ow I desire you to consider, how mightily
the heinousness of sin is aggravated, partly by the quality of the
persons, and partly by the consideration of his benefits to us. A great
man resents a light wrong heavily, because his person makes the wrong
heavier. O! what do you think the Most High should do considering his
infinite distance from us, his glorious majesty and greatness, his pure
holiness, his absolute power and supremacy? What vile and abominable
characters of presumption and rebellion do all these imprint upon
disobedience! Shall he suffer himself to be despised and neglected of men,
when there is no petty creature above another, but will be jealous of his
credit, and vindicate himself from contempt? And then, when ingratitude is
mingled in with rebellion, it makes sin exceeding sinful, and sinful sin
exceeding provoking. To proclaim open war against the holy and righteous
will of him to whom we owe ourselves, and all that we are or have, to do
evil, because he is good, and be unthankful, because he is kind to take
all his own members, faculties, creatures, and employ them as instruments
of dishonour against himself, there is here fuel for feeding everlasting
indignation, there is no indignity, no vileness, no wickedness to this.
All the provocations of men, how just soever, are in the sight of this
groundless and vain, like a child's indignation. All are but imaginary
injuries, consisting but in opinion, in regard of that which sin hath in
the bosom of it against God.

But how shall any satisfaction be made for the injury of sin? What shall
pacify his justly deserved anger? Here is the question indeed, that would
have driven the whole world to a _nonplus_, if once the majesty and
holiness of God had been seen. But the ignorance of God's greatness, and
men's sinfulness, made the world to fancy some expiations of sin, and
satisfactions to God, partly by sacrifices of beasts, partly by prayer,
and repentance for sins.

Sermon XXVIII.

1 John ii. 3.--"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep
his commandments."

This age pretends to much knowledge beyond former ages, knowledge, I say,
not only in other natural arts and sciences, but especially in religion.
Whether there be any great advancement in other knowledge, and improvement
of that which was, to a further extent and clearness, I cannot judge, but
I believe there is not much of it in this nation, nor do we so much
pretend to