And why not, do you think? Is there less sin among us modern men, or did
such writers as John Bunyan overdraw and exaggerate the sinfulness of
sin? Were they wrong in holding so fast as they did hold that death and
hell are the sure wages of sin? Has divine justice become less fearful
than it used to be to those who rush against it, or is it that we are so
much better men? Is our faith stronger and more victorious over doubt
and fear? Is it that our hope is better anchored? Whatever the reason
is, there can be no question but that we walk in a liberty that our
fathers did not always walk in. Whether or no our liberty is not
recklessness and licentiousness is another matter. Whether or no it
would be a better sign of us if we were better acquainted with doubt and
dejection and diffidence, and even despair, is a question it would only
do us good to put to ourselves. When we properly attend to these matters
we shall find out that, the holier a man is, the more liable he is to the
assaults of doubt and fear and even despair. We have whole psalms of
despair, so deep was David's sense of sin, so high were his views of
God's holiness and justice, and so full of diffidence was his wounded
heart.
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