( ßinneaeuercolle 26 . bur by exiles. I. 1(inja. 33. Piar. t. Gods centre in punifhing offinne, isto rçuenge the lerferwith the greater. Vpon the Fryday after water, andit maybewith the teares thattrickled from his eyes his permitting him todip his, finger in thefame difhwith him, andto bellow his belt morcells vpon him)we'renot ofpower tomollifieand foften this ftonieheart Ofhis. Cime,'letVi kill him . Verie fitly is Sinne called abreake- necke, or a down- fall ; nor onelÿ in regardof that heigth fromwhence the Sinner falls and the deepeneffe of thepit whereinto hee is todefcend ; but becaufe of his retchlef- neffe and hiscarelefneffe; by falling headlong from one finne into another,til he cometo the bottome of all villanie and wickedneffe. And this is the reafon why the Scripturemakesfomuch reckoning ofthe fid finne we commit. The firft finne that sod committed, was thepittie that he (hewed to Amaleck : And though in it felfe it were not fo gricuousa finne, yet hee perfeuered afterwards iñenuying andperfecutingDaxid; hee committed great cruelties inNob, as a Moore couldnot doe more ; he flew fourefcore and flueNeils thatwore a Lin- nen Ephod : And becaufehis faults were fo heinous, the Scripture mentioñeth not any one faue thatofhis pittie towards Amaleck ;becaufe that was the firft round inthe Ladder, bywhich he fell afterwards downe into Hell. Beatur vir qui nona6it, Bled ti the man thathathnot walked inthe counsel'of the Pngodly, nor flood in theway ofSinners,andhatbnotfate in thefeat ofthe Scornefxll. There are three happineffes that aman isfaid toenvoy : Theone,Not to fall into the pit ofSinne. Theother,If hedoe fall,not to continue long therein. The third, That ifhe doeperfeuer in finne, that he bee notbewitched there- with, nor make it his Seat. For Sinne(according toSaintAuflen)produceth Cu- ftome,and Cuftome,a neceflitieof finning. Thus doth Godpunifh one finewith another, a leffer finne with agreater ; which is thegreateft anti feuereftrigour which the Tribunali ofGods Iuftice inflifteth. Seneca tellsvs, Thepruneandprincipalllpuni fhmentofa Sinner, iù his fin- ing; forthen, God falls prefentlya punifhing finnevpon finne. The Scripture reckoningvp all thefinnes ofHerod,as his tyrannies,cruelties,his fwinifhnature, and his inceftuous life ; itaddeth,iperhart omnia, (as though all the reft in corn- parifonof thiswereisnothing) Thatheehad beheadedSaintiohn Baptift , be- caufehe preachedTruthvnto him. And thiswas the greateft vengeance that Godcould take ofhis former finnes.With Fria's murder, God reuenged Dsuids adultrie: And C4tbansreproouing himwas theappeafrngofGods wrathagainft him. For if Godfhould not haue vied this hismercy towards him,what would hauebecome of Daxid? Saint Alkali, expounding thofewords which Chrift vttered vntoPeter, Tboufhalt deltic methrice; faith , That this placing of thefe three denial's , was not oncly a foretelling ofthem, but of letting likewife a boundand limitvnto them, totheendthat hcc fhould not deniehisMailer any morethan three times. God reuenged his firit deniall,by his fecónd,being for- ced to forfweare,Thatheknewhim not ; andhis fecond,by thethird, aggraua- ting thefamewith fomany proteftations and Anathema's. But if Chrift had not Tookebackevponhint,an'd rakeíi pittie ófhim, what would haue become of poorciitet?But vpon' the finnes elfthePharifees our Sauiourdid notput any taxe or fimitation ,That all theblondoftheTuff might light vpon their heads ; For theywerea reprobate kind ofpeople. The hues of theProphetshe reuenged by thedeath ofhis Sonneand heire : He reuengedthe euill workes which they had done, in that theLight beeingbrought into theWorld, theyThur vp them- felues inDarkeneffe. Andwith this futeth that of may, Thou haft made their owneiniquitiesthe inftrtuhents, andas itwerethe hands to dafh them inpieces. Thou
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