"to the EPHESIA.NS• . 97 when Holinds is gone, what is Sin? the want of HolinetS; what mull: be the ~j[ fubjefr of it thell'l Certainly the Under!l:anding, ·and the Will too, is the chief ~ Subjeet of.it. L. . J ~ , 'l'bit which .dooeivtd.the School-Men, who brought up that Notion firll:, was thegrofidnterpretation'of' th~ word [ Flejb] in tbe Scripture, a~ only taking it fur-the Body, whenas the Scnpfure doth not fpeak l•ke the Phdofophers, but the ·Sariptltres fpeak liheoli3gica'lly,·Thatwhich is born oftlie Flejh, is Flejb. He <loth not only fay [ He, J but [That J.; there is no~ that thing in ~an, that js born of Flefh, and propagated, but it 1s Fl e!b, that 1s, 1t 1s CorruptiOn. . .1 'J:.L : ·, J If.' 'l'h~ Fathers likewife in the Primitive Tim~s, they fpake gently of the Cor– ruption'bf the Mind, :lnd of the Under!l:anding, Becaufe they approved fo much Good, and the Philofophers magnified that, for they knew no other Good in Man but that: the other fpake too gently, by reafon of the oppofition of the Times, and to take offthe Abfurdities of the Doctrine of Chriflian Religion, and not according to the Scriptures. ·My Brethren, the greatefl: Sins of all are in the Un– derftanding, as I might !hew you, if IJJad time. Envy and Wrath, which are Lufrs properly in the Under!l:anding, and Revenge, and the like, they are all called, L11jls of the Fkjb, that is, ofcorrupt Nature, yet they are Lufl:s properly feated in the Underftanding. My Brethren, they are the Devils Lull:s, they are the~efore the worft Lull:s of all the re!l: ; the Devil's Lu!l:s, I fay, mofl: oppofite unto Chri!l:; the highefl: Idolatry lies there: Therefore when he Ipeaks of an intellectual Lufl:, fuch as <;:evetoufnetS is, he faith, Which is IdolatrJ, becaufe the inward Idolatry of the Mind is the worfl: Idolatry ofall therefl:. Men that fin againft the Holy-Ghoft, what is it makes them fo wicked ? It is their Underfl:anding, and their Will, Julian the Apoftate was a civil Man, he was not given up to grofs Sins, yet finned againft the Holy-Ghoft. It lies in Revenge, in the Devil's Lufl:s. The Wifdom of the World, faith he, is earthly, fenjital, and devillifh ; the very Wifdom is. 'there are (in a word) other Corruptions in the Under!l:anding: There is,lirft; adarknefs as to the knowledgofall fpiritual things: There are alfo all forts ofPrin– ciples contrary to true Principles, The Foot foith, Tlere is no God, and Godfeeth not, Pfol.ro. There are alfo in it Lufl:s ofits own, proper to it felf, which are the firongeft Lults, and have the greatefl: influence into Mens Lives, of any other ; as outward excellencies apprehended by the Underftanding, to have Honour, and Riches, and Power, and GreatnetS, and the like; thefe are the Objects of the Underfl:anding, and thefe are the great Lufts of the World, other Lufl:s are but petty ones, thefe have the great Influence into Men. I conld !hew you, that Covetoufnefs, and fuch Lufts, they are Lufts of the Underfl:anding: Men are not covetous, meerly becaufe they love to fee Money, and to fee Gold ; but co– vetous to uphold their State and Greatnefs, that they may be laid to be worth fo much, to le;~ve behind them a Name, and an Houfe, and an Efrate for their· Children : Thefe are the Lufts ofthe Underfranding, and thefe are the groundS of Covetoufnefs. And fo likewife the Underfranding, it is fet on work to ac– oompli!b all worldly Lults: Men are wife to do evil, faith Jeremy, and to dogood they have no Vnder.flanding. 1 have not walf<sd among you, faith PaHI, with jlejhly Wifdom, I Cor. I. I could name many more, but I pafs them over. A third Obfervation is this : You fee, how much more Man that is a Sinner Obfc bath to be humbled for, in fome refpelt, than Devils. For he bath more Lufrs, erv. 3• and a greater capacity of finning, than the Devils themfelves have in fome refpects. The Devil indeed is the Father of all Sin, becaufe he beg•n it; but all tlie Lults of the Body, and the like, he is not capable o£ But now look, how many defires are in the outward Senfes, or in the Fancy, and the like, unto all things in this World, fo many ways of Sinning bath Man; and then all the ways that the Devils have of finning, he bath too ; of Revenge, and Pride, and all fuch Lufts. *N And
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