Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
— Jeremiah 2:34-35
Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
— Jeremiah 3:2
And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
— Jeremiah 7:31
Conviction and the Uses of Order, by Jonathan Edwards.
How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done. — Jeremiah 2:23
God is in this chapter expostulating with the Jews, concerning their degeneracies and wickedness. He puts them in mind of their former love and obedience, that he may show them whence they were fallen; tells them of the great mercies he had bestowed upon them; and expostulates with them about their ingratitude and abuse of his kindness, and sets forth the exceeding heinousness of their wickedness and corruption. And there are threatenings added of God’s vengeance.
And to all their wickedness, they added impenitence and an insensibility of their own pollution: they were not ashamed, nor sensible of any cause for it. And that is the thing taken notice of in the text; in which it may be observed,
1. That they were unconvinced of their own sin and wickedness, notwithstanding that they were so exceeding sinful. Their corruptions and wickedness was exceeding great, as had been set forth in the preceding part of the chapter; yet they justified and cleared themselves, and said they were not polluted, and that they had not gone after Baalim. There is a strange disposition in men to justify themselves in wickedness, let their wickedness be never so great; yet that won’t prevent men’s pleading for themselves and their own ways, as though they were harmless. Men will justify the most wicked and vile practices that are not only sinful, but so to a very high degree.
Thus the Jews, though they had forsaken God, and were wholly given to idolatry, and “upon every high hill and under every green tree wandered, playing the harlot”; yet they were not sensible that they were polluted, and would stand up and say that say that they had not gone after Baalim. They had not a sense of their guilt, though they had so much guilt.
2. We may observe God’s counsel and command to consider and see their own wickedness: “See thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done.” By “the valley” seems to be meant the place where they were wont to worship idols, and probably the valley of the son of Hinnom where they were wont to offer their children in sacrifice to Molech. What horrid wickedness was that, not only to worship idols, but to burn their children alive in sacrifice to idols; as they did in the valley of the son of Hinnom. Well might God say concerning it, “Know what thou hast done.”
3. Their wickedness is described: “Thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways”; i.e. being very crooked in her paths, and often changing her way; not faithful to God and the true religion; not walking in God’s way that is a strait way, but often and very greatly turning aside, often changing their religion; agreeable to the Jeremiah 2:11 of the context: “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.” And God goes on further to describe their wickedness in the next verse,2 “A wild ass used to the wilderness.”
DOCTRINE.
Persons ought to endeavor to be convinced of sin.
I. Briefly show what is intended by conviction of sin.
First. A conviction of the heinousness of it.
Second. How much of it they are guilty of.
1. Their wickedness of heart. Deuteronomy 8:2, Thou mightest “know what is in thine heart.” 1 Kings 8:38, “Know everyone the plague of his own heart.”
2. Their wickedness of life. Psalms 50:21, “I will set these things in order before thine eyes.”
II. Why we should earnestly endeavor.
First. We will never forsake sin, unless we are convinced of sin.
Second. It is needful to prepare us to come to Christ. We will have no need of a physician.
It is needful to humble them. Humiliation is by conviction of sin. “The Law was our schoolmaster” (Galatians 3:24). God’s mercy is more prized and free grace acknowledged.
APPLICATION.
Use I. Hence learn how great an evil it is to quench the Spirit in his convincing influences. Convictions of sin are from the Spirit. John 16:8, “He will convince3 the world of sin.” Some have these influences of the Sprit of God: he is for a time striving with them, awakening of them, making them in a degree sensible of their guilt and danger, distressing of them in their sins, not suffering them to be quiet in them. But they quench the Spirit: they drown his convincing, awakening influences, and backslide again, return to their old ways.
There are many ways that persons quench the Spirit; but all the ways may be comprehended in this, viz. an allowing of sin, and in some degree indulging of some lust. When the Spirit of God is quenched, it is always by this means. Some quench the Spirit by allowing and indulging a slothful spirit, not improving the strivings of the Spirit. Persons can’t obtain the strivings of God’s Spirit; but when they have them, they can strive with them. They can do much towards improving what convictions and strivings they have. But many, through their neglect of a diligent improvement of the strivings of the Spirit of God, provoke him to leave them.
Some quench the Spirit by giving way to and allowing wicked and blasphemous thoughts, quenching thoughts by an envious disposition.
Some quench the Spirit by exposing themselves to temptation, by going into company, by putting themselves in the way of temptation, by running needless ventures in confidence of their own strength.
Some quench the Spirit by giving way to sensuality, to much indulging carnal appetites, either in act or in thought.
Some quench the Spirit by entering into some contention and quarrel. There is nothing more contrary to the nature of the Holy Spirit than a spirit of hatred, and envy, and revenge. The Spirit of God is a spirit of love. The Apostles make the Spirit dwelling in us, and love dwelling in us, the same thing (1 John 4:12–13). Some quench the Spirit by not duly bridling their tongues, suffering them to deceive their own heart.
Some quench the Spirit by directly refusing the strivings of the Spirit, because they were uncomfortable, because fears and terrors deprived them of the comfort of their lives. Some can’t enjoy the quietness that others do. They sometimes labor to stifle particular convictions of conscience, endeavor to blind it, and stop its mouth, because it hinders their enjoyment of their beloved lusts.
But by the doctrine, we may learn the great evil of thus quenching the convictions of the Spirit, which is so directly opposite to the duty therein recommended. Those, instead of striving for convictions of sin, strive against ’em to get rid of ’em.
There is exceeding great provocation in quenching the Spirit. There is no kind of sins so provoking to God as those committed against the inward convictions and strivings of his Holy Spirit. There is one sin against the Holy Ghost that is unpardonable, and there are many other sins against the Holy Ghost that are not unpardonable; but they are more heinous and provoking to God than other sins. No sins are so heinous as this sort, though there be but one that is absolutely unpardonable. And as there is great provocation in it, so there is the greatest folly in it. This sin of quenching the Spirit is no less dangerous than it is provoking; as is that that is lost by it, which is most necessary for us, viz. conviction of sin. And the heart is so hardened by no kind of sins as it is by those that are against the inward strivings of the Spirit.
Let those therefore that have had the convincing influences of the Spirit, and have quenched them, and lost, consider it. You formerly have had convictions of sin: you was concerned about your soul’s salvation. God came and knocked at the door of your heart, and you had an happy opportunity of obtaining eternal life: God was nigh to you. You had an inestimable price in your hands to get wisdom; but you have lost it: you have returned as the dog to his vomit. 2 Peter 2:22, “It is happened to them according to the true proverb.”4 You have got into your old course of living careless, and wicked, and with an harder heart, without doubt, than ever you had before.
Others that had the convictions of the Spirit when you had, they have obtained converting grace. They are passed from death to life. They did not backslide, as you have done; but passed forever, and they are arrived at “the land of uprightness.” They are got unto Christ, and have been called “out of darkness into marvelous light.” They are in a safe, and happy, and blessed condition, and will surely be happy to all eternity.
And so probably it might have been with you, if you had gone on and pressed forward, and had not foolishly backslidden. What cause have you to lament that you have done as you have done? Now you are as far off as ever you were, yea, further. It is now very uncertain whether ever you will obtain.5 Your state is more dark than ever it was. Matthew 12:45, “He taketh with himself seven other spirits.” 2 Peter 2:20, “The latter end of that man is worse than the beginning.”
And let those that now have the convincing influences of the Spirit of God in any degree, beware that they don’t quench them. If you have the Sprit, improve his influence. Strive to your utmost, and take the utmost care, to avoid everything whereby the Spirit might be driven away from you.
Use II is of Exh. To exhort all to labor and strive for conviction of sin. Labor that you may be convinced of the sinfulness and wickedness of your heart, that you may see what a fount of abominable filthiness it is. And labor to be convinced of the sin of your life. Labor that you may see your way in the valley, and know what you have done, that you may see your sin in its heinous, dangerous, and dreadful nature.
‘Tis exceeding needful for you in order to your spiritual and saving good. And if you are thoroughly convinced of sin, you will be prepared for Christ, and you may rationally hope that a conviction of righteousness will follow. That you may obtain this conviction of sin, let the following directions be attended.
First. Be much in thinking on your own sins. This is a duty directly required by the words of the text: “See thy way in the valley.” Think of your sins in order. Sit down and make a business of recollecting your sins and revolving of them in your mind, viewing of ’em in all their circumstances. Set them in order before you.
Begin with your childhood, and go through your whole life. Follow your own track. View the path that you have gone in through all its mazes, through all its windings and turnings. Bring to mind as many of your sins as you can, and let there be distinct conviction of them. Be as particular as you can.
And that you may be more thorough in the work, it may be profitable for you to observe some method and order in your self-reflections. Think of your sins according to the order of time, or according to their several natures: your sins against the light of nature, or sins against the Holy Ghost, or according to the commandments that have been broken by them, or according to the lusts that you have exercised in them. Think wherein you have gratified your sensuality, your pride, your covetousness your hatred, your envy and revenge.
Think distinctly of your sins of your thoughts and imaginations: sins of your words, and sins of your deeds.
Think of your sins according to their time: sins on sabbath days, and sins on ordinary days.
Think of your sins according to their circumstances: sins committed alone, and sins in company.
Think of your sins according to the objects: sins committed more directly against God, and sins against your neighbor.
Think also of the aggravations of your sins in order. Think of the aggravations of your sins in general: what light you have lived under, how favored beyond the heathen; what outward mercies enjoyed; what means have been used with you. Think of aggravations of particular sins.
It may be profitable to dwell on one sort at one time, and another at another. At one time set yourself to think over the sins of your childhood, at another time set yourself to think over the sins of your youth.
And let these self-reflections be often repeated. Think over the same sins and the same aggravations again and again. And by repeatedly thinking of them, you may probably see new aggravations, you may discover more sins, and more of the heinousness of your sins. And never give over this exercise, though you find a great deal of difficulty in it. If you find it difficult to do it in any tolerable manner by reason of the wandering and unfixedness of your mind; and though it seems to be to no purpose, you seem to have no success in it, you don’t see what you should do it for, you ben’t the more convinced or humbled for it; yet continue in it, and repeat it, and labor in it notwithstanding.
I don’t advise you to this method, as supposing that your attending it of itself, ever will be effectual for the convincing of you of sin. For if you should spend your life in it, it will never do it, unless God sets in. But hereby you will, as much as in you lies, lay yourself in the way of the conviction of the Spirit of God. And though you may attend it long, and find no benefit; yet if you continue in it, this is the way for you to become the subjects of the Spirit’s convincing influences.
Second. Another thing that I would advise you to in order to your being convinced of sin, is that you would be very much in confessing your sins to God in your prayers. You should join this evermore with your meditations; confessing your sins should run parallel to them. When at any time you have set yourself by solemn meditation to reflect on your sins, always finish it with confession of those sins that you have been meditating on. When you have recollected them in your thoughts, bring them and spread them before God, in their order in their aggravations. Be as particular in your confessions as you are in your meditations. Don’t only confess in general that you are a sinful creature; but mention over before God these and those particular sins with their circumstances. Tell God how you yielded to such and such temptation, and what contempt you therein showed of his authority, and how light you made of his threatenings and wrath. You need be under no restraint in secret prayer. It would not be proper for you to be so particular in family prayer.
Confess over the sins of your childhood. Confess over the sins of your youth. And reckon over before God in your prayers all the aggravations you can think of. Think of the general aggravations, and think of the aggravations of particular sins; and continue in it, and often repeat it.
And when you have confessed your sins, join them with a confession how that upon the account of those sins, you are utterly unworthy of the least mercy of God, of pardon by him, of converting grace; how that God should hear any of the prayers which you put up to him, and how justly reject all.
Labor to keep those things in mind, and to practice accordingly, you that are concerned for the welfare of your souls.
Third. The third thing that I would advise you to in order to your being convinced of sin, is to labor that you have a great sense of the dreadfulness of God’s wrath, and the fearful punishment that sin exposes you to. If your mind be impressed with an awful apprehension of the terribleness of God’s anger that is provoked by sin, and of the dreadful consequences of sin; and see how sin has eternal death in its womb, and so are sensible how hurtful, dangerous, and dreadful a thing sin is; that will engage your attention to take notice of your own sins. That which persons are afraid of, and have a terrifying sense of, they will be upon the watch to observe it, and take notice of it.
He that is not much afraid of sin, and makes a light matter of it, there may a great deal of heinous sin pass in such an one unobserved, because he is careless about it. He has nothing to fix his attention to the observation of it. But when a man is sensible that sin has hell in it, it will make him think much of it. A man that has a terrifying sense of the anger of God for sin, he can’t help think of his sins. He can’t keep his mind off from them: he will be thinking of his sins and the aggravations of them. He’ll find out his own iniquity: though it be an unpleasant theme to him, yet he can’t help dwelling on it, because he is afraid: ’tis frightful to him to think of his sins, but yet he can’t help thinking of them. It may be illustrated by this comparison. When a man passes to and fro amongst men that he thinks he has no concern with, he may pass by multitudes, and not observe them; but if he thinks they are all his enemies, and seek his life, he won’t pass by a man but he’ll observe him.
This may teach us the reason why ordinarily those who have the greatest sense of wrath, and of the dreadfulness of eternal damnation, are soonest humbled. For those terrors engage the mind to take notice of sin and its aggravation; to reflect on what in them has provoked that wrath of God, and exposed them to that fearful damnation; and to look into the heart, and to search that inward striving of the Spirit.
Therefore think much of hell.
Fourth. If you would be convinced of sin, evermore strive against sin. The more you strive against sin, the more will you see your own sinfulness.
Allowing of sin will be the way for you to have more of sin, but not the way for you to be more convinced of it.
The directest course that you can possibly take to be thoroughly convinced of sin, is to set yourself with all your might to strive against it; not to allow any sin in any degree, no sinful act, or word, or thought; to strive against all sin, against profaneness, against self-righteousness, against wanderings of mind, against slothfulness in duty. Strive with all your might against all evil dispositions towards your neighbors, all manifestations of it, all evil-speaking, all manifestations of worldliness. And when you have wicked thoughts, or blasphemous thoughts, or any workings as exercises of corruption in any degree, in envyings against the converted among you, by no means in the least allow it. Watch against ’em, and strive with all your might.
Some, it may be, think that they must have wicked, blasphemous thoughts in order to see their own hearts; and so think they must allow sin in order to see how greatly they miss it. How gross is their mistake!
Allowing sin is not the way to be convinced of sin. Allowing wicked thoughts tends to the directly contrary. It always tends to harden in sin, and so to stupefy the heart.
Nothing tends so much to stupefy the heart so much as allowed sin. And when the mind is stupefied, it won’t be apt to be sensible of sin. ‘Tis the tender conscience, and not the stupefied, that is sensible to sin. But the way to keep the conscience tender is to the utmost to resist sin. When sin is allowed, there will be least of a sense of it. And it is easy to conceive the reason why it should be so. ‘Tis rational to suppose that where there is least opposition to sin, there sin should be least felt; and where there is greatest, there must it be greatest. For sin is felt only by opposition. By this, persons find the strength of sin, and experience what sin is. A man don’t know the strength of an enemy, but by fighting with him. He that lets his enemy alone won’t so easily find out what he is, as he that engages him.
And strive to your utmost in all duty. Strive hereby to know your opposition to duty, and the strength of that opposition.
The more you strive against sin and in duty, and lay out your strength, the sooner you will probably obtain a thorough conviction of sin.
And hence persons ben’t ordinarily thoroughly convinced and humbled, till they are come to strive with all their mind, till they are come to wrestle with conviction of sin, and lay out themselves with all their strength.
Fifth. Be much in heartwork, i.e. watching your own heart, observing the evil workings of it, and striving against them. Where your business is, there you will be experienced in what sin is.
He whose business is much in his field will understand the state of his field. And he whose business is much with his heart will be most likely to know his own heart, to know the wickedness and perverseness of it, to find out what lies in the secret corners of it.
Be much therefore in heart work, in self-examination, in self-reflection, in watching and striving against heart sins. Let this be your daily and continual work.
Sixth. When you do in any measure see your own sinfulness, don’t take off your mind from the subject because ’tis unpleasant. ‘Tis a frightful sight when a person sees his own heart. They sometimes say they dare not see, can’t bear to see their heart. But be exhorted never to fly from convictions, let ’em be as terrible as they will. The lance that lays open a wound is painful, but we must not start away from it.6
—————
Footnotes:
1. Works, 16, 759, 761–62, and 756. Benjamin Franklin’s seasonal chart of virtues, started at about the same time, pales beside JE’s schedule of righteousness; cf. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Leonard W. Labaree et al. (New Haven, Yale Univ. Press, 1964), pp. 148–52.
2. That is, in the sermon text, not the context.
3. AV:”reprove.”
4. That is, Proverbs 26:11.
5. Archaic: succeed; attain, arrive.
6. MS: the following on L. 11r. appears to be part of another sermon (in different ink):
2. Beware of discontent under affliction. We have now been taught from God’s Word that there is foundation for full contentment to the soul in Christ Jesus, and that we need have nothing else but the knowledge of his excellency, and the enjoyment of his love, in order to our complete satisfaction. Why therefore should we be discontented at the loss of other things? It becomes them that do profess to believe in Christ to take their full contentment in him, and to show that they do so when it comes to a trial, when they lose other enjoyments, and other objects are taken away. Why should we be discontented, though some of the streams are cut off, as long as we hold the fountain? And why should our minds be in a tumult, because the shadows fail, as long as we remain in possession of the substance?
The rest of L. 11r. and the whole of L. 11v. are blank.
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