to the EPHESIAN S. ... i now, now in this Age;. do you not fee w?at a Spirit w.orks in Men that areenii- ~; nent!y wicked, the Children of DII?bed1ence ?. Altho you do not fee It m all ~ unregenerate Men, yet you may? C1Ith he, lee I.t m Come evidently to be the De~ vi!, by the Spirit that worketh .m them, becaufe the Stream nleth . h1~her than the Fountain, beyond realon, bey~:md the Splflts of Men ;. for (o tnw Rag~ againfl:Jefus Chrill and his Saints, in thofe PrimitiveTimes, the Spirit that then wrought, was beyond the.Spirits of Men : there could be no rcafon; no account given of their pelfecutmg thofe that profefled Clmll; for they perlecuted .th<; Chrifl:ians, and did not underfl:and what they were, but the Devil d1d ' He railed a mighty Spirit, a general Stream, whereof Come eminent Men, that were Chi!: dren of Dilobedience, were the R.mg-leaders, that camed on all the rcfl: ; the, Devils went, by a common Blafl: that they breathed into Men, and ,f'arried the World before them, againfl: Chrifl:, and againfl: rh~ Apofl:les and Saints; you may fee how it· works, faith he. . And lonow,my Brethrcn,in the firfl: \Vords,when he laith,Te walk,pd according to the 'Prince of the Power of the Air, he meaneth, the ordinary Sinfulne!S; that is i1i all unregenerate Men, being under the Po\ver of Satan : But in thele latter words he meaneth, a lpecJal Spmr, that IS yet a common and general Spmt, that w~rk,pth_in the.Children o( Difobedience, which is (et up aga~nfl: Jefus ,Ghrilt; and the Purtty of h1s Worlbip, as then It was, and agamfl: the Commandment of the Lord Jelus. This C1me fpecial Spirit, that yet is one Gale in the Hearts of Men, Satan is the Prince of it, and your lefler Devils go all one way; and un-. der that perfecute the Saints, having dite/J:ion frort1 this great Devil; therefore he is (aid to be the Prince of the Spirits. And the Apoltle brings it in to this end and purpole, to let them fee, tho they were now conv~rted, yet, Ciith he, had you lived in your former condition, this Spirit would have breathed in you; you may even fee what manner of Men you would have been, how the Dev·il would have jaded you, by the Sptnt that now worketl1 m the World; you wonld have been a/J:<.'d by the C1me Spirit; for whiffl: you were tirider the Devil's King– dom you might have been railed up ( tho all Men are not, yet you might have been raifed up ) to the lame height that it now \Vorket\1 in them. T here is one Obje/.l:ion, why that this Spirit infuled, this raifed Spirit irl Men, lhould not be meant here; and it is Tifcator'; Objel.l:ion ; I will give you an An– fiver to it, and fhew you, that both may verv well be intended, and fo come to Obfervations. This latter Interpretotion is Zancbfs,, tho he expreffeth it only in general, a FlattH, an Inlpiration, or the Breath of Satan. But Tifcator's Ob– jel.l:ioti againfl: this Interpretation, is this: That cannot be meant, C1iih he, for the Spirit here is [,id to [work_] in the Children of DifoLedience ; therefore the' ~pirit hrre mufl: be meant a Perlon, or Perfons, and therefore the Devils them– felves only. Andhebacksitwiththis, becaufein 1 Cdr. 1 2.7. !peaking of the Hbly-Ghofl:, as a Perfon, he is faid to wbrf( aU ;, all, which argueth him to be the t.hird Perfon in the Trinity. . . For that I anlwer, That this hindereth not, but fl:iil by Spirft here, moy be meant that raifed Spirit, that is fi·om th'e Devils them!elves, that lnlpirarion of them, and Infufion ofthem; becaufe I find that the C1me word th'at is ul<:d here of workjng, it isapplied to other things than Perfons, that is, to Spirits too; in– fuled, 2 Thejf 2. 7· The Myjlery of Iniquity now [ work,pth, J it is the C•rne word: What was this ":'yfl:ery of Iniquity? You fhall find, in I John 4· 3· The Spirit of Alrtichrij/, latth he, whereof )'Oit have heard that it foo~tld come, and even now ;;– come into theWorld: that is, T he truth Is, (laith he) t~e Devil begi'llleth to ralle' up the beginnings of that Spirit of Antichrift ~mongfl: Chrillians, which !ball one' day work up to a height ; it worketh now, faith he. And indeed it may be, that this very one Spirit was one part ofthe Apollle's meaning, that he points at: Look out, Chri~ians, f:1ith he, lee whit ;r Spirit ther": is among them, making way for Corruption m the Worfh•p and Tru'th of God; fook among the He.1thens, lee what a' mighty Spirit there is, the Devil in both, he is the Prince of both there. Now in Rom. 7· 5· likewile, becaufe you Yiill fa'y, it is noi.faid to' work m us ; y.ea, but there it is laid, That the Motion' of s;,,, ''"P)'EfTO, did "'orlt in our Member; ; it is the fame wo;d that is here. It is applied then, you G 2 feej·
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