which affirms concerning Original Sin thus And this Infection of Nature doth remain yea in them that are regenerated whereby the Lust of the Flesh called in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some do expound the Wisdom some sensuality some the Affection some the Desire of the Flesh is not subject to the Law of God For this must not be understood surely as if the Flesh did always Lust against the Spirit in the Regenerate but only that the Regenerate themselves are liable and obnoxious to these Lustings which on supposal that the Perfect Man were here thought upon by the Compilers of this Article imports no Contradiction to any thing I have delivered The Truth is I have asserted no more concerning the Cureableness of Original Corruption than what is necessary to secure the Interest of Holiness as well as the Honour of the Word and Spirit I have too often had occasion to observe that the stating our Obligation to reduce Original Corruption too laxly ministers not a little to the Carnal Confidence of supine and careless Persons How greedily do some imbibe and how fond are they of this Notion that the Flesh even in the Regenerate does always Lust against the Spirit and the next thing is to look upon their darling Errors as unavoidable Infirmities flowing from the uncurable Distemper of Original Sin To the end therefore that under Colour and Pretence of the Impossibility of a perfect Cure and Restitution of our Nature to perfect Innocence and unspotted Purity we may not sit down contented in an impure State and never advance to those Degrees of Health and Innocence which we may and ought actually arrive at I think fit here to guard the Doctrine of Original Sin with this one general Caution That we be very careful not to mistake Contracted for Natural Corruption not to mistake a Super-induced Nature defaced by all the Slime and Mud which popular Errors and Fashions leave upon it for Original Nature or Nature in that State in which it enters the World 'T is I doubt a very hard thing to find but one arrived at any Maturity of Years in whom Nature is the same thing now that it was in the Womb or the Cradle in whom these are no worse Propensions than what necessarily flow from the Frame and Composition of his Being Alas our Original Depravation be it what it will is very betimes improved by false Principles and foolish Customs by a careless Education and by the Blandishments and Insinuations of the World and every Man is so partial to himself that he is very willing to have his Defects and Errors pass under the Name of Natural and unavoidable ones because this seems to carry in it its own Apology This is a fatal Error and continues Men in their Vices nay gives them peace in them too to their Lives End for why should not a Man forbear attempting what he despairs of effecting To prevent which I earnestly desire my Reader to consider that all who have treated this Doctrine of Original Sin with any Solidity or Prudence do carry the Matter as far at least as I have done They teach not only that Original Corruption may be Prun'd and Lop't but that it may be cut down mortified and dried up That since no Man can assure himself how far he may advance his Conquest over his natural Corruption and the Interest of every Man's safety and Glory obliges him to advance it as far as he can he must never cease fighting against it while it fights against him That since every Sin is so far Mortal as it is voluntary and has as much Guilt in it as Freedom every Man ought to be extreamly jealous least he be subject to any vicious Inclination that is in Reality the Pruduct not of Nature but of Choice And Lastly since though much less than habitual Goodness may constitute a Man in a State of Grace yet nothing less can produce Perfection or a constant Assurance of Eternal Happiness therefore no Man ought to acquiesce while he sees himself short of this and every Man should remember that his Goodness ought to consist in a Habit of those Vertues to which he is by Nature the most averse I have now dispatched My first Enquiry and resolved how far Original Sin is curable The Next is § 2. How this Cure may be effected And here 't is plain what we are to aim at in general for if Original Righteousness consists as I think it cannot be doubted in the Subordination of the Body to the Soul and the Soul to God and Original Corruption in the Subversion of this Order then the Cure must consist in restoring this Subordination by the weakning and reducing the Power of the Body and by quickning and strengthening the Mind and so re-establishing its Soveraignty and Authority The Scriptures accordingly let us know that this is the great Design of Religion and the great Business of Man 1 Cor. 9 25. And every Man that striveth for the Mastery is temperate in all things Now they do it to obtain a corruptible Crown but we an incorruptible And this St. Paul illustrates and explains by his own example in the following Words I therefore so run not as uncertainly so fight I not as one that beateth the Air But I keep under my Body and bring it into Subjection The Preference given to the Cares and Appetites of the Body or of the Mind is the distinguishing Character which constitutes and demonstrates Man either Holy or Wicked they that are of the flesh do mind the things of the flesh and they that are of the Spirit the things of the Spirit Rom. 8.5 And the Threats of the Gospel belong to the Servants of the Flesh its Promises to the Servants of the Spirit For if ye live after the flesh ye shall dye but if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the Body ye shall live Rom. 8.13 He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting Gal. 6.8 I grant that in these Places and elsewhere very commonly as by the Spirit is meant the Mind enlightened and aided by the Grace of God so by the Body or Flesh is meant our inferiour Nature not just such as it proceeds out of the Womb but as it is further depraved by a Carnal and Worldly Conversation However since Original is the Seed or Root of Voluntary or Customary Corruption these Texts do properly and directly enough serve to the Confirmation of the Doctrine for which they are alledg'd This then is the great Duty of Man this is the great End which he is always to have in his Eye the mortifying the Body and entirely subjugating it to the Reason of the Mind Here the Christian Warfare must begin and here end for he who has crucified the Body with the Lusts and Affections thereof has entered into rest as far as this Life
we courted till we be possess'd of a Habit of that Vertue which is a direct Contradiction to it and take as much pleasure in the Obedience as ever we did in the Transgression of a Divine Command 2ly There are some Sins of that provoking Nature so criminal in their Birth and mischievous in their Consequences That one single Act or Commission of one of these is equivalent to a Habit of others such is Murther Idolatry Perjury Adultery these cannot be committed without renouncing Humanity as well as Christianity without resisting the Instincts and Impulses of Nature as well as the Eight of the Gospel and the Grace of the Spirit We must break thorough a great many Difficulties and Terrors e're we can come at these Sins we must commit many other in order to commit one of these we must deliberate long resolve desperately and in Defiance of God and Conscience and what is the Effect of Habit in other Instances is a necessary Preparative in these that is Obduration In this Case therefore the unhappy Man that has been guilty of any one of these must not look upon himself as set free when he is come to a Resolution of never repeating it again But then when he loaths and abhors himself in Dust and Ashes when he has made the utmost Reparation of the Wrong he is capable of when if the Interest of Vertue require it he is content to be oppress'd with Shame and Sufferings when in one word a long and constant Course of Mortification Prayers Tears and good Works have washed off the Stain and Guilt 2. We must be free not only from a Habit but from single Acts of deliberate presumptuous Sin The Reason is plain Mortal Sin cannot be committed without wounding the Conscience grieving the Spirit and renouncing our Hopes in God through Christ for the time at least The wages of Sin is Death is true not only of Habits but single Acts of Deliberate Sin Death is the penalty the Sanction of every Commandment and the Commandment does not prohibit Habits only but single Acts too Nor is there indeed any room for Doubt or Dispute here but in one Case which is If a Righteous Man should be taken off in the very Commission of a Sin which he was fallen into Here indeed much may be said and with much Uncertainty But the Resolution of this Point does not as far as I can see minister to any good or necessary End and therefore I will leave it to God In all other Cases every thing is clear and plain For if the Servant of God fall into a presumptuous Sin 't is universally acknowledg'd that he cannot recover his Station but by Repentance If he repent presently he is safe but if he continue in his Sin if he repeat it he passes into a state of Wickedness widens the Breach between God and his Soul declines insensibly into a Habit of sin and renders his Wound more and more incurable 'T is to little purpose I think here to consider the vast Difference there is in the Commission even of the same sin between a Child of God and a Child of Wrath because a Child of God must not commit it at all if he do though it be with Reluctancy though it be as it were with an imperfect Consent and with a divided Soul though the Awe of Religion and Conscience seems not utterly to have forsaken him even in the midst of his sin though his Heart smite him the very Minute it is finish'd and Repentance and Remorse take off the Relish of the unhappy Draught yet still 't is Sin 't is in its Nature Damnable and nothing but the Blood of Jesus can purge the Guilt 3. The Perfect Man may be supposed not only actually to abstain from Mortal Sin but to be advanced so far in the Mortification of all his inordinate Affections as to do it with Ease and Pleasure with Constancy and Delight For it must reasonably be presumed that his Victory over ungodly and worldly Lust is more confirm'd and absolute his Abhorrence of them more deep and sensible more fixt and lasting than that of a Beginner or Babe in Christ The Regenerate at first fears the Consequence of sin but by Degrees he hates the Sin it self The Purity of his Soul renders him now incapable of finding any pleasure in what he doted on before and the Love of God and Vertue raiseth him above the Temptations which he was wont to fall by old things are past away and all things are become new 4. Lastly The Perfect Man's Abstinence is not only more easie and steady but more entire and compleat also than that of others He has a regard to the End and Design of the Law to the Perfection of his Nature to the Purity and Elevation of his Sowl and therefore he expounds the Prohibitions of the Law in the most enlarg'd Sense and interprets them by a Spirit of Faith and Love He is not content to refrain from Actions directly criminal but shuns every Appearance of Evil and labours to mortifie all the Dispositions and Tendencies of his Nature towards it and to decline whatever Circumstances of Life are apt to betray the Soul into a Love of this World or the Body he has crucified the World and the Body too That Pleasure that Honour that Power that Profit which captives the Sinners tempts and tries and disquiets the Novice is but a burthen a trouble to him he finds no Gust no relish in these things He is so far from Intemperance so far from Wantonness so far from Pride and Vanity that could he without any Disadvantage to the Interest of Religion he would imitate the Meanness the Plainness the Laboriousness the Self-denial of our Saviour's Life not only in Disposition and Affection of his Soul but even in his outward State and Deportment and would prefer it far above the Pomp and Shew of Life In one word he enquires not how far he may Enjoy and be Safe but how far he may deny himself and be wise he is so far from desiring forbidden Satisfactions that he is unwilling and afraid to find too much Satisfaction in the natural and necessary Actions of an animal Life I need not prove this to any one who has read the foregoing Chapters for it is what I have been doing throughout this Treatise It is nothing but what is consonant to the whole Tenour of the Scripture and to the Example of the best Times And 't is conformable to what the best Authors have writ who have any thing of Life and Spirit in their Works or have any true Notion of the great Design of Christian Religion which is an heavenly Conversation Let any one but cast his Eye on St. Basil or any other after him who aim'd at the same thing I now do the promoting Holiness in the World in the Beauty and Perfection of it and he will acknowledge that I am far from having carried this matter too high I
most sanctified Nature and some Venial Defects and Imperfections or other may still leave room for the greatest of Saints to extend his Conquest Besides 't is hard to determine or fix the Bounds of Knowledge and every new Degree of Light seems to make way for more So that after all nothing hinders but that the Path of the Perfect Man may as well with respect to his Righteousness as his Fortunes be like the shining Light which shineth more and more unto the Perfect day I mean the Day of a blessed Eternity The Motives to Perfection the Fruit of it the Means and Methods of attaining it laid down in the First Section will all serve here therefore I have nothing to offer of this sort only if I forgot to pay that Deference to the Institutions of our Church which they justly deserve I do it now and do earnestly perswade my Reader to a strict Observance of them I do not only think this necessary to maintain a Face of Religion amongst us but also highly conducive to true Perfection I am fully satisfied That there is a peculiar Presence of God in his publick Ordinances That the Devotion of good Men does mutually inflame and enkindle one another That there is a holy Awe and Reverence seizes the Minds of good Men when they draw near to God in publick Worship And finally That if the Offices of our Liturgy do not affect our Hearts 't is because they are very much indisposed and very poorly qualified for the true and spiritual Worship of God CHAP. X. Of Zeal as it consists in Good Works AND now let not any one think that I have taken Pains to advance the Illumination of a Sinner to knock off his Chains and Fetters to raise him as far as might be above the Corruption of Nature and the Defects and Infirmities of Life to scatter those lazy Fogs and Mists which hung upon his Spirits and to enrich him with Heroick Vertues let no Man I say fancy that I have laboured to do all this that after all my Perfect Man might sit down like an Epicurean God and enjoy himself might talk finely of Solitary Shades and Gardens and spend a precious Life fitted for the noblest Designs in a sluggish Retirement No no as Vertue is the Perfection of Human Life so is Action the Perfection of Vertue and Zeal is that Principle of Action which I require in a Saint of God Accordingly the Scriptures describe this great this happy Man as full of the Holy Ghost fervent in Spirit zealous of good Works Such a one was Moses mighty in Word and Deed as well as learned in all the Knowledge of the Egyptians Such a one was St. Stephen as full of a Divine Ardour and irresistible Fervency of Spirit as of an irresistible Wisdom And such a one was the excellent Cornelius a devout Man one that had transfus'd and deriv'd the fear of God from his own Bosom throughout his Family and Relations and Friends too one that gave much Alms and prayed to God always What need I multiply Instances this is that which distinguishes the Perfect Man from all others the Victories of Faith the Labours of Charity the Constancy and Patience of Hope and the Ardors of Devotion Need I here distinguish a Zeal of God from the Fierceness of Faction the Cruelty of Superstition from the wakeful and indefatigable Activity of Avarice and Ambition from the unruly Heats of Pride and Passion and from the implacable Fury of Revenge it needs not No foolish no false fantastick earthly or devilish Principle can counterfeit a Divine Zeal 'T is a Perfection that shines with such a peculiar Lustre with such an Heavenly Majesty and Sweetness that nothing else can imitate it 't is always pursuing Good the Honour of God and the Happiness of Man it contends earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints but it contends as earnestly too to root out Wickedness and implant the Righteousness of the Gospel in the World It is not eager for the Articles of a Sect or Party and unconcern'd for Catholick ones When it presses for Reformation it begins at home and sets a bright Example of what it would recommend to others 'T is meek and gentle under its own Affronts but warm and bold against those which are offer'd to God In a word though Love fill its Sails Divine Wisdom and Prudence give it Ballast and it has no Heat but what is temper'd and refracted by Charity and Humility Need I in the next place fix or state the various Degrees of Zeal Alas it is not requisite Zeal being nothing else but an ardent Thirst of promoting the Divine Glory by the best Works 'T is plain the more excellent the Work and the more it cost the more Perfect the more exalted the Zeal that performs it When like Mary we quit the Cumber and Destraction of this World and chuse Religion for our Portion then do we love it in good earnest When with the Disciples we can say Lord we have forsaken all and followed thee or are ready to do so when we are continually blessing and praising God when if the Necessities of Christ's Church require it we are ready to call nothing our own when we are prepared if the Will of God be so to resist even unto Blood when nothing is dear nothing delightful to us but God and Holiness then have we reached the Height of Zeal In a word Zeal is nothing else but the Love of God made Perfect in us And if we would see it drawn to the Life we must contemplate it in the blessed Jesus who is the Perfect Pattern of Heroick Love How boundless was his Love when the whole World and how transcendent when a World of Enemies was the Object of it how indefatigable was his Zeal how wakeful how meek how humble how firm and resolv'd His Labours and Travels his Self-denial Prayers and Tears his Silence and Patience his Agony and Blood and charitable Prayers poured out with it for his Persecutors instruct us fully what Divine Love what Divine Zeal is And now even at this time Love reigns in him as he reigns in Heaven Love is still the Predominant the darling Passion of his Soul Worthy art thou O Jesus to receive Honour and Glory and Dominion worthy art thou to sit down with thy Father on his Throne worthy art thou to judge the World because thou hast loved because thou hast been zealous unto Death because thou hast overcome Some there are indeed who have followed thy bright Example though at a great Distance First Martyrs and Confessors Next those belov'd and admir'd Princes who have govern'd their Kingdoms in Righteousness to whom the Honour of God and the Good of the World has been far dearer than Pleasure than Empire than absolute Power or that ominous Blaze that is now called Glory And next follow hold this is the Work of Angels they must Marshal the Field of Glory in the End