An Expofitionof the €pijlle ----------------~ ~ Serm.IV. I. . H b ·~ S ,;- D'r;b J· Th J I " . ~~ t ts an c raum, o1u o1 ~_;o ,e r~nce. c . ew~ co ULt m corrtrnon Speech· to applY. the words, Sons and Cbzldl'en, tO many. thmgs ; as, Son af Captivity, that 1s, a.Capuve: A Son of the 'I(ejilrrdfroll, f<nth the Golpel ; that is, thole that fhall rile again, and fhall be begotten by the Relurteetion ; for it is a beget· tmg agam, and fo they are Sonl. of It.. It Importeth ( asrhe Phrafe is here) one that hath add1/1:ed h1mfelf to D1fobedience.. As Wifdom is f<1id robe jiiJ'1ijied of her Chzldren, Mat. 2 3· Thereare Sons of W!ldom, that IS, thole that have given up thm Souls to be led by W1fdom, that have been converted by Chrift: So here thole that have addicted themlelves ro Dif'obedience, to Sin, they are called, So 11; "f Difobedience. You have the like .in Pfo/. . 8'9. 22. The Sott of Wick!diJCjj JbaU not ,1]1;{1 him: So, Sonrof Violence. I fhall not need to open rhar nmch, I fhall fpeak of it, when I come to handle Sons, or Children of Wrath, in the next Words. The only Cl!J.eftion is this : Whether he me•neth o)l forts of unregenerate Men? Or whether he meaneth fome fpec1al Sort, mwhom the Devil in thole times raifed up a fpecial Spirit? The truth is, .it is hard to determine it, the Context feems to earrry both. In Seriprure Phrafe, ( I fhall fpeak a little to rhe latter, ) a Child of Difobcdience notes out one, that lS more emmently Wicked than others, a Son of Iniquity . and it is all one with that which in the Old Tcftament was colled, a Son of Be/i.,l, which Phraf'e you have often, and you never have it ufed; but it noteth our one more wicked than ordinarily the Generality of Mankind are. Sonr of Bclial are Men without a yoke, that h~ve brok! the Boundr, as the Prophet ex~ preffeth it, for fo the Word fignifies, Still when they are mentioned 1 fay, it notes a fpecial fort .of wicked Men. I fha\1 quote the Places: Dwt. 13· I3· I Sam. 2. 12. The Sons cf Eli ore called, Sons of Belial, being more eminently wicked than others. So in ']udg. 19. 22. One given to Drunkennefs, is called a Da11ghter of Be/i,d, I Saw. r. I6. Thole there– fore, that either inrefpect oflivingin Prophanends, or in refpect ofOppo!ition to God and Chrift, are more eminent th>n others, they .are efpecially Sons of Belial; yea, they are called, even Belialit felf. And in 2 Cor. 6. I5· Beli.1l is called the Devil himfelf; even as in theNew Teftament, the Devil is called, That 1Pic/J.!d One : And anfwcrably, one that is mQte eminently wicked is called a Devil ; as in that Speech of Chrift, who faith of 'judm, thm he was a Devil, . The word, Difobedience, is ,<.,ae&«s, an obfrinacy of Heart, that a Man fulth flood out Perfuafions. So as now it cloth import fuch kind of Men likewi[e, as have received·the Truth, or have heard of the Truth, yet obey it nor, but do. the contrary. I have jlretched out my Hand to a difobediwt, gainfoying People, Rom. IO. 2 I. Thole are called difobedient; (it is the fame. word) which have had GoGI's hand ftretched.out to them. You have many Places for i,\, Rom. 2. 8. and Tit. I. r6. In Work they del!} him, faith he, •nd are difobedi~nt,, (it is the fame word here ) a11d to everygood Work. reprobate. And in Fleb; 4· 6, I I. it is ufed for Unbelief. Now if it be taken in a iarge fence, as ~rhaps in Epb. 5· a. it is taken for all unregenerate Men, For which the Wrath of God cometb upo11 the Ctildrw of Difo– bediwce : Then the Obfervation in a word is this. It cometh in here by woy of difference from Satan's working in godly Men, and in · unregenerate Men. He wm·k!th in the Cbi!dren of. Difobediwce; that is, he ordinarily prevaileth with them, (I mean,for thole Lu!tsthey are addicted to,) he ruleth them,asit is fpokenin that Curfe concerning JudtU, Pfal. I09. He prevaileth over them,he works effectually in them, (take that, I !Gy 1 which is their proper nod fpecial way of {amm~, that which their Spirits are addicted t<1,) they c.re (as I may fo cxpre!S 1t) h!S working Shgp, they are called his Houfe where he dwclleth, 1 will go, a1~d retum to my Hmtfe, faith he, when he was ca!t out there in 'jolm r I. He worKs, as an ,£nemy in·the· People of God,, but 1!1 theie as" ~rutce. He works as " 1 yrant in thofe,and prevails often over them for Acts ; but m thefe as a·Col'lqueror,takmg them captive at his Will. My Brethren, I take It, that there is this difference fee by God, between thole that are godly and regenerate Men, uanOated 1nto !IJC Kmgdom
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