on im, and his corruption prevails over ,tn, he cannot get his will of it. Here we would diffinguifh betwixt thwarting of the mind, and interrupting the calnmefs of the Confcience : The mind may be thwarted and croffed by the prevailing of fin, when there is 11111 ground of peace and caimnefs of Confcience. Tis one thing to have difquietnefs of mind, and another thing to have peace of Confcience broken ; the leaff furring of corruption may and fhould, :yea, very readily will crois and afflict the fincere Chriflian's mind, when he cannot get his will of it; but, holinefs being his honeff defign and purpofe, it ought not to break his peace, tho' I grant it often does fo : However fincere willing-. nefs makes the man to look on the prevailling of cor- ruption, as his greateff burden, to lament heavily over the body of death, and to cry out becaufe of it, O mifeY cable man that I am, who !ball deliver me from it'? Alas, I cannot get my will of it, nor, becaufe of it, to be fo holy as I would. It is not unworthy the remarking, that all the outward añlietions, and perfecutions that the apoftle met with, never drew fuch an expreffion from him, as the indwelling and furring of the body of death did, O miferable man that I am! Ile could and did rejoice in the midif of theft other tribulations; which plainly lays, that he looked at this, as his greateff crois and alfii &ion, and the thing in all the world that made him account himfelf moft miferable. They who, un- der the pretext of willingnefs to live honeffly, are not frouhled with the ffirrings and prevailings of their cor- ruption, nor know what it is to grove under them, as their burden, who flight challenges, and neglect& repen- tance, neither have, nor can have, the folid peace and ,calmnefs of Confcience that flow from it. 4thly, A man that is ferioufly willing to be at holinefs, and to live ho- neffly, is a man whó is often viewing the inward finful- nefs and corruption of his nature, who is well acquain- ted with it, and who lothes it, and himfelf becaufe of ir. He can (to fay fo) tell two ill tales of himfelft when another, it may be, has not one to tell of him ; O ! (lays he) 'tis at my heart that ails me. None could peak of the fin that was in .1)aul) at the rate that him ot a
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=