The Evil of Evils

3 Yea further, this follows, That by going on in ways of sin, thou comest to be guilty, and standest charged for all the sins that ever were committed in the world: This may seem to be a hard thing, to charge any man or woman that now lives in ways of sin, that by that sin of thine that thou now livest in, thou comest to be guilty of all the sins that ever was done in the world, since the beginning of the world. I undertake to make that good thus; You know the Scripture chargeth those that persecuted the Prophets, as guilty of all the persecution of the Prophets that ever were, all the blood that was shed from Abel to Zechariah shall come upon this Generation, saith Christ; why so? why should all the blood shed from Abel to that time, come upon that Generation? The Reason is this, Because they continued the succession of that sin of persecution of the Prophets, that as there was a persecution of the Prophets before, so they go on and uphold this succession of that sin. Now by the holding of the succession of a way of sin, we come to be guilty of all that sin that went before: As for example, Suppose there should be Treason against a King or State, by some vile treasonable act; now the Father commits the first act, the Son afterward goeth on in the same way, and his Children come after him, and goeth on in the same way, and their Children after them: now I say, the Children, and the Grand-children, and the great Grand-children, are guilty of the first treasonable act that was committed; why? Because they uphold the ⟨p. 363⟩succession of the treasonable act. So now, Sin that was in the beginning of the world, was to bring in the Kingdom of Satan; and the next Generation upheld it, and the next upheld the same, and the next Generation went on the same way; so that every Generation is not only guilty of those particular sins which they commit; but they be guilty of all that went before, because they uphold the succession of the Kingdom of the Devil, and the opposition of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ: As for instance, Take a scorner of Religion, that is one sin (for we cannot open things but by instancing in particulars) I say, take a scorner of Religion, know thou art not guilty of these acts of scorning only in thy self, but art guilty of all the scorning of Godliness since the beginning of the world; why?

3 Yea further, this follows, That by going on in waies of sin, thou comest to be guilty, and standest charged for all the sins that ever were committed in the world: This may seem to be a hard thing, to charge any man or woman that now lives in waies of sin, that by that sin of thine that thou now livest in, thou comest to be guilty of all the sins that ever was done in the world, since the beginning of the world. I undertake to make that good thus; You know the Scripture chargeth those that persecuted the Prophets, as guilty of all the persecution of the Prophets that ever were, all the blood that was shed from Abel to Zacharias shall come upon this Generation, saith Christ; why so? why should all the blood shed from Abel to that time, come upon that Generation? The Reason is this, Because they continued the succession of that sin of persecution of the Prophets, that as there was a persecution of the Prophets before, so they go on and uphold this succession of that sin. Now by the holding of the succession of a way of sin, we come to be guilty of all that sin that went before: As for example, Suppose there should be Treason against a King or State, by some vile treasonable act; now the Father commits the first act, the Son afterward goeth on in the same way, and his Children come after him, and goeth on in the same way, and their Children after them: now I say, the Children, and the Grand-children, and the great Grand-children, are guilty of the first treasonable act that was committed; why? Because they uphold the