[2.] That which disorderetli the constitution of the soul, and puts reason out of dominion, that certainly is spiritual bondage and thral- dom. Now, when the base prevail above the honourable, it is a sign a country is enthralled ; where beggars are on horseback, and princes walk on foot; or, as it is monstrous in the body if the headbe there where the feet should be, and the feet where the head should be ; such a de-ordination is there in the soul when the affections carry it, and lust taketh the throne instead of reason : Titus iii. 3, ' Serving divers lusts and pleasures.' When a man yieldeth up himself to his own desires, he becometli a proper servant : Eom. vi. 16, ' Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto right- eousness?' Now, man rightly constituted, his actions are thus governed : The understanding and conscience prescribe to the will ; the will, according to right reason and conscience, moveth the affec- tions ; the affections, according to the command and counsel of the will, move the bodily spirits and members of the body. But by cor- ruption there is a manifest inversion and change ; pleasures affect the
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VeR. 45.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 481
senses, the senses corrupt the phantasy, phantasy moveth the bodily spirits, they the affections ; and by their violence the will is carried captive, man blinded, and so man goeth on headlong to his own de- struction. The corrupt passions are like wild horses, that do not obey the driver, but draw to precipices for his destruction. Therefore Basil of Seleucia calleth a carnal man a slave, that runs after the chariots of his own passions and corrupt affections.
[3.] Consider the great tyranny and j^ower of sin ; it leaveth us no right and power to dispose of ourselves and our actions, and so men cannot help themselves when they would ; as is sensible in them that are convinced of better, and do worse : they see what they should do, but do not do it, being drawn away by their own lusts. Video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor. Sin hath gotten such a deep interest in their actions, and command over their affections, that they cannot leave what they know to be naught, or follow that which they conceive to be good. And this bondage is more sensible in them that have some kind of remorse and trouble with their convictions, either from temporal inconvenience, shame, or loss, and yet cannot leave their lusts, and so in despair resolve to go on, and make the best of it : Jer. xviii. 12, ' And they said, There is no hope, but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart ;' Jer. ii. 2.5, ' Thou hast said, There is no hope ; no, for I have loved strangers, and after tliem will I go ; ' yea, further, that have a kindly remorse from the conviction of the Spirit : Jer. xxxi. 18, ' I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.' And so Paul : Rom. vii. 14, ' I am carnal, sold under sin.'
[4.] Consider how this bondage is always increased by custom, which is a second nature, or an inveterate disease not easily cured : Jer. xiii. 23, ' Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good who are accustomed to do evil.' The more he continueth in this course, the less able to help himself ; the more he sinneth, the more he is enthralled to sin ; as a nail, the more it is knocked, the more it is fastened in the wood. First a man yields up himself to sin as a servant by covenant : Eom. vi. 16, ' Know ye not to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his ser- vants ye are to whom ye obey ?' that is, gives up his principal time, actions, and employment. Then a servant of conquest : 2 Peter ii. 19, ' While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption ; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.' A sinner is under the dominion of sin, as a hired servant and a captive. We first willingly, and by our own default, run into it, and alter cannot rid ourselves of it. Ligatus erani nonferro alieno, sed mea ferrea voluntate ; velle meum tenehat inimicus, et me mild caienam fecerat, et constrinxerat me — Lord, I am bound, not with iron, but with an obstinate will ; I gave my will to mine enemy, and he made a chain of it to bind me, and keep me from thee. Quippe ex voluntate perversa facta est libido, et dum serviticr libidini facta est consuetudo, et dum consuetudo non resistitur facta est necessitas (Aug. Confes. lib. viii. cap. 5) — a perverse will gave way to lustings, and lustings made way for a custom, and a custom let alone brought a
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