The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise

but when the enemies of Daniel were cast into the den, the Lions did tear them all to pieces, before they came at the bottom of the den they rent them in pieces suddenly: whats the reason of it? they had as much power before, and were as able and as hungry before, but the Lord stopped their mouths, that they could not devour Daniel: Just so it is with the sins of the penitent, and the ⟨p. 195⟩sins of the impenitent; the sins of the one, though they are of a killing, and a Lion-like nature, (for the wages of every sin is death, and there is condemnation in it) yet the Lord stops the mouth of the Lion, he takes off the guilt and condemning power of sin, that though it hath power in it self to condemn yet it cannot do it; but now when it meets with an impenitent unbeliever, the malice of the malicious shall kill him, and the pride of the ambitious shall one day rend his heart; but it is not so with the sins of the penitent believers, their sins have teeth indeed, and power to make a man worthy of condemnation, but they shall never fasten condemnation upon him; this is the meaning of that place, Romans 8.3. That which was impossible to the Law to do, in as much as it was weak, because of the flesh, God sending his only Son in the similitude of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: It is an excellent place, and hath much weight in it, and howsoever there are many interpretations of the place, yet I will follow that interpretation, which I now express, that it was impossible for the Law to acquit a man of sin, because he cannot keep the Law, and therefore he cannot be justified by it: but how comes it to pass then, that the Saints of God are delivered? The text saith, Christ took flesh on him, and it was sinful flesh by similitude or imputation, not actually by commission; the nature of our Saviour had no evil inherent in him nor committed by him, but he was only a sinner by imputation, ⟨p. 196⟩and then he condemned sin in the flesh, what is that? it is a law case, and Master Calvin hath it excellently, he damned sin, as a man will say when he loseth the suit, he fell from his cause, and from his plea which he made, he lost it utterly;

but when the enemies of Daniel were cast into the denne, the Lions did teare them all to peeces, before they came at the bottome of the denne they rent them in peeces suddenly: whats the reason of it? they had as much power before, and were as able and as hungry before, but the Lord stopt their mouths, that they could not devour Daniel: Just so it is with the sinnes of the penitent, and the