So that there is no reason to break this law, no more than for a beast, that is in a fat pasture, to break over the hedge, or to leap into a barren heath or quagmire. I shall show what a heinous and execrable thing sin is. It is compared to the venom of serpents, and the stench of sepulchres. Satan was the first actor of sin, and the first tempter to sin. Sin is the devil's first-born.
Sin is evil in the nature of it.
Sin is not only a defection, but a pollution. It is to the soul as rust is to gold, as a stain to beauty. It makes the soul red with guilt, and black with filth. Sin has blotted God's image, and stained the orient brightness of the soul. Sin drops poison on our holy things, it infects our prayers.