CHAPTER XV.

Decays in degrees of grace caused by indwelling sin. The ways of its prevalency to this purpose.

THE ways and means whereby indwelling sin prevaileth on believers to habitual declensions and decays, as to degrees of grace and holiness, is that which now comes under consideration, and are many.

First, Upon the first conversion and calling of sinners to God and Christ, they have usually many fresh springs breaking forth in their souls, and refreshing showers coming upon them, which bear them up to a high rate of faith, love, holiness, fruitfulness, and obedience. As upon a land-flood, when many lesser streams run into a river, it swells over its bounds, and rolls on with a more than ordinary ful

ness.

Now if these springs be not kept open, if they prevail not for the continuance of these showers, they must needs decay and go backwards. shall name one or two of them.

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First, They have a fresh, vigorous sense of pardoning mercy. According as this is in the soul, so will its love and delight in God, so will its obedience be. As, I say, is the sense of gospel pardon, so will be the life of gospel love. "I say unto thee," saith our Saviour of the poor woman, ❝ her sins, which were many, are forgiven her, for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." Her great love was an evidence of great forgiveness, and her great sense of it. For our

Saviour is not rendering a reason of her forgiveness, as though it were for her love, but of her love, that it was because of her forgiveness. Having in the foregoing parable, convinced the Pharisees with whom he had to do, that he to whom most was forgiven would love most, he thence gives an account of the great love of the woman, springing from the sense she had of the great forgiveness which she had so freely received. Thus sinners, at their first conversion, are very sensible of great forgiveness; "of whom I am chief," lies next their heart. This greatly subdues their hearts and spirits to God in all, and quickens them to all obedience; even that such poor cursed sinners as they were, should so freely be delivered and pardoned. The love of God and of Christ, in their forgiveness, highly conquers and constrains them to make it their business to live to God.

Secondly, The fresh taste they have had of spiritual things, keeps up such a savour and relish of them in their souls, as that worldly contentments, whereby men are drawn off from close walking with God, are rendered sapless and undesirable to them. Having tasted of the wine of the gospel, they desire no other, for they say, This is best. So was it with the apostles, upon that option offered them as to a departure from Christ, upon the apostacy of many false professors: "Will ye go away also?" They answer, by Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." They had such a fresh savour and relish of the doctrine of the gospel, and the grace of Christ upon their souls, that they could entertain no thoughts of declining

from it. As a man that hath been long kept in a dungeon, if brought forth on a sudden into the light of the sun, finds so much pleasure and contentment in it, in the beauties of the old creation, that he thinks he can never be weary of it, nor shall ever be contented, on any account, to be under darkness again. So it is with souls, when first translated into the marvellous light of Christ, to behold the beauties of the new creation. They see a new glory in him, that hath quite sullied the desirableness of all earthly diversions. And they see a new guilt and filth in sin, that gives them an utter abhorrency of its old flights and pleasures; and so of other things.

Now, whilst these and the like things are kept open in the souls of converted sinners, they constrain them to a vigorous, active holiness. They can never do enough for God; so that oftentimes their zeal, as saints, suffers them not to escape with out some blots on their prudence, as men; as might be instanced in many of the martyrs of old.

This then is the first, at least one way, whereby indwelling sin prepares men for decays and declensions in grace and obedience; it endeavours to stop, or taint these springs. And there are several ways whereby it bringeth this to pass.

First, It works by sloth and negligence. It prevails in the soul, to a neglect of stirring up continual thoughts at or about, the things that so powerfully influence it to strict and fruitful obedience. If care be not taken, if diligence and watchfulness be not used, and all means observed, which are appointed of God, to keep a quick and lively sense of them

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upon the soul, they will dry up and decay, and, consequently, that obedience that should spring from them, will do so also. Isaac digged wells, but the Philistines stopped them, and his flocks had no benefit by them. Let the heart never so little diffuse itself to gracious, soul-affecting thoughts of the love of God, the cross of Christ, the greatness and excellency of gospel mercy, the beauties of holiness, they will quickly be as much estranged to a man, as he can be to them. • son, in the nothing at all.

sun,

He that shuts his eyes, for a seawhen he opens them again, can see

And so much as a man loseth of faith towards these things, so much will they lose of power towards him. They can do little or nothing upon him, because of his unbelief, which formerly were so exceedingly effectual towards him. So it was with the spouse in the Canticles. Christ calls to her, with a marvellous loving and gracious invitation, to communion with himself. She, who had formerly been ravished at the first hearing of that joyful sound, being now under the power of sloth and carnal ease, returns a sorry excusing answer to his call, which ended in her own signal loss and sorrow. Indwelling sin, I say, prevailing by spiritual sloth upon the souls of men, to an inadvertency of the motions of God's Spirit, in their former apprehensions of divine love, and a negligence of stirring up continual thoughts of faith about it, a decay grows insensibly upon the whole soul. Thus God often complains that his people had forgotten him, that is, grown unmindful of his love and grace, which was the beginning of their apostacy.

Secondly, By unframing the soul, so that it shall

have formal, weary, powerful thoughts of those things which should prevail with it to diligence, in thankful obedience. The apostle cautions us, that in dealing with God, we should use reverence and godly fear," because of his purity, holiness, and majesty. And this is that which the Lord himself spake, in the destruction of Nadab and Abihu: “ I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me." He will be dealt with in an awful, holy, reverent manner. So are we to deal with all the things of God, wherein or whereby we have communion with him. The soul is to have a great reverence of God in them. When men begin to take them into slight and common thoughts, not using and improving them to the utmost for the ends whereunto they are appointed, they lose all their beauty, and glory, and power towards them. When we have any thing to do, wherein faith or love towards God is to be exercised, we must do it with all our hearts, with all our minds, strength, and souls; not slightly and perfunctorily, which God abhors: he doth not only require that we bear his love and grace in remembrance, but that, as much as in us lieth, we do it according to the worth and excellency of them. was the sin of Hezekiah, that he "rendered not again according to the benefits done to him." So, whilst we consider gospel truths, the uttermost endeavour of the soul ought to be, that we may be "changed into the same image" or likeness; that is, that they may have their full power and effect upon us. Otherwise James tells us what our "beholding the glory of the Lord in a glass," there mentioned by the apostle, is; that is, reading or hearing the

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