The Sincere Convert

Oh consider of this point, which may make thee pull thine hair from thine head, and turn thy clothes to sackcloth, and run up and down with amazement and paleness in thy face, and horror in thy conscience, and tears in thine eyes. What though thy life be smooth, what though thy outside, thy sepulchre be painted? oh thou art full of rottenness of sin within. Guilty not before men as the sins of thy life make thee, but before God, of all the sins that swarm and roar in the whole world at this day, for God looks to the heart; guilty thou art therefore of heart-whoredom, heart-sodomy, heart-blasphemy, heart-drunkenness, heart-buggery, heart oppression, heart-idolatry; and these are the sins that terribly provoke the wrath of almighty God against thee, Isay 57. 16. for the iniquity of his covetousness (saith our Translation,) I smote him, but the Hebrew renders it better, ⟨p. 55⟩the iniquity of his conscience (which is the sin of the heart and nature,) I smote him. As a King is angry and musters up his army against rebels, not only which brings his soldiers out to fight, but who keeps soldiers in their trenches ready for to fight. These sins of thine heart are all ready armed to fight against God at the watchword or alarm of any temptation. Nay I dare affirm, and will prove it, that these sins provoke God to anger, and are as bad, if not worse, than the sins of thy life. for

Oh consider of this point, which may make thee pull thine haire from thine head, and turn thy cloaths to sackloth, and run up and down with amazement and palenes in thy face, and horrour in thy conscience, and teares in thine eyes. What though thy life bee smooth, what though thy outside, thy sepulcher be painted? oh thou art full of rottennes of sin within. Guilty not before men as the sinnes of thy life make thee, but before God, of all the sinnes that swarme and roar in the whole world at this day, for God lookes to the heart; guilty thou art therfore of heart-whordom, heart-sodomy, heart-blasphemy, heart-drunkennes, heart-buggery, heart oppression, heart-idolatry; and these are the sinnes that terribly provoke the wrath of almighty God against thee, Isay 57. 16. for the iniquitie of his covetousnesse (saith our Translation,) I smote him, but the Hebrew renders it better, ⟨p. 55⟩the iniquitie of his conscience (which is the sin of the heart and nature,) I smote him. As a King is angry and musters up his army against rebels, not only which brings his souldiers out to fight, but who keepes souldiers in their trenches ready for to fight. These sins of thine heart are al ready arm'd to fight against God at the watchword or alarum of any temptation. Nay I dare affirme, and will prove it, that these sinnes provoke God to anger, and are as bad, if not worse, than the sinnes of thy life. for