A64834:512
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.
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.
2. Consider, Covetousness it self may be a thief, and rob men of the use and comfort of their own possessions: the covetous man doth always need, and is indeed the poorest man in the world, Eccl. 4.8. There is one alone, there is not a second (he is a single man unmarried, without a second-self) yet there is no end of his labour, yet, saith he not, for whom do I bereave my self of good; observe it, while he gets goods, he bereaves himself of good, yea of the good of his goods. Is this profitable? no, 'tis a sore travel• for he hath not power to eat thereof, Eccl. 6.2. To fill his purse he starves his belly, and grudgeth himself victuals.
3. Consider, that though you have much, and use it much, yet it will never satisfy, and therefore must needs vex: no satisfaction, no profit. A mans aim is satisfaction, Luke 12.1•. but the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the car with hearing, Eccl. 1.8. Now if they cannot satisfy the senses, much less the souls of m•n, Eccl. 6.7. and which addeth to the vexation, the love of money increaseth faster then the money; so that, Eccl. 5.10, 11. he that loveth silver, shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loves •••ndance with increase. Well, it may be thou […] say, none of these are my cases; if not, […].
3. Consider, that though you have much, and use it much, yet it will never satisfie, and therefore must needs vex: no satisfaction, no prefit. A mans aim is satisfaction,