A64834:564
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.
7. God keeps an account of, and will call us to account for thoughts, as well as for words and actions: he hath a book of remembrance written for them that think on his Name, I, and for them that think on their sins too, with sinful ⟨p. 282⟩thoughts. There is no thought hid from him, all things are naked and open before him with whom we have to do, Heb. 4.13. or as the words may be read, before him, to whom we are to give an account. God knows our thoughts afar off, Psal. 139.2. long before they came out into words or actions, Deut. 31.21. So the father saw the Prodigal, while yet afar off, while but thinking to return: yea, he doth search and try the heart to this very end, that he may give to every man according to his way, Jer. 17.9, 10. God will judge righteous judgment (not according to appearance, as men do) as the man thinketh, so is he, and so shall he be judged: man judgeth our inside by our outside, our heart by our works; but God judgeth our outside by our inside, our works by our hearts: and 'tis therefore we should fear God, and keep his Commandments, because God will bring, as every work, so, every secret thing, to judgment, whether good or evil, Eccl. 12.13, 14. When the Lord comes, he will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart, all the secret designs and projects of it, 1 Cor. 4.5. and will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, as our Gospel teacheth, Rom. 2.16. Oh think then that for thoughts thou must be judged, and therefore make conscience of them, for not only scientia divina, Gods science or knowledge, but conscientia humana, mans conscience will be (one of the books opened, and) a witness in that day, according to which men shall be judged.