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…

and the greatness of sin is here called the ripeness of the harvest, and the overflowing of the fats, to show unto us that there is a time and measure of sin, beyond which the Lord will not defer the execution of his vengeance. There are days of visitation and recompense for sin, which being come, Israel which¹ would not know before shall know, that God keeps their sins in store sealed up amongst his treasures, and that therefore their foot shall slip in due time, namely in the day of their calamity, or in their month, as the Prophet speaks. As Gods blessings have a punctual time, from the four and twentieth of the ninth month, from this day I will bless you: so likewise have his Judgements too. The days of Man shall be a hundred and ²twenty years, to the old World: nor are years only, but even months determined with him, Now shall a month ³devour them with their portions, to idolatrous Israel. Nor months only, but days and parts of days; In a morning shall the King of Israel be cut off, his destruction⁴ ⟨p. 51⟩shall be as sudden as it is certain. The wicked plotteth against the […], and gnasheth upon him with⁵ his teeth: but though he plot, he shall not prosper, though he gnash with his teeth, he shall not bite with his teeth, for the Lord shall laugh at him▪ because he seeth that His Day is coming. So much mischief as he can do within the compass of his chain, the Lord permits him to do; but when he is come to His Day, then all his thoughts and projects perish with him. Excellently hath holy Job stated the Point, with whom I mean to conclude, Their good▪ saith he, is not in their Hand. Riot it⁶ indeed they do, and take their fill of pleasure for a time, as the fish of the bait, when he hath some scope of line given him to play; but still their Good, their Time, their line is in Gods hand, they are not the Lords of their own lives and delights. God layeth up his iniquity for his children, that is, the Lord keeps an exact account of his sins, which haply he will repay upon the heads of his children, however he himself shall have no more pleasure in his house after him, when once the number of his months is cut off in the midst; and in the mean time however he be full of strength, wholly at ease and quiet, yet saith he, The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction;