of Mortification. pofition foevcr. Othcrwife, to conclude that Corruption is mortified and fubdued, Lccanfe thou breakeft not forth into fuch Sins to which perhaps thy natural Inclination is not fo fhongly bent, is but a falfe and deceitful Evidence. Stcondly, The not brclking out of unlnortified Corruption, may often be im~ pmcd to ~ht abfence of Temptations_, Opp'ortunities, and Dccafions of Sinning, and fucb ltkc outward advantages; whtch wetc they prefenr-, would cerrainly draw it forth into aft. Either the Devil is want ing to Mens Corruptions, in flrting them with fui~ablc Temptations, or elfe God's ProvidenCe in fitting them with a convenient opportun ity, one or both of which, is t h'e true reafon why we fee no more \VickednelS cdhlmitted in the World (though it ddth now too fearfully abound) and not the wc:~ko i ng or ab;~t i ng the Powel· and Rage of it by Mor tification. When the Propbet told J-la z.arl what Cruelt ies he fhould act npon the c:fews; WhAt ( faith he) is rhy Servant a Dog, thAt _he fo~uld do this great thing l While he was in his pri- 'v:~t'c Elhtc, he could nor thtnk h1s Nature had been fo cruel; but when he was advanced to the Kingdom of Syria, and had fubdued the Ifraelites; then the Temptations of a Conqueror alfault him, and he Jhews that Cruelty which before lay lilfking and dormant. And fo it was with Peter in denying his Lord and Mafter~ Now look inward a little, you pretend perhaps to be mort ified Perfons; and why, Oh! Not any one Sin befides common failings hath broken from me fo long time; hath thcte not? Tell me, were there no Temptations to provoke and dra\V out thy <:;orniptions? ~ere there ~o\)pportunities wanting to let ~ut thy Corruptions? It there were, this thy not Smmng proceeds not from a mortified Heart, but from a nrgligclltDevil, or a &racious Go~!. That Man gets a good opinion ofhimfc!f" at too ea tie a rate, who thtnks himfelt mortified for not Sinning, when he is not Tempted. . _ . Thirdly, [t may be tmputed to a powerful Reftramt latd upon the eruptions of Lufl'. This hinders them from breaking out into at't; but yet this doth not mar... tifie nor weaken them. I do not now fpeak of t hat Almighty Reftraint that God in his ordinary Prov idence lays updn t he Lufts of Men; by which indeed he mortifies them, even as he mortified 'Jeroboam' s Hand, which he ftretched out again!t the Prophet, by taking the power of Sinning from them; but of that Reftra int which Men themfelves lay upon t heir Lufts; who yet are alcogether ignorant of and unexperienced in the Spiritua lnefs of t his Duty of Mortification. Men maY lay a check and curb upon their Lufts, t hat whereas formerly they Jet themfelves loofe nnto afl manner of Prophanenefs and Impiety; they may now relinquifh that Excefs of Riot, and bind their Corruptions within a narrower Pale and Compafs. and thereby appear both to themlelvesand others to be much mortified and changed Chriftians. Now this Rcftraint may proceed from a twofold caufe. Firjl, From grofs Hypocrifie and deep Diffimulation, for fecnlar ends and ad van~ tages, with which the extravagancy ofVJickcdnefs pollibly would not con lift. And trul y, we may juftly fear, that_much of that feen~ing Mortificati~n which is among Profelfonrs, f'tands only up_on_ thts bottO?I· .. Certaml~ that finful Ltberty which they allow themfelves, where Jt IS not preJudiCial to the1r worldly Interefts, is a very fad groun~ to fufpetl: _all. other Reftraints _that th_ey impofc upon themfelves, to be frqm no h1gher a Pnnctple, than compl1ance With the genius and current of the times. Such Mens cmfed Hypocr ifie fhall in Hell bear the pwnifhmen t of all thofe Sins that it felf hind red from being committed; that's all the Reward it fha\l have. Secondly, This Rcftraint may likewife proceed from the Strengt h of Conv iCH.. ons~ and che Tcrrours of a natura l Confciencc. \Vickcd Men many times dare not commit thofe Sins, which yet notwithftand ing their Hearts and AffeCtions are bent upon; fltould they, Confcience would hur l Fire· Brands in the ir Faces, and haunt them with fearful ThrCatnings and Outcr ies; and fomc thore are who with· ont quellion do ftand in as much dread of an enraged Confcience, as they do of Hell it fc\f. Now this keeps Men in fame awe and order, that they dare not commit Sin with fo much Impudence and Greed i nef~, as otherwifc they would do; but yet this amounts not to a true Mortification: This all proceeds from the Power of Confcience, forcibly reigning in Corrupt Nature, not from the Power of Grace, chang~ng that Na.turc. As it is. with .wild Beafts kept up in a grate, they cannot ravtn after thetr Prey; but ft tll thctr Natures are ravenous: So it is with 2 .
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