The Saints Spiritual! fIrength. repentance which is no repentance, men thinke that if they be turned this way and that way, from this finne and that finne, though it be not from e- very finne and evill way, that they have true re- pentance, but they are deceived ; for repentance is a thorough change of the whole man , confifling both of foule and body , whereby the parts and faculties of both are turned a quite contrary way ; the heart is turned out of the way of finne, into the way of hoalineffe: now that a partiall turning is not repentance, I will make cleare by this com- parifo-n: take any naturali thing,that is of an earth- ly fubflance, whofe nature is to goe downeward, yet you may force it upwards by meanes that you may ufe ; as for example , water you know is of an earthly fubflance, and the nature of it is to de- fcend, yet you fee by the force and flrength of the Sunne, it is drawne upward ; firíi, into vapours, and then congealed into ice and bow, and raine, and then it will nor rea till it defcend againe : but there is another afcent of the fire, and that is up. ward and not forced , but naturally doth afcend tip: even fo a carnali man may doe tilt fame things that a fpirituall man Both, hee may keepe downe fame lull, and hee may forfake fome evill,hee may forfake his drunkcnnefl'e and uncleanneffe, and his old evill haunts, yea he may doe Tome good, but yet he doth not forfake the evil!, neither doth bee doe the good , by the power of the fanc`lifying Spirir,but by a naturall llrength; if he doth a good alion , it is by conflrainr , he is forced by fome- thing 167
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=