off, and to those that are near."—It was the office of Christ, as well to purify as to redeem, as well to sanctify as to justify us so that if a man say he belongs to Christ, and yet bringeth not forth fruit unto God, but lives still married to his former lusts, and is not cleansed from his filthiness,he makes God a liar', because he believeth not the record which he gives of his Son, (for he will not have either a barren", or an adulterous spouse): yea, he putteth Christ to shame, as if he had undertaken more than he were able to perform. Besides, Christ being light, a star, a sun, never comes to the heart without self-manifestation, such evidence as cannot be gainsaid: unto him belongs the royal prerogative, to be himself the witness to his own grace. And when the Papists' demand of us, 'How we can be sure, that this testimony of Christ's grace and spirit is not a false witness and delusion of Satan;' we demand of them again, If the flesh can have this advantage to make such objections against the invaluable comforts of Christ's grace, and the heart have nothing to reply? If Christ witness, and no man can understand it; if the Spirit of Christ be a comforter, and the Devil can comfort every jot as well, and counterfeit his comforts to the quick, and so cozen and delude a man ;what is any man the better for any such assertions of Scripture, where the Spirit is called the Spirit of comfort, the strengthener of the inner man, and the heart said to be established by grace"? Certainly, the comforts of the Spirit must fall to the ground, if they bring not along a proper and distinct lustre into the soul with them. And this Ambrosius Catharinus himself, a learned Papist, and as great a scholar in the Trent Council as any other, was bold to maintain against the contrary opinion of Dominicus Soto, in a public declaration; unto whom Bellarmine dares not adhere, though it be his custom to boast of their unanimity in point of doctrine. Besides, sin is of a quarrelling * and litigious disposition; it will not easily part from that which was once its own, but will be ever raising suits, disputing, arguing,

8 Ephes. ii. 17.

b Tit. ii. 14.

m Isai. liv. 1.

¶ Mal. iv. 2.

11 John v. 10.

P Numb. xxiv. 17.

i 1 Cor. i. 30. k Ephes. v. 27. Heb. vi. 6. n Rom. vii. 3. • Luke ii. 32. John i. 9. Non sumus certi testimonium illud non

esse à Diabolo Corn, a Lap. in Rom. viii. 16. John xiv. 26. Ephes. iii. 16. * Luke xi. 21. Rom. vii. 23.

u Heb. xiii. 9.

If

wrangling with the conscience for its old right. Christ came not to send peace, but a sword, perpetual and irreconcileable combats and debates with the flesh of man. If a man hold peace with his lusts, and set not his strength and his heart against them, if they be not in a state of rebellion, they are certainly in the throne. It is impossible for a king to rebel, because he hath none above him: and so as long as lust is a king, it is in peace; but when Christ subdues it, and takes possession of the heart, it will presently rise and rebel against his kingdom. Here then is the trial of the title. a man cannot shew the evidences of a new purchase, the spirit, the blood, the water, the sonship, the righteousness, the holiness, conversation, and grace of Christ; if he be not in arms against the remnants of lust in himself, but live in peace and good contentment, under the vigour and life of them, that man belongs yet unto the right of sin. For if a man be Christ's, there will be 'nova regalia' extremely opposite to those of sin. A new hearty for the throne of the Spirit; new members to be the servants of righteousness; new counsellors ", namely, the laws of God; a new panoply, the whole armour of God d; new laws, the law of the mind, and of the heart; a new judicature, even the government of the Spirit thoughts, words, actions, conversations; all things new," as the apostle speaks ".

Now let us, in the next place, consider the power, whereby sin makes its commands to be obeyed; wherein it is more strong and sure than a tyrant, who ruleth against the will of his subjects: the particulars of this strength may be thus digested:

First, Sin hath much strength from itself, and that in these regards. First, It is very wilful; it is as it were all will. Therefore it is called in Scripture, "The will of the flesh h and the will of the Gentiles, and the will of men." And the will is the seat of strength, especially seeing the will of man, and the will of sin or the flesh, are, in the Scripturephrase, all one. If a man had one will,-and sin, another; man's will drew one way,—and sin's, another; peradventure his power to resist might be stronger than sin's power to

command: but when the will of sin is in the will of nran, as a bias in a bowl, as a flame in smoke, as a weight or spring to an engine, as spirits in the body, to actuate and determine it to its own way; how can a man resist the will of sin, who hath no other than a sinful will to resist by?

Secondly, As sin is wilful, so it is very passionate and lustful, which adds wings, as it were, to the commands of sin. The apostle calls them 'passions,' and these working passions; when we were in the flesh," the motions of sin did work in our members1." There is muμía, and there are wán éπiduμías, lusts and passions of lust m; which the apostle calls vile lusts",' and 'burning lusts,' and affections and lusts,' that is, very lustful lusts. Lust is in the best; but these violent passions, and ardencies of lust are shrewd symptoms of the reign of sin. To be fierce, implacable, headstrong, like the horse in the battle, and that not upon extraordinary distemper or surprisal (as Jonah P and Asa were) but habitually, so as on any occasion to discover it,-is, by the apostle', put in amongst the characters of those, that deny the power of godliness. For sin must not

hold its power, where godliness hath any.

t

Thirdly, It hath laws and edicts, full of wisdom and cunning, edged and tempered with many encouragements and provocations to those that obey; which, as I said before, the Scripture calls 'the wages of sin,' and 'pleasures of sin,' by which Balaam was enticed to curse God's people. A law is nothing else but a rule or principle of working, which orders and moderates the course of a man's life. And so sin hath a way to carry men in, and principles to govern men by, which St. Paul" calls Seculum,' the course of the world. Such as are rules of example,-custom,-good intentions,God's mercy taken by halves, without respect to any conditions, which it brings with it,-the common frailty of our nature, that we are all men, and that the best have their infirmities, distinctions, evasions, justifications, extenuations, partial strictness in some particulars, the 'opus operatum,' mere doing of duties required,-and many like, most of

which things I have spoken of more at large heretofore, upon another Scripture.

Fourthly, It is full of flattery to entice and woo a man, cunning to observe all the best seasons to surprise the soul. And though enticements be base, yet they are very strong; like a gentle shower, or a soft fire, they sink and get in closer, than if they should be more violent. That which is

as soft as oil in the touch, may be as sharp as swords in the operation. And therefore as a man is said in one * place to be enticed by lust,' so elsewhere he is said to be driven and thrust on' by lust. "Take heed to yourselves lest you corrupt yourselves; lest thou lift up thine eyes to heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon, and the stars, shouldst be driven to worship them and serve them." The objects themselves have no coactive or compulsory power in them for they work but as objects, which is the weakest way of working that is; for objects are never total agents, but only partial; they do never any more than co-operate with some faculty and power, unto which they are suitable : yet such is the strength of those lusts, which are apt to kindle by those objects, that a man is said to be driven to idolatry by them. All which false prophets can do, is but moral, and by way of cunning and seducement; yet such is the strength of those lusts, which they flatter and work upon by their impostures, that they are said to thrust a man out of the way,' which the Lord commanded him to walk in. For as we use to say of the requests of a king, so we may of the flatteries and allurements of sin, that they do amount unto commands.

In one word, sin is thoroughly furnished with all sorts of armour, both for defence and opposition; all strong holds,b all reasonings and imaginations, and thoughts which can be contrived to secure itself; and therefore no marvel, if it have much strength from itself.

Secondly, It hath much strength from Satan and the world, which are the counsellors and aids of sin, which bring in constant supplies and provisions unto it. Therefore lusts are said to be of the world,' and to be 'earthly and devil

* Jam. i. 14.

y Deut. iv. 19. b 2 Cor. x. 4, 5.

z Deut. xiii. 5.

• John ii. 16.

Luke xi. 22.

ish,' because the world and the devil supply them with constant fuel.

But lastly and principally, lust hath much strength in and from us. First, Because they are natural unto us. A man's sin is himself; it is called by the name of our old man.d' And therefore to be carnal,' and to walk as men,' to live after the lusts of the flesh,' and after the lusts of men,' are all one. To 'live in sin' in one place is to live to ourselves,' in another. To crucify fleshly affections' in one place, is to mortify our earthly members,' in another. To deny ungodliness and worldly lusts in one place, is to 'deny ourselves',' in another. To lay aside the sin' that doth so easily beset us, in one place, is to cast away our right eye, and our right hand",' in another; and therefore the ways of sin are called 'our own ways',' and the lusts of the flesh, our own lusts P;' and being our own, we love and cherish them. No man ever hated his own flesh 9;' neither can any man by nature hate his own lusts, unto which he is as truly said to be 'married',' as the church is to Christ: and this serves much, to set forth the power of sin. For the love of the subject is the strength of the sovereign: a king shall then certainly be obeyed, when he commands such things as it were difficult for him to prohibit. Secondly, Lust hath from us weapons to set forward its strength; the heart, a forge to contrive,-and members, instruments to execute; the heart, a womb to conceive,—and the members, midwives to bring forth lust into act. Lastly, sin must be very strong in us, because we are by nature full of it. So the apostles says of natural men, they were "filled with all unrighteousness, and full of envy, debate, deceit," &c.; and St. Peter' that they have "eyes full of adultery," that cannot cease from sin. Now where there is All of a strong thing, that must needs be exceeding strong. If all the four winds should meet together in their full strength, what mountains would they not root up by the foundation? What a mighty rage and strength is there in the sea, only because it is full