The Works of John Bunyan, vol 1 by John Bunyan (best book clubs txt) 📖

helped forward to act. ‘And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth’ (Gen 6:5,12,13). That is, many abominable actions were done; for all flesh had corrupted God’s way upon the earth. But how came this to be so? Why, every imagination of the thoughts, or of the motions that were in the heart to sin, was evil, only evil, and that continuously. The imagination of the thoughts was evil—that is, such as tended not to deaden or stifle, but such as tended to animate and forward the motions or thoughts of sin into action. Every imagination of the thoughts—that which is here called a thought, by Paul to the Romans, called a motion. Now the imagination should, and would, had it been on God’s side, so have conceived of this motion of and to sins, all to have presented it in all its features so ugly, so ill favoured, and so unreasonable a thing to the soul, that the soul should forthwith have let down the sluice, and pulled up the drawbridge, put a stop, with greatest defiance, to the motion now under consideration; but the imagination being defiled, it presently, at the very first view or noise of the motion of sin, so acted as to forward the bringing the said motion or thought into act.

So, then, the thought of sin, or motion thereto, is first of all entertained by the imagination and fancy of the soul, and thence conveyed to the rest of the powers of the soul to be condemned, if the imagination be good; but to be helped forward to the act, if the imagination be evil. And thus the evil imagination helpeth the motion of and to sin towards the act, even by dressing of it up in that guise and habit that may best delude the understanding, judgment, and conscience; and that is done after this manner: suppose a motion of sin to commit fornication, to swear, to steal, to act covetously, or the like, be propounded to the fancy and imagination; the imagination, if evil, presently dresseth up this motion in that garb that best suiteth with the nature of the sin. As, if it be the lust of uncleanness, then is the motion to sin drest up in all the imaginable pleasurableness of that sin; if to covetousness, then is the sin drest up in the profits and honours that attend that sin; and so of theft and the like; but if the motion be to swear, hector, or the like, then is that motion drest up with valour and manliness; and so you may count of the rest of sinful motions; and thus being trimmed up like a Bartholomew baby, 25 it is presented to all the rest of the powers of the soul, where with joint consent it is admired and embraced, to the firing and inflaming all the powers of the soul.

And hence it is that men are said to inflame themselves with their idols under every green tree. ‘And to be as fed horses, neighing after their neighbour’s wife’ (Jer 5:8). For the imagination is such a forcible power, that if it putteth forth itself to dress up and present a thing to the soul, whether that thing be evil or good, the rest of the faculties cannot withstand it. Therefore, when David prayed for the children of Israel, he said, ‘I have seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee;’

that is, for preparations to build the temple. ‘O Lord God,’ saith he, ‘keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and prepare their heart unto Thee’ (1 Chron 29:17, 18). He knew that as the imagination was prepared, so would the soul be moved, whether by evil or good; therefore as to this, he prays that their imagination might be engaged always with apprehensions of the beauteousness of the temple, that they might always, as now, offer willingly for its building.

But, as I said, when the imagination hath thus set forth sin to the rest of the faculties of the soul, they are presently entangled, and fall into a flame of love thereto; this being done, it follows that a purpose to pursue this motion, till it be brought unto act, is the next thing that is resolved on. Thus Esau, after he had conceived of that profit that would accrue to him by murdering of his brother, fell the next way into a resolve to spill Jacob’s blood. And Rebecca sent for Jacob, and said unto him, ‘Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee’ (Gen 27:42). See also (Jer 49:30). Nor is this purpose to do an evil without its fruit, for he comforted himself in his evil purpose: ‘Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.’

The purpose, therefore, being concluded, in the next place the invention is diligently set to work to find out what means, methods, and ways, will be thought best to bring this purpose into practice, and this motion to sin into action. Esau invented the death of his brother when his father was to be carried to his grave (Gen 27:41).

David purposed to make Uriah father his bastard child by making of him drunk (2 Sam 11:13). Amnon purposed to ravish Tamar, and the means that he invented to do it were by feigning himself sick.

Absalom purposed to kill Amnon, and invented to do it at a feast (2 Sam13:32). Judas purposed to sell Christ, and invented to betray him in the absence of the people (Luke 22:3-6). The Jews purposed to kill Paul, and invented to entreat the judge of a blandation26 to send for him, that they might murder him as he went (Acts 23:12-15).

Thus you see how sin is, in the motion of it, handed through the soul—first, it comes into the fancy or imagination, by which it is so presented to the soul, as to inflame it with desire to bring it into act; so from this desire the soul proceedeth to a purpose of enjoying, and from a purpose of enjoying to inventing how, or by what means, it had best to attempt the accomplishing of it.

But, further, when the soul has thus far, by its wickedness, pursued the motion of sin to bring it into action, then to the last thing; to wit, to endeavours, to take the opportunity, which, by the invention, is judged most convenient; so to endeavours it goes, till it has finished sin, and finished, in finishing of that, its own fearful damnation. ‘Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death’

(James 1:15).

And who knows, but God and the soul, how many lets, hindrances, convictions, fears, frights, misgivings, and thoughts of the judgment of God, all this while are passing and repassing, turning and returning, over the face of the soul? how many times the soul is made to start, look back, and tremble, while it is pursuing the pleasure, profit, applause, or preferment that sin, when finished, promiseth to yield unto the soul? for God is such a lover of the soul, that He seldom lets it go on in sin, but He cries to it, by His Word and providences, ‘Oh! do not this abominable thing that I hate!’ (Jer 44: 4); especially at first, until it shall have hardened itself, and so provoked Him to give it up in sin-revenging judgment to its own ways and doings, which is the terriblest judgment under heaven; and this brings me to the third thing, the which I now will speak to.

3. As the soul receives, detains, entertains, and wilily worketh to bring sin from the motion into act, so it abhorreth to be controlled and taken off of this work—‘My soul loathed them,’ says God, ‘and their soul also abhorred Me’ (Zech 6:8). My soul loathed them, because they were so bad; and their souls abhorred Me, because I am so good. Sin, then, is the cause of the loss of the soul; because it hath set the soul, or, rather, because the soul of love to sin hath set itself against God. ‘Woe unto their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves’(Isa 3:9).

[Through sin the soul sets itself against God.]

Third, That you may the better perceive that the soul, through sin, has set itself against God, I will propose, and speak briefly to, these two things:—

I. The law. II. The gospel.

I. For the law. God has given it for a rule of life, either as written in their natures, or as inserted in the Holy Scriptures; I say, for a rule of life to all the children of men. But what have men done, or how have they carried it to this law of their Creator; let us see, and that from the mouth of God himself.

1. ‘They have not hearkened unto My words’ (Jer 6:19).

2. ‘They have forsaken My law’ (Jer 9:13).

3. They ‘have forsaken Me, and have not kept My law’ (Jer 16:11).

4. They have not ‘walked in My law, nor in My statutes’ (Jer 44: 4).

5. ‘Her priests have violated My law’ (Eze 22:26).

6. And, saith God, ‘I have written to him the great things of My law, but they were counted as a strange thing.’ (Hos 8:12).

Now, whence should all this disobedience arise? Not from the unreasonableness of the commandment, but from the opposition that is lodged in us against God, and the enmity that it entertains against goodness. Hence the apostle speaks of the emnity, and says, that men are enemies in their minds, their souls, as is manifest by wicked works (Col 1:21). This, if men went no further, must needs be highly provoking to a just and holy God: yea, so highly offensive is it, that, to show the heat of His anger, He saith, ‘Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil,’ and this evil with a witness, ‘of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile,’ that doth evil (Rom 2:8,9). That breaketh the law; for that evil He is crying out against now. But, II. To speak of the gospel, and of the carriage of sinful souls towards God under that dispensation.

The gospel is a revelation of a sovereign remedy, provided by God, through Christ, for the health and salvation of those that have made themselves objects of wrath by the breach of the law of works; this is manifest by all the Scripture. But how doth the soul carry it towards God, when He offereth to deal with it under and by this dispensation of grace? Why, just as it carried it under the law of works: they oppose, they contradict, they blaspheme, and forbid that this gospel be mentioned (Acts 13:45; 27:6). What higher affront or contempt can be offered to God, and what greater disdain can be shown against the gospel? (2 Tim 2:25; 1 Thess 2:14-16). Yet all this the poor soul, to its own wrong, offereth against the way of its own salvation; as it is said in the Word of truth, ‘He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death’ (Prov 8:36).

But, further, the soul despiseth not the gospel in that revelation of it only, but the great and chief bringer thereof, with the manner, also, of His bringing of it. The Bringer, the great Bringer of the gospel, is the good Lord Jesus Christ himself; He ‘came and preached peace to them that the law proclaimed war against; became and preached peace to them that were afar off, and to them that were nigh’ (Eph 2:17). And it is worth your observation to take notice