A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. 79wide ; corrupts every thing it comes near. By reasonwliereof it is fitly resembled to leaven (Matt, xvi, 12;1 Cor. v, G); to a canker (2 Tim, ii, 17); to the leprosy, v/hichfilthy disease quickly overspreads the whole body (jSumb.xii, 10), infects the clothes, the very walls of the house(Levit. xiv, 37), and their posterity (2 Kings v, 27). Thefirst sin that ever the sun saw was so pregnant with soulkiliingpoison, that it hath polluted all the sons and daughtersof Adam that were ever since, and will still by the irresistiblestrength of the same contagion poison all their naturesto the world's end. Nay, at the very first breakingout it suddenly blasted, as it were, both heaven and earth,and so stained the beauty of the one, the brightness of theother, and the original orient newly burnished glory of thewhole creation, that from that hour it hath groaned underthe burtheij of that vanity and deformity to vvhich this firstsin hath made it subject ; and will travail in pain underthe bondage of the same corruption (Kom. viii, 19— 22),until it be purged by fire in the great day of the Lord(2 Pet. iii, 10, 11). if but one sin be doated upon delightfullyand impenitently, like a lump of leaven it sours allthe soul ; defiles the whole man, and every thing that proceedsfrom him ; his thoughts, desires, affections, words,actions, and that of all sorts, natural, civil, recreative,religious. It doth not only unhallow his meat, drink,carriage ; his buying, selling, giving, lending, and allhis other dealings in the world, even his ploughing, "theploughing of the wicked is sin" (Prov. xxi, 4) ; but alsoturns all his spiritual services and holiest duties, hisprayer, hearing, reading, receiving the sacrament, &c. intoabomination. If but one raging corruption in a minister,magistrate, master of a family (as lying, swearing, filthytalking, scofHng at religion, opposition to godliness, sabbathbreaking,a humour of good-fellowship, or the like) representitself to the eye of the world in his ordinary carriage,and hang out as a rotten fiuit in the sight of the sun, it iswont fearfully to infect or offend by a contagious insinuationand ill example all about him ; to difl^use its venom tohis family, amongst his sons and servants, over the parishwhere he lives, all companies where he comes, yea, thewhole country round about, especially if he be a man ofeminence and place.5. It is extremely evil*. A far greater evil than the eternaldanmation of a man ; for when he hath laid many millionsof years in the lake of fire and under the dominion of the* I miderstaiid evil in a geiieial sen^e, and not as restrained unto,or resident ia any species.