JM
Puritan Board Doctor
Dr. John Gill:
…sin, upon conviction, is made exceeding sinful, and is very distressing; this is usually through the law; “By the law is the knowledge of sin;” not only of external acts of sin in life, but of the inward lusts of it in the heart; “I had not known lust,” says the apostle; that is, that it was sin, “except the law had said, Thou shall not covet;” and when such knowledge is had of sin, it appears “exceeding sinful,” very odious, and gives great uneasiness (Rom. 3:20; 7:7,13), when the guilt of sin lies heavy upon the conscience, it is a burden too heavy for a guilty sinner to bear; as it was to David (Ps. 38:3,4), and especially where there is not a glimpse of pardoning grace and mercy; as in Cain.
There is a conscience in every man; and when it does its office, it causes great anxiety, grief, and trouble, more or less; when the mind is opened by conviction, under a work of the law, wrath is let into the conscience; “The law worketh wrath;” along with the knowledge of sin by the law, wrath from heaven is revealed in it against all unrighteousness and ungodliness; and it leaves a fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation against it; which wrath sometimes lies so hard and heavy as to cause terror, and even distraction; as in Heman (Ps. 88:7,15,16). So that sin convicted of, makes dreadful work in the heart of an awakened sinner; such are pricked and pained at their very hearts; and in their compunction cry out, “What shall we do to be saved?” they are wounded with a sense of sin, and the arrows of divine wrath stick fast in them; the hand of God presses them sore; their wounds are grievous and intolerable; for “a wounded spirit, who can bear?”
…sin, upon conviction, is made exceeding sinful, and is very distressing; this is usually through the law; “By the law is the knowledge of sin;” not only of external acts of sin in life, but of the inward lusts of it in the heart; “I had not known lust,” says the apostle; that is, that it was sin, “except the law had said, Thou shall not covet;” and when such knowledge is had of sin, it appears “exceeding sinful,” very odious, and gives great uneasiness (Rom. 3:20; 7:7,13), when the guilt of sin lies heavy upon the conscience, it is a burden too heavy for a guilty sinner to bear; as it was to David (Ps. 38:3,4), and especially where there is not a glimpse of pardoning grace and mercy; as in Cain.
There is a conscience in every man; and when it does its office, it causes great anxiety, grief, and trouble, more or less; when the mind is opened by conviction, under a work of the law, wrath is let into the conscience; “The law worketh wrath;” along with the knowledge of sin by the law, wrath from heaven is revealed in it against all unrighteousness and ungodliness; and it leaves a fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation against it; which wrath sometimes lies so hard and heavy as to cause terror, and even distraction; as in Heman (Ps. 88:7,15,16). So that sin convicted of, makes dreadful work in the heart of an awakened sinner; such are pricked and pained at their very hearts; and in their compunction cry out, “What shall we do to be saved?” they are wounded with a sense of sin, and the arrows of divine wrath stick fast in them; the hand of God presses them sore; their wounds are grievous and intolerable; for “a wounded spirit, who can bear?”
