A64834:602
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. › 3. Caution against Deed-sins.
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. Consider this, sins of omission are sins which God hath severely judged men for in this world, and for which he will judge men in the ⟨p. 311⟩great day. 'Tis observable how severe God hath been to them that have omitted what he commanded them to do, though they have pretended to do it for Gods-sake; an instance whereof we have in Saul, 1 Sam. 15. God sent Saul to destroy Amaleck root and branch, King and people, from head to foot, from Throne to threshold, not to leave one person alive; man, woman, infant, and suckling, all must dye; oxen and sheep, &c. none must escape. But Saul spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and oxen, &c. and would not utterly destroy them; whereupon it follows, that the Lord repented of having set up Saul to be King, vers. 11. and though it were pretended to be done for a Sacrifice to God, vers. 15. & 22. yet 'tis charged upon him as rebellion and witchcraft, vers. 23. and his not obeying the voice of the Lord, is called a doing evil in his sight, vers 19. so that he who omits a good, commits an evil; the omission of good is the commission of evil, and judged accordingly. Oh, how dear did this sin of omission cost Saul; Another instance is,
That of Eli (which is remarkable) who is charged with honouring his sons before God, 1 Sam. 2.29. how so? Eli was a good old man, and can it be thought that he preferred his sons before God? what should the meaning of this be? see Chap. 3.13. and there 'tis cleared up; for saith God, I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not: he did not give them so much as a sour look, or as the Hebrew reads it, he frowned not ⟨p. 312⟩upon them. And yet let me tell you, Eli went so far, that had his children had any ingenuity, or any respect to the rebukes of a Priest and Father, one would have thought he had said enough, for Chap. 2.23. &c. the old man very gravely takes them up with this expostulation, Why do you do such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people, nay, my son, for it is no good report which I hear, ye make the Lords people to transgress; if one man sin against another, the Judge shall judge him, but if a man sins against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? thus he lays their sin and danger before them pretty roundly, and yet, saith God, he restrained them not, there was an omission and neglect of more severe discipline; and this omission cost him dear, as dear almost as the sins of commission did cost his sons, which was not to be purged with Sacrifice, vers. 14.