s N A W 0 U N D. Book IV. IV. As fome vVounds a M an receives are very deep and reach to the Heart: So Sin m;;kes a deep W.ound; M an is nor only wounded in every Part, but very deeply wounded: 'Ibis is tl:ry W ickedmfs, becaufe it is bitter, becaufe it reacheth to thine Heart, Jer. iv. 18. 'Iheir Heart devifeth Wickedneft, &c. Every Imagination of the Thoughts vf his Heart is only evil continually, Ge11. vi. 5· Hence faith God, Wajh tbine Heart from Wickednifs, &c. Jer. iv. '4· V. Some Wounds are corrupt, filthy, and very loathfome, the Wounds Sin makes in the Soul, are very .filthy and abominable, }rom the Sole of the Foot, eve~~ to the Head, there is no Soundnifs in it, but Wounds and Bruifes, and putrih'ing Sores: 'I'hey have not been bound up, neither molified with Ointment, Ifa. i. 6. My Wounds .ftink and are corrupt. VI. Some Wounds linart and are very painful, cauling the Paiient to cry out in great Angui!h: Sin makes fuch a Wound in the Soul, that it caufeth fuch who have their fpiritual Feeling to cry out; the Pain is fo great, that a Chnfl ian cannot, with– out divine Help, bear up under the Smart and Torture of it; I have roared, faith the P falmift, by Rea(on of the Difquietneft of my Heart; L ord, all my Difire is before thee, and my Groaning is not hid from thee, Pfal xxxviii. 8, 9· Vll. Some Sores or Wounds are infectious, like Plague-fares, or the Leprofy, they infeCt the Cloathes and Garments of the wounded and difeafed Pnfon, and uot only fo, but the very Houfe where he dwells, and the People alfo that come near him, or converfe with him, L ev. xiii. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Sin is of an infe{tious Nature,,no Plague more catch– ing and infecttous, than the Sore or Plague of Sin, it defiles all a Man's bell: Actions, and makes all our Righteoufnef• like filthy Rags. If ye daily converfe with, or are fre– quently in the Company of fome wicked Men, it is a thoufand to one if you are nor the worfe for it; Who can touch Pitch, and not be difiled therewith ? We are commanded to keep ourfelves unfporred rrom the "lorld; it is a hard Matter to keep clear of thefe Spots and Pollutions wicked Men are defiled with. Sin is of fuch an inf,-Cl:ious Na– ture that it hath corrupted the Earth, 'Ihe Earth is defiled under the Inhabitants thereof, .&c. lfa. xxiv. 5· N ay lome conceive, the Sin of Man hath darkened, in fome re– fpect, the glorious H eavens, with the Sun, Moon and Stars, that they !hir.e not fo iplendidly as they did at the firft, Job xxv. 5· · VIll. Some Wounds are of a fefterin.g and fpreading Nature, whilft the Patient is under Cure, they grow worfe and worfe: The Wound• or Sms of fome Men, though they are under Cure, i. e. fit under a powerful and Soul-fearching Miniliry, fefter, as it were; they, inftead of g rowing bet:er, grow worfe and worfe, like as the Apoftle fpeaks of Deceivers, 2 'Iim. iii. 1 5· IX. Some Sores, vVounds and Scabs, bring Shame upon fuch who have them : Sin is fuch a Sore, and io hateful a Scab, that it caufeth Shame, and Confufion of Face. Sin is the Shame of any People, and yet how do fome glory in it? 'Ihey glory in their .Shame I Phi!. iii. 19. Sin is the foul Difeafe ; the Hurt, nay all the Hurt, Sorrow, and Shame Sinners meet with, came in originally by Sin, by yielding to the Devil, and by .adulterating from God: No running Sore, no Scab, no breaking out in the Fldh, like Sin in the Heart and Life of a Sinner. X. Some Wounds are Mortal : Sin makes a mortal Wound; 'Ihe Sou/ that Silzsjhall die, Ezek. xviii. Arid, Unlefs ye believe that I am he, ye jhall die in )'OUr Si11s, John viii. 2 r, If ye live after the Flejh ye jhall die, &c. R om. viii. 13. I do not fay there is no Help, nor Cure for thefe lpiritual Sores and Wounds; yet I mull: fay they are incur– able, as to Man, no Man con find by all his Skill and .1\rt any healing Medicine. And upon this Account the Lord fa id .of Judab and lfrael, 'Iheir Wound was incurable, they had brought themfelves into fuch a Condition, that none could help them, nor bring them ouc; 0 Ifrael, thy Dejlruflion is of thyfelf, but in me is thy Help. Indeed fome Men are fo defperately and dangerouOy wounded, that there is little Hope of them, they have all the Signs of Ruin and .eternal Death upon them imaginable. 5i!J<efl. It may be you will fay, When may the State of a Perfon be faid to be defpe– rate, and almo!t, if not altogether, paft Hope, or wounded even unto Death? Anfw. t . lf a Man fins, and is forely wounded, and yet continues in his fmful Courfe, xhe Sting is not pulled, as it were, out of his l'leih, I mea,n out of his Heart, nor is l1e willing it fhould; there is little Hopes at prefent of this Man. Can a Wound be 'healed and yet the venomous Sting £\ick fall: in him? A continual Courfe or Cuftom in Sin, tl,ough they be fmall Sins comparatively, may prove deadly. 2. When
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