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ly in the thoughts of good; but furiously in the thoughts of evil. While holiness is before it, fetters are upon it; but when it has got over the hedge, it is as the bird got out of the cage, and becomes a free-thinker indeed. Let us reflect a little on the apprehension and imagination of the carnal mind; and we shall find incontestible evidence of this woful bias to evil.

Evidence 1. As when a man, by a violent stroke on the head, loseth his sight, there ariseth to him a kind of false light, whereby he perceiveth a thousand airy nothings; so man being struck blind to all that is truly good, and for his eternal interest, has a light of another sort brought into his mind; his eyes are opened, knowing evil, and so are the words of the tempter verified, Gen. iii. 5. The words of the Prophet are plain, "They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge," Jer. iv. 22. The mind of man has a natural dexterity to devise mischief; none are so simple as to want skill to contrive ways to gratify their lusts, and ruin their souls; though the power of every one's hand cannot reach to put their devices in execution. None needs to be taught this black art; but as weeds grow up, of their own accord, in the neglected ground, so doth this wisdom, (which is earthly, sensual, devilish, James iii. 15.) grow up in the minds of men, by virtue of the corruption of their nature. Why should we be surprised with the product of currupt wits; their cunning devices to affront heaven, to oppose and run down truth and holiness, and to gratify their own and other mens lusts? They row with the stream, no wonder they make great progress; their stock is within them, and increaseth by using of it; and the works of darkness are contrived with greater advantage, that the mind is wholly destitute of spiritual light, which, if it were in them, in any measure, would so far mar the work, 1 John iii. 9. "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin;" he does it not as by art, for "his seed remaineth in him." But, on the other hand," it is a sport for a fool to do mischief; but a man of understanding hath wisdom," Prov. x. 23. "To do witty wickedness nicely," as the word imports, is as a sport, or a play to a fool; it comes off with him easily; and why, but because he is a fool, and hath not wisdom; which would mar the con

trivances of darkness? The more natural a thing is, it is done the more easily.

Evid. 2. Let the corrupt mind have but the advantage of one's being employed in, or present at some piece of service to God; that so the device, if not in itself sinful, yet may become sinful, by its unseasonableness: It shall quickly fall on some device or expedient, by its starting aside; which deliberation, in season, could not produce. Thus Saul, who wist not what to do, before the priest began to consult God, is quickly determined when once the priest's hand was in; his own heart then gave him an answer, and would not allow him to wait an answer from the Lord, 1 Sam. xiv. 18, 19. Such a devilish dexterity hath the carnal mind, in devising what may most effectually divert men from their duty to God.

Evid. 3. Doth not the carnal mind naturally strive to grasp spiritual things in imagination; as if the soul were quite immersed in flesh and blood, and would turn every thing into its own shape? Let men who are used to the forming of the most abstracted notion, look into their own souls, and they shall find this bias in their minds; whereof the idolatry, which did of old, and still doth, so much prevail in the world, is an incontestible evidence. For it plainly discovers, that men naturally would have a visible deity, and see what they worship; and, therefore, they "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image," &c. Rom. i. 23. The reformation of these nations (blessed be the Lord for it) hath banished idolatry and images too, out of our churches; but heart-reformation only can break down mental idolatry, and banish the more subtile and refined image-worship, and representation of the deity, out of the minds of men. The world, in

the time of its darkness, was never more prone to the former, than the unsanctified mind is to the latter. And hence are horrible, monstrous, and mishapen thoughts of God, Christ, the glory above, and all spiritual things.

Evid. 4. What a difficult task is it to detain the carnal mind before the Lord! How averse is it to the entertaining of good thoughts, and dwelling in the meditation of spiritual things? If one be driven, at any time, to think of the great concerns of his soul, it is no harder work to hold in an unruly hungry beast, than to hedge in the carnal

mind, that it get not away to the vanities of the world again. When God is speaking to men by his word, or they are speaking to him in prayer, doth not the mind often leave them before the Lord, like so many idols that have eyes, but see not, and ears, but hear not? The carcase is laid down before God, but the world gets away the heart; though the eyes be closed, the man sees a thousand vanities; The mind, in the mean time, is like a bird got loose out of the cage, skipping from bush to bush; so that, in effect, the man never comes to himself, till he be gone from the presence of the Lord. Say not, it is impossible to get the mind fixed. It is hard, indeed, but not impossible. Grace from the Lord can do it, Psal. cviii. 1. Agreeable objections will do it. A pleasant speculation will arrest the minds of the inquisitive: The worldly man's mind is in little hazard of wandering, when he is contriving of business, casting up his accounts, or telling his money: If he answer you not at first, he tells you, he did not hear you, he was busy; his mind was fixed. Were we admitted into the presence of a king to petition for our lives, we would be in no hazard of gazing through the chamber of presence: But here lies the case, the carnal mind, employed about any spiritual good, is out of its element, and therefore cannot fix.

Evid. 5. But however hard it is to keep the mind on good thoughts, it sticks as glue to what is evil and corrupt like itself, 2 Pet. ii. 14. "Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin." Their eyes cannot cease fromsin, (so the words are constructed,) that is, their hearts and minds venting by the eyes, what is within, are like a furious beast, which cannot be held in, when once it has got out its head. Let the corrupt imagination once be let loose on its proper object, it will be found hard work to call it back again, though both reason and will be for its retreat. For then it is in its own element; and to draw it it off from its impurities, is as the drawing of a fish out of the water, or the renting of a limb from a man. It runs like fire set to a train of powder, that resteth not till it can get no further.

Evid. 6. Consider how the carnal imagination supplies the want of real objects to the corrupt heart; that it may make sinners happy, at least, in the imaginary enjoyment F

of their lusts. Thus the corrupt heart feeds itself with imagination sins: The unclean person is filled with spe culative impurities, having eyes full of adultery; the covetous man fills his heart with the world, though he cannot get his hands full of it; the malicious person, with delight acts his revenge within his own breast; the envious man, within his own narrow soul, beholds, with satisfaction, his neighbour laid low enough; and every lust finds the corrupt imagination a friend to it in time of need. And this it doth, not only when people are awake, but sometimes even when they are asleep; whereby it comes to pass, that these sins are acted in dreams which their hearts were carried out after, while they were awake.— I know some do question the sinfulness of these things: But can it be thought they are consistent with that holy nature and frame of spirit, which was in innocent Adam, and in Jesus Christ, and should be in every man? It is the corruption of nature, then, that makes filthy dreamers condemned, Jude 8. Solomon had experience of the exercise of grace in sleep; in a dream he prayed; in a dream he made the best choice; both were accepted of God, 1 Kings iii. 5-15. And if a man may, in his sleep, do what is good and acceptable to God; why may he not also, when asleep, do that which is evil and displeasing to God? The same Solomon would have men aware of this; and prescribes the best remedy against it, namely, the law upon the heart, Prov. vi. 20, 21. "When thou sleepest (says he, ver. 22.) it shall keep thee: to wit, from the sinning in thy sleep: That is, from sinful dreams. For one's being kept from sin (not his being. kept from affliction) is the immediate proper effect of the law of God impressed upon the heart, Psal. cxix. 11. And thus the whole verse is to be understood, as appears from verse 23. "For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Now, the law is a lamp of light, as it guides in the way of duty; and instructing reproofs from the law, are the way of life, as they keep from sin: Neither do they guide into the way of peace, but as they lead into the way of duty; nor do they keep a man out of trouble, but as they keep him from sin. And remarkable is the particular, in which Solomon instanceth, namely, the sin of unclean

ness; To keep thee from the evil woman, verse 24. Which is to be joined with verse 22. including verse 23. in a parenthesis, as some versions have it. These things may suffice to convince us of the natural bias of the mind to evil.

Fourthly, There is in the carnal mind an opposition to spiritual truths, and an aversion to the receiving of them. It is as little a friend to divine truths, as it is to holiness. The truths of natural religion, which do, as it were, force their entry into the minds of natural men, they hold prisoners in unrighteousness, Rom. i. 18. And as for the truths of revealed religion, there is an evil heart of unbelief in them, which opposeth their entry; and there is an armed force necessary to captivate the mind to the belief of them, 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. God has made a revelation of his mind and will to sinners, touching the way of salvation; he has given us the doctrine of his holy word: But do natural men believe it indeed? No, they do not; "For he that believeth not on the Son of God, believeth not God;" as is plain from 1 John v. 10. They believe not the promises of the word; they look on them, in effect only as fair words; for these that receive them, are thereby made partakers of the divine nature, 2 Pet. i. 4. The promises are as silver cords, let down from heaven, to draw sinners unto God, and to waft them over into the promised land; but they cast them from them. They believe not the threatenings of the word. As men travelling in desarts carry fire about with them, to fright away wild beasts; so God has made his law a fiery law, (Deut. xxxiii. 2.) hedging it about with threats of wrath: But men naturally are more brutish than beasts themselves; and will needs touch the fiery smoking mountain, though they should be thrust through with a dart. I doubt not but most, if not all of you, who are yet in the black state of nature, will here plead, Not guilty: But remember the carnal Jews in Christ's time were as confident as you are, that they believed Moses, John ix. 28, 29. But he confutes their confidence, roundly telling them, John v. 46. "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me." Did ye believe the truths of God, ye durst not reject, as ye do, him who is truth itself. The very difficulty you find in assenting to this truth, bewrays that unbelief

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