and e9%/foralWòrd.r. i 297. And it will fill remain es ceeding difficult what Refolutions againft Sinwill provetrue Repentance : For asmanya child under cor- re&tion, fomany an adult Sinner on his Sick bed, or under a terrifying Sermon, or convi Lion, not only feemeth, but doubtlefs is; as pafsio nately refolved at the prefent to forfake his Sin , as a Godly man is, if not more : and yet quickly lofeth all that RefoÍution, and liveth in the Sin which he refolved to forfake. 298. By thisit would feem that it is not true Refolution which caufeth not the ordinary forfaking of the Sin. For toRefolve to day , and Sin to morrow, is but to play with Sin , and not to.repent or mortifie it. And yet ifatival forfaking be neceffary (of All Sin) who then is peni- tent or can be laved. For there is no man that dothgood, and finneth not : And in many things we offend all. Who leaveth all the idle thoughts, and words; and negligence, &c. which he knoweth to be Sin? And the n:ofl underftanding men then would bevery hardly faved, whó know almoft all Sin , in comparifon of the ignorant , who know it not ? 299. And yet nodoubt, thofe Sins whichare materiallyfmall , may have fuch circumftances, asmay make them more malignant than Tome greater in the matter t Aswhen they are committed through malignant contrivancesand ends, or in grofs contempt , or negligence. So that this alto maketh the decifionof the cafe more difficult. 3c0. And itwill be hard, not only to know which and how great the Sins mutt be which areunpardoned if lived in without forfaking, or without refolving to forfake them prefently if known; but alto how great, andwhat Sins unknown mayRand with Paving Grace. For furely ifmenthould ignorantly reproach or reje&God, or Chrift, or the Holy Ghoft, or live in Murder, Adultery, Perjury, &c. not knowing them to beSins, this would not Rand with PavingGrace: Andyet to live in fume unknown Sin may. 301. And it is as hard to know how oft a grofs Sin may be committed in confiftencewith truehabitual Grace? And how oft the Refolution of the will may change, without the lofs of holy habits. Thetempter will fay to David or Peter, Ifonce, whynet twice ? Iftwice why not thrice ? And who but God can fay, juft how oft? And yet to let no bounds confoundeth the juft and unjuft, goodand bad, and maketh San&ifi- cation but a name. And to fay that Peter's Faith did totally fail, or that hewas holy deprived ofwholly love,or PavingGrace, is rafhand an unlikely thing. 302. And it mutt be remembred that theWill isalways in the timeof finning, more for the committingthe Sin, than againft it , aftually, or elfe it would not be committed g And in omiflìons , it is not prevalently for the Duty y elleit would be done. Andif it were Habitually fotoo, as to a holyor a finful life , the. perfon were unholy. And when the will (known by the pra&ice) is fometime altually more for a grofs Sin than againft it, and daily actually more for fome fmall Sins than againft tfiem,it is wonderous.hard here to difcerncertainly that the con- traryhabit is our ftate. 303. And it addeth to the difficulty, that it is hard tobe fore whe- ther the Habit ofLoveand Holinefs may not be predominant, andyet the very Habit of force one Sin (as well as the a&) be ftronger than the con- trary habit: For a daily ufe of the alts feemeth to prove a prevalent Habit. AsaHabit of Anger, ofvain jeafting, &e. And if avery Ha- bit of one Sin may be prevalent, though not of all others, it will be P 2 hard 7 Jam. 3. a.
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