A64834:108
Sin, the Plague of Plagues
Sin, the plague of plagues, or, Sinful sin the worst of evils a treatise of sins trial and arraignment, wherein sin is accused for being, proved to be, and condemned for being exceeding sinful : and that 1. as against God, his nature, attributes, works, will, law, image, people, glory and existence, 2. as against man, his good and welfare of body and soul, in this life, and that to come : with the use and improvement to be made of this doctrine, that men may not be damned, but saved, &c. : being the substance of many sermons preached many years ago in Southwark / by Ralph Venning ...Sin, the plague of plagues, or, Sinful sin the worst of evils a treatise of sins tryal and arraignment, wherein sin is accused for being, proved to be, and condemned for being exceeding sinful : and that 1. as against God, his nature, attributes, works, will, law, image, people, glory and existence, 2. as against man, his good and welfare of body and soul, in this life, and that to come : with the use and improvement to be made of this doctrine, that men may not be damned, but saved, &c. : being the substance of many sermons preached many years ago in Southwark / by Ralph Venning ...
London: printed for John Hancock, 1669
Title page typeset from the transcription.
SIN, THE PLAGUE of PLAGUES; OR Sinful Sin the worst of Evils. › 2 In a Moral sense, for
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.
God hath been pleased in and by Christ Jesus to declare his mind to us, 1 Cor. 2.16. His Gospel and grace hath appeared teaching us, Tit. 2.11, 12. But alas! how do men pervert the Gospel, turn grace into wantonness, Jude 4. and sin abundantly, because grace abounds? What strivings and strugglings, reluctances and oppositions against the Gospel? How do men stumble, and kick at, and against Christ Jesus, instead of building on him as the Corner-stone, as a Rock and sure Foundation? How angry are they when Jesus Christ comes by his Word and Spirit to bless them, in turning them away from their iniquity? When God comes in Christ Jesus, and the Ministry of his Gospel to reconcile them, and make them happy, they take up arms, and make war against him! When the Gospel comes with the weapons of its warfare, to pull down the strong holds, and to reduce men to obedience, how do they fortify themselves? When God stands at the door and knocks, and woes men for entertainment, how do they lock themselves ⟨p. 47⟩up, bar and bolt up their hearts against him, that the King of Grace and Glory may not enter in? 'Tis no less a power then that which raised Christ from the dead, that makes men willing to believe and obey the Gospel, Psal. 110.3. Eph. 1.19.
God hath been pleased in and by Christ Jesus to declare his mind to us, 1 Cor. 2.16. His Gospel and grace hath appeared teaching us, Tit. 2.11, 12. But alas! how do men pervert the Gospel, turn grace into wantonness, Jude 4. and sin abundantly, because grace abounds? What strivings and struglings, reluctances and oppositions against the Gospel? How do men stumble, and kick at, and against Christ Jesus, instead of building on him as the Corner-stone, as a Rock and sure Foundation? How angry are they when Jesus Christ comes by his Word and Spirit to bless them, in turning them away from their iniquity? When God comes in Christ Jesus, and the Ministry of his Gospel to reconcile them, and make them happy, they take up arms, and make war against him! When the Gospel comes with the weapons of its warfare, to pull down the strong holds, and to reduce men to obedience, how do they fortifie themselves? When God stands at the door and knocks, and woes men for entertainment, how do they lock themselves