ON HOSEA XIV.- VERSES 3, 4. 153 one another. Never was any wound cured without pain, never any sin healed without sorrow. 2. Weakness and indisposedness to the actions of life. Sin is like an unruly spleen, or a greedy wen in the body that sucks all nourishment, and converts all supplies into its own growth, and so exhausts the strength and vigour of the soul, making it unfit and unable to do any good. Whenever it sets about any duty, till sin be cured, it goes about it like an arm out of joint, which when you would move it one way, doth fall back another. It faints, and flags, and is not able to put forth any skill or any delight unto any good duty. Naturally men are reprobate or void of judgment unto any good work, Tit. i. 16. Godliness is a mystery, a spiritual skill and trade ; there is learn- ing, and use, and experience, and much exercise re- quired to be handsome and dexterous about it, 1 Tim. iii. 16. Heb. v. 13, 14. To be sinners, and to be without strength, in the apostle's phrase, is all one, Rom. v. 6. 8. And look how much flesh there is in any man, so much disability is there to perform any thing that is good, Rom. vii. 18. Therefore the hands of sinners are said to hang down, and their knees to be feeble, and their feet to be lame, that can- not make straight paths till they be healed, Heb. xii. 12, 13. If they at any time upon natural dictates, or some sudden strong conviction, or pang of fear, or stirrings of conscience, do offer at any good work, to pray, to repent, to believe, to obey, they bungle at it, and are out of their element. " They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge." They presently grow weary of any essays and offers at well- doing, and cannot hold out or persevere in them. 3. Decay and consumption. Sin wastes and wears out the vigour of soul and body, feeds upon all our
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