JLooatng mito jjefttS'. to death all at once, but languilhethb)' .little and little; this is looked upon as one mai; difference betwixt jnllification and fandification; the former is a perfect work, admit– ring of no degrees, but fo is notrhe latter; though a .Believer is _freed perfectly from the gmlr of hn, yet. ':or fo from the power of 1t; lm dwelleth mus, though it hath 1\om. ;. 17 . not altogether a domm10~ over us ; it zs nomore Itbat do it, b11t fin tbat dwel/eth inme; like a rebellious Tenant, lt keeps ~ofi'dlion m defp1ght of the owner, rill the houfe be pulled down over hi; head. . True mdeed, ~he body of fin in a regenera\e.foul bath recei– ved its death-wound; and m that refpect 1t may be faid to be dead, but it is not quite dead 1 ftill it llirreth and movetl1, dying but by degre~s : What the Apollle faith of the renewing of the new man, we may fay of the deHroying of the old man, the imv><rd , Cor. 4. x6. man is re~nvedday by day, a_nd the old man is dellr.oyed day by day; c;r aspalii faid of ltimfelf, mrefpe~of lusaffitctlOns,.wemayfay of aChrillian in refpect of his fins, I • Cor. •r. 31; die daily ; there IS not the mo!Hancttfied foul upon earth, but irfome remainders of cor– ruption lef~ in it, which God in his wife providence permits for the trying, exercifing, and humbling of our fouls, .and for the making his own rich Grace, in renewing and multiplying pardons, fo much the more glgrious. And here is a ground ofconfolation to adrooping and deje.'led foul; fuch an one cries G:n. '5· 11 ' out, al,u I feel the ftirring and 'Vigorous acting; of fin, and I am afraid my fin i; not mortified; ""Rebekah [aid, when J1:e felt the Children ftrugling within her; if it be fo, why am I thiiS ? fo, iffin be morti~ed, fatth the foul, why am I thm ?~tremblin" foul, let not this difcourage; Jefus Chrifi was not dead fo foorr as he was fafined ro th~ Crofs: But hall thoutaken the fame courfe with the body of fin that the Jews did with the body of fin? ha[hhou arraigned it, accufed it, condemned it, ~nd faftened it to the Crofs? hall thou arraigned it at the Bar ofGod's judgment, accufed ir by way of hum-. ble and hearty confeffion, condemned it in pafllng the fentence of eternal condemnati– on upon thy felf for it, and fallned it to the Crofs, in beginning the execUtion of it, in fetting upon the mortification of it with a ferious and unfeigned refolution to ufe all means for its mortifying and killing ? why then be not dilhearmed,; it may be thou feelej\ it fiirring, and llrugling within thee, and fo will a crucified man do, , and yet in the eye of the Law, and in the account of all men that fee him, he is a dead man; furely fo isthebodyof fin, whenitisthuscrucified; though it fiill move andftir, yet upon a Gofpcl-accoum, and in God's ellimation, it is no better than dead, and it fltall certain– ly die, it fl1all decay, and languiflt, and die more and more; is notthe promife' exprefs? Phi!. i. 6. He tiJat hath begun the g110d work.,, he wilt perfeEt it to the day •f Jefiu Chrijl. Of this . Pm<lwas coRfident in behalf of his Philippians; and of this let all true Belivers reft con• fidem in refpect of themfelves, Thus far we fee wherein wemufi conform to Chrill, 'Viz.. in his Graces, in his Sufferings, and in his Death. For the Q!:_ery, what is the, caufeof this conformity? I anfwer, The death of Chrifi is the caufe of this conformity : And that a fourfold caufe.-- r. It is ameritorious caufe; Chrifl:'s death was of fo great a price, that it deferved at Eph. s.>s,,6, Gods hands our conformity to Chrift. Chrijllovedthe Chmch, and gave himfolf for it, '1· tbatby hi; death he might fanflijieit and cle11n{eit: -and prefent it to himfclf agloriom Church not having(pot or !VrikJe, •r any fuchthing; but that it jhONid be holy and wtth.ut blemip,, , Fe·. 2 :x. 2. It is an exemplary caufe: He [ulfered for us, lea'Ving "' an exa'!'ple that we jhould follow his jleps; he dted for us, leavmg us an el(ample that we Q10uld d1e to fin, as he dted for fin ; we may obferve in many particulars (befid~s thofe.I have named) a proporuon, analogy, and likenefs betwixt Ch~ift's death and our~; 0hn!l: dted as a fervam, to note that fin lhould not rule, or retgn O¥er us; Chnft dted as~ curfe, \o note that we Ihould look upon fin ai acurfed thing; Chritl was faft nayled on the Crofs, to no:e that we fl10uld put fin out of eafe, yea crucifie the whole body of fin: Chn!l: died not prefent!y , yet the_re l_Je hung till l~e died , to n?te that we lhould never give over fubduing fin, wht!e It bath any hfe or worktng 10 us. 3. It is an efficient caufe, it works this conformity by a fecret virtue iffuing from it. Thus Chrillians are faid to be engraffed with Chrijl in the li/e!nefl of hw Rorn. 6. I · death. The word d;p.w,;"".,' is of a pafllve tignification, importing not only a be– Phi!. 'l· 10 • ing like, but a being made like, and that by a power and virtue out of our felves, fo the Apollledfewhere interprets, That I may k._now bim--:-::-a"d the fe!lowjhtp of - -· · - his
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