A Memorial of Gods Judgment, Sermons · Sermon 1
Rom. vii. xxiv.
O wretched Man that I am: Who ſhall deliver me from the body of this Death?
THe great weight of ſin and miſery, and the want of one to remove well both, is the cauſe of this dolefull complaint; O wretched man that I am: Who ſhall deliver me from the body of this death? or from this body of death; as it is put in the Margent: The weight of ſin is groaned under, in this terme of my Text, body; which is a word of quantity,nomen quan…itatis. and means the corruption of our nature, to be a very extenſive thing, that the whole ſtate of man in all the powers of his Soul and Body, is depraved and vitiated, and made utterly unfit to ſerve God, and moſt fit to ſerve ſin and Satan, with all Organs and Inſtruments within and without.
Secondly, This terme in my Text, body; is alſo Nomen qualitatis, a word of quality, that means the naturalneſs of this general pravity to us, it lay with us (as Mr. Rutherford ſaith) in our Mothers Womb, as Twins, as one body lieth with another; It took us faſt by the heel in the Womb, and we could never kick it off ſince.
And, Thirdly, For as much as there is this Epethite given to this Body, calling it a Body of Death, and a Body of this Death; it notes not only the weight of ſin, but alſo of miſery, death being here put to ſignifie guilt and puniſhment: Our depraved condition caſteth us under all guilt, and under all puniſhment, that is, actually under much miſery, and lyable every moment to all miſery in Soul and Body, in this World, and in the World to come; not only liable to death, as 'tis a diſſolution of Soul and Body, and all the ſickneſſes and diſeaſes which prepare unto it; but liable to this death, that is a ſeparation of both Soul and Body from God for ever.
Now, to deliver us from the Body of this death, a Body of corruption, which expoſeth us to ſuch a death as this: There no Man, nor Angel is able, no all the Angels, did they joyn to do us ſervice in this thing, to change our natures, to take off guilt, to rectifie the Image of God, which we have loſt; they cannot ſtir this Body, as to any of theſe in the leaſt, nor any member of it; they are not able to remove one ſin, or ſatisfie for the guilt of it; nor draw one line, an eye, or an eye-brow, or one finger of the new man. This great weight of ſin and miſery, and this utter impotency of all created ſtrength to help out of it, maketh the Apoſtle to cry out thus: O wretched man that I am: Who ſhall deliver me, &c.
There be ſeveral things very profitable to be obſerved in theſe words; as, Firſt, this, That every one is in a wretched and miſerable condition by nature; Depraved in all powers of Soul and Body, and expoſed in both to the utmoſt diſpleaſure of God. O wretched man that I am, &c. He doth not mean himſelf alone, but ſpeaketh as perſonating the beſt of men, and ſo conſequently all men; for that he did thus complain of a corrupt ſtate, who was ſo holy; who elſe, but hath cauſe much more to complain? For this death which my Text, ſpeaketh of, hath paſſed over all Men, for as much as all Men have finned in Adam. And this Apoſtle which ſpeaketh but of himſelf in this caſe in my Text ſpeaketh generally elſewhere; That by nature we are the Children of wrath, as well as others, Eph. 2.3.
Secondly, This may be learned from theſe words, That our state by nature, is not a ſafe ſtate to be reſted in. That our ſtate, as we come into this World, is not ſuch, as we ſhould be contented with, but a ſtate much to be complain'd of by the beſt, and much cryed out upon, and much ſtrugled under to be freed from. O wretched man that I am: Who ſhall deliver me? &c. Fleſh and blood cannot enter into the Kingdome of God. They which reſt in their ſtate, as they come into this World, and think that they attain to be moral and civil, juſt and righteous to men, and little or nothing complain of that which the Apoſtle doth here in my Text, a Body of Death, do not know their own danger.
Thirdly, We may here learn, That the beſt are not ſo good as they ſhould be: That the beſt in this World, are much burdened and much endangered, with natural corruption. The Apoſtle Paul, though regenerated, found much of the rebellion of an evil nature, of which he knew not how to get rid, carrying him Captive to what he would not, and ſo expoſing him continually to the diſpleaſure of God. I know that in me, that is, in my Fleſh dwelleth no good thing, for to will is preſent with me, but how to perform that which is good, I finde not; for the good I would I do not, but the evil I would not that I do. Corrupt nature, as it eaſily beſets us, ſo it as eaſily overcomes us, for any ſtrength that we have of our own: Such as ſo feelingly complain, as Paul here doth, will not eaſily be brought to drink in the Popiſh Doctrin of Perfection.
Fourthly, We may here learn, That our ſtate in this World, at beſt, is but a wretched state; for, though a little grace be given unto us, it is ſo over-matched with a great body of ſin, that we rather undo, than do any thing that is good. Is it not a wretched ſtate to be ſo hampered with an ill Inmate Night and Day, that when one pulls one way, 'tother pulls ſtronger ſtill the wrong way. To ſee two Dogs coupled, a little one and a great one, What a woful condition is the little one in! how he is pulled and haled up and down this way and that way, not which way he would go, but which way the great one will go, or elſe he grins his teeth on the little one, and bites him and abuſeth him much; juſt ſo is the condition of the moſt regenerate in this World. And therefore he that is beſt, and hath beſt in this World, can ſay no better of it than he findes, and daily feels, that his condition is but a wretched condition; O wretched man that I am, &c.
The Point which I would ſtand on, Doct. is this, That we all ought to be deeply ſenſible of natural corruption: Or, we all ought much to lay to heart our fallen ſtate by nature. The Apoſtle Paul was a holy Man, yet very ſenſible of much unholineſs, a body of it, of which he was little other than the Soul, and this he groans and ſighs under; O wretched man that I am, &c. And, this written for our Example: Take another inſtance in this Apoſtle, as ſoon as converted. And Saul aroſe from the Earth, and when his Eyes were opened he ſaw no man, but they led him by the Hand; and he was three Days without ſight, and did neither eat nor drink, Act. 9.9. Why did he neither eat nor drink for three Days? Doubtleſs he was in a deep ſenſe of his loſt condition, as one in the gall of bitterneſs, and bonds of iniquity, both by nature and practice: That his natural corruption was ſo great a weight upon him afterward, as we here ſee it was by my Text, it was much more heavy upon him at firſt view, when this bottomly gulf was firſt opened to this ſelf-conceited Phariſee, what I ſay is very likely, by the three Days horror and aſtoniſhment, wherein he lay ſtarving himſelf; Doubtleſs he thought himſelf as unworthy to eat or drink, ſo unworthy to live, as the poor Publican which ſmote his breaſt, and would not look up to Heaven, as not judging himſelf worthy to go upon the Earth. The eating of the Paſſ-over with ſower Herbs might point at this, for their coming out of Egypt, ſnadowed their coming out of ſpiritual bondage and miſery, in which they were: And ſo the miſeries of natural bondage by ſin, and our fall: and then their ſower Herbs, might well teach them, as to keep a ſenſe of their bodily ſlavery and miſery; ſo eſpecially to keep a deep ſenſe of their ſoul-ſlavery and miſery, and all the ſower things and conflicts of their inward condition. The poor Jaylor may be a further authority, for this Doctrine which I have obſerved: His eyes being ſome thing opened, to ſee what a wretched Man he was by his nature and practice, trembled, and would have made away himſelf, and came and fell at the Apoſtles Feet, with a great out-cry, What muſt I do to be ſaved? Act. 16.30.
And whereas I make the Propoſition Univerſal, ſaying, That we all ought to be deeply ſenſible of natural corruption. I ground it upon my Text, and the Example that is given to follow, in ſuch an eminent Man as the Apoſtle Paul was: That the Apoſtle Paul was not exempted from natural corruption, nor from this duty of deep-laying it to heart, neither are others. But then the Queſtion will be, by what Rule the Apoſtle Paul did this, for he himſelf ſaith, that we ſhould follow him no otherwiſe, than as he followed Chriſt; By what Rule then did the Apoſtle thus lay to heart his fallen ſtate? And was his Rule univerſal, that is, for all the fallen Sons of Adam? For this, ſee, 1 King. 8.38. When the Houſe, for communion between God and Man, was made and conſecrated, this is the great Law of fellowſhip and communion between God and Man, That even every one ſhould know the Plague of his heart. Now, by the Plague of the heart, is meant, ſaith Interpreters, principally our fallen and corrupt ſtate of Soul by nature, and then ſuch particular ſpecial ebullitions thereof in act, to open ſcandal and provocation; And this one Law is for Jew and ſtranger: And by knowing this Plague of the heart, which every one was to do, means that they ſhould be well acquainted with their natural corruption, and actual tranſgreſſions, and deeply bewail them, and truly, as having to do with an All-ſeeing and All-ſearching God, who ſearcheth the heart: ſo it follows, in the next words, Verſ. 39. What Prayer or Supplication ſoever be made by any Man, or by all the People of Iſrael, which ſhall know every Man the Plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands towards this houſe, then hear thou in Heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give to every one according to his ways, whoſe heart thou knoweſt, for thou, even thou knoweſt all the hearts of the Children of Men. The New Teſtament concurreth to this, in as much as John the Baptiſt thus began the Goſpel, by calling upon all to repent, and ſo Chriſt himſelf called upon all his hearers to repent, Mat. 4.17. The other of John the Baptiſt, is, Mat. 3.2. From that time Jeſus began to preach, and to ſay, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This is the Power of God by the Word, to change your hearts, and to open the everlaſting Doors: By repenting, he means, what he ſaith further in his Sermon, Mat. 5▪ 3, 4, 5. Poor in ſpirit, mourning for ſin, attended with a deſire of relief, a hungering and thirſting for a better ſtate. That is, Repentance is, that ſinners be throughly convinced of their loſt condition by nature, and of their utter inability to make their own relief and eſcape, from the diſpleaſure of God due unto them by it, and therefore hunger and thirſt, that is, earneſtly deſire relief from God, in that way which he hath appointed in Chriſt through the Goſpel, for the Salvation of ſinners. Thus, and in this Path the Publican was taught to come, begging mercy for a ſinner. He ſmote his breaſt, as that where he felt the Plague lay, and ſaid, God be merciful to me a ſinner. I purpoſe to ſay no more, to prove the truth of the Point.
For the Explication of this Doctrin, theſe things may be ſaid, wherein the further confirmation of the Point will ariſe. Firſt. We ſhould be deeply ſenſible of natural corruption, in its being ſimply conſidered. Behold, I was ſhapen in iniquity, and in ſin did my Mother conceive me, Pſal. 51.5. David had fallen into great actual tranſgreſſions, of Murther and Whoredom, and he, that he might practice repentance, according to the rule thereof, took to heart how he came into the World; Behold, I am an old ſinner ſo born, ſhaped in iniquity in the Womb, and out of this ſhape I cannot change my ſelf, and therefore I complain to thee, O God, Do thou waſh me throughly, and cleanſe me throughly, that is, juſtifie and ſanctifie me with the Blood and Spirit of thine anointed one, on whom thou haſt laid my help: So in Pſal. 8. What is ſorry man, Enoſh, or wretched man, as the Apoſtles Epithet is in my Text, that thou art mindful of ſuch a forlorne Creature, which words alſo ſhew, that we ſhould be ſenſible of our natural ſtate in the Being, yea, in the firſt being of it in us. Our Saviour in his Sermon to the Woman of Canaan, confirmeth this that I am upon, that we ſhould all, Jew and Gentile, be ſenſible of corrupt nature in the being of it. But he anſwered, I am not ſent but to the loſt ſheep of the Houſe of Iſrael; by theſe words he names the Jews ſtate by nature, to make this Gentile reflect upon her own ſtate, as alſo ſuch, and loſt. Then came ſhe and worſhiped, ſaying, Lord help me. As if ſhe had ſaid with much ſorrow of heart, if there be any loſt Creature in the World, ſurely I am one. Then Chriſt replies again. It is not meet to take the Childrens bread, and to give it to Dogs. By which words Chriſt would inſinuate more particularly to her, what the ſtate of us Gentiles is by nature, as Dogs moſt fierce againſt Sheep, oppo… to all good, and inclined (as Dogs) to all ill, and miſchievous qualities and ways. By which words it is evident, that Chriſt would have this Woman well acquainted with the being of her natural condition, that there is ſuch a great miſchief befallen us, that we are by nature rather Dogs, and Bears, and Wolves, and Tygars than Men, than holy Men as we were created; and that this poor Woman did make this uſe of Chriſt's Doctrin, appears by her reply, And ſhe ſaid, truth Lord, yet the Dogs eat off the Crumbs which fall from their Maſters Table, Mat. 15.24, 25, 26, 27. Truth Lord, I am more like a Dog, or any Brute, than what I ſhould be, and by my ſin become as the Beaſt which periſheth. 1. Ignorant, darkned in my cogitations, profane, alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance, that is in me. Add to this, Rev. 3.17. Where we find great blame is caſt upon the Church of Laodicea, that ſhe ſaid, She was rich and increaſed in goods, and needed nothing, and knew not that ſhe was poor, and blind, and wretched, (which is the word of my Text.) and naked. Did not know this and that: 1. Did not deeply lay to heart, that by nature they were corrupt, and in a wretched condition, and deſtitute of what-ever ſhould make them truly bleſſed, truly rich, and truly wiſe, and truly happy; they were vainly puffed up, it ſeems, with ſome few gifts and parts, and not aware of the pravity of all, and of the whole that Man is by nature, and therefore proud, as otherwiſe could not chooſe but be, as a Peacock of his Feathers, whil'ſt he looketh only on his Tail, and not on his Legs.
Secondly, We ſhould be deeply ſenſible of natural corruption, in the vaſtneſs of its Beeing, as it is a whole Body, a great, and large corporation of all wickedneſs, defiling and deſtroying all; ſo was Paul, Who ſhall deliver me from this Body, &c. If thine eye be evil, the whole Body ſhall be filled with darkneſs. That is, ſaith the margent, If thy affections be corrupt, and given to this World; If a ſinners affections be naught, Set upon this World, and any of the luſts of it, he is under the weight and ſlavery of the whole body of corruption, Mat. 6.23. And this doth Chriſt preach, to make ſinners ſenſible of the extenſive beeing of natural corruption, that it is a little leaven which hath leavened the whole lump. The Apoſtle was ſenſible of natural corruption, as in the beeing of it, ſo in the extenſiveneſs of its beeing, he was ſenſible of concupiſcence, that Fire which is in the nature to evil, and he was ſenſible of the extenſiveneſs of this evil, —All manner of concupiſcence, Rom. 7.7, 8. I had not known luſt, ſaith the margent, concupiſcence, that is, I had not been prickt at heart for it, and deeply ſenſible of it, but that the convincing power of the Lord helped on this work. But ſin taking occaſion by the commandment ſtirred and irritated this luſt, and ſet all on fire, wrought in me all manner of concupiſcence, that is, wicked luſts and heart-burnings. Angels appeared in white, to ſhew the purity of their nature, ſay the Dutch, on Act. 1.10. And we ſhould be always in black, in mourning, to ſhew the impurity of our nature in the vaſtneſs of it; for, from the crown of the Head to the ſole of the Foot, we are nothing but bruiſes and putrifying ſores, which are not dreſſed at all, nor bound up, but all open and running, and ſtinking in every ones Noſthrils, of which in bodily matters we are deeply ſenſible. All theſe metaphors are made into an allegory, on purpoſe to make fallen man ſenſible of the extenſiveneſs of his miſery by his Fall, that he is bruiſed all over, in his Head, in his Breaſt, in his Legs, from top to bottom, no part ſound and incorrupt. The Scripture ſpeaketh of being born in ſin, and of being altogether born in ſin, the one ſpeaketh the being of our fallen ſtate, of which we ſhould be ſenſible, and the other ſpeaketh of the vaſtneſs and extenſiveneſs of the being, of which alſo we ſhould be ſenſible; Thou art altogether born in ſin, Joh. 9.34. They ſpake truth, though they did it not to a good end: Yet the words in themſelves are true, and have a good ſcope, that we might be made ſenſible of our fallen ſtate, and how great it is, how great our fall is, how it hath bruiſed and putrified, and ſpoiled all.
Thirdly, We ſhould be deeply ſenſible of natural corruption, in all the properties of it: As, Firſt, The averſneſs of it to all good: If natural corruption were a meer impotency to all good, it were not ſo evil. But it is an averſation; that a body can never go to meal with a ſtomack, how ſenſible is any one of this, as a great miſery? This is our caſe ſpiritual, we can never go to pray, to hear, to meditate, to any holy duty, but our hearts hang off, and hang this way and that way, that we gō to Heaven, as if we were going to Hell: Should we not be deeply ſenſible of this? that we are ſtill a ſilly Dove without heart, to all that is heavenly. The poor Marriners were very ſenſible, that they found one in their Ship which untrimmed it, Jon. 1. This Man, though a good man, yet when the Ship and he toſſed, and like all to be drowned, he was ſo drowſie that he could not hold open his eyes, like the Diſciples of Chriſt, when their Maſter was ready to be leized on, yet were drowſie and could not watch and pray; Should not ſuch an indiſpoſedneſs to good, if the body of death had no other bad property, deeply be bewailed? I have heard ſome complain, and indeed it ſhould be for a lamentation, that ſometimes even in this duty of hearing, have not been able to hold open their eyes, and yet at all common buſineſs as well awake as can be. The Church was called upon to this and that Divine duty, and ſhe had put off her Coat, and knew not how to put it on; natural corruption hath this ill property, never ready, nor dreſſed, and fitted to any good, and yet at the ſame time ready and dreſſed to any thing that is evil, as wiſe to this, as fooliſh to any thing that is good: The natural man, or animal man, is a Soul too low ſtill for any matter divine; which thing alone, if there were no other evil property in natural corruption, ſhould be deeply laid to heart.
A Second property of natural corruption, is perverſneſs. Vain Man would be wiſe, though he be born as the wilde Aſs-colt, Job. 11.12. This Zophar ſpake of Job, as ſeeing him perverſe, as he thought; but he was right enough as to the thing, though not as to Job in this matter. Thus we are by nature, of no more reaſon than a wilde Aſs, and yet as unturnable as that Creature. The old Man is proud, and wilful, yea preſumptuous, yea of enmity and deſpight if reſiſted, as Lions and Dragons are, ſpitting their ſome and poiſon as Cats▪ in the face of all that contradict. 'Tis ſaid of Judas, foreignthat he became head-long, Act. 1.18. He was ſo in his life, for he would on in his work of betraying Chriſt, though convinced by Chriſt's own preaching, and told to his Face that he ſhould betray him. And ſo are the ways of corrupt nature carried head-long: He taketh the wiſe in their own craftineſs, and the counſels of the froward are carried head-long, Joh. 5.13. And all this continually, as the Blackamore that cannot change his skin. No place better ſets out the bad property of natural corruption, then that Gen. 6.5. God ſaw that the wickedneſs of man was great, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was evil, and only evil, and that continually. For ſuch a viſible, as well as audible Sermon, as Noah preached, of 120 Years long, would ſurely have turned them from their ſins, had they not been deſperately obſtinate, and ſo continually, of which God was ſenſible, and complain'd, and was grieved at his heart that he made man; And ſhall God ſo much lay to heart the depraved ſtate of a man, and man himſelf not lay it to heart at all?
Fourthly, We ſhould be deeply ſenſible of natural corruption, in the conſequence of it. It is a body of death, a body of this death; that is, it diſpoſeth us to all the wrath of God, both in this World, and in the World to come. And therefore doth the Apoſtle cry out here in my Text, as one utterly loft; O wretched man that I am, Who ſhall deliver me, &c. And they likewiſe who were prickt at heart, by the Apoſtle Peter's preaching, with the ſenſe of their ſinful ſtate, Cryed out, Men and Brethren, What ſhall we do to be ſaved? Which are Scriptures of purpoſe, to ſhew, that we ſhould be deeply ſenſible of the evil conſequence of corrupt nature, as it will deſtroy Soul and Body. Judas is called a Childe of Perdition, and ſo are we called Children of wrath by nature, that is, ſuch as are not under mercy, foreign, not pitied.as the expreſſion is rightly rendered in the Queens tranſlation, 1 Pet. 2.10. Now, how are Malefactors affected with the conſequence of their evil way, when they are going to the Gallows, eſpecially when they have no hope of mercy, when they be not under talk of mercy and pardon. Now, our natural ſtate is death, without all mercy, that is the ſentence pronounced upon it, if the ſtate ſo abide, a carnal ſtate, it is death without all mercy, and every carnal man ſhould ſpeak of himſelf, as the Apoſtle Peter doth, as one not under mercy, or as one that hath not yet obtained mercy, but lies lyable, as a Priſoner condemned, every hour to Execution. I take it, that their attonement day, ſpoke… of, Levit. 23.27. Wherein they were to afflict their Souls upon pain of death, had principal reference to their ſtate of ſin by nature, that body of ſin which they brought into the World with them, which expoſed them, and us all unto death, and all miſery in this World, and that to come: and, if it be ſo, then you have the Point in hand proved, and the reaſon of it, why we ſhould be deeply ſenſible of corrupt nature, as well as of all that flowes from it, becauſe God commands it, and commands it upon great penalty, We die for it elſe, unleſs we afflict our Souls, under the ſenſe of our fallen ſtate, and Gods diſpleaſure belonging thereunto, that Soul which doth not ſo well die for it; their afflicting day was a day to go to the Root, and to caſt ſalt and brine upon the ſprings of wickedneſs, which if they did not, the wrath of God ſeized on their Roots. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we perſwade Men, ſaith the Apoſtle, 2 Cor. 5.11. We perſwade Men. To what? Anſw. To look well about them, that they be not found in their carnal ſtate, when Chriſt cometh to Judgment: So that the deepeſt ſenſe of this thing ſhould be upon us that can poſſibly be, as if we were now going before the Judgment of quick and dead, and all in our ſins: or as if we were going to the Wedding of a great Prince, and had not one rag on our backs, to cover our nakedneſs.
Ʋſe I Learn from hence, that if we ſhould be ſenſible of natural corruption, then of all actual tranſgreſſions, which are but as ſtreams from this Fountain. If we ſhould mourn over the evil Womb, then over all the evils, which this VVomb brings forth. And yet what twins and what tens, and what great man-ſins and provocations, doth this evil VVomb bring forth every where at this day, and yet who lays to heart either Mother or Children? I hearkned and heard, but they ſpake not aright; no Man repented him of his wickedneſs, ſaying, What have I done? every one turns to his courſe, as the Horſe ruſheth into the Battel, Jer. 8.6.
Ʋſe 2 Woe, and alas, how much are the moſt liberal reproved, who are paſt feeling, as to both natural corruption, and all actual tranſgreſſions, yea even the fowleſt and greateſt, Giving themſelves over to laſciviouſneſs, to work all iniquity with greedineſs, and drink in all abominations, as the Fiſh doth Water. So far from ſenſe of all ſin, either in the heart, or in the life, that all ſuch frame of ſpirit is ſcoffed at: If a man do but caſt the leaſt diſcountenance on the greateſt ſin; What? you are a Phanatick, and ready, as Swine, to turn and tear, and rent ſuch, as caſt ſuch Pearls before them, as wholeſome and ſeaſonable reproofs: and are as the wilde Aſs that ſnuffeth up the wind, and in the heat of her luſt cannot be turned away, Febris accedit, the mad Feavour will and muſt have its courſe, though Heaven or Hell bear upon breaking off, or going on. They ſay in the pride and ſtoutneſs of their hearts, to morrow ſhall be as this day, and much more abundant. To talk of a body of death, Lord, what ſtrange language would this be now adays, and if a Man ſhould chance to ſigh, as the Apoſtle, O wretcheà man that I am, What will become of me? that Helliſh cordial, I doubt, would be readily adminiſtred, God dam-me, thou wilt do well enough. Never was it ſuch a God-daring time for wickedneſs,If it be ſuch a God-damning time, as perſons p…ay, Hell will be full of Souls ind…ed. for many Ages ſurely, as this. Men have made their hearts as an Adamant, that they may not repent: and ſeared their Conſciences with a hot Iron, that they may be ſin-proof, and not fall before the greateſt wickedneſs, nor the greateſt judgment of God. That capital curſe, I fear, is inflicted on many, of judicial hardneſs of heart, Iſa. 6.10, 11, 12. Make the heart of this People fat, and their ears heavy, and ſhut their eyes, lest they ſee with their eyes, and hear with their eares, and underſtand with their hearts, and convert and be healed: Then I ſaid, Lord, how long? and he anſwered till the Cities be waſted without Inhabitants, and the Houſes without Men and the Land be utterly deſolate, and the Lord have removed Men far away, and there be a great forſaking in the midſt of the Land. This will be a ſtrong reproof indeed, if this ſhould be the reproof upon us, and yet very pleaſing.
Ʋſe 3 Try your ſelves by this Doctrine: Are you deeply ſenſible of natural corruption? If ſo, then it is your only burden. Of all perils and diſtreſſes (though Paul had many) did the Apoſtle complain, as here of the Body of Death. Do you any where read him ſay, O wretched man that I am, I am poor, I am in Priſon, Who ſhall deliver me out of theſe ſad conditions? Alas, he made nothing of hunger, of nakedneſs, of ſtripes, of deaths oft, but gloried in them. But the body of this death that made him fetch deep ſighs, O wretched man that I am, he never called himſelf ſo for any bodily evil whatſoever. The Iſraelites were enjoyn'd, when they came with their firſt fruits, to make a ſolemn confeſſion of their great unworthineſs, of God's great bounty and goodneſs; A Syrian ready to periſh was my Father, and he went down into Egypt, and ſojourned there with a few, Deut. 26.5. If you be deeply ſenſible, then this is the allay in all your glory ſtill, in all your mirth, this is the qualm that comes over your heart, that makes it ſad; what, a wretch ready to periſh came I into this holy and good Land; And, why ſhould ſuch a dead Dog as I be treated thus with grace, which abuſe all that is beſtowed on me. Thus you look back to the hole of the Pit, out of which digged daily, and ſigh, if deeply ſenſible.
Secondly, If you be deeply ſenſible of natural corruption, then are you very vile in your own eyes; I am more vile, ſaith Agar, than any man. David calls himſelf a Beaſt, and the Cananitiſh Woman owns her ſelf to be a Dog; and if Chriſt had called her a Viper, a Toad, a Monſter, no doubt ſhe would have owned it: If I waſh me with Snow water, and make me never ſo clean, yet ſhall thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own cloaths ſhall abhor me, Job. 9.31. If ye be indeed ſenſible of your naughty ſtate by nature, ye are Perſons of low eyes, ye think the Cloaths ye wear too good for you, becauſe ye defile them; the Meat you eat too good for you, becauſe to the unclean, all things are unclean; and the Earth too good to bear you, becauſe you are ſuch a great load of filth, ſuch a going Dunghill; If ye be indeed ſenſible of natural corruption, ye are poor in Spirit, unworthy that Chriſt or any good thing ſhould come under your root; This Apoſtle means all this, when he calls himſelf a wretch, labouring under a Body of Death. The Leper under the Law, and the Perſon with a Running Iſſue, how low and loathſome were they in their own eyes, loath and aſhamed to come neer, nay to come in fight of any one.
Thirdly, If ye be deeply ſenſible of natural corruption, then ye are as this Apoſtle in my Text, at an utter loſs in your ſelves, what to do for deliverance, from the guilt and power of it. O wretched man that I am, Who ſhall deliver me, I am utterly to ſeek to ſave my ſelf, ſo is all the Creation. I cannot deliver my ſelf, and who of all the Creatures of God, in Heaven or in Earth, that can deliver me? To which of the Saints or Angels ſhall I turn? So the Prophet Iſaiah ſaw himſelf at an utter loſs, upon the ſenſe of his vile condition. Then ſaid I, woe is me, for I am undone, becauſe I am a man of unclean lips, Iſa. 6.5. He ſaw no way but one with him; I am cut off! So is the reading in the Margent; I am gone and loſt utterly now, the holy God hath ſeen what an unholy wretch I am, he hath got a view of me, and a ſent of me, and ſurely he will think on it for ever, what an ugly ſight he ſaw, and what a filthy ſmell he ſmelt! Do you feel your ſelves undone by ſin? by reaſon of this Running Iſſue, and that in your nature: Are ye a burden to your ſelves, becauſe a burden and grief to the Holy Spirit of God? Or, are you not clean: and pure in your own eyes, and cock-ſure ye ſhall go to Heaven when you die, you have lived ſo well amongſt all your neighbours, and have done ſo much good, and every one ſpeaks ſo well of you? Can ſuch a ſtate do amiſs? Our Saviour ſaith, the whole need no Phyſician, and that he came to ſave loſt ones, ſuch who are ſo deeply poſſeſſed, with the ſigne and ſenſe of their ſinful ſtate by nature, and life and converſation, that they cry out, Who will deliver me, wretched me? moſt ſinful and forlorne me? Iſaac was at a loſs for an Offering, and doubtleſs thought at laſt that he muſt be burnt.
Fourthly, If ye be deeply ſenſible of the body of death, then ye priſe deliverance from it, above all this World. Naaman the Syrian, how he priſed any Perſon or means, that could cure his Leproſie! And the Man-ſlayer, how he prized, and purſued the City of refuge: And, what would not one of thoſe purſued Man-ſlayers have given, for but one Foot within the Gate of the City of refuge! To them that are under the deep ſenſe of ſin, the Redeemer that is come from Zion, to turn away ungodlineſs from Jacob, is very precious. O how precious was Chriſt, to this Apoſtle, which my Text mentioneth, as you read in the next Verſe. O wretched Man that I am: Who ſhall deliver me? I thank God through Jeſus Chriſt: As a Man almoſt drowned, having ſome one that can ſwim, leaping in, and taking hold of him; O how doth he thank God for this friend I The Apoſtle Paeul being deeply ſenſible of his wretched ſtate by nature, did ſo eſteem Chriſt, that the truth is, he eſteem'd all elſe, in compariſon▪ but as dung and droſs; Nebuchadnezar which was brought as a Beaſt from graſs, from creeping upon all four; O how he magnified the true God for a while! So doth that ſinner magnifie and extoll Chriſt, Dan. 4.34.that is brought from crawling, like a Toad upon all four, in the filth and poiſon of his natural corrupt on, The black crabbed Tree of the Croſs hath made Chriſt and my Soul very entire, (ſaith Mr. Rutherford) He is my Song in the Night: So I ſay, the black Crab-ſtock of natural corruption, maketh Christ and that ſinner very dear and entire, and his Song in dark Night, who is in the pains and travels of natural corruption. The Fountain open for ſin and for uncleanneſs, is very precious to that Leper, which indeed, and from his heart, cryeth out unclean.
Ʋſe 4 The laſt Uſe of this Doctrin is for Exhortation: Be at this practiſe with this Apoſtle, of panting and groaning under the Body of Death, when the poor Woman with the Bloody Iſſue ſaw, that ſhe was not hid, ſhe came trembling to Chriſt, Luk. 8.47. and confeſſed her condition, and how long it had been ſo with her, and what ineffectual means ſhe had uſed, and yet waſted all on them. Though your corrupt nature be hid from the eyes of men, and from your own eyes much, to much, yet not in the leaſt hid from the eyes of Chriſt; and therefore come trembling to him, and confeſs all your vileneſs to him, as far as you are able (but alas, what a hard task do I mention …) and how long you have layne in this forlorne ſtate, and do as Beggars by the High-ways ſides, pull off all Plaiſters from every ſoar, and take heed of hiding any ſin with Fig-leaves, as your Father Adam, let the great Phyſician ſee and know all, every putrefied ſoar, that is not bound up, nor mollified with oyntment; and who knoweth but his eye may move his heart towards you, to pity you, and to play the good Samaritan, and to dreſs your filthy ſouls and ſoars, and to anoint them and mollifie them. This I think is the meaning of the Prophet, Iſa. 42.18. Hear ye deaf, and look ye blinde that ye may ſee.
This is a proper work for every ſinner to be at, to bleed and mourn inwardly for the Fountain of ſin that is in him, and to bewail the many ſprings of wickedneſs, which boil up bad matters Night and Day in his Soul, to the grieving of the Holy Spirit; Hearken to me ye that follow after righteouſneſs, ye that ſeek the Lord, look to the roots whence ye were hewen, Iſa. 51.1.& to the hole of the Pit whence ye are digged, meaning Abraham, who was an Idolater, and dead in treſpaſſes and ſins, as well as others. The Body of Death is the hole of the Pit, out of which cometh all the Frogs and Locuſts, which crawle and ſwarm in your lives. Many Profeſſors not bewailing this well and throughly, as they ſhould, build a brave Houſe to look on, but on the Sand, which with ſtorms falleth, and the fall thereof is great. The time of loſs is to be lookt into and conſidered. Damni dati tempus inſpicitur. And how old is our loſs of God's Image? How inveterate is our wound? How old is the old Man? as old as Methuſalah? The old man came into the World with you, and a Miracle it is, that it had not with its great weight, like a Mill-ſtone about your Necks, preſſed you to your place long ago; yea, the old man came into the World, with this world that now is, and with the other world that is drowned, and it will bring this to the Fire at laſt, and from burning to burning; it is very proper work to be caſting tears upon ſuch ſparks, as will burn to the loweſt Hill.
Secondly, 'Tis needful work this, to know every Man the Plague of his own heart. To know it, that is to ſigh and groan under it, as here the Apoſtle Paul doth. When Daniel had received that ſad Viſion of Nebuchadnezar's ruin, the lopping down of that tall Tree which reached to Heaven, and the ſad condition of a beaſt which he was to be caſt into. Daniel remained ſpeechleſs for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him, and he was not able to ſay a word to the King, but ſighed and lookt ſad, Dan. 4.19. And an hour more (it may be) he would have ſtood ſad and ſighing before the King and ſilent, if the King had not forced matter from him. And this carriage was very needful to ſet home things upon the King's heart, and to make him look about him well. And would I could ſo preach to all you this Day, and in this place, who are in your natural condition. If I were ſilent now for one hour more, and did only ſigh over all you carnal and unregenerate Men and Women, and look ſad, and ſometimes mourn, would it not be very needful, as hearts are now heardened, well and deeply to affect you? Certainly it would ſo make you look about you well, before the great Lopper death come. 'Tis very needful work for you and me to be at, this oft-bewailing our fallen ſtate, and the body of this death, becauſe we are become as Nebuchadnezar by his fall: Beaſts that periſh, even we that were in honour, in higher honour than Nebuchadnezar was before his fall. We are become as Beaſts in ſome reſpects, and much worſe than Beaſts in other reſpects; We are in this ſtate without Chriſt, aliens from the Common-wealth of Iſrael, ſtrangers from the Covenant of Promiſe, having no hope, and without God in the World, which he calls upon every one to remember, Epheſ. 2.11, 12. Wherefore remember that ye in times paſt were thus and thus, &c.
Thirdly, This is to go to the Root of our Diſeaſe, to lay an Axe to the Root. The Apoſtle was wiſe, when he fell upon the main body of wickedneſs in him. Son of man cauſe Jeruſalem to know her abominations, and ſay, Thus ſaith the Lord God unto all Jeruſalem, thy Birth and thy Nativity is of the Land of Canaan, thy Father was an Amorite, and thy Mother an Hittite, and thy Navel was not cut, nor ſalted, &c. Ezek. 16.2, 3. You cannot know your abominations, as you ſhould, that is, be affected with them, as you ſhould, unleſs you look to the Root, from whence they all ſpring, and fix your eyes and your hearts there well, according to this wholeſome inſtruction of the Lord. We are by nature Amorites and Hittites, as wilde as any, Children of wrath as well as others, and in us: (i.e.) In our nature dwelleth no good, but the ſeeds of all wickedneſs; and until we thus go to the bottom, we do in our humiliations but skin over ſoares, and not ſearch and cleanſe them well. This, this Apoſtle calleth for, 1 Cor. 5.7. Purge out therefore the old leaven; what a deal a-do there was to ſearch out leaven, and to get totally rid of it; among the Jews much is ſaid of it: the Apoſtle would have us as induſtrious about corrupt nature, which he calleth old leaven, in all our humiliations, wherein there ſhould be ſoul-examinations, that we ſhould fall cloſe upon our evil hearts and ſtate within, and ſmite upon them, and cry out much upon them. Damni dans cauſam, damnum ipſum dediſſe videtur. The old leaven, is the cauſe of all the ſins and miſeries we daily fall into; This, this therefore we ſhould eſpecially bewail, and labour about, to pluck up the root of bitterneſs.
Fourthly, There is no dealing with any actual ſin, without effectual dealing with the body of ſin. To go to lave a Pool, and not firſt to deal with the Spring, as it is fooliſh, ſo it is an endleſs work. How can a clean thing come out of an unclean? If the heart remain ſtill filthy, How is it poſſible to make the life holy? Hence it is, that the heart is ſo much called for to be cleanſed, and that ſinck to be well lookt after, becauſe there is the ſeat of natural pravity, and the very Core of all corruption. Cut off branches, as you would lop a Tree, cut them off all, and leave the roots through the ſent of mud they will grow, as Job ſaith; every occaſion and temptation, ſo long as the nature remains unrenewed and unlookt to, will make ſin break out afreſh, and the Dog will return to his own vomit. The Queens Daughter is therefore called upon, to forget her Father's Houſe, or elſe ſhe would be hankering to be there again. They which came out of Egypt in body, and did not come out ſpiritually, as to their ſouls, how unſteadfaſt were they and their righteouſneſs, as the morning dew, and in their hearts went back again to Egypt. If any Iſraelite having taken in War a Heathen Woman, and beautiful, that he had a deſire to marry, he was firſt to bring her home to his Houſe, and ſhave her Head, and pare her Nails, and was to put off the raiment of her captivity, and then ſhe was to bewail her Father and her Mother a full MonethMonth, &c. That is, her Heatheniſh ſtate wherein born and bred, ſhe was to bewail, and taught by this paring of her Nails, and changing the Raiment of her Captivity, to look after deliverance from her inward captivity, and for a new ſtate, a new Father and Mother, and all new, her hands, yea her very Nails; and all this but little enough to make her forget her Father's Houſe, and to forſake old haunts, and cuſtoms, and ways. Who knoweth not, but that Nails and Hairs, and ſuch excrements are moſt apt and ready to grow again; and yet not more apt and ready than ſin is, though pared and ſhaved, if it be not dealt throughly with, in the heart, and in the root.
Finally, Without this deep ſenſe of our natural condition, Chriſt will not be precious to us, nor indeed deſirable, who is the only Phyſician for this great cure: We ſhall be righteous in our own eyes, as the Phariſee, and not care for any righteouſneſs elſe, but our own, though we may talk of faith, and of the righteouſneſs of Chriſt, as many Chriſtians do. We ſhall be as Country-people, which are whole as a Fiſh, and laught at all Phyſicians. Till the Apoſtle Paul was ſmitten down from Heaven, and his eyes opened, to ſee this body of death, of which he complains in my Text, he was alive and brisk, and who but he, for a holy and a happy man. But when the Commandement came in Authority upon him, which he thought he had perfectly kept, ſin revived, and he died. 'Tis the poor, and blind, and wretched, and naked, that Chriſt counſels to come and buy of him Eye-ſalve, and Garments to cover their nakedneſs, Rev. 3.17, 18. As we are Proſelites, (i.e.) Comers to Christ, ſo we are cured of our ſpiritual Leproſie, and ſuch Proſelites we will never be, but as we ſee and feel our loſt ſtate by nature, and our great neceſſity of him. Who looks after the things which they do not need? Ho, he that thirſteth, &c. and ſuch will priſe Milk and Water. I cannot get a Houſe in this Town, wherein to leave drink-ſilver in my Maſters name, ſaith Mr Rutherford, There is no ſale for Chriſt in the north, (meaning at Aberdeen) he is like to lie long on my hand, ere any accept him. Thus it is, with all unſenſible and unheart-broken ſinners, though at the brink of Hell, yet will not come unto Chriſt, that they may be ſaved from their ſins, and from the wrath of God.
FINIS.