Boston - BT700 B7 1769

' Head I. Th~ Corrupti~n of th~ Undo-flandint. 49 -'\Vorl'd gets away the heart: tho' the-eyes be·clofed, the· m~n- . fees a thoufaod vanit~es: the mifid, in the mean time, :is like a bird got loofe out of the cage, fkipping from bu,fh· ~p .' ..bufh ; fo that; in effdr, the man never. cemes to ~i~fe~f, · till he be gone from the P_rr~fonce_ ·of the .Lor.d. ~;~~-~o;~"'.:· tt is impoffible to get the mmd fixed. It 1s_. hard 'ln'9,.~ectr~ut - -not impoffible. Graeefr·om. the hord cando:.i~, :f'-fo.-~:tc;viii.. r. Agreeable -objects·will do tt. A-pleafa«1t {peculatto.n,will arref~ the minds of the inqui!itiV'e: the wordly m·a·n's1nind · 'is in little hazard ·of wander-ing when ;.he is contriving ef b.oliaefs, caUing-up ·his accounts, or 'telling---his mon·ey.: if he anfwer you mot at -fidl, he tells you;-he did not hea·ryou, he was bufy; ··· his mind was fixed. \:Vere we a&mitted in- ···. to the-, prefG'nce•o-fa.king to peti~ion forourlives, we .would .be in no haz-ard of gazin_g through thechamber of prefeoce.~. _-But here lies the cafe, the carnal -mind, employed ~bob.t • .:.any fpirit1xa!- goo.:i, is out ·of its e~emeot, and therefore '/. cannot .fix. -- Evid. 5•. But howe~er hard it is to keep the mind on ·-~:good thoughts, it £li-cks ~s glue to what is evil and corrupt ·likei,t felf, 2 Pet. ii. 14. Having eyu full if adultery, anti .- that ca1wot ce.a_/11 from-fin. •Their eyes ca.anot ceafe fro'm fin (fo the words are confl:rnCl:ed) that is, · their heartsand . niinds venting by the ey-es ''{hat is within, are Jike af~rious beaft, whkl1 cannot be held in, when once it has got mttits . head. Let the co.rrupt imagination once be let loofe on its , ·proper cbject; it will be found hard wo rk to call it bact: again,·tho' both reafon and will be for its retreat . For then .·it is in its own element 1 and to .draw it off from its impuri– ties, is as the drawing of a fi,fh out of the water, or the - renting of a limb from aman. It runs :like -fire fet to a ~r<~;in , of pQwder. th'at rdreth not till it can get·no further. - - Evid. :6. qonfider how the -ea.rn2.l'im;tgination fupplies the want of real objects -to the corrupt heart; that it ma.y. mak~ iippers .hap-py, at leaft in the imagi ry_enjoyment o(tbei'du.~s. ·Thus-the connpt heart feeds itfelf with ima- .. gina,ion·fi tw: the -unclean. perfon is filled with f~ulatiYe il}lpu~ities, having eyes f1;1Il·- of adultery; the covetous man -~Us his -hettrt_, with the ·world. tho' he cannot get his hands · ft1ll ofjt; .the -ma.Hcious perfon, -with deJight, acts his re– , venge.w.it~hin .his own b~ea!l:; .:the enYi;ous man, withinhis ·· E own

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