A care-cloth

CHAP. III. Containing another reason of the doctrine, gathered from the nature of sin.

CHAP. III. Containing another reason of the doctrine, gathered from the nature of sinne.

Reas. 2 Sin is, of all things in the World, the most and greatest evil,¹ separating the person in whom it ruleth, from the Sea and Fountain of goodness. We may call it, after a sort, the first and chief evil, by participation with which, all that is evil, doth become evil; as God himself is the first and chief good, by participation with whom, all things that are good, do become so. For first, sin doth most of all things (yea, solely and alone) cross, thwart, contradict,² and so wrong and dishonour, and so offend, provoke and anger; yea, and after a sort, grieve, trouble, and vex the Lord God of Heaven: for God himself is not afraid to tell us, that he is grieved with mens wickedness; that he is laden with them, as a Cart with Sheaves; yea, that men do weary him with their iniquities; yea, that it grieved him at his heart that he had made man, when he saw his wickedness. It is certain, that the Lords excellency is such, ⟨p. 209⟩and so infinite, that no perturbation can befall him, to the diminishing of his happiness and bliss, let all the sinners in the World both do and say, whatever wickedness they can. But yet still sin is a thing of that nature, as doth directly tend to the disquieting, troubling, and hurting of him, by casting him out of his throne, by wresting his authority out of his hands, by setting his creature in his room, and preferring the will and pleasure of the creature (which is less then nothing) before his will and pleasure, that is more then all things. All this the sinner doth, as it were, proffer and assay to do, though he cannot effect it: For sin is nothing but an opposition of the reasonable creature, to the authority and commanding will of the Creator. And therefore if it were not, because the Lord out of his endless and unmatchable power, is able to ease, content, honour, nad glorify himself on the sinner, by a just and deserved punishment of the sin, and by causing the way of the wicked to perish, as the Psalmist speaketh, it would certainly prove, even a very vexation, misery, and hurt unto him. So sin is the foulest thing in all the World, offering and attempting to do the greatest mischief in the World, even to put the Lord besides his Kingdom, and to rob him of his Sovereign authority and power; and should not a Child of God be grieved to see such a thing as this committed?