The sinner's friend, or The disease of sin, its consequences, and the remedy ..

Front matter

‘TTHHS

“ASB UTUE tuyuay

~ re or re Etter

Chapter I

Sin the transgression of the Law, - - = 3 CHAPTER II.

Man isa Sinner, - - - - - = é CHAPTER III.

Dominion of Sin, - - + - oe Ss

—___.

IJ. CONSEQUENCES OF SIN.

CHAPTER I.

Sin deprives us of God’s Approbation, - - = CHAPTER II.

Sin provokes the Wrath of God, - — - - E CHAPTER III.

Sin exposes us to Satan’s Influence, - = 5 CHAPTER IV.

Sin awakens Remorse of Conscience, - . =

CHAPTER V.

Sin awakens Fear of Detection and Punishment, -

CHAPTER VI.

Sin produces Shame, and loss of Self-respect, -

CHAPTER Vly “NOK |

Sin injures the Conscience, - - - vi CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Sin hardens the Heart, - - - - CHAPTER IX.

Sin debases the Mind, - - - - CHAPTER X.

Sin degrading and brutalizing, - - CHAPTER XI.

Sin the Parent of all Physical Evil, — - CHAPTER XI.

Sin often followed by Special Judgments,

CHAPTER XIII.

Sin the Parent of Death, - - -

CHAPTER XIV.

Sin punished after Death, = - - -

CHAPTER XV.

Reflections on the Results of Sin, - -

UI. THE SINNER SAVED.

CHAPTER I.

Sin never will cureitself, - - - CHAPTER II.

Christ the Sinner’s Saviour, - - - CHAPTER III.

Method of Salvation, - - -~ - CHAPTER IV.

Directions for the Sinner, - - =~ CHAPTER V.

Sin subdued, and the Curse removed, -

CHAPTER VI.

Conclusion, - = = = 3 =

REMARKS.

A eee

Brrore we examine into the consequences of sin, there are one or two things which need to be understood. First, we must have a correct idea of what sin is; and then we must know how far we ourselves are sinners before God, and whether our guilt is - slight and unimportant, or deep and serious. The three following chapters are intended to give the true definition of sin, and to prove and illustrate the fact that all men are sinners,

SIN AND THE SINNER.

CHAPTER dl,

E TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW.

SIN, T

Universality of law—Natural laws must be obeyed, or the penalty suffered—The moral law; its wisdom, holiness, justice, and glorious perfection—Its vast importance learned from its penalty—Man’s efforts to destroy its penalty—Sin, the transgression of this law—Disobedience of the fallen angels, and of our first parents—The aggravated nature of sin—Its tendency to destroy all good—The two families—But one kind of sin—Appeal to the reader.

Ir is one of the wonderful perfections of God, that every material object in the universe, so far as man can discern, is governed by firm and unalterable laws. The rolling of a planet in its course, and the falling of a leaf to the ground,—the shining of the sun, and the opening of a flower,—the heaving of the waves of the ocean, and the trembling of a spear of grass, are all the effects of established laws, under the control of the Almighty. The dominion of law is universal and eternal ; her throne was established ere the oldest star began to shine, or the first angel sang the Creator’s praise. To use the language of Dr. Hooker, ‘‘ Her seat is the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world; all things in heaven and earth do her homage, the very least as feeling her care, and the very greatest as not exempted from her power; both angels and men, and creatures of what condition soever, though each in different sort and manner, yet all, with uniform consent, admiring her as the mother of their peace and joy.”

The natural laws,—by which are meant those which relate to matter,—doubtless extend to all parts of the universe; nor can any power set them aside, without the permission of him who ordamed them. ‘The great and the small, the high and the low, all submit to them. ‘The sun, for instance, while it directs and controls numerous other smaller bodies, itself owns a greater law, and

SIN AND THE SINNER. ll obeys. As to those laws which relate more directly to ourselves, we all know that it is impossible to break them, without suffering in consequence. If you throw yourself from a high precipice, you will receive an injury, and, perhaps, lose your life. And why? Because you disregard the law of gravitation, which causes all bodies, not supported, to fall to the earth. So, if you break any of the laws of your nature, you must bear the penalty. Nearly all our bodily suffermg may be traced to some violation of these laws. But the Creator has established another and far more important law than any of these, to govern mind, which he has wisely adapted to his intelligent creatures. Like a faithful parent, who governs his household by wise regulations, God has ordaimed one perfect law, and by it every mortal being must stand or fall. This law is divided into two parts, and expressed by our Saviour in the following words: ‘“'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And _ the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’ Mark 12: 30,31. This law is expressed more in detail in the ten commandments, but it is still the same; and in the history of our Saviour we have a perfect exhibition of it, in real life. He “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” b Peter 2: 22.

Like all the other laws of God, this law deserves as well as demands obedience. It was ordained by a wise and holy Being, and it therefore possesses both wisdom and holiness. ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, ... the statutes of the Lord are right.” Ps. 19: 7, 8. Itis a just and reasonable law. God asks only for the love and obedience of his creatures; and is not this reasonable? It is a glorious law, honormg God, and exhibiting his infinite perfection to all the universe. It is a blessed law, conferring unmingled happiness on all who obey it; “and in keeping of it there is great reward.” Ps. 19: 11. And it is a universal law, enjoined upon every reasonable soul. What more can be desired? Of what earthly law can all this be said? The laws of a single nation, or state, or city, occupy hundreds of pages, and can be read but by comparatively few; but God’s law is comprised in a sentence, and is found written upon the heart of every individual, except where sin has mutilated or obliterated it. Human laws need to be frequently revised and amended, and after all, do not fully answer their object; but the law of God can never be improved, or become unnecessary and useless.

Think, too, of the vast importance of this law. It is of no trifling or ordinary value, to be broken with impunity. There is attached to it a dreadful penalty, to be suffered by the disobedient, which can teach us its importance in the sight of God more than any thing else. This penalty is eternal banishment from the presence of Jehovah, and all holy beings, and confinement in wo, and darkness, and despair. ‘This is not merely the punishment of repeated and desperate transgressions, but of each and every smner, who has violated this law in the least. ‘For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one 1% point, he is guilty of all.’ James 2: 10. See, then, its importance; for God would not guard it with such a penalty as this, if it were not of the utmost consequence to the universe.

Some, I know, attempt to destroy its penalty, and seem to imagine that no account will ever be required of them. But such have fallen into a frightful error. What right has sinful man to alter the law of God? Who has appointed him to revise and correct it? If our government should send its code of criminal laws to the State prison, to be revised and interpreted, it would, doubtless, be treated in the same manner that certain classes have treated the law of God. All the penalties would be stricken out, or else each statute would be accompanied with explanations so ingenious and sophistical, that every one of them might be violated with impunity. But, though men may mutilate the holy law of God, yet the Judge himself shall one day vindicate it before the universe, and cause every soul to own the justice of its penalty.

Such is a faint view of the perfection of the moral law of God. And now, if my readers can form any adequate idea of its holiness, its justice, and its importance, or of the exalted character of that Bemg who is its author and defender, they will be able to obtain a comparatively just conception of sin. “For sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3: 4. There were once spirits in heaven, ages long since past, who, in an evil moment, ventured to trample upon this law ; but offended Justice quickly hurled the rebels from their lofty spheres, and they have ever since wandered in darkness and chains. Our first parents also attacked it; and no sooner had they done so, than sorrow, pain and death were declared to be the lot of both themselves and their posterity, as we shall see in the succeeding chapter. ‘This is sin, and nothing more or less. It is direct rebellion against God. He who wilfully breaks the laws of his sovereign is called a rebel and anenemy. ‘The child who sets at nought the laws of his parents is not less a rebel. How much more, then, is he who breaks the laws of that Being who is both our king and our Father! Every sin he commits is an act of rebellion. Every transgression of the law is a blow aimed at the empire of God. What high-handed rebellion would it be, were a subject to tear in pieces the laws of his sovereign before his face, and cast them from him! Yet this is, in effect, what every smner does before his Creator. And if given up to the full dominion of his rebellious feelings, he would heartily wish and rejoice to dethrone Jehovah, and exalt some malignant spirit over his boundless dominions, if, indeed, any one would be permitted to rule the rest. The tendency of sin is to destroy all good. As the law is the guardian of every thing good, sin must be the enemy of all good. We say, therefore, that sin, if unrestrained, would destroy every thing in creation that is fair, and lovely, and holy. More than this, it would introduce anarchy where all is now quietness and order; terror, where all is peace and joy; and numberless and nameless evils, where now nothing but holiness and happmess are known. Look at an illustration. Here is a Christian family, where strict obedience is enforced to the commands of the parents, and that obedience is cheerfully and affectionately rendered by the children. What a happy family! All is peace, and harmony, and love. And how is that father honored because of his children! But there is another family, where there is no law, and no discipline, or where the children transgress the commands of their parents with impunity. What an unhappy sight! There is contention, and wrangling, and unhappiness, and but little, if any, real love. Those parents are dishonored in their children.

So with the law of God. Wherever it is obeyed, all is order, and peace, and joy, and love. God is honored in the keeping of his law; but when it is broken, there can be no true happiness, nor love, nor union. God is dishonored by his rebelling children.

But the question may here be asked, Is there not more than one kind of sin? Is all sin transgression of the law, and deserving of endless death? Ihave before me a Roman Catholic catechism, recently published in this city, which speaks of two kinds of sin; one mortal, “which kills the soul, and deserves hell;”’ the other venzal, “which does not kill the soul, yet displeases God.” 'This is a strange distinction. { have found nothing like it in the Bible. That book teaches that there is but one kind of sin,—the transgression of the moral law, whether by deed, word or thought; and the Papists, doubtless, fell into their error by forgetting that God looks upon the heart, as well as the outward conduct. How absurd the thought, that the law may be so broken as to displease God, and yet its penalty not be incurred! ‘True, the spirit of human laws may sometimes be broken, while the letter is obeyed, and the offender may escape punishment. But not so with God’s law. ‘That requires holiness of heart, as well as outward service; and it is impossible to break the spirit of it, without also breaking the letter.

Do not, then, my reader, esteem sin as of little consequence. It is a great, a terrible evil; or, as I should say, it is the great evil, for there is no other. Every action, every word, yes, and every thought, that is contrary to the law of God, should awaken our fears, and call forth our hatred. It is sin,—that evil and bitter thing, that deadly disease, that blighting curse, that fatal destroyer. Sin! what a tale of wo and evil that one word unfolds! What bitter recollections and mournful feelings it awakens in our minds! What fearful forebodings of the future does it stir up within us, if our souls have never been washed from the guilty stain!

Chapter II. Man Is A Sinner

The petrified forests—Evidences of a change in them— Petrifaction of the human heart—Supposed visit of an angel to earth—His disappointment and surprise—The mystery solved—Sin the cause of our present state—Man created holy—His obedience to the law, and happiness— A test given—His fall and ruin—How we are affected by the fall of Adam—Sin never yet been banished from the world—Its curse felt by every individual—Picture of man from the Bible—First chapter of Romans—Other passages —Testimony of ancient saints—Of Christ and the early Christians—Not a sinless man mentioned in the Bible.

-Travetuers in Egypt, in exploring that interesting land, have discovered, in different places, several large forests of trees, which have undergone the process of petrifaction, or been changed from wood to stone. In some places, they tell us, may be seen valleys of sand, extending over hundreds of acres, thickly strewn with prostrate trees, no longer clothed with green foliage, but converted into solid stone. Now, suppose one of us should

SIN AND THE SINNER. Q1 suddenly find himself in one of these strange forests, without having had any previous knowledge of their existence, or of the process by which wood is converted to stone. His first surprise beginning to subside, he examines carefully the branches, trunks, roots and bark, but they are all stone. ‘Can it be that they grew so?” he inquires. After farther examination, and a little reflection, he finds ample proof that there has been a great change wrought in the forest, at an unknown point of time, and is satisfied that these trees once possessed the common properties and nature of all other trees. He now begins to inquire into the cause of this transformation, the time it occurred, &c.

Equally certain is it that man was not originally created as he is now. He, too, has undergone a process, resembling that described above, which, to use the expressive ficure of Scripture, has changed his heart from flesh to stone. ‘Yea,’ saith the prophet, “they made their hearts as an adamant stone.” Zech. 7: 12. Where now is the love that dwelt in his heart, when it

Q2 THE SINNERS FRIEND.

beat in sympathy with all holy beings? Alas, hatred has supplanted it,—hatred to God, and to holiness. Where is the pure benevolence that pervaded his soul in its sinlessness, and shed its fragrance all around him? Base selfishness has usurped its place, and filled the earth with wretchedness and sorrow. Where, too, is the heavenly peace that reigned in his bosom? Alas, discord and confusion have long revelled in its place. And where is the joy and blessedness that lit up his countenance with smiles, and sprang from a heart at peace with God? In vain we.seek it now; for unhappiness, and restlessness, and care, are the portion of man. All is changed; and the stony heart, the selfish passions, the depraved appetites, are but so many witnesses to this sad truth. Indeed, there can be no more doubt of this, than that the petrified forests of Egypt have been transformed from their original state; and if any one denies this change, he is not less foolish and mistaken than if he should contend that those trees grew stone, and always were stone.

We who are so well accustomed to our present fallen state, and so little acquaimted with the condition of holy beings, can hardly appreciate the greatness of the change man has suffered. We know from experience what sin is, but of holiness we are comparatively ignorant; and, therefore, our present state is not to us so striking a proof of a former change as it otherwise would be. But let us endeavor to imagine, for a few moments, how man’s present condition would appear to a holy being, who had never before witnessed the blighting effects of sin. Suppose an inhabitant of one of those distant worlds, which a clear evening reveals, should wander to our globe. With curious eye he gazes downward, as he approaches, and with a heart burning with love to God, he joyfully anticipates mingling his song of praise with that.of his new acquaintances. But as he alights from his long journey, what a chill comes over him! We will imagine that he has descended in the vicinity of a battle-field, where contending hosts are marshalled for the contest. As death and destruction are dealt out with a mighty hand, and the wave of devastation is rolled over quiet villages, and fruitful fields, and pleasant valleys, what consternation is seen in his looks! With haste he speeds away, beyond the shout of battle, or the roar of cannon. But what meets he now? A prison! Its frowning walls, and gloomy dungeons, and _ sickly, morose and wretched inmates, strike terror to the wanderer, and he is seen there no more. Now behold him at the couch of pain and wo, and now in the very presence of death, in some one of his terrible forms. How does he shrink from the sight! “O,” he exclaims, “who shall tell me the meaning of this? . I have seen many of the noble creations of God, but never conceived of one like this. Here is a world of beauty, like my own home, with a bright sky, and a glorious sun; but instead of my own native songs of praise, I hear groans, and sighs, and words of hatred. Can it be that God made this world as I now behold it? or has it been visited by some malign spirit, who has seduced _ its inhabitants, and given them death and wo as their portion?’ Would the wondering stranger long seek an answer to these questions? Doubtless he would not. He would soon discover that this world was not created as it is now, and that man is not what he was originally designed to be.

I therefore repeat it, we are certain that a momentous change has taken place in this world, which has converted man from a happy being to an unhappy one. But what is this change, and what produced it?) Why is it that ills of every kind surround and envelop us? Does all this happen without a cause? Certainly not. “As the bird by wandering, and the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.” Prov. 26: 2. There must be a grand cause for the evil and misery we find in the world; and that cause is stn. ‘Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” Eccl. 7: 29. Here the mystery is unravelled. Man has broken the law of God; and no wonder that he is exposed to so many ills.

Q*

We learn from the Bible, that man was created in the image of God; that is, he was endowed with faculties and attributes that made him resemble, though faintly, his great Creator, and rendered him reasonable, accountable and immortal. Some, I know, have pretended to believe that man is an exalted order of the brute creation, rather than a fallen image of God. But all who believe the Bible, are satisfied that man was created upright and happy; and many others, on whom the light of revelation never shone, have also taught the same truth. Says an inspired writer, “Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hand.” Heb. 2: 7. The moral law, spoken of in the previous chapter, was given to him, though not in a written form, as we now have it. It was enstamped upon his heart, as it is upon the hearts of holy angels. He needed no teacher to tell him that he must love the Lord with all his heart, for he knew this, the moment he came into existence. - With his first breath he began to

SIN AND THE SINNER. Qi obey this great law. Then he was holy and happy, and every blessing was his. In the language of Hesiod, an ancient heathen writer, “The fruits of the earth sprang up spontaneously ; peace reigned; her companions were happiness and pleasure; disease and death were unknown.” Happy Adam! Himself bore the image of his glorious Creator, and his home was a paradise. What needed he to make him blessed ?

But Adam, though mnocent, was not yet confirmed in holiness. He was created upright, but was not compelled to be either sinful or holy. His Maker, in the language of Milton,

‘¢made him just and right, Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall.”

He must, therefore, be put upon probation. So the Lord determined to give him a test, or trial, by which it might be for ever decided whether he would stand or fall. ‘This test was a simple command not to eat of a certain tree. How easy to pass through the trial unharmed! No great work was demanded, no painful sacrifice was required; he was only directed to abstain from one kind of fruit, while every thing else his appetite could desire was freely offered him. But he disobeyed that one command,—he fell,—and Satan’s foul design was accomplished. <A curse upon the tempter and upon the earth ensued, and the unhappy pair, with their posterity, were doomed to a life of toil and sorrow, and finally to death. The gate of their beautiful paradise was closed upon them, and they left it, never agai to behold its pleasant groves, its fragrant bowers, or its sparkling waters.

Thus, at one blow, was shattered, and well nigh ruined, the delicate lyre, which, tuned by the finger of God, once sweetly vibrated to every breath of the divine Spint. Like the famous Egyptian statue, which always greeted the rising sun with melodious sounds, these happy souls once responded in strains of love and praise to every ray of wisdom, power and goodness which emanated from the great Sun of righteousness.

“¢ But short, alas, the song that sings their bliss!”

Now, only jarring notes of discord and sorrow were heard. ‘Then began they to realize the curse of sin, though in their case the Lord, “pitying while he judged,” was pleased to mingle with it many mercies.

Such, reader, was the fall of man, and the introduction of sin into our world. ‘True, these events took place almost six thousand years ago. Yet we ought to feel a deep interest in them, for they have exerted a vast influence upon our destiny. Since the dreadful day of Adam’s fall, sin has stalked through the earth, carrying with it an endless train of evil and misery. It must needs be that we experience these evils, for Adam was our father, and we inherit his corrupt nature, as well as his mental and physical powers. He is compared, by Ireneus, to “one who, being incarcerated, propagates a race in prison.” But, though this comparison is substantially correct, yet God, in great kindness, has left us many pleasant, sunny places, that remind us of ancient Eden, rather than a dungeon ; and has conferred upon us many other noble gifts and privileges, that ally us to angels, rather than to the chained spirits of the prison-house. Still, he never ceases to remind us that sin has been here, and is here now. There is truth in that couplet:

‘Some flowerets of Eden ye still inherit, But the trail of the serpent is over them all.”

The blighting effects of sin meet us at every step, and compel us to acknowledge that we belong to “‘a crooked and perverse generation.” ‘This curse has reached every individual of our race. ‘True, there is such a vast difference in mankind, that one would hardly imagine they all sprang from one parent. Some are exalted to fill thrones, and sway sceptres over half the world, and others are born in servitude; some are gifted with remarkable talents, and others discover but little mental energy; some, who have never done a day’s work, are burdened with riches, while others are the hard-worked children of hopeless poverty ; some have constitutions of iron firmness, and others are so weak and helpless, that, even before they go hence, they are counted as dead ;—but, for all these differences, there is one thing in which each resembles his fellow,—all are sinners. The honorable and the mean, the wise and the ignorant, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, all, all are sinners, and all bear the curse of sin. All, therefore, descended from the same apostate father, and inherit the same corrupt nature.

We will now look into the Bible, and see what farther knowledge we can obtain of the dreadful character of sin. Let the reader turn to the last part of the first chapter of Romans. Here you will find a most vivid picture of the depravity of the natural heart, when unrestrained by the grace of God. And so true a one is it, that it is said to excite the astonishment of the heathen, when it is first presented to them. They are greatly surprised to read so accurate a description of their own sinfulness and degradation ; and in some places, they have thought that this chapter must have been written by the missionaries, after they came to their country, and saw the wickedness of paganism. Their consciences convicted them, and thus confirmed the inspired word. In the chapter I have referred to, Paul describes the Gentiles as “being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affections, implacable, unmerciful ; who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” What a dark view is this of the unfathomed malignity of sin, when it has full possession of the human heart! Who, after reading the above verses, will wonder that God abhors it, and regards it as no trifling evil?

But there are numerous other passages, in every part of the Bible, that testify to this same truth. Job is supposed to have lived ina very early age of the world; and he describes the wicked men of his day as saying to their Maker, ‘Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” Job 21: 14. And one who was contemporary with him, confirms this, saying, ‘ What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water!” Job 15: 14-16. David says of the whole race of man, “They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy ; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Ps. 14: 3. Even God’s favored people became so degraded and dreadfully perverse, that they not only forsook the altar and temple of Jehovah, but “sacrificed their sons and their daughters,’—to whom?—‘ unto devils.” Ps. 106: 387. Says the prophet, “'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Jer. 17: 9. This is the only instance in the Bible where the adverb “desperately” is used,—a word which has, perhaps, a fuller and more comprehensive meaning than we are apt to give it. The 3 heart is madly, furiously, hopelessly wicked, and treacherous, artful and fraudulent above all things. Who can know the extent of its iniquity ?

But while these holy men of old describe others as being sinners, they never flatter themselves with the self-righteous thought that they are, by nature, better than others. David was a very pious man; but he says of himself, «Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that [am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart faileth me.” Ps. 40: 12. So Daniel was an excellent man, beloved of God; but he confessed, “We have sinned, _ and have committed imiquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces.” Dan. 9: 5,7. Isaiah was one of the excellent of the earth; but he says, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we do fade as the leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64; 6, And so the faithful Jeremiah confessed himself a sinner, when he said, «We have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.” Jer. 3: 25. Solomon, too, discovered the same truth, and asks, “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am free from my, sm?” Prov. 20: 9. He found no one who could respond to this challenge, and he therefore boldly declares, that ‘there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not.” cel. 7: 20.