Hopkins - HP BR75 .H65 1710

The great Evil and Danger of Little Sins, and a rrue Saint; He pro_Phane an~ daring!;: wicked, I honeft and civil ; and yet for allowing my felf In rhofe Sms to w!uch the World encouraged me, and caJ!ed Littlt Siru, che fame H.dltha r holds h1m, Jhall hold me f~r ever. <;>h, rhe dreadful Severity of God ~ 0 wr~rched Folly and Madnefs of mme~ Oh mfuferab le Torments and An.,..uilh! Believe tt, thus will thofe that are damned for fmall and liule Sim,refle~ upgn their former Lives; fud1 will be their difmal Reflection~, and fuch will be yours aUo; ex~ect no orher, _If bemg w.arned of the great Evd that there is in lirrhf.. _SinJ, you Will yet per[Jfi m them WIChouc Repentance. And rhus I have ~one with the DoChinal Parr of the Text; I now come to 399 make fome Application of ic. . • And rhe fir!! Ule (hall be by way of Corollary: If fa be that litrleSim have m Ufl 1 them fo much Dange\ and Guile as ha eh been demonfirated to you, whac !hall we e ' then chink ofgreat and l:tot.<orious Impieries? IfSands will fink a Man fo deep into the Lake of Fire and Briffi.fione, how deep then will their Hell be char are plunged inro ic wirh Talems of LeaQ. bound upon their Souls? Whilft I have been fetrin~ {Qrrh rhe Aggravations of rHe great Evil rha~ rh:re is i!l little Sim, poffibly feme prophane Spirir or orher may rhus argue ; If lmle Sms be fo dangerous and damning then, fince ir is uccerly impoffible CO keep our felves free from all Sins whareve/ what need I fcruple che greateft Sin more them the leafi? I am flared down under. a neceffity of finning, a~d I am told that the race t~ar everySin wi!l ftand mein,tsererna1 Death; the leall•s nor lefs,and the greaceft 1sno more: le 15 hue ridiculous Folly for a M nlefaflor nicely CO lhun the Dirr,and pick our the cleaner Path, when he is going to Execution: And fo it is but .a Folly for me to go rhe ftraiter and fcverer way eo Hell ; and therefore fincerhere I S no d1fference between Sins in the end, hue all alike lead down to the fame DeftruCHon, I will put no difference between them in my praCtice. But lee fuch prefumpruous Sinners know, . Firjl That, .n nit M em Sim are not eqwd here, Jo neither jht~ll all Mms 7orments he e1uai herenji<": Some !hall be b,aren with fewer, others wirh more S 17 ipes; All M<tu, fo ,ne !hall be chaftifed with Whipr, others with Scorpiom. The Eternal Furacef;:.i:' "' :fhal! be heated ft:ven times hotter for fame than for others: And for whom is the greater wr<~th prepared, but for the greaceft Sinners? In the bJackeft and hot... teft place in Hell there is chained the great De<tJil, rhac Arch Rebel againfi God • and after him is ranked whole Clufters of damned Spirits, each according t~ their feveral degrees both of Sin and Tormenr. He thacfuffersrheleafi,futfers no lefs rhan a Hell ; but yef he is in a condition eo he envied ac by chafe whofe daring and defperace Wickedneffes have brought upon them far heavier and forer vengeance; thefe !hall have caufe to envy rhe fiace of little Sinners, even as they do env_y the fiate of glorified s,,ints in Heaven. Do not therefore conclude thac becaufe the wages of the lenjl _(in is Death, therefore the wages of the grearefi Sin is no more, nor no worfe: For, though in a natural Death, there is no being dead a little; yet in the fpiritual and crernal Dearh there are degrees. As the Civil Man was a Saim here on Earth, in comparifon ofthe Lewd and Debauched Sinner, fo /hall he be happy hereafter, in comparifionofhisTormenr. Lee fuch therefore fcrioufly conlider how lad and infinite!)' wretched their Condition mutt 1 needs be,fince rhac no lefs thanDamnarion it!etf !hall be judged a Happinefs compared with what .<hey !hall fuffer,and what Wrath they lhalllyeunder toEte'rnity. Second!J, Cunf1der, In the commiff~on of great S:m, you do not avoid rhe com- . . mi.flion of left Siw; but only add to the guilt of them, and to that DamnatiotJ that I~ commzt~; willfoUow upon 1hcm. It is true,ifa meer CiviJ Man,whofe higheft Attainments are J:!!;';: bur fome commendable external Venues; if he could change the Guile of all rhe void ntt littl~ Sim chat. he ha t.h com":Jitted in his whole Life, for the fingle guilt of fame ltfi fin~. great and hemous Sm, (rho I pretend nor to know the fize or quanricy _of wrath that ever~Si.n ~eferves)y~t poillbly ~is eternal puniJhmentmighr be hereby fomewhardun,m/h d. Bur tlus ts the Mtfery of great and prefumpcuous Sinners that they ftand guilty of as many lifllc jm< as rhey do that periJh under rhe guilt ~f ne> orh.er hut little ~ i.ns. \Vh~re do you fee a Perfon that is given up eo vile Abominations, bur he hvcs alfo 10 a conftanr courfe and practice of kjjer Sim? The Dr~nlcm·d, the undcan Pcr[on, and the r7ft ~f them, ~re the.y .not always finful it) the1~ Thouglus,frorhy aud va1n 1n their D1fcourfes 'And IS er noting ro you that you mcur Damnation by liu/e Sins,unlefs you can advance your own Defirudion . Llplefs you can promote your felves to b~ next of all in tormenrs ro the Dtvi/ him~ fell,

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