THE WAYS OF SIN ARE HARD AND DIFFICULT

You often hear of the narrow and rugged road of religion, which leadeth unto life; and some of you, my readers, I am afraid, have not courage enough to venture upon it. You rather choose the smooth, broad, down-hill road to vice and pleasure, though it leads down to the chambers of death. It must be owned, that a religious life is a course of difficulties, a hard struggle, a constant conflict; and it is fit you should be honestly informed of it: but then it is fit you should also know, that the difficulties arise not from the nature of religion, but from the corruption and depravity of the nature of man in its present degenerate state. A course of religion is disagreeable, is hard, is difficult to mankind; just as a course of action is difficult to the sick, though it is easy and affords pleasure to those that are well. There are difficulties in the way of sin, as well as in that of holiness, though the depravity of mankind renders them insensible of it. This is the view of the case I would now lay before you. There is a sense, in which it is true, that it is a hard thing to be a sinner, as well as to be a saint: there are huge difficulties in the way to hell, as well as in the way to heaven. And if you are insensible of them, it is owing, as I just observed, to the corruption of your good nature, and not to the easiness of the thing in itself. It may be easy and pleasing to you to sin, just as it is easy to a dead body to rot, or pleasing to a leper to rub his sores. But to a reasonable creature, in a state of purity, with all his powers uncorrupted, it would indeed be an un-pleasing, a hard, a difficult thing, to take that course which is so easy and so delightful to you; as it is hard and painful for a living man to suffer the mortification of his limbs, or for a healthy man to make himself sore. If it be hard, in one sense, to live a life of holiness, it is certainly hard, in another sense, to live a life of sin; namely, to run against conscience, against reason, against honor, against interest, against all the strong and endearing obligations you are under to God, to mankind, and to yourselves: or, in the words of the Lord Jesus, to Saul, “it is hard for you to kick against the pricks.”

This is a proverb, in use among various nations, which has received a sanction from heaven in Acts 9:5. It is used by Pindar, Euripides, and Eschylus, among the Greeks, and by Terence among the Latins: and from the sense in which they use it, we are helped to understand it. “To kick against the pricks,” is an allusion to a lazy or unruly plough-horse or ox, that when pricked with a goad, (a goad is an instrument used in ploughing, in sundry places, instead of a whip,) refuses to go on, and spurns and kicks against the goad, and so wounds himself, and not the driver. In such circumstances, it is much harder to kick against the goads, and resist, than to go on; if he goes on, he need not fear the goad; but his resistance only hurts himself. It is to this that the phrase alludes; and it signifies a resistance injurious to the person that makes it, when it would be both easy and advantageous to obey.

Hence we may learn the precise sense in which it is used by the mouth of Christ, in this pungent address to Saul the persecutor, whom we now know under the higher name of Paul the apostle.

Saul, animated with a furious, misguided, though honest zeal, against the disciples of Jesus, was now on his way to Damascus in pursuit of them; and had a commission from the highest court of the Jews to apprehend them: a commission which he was impatient to execute. This, in human view, was a very unpromising hour for his conversion; now it appears more likely that vengeance will arrest him as a criminal, than that grace will prevent him as a vessel of mercy. But O! what agreeable exploits of grace has Jesus performed! At the first introduction of his religion, it was fit he should single out some great sinner, and make him a monument of his mercy, for the encouragement of future ages. Therefore he surprises his fierce persecutor in his daring career, darts the splendors of his glory around him, and pierces him to the heart with this irrisistible expostulation, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” Saul, in a trembling consternation, replies, “Who art thou, Lord?” He thought he was only bringing to justice a parcel of contemptible blasphemous sectaries, unworthy of toleration; and little did he think that his persecuting zeal reached so high: Little did he expect to hear one crying from the throne of heaven, “Why persecutest thou me-” But Jesus feels and resents the injuries done to his people, as done to himself. The head sympathizes with its members; therefore he answers, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” And then Jesus said: “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” “Since it is Jesus whom thou persecutest, the injury done to me will only rebound upon thyself: I am infinitely advanced beyond the reach of thy rage; and even my people, who now seem in thy power, can suffer no real or lasting injury from it in the issue; for under my management, all things shall work for their good; but thy persecuting fury shall prove ruinous to thyself, as the wild ox that spurns and kicks against the goad, hurts himself and not the driver.” Thus, as I told you, this proverb signifies a resistance injurious to the person resisting, and harmless to him against whom it is made. And, reader, is not this hard? Is it not an arduous, preposterous exploit, to break through the strong restraints of the innate principle of self-preservation, and ruin one’s self by a blow intended against another, beyond the reach of injury? This, one would think, is a piece of folly and cruelty, of which a being that has the least remains of reason or self-love, would be incapable.

This proverb may signify more: “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest;” I am Jesus, the Lord of glory: I am Jesus, the Savior of sinners: I am Jesus, who has died for such sinners as thee; I am Jesus, who is all love and mercy, excellency and glory; Jesus, who has given thee such sufficient evidence of his divine mission, and the truth of his religion; and canst thou persecute Jesus? O! is this an easy thing to one that has the least reason or gratitude? Art thou able to break through such strong and endearing obligations? Is it not hard for thee to spurn against one so great, so glorious, so gracious and condescending? Must not this be a horrid exploit of wickedness beyond thy power?

That I may the more fully illustrate the striking thought suggested in these words, I shall point out to you some seemingly insuperable obstacles on the way to hell, or some dire exploits, which, one would think, would be too hard for you to perform, which yet you must perform, if you persist in a course of sin.

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