Man ashiv le-Yahoweh, or, A serious enquiry for a suitable return for continued life,…

First, It is a total removal, the whole body of sin, and all the members of it are buried; Death might arise from the disease of some particular part, but burial covers all. He that makes a show of the burial of sin, and yet keeps any in his heart as his love and delight, hath indeed buried no sin: For who doth so bury his friend as to keep any of his members in his house?

First, It is a total removal, the whole body of sin, and all the members of it are buried; Death might arise from the disease of some particular part, but burial covers all. He that makes a shew of the burial of sin, and yet keeps any in his heart as his love and delight, hath indeed buried no sin: For who doth so bury his friend as to keep any of his members in his house?

Secondly, It is a voluntary removal; when one is dead, we make it matter of our choice to have him buried: Yea, we look upon it as a sore evil and great annoyance to have burial denied to our dead friends: So it is your choice to bury your sins, and the thoughts of not having them buried is a great trouble to you.

Thirdly, It is a perpetual removal; we bury our friends so, that we would not have them taken up again and brought into our house: So you bury sin, never to have it brought back to live again in your heart. One that hath buried his sin doth earnestly desire it might be removed out of the sight of God, by free pardon; out of the sight of his own eyes, by the evidence of the pardon; and out of the sight of others, by leading a contrary Conversation.