Introduction (5)

That word, “He told me all that ever I did,” was a great argument with them; for by that they gathered, that though he knew her to be vile, yet he did not despise her, nor refuse to shew how willing he was to communicate his grace unto her; and this fetched over, first her, then them.

This woman, as I said, was a Samaritan sinner, a sinner of the worst complexion: for the Jews abhorred to have ought to do with them, ver. 9; wherefore none more fit than she to be made one of the decoys of heaven, to bring others of these Samaritan wild-fowls under the net of the grace of Christ.  And she did the work to purpose.  Many, and many more of the Samaritans believed on him; ver. 40–42.  The heart of man, though set on sin, will, when it comes once to a persuasion that God is willing to have mercy upon us, incline to come to Jesus Christ for life.

Witness those turn-aways from God that you also read of in Jeremiah; for after they had heard three or four times over, that God had mercy for backsliders, they broke out, and said, “Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God.”  Or as those in Hosea did, “For in thee the fatherless find mercy;” Jer. iii. 22; Hos. xiv. 1–3.

Mercy, and the revelation thereof, is the only antidote against sin.  It is of a thawing nature; it will loose the heart that is frozen up in sin; yea, it will make the unwilling willing to come to Jesus Christ for life.  Wherefore, do you think, was it that Jesus Christ told the adulterous woman, and that before so many sinners, that he had not condemned her, but to allure her, with them there present, to hope to find favour at his hands?  (As he also saith in another place, “I came not to judge, but to save the world.”)  For might they not thence most rationally conclude, that if Jesus Christ had rather save than damn an harlot, there was encouragement for them to come to him for mercy.

I heard once a story from a soldier, who with his company had laid siege against a fort, that so long as the besieged were persuaded their foes would shew them no favour, they fought like madmen; but when they saw one of their fellows taken, and received to favour, they all came tumbling down from their fortress, and delivered themselves into their enemies’ hands.

I am persuaded, did men believe that there is that grace and willingness in the heart of Christ to save sinners, as the word imports there is, they would come tumbling into his arms: but Satan has blinded their minds, that they cannot see this thing.  Howbeit, the Lord Jesus has, as I said, that others might take heart and come to him, given out a commandment, that mercy should in the first place be offered to the biggest sinners.  “Begin,” saith he, “at Jerusalem.”  And thus I end the third reason.

Fourthly, Jesus Christ would have mercy offered in the first place to the biggest sinners, because that is the way, if they receive it, most to weaken the kingdom of Satan, and to keep it lowest in every age of the world.  The biggest sinners, they are Satan’s colonels and captains, the leaders of his people, and they that most stoutly make head against the Son of God.  Wherefore let these first be conquered, and his kingdom will be weak.  When Ishbosheth had lost his Abner, his kingdom was made weak: nor did he sit but tottering then upon his throne.  So when Satan loseth his strong men, them that are mighty to work iniquity, and dexterous to manage others in the same, then is his kingdom weak; 2 Sam. iii.  Therefore, I say, Christ doth offer mercy in the first place to such, the more to weaken his kingdom.  Christ Jesus was glad to see Satan fall like lightning from heaven, that is, suddenly or head long; and it was, surely, by casting of him out of strong possessions, and by recovering of some notorious sinners out of his clutches; Luke x. 17–19.

Samson, when he would pull down the Philistines temple, took hold of the two main pillars of it, and breaking them, down came the house.  Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, and to destroy by converting grace, as well as by redeeming blood.  Now sin swarms, and lieth by legions, and whole armies, in the souls of the biggest sinners, as in garrisons: wherefore the way, the most direct way to destroy it, is first to deal with such sinners by the word of his gospel, and by the merits of his passion.

For example, though I shall give you but a homely one: suppose a family to be troubled with vermin, and one or two of the family to be in chief the breeders, the way, the quickest way to clear that family, or at least to weaken the so swarming of those vermin, is, in the first place, to sweeten the skin, head, and clothes of the chief breeders; and then, though all the family should be apt to breed them, the number of them, and so the greatness of that plague there, will be the more impaired.

Why, there are some people that are in chief the devil’s sin-breeders in the towns and places where they live.  The place, town, or family where they live, must needs be horribly verminous, as it were, eaten up with vermin.  Now, let the Lord Jesus, in the first place, cleanse these great breeders, and there will be given a nip to those swarms of sins that used to be committed in such places throughout the town, house, or family, where such sin-breeding persons used to be.

I speak by experience: I was one of these verminous ones, one of these great sin-breeders; I infected all the youth of the town where I was born, with all manner of youthful vanities.  The neighbours counted me so; my practice proved me so: wherefore Christ Jesus took me first, and taking me first, the contagion was much allayed all the town over.  When God made me sigh, they would hearken, and enquiringly say, What is the matter with John?  They also gave their various opinions of me: but, as I said, sin cooled, and failed, as to his full career.  When I went out to seek the bread of life, some of them would follow, and the rest be put into a muse at home.  Yea, almost the town, at first, at times would go out to hear at the place where I found good; yea, young and old for a while had some reformation on them; also some of them, perceiving that God had mercy upon me, came crying to him for mercy too.

But what need I give you an instance of poor I; I will come to Manasseh the king.  So long as he was a ring-leading sinner, the great idolater, the chief for devilism, the whole land flowed with wickedness; for he “made them to sin,” and do worse than the heathen that dwelt round about them, or that was cast out from before them: but when God converted him, the whole land was reformed.  Down went the groves, the idols, and altars of Baal, and up went true religion in much of the power and purity of it.  You will say, The king reformed by power.  I answer, doubtless, and by example too; for people observe their leaders; as their fathers did, so did they; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 2.

This, therefore, is another reason why Jesus would have mercy offered in the first place to the biggest sinners, because that is the best way, if they receive it, most to weaken the kingdom of Satan, and to keep it poor and low.

And do you not think now, that if God would but take hold of the hearts of some of the most notorious in your town, in your family, or country, that this thing would be verified before your faces?  It would, it would, to the joy of you that are godly, to the making of hell to sigh, to the great suppressing of sin, the glory of Christ, and the joy of the angels of God.  And ministers should, therefore, that this work might go on, take advantages to persuade with the biggest sinners to come into Christ, according to my text, and their commissions; “Beginning at Jerusalem.”

Fifthly, Jesus Christ would have mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners; because such, when converted, are usually the best helps in the church against temptations, and fittest for the support of the feeble-minded there.  Hence, usually, you have some such in the first plantation of churches, or quickly upon it.  Churches would do but sorrily, if Christ Jesus did not put such converts among them: they are the monuments and mirrors of mercy.  The very sight of such a sinner in God’s house, yea, the very thought of him, where the sight of him cannot be had, is ofttimes greatly for the help of the faith of the feeble.

“When the churches (said Paul) that were in Judea, heard this concerning me, that he which persecuted them in time past, now preached the faith which once he destroyed, they glorified God in me;” Gal. i. 20–24.

“Glorified God.”  How is that?  Why, they praised him, and took courage to believe the more in the mercy of God; for that he had had mercy on such a great sinner as he.  They glorified God “in me;” they wondered that grace should be so rich, as to take hold of such a wretch as I was; and for my sake believed in Christ the more.

There are two things that great sinners are acquainted with, when they come to divulge them to the saints, that are a great relief to their faith.

1.  The contests that they usually have with the devil at their parting with him.

2.  Their knowledge of his secrets in his workings.

For the first, The biggest sinners have usually great contests with the devil at their partings; and this is an help to saints: for ordinary saints find afterwards what the vile ones find at first, but when at the opening of hearts, the one finds himself to be as the other, the one is a comfort to the other.  The lesser sort of sinners find but little of this, till after they have been some time in profession; but the vile man meets with his at the beginning.  Wherefore he, when the other is down, is ready to tell that he has met with the same before; for, I say, he has had it before.  Satan is loath to part with a great sinner.  What my true servant (quoth he), my old servant, wilt thou forsake me now? having so often sold thyself to me to work wickedness, wilt thou forsake me now?  Thou horrible wretch, dost not know, that thou hast sinned thyself beyond the reach of grace, and dost think to find mercy now?  Art not thou a murderer, a thief, a harlot, a witch, a sinner of the greatest size, and dost thou look for mercy now?  Dost thou think that Christ will foul his fingers with thee?

’Tis enough to make angels blush, saith Satan, to see so vile a one knock at heaven-gates for mercy, and wilt thou be so abominably bold to do it?  Thus Satan dealt with me, says the great sinner, when at first I came to Jesus Christ.  And what did you reply? saith the tempted.  Why, I granted the whole charge to be true, says the other.  And what, did you despair, or how?  No, saith he, I said, I am Magdalen, I am Zaccheus, I am the thief, I am the harlot, I am the publican, I am the prodigal, and one of Christ’s murderers: yea, worse than any of these; and yet God was so far off from rejecting of me (as I found afterwards), that there was music and dancing in his house for me, and for joy that I was come home unto him.  O blessed be God for grace (says the other), for then I hope there is favour for me.  Yea, as I told you, such a one is a continual spectacle in the church, for every one to behold God’s grace and wonder by.

Secondly, And as for the secrets of Satan, such as are suggestions to question the being of God, the truth of his word, and to be annoyed with devilish blasphemies; none more acquainted with these than the biggest sinners at their conversion; wherefore thus also they are prepared to be helps in the church to relieve and comfort the other.

I might also here tell you of the contests and battles that such are engaged in, wherein they find the besettings of Satan, above any other of the saints.  At which times Satan assaults the soul with darkness, fears, frightful thoughts of apparitions; now they sweat, pant, cry out, and struggle for life.