to his Convictions: The Deceitful Charms "of Sin baffled all his Good Purposes, and "ftill held him, tho' Gall'd and Reftlefs, in "its Chains *." God (fays he) often Spake to my Confcience, calling upon me, Awake thou that fleepest, and Arife from the Dead, -Whilft I (faith he) had nothing to Return, but Lazy and Dilatory Anfwers, with the Sluggard By and By, yet a Little while t-But This Little While, (fays he) I found would have no End; and that it was in Vain that he Delighted in the Law of God after the Inward Man, whilst there was another Law in his Members Warring against the Law of his Mind, that led him into Captivity to the Law of Sin. He confeffes, That when he Pray'd to God for Continence and Chastity, he did it with a mis giving Mind, and was Inwardly afraid at "his Heart, left God fhould too foon Hear "his Prayers: Whilst he pray'd against his * Si ægrotabam & excruciabar accufans memet-ipfum folito acerbiùs, ac volvens ac verfans me in Vinculo meo, donec abrumperetur totum, quo jam Exiguo tenebar, fed tenebar tamen. + Modò, eccè Modò, fine paululùm, fed Modò, & Modò, non habebant Modum; & Sine paululum, in longum ibat. Fruftrà condelectabar Legi Tuæ fecundum interiorem hominem, cùm Lex alia, &c. Etiam petieram à Te Caftitatem & dixeram; Da mihi Caftitatem & Continentiam, fed Noli modò: Timebam enim nè' me Citò exaudires, & Citò fanares à Morbo Concupifcentiæ, quem malebam Expleri, quàm Extingui. "Vanitics "Vanities and Lufts, he entertain'd Parley" "with them, and fuffered them like Old "Friends to hang about him with their Entreaties And wilt thou ferve us thus? Wilt thou then caft us off? And must we then from this Moment Part for Ever*? Thus did this Great Man, for many Years together, hang in a Doubtful State, betwixt the Flesh and the Spirit, only ALMOST Perfuaded, with King Agrippa, to be a Christian : till at last he effectually rouz'd up himself, and would Confer no longer with Flesh and Blood, but Refolutely brake loose from his Fetters, with Thankfulness to God, and with full and firm Purpose of Heart, in no Wise to Return again to his Sins any more for Ever. 5thly and Laftly; To mention no more Particulars, The Multitude of Temptations that Surround us, do mightily help to draw Men into the Practice of Sin, contrary to their Better Knowledge and Judg ment. The World is a Vaft Magazine of Temptations, that is able to Furnish and Administer out of its mighty Store, to all Complexions and Conftitutions; To the Proud, and to * Retinebant Vanitates Vanitatum, Antiquæ Amicæ meæ, & Succutiebant Veftem Meam Carneam, & Submurmurabant, Dimittifue nos? Et à Momento ifto non erimus tecum ultrà in Eternum? &c. Ib. Lib. 8o. the the Covetous, and to the Luftful; To the Glutton, to the Drunkard, and to the Luxurious Epicure, and to all other Vain and Vicious Tempers, and to All Orders and Ranks of Men, and that according to their Several States and Stages of Life, fuitable Baits and Allurements and Temptations to Sin: And they lie fo Thick about us, that we often drop into their Snares, when we little thought of it. But it is farther to be confider'd, that there is a Pravity in Human Nature ever fince the Fall, that makes Men that will not take Care, and be at Pains with themselves, to Correct their Nature by Divine Grace, much more Prone to That which is Evil, than to that which is Good; And not only Ready to Embrace Occafions, and close with Temptations that Offer themfelves, but even to Seek them out, and greedily run after them. The Corrupt Heart of Man is now a Natural Seedplot of Vicious Inclinations and Defires: And This is an Enemy within us, lodg'd in our Bofom, always Ready to Betray us, and give us up to Temptations. Befides another Reftlefs Enemy that we have without us, taking all Opportunities to excite and irritate our Evil Defires, to blow up our Paffions of every kind, and always Ready to Gratify them with the most agreeable Objects, Choofing out the Propereft Seafons and Circumftances of Recommen I dations; dations*: And as the Danger is much Greater from an Unseen Enemy, his Attempts are more Dangerous, and harder to be Avoided by us, because his Way and Manner of Working upon us is much Unknown to us. These are the Three Grand Deceivers against whom our Church has taught us to Pray- From All the Deceits of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil-Good Lord Deliver us. Thus do many Men go on all their Life long, often Wishing, and fometimes Purpofing, to Lead a New Life, yet ftill fuffering themselves to be Prevail'd upon, and led away with divers Lufts and Pleasures. III. But IIIdly, Though they will not be brought to Live the Life of the Righteous, yet they would be glad to Dye with him, and have their Laft End like His. So long as we are in the Body, the Judgment will in some Measure be Influenced by its Affections and Lufts. But when we are parting from the Body, and Death is coming to Set the Soul at Liberty, we Confider Things * Illicita Defideria immittit; Objicit Oculis irritabiles Formas, fuggeritque Fomenta; Et Vitiis pabulum fubminiftrat: Tùm intimis Vifceribus Stimulos omnes conturbat & commovet; Et Naturalem illum incitat atque inflammat Ardorem; Donec irretitum Hominem implicatumque decipiat. Lactant. L. 6. more more truly and impartially; We then shake off our Former Prejudices, and are fittest to pafs Judgment on our felves *. And what do we Then think of our Sins? How do we Then Stand affected to them? Do we Then find Relish, or Pleasure, or Comfort in them? Nay, are they not Then Hateful to us, and loathfome in our Eyes? Is not the very Remembrance of them grievous unto us, and the Burden of them Intolerable? Many Men labour and toil Night and Day; Cheat others and Starve themselves, and Slave themfelves all their Days; And after All, after a Wearifome Bufy Life, would be glad at last, with Judas, when they fee what they have done, to throw back the Price of Blood, the Wages of Unrighteousness, could they but fo get rid of the Guilt of it; And to part with all their Gains at Once, the Fruit of all the Toil and Drudgery, the Craft and Cunning of their whole Lives, for a Quiet Confcience, and an Easy Death bed. Though they may have strengthened themfelves in their Wickedness, and done what they can to harden themselves in Unbelief, yet when Death comes to open their Eyes, (which the God of this World hath blinded) they can then no longer be Unbelievers. But Nam vera Voces tùm demum Pectore ab imo. Lucret. lib. 3. fuch |