[4.] In case of great spiritual deadness. The heart hath too freely conversed with sin, and so groweth less apt for God: Ps. cxix. S7, ' Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken me in thy ways;' and Heb. ix. 14, ' How much more shall the blood of Christ purge your consciences from dead woi-ks to serve the living God ? ' Our vivification is according to the degree of our mortification, and therefore great deadness argueth the prevalency of some carnal dis- temper.
6. Live much in doing good. The intermitting of the exercise of our love to God maketh concupiscence, or the carnal love, to gather strength ; and when men are not taken tip with doing good, they are at leisure for temptations to entice them to evil ; our lusts have power indeed to disturb in holy duties, but it is when we are remiss and careless ; and usually it is the idle and negligent who are surprised by sin ; as David walking on the terrace, 2 Sam. xi. 2. Diaholus quern
72 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. [SeR. XIX.
non invenit occupatum, dc. I will close all with these two remarks. —
1. That it is more sweet and pleasant to mortify your lusts than to gratify them. ' Stolen waters are sweet, and hread eaten in secret is pleasant ; but the dead are there : ' Pro v. ix. 16, 17. So Job. xx. 12, 13, 14, ' Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it imder his tongue, though he spare it, and forsake it not, but keep it still within his mouth, yet his meat is turned in his bowels, it is the gall of asps within him.' Sin is but a poisoned morsel ; mortification is not pleasant in itself, yet in its fruits and effects it is rewarded with joy. And more occasions of thanksgivings we shall have : Rom. vii. '2-1, 2-5, ' Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.'
2. If you enter not into a war with sin, you enter into a war with God. Shall sin be your enemy, or God ? The eternal living God ? Ezek. xxii. 14, ' Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee ? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it.'
SERMON XIX.
If ije through the Spirit do morli/y the deeds of the lohj. — Rom. VIII. 13.
DocT. That in mortifying of sin, we and the Spfrit must concur. Here I shall handle, —
1. The manner of this co-operation.
2. The necessity of it.
First, To state the manner of this co-operation.
1. We must know what is meant by the Spirit ; it is put either for the person of the Holy Ghost, or for his gifts and graces, the new creature, or the divine nature wrought in us. The person of the Holy Ghost : Mat. xxviii. 19, ' Baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.' The new nature : John iii. 6, ' That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.' The former is here intended, the uncreated Spirit or author of grace, called the ' Spirit of Christ,' ver. 11. Which leadeth and guideth us in all our ways, ver. 14, which witnesseth to us, ver. 16. 'Avto to irveufxa.
2. The Spirit is the author or principal agent in this work ; for he doth renew and sanctify us. We are merely passive in the first itifusion of grace : Ezek. xxxv. 25, ' I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your lilthiness.' Eph. ii. 1, ' You that were dead in trespasses and sins, yet now hath he quickened ; ' but after- wards we cleanse ourselves ; 1 Pet. i. 22, ' Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.' First he worketh upon us as objects ; then by us as instruments ; so that we concur not
VeR. 13.] SERMONS UPON ROMAIJS VIII. 73
as co-ordinate causes, but as subordinate agents ; being first purified and sanctified by him, we purge out sin yet more and more.
3. Though the Spirit be the principal author, yet we must charge ourselves with the duty. It is oui- work ; they destroy all human industry and endeavour, that make mortification to be nothing else but an apprehension that sin is already slain by Christ ; no, it is charged on us : Col. iii. 5, ' Mortify therefore your members which are upon earth.' And it is our act, or else we can liave no comfort in it. Gal. V. 24, ' They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the aff'ec- tions and lusts thereof ; ' and 2 Cor. vii. 1 , ' Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit.' Under the law, the leper was first to be cleansed by the priest, and afterwards to wash himself in running water, and shave his hair, Levit. xiv. 8. After being sprinkled by the priest, the necessary ceremony, he himself was to wash. The ceremonies which the priest used are considerable, therefore I shall explain them a little. Two sparrows were to be taken, and one of them killed in an earthen vessel over running water ; the other after he was dipped in the blood of the sparrow that was killed, let loose in the open field, to fly up in the air as it were in the siglit of God. There was a notable mystery couched under this type ; for the bird killed over the running water signified the death of Cin-ist, accompanied with the sanctification of the Spirit, typed by the running water, the only means to cleanse us from our leprosy ; and the bird that was let go alive, having his wings sprinkled with blood, signifieth the inter- cession of Christ, who is gone with blood to the mercy-seat ; and we are told that Christ came not by water only, but by water and blood. No other bath for spiritual lepro.sy but water and blood, the merit of Christ's sacrifice and intercession ; and the Spirit of grace to heal our natures. But after all this, the man was to wash himself ; which figured endeavours that God's people should use to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit.