The Soul's Preparation for Christ

First, a man must see his sin nakedly in its own proper colours, we must not look upon sin through many mediums, through profits, pleasures, and the contentments of this world; for so we mistake sin: but the soul of a true Christian that would see sin clearly, he must strip it clean of all content and quiet that ever the heart hath received from any corruption, and the heart must look upon sin in the danger of it; as the adulterer must not look upon sin in regard of the sweetness of it, nor the drunkard upon his sin in regard of the contentment that comes thereby, nor the covetous man in regard of the profit that comes by his sin; you that are such, the time will come when you must die, and then consider what good these sinful courses will do you, how will you judge of sin then, when it shall leave a blot upon thy soul, and a guilt upon thy conscience, what wilt thou then think of it? we must deal with sin as with a serpent, we must not play with a serpent as children do, because it hath a fine speckled skin, but fly from it, because of the sting: so must we deal with sin: a profane gallant will profane the Sabbaths, because otherwise he should be counted a puritan; Look not at the speckled skin of sin, but how thou canst answer for thy sin before God, especially seeing the Lord saith, I will not hold that man guiltless that blasphemes my name, of what place or condition so ever he be: Look now on the nature of thy sins nakedly.

First, a man must see his sinne nakedly in its owne proper colours, we must not looke upon sinne through many mediums, through profits, pleasures, and the contentments of this world; for so we mistake sinne: but the soule of a true Christian that would see sinne clearely, he must strip it cleane of all content and quiet that ever the heart hath received from any corruption, and the heart must looke upon sinne in the danger of it; as the adulterer must not looke upon sinne in regard of the sweetnes of it, nor the drūkard upon his sinne in regard of the contentment that comes thereby, nor the covetous man in regard of the profit that comes by his sinne; you that are such, the time will come when you must die, and then consider what good these sinfull courses will doe you, how will you judge of sinne then, when it shall leave a blot upon thy soule, and a guilt upon thy conscience, what wilt thou then thinke of it? we must deale with sinne as with a serpent, we must not play with a serpent as children doe, because it hath a fine speckled skinne, but fly from it, because of the sting: so must we deale with sinne: a prophane gallant will prophane the Sabbaths, because otherwise he should be counted a puritane; Looke not at the speckled skin of sinne, but how thou canst answere for thy sinne before God, especially seeing the Lord saith, I will not hold that man guiltles that blasphemes my name, of what place or condition so ever he be: Looke now on the nature of thy sinnes nakedly.