Brooks - BT750 .B7 1669

A choice Bed of Spices® Chap. 2. 10, ki/hofoever Pall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all ; the bond of all is broken, the au- thority of all is flighted, and,that evil difpofition, that finfu I fsame of heart, that works a man to venture upon the breach of one command, would make him venture upon the breach Of any command, were it not for Come infirmity of nature, or becaufe his purfe will not hold out to maintain it, or for fhame, or lofs, or becaufe of the eye of friends, or the fword of the Magiflrate, or for forme finifler refpeas ; and might the breach -of any other of the commands of God ferve his turn, and advance his ends, he 'lands as ffrongly preft in fpi- rit to tranfgrefs them all, as to tranfgrefs any one of them. He that gives himfelf liberty to live in the breach of any one command of God, is qualified with a difpofition of heart to break them all ; every fingle fin contains virtually all fin in it. He that allows himfelf a liberty to live in the breach of any one particular Law of God, he cafts contempt and Icon] upon the authority that made the whole Law,and upon this ac- count breaks" it all. And the Apofile gives the reafonof it in Verfe ii. For he that faid, do not -commit adultery, faid alfo, do not kill d now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art became 1, ;;:7-anfgreffor of the, Law. Not that he is guilty of all diftributively, but oolleaively ; for the Law is copula; tive, there is a chain of duties, and thefe are all fo linked one to another, that you cannot break one link of the chain, but you break the whole chain. All the _precepts of the Law are as it were a firing of pearls firung by the authority of God ; now break this firing in any place, and all the pearls fall to the ground. No man can live in the breach of any known command of God, but he wrongs .every command of God; and this at 'aft he shall find to his coft,, without found repen- tance on his fide, and pardoning grace on God's. But, Thirdly, One fin never goes alone, Cain's anger is fe- conded with murder, Ahab's covetoufnefs is attended with bloudy_ cruelty, and 7eroboam's rebellion with idolatry, and ludas his thievery with treafon. I might give inflances of this in Adam and ave, and in LAI', Abraham, Noah) acob, 7ofeph, Job, He who prevari- cates with God as to any one par- ticular comman- dernent of his., his heart is naught, Dark naught,anci he is guilty of all: he hat, no real regard to any of the commancle, inents of God, that hath not a regard to all tho corninandeinents of God, &c,

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