792 I. ~- The Great Duty they wer~ given you to conquer, and there ~s no Corruption but they would conquer .. 1f you your felves would. it doth 1\1 become a Chriftian to whine and fhrmk at the fight of that numerous Hoft of Corruptions· that incJmp againfi: him: Be but confcious of thy own Strength , nay, rather Of the Strength of God engaged for thee. Daft thou not ~fee more for thee than againft th~e? Th_ere's not one of thcfe but thou may"ft look upon as a dead Lufr, dehvered mto thy Hand for the Slaughter; and if thou fuffereft it to efcape alive, G_od may fay to thee as Ahab to Benhadad, becaufe thou ·haft let g-o out of thme hands, a Lujl that I appointed to utter DejfyuEfion therefore thy Life fhall go for the Life of it. So ~hen Corn1ption is in your oV:n Power it is delivered u'p to you t~ ~e. mortified: Though it be in your Hearts t~ tempt and trOl~ble you, yet It ls tn your Hands to Oaughter it. Confider but two or three thtngs. Firft, Corrupti?n be it JlC\•.e: fo !trong and violent cannot prevail over you; without firft askang and waltlng for the confent of your own Wills. All its Vid:orie~ are but precarious and ~eggerly Atchievements, gotten rather by Infinuanon, Flattery and Imporrumty~ than by clear Force. It mufi: folicite th~ AffeCTions, cozen the Underfi:a1:ding, ask lca\'C of the Will, e'er it preyail. And therefore the Apofrle faith,.Rom. 6. 13. N either yield ye your membtrs as lnftrument~ of unrighttoufiufs to. Sm ;. implying that if they do become lnftruments to Sm, they arc voluntanly yielded up unto it. Believe it there's no .force nor vi?lencc otfcr'd you, y~u are nor compell.ed to. fin; all that ~ Temptation can do 1s to verfua~e you, It cannot conftra1~ you to fin whether you will or no. When Corrupuon ftorms moft and fwells higheft, when Satan alfaults you ~erceft, yet after. all, you. are free and a~ your ow~ difpofc, efpecially if fana1fied, and ~here IS no dclibera~e TemptatiOn nnto Sm, bm you may refift it if you will; If you. can but find 111 your Hea~ts to deny a C:orruption, you do mortifie that Corruption. Now would you wiJh to deal wl[h better Enemies than thefe are, that muft ask us leave before they can hurt 11s; that ·muft entreat and petition us to be wounded, to .be captivated, to be abufed by them~ Truly fuch are our own Lufrs: As ternble a~d as .dreadful as they fcem to us, yet indeed they are the moft contemptable, 01ght,. Imp~tent A~verfaries in the World, were we but .true to our o~n ~ouls. But It's ~his that gtves Corruption all its Power; you Will fin, you will yield to Temptations, you will betray your Souls, and then you cry out of the Power of Lufis} Oh! their irrefiftabte Violence, I cannot ftand againft them, they will break in upon me, l:hey will prevail, they will be obeyed, an.d .1 ca~not help !t They will, and ~hou c~nft not help it! For fhame, 0 Cbnfhan, tf thou wilt, thou canft help It. D1dft thou ever fin but that thou wert willing to it? Though there may be fome Renitency and ReluB:ancy from Grace; in refpetl: of which the Apoftle tells us, that he did what he wet-ild not do, yea, what he hated, Rom. 7·-19· Yet there is alfo a voluntarinefs in every Sin ; thou yicldcft thy felf to it~ and giveft it leave to wound thy Confcience, to ruin thy Soul, and thou wilt have it fo. It is this is the Strength of Corruption, Men will be conquer'd and captivated by it. Never tell me your Corruptions are fuch as you cannot fubdue, there is no fuch Corruption, the moft p_revail~ng, .the moft tun_lllltuating max be ?lO~tified by you, if you your [elves will. Now m a Temptation always thmk ot thts, why fuould I yield?_ What reafon is there? What excufe can l have? I am not yet nec~ili· tared ; I am not compelled to fin; my Provifion is not yet all fpent; my Heart is impregnable unlcfs l defert or difinantle it. I may if I w:ill frill ftand it out, and be certain of the Conqucft : Shalll wilfully give up my Soul, my Darling to the Devourer ? Shall I my felf open thefe everlafi:ing Gates at which Satan now knocks indeed, but cannot force? I can can choofe whether this Temp~ ration fhall ever prevail; an abfolute denial, a peremptory no, would now filence it. Certainly dtd you but aCtually dwell upon this Thought in a Temptation, it would ihame you from gratifying many a Corruption that JlOW ~ou do. And then, Secondly, Confider the prevailing Nature of Grace. It is from this that your endeavours after Morrific.ation are accompanied with cenainty of Succefs. Grace is an immortal Seed that will certainly fprout up 3Dd fl.otJr into Glory; it is a living Fountain that will certainly flow and bubble up into evcrlafi.ing Lit~; It
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