Presumptuous sins

Blueridge Believer · #1 (**permalink**) 05-29-2008, 10:31 AM

Presumptuous sins, these are the thieves that

‘break through and steal’ the saint’s comfort away.

When the Christian comes to look into his soul after

such a bold act, and thinks to entertain himself, as

formerly, with the comforts of his pardoned state, interest

in Christ, and hopes of heaven through him,

alas! he finds a sad change. There is no promise that

will give out its consolations to him—the cellar-door

is locked, Christ withdrawn, and the keys carried

away with him. He may even cry out with a sad complaint,

as Mary when she found not Christ’s body in

the sepulchre, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and

I know not where they have laid him.’ Thus the

Christian may, with aching heart, bemoan his folly,

‘My pride, my uncleanness, my earthly-mindedness,

they have taken away my treasure, robbed me of my

comfort. I could never have a comfortable sight of

God’s face in any duty or promise since I fell into

that foul sin.’ And therefore, Christian, have a care

of such robbers of thy peace as this. ‘The spirit of

man’ is called ‘the candle of the Lord,’ Prov. 20:27.

Hath God lighted thy candle, Christian—cheered thy

spirit, I mean, with the sense of his love? Take heed

of presumptuous sins. If such a thief be suffered in

this thy candle, thy comfort will soon sweal out. Hast

thou fallen into the hands of any such presumptuous

sins as have stolen thy peace from thee? Send speedily

thy hue and cry after them—I mean, take thy sad

moan to God, renew thy repentance out of hand, and

raise heaven upon them by a spirit of prayer. This is

no time to delay. The farther thou lettest these sins

go without repentance, the harder thou wilt find it to

recover thy lost peace and joy out of their hands. And

for thy encouragement know, God is ready, upon thy

serious and solemn return, to restore thee ‘the joy of

his salvation,’ and do justice upon these enemies of

thy soul for thee by his mortifying grace, if thou wilt

prosecute the law upon them closely and vigorously,

without relenting towards them, or being bribed with

the pleasure or carnal advantage that they will not

spare to offer, so their lives may be spared.

2. Again, as presumptuous sins are the ‘thieves’

that with a high hand rob the Christian of his comfort;

so sloth and negligence are as the ‘rust,’ that in

time will fret into his comfort and eat out the heart

and strength of it. It is impossible that the Christian

who is careless and secure in his walking, infrequent

and negligent in his communion with God, should

long be owner of much peace or comfort that is true.

What if thou dost not pour water of presumptuous

sins into the lap of thy joy to quench it? It is enough

if thou dost not pour oil of duty to feed and maintain

it. Thou art murderer to thy comfort by starving it, as

well as by stabbing of it.

WILLIAM GURNALL.