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I. THEIR FORMATION.

1. One sin leads to another by reducing the sense of odiousness.

2. By strengthening wrong principles.

3. By rendering falsehood necessary for purposes of concealment.

4. By multiplying opportunities for commission.

5. By lessening the power of resistance.

II. THEIR POWER.

1. As seen in the criminal.

2. The drunkard.

3. The swindler.

4. The errorist.

5. The gospel-despiser.Apply —

(1)  Beware what habits we form.

(2)  Mark the increased difficulty of conversion.

(3)  Watch over the religious education of the young; the formation of early habits.

(G. Brooks.)

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KJV: His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

WEB: The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.