as the tree is such will be the fruit and if the Bramble rule it will burne up the Cedars of Lebanon Jud. 9.9 nor can we expect liberty for the Law that is in our members will lead us away captive the liberty that is given to the flesh doth but bring the spirit into bondage and what peace can we expect where there is no peace with God If then Christian thou wouldest have justice then doe justice and kill sinne before it kill thee if thou wouldest have liberty then let not sinne raigne for therein doth the great strength of it lye Sampson was easily taken when his lockes were shorne so thou mayest easily subdue sinne when the regiment of it is taken downe if thou wouldest enjoy that peace of God which passeth all understanding then make no provision for the flesh but mortifie it by the helpe of the spirit Rom. 13.13 and thou shalt have peace internall here and eternall hereafter Now for as much as this discourse is to helpe thee therein I doe therefore heartily commend it unto thee I have avoyled prolixity lest I should tyre the Reader and too much brevity lest I should wrong the matter I have the rather fallen on this subject because I find few that have done it and because I have found some such spirits as have laboured to cry it downe as altogether unnecessary after conversion If there be any such into whose hands this Treatise shall fall let me so farre prevaile with them as not prejudge what they doe not meane to reade lest they be numbered among those fooles that speake evill of what they know not To conclude Christian thou hast my labours thou hast my prayers when thou dost approach the throne of grace let me have thine Thomas Wolfall THE DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE OF MORTIFICATION ROM 8.13 But if yee through the spirit mortifie the deeds of the body yee shall live Chap. 1. An Introduction to the Text with the coherence of the foregoing part of the Chapter THe common tidings that hath sounded in our eares frō the Churches abroad for divers yeares together hath been upon the point nothing but warres and rumors of warres of leading into captivity of garments roled in blood insomuch as that country in which was plenty of corne and wine as the garden of Eden is now as a land forsaken or as a desolate wildernesse nay a very Aceldama or field of blood And howsoever wee of this Nation have but heard of this amongst us no leading into captivity no complaining in our streetes Yet the sword of the Lord hath been drown against us and hath slaine thousands ten thousands in our streets James 4.1 Now the general cause both of those lamentable desolations abroad the hand of God at home is chiefly this that we go not to warre with our selves we do not slay those lusts of ours that fight in our members for if ye walke after the flesh yee shall die not onely a death of the body but the second death the soule shall suffer eternall torment But if yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit then yee shall live eternally To make way unto the matter in hand our Apostle layeth downe certaine differences betweene such as walke after the flesh and others that walke after the spirit 1 In respect of the object that they ayme at the one mindes the things of the flesh the other the things that are above such as a man is such is his minde a carnall man and a carnall minde the wisdome that is not from above is earthly sensuall and devillish James 3.15 but that which is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be intreated Vers 17. full of mercy and of good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie 2 They differ in their ends for the end of the one is life the end of the other is death Every man must eate of the fruit of his own way Prov. 1.31 and be filled with his owne devises 3 They differ in their affections so as they that are at enmity with the Law of God Vers 7.8 their fleshly mindes are not subject unto it neither can they be and being they are not they cannot please God Whereas on the other side they that are of the spirit Christ dwels with them and takes up his habitation in their hearts suppes with them and they with him Happy and thrice happy that house which hath him for an inhabitant for this possession of Christ doth imply the dispossession of sinne Vers 10. For if Christ be in you the body is dead but of sinne as Dagon could not stand with the Arke so no more can sin and Christ inhabit together We cannot serve these two Masters Againe as it puts sinne to death so he quickens us Vers 11. that same spirit that raised Christ shall quicken us wherein he shews that the worke of our regeneration is great even as great as that of the resurrection the one being the internall renovation of the soule the other the externall restauration of the body to its reunion with the soule Hence our Apostle drawes an effectuall inference to perswade men to withstand the inticements of the flesh from this that there is no service of due that doth belong to it we are not debters to it that wee should follow it Nay if you walke after the flesh yee shall die but if yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit then yee shall live Behold as Moses said Deut. 30.19 I call Heaven and Earth to record against you this day that I set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that you and your seede may live So I here set before you both these and yet my desire is the same that Moses his was that you would chuse life that your soules might live which undoubtedly you may do if yee follow Saint Pauls direction here If yee mortifie the deeds of the flesh by the spirit Here you may observe 1 A description of our naturall corruption it is called the deeds or practises of the body 2 Here is our duty what we should doe against it namely to contend against it and to mortifie and slay it 3 The meanes whereby it must be done by the spirit 4 The reward is that promised Yee shall live which is a large promise seeing it containes in it all the happinesse that wee are capable of called a crown of life for the greatnesse and everlasting life for the continuance Chap. 2. Of the meanes how to find out our naturall condition by a threefold inquiry TO begin with the first the description of our naturall corruption viz. It is called the deeds of the body as it is with men that goe to warre the first thing that they doe is to endeavour to find out the enemy so it must be in this spirituall warfare wee must first endeavour to finde out this
our spirituall and mortall enemy who hee is and secondly where he lurkes and thirdly how hee seekes to fortifie himselfe 1 Who this enemy is 1 Who this enemy is it must be hee that contends against the spirit and labours to withstand all the good motions of it which is called all along in the former part of the chapter the flesh and here in this place the body now the body is sometimes taken Physically for the substance of the body consisting of flesh and blood or else morally and in a metaphor for sinne and vice compared to a body and so I conceive it must be taken here for conceive of the body as it is meerly naturall and so it is good and those effects that do issue from it must needes be good again the body in the production of her actions is but the handmaid to the soule and the soule is as the great wheele of the clocke Corpus mortis est cuncta peccata multa enim unum corpus suÌ„t singula quasi membra uno authore inventa Ambros vid. locum Infelix est homo hospitem secum habens peccatum perquod ad illum aditum habet Satanas Gloss that moves all the inferiour wheels by her motion now the denomination in propriety of speech comes froÌ„ the better part therefore it must be taken here for that naturall corruption that doth abide in the body and soule So S. Ambrose on Rom. 7.24 he calls it there that masse of corruption that is inherent in us is all our sinne as it were making up that body of sinne that as a body consisting of many meÌ„bers do but make up one intire body so sin though it spread it self into every part of our bodies to make them members of sin into every faculty of the soule to make them weapons of unrighteousnesse yet still it is but one Take notice Vse 1 how that sin it makes a man a deformed and a vile creature that while he carries about him a body having in it naturall life hee carries another body that hath in it the symptomes of death nay and that will draw the other to the same condition with it selfe nay if one should tell you of a monster that had something in it like a beast something like a serpent nay and something like a devill This monstrous birth of sinne doth containe all that in it if not more are not men like the cruellest beast the Lyon like the most poysonous creature the serpent nay children of Satan Iohn 4.44 O that wee could see our selves as wee are we would be ready to fly from our selves as Moses did from his rod when it became a serpent Exodus 3.4 and to abhorre our selves in dust and ashes 2 Where he lodgeth 2 If you enquire where this enemy is you will hardly beleeve that hee is so neere you nor neere so favoured of you as indeed he is that such a desperate enemy as this is should lodge in your houses feede at your tables and lye in your bosomes is not so strange as true nor more true than lamentable Men in this case are like David who did not sticke to condemne the injustice and cruelty of the man in Nathans parable 2 Sam. 12. that took the Lambe from his poore neighbour when hee had no need having sufficient or rather superfluity of his owne but alas the good man little thought that all this had been done by himselfe even so it is with us when wee heare from the Word that there is such a thing as a body of death a heart that is desperately wicked Rom. 7.24 Jer. 19 9. and a law of the members that leads men captive to sinne it is easily granted by them that so it is but yet will they be loath to yeeld Dolus latet in universalibus or to have such a thought in themselves that they are the men and hence it is that we are like unto sicke men that complaine of their bed when the cause is in their bones and of the sharpnesse of their phisicke when the fault is in themselves so it is with men in case of sinne when it lyes on the consciences of men and makes them restlesse they complaine of the condition as too hard and heavie and of the Word which is the physicke for the soule as too sharpe and bitter when as they looke not into the cause which is this body of death that lyes in our own bosomes and as wee see not our sinnes so neither doe wee see the danger that we are in but as it was with Balaam Numb though the Angell was before him with his drawne sword yet hee saw him not but fals out with the poore Asse as if all the fault had beene in the harmelesse beast whereas had not the Asse stood still Balaam had beene slaine and all this came from his covetous heart which hee would take no notice of So men are ready in case that sinne bee charged on them and even the danger ready to approach yet do not see it but are ready to quarrell with such as labour to keepe them from it but howsoever men labour to put their sinnes one to another as we tosse a Ball and bandy it from one to another and every man from him yet let him know that they goe but herein about a vaine shadow and disquiet themselves in vaine It would bee much better to take Davids counsell Psal 4.4 stand in awe and sinne not commune with your owne bearts in your bed and be still or as some will have it and bleede and that in deed should be our care that when we have found this enemy which is the disturber of our peace wee should enter in our chambers and bewaile our miserie if it were possible even with teares of blood 3. The meanes how lust doth fortifie it self Lastly how hee seekes to fortifie himselfe and to this end observe that the flesh and this corruption is such an enemie as is never out of action thence it is that God complaines My people have chosen two evils they have forsaken me the fountaine of living waters and hewed them out Cisternes broken Cisternes that will hold no water So that in this sinne of man there is a turning from God the chiefest good as the fountaine of all their happinesse which is as a living spring that never failes God all-sufficient who gives grace and glory and every good thing Psal 84.11 Ier. 9.27 Now wee first turne our backes on God and not our faces to him and then fall to these empty and broken vessels Cisternes they are but Cisternes that hold no great matter Dulcâ—ores a fonte bibuntur aquae nay broken Cisternes that will not hold any thing at all so as there is neither solidity nor certainty in the comfort that they give not solid and sweete because they are from the Cisterne and smell of the caske Surely man disquieteth himselfe about a
whited wall and as old Ahiah said to the wife of Ieroboam 1 Kings 146. when shee came disguised Come in saith hee thou wife of Ieroboam why fainest thou the selfe to be another I have heavie tydings to tell thee so may I say unto such that I have heavie tidings to tell them that is this Act. 8.23 that they are in the gall of bitternesse and in the bond of iniquity and if there be any fire in that bottomlesse tophet hotter than another it 's prepared for the hypocrits and therefore when God tells men of great punishments that the wicked shall have hee tells them that their punishment shall be with hypocrites that is making them a patterne of greas punishment to others Mat 24.41 Againe this body of sinne it doth so worke and cover it selfe that it makes a man to mistake his owne condition as the young man did when hee said Mat. 19.29 All these have I done from my youth and yet poore soule he knew not the deceitfulnes of his owne heart that he was mistaken had a deceitfull heart that would not submit to the will of Christ and we read of Herod that hee did many things untill it came to the leaving of his Herodias hee was content but there he stucke So it is with men they are so well conceited of their conditions as he that goes a jot beyond them goes too farre and hee that comes not to their pitch is too prophane and that rule which they have taken up is the only rule but to such I will say no more than our Apostle doth Let him that thinketh hee stands take heed lest hee fall and that his foundation be not built on the sand 4 Seeing that this body of sinne is thus active 4 How suspitious we should be of our selves it should make us suspitious of our selves and be very jealous over our selves in all the actions that wee doe seeing that there is one within us that hath a hand in them that is our mortall enemy Prov. 26.25 who albeit hee may speake us faire and make his voyce gracious yet as Solomon saith in another casâ— there are seven abominations in his heart if a man have a servant in his house that hee neither can turne out nor may trust will hee not then be suspitious of him and often call him to account Jer. 17.9 yet behold such is our owne hearts deceitfull above all things and who can know it it hath such turnings and windings that unlesse we watch it narrowly it will deceive us Aske we our hearts this question whither they went then at such a sermon when the word was powerfully opened it will answer as Gehezi did Thy servant went no whither Aske it againe whether it doth beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ for life and eternall salvation it will answer yea hee hath beleeved ever since hee can remember and never doubted in all his life Aske him againe whether hee be in such a condition as hee may goe to the Lords Table hee will answer againe goe in peace Thus like another trecherous Iudas hee will for his owne ends betray his owne Master now I appeale unto your own hearts whether this be so or no whether you have not offered such strange fire unto God and thought that such blind and lame services would serve your turne Have you not cause here to be suspitious of your secret enemy that lurkes in your bosomes that is so ready to deceive it selfe and you When that King of Syria saw that his plots were still discovered that his warre did not prosper against the Kings of Israel 2 King 6.11 Will you not tell mee saith hee which of us is for the King of Israâ—l So it should be with you that when your designes and good purposes are interrupted you should enter into your chambers and commune with your owne hearts and call up all your thoughts together say to them will none of you shew mee which of you are for Saâ—han I find many good motions that are all stifled in the birth a law of the members that doth rebell against the law of the mind and then complaine of this enemy unto him that is able to helpe you and say O wretched man that I am good Lord deliver mee from this body of death CAP. VII Of the second principall thing viz the doctrine of Mortification with certainc distinctions to cleare it NOw the second thing layd downe in the text is the duty that is commended unto us by our Apostle namely that the deedes of the body are to be mortified Joel 2.13 this is no other than that of the Prophet Rent your hearts and not your garments c. now the renting of thier garments was but in the best use of them to put them in minde of the disposition of their hearts and what serious thoughts God would have them be affected withall They did use to rent garments either in case of some great evill of sinne or evill of punishment in case of some great sinne 2 King 18 So Hezekiah rent his clothes at the blasphemy of Rabsheke Hest 4.1 the foule mouthed enemy of God and so in case of some eminent danger so Mordecay rent his garment out of trouble of heart for that great Massacre that was likely to befall the Jewes and may not the like misery sway with us to make us rent our hearts and mortifie the deeds of the body especially when we consider the greatnesse of our sinnes both in respect of their number that they are many and of their nature that they are foule and make us loathsome in the sight of God for their quantity they are as heavie as mountaines of lead Deut. 19.18 and for the quality they are rootes that beare gall and wormwood The like exhortation the Apostle gives Non dicit Apostolus non sit non habitet hoc enim impossibile sed non regnet peccatum c Greg. Let not sinne raigne in your mortall bodies that you should obey it in the lusts thereof It is true that sinne will remaine in us but it must not raigne over us for if grace raigne in your hearts then sinne must not raigne grace will have no competitor Wee read of Alexander the great that hee was never content till he had conquered all the world so is it with grace it is never at rest till it have conquered this little world this body of sin and put downe every high thought that doth exalt it self against God This exhortation is urged more plainly Mortifie therefore your members that are on the earth fornication uncleannesse inordinate affections c. as before sinne is compared to a body so here particular sins are compared to so many members of that body that as all the members doe worke together for the preservation of the whole so doth every least conduct and concurre to the preservation and continuation of this
of the sinne wee feele bee able to conceive of that we feele not and to say as Paul did Vers 25. God be thanked through Iesus Christ our Lord that though in my flesh I serve the Law of sinne yet in my mind I serve the Law of God Imperfect mortification is when the worke is begun but not finished it is with us in case of mortification as it was when the Israelites came to possesse the land of Canaan God would have them cast out the inhabitants by little and little Dent. 7.22 and not to bee consumed at once So in this case it is not to bee expected that sinne should be consumed at once but by little and little The degrees of mortification are some more temote some more neare For the better clearing hereof observe two particulars whereby you may conceive by what steps and degrees sinne is mortified First some of them are more remote Secondly some of them are naere Remote 1 1. For the more remote degrees of mortification give me leave first to intreat of them as in going downe a paire of staires you must go downe by degrees step by step so in bringing downe the proud heart wee must not thinke it can be done at once but by a kinde of graduall motion wee say in Phylosophy that natura non facil saltum that nature works successively and makes no leapes for it is as true in grace 2 Pet. 3.18 that it doth admit degrees Degree 1 1. The first remote degree is a breaking of league with sinne for naturally there is a league between sinne and our soules And they are like Simeon and Levi brethren in evill sinne is then pleasant unto them and whosoever speakes against it are none of their friends but now when wee see that sinne hath deceived our soule and played the Iudas with us that it hath betraied us into the hands of Sathan and hath procured the wrath of God upon us then we breake our friendship with it and are sorry that we had ever any thing to doe with it Eph. 5.11 have no fellowship with the unfruitfull workes of darknesse but rather reprove them that is we must not have any more to doe with them God charges the people of Israel to take heede that they marry not with the heathen Deut. 7. for they would turne away their sonnes and daughters from serving God So will sinne doe if you make league with it or doe not breake from it and so procure the heavie wrath of God upon you it is the charge which our Saviour gives unto those that went into Babylon Rev. 18.4 2 Cron. 19 2. Come out of Babell my people be not partaker with her of her sinnes that yee receive not of her plagues It was a good speech of the sonne of the Prophet to Iehosaphat shouldest thou helpe the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord therefore in wrath upon you from the Lord So there is nothing a greater enemy unto God nor unto your salvation then sinne is therefore breake your league with it lest you procure the fierce wrath of the Lord of heaven and earth against you Degree 2 2. When men professe themselves open enemies unto sinne that is then when they hate every false way and when no perswasion that lust can make nor proffer that can be propounded will prevaile with them but they stand like a mountaine and will not be perswaded so as those secret insinuations of their owne hearts and those venomous blandishments of Sathan fall from them as the Viper from Pauls hand without any hurt or taking any strong impression upon them where there is the greatest unity and friendship when such fall out there is the greatest enmity and discords thence it is that Solomon saith Prov. 18.19 that a Brother offended is as hard to winne as a strong City and their contentions are like the barres of a Castle so is it with this contention because as their freindship hath beene great so also is the contention stronger therefore some of the Martyrs when they have beene pressed by their friends to renounce their religion with what indignation have they spoken that if every haire of their head were a man William Sparrow pascalis they would burne them all rather then goe from the truth And some have blessed God even that ever they came in prison or that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ all this out of a desire of the enjoyment of Christ and the hatred of sinne Degree 3 3. To cut off all the strength provision that the flesh can make that so we may starve the flesh out of the holds that it hath made for it self Rom. 13.14 So the Apostle put on the Lord Jesus Christ and made no provision for the flesh sure it is when men are carefull for the body and carelesse for the soule when they expend the greatest part of their lives and meanes in the minding of the things that pertaine to the satisfaction of the flesh and in the prosecution of their lusts and pleasures and say unto their soules Luke 12.19 eate drinke and be merry what doe they all this while but foster and nourish that body of death even unto the day of slaughter but on the other side a man doth then make no provision for the flesh when he lives as a Pilgrim and as a stranger and doth abstaine from fleshly lusts that fight against the soule When a man makes a covenant with his eyes 1 Pet. 2.11 that he will not look on a woman to lust after her when hee shutteth his eares Job 31.1 and will not heare the voyce of the Charmer charme hee never so wisely when that he lookes to all his wayes and takes heed Psal 39.1 that he offend not in his tongue in one word that keepes his heart with all diligence Pet. 4.23 that howsoever voluptuous and sinfull thoughts may knock at the doore yet they may finde neither entrance nor enterrainment when hee hardens his heart against sinne as much as Dives did that hee would not permit Lazarus the crummes that were under his table but suffered the Begger to dye at his doore So when wee deny our lusts their least requests and will not permit them the least or lowest roome in our hearts 2 King 6.32 when we deale with sinne as Elisha caused his servants that kept the doore saith he hold him fast handle him roughly or presse him at the doore so should we do with sin if hee offer to make intrusion repell him backe with a holy violence 1 Cor. 9.27 I beate downe my body and bring my flesh in subjection that when I have preached to others I my selfe may not be a cast-away CAP. IX Shewing those more neare degrees of mortification 2 NOw I come to those that are more neare degrees of mortification as you see in warre there is many lesser assaults made before
over they are no such men so is it in this case all this combate is but a meere shew 2 In a true combate there are some scarres some thing that stickes to him after the battell and some booty is carried away as a testimony of his valour so a Christian that hath got some ground against his enemy hee hath got some strength against his lusts as it was said of the house of David and Saul that Davids house did increase and Sauls decrease so is it here grace it gaines something at every combate now after the combate is over the melancholy person is as he was there is no alteration if hee was prophane before so hee is still or if hee was civill before he is civill still 3 They differ in their cure a distempered body is cured with physicke good ayre and temperate diet but who is hee that can cure a sicke and distempered soule not all the Physitians in the world Nay let mee speake a bold word not all the Angels in heaven are able by all their wisdome to helpe a wounded spirit it must be no lesse than the blood of the Lamb of God that takes away sin and heales a sicke distressed destempered soule 2 Againe the seate of this warre is sometimes among the passions Num. 13.32 so as one standeth in opposition to another Nay as the spyes that went to view the land of Canaan said unto Moses that the land they went to search was a land that did eate up the inhabitants of it so it is with our lusts one lust is so predominant that it eates up another as you have an example in Herod who being ambitious did favour Iohn Mark 6. Euseb lib. 8. cap. 17. because hee look't at the applause of the people for all held Iohn as a Prophet yet such was his lust to Herodias Libido potias quam iracundia tenebat imperium paulo post dicit author quod Christiana continentia neque morte neque pecunia expugnari potest that for her sake hee cast him into prison and afterwards cut off his head So it is sayd of Maxontius that as hee was cruell so was he incontinent and sometime his lust of incontinencie prevailed against that of cruelty as instance is given in a Christian Virgin whom hee had attempted to have defiled in which case sayth my Author that his incontinencie got the victory of his fury but now this warre is not a warre amongst them but against them all as they that are Christs doe crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts Gal. 5.24 and the truth is that when as a man doth suffer his lust to rule is as if a man should suffer his feete to guide his head or the handmaid to rule over the mistresse so is it in this case for our passion should be guided by reason and reason rectified by the spirit and then things would goe in a right order therefore our Apostle doth shew that the flesh lusts against the spirit not that the flesh lusts against the flesh for though the lusts of the flesh may be at discord one with another it is but like that which was betweene Pilate and Herod which albeit there was some contention betweene them Luk. 23.12 yet they both joyned together against Christ so that howsoever it be that one lust may in some cases overthrow another yet they will all conspire against Christ CAP. XI Showing certaine other differences that are betweene them in this relactancie of the flesh against the spirit 3 In the time 3 THirdly they differ in the time of their combate the naturall combate oft-times comes as soone as reason can make a difference betweene good and bad and it is that which may be in a very heathen Ro. 2.15 for the Gentiles that had no law to goe by besides that which was written in their hearts yet by that were a law to themselves their consciences either excusing on accusing of them now conscience according to that light that it hath is alway at hand to contend against the workes of sinne and that fleshly appetite that is in us howbeit conscience may trouble us yet it is commonly for greater sinnes and not for lesser as Pharaoh for his great cruelty confesseth I have sinned and so we read did Nero and others but now for lesser them they easily passe over Saint Paul cryes out of the body of sinne that was within him and David of the cutting off Sauls garment his heart smote him for that but in this case the naturall conscience hath little to say because it knowes little therefore Saint Paul saith Rom. 7.7 I had not knowne lust except the Law had said thou shalt not lust that is his naturall conscience did not discover it unto him but it was given him by a higher and a clearer light Our Saviour Christ sheweth that while the strong man keepes the house all that a man possesseth is in peace but when a stronger than hee commeth then hee begins the combate so long as a man is in the state of nature the prince of the aire rules in his heart and hath quiet possession for although there may be a contention as hath beene shewed among the passions and lusts yet so as there is no hinderance to Sathan by that at all for the lesser footing hee hath in one lust the stronger hee is in another as it is among a company of gamesters looke what one loseth another winnes and suppose that they should be all losers yet the house where they game would be a gainer so is it here that as long as there is no other strife but amongst themselves men are still as bad or worse than they were and Sathan that keepes the house gaineâ— by them Againe suppose wee some strange man should come into this gaming house and should take away their money and burne the dice and cause the house to be pulled downe and bind the strong man and lay him in prison would not this breed hot blood and occasion strife So it is in this case for when the spirit comes then it comes with such might as beares downe all before it and overthroweth the strong holds of Sathan and every high thought that doth exalt it selfe against God by what as hath beene said you may easily see how this naturall combate differs from the spirituall in regard of the time 4 In the end 4 They differ in their ends that they have in their combate there are three ends for which a man doth undertake warre namely peace honour and terrour first this warre is undertaken for peace sake both peace of conscience and peace with God now howsoever a wicked man may seeme to humble himselfe for his sinne and to make up his peace with God yet it is but like those truces that are made in the warres for some short time for some private reasons knowne to themselves so is it in this case 1
shovell and another a mattocke and others should carry instruments for the ploughing and tillage of the ground you would either suppose that the enemy were weake and contemptible or else account them but as fooles or madde men that would undertake such a businesse being so ill furnished for it In like manner may we account them as foolish and unwise that undertake a spirituall warfare with carnall weapons more especially against so potent an enemy but that you may the better understand the meaning of the Apostle observe first that carnall weapons will not serve your turne Secondly that spirituall weapons will prevaile afore the former Proposi ∣ tion 1 1 It is not the maceration and mangling of the body that will do this such as the Priests of Baal of old 1 King 18.28 that out of their blind devotion did lance themselves till the blood gushed out Damones delectantur in sacrificiis de sanguine hominum qui est nobilissima creatura ad imaginē Dei facta ideo in talibus solent dare responsa not unlike to these were the Pharisees that did disguise their faces Matth. 6.16 and those Fratres flagellantes among the Papists that have farre more blind devotion than true discretion who thinke by this means Lyra in locum not onely to mortifie their flesh Res ista fidem facit a Romanis superis institutum esse acceptum quod illi super talia ludicra celebrantes nudi per urbem incedebant a◠lavati flagellis obvios cadebant Pol. Vir. 7. lib. cap. 6. but also to merit salvation notwithstanding it was but an old custome taken from the ancient Heathens neither by going on pilgrimage and wearing sacke-cloth on our loynes or a profession of wilfull poverty all these are but like so many outward medicines wich will be unable to cure an inward disease this is but as it were to apply a plaster to the head when your griefe lyeth at the heart Bodily exercise profiteth little but godlinesse is profitable unto all things and suppose that there were some vertue in some of these things to take down and tame the flesh yet can we not suppose that they should have any efficacie on the soule being they are no spirituall weapons neither doth the Lord require them at our hands 2 It is not a restraint from sinne that will serve our turnes such a restraint may arise from good education and living in good families or out of the goodnesse of naturall temper which is not so prone to rush into vice as others are or for the better accomplishment of a mans owne ends of profit or credit now all this keepes but a man from the outward acts of sinne yet he may be as bad or worse within every day than others as wee see some men that are forbidden to worke at their trades outwardly yet will they worke harde at them within still so it is in this case that though it be so that hee may not without some disadvantage suffer sinne to breake out yet doth he worke within and follow the trade of sinne there If that a Poole do engender snakes and venomous creatures when it runnes and the water issueth from it much more will it produce the like effects when it is dammed up and stands In like manner if sinne be but restrained and no more lust breedes as fruitfully and workes as hard within as ever it did 2 Againe when sinne breakes out it is the more violent after a restraint as you see it was with Absalon and Achitophel for all their faire pretences that they made before of equity and piety yet when they brake out how foule was their sinne as it is with such as are cast into prison for the stealing of some small trifles after they have continued there sometime among the rest they grow so skillfull that they come out tenne times worse than they went in In like manner a man that hath nothing but this restraint when he doth breake out is farre worse than hee was before but true grace now doth not onely restraine from sinne Ioh. 7.17 but doth purge it out so sinne is not bridled but broken to peeces and not a restraint but a reall chang from sin to God Act. 5.4 3 It is not enough to have good desires and good purposes of mortification unlesse they be put in practise you know that muskets and swords and pikes and other warlike instruments will not serve our turnes if wee let them hang up in a roome unlesse wee make use of them in the day of battell so no nor will our good desires unlesse they be improved Some they have good purposes and desires but they are but slothfull desires Balaam desires to die the death of the righteous but he doth not put his endeavour to it many have good wishes and faire pretences and make large promises of better obedience and that is all they may well be said to beare the sluggards motto which is this hee sits in his chaire with his feet by the fire and his hands in his pockets saying Vtinam hoc esset laborare O that this were to labour so it is with many that if good words and good wishes would do it they would be as good Christians as the best but now whē it comes to any difficulty here they stay 2 They are but childish desires such as are very earnest after God and very strongly bent against lust but it is for a little while till some bait be laid in the way and then they fall to sinne againe as a child doth sometimes you shall heare it complaine and cry for the brest but give it but a key or a ball and it is quiet againe so when men seeme to have some more than ordinary desire to this worke if that a key of some profit or a ball of some pleasure be cast in their way they are straight taken off from this worke and all afresh to their lusts and to their sinnes againe farre are these from right purposes and sound resolutions which are begunne upon good deliberation Luk. 14.31 Like that King going to warre thinketh whether hee can be able with tenne thousand to meete him that commeth against him with twenty thousand and it is continued with undaunted resolutions Heb. 12.4 strugling and striving against sinne and ends with unspeakeable comfort unto the soule that we contend for an incorruptible crowne that abides for us in the heavens 1 Cor. 25. 4 It is not enough to have a forme of godlinesse to have some appearance of this conflict suppose wee a man that is gotten into a way of piety and useth those waies and means that are appointed for that end that sinne may be mortified suppose it be hearing the word prayer and fasting abstinence from grosse sinnes and the society of those that are righteous and good men so the meanes are good but he spoyles them in the managing of them as it was said of
that when Sathans malice was made manifest to the ful yet so as Iob looks hither in conclusion saith God gives and God takes whereas if he had looked lower hee might have said God hath given and the Devill hath taken but the humble spirit desires not to bee troubled with what the Devill or man can doe unto him because he knowes that they are but instruments and rods in Gods hand to correct his children withall therefore he falleth downe before God and kisseth his rod and cals upon his name and then the Lord harkens and heares and puts his teares into his bottle and in his good time will heale his soule In one word as it is said of the Philosophers stone that what metall soever it toucheth it turnes it into gold so is it with this sorrow that what crosse or disaster soever it doth meete withall it makes it an occasion to worke in him godly sorrow to repentance never to be repented of 3. It mends all it make up all breaches Esa 1.16.18 wash you make you cleane take away the evill of your doing which is done by this worke of mortification and mourning for sinne and then saith God let us reason together and then though your sinnes were as red as crimson I will make them as white as wooll herein is the excellencie of godly sorrow if you have losses in your estate or crosses by your children or injuries by evill men you may fit downe and sorrow till you can weepe no more but now halfe of this were it godly sorrow though your sinnes be as blacke as hell yet God will make them as white as snow if a man bee old the skill of all the Physitians cannot make him young againe but a man that is truely humbled for sinne the Lord Christ redeemes his life from death Verus penitens simper est in labore dolere delet de prateritis laborat pro futuris cavendis Ber. and renewes his youth like the Eagles that as they report of the Eagle that when shee growes old and cannot eate for the length of her bill with much adoe shee gets it broken and then fals to her meate as if she were young againe so it is in this case when wee have cast away all our abominations and our doings that were not good though with much adoe then shall we renew our lives as the Eagle and be made fit to sit among Christs guests at the marriage feast when he makes us a feast of fat things Isa 25.6 and wine when the lees are well refined 3. The third thing in this sorrow is how long it should continue to this we answer that as we sinne daily so wee must sorrow daily and because all sinne is not of one magnitude or proportion therefore it doth admit of degrees but if we speake of initiall mortification which is the thing chiefely in hand the first work that is begunne in the soule then I say 1. Wee must mourne till the generall frame of sinne be dissolved till the regiments of sinne be taken downe Judg. 14.17 Sampsons wise did never cease weeping untill shee knew his riddle so should wee never cease till we know-that our sinnes are dissolved and purged out Alasse what comfort can a man receive so long as hee remaines a slave to his hust 2 Sam. 12 20. and is under the Prince of darkenesse but now sinne is slaine in us and dead in us then we doe as David did when his child was dead hee then at oft from the earth and waâ—nt and anoâ—hed himâ—â—lfe and changed his apparell and came into the house of the Lord and worshipped and then came into his own house and are bread when we find that this child that wee have begotten by our sinne is dead we should doe the like then cheare up your hearts and worship God that hath given you victory against it It was comfortable neves that was brought by the Angel unto Ioseph Mat. 2.20 Returne into the land Israel for they are dead that sought the young childs life so say 〈◊〉 it will be a great stay to our soules to heare that the body of death is dead within us that sought how to destroy our soules 2. We must mourne till he that hath wounded us shall come and heale us Hos 6.1 come say they let us returne to the Lord for he hath borne us and he will heal us he hath smitten us and 〈…〉 It 〈◊〉 an easie matter to wound but not so easie to cure and heale again it is the prerogative in this case that belongeth chiefely to God the flesh can vex us and Sathan can teare and trouble us and wound us but none of these can cure us againe but now God can as well heale as wound here is one thing further to be observed that the Prophet doth not say that sinne or Sathan hath wounded us and God will heale us but he hath wounded us and he will heale us and bind us up for a man may have these wounds by sinne and Sathan and yet no true ourâ— the cure that these Physitians can give us are of no value is either to cast a man into a deepe or rather a dead sleepe of security and harnesse of heart or to suffer him to fall into despaire and haâ—â—â— his owns and by an untimely death as Iudas and Iuliâ—â— did but where God once by his spirit smites the heart with true remorse for sinne then he is moved by the same shirit to seeke unto God for the cure of that wound as it was with Elisha 1 King 19 19. that after the Prophet Elia had put his mantle upon him he presently comes after him so whereas the Lord shall be pleased to works in us a true sight of our misery he never doth it without some hope of mercy that when we seele our burden we might likewise come unto him for case and comfort Psal 103.13 these are those comfortable speeches that as a father pittieth his owne children Mat. 12.20 so the Lord pittith them that feare him and that promise hee will not breake the bruised Reede nor quench the smoaking Flax c. and that exhortation Mat. 11.28 come unto me all yee that are weary and heavie laden and I will ease you CAP. XIV Shewes thee other properties of Contrition viz. shame indignation and revenge THe next thing in contrition 2 Of shame is to be ashamed of our sinnes and to loath them for the more the heart is broken for sinne the more it is ashamed for it Job 42.6 as when Job saw himselfe in his colours then hee did abhorre himselfe in dust and ashes Ezeck 36.31 and the Prophet shewes that there should come a time when the Lord would smite the hearts of men that they should remember their owne evill way and their doings that were not good and should loath themselves in their owne sight for their iniquities and for
of the wicked Psalm 58.10 And how great joy will that bee when as a Christian shall see the revenge upon his sinnes that they that were his enemies are fallen before him it is hard unto flesh and blood to be thus cruell especially against himselfe as to turne his mirth into mourning his howers of recreation into times of devotion to beate downe his body by fasting and to afflict his soule with shame and sorrow This I say is difficult but yet 1 Sam. 6.10 if you would overcome nature you must become in this thing unnaturall as it was said of those two Kine that had their calves taken from them that were appointed to draw the arke of God they went along the high way lowing as they went untill they came to the coasts of Israel a strange thing it was and it may seeme to be unnaturall that they should leave their calves and do thus yet they did it because it was Gods worke so I may say that though this may seeme unnaturall and a kind of cruelty yet we must set upon it because it is Gods worke Ps 137.9 happy is that man that takes these brats of Babilon dashes their heads against the stones for in not pittying of them he pittieth his soule CAP. XV. Shewing the great necessity of contrition which is fourefold 1 A necessity of thâ— precept 2 THe second thing is the necessity of a broken heart In point of mortification there is necessitas precepti of Gods command hee hath commanded us to doe this duty hee hath commanded us to mourne they should weepe as a Virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth and so turne to the Lord Ioel 1.8 where there is the greatest love there should be the greatest sorrow now the first love is the greatest love and therefore the first losse doth require the greatest sorrow 1 Which doth shew unto us that nothing should be more grievous to us than our sins seeing God hath commanded it as a thing necessary to this worke why should wee not do it Againe we are enjoyned shame thence it was in the Law that when they had transgressed the Commandements of the Lord Neh. 9.1 they used to put sackcloth on their loynes Ier. 4â— â—7 and powre ashes on their heads being tokens of shame and sorrow Againe Psal 39.3 we are commanded to before displeased with our sinnes Davids heart was hot within him and the heart of Iosâ—ah was melted at the abominations of those times and the great transgression against Gods Law this is that the Lord doth require Lastly that there should be a holy revenge I suppose that vow of of the Nazarite that he should abstaine from wines and from the huskes of the grapes was chiefly ordained as holy revenge upon occasion of the abuse of the good creature of God Now whatsoever God commandeth us that is necessary but you see that God hath commanded us to labour for a contrite and a bleeding heart therefore it is necessary as the servant of Naaman the Syrian said unto him 2 Kingâ— 5. â—3 If the Prophet had bid thee doe some great thing wouldest thou not have done it how much more then when he saith to thee wash and be cleane so say I if God should command you some great thing for the mortification of your sinnes and the salvation of your soules suppose it were to goe bare-foot to Jerusalem or to bestow all your goods on the poore or give the first borne of your body for the sinne of your soule would you not do it how much rather then Psal 51.17 when hee saith onely this that a broken and a contrite heart shall stand instead of all these 2 There is necessitas medii a necessity of the meanes 2 Of the meanes it is a speciall meanes that this body of sinne may be subdued for as it is with water when it overflowes the ground it drives out moles and wormes and other such creatures 2 Cor. 7.11 as do infest and annoy the ground and eate up the rootes of plants fit to become food for man so it is with true contrition it doth so overflow the heart with godly sorrow as that it drives out these troublesome Inhabitants that doe annoy our spirits and would spoyle those good beginnings of grace in us therefore put wee our selves on the meanes and stand not like the hand that is set up to guide us the way and yet moves not it selfe But if wee know these things blessed are wee if wee doe them if you say that to doe thus is troublesome to flesh and blood I answer it may be so but as we say that sometimes the things that are not the most toothsome are very wholsome and good so howsoever they may be some trouble yet so long as this trouble doth free us from a greater trouble all is well it is better to mourn here wher wee have comfort than to mourn and burn in hell where wee can neither have ease nor remedy Againe our comfort will recompence our trouble for every houre of grief shal be recompenced with thousands of yeares of joy and consolation when a man hath beene ten thousand yeares in heaven and then shall looke backe and consider what a short time of sorrow it was that he endured and withall how many millions of yeares are behind which can never expire I conceive it will not repent him that he hath repented nor grieve him that hee hath mourned In one word this necessity is confirmed by the practice of such as are gone to heaven already as Saint Paul that did struggle with his corruption and beat downe his body Num. 7.27 and Saint Peter and David and the rest 1 Cor. 9. And it is prophesied of the people of God that they should goe weeping to seeke the Lord Ier. 51.4.5 and should aske the way to Sion with their faces thitherward saying come let us joyne our selves to the Lord in a perpetuall covenant that shall not be forgotten Comfort your selves therefore in the use of good meanes for your passage through the valley of Baca Psal 84.6.7 or valley of mourning is to meet the Lord in Sion 3 Of our actions 3 It 's necessary in respect of all our actions that they may be right it is necessary that they should come from such a heart as hateth sinne Psal 66 1â— For if I regard wickednesse in my bea rt the Lord will not heare my prayer now a man is said to regard wickednesse when the parting with it is grievous unto him as it was when Abraham was bidden by Sarah to cast out Ismael Gen. 21. the matter was very grievous unto him because he did regard and love him so it is when we respect and love our sinnes wee will be loath to part with them and then know that what action soever you doe Luk. 16.15 you cannot please God The reason is
be allured with their pleasant songs to bee drawne backe unto them againe it is a good evidence that sinne is a dying and declining in him I deny not but time may weare out our appetite unto some sins as an old man that hath beene given in his youth to lust and voluptuousnesse may leave them but yet he liveth still in some other sinne which is equivalent and as dangerous to his soule yea and when his naturall apetite is taken away yeâ— his sinfull appeâ—ite may remaine so that when a man wants strength to sinne yet may he have a minde to sinne and wish that he were young againe that he might sinne Whereas were sinne mortified these sinfull affections would â—ye sooner then our naturall 2. A man is then a dying man when he is a burden to himselfe whereas hee is not able to beare his owne weight when you see a man hardly able to goe on his legges you say that unlesse he doe recover againe he is not like to continue long so say I inregard of sinne then when you see a man that feeles and findes sin to be such a burden as hee is not able to beare but groanes under the burden of it that assuredly then sinne is a dying Rom. 8.23 well may sinne mak us groane and buckle under it when it makes the whole creation groane nay that which is so heavie a burden as the Lord that made heaven and earth and beares them up by his owne power and never complaines of the burden of them Complaines of this behold I am pressed downe under you Amos 2.13 as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves you therefore that feele your sinnes to be no burden but can carry your sinnes away with you as easily as Sampson carried the gates of Gaza upon his shoulders Judg 16.3 it is an argumeÌ„t that you are Sampson-like in your sinâ— sinne doth abide in you in its full strength if some man shall say I hope I shall doe well then for I finde sinne a heavie burden but I would aske him this question then whether doe you finde sinne a burden in regard of it selfe or in regard of some circumstance that doth depend upon it as namely the wrath of God or the shame and disgrace that you may have among men by it if that sinne be the burden then your case is good if not then may you suspect your selves to be unsound as suppose a man that hath a certaine quantity of spunge on his backe which he carrieth lightly away but now this man travelleth all a sore rainy day which doth so fill the spunge with water that his burden that was light before now becomes intolerable so it is in this case it is not the weight of sinne that troubles them they carry it roundly away but now that which troubles them is those showers of wrath from Heaven and that shame and contempt that they receive from men that makes them to cry out as Kain did my punishment iâ— greater then I can beare wher as the penalty that is annexed unto sinne were the sinne removed moved off to a mortified man it would seeme light and little 3. A man may then be said to be a dying man when as his disease prevailes upon him so as he hath lesse power to resist it every day then other so likewise when that sinne decayeth and doth languish away in us and grace doth so prevaile and get the upper hand as that corruption and sinne is not able to stand against it as it hath done the understanding is so farre convinced by the cleare light that shines into it that it is not able to stand nor shift any longer but it is beaten off from all those false reasonings Prox. 3.5 secret turnings and cunning equivocations so as a man dares not any longer rest on it the will is also fairely perswaded and will resist the holy Ghost no longer but yeelds up the hould unto Christ and saith Lord not my will but thy will be done Hence commeth a generall mortification of the affections and lusts Gal. 5.24 by affections understand those inordinate affections which beare sway in the hearts of men as immoderate anger griefe also pride unnaturall affections and by lusts all insatiable desires after the things of this life they are now all crucified so as they will yeeld no more blind obedience either to sinne or Sathan so as grace hath drawn the strength of the soule unto it and cutteth off that wherein the great strength of corruption lay It is reported Cyrus finding the City of Babylon impregnable and almost impossible to be taken by land by reason of a great wall that did compasse it on the one side and finding the river Ephrates to hemme it in on the other side caused his souldiers to cut the river into many channels and to divert it another way and so surprized the City and subdued it just thus it is when we shall divert those noble faculties of the soul another way namely from taking part with sin to take part with God it will not then be hard to mortifie and subdue our corruptions if it shall be said then how commeth it to passe then that men after that they be grown Christians that they fall into such sinnes I answer it is not because sinne is stronger but either by reason of their slothfulnesse or spirituall pride or else by violence of something which may befall them while they resting carelesse and secure are supprized and overtaken which howsoever there be neither want of strength nor weaknes of Grace yet for want of watchfulnesse this may befall a good man as it did David and Peter yet let me adde this one thing that is that this in the event turnes to a greater good and for the time to come to make us more carefull to gird our armour about us and more watchfull that we sinne no more the burnt childe as it is in the Proverbe dreads the fire so will a Christian that hath been once scorched by such a temptation CAP. XVIII Shewing the third articular that is the meanes whereby this worke is done and that is by the spirit COme wee now to the third particular and that is the meanes whereby this great worke of mortification is effected and brought to passe for the better understanding of this particular observe these two propositions 1. First that the spirit must be had of us 2. That wee must by the helpe and assistance of the spirit mortifie our sinfull nature 1. For the former that we must have the spirit there is great necessity of this for then wee are in the spirit Rom. 8.9 when the spirit dwelleth in us and if any man have not the spirit of Christ the same is none of his God saith that in the time of the Gospell hee would powre upon them Zac. 13.10 the spirit of grace supplication that is as they were annointed with oyle that
unwilling unto this service be sure of this hee is not fit to be a souldier against so potent an enemy no man that warreth entangleth himselfe with the affaires of this life 2 Tim. 2.4 then hee may please him who hath chosen him to be a souldier as if hee should say if you be cumbred and entangled with the world you cannot serve God willingly and by consequent not please him 2 The spirit doth assist us in this way that wee doe the worke strongly when the iron is hard men put to the more strength this worke is hard and difficult therefore you must be strong that you may goe through Therefore is the prayer of the Apostle for the Collossians Col. 1.19 that they might be strengthened with all might unto all patience and long sufferings As it was said of Sampson when he came to the vineyards of Timnath Iudg. 14.5 6. that a young lyon roared against him and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and he rent the lyon as a man should rend a kid so it is with us we have the old Lyon the devill that seekes to devoure us and were it not that the spirit of Christ should strengthen us with all might and enable us to overcome him 1 Sam. 4.9 wee could not stand before him as the Philistins encouraged one another saying Quit your selves like men that you may not be servants to the Hebrewes So say I to you be strong in the Lord and quit your selves like so many souldiers of the Lords Hosts that you may not serve sinne but fight out your Gods fight that you may be more than Conquerers and against your spirituall enemies 3 The spirit of Christ takes away those impecliments that would hinder this worke and disableth us from the performance of it 1 One great impediment that hindreth this worke it is ignorance when men doe not know those things that concerne their peace Luk. 19.41 for there is no true peace but where there is and hath beene this warre Many a man is like to some simple Country-man if some great and potent man lay claime to some part of his land though his cause be never so just yet he will rather lose his right than goe to Law for it so is it with many that they will rather lose their soule than contend against their corruptions they out of their ignorance thinke them too potent and too strong for them but now when the spirit commeth it shews that he is greater that is with us than he that is in the world and that they are cursed that goe not out to helpe the Lord against the mighty Iudg. 5.23 he doth comfort that as hee did Ioshua Iosh 1.5 that none of his enemies should stand before him nor be able to prevaile against him hee will be with us while wee are with him nay the spirit encourageth our hearts against this enemy 2 Cor. 15.2 as Caleb and Ioshuah did the Israelites Num 14.9 saying feare none of your spirituall enemies for their defence is departed frō them and God is not with them and doubt not but though thou canst not finally consume them yet thou shalt make a happy conquest against them 2 Another impediment is hardnesse of heart it is called an obstinate heart Deut. 2.30 because it doth refuse mercy Esa 6.10 a fat heart because it makes men insensible of their condition Zach. 7.12 a heart as hard as the adamant stone because it maketh men hate to be reformed Now when the spirit commeth it softeneth this hardnesse and takes away this resistancie Ez. 36.26 and gives us hearts that are of a melting temper and maketh the songs of the Temple to be sorrowfull Amos 8.3 and men to be affected with griefe as the sorrow of a travelling woman Hos 13.13 the sorrow of a woman in travell as it is most grievous so it is most comfortable in regard of the issue and event The mother forgetteth her sorrow because that a manchild is borne so this breach that is made into the rockes of our hearts though it be grievous unto us yet is it profitable in the issue for as much as this seed time of teares is seconded with an harvest of joy wee want not examples to make good this point What an obstinate heart had Manasses till the spirit of God brake it What a hard heart had Paul till hee was smitten by the spirit of Christ how was this Lyon then changed into a Lambe This is set forth by the Baptist Every valley shall be filled every mountaine and hill shall be brought low Luk. 3.5 and the crocked shall be made straight and the rough wayes shall he made smooth what is this but every man that is low in his owne eyes shall be raised by the spirit and every one that is high and lofty shall be humbled and such as walke in the crooked path of errour shall be reduced and walke in the straight pathes of truth in sincerity and such as have beene tough and obstinate shall be made plaine and passable by the spirit 3 The next impediment that hindreth a man from mortification is selfe-love I doe not meane that love which is naturall but that which is sinfull for no man ever hated his owne flesh but this is the property of sinfull selfe-love when a man shall love his body above his soule and himselfe more than his God and shall be at more cost and take more paines for the enjoyment of a base lust than to enjoy Christ now when the spirit comes it makes us to renounce all Heb. 10.34 and to follow Christ To suffer the losse of our goods and of our hopes as it was said of Bradford that for that he would not make one scratch with a pen Heb. 11.24.25.26 he lost all his hopes that hee might have had in this world and so did Moses refuse to be called sonne of Pharaohs daughter and to renounce the pleasures of the Court and the treasures of Egypt that hee might not lose the peace of his conscience nor dishonour his God nay it doth so make us our of love with our selves that neither father nor mother nor wife nor children nor our owne lives shall be deare unto us provided wee may but finish our course with joy 3. I come now to the third thing wherein I shall be briese namely the ends why the spirit may be said to assist us in this worke and there are two reasons of it 1. For to shew mans impotencie that we are not able to doe it of our selves a naturall agent cannot doe a spirituall worke who can bring a clean thing out of an uncleane Not one Who knoweth not that we are polluted and defiled with sinne and have disabled our selves of strength and ability to doe it Thence is that of the Prophet Jer. 10.23 I know that the way of man is not in himselfe