4. Cast your eye upon these terrible convulsions the world is thrown into by the lusts of men. Lions make not a prey of lions, nor wolves of wolves; but men are turned wolves to one another, biting and devouring one another. Upon how slight occasions will men sheath their swords in one another's bowels! The world is a wilderness, where the clearest fire men can carry about with them will not fright away the wild beasts that inhabit it, (and that because they are men and not brutes,) but one way or other they will be wounded. Since Cain shed the blood of Abel, the earth has been turned into a slaughterhouse. When we see the world in such a ferment, every one stabbing another with words or swords, we may conclude there is an evil spirit among them. These violent heats among Adam's sons speak the whole body to be distempered, the whole head to be sick, and the whole heart faint. They surely pro

ceed from an inward cause:

our members."

"Lusts that war in

5. Consider the necessity of human laws fenced with terrors and severities; to which we may apply what the Apostle says, "That the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners," &c. Man was made for society; and God himself said to the first man, when he had created him, that it was 66 not meet that he should be alone:" yet the case is such now, that, in society, he must be hedged in with thorns. And that from hence we may the better see the corruption of man's nature, consider, (1.) Every man naturally loves to be at full liberty himself; to have his own will for his law; and if he were

to follow his natural inclinations, would vote himself out of the reach of all laws divine and human. And hence some (the power of whose hands has been answerable to their natural inclination) have indeed made themselves absolute, and above laws; agreeable to man's monstrous design at first, "to be as gods." Yet, (2.) There is no man that would willingly adventure to live in a lawless society: and, therefore, even pirates and robbers have laws among themselves, though the whole society casts off all respect to law and right. Thus men discover themselves to be conscious of the corruption of nature; not daring to trust one another but upon security. (3.) How dangerous soever it is to break through the hedge, yet the violence of lust makes many adventure daily to run the risk. They will not only sacrifice their credit and conscience, (which last is highly esteemed in the world,) but, for the pleasure of a few moments, immediately succeeded with terror from within, they will lay themselves open to a violent death, by the laws of the land wherein they live. (4.) The laws

are often made to yield to men's lusts. Sometimes whole societies run into such extravagances, that, like a company of prisoners, they break off their fetters, and put their guard to flight; and the voice of laws cannot be heard for the noise of arms. And seldom is there a time wherein there are not some persons so great and daring, that the laws dare not look their impetuous lusts in the face; which made David say, in the case of Joab, who had murdered Abner, "These men, the sons of Zeruiah, be too hard for me." Lusts sometimes grow too strong for laws, so that the law is slacked, as the pulse of a dy

ing man. (5.) Consider what necessity often appears of amending old laws, and making new ones; which have their rise from new crimes that man's nature is very fruitful of. There would be no need of mending the hedge, if men were not like unruly beasts, still breaking it down. It is astonishing to see what figure the Israelites, who were separated to God from among all the nations in the earth, do make in their history; what horrible confusions were among them when there was no king in Israel, as you may see, Judges xviii. xix. xx. xxi. How hard it was to reform them, when they had the best of magistrates; and how quickly they turned aside again when they got wicked rulers. I cannot but think, that one grand design of that sacred history was to discover the corruption of man's nature, the absolute need of the Messiah and his grace; and that we ought, in the reading of it, to improve it to that end. How cutting is that word the Lord has to Samuel concerning Saul: "The same shall reign over (or, as the word is, shall restrain) my people." O the corruption of man's nature! the awe and dread of the God of heaven restrains them not; but they must have gods on earth to do it," to put them to shame."

6. Consider the remains of that natural corruption in the saints. Though grace has entered, yet corruption is not quite expelled: though they have got the new creature, yet much of the old corrupt nature remains. And these struggle together within them, as the twins in Rebekah's womb. They find it present with them at all times, and in all places, even in the most retired corners. If a man have an ill neighbour, he may remove; if he have an ill servant,

he may put him away at the term: but should the saint go into a wilderness, or set up his tent in some remote rock in the sea, where never foot of man, beast, nor fowl had touched, there will it be with him. Should he be, with Paul, caught up to the third heavens, it shall come back with him. It follows him as the shadow doth the body. It is like the fig-tree on the wall, which, how nearly soever it was cut, yet still grew till the wall was thrown down: for the roots of it are fixed in the heart, while the saint is in the world, as with bands of iron and brass. It is especially active when he would do good. Hence, often in holy duties, the spirit even of a saint, as it were, evaporates; and he is left ere he is aware, like Michal, with an image in the bed instead of a husband. I need not stand to prove the remains of the corruption of nature in the godly to themselves, for they groan under it; and to prove it to them, were to hold out a candle to let men see the sun: and as for the wicked, they are ready to account mole-hills in the saints as big as mountains, if not to reckon them all hypocrites. But consider these few things on this head (1.) If it be thus in the green tree, how must it be in the dry? The saints are not born saints, but made so by the power of regenerating grace. Have they got a new nature, and yet so much of the old remains with them? How great must that corruption be in others, where it is altogether unmixed with grace! (2.) The saints groan under the remains of it, as a heavy burden. Hear the apostle-" O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" What though the carnal man lives at ease and quiet, and the corruption of

nature is not his burden: is he therefore free from it ? No, no; only he is dead, and feels not the sinking weight. Many a groan is heard from a sickbed, but never one from a grave. In the saint, as in the sick man, there is a mighty struggle-life and death striving for the mastery: but in the natural man, as in the dead corpse, there is no noise-because death bears full sway. (3.) The godly man resists the old corrupt nature: he strives to mortify it, yet it remains; he endeavours to starve it, and by that means to weaken it, yet it is active. How must it spread then, and strengthen itself in that soul, where it is not starved, but fed! And this is the case of all the unregenerate, who "make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." If the garden of the diligent afford him new work daily, in cutting off and rooting up, surely that of the sluggard must needs be all grown over with thorns.

Lastly, I shall add but one observation more, and that is, that in every man naturally the image of fallen Adam does appear. Some children, by the features and lineaments of their face, do, as it were, father themselves: and thus we do resemble our first parents; every one bears the image and impress of their fall upon him. And to evince the truth of this, I appeal to the consciences of all in these following particulars :

1. Is not sinful curiosity natural to us? And is not this a print of Adam's image? Is not man naturally much more desirous to know new things, than to practise old known truths? How like to old Adam do we look in this itching after novelties, and disrelishing old solid doctrines? We seek after