The beatitudes

1. Sin may be compared to sickness for the manner of catching.

1. Sin may be compared to sicknesse for the manner of catching.

First, Sickness is caught often through carelessness; ⟨p. 470⟩some get cold by leaving off clothes. So when Adam grew careless of Gods command, and left off the garment of his innocency, he caught a sickness; he could stay no longer in the Garden, but lay bed-rid; his sin hath turned the world, which was a Paradise, into an Hospital.

First, Sicknesse is caught often through carelesnesse; ⟨p. 470⟩some get cold by leaving off cloaths. So when Adam grew carelesse of Gods command, and left off the garment of his innocency, he caught a sicknesse; he could stay no longer in the Garden, but lay bed-rid; his sinne hath turned the world, which was a Paradise, into an Hospital.

Secondly, Sickness is caught sometimes through superfluity and intemperance. Excess produceth sickness. When our first parents lost the golden bridle of temperance, and did eat of the forbidden tree, they, and all their posterity surfeited on it, and took a sickness. The Tree of Knowledge had sickness and death under the leaves; it was fair to the eye, Gen. 3.6. but poison to the taste; we all grew desperately sick by eating of this tree. Adams intemperance hath brought us to fasting and weeping; and besides that disease at first by propagation, we have added to it by actual perpetration. We have increased our sickness, therefore sinners are said to wax worse and worse,