2. There is evangelica difficultas; "there are difficulties by the gospel which mere man cannot overcome. Though the gospel giveth hopes of entrance into heaven, or reversing the strict conditions of the law, yet upon such terms as we must be beholden to grace for them. Christ, that requires the conditions of the gospel, must also give them to us : Acts V. 31, 'Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.' He is not only a prince and lawgiver, but also a saviour, or the author and fountain of grace. He doth not only give the privilege, remission;
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but he gives the condition, repentance. If you conceive of Christ that he doth give the privilege, and require the conditions, and no more, you legalise Christ, as the Samaritans had a temple without an ark and a mercy-seat ; so to speak of a law without grace, or if you separate the law of the gospel from the grace of the gospel, it is impossible.
Why is it thus impossible with man upon gospel terms ? The legal impossibility all will acknowledge, but whence is this evangelical difficulty? It ariseth from three things — there is vitiosa cordra- rietas, a corrupt nature ; there are externa impedimenta, many out- ward snares ; and there is inimica oppositio, a great deal of enmity and opposition ; therefore with man it is impossible.
[1.] There is vitiosa contrarieias, a corrupt nature, inclined to evil and averse to good : Gen. vi. 5, ' God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.' IMan hath such a heart that, if left to itself, will always be minting evil thoughts and evil desires and carnal and inordinate motions. And as the heart of man is prone to evil, so it is averse to what is good, and so averse that it cannot do any of the great duties that God hath required of him. Look upon this averseness and impoteucy with respect to duties ; he cannot know, believe, nor obey. He cannot know : 1 Cor. ii. 14, ' The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis- cerned.' And he cannot believe : John vi. 44, 'No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him ; ' it is not said, he doth not, but he cannot. And he cannot obey : Rom, viii. 7, ' The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' And consider this impotency with respect to our thoughts, words, and deeds. He cannot think a good thought : 2 Cor. iii. 5, ' Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves.' He cannot speak a good word: Mat. xii. 34, 'How can ye, being evil, speak good things?' He cannot do any good thing: John XV. 5, ' Without me ye can do nothing.' He doth not say, nihil ^ magnum, you can do no great thing, you cannot acquit yourselves in ' some eminent temptation with honour, or in some notable duty ; but nihil, you can do nothing without me. Well, then, when we cannot know, nor believe, nor obey, nor think, nor speak, not do anything without grace, surely it is impossible man of himself should perform the conditions o'f the gospel ; he is wholly impotent, and unable to help himself.
[2.] There are externa impedimenta, outward impediments. Man is impotent and corrupt naturally, and his corruption is fed and strengthened by worldly things, and so his outward condition proves a snare to him : 1 John ii. 16, ' All that is in the world, the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.' Lust or distempered appetite finds an answerable diet. There are sensible objects which to our souls as thus constituted prove shrewd and dangerous temptations and snares. If we will find the lust, the world will afford us the object. For 'the lusts of the fle.sh,' there are pleasures and carnal delights to beset our souls, to inveigle
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