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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10391	The description of fleshly lusts. Or a profitable and fruitfull sermon vpon the first Epistle of Saint Peter, Chap. 2. vers. 11. 12. Preached and penned by that famous, learned, iudicious, orthodoxall, holy, wise, and skilfull preacher and servant of God, now deceased, and with his God triumphing in Heaven, Iohn Randall, Batchelour of Divinitie, pastour of St. Andrewes Hubbart in little East cheape London, sometimes fellow of Lincolne Coledge in Oxford. And now published, to the glory of God, the edification of his church, and the honourable memoriall of the author, by William Holbrooke, preacher of the word of God in the church aforesaid	Randall, John, 1570-1622.; Holbrooke, William.	1622 (1622)	STC 20669; ESTC S102397	17,941	33

a dutie to be besought and crouched vnto by others but himselfe will beseech none It may be he succeedes him in place though that may be questioned too but in meeknesse of Spirit and the performance of his Ministeriall function he doth as farre degenerate from Peter as euer that Idolatrous King Manassah did degenerate from the steppes of his good Father Hezekiah And thus much of the Insinuations Now to the parts of the Exhortation and first of the former part contained in the 11. Verse the mortifying and subduing of the lusts of the Flesh First of the matter it selfe and secondly of the motiues whereby the Apostle enforces this Exhortation vpon them First of the matter To abstaine from fleshly lusts By lusts we are here to vnderstand the dispositions or inclinations that are within vs by the flesh wee are to vnderstand our whole nature and whatsoeuer in vs is not regenerate by the spirit of God all which must be abstained from they must be mortified and subdued within vs according to that Galatians the fift Chapter vers 24. They that are Christs haue crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof that is they haue crucified their nature and the dispositions of their nature Euery one of these words require a seuerall Discourse and therefore I will treate of them seuerally and first of the lusts secondly of the flesh thirdly of abstaining First of lusts God in the beginning created Man vpright in nature and without any blemish but because Man was but a creature and therefore could not haue all perfections in himselfe the Lord God furnished him with an holy appetite and desire whereby he might be carried to seeke after God in whom onely he might find and enioy all perfections This the Serpent perceiuing tooke occasion hereby to sollicite Eue not to desire to enioy God but to desire to become God abusing this affection that was giuen to Man to make him happie and turning it to his vtter bane and destruction The end which the Serpent proposed to her to be as God was a thing much to be desired and the Instrument which he vsed the Apple of the forbidden tree was very pleasant and much also to be desired as is sayd Gen. 3.6 and so the Serpent robbed the Woman and robbed her Husband and robbed all their Posteritie of that godly affection that holy appetite and desire which the Lord had furnished Mans nature withall Euer since which first peruerting of our will and desire partly by the propagation of this infection from our Parents into vs and partly by the Iustice of God which hath inflicted it vpon vs as a curse of that first sinne all the whole many of vs are peruerted in our wills and so corrupted in all our desires that now the inclinations of our nature are no longer desires as they were in the beginning but they are lusts and concupiscences nothing els but lewd and inordinate affections For as a little Leauen leaueneth the whole lumpe euen so this Lust hath infected our whole nature that now wee are but a masse and a heape of Lusts Looke into all our affections they are nothing but Lusts looke into all our actions they are nothing but Lusts looke into all our sinnes our originall sinne is nothing but Lust as S. Iames teaches Chapter 1. Vers 14. Euery man is tempted he is drawne away by his owne Lust and Chap. 4. vers 1. Whence are warres and contentions Are they not hence euen of your Lusts Our actuall sinnes are nothing but lusts as the Apostle shews Galat. 5.19 20. Where he calls the workes of the flesh the lusts of the flesh and the 1. Ioh. Chapter 2. vers 16. Whatsoeuer is in the world as the lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh and pride of life and this is a kind of lust too Looke into all the parts of our bodies and powers of our soules and you shall finde nothing but Lusts in them our eyes Lust after delightfull sights our eares Lust after pleasant sounds our stomackes after sweete meates our hearts Lust after foolish vanities and the very spirit that is within vs sayth the Apostle Lusteth after enuie Iam. 4.5 So then the Apostle here exhorting these Christians to abstaine from Lusts hath chosen a most significant and compendious word to expresse his meaning he bids them to abstaine from Lusts Wherein we may obserue first that this is a generall dehortation from all kindes of sinne for Lust is the generall name for them all not onely against Adultery and Wantonnesse which is the most naturall meaning of Lust but against Pride and Enuie and Othes and Blasphemies and euery other sinne For he would not haue the children of God be free from one sinne and defile themselues with another free from Adultery but defiled with Drunkennesse or free from Drunkennesse but defiled with Envie but he would haue them to be entirely holy and as in the first verse of this chapter he willed them to lay aside all dissimulation all maliciousnesse all euill speaking so here he willes them to abstaine from all sinne What is it vnto thy health if thou be free from one disease and thy body infected with another thou art still but a diseased man and what is it to the comelines of thy body to haue a faire face but to want the proportion of thy other limmes Thou art still but a deformed man and what is it to the gracing of thy Soule in the sight of God to be cleare from one sinne so long as another sinne raignes within thee but if thou canst sweepe away these lusts which the Apostle here speakes of then thou art cleansed of all thy diseases to bee a sound Christian and ridd of all thy deformities to be gratious and acceptable in the sight of the Lord. But wee may take this exhortation to be more particular as if the Apostle should counsell these Christians to abstaine especially from such lusts as the Gentiles amongst whom they liued were addicted vnto that if they were giuen to riot these should especially endeuour themselues to sobrietie if they were giuen to wantonnes these should especially labour to chastity if they were giuen to malice these should especially labour to be most kind and gentle that as it is in the 12. verse when they should see the good examples of these Christians they might learne by them to be drawne from their sins and so glorifie God in the day of their visitation Or els wee may take the exhortation to bee yet more particular as if the Apostle should here counsell them to enter into their owne hearts and there to make iust tryall what speciall sinne they did feele to rage most within them and thereof they should especially labour to purge themselues for commonly euery man even the best of vs all hath his proper sinne some one sinne and some another raging within vs aboue the rest and I know not whether this be that Malus Genius

extended to our whole nature both of soule and bodie except we be regenerate and borne anew so that whatsoeuer is in vs vnregenerate it is here called by the name of flesh For so it is taken Mat. 16.17 where Christ sayth vnto Peter flesh and bloud hath not revealed this vnto thee that is nothing that is in the nature of man hath taught thee this but it is the speciall worke of the spirit of God And in the 1. to the Corinthians Chap. 2. vers 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The naturall man he sayth not the carnall man but euen the whole nature of man soule and all is so darkened that it cannot perceiue the things that are of God and therefore the Apostle calls our whole man Corpus peccati The bodie of sinne Rom. 6.6 because sinne hath infected our whole man nay he calles it Corpus mortis Rom. 7.24 The body of death because it is in it selfe wholly cut off from the life of God wherewith we were quickened before our fall The Reasons why the vnregenerate man and in the best of vs the vnregenerate part is called by the name of flesh as here in this place are two First because either they proceed meerely of the flesh or at least are wrought by the flesh Some lusts proceed meerely of the flesh our originall sinne it is not to be thought to arise in our soule for that is created holy and infused holy from aboue into euery one of vs at our first quickening in our Mother but it is the materiall part the flesh which we draw from our Parents that is infected with sinne in it selfe and as soone as ever the soule is vnited and ioyned vnto it it infects the soule also As Cosbi the Midianitish Woman defiled Zimri the Israelite by lying with him as we reade Numbers 25. And as Salomons wiues strange women turned his heart after other Gods 1 King 11.4 And so the flesh which we receiue of our Parents as soone as it is married as it were vnto the soule as soone as they are knit into one nature the flesh by clipping and embracing the soule doth defile the soule and turne it after carnall lusts and when once this lust this originall infection hath seized vpon vs in body and soule too then our nature is become like a fiery Furnace that continually sends forth many flames of Concupiscence it still egges vs on and provokes vs vnto sinne as the wife of Putiphar did sollicite Ioseph day by day to commit wickednesse and to sinne against God Other lusts though they doe not arise out of the flesh yet they are wrought in vs by the flesh It is the olde pollicie of Satan to seeke first to overcome the weakest that afterward he may overcome the strongest he set first vpon Eue that so he might overcome Adam and so still he sets first vpon our flesh which is the weakest and most inclinable to sinne that afterward he may overcome the spirit which if it were not for the perswasions and allurements of the flesh would withstand sinne For the Devill could never doe any thing against vs but that he findes fit matter in our flesh to worke vpon As our Sauiour spake of himselfe Ioh. 14.30 The Prince of this world commeth and hee finds nothing in me so if we had not any corruption in our owne flesh Satan could even hardly fasten any temptation vpon vs. No Beloved here that is verified which our Saviour spake in another case Inimici hominis domestici eius The enemies of a man are they that are of his owne houshold and that also which our Saviour proved by his owne experience He that dippes his finger with me in the dish it is he that lifts vp his heele against me euen the same flesh which we nourish in our owne bosome lifts vp it selfe against vs to destroy vs. Here then let the children of God learne hereby to beware of their owne flesh and whensoever Satan tempts thee take heed that thy owne flesh doe not play the traytor with thee and deliver thee over into the will and power of thine enemies And let this kindle in every one of vs a serious desire to be dissolved out of this earthly Tabernacle which we beare about vs and to be ridde from this treacherous enemy of our owne flesh 2. A second Reason why the lusts of the vnregenerate are called after the name of flesh is because they tend to the cherishing of the flesh the carnall or naturall part For why doth the Epicure wallow vp and downe in all licentiousnesse and the Voluptuous man sell himselfe over to the pleasures of this life and the Covetous man obey his vnsatiable lust and desire of gaine but that all thinges seeme to tend to the cherishing of their owne flesh I say seeme to tend because it is but in appearance onely for indeede these things are so farre from cheririshing the flesh that contrariwise they are the very spoyle of our flesh and decay of our Nature Voluptuousnesse is called by the Holy Ghost 1. Cor. 6.18 a sinne against a mans owne body Gluttony and Drunkennesse shorten mens liues and deforme their bodies and marre their constitutions and Covetousnesse wasts away a mans spirits and sokes vp the moisture of Nature Let this therefore teach vs to bee carefull and circumspect that wee be not deceived by the outward appearance of sinne though it make never such a goodly shew of cherishing our nature seeing indeede it is the very bane of our nature hurtfull to our bodies in this world and the vtter destruction both of Soule and Body in the world to come 3. Lastly wee are to speake in one word concerning Abstinence which is the third point here to bee spoken of Abstaine from fleshly lusts As a carefull Phisitian that is desirous to recover the health of his patient doth giue him speciall charge to abstaine from such meates and drinkes as are enemies to his health so the Apostle here wils this chosen people of God to abstaine from fleshly Lustes and to forbeare them as they loue their Soules health In the first Epistle to the Corint chap. 9. ver 25. The Apostles enforces this exhortation vpon vs by way of Comparison Every one that proveth Masteries sayth hee abstaines from all things that might bring his body out of temper and this he doth for a corruptible Crowne how much more ought wee to abstaine from all fleshly lustes which will bring our Soules out of temper especially considering that the Crowne which wee striue for is incorruptible and everlasting in Heaven And this is the true Abstinence which the Lord requireth at our hands to absteine from sinne to abstaine from lustes to abstaine from the workes of the flesh Though we should abstaine eyther from certaine meates never so precisely or from all meates so farre as it is possible yet if we doe not withall abstaine from sinne and from the lusts of the flesh it is no abstinence at all but rather fond superstition Wherefore beloved let vs hearken to this cousell of the Apostle and obserue it in our dayly practise to abstaine from fleshly lustes Doth our corrupt nature at any time aske any thing at our hands Let vs deny it and say it nay and forbeare such desires Doth our flesh sollicite vs to do or thinke any thing that is against our obedience to God Let vs deny our flesh and forbeare all such lusts Indeede if we were our owne then might wee iustly take our libertie to our selues and doe what wee list but the Apostle 1 Cor. 6.19 Tels vs plainely that wee are not our owne but are bought with a price even with the most precious blood of Iesus Christ and therefore wee must bee ruled by him that bought vs because wee are his and abstaine from our owne lusts and deny our owne Flesh and Nature because wee are not our owne Our Saviour tels vs wee must denie and forsake our selues or els wee are not to follow him Luke 9.23 Oh let vs follow him in the regeneration by abstaining from our fleshly lusts which fight against our Soules and so wee shall receiue at length the end of our Faith the salvation of our Soules even that vncorruptible Crowne that Crowne of righteousnesse spoken of by the Apostle Saint Paul in the first Epistle to the Corinthians chap 9. ver 25. and the second Epistle to Timothie chap 4. ver 8. which the Lord the righteous Iudge shall giue at that day to all them that loue that his appearing and is attaineable by and promised onely to those that thus abstayne from and overcome their fleshly lusts 1 Cor. 9.25 Rom 8.13 Revel 2.26 Revel 3.5 which that wee may so doe as wee are here exhorted let vs conclude with prayer calling vpon God for the spirit of power to enable vs thereunto and that through Iesus Christ to whom with God the Father and the blessed Spirit three distinct Persons and yet but one God bee all Honor and Glory both now and for ever Amen Amen

that ever God bestowed vpon man there ensued a Commandement vpon it as we reade Gen. 2.15.16 that the Lord placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and withall gaue him Commandement that he should abstaine from the forbidden fruit Here then we see beloved the right and true vse of the blessings of God vpon vs so many mercies as he shews vnto vs we must esteeme to be so many spurres to pricke vs forward to well doing and to be so many Messengers sent vnto vs from God to call vpon vs for the due performance of all such Christian Duties as belong to our severall callings Satan himselfe though a malicious depraver and abuser of all Gods blessings towards vs yet doth acknowledge to Gods owne face that his blessings do exact a dutie at our hands Doth Iob serue God for nought saith he Iob 1.9 As if Satan should haue said It is true indeed that Iob is an vpright and iust man one that feares God and eschewes euill but doth he so for nought No he hath great reason for it For thou hast made an hedge about him and about all that he hath on euery side Now Beloued if Satan thought it reason that Iob should serue God because God had blessed Iob oh how wicked is our ingratitude if when we haue receiued fauours and blessings at Gods hands as we doe receiue daily we doe not in lieu and requitall thereof apply our selues to Gods seruice The Apostle in the twelfth to the Romanes ver 1. hath giuen vs an excellent President in this case I beseech you saith he by the mercies of God that you giue vp your bodies a liuing sacrifice holy and acceptable vnto God He hath no better meanes to adiure vs as it were and to bind vs to offer vp our selues a liuing sacrifice vnto God then the mercies and fauours which he hath bestowed vpon vs. To apply this present case more particularly to our selues consider aright I beseech you the case of these faithfull to whom the Apostle makes this Exhortation and when you haue compared their case with your owne case then tell me if this same Exhortation may not as justly nay much more justly be enforced vpon vs. These were Gentiles and so are we these had sitten in darknes and so did we these were aliants from the covenant and so were we but God had chosen them a peculiar people to himselfe and so he hath chosen vs he brought them into a marveilous light and so he hath done by vs he called them to the knowledge of his truth and so he hath called vs he redeemed them with the precious bloud of Iesus Christ and so he hath redeemed vs he regenerated them by his spirit and so he hath done vs therefore this Dutie lies as hard vpon vs as vpon them and this same Exhortation is to be prest as forcibly vpon vs as vpon them wherefore Dearely Beloved I beseech you as strangers and Pilgrims to abstaine from fleshly lusts which fight against the soule Nay to goe a little further in this application because God hath gone a great deale further in blessing vs they were but young Novices in the Faith as it seemes to be implied in the second verse of this Chapter New borne babes but we haue beene long trained vp in the knowledge his blessed Gospell hauing had free passage amongst vs aboue these fortie yeares they were dispersed abroad in the world as appeares Chapter 1. vers 1. and scattered here and there but we enioy the Communion of the Word Sacraments in the vnitie of this one particular Church they were strangers where they liued but we sit at home vnder our Vine and vnder our Fig-tree as the Prophet speakes and Gods holy name be euerlastingly praised for it We need not to gee begge the bread of life in forreine Nations for we haue it brought home euen to our dores much more iustly therefore doe these extraordinary blessings of God bind vs to this Dutie then theirs did them and much more earnestly must this Exhortation be enforced vpon vs then vpon them wherefore Dearely beloued I beseech you you that haue receiued this full measure of loue and mercy at Gods hands I beseech you to abstaine from fleshly lusts which fight against the Soule If we had giuen to him first then these his blessings had beene but requitalls of our former kindnesse but now seeing he hath loued vs when we did not loue him seeing he hath thus blessed vs of his owne free good will oh how streightly doe these vndeserued fauours of God exact this Christian dutie at our hands euen our holines of life wherefore I beseech you nay you must know that the loue of God doth beseech you or rather impose it vpon you as a necessary Dutie to abstaine from fleshly lusts c. And let this suffice to be obserued concerning this point Now I come to the Insinuations and first of the first Dearely Beloved I call it an Insinuation because the Apostle by this terme of Kindnesse doth artificially close with them and wind both himselfe and his Exhortation into their hearts For commonly the nature of Man when it is counselled and advised by others is wont straight wayes to looke into the heart of his Counsellor to search out with what affection he speakes it and accordingly as he findes the affection of his Counsellor so will he esteeme of his Counsell If a man willes vs to amend our manners thereby vpbraiding vs with our faults or bewraying any bitternesse against vs we will reiect his counsell though never so good If a man advise vs to any good course for his owne profit or for some advantage that himselfe may get by it wee refuse his advise though never so profitable but if once we be perswaded that he loues vs and that for loue and good will he advises vs to any courses presently we hearken to him and embrace his counsell and are willing and readie to put it in practise Wherefore our Apostle deales very skilfully here with these Christians first protesting his deare and tender loue towards them that he doth not counsell them to this for any shame he would bring vpon them or for any vantage that hee should procure to himselfe but meerely for his heartie loue and affection that he beares vnto them therefore they are in no case either to contemne it or suspect it but rather to embrace it with all willingnesse And here is an excellent Rule for vs to frame our counsels by that whensoever any of vs reprooues his brother for any sinne as for drunkennesse swearing vncleannesse or any such prophane carriage and counsels him to amend it we must take heed that it come not from any gall or bitternesse in our hearts for then it marres our Exhortation and hardens him more in his sinne but it must come from loue within vs and that from a tender and deare loue towards him if ever we desire that our counsell should take