of SIN in BEliIÉVERg: after. The Body then here is taken fir that Corruption and pravity ofour natures; whereof the Body, in a great part, is the feat and inftrument : the very members of thebody being made Crevants unto unrighteoufnefsthereby, Rom. vi. 19. it is indwel, ling fin, the corrupted ilea:, or lult, that is intended. Many reafons might be gi- ven of this metonymical expreffion, that I fhall not now ïñfrfi on. The body here is the fame with 41,1nac3s iebt -s , andáñua añi iparriaf, the old mae.,,,,pnd the body of fin, Rom. vi. 6. or it may fyne ..chically. exprefthe 'whole perfon canfìdered as cor- rupted, and the feat of lofts, and diftempered affe&ions. (z.) The deeds of the body ?,the word is og,fer which indeed. denoteth'Me outward a&ions chiefly. The works ofthe Hefi, as tiny arecalled, rz ttia r "no °area Gal. v.19. which are there faid to bemaniféfl, and are enumerated. Now, though the out- ward deeds are here only expreffed, yet the inward and next caufes are chiefly in- tended,' the axe it to belaid to the root of the tree;'the deeds of the flea. are to be mor- tified in their caufes, from whence they fpring: the apoftle calls them deeds, as that which every lull tends unto: though it dobut conceive,and prove abortive, it aims to bring forth a perfect lie. Having both both in the feventh, and the beginning of this chapter, tressed of in- dwelling lull and fin, as the fountain and principle of all finful a&ions, he here men- tions its defiruetion under the name of the effe&s, which it clods produce, ued;eie, c"e arilcaii$, are as much as ppdvnµa añi iaeili, Rom. viii. 8. the wifiions of the fe'b, by a me- ton my of the fame nature with the fariner; or as the 2:48fivaea, and se224piay the pa onr and lufrof the flefh, Gad. v. 24. whence the deeds and fruits of it do arife : and in this fence is the body ufed, m: to. The body io deadbecaufe offin. (3.) To mortify; ii So,ortrs,.if yeput to. death :. a metaphorical expreffion, taken from the putting of any living thing to death. To kill a man, or any ather living thing, is to take away theprinciple of all his Brengrh, vigour, end power, fo that he cannot a&, or exert, or put forth anyproper a&ings of his own ; fó it1is in this cafe. IndwellingIn is compared to a Perfon, a living perfon, called the old man, with his faculties, and properties, his wifdom, craft, fubtilty, firengtb; this, fays the the Apoile, mull be killed, put ro death, mortified, that is, have its power, life; vi- gour and ftréngth toproduce its effe&s, taken away by the Spirit. It is indeed me- ritorioufly, and, by way of example, utterly mortified and (lain by the crois of Chrife : and the old man is thence faid to be crucifiedwith Chrif, Rom. vi. 6. and our felver to be dead with him, v. 8. and really initially in regeneration, Roma vi. 3, 4, 3. when a principle contrary to it, and deftru&ive of it, Gal. v. 17. is planted in our hearts; but the whole work is by degrees to be carried on towards perteflion all our days. Of this more in the procefs of our difcourfe. The intendment of the apolfle in this prefcription of the duty mentioned, is, that The mortification of indwelling fin, remaining in our mortal 'bodies, that it may not have life and pdaer to bring forth the works or deedsof the Belli, is the the confiant duty ofbelievers. ç. The promife unto this Duty is life : Ye Aid live. The life promifed, is oppo_ fed to the death threatned in the clauCe foregoing : If ye' live after elm flea:, ye Mall die : which the fame apoftle elfewitere expreffeth, Te Ibball of the fe,7o reap cor- ruption, Gal. vi. 8. or dellru&ion from God. Now perhaps else word may not only intend eternal life, but also the fpiritual life in Chrift, which here we have, not as to the efence andbeing of it, which is already enjoyned by believers, but as to the joy, comfort, and vigour ofits as the apoftle fays in another cafe, Now Ilive ifye found fat, 1 Deg iii. -8. Now my life will do me good ; I Mall have joy and comfort with my life: ye Mall live, lead a good, vigorous, comfortable, fpiritual life whilft you are here, and obtain eternal life hereafter. Suppofing what was faid before of the connexion between mortification and eternal life, as of means and end, I Mall add only, as afecond motive to the duty prefcribed, that, The vigour, and power, and comfort of our fpiritual life depends on the mortifi- cation of the deeds of the flefh. 0 CHAP.
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