Fourthly, Caft your eye upon these terrible convulfions the world is thrown into by the luft of men. Lions make not a prey of lions, nor wolves of wolves: but men are turned wolves to one another, biting and devouring one another. Upon how flight occafions will men heath their fwords in one another's bowels! The world is a wildernefs, where the cleareft fire men can carry about with them, will not fright away the wild beats that inhabit it, (and that because they are men, and not brutes) but one way or other they will be wounded. Since Cain fhed the blood of Abel, the earth has been turned into a flaughter-houfe; and the chace has been continued lince Nimrod began his hunting; on the earth, as in the fea, the greater ftill devouring the leffer. When we fee the world in fuch a ferment, every- one stabbing another with words 'or fwords, we may conclude there is an evil fpirit among them. Thefe violent heats among Adam's fons, fpeak the whole body to be diftempered, the whole head to be fick, and the whole heart faint. They furely proceed from an inward caufe, James vi. 1. Lufts that war in our members. : Fifthly, Confider the neceflity of human laws, fenced with terrors and feverities; to which we may what the apoitle fays, 1 Tim. i. 9. That the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and difobedient, for the ungodly and for finners, &c. Man was made for fociety and God himself said of the first man, when he had created him, that it was not meet that he should be alone: yet the cafe is fuch now, that, in fociety, he must be hedged in with thorns. And that from hence we may the better fee the corruption of man's nature, confider, (1.) Every man naturally loves to be at full liberty himself; to have his own will for his law; and if he would follow his natural inclinations, would vote himfelf out of the reach of all laws, divine and human. And hence fome (the power of whofe hands has been anfwerable to their natural inclination) have indeed made themselves abfolute, and above laws; agreeable to man's monftrous defign at firft, to be as gods, Gen. iii. 5. Yet, (2.) There is no man that would willingly adventure to live in a lawless fociety: and therefore, even pirates and robbers have laws among themselves, tho' the whole fociety caft off all refpect to law and right. Thus men discover themselves to be confcious of the corruption of nature; not daring to trust one another, but upon fecurity. (3.) How dangerous foever it is to break thro' the hedge; yet the violence of luft makes many adventure daily to run the risk. They will not only facrifice their credit and confcience, which laft is highly esteem'd in the world; but ' for the pleasure of a few moments, immediately fucceeded with terror from within, they will lay themfelves open to a violent death by the laws of the land wherein they live. (4.) The laws are often made to yield to men's lufts. Sometimes whole focieties run into fuch extravagancies, that, like a company of prifoners, they break off their fetters, and put their guards to flight; and the voice of laws cannot be heard for the noife of arīns. And feldom is there a time wherein there there are not fome perfons fo great and daring, that the laws dare not look their impetuous lufts in the face; which made David fay, in the cafe of Joab, who had murdered Abner, Thefe men, the fans of Zeruiah, be too hard for me, 2 Sam. iii. 39. Lufts fometimes grow too strong for laws, fo that the law is flacked, as the pulse of a dying man, Hab. i. 3, 4. (5.) Confider what neceflity often appears of ammending old laws, and making new ones; which have their rife from new crimes that.man's nature is very fruitful of. There would be no need of mending the hedge, if men were not like unruly beafts, ftill breaking it down. It is aftonishing to fee, what figure the Ifraelites, who were feparated unto God, from among all the nations of the earth, do make in their history; what horrible confufions were among them, when there was no king in Ifracl, as you may fee, in the xviii. xix. xx. and xxi chapters of Judges: how hard it was ta reform them, when they had the beft of magiftrates and how quickly they turned afide again, when they got wicked rulers. cannot but think, that one grand defign of that facred history, was to difcover the corruption of man's nature, the abfolute need of the Meffiah, and his grace; and the ought in the reading of it, to improve it to that end. How cutting is that word, the Lord has to Samuel, concerning Saul, 1 Sam. ix. 17. The fame fhall reign over (or, as the word is, fhall reftrain) my people. O the corruption of man's nature! the awe and dread of the God of heaven restrains them not but they must have gods on the earth to do it to put them to fhame, Judges xviii. 7. : Sixthly, Confider the remains of that natural corruption in the faints. Tho' grace has entered, yet corruption is not quite expelled: tho' they have got the new creature, yet much of the old corrupt nature remains and thefe ftruggle together within them, as the twins in Rebekah's womb, Gal. v. 17. They find it prefent with them at all times, and in all places, even in the most retired corners. If a man have an ill neighbour, he may remove; if he have an ill fervant, he may put him away at the term: if a bad yoke-fellow, he may fometimes leave the houfe, and be free of moleftation that way. But fhould the faint go into a wildernels, or fet up his tent in fome remote rock in the fea, where never foot of man, beaft, nor fowl had touched, there will it be with him. Should he be, with Paul, caught up to the third heavens, it fhall come back with him, 2 Cor xii. 7. It followeth him as the fhadow doth the body: it makes a blot in the fairest line he can draw. It is like the fig-tree in the wall, which, how nearly foever it was cut, yet ftill grew till the wall was thrown down; for the roots of it are fixed in the heart, while the faint is in the world, as with bands of iron and brafs. It is especially active when he would do good, Rom. vii. 21. then the fowls come down upon the carcafes. Hence often in holy duties, the fpirit even of a faint (as it were) evaporates: and he is left ere he is aware, like Michael, with an image in the bed, inftead of an husband. I need not ftand to prove the re: : remains of the corruption of nature in the godly, to themselves; for they groan under it; and to prove it to them, were to hold out a candle to let men fee the fun and as for the wicked, they are ready to account mole-hills in the faint, as big as mountains; if not to reckon them all hypocrites. But confider these few things on this head. (1.) If it be thus in the green tree, how muft it be in the dry? The faints are not born faints; but made fo by the power of regenerat ing grace. Have they got a new nature, and yet fo much of the old remains with them? How great must that corruption be in others, where it is altogether unmixed with grace? (2.) The faints groan under the remains of it as a heavy burden? hear the Apoftle, Rom. vii. 24. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? What tho' the carnal man lives at eafe and quiet, and the corruption of nature is not his burden': is he therefore free from it? No, no; only he is dead, and feels not the finking weight. Many a groan is heard from a fick bed; but never one from a grave. In the faint, as in the fick man, there is a mighty ftruggle; life and death striving for the maftery: but the natural man, as in the dead corpfe, there is no noife; becaufe dea bears full fway." (3.) The godly man refifts the old corrupt nature; he ftrives to mortify it, yet it remains: he endeavours to starve it, and by that means to weaken it; yet it is active: how muft it spread then, and ftrengthen itself in that foul, where it is not ftarved but fed? And this is the cafe of all inregenerate, who make provifion for the flesh, to fulfil the lufts thereof. If the garden of the diligent afford him new work daily, in cutting off and rooting up; furely that of the fluggard muft needs be all grown over with thorns. "Laftly, I fhall add but one obferve more, and that is, That in every man naturally the image of fallen Adam does appear. Some children, by their features and lineaments of their face, do, as it were, father themselves and thus we do refembie our firft parents. Every one of us bear the image and imprefs of their fall upon him: and to evince the truth of this, I do appeal to the confciences of all, in these following particulars." : ift, Is not a finful curiosity natural to us? And is not this a print of Adam's image? Gen. iii. 6. Is not men naturally much more defirous to know new things, than to practise old known truths? How like to old Adam do we look in this, itching after hovelties, and difrelifhing old folid doctrines? We feek after knowledge rather than holiness; and study moft to know thefe things, which are least edify. ing. Our wild and roving fancies need a bridle to curb them, while good folid affections must be quickened and fpurred up 2dly, If the LORD, by his holy law and wife providence do put a reftraint upon us, to keep us back from any thing; "doth not that reftraint whet the edge of our natural inclinations, and make us fo much the keener in our defires: And in this do we not betray it plainly that we are Adam's children, Gen. iii. 2, 3, 6. I think this cannot be denied; for daily obfervation evinceth, that it is a natural principle; that folen waters are feet, and bread eaten in fecret, is pleafant Prov. ix. 17. The very heathens are convinced, that man was poffeffed with this fpirit of contradiction, tho' they knew not the fpring of it. How often do 'men give themselves the loofe in these things, in which, if God had left them at liberty, they would have bound up themselves! but corrupt nature takes a pleasure in the very jumping over the hedge. And is it not a repeating of our father's folly, that men will rather climb for forbidden fruit, than gather what is fhaken off the tree of good providence to them, when they have 'God's exprefs allowance for it! 3dly, Which of all the children of Adam is not naturally difpofed to hear the inftruction that caufeth to err? And was not this the rock our first parents fplit upon? Gen. iii. 4, 6. How apt is weak man, ever fince that time, to parley with temptations! God Speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not, Job xxxiii. 14. but readily doth he liften to Satan. Men might often come fair off if they would difmifs temptations with abborre, when firft they appear; if they would nip them in the bud hey would foon die away; but alas!". when we fee the train laid for us, and the fire put to it, yet we stand till it run along, and we be blown up with its force. 4thly, Do not the eyes in our head often blind the eyes of the mind? And was not this the very cafe of our first parents? Gen. iii. 6. Man is never more blind than when he is looking on the objects that are pleasant to fenfe. Since the eyes of our first parents were opened to the forbidden fruit, men's eyes have been the gates of deftruction to their fouls; at which impure imaginations and finful defires have entred the heart, to the wounding of the foul, wafting of the confcience, and bringing difmal effects fometimes on whole focieties, as in Achar's cafe, Joshua vii. 21. Holy Job was aware of this danger, from thefe two little rowling bodies, which a very finall fplinter of wood will make ufelefs; fo as (with that King who durit not, with his ten thousand, meet him that came with twenty thoufand against him, Luke xiv. 31, 32.) he fendeth and defireth conditions of peace, Job xxxi. 1. I have made a covenant with mine eyes, &c. 5thly, Is it not natural for us, to care for the body, even at the expence of the foul? This was one ingredient in the fin of our firft parents, Gen. iii. 6. O how happy might we be, if we were but at ́ half the pains about our fouls, that we beflow upon our bodies! if that question, What must I do to be faved? (Acts xvi. 30.) did run but near as oft through our minds, as thofe other questions do, What Shall we eat? What ball we drink? Wherewithal fhall we be clathed? Mat. vi. 21, many a (now) hopeless cafe would turn very hopeful. But the truth is, moft men live as if they were nothing but a lump of flesh or as if their foul ferved for no other ufe, but like falt, to keep the boy from corrupting; They are fiefh, John iii. 6. They mind the things of the flesh, Rom. viii. 5, and they live after the f.. fb, ver. 13. If the confent of the fleth be got to an action, the confent of the confcience is rarely waited for: yea, the body is often ferved, when the confcience has entred a diffent. 6thly, Is not every one by nature difcontent with his prefent lot in the world; or with fome one thing or other in it? This alfo was Adam's cafe, Gen. iii. 5, 6. Some one thing is always mitling; fo that man is a creature given to changes. And if any doubt of this, let them look over all their enjoyments; and after a review of them, liften to their own hearts, and they will hear a fecret murmuring for want of fomething: tho' perhaps, if they confidered the matter aright, they would fee that it is better for them, to want, than to have that Tonething. Since the hearts of our first parents flew out at their eyes, on the forbidden fruit, and a night of darkness was thereby brought on the world; their pofterity have a natural difeafe, which Solomon calls, The wandring of the defires, (or, as the word is, The walking of the foul,) Eccl. vi. 9. This is a fort of a diabolical trance, wherein the foul traverfeth the world; feeds itfelf with a thousand airy nothings: fnatcheth at this at the other created excellency, in imagination and defire: goes here an here, and every-where, except where it fhould go. And the foul is never cured of this disease, till overcoming grace bring it back, to take up its everlasting reft in God thro' Chrift: but till this be, if man were fet again in paradife, the garden of the Lord; all the pleafüres there would not keep him from looking, yea, and leaping over the hedge a fecond time. 7thly, Are we not far more eafily imprefled and influenced by evil counfels and examples, than by thofe that are good? You will fee this was the ruin of Adam, Gen iii. 6. Evil example, to this day, is one of Satan's matter-devices to ruin men. And tho' we have by nature, more of the fox than of the lamb; yet that ill property fome obferve in this creature, viz. That if one lamb fkip into a water, the reft that are near will fuddenly follow, may be obferved alfo in the difpofition of the children of men; to whom it is very natural to embrace an evil way, because they fee others upon it before them. Ill example has frequently the force of a violent stream, to carry us over plain duty but especially, if the example be given by those we bear a great affection to; our affection, in that cafe blinds our judgment; and what we would abhor in others, is complied with, to humour them. And nothing is more plain, than that generally men chufe rather to do what the most do, than what the beit do. : 8thly, Who of all Adam's fons needs be taught the art of fewing fig-leaves together, to cover their nakedness? Gen. iii. 7. When we have ruined ourfelves, and made ourfelves naked, to our fhame; we naturally feek to help curfelves by ourfelves: and many poor fhifts are fallen upon, as filly and infignificant as Adam's fig-leaves. What pains are inen at, to cover their fin from their own confciences, and draw all the fair colours tipon it that they can? And when once convictions are faftened upon them, fo that they cannot but fee themfelves F 2 nak |