A20760:516
Four treatises tending to dissuade all Christians from four no less heinous then common…Foure treatises tending to disswade all Christians from foure no lesse hainous then common…
Four treatises tending to dissuade all Christians from four no less heinous then common sins; namely, the abuses of swearing, drunkenness, whoredom, and bribery. Wherein the greatness and odiousness of these vices is discovered; and the means and remedies, which may either preserve, or wean men from them, are propounded. Whereunto is annexed a treatise of anger. By John Downame Bachelor in Divinity, and preacher of Gods word.Foure treatises tending to disswade all Christians from foure no lesse hainous then common sinnes; namely, the abuses of swearing, drunkennesse, whoredome, and briberie. Wherein the greatnes and odiousnesse of these vices is discouered; and the meanes and remedies, which may either preserue, or weane men from them, are propounded. Whereunto is annexed a treatise of anger. By Iohn Dovvname Batcheler in Diuinitie, and preacher of Gods word.
London: printed by Felix Kyngston for William Welby, 1609
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.
And so much for the manner of our anger:1 in the next place we are to speak of the object thereof; & that must not be the person of our neighbour, but his vice, sin, & injustice. For though we are to be angry at, yea, to hate the vices of men, yet we are to love their persons, and in the middest of our anger, to seek their good, especially the salvation of their souls, & in regard hereof, we ought to grieve more for their sin, then for the injuries which by their sins they have offered us: and thus was holy David affected, whose zeal did even consume him, because his enemies had forgotten the word of the Lord.2 Ps. 119.139. & such was the anger of our Saviour Christ, who in the midst thereof did mourn for the hardness of their harts. Mar. 3.5. But on the other side, we are to take heed that we do not approve of the sin for the offenders sake, for we ought to hate sin in our friends, parents, yea in our own harts, or wheresoever else we find it, & in no wise to love this deadly poison, though it be brought to us in a vessel ⟨p. 19⟩of gold never so precious in our eyes. Here therefore we must avoid two extremes, the one to hate the person for the sins sake: the other to love the sin for the persons sake: for as we would condemn his folly who would loath an exquisite picture, because it had a spot of dirt upon it, or his that should so extremely dote upon the rare workmanship of so excellent a feature, that he also would be in love with the dirt for the pictures sake, & on the other side, commend his wisdom who should so like the picture, as in the mean time he disliketh of the deformity. So alike foolish is he who will be angry at the person of man it self, which was formed after Gods own image, because this image is spotted & defiled with sin, or he who will like and approve of such filthy corruption and deformities wherewith it is defaced; but he is truly wise who so hateth the polluted spots of sin, that in the mean time he loveth Gods excellent workmanship, and so esteemeth of the workmanship, that he is much displeased with the pollution which deformeth it. But the practise of the world is far otherwise: for men will hardly be friend to the person, but they will be a friend to the sin also, nor an enemy to the sin, but they will withal malign the person;