Some of the ways whereby they endeavour to suppress the power of sin, which casts them into an unquiet condition, and then' insuf- ficiency for that end, we must look into : —
(1.) They will promise and bind themselves by vows from those sins which they have been most liable unto, and so have been most perplexed withal. The psalmist shows this to be one great engine whereby false and hypocritical persons do endeavour to extricate and deliver themselves out of trouble and perplexity. They make pro- mises to God, which he calls flattering him with the mouth, Ps. Ixxviii. 36. So is it in this case. Being freshly galled with the guilt of any sin, that, by the power of their temptations, they, it may be, have frequently been overtaken in, they vow and promise that, at least for some such space of time as they will limit, they will not commit that sin again ; and this course of proceeding is prescribed unto them by some who pretend to direct their consciences in this duty. Con- science of this now makes them watch over themselves as to the out- ward act of the sin that they are galled with ; and so it hath one of these two effects, — for either they do abstain from it for the time they have prefixed, or they do not. If they do not, as seldom they do, especially if it be a sin that hath a peculiar root in their nature and constitution, and is improved by custom into a habit, if any suitable temptation be presented unto them, their sin is increased, and there- with their terror, and they are wofully discouraged in making any opposition to sin; and therefore, for the most part, after one or two vain attempts, or more, it may be, knowing no other way to mortify sin but this of vowing against it, and keeping of that vow in their o'wn strength, they give over all contests, and become wholly the ser-
320 THE NATURE AND TOWER OF INDWELLING SIN.
vants of sin, being bounded only by outward considerations, without any serious endeavours for a recovery. Or, secondly, suppose that they have success in their resohitions, and do abstain from actual sins their appointed season, commonly one of these two things ensues, — either they think that they have well discharged their duty, and so may a little now, at least for a season, indulge to their coiTuptions and lusts, and so are entangled again in the same snares of sin as formerly; or else they reckon that their vow and promise hath pre- served them, and so sacrifice to their oivn net and drag, setting up a rigliteousness of their own against the grace of God, — which is so far from weakening indwelling sin, that it strengthens it in the root and l^rinciple, that it may hereafter reign in the soul in security. Or, at the most, the best success that can be imagined unto this way of deaHng with sin is but the restraining of some outward eruptions of it, which tends nothing to the weakening of its power ; and therefore such persons, by all their endeavours, are very far from being freed from the inward toiling, burning, disquieting, perplexing power of sin. And this is the state of most men that are kept in bondage under the power of conviction. Hell, death, and the wrath of God, are continually presented unto their consciences; this makes them labour with all their strength against that in sin which most enrageth their consciences and most increaseth their fears, — that is, the actual eruption of it : for, for the most part, while they are freed from that they are safe, though, in the meantime, sin lie tumultuating in and defiling of the heait continually. As with running sores, outward repelling medicines may skin them over, and hinder their corruption from coming forth, but the issue of them is, that they cause them to fester inwardly, and so prove, though it may be not so noisome and offensive as they were before, yet far more dangerous : so is it with this repelling of the power of coiTuption by men's vows and promises against it, — external eruptions are, it may be, restrained for a season, but the inward root and principle is not w^eakened in the least. And most commonly this is the issue of this way : — that sin, having gotten more strength, and being enraged by its restraint, breaks all its bounds, and captivates the soul unto all filthy abominations; which is the principle, as was before observed, of most of the visible apos- tasies which we have in the world, 2 Pet. ii. 19, 20.
The Holy Ghost compares sinners, because of the odious, fierce, poisonous nature of this indwelling sin, unto lions, bears, and asps, Isa. xi. 6-9. Now, this is the excellency of gosj^el grace, that it changes the nature and inward principles of these otherwise passion- ate and untamed beasts, making the wolf as the kid, the lion as the lamb, and the bear as the cow. When this is effected, they may safely be trusted in, — " a little child may lead them." But these self-
POWER OF SIN IN RESISTING THE LAW. 821
endeavours do not at all change the nature, but restrain their out- ward violence. He that takes a lion or a wolf and shuts him up from ravening, whilst yet his inward violence remains, may well expect that at one time or other they will break their bonds, and fall to their former ways of rapine and violence. However, shutting them up doth not, as we see, change their natures, but only restrain their rage from doing open spoil. So it is in this case: it is grace alone that chanr/eth the heart and takes away that poison and fierceness that is in them by nature ; men's self-endeavours do but coerce them as to some outward eruptions. But, —