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84 THE NATURE AND POWER
and judgment, thereby perpetually to affect the heart and affections, it will decay. And here the deceit of the law of sin interposeth itself. It suffers a sense of sin to decay in the affections, and diverts the mind from entertaining a due, con- stant, fixed consideration of it. We may consider this a little in persons that never make a progress in the ways of God beyond conviction. How sensible of sin will they be for a season ? How will they then mourn and weep under a sense of the guilt of it 1 How will they cordially and heartily resolve against it ? Affections are vigorous, and, as it were, bear rule in their souls. But they are like an herb that will flourish for a day or two with watering, although it have no root. For, awhile after, we see that these men the more ex- perience they have had of sin, the less they are afraid of it, as the wise man intimates, Eccles. viii. 11. and at length they come to be the greatest contemners of sin in the world. No sinner like him that hath sinned away his convictions of sin. What is the reason of this ? Sense of sin was in their convictions fixed on their affections ; as it decayed in them, they took no care to have it deeply and graciously fixed on their minds. This the deceitfulness of sin deprived them of, and so ruined their souls. In some measure it is so with be- lievers. If, as the sensibleness of the affections decay, if, as they grow heavy and obtuse, great wisdom and grace be not used to fix a due sense of sin upon the mind and judg- ment, which may provoke, excite, enliven, and stir up the affections every day, great decays will ensue. At first sor- row, trouble, grief, fear, affected the mind, and would give it no rest. If afterward the mind do not affect the heart with sorrow and grief, the whole will be cast out, and the soul be in danger of beins hardened. And these are some of the ways whereby the deceit of sin diverts the mind from the first part of its safe preserving frame, or draws it off from its constant watchfulness against sin and all the effects of it.
The second part of this general duty of the mind, is to keep the soul unto a constant, holy consideration of God and his grace. This evidently lies at the spring head of gospel olaedience. The way whereby sin draws off the mind from this part of its duty is open and known sufficiently, though not sufficiently watched against. Now this the Scripture every where declares to be the filling of the minds
OF INDWELLING SIN. 85'
of men with earthly things. This it placeth in direct oppo- sition unto that heavenly frame of the mind, which is the spring of gospel obedience, Col. iii. 2. ' Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth ;' or set your minds. As if he had said, on both together you cannot be set or fixed, so as principally and chiefly to mind them both And the affections to the one and the other, proceeding from these different principles of minding the one and the other, are opposed as directly inconsistent, 1 John ii. 15. ' Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world ; if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.' And actino;s in a course suitable unto these affections are proposed also as contrary ; ' You cannot serve God and mammon.' These are two masters whom no man can serve at the same time to the satisfaction of both. Every inordi- nate minding, then, of earthly things, is opposed unto that frame wherein our minds ought to be fixed on God and his grace in a course of gospel obedience.
Several ways there are whereby the deceitfulness of sin draws off the mind in this particular, but the chief of them is by pressing these things on the mind under the notion of things lawful, and it may be necessary. So all those who excuse themselves in the parable from coming in to the marriage-feast of the gospel, did it onaccountof their being engaged in their lawful callings. One about his farm, an- other his oxen, the means whereby he ploughed in this world. By this plea were the minds of men drawn off from that frame of heavenliness which is required to our walking with God ; and the rules of not loving the world, or using it as if we used it not, are hereby neglected. What wisdom, what watchfulness, what serious frequent trial and examina- tion of ourselves is required, to keep our hearts and minds In a heavenly frame, in the use and pursuit of earthly things, is not my present business to declare. This is evi- dent, that the engine whereby the deceit of sin draws off and turns aside the mind in this matter, is the pretence of the lawfulness of things about which it would have it exer- cise itself, against which very few are armed with sufficient diligence, wisdom, and skill. And this is the first and most general attempt that indwelling sin makes upon the soul by deceit : it draws away the mind from a diligent attention