as the tree is such will be the fruit and if the Bramble rule it will burne up the Cedars of Lebanon Jud. 9.9 nor can we expect liberty for the Law that is in our members will lead us away captive the liberty that is given to the flesh doth but bring the spirit into bondage and what peace can we expect where there is no peace with God If then Christian thou wouldest have justice then doe justice and kill sinne before it kill thee if thou wouldest have liberty then let not sinne raigne for therein doth the great strength of it lye Sampson was easily taken when his lockes were shorne so thou mayest easily subdue sinne when the regiment of it is taken downe if thou wouldest enjoy that peace of God which passeth all understanding then make no provision for the flesh but mortifie it by the helpe of the spirit Rom. 13.13 and thou shalt have peace internall here and eternall hereafter Now for as much as this discourse is to helpe thee therein I doe therefore heartily commend it unto thee I have avoyled prolixity lest I should tyre the Reader and too much brevity lest I should wrong the matter I have the rather fallen on this subject because I find few that have done it and because I have found some such spirits as have laboured to cry it downe as altogether unnecessary after conversion If there be any such into whose hands this Treatise shall fall let me so farre prevaile with them as not prejudge what they doe not meane to reade lest they be numbered among those fooles that speake evill of what they know not To conclude Christian thou hast my labours thou hast my prayers when thou dost approach the throne of grace let me have thine Thomas Wolfall THE DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE OF MORTIFICATION ROM 8.13 But if yee through the spirit mortifie the deeds of the body yee shall live Chap. 1. An Introduction to the Text with the coherence of the foregoing part of the Chapter THe common tidings that hath sounded in our eares frō the Churches abroad for divers yeares together hath been upon the point nothing but warres and rumors of warres of leading into captivity of garments roled in blood insomuch as that country in which was plenty of corne and wine as the garden of Eden is now as a land forsaken or as a desolate wildernesse nay a very Aceldama or field of blood And howsoever wee of this Nation have but heard of this amongst us no leading into captivity no complaining in our streetes Yet the sword of the Lord hath been drown against us and hath slaine thousands ten thousands in our streets James 4.1 Now the general cause both of those lamentable desolations abroad the hand of God at home is chiefly this that we go not to warre with our selves we do not slay those lusts of ours that fight in our members for if ye walke after the flesh yee shall die not onely a death of the body but the second death the soule shall suffer eternall torment But if yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit then yee shall live eternally To make way unto the matter in hand our Apostle layeth downe certaine differences betweene such as walke after the flesh and others that walke after the spirit 1 In respect of the object that they ayme at the one mindes the things of the flesh the other the things that are above such as a man is such is his minde a carnall man and a carnall minde the wisdome that is not from above is earthly sensuall and devillish James 3.15 but that which is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be intreated Vers 17. full of mercy and of good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie 2 They differ in their ends for the end of the one is life the end of the other is death Every man must eate of the fruit of his own way Prov. 1.31 and be filled with his owne devises 3 They differ in their affections so as they that are at enmity with the Law of God Vers 7.8 their fleshly mindes are not subject unto it neither can they be and being they are not they cannot please God Whereas on the other side they that are of the spirit Christ dwels with them and takes up his habitation in their hearts suppes with them and they with him Happy and thrice happy that house which hath him for an inhabitant for this possession of Christ doth imply the dispossession of sinne Vers 10. For if Christ be in you the body is dead but of sinne as Dagon could not stand with the Arke so no more can sin and Christ inhabit together We cannot serve these two Masters Againe as it puts sinne to death so he quickens us Vers 11. that same spirit that raised Christ shall quicken us wherein he shews that the worke of our regeneration is great even as great as that of the resurrection the one being the internall renovation of the soule the other the externall restauration of the body to its reunion with the soule Hence our Apostle drawes an effectuall inference to perswade men to withstand the inticements of the flesh from this that there is no service of due that doth belong to it we are not debters to it that wee should follow it Nay if you walke after the flesh yee shall die but if yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit then yee shall live Behold as Moses said Deut. 30.19 I call Heaven and Earth to record against you this day that I set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that you and your seede may live So I here set before you both these and yet my desire is the same that Moses his was that you would chuse life that your soules might live which undoubtedly you may do if yee follow Saint Pauls direction here If yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit Here you may observe 1 A description of our naturall corruption it is called the deeds or practises of the body 2 Here is our duty what we should doe against it namely to contend against it and to mortifie and slay it 3 The meanes whereby it must be done by the spirit 4 The reward is that promised Yee shall live which is a large promise seeing it containes in it all the happinesse that wee are capable of called a crown of life for the greatnesse and everlasting life for the continuance Chap. 2. Of the meanes how to find out our naturall condition by a threefold inquiry TO begin with the first the description of our naturall corruption viz. It is called the deeds of the body as it is with men that goe to warre the first thing that they doe is to endeavour to find out the enemy so it must be in this spirituall warfare wee must first endeavour to finde out this
of the sinne wee feele bee able to conceive of that we feele not and to say as Paul did Vers 25. God be thanked through Iesus Christ our Lord that though in my flesh I serve the Law of sinne yet in my mind I serve the Law of God Imperfect mortification is when the worke is begun but not finished it is with us in case of mortification as it was when the Israelites came to possesse the land of Canaan God would have them cast out the inhabitants by little and little Dent. 7.22 and not to bee consumed at once So in this case it is not to bee expected that sinne should be consumed at once but by little and little The degrees of mortification are some more temote some more neare For the better clearing hereof observe two particulars whereby you may conceive by what steps and degrees sinne is mortified First some of them are more remote Secondly some of them are naere Remote 1 1. For the more remote degrees of mortification give me leave first to intreat of them as in going downe a paire of staires you must go downe by degrees step by step so in bringing downe the proud heart wee must not thinke it can be done at once but by a kinde of graduall motion wee say in Phylosophy that natura non facil saltum that nature works successively and makes no leapes for it is as true in grace 2 Pet. 3.18 that it doth admit degrees Degree 1 1. The first remote degree is a breaking of league with sinne for naturally there is a league between sinne and our soules And they are like Simeon and Levi brethren in evill sinne is then pleasant unto them and whosoever speakes against it are none of their friends but now when wee see that sinne hath deceived our soule and played the Iudas with us that it hath betraied us into the hands of Sathan and hath procured the wrath of God upon us then we breake our friendship with it and are sorry that we had ever any thing to doe with it Eph. 5.11 have no fellowship with the unfruitfull workes of darknesse but rather reprove them that is we must not have any more to doe with them God charges the people of Israel to take heede that they marry not with the heathen Deut. 7. for they would turne away their sonnes and daughters from serving God So will sinne doe if you make league with it or doe not breake from it and so procure the heavie wrath of God upon you it is the charge which our Saviour gives unto those that went into Babylon Rev. 18.4 2 Cron. 19 2. Come out of Babell my people be not partaker with her of her sinnes that yee receive not of her plagues It was a good speech of the sonne of the Prophet to Iehosaphat shouldest thou helpe the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord therefore in wrath upon you from the Lord So there is nothing a greater enemy unto God nor unto your salvation then sinne is therefore breake your league with it lest you procure the fierce wrath of the Lord of heaven and earth against you Degree 2 2. When men professe themselves open enemies unto sinne that is then when they hate every false way and when no perswasion that lust can make nor proffer that can be propounded will prevaile with them but they stand like a mountaine and will not be perswaded so as those secret insinuations of their owne hearts and those venomous blandishments of Sathan fall from them as the Viper from Pauls hand without any hurt or taking any strong impression upon them where there is the greatest unity and friendship when such fall out there is the greatest enmity and discords thence it is that Solomon saith Prov. 18.19 that a Brother offended is as hard to winne as a strong City and their contentions are like the barres of a Castle so is it with this contention because as their freindship hath beene great so also is the contention stronger therefore some of the Martyrs when they have beene pressed by their friends to renounce their religion with what indignation have they spoken that if every haire of their head were a man William Sparrow pascalis they would burne them all rather then goe from the truth And some have blessed God even that ever they came in prison or that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ all this out of a desire of the enjoyment of Christ and the hatred of sinne Degree 3 3. To cut off all the strength provision that the flesh can make that so we may starve the flesh out of the holds that it hath made for it self Rom. 13.14 So the Apostle put on the Lord Jesus Christ and made no provision for the flesh sure it is when men are carefull for the body and carelesse for the soule when they expend the greatest part of their lives and meanes in the minding of the things that pertaine to the satisfaction of the flesh and in the prosecution of their lusts and pleasures and say unto their soules Luke 12.19 eate drinke and be merry what doe they all this while but foster and nourish that body of death even unto the day of slaughter but on the other side a man doth then make no provision for the flesh when he lives as a Pilgrim and as a stranger and doth abstaine from fleshly lusts that fight against the soule When a man makes a covenant with his eyes 1 Pet. 2.11 that he will not look on a woman to lust after her when hee shutteth his eares Job 31.1 and will not heare the voyce of the Charmer charme hee never so wisely when that he lookes to all his wayes and takes heed Psal 39.1 that he offend not in his tongue in one word that keepes his heart with all diligence Pet. 4.23 that howsoever voluptuous and sinfull thoughts may knock at the doore yet they may finde neither entrance nor enterrainment when hee hardens his heart against sinne as much as Dives did that hee would not permit Lazarus the crummes that were under his table but suffered the Begger to dye at his doore So when wee deny our lusts their least requests and will not permit them the least or lowest roome in our hearts 2 King 6.32 when we deale with sinne as Elisha caused his servants that kept the doore saith he hold him fast handle him roughly or presse him at the doore so should we do with sin if hee offer to make intrusion repell him backe with a holy violence 1 Cor. 9.27 I beate downe my body and bring my flesh in subjection that when I have preached to others I my selfe may not be a cast-away CAP. IX Shewing those more neare degrees of mortification 2 NOw I come to those that are more neare degrees of mortification as you see in warre there is many lesser assaults made before
the enemy he comes and sowes tares hee was a lying spirit in the mouthes of all Ahabs Prophets 1 King 2.23 so hee seekes to fanne us as chaffe and to hinder our faith so do all his servants How did Jannes and Jambres resist Moses to his face 2 Tim. 3.8 Acts 13.8.9.10 And did not Elimas seeke to turne the Deputy from the faith whom Paul not unfitly calls the Child of the Devill and enemy of all righteousnesse And for their activenesse in all this they are very industrious As it was said of old of Pharises of Jesuites now that they did compasse sea and land to make one Proselyte Mat. 23.15 and when they had done made him twofold more the child of the devill than themselves and no wonder though they move so fast for they must needes goe apace whom the devill drives Chap. 6. Instructions arising from the former doctrine 1 IF then sinne be so active this sets out whence it is Whence mÌ„e are restlesse in sin that wicked men are so restlesse in sinne so as they are never at quiet unlesse they be doing something or other that makes against God and the good of his people Ps 37.12 David shewes that the wicked plots against the righteous and gnasheth upon him with his teeth and drawes his sword and bends his bow and all to slay such as are upright in heart Ps 78.12 yea hee layeth snares and seekes their hurt and speakes mischievous things and imagines deceit all the day long Esa 57. ul hence it is that they are compared to the troubled sea when it cannot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt and indeed as long as this body of sinne is unmortified in us it will be as troublesome to us as Ionah was unto the shippe which was tossed up and downe on the waves till he was cast out for howsoever that sinne may sometime seeme to lye quiet and all in the man may seeme to be at rest yet alas it is neither a true nor long peace but as it is with him that hath an ague upon him albeit when the sit is over he comes to his temper againe and you would thinke that all were well and that his enemy had left him but alas the next day the poore man is disquieted with it againe and possibly more than before so it is in case of sinne that though it may be that such a man that lives in sinne is now quiet and neither doth discover his malice against God and goodnesse without nor at present any appearance of a storme arising in his owne conscience within yet that unmortified body of death that lodges within him will not rest till it bring both feare at home and trouble abroad for this is the policy of Sathan to make the way faire unto us untill he have drawne us into sinne and then labours to pierce us through with many sorrower and so it was with Saul 1 Tim. 6.10 sometimes he was as calme and as well as another man but when the evill spirit came upon him then was hee like a â—ad man so it is with men that live in this case while they are in their cold blood and have no occasion offered they are quiet but if once there come a fit occasion and that be followed with a teÌ„ptation then are they as tinder to the sparke that presently kindles and which begets a great flame Iames 3.5 behold how great a matter this little fire of sinne kindles 2 Whence suddenly wicked 3 This shewes whence it is that men are so suddenly wicked surely it must be from hence because that sinne is so active as it is the activenesse of sinne makes a man impatient of delayes one being demanded why the earth was every where so fruitfull of weedes and yet so much ado to make fragrant and pleasant flowres to grow albeit it were with much cost and paines answered that the earth was the naturall mother to the one and stepmother to the other it is so in this case the earth of our hearts doth bring forth sinne of it selfe and hath the seede in it selfe but for grace alas it is a step-mother unto it all that wee can doe is little enough to bring it to perfection whereas this body of sin is marching on like Iehu the sonne of Nimshi with much rage and malice neither fearing God nor reverencing man when the old world began to corrupt their way Gen. 6.4 they are sayd to have had to their children mighty men and men of renowne or of name and the reason because they were mighty in wickednesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and had got themselves a name of infamy the way of sinne is downe hill and can hardly stay it selfe till it come to the bottome little do men know how deepe hee may fall that is a falling into sinne if hee fall not as Eutychus that fell from such a height that he was taken up dead yet may hee fall at Mephiâ—osheth did and receive such hurt by it that he may never claw it off all the dales of his life 3 The rise of hypocrisie Intus Nero foris Cato totus amb guus pars prima Leo postrema Draco media ipsa chymera Hier. ep 5. 3 That a man may be a notorious sinner and yet have a shew and colour of piety so those that were proud heady high minded c. yet they had a forme of godlinesse a rule that they went by in show within as base as Nero without as austere as Cato Such were the Pharisees that sought out wardly to justifie themselves but God knowes your hearts saith our Saviour Luk. 16.15 that is howsoever men could not yet God both can and will Hypocrisie is one of the fairest garments that this body of sinne can be covered withall because that by this meanes the hypocrite is hidden both from others and from himselfe from others by this it hath beene that so many have shewed unto men to have had the voyce of Iacob and the hands were the hands of Esau and have pretended great piety when their intentions have beene barbarous and most prodigiously impious As Jezabel pretends a fast 1 King 21.9 and intends murther and Absolon pretends the performance of a vow 2 Sam. 15.8 yet intends treason nay the worst of treasons against his own father those preachers of Philippi pretend to preach Christ Phil 5.15 but their intentions were malitious but howsoever they thinke by this means to deceive others 2 Tim 3.13 yet in the issue they deceive themselves for while they are a deceiving others they doe indeed deceive themselves and it were better openly to sinne Meliâ—s est aperte peccare quam santitatem simulare Aug than to dissemble sanctity and be you sure whosoever you are that carry a heart and a heart a ballance and a ballance that God will finde you out and shall smite every such
that when Sathans malice was made manifest to the ful yet so as Iob looks hither in conclusion saith God gives and God takes whereas if he had looked lower hee might have said God hath given and the Devill hath taken but the humble spirit desires not to bee troubled with what the Devill or man can doe unto him because he knowes that they are but instruments and rods in Gods hand to correct his children withall therefore he falleth downe before God and kisseth his rod and cals upon his name and then the Lord harkens and heares and puts his teares into his bottle and in his good time will heale his soule In one word as it is said of the Philosophers stone that what metall soever it toucheth it turnes it into gold so is it with this sorrow that what crosse or disaster soever it doth meete withall it makes it an occasion to worke in him godly sorrow to repentance never to be repented of 3. It mends all it make up all breaches Esa 1.16.18 wash you make you cleane take away the evill of your doing which is done by this worke of mortification and mourning for sinne and then saith God let us reason together and then though your sinnes were as red as crimson I will make them as white as wooll herein is the excellencie of godly sorrow if you have losses in your estate or crosses by your children or injuries by evill men you may fit downe and sorrow till you can weepe no more but now halfe of this were it godly sorrow though your sinnes be as blacke as hell yet God will make them as white as snow if a man bee old the skill of all the Physitians cannot make him young againe but a man that is truely humbled for sinne the Lord Christ redeemes his life from death Verus penitens simper est in labore dolere delet de prateritis laborat pro futuris cavendis Ber. and renewes his youth like the Eagles that as they report of the Eagle that when shee growes old and cannot eate for the length of her bill with much adoe shee gets it broken and then fals to her meate as if she were young againe so it is in this case when wee have cast away all our abominations and our doings that were not good though with much adoe then shall we renew our lives as the Eagle and be made fit to sit among Christs guests at the marriage feast when he makes us a feast of fat things Isa 25.6 and wine when the lees are well refined 3. The third thing in this sorrow is how long it should continue to this we answer that as we sinne daily so wee must sorrow daily and because all sinne is not of one magnitude or proportion therefore it doth admit of degrees but if we speake of initiall mortification which is the thing chiefely in hand the first work that is begunne in the soule then I say 1. Wee must mourne till the generall frame of sinne be dissolved till the regiments of sinne be taken downe Judg. 14.17 Sampsons wise did never cease weeping untill shee knew his riddle so should wee never cease till we know-that our sinnes are dissolved and purged out Alasse what comfort can a man receive so long as hee remaines a slave to his hust 2 Sam. 12 20. and is under the Prince of darkenesse but now sinne is slaine in us and dead in us then we doe as David did when his child was dead hee then at oft from the earth and waâ—nt and anoâ—hed himâ—â—lfe and changed his apparell and came into the house of the Lord and worshipped and then came into his own house and are bread when we find that this child that wee have begotten by our sinne is dead we should doe the like then cheare up your hearts and worship God that hath given you victory against it It was comfortable neves that was brought by the Angel unto Ioseph Mat. 2.20 Returne into the land Israel for they are dead that sought the young childs life so say 〈◊〉 it will be a great stay to our soules to heare that the body of death is dead within us that sought how to destroy our soules 2. We must mourne till he that hath wounded us shall come and heale us Hos 6.1 come say they let us returne to the Lord for he hath borne us and he will heal us he hath smitten us and 〈…〉 It 〈◊〉 an easie matter to wound but not so easie to cure and heale again it is the prerogative in this case that belongeth chiefely to God the flesh can vex us and Sathan can teare and trouble us and wound us but none of these can cure us againe but now God can as well heale as wound here is one thing further to be observed that the Prophet doth not say that sinne or Sathan hath wounded us and God will heale us but he hath wounded us and he will heale us and bind us up for a man may have these wounds by sinne and Sathan and yet no true ourâ— the cure that these Physitians can give us are of no value is either to cast a man into a deepe or rather a dead sleepe of security and harnesse of heart or to suffer him to fall into despaire and haâ—â—â— his owns and by an untimely death as Iudas and Iuliâ—â— did but where God once by his spirit smites the heart with true remorse for sinne then he is moved by the same shirit to seeke unto God for the cure of that wound as it was with Elisha 1 King 19 19. that after the Prophet Elia had put his mantle upon him he presently comes after him so whereas the Lord shall be pleased to works in us a true sight of our misery he never doth it without some hope of mercy that when we seele our burden we might likewise come unto him for case and comfort Psal 103.13 these are those comfortable speeches that as a father pittieth his owne children Mat. 12.20 so the Lord pittith them that feare him and that promise hee will not breake the bruised Reede nor quench the smoaking Flax c. and that exhortation Mat. 11.28 come unto me all yee that are weary and heavie laden and I will ease you CAP. XIV Shewes thee other properties of Contrition viz. shame indignation and revenge THe next thing in contrition 2 Of shame is to be ashamed of our sinnes and to loath them for the more the heart is broken for sinne the more it is ashamed for it Job 42.6 as when Job saw himselfe in his colours then hee did abhorre himselfe in dust and ashes Ezeck 36.31 and the Prophet shewes that there should come a time when the Lord would smite the hearts of men that they should remember their owne evill way and their doings that were not good and should loath themselves in their owne sight for their iniquities and for
our spirituall and mortall enemy who hee is and secondly where he lurkes and thirdly how hee seekes to fortifie himselfe 1 Who this enemy is 1 Who this enemy is it must be hee that contends against the spirit and labours to withstand all the good motions of it which is called all along in the former part of the chapter the flesh and here in this place the body now the body is sometimes taken Physically for the substance of the body consisting of flesh and blood or else morally and in a metaphor for sinne and vice compared to a body and so I conceive it must be taken here for conceive of the body as it is meerly naturall and so it is good and those effects that do issue from it must needes be good again the body in the production of her actions is but the handmaid to the soule and the soule is as the great wheele of the clocke Corpus mortis est cuncta peccata multa enim unum corpus suÌ„t singula quasi membra uno authore inventa Ambros vid. locum Infelix est homo hospitem secum habens peccatum perquod ad illum aditum habet Satanas Gloss that moves all the inferiour wheels by her motion now the denomination in propriety of speech comes froÌ„ the better part therefore it must be taken here for that naturall corruption that doth abide in the body and soule So S. Ambrose on Rom. 7.24 he calls it there that masse of corruption that is inherent in us is all our sinne as it were making up that body of sinne that as a body consisting of many meÌ„bers do but make up one intire body so sin though it spread it self into every part of our bodies to make them members of sin into every faculty of the soule to make them weapons of unrighteousnesse yet still it is but one Take notice Vse 1 how that sin it makes a man a deformed and a vile creature that while he carries about him a body having in it naturall life hee carries another body that hath in it the symptomes of death nay and that will draw the other to the same condition with it selfe nay if one should tell you of a monster that had something in it like a beast something like a serpent nay and something like a devill This monstrous birth of sinne doth containe all that in it if not more are not men like the cruellest beast the Lyon like the most poysonous creature the serpent nay children of Satan Iohn 4.44 O that wee could see our selves as wee are we would be ready to fly from our selves as Moses did from his rod when it became a serpent Exodus 3.4 and to abhorre our selves in dust and ashes 2 Where he lodgeth 2 If you enquire where this enemy is you will hardly beleeve that hee is so neere you nor neere so favoured of you as indeed he is that such a desperate enemy as this is should lodge in your houses feede at your tables and lye in your bosomes is not so strange as true nor more true than lamentable Men in this case are like David who did not sticke to condemne the injustice and cruelty of the man in Nathans parable 2 Sam. 12. that took the Lambe from his poore neighbour when hee had no need having sufficient or rather superfluity of his owne but alas the good man little thought that all this had been done by himselfe even so it is with us when wee heare from the Word that there is such a thing as a body of death a heart that is desperately wicked Rom. 7.24 Jer. 19 9. and a law of the members that leads men captive to sinne it is easily granted by them that so it is but yet will they be loath to yeeld Dolus latet in universalibus or to have such a thought in themselves that they are the men and hence it is that we are like unto sicke men that complaine of their bed when the cause is in their bones and of the sharpnesse of their phisicke when the fault is in themselves so it is with men in case of sinne when it lyes on the consciences of men and makes them restlesse they complaine of the condition as too hard and heavie and of the Word which is the physicke for the soule as too sharpe and bitter when as they looke not into the cause which is this body of death that lyes in our own bosomes and as wee see not our sinnes so neither doe wee see the danger that we are in but as it was with Balaam Numb though the Angell was before him with his drawne sword yet hee saw him not but fals out with the poore Asse as if all the fault had beene in the harmelesse beast whereas had not the Asse stood still Balaam had beene slaine and all this came from his covetous heart which hee would take no notice of So men are ready in case that sinne bee charged on them and even the danger ready to approach yet do not see it but are ready to quarrell with such as labour to keepe them from it but howsoever men labour to put their sinnes one to another as we tosse a Ball and bandy it from one to another and every man from him yet let him know that they goe but herein about a vaine shadow and disquiet themselves in vaine It would bee much better to take Davids counsell Psal 4.4 stand in awe and sinne not commune with your owne bearts in your bed and be still or as some will have it and bleede and that in deed should be our care that when we have found this enemy which is the disturber of our peace wee should enter in our chambers and bewaile our miserie if it were possible even with teares of blood 3. The meanes how lust doth fortifie it self Lastly how hee seekes to fortifie himselfe and to this end observe that the flesh and this corruption is such an enemie as is never out of action thence it is that God complaines My people have chosen two evils they have forsaken me the fountaine of living waters and hewed them out Cisternes broken Cisternes that will hold no water So that in this sinne of man there is a turning from God the chiefest good as the fountaine of all their happinesse which is as a living spring that never failes God all-sufficient who gives grace and glory and every good thing Psal 84.11 Ier. 9.27 Now wee first turne our backes on God and not our faces to him and then fall to these empty and broken vessels Cisternes they are but Cisternes that hold no great matter Dulcâ—ores a fonte bibuntur aquae nay broken Cisternes that will not hold any thing at all so as there is neither solidity nor certainty in the comfort that they give not solid and sweete because they are from the Cisterne and smell of the caske Surely man disquieteth himselfe about a
whited wall and as old Ahiah said to the wife of Ieroboam 1 Kings 146. when shee came disguised Come in saith hee thou wife of Ieroboam why fainest thou the selfe to be another I have heavie tydings to tell thee so may I say unto such that I have heavie tidings to tell them that is this Act. 8.23 that they are in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquity and if there be any fire in that bottomlesse tophet hotter than another it 's prepared for the hypocrits and therefore when God tells men of great punishments that the wicked shall have hee tells them that their punishment shall be with hypocrites that is making them a patterne of greas punishment to others Mat 24.41 Againe this body of sinne it doth so worke and cover it selfe that it makes a man to mistake his owne condition as the young man did when hee said Mat. 19.29 All these have I done from my youth and yet poore soule he knew not the deceitfulnes of his owne heart that he was mistaken had a deceitfull heart that would not submit to the will of Christ and we read of Herod that hee did many things untill it came to the leaving of his Herodias hee was content but there he stucke So it is with men they are so well conceited of their conditions as he that goes a jot beyond them goes too farre and hee that comes not to their pitch is too prophane and that rule which they have taken up is the only rule but to such I will say no more than our Apostle doth Let him that thinketh hee stands take heed lest hee fall and that his foundation be not built on the sand 4 Seeing that this body of sinne is thus active 4 How suspitious we should be of our selves it should make us suspitious of our selves and be very jealous over our selves in all the actions that wee doe seeing that there is one within us that hath a hand in them that is our mortall enemy Prov. 26.25 who albeit hee may speake us faire and make his voyce gracious yet as Solomon saith in another casâ— there are seven abominations in his heart if a man have a servant in his house that hee neither can turne out nor may trust will hee not then be suspitious of him and often call him to account Jer. 17.9 yet behold such is our owne hearts deceitfull above all things and who can know it it hath such turnings and windings that unlesse we watch it narrowly it will deceive us Aske we our hearts this question whither they went then at such a sermon when the word was powerfully opened it will answer as Gehezi did Thy servant went no whither Aske it againe whether it doth beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ for life and eternall salvation it will answer yea hee hath beleeved ever since hee can remember and never doubted in all his life Aske him againe whether hee be in such a condition as hee may goe to the Lords Table hee will answer againe goe in peace Thus like another trecherous Iudas hee will for his owne ends betray his owne Master now I appeale unto your own hearts whether this be so or no whether you have not offered such strange fire unto God and thought that such blind and lame services would serve your turne Have you not cause here to be suspitious of your secret enemy that lurkes in your bosomes that is so ready to deceive it selfe and you When that King of Syria saw that his plots were still discovered that his warre did not prosper against the Kings of Israel 2 King 6.11 Will you not tell mee saith hee which of us is for the King of Israâ—l So it should be with you that when your designes and good purposes are interrupted you should enter into your chambers and commune with your owne hearts and call up all your thoughts together say to them will none of you shew mee which of you are for Saâ—han I find many good motions that are all stifled in the birth a law of the members that doth rebell against the law of the mind and then complaine of this enemy unto him that is able to helpe you and say O wretched man that I am good Lord deliver mee from this body of death CAP. VII Of the second principall thing viz the doctrine of Mortification with certainc distinctions to cleare it NOw the second thing layd downe in the text is the duty that is commended unto us by our Apostle namely that the deedes of the body are to be mortified Joel 2.13 this is no other than that of the Prophet Rent your hearts and not your garments c. now the renting of thier garments was but in the best use of them to put them in minde of the disposition of their hearts and what serious thoughts God would have them be affected withall They did use to rent garments either in case of some great evill of sinne or evill of punishment in case of some great sinne 2 King 18 So Hezekiah rent his clothes at the blasphemy of Rabsheke Hest 4.1 the foule mouthed enemy of God and so in case of some eminent danger so Mordecay rent his garment out of trouble of heart for that great Massacre that was likely to befall the Jewes and may not the like misery sway with us to make us rent our hearts and mortifie the deeds of the body especially when we consider the greatnesse of our sinnes both in respect of their number that they are many and of their nature that they are foule and make us loathsome in the sight of God for their quantity they are as heavie as mountaines of lead Deut. 19.18 and for the quality they are rootes that beare gall and wormwood The like exhortation the Apostle gives Non dicit Apostolus non sit non habitet hoc enim impossibile sed non regnet peccatum c Greg. Let not sinne raigne in your mortall bodies that you should obey it in the lusts thereof It is true that sinne will remaine in us but it must not raigne over us for if grace raigne in your hearts then sinne must not raigne grace will have no competitor Wee read of Alexander the great that hee was never content till he had conquered all the world so is it with grace it is never at rest till it have conquered this little world this body of sin and put downe every high thought that doth exalt it self against God This exhortation is urged more plainly Mortifie therefore your members that are on the earth fornication uncleannesse inordinate affections c. as before sinne is compared to a body so here particular sins are compared to so many members of that body that as all the members doe worke together for the preservation of the whole so doth every least conduct and concurre to the preservation and continuation of this
body of sin For the more distinct handling of the point consider that mortification may be distinguished as something that is externall and without us Mortification is externall or else as something that is internall and is done within us as it is externall so it is said to be a legall mortification when as a man is dead in law as a melefact or is said then to be a dead man when hee is condemned so sinne is then said to be dead when it is forgiven Rom. 8.3 and God is said to send his sonne in the likenesse of sinfull flesh and for sinne condemned sinne in the flesh that is that sinne should be as certainly put to death as it was certaine that Christ had taken our nature on him a great comfort it is to a distressed soule that doth cast it selfe upon the Lord Jesus Christ though at first it doe not apprehend the power of sinne mortified yet apprehending our plentious redemption purchased by Christ hee concludes that sinne shall certainly die because Christ hath already condemned it and as David sayd 1 Sam. 20.3 when Ionathan did perswade him to the contrary As the Lord liveth and as thy soule liveth there is but a step betweene mee and death so whatsoever conceit the soolish heart of man may have that his lusts are so strong as there is not possibility of subduing them yet for as much as the matter is now in the hand of Christ who hath past sentence on them it is certaine that there is but a step betweene them and death Internall Initiall 2. Internall mortification is either initiall or renewed initiall mortification it is that first worke of sanctification whereby the force and vigor of sinne is broken and the body of sinne hath received such a deadly wound as maketh it incurable though a man in this case may goe as the woman did from one Physitian to another to have the issue of blood stayed yet will it bleed still there is no Balme from no Physitian there Jer. 3.22 now this initiall mortification is either generall or speciall Initiall Generall Luke 15.8 1. Generall when there is a generall blow given to every sinne when wee doe as the woman when shee had lost her money did sweepe the house not onely some but every roome of it the whole house thus shall wee bee sure not to leave any sinne without the marke of death upon it wash your hands yee sinners James 4.8 and purifie your hearts yee double minded that is that man that is truely mortified is such as is all over mortified that is there is no actuall sin that stickes to his hands nor any inward corruption that he doth allow of in his heart The Pharisees were strict in the tradition of the washing their hands but negligent of purging out the hypocrisie of their hearts So likewise the curse that is annexed unto sin and doth follow it as sure as the day doth the night so sure will wrath follow sinne Had we not need then to bee very much grieved for them Matthew 15.2 and to mourne in secret untill they be slaine in us Though Jobs afflictions were many and great Job 1.14 yet there is this remarkable that there was one in every of these trials that escaped to come and tell him so is it in this case with many that though there may seeme to be a great mortification of sinne yet behold one or other doth make an escape and comes and tels us that all is not mortified such a man is wise and liberall but yet hee is proud such a one is humble and courteous but yet hee is covetous a third is devout and religious and yet full of disordered passions so that though men seeke to colour over their sinnes with never so many faire pretences yet if it be not so indeed somthing will escape as shee said to Peter Matth. 26.73 you are sure one of his Disciples for thy speech bewrayeth thee so something will discover them at one time or another either pride or their covetousnesse or their passions like a dead Fly spoyles the whole box of precious oyntment 2. There is a speciall mortification of speciall sinnes 2. Speciall that although for sinnes of ignorance a generall mortification will serve the turne and is acceptable to God yet because that there is much deceit lieth in generals wee must descend to particulars as David saith I know mine iniquity Psal 51.3 and my sinne in ever before me is it not I that have sinned 1. Cron. 21.17 Againe all sinne is not of equall proportion but some are weaker and some stronger like the sonnes of Zerviah and they are not unlike to that kinde of evill spirit that is not cast out but by prayer and fasting much adoe there is to subdue them there is some bosome sinne that is so sweet and pleasant as it is compared to our right hand in respect of the profit of it and to our right eye in respect of the tendernesse of it now against this we must contend for as long as such a speciall corruption lives in us like as Pharoahs thinne blasted eares of corne it devoureth the fat ones so will that sinne eate up all your spiritual comforts or as Saul said concerning David as long as the sonne of Jesse lives the Kingdome shall not be established to you meaning Jonathan so I say as long as you do not contend against your speciall sins the Kingdom of heaven will never be established unto you therefore labour to finde them out one by one and having found them pursue after them as the revenger of blood till you have slaine them that you have may come to carry tidings of the fall of the rest 2. Renewed in case 2. The next is renewed mortification Daily incursions fruits of sinne that is in case that we renew our sinnes we must renew this worke also and this is either in regard of those daily infirmities that are the fruits of this body of sinne that is in us or else in case of a relapse or falling fowly into some great sinne which doth waste the conscience and therefore when wee have given unto sinne some deadly blow wee must not then thinke that the worke is done for it is with us as it is when a Ship springs a leake though they pumpe up the water yet will it fill againe so is it with us there is such a corrupt fountaine as will still bee troubling of us the same reason that may move us to say give us this day our daily bread may also prevaile with us to say forgive us this day our daily sinnes it should bee our care every day to consider our wayes and to examine our hearts and not suffer our temples to take their rest nor the eyes in our heads untill such time as wee have caused our daily sinnes to sleepe the long sleepe of death beleeve it if we
would doe this wee should sleepe more quietly live more peaceably and dye more comfortably this is that same wherein we may rejoyce for by our rejoycing that wee have in Christ 1 Cor. 15.31 we dye daily Now to mortifie sinne every day is more easie because it doth not get that strength that it doth if it be let alone the fire is quenched best when it is but a sparke and a banke of the Sea is easily repaired at the first so is it in case of sinne before this sparke of sinne ever set on fire the whole frame of nature and before this Ocean of lusts have made such a large breach in our conscience as that which would have beene but the worke of a few houres becomes the worke of many moneths 2 In case of a relapse 2. In case of a relapse or of some great sinne thath ath beene the case of divers good men they have fallen out of one sinne into another to the wounding of their owne conscience to the stilling of the good motions of the holy Ghost and to the opening of the mouths of the wicked to blaspheme the holy name of God and that holy profession they had taken in hand now as we see by experience a relapse into a disease is dangerous so a revolt into sinne is very dangerous because a man sins in that case against light and against conscience and gainst the good motion of the Spirit and makes way for the great enemy to returne with a greater strength now by how much the disease is more dangerous by so much is the cure more difficult how beit the matter be hard yet it is not impossible therefore in such a case and to that end you must not deceive your selves you must search out the cause wherefore this evill hath befallen you as it was when Israel turned their backs on their enemies Joshu 7.8 Joshuah sought out the cause and sound that there was one Achan that had troubled the whole campe So should wee never cease before wee have found out the cause And when you have found it say of it as Soul did in another case when as God answered him not 1. Sam. 14 38.39 know and see saith he wherein this sinne hath beene this day for if it be Ionathan my sonne hee shall surely die so say I to you shew no pitie on it for sinne can shew no mercie and therefore good reason that it should have judgement without mercie alas brethren lust is so deare unto some men that they will undoe themselves and their soules to enjoy that as it was said of Iacob Gen. 44.30 that his life was bound up in the life of Benjamin so may I say that mens hearts are so folded up in their lust that you may as well pull out the one as purge out the other CAP. VIII Containing the second distinction Inartifitial Imperfect Perfect MOrtification is either perfect or imperfect perfect mortification is that when there is a totall abolishing of all sinne so as there is nothing that doth remaine As God is said to wipe Ierusalem as a man wipeth a dish and turneth it up-side downe So when as sinne shall bee so wiped out as there is none of the venome of sinne tthat doth remain or sticke to us 2 King 21 13. but all is wiped off and utterly extinguished but this cannot bee expected in this life not that God cannot but that in his wisedome hee seeth it not fit 1 Cor. 13.9 we know in part and we prophecie in part but wee must not looke either for an absolute perfection of holinesse nor for a perfect freedome from sinne untill wee put off these Tabernacles which when they shall bee restored again at the resurrection then shall wee bee as the Angels of God without either staine or remainder of sinne this shall be done hereafter but not now for these reasons 1 Reasons why none perfect 1. For the manifestation of the power of God that though wee have corruption within and fighting without the great enemy that casts his fiery darts at us yet the Grace of God is sufficient for us and his strength is made perfect in weaknesse 2 Cor 12.9 Haec praesentis vitoe tuoe perfectio ut te imperfectum agnoseas this is our greatest perfection to see our imperfections that so wee might glorifie God the more It was as great a power of God to keepe Lot in his integrity in that sinke of sinne that City of Sodome as it was to free him from that shower of Brimstone that fell upon it so is it as great a power to keepe his grace in the midst of such corruption as to have free us from it by his absolute power at the first or to keepe a sparke in the midst of the Sea 2. To put a difference betweene viatores and comprehensores betweene such as are in their journey to the new Ierusalem that is above and those that are Citizens there already No man hath the Garland before the victory nor the reward before the race be run we must not looke for a Heaven here and another hereafter Hic conten demus ut alibicoronemur wee contend here that we may receive a crowne hereafter we are not to expect that which is not promised Nay hee hath told us that his Kingdome is not of this world Reason 3 3. To make us prize Heaven the more where wee know wee shall bee free from sinne and desire to be dissolved the more that so wee might be separated from this enemy that disturbes our peace this enemy is hee that makes us like those Hebrewes to hang up our Harps and to weepe by those bankes of Babell when we remember mount Sion which is above it was Christs usuall journey from Bethany to Ierusalem from the house of mourning to the vision of peace so must we mourne here that we may rejoyce hereafter Reason 4 4. To let us see the fulnesse of Adams sinne for if that we should have sinne removed as soone as we are borrne wee should never be sensible of the greatnesse of that offence nor of the weight and burden of originall corruption for if you would reason but thus with your selves if the weight of sinne be so intolerable and the burden so heavie to a man regenerate that he cries out woe is me for I am a man of polluted lips Es 6.5 and dwell amongst men of polluted lips if hee complaine O wretched man that I am Rom. 7.24 who shall deliver mee from this body of death if we our selves groane under the burden of sinne that is upon us what would the weight of it be if God should lay it on in the full measure then would wee cry out as Kain that our punishment would be greater then wee can beare as they by finding out the length of the Gians foote found out the length of his whole body so may wee by the weight
they winne the maine battell so is it in this spirirituall contestation and contention between the law of the members and the law of the minde 1 Degree Heb. 12 4. Gal 5.17 Venit avaritia vendicat in me sibi sedem jactantiacupit dominari mihi Superbia vult mihi esse Rex luxuria dicit ego regnabo ambitto de tractio invidia iracundia certant in me ipso de me ipso cujus ego potissimum effe videor Ego quantum valeo resiste renitor quantum suvor dominum meum Iesum reclamo paule post dico non habeo regem nisidominum Iesum veni demine disperge illos vertute tua regnabis in me quia tu es ipse Rex meus Ber. him 4. betweene true grace and corrupt nature 1. First is in that strong relâ—ctancie that the spirit maketh against the flesh so as there is very hard strugling who shall winne the victory gravis lucta saith Saint Bevnard non contra hostes sed contra hospites a grievous warre it is and the greater that it is not against enemies but guests howbeit they are in deed secret enemies The flesh musters up all her forces and sets them in battell aray which as they are many in number so are they strong and resolute every one ambitious of a crown but now the soule it flyeth unto Christ as a prisoner of hope oppressed by the enemy unto his strong hold Zach. 9.12 That as the Jewes would have no King but Caesar so a Christian will have none to raigne over him but Christ this reluctancie is the greater in me quia tu es ipse Rex mous Bet. him 4. because that the object of their contention is exceeding weighty it is as much as a mans soule is worth it is the losing or winning of a Kingdome it is not pro finibus not for the bounds but pro haereditate for the inheritance and therefore it is that neither side will yeeld to the other Sathan will not yeeld up his right because they once belongd to him nor Christ will not lose his right because hee bought them with a price hence it is that the Kingdome of Heaven is said to suffer violence Matth. 11.12 and the violent take it by force there is nothing to be gotten without contention That you may not bee mistaken in this businesse of so great consequence give me leave to lay downe some rules to know whether your warre bee a right warre yea or no for when our Luke 13.24 Saviour doth exhort us to strive to enter in at the straite gate he tels us that many shall secke to enter and shall not be able shewing that all striving will not serve your turnes not every one that saith Matth. 7.21 Lord Lord shall inherit the Kingdome of Heaven thence it is that Saint Iames tels us that we may aske and not receive because we aske amisse and this was the reason why such as shall at the end of the world come and say Lord Math. 7.22 Lord wee have prophecied in thy name and in thy name wee have cast out Devils and in thy name wee have done many wonderfull workes why such I say should bee rejected because all this was not done in sincerity and in a right manner therefore for the clearing of it take this rule 1. They differ in ground and so the quarrell for howsoever that the I quarrell may be occasioned from the same generall ground in respect of the use of it How the naturall spirituall combate differs namely sinne 1 In the ground yet in speciall the one lookes at sinne as it is sinne the other at sinne as it brings punishment after it the one could hee escape the punishment would be glad to enjoy his finne the other is farre more willing to suffer than to sinne an example of the former you have in Cain who made no great matter of his sinne but indeed his punishment was greater than hee could beare and for the latter you have another example of Ioseph who notwithstanding the wanton sollicitations hee had from his Mistresse and withall his owne unmarried condition and being in the strength of his youthfull yeares which is most licentious and voluptuous yet behold hee repells them all with a most chast resolution Gen. 39. How shall I do this great wickednesse and sinne against God He thought not on the punishment that would follow but on the sinne as the maine thing It was a good speech of him that sayd it Anselme that hee had rather be in hell without sinnes than in heaven with them on his conscience and indeed what comfort could a man have in heaven so long as he had a hell in his conscience and on the other side hell would be no hell to him were his conscience faire therefore men should not thinke that all is well because they sind sometimes a troubled or a trembling spirit for the devills beleeve and tremble and yet are their spirits stout enough and stubborne enough against God so Jam 2.19 it may be in men by that conviction that they may have although it may not be accompanied with any sound conversion have you not seene many that when they have beene in some great straite as Balaam betweene the vineyards not knowing which way to turne himselfe either under some sad and heavie crosse or else under some present perill of death poore soules how have they quarrelled with their sinnes and with themselves as though they would never have had any friendship with them more well deliverance comes and health comes behold now the battell is over they shake hands againe with their lusts and are the same men they were but now if there be a principle of grace in you that makes your hearts rise against sinne then to say no more goe on and prosper ye valient men for God is with you 2 They differ in respect of the seat of the combate 2 In the seate the naturall combate is 1 Sometimes nothing but the distemper of the body that is the seat of the conflict a sicke body doth occasion a distempered and sicke minde is it not strange to see what strange effects that distemper of melancholy doth produce what feares and terrours have they felt at sometimes as though they had beene scorched in the flames of hell what joyes and exultations they have made at another time as though they had beene rapt up into the third heaven what conflicts they have supposed they have passed through yet all is nothing but the production of a distempered body deeply affected with melancholy Now this differs from the true combate 1 First they differ as much as the shadow and the substance one from another that combate betweene the flesh and the spirit is really true but that is but imaginary like as you see upon the stage one is a King another is a Judge another a souldier which when the action is
because God hee judgeth of a mans actions according to his heart which if that bee unsound then will all the actions bee no better Thence i◠the complaint made by the Prophet Es 33.31 they come unto thee as the people commeth and they sit before thee as my people they heare my words but they will not doe them for with their mouth they shew much love but their hearts go after their covetousnesse while men deale thus with God and behave themselves no better in his service they may not unfitly bee compared to the Water-man that while he roweth one way he lookes another wash your hands therefore yee sinners and cleanse your hearts Jam. 4.8 yee double minded men wash your hands by reformation and your hearts by true contrition otherwise you are but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 double minded Mat. 12.33 therefore make the tree good and the fruit will be good therefore now if your heart be good so will your actions be for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh the hand worketh the eare hearkneth and the whole man moveth Therefore there must be great need of contrition to the end 4. Of the way that is made for Christ 4. There is a necessity of it in this regard in as much as it makes way for Christ to dwell in our hearts Esa 5.7.15 Luk. 14.15 when our blessed Saviour tels his Disciples whither they should goe and where hee would eate the Passe over you shall finde saith he an upper roome furnished and prepared there make ready for us so it is also in this case into what heart Christ intends to come and to make it his Chamber of presence Eph. 3.17 it must be prepared for him by true humility and contrition of spirit wash you make you cleane c. Esa 1.16.18 and then come saith God and let us reason together till then you are not fit to draw neare unto God When the people of Isreal had committed the great sinne in the making of a Calse the Lord tels them Exod. 3 3. that so long as they kept their ornaments on them it was in vaine to make suite unto him put off therefore saith he your ornaments Eph. 4.22 that I may know what to doe unto you so must we if we expect Christ to come into our hearts put off the old man which is corrupt by deceitfull lusts so long as lust rules and raignes in the heart so long Christ is kept out but now when by true contrition we cast away our transgressions and banish out the old inhabitants then Christ he will enter in and dwell there but first he will cast out buyers and sellers and money changers they shall not neast and rest themselves in his Temple he will cast out and overcome the world and our strong corruption and make us to abhorre and avenge our selves of our sins then he will say this is my house here will I dwell and I will establish it on such a foundation as the gates of hell cannot prevaile against CAP. XVI The third more neere degree of Mortification in the killing of sinne THe last degree of mortification is the slaying of sinne the execution of it whereby wee are said to bee crucified unto the world Gal. 6.14 that is I am not so low and vile in the esteeme of the world Rom. 6.6 but the world is as base and contemptible unto me the same Apostle shewes that the end why Christ was crucified was that the body of sinne might be destroyed What kind of death the death to sin is 1. This destruction and death of sinne is a lingering death a man dieth by degrees as the death of the Crosse was they hung a long while before they died and the more strength the longer so the stronger that sinne is the longer it will be a dying as it is with a man that doth beleager a strong forte and where stout and valiant men are they will suffer much penury and hardship and hardly bee brought to yeeld untill the last man so is it in such a case here is such a strong hold of carnall reasons and corrupt lusts set up within us and be fortified by Sathan and strong and desperate resolutions that it will bee a long time before wee can get the upper hand and the victory over them and when we have gotten the victory yet still they will trouble and disquiet our peace as the Lord would not drive out all those Nations from among the people of Israel Josh 23.13 but they were as thorns in their eyes and scourges in their sides and were not utterly cast out so may I say that these lusts they will be so unto us all that we can doe will be this not to suffer them to raigne and to weaken their strength by degrees 2. It is a painefull death to mortifie and to kill sinne it cannot be done without much paine hence it is called Circumcision Jer. 4.4 circumcise your selves unto the Lord and take away the fore-skinnes of your hearts that this was a sore and painefull thing may appeare in the sorenesse of the men of Sheehem the third day Gen 34.25 and by that speech of Zipporah unto Moses a bloody husband thou art Exod. 4.26 because of the Circumcision and indeed when we consider what prayers what teares what revenge and what wrastling it hath or may cost you you will say that there is need of much faith to defend your selves much skill in Gods word to offend your enemy and much patience that in the midst of this conflict that you may not breake out against God into impatient speeches Pro. 14 10. the heart in this case knows his owne bitternesse no man else can tell it nor is able to expresse it what sightings and feares within and what troubles without as that the poore soule findes such waves and stormes in his conscience that hee is like Noahs Dove knowes not where to rest his foote not where to rest his soule as you may see in the case of Job and Paul and many times strong Christians are not without strong assaults and conflicts the enemy when he is a dying is often the most desperate and sometime good men apt to bee surprized with spirituall pride and to thinke that either he is so good he ought not or so strong hee feareth not to be tempted in such a a case hee hath neede of a temptation that hee may the better know himselfe and seeke out unto Christ as they when they were tossed with the waves say help Master Mat. 8.26 or else we perish 3. Though sinne cannot be utterly subdued yet may it be greatly diminished and the power of it enervated and abated though the Cananites were not utterly subdued yet were they very low brought so sinne may by this worke of mortification be brought very low as it was with the widdow of Zarephta her store
was so wasted that shee had no more but a handfull of Meale in a Barrell and a little Oyle in a Cruse which shee was about to dresse for her selfe and her sonne and then to eate it and after dye Now it is a great comfort unto a man when a man can attaine to this 1. That he can keepe his heart that sinne doe not at any time break out into any grosse act Luke 1.6 Gen. 5.24 It is said of Zacharias and Eliz. that they walked in all the Commandements of God without rebuke that is though they were not without their infirmities yet were they without rebuke in respect of any crime or grosse sinne yet here is a large difference betweene such as doe onely restraine and keepe in sinne for some by end and such as these to whom sin is in some measure mortified even as much as there is betweene the beating out of the teeth of a Lion and the changing of his nature thence it is that this worke makes us of Lions to become as meeke as Lambs Is 11.6 so as the Lamb and the Leopard shall lie downe with the Kid and the Calse and the young Lion and the fatling together a little child shall lead them againe though a wicked man may curb and keep in sin yet can he not kill and destroy sinne and the reason is this because he wants speciall and spirituall meanes sinne will not be driven out with great words Is 58 6. nor by spreading sackcloth and ashes under you nor hanging downe your heads like a bull-rush for a day but there must be in us the love of God which will make us to depart from iniquity 2. It is a great comfort when sinne is so over-powerd as it doth not divert us from duty I doe not say distract us in the performance of them for there is no man without them for when wee are the best imployed about our devotions as reading hearing praying or mediration then is the adversary most busie to disquiet our peace and to hinder us in our work Zach. 3.1 when Jâ—hoshuah the high Priest was standing before the Angel of the Lord Neh. 4.18 there Sathan stood at his right hand yet you may have good comfort in this when you goe on in your worke as they that builded up the wall of Ierusalem though they were much distracted and disquieted by their enemies yet did they hold on their worke though it was with their swords by their sides so a good Christian albeit hee hath many distractions yet hee goes on in duty and will not be diverted from it as it was with David when Michal his wife spake against him for his dancing before the Arke of God 2 Sam. 6.20 21 22 23. hee made his reply that if that were vile he would yet be more vile so it is with a mortified man that though there were never so many impediments and stumbling blocks laid in his way of the losse and discredit he shall sustaine yet hee lookes more at the praise of God then of men and knoweth that what is highly pleasing in the sight of men is displeasing in the sight of God Luk 16.15 and therefore takes up Saint Pauls resolution when they besought him that hee would not goe up to Ierusalem Acts 21.12 13. in regard of the present danger that they did foresee howbeit Saint Paul being bound in the Spirit for the worke of the Lord asketh them what they meane to breake his heart seeing hee was ready not onely to bee bound at Ierusalem but to dye there for the name of the Lord Jesus so is it with him that is truely humbled that nothing diverteth him from the duty 3. It is a great comfort unto a Christian Acts 8.39 when hee hath so conquered and over-powered his corruptions and that they take not away his joy and consolation that he hath in Christ neither can Sathan take such advantage by them to dispoyle us of our crowne 2 Cor. 〈…〉 5. thence it is that Saint Paul saith he will glory in his infirmities that though hee might glory in those heavenly visions that he had yet hee would rather glory in them for though in a large sense every sinne is called an infirmity because it disableth a man from the performance of duty but in a strict sence no man can be said to have infirmities unlesse that sinne in some measure be mortified for in an unmortified man sinne is alive and in his full strength and his soule is void of grace but now in a man that is truely mortified there grace receives strength and sinne is wounded and so such a man is the proper subject of infirmities now when the Apostle saith that he doth rejoyce in his infirmities he doth not rejoyce in his infirmities as they are sinnes Matth. 10. but as they are infirmities that is as sinne was deforced and diminished in him and therein he had cause of joy and we also when we finde it so in us if the Disciples rejoyced that the Devils were subdued by them much more may we that the body of sinne is destroyed and that which is worse then the Devill is subdued by us count it all joy when yee fall into divers temptations Jam. 1 2.3 knowing that the tryall of our saith worketh patience and patience makes perfect and intire we are but in this case as gold that is put into the Furnace that comes out more pure and are made by that meanes vessels of honour fit for the use of our great Master our Lord and Saviour Christ CAP. XVII Certaine signes of a dying man 2 I Come now to shew unto you certaine signes of a dying man whereby you may see whether that you be in such a case yea or no it would be in vaine to shew you signes of a dead man for as much as there is no perfection of death of sinne in our soules as there is no perfection of grace so neither is there as we have formerly shewed perfection of mortification 1 Cor. 13. onely as hath beene shewed we are daily a dying but not fully dead 1. A man is said to be a dying man when his stomacke failes when he hath no appetite to his foode when wee have no stomacke to sinne no apetite after it when wee feele no such sweetnesse in it as we have done when we esteeme the profits and pleasures of finne as an empty vessell in one word when all of them are bitter unto us and tastlesse in respect of what they have beene to us before time 2 Sam. 19.35 as old Barzillai said to David can thy servant taste what Teate or what I drinke can I heare any more the voyce of singing men or singing women vers 37. c. Let mee turne backe that I may dye c. Just thus it is when a man feeleâ— his affection off from his sinne that he can neither relish their sweernes nor