SERM. "IV.] FLESH AND 'SPIRIT, &C. 67 warring against the law of my mind ; which makes the true christian cry out often, with bitterness of soul, O wretchedman that Iain I who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' Rom. vii. 24.. , Yet still it remains an uncontestable truth, Thatwhere there is no resistance to the flesh, and the lusts thereof, there, persons are not only in a state of sin, but in the strongest bonds of iniquity : they have brutified their human natures,' and have- made 'themselves like the beasts that perish ; such was the character of the Ephe- sian Gentiles when the gospel- calve first among them ; they were alienated from the life of God, and being past feeling, gave themselves up towork all uncleanness with greediness, Epli.' iv. 18, 19. Remark IL There may be some spirit in a per- son where there is much flesh; some holiness where there is much sin. h'or as none but saints in heaven are all spirit, and as the unregenerate are all flesh; so the saints here upon earth, are some flesh and some spirit, because -they are sanctified but in :part; they are in their way towards perfection, but they are not perfect: The spirit and the flesh conflict in them, so that they: cannot do the things which they would. As they cannot serve God and practise holiness, with such constancy. and zeal as they desire, because of the lusting of the flesh; so neither can they sink so far into sin, nor in- dulge evil courses so far as the flesh would lead them, if they had no strivings of the spirit to resist it, no princi- ples of regeneration or holiness. They are led away indeed many times by sensual and fleshly allurements, but the chief objects of their pursuit are spiritual and heavenly; they have too many of the same vain affections and sinful desires, that were born of the flesh, remaining in them; but they have also new thoughts and hopes, new inclinations and appetites to- wards divine things, which could not be derived but from heaven, and prove them to be born of the spirit. As unreasonable as it is therefore for any sincere chris- tians to say, they are complete in holiness, or pretend to perfection in this life, because they find a work of grace in them : so it is equally unreasonable for them tò charge themselves with being altogether carnal and Un- regenerate, because they find some of the lusts Of the F
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