The (Parable of the ving lh?uld pe Gncerel y hllmbled ; ll~Jle!s w~ dre.1m of an e(bre of perfeCl:ion before !tco:ne; , and of the day of GCnJmph m the nme of warfare. Jf rcndin" from the bondage of !Ome fins !11ould be humiliation , then a m.111 might ~ truly lmm:bled for fin, and yar under rhe power of it. And therefore look as in every o~1e the Lord humbles, there was once a fulnels of tl~c reign and pow~ er of {m 111 t~e full ilrength of it ; la that full mealure of Humiliation which the Lord woFks in his, it ever comes to that height, as to bre.1k that power doiYn, Ehud-hke,lt not only wounds rh_e fleili, bur leaves the dagger in the heart of this Tyrant ; 2 Cor. I o. 5. The weapon! of our warfare are mighty toeaft down eve7 thingthatexalts itfelf.. , • . If I !hould k ave thlsPomr rhus, I iliould bt!t leave you as doubtful as you came, and fo in rhe dark; therefore for rbe better cle.tring of rhis Point, let me explain five things ro you : TheSco~e ofwhich is to iliew you, what I mean by ., fin, ·and the power ofir, ~nd that Humiliation rhar removes ir. I. That befides the outward aCl:s of fin, and inward lut1s and breathin"~ of fin, and the fpi ritual plague>with which God !hikes men for fin, as blind~efs, hardnefs of heart, there is in everyman living another Gn, commonly called the Gn of nature: ( as in rhe Serpems, bel1das rhefpitting of poyfon, their nature is poifonous) whieh Gn is gener.tlly beleev~d and confclfed, bur fait by few. This ts called iry Scripture by the name of F lefh, Job. 3. 3. The Law of the members , The old man. For as in me11, there are a er ions, brearhings, and the man himfelf; So here :Which Gnofmrure is the deordinarion of the whole man, or a corrupt hem and fet of the whole man again/1 God: And it exprelfed1 it felf in two l .part'iculars; I. In a confl:anr departing from God in every action, Civil and Moral : Like a man fer ou f his way, every flep he goes is ouu; or like a Clock \ out of fram~, every il:rok s falfe,l'fal. 58. 3· The wick!dgo 11jfra1 from the ve7 wombe. 2. In a fierce, invincible, rel1fling and contradiCting of God, when lie hath overtaken the foul to draw it home, and turn it back, Ram. 8.7. We accoullt I it a doleful thing for Chrifi to bid the foul depart at the !ill day, that WO is pafl: upon all rhe fo11sof men by rhis fin now; only with this difference, I. They are forced to depart then, men williJ;Jgly depart now, and haflen away in every ! thing from God as fa,fl as theycan. z. They depm into fire, rhefe ro broken ~' Ciflerns of creatures. I do j.Believe t}ley would nor reGfi the Lord, if he !11ould f come ro fave them from their fepararion then from him, this makes nature reGH t him now. · I II. ThatthisGnofna.tureis mo!lproperlyonlyrhereigning!in. The text is evident for it, Rom. 6. I 2. Let not fin r~ign, to obe7 _it in the /u(fs "t~ereof. Ih~re is ! r.Obedtence, i.e. rhe outward aCl:s. 2. Lufis, thetaward breathmgs. J.SIIltt felf l where thGJfe lufls are feared. It harh bee11 a Q!!eHion, What a mans raigning m"Her fin is, and many difcoveries have been made of particular Gns, as ~hat which riferh and awakeneth fir!l in the morning with us, that which rides .and 1 labours aman upo11,the Sabbath day, when the Lord or !in mu!l ride in triumph: I yet that is rhe mifery of a carnal hem, that when he gives his bel lts reil, yet fuch \ is Gns tyranny, he being l11;1s be.<ll, rhat he iliall then have no relt. Now if their meaning be, that fome particular Gn may be a raigning Gn, or a mans perfonal reigning Gn; then •tis rrue, Jud'!lloves his bag belt, _and AchitGphel and HAman his lionour mofl, and Herod hts whore mofl. Buuf rhey mean amans . mrural reigning fin; rhereigningGn then, 'risnot any particular Gn fo much as rhis : For no Gn is able to reign over any man but by commiiii~n a~d power from this. As the We.:dscm ne.ver grow tall, but by vertue of thetr fml where they grow, M11t. I 5· 19. All the boughs flouriili by verrue of rhe roor whence they ;frow: And hence w:e fh~ll fee, let Saran fow his feeds of pride or lu!l or pafhon in aman whofe n~rure is changed, its impo!lible rhey iliould come ro any perfeCtion there, but obey ,..,.ill die away within a time, becaufe rhe heart of r~e [Oll J
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