(1st.) The soul having frequent need of relief by gospel grace against a sense of the guilt of sin and accusation of the law, comes at length to make it a common and ordinary thing, and such as may be slightly performed. Having found a good medicine for its wounds, and such as it hath had experience of its efficacy, it comes to apply it slightly, and rather skinneth over than cureth its sores. A little less earnest- ness, a little less diligence serves every time, until the soul, it may be, begins to secure itself of pardon in course. And this tends directly to draw off the mind from its constant and universal watchfulness against sin. He whose light hath made his way of access plain for the obtaining of pardon, if he be not very watchful, he is far more apt to become overly, formal, and careless in his work, than he who by reason of mists and darkness, beats about to find his way aright to the throng of grace. As a man that hath often travelled a road
VOL. XIII. G
82 THE NATURE AND POWER
passeth on without regard or inquiry; but he who is a stranger unto it, observing all turnings, and inquiring of all passengers, secures his journey beyond the other.
(2dly.) The deceitfulness of sin takes advantage from the doctrine of grace, by many ways and means to extend the bounds of the soul's liberty beyond what God hath assign- ed unto it. Some have never thought themselves free from a legal bondage frame, until they have been brought into the confines of sensuality, and some into the depths of it. How often will sin plead, this strictness, this exactness, this so- licitude is no ways needful; relief is provided in the gospel against such things. Would you live as though there were no need of the gospel ? as though pardon of sin were to no purpose ? But concerning these pleas of sin from gospel grace, we shall have occasion to speak more hereafter in particular.
(3dly.) In times of temptation, this deceitfulness of sin will argue expressly for sin from gospel grace; at least it will plead for these two things :
[1st.] That there is not need of such a tenacious severe contending against it, as the principle of the new creature is fixed on. If it cannot divert the soul or mind wholly from attending unto tepaptations to oppose them, yet it will en- deavour to draw them off as to the manner of their attend- ance. They need not use that diligence which at first the soul apprehends to be necessary.
[2dly.] It will be tendering relief as to the event of sin, that it shall not turn to the ruin or destruction of the soul, because it is, it will, or may be, pardoned by the grace of the gospel. And this is true, this is the great and only relief of the soul against sin, the guilt whereof it hath con- tracted already ; the blessed and only remedy for a guilty soul. But when it is pleaded and remembered by the deceit- fulness of sin in compliance with temptation unto sin, then it is poison; poison is mixed in every drop of this balsam, to the danger if not death of the soul. And this is the first way whereby the deceitfulness of sin draws off the mind from a due attendance unto that sense of its vileness, which alone is able to keep it in that humble, self-abased frame, that is acceptable with God. It makes the mind careless, as though its work were needless, because of the abounding
OF INDWELLING SIN. S^
of grace ; which is a soldier's neglect of his station trusting to a reserve, provided indeed only in case of keeping his own proper place.
[2.] Sin takes advantage to work by its deceit in this matter of drawing off the mind from a due sense of it, from the state and condition of men in the world. I shall give only one instance of its procedure in this kind. Men in their younger days have naturally their affections more quick, vigorous, and active, more sensibly working in them than afterward. They do as to their sensible working and ope- ration naturally decay, and many things befall men in their lives, that take off the edge and keenness of them. But as men lose in their affections, if they are not besotted in sen- suality, or by the corruptions that are in the world through lust, they grow and improve in their understandings, reso- lutions, and judgments. Hence it is, that if what had place formerly in their affections do not take place in their minds and judgments, they utterly lose them, they have no more place in their souls. Thus men have no regard for, yea, they utterly despise, those things which their affections were set upon with delight and greediness in their childhood. But if they are things that by any means come to be fixed in their minds and judgments, they continue a high esteem for them, and do cleave as close unto them, as they did when their affections were more vigorous ; only, as it were, they have chansed their seat in the soul. It is thus in things spiritual ; the first and chiefest seat of the sensibleness of sin, is in the affections ; as these in natural youth, are great and large, so are they spiritually in spiritual youth ; Jer. ii. 2. ' I remember the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals.' Besides, such persons are newly come off from their convictions, wherein they have been cut to the heart, and so made tender. Whatever touches upon a wound is throughly felt. So doth the guilt of sin before the wound given by conviction be throughly cured. But now, when affections begin to decay naturally, they begin to decay also as to their sensible actings and motions in things spiritual. Although they improve in grace, yet they may decay in sense. At least spiritual sense is not radically in them, but only by way of communication. Now in these decays, if the soul take not care to fix a deep sense of sin on the mind