An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

Note; Sin doth mischief to man, and to man especially.

Sin doth mischief all the world over; the whole Creation groans under the mischief and vanity, which sin hath brought upon it, (Rom. 8.22.) Sin hath done damage to the whole Creation; but the ⟨p. 49⟩great damage which sin doth, is to man, to him that acts it to others before whom it is acted, or towards whom it is acted. Sin is distributed into two sorts, as to its hurtfulness. Sin either respects our selves in the hurt it doth, or others, and those others are either God or our Neighbour; sin hurts our selves most, yet sin as it is a wrong to God, may be said to hurt his honour, and diminish the manifestation of his glory in the world, (as hath been showed before). And sin is really a wrong to our Neighbour. There are a number of sins committed against our selves, yea, every sin, though committed against our Neighbour, hits and hurts our selves; no man can hurt his Neighbour, but he hurts himself most. So that, although there are many sins which respect others, yet all are against our selves. Some sins (unbelief especially, and the neglect of holy duties) hurt our selves only; there are sins which more properly hurt others, as oppression and uncharitableness; there are several sins which at once hurt others and our selves. Adultery hurts self and others too; evil words hurt our selves and others too, as the Apostle tells us out of a Poet, (1 Cor. 15.33.) Evil communication corrupteth good manners; that is, you corrupt the good manners of others, you debauch others by unsavoury speeches; our ill example hurts our selves and others. Our Neighbour is hurt by our sin. First, By any thing that is a wrong to him, as to his Estate, or as to his Person, or as to his Credit: Secondly, By the scandal of it, when we do that which is evil, it hardens the wicked, and makes them go on more securely in their sin, and keeps them off from the ways of God; it endangers good men also, and discourageth them in the duties they owe both to God and man in the profession of the Gospel. Thus sin may hurt our selves and our Neighbours.