4430 The NATURE and: POWER Titus iii. 3. And the life of evil men, is nothing but deceiving and be- ing deceived, 2 Tint. iii. 23. So that we have fuf£icient teftimony given unto this qualification of the enemy with whom we have to deal ; he is deceitful, which confideration of all things puts the mind of man to a lofs in dealing with an adverfary. He knows he can have no fecurity a- gaind one that is deceitful, but in handing upon his own guard and de- fence all his days. Farther to tnanifeft the ftrength and advantage that fin bath by its deceit, we may obferve that the Scripture places it for the molt part as the head and fpring of every fin, even as though there were no fin, fol- lowed after, but where deceit went before : fo i Tim. ii. 13, 14. The reafon the apoftle gives why Adam though lie was firfl formed, was not firfç in the tranfgrellion, is becaufe he was not firft deceived. The wo- man though made laft, yet being find deceived, was &rft in the fin. Even that firil lin began in deceit, and until the mind was deceived, the foul was Safe. Evetherefore did truly expref the, mattes, Gen. iii. 13. though She did it not to a good end; The ferpent beguiled me, faith She, and I did eat. She thought to extenuate her own crime, by charging the ferpzht. And this was a new fruit of the fin the had raft her felf into. But the matterof fad was true, She was beguiled before She ear ; deceit went before the tranfgrefliion. And the apoftle (hews that fin and faran dill take the fame courfe, a Cor. xi. g. There is, faith he, the fame way of working towards actual fin, as was of old ; beguiling, decrying goes before, and fin that is the actual accomplishment of it followeth after. Hence all the great works that the devil loth in the world, to Mir men up to an oppofition unto the Lord Jefes Christ and lais kingdom, he doth them by deceit, Rev. xii. 9. The devil who deceiveth the whole world. It were utterly impoflible men Mould be prevailed on to abide inhis fer- vice, ading his defigns to their eternal, and fometimes their temporal ruin, were they not exceedingly deceived. See alfo chap. xx. ra Hence are thofe manifold cautions that are given us to take heed, that we. be not deceived, if we would take heed that we do not fin. See Eph. v. 6. x Cor. vi. 9. 1 Cor. xv. 33. Gal. vi. 7. Luke xxi. 8. i reiir all which tedainonies we may learn the influence that deceit Bath into fin, and confequently the advantage that the law of fin hath to put forth its power by its deceitfulnefs. Where it prevails to deçeive, it fails not to bring forth its fruit. The ground of this efficacy of fin by deceit is taken from the faculty of thefoul affectedwith ir. Deceit properly affects the mind; it is the mind that is deceived. When fin attempts any other way of entrance into the foul; as by the affections, the mind retaining its right and fovereignty, is able to- give check and controul unto it. But where the mind is tainted, the prevalencymud be great. For the mind or underdanding is the lead- ing faculty of the foul, and what that fixes on, the will and affections rufh after, being capable of no confideration hut what that prefents unto them. Hence it is, that though the entanglement of the affections unto fin be oft times molt troublefome, yet the deceit of the mind is always mod dangerous; and that becaufe of the place that it poffeffeth in the foul, as unto all its operations. Its office is to guide, dared, choofe and lead; and if the light that is in us be darknefs, how great is that darknefs. And this will farther appear, if we confider the nature of deceit in ge- neral. It conffts in prefentmg unto the foul, or mind, things otlierwife than they are, either in their nature, caufes, effects, or prefent refpeét unto the foul. This is the general nature of deceit, and it prevails many ways.
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