soul. And therefore the longer any man lives in sin, the sweeter it is to him. Weariness and delight are hardly inconsistent. Secondly, Nothing is weary, while it works all 'de suo,' of itself, and that which is its own: that which tires a faculty is the fetching in of subsidiary spirits, which being exhaused and spent, the faculty giveth over working, and is said to be weary. The eye is never weary with the act of seeing, which is its own work; but it is said to be weary, merely because of the deficiency of those animal spirits which are from without, sent in unto it to assist it in its own work; which if they did, in the same measure and strength, without decay, flow to the faculty, it could never be tired in its operation. So the locomotive faculty, when the hand worketh, or the foot walketh, would never be weared in itself,--if those spirits which are requisite to strengthen it in its exercise, did not lessen, and fail, and breathe out in the motion. But now our lusts make us flesh all over; in them we work all de nostro,' of our own. It is as natural to the heart to lust, as it is to the eye to see; and in this respect more too; for though the act of seeing be the eye's alone, yet the eye stands in need of foreign assistance from the heart, which is the forge and seminary of spirits, to continue the exercise of this act. But the heart is wholly within itself furnished with all the strength and principles of lusting: or, if it were not, yet those spirits which temptations of Satan or the world infuse to assist it, do never fail nor waste away; but as waters drawn out of a fountain, the faster they are called in, the more plentifully they come. Thirdly, Original sin is indefatigable, never weary of warring, of tempting, of raging, of intruding, of bringing forth, of polluting all we do, because it is unsatisfied. "The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing '." It is of vast and infinite desires; and the more it is supplied with that in which it seeketh satisfaction, the more greedy it grows; as natural motions, the longer they continue, the swifter they are. "A sinner if he should live for ever, would sin for ever"," and never say, It is enough. "Every imagination," every creature that is shaped and formed in the I Eccles. i. 8. m Omnis peccator peccat in suo æterno. Greg. heart, every purpose, desire, motion, ebullition, is "only evil every day," saith the text; no period, no stint; "evil from the childhood ","-"ex quo excussus est ex utero," from the time of breaking forth out of the womb,—as the learned observe from the property of the word. Evil comes out of the heart, as sparkles do out of fire, never cease rising while the fire continues. Notably is this insatiableness of lust expressed by the prophet in two excellent similitudes. First, from drunkenness, which makes a man still more greedy, doth not extinguish but inflame the perverse desire; none call out for wine faster than they which have had too much before. Secondly, from Hell P and the grave, which have no stint nor measure. The cloud which the prophet' shewed his servant, was no bigger at first than a hand; after, it grew to cover all the heavens, and the reason was, it rose out of the sea :-so the sin of man will continually grow and overflow all his life; and the reason is, it hath a sea of lust continually to supply it. Therefore in the Scripture it is called 'an effusion",' a rushing out, an æstus, like the foaming' or boiling of the sea; a strange excess of riot, unto which,' saith the apostle, wicked men run:' a greediness, a covetous" improvement of uncleanness, a burning of lust, a fulness of all mischief. Now from this insatiableness of lust, must needs follow the indefatigableness of it too. When a thing is out of the place of its own rest, it never leaves moving naturally till it have gotten to it: therefore inasmuch as lust can never carry the heart to any thing which it may rest in, needs must it flutter about, and be always in motion. If there were an infinite space of air, the motion of a stone in that space (if there were any motion) must needs be infinite, because it would no where have a centre, or middle place to hold it :-for there can be no medium where there are no extremes. Desires are the wings, upon which the soul moves; if there be still things found to entice the desires, and none to satisfy them, no marvel if the soul be still upon the wing, in perpetual agitation, like the wind which con 6 n Gen. viii. 21. • Amama Antibarb. biblic. 1. 2. p. 403. Isai. v. 14. 1 Pet. iv. 4. Eph. iv. 19. q Prov. xxx. 15, 16. r1 Kin. xviii. 43. Jude v. 13. Isai. lvii. 20. • * Rom. i. 27, 29. P Hab. ii. 5. 6. • Ασωτίας ἀνάχυσις. Ακαθαρσίας πλεονεξία. tinually whirleth about,-or the rivers, which never leave running into the sea, because they never fill it. But it may be objected, that the Scripture makes mention of the weariness which sin brings upon men, of that impotency of sinning which grows upon them. The Sodomites wearied themselves' in their rage against Lot. So the prophet saith of wicked men, that "they weary themselves to commit iniquity." I answer, that these very places prove the indefatigableness of lust, in that it never gives over, even when the instruments thereof are tired. The Israelites were weary of gathering straw; but were the task-masters weary of exacting it? The members may be weary of serving their law; but is the law of the members weary of quickening or commanding them? Nay, herein is seen the cruel tyranny of lust against us, that it never leaves drawing, enticing, heartening, supplying us for sin, even when we are quite wearied in the service of it. "Thou wert wearied in thy way; yet saidst thou not There is no hope"." Thou never didst consider, I have thus long drudged in the service of sin, and have found 'no fruit received no such satisfaction as I promised myself; and therefore why should I weary myself any longer? Why should I "labour for that which is no bread, and which satisfieth not?" Thou never didst bethink thyself of returning to the right way; but wentest on with wonted madness and rage still, though thou foundest for certain, that there was no profit in thy evil way; that thou didst sow nothing but wind, and shouldest reap nothing but a whirlwind. Balaam's lust was too swift for his weary beast; when the ass was frighted and durst go no farther, yet the prophet was as unwearied as at the first. Lust is like a furious rider, never weary of the way, though the poor beast which must serve the rider's turn, may quickly be worn out. "Woe to him that loadeth himself with thick clay," saith the prophet; "How long?"-He may have enough to load him; he can never have enough to weary him. He may load his house, his memory, his bags, his wits, his time, his conscience; but he can never fill his hell. He may quickly Eccles. i. 6, 7. z Jer. ix. 5. a Isai. lvii. 10. c Isai. Iv. 2. f Hab. ii. 4, 5. b Rom. vi 21. e Hos. viii. 7. have enough to sink him; but he can never have enough to satisfy him. As a ship may be overladen with gold or silver even unto sinking, and yet have compass and sides enough to hold ten times more; so the heart will quickly be loaded "unto sinking, but never filled unto satiety. In one word, we must, in sin, distinguish between the acts, and the concupiscence from whence that act ariseth; or in the faculties between the life and the lust of them; between their natural strength and activity, and their law of corruption. The liveliness and strength of the faculties may quickly be wasted, and yet the lust strong still. Sin in act hath a concurrence of the powers of the soul, and services of the body, which in their motions may quickly languish. But yet as the philosophers say of the soul, though it may seem tired and spent, and waxen old, because the body in which it resides, grows unfit for its service, yet the soul indeed itself doth not grow old; but if it had equal instruments, would be as vigorous in the old mani, as in the youngest: so we may say of sin, though the body may grow weary of adultery, or the mind weary of plodding mischief, or the thoughts weary of contriving deceit, yet 'concupiscentia non senescit:' Lust itself grows never old nor weary.-Nay, as the water when it is stopped in its principal course, yet one way or other where it best may, it will make a shift to find a vent, and to discover itself; even so lust in the heart will, one way or other,when the mind and faculties, the body and members, are quite tired out in the principal service,—make a shift to break forth into some easier vent. When the adultery in the heart hath worn out the body, and spurred it so long in the unclean race, that it now sinks under the burden, and hath no more blood to lose, yet even then it will find a vent; and such a man will have eyes full of adultery, a tongue full of adultery, thoughts and speculations full of adultery, a memory in the review of former lewdness full of adultery. The thief on the cross had as good a will to crucify Christ, to nail him, and pierce him as any others, but he was fast enough for doing this; yet his malice will find a vent into his tongue, to revile and rail upon him. Balaam's tongue could not execute the ■ Inter vivacitatem et libidinem. Aug. cont. Jul. 1. 4. c. 14. h Anima non senescit. Scal. de Sub. 1 Εἰ λάβοι ὁ πρεσβύτης σῶμα τοίονδε βλέπει ὥσπερ kal véos. Arist. de Anim. 1. i. c. 4, k office to which he was hired; yet it will have a vent, and shew itself in journeying, counselling, and consulting how the people might draw a curse upon themselves. As a dog may have his stomach crammed 'usque ad vomitum,' and yet his appetite unsatisfied, for he presently returns to his vomit; so though a man may load and weary himself in the acting of sin, yet lust itself is never satisfied, and therefore never wearied. What a watch then should we keep over our evil hearts! what pains should we take, by prayer and unweariedness of spirit, to suppress this enemy! If there were any time, wherein the flesh did sit still and sleep, wherein the water did not run and seek for vent, we might then haply slacken our care: but since it is ever stirring in us, we should ever be stirring against it, and using all means to lessen and abate it:-since the heart is unwearied in evil, we "should not faint, nor be weary of well-doing." Since the heart is so abundant in evil, we should abound likewise in every good work of the Lord;' always considering what advantage this labour will give us against the toil of sin. In lust, a man wearieth himself, and hath no hope; but here our labour is not in vain in the Lord, we shall reap if we faint not:' and a little glory in heaven, nay a little comfort in earth, though neither one nor other may be called little,—will be a most plentiful recompense, pressed down, and running over,' for any the greatest pains that can be taken in this spiritual watch. 'Ye have need of patience,' saith the apostle, to go through the will of God, to be in a perpetual combat and defiance with an enemy that will give no respite nor breathing-time. The temptations of Satan, the solicitations of the world, are not so many nor heavy clogs to men in their race, as that to which they are fastened; this weight that presseth down, this besieging sin which is ever enticing, clamouring, haling, rebelling, intruding, with love, with strength, with law, with arguments, with importunities, calling a man from his right way. From this consideration, the apostle immediately infers this duty of patience: "Lay aside every weight," saith the apostle," and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race that is set before us." And we must * Num. xxxi. 16. Mic. vi. 3. |