C. XV. Difference between Believers and others in their finning. 362 from all a&wall finnesor open committing offinne all his dayes,yet ifhe have any habitualldelight in finne, and defileth his foule with delightfullcontem- plationsoffinne, he liveth to finne, and not toGod, which a Believer cannot do, for he is not under the Law but underGrace. To abide in this (fate, is to Weare thegarmentfpotted with theflefh. But nowtake another Perfon, however heightned, and wrought up by convictions, unleffe it be when Confcience is flirted up,and fomeaffrightment is put upon him, he can as his leifure af- fords,give his heart the fwing in inordinate affe&ìons,or what elfepleafeth St fuiteth his fiate, condition, temper and the like. 2. ABeliever is exceedingly troubled, upon the account of his being at any time led captive to the power offinne in thiskind ; and the review of the frameofhis fpirit, wherein his affections were by delight conformed to any finne, is amatter offore trouble and deep humiliation to him- I am of Au- ftins mind, De Nap.Coneupif. cap.a: that it is this perpetrating offinne, and not the a&uall committing ofit, which the Apoffle complainethofRom. 7. Two things perfwade me hereunto. Firft, That it is the ordinary courfè andwalk- ingofa regenerate man, that Paul defcribeth in that places and not his extra- ordinary falls and failings, under great and extraordinary temptations. This is evident from the whole manner of his difcourfe, and fcope of theplace. Nowordinarily, through the graceofGod , the Saints doenot doe outwardly, and Praitically, the things they would note that is, commit finne actually, as to the outward aft; but they are ordinarilyonly fwayedto this entanglement, by thebaits 'offinne. , Secondly, It is thefolewarke of Indwellingfnne, that the Apoffle there defcribeth, as it is in its felfe, and not as it is advantagedby ow ther Temptations; in which it carrieth not Believers out to a&uall finites , as to fuch ace-ompbfhtnent ofthem, which is their fiate in refpeft of great temp- tations only. It is then I fay the great burthen oftheir Cowles, that they have been in their affections at any time dealing with the baits of finne, which caufeth thetñ t0cry out forhelpe, and filleth themwith a perpetual) felfe-ab- horrency and condemnation. 3. In fuchfkrprifalls offinne, although the Affe&ions may be infnared, and the judgement, andConfcience by their tumultuating, dethroned for a feafon, yet the will, frill maketh head againfi finne in Believers , and crieth out, that whether it will or no, it iscaptived, and violently overborne,calling for reliefe, like a manfurprized by an enemy. There is an aelive renitency in the Will,-againft the finne, whole bait isexpofed to the Soule, and where- with it is inticed, allured, or ìntangled; when of all the facultiesofthe Souk, if any thing be tobe done in anya&offinne in Vivregenerate men, thewill is the ringleader. Confciencemay grumble, andJudgement may plead, but the Will runneth headlong toit-And thus farre have I (byway ofdigrefiìs n) pro- ceeded in the difference there is,betwixt Regenerateand Unregenerate men, as to the root and foundation offinne, as allo to their ordinary walking: what is farther added by the Apoffle, in the two following degrees , in the place mentioned, becaufe thence alto may fomelight be obtained to the bufne(le in hand, (hall be briefelyinfifted on. 4.55 Thenext thing in the Progrefjë offrnne, is Lulls conceiving. When it hath turned offthe heart from ifs Communion with God , or confiderarionof its duty, and intangled or hampered the Affe&ions , in delight with the Gnfull objet.propofed, prevailing with the foule to dwell with fome complacency upon the thoughts offinne, it then falieth to conceiving; that is, it marines, fo- ments, cherifheth thoughts and delights of thefinne entertained , untill it fo farteprevaile upon the will, (in them in whole wills there is an oppofition unto it)that being wearied out with the follicitations ofthe1eth, it giverh over
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