one or two of the family to be in chief the
breeders, the way, the quickest way, to clean that family, or at least
to weaken the so swarming of those vermin, is, in the first place, to
sweeten the skin, head, and clothes of the chief breeders; and then,
though all the family should be apt to breed them, the number of them,
and so the greatness of that plague there, will be the more impaired.
Why, there are some people that are in chief the devil’s sin-breeders
in the towns and places where they live. The place, town, or family
where they live, must needs be horribly lousy, and, as it were, eaten
up with vermin. Now, let the Lord Jesus, in the first place, cleanse
these great breeders, and there will be given a nip to those swarms of
sins that used to be committed in such places throughout the town,
house, or family, where such sin-breeding persons used to be.
I speak by experience. I was one of these lousy ones, one of these
great sin-breeders; I infected all the youth of the town where I was
born, with all manner of youthful vanities. The neighbours counted me
so; my practice proved me so: wherefore Christ Jesus took me first; and
taking me first, the contagion was much allayed all the town over. When
God made me sigh, they would hearken, and inquiringly say, What’s the
matter with John? They also gave their various opinions of me; but, as
I said, sin cooled, and failed, as to his full career. When I went out
to seek the bread of life, some of them would follow, and the rest be
put into a muse 15 at home. Yea, almost the town, at first, at times
would go out to hear at the place where I found good; yea, young and
old for a while had some reformation on them; also some of them,
perceiving that God had mercy upon me, came crying to him for mercy
too.
But what need I give you an instance of poor I; I will come to Manasseh
the king. So long as he was a ringleading sinner, the great idolater,
and chief for devilism, the whole land flowed with wickedness; for he
made them to sin (2 Chron 33), and do worse than the heathen that dwelt
round about them, or that was cast out from before them: but when God
converted him, the whole land was reformed. Down went the groves, the
idols, and altars of Baal, and up went true religion in much of the
power and purity of it. You will say, The king reformed by power. I
answer, doubtless, and by example too; for people observe their
leaders; as their fathers did, so did they (2 Kings 17:41). This,
therefore, is another reason why Jesus would have mercy offered, in the
first place, to the biggest sinners, because that is the best way, if
they receive it, most to weaken the kingdom of Satan, and to keep it
poor and low.
And do you not think now, that if God would but take hold of the hearts
of some of the most notorious in your town, in your family, or country,
that this thing would be verified before your faces? It would, it
would, to the joy of you that are godly, to the making of hell to sigh,
to the great suppressing of sin, the glory of Christ, and the joy of
the angels of God.16 And ministers, should, therefore, that this work
might go on, take advantages to persuade with the biggest sinners to
come into Christ, according to my text, and their commission,
‘Beginning at Jerusalem.’
Fifth, Jesus Christ would have mercy offered, in the first place, to
the biggest sinners, because such, when converted, are usually the best
helps in the church against temptations, and fittest for the support of
the feeble-minded there.
Hence, usually, you have some such in the first plantation of churches,
or quickly upon it. Churches would do but sorrily, if Christ Jesus did
not put such converts among them; they are the monuments and mirrors of
mercy. The very sight of such a sinner in God’s house, yea, the very
thought of him, where the sight of him cannot be had, is ofttimes
greatly for the help of the faith of the feeble.
When the churches, saith Paul, that were in Judea, heard this
concerning me, that he which persecuted them in time past, now preached
the faith which once he destroyed, ‘they glorified God in me’ (Gal
1:20-24). ‘Glorified God.’ How is that? Why, they praised him, and took
courage to believe the more in the mercy of God; for that he had had
mercy on such a great sinner as he. They glorified God ‘in me’; they
wondered that grace should be so rich, as to take hold of such a wretch
as I was; and for my sake believed in Christ the more.
There are two things that great sinners are acquainted with, when they
come to divulge them to the saints, that are a great relief to their
faith. 1. The contests that they usually have with the devil at their
parting with him. 2. Their knowledge of his secrets in his workings.
1. For first, The biggest sinners17 have usually great contests with
the devil at their partings; and this is an help to saints: for
ordinary saints find afterwards what the vile ones find at first, but
when, at the opening of hearts, the one finds himself to be as the
other—the one is a comfort to the other. The lesser sort of sinners
find but little of this, till after they have been some time in
profession; but the vile man meets with his at the beginning. Wherefore
he, when the other is down, is ready to tell that he has met with the
same before; for, I say, he has had it before. Satan is loath to part
with a great sinner. ‘What, my true servant,’ quoth he, ‘my old
servant, wilt thou forsake me now? Having so often sold thyself to me
to work wickedness, wilt thou forsake me now? Thou horrible wretch,
dost not know, that thou has sinned thyself beyond the reach of grace,
and dost thou think to find mercy now? Art not thou a murderer, a
thief, a harlot, a witch, a sinner of the greatest size, and dost thou
look for mercy now? Dost thou think that Christ will foul his fingers
with thee? It is enough to make angels blush, saith Satan, to see so
vile an one knock at heaven-gates for mercy, and wilt thou be so
abominably bold to do it?’ 18 Thus Satan dealt with me, says the great
sinner, when at first I came to Jesus Christ. And what did you reply?
saith the tempted. Why, I granted the while charge to be true, says the
other. And what, did you despair, or how? No, saith he, I said, I am
Magdalene, I am Zaccheus, I am the thief, I am the harlot, I am the
publican, I am the prodigal, and one of Christ’s murderers; yea, worse
than any of these; and yet God was so far off from rejecting of me, as
I found afterwards, that there was music and dancing in his house for
me, and for joy that I was come home unto him. O blessed be God for
grace (says the other), for then, I hope, there is favour for me. Yea,
as I told you, such an one is a continual spectacle in the church, for
every one by to behold God’s grace and wonder by.
2. And as for the secrets of Satan, such as are suggestions to question
the being of God, the truth of his Word, and to be annoyed with
devilish blasphemies; none more acquainted with these than the biggest
sinners at their conversion; wherefore thus also they are prepared to
be helps in the church to relieve and comfort the other.
I might also here tell you of the contests and battles that such are
engaged in, wherein they find the buffetings of Satan, above any other
of the saints. At which time Satan assaults the soul with darkness,
fears, frightful thoughts of apparitions; now they sweat, pant, cry
out, and struggle for life. The angels now come down to behold the
sight, and rejoice to see a bit of dust and ashes to overcome
principalities and powers, and might, and dominions. But, as I said,
when these come a little to be settled, they are prepared for helps for
others, and are great comforts unto them. Their great sins give
encouragement to the devil to assault them; and by these temptations
Christ takes advantage to make them the more helpful to the churches.
The biggest sinner, when he is converted, and comes into the church,
says to them all, by his very coming in, Behold me, all you that are
men and women of a low and timorous spirit, you whose hearts are
narrow, for that you never had the advantage to know, because your sins
are few, the largeness of the grace of God. Behold, I say, in me, the
exceeding riches of his grace! I am a pattern set forth before your
faces, on whom you may look and take heart. This, I say, the great
sinner can say, to the exceeding comfort of all the rest. Wherefore, as
I have hinted before, when God intends to stock a place with saints,
and to make that place excellently to flourish with the riches of his
grace, he usually begins with the conversion of some of the most
notorious thereabouts, and lays them, as an example, to allure others,
and to build up when they are converted. It was Paul that must go to
the Gentiles, because Paul was the most outrageous of all the apostles,
in the time of his unregeneracy. Yea, Peter must be he, that after his
horrible fall, was thought fittest, when recovered again, to comfort
and strengthen his brethren (See Luke 22:31,32).
Some must be pillars in God’s house; and if they be pillars of cedar,
they must stand while they are stout and sturdy sticks in the forest,
before they are cut down, and planted or placed there. No man, when he
buildeth his house, makes the principal parts thereof of weak or feeble
timber; for how could such bear up the rest? but of great and able
wood. Christ Jesus also goeth this way to work; he makes of the biggest
sinners bearers and supporters to the rest. This, then, may serve for
another reason, why Jesus Christ gives out in commandment, that mercy
should, in the first place, be offered to the biggest sinners, because
such, when converted, are usually the best helps in the church against
temptations, and fittest for the support of the feeble-minded there.
Sixth, Another reason why Jesus Christ would have mercy offered, in the
first place, to the biggest sinners, is, because they, when converted,
are apt to love him most.
This agrees both with scripture and reason. Scripture says so. To whom
much is forgiven, the same loveth much. ‘To whom little is forgiven,
the same loveth little’ (Luke 7:47). Reason says so: for as it would be
the unreasonablest thing in the world to render hatred for love, and
contempt for forgiveness; so it would be as ridiculous to think, that
the reception of a little kindness should lay the same obligations upon
the heart to love as the reception of a great deal. I would not
disparage the love of Christ; I know the least drachm of it, when it
reaches to forgiveness, is great above all the world; but
comparatively, there are greater extensions of the love of Christ to
one than to another. He that has most sin, if. forgiven, is partaker of
the greatest love, of the greatest forgiveness.
I know also, that there are some, that from this very doctrine say,
‘Let us do evil that good may come’; and that turn the grace of our God
into lasciviousness. But I speak not of these; these will neither be
ruled by grace nor reason. Grace would teach them, if they knew it, to
deny ungodly courses; and so would reason too, if it could truly sense
the love of God (Titus 2:11,12; Rom 12:1).
Doth it look like what hath any coherence with reason or mercy, for a
man to abuse his friend? Because Christ died for me, shall I therefore
spit in his face? The bread and water that was given by Elisha to his
enemies, that came into the land of Israel to take him, had so much
influence upon their minds, though heathens, that they returned to
their homes without hurting him; yea, it kept them from coming again in
a hostile manner into the coasts of Israel (2 Kings 6:19-23).
But to forbear to illustrate, till anon. One reason why Christ Jesus
shows mercy to sinners, is, that he might obtain their love, that he
may remove their base affections from base objects to himself. Now, if
he loves to be loved a little, he loves to be loved much; but there is
not any that are capable of loving much, save those that have much
forgiven them. Hence it is said of Paul, that he laboured more than
them all; to wit, with a labour of love, because he had been by sin
more vile against Christ than they all (1 Cor 15). He it was that
‘persecuted the church of God, and wasted it’ (Gal 1:13). He of them
all was the only raving bedlam against the saints. ‘And being exceeding
mad,’ says he, ‘against them, I persecuted them even unto strange
cities’ (Acts 26:11). This raving bedlam, that once was so, is he that
now says, I laboured more than them all, more for Christ than them all.
But Paul, what moved thee thus to do? The love of Christ, says he. It
was not I, but the grace of God that was with me. As who should say, O
grace! It was such grace to save me! It was such marvellous grace for
God to look down from heaven upon me, and that secured me from the
wrath to come, that I am captivated with the sense of the riches of it.
Hence I act, hence I labour; for how can I otherwise do, since God not
only separated me from my sins and companions, but separated all the
powers of my soul and body to his service? I am, therefore, prompted on
by this exceeding love to labour as I have done; yet not I, but the
grace of God with me. Oh! I shall never forget his love, nor the
circumstances under which I was, when his love laid hold upon me. I was
going to Damascus with letters from the high-priest, to make havoc of
God’s people there, as I had made havoc of them in other places. These
bloody letters were not imposed upon me. I went to the high-priest and
desired them of him, and yet he saved me! (Acts 9:1,2). I was one of
the men, of the chief men, that had a hand in the blood of his martyr
Stephen; yet he had mercy upon me! When I was at Damascus, I stunk19 so
horribly like a blood-sucker, that I became a terror to all thereabout.
Yea, Ananias, good man, made intercession to my Lord against me; yet he
would have mercy upon me, yea, joined mercy to mercy, until he had made
me a monument of grace. He made a saint of me, and persuaded me that my
transgressions were forgiven me.
When I began to preach, those that heard me were amazed, and said, ‘Is
not this he that destroyed them that called on this name in Jerusalem,
and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound to the
high-priest?’ Hell doth know that I was a sinner; heaven doth know that
I was a sinner; the world also knows that I was a sinner, a sinner of
the greatest size; but I obtained mercy (Acts 9:20,21). Shall not this
lay obligation upon me? Is not love of the greatest force to oblige? Is
it not strong as death, cruel as the grave, and hotter than the coals
of juniper? Hath it not a most vehement flame? Can the waters quench
it? can the floods drown it? I am under the force of it, and this is
my continual cry, What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits
which he has bestowed upon me?
Aye, Paul! this is something; thou speakest like a man, like a man
affected, and carried away with the love and grace of God. Now, this
sense, and this affection, and this labour, giveth to Christ the love
that he looks for. But he might have converted twenty little sinners,
and yet not found, for grace bestowed, so much love in them all. I
wonder how far a man might go among the converted sinners of the
smaller size, before he could find one that so much as looked anything
this way ward. Where is he that is thus under pangs of love for the
grace bestowed upon him by Jesus Christ? Excepting only some few, you
may walk to the world’s end, and find none. But, as I said, some there
are, and so there have been in every age of the church, great sinners,
that have had much forgiven them; and they love much upon this account.
Jesus Christ, therefore, knows what he doth, when he lays hold on the
hearts of sinners of the biggest size. He knows that such an one will
love more than many that have not sinned half their sins.
I will tell you a story that I have read of Martha and Mary; the name
of the book I have forgot; I mean of the book in which I found the
relation; but the thing was thus:—
Martha, saith my author, was a very holy woman, much like Lazarus, her
brother; but Mary was a loose and wanton creature; Martha did seldom
miss good sermons and lectures, when she could come at them in
Jerusalem; but Mary would frequent the house of sports, and the company
of the vilest of men for lust. And though Martha had often desired that
her sister would go with her to hear her preachers, yea, had often
entreated her with tears to do it, yet could she never prevail; for
still Mary would make her excuse, or reject her with disdain, for her
zeal and preciseness in religion.
After Martha had waited long, tried many ways to bring her sister to
good, and all proved ineffectual, at last she comes upon her thus:
‘Sister,’ quoth she, ‘I pray thee go with me to the temple today, to
hear one preach a sermon.’ ‘What kind of preacher is he?’ said she.
Martha replied, ‘It is one Jesus of Nazareth; he is the handsomest man
that ever you saw with your eyes. Oh! he shines in beauty, and is a
most excellent preacher.’
Now, what does Mary, after a little pause, but goes up into her
chamber, and, with her pins and her clouts,20 decks up herself as fine
as her fingers could make her. This done, away she goes, not with her
sister Martha, but as much unobserved as she could, to the sermon, or
rather to see the preacher.
The hour and preacher being come, and she having observed whereabout
the preacher would stand, goes and sets herself so in the temple, that
she might be sure to have the full view of this excellent person. So he
comes in, and she looks, and the first glimpse of his person pleased
her. Well, Jesus addresseth himself to his sermon, and she looks
earnestly on him.
Now, at that time, saith my author, Jesus preached about the lost
sheep, the lost groat, and the prodigal child. And when he came to show
what care the shepherd took for one lost sheep, and how the woman swept
to find her piece which was lost, and what joy there was at their
finding, she began to be taken by the ears, and forgot what she came
about, musing what the preacher would make of it. But when he came to
the application, and showed, that by the lost sheep, was meant a great
sinner; by the shepherd’s care, was meant God’s love for great sinners;
and that by the joy of the neighbours, was showed what joy there was
among the angels in heaven over one great sinner that repenteth; she
began to be taken by the heart. And as he spake these last words, she
thought he pitched his innocent eyes just upon her, and looked as if he
spake what was now said to her: wherefore her heart began to tremble,
being shaken with affection and fear; then her eyes ran down with tears
apace; wherefore she was forced to hide her face with her handkerchief,
and so sat sobbing and crying all the rest of the sermon.
Sermon being done, up she gets, and away she goes, and withal inquired
where this Jesus the preacher dined that day? and one told her, At the
house of Simon the Pharisee. So away goes she, first to her chamber,
and there strips herself of her wanton attire; then falls upon her
knees to ask God forgiveness for all her wicked life. This done, in a
modest dress she goes to Simon’s house, where she finds Jesus sat at
dinner. So she gets behind him, and weeps, and drops her tears upon his
feet like rain, and washes them, and wipes them with the hair of her
head. She also kissed his feet with her lips, and anointed them with
ointment. When Simon the Pharisee perceived what the woman did, and
being ignorant of what it was to be forgiven much (for he never was
forgiven more than fifty pence), he began to think within himself, that
he had been mistaken about Jesus Christ, because he suffered such a
sinner as this woman was, to touch him. Surely, quoth he, this man, if
he were a prophet, would not let this woman come near him, for she is a
town-sinner; so ignorant are all self-righteous men of the way of
Christ with sinners. But, lest Mary should be discouraged with some
clownish carriage of this Pharisee, and so desert her good beginnings,
and her new steps which she now had begun to take towards eternal life,
Jesus began thus with Simon: ‘Simon,’ saith he, ‘I have somewhat to say
unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was,’ said Jesus, ‘a
certain creditor which had two debtors; the one owed five hundred
pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he
frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love
him most? Simon answered, and said, I suppose that he, to whom he
forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he
turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I
entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she
hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her
head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman, since the time I came in,
hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not
anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore,
I say unto her, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved
much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he
said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven’(Luke 7:36-48).
Thus you have the story. If I come short in any circumstance, I beg
pardon of those that can correct me. It is three or four and twenty
years since I saw the book; yet I have, as far as my memory will admit,
given you the relation of the matter. However, Luke, as you see, doth
here present you with the substance of the whole.21
Alas! Christ Jesus has but little thanks for the saving of little
sinners. ‘To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.’ He gets
not water for his feet, by his saving of such sinners. There are
abundance of dry-eyed Christians in the world, and abundance of
dry-eyed duties too; duties that never were wetted with the tears of
contrition and repentance, nor ever sweetened with the great sinner’s
box of ointment. And the reason is, such sinners have not great sins to
be saved from; or, if they have, they look upon them in the diminishing
glass of the holy law of God.22 But, I rather believe, that the
professors of our days want a due sense of what they are; for, verily,
for the generality of them, both before and since conversion, they have
been sinners of a lusty size. But if their eyes be holden, if
convictions are not shown, if their knowledge of their sins is but like
to the eye-sight in twilight; the heart cannot be affected with that
grace that has laid hold on the man; and so Christ Jesus sows much, and
has little coming in. Wherefore his way is ofttimes to step out of the
way, to Jericho, to Samaria, to the country of the Gadarenes, to the
coasts of Tyre and Sidon, and also to Mount Calvary, that he may lay
hold of such kind of sinners as will love him to his liking (Luke
19:1-11; John 4:3-11; Mark 5:1-20; Matt 15:21-29; Luke 23:33-43).