A Discourse of the Two Covenants, Book 1 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III. How and whence it is that ſin is irritated by the Law.
Rom. 7.8, But ſin taking occaſion by the commandment wrought in me all manner of concupiſcence.
SECT. I. How ſin takes occaſion and is irritated by the Law.
§. 1. WE have ſeen that to be under the firſt Covenant, though broken, is unto every man in a ſtate of nature a deſirable thing; though formally indeed men deſire it not, for they will all diſclaim it, but interpretatively and by conſequence they do deſire it, as Prov. 8. ult. it was finis operis, though not operantis; it was the end of the work, Ezek. 8.3.though not of the worker: and ſo men going about to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs, and not ſubmitting unto the righteouſneſs of God, and being contented to be acted by a ſpirit of bondage, which is the ſpirit of the firſt Covenant, which doth produce in them fruits anſwerable to the Covenant under which they ſtand; this is in Gods account and in the cenſure of the Scripture, an argument of an inward deſire and contentment to be under this Covenant ſtill.
Now becauſe men do look upon it as a deſirable condition, let us examine what this condition is, of a man fallen to be under the firſt Covenant as broken. Divines do commonly ſay, that a man that is in Chriſt is freed from the Law, he being dead to the Law, and the Law being dead unto him, in ſome reſpects as was mentioned at firſt. (1) For Irritation, the Law hath not this power in men to irritate and exaſperate, and enrage their luſts by the reſtraint and the prohibitions of them, and ſo they apply that place, Rom. 6.14. Sin ſhall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the Law. That is, ſaith Beza, He exhorts them to Sanctification, Let not ſin raign in your mortal bodies, and he does promiſe them ſin ſhall not raign.under the Law only forbidding ſinning, and thereby provoking and increaſing luſt, but you are under Grace ſtrengthning againſt ſin, and healing it; and hence it is concluded from ſeveral other Scriptures that a man in Chriſt and under Grace, is freed from the Law, and irritation of it. (2) For Co-action, to keep them from ſin by force, for fear ſimply of the curſe of the Law, and to compell them to duty as a task-maſter againſt their wills when the Law they hate, and the duty that is required of them that they hate; and wiſh there were no Law, and look upon it as a yoak and a burden inſupportable: for as a godly man ſays of ſin, ſo a wicked man ſays of duty, that which I hate that do I. And it requires of him perfect obedience; as a task-maſter he muſt work brick, but gives no ſtraw; requires the full tale of duty, but gives no ſtrength nor aſſiſtance. The Apoſtle ſays, Gal. 5.8. if you be led by the ſpirit you are not under the Law: the ſpirit that is in you is the ſpirit of the ſecond Covenant, a ſpirit of Adoption, a ſpirit of liberty, a free and a Princely ſpirit, which enables you to perform duties out of an inward principle of love to them, and delight in them; unto them the yoak is eaſie, and the burden is light; for it's their happineſs and honour, and meat and drink, to do the will of their Heavenly father. And ſo that place I conceive is to be underſtood, 1 Tim. 1.9. The Law was not made for a righteous man: that is, neither in the reſtraining act of it, or keeping from ſin only for fear of the curſe; becauſe he has an inward principle that luſts againſt it, and as a fountain caſts out the mud, an inward antipathy, a ſpirit luſting and riſing againſt it; that though there were no curſe, yet he would hate it, and endeavour to avoid it; nor in the conſtraining power of it to force to duty only, as that which his ſoul hates, and he comes hardly off too in any meaſure to do that which is required, but he has a ſpirit within, the Law written in his heart, an inward principle ſuitable to what the Law requires of him; as it is ſaid of Chriſt in reſpect of that great Commandment was laid on him, Joh. 10.18, This Commandment have I received of my father; for of that I think he ſpeaks, lo I come to do thy will, thy law is in the middle of my bowels; I have power to lay it down, and to take it up again. He had an inward principle that made him ready and willing, and chearful in it, and in this reſpect the Law was never made for them as the only principle upon which they ſhould act.
(3) For condemnation ſo as to be able to lay upon a man the guilt of his own ſin, and condemn him for it; for the ſting of death is ſin, and the ſtrength of ſin is the Law: there is a deſtroying power in ſin, and this it has from the condemning power of the Law; do but take away the condemning power of the Law, and the ſting of death, that is, that power that it has to deſtroy the ſoul, is gone; becauſe the guilt is taken off the ſinner. Now Gal. 3.13, He has delivered us from the curſe of the Law, being made a curſe for us. And ſo Gal. 5.23, Againſt ſuch there is no Law. It is not ſpoken againſt ſuch works, but againſt ſuch perſons; there is no Law, partly becauſe the Law is againſt none but thoſe that tranſgreſs it, and partly becauſe thoſe being the fruits of the ſpirit, do argue and clear to a man, that his Covenant is changed, becauſe he is acted by the ſpirit of the ſecond Covenant, and therefore he may thereby receive an evidence to himſelf that the condemning power of the Law is not againſt him any more.
Rom. 4.6.(4) For Juſtification. For bleſſed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes righteouſneſs without works. That no man is juſtified by the Law is evident, Gal. 2. ult. If righteouſneſs be by the law, then Chriſt is dead in vain.
And from hence I argue, that if they that are in Chriſt and under the ſecond Covenant, are freed from the Law in all theſe reſpects, then all thoſe that are out of Chriſt, are under the Law ſtill in all thoſe reſpects; and therefore every unregenerate man is under the Law as a Covenant of works, and under this Covenant he deſires to be: now the Covenant being broken, he is under it for Juſtification, Irritation, Coaction and Condemnation; Daven. de lu…ut. actuali. p. 397.which when we have lookt over, it will appear that this is no ſuch happy condition that a man ſhould deſire it. In being freed thus from the Law the main part of a Chriſtians liberty conſiſts; yet there is this difference, the two laſt refer unto a perſon and ſtate, and in thoſe his liberty is perfect, and he is wholly freed from the Law in point of Juſtification and Condemnation; but in the two former as to Irritation and Coaction it is but liberty begun, becauſe ſin in us is not perfectly deſtroyed; therefore ſo far as there are remainders of ſin in the Saints,See Pareus in Rom. 7.5. they are lyable to an Irritation, and a Coaction; but yet in a far different manner from that which is in unregenerate men, as will be ſhewed afterwards.
§. 2. The Apoſtle having in the former Chapter ſpoken how ſin entered into the world, and death by ſin, and how righteouſneſs and life entred by the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, that as ſin reigned unto death, ſo grace ſhould reign through righteouſneſs unto life eternal; and ſhewing the fruits of this righteouſneſs killing ſin in us, Therefore we are dead to ſin, and the old man is crucified, and the body of ſin is deſtroyed, that we ſhould not henceforth ſerve ſin, for he that is dead is freed from ſin: for ſin is a Lord, and ſo long as the ſervant lives he is in ſubjection to his maſter, but the ſervant being once dead is free from his maſter: it's a ſpeech taken from all civil ſubjection, which began with ſin, and ends with death. Now ſin is compared to a Maſter or a Lord, to which a man is bound while he lives; but being dead he is freed from the power and dominion of ſin,Rom. 6.11, 12. Rom. 6.11, 12, Therefore count your ſelves dead unto ſin, and let not ſin reign in your mortal bodies any more. Ver. 14, For ſin ſhall not have dominion over you; for you are not under the Law but under Grace. Not under the Law as a Covenant, and ſo irritating ſin and exaſperating it, but under Grace, that is ſubduing ſin and hell. Some refer theſe words to the dominion of ſin, and a mans freedom from that, and ſome to the dominion of the Law, and a mans deliverance from it as a Covenant; but the main current of Interpreters make the Law the husband and the ſtrength of ſin to be by the Law unto condemnation and unto irritation; as the Law does occaſionally inflame the heart to evil, and luſt is enraged thereby: and they ſay the Law is dead unto us as a Covenant; it is a bond cancelled and taken out of the way, Col. 2.14. and ſo we are dead to the Law by the body of Chriſt; that is, Chriſt as our ſurety, having paid our debt, ſatisfied the Law, and received the diſcharge, we are dead to the Law, it has no more power to charge ſin upon us,See Ambroſ. to Jerom. alſo, & Eſtius. Calvin. Par. &c. nor to ſtir up ſin within us: they make the Law to be the husband, the Soul the wife, and the children to be the fruits of Sin; which through the irritating power of the Law, it does bring forth in us, even all manner of concupiſcence. But other Interpreters, as Beza, Gomar, and ſome others, conceive that the husband is Sin, the wife is every natural man that is in the fleſh, and the fruits are all ſinful words, and actions that do proceed from ſin, which are fruits unto death; as the other husband is Chriſt, the wife a Believing ſoul, and the fruits all the fruits of Righteouſneſs and Holineſs, which are called fruits unto God: and therefore ſome have put them both together; and ſo Reinolds in one place he calls Sin the husband,Pſal. 130. & the uſe of the Law, p. 368. and in another place the Law the husband: and the difference is not much, whether we underſtand it of ſin, which takes occaſion by the Law, or of the Law as it does inflame and irritate ſin; for both of them may be truly ſaid to be dead unto the Saints, and they dead unto them; though it ſeems by the enſuing Objections moſt probable that the Law is the husband.
Now the Apoſtle comes to anſwer a double Objection, which ariſeth hence; For if ſin take occaſion by the Commandment, and if it have a pollutive power by the Law; and as he ſaith Verſe the fifth, The motions of ſin, which were by the Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit to death: then it ſeems there is a double evil that flows from the Law, ſin and death; for by the Law the motions of ſin work, and by the Law men bring forth fruit unto death. The words are an anſwer unto the firſt objection, which lyes thus: That which doth increaſe ſin, and ſin works by it, that is in it ſelf ſinful; but the Law doth increaſe ſin, and ſin works by the Law, &c. The Apoſtle anſwers it two ways: (1) By Negation; it doth not follow, though the Law doth increaſe ſin, and ſin works by the Law, &c. that the Law is therefore ſinful. Abſit, God forbid; it is an abominable inference; for the Law is holy, and juſt, and good, and a beam of that infinite Holineſs that is in God, and by which Gods Holineſs does ſhine forth upon us, therefore the Law is not ſinful: for that which only does diſcover ſin is not ſin, but it is the Law only that doth diſcover and forbid ſin; therefore, &c. (2) By a Tranſlation of the guilt, laying the blame upon corrupt nature, and the ſinfulneſs thereof, which the Law doth forbid and diſcover; (for the Law entered that ſin might abound) and therefore of it ſelf gives not occaſion to ſin. Yet ſin took occaſion when none was given, and did draw evil from that which is good in it ſelf, and ſuckt poyſon from that which is holy. For the Law is holy as well when it does by accident enrage ſin, as when by it ſelf it diſcovers it.
Doct. Every man out of Chriſt is under a Covenant of works, and under the irritating power of the Law. The Law forbidding ſin and diſcovering ſin in him, has no other fruits but to enrage it, and increaſe it: as Chryſoſtome ſays, the flame of luſt is increaſed thereby: for without the law ſin is dead; that is, ratione cognitionis, it lyes dead, man knows it not to be ſin; and comparativè, ratione irritationis, in point of irritation. But the more clearly the law is diſcovered, the more bitterly and violently does corruption work againſt it. Whiles the law doth not come in a clear and convincing manner, ſin is quiet, and a man does not ſin with ſo much rage and violence againſt the law, as he does after the diſcoveries thereof. Sin was dead: that is, it did not put forth its utmoſt power to draw forth all manner of effects, till the law came, and by this means ſin is made exceeding ſinful; (as it is rendered by Eraſmus) ſin is not only diſcovered, but improved, and ſo it is made exceeding ſinful. So that the fruits of the law to a man under the firſt Covenant is this, Sin takes occcaſion by the Commandment, it does ripen his ſins, and improve them, and it draws forth in him all manner of uncleanneſs, 1 Cor. 15.56, The ſtrength of ſin is the law. There is a threefold power ſin has from the law: (1) Of condemnation; and ſo the law, ſaith Luther, that is weak through the fleſh for juſtification, is through the fleſh powerful to condemnation. The law does ſtrengthen ſin by its condemning power. (2) Of Conviction; for the diſcovery of ſin is by the law, and it's through the law only that ſin does trouble the Conſcience and convince the ſinner. Paul ſaith, I was alive without the law once: i. e. in his unregenerate eſtate; but his ſins were before alive only, they lay hid as colours in the dark. Now when the Commandment came ſin did appear to be ſin, it being diſcovered thereby: ſo that the ſtrength of ſin as to Conviction is by the law. (3) As to Irritation. By the law luſt is drawn forth and improved, and provoked, and ſo ſin receives a power from the law alſo: and therefore they that have the cleareſt diſcoveries of the law, their ſins are improved and made ſtronger than other mens; as it appears by the people of Iſrael, Zech. 5.6, 8. there was an Ephah, Zech. 5.6, 8.which is the greateſt dry meaſure amongſt the Jews, and it is wickedneſs that is in it, that ſets forth the fulneſs of their ſins; and we ſee what it was that did fill it up; ſin taking occaſion from the Commandment,Jer. 1.11. as a rod of an Almond-tree their ſins did ripen in the greateſt colds; that which a man would have thought ſhould have been a means to have kept ſin under, that was a means to improve and increaſe it. As a basket of Summer-fruits, which is ſooner ripe than other fruits: Jer. 24.2.Amos 8.1. they were divided into two ſorts, the good figs very good, but the bad very bad, ſuch as could not be eaten: the rain does ripen the briers and thorns as well as the corn;Heb. 6.7, 8. therefore the law of God does improve mens ſins and ripen them, and haſten judgment for them.
1. In every unregenerate man there is the ſeed of all ſin;Rom. 1.26. Act. 13.10. they are filled with the fruits of all unrighteouſneſs; full of all ſubtlety, and all miſchief; a fountain of ſin, a treaſury, a bundle of folly. Let Satan come when he will, and he will find ſomething that is in us. Though all ſins break not forth actually in every man, yet vertually and ſeminally all ſins are in every man.
2. Luſts are acted and drawn forth by degrees, as water out of a fountain, it caſts not forth all at once; your experience teaches, that the more it is drawn, the quicker the ſpring is; no man is ſuddenly very bad, ſin ripens as a child in the womb; firſt luſt is conceived, Jam. 1.14. Ezek. 7.10. Iſa. 59.4.and then it brings forth ſin, and ſin finiſhed brings forth death: It firſt brings forth the bud, and then the bloſſom, and afterward the fruit; as Serpents do firſt the egg, and afterwards the Cocatrice, &c.
3. Unto men in an unregenerate ſtate there is nothing that is not a means to draw out and improve their luſts, and this is the curſe upon every thing unto them, and therefore Tit. 1.15. To the unclean all things are unclean. Rom. 8.28.To a gracious heart all things work together for his good; becauſe they are all means to ſubdue his corruption, and improve his graces; ſo to another man all things improve his corruption: (1) All Creatures, 1 Joh. 2.16. whatſoever is in the world is the luſt of the fleſh, the luſt of the eye, or the pride of life. There is no Creature but draws out ſome luſt or other; and therefore the luſt is put for the thing it ſelf, for every Creature ſhall improve his corruption; there is nothing that he ſees with his eyes, but ſin takes occaſion by it, to make the man more exceeding ſinful. If he look upon the Sun in its brightneſs, his heart is enticed, &c. He cannot look upon a woman but to luſt after her: they have eyes full of adultery. 2 Pet. 2.14.(2) All opportunities draw out his corruption: as Gehazi ſaid, As the Lord liveth I will go after him, and get ſomething of him. And the Harlot, Prov. 7. The good man is gone from home, &c. (3) All eſtates do draw out his corruption: if in proſperity he does wax fat and kick, and as the paſture ſo is his filling, his heart is lifted up, and he forgets the Lord; and if afflicted with Ahaz, he ſins yet more: ſo that ſin takes occaſion by all the ways and diſpenſations of God towards the man; and as ſin is improved, and takes all occaſion by all other things, ſo it does by the law of God alſo, and ſo as a godly man grows from grace to grace, from faith to faith, ſo does a wicked man from ſin to ſin, from one degree of wickedneſs to another.
§. 3. But the main thing in opening of the point is this: How ſin takes occaſion by the Commandment, and what improvement the law that forbids ſin, and diſcovers ſin, can give unto it. There are ſeveral acts of the law by which ſin is improved.
Rom. 7.1. The law as a glaſs doth diſcover ſins: I had not known luſt but by the law, ſays the Apoſtle Paul. Now in this ſin takes occaſion by the Commandment three ways:
(1) It does act many ſins becauſe they are forbidden; that there is nothing in the ſin that ſhould elſe carry the heart to it, but only we affect things forbidden. In ſins where there is neither pleaſure nor profit, yet how do the hearts of men run out to them, even to new oaths, and new-invented blaſphemies? as if they were the flowers of ſpeech, for which no man can give a reaſon but this, becauſe it is forbidden. As Hyperius gives advice unto Divines, not to revive ancient Hereſies in their reproofs, leſt thereby they do teach men thoſe errors they went about to refute. For the very hearing of a blaſphemy is enough to take the heart; as we ſee by experience daily, and the very ſpeaking of ſome things as ſins, is enough to draw out the luſts of men towards them. Thus ſin takes occaſion by the Commandment.
(2) The diſcovery of the Law makes ſin the more exceeding ſinful, becauſe it is againſt light, which ſhews it unto his Conſcience, and yet the man does it, and ſo ſin takes occaſion by the Commandment to become the more out of meaſure ſinful. [1] When the Commandment forbids, and diſcovers a thing to be evil, and ſin takes occaſion thereby to mince it, and in a politick manner to conceal it ſelf. Sin would do the thing, and yet elude the force and the ſpirituality of the Law, as the Phariſees; the Law ſaid, Thou ſhalt not ſwear; but they ſaid, to ſwear by Heaven is lawful; and, it is lawful to ſwear by the Temple, but not by the Gold of the Temple. The Law ſaith, Men ſhould nouriſh their Parents; but they ſaid, it is Corban, a gift, &c. And ſo the diſcovery of the Law makes a man to ſeek out curious ways of ſinning againſt it to avoid the power of the law: as we ſee in Gaming, &c. ſin takes occaſion by the Commandment, that it may ſin more artificially; and ſuch men are hardly convinced. [2] The Law diſcovers ſin, and men will not ſee it, and ſo ſin takes occaſion by the Commandment, and vents it ſelf by refuſing knowledge: And they ſtop their ears that they may not be charmed by the voice of the charmer, Joh. 3.20.&c.
(3) Sin takes occaſion from hence, in that men hate the light of the law, and they wiſh that there were no ſuch law in the world. He that does evil hates the light, neither cometh he to the light leſt his deeds ſhould be made manifeſt and reproved. As the law diſcovers that to be evil in which the ſoul placeth its greateſt good, ſo this diſcovery draws out a hatred in the ſoul aagainſt that law, which does as a glaſs diſcover the ſpots which the ſinner would have hidden.
2. The law does reſtrain ſin, and puts a ſtop, to it, and ſhuts up the ſinner, as we may read, Gal. 3.23. Whence ſin breaks forth more violently; men being prone to ſin, and cannot live without it, (for the comfort of their life comes in by it.) The Law may reſtrain and keep in luſt for a while,Mat. 12.43. but it breaks forth as fire; when you ſuppreſs it outwardly, it burns the hotter within, and ſpreads the more by a reſtraint. (1) It ſpreads the more in the man by the reſtraint of the Law: a man that hath forborn a ſin long, there comes ſeven worſe ſpirits at the laſt and makes him more the child of the Devil than he was before: the former reſtraint that was upon him, makes his inward man the more exceeding ſinful: As it was with Judas, a Devil though a Diſciple. The reſtraint of ſin by the Commandment cauſes it to defile his inward man the more. (2) The more ſin is enraged; as Pſal. 2. They ſay, let us break their bonds and caſt their cords from us. Chains put not a fierceneſs into a beaſt, but yet it does outwardly draw forth that fury that was in its nature. As a potion in ſome diſeaſes given for the cure, irritates the peccant humour, and kills the man the ſooner; not that it puts a new ſickneſs in, but only the humours being ſtirred are the more enraged. (3) So in this caſe it does not only enrage ſin, and ſo make it more fierce, but it improves it by this enraging: as the preſence of an injury doth heighten a mans anger, as we ſee Goliah did David s; his brags drew forth David's courage, and it roſe to the greater height: and ſo any difficulty would Alexander's, ſo that it was an exploit fit for Alexander, if none elſe would undertake it: and ſo a damm in the water, it does cauſe it to ſwell and foam the more, and the coldneſs of the circumſtant air in the winter does not put more heat into the fire, and yet by an Antiperiſtaſis it excites it, ſo that it is felt the more. And therefore men living under the cleareſt diſcoveries of the Law, their ſins do riſe to the greateſt height: men by the light of nature cannot ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt, the great and the unpardonable tranſgreſſion; but this ſin is by Goſpel-light, and this draws forth to direct enmity a mans ſpirit againſt the light, ſo that he ſins wilfully after that he hath received the knowledge of the truth, and with deſpight; for it is this being under the irritating power of the Law, that is the great occaſion of the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt.
3. There is a condemning power of the Law, it paſſes a ſentence upon a man and upon his eſtate, and let's into his ſoul by the ſpirit of bondage fear of death, and dreadful apprehenſions of wrath, fearful expectations of judgment, and of violent fire to devour him. And from this alſo ſin takes occaſion, (1) By reaſon of terrours, that a man ſhould deſtroy himſelf, and become the inſtrument of his own mercy, and be his own executioner, as Judas, and Achitophel, and many others have done. And (2) hence ſin takes occaſion to drive them to deſpair, and draws it forth, faſtning their eyes upon the vengeance of God, and never ſhewing them the remedy and the pardon; and then with Cain men ſay, mine iniquity is greater than can be forgiven. (3) Hence follows a giving up themſelves unto all exceſs of riot; there is no hope, and therefore I will enjoy the good things that are preſent, and not have a Hell here and hereafter too. And therefore they refrain not from any evil way, but reſolve to take their fill of ſin while they are here; for they are ſure they can be but damned: as many a wicked wretch when he is condemned to die, he cares not what he does then, for he knows he can be but hanged: Let us eat and drink for to morrow we ſhall die. (4) The rage of their ſpirits does riſe from hence, even to blaſphemy and revenge againſt God. He ſaith, O that I were above God! for I know that he will not have mercy upon me. And ſo the Damned in Hell do blaſpheme God by way of revenge, becauſe they are ſhut up under wrath, and know that there is no mercy for them. And this is the ground alſo of the great rage and revenge againſt God, that is acted by the Devil ever ſince the fall. Thus men ſeeing themſelves condemned by the Law, and being in a continual expectation of this wrath, the revenge and rage of their ſpirits againſt God is by this means drawn forth, and in all theſe reſpects ſin does take occaſion by the Commandment, and becomes the more exceeding ſinful.
SECT. II. Whence it is that the Law exaſperates and encreaſes Sin.
§. 1. LET us now come (having proved the Point) to look into the grounds of it, How it ſhould come to paſs that that which diſcovers ſin, and forbids it, ſhould exaſperate and increaſe it; and that that which is a means to lead the people of God into ways of holineſs, and to ſanctifie them, converting the ſoul, making wiſe the ſimple, ſhould occaſion ſin and death to others. We muſt lay this as a ground, That the cauſe is not in the Law: the Apoſtles care is to remove any blemiſh that may be caſt on the Law of God, as if God had given a Law to this end, to add unto the ſin of man; whereas indeed before the Law ſin was in the world, and it was out of meaſure ſinful; but it did not appear ſo without the Law. There is a twofold cauſe that the Apoſtle does here point us unto. (1) There is cauſa per ſe, a formal cauſe; which does of it ſelf and of its own nature properly produce the effect from ſome inward and intrinſecal power and efficiency, and ſo the Law is not the cauſe of ſin in a man, neither is there any thing in the Law that ſhould produce any ſuch effect, but rather the contrary; for it doth forbid ſin upon the higheſt penalties, it has upon it an impreſs of the Holineſs of God, and is contrary to ſin in all things, being holy and juſt, and good, and in its proper cauſality, does work holineſs in the hearts of men, and a conformity unto the will of God as the rule of Goodneſs, as it appears in the Saints; all the grace that they have is nothing elſe but the Law written in their hearts, which is the grand promiſe of the new Covenant. (2) There is cauſa per accidens, an accidental cauſe; when the effect flows not from the nature of the cauſe, but from ſomething elſe that does by accident cleave to it; ſo the Apoſtle ſays, knowledge puffs up: all true knowledge is humbling, and there is nothing that a man can know either of God or himſelf, but it does afford him great ground of abaſement and ſelf-denial; but yet through the luſts of men ſin takes occaſion by the knowledge that ſhould humble him to lift him up: ſo fountains are hotteſt in the Winter, and the fire by reaſon of the cold of the circumſtant air; not that the Winter does add heat to either by its own nature, but by accident and occaſionally incloſe the one and draw forth the other: ſo the Goſpel meeting with the luſts of men, who either reject the Goſpel, or elſe do turn the grace of God into wantonneſs, thence it becomes the ſavour of death unto death; not of it ſelf, nor in its own nature, for it is the word of life and ſalvation: ſo does the Law draw forth ſin, not of its own nature, for it forbids it, and curſeth it; but yet ſin takes occaſion by the Law, and through many things that do adhere and cleave to the man by the Law, it does become the more exceeding ſinful.
Let us therefore come unto the proper cauſes how it comes to paſs, that ſin by the Law, which is good, ſhould take ſuch an occaſion of evil. The cauſes are many.
1. One cauſe of it is luſt. There are in luſt many things from whence it flows, but eſpecially theſe. (1) Luſt is carried towards its object with earneſtneſs, violence, and vehemency; there is a lifting up of the ſoul to vanity, and the hearts going after covetouſneſs; and therefore ſome render that of Laban when Jacob departed, and he ſaw that the hope of his gain was gone,Gen. 31.20. Deut. 29.19. Amos 2.7. Eph. 4.19. Jude 11. that he ſtole away the heart of Laban. And as a godly mans deſires are for God and Grace, ſo a wicked mans deſires are after ſin, and he thirſts and pants after it; and it is therefore expreſt by greedineſs, as we may ſee it in Shechem, Amnon, and Ahab after Naboth's Vineyard. All theſe ſet forth the violence of luſt, how fully the ſoul of man is carried after ſinful objects; and the ground is, becauſe ſin looks upon ſinful objects as the husband of the ſoul, as the chief good, and therefore is carried after them, modo infinito, in an infinite manner, as a God; therefore they are ſaid, to ſerve mammon; and their God is their belly; and they are lovers of pleaſures more than lovers of God, Rom. 7.and therefore deſire them infinitely: the ſinner is never ſatisfied, but like the barren womb crys, give, give; his deſire is as Hell and the Grave, it never has enough. Now whatever comes in the way as a bar unto that which his ſoul does ſo infinitely deſire, it is no wonder if his heart riſe againſt it with an anſwerable violence. If Naboth come in the way of Ahab's Covetouſneſs, his life is little enough to make ſatisfaction; and if any man ſtand in the way of Haman's honour, his life and the life of a whole Nation is but a fit ſacrifice to expiate ſo great an offence. Now the Law of God putting a ſtop upon ſuch vaſt deſires, therefore the hearts of men do riſe up againſt the Law, in oppoſition anſwerable to the deſire that ſin hath unto the object from which it is ſtopt by the prohibition of the Law.
(2) Luſts are proud, and do ſwell the heart, and cauſe it to be lifted up, Pſal. 10.4, The wicked through the pride of his countenance doth not ſeek after God. Obed. 3, The pride of thy heart has deceived thee. And this fills the heart with a great deal of obſtinacy and ſtoutneſs of ſpirit againſt God, and contempt and ſcorn of whatever comes in his way to reſiſt it; as we ſee in Pharaoh, even againſt the Lord himſelf, Who is the Lord that I ſhould obey his voice? And anſwerable unto a mans pride and exaltation of ſpirit, ſuch is the riſing of his heart againſt any thing that makes againſt him; and the more full of luſt any man is, the more the pride of his heart is drawn forth; for he is thereby made the more conformable to the Devil, who ſaith, I am a God, and ſo do all mens luſts ſay; and therefore the heart is lifted up as a God, anſwerable to the pride of a man, ſuch is his impatience.
(3) Luſt is reſolute; this proceeds from the two former, it will go on whatever come of it,Epheſ. 2.3. Hoſ. 9. in deſpight of all oppoſition. There are wills of the fleſh, as great reſolutions as if there were many wills in one, as a wild aſs alone by it ſelf, i. e. that has neither rider to command it, nor bridle to reſtrain it, will venture any-where, Jer. 8.7, They go on in their own ways as the horſe ruſhes into the battel. Chriſt warns Judas, The ſon of man goeth indeed, as it is written, but wo to him by whom the ſon of man is betrayed; it had been good for that man that he had never been born: And yet Judas went forth, and from that time he ſought an opportunity to betray him. If the Lord make hedges about a ſoul, yet he will labour to tread down all with the greateſt reſolution, and with the higheſt contempt, as we may ſee it in Pharaoh after all his plagues, yet his heart was hardened, that is, his will remained obſtinate, and he reſolved not to yield unto God come what will come; yea though death to himſelf, and deſtruction upon his Kingdom did enſue. And therefore they ſay, What thou ſpeakeſt to us in the name of the Lord we will not do, Jer. 44.16.but we will do whatever proceeds out of our own mouths. And if any thing come in the way to croſs them in this reſolution, men reſolve to oppoſe it; ſee it in Saul, 1 Sam. 22.17, Go and kill the Prieſts of Jehovah, which ſome have made to be the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt; and Job 15.26, They do prepare themſelves thick-boſſed bucklers, they reſolve to make reſiſtance, they harden their hearts, and ſtiffen their necks; though the law of God ſet the ſin and the evil before them, yet men deſpiſe it and fear not the danger; let it be of temporal judgment, they ſay, The word of the Prophet is but wind, and the word of the Lord is not in them, it will come upon themſelves, ſo let it be done unto themſelves; let it be eternal judgment that is threatned, and men do ſcoff and ſay,2 Pet. 3.3. Where is the promiſe of his coming. And the heart of man does from its pride infinitely ſcorn all thoſe things, and goes on with the greater reſolution in any evil.
(4) There is in every luſt a principle and root of enmity againſt God; for men naturally are haters of God, and enemies to God, and there is nothing but luſt makes them ſo:Rom. 1.31. Col. 1.31. Now as in every man there is all ſin vertually and ſeminally, ſo there is all ſin in every ſin, and there is in every ſin a principle of ſin that will produce all manner of iniquity, as we may ſee in the firſt tranſgreſſion; it was but one ſin and one act of ſin, yet there was in it all manner of defilement that has filled the nature of man with all manner of pollution. The ſin of the Devils was but one, and that a ſpiritual ſin alſo, and it has filled the Devils with all that Deviliſh malignity, that has manifeſted it ſelf in them ever ſince. Now as there is in every ſin a principle of enmity againſt God, ſo radically and ſeminally there is in every ſin the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt even the great tranſgreſſion;Pſal. 19.13. even ſecret ſins they do make way for this ſin againſt the Spirit of God, Blaſphemy againſt the Holy Ghoſt, which is direct enmity againſt God, with deſpight and revenge; and it is oppoſition that above all things in the world draws it forth; and the more clear a mans light is, the more ſpiritual the oppoſition that is made againſt him is, the ſooner the man comes into the great tranſgreſſion. And theſe are the great grounds in luſts, which take occaſion from the Commandment; the violence of luſt the more it is oppoſed the more it deſires, and deſires by reſiſtance are kindled and increaſed, and from the pride of the heart it raiſeth oppoſition with the greater impatience and reſolution, come what will come; and all this coming from a principle not only of collateral, but of direct enmity againſt God, it is with deſpight and revenge. In theſe ſin takes occaſion by the Commandment, and the oppoſition thereof improves it and draws it forth. As it is in grace, affliction improves it, and oppoſition draws it forth, temptations and deſertions confirm it, as there were many acts of grace in Job that had not been drawn forth but by affliction; ſo it is with many of the Saints, many men had never been ſo gracious but by oppoſition, as we ſee it in Luther and in many of the Martyrs, that their Graces roſe by their oppoſition and perſecution. So many men had never been ſo wicked, as we ſee it in the Phariſees, had they not lived under ſuch glorious means of Grace, and ſo clear Convictions which ſet bounds to their luſts, which made them break out with the greater rage: for Chriſt ſays to them, If I had not come and ſpoken to you, you had had no ſin, but now there is no cloak for your ſin: for by the oppoſition that their luſt met with it was drawn forth more impetuouſly.
§. 2. There is yet a further ground of this irritating power of the Law, and that is from the curſe of God that is come upon all men under the fall, which came not only upon man but upon all things elſe for mans uſe; and ſo though it be the curſe of the Law, yet it comes even upon the Law it ſelf, (ſo far as it concerns man) as well as upon all the Creatures; yea the Lord Chriſt himſelf is ſo far a curſe unto men in their ſins, that as he is a ſanctuary to his people, ſo a ſtone of ſtumbling and a rock of offence, a gin and a ſnare unto others, for the fall and the riſing again of many in Iſrael, Luk. 2.34. For judgment, ſays he,Iſa. 8.14. Joh. 9.39. I am come into this world; and yet he ſays in Joh. 12.47. I came not to judge and condemn the world but to ſave the world. This indeed was his intent primarily and per ſe, but the other falls out through the ſinfulneſs of men, occaſionally and by accident; and that which is good in it ſelf does become evil unto the man, and that which is a bleſſing in it ſelf doth to him become a curſe: ſo it is with the Goſpel, and with all the ordinances thereof, 'tis the ſavour of life to ſome, but of death unto others; the ſame meat is wholſome nouriſhment unto ſome, to others, it feeds the diſeaſe in an unſound body; and the ſame light which is pleaſant unto a good and a ſound eye, is a pain and a trouble to a weak eye which is ſore or bloodſhot, &c. And therefore it puts no malignant nor ſinful quality into the Law or Goſpel, or the Ordinances, but only theſe meeting with a man of an unſound ſpirit do occaſionally ſtir up theſe corruptions and ſinful diſpoſitions, which were in the men before, and thereby do increaſe them; and by this means it becomes a curſe to the man, though it be a bleſſing to the people of God. There is a double curſe that is come upon all things by the fall: (1) They are all of them empty and deceiving. (2) They are all of them corrupting and defiling, this is the curſe that is come upon all the Creatures. (1) They do a man no good, for they are vanity; though a man looks for profit by them, yet they profit not;Eccleſ. 1.14. and that is one part of the curſe that comes on the Law in reſpect of men, that a man ſhall receive no good by it; it ſhall be but an empty word, and it does fall upon a man as rain upon the Wilderneſs, it has laboured in vain, as even Chriſt himſelf ſays, My work is with the Lord; but in vain to the people, for they received no good by it, but they have ſown the wind: it is ſpoken of all their religious ſervices,Hoſ. 7.7. they were empty and unprofitable, and would do them no good at the laſt day, bring them in no more harveſt than a man might expect that did ſow but the wind. And in Jeremy 'tis ſaid, They ſhall not profit this people at all; for there is a vanity in Ordinances as well as in Creatures, and the ſtaff of the bread of life may be taken away, even then when our bread it ſelf may continue, &c. (2) They are polluting, for though all the Creatures can do a man no good, yet they can do him much hurt, and add to the defilement of his ſpirit, and draw out his ſins, and ripen them, and fill up his meaſure, they can ripen the briers and thorns;Heb. 6. and this was all the fruit that many of the Jews had by the Miniſtery of Chriſt: If he had not ſpoken to them they had had no ſin, but now they had no cloak for their ſin. To the unclean all things are unclean. Tit. 1.15.And all thoſe things that are means of cleanſing to the Saints they are unto unregenerate men means of polluting. Mercies, Afflictions, Ordinances, that which is the refiners fire and the Lords furnace to the one, it proves not ſo to the other; but the bellows are burnt and the wicked are not taken away, yet the people are not purged, &c. and ſo by their means of cleanſing they become ſo much the more exceedingly unclean; and above all things in the world herein does the curſe lye, that it defiles the ſoul, and prepares it for eternal wrath: The word that goes out of my mouth ſhall not return unto me void or in vain. Though it may and commonly doth return in vain in reſpect of any profit unto them that hear it, but it ſhall not return in vain in reſpect of the corruptions and pollutions it leaves upon the ſoul; it may not profit them, but it ſhall pollute them.
There are in the Law of God ſeveral Properties, and ſin takes occaſion from them all.
1. There is a ſpiritual depth in it, that reaſon and all the natural abilities of a man cannot underſtand, as we ſee 1 Cor. 2.14, The natural man perceiveth not the things of God. The word in the Greek ſignifies a man with all the abilities and poſſibilities of nature, however raiſed and improved; yet there is ſomething in the Law of God that it cannot attain unto: there is a literal rational part of the Law that men may know; but there is a ſpiritual part of it that they cannot know, and therefore Mat. 13.13, Seeing they ſee not: there is ſomething in the Law that they do ſee, and ſomething that they do not ſee; they cannot ſee that that is above the ſearch and the diſcovery of reaſon at the higheſt and beſt, and therefore the wiſeſt men in the world have been blind therein, ſo that we may ſay, where is the wiſe man, the ſcribe and the diſputer of this world? 1 Cor. 1.Here is only place for Faith, the Law cannot be known but by a ſpirit of revelation, as David prays, Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wonders out of thy Law. Now from hence ſin takes occaſion by the Commandment, and it will not believe what it cannot comprehend. The Athenian Philoſophers laught at the Reſurrection, and the Corinthian Doctors counted the preaching of the Croſs fooliſhneſs, that ever any man ſhould believe Salvation by a Crucified Saviour; and the Jews derided it in Chriſt, that he ſhould be the Saviour of others who could not ſave himſelf, &c. And truly this has been the great reaſon of all the Hereſies that have been in the world, becauſe there is a wiſdom of the fleſh, Rom. 8.that is not ſubject unto the law of God, neither can it be; that will undertake to try the deep myſteries of the Word, and to weigh them by her ballance, and ſo becauſe it cannot underſtand them it rejects them. This was the ground of all Hereſie from the beginning: and Luther ſays, Superbia mater omnium haereticorum, pride is the mother of all hereſies: and ſo Auguſtin, Page 20.and Polycarp in his Epiſtle ad Philip. when he would deſcribe the Hereticks of thoſe firſt times, foreign, to methodiſe the Oracles of God according to mens pleaſure is the firſt-born of Satan. And this has been the occaſion taken by men to deny the Trinity of Perſons, and the Perſonal Union of Chriſt, the Godhead of the Holy Ghoſt, and of all the errors of the Socinians and the Arminians. And this has made Popery and all thoſe things take ſo with men, becauſe they are both agreeable to reaſon and to luſt; and Popery being a Doctrine ſo exactly fitted to corrupt reaſon, it did ſo eaſily overſpread the whole face of the world: but ſin takes occaſion from a profoundneſs and depth of things revealed in the Law, to deny them, and deride them as fooliſhneſs.
2. They are not only above reaſon, and ſo rejected becauſe they are above it, but there is a plainneſs and ſimplicity in the Goſpel, and a great deal of ſeeming meanneſs and folly; and there is much in reaſon to be ſaid againſt it, and here men are offended, and they ſtumble at it. For a man to forſake Father and Mother, and to hate them, yea, and his own life alſo, to lay down all when the Lord ſhall call for it, rather than to offend him, or diſhonour him in the leaſt; for a man to go ſell all that he has, that he may have treaſure in Heaven, there is much that reaſon has to ſay againſt this; a man looks at it as folly, and ſuch Doctrines he is offended at. And this is the true reaſon of all the human ornaments and blandiſhments that men deſire in the diſpenſation of the Word, that there may be ſomething to take the fancy, while the Conſcience does evade the blow.
3. The Law is hard to be underſtood, and therefore men put variety of interpretations upon it; and are ſaid to wreſt the word; they put falſe gloſſes upon it,2 Pet. 3.16. and in this the corruptions of men are drawn forth, and take occaſion to ſtand for them, being put to it, as the Phariſees were, who did unlord the Law, and take away the ruling power of it, by putting a ſence upon it, that the Spirit of God never intended; and ſo by ſubtil diſtinctions and evaſions take away the ſpiritual part of the Law.
4. The Law hath a difficulty and impoſſibility unto man faln, and at this men are offended, and ſay who can be ſaved; and they reject it as impoſſible, for the law is weak through the fleſh, 1 Cor. 10.25. Rom. 8.3.and by the works of it can no man be juſtified in the ſight of God. Men object, God does require that of the Creature which it cannot perform, and how can this ſtand with the juſtice of God? The Law was not originally impoſſible, for man had an ability perfectly to obey it, but it is now become accidentally impoſſible; it is through the fleſh weak, and ſo Legally impoſſible, but Evangelically poſſible.
5. From Satans working with the Law, and God giving a man over unto his power, and the efficacy of his deceit; to a blind mind and a hard heart, and a deſperate reſolution in a way of ſinning. There is a double deſign that the Devil has upon man; (1) He would conform him to himſelf and ſtamp upon him his own image; and therefore in all bodily luſts and acts of collateral enmity, his aim is to draw men unto direct enmity: thence he can be content to go out of men in many outward and groſs luſts, that he may draw them into ſpiritual wickedneſs the more; and the more any man comes unto that, the more perfectly he is a Devil: Satans aim is even in all his temptations, of the Saints as well as wicked men, to touch them,Jon. 6.7. Job 5.19. and to leave in them an impreſſion and ſtamp of his own deviliſhneſs; and therefore the more men ſin againſt knowledg and with deſpight, and diſaffection unto God, the more he is pleaſed with it: for as God loves holineſs in the ſpirituality of it, and the nearer a man comes unto conformity to God the more God delights in him; ſo Satan loves ſin in the ſpirituality of it, and the nearer a man comes in conformity unto Satan, the more ſpiritual his wickedneſs grows; and Satan delights to act that man of all other. (2) The dearer any thing is unto God the more Satan delights to abuſe it unto this end, and the more God hath ſet up any thing againſt ſin, the more Satan does endeavour to make that a means to draw men unto ſin: ſometimes he ſeeks to abuſe the Creatures of God, and ſtir up luſt by them, as when a man looks upon the Sun when it ſhines, and his heart is enticed thereby; ſometimes he looks upon a Woman and luſts after her; ſometimes he looks upon the Wine when its colour looks red in the glaſs; and thus the Creatures of God are abuſed by Satan to draw out the luſts of men; and whatever is in the world is the luſt of the fleſh, the luſt of the ey, and the pride of life, 1 Joh. 2.15, 16. Sometimes he abuſeth the ſervants of God, he will enter into Peter and he ſhall become a tempter unto Chriſt, that he ſaith, Get thee behind me Satan: and the woman that God gave man to be a help, ſhe ſhall by Satan be made a dart; and ſometimes the Law and the Goſpel, which ſpecially God has ſet up as a remedy againſt ſin, ſhall act it and improve it, and draw it forth. Now God leaving a man under the power and dominion of Satan the God of this world, who works effectually in the children of diſobedience, he is as a conquerour over them, and triumphs in this, that he has made uſe of the Law of God, and the Goſpel of God, that is made againſt ſin, to increaſe and ripen it; yea, even the motions and common works of the Spirit of God, the heart of man riſing and making head againſt them, are the great means by which Satan draws men to the great tranſgreſsion, even to ſin againſt God with deſpight and revenge.
§. 3. But here is a queſtion, Queſtion. Are believers who are engrafted into Chriſt, and come under him as a father, as the ſecond Adam, that is, have their Covenant changed as well as their image, are theſe wholly freed from the law in reſpect of the irritation of it? Rom. 6.14. it is ſaid, Sin ſhall not have dominion over you, becauſe you are not under the law but under grace. Which, as has been declared, is not to be referred unto a mans juſtification, as being freed from the Law for righteouſneſs and life, and from the curſe of the law for death and condemnation; but it is ſpoken of a mans Sanctification: a man is not under the Law as irritating ſin and increaſing it, but under grace, not only pardoning but ſanctifying and ſubduing it; and in this reſpect the dominion and the ruling power of ſin is taken away in the godly, though the being of it remain. The Apoſtle ſpeakes wholly in this place in reference to a mans ſtate of unregeneracy, Verſ. 5, When we were in the fleſh, the motions of ſin that were by the law, &c. And he ſpeaks this in reference to his own eſtate before converſion, I was alive without the law once: and I had not known ſin but by the law, nor luſt to be a ſin, and the danger of it, but that the Law of God diſcover'd it unto me; and ſo in my former ſtate, Sin took occaſion by the Commandment, and wrought in me, &c. The word in the Greek ſignifies to work a thing duplicate page duplicate page throughly and effectually, and to work it out, Phil. 2.20, Work out your ſalvation with fear and trembling. And Rom. 7.18, To will is preſent with me, but to perform or go through with the work, I find not a power to do it. And ſo ſin by the Commandment wrought in him effectually, or wrought in him (which we heard before) all manner of Concupiſcence, all luſt was thereby drawn out. Hath the law of God no ſuch work upon a regenerate man, one that is a believer? does not ſin in a regenerate man take occaſion by the Commandment? Is a Believer as perfectly freed from the Law for irritation, as he is for condemnation?
Anſwer. Chriſt ſays, If the Son make you free you are free indeed: and the ſpecial part of our liberty, with which Chriſt has made us free, is in being freed from the Law as a Covenant. Some, as Paraeus and others, do diſtinguiſh thus: Liberty from the Law is twofold; (1) Perfect, in reſpect of juſtification and condemnation, that their perfect obedience to the Law is no way required for the one, neither ſhall any of the tranſgreſſions of the Law be imputed for the other. (2) Inchoate, which is but begun in the Saints, and ſhall be perfected; and ſo they are delivered from the Law only for irritation and coaction, but ſo long as ſin remains in them, ſo long they ſhall never be perfectly delivered from the Law in either of theſe.
But to make this plain, and bring it down in the particular branches of it unto the meaneſt underſtanding. There are many things to be conſidered, which I ſhall now proceed to lay down to make out this general and received Doctrine, that is ſo commonly delivered by our Divines.
1. There are remainders of corruption in the beſt of the Saints; Grace deſtroys the reigning of ſin, but not the being of it. You read, how that Abraham the father of the faithful, had his unbelief, and Moſes the meekeſt man in his generation, had his paſſion and provocation, and ſpake unadviſedly with his lips; David a man after Gods own heart, yet he complains of his ſecret ſins; and Paul that great Apoſtle had the law of his members rebelling againſt the law of his mind. 2 Cor. 7.1.There is a filthineſs of fleſh and ſpirit that is to be purged out: as there is ſomething wanting in their Graces, and therefore they have a daily growth in Sanctification; ſo there is ſomething remaining of their corruption, which requires a daily growth in their mortification, therefore they are compared to the Moon, Cant. 6.10. which has ſome ſpots in it, becauſe not wholly enlightned by the Sun; they do defile themſelves, and therefore had need daily to waſh their feet.Joh. 17.10.
2. Theſe remainders of ſin in them, as they are promoted by Satan, ſo they give Satan an acceſs unto their ſpirits, and are as the ſeed for him to work upon; they are to him a ſeminary, and ſo much as Satan has in a man, ſo much power he has over him: ſays Chriſt, Joh. 14.30, The Prince of this world comes and has nothing in me. Joh. 14.30.He came in his inſtrument Judas, and the Phariſees, and the high Prieſt, and the Soldiers, Satan ſtirred them up. And he has nothing in me; that is as ſome render it, nothing of his own; when he ſpeaks a lye he ſpeaks of his own. Let your converſation be yea and nay, for what is more is of the evil one. And he hath nothing; that is, no power and authority over me: by reaſon of ſin all mankind is ſubject unto death, and therefore are under the power of him that has the power of death, that is, the Devil, Heb. 2.15. But where there is no ſin, Satan has no power, and therefore they are called the rulers of the darkneſs of this world. Epheſ. 6.12.He is a Prince of darkneſs, and his power lyes in darkneſs: indeed Interpreters by darkneſs do underſtand ungodly and unregenerate men, who are called ſometimes darkneſs it ſelf, in the abſtract, Epheſ. 5.8, You were ſometimes darkneſs, but now you are light in the Lord; and ſo Satan is a ruler over the wicked of the world, i. e. the darkneſs of the world: but it is ſin that is this darkneſs, and gives them this denomination; and therefore ſo much ſin as there is in any man, ſo much power the Devil has over him, becauſe ſo much a party of his own he has within him.
3. This corruption is in the will of a regenerate man as well as in any other part; ſo that even in the very remainders of ſin in the Saints there is an inclination to ſin wilfully againſt knowledg… even a tendency to the great tranſgreſſion, the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt; and therefore David prays againſt preſumptuous ſins, in reference unto the great tranſgreſſion, So ſhall I be innocent. Pſal 19.13.There was, looking on his own corruption, a tendency to preſumptuous ſins, and theſe in their own nature make way for the unpardonable ſin. I confeſs a godly man cannot ſin unto death, 1 Joh. 5.18, Whoſoever is born of God keeps himſelf that the evil one does not touch him. He can never touch him with this ſin becauſe he is born of God, and the ſeed of God remains in him. But though a regenerate man cannot commit this ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt, nor the ſeeds and remainders of luſt within him be ever ſo fat improved and blown up by Satan; yet there is a tendency in them thereunto, as Divines ſay in the matter of converſion. God works the will, that is, ex nolentibus, volentes facit, of unwilling makes men willing: Tollit Deus reſiſtentiam vincentem.Doth God at the ſame time take away all the unwillingneſs in a man? is not there then a principle that gain ſays and denies? they ſay there is, and ſomething that does reſiſt, yet ſo as it ſhall never overcome, but the Spirit of God and the Almighty Power of God in converſion gets the victory, and as it is in perſeverance a regenerate man cannot fall away; Grace is an immortal ſeed, though not in its own nature ſo properly, for it is a Creature, and therefore ſubject to change; and the grace that was in Adam and the Angels, though perfect, was ſubject to change, much more imperfect grace cannot preſerve it ſelf: and therefore they ſay, Auferi actum deficiendi, ſed potentia ad actum non aufertur, God takes away the act of failing, albeit the power to the act is not taken away. There is in the nature of Grace a poſſibility of decay, that ſhall never be reduced into act, but ſhall be preſerved by the power of God and the Spirit of Chriſt, and the unchangeableneſs of the Covenant of Grace; ſo though a godly man by grace ſhall be preſerved from the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt, that he ſhall never actually fall into it, yet the remainders of corruption that are within him, have a tendency thereunto, and in themſelves conſidered there is a poſſibility even for a godly man to ſin the ſin unto death, if they were left unto the violence of their luſts, and not ſupported by a ſupply of the Spirit of Chriſt.
4. Regenerate men may be given up unto ſpiritual judgments. They are left very far unto, and under the power of Satan; the Saints may be hardned from Gods fear,Iſa. 63.17. Satan may harden them by temptation, and God may give them up in judgment thereunto, 1 Cor. 5.5, Deliver ſuch a man unto Satan: a godly man may be rightly excommunicated; and if ſo, that which is bound on earth God will bind in Heaven, his ſins may be bound upon his Conſcience as unpardoned, till he does repent, and he be as it were under a ſequeſtration for a time of all the benefits, comforts and emoluments of the ſtate of Grace, and being without, left under the power of Satan, who would carry him to ſin, whereby God would afterward awaken his Conſcience, &c. for there are two ways that Satan does ordinarily work upon godly men, when they are given over unto him, and left in a meaſure by God in his power, either waſting a mans Conſcience, and bringing a man unto ſuch a hardneſs of heart, and a ſpirit of ſlumber, that a man lives in a wretched ſecurity and neglect of his duty towards God, or peace with God, and gives himſelf over to the pleaſures of ſin and the comforts of the Creatures, with a kind of greedineſs, and that for many days and years together; as we ſee it in Solomon, who under a ſpiritual judgment did not with hold his heart from any Creature-comforts, or delight whatſoever; or elſe Satan works upon the weakneſs of a mans ſpirit, and his apprehenſions of wrath, God writing bitter things againſt a man, and Satan drawing concluſions out of them to draw the man to deſpair of mercy, and to ſeek his own deſtruction; and ſo a man may go deſpairing and diſconſolate all his days, ſo that God may give him up to ſpiritual judgments.
5. There being this principle within him, and thus left in judgment unto the power of Satan, he does ſtrangely raiſe and improve and draw out this corruption and blow theſe ſparks, into a flame. As Job 3.1, Then Job opened his mouth and curſed the day of his birth. Before under all his afflictions his mouth was full of bleſſing. The Lord gave, and the Lord takes, bleſſed be the name of the Lord: and ſhall we receive good things at the hand of God and not evil? There is a ſeed of corruption in thoſe that are moſt holy, which if Satan improve he will draw forth in them very foul acts of enmity to God, and contrariety unto themſelves: as we ſee in Peter, at firſt his mouth was full of nothing but promiſes and engagements of adhering to Chriſt, and though all men forſake thee yet will not I; but being left into the winnowings of Satan, at Satans deſire, he is firſt poſſeſſed with fear, and that grows to a denial of Chriſt, and that denial increaſeth to an oath, and that ſwearing multiplies to curſings and to imprecations upon himſelf in the higheſt kind, as the word is in the original; as if he had wiſhed,Mat. 26:74. I would I might never find mercy at the hands of God, or come where God hath to do, that I might be ſeparated from God eternally, and damned body and ſoul, if that I know the man. And Iſa. 57.17, ſays God, For the iniquity of his covetouſneſs I ſmote him and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart, &c. Theodoſius was an Emperour of a very meek, ſweet and gracious temper; yet a Temptation ſo far got the head of him, that upon an occaſion of a Tumult in Theſſalonia, a ſervant of his that he had in a ſpecial manner reſpect for, being ſlain, he commanded an univerſal Maſſacre throughout the City, that in a very ſhort ſpace 3000 men were ſlain by his command, and that by a wile, being invited to behold a Play; for which cauſe the Emperour himſelf was by Ambroſe kept from the Sacrament. It were ſtrange to conſider unto what a height even the ſins of godly men, from the remainders of corruption that is in them may be improved.
6. For the improvement of ſins in godly men, Satan may and commonly does make advantage of the Law of God, and the commands and reſtraints thereof, whereby ſin will take occaſion. See it in King Aſa, the Prophet did propheſie and he put him into Priſon, becauſe he ſhewed him his ſin, and inſtead of repenting for it he increaſed it, for he was in a rage, temptation had got hand over him, and by the reproof Satan did ſtir up his luſt. And even the Goſpel is by Satan turned into wantonneſs, and all the Grace of it; yea, and all the glorious works of Grace upon a mans heart: ſin will take occaſion from Gods drawing nigh, and wax wanton under his love; there is not any part of the Law of God, or the Works of God, or the Providence of God, that Satan will not make uſe of, and ſin take occaſion by, to ſtir up and to improve corruption in a man, even thoſe remainders of ſin that are in a Saint.
Queſt. §. 4. If a godly man be under the irritation of the Law, as well as a wicked man, where then lyes the difference that a man in Chriſt is ſaid not to be under the Law in this reſpect?
The difference lyes in theſe three things mainly:
Anſw. 1. An unregenerate man has no other uſe of the Law but this, all the fruit that he has by it is to improve, draw out, and increaſe his ſins; but a godly man being under another Covenant, as he has the Law written in his heart in his regeneration, ſo he has by the Law Grace increaſed in the continued work of his Sanctification:Joh. 17.17. there is in reſpect of his regenerate part a power of Sanctification, and the whole Law of God tends to that end in him; and this the Law works in him per ſe, as he is regenerate, though it works the other per accidens, as far as he is unregenerate: Grace receives ſtrength by the Commandment, according to the law of the mind, as ſin does according to the law of the fleſh; in the one ſin is reſtrained and ſubdued, in the other ſin may be reſtrained but it is increaſed, and as a damm ſet upon the waters which …es them ſwell the higher.
2. Through ſin may …e occaſion by the Law in the regenerate, yet this does not conſtitute ſin in dominion, it do… never riſe up ſo high in a regenerate man as to amount unto a compleat raign and dominion, as Rom. 6.14, Sin ſhall not have dominion over you, ſo that a man ſhould obey it in the luſts thereof; for in the higheſt improvement of ſin by the Law in the regenerate, there is another law in the mind, a ſpirit that luſts againſt the fleſh, that a man cannot be given up unto all iniquity; it does never work in him all manner of concupiſcence, as it does in the unregenerate, ſo as to make a man always go on in a preſumptuous way of ſinning; but Grace and the ſpirit of Grace gives a check to it, becauſe a man loves the law of God and its precepts according to his inward man.
3. Laſtly, it does never ſo far prevail in the regenerate as to bring forth fruit unto death, as it does in the unregenerate. Rom. 7.5, The motions of ſin that were by the law wrought in me to bring forth fruits unto death. But as the law is made a ſervant unto the Goſpel, ſo both the precept and the curſe of the law is made ſubſervient and ſubordinate this way: for as the remainders of ſin in the godly are ſprinkled with the blood of Chriſt, ſo are all the temptations of Satan, and the improvements of ſin by the law, (which is unto all unregenerate men a part of the curſe of their Covenant) ſanctified unto the regenerate, and are a means to ſhew them their own vileneſs, and to humble them deeply before the Lord: as we ſee it in Peter and David, and to make them hate ſin the more, and to make them the more watchful over their own hearts, and lay the faſter hold upon Chriſt, and the Grace offered in the Goſpel by faith, and to ply the Throne of Grace by conſtant and daily prayers, and the more to long for their adoption and redemption; and ſo this improvement of ſin by the law does tend in the end to the further ſubduing of ſin, and at laſt to the utter aboliſhing of it, that ſo the remainders of ſin being wholly done away, Satan may ſtir up ſin, and ſin may take occaſion by the Commandment no more. And ſo, as other fruits of the curſe of the law are bleſſed and ſanctified unto them as their afflictions, their temptations, and death it ſelf; ſo ſhall theſe fruits of the curſe be alſo ſanctified unto them, and tend to their ſanctification, and end in the perfection of their holineſs at the laſt. So that as death is ſwallowed up in victory in a mans reſurrection, ſo is ſin alſo in a mans perfect ſanctification, unto which (through the Grace of the Goſpel) ſin it ſelf was over-ruled to be a means: for as there are two ways of a mans pollution, ſo there are alſo two means of a mans ſanctification; there are proper and natural means, as Satan and a mans own luſts, &c. and there are occaſional means, as the law of God; ſo there are of a mans ſanctification, the Word and the Spirit, and the Ordinances; and there are occaſions which in their own nature do work no ſuch thing, but Grace takes occaſion from the one, as corruption does from the other; the temptations of Satan and the improvement of ſin by the law being ſprinkled by the blood of Chriſt ſhall be as effectual to a mans ſanctification, as the other being not ſprinkled with the blood of Chriſt ſhall be effectual to a mans pollution.
Ʋſe 1 §. 5. See here the malignity and the vile nature of ſin, and what a deadly diſeaſe it is, when that which God did give of purpoſe to deſtroy it will increaſe it. We ſay that is a very deadly diſeaſe that you can apply no phyſick but it does ſtir up the diſeaſe, and it's increaſed by it, and all that you can take feeds the diſeaſe; ſo here, ſin muſt needs be a deadly thing that the law ſhould increaſe it, which in its own nature ſhould abate it. There are two truths that ſhould be always in a mans eye, God to be the chiefeſt Good, and Sin to be the greateſt Evil. There is no one thing that does ſet forth the evil of ſin more than this, that the Commandment of God which doth forbid it, curſe it, condemn it, ſhould improve it. It's no wonder then if mercies make men more wicked, and if croſſes add to mens ſins, for the very Law of God and his threatnings and reſtraints thereof will do it; if any thing make ſin appear to a man to be out of meaſure ſinful, and a diſeaſe incurable in it ſelf, this will.
2. See hereby the vanity of that Doctrine that ſays, Moral perſwaſion is ſufficient unto converſion. God enlightning of a mans mind, and ſhewing him what is his duty, and what is required of him, and perſwading of his will, it is, according to theſe, able to imbrace it, and ſo turn unto God and duty; and herein is the drawing of God the Father: when as we ſee that when God does ſet a mans duty before him in the Law with all the threatnings of it, and all the promiſes of it, this is ſo far from converting the man, that it improves his ſin ſin, and makes it the more to rage againſt God, and become out of meaſure ſinful:foreign. therefore there is an inward work of God, an Almighty Power put forth in changing the heart and converting of the will. Moral perſwaſions may make a man more wicked, but they will never convert him, or make him the more holy, without this inward work put forth by God in changing the heart.
3. See here what is the proper riſe and ground of that unpardonable ſin, the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt. It is by a curſe of the firſt Covenant, coming upon to the word of God, that it is an occaſional means, luſt oppoſing it, to make ſin riſe the higher: and firſt it brings forth in a man ſins againſt knowledge, and afterwards ſins with malice and deſpight. If the Law had never been revealed again, but man had been left as many of the Heathens are, who have but that ſmall glimmering of light, which ſome do call the remainders of the Law within them, which the Apoſtle ſpeaks of, Rom. 2. They ſhew the works of the law written in their hearts, this ſin had never been heard of in the world; it is a ſin proper unto the Church of God, and cannot be committed out of the Church, where men are enlightned in the truth, and ſin takes occaſion from the Law to break forth into deſpight againſt it.
4. See what a vain thing it is for a man to glory in any Church-priviledge. The Jews did ſtand much upon it, and doubtleſs it was a great mercy that unto them did belong the giving of the Law and the Promiſes, and unto them were committed the Oracles of God, and therefore they reſted in, and made their boaſt of the Law, &c. Rom. 2.18, 19. And what fruit had moſt of them by the Law? it did aggravate their ſins in the guilt of them, and drew forth their ſins in the power of them, unto the greater height, and in many of them even to the ſin againſt the Holy Ghoſt. And ſo it does many men that live under the Goſpel at this day, they have no other fruit by their ordinances, and of the word of God amongſt them, but to make them more exceedingly wicked.
5. See what a miſery it is to be in a ſtate of unregeneracy; he that is ſo is wicked by nature, and every thing w… make him worſe. See alſo what a mercy reſtraining grace is to a man that is unregenerate: when we read of Judas, and how Chriſts reproof did heighten his malice, and of the Phariſees how by Chriſts Sermon their rage was drawn forth, and they gnaſhed their teeth upon him, &c. What a mercy is it, ſhould every ſoul ſay, that all the Sermons that ever I have heard of Chriſt, &c. ſhould not have wrought the ſame effects in me long ago. Luther ſaith, that reading that place, Rom. 1.17, The righteouſneſs of God is revealed from faith to faith, and underſtanding it only de juſtitia activa ſcilicet punientè, of Gods puniſhing juſtice; Non amabam, imo odiebam, juſtum & punientem Deum, tacitaque ſi non blaſphemia, certe ingenti murmuratione, &c. odi iſtud vocabulum poenitentiae; I did not love but hate the juſt and puniſhing God, and by a ſilent great murmur, if not blaſphemy, I did hate that word Repentance. Now that it has not been ſo to every one of us, and we ſinned againſt the Holy Ghoſt, and in the higheſt acts of direct enmity, that there had been no hope of mercy, ſeeing that we cannot ſay that we have done it ignorantly; Oh what a mercy is reſtraining Grace!
6. Laſtly, how ſhould it engage the people of God to thankfulneſs, that God has freed them from this great miſery, that now the Law ſhould ſubdue their luſts and not enrage them; and if it does at any time, yet it's not to bring forth fruit unto death; not to have a full dominion over them: how ſhould it make them fear when they read or hear the Law, leſt it ſhould add to the diſeaſe: Oh! how ought people to pray, and Miniſters pray, that they may not be a curſe, and that the word which they hear and preach, may not ripen their ſins, and draw out and improve their corruptions, but their graces, and make them holy.