which yet they thought curable by moral Habits but they never saw it as sin nor in its deadly damning Nature Nay nor did ever any common work of the Spirit give such a discovery of it as is necessary to the mortification of it the Hypocrite sees no more of it than what he thinks some common work sufficient to cure Hence it is that all such as advance Nature are depressers of Grace and that such as extenuate original Corruption make no great business of Conversion And e contra hence it is also that we find not a Hypocrite in all the Scripture complaining of this original Corruption as we find Paul and David doing Rom. 7 and Psalm 51. Now in order to this sight of Sin 1. Thou must be much in the study and observation of thine own heart and of the secret motions of sin there they are strangers to their own hearts who may not find every sin there even such as they never heard named or as the gracious heart complies with such Duties as may be it never heard to be such so does the corrupt heart encline to such sins as are not to be named or upon the mention of every sin there 's some inward stirring to it especially if it be plausibly spoke of 2. Study the spirituality of the Law there thou mayst see the holiness of God which will not admit of the Ieast motion to Sin and there also thou mayst read thine own Impurity and sinful Impotency 3. Seek the Spirits light it 's the Spirits work to discover Sin let it be thy Souls desire that he would open some door or window and let thee see more inward greater and greater Abominations and what is doing in the secret Chambers of the Imagery of thy heart and when thou hast discovered the depths of Sin and the exceeding sinfulness of in-dwelling sin sit down and bewail thy felf and mourn over it And alas two months will not sufficiently bewail it Judg. 11.37 Thy seventy or fourscore years are too few for thee to go up and down the Mountains with thy Companions Now godly sorrows break the heart of Sin tears that are squeezed and wrung from a man and that come only from some inward Compunction and pricking of the heart may fortifie and feed Sin but when they are the juice of a broken heart or flow from a contrite heart that is melted down by the heavenly warmth of Divine love they stifle and extinguish Sin Sin can dwell with fear and horror for these are the native fruits and products of it and when Sin shall be perfected in Hell so shall these but it cannot bear with godly sorrow nor can this sorrow tolerate it or it strikes at the root and fundamental evil of Sin 2. Cherish Grace in the heart the two inward principles of Grace and Sin work upon one another as Fire and Water Sin is like a strong malignant humour in the Body Now the way to expel it is to corroborate and help Nature in its operations as the New man grows up he wears off the Old out of doors Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and be cloathed with humility love long-suffering mercy and brotherly-kindness and pride anger wrath malice will vanish away See Col. 3.5 6 7 8 10 12 13 as Light comes in Darkness goes out Bend a crooked stick streight and its crookedness is gone Grace and Sin are alway acting against other and no Conflict can be long in equal terms either Grace or indwelling Sin is upon the growing hand Vivification and Mortification the two parts of Sanctification do advance equally 3. Observe and trace every Sin and run it up to the heart from whence it had its rise then drag your heart before the Lord and cry Lord here 's the Atheist the Unbeliever the Murmurer the injurious person here 's the Rebel and the disobedient person The poor Believer even many times would tear his heart in pieces and is ready to say Except I had a better heart I would I had none had I only drunk Poison I might be pitied but when the poison of Asps is in my Nature I deserve to be abhorred did I hide the Lords Enemy in my house only I were a Traytor to him much more when I hide and nourish Sin in my heart Bring the body of death before Gods Tribunal and cry for Judgment against it and say Lord here 's thine and mine Enemy life for life and blood for blood 4. If thou wouldst mortifie Original Sin thou must be sure to mortifie Self for selfishness is the soul of Sin This is the great Idol that all others truckle under Mans first sin was self-exaltation and self-satisfaction and that depravation of our Nature which is the punishment of this first Sin does mostly appear in our self-willing self-loving self-seeking self-pleasing The Natural man beholds himself apprehends some excellency in himself believes himself loves himself pleases himself designs himself and that as his last end wherein he rests Hence the first step of our recovery to God is self denying self-abasing self-loathing self-annihilating and the lower self be the weaker is the body of Sin the more a man is emptied of self and dead to self the more he is filled with the fulness of God and alive to God When Christ is all and Grace is all the Old-man and indwelling Sin are at the lower ebb when self is nothing and Christ is all the mans light and life All to the Judgment heart and affections all the mans wisdom all his righteousness all his sanctification all his redemption and all his strength this stabs Sin at the heart Arminians and Jesuits no wonder they oppose the doctrine of Original Sin for their principles as they are the very issue of the body of Sin so they feed and cherish it Self-exaltation has begot their Tenets and they honour and advance Self as their Father 5. As Self is the soul of this body of Sin so Pride Worldliness and Voluptuousness are the chief members of it the lust of the eye and of the flesh and the pride of life are as it were the head and heart of the body of Sin a wound in these is deadly mortifie these radical lusts and you mortifie the body of Sin knock down pride and you dash out the brains of Sin Bring the flesh under a due subjection unto the Spirit so that it bear no sway nor act any thing against the Government and interest of Christ in the Soul and you wound the heart and stop the breath of this Body of Sin This leads us to a second Branch of the Text viz. To mortifie your most prevailing lusts your Idol-sins which your Condition Calling or circumstances do often expose you to And O what a hard task is this considering what the power of Sin is in some as I have formerly shewn what interest it has got in them in their judgment their heart and affections that it often engages them in
at first Conversion do it not why should it do so afterward Not the 2d Let that Promise be produced what ever Promise that I know of can be produced will plead as much against a Believers falling into any Sin which at his first Conversion he did truly repent of But to prevent Abuses of what 's said Let me admonish you 1. That there are some Sins which Paul calls dead works Heb. 6.1 Peter calls them mens old sins viz. which they had lived in before Conversion Ephes 2.1 9 and the pollution of the world 2 Pet. 2.19 in these the whole World wallowed before Christ's Coming A Relapse into these he speaks of as dangerous Ephes 2.2 19 20 21. Much debate there was about this of old and many utterly refused to re-admit such into their Communion as in times of Persecution did comply with Idolaters and returned to Idolatry which was the chief of these old Sins that Peter mentions 1 Ep. 4.3 And I doubt not but in the debate that arose thereupon there were extreams on both hands those that fell upon the one hand were many and by their multitude helped to carry the decision of the Question in their favour and the promiscuous re-admission of such tended to the Corruption of the Church ever after yet on the other hand I dare not deny but a godly man may be intangled again in some act of these old sins through the force of some great or sudden temptation Yet I must add that it is a rare case the fixed bounds how far and how often God doth not determinately set in his Word I think the Lord does not ordinarily suffer his people to fall again and again into those gross acts of Sin though we cannot say but they may be overtaken with Passion Pride inordinate love to the World which though no less sinful in their own nature yet in their inward actings are not so scandalous nor such occasions to others to blaspheme Nor can we deny but that there may be and will be some lustings towards the gross actings of these old sins But the acting over of them I think rare A man may fall into some other heinous sin of another nature with more ease for mortification of a particular lust does in an especial manner advantage a man against the return of that though it weaken the whole man of sin yet it weakens that particular lust in special Hence there is often a change of the godly mans greatest Corruption and he gets some special advantage against that which sometime did most prevail and another lust comes in its room which shews the strength of the body of sin yet disproves not the truth of the mortification of the former prevailing lust For the 2d Case mentioned viz. of those who after some serious endeavours to mortifie Sin find their Corruptions more lively than formerly In answer to this Case 1. If Corruptions break forth more than formerly it 's the same with the former Case and thy safest course is not to stand disputing thy state before that but to study acquaintance with the depths of Sin in thee and in the humble broken-hearted sense thereof to fly unto Jesus Christ for pardon and for grace to sanctifie thy Soul and to mortifie Sin If they be only more stirring inwardly than before and so seem more strong it is a Case commonly incident to such of the people of God as before their regeneration were careful to walk blamelesly and were morally educated and such as were formal in Religion And 1. This may proceed from the malice of Satan who when his interest in the Soul was not brangled made no great noise Now as the Dog is put to the Door he howls to be in again so he blows the Trumpet to an insurrection and intestine war in the Soul and if it were possible would have possession again or have the Soul back into bondage again and this the holy Lord suffers to manifest the strength of his Grace and that he may having brought forth the strength of indwelling sin have occasion with more observation to discomfit them As sometimes Rulers in policy let some discontented party break out on purpose to ruine them more effectually 2. It may be thy inward Corruption is not stronger than it was but spiritual light and gracious tenderness may be growing the Spirit now may be opening up the depths of thy Corruption And this the Lord usually does by degrees as he dealt with Ezekiel in a like case Chap. 8.6 7 9 12 13 15. where mark that they had put a wall between God and them he is shewed greater and greater Abominations so the secret Chambers of Sin are opened up and thou sees that which makes thee tremble and abhor thy self more than ever for the first saving-Conviction does not convince to the utmost the first saving-light shines not into every Corner or at least not so brightly that the man can dive into all the mystery of Sin within but leaves room for after-discoveries such Complaints as Pauls Rom. 7.24 are rather the fruit of growing-discoveries of Sin and growing Mortification than of the growing power of Sin Bless the Lord for such discoveries for they are necessary to the mortification of Sin 3. It may be thou wast going about to establish thine own righteousness and the Lord sees it meet to fright away such thoughts by suffering Satan to rake up the Dunghil of thy Corruptions when thou art aiming at such a measure of holiness and freedom from Sin in the strength of thy own endeavours and with a secret neglect of the imputed Righteousness of Christ and when thou will not make use of that till thou hast overcome such a Corruption and will not maintain thy Justification without such a measure of Sanctification and Mortification I think not strange if God should let open the sluce of thy Corruption to constrain thee to hold by the righteousness of Christ for Justification and also on his Spirit for the mortifying of thy Corruptions and to live by faith in Christ both for Righteousness and Sanctification or Holiness and to seek neither of these nor any part of them any other way for it may be if thou be not proud of thy Righteousness to thy own sense yet thou may think too much of thy own strength indeed the one is rarely or never really separated from the other for wheresoever a man thinks he has one of these he seeks the other also Hence there are none erroneous in the point of Free-will and Grace but they err also in the doctrine of Justification e contra Isa 45.24 and lay too much stress on the strength at least of the sincerity of thy purposes and endeavours against Sin These can no more secure thee against Sin than a single thred can hold a Ship at Anchor in a storm the Lord will teach thee the necessity of this Method in the Text by the Spirit to mortifie Sin And this leads
denying of them for as the Night and Eveningshadows are good for Flowers and Herbs and better than a continual hot Sun so are desertions of special use they feed humility and quicken hunger and thirst 3. So as to maintain an humble hardiness in believing under angry like dealings especially when we have ground to think they are only for trying and humbling us indeed when sin has smoaked out Christ and Comfort That 's like a Boil says one on each side that a man cannot ease himself on either 4. So as not to be socure when we have them Some carry as if heavenly Comforts could maintain themselves Song 5.1 2. 5. So as to be in case to mourn with them that mourn and not so to be taken up with your personal Comforts as to be untouched with the Concerns of Christ or the afflictions and sufferings of his followers See Dan. 9.23 Compare with Chap. 10.2 3. On the other hand a mortified man is dead as to the sense and feeling of great outward and inward trouble if it be agood time with a child of God in common he forgets his own private sad exercise 2. In as far as his trouble and sorrow may weaken his heart or his hands in Duty 3. In as far as they encline you to quarrel with the holy Majesty of God rather forget your sorrow and cease thinking on it when you cannot do it without reflecting on God 3. This takes in a deadness to Priviledges to a flourishing Church-state if the Lord will plow Zion like a field we must say Amen to the word of the Lord as the Prophets of old did we must be dead to godly Rulers indeed this is not the temptation of the day though I doubt not but many now alive have faulted in this kind and are smarting for it to sudden and miraculous deliverances to the glory of Martyrdom sufferings True now few exceed in coveting this yet many have Finally to Ministers and Ordinances for Judg and Prophet Isa 3 and teaching-Priest may be taken away and Vision may cease the Ark and the Tabernacle and the Temple are not God the Temple may be burned and the Sanctuary prophaned and such as enjoy them need not glory over others as the unmortified remnant who abode in the Land and in the City gloried over their captive Brethren Ezek. 11.15 Get you far from the Lord unto us is this Land given in possession We do not mean that men should be mortisied to the presence of God in Ordinances you cannot be lively enough in following of God in Ordinances but you must be dead to the purest Ordinances though the choisest outward mercy externally considered so far 1. As not to hang and depend too much upon them how many of these Nations that were lately as the Garden of God are now like a parched Wilderness who have now instead of pure Ordinances and sweet Gospel-Preachers only dumb-Dogs and dead forms 2. So as not to pay too dear for them nor to buy them at the expence of Truth or Holiness no sufferings are too much but any sin any wrong to God or Christ is too much for them 3. So as not to limit the Lord to them we often sinfully tie Gods presence to preaching praying breaking bread c. and have a carnal zeal and liveliness to means and naked Ordinances Some tie their Faith and Edification and Comfort so to an Ordinance or to one man as they cannot be content if they get not their desire A godly Minister may be too much alive to Preaching and bear restraint with sinful Impatience and a private Christian may be too eager and hang too much upon one mans mouth But so much of God and Christ and the substance of the Gospel must be over-look'd as Means are idolized 4. Then we must be so far dead to them as humbly to submit to the want of them and not misdoubt God but to believe that he will make them up to us He will be instead of a Sanctuary and Ordinances and Ministry if we do not sinfully put them away or if we be duly sensible of his displeasure and humbled for our Church-desolating sins He can restore them and in the mean while afford subsistance another way yea if it were to feed us with a Rod for some have thriven better by a sanctified Rod than they have done by lively Ordinances In the third place we come to consider the necessity of Mortification this the Text does plainly hold out to us The Question then is Upon what grounds is it necessary I Answer 1. More generally It is necessary by virtue of the Command of God this the Text points out and it 's express Col. 3.5 And indeed wherever Holiness is commanded this is for Mortification is a great part of Gospel-holiness for the Covenant of works it takes no notice of this for it supposes no sin to mortifie Now in the Gospel-command take notice 1. of Gods Authority He has right to Command and Authority to punish Disobedience look to it for your allowing your self in any sin imports some forgetfulness or neglect of this Authority And it should be a Christians care to keep up the sense of this especially such things and occasions wherein ye are most like to neglect it as in secret Retirements and Enjoyments and Temptations or in your conâ—â—â—â— with others may be ungodly persons whereby casting off the sense of this we often cast the honour of our profession to the ground and by out sinful neglects or compliances unframe our selves or in the matter of our Trade wherein many allow themselves in some thing less or more that is of such secret use and gain to them that no sense of Gods Authority can move them to relinquish or mortifie it 2. Let us consider that Mortification is the killing of our Disease of that which would kill us it 's the cure of the depravation of our Nature which thus came to pass Man not being contented with his Estate would be as God and by this means fell from what he was and became like unto the beasts 2 Pet. 2.12 Man has now more of the bestial than of the Divine Nature and men out of Christ have not only to answer for the enormities of their Actions but for the debasing of their Nature But let us consider this corruption of our Nature not as it renders us obnoxious to wrath but as it is our misery for Man is now like a condemned Malefactor that has also a mortal Disease upon him and that needs not only a Pardon but a Physician And then Mortification must be our cure It was the great result of Solomons fearch that he found that at first Man was not of the same make and mould that now he is of Eccles 7.29 Sin has now corrupted and blinded the mind and debauched the whole Man and brought him under the power of his divers lusts he is now become flesh if any remainder of light peep