Of INDWELLING SIN. 471 firetched out his band to lay hold of the prophet, and it withered and be- came ufelefs. And this is an eminent way of the effeftual awing of God's providence in the world, for the flopping of that inundation of fin, which would overflow all the earthwere every womb of it opened. He cuts men fhort of their moral power, whereby they fhouldeffeft it. Many a wretch that hatli conceived mifchief againft the churchof God, Bath bythis means been divefted of his power, whereby he thought to accomplifh it. Some hatheir bodies fmitten with difeafes, that they can no more ferve their Rifts, nor accompany them in the perpetrating of folly. Some are depri- ved of the inftruments whereby they wouldwork. Therehave been for manydays, fin and mifchief enough conceived, to root out the generation from the face ofthe earth, had men ftrength and ability to their will, did not God cut off and lhorten their power, and the days oftheir prevalent'y: Pfd. Ixvi. 6. They fearcb out iniquities, they.accompliijh a diligent fears both the inward thought of every one of them and the heart is deep. All thingsare in a readinefs, the deign is well laid, . their counfels are deep and fecret. What now !hall hinder them from doing whatever they have imagi- ned to do? ver. y. 8. But Godfhallfloor at themwith an arrow,fsddenlyflail theybewounded : So theypall make their own tongue tofallupon themfelves. God meets with them, brings them down, that they (hall not be able to ac- complifh theirdeign. And this way of God's preventing fin, feems to be at leaft ordinarily, peculiar to themen of the world ; -God deals thus with them every day, and leaves them to pine away in their fins. They go all their days bigg with the iniquity theyhave conceived, and are greatly bur- dened that they cannot be delivered of it. The Prophet tells us, that they prailife iniquity that they hadconceived, becaufe it is in the power of their band,Micah. ii. r. Ifthey have power for it, theywill accomplifh it; Ezek. xxii. 6. To their power they flied blood. This is themeafure oftheir finning, even their power. They do manyof them, nomore evil, they commit no more fin than they can. Their whole reftraint lies in being cut fhort in ' power in one kind or another. Their bodies will not ferve them for their contrived uncleanneffes; nor their hands for their revenge and rapine, nor their inftruments for perfecution; but they go burdened withconceived fin, and are difquieted and tortured by it all their days. And hence they be- come in theinfelves, as well as unto others, a troubledfea that cannot refs, Tfa. Ivii. 20. It may be alfo in fome cafes, under tome violent temptations, or hi mi- flakes, Godmay thus obviate theaccomplifhment ofconceived fin in his own, And there feems to be an Inftance of it in his dealingwith yehofapbat, who had deigned againft the mind of God ro joyn in affinitywithAhab, and to fend his Ships with him to Tarfiifh ; but Godbreaks his Ships by a wind, that he could not accomplifh what he had deigned. But in God's dealing withhis in this way, there is a differencefrom the fame difpenfation towards others ; for, [r], It is fo only in cafes of extraordinary temptation. When through the violenceof temptation, and craft of Satan, they are hurryed from un- der the conduft of the lawofgrace, God one wayor other takes away their power, or may do fo, that they (hall not be able to execute what they had deigned. But this is an ordinary way of dealing with wickedmen. This hook ofGod is upon them in thewholecourfe of their lives ; and they¡trim= gle with it, being as a wildbull in a net, Ifa. li. 20. God's net isupon them, and they are filled with fury that they cannot do all the wickednefs that they would, [3,1 Cad
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