will grow a light thing to thee thou wilt pass by it as a thing of nought This it will grow to and what will be the End of such a Condition Can a sadder thing befall thee Is it not enough to make any heart to tremble to think of being brought into that Estate wherein he should have slight thoughts of Sin slight thoughts of Grace of Mercy of the Blood of Christ of the Law Heaven and Hell come all in at the same season Take heed this is that thy Lust is working towards the hardening of the Heart searing of Conscience blinding of the Mind stupifying of the Affections and deceiving of the whole Soul 2. The danger of some great temporal Correction which the Scripture calls Vengeance Judgement and Punishment Psal. 89.30 31 32 33 Though God should not utterly cast thee off for this Abomination that lyes in thy Heart yet he will visit with the Rod though he pardon and forgive he will take vengeance of thy Inventions O remember David and all his troubles look on him flying into the Wilderness and consider the hand of God upon him Is it nothing to thee that God should kill thy Child in anger ruine thy Estate in anger break thy Bones in anger suffer thee to be a Scandal and Reproach in anger kill thee destroy thee make thee lye down in darkness in anger Is it nothing that he should punish ruine and undoe others for thy sake Let me not be mistaken I do not mean that God doth send all these things alwayes on his in Anger God forbid But this I say That when he doth so deal with thee and thy Conscience bears witness with him what thy Provocations have been thou wilt find his dealings full of bitterness to thy Soul If thou fearest not these things I fear thou art under hardness 3. Loss of Peace and Strength all a mans dayes To have peace with God to have strength to walk before God is the summe of the great Promises of the Covenant of Grace In these things is the Life of our Souls Without them in some comfortable measure to Live is to Dye What good will our Lives do us if we see not the face of God sometimes in peace If we have not some strength to walk with him Now both these will an unmortified Lust certainly deprive the Souls of men of This case is so evident in David as that nothing can be more clear How often doth he complain that his bones were broken his Soul disquieted his wounds grievous on this account Take other Instances Isa. 57.18 For the Iniquity of his Covetousness I was wroth and hid my self What peace I pray is there to a Soul while God hides himself Or strength whilest he smites Hos. 5.15 I will goe and return to my place untill they acknowledge their Offence and seek my face I will leave them hide my Face and what will become of their peace and strength If ever then thou hast enjoyed peace with God if ever his Terrours have made thee afraid if ever thou hast had strength to walk with him or ever hast mourned in thy Prayer and been troubled because of thy weakness think of this danger that hangs over thy head It is perhaps but a little while and thou shalt see the Face of God in Peace no more Perhaps by to morrow thou shalt not be able to pray read hear or perform any Duties with the least chearfulness Life or Vigour and possibly thou mayst never see a quiet hour whilest thou livest That thou mayst carry about thee broken bones full of pain and terrour all the dayes of thy Life yea perhaps God will shoot his Arrowes at thee and fill thee with Anguish and disquietness with Fears and Perplexities make thee a Terror and an Astonishment to thy self and others shew thee Hell and Wrath every moment frighten and scare thee with sad Apprehensions of his Hatred so that thy sore shall run in the Night season and thy Soul shall refuse Comfort so that thou shalt wish Death rather than Life yea thy Soul may choose strangling Consider this a little though God should not utterly destroy thee yet he might cast thee into this condition wherein thou shalt have quick and living Apprehensions of thy Destruction Wont thy Heart to thoughts hereof Let it know what is like to be the Issue of its State leave not this Consideration untill thou hast made thy Soul to tremble within thee 4. There is the Danger of eternal Destruction For the due Management of this Consideration observe I. That there is such a connexion between a Continuance in Sin and eternal Destruction that though God do's resolve to deliver some from a Continuance in Sin that they may not be destroyed yet he will deliver none from Destruction that continue in sin So that whilest any one lyes under an Abiding power of sin the Threats of Destruction and everlasting Seperation from God are to be held out to him So Heb. 3.12 to which adde Heb. 10.38 This is the Rule of Gods proceeding If any man depart from him draw back through Unbelief Gods Soul hath no pleasure in him that is his Indignation shall pursue him to Destruction so evidently Gal. 6.8 II. That he who is so intangled as above described under the Power of any Corruption can have at that present no clear prevailing Evidence of his Interest in the Covenant by the Efficacy whereof he may be delivered from Fear of Destruction So that Destruction from the Lord may justly be a Terrour to him And he may he ought to look upon it as that which will be the End of his Course and wayes There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8.1 True but who shall have the comfort of this Assertion Who may assume it to himself They that walk after the Spirit and not after the Flesh. But you will say Is not this to perswade men to unbelief I answer No there is a twofold Judgement that a man may make of himself 1. Of his Person and 2. Of his Wayes It is the judgment of his Wayes not his Person that I speak of Let a man get the best Evidence for his Person that he can yet to judge that an evil Way will end in Destruction is his Duty not to do it is Atheism I do not say that in such a Condition a man ought to throw away the Evidences of his personal Interest in Christ but I say he cannot keep them There is a two-fold condemnation of a mans self First In respect of Desert when the Soul concludes that it Deserves to be cast out of the presence of God and this is so far from a business of Vnbelief that it is an Effect of Faith Secondly With respect to the Issue and Event when the Soul concludes it shall be Damned I do not say this is the Duty of any one nor do I call them to it But this I say that the End of the
evil Thence is that description of him who hath no Lust truely mortified Gen. 6.5 Every Imagination of the thoughts of his Heart is only evil continually He is alwayes under the power of a strong bent and Inclination to sin And the reason why a natural man is not alwayes perpetually in the pursuit of some one lust night and day is because he hath many to serve every one crying to be satisfied Thence he is carried on with great variety but still in general he lyes towards the satisfaction of self We will suppose then the lust or distemper whose Mortification is inquired after to be in its self a strong deeply rooted habitual Inclination and bent of Will and Affections unto some Actual sin as to the Matter of it though not under that formal Consideration alwayes stirring up Imaginations Thoughts and Contrivances about the Object of it Hence men are said to have their Hearts set upon Evil Rom. 13.14 the bent of their Spirits lyes towards it to make provision for the flesh And a sinfull depraved habit as in many other things so in this differs from all natural or moral habits whatever for whereas they incline the Soul gently and suitably to it self sinfull Habits impell with Violence and Impetuousness whence Lusts are said to fight or wage warre against the Soul 1 Pet. 2.11 to rebell or rise up in Warre with that Conduct and Opposition which is usual therein Rom. 7.23 to lead captive or effectually captivating upon success in battell All works of great violence and impetuousness I might manifest fully from that description we have of it Rom. 7. How it will darken the Mind extinguish Convictions dethrone Reason interrupt the Power and Influence of any Considerations that may be brought to hamper it and break through all into a flame But this is not my present business Now the first thing in Mortification is the weakening of this Habit of Sin or Lust that it shall not with that violence earnestness frequency rise up conceive tumultuate provoke entice disquiet as naturally it is apt to doe Jam. 1.14 15. I shall desire to give one Caution or Rule by the way and it is this Though every Lust doth in its own Nature equally universally incline and impell to Sin yet this muâ—t be granted with these two Limitations 1. One lust or a lust in one man may receive many accidental Improvements heightnings and strengthnings which may give it life power and vigour exceedingly above what another Lust hath or the same lust that is of the same Kind and Nature in another man When a Lust falls in with the natural Constitution and Temper with a suitable course of Life with Occasions or when Sathan hath got a fit handle to it to manage it as he hath a thousand wayes so to doe that Lust growes violent and impetuous above others or more than the same lust in another man Then the steams of it darken the Mind so that though a man knowes the same things as formerly yet they have no power nor influence on the Will but corrupt Affections and Passions are set by it at liberty But especially Lust gets strength by Temptation when a suitable Temptation falls in wiâ—h a Lust it gives it a new life vigour power violence and rage which it seemed not before to have or to be capable of Instances to this purpose might be multiplyed but it is the design of some part of another Treatise to evince thâ—s Observation 2. Some lusts are far more sensible and discernable in their violent Actings than others Paul puts a difference between Uncleanness and all other sins 1 Cor. 6.18 Flee fornication every sin that a man doth is whithout the body but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body Hence the Motions of that sin are more sensible more discernable than of others when perhaps the love of the World or the like is in a Person no less habitually predominant than that yet it makes not so great a combustion in the whole man And on this account some men may goe in their own thoughts and in the eyes of the World for mortified men who yet have in them no less predominancy of Lust than those who cry out with Astonishment upon the account of its perplexing Tumultuatings Yea than those who have by the Power of it been hurried into scandalous sins only their lusts are in and about things which raise not such a tumult in the Soul about which they are exercised with a calmer Frame of Spirit the very Fabrick of Nature being not so nearly concerned in them as in some other I say then that the first thing in Mortification is the weakening of this Habit that it shall not impell and tumultuate as formerly that it shall not intice and draw aside that it shall not disquiet and perplex the killing of its life vigour promptness and readiness to be stirring This is called crucifying the flesh with the lusts thereof Gal. 5.24 that is taking away its Blood and Spirits that give it strength and power The wasting of the body of Death day by day 2 Cor. 4.16 As a Man nayled to the Cross he first struggles and strives and cryes out with great strength and might but as his Blood and Spirits waste his strivings are faint and seldom his Cryes low and hoarse scarce to be heard When a man first sets on a Lust or distemper to deal with it it struggles with great violence to break loose it cryes with Earnestness and Impatiency to be satisfied and relieved but when by Mortification the blood and spirits of it are let out it moves seldome and familiarly cryes sparingly and is scarce heard in the heart It may have sometimes a dying pang that makes an Appearance of great vigour and strength but it is quickly over especially if it be kept from considerable success This the Apostle describes as in the whole Chapter so especially vers 6. of chap. 6. Rom. Sin saith he is crucified it is fastned to the Cross to what End that the body of Death may be destroyed the Power of Sin weakened and abolished by little and little that henceforth we should not serve sin that is that sin might not incline impell us with such Efficacy as to make us servants to it as it hath done heretofore And this is spoken not only with respect to carnal and sensual Affections or Desires of worldly things not only in respect of the Luâ—t of the Flesh the Lust of the Eyâ—s and the pride of Life but also as to the flesh that is in the mind and will in that Opposition unto God which is in us by Nature Of what Nature soever the troubling Distemper be by what wayes soever it make it self out either by impelling to Evil or hindering from that which is good the Rule is the same And unless this be done effectually all after-contention will not compass the End aimed at A man may beat down the bitter Fruit
Messenger of Satan let loose on Paul that he might not be lifted up through the abundance of spiritual Revelations Was it not a Correction to Peters vain Confidence that he was left to deny his Master Now if this be the state and Condition of Lust in its prevalency that God often-times suffers it so to prevail at least to admonish us and to humble us perhaps to chasten and correct us for our general loose and careless walking is it possible that the effect should be removed and the cause continued that the particular Lust should be mortified and the general Course be unreformed He then that would really throughly and acceptably mortifie any disquieting Lust let him take care to be equally diligent in All parts of Obedience and know that every Lust every Omission of Duty is burdensome to God though but one is so to Him Whilest there abides a Treachery in the Heart to indulge to any Negligence in not pressing Universally to all Perfection in Obedience the Soul is weak as not giving Faith its whole work and selfish as considering more the Trouble of Sin than the Filth and Guilt of it and lives under a constant provocation of God so that it may not expect any comfortable Issue in any spiritual Duty that it doth undertake much less in this under Consideration which requires another Principle and Frame of Spirit for its Accomplishment CHAP. IX Particular Directions in relation to the foregoing Case proposed First Consider the dangerous Symptoms of any Lust 1. Inveterateness 2. Peace obtained under it the several wayes whereby that is done 3. Frequency of success in its seductions 4. The Soul 's fighting against it with Arguments only taken from the Event 5. It s being attended with Judiciary Hardness 6. It s withstanding particular dealings from God The State of Persons in whom these things are found THE foregoing General Rules being supposed Particular Directions to the Soul for its guidance under the sense of a disquieting lust or distemper being the main thing I aym at come next to be proposed Now of these some are previous and preparatory and in some of them the work it self is contained Of the first sort are these ensuing First Consider what dangerous symptoms thy Lust hath attending or accompanying it Whether it hath any deadly Mark on it or no If it hath extraordinary Remedies are to be used an ordinary course of Mortification will not do it You will say what are these dangerous Marks and symptoms the desperate Attendances of an indwelling Lust that you intend Some of them I shall name 1 Inveterateness if it hath lyen long corrupting in thy Heart if thou hast suffered it to abide in Power and prevalency without attempting vâ—gorously the killing of it and the healing of the wounds thou hast received by it for some long season thy Distemper is dangerous Hast thou permitted Worldliness Ambition Greediness of Study to eat up other Duties the Duties wherein thou oughtest to hold constant Communion with God for some long season Or Vncleanness to defile thy Heart with vain and foolish and wicked Imaginations for many dayes Thy Lust hath a dangerous symptom So was the Case with David Psal. 38.5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness When a Lust hath layen long in the Heart corrupting festering cankering it brings the Soul to a wofull Condition In such a case an ordinary course of humiliation will not do the work Whatever it be it will by this Means insinuate it self more or less into all the Faculties of the Soul and habituate the Affections to its Company and society it growes familiar to the Mind and Conscience that they do not startle at it as a strange thing but are bold with it as that which they are wonted unto yea it will get such advantage by this Means as often-times to exert and put forth it self without having any notice taken of it at all as it seems to have been with Joseph in his swearing by the Life of Pharaoh Unless some extraordinary Course be taken such a person hath no ground in the world to expect that his latter End shall be Peace For first How will he be able to distinguish between the long abode of an unmortified lust and the dominion of Sin which cannot befall a Regenerate person Secondly How can he promise himself that it shall ever be otherwise with him or that his lust will cease tumultuating and seducing when he sees it fixed and abiding and hath done so for many dayes and hath gone through variety of Conditions with him It may be it hath tryed mercyes and afflictions and those possibly so remarkable that the Soul could not avoyd the taking special notice of them it may be it hath weathered out many a thorn and passed under much variety of Gifts in the Administration of the Word and will it prove an easie thing to dislodge an Inmate pleading a title by Prescription Old neglected wounds are often mortal alwayes dangerous Indwelling Distempers grow resty and stubborn by continuance in ease and quiet Lust is such an Inmate as if it can plead Time and some Prescription will not easily be ejected As it never dyes of it self so if it be not daily killed it will alwayes gather strength 2 Secret Pleas of the Heart for the countenancing of it self and keeping up its peace notwithstanding the abiding of a Lust without a vigorous Gospel Attempt for its Mortification is another dangerous symptome of a deadly Distemper in the Heart Now there be several wayes whereby this may be done I shall name some of them As 1. When upon Thoughts perplexing Thoughts about Sin instead of applying himself to the Destruction of it a man searches his Heart to see what Evidences he can find of a good Condition notwithstanding that sin and Lust so that it may go well with him For a man to gather up his Experiences of God to call them to mind to collect them consider trye improve them is an excellent thing a Duty practised by all the Saints commended in the Old Testament and the New This was Davids work when he communed with his own heart and called to remembrance the former loving kindness of the Lord Psal. 77.6 7 8 9. This is the Duty that Paul sets us to practise 2 Cor. 13.5 And as it is in it self excellent so it hath beauty added to it by a proper Season A time of Tryal or Temptation or Disquietness of the Heart about Sin is a picture of Silver to set off this Golden Apple as Solomon speaks But now to do it for this End to satisfie Conscience which cryes and calls for another purpose is a desperate Device of an heart in love with Sin When a mans Conscience shall deal with him when God shall rebuke him for the sinfull distemper of his Heart if he instead of applying himself to get that Sin pardoned in the Blood of Christ and mortified by his Spirit