Senn. 25. How are we cenapleat in Chri ? 571 Sheep with Goats; but there fhall be a feparation of the precious from the vile , and God will tome with his Fan in his hand and throughly purge hie Boor, Luke 3.17. Do but confider and pause a while upon that mischief which fin bath done poor creatures by its pollution. How hath it flamed their glory ? caft them down from their excellency ? turned Angels into Devils, and debafed man who was once almoiì the top of the whole Creation, in whom all the scattered Excellencies in the Book of Nature were bound up together in one Volume , and met together in a bleffed union. How unlike hath fin made us to what God at firft made us ? Thofe fouls of ours which were once as fo many pure beams of Light, how is the beauty of them now blotted and darkned ? But Chrifl is that Fountain opened for fin and uncleannefs, Zech. 13.1. in his blood is ver- tue enough to fetch out fcarlet fpors, and crimfon Plains, Ifa.1.18. and if any of the children of men perish in their pollutions, 'cis not be- caufe he wants fufticiency , but becáufe they want faith. Chr.ifl is All in the bufinefs of cleansing and purifying. But alas, befides John 3.i6. the pollution of fin there is the prevalency of it. This was to St Paul fo great an a , ffiEtion, that he who could bear the greatest of outward aftliáions patiently, 2 Cor. 11.23,24,25, &c. cannot but exprefs m: thing of an holy impatience under this burden, Rom. 7.24. he that could triumph over Principalities, Powers, Life, Death, &c. Rom.8.38,3 9. is yet more than a little discouraged when he refleEts upon the corruptions he found lodging in his own heart. Corruption is the great Tyrant that bath ufurped over the whole world, the bounds of its Dominion are almofl as large as all man- kinde, there is not t man in all the world (except the úr11 man esydam made after, Gods Image, and the fecond Adam who was God as well as man, but he is born a (lave, a vaffal to this Ufurper. The four great fucceffive Monarchies, Chaldean, Persian, Gracian, Roman, though the extent of them were great,and the circmfererce van, yet were all thefe limited and bounded, fome parts of the world there were which knew nothing of their yoke. But alas the Empire of Corruption reaches every corner of the earth, every perfon born into the world. We may therefore not unfitly .com- pare it to Nebnchadnezzars Tree Dan. 4. ii. the top whereof reaches Heaven, from thence it threw the Angels, and the boughs thereof fpreading themselves to the ends of the earth ; yéa this vaffallage.unto Corruption, as it is themlargeft and univerfaleft, fa alío the amiferablcfl, and most dreadful). All other flperies cota- D d d d pared
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