Sin, as I said, in the nature of it, is horrible, though it be but one single sin as to act; yea, though it be but a sinful thought; and so worthily calls for the damnation of the soul.
The comparison, then, of little and great sinners, is to go for good sense among men. But to plead the fewness of thy sins, or the comparative harmlessness of their quantity before God, argueth no sound knowledge of the nature of thy sin, and so no true sense of the nature or need of mercy.
Little sinner, when therefore thou goest to God, though thou knowest in thy conscience that thou, as to acts, art no thief, no murderer, no whore, no liar, no false swearer, or the like, and in reason must needs understand that thus thou art not so profanely vile as others; yet when thou goest to God for mercy, know no man’s sins but thine own, make mention of no man’s sins but thine own. Also labour not to lessen thy own, but magnify and greaten them by all just circumstances, and be as if there was never a sinner in the world but thyself. Also cry out, as if thou wast the only undone man; and that is the way to obtain God’s mercy.
It is one of the comeliest sights in the world to see a little sinner commenting upon the greatness of his sins, multiplying and multiplying them to himself, till he makes them in his own eyes bigger and higher than he seeth any other man’s sins to be in the world; and as base a thing it is to see a man do otherwise, and as basely will come on it; Luke xviii. 10–14.
As, therefore, I said to the great sinner before, let him take heed lest he presume; I say now to the little sinner, let him take heed that he do not dissemble: for there is as great an aptness in the little sinner to dissemble, as there is in the great one. “He that hideth his sins shall not prosper,” be he a sinner little or great; Prov. xxviii. 13.
Eighthly, Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners? Then this shews the true cause why Satan makes such head as he doth against him.
The Father and the Holy Spirit are well spoken of by all deluders and deceived persons; Christ only is the rock of offence. “Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling-stone and a rock of offence;” Rom. ix. 33. Not that Satan careth for the Father or the Spirit more than he careth for the Son, but he can let men alone with their notions of the Father and the Spirit, for he knows they shall never enjoy the Father nor the Spirit, if indeed they receive not the merits of the Son. “He that hath the Son, hath life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not life,” however they may boast themselves of the Father and the Spirit; 1 John v. 12. Again, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, hath both the Father and the Son;” 2 John i. 9.
Christ, and Christ only, is he that can make us capable to enjoy God with life and joy to all eternity. Hence he calls himself the way to the Father, the true and living way; John xiv. 6; Heb. x. 19, 20; for we cannot come to the Father but by him. Satan knows this, therefore he hates him. Deluded persons are ignorant of this, and, therefore, they are so led up and down by Satan by the nose as they are.
There are many things by which Satan has taken occasion to greaten his rage against Jesus Christ.
As, first, his love to man, and then the many expressions of that love. He hath taken man’s nature upon him; he hath in that nature fulfilled the law to bring in righteousness for man; and hath spilt his blood for the reconciling of men to God; he hath broke the neck of death, put away sin, destroyed the works of the devil, and got into his own hands the keys of death: and all these are heinous things to Satan. He cannot abide Christ for this. Besides, he hath eternal life in himself; and that to bestow upon us; and we in all likelihood are to possess the very places from which the Satans by transgression fell, if not places more glorious. Wherefore he must needs be angry. And is it not a vexatious thing to him, that we should be admitted to the throne of grace by Christ, while he stands bound over in chains of darkness, to answer for his rebellions against God and his Son, at the terrible day of judgment. Yea, we poor dust and ashes must become his judges, and triumph over him for ever: and all this long of Jesus Christ; for he is the meritorious cause of all this.