A10659:690
Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…
Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life of Christ. Being the substance of several sermons preached at Lincolns Inn: by Edward Reynolds, preacher to that honourable society, and late fellow of Merton College in Oxford.Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life of Christ. Being the substance of severall sermons preached at Lincolns Inne: by Edward Reynoldes, preacher to that honourable society, and late fellow of Merton Colledge in Oxford.
London: printed by Felix Kyngston for Robert Bostocke, 1631
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
But now as men who look upon the Sun, when they look downward again upon darker objects, can scarce see or distinguish any thing; so ought it to be with us, our looking up unto God should make us see nothing in ourselves, but matter to be humbled by, and driven back unto him again. If once the strong man begin to glory in his strength, or the wise man in his wisdom; If our prosperity and security make us resolve with David, that we shall never be moved: If because we find our corruptions wounded and mortified, we begin to insult over them more with our pride, then with our faith: How easy and just is it with God ⟨p. 459⟩to let in Satan upon us, to remove his hand from under us, to overshadow and withdraw His countenance from us, to set on our very wounded corruptions upon us to burn up our city, and peradventure to plunge us in the guilt of some such fearful sins, as at the very names and first suggestions whereof we would haply before have been startled and amazed? Alas what are we to David, and Peter, to Solomon and Hezekiah, men of such daily communion and intimate acquaintance with the Almighty. And yet notwithstanding what fearful testimonies have they left upon record for all posterity to take notice what a frail and inconstant creature man is, when once Gods Spirit departs from him? That the strength of the greatest champions in the Church of God is but like the strength of Sampson, of whom in all his great exploits the Scripture saith, that aThe Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and when he was overcome, that bthe Lord was departed from him. We should therefore labour to crejoice in the Lord with trembling, to dwork out our salvation with fear, to pray that we may be delivered from our selves, and from the trains of Satan; that we may never know by our own fearful experience, into what an incredible excess of sinning our flesh, though otherwise mortified, would break forth, if God should a little subduct his hand, and give us over a while to the violence of our own passions, to the treachery of our own hearts. We should be very watchful and cautious against our selves, that we presume not to sin, because Grace hath abounded.