Exceeding Sinfulneß of Sin. 527 and acr ggy, and thou turneft into the puddlely and dirtywales offin to avoid that hard craggy 'way: well, ifGod have a love to thee, he will bring-theeback again, and thou muff -go that way that thou wilt not now. Augufline bath this Expreffion in his Confefions, faith he, when God firfl c,nvinced me, I was convincedofthe right- neßofGods way, but Ifaw the trouble in ir, and 7 cri- edout, it pleafoth not me well to go in filch troublefm rimier. So manymenand women, be convinced ofGods wales, but they thall fuffer fuch trouble in them, and theymuff go through fuch tiraits 5 and to prevent this, they will chufe fin. Cer- tainly Brethren, it was not long, fince there was a time, that thofe that made ccnfcience offin, were fubje& to many troubles, and fuffered much; when (we know) if a man departed from evil, it was enough tomakehim a prey : i befeechyou,feeifyou did not (to prevent fome fuffering) commit fome fin : Some ofyou when brought to be fworn Vatfals to thole Courts, that never were byGods Intlitution;had younot Come remorfe in confcience?(Imean theChurch- Wardens, as they ailed them) and when you were put to fuch Oaths, had younever inward, regreet inyour Confciences ? but yét you mull be, excommunicated if you did not take the Oath ; and if you did, then you bound your Pelves, not only tobe theirVaf als. ( which were not ofGod) butbefides, you boundyour felves tobe Perfecutors ofthe Saints by it : for cer- tainly, the fulfilling ofall theirCannons, it was meerly perfecútion, and yet you were their i Q 2 fworn
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=