to the EPHESIAN S. 5 it is made a mighty bufinefs to overcome the W~rid. Wc are therefore fit id to ~ be delfvered as by frrong hand, (as the word implies, Gal. I. 4·) out ofthis preftnt mu. L evil World. ' The good Opinion of Men, Correfpondency with Friends, Honour ~ from Men ! How ca11 ye believe, faith Chrifr, when ye receive Honour one of mother'? John 5· 44· How frrong Cords are tbefe! How do thefe fetter and entangle us ! The Stream of mofr ofthe World is againfr us, and then the Weeds of Correfpondency hang about us. Therefore to overcome the World, is made theetfetl: of an Almighty Power, in I John 4· 4· Stronger is he that is in you, than he that is in the World: Otherwife we fhould never have come out of it, or from among them. But then, , .. Secondly; There is a more potent Adverfary, frronger than Fief/> and Blood, and than all thefe, the Devil, to whom God bath given Man up by Nature; that flrong Man, as be is called, Mat. 12. 28. (as I opened it before on the 1 8th Verfe of the former Chapter); he will never yeild a Man up. And he is a Prince of a greater Army, whereof the leafr is frronger than all Men; and he bath Power, and bath a permiffive Commiffion from God : He is the Spirit, th11t worf<!th ejft{ittRUy in the Children •f Difobedience; he fails not in hisworking, Men are•taf<!n captive at his WtU. And to fetch a Man out of bts Kmgdom, and to overcome and bind this frrong Man; this is yet more. In time pafl ye walf<!d, according to the Courft of this World, a<eording to the Prince of the Power of the Air, that work/ ejft{111aUy, &c. . Well, but Thirdly; Here is yet a W'orfe, and nearer, and frronger Enemy, than either of both thefe, thofe ofa Mans own Houfhold, his own Lufrs : In the Lufls of the Flejl>, jitljiUing the Dejires of the Flejb, a11d of the Mind. And there are as many of tbefe Lufls, as there be Creatures, or feveral Motions of our im– mortal Spirits within us: And thefe are natural, yea, our Nature, as the next words tell us, By nature, &c. To alter the whole Courfe and Frame of Nature, how hard is id To part with any one Lufr, how difficult ! Much more to crack a!l thefe Heart-ftrings, to pluck up all thefe Roots. You may as Coon turn the Sun in his Courfe, change a Leopard, or turn a Blackmoor, that yet h>th but his blacknefs in his Skin, but thefe Lufrs poffefs all the Inwards, they are bufrs bred and feated in the Flejb, and what power fhall fetch that out of the Bones, as the Proverb is? yea, in the Mind, which is yet more inward ; yea, they poffefs the whole Man, and all that is in him, Flelli, and Mind, and Will, and all, [ WiUs of the Flejb, andof the Mind.] And then, befides all thefe, whoever delivers . you, bath, or muli: have had the Wrath of the Great God to overcome and 6tisfy, which is more than all this: For you are Children of Wrath, &c. And thus all this Defcription here comes in to illufrrate the Greatnefs ofthat Power towards us, fpoken of, verf. I 9· H. Obferve his Scope in reference to what follows, to illufuate the Greatnefs of God's Grace, in raifing us up to the Condition we have in Chrift, and to be made conformable to him : Which he cloth by way of Paralelling, what we were be– fore by Nature, and after in Chrifr, together; and you may obfervehow exatl:ly one anfwereth to the other. You may remember, (and indeed all may read it in the words themfelves,) you that heard it opened, bow that our Lord and Sa– viour Chrifl, in the 20, 21, 22, & 23 Verfes of the fir!t Chapter, is fet forth as an Head, raifed up to a glorio111 Kingdom, fit at the right-hand of God in HeiiVen/y Places ; fi.r abiJVe aU Principality and Power, and every name that is named, not onfJ in this World, b11t in that which is to. come : and that he bath aU things p111 under his Feet ; that He is the Head of his Church, and jilleth his Body. And to be a Mem– ber of this Head, a part of this Church, cloth the Apofrle infinuate, is that Con– dition you are raifed up to. Now 'to fet forth this, mark, how artificially he winds in, by way of oppolition, what a miferable condition they were in before: Is Chrifl your Head now ? faith he, and bath God raifed him up on purpofe fo to be? Are you fet in Heaven with him ? Why Satan was your Head before, or at leafr your King. And he defcribeth Satan in Terms parallelly oppofite to what he had faid of Chrifr; for it is evident, that he doth allude, in fetting forth thetr natural Condition in fubjetl:ion to Satan, to what be had faid before of the :Advancement ol Chrifl their Head, and then their Advancement to Chrifr, that tS fuch a Head as he had defcribed. And let us but paralkl a little the Defcription of
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=