102 Yiew of/,;:- Corruption of1'·la'tttre,. State Jl· •. is W!"ong , is not always fhiking wrong: but the wrong fet · continues with it, without great interl'niffion. ' 5. 1< i-; the great reigning fin, R·n:n. vi. 12. Let mt . fin therefore reign in your mortal hody, that yejhou!d obey i t in the lujli thereof. There are three things you may · ~bferve in the corrupt heart. (I.) There is the corrupt . llature; the conupt fet of the heart; whereby 'men are u n.ipt for all gooci, and fitted for all ev\1. This the Apo· ftl~ here callsfio which reigns. · (2.) Thereare paruicu· hr 1 1ufts or difpofitions of that corrupt nature, which the, Apofile calls the lulls thereof; fuch as pride, covetoufnefs, , i:lc. (·3.) There is one among th~fe, which is (like Sau/, 2mon gH , the -people) higher by far th!in the refi, name– ly, the }in which doth jo eajily befet us, Heb.. xii . I. This we ufual1y call the predominant G'n, b€H:aufe it doth, as it. were, reign over other particular lurts; fo that other lufb :&n ull yield to.it. Thefe three are like a river which d'i– vides itfdf into many fireams, whereof one is gre-ater than- -the refl. The corruption of nature is th~ river· head, which h;;s many partic~lar lufl:s, in which it runs : but it mainly. di!burdeos itfelf into what is. commonly called one's pre– dominant fin. Now all: of thefe ·being fed by the fin of our. :Qatme; 'it is evident, that fin is the 'great reign-ing f)a-- l ~vbich never lofeth its {uperiority over partic\Jlar lulls ~" that live and die with.it, and by it. ·But as in fome rivers ~, the main fitram runs not always in oDe and the fame chan .. nel; · fo particular predomioants may be c_hanged, as lult· .iR yoath may ·be fucceeded by covetoufnefs. in old age. Wow, what d{)th it avail to reform in other ihings, while the great reigning !in remains in its full power? What the, fome particular lufl: be_broken? if that fin, the Gn of our. Jlature, keep the thrbne,. it w.ill fet up another i~ its £lead:. :as when a wa.tu -c::> urfe is fiopt in one place, while tile fountain is' not dammed np, it will fiream fortp another way. And thus fome caH ofF theit: prodigality, but covetoufnefs 4llomes 1:1p in its !lead : fome call away 'th~tir. profanity, and. the corruption cf nature fends not.its I?aio fiream t:bar way as before: but it ':r:uns in another chapnel, namely, in that ~fa legaldiJPojition,feif:righteoufnefr, or ,the ]ike. So that people a!e ruiocd by the-ir not eyei"g trye fin of their nature. - Lfjlly, h is an l1~reditary evil, Pfa/, li . 5· lnjin did.m.y ·· . ~~w
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